Italian Interrogatives (Pronomi Interrogativi)

In the Italian language, questions beginning with an interrogative word, the subject is usually placed at the end of the sentence.

• Quando guarda la TV Michele? (When does Michael watch TV?)

Prepositions such as a, di, con, and per always precede the interrogative chi. In Italian, a question never ends with a preposition.

• A chi scrivono? (To whom are they writing?)
• Di chi è questa chiave? (Whose key is this?)
• Con chi uscite stasera? (Who(m) are you going out with tonight?)

Che and cosa are abbreviated forms of che cosa. The forms are interchangeable.

• Che cosa bevi? (What are you drinking?)
• Che dici? (What are you saying?)
• Cosa fanno i bambini? (What are the children doing?)

As with all adjectives, the interrogative adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify, except for che, which is invariable.

• Quali parole ricordi? (Which words do you remember?)
• Che libri leggi? (What books do you read?)
• Quante ragazze vengono? (How many girls are coming?)

Che cos’è...? (Che cosa è, cos’è) expresses English What is...? in a request for a definition or an explanation.

• Che cos’è la semiotica? (What is semiotics?)

Qual è expresses What is...? when the answer involves a choice, or when one requests information such as a name, telephone number, or address.

• Qual è la tua materia preferita? (What’s your favorite subject?)
• Qual è il numero di Roberto? (What is Roberto’s number?)

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative Adverbs

*Come + è = Com’è
*Dove + è = Dov’è