ITALIANO (GRAMMAR 1-21)

BASICS 1
Personal pronouns: the subject pronouns in Italian are:
Io - I
Tu - Singular You (informal)
Lui - He
Lei - She / Singular You (formal)
Esso/Essa - It (archaic and literary)
Noi - We
Voi - Plural You / You all
Loro - They (speaking of people)
Essi/Esse - They (archaic and literary)

>The verb is always conjugated to match the subject, and the subject is only specified for clarity or
emphasis.

Formalities - Lei
We've already seen that lei means she. But Lei is also used to be polite when talking to just one
person. In general, you'll use tu in friendly conversations or with children; use Lei in more formal
situations or when talking to adults you don't know.
→ Lavoro per Lei.
- I work for you.
→ Scusi, chi è Lei?
- Excuse me, who are you?

Notice that the verb form for lei is the same whether you want to say you or she. Usually, though, Lei is
spelled with a capital L when it means you.
→ Sì, lei è molto più alta di me.
- Yes, she is much taller than me.
→ Sì, Lei è molto professionale.
- Yes, you are very professional.

Articles: Articles have to match gender and number of the noun they refer to.
The singular determinate articles (the) are:
● Lo - masculine, used before Z, S+consonant, GN, and some rarer consonant clusters.
● Il - masculine, used before consonants except the above.
● La - feminine, used before all consonants.
● L' - an elision of the above used before vowels.

The indeterminate articles (a/an) are:

● Uno - masculine, used before Z, S+consonant, GN, and some rarer consonant clusters.
● Un - masculine, used in all other cases.
● Una - feminine, used before all consonants.
● Un' - feminine, used before vowels.
BASICS 2
Plural articles: The plural definite articles (the) are:
● Gli - for masculine nouns before vowels, Z, S+consonant, GN and some rarer consonant
clusters.
● I - for masculine nouns in all other cases.
● Le - for feminine nouns.

Articulated prepositions: when some prepositions are followed by a definite article they merge into a
single word.
● Article: il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le
● Di + article: del, dello, della, dell', dei, degli, delle
● A + article: al, allo, alla, all', ai, agli, alle
● Da + article: dal, dallo, dalla, dall', dai, dagli, dalle
● In + article: nel, nello, nella, nell', nei, negli, nelle
● Su + article: sul, sullo, sulla, sull', sui, sugli, sulle
● The compounds formed by con and per are archaic and literary, with the exception of col (con +
il) for which the contraction is optional.

PHRASES 1
Negations:
The English no has two main uses:
● Particle (e.g. "no!"): this translates directly to the Italian no.
● Determiner (e.g. "no one"): you'll learn the translations for this in a later section.
>The English not almost always translates to the Italian non. However, while not often follows the verb it
negates or its auxiliary, the Italian non always precedes it.

You've already come across the negative words no and non. But how can you say neither... nor in
Italian? You can use a similar pattern and say né... né.
→ Lei non mangia né pollo né pesce.
- She eats neither chicken nor fish.
Careful! Notice how in Italian you'll still need to add non before the verb, even if you're saying né... né

Greetings:
● Ciao is used both ways in Italian: when meeting (also salve) and when parting (also arrivederci
or addio).
● Buongiorno and buonasera are normally used when meeting, although they can be used when
parting as well: the first is used in the first half of the day and the latter in the remaining half.
● Buonanotte is always used when parting, as it presumes that the day is over (same as "good
night").
● Prego is a courtesy form used in many occasions to accompany a kind action, and it's the
customary answer to reply to received thanks.
● Per favore, per piacere and per cortesia are courtesy forms used when asking for something.

FOOD 1
Ingredients: Italian has three ways to express the presence of an ingredient in the name of a dish:
 ● Dish di ingredient: the ingredient is the main or only component of the dish, e.g. "succo di
limone" (lemon juice). In this case the article is never used before the ingredient.
● Dish con ingredient: the ingredient is a visible component of the dish or used as garnish, e.g.
"fragole con panna" (strawberries with cream). In this case a definite article can be used before
the ingredient.
● Dish a ingredient: the dish has been flavored with the ingredient, or tastes like the ingredient,
e.g. "gelato al cioccolato" (chocolate ice cream). In this case the definite article is mandatory
before the ingredient, forming an articulated preposition with a.

>When there is no room for confusion the three can occasionally be mixed up, e.g. "panino al salame"
is as common as "panino con salame"; however, in many cases using one instead of the other can give
hints on the dish's composition.

Questions: In this section you'll meet the first proper questions. In Italian word order doesn't change in
a question, meaning that the question mark at the end and the raising tone of voice are usually the only
differences between a question and a statement.

