Italian Grammar Made Easy (A Hodder Arnold Publication)

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Mike Zollo, Alan Wesson

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Introduction

1 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 Orders: please contact Bookpoint Ltd, 130 Milton Pork, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4SB. Telephone: (+441 01235 827720. Fox (+441 01235 400454. Lines ore open from 9 OOom to 6.00pm, Monday to Saturday, with o 24-hour messa g e answering service. You con also order through our website www . hoddereducotion.co.uk. If you hove any comments to make about this, or any of our other titles, please send them to educotionenquiries@hodder co uk British Library Coto/09uing in Publication Doto A catalogue record lor this title is available from the British library

ISBN-10 0 340 904 976 ISBN 1 3 978 0 340 904 978 First Edition Published 2005 Impression number 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Year Copyright © 2005 Mike Zollo, Alan Wesson All rig hts reserved No port of this publication may be reproduced or tronsmiHed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any inlormot1on stora g e or retrieval system, without permission in wnllng from the publ1sher or under licence from the Copynght L1censmg Agency L1m1ted Further deto1ls of such licences (lor reprogrophic reprodudionl may be obtained from the Copyright licensing Agency limited, of 90 Tottenhom Court Rood, London W1T 4LP All illustrations drown by Chris Blythe/Daedalus Studio Typeset in 10.5/12pt New Baskerville by Servis FilmseHing Ltd, Manchester Printed and bound m Mollo for Hodder Arnold, on imprint of Hodder Education, o member of the Hodder Headline Group, 338 Euston Rood, London NW1 3BH.

1 .2

1

Verbs Ta I king about what you do bout verb : what is the infinitive? Groups of verb I rregular verbs The 'per ons' of the verb Fast track: verb

4 5 7 8 10 12

Ta I king about what you are doing now: the present tense Talking about what you are doing at this moment: the pre ent continuou ten e Talking about your elf: io Talkjng to omeone younger or omeone you know well: tu Talking about someone or omething el e: lui/lei/Lei Talking ab u t your elf and someone el e: noi Talking to more t han one per on you know well: voi Talking about other people and things: loro/Loro Fast track: the pre en t tense

24 29 35 39 41 44

1 .3

Negatives, interrogatives and imperatives egative : how to ay what you don't do I nterrogatives: a king questions I m perative : giving order , direction or in truction Fast track: negative , interrogative and imp rative

50 50 50 52 60

1 .4

The past tenses The perfect tense: il fJassato prossimo How to form the past participle

62 63 67

1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 1.2.5 1.2.6 1.2.7 1.2.8

1.3.1 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.3.4

1.4.1 1.4.2

13 14 15

iv Ill ..

c

Q)

..

c 0 u

1.4.3 1.4.4 1.4.5 1.4.6 1.4.7 1.4.8

ReOexive verb i n t he perfect tense The imperfect ten e: when to use it How to form the imperfect ten e Perfect or imperfect? The pa t defi nite ten e: il passalo reuwlo Fast track: the past ten e

72 74 74 77 78 0

1 .5

The future tense and the conditional . The future tense: ' I will ... . The conditional: ' I would ... How to form the conditional Fast track: the future and conditional

81 82 86 86 89

1 .6

1.6.1 1.6.2 1.6.3 1.6.4

The subjunctive How to form the subjunctive Expressions which take the subjunctive Recognising t he subjunctive Fast t rack: the subjunctive

90 91 93 94 95

1 .7

Other tenses

96

1 .8

Fast track: verbs

1.5.1 1.5.2 1.5.3 1.5.4

97

2.2

1.9.1 1.9.2 1.9.3 1.9.4 1.9.5 1.9.6 1.9.7 1.9.8 1.9.9 1.9.10 1.9.11 1.9.12

Useful expressions using verbs Essere and sta·re 'There is/are ' : c'e, ri sono 'To have': special uses of avere 'To know': safJere or ronoscere? Imper onal verbs ' Back-to-fron t ' verb 'To take ' , 'to bring' and 'to look for/fetch/meet' a person 'To reme mber ' and 'to forge t' egative expressions Question words and word order ince', 'ago', and 'to have just ': da, fa and afJjmut Fast track: more on avere and other u eful verbs •

99 100 I OJ I0 L

1 04 1 05 106 1 07 1 07 108 1 10 1II I 12

1 14

2.2.1

Nouns and the words for 'the': if, Ia etc. ingular nouns

1 15 I 15

2.3

Nouns i n the plura l : i, gli, and /e

I 16

2.4

Nouns and the word for 'a ' : un, un ', uno and una

1 19

2. 5

How to tell if a noun is masculine or fem inine

121

2.6

How to say 'my', 'you' , 'his', 'her', etc. ' My': il mio, Ia mia, i miei, /e mie 'Your': il luo, la ltw, i luoi, lP lu.e ' I l is' and ' her': i/ suo, la sua, i s uoi, le sue 'Our': il110stro, la nostra, i nostri, /e nostre 'Your': il vostro, Ia vostra, i voslri, le vostre 'Their': il loro, la loro, i loro, le loro 'Your' ( formal ) : il uo, la sua, i s uoi, lP sue; il /oro,

1 23 1 23 1 24 1 25 1 26 1 26 1 27

la /oro, i loro, le loro

1 27 1 28

2.6.1 2.6.2 2.6.3 2.6.4 2.6.5 2.6.6 2.6.7

2.6.8

Fast track: nouns and determiners

2.7

More determiners 'This', 'these', 'that' and ' t hose': q ueslo/questa/quesli/

1 29

2.7.2

queste/qu.el/quello/que/la/que/1'/quei/quegli/quel/e ' I low much?', ' I low many?': q uanto/quanta/quanli/ quante?

1 29

2.7.3

' ome' , 'other', 'all', 'any', 'every', etc.

2.7.1

1 .9

v

2 Nouns and Determiners 2. 1 Nouns and gender

3 Pronouns 3. 1 lo, tu, Lei, lui, lei, esso/essa, 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 3.1.5 3.1.6 3.1.7 3.1.8 3.1.9

1 30 1 30

' I ' , you , 'h e , s h e , I

I

I

' it' : subject pronouns lo, ' 1 ' : fi rst per on singular Tu, 'you': second person singular, familiar form Lei, 'you': second per on singular, polite form Lui (egli), lei (ella), and esso/essa, 'h 'she', 'it': third person singular oi, 'we': first person plural Voi, 'you ' : second person plural, familiar form 1-oro, 'you': second person plural, polite form Loro, 'the ' : third per on plural Fast track: subject pronouns

I

I

1 33 1 34 1 34 1 34

·',

1 34 1 35 1 35 1 35 1 35 1 36

Ill ..

c

!

c 0 u

viii

6.3

Fast track: prepositions

1 76

"' ..

6.4

Other useful prepositions

1 77

0

6.5

Expressions of time

1 78

c:: � .. c:: u

7 Coniunctions and other useful words

1 79

Verb Tables

1 80

Answers

1 92

Italian Grammar Made Easy is an I talian grammar workbook aimed at adult non-linguists, that i adults with some rudimentary knowledge of I talian, who do not necessarily know anything about grammar, but need to learn about it so they can progress beyond phrascbook I talian.

In the pa t, grammar ha been seen a· a barrier to language learning. I t has put more people ofT learning a language than it has helped. Becau e of the way grammar has been portrayed, students were often made to feel that only tho e who could master 'conjugation ' and 'declensions' could learn a language. In fact, you can drive a car without mastering the principles of the internal combustion engine but if you do learn where to put the oil and how to check the tyrc and fill up the wind creen wash, it docs help! Gr Crammatica D. Aust with M. Zollo, 1 997/2000, 2nd edition. An intera Live

0-ROM ac ompanies thi book for u e with a P . The 0-ROM contains exerci es from the book. Most exercises are recorded so that you can li ·ten to a native speaker saying the sentence and there is a 'click on' facility to allow you to read t he English t ranslation. There i al o orne additional listening material which provide a u cful re ource and brings the language to life.

2

A sim ple guide to the parts of speech

c 0 '.0: u :::t

� ..

The most useful categories o r word t o recognise arc:

c

1

the new house, t he red car, a tiny flat, a wet day, a busy secretary

Verbs- 'doing' words

5

I am going to I taly. My friend booked the flight. I am going to a meeting. to

a k questions

and to give instructions. Fetch it! Slow down! HeljJ me! Wa it!

Verb u ually present the mo t problems, so the section dealing with t hem is the longest one and come fi rst in the book.

2

Noun -'naming' word oun are the words which tell you: •

•

3

what something is: a timetable, a train, a station, a town, a secret who omeonc is: a teward, a bank clerk, a baker, a student

Pronoun Pronouns are words which ' tand in' for a noun. ignor Bianchi i I talian. ignor Bianchi lives in Rome. I nstead of repeating Signor Bianchi, you can say he. ignor Bianchi is Italian. He lives in Rome. In the ame way, you can say she instead of r peating Marisa in the following sentence. Marietta works in Piombino. She work at the ferry port. These arc also pronouns: /, you, it, one, we, tluy,

Prepo itions Prcpo iLion arc words which usually tell you where omcthing is, e.g. in, undr>r, on. Words such as to, for, with, and without arc al o prepositions.

Have you seen the film? Are you all right? 000

He runs fast. She eats slowly. It come naturally! 6

000

Adverb Adverbs are word which usually describe a verb, e.g. they describe how something is done. They often answer the que L ion How ? and in English they often end in -ly.

Verbs tell you what someone or something is doing.

You also use them

Adjective djectivc are 'de cribing' words. They are used to describe som thing or omeone.

If you know what verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, etc. are, go on to 1. 1 .

.,

4

me,

us, them.

3 c 0 ·.o: u :::t

.,

�

..

c

1 .1.1

About verbs : what is the infinitive?

...... ......

If you know what the infinitive is, go on to 1. 1 .2.

When you look up a verb in a dictionary, you will find the infinitive form of it listed first. This is t he 'name' of the verb.

a bout what you do

I n English, the infinitive consists of 'to' + verb, e.g. 'to eat ', ' to build', 'to pain t ' .

I f you know what a verb is, g o on to 1 . 1 . 1 .

Here are some Italian infinitives. You probably know some of t hem already or can gue s what they mean.

You use a verb to talk about what someone or something does, i doing, has done, or intends to do or is being, has been or intends to be. A verb can be called a doing or being word.

m

porlore b preporore c orgonizzore d entrore e vioggiore f portore g controllore h invilore i lovare j studiore a

To find out if a word is a verb ask yourself if someone could do it. I

Which of these words are things you can do? f computer g behind h red

a walk

b

trainers

c shout

d

invent

j

e loud

listen before

Which of the ital icized words arc being used as verbs? b

to study to look at/check to invite to prepare to speak to carry/take/wear to organi e to

enter

-are

verbs because their

jJiay at the local theatre.

They will jJlay the leading parts.

c They wor11 during the day in an omcc.

d

to t ravel

Try to look for similarities between Italian and English. Some ore obvious: for example enlrore means to enter. Others ore less obvious, such as vioggiore which means to travel (or to go on a voyage); another is control/ore meaning to check, similar to the ideo of 'control', which is of course another meaning for this verb. Don't be afraid to try out these little 'leaps of faith', thinking around the areas of possible meaning: your guesses will usually be correct.

Ask: Are they 'doing' it? If they ore it is a verb.

a .Jack and .Jill arc to appear in a

to wash

These are usually refe rred to as infinitive form ends in -are.

Some words can be used as verbs and nouns or adjectives. e.g. ' Drink' can be a drink in a cup or part of the verb 'to drink'.

II

ee how many you can match up with their English counterparts:

The Italian infinitive is often used to give commands, especially on public notices, and especially when telling people not to do something:

After worl1 they go to rehearsals.

e Tonight they arc having a meeting to discuss the production.

f They are mer'ling in the thcau·c bar. g They need to discuss finance. h Local sponsors usually Jincmce the productions.

i

The producer 1·eports that t h is t i me there will be no sponsorship.

j

According to newspaper refJorls the sponsors have gone bankrupt.

Aprire con attenzione. Vietoto colpestore l'erba. IV

Open carefully Don't walk on the grass!

Here are some more -are verbs. How many of them do you know already? They all have to do with food and eating. Try to pair t hem off correctly with their meanings in English.

5 Ill ..a ..

�

a cucinore b cenore c spruzzore d congelore e sgelore f brasore g versore h tagliare mangiore j pranzare k mescolare

6

Ill ..0 ..

Q)

>

to sprinkle to thaw

1 . 1 .2 Groups of verbs Group 2:

Group 3:

to mix

-are verbs

-ere verbs

-ire verbs

to dine

porlore mongiore

prendere scrivere

dorm ire servire

Group

to eat

to lunch to cut to freeze

to pour

What do you think the I talian for these verbs would be? Cover up the I talian and see if you can work i t out, orjoin the correct pairs with a line. b

terminare valutare pubblicare navigore girore cominciore separare rubare continuore accettore

to accept

c lO separate

d

to eval uate

e to steal

f

to sail

g to publish h lO turn

j

to continue to end

Mast verbs based on a noun or an adjective, and based on words 'imported' from other languages, are ·ore verbs: pronzo film fox rischio

lunch lilm fax risk

pronzore Filmore foxore rischiore

Ill ..0 ..

fin ire preferire

to have lunch to lilm

to fax to risk

a

In English, we j ust have regular and irregular verbs. A verb like 'to dance' is regular: 'dance', 'dances', 'danced' , 'danced', and a verb like ' t o fly' i s irregular: ' fly', ' flies', 'flew', ' flown ' . As you have probably already noticed, I talian verbs are more complicated. I talian schoolchildren have to spend years learning all about I talian verbs, but we can find some shortcuts. I talian also has regular and irregular verbs, but we usually divide I talian regular verbs into three main groups to make them easier to learn, depending on whether t he infinitive ends in ( 1 ) -are, (2) -ere or (3) -ire; this last group ha two sub-groups, as we shall see later.

More than 50% of English words derive from Latin, as do more than 90% of Italian words; indeed, one could soy that Italian is modern Latin. Of course this means that if you don't know a verb, you can just say the English verb with an Italian accent: you have a 50% chance of being understood.

a to begin

1:

If you know how to find the 'stem' or 'root' of verb, go on to 1 . 1 .3.

to cook to braise

If you find it difficult to learn new words, try to find a 'hook' to hang them on: e.g. cucinore based on cucino - kitchen, which is like cuisine in French. Similarly, if you know togliotelle, which means pasta cut into strips, you can easily remember that togliore must be to cut.

V

7

The stem, or root, of the verb is that part which is left after you take off t he ending. I t is used in making the other parts of the verb which you use to tal k about the past and the future. VI

Which group does each verb belong to and what is its stem? ( Remember: take off the -are, -ere or -ire to find the stem. ) vendere b mostrore c conlare d so lire e Iavere f concludere g oscoltore h chiudere losciore j prendere k scegliere portare m tornare n venire 0 dorm ire a

to sell to show to si n g to go up to wash to end to listen to cl ose to leave

to take to choose

to carry, wear to return to come to sleep

(2) vend

�

8

orne verbs with

Fortunately, the majority of Italian verbs belong to group 1 l-ore verbs) and they ore mostly regular. When we soy they ore regular, we mean they follow the some pattern, so if you learn one, you con work out the endings you need for all the others.

dovere

1 . 1 .3 Irregula r verbs orne verb arc awkward and don 't really fit into any pat tern. They arc called irregular verbs. This means that you have to learn them separately, and, of course, they arc the verbs you arc likely to want to usc most. Fortunately, you probably know quite a lot of them already, although you might not be aware of it: for example, you probably know that ' I know' is ( io) so or ' I don't know' is ( io) non so but the infinitive i apere.

io

form:

to be am

rimonere

lO remai n

so lire

to go up

volere

*

to be wort.h

pango pongono rimongo rimongono solgo solgono val go volgono

I

put

t.hey/you * put

I remain t hey/you remain

I go up t hey/you go up

lO go OUt to come

to look for, to try lO to pay

I have

lO

we have to

I

sit

we sit

I

hold

you hold

I

go out

we go out

I

cerco cerchi pogo poghi

come

rou come

I look for you try lO

I

pay

)'O LI pay

ote also that verbs based on an irregular verb follow t he same irregular pattern, for example: so lire tenere venire cercore vn

to go up to hold

to come to look for

risolire sostenere convenire ricercore

Match the infinit ives. a

LO

b

to see

know how to

c to have

d to go e to be able to lO

f

they/you are worth

g to want to h LO take

i

j

to have

to be to do

volere andere essere sopere dovere fore potere overe prendere vedere

9 Ill ..0

""'

G)

>

If you know the rule of pclling and pronouncing Italian, you might not ice t hat in each of the e verbs the -It- is being used to keep the sound of the c/g.

I am worth

ote: this form of you is used for two or more people you do not

know well ( t he formal plurill form).

LO hold

pogore

orne verbs with irregularities in certain forms only: to put

tenere

cercore

Some verbs are only irregular in crtain forms, and others arc completely irregular. Many have predictable spelling changes only in orne forms, often simply to preserve t he sound of a consonant or to 'strength n ' the sound of a vowel .

porre

to sit

devo dobbiomo mi siedo ci sediomo tengo tieni esco usciomo vengo vieni

ome verb with special spel ling changes (the forms given ar examples only) :

ondore - LO go vodo - I am going

overe - to have ho-I have

sedersi

venire

Th sc are the most important i rregular verbs to learn, because they are the most used: esseresono - I

lO have to

usc ire

Note that in Ita l ian, the person word is only used when emphasis or clarity is needed, because t he different verb person endi ngs are clear and distin Live in both written and spoken forms.

inliniL ive:

tem pclling change (t he forms given arc

examples only) :

to go up again lO sustain lO agree

to seck

10 VI

..0

'"

�

1 . 1 .4 The ' persons' of the verb ...... . ...

Note 1 . Notice how the formal 'you' in the ingular and plural is written with a capital L; this helps di tingui h t hem from 'she' and ' t hey' in w1;tten form .

If you know about the 'persons' of the verb go to

1. 1 .5.

Note 2. You may ometime omc aero the alternative form for 'he' and ' he' given in brackets.

When we talk about our elve , it i called the 'fir t person'. When we tal k about or to 'you', it i called the 'second per on'. When we tal k about omcone el c it is called the 'third per on'. ole that in I ta l ian, the formal forms of you, lei and loro, u e t he third per on verbs.

lo, tu, lui, lei etc. are called pronouns because they 'stand in' for, or represent, a person or thing. Mr mith - 'he'; Mr and M rs mith - 'they'; jim mith and I - 'we', etc. Tu i only u ed when talking to a child, a relation or very good friend. I t implies a certain degree of intimacy and hould not be u ed to address an adult unless he or he invite you to u e it; Lei is u ed for formal i tuation . The ame is true in the plural with voi and Loro, though this latter fonn i hardly ever used now, and voi is used instead.

