Your Guide to Italian Grammar
Can you learn Italian by ear, using Duolingo, watching TV or listening to music... without ever opening a grammar handbook? Sorry, we don't think so. We believe that adults learners need to know the how's and why's. Italian is a heavily inflected language: nouns, articles and adjectives have a grammatical gender, verbs are conjugated in many moods and tenses, and parts of speech must agree with each other. It would take a long time to figure out all the rules by trial and error. A clear explanation and a few exercises will allow you to understand each concept more quickly and will make life much easier for you!
Topics:
- Basic Topics: Nouns, Articles, Adjectives, Pronouns & Prepositions
- Verb Conjugation: Verb Moods & Tenses
- Master the Most Common Irregular Verbs
- Let's Practise! Esercizi
- Intermediate & Advanced Topics
How to study
- Set your learning goals and a learning schedule. If you have a busy life, just try and fit 10 or 15 minutes of Italian in your daily routine.
- Study each lesson thoroughly. Don’t rush into the next lesson, watch the videos multiple times, and review new grammar topics before moving on. Feel free to go back to previous lessons: watch, learn, consolidate.
- Put into practice! Passive learning is not enough. Most of our lessons include exercises to help you understand and remember what you just learned.
- Delve deeper. You can download the transcript of each video to review and repeat from just $1 a month. Upper-tier patrons get a special PDF with additional, more difficult exercises every week. Older videos have a free transcript.
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Basic Topics
Nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns, and prepositions: master the parts of speech in Italian. We begin with the gender of nouns - in Italian all nouns are either masculine or feminine! - and we expand on the concept of agreement between nouns, articles and adjectives. We also tackle prepositions and pronouns, tricky topics that require special attention. Take your time and don't skip the exercises! Practice makes progress.
Verb Conjugation - Verb Moods & Tenses
Italian verbs convey a lot of information on when the action happens and on the subject that performs it; sometimes a different vowel at the end is enough to change mood, tense and person! If your first language has little or no inflection, like English or Chinese, you will have to understand the concept of verb conjugation first; then try to memorise conjugations by repeating whole sentences. Most of the following lessons include plenty of exercises to help you make sense of the various moods and tenses.
How to Conjugate Italian Verbs - Le coniugazioni verbali | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Let's Practise Italian Verbs! - Esercizi sui verbi | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Common Uses of ESSERE and AVERE in Italian | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
I verbi riflessivi - Reflexive verbs | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
L'imperfetto - Repetitive & habitual actions in the past | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il passato prossimo 1 - How to form the most common Italian past tense | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il passato prossimo 2 - Essere o avere? How to choose the correct helping verb | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il passato prossimo 3 - How to use the most common Italian past tense | A1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Imperfetto o passato prossimo? - Which past tense should you use in Italian? | A2 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
Il passato remoto - The literary past tense | A2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il trapassato prossimo - A special kind of past tense | A2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il futuro semplice - How to talk about the future in Italian | A2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il futuro anteriore - How to talk about the past... in the future | B1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il condizionale presente - Wishes, polite requests, advice, suggestions | A2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il condizionale passato - The future in the past | B1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il gerundio - The Italian present and past continuous | B1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il congiuntivo 1 - The Subjunctive Mood in Independent Clauses | B1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
Il congiuntivo 2 - The Subjunctive Mood in Dependent Clauses | B1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
Il congiuntivo 3 - The Subjunctive Mood: How to Use it with Conjunctions | B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il congiuntivo passato - Quick & Easy Lesson on the Past Subjunctive | B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Congiuntivo o infinito? - When NOT to use the Subjunctive Mood | B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Master the Most Common Irregular Verbs
Like in English, many of the most common Italian verbs are irregular. Once you know the basics of verb conjugation, watch this series on Italian verbs, where we provide tips to remember irregular conjugations and we explain uses, synonyms and idiomatic expressions with plenty of examples.
When to use ANDARE, and when to use VENIRE? What is the difference between SAPERE and CONOSCERE? Why is coscienza spelled with an "i" and conoscenza without? Tra il DIRE e il FARE c'è di mezzo il mare, ed è tutto un ANDIRIVIENI! Let's learn all of this together.
ANDARE - How to conjugate & use the verb to go | A1 | Free Transcript | |
VENIRE - How to conjugate & use the verb to come | A1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
FARE - How to conjugate & use the verb to do | A1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
DIRE - How to conjugate & use the verb to say | A1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
SAPERE - How to conjugate & use the verb to know | A1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
VOLERE - How to conjugate & use the verb to want | A1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
Let's Practise! Esercizi!
The following videos include a mix of exercises on various topics, and will help you avoid the most common mistakes. You will also find exercises in most of our grammar lessons, and there are practice videos linked to some of the most important topics listed above. Practice is key! Forza!
Esercizi di grammatica di base - A mix of basic grammar exercises | A1-A2 | Special PDF | |
Giusto o sbagliato? - Common Mistakes in Italian | A1-A2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Four Common Mistakes in Italian - More mistakes to fix | A1-A2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Grammar Mix for the Holidays | A1-B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
More Intermediate Grammar Topics
Ready to take your Italian to the next level? Qui troverai pane per i tuoi denti. The particles CI and NE are considered a thorny topic, but they are widely used in everyday Italian and should be learned sooner rather than later. Then, if you are already familiar with the subjunctive and the conditional moods, you can tackle conditional sentences - il periodo ipotetico.
The Particles CI & NE - Italian Clitics | B1 | Free Transcript | Special PDF |
The Relative Pronouns CUI & IL QUALE | B1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
La forma passiva - The Passive Voice | B1 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il periodo ipotetico della realtà - Conditional Sentences 1 | B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il periodo ipotetico della possibilità - Conditional Sentences 2 | B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |
Il periodo ipotetico dell'irrealtà - Conditional Sentences 3 | B2 | Transcript | Special PDF |