| la madre | mother | Mia madre cucina molto bene. My mother cooks very well. |
| Possessive 'mia' drops article before singular family nouns. 'cucina' = present tense 3rd person of cucinare. |
| il padre | father | Mio padre lavora in una banca. My father works at a bank. |
| Possessive 'mio' without article before singular family noun. 'in una banca' = preposition + indefinite article. |
| il figlio | son | Suo figlio ha tre anni. Her son is three years old. |
| 'Suo' = his/her possessive, no article before singular family noun. 'ha tre anni' = Italian uses 'avere' (to have) for age. |
| la figlia | daughter | Mia figlia va a scuola. My daughter goes to school. |
| 'va' = irregular present of andare (3rd sg). 'a scuola' = no article after 'a' in fixed expressions. |
| il fratello | brother | Mio fratello vive a Milano. My brother lives in Milan. |
| 'vive' = present 3rd sg of vivere. 'a Milano' = preposition 'a' before city names (no article). |
| la sorella | sister | Mia sorella studia medicina. My sister studies medicine. |
| 'studia' = present 3rd sg of studiare. No article before 'medicina' when referring to the field of study. |
| la nonna | grandmother | Mia nonna fa la torta migliore. My grandmother makes the best cake. |
| 'fa' = irregular present 3rd sg of fare. 'migliore' = comparative/superlative of buono (better/best). |
| la famiglia | family | La famiglia si riunisce la domenica. The family gets together on Sunday. |
| 'si riunisce' = reflexive verb riunirsi, 3rd sg present. 'la domenica' = article for habitual days. |
| il marito | husband | Suo marito è molto gentile. Her husband is very kind. |
| 'Suo' = possessive (his/her), no article before singular family noun. 'gentile' = invariable adjective. |
| la moglie | wife | Mia moglie lavora in una scuola. My wife works at a school. |
| 'moglie' = irregular feminine noun. 'in una scuola' = preposition 'in' + indefinite article. |
| il bambino | child / baby | Il bambino gioca con la palla. The child plays with the ball. |
| 'gioca' = present 3rd sg of giocare. 'con la palla' = preposition 'con' + definite article. |
| l'acqua | water | Mi dai un bicchiere d'acqua? Can you give me a glass of water? |
| 'Mi dai' = indirect pronoun 'mi' + present 2nd sg of dare. 'd'acqua' = contraction of 'di acqua'. |
| il pane | bread | Compro pane fresco ogni mattina. I buy fresh bread every morning. |
| 'Compro' = present 1st sg of comprare. No article before 'pane' when used generically. |
| il latte | milk | Bevo latte a colazione. I drink milk at breakfast. |
| 'Bevo' = present 1st sg of bere (irregular). 'a colazione' = no article in fixed meal expressions. |
| il caffè | coffee | Ho bisogno di un caffè adesso. |
| 'Ho bisogno di' = idiomatic expression using avere (to have need of). 'caffè' = invariable noun, accent on final -è. |
| il tè | tea | Preferisci tè o caffè la mattina? Do you prefer tea or coffee in the morning? |
| 'Preferisci' = present 2nd sg of preferire (-isc- verbs). 'la mattina' = article for habitual time. |
| la carne | meat | Non mangio carne, sono vegetariano. I don't eat meat, I'm vegetarian. |
| 'Non mangio' = negation before verb, present 1st sg. No article before 'carne' as general concept. |
| il pollo | chicken | Preparo il pollo per cena. I'm preparing chicken for dinner. |
| 'Preparo' = present 1st sg of preparare. 'per cena' = no article in fixed meal expressions. |
| il pesce | fish | Il pesce è molto fresco oggi. The fish is very fresh today. |
| 'fresco' = masculine adjective agreeing with 'il pesce'. 'molto' = adverb modifying adjective. |
| la frutta | fruit | Mangio frutta tutti i giorni. |
| 'frutta' = collective feminine singular noun. 'tutti i giorni' = masculine plural article + noun. |