In English, we only change the ending when we are talking about he/she or it: 'I walk - he walks'.

first person second person third person

Singular

Plural

I talk you talk he/she/it talks

we talk you Lalk they Lalk

I n many languages the verb ending change according to who i doing the action and you have to learn the pattern of the verb. In I talian, the ending changes in clear patterns to show who i · doing the a t ion. Fortunately, in Italian not only ore the endings spelt differently, but they all sound different, so there is never any confusion about who is doing what: it is worth learning them thoroughly. This is also why the 'person words' ore usually not needed.

lui/lei, 'he/she'. o word is usually u ed for 'it' (but see 3. 1 .4 ) , as everyt hing in I ta lian is either ma culine or feminine; even window and door are feminine word . loro i u cd for any group of people (or things) whether male, female or mixed.

........ . . VIII

For more information on pronouns, go to chapter 3.

Which pronoun would you usc? a

b c

first person second person third person

you you (formal) he she we (my friend and I ) you you (plural formal) they

Singular

Plural

d

(io) porlo (tu) porli (lui/lei) poria

(noi) porliomo (voi) porlote (loro) porlono

e

io tu Lei lui (egli) lei (ella) noi voi Loro Ioro

f g h IX

You arc talking about yours •If: I am speaking. You arc talking about a girlfriend: You arc talking about a male friend: You arc talking about yourself and a male fr·icnd: You are talking to two liulc girls: You are Lalking to a stranger: You are talking about a group of women: You are talking about a mixed group or a group of men:

tu

io

lui

io noi lui

voi lui lei

lei lei noi

tu Lei lui loro

noi voi lei lei

voi tu loro noi

Which pronoun would you use when you are talking about: your friend Paolo b your friend Maria c ignor Bianchi d ignor c signora Larini e ignora Bian hi c signon1 Larini: f yourself and your male friend g yourself h Paolo, Guglielmo e Maria ignori Marino, Barilla e Ducati j yourself and your friends ilvia and Carla a

noi loro voi loro loro noi tu loro noi Ioro

lui lei Lei lei lei voi voi voi voi noi

lei tu lui Loro noi

0

io noi loro voi

11 VI ..0 '"

�

12

1 .1

.

5

..... Fast track: verbs Verbs are doing word : You use them to ay what you (or omeone/something el c) are doing and to ask ·omeonc what he/she is doing.

1 .2

Ta I king a bout what you a re doing now : the present tense If you know about the present tense and when to use it go on to section 1.2.8.

In English when we look up a verb in t he dictionary it is preceded by t he word ' to': 'to go', 'to drive', 'to eat ' etc. This is called the i n finitive.

The pre ent tense is u ed:

In I talian the infinitive is identified by its last three letters, so it is the end of the verb which is important.

lO say what you arc doing now:

' I am reading'

l
' I t rarely rains in southern

AJI I talian infinitive end in -are, -ere or -ire, except verb like lrarre and porre, their compounds and tho c of durre.

LO

LO

Each of these is a ort of ' last name' for a large family of verbs which hare their behaviour and charactcri Lies.

I

-ore verbs which arc regular and -ore verbs which arc i rregular

In English regular and irregular verbs change the ending only when talking about he/she/it:

1 io

we

you (familiar)

Lei lui/lei

ou ( formal) he/she/it

they

working.

rm

going out.

orr

vegetarian.

I t rains every day.

I n I talian, there are the same two ways of expressing the present tense, but the simple one-word form is usually enough to describe somet hing going on at present unless you want a more vivid d cription, in which case the longer form i used. ( cc 1 .2. 1 . )

noi

you ( formal)

7 o'clock train'

I mul magazines.

In I talian the verb ending hanges for all the different people. The di!Tcrcnt persons arc:

you (familiar) lu

am

They

I fly, it flies

Plural

evenings'

... or we can say what usually/generally happens, using the verb without the am, is or are:

verbs which arc irregular

Singular

'Mum arrives on the

It is ·mining.

-ire verbs which arc regular (divided into two main groups) and -ire

go, she goes

talk about somet hing whi h

My friends

-ere verbs which arc regular and -ere verbs which are irregular

I

'We go oul on Frida

In Engli h, we have two ways of talking about the present. We can either use 'am/is' or 'are' to say what we arc doing now:

In I talian there are three main groups or familic· of verbs:

speak, h e speaks

I taly'

say what usually happens:

will happen soon:

In English we just have two main sorts of verbs: regular and irregular.

I

about what happen�

voi Lora

Leggo il giornole.

I

Lavorano all'oeroporto.

The work/They arc working

read/ I am read ing Lhc newspaper.

lora

aL the airport.

II signor Loreto prende I 'outobus.

ignor Loreto is taking/Lake� the bus.

I

Identify the verb you arc going to u c when you sa these in I talian: a

I

b

My friend is ringing me when she gets home.

c

am downloading my c-mails. he is accompanying her parents to the airpon.

13

14

d We arc going to the cinema later. e

he is fetching me.

f

he i taking her parents' car.

1 .2.2 Ta I king a bout yourself: io Remember in I talian the verb ending changes according to who i doing the action.

g They are Oying with Alitalia. h They arc visiting the museum.

i

j

If you know about the io form go to 'checklist: io forms', p. 23.

he is studying in witzcrland. N·tcr the cinema we are dining at the Ristorante Oino.

occompognore, cenore, scoricore, studiore, ondore, prendere, portore, telefonore, visitore, volore

1 .2. 1

A

Talking a bout what you a re doi ng at thi s moment: the present conti n uous tense .

.

.

I n the io form (or fir t per on) of the pre ent tcn ·c, all verbs end in -o. Try reading them aloud.

As already mentioned, I talian has a direct quivalent of t h Engli h present with 'am/is/arc', known a t h e pre ent contin uous tense. The appropriate part of th verb slam in the pre ent tense is used with a part of the main verb which is quivalent to Engli ·h '-ing' in thi en e. This i called the gerund ( ometimes t he pre ent part iciple) . For -are verbs, this ends in -ando, and for -ere and -ire verbs, it ends in -endo. H re are example for each person of the verb. translate th m?

/o a nd regular -are verbs Verb which end in -aTe in the i n finitive arc called -are verbs. The i n finitive is the form you find in t he dictionary when you look a verb up. A very Iorge proportion of Italian verbs end in -ore and ore regular.

If you know about the present continuous tense and when to use it go on to 1 2 8

n

an ou

sto contondo b stoi mongiondo c sto bevendo d stiomo lovorondo e state vioggiondo f stonno solendo a

Infinitive

Meaning

First person

orrivore oscoltore guordore lovorore porlore portore spiegore studiore suonore visitore

to arrive

orrivo oscolto guordo lovoro porlo porto spiego studio suono visito

REMEM BER: Thi form is not used a · much as in English. The normal present is usually enough. ay what you are doing or omcbody el c is doing: a

I am working

b you arc dreaming c we are watching

d you arc reading e he is drinking

f

I hey

arc eating

g you arc travelling h you arc leaving

(lovorore) (tu - sognore) (guordore) (lei - leggere) (bere) (mongiore) (voi - vioggiore) (loro - portire)

to listen

to look at/watch to work

to speak to carry/wear to explain to take

to play ( m usic) to vi i t

-are

Meaning

I

arrive

I listen I look at/watch I work I speak

I I

carry/wear explain

I take

I

play

I visit

Remember that all these I talian form can al o t ranslate 'am ... ing', and that it i · not nece sary to tran late 'am' going from English into I ta lian unless you u e the pre ent continuous for vivid description ( ee 1 .2. 1 ) .

There arc a � ·w verbs with slightly i rregular -ing forms which can b learnt easil .

Ill

15

The io form of all -ore verbs ends in -o. IV

How would you ay the e in I talian? Remember, io is only needed for clarity or emphasi . a

I

b I c I d I e I

f

lo

speak English.

__

am wearingjeans.

__

work in an office. am listening to the new

I play the guitar.

g I vi it

the town.

.

inglese. troppo. i jeons. in un ufficio. le notizie. Ia chitorro. Ia citto.

__

sllldy too much.

h I am watching the children.

16

I I am arriving home.

j I

am explaining the linn's

__

i bambini. a coso . Ia politico dell'ozienda.

Remember, the overwhelming majority of -ore verbs ore regular. The io forms of all -ore verbs end in -o.

policies.

ow cover up t he right-hand ide of the page and see if you can do them again. Say them aloud. v

These arc all

-are verbs.

Fill in the gaps. (lovororel lorrivorel I park my car. lparcheggiorel I enter the building. lentrorel I greet the caretaker. isolutorel

a

I

b c

I arrive at

in un ufficio. aile otto. lo mocchino. nell' edilicio. d il custode. e f l'oscensore per solire ol sesto piano. le chiovi in Iasco. g __

__

work in an ofiice.

o'clock.

I u e the lift to go to the sixth floor.

iusorel

I look for my keys in my pocket.

lcercorel h

in ufficio. i documenti nella voligetto. fino aile dodici. j

I go i n to my ofiicc.

lentrorel

I look for the documents in my briefcase.

icercorel

I work until twelve.

llovororel

Choose live of the verbs which you didn't know before lor had forgotten) and which you think would be useful to learn. Write down the meaning and the first letter of the verb. See how many you can remember. VI

..

a

I am going into t h is shop.

lo lentrore)

b

I am buying a new car.

una macchina nuova. icomprore) Ia mia segretoria. ichiomore) questa birro. lprovore) io! ipagore) una lettera. lmandore) che faccia caldo. lsperare) di rispondere alia domando. icercare) via i giornali vecchi. ibuttore) Ti ! iamorel

Ill)' secretary.

d I 'm t rying this beer. e I ' m paying.

f I am ending a letter. g I hope it'll be hot. h I am trying to answer the que lion.

I I am throwing out the old papers.

j I

love you!

Complete these sentences with the right form of the verb in brackets and read them aloud. a

lo

b

__

c

__

d

__

e

__

f g h

__ __ __ __

j

k

I

inglese. iparlorel in Irena. lviaggiarel uno nolle a Ramo. ipassore) un taxi. lchiamorel alia stozione. larrivarel nella biglietterio. lentrorel un biglietto per il Pendolino. icomprorel il treno. laspettorel nel vagone ristoronte. icenorel un fax. lmondorel un po' con il mio vicino. ichiacchierorel il vicino a prendere un caffe. linvitare) ol mio migliore amico. itelefonare) il paesaggio che passa alia velocito di 200 km/h. lguardore)

__

__ __ __

m

__

n

__

lo and regular -ere verbs If you already know about regular ·ere verbs, go on to 'lo and irregular verbs' on p. 2 1 .

Most verbs ore -ore verbs, so there aren't so many of these -ere verbs.

How would you say .?

c I am calling

VII

__

in questa negozio.

__

__

__ __ __

__

__

__

Highlight any verbs which you think would be useful for you to use sometime.

I n the io form (or fir t per on) of the present tense, all verbs end in -o. Try reading them aloud. Infinitive

bere* chiedere correre credere leggere mettere prendere rispandere vedere vendere

Meaning lO

drink

to ask for to ntn to believe/ think to read to put to take to reply to sec lO ell

* Bere is slightly irregular in for mo t forms: bro- . . .

First person

Meaning

bevo chiedo corro credo leg go metto prendo rispondo veda vendo

I I I I

-ere

drink ask for run believe/think

I read

I

put

I take I reply I sec I sell

that the infinit ive simplilic the stem used

17

18

Vlli

Which verb would you u e?

Infinitive

Meaning

First person

Meaning

to sleep

dormo offro porto seguo sen to servo

I sleep

a You have to � lhis medicine.

b

VI

..a ..

He has to

M!s, for his

meal.

c She has to .!Jill.

�

d He has to respond.

'normal'

e You have to � your house.

IX

f

We have to � this book.

g h i

You must drink Italian wine!

j

Don ' t � thatl

-ire verbs

You have to � what it is like! You have to

j2l!l. your name on

capire fin ire preferire sped ire

lhe form.

-isc- verb

Match the English and the llalian. a I drink/am drinking ...

b

I take/am Laking . . .

c

I

.-un/am running .. .

d I read/am reading .. . e I sell/am selling . . .

f I g h

ask for/am asking for . . .

I put/am putting . . . I believe/am believing . . .

I sec/am seeing . . .

j I

reply/am replying . . .

vendo chiedo vedo meflo bevo corro rispondo prendo leg go credo

X

dorm ire offrire partire seguire sentire servire

to offer to leave to follow to hear to serve

lO prefer lO send

I follow I hear I erve I under Land I finish I prefer I send

How would you say the following? ___

dai miei genitori. (dormire)

home.

b

Ti

I am following you.

c I am leaving today.

d I hear the music. e I am offeri ng a present to my friend.

f

I don't understand a lhing!

g

I prefer e-mail to tJ1e

Some have o special spelling or pronunciation chonge to 'reinforce' or preserve their sound (see p. 20, ' /o and verbs which change their spelling in the io form'). The main ones are conoscere, tenere and rimonere.

___

___

telephone.

h

(seguire) oggi. (partire) ___ Ia musica. (sentire) ___ un regalo al mio amico. (offrire) Non ci niente! (capire) Ia posta elettronica al telefono. (preferire) un messaggio al mio amico. (spedire) __

__

I am sending a message

___

to my friend.

Now cover up the right-hand side of the page and ee if you can st.ill do them.

lo and regular -ire verbs 'normal'

Most verbs are -ore verbs, so there aren't many of these -ire verbs. Like almost all verbs in the pre ent ten e, the e end in -o when you are talking about yourself (in the first person singular) . Practise saying t hem aloud, as it will help you to remember them.

I leave

capisco finisco preferisco spedisco

to understand to finish

a I am sleeping at my parents'

The io form of -ere verbs always ends in -o.

If you already know about regular -ire verbs, go on to 'lo and irregular verbs' on p. 2 1 .

I offer

-isc- verbs

-ire verbs

Infinitive

Meaning

First person

Meaning

aprire coprire scoprire soffrire

to open

a pro copro scopro soffro

I I I I

open

contribuire costruire garanlire grad ire

lO conLri bute

contribuisco costruisco garantisco gradisco

I I I

contribute

pulire suggerire

to clean

to cover to discover to suffer

lO

construct

to guaranLec to accept (wilh thanks) to sugge t

cover discover suffer

construct guarantee

I accept (with thanks)

pulisco suggerisco

I

clean

I suggest

19 VI

..a ..

�

20

XI

a

I b I

Ill ..a

.. Q)

>

suggest a visit to

apies.

c I

guanmtec it will be good.

d I

cover my car when it rains.

e I f 1

suflcr every day. am

Ia porta. (aprire) una visila a Napoli. (suggerire) che sara buono. (garonlire) Ia mia macchina quando piove. (coprire) ogni giorno. (soffrire) una coso. (coslruire) Ia verila. (scoprire) dieci euro. (conlribuire) Ia coso una volta alia sellimana. (pulire)

lo

open the door.

building a house.

g 1 am discovering the truth. h 1 am contributing ten euros.

__

rilenere - rilengo pervenire - pervengo risalire - risalgo

___

___

XIII

a I

am holding a pen in

b I c I

___

am

__

___

know that girl very well.

How would you say t he fol lowing?

g I come home every day.

I am discovering the news. I am cleaning my car. I am opening a bank account. I am guaranteeing this cheque. I am covering the baby. I suggest we meet there.

___ le nolizie. (scoprire) ___ ___ ___ __ ___

Ia mia macchina. (pulire) un canto in banco. (aprire) quest'assegno. (garanlire) il bambino. (coprire) di trovarci II. (suggerire)

I

E

an you till do them?

lo and i rregular verbs eedless to ay, I talian has a few irregular verbs which have to be learnt because they are u eel so much. Here are the most useful one · in the io form in the pre cnt tense. andere - vado avere - ho dare - do dire - dico dovere - devo/debba ( both essere - sono fare - faccio morire - muoio polere - posso sapere - so stare - slo uscire - esco volere - voglio

Here are the most useful example : I remain I hold I come I go up

Note also: in which the io form is pronounced with a hard -r-, though most of the other forms are pronounced with the 'sh' sound before - e and -i-.

___

believe she i a very

Cover up t he I talian.

Some verbs in each of the t h ree verb familie modify their spelling in t he fir t person. This is to make the verb ea ier to pronounce or to give it a stronger sound. However, they all st ill end in -o a you would expect.

conosco

___

in telligent woman.

/o and verbs which change their spelling i n the io form

conoscere

have my hands in my pocket.

h I am get t i ng back i n to the car.

Say them aloud to gel used to the sound of the words: which ones sound a little like the English?

rimanere - rimango tenere - lengo venire - vengo salire - salgo

di sopra. (solire) Romeo e Giuliello! (conoscere) le mani in Iasco. (tenere) a coso tulle le domeniche. (rimanere) ___ bene quella ragazza. (conoscere) ___ a coso ogni giorno. (venire) in macchina. (risalire) che sia una donna moho intelligenle. (rilenere)

going to go upstairs.

know Romeo and Giulietta!

f I

b c d e f

una penna in mono.

(tenere)

ow cover up the right-ha nd side of the page and sec if you can still do t hem.

a

go up ag-ain

___

my hand.

___ ___

think/believe/con ider rca h/arrivc at

How would you say the following? Use the verbs in brackets.

stay at home every unday.

per week.

D

I I I

d I e I

1 clean the house once

XI I

As always, compound verbs ba eel on these behave in the same way, e.g.

I low would you say the fol lowing?

XIV

are used )

I go I have I give I say I have to/must I am I do I die I can/am able I know/know how to I stay, am (location, state) I go OUL I want

Choose a verb from the list above and complete each entcnce with the correct form. a

I b I

want to play tennis with you. have an old racket.

___ giocare a tennis con te.

una racchella vecchia.

21

22

c

rtlcket.

d I

"' ..0

Ti

I am giving you my good have

LO

book the court.

__

e I can bring some tennis balls.

..

Ia mio rocchetto buono.

__

XV

a I wake u p at

prenotore il campo. portore delle palle do

b I

c d

tennis.

�

f

I can

(I

know how to) play

__

giocore obbostonzo bene.

h

I am not very fit! I am going home afterwards.

Non fisiche! Dopa

a coso.

lo and reflexive verbs If you know about reflexive verbs, go on to p. 23, 'checklist: io forms' or p. 23, 'saying you like something'.

First person

Meaning

oddormentorsi olzorsi onnoiorsi orrobbiorsi forsi Ia borbo lovorsi pettinorsi riposorsi sedersi svegliorsi vestirsi

to fal l asleep

mi oddormento mi olzo mi onnoio mi orrobbio mi foccio Ia borbo mi lovo mi pettino mi riposo mi siedo* mi sveglio mi vesta

I I I I I I I I I

*

LO

get up

to get bored lO

to

get angry shave

to wash (oneself) to comb one's hair to rest to sit down to wake up to get dressed

ote the spel ling change in the stem of sPdersi.

