Explanations and examples of all aspects of Italian grammar.
Formal 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 moreThe infinitive is one of the impersonal forms of the verb and does not conjugate. Its form always stays the same irrespective of gender and number. There is the present infinitive and the past infinitive. The present infinitive regular verbs finish with -ARE, -ERE and IRE. The past infinitive is used to talk about a finished action. To make the past infinitive, we […]
Read moreThis tense is used to indicate: a continuous action in the past Examples: Il telefono squillava ininterrottamente. (The telephone was ringing all the time.) Due anni fa andavo in palestra ogni tre giorni. (Two years ago I went to the gym every three days.) Prendevamo il treno ogni mattina alle 6:00. (We took the train every morning at 6 am.) or a […]
Read moreSome verbs are irregular in the direct imperative form: Essere (to be) Sii (tu) Siate (voi) Avere (to have) Abbi (tu) Abbiate (voi) Sapere (to know) Sappi (tu) Sappiate (voi) Other irregular imperative and monosyllabic verbs have two forms in the 2nd person singular: Dare (to give) Da’/ Dai (tu) Fare (to do/make) Fa’/ Fai (tu) Stare (to stay) Sta’/ Stai […]
Read moreThe imperative is used to give orders or commands and corresponds with the present indicative. Es: Sii buono! (Be good!) Fai il bravo! (Behave!) Non dirlo a nessuno! (Don’t tell anyone!) Di la verità! (Tell the truth!) Abbiate pazienza! (Be patient!) Fate piano! (Take your time!) Mangia tutto! (Eat everything!) Dormite! (Sleep!) Leggete da pag. 1 a pag. 20! (Read from page 1 to page 20!) […]
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 moreThe Italian future perfect tense is used in the following situations: Actions which will have already finished before another action takes place in the future (for which action we generally use the future simple). Example: Quando avrò finito di fare la doccia, uscirò. When I have finished my shower, I’ll go out. To show uncertainty about whether something happened or not. […]
Read moreThe future simple tense is used to talk about: an action which has yet to happen To form the future of Italian verbs it is necessary to add the correct endings to the root of the verb. Examples: Domani andrò al mare. (I’m going to the beach tomorrow.) Partiranno la settimana prossima. (They’re leaving next week.) Pranzeremo alle 14:00. (We are going to […]
Read moreThe subjunctive (congiuntivo) used mainly in two cases: after verbs expressing opinions, thoughts or feelings, such as pensare, credere, ritenere, aver la sensazione in the hypothetical period. Present Subjunctive Credo che stiano bene insieme. (I think that they are good together.) Suppongo che Marco sia uscito. (I suppose Marco’s gone out.) Spero che torni presto. (I hope you come back soon.) Penso che tu […]
Read moreInterrogative and exclamatory adverbs are used in interrogative and exclamative sentences to talk about: Places Dov’è Nadia? (Where’s Nadia?) Dove vuoi andare a mangiare? (Where do you want to go to eat?) Dove trovi le forze per studiare così tanto? (Where do you get the strength to study so much?) Da dove arriva il nuovo vicino? (Where is the new neighbour from?) Dove si […]
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Some Italian adverbs of frequency are: Sempre (Always): tutte le volte Bevo sempre acqua naturale. (I always drink still water.) Spesso (Often): frequentemente Vado spesso in palestra. (I often go to the gym.) Ogni tanto (Sometimes): qualche volta Ogni tanto gioco a scacchi. (I sometimes play chess.) Raramente (Rarely): pochissime volte Vado raramente a teatro. (I rarely go to the theatre.) Non … Mai […]
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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 […]
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Below is a list of Italian ordinal numbers from first to 99th Below is a list of Italian ordinal numbers from 100th to 1 millionth See also: Italian Cardinal Numbers Numbers in Italian – Exercise Italian Cardinal Numbers – Italian Ordinal Numbers Italian Numbers Idioms
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Italian numbers from 0 to 99 Let’s learn to count in Italian! Listen carefully and repeat the numbers! Practicing is the best way to learn quickly… Italian numbers from 100 to 1,000,000 See also: Italian Ordinal Numbers Numbers in Italian – Exercise Italian Cardinal Numbers – Italian Ordinal Numbers Italian Numbers Idioms
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Descriptive adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. Most of the masculine adjectives have the singular form that ends with -o, and the plural form that ends with -i, the feminine ones end with -a and -e. Adjectives that end with -e, both masculine and feminine, have the plural form that end with -i. Singular Plural masculine which end in -o un […]
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