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L'insegnante permette al bambino di leggere.

L'insegnante permette al bambino di leggere.
The teacher allows the child to read.
FromLesson 15inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of L'insegnante permette al bambino di leggere.

il bambino
the child
leggere
to read
l'insegnante
the teacher
a
to
di
to
permettere
to allow

Questions & Answers about L'insegnante permette al bambino di leggere.

What does L'insegnante mean, and why is it written with an apostrophe?
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.
Why is leggere in the infinitive form instead of being conjugated?
Leggere remains in its infinitive form because it represents the general action "to read." In constructions with permettere, Italian uses the pattern permettere a [someone] di + infinitive to indicate that the action (reading, in this case) is the one being permitted.
Can insegnante refer to both male and female teachers, and how is this indicated?
Yes, insegnante is a gender-neutral noun in Italian. It can refer to a male or a female teacher. The article (or any accompanying adjectives or context) will typically clarify the gender when necessary.
How does the structure of this Italian sentence compare to its English equivalent?
In English, we say "The teacher allows the child to read," where the verb "allows" is directly followed by the object and the to-infinitive. In Italian, the structure is similar—[Subject] permette [indirect object] di [infinitive]—but it requires specific contractions (l', al) and the use of the preposition di before the infinitive. This structure is a common pattern in Italian for expressing permission.
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