Buon giorno bwon zhor-no Hello / Good morning/afternoon	Buona sera bwoh-nah seh-rah Good evening	Buona notte bwoh-nah noht-teh Good night
Ciao chow Hi / Hello / Bye (informal)	Arrivederci ah-ree-vuh-dehr-chee Goodbye	ArrivederLa ah-ree-vuh-dehr-lah Goodbye (formal)
A più tardi ah pyoo tar-dee See you later	A presto / A dopo  ah press-toh / ah doh-poh  See you soon	A domani ah doh-mahn-ee See you tomorrow
Per favore / Per piacere pehr fah-voh-reh / pehr pee-ah-cheh-reh Please	Grazie (mille) graht-zee-eh (mee-leh) Thank you (very much)	Prego preh-goh You're Welcome
Mi dispiace mee dee-spyah-cheh Sorry	Scusi / Scusa skoo-zee / skoo-zah Excuse me (formal / informal)	Andiamo! on-dee-ah-mo Let's go!
Come sta? / Come stai? koh-meh stah / koh-meh sty How are you? (formal / informal)	Sto bene. stoh beh-neh I am fine / well.	Non c'è male. nohn cheh mah-leh Not bad.
Abbastanza bene. ah-bah-stahn-tsah beh-neh Pretty good.	Così così. koh-zee koh-zee So so.	Sì / No see / noh Yes / No
Come si chiama? koh-meh see kee-ah-mah What's your name? (formal)	Come ti chiami? koh-meh tee kee-ah-mee What's your name? (informal)	Mi chiamo... mee kee-ah-mo My name is...
Piacere / Molto lieto. pee-ah-cheh-reh / mohl-toh lee-eh-toh Pleased / Nice to meet you.	Signore, Signora, Signorina seen-yoh-reh, seen-yoh-rah, seen-yoh-reen-ah Mister, Misses, Miss
Di dov'è? dee doh-veh Where are you from? (formal)	Di dove sei? dee doh-veh seh-ee Where are you from? (informal)	Sono di... soh-noh dee I am from...
Quanti anni ha? kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah How old are you? (formal)	Quanti anni hai? kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah-ee How old are you? (informal)	Ho venti anni. oh vehn-tee ahn-nee I am 20 years old.
Parla italiano? par-lah ee-tahl-ee-ah-no Do you speak Italian? (formal)	Parli inglese? par-lee een-gleh-zeh Do you speak English? (informal)	Parlo italiano. / Non parlo inglese. par-lo ee-tahl-ee-ah-no / non par-lo een-gleh-zeh I speak Italian. / I don't speak English.
Capisce? / Capisci? kah-pee-sheh / kah-pee-shee Do you understand? (formal / informal)	[Non] capisco. [non] kah-pees-koh I [don't] understand.	Non so. / Lo so. non soh / low soh I don't know. / I know.
Può aiutarmi? / Puoi aiutarmi? pwoh ah-yoo-tar-mee / pwoh-ee ah-yoo-tar-mee Can you help me? (formal / informal)	Certamente / D'accordo. cher-tah-mehn-teh / dah-kohr-doh Sure / OK.	Come? koh-meh? What? / Pardon me?
Desidera? / Desideri? deh-zee-deh-rah / deh-zee-deh-ree May I help you? (formal / informal)	Come si dice "house" in italiano? koh-meh see dee-cheh "house" een ee-tah-lee-ah-noh How do you say "house" in Italian?
Dov'è / Dove sono...? doh-veh / doh-veh soh-noh Where is / Where are... ?	Ecco / Eccoli... eh-koh / eh-koh-lee  Here is / Here are...	C'è / Ci sono... cheh / chee soh-noh There is / There are...
Cosa c'è? koh-zah cheh What's the matter? / What's wrong?	Non importa. / Di niente. / Di nulla. nohn eem-por-tah / dee nee-ehn-teh / dee noo-lah  It doesn't matter.	Non m'importa. nohn meem-por-tah I don't care.
Non ti preoccupare. nohn tee preh-ohk-koo-pah-reh Don't worry. (informal)	Ho dimenticato. oh dee-men-tee-kah-toh I forgot.	Devo andare adesso. deh-voh ahn-dah-reh ah-des-soh I have to go now.
Ho fame. / Ho sete. oh fah-meh / oh seh-teh I'm hungry. / I'm thirsty.	Ho freddo. / Ho caldo. oh freh-doh / oh kal-doh I'm cold. / I'm hot.	Mi annoio. mee ahn-noh-ee-oh I'm bored.
Salute! sah-loo-teh  Bless you!	Congratulazioni! kohn-grah-tsoo-lah-tsee-oh-nee Congratulations!	Benvenuti! behn-veh-noo-tee  Welcome!
Buona fortuna! bwoh-nah for-too-nah Good luck!	Tocca a me! / Tocca a te! tohk-kah ah meh / tohk-kah ah teh It's my turn! / It's your turn! (informal)	Ti amo. tee ah-moh I love you. (informal)
È pazzo! / Sei pazzo! eh pats-soh / seh-ee pats-soh You're crazy! (formal / informal)	Sta zitto! / Stai zitto! stah tseet-toh / sty tseet-toh Be quiet / Shut up! (formal / informal)	Va bene! vah beh-neh OK!

 

Notice that Italian has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in Italian (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person.

Also, the words pazzo and zitto refer to men. If you are talking to a woman, use pazza and zitta. If you are talking to more than one person (all men, or a group of men and women), use pazzi and zitti. If you are talking to more than one person (all women), use pazze and zitte.

---

2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONUNCIA 

Italian is a very phonetic language, so pronunciation should be easy.  Most words are pronounced exactly like they are spelled. There are only seven pure vowels, but several diphthongs and triphthongs. The English samples given are not pronounced exactly as in Italian because English vowels tend to be diphthongized (there's an extra yuh or wuh after the actual vowel). Make sure to only say the pure vowel and not the diphthong when pronouncing Italian.

Italian Vowels		English Pronunciation
[i]	vita	ee as in meet
[e]	vedi	ay as in bait
[ɛ]	era	eh as in bet
[a]	cane	ah as in father
[u]	uva	oo as in boot
[o]	sole	oh as in boat
[ɔ]	modo	aw as in law
Semi-Vowels
[w]	quando, uomo	wuh as in won
[j]	piano, ieri, piove	yuh as in yes

In spelling, the letter e is used to represent both [e] and [ɛ]; while the letter o is used to represent both [o] and [ɔ]. If the vowel is stressed, then the pronunciation is always closed [e] and [o]. If the vowel is not stressed, it is always open [ɛ]and [ɔ]. This can change according to regional dialects in Italy, of course, but this is the standard rule. Italian semi-vowels are always written ua, ue, uo, ui for [w] and ia, ie, io, iu for [j]. If another vowel precedes u or i, then it is a diphthong: ai, ei, oi, au, eu. The combination iu + another vowel creates a triphthong.

Italian consonant + vowel combinations 

c + a, o, u, he, hi	k	amica, amico, amiche	ah-mee-kah, ah-mee-koh, ah-mee-keh
c + ia, io, iu, e, i	ch	bacio, celebre, cinema	bah-cho, cheh-leh-breh, chee-neh-mah
g + a, o, u, he, hi	g	gara, gusto, spaghetti	gah-rah, goo-stoh, spah-geh-tee
g + ia, io, iu, e, i	dj	Giotto, gelato, magico	djoh-toh, djeh-lah-toh, mah-djee-koh
sc + a, o, u, he, hi	sk	scala, scuola, scheda	skah-lah, skoo-oh-la, skeh-dah
sc + ia, io, iu, e, i	sh	sciarpa, sciupato, scemo	shar-pah, shoo-pah-toh, sheh-moh

The consonant h is always silent. Double consonants must be pronounced individually: il nonno (eel nohn-noh) is pronounced differently from il nono (eel noh-noh).

