Omnes viae Romam perducunt

Subject Pronouns

Note:  The Lei form is generally used for you (singular), instead of tu, unless you're referring to kids or animals.  Loro can also mean you, but only in very polite situations. If you need to specify an inanimate object as "it" you can use esso (masculine noun) and essa (feminine noun), but since subject pronouns are not commonly used in Italian, these words are somewhat rare.

To Be and to Have [ Conjugation Exercise ] [ Avere Expressions Exercise ]

Note:  You do not have to use the subject pronouns as the different conjugations imply the subject.

Avere is used with many idioms and expressions that normally use the verb "to be" in English:
avere fame - to be hungry
avere sete - to be thirsty
avere caldo - to be warm
avere freddo - to be cold
avere fretta - to be in a hurry
avere paura (di) - to be afraid (of)
avere ragione - to be right
avere torto - to be wrong
avere sonno - to be sleepy
avere bisogno di - to need
avere voglia di - to want, to feel like
avere (number) anni - to be (number) years old

Question Words [ Matching Exercise ]

Note:  When dove, come, and quale are followed by è (is), dove and come contract to dov'è and com'è; and quale drops its e to become qual è.

Numbers / Ordinals [ English to Italian Flashcards ] [ Italian to English Flashcards ] [ Translation Exercise ]

Note:  If a number ends in -tre, you need to add an accent: -trè. When you have a word that ends in a vowel, like venti, and another word that begins with a vowel, like uno; the first word loses its vowel when putting the two words together.  Venti (20) and uno (1) make ventuno (21).  One exception is cento; it does not lose its vowel.  Cento (100) and uno (1) make centouno (101).  Notice that cento does not have a plural form, but mille does (mila). And be aware that Italian switches the use of commas and decimals.

From eleventh on, just drop the final vowel of the cardinal number and add -esimo.  For numbers like ventitrè, trentatrè, add -esimo but do not drop the final e.  Ordinal numbers are adjectives and must agree with the nouns they modify; -o is the masculine ending, -a is the feminine ending.

Days of the Week [ English to Italian Flashcards ] [ Italian to English Flashcards ]

Note:  To say on Mondays, on Tuesdays, etc., use il before lunedì through sabato, and la before domenica.

Months of the Year [ English to Italian Flashcards ] [ Italian to English Flashcards ] + Seasons & Directions

Note:  Days and months are not capitalized.  To express the date, use È il (number) (month).  May 5th would be È il 5 (or cinque) maggio.  But for the first of the month, use primo instead of 1 or uno.

To express ago, as in two days ago, a month ago, etc., just add fa afterwards. To express last, as in last Wednesday, last week, etc., just add scorso (for masculine words) or scorsa (for feminine words) afterwards. Un mese fa means a month ago and l'anno scorso means last year.

Seasons

Note:  To say in the (season), just use in.  In estate is in the summer, in primavera is in spring.  D'estate and d'inverno can also be used instead of in estate or in inverno.

Directions

Colors & Shapes [ English to Italian Flashcards ] [ Italian to English Flashcards ]

Note:  Colors are adjectives and must agree with the nouns they modify; -o is the masculine ending, -a is the feminine ending. For example, rosso is masculine and rossa is feminine.  Color words always go after the noun they describe.

Time [ Matching Exercise ]

Weather [ Matching Exercise ]

Family & Animals [ English to Italian Flashcards ] [ Italian to English Flashcards ] [ Translation Exercise ]