L’infermiera parla con pazienza al bambino spaventato.

The nurse speaks patiently to the frightened child.

Breakdown of L’infermiera parla con pazienza al bambino spaventato.

• il bambino: the child
• con: with
• a: to
• parlare: to speak
• l'infermiera: the nurse
• spaventato: frightened

Questions & Answers about L’infermiera parla con pazienza al bambino spaventato.

What does L’infermiera mean, and why is the article abbreviated in this way?

L’infermiera translates to “the nurse”. In Italian, when a feminine noun begins with a vowel, the definite article la often undergoes elision to become l’ for smoother pronunciation. So L’infermiera is a contracted form of la infermiera.

How does the phrase con pazienza function in this sentence compared to using an adverb?

The phrase con pazienza literally means “with patience.” Although Italian has adverbs (like pazientemente), it is common and idiomatic to use a prepositional phrase with con followed by a noun to express how an action is performed. In this case, con pazienza emphasizes the gentle or careful manner in which the nurse speaks.

What is the significance of the contraction al in al bambino spaventato?

Al is a contraction of the preposition a (meaning “to”) and the definite article il (“the”). This contraction is used before masculine singular nouns. In the sentence, al bambino spaventato means “to the frightened child,” indicating that the child is the recipient of the nurse’s gentle speech. The contraction helps maintain the flow and sound of the sentence.

Why is the adjective spaventato placed after the noun bambino in Italian?

In Italian, adjectives can be positioned either before or after the noun, but adjectives describing a temporary state or a subjective condition—such as being frightened—are frequently placed after the noun. Here, spaventato follows bambino to clearly modify it, mirroring the typical Italian word order for descriptive adjectives and emphasizing the child's current state.

How is the verb parla conjugated, and what does it indicate about the subject of the sentence?

The verb parla is the third person singular present tense form of parlare, which means “to speak.” This conjugation indicates that the subject performing the action is singular. Since the subject is L’infermiera (a feminine noun), parla correctly agrees with it in number and person, conveying that the nurse speaks.