Breakdown of Il bambino tira la palla contro l'albero.
l'albero
the tree (m)
il bambino
the child
la palla
the ball
tirare
to shoot / to roll (dice)
Questions & Answers about Il bambino tira la palla contro l'albero.
Wait, I thought this lesson was about commands. Is tira a command here?
I thought tirare meant "to pull". Why does it mean "throws" here?
Tirare is a very versatile verb. While its primary meaning is indeed "to pull", in the context of sports and games it usually means to throw, shoot, or kick a ball. You will often hear it used in soccer for taking a shot at the goal!
Why is it contro l'albero instead of combining the preposition and article into one word?
Unlike prepositions such as a, di, or in, the word contro (against) does not combine with the definite article to make a single merged word. You just leave them separate as contro il, contro la, or contro l', which makes it very easy to use!