Exceptions in Italian grammar, what to do with them?

If you like logic and clarity, then language may not really be your thing. Of course, there are rules, grammar, that make a language behave in a certain way and that you can write a language without errors. These are the macro rules, the broad lines. But with every language (barring Esperanto, the artificial language) there are exceptions, the micro-rules. The same goes for Italian grammar.

👉 The main rules of the Italian grammar at A1 level you can find here.

Here is a list of some of the rules that are the exception. Don't think I know them all by heart. And then there are the exceptions to the micro rules. Individual cases that are different.

There will always be exceptions in Italian grammar

Be aware that whatever rule you learn, there will always be micro-rules and exceptions. The problem, I think, is that many methods zoom in on micro rules after only two weeks. And then grammar is too much of a good thing.

If you want to scroll straight to the solutions to the exception problem, scroll to the conclusion at the bottom of this blog.

Articles

There is the masculine, the feminine. Vowels and consonants. But then you have masculine words that start with a double consonant. The exception containing the article lo need. The psychologist, The zoo, lo spumante. You have to remember that one rule again for those few weird cases.

On the other hand, it is useful to know that lo can be an article and so you can see it before a noun. Lo can also be a pronoun and then you see it before a verb. So you also need grammar to find out the meaning of a sentence.

Also, you have certain body parts that have an o as the last letter of the noun in the singular while they are feminine, for example the hand. The hand. How do you make it plural? The hands.

The nouns

Usually nouns end with an a or an o in the singular and an e or an i in the plural. But again there are a few of those slantsmarchers that end in an e and are not feminine plural. As il bichiere. The cup. Is it important to know for your communication? That was not that bad.

The verbs

Most verbs behave according to the rules of regular verbs on – ARE – ERE – IRE, but there are a few and they conjugate in an irregular way, so you just have to memorize them. For example give (to give), power (can) want (want). And for the other irregular verbs, see the list that is undoubtedly in your book or of which you here's a compact version can find.

Of begin in the conditional, also irregular. is it now salespersonò of comerò? I have to look it up myself every time. To be fair, you will have to acquire many irregular verbs. Anyway, if you don't hear it and just write it, it's doubly difficult.

Conjugate with have or conjugate with are in the present perfect tense? Most Italian verbs have the same auxiliary verb as the Dutch equivalent. Sometimes, however, you use 'being' in Italy where you use 'have' in the Netherlands, and vice versa. This is the case, for example, with losing, approaching, encountering, starting, duration and costs. Difficult.

The adjectives

Beauty, good, great en saint behave differently in Italian grammar. Not normal.

The possessive pronouns

Why don't you use the definite article and only the possessive pronoun for immediate family? It is my father maar il mio cane. If it is plural again in the family, the article is still there. My parents. At their must also include the article and also if there is a adjective assists. Stand on it.

personal pronouns

De pronom diretti. You know the sequence. And my YouTube video explaining the pronom diretti in Dutch. But how can you get it l'ho visto maar le ho viste? Why is the vowel replaced by an apostrophe in the singular, and not in the plural? So again something to learn by heart.

The subjunctive mood

De subjunctive is for expressing an opinion, but, so says the Accademia della Crusca, in the case of a judgment or perception of the speaker, the indicative presente are used. Sometimes with the same word a subjunctive or a indicative are used but then the meaning of the sentence changes. So red is for hearts, but if you like pink better, that's okay too. Sometimes.

Prepositions and Diction

A source of my own frustration. An inexhaustible list of exceptions. In college I got a document with about 10 pages with all kinds of micro-rules and exceptions.

Is that fun? No, that's not fun.

And then of course there are many more exceptions that I have not mentioned in this blog. What do you do with that? Do you memorize them?

Solutions for exceptions in Italian grammar

1. You memorize all irregularities on micro rules and get a ten for your test.
2. You are flexible and you sail around it a bit. You get a seven on your test with your knowledge of the macro rules.

Be pragmatic. Grammar rules are there for communication. For example, sometimes in Dutch I don't know whether something should have a dash. Then I reformulate the sentence and the problem is also solved. I also don't know whether 'with it' in the title of this blog should not be 'with it' (that is, the latter, ed.)

Be creative. In the meantime, you pay close attention when you read and listen, pick up on how to do it. You won't get a 10 on your old-fashioned tests where teachers test all the micro-rules and exceptions. But in time it will get better on its own. If you ever get up level C2 When you arrive, you can always come back to that dash or that microrule about the Italian preposition.

Finally, a fitting song by Carmen Consoli. The exception is Italian for 'the exception'.