🔎 Where did all the subjects go?

This guessing game series, Indovina un po' ("Guess a little"), is full of everyday Italian—but if you're new to the language, something may seem strange.

You'll hear lots of sentences that seem to have no subject at all.

💡News flash: in Italian, words like I, you, he, she, we, and they are often left out.

But don't worry—the subject hasn't disappeared. It's hiding inside the verb.

The ending of the verb tells Italians who is doing the action. It takes a little while to get used to, but these guessing game videos are excellent practice because you'll hear this pattern over and over again until it starts to sound natural.

banner2 PLACEHOLDER

Notice that in the following example, there is one word in Italian that represents two words in English!

È un animale molto grande. Cammina molto lentamente. Ha orecchie enormi ed è grigio. Ha una proboscide molto lunga e grossa e vive sempre in gruppo.

It is a very large animal. He walks very slowly. He has huge ears and is gray. He has a very long and thick trunk, and always lives in groups.

Captions 5-9, Indovina un po' EP 2

 Play Caption

 

❓So how does this work?

Let's take the verb fare (to do, to make).

At first, we mention the person:

Roberto fa i compiti dopo scuola.
Roberto does his homework after school.

Now we want to keep talking about Roberto.

In English, we naturally switch from the name to a pronoun.

He does his homework right after school.

Italian can do that too.

Lui fa i compiti subito dopo scuola.
He does his homework right after school.

➡️ Notice: We included lui here to compare Italian with English. In everyday Italian, speakers often go straight from Roberto fa... to Fa..., without using the pronoun at all. In other words, once everyone knows we're talking about Roberto, Italian usually drops the pronoun.

Fa i compiti subito dopo scuola.
He does his homework right after school.

The verb ending -a already tells us we're talking about he, she, or it, so there's no need to repeat the subject. But the translation includes the pronoun!

Now let's follow Elena and add some different verbs.

Elena fa i compiti la sera.
Elena does her homework in the evening.

Ascolta la musica mentre studia.
She listens to music while she studies.

Usa le cuffie.
She uses headphones.

Così fa qualche errore, ma è più contenta.
That way she makes a few mistakes, but she's happier.

Once we've established who we're talking about, Italian lets the verbs carry the story.

And what about Indovina un po'?

In these videos, Marika is describing a mystery object, animal, flower, food, or place.

She never tells you what it is (until the end) — that's your job!

Instead, she gives you one clue after another:

È verde.
It's green.

Ha due lenti.
It has two lenses.

Lo usiamo per mangiare.
We use it for eating.

Può essere singolo o matrimoniale.
It can be single or double.

➡️ There isn't even a separate word for it as a subject in Italian. Instead, the verb itself changes to match the person or thing being described.

As you listen, you'll naturally get used to Italian sentences where the subject is understood without being stated.

🎧 Listen for -iamo

One ending that's especially easy to hear is -iamo, which indicates we.

You'll hear it again and again:

• Dormiamo (we sleep)
• Mangiamo (we eat)
• Usiamo (we use)
• Portiamo (we wear / we carry)

Whenever you hear -iamo, you've already found the subject (noi - we).

Usiamo questo mobile per conservare i vestiti.

We use this piece of furniture to store clothes.

Captions 27-28, Indovina un po' EP 4

 Play Caption

 

➡️ As you watch and listen:

Don't worry if you don't understand every word.

Instead, listen for words and verb endings that keep coming back. Piano piano, your ears will begin to recognize them.

See if you can recognize who is doing the action—even when nobody says I, she, we, or they.

Little by little, this very Italian way of speaking will begin to sound completely natural.

Thanks for reading. Write to us at [email protected]

banner6 PLACEHOLDER