Controlliamo la fiamma.

Controlliamo comes from the infinitive controllare.

In this sentence, it is the 1st person plural form, so it corresponds to we:

• io controllo = I check
• tu controlli = you check
• lui/lei controlla = he/she checks
• noi controlliamo = we check
• voi controllate = you all check
• loro controllano = they check

So grammatically, controlliamo is the noi form.

It can mean either one, depending on context.

Why? Because for noi, the form used for:

• the present indicative (we check / we are checking)
• and the exhortation (let's check)

is often the same in practice: controlliamo.

So:

• Controlliamo la fiamma. can mean We check the flame.
• but in the right context it can also mean Let's check the flame.

A neutral spoken tone or a plain written sentence may leave it slightly ambiguous, and context tells you which meaning is intended.

Because Italian usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

The ending -iamo clearly tells you the subject is noi (we), so noi is normally omitted:

• Controlliamo la fiamma. = normal, natural
• Noi controlliamo la fiamma. = also correct, but more emphatic

You would add noi only if you want contrast or emphasis, for example:

• Noi controlliamo la fiamma, loro controllano la temperatura.

Because fiamma is a feminine singular noun, so it takes the feminine singular definite article la.

• la fiamma = the flame

A lot of Italian nouns ending in -a are feminine, and fiamma is one of them.

So:

• la fiamma = correct
• il fiamma = incorrect

Normally, no. In Italian, you usually need an article before a noun in this kind of sentence.

So:

• Controlliamo la fiamma. = natural and correct
• Controlliamo fiamma. = not natural in standard Italian

Italian uses articles more often than English does, so learners often need to get used to that.

Yes, very often it is.

In Italian, controllare usually means:

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

It does not always mean English to control in the sense of to command or to have power over.

So in many contexts:

• controllare la fiamma = to check the flame not to control the flame

Sometimes the meanings overlap, but check/inspect is a very important and very common sense of controllare.

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

kohn-trol-LYAH-mo la FYAM-ma

A few helpful notes:

• controlliamo has the stress on -YA-
• fiamma has the stress on FIAM-
• the double m in fiamma is pronounced more strongly than a single m
• the double l in controlliamo is also held a little longer than a single l

You do not need to exaggerate the double consonants at first, but they do matter in Italian pronunciation.

The sentence follows the very common Italian pattern:

verb + direct object

• Controlliamo = verb
• la fiamma = direct object

So it is perfectly normal Italian word order.

Italian can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but Controlliamo la fiamma is the most neutral and natural version.

Yes, it could sound more like a suggestion, instruction, or urgent prompt.

Compare:

• Controlliamo la fiamma. = neutral statement, or calm proposal depending on context
• Controlliamo la fiamma! = more clearly Let's check the flame! or a more energetic prompt

Punctuation and tone of voice help Italian speakers understand whether the sentence is a plain statement or an exhortation.

The dictionary form is fiamma.

Its plural is:

• la fiamma = the flame
• le fiamme = the flames

This is a regular feminine noun pattern:

• singular -a
• plural -e