Interrogative pronouns ask the question ‘who?’ or ‘what?’ They refer to a person or thing previously unknown:
Who did that?; What did you say?
Image: declension of quis / quid (who? what?); note that, in the singular, there is no distinction between masculine and feminine i.e. quis? (who?) and quem (whom?) are always masculine by default in Classical Latin, although the answer to the question could be a woman.
NOMINATIVE
Quis mē vocāvit?│ Who called me?
Quis es? │ Who are you?
Quid tibi est? │ What do you have? [also: What is wrong with you?]
Quī sunt cōnsulēs hōc annō? │ Who are the consuls this year?
GENITIVE
Cuius est hic liber? │ Whose book is this? [literally: of whom is this book?]
Quōrum nōmina in librō scrīpsit? │ Whose (plural) names [literally: the names of whom] did he write in the book?
Quārum (plural; feminine) statuās Marcella ōrnat? │ Whose statues does Marcella decorate?
> Marcella statuās deārum ōrnat │ Marcella decorates the statues of the goddesses.
DATIVE
Cui vēritātem dīxit? │ To whom (singular) did he speak the truth?
Cui pecūniam dedistī? │ To whom (singular) did you give the money [ = Who did you give the money to?]
Quibus pecūniam mīsistī? │ To whom (plural) did you send the money?
ACCUSATIVE
Quem in hortō cēpērunt? │ Whom did they capture in the garden?
Quid in hortō invēnērunt? │ What did they find in the garden?
Quās iuvātis? │ Whom (feminine plural) are you (plural) helping?
ABLATIVE
Dē quō loquiminī? │ What are you (plural) talking about?
Ā quibus urbs est capta? │ By whom (plural) was the city captured?
Quōcum poēta ambulat? │ With whom is the poet walking? [ = Who is the poet walking with?]
Translation practice:
- Quis hoc fēcit?
- Ā quō amārīs?
- Quem vīdistī?
- Cui librum dedistī?
- Quis illud dīxit?
- Quid agis?
- Quid dīxit?
- Quae dīxit rēx?
- Quid tē terret?
- Cuius est haec taberna?
- Quō interfectus est Caesar?
- Quibus dux auxilium dedit?
- Ā quibus porta sinistra tenēbātur?
- Quibuscum Germānī bellum gerēbant?
- Cui lēgātus suum scūtum dabit?
