Ho chiesto al commesso se esiste uno sconto per studenti.

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Breakdown of Ho chiesto al commesso se esiste uno sconto per studenti.

• per: for
• se: if
• chiedere: to ask

Questions & Answers about Ho chiesto al commesso se esiste uno sconto per studenti.

Why is the past participle chiesto used in Ho chiesto?

The verb chiedere is irregular; its past participle is chiesto rather than chieduto.

Why is the preposition a combined with il in al commesso?

In Italian a + il contracts to al. Since commesso is masculine singular, you say al commesso.

What does se do in se esiste uno sconto?

Here se introduces an indirect yes/no question, equivalent to English “if” or “whether.”

Why is the verb esiste in the present tense?

You use the present tense to ask about something that currently exists. If you wanted to talk about a past situation, you might say c’era uno sconto.

Why is the indefinite article uno used before sconto?

Sconto is a masculine noun beginning with s + consonant, so the correct singular article is uno.