Questions & Answers about Besucht er uns in Italien?
Why do we use in instead of nach for 'in Italy'?
The word nach is used for movement or direction towards a country (answering Wohin? or 'Where to?'). Since the visiting happens while you are already situated in Italy, this describes a fixed location (answering Wo? or 'Where?'). Therefore, we use in.
I learned in can take different cases. What case is Italien here?
Because it answers the locational question Wo? (Where?), it triggers the dative case. However, most countries in German (including Italien) are neuter and do not normally use 'the', so you don't actually see a dative article like dem here.
Why is it uns rather than wir?
The word uns means 'us'. It is the accusative (direct object) form of wir (we). The verb besuchen (to visit) always requires the accusative case to show who is receiving the action of being visited.
Why doesn't the German sentence use a helping verb like 'Is' or 'Does'?
German doesn't use helping verbs to form questions. While English says 'Is he visiting...?' or 'Does he visit...?', German simply swaps the subject and the verb. Er besucht (He visits) becomes Besucht er? (Visits he?).
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