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Italian Basic Italian Grammar Syllabus
The Basic Italian Grammar syllabus for Italian in full: 2 chapters and 6 topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Basic Italian Grammar flashcards with answers.
Basic Italian Grammar syllabus: all 2 chapters
Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.
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Nouns and Articles
3 topics- Learn Gender of Nouns
- Understand Definite and Indefinite Articles
- Practice Using Articles with Nouns
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Pronouns and Verbs
3 topics- Learn Subject Pronouns
- Introduction to Regular Verbs
- Conjugate Present Tense Verbs
Italian Basic Italian Grammar flashcards — 50 questions with answers
In Italian, every noun has one of two grammatical genders. What are they?
Masculine (maschile) and feminine (femminile). Every noun is one or the other, even inanimate objects.
What gender and ending typically characterize most Italian nouns ending in -o?
They are usually masculine. Example: il libro (the book), il tavolo (the table).
What gender do most Italian nouns ending in -a typically have?
They are usually feminine. Example: la casa (the house), la penna (the pen).
What gender can Italian nouns ending in -e be, and how do you know which?
Either masculine or feminine; the gender is not predictable from the -e ending and must be memorized. Example: il fiore (m., flower), la chiave (f., key).
How do you typically form the plural of a masculine Italian noun ending in -o?
Change the final -o to -i. Example: libro -> libri, ragazzo -> ragazzi.
How do you typically form the plural of a feminine Italian noun ending in -a?
Change the final -a to -e. Example: casa -> case, ragazza -> ragazze.
How do you form the plural of an Italian noun ending in -e (either gender)?
Change the final -e to -i. Example: fiore -> fiori, chiave -> chiavi.
Name a common exception: some nouns ending in -a are masculine. Give an example.
Words often of Greek origin, e.g. il problema, il tema, il programma, il poeta are masculine despite the -a ending.
What is a common exception where a noun ending in -o is feminine?
la mano (the hand) is feminine even though it ends in -o; its plural is le mani.
Do Italian nouns ending in an accented vowel (e.g. città) change in the plural?
No. Nouns ending in an accented vowel are invariable: la città -> le città, il caffè -> i caffè.
What are the four masculine singular definite articles in Italian and when is each used?
il (before most consonants), lo (before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, y), l' (before a vowel). Example: il cane, lo studente, l'amico.
What is the feminine singular definite article in Italian and its variants?
la before a consonant, l' before a vowel. Example: la ragazza, l'amica.
What are the masculine plural definite articles in Italian?
i (plural of il) and gli (plural of lo and l'). Example: i cani, gli studenti, gli amici.
What is the feminine plural definite article in Italian?
le, used before any feminine plural noun. Example: le ragazze, le amiche.
When must you use lo instead of il before a masculine noun?
Before words beginning with s+consonant (s impura), z, gn, ps, pn, x, or y. Example: lo zaino, lo psicologo, lo gnomo.
What are the Italian indefinite articles for masculine nouns?
un (before most consonants and vowels) and uno (before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, etc.). Example: un libro, un amico, uno studente.
What are the Italian indefinite articles for feminine nouns?
una before a consonant and un' before a vowel. Example: una casa, un'amica.
Why does the masculine indefinite article un never take an apostrophe before a vowel, but the feminine un' does?
un is the full masculine form (no elision needed), so no apostrophe: un amico. The feminine una is elided to un' before a vowel: un'amica. The apostrophe signals the dropped -a.
What is the plural of the indefinite article in Italian, and what is used instead?
Indefinite articles have no true plural; Italian uses the partitive (dei, degli, delle) or alcuni/alcune or qualche to mean 'some'. Example: dei libri, delle case.
Which indefinite article accompanies the noun 'studente' and why?
uno studente, because studente begins with s+consonant (s impura), requiring uno.
Show the other 30 Basic Italian Grammar flashcards
How does the definite article agree with its noun?
It must agree in both gender and number with the noun it precedes. Example: il ragazzo, la ragazza, i ragazzi, le ragazze.
Choose the correct definite article: ___ zaino (backpack, masculine).
lo zaino — because zaino starts with z, requiring lo (plural: gli zaini).
Choose the correct definite article: ___ amiche (female friends, plural).
le amiche — feminine plural always takes le.
Choose the correct indefinite article: ___ ora (hour, feminine, starts with vowel).
un'ora — feminine una elides to un' before a vowel.
Choose the correct definite article: ___ studenti (students, masculine plural).
gli studenti — the plural of lo (used before s+consonant) is gli.
When is the definite article generally required in Italian but omitted in English?
With abstract nouns and general concepts, and often with possessives, days, and languages. Example: Mi piace la musica (I like music); L'italiano è bello (Italian is beautiful).
What are the Italian subject pronouns for the singular persons?
io (I), tu (you, informal), lui (he), lei (she), and Lei (you, formal).
