Explanations and examples of all aspects of Italian grammar.
The Italian alphabet is made up of 21 letters: 16 consonants 5 vowels Listen to the Italian alphabet: A;a a B;b bi C;c ci D;d di E;e e F;f effe G;g gi H;h acca I;i i L;l elle M;m emme N;n enne O;o o P;p pi Q;q qu R;r erre S;s esse T;t ti U;u u V;v vu / vi […]
Read more
In Italian, the verbs essere (to be) and avere (to have) are called auxiliary verbs because they have the function of “helping” the other verbs to form compound tenses. The verb avere to have means to possess. Emma ha una maglietta verde. The verb essere (to be) means to stay or exist. Emma è a scuola. Qui c’è una palestra […]
Read moreThe gerund is used to talk about: something happening now or at a certain time in the past something which happened in the past at the same time as another action It is formed from the root of the present simple + –ando or –endo, depending on the conjugation It can have two tenses: Present Mangiando una mela mi cadde un […]
Read more
Articles 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 more
Remember that in Italian, every noun is either masculine or feminine so the definite article, “the” in English, is either masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular or feminine plural. Masculine definite articles Il: for masculine singular nouns which start with a consonant. Il libro (the book) Il vino (the wine) Il tavolo (the table) L’: for masculine singular nouns which […]
Read more
The indefinite articles are used to indicate a generic element of a whole. Masculine indefinite articles Un: this indefinite article is used when the noun is masculine singular and begins with a consonant or a vowel. Note that we don’t use un’. Un quaderno (a notebook) Un libro (a book) Un piatto (a dish) Un uomo (a man) Un albero (a […]
Read moreCollective nouns are nouns that indicate a set of people, things or animals but are always in the singular. Molta gente è preoccupata per il cambiamento climatico. Lo stormo di uccelli vola nel cielo. La folla di persone protesta in piazza. The use of collective nouns often creates difficulties in agreement with verbs and adjectives because they are singular nouns but […]
Read moreFormal letters are used for matters of work and business. Often we don’t know who we are writing to. We could write to, for example: a public body a business department the manager of a company the head of a university department a freelance professional Because we don’t know the person, the language used is formal and we always use […]
Read moreInformal letters are sent to family, friends and people who we know quite well. Example of an informal letter: Place and date Cagliari, 20 dicembre 2007 Recipient Caro Stefano, Introduction Riesco a scriverti solo adesso perché sono stato molto impegnato sia per gli allenamenti di basket sia per la scuola. B O D Y Purpose Ora però non posso più […]
Read moreThe ending of Italian nouns depends on whether they are masculine or feminine and whether they are singular or plural. Nouns which end in -O, for example LIBRO, are generally masculine and in the plural form end in -I (LIBRI). Nouns which end in -A, for example CASA, are generally feminine and in the plural form end in -E (CASE). […]
Read moreItalian verbs have seven main forms: Infinito (Infinitive) Participio (Participle) Gerundio (Gerund) Indicativo (Indicative) Congiuntivo (Subjunctive) Condizionale (Conditional) Imperativo (Imperative) They are divided into 3 groups, depending on their ending: -are Mangiare (to eat) -ere Credere (to believe) -ire Offrire (to offer) Verbs can be used in the active, passive and reflexive forms. When the subject of the sentence is performing the action we use the active form: Luca lancia la palla. […]
Read moreSono chiamati IRREGOLARI i verbi che non seguono totalmente o in parte il modello della coniugazione a cui appartengono. In italiano ci sono dei verbi che non usano le regole generali di trasformazione per la coniugazione. Sono irregolari: nel mutamento della vocale tematica: Esempi: Tenere Stare Presente Indicativo Imperfetto Congiuntivo io tengo tu tieni lui/lei/Lei tiene noi teniamo voi tenete loro/Loro tengono che io stessi […]
Read moreTransitive verbs (verbs with a direct object) have a passive form as well as an active form. In the passive form it subject is not who performed the action. Active form: Subject verb object Carla legge un libro Molte persone guardano la televisione Passive form: Subject verb who performed the action Il libro è letto da Carla La televisione è […]
Read moreReflexive verbs are used to express an action performed by the subject which is reflected on the subject itself. mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si + il verbo scelto Conjugation of the verb “lavarsi” Lavarsi Presente Indicativo Passato Prossimo io mi lavo tu ti lavi lui/lei/Lei si lava noi ci laviamo voi vi lavate loro/Loro si lavano io mi sono lavato tu ti sei lavato lui/lei/Lei si è lavato noi ci siamo […]
Read morePersonal subject pronouns are used in place of nouns for people and things. Personal Pronouns Singular Plural Io Tu Egli / Ella / Lui / Lei Noi Voi Essi / Esse / Loro N.B. Egli, ella, essi and esse are very formal. In general conversation we use lui, lei and loro. Lei is used to address a person you do not know (male or female). […]
Read more
