Breakdown of Quando vai alla stazione?
la stazione
the station
quando
when
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
a
to / at
Questions & Answers about Quando vai alla stazione?
Why do we use alla here instead of just a?
In Italian, you don't just say you are going "to station"—you say you are going to "the" station. The word alla is an articulated preposition, which means it combines the preposition a (to) with the definite article la (the). A + la becomes alla.
Stazione ends in -e. How do we know it's feminine and needs alla?
While nouns ending in -o are typically masculine and those ending in -a are typically feminine, nouns ending in -e can be either. However, there is a very handy rule: Italian words ending in -zione (like stazione) are almost always feminine. That's why it takes the feminine article la, combining with a to become alla.
Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?
In Italian, you usually don't need to use subject pronouns like tu (you) because the verb form already tells you who is doing the action. Vai is the "you" form of the irregular verb andare (to go), so "you" is built right into the word.
Can this sentence also mean "When are you going to the station?"
Yes! The Italian present tense (vai) translates to both the English simple present ("When do you go?") and the present continuous ("When are you going?"). You will use this exact same sentence for both meanings, relying on context to make it clear.