L’addetto ci indica l’uscita di emergenza prima di farci entrare.

The attendant shows us the emergency exit before letting us in.

Breakdown of L’addetto ci indica l’uscita di emergenza prima di farci entrare.

• di: of
• prima di: before
• ci: us
• far entrare: to let in
• l’addetto: the attendant
• indicare: to show
• l’uscita: the exit
• l’emergenza: the emergency

Questions & Answers about L’addetto ci indica l’uscita di emergenza prima di farci entrare.

What does addetto mean in English, and can it change form?

Addetto means “attendant,” “operator,” or “staff member.” It’s a noun (and sometimes adjective) that agrees in gender and number:

• masculine singular: addetto
• feminine singular: addetta
• masculine plural: addetti
• feminine plural: addette

Why is there an apostrophe in l’addetto?

The apostrophe marks elision: the definite article lo (masculine singular) or la (feminine singular) drops its vowel before a word beginning with a vowel. So:

• lo addetto → l’addetto
• la amica → l’amica

What role does the pronoun ci play in ci indica?

Here ci is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to us.” The verb indicare is transitive and takes:

• a direct object (what is indicated)
• an indirect object (to whom it’s indicated)

So ci indica l’uscita literally means “he points out the exit to us.”

Could we use mostrare instead of indicare, and what’s the nuance?

Yes. ci mostra l’uscita di emergenza = “he shows us the emergency exit.”

• indicare focuses on pointing out or indicating something, perhaps with a gesture or brief mention.
• mostrare implies a more detailed showing or demonstration.

How does prima di farci entrare work grammatically?

• prima di
  • infinitive = “before doing something.”
• farci entrare is the causative construction: fare (“to make/let”) + entrare (“to enter”) with the clitic ci attached:
  – far
  • ci
    • entrare → farci entrare = “to let us enter.”
      So prima di farci entrare = “before letting us enter.”

Why is ci placed before indica but attached to fare in farci entrare?

Clitic pronouns in Italian:

• Precede finite verbs (conjugated forms): ci indica.
• Attach to non-finite forms (infinitives, gerunds, positive imperatives): farci entrare, vedendoci, dimmi.

What does l’uscita di emergenza mean, and how is it formed?

• uscita = “exit.”
• di emergenza = “of emergency.”
  Together: l’uscita di emergenza = “the emergency exit.”
  In Italian the modifier often follows the noun, so you have nome + di + spesificazione.