Italian, explained word by word
Every Italian translation comes back broken down word by word, each word colored by the job it does and explained, with a dictionary entry and alternatives. The politeness dial moves between tu and Lei, from blunt orders to ceremonial courtesy.
An example breakdown
Breakdown
I'm going to the library tomorrow.
Italian folds the subject into the verb ending and marks the destination with a preposition.
Click any word. The same dialog opens everywhere
portoVerb
- Why this word
- First person singular of portare. The ending carries the person, so no pronoun is needed.
- Dictionary
- portare — to carry, to take somewhere.
- Alternatives
- riporto (take back) · restituisco (return)
Politeness in Italian
The 10 steps of the politeness dial, as the app names them for Italian.
- 1HarshOpenly rude tu — snapped orders, no courtesy
- 2BluntCurt tu — bare imperatives, no courtesy words
- 3FamiliarTight-circle tu — slang and nicknames allowed
- 4CasualRelaxed everyday tu
- 5FriendlyWarm tu — per favore starts appearing
- 6CourteousLei begins — courteous standard with strangers
- 7PoliteClearly polite Lei — per favore, potrebbe
- 8RespectfulCareful Lei — conditional, hedged requests
- 9FormalDistinctly formal Lei — full courtesy formulae
- 10CeremonialMaximally deferential — Le sarei molto grato se…
Italian grammar guides
Each guide explains one point with word-by-word breakdowns and ends with exercises. The guides are in English.
- Passato prossimo vs imperfetto, explainedPassato prossimo vs imperfetto in Italian: finished events against habits and background, the verbs that change meaning, and the common mistakes.
- Essere or avere in the passato prossimo, explainedEssere or avere in the passato prossimo: which verbs take which auxiliary, when the past participle agrees, and the verbs that take both. With exercises.
- Ci and ne in Italian, explainedCi and ne in Italian: ci for "there" and a + thing, ne for "of it" and quantities, where they go, and ce n’è, me ne vado. With exercises.
- The Italian subjunctive (congiuntivo), explainedWhen to use the Italian subjunctive (congiuntivo): opinion vs certainty, the same-subject rule, conjunctions, superlatives and se fossi. With exercises.
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