How to ask questions in Italian
Italian ⋙
Italian A1
Welcome to our Italian grammar course for beginners! Today, we're going to talk about asking questions.
If you want to ask questions in Italian, you need to use
interrogative pronouns (or
question words) and / or question word order. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to ask questions in Italian.
1. Start with the question word.
You need to begin your question with the appropriate question word (interrogative pronoun) that corresponds to the information you want to inquire about. Italian interrogatives are question words used to ask questions about various aspects of the world. Here are some common Italian interrogatives and their meanings:
a)
Chi? (
Who?)
Used to ask about the identity of people or a person.
Examples:
Chi è? (Who is it?)
Chi sono quei ragazzi? (Who are those guys?)
b)
Che cosa? Cosa? (
What?)
Used to ask about things, objects, or ideas.
Examples:
Che cosa fai? (What do you do?)
Cosa hai comprato? (What did you buy?)
c)
Dove? (
Where?)
Used to ask about locations or places. Please note that "
dove" + "
è" (a form of the verb "
essere") =
dov'è.
Examples:
Dove abiti? (Where do you live?)
Dove si trova il ristorante? (Where is the restaurant?)
Dov'è la stazione degli autobus? (Where is the bus station?)
d)
Quando? (
When?)
Used to ask about the time or period of an event.
Examples:
Quando arrivi? (When are you arriving?)
Quando è il tuo compleanno? (When is your birthday?)
e)
Come? (
How?)
Used to ask about the manner or way of doing something.
Examples:
Come sta? Come stai? (How are you?)
Come si dice "hello" in italiano? (How do you say "hello" in Italian?)
f)
Perché? (
Why?)
Used to ask about the reason or cause of something.
Examples:
Perché sei triste? (Why are you sad?)
Perché non possiamo andare al cinema? (Why can't we go to the cinema?)
g)
Quale? Quali? (
Which?)
Used to ask about choices or options.
Examples:
Quale libro preferisci? (Which book do you prefer?)
Quali colori ti piacciono? (Which colors do you like?)
h)
Quanto?
Quanta?
Quanti?
Quante? (
How much? / How many?)
Used to ask about quantity or amount.
Examples:
Quante persone ci sono? (How many people are there?)
Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?)
Here are a few more examples of questions in Italian:
Quale libro preferisci? (Which book do you prefer?);
Dove vivi? (Where do you live?);
Perché sei triste? (Why are you sad?);
Come ti chiami? (What is your name?);
Quanti anni hai? (How old are you?);
Quando arriva il treno? (When does the train arrive?);
A che ora inizia la lezione? (What time does the lesson start?);
Che cosa hai mangiato per colazione? (What did you eat for breakfast?)
2. Add the verb.
After the question word, include the appropriate conjugated form of the verb that matches the subject (person or thing) you are asking about.
3. Place the subject.
If the subject of the question is a noun or pronoun other than the subject pronouns mentioned above, place it after the verb.
For example:
Maria mangia la pizza. (Maria eats pizza);
Chi mangia la pizza? (Who eats the pizza?)
4. Adjust word order in questions.
In questions with interrogative words, the word order is typically different from declarative sentences. The question word usually comes at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the verb and then the subject (if it's not a subject pronoun).
For example:
Dove vai? (Where are you going?);
Che cosa hai fatto? (What did you do?);
Quando torni a casa? (When are you coming back home?);
Perché non hai chiamato? (Why didn't you call?).
5. Use rising intonation.
In spoken Italian, use rising intonation at the end of a question to indicate that it is a question. This is similar to how questions are formed in English.
Remember that Italian interrogatives are always followed by a question mark in writing, just like in English. When asking a question with an interrogative, the subject-verb order is usually inverted.
Examples:
Tu parli italiano (You speak Italian).
Parli tu italiano? (Do you speak Italian?)
Summary
Practicing asking questions in Italian should help you improve your communication skills and engage in conversations with native speakers. As you become more familiar with question words and their usage, you'll find it easier to ask questions in various contexts.
Pay attention to the new words you came across in the lesson:
Chi? (who?)
Che cosa? (what?)
Cosa? (what?)
Dove? (where?)
Quando? (when?)
Come? (how?)
Perché? (why?)
Quale? (which?)
Quali? (which?)
Quanto? (how much? / how many?)
Quanta? (how much? / how many?)
Quanti? (how much? / how many?)
Quante? (how much? / how many?)
Autobus (bus)
Compleanno (birthday)
Colore (color)
Persone (people)
Anno (year)
Colazione (breakfast)
We are waiting for you in the next lesson, where we will talk about
negations in Italian. Good luck!
