SACE Stage 2 Italian (beginners) flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Interactive Oral

A school-assessed conversation in Italian, usually about 10 minutes long, in which the student must ask and answer questions and sustain interaction. It forms part of the internal assessment.

Performance standards A–E

Five achievement levels used to grade student work in SACE Stage 2 Italian (Beginners). A is excellent, B good, C competent, D developing and E emerging.

Internal assessment weighting

School-based assessment in Stage 2 Italian (Beginners) contributes 70% of the final subject grade. The remaining 30% comes from the external examination set by the SACE Board.

Folio of tasks

A collection of school-assessed tasks covering listening, speaking, reading and writing. Each task is marked against the performance standards and later moderated against statewide standards.

Beginners level topics

Themes restricted to the personal world: self and family, school and daily routine, leisure, food, holidays and travel, and the local community. Language is simple and supported.

Moderation of school marks

The process in which a school's internal marks are checked against the SACE performance standards by external moderators, ensuring grades are comparable across schools.

Present tense endings

Regular Italian verbs: -are → -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano; -ere → -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono; -ire → -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono.

Passato prossimo with avere

Compound past formed with present tense of avere plus past participle: ho mangiato, hai visto, abbiamo finito. The participle does not agree with the subject when using avere.

Passato prossimo with essere

Used with verbs of motion and reflexives (andare, venire, partire, alzarsi). The past participle agrees with the subject: sono andato/a, siamo partiti/e.

Adjective agreement

Italian adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun: un ragazzo alto, una ragazza alta, ragazzi alti, ragazze alte. Adjectives ending in -e have one form for both genders.

Definite articles

Masculine: il, lo, l', i, gli. Feminine: la, l', le. Choice depends on the first letters of the noun: lo before s+consonant or z, l' before a vowel.

Reflexive verbs

Verbs where the action reflects on the subject, using pronouns mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si: mi alzo, ti lavi, si veste. Common in daily-routine vocabulary.

Formal versus informal address

Use tu with friends, family and peers; use Lei with adults, teachers and strangers. Verb forms and pronouns change: come stai? versus come sta?

Text types for folio

Common written formats assessed internally: email, message, diary entry, postcard, short article, notice and description. Each has its own conventions for greeting, structure and closing.

External examination weighting

The SACE Board external examination in Stage 2 Italian (Beginners) contributes 30% of the final subject grade and is set and marked externally, not by the school.

Listening section format

Externally set section in which recorded Italian passages are played twice. Questions test main idea and detail, and answers must be based only on what is heard.

Reading section format

Externally set section using authentic or adapted Italian texts such as emails, notices, advertisements and articles. Questions target main idea, detail, inference and vocabulary in context.

Written response task

Externally set production of a short Italian text, roughly 100–150 words, in a specified text type such as an email, message or article, marked for communication and accuracy.

Examination duration

The external paper is typically around two hours long, plus reading time before the paper begins. No dictionaries or electronic devices are permitted in the examination room.

Stare per + infinitive

Expresses the near future or an action about to happen: sto per uscire (I am about to go out), stanno per partire (they are about to leave). Common in spoken Italian.

Futuro semplice

Simple future tense: parlerò, mangerai, partirà. Regular endings -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno added to the infinitive with vowel changes for -are verbs.

Direct object pronouns

Pronouns replacing the direct object: mi, ti, lo/la, ci, vi, li/le. They usually precede the conjugated verb: lo vedo, li compro.

Indirect object pronouns

Pronouns meaning 'to someone': mi, ti, gli/le, ci, vi, gli. They precede the verb: gli parlo, le scrivo. Used with verbs like parlare, scrivere, telefonare.

Comparatives

Comparison of inequality: più … di (before nouns and pronouns), più … che (before verbs, adjectives, prepositions). Example: Marco è più alto di Luca.

Superlative forms

Relative superlative: il/la più … di. Absolute superlative: -issimo/a (bellissimo, molto bello). Example: è il ristorante più buono della città.

Question words

Chi (who), che cosa (what), dove (where), quando (when), perché (why), come (how), quanto (how much). Used to form information questions in the exam.

Common irregular verbs

Essere (sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono), avere (ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno), andare (vado, vai, va, andiamo, andate, vanno), fare (faccio, fai, fa, facciamo, fate, fanno).

Negation with non

Place non before the verb to negate: non parlo inglese, non ho capito. Double negatives are standard: non vedo nessuno (I see nobody).

Time expressions

Useful phrases for exam writing: oggi, ieri, domani, la settimana scorsa, il mese prossimo, sempre, spesso, a volte, mai. Often paired with the correct tense.

Numbers and dates

Cardinal numbers uno, due, tre … venti, cento, mille. Dates use the cardinal number except the first: il primo gennaio, il due marzo. Years use mille + hundreds.

Marking criteria for writing

Externally marked written responses are judged on communication and content, range and accuracy of vocabulary and grammar, text-type conventions, and appropriate register and structure.