Italian Grammar Rules

Question 1

What do verbi riflessivi indicate?

Answer 1

They indicate that the subject acts on himself or herself.

Question 2

What are the reflexive pronouns used with reflexive verbs?

Answer 2

mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si

Question 3

How do you make a reflexive verb negative?

Answer 3

Add “non” prior to the reflexive pronoun and its verb.

Question 4

To express possession (my, your (informal), your (formal), and his/her, use these expressions…

These are called Gli Aggettivi Possessivi: my, your, his/her, its, our, and their.

Answer 4

Masculine    			Feminine
Singular		Plural	Singular			Plural
il mio		i miei	la mia			le mie
il tuo			i tuoi		la tua			le tue
il Suo		i Suoi	la Sua			le Sue
il suo		i suoi 	la sua			le sue
il nostro		i nostri	la nostra			le nostre
il vostro		i vostri	la vostra			le vostre
il LorO		i LorO		la LorO			le LorO
i loro			i loro		la loro			le loro

Question 5

List (the articles used for “the”) the Definite Articles.

Answer 5

Singular Plural
Masculine il , l’, lo i , gli
Feminine la , l’ le

Question 6

When do you use the definite article, “il” ?

Answer 6

Before any singular masculine noun except those that begin with a vowel, an “s + consonant”, or a “z”.

Question 7

When do you use the definite article, “l’” ?

Answer 7

Before any singular masculine or feminine noun that begins with a vowel.

Question 8

When do you use the definite article, “lo” ?

Answer 8

Before any singular masculine noun beginning with an “s + consonant” or a “z”.

Question 9

When do you use the definite article, “la” ?

Answer 9

Before any singular feminine noun except those that begin with a vowel. (This includes singular feminine nouns that begin with “s + consonant” and “z”).

Question 10

When do you use the definite article, “i” ?

Answer 10

Before any plural masculine noun except those that begin with a vowel, an “s + consonant”, or a “z”.

Question 11

Generally, what gender are nouns that end in -ore?

Answer 11

Maschile
un attore
uno scrittore

Question 11

When do you use the definite article, “gli” ?

Answer 11

Before any plural masculine noun that begins with a vowel, an “s + consonant”, or a “z”.

Question 12

What are the proper endings for nouns, i nomi, and their endings according to gender and number?

Answer 12

Il genere dei nomi…
Singular Plural
Maschile -o -i
-e -i

Femminile -a -e
-e -i

Question 13

Generally, what gender are nouns that end in -rice?

Answer 13

Femminile
un’attrice
una scrittrice

Question 14

Generally, what gender are nouns that end in -ione?

Answer 14

Femminile
una lezione una conversazione
una professione

Question 15

List (the articles used for a, an or the number one when used with a noun) the Indefinite Articles.

Answer 15

(always) Singular
Masculine un, uno
Feminine una, un’

Question 16

When do you use the Indefinite Article, “un”?

Answer 16

For all masculine nouns that begin with a consonant or a vowel (excluding those that begin with an “s + consonant” or a “z.”

Question 17

When do you use the Indefinite Article, “uno”?

Answer 17

With masculine nouns that begin with an “s + consonant” or a “z.”

Question 18

When do you use the Indefinite Article, “una”?

Answer 18

For all feminine nouns except those that begin with a vowel. It IS used for feminine nouns that begin with an “s + consonant” or a “z.”

Question 19

When do you use the Indefinite Article, “un’”?

Answer 19

Only for feminine nouns that begin with a vowel. You drop the “a” from “una” and continue with the vowel of the noun.

Question 20

List the prepositional phrase contractions for “a” (at, to) and “the” (definite article) used with nouns.

Answer 20

a + il = al
+ lo = allo
+ la = alla
+ l’ = all’

Question 21

List the prepositional phrase contractions for “di” (of) and “the” (definite article) used with nouns.

Answer 21

di + il = del
+ lo = dello
+ la = della
+ l’ = dell’

Question 22

By adding an “h” when changing a noun that ends with -ca or -ga and most nouns ending in -go from singular to plural, what happens?

