Controlliamo la media.

Controlliamo is the noi form of controllare in the present tense.

A quick mini-conjugation:

• io controllo = I check
• tu controlli = you check
• lui/lei controlla = he/she checks
• noi controlliamo = we check

So, at a basic level, controlliamo means we check.

In Italian, the noi form is often used to make a suggestion that English expresses with let’s.

So:

• Controlliamo la media. can mean We check the average.
• But in the right context, it can also mean Let’s check the average.

Context tells you which one is intended. In everyday speech, this let’s ... use is very common.

Because Italian usually leaves subject pronouns out when they are not needed.

The ending -iamo already tells you the subject is noi = we.

So Italian normally says:

• Controlliamo la media.

instead of:

• Noi controlliamo la media.

Adding noi is possible, but it usually gives extra emphasis, like we in particular.

Not usually in the English sense. This is an important false friend.

In many contexts, controllare means:

• to check
• to inspect
• to look over
• to verify
• sometimes to monitor

So here controlliamo means we check / let’s check, not we control.

If you want the idea of to control as in to dominate or to be in charge of, Italian often uses other verbs depending on the situation, such as dominare, gestire, or comandare.

Here la media means the average.

Depending on context, it could refer to things like:

• a mathematical average
• an average score
• a grade average
• a general average result

So the exact nuance depends on the situation, but grammatically it is simply the average.

Yes. Media is a feminine singular noun here, so it takes la.

• la media = the average
• una media = an average
• le medie = the averages

So la is there because the noun is feminine singular.

No, not in this sentence.

That is another possible source of confusion:

• la media = the average
• i media = the media, mass media

So the same-looking word can refer to different things depending on gender, article, and context.

A helpful approximation is:

con-trol-LYAH-mo la MEH-dya

A few pronunciation notes:

• controlliamo has stress on -à-: controlliàmo
• media has stress on the first syllable: mèdia
• the double ll in controlliamo should be held a bit longer than a single l

So the rhythm is roughly:

con-trol-LYAH-mo la MEH-dya

Yes. If you write:

• Controlliamo la media?

it can sound like Shall we check the average?

With a period:

• Controlliamo la media.

it sounds more like a statement or a suggestion: We check the average or Let’s check the average.

So punctuation and tone can slightly change how it feels.