1. Alphabet & Pronunciation
1.1. Vowels
1.2. Syllable Stress
2. Similarities to English
2.1. Negation, Punctuation, & Written Accents
3. Gender & Plural
4. Cardinal Numbers
5. Subject Personal Pronouns
6. Present Indicative Tense I
7. The Articles
8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives
1. Prepositions
2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs
3. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns
4. Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives
5. Object Personal Pronouns
6. Relative Pronouns
7. Ordinal Numbers I
8. Basic Phrases
9. Times & Seasons
1. Verbs like “Piacere”
2. Present Perfect Tense
3. The Verb “To Know”: “Sapere” vs. “Conoscere”
4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns
5. Conjunctions
6. Simple Future Tense
7. Telling Time & Describing Weather
8. Adverbs
8.1. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases
9. Directions
1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives
2. Partitives
3. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs
4. Expressions Using “Avere” & “Fare”
5. Present Subjunctive Tense I
6. Present Progressive Tense
7. Future Perfect Tense
8. Interjections
1. The Pronouns “Ci” & “Ne”
2. Past Absolute Tense
3. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands
4. The Conditional Tenses
5. Present Subjunctive Tense
6. Present Perfect Subjunctive Tense
7. Imperfect Indicative Tense
8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses
1. Ordinal Numbers II
2. The Past Infinitive
3. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense
4. Pluperfect Indicative Tense
5. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
6. Passive Voice & Impersonal “Si”
7. Idiomatic Pronominal Verbs
8. Diminutives & Augmentatives
In Italian, conjunctions are important components of the language as they allow the speaker to join sentences and convey useful meanings.
List of Conjunctions in Italian
The most common conjunctions in Italian are:
| Conjunction | Meaning | Example |
| e | and | Mi piacciono la primavera e l’estate. I like spring and summer. |
| o | or | Prenderò un caffè o un tè. I will drink tea or coffee. |
| se | if | Se sono stanco, non esco. If I am tired, I won’t go out. |
| ma però | but | Voglio dormire ma non posso. I want to sleep, but I can’t. Lavoro, però non ho soldi. I work, but I have no money. |
| bensì | but rather | Non vado il sabato bensì la domenica. I won’t go on Saturday, but rather on Sunday. |
| allora | so | Allora, cosa dobbiamo fare? So, what should we do? |
| secondo | according to | Secondo i medici, il caffè non fa male. According to the doctors, coffee is not bad. |
| tranne eccetto | except | Vado in palestra tutti i giorni tranne il venerdì. I go to the gym every day except Friday. |
| poi | then | Era lì. Poi se n’è andato. He was there. Then, he left. |
| comunque tuttavia | however | Sono stanco. Comunque, posso uscire con te. I am tired. However, I can go out with you. |
| in modo che | so that in order to | Riassumerò il libro in modo che tu possa capirlo. I will summarize the book so that you can understand it. |
| perché | because | Studio spagnolo perché voglio vivere in Messico. I study Spanish because I want to live in Mexico. |
| a causa di | because of | Non possiamo uscire a causa della neve. We can’t go out because of the snow. |
| invece di | instead of | Invece di uscire oggi, vedremo un film. Instead of going out tonight, we’ll watch a movie. |
| dato che | given that | Vado al bar dato che ho abbastanza tempo libero. I’ll go to the coffee shop given that I have enough free time. |
| quindi pertanto dunque | therefore | Era tardi; quindi, non siamo usciti ieri sera. It was late; therefore, we didn’t go out last night. |
| altrimenti | otherwise | Spero che non piova; altrimenti, non usciamo. I hope it doesn’t rain; otherwise, we don’t go out. |
| anche se benché | although | Capisco il problema, anche se non riesco a spiegarlo. I understand the problem, although I can’t explain it. |
| nonostante | in spite of despite | Nonostante sia basso, è un ottimo giocatore. Despite being short, he is a very good player. |
| cioè ovvero | that is | Parlo inglese e spagnolo, cioè sono bilingue. I speak English and Spanish, that is, I’m bilingual. |
| in altre parole | in other words | In altre parole, dobbiamo lavorare di più. In other words, we must work harder. |
| mentre | while | Compriamo qualcosa mentre siamo qui. Let’s buy something while we are here. |
| finché | as long as | Finché sei preparato, non devi preoccuparti. As long as you are prepared, you don’t need to worry. |
| o … o … | either… or… | Bene, o partiamo ora o più tardi. Okay, we either leave now or later. |
| né … né … | neither … nor … | Il mio italiano non è né buono né cattivo. My Italian is neither good nor bad. |
| oltre a | besides | Oltre alcibo, ordinerò anche da bere. Besides food, I will order drinks too. |
| a parte | apart from | A parte il clima, non mi piace questo posto. Apart from the weather, I don’t like this place. |
| a differenzia di | unlike | A differenza di te, io non conosco il tedesco. Unlike you, I don’t know German. |
Euphonic “d”
If the word following “e” (and) starts with an “e,” the “e” is replaced with “ed” to avoid the double “e” sound. This is called euphonic “d,” e.g., “corretto ed esatto” (correct and exact), “alberi ed erba” (trees and grass), etc.
Historically, the euphonic “d” was used after “e” or “a” when followed by any vowel. Today, it is generally more accepted to use it only when the “e” or “a” is followed by the same vowel, e.g., “Manderò un messaggio ad Andrea” (I will send a message to Andrea).
“ma” vs. “però” vs. “bensì”
Both “ma” and “però” mean “but.” If “però” is used at the end of a sentence, it can mean “though,” e.g., “Costa troppo però” (It is expensive though).
Finally, the conjunction “bensì” means “but” or “but rather” when the first part of the sentence is negative, e.g., “Non è inverno bensì estate” (It is not winter but summer).
Other lessons in Level III:
