SVO constituent order
When aggettivo before sostantivo, figurative meaning
When aggettivo before sostantivo, literal meaning
Aggetivi related to quality, size, age and quantity are usually before sostantivo
[V1]=
[pronome doppio] [verbo (non imperativo)]
[verbo (imperativo)][pronome doppio]
[pronome diretto debole] [verbo (non imperativo)]
[pronome indiretto debole] [verbo (non imperativo)]
[verbo (non imperativo)] [pronome diretto forte]
[verbo (non imperativo)] [pronome indiretto forte]
[verbo (imperativo)][pronome diretto debole]
[verbo (imperativo)][pronome indiretto debole]
[pronome soggettivo]
[V2]=
[V1] [pronome soggettivo]
[pronome soggettivo] [V1]
Pronouns used to substitute subject or object in relation to proximity
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Questo Questa Questi Queste |
This [male] This [female] These [male] These [female] |
| Quello QuellaQuelli Quelle |
That [male] That [female] Those [male] Those [female] |
| Qui Qua |
Here |
| Lì Là |
There |
Pronoun that links a clause to a noun to refer to a more specific referent
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Chi | Who Whom |
| Che | Who [used after noun and before explanation on noun] |
| Il quale | [of the] which |
Pronoun that represents an unidentified referent
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Chiunque | Anyone |
| Ognuno | Everybody |
| Tutti | Everyone Everything |
| Nessuno | Nobody |
| Ciascuno | Each one |
| Niente | Nothing |
| Qualsiasi cosa Qualunque cosa |
Anything |
Pronouns used to show the subject of a verb
[subjective object] [verb] [direct object] [indirect object] (standard grammar)
[subjective object] [direct/indirect/double pronoun] [verb] (standard grammar)
[direct/indirect/double pronoun] [verb] [subjective object] (subjective emphasis)
[subjective] [verb] [direct/indirect/double]
[subjective] [direct/indirect/double pronoun] [modal verb] [verb infinitive] (modal verb)
[subjective] [modal verb] [verb infinitive] [direct/indirect/double pronoun] (modal verb)
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Io | I |
| Tu | You |
| Lui | He |
| Lei | She |
| Noi | We |
| Voi | You [plural] |
| Loro | They |
Pronouns used to show the object of a verb.
Generally precedes verb and suceeds subjective pronoun
[subjective] [direct object] [verb]
however in the Imperative mood, direct object pronoun immediately follows the verb
[verb (imperative)][direct object]
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Mi | Me |
| Ti | You |
| Lo | Him |
| La | Her |
| Ci | Us |
| Vi | You [plural] |
| Li | Them [male] |
| Le | Them [female] |
Pronouns used to show the indirect object of a verb
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Mi | [At; For; To] me |
| Ti | [At; For; To] you |
| Gli | [At; For; To] him |
| Le | [At; For; To] her |
| Ci | [At; For; To] us |
| Vi | [At; For; To] you [plural] |
Pronouns used when object is also subject
| Pronoun | Meaning | |
| Mi | Myself | |
| Ti | Yourself | |
| Si | Himself, Herself | Themselves |
| Ci | Ourselves | |
| Vi | Yourselves |
Pronouns used to show the ownership of a noun to a subject
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Il mio La mia I miei Le mie |
My Mine |
| Il tuo La tua I tuoi Le tue |
Your Yours |
| Il suo La sua I suoi Le sue |
His Her Hers |
| Il nostro La nostra I nostri Le nostre |
Our Ours |
| Il vostro La vostra I vostri Le vostre |
Your [plural] Yours [plural] |
| Il loro La loro I loro Le loro |
Their Theirs |
The definite article is dropped when the object is a singular family member of your own
Pronouns used to denote general subject, verb needs to be in third person and conjugated for plurality of the object
| Pronoun | Meaning |
| Si | One You They |
Nouns are inflected based on
All italian nouns have one of two genders:
Historically, Italian had a neuter gender from Latin that has faded away. Many irregular cases rise from the transition of neuter gender words into modern Italian
The definite article a noun pairs with truly determines its gender, however Italian has patterns based on word endings that often reveal a word's gender:
| Final letter | Gender |
| a | Femmina |
| o | Maschio |
| e | Maschio |
| ione | Femmina |
| tudine | Femmina |
| à | Femmina |
| ù | Femmina |
| i | Femmina |
| trice | Femmina |
| ore | Maschio |
| iere | Maschio |
Note that exceptions exist due to:
| Final letter | Plural final letter |
| a | e |
| o | i |
| e | i |
| à | à |
| ù | ù |
Note that exceptions exist due to:
Noun beginning with S followed by a consonant.
