Sentence structure

Italian follows Subject-Verb-Object order like English, with flexible word order for emphasis.

Basic structure

• 🔊 Marco mangia la pizza. — Marco eats the pizza.
• 🔊 Io leggo un libro. — I read a book.

Subject pronoun omission

Since verb endings show the subject, pronouns are often dropped:

• 🔊 Parlo italiano. — I speak Italian. (not Io parlo)
• 🔊 Mangiamo alle otto. — We eat at eight.

Use pronouns for emphasis or contrast:

• 🔊 Io lavoro, tu riposi. — I work, you rest.

Questions

Yes/No questions

Use rising intonation:

• 🔊 Parli italiano? — Do you speak Italian?
• 🔊 Hai fame? — Are you hungry?

Question words

Italian	English
🔊 Chi?	Who?
🔊 Che cosa? / Cosa?	What?
🔊 Dove?	Where?
🔊 Quando?	When?
🔊 Perché?	Why?
🔊 Come?	How?
🔊 Quanto?	How much/many?
🔊 Quale?	Which?

Examples:

• 🔊 Dove abiti? — Where do you live?
• 🔊 Perché studi italiano? — Why do you study Italian?

Negation

Place non before the verb:

• 🔊 Non parlo francese. — I don't speak French.
• 🔊 Non capisco. — I don't understand.

Double negatives are correct:

• 🔊 Non ho niente. — I don't have anything.
• 🔊 Non vedo nessuno. — I don't see anyone.

Object pronouns

Direct object pronouns come before the verb:

Pronoun	Meaning
mi	me
ti	you
lo	him/it (m)
la	her/it (f)
ci	us
vi	you (pl)
li	them (m)
le	them (f)

Examples:

• 🔊 Lo vedo. — I see him/it.
• 🔊 La amo. — I love her.

C'è and Ci sono

"There is" and "there are":

• 🔊 C'è un problema. — There is a problem.
• 🔊 Ci sono molte persone. — There are many people.

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