Le domande indirette: mi ha chiesto se, cosa, dove
Le domande indirette: mi ha chiesto se, cosa, dove means “Reporting a question: "he asked me if / what / where…"”. To report a question rather than a statement, Italian turns it into an indirect question introduced by a verb like chiedere or domandare. Formation: domanda sì/no → se (mi ha chiesto se venivo) · domanda con parola interrogativa → la stessa parola (dove, cosa, quando, perché, come) — i tempi seguono la concordanza; niente punto interrogativo
Reporting a question: "he asked me if / what / where…"
B1Formation
domanda sì/no → se (mi ha chiesto se venivo) · domanda con parola interrogativa → la stessa parola (dove, cosa, quando, perché, come) — i tempi seguono la concordanza; niente punto interrogativo
Explanation
To report a question rather than a statement, Italian turns it into an indirect question introduced by a verb like chiedere or domandare. Two patterns. (1) A yes/no question becomes se (whether/if): «Vieni?» → Mi ha chiesto se venivo (he asked me if I was coming). (2) A question with a question word keeps that same word: «Dove abiti?» → Mi ha chiesto dove abitavo; «Cosa fai?» → Mi ha chiesto cosa facevo; also quando, perché, come, quanto, chi. The verb tenses shift exactly as in ordinary reported speech: after a past reporting verb, present becomes imperfetto (venivo, abitavo, facevo). Two things vanish: the question mark (an indirect question is a statement in form) and, usually, the subject-verb inversion, since Italian questions rarely invert anyway. Note se here means "whether", not the "if" of conditional sentences.
Examples
Note
Yes/no → se (mi ha chiesto se…); wh-question → keep the wh-word (dove, cosa, quando…). No question mark, and the tenses follow the sequence-of-tenses rule (present → imperfetto after a past verb). Don't confuse this se ("whether") with the se of conditionals — same word, different job.
FAQ
Le domande indirette: mi ha chiesto se, cosa, dove — what does it mean and how is it used?
Reporting a question: "he asked me if / what / where…". To report a question rather than a statement, Italian turns it into an indirect question introduced by a verb like chiedere or domandare. Two patterns. (1) A yes/no question becomes se (whether/if): «Vieni?» → Mi ha chiesto se venivo (he asked me if I was coming). (2) A question with a question word keeps that same word: «Dove abiti?» → Mi ha chiesto dove abitavo; «Cosa fai?» → Mi ha chiesto cosa facevo; also quando, perché, come, quanto, chi. The verb tenses shift exactly as in ordinary reported speech: after a past reporting verb, present becomes imperfetto (venivo, abitavo, facevo). Two things vanish: the question mark (an indirect question is a statement in form) and, usually, the subject-verb inversion, since Italian questions rarely invert anyway. Note se here means "whether", not the "if" of conditional sentences.
Le domande indirette: mi ha chiesto se, cosa, dove — how do you form it?
domanda sì/no → se (mi ha chiesto se venivo) · domanda con parola interrogativa → la stessa parola (dove, cosa, quando, perché, come) — i tempi seguono la concordanza; niente punto interrogativo
Le domande indirette: mi ha chiesto se, cosa, dove — any usage notes?
Yes/no → se (mi ha chiesto se…); wh-question → keep the wh-word (dove, cosa, quando…). No question mark, and the tenses follow the sequence-of-tenses rule (present → imperfetto after a past verb). Don't confuse this se ("whether") with the se of conditionals — same word, different job.