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Question words in Italian

    WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHY? WHERE? HOW MUCH?

    Life is full of questions. But how do you ask those questions in Italian?

    • where- dove?
    • Where is the piazza? Dove è la piazza?
    • when – quando?
    • When does the train leave? Quando parte il treno?
    • how – come?
    • How do you arrive to Rome? Come si arriva a Roma?
    • which- quale?
    • Quale città vuoi visitare? which city do you want to visit?
    • what-cosa?
    • What can we visit in Italia? Cosa c’è da visitare in Italia?
    • who- chi?
    • Who was the Doge of Venice? Chi era il Doge di Venezia?
    • why-perchè?
    • Why is the road damaged? Perchè la strada è rovinato?

    Because why?

    The word perchè is used both for why and because.

    Giorgia: Perchè il Colosseo è rovinato? Why is the Colosseum damaged?

    Antonella: Perchè è molto vecchio. Because it’s very old.

    But how does one know if it is “why” or “because“? Simply listen to the context of the discussion.

    Use of quanto:

    • Quanto- how much

    Quanto deserves explanation with these examples:

    1. Quanto è alto il campanile di Giotto? How tall is Giotto’s bell tower?
    2. Quanta farina ti serve per fare la pizza? How much flour do you need to make pizza?
    3. Quanti posti ci sono nel teatro alla Scala di Milano? How many seats are there in the Scala theater of Milan?
    4. Quante persone visitano ogni anno Firenze? How many people visit Florence every year?

    The last letter of quanto changes in the above examples to agree with number and gender of the thing talked about.

    For example, Giotto’s bell tower (il campanile di Giotto) is masculine, and singular, so it uses quanto with an ‘o’ while flour (farina) is singular and feminine so it uses quanta with an ‘a’.

    Meanwhile, the Scala theatre example, the seats (posti) are plural and masculine, so it is used with an ‘i’.

    In the last example, persone is a feminine word and since we are talking of more than one person, feminine plural form quante is used.

    There’s always an Exception:

    • Quanto costa? How much does it cost?

    This example is a clear exception to the rule of quanto. Because in this rule, one never has to modify to agree with gender or number. So no matter how many objects you want to ask for the price for, it will always be “Quanto costa”??