Italian GCSE

Italian GCSE glossary

274 key terms for Italian GCSE, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.

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A

Adapted literary extracts: Extracts from relevant abridged or adapted literary texts, such as simplified Italian short stories, in which students demonstrate comprehension of character…AQA
Adjectival agreement: When using these words as adjectives in Italian, students must apply standard agreement rules, changing the '-o' ending to '-a', '-i', or '-e' depending on…AQA
Adjectival agreement and positioning: Italian adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun, typically following it.AQA
Adjective agreement: 'Bello' changes to 'bel', 'bello', 'bell'', 'bella', 'bei', 'begli' or 'belle' depending on the noun's gender, number and starting letters, matching the rules…AQA
Adjective formation: Adding the suffix '-oso' to a noun creates descriptive adjectives in Italian, with the suffix meaning 'full of'.AQA
Adjective modification: For adjectives ending in '-o', change the '-o' to '-a' before adding '-mente', and for adjectives ending in '-e', simply add '-mente' directly.AQA
Advantages and disadvantages of digital communication: Evaluating the pros and cons of social media, using phrases like il vantaggio è che...AQA
Advantages and disadvantages of technology: Discussing the pros and cons of mobile devices, such as staying in touch with friends and potential risks like cyberbullying or screen addiction.AQA
Adverb formation: The suffix '-mente' is used in Italian to form adverbs from adjectives, functioning similarly to the '-ly' suffix in English.AQA
Adverb versus adjective distinction: 'Meglio' and 'peggio' are adverbs modifying verbs, while 'migliore' and 'peggiore' are adjectives modifying nouns.AQA
Advice for a healthy lifestyle: Advice must be understood and given using modal verbs like 'dovere' (must), for example, 'si deve bere molta acqua' (one must drink a lot of water).AQA
Antonyms and negation: Adding 's-' or 'in-' to an adjective forms its opposite, as when 'fortunato' becomes 'sfortunato' or 'sicuro' becomes 'insicuro'.AQA
Articulated prepositions: Prepositions like 'a', 'da', 'di', 'in' and 'su' combine with definite articles to form these, for example 'di' + 'il' = 'del'.AQA
Articulated prepositions (di + article): The definite partitive is formed by combining the preposition 'di' with the appropriate definite article, creating forms such as 'del', 'dello', 'della',…AQA
Attending concerts and live events: Describing going to a concert or a music festival, including narrating a past musical event with the perfect and imperfect tenses.AQA
Authentic contemporary sources: Genuine materials such as Italian news articles that address relevant contemporary and cultural themes.AQA
Auxiliary verbs: In this construction stare acts as an auxiliary verb, translating to the English verb 'to be', so 'sto leggendo' is 'I am reading', not 'I stay reading'.AQA
Auxiliary verbs in the imperfect: The tense is formed using the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb 'avere' (avevo, avevi, aveva...) or 'essere' (ero, eri, era...) followed by the past…AQA