Stress falls on the second-to-last syllable in Italian. If stress falls on the last syllable, the vowel is written with an accent mark (la città). However, it is also possible for the stress to fall on the third-to-last syllable (America, telefono) and even the fourth-to-last syllable (telefonano) in third person plural verb conjugations.

 

---

3.  ALPHABET / L'ALFABETO 

 

a	ah	q	koo
b	bee	r	ehr-reh
c	chee	s	ehs-seh
d	dee	t	teh
e	eh	u	oo
f	eff-eh	v	voo
g	zhee	z	dzeh-tah
h	ahk-kah
i	ee	Foreign Letters
l	ehl-eh	j	ee loon-gah
m	ehm-eh	k	kahp-pah
n	ehn-eh	w	dohp-pyah voo
o	oh	x	eeks
p	pee	y	ee greh-kah (or) eep-see-lohn

 

---

4.  ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES / ARTICOLI E DIMOSTRATIVI 

All nouns in Italian have a gender (masculine or feminine) and the articles must agree with the gender. Masculine words generally end in -o and feminine words generally end in -a. Words that end in -e may be either, so you will just have to memorize the gender. Keep in mind that articles are used before nouns or before an adjective + a noun.

 

Definite Article - The

Masculine				Feminine
il	eel	sing., before consonants		la	lah	sing., before consonants
lo	low	sing., before z, gn, ps, or s + cons.
l'	l	sing., before vowels		l'	l	sing., before vowels
i	ee	plural, before consonants		le	leh	plural, before consonants and vowels
gli	lyee	plural, before vowels, z, gn, or s + cons.

 

Indefinite Articles - A, an, some

	Masculine			Feminine
A, An	un	oon	before consonant or vowel	una	oon-ah	before consonants
	uno	oon-oh	before z, gn, ps, or s + consonant	un'	oon	before vowels
Some	dei	day	before consonants	delle	dell-eh	before vowels and consonants
	degli	deh-lyee	before vowels, z, gn, or s + cons.

 

Demonstratives - This, that, these, and those

This and these
	This	These
Masc.	questo	questi	before a consonant
	quest'	questi	before a vowel
Fem.	questa	queste	before a consonant
	quest'	queste	before a vowel
That and those
	That	Those
Masc.	quel	quei	before a consonant
	quell'	quegli	before a vowel
	quello	quegli	before z, gn, or s + consonant
Fem.	quella	quelle	before a consonant
	quell'	quelle	before a vowel

If you use that and those as a subject, use these four forms: quello for masculine singular, quella for feminine singular,quelli for masculine plural, and quelle for feminine plural.

 

---

5.  SUBJECT PRONOUNS / PRONOMI PERSONALI 

 

io	ee-oh	I	noi	noy	we
tu	too	you (informal singular)	voi	voy	you (informal plural)
lui, lei	lwee/lay	he, she	loro	loh-roh	they
Lei	lay	you (formal singular)	Loro	loh-roh	you (formal plural)

The Lei form is generally used for you (singular), instead of tu, unless you're referring to kids or animals.  Loro can also mean you, but only in very polite situations. If you need to specify an inanimate object as "it" you can use esso(masculine noun) and essa (feminine noun), but since subject pronouns are not commonly used in Italian, these words are somewhat rare.

 

---

6. TO BE & TO HAVE / ESSERE & AVERE   

Essere - to be

I am	sono	soh-noh	we are	siamo	see-ah-moh
you are	sei	say	you are	siete	see-eh-teh
he/she/it is	è	eh	they are	sono	soh-noh

You do not have to use the subject pronouns as the different conjugations imply the subject, but they are included in the recordings.

