Learn Italian: E poi? Che cosa succede?

E poi? Che cosa succede?

And then? What happens?

Breakdown of E poi? Che cosa succede?

Questions & Answers about E poi? Che cosa succede?

Does poi count as a time adverb like the others in this lesson?

Yes! While words like sempre (always) and spesso (often) tell you how often, poi tells you when. It means then, later, or afterwards. It is a very common adverb used to sequence events or ask what comes next.

Why does it say Che cosa instead of just Cosa?

In Italian, che, cosa, and che cosa can all be used to mean what in a question. Che cosa is a very common, slightly more traditional way to say it (literally meaning what thing), but you will hear Italians use all three interchangeably in everyday conversation.

What verb is succede from?

It comes from the verb succedere, which means to happen. Because what (che cosa) acts as a single thing (like he, she, or it), we use the third-person singular form. We drop the -ere ending and add -e to get succede.

How do I pronounce the double c in succede?

Because the double c is followed by an e, it makes an English ch sound, like in the word cheese. You pronounce it by holding that ch sound just a tiny bit longer than usual because it is a double consonant.