MATSEC SEC Italian cheat sheet

Oral exam structure: a short conversation with the examiner on familiar topics (family, school, hobbies, holidays), then a picture or short text prompt for description and opinion; marks are awarded for communication, range, accuracy and pronunciation.

Listening passages are read twice at near-native speed; before the second reading, note only keywords (nomi, luoghi, numeri, tempi verbali), not full sentences.

Italian vowel sounds are pure and short: /a e i o u/ never diphthongise; final vowels are always pronounced, so 'studentessa' has four clear syllables.

Double consonants are held longer and change meaning: 'pala' (shovel) vs 'palla' (ball), 'casa' vs 'cassa', 'nono' vs 'nonno'.

Consonant digraphs: 'ch' before e/i = /k/ (che, chiave); 'gh' before e/i = /g/ (ghiaccio); 'ci/gi' before a/o/u = /tʃ/ /dʒ/ (ciao, gioco).

'gli' = palatal /ʎ/ (figlio, famiglia); 'gn' = /ɲ/ (gnocchi, bagno); 'sc' before e/i = /ʃ/ (pesce, scienza).

Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable (parlare, studente); final accented vowels mark stress or distinguish words (perché, è, sì, e vs è).

Useful repair phrases for the oral: 'Può ripetere, per favore?', 'Come si dice...?', 'Secondo me...', 'Da una parte... dall'altra...'.

Skim the title, first sentence and last paragraph first to identify genre (email, avviso, articolo, racconto) and topic before reading in detail.

Question order normally follows text order; locate the answer paragraph by matching proper nouns, dates and numbers rather than by translating every word.

Cognate traps: 'camera' = room (not camera), 'parente' = relative, 'fattoria' = farm, 'burro' = butter, 'magazzino' = warehouse, 'salire' = to go up.

False friends to flag: 'attualmente' = currently, 'eventualmente' = possibly, 'in ogni caso' = in any case; 'ospedale' is a hospital, 'ospite' is a guest.

Signal words for inference questions: 'tuttavia, però, invece, mentre, nonostante, quindi, perciò' - contrast and consequence often carry the answer.

Verb tense signals time: passato prossimo (completed, with avere/essere + participle) vs imperfetto (habitual/descriptive) vs trapassato (prior action).

Numbers and dates: 'millenovecentottanta' = 1980; 'il primo maggio' = 1 May; 'nel Duemila' = in 2000; ordinals are lowercase after a noun (il secolo ventesimo).

For 'what does the author imply' items, reject options that are true but not stated in the text; the answer must be supported by a specific line.

Formal letter frame: 'Gentile Signora Rossi,' / 'Egregio Direttore,' → body → 'Distinti saluti' or 'Cordiali saluti'; informal: 'Caro/a ...,' → 'Ciao,' / 'A presto,' / 'Un abbraccio'.

Email register: 'Oggetto:' line is required; 'Le scrivo per...' (formal) vs 'Ti scrivo per...' (informal); 'La ringrazio' vs 'Grazie mille'.

Composition plan: 4 paragraphs - introduzione (topic + thesis), sviluppo (2 arguments with examples), opinione/esperienza personale, conclusione (restate + closing thought).

Connectors to raise range: 'innanzitutto, in primo luogo, inoltre, d'altra parte, tuttavia, di conseguenza, in conclusione, insomma'.

Narrative composition uses passato prossimo for events and imperfetto for background/description: 'Mentre pioveva, sono uscito di casa.'

Agreement rule: adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun (una città bellissima, dei libri interessanti); articles contract with prepositions (a + il = al, di + la = della).

Word count discipline: aim for the middle of the required range; count only content words, and avoid repeating the prompt wording.

Punctuation and accents: 'è' (is) vs 'e' (and), 'sì' (yes) vs 'si' (oneself), 'né' (nor), 'perché' (why/because) - missing accents lose accuracy marks.

Present indicative endings: -are: -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano; -ere: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono; -ire: -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono (finisco type adds -isc-).

Passato prossimo auxiliary: 'avere' with transitive verbs; 'essere' with movement/state verbs (andare, venire, partire, nascere, restare) and all reflexives, with participle agreeing (siamo andati/e).

Imperfetto endings: -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano on the stem (parlavo, prendevo, dormivo); irregular: ero, facevo, dicevo, bevevo.

Future: -erò/-erai/-erà/-eremo/-erete/-eranno on -are verbs (parler-), -erò on -ere, -irò on -ire; irregular stems: sarò, avrò, andrò, potrò, dovrò, saprò, vedrò.

Congiuntivo presente for opinion/necessity after 'penso che, credo che, è importante che': parli, parli, parli, parliamo, parliate, parlino; essere → sia, avere → abbia.

Pronouns: direct object mi/ti/lo/la/ci/vi/li/le; indirect mi/ti/gli/le/ci/vi/gli; combined forms me lo, gliela, ce ne; reflexive si (alzarsi → mi alzo).

Prepositions: 'in' with countries/cities/transport (in Italia, in centro, in treno); 'a' with cities and time (a Roma, alle tre); 'di' for possession and origin.

Comparative and superlative: più/meno ... di (before nouns/pronouns) or che (before verbs, adjectives, prepositions); relative superlative il più ... di; irregular: migliore, peggiore, maggiore, minore.