Learn Italian: Come scrivi esattamente questa parola? - How exactly do you write this word?

Come scrivi esattamente questa parola?

How exactly do you write this word?

Breakdown of Come scrivi esattamente questa parola?

Questions & Answers about Come scrivi esattamente questa parola?

Why do we use come here, and does it always mean 'how'?

In this lesson's context, come means 'how' and is placed at the beginning of the question just like in English. You have probably seen it before in phrases like Come stai? (How are you?).

Where is the word for 'do' or 'you' in this sentence?

Italian doesn't use helper words like 'do' to make questions; you just use the main verb! Also, the 'you' is already built into the ending of the verb scrivi (you write). You don't need to add the pronoun tu unless you want to add special emphasis.

Why is esattamente placed right after the verb instead of next to 'how'?

In English we often say 'How exactly do you write...'. But in Italian, adverbs (words that describe an action, often ending in -mente) usually go immediately after the verb they modify. So the natural order here is scrivi esattamente.

Why is it questa parola and not questo parola?

Parola (word) is a feminine noun, which you can usually guess from its -a ending. In Italian, words like 'this' or 'that' must match the gender of the noun they describe, so 'this' becomes the feminine singular questa.