Breakdown of Ho domandato alla donna se è single.
essere
to be
la donna
the woman
avere
to have
a
to / at
se
if
domandare
to ask (a question)
single
single (unmarried/unattached)
Questions & Answers about Ho domandato alla donna se è single.
How does se work in this sentence?
Se translates to both if and whether. When reporting a yes/no question, you connect the reported question to the main sentence using se, exactly like we use if or whether in English.
Could I say Ho chiesto instead of Ho domandato?
Yes, absolutely. The verbs chiedere and domandare both mean to ask and are perfectly interchangeable here.
Why is it alla donna (to the woman) and not just la donna?
In Italian, you direct a question to someone. Verbs of asking like domandare and chiedere take an indirect object, meaning you must use the preposition a (to). Here, a combines with the definite article la to make alla.
Since Ho domandato is in the past, shouldn't the second verb (è) be in the past tense too?
Because the fact of her being single is still true right now, you can keep the second verb in the present tense. In more formal Italian, you might see a past tense verb like era or the subjunctive fosse to strictly match the main verb, but using the present for an ongoing fact is very common in everyday conversation.
Does the word single change if I am talking about a man or multiple people?
No. Single is an English loanword used commonly in Italian. Like most foreign loanwords, it is invariable, meaning it never changes its ending to match gender or number.
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