C‘is a moment in which Italian, a language that we love to define as “the most beautiful in the world”, it stops being a melody and becomes a stumbling block. This is what often happens when faced with a hastily written message, a work email or even on television. It’s not just a perception: an investigation released by Let’s booka digital cultural platform that has been telling and promoting the beauty of language and reading for years, has put down in black and white what are the eight most frequent grammatical errors made by Italians.
Poor Italian language: the apostrophe, enemy number one
According to the analysis of the community that gives voice to “cultural consumers”, the greatest enemy of Italians is the apostrophe: 71% of Italians stumble upon the graphic sign as small as it is fundamental. That quotation mark that truncates a word, in fact, decides the credibility of a sentence: in “a friend” it is needed, in “a friend” it is not. It seems easy, at least when it comes to male and female. But when it comes to “which is it”? Does the apostrophe fit or not? No spoilers. But 65% of Italians are wrong. The apostrophe, therefore, is a small detail, but it distinguishes those who master the language from those who use it more lightly.
The subjunctive, cross and delight
In second place, with 69%, there is the subjunctive. “I hope you come” it is a phrase that cannot be heard and, instead, is heard everywhere. The correct form is “I hope you come”. Libreriamo underlines how the subjunctive is not a professor’s quirk, but that it exists because it serves to express something precise: possibility, desire, doubt. Yet, even on talk shows, it is sacrificed on the altar of haste.
“Pultanto” and “propio”: Italians don’t like R
Furthermore, 52% confuse the spelling of two very common words: “unfortunately” and “proper”. In chats and posts on social media they often appear as “pultutto” or “propio”. Errors that arise from pronunciation, but which we cannot afford in writing. Even the euphonious “d”, the small consonant that is added to make the sentence more harmonious, is not liked: 48% use it incorrectly. But the rule is clear: it is used only if the next word begins with the same vowel. Saying “and it is” is fine, but “and today” is not, it is an excess. 45%, then, stumble upon the adjective “enthusiastic”. Many change the final vowel if it is masculine. But it’s not done: even if we’re talking about a man, the correct form remains “enthusiastic”. In the plural, however, the distinction returns: “enthusiastic” for the masculine, “enthusiastic” for the feminine.
The beauty of Italian is damaged by incorrect apostrophes and forgotten subjunctives (Getty Images)
Punctuation, forgotten queen
Also punctuation suffers harassment and not by a few: 42% of Italians use it as if it were an optional. Randomly placed commas, semicolons used as decorations. In reality, each sign has a precise function: the comma gives rhythm, the colon introduces explanations or lists, the semicolon separates similar concepts. In the end, 38% make mistakes with personal pronouns. “I told her she was very good” is a common phrase, but if referring to a woman the correct pronoun is “le”, “I told her she was very good”.
The Italian language requires care
Libreriamo’s investigation reminds us that Italian, despite being a fascinating language, is also a difficult language, with complex grammar and syntax. This is why it requires attention. Furthermore, the most frequent errors are often not signs of ignorance, but of habit and distraction. Recognizing them and correcting them simply means restoring dignity to our words. It’s not about becoming inflexible grammarians, but about remembering an apostrophe in the right place can tell much more than we imagine.