Quello

Quello is an Italian demonstrative word that can function as either a determiner before a noun or as a pronoun standing alone. It corresponds to the English “that” or “the one,” and it signals distance from the speaker, usually indicating something farther away than what is referred to by questo.

Morphology and forms

Quello has several inflected forms depending on gender, number, and the phonetic beginning of the noun it accompanies. Singular masculine forms include quel (before most consonants) and quello (before certain consonant clusters such as s+consonant, z, ps, gn). Before a vowel, the form is quel- with elision, as in quell’uomo. The feminine singular mirrors this with quella (before consonants) and quell’ before vowels. Plural masculine forms are quei (before most consonants) and quegli (before the same special clusters and often before vowels in practice). The feminine plural is tutte or quelle, used before both consonants and vowels.

Usage as determiner and pronoun

As a determiner, quello accompanies a noun: quello zaino, quella casa, quegli studenti. As a pronoun, it can replace a noun: Ti piace quello o quello? That one or that one? It can also form phrases such as quello che meaning “that which” or “the thing that.” Common constructions include quello di X to indicate “X’s one” (possession), and the fixed phrase non è quello, meaning “it is not that.”

Distinctions and equivalents

Quello contrasts with vicino forms like questo (this) and with quello as a broader “that” across contexts. In informal speech, specific variants may be used to emphasize distance or contrast, such as quello lì for “that one over there.”

See also Italian grammar of demonstratives.