Il medico controlla il cervello.

The doctor checks the brain.

Breakdown of Il medico controlla il cervello.

• controllare: to check
• il medico: the doctor
• il cervello: the brain

Questions & Answers about Il medico controlla il cervello.

Why is il used before both medico and cervello?

Because Italian normally uses articles with singular count nouns. So:

• il medico = the doctor
• il cervello = the brain

English sometimes leaves articles out in places where Italian does not, but in a simple sentence like this, the articles are expected.

Why is it il and not lo?

Il is the normal masculine singular definite article before most consonants.

So you get:

• il medico
• il cervello

Italian uses lo only before certain sounds, such as:

• z → lo zio
• s
  • consonant → lo studente
• gn → lo gnomo
• ps → lo psicologo
• x → lo xilofono

Since medico and cervello do not begin with those special sounds, il is correct.

Why is there no word for he before controlla?