Controllo l'ora sul mio orologio.

I check the time on my watch.

Breakdown of Controllo l'ora sul mio orologio.

• io: I
• su: on
• il mio: my
• controllare: to check
• l'orologio: the watch
• l'ora: the time

Questions & Answers about Controllo l'ora sul mio orologio.

What does the verb controllo mean in this sentence?

Controllo is the first-person singular form of the verb controllare, which means "to check". Thus, in this sentence, it translates as "I check."

Why is l'ora used instead of la ora?

The noun ora begins with a vowel, so the definite article la is elided to l' for ease of pronunciation. Therefore, l'ora means "the time" (or literally, "the hour").

Why isn’t the subject io explicitly mentioned in the sentence?

Italian is a pro-drop language, which means that the subject pronoun (in this case, io) is often omitted when the verb ending clearly indicates the subject. The ending in controllo makes it clear that the subject is "I."

What does the phrase sul mio orologio mean, and why is sul used instead of su il?

Sul mio orologio translates to "on my watch". The word sul is a contraction of the preposition su (meaning "on") and the definite article il (meaning "the"). This contracted form is standard in Italian when combining a preposition and a definite article.

Is it necessary to use the definite article before a possessive like mio orologio?

Yes, in Italian, when a possessive adjective such as mio is used with a common noun, it is generally preceded by the definite article. Therefore, "il mio orologio" is the correct form; omitting the article (i.e., saying "mio orologio") would be ungrammatical.