Article that refers to a specific instance of a noun. The definite article generally reflects the gender and number of the noun it is applied to
| Article | Usage | |
| Il | Male, singular | |
| La | Female, Singular | |
| Lo | Male, singular, starts with 'impure S' or a self-geminating constant | |
| L' | Singular, starts with vowel | |
| Li | Male, plural | |
| Le | Female, plural | |
| Gli | Male, plural, starts with 'impure S' or a self-geminating constant | Male, plural, starts with vowel |
Article that refers to some general instance of a noun. The indefinite article generally reflects the gender of the noun it is applied to
| Article | Usage | |
| Un | Indefinite equivalent of Il | Indefinite equivalent of L' maschio |
| Una | Indefinite equivalent of La | |
| Uno | Indefinite equivalent of Lo | |
| Un' | Indefinite equivalent of L' femmina |
Prepositions applied to a noun with its definite article must blended into a single word that semantically represents the preposition and the definite article
| A | Con | Da | Di | In | Su | |
| Il | Al | Col | Dal | Del | Nel | Sul |
| La | Alla | Dalla | Della | Nella | Sulla | |
| Lo | Allo | Dallo | Dello | Nello | Sullo | |
| L' | All' | Dall' | Dell' | Nell' | Sull' | |
| Li | Ai | Dai | Dei | Nei | Sui | |
| Le | Alle | Dalle | Delle | Nelle | Sulle | |
| Gli | Agli | Dagli | Degli | Negli | Sugli |
Articulated prepositions with 'con' are optional
Aggettivi are inflected based on
Generally adjective procede a non, however adjectives relating to the following categories my precede a noun:
[sostantivo] [aggettivo]
[aggettivo speciale] [sostantivo]
| Final letter of male singular | Final letter of female singular | Final letter of male plural | Final letter of female plural |
| o | a | i | e |
| e | e | i | i |
| a | a | i | e |
| Comparative | Superlative | Absolute superlative |
| più | il più | issimo issima issimi issime |
| Comparative | Superlative |
| meno | il meno |
Italian allows adjectives in appropriate context to be transformed into adverbs
| Final letter | Adverbial final letters |
| o | amente |
| a | amente |
| e | emente |
Italian conjugates verbs based on
Italian generally follows SVO constituent order (like English), however constituent order may be altered for literary/poetic reasons.
When the object is represented by an object pronoun, SOV constituent order becomes necessary (with the exception of verbs conjugated in imperative mood and the infinitive)
In Italian, all verbs fall under one of three classes which designate distinct conjugation rules
In Italian, infinitive form follows after the modal verbs:
Devo dirlo, lo devo dire
Inflects verbs to represent general or present occurence
Inflects verbs to represent an occurence which has been completed in the past
It is formed by conjugating the appropriate auxiliary verb for present tense ('avere' for transitive verbs, 'essere' for intransitive and reflexive verbs) followed by the singular male past participle for transitive verbs, or past participle inflected as an adjective for gender and number for intransitive and reflexive verbs
For transitive verbs in conjunction with 3rd person direct object pronoun, is appended to the beggining of the conjugated 'avere' and the past participle is inflected for the direct object pronoun's gender and number
Inflects verbs to represent a continuous or habitual occurence in the past
Inflects verbs to represent an occurence which had been completed in the past in contrary to another event
Inflects verbs to represent a definitive occurence in the future
Inflects verbs to represent an occurence in the distant past with minimal bearing on the present
Form indicating continuity of an action
Form indicating past completion action. It is employed in the past perfect tense by conjugating the auxiliary verb and following up with the participle. The number of the participle must always agree, the participle's gender only needs to agree when a contracted direct pronoun is used
Conjugated verb used to form the perfect past tense
'Essere' is chosen as the auxiliary verb for reflexive and intransitive cases
| A | Ad | Subsequent word begins with 'a', but not 'ad' |
| E | Ed | Subsequent word begins with 'e', but not 'ed' |
| O | Od | Subsequent word begins with 'o', but not 'od' |