The demonstratives questo and quello in Italian correspond to English words “this/these'' and “that/those.” In Italian, as in English, they can be used as adjectives or as pronouns, but in Italian they take different endings depending on what they replace or describe. For example:
As adjectives (the demonstrative agrees with the following noun):
Queste riviste sono interessanti.Translation: These magazines are interesting.We use queste because riviste is feminine pluralQuei fiori sono stupendi!Translation: Those flowers are amazing!We use quei because fiori is masculine pluralAs pronouns (the demonstrative agrees with the noun it stands in for):
Questo è mio figlio.Translation: This is my son.We use questo because mio figlio is masculine singularQuella è la mia borsa.Translation: That is my purse.We use quella because mia borsa is feminine singular
In this post we’ll cover all the forms and how to use them, and as a bonus, a few other demonstrative pronouns. But first, a quote to get you thinking in Italian:
“Questa o quella per me pari sono” meaning This woman or that one, makes no difference to me, famously sings the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. Well, Dear Duke! Questa/o or quella/o are VERY different!
Let’s see why questa or quella are NOT the same, shall we?
How to use ‘questo’ and ‘quello’ as demonstrative adjectives?
When questo meaning this and quello meaning those are used as adjectives they are placed before a noun. They agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun. And, they specify the position of specific people or things in relation to the speaker:
questo/a/i/e gives the idea of vicinity to the speaker (“this”)
quello/a/e/i conveys the idea of distance from the speaker (“that”)
Let’s look at some examples:
In these examples, you can see that questa meaning this and quelle meaning those are placed BEFORE a noun and that they agree in gender and number with the noun mela/mele meaning apple/apples. In our first example questa mela meaning this apple expresses vicinity to the speaker, while quelle mele meaning those apples indicates distance from the speaker.
Now, let’s see what the forms of these demonstrative adjectives are!
What are the forms of ‘questo’?
The adjective questo has these forms: questo, questa, questi, queste, and quest'. In order to choose the right form, keep these two things in mind:
It always agrees in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun:
Gender Singular Plural Masculine
questo libro meaning this bookquesto zaino meaning this backpackquestoquesti libri meaning this bookquesti zaini meaning these backpacksquestiFeminine
questa penna meaning this penquestaqueste penne meaning these pensquestePay attention to the first letter(s) of the noun, just like you do with the articles. If the noun is singular and begins with a vowel use: quest' for both masculine and feminine nouns.
quest’albero meaning this treequest’amica meaning this female friend
What are the forms of ‘quello’?
Quello has four basic forms, quel, quei, quella, and quelle, but besides those, it has a few others because it works exactly like the definite article il/lo/l’/la/le/i/gli meaning the.
Check out our post on Italian definite articles for a quick refresher, or keep reading to learn the rules for quello!
In order to choose the right form, always keep in mind:
the gender/number agreement
the letter(s) the noun starts with
Here’s a quick visual of the possible combinations:
| Forms | Masculine Singular | Masculine Plural |
|---|---|---|
Basic form | quel | quei |
With nouns starting with a vowel or h | quell’ | quegli |
With nouns starting with: z, s+ consonant, gn, ps, pn, y, x | quello | quegli |
| Forms | Feminine Singular | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|
Basic form | quella | quelle |
With nouns starting with a vowel | quell’ | quelle |
How to use ‘questo’ and ‘quello’ as demonstrative pronouns?
As with all pronouns, the demonstratives replace a noun specifying a person or a thing already mentioned, and/or is obvious from the context.
- Quale libro vuoi?Translation: Which book do you want?
- Quello di matematica.Translation: The math one.
Just like the demonstrative adjectives, there are two sets: one for “vicinity” to the speaker (questo), and one for “distance” from the speaker (quello). Just remember that, as with all pronouns, they need to “recall” the gender and number of the “omitted” noun.
- Chi sono questi ragazzi?Translation: Who are these boys?
- Questi sono i miei fratelli.Translation: These are my brothers.
- Quanto costa quella borsa?Translation: How much is that purse?
- Quale?Translation: Which one?
- Quella di pelle!Translation: The leather one!
Cheer up! The forms are very similar to the adjectives we just learned above (except for quelli meaning those).
Here they are:
questo, questa, queste, questi meaning this/these
quello, quella, quelle, quelli meaning that/those
Here some more examples of demonstrative pronouns in Italian:
Feminine singular:
Feminine plural:
Masculine singular:
Masculine plural:
Don’t forget: the pronoun must agree with the gender and number of the noun it’s replacing!
What are other demonstrative pronouns in Italian?
Some pronouns are used ONLY as demonstratives, these are formal and mostly found in literature and official documents.
Costui/Costei/Costoro meaning this/these person(s) (man or woman) usually refer to people and they bear a negative connotation:
Costui è un impostore.Translation: This man is an imposter.Colui/Colei/Coloro meaning that/those person(s) (man or woman) usually only refer to people, but they are rarely used:
Coloro che pagano, possono entrare.Translation: Those (persons) who are paying, are admitted.Ciò meaning what/that is a very common pronoun used in written Italian, and it can be used as subject or object of a sentence:
Ciò che dice è vero.Translation: What s/he says is true.Su ciò non ci sono dubbi.Translation: There’s no doubt about that.Literally: About that, there are no doubts.
Summing Up
Quick key points to remember:
questo, questa, quest’ = "this"; questi, queste = "these."
quello, quella, quell’ = "that"; quelli, quei/quegli, quelle = "those."
quello behaves like the definite article, il; it changes depending on the first letter of the noun that follows.
quei and quegli are only used as an adjective.
quelli is only used as a pronoun.
Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the noun they replace (pronouns), or with the noun they precede (adjectives).
And now, let’s practice demonstrative adjectives in Italian!
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