C

Cardinal and ordinal numbers: Use cardinal numbers for dates, except for the first of the month, which uses the ordinal 'il primo'.AQA
Cardinal numbers: Used for counting and stating quantities, they are invariable, except for uno which changes according to the gender and starting letter of the following noun.AQA
Cause and effect relationships: Subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses that provide context like time, reason, or condition, and 'perché' explains the main clause, as in 'Non…AQA
Charities and volunteering: Familiarity with charities (le associazioni di beneficenza) and fundraising (la raccolta fondi), and structures such as "bisogna fare volontariato" (one must…AQA
Climate change and global warming: Vocabulary for environmental issues includes il cambiamento climatico, which students must recognise and translate.AQA
Cognates: The English verb 'to notify' translates directly to 'notificare' in Italian, and 'to clarify' becomes 'chiarificare'.AQA
Cognates and false friends: Recognising common spelling patterns between English and Italian, such as the English '-ph-' changing to '-f-', can help you deduce the meaning of unfamiliar…AQA
Cognates and language patterns: Recognising common suffix patterns between English and Italian is a powerful tool for expanding your vocabulary, such as abstract nouns ending in '-ty' in…AQA
Cognates and near-cognates: Recognising cognates and common suffix patterns between English and Italian is an effective strategy for expanding vocabulary and deducing the meaning of…AQA
Cognates and patterns: Recognising cognates between English and Italian is a highly effective strategy for expanding your vocabulary and deducing the meaning of unfamiliar words.AQA
Communication and social media: Using mobile devices to stay in touch with friends and to use social media.AQA
Communication strategies: Mime and drawing can support communication when a learner has forgotten language, and mime may be accompanied by appropriate sounds and language.AQA
Comparative structures: 'Meglio' is the comparative form of the adverb 'bene' and 'peggio' is the comparative form of the adverb 'male'.AQA
Comparisons and superlatives: For the comparative, use 'più' or 'meno' before the adverb; the superlative uses 'il più' or the '-issimo' suffix, as in 'benissimo'.AQA
Complex language structures: Understanding how complex language, such as subordinate clauses or connectives, links different timeframes and opinions, reading the entire sentence rather…AQA
Compound tenses: As with other compound tenses, verbs taking 'essere' require the past participle to agree with the subject in gender and number.AQA
Conditional perfect: A tense used to understand actions that would have occurred in the past, recognised by looking for the auxiliary verb 'avrei' or 'sarei' plus the past…AQA
Conditions and concessions: Subordinating conjunctions provide context like condition, and 'anche se' means 'even if' or 'although', carrying a concessive meaning rather than 'also if'.AQA
Conservation and recycling: Il riciclaggio is covered, and students must distinguish positive actions such as piantare alberi from negative impacts such as sprecare acqua.AQA
Consonant assimilation: The English consonant cluster '-dm-' changes to the Italian double consonant '-mm-', as in administration becoming amministrazione and to admire becoming…AQA
Consonant cluster simplification: Italian phonotactics generally avoid complex consonant clusters, so the English cluster '-bs-' followed by a consonant frequently simplifies to a single '-s-'…AQA
Contextual analysis: Reading the surrounding context to confirm the meaning, ensuring the cognate fits logically within the sentence structure.AQA
Contextual deduction: Using the visual and verbal context above to check the meaning of similar-looking words, since 'false friends' make it necessary to use this strategy with care.AQA
Contextual translation: Picking the correct word from a list of alternatives, if necessary checking back in the Italian-English part of the dictionary to find the word with the…AQA
Correlative conjunctions: Structures include 'non...AQA
Countable vs uncountable nouns: Differentiating between these guides the choice of indefinite partitive, such as 'un po' di' versus 'alcuni'.AQA
Cross-referencing: Checking the Italian options in the Italian-English section to verify their specific meanings before selecting the one that matches the intended meaning.AQA
Cultural perspectives on partnerships: Understanding opinions and justifications regarding the importance of marriage or choosing to live together in Italian.AQA
Cultural themes in narratives: Short narratives and authentic material that address relevant cultural themes, whose references inform comprehension.AQA

D

Daily routines and habits: Describing how mobile technology is used in daily life, including past habits and future technological developments.AQA
Daily routines and schedules: The 24-hour clock is frequently used in Italian timetables and official announcements.AQA
Days, months and years: Months and days of the week do not take capital letters in Italian, and years are read as full numbers.AQA
Deducing meaning from context: Using the surrounding context, cognates and grammatical clues to infer the meaning of an unknown word rather than stopping at it.AQA
Definite articles: The correct definite article 'le' is applied to the plural forms of these irregular nouns.AQA
Demonstrative adjectives: 'Quello' (that) behaves like a definite article when placed before a noun, changing to 'quel', 'quello', 'quell'', 'quella', 'quei', 'quegli' or 'quelle'…AQA
Describing actions: Words ending in '-mente' are translated as adverbs, so an action is described by how it is being performed.AQA
Describing states of being: Understanding these forms is vital for comprehending past narratives and describing states of being in the past.AQA
Descriptive language: The imperfect gives background details such as weather, age, time, and physical or emotional states, and in narratives often sets the scene.AQA
Dictionary navigation: Scanning the dictionary entry for the corresponding abbreviation, such as n.AQA
Dictionary skills: Reviewing all the Italian alternatives provided in the English-Italian section and paying close attention to the abbreviations indicating whether a word is a…AQA
Dictionary usage for phrases: Using a dictionary to look up the main word of an English expression to see if the full phrase is listed with its correct Italian equivalent.AQA
Diet and nutrition: Vocabulary related to diet (la dieta) must be mastered when discussing healthy and unhealthy living.AQA
Dietary preferences and habits: Expressing dietary preferences, allergies and eating habits, such as what one typically eats for breakfast, using verbs like 'mangiare', 'bere' and 'prendere'.AQA
Diminutive suffixes: The endings -ino/-ina and -etto/-etta are added to nouns to form diminutives, conveying a sense of smallness or affection.AQA
Double consonants in Italian: The double '-ss-' should be pronounced by holding the 's' sound longer, rather than as a single 's' or a 'z' sound.AQA
Double negatives: Italian negatives often use a double negative format, placing 'non' before the verb and the second part after it.AQA

