Italian Structure 101

For the first time you read this page, take some more time to understand the associations with you current language, try to remember how you make use of those structure on you language.

Don't try memorize, don't spend your energy repeating the and structure over and over; It is OK to eyeball again over the next days until you are familiar with that.

Your brain is actively capturing everything.

If you don't know what a preposition, adverbs, or any of the structure below are, don't worry it doesn't matter, do not waste time researching that.

Italian Prepositions

English Italian
in in
on su
at a
from da
with con
without senza
for per
about su / di
over sopra
under sotto

Italian Conjunctions

English Italian
and e
or o
but ma
because perché
although sebbene
so quindi
if se
when quando
while mentre

Italian Pronouns

English Italian
I io
you (sing.) tu
he / she lui / lei
we noi
you (pl.) voi
they loro
me me / mi
us ci
them li / le

Most used verbs in Italian

English Italian
to be essere
to have avere
to do / make fare
to go andare
to want volere
to know sapere
to speak parlare
to see vedere
to eat mangiare

Most used adjectives in Italian

English Italian
good buono
bad cattivo
big grande
small piccolo
happy felice
old vecchio
beautiful bello
fast veloce

Time expressions in Italian

English Italian
now ora / adesso
today oggi
tomorrow domani
yesterday ieri
always sempre
never mai
sometimes a volte
soon presto
late tardi

Italian Adverbs

English Italian
very molto
well bene
badly male
quickly rapidamente
slowly lentamente
often spesso
here qui
already già
still ancora

Italian Articles

English Article Gender Number When to Use / Notes Example
the il Masculine Singular Before most consonants il libro (the book)
the lo Masculine Singular Before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y lo studente (the student)
the l’ Masculine Singular Before vowels l’amico (the friend)
the la Feminine Singular Before consonants la casa (the house)
the l’ Feminine Singular Before vowels l’amica (the (female) friend)
the i Masculine Plural Plural of il i libri (the books)
the gli Masculine Plural Plural of lo and l’ (masc.) gli studenti (the students)
the le Feminine Plural Plural of la and l’ (fem.) le case (the houses)
a/an un Masculine Singular Before most consonants and vowels un ragazzo (a boy)
a/an uno Masculine Singular Before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y uno zaino (a backpack)
a/an una Feminine Singular Before consonants una ragazza (a girl)
a/an un’ Feminine Singular Before vowels un’amica (a (female) friend)

Ask questions in Italian

Type English Italian Notes
Yes/No Are you ready? Sei pronto? No “do” or inversion needed in Italian
Yes/No Do you speak Italian? Parli italiano? Verb comes first, subject often omitted
What What is your name? Come ti chiami? Literally: How do you call yourself?
Where Where do you live? Dove vivi? Dove = where
When When is the meeting? Quando è la riunione? Quando = when
Why Why are you here? Perché sei qui? Perché = why
How How are you? Come stai? Informal you
How much How much does it cost? Quanto costa? Quanto = how much
Who Who is that? Chi è quello? Chi = who
Which Which one do you want? Quale vuoi? Quale = which

Most used verb tenses in Italian

English Name Italian Name When to Use English Example Italian Example
Present Simple Presente Actions happening now or regularly I speak Parlo
Present Continuous Presente progressivo Something happening right now I’m speaking Sto parlando
Present Perfect Passato prossimo Completed actions in the past (recent) I have eaten Ho mangiato
Imperfect Past Imperfetto Ongoing or repeated past actions, descriptions I was eating / I used to eat Mangiavo
Simple Future Futuro semplice Future plans or intentions I will go Andrò
Near Future Futuro immediato Plans happening soon (using stare per / andare a) I’m going to eat Sto per mangiare / Vado a mangiare
Conditional Present Condizionale presente Polite requests, hypotheticals I would like Vorrei
Subjunctive Present Congiuntivo presente Express doubt, desire, or emotion (optional for Level 1) I think that he is happy Penso che sia felice