Breakdown of L'istruttore mi ha insegnato a frenare prima di accelerare.
mi
to me
insegnare
to teach
prima di
before (doing something) / before (a noun / point in time)
l'istruttore
the instructor (m)
Questions & Answers about L'istruttore mi ha insegnato a frenare prima di accelerare.
Why is there an a between insegnato and frenare?
In Italian, certain verbs require a specific preposition when they are followed by an infinitive verb. The verb insegnare (to teach) requires the preposition a. Therefore, "taught me to brake" is mi ha insegnato a frenare.
The English translation uses the "-ing" form ("accelerating"). Why does Italian use the infinitive accelerare instead of the gerund accelerando?
In Italian, any verb that immediately follows a preposition must be in the infinitive form. The phrase prima di (before) contains the preposition di, so it must be followed by accelerare, even though English uses the "-ing" form.
Is the mi in this sentence a direct or indirect object pronoun?
It is an indirect object pronoun, meaning "to me". The Italian structure is insegnare qualcosa a qualcuno (to teach something to someone). The instructor taught the action of braking (direct object) to you (indirect object).