MATSEC SEC Italian flashcards

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

Oral exam format

A short conversation with the examiner on familiar topics followed by describing a picture or short prompt and giving an opinion, assessed for communication, range, accuracy and pronunciation.

Double consonants

Italian double consonants are pronounced with a longer hold and distinguish meaning, as in pala versus palla or casa versus cassa.

Digraph ch and gh

Before the vowels e and i, ch represents the hard k sound and gh the hard g sound, as in chiave and ghiaccio.

Gli and gn sounds

The letters gli represent a palatal l as in figlio, while gn represents a palatal n as in bagno and gnocchi.

Italian word stress

Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable, and a written final accent marks stress or distinguishes words such as è, sì and perché.

Asking for repetition

Useful spoken repair phrases include Può ripetere, per favore? and Come si dice? to keep the conversation going when something is unclear.

Listening keyword strategy

During the first reading note only keywords such as names, places, numbers and tenses, then confirm or correct them on the second reading.

Cognate trap camera

The Italian word camera means room, not camera, and parente means relative; such near-cognates mislead if translated by shape alone.

False friend attualmente

Attualmente means currently, not actually, and eventualmente means possibly; these adverbs describe time and possibility rather than contrast or reality.

Contrast signal words

Words such as tuttavia, però, invece and nonostante introduce contrast, and answers to inference questions often sit in the clause they introduce.

Imperfetto versus passato prossimo

The imperfetto describes habitual or background situations, while the passato prossimo reports completed events, as in mentre pioveva sono uscito.

Reading question order

Questions usually follow the order of the text, so locate each answer by matching names, dates and numbers in successive paragraphs.

Rejecting unsupported options

For implication questions, an option that is true in general but not stated in the passage must be rejected in favour of a line-supported answer.

Italian number forms

Millenovecentottanta is 1980, nel Duemila means in the year 2000, and ordinals after nouns are lowercase, as in il secolo ventesimo.

Formal letter opening

A formal Italian letter opens with Gentile Signora or Egregio Direttore and closes with Distinti saluti or Cordiali saluti, using the Lei form throughout.

Informal letter register

An informal letter or email opens with Caro or Ciao and closes with A presto or Un abbraccio, addressing the reader with tu.

Email subject line

Italian emails require an Oggetto line, and the opening formula Le scrivo per is formal while Ti scrivo per is informal.

Composition paragraph plan

A four-paragraph plan covers introduzione with thesis, sviluppo with two arguments and examples, personal opinion or experience, and conclusione restating the position.

Connectors for range

Innanzitutto, inoltre, d'altra parte, tuttavia, di conseguenza and in conclusione link ideas and raise the range score in compositions.

Adjective agreement

Adjectives agree in gender and number with their noun, giving una città bellissima and dei libri interessanti, and articles contract with prepositions.

Accent pairs in writing

Written accents distinguish è is from e and, sì yes from si oneself, and perché why or because; missing accents cost accuracy marks.

Narrative tense mix

In a narrative composition the imperfetto sets the scene while the passato prossimo carries the events, for example mentre pioveva sono uscito di casa.

Present indicative endings

Regular presents end -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano for -are verbs, and -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete, -ono for -ere verbs.

Finisco type verbs

Many -ire verbs insert -isc- in singular and third plural forms, giving finisco, finisci, finisce, finiamo, finite, finiscono.

Essere as auxiliary

Essere forms the passato prossimo of movement and state verbs such as andare, partire and nascere, and of all reflexive verbs, with participle agreement.

Imperfetto endings

The imperfetto adds -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano to the stem, giving parlavo, prendevo and dormivo, with irregular ero and facevo.

Future irregular stems

The future uses sarò, avrò, andrò, potrò, dovrò, saprò and vedrò from irregular stems, while regular verbs add -erò or -irò.

Congiuntivo presente forms

After penso che or è importante che, the congiuntivo presente gives parli, parliamo, parlino, with essere becoming sia and avere becoming abbia.

Combined object pronouns

Indirect pronouns combine with direct ones as me lo, te la, gliela and ce ne, with the indirect form changing before the direct pronoun.

Prepositions in and a

Use in with countries, regions and transport, as in in Italia and in treno, and a with cities and clock times, as in a Roma and alle tre.

Comparative di versus che

Più or meno takes di before nouns and pronouns, but che before verbs, adjectives and prepositions, as in è più facile che partire.

Irregular comparatives

The irregular comparatives migliore, peggiore, maggiore and minore replace più buono, più cattivo, più grande and più piccolo in standard usage.