Question 1

Why do we use fa (makes/does) instead of a word like chiede to mean "asks"?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, you do not "ask" a question; you "make" or "do" one. The set phrase is always fare una domanda. You use chiedere when asking for something (like a favor) or when asking something directly without using the noun "question", such as chiedere l'ora (to ask the time).

Question 2

Giornalista ends in -a, so why does it use the masculine article il?

Accepted Answer

Words for professions ending in -ista (like giornalista, dentista, barista) are identical in their masculine and feminine singular forms. The article tells us the gender of the person. Since we use il, we know this specific journalist is male. If she were female, it would be la giornalista.

Question 3

Why does the sentence use al presidente instead of just il presidente?

Accepted Answer

In English, you can simply say "asks the president a question," but Italian requires you to direct the question to someone. You are literally "making a question to the president," which requires the preposition a (to). When a combines with the masculine article il, it becomes the articulated preposition al.

Question 4

Since we are currently learning about ne (about it), can we say Il giornalista ne fa una domanda to mean he asks a question about it?

Accepted Answer

No, that wouldn't sound natural. The clitic ne typically replaces a phrase starting with di. Because in Italian you ask a question on a topic (una domanda su qualcosa) rather than of a topic, you shouldn't use ne here. To say "asks a question about it," you would instead say fa una domanda su questo or fa una domanda a riguardo.

Il giornalista fa una domanda al presidente.

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