Interrogative pronouns (who, what, which) in Italian

Lesson outline

1.Italian interrogative pronouns
1.1.Who/Whose in Italian (Chi)
1.2.What in Italian (Che cosa)
1.3.Which in Italian (Quale)
1.4.How much/how many/how long in Italian (Quanto)
2.Exercises
2.1.Exercise on Italian interrogative pronouns (Chi, Che cosa) - Simple choice set
2.2.Exercise on Italian interrogative pronouns (Quale) - Multiple choice
2.3.Exercise on Italian interrogative pronouns (Quanto) - Drag text
2.4.Exercise on Italian interrogative pronouns - Fill in the blanks

Italian interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns (pronomi interrogativi) introduce a direct, indirect or rhetorical question.

Singular Masculine	Singular Feminine	Plural Masculine	Plural Feminine	English
Chi	Chi	Chi	Chi	Who/Whose
Che cosa/Che/Cosa	Che cosa/Che/Cosa	Che cosa/Che/Cosa	Che cosa/Che/Cosa	What
Quale/Qual	Quale	Quali	Quali	Which
Quanto	Quanta	Quanti	Quante	How much/how many/how long

These pronouns could also be exclamatory by simply using an exclamation mark instead of a question mark at the end of the sentence.

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Who/Whose in Italian (Chi)

Chi introduces a question about somebody's identity and it's invariable.

Italian	English
Chi è quell'uomo seduto accanto a Maria?	Who is that man sitting next to Maria?
Chi è Pavarotti?	Who is Pavarotti?
Chi viene con me al cinema?	Who wants to come with me to the cinema?

What in Italian (Che cosa)

Che, che cosa and cosa introduce a question about things.

Italian	English
Che cosa si intende per DNA?	What do we mean by DNA?
Che ti ha detto Giovanna?	What did Giovanna tell you?
Cosa ci serve per andare in montagna?	What do we need to go to the mountains?

Which in Italian (Quale)

Quale, Qual and the plural version Quali introduce questions about quality.
Qual often precedes the third singular person of To be, "è".

Remember! Never mark the interrogative pronoun Qual with an apostrophe.

CORRECT: Qual è la tua torta preferita? (Which is your favourite cake?)
WRONG: Qual'è la tua torta preferita? (Which is your favourite cake?)

Take a look at the following examples.

Italian	English
Mi scusi, può dirmi quale sarà la prossima fermata?	Sorry, could you tell me which is the next stop?
Qual è la casa dove abitavi da piccolo?	Which is the house you used to live when you were a child?
Quali sono le mele più buone?	Which ones are the best apples?

How much/how many/how long in Italian (Quanto)

Quanto introduces questions about quantity.

Unlike the interrogative pronoun Qual, Quant' takes an apostrophe.

Italian	English
Quant'è il risultato?	What's the final result?
Quant'è il tuo punteggio?	What's your final score?
Quant'era lunga la fila?	How long was the line?

Quanto is not always the exact translation of how much/how many: it could also correspond to Come, an interrogative adverb.

Italian	English
Quanto è alta la Torre di Pisa?	How tall is the Tower of Pisa?
Vorrei sapere quanto ci vuole.	I would like to know how long it takes.
Quanti ne hai presi?	How many of those did you take?