06 Dic
How to learn Italian fast: 5 basic tricks and some grammar tips
You already have the ticket in hand, you imagine yourself in Piazza San Marco in Venice with a spritz, shopping in the fashion district in Milan and getting lost in the Uffizi of Florence.
But are you sure you know how to order typical Italian dishes? Are you ready to hold a conversation about the Vatican Museums? The question that appeals to all foreign language students is always the same: how to learn Italian fast?
Learning Italian for foreigners can be difficult but not impossible. Whether you have just begun (check out our Italian grammar exercises ) or already have the first rudiments, a review of the grammatical rules of Italian is always useful. You are in the right place to discover how to learn Italian fast.
5 basic grammar tips to learn Italian effectively
1. Written and spoken Italian are not that different!
The golden rule to know how to learn Italian fast is keeping in mind that the Italian pronunciation is very regular, all vowels and consonants are pronounced and in particular the final ones. All Italian words end by a vowel and this, being the bearer of information about the gender and number of nouns and adjectives and verbal endings, must always be pronounced clearly.
2. Say the doubles correctly
Double letters, in Italian, are very common, but recognizing them in listening can be difficult. it is important to recognize them because one letter less can completely change the meaning of the word. Here are some basic rules:
- b is never written double in front of the suffix – ile: mobile, visible;
- g is never written double before an ion: reason;
- The syllable -zio never wants the double –zz, but pay attention to the exceptions!
3. Accent issue
The graphic accent in the Italian language is found only in the final word (città, virtù, perché). The intonation of severe and acute accent is not commonly reported, only practice can help. For example, some words acquire different meaning depending on the accent: bòtte (damage, beatings), bótte (container), chiése (voice of the verb ask), chièse (religious buildings), se (if- in the subjunctive), sé (talk about self).
4. An apostrophe for a friend
One of the most common mistakes even for native speakers: when you put the apostrophe? In the case of elision (the vowel in front of a vowel) with all the female words:
write un’amica and un amico.
In the case of truncation, there is no apostrophe. Here are the most famous examples of truncations:
un poco becomes un po’; d’accordo derives from da accordo; quale é becomes qual è”.
5. Do not confuse subjunctive and conditional
Conjunctive and conditional are the two tenses more mistreated by students and native speakers. Let’s remember some basic rules to avoid mistakes:
we use the subjunctive when we want to express an action that indicates an unsure but possible event. After verbs as I think, I believe, there is always the subjunctive (they are verbs of doubt, not of certainty);
we use the conditional when we speak of an uncertain action, but that will certainly happen in the presence of a certain condition.
Example: Se piovesse (congiuntivo), arriverei (condizionale) in ritardo.
If it rains (subjunctive), I would arrive (conditional) late.
And if you need some extra help, check out our best Italian translator app tips.
You Can Do It! Good luck!