Answer 22

The word retains the hard guttural sound in the plural.

una biblioteca due biblioteche
un’amica due amiche
un albergo due alberghi

Question 23

What do you do when a noun ends in -io and you need to make it plural?

Answer 23

You never use two “i”’s in a row. Drop the second one.

un edificio due edifici
uno stadio due stadi

Question 24

When don’t you change the ending of a noun to make it plural?

Answer 24

When it ends in a consonant or an accented vowel or the noun itself is abbreviated.

un computer     due computer
un campus       due campus
un'università     due università
una foto            due foto
un cinema        due cinema

Question 25

How do you treat quanto, molto, poco and troppo when using them as adjectives and adverbs?

Answer 25

When using as an adjective, they agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify.

When using as an adverb, they are invariable as they modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Question 26

Adjective Ending Chart

Answer 26

Singolare Plurale
Adjectives ending in -o
Maschile -o -i
Femminile -a -e

Adjectives ending in -e
Both -e -i

Question 27

What do you do when an adjective modifies two or more nouns of different genders, or a plural noun that refers to both genders?

Answer 27

The masculine plural form of the adjective is always used.

Mario e Luisa sono biondi.
Gli studenti sono seri.

Question 28

Adjectives that end in -ca, -ga, and -go must follow the nouns the modify. In what way does this happen?

Answer 28

Change them by adding an “h” so they become -che, -ghe, and -ghi to keep the hard guttural sound.

Question 29

Most adjectives follow the noun they modify. Name some exceptions:

Answer 29

bello/a             giovane
bravo/a		grande
brutto/a		nuovo/a
buono/a		piccolo/a
caro/a		vecchio/a
cattivo/a		vero/a

Question 30

Which adjectives always precede the noun they modify?

Answer 30

altro/a
molto/a
poco/a
questo/a
quanto/a
stesso/a
troppo/a

Question 31

What is the plural form of the indefinite article un, uno, una? Hint: these express indefinite quantities (as opposed to one or a specific number). Equivalent to “some,” “a few,” or “any”.

Answer 31

dei, degli, and delle

	   	Singolare					  Plurale Maschile 		un vestito				  dei vestiti
		un impermeabile		degli impereabili
		uno zaino					  degli zaini

Femminile una cravatta delle cravatte
un’amica delle amiche

Question 32

When is dei used?

Answer 32

only with masculine plural nouns that begin with a consonant

Question 33

When is degli used?

Answer 33

with masculine plural nouns that begin with a vowel, the letter “z”, or the letter “s + a consonant”.

Question 34

When is delle used?

Answer 34

with feminine plural nouns that begin with a consonant or with a vowel.

Question 35

List the conversion made for for bello (beautiful) and quello (that) that combines them with the definite article for “the”.

Answer 35

Singular Plural
Masculine
quel, quell’, quello quei, quegli
bel, bell’, bello bei, begli
Feminine
quella, quell’ quelle
bella, bell’ belle

Question 36

When are “quel” and “bel” used before nouns?

Answer 36

before singular masculine nouns that begin with a consonant, except those that begin with an “s + consonant” or a “z”.

Question 37

When are quell’ and bell’ used?

Answer 37

before any singular masculine noun that begins with a vowel.

Question 38

When are “quello” and “bello” used?

Answer 38

Before any singular masculine nouns that begin with an “s + consonant” and with a “z”.

Question 39

When are “quella” and “bella” used?

Answer 39

before any singular feminine nouns that begin with a consonant.

Question 40

When are “quell’” and “bell’” used?

Answer 40

Before any singular feminine nouns that begin with a vowel.

Question 41

When are “quei” and “bei” used?

Answer 41

before any plural masculine noun that begins with a consonant, except those that begin with an “s + consonant” or a “z”.

Question 42

When are “quegli” and “begli” used?

Answer 42

Before any plural masculine nouns that begin with a vowel, an “s + consonant,” or a “z”.

Question 43

When are “quelle” and “belle” used?

Answer 43

before any plural feminine noun, (including those that begin with a vowel).

Question 44

How do you express “never” in Italian?