What are the Italian subject pronouns for the plural persons?
noi (we), voi (you all), loro (they).
What is the difference between 'tu' and 'Lei' as forms of 'you' in Italian?
tu is informal/familiar (friends, family, children); Lei (capitalized) is the formal/polite singular 'you' and takes third-person singular verb forms.
Why are subject pronouns often omitted in Italian sentences?
Because the verb conjugation ending already indicates the subject, making the pronoun redundant. Example: Parlo italiano = (I) speak Italian, no io needed.
When are Italian subject pronouns typically kept for emphasis or clarity?
For emphasis, contrast, or to avoid ambiguity. Example: Io lavoro, tu dormi (I work, you sleep) to contrast subjects.
Which subject pronoun corresponds to the polite 'you' and what verb person does it use?
Lei (formal you), which uses the third-person singular verb form, the same as lui/lei. Example: Lei parla italiano? (Do you speak Italian?).
What are the three conjugation groups of Italian regular verbs, identified by infinitive endings?
First conjugation: -are (parlare); second conjugation: -ere (credere); third conjugation: -ire (dormire).
What is the 'stem' (root) of a regular Italian verb and how do you find it?
The stem is the part left after removing the infinitive ending (-are, -ere, -ire). Example: parlare -> parl-, credere -> cred-, dormire -> dorm-.
What are the present-tense endings for regular -are verbs (io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro)?
-o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano. Example: parlo, parli, parla, parliamo, parlate, parlano.
Conjugate the -are verb 'parlare' (to speak) in the full present tense.
io parlo, tu parli, lui/lei parla, noi parliamo, voi parlate, loro parlano.
What are the present-tense endings for regular -ere verbs?
-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono. Example: credo, credi, crede, crediamo, credete, credono.
Conjugate the -ere verb 'credere' (to believe) in the full present tense.
io credo, tu credi, lui/lei crede, noi crediamo, voi credete, loro credono.
What are the present-tense endings for regular -ire verbs (non -isc- type)?
-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono. Example: dormo, dormi, dorme, dormiamo, dormite, dormono.
Conjugate the -ire verb 'dormire' (to sleep) in the full present tense.
io dormo, tu dormi, lui/lei dorme, noi dormiamo, voi dormite, loro dormono.
Some -ire verbs insert -isc- in the present tense. Give the pattern and an example.
Verbs like capire and finire insert -isc- in all singular forms and the third-person plural: capisco, capisci, capisce, capiamo, capite, capiscono.
How do the present-tense 'noi' forms compare across all three regular conjugations?
They are identical in ending: always -iamo. Example: parliamo, crediamo, dormiamo, capiamo.
In the present tense, how do the third-person plural (loro) endings differ between -are and -ere/-ire verbs?
-are verbs end in -ano (parlano); -ere and -ire verbs end in -ono (credono, dormono).
How does an Italian present-tense verb agree with its subject?
The ending changes to match the person and number of the subject, so each of the six persons has a distinct ending. Example: (io) mangio vs. (noi) mangiamo.
For -are verbs whose stem ends in -c or -g (like cercare, pagare), what spelling change occurs before the -i and -iamo endings?
An 'h' is inserted to keep the hard c/g sound: cercare -> tu cerchi, noi cerchiamo; pagare -> tu paghi, noi paghiamo.
How does the Italian simple present tense translate into English (give the three meanings)?
'Parlo italiano' can mean 'I speak Italian,' 'I am speaking Italian,' and 'I do speak Italian' — Italian uses one present form for all three English senses.
Which subject pronoun goes with the verb form 'parlano', and what is its ending?
loro (they); the ending -ano marks third-person plural of an -are verb.
Conjugate the -are verb 'mangiare' (to eat) for tu and noi, noting the spelling.
tu mangi and noi mangiamo — the -i of the stem merges, so you do not write a double i (not 'mangii' or 'mangiiamo').
What is the correct present-tense form of 'abitare' (to live) for 'io', and what does it mean?
io abito, meaning 'I live' / 'I am living'. Full: abito, abiti, abita, abitiamo, abitate, abitano.
Compare the tu and lui/lei present endings for -are versus -ere verbs.
For -are: tu -i, lui/lei -a (parli, parla). For -ere: tu -i, lui/lei -e (credi, crede). The tu ending is -i in both, but the third-person singular differs (-a vs. -e).
Italian Basic Italian Grammar FAQ
What is in the Italian Basic Italian Grammar syllabus?
Italian Basic Italian Grammar is split into 2 chapters: Nouns and Articles and Pronouns and Verbs. Together they contain 6 topics.
How many chapters are in Italian Basic Italian Grammar?
2 chapters, containing 6 topics. The largest chapter is Nouns and Articles, with 3 topics.
Are there flashcards for Italian Basic Italian Grammar?
Yes — a 50-card Basic Italian Grammar 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.