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Perché i bambini hanno sempre fame?

Perché i bambini hanno sempre fame?
Why are the children always hungry?
From Lesson 33:Question words (quando, come, perché)·Italian

Breakdown of Perché i bambini hanno sempre fame?

il bambino
the child
sempre
always
perché
because, why
avere fame
to be hungry

Questions & Answers about Perché i bambini hanno sempre fame?

Does perché mean both "why" and "because"?
Yes! In Italian, perché is used both to ask a question ("why") and to give the reason ("because"). You can easily tell which one it is by the context of the sentence and the question mark.
Why does the Italian sentence use hanno (have) instead of a word for "are"?
In English, we say we are hungry, using the verb "to be". But in Italian, you express this by saying you have hunger. You use the verb avere (to have) followed by the noun fame (hunger). So hanno fame literally translates to "they have hunger."
Why is sempre placed right in the middle of hanno and fame?
In Italian, adverbs of time like sempre (always) usually go immediately after the verb. Because "to be hungry" is made of a verb (hanno) and a noun (fame), the adverb steps right between them.
What does the accent mark on Perché tell us?
The accent mark on the é tells you to put the spoken stress on that final syllable (per-KAY). It also indicates that the letter "e" is pronounced with a closed sound.

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