Italian Interrogative and Exclamatory Adverbs

Interrogative and exclamatory adverbs are used in interrogative and exclamative sentences to talk about:

  • Places

Dov’è Nadia? (Where’s Nadia?)
Dove vuoi andare a mangiare? (Where do you want to go to eat?)
Dove trovi le forze per studiare così tanto? (Where do you get the strength to study so much?)
Da dove arriva il nuovo vicino? (Where is the new neighbour from?)
Dove si trova la biblioteca? (Where is the library?)

  • Time

Quando vieni a casa a mangiare la pizza? (When are you coming to our house to eat pizza?)
Quando mai hai aiutato a pulire! (When have you ever helped me clean?)
Quando è l’appuntamento dal dentista? (When is the appointment at the dentist’s?)
Quando finirà questo incubo? (When will this nightmare end?)
Quando è il tuo compleanno? (When is your birthday?)

  • How

Come vai al mare? (How do you go to the beach?)
Com‘era bello questo film! (That film was great!)
Come vuoi la pasta? (How do you want the pasta?)
Come stanno i tuoi genitori? (How are your parents?)
Come ti sei svegliata oggi? (How did you feel when you woke up this morning?)

  • Cause

Come mai non sei rimasto con noi? (Why didn’t you stay with us?)
Perché sei arrabbiato con Stefania? (Why are you angry with Stefania?)
Perché non hai finito il lavoro? (Why haven’t you finished the work?)
Perché Michela sta piangendo? (Why is Michela crying?)
Come mai vuoi uscire? (Why do you want to go out?)

  • Quantity

Quanto mangi! (You eat so much!)
Quanto sono contenta oggi! (I’m so happy today!)
Quanto è caro quell’appartamento! (That flat is so expensive!)
Quanto ha parlato il presidente! (The president spoke a lot!)
Da quanto tempo non ridevo così! (I haven’t laughed like that for ages!)

In indirect interrogative sentences DOVE (where), QUANDO (when), PERCHÉ (why/because), COME (how), QUANTO (how much) are conjunctions which introduce subordinate prepositions.

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