Questions In Italian are called the interrogative form and it’s done by putting the question mark at the end of the sentence.
- Hai una penna? (have you got a pen?)
- Avete il libro? (do you have the book?)
- Sei Olandese? (are you Dutch?)
- Paolo è ancora in ufficio? (is Paolo still in the office)
- Sono Stanchi? (are they tired?)
There are, however, several words (adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs) that are used to ask questions. let’s see which are the most used.
1. Questions in Italian: Chi (Who)?
(Chi) is a pronoun that is used only for persons and is invariable, which mean that it remains the same in the masculine, feminine, singular, and plural. (Chi) is used to ask about the identity of a person:
- Chi parte domani?
- (Who leaves tomorrow)
- Con chi esci?
- (Who do you go out with?)
- Chi accompagna Luisa alla stazione?
- (Who accompanies Luisa to the station?)
- Chi sono quelle persone?
- (Who are those people?)
When (chi) is the subject, the verb is always in the singular except when (chi) is used with (Essere) which is conjugated regularly:
- Chi sei? (who are you?)
- Chi siete? (who are you?)
- Chi è? (who is he/she?)
- Chi sono? (who am I?)
- Chi è quel ragazzo? (who’s that boy?)
- Chi è quella ragazza? (who’s that girl?)
- Chi sono quei signori? (who are those gentlemen?)
When (chi) is used with the verb (Essere) followed by an adjective, the adjective must be in the singular masculine. (unless it is a feminine group only):
- Chi è stanco? (who is tired)
- Chi di loro è straniero? (which of them is a foreigner?)
- Chi di voi ragazze è italiana? (which of you girls is Italian?)
Interrogatives can be preceded by a preposition for example (Di Chi? Whose?)
- Di chi è questa penna? (whose pen is this?)
2. Questions in Italian: Che cosa / cosa / che (what)?
They are pronouns that are used only for objects and are invariable:
- Che cosa fai? (what do you do?)
- Che cosa mangiamo oggi? / Che mangiamo oggi? / Cosa mangiamo oggi? (What do we eat today?)
- Cosa succede? (what happen?)
- Che volete? (what do you want)
- A cosa pensi? (what do you think?)
(Che) as a relative pronoun can be translated to (which / that)
- Guarda il libro che ha posato sul banco.
- (Look at the book which / that he put on the desk.)
(Che) is also used as an adjective, followed by a noun:
- Che autobus prendi?
- (What bus do you take?)
- Che film andiamo a vedere?
- (What movie are we going to watch?)
- Che giornali comprate?
- (What newspapers do you buy?)
- Di che colore è la tua nuova auto?
- (What color is your new car?)
3. Questions in Italian: Quale (Which / what)?
(Quale) has a similar meaning to (Che), but it implies a choice. (Quale) can be an adjective (which / what) or pronoun (which) and must agree with the noun it refers to:
- Quali canzoni conosci? (what songs do you know?)
- Quale libro leggi, quello di storia o quello di arte?
- (Which book do you read, the history one or the art one?)
- Ci sono due autobus, quale devo prendere?
- (There are two buses, which one should I take?)
The form Qual (without an apostrophe) is used in front of forms of the verb (Essere) that begin with a vowel:
- Qual è il tuo indirizzio? (what is your address?)
- Qual è la mia fermata? (what is my stop?)
4. Questions in Italian: Quanto (How much / How many)?
(Quanto) is like (Quale), can be an adjective or pronoun, and must agree with the noun it refers to.
- As an adjective
- Quanto tempo ci vuole da Roma a Napoli in treno?
- (How long does it take from Rome to Naples by train?)
- Quanta carne mangi alla settimana?
- (How much meat do you eat per week?)
- Quanti amici hai in Italia?
- (How many friends do you have in Italy?)
- Quante sigarette fumi ogni giorno?
- (How many cigarettes do you smoke every day?)
- Quanto tempo abbiamo?
- (How much time do we have?)
- Quante persone vengono?
- (How many people come?)
- Quanta pasta vuoi?
- (How much pasta do you want?)
- As a pronoun
- Quanto costa la tua nuova macchina?
- (Per quanti hai preparato stasera?)
- Compri il pane, per favore? “Quanto?”
- (Will you buy some bread, please? “How much?”)
