Il medico parla con calma al paziente.

the doctor

Breakdown of Il medico parla con calma al paziente.

• parlare: to speak
• al: to
• il paziente: the patient

Questions & Answers about Il medico parla con calma al paziente.

Why is parla used here, and what does it mean?

Parla is the third-person singular present indicative form of the verb parlare (“to speak”).
– It literally means “he/she/it speaks,” so in this sentence “Il medico parla…” means “The doctor speaks…” or “The doctor is speaking…”.

What does con calma mean, and why not use calmamente?

Con calma literally means “with calm” and functions as an adverbial phrase: “calmly” or “in a calm manner.”
– Italian often uses con + noun to express manner (e.g. con gioia “joyfully,” con attenzione “attentively”).
– While calmamente exists, it’s less common in everyday speech. Con calma is more idiomatic and frequent.

Why is al paziente used, and how does al form?

Here paziente is the indirect object (“to the patient”).
– In Italian parlare (in the sense of “speak to”) requires the preposition a.
– A + il contracts to al, so al paziente = “to the patient.”

Could we say parla col paziente instead? Would it mean the same thing?