Controlliamo l'estintore e il pulsante d'allarme.

Controlliamo is the 1st person plural form of controllare, so it literally means we check / we are checking / let’s check, depending on context.

In Italian, subject pronouns are often left out, so noi (we) is not written because the verb ending -iamo already shows that the subject is we.

So controlliamo can mean:

• we check
• we are checking
• let’s check

In a practical instruction or checklist context, let’s check is often a very natural translation.

The noun estintore begins with a vowel sound, so the definite article is shortened before it.

Normally:

• il = the for many masculine singular nouns
• lo = the for masculine singular nouns beginning with s + consonant, z, ps, gn, etc.
• l' = used before singular nouns beginning with a vowel

So:

• il pulsante
• l'estintore

Even though estintore is masculine, the article becomes l' because of the vowel at the beginning.

Because Italian definite articles change depending on the noun that follows.

Here:

• pulsante starts with p, so it takes il
• estintore starts with e, a vowel, so it takes l'

So:

• il pulsante = the button
• l'estintore = the fire extinguisher

This is a very common feature of Italian articles.

D'allarme means of alarm or more naturally in English, alarm.

It comes from:

• di = of
• allarme = alarm

When di comes before a word beginning with a vowel, it is often shortened:

• di + allarme → d'allarme

So:

• il pulsante d'allarme literally = the button of alarm
• natural English = the alarm button

The apostrophe shows elision, which means a vowel has been dropped to make pronunciation smoother.

Here:

• lo / il? No—in this case the article used is l' before a vowel: l'estintore
• di allarme becomes d'allarme

So the apostrophe often appears when a short word ending in a vowel is followed by another word beginning with a vowel.

This is very common in Italian:

• l'amico
• l'acqua
• d'estate
• d'accordo

No. This is an important false friend.

In this sentence, controllare means:

• to check
• to inspect
• to examine
• sometimes to monitor

It usually does not mean English to control in the sense of to command or to be in charge of.

Examples:

• Controllo i documenti = I check the documents
• Controlliamo l'estintore = We check the fire extinguisher

If you want to control in the sense of to manage / to dominate / to regulate, Italian might use other verbs depending on context, such as controllare, gestire, regolare, or dominare. So context matters.

Because d'allarme is working like a descriptive phrase: alarm button.

Italian often uses:

• noun + di + noun

to describe what something is for or what type it is.

So:

• pulsante d'allarme = alarm button
• literally, button of alarm

You do not need another definite article here.
If you said del or dell', that would change the meaning.

Compare:

• pulsante d'allarme = alarm button / button used for alarm
• pulsante dell'allarme = the button of the alarm / the alarm system’s button

The version in your sentence is the general descriptive one.

In modern Italian, e is normally used for and.

So:

• l'estintore e il pulsante d'allarme

is completely correct.

You may sometimes see ed before a word beginning with e, for example:

• pane ed erba

But in modern standard Italian, ed is usually limited and often used mainly before another e sound to avoid repetition. Even then, simple e is very common.

Since the next word here is il, not a word starting with e, e is the normal form.

Yes. Italian present tense often covers several English meanings.

Controlliamo can mean:

• we check
• we are checking
• let’s check

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

• On a checklist or during a procedure: Let’s check the fire extinguisher and the alarm button.
• In a report of what a team does: We check the fire extinguisher and the alarm button.
• During the action itself: We’re checking the fire extinguisher and the alarm button.

Italian uses the simple present much more broadly than English does.

It is a very natural and common way to say it, especially in practical or technical contexts.

Italian often forms expressions like this with noun + di + noun, for example:

• scarpe da tennis
• camera da letto
• numero di telefono

Here:

• pulsante d'allarme = alarm button

Depending on context, other expressions might exist, but this one is standard and clear.

A helpful approximation is:

con-trol-LYAH-mo les-tin-TO-re eh eel pool-SAN-te dal-LAR-me

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• controlliamo: the gli/lia part here sounds like lya
• l'estintore: the apostrophe does not create a pause; it flows straight into the noun
• pulsante: stress on -san-
• allarme: stress on -lar-

A more syllable-based breakdown:

• con-trol-lià-mo
• le-stin-tó-re
• e
• il pul-sàn-te
• dal-làr-me

Italian usually keeps the definite articles in cases like this, especially in full sentences.

So:

• Controlliamo l'estintore e il pulsante d'allarme

sounds natural and complete.

Leaving out the articles would sound much less standard in ordinary Italian:

• Controlliamo estintore e pulsante d'allarme — possible in very abbreviated note-taking style, but not the normal full-sentence form

Italian generally uses articles more often than English does.

The main dictionary forms are:

• controllare = to check / inspect
• estintore = fire extinguisher
• pulsante = button
• allarme = alarm

And the grammatical forms in the sentence are:

• controlliamo = from controllare
• l'estintore = singular masculine noun with article
• il pulsante = singular masculine noun with article
• d'allarme = from di + allarme