Learn Hardcore Italian: L'insegnante permette al bambino di leggere.

L'insegnante translates to "the teacher." The apostrophe indicates a contraction of the definite article (either il or la) with a noun that begins with a vowel. In this case, since insegnante starts with a vowel and can refer to either a male or female teacher, the contracted form l' is used.

Why is the verb permette conjugated in the third person singular form?

The verb permette means "allows" or "permits" and is conjugated in the third person singular to agree with the singular subject l'insegnante. This subject–verb agreement is essential in Italian grammar.

What is the role of the preposition al in the sentence?

Al is a contraction of a + il, meaning "to the." It introduces the indirect object bambino, indicating who is allowed to perform the action. So, al bambino means "to the child."

Why is di used before the infinitive leggere?

In Italian, when a verb like permettere is followed by another verb, the second verb appears in the infinitive form preceded by di. The structure permettere a [someone] di [do something] is standard for expressing permission, much like "allow someone to do something" in English.