Breakdown of Ho domandato al ragazzo dove è l'incontro.
essere
to be
il ragazzo
the boy
dove
where
avere
to have
a
to / at
domandare
to ask (a question)
l'incontro
the meeting / the encounter (informal, sports) (m)
Questions & Answers about Ho domandato al ragazzo dove è l'incontro.
In English we say "where the meeting is", so why does the Italian say "where is the meeting" (dove è l'incontro)?
In English, the word order changes when you report a question. In Italian, the word order in indirect speech stays exactly the same as it was in the original direct question. You just plug the original question (dove è l'incontro?) right into the sentence.
Could I use chiesto instead of domandato here?
Yes! Domandare and chiedere both mean "to ask" and can be used interchangeably to report a question. Just remember they both need an indirect object, which is why we say al ragazzo (to the boy) instead of just il ragazzo.
Why do we use al ragazzo instead of just il ragazzo?
Verbs of communication like domandare, chiedere, and dire require an indirect object for the person you are speaking to. You are asking a question "to" the boy. Al is the combination of the preposition a (to) and the article il (the).
Since ho domandato is in the past tense, shouldn't è be in the past tense too?
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