Learn Italian: Quando venite a teatro? - When are you coming to the theater?

Quando venite a teatro?

When are you coming to the theater?

Breakdown of Quando venite a teatro?

Questions & Answers about Quando venite a teatro?

Why does this sentence use venite instead of another form of venire?

Venite is the voi (plural "you") form of the irregular verb venire (to come). Because the verb ending makes it clear who is doing the action, the pronoun voi is dropped. The speaker is asking a group of people, "When are you all coming?"

In English we say "to the theater", so why is it just a teatro instead of al teatro?

With certain common destinations, Italian drops the definite article (the "the" part). Just like we say "go to school" in English rather than "go to the school", Italians say a teatro, a scuola (to school), and a casa (home) after verbs of motion like venire (to come) or andare (to go).

How does Italian form the "are you" part of "When are you coming"?

Italian doesn't use helper verbs like "are" or "do" for questions. The single word venite covers both "you come" and "are you coming". You simply put the question word quando (when) in front of the verb.

Can the present tense verb venite be used to talk about future plans?

Yes! Just like in English, the Italian present tense is often used to talk about scheduled or planned events in the near future. So Quando venite a teatro? perfectly translates to the future-leaning "When are you coming to the theater?"