Collego il telefono agli altoparlanti e faccio partire la musica.

I connect the phone to the speakers and start the music.

Breakdown of Collego il telefono agli altoparlanti e faccio partire la musica.

• io: I
• e: and
• la musica: the music
• a: to
• il telefono: the phone
• collegare: to connect
• l'altoparlante: the speaker
• fare partire: to start

Questions & Answers about Collego il telefono agli altoparlanti e faccio partire la musica.

Why does Italian use the present tense collego here instead of a continuous form like “I’m connecting”?

Italian does not have a dedicated continuous (progressive) tense the way English does. The simple present (presente indicativo) covers both simple and ongoing actions.

• Collego il telefono can mean “I connect the phone” or “I am connecting the phone,” depending on context.
• If you really want to stress the ongoing action, you can use sto collegando (stare + gerund), but in everyday speech collego is perfectly normal.

Why are the articles il and la used before telefono and musica, while in English we might omit “the”?

Italian almost always uses the definite article before nouns, especially when referring to a specific object or to uncountable/general concepts.

• Il telefono refers to “the phone” you’re using.
• La musica refers to “the music” you’re about to play.
  In English you can say “play music” without “the,” but in Italian the article is required in this context.

How is agli formed, and when should we use ai, agli, al, etc.?

When you combine the preposition a (“to”) with a definite article, Italian creates a contraction:

• a + il = al
• a + lo = allo
• a + l’ = all’
• a + la = alla
• a + i = ai
• a + gli = agli
• a + le = alle
  Because altoparlanti is masculine plural (“the speakers”), you use gli, so a + gli becomes agli.

What is the function of faccio in faccio partire?

This is the causative construction fare + infinitive. It means “to cause something to happen.”

• Faccio partire la musica literally means “I make the music start.”
• You’re not the music itself, you’re causing the device or app to begin playing.

Why can’t we say parto la musica to mean “I start the music”?

The verb partire in Italian is intransitive—it does not take a direct object. You can say La musica parte (“The music starts”), but you cannot say Parto la musica. To express “I start the music,” you need one of these options:

• Faccio partire la musica (causative)
• Avvio la musica (to launch/start)
• Inizio la musica (to begin)

Can we replace faccio partire la musica with avvio la musica or inizio la musica?

Yes. Both alternatives are correct:

• Avvio la musica is slightly more formal or technical.
• Inizio la musica is grammatically correct but somewhat less common in casual speech.
• Faccio partire remains the most neutral and widely used phrasing.

What other informal expressions can we use instead of faccio partire la musica?

In everyday conversation you might hear:

• Mettere la musica (“to put on the music”)
• Mettere su la musica (very colloquial)
• Far partire un po’ di musica (“to get some music going”)

Can I replace il telefono with a pronoun and say Lo collego agli altoparlanti?

Absolutely. If il telefono has already been mentioned or is clear from context, you can swap in the direct object pronoun lo (masculine singular):

• Lo collego agli altoparlanti e faccio partire la musica.
  This avoids repetition and sounds more natural once the noun is established.