Italian Language and Culture Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary and grammar review covering holiday traditions, dining, professions, travel, health, and advanced verb tenses from Chapters 6 through 9.

Il Capodanno

New Year’s Day

La Befana

Old, ugly, but good witch associated with l’Epifania (Epiphany).

La Festa della Liberazione

Liberation Day

Il Palio di Siena

Horse race in Siena

La sagra gastronomica

Food festival

Il cenone

Dinner for Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve

La colomba

Dove-shaped Easter cake

Il pandoro

Christmas cake topped with powdered sugar

Il panettone

Christmas cake with candied fruit

Il panforte

Sienese fruit and nut cake

La tombola

Type of bingo often played during holidays

Addobbare

To adorn or to decorate

Incartare

To wrap

L’imperfetto

A verb tense used to express habitual, recurring, and ongoing actions in the past with undefined beginning and ending times.

Mentre

While; an adverb used to connect two or more ongoing actions happening at the same time in the past.

L’esame di maturità

High school exit exam

La laurea

College degree

Lo zucchero filato

Cotton candy

Affettati misti

Mixed sliced cured meats

Cappelacci di zucca

Pasta pockets shaped like hats filled with pumpkin

Tortellini in brodo

Pasta rings filled with cheese or meat in broth

Piadina romagnola

Typical regional flat bread served as an appetizer

I partitivi

Expressions that indicate quantities that are not exactly quantifiable (some, a little).

Qualche

Indefinite adjective meaning 'some'; it is invariable and always followed by a noun in the singular form.

Piacere

Verb meaning 'to like' or literally 'to be pleasing'; often used in forms 'piace' for singular or 'piacciono' for plural.

Il grafico

Graphic artist

Lo studio legale

Law office

Assumere

To hire (past participle: assunto)

Lo stipendio

Monthly pay or wages

L'avverbio ci (location)

Adverb meaning 'there'; refers to locations and replaces the name of a place mentioned before.

Il pronome ne

Pronoun meaning 'of it' or 'of them'; used to replace an expression of quantity or the object of verbs followed by 'di'.

Il trapassato prossimo

A compound tense used to express an action that took place before another past action.

Timbrare

To stamp (typically a ticket)

Il binario

Track (at a train station)

Lo sciopero

Labor strike

Il pronome si (impersonale)

Used when the person performing the action is not identified; corresponds to 'one', 'they', or 'people'.

Il futuro

Tense used to express events that will happen in the future.

Il facchino

The porter (at a hotel)

La pensione

Bed and breakfast (B&B)

La mancia

Tip (monetary)

L’imprevisto

Unforeseen, unexpected event

Pronomi doppi

The combination of two pronouns (e.g., indirect + direct) where indirect pronouns usually change (mi to me, ti to te, etc.).

Pronome relativo 'che'

Invariable relative pronoun meaning who, whom, which, or that; refers to people and things.

Pronome relativo 'chi'

Relative pronoun meaning those who or the one who; refers only to people and takes a singular verb.

Cui

Invariable relative pronoun meaning whom or which; used after a preposition or with an article to indicate possession (whose).

Ammalarsi

To get sick

Misurare la temperatura

To take one’s temperature

Il cerotto

Bandage

L’imperativo

Verb mood used to give commands, advice, instructions, or strong suggestions.

L’erboristeria

Herbalist or herbal medicine shop

Qualcosa

Indefinite pronoun meaning 'something'; requires 'di' before an adjective and 'da' or 'per' before a verb.

Il progressivo

Verb mode indicating an action taking place at a specific moment; formed by 'stare' + gerundio (ending in -ando/-endo).