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L'attrice dimentica di dire la battuta.

L'attrice dimentica di dire la battuta.
The actress forgets to say the line.
From Lesson 149:Linking verbs with 'di' (di + infinitive)·Italian

Questions & Answers about L'attrice dimentica di dire la battuta.

Why do we need the word di before dire?
In English, you say that someone forgets to do something. In Italian, when certain verbs are followed by an action (an infinitive verb like dire), they require a specific linking preposition. Dimenticare (to forget) is one of those verbs that always requires di before the infinitive verb that follows it.
Does la battuta mean a drawn line, like on a piece of paper?
No, a physical line on paper or a drawn line is la linea. La battuta specifically refers to a spoken line in a play, movie, or performance. In everyday Italian conversation, una battuta is also the most common way to say a joke, a punchline, or a witty remark.
Is attrice the general word for any actor?
No, attrice specifically means actress (feminine). The masculine form for a male actor is attore. Because attrice starts with a vowel, the feminine word for the (la) drops its vowel and becomes l' to make it easier to say quickly: l'attrice.
I remember verbs ending in -care sometimes need an added h. Why doesn't dimentica have one?
Verbs ending in -care like dimenticare only add an h when the grammatical ending starts with an i or an e. This is done to keep the hard k sound (for example, in the you form: tu dimentichi). Here, the subject is l'attrice (she), so it takes the regular -a ending. Since c followed by a already makes a hard k sound, no h is needed!

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