Italian Grammar Bank
ITALIAN PRONOUNS
Pronouns in Italian replace nouns to avoid repetition and clarify meaning.
This lesson explores interrogative, exclamative, identifying, and possessive pronouns, helping you understand their forms and usage in different contexts.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
Interrogative pronouns are parts of speech that introduce a question, either in direct form (‘Who finished the jam?’) or in indirect form (‘I don’t know who finished the jam’).
Interrogative pronouns are also differentiated between invariable forms (chi, che who, which) and variable forms (quale, quali, quanto, quanta, quanti, quante which, which, how much, how many) .
They can be used with the logical function of subject (‘Who spoke?’), object complement (‘What do you do in life?’) or indirect complement (‘Who did you leave the house keys with?’).
| Chi ha finito la marmellata? | Who finished the jam? |
| Non so chi abbia finito la marmellata | I don’t know who finished the jam. |
| Chi ha parlato? | Who spoke? |
| Che fai nella vita? | What do you do in life? |
| A chi hai lasciato le chiavi di casa? | Who did you leave the house keys with? |
Interrogative pronouns are used for three types of questions, direct or indirect:
• On the identity of what is being talked about; in this case chi is used
• On the quantity of what is being talked about; thus quanto much is used;
• On the quality of what is being talked about; in this case one uses quale.
Chi can only be a pronoun and should only be used with persons; che, quale, e quanto can also be interrogative adjectives.
| Che gelato vuoi? | What ice cream do you want? |
| Quale gusto preferisci? | Which flavour do you prefer? |
| Dimmi quanto denaro ti serve. | Tell me how much money you need. |
EXCLAMATIVE PRONOUNS
Exclamative pronouns, on the other hand, introduce an exclamation – always indicated by an exclamation mark – and are: chi, che, quale, quanto.
| Quanto ho sentito è una baggianata! | What I’ve heard is nonsense! |
| Chi si vede! | Who can be seen! |
Also in this case the forms che, quale, quanto can also be used as exclamation adjectives:
| Che pensiero gentile! | How thoughtful! |
| Quanta pazienza ci vuole con te! | How much patience does it take with you! |
| Quale tragedia! | What a tragedy! |
IDENTIFYING PRONOUNS
Identifying pronouns (identical to the corresponding adjectives) same and same are used to indicate the identity between two concepts or objects.
In addition, they can be used as reinforcers of other parts of speech such as nouns or personal pronouns.
| Il file che mi hai mandato è lo stesso di prima. | The file you sent me is the same as before. |
| Egli stesso mi ha confermato questa versione dei fatti. | He himself (= him in person, just him) confirmed this version of events to me. |
| Ho commesso il tuo medesimo errore nella prova di matematica. | I made the same mistake as you (= just the one) in the math test. |
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
The indefinite pronouns (and the corresponding adjectives) are a very broad class of pronouns that share a specific function: that of indicating and defining someone or something, in terms of its identity or quantity, in a generic and undetermined manner.
It is therefore possible to divide indefinite pronouns into four broad categories according to their function:
SINGULAR PRONOUNS
These are those that refer only to a thing or a person in an undetermined manner.
These include: qualcuno (someone), qualcheduno (someone), qualcosa (something), qualche cosa (something), che (that), uno (one), alcuno (some), tale (such), quale (which), altro (other), altrui (others).
| Hai visto qualcuno? | Have you seen someone? |
| Uno mi ha chiesto come quando si concluderà la conferenza. | One asked me how when the conference will be concluded. |
| Non mi ha detto alcunché di utile. | He didn’t tell me anything useful. |
| Serve altro? | Need anything else? |
COLLECTIVE PRONOUNS
these are those indicating an undefined or unspecified set of persons or things.
Collective pronouns – with very few exceptions – are always used in the singular.
