Systems of language

Develop pronunciation and intonation in Italian, for example, sc followed by h or i/e (schiavo, piscina, pesce) and letter combinations such as gn (in lavagna) and gl (in famiglia)

Recognise some of the rules of spelling and punctuation such as capitalisation rules when writing, including sabato, dicembre
(ACLITU032)

Notice and use context-related vocabulary and apply elements of grammar in simple spoken and written texts to generate language for a range of purposes, including:

  • using gender, singular and plural nouns in the regular form
  • using subject pronouns in context, for example, Chi ha finito? Io!
  • learning to conjugate common regular and irregular verbs in the singular (io/tu/lui/lei) in the present tense, for example, Io gioco a calcio; Maria gioca a cricket, Anna va al parco con Alberto; Io vado a Albany il weekend
  • expressing preferences and reasons for preferences, for example, Mi piace ... perché…; Preferisco...
  • using cardinal numbers to tell the time and for dates and ages; using ordinal numbers such as primo; secondo; la prima classe
  • using simple prepositions to indicate location or direction such as a, in, a sinistra, a destra, sopra, sotto, dietro, for example, a casa; in città; a sinistra; sopra il tavolo
  • using suffixes to add nuance, for example, -ino (fratellino, piccolino) or -etto (poveretto, casetta)
  • using regular and reflexive verbs as formulaic expressions in the past tense, for example, Mi alzo alle sette; Sono andato/a al cinema alle nove e mezzo
  • using simple conjunctions such as e, poi and ma
  • recognising and using the names for the days of the week

Begin to develop a metalanguage in Italian for talking about language, using terms similar to those used in English
(ACLITU033)

Notice differences in familiar texts such as personal, informative and imaginative texts and explain how particular features of such texts help to achieve their purpose
(ACLITU034)