Log inSign up

Dov'è la chiave? È qua!

Dov'è la chiave? È qua!
Where is the key? It's here!
From Lesson 14:Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)·Italian

Breakdown of Dov'è la chiave? È qua!

essere
to be
la chiave
the key
dove
where
qua
here (= qui)

Questions & Answers about Dov'è la chiave? È qua!

Why is it la chiave instead of il chiave if it ends in -e?
Nouns ending in -e in Italian can be masculine or feminine, so you just have to memorize their gender. Chiave happens to be feminine, which is why it uses the feminine article la. To make it plural, it becomes le chiavi (the keys).
What does the apostrophe in Dov'è stand for?
Dov'è is a contraction of dove (where) and è (is). Italian often drops the final vowel of a word when the next word starts with a vowel to make the sentence flow better.
What is the difference between qua and qui?
Both qua and qui mean "here" (close to the speaker) and are generally interchangeable. You will hear Italians use both all the time, though qua can sometimes imply a slightly wider or less specific area around the speaker.
Since this lesson is about quello (that), how would I say "Where is that key?"
Because chiave is a feminine singular noun starting with a consonant, you use the feminine form quella. The sentence would be: Dov'è quella chiave?
Why is the second sentence just È qua without a word for "it"?
In Italian, subject pronouns like "it", "he", or "she" are usually dropped if the context is clear. The verb è (is) already carries the meaning, so you don't need to add a word for "it".

Learn Dov'è la chiave? È qua and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →