Learn Italian: Quest'uomo è qui.

Quest'uomo è qui.

This man is here.

Breakdown of Quest'uomo è qui.

Questions & Answers about Quest'uomo è qui.

Why is it quest' instead of questo?

Because uomo starts with a vowel. When the masculine singular word questo (this) comes directly before a noun starting with a vowel, the final -o is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. This makes it easier to pronounce smoothly.

Would this apostrophe rule happen if the word were feminine, like questa?

Yes! For feminine words starting with a vowel, the -a in questa is also dropped. For example, questa plus isola (island) becomes quest'isola.

Why does è have an accent mark over it?

The accent mark shows that è is the verb meaning is. Without the accent, e means and. It is a tiny mark, but it completely changes the meaning of the word in Italian!

If I just want to say This is here, without the word man, do I still use an apostrophe?

No, if you drop uomo and just want to say This is here, you would write Questo è qui. When questo stands alone as a pronoun instead of describing a noun right next to it, it generally keeps its final vowel in writing.