What does Quando Mean?
As simple as it is, “quando” means “when”, and its use is very similar to its English counterpart.
In fact, you can find quando either at the beginning of a sentence to ask a question, or between two sentences, to link the first to the second, like in the following examples:
Quando ci vediamo?
When will we meet?
Amo quando sorridi.
I love it when you smile.
“Quando” in Italian
How can I use “Quando” in Italian?
Linguistically speaking, “quando” can be used both in questions and relative clauses.
In the first case, it is an interrogative pronoun, like chi, cosa, dove, perché, quant*, qual*, and come (respectively: who, what, where, why, how much/many, which, and how). Notice that I used the asterisk in two forms because they are declined in gender and number.
In general, interrogative pronouns are basic terms that are used to ask questions in Italian, just like in all languages which display them in their grammar.
Quando tornerai in Italia?
When are you coming back to Italy?
A funny thing that I like to underline is that, while in English all these pronouns – except for “how” – start with wh, in Italian they all – except for perché – start with the sound [k].
This is because they all evolved from Latin, and kept this sound although with different graphic outcomes.
In the second case, “quando” is a conjunction, therefore it is used to link one sentence to the other.
Ho conosciuto Matteo quando ho viaggiato in Asia.
I met Matteo when I travelled to Asia.
Other Uses of “Quando”
There are two more ways we can use “quando” beside questions and relative clauses:
- Another use of “quando” is to make a comparison between two opposite situations. When it is used in these cases, it implies some incompatibility between the two.
Non capisco perché si sia offeso, quando dovrei essere io ad arrabbiarmi.
I don’t understand why he got offended, when I should be the one getting angry.
- The other way you can use “quando” is to pair it with mai (“never”) in a rhetorical question to imply that something has never happened for sure.
Quando mai ho fatto una cosa del genere?
When did I ever do such a thing?
“Quando”: Mandatory to Know!
Whether you want to ask a question or you want to create a complex sentence, the word “quando” will help you improve your Italian skills.
Knowing the meaning of this word is the first step to start mastering sentences with time-related words in Italian.
So, now tell me:
Quando tornerai a leggere? (When will you be back to read?)
Learn more about asking questions in Italian.
