Qualifying adjectives in Italian
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Qualifying adjectives (aggettivi qualificativi) express a quality or a feature -positive, negative or neutral - of the noun they refer to.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Una bella città | A nice city |
Una grande, antica e bella città | A large, ancient, nice city |
Italian adjectives can precede or follow the noun they describe.
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In this position, the adjective has a "describing" function.
It adds a quality to the noun that can be well-known or obvious to all.
Italian | English |
---|---|
i deliziosi vini italiani | tasty Italian wines |
le malinconiche giornate di pioggia | melancholic rainy days |
In this position, the adjective has a "distinctive" function.
It conveys new information about the noun.
Italian | English |
---|---|
un formaggio italiano | an Italian cheese |
una città moderna | a modern city |
Pro-tip: qualifying adjectives indicating colours and nationalities always follow the noun!
Italian | English |
---|---|
il vino rosso | the red wine |
il cantante inglese | the English singer |
In some particular cases, the placement of the adjective changes the meaning of the sentence.
Adjective before the noun | English | Adjective after the noun | English |
---|---|---|---|
una buona amica | a real friend | un'amica buona | a kind friend |
lo stesso treno | the same train | il treno stesso | the train itself |
In Italian, adjectives can have an attributive or a predicative function.
In this case, the adjective goes with the noun as a simple attribute. It qualifies the element without the aim of distinguishing it from another one.
The adjective in this case usually precedes the noun it refers to.
Io abito in un grande palazzo
I live in a big building
The adjective is used to distinguish an element from another.
According to this function, the adjective usually follows the noun it refers to. It also follows the verb "to be" or another copulative verb.
Questa è una strada sicura / Questa strada è sicura
This is a safe street / This street is safe
Switching from the attributive function (adjective before verb) to the predicative function (adjective after verb), the meaning intended can change completely:
pover'uomo (sfortunato) vs. uomo povero (privo di mezzi)
unlucky man vs. man with little economical means
Some Italian adjectives have irregular forms if they precede the noun.
Buono (good) becomes buon when it precedes any singular and masculine noun starting with a vowel or requiring the articles il and un.
Italian | English |
---|---|
un buon amico | a good friend |
un buon giocatore | a good player |
Bello (nice, pretty) resembles the corresponding definite article in its form.
Italian | English |
---|---|
il ragazzo > il bel ragazzo | the (nice) boy |
i gatti > bei gatti | the (nice) cats |
gli specchi > begli specchi | the (nice) mirrors |
l'albergo > bell'albergo | the (nice) hotel |
Grande (big, large) can become gran in front of masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel or requiring the articles il and un.
Italian | English |
---|---|
un gran / grande problema | a big problem |
un gran / grande amico | a great friend |
Santo (Saint) becomes San before masculine names beginning with consonant
Italian | English |
---|---|
San Francesco | Saint Francis |
San Giovanni | Saint John |
Both Santo and Santa becomes Sant' before names beginning with a vowel.
Italian | English |
---|---|
Sant' Angelo | Saint Angel |
Sant' Irene | Saint Irene |
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MariaRosa has been very patient, pleasant and encouraging. She is very conscientious and prepares well. She has developed a learning plan based on my requests. I enjoy the lessons and find them very useful
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is a profesional teacher in every way. She’s tailored the lessons for my level and we are working towards an specific goal. I’m super happy with her methodology and I’m looking forward to the next lesson! 100% recommended.
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is a great teacher. She adapts really well to the individual level and needs of the student and easily identifies whatever it is you are struggling with. Elena teaches as a profession, and this really makes a big difference. She explains very clearly and the lessons are always fun.
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Hi everyone!
My name is Daniela, I am Italian and I come from a small town in Sicily, Southern Italy. I am a qualified Italian language teacher and a CELI examiner! I work in two language schools teaching Italian and I also teach English at school.
I love foreign languages, translating, reading and listening to music. Are you ready to start your language learning path with me? We are going to learn many things and to talk a lot, if you allow me to! Don’t worry if you’ve never studied the language before: everyone can attend my classes – from beginner to advanced students. You just need passion for what you're going to do and... a good Internet connection. Materials are provided by me!
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Daniela is very nice and a very good teacher. We are moving at a good pace and she is helping me a lot so far.
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Hi there, I’m Letizia!
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The classes with Letizia are very helpful. Very good mix of theory and exercises. I can highly recommend Letizia!
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Hello, everybody ! My name is Elena. I’m a native Italian speaker, I’m 49 years old and live in Turin. I am a certified CEDILS teacher, I graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature in Milan and have been working as a teacher of Italian for more than 10 years. I speak English and German. I attended specialization courses for Italian L2 teachers and I am interviewer for C1 PLIDA exam.
Are you seeking a friendly and dynamic study environment ? I got what you need. I am looking forward to being in touch with new students and organize pleasant, interesting and fruitful courses.
Do you wish to learn or improve your Italian to speak with your parents or friends? Do you need Italian for work or study ? Do you simply love Italian language and culture ? Do you need to improve your writing skills ?
My classes are tailored on your needs and considering your level of knowledge, I create a proper course plan. Classes focus on language and on the possibility for you to improve your ability to speak and understand Italian in your daily life or in work.
I offer 1-to-1 or 2-to-1 tuition, general Italian courses (grammar, conversation, listening, reading and writing), preparation to Italian examinations (all levels, also Italian for residence permit) and Italian and culture courses.
Grammar, vocabulary exercises, reading articles and magazines and talking together are all tools to feel at ease with the Italian language and then be able to practice it.
I have worked with children, adolescents and adults for all levels of Italian, from beginner to advanced. I have experience in preparing students to international certification (CILS, PLIDA). I was an A2/B1 Telc examiner.
