Building Present-Tense Sentences in Italian (A1–A2)

What you will learn

• When to use the Italian present tense (presente indicativo).
• How Italian word order differs from Sinhala and is similar to English.
• How to choose the correct verb form for each subject.
• How to make a sentence longer with objects, adjectives, time, place and company.
• How to make negative sentences and questions.

Before this lesson, you should already know essere, avere, nouns, articles, adjectives, c'è / ci sono and regular present-tense verbs. Here we put them all together.

Introduction: from words to sentences

Learning new words and verbs is only the first step. To communicate, you need to put those words together correctly. Imagine you know these three words:

To make a correct sentence, you must put the words in the right order and change the verb to match the subject:

Io mangio una mela.

I eat an apple.

Notice that mangiare became mangio. In this lesson we start from short sentences like this one and then add time, place, details, negatives and questions.

The present tense: presente indicativo

The presente indicativo is the main tense for talking about the present. It has three common uses.

An action happening now

Maria legge un libro.

Maria is reading a book.

A habit or routine

Lavoro dal lunedì al venerdì.

I work from Monday to Friday.

A general truth

L'acqua bolle a 100 gradi.

Water boils at 100 degrees.

"I eat" and "I am eating" are the same in Italian

English has two forms, but one Italian present form covers both meanings. The context tells you which one is meant.

Do not translate "am / is / are + -ing" word by word. "I am eating" is mangio, never sono mangio.

Italian also has a form like sto mangiando for actions in progress. You will study it later; first master the simple present.

Word order in Sinhala, English and Italian

This is especially important for Sinhala speakers. In a basic Sinhala sentence the verb comes at the end. In English and Italian it comes in the middle, after the subject.

English and Italian share the same basic order: Subject + Verb + Object. If you can build a simple English sentence, you already know the skeleton of an Italian one.

S + V + O is the normal, neutral order, not a law for every sentence. Italian word order can change for emphasis, and many sentences have no object at all.

The subject: soggetto

The subject is the person, animal or thing that does the action, or that a quality or state belongs to. So the subject does not always "do" something: in Marco è stanco, Marco is the subject.

Names and nouns as subjects

One name or one singular noun takes the same verb form as lui / lei. A plural noun takes the same form as loro.

You can leave out the subject

The verb ending already shows who the subject is, so Italian often leaves out io, tu, noi and so on. English cannot do this.

Io parlo italiano.

I speak Italian.

Parlo italiano.

I speak Italian.

Both sentences are correct, but in everyday conversation Parlo italiano sounds more natural. Use the pronoun when you want to stress it: Io lavoro, tu dormi!

The verb: choosing the right form

In Italian the verb changes according to the subject. This is called coniugazione (conjugation).

Some -IRE verbs, like capire, finire and pulire, add -isc- in all forms except noi and voi. Others, like sentire and dormire, do not.

In Sinhala "කතා කරනවා" stays the same for everyone. In Italian the verb changes six times. So always find the subject first, then choose the verb.

The object: oggetto

The direct object (oggetto diretto) is the person or thing that the action goes to directly.

Io compro una borsa.

I buy a bag.

To find the object, ask Che cosa? (What?) after the verb. Compro una borsa. — Che cosa compro? — Una borsa.

Not every sentence needs an object

These sentences are complete with just a subject and a verb. In fact Lavoro. is a full sentence in one word, because the subject is inside the verb.

Articles with nouns

When you use a noun, it often needs an article. Choose it according to the noun's gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural) and meaning ("a", "the", "some").

Macchina is feminine, so it is una macchina, not un macchina. Libro is masculine, so it is un libro.

Not every noun needs an article. Studio italiano and Bevo acqua are also correct.

Adjectives: making the sentence longer

An adjective describes a person, animal or thing. Watch how one sentence grows:

Ho una macchina.

I have a car.

Ho una macchina rossa.

I have a red car.

Ho delle macchine rosse.

I have some red cars.

Most adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number: -o (masculine singular), -a (feminine singular), -i (masculine plural), -e (feminine plural).

In English the adjective comes before the noun (a red car). In Italian most descriptive adjectives come after it (una macchina rossa). A few, like bello or grande, often come before, so this is a habit, not a fixed law.

