Italian interrogative sentences (questions)
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Sign up for freeInterrogative sentences are used to ask about an information, feature, fact, opinion.
Lesson outline
HideInterrogative sentences
To ask a question in Italian, you just need to use a rising intonation of your voice; the sentence structure remains unchanged.
In writing, add a question mark at the end of the sentence.
Interrogative sentence: Same structure + Rising intonation + (Question mark)
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (Tu) Sei passato in posta? | Did you go to the post office? |
| (Loro) Hanno finito di scrivere le poesie? | Have they finished writing the poems? |
| (Tu) Puoi passarmi il sale? | Can you pass me the salt? |
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Wh- Questions
If you want to ask a question with one of the so-called Wh-Questions, the sentence structure changes as follows:
Wh- Questions: Interrogative adjective/adverb/pronoun + Verb + Subject/(Personal pronoun)
Here's a recap of Wh-questions in Italian.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Chi | Who |
| Che cosa Cosa Che | What |
Perché | Why |
| Dove | Where |
| Quando | When |
| Come | How |
| Quale | Which |
| Quanto | How much |
Don't forget Quale (Which) and Quanto (How much) change according to gender and number.
Negative interrogative questions
These sentences are interrogative questions that are turned into negatives.
Negative interrogative questions: Subject/(Personal pronoun) + Non + (Subject) + Verb + Rest of the sentence
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Maria non ha portato i soldi? | Didn't Maria bring the money? |
| Non sei uscito ieri sera? | Didn't you go out last night? |
Wh- questions
The most common Wh-Question used in Italian for negative interrogatives is Perchè (Why).
Wh-Questions: Perchè + Subject/(Personal pronoun) + Non + (Personal pronoun) + Rest of the sentence
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Perchè non sei a scuola? | Why aren't you at school? |
| Perchè il gatto non è in garage? | Why isn't the cat in the garage? |
| Perchè non finisci di mangiare? | Why don't you finish eating? |
Tag questions
Tag questions turn an affirmative sentences into interrogatives. Tag questions are placed at the end of a sentence.
Tag questions: Sentence + Tag question
In Italian tag questions are translated with the expressions E' vero? (Is it right?) Non è vero? (Isn't it right?) Sì? (Yes) No? (No).
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Hai finito i compiti, vero? | You finished your homework, didn't you? |
| Lei si chiama Chiara, sì? | Her name is Chiara, isn't it? |
| Questa casa è proprio brutta, no? | This house is awful, isn't it? |