The Italian accent
The accent determines the pronunciation of the words. In Italian it is always and only used on vowels, and never […]
Read moreListen to this short video about the Colosseum in Roma and answer to the following questions. See also: Trevi Fountain, Rome – Italian Culture Piazza Navona, Rome – Italian Culture
Read moreThe accent determines the pronunciation of the words. In Italian it is always and only used on vowels, and never on consonants. In Italian we distinguish between: tonic accent; graphic accent. 1. The tonic accent All Italian words have the tonic accent which falls on one of the syllables of the word and determines a more marked pronunciation of this […]
Read moreThe apostrophe is a graphic sign (‘) which in Italian is used to indicate: the dropping of the final vowel of the word when followed by a word starting with a vowel (elision); the cancellation of the vowel, consonant or syllable at the end of the word (truncation). 1. In the first case, the apostrophe is mandatory with: the definite […]
Read moreBoth forms are correct but have different meanings. Ce n’è is a very common expression in colloquial Italian. However, it is often difficult to figure out how to write this expression correctly. Ce n’è is made up of the particles “ce” and “ne” and the third person singular of the present indicative of the verb to be “è”. The pronominal […]
Read moreArticles are divided into definite and indefinite. Definite Articles The definite articles are: il, lo, la; with nouns in the singular i, gli, le; with nouns in the plural and indicate people, animals and specific things. For example: Ho comprato il quaderno nuovo. Ho comprato i quaderni nuovi. Indefinite Articles The indefinite articles are: un, uno, una and indicate people, […]
Read moreIn Italian the conjunction “e” and the simple preposition “a” in some cases take the final “d” and become “ed” and “ad“. Ed and ad are used only when the following word begins with the same vowel. Gli ho detto di studiare ed esercitarsi meglio per l’esame. Ho aiutato Marco ad aggiustare il suo computer. Sono andata ad ascoltare il […]
Read moreIn Italian, when we want to express our preference, we use the qualifying adjective preferito The adjective “preferito” indicates a person, an animal or a thing that is considered better from our point of view. Il mio libro preferito è Harry Potter. La mia città italiana preferita è Cagliari. I miei animali preferiti sono i gatti e i cani. The […]
Read moreA common mistake in Italian, which creates great confusion, is the use of the apostrophe with the indefinite articles “un” and “una”. Un is the masculine singular indefinite article that is used in front of all words that begin with a vowel and is never apostrophized. For this reason the correct form is un altro, detached and without the apostrophe. Oggi […]
Read moreAll three forms are correct but have different meanings. Da, without the accent and apostrophe, is a simple preposition. Oggi vado a cena da Mario. Hai fame? Vuoi qualcosa da mangiare? Non lo vedo da mesi. The stressed form, dà, is instead the third person singular of the present indicative of the verb DARE. Il cane è un animale che […]
Read moreThey have the same written form but have two different functions. Li without accent is the plural masculine pronoun used with the direct object function: Li ho visti insieme al ristorante. La professoressa mi ha dato due libri. Devo leggerli entrambi. Ho comprato i biglietti per il concerto ma non li ho mai ricevuti. Lì with the accent instead is […]
Read moreThree words that united form one; its use can be twofold: it can have the same intent as “after” (consecutive-temporal function), or it can introduce a condition caused by the previous action (adversative function). Dopo di che it is what we can define as the original form, without an accent because “che” by itself never requires an accent. Lucia ha […]
Read moreBoth forms are correct. Se, without the accent, it is a hypothetical conjunction which serves to introduce a hypothesis or a condition. Se avessi tempo, andrei a fare una passeggiata al mare. Se fossi ricco, comprerei uno yacht. Se tu mi dessi attenzione, ti spiegherei cosa è successo. Sé,with the accent, it is instead the third person singular reflexive pronoun. Marco […]
Read moreThe correct form is in fact, all attached. In fact, written detached, it is an error. In fact, the conjunction means “di fatto” and is used to introduce confirmation, proof or justification of what was previously said and adds new information. Ieri notte ho dormito poco, infatti oggi sono stanco. Oggi ha piovuto tutto il giorno, infatti non c’era nessuno […]
Read moreThe correct form is tuttavia, all one word. Tuttavia is an adversative conjunction, or concessive, used to connect two sentences that express a contrast. Tuttavia means “eppure”, “ciò nonostante”, “ma”. Mario stava male, tuttavia è andato a scuola. Oggi ha piovuto tutto il giorno, tuttavia fa caldo. Ho trovato traffico mentre andavo a lavoro, tuttavia sono arrivato in orario. The […]
Read moreThe indefinite adjective qualche is ALWAYS followed by a noun in the singular. Indefinite adjectives are used to indicate an indefinite quantity and agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. Qualche means “a number of” and requires the noun to be singular, even when it refers to more than one thing. Quando vado a fare la spesa, […]
Read more