Italian Grammar Exploring Cognates and False Cognates

Italian Grammar Exploring Cognates and False Cognates Suzy S. Italian grammar can be a tough thing for beginners to master. Below, Italian teacher Giulio G. gives a brief lesson in recognizing Italian cognates and false cognates Although  English and Italian belong to two different language families, they have lexis similarities. In fact, it is estimated that around 30 percent of the English vocabulary comes from Romance and Latin sources. Its for this exact reason why  it is possible to find many cognatesor words that sound or are spelled the same or in a similar waybetween English and Italian. Learning these cognates can help you improve your Italian grammar as well as expand your vocabulary. Below is list of Italian cognates broken down into several different categories. 1. Words that  are different due to the final  letter Acrobata-Acrobat Altare-Altar Concerto-Concert Errore-Error Dollaro-Dollar Moderno-Modern Problema-Problem Poeta-Poet 2. Words that  have a different vowel at the end Cura-Cure Futuro-Future Minuto-Minute Nativo-Native Paradiso-Paradise Senso-Sense Temperatura-Temperature Universo-Universe 3. Words that  end in â€"ale in Italian and end in â€"al in English Accidentale-Accidental Artificiale-Artificial Canale-Canal Finale-Final Naturale-Natural Originale-Original Vitale-Vital 4. Words that end in â€"bile in Italian and end in â€"ble in English Adorabile-Adorable Impossibile-Impossible Miserabile-Miserable Terribile-Terrible Responsabile-Responsible 5. Words that  end in ­â€"ente/-ante in Italian and end in â€"ent/-ant in English Diligente-Diligent Ingrediente-Ingredient Recente-Recent Eloquente-Eloquent Tollerante-Tolerant 6. Words that  end in â€"ia  in Italian and end in â€"y in English Archeologia-Archaeology Democrazia-Democracy Lotteria-Lottery Melodia-Melody Sinfonia-Symphony As any Italian teacher will tell you, its important to be careful with cognates. Languages can sometimes be tricky and also present false cognateswords that look similar between two languages but have different meanings. Below are a list of common Italian false cognates. Candido-clean Crudo uncooked Genitori-parents Magazzino-store Assistere-to be present Attendere-to wait for Confrontare to compare Intendere- to understand Tastare to touch Avviso warning Attico penthouse Estate-summer Firma-signature Pace-Peace When beginning to learn Italian  grammar, its important to familiarize yourself with  these cognates and false cognates. This way, you will be able to  avoid making an embarrassing mistake when speaking with a native Italian. Unfortunately, theres no easy way to remember Italian cognates and false cognates;  rather youre best bet is to try to  memorize these words by using them as often as possible or playing  Italian grammar  exercises. Post Author:  Giulio G. Giulio  G. teaches in-person Italian lessons in New York City. He is originally from Florence, Italy and is currently a student at the University of Florence for Languages and Intercultural Relations. He has been teaching lessons since 2009.  Learn more about Giulio  here! Photo by  vic xia Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher