Learn Hardcore Italian: La bambina è curiosa e fa molte domande al barista. - The little girl is curious and asks the bartender many questions.

è (with a grave accent) means is — it’s the 3rd-person singular of essere. e (no accent) means and. They’re pronounced differently and are not interchangeable.

Why is it curiosa and not curioso?

Adjectives agree with the noun they describe. Bambina is feminine singular, so the adjective is curiosa. With a boy it would be Il bambino è curioso; with several girls, Le bambine sono curiose.

Why use fa molte domande instead of chiede molte domande?

Italian uses the idiom fare domande (to ask questions). Chiedere domande is incorrect. You can use chiedere with a specific thing: chiede un’informazione al barista or with a clause: gli chiede se può aiutare.

Why is there no article before molte domande?

Quantifiers like molti/molte, tanti/tante, parecchi/parecchie replace the plural indefinite article. So fa molte domande is correct. You could say fa delle domande (some questions), but molte already expresses quantity.

Why molte and not molti?

Because domande is feminine plural (singular: domanda). The quantifier must agree in gender and number: molte domande. For a masculine plural noun you’d say, for example, molti libri.

What does al stand for, and why not a il or allo?

al is the contraction of a + il. You use il (not lo) with words like barista that start with a regular consonant such as b. allo (a + lo) is for words beginning with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, etc., e.g., allo studente, allo zio.

Could it be alla barista?

Yes, if the bartender is female: alla barista. Barista is one of those -ista nouns that work for both genders: il barista / la barista; plurals: i baristi / le bariste.

Why the definite article in al barista instead of a un barista?

The definite article points to a specific, contextually known person (the bartender in that café). A un barista means to a bartender (any bartender) and sounds less specific.

Is barista the same as cameriere or barman?

Not exactly. Barista is the person behind the counter in an Italian bar/café. Cameriere/a is a waiter/waitress serving tables. Barman (or barwoman) is an English loanword often used for cocktail bartenders; in everyday Italian, barista covers most cases.

Could I say La bambina sta facendo molte domande al barista?

Yes. The progressive sta facendo emphasizes that the action is ongoing right now. The simple present fa is more neutral and very common for present-time actions.

Can I drop the article and say Bambina è curiosa?

No. With a common noun as subject, Italian normally requires the article: La bambina è curiosa. Omitting it sounds like a headline or a label, not a normal sentence.

Why is curiosa placed after è rather than before bambina?

Here curiosa is a predicate adjective after the verb essere: X è Y. If you use an attributive adjective directly with the noun, it typically follows the noun: una bambina curiosa.

Can I change the word order to La bambina è curiosa e al barista fa molte domande?

Yes. Italian allows reordering for emphasis. Fronting al barista emphasizes who receives the questions; the original order is the neutral default.

How would it change for a boy or for multiple children?

Boy: Il bambino è curioso e fa molte domande al barista.
Several girls: Le bambine sono curiose e fanno molte domande al barista.
Several boys/mixed: I bambini sono curiosi e fanno molte domande al barista.

How can I replace al barista with a pronoun?

Use indirect-object clitics: Gli fa molte domande (to him), Le fa molte domande (to her). Note that in colloquial speech many Italians use gli for both genders, but standard usage distinguishes gli (to him) and le (to her).

Is fa ever written with an accent or an apostrophe?

No accent in the indicative: fa is correct here. Fa’ (with apostrophe) is the truncated imperative of fare for tu (e.g., Fa’ attenzione!). Fà with an accent is wrong.

What’s the difference between molto as an adjective and as an adverb, and which is used here?

As an adjective it agrees with the noun: molto/molta/molti/molte (here: molte domande). As an adverb it’s invariable: è molto curiosa, parla molto. In this sentence it’s the adjective use.

Can I use ed instead of e here?

No. Ed is an euphonic variant typically used before words starting with e (e.g., ed era). Before fa there’s no need; keep e.

Are there more formal alternatives to fare domande?

Yes: porre molte domande and rivolgere molte domande are more formal. Interrogare means to question/interrogate and is stronger, often implying authority or intensity.

What’s the difference between domanda, quesito, and questione?

Domanda: a question you ask someone.
Quesito: a formulated problem/question, often technical or exam-like.
Questione: an issue or matter to discuss, not literally a question.