Breakdown of Affilo il coltello con la pietra prima di tagliare il pane.
io
I
di
of
con
with
prima
before
il pane
the bread
tagliare
to cut
il coltello
the knife
la pietra
the stone
affilare
to sharpen
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Questions & Answers about Affilo il coltello con la pietra prima di tagliare il pane.
What does affilo mean, and which verb is it conjugated from?
Affilo is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb affilare, meaning I sharpen (or I am sharpening).
Why is il used before coltello, and could we use un instead?
The definite article il marks coltello as a specific, known knife (masculine singular). If you wanted to say “I sharpen a knife” in general, you would use the indefinite article un, as in Affilo un coltello.
What is the function of con in con la pietra? Is there an alternative way to express this?
The preposition con indicates the instrument used—in English, with. You could also say Affilo il coltello usando la pietra, but con la pietra is more idiomatic and concise.
Could we say con una pietra instead of con la pietra? What’s the difference?
Yes. Con una pietra (with a stone) is indefinite and implies any stone. Con la pietra (with the stone) is definite, suggesting a specific sharpening stone you have in mind.
Why is prima di followed by the infinitive tagliare? Can prima di take a conjugated verb?
Prima di is a prepositional phrase meaning before and it must be followed by an infinitive. You cannot follow prima di with a conjugated verb form.
Can we rearrange the sentence to start with prima di tagliare il pane? How does punctuation change?
Yes. You can front the adverbial phrase:
Prima di tagliare il pane, affilo il coltello con la pietra.
When the phrase begins the sentence, it’s common to add a comma afterward.
Why is the simple present tense used here instead of a past or future tense?
Italian uses the simple present to describe both habitual actions and sequences of steps (like instructions). Here it can mean “Every time I cut bread, I sharpen the knife first” or “Now I sharpen… before cutting….” For a past event, you’d use the passato prossimo; for a future action, you’d use the future tense.
How would you say I sharpened the knife with the stone before cutting the bread in Italian?
Use passato prossimo for the completed action:
Ho affilato il coltello con la pietra prima di tagliare il pane.
You can also begin with the time phrase:
Prima di tagliare il pane, ho affilato il coltello con la pietra.
Why is there no subject pronoun io in the sentence? How do we know who is doing the action?
In Italian, subject pronouns are usually dropped because verb endings convey the subject. Affilo (-o ending) already means “I sharpen.” If you want to emphasize, you could say Io affilo il coltello…, but it’s not necessary.
If I wanted to replace il coltello with a pronoun, how would I say it?
Use the direct object pronoun lo before the verb:
Lo affilo con la pietra prima di tagliare il pane.