Italian · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 6 of 12
My home
La mia casa
Describe your home in Italian: rooms, furniture and colours, where things are with al, nel and sul, and how adjectives change with the noun.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Name the rooms and furniture in your home
- Say where things are
- Describe things with colours and other adjectives
Listen
Marta has just moved into a new flat in Turin. She shows it to her friend Simone on a video call. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Simone
Allora, com'è la casa nuova?
So, what's the new flat like?
Marta
È piccola, ma è bella. Questo è il soggiorno.
It's small, but it's nice. This is the living room.
Simone
Il divano rosso è nuovo?
Is the red sofa new?
Marta
Sì. E anche la lampada gialla è nuova.
Yes. And the yellow lamp is new too.
Simone
E dov'è la cucina?
And where's the kitchen?
Marta
È accanto al soggiorno. È piccola, ma c'è un tavolo bianco davanti alla finestra.
It's next to the living room. It's small, but there's a white table in front of the window.
Simone
E la camera da letto?
And the bedroom?
Marta
È qui a destra. Il letto è grande e sopra c'è un quadro blu.
It's here on the right. The bed is big, and above it there's a blue painting.
Simone
Che bella casa, Marta!
What a lovely flat, Marta.
Understand
Where things are
Use these words to say where things are. Three of them need after them: , and .
With rooms, Italians usually say without “the”: (in the kitchen), , (in the bedroom).
| Italian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| on, above | ||
| under | ||
| behind | ||
| in front of | ||
| next to | ||
| near | ||
| in |
Prepositions + the: al, nel, sul
Five small words join with the word for “the” that comes after them: (to, at), (of), (from), (in) and (on). So + becomes , and + becomes .
becomes de- and becomes ne-: (in Marta's living room), (on the table). Other words, like and , stay separate: . You'll see the plural forms (, …) in chapter 8.
| The | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adjectives agree with the noun
Adjectives are describing words, like “new”, “big” or “red”. In Italian they usually come after the noun, and they change to match its gender: , . You'll see the plural forms in chapter 8.
Adjectives ending in -e, like , are the same for masculine and feminine: , . A few very common adjectives, like and , can also go before the noun:
To ask what something is like, say …? (short for ):
- Il tavolo è nuovo.The table is new.
- La casa è nuova.The house is new.
- La cucina è grande.The kitchen is big.
Colours
Colours are adjectives, so they agree with the noun too. (blue) and (pink) never change: , .
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| red | ||
| yellow | ||
| white | ||
| black | ||
| grey | ||
| green | ||
| brown | ||
| orange | ||
| blue | ||
| pink |
More in the grammar: Adjectives: agreement and position · Prepositions with articles: del, al, nel, sul…
New words
- la casahome, house, flat · feminine
- nuovonew · feminine:
- mabut
- bellobeautiful, nice, lovely · feminine:
- il soggiornoliving room · masculine
- il divanosofa · masculine
- la lampadalamp · feminine
- la cucinakitchen · feminine
- il tavolotable · masculine
- la finestrawindow · feminine
- la camera da lettobedroom · feminine; often just
- il lettobed · masculine
- grandebig · the same for masculine and feminine
- il quadropainting, picture · masculine
Practise
1.How do you say “The lamp is yellow”?
2.Write the right form of (white).
The kitchen is white.
3.Say “in front of the window”.
The table is in front of the window.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.The red sofa is new.
5.The lamp is . Where is it?
6.Match the rooms and furniture.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
La mia casa è piccola, ma è bella.
My home is small, but it's nice.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.