CEFR B2 in Italian: what you can do

At B2 you are an independent user. You can follow complex texts and discussions, speak with enough fluency to talk with native speakers without strain on either side, and write clear, detailed text on a wide range of topics. B2 is often the level required for studying at an Italian university.

What you can do

Understand the main ideas of complex text on concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in your field.
Interact with native speakers with a degree of fluency and spontaneity.
Produce clear, detailed text on many subjects and explain a point of view with the advantages and disadvantages.
Follow most films, news and podcasts, even with some regional accents.

A quick self-check

You are probably at B2 if you can do most of these:

Argue a position and respond to counter-arguments in a discussion.
Use the subjunctive after credo che, spero che, è importante che without stopping to think.
Read a newspaper article and summarise it.
Understand a talk or a lecture on a familiar subject.

Typical grammar at B2

The subjunctive

The subjunctive appears in subordinate clauses after verbs of opinion, doubt, wish and emotion, and after expressions like è necessario che, sebbene, affinché, prima che. Examples: Penso che tu abbia ragione. Spero che arrivi in tempo.

Tense	Example
Present subjunctive	Credo che lui parli bene.
Past subjunctive	Credo che lui abbia parlato bene.
Imperfect subjunctive	Pensavo che lui parlasse bene.
Pluperfect subjunctive	Pensavo che lui avesse parlato bene.

Conditional sentences

Italian has three types:

Real: Se piove, resto a casa.
Possible: Se avessi tempo, viaggerei di più. (imperfect subjunctive + conditional)
Impossible: Se avessi studiato, avrei passato l'esame. (pluperfect subjunctive + past conditional)

The passive and the si constructions

The passive uses essere or venire: Il libro è stato scritto da Eco. The impersonal si is very common: In Italia si mangia tardi.

Relative pronouns and linking words

Che, cui, il quale, ciò che and linking words such as tuttavia, quindi, inoltre, nonostante build longer, more precise sentences.

The passato remoto

Recognise it in reading, even if you rarely say it. It appears in novels and history: Dante nacque a Firenze nel 1265.

Vocabulary themes

Politics, economics and current events
Science, technology and the environment
Arts, literature and cinema
Abstract concepts and opinions
Formal and informal registers

What you may find hard

The subjunctive in speech. Choosing the correct tense without a pause is a skill that takes months.
Register. Knowing when to be formal or casual, and the cultural weight of Lei and tu.
Dialects and accents. An Italian from Naples, Milan or Sicily may sound quite different.

The exams

CELI 3 and CILS B2 are the standard proof of upper-intermediate Italian for universities and many employers.

How to practise at this level

Read a newspaper such as la Repubblica or Il Post regularly, watch Italian series with Italian subtitles and write short essays. Then look at C1.