Prima di inviare l’email, controllo l’allegato.

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Breakdown of Prima di inviare l’email, controllo l’allegato.

• controllare: to check
• l'email: the email
• l'allegato: the attachment

Questions & Answers about Prima di inviare l’email, controllo l’allegato.

Why is it prima di inviare and not prima che invio?

Because prima di + infinitive is the normal pattern when the subject is the same as in the main clause.

Here, the sentence means:

• Before sending the email, I check the attachment.

The person who sends the email and the person who checks the attachment are both I, so Italian uses:

• prima di + infinitive
• prima di inviare

If the subject changes, Italian usually uses prima che + subjunctive, for example:

• Prima che tu invii l’email, controllo l’allegato.
• Before you send the email, I check the attachment.

So in your sentence, prima di inviare is the natural choice.

Why is inviare in the infinitive?

It is in the infinitive because it follows prima di.

After many prepositions in Italian, a verb appears in the infinitive form. Here:

• prima di = before
• inviare = to send

So literally, this part is something like:

• before sending
• or more literally, before to send

That is why you do not conjugate inviare here.

What tense is controllo?