Answer 44

Place “non” in front of the verb and “mai” after the verb: Non mi sveglio mai presto. I never wake up early.

Question 45

Direct Object Pronouns

(answer the question: whom? or what?

Singular Plural
him/it them (m.)
her/it them (f.)

Answer 45

i pronomi di oggetto diretto

Singolare		Plurale
lo			li (m.)
la			le (f.)

Question 46

Simple prepositions (to indicate location)

at, to, in in
with for, in order to
of on, over, above
from, by between, among

Answer 46

Le preposizioni semplici

a in
con per
di su
da tra(fra)

Question 47

of

Answer 47

di

Question 48

from, by

Answer 48

da

Question 49

for, in order to

Answer 49

per

Question 50

on, over, above

Answer 50

su

Question 51

between, among

Answer 51

tra (fra)

Question 52

a with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

a = at, to, in

Answer 52

A with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

al , allo , all’ , alla , ai , agli , alle

Question 53

da with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

da = from, by

Answer 53

da with with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

dal , dallo , dall’ , dalla , dai , dagli , dalle

Question 54

di with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

di = of

Answer 54

di with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

di –> de = del , dello , dell’ , della , dei , degli , delle

Question 55

in with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

in = in

Answer 55

in with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

in –> ne = nel , nello , nell’ , nella , nei , negli , nelle

Question 56

Su with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

Su = on, over, above

Answer 56

Su with il, lo, l’, la, i, gli, le

sul , sullo , sull’ , sulla , sui , sugli , sulle

Question 57

What is a transitive verb?

Answer 57

A verb that can take a direct object.

Question 58

How do you form the present perfect (passato prossimo) of transitive verbs?

Answer 58

Use the present tense of “avere” + the past participle of the verb being used.

ho + comprato abbiamo comprato
hai comprato avete comprato
ha comprato hanno comprato

Question 59

How do you form the past participle of regular verbs?

Answer 59

Drop the -are, -ere, or -ire ending.

Add -ato, -uto, or -ito respectively.

Question 60

What is an intransitive verb?

Answer 60

A verb that cannot take a direct object.

Question 61

pg. 188

Answer 61

L’ accordo del participio passato con i pronomi di oggetto diretto.

Question 62

How do you form the passato prossimo of reflexive verbs and most intransitive verbs?

Answer 62

Use the present tense of the verb “essere” + the past participle.

Question 63

When asking a question (ie, using an interrogative word), where do you place the subject in the sentence?

Answer 63

At the end of the sentence.

Question 64

What place in the interrogative sentence do prepositions such as a, con, di, and per receive?

Answer 64

A, con, da, di, and per always precede interrogative words.

Question 65

Where do you place the negative expressions ancora, mai, and piu, and other time expressions when using them with the passato prossimo?

Answer 65

Place them between the auxiliary verb (essere or avere).

Hai già finito i compiti?
No. Non li ho ancora finit.

Question 66

When can you drop non when using negative expressions?

Answer 66

When the negative expression, such as nessuno, precede the verb.

Nessuno faceva sport.

Question 67

How do you use nessuno as an adjective? What does it express?

Answer 67

It expresses not…any. Nessuno precedes a singular noun and follows the pattern of un, uno, una, un’.

Non pratico nessuno sport.
Non conosciamo nessun giocatore di calcio.

Question 68

nobody, no one, not…anyone

Answer 68

non…nessuno

Question 69

nothing, not…anything

Answer 69

non…niente (nulla)

Question 70

not even; neither

Answer 70

non…neanche (neppure, nemmeno)

Question 71

neither…nor

Answer 71

non…né…né

Question 72

never

Answer 72

non… mai

Question 73

not yet

Answer 73

non… ancora

Question 74

not anymore, no more, no longer

Answer 74

non… più

Question 75

How do you form avverbi from adjectives?

Answer 75

add -mente to the feminine form of the adjective.

Question 76

What if an adjective ends in -e and you want to make an adverb out of it?

Answer 76

add -mente directly to the adjective without dropping the -e ending.

Question 77

How do you form the adverb when the adjective ends in -le or -re?

Answer 77

-mente is added after dropping the final -e.