Here are some useful words to help you ask questions in Italian:
Dove- Where
It can be followed by a single verb, for example:
Dove abita Anna?- Where does Anna live?
Dov’è la chiesa?- Where is the church? In this example the dove (where) and the è (is) join together to make one word dov’è (where is)
It can be followed by a plural verb, for example:
Dove sono i miei amici?- Where are my friends?
Dove vanno Marco e Laura?- Where are Marco and Laura going?
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Che cosa- What
You can use both words (che cosa) or just che or just cosa.
Che cosa c’è da visitare a roma?- What is there to see in Rome?
Cosa mi volevi dire?- What did you want to tell me?
Che prendi da bere?- What are you going to have to drink?
Che cos’è?- What is it? (here the apostrophe replaces the last letter of che cosa)
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Perchè- Why
Perchè means both ‘why’ and ‘because’. You can normally tell which one it is by listening to the intonation and context the word is used in.
Perchè non andiamo a prendere un gelato?- Why aren’t we going to have an ice cream?
Perchè abbiamo già mangiato troppo- Because we have already eaten too much
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Chi- Who
Chi is usually followed by a singular verb, such as in the below sentences:
Chi viene alla festa?- Who is coming to the party?
Chi ha mangiato tutta la pasta? - Who ate all of the pasta?
However, it can be followed by the plural of essere:
Chi sono tutte queste persone? -Who are all these people?
The expression di chi è (singular) or di chi sono(plural) is the equivalent of ‘whose’:
Di chi è questa borsa- Whose bag is this?
Di chi sono queste scarpe - Whose shoes are these?
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Come- How
You may recognise the word comefrom the expression come ti chiami?- what is your name?. It literally translates as ‘how do you call yourself’?
Come si arriva al museo?- How do you get to the museum?
Come stai?- How are you?
The expression come maiis often translated as ‘how come’:
Come mai non mi hai chiamato? How come you didn’t call me?
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Quando- When
Quando parte il treno- When does the train leave?
Quando vanno in vacanza?- When are they going on holiday?
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Quale- Which
The word quale agrees in number with the noun it precedes. Quale is used before a singular masculine or feminine word:
Quale pizza vuoi?- Which pizza do you want?
Quale film preferisci?- Which film do you prefer?
If the word that follows quale is a plural word, quale changes to quali:
Quali sono i nostri posti?- Which seats are ours?
Quali libri leggiamo? Which books shall we read?
If qualeis followed by è from the verb essere, quale becomes qual:
Qual è la tua camera- Which is your room?
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Quanto- How much
Quanto is often followed by the verb costa or costano:
Quanto costa la giacca- How much does the jacket cost?
Quanto costano queste caramelle- How much do these sweets cost?
If quanto is followed by a noun, it needs to agree in gender and number with the noun. So it would be quanto for a masculine singular noun and quantafor a feminine singular noun:
Quanto sale ci metto?- How much salt shall I put in?
Quanta pasta vuoi?- How much pasta do you want?
You would use quanti for a masculine plural noun and quante for a feminine plural noun:
Quanti studenti frequentano la scuola - How many students attend the school?
Quante persone ballano? How many people are dancing?
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Changing tone
You can also ask questions in Italian just by changing the tone you use, with a rising intonation at the end of the sentence.
Viene Veronica?- Is Veronica coming?
Alessandra ha mangiato i biscotti?- Did Alessandra eat the biscuits?
The sentence is exactly the same in terms of grammar and word order, but the intonation used is different. There is no need for a question word like ‘do’ or ‘does’ in Italian.
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Vero?
You can add vero or no at the end of a sentence to make it a question, especially if you are expecting the person you are speaking to to say ‘yes’ in answer to your question. Again, you amend the tone you use, with a rising intonation at the end of the sentence.
Vieni anche tu, no?- You’re coming too, aren’t you?
Questa è la tua casa, vero?This is your house, isn’t it?
If you expect that the person you are speaking to will answer ‘no’ to your question, you can add non è vero at the end:
Non sono andati via, non è vero?- They haven’t left, have they?
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Word order
Italian question words are often used at the beginning of the sentence, but there are some exceptions. For emphasis you can put a noun or pronoun first, for example:
Lei cosa pensa?- What does she think?
Le mie chiavi dove sono?Where are my keys?
If a preposition is used, it should go at the beginning of the sentence:
Di dove sei?- Where are you from?
Con chi sei uscito - Who did you go out with?
A che ora dobbiamo partire- What time do we have to leave?
