Apologies if this question isn't relevant or is too basic for this site.
I am currently trying to learn basic Italian. I have found that an effective approach to help me memorise the relevant words is to find a vague phonetic connection to an English word with a similar meaning and use it to recall.
For example:
- Orologio - Horology
- Divertente - Diversion
- Verde - Verdant
There's not always a similar word: I can't think of anything in English meaning 'walk' that's like camminare, for example. That makes these words harder to learn, but more often than not there is. So far, I've been able to do well enough making up the gaps through rote learning.
When it comes to building questions, however, I'm struggling. Not only can I not find any English equivalents to hang off, but many of the Italian words are very similar. I'm struggling to recall the difference between them. For example Quanto/Quando/Quale and Come/Cosa all have quite distinct meanings yet, to the unlearned ear, sound similar.
Are there any tricks or useful mnemonics I can use to try and get to grips with forming questions?