Many words in English and Italian share common Latin roots. By making adjustments to pronunciation and spelling, we can learn similar words, called "cognates," very easily.
When learning a new language, always look for repeated patterns. This reduces the amount of work you have to do and helps you to learn vocabulary more quickly.
Look at the following groups of English words and notice how similar they are to their Italian equivalents.
GROUP ONE: Drop the final -e if any, and add -o/-a/-e/-i to produce the Italian equivalent:
| alternative | artistic | fortunate | impulsive |
| aggressive | astute | frenetic | inconsiderate |
| bucolic | asinine | indelicate | indiscrete |
| calm | austere | individualistic | inoffensive |
| domestic | avid | fatalistic | insincere |
| discrete | abrasive | florid | intuitive |
| diplomatic | accurate | furtive | inventive |
| deliberate | acute | frigid | intrepid |
| dissolute | barbaric | flaccid | immature |
| elusive | benign | genuine | mature |
| egocentric | classic | grandiose | moderate |
| erratic | diabolic | idealistic | modest |
| erudite | decisive | intense | offensive |
| enigmatic | delicate | imitative | sincere |
| evasive | fanatic | immoderate | robust |
| drastic | imprecise | stupid |
GROUP TWO: Another type can be formed by adding a final -e to the English form thus producing the Italian equivalent:
nouns
| editor | carnival |
| creator | criminal |
| color | terror |
adjectives
| antisocial | gradual |
| general | ideal |
| cerebral | decadent |
| cultural | brutal |
| evident | elegant |
| indulgent | manual |
| material | musical |
| industrial | mental |
| innocent | universal |
| integral | pastoral |
| natural | papal |
| spiritual | natal |
| social | strident |
| total | original |
GROUP III: A third type of adjectives insert an additional "i." The English (or French) -BLE suffix becomes the Italian -BILE:
| ENGLISH | ITALIAN | ENGLISH | ITALIAN |
| credible | credibile | dirigible | dirigibile |
| incredible | incredibile | compatible | compatibile |
| terrible | terribile | formidable | formidabile |
| ineffable ineffabile |
GROUP IV: Another group of Italian Adjectives is formed by changing the English suffix "-OUS" to Italian "-OSO" (plus any additional adjustments to pronunciation and orthography.
| ENGLISH | ITALIAN | ENGLISH | ITALIAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| valorous | valoroso | indecorous | indecoroso |
| VISCOUS | VISCHIOSO | jocose | giocoso |
| jealous | geloso | dubious | dubbioso |
Part Two: Adjective agreement
Just as articles agree with their nouns, adjectives which modify or describe nouns must also make agreements of gender (masculine, feminine) and number (singular, plural).
Source: The Italian Program at the University of Kentucky