E

English-Italian cognates: Words that resemble each other in English and Italian, such as administration and amministrazione, can be identified by recognising common patterns between…AQA
Everyday conversational phrases: Mastering these constructions allows you to communicate future actions naturally and effectively in everyday conversational contexts.AQA
Exact cognates: Words that look and mean the same in two languages; in Italian, some nouns ending in -a or -o are spelt the same as their English equivalents.AQA
Expressing amounts: Common expressions of quantity are crucial for adding detail about amounts in Italian.AQA
Expressing desires and wishes: The conditional tense expresses desires, polite requests, or hypothetical situations, and both phrases are essential for expressing future wishes or polite…AQA
Expressing emotions and attitudes: Conveying such attitudes and functions as pain, surprise, anger, fear, pleasure and admiration through sounds with appropriate intonation, facial expression…AQA
Expressing indefinite quantities: Indefinite pronouns such as 'nessuno' and 'qualcosa' express an unspecified person, thing or amount.AQA
Expressing nuance and affection: These endings convey a sense of smallness or affection, and recognising them helps interpret the tone and detail of a text.AQA
Expressing opinions and justifications: Comprehending opinions and justifications regarding family dynamics and friendships, using justification phrases like 'visto che' or 'dato che'.AQA
Expressing opinions and preferences: Using verbs like 'preferire' and 'piacere', accompanied by justifications such as 'perché è noioso'.AQA
Expressing opinions on food: Identifying opinions and preferences regarding food, including reasons for liking or disliking specific dishes.AQA
Expressing preferences and opinions: Preferences are expressed using verbs like 'piacere', 'amare' and 'odiare', and opinions about different sports and physical activities should be expressed…AQA
Expressing size and intensity: This pattern allows speakers to express size or intensity without needing an additional adjective like 'grande'.AQA
Expressing unspecified quantities: The partitive article in Italian is used for this, translating to "some" or "any" in English.AQA
Extended written texts: Longer written materials in which learners track ideas across multiple paragraphs and understand how different pieces of information connect to form a…AQA
Extracting information: Readers must pull out specific factual details, such as dates, times or locations, by scanning for keywords in the passage.AQA

F

Factual extraction: Pulling specific factual information, such as times, dates, places or quantities, from the text.AQA
False friends (falsi amici): Words that look similar to English words but have different meanings, so this strategy must be used with care and in collaboration with the strategy of using…AQA
Family and relationship vocabulary: Related words including il marito (husband), la moglie (wife), il fidanzato/la fidanzata (fiancé/fiancée or boyfriend/girlfriend) and le nozze (wedding).AQA
Family structures: Discussing relationships with family and friends in Italian, including family dynamics and specific family members.AQA
Film and television genres: Vocabulary for types of screen entertainment, such as 'il telegiornale' (the news), 'il documentario' (documentary) and 'la commedia' (comedy).AQA
Food and shopping vocabulary contexts: Understanding both forms of the partitive is essential for accurately describing quantities in everyday contexts like shopping or eating.AQA
Formal and informal registers: Choosing the right mode of address: 'tu' for informal singular, 'voi' for plural, and 'Lei' for formal singular interactions.AQA
Fractions and measurements: Fractions like 'mezzo' (half) and 'quarto' (quarter) are used for measurements and time.AQA
Frequency and time expressions: Phrases indicating how often someone watches TV or goes to the cinema, such as 'spesso' or 'una volta alla settimana'.AQA
Frequency of technology use: Using frequency adverbs like spesso or sempre alongside present tense verbs to describe your habits.AQA
Friendship and social bonds: Explaining how you get on with family and friends, using verbs such as 'andare d'accordo' or 'litigare'.AQA
Fundraising activities: Key verbs include aiutare (to help), donare (to donate) and raccogliere fondi (to raise funds).AQA
Future plans and hypothetical situations: The conditional tense expresses desires, polite requests, or hypothetical situations, and these phrases are used to express preferences or plans.AQA
Future plans and intentions: The 'andare' + 'a' + infinitive structure is highly useful for discussing immediate plans or intentions.AQA
Future relationship intentions: Plans such as getting married (sposarsi), living together (convivere) or remaining single (rimanere single), described using future and conditional tenses.AQA
Future technological trends: Expressing opinions on how mobile technology impacts modern life, using comparative structures and a range of tenses to describe future technological…AQA
Future time frames: The tense describes an action that will have been completed before another action in the future.AQA

G

Gender and number: The masculine or feminine quality of a noun, shown by n.m.AQA
Gender and number agreement: When using these nouns in the plural, any accompanying adjectives or articles must agree with the feminine plural form rather than the masculine.AQA
Gender of nouns: Nouns ending in '-eria' are almost exclusively feminine and take feminine articles, so feminine articles and adjectives should be used when describing these…AQA
Gerund formation: Form the gerund with -ando for -are verbs and -endo for -ere and -ire verbs, and recognise irregular forms such as facendo, bevendo and dicendo.AQA
Grammatical context: Identifying the role of a word in your sentence before looking it up, since many English words can function as more than one part of speech.AQA
Grammatical contractions: When a, da, di, in or su meets a definite article, they contract into a single word, and in changes its stem to ne-.AQA
Grammatical terminology: The standard terms and abbreviations found in dictionary entries, which indicate the grammatical function and gender of words.AQA

