· 22 lists · 872 words

Language and expression

The words for talking about words.

What holds these lists together

What you need once you stop just speaking and start talking about speech: the grammar of Italian in its own terms, the frame of an essay or a reply, and the language for retelling a story or a film. They belong together because they describe the same situation — a class, an exam, a conversation about a book. Italian grammar has words English learners rarely need at home. Il congiuntivo follows verbs of opinion, so «I think it’s true» is penso che sia vero; and il passato remoto is the tense of written narrative, rare in everyday speech in the north.

The 22 lists

B2Talking about languageThe words for describing the very material you are working through.46 words B2Writing and arguingThe phrases that hold a text together.28 words B2Storytelling, books and filmThe words you need in order to talk about a story.38 words C1Register and toneSaying the same thing formally, neutrally or off the cuff.38 words C1The language tripThree weeks in the country, and what they actually do for you.35 words C1Idiomatic phrasesImages you simply have to know — not one of them can be worked out.38 words C1Abstract conceptsCause, intention, precondition — the words that sit above the things themselves.39 words C1Verbs of sayingWho says something in what way — and what the verb itself asserts along with it.51 words C1Blame and responsibilityAttributing, exonerating, answering for — and by what standard.40 words C1Ethics and moralityThe words with which an argument about right and wrong is actually carried on.47 words C2Light, colour, surfaceWords for what you actually see, instead of bright and shiny.61 words C2SemioticsHow something comes to mean something else.23 words C2NarratologyWho is telling it, and how do they know?22 words C2LinguisticsSound, form, change — and the argument about what counts as correct.57 words C2Epigraphy and palaeographyHow to read what has been cut into stone or written on parchment.23 words C2LexicographyHow a dictionary is made, and what it cannot say.31 words C2Idioms: position and moveWhat you do when things get tight, put in pictures.47 words C2Noises and voicesWords for what is actually heard, instead of saying that a thing made a noise.46 words C2Translating and interpretingThe words for what gets decided between two languages.44 words C2Smell and tasteWords for two senses that have to get by on about five in everyday speech.40 words C2Presenting and dodgingWhat somebody does with a statement instead of simply making it.46 words C2Language acquisitionHow a second language actually gets in.32 words

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.

Level	Words	Share
B1	12	1 %
B2	117	13 %
C1	245	28 %
C2	498	57 %

Practise this category

Multiple choice and gaps, across all 22 lists and all 872 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.