ItalianAdjectives, Pronouns The demonstratives questo and quello in Italian correspond to English words “this/these'' and “that/those.” In Italian, as in English, they can be used as adjectivesNo definition set for adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or as pronounsNo definition set for pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., but in Italian they take different endings depending on what they replace or describe. For example:
As adjectives (the demonstrative agreesNo definition set for agreesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. with the following nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.):
Queste riviste sono interessanti.
These magazines are interesting.
→ We use queste because riviste is feminine plural
Quei fiori sono stupendi!
Those flowers are amazing!
→ We use quei because fiori is masculine plural
As pronouns (the demonstrative agrees with the noun it stands in for):
→ We use questo because mio figlio is masculine singular
→ We use quella because mia borsa is feminine singular
In this post we’ll cover all the forms and how to use them, and as a bonus, a few other demonstrative pronouns. But first, a quote to get you thinking in Italian:
“Questa o quella per me pari sono”(This woman or that one, makes no difference to me), famously sings the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. Well, Dear Duke! Questa/o or quella/o are VERY different!
Let’s see why questa or quella are NOT the same, shall we?
How to use ‘questo’ and ‘quello’ as demonstrative adjectives?
When questo(this) and quello(those) are used as adjectives they are placed before a noun. They agreeNo definition set for agreeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun. And, they specify the position of specific people or things in relation to the speaker:
questo/a/i/e gives the idea of vicinity to the speaker (“this”)
quello/a/e/i conveys the idea of distance from the speaker (“that”)
Let’s look at some examples:
→ mela is feminine singular, so we use questa
→ mele is feminine singular, so we use quelle
In these examples, you can see that questa(this) and quelle(those) are placed BEFORE a noun and that they agree in gender and number with the noun mela/mele(apple/apples). In our first example questa mela(this apple) expresses vicinity to the speaker, while quelle mele(those apples) indicates distance from the speaker.
Demonstratives can also be followed by an adverbNo definition set for adverbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.:
questo is usually followed by qui(here)
Quale matita? Questa qui!
Which pencil? This one, here!
quello is usually followed by là(there)
Some other useful “spatial clues” to choose the right demonstrative:
To express vicinity to the the speaker, listener, or an object: accanto a(next to), vicino a(near to)
To express distance: all’angolo(in the corner), in fondo a + place (at the end of).
Now, let’s see what the forms of these demonstrative adjectives are!
What are the forms of ‘questo’?
The adjective questo has these forms: questo, questa, questi, queste, and quest'. In order to choose the right form, keep these two things in mind:
It always agrees in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun:
| questo libro(this book)questo zaino(this backpack) | questi libri(this book)questi zaini(these backpacks) |
| | |
Pay attention to the first letter(s) of the noun, just like you do with the articles. If the noun is singular and begins with a vowel use: quest' for both masculine and feminine nouns.
quest’albero(this tree)
quest’amica(this female friend)
⤷Did you know? In spoken Italian, we often use a shortened form of questo: 'sto, 'sta, 'sti and 'ste!
What are these guys doing?
What are the forms of ‘quello’?
Quello has four basic forms, quel, quei, quella, and quelle, but besides those, it has a few others because it works exactly like the definite article il/lo/l’/la/le/i/gli(the).
Check out our post on Italian definite articles for a quick refresher, or keep reading to learn the rules for quello!
In order to choose the right form, always keep in mind:
the gender/number agreement
the letter(s) the noun starts with
Here’s a quick visual of the possible combinations:
| | |
With nouns starting with a vowel or h | quell’albero(that tree)quell’hotel(that hotel) | quegli alberi(those trees)quegli hotel(those hotels) |
With nouns starting with: z, s+ consonant, gn, ps, pn, y, x | quello studente(that student) | quegli studenti(those students) |
| | |
With nouns starting with a vowel | | quelle amiche(those friends) |
⤷Did you know? There is another demonstrative adjective: codesto/a/i/e, which implies a distance from the speaker, but vicinity to the person s/he is talking to. It is hardly used now and it has been replaced by quello, but you can still hear it in Tuscany!
How to use ‘questo’ and ‘quello’ as demonstrative pronouns?
As with all pronouns, the demonstratives replace a noun specifying a person or a thing already mentioned, and/or is obvious from the context.
Just like the demonstrative adjectives, there are two sets: one for “vicinity” to the speaker (questo), and one for “distance” from the speaker (quello). Just remember that, as with all pronouns, they need to “recall” the gender and number of the “omitted” noun.
Questi sono i miei fratelli.
Quanto costa quella borsa?
Cheer up! The forms are very similar to the adjectives we just learned above (except for quelli(those)).
Here they are:
questo, questa, queste, questi(this/these)
quello, quella, quelle, quelli(that/those)
quei/quegli(those) are used ONLY as adjectives, while quelli(those ones) is used ONLY as a pronoun
Vedi quei bambini? Quali? Quelli al parco!
Do you see those children? Which ones? The ones in the park.
Notice that with the pronouns there are no shortened forms, even if the following word starts with a vowel.
Here some more examples of demonstrative pronouns in Italian:
Feminine singular:
That (one) is her sister.
Feminine plural:
These (ones) are magazines.
Masculine singular:
Quale libro vuoi? Questo!
What book do you want? This (one)!
Masculine plural:
Quelli sono i suoi cugini.
Don’t forget: the pronoun must agree with the gender and number of the noun it’s replacing!
Imagine someone pointing at something/someone, so it is obvious who/what you are referring to with the pronoun.
If you want to say “this one,” do not translate “one” in Italian, just say "questo/questa," etc.:
Quale borsa? Questa!(Which purse? This one!)
Quale libro? Questo!(Which book? This one!)
The same applies when you say “that one,” just say "quello/quella," etc.:
Quale borsa? Quella!(Which purse? That one!)
Quale libro? Quello!(Which book? That one!)
What are other demonstrative pronouns in Italian?
Some pronouns are used ONLY as demonstratives, these are formal and mostly found in literature and official documents.
Costui/Costei/Costoro(this/these person(s) (man or woman)) usually refer to people and they bear a negative connotation:
Colui/Colei/Coloro(that/those person(s) (man or woman)) usually only refer to people, but they are rarely used:
Coloro che pagano, possono entrare.
Those (persons) who are paying, are admitted.
Ciò(what/that) is a very common pronoun used in written Italian, and it can be used as subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or objectNo definition set for objectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of a sentence:
Su ciò non ci sono dubbi.
There’s no doubt about that.
lit. About that, there are no doubts.
Summing Up
Quick key points to remember:
questo, questa, quest’ = "this"; questi, queste = "these."
quello, quella, quell’ = "that"; quelli, quei/quegli, quelle = "those."
quello behaves like the definite article, il; it changes depending on the first letter of the noun that follows.
quei and quegli are only used as an adjective.
quelli is only used as a pronoun.
Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the noun they replace (pronouns), or with the noun they precede (adjectives).
And now, let’s practice demonstrative adjectives in Italian!
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