Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 3
Io sono MikeI am Mike
Your first real sentences. The verb essere in the singular — sono, sei, è — says who you are; for your name there is the fixed phrase mi chiamo. And a surprise for many learners: Italian drops the pronoun. «Sono Mike» is already a complete sentence — the verb ending says who is speaking. Mike, a student learning Italian like you, introduces himself to Marco in just that way.
Dialogue
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Piacere!— Nice to meet you!
- MikeCiao! Sono Mike. Sono studente.Hi! I'm Mike. I'm a student.
- MarcoCiao, Mike! Piacere, Marco.Hi, Mike! Nice to meet you — Marco.
- MikePiacere! E tu?Nice to meet you! And you?
- MarcoIo? Sono barista.Me? I'm a barista.
Dialogue
i
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Piacere!— Nice to meet you!
- GiuliaBuongiorno! Sono Giulia. E tu?Good morning! I'm Giulia. And you?
- MikeBuongiorno! Mi chiamo Mike. Piacere!Good morning! My name is Mike. Nice to meet you!
- GiuliaPiacere! Tu sei barista?Nice to meet you! Are you a barista?
- MikeNo, non sono barista. Sono studente!No, I'm not a barista. I'm a student!
Vocabulary
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- io
pronounI
- essere
verbto be
- sono
verbI am
- sei
verbyou are
- è
verb(he/she/it) is
- non
adverbnot (before the verb)
- mi chiamo
phrasemy name is (lit. I call myself)
- nome
n.m.name
- studente / studentessa
n.m./n.f.student (m/f)
- barista
n.m./n.f.barista, bar worker (same form for m/f)
- piacere
phrasenice to meet you
- e
conjunctionand
Grammar
i
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essere in the singular: sono, sei, è
Explanation
One verb carries almost all the weight at the start: essere. In the singular it has three forms — sono (for «io»), sei (for «tu»), è (for one other person) — to state identity and profession: Sono Giulia. Sei studente? Marco è barista. Watch the accent: è (the verb) is not e (which joins two words). To say «no», just put non before the verb: Non sono studente. The plural forms arrive a few chapters from now — first we put these three to work.
Examples
- Sono Giulia.I am Giulia.
- Sei studente? No, non sono studente.Are you a student? No, I'm not a student.
- Giulia è studentessa.Giulia is a student.
- Giulia e Marco. Marco è barista.Giulia and Marco. Marco is a barista.
Grammar
i
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Mi chiamo — and the disappearing pronoun
Explanation
For your name, use the fixed phrase mi chiamo — literally «I call myself so». For now, learn it as a chunk; how it works inside comes much later. Mi chiamo Marco = Sono Marco. And this chapter's big rule: the verb ending already says who is speaking, so the pronoun usually DISAPPEARS. If in your language the subject is always there, «Sono Mike» can feel incomplete — it isn't: it is the normal sentence. Io and tu stay around for contrast or emphasis: tu sei studente, io sono barista.
Examples
- Mi chiamo Giulia.My name is Giulia.
- Sono Giulia.I'm Giulia.
- Sei Marco? Sì, sono Marco.Are you Marco? Yes, I'm Marco.
- Tu sei studente, io sono barista.YOU are a student, I am a barista.
- Sono Mike. Sono studente.I'm Mike. I'm a student.
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