Learn Italian: Quale pedina avanza sul tabellone? - Which token advances on the game board?

Quale pedina avanza sul tabellone?

Which token advances on the game board?

Breakdown of Quale pedina avanza sul tabellone?

on, about

quale

which (singular / plural: quali)

il tabellone

the game board

la pedina

the token / playing piece

Questions & Answers about Quale pedina avanza sul tabellone?

Why is it Quale and not Quala since pedina is a feminine word?

The interrogative adjective quale (which) has only two forms: quale for the singular and quali for the plural. It does not change for gender, so it stays quale whether the noun is masculine or, as in this case, feminine (la pedina).

If I wanted to ask 'Which tokens advance?', how would the sentence change?

You would need to change three words to their plural forms. Quale becomes Quali, the feminine noun pedina becomes pedine, and the verb avanza (he/she/it advances) becomes avanzano (they advance). The result: Quali pedine avanzano sul tabellone?

Why do we use sul here instead of just su?

In Italian, you must combine a preposition and a definite article when they appear together. Su means 'on', and because tabellone is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, it takes the article il (the). Su + il combines to form the single word sul (on the).

What does the -one ending on tabellone mean?