La candidata controlla il suo curriculum prima del colloquio.

Because candidata is the feminine singular form, while candidato is the masculine singular form.

• la candidata = the female candidate
• il candidato = the male candidate

The sentence uses la candidata, so we know the person being talked about is female.

In Italian, nouns usually need an article much more often than in English.

Here, la candidata means the candidate, referring to a specific candidate. Italian normally does not drop the article in this kind of sentence.

So:

• La candidata controlla... = The candidate checks...

If you removed la, the sentence would sound incomplete in standard Italian.

Controlla is the present indicative, third person singular, of the verb controllare.

That means it can translate as:

• she checks
• he checks
• it checks

In this sentence, because the subject is la candidata, it means she checks.

Not usually in this context. This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers.

Here, controllare means:

• to check
• to look over
• to inspect
• to review

So La candidata controlla il suo curriculum means the candidate is checking/reviewing her résumé, not controlling it.

If you want to control in the sense of to dominate / to be in charge of, Italian often uses controllare in some contexts, but very often also verbs like gestire or phrases depending on the situation. So it is not always a direct one-to-one match.

Because Italian usually uses a definite article with possessive adjectives.

So:

• il suo curriculum = her résumé / his résumé
• literally: the her/his résumé

This is normal Italian structure.

Compare:

• il mio libro = my book
• la tua macchina = your car
• i suoi documenti = his/her documents

A common exception is with many singular family members:

• mia madre
• tuo fratello

But curriculum is not a family noun, so the article stays: il suo curriculum.

It agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner.

Here, curriculum is:

• masculine
• singular

So the possessive must also be masculine singular:

• il suo curriculum

This does not tell you whether the owner is male or female. Suo can mean:

• his
• her
• sometimes its
• sometimes your (formal Lei)

In this sentence, since the subject is la candidata, we understand it as her résumé.

In Italian, curriculum is treated as a masculine noun, so it takes:

• il curriculum
• un curriculum

This is a borrowing from Latin, and in everyday Italian it often means résumé / CV.

You will also often hear:

• curriculum vitae
• or just curriculum for short

Yes. In everyday Italian, curriculum is very commonly used by itself to mean CV / résumé.

So all of these are possible:

• Mandami il curriculum. = Send me your CV.
• Ho aggiornato il curriculum. = I updated my résumé.

You may also see or hear CV, especially in business contexts.

Because prima here is followed by di when it means before something.

The basic structure is:

• prima di + noun

When di combines with the masculine singular article il, it becomes:

• di + il = del

So:

• prima di il colloquio → prima del colloquio

This means:

• before the interview

Colloquio often means interview, especially in work-related contexts.

So here:

• il colloquio = the interview
• very likely the job interview

More literally, colloquio can also mean a talk, conversation, or meeting, but in a sentence with candidate and curriculum, the job-interview meaning is the natural one.

Yes, Italian word order is flexible, though the original sentence is the most neutral.

Original:

• La candidata controlla il suo curriculum prima del colloquio.

You could also say:

• Prima del colloquio, la candidata controlla il suo curriculum.

This puts a bit more focus on the time expression before the interview.

Both are correct. The first one is just a straightforward, neutral way to say it.

Yes, in isolation suo can be ambiguous, because it can mean his, her, or formal your.

But in this sentence, the subject is la candidata, so the normal interpretation is:

• her résumé

If there were multiple people in the context, Italian speakers might sometimes clarify by using a phrase like:

• il curriculum di lei
• il curriculum della candidata

But in ordinary sentences, context usually makes the meaning clear.

Only the parts that agree with the subject would change.

You would say:

• Il candidato controlla il suo curriculum prima del colloquio.

Changes:

• la candidata → il candidato

Everything else stays the same, because:

• controlla is still third person singular
• curriculum is still masculine singular
• suo still agrees with curriculum, not with the candidate