Breakdown of Il politico a cui rispondo va spesso in televisione.
in
in / made of (material)
la televisione
television
spesso
often
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
a
to / at
rispondere
to answer, to reply
cui
whom / which
il politico
the politician
Questions & Answers about Il politico a cui rispondo va spesso in televisione.
Why do we use a cui here instead of just che?
The relative pronoun che (who/that) is only used when there is no preposition. If a verb requires a preposition (like a, di, da, etc.), you must use cui instead. Because we need the preposition a in this sentence, we use a cui (literally to whom).
Why do we need the preposition a? The English translation just says I am answering, not answering to.
In Italian, the verb rispondere (to answer) requires the preposition a when you are answering a person. Because of this rule, the Italian sentence literally translates to The politician to whom I answer.
Why is it in televisione instead of using su (on)?
Italian uses the preposition in for mass media. You say in televisione (on television) and in radio (on the radio), even though English uses on.
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