__ .

__

f I

get dressed in my bedroom.

g I h I i I

sit down in the lounge. get bored waiting for my friend.

__

get angry with my friend. fall asleep in my armchair.

__

in camera. in solotto. ospeHondo il mio omico. con il mio omico. in poltrono.

To find the right part of the verb, you take off the -are/-erP/ -ire ending. You t hen add -o. The most importa n t irregular io forms to remember are: ondore - to go - vodo overe - to have - ho essere - to be - sono fore - LO do - foccio Check you know the e other u eful irregular verb : conoscere - to know - conosco - I know (a per on or place) sopere - to know - so - I know (a fact , how to do something) dire - to say - dico - I say venire - to come - vengo - I come/am coming

fall asleep get up get bored get angry shave wash (myself) comb my hair rest sit down

I wake up

I

shave .

Checkl ist: -io forms When talking about your elf in the prese n t ten e, you use io (but o n ly when neces ary) and the right part of the verb.

We don 't have an equivalent form in Engli ·h but you probably already know the reflexive verb chiamarsi, ' to be called'. Mi chimno means ' I am called' or literally ' I call myself. otice how the reflexive ' elf word is stuck onto the end of the infinitive. The e are u ually known a reflexive verbs becau e most involve the idea of doing something to yourself, but they arc also sometimes known as pronominal verbs. When choosing a specific part of one of the e verb , start with the appropriate ' elf word: when you are talking about yourself, you u e mi and the first per on of the verb, just as normal. There are more reflexive verbs in I talian than i n English, many of which are not expre ed with ' elf in English. Notice how most of the following have the idea of doing omething to yourself: Meaning

I

Then I wash myself.

j I

Infinitive

get up straight away.

First,

23

aile sette. subito. Per prima coso, Poi dovonti olio specchio.

the m irror.

in buone condizioni

__

seven o'clock.

e I comb my hair in fron t of

quite well.

g

How would you say the fol lowing?

get dressed

G

Saying you l i ke something I talian doe not really have a verb for ' to like'. I nstead, it use 'to plea e' as a ort of ' back-to-front' way of onveying the idea of liking: mi pioce questa coso literally means 'this house please · me'. o, for a plural thing liked, the verb become the plural ' they' form: mi piocciono queste case Note that the verb agree with the thing liked, which i the subject . The per on liking is therefore expre ed by

"' ..0 ..

�

24

pronounced except for h ( never pronounced) , so these 25 endings are very clear and distinct, which i why the tu itself i not normally needed in front of the verb.

a pronoun. Thcr are other cxprc sion whi h work like this; here are t he most u ·eful one : Verb

I ... (singular)

I ... (plural)

Meaning

piocere interessore rimonere fore mole

mi mi mi mi

mi mi mi mi

I I I

XVI

pioce interesse rimone fa mole il/lo . . .

piocciono interessono rimongono fan no mole i/le . . .

like ... am interested in ... have ... left

*

m y . . . h u n (s)

.. . your head hurts b .. . you only have two aspirins I

a

·ft

__

... you only have one euro left

d . . . you like soluble aspirin

__

e ... you lind the lilm quite i n teresting

f . .. you love soap operas g . . . you arc i n terested in

the

__

Ia testa. solo due ospirine. solo un euro. l'ospirino solubile. obbostonzo il film. molto le telenovele. i personoggi.

XVII

your eyes h u n

wilh -isci or -isce a re

__

The /u form i s easy, as in oil verbs in the present tense, and in many other tenses, it ends in -i.

Tu and regular verbs In -are, Pre and -ire verbs, the tu form end in -i; there are no exceptions. Remember that in I talian, all letters are ,

listen

drink

h write

speak

j

wash work

Tu a nd verbs which change the spelling of their stem few verb modify t he spelling of their stem in th econd per on ( lu) form to keep the consonant sound, or to strengthen t he vowel sound. Verbs with a stem ending in -c or -g- usc an -/1:- to preserve the hard -c- or -g- ound. ome verbs with terns ending in -ir lose it before the -i of the lu form is added, and a few modify t he vowel of the stem. The e changes also occur in some other forms of the verbs affected. Here are some examples of each type, with the io, first per on form given to show the change learly.

Type of change

Infinitive

Final

cercore pogore

onsonant

Meaning First person to look for to pay

cerco pogo

Second person

Meaning

cerchi poghi

you look for you pay

of stem Loss of !ina I from

-i mongiore

te m

Vowel change

e > ie

XVI I I If you are not going to need the tu form, go to 1 .2.4.

sell

g

B

There arc a tually four forms of 'you' in Italian: th famil iar forms Itt ( ·ingular) and voi (plural) and t he formal forms Lei (singular) and Loro ( plural ) .

There is a special exprc sion which mean to addres someone as lu - dare del lu, more or les like 'being on fir t namc term ' . I f someone say , Possiamo darci del lu, it mean ' Let's u c the tu form ' .

f

b d

gli occhi .

You usc t he lu form if you are talking t o someone you know well - a friend, a child or an animal. You do not u e it to a stranger, a busine acquaintan e or an older p rson unle invited to do so.

a buy

e watch

This is t he 'you' form, or the 's ·cond person' of the verb.

-

form

What is the tu form of these verbs?

1 .2.3 Talking to someone younger or someone you know wel l : tu

A

-isc- verbs,

c l ive

characters

h ...

ole that with all t hese

pronounced with -sh-, whilst -isw- is pronounced with a hard -c-.

ay that:

c

-ore: (io) porlo - (tu) porli -ere: (io) prendo - (tu) prendi ·ire, normal type: (io) porto - (tu) porti ·ire, ·isc- type: (io) preferisco - (tu) preferisci*

to eat

studiore sedere (sedersi) tenere venire

tO

SLUcly

LO sit to hold

LO

ome

mongio mongi studio studi mi siedo ti siedi tieni tengo vengo vieni

you eat you study you sit you hold

you come

Choo e a verb from t h e list above and complete each question or sentence with the correct form. Then, if you are feeling adventurous, translate them into English. a giocore o squash con me? b Quale lingua tu? c Ia carne? a

__

__

d Che coso ___ nei negozi? e ___ tu o devo pogore io? f Che coso in mono? g ol bar con me? h Ti ___ li, o vicino olio finestro?

26 Ill ..0 ...

�

__

C

Tu and i rregu lar verbs The I talian verbs which are irregular in the io form are al o irregular in the tu form. Here are the mo t u eful one 1 1 1 the tu form in the present tense. ondore - voi you go overe - hoi you have dare - doi you give dire - dici you say dovere - devi you have to essere - sei you are fore - foi you do morire - muori you die potere - puoi you can/are able sopere - soi you know/know how to store - stoi you stay, are (location, state) uscire - esci you go out volere - vuoi you want

XIX

(Tu) (essere)

b

__

You have got a spot on

___

XX

d You ahv--ays want to eat a pitta.

e You can watch soaps every day. You arc never at home.

g

You don't know how

to

speak English.

h

You go out wearing jeans. You say you are good at sport.

j D

You have to be more honest.

to fall asleep

ti oddormenti ti olzi ti onnoi ti orrobbi ti chiomi ti foi Ia borbo ti lovi ti pettini ti riposi ti siedi* t i svegli ti vesti

you fall asleep

to get up to get bored to get angry to be called to shave to wash (oneself) to

omb one's hair

to rest

to sit down to wak

up

to get dressed

you get up you get bored you get angry you arc called you shave you wash (yourself) you comb your hair you rest you sit down you wake up you get dressed

ote the spelling change in the stem of sedersi.

Match the questions. How would you ask a child: a

hi

b

at what time he/she gets up?

or

her name?

Ti onnoi a scuolo? i i Come ti chiomi? i i i Ti orrobbi con tuo frotello? iv A che oro ti olzi?

h i /her brother?

E

un brufolo sui noso. (overe)

if he/she gets bored at school?

v

Dove ti siedi di solito?

Asking a friend or relative if he/ she l i kes something As we have seen, I talian use ' to please' as a 'back-to-front' way of conveying the idea of liking. To ask a friend or relative if he/she likes something, use: ti pioce questa coso?

___

li terally 'does this house please you?'

o, for a plural thing liked, the verb becomes the plural 'they' form:

___

f

oddormentorsi olzorsi onnoiorsi orrobbiorsi chiomorsi forsi Ia borbo lovorsi pettinorsi riposorsi sedersi svegliorsi vestirsi

e

troppo loquoce.

Non moi in piscino. (ondore) sempre mongiore Ia pizza. (volere) vedere le telenovele ogni giorno. (potere) Non moi a coso. (store) Non ___ porlore inglese. (sopere) vestito/o coi jeans. (uscire) ___ che riesci bene nella sport. (dire) essere piu onesto/o. (dovere)

Meaning

d if he/she gets angry with

___

swimming pool.

First person

c where does he/she u ually sit?

your nose.

c You never go to the

Meaning

*

U e the right form of the verb in brackets to tell omeone what they are like. a You are too talkative.

Infinitive

ti piocciono queste case?

___

There are other expre ion which work like this; here is a li t of the most u eful ones:

___

___

Tu a nd reflexive verbs The e are formed in the arne way a in the io form but the reflexive pronoun is ti in tead of mi.

Verb

you (sg.)

you (pl.)

piocere interessore rimonere fore mole andere di

ti ti ti ti

ti ti ti ti

pioce interesse rimone fa mole il/lo . . . fi vo di . . .

piocciono interessono rimongono fan no mole i/le . . .

Meaning you l i ke . . . you are interested in . . . you have . . . left your . . . hurt(s) you feel l i ke . . .

27 Ill ..0 ...

�

28

XXI

Ask i f: a . .. your fr·icnd's feet a he

Ill ..0 ...

�

b

... he/she has a plaster left

c

.. . he/she has any money left

d . .. he/she e .. . he/she

__

l i kes running feels like going to

i piedi? un cerotto? dei soldi? correre? di ondore ol cinema?

the cinema

f

. . . he/ he likes Roberto

__

i film di Roberto Benigni?

__

gli ottori?

Benign i ' films

g .. .

he/she is inter ·sted in

Do you get in to Tem1ini?

e Will you have dinner with us?

f xxrn

Do you prefer red or Do you smoke?

To make a que tion in I Lalian, you can change the inlO nalion by making the voice ri e toward the end of the entence, a in English:

d

Do you mind if I smoke?

f

Arc you hung•)'?

Sei stonco/o? Ti riposi? Ti interesse il colcio? Ti ricordi del giorno quando . . . ?

g

Would you like to go out

h

Arc you tired?

You are t i red? You are having a rest? You're interested in football? Remember the day when .. .?

But, do )'Ott live/are )'Oil living in Rome?

Tu

giochi a tennis, o a pollovolo? Che preferisci tu, il teotro o il cinema? Hoi oscoltoto le notizie tu? Tu ci senti bene? Tu mongi i frutti di more? Porli onche tu lo spognolo? Tu prendi I' outobus?

Do you play tennis or volleyball? What do you prefer thcatr

·

or

cinema? Have you heard the news? Can you hear well? Do you eat seafood? Do you peak

panish too?

Arc )'Oil catching the bus?

Practise saying questions to get used to the sound. Remember to make your voice rise towards the end. You will probably feel silly at first, but don't worry, practice eventually makes perfect. Practise a king your friend what he/ he is going to do. just add the tu form of t he verb in brackets. a

I lave you got

a meeting in

Rome next Tuesday?

b

Arc you leaving VCI)' early?

__

il Pendolino? (prenderel o Termini? (orrivore) con noi? (cenorel a Torino lo sera stesso?

(tornorel

hatting up - imagine you have already got to t he tu tage with somebody of the oppo i tc ex. Match t he phra c , then cover the right-hand side of the page and ec if you can remember the I Lalian t ranslation

c

obiti a Ramo tu?

__

Vuoi uno sigoretto? Sei stonco/o?

ii

white wine?

Tu and asking questions

Nlo ,

__

Are you going back to Turin the same evening?

b

When extra emphasis or clarity is needed, you can also form a question by u ·ing the ubject pronoun tu. I n some cases you can place it at the end of the quest ion. or ourse this is not done often becau e tu i not u ually needed.

XXII

Arc you taking the Pendolino?

d

a Would you like a drink?

the actors

F

c

uno riunione a Ramo mortedi prossimo? (overel moho presto? (portirel

__

e Do you want a cigarette?

Vuoi quolcoso do bere? Vuoi mongiore fuori? Fumi? Preferisci il vino rosso o il vino bianco? vii Ti dispioce se fumo? iii iv v vi

to dinner? Do you I i kc sci-li li I ms?

j I lave you got

a boy/girlfriend?

viii Hoi il rogozzo/lo rogozzo? ix Hoi fame? X Ti piocciono i film di fontoscienzo?

Checklist: the tu form You only u e the tu form when speaking to children, pets and people you know very well, or people who have invited you to use it. You do not u c it to older people you do not know unle s invited to do o. Th t u form sound different from all other. , o t he actual word /u is not normally needed. The tu form of all verbs in the present tense nd in There are no exceptions.

-i.

Questions arc formed by changing the intonation; lor the sake of clarity or emphasis, the appropriate pronoun is sometimes u ed after the verb. Negatives arc formed by putting

non

in from of the verb.

1 .2.4 Ta I king a bout someone or someth i ng else : lui/lei/Lei If you know how to use the lui/ lei form go on to checklist p. 35.

This form is called the third person. I n English it is the 'he, he, it' form of the verb. n important thing to remember

29 Ill ..0 ...

�

30

is that this form is al o used for Lei, the formal word for 'you'. As usual, the ubject pronoun/person word is not normally used, becau e the verb endings are clear enough by t hemselves; however, Lei i often used, especially in questions .

lit

.0

...

�

L'owocoto

i documenti del contralto di ocquisto. (prepororel il documento di ocquisto dovonti oll'owocolo. (firmorel

B

In Italian, there is no word for it. Everything is masculine or feminine. Uno coso ('a house1 is feminine, so you soy 'she is old'; un libra ('a book 1 is masculine, so you soy 'he is new'.

tu tu tu tu tu tu

porli vendi porti finisci voi hoi

lui/lei lui/lei lui/lei lui/lei lui/lei lui/lei

poria vende porte finisce vo ho

The only exception to this is e ere:

e

>

ie

c

The lui/lei/Lei form of -ire verbs aJ o ends in -e (like the lu form but with -e i nstead of -z) : ( lui/lei/Let) sale; fJarte; preferisce. Note that all of these forms are also u ed for Lei. Find th right part of the verb. __

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

Meaning

sedersi

lO

tenere venire

First person

Second person

Third person

Meaning

mi siedo

ti siedi

si siede

you/he/

Lo hold

tengo

tieni

tiene

you/he/

lo come

vengo

vieni

viene

sil

she/sil(s)

you/he/

Lui/lei/Lei a nd irregular verbs The Italian verb which are irregular in the io and lu form are al o irregular in the lui/lei/Lei form, the latter being t he formal word for 'you '. Here arc the mo t u eful one in the lui/lei/Lei form in the pre ent ten e. ondore - vo overe - ho dare - do dire - dice dovere - deve essere - e fore - fa morire - muore potere - puc sopere - so store - sto uscire - esce volere - vuole

The lui/lei/Lei form of -ere verbs ends in -e (the vowel of the in fin i live ending) : ( lui/lei/Lez) corre; beve; vive.

Lei molte lettere oi giornoli. (scriverel b Zucchero conzoni in itoliono e in inglese. (contorel c Mio figlio in Internet. (novigorel d La suo rogozzo molli giolli. (leggerel e Erminia molti messoggi di pasta elettronico. (riceverel f II signor Melli Ia suo coso. (venderel g La signora Peroni comprore uno coso. (desiderorel h La banco soldi oi suoi clienti. (prestore)

Infinitive

she come(s)

Lui/lei/Lei a nd regular verbs

a

their stem The verb with modified tern vowel pellings in the econd per on ingular ( lu) form have the same change in the t h i rd person singular lui/lei/Lei fom1.

she hold(s)

The lui/lei/Lei form of -are verbs ends in -a (the vowel of the infinitive ending) : ( lui/lei/Lei) parla; compra; lava.

XXIV

Lui/lei/Lei and verbs which change the spelling of

change

lui/lei e

tu sei

A

vowel

XXV

you go/he/she goes you have/he/she has you give/he/she gives you say/he/she ay you have Lo/he/she has lO you are/he/she i you do/he/she docs you die/he/she dies you can/are able/he/she can/is able you know/(how lo)/hc/she knows ( how LO) you sLay, are/he/she sLays, is (locaLion, sLalC) you go oul/he/she goes oul you wam/he/she wanLS

Choose a verb from the lists above and complete each sentence with the correct form. Then, if you are feeling adventurous, translate them int o Engli h . Francesco o l cinema ogni domenico. b Suo frotello __ che questa e troppo. a

31

__

Here are some example , with the io and lu form , to show t he change clearly.

The third person form is ea y to learn, as it has the arne vowel a the infinitive form in the case of -are and -ere verb , and end in -e for -ire verb . I n other words, i t end in -a for -are verb and -e for -ere and -ire verbs; there are no exception . For almost all verbs the stem i the same as for the lu form.

__

j La signora Peroni

__

lit

.0

...

�

32

c Un giorno, lei non

ondore perche non c'e spettocolo. d Lui non che fore, perche suo sorello si onnoio focilmente. e ondore olio spioggio con suo sorello. f � lei store con le sue omiche. g Finolmente, lei per ondore ol bar. h Alloro, il frotello rimonere a coso. i Si __ in poltrono. j II povero rogozzo di noio! __

Infinitive

__

pettinorsi

__

Ill ..0 ..

riposorsi sedersi

__

svegliorsi

b c e

__

h i

j

vestirsi

lo sil down

si riposo si siede

(s) he/you resl (s) (s) hc/you

il (s)

lo wake up

si sveglio

(s)hc/you wake(s)

lo gel dressed

si veste

(s) he/you gel(s) dres·ed

XXVII

__

__

g

lo resl

(s) he/you comb(s) ... hair

__

__

d

f

D

II signor Piccini milonese. lessere) ondore a Reggio Calabria. lvolere) prendere il treno. ldovere) olio stozione. londore) che deve store uno nolle in treno. lsopere) II giorno dopo, a Reggio. lorrivore) due voligie. Iavere) le voligie su un corrello. lmettere) un taxi. lchiomore) Quando __ ol corrello, e prende le voligie. ltornore)

si pettino

up

How would you say the following? You can assume that any verbs not listed as irregular will be regular. a

lo comb

33

down

__

XXVI

Third person Meaning

one's hair

__

�

Meaning

a

b c

__

__ __

__

__ __

__

__

__

Lui/ lei/ Lei a nd reflexive verbs The reflexive pronoun for t he lui/ lei and Lei forms i si. In t he following table, all L he third per on forms arc al o u ed for Lei, t he formal way of expressing 'you'.

