Il salvagente resta vicino al bordo, anche quando la bambina nuota da sola.

In Italian, singular countable nouns usually need an article, just like in English.

So:

• il salvagente = the life preserver / the float
• un salvagente = a life preserver / a float

Using Il suggests we are talking about a specific one, probably already known from the context.

Salvagente literally comes from the idea of saving people in water. Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• a life preserver
• a lifebuoy
• a float
• sometimes a swim ring

In this sentence, it most likely refers to some floating safety device near the edge of the pool.

Resta is the third-person singular of restare, which means to stay or to remain.

So Il salvagente resta vicino al bordo means the float stays near the edge.

Italian often prefers restare when something remains in a place, instead of simply saying it is there.

Compare:

• è vicino al bordo = it is near the edge
• resta vicino al bordo = it stays/remains near the edge

The second one emphasizes that it continues to be there.

Yes. Rimane from rimanere is very close in meaning to resta here.

Both can mean stays/remains.

• Il salvagente resta vicino al bordo
• Il salvagente rimane vicino al bordo

In many situations they are interchangeable. Restare can sound a bit more straightforward and common in everyday speech, but both are perfectly natural.

Because vicino is normally followed by a when it introduces a noun.

So:

• vicino a + il bordo becomes vicino al bordo

This is a contraction:

• a + il = al

Other examples:

• vicino alla porta
• vicino al tavolo
• vicino ai bambini

You may sometimes hear vicino il in some regional or informal speech, but standard Italian is vicino al bordo.

Bordo means edge, rim, or border.

In this context, it most likely means the edge of the pool.

Italian often uses a shorter phrase where English might say something more explicit. So instead of saying the edge of the pool, Italian may simply say il bordo if the context already makes it clear.

Italian usually leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• resta = he/she/it stays
• nuota = he/she swims

Since the subjects are already named:

• Il salvagente resta...
• la bambina nuota...

there is no need to add a pronoun.

This is very normal in Italian.

Italian uses articles with nouns more often than English does.

So:

• la bambina = the girl
• una bambina = a girl

Saying just bambina by itself would usually sound incomplete here.

Anche quando means even when.

It introduces a time clause:

• anche quando la bambina nuota da sola = even when the girl swims alone

This is different from anche se, which means even if / although.

Compare:

• anche quando nuota da sola = even when she swims alone
• anche se nuota da sola = even if she swims alone / although she swims alone

So quando refers to when, while se refers to if.

Yes, but the simple present is the normal choice here.

Nuota is the third-person singular of nuotare = to swim.

Italian uses the simple present for many situations where English might use either:

• she swims
• she is swimming

So la bambina nuota da sola can naturally describe the situation without needing sta nuotando.

If you said:

• la bambina sta nuotando da sola

that would emphasize that the action is happening right now, at this moment.

Da sola means alone or by herself.

This is a very common Italian expression:

• da solo = by himself / alone
• da sola = by herself / alone
• da soli = by themselves / alone
• da sole = by themselves (feminine)

So here la bambina nuota da sola means the girl is swimming by herself.

Because it agrees with la bambina, which is feminine singular.

Agreement here works like this:

• bambino → da solo
• bambina → da sola
• bambini → da soli
• bambine → da sole

This is a common pattern with adjectives and similar expressions in Italian.

Usually, da sola is the more natural way to say alone / by herself in this kind of sentence.

• La bambina nuota da sola = the girl swims alone / by herself

Just sola is possible in some contexts, but it often sounds more like lonely, alone, or a descriptive adjective rather than the usual adverbial phrase.

So for actions such as going, staying, eating, traveling, or swimming alone, Italian very often uses:

• da solo / da sola

Yes. Italian word order is flexible, especially with subordinate clauses.

For example, these are both natural:

• Il salvagente resta vicino al bordo, anche quando la bambina nuota da sola.
• Anche quando la bambina nuota da sola, il salvagente resta vicino al bordo.

The meaning stays basically the same. The first version starts with the main point: the float stays near the edge. The second version gives the even when... part first for emphasis.

The comma separates the main clause from the subordinate clause:

• main clause: Il salvagente resta vicino al bordo
• subordinate clause: anche quando la bambina nuota da sola

This punctuation is natural and helps readability. In Italian, commas with subordinate clauses are often used in ways similar to English, especially when the extra clause comes after the main statement.

In this sentence, vicino functions like a prepositional expression meaning near.

That is why it is followed by a:

• vicino al bordo

You can also find vicino used more adjectivally in other contexts, but here the easiest way to understand it is as part of the expression vicino a = near.