Italian word order

The basic order of an Italian sentence is the same as in English: subject, verb, object. The differences are in the details: the subject is often left out, adjectives usually follow the noun, and small pronouns go before the verb.

Subject, Verb, Object

Most Italian sentences follow the same order as English: subject, then verb, then object.

• Marco mangia la pizza. - Marco eats pizza.
• Mia sorella legge un libro. - My sister is reading a book.
• I ragazzi guardano un film. - The boys are watching a movie.

Italian usually uses the simple present for both, so legge means "reads" or "is reading". (Sta leggendo also exists, for right this moment.)

Leaving Out the Subject

The verb ending already shows who is doing the action, so Italians usually drop subject pronouns like io (I) and tu (you).

• Mangio la pizza. - I eat pizza.
• Parli italiano? - Do you speak Italian?
• Siamo stanchi. - We’re tired.

Add the pronoun only for emphasis or contrast: Io lavoro, tu dormi! - I’m working, you’re sleeping!

There is also no word for "it" as a subject: È vero. - It’s true. Piove. - It’s raining.

Adjectives After the Noun

Most adjectives come after the noun they describe, the opposite of English.

• una casa grande - a big house
• una macchina rossa - a red car
• un ragazzo simpatico - a nice boy

A few short, common adjectives usually go before the noun, such as bello (beautiful), buono (good), nuovo (new), vecchio (old) and piccolo (small):

• un bel giardino - a beautiful garden
• un buon libro - a good book

Colors and nationalities normally go after the noun. The Adjectives guide explains more.

Where Adverbs Go

Most adverbs come right after the verb, not before it as they often do in English.

• Lui corre velocemente. - He runs fast.
• Parlo sempre italiano. - I always speak Italian.
• Mangio spesso la pizza. - I often eat pizza.

With Two-Part Verbs

With a two-word tense like ho mangiato (I ate, I have eaten), short adverbs such as già (already), sempre (always) and mai (ever, never) go between the two parts:

• Ho già mangiato. - I’ve already eaten.
• Sei mai stato a Roma? - Have you ever been to Rome?

Saying No

To make a sentence negative, put non right before the verb. Italian doesn’t need a helper like "do not".

• Non parlo inglese. - I don’t speak English.
• Non capisco. - I don’t understand.

Words like mai (never), niente (nothing) and nessuno (nobody) go after the verb and still need non before it. In Italian, this double negative is correct:

• Non mangia mai carne. - He never eats meat.
• Non vedo niente. - I don’t see anything.
• Non c’è nessuno. - There’s nobody here.

Object Pronouns Before the Verb

Small object pronouns such as mi (me), ti (you), lo (him, it), la (her, it) and gli (to him) go before the conjugated verb, not after it as in English.

• Lo vedo. - I see him.
• Ti amo. - I love you.
• Gli do il libro. - I give him the book.
• Non la conosco. - I don’t know her.

Nouns stay after the verb: Vedo Marco. - I see Marco. Only the short pronoun moves in front.

Questions

A yes-or-no question usually has the same word order as a statement. Only your voice changes: it rises at the end.

• Parli italiano. - You speak Italian.
• Parli italiano? - Do you speak Italian?
• Ti piace la pizza? - Do you like pizza?

With a question word such as dove (where), quando (when) or che cosa (what), the question word goes first. If you name the subject, it usually goes after the verb:

• Dove abita Marco? - Where does Marco live?
• Che cosa vuole tua madre? - What does your mother want?
• Chi viene alla festa? - Who’s coming to the party?

Putting the Object First

To stress the thing you’re talking about, Italians often move it to the front. When they do, they repeat it with a pronoun before the verb.

• La pizza la mangio domani. - The pizza, I’ll eat tomorrow.
• Il libro l’ho già letto. - I’ve already read the book.
• Questo film lo conosco. - I know this movie.

In this pattern, the pronoun is needed. This pattern is very common in everyday speech, so you’ll hear it often.