Questions & Answers about Lei non parla inglese.
Why does the verb end in -a here, as in parla?
Parla comes from the regular -are verb parlare (to speak). Because the subject is Lei (she), you drop the -are ending and add the third-person singular ending, which is -a. If the subject were "I", it would be parlo. Where did the word "does" go? The English translation says "does not speak".
Italian doesn't use helper words like "does" or "do" for negative sentences. To say "does not speak", you simply put non directly in front of the verb. It translates literally as "She not speaks". Why isn't inglese capitalized?
In Italian, the names of languages and nationalities like inglese or italiano are not capitalized unless they are the very first word of a sentence. Could this sentence also mean "You do not speak English"?
Yes! Because Lei is also the formal word for "you", this exact sentence could mean "You do not speak English" if you were speaking formally to a stranger, a boss, or a doctor. You would know which meaning is intended based on the context. Learn Lei non parla inglese and more in Italian
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