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Breakdown of Al check-in chiedono che ogni passeggero mostri il proprio passaporto e la conferma della prenotazione.
di
of
e
and
che
that
il passeggero
the passenger
la prenotazione
the reservation
chiedere
to ask
al
at
mostrare
to show
loro
they
ogni
each
il passaporto
the passport
la conferma
the confirmation
il check-in
the check-in
il proprio
their own
Questions & Answers about Al check-in chiedono che ogni passeggero mostri il proprio passaporto e la conferma della prenotazione.
Why is al used before check-in?
In Italian, when you refer to an action or place with an English loanword like check-in, you still need the preposition + article. Al is the contraction of a (to/at) + il (the) because check-in is treated as a masculine singular noun. So al check-in means “at the check-in desk.”
Who is doing the asking in chiedono, and why is it 3rd person plural?
Chiedono comes from chiedere (to ask/require). The subject is implicit—here it’s the check-in staff or airline agents (“they”). Italian often drops the pronoun when you know who “they” are. So chiedono = “they ask/require.”
Why does the sentence use che + mostri instead of an infinitive or the indicative?
After chiedere meaning “to ask/require that someone do something,” Italian uses che + the subjunctive. That’s why we have the present subjunctive mostri (from mostrare) instead of the indicative mostra or the infinitive mostrare.
Could we rephrase it with chiedono di mostrare? If so, does the meaning change?
Yes. You can say Al check-in chiedono di mostrare il passaporto… Here chiedere di + infinitive is also correct and common. The nuance is slight: chiedono che… mostri emphasizes the obligation as a full clause; chiedono di mostrare sounds a bit more procedural, but the practical meaning is the same.
Why is ogni passeggero used instead of tutti i passeggeri?
Ogni passeggero means “each passenger,” stressing that the rule applies individually. Tutti i passeggeri (“all the passengers”) is also correct, but it’s more collective and could sound like a blanket statement rather than focusing on each person.
Why do we say il proprio passaporto and not il suo passaporto?
Proprio is a reflexive possessive adjective: it always refers back to the subject of the clause. Here the subject of mostri is ogni passeggero, so il proprio passaporto clearly means “each passenger’s own passport.” If you said il suo passaporto, it could ambiguously refer to someone else (e.g. the check-in staff).
Why is there a definite article before proprio passaporto and conferma?
In Italian, possessive adjectives (mio, tuo, proprio, etc.) are normally preceded by the definite article: il mio libro, la tua casa, il proprio passaporto. Similarly, la conferma needs la because it’s a feminine singular noun.
What’s the deal with della prenotazione?
Della is the contraction of di (of) + la (the). Conferma della prenotazione literally means “confirmation of the booking.” You need della to link conferma to prenotazione and show possession/association.
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