Asking Simple Questions

Asking questions is one of the first skills you need in any language. Italian questions are simpler to form than English ones — there is no need for auxiliary verbs like "do" or "does". You can often turn a statement into a question simply by changing your intonation.

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Three Ways to Ask Questions

1. Intonation Questions (Yes/No)

The simplest way to ask a yes/no question is to take a statement and raise your intonation at the end. The word order stays exactly the same.

Statement	Question
Parli italiano.	Parli italiano?
Sei studente.	Sei studente?
Avete fame.	Avete fame?
Questo è il treno per Roma.	Questo è il treno per Roma?

Tip: In written Italian, the only difference is the question mark. In spoken Italian, the rising intonation at the end signals a question. This is by far the most common way to ask yes/no questions.

2. Inverting Subject and Verb

You can also form questions by placing the subject after the verb. This is slightly more formal or emphatic.

Statement	Question
Marco parla inglese.	Parla inglese Marco?
Il treno arriva alle tre.	Arriva il treno alle tre?
Voi avete il biglietto.	Avete voi il biglietto?

Note: Because Italian often drops the subject pronoun, inversion is most noticeable with names and noun subjects, not with pronouns.

3. Adding a Tag Question

You can add a short tag at the end of a statement to turn it into a question. Common tags include no?, vero?, and giusto?.

Italian	English
Parli italiano, no?	You speak Italian, don't you?
Sei di Roma, vero?	You are from Rome, right?
Domani è lunedì, giusto?	Tomorrow is Monday, correct?
Non è difficile, vero?	It is not difficult, is it?
Ci vediamo alle otto, no?	We'll see each other at eight, right?

Tip: Vero? and no? work with both affirmative and negative statements. They are versatile and very commonly used.

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Question Words (Interrogativi)

Italian question words are essential for asking open-ended questions. Here is the complete list:

The Complete List

Question Word	Meaning	Example
Chi?	Who?	Chi è? — Who is it?
Che? / Che cosa? / Cosa?	What?	Che fai? — What are you doing?
Dove?	Where?	Dove sei? — Where are you?
Quando?	When?	Quando arrivi? — When are you arriving?
Perché?	Why? / Because	Perché studi italiano? — Why do you study Italian?
Come?	How?	Come stai? — How are you?
Quanto/a/i/e?	How much? / How many?	Quanto costa? — How much does it cost?
Quale? / Quali?	Which? / What?	Quale preferisci? — Which do you prefer?

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Each Question Word in Detail

Chi? — Who?

Chi is invariable — it has only one form regardless of gender or number.

Italian	English
Chi è?	Who is it?
Chi sono?	Who are they?
Chi parla?	Who is speaking?
Con chi vai?	Who are you going with?
Di chi è questo libro?	Whose book is this?
A chi scrivi?	Who are you writing to?
Per chi è questo regalo?	Who is this present for?

Note: Unlike English, Italian does not change "who" to "whom". Chi is used in all positions — subject, object, and after prepositions.

Che? / Che cosa? / Cosa? — What?

All three forms mean "what" and are interchangeable. Che is the shortest and most common in everyday speech. Che cosa is slightly more formal. Cosa is widely used.

Italian	English
Che fai?	What are you doing?
Che cosa vuoi?	What do you want?
Cosa mangi?	What are you eating?
Che cos'è?	What is it?
Che lavoro fai?	What work do you do?
Di che parli?	What are you talking about?

Che before a noun means what kind of or which:

Italian	English
Che libro leggi?	What book are you reading?
Che giorno è oggi?	What day is it today?
Che ore sono?	What time is it?

Dove? — Where?

Italian	English
Dove sei?	Where are you?
Dove abiti?	Where do you live?
Dov'è il bagno?	Where is the bathroom?
Di dove sei?	Where are you from?
Dove andiamo?	Where are we going?
Da dove vieni?	Where do you come from?

Tip: Dove contracts to dov' before è: Dov'è? (Where is?)

Quando? — When?

Italian	English
Quando arrivi?	When are you arriving?
Quando è il tuo compleanno?	When is your birthday?
Quando parte il treno?	When does the train leave?
Da quando studi italiano?	Since when have you been studying Italian?
Fino a quando resti?	Until when are you staying?

Perché? — Why? / Because

Perché serves double duty in Italian — it means both why (in questions) and because (in answers).

Italian	English
Perché studi italiano?	Why do you study Italian?
Perché è bello.	Because it is beautiful.
Perché non vieni?	Why are you not coming?
Perché ho da fare.	Because I have things to do.
Perché no?	Why not?

Tip: Unlike Spanish (where ¿por qué? and porque are written differently), Italian uses the same word for both "why" and "because": perché. Context makes the difference clear.