H

Habitual actions: The imperfect tense describes habitual past events, such as 'guardavo' meaning 'I used to watch'.AQA
Harmful habits (smoking, alcohol, drugs): Habits like smoking (fumare) or drinking alcohol (bere alcolici) must be mastered, and you should be prepared to discuss their consequences.AQA
Health and well-being benefits: You should be prepared to explain the benefits of sport for health and well-being.AQA
High-frequency vocabulary: Familiar language that appears often and is applied across a range of contexts such as school or holidays.AQA
Homelessness and housing issues: Vocabulary for homelessness (i senzatetto) as a global issue, including describing the lack of housing.AQA
Hypothetical situations: The conditional tense expresses what 'would' happen.AQA

I

Identifying implicit attitudes and opinions: Recognising implicit meaning, which involves understanding the writer's attitude or tone without them stating it directly.AQA
Identifying main themes and ideas: Recognising the overarching idea or recurring ideas in an extended written text or literary extract, rather than focusing only on a single detail.AQA
Identifying opinions: This means recognising the attitudes or opinions expressed by the writer or characters, and distinguishing factual statements from subjective viewpoints.AQA
Idiomatic expressions: Phrases such as "to make fun of" or "to pull a fast one" that cannot be translated literally and must be rendered by their equivalent Italian expression or…AQA
Impersonal expressions: Impersonal verbs such as 'bisogna' and 'fa' that only use the third person singular.AQA
Impersonal structures: The impersonal 'si' takes a singular or plural verb matching the object and is followed by plural adjectives.AQA
Indefinite pronouns and adjectives: Less common indefinites include 'ciascuno', 'parecchi', 'qualsiasi' and 'qualunque'.AQA
Indicating possession and family relationships: Possessives usually require a definite article in the short form, except for singular family members, while long forms follow the noun for emphasis.AQA
Inferring meaning from context: Drawing inferences from the context, for example inferring that characters got wet even if this is not explicitly stated.AQA
Infinitive constructions: 'Vorrei' is followed directly by a noun or an infinitive verb, and 'mi piacerebbe' is also followed by an infinitive.AQA
Intonation and pronunciation: The tone of voice that, together with a sound, helps convey attitudes and functions, and which must be listened to in listening tasks.AQA
Invariable adverbs: When used as adverbs modifying a verb or adjective, quantifiers remain invariable.AQA
Irregular adverbs: Some adverbs do not form comparatives with 'più' or 'meno'; 'bene' becomes 'meglio' and 'male' becomes 'peggio'.AQA
Irregular comparatives and superlatives: Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms: 'buono' becomes 'migliore' and 'il migliore', while 'cattivo' becomes 'peggiore' and 'il…AQA
Irregular nouns: Common irregulars must be memorised, such as 'la mano' becoming 'le mani' and 'l'uomo' having the highly irregular plural 'gli uomini'.AQA
Irregular past participles: Common irregulars like 'fatto' or 'preso' must be mastered to succeed in comprehension and writing.AQA
Irregular verb conjugation: In this tense, 'essere' is irregular; 'avere' and 'stare' follow the regular imperfect pattern even though they are irregular in other tenses.AQA
Irregular verb stems: Irregular verbs have irregular stems but use the same endings, such as essere becoming sarò and avere becoming avrò.AQA
Irregular verbs: Verbs such as 'essere' (ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano) and verbs using older stems like 'fare' (facevo), 'bere' (bevevo) and 'dire' (dicevo) must be…AQA

L

Limitations of non-verbal communication: Mime cannot be assessed in a recorded speaking test, so the accompanying sounds and language must be made clear.AQA
Linking clauses with relative pronouns: Relative pronouns link clauses: 'che', 'cui', and receptively 'quello che' and 'il cui'.AQA
Listening comprehension: When listening, be prepared for the Italian pronunciation of these familiar words so you do not miss their meaning.AQA
Listening comprehension strategies: Using the sound, intonation and context together to deduce meaning, including when facial expressions and gestures are not visible in a listening recording.AQA
Listening comprehension techniques: When encountering a long, unfamiliar word in a listening text, break it down into its component parts to infer the overall meaning.AQA

M

Making comparisons and expressing extremes: Comparatives use 'più/meno' and 'tanto...AQA
Meals and food items: Vocabulary for various food items, drinks and traditional Italian dishes, plus the names of meals: 'la colazione', 'il pranzo' and 'la cena'.AQA
Meaning versus literal translation: Word-for-word literal translation is often impossible and can lead to nonsensical phrases, so learners should translate the overall meaning of a phrase rather…AQA
Modern media consumption: Vocabulary for contemporary viewing habits, such as 'scaricare' (to download) and 'in streaming'.AQA
Musical genres and preferences: Vocabulary and expressions for discussing types of music such as pop, rock, classical or rap, and for stating which ones you like or dislike.AQA

