MATSEC SEC Italian key terms

Verb mood used after expressions of doubt, wish, emotion, opinion, or necessity (for example dopo 'penso che', 'voglio che', 'è importante che'), formed from the io form of the present indicative plus distinctive endings.

Compound past tense made of present auxiliary avere or essere plus past participle; used for completed events with present relevance. With essere the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Simple past tense describing habitual actions, background description, age, time and weather in the past; contrasts with passato prossimo, which reports single completed events.

Compound tense formed with imperfect indicative of avere or essere plus past participle, expressing an action completed before another past action, as in 'avevo già mangiato quando arrivò'.

Simple future tense used for predictions, promises and, in Italian, also for present probability or conjecture, as in 'sarà stanca' meaning she is probably tired.

Verb form expressing polite requests, wishes and hypothetical results, as in 'vorrei un caffè' or 'verrei se potessi'; also used in reported speech to express future-in-the-past.

Conditional sentence structure linking a hypothesis to a consequence. Three main types: reality with present or future indicative, possibility with imperfect plus conditional, and impossibility with trapassato prossimo plus past conditional.

Rules matching tenses between a main clause and a subordinate clause, especially shifting presente to imperfetto and passato prossimo to trapassato prossimo when the main verb is past.

Reported speech, where direct quotations are transformed: pronouns and possessives shift, tenses usually move back, and question or command structures are rephrased with 'di' plus infinitive or appropriate conjunctions.

Object pronouns replacing a direct object: mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le. They normally precede the conjugated verb but attach to infinitives and gerunds, as in 'voglio vederlo'.

Indirect object pronouns meaning 'to someone': mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli. They mark the recipient of verbs like dare, dire, telefonare, scrivere and often precede the verb.

Fused pairs of indirect and direct pronouns, such as glielo, gliela, me lo, te la, ce ne; the indirect form changes (mi becomes me, gli becomes glie) before the direct pronoun.

Invariable particles with several functions: ci can mean 'there' or replace 'a/in' phrases, while ne replaces quantities or 'di' phrases, as in 'ci vado' and 'ne prendo due'.

Verbs built with a reflexive or particle pronoun whose meaning differs from the base verb, such as andarsene (to leave), fregarsene (not to care), cavarsela (to manage) and farcela (to succeed).

Pronouns mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si that refer back to the subject, used with reflexive verbs like lavarsi, alzarsi and sentirsi, and attached to infinitives as in 'devo alzarmi'.

Agreement rule for past participles: with essere they agree with the subject; with avere they stay masculine singular unless a preceding direct object pronoun (lo, la, li, le) forces agreement.

Definite article forms il, lo, la, i, gli, le, chosen by the noun's gender, number and initial sound; lo and gli precede s plus consonant, z, gn, ps and y.

Indefinite article forms un, uno, una and the shortened un' before feminine nouns starting with a vowel; uno is used before s plus consonant, z, gn, ps and y.

Agreement of adjectives with the noun they modify in gender and number, following four main patterns: -o/-a/-i/-e, -e/-i, and invariable adjectives such as 'blu' or 'simpatico' used as nouns.

Structures of comparison: 'più... di' and 'meno... di' for inequality, 'come' and 'tanto... quanto' for equality, and superlatives in -issimo or 'il più... di' for the highest degree.

Invariable words modifying verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, expressing manner (bene, lentamente), time (oggi, sempre), place (qui, fuori) or quantity (molto, poco, abbastanza).

Linking words and phrases that organise written and spoken text, such as inoltre, tuttavia, quindi, invece, d'altra parte, innanzitutto and in conclusione, signalling addition, contrast, cause or consequence.

Politeness level used in letters, emails and interviews, marked by 'Lei' with third-person verbs, titles such as Gentile or Egregio, and closing formulas like Cordiali saluti or Distinti saluti.

Relaxed register used with friends and family, marked by 'tu', first-name address, contractions, colloquial vocabulary and closing formulas such as Ciao, A presto or Un abbraccio.

Structured letter or email with sender and recipient details, a polite opening (Gentile Signore, Egregio Direttore), a clear body stating purpose, and a formal closing formula with signature.

Personal letter or message to a friend or relative, opening with Caro or Cara plus name, using conversational language, personal news and questions, and ending with an affectionate closing.

Digital message whose conventions vary by purpose: a subject line stating the topic, an appropriate greeting, short paragraphs, and a closing. Formal emails require Lei forms and full signature details.

Concise rewrite of a text in the candidate's own words, keeping the main ideas and logical order while cutting examples and repetition; usually a set length and often required after a reading passage.

The central point a passage communicates, often stated in a topic sentence or inferable from repeated content; distinguishing it from supporting detail is a common reading-comprehension task.

Reading skill of drawing a conclusion not stated directly, using clues in the text such as tone, word choice or cause-effect links, as when deducing a speaker's opinion or a character's feeling.

The attitude conveyed by a text or speaker, for example ironico, entusiasta, critico, neutro or rammaricato; identified through word choice, punctuation and sentence structure rather than explicit statement.

The writer's reason for producing a text, such as informare, persuadere, descrivere, raccontare or istruire; recognising it helps answer questions about audience and register.

The intended reader or listener of a text, whose identity shapes vocabulary, register and amount of explanation, for example teenagers, professionals, or a single named person in a letter.

Restating a phrase or sentence with different words while preserving the meaning; used in reading tasks and in oral exams to show comprehension without repeating the source text verbatim.

Words with similar meaning (sinonimi) and opposite meaning (contrari), tested through matching and gap-fill items; building them widens vocabulary for both comprehension and composition.

Natural word partnerships that native-like Italian prefers, such as 'fare una domanda', 'prendere una decisione', 'prestare attenzione' and 'correre un rischio'; wrong partners sound foreign even when grammar is correct.

Fixed phrases whose meaning is not literal, such as 'in bocca al lupo' (good luck), 'non vedo l'ora' (I can't wait) and 'costare un occhio della testa' (to cost a fortune).

Listening skill tested by audio passages such as announcements, dialogues and interviews, requiring identification of gist, specific details, numbers, times and speakers' intentions from natural-speed speech.

Listening strategy of scanning an audio passage for particular information, such as a price, platform number or opening time, while ignoring irrelevant material; supported by reading the questions first.

Note-taking while listening, using abbreviations, symbols and keywords rather than full sentences, so that answers can be completed after the recording stops without losing accuracy.

Spoken production task, often a short talk or description on a familiar topic, assessed on fluency, range of vocabulary, pronunciation, accuracy and ability to sustain and link ideas.

Two-way speaking task such as a role-play or interview, requiring turn-taking, appropriate greetings, asking and answering questions, and reacting to an interlocutor's cues.

Production of Italian sounds and stress, including double consonants (pala versus palla), open and closed vowels, and word stress that can change meaning, as in ancora versus ancora.

Stress placed on a syllable within a word; written only when it falls on the final syllable (città, perché, però) or to distinguish homographs such as è (is) and e (and).

Two written accent marks: grave (à, è, ì, ò, ù) usually marks open vowels, while acute (é, ó) marks closed vowels, as in perché versus caffè or né versus è.