 

Past & Future of Essere

I was	ero	we were	eravamo	I will be	sarò	we will be	saremo
you were	eri	you were	eravate	you will be	sarai	you will be	sarete
he/she was	era	they were	erano	he/she will be	sarà	they will be	saranno

 

Avere - to have

I have	ho	oh	We have	abbiamo	ahb-bee-ah-mo
you have	hai	eye	you have	avete	ah-veh-teh
he/she has	ha	ah	they have	hanno	ahn-noh

 

Past & Future of Avere

I had	avevo	we had	avevamo	I will have	avrò	we will have	avremo
you had	avevi	you had	avevate	you will have	avrai	you will have	avrete
he/she had	aveva	they had	avevano	he/she will have	avrà	they will have	avranno

Avere is used with many idioms and expressions that normally use the verb "to be" in English:

avere fame - to be hungry
avere sete - to be thirsty
avere caldo - to be warm
avere freddo - to be cold
avere fretta - to be in a hurry
avere paura (di) - to be afraid (of)
avere ragione - to be right
avere torto - to be wrong
avere sonno - to be sleepy
avere bisogno di - to need
avere voglia di - to want, to feel like
avere 20 anni - to be 20 years old

When avere is followed by a word beginning with a consonant, the final -e is often dropped: aver caldo, aver fretta, aver ragione, etc.

---

7. USEFUL WORDS / PAROLE UTILE   Flashcards also include subject pronouns.

 

and	e	eh	always	sempre	sehm-preh
or	o	oh	often	spesso	speh-soh
but	ma	mah	sometimes	qualche volta	kwal-keh vohl-tah
not	non	nohn	usually	usualmente	oo-zoo-al-mehn-teh
while	mentre	mehn-treh	especially	specialmente	speh-chee-al-mehn-teh
if	se	seh	except	eccetto	eh-cheh-toh
because	perché	pehr-kay	book	il libro	lee-broh
very, a lot	molto	mohl-toh	pencil	la matita	mah-tee-tah
also, too	anche	ahn-keh	pen	la penna	pehn-nah
although	benché	behn-keh	paper	la carta	kar-tah
now	adesso, ora	ah-deh-so, oh-rah	dog	il cane	kah-neh
perhaps, maybe	forse	for-seh	cat	il gatto	gah-toh
then	allora, poi	ahl-loh-rah, poy	friend (fem)	l'amica	ah-mee-kah
there is	c'è	cheh	friend (masc)	l'amico	ah-mee-koh
there are	ci sono	chee soh-noh	woman	la donna	dohn-nah
there was	c'era	che-rah	man	l'uomo	woh-moh
there were	c'erano	che-rah-no	girl	la ragazza	rah-gat-sah
here is	ecco	ehk-koh	boy	il ragazzo	rah-gat-soh

 

C'è can also mean is here, as in Nek's famous song: Laura non c'è - Laura's not here.

---

8. QUESTION WORDS  

 

Who	Chi	kee
Whose	Di chi	dee kee
What	Che cosa	keh koh-sah
Why	Perché	pehr-keh
When	Quando	kwahn-doh
Where	Dove	doh-veh
How	Come	koh-meh
How much	Quanto	kwahn-toh
Which	Quale	kwah-leh

 When dove, come, and quale are followed by è (is), dove and come contract to dov'è and com'è; and quale drops itse to become qual è.

---

9. CARDINAL & ORDINAL NUMBERS   

 