Ouesto vino si vende ol litro.

aile undici. lsvegliorsi) a mezzogiorno. lolzorsi) lforsi Ia borbo) un poco. llovorsi) con l'osciugomono. losciugorsi) lpettinorsi) lvestirsi) __ i denti. llovorsi) a leggere il giornole. lsedersi) presto. lonnoiorsi) a correre per il porco. lmettersi) Dopo un'oro lstoncorsi) fino oll'oro di ceno. lriposorsi) __

e

h

se the correct form of Lhe verb given.

__

d f g

__

In normol li.e. non-reflexive) verbs this form is ohen used to describe on action for which there is no known or stated subject:

Chefa Luigi?

j k

I

m

E XXVIll

This wine is sold by Lhc lilre.

__

__

__

__

Lei: the formal form of 'you' Ask a stranger these questions, selecting the right form of the appropriate verb to complete the que Lion. a Would you like lo come

Infinitive

oddormentorsi olzorsi onnoiorsi

Meaning lO fall asleep lO

lO

inlo lhe rcslauranl?

Third person Meaning

si oddormento

(s) he/you fal l (s) asleep

gel u p

si olzo si onnoio

(s) he/you gcl(s) (s) he/you gel(s) bored

orrobbiorsi

lo gel angt)'

si orrobbio

(s) he/you gel(s) angry

chiomorsi forsi Ia borbo lovorsi

lO be called lO lO

si chiomo

(s) he is/you are called

shave wash (oneself)

si fa Ia borbo si lava

he/you shave (s) (s) he/you wash (es) ( . . . elf)

Do you smoke?

c

Do you cal meal?

d

Do you drink wine?

e Do you prefer red or while wine?

up gel bored

b

F

___

___ ___ ___ ___

entrore nel ristoronte? Lei? Ia carne? il vino? il vino rosso o il vino

bianco?

Lei and asking questions When extra emphasis or clarity i needed, you can also make a que Lion by u i ng the subject pronoun Lei. I n some ca e you can place it at the end of the question. Of cour e thi i not done often because Lei i not usually needed. Lei e stonco/a? Lei si riposo? Le interesse il colcio?

You arc L i rcd? You are having a resl? You're i n LereslCd in foolball?

34

Si ricordo quando . . . ?

Do you remember the day when ... ?

Abita a Venezia Lei?

Do you live/

Gioco a squash?

Do you play/Are you playing

rc you living i n

XXX

Venice?

Using the Lei form Your employee is lacking ... Tell him/her what he/she is doing a You read the paper in the morning.

squash?

b

You go to the wilet times a clay.

Practise saying questions to get used to the sound. Remember Ia make your voice rise towards the end. You will probably feel silly ol first, but don't worry, practice eventually makes perfect.

c

You take 2 hours for your l u n h break.

d You sleep the best pan of the afternoon.

XXIX

e You do the crossword in

Pract.ise asking your new business acquaintance what he/ he is going to do. just add the Lei form of the verb in brackets. a Have you got a meeting in Are you leaving very early?

uno riunione a Milano mercoledi prossimo? Iavere) moho presto? lporlire) il Pendolino? lprendere) A che oro ? lorrivore) olbergo? lcenore)

g You have

h

__

c Ar·e you taking the Pcndolino?

d What time do you arrive?

on Th ursday?

G

a Romo giovedi? ltornore)

__

__

__

The lui/lei/Lei f01·m of regular -ere and i re verbs is made by adding -e to the stem. -

The most common irregular verb are andare ( va) , avere ( ha) , cssere ( e) and fare (fa) .

please him/her'?

The reflexive pronoun for the lui/lPi/1-Pi form is si: come si chiama ?

o, for a plural thing liked, the verb change to piacciono: /he l ikes these houses' l i terally 'These

houses arc pleasing to him/her'.

H

__

The lui/lei/Lei form of regular -are verb ends in -a.

Does s/he like . . . ? literally ' Does this house

gli/le piocciono queste case '

__

The lui/lei/ Lei endings of -are and -ere verbs use the vowel of the infinit.ive ending.

Asking whether somebody else l i kes something As we have een before, I talian u es ' to plea e' as a 'back-to front' way of conveying the idea of liking. The thing that change is the personal pronoun which goe in front of the verb piacere: gli for ' to him', le for 'to her', Le for 'to you' (the formal form ) . gli/le pioce questa coso?

__

Checklist: the lui/lei/Lei forms You use the lui/lei/ Lei verb form when you arc talking about someone or something, or when addres ing somebody by the formal 'you' form, Lei.

__

Arc you going back to Rome

work more.

your defence?

the hoLel?

f

lO

What do you ay i n

__

__

__

e Arc you having dinner at

You drink a Scotch at tea time.

___

Milan next Wednesday?

b

the afternoon.

f

ILei) il giornole Ia mollino. lleggere) ol bogno 8 voile ol giorno. londore) due ore per il pronzo. lprendere) per Ia moggior porte del pomeriggio. ldormire) il cruciverbo nel pomeriggio. lfore) un whisky oll'oro del le. lprendere) lovorore di piu. ldovere) Lei in suo difeso? Che ldire)

To ask whether a stranger l i kes something: Le pioce questa gonno? Do you l i ke this skin? Le piocciono quesli guonti? Do you l i ke t hese gloves? Remember that the subject of the verb is the thing liked, and that the person liking is expressed by a pronoun; the some happens with other similar expressions; see section 1 .9.6.

1 .2.5 Ta I ki ng a bout yourself and someone else: no1 .... ....

If you are not going to need to use this form, skip the rest of this section, and go to the checklist on p. 38, as you need to be able to recognise it when you hear it, even if you don't use it.

You u e the noi form (or the first per on plural) where you usc we in English, i.e. when talking about yourself and omeonc else: 'we', 'my husband and 1 ' , 'my colleagues and l ' , 'my friend and I ' , ' M rs Brown and 1 ', etc.

35

36

A

Ill ..0 ..

�

The noi form of regular verbs The noi form is regular in almost all verbs. I t is made by adding -iamo to t he stem of -are, -ere and -ire verbs. Remember t hat in I talian, bccau e the verb ending i very di tinctive, the subject pronoun does not u ually need to be expre sed. The noi form of irregular verbs tends to be close to the infinitive. Thi form i not affected by stem vowel changes, but does need the same spelli ng change with verbs whose stem ends in -er and -!:f, as we saw with the lu form of the e verbs. Thi i to preserve t he hard -c- or -g- before the -i- of the ending by adding an -h-. A couple of examples are included with the regular verbs below. Can you spot them? Rememb r: t he stem is made by taking the the infinit ive. cc 1 . 1 .2.

XXXI

-are/-ere/-ire ofT

combiore copire fin ire* giocore lovorore mongiore pogore porlore prendere rimonere scegliere *

First person plural

overe dire dovere essere fore potere sopere usc ire volere

to have

obbiomo diciomo dobbiomo siomo focciomo possiomo soppiomo usciomo vogliomo

First person plural

Meaning

to change

combiomo copiomo fin iomo giochiomo lovoriomo mongiomo poghiomo porliomo prendiomo rimoniomo scegliomo

we change

to work LO Cal LO pay to sp ak LO Lake to stay to choose

do/make

to be able to know to go out to want

We arc playing volleyball tonight.

d

We arc dining in a good

e f

We arc going home at 10 p.m.

restaurant.

tomorrow.

We b u y o u r tickets a t t h e

we understand

station.

j

we finish we play we work

We arc going to Terracina

g We arc leaving at 8 a . m . h W e arrive a t I I . I 5 a . m .

XXXII

We have lots of suitcases.

a b

We are English.

we pay we speak

c

We are going to Italy.

we Lake

d

We are choosing the

we cat

we stay we choose

otice that -ire; -isr- verbs do not have t h e -isr- in the noi form.

The noi form of i rregular verbs All verbs end in -ia11w. The only verbs with an irregular noi form arc:

Meaning we have we say we have to we are we do/make we are able/can we know we go out we want

sc the verb given at the

Oggi

. llovorore) a pollovolo questa sera. (giocore) degli amici aile 1 8 . (vedere) in un buon ristoronte. (cenore) a coso aile 22. (tornore) a Terrocino domoni. (ondore) aile 8 . (portire) aile 1 1 . 1 5 . (orrivore) ___ i biglietti olio stozione. (comprore) ___ molte voligie. Iavere) __

___

__

__

__

__

How would you ay the following in I talian? We speak Italian.

Noi

___

inglesi. itoliono. in ltolio. ___ il giorno della portenzo.

departure day.

e f

We arc taking the train. We change trains in Milan.

g We understand the instructions.

h

B

to

at 6 p.m.

Meaning

LO play

to have to LO be

How would you ay the following? end of the entence.

Let's cat!

to finish

say

c We are meeting friends

Let's go!

Lo understand

to

a We are working today.

The table below shows some common regular verbs in the noi form; remember t hat each can be used for 'we ... ' or 'we are ... ing': Infinitive

Meaning

b

ote t hat t his form is often used with the idea of 'L t 's .. . ' Andiomo! Mongiomo!

Infinitive

We stay in a hotel. We cat in a restaurant.

j

We arc doing overtime work t h is evening.

k We finish at 6 p.m.

I

We are playing tennis later.

il treno. treno a Milano. le istruzioni. ___ in un olbergo. in un ristoronte. del lovoro stroordinorio questa sera. aile 1 8 . a tennis piu tordi . ___

37

38

C

Ill

.Q

...

Noi with reflexive verbs The reflexive form i made by adding ci in front of the verb, whether or not noi is expressed. INoil ci chiomiomo Neil e John.

�

Infinitive

oddormentorsi olzorsi lovorsi riposorsi sedersi sepororsi svegliorsi vestirsi *

Meaning to fall asleep to get up

to wash to rest 1.0

it down

to get separated

1.0

wake u p

to get dressed

We are called

XXXIV

eil and john .

First person plural

Meaning

ci oddormentiomo ci olziomo ci loviomo ci riposiomo ci sediomo* ci seporiomo c i svegliomo ci vestiomo

we fall asleep we get washed we rest we sit down

D

__

b

We get up at eight o'clock.

__

c

We are getting wa hed.

__

d

We arc having a rest.

__

e We arc getting dressed.

__

f

__

We sit down on a sofa.

g We fall asleep.

__

h

__

We arc getting separated.

Saying that you and others l i ke something As we have seen, I talian uses ' to please' as a 'back-to-front' way of conveying the idea of liking. To say that you and (an ) other( ) like something, use piace: ci pioce questa spioggio

l i terally ' th i s beach pleases us'

So, for a plural thing liked, the verb becomes jJiacciono: ci piocciono queste oronce

we like these oranges

For similar 'back-to-front' expressions, see section 1 .9.6.

Checklist: the noi form To talk about yourself and someone else ( we) , use t he noi form in I talian. All verbs end in - iamo.

c

we are staying

d

we are eating

e

we can

f

we are not coming

g

we do not u n derstand we want

j

we are seeing

k

we are leaving

1

we are arriving

n

we are doing

0

we get d ressed

aile sette. lsvegliorsil aile otto. lolzorsi) llovorsil lriposorsil lvesfirsi) su un divono. lsedersil [oddormenforsil [sepororsil

we are

m

we get separated we wake up

we are coming we are reading

vogliomo leggiomo veniomo non copiomo possiomo siomo orriviomo rimoniomo obbiomo focciomo non veniomo ondiomo mongiomo portiomo vediomo

Now cover up the Italian and see if you can do them without help.

oticc that there is no need for a vowel change in this form of

a We wake up at seven o'clock.

we have

b

we are going

we get up

How would you say the following?

a

h

sedersi. XXXll l

Match these English verbs with their I talian counterparts.

1 .2.6 Ta l king to more than one person you know wel l : voi ..... .....

Know about the voi form? Go to checklist p. 4 1

Thi is t he plural equivalent o f the tu form, and so i s u ed with more than one per on, followed by i ts own form of the verb. Although it i ' familiar plural' form, it is very often used in Lead of the formal plural Lei form. The voi form alway end in -ate, -ele or -ite.

A

Voi and regular verbs The voi form is always made by adding -ate, -ete or -ile to t he stem of the infinitive, and t here are only two u eful irregular verbs in t h is form, o i t is very easy to learn. As usual, t he ubjecl pronoun is usually unnece ary becau e t he ending are so distinctive. Porlote inglese? Avete uno mocchino itoliono? Abitote in ltolio?

Do you speak English? Have you got an Italian car? Do you live in I taly?

The two mo l u eful irregular voi form are: bere - bevele essere - siele

you drink you are

39 Ill .Q

...

�

40

B

vi piace questa piazza?

Voi and asking questions

o, for a plural thing liked, the verb become piacciono:

1 .2.7.

..a

a..

vi piacciono queste mele?

Questions are formed in t h same way as in the lu and Lei forms: by changing the intonation. Occasionally, for emphasi , the pronoun i u d, in which case it will usually come at t he end of the question.

�

a Arc you going to the meeting?

b

Have you got an appoi mmcnt?

c

Do you know the MD?

d

a n you operate the video link-up?

e Can you contact your boss?

f

Do you have to go ba k to

Checklist: the voi form The voi form is u ed when talking to two or more people or telling them what to do.

Andale alia riunione voi? Avete un appuntamento? Conoscete il direttore? So pete usore I' apparecchio per Ia videoconferenza? Potete contattare il vostro capo? Dovete tornare in albergo?

You are quite likely to use the voi form to ask polite question to two or more people:

h i j

Can you see the screen well?

Volete usore Ia lavagna luminosa? Vedete bene lo schermo? Prendete appunti? Fate delle registrazioni? Siete pronti? Capite bene?

The voi form of regular verbs i made by adding -ale/-ete/-ile to the stem of the i n finitive.

Do you take notes? Are you making recordings?

k Arc you ready?

I

C

Do you understand?

b

Are you having a rest?

c

Are you getting dressed already?

d

Are you having fun?

e Do you get up late ?

f

D

Do you wake up early?

Do you know Mrs Yannctta?

Avete una macchina?

Where do you l ive?

Vi alzate presto!

You have a rest in the afternoon. You are looking after the

hild.

What time do you wake up? What time do you get up?

Vi Vi Vi Vi Vi Vi

I l ave you got a car?

Reflexive verbs add the pronoun vi:

This form is called the third person plural. I n English it is the 'they' form of the verb. I n fact, Lom, the plural form of 'you', is not often u ed, the voi form being used for most ca cs of 'you' ( pl. ) . As usual, the subject pronoun/person word i not normally used, because the verb ending are clear enough by them elvc ; however, Loro is sometimes used in questions.

vestite gio? alzate Iordi? svegliate presto? ricordate di questa signore? ripasote? divertite?

Asking others if they l i ke something As we have een, I talian usc ' to please' as a 'back-to-front ' way of conveying the idea of liking. To ask whether the people you are talking to like something, use piace:

You get up early!

1 .2.7 Tal king a bout other people and thi ngs: foro/Loro

Match the following Engli h and I talian phrase , then cover up the right-hand ide and ee if you can remember the I talian. a Can you remember 1 h is man?

Conoscete Ia signora Yannetta? Dove abitate?

. •

Do you know (how to do

Questions are formed by intonation:

The reflexive pronoun for the voi form is vi for both masculine and feminine.

XXXVI

C' an you tell me the way to ... ?

Almost all verbs are regular.

Voi and reflexive verbs

Vi ripasate il pameriggio. Vi occupate del bambino. A che ora vi svegliate? A che ora vi alzate?

Potete dirmi come andare a . . . . ? Sopete . . . ?

someth i ng)?

the hotel?

g Do you want to use the 0 1 1 P?

do you like t hese apples?

For imilar 'back-to-front' expressions, see I .9.6.

over up the I ta lian and sec if you can ask these questions.

XXXV

41

ou?'

Know all about asking questions? Go straight to

Ill

literally 'docs t h is square please

If you know all about the loro form go to checklist P· 44.

A

Loro and reg ular -ore verbs The loro form is the same as the lui/lei/Lei form of the verb, but with -no added. As ever, the subject pronoun i usually unne e sary.

Ill ..a a..

�

42 Ill

..Q

..

(loro) porlono - they arc talking (loro) studiono - they arc studying

(lei) poria - she is talking (lui) studio - he is studying

B

-

(lui) prende -

he takes, is taking

j

.

(loro) prendono -

c

(loro) portono -

is leaving

they take, are

D

__

The reflexive pronoun for the loro form i

Infinitive Meaning

Meaning First person Third person pl. sing.

andore overe bere dare dire dovere essere fore potere rimonere so lire sopere sedersi store tenere usc ire venire volere

vodo ho bevo do dico devo/debbo sono* foccio posso rimongo solgo so mi stedo sto tengo esco vengo voglio

* XXXVII

to drink to give to say to have to

to be to do/make to be able to stay to go up to know to sit down to be, stay

to hold to go out to come to want

von no han no bevono don no dicono devo/debbo sono* fan no possono rimongono solgono sonno si siedono stan no tengono escono vengono vogliono

oticc that so110 is the form used for both

'I

they go they have they drink they give they say they have to they are they do/make they can they stay they go up they know they sit down they arc/stay

The reflexive form of ordinary verbs is often used to describe on action for which there is no known subject: Si coltivono i limoni a Sorrento. Lemons arc cultivated i n

I signori Pacelli ___ fore spese. (volere) uno mocchino nuovo. Iavere) c oll'ipermercoto. (andere) d Ia mocchino nel porcheggio. (losciore) e spese (fore) b

__

__

__

Infinitive

Meaning

Third person pl.

oddormentorsi olzorsi onnoiorsi orrobbiorsi chiomorsi forsi Ia borbo lovorsi pettinorsi riposorsi sedersi svegliorsi vestirsi

to fall asleep

si oddormentono si olzono si onnoiono si orrobbiono si chiomono si fonno Ia borbo si lovono si pettinono si riposono si siedono si svegliono si vestono

XXXVIll

to get up to get bored to get angry lO be called to shave to wash (oneself) to comb one's hair to rest to sit down lO wake up lO

get d ressed

Meoning they fall asleep they get up they get bored they get angry they arc called they shave they wash (themselves) they comb their hair they rest they sit down they wake up they get dressed

Che fanno Francesca e Viuoria prima di u eire?

they hold

a

b

they come

c

they want

d

Che succedR ? 'What is happ n ing?' Complete these a

orrcnto.

they go out

a m ' and 'they are'.

sentences.

st.

they arc leaving

In fact, the e arc often imilar to the io forms, owing to t he effect of the -a- on the preceding onsonant. The most u eful irregular form are in the following table.

to have

__

Loro and reflexive verbs

Loro and i rregular verbs

to go

doll'ipermercoto. (uscire) a ritrovore Ia loro mocchino. (riuscire) doppertutto. (cercore) do nessuno porte. (vedere) chiomore Ia polizio. (dovere)

___

__

taking

(lei) porte - she

___

Non h La i Non Ia

Loro and regular -ere/-ire verbs Again, the loro/ Loro form ha the arne stem as the lui/ lei/ Lei form: replace t he final -e with ono

�

f g

e

f g

h i

j

(Loro)

(riposorsi) aile sei. (svegliorsi) (olzorsi) (lovorsi) (prepororsi) a uscire. aile otto. (uscire) __ ol bar. (andere) I loro amici non (orrivore) Le rogozze (onnoiorsi) (ondorsene*) __

__

__

__

___ __

___

___

__

* This expression means ' to go away'; usc the verb as normal, but place VCJ"b.

ne

between the reflexive pronoun

(se i n

this case) and the

4! Ill

..Q

..

