Errori comuni
Directed Writing There are a number of errors which students make time and again in the Directed Writing section of the exam. WATCH OUT for the following areas …
viaggiare Two areas of difficulty occur with this verb: spelling (often with only one -g- like in the French voyager) use of perfect vs imperfect
alloggiare Two areas of difficulty occur with this verb: spelling (often with only one -l- or -g-) the correct meaning (often confused with restare)
fare amicizia con This is the only correct way of saying to make friends in Italian. fare amici is NOT correct.
Verbi difficili There are several verbs which students struggle to conjugate correctly. The most common of these are: piacere divertirsi mancare bastare = to like (literally to please) = to have fun/enjoy yourself = to miss (be missing) = to be enough
Other areas to watch out for: The difference between più and molto: Parlo molto. Mia sorella parla più di me. molta gente più gente dubbi grammaticali
Other areas to watch out for: The use of è and cè: Firenze è una bellissima città. A Firenze cè un bellissimo duomo. The same rules apply with era and cera, as well as the plurals sono / ci sono and erano / cerano. dubbi grammaticali
Other areas to watch out for: Plurals of nouns, especially those that end in an -e: un ristorante due ristoranti un cameriere due camerieri un professore due professori dubbi grammaticali
Other areas to watch out for: qualche (some) is ALWAYS followed by a singular noun (even though the noun is plural in English): qualche studente some students qualche problema some problems qualche volta sometimes qualche negozio some shops dubbi grammaticali
Other areas to watch out for: gente is a SINGULAR, FEMININE noun, so verbs and adjectives should agree accordingly: La gente era molto simpatica e gentile. dubbi grammaticali verb is in the third person singular adjectives are in the singular/feminine forms