Breakdown of L’ingegnere controlla il parabrezza della nuova auto.
di
of
controllare
to check
nuovo
new
l’auto
the car
l’ingegnere
the engineer
il parabrezza
the windshield
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Questions & Answers about L’ingegnere controlla il parabrezza della nuova auto.
Why is L’ingegnere written with an apostrophe instead of il ingegnere or lo ingegnere?
In Italian, when the definite article il or la comes before a noun starting with a vowel, the vowel of the article is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe. Here ingegnere begins with i, so il ingegnere becomes l’ingegnere.
What does controlla mean, and why does it end in -a?
Controlla is the 3rd person singular present indicative of the verb controllare (to check, to inspect). The ending -a marks he/she/it (lui/lei) checks. Literally: L’ingegnere controlla… = “The engineer checks…”
Why is it il parabrezza and not lo parabrezza or la parabrezza?
Despite ending in -a, parabrezza is a masculine noun (many compound nouns are). It begins with a simple consonant p, so it takes the masculine singular article il. Lo is reserved for nouns beginning with s+consonant, z, ps, gn, etc., and la is the feminine form.
What is della in della nuova auto, and why not del nuova auto?
Della is the contraction of di + la (“of the”) before a feminine noun. Auto (short for automobile) is feminine, so you need la after di, giving di + la = della. Del (di + il) would be used only with masculine nouns.
Why is auto feminine when it ends in -o?
Because auto is an abbreviated form of automobile, which is feminine. Many shortened or borrowed words keep the gender of their full form even if the ending changes.
Why is the adjective nuova placed before auto? Could it come after?
Although Italian adjectives usually follow the noun, certain “BAGS” adjectives (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) often precede it—nuovo (new) is one of them when you want to stress “brand-new.” You could also say dell’auto nuova with no real change in meaning, but della nuova auto emphasizes the newness more.
Why is there no preposition before il parabrezza?
Because controllare is a transitive verb and directly takes a direct object. You simply say controllare qualcosa (to check something), without adding su or any other preposition.