Learn Italian: Quando finisce la lezione? - When does the lesson finish?

Quando finisce la lezione?

When does the lesson finish?

Breakdown of Quando finisce la lezione?

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Questions & Answers about Quando finisce la lezione?

Why does the verb finire become finisce here instead of just taking a normal ending?

finire (to finish) belongs to a special group of -ire verbs that need the extra letters -isc- inserted before the ending. You do this for the I, you, he/she/it, and they forms. Since la lezione (the lesson) is a singular 'it', we take the stem fin-, add -isc-, and then the regular he/she/it ending -e, giving us finisce.

How is the -sce part of finisce pronounced?

In Italian, sc followed by e or i makes a 'sh' sound. So finisce is pronounced 'fee-NEE-sheh'.

The word lezione ends in -e. Does that mean it is plural?

No, lezione is singular here. While feminine plural words often end in -e, there is a large group of singular Italian words that also end in -e. A great trick to remember: Italian words ending in -zione are almost always feminine singular, which is why it takes the feminine singular article la.

Why is la lezione at the very end of the sentence? Shouldn't it be 'Quando la lezione finisce'?