Learning Italian can be closely related to culture, literature, music, sport and any other interest of my students.
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Elena is an excellent, experienced teacher. A true professional. She is patient with my beginner-level Italian language skills. She will quickly assess your skill level (or lack thereof) and present an appropriate level of instruction to ensure rapid growth. She will encourage you to use Italian during lessons to expedite your learning curve. I highly recommend her.
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Hello Everybody
My name is Luisa and I teach Italian for foreign students, English, French and German for Italian students
Since 1994, I have dedicated myself to translating and teaching thanks to my travels, abroad studies, foreign reading and writing. I provide fun and customized lessons based on the student's goals. I also triy to minimize English speaking during the lessons. I give homework exercises, and my lessons are intermixed with grammar, conversation, customs and traditions. My goal is to make certain that each student finds learning Italian exciting.
I am available for any explanations also via e mail
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Luisa is wonderful! She takes what my specific goals for learning Italian (how to communicate while traveling around Italy) into consideration and created an individualized lesson plan.
Luisa A.Dear Shraddha thank you, thank you so much for your kind message. It was a real pleasure to meet you !!! See you on Friday ciao ciao
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I am Russian native speaker and I've been teaching Russian over the last four years. I teach students of all levels, from zero to advanced level, teenagers and adults. Great focus will be on grammar, listening and conversation. After few lessons you will already notice the improvements.
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Lera is a fantastic teacher, incredibly patient and I really look forward to the next lesson. Russian is not an easy language for me but with lera’s kindness and patience I enjoy the small steps I am making in my journey to learn Russian language.
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I am Tina, am Italian, from the south part of Italy. Am 35, I graduated in languages and International communication in Rome. I studied English, Spanish and French at university and Bulgarian on my own. I have a specialist title for teaching Italian as a foreign language. I personally prepare the teaching material, I studied how to project material. My method is communicative and situational, respectful of cultural aspects and interculture. My teaching method permits a multisensorial learning, I use you- tube videos and pictures, arts pictures, songs and other authentic material of everyday Life (informal and public enviroment) . My lessons and my teaching material are Dynamic and interactive. I want students to have a nice and funny learning experience, I try to have impact on the emotions of the students, so that he can learn better as there Is a link between Memory and emotions.
Am prepared and skilled as a languages teacher. My unit includes phonetic, orthography, lexis, comunicative functions, cultural themes. Culturali elements are the focus of my teaching, bit grammar Is not missing, you learn It by funny way with me. Am very nice, polite and witty. I put the student in a confortable zone, I want him/her feel too feel at ease. I don't ask the student to memorize list of words or verbs, I let him or her know them by learning them in use , have experience of language system and culture. I teach you how to speak, how to do practical things with language according the pragmatic approach. We use the language for many purposes and to comunicate with other people.
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Concetta is an amazing teacher with an unique intuitive teaching method and individual approach to each student. She is passionated and prepares materials and exercises especially to cover respective needs and goals of a student. The way Concetta leads the lessons gives deep understanding of language and culture. She speaks many languages and has knowledges in different aspects that’s why communication with her is smooth and pleasant. Thank you Tina, for being so incredible teacher! .
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A useful lesson; some new grammar and vocabulary and Jose continues to encourage me to express myself in Portuguese.
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Hello Everybody
My name is Luisa and I teach Italian for foreign students, English, French and German for Italian students
Since 1994, I have dedicated myself to translating and teaching thanks to my travels, abroad studies, foreign reading and writing. I provide fun and customized lessons based on the student's goals. I also triy to minimize English speaking during the lessons. I give homework exercises, and my lessons are intermixed with grammar, conversation, customs and traditions. My goal is to make certain that each student finds learning Italian exciting.
I am available for any explanations also via e mail
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Luisa is pleasant and very focused, I purchased 12 lessons after the first lesson with Luisa because I felt confident that she will teach me Italian at a level I’m able to follow with. I can’t wait to get stuck on and learn! :)
Luisa A.Thank you Julian !!! Thank you so much !!
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I am a qualified teacher with a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a TESOL certificate. I will make you fall in love with English or Afrikaans. My goal is to make learning as fun and exiting as possible by using these methods in class: singing, dancing, games, role play and using fun colorful resources. I can help you with anything from pronunciation, grammer, reading and writing, phonics and building your vocabulary.
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Magda has a lot of experience and is well-structured. She offers a lot of materials. I would totally recommend her.
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Buongiorno gente!
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I graduated from university majoring in Linguistic Mediation and in Modern Languages and then I specialized in the teaching of Italian as a second language, attending a one-year post-graduate course devoted to this and receiving excellent grades (FILIS: Formatori Interculturali di Lingua Italiana per Stranieri). I also teach in the Italian public schools.
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IMPORTANT: Please contact me before booking your lesson with me and let me know your Italian level as well as the reasons why you want to learn Italian.
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I just had my first Italian lesson with Mojra and it was great. She is a very enthusiastic and happy person and seemed to really care about helping me to improve my Italian. Although her English is very good, she was quite strict about making me speak almost only in Italian during the entire lesson. My Italian is at an A2 (low intermediate) level but with seemingly infinite patience and useful hints, Mojra helped me to ask my questions in Italian and I felt my confidence grow as the lesson progressed. I asked for help on knowing when I should use the dreaded subjunctive in Italian (congiuntivo). Mojra had some interesting material on the subject and some exercises that both helped me to practice and, at the same time, taught me some interesting things about Italy. We laughed a lot and I was quite surprised to find that I had been speaking almost entirely in Italian for an hour. The time flew past. I think Mojra is an excellent teacher. You should try a lesson with her.
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