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Italian Grammar 21 min read
Italian Exam Grammar Checklist (A2–B2): What to Master for CILS/CELI/PLIDA
V
Vurbit Team
Language Expert
If you’re preparing for an Italian exam (CILS, CELI, PLIDA), your biggest enemy isn’t difficulty — it’s diffuse study.
This checklist is meant to keep you laser-focused on what actually affects your score.
When you’re studying grammar, you don’t want to lose time hunting for verb forms. Grab Vurbit’s offline Italian conjugation reference on iOS and keep your review sessions focused.
Table of contents
- How to use this checklist
- A2 checklist
- B1 checklist
- B2 checklist
- The “point killers” (common error categories)
How to use this checklist
- Mark each item: green (automatic), yellow (sometimes), red (weak).
- Pick 3 red items and drill them for 7 days.
- Re-test using timed writing/speaking.
A2 checklist
- Present tense (regular + core irregulars: essere, avere, fare, andare)
- Passato prossimo basics (auxiliary choice: essere vs avere)
- Articles + gender/plural agreement
- Common prepositions (di, a, da, in, con, su, per)
- Simple pronouns (mi/ti/lo/la)
B1 checklist
- Imperfetto basics + contrast with passato prossimo
- Future tense (futuro semplice)
- Direct object pronouns (lo/la/li/le) + common placement
- Indirect object pronouns (mi/ti/gli/le/ci/vi)
- Common connectors: però, quindi, perché, inoltre, per questo motivo
- Comparatives/superlatives (più… di / il più…)
B2 checklist
- Conditional (present) + politeness (vorrei, potrei, dovrebbe)
- Congiuntivo basics (common triggers + correct forms of essere/avere/fare)
- Combined pronouns (me lo, te la, glielo…)
- Relative pronouns (che, cui, il quale)
- Passive voice basics
- Advanced connectors: tuttavia, nonostante, inoltre, di conseguenza
The “point killers”
These are the categories that quietly destroy scores:
| Category | What it looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Verb tense choice | mixing imperfetto/passato prossimo randomly | learn decision rules + drill contrasts |
| Agreement | il ragazza, una problema | slow down and check gender/plural |
| Prepositions | a/in confusion (a Roma vs in Italia) | memorize high-frequency location rules |
| Pronoun placement | lo voglio vedere / voglio vederlo errors | practice modals + pronouns patterns |
| Connectors | writing that is just sentences with “e” | add 5–10 connectors and reuse them |
If you want a simple weekly routine: pick one tense, one pronoun topic, and one writing template — then drill them until they’re automatic.