N

Navigating complex language: Working through structures such as subordinate clauses or advanced tenses to grasp the overall message without needing to understand every single word.AQA
Negative pronouns and adjectives: Words like 'niente', 'nulla' (nothing), 'nessuno' (nobody), and 'mai' follow the verb with 'non' or precede it without 'non'.AQA
Non-verbal communication: Using strategies like pointing and demonstration, accompanied by appropriate language, to maintain communication in the speaking assessment.AQA
Noun and adjective agreement: Both the noun and its modifying adjective must agree in gender when selecting the correct phrase.AQA
Noun and article agreement: The gender and number of the noun following a preposition determine the correct articulated form.AQA
Noun endings: Some nouns ending in -a or -o are spelt the same in both Italian and English, although the pronunciation differs.AQA
Noun formation: Nouns ending in '-ia' are typically feminine, which helps you choose the correct definite or indefinite article.AQA
Noun gender: In Italian, nouns are either masculine or feminine, and this gender is not always shown by the ending, as 'la mano' is feminine despite ending in '-o'.AQA
Noun gender and agreement: Nouns ending in '-nza' are typically feminine and require the appropriate feminine articles and adjectival agreements.AQA
Noun gender and number: All Italian nouns ending in '-zione' are feminine, require feminine articles like 'la' or 'una', and form the plural by changing the ending to '-zioni', which…AQA
Noun modifiers: 'Bello' and 'quello' behave like definite articles when placed before a noun, so their form must match the noun that follows.AQA
Noun morphology: By identifying the root noun and adding '-eria', students can easily expand their vocabulary regarding town and services, adjusting the final vowel of the…AQA
Noun-article agreement: The definite or indefinite article must agree with the gender and number of the noun, so a new noun should always be learned with its definite article.AQA

O

Object replacement: Direct and indirect object pronouns usually precede the verb, but attach to the end of infinitives or gerunds.AQA
Ongoing actions: Actions in progress or temporary activities that the stare + gerund construction describes, often what is happening now.AQA
Online safety and cyberbullying: Discussing online safety and risks, such as cyberbullying (il cyberbullismo).AQA
Opinion identification: Identifying opinions and attitudes, noting whether they are positive, negative or mixed, and tracking changes in opinion by looking for contrastive…AQA
Opinions on marriage and cohabitation: Expressing and justifying views on the advantages and disadvantages of marriage, using phrases like secondo me il matrimonio è importante perché...AQA
Ordinal numbers: They indicate position, like primo, secondo and terzo, and must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.AQA
Orthographic adaptation: Spell Italian cognates correctly by replacing the English "x" with the appropriate "s" or "ss" spelling.AQA
Overcoming vocabulary gaps: When specific vocabulary is forgotten, mime can be a strategy to prevent communication breakdown, for example 'Ti posso aiutare?' with a suitable mime.AQA

