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Chi ha cucinato questo arrosto elaborato è mia sorella.

Chi ha cucinato questo arrosto elaborato è mia sorella.
The one who cooked this elaborate roast is my sister.
From Lesson 421:Emphasizing topics (chi / quello che)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Chi ha cucinato questo arrosto elaborato è mia sorella.

How does the word chi function at the beginning of this sentence?
In this pseudo-cleft sentence, chi acts as a relative pronoun meaning the one who or the person who. It introduces the background information (the cooking of the roast) as a topic clause, allowing the new or important information (mia sorella) to be highlighted at the very end after the verb è.
Could I use quello che instead of chi in this sentence?
No, because quello che (and its formal equivalent ciò che) is used strictly for things or abstract concepts, meaning that which or what. Since we are identifying a person here, you must use chi.
If the cooks were my sisters (plural), would the verb è change?
Yes. In Italian pseudo-cleft sentences, the copula (the verb essere) must agree with the focus element that follows it. If the focus were plural, the sentence would be: Chi ha cucinato questo arrosto elaborato sono le mie sorelle. Notice how è changes to sono to match the plural le mie sorelle.
Why is there no article before mia sorella?
As a quick refresher from earlier levels, Italian drops the definite article (la, il, etc.) before possessive adjectives when referring to singular, unmodified family members. Therefore, it is simply mia sorella, not la mia sorella.

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