Learn Italian: Parli italiano con Marco? - Do you speak Italian with Marco?

Parli italiano con Marco?

Do you speak Italian with Marco?

Breakdown of Parli italiano con Marco?

Questions & Answers about Parli italiano con Marco?

Why is there no word for "do" or "you" at the beginning of the sentence?

In Italian, you don't need a helper word like "do" to make a question, and subject pronouns like tu (you) are usually dropped. The -i ending on the verb parli already tells us it means "you speak". To make it a question, you just raise your voice at the end.

How do I know parli comes from an -are verb?

Parli comes from the regular verb parlare (to speak). For all regular verbs, the "you" (singular) form always ends in -i, no matter if the verb ends in -are, -ere, or -ire in its dictionary form.

Why isn't the word italiano capitalized like it is in English?

Languages and nationalities are not capitalized in Italian unless they appear at the very beginning of a sentence.

I have seen languages use a word for "the" before them, like l'italiano. Why is it missing here?

When you use the verb parlare (to speak) directly followed by a language, it is common and natural to drop the definite article. You just say parli italiano instead of parli l'italiano.