P

Parts of speech: Identifying whether an unknown word is a verb, noun or adjective before looking it up, so the appropriate headword form can be used.AQA
Parts of the body: Many of these irregular nouns refer to body parts, such as 'il dito' becoming 'le dita' and 'il braccio' becoming 'le braccia'.AQA
Passive voice: Formed using the appropriate tense of 'essere' or 'venire' followed by a past participle that agrees in gender and number with the subject.AQA
Past actions and events: The perfect tense describes completed past actions, formed using a present tense auxiliary verb and a past participle.AQA
Past actions and habits: The imperfect tense describes continuous, repeated, or habitual actions in the past, and sets the scene.AQA
Past narratives: Recognising the pluperfect tense helps you understand the correct sequence of events in a narrative, identifying which action occurred first.AQA
Past participles: When using 'essere' to form the perfect infinitive, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.AQA
Past subjunctive: Recognised in reading and listening texts by identifying a present-subjunctive auxiliary followed by a past participle, such as abbia fatto or sia andato, and…AQA
Past tenses: The imperfect describes ongoing past actions and habitual past events, while the passato prossimo interrupts it with a completed, specific action.AQA
Personal descriptions: Describing people with adjectives for personality and appearance, ensuring correct agreement in gender and number.AQA
Phonetic spelling adjustments: 'e' (and) becomes 'ed' before a vowel, particularly an 'e', to ensure smooth pronunciation, as in 'tu ed io'.AQA
Phonetics and pronunciation: The pronunciation differs significantly due to Italian phonetic rules, so familiar words will sound different when spoken.AQA
Phonological adaptation: The "th" sound does not exist in Italian phonology, so words sharing a common root adapt this spelling.AQA
Phonological assimilation: The process by which Italian phonology often assimilates adjacent different consonants into a double consonant for smoother pronunciation.AQA
Physical exercise and fitness: Vocabulary related to exercise (l'esercizio fisico) must be mastered, including the phrase 'mantenersi in forma' (to keep fit).AQA
Places in town: Nouns ending in '-eria' typically refer to a shop, business, or specific location related to the root word, helping students to infer the meaning of new…AQA
Playing musical instruments: Using the verb 'suonare' to talk about playing an instrument, always with 'suonare' rather than 'giocare' for music.AQA
Polite requests: Both phrases express a wish, desire, or polite request rather than a definite future action.AQA
Polite requests and preferences: The conditional tense is used for polite requests, for example 'vorrei' meaning I would like.AQA
Pollution and waste management: L'inquinamento relates to environmental damage, and i rifiuti means rubbish; do not confuse inquinamento with popolazione.AQA
Practical language application: Combining physical demonstration with simple, relevant Italian phrases to show the examiner that interactions can be managed effectively.AQA
Prepositions: The preposition 'da' is used with the imperfect tense to describe an action that started in the past and was still continuing at a specific point in the past.AQA
Present continuous tense: The stare + gerund construction describes an action in progress or a temporary ongoing activity, formed with the present tense of stare followed by a gerund.AQA
Present subjunctive: Applied correctly after common trigger phrases such as 'credo che', 'penso che', or 'è importante che'.AQA
Present tense for future meaning: The present tense is often used to convey actions that are about to happen very soon, without using the formal future tense.AQA
Pronoun combinations and placement: Combined pronouns change the indirect pronoun's vowel before the direct pronoun, precede conjugated verbs, and attach to infinitives and gerunds.AQA
Pronunciation rules for 'c' and 'g': The letter 'h' is not used in Italian except to maintain a hard 'c' or 'g' sound, as in 'chimico' and 'ghetto'.AQA

Q

Question words: Interrogative adverbs like 'come' (how) and 'quando' (when) frame questions.AQA

R

Reading and listening comprehension: In comprehension tasks, distinguish between the simple present tense for habitual actions and the present continuous for actions happening right now.AQA
Reading comprehension of extended texts: Deducing the overall message or main idea from longer, more complex Italian passages and extracting specific details and key points, distinguishing them from…AQA
Reading comprehension strategies: Strategies are generally more easily applied in reading than in listening, as reading offers more opportunities to slow down, look at unknown items at some…AQA
Reading comprehension techniques: When encountering a long, unfamiliar word in a reading text, break it down into its component parts to infer the overall meaning.AQA
Reasons for volunteering: Expressing opinions on why volunteering is important, using phrases such as 'è importante aiutare gli altri' or 'mi dà soddisfazione'.AQA
Receptive grammar: The future perfect tense is required for receptive understanding only, meaning reading and listening, so revision should focus on recognition rather than…AQA
Receptive grammar recognition: The future tense is required for receptive use only, so you must recognise and understand it in reading and listening tasks but are not required to produce it.AQA
Receptive vs productive vocabulary: You must actively use the imperfect forms of the four specified verbs, and recognise (receptive use only) the imperfect forms of other common verbs when…AQA
Reflexive verbs: These require the correct reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) placed before the conjugated verb, such as 'mi lavo' (I wash myself).AQA
Regular '-are' verbs: This pattern applies to many regular first-conjugation verbs, and '-are' is the infinitive ending, which must be conjugated to match the subject and tense.AQA
Regular and irregular suffixes: Regular forms often change -o to -a, forms ending in -e typically stay the same in the singular, and irregular feminine suffixes include changing -tore to…AQA
Regular first-conjugation verbs: Verbs ending in '-izzare' follow the standard regular conjugation patterns for '-are' verbs.AQA
Regular verb conjugation: To form the present tense, remove the infinitive ending (-are, -ere, or -ire) and add the personal endings.AQA
Relative and possessive pronouns: Relative pronouns include 'il quale', 'il cui' and 'quello che', while possessives need definite articles.AQA
Restaurant interactions and ordering: Ordering food in a restaurant or café, understanding menus and interacting with waiters using polite forms like 'Vorrei...'.AQA
Restrictive negatives: 'Non...AQA

