Learn Italian: L'aereo scende e infine atterra. - The plane descends and finally lands.

They look similar and are both adverbs used to connect ideas, but they have different meanings. Infine means "finally" or "in the end," showing a sequence of events. Infatti means "indeed" or "in fact," confirming a previous statement. Since this sentence describes a physical sequence of descending and then landing, we use infine.

Could I use finalmente instead of infine here?

Yes, but it changes the tone. Infine is a neutral way to say "lastly" or "in the end," marking the final step in a sequence. Finalmente usually implies relief or strong anticipation, like saying "At last, the plane is landing!"

How is the verb atterra constructed? Is it related to the Italian word for earth?

Exactly! It comes from the noun terra (earth, ground, or land). By adding the prefix a- and the verb ending -are, Italian creates the verb atterrare which literally means "to return to the ground."

What is the infinitive of scende, and which auxiliary verb does it take in the past tense?