Tips: It's important to keep in mind that the English idiom of "having food" being synonymous with
"eating food" doesn't apply to Italian, where "avere cibo" simply means owning food.

PLURALS 1
Noun classes:
● Nouns ending in a in the singular and e in the plural, e.g. "la ragazza" / "le ragazze": most nouns
in this class are feminine.
● Nouns ending in o in the singular and i in the plural, e.g. "il ragazzo" / "i ragazzi": most nouns in
this class are masculine.
● Nouns ending in e in the singular and i in the plural, e.g. "il pesce" / "i pesci": nouns in this class
can be any gender.
● Nouns ending in a in the singular and i in the plural, e.g. "il problema" / "i problemi": most nouns
in this class are masculine.

POSSESSIVES
Italian possessives are in the form definite article (il, la, i, le) + possessive adjective. They agree with
the gender and number of the thing they describe:
● My/Mine: "il mio", "la mia", "i miei", "le mie"
● Your/Yours (sing): "il tuo", "la tua", "i tuoi", "le tue"
● His/Hers/Its/Your (formal)/Yours (formal): "il suo", "la sua", "i suoi", "le sue"
● Our/Ours: "il nostro", "la nostra", "i nostri", "le nostre"
● Your/Yours (plur): "il vostro", "la vostra", "i vostri", "le vostre"
● Their/Theirs: "il loro", "la loro", "i loro", "le loro"

>il mio cane My dog ("Cane" is masculine singular, so we use "il" and "mio.")
>la mia pizza My pizza ("Pizza" is feminine singular, so we use "la" and "mia.")
 ➔ Even though in English the possessive in the third person (his, her, its) varies based on the
owner, remember that in Italian the gender and number are determined by the thing being
owned:
> il cane di Giulia > il suo cane ("Cane" is masculine, so we use the masculine, even though it is her
dog.)

In Italian an article is almost always mandatory before a possessive. The exceptions are:
● It's not used before close family members, in the singular and not modified, e.g. "mio padre" (my
father), unless the possessive is "loro" (in which case the article is needed).
● It's optional when the possessive adjective is alone following a form of "essere," e.g. "è mio" (it's
mine).
● It's not used in a small number of set phrases, e.g. "casa mia" (my home).

Possessive pronouns (possessives acting as a noun) are formed using the definite article and the
possessive. They agree with the object they describe, even if it is not explicitly mentioned in the
sentence:
> Dov'è la tua macchina? La mia è qui. Where is your car? Mine is here. (It is understood that
"la mia" refers to my car, so it is feminine.)
In English, we say Maria's cat, but in Italian, you'd say il gatto di Maria, which literally means the cat
of Maria.
→ il gatto di Maria
- Maria's cat

Di combines together with other short words to form contractions. Here they are.
● di + il = del
● di + lo = dello
● di + la = della
● di + l' = dell'
● di + i = dei
● di + gli = degli
● di + le = delle

For example, you can use these word combinations to say who owns something.
→ Chi ha il cibo degli animali?
- Who has the animals' food?

VERB TO HAVE
The short words ho and ha are two forms of the verb to have in Italian. Like in English, to have can
describe a person’s belongings.
→ Io ho una fragola. (I have a strawberry).
→ La donna ha l’ingrediente. (The woman has the ingredient.)

In some fixed expressions, io ho is used where we would say I am in English. For example, you can
use ho fame to say I'm hungry.
→ Io ho fame. (I am hungry).
→La ragazza ha fame. (The girl is hungry.)
PLACE
In Italian, you will come across many word combinations. Nel and nello are a couple of them. Let's see
how they are formed.
- in + il = nel
- in + lo = nello
For example, you can see these combinations used to talk about the location of people, animals, and
objects.
→ Le scimmie sono nello zoo. (The monkeys are in the zoo.)

QUESTIONS
Asking questions in Italian is easy! Just pronounce any statement as a question.
→ È un uccello. (It's a bird.)
→ È un uccello? (Is it a bird?)

The words you use to ask how much and how many in Italian also have different forms depending on
whether they are masculine or feminine, singular, or plural.
→ Quanto succo bevi?
- How much juice do you drink?
→ Quanta torta mangi?
- How much cake do you eat?
→ Quanti ragazzi mangiano?
- How many boys eat?
→ Quante ragazze mangiano?
- How many girls eat?

Luckily sometimes you’ll have a little break! Which only changes when you're talking about one or more
things.
→ Quale ragazzo?
- Which boy?
→ Quale balena?
- Which whale?
→ Quali ragazzi?
- Which boys?
→ Quali balene?
- Which whales?

Cosa?
You've already come across cosa, which means what.
→ Cosa dicono i libri?​
- What do the books say?
→ Cosa c'è sullo schermo?
- What is there on the screen?

