A1 · Italian

Italian from zero to A1

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Italian from zero to A1, taught in English (standard Italian): letters and sounds, double consonants and stress, greetings and choosing tu or Lei, essere and avere with numbers 0–100 and phone numbers, gender and the definite article il/lo/l'/la, -are verbs, fare and stare, the indefinite article and jobs, the bar and the restaurant with -ere verbs, volere, preferire and plurals, free time with -ire and -isc- verbs, how often, mi piace and the time, home and hotel with c'è/ci sono, preposizioni articolate, numbers from 100, ordinals, months and dates, the town with adjectives, dovere and sapere and a first story about the past in the passato prossimo, family, shopping, food, paperwork and weather, and real-life scenes — bar, hotel, travel, doctor.

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Module 0. Letters and sounds

Lesson 1. The alphabet, letter names, and seven vowel sounds

10 exercises · I can say any letter of the Italian alphabet by its Italian name, write down a word someone spells out to me, and read every vowel as a full sound — stressed or not.

Lesson 2. What changes how a consonant is read

12 exercises · I can read aloud an unfamiliar Italian word with c, g, ch, gh, sc, gn, gl, h, qu, z, and s without swapping in English habits — s for c, the z of “zoo”, a spoken h — and explain why one word has c and another ch.

Lesson 3. Double consonants, stress, and the apostrophe

14 exercises · I can hear and write the difference between a single consonant and a double one, stress an unfamiliar word by the rule, understand why the last letter has an accent mark, and join the article to a word that starts with a vowel.

Module 1. First conversations

Lesson 1. Buongiorno! Hello, goodbye, and choosing tu or Lei

15 exercises · I can say hello and goodbye to suit the time of day, ask and answer “how are you?”, and address a friend and a stranger without mixing them up.

Lesson 2. Mi chiamo: introductions, pronouns, and spelling out your name

14 exercises · I can say my name and ask someone's name, informally and formally, and spell out my last name if someone doesn't catch it.

Lesson 3. Essere: who you are and where you're from

15 exercises · I can say who I am and where I'm from, ask the other person the same, and use the right form of essere.

Lesson 4. Numbers 0–100 and phone numbers

17 exercises · I can say and write in words any number up to a hundred, ask for a phone number, and give mine.

Lesson 5. Avere: age, “I have”, and ho fame

15 exercises · I can say how old I am, what I have, and that I'm thirsty or in a hurry — in Italian, all of this is said with the verb avere.

Lesson 6. Module 1 review

15 exercises · I can do everything from the module: greet people to fit the situation, introduce myself, say who I am and where I'm from, and give a number and an age.

Module 2. Nouns, articles, and the first verbs

Lesson 1. Gender and the definite article: il, lo, l', la

13 exercises · I can name any object with the right article — il, lo, l', or la — and not guess the gender from the meaning.

Lesson 2. -are verbs: abitare, lavorare, parlare — and a / in

14 exercises · I can say where I live and work and what languages I speak, and put any -are verb in the right person — including cerchi and paghi.

Lesson 3. Fare and stare: “Come stai?” and what you're doing

14 exercises · I can say how I am and what I'm doing: faccio colazione, faccio la spesa, faccio sport — all six persons of fare and stare.

Lesson 4. Un, uno, una, un': the indefinite article and jobs

14 exercises · I can say “a” or “an” with any word — un, uno, una, un' — and name a job correctly: Sono medico, but Faccio il medico.

Lesson 5. Non and question words

15 exercises · I can make a sentence negative (“Non parlo francese”) and ask questions — by intonation or with a question word: chi, che cosa, dove, quando, come, quanto, perché, quale.

Lesson 6. Module 2 review

16 exercises · I can check that I know the whole module: the article by how the word begins, -are verbs, fare and stare, jobs with and without an article, negatives and questions.

Module 3. At the table

Lesson 1. Al bar: Vorrei un caffè

14 exercises · I can order at a bar: say Vorrei…, Prendo…, or Per me…, call the waiter politely, and ask how much I owe.

Lesson 2. -ere verbs: prendere, leggere, scrivere

14 exercises · I can conjugate -ere verbs in all six persons and tell their endings from the -are endings: prendo — parlo, ma prende — parla.

Lesson 3. Volere and preferire: I want and I prefer

14 exercises · I can say what I want (voglio un gelato, voglio mangiare) and what I prefer (preferisco la pizza al panino), and choose the polite Vorrei instead of the demanding Voglio.

Lesson 4. The plural and the articles i, gli, le

14 exercises · I can put a noun in the plural and choose its article: i ragazzi, gli amici, le amiche, le città.

Lesson 5. Al ristorante: the menu, the check, and booking a table

14 exercises · I can order from an Italian menu, say what's missing on the table, ask for the check, and book a table by phone.

Lesson 6. Module 3 review

14 exercises · I can order at a bar and at a restaurant, conjugate -ere verbs and volere, choose preferisco, and put a noun in the plural with the right article.

Module 4. Free time and telling time

Lesson 1. -ire verbs: dormire, partire, and the -isc- type

13 exercises · I can conjugate third-group verbs (dormire, partire, aprire), recognize the -isc- verbs (finisco, capisco, pulisco), and keep their endings apart from -are and -ere.

Lesson 2. Andare, uscire, giocare: what we do in our free time

14 exercises · I can say where I'm going and who I go out with, name my activities (giocare a calcio, andare in palestra), and not mix up io vado with io ando.

