Breakdown of Scriva qui: maschio o femmina?
qui
here
o
or
scrivere
to write
il maschio
the male
la femmina
the female
Questions & Answers about Scriva qui: maschio o femmina?
Why does the verb end in -a (scriva) instead of -i or -e?
Scrivere (to write) is an -ere verb. In the formal imperative (giving a polite command to someone you address as Lei), regular -ere and -ire verbs take an -a ending. If you were telling a friend to write, you would use the informal command scrivi.
Why use maschio o femmina instead of uomo o donna?
Maschio (male) and femmina (female) are used to indicate biological sex, which is exactly what you see on official documents, medical forms, or when talking about animals. Since the person in this sentence is being instructed to "write here", they are clearly filling out a form! In everyday conversation about people, you would use uomo (man) and donna (woman).
How do you pronounce the 'sch' in maschio?
How would I say this to a group of people formally?
To address a group formally (using the Loro form), you add -no to the formal singular command, making it scrivano qui. However, this is extremely formal and mostly used in highly official or written settings. In everyday life, Italians usually just use the regular plural command scrivete qui for groups, even in polite situations.
Learn Scriva qui: maschio o femmina and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free