We can list: chiunque, chicchesia (whoever), checché (whatever), ciascuno (each), ciascheduno (each), cadauno (each), ognuno (each/every), tutto (all).
| Chiunque ti confermerà questa versione dei fatti. | Anyone will confirm this version of events. |
| Checché lui ne dica, è andata così. | Whatever he says, it went like this. |
| Ho parlato con ciascuno di loro. | I spoke to each of them. |
| Ognuno ha espresso liberamente la propria opinione. | Each one freely expressed his opinion |
NEGATIVE PRONOUNS
These are those that deny the existence of a certain quantity or identity.
Negative pronouns avoid negation if within a sentence they precede the verb (Nessuno l’ha sentito Nobody heard it) but provide it if they follow it (Non l’ha sentito nessuno He wasn’t heard by anybody).
These include: nessuno (none), niente (nothing), nulla (nothing).
| Nessuno ha suggerito delle modifiche al piano regolatore. | No one has suggested changes to the master plan. |
| La commissione non ha ancora deciso nulla. | The commission has not yet decided anything. |
QUANTITATIVE PRONOUNS
These are those that indicate a generic quantity perceivable in time, space or in abstract terms.
They are: poco (a little), alquanto (somewhat), parecchio (a lot), molto (a lot), tanto (a lot), troppo (too much), altrettanto (equally).
| Non mi piace molto lo stufato, quindi dammene pure poco. | I don’t really like stew, so give me a little of it. |
| Ho rivisto molti vecchi amici e ho parlato a lungo con parecchi di loro. | I saw many old friends again and spoke at length with several of them. |
| Luigi ha davvero molti dischi, ma Sandro ne ha sicuramente tanti di più. | Luigi really has a lot of records, but Sandro certainly has many more. |
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive pronouns (and adjectives) are used to specify who owns the person, thing, animal or abstract entity that is expressed by the noun they replace.
Because of this characteristic, possessive pronouns (like relative adjectives) are closely related to the personal pronouns subject and complement.
To summarise:
| SINGULAR | PLURAL | |
|---|---|---|
| First person singular | mio (m.); mia (f.) | miei (m.); mie (f.) |
| Second person singular | tuo (m.); tua (f.) | tuoi (m.); tue (f.) |
| Third person singular | suo (m.); sua (f.) | suoi (m.); sue (f.) |
| First person plural | nostro (m.); nostra (f.) | nostri (m.); nostre (f.) |
| Second person plural | vostro (m.); vostra (f.) | vostri (m.); vostre (f.) |
| Third person plural | loro (m. e f.) | loro (m. e f.) |
Examples include:
| La mia università è più lontana della tua. | My university is further away than yours. |
| Casa tua è più grande della sua. | Your house is bigger than his. |
| Non ci serve il computer, abbiamo portato il nostro. | We don’t need our computer, we brought ours. |
| Abbiamo dimenticato il caricabatterie, possiamo usare il vostro? | We forgot our charger, can we use yours? |
| Il mio divano è più nuovo del loro. | My sofa is newer than theirs. |
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FAQs
What is the difference between interrogative and exclamative pronouns?
Interrogative pronouns (chi, che, quale, quanto) are used to ask questions (e.g., Chi ha chiamato? – Who called?).
Exclamative pronouns express emotions or surprise (e.g., Che bello! – How beautiful!).
How do possessive pronouns differ from possessive adjectives?
Possessive pronouns (il mio, il tuo, il suo, il nostro, il vostro, il loro) replace a noun (e.g., Il mio è più grande – Mine is bigger)
Possessive adjectives accompany a noun (Il mio libro è interessante – My book is interesting).
What are identifying pronouns in Italian, and how are they used?
Identifying pronouns (lo stesso, il medesimo, tale) indicate identity or similarity
e.g., Ho comprato lo stesso – I bought the same one.
Do interrogative and exclamative pronouns change based on gender and number?
Some do!
Che remains unchanged, but quale and quanto change (e.g., Quale vuoi? – Which one do you want? / Quanti sono arrivati? – How many arrived?).
Can possessive pronouns in Italian be used without an article?
Generally, possessive pronouns require a definite article (il mio, la tua), except in some cases, like after the verb essere (e.g., Questo è mio – This is mine).
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