WACE Italian Second Language ATAR flashcards

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

Lei vs tu

Lei is the formal second-person pronoun used with strangers, officials and superiors, taking third-person verb forms; tu is informal, used with family, friends, peers and children.

Ciao vs buongiorno

Ciao is an informal greeting used with people you know, for both hello and goodbye; buongiorno and buonasera are neutral-to-formal and are the safe choice in shops and offices.

Double consonant meaning

In Italian consonant length distinguishes words: pala means shovel while palla means ball; casa means house while cassa means cash desk. Mispronouncing length can change the word entirely.

Letters c and g

C before e or i sounds like English ch in ciao; ch sounds like k in chiave. G before e or i sounds like j in gelato; gh sounds like hard g in ghiaccio.

gli and gn sounds

The digraph gn is a palatal nasal as in gnocchi; gli is a palatal lateral as in famiglia. Both are single sounds, not separate letters pronounced in sequence.

Circumlocution phrases

Expressions such as cioè, come si dice and quello che intendo let a speaker keep talking when a precise word is missing, protecting fluency scores in oral assessment.

Telling the time

Le tre e un quarto is 3:15; le tre meno un quarto is 2:45; è mezzogiorno is noon; è mezzanotte is midnight. Hours are feminine plural except one o'clock, which is singular.

Falsi amici: attualmente

Attualmente means currently or at present, not actually. The English actually is usually reso with in realtà or infatti, depending on whether contrast or confirmation is intended.

Falsi amici: eventualmente

Eventualmente means if necessary or possibly, not eventually. The English eventually is usually alla fine or infine, marking a final outcome rather than a condition.

Falsi amici: magazzino

Magazzino means warehouse or storeroom, not magazine. An Italian magazine is una rivista, whether a periodical or a television programme of that format.

Falsi amici: parente

Parente means relative or family member, not parent. Parent is genitore in Italian, and i genitori is the standard plural for parents.

Cohesion: tuttavia

Tuttavia and però signal contrast, meaning however or nevertheless. They introduce an idea that limits or contradicts what was just stated in the passage.

Cohesion: quindi

Quindi and perciò mark consequence, meaning therefore or so. They introduce a result or conclusion drawn from information already given in the text.

Pronominal: farcela

Farcela means to manage or succeed at something, as in ce l'ho fatta. The particles ce and la are fixed parts of the expression and do not change meaning independently.

Pronominal: volerci

Volerci expresses need in terms of time or resources: ci vuole un'ora means it takes an hour, and ci vogliono due giorni means it takes two days.

Reading: gist before detail

Skim title, headings and topic sentences first to establish the overall meaning, then scan for dates, prices and names. Detail questions presuppose correct gist identification.

Imperfetto uses

The imperfetto describes background scenery, habitual past actions and ongoing states: da bambino giocavo ogni giorno. It does not present a single completed event.

Passato prossimo uses

The passato prossimo reports completed past events with present relevance: ieri ho giocato a tennis. It combines present tense of avere or essere with a past participle.

Essere or avere auxiliary

Most transitive verbs take avere; movement and state verbs such as andare, partire, nascere and restare take essere, as do all reflexive verbs, with participle agreement.

Congiuntivo triggers

The subjunctive follows verbs of opinion and emotion such as penso che, mi dispiace che, and conjunctions benché, affinché, prima che, and impersonal phrases like è importante che.

Formal letter opening

A formal Italian letter opens with Gentile Dottoressa Rossi or Egregio Signor Bianchi and closes with Cordiali saluti or Distinti saluti, avoiding ciao and contractions.

Friendly email opening

An informal email opens with Ciao Marco or Caro Marco and closes with A presto, Un abbraccio or Baci. Exclamation marks and colloquial vocabulary are acceptable here.

Article structure

A newspaper article carries a headline, a lead paragraph answering who, what, when and where, then body paragraphs with quotation and background, often using impersonal si constructions.

Preposition contractions

Prepositions contract with definite articles: di plus il gives del, a plus la gives alla, in plus il gives nel, su plus i gives sui. Contraction is obligatory in standard written Italian.

Writing connectives

Innanzitutto, in primo luogo, d'altra parte, di conseguenza and per concludere organise an argument into ordered stages and raise the cohesion score in written tasks.

Italian Republic basics

Italy is a parliamentary republic. The Presidente della Repubblica is head of state; the Presidente del Consiglio heads the government; Parliament comprises the Camera dei Deputati and the Senato.

National holidays

Key Italian dates include 25 aprile, Festa della Liberazione; 1 maggio, Festa del Lavoro; 2 giugno, Festa della Repubblica; 15 agosto, Ferragosto; and 8 dicembre, Immacolata.

Regional languages

Standard Italian derives from Tuscan. Recognised minority languages include German in Alto Adige, French in Valle d'Aosta, Slovenian in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Ladin in parts of the Dolomites.

Italian meal structure

A traditional meal runs primo (pasta or risotto), secondo (meat or fish), contorno (vegetables) and dolce. Cappuccino belongs to breakfast and is not ordered after a meal.

In bocca al lupo

This expression wishes good luck, literally into the wolf's mouth. The conventional reply is crepi, meaning may the wolf die. Answering grazie is considered inauspicious.

Italian education stages

Upper secondary offers liceo, istituto tecnico and istituto professionale, ending with the esame di maturità. University has laurea triennale, laurea magistrale and dottorato di ricerca.