Breakdown of Il veterinario controlla la salute dell'animale.
di
of
la salute
the health
controllare
to check
l'animale
the animal
Questions & Answers about Il veterinario controlla la salute dell'animale.
What does controlla mean in this sentence?
controlla is the third-person singular present indicative of controllare, meaning he/she/it checks, monitors, or inspects. Here it translates as “checks” (the veterinarian checks).
Why is the definite article Il used before veterinario?
Italian normally uses a definite article before a profession when speaking about a specific person. Il is the masculine singular article used before consonants, so Il veterinario means the veterinarian.
Why is there a la before salute?
In Italian, most abstract nouns like salute (health) require a definite article. You cannot omit it as you would in English. Hence la salute equals “the health.”
How does dell’animale work?
It’s the contraction of di + l’animale. Di indicates possession (“of”), and l’ is the elided form of the definite article before a vowel. So di + l’animale becomes dell’animale, meaning “of the animal.”
Why is there no apostrophe in but there is one in ?