0	zero	dzeh-roh
1	uno	oo-noh
2	due	doo-eh
3	tre	treh
4	quattro	kwaht-troh
5	cinque	cheen-kweh
6	sei	say
7	sette	seht-teh
8	otto	aw-toh
9	nove	naw-vay
10	dieci	dee-ay-chee
11	undici	oon-dee-chee
12	dodici	doh-dee-chee
13	tredici	treh-dee-chee
14	quattordici	kwaht-tohr-dee-chee
15	quindici	kween-dee-chee
16	sedici	seh-dee-chee
17	diciassette	dee-chahs-seht-teh
18	diciotto	dee-choht-toh
19	diciannove	dee-chahn-noh-veh
20	venti	vehn-tee
21	ventuno	vehn-too-noh
22	ventidue	vehn-tee-doo-eh
23	ventitrè	vehn-tee-treh
30	trenta	trehn-tah
40	quaranta	kwah-rahn-tah
50	cinquanta	cheen-kwahn-tah
60	sessanta	sehs-sahn-tah
70	settanta	seht-tahn-tah
80	ottanta	oh-tahn-tah
90	novanta	noh-vahn-tah
100	cento	chehn-toh
101	centouno	chehn-toh-oo-noh
110	centodieci	chehn-toh-dee-ay-chee
200	duecento	doo-eh-chehn-toh
1,000	mille	mee-leh
2,000	duemila	doo-eh-mee-lah
million	un milione	mee-lee-oh-neh
billion	un miliardo	mee-lee-ar-doh

If a number ends in -tre, you need to add an accent: -trè. When you have a word that ends in a vowel, like venti, and another word that begins with a vowel, like uno; the first word loses its vowel when putting the two words together.  Venti(20) and uno (1) make ventuno (21).  One exception is cento; it does not lose its vowel.  Cento (100) and uno (1) make centouno (101).  Notice that cento does not have a plural form, but mille does (mila). And be aware that Italian switches the use of commas and decimals.

Ordinal Numbers

first	primo / prima
second	secondo / seconda
third	terzo / terza
fourth	quarto / quarta
fifth	quinto / quinta
sixth	sesto / sesta
seventh	settimo / settima
eighth	ottavo / ottava
ninth	nono / nona
tenth	decimo / decima
eleventh	undicesimo / undicesima
twentieth	ventesimo / ventesima
hundredth	centesimo / centesima

From eleventh on, just drop the final vowel of the cardinal number and add -esimo.  For numbers like ventitrè, trentatrè, add -esimo but do not drop the final e.  Ordinal numbers are adjectives and must agree with the nouns they modify; -o is the masculine ending, -a is the feminine ending.

 

---

10. DAYS OF THE WEEK / GIORNI DELLA SETTIMANA  

 

Monday	lunedì	loo-neh-dee
Tuesday	martedì	mahr-teh-dee
Wednesday	mercoledì	mehr-koh-leh-dee
Thursday	giovedì	zhoh-veh-dee
Friday	venerdì	veh-nehr-dee
Saturday	sabato	sah-bah-toh
Sunday	domenica	doh-men-ee-kah
yesterday	ieri	yer-ee
day before yesterday	avantieri / l'altroieri (m)	ah-vahn-tyee-ree
last night	ieri sera	yer-ee seh-rah
today	oggi	ohd-jee
tomorrow	domani	doh-mahn-ee
day after tomorrow	dopodomani	doh-poh-doh-mahn-ee
day	il giorno	eel zhor-noh

To say on Mondays, on Tuesdays, etc., use il before lunedì through sabato, and la before domenica.

 

---

11. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / MESI DELL'ANNO  

 

January	gennaio	jehn-nah-yoh
February	febbraio	fehb-brah-yoh
March	marzo	mar-tsoh
April	aprile	ah-pree-leh
May	maggio	mahd-joh
June	giugno	joo-nyoh
July	luglio	loo-lyoh
August	agosto	ah-goh-stoh
September	settembre	seht-tehm-breh
October	ottobre	oht-toh-breh
November	novembre	noh-vehm-breh
December	dicembre	dee-chem-breh
week	la settimana	lah sett-ee-mah-nah
month	il mese	eel meh-zeh
year	l'anno	lahn-noh

