I really like the idea behind this quote and what it says about our role in life and the world. It also brings up an interesting difference between Italian and English verbs, so before going straight into the translation, let's look at its two parts individually— paying particular attention to the tense of each verb.
The first part, speaks of general actions or states of being in the present, and therefore, uses the Simple Present Tense:
facciamo (we do)
—and—
è (is)
{Review how Italian verbs work & the Simple Present tense here}
In this case, English and Italian use the Simple Present tense in similar ways, and so the phrase can be translated word-for-word:
{The most-used noun— COSA on Via Optimae}
Again, English and Italian both use the Simple Present tense to talk about actions that occur generally, so there is no change in tense as we translate from one language to the other.
The second part of the quote, however, speaks of a hypothetical or imagined situation: what would happen IF something else were true.
In Italian, this is expressed using the Imperfect Subjunctive tense, and the Present conditional, in what is called a "hypothetical clause of possibility" (periodo ipotetico della possibilità):
We'll cover hypothetical clauses and these tenses individually and more in-depth later, but for now, let's just look at it in the context of the quote:
IF we didn't act, the ocean WOULD HAVE less…
If every action is "just a drop" in the huge "ocean" that is the world, we must contribute our "little drops" because the ocean would be lacking without them.
In other words, every little thing counts!
What do you think? Any thoughts about the quote or the grammar points covered? Feel free to comment below or connect via Facebook, if you prefer.
Happy Studying!
—Alex
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