Breakdown of Perché non viene alla partita?
non
not
perché
because, why
alla
to the / at the (feminine singular)
venire
to come
Questions & Answers about Perché non viene alla partita?
The translation says "he is coming", but where is the word for "he" in the Italian sentence?
In Italian, you usually leave out subject pronouns like "he" (lui) or "she" (lei) because the verb's ending tells you who is doing the action. Viene is the "he/she/it" form of the irregular verb venire (to come). Without context, this could also easily mean "Why isn't she coming?"
Why does viene translate to "is coming" instead of "comes"? Don't we need a word for "is"?
In Italian, the regular present tense covers both concepts. So, viene can mean "he comes" or "he is coming" depending on the context. You don't need an extra verb to express the English "-ing" action here.
Why is it alla partita instead of a la partita?
When the preposition a (to/at) meets the word for "the", they combine into one single word. Since partita (match/game) is a feminine word, it uses the article la. When a and la combine, they form alla.