Days and months are not capitalized.  To express the date, use È il (number) (month).  May 5th would be È il 5 (orcinque) maggio.  But for the first of the month, use primo instead of 1 or uno. To express ago, as in two days ago, a month ago, etc., just add fa afterwards. To express last, as in last Wednesday, last week, etc., just add scorso (for masculine words) or scorsa (for feminine words) afterwards.

una settimana fa - a week ago

la settimana scorsa - last week

un mese fa - a month ago

l'anno scorso - last year

 

---

12. SEASONS / STAGIONI 

 

Summer	l'estate	leh-stah-teh
Fall	l'autunno	low-toon-noh
Spring	la primavera	lah pree-mah-veh-rah
Winter	l'inverno	leen-vehr-noh

To say in the (season), just use in.  In estate is in the summer, in primavera is in spring.  D'estate and d'inverno can also be used instead of in estate or in inverno.

 

---

13. DIRECTIONS / DIREZIONI 

right	destra
left	sinistra
straight	diritto

 

North	nord	nohrd
South	sud	sood
East	est	est
West	ovest	oh-vest

 

---

14. COLORS & SHAPES / COLORI E FORME  

 

white	bianco/a	square	il quadrato
yellow	giallo/a	circle	il cerchio
orange	arancione	triangle	il triangolo
pink	rosa	rectangle	il rettangolo
red	rosso/a	oval	l'ovale
light blue	azzurro/a	cube	il cubo
dark blue	blu	sphere	la sfera
green	verde	cylinder	il cilindro
brown	marrone	cone	il cono
grey	grigio/a	octagon	l'ottagono
black	nero/a	box	la scatola

Colors are adjectives and must agree with the nouns they modify; -o is the masculine ending, -a is the feminine ending. For example, rosso is masculine and rossa is feminine.  Color words always go after the noun they describe:

una casa gialla - a yellow house
il cubo rosso - the red cube

 

To ask the color of something:

Di che colore è il cielo? What color is the sky?
Di che colore sono i tuoi occhi? What color are your eyes?

 

---

15. TIME / IL TEMPO  

 

What time is it?	Che ora è? / Che ore sono?	keh oh-rah eh / keh o-reh soh-noh
At what time?	A che ora?	ah keh oh-rah
It's 1:00	È l'una	eh loo-nah
at 1:00	all'una	ahl-loo-nah
(at) noon	(a) mezzogiorno	(ah) med-zoh-zhor-noh
(at) midnight	(a) mezzanotte	(ah) med-zah-noh-teh
2:00	Sono le due	soh-noh leh doo-eh
3:10	Sono le tre e dieci	soh-noh leh treh eh dee-ay-chee
4:50	Sono le cinque meno dieci	soh-noh leh cheen-kwah meh-noh dee-ay-chee
8:15	Sono le otto e un quarto	soh-noh leh awt-toh eh oon kwar-toh
7:45	Sono le otto meno un quarto	soh-noh leh aw-toh meh-noh un kwar-toh
1:30	È l'una e mezza	eh loo-nah eh med-zah
6:30	Sono le sei e mezzo	soh-noh leh say-ee eh med-zoh
sharp	in punto	een poon-toh
in the morning	di mattina	dee maht-teen-ah
in the afternoon	di pomeriggio	dee poh-mehr-ee-zhee-oh
in the evening	di sera	dee seh-rah
at night	di notte	dee noht-teh

 

---

16. WEATHER / IL TEMPO ATMOSFERICO  

 

What's the weather today?	Che tempo fa oggi?
It's nice	Fa bel tempo / È bello
bad	Fa brutto tempo / È brutto
raining	Piove / Sta piovendo
thundering	Tuona
snowing	Nevica / Sta nevicando
hailing	Grandina / Sta grandinando
cold	Fa freddo
cool	Fa fresco
hot	Fa caldo
freezing	Fa un freddo gelido
foggy	C'è nebbia
sunny	C'è sole / È assolato
windy	C'è vento / È ventoso / Fa vento
cloudy	È nuvoloso
humid	È umido
muggy	È afoso
stormy	È burrascoso

