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### The Little Words of Everyday Italian

Real Italian conversation is glued together by a handful of small words. They do not fit any grammar table — but you will hear them in almost every exchange.

### Beh — "well..."

**Beh** (a worn-down *bene*) buys a moment to think, or softens an answer.

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### Allora — "so, then"

**Allora** opens a sentence when you draw a conclusion or move the conversation forward. It is the classic way to change topic or get things going.

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### Ehi — "hey"

**Ehi** grabs attention, just like English *hey*. Keep it for friends and family — with strangers, use **scusi** instead.

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### Davvero — "really"

**Davvero** intensifies a statement — and, on its own with question intonation, it is the standard "Really?" of surprise.

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### Your Conversation Toolkit

| word | use it to... |
|---|---|
| **beh** | hesitate or soften ("well...") |
| **allora** | move things forward ("so, then") |
| **ehi** | call someone, informally ("hey") |
| **davvero** | intensify, or show surprise ("really") |

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Past tense of modal verbs

Question	Answer
well (hesitation)	beh
Well, I don't know.	Beh, non lo so.
Well, all right.	Beh, va bene.
then, so then	allora
So, where are we going?	Allora, dove andiamo?
So, when are you coming back?	Allora, quando torni?
hey	ehi
Hey, how are you?	Ehi, come stai?
Hey, where are you?	Ehi, dove sei?
really, truly	davvero
The cake is really good.	La torta è davvero buona.
Really? It is not true!	Davvero? Non è vero!
come on (informal)	dai
Come on, let's go home!	Dai, andiamo a casa!
Come on, it's not difficult!	Dai, non è difficile!
here is, there is (presenting)	ecco
Here is the coffee, madam.	Ecco il caffè, signora.
Here is my house!	Ecco la mia casa!
of course, sure	certo
Of course, I can help.	Certo, posso aiutare.
Sure! All right.	Certo! Va bene.
maybe, perhaps	forse
Maybe I have a problem.	Forse ho un problema.
Maybe it's better this way.	Forse è meglio così.
just, exactly (intensifier)	proprio
This movie is really beautiful.	Questo film è proprio bello.
You are really kind.	Sei proprio gentile.
too, as well (= anche)	pure
I'll take an ice cream too.	Prendo pure un gelato.
I am coming too.	Vengo pure io.
agreed, OK (essere d'accordo = to agree)	d'accordo
I agree with you.	Sono d'accordo con te.
Agreed, all right!	D'accordo, va bene!
OK, all right (accepting a proposal)	va bene
Shall we go to the cinema tonight? OK!	Andiamo al cinema stasera? Va bene!
OK, I am coming right away.	Va bene, arrivo subito.
in my opinion	secondo me
In my opinion, this movie is boring.	Secondo me, questo film è noioso.
In my opinion, red wine is excellent.	Secondo me, il vino rosso è ottimo.
no idea!, who knows (informal)	boh
Where is the cat? No idea!	Dov'è il gatto? Boh!
Who is coming tonight? No idea!	Chi viene stasera? Boh!
enough!, stop it!	basta
Enough, I am tired!	Basta, sono stanco!
Enough coffee for today!	Basta caffè per oggi!

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