Breakdown of L’elettricista arriva alle nove per controllare il contatore della cucina.
la cucina
the kitchen
arrivare
to arrive
controllare
to check
della
of
Questions & Answers about L’elettricista arriva alle nove per controllare il contatore della cucina.
Why is it L’elettricista and not Il elettricista?
Because elettricista begins with a vowel. In Italian, the singular definite article before a vowel is usually shortened:
So il elettricista is not correct; it becomes l’elettricista.
The apostrophe shows that the vowel of the article has been dropped.
Does elettricista mean a male electrician, or can it also mean a female electrician?
Elettricista can refer to either a male or a female electrician. It is one of those Italian profession nouns ending in -ista, which can be masculine or feminine depending on the person.
For example:
- l’elettricista è arrivato = the electrician arrived, and the person is male
- l’elettricista è arrivata = the electrician arrived, and the person is female
In your sentence alone, l’elettricista does not by itself clearly show gender.
Why is the verb arriva and not arrivare?
Because arriva is the conjugated form of the verb, while arrivare is the infinitive.
- arrivare = to arrive
- arriva = he arrives / she arrives / it arrives
Since the subject is l’elettricista, Italian needs the third person singular form:
- L’elettricista arriva = the electrician arrives