Breakdown of Abbiamo appena telefonato al medico.
il medico
the doctor
avere
to have
a
to / at
telefonare
to telephone
Questions & Answers about Abbiamo appena telefonato al medico.
Why is it al medico and not just il medico?
In Italian, the verb telefonare (to call on the phone) is always followed by the preposition a (to). You are literally saying 'We have just telephoned to the doctor.' When you combine a with the masculine word for 'the' (il), they merge to form al.
Where does the word appena (just) go in a past tense sentence?
In the past tense, short adverbs like appena usually go right between the helper verb (abbiamo) and the past participle (telefonato). The word order matches English perfectly here: 'have' (abbiamo) + 'just' (appena) + 'called' (telefonato).
How did we form the past participle telefonato?
To form the regular past participle for a verb ending in -are like telefonare, you drop the -are ending and add -ato. Since this verb uses avere (to have) as its helper verb, the ending stays as -o and does not change to match who is speaking.
Could I use dottore instead of medico?
Yes! Medico specifically means a medical doctor or physician. Dottore is also widely used for medical doctors, though it is technically a general title for anyone with a university degree. In everyday conversation, both work perfectly for this sentence.