Grammar, spelling, and usage
Italian Capitalization
Capitalization
Arriva domenica. He is arriving on Sunday.
Apostrophe
l’amico instead of lo amico (the friend)
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Many words that are capitalized in English are not capitalized in Italian. These include: the days of the week, the months of the year, proper adjectives, a few proper nouns, and titles such as Mr., Mrs., and Miss.
Il signor Neri è italiano. Mr. Neri is Italian.
Gli americani sono industriosi. Americans are industrious.
The apostrophe (l'apostrofo) is generally used to indicate the dropping of the final vowel before the word that follows it.
l’automobile instead of la automobile (the automobile)
un’università instead of una università (a university)
d’Italia instead of di Italia (of Italy)
dov’è instead of dove è (where is)
Italian Language Study Resources Language Lessons: Italian grammar, spelling, and usage. Audio Phrasebook: Improve your pronunciation and build your vocabulary. Workbook Exercises: Worksheets, drills, activities, and review. Buon Divertimento: Italian jokes, riddles, and puns. Italian Verbs: Formation, moods, tenses, and table of conjugations. Study Guides: Challenge your skills and test your knowledge of various topics. Audio Lab: Word of the day, survival phrases, ABC's, numbers, and conversation.
