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Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills Syllabus

The Advanced Italian Language Skills syllabus for Italian in full: 2 chapters and 6 topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Advanced Italian Language Skills flashcards with answers.

2Chapters

6Topics

50Flashcards

Advanced Italian Language Skills syllabus: all 2 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

Advanced Grammar Concepts
3 topics
- Master the Subjunctive Mood
- Use Conditional Tenses
- Practice Passive Voice
Fluency and Comprehension
3 topics
- Engage in Italian Conversations
- Improve Listening Comprehension
- Read Italian Literature and Newspapers

Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills flashcards — 50 questions with answers

What is the primary function of the subjunctive mood (il congiuntivo) in Italian?
It expresses subjectivity — doubt, desire, opinion, emotion, uncertainty, and hypothesis — rather than objective fact. It typically appears in dependent clauses introduced by 'che'.
Conjugate the present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente) of a regular -ARE verb using 'parlare'.
che io parli, che tu parli, che lui/lei parli, che noi parliamo, che voi parliate, che loro parlino. (The three singular forms are identical.)
Conjugate the present subjunctive of a regular -ERE verb using 'prendere'.
che io prenda, che tu prenda, che lui/lei prenda, che noi prendiamo, che voi prendiate, che loro prendano.
Conjugate the present subjunctive of a regular -IRE verb using 'partire'.
che io parta, che tu parta, che lui/lei parta, che noi partiamo, che voi partiate, che loro partano.
How is the present subjunctive of -isc- verbs like 'finire' formed?
che io finisca, che tu finisca, che lui/lei finisca, che noi finiamo, che voi finiate, che loro finiscano — the -isc- infix appears in all forms except noi and voi.
Give the present subjunctive of the irregular verb 'essere'.
che io sia, che tu sia, che lui/lei sia, che noi siamo, che voi siate, che loro siano.
Give the present subjunctive of the irregular verb 'avere'.
che io abbia, che tu abbia, che lui/lei abbia, che noi abbiamo, che voi abbiate, che loro abbiano.
Give the present subjunctive of 'fare' and 'andare'.
Fare: faccia, faccia, faccia, facciamo, facciate, facciano. Andare: vada, vada, vada, andiamo, andiate, vadano.
List four common verbs/expressions that trigger the subjunctive in the dependent clause.
Verbs of opinion/doubt (pensare che, credere che, dubitare che), desire (volere che, sperare che), emotion (temere che, essere contento che), and impersonal expressions (è necessario che, è possibile che, bisogna che).
How is the imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) of 'parlare' formed?
che io parlassi, che tu parlassi, che lui/lei parlasse, che noi parlassimo, che voi parlaste, che loro parlassero.
Give the imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'.
che io fossi, che tu fossi, che lui/lei fosse, che noi fossimo, che voi foste, che loro fossero.
How is the past subjunctive (congiuntivo passato) formed?
With the present subjunctive of avere/essere plus the past participle, e.g. 'che io abbia parlato', 'che lui sia partito'.
How is the pluperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo trapassato) formed?
With the imperfect subjunctive of avere/essere plus the past participle, e.g. 'che io avessi parlato', 'che lei fosse partita'.
State the rule of tense agreement (concordanza dei tempi) when the main clause is in the present.
Present main clause + subjunctive: use the present subjunctive for simultaneous/future actions ('Penso che venga') and the past subjunctive for prior actions ('Penso che sia venuto').
State the tense agreement rule when the main clause is in a past tense.
Past main clause + subjunctive: use the imperfect subjunctive for simultaneous actions ('Pensavo che venisse') and the pluperfect subjunctive for prior actions ('Pensavo che fosse venuto').
Which conjunctions always require the subjunctive in Italian?
benché, sebbene, affinché, perché (so that), prima che, purché, a meno che, senza che, nonostante, come se.
How is the present conditional (condizionale presente) of 'parlare' formed?
parlerei, parleresti, parlerebbe, parleremmo, parlereste, parlerebbero — built on the future stem (parler-) plus the conditional endings.
What are the six conditional endings added to the future stem for all verbs?
-ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero.
Give the present conditional of 'essere' and 'avere'.
Essere: sarei, saresti, sarebbe, saremmo, sareste, sarebbero. Avere: avrei, avresti, avrebbe, avremmo, avreste, avrebbero.
How is the past conditional (condizionale passato) formed, and what does it express?
With the present conditional of avere/essere plus the past participle (avrei parlato, sarei andato). It expresses an unrealized past action or the 'future in the past' (e.g. reported speech: 'Disse che sarebbe venuto').

