Italian Language Lessons
Grammar, spelling, and usage
Italian Interrogative Adjectives
Printer–Friendly Version
Interrogative adjectives (gli aggettivi interrogativi) indicate a quality or indefinite quantity and come with specific nouns. The most common forms are che (what? what kind of?), quale (which?), and quanto (how much? how many?). For example:
Quali parole ricordi? (Which words do you remember?)
Che libri leggete? (What books do you read?)
Quante ragazze vengono? (How many girls are coming?)
Che ora è? (What time is it?)
Quanto pane vuoi? (How much bread do you want?)
Notice the difference in meaning between che and quale. The question Quali film hai visto? asks "Which films have you seen?" (For example, Il Postino, Ciao Professore! or La Vita È Bella.) The question Che film hai visto? asks "What types of films have you seen?" (For example, comedy, romance, or thriller.)
The interrogative adjective quanto (how many, how much) agrees in number and gender with the noun it modifies and has four forms (see table below).
| FOUR FORMS OF QUANTO? (HOW MUCH?/HOW MANY? |
|---|
| masculine/singular | quanto | Quanto tempo fa? (How long ago?) |
| masculine/plural | quanti | Quanti anni hai? (How old are you?) |
| feminine/singular | quanta | Quanta farina c'è? (How much flour is there?) |
| feminine/plural | quante | Quante studentesse ci sono? (How many students are there?) |
| Italian Language Study Resources |
| Language Lessons: Italian grammar, spelling, and usage. |
| Audio Phrasebook: Improve your pronunciation and build your vocabulary. |
| Workbook Exercises: Worksheets, drills, activities, and review. |
| Buon Divertimento: Italian jokes, riddles, and puns. |
| Italian Verbs: Formation, moods, tenses, and table of conjugations. |
| Study Guides: Challenge your skills and test your knowledge of various topics. |
| Audio Lab: Word of the day, survival phrases, ABC's, numbers, and conversation. |
Newsletter
