Question 1

I have seen qui and lì used for 'here' and 'there'. Can I use them instead of qua and là?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Qua and qui both mean 'here', while là and lì both mean 'there'. While qua and là can sometimes imply a slightly wider general area than qui and lì, they are practically interchangeable in everyday Italian.

Question 2

Why does là have an accent mark, but qua doesn't?

Accepted Answer

The accent mark on là is a distinguishing accent. It exists solely to tell it apart from the feminine word for 'the' (la). Since there is no other Italian word spelled qua, it doesn't need an accent mark to avoid confusion. You can also see this with è (is) and e (and).

Question 3

Since we are learning about quello (that), how do these location words relate to it?

Accepted Answer

They pair up perfectly! You use the adjective questo (this) for things that are qua or qui (close to you). You use quello (that) for things that are là or lì (far away from you).

Question 4

The word cane ends in '-e'. How do I know it is masculine?

Accepted Answer

The definite article gives it away! While many masculine words end in '-o' and feminine words in '-a', words ending in '-e' can be either. The masculine article il right before it in il cane is your clear clue that it is a masculine noun.

Il gatto è qua, ma il cane è là.

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