Question Words (chi, che, dove, quando)

Level: A1. To ask for real information in Italian you need the question words (gli interrogativi). They are short, they go at the front, and most of them never change. Learn the handful on this page and you can ask who, what, where, when, why, how and how much.

The rule

An interrogative (a question word) opens an information question — one that cannot be answered with just sì or no. The pattern is simple: question word + verb, with the subject coming after the verb or at the very end if you name it at all.

• Dove abiti? — Where do you live?
• Che cosa fai? — What are you doing?
• Dove abita Marco? — Where does Marco live? (subject Marco after the verb)

Italian does not use a helper like English “do”. There is no Dove tu abiti?; the pronoun is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the person.

Most question words are invariable — one fixed form: chi (who), che / cosa / che cosa (what), dove (where), quando (when), come (how), perché (why). Two of them agree with the noun that follows, and those are the ones to watch.

The question words

The two that agree

quanto (“how much / how many”) behaves like an adjective and takes four endings to match the noun:

quale (“which”) has only two forms: quale (singular) and quali (plural) — Quale film? / Quali film? It does not change for gender.

How to say it

Italian spelling hides a few sounds for English speakers:

• ch is a hard “k”: che = “keh”, chi = “kee”, perché = “pehr-KEH”.
• c before e/i is soft “ch”: cosa starts hard (“KOH-za”), but cena = “CHEH-na”.
• qu is “kw”: quando = “KWAN-do”, quanto = “KWAN-to”, quale = “KWAH-leh”.
• Final accent on perché and perché-type words carries the stress: say “pehr-KEH”, not “PEHR-kay”.

Example sentences

1. Chi è?
   Who is it?
   chi + essere
2. Chi sono quelle persone?
   Who are those people?
3. Che cosa fai?
   What are you doing?
   che cosa = what
4. Cosa vuoi mangiare?
   What do you want to eat?
5. Dove abiti?
   Where do you live?
6. Dove abita Marco?
   Where does Marco live?
   subject after the verb
7. Dov'è la stazione?
   Where is the station?
   dove + è elides to dov'è
8. Quando parti?
   When are you leaving?
9. Quando arriva il treno?
   When does the train arrive?
10. Come stai?
    How are you?
11. Come ti chiami?
    What's your name?
    literally: how do you call yourself
12. Com'è il tempo oggi?
    What's the weather like today?
    come + è elides to com'è
13. Perché piangi?
    Why are you crying?
14. Piango perché sono triste.
    I'm crying because I'm sad.
    same word perché = because
15. Quanti anni hai?
    How old are you?
    literally: how many years do you have
16. Quanta acqua bevi?
    How much water do you drink?
    quanta = feminine singular
17. Quante ragazze ci sono?
    How many girls are there?
    quante = feminine plural
18. Quanto costa?
    How much does it cost?
    quanto alone = adverb, invariable
19. Quale preferisci?
    Which one do you prefer?
20. Quali libri leggi?
    Which books do you read?
    quali = plural of quale

Common mistakes

• ❌ Perché cause of this. → Keep in mind perché = why AND because. Perché studi? Studio perché mi piace. The same word opens the question and the answer.
• ❌ Quanti acqua? → ✅ Quanta acqua? quanto agrees: acqua is feminine singular, so quanta.
• ❌ Dove Marco abita? → ✅ Dove abita Marco? The subject follows the verb, not the question word.
• ❌ Dove è la stazione? → ✅ Dov’è la stazione? dove elides before è.
• ❌ Quale sono? → ✅ Quali sono? With a plural verb, use the plural form quali.

A short conversation

— Dove vai stasera? — Al cinema. — Che film guardi? — Non lo so ancora. Quanti siete? — Siamo in tre. Perché non vieni anche tu?

Usage notes

• No “do/does”. Italian forms questions from the plain verb: Dove lavori? (“Where do you work?”). There is no auxiliary.
• Rising intonation marks a yes/no question with no question word at all: Parli italiano? (“Do you speak Italian?”). Word order stays the same as a statement.
• Prepositions move to the front with the question word: Con chi esci? (“Who are you going out with?”), Di dove sei? (“Where are you from?”). Italian does not strand the preposition at the end as English does.
• che + noun also asks “what / which”: Che ora è? (“What time is it?”), Che lavoro fai? (“What job do you do?”).
• quanto as an adverb is invariable: when it is not describing a noun but a verb, it stays quanto — Quanto costa? Quanto dura?

