Italian in five ideas
1. Articles change with the next sound
il libro, lo studente, l'amico, la casa; plural i libri, gli studenti, le case.
2. Double consonants matter
pala (shovel) and palla (ball) are different words. Hold the double consonant a moment longer.
3. The verb tells you who
parlo (I speak), parli (you speak), parla (he/she speaks) — the pronoun is usually dropped.
4. Two helpers for the past
ho mangiato (I ate) with avere; sono andato (I went) with essere — and with essere the participle agrees: sono andata.
5. Stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable
casa, parlare, italiano. When it falls on the last, it is written: città, perché.
Practise it with someone
Your Italian partner writes to you first — about their own day, with photographs from wherever they are — and what you got wrong comes back struck through, with the right version beside it.