Controllo e-mail prima di uscire.

I check email before leaving.

Breakdown of Controllo e-mail prima di uscire.

• io: I
• controllare: to check
• prima di: before
• uscire: to leave

Questions & Answers about Controllo e-mail prima di uscire.

Why is there no subject pronoun in the sentence?

In Italian, subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending already tells you who’s performing the action. Here controllo ends in -o, indicating first-person singular (io). You could say Io controllo e-mail, but it’s more natural and common to omit io.

What does prima di uscire mean, and why is di necessary?

Prima di means before when talking about doing something. The preposition di is required before an infinitive verb. So prima di uscire literally means before to go out, i.e., before going out.

Why is uscire in the infinitive here?

After prepositions like di, Italian uses the infinitive form of a verb. You cannot say prima di esco or prima di uscendo; the correct structure is prima di + infinitive (e.g., prima di mangiare, prima di dormire).

Why is there no article before e-mail, and could I include one?