�

44

E

Ill ..a ...

�

Asking whether somebody else l i kes something (plural) As before, the I talian way of expressing 'to lik ' uses ' to please' with the appropriate pronoun in front of it to express the person liking . Gli pioce Venezia?

B

There arc fewer -ere verb .

The regular endings for

Do they l i ke Venice? Docs Venice please them?

o, for a plural thing liked, the verb becomes piacciono: Si, gli piocciono i conoli.

C

verbs are -o; -i;

-e;

-iamo; -ete; -ono.

Most -ere verb are regular, i .e. they fol low th

amc pattern.

-ire verbs The regular ending for -ire verbs arc -o; -i;

Try to remember a phrase which you might use, which includes a word which you ore trying to remember, e.g.

The loro form of regular -are verbs is made by adding -ano to the stem.

Porlo bene l'itoliono. Beviomo sempre vino rosso. Preferiscono ondore in ltolio.

Th /oro form of regular -ere and -ire verbs is made by adding -ono to the stem.

D

The rcnexive pronoun for the loro form i si: come si ·

rhimnano ?

..... Fast track: the present tense I ta l ian verbs change the p lling of their ending according to the person who is doing the action. Remember that because each ending sound· different, the person word is not u ually needed. There are a few irregular verbs, ome of which are useful everyday verbs, but then you probably already know some of these.

Most I talian verbs are -are verbs. a no.

All new verbs are -are verbs, e.g . .fibnare. Most -are verbs are regular, i .e. they follow the same pattern.

The present tense of common regular verbs Parlare

Venclere

Partire

Preferire

porlo porli poria porliomo porlote poriano

vendo vendi vende vendiomo vendete vendono

porto porti porte porliomo partite portono

preferisco preferisci preferisce preferiomo preferile preferiscono

Try to learn each set of forms by heart, remembering that these ore the models for the overwhelming majority of Italian verbs. Try copying each set in Iorge letters onto A4 paper, stick it on the wall and learn it while shoving, putting on make-up or washing up - the best limes to learn things by heart!

-ore verbs The regular endings for -are verb are -o; -i; -a; -imno; -ale;

-imno; -ile; -o110.

ome -ire verbs add -isc- to the stem in all but t he noi and voi forms.

The loro form alway end in -no.

The mo·t common irregular verb are andare ( vanno) , avere ( lwnno) , essere ( sono) and fare (fanno) .

-e;

Mo t -ire verbs arc regular, i.e. they follow the arne pattern.

Checklist: the foro form You use the !oro form when you are talking about someone or ·omething.

A

-en•

There are not so many -i·re verbs.

Yes, they like the canals. The canals please

them.

1 .2.8

45

-ere verbs

E

The effect of pronunciation on some verb forms Con idcrations of pronunciation often affect verb forms. I . Verbs l i ke ronosrere and all the -ire verbs with -isr- stems in some forms: the loro form and the io form have a hard pron unciation of the -r-, not t he '-sh-' sound of other forms. Thus:

Ill

..a ...

Q)

>

46

1

sing.

io

hard

2 sing.

3 sing.

1 pl.

2 pl.

3 pl.

tu

lui/lei/Lei

noi

voi

loro/Loro

soft sc

c

conosco preferisco

conosci preferisci

conosce preferisce

=

hard

'sh'

conosciomo preferiomo

conoscete preferite

c

conoscono preferiscono

2. A handful of othenvi e regular verb need an -/1:- to protect t he hard -c- or -g- of t he stem when followed by t he -ir of the tu and noi form ; here ar two examples: c+h

g+h

cercore

pogore

cerco cerc hi cerco cerchiomo cercote cercono

pogo poghi pogo poghiomo pogote pogo no

3. Most verbs with infinitives ending in -iare lo t he -i in t he /u and noi forms to avoid having double - ir; here arc some useful verbs like thi :

F

cominciore

losciore

mongiore

studiore

vioggiore

comincio cominci comincio cominciomo cominciote cominciono

loscio Ia sci loscio losciomo losciote losciono

mongio mongi mongio mongiomo mongiote mongiono

studio studi studio studiomo studiote studio no

vioggio vioggi vioggio vioggiomo vioggiote vioggiono

The present tense of common irregular verbs Here arc some of the mo t useful irregular verb : ondore

overe

dovere

essere

vodo voi vo ondiomo ondote von no

ho hoi ho obbiomo ovete han no

devo/debbo devi deve dobbiomo dovete devono/debbono

sono sei e

siomo siete sono

lore

potere

sopere

volere

foccio foi fa focciomo fate fan no

posso puoi puo possiomo potete possono

so soi so soppiomo sopete son no

voglio vuoi vuole vogliomo volete vogliono

The following two behave mostly like -are verbs apart from t he -a- in the tu form and the - n n- of the lora form: dare

store

do doi do diomo dote don no

sto stoi sto stiomo state stan no

The following two have a 'simplified' infinitive form, but pre ent ten e form with a more normal tern, which is slightly variable in the case of dire: bere

dire

bevo bevi beve beviomo bevete bevono

dico dici dice diciomo dite dicono

The following verb have an irregular 'rein forced sound' i n t h e io and lora forms, and/or a stem vowel change i n some of the other : can you ·pot t he patterns? rimonere

tenere

venire

sedere

rimongo rimoni rimone rimoniomo rimonete rimongo

tengo t ien i t iene teniomo tenete tengono

vengo v ien i v iene veniomo venite vengono

s iedo s ied i s iede

sediomo sedete siedono

47 "' ..a ...

�

48

All verbs based on the verbs listed, but with o modifying prefix, perform in the same woy as the 'base' verb whether il is regular or irregular, e.g.: riportire - portire; ritenere - tenere; disconoscere

VI ..0

XLll

Noi obbiamo una riunione . . . .

conoscere; svenire - venire.

"""

�

Now you arc talking about your elf and a partner. ay 'we do' (or 'don't do') the arne things. For example:

a

b XXXIX

You are talking about yourself.

se the verb in brackets.

uno riunione con un college. (overe) pronto/a per portire. (essere) b in centro. (ondare) c il metro. (prendere) d olio stozione del Colosseo. (scendere) e dol metro. (uscire) f Ia piazza. (olfroversore) g il mio college dovanti ol Colosseo. (aspeltore) h ospeltare molto tempo. (volere) i Non in olbergo. (tornore) j Dopa mezz'oro a

(lo)

c

d e f

__

__

__

g

__

h i j

__

__

__

__

XLi l l

__

till using the same entencc , a ·k omeone you know really well Lhe ame thing . Usc th lu form. For example:

a

b c

Hoi uno riunione (tu)? (overe)

d e f

a

__

b

__

c

__

g

__

h i j

d e f g

h i j XLI

una riunione con un college (tu)? (overe) pronto/a per portire? (essere) in centro? (ondare) il metro? (prendere) olio stozione del Colosseo? (scendere) dol metro? (uscire) Ia piazza? (olfroversare) il tuo college davonti ol Colosseo? (ospeltore) ospellore molto tempo? (volere) Non in olbergo? (tornare) Quando

__

__

__

__

__

__

Now report back in t he singular, saying he/she does i t . Choose t h e correct verb in t h e brackets. For example: (lui/lei) Ho uno riunione con un college. (overe) uno riunione con un college. (ha/e/sole) pronto/a per portire. (melte/e/so) b in centro. (vo/e/vende) c il metro. (prende/sole/compro) d olio stozione del Colosseo. (scende/prende/do) e dol metro. (esce/so/entro) f Ia piazza. (lovoro/corre/olfroverso) g il suo college dovonti o l Colosseo. (oscolto/beve/ospelto) h ospeltore molto tempo. (orrivo/vuole/viene) i Non in olbergo. (vuole/fo/torno) j Dopa mezz'aro a

(lui/lei)

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

XLIV

uno riunione (voi)? (overe) pronti/e? (essere) __ in centro? (andere) __ il metro? (prendere) olio stozione del Colosseo? (scendere) dol metro? (uscire) Ia piazza? (olfroversore) il vostro college dovonti ol Colosseo? (ospeltore) ospetlare molto tempo? (volere) Non Quando __ in olbergo? (tornore) __

__

__

__

Finally, say it in the plural: 't hey do i t ' . Choose the correct verb. For example: (Lora) hanna uno riunione. a

(Loro) __ uno riunione con un college. (honno/solgono/stonno) pronti/e. (sono/stonno/solgono) in centro. (vonno/metlono/volgono) il metro. (prendono/conoscono/solgono) olio stozione del Colosseo. (scendono/stonno/donno) dol metro. (escono/solgono/comprono) Ia piazza. (oscoltono/guordono/otlroversono) il loro college dovonti al Colosseo. (lovorono/corrono/ ospetlono) aspetlare molto tempo. (scelgono/vogliono/copiscono) Non in olbergo. (tornono/possono/honno) Dopa mezz'aro

b

__

c

__

d e f

__

__

g

__

__

h

__

__

__

__

__

__

a me

__

__

__

"""

�

Avete uno riunione?

__

XL

VI ..0

(Noi) __ una riunione con u n college. pronti/e per portire. in centro. il metro. olio stozione del Colosseo. dol metro. Ia piazza. il nostro college davonti al Colosseo. ospeltore molto tempo. Non in olbergo. Dopa mezz'oro

ing the ame sentences, ask someone else th thi ngs. Use t he voi form. For example:

__

j

__

49

so "' ..a ..

1 .3

iv u e a question word and invert the subject and verb where a subject pronoun is used.

Negatives, interrogatives a nd imperatives

In the following sections, read t he examples and then cover up the English and see if you understand the meani ngs; then cover up the I tal ian and see if you can put them back i n to I lalian.

If you know what these are go on to 1 .3. 1 .

..... .....

�

The negative is used to ay ' no', you 'don't' do someth ing, you 'haven't' got something, or to tell someone not to do something. A negative entence is a entence with a 'no' 'not' or 'don't' i n it.

A

The i merrogative is used to ask que L ions. The imperative i used to give order , directions or instruction - to tell omeone what to do or what not to do.

1 .3. 1

Negatives: how to say what you don't do

..... .....

If you know how to use no and non

.•.

,

Capisci? Poria inglese? Conoscete !'Albergo Salerno? Michele sa il Iatino? Questa Irena va a Cosenza?

go on to

1 .3.2.

To ay you don't do omcthing, you put verb. Non so.

non

i n front of the

B

I don't know.

If you wish to start the sentence with an 'imroductory' negation, usc no. No, non porto. I

ay you/they don ' t do these things by putting non in front of the verb. ay the sentences aloud to get u eel to the sound. vino. lbere) lettere spesso. lscrivere) Ia sua pasta elettronica. lleggere) riviste. lcomprore) ! lsapere) a trovare l'ingresso. lriuscire) questa sera. !venire) ___ andare. lvolere) andare li. lpiacere . . . . altenzione!) l'aglio! lmangiore - tu)

__

b

__

c

d e f

I don't often write letters. he doesn 't read her c-mails. We don't buy magazines. I don't know! l ie can't find the entrance.

g They arc not coming tonight. h I don't want to go.

c

__

__ __ __

__

i

We don't like going there.

__

j

You don't cat g-.u lic!

__

1 .3.2 Interrogatives: asking q uestions There are four ways of asking a question. You can: make a statement and change the intonation; ii invert the ubject and the verb where a subject pronoun is actually used; iii use a question word, and then the verb as normal;

You u nderstand? You speak English? You know the l lotcl alcrno? Michele knows Latin? This train is going

to

Cosenza?

I nverting the subject a nd the verb This can be done where t he subject pronoun is used for extra empha i , being mo t common with tu and Lei. I t can be used where a name or noun i expres eel as the subje L: Capisci tu? Poria inglese Lei? Conoscete !'Albergo Salerno voi? Sa il Iatino Michele? Va a Bologna questa !reno?

o, I ' m not leaving.

a They don't drink wine.

Changing the i ntonation This i the easiest and most u eel way to a k a que Lion. Remember you have to u e a ri ing tone towards the nd of the question, which is what identi£ie a que Lion when spoken. Practise saying them aloud.

Do you understand? Do you speak English? Do you know the l lotcl

alcrno?

Does Michele know L a t i n? Is this train going to Bologna?

Using a question word fol lowed by the verb as normal Che dici? What are you saying? Why are you doing this? Perche Ia cosi? Dove alloggiate? Where arc you staying? Come vanno a Palermo? I low arc they going to Palermo? Whom do you know? Chi conoscete? I low many curos do you have? Quanti euro avete? When docs the tr.tin arrive in II !reno quando arriva a Bologna? Bologna?

D

Using a question word and inverting the subject and verb Che dici tu? What are you saying? Perche Ia cosi Lei? Why are you doing this? Dove alloggiate voi? Where are you staying? Come vanno lora a Palermo? I low are they going to Palermo? Chi conoscete voi? Whom do you know? Quanti euro avete voi? I low many curos do you have? Quando orriva il treno a Bologna? When does the train arrive at Bologna?

51

52

II

Use melhod B to turn these tatcments into qu a

Ill

� ...

b

Q)

c

>

d e f g

h i

j

I signori Bianchi obitono a Brescia. Vonno in voconzo. Prendono il treno. Vonno olio Costa Amalfitano. Honno un opportomento li. AHittono uno mocchino. Giocono a golf. Proticono lo sci ocquotico. Honno degli amici a Positono. La sera cenono in un ristoronte.

·

b

When arc they leaving?

c I low an� they Lntvclli ng?

d e f

Why arc they in Bari? What arc they doing? Who arc they meeting?

g I low long arc they staying at the hotel?

A

Dove ? (ondore) Dove vonno loro? ? (portire) Quando Come ? (vioggiore) a Bori? (store) Perche Che ? (fore) uno riunione? Con chi (overe) Quonto tempo in olbergo? (store) __

__

__

__

__

__

1 .3.3 I mperatives: g iving orders, d i rections or instructions If you know how to give orders and instructions go on to fast track 1 .3.4.

Th imperative is the part of t he verb you use when you arc telling omconc to do somet hi ng, or giving instructions or an order: 'Watch out! top! Turn left ! ' etc. In I talian, sine , there are four ways of saying 'you ' , there arc four ways or telling somebody what to do. r ourse, you use the lu form only when speaking to omcone you know well or someone younger than you, the voi form for two or more of them; you usc t he l-ei form for a st ranger or somebody senior to you, and the f-oro form for two or more of t hem, but this is u cd in very formal circumstances only. IV

c Do sit down!

d e f

Look at t hese examples. omc arc for tu, some for l-ei and others for voi. You will probably have heard omc of t hese before. Which ones do you know already? They arc jumbled - can you sort t hem out?

53

Ascoltate! Foi presto! Aspetto! Resti in lineal Si occomodi l Doi! Vo'! Giri a sinistral

ome on! Go! Tum left ! Listen! Wait !

g Hold the line (telephone ) . h H utTy up!

Usc method D with t hese question word : a Where arc they going?

b

Abitono a Brescia i signori Bianchi?

Remember that pronoun arc not often u ed except where extra emphasis n eds to b put on the person i nvolved. III

a

Lion

Ill

� ...

Q)

>

Giving a relative or friend advice or i nstructions using the tu form The tu form or acldre s i used LO give advice, instructions and orders to family member or friends. special form of the verb is used for this ( Lhc imperative ) ; this i ca y to form : for -are verbs, it ends in -a, and for -ere and -ire verb it is the normal tu form. Compro uno crovollo nuovol Bevi il vino del Veneto!

Buy a new tic!

Soli focendo ollenzionel

Get in carefully!

Drink wine from the Venice region!

ote that in the case of reflexive verb , t he reflexive pronoun is added to the end of the imperative: Alzoti! Siediti qui! Losciomi in pace!

Get up! Sit here! Leave me in peace!

ome irregular verbs have a special stem, but most u eful verbs prcscm no problems. Infinitive

andore overe dare dire essere fore sopere store

Meaning

tu

to go

vo'/voi obbi do'/doi di' sii fo'/foi soppi sto'/stoi

to

have

to give to say to be to do/make to know

to stand, be

imperative

Meaning go have give say be do/make know be/stand

ole that when da', dt�, fa' , sta' and va' are followed by a pronoun other t han gli, the first consonam of t he pronoun is doubled. Dommi Ia mono! Fogli un caHel

Give me your hand! Make him a coffee!

To give negative commands with lu, imply usc non followed by the infinitive of the verb.

54

Non Non Non Non

v

gridore! mongiore questa! ti preoccupare! mi losciore!

Don't shout! Don't eat that! or

or

Don't leave me!

La bevo ! Non Ia compri!

Tell a friend or relative to do or not to do the e things:

Here are ome examples of Lei forms for regular, spelling change and u eful irregular verbs, and a reflexive verb ( sedem) :

b

zitto! (store) ! (sedersi) ottenzione! (fore) mi uno penna! (dare) il bravo! (fore) Non qui! (venire) via! (andore) ! (alzorsi: odd reflexive pronoun to end)

hul up!

__

Non

Don't sit down!

__

c Be careful!

__

d

__

Give me a pen!

e Be good!

f

__

Don ' 1 come here!

__

g GeL ouL of here!

__

h Get up!

__

Giving relatives or friends advice or instructions using the voi form For voi i mperatives when peaking to two or more children, family members, or friends, usc the nonnal voi form of the present tense, which is usually like the infinitive, but ending in -te instead of re -

.

Aspettote! Andale! Venite subito!

Wait! Go! Come qu i ck!

Thi form is also u ed for negative voi imperatives: Non mi dimenticote! Non bevete quello! Non scendete Ia scala!