Compared with yes/no (intonation) questions

A question word asks for information and forces a full answer: Dove abiti? — A Roma. A yes/no question needs no question word at all — you simply raise your voice at the end of a normal statement: Abiti a Roma? (“Do you live in Rome?”) → Sì / No. The verb and subject keep their statement order, which is why Italian feels easier than English here: no inversion, no “do”. Build your questions on the verbs from essere (to be) and the everyday -are verbs, and remember that the subject pronoun is usually dropped — the verb ending already shows who is asking.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

Italian question words practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Choose the question word: '___ abiti?' (Where do you live?)

Chi Dove Quando Come

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Dove — dove = where.

2 Complete with the right form of quanto: ____ acqua bevi? (acqua is feminine singular)

Check

Hint: feminine singular

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Quanta — quanto agrees: feminine singular is quanta.

3 Build: 'Where does Marco live?'

abitaMarcoDove

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Dove abita Marco — Question word + verb + subject: Dove abita Marco?

4 Match each question word to its meaning.

• chi Match for chi — choose — whenwherewhowhy / because
• dove Match for dove — choose — whenwherewhowhy / because
• quando Match for quando — choose — whenwherewhowhy / because
• perché Match for perché — choose — whenwherewhowhy / because

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• chi → who
• dove → where
• quando → when
• perché → why / because

These invariable interrogatives never change form.

5 Which is correct?

Dove è la stazione? Dov'è la stazione? Dove'è la stazione? Dovè la stazione?

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Dov'è la stazione? — dove elides before è: dov'è.

6 Complete with quale/quali: ____ libri leggi? (plural)

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Hint: plural of quale

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Quali — The plural of quale is quali.

Quiz

Check yourself

Italian question words

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1What is the normal order in an Italian information question?

   A verb + question word B question word + verb C subject + question word D question word + subject + verb
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   question word + verb — Question word first, then the verb; the subject follows.

2. 2'___ stai?' (How are you?)

   A Chi B Come C Dove D Quando
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   Come — come = how.

3. 3Which word means both 'why' and 'because'?

   A come B perché C quando D quale
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   perché — perché opens the question and the answer alike.

4. 4'___ anni hai?' (How old are you?)

   A Quanto B Quanti C Quanta D Quante
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   Quanti — anni is masculine plural, so quanti.

5. 5'___ acqua bevi?'

   A Quanto B Quanti C Quanta D Quante
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   Quanta — acqua is feminine singular, so quanta.

6. 6Which words all mean 'what'?

   A chi / come / dove B che / cosa / che cosa C quale / quanto / come D dove / quando / perché
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   che / cosa / che cosa — che, cosa and che cosa are interchangeable.

7. 7How many forms does 'quale' have?

   A one B two (quale, quali) C three D four
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   two (quale, quali) — quale (singular) and quali (plural); no gender change.

8. 8Correct the error: 'Dove Marco abita?'

   A Dove abita Marco? B Dove Marco è abita? C Abita dove Marco? D it is already correct
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   Dove abita Marco? — The subject follows the verb: Dove abita Marco?

9. 9Complete (elision): ____ il tempo oggi? (how is)
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   Com'è — come + è elides to com'è.

10. 10How do you ask a yes/no question like 'Do you live in Rome?'

    A add 'do' at the front B invert verb and subject C raise intonation on the statement D start with perché
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    raise intonation on the statement — Italian yes/no questions use rising intonation, same word order.

11. 11'___ costa?' (How much does it cost?)

    A Quanta B Quanto C Quanti D Quante
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    Quanto — As an adverb (with a verb, no noun) quanto stays invariable.

12. 12Complete: Con ____ esci stasera? (who)
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    chi — The preposition moves to the front: Con chi esci?

Recap cheat-sheet

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