The 5 W's (and more!)

Both my Società Dante Alighieri and Babel courses have heavy focuses on immersion.

They drop you into do-able cases where you are either understanding or constructing sentences in Italian, and the repetition and context helps you learn other words and usages naturally, as if you were learning Italian as your first language.

It's awesome, and clearly the best way to do it. When you're saying something in person, you need to conjugate verbs and make noun genders agree through muscle memory. You can't be mentally calculating it every time you have to say something.

One of the things about it, though, is when you're learning Italian as your second or third language, you always kinda want to know how it translates to your mother tongue.

So, as I've been progressing through both courses, I've been encountering chi, che, quale and others, and I've been wondering:

What do all these mean and how do you use them???

To help myself learn, I'll write these down and explain below.

Interrogative Pronouns

1. Che / Cosa / Che Cosa (What)

These pronouns are used to ask about things or actions.

  • Examples:
    • Che fai? (What are you doing?)
    • Cosa vuoi? (What do you want?)
    • Che cosa mangi? (What are you eating?)

"Che," "cosa," and "che cosa" are often interchangeable and are used to inquire about something unspecified. "Che cosa" is a more emphatic form, but in practice, all three are commonly used.

2. Chi (Who/Whom)

Used to ask about a person or people.

  • Examples:
    • Chi è lui? (Who is he?)
    • Chi ha telefonato? (Who called?)

"Chi" is straightforward and is used when asking about the identity of a person or people, whether as the subject or object of the sentence.

3. Quale (Which)

Used to ask about a choice or selection among a group of items.

  • Examples:
    • Quale libro preferisci? (Which book do you prefer?)
    • Quale dei due vuoi? (Which one of the two do you want?)

"Quale" is used when asking about a specific item or choice from a defined set or category.

Interrogative Adjectives

1. Quale (Which/What)

Used to ask about specific characteristics of a noun.

  • Examples:
    • Quale macchina è tua? (Which car is yours?)
    • Quali colori ti piacciono? (Which colors do you like?)

As an adjective, "quale" agrees in number with the noun it modifies (e.g., "Quale" for singular, "Quali" for plural). It is used when asking for a specific item or feature from among a set of items.

2. Che (What/Which)

Used similarly to "quale" but often more general or informal.

  • Examples:
    • Che giorno è oggi? (What day is today?)
    • Che film vediamo? (Which movie shall we watch?)

"Che" can be more flexible and is often used in a broader context. It’s more common in spoken language.

Interrogative Adverbs

1. Dove (Where)

Used to ask about the location or place.

  • Examples:
    • Dove abiti? (Where do you live?)
    • Dove hai messo le chiavi? (Where did you put the keys?)

"Dove" is used to inquire about the physical location of something or someone. It can also refer to the destination in questions related to movement.

2. Quando (When)

Used to ask about time.

  • Examples:
    • Quando arrivi? (When are you arriving?)
    • Quando è il tuo compleanno? (When is your birthday?)

"Quando" is used to ask about specific points in time, such as dates, days, or moments.

3. Perché (Why)

Used to ask about reasons or causes.

  • Examples:
    • Perché sei triste? (Why are you sad?)
    • Perché non vieni con noi? (Why aren’t you coming with us?)

"Perché" is used to inquire about the reason behind an action, event, or state. It can also be used in a response to give a reason (e.g., "Perché sono stanco" – Because I am tired).

4. Come (How)

Used to ask about the manner or method of doing something.

  • Examples:
    • Come stai? (How are you?)
    • Come si fa questo? (How do you do this?)

"Come" is used to ask about the way or method by which something is done. It can also refer to the condition or state of someone or something.

5. Quanto (How much/How many)

Used to ask about quantity or amount.

  • Examples:
    • Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?)
    • Quanti anni hai? (How old are you? Literally: How many years do you have?)

"Quanto" changes according to the gender and number of the noun it refers to (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante). It’s used when asking about quantity, price, age, or duration.

Idiom of the day

"In bocca al lupo!"

This literally means "In the mouth of the wolf," and it's used to wish someone good luck. If someone wishes you luck this way, the proper response is: "Crepi" or "Crepi il lupo."

This means, literally, "I hope the wolf dies." Hardcore!