8 Italian Query Phrases To Assist You Get Extra Info

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Italian query phrases like chi(who), dove (the place), and perché (why) are necessary to know as a result of they’re among the many most sensible components of Italian grammar. Study them alongside Italian greetings and a few widespread Italian hand gestures, and also you’ll have the three magic instruments to kickstart any dialog in Italy.

Nothing makes you are feeling extra misplaced as a vacationer than making an attempt to ask locals who don’t communicate English the place the prepare station is, when a store opens, or how one can get to that museum you’ve been dying to see. Fortunately, there’s a straightforward repair. Mastering Italian query phrases is your first step from vacationer to common.

What are Italian query phrases?

Query phrases are phrases you utilize to ask for data. In English, these are “who,” “what/which,” “the place,” “when,” “why,” and “how.” Italian has its personal set of interrogatives that may be Italian pronouns or Italian adjectives. Whereas many have a direct counterpart in English and are straightforward to study, others change relying on gender or quantity.

The next chart gives a fast overview of query phrases in Italian.

Methods to use query phrases in Italian

Every Italian query phrase has its personal nuances. Use examples, notes on utilization in direct and oblique questions, and some exceptions that can assist you perceive all of them.

1. Che/cosa/che cosa? (What?)

“What” is a type of phrases you’ll use day-after-day, from speaking concerning the climate to asking the time in Italian or the that means of the phrase aperitivo. You are able to do it with three expressions that each one imply “what”:

These Italian phrases are mainly interchangeable. For instance, you should use any of them to ask “What are you watching?” or “What are you ?”

• Che cosa guardi?
  
• Cosa guardi?
• Che guardi?

Stylistically, che? is extra informal, so that you’ll largely hear it in spoken Italian, particularly in Central Italy. Asking cosa is most popular in Northern Italy, whereas che cosa is a protected, impartial selection that sounds full and works in all conditions.

One other necessary characteristic of che is that, earlier than a noun, it features as an interrogative adjective, that means “which” or “what sort of.”

• Che tempo fa? = What’s the climate like?
  
• Che ore sono? = What time is it?
  

These actual phrases additionally seem in oblique questions:

• Non è chiaro che cosa significhi questo segnale. = It’s unclear what this signal means.
  
• Non so che cosa dobbiamo preparare per la festa. = I don’t know what we should always make for the celebration.
  

2. Chi? (Who?)

With the same spelling to che, however with a distinct that means, chi is the interrogative pronoun you utilize to ask about individuals. It means “who” in Italian and, like in English, it stays the identical for each the singular and plural.

• Chi sei? = Who’re you?
• Chi è il tuo insegnante? = Who’s your trainer?
  
• Chi sono i loro colleghi? = Who’re their coworkers?
• Chi chiami? = Who’re you calling?
  

You’ll usually hear chi inside oblique questions paired with Italian verbs like sapere (to know), chiedersi (to marvel), or ricordare (to recollect).

• Mi chiedo chi sia il suo insegnante. = I ponder who his trainer is.
• Non ricordo chi c’period quella sera. = I don’t bear in mind who was there that night.

3. Come? (How?)

Come means “how,” and it’s one other Italian query phrase that’s straightforward to study as a result of it’s invariable. You need to use it when immediately enquiring a few method or a situation.

• Come vai al lavoro? = How do you get to work?
  
• Scusi, come arrivo al museo? = Excuse me, how do I get to the museum? (formal)
  
• Come si cube “wine”? = How do you say “wine”?
  

It additionally works in oblique questions:

• Non so proprio come aiutarti. = I don’t understand how I will help you.

This little phrase is very useful as a result of it’s a part of many widespread well mannered questions in Italian. However bear in mind: Come? isn’t at all times the proper translation for the English sentences with “how.”

• Come stai? = How are you?
  
• Lei come sta? = How are you? (formal you)
  
• Come ti chiami? = What’s your identify?
  
