Questions: intonation and word order

Parli italiano?Do you speak Italian?

To ask a yes/no question, Italian usually keeps the same words in the same order as the statement. Only the voice (and, in writing, the question mark) changes. There is no helper verb like English do.

Quick shortcut: Marco parla italiano. (Marco speaks Italian.) → Marco parla italiano? (Does Marco speak Italian?) Same words, same order, rising voice at the end. A noun subject can also follow the verb (see below).

Same order, rising voice

A statement and a yes/no question can look identical on the page. In speech, the voice rises at the end of a yes/no question:

Italian writes the question mark only at the end, with no upside-down mark at the beginning. The pronoun can be left out, as in statements: Parli italiano? (see Subject pronouns). Add it when you want to stress who you mean: E tu, parli italiano? (And you, do you speak Italian?). For a polite question to a stranger, use Lei: Mi scusi, parla inglese? (Excuse me, do you speak English?) See Formal address with Lei.

The subject can come last

Italian can also put a noun subject after the verb. It is common in conversation and puts a little more focus on the subject:

• Parla italiano Marco? (Does Marco speak Italian?)
• È a casa Maria? (Is Maria at home?)
• Sono pronti i bambini? (Are the children ready?)

The meaning is the same as Marco parla italiano?, with the verb first. When you are unsure, the statement order (Marco parla italiano?) is always a safe choice.

Tag questions

To check that someone agrees, add a short tag to a statement. The tag has its own rising voice:

• Parli italiano, vero? (You speak Italian, right?)
• È bello, no? (It's nice, isn't it?)
• Domani andiamo al mare, giusto? (We're going to the sea tomorrow, right?)

The tag stays the same whatever the verb or person is, unlike English (isn't it, don't you, aren't they).

Answering with sì and no

Short answers use sì (yes) and no (no), often with the verb repeated:

• Hai fame? → Sì, ho fame. / No, non ho fame.
• Sei di Roma? → Sì, sono di Roma. / No, non sono di Roma.

Sì agrees with a fact, no denies it, also after a question with non: Non hai fame? → Sì, ho fame. (I am hungry.) / No, non ho fame. (I'm not.) See Negation with non.

Questions with a question word

Questions that start with dove, come, quando, perché and similar words follow their own pattern; see Question words. Their voice usually falls at the end instead of rising. The rising voice described here is for yes/no questions.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Fai parli italiano? → ✅ Parli italiano? (no helper verb like do)
• ❌ Fa Marco parla italiano? → ✅ Marco parla italiano? / Parla italiano Marco?
• ❌ ¿Parli italiano? → ✅ Parli italiano? (question mark only at the end)
• ❌ Hai fame? answered with Sì, non ho fame. → ✅ No, non ho fame. (sì and non contradict each other)
• ❌ Parli italiano, vero tu? → ✅ Parli italiano, vero? (the tag stays short and the same)

Quick check

Try turning each statement into a yes/no question, then answering it:

1. Anna lavora oggi.
2. Voi avete una macchina.
3. C'è una banca qui.
4. Add a tag to: Sei stanco.
5. Answer Hai fame? with "yes, I'm hungry".

Key takeaways

• A yes/no question usually has the same words in the same order as a statement; the voice rises at the end and a ? closes the sentence.
• There is no helper verb like do, and no upside-down question mark.
• The subject can come after the verb: Parla italiano Marco?
• Add vero? / no? / giusto? to a statement to check agreement.
• Answer with sì or no and repeat the verb: Sì, ho fame. / No, non ho fame.