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How to use Italian interrogatives?

By: Miriam Muccione Fri Aug 30 2024
Italian
Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns

Interrogatives are words used to introduce/ask questions. Like the English words “what?,” “who?,” “how?,” and so on, in Italian you will find a wide range of interrogative words, which can be organized based on their different grammatical roles. Some of them are pronouns (they stand alone and can refer to a previously mentioned noun), some are adjectives (they accompany and qualify a noun), and others instead are adverbs (they inquire about an action).

In this post, we will cover all the members of the interrogative family and how to use each of them! Let’s dive in!

Direct vs. indirect interrogative clauses

Like in English, in Italian you might encounter two types of interrogative clauses which require you to use interrogative words:

  • direct interrogative clauses end with a question mark and request information

    Che tempo fa?

    What is the weather like?

    → The whole sentence Che tempo fa? is a direct interrogative clause.

  • indirect interrogative clauses are that are required when the expresses a doubt or a question. You might see one of these, for example, if the main verb is domandare(to ask), chiedere(to ask), or pensare(to think).

    These subordinate clauses are called “indirect interrogatives” because they do not end with a question mark and do not directly request information, but the question is rather embedded in the meaning of a larger sentence. For example:

    Mi domando che tempo faccia oggi.

    I wonder what the weather is like today.

    → The clause che tempo faccia oggi is an indirect interrogative clause.
Important

When we form an indirect interrogative in Italian, usually the verb of the subordinate clause appears in the of the verb, like faccia, the present subjunctive of fare(to do), in the example above.

However, in colloquial settings people may put the verb in the instead. In this case, this is how the sentence above would look:

future indicative

Mi domando che tempo farà oggi.

I wonder what the weather will be like today.

Or even...

present indicative

Mi domando che tempo fa oggi.

I wonder what the weather is like today.

What are the interrogative words in Italian?

Both in English and Italian, when forming direct or indirect interrogative clauses, we use a range of interrogative words to mark them. The table below is an overview of the most common Italian interrogative words, categorized on the basis of their respective grammatical role:

Pronouns

  • che

    that, which

  • che cosa

    what

  • cosa

    what

  • quale/i

    what, which one/s, which

  • chi

    who

Adjectives

  • che

    what, which

  • quale/i

    what,which one(s), which

  • quanto/a/i/e

    how many, how much

Adverbs

  • come

    how

  • dove

    where

  • quando

    when

  • perché

    why

  • come mai

    how come

  • quanto/a/i/e

    how many, how much

Tip

Note that some interrogative words can cover more than one grammatical role.

  • che?(what, which) and quale(what, which ones, which) can be used both as pronouns and as adjectives.

  • quanto?(how many, how much) can be used as an adjective or an adverb.

Now, let’s go over them one by one!

What are the interrogative pronouns and adjectives in Italian?

If we focus on the form, in Italian we find two kinds of interrogative pronouns and adjectives:

  • invariable, whose form does not change

  • variable, whose form changes according to the gender and number of the noun they refer to or qualify.

The interrogatives ‘che,’ ‘cosa,’ and ‘che cosa’ (what)

The interrogatives che, cosa, and che cosa are invariable and mean "what." Here are some other things to note about them:

  • they introduce questions concerning things (not people/animals)

  • they are interchangeable in meaning

  • che(that, which) can be used both as a pronoun (on its own) and an adjective (before a noun), but the other two are only used as pronouns. For example:

    • Che / Cosa / Che cosa fai questo fine settimana?

      What are you doing this weekend?

      → All three can be used here, because they are used on their own.

    • Che ore sono?

      What time is it?

      lit. What hours are they?

      → Only che can be used here because it modifies a noun, ore(hours).

  • when they’re used together with a , the preposition always precedes the interrogative (they can’t be separated!)

    prepositioninterrogative

    Chissà a che ora finirà di lavorare oggi.

    Who knows what time he will finish work today.

    lit. Who knows at what hour he will finish work today.

Exception!

Che / cosa / che cosa are interchangeable, except in negative clauses in which non (not) is before the verb. In that case, you can use cosa and che cosa, but you cannot use che to form the sentence.

Example:

  • ✅ Che cosa non faresti mai?

    What would you never do?

  • ✅ Mi domando che cosa / cosa non faresti mai.

    I wonder what you would never do.

  • ❌ Che non faresti mai?

  • ❌ Mi domando che non faresti mai.

Tip

Cosa and che cosa(what?) become cos’ and che cos’ when in front of a word that starts with a vowel.

Cos’è / Che cos’è questo rumore?

What's this noise?

The interrogative pronoun ‘chi’ (who/whom)

The Italian interrogative pronoun chi(who, whom) is invariable.

  • It introduces questions regarding people

    Chi verrà a cena da Mario?

    Who will come to Mario's for dinner?

  • It always follows any preposition it’s used with

    A chi avete scritto ieri sera?

    Who did you write to last night?

    Mi chiedo con chi abbia comprato questo regalo.

    I wonder who s/he bought this gift with.

Important

From the last example above, note that unlike in English, in Italian you don’t place a at the end of a question (or really, at the end of any sentence). If you use one with a preposition, you’ll always put it before the interrogative pronoun.