• Lei come si chiama? = What’s your identify? (formal you)
  
• Come si chiama questo in italiano? = What is that this referred to as in Italian?
  

4. Dove? (The place?)

Do you wish to ask an Italian speaker the place the greatest eating places in Positano are, or the place to remain on the Amalfi coast? The phrase you’re searching for is dove (the place). You employ it to ask a few location or vacation spot, in different phrases, whenever you wish to know the place one thing or somebody is, was, or can be.

• Dove sono le mie chiavi? = The place are my keys?
  
• Tu dove abiti? = The place do you reside?
  
• Dove vai? = The place are you going?
  
• Dove possiamo andare in barca a vela? = The place can we sail?
  
• Dove pranziamo? = The place ought to we eat lunch?
  

When an Italian phrase ends with a vowel, and the following phrase begins with the identical vowel, the ultimate vowel have to be changed by an apostrophe. This elision additionally occurs with phrases like cosa (what), dove (the place), and come (how) when the verb è (is) from essere (to be) follows them.

• Che cos’è? = What is that this?
  
• Dov’è il bagno? = The place is the restroom?
   

5. Perché? (Why?)

Perché is the Italian equal of “why” and “as a result of,” so you should use the identical phrase whether or not you’re asking a query or explaining.

As one of many Italian query phrases, perché works very equally to “why” in English. You need to use it alone when asking for a motive that’s clear from context, or you possibly can comply with it with the factor you’re asking about.

• Perché? = Why?
  
• Perché no? = Why not?
  
• Perché vai in Italia? = Why are you going to Italy?
  
• Non è chiaro perché le macchine si siano fermate. = It’s unclear why the vehicles are stopped.
  

Asking “why” in Italian can also be quite common as a reply whenever you don’t perceive the explanation for the query.

• Cosa hai fatto oggi? = What did you do as we speak?
  • Perché me lo chiedi? = Why are you asking me that?

You’ll hear perché in rhetorical questions, too, the place the speaker doesn’t actually anticipate a solution.

• È tutto organizzato. Perché dovrei preoccuparmi? = All the pieces is organized. Why ought to I fear?
• Non vedo perché dovrei preoccuparmi. = I don’t see why I ought to fear.

6. Quale/quali? (Which?)

Quale is an Italian query phrase that adjustments type between singular and plural. Quale is the singular type, whereas quali is the plural one, and each imply “which” in English.

These two phrases can cowl two completely different Italian components of speech. Generally they perform as interrogative pronouns.

• Ci sono tante maglie. Quali preferisci? = There are such a lot of sweaters. Which of them do you favor?
• Mi hai chiesto le chiavi, ma quali sono? = You requested me concerning the keys, however which of them are they?

Once they precede a noun, they’re interrogative adjectives.

• Quale parte di questo movie preferisci? = What’s your favourite a part of this film?
  
• Quale camicia ti piace di più? = Which shirt do you want extra?
  
• Quali sono i tuoi colori preferiti? = What are your favourite colours?
  

In oblique questions, they appear to be.

• Mi chiedo quale sia la soluzione migliore. = I ponder what the perfect answer is.
• Mi domandò quali fossero le mie intenzioni. = He requested me what my intentions have been.

A typical mistake is to interchange the final -e of quale earlier than the verb è (is), such as you do with com’è (how is) or dov’è (the place is). On this case, you simply take away it, as a result of the phrase qual really exists in Italian.

• Qual è la minestra del giorno? = What’s the soup of the day?
  

7. Quando? (When?)

Again to the invariable Italian query phrases, quando is one other important phrase to know if you wish to ask “when.”

• Quando vi siete sposati? = When have been you married?
  
• Quando andrai in montagna? = When are you going to the mountains?
  
• Quando hai conosciuto Daniele? = When did you meet Daniel?
  
• *Quando la finirete di costruire? = When will you end constructing it?
  