Sentences with essere and avere

Not every sentence describes an action. With essere and avere you can talk about who someone is, how they are, where they are, how old they are and what they have.

Essere: to be

Avere: to have

Careful: English "am" is sometimes Italian "ho"

Ho fame.

I am hungry.

Ho 30 anni.

I am 30 years old.

For hunger, thirst, fear, being hot or cold, and age, Italian uses avere: ho fame, ho sete, ho paura, ho caldo, ho freddo, ho 30 anni. Never sono fame.

Here Sinhala helps you! "මට බඩගිනියි", "මට වයස 30යි": Sinhala also says "to me there is hunger", which is close to the Italian "I have hunger".

Where? When? With whom? Adding details

Start with a short sentence, then add time, place and company one step at a time.

Studio italiano.

I study Italian.

Studio italiano la sera.

I study Italian in the evening.

Studio italiano a casa la sera.

I study Italian at home in the evening.

Studio italiano con mio marito a casa la sera.

I study Italian with my husband at home in the evening.

Questions that help you add information

Time and place do not have a fixed position. La sera studio italiano is also correct; it simply puts the focus on "in the evening".

Negative sentences

To make a sentence negative, put non directly before the conjugated verb. That's all.

Io non lavoro.

I do not work.

English needs "do not / does not", but Italian has no extra helping verb. Do not say No parlo: no means "no" as an answer; before a verb you need non.

Questions

For a yes/no question, keep the same word order. When speaking, raise your voice at the end; when writing, add a question mark.

Sinhala and Italian are similar here: neither needs a helping word like English "do". Sinhala adds "ද" at the end; Italian just changes the voice.

Questions with question words

Dialogue: meeting at the bus stop

Mala, a caregiver from Sri Lanka, meets Luca at the bus stop in Pavia. Read the dialogue and find the subjects, verbs, negatives and questions.

Luca: Ciao! Come ti chiami?

Luca: Hi! What's your name?

Mala: Mi chiamo Mala. E tu?

Mala: My name is Mala. And you?

Luca: Io sono Luca. Di dove sei?

Luca: I'm Luca. Where are you from?

Mala: Sono dello Sri Lanka. Abito a Pavia.

Mala: I'm from Sri Lanka. I live in Pavia.

Luca: Lavori qui?

Luca: Do you work here?

Mala: Sì, lavoro in una famiglia. Assisto una signora anziana.

Mala: Yes, I work for a family. I look after an elderly lady.

Luca: Parli bene italiano!

Luca: You speak Italian well!

Mala: Grazie! Studio italiano la sera, ma non parlo ancora molto bene.

Mala: Thank you! I study Italian in the evening, but I don't speak very well yet.

Luca: Hai figli?

Luca: Do you have children?

Mala: Sì, ho un figlio. Ha dieci anni.

Mala: Yes, I have a son. He is ten years old.

Look at the dialogue again: most sentences have no subject pronoun (Abito, Lavori?, Ha dieci anni), questions keep normal word order, the negative uses non, and age uses avere.

Common mistakes

Pay special attention to these mistakes when you translate from Sinhala or English.

Exercises

Exercise 1: Conjugate the verb

Write the correct present-tense form of the verb in brackets.

1. Io parlo italiano. (parlare) io + -are verb → -o
2. Maria legge un libro. (leggere) Maria = lei → -ere verb → -e
3. Noi lavoriamo in un ristorante. (lavorare) noi → -iamo
4. Voi guardate la televisione? (guardare) voi + -are verb → -ate
5. I bambini giocano nel parco. (giocare) I bambini = loro → -ano
6. Tu capisci la lezione? (capire) capire adds -isc-: tu capisci
7. Lei ha 30 anni. (avere) Age uses avere; lei ha
8. Noi siamo stanchi. (essere) noi + essere → siamo
9. Loro sentono la musica. (sentire) sentire has no -isc-: loro sentono
10. Mio marito prepara la cena. (preparare) mio marito = lui → -a

Exercise 2: Choose the correct form

Choose the word that makes the sentence correct.

