Interrogatives (Gli interrogativi)
Interrogatives are question words, like what, where, when and how. In Italian, as in English, interrogatives often go at the beginning of the sentence. I strongly recommend that you learn these early in the first semester of your language study and that you continue to review them in subsequent classes. They are critical for building good communication skills, whether you're on the understanding or producing end. If you go to Italy to travel or study, you will find yourself needing to ask a lot of questions, so tackle these early. They are mostly a matter of memorization, but there are a few points to explain that you will find on this page.
Common interrogatives
| Che, Cosa, Che cosa | What |
| Chi | Who |
| Dove | Where |
| Come | How |
| Perche' | Why |
| Quando | When |
| Quanto/a/i/e | How much/many |
| Quale/i | Which |
As you can see, there are three different expressions for what. They are more or less interchangeable, with che being a little more casual or informal.
Quanto and quale can function as adjectives or pronouns. Their ending depends upon the gender and number of the noun with which they appear (when they are adjectives) or which they replace (when they are pronouns). Have a look at the following examples:
| Quanto tempo ci vuole? | How much time does it take? | adjective w/ masc. sing. noun |
| Quanta acqua bevi? | How much water are you drinking? | adjective w/ fem. sing. noun |
| Quanti studenti ci sono in classe? | How many students are there in class? | adjective w/ masc. plural noun |
| Hai invitato molte amiche! Quante vengono? | You invited a lot of friends! How many are coming? | pronoun, replacing fem. plural noun |
| Quale corso preferisci questo semestre? | Which course do you prefer this semester? | adjective w/ masc. sing. noun |
Che, in addition to meaning what as a pronoun, can also be used in replace of quale, meaning which. Unlike quale, however, che does not change its ending:
| Che giornale leggi? | Which (what) newspaper are your reading? |
| Che musica preferisci? | Which (what) music do you like? |
Cosa, dove, and come often drop their final vowel when used with e' (he/she/it is), and replace it with an apostrophe, to make speech more flowing. The same is true with quanto and quale, but only when they end in -o and -e respectively. Observe:
| Dov' e' Roberto? | Where is Robert? |
| Qual' e' il tuo sport preferito? | What's your favorite sport? |
| Com' e' Laura? E' simpatica? | What's Laura like? Is she nice? |
Use with Prepositions
Prepositions are often combined with the interrogatives to form more complex questions. In English, we often end our questions with prepositions (though once this was considered improper grammar!). In Italian, this is never done. The preposition always goes right before the interrogative. Have a look!
| A che ora comincia la lezione? | At what time does the class start? |
| Con chi vai al cinema? | Who are you going to the movies with? |
| Per quale motivo hai deciso di studiare l'italiano? | For what reason did you decide to study Italian? |
| Di che cosa parlate? | What are you talking about? |
Often, of course, you don't need an interrogative word to ask a question. Think about yes/no questions. In English, we differentiate questions from statements by putting the verb in front of the noun (e.g. Are you going to the party?) or using the words do or does. (e.g. Do you study in the library often?). In Italian, these distinctions do not exist. Compare the following:
| Tua madre e' italiana. | Your mother is Italian. |
| Tua madre e' italiana? | Is your mother Italian? |
| Esci con noi, si o no? | Are you going with us, yes or no? |
| Siete vecchi amici, giusto? | You all are old friends, right? |
| Vuoi studiare in Italia, non e vero? | You want to study in Italy, isn't that the case? |
A note about word order in questions: Generally, the subject in a question is placed at the beginning or at the end of the question. The second case (at the end) seems very strange to English speakers and often causes students confusion, but is extremely common. Be on the lookout for these cases!
| subject at beginning | subject at end | translation |
|---|---|---|
| I tuoi genitori arrivano all'universita' domani? | Arrivano all'universita' domani i tuoi genitori? | Are your parents arriving at the university tomorrow? |
| Maria viene alla festa? | Viene alla festa Maria? | Is Maria coming to the party? |