Breakdown of Prendo appunti mentre il professore parla.
parlare
to speak / to talk
il professore
the professor
mentre
while
prendere appunti
to take notes
Questions & Answers about Prendo appunti mentre il professore parla.
Since this lesson is about the gerund, why isn't a gerund used here instead of mentre ... parla?
In Italian, you can usually only use a gerund to mean 'while doing something' if both actions share the same subject. Here, the subjects are different: you are taking notes, but the professor is speaking. Because of this, you have to use a conjunction like mentre (while) followed by a normally conjugated verb (parla).
How would I rewrite this using a gerund if I was the one doing both actions?
Why doesn't appunti have an article like gli in front of it?
Prendere appunti is a set phrase meaning 'to take notes.' Just like in English, you don't need a definite article here because you are talking about the general activity of taking notes, not referring to specific notes you've already written.