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List the three types of hypothetical period (periodo ipotetico) in Italian and their moods.
1) Reality: se + indicative + indicative ('Se piove, resto'). 2) Possibility: se + imperfect subjunctive + present conditional ('Se piovesse, resterei'). 3) Impossibility/irreality: se + pluperfect subjunctive + past conditional ('Se avesse piovuto, sarei restato').
Translate and identify the type: 'If I had money, I would buy a car.'
'Se avessi soldi, comprerei una macchina.' — Type 2 (possibility/hypothetical): se + congiuntivo imperfetto + condizionale presente.
Translate and identify the type: 'If I had studied, I would have passed.'
'Se avessi studiato, avrei superato l'esame.' — Type 3 (impossibility/past irreality): se + congiuntivo trapassato + condizionale passato.
How is the conditional used to express politeness in Italian? Give an example.
It softens requests and desires, making them more courteous: 'Vorrei un caffè' (I would like a coffee) instead of 'Voglio un caffè', or 'Potrebbe aiutarmi?' (Could you help me?).
How is the passive voice (la forma passiva) formed with the auxiliary 'essere'?
essere (in the required tense) + past participle, which agrees in gender and number with the subject: 'La lettera è scritta da Marco' (The letter is written by Marco).
How do you introduce the agent (the doer) in an Italian passive sentence?
With the preposition 'da', e.g. 'Il libro è stato letto da tutti' (The book was read by everyone).
Transform 'Il cuoco prepara la cena' into the passive voice.
'La cena è preparata dal cuoco.' The object becomes the subject, the verb becomes essere + past participle agreeing with 'cena', and the subject becomes the agent with 'da'.
How can the auxiliary 'venire' be used to form the passive, and what is its limitation?
'Venire' + past participle forms the passive but only in simple (non-compound) tenses, often stressing an action/process: 'La porta viene chiusa alle otto' (The door is closed at eight). It cannot be used in compound tenses.
How is the 'si passivante' (passive si) constructed and when is it used?
si + verb in 3rd person, agreeing in number with the grammatical subject: 'Si vendono case' (Houses are sold). It is common when the agent is unspecified or general.
What is the difference between 'si passivante' and 'si impersonale'?
Si passivante is used with transitive verbs and agrees with a plural subject ('Si affittano appartamenti'); si impersonale is used with intransitive verbs and stays singular, meaning 'one/people' ('Si mangia bene qui').
How does the auxiliary 'andare' express passive obligation? Give an example.
'Andare' + past participle conveys necessity or obligation ('must be'): 'Le tasse vanno pagate entro maggio' (Taxes must be paid by May).
In compound passive tenses like 'è stato mangiato', why are there two participles?
'Stato' is the past participle of the auxiliary essere (for the compound tense), and 'mangiato' is the past participle of the main verb: essere → è stato + past participle, agreeing with the subject.
What are common Italian conversational fillers (segnali discorsivi) used to sound natural?
allora (so/well), cioè (that is), insomma (in short/well), diciamo (let's say), praticamente (basically), boh (dunno), magari (maybe/I wish), dai (come on).
Which register distinction governs 'tu' versus 'Lei' in Italian conversation?
'Tu' (informal) is used with friends, family, peers and children; 'Lei' (formal, capitalized, takes 3rd-person singular verbs) is used with strangers, elders, and in professional/respectful contexts.
How do you politely give the floor or check comprehension in Italian conversation?
Use expressions like 'Prego' (go ahead/you're welcome), 'Mi segui?' / 'Hai capito?' (are you following?), 'Come dici?' (what did you say?), and 'Scusa, puoi ripetere?' (sorry, can you repeat?).
What are standard Italian formulas for agreeing and disagreeing in discussion?
Agreeing: 'Sono d'accordo', 'Hai ragione', 'Esatto', 'Anche secondo me'. Disagreeing: 'Non sono d'accordo', 'Non credo', 'Ma dai', 'Secondo me invece...'.
What is a key phonetic feature to master for Italian listening comprehension regarding double consonants?
Geminate (double) consonants are pronounced longer and change meaning, e.g. 'nonno' (grandfather) vs 'nono' (ninth), 'sete' (thirst) vs 'sette' (seven); listeners must hear the lengthened consonant.
