Learn Italian: Apri la finestra? - Are you opening the window?

Apri la finestra?

Are you opening the window?

Breakdown of Apri la finestra?

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Questions & Answers about Apri la finestra?

How do I make the 'you' form for regular verbs like aprire?

Aprire (to open) is a regular verb ending in -ire. To make the tu (you) form, drop the -ire ending to get the stem apr-, and add the ending -i. That gives us apri (you open).

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

In Italian, the subject pronoun tu (you) is usually dropped because the verb ending (-i in apri) already tells us exactly who is doing the action. You could say Tu apri la finestra? but it is much more natural to just ask Apri la finestra?.

Why isn't there a word for 'Are' or 'Do' at the beginning of the question?

Italian does not use helper words like 'do' or 'are' to ask questions. You simply take the normal statement Apri la finestra (You are opening the window) and raise your voice at the end to ask 'Are you opening the window?'.

How do we know to use la instead of il before finestra?

The word finestra (window) ends in -a, which usually tells us it is a feminine singular noun. Because it is feminine, it needs the feminine singular word for 'the', which is la.