The rulebook behind “Check sentence” and “Fix sentence”.
The checker catches these, and Fix can repair the common ones.
Little words like il, la, un, una always sit in front of their noun.
English says “the song” and Italian does the same: “la canzone”. The article never follows the noun.
la canzone
(lah kahn-TSOH-neh)
= the song
✗ canzone la
(kahn-TSOH-neh lah)
= (wrong order)
Masculine: il / un. Feminine: la / una. Special sounds: lo / uno, l’ / un’.
Every noun is masculine or feminine, and its article must match. Use lo / uno before z or s + consonant, l’ before any vowel, and un’ before a feminine noun starting with a vowel.
un tavolo
(oon TAH-voh-loh)
= a table
una pizza
(OO-nah PEET-tsah)
= a pizza
lo zucchero
(loh TSOOK-keh-roh)
= the sugar
un’insalata
(oo-neen-sah-LAH-tah)
= a salad
il → i, lo / l’ (masc.) → gli, la / l’ (fem.) → le.
When there is more than one, the article changes too. Masculine nouns take i (or gli before vowels, z, s + consonant). Feminine nouns take le.
i biglietti
(ee beel-YET-tee)
= the tickets
gli amici
(lyee ah-MEE-chee)
= the friends
le valigie
(leh vah-LEE-jeh)
= the suitcases
“Voglio mangio” doesn’t work. Use the base form: “voglio mangiare”, or join with “e”.
After voglio (I want), posso (I can) or devo (I must), the next verb takes its base form ending in -are, -ere or -ire. Two full I-phrases need “e” (and) between them.
voglio mangiare
(VOHL-yoh mahn-JAH-reh)
= I want to eat
voglio un caffè e pago il conto
(VOHL-yoh oon kahf-FEH eh PAH-goh eel KOHN-toh)
= I want a coffee and I pay the bill
✗ voglio mangio
(VOHL-yoh MAHN-joh)
= (two I-phrases clash)
sono di + city · vengo da + city.
Both mean “from”, but they pair with different verbs. “Sono di Chicago” (I am of Chicago) uses di. “Vengo da Chicago” (I come from Chicago) uses da.
sono di Chicago
(SOH-noh dee shee-KAH-goh)
= I’m from Chicago
vengo da New York
(VEN-goh dah nyoo YORK)
= I come from New York
✗ vengo di New York
(VEN-goh dee nyoo YORK)
= (wrong pairing)
a + il = al · di + il = del · in + la = nella · da + il = dal.
When a, di, da, in or su meets a definite article, they merge into one word. You never say “a il”.
al bar
(ahl BAHR)
= at the bar
del vino
(del VEE-noh)
= some wine
nella stazione
(NEL-lah stah-TSYOH-neh)
= in the station
pizza buona · vino buono · americano / americana.
Adjectives change their ending to match the noun: -o for masculine, -a for feminine, -i / -e for plurals. This includes nationalities when you describe yourself.
una pizza buona
(OO-nah PEET-tsah BWOH-nah)
= a good pizza
sono americana
(SOH-noh ah-meh-ree-KAH-nah)
= I’m American (woman)
Greetings and scusi first; per favore and grazie at the start or end.
Courtesy words wrap around your sentence rather than sitting in the middle of it. Arrivederci closes the conversation.
scusi, un caffè per favore
(SKOO-zee, oon kahf-FEH pehr fah-VOH-reh)
= excuse me, a coffee please
✗ voglio per favore un caffè
(VOHL-yoh pehr fah-VOH-reh oon kahf-FEH)
= (please stuck in the middle)
Worth knowing as your sentences grow. The checker explains them when it spots them.
lo prendo (I’ll take it) · mi chiamo (I call myself).
Short pronouns like lo, la, mi, ti, ci sit directly before the verb, the opposite of English “I take it”.
lo prendo
(loh PREN-doh)
= I’ll take it
✗ prendo lo
(PREN-doh loh)
= (pronoun after verb)
One thing pleases me: mi piace. Several things: mi piacciono.
Italian says “it pleases me” instead of “I like”. The verb agrees with the thing you like, not with you.
mi piace la pizza
(mee PYAH-cheh lah PEET-tsah)
= I like pizza
mi piacciono i treni
(mee PYAHT-choh-noh ee TREH-nee)
= I like trains
ho mangiato (I ate) · sono andato (I went).
Most verbs build the past with ho + -ato/-uto/-ito. Movement and change verbs (andare, venire, arrivare) use sono, and then the ending matches you: andato / andata.
ieri ho mangiato la pasta
(YEH-ree oh mahn-JAH-toh lah PAH-stah)
= yesterday I ate pasta
sono andata a Roma
(SOH-noh ahn-DAH-tah ah ROH-mah)
= I went to Rome (woman)
vino rosso, not rosso vino. A few short ones (buono, bello) can go before.
Colours, nationalities and most adjectives follow the noun. Common short ones like buono, bello, grande may go in front, sometimes shifting meaning slightly.
il vino rosso
(eel VEE-noh ROHS-soh)
= the red wine
un bel posto
(oon bel POH-stoh)
= a nice place
C’è un treno? (Is there a train?) · Ci sono treni? (Are there trains?)
Use c’è for one thing and ci sono for more than one, just like “there is” and “there are”.
c’è il bagno?
(cheh eel BAHN-yoh)
= is there a bathroom?
ci sono tavoli?
(chee SOH-noh TAH-voh-lee)
= are there tables?
non voglio · non lo prendo.
To say no, put non directly in front of the verb (and in front of any small pronoun attached to it). It never goes at the end.
non voglio il vino
(nohn VOHL-yoh eel VEE-noh)
= I don’t want the wine
✗ voglio non il vino
(VOHL-yoh nohn eel VEE-noh)
= (non in the wrong place)