Il mio amico non è qui.

to be

Breakdown of Il mio amico non è qui.

• qui: here
• l'amico: the friend
• mio: my
• non: not

Questions & Answers about Il mio amico non è qui.

Why do we say il mio amico instead of just mio amico?

In Italian, possessive adjectives (mio, tuo, etc.) typically need the definite article (like il, la) in front of them when referring to people or things, unless you’re talking about close family members in the singular form (e.g. mia madre, mio padre). So we say il mio amico for my friend.

Why is it spelled è with an accent rather than e without an accent?

È with a grave accent (è) is the third-person singular form of the verb essere (to be) and means is. E without an accent is the conjunction meaning and. So non è qui translates to is not here, while non e qui would be incorrect.

What is the function of non in the sentence?

Non negates the verb. Placing non before è (the verb to be) makes the sentence negative. So Il mio amico è qui means My friend is here, while Il mio amico non è qui means My friend is not here.

What’s the difference between qui and qua?

Both qui and qua mean here in Italian, and they’re often interchangeable. Generally, qui is more precise (like saying right here), and qua is slightly more approximate (like saying around here), but in normal conversation you can use either in this sentence without changing the meaning much.

Can I change the word order and say Non è qui il mio amico?

Changing the word order to Non è qui il mio amico is grammatically possible, but it sounds unusual or more poetic. Normally, Italian places the subject at the beginning, so Il mio amico non è qui is the most natural way to say it.