*This sentence is an ideal instance of how intonation can change the that means in Italian. If pronounced with the standard rising intonation of questions, it merely asks when the development work can be full. Nonetheless, if stated in a flatter tone, it may be a rhetorical query expressing frustration and that means, “When will you cease overbuilding?”

8. Quanto/quanta/quanti/quante? (How a lot?/What number of?)

Quanto means “How a lot?” in Italian, however it is a little more advanced than its English counterpart and the opposite Italian query phrases as a result of it adjustments relying on the quantity (singular or plural) and follows the Italian gender guidelines to match the noun it refers to.

In singular, you might have:

• quanto (masculine) and quanta (female)
  • Quanto latte vuoi? = How a lot milk would you like?
    
  • Quanta febbre ha il bambino? = What’s the child’s temperature? (lit. how a lot fever)
    
  • Mi chiedo quanto possa durare il volo per l’Italia. = I ponder how lengthy the flight to Italy will take.

The plural kinds are:

• quanti (masculine) and quante (female)
  • Quanti anni ha il Suo bambino? = How previous is your child? (formal you)
    
  • Quante bottiglie d’acqua sono rimaste? = What number of bottles of water are left?
    
  • Chissà se qualcuno ricorda quanti panini abbiamo comprato. = I ponder if anybody remembers what number of sandwiches we purchased.

There’s additionally a particular rule to remember: When quanto comes earlier than a verb, you at all times use the masculine singular.

• Quanto costa l’ingresso al museo? = How a lot does it price to get into the museum?
   

Methods to use query phrases with Italian prepositions

Italian query phrases usually include Italian prepositions to incorporate extra particulars. Whereas English locations prepositions on the finish of a query, they at all times come earlier than the query phrases in Italian.

• A che ora arrivate? = What time are you arriving?
  
• Tu con chi ceni? = Who are you consuming dinner with?
  
• Di che cosa parla la storia? = What is the story about?
  
• Per quale azienda lavora? = What firm do you’re employed for?
  

Methods to type questions in Italian

Constructing questions in Italian is surprisingly straightforward! Not like English, the place query construction usually adjustments, Italian retains issues easy, and the phrase order often stays the identical.

• Lei parla italiano? = Does she communicate Italian?
  
• Lei parla italiano. = She speaks Italian.
   

As you possibly can see, the phrases are in the identical order in Italian for the query and the assertion above. In writing, the one factor that reveals it’s a query is the punto di domanda (query mark) on the finish. And in case you’re uncertain, keep in mind that Italians themselves usually ask for clarification.

• È una domanda? = Is {that a} query?/Are you asking me?

Tricks to make Italian questions sound extra pure

As soon as you know the way to make use of Italian query phrases, the following step is studying to make your questions sound pure. Apart from intonation, listed below are three suggestions that may aid you sound like a local speaker.

• Drop the topic pronoun. Italians usually pass over phrases like io (I), tu (you), and different pronouns as a result of the verb ending already makes the topic clear.
  • Perché tu mi hai chiamato?  = Why did you name me?
• Transfer the topic or query phrase to the top for emphasis. This shift generally confuses learners, however Italians do it fairly often to seize consideration.
  • Mary è in Italia? → È in Italia Mary? = Is Mary in Italy?
  • Come sei arrivato a scuola? → Sei arrivato a scuola, come? = How did you get to highschool?
• Use query tags like “Proper?” for affirmation.
  • Vieni alla festa, vero? = You’re coming to the celebration, proper?
  • È un po’ tardi, no? = It’s a bit late, isn’t it?

From primary inquiries to talking fluently with Rosetta Stone

Asking questions is important when studying Italian. They’re dialog starters and a strong solution to discover the language and the tradition. However don’t simply memorize Italian query phrases in static sentences; whereas that helps initially, it might probably restrict you in a while. Research them in context as a substitute! Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion technique teaches grammar via real-life conditions, serving to you to start out talking Italian naturally from day one.