Word Order and Sentence Building

The standard sentence structure in Sicilian is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), similar to English.

This means you typically start with who is doing the action, follow with the action itself, and end with who or what is receiving the action.

However, Sicilian is more flexible than English. For emphasis, speakers often move the object to the beginning of the sentence or place the verb at the end, especially in emotional or poetic contexts.

Subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending reveals the person.

Unlike English, where you must say "I eat," in Sicilian, saying Manciu is sufficient because the -u ending already indicates "I".

You only include the subject pronoun (like Jo for I) when you want to emphasize exactly who is doing the action.

Making Positive Statements

Forming affirmative sentences is straightforward once you know the verb.

You simply place the subject (if needed) before the conjugated verb.

Adjectives usually follow the noun they describe, unlike in English where they come before.

For example, "a red car" is na machina russa (a car red).

Examples:

Jo sugnu sicilianu. (I am Sicilian.)

Tu si ntilligenti. (You are intelligent.)

A casa è granni. (The house is big.)

U mari è blu. (The sea is blue.)

Àju un cani. (I have a dog.)

Vulemu manciari. (We want to eat.)

Iḍḍi sunnu felici. (They are happy.)

U suli splenni. (The sun shines.)

Making Negative Statements

Negation in Sicilian is simple: place nun or un directly before the verb.

Nun is the full form, while un is the more common, casual form used in rapid speech. Unlike English, you do not need an auxiliary verb like "do" (e.g., "I do not eat" becomes simply "I not eat").

A key feature of Sicilian is negative concord. When negative words like "nothing" (nenti) or "nobody" (nuḍḍu) follow the verb, they normally occur with nun before the verb.

A common structure is: Nun + Verb + Negative Word.

Examples:

Nun manciu carni. (I do not eat meat.)

Iḍḍu nun dormi. (He is not sleeping.)

Nun capisciu. (I do not understand.)

Nun avemu tempu. (We do not have time.)

Nun vaju a scola. (I am not going to school.)

Maria nun voli nenti. (Maria does not want anything.)

Nun viju nenti. (I do not see anything – Lit: I not see nothing.)

Nun c'è nuḍḍu. (There is nobody – Lit: There is not nobody.)

Iḍḍu un sapi nenti. (He knows nothing.)

Nun è pussibili. (It is not possible.)

Un mi piaci. (I do not like it.)

Nun lu vogghiu. (I do not want it.)

Nun parru ngrisi. (I do not speak English.)

Nun àju sordi. (I have no money.)

Forming Questions

Yes/No Question Formation

In Sicilian, turning a statement into a Yes/No question is primarily done through intonation. You simply raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the sentence.

Unlike English, which uses "Do" or "Does" (e.g., "Do you eat?"), Sicilian uses the exact same word order as a statement. Sometimes, for emphasis, the subject can be placed at the very end of the sentence.

Examples:

Manci a pasta? (Do you eat pasta? / Are you eating pasta?)

È veru? (Is it true?)

Siti pronti? (Are you all ready?)

Capisci? (Do you understand?)

Iḍḍu veni? (Is he coming?)

Veni iḍḍu? (Is he coming? – Emphasis on he.)

Ti piaci? (Do you like it? – Lit: Does it please you?)

Dormunu? (Are they sleeping?)

Aviti sordi? (Do you have money?)

Fa friddu? (Is it cold?)

Si sicilianu? (Are you Sicilian?)

Ài fami? (Are you hungry?)

Wh-Questions

"Wh-questions" (Who, What, Where, When, Why, Which) require specific question words placed at the beginning of the sentence. The verb usually follows immediately after the question word.

Note that Chi can mean both "What" and "Who" depending on the dialect, but Cu is specifically "Who". Common question words include Chi (What), Cu (Who), Unni (Where), Quannu (When), Picchì (Why), and Quali (Which).

Examples:

Chi fai? (What are you doing?)

Cu è? (Who is it?)

Unni vai? (Where are you going?)

Quannu arrivi? (When do you arrive?)

Picchì ridi? (Why are you laughing?)