C

ote t hat reflexive and other pronoun arc not added to the end of t he imperative verb form thi time but are placed in front of it:

Note how pronoun go in front of the negative imperative or on the end of it. a

B

Non preoccuparti! Non losciormi!

Don't worry!

ome irregular verb have a special tem which you will recogni e from the pre ent ten e, and any pclling change seen in certain verb are also applied in thi imperative form.

Don't forget me! Don't drink that! Don't go down the stairs!

Giving a stranger advice or instructions using the Lei form The Lei form of addre i the one most likely to be used to give advi c, instructions and orders to strangers or in public places. A special form of the verb is u ed for t h is imperative (the subjunctive) ; this is easy to form, adding -i to the stem of -are verb , and -a to the stem of -ere and -ire verbs. The same verb form i u cd for negative commands: Bevo piu aequo! Solgo facendo ottenzione! Non compri questa mocchina!

Drink more water! Get in carefully! Don't buy this car!

Infinitive

parlore vendere partire finire cercore pagore ondore bere dare dire essere fore rimonere sa lire sopere scegliere store uscire venire sedersi

Dri n k it! Don ' t buy it!

Meaning

Lei command form

Meaning

to speak

parli venda porto finisco cerchi paghi vada bevo dio dico sio faccio rimonga salgo sappio scelgo stio esca venga si sieda

speak!

to sell to leave

Lo finish to look for· LO pay LO go Lo d ri n k

to give Lo say/tell LO be LO do

LO ·tay Lo go up to know

LO choose LO tand, be LO go OUL

to to

come si t down

sell! leave! finish! look for! pay! go! drink! give! say/tell! be! do! sLay! go up! know! choose! stand, be! go out ! come! sit down!

In public notices, and in instructions such as for recipes, the infinitive is often used in place of imperatives: Spingere Suonore Togliore i pamodori Non colpestore l'erbo

Push (on a door) Ring (on a doorbell) Chop up the tomatoes Don 'L walk on the grass

55

56

VI

What do t he e mean? Pair the jumbled phrases correctly: a Emcr your PI

b

.

Pull.

c Wait for the tone. d

peak into the microphone.

e

ign here.

f

Cancel your ticket.

g Push. h Please hold the line.

i Wait.

j

Press the button.

I

l lello. ( tell me -

k Listen, please.

Per favore, rimanga in linea. Spingere. Parli vicino al microfono. Timbri il biglietto. lnserire il numero di codice segreto. Senta, per favore. Premo il pulsante. Dica. Firmi qui. Tirare. Aspetti il segnale di Iibera. Aspetti.

As before, irregularitie and pelling chang s in the verb stem apply to this form too. o te also that reflexive pronoun and other pronoun are placed in front of t he Loro imperative. to sit down

Non si preoccupino! Non mangino in questa ristorante! VIII

VII

Your as i tant i not well. ivc him/her ome advice using t he Lei form of the imperative. a

i t down a m i n u te.

un momenta. (sedere) dol medico. (andare) piu aequo. (bere) piu fruita. (mangiare) a piedi al lavoro ogni giorno. (venire) di meno. (fumare) ' un po di footing. (fare) ' un po d'aria fresco. (prendere) a letto piu presto. (andare) di piu. (dormire) __

Co to sec the doctor.

__

c

Drink more water.

__

d Eat more fruit.

__

e Walk

__

f

to

work every day.

mokc less.

g Gojogging. h Get some fresh air. Go

j

D

Si

b

to

bed earlier.

Jeep longer.

__ __ __

__

__

Giving strangers advice or instructions using the Loro form The Loro form of addres is the plural one mo t likely to be used to give advice, in tructions and order to trangers pecial or in public place in very formal circum Lance . for·m of the verb is used for this imperative ( t he subjunctive ) ; t his i easy to form, adding -ino to the tern of -are verbs, and -ano to t he stem of -ere and -ire verbs; in other words, it has -no added to the end like the Loro form . Make your way to the restaurant! Try this new wine! Fill in this form!

Si accomodino al ristorante! Assaggino questa vino nuovo! Compilino questa modulo!

Infinitive

--

vendere part ire

Fill in the gaps in the table below showing both regular and irregular examples. H ighlight any which arc different from what you would have expected and choose three new ones to t ry to remember. Lei command form

Loro command form

to speak

parlino vendano

--

parli venda porta finisca cerchi paghi vada beva

to give

--

--

to leave to finish

--

cercare pagare andare bere dare dire essere

to look for --

to go

--

dica sia faccia rimanga

to go up

--

to say/tell --

to do

--

rimanere salire sapere scegliere --

uscire venire sedersi

to stay, be

sappia scelga stia

to go out

--

to know to choose

--

to sit down

E

Don't worry! Don't eat at this restaurant!

Meaning

venga si sieda

--

finiscano cerchino paghino --

bevano diano dicano siano facciano rimangano salgano --

scelgano stiano escano vengano si siedano

Ill ..a ..

�

it down!

This arne form of the verb i u eel for giving negative commands, although the e ar rather rare:

e.g. answering phone)

Tick the one you know already. l l ighlight any which are diffe rent from what you would have expected and choose three new ones to try to remember.

sedersi - Si siedano!

57

Meaning peak! sell! leave! finish! --

pay! go! drink! give! --

be! do! stay! go up! know! choose! stay, be! go out! come! sit down!

The noi imperative As in English, there is a way of aying ' Let's do' in I ta l ian. ln fact, thi i the ubjunctive noi form, which i identical to the normal form. As a reminder, here are the form for r gular verb , a couple of spelling-change verb , two u eful irregular verb and a reflexive verb; note that reflexive pronouns arc added to the end of the imperative.

58 Ill .a

..

�

IX

I nfinitive

Meaning

Hoi imperative

Meaning

comprare vendere portire linire cercare pogare andare fare sedersi

to buy

compriamo! vendiamo! portiamo! finiamo! cerchiamo! poghiamo! andiamo! facciamo! sediamoci!

let's buy

to ell to

leave

to lini h to look for

to pay to go to do/make to sit down

XII

Let ' t ry a keep-fi t e sion. Give t he voi form of the verb in brackets, taking particul ar care with reflexive . a Come i n !

let's sell

b

let's leave

d

let's look for let's pay let's go let's do/make

d

XIII

TV.

How would you give t hese in truct ions? I f you are likely to need to use the tu form ( Mangia la verdura!, Va ' a letto-0 practise this form; otherwise con entrate on the Lei form. Both sets of answers arc given. __

b

__

c

__

d

__

e

__

£

__

g

__

h i j XI

__ __ __

a sinistral (girare) Ia scala! (salire) Ia prima strada a destra! (prendere) sempre diritto! (andare) fino al prossimo semaforo! (continuare) a sinistra e a destra! (guardare) Ia strada! (attraversare) l'autobus! (prendere) davanti al teatro! (scendere) (mi) un messaggio quando arrivi! (mandare)

How would you tell someone to do the e things? Use the Lei form. a

pend less time watching

TV.

Eat more vegetables.

c Dt-ink more water.

d e

f

Go jogging. lose the door. Open the wi ndow.

meno tempo a guardare Ia (possare) piu verdura. (mangiare) piu aequo. (bere) footing. (fare) Ia porta. (chiudere) Ia linestra. (aprire) il possaporto. (far vedere) piu lentamente (porlare) con me. (venire)

__

TV.

b

___

XIV

u·etch your arms.

__

how your passport.

__

h i

peak more slowly.

__

__

le braccia. (allungare) cinque flessioni sulle braccia. (fare) le spolle. (abbassare) le ginocchia. (flettare) Non ! (muoversi) __

__

Lower your shoulders.

__

Bend your knees.

__

Don't move!

__

a

Prima,

b

__

di qui. (uscire) a destra. (girare) Ia seconda strada a destra. (prendere) sempre diritto. (andere) Ia piazza. (attraversare) Ia strada fino alia rotatoria. (seguire) a destra: il municipio e li di fronte. (girare)

__

c

__

d

__

e

__

f

__

g

--

(tu) (voi) the hop. (voi) the water. (lei)

a Don't open the door.

b

Don't walk on the grass.

c Don't cat in

d e

Don't ross the road

f

Don ' t lean out of the

Don't drink here.

(voi)

window.

(Lora)

g Don't leave your luggage here. (tu) h Don't wait here. (voi)

__ __

(stare)

Fir t m atch the Engli h and I talian, then cover up the right _ hand stde of the page and ee if you can remember the I talian.

__

g

Come with me.

f

__

·

Let's eat.

a

tand with your feet apart.

(entrare) in fila. (mettersi) uno spozio. (trovare) fino alia porete. (correre) con i piedi divaricati.

Tell orne I tal ian vi itor the way to the town hall, u ing the Loro form.

e L et's get up.

X

__

e

h i j

a Let's go out. c Let's watch

__

Run to the wall.

g Do live pres -ups.

let's sit down

Let's stay a t home.

__

c Find a space.

let's finish

How would you ay: b

__

ct i n line.

j

Don't put your boots on the table. (lei)

(tu) (lora)

Don't wear black.

k Don't smoke.

Non aspettate qui. Non beva !'aequo. Non vestirti di nero. Non lasciare i bagagli qui. Non aprire Ia porta. Non mangiate nel negozio. Non calpestate l'erba. Non lumina. Non sporgetevi dol finestrino. Non metta gli stivali sui tavolo. Non attraversate Ia strada qui.

59

60

XV

The e recipe instructions are for an I ta lian Easter Jrillala (omelette) . Her t hey are expre sed with infinit ives. Put them into t he lu form . a Prepare the ingredients.

b

Chop up the salami and bacon.

c Fry the bacon and then

the salami a l i t t le.

d

Beat the eggs into a bowl.

e Add the salami and bacon.

f

Put the chopped parsley into the bowl.

g M i x well. h Warm up a frying pan with some ol ive oil. Pour the mixture into the pan.

j

Fry the omelette lowly.

k Turn the omelcne over . ..

I

1 .3.4 A

. .

.

a n d f.-)' the other side.

.... Fast track: negatives, i nterrogatives a nd i mperatives Negatives: sayi ng you don't do something You put non in front of t he verb. Non so. Non vende Ia sua macchina.

B

Preparare gli ingredienti . Tagliare a pezzetti il salome e Ia pancetta. Friggere un pa' Ia pancetta e poi il salome. Battere le uova in una terrina. Aggiungere il salome e Ia pancetta. Mettere nella terrina il prezzemolo tritato. Mescolare bene. Riscaldare un pa' d'olio d'oliva in una padella. Versare il cantenuto della terrina nella padella. Friggere a fuoco Iento. Girare Ia frittata . . . . . . e lriggere l'altro lato.

I don't know. She/he isn ' t selling her/his car.

Interrogatives: asking questions You can: •

•

•

•

Dove? Perche? Quando? Che/Che coso/Coso? Chi? Quale/i?

c

invert t he subject and t he verb when you want to st ress the subject: Is she going to Massa? Va lei a Massa?

When? What? Who? Which?

Imperatives: giving orders , d i rection s and i nstruc tions To make t he imper ative when talking to childr en, family and friend , you use a form ending in -a for -are v ·rbs, and -i for -ere and -ire verbs. For most verb ·, the stem is taken from the infinit ive. omc verb have ·pellin g changes or arc irregul ar. Aspetta!

Wait!

For noi imperatives, usc the normal noi form, whi h is u ually like t he infinitive, but ending in -imno instead or -re. Aspelliamo! Andiamo

Let's wait! Let's go!

For voi imperatives when speaking to two or more people, family member or friend , usc the normal voi form, which is usually like the infinitive, but ending in -te instead of' -re. Aspettate!

Wait!

To make t he Lei imperat ive when talking to st rangers or cniors, you u e the approp riate form or the ubjunc tivc, which for -are verbs ends in -i, and for -ere and -ire verbs ends in -a. For mo L verb , the stem is taken from the infinit ive, and some verbs have spellin g changes or irregu larit ies. Aspetti!

make a tatcment and change t he intonation: Are you going to Massa? Vai 0 Nlassa?

Where? Why?

Wai t !

For t he Loro imperative when talking to two or more stranger or eniors, you use the loro form of the subjunctive which for -are verbs ends in -ino, and for -ere and -ire verbs end in -ano. For mo ·t verbs, t he stem is taken from the infinit ive, but omc verb have spelling hangcs or irregularities. This form of the imperative is used rarely and in formal circumstan es.

u e a que ·tion word, t hen the verb a nom1al: Dove andale? Where arc you going?

Aspettino!

use a question word, t hen invert the cxp �c ·cd subject and verb when you want to st ress the ubject: Dove vanno !oro? Where arc they going?

otc that prono uns arc added to t he end of t he imperative. Aspettami! Wait for me!

·

Useful question words: Quanta/a/i/e? Come?

I low much? /I low many? I low? Pardon?

Wait !

To give negative ommands with tu, use non followed by the infinitive of the verb. For all other negative command , put non in front or the positive form .

61 Ill

..a ...

G)

>

62

1 .4

Note how in the last one the ingle comp leted action is de cribed in the perfec t.

The past tenses aying what you have done or what has happened

Ask yourself: Did it happen once in the post? Is it over? Is it finished? Then use the perfect tense.

If you know when to use the perfect and imperfect tenses go on to 1 .4. 1 .

Ask yourself: Is it something which used to happen in the post? Was it happening when something else happened? If you con use 'was/were' + on -ing form in English , you use the imperfect in Italian.

I n I talian, j u t a in English, t here are different ways of expres ing the past. The ten ·e you will need to use most arc the perfect ten e and the imperfect.

A

The perfect tense: i/ possoto prossimo The perfect tense is so called becau e i t de cribe a single, completed action; like the English equivalent, it is mo tly used for an action in the immediate past, one which has just happened, but it i also used for the Engli h past simple, a cen in the example · below. I n orne ways it is the easiest I talian ten ·e, but it doe have its complications, which have to be learnt. I have eaten/1 ate. I have arrived/! arrived.

C

Ho mongioto. Sono orrivoto.

The perfect tense translates ' I have played' and ' I played', and the que lion forms ' Have you played?' and ' Did you play?'.

The past defin ite tense : i l possato remoto The pa l defini te ten e, so called because it de cribes a single , compl eted action at a define d mome nt in the (not �e �ent ) pa t; like the Englis h equiva lent - the pa t simple rt rs mo tly use � for an action in the di tant past. I t is mo Lly used nowadays rn legal language and in narrative or histor ical l tali � n but you may come across it occasi onally in spoke n form: r t .'r regularly used in poken Italian in certain region , mainly in the South but also in Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. I n the rest of Italy, the perfect ten e is used in lead. My parents were born in I taly.

You use the per·fect Len e when you are talking or a king about something which happened and fin ished in t he past.

He sold his car.

I

Ask yourself: Did it happen once in the post? Is it over? Is it finished? Then use the perfect tense.

Which tense are you going to u e? a Yesterday I went to town.

b I

B

d

•

•

to describe things in the past: It was always raining. Piovevo sempre. to say what was happening when omething el e happened (an interrupted act ion ) . I was having a shower when Mi focevo Ia doccio quando e _ he arrived. orrivoto.

I

wem to the gym.

I used to go t h ree times a week.

e I met my gi rlfriend at the gym.

f g

he was on t he rowing machine.

I

was doing weights.

h She was laughing at me. i I asked her why. j My short� were inside out.

You use the imperfect tense: to talk about what used to happen in general: I used to go to school by bus. Andovo a scuolo in outobus.

bought a new pair of trainers.

c Then

The i mperfect tense: l'imperfetto The imperfect ten e tran fates ' I was playing when ... ,' 'Were you playing when ... ?' and 'l u ed to play (a long time ago) ' , and is used for repeated actions and descriptions in the past. •

I miei genitori nocquero in ltolio. Vende Ia suo mocchino.

1 .4. 1

The perfect tense: il passato prossimo

..... .....

If you know how to form the perfect tense with avere and essere go to 1 .4.2.

The perfect tense in I talian i made up of two parts like the Englrs h p rfect ten e: the appro pr·iate part of an auxilia ry verb - avere 'to have' or essere 'to be' - and the past

63

participle. Remember, though, that it is u ed for both recent actions in the pa t and more distant ones. Most verb form t he perfect ten e with avere, but some example with essere follow.

64 Ill

..0

... Q)

A

>

Past participle

avere

Participio Passato

Past simple meaning

I have

spoken eaten

you have ( formal ) ,

old

poriato mangiato venduto

I spoke

you have ( familiar)

ho hoi ho obbiamo ovete honno

capito fin ito preferito

(Noi) b (Loro) c (Lei) d Bianca e (Voi) f (Loro) g (Tu) h (lo) i (Luigi) j (Lei)

we have

understood

you have (familiar pl.)

finished

you have ( formal p l . ) ,

preferred

__

__

__

__

__

__

B

you sold we understood you preferred

-a

to -uto -ito

Auxiliary verb (English version)

Past participle

essere

Participio Passato

Past simple meaning you entered

I have

gone

you have ( familiar)

entered

sono sei

you have ( formal ) ,

fallen

e

ondoto/o entroto/a coduto/o

we have

gone out

you have ( familiar p l . )

gone up

you have ( formal pl. ) ,

left

siomo siete sono

usciti/e soliti/e portiti/e

mi sono vi siele

lovoto/o olzoti/e

he/she has

Here arc omc example of avere verb in sentences: Ho chiesto uno birro. Hoi fotto lo shopping. Ho perso un coltello e ha rotto uno tozzo. Abbiamo preso il treno delle sei. Avete dimenticoto le chiavi. Honno obbondonato Ia mocchina.

I ordered a beer.

I have spoken

b

you have spoken

I went you fell he/she fell

they have

we went out you went up you left they left

You did the shopping.

I have

washed myself

She has lost a knife and broken a

you have

got up

I washed my elf you got up

cup.

You can see t hat with essere vcrb the past participle behave like adjective and agree in number and gender with the ubject; t h u , with singular subjects they end in -o for masculine and -a for feminine ubjects. In the plural t hey end in -i for masculines and -e for feminine . ( For noun endings and adjective agreement, see 2. 1 and 4. 1 . 1 ) .

We got the 6 o'clock train. You have forgotten the keys. They have abandoned the car.

Practi e with the following. How would you say: a

The perfect tense with essere I n I talian, a we have een, ome verbs form the perfect with essere instead of avere. The e include all renexive verbs, of which there are a couple of examples in th is table.

you fin ished

You can see that the pa t participles are formed as follows: -ore verbs -ere verbs -ire verbs

__

__

you ate

they preferred

they have

guordato il Telegiornale delle 1 0:00. guardoto il Telegiornale delle 1 2 :00. guardoto il Telegiornole delle 1 4 :00. guardoto il Telegiornale delle 1 6:00. guordoto il Telegiornole delle 1 8:00. guordato il Telegiornale delle 20:00. guordato il Telegiornale delle 2 2 :00. guordato il Telegiornale delle 24:00. guardato il Telegiornale delle 02:00. guordato il Telegiornale delle 04:00.