S

Scanning for specific information: Looking through a text for particular details, such as times, dates or names, rather than reading every word initially.AQA
Sentence structure and linking: Italian conjunctions link words, phrases, or clauses to build complex sentences, and mastering both coordinating and subordinating conjunctions is vital for…AQA
Sentence structure and pronoun placement: Receptive skills include understanding the order of double object pronouns, and pronouns follow 'ecco'.AQA
Sequence of events: Deduce the chronological order of events in a text or audio clip by spotting the pluperfect tense.AQA
Sequencing events: The perfect infinitive is commonly used after the preposition 'dopo' to express an action completed before another action in the past.AQA
Shopping and services: Italian '-eria' nouns can be translated into appropriate English equivalents, such as 'shop', 'store', or 'office', and used to describe towns and facilities…AQA
Shopping and transactions: In transactional contexts like shopping, specific measurements such as chilo, etto and litro are identified and translated.AQA
Singular and plural forms: Regular nouns end in '-o' (masculine singular, plural '-i'), '-a' (feminine singular, plural '-e'), or '-e' (masculine or feminine singular, plural '-i').AQA
Social inequality and poverty: Vocabulary needed to discuss poverty (la povertà) as a global issue, including describing the causes and consequences of social inequality.AQA
Social issues and vulnerable groups: Key vocabulary related to social issues, such as 'povertà' (poverty) and 'disoccupazione' (unemployment), and social groups like 'i disoccupati' and 'gli…AQA
Spatial and logical relationships: Compound prepositions such as vicino a, senza di and lontano da link words to express these relationships.AQA
Spatial relationships: Prepositions link words and express relationships like time, place and possession, and choosing the correct one often depends on the following noun.AQA
Speaking exam technique: Mime has obvious limitations in a speaking test which is recorded and assessed on the basis of the recording, because the examiner cannot see visual cues.AQA
Spelling accuracy: Omitting the 'n' found in the English '-ns-' cluster helps you avoid spelling errors when writing Italian nouns and verbs.AQA
Spelling and accents: Always include the grave accent on the final 'a' of '-tà', as omitting it is a spelling error and changes the stress of the word.AQA
Spelling patterns: Near-cognates follow predictable spelling patterns, differing from English usually by the addition of one or more accents, a suffix and/or the omission or…AQA
Spelling patterns and cognates: Recognising common patterns between Italian and English, such as dropping an 'h', is a valuable strategy for deducing meaning.AQA
Spelling patterns and rules: Recognising common spelling patterns between English and Italian can significantly boost your vocabulary comprehension, particularly when encountering…AQA
Spelling patterns in nouns: Common spelling patterns between English and Italian that help in deducing the meaning of unfamiliar nouns.AQA
Spelling patterns in nouns and verbs: The '-dm-' to '-mm-' shift applies across different word classes, such as administration (noun) and admire (verb).AQA
Spelling rules and double consonants: Italian phonology often assimilates adjacent different consonants into a double consonant, so the English '-dv-' becomes the Italian double consonant '-vv-'.AQA
Spelling rules and phonetics: Verbs ending in -care and -gare add an 'h' to keep the hard sound, while verbs ending in -ciare and -giare drop the 'i'.AQA
Sporting events and frequency of participation: Frequency of sporting activities is discussed using adverbs of time such as 'spesso' and 'due volte alla settimana', and you should practise describing a…AQA
Suffix patterns: English nouns and adjectives ending in the suffix '-id' frequently translate to Italian words ending in '-ido'.AQA
Suffix recognition: Learning common suffix equivalents, such as '-zia' for '-cy' or '-ario' for '-ary', helps you decode unfamiliar vocabulary efficiently.AQA
Suffixes and prefixes: English verbs ending in the suffix '-ify' frequently correspond to Italian verbs ending in '-ificare'.AQA
Suffixes and word formation: Applying the suffix '-zione' to verbs is an effective way to expand your Italian vocabulary, transforming a verb into a noun that frequently mirrors the…AQA
Superlative structures: The superlative forms include 'il meglio' or 'benissimo' for 'bene', and 'il peggio' or 'malissimo' for 'male'.AQA
Sustainable living and transport: Actions to reduce environmental impact include risparmiare energia or using public transport, and risparmiare energia differs from salvare il pianeta.AQA
Synonyms and paraphrasing: Success depends on understanding synonyms, since exact wording is rarely repeated, so learners look for synonyms in the text that match the concepts in the…AQA
Synthesising key information: Drawing together details from different parts of a longer text to understand the broader message and to draw accurate conclusions about the author's message.AQA

