Italian grammar, step by step

The definite and indefinite article: all the forms, when they are used and when they are omitted.

del, dello, della, dei, degli, delle: di + article to say «un po' di» and «alcuni».

The article with proper names, surnames, titles and geographical names: when it is needed and when not.

What the noun is and how it is classified: common or proper, concrete or abstract, individual or collective.

Masculine or feminine: how to recognise gender from the ending, with exceptions and agreement.

How the feminine is formed: mobile nouns, independent nouns, common and epicene gender.

How the plural is formed: regular rules, special cases (-ca/-ga, -io, -co/-go) and invariable nouns.

The two classes (-o and -e), agreement with the noun in gender and number, and position.

Il mio, il tuo, il suo...: the forms, the use of the article and the rule for kinship nouns.

Near and far: the forms of questo and quello (which changes like the article) and their use.

Comparing (più/meno... di/che, come, quanto) and reaching the highest degree (il più..., -issimo), with the irregular forms.

Types of adverb, position, and the fundamental difference between molto/poco as an adverb (invariable) and as an adjective.

io, tu, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro: the forms, the implied subject, the polite Lei and the tonic pronouns.

One word in place of the noun — and the participle ending that changes with lo/la/li/le.

Mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli/loro: one word for the recipient. Plus the list of verbs with «a» and the piacere trap.

When indirect and direct join: me lo, te la, glielo, ce ne — with the transformations and position.

Two little words that avoid repetition: NE (a quantity, «di» something) and CI (a place, «a» something).

A single word to join two clauses: che as subject and as object, always invariable.

The relative after a preposition: «la città in cui vivo», «l'amico di cui ti ho parlato», «il motivo per cui sono qui».

qualche, alcuni, ogni, tutto, nessuno, qualcosa, qualcuno: indicating an imprecise quantity or identity.

The more refined indefinite pronouns and adjectives: chiunque, ognuno, ciascuno, qualsiasi/qualunque, altro, parecchio.

di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra/fra: the basic uses in space and time.

The fusion of preposition + article (del/allo/nella/sui), the uses of a/in/da/di/su and the partitive.

Three conjugations, the irregulars you use every day, piacere and c'è/ci sono.

Lista dei verbi (regolari e irregolari) e tante esercitazioni.

The pronoun that changes with the person, the reciprocals and the past with essere + agreement.

Two pieces: auxiliary (avere or essere) + past participle — with irregulars, agreement and markers.

The sheet dedicated to the imperfect: how it is formed (−avo/−evo/−ivo + the four irregulars) and its uses — description, habit and ongoing past action.

The past of the past: an action that happened before another already-past action (quando arrivai, era già partito).

How it is formed (regular and irregular) and how it is used: prediction, promise and the future of probability.

For a future action that will happen BEFORE another, and to make guesses about the past: «Quando avrò finito...», «Sarà già arrivato».

The form of politeness: how it is conjugated and how it is used to ask, wish and give advice.

Regret and the future-in-the-past: avrei fatto, sarei andato (avrei voluto...; ha detto che sarebbe venuto).

Giving orders, instructions and advice: affirmative and negative forms, irregulars and attached pronouns.

How to give instructions and make requests formally, using Lei: «Scusi», «Mi dica», «Si accomodi», «Prego, entri».

The mood of opinion, desire and doubt: how it is formed and when it is used (penso che, voglio che, è importante che...).

To express an opinion, doubt or wish about something that has already happened: «Penso che sia partito ieri».

The subjunctive of the past and of hypothesis: «Pensavo che fosse tardi», «Se avessi tempo...», «Magari fossi ricco!».

The -ando / -endo form: «sto mangiando», «camminando ho incontrato Anna», «sbagliando si impara».

When the subject undergoes the action instead of doing it: «La cena è preparata da Marco», «Il ladro è stato arrestato».

Verbs with attached particles that change meaning: farcela, andarsene, volerci, metterci. «Ce la faccio!», «Me ne vado», «Ci vuole tempo».

The tense of narration and fairy tales: «C'era una volta un re che visse felice... nacque, crebbe, partì».

Chi, che cosa, dove, quando, come, quanto, perché, quale: how questions are formed in Italian.

If something is possible and real: se + present indicative → present, future or imperative.

If something is possible or imaginary: se + imperfect subjunctive → present conditional (se avessi tempo, verrei).

How new words are born from existing ones: suffixes (-zione, -mento, -ezza, -ità) and negative prefixes (in-, s-, dis-).