Breakdown of Signora, quando arriva in albergo?
l'albergo
the hotel (m)
in
in / made of (material)
quando
when
la signora
lady, madam, Mrs.
arrivare
to arrive
Questions & Answers about Signora, quando arriva in albergo?
Why is there no word for 'do' after quando?
The translation says 'do you arrive', but isn't arriva the form for 'he' or 'she'?
Yes, it is! But here it is being used as the formal 'you'. Because the speaker is talking politely to a Signora (Madam), they use the formal Lei form. This polite form uses the exact same verb endings as 'he' and 'she'.
Why doesn't the sentence include the word Lei (you) if it is formal?
In Italian, you usually leave out subject pronouns because the verb makes it clear. Even in formal speech, you can leave out Lei unless you really need to emphasize who you are talking to.
Why do we say in albergo instead of using a word for 'to' or adding 'the'?
For certain places, Italian uses the preposition in with no article (the word for 'the'). You just have to memorize these common phrases, like in albergo (to/at the hotel), in banca (to/at the bank), and in farmacia (to/at the pharmacy).
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