QCAA Italian key terms

A verb mood used after expressions of doubt, emotion, wish, or opinion, and after certain conjunctions, formed from the first-person singular stem plus characteristic endings.

The past subjunctive, needed for hypothetical clauses and reported speech in the past; its forms share the stem of the third-person plural of the passato remoto.

A conditional sentence linking a hypothesis to a consequence, using indicative for real conditions and subjunctive plus conditional for unreal or impossible ones.

The compound conditional formed with the conditional of avere or essere plus a past participle, used for unfulfilled outcomes and future-in-the-past statements.

Reported speech, in which tenses, pronouns, and time expressions shift back to reflect the speaker's original words without quotation marks.

A linking word or phrase such as quindi, tuttavia, or d'altra parte that signals cause, contrast, or sequence and makes written and spoken text cohesive.

The way sentences in a text are tied together through connectors, pronoun reference, and consistent topic focus so that the argument flows logically.

The level of formality in language, ranging from informal tu-forms with friends to formal Lei-forms in service encounters, letters, and interviews.

To address someone formally, using third-person singular verb forms and pronouns such as Lei, Le, and La, typical with strangers, officials, and older people.

Conventional polite phrases used to open and close interactions, such as buongiorno, per favore, mi scusi, and cordiali saluti, appropriate to the relationship and setting.

Turn-taking: the conventions by which speakers take, hold, and hand over the floor in conversation, using cues like allora, appunto, or ma senti.

A short spoken marker such as beh, insomma, or comunque that manages the flow of talk, softens a statement, or signals a change of topic.

A filler sound or word, like ehm or cioè, used while a speaker plans the next utterance; overuse signals hesitation, but native speakers use them naturally.

The repair strategies speakers use to fix misunderstandings, such as repeating, reformulating, or asking Come hai detto? or Puoi ripetere, per favore?

Restating a message in different words to check understanding or explain a concept when the listener lacks a specific term.

A concise summary of the main points of a text or conversation, usually one or two sentences long, omitting examples and minor detail.

The central claim or purpose of a spoken or written passage, which supporting details illustrate; identifying it is the first step in comprehension tasks.

A conclusion drawn from clues in a text rather than stated directly, such as guessing a speaker's mood from tone or word choice.

The attitude conveyed by a speaker or writer, for example ironic, annoyed, or enthusiastic, often shown through intonation, intensifiers, and choice of vocabulary.

The reason a text or exchange exists, such as to persuade, inform, complain, or invite, which shapes its structure, vocabulary, and level of formality.

The intended audience of a message; identifying it helps a reader judge register, assumed knowledge, and how directly the writer addresses the reader.

A category of text with conventional features, such as a letter to an editor, a recipe, a news brief, or an advertisement, each with typical layout and language.

A group of sentences developing one idea, usually opened by a topic sentence and linked to the next paragraph by connectors.

A first draft of a written text, produced before revising for accuracy, register, and organisation; planning and redrafting are expected in writing tasks.

The stage of checking a draft for grammar, spelling, agreement, and appropriateness, ideally after a pause and with a checklist of frequent errors.

Agreement between article, noun, and adjective in gender and number, and between subject and verb in person and number.

The rule that tenses in a complex sentence must fit together, for example using the imperfect or conditional after a past-tense main verb when reporting speech.

Vocabulary specific to a field such as school, health, environment, or tourism, which candidates should recognise and use accurately in context.

A habitual word partnership, such as fare una domanda or prendere una decisione, that sounds natural to native speakers and cannot be freely substituted.

A fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as in bocca al lupo or non vedo l'ora.

A set of words related in meaning, for example terms for transport or for feelings, useful for predicting vocabulary in a listening or reading passage.

A word or usage typical of a region, such as mica male or particular food names, which shows how Italian varies across the peninsula.

A local language variety with its own grammar, historically distinct from standard Italian and still spoken alongside it in many communities.

The codified national variety taught in schools and used in broadcasting and formal writing, based historically on Tuscan literary usage.

A speaker of Italian, including communities in Italy, San Marino, parts of Switzerland, and diaspora communities in Australia, the Americas, and elsewhere.

The large-scale movement of Italians abroad, especially in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which shaped diaspora communities and their food, festivals, and dialects.

The cultural contributions and links maintained by migrant communities with their homeland, such as festivals, food traditions, and language schools.

The nineteenth-century process of political unification, completed in 1861 and consolidated with Rome's annexation in 1870, which underpins national identity narratives.