Learn Italian: I bambini sono pronti? - Are the children ready?

In Italian, making a noun plural usually means changing its last letter, not adding an 's'. The singular bambino (child or boy) changes its ending from -o to -i to become bambini. Because the noun is now plural, the word for 'the' must change too! The singular masculine il becomes i.

Does i bambini mean 'the boys' or 'the children'?

It can mean both! In Italian, a mixed group of boys and girls is always referred to using the masculine plural. So i bambini is used for 'the boys' or 'the children' in general. You only use the feminine plural le bambine if the group is entirely girls.

Why does the word for ready (pronti) also end in an -i?

Adjectives (describing words) must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Since bambini is masculine and plural, the adjective pronto also changes its ending from -o to -i to become pronti.

Why is the word order the same as a regular statement?

In English, we swap words to ask a question ('The children are ready' becomes 'Are the children ready?'). In spoken Italian, you can keep the exact same word order as a normal sentence and just make your voice go up at the end. In writing, simply adding a question mark does the job!