1. Io parla / parlo* / parli italiano. (I speak Italian.) io → parlo
2. Lei legge* / leggi / leggono un libro. (She reads a book.) lei → legge
3. Noi lavora / lavorano / lavoriamo*. (We work.) noi → lavoriamo
4. Io sono / ho* / è fame. (I am hungry.) Hunger uses avere: ho fame
5. Ho una macchina rossa* / un macchina rosso / una macchina rosso. (I have a red car.) Feminine noun: una … rossa
6. I ragazzi è / sono* felici. (The boys are happy.) Plural subject → sono
7. La ragazza è alto / alta*. (The girl is tall.) ragazza is feminine → alta
8. Adesso mangio* / sono mangio una mela. (I am eating an apple now.) I am eating = mangio, no sono
9. Lavoro a / in un* ristorante. (I work in a restaurant.) lavorare in un ristorante
10. No / Non* lavoro la domenica. (I don't work on Sundays.) non goes before the verb

Exercise 3: Choose the question word

Read the answer and choose the right question word.

1. Dove* / Quando / Chi lavori? — In un ristorante. The answer is a place
2. Come / Quanti* / Dove anni hai? — Trenta. Age: quanti anni
3. Quando* / Che cosa / Chi studi? — La sera. The answer is a time
4. Come* / Dove / Quando stai? — Bene, grazie. Come stai? = How are you?
5. Con chi* / cosa / dove abiti? — Con mia moglie. The answer is a person: con chi
6. Che cosa* / chi / ora mangi? — Una mela. The answer is a thing: che cosa

Exercise 4: Translate into Italian

Translate each sentence into Italian. Remember: you can leave out the subject pronoun.

1. I work in Milan. Lavoro a Milano.
2. My wife studies Italian. Mia moglie studia italiano.
3. We eat rice in the evening. La sera mangiamo il riso.
4. My son reads a book. Mio figlio legge un libro.
5. I buy a red bag. Compro una borsa rossa.
6. Do you have two children? Hai due figli?
7. I don't work on Sundays. Non lavoro la domenica.
8. We study Italian at home. Studiamo italiano a casa.
9. My husband works in a restaurant. Mio marito lavora in un ristorante.
10. She starts work at eight in the morning. Lei inizia a lavorare alle otto di mattina.

Exercise 5: Speaking practice

Say 5–8 sentences in Italian about your life. Use these points:

• your name, nationality and the town where you live;
• your job;
• your family;
• things you do every day;
• when you study Italian;
• something you do not do.

Model presentation:

Mi chiamo Nimal. Sono dello Sri Lanka. Abito a Milano.

My name is Nimal. I am from Sri Lanka. I live in Milan.

Lavoro in un ristorante. Ho due figli.

I work in a restaurant. I have two children.

Studio italiano la sera. Mia moglie lavora in un negozio.

I study Italian in the evening. My wife works in a shop.

Non lavoro la domenica.

I don't work on Sundays.

Record yourself on your phone and listen back. Check each sentence: is the verb right for the subject?

Summary

To build an Italian sentence, follow these steps:

1. Identify the subject.
2. Choose the correct conjugated verb.
3. Add an object when needed.
4. Check articles and adjectives: gender, number and agreement.
5. Add time, place and other details.
6. For a negative, put non before the verb; for a question, change your voice or add a question word.

Don't translate word by word from Sinhala. First decide what you want to say, then build the sentence with Italian grammar: subject, verb, and then the rest.

Start with short sentences and build new ones every day. Little by little, you will speak Italian more naturally.

References

This lesson is an original teaching resource by Accademia Melitalia, not an official publication. Its grammar explanations are based on the following references, and its goals follow the Council of Europe's A1/A2 descriptions.

• Treccani: Soggetto, Enciclopedia dell'Italiano
• Treccani: Presente indicativo, La grammatica italiana
• Treccani: Lingue romanze e italiano, Enciclopedia dell'Italiano
• Council of Europe: CEFR Common Reference Levels, Global Scale

The examples and Sinhala explanations were written specifically for Sri Lankan adult learners in Italy. They are teaching adaptations, not quotations from these sources.