- Compri la carne, per piacere? “Quanta?”
- (Will you by some meat, please? “How much?”)
(Quanto) is used as an adverb, and it is invariable:
- Quanto pesa quel pacco?
- (How much does that Package weigh?)
- Quanto dura il film?
- (How long does the movie last?)
- Quanto costano quelle mele?
- (How much do those apples cost?)
The adverb (Quanto) is also used in the expressions (Quant’è) and (Quanto fa) with the meaning of (Quanto costa?) and (Quanto pago)?
- Quant’è? (how much it is?) = Quanto costa? (how much does it cost?)
- Quanto fa? (how much is it? = Quanto pago? (how much do I pay?)
5. Questions in Italian: come (how)?
(Come) can be an adverb or conjunction (used to join two sentences) and is therefore invariable.
- Come si chiama tua sorella?
- (What is your sister’s name?)
- Sai come dobbiamo fare?
- (Do you know how we should do it?)
- Come stai?
- (How are you?)
(Com’) is used in front of forms of the verb (Essere) that begin with a vowel:
- Com’è il tempo?
- (How is the weather like?)
6. Questions in Italian: Dove (Where)?
(Dove) can also be an adverb or conjunction and is used to ask questions about the place.
- Dove abitate? (where do you live?)
- Sai dove possiamo trovare una farmacia?
- (Do you know where can we find a pharmacy?)
- Dove vai? (where do you go?)
(Dov’) is used in front of forms of the verb (Essere) that begin with a vowel:
- Dov’è la fermata del 67?
- (Where is the 67 stop?)
(Da Dove) is used to indicate the origin:
- Da Dove Vieni? Dal Senegal.
- (Where do you come from? From Senegal.)
7. Questions in Italian: Quando (when)?
(Quando) is used to ask something about the time:
- Quando parte il treno per Napoli?
- (When does the train leave for Naples?)
- Quando comincia il lfilm?
- (When does the movie start?)
- Quando finisci il lavoro?
- (When do you finish the job?)
8. Questions in Italian: Perchè (why)?
(Perchè) whether it is used as an adverb or conjunction, it is used to ask for the cause or the reason of something.
- Perchè Alessandro parte oggi?
- (Why is Alessandro leaving today?)
- Perchè non parli?
- (Why don’t you speak?)
- Perchè non prendete un taxi?
- (Why don’t you take a taxi?)
(Come mai) has a similar meaning to (Perchè).
- Come mai rimiani a casa?
- (Why are you staying at home?)
- Come mai non ci sono autobus?
- (Why there aren’t any buses?)
The exclamative form in Italian
The exclamative form (la forma esclamativa) are words used to exclaim, that is to say something with allergy, admiration, etc.
- Che Bello! (How Beautiful!)
Some interrogatives can also be used as exclamations:
- Che Stupido! Ho lasciato la porta aperta.
- (What a fool! I left the door open.)
- Quanti film interessanti quest’anno!
- (How many interesting films this year!)
- Come sei bella! Quanti anni hai?
- (You are so beautiful! How old are you?)
- Che brutta notizia!
- (What a bad news!)
The affirmative form in Italian
The affirmative form (la forma affermativa) is the positive response to questions = (yes).
- Sei Italiano? Sì, sono italiano
- (Are you Italian? Yes, I’m Italian.)
- sei pronta? Sì, sono pronta
- (Are you ready? Yes, I’m ready)
- stai bene? Sì, sto bene
- (Are you okay? Yes, I’m fine)
The negative form in Italian
The negative form (la forma negativa) is done by putting [non (not)] in front of the verb
- Non sono italiano. ( I’m not Italian)
- Francesca non è Francese. (Francesca is not French)
- Non siamo stanchi. (we are not tired)
- Paolo e Francesca non hanno figli. (Paolo and Francesca have no children)
- Non abbiamo l’indirizzo di Livia. (we don’t have Livia’s address)
- Gianni non ha la macchina. (Gianni doesn’t have the car)
The interrogative – negative form in Italian
The interrogative-negative form (la forma interrogativa-negativa) expresses a negative question.
- Non sei italiano? (you’re not Italian)
- Non hai fame? (aren’t you hungry?)
- Non mangi il pesce? (don’t you eat fish)