The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) includes six levels, that go from A1 for beginners to C2 for advanced users. Find out your Italian Beginner GRAMMAR Study Plan.

A1 Beginner GRAMMAR Syllabus

Italian level A1 • CEFR

a1 level beginner
At the end of Italian level A1, you can:
  • understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases.
  • introduce yourself and others.
  • ask and answer questions about personal details (for example, where you live, people you know and things you have.
  • interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Find out our Italian A1 Beginner Vocabulary Study Plan

You can practice your A1 grammar in our Grammar area. You also can practice your A1 vocabulary in our Vocabulary area.

Let’s see it in full detail.

The following are the grammatical topics that you will have mastered:

Verbs

Present Tense

❇️ Present Tense of Regular Verbs

  • Conjugation of common regular verbs (-are, -ere, -ire endings)
    • Parlare (to speak), mangiare (to eat), dormire (to sleep), etc
  • Basic sentence structure
    • Subject + Verb + Object
    • Example: Io studio italiano. (I study Italian.)

 ❇️ Present Tense of Common Italian irregular verbs 

  • essere (to be), 
  • avere (to have),
  • fare (to do/make)
  • andare (to go)
  • dare (to give)
  • dire (to say)
  • stare (to stay)
  • uscire (to go out)
  • venire (to come)
  • etc

Past Tense

Past Tense – Passato Prossimo

  • A basic introduction to past tense.
  • Conjugation of past participle with “essere” and “avere”.
    • Example: Ho mangiato una pizza ieri. (I ate a pizza yesterday.)
  • Formation of past participles for common verbs.

 

Reflexive verbs

  • Reflexive Verbs in Daily Routine
    • Example: mi sveglio (I wake up)
  • Reflexive Verbs for Personal Care
    • Example.: ti lavi (you wash yourself)
  • Reflexive Verbs in Clothing and Dressing
    • Example: mi vesto (I get dressed)

Auxiliary verbs

  • essere,
  • avere,
  • essere or avere?
    • Examples:
      • ho comprato un libro (I bought a book)
      • sono andato a scuola (I went to school)

Modal verbs

❇️Present tense (+ infinitive)

  • volere
    • Example: Voglio tornare a casa. (I want to go back home)
  • potere
    • Example: Posso uscire? (Can I go out?)
  • dovere
    • Example: Devi studiare di più (You have to study more)

❇️ Past tense of modal verbs

  • the auxiliary in the “passato prossimo”

The form of courtesy

  • vorrei (I would like)
    • Example: Vorrei un caffè (I would like a coffee)

Adjectives (Aggettivi)

  • Possessive adjectives 
    • Introduction to possessive adjectives (mio, tua, suo)
      • Il mio amico (My friend), la tua famiglia (Your family)
      • Agreement with gender and number
        • Example: La mia casa è grande. (My house is big.)
  •  Qualifying adjectives
    • gender, number agreement with the noun and position in the sentence

Definite and Indefinite Articles

  • Use of articles (il ,lo, la, i, gli, le, un, uno, una)
    • Il libro (The book), la casa (The house)
    • Un amico (A friend), una ragazza (A girl)
  • Gender and number agreement
    • Masculine and feminine forms
    • Plural forms
  • Whether you need it or not the article 

Adverbs

  •  Adverbs of place (Avverbi di luogo)
    • qui /qua, (here)
    • lì/là, (there)
    • su, (up)
    • giù, (down)
    • vicino (near)
    • lontano, (far)
    • dentro (inside)
    • fuori (outside)
  •  Adverbs of quantity (Avverbi di quantità)
    • più, (more)
    • meno, (less)
    • molto, (much)
    • poco (a few)
  •  Adverbs of time (Avverbi di tempo)
    • ieri, (yesterday)
    • oggi, (today)
    • prima, (before)
    • ora, (now)
    • dopo, (after)
    • presto, (soon)
    • tardi, (late)
    • prossimo, (next)
    • passato, (past)
    • fa (ago)
  •  Interrogative adverbs (Avverbi interrogativi)
    • come?, (how)
    • quando?, (when)
    • quanto?, (how much)
    • perchè? (why)
  • Adverb of frequency
    • sempre (always)
    • già (already)
    • appena (as soon as)
    • mai (never)
    • ancora (again)
    • più (any more)

Basic Conjunctions

  • Use of simple conjunctions
    • e, (and)
    • ma, (but)
    • o (or)
      • Example: Vado al cinema e poi a casa. (I go to the cinema and then home.)
  • Combining simple sentences
    • Example: Marco è italiano, ma vive in Francia. (Marco is Italian, but he lives in France.)

