Italian question words: chi, cosa, dove, quando, perché

Question words are the small words at the start of a question that ask for one specific piece of information: who, what, where, when, how, why, how much and which. You cannot answer a question like «Dove abiti?» “Where do you live?” with yes or no. You have to give the missing detail.

Italian has only a handful of them, and you will need all of them in your first weeks: to ask the way, the price, the time or someone’s name. Most never change their form. Two of them, «quanto» (how much, how many) and «quale» (which), change their ending to match the noun that follows.

The basic word order is simple: question word first, then the verb, then the rest. «Quando parte l’autobus?» “When does the bus leave?”.

Chi, che cosa, dove, quando, come and perché

«Chi» asks about people only: «Chi è?» “Who is it?”. It normally takes a singular verb, even when you expect several people: «Chi viene stasera?» “Who’s coming tonight?”.

For “what”, Italian has three options with the same meaning: «che cosa», «cosa» and «che». «Che cosa» is the most neutral; «cosa» and «che» are very common in conversation: «Cosa mangi?», «Che fai?». Before «è», «cosa» loses its last vowel: «Che cos’è?», «Cos’è?» “What is it?”. When “what” comes right before a noun, use «che»: «Che lavoro fai?» “What job do you do?”, «Di che colore è?» “What colour is it?”.

«Dove» (where), «quando» (when) and «come» (how) never change. «Dove» and «come» join with «è»: «Dov’è la stazione?», «Com’è la tua casa?». Notice that «Com’è…?» means “What is … like?”, while «Come stai?» means “How are you?”. «Perché» means both “why” and “because”, so the same word starts the question and the answer: «Perché studi italiano? Perché lavoro a Roma.»

• Chi è il ragazzo con gli occhiali? · Who’s the boy with the glasses?
• Cosa prendi, un caffè o un tè? · What are you having, a coffee or a tea?
• Com’è il tuo nuovo appartamento? · What’s your new flat like?

Quanto and quale: the words that agree

«Quanto» asks about amount and number. Before a noun, it agrees with that noun in gender and number, like an adjective (a word that describes a noun): «quanto tempo», «quanta acqua», «quanti anni», «quante sedie». Use the singular for things you do not count, such as time or water, and the plural for things you count.

Used alone with a verb, «quanto» does not change: «Quanto costa?» “How much is it?”, «Quanto costano i biglietti?» “How much are the tickets?”.

«Quale» (which) has only two forms: «quale» in the singular and «quali» in the plural, for both genders. Before «è» it loses its e, with no apostrophe: «Qual è?». Italian uses «qual è» where English says “What is your…?” to ask for a piece of information, such as a number, an address or a favourite: «Qual è il tuo indirizzo?». In everyday speech, «che» often replaces «quale» before a noun: «Che autobus prendi?» is as common as «Quale autobus prendi?».

• Quanta pasta compriamo? · How much pasta shall we buy?
• Qual è la tua città preferita? · What’s your favourite city?

Prepositions go first: di dove, con chi, a che ora

A preposition is a small word such as “with”, “from” or “to”. In English it often goes at the end of a question: “Who do you live with?”. In Italian it always goes first, in front of the question word: «Con chi abiti?». Nothing is left at the end.

Many of these combinations are everyday chunks worth learning whole. «Di dove sei?» asks where someone is from. «Di chi è?» asks who owns something: «Di chi è questo zaino?» “Whose backpack is this?”. Times use «a che ora»: «A che ora comincia il film?».

Word order: question word, verb, subject

After a question word, the verb comes next. If the question has a noun subject, it usually goes after the verb, often at the very end: «Dove abita Marco?», «Quanto costa il biglietto?», «Quando arriva il treno?». Putting the subject between the question word and the verb, as in «Dove Marco abita?», sounds wrong to Italian ears.

«Perché» is more flexible: «Perché Luca non mangia?» and «Perché non mangia Luca?» are both natural. So is «come mai», an informal “how come?”, which is often followed by the subject: «Come mai Sara non c’è?».

• Dove lavora tuo padre? · Where does your father work?
• Quando comincia la lezione? · When does the lesson start?
• Perché la banca è chiusa? · Why is the bank closed?