Il concorrente ascolta il caposquadra.

Because il is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence, both nouns are singular and masculine:

• il concorrente = the contestant
• il caposquadra = the team leader / foreman

Italian normally uses an article with each noun, so you do not say one il and let it cover both words.

Ascolta is the third-person singular present tense of ascoltare.

So it means:

• he listens
• she listens
• or, with a noun subject, the contestant listens

Here the subject is il concorrente, so ascolta matches that singular subject.

A quick mini-pattern:

• io ascolto = I listen
• tu ascolti = you listen
• lui/lei ascolta = he/she listens

This is a very common question. In Italian, ascoltare usually takes a direct object, so you do not use a here.

So:

• ascoltare qualcuno = to listen to someone
• ascoltare il caposquadra = to listen to the team leader

English needs to, but Italian does not.

So Il concorrente ascolta il caposquadra is correct, not ascolta al caposquadra.

It can be either, depending on the person.

Concorrente is one of those Italian nouns that often has the same form for masculine and feminine in the singular. The article tells you the gender:

• il concorrente = the male contestant
• la concorrente = the female contestant

So in your sentence, il concorrente tells you the contestant is masculine.

Caposquadra is a compound noun:

• capo = head, leader
• squadra = team

Together, caposquadra means team leader, crew chief, or sometimes foreman, depending on context.

It is written as one word.

Like concorrente, it can also refer to a man or a woman depending on the article:

• il caposquadra
• la caposquadra

Normally, no. In Italian, if you mean a specific person and the noun is countable, you usually need the article.

So:

• il caposquadra = the team leader

Without the article, caposquadra would sound incomplete or unnatural in this sentence.

Italian uses articles more consistently than English in many cases, and here the definite article is required.

This is the normal, neutral order:

• subject + verb + object

So:

• Il concorrente = subject
• ascolta = verb
• il caposquadra = object

Italian can change word order for emphasis, style, or context, but this version is the most straightforward and natural for a basic statement.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

eel kon-kor-REN-teh ah-SKOL-tah eel KAH-poh-SKWA-drah

A few helpful notes:

• concorrente has the stress on -ren-
• ascolta has the stress on -skol-
• caposquadra has the stress on -squa-
• squ sounds like skw
• the r is normally rolled or tapped in Italian

This is an important distinction.

• ascoltare = to listen → active, intentional
• sentire = to hear → perception, not necessarily intentional

So:

• Il concorrente ascolta il caposquadra = the contestant is paying attention to the team leader
• Il concorrente sente il caposquadra = the contestant hears the team leader

In many situations, ascoltare suggests focus and attention.

You could, but it usually is not necessary.

Since the subject is already expressed as il concorrente, adding lui would normally be redundant.

Italian often avoids unnecessary subject pronouns. So this is best:

• Il concorrente ascolta il caposquadra.

If you used a pronoun instead, you could say:

• Lui ascolta il caposquadra. = He listens to the team leader.

But in your sentence, the noun il concorrente already gives the subject clearly.

The plural would be:

I concorrenti ascoltano il caposquadra.

Changes:

• il concorrente → i concorrenti
• ascolta → ascoltano

So:

• I concorrenti = the contestants
• ascoltano = listen

If you also wanted the object plural, you would change that too, depending on what you mean.