Prima di uscire, controllo il saldo del conto sul telefono.

In Italian, prima di + infinitive is the normal way to say before doing something when the subject is the same as in the main clause.

So:

• Prima di uscire, controllo... = Before going out, I check...

Here, the person who goes out and the person who checks is the same person, so the infinitive uscire is used.

If the subject changes, Italian often uses prima che + subjunctive instead:

• Controllo il saldo prima che mia sorella esca.
  = I check the balance before my sister goes out.

So prima di uscire is the natural structure here.

Because after prima di, Italian usually uses the infinitive when the action is general and has the same subject as the main verb.

• prima di mangiare = before eating
• prima di dormire = before sleeping
• prima di uscire = before going out / before leaving

English often uses before + -ing or before + clause, but Italian commonly uses:

• prima di + infinitive

So uscire stays in its dictionary form, the infinitive.

Italian usually drops the subject pronoun when it is already clear from the verb ending.

• controllo already means I check
• controlli = you check
• controlla = he/she checks

So io is not necessary.

You can add io for emphasis or contrast:

• Io controllo il saldo, tu controlli le spese.

But in a normal sentence, just controllo sounds more natural.

Yes, controllo is the present tense of controllare.

In Italian, the present tense can cover several English meanings depending on context:

• I check
• I’m checking
• I do check

In this sentence, it most naturally sounds like a habitual or typical action:

• Before going out, I check the account balance on my phone.

So it is probably best understood as a routine.

Saldo means balance, especially in a financial sense.

So:

• il saldo del conto = the account balance

Be careful, because saldo can also appear in other contexts, but in banking it clearly means the amount of money currently in the account.

Examples:

• controllare il saldo = to check the balance
• saldo disponibile = available balance

They refer to two different things:

• conto = the account
• saldo = the balance in the account

So:

• il conto is the bank account itself
• il saldo del conto is the amount of money in that account

In English, we sometimes shorten things and just say I check my account, but Italian may be more specific with controllare il saldo del conto.

Del is a contraction of di + il.

• di = of
• il = the
• del = of the

So:

• il saldo del conto literally = the balance of the account

This is a very common Italian structure for possession or specification.

Other examples:

• la porta della casa = the door of the house
• il numero del telefono = the phone number

Italian uses definite articles more often than English.

In English, you might say:

• I check my account balance

But Italian often prefers:

• controllo il saldo del conto

The articles il and del sound completely normal here.

Italian often uses the definite article where English would use:

• a possessive like my
• or no article at all

If context already makes it clear whose account it is, Italian does not always need mio.

You could say:

• controllo il saldo del mio conto

but it is not necessary unless you want to emphasize my account.

Sul means on the and is a contraction of su + il.

So:

• sul telefono = on the phone

Here it means that the checking is done using the phone, probably by looking at a banking app or website.

It does not usually mean speaking by phone with someone. It means using the device.

Very similar examples:

• leggo le notizie sul telefono = I read the news on my phone
• guardo la mail sul telefono = I look at email on my phone

Yes. In natural English, that is often the best translation.

Italian says:

• sul telefono = on the phone

But English often prefers:

• on my phone

Even though mio is not explicitly present in the Italian sentence, it is often understood from context.

That is very common in Italian.

Because prima di uscire is an introductory phrase at the beginning of the sentence.

The comma helps separate:

• the time-setting phrase: Prima di uscire
• the main action: controllo il saldo del conto sul telefono

This is similar to English:

• Before going out, I check the balance on my phone.

In short sentences, punctuation can sometimes vary a little, but the comma here is perfectly natural and helpful.

Yes, you might see it without the comma, especially in informal writing. But with the comma, the sentence is clearer and more polished.

So:

• Prima di uscire, controllo il saldo del conto sul telefono.
  is the safer and more standard choice.

Yes. Uscire can mean:

• to go out
• to leave
• to head out

The exact nuance depends on context.

In this sentence, prima di uscire most likely means:

• before going out or
• before leaving

If the person is at home checking their bank balance before stepping out, both ideas fit well.

Both are possible.

Controllo il saldo del conto is clear and correct, and it sounds natural.

But in everyday speech, people may shorten it depending on context:

• controllo il saldo = I check the balance
• controllo il conto = I check the account

If it is obvious that you are talking about banking, shorter versions are very common. The full version simply makes the meaning especially explicit.

All three are possible, but they are slightly different:

• telefono = phone
• cellulare = mobile phone / cell phone
• smartphone = smartphone

In modern usage, if you mean a mobile device, many speakers might naturally say:

• sul cellulare
• sullo smartphone

But sul telefono is still understandable and perfectly acceptable, especially if the exact type of phone is not important.