L’acqua continua a scorrere dal rubinetto.

The water keeps flowing from the faucet.

Breakdown of L’acqua continua a scorrere dal rubinetto.

• l'acqua: the water
• da: from
• il rubinetto: the faucet
• continuare: to keep

Questions & Answers about L’acqua continua a scorrere dal rubinetto.

Why is it l’acqua and not la acqua?

Because la becomes l’ before a singular feminine noun that starts with a vowel.

• la acqua → l’acqua

This is called elision. It makes pronunciation smoother.
Other examples:

• l’amica = the female friend
• l’idea = the idea

So l’acqua simply means the water.

Why is there an apostrophe in l’acqua?

The apostrophe shows that the final vowel of la has been dropped:

• la
  • acqua → l’acqua

In speech, Italians do not pronounce the full la acqua form here. The apostrophe marks that contraction in writing.

What does continua a scorrere mean grammatically?

This is a very common Italian pattern:

• continuare a + infinitive

So:

• continua = continues / keeps
• a scorrere = to flow / flowing

Together, continua a scorrere means:

• continues to flow
• keeps flowing

This is similar to English continue to do something.

Why is there a after continua?