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Italian grammar A1

The foundations. The basic sentence: who does what, with which article, in which gender.

Colourful magnetic numbers and letters · Italian grammar A1
From one to ten: you touch the numbers before you can write them.
The alphabet and pronunciationsoft c, hard c, double letters and stress The articles: il, lo, la, i, gli, leil, lo, la, i, gli, le · un, uno, una Gender and number of nouns-o, -a, -e: the rules and the exceptions Adjectives and agreementagreement in gender and number Subject pronounsio, tu, lui: when you really need them The present tense-are, -ere, -ire and the six key irregulars Essere and averethe two verbs that hold everything up C’è and ci sonosaying that something exists Simple prepositionsdi, a, da, in, con, su, per Numbers, dates and timecounting, saying when, giving the price Negation and questionsnon, intonation, question words

What A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 actually mean

A1 to C2 are not this site's invention. They are the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the scale the Council of Europe published in 2001 and updated in 2020 with the Companion Volume. It measures what you can actually do in the language, not how many rules you have memorised. The CILS, CELI and PLIDA exams are calibrated on it, and so are the language requirements for an Italian residence permit and for citizenship.

Source: Council of Europe, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, 2001, and Companion Volume, 2020. coe.int

A1ThefoundationsA2The pastand pronounsB1The nuancesB2The subjunctiveand beyondC1PrecisionC2Style

What you can do at this level

You understand and use everyday expressions and very simple phrases: introduce yourself, ask someone's name or address, buy something, order a coffee. The conversation holds as long as the other person slows down and helps.

Where to put your effort

On your own: the alphabet and pronunciation, numbers, dates and times. The rules are short and drilling works. With a teacher: articles and the present of essere and avere, because those are the mistakes you cannot yet hear yourself making.

Coming to Italian from English

English has one definite article for everything. Italian has seven and picks them by the sound that follows, not by meaning: il vino but lo spumante, i formaggi but gli gnocchi. The good news is that nothing has to be memorised word by word, unlike German or Dutch gender.

Common questions

How long does A1 Italian take?

Roughly eighty to a hundred hours with two lessons a week plus homework. How much Italian you hear outside class changes that number more than anything else.

Is A1 enough for an Italian residence permit?

No. The EU long term residence permit requires A2. A1 is the step before it.

Where do you start with Italian grammar?

Articles, gender and number, and the present indicative. Without those three you cannot build even a simple sentence.

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