__

__

he/she sold

he/she has

Who watched t he Telegiorn.ale news bulletin? Complete these 65 sentences by adding the right form of avere. a

The perfect tense with avere First, verbs which use avere; to get used to the sound of t he per-fect tense choose one of the phrases, or make up on of your own and practi c saying it until you arc really nuent . tudy t he following chart carefully.

Auxiliary verb

n

m

___

porloto

___

venduto

___

copito

(tu)

c she has spoken d they have poken e you have old

f

(Loro)

we have old

g have you sold? (voi) h john has u nderstood

i

j

you have understood

(Lei)

( my wife and I ) have understood

------

c

Verbs which use essere to form the perfect tense The majority of imransitive verb (one which do not normally have an object) and rencxivc verbs form t he

66

Checklist: formation of the perfect tense To make the perfect ten e you use the right person of avere ' to have' or essere ' to be' + the past participle:

perfect tense with essere. Here are some examples from the main groups of such verb : •

•

•

most verbs of movement or lack of movement: ondore, orrivore, codere, entrore, essere, fuggire, giungere, portire, restore, rimonere, solire, scoppore, scendere, store, tornore, uscire, venire verbs which indicate change: opporire, crescere, dimogrire, diventore, guorire, ingrossore, morire, noscere, svonire impersonal verbs and verbs de cribing the weather: owenire, bostore, dispiocere, moncore, piocere, sembrore, nevicore, piovere

overe: ho, hoi, ho, obbiomo, ovete, hanna essere: sono, sei, e, siomo, siete, sono

1 .4.2 How to form the past participle ..... ..... A

A few verbs can u e either avere or essere depending on whether they ar being u ed transitively or intransitively; with dovere, jJotere and volere, essere can be used if the following verb is an essere verb: Non sono potuto ondore ol cinema con mio frotello.

I

could not go to the cinema

o re

·

-ato

IV

went to the bar.

Luisa got up at eight o'clo k. We had a rest at home.

VI

aples.

They left for Rome.

Michele e ondoto/ondoto/ondoti ol lovoro. b Moria Grozio e tornoto/tornoto/tornote a coso. c E tu, Francesco, a che oro sei orrivote/orrivoto/orrivoti a scuolo? d I rogozzi sono gio uscite/uscito/usciti . e Emanuele e Alberto, a che oro vi siete olzoti/olzote/olzoto? f Le mie omiche ilolione sono venuti/venute/venuto a trovormi.

Franco aile dieci. (orrivore) b Lauro aile selle. (svegliorsi) c Noi per Genova aile undici. (porlire) d Loro moho a Capri. (divertirsi) e Gianni e Rosario o Ercolono (ondore) f Lei a trovormi a coso. (venire)

a

__

__

__

__

__

__

verbs

giocore b mongiore c finire d vendere e oscohore f ripetere g tenere h ospellore i sistemore j invitore

Complete these sentences by selecting the correct form of t he past part iciple. Then try translating them into Engli h.

Put the verbs in the e entences into t he correct form; don ' t forget t he agreemen Ls.

watch

dance

watched

danced

·ere verbs

·ire verbs

·uto

·ito

sing the ·e rule , what would be the past participle of the e verb ? a

a

V

played

You take off the ending -are, -ere or -ire and add -ato, -uto, -ito: jJarlare > parlato; vendere > venduto; j}{lrlire > j}{lrtito.

You went out at two o'clock.

You went back to

Regular verbs I n Engli h the pa t participle of regular verbs is formed by adding 'ed' to the infinitive: I n I talian, -are, -ere and -ire verbs each form t heir pa t participles in different way .

with my brother.

I

1 .4.3.

play

Here are orne examples of essere verbs in entences: Sono ondoto ol bar. Sei uscito/o aile due. Luisa si e olzoto aile olio. Ci siomo riposoti a coso. Siete tornoti/e a Napoli. Lora sono portiti/e per Ramo.

If you know how to form the past participle, go to

B

lovore rivendere m fermore n potere 0 tirore p dimenticore q uscire entrore r s sen tire t portire k

I

Agreement of past partici ples You have found in section 1 .4. 1 that with verbs which use essere for t he perfect tense, t he pa t participle has to match t he subject in number and gender. With avere verbs, t he pa t participle has to agree with t he direct obj�ct pron �uns lo, La, li, le which go in front of the verb. You will someumes ee this agreement in other ituation with avere verbs, but t hese types of agreement are mostly optional, so there is no

67

68

need to worry about t hem. Here are some examples of nece sary agreements: Dov'e Ia mia penna? La ho/L'ho dimenlicala. Ti piacciono i gatli? Li ho comproli ieri. Dove sono le ragazze? Non le ho visle. Vll

Where is my pen? I have forgotten

il.

Ho

a tennis con Giulio.

b Poi ho ___ mia moglie a pranzo. c Dopo ho il mio collega Giorgio. d Abbiamo del nuovo progetto. Ia sua e Mi ha cooperazione. f Abbiamo Ia data della conferenza slampa. g Mi ha ___ il nuovo deplianl per pasta elettronica. h Ho una pogina. i L'ho j Ecco i depliant; li ho

them yesterday. Where are the girls? I haven't

_ _ _

I played tennis with Ciulio.

(giocare)

io.

Le lettere? Le ho

(invilare)

__

C

una

Meaning

Similar

apparire aprire

apporso aperlo

tl1e sun appeat·ecl

scomporire riaprire

coprire

coperlo

il sole e apporso ho aperlo Ia porta ha coperto Ia podella non hanno detto niente mio zio e morlo abbiamo offerto 20 euro non e venula oggi

dire morire offrire

detto morto offerto

venire

venuto

ext I rang my colleague Giorgio.

the door he covered the

scoprire

frying-pan tl1ey have aid

maledire

nothing my uncle has died we offered 20

soffrire

euros she

did

not come

owen ire

today

The following chart lists other important irregular past participles; they are grouped so that you can ee which past participles are formed in similar way . Remember, there are two ways of translating each one.

(parlare) He assured me of his cooperation.

(assicurare)

We considered the daLC of the press conference.

(studiare)

Infinitive

Past participle

Example

Meaning

essere

stato

I have been to

nascere

nato

sono stato a Salerno e nata a Bergamo hanno bevuto una birra

He sent me the new brochure by e-mail.

I have opened

(chiamare)

We talked about the new plan.

(mandare) (cambiare) (slampare)

I changed a page. I printed it oul.

Here arc the brochures; I

(slampare)

The letters? I sent them.

(mandare) Dopo ho telenovela.

Example

Then I invi ted my wife to lunch.

printed them.

k

Past participle

seen them.

__

___

Infinitive

D o you like t h e cats? I bought

Che cosa ha fauo Marco stamattina ? 'What did Marco do t his morning?' Add the right form of the past participle, and watch out for any past participle agreements. a

Remember that the examples can be translated as e.g. ' I have opened' or ' 1 opened':

After that I watched a TV soap.

(guardare)

I rregular past participles Many English past participles are irregular, but we are so used to them that we don 't notice them. run > run; eat > eaten; drink > drunk

Some I talian verbs also have i rregular past part iciple . Although there seem to be quite a lot, they are easy to learn, as clusters of t hem follow similar patterns. Fortunately, -are verbs are all regular except for fare > JaUo. Most ire verbs are regular except for those grouped together in the chart below; some similar verb are given they follow the same pattern, but there arc many ot hers.

bere fare rompere

bevulo folio rollo

costringere

costrello

dirigere

dirello

distruggere

dislrullo

friggere

lrillo

leggere

letto

-

scrivere

scrillo

ho folio un errore hoi rollo Ia chiave mi ha costrello a Iorio Ponti ha dirello il film avele dislrullo Ia coso! ho lrillo delle cipolle hoi letto questo libro? ha scrillo una lettera

Similar

alcrno she was born

rinascere

in Bergamo they drank a beer I made

a

m istake

you have broken

soddislare irrompere

the key he forced me to do it Ponti directed tl1c fi Im you've wrecked the house!

I have fried some onions have you read

eleggere

this book? she wrote

a letter

descrivere

69

70 Ill ..a ..

�

Infinitive

Past participle

Example

Meaning

chiedere

chiesto

I

porre

poslo

ho chiesto un au menlo obbiomo poslo le basi ovele vista un !reno? sono rimosli a coso honno risposto ieri

vedere

visto

rimonere

rimosto

rispondere risolvere volgere spingere vincere conoscere piocere chiudere decidere

risposto risolto volta spinto vinto conosciulo piociulo chiuso deciso

asked f01· a rise

we've laid the

Similar

VIII

il nuovo II cliente ha depliant. (vedere) il testa. b Noi obbiamo (scrivere) c Palma lo ha nel computer. (immettere) d La ditto FoCo ha questa versione. (fare) e II cliente ha che gli piace. (dire) f Ha il contralto subito! (chiedere) a

richiedere imporre

foundations did you sec

rivedere

a train? they stayed

at home yesterday d i d he solve t h e

obbiomo spinto Ia porto honno vinlo Ia portito

we pushed the

ho conosciulo Gigli mi e piociulo molto

I mel Gigli

hanna chiuso Ia porta ovete decisa?

they closed t h e

dissolvere

problem? he turned

rivolgere

IX

his back

respingere

they won the

b

match

riconoscere

c

dispiacere

d e

socchiudere

f

door

g

have you decided?

prendere

preso

ridere

riso

spendere

spesa

mettere muovere

messo mosso

abbiomo presa un te ha riso sotto i boffi hoi speso una fortuna! lo avete messo fuori ho mossa mari e manti!

we have had a Lea

riprendere

he laughed up

sorridere

h

his sleeve you have spent

j

a fortune! you have put

rimettere

k

h i m out

I

have moved

new brochure.

Palma put it on the computer. The FoCo company made this version. The customer said he

I rimuovere

m

heaven and earth!

ote that only a few of the similar 'compound' verbs arc given as example : there are very many others. Keep your eyes open!

n

X

liked i t . He asked for t h e contra t traight away.

1 00.000 euro Salvo nella lotteria. (vincere) ___ comprare una nuova auto per sua moglie. (volere) ___ lo spot di una macchino elettrica. (vedere) ___ Ia macchina. (comprare) L'auto non a sua moglie. (piacere) di venderla. (decidere) un annuncio sui giornale. (mettere) Un ornico di suo marito un appuntomento per provare l'auto. (prendere) Salvo ___ sua moglie con il suo ornico in mocchino. (vedere) che si troltavo di un' awentura. (credere) Ia mocchina. (seguire) a velocito eccessiva. (andare) La Polizia Stradale I' (fermare) pogore una multo. (dovere) __

__

__

Salvo won

1 00,000

a

b

olia has read his latest novel Have you read the book?

Euros in

the lottery He wanted to buy a new car for his wife. He saw an advert for an electric car. He bought the car. His wife d i d n ' t likc the car. She decided to sell i t . She p u t an advertisement in the newspaper.

A friend of her husband made an appoi ntment to try the car out. Salvo saw his wife in the car with his friend. l ie thought they were having an affair.

He fol lowed the car. He went too fast. The police stopped him. He had to pay a fine.

Now can you tran late these? Iii suo ultimo romanzo).

71 Ill ..a ..

�

We wrote the text.

Now tell the story of Salvo's car. Complete the e sentences using the perfect tense of the verb given in brackets. ot all t he past participles are irregular! a

door

I l i ked him a lot

The customer has seen the

__

they replied

ho risolto il problema? ho volta le spolle

Complete t hese sentences by adding the past participle of the verb given in brackets.

c We haven 'l read the book.

72

d

XI

They have seen the film of the book.

e Sofia saw the film ye terday.

f We haven't seen the film yet..

For more practice with t he other persons, ee if you can give the right form of the perfect tense of alzar-si to complete these entence : When did they get up? a

g Have you seen the film?

b c

Checklist: past partici ples Most past participle end in -ato, -uto or -ito.

d e

f

Regular:

g

-ore verbs end in -oto; -ere verbs end in -uta; -ire verbs end in -ito.

h i

j

Many of the most commonly used verbs have irregular past parliciples:

Stomattina, io ___ aile sei (masc . ) . II ponettiere aile quattro. Sua moglie ___ aile quattro e mezzo. Berta aile sette e mezzo. Patrizio e Mariella ___ aile sette meno un quarto. Signora Cecilia, a che ora ? (Lei) Noi ___ aile sei (masc . ) . I signori Pirelli ___ aile nove. Lucia e Carla, aile nove e mezzo, non e vera? (vail A che ora ___ tu questa mattina, Paolo? __

__

___

Here are some more reflexive verb . You probably know most of them already.

Look for patterns to try to remember them: aperto, coperto; detto, lotto; scritto, letto; posto, vista; deciso, preso.

1 4 3 Reflexive verbs i n the perfect tense .

.

Reflexive verb behave the same in t he perfect tense as in t he pre ent, with t he reflexive pronoun before t he appropriate part of the aLtXiliary verb essere. This means, of course t hat t he pa t parliciple have to agree with t he ubjcct. Present

Perfect

mi alza ti alzi si alza ci alziamo vi alzate si alzano

mi sono alzato/a ti sei olzato/a si e alzato/ a ci siamo olzati/e vi siete alzati/e si sono alzati/e

At first you will probably only need to use reflexive verbs in the first person, so learn one phrase by heart and use it as a model to make other phrases later. mi mi mi mi

sana alzato presto sono Iovato sono pettinato sono preporato per andare al cinema

I got up early I got washed I combed my hair I got ready to go to the cinema

Infinitive

addormentarsi annoiarsi arrabbiarsi divertirsi forsi Ia barba lavarsi peHinarsi preoccuporsi preporarsi ricordarsi riposarsi sbagliarsi sedersi smarrirsi svegliarsi vestirsi

Meaning

Present tense

Perfect tense

to fall asleep

mi addormento mi annoio mi arrabbio mi diverto mi faccio Ia barba mi lava mi pettino mi preoccupo mi preporo mi ricordo mi riposo mi sbaglio mi siedo mi smarrisco mi sveglio mi vesta

mi sono addormentato/a mi sana annoiato/a mi sono arrabbiato/a mi sono divertito/a mi sono lotto Ia barba mi sono lavato/a mi sono pettinato/a mi sono preoccupoto/a mi sono preporato/a mi sono ricordato/a mi sono riposato/a mi sono sbagliato/a mi sono seduto/a mi sono smarrito/a mi sono svegliato/a mi sono vestito/a

to get bored to get angry to enjoy oneself

to shave to wash to comb one's hair

to get worried to get ready to remember to rest to

make a m istake

to i t down to get lost to wake up to

get dressed

Checklist: the perfect tense You use the perfect tense to talk about omething which has happened at a pecific t ime in the pa t . Most verb form the pe,-fect ten e with avere and t h e past participle of the verb: ho mangiato. avere: ho, hoi, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanna Some verbs use essere in tead: sono arrivato; with the e, t he past participle agrees with the ubject. essere: sono, sei, e, siamo, siete, sono

73 Ill ..0 ..

�

74

1 .4.4 The i mperfect tense: when to use it ..... .....

You can ee t hat the imperfect ending stan with the vowel of t he infinitive ending .

If you know when to use the imperfect tense, g o to

1 .4.5.

A

You use the imperfect ten e to: •

•

de cribe what something wa like in t he past: Quando era piccolo, abitavamo in Scozia. 111 cotland. The house was old. La coso era vecchia. Pioveva ogni giorno. I t rained every clay. When I was small, we lived

par/are

vendere

partire

finire

say what omeone or

parlavo parlavi parlava parlavamo parlavale parlavano

vendevo vendevi vendeva vendevamo vendevate vendevano

partivo partivi partiva partivamo partivate part iva no

finivo finivi fin iva finivamo finivate fin ivano

omething used to do: Andavo a scuola a piedi. Cercavamo legna per il fuoco. to look for wood

I used to walk to school. We u ed

for the fire. My father used •

Regular verbs Here are complete examples of regular verbs; note that -isc verb are like all other -ire verbs here:

to

go fishing.

Mia padre andava a pesca.

describe an interrupted acLion (say what someone/ something was doing when something else happened ) : Guardavo Ia tivu quando ha I was watching ( i m p rfecl) television when the suonato il telefono.

XII

Cosafacevano ? What were they doing when the lights went

out? a Mia marita davanti alia televisione. !dormire) b Carlo Ia televisione. lguardare) c Chiara una rivista. lleggere) d lo __ con Ia mia vicina. !chiacchierare) e !Noi) del nuovo presidente. lparlare) f Sara si Ia doccia. !fare) alia sua ragazza. ltelefonare) g Francesco b Andrea e Ia sua arnica le lora mota in garage. lriparare) i Nicola e Alessandro a biliardo. lgiocare) __

__

__

phone rang ( peli'ect ) .

I f you use 'was' or 'were' or 'used to' i n English, you need to use the imperfect to say the same thing in Italian.

__

__

__

__

The imperfect is usually the tense to use for describing the weather in the past: faceva freddo, 'it was cold'; pioveva, 'it was raining'

B

1 .4.5 How to form the i m perfect tense ..... .....

__

If you know how to form the imperfect tense go on to 1 .4.6.

To form the imperfect, you need to know the i n finitive stem e.g. parlare > parl- and add the endings for -are, -ere and -ire verbs a appropriate. This makes it just about t he ea iest ten e in I talian, with very few irregular verb ! Here are the regular forms: Person

-are verb endings

-ere verb endings

-ire verb endings

io tu lui/lei/Lei noi voi loro/Loro

-avo -avi -ova -avamo -ovate -ova no

-evo -evi -eva -evamo -evate -evano

·ivo ·ivi ·iva ·ivamo ·ivate ·iva no

I rregular verbs nly a handful of verb are irregular in t he im perfect tense, but note that the endings are the same as tho e of regular verb . Here are the mo t u eful one . essere

&ere

dire

fare

ero eri era eravamo eravate erona

bevevo bevevi beveva bevevamo bevevate bevevano

dicevo dicevi diceva dicevamo dicevate dicevano

facevo facevi faceva facevamo facevate facevano

XIII

ive the correct form of the verb. a

b

he was qu i te small. They used to do a lot of sport.

c We were young. d You were a clever boy.

__ __ __ __

abbastanza piccolo. moho sport. giovani. un ragazzo intelligente.

75

76

e

1

used to drink English beer.

f You used to say t hat you were dying to see me.

Ill ..a ...

XIV

Ql

>

Checkl ist: the i mperfect tense The imper·fcct tense is ea y as it i always formed in the same way.

birra inglese. Tu che morivi dol Ia voglia di vedermi. __

__

Give t he correct form of the imperfect of the verb in brackets.

