In English we use "do," "did" or other question words to form questions. This is hard for Italians learning English because in Italian, to ask a question, all you have to do is change your tone of voice.

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Here's an example from last week's lesson. Marika is telling us something.

Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato.

Pesto means that it has been crushed.

Caption 68, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese

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But, with a little change of inflection, she could use the exact same words and ask a question.

Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato?
Does "pesto" mean that it has been crushed?

The voice is raised at the end of the phrase, or, the voice stays the same, but "no" (with a raised voice) gets added on to make it a question:

Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato, no?
"Pesto" means that it has been crushed, right?
"Pesto" means that it has been crushed, doesn't it?

With modal verbs, too, inflection is everything.

Posso offrirle uno "Spritz".

I can offer you a "Spritz".

Caption 10, Una pasticceria - al Lido di Venezia

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To turn this into a question, it remains the same in Italian. Only the inflection changes, and in writing it, we use a question mark rather than a period. 

Posso offrirle uno "Spritz"?
Can I offer you a "Spritz?" 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Try making statements into questions by changing your inflection, or adding "no?" at the end, to make it into a question. Pay special attention to how questions happen in videos with plenty of dialogue, such as La Ladra or Commissario Manara.