What is 'elisione' and how does it affect listening comprehension in fast speech?
Elision drops a final vowel before a word beginning with a vowel, merging words in speech: 'l'amico', 'un'ora', 'c'è', 'dov'è'; the apostrophe marks where a vowel was dropped.
How does word stress placement affect meaning, important for listening? Give a minimal pair.
Stress can distinguish words and tenses: 'parlo' (I speak, stress on par-) vs 'parlò' (he/she spoke, stress on final -ò, marked with accent); 'àncora' (anchor) vs 'ancòra' (again/still).
What listening strategy helps identify verb tense when catching rapid Italian speech?
Listen for auxiliary verbs (ho/sono, avevo/ero, avrei/sarei) and characteristic endings/infixes (-ass-/-ess- for imperfect subjunctive, -er- + -ebbe for conditional) to place the action in time and mood.
What is the difference between 'passato prossimo' and 'passato remoto', both encountered in reading?
Passato prossimo (ho parlato) is used for recent/still-relevant past and dominates speech; passato remoto (parlai) denotes a completed, distant past and is common in literature and southern Italian narration.
In reading Italian literature, what does the 'passato remoto' third-person singular of 'essere' and 'avere' look like?
Essere: fu (he/she was). Avere: ebbe (he/she had). Plural: furono, ebbero.
What is a 'falso amico' (false friend) and give two examples relevant to reading Italian.
A word that looks like an English word but means something different: 'libreria' = bookshop (not library, which is 'biblioteca'); 'fattoria' = farm (not factory, which is 'fabbrica'); 'attualmente' = currently (not actually).
What newspaper-style vocabulary marks reported/attributed information in Italian journalism?
'secondo' (according to), 'a detta di' (as stated by), 'avrebbe dichiarato' (conditional to report unverified claims), 'fonti riferiscono' (sources report), and the conditional of allegation ('il ministro avrebbe firmato').
Why is the conditional tense frequently used in Italian news headlines and reporting?
The 'condizionale di dissociazione/notizia' signals that information is unconfirmed or attributed to others, distancing the writer from responsibility: 'Il sospetto sarebbe fuggito' (The suspect allegedly fled).
What is the function of the 'gerundio' and how is it recognized in Italian texts?
The gerund (ending -ando for -are, -endo for -ere/-ire) expresses manner, means, or simultaneous action ('Leggendo, imparo'), and forms the progressive with stare ('sto leggendo').
How does one recognize and interpret the literary/formal 'passato remoto' of irregular '-ere' verbs, e.g. 'fare' and 'dire'?
They often follow a 1-3-3 irregular pattern: fare → feci, facesti, fece, facemmo, faceste, fecero; dire → dissi, dicesti, disse, dicemmo, diceste, dissero.
What are Italian relative pronouns essential for parsing complex literary sentences?
'che' (that/which, invariable subject/object), 'cui' (whom/which after prepositions: 'la casa in cui vivo'), and 'il quale/la quale/i quali/le quali' (formal, gender/number agreeing alternative).
How does the placement of object pronouns change with the imperative and infinitive, common in dialogue?
Pronouns attach to the end of positive tu/noi/voi imperatives and infinitives, forming one word: 'Dammi il libro!', 'Parlargli', 'Farlo'; with formal Lei imperatives they precede the verb ('Mi dia').
What is the subjunctive requirement after relative superlatives and phrases like 'il primo/l'unico che', frequent in refined writing?
Relative superlatives and expressions with 'l'unico', 'il solo', 'il primo', 'il migliore che' take the subjunctive: 'È il libro più bello che io abbia mai letto' (It's the most beautiful book I have ever read).

Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills FAQ

What is in the Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills syllabus?

Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills is split into 2 chapters: Advanced Grammar Concepts and Fluency and Comprehension. Together they contain 6 topics.

How many chapters are in Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills?

2 chapters, containing 6 topics. The largest chapter is Advanced Grammar Concepts, with 3 topics.

Are there flashcards for Italian Advanced Italian Language Skills?

Yes — a 50-card Advanced Italian Language Skills deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.