Demonstrative Pronouns: questo, quello, ciò | Italian Grammar

A demonstrative pronoun points at something — this one, that one, these, those. Italian has two main pronominal demonstratives, questo (this) and quello (that), each inflecting for gender and number. There's also a special invariable demonstrative, ciò, that points not at concrete objects but at abstract referents — ideas, statements, situations, propositions ("what you said," "that whole business," "the thing").

This page covers the pronoun forms (when questo/quello/ciò stand alone). The closely related demonstrative adjectives (when they accompany a noun: questo libro, quel giornale) are treated on the determiner page; we'll mention the contrast where relevant.

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The intuition for English speakers: questo/questa/questi/queste maps cleanly to this/these, and quello/quella/quelli/quelle maps cleanly to that/those. The piece of the system that doesn't have a clean English equivalent is ciò — Italian's "abstract that." When you say "I don't believe that" referring not to an object but to a claim, Italian distinguishes the abstract referent (non credo a ciò) from the concrete one (non credo a quello). English just says "that" for both.

1. The four-by-four pronoun table

As pronouns standing alone (no following noun), Italian demonstratives have four forms each, agreeing in gender and number with what they replace.

	m. sg.	f. sg.	m. pl.	f. pl.
this / these (near speaker)	questo	questa	questi	queste
that / those (far from speaker)	quello	quella	quelli	quelle

Note that the pronoun form of "those (m.)" is quelli — distinct from the adjective form which alternates quei / quegli depending on the noun that follows. As pronouns, the inventory is the simple regular four.

Questo è il mio caffè e quello è il tuo.

This is my coffee and that one is yours.

Questa torta è buonissima, ma quella era ancora migliore.

This cake is delicious, but that one was even better.

Questi sono i miei genitori.

These are my parents.

Quelle sono nuove, le ho comprate ieri.

Those are new, I bought them yesterday.

2. questo — "this, this one" (near the speaker)

Questo / questa / questi / queste points at something close to the speaker, either physically (within arm's reach) or in discourse (the topic just introduced or about to be introduced).

Questo qui è il regalo che ti volevo dare.

This here is the present I wanted to give you. ('qui' reinforces proximity)

Questa è la mia casa, vi do il benvenuto.

This is my house, welcome.

Questi sono i risultati del trimestre scorso.

These are last quarter's results. (introducing them in discourse)

Discourse-pointing questo

Beyond physical pointing, questo often refers to the thing just mentioned or the thing about to be mentioned in the conversation. This is the everyday "that" of English — Italian uses questo where English uses that with surprising frequency.

Marco è arrivato in ritardo. Questo non è normale per lui.

Marco arrived late. This isn't normal for him. (questo refers back to the previous sentence)

Ti dirò questo: non andrò a quella riunione.

I'll tell you this: I won't go to that meeting.

Sai cosa? Questo non lo accetto.

You know what? I won't accept this.

Reinforcement with qui / qua

To reinforce proximity, questo often pairs with the locative qui or qua (here): questo qui, questa qua. These reinforcers are very common in spoken Italian when there's a need to disambiguate between several things.

Quale vuoi, questo qui o quello là?

Which one do you want, this one here or that one there?

3. quello — "that, that one" (far from the speaker)

Quello / quella / quelli / quelle points at something away from the speaker, either physically (across the room, distant) or in discourse (something previously mentioned and being held at conversational distance).

Quello in fondo alla strada è il bar dove ci siamo conosciuti.

That at the end of the street is the bar where we met.

Quella che vedi laggiù è la chiesa principale del paese.

That one you see over there is the main church of the village.

Quelli sono i ragazzi di cui ti parlavo.

Those are the boys I was telling you about.

Quelle erano le scarpe più costose del negozio.

Those were the most expensive shoes in the store.

Reinforcement with là / lì

Mirror of questo qui: quello là, quella lì, quelli là, quelle lì — the locative reinforces distance. The accents on là and lì are required.

Mi piace molto quello là, in vetrina.

I really like that one there, in the window.

Quelli lì sono i miei colleghi nuovi.

Those guys there are my new colleagues.

quello + che — "the one who/that"

Quello che (and its inflected forms quella che, quelli che, quelle che) means "the one who, the one that." It's a workhorse construction.

Quello che ti ha chiamato ieri è il mio fratello maggiore.