Nouns 

 Agreement with the article and the adjective 

  • The gender of the nouns 
    • Masculine in -o,
    • Feminine in -a,
    • Masculine and Feminine in -e
    • Common irregular nouns in the masculine and feminine
  • The number of nouns
    • Plural of masculine in -o,
    • Plural of feminine -a
    • Plural of masculine a feminine in -e
    • The common irregular noun in the plural

Basic Prepositions

❇️ Simple Prepositions:

  • Learning common simple prepositions
    • di,
    • a,
    • in,
    • su,
    • da,
    • con,
    • per,
    • tra,
    • fra.
  • Practice using simple prepositions in basic sentences.

❇️ Articulate Prepositions:

  • Understanding articulate prepositions (al, nel, sul, dal, col, etc).
  • Practice incorporating articulate prepositions in sentences.

 ❇️ Prepositions to indicate a place 

  • a
    • Luigi rimane a casa (Luigi stays at home)
  • in
    • Abito in centro (I live in the centre)
  • su
    • La giacca è sul letto (The jacket is on the bed)
  • da
    • Sono arrivato da Firenze (I arrived from Florence)
  • di
    • Esco di casa (I’m going out home)
  • per
    • L’autobus da Firenze per Siena è veloce (The bus from Florence to Siena is fast)

 ❇️ Origin and provenance 

  • da
    • Da dove vieni? Dall’Italia. (Where do you come from? From Italy.)
    • Vengo da Roma (I come from Rome)
  • di
    • Di dove sei? Sono di Siena (Where are you from? I am from Siena)

❇️ Prepositions to indicate time 

  • a
    • Ci vediamo alle 7 (See you at 7)
  • da
    • La lezione è dalle 9.00 alle 11.00 (The lesson is from 9.00 to 11.00)
  • per
    • Ho abitato a Roma per 3 anni (I lived in Rome for 3 years)
    • Ti amerò per sempre (I will Always Love You)
  • tra
    • Ci vediamo tra mezz’ora (See you in half an hour)
  • di
    • Vado in palestra di giovedì (I go to the gym on Thursdays)
    • Mario lavora di notte (Mario works at night)
  • in
    • A/In ottobre comincia il corso di fotografia (The photography course begins in October)

Pronouns

❇️ Demonstrative Pronouns:

  • Questo/Questa (This)
  • Quello/Quella (That)
  • Questi/Queste (These)
  • Quelli/Quelle (Those)

❇️ Interrogative Pronouns:

  • Chi (Who)
  • Che (What)
  • Cosa (What)
  • Quale/Quali (Which)

 ❇️ Pronominal particle CI indicating Places

  • Introduction to the Particle “Ci”:
    • Explanation of the particle “ci” and its versatile use in Italian.
    • Differentiating between the various functions of “ci.”
  • Using “Ci” to Indicate a Place:
    • Learning how “ci” is used to express location or place.
    • Practice incorporating “ci” into sentences related to being somewhere.

❇️ Subject Pronouns

  • Io (I)
  • Tu (You, informal singular)
  • Lui (He), Lei (She), Lei (You, formal singular)
  • Noi (We)
  • Voi (You all)
  • Loro (They)

❇️ Direct Object Pronouns

  • Mi (Me)
  • Ti (You, informal singular)
  • Lo (Him/it – masculine singular), La (Her/it – feminine singular)
  • Ci (Us)
  • Vi (You all)
  • Li (Them – masculine plural), Le (Them – feminine plural)

❇️ Reflexive Pronouns :

  • Mi (Myself)
  • Ti (Yourself, informal singular)
  • Si (Himself/herself/itself),
  • Ci (Ourselves),
  • Vi (Yourselves),
  • Si (Themselves)

❇️ Indefinite Pronouns:

  • Qualcuno (Someone)
  • Nessuno (No one)
  • Tutti (Everyone)
  • Qualcosa (Something)
  • Nulla (Nothing)

Simple Sentence Structures

  • Formation of basic sentences (subject-verb-object)
  • Negation and basic question formation
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