Question words at a glance
Question words open an information question: one you answer not with sì or no but with a piece of information.
The core question words
| Question word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| che / cosa / che cosa | What? |
| chi | Who? |
| dove | Where? |
| quando | When? |
| come | How? |
| perché | Why? |
| quanto / quanta / quanti / quante | How much? / How many? |
| quale / quali | Which? |
Chi, dove, quando, come, perché
Chi viene alla festa?
Who is coming to the party?
Dove abiti?
Where do you live?
Quando parti?
When are you leaving?
Come ti chiami?
What is your name? (literally: How do you call yourself?)
Perché sei triste?
Why are you sad?
Before è, dove is shortened to dov'è: Dov'è il bagno? (Where is the bathroom?)
Perché also means because and starts the answer: Perché sono stanco. (Because I am tired.)
What?: che, cosa, che cosa
Che, cosa and che cosa all mean what and are interchangeable. Che cosa is the longest form, che the shortest.
Che fai?
What are you doing?
Che cosa vuoi?
What do you want?
Cosa significa?
What does it mean?
Che ore sono?
What time is it? (literally: Which hours are they?)
quanto — How much? / How many?
Before a noun, quanto agrees with it in gender and number like an adjective: the stem quant stays, the ending changes. Without a noun it stays quanto: Quanto costa?
The four forms of quanto
| Form | Gender / number | Example |
|---|---|---|
| quanto | masculine singular | quanto tempo? |
| quanta | feminine singular | quanta acqua? |
| quanti | masculine plural | quanti fratelli? |
| quante | feminine plural | quante persone? |
Quanto costa?
How much does it cost?
Quanti anni hai?
How old are you? (literally: How many years do you have?)
Quante lingue parli?
How many languages do you speak?
quale — Which? (choice)
Quale asks you to pick from several options. It has only two forms, singular quale and plural quali, for masculine and feminine nouns alike. Before è it becomes qual (no apostrophe).
Quale preferisci?
Which one do you prefer?
Quali libri leggi?
Which books do you read?
Qual è il tuo numero?
What is your number?
