partial questions

Partial Interrogation in Italian

In Italian, partial interrogation occurs when a question asks for specific information about a particular element of a sentence, rather than seeking a simple "yes" or "no" confirmation of the whole statement. These questions start with an interrogative word that carries the main stress and a rising intonation.

1. Pronominal Interrogatives

These function as pronouns or adjectives, replacing or identifying a person or thing.

• Che / Che cosa / Cosa (What): In formal Italian, che cosa is common. In conversational Italian, you can use just che or cosa.
  • Che hai comprato? (What did you buy?)
  • Che cosa hai comprato? (What thing did you buy?)
  • Cosa hai comprato? (What did you buy?)
• Chi (Who): Used for people. It can be preceded by prepositions.
  • Chi ti ha regalato questo libro? (Who gave you this book?)
  • Con chi sei uscito ieri? (Who did you go out with yesterday?)
• Quale (Which/What): It can be a pronoun or an adjective modifying a noun.
  • Quale vuoi? (Which one do you want?)
  • Quale libro vuoi? (Which book do you want?)

2. Adverbial Interrogatives

These are used to ask about the circumstances of an action (time, place, reason, manner, quantity).

• Perché (Why): Perché non sei venuto a lezione? (Why didn't you come to class?)
• Dove (Where): Dov’è il mio quaderno? (Where is my notebook?)
• Quando (When): Quando finirai il tuo lavoro? (When will you finish your work?)
• Come (How): Come hai fatto questo? (How did you do this?)
• Quanto (How much): Quanto costa questo libro? (How much does this book cost?)

3. The use of "mai" for Reinforcement

Interrogative words (except quale and quanto) can be reinforced with the word mai to express surprise, disbelief, or strong interest.

• Come mai non sei venuto a lezione? (How come you didn't come to class?)
• Chi mai lo avrà scritto? (Who on earth could have written it?)

Note: In general (total) questions, mai is used to mean "ever."

• Sei mai stato a Roma? (Have you ever been to Rome?)