The interrogative word ‘quale/i’ (which one(s))

The Italian interrogative quale/i(which one(s)) can be a pronoun or an adjective.

  • It is a variable interrogative word:

    • singular form (m. and f.) → quale(which one)

    • plural form (m. and f.) → quali(which ones)

  • It is used to ask for clarifications about quality and/or identity

  • It introduces questions concerning things or animate beings (people, animals)

  • When used as a pronoun, it stands alone to refers to a noun mentioned before in a conversation, and when used as an adjective it comes before a noun.

  • It always follows any preposition it’s used with.

Example:

  • Ho appena comprato un romanzo di Andrea Camilleri.

    I just bought a novel by Andrea Camilleri.

  • interrogative pronoun

    Quale?

    Which one?

  • “La forma dell’acqua,” lo hai letto?

    “The Shape of Water,” did you read it?

  • interrogative adjective

    Quali romanzi gialli preferiti?

    What detective novels do you prefer?

Important

Quale becomes qual in front of a vowel. It doesn’t need an apostrophe, like most other Italian words that shorten in front of a vowel: ❌ qual’.

Qual è la montagna più alta del mondo?

What is the highest mountain in the world?

With a handful of archaic and idiomatic expressions, quale can become qual in front of a consonant.

Ehi, Sara, da quanto tempo! Qual buon vento ti porta?

Hey, Sara, long time no see! What brings you here?

lit. What good wind brings you?

The interrogative adjective ‘quanto’ (how many; how much; how long)

The interrogative adjective quanto is used to ask “how many,” “how much,” or “how long.”

  • It is used to ask questions relating to quantity

  • It varies based on the gender and number of the noun it qualifies:

    • masculine singular

      Quanto caffè hai bevuto oggi?

      How much coffee did you drink today?

    • feminine singular

      Non mi sono chiesto quanta pasta cucinare per gli invitati.

      I didn't ask myself how much pasta to cook for the guests.

    • masculine plural

      Quanti minuti mancano alla fine della partita?

      How many minutes are left until the end of the game?

    • feminine plural

      Non so quante volte ho perso le chiavi di casa nell’ultimo mese.

      I don't know how many times I have lost my house keys in the last month.

  • It always follows any preposition it’s used with.

    preposition

    Da quanto tempo suoni il piano?

    How long have you been playing the piano?

Tip

Note that the interrogative quanto/a/i/e can be combined with the pronominal particle ne(of it/them). This is done when asking questions related to the quantity of previously mentioned nouns.

  • Oggi pomeriggio sono andato al mercato per comprare la pasta.

    This afternoon I went to the market to buy pasta.

  • Ottimo! Quanta ne hai comprata?

    Great! How much did you buy (of it)?

Note that, also in this instance, quanta(f. sg.) agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to (la pasta).

What are the interrogative adverbs in Italian?

Interrogative adverbs can be used in Italian to ask questions about “how much,” “how long,” “how,” “where,” “when,” “why,” or “how come” an action takes place.

‘Quanto’ (how much; how long) as an interrogative adverb

Since adverbs are always invariable (meaning they don’t change in gender and in number), how much, how long does not change form when used as an interrogative adverb concerning quantity.

  • Quanto costa questa maglietta?

    How much does this t-shirt cost?

  • Gli ho chiesto quanto ha corso oggi.

    I asked him how much he ran today.

Other interrogative adverbs in Italian

Other interrogative adverbs in Italian can also be used for questions related to manner, place, time, and reason and causality. See the table below:

Type
Adverb
Example

manner

come

how

Com’è andata a scuola oggi?

How was school today?

place

dove

where

Mi scusi, sa dove si trova la stazione dei treni?

Excuse me, do you know where the train station is?

time

quando

when

Mi domando quando arriverà il taxi.

I wonder when the taxi will arrive.

reason
&
causality

perché

why

Perché hanno rimandato la mostra su Caravaggio?

Why did they postpone the exhibition on Caravaggio?

come mai

how come

Come mai il loro volo è in ritardo?

How come their flight is delayed?

Tip

As in the first example from the table above, when come(how ) is followed by a word starting with a vowel, it becomes com’. The same rule applies to:

  • quanto(how much / how long)→ quant’

  • dove(when)→ dov’

  • quando(when)→ quand’

To sum up

  • In Italian, like in English, when formulating a question (either directly or indirectly), we use interrogative words.

  • Interrogative words can be categorized based on their grammatical role. In this respect, some interrogatives as pronouns (on their own), adjectives (before a noun), or adverbs (to ask for more details about an action or situation).

  • The Italian interrogative pronouns che, cosa, and che cosa mean "what" or "which." They are interchangeable when used in place of a noun, but only che(what) can also be used before a noun (as an adjective).

  • Like che(what), quale/i(which / which one(s)) is also used both as a pronoun and as an adjective. Something to remember about quale is that, when we use it in front of a word that starts with a vowel, it is spelled qual and not ❌ qual’ with an apostrophe.

  • Remember that, as an adjective, quanto(how many) is variable, becoming therefore quanto / quanta / quanti / quante depending on the gender and number of the noun it qualifies.

  • Finally, some interrogative words are adverbs, invariable words like quanto(how much), come(how), dove(where), etc. that are used in both direct and indirect interrogative clauses to ask questions about various subjects.

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