T

Telling the time: Use 'Che ore sono?' or 'Che ora è?', with 'Sono le...' for most hours but 'È l'una', 'È mezzogiorno' and 'È mezzanotte'; add minutes with 'e' and subtract…AQA
Temporal expressions: Prepositions such as 'da', 'entro' and 'tra/fra' express time relationships, with 'da' meaning since, 'entro' meaning within or by a certain time, and…AQA
Text types and registers: Written Italian comes in diverse types, such as emails, letters, brochures, online articles and short literary extracts, and learners must adapt their reading…AQA
The emotional impact of music: Articulating why you like or dislike certain types of music or artists, using adjectives to describe mood and atmosphere.AQA
Time and duration: The note states that 'da' is used with the imperfect tense together with a time expression to specify how long an action had been happening before another…AQA
Time and place indicators: Adverbs of time such as 'oggi' (today) and 'domani' (tomorrow), and place like 'qui' and 'qua' (here), show when and where actions occur.AQA
Time expressions: Markers like 'di solito' (usually) or 'oggi' (today) can be looked for to confirm that the present tense is required.AQA
Time frames and future plans: The future tense in Italian is used to describe actions that will happen.AQA
Timeframes and chronology: Scanning for future endings helps you understand the timeline of events and track the chronological sequence of a narrative.AQA
Timeframes and tenses: Recognising and differentiating between past, present and future tenses to understand the sequence of events, using time indicators and specific verb endings…AQA
Translation accuracy: Selecting the accurate translation for your context by matching the Italian word to the part of speech required.AQA
Translation strategies: Focusing on translating the underlying meaning or concept of a phrase, and using a dictionary to find the equivalent Italian idiom or appropriate verb.AQA
Types of charitable organisations: Organisations such as those helping the homeless, the environment or animals, described in Italian as le organizzazioni di beneficenza.AQA
Types of sports and physical activities: You need to be able to name various sports, such as il calcio, il nuoto, il ciclismo and l'atletica.AQA

U

Unemployment and economic hardship: Vocabulary for unemployment (la disoccupazione) as part of describing the causes and consequences of social inequality.AQA
Uses of social media platforms: Describing how you use different platforms, such as sharing photos, chatting with friends or reading news.AQA

V

Verb and infinitive constructions: Learning which verbs are followed directly by an infinitive and which require a preposition like 'a' or 'di'.AQA
Verb and preposition structures: Using the present tense of the verb 'andare' followed by the preposition 'a' and an infinitive verb expresses the immediate future.AQA
Verb conjugation: Changing an infinitive found in the dictionary into the correct form to express a specific phrase, such as changing chiedere to chiedo to say 'I ask ....'.AQA
Verb conjugation and agreement: Conjugating regular and irregular verbs, including reflexive verbs, across all persons of the verb, singular and plural, so the verb ending matches the subject.AQA
Verb infinitives: When an English verb ends in '-e', it frequently translates to an Italian verb ending in '-are', provided it does not end in '-ate' or '-ize'.AQA
Verb morphology: The characteristic endings -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno are attached to the verb stem, and -are verbs change their 'a' to an 'e'.AQA
Verb structures: Dependent infinitives occur when a conjugated verb is followed directly by an infinitive, such as with modal verbs or verbs like 'fare' and 'lasciare'.AQA
Verb tenses: Italian uses the imperfect tense where English uses the past perfect continuous, and 'da' with the present tense means ongoing now while with the imperfect it…AQA
Verb-preposition combinations: Choosing the correct preposition often depends on the preceding verb, and which prepositions follow common verbs should be memorised.AQA
Vocabulary building: Recognising these common patterns helps students deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words in reading and listening tasks, expanding their vocabulary efficiently…AQA
Vocabulary building strategies: Understanding this pattern allows students to confidently guess the meaning of new Italian nouns encountered in reading and listening tasks, and helps them…AQA
Vocabulary decoding: Recognising the '-ido' suffix enables learners to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in reading and listening assessments.AQA
Vocabulary decoding strategies: By mastering this pattern, you can quickly identify cognates and infer the meanings of unfamiliar words, especially formal or academic vocabulary.AQA
Vocabulary deduction: Working out the meaning of unfamiliar words by recognising those that have exactly or almost exactly the same form and essentially the same meaning in Italian…AQA
Vocabulary deduction strategies: Reversing the process allows students to deduce that ammissione relates to admission, and mentally substituting '-dm-' for '-mm-' checks for a familiar…AQA
Vocabulary expansion: Recognising these patterns allows learners to deduce that a word with these endings is a smaller or endearing version of the root noun.AQA
Vocabulary selection: Selecting the Italian word that accurately conveys the intended meaning, for example choosing 'fare jogging' for running rather than 'spinta' for a push.AQA

W

Weather and descriptions: Adjectives like 'nebbioso' or 'piovoso' can be used when describing weather in your writing to show a wider range of vocabulary.AQA
Weights and measures: Specific vocabulary is used to describe amounts, weights and measures, including un chilo di for a kilo of, un etto di for 100 grams of and un litro di for a…AQA
Word classes: The grammatical function of a word, shown by abbreviations such as v.AQA
Word families and morphology: Recognising familiar patterns which link nouns and adjectives and verbs and nouns, such as the verb creare and the noun creazione.AQA
Word families and roots: Recognising adjectival roots can help you identify related verb forms within the same word family.AQA
Word formation: Adding the suffixes -tore (masculine) and -trice (feminine) to the stem of verbs creates nouns or adjectives describing a person or thing performing the action.AQA

Where these terms come from

Each definition is one we publish on a Italian GCSE topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to Italian revision or the glossary for every subject.

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Italian topics

A

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Where these terms come from

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