Reach Italian B1
20 weeks · 3 milestones
Hold spontaneous conversations on everyday topics in Italian. Unlike app-based learning, every milestone requires proof of real human communication — not a score on an app.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Italian B1 grammar centres on the congiuntivo presente — Italian's subjunctive, which is triggered more broadly and consistently than in Spanish or French. The governing rule is the subject-switch test: when the main clause and subordinate clause have different subjects AND the main verb expresses opinion, belief, hope, or doubt, use subjunctive (penso che lui vada — 'I think he's going'). When the subject is the same, use the infinitive (penso di andare — 'I think I'll go'). This distinction is the heart of Italian B1. Also consolidate: condizionale presente (vorrei, potrei, dovrei — polite requests and hypotheticals) and futuro semplice (andrò, verrò — predictions and scheduled future events). Recognise passato remoto in reading and listening: used in Southern Italian conversation and in all written/literary Italian for completed remote events.
Proof required
Write 10 Italian sentences labelled by type: (1–3) congiuntivo presente with different-subject trigger (penso che, spero che, è importante che), (4–5) same-subject equivalent using infinitive (penso di, spero di — to demonstrate you know when NOT to use subjunctive), (6–8) condizionale presente (vorrei, potrei, dovrei in real contexts), (9–10) futuro semplice (andrò, verrò — with a time expression). Record yourself reading sentences 1–8 aloud.
What gets checked
- The subject-switch test is applied correctly — the 3 subjunctive sentences have genuinely different subjects in main and subordinate clauses; the 2 infinitive sentences correctly avoid subjunctive when the subject is the same
- Condizionale forms are distinct from future and present forms — dovrei (I should) vs. dovrò (I will have to) vs. devo (I must) are three different structures; mixing condizionale with futuro is the most common B1 confusion
- The 8 recorded sentences are delivered at B1 fluency — hesitations and self-corrections are expected, but the core structures are produced, not read haltingly as if seeing them for the first time