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Italian L2 and the rules that you don’t learn at schoolA number of topics in Italian L2 grammar are notoriously difficult to acquire, even for students with an overall good level of proficiency. Some constructions are clearly ungrammatical; others sound odd and betray a non-native use of the form. This paper examines two of such examples − the use of definite determiners with plural nouns in (preverbal) subject position and the alternation of null and overt subject pronouns − and it compares and combines insights from generative grammar and rules of normative grammar taught in school. The aim of this approach is twofold: First, to understand why these constructions may be difficult to acquire for a second language learner. Second, to encourage awareness about variation in language and to provide new insights for second language teaching. Normal 0 21 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:0cm; mso-para-margin-left:17.85pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-indent:-17.85pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}