italiano
Italian is a Romance language.
general
Sentence structure follows subject, verb, object order.
articles
| singular definite (masculine) | il | il libro |
|---|---|---|
| lo | lo studente | |
| plural definite (masculine) | i | i libri |
| gli | gli studenti | |
| singular definite (feminine) | la | la spiaggia |
| plural definite (feminine) | le | le spiagge |
| indefinite article (masculine) | un/uno | un treno |
| indefinite article (feminine) | una | una bicicletta |
singular and plural nouns
- Most singular masculine nouns end with "o." Most plural masculine nouns end with "i"
- Most singular feminine nouns end with "a." Most plural feminine nouns end with "e"
cases
verbs
Infinitive verbs almost always end in "-are," "-ere," or "-ire," e.g. camminare, leggere, pulire. Conjugated forms are as follows:
| -are verbs | -ere verbs | -ire verbs | subject | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -o | I | io dormo | ||
| -i | you | tu dormi | ||
| -a | -e | he/she | lui/lei dorme | |
| -iamo | we | noi dormiamo | ||
| -ate | -ete | -ite | you | voi dormite |
| -ano | -ono | they | loro dormono | |
And this is where things get tense. Like literally. 21 verb tenses. TODO.
adjectives
Adjectives need to agree with the noun’s gender and number. They usually come after the noun, but can also appear before a noun, which changes the meaning slightly, i.e. in a more figurative sense.