Breakdown of Signora, attenda al secondo sportello.
la signora
lady, madam, Mrs.
a
to / at
secondo
second
attendere
to wait (formal)
lo sportello
the counter, the desk
Questions & Answers about Signora, attenda al secondo sportello.
Why does the verb end in "-a" (attenda) if it is an "-ere" verb?
Because this is the formal imperative (a polite command) used when addressing someone as Lei. For -ere and -ire verbs, the polite command form ends in -a. This can be tricky because in the normal present tense, the formal Lei form ends in -e (like Lei attende meaning "you wait").
Is attendere related to the English word "attend"?
No, it is a "false friend"! Attendere is a slightly more formal way to say "to wait", similar to aspettare. If you want to say "to attend" an event or a class, you would use verbs like partecipare or frequentare.
The word sportello starts with "s" plus a consonant, so it usually takes the article lo. Why does the sentence use al (a + il) instead of allo (a + lo)?
You are right that by itself it is lo sportello. However, the definite article always matches the word directly following it. Here, the word right after the article is the adjective secondo. Since secondo starts with a single consonant sound, it takes the standard article il. Therefore, the preposition a combines with il to make al.
Where would you normally hear the word sportello?
You will hear sportello in places like a bank, a post office, or a train station. It refers to the service counter, teller window, or ticket booth where a customer is served.
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