The one who called you yesterday is my older brother.

Quella che indossa il vestito rosso è mia sorella.

The one wearing the red dress is my sister.

Preferisco i film d'azione, ma quelli che hai noleggiato sono drammatici.

I prefer action films, but the ones you rented are dramas.

4. quello as adjective — the contrast worth knowing

When quello sits before a noun, it behaves like a definite article and inflects more elaborately, depending on the phonology of the noun (quel, quello, quei, quegli, quella, quelle). When it stands alone as a pronoun, you only see the four regular forms (quello, quella, quelli, quelle).

	Adjective (before noun)	Pronoun (standalone)
m. sg. before consonant	quel libro	quello
m. sg. before s+cons / z / vowel	quello studente / quell'amico	quello
m. pl. before consonant	quei libri	quelli
m. pl. before s+cons / z / vowel	quegli studenti / quegli amici	quelli
f. sg.	quella casa / quell'amica	quella
f. pl.	quelle case	quelle

The adjective forms (quei, quegli) never appear as standalone pronouns. If you want "those (men)" as a pronoun, you say quelli, not quei or quegli.

Ho letto quei libri ma quelli non mi sono piaciuti.

I read those books but I didn't like those (other) ones. ('quei' as adjective, 'quelli' as pronoun)

Quegli studenti? Ah, quelli sono i migliori della classe.

Those students? Ah, those are the best in the class. ('quegli' as adjective, 'quelli' as pronoun)

5. ciò — abstract this/that, the propositional referent

Ciò (note the grave accent) is a special invariable demonstrative pronoun. It refers not to a concrete object but to a concept, a statement, a situation, a proposition — what you might call "the abstract referent."

In modern Italian, ciò is slightly formal. In casual speech, questo or quello often substitute. But in writing, in measured speech, and in fixed expressions (ciò che, ciò detto, tutto ciò), ciò remains very much alive.

Ciò non è vero.

That isn't true. (referring to a previous statement)

Non credo a ciò che mi hai detto.

I don't believe what you told me. ('ciò che' = 'what, that which')

Ciò detto, vorrei aggiungere una cosa.

That said, I'd like to add one thing.

Tutto ciò mi sembra molto strano.

All of this seems very strange to me.

ciò che — "what, that which"

The most common context for ciò is the relative-pronoun construction ciò che (or its sibling quello che), meaning "what, that which" — a free-relative pronoun whose head and antecedent are fused.

Ciò che mi sorprende è la sua reazione, non quella degli altri.

What surprises me is his reaction, not the others'.

Mi piace tutto ciò che cucina mia nonna.

I like everything my grandmother cooks.

Non ho capito ciò che hai voluto dire.

I didn't understand what you meant.

The interchangeability with quello che is real but not absolute: quello che is more conversational, ciò che slightly more formal or literary. Pick one and don't bounce between them in a single passage.

Fixed expressions with ciò

ciò che — what, that which
ciò detto / detto ciò — that said
tutto ciò — all of this/that
con ciò — with that, by that
e con ciò? — so what? what of it? (idiomatic)
per ciò (also written perciò) — therefore
ciò nonostante / nonostante ciò — nevertheless
ciò posto — that being said (formal/legal)

Era già tardi; ciò nonostante, decidemmo di partire.

It was already late; nevertheless, we decided to leave.

Non hai studiato? E con ciò? Ti boccieranno comunque.

You didn't study? So what? They'll fail you anyway. (idiomatic)

6. The Italian deictic system: a brief history

Old Italian had a three-way demonstrative system, modeled on Latin: questo (near speaker), codesto (near listener), quello (far from both). This three-way system survives in Spanish (este / ese / aquel) and Portuguese (este / esse / aquele). Modern Italian has collapsed to a two-way system: questo (near speaker) vs quello (not near speaker).

The old middle term codesto has dropped out of standard modern Italian. It survives in Tuscan dialect, in bureaucratic and legal Italian (codesto ufficio = "this office, the one I'm addressing"), and in old literature. You don't need to use it; just recognize it as archaic / bureaucratic — not everyday speech.

In riferimento alla richiesta inviata da codesto ufficio... (bureaucratic)

In reference to the request sent by this office (your office)... (formal letter style)

7. Demonstrative + di + adjective?

Unlike the indefinites qualcosa di bello and niente di importante, the demonstratives do not require di before adjectives. Quello bello (m. sg.), quella bella (f. sg.), quelli buoni (m. pl.), quelle nuove (f. pl.) are direct attributions, no preposition needed.

