Il poliziotto rintraccia il ladro.

the policeman

Breakdown of Il poliziotto rintraccia il ladro.

• il ladro: the thief
• rintracciare: to track down

Questions & Answers about Il poliziotto rintraccia il ladro.

What does il mean, and why does it appear twice?

Il is the masculine singular definite article, usually equivalent to the in English.

It appears twice because both nouns are definite:

• il poliziotto = the policeman / the police officer
• il ladro = the thief

Italian usually repeats the article before each noun, just as English does here.

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Why are both poliziotto and ladro masculine singular?

Both nouns are in the masculine singular form.

• poliziotto = a male police officer / policeman
• ladro = a male thief

The ending -o is very common for masculine singular nouns in Italian.

If you wanted feminine forms, you would normally say:

• la poliziotta = the policewoman / female police officer
• la ladra = the female thief

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What tense is rintraccia?

Rintraccia is in the present indicative tense, third person singular.

It comes from the verb rintracciare, which means to track down, to trace, or to locate.

So:

• io rintraccio = I track down
• tu rintracci = you track down
• lui/lei rintraccia = he/she tracks down

In this sentence, rintraccia agrees with the singular subject il poliziotto.

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