Quali voi? (Which one do you want?)

Cu cui si? (Who are you with?)

Unni è u bagnu? (Where is the bathroom?)

Chi voli iḍḍu? (What does he want?)

Cu ci va? (Who goes there?)

Unni abbiti? (Where do you live?)

Quannu partiti? (When do you all leave?)

How-Questions

Questions asking "How" or "How much/many" are formed using Comu and Quantu. These are placed at the beginning of the sentence, just like Wh- questions.

Comu is used to ask about the manner, condition, or state of something. Quantu is used to ask about quantity or price, and it changes its ending to agree with the noun it modifies if it functions as an adjective (e.g., quantu, quanta, quanti).

Examples:

Comu si chiama? (What is his/her name? – Lit: How is he/she called?)

Comu stai? (How are you?)

Quantu costa? (How much does it cost?)

Comu si dici? (How do you say it?)

Quantu anni ài? (How old are you? – Lit: How many years do you have?)

Comu u fici? (How did he/she do it?)

Quantu pani voi? (How much bread do you want?)

Comu jemu ḍḍà? (How do we go there?)

Quantu sordi ài? (How much money do you have?)

Comu ti senti? (How do you feel?)

Quantu tempu ci voli? (How much time does it take?)

Comu è u tempu? (How is the weather?)

Nouns: Gender and Number

In Sicilian, every noun has a gender: masculine or feminine.

There is no "neutral" gender for objects; a table is feminine, while a book is masculine.

Knowing the gender is crucial because it affects the articles and adjectives you use with the noun.

Masculine nouns typically end in -u. For example: libbru (book), gattu (cat – male).

Feminine nouns typically end in -a. For example: casa (house), jurnata (day), gatta (cat – female).

Nouns ending in -i can be either masculine or feminine and must be memorized (e.g., patri – father/masc, matri – mother/fem).

Plurals in Sicilian are relatively easy compared to Italian. Most nouns, regardless of whether they are masculine or feminine, end in -i in the plural. Masculine -u changes to -i, and feminine -a changes to -i.

Examples:

Omu (Man – Masculine) -> Òmini (Men)

Fimmina (Woman – Feminine) -> Fimmini (Women)

Amicu (Friend – Male) -> Amici (Friends)

Amica (Friend – Female) -> Amichi (Friends – Female group)

Cani (Dog – Masc) -> Cani (Dogs – Invariant ending)

Celu (Sky – Masc) -> Celi (Skies)

Porta (Door – Fem) -> Porti (Doors)

Manu (Hand – Fem irregular) -> Manu (Hands)

Beḍḍu (Beautiful – Masc) -> Beḍḍi (Beautiful – Plural)

Notti (Night – Fem) -> Notti (Nights)

Articles and Determiners

Articles define the noun and must match its gender and number.

Sicilian uses definite articles (the) and indefinite articles (a/an).

In DOS24 orthography, established shortened definite articles are written without an apostrophe.

Definite Articles (The): Masculine Singular: Lu (short form: u), Feminine Singular: La (short form: a), Plural (Masc & Fem): Li (short form: i). Before a vowel: L' (for both genders).

Indefinite Articles (A/An): Masculine: Un (or Nu), Feminine: Na (short for Una).

Examples:

U patri (The father)

A matri (The mother)

I picciriḍḍi (The children)

Un libbru (A book)

Na casa (A house)

L'amicu (The friend)

L'ura (The hour/time)

Un jornu (A day)

Na fimmina (A woman)

U mari (The sea)

Practice Section

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in each blank with the correct word, letter, or form based on what you learned.

1- To say "The house" in Sicilian using the shortened article, you write ___________ casa.

2- The plural of the masculine noun "amicu" (friend) is amic_.

True/False

Read each statement carefully and decide if it is True or False.

1- Sicilian sentence order is strictly fixed and never changes for emphasis.

2- Most masculine and feminine nouns end in "-i" when they become plural.

Translation

Translate each English phrase or sentence into Sicilian.

1- I do not eat meat.

2- The house is big.

3- Who is he?