Quale preferisci, quello rosso o quello blu?

Which do you prefer, the red one or the blue one?

Tra le scarpe del negozio, ho preso quelle nere.

Among the shoes in the store, I took the black ones.

Ho due pizze: vuoi quella margherita o quella ai funghi?

I have two pizzas: do you want the margherita one or the mushroom one?

This makes quello / quella / quelli / quelle the natural Italian for English's "the X one(s)" — "the red one," "the blue ones," "the cheaper one." The structure is quello/a/i/e + adjective (or, with a phrase, quello + di + complement: quello di Maria = "Maria's one, the one belonging to Maria").

La mia macchina è quella di Marco, parcheggiata davanti.

My car is Marco's, parked out front. ('quella di Marco' = 'Marco's one' as pronoun)

8. Choosing between demonstrative and personal pronoun

When you want to refer back to "him, her, them" — especially the masculine 3rd-person — you have a choice between the personal pronoun (lui, lei, loro) and the demonstrative (quello, quella, quelli, quelle).

The demonstrative tends to imply some distance, contrast, or slight pejoration. Quello used for a person can carry an undertone of "that guy" — sometimes neutral, sometimes mildly negative depending on tone.

Ti ricordi di Marco? — Quello? Sì, certo.

Do you remember Marco? — That guy? Yeah, sure. (slight conversational distance)

Quella che hai conosciuto ieri sera è una mia amica d'infanzia.

That woman you met last night is a childhood friend of mine. (introducing identity)

For neutral reference, prefer the personal pronoun (lui, lei) or the noun. Use the demonstrative when distance, contrast, or focus is what you actually want.

9. Common mistakes

❌ Quello casa è bellissima.

Incorrect — used as adjective before a feminine noun, the form is 'quella casa'. As pronoun standalone, 'quella' (referring to a feminine noun).

✅ Quella casa è bellissima. / Quella, in fondo alla strada, è bellissima.

Correct — feminine 'quella' agrees with 'casa'.

❌ Ciò libro è interessante.

Incorrect — 'ciò' is invariable and refers to abstract concepts, not concrete objects. For 'this book' you need 'questo libro'.

✅ Questo libro è interessante. / Quel libro è interessante.

Correct — 'questo'/'quel' for concrete books, 'ciò' only for abstract referents.

❌ Quegli sono i miei amici.

Incorrect — 'quegli' is the adjective form (used before a noun); the standalone pronoun is 'quelli'.

✅ Quelli sono i miei amici.

Correct — pronoun form 'quelli'.

❌ Vorrei mangiare quello cosa che hai cucinato ieri.

Awkward — 'quello cosa' is wrong; the construction is either 'quello che' or 'quella cosa che'.

✅ Vorrei mangiare quello che hai cucinato ieri.

Correct — 'quello che' = 'what, the thing that'.

❌ Tutti questi sono mio.

Incorrect — possessive must agree with the demonstrative pronoun's number/gender. 'Questi' is masculine plural, so 'i miei'.

✅ Tutti questi sono i miei.

Correct — 'i miei' agrees with masculine plural 'questi'.

10. Key takeaways

questo / questa / questi / queste = this / these (near speaker). quello / quella / quelli / quelle = that / those (far from speaker). As pronouns, just these four forms each.
The pronoun "those (m.)" is quelli, not quei or quegli — those are adjective forms, used only before nouns.
ciò is the special invariable demonstrative for abstract / propositional referents — ciò che (what), ciò detto (that said), tutto ciò (all this). In casual speech questo / quello often replace it; in writing, ciò is still alive.
Modern Italian is two-way (questo / quello) — Spanish-style three-way (this / that-near-you / that-far) does not apply. The old codesto has dropped out except in legal language and Tuscan dialect.
No di before adjectives with demonstratives: quello rosso, not quello di rosso. The di construction is for qualcosa and niente, not quello.
Reinforcers: questo qui / qua and quello là / lì sharpen the pointing in spoken Italian.

For the relative-pronoun cousin (che, cui, il quale) and how it interacts with quello che and ciò che, see Relative pronouns: che. For the master pronoun map, see Italian Pronouns: Overview.

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