Take t he infinitive of the verb, remove the add the new nding .

a (lo) alia fermata dell'autobus. (ospettare) b (Tu) Ligobue sui tuo walkman. (oscoltare) c (Noi) in cilia. (andare) d Patrizio il giornole. (leggere) e (Lei) il suo rogazzo. (ospettare) f Mario di coso. (uscire) in campagna. (store) g I suoi genitori looting. (fare) h Silvia Ia televisione. (guardore) i Voi j Mio padre un aperitive. (bere) __

The ending arc t he a me for a l l verb ·, and t here are just a few irregular verbs. The endings:

__

__

for -are verbs arc: -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avalf, -avano; for -fre verb : -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, -evalf, -romw; and for -irf verbs: -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivale, -ivano.

__

__

__

You arc most likely to need to usc the imperfect tense when talking about yourself: Jaceuo . . . , ero . . . , aveuo . . .

__

__

__

... or about t h e weather: Jaceva ... , c'em . .. , etc.

__

XV

omplete t he sen ten es to de cribe t he weather by adding the correct form of t he imperfect of t he verb in brackets. __

b

__

c

__

e

__

f

__

h i j

XVI

__

d

g

C

bel tempo. (fare) (nevicare) C' il sole. (essere) vento. (tirore) a catinelle. (piovere) (tuonore) La nebbio (dissolversi) coldo. (fore) C' un temporale. (essere) II mare moho mosso. (essere)

a

b d e

f g

h i j k

You need to use both the imperfect and the perfect in these sentences. Fill in the verb in the appropriate tense, then t ranslate the sentences. a

b

__

__

I n t he old days ...

c

Remember to usc t he imperfect ten c for t he action that was ongoing, and t he per·fect tense for t he action that ' i nterrupted' it.

__

Reflexive verbs in the i mperfect Reflexive verb behave the arne way in the imperfect tense a in the present, with the reflexive pronoun before the appropriate part of the verb, so t hey pre ent no problems. a

1 .4.6 Perfect or i m perfect?

XVII

__

Quando il mio bisnonno piccolo, in campogno. (essere, obitare) Le case lotte di pietra. (essere) C' meno di venti obitanti nel suo poese. (essere) Si l'uva. (coltivare) I bambini nella vigna. (lovorare) l'uvo. (raccogliere) I suoi genitori il vino. (fare) Non c' l'elettricita. (essere) Sua madre in un fuoco di legna. (cucinare) II mio bisnonno andare a scuola a piedi. (dovere) Per andare a scuolo, ci un'ora. (volere) __

__

__

c

d e

f g

h

__

__

j

__

__

k

__

__

__

I suoi genitori __ (obitore) a Livorno quando Nadia __ (noscere). Quando lei (essere) piccolo, Ia sua famiglio __ (andare) in Svizzera. Nadia __ (overe) cinque anni quando suo frotello (nascere). Giuseppe (overe) un incidente quando (overe) dieci anni. __ (ottroversore) la strada quando un'outo non (lermarsi) al semaloro. Nadia (vedere) l'incidente mentre (ospettare) l'autobus. Lei (overe) dicionnove anni quando (dore) l'esame di maturita. Nadia __ (studiore) biologia quando (decidere) di abbandonare i suoi studi. (fare) un corso di informatica quando (vedere) l'annuncio della MegoSA. Nadia (lovorore) per questa ditto quando (conoscere) il suo futuro morito. Le1 (essere) direttrice del personole quando lui (fare) domondo d'impiego. (fore) bel tempo quando Nadia e Giuseppe (sposarsi). __

__

__

I

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

-are/ere/ire and

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

77

78

1 .4.7 The past defin ite tense: il possoto remota ��

There are many i rregular verb in the past definite ten e; since this ten e i not one you are likely to need, we will simply give you a selection of u eful irregular verbs o that you can recogni e the endings and how the tern of irregular verb change from one form to another. With all but essere, there are identifiable pattern .

If you know about the past definite tense, go on to

1 .4.8.

The pa t definite ten e in I talian i ju t like the English past imple tense, consi ting ofju t one word. However, you will only come aero it o ca ionally: this is becau e it is not used in poken form over most of I taly, the perfect tense b ing used instead. It is, however, ommonly used for narrative in formal writing, for exampl in novels and hi torical writing. Here, we will ju t give you enough information to enable you to recognise it; for more information, consult Azione Orammatica ( Hodder and toughton ) . Thi tense i alway u ed t o describe a single, completed action in the past. The pa t definite ten e is therefore used for narrative and reports of past events, only being u cd for recent everyday events in poken I talian in southern I taly. In I talian, mo t verb for·m the past definite on a stem based on the infinitive minu -are/ere/ire. These examples could be ex pre· ed in the perfect ten e if they concern recent actions, but arc more likely to be in the past definite in written I talian. Andoi ol bar e chiesi uno birro.

I went to the bar and I ordered a

abandoned the car.

porloi porlosti porlo porlommo porloste porlorono

vendei (vendetti l vendesti vende (vendettel vendemmo vendeste venderono (vendetterol

portii portisti porti portimmo portiste portirono

ebbi ovesti ebbe ovemmo oveste ebbero

chiusi chiudesti chi use chiudemmo chiudeste chiusero

dissi dicesti disse dicemmo diceste dissero

feci focesti fece focemmo foceste fecero

lessi leggesti I esse leggemmo leggeste lessera

mettere

muovere nascere

prenclere

riclere

stare

misi mettesti mise mettemmo metteste misero

mossi movesti masse movemmo moveste mossero

presi prendesti prese prendemmo prendeste presero

risi ridesti rise ridemmo rideste risero

stetti stesti stette stemmo steste stettero

nocqui noscesti nocque noscemmo nosceste nocquero

All have two stems. The tems for

tu, noi and

voi are usually closest to the infinitive

The tems for io,

or -ss-.

lui/lei and toro are i rregular and often

end in -s

·i, tu ·sfi, noi rono or ·ero; lui/lei always ends in ·o, ·e, ·i, for regular verbs usually with an accent and ·e for irregular verbs. For all verbs, t he past definite endings are: io =

·sfe, /oro

=

=

=

=

As always, many other verbs follow the e models.

They went to the market and

-ire: partire

fui fosti fu fummo foste furono

·mmo, voi

You forgot the keys and

-ere: venclere

leggere

4.

the 6 o'clock train.

-are: par/are

fare

3.

We wem lO the station and got

Here are the past definite forms of regular -are, -ere and -ire verbs; note that -ere verbs have two pos ible forms for the io, Lui/lei and Loro for·ms:

dire

stem.

S/he went to town and did some

bought pears.

chiuclere

1. 2.

You lo t a knife and broke a cup.

shopping.

Andommo olio stozione e prendemmo il !reno delle sei . Dimenticoste le chiovi e obbondonoste l'outo. Andorono ol mercoto e comprorono delle pere.

avere

Can you ob erve the following feature ?

beer.

Perdesti un coltello e rompesti uno tozzo. Ando in citto e fece Ia speso.

essere

xvm

torytclling in the past definite: put in the orrect form of the right verb from the list below, then translate t he story. Molti onni fa, (noil 1 in ltolio. _2_ due settimone ol more. _3_ un opportomento a Diomonte. Mio morito _4_ windsurf; io _5_ il tempo prendendo il sole sullo spioggio e leggendo. Mio frotello e suo moglie _6_ a store un fine settimono con noi. Ci _7_ molto. La sera _8_ in un ristoronte e poi _9 fino aile tre di nolle. II giorno dopa, tutti _1 0_ il windsurf. E voi, dove 1 1 e coso 1 2_ li? _

_

_

offittore, bollore, cenore, divertirsi, fore (x 31. ondore (x 21. possore, store, venire

79

80

Checklist: the past defi n i te tense You u e the past defin i te tense to talk about a ingle, completed action which happened at a specific time in t he pa l .

To a stem based on the infinitive add:

The endings for -are verb are: -ai, -(tsli, -o, -ammo, -asle, -arono.

for

-

ei/el li,

.

...... Fast track: the past tenses There arc different ways of saying what has happened in t he pa t

A

-ore verbs: -oi, -osli, -0, -ammo, -oste, -orono -ere verbs: -ei/etti, -esli, -€/-ette, -emmo, -esle, -erono/-ettero for -ire verbs: ·ii, -isli, ·i, -immo, -isle, -irono for

There are many irregular verbs in this tense.

-esli, -e/-elle, -ermtw,

The ending for -ire verbs are: -ii, -isli, -t, -imuw, -isle, -irono. .

1 5 •

A

The perfect tense Thi i u ed to de cribe an action in t he past which has been completed recently.

The perfect tense is made up of an auxiliary or ' helper' verb and the pa t parti iplc , as in Engli h: avere for most verb · - ' I have eaten' ho mangialo - and essere for some verb , including all rcOcxives: 'we have arrived' siamo arrivati. ole that past participle with essere verb alway have to agree with t he subject, and participles with avere verb omet imes have to agree with a preceding direct object.

The imperfect tense The imperfect is used to talk about an ongoing or habitual action in the past.

The futu re tense and the conditiona l The future: il Futuro You usc the future ten e, it futuro, to talk about omet hing that is going to happen, something you want to do or are going to do in the future. In I talian, just as in Engli h, there are two ways of saying what i going to happen. ole also that t he pre ent ten e is often u ed to exprc an event which will happen in the ncar fuLUre (see ection 1 .2 ) . The fuLUre tense translates the Engli ·h 'will' and a n imply intent ion as well as future act ion, e.g. ' l ie will go' - 'I will make sure h does! '

The perfect tense is used whenever it is used in English, and also instead of the simple oneword post tense form, i.e. for both 'I hove spoken' and 'I spoke'.

B

The past definite tense This is used to de ribc a single, compl ted action in the di tant pa l . I t i often u ed where we might expect the p r·fcct ten e, but usually only in formal written reports.

Almost a l l verbs have regular endings, but t here are many irregular verbs.

Th endings for -ere verbs arc: -este, -erono/-ellero.

1 4 8

C

guarder<'> andre oscolteronno

B

I will watch he will go they will listen

The conditional : il condizionole This is not t rictly con idcrcd a future ten e but it talks about the future: what you would do if ... lt translate 'would/ hould/ ould' in Engli h. 'I would like to go if .. . ' , talking about something you would lik to do in the future. I would lik

•

to go to Rome.

We really should/ought to go. Could we go tomorrow?

If you can use 'was/were' or ' used to' in English you use the imper·fe l tense in I talian.

It is also used as a more polite way of stating or asking for something:

I t is formed by adding to the i n finitive stem t he endings: -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avale, -avano for -are verbs; -evo, -evi, eva, -evamo, -evale, -evano for -ere verbs; and -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivale, iva no for -ire verbs.

'I would like to leave now': Mi piacerebbe andare via subito.

-

81

82

il suo complete nero e uno comicio bianco. jeans e uno moglietto, come sempre. suoi i Nicolo d il loro vestito nozionole. e Le mie omiche pontoloni neri e uno comicio ozzurro. dei amici miei I f bionchi e delle scorpe nere. colzettoni dei Noi g ? che Lei, E h tu? Che

c II mio ornico

1 .5. 1

The future tense : ' I wi l l

...... ......

If you know about the future tense go on to 1 .5.2.

__

__

This is the 'proper' future ten e, ometimes called t he future imple becaus i t con i ts ofjust one word. I t translates the English 'will' and i u ed to talk about events which will take place in the future. comprero ondro oscolteronno

A

they will listen

Notice the endings ore very similar to those of the present tense of the verb avere except for the noi and the voi forms. This may help you to remember them: verbs

porlero porleroi porlero porleremo porlerete porleronno I

-ere verbs

-ire verbs

prendero prenderoi prendero prenderemo prenderete prenderanno

portiro portiroi portira portiremo portirete portironno

Give the correct future tense of the verbs in brackets. noi b tu c voi d lora e Lei f lui g lora h noi i io j lora a

(guordore) (preporore) (mettere) (mangiore) (permettere) (scrivere) (orrivore) (entrore) (portire) (solire)

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

--

B

I will buy he will go

Regular verbs Fortunately almo t all verbs are regular. The futuro is made by adding these ending to a stem based on the infinitive: -o, -ai, -a, -emo, -ele, -anna. -are and -ere verbs u e the infinitive stem adding -er-, and -ire verbs add -ir before the future tense ending. A few verb have a slighly modified future tern.

-are

__

rregular verbs orne of the most common verb are irregular in t he future ensc. Look for patterns to help you remember them and choose the four t that you think you ore most likely to need, and learn the form. io

H ere are the mo t useful irregular future verb tarting with essere, which is completely irregular; with the other the s t m is only slightly irregular, losing the vowel of the nfinitive ending; but tl1e endings arc the same for all verb . essere

soro soroi soro soremo sa rete so ron no Infinitive

Future

andere overe codere dovere potere sopere vedere vivere

andre ovro cadre dovro potro so pro vedra vivro

The following verbs have future tern ending in

__

__

ll

__

Cosa jJorteranno? What are t hey going to wear for t he Jesta? lo b Voi

a

__

i vestiti tradizionoli della regione. uno gonno rosso e uno comicetto bianco.

__

__

__

Infinitive

Future

bere morire porere rimonere

berra morro porro rimorro

-rr-:

83

84 Ill ..a ...

Q)

>

Infinitive

Future

tenere volere venire volere

terra vorro verro vorro

IV

L'onno prossimo, io vent'onni. (overe) b In questo momento, studio in ltolio, rna l'onno prossimo io in lnghilterro. (ondore) c lo un corso d'inglese a Oxford. (fore) d (lo) ti il mio nuovo indirizzo. (mondore) e Tu a trovormi a Oxford, vero? (venire) f Poi, noi insieme a Londro. (ondore) onche fore un vioggio in Scozio, mo necessaria g ondore in auto perche ondore con il treno troppo! (potere, essere, costore) h Quando il mio corso, io in ltolio, e per mio padre nel suo ufficio. (finire, tornore, lovorore). a

Future

dare fore store cominciore mongiore cercore pogore

doro foro storo comincero monger<'> cerchero poghero

__

__

__

__

__

ote also the following: Infinitive

85

Write in the correct fo1-m of t he verb in brackets:

__

__

__

__

__

V

__

__

What ar these people going to do? Complete the entences by adding the correct form of the verb andm·e. lo olio spioggio a fore del windsurf. b Tu in montogno a fore deltaplano. c Mario ol fiume a fore del rohing. d Lei ol more a fore surf. e Noi ol solone dell'outomobile per comprore un'outo con quottro ruote motrici. f Voi sulle Alpi per fore lo sci. Natalia e Sergio sulle Alpi a fore snowboord. g h Loro in montagne a fore olpinismo? i Patrizio e Benedetto sugli Apennini a fore speleologio. a coso. j lo a

__

__

As you can ee, dare, fare, start> keep the -a- of t hci r infinitives, rominriart> a n c l mangia·re lo e thc -i, un necessary before the f4 and cerrart> and mangiare need -h· to k ep the hard -r- or -g- sound before the -f4. -

__

__

,

__

__

ole that, as always, any compounds ba eel on the verbs above have the same irregularity in the future t nse; in the case of the last group, verb with similar pcllings have the same changes. Useful expressions. te Ia diro piu Iordi, Til tell you later'; soro necessaria, 'it will be necessary'. III

__

__

__

__

VI

uno festo. I suoi colleghi orgonizzer b Tommoso for uno torto. c Sabrina spedir gli inviti. d Isabella e Silvio preporer quolcoso do mongiore. e Sergio comprer cinque bottiglie di Asti Spumonte. f II suo podrone gli offrir un regolo. Raffaele decorer Ia coso. g Roffoele. h Noi oiuter i Silvio cercher i bicchieri. Voi canter •Tonti ouguri a te!•. j a

For more practice give the correct form of the verb in brackets. a

b c d e

f g

h i

j k

I

io voi tu noi lui lei Loro noi voi loro Lei io

__

(overe) (venire) (fore) (overe) (solire) (sopere) (volere) (dire) (mettere) (potere) (tenere) (venire)

__

__

__

__

__ __

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

ll romplemmo di Davide. \tVhat arc th y going to do for David ' birthday? Add the mi ing pan of th future tense verb.

__

VII

Bianca and Riccardo and t heir children are going kiing in the wiss lp . Before t hey leave they go over the t ravel arrangements with the travel agent. Add the correct form of the verb in brackets; most need to be in the voi form; watch out for t he ot hers.

Ill ..a ...

�

86

Quando (noi)? (partire) b (Voi) il vola di Alitolio delle 1 4 : 50. (prendere) c Un pullman vi __ ol vostro orrivo e vi oll'olbergo. (ospettore/partore) d Voi tutti sciore. (patere) e A mezzogiorno, (voi) oll'olbergo o in un ristoronte, come (pronzore/volere) f La sera (voi) uscire. (patere) freddo, (voi) partore sempre vestiti odotti. g Siccome (fore/dovere) a

__

__

__

__

speak

e live

__

__

87

(parlore) (vivere) f buy (comprore) g ask (chiedere) h listen (oscoltore) i watch (guordore)

d

__

__

IX

__

"' ..a ...

�

Add the right part of giocare to the following. Remember the spelling change. a

I would play tennis.

b My friend would play too.

1 .5.2 The cond itional : ' I would ..... .....

c Her friends would play too.

d

I f you don't want to practise the conditional g o to 1 .5.4, as you might need to recognise it when you hear it.

We wouldn't play.

e You would play volleyball.

X

the beach.

b

My boyfriend would prefer lo go windsurfing.

c My girlfriends would prefer

The conditional i used to translate 'would', 'could' and 'should' in English. It is called the condi tional because you use it when you are making a condition: ' I would go if you paid me!' But it is also used to be more poli te: ' I would like a box of chocolate ' .

lO go lo town.

d

a restaurant.

1 .5 .3 How to form the cond itional

A

a

I

b

Gino would like lO stay i n .

Regular verbs

c Patrizia is interested in

parlerei parleresti parlerebbe parleremmo parlereste parlerebbero

-ere verbs

venderei venderesti venderebbe venderemmo vendereste venderebbero

d

partirei partiresti partirebbe partiremmo partireste parti rebbero

__

ondore olio spioggio.

II m io rogozzo __ fore windsurf. ondore ol Le mie omiche paese. Noi cenore in un ristoronte. fore voi? Coso

uscire. (piocere) rimonere a coso. A Gino (piocere) ondore ol A Patrizio cinema. (interessore) Ai miei genitori ondore in Austria. (interessore) dei libri, Pino? (piocere)

__

__

e Would you like some

__

books, Pino?

f What would you like

lO do,

boys and girls?

g What would you like to do, Signor Piaggio?

h Would you be interested in theatre tickets, Signori?

I would . