quis / quid
Who and What
Quis is for people and quid is for things.
How It Works
| Question | Latin | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who is it? | Quis est? | Marcus est. |
| What is it? | Quid est? | Liber est. |
| What is Marcus carrying? | Quid Marcus portat? | Aquam portat. |
| Who is reading the book? | Quis librum legit? | Iulia legit. |
A Latin answer is often one word, usually the verb or the noun that was asked about. Quis changes its ending for other jobs (quem, cuius), which come at Levels 2 and 4. Classical Latin says quis as KWIS, and Church Latin says it as KWEES.
Learn quid as a whole word first. You will use it at once in Quid agis? (How are you?).
Examples (5)
- Quis est?
Who is it?
Quis asks about a person.
- Quid est?
What is it?
Quid asks about a thing.
- Quis in villa est?
Who is in the house?
Quis is the subject, and in villa tells where.
- Quid Marcus portat?
What is Marcus carrying?
Quid is the object here. Marcus is the subject.
- Quis librum legit?
Who is reading the book?
Quis is the subject of legit.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The first questions are short sentences with est, so est and sunt come first.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice quis / quid in Bubblegum
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