But when you're not asking a question, the word cosa simply means thing.
→ Ho la stessa cosa.
- I have the same thing.
→ Non hai mai tempo per le cose importanti.
- You never have time for the important things.

DO
Some Italian verbs are special: they don't follow the patterns you've already seen. Unfortunately, this
means that you'll have to learn their forms by heart.

An example is fare, a very useful verb that means both to do and to make.
→ Cosa fate?
- What do you do?
→ Noi facciamo torte.
- We make cakes.

These are the forms of the verb fare.

subject verb (fare) subject Verb (fare

io faccio voi fate

I do / make you all do / make

tu fai loro fanno

you do / make they do / make

lui / lei fa
he / she does / makes

noi facciamo
we do / make

MONTHS AND SEASONS

The names of months and seasons aren’t capitalized in Italian.
→ Il ristorante apre a gennaio.
- The restaurant opens in January.
→Il ristorante apre a febbraio.
- The restaurant opens in February.
→Il ristorante apre a marzo.
- The restaurant opens in March.
→Il ristorante apre ad aprile.
- The restaurant opens in April.

Use a or in before a month.

→Beviamo la birra a giugno.
- We drink the beer in June.
→Non siamo in gennaio, ma in luglio.
- We are not in January, but in July.
Before a season, you'll use in just like in English.
→ Non siamo in autunno, ma in primavera.
- We are not in autumn, but in spring.
→ Siamo in estate, non in inverno.
- We are in summer, not in winter.
→ Siamo in inverno.
- We are in winter

UNIT 10 - FAMILY AND QUANTITY

Family
We've seen how, in Italian, you have to include il or la before words like mio, tuo, and suo.
→ Io mangio il mio panino.
- I eat my sandwich.
→ Il gatto beve il suo latte.
- The cat drinks its milk.

But there's an exception to this rule! Before words referring to family members, you usually don't
include il or la when the noun is singular.
→ Dov'è mia sorella?
- Where is my sister?
→ Lui è mio fratello.
- He is my brother.

Remember to use i or le before miei and mie if you are talking about more than one family member.
→ Loro sono i miei fratelli.
- They are my brothers.

Quantity
- Niente
The Italian word niente means nothing or anything.
→ Non ho niente in cucina.
- I have nothing in the kitchen.

In English, we can say I have nothing or I don't have anything. In Italian, though, you have only one
option. You'll always include non before the verb and niente after it.
→ Non ho niente nella mia borsa.
- I don't have anything in my bag.
→ Non so niente di donne.​
- I know nothing about women.

- Qualche (UNIT 17)

Qualche means some or a few. Keep in mind that after qualche the word you use will always need to
be singular, even if we would use a plural word in English.
→ Conosci qualche negozio buono?
- Do you know some good stores?
→ Ho qualche amico in città.
- I have a few friends in town.

UNIT 11 - OCCUPATIONS
What's your job?
Generally speaking, Italian doesn't use gender‑neutral occupations terms as much as English does.
Most of them end in ‑o in their masculine form, and in ‑a in their feminine form.

masculine feminine

il poliziotto la poliziotta

il segretario la segretaria

You will also notice that a lot of occupations end in ‑tore in the masculine, and in ‑trice in the feminine.
→ Mio marito è un ricercatore.
- My husband is a researcher.
→ Conosco una ricercatrice.
- I know a researcher.

Here are some more examples.

masculine feminine

il pescatore la pescatrice

il direttore la direttrice

lo scrittore la scrittrice

→Lui fa il pescatore.
- He is a fisherman.

But there are a few exceptions to these patterns. For example, the feminine form of dottore is
dottoressa.

UNIT 12 - HOME
A tavola!
The word table is very special in Italian. When you're talking about a table as just a piece of furniture,
you use the masculine noun tavolo.
→ Il tavolo è marrone.​
- The table is brown.
→ Le chiavi non sono sul tavolo.​
- The keys are not on the table.

But things change if you are talking about a table that is set up for eating or if someone is eating at a
table! In these cases, you'd use the feminine word tavola.
→ La cena è in tavola.
- Dinner is on the table.
→ La tua famiglia è a tavola.
- Your family is at the table.

My Country / town (Unit 14) - il mio paese

The Italian word paese is very special. It means both country and town! Context will help you figure
out whether people are talking about a whole country or a small town!
→ Siamo dello stesso paese.
- We are from the same country.
→ Vivo in un piccolo paese.
- I live in a small town.

ADJECTIVES
Unlike in English, in Italian, adjectives usually come after the noun they're describing.
→ Dove sono le tue scarpe vecchie?
- Where are your old shoes?
→ La zuppa ha un gusto strano.
- The soup has a strange taste.
Adjectives also change their endings depending on the noun they go with.

singular plural

il ragazzo alto i ragazzi alti

la ragazza alta le ragazze alte

Simply the best (Unit 18)

When making a comparison, the Italian word migliore means better.
→ Questo gatto è migliore.
- This cat is better.

