Log inSign up

Quando arriva esattamente l'autobus?

Quando arriva esattamente l'autobus?
When exactly does the bus arrive?
From Lesson 33:Question words (quando, come, perché)·Italian

Breakdown of Quando arriva esattamente l'autobus?

quando
when
l'autobus
the bus (m)
arrivare
to arrive
esattamente
exactly

Questions & Answers about Quando arriva esattamente l'autobus?

Does the word quando ever change its ending?
No. Quando is a question word meaning "when". Unlike nouns and adjectives in Italian, interrogative words like quando, come, and perché never change their endings to match gender or number.
Where is the word for "does" in this sentence?
Italian doesn't use helper words like "do" or "does" to ask questions. You simply use the main verb. So, quando arriva directly translates to "when arrives", which is how Italians say "when does it arrive".
Why is the subject l'autobus at the very end of the sentence?
In Italian questions, it is very common to move the subject to the end of the sentence. Putting l'autobus at the end sounds much more natural than putting it in the middle, especially with verbs of motion like arrivare.
What does the -mente ending on esattamente mean?
The ending -mente is used to turn adjectives into adverbs in Italian. It works just like the "-ly" ending in English. Here, the feminine adjective esatta (exact) becomes esattamente (exactly).
Why is it l'autobus instead of il autobus?
Because autobus starts with a vowel, you must use the masculine article lo instead of il. Whenever lo comes right before a vowel, it drops its letter o and attaches to the noun with an apostrophe, becoming l'.

Learn Quando arriva esattamente l'autobus and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →