Dopo una partita di pallacanestro, il sudore scende veloce sulla fronte.

After a basketball game, sweat runs quickly down the forehead.

Breakdown of Dopo una partita di pallacanestro, il sudore scende veloce sulla fronte.

• su: on
• di: of
• veloce: fast
• dopo: after

Questions & Answers about Dopo una partita di pallacanestro, il sudore scende veloce sulla fronte.

Why is Dopo not followed by che in this sentence?

Dopo is a preposition meaning “after” and takes a noun phrase directly. You add che only when it’s followed by a full clause with a conjugated verb (e.g. Dopo che hai giocato…). With an infinitive you’d say dopo aver giocato. Since here it’s una partita (a noun), no che is used.

What does pallacanestro mean, and why is it written as one word?

Pallacanestro is the Italian word for “basketball.” It’s a compound of palla (ball) + canestro (basket). In Italian many ball-sports use this pattern (e.g. pallavolo, pallamano) and are written as single words.

Why is it una partita di pallacanestro instead of una partita a pallacanestro?

You use partita di + [sport] to mean “a match of [sport].” The verb giocare takes a (giocare a pallacanestro = to play basketball) but events like matches are expressed with di.

Why do we say il sudore in the singular with the definite article? Can’t we omit it?

Sudore is a mass (uncountable) noun in Italian. Mass nouns typically appear in the singular with the definite article when you refer to a specific instance (the sweat that formed after the game). Saying sudore scende… without an article would sound odd to a native speaker.