Learn Italian: Sai a che ora è il colloquio? - Do you know what time the interview is?

Sai a che ora è il colloquio?

Do you know what time the interview is?

Breakdown of Sai a che ora è il colloquio?

Questions & Answers about Sai a che ora è il colloquio?

Why do we use sai here instead of conosci?

We use a form of sapere (sai) because we are talking about a fact or a piece of information: knowing the time of the event. You use conoscere when you are familiar with a person, place, or a complex concept, but for simple facts, it is always sapere.

Why is there an a at the beginning of a che ora?

In English, you can ask 'What time is the interview?', but in Italian, you must say 'At what time' (a che ora) when asking when an event takes place. If you just ask che ora è?, you are asking what the time is right now.

Could I say Sai a che ora il colloquio è?

You will be understood, but it sounds unnatural. In Italian questions, it is very common to put the subject (il colloquio) after the verb (è) at the end of the sentence.

Can I use colloquio for any kind of interview?

No, colloquio is mainly used for job interviews or formal private meetings. If you are talking about an interview with a celebrity or politician on TV or in a magazine, you would use the word intervista.