Lesson 3. How often: sempre, spesso, non… mai, and the days of the week

16 exercises · I can say how often I do something (sempre, spesso, non… mai), put the adverb in the right place, and name the day of the week and the time of day; I can tell “il lunedì” from “lunedì”.

Lesson 4. Mi piace, mi piacciono: likes and dislikes

14 exercises · I can say what I like and don't like, choose piace or piacciono, and answer “me too” and “me neither”.

Lesson 5. Che ora è? Telling time and the daily routine

15 exercises · I can ask and tell the time — both everyday and timetable time — say what time I start and finish, and describe my day hour by hour.

Lesson 6. Module 4 review

15 exercises · I can use the three verb groups and -isc-, the forms of andare and uscire, adverbs of frequency in the right place, and piace or piacciono, and I can tell the time.

Module 5. Home, the hotel, and numbers

Lesson 1. C'è, ci sono: the room and its furniture

15 exercises · I can say what there is and isn't in a room — c'è and ci sono — and say where something is: sopra, sotto, dietro, sul tavolo, nel bagno.

Lesson 2. Preposizioni articolate: al, del, nel, sul, dal

14 exercises · I can join a preposition and an article into one word — nel bagno, sulla sedia, dal medico, della camera, agli amici — and keep them apart where Italian does: per, tra, fra, a casa, in ufficio.

Lesson 3. In albergo: potere, venire, and booking a room

15 exercises · I can politely ask for something and ask permission — Posso…?, Può…? — and say who's coming and when: vengo, viene, vengono.

Lesson 4. Numbers from 100, ordinals, months, and the date

15 exercises · I can say large numbers and ordinals — cento, settecento, mille, primo, decimo — and say the date: lunedì 5 ottobre, il primo maggio.

Lesson 5. Questo o quello? Pointing at things; the apartment

13 exercises · I can point at things near and far — questo, quest', quel, quello, quell', quei, quegli — say “here” and “there”, and choose an apartment and explain why.

Lesson 6. Module 5 review

15 exercises · I can say what is where, combine a preposition with the article, make a request and say who's coming, say a large number and a date, and point at things near and far.

Module 6. The town, adjectives, and a first story about the past

Lesson 1. Adjectives: agreement and position

14 exercises · I can describe a person, a city, and a thing: I put the adjective in the right form and in the right place.

Lesson 2. In giro: directions, dovere, and sapere

14 exercises · I can say what I have to do and what I know how to do, ask for directions, and understand the answer.

Lesson 3. Passato prossimo with avere: regular past participles

14 exercises · I can say what I did yesterday and last week: I use avere with a regular past participle and choose a time expression of the past.

Lesson 4. Irregular past participles: a closed list

15 exercises · I can talk about yesterday with common verbs: I say ho fatto, ho detto, ho letto, ho preso — and don't make up a past participle by the rule.

Lesson 5. Passato prossimo with essere

14 exercises · I can say where I went and when I came back: I choose essere or avere and make the past participle agree with the subject.

Lesson 6. Ieri, oggi, domani: time expressions, sequence words, and a first story

15 exercises · I can tell, in order, what I did yesterday and what I'm doing tomorrow: I choose the past or the present by the time expression and link events with prima, poi, dopo, and alla fine.

Lesson 7. Module 6 review

18 exercises · I can review the module: describe things with adjectives, ask for directions, say what I have to do and what I know how to do, and talk about yesterday with avere and with essere.

Module 7. Family, shopping, groceries, paperwork, and the weather

Lesson 1. Family and mio/mia: describing a photo

15 exercises · I can name my relatives, say “my brother”, “my mom”, “my parents”, and say who's standing where in a photo.

Lesson 2. Clothes, colors, and shopping: Quanto costa?

15 exercises · I can name an item and its color, ask the price, say my size, and pay in cash or by card.

Lesson 3. Groceries and stores: un chilo di, un litro di

15 exercises · I can say which store sells what, ask for a kilo, a hundred grams, or a liter, and see a conversation with a shopkeeper through to the end.

Lesson 4. Paperwork, the phone, and digital life: kit di sopravvivenza

22 exercises · I can fill in a form with my personal details, spell out my last name and address on the phone, and ask someone to repeat or explain when I don't understand.

Lesson 5. Che tempo fa? Seasons and the weather

15 exercises · I can ask what the weather's like and answer with a full sentence — about today and yesterday — and say what happens in winter, spring, summer, and fall.

Module 8. Pratica A1

Lesson 1. Al bar e al ristorante: ordering, the check, and tipping

15 exercises · I can have a coffee at the counter and sit at a table in a restaurant, order a first course and a drink, ask about the dish of the day, ask for what's missing on the table, understand the check, and pay by card or in cash.

Lesson 2. In albergo: booking, checking in, and a problem in the room

14 exercises · I can book a room by phone and spell out my last name, check in at the front desk of an Italian hotel, ask about breakfast and the price, say that something in the room doesn't work, and arrange my checkout.

Lesson 3. In giro: directions, tickets, and transportation

14 exercises · I can ask for directions and understand the answer, find the stop and the museum downtown, buy a round-trip ticket, find out the track and the departure time, and remember to validate my ticket on the bus.

Lesson 4. Dal medico: what hurts and what to ask at the pharmacy

15 exercises · I can name parts of the body in Italian, tell the doctor what hurts and since when, understand the doctor's questions and answers, and ask at the pharmacy for cough or headache medicine.