 

---

17. FAMILY & ANIMALS / FAMIGLIA E ANIMALI   

 

family	la famiglia	relatives	i parenti	dog	il cane
parents	i genitori	father-in-law	il suocero	cat	il gatto
mother	la madre	mother-in-law	la suocera	bird	l'uccello
father	il padre	son-in-law	il genero	mouse	il topo
son	il figlio	daughter-in-law	la nuora	rabbit	il coniglio
daughter	la figlia	brother-in-law	il cognato	horse	il cavallo
brother	il fratello	sister-in-law	la cognata	cow	la mucca
sister	la sorella	stepfather	il patrigno	donkey	l'asino
grandfather	il nonno	stepmother	la matrigna	goat	la capra
grandmother	la nonna	step/half brother	il fratellastro	sheep	la pecora
grandson/nephew	il nipote	step/half sister	la sorellastra	goose	l'oca
granddaughter/niece	la nipote	married	sposato	duck	l'anatra
uncle	lo zio	divorced	divorziato	pig	il maiale
aunt	la zia	separated	separato	hen	la gallina
cousin (m)	il cugino	single (man)	celibe	deer	il cervo
cousin (f)	la cugina	single (woman)	nubile
husband	il marito	bachelor	lo scapolo
wife	la moglie	widow	la vedova
man	l'uomo	widower	il vedovo
woman	la donna	godfather	il padrino
boy	il ragazzo	godmother	la madrina
girl	la ragazza	twins	i gemelli / le gemelle

 

---

18. TO KNOW PEOPLE & FACTS  

 

conoscere-to know, be acquainted with		sapere-to know (facts)
conosco	conosciamo	so	sappiamo
conosci	conoscete	sai	sapete
conosce	conoscono	sa	sanno

Conoscere is used when you know people and places.  It is conjugated regularly.  Sapere is used when you know facts.Sapere followed by an infinitive means to know how. In addition, the object must be expressed in Italian when using sapere. You cannot simply say I know as in English, but rather I know it: Lo so.

Io conosco Mario. I know Mario.

Voi conoscete la Francia. You know (have visited) France.

Tu sai nuotare. You know how to swim.

Loro sanno cantare. They know how to sing.

---

19. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS 

If a word is masculine singular, change the last letter to an i.  If a word is feminine singular, change the last letter to an e if it ends in a, or if it ends in e, change it to an i.

Singular to Plural Nouns

Masculine
-o	-i
-a	-i
-e	-i
Feminine
-a	-e
-e	-i

Words ending in -io can either change the o to i, or just simply drop the o to form the plural. When the -i of -io isstressed, the plural is -ii; however, most words ending in -io do not stress the -i, and so their plurals are formed by dropping the o. Compare: lo zio - gli zii and il figlio - i figli.

Some nouns ending in -co and -go may or may not insert an h before changing the o to i.  There is no general rule for it.  All nouns ending in -ca and -ga insert an h before changing the a to e.  Nouns ending in an accented vowel do not change for the plural. (la città (city) becomes le città)  There are some masculine nouns that end -a, and these nouns change the -a to -i in the plural: il programma, il poeta, il pianete, il pilota, il poema, il sistema.  The plural of l'uomo(man) is gli uomini, while the plural of la mano (hand) is le mani.

 

---

20. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES  

 

	Masc. Sing.	Fem. Sing.	Masc. Pl.	Fem. Pl.
my	il mio	la mia	i miei (myeh-ee)	le mie
your	il tuo	la tua	i tuoi (twoh-ee)	le tue
his/her	il suo	la sua	i suoi (swoh-ee)	le sue
our	il nostro	la nostra	i nostri	le nostre
your	il vostro	la vostra	i vostri	le vostre
their	il loro	la loro	i loro	le loro

You may leave off the definite article before family relation words in the singular.  All other times, you must use them.  Notice that loro does not change.

 

---