Sports and exercise
Sport ed esercizio fisico
- Learn the sports
- Talk about the sports you practice
- The adverbs of frequency: sempre, spesso, mai
Learn Italian adverbs of frequency like sempre (always), spesso (often), and mai (never) through practical sentences about sports activities such as giocare a calcio (play soccer) and fare esercizio (exercise). This lesson helps you talk naturally about how often you practice sports.
Vocabulary (14) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the words into the two correct categories based on the type of sport or physical activity.
Sport individuali
Sport di squadra
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
L'atletica
Athletics
2
Il nuoto
Swimming
3
Allenarsi
To train
4
La palestra
The gym
5
Il pugilato
Boxing
Esercizio 5: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- Name the type of sport and say if you do it as a team (or a pair) or alone. (Name the type of sport and say if you do it as a team (or a pair) or alone.)
- Do you do sports? How often? (Do you do sports? How often?)
- Do you like to watch sports? (Do you like to watch sports?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
La pallavolo è uno sport di squadra. Volleyball is a teamsport. |
|
Il nuoto è uno sport individuale. Swimming is an individual sport. |
|
Come sport pratico la boxe. As sports I do boxing. |
|
Mi piace giocare a tennis. Gioco a tennis ogni mercoledì e sabato. I like to play tenis. I play tenis every Wednesday and Saturday. |
|
Non mi piace guardare lo sport. Mi stanco. I do not like to watch sports. I get tired. |
|
Mi piace guardare le partite di basket. I like to watch basketball games. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Di solito ___ esercizio in palestra dopo il lavoro.
(Usually ___ exercise at the gym after work.)2. Spesso ___ le partite di tennis con i miei amici.
(I often ___ tennis matches with my friends.)3. Non ___ mai perso una gara di atletica.
(I have never ___ lost an athletics race.)4. Qualche volta ___ vinto il campionato di pallacanestro.
(Sometimes ___ won the basketball championship.)Exercise 8: Training and soccer matches
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Vincere - To win
Presente
- io vinco
- tu vinci
- lui/lei vince
- noi vinciamo
- voi vincete
- loro vincono
Perdere - To lose
Passato prossimo
- io ho perso
- tu hai perso
- lui/lei ha perso
- noi abbiamo perso
- voi avete perso
- loro hanno perso
Allenarsi - To train oneself
Presente
- io mi alleno
- tu ti alleni
- lui/lei si allena
- noi ci alleniamo
- voi vi allenate
- loro si allenano
Fare - To do
Presente
- io faccio
- tu fai
- lui/lei fa
- noi facciamo
- voi fate
- loro fanno
Exercise 9: Gli avverbi di frequenza: sempre, spesso, mai
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The adverbs of frequency: sempre, spesso, mai
Show translation Show answersraramente, sempre, Ogni tanto, mai, spesso, qualche volta, ogni, Di solito
Grammar Share Copied!
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A1.40.1 Grammatica
Gli avverbi di frequenza: sempre, spesso, mai
The adverbs of frequency: sempre, spesso, mai
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Perdere to lose Share Copied!
Passato prossimo
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) ho perso/perduto | I lost |
| (tu) hai perso/perduto | You have lost |
| (lui/lei) ha perso/perduto | he/she lost |
| (noi) abbiamo perso/perduto | we lost |
| (voi) avete perso/perduto | you have lost |
| (loro) hanno perso/perduto | they lost |
Vincere to win Share Copied!
Presente
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) vinco | I win |
| (tu) vinci | You win |
| (lui/lei) vince | he/she wins |
| (noi) vinciamo | we win |
| (voi) vincevate / vincete | you win/you are winning |
| (loro) vincono | they win |
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Sports and Exercise in Italian: An A1 Level Guide
This lesson introduces you to basic vocabulary and expressions around sports and physical activities while focusing on the use of frequency adverbs. It is designed for beginner Italian learners (A1 level) to build foundational speaking and comprehension skills related to everyday health and sport topics.
Key Language Points
- Frequency adverbs - How often an activity is done: sempre (always), spesso (often), mai (never), di solito (usually), ogni tanto (sometimes)
- Common verbs related to sports and exercise: fare (to do/make), allenarsi (to train/work out), giocare (to play), andare (to go)
- Sports vocabulary including il calcio (soccer), il nuoto (swimming), il tennis, il pugilato (boxing), il ciclismo (cycling), and la pallacanestro (basketball)
How to Use Frequency Adverbs
Frequency adverbs typically appear before the main verb in Italian. For example, "Io faccio sempre esercizio" means "I always exercise." These adverbs help you express habits and routines.
Example Sentences
- Io faccio sempre esercizio in palestra dopo il lavoro.
- Di solito gioco a calcio con i miei amici il sabato.
- Tu ti alleni spesso o solo qualche volta?
- Non faccio mai pugilato perché preferisco il nuoto.
- Ogni tanto vado a correre al parco per restare in forma.
- Lui non perde mai una partita di tennis nel weekend.
Classifying Sports
You will also learn to categorize sports into individual sports like il ciclismo, il nuoto, il pugilato, il tennis and team sports like il calcio, la pallacanestro, and l'atletica.
Conversational Practice
Sample dialogues show how Italians discuss their sports activities and frequency naturally, helping you gain confidence in daily conversations. For instance,"Ciao! Fai sport spesso?" means "Hi! Do you play sports often?"
Important Verb Conjugations
Basic conjugations of verbs like fare, vincere, perdere, allenarsi are practiced to express actions related to sports in the present and past tenses.
Differences Between English and Italian in This Context
Italian uses frequency adverbs placed generally before the verb, as in "Io faccio sempre esercizio," whereas English commonly places them either before the main verb or auxiliary verbs. The reflexive verb allenarsi (to train oneself) has no direct equivalent in English and must be understood as "to train" with a reflexive pronoun. Sports terms like calcio can be confusing: it means "soccer" in Italian, not "football" as known in the USA. Common phrases include:
- Fare esercizio — to exercise
- Giocare a [sport] — to play [a sport]
- Allenarsi — to train/work out
- Andare in palestra — to go to the gym
- Non fare mai [activity] — never do [activity]
This content equips you with practical phrases and structures for talking about sports and fitness routines confidently in Italian.
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