Il gallo canta all’alba.

In Italian, it is very common to use the definite article with nouns, even in cases where English might not. Il gallo means the rooster, and here it refers to the rooster as a normal, identifiable subject in the sentence.

Italian often sounds more natural with the article:

• Il cane dorme. = The dog is sleeping.
• La maestra parla. = The teacher speaks / is speaking.

Without il, gallo would usually sound less complete in this kind of basic statement.

Yes. Gallo is a masculine singular noun.

That is why it takes the masculine singular article il:

• il gallo = the rooster

Its feminine form is:

• la gallina = the hen

So this sentence uses a masculine singular subject, and the rest of the sentence matches that.

Cantare is the infinitive form, meaning to sing. In a sentence with a subject, Italian normally uses a conjugated verb.

Here, the subject is il gallo, which is third person singular, so cantare becomes:

• canta = sings / is singing

This is the present tense conjugation:

• io canto
• tu canti
• lui/lei canta
• noi cantiamo
• voi cantate
• loro cantano

So Il gallo canta means The rooster sings / crows.

In Italian, the present tense often covers both meanings:

• he sings
• he is singing

So Il gallo canta could mean either:

• The rooster sings
• The rooster is singing

The exact meaning depends on context. Italian does have a progressive form, like sta cantando, but the simple present is used much more broadly than in English.

All’alba is a contraction of:

• a = at / to
• l’ = the
• alba = dawn

So:

• a + l’alba = all’alba

This means at dawn.

The doubled l appears because a combines with the feminine singular article la, which becomes l’ before a vowel:

• la alba is not used
• it becomes l’alba
• then a + l’alba = all’alba

Because Italian usually combines certain prepositions with definite articles into one word. These are called contracted prepositions.

Here:

• a + la = alla
• before a vowel, la alba becomes l’alba
• so a + l’alba becomes all’alba

This kind of contraction is very common:

• a + il = al
• a + lo = allo
• a + la = alla
• a + l’ = all’

So all’alba is the normal and correct form.

The apostrophe appears because alba begins with a vowel, and the article la becomes l’ before a vowel.

So:

• la alba becomes l’alba

Then with the preposition:

• a + l’alba = all’alba

The apostrophe marks the missing a from la.

In this expression, Italian uses the article as part of a fixed time phrase:

• all’alba = at dawn

This is very natural Italian. English says at dawn without an article, but Italian commonly says at the dawn structurally, even though the natural English translation is just at dawn.

Similar time expressions include:

• al mattino = in the morning
• alla sera = in the evening
• alla fine = in the end

So the article is part of how Italian builds the phrase.

The normal word order is:

• Il gallo = subject
• canta = verb
• all’alba = time expression

So the sentence follows a very standard pattern: subject + verb + time phrase

Italian word order is often flexible, but this version is the most neutral and natural for a simple statement.

You could move the time phrase for emphasis:

• All’alba il gallo canta.

That sounds more marked or literary, with extra emphasis on at dawn.

A helpful approximate pronunciation is:

• all’ sounds like ahl-l
• alba sounds roughly like AHL-bah

So the whole phrase is approximately:

• ahl-LAHL-bah

A few useful points:

• the ll is clearly pronounced
• alba has the stress on the first syllable: AL-ba
• the apostrophe does not create a pause; it links the words smoothly

Not always literally. Cantare usually means to sing, but with animals, especially a rooster, it is also used naturally for the sound it makes.

So in context:

• Il gallo canta is the normal Italian way to say that the rooster crows.

This is a good example of where the Italian verb is broader than the most natural English translation.

Yes. That would mean:

• The rooster crows at dawn every day.

It is a natural extension of the sentence. You are just adding ogni giorno = every day.

This shows that Il gallo canta all’alba can describe either:

• a general habit, or
• a present event

Context tells you which one is meant.