You speak - Parla ?
So I just started Michel Thomas course in Italian and at some point they are basically telling me that to have a verb in 2nd person singular form i take 3rd person singular form.
Like: he eats / she eats / you eat - mangia
You’re taking it - Lo prende.

I have a feeling that something is not right. Why not mangi? Why not prendi? I mean.. it's not right this way, isn't it?

Question

You speak - Parla ?
So I just started Michel Thomas course in Italian and at some point they are basically telling me that to have a verb in 2nd person singular form i take 3rd person singular form.
Like: he eats / she eats / you eat  - mangia 
You’re taking it -  Lo prende.

I have a feeling that something is not right. Why not mangi? Why not prendi? I mean.. it's not right this way, isn't it?

Answer

"You eat" (with singular "you") can be "(tu) mangi" or "(Lei) mangia". Italian has a courtesy form to address someone, similar to "Sie" in German or "u" in Dutch. In the singular it's "Lei", grammatically treated just like 3rd person feminine singular "lei", so 3rd person is used for the verb too.

Answers · 2

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