Learn Italian: Scusi, quale strategia usa con l'avversario? - Excuse me, which strategy do you use with the opponent?

Scusi, quale strategia usa con l'avversario?

Excuse me, which strategy do you use with the opponent?

Breakdown of Scusi, quale strategia usa con l'avversario?

which (singular / plural: quali)

Questions & Answers about Scusi, quale strategia usa con l'avversario?

Why do we use quale here instead of quali?

Quale (which) changes its ending based on whether the noun following it is singular or plural. Since strategia (strategy) is singular, we use quale. If you wanted to ask "which strategies", you would use the plural: quali strategie.

Can I say che strategia instead of quale strategia?

Yes! In everyday spoken Italian, it is very common to use che (what) instead of quale (which) before a noun. Quale strategia sounds slightly more specific, as if you are asking the person to pick from a known list of strategies, but che strategia is perfectly fine and means practically the same thing.

Why is the verb usa used here if the sentence means "do you use"?

While usa literally means "he or she uses", it is also the formal "you" form. You can tell this is a formal situation because it starts with Scusi (the polite version of "excuse me"). When addressing someone formally in Italian, you always use the third-person singular form of the verb.

I originally learned that "excuse me" is scusa. Why is it scusi in this sentence?