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Breakdown of Ho chiesto al commesso se esiste uno sconto per studenti.
io
I
per
for
se
if
chiedere
to ask
lo studente
the student
lo sconto
the discount
al
to
esistere
to exist
uno
a
il commesso
the salesman
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.
Why is there no article before studenti in per studenti?
When referring to a general category (“for students in general”), Italian often omits the article. Per gli studenti would mean “for the students” (a specific group).
Why isn’t it che esiste instead of se esiste?
Che introduces factual or declarative clauses (“I know that…”), whereas se is used for indirect yes/no questions (“if/whether”).
Could you reorder the sentence to Ho chiesto se esiste uno sconto per studenti al commesso?
No. In Italian the indirect question (se esiste…) normally follows the main verb and its indirect object (al commesso). Placing al commesso at the end sounds awkward and is unidiomatic.
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