5 Common Italian Mistakes to Avoid

Whether you’re just starting out in Italian or are already an experienced speaker, there are most likely certain aspects of the language you consistently find difficult to move beyond. Or, if you haven’t yet begun learning Italian, you might be wondering which particular areas are the trickiest. In this article, we’re covering five common mistakes non-native speakers make in Italian, so you can be aware of them.

1. Preposition use

Learning all the different prepositions in Italian (a, di, da, tra/fra, in, con, per, etc.) can be complicated enough. They also aren’t always used the same way as prepositions in English. Some prepositions are replaced with different ones, and some words that require a preposition in English don’t in Italian.

One particularly notable example of this is the verb aspettare (“to wait”). In English, “wait” is always followed by the preposition “for.” However, in Italian, you do not follow aspettare with per.

“Aspetto per il treno che arriva alle 11.00.” “Aspetto il treno che arriva alle 11.00.” “I’m waiting for the train that arrives at 11:00.”

Another easily confused pairing is the prepositions that follow vicino (“near”) and lontano (“far”). Vicino is always followed by a (“to”) and lontano is always followed by da (“from”).

“La chiesa è vicino al fermato l’autobus.” “The church is close to the bus stop.”

“Il parco è lontano dal mio appartamento.” “The park is far from my apartment.”

A final common prepositional mistake is using in when tra/fra (“between”) should be used. (Remember, too, that tra and fra can be used interchangeably). In English, when we talk about events occurring in the future, we typically use “in,” as, for example: “My cousin is coming to visit in a month.” In Italian, however, you would have to use the word “between” to replace “in.”

“Vado in vacanza fra due settimane.” “I’m going on vacation in two weeks.”

2. Translating too directly

Another mistake that the upper intermediate and advanced speakers should try to avoid is translating too directly from English. This is, essentially, the root of most mistakes, including the prepositional ones mentioned above. You have to be able to instinctually recognize the linguistic conventions of Italian and how sentences are structured, which can be quite different from English. This comes from immersing yourself in the language, whether by listening to native speakers, watching shows in Italian, reading in Italian, or, ideally, all of the above.

One common mistake that comes from translating too directly is using favorito in place of preferito. In English we say, “My favorite food is pizza.” In Italian, however, this translates to “Il mio cibo preferito è la pizza.”

Another mistake that can confuse beginners is the placement of adjectives. Again, in English, adjectives come before the noun, such as, “the blue car.” In Italian, they generally but not always come after the noun.

“La macchina blu.” “The blue car.”

“Il fiore giallo.” “The yellow flower.”

“Una valigia pesante.” “A heavy suitcase.”

However, there are exceptions. Below are some (but not all) of the adjectives that come before the noun.

“Il giovane ragazzo.” “The young boy.”

“Una bella canzone.” “The beautiful song.”

“Il nuovo libro.” “The new book.”

3. Prendere vs. Fare (and other verb confusions)

There are many common verb confusions in Italian too, particularly involving prendere (to take) and fare (to make). For example, in English we say, “I’m taking a photo.” However, Italian does not translate this to, “Prendo una foto,” but rather, “Faccio una foto” (“I’m making a photo.”) Similarly, for “I’m taking a shower”:

“Prendo una doccia.” “Faccio una doccia.”

Another common confusion comes with stating your (or someone else’s) age. In Italian, you don’t say, “Sono 23 anni” (“I’m 23 years old”), but rather, “Ho 23 anni” (“I have 23 years.”)

A final common confusion comes from using the verb essere (“to be”) when avere (“to have”) should be used, another incorrect translation from English. Examples of this include, “Ho freddo” (“I’m cold,” literally, “I have cold,”), “Ho fame” (“I am hungry,” literally, “I have hunger,”), and “Ho paura” (“I’m afraid,” literally, “I have fear.”) 

4. Transitive vs. Intransitive Verbs

When speaking in the past tense, you will also want to be careful of knowing whether you are dealing with transitive or intransitive verbs.

Italian uses many compound tenses and the passato prossimo (past simple/present perfect) is one of them. English, on the other hand, typically (but not always!) forms the past simple by adding -ed to the ending of the verb.

Example 1: “I washed my clothes.”

In Italian, this translates to, “Ho lavato i miei vestiti.”

Example 2: “I walked to the grocery store.”

In Italian: “Sono andato/a a piedi al supermercato.” (Literally, “I went on foot to the grocery store.”)

Notice the difference? Here’s the breakdown of how to form the passato prossimo:

[avere] + past participle

[essere] + past participle

How do you know which auxiliary verb (avere or essere) to use with the past participle? It depends on whether the past participle is a transitive or intransitive verb.

Transitive verbs answer “who?” or “what?” They take a direct object.

Intransitive verbs answer “how?” “where?” and “when?” They do not take a direct object. It is often easiest to think of them as expressing some sort of change on the subject.

In the above examples, Example 1 showed a transitive verb (direct object: “my clothes”/“i miei vestiti”), while Example 2 showed an intransitive verb.

[avere] + past participle of a transitive verb

[essere] + past participle of an intransitive verb

If you are dealing with an intransitive verb, the ending will be either masculine (“o”) or feminine (“a”), depending on whether the subject is masculine or feminine.

And, as shown in the examples above, always conjugate avere and essere to fit the subject of the sentence.

Bonus: If you are dealing with a reflexive verb, use essere in the passato prossimo. Reflexive verbs end in -si.

Example: “I woke up at 6 a.m.”

“Mi sono svegliato/a alle 6.00.” (From the verb “svegliarsi.”)

5. False cognates

“False friends”—or words in a foreign language that seem similar to your native one but in fact aren’t—can be a common problem when learning a new language. This article does not have the space to give a comprehensive list of all the false cognates between English and Italian, but here are a few common ones.

• Fattoria—farm (not factory)
• Parenti—relatives (not parents)
• Argomento—discussion (not argument)
• Camera—room (not a camera to take photographs)
• Realizzare—to carry out (not to realize)
• Stampa—to print (not a postage stamp)
• Educazione—good manners (can mean education in certain circumstances)
• Libreria—bookstore
• Biblioteca—library
• Noioso—boring (not noisy)

Conclusion

In this article, we have provided a list of some of the most common mistakes made when learning Italian. You can look out for these now as you begin (or continue) your Italian journey, and don’t get discouraged if you make them yourself. Learning a new language necessitates stumbling along the way. If you have questions about our courses or would like to learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@italiancitizenshiplanguageschool.com.