But if migliore comes after il or la, it usually means the best.

→ Il nostro ristorante è il migliore.
- Our restaurant is the best.
→ È la strada migliore.
- It is the best route.
VERB “TO OFFER” (UNIT 13)
You're moving up in the world of Italian! You've now seen all three of the main types of verbs. Here's a
little recap for verbs that end in ‑ire, like offrire, aprire, and seguire.

subject verb (offrire) subject verb (offrire)

io offro noi offriamo

I offer we offer

tu offri voi offrite

you offer you all offer

lui / lei offre loro offrono

he / she offers they offer

PEOPLE (UNIT 15)

The word gente is a tricky one! Gente means people, but it's a singular noun, so you have to use la
before this word. Keep in mind that any verb after gente will also be singular, so you'll use the same
verbs you would use with lui and lei.
→ La gente è brava.
- People are good.
→ Lui è bravo.
- He is good.
→ Lei è brava.
- She is good.

In the same way, any adjective referring to gente will also be singular.
→ Noi vediamo gente strana ovunque.
- We see strange people everywhere.

To talk about one person, use the word persona.

→ Lei è una persona molto interessante.
- She is a very interesting person.

ORDINAL NUMBERS (UNIT 16)

In English, we use words like first, second, third, etc. to talk about the position of something in a list.
You can do the same in Italian.
1 ‑ primo
2 ‑ secondo
3 ‑ terzo
4 ‑ quarto
5 ‑ quinto
6 ‑ sesto
7 ‑ settimo
8 ‑ ottavo
9 ‑ nono
10 ‑ decimo

Keep in mind that these words will change their endings depending on the noun they describe.
→ Il terzo bambino.
- The third baby boy.
→ Aspettiamo una terza bambina.
- We are expecting a third baby girl.
→ Lei è la sua prima figlia.
- She is her first child.

PRESENT PERFECT
To talk about the past in Italian, you need to do two things. First, you need to use the form of avere that
matches who you're talking about.

subject verb (avere) subject verb (avere)

io ho noi abbiamo
I have we have

tu hai voi avete

you have you all have

lui / lei ha loro hanno

he / she has they have

Then you'll change the next verb ending to ‑ato, ‑uto, or ‑ito.
→ Noi abbiamo trovato l'automobile.
- We found the car.
→ Non ho potuto.​
- I could not.
→ Ho sentito una persona nella mia casa.
- I heard a person in my house.

Usually, you'll use ‑ato for verbs that end in ‑are (like trovare), ‑uto for ‑ere verbs (like potere), and ‑ito
for ‑ire verbs (like sentire).
→ Lui ha trovato i miei occhiali da sole.​
- He found my sunglasses.
TIP - Avere or essere?
Avere plus a verb is used to talk about the past; for example, hai parlato. But for some verbs that talk
about motion (like venire and andare), you'll use essere instead of avere.
→ Sono andato allo stadio martedì sera.
- I went to the stadium on Tuesday night.
→ Lui è venuto da solo.
- He came alone.

Verbs that include extra little words, like mi sono ricordato, always use essere in the past.
→ Lui si è sentito bene.
- He felt well.
→ Ti sei ricordato del compleanno di tuo padre.
- You remembered your father's birthday.

INFINITIVES (UNIT 19)

Amare, vedere, and sentire, are all infinitives. In English, infinitives are usually used with to (as in to
eat), but in Italian, infinitives don't require a word like to. To say I want to eat, you would simply say:
Voglio mangiare.
→ Voglio mangiare adesso.
- I want to eat now.
→ Non mi piace stare qui.
- I do not like to stay here.

IMPERATIVES (UNIT 21)

When telling someone what to do in Italian, use the ending ‑a for ‑are verbs, and ‑i for ‑ere or ‑ire
verbs.
→ Parla al telefono con tua nonna!
- Talk on the phone with your grandmother!
→ Prendi l'ombrello!
- Take the umbrella!
→ Apri la porta!
- Open the door!
→ Bevi più acqua!​
- Drink more water!

STUDENT LIFE (UNIT 21)

The Italian school system usually includes thirteen grades. The last part is sometimes called liceo and
it's pretty similar to what's known as high school.​
→ Siamo compagni di liceo.​
- We are high school classmates.​

​ fter liceo, people can go onto università and get a university degree, which is called laurea in Italy.​
A
→ Quanti studenti ci sono nella tua università?​​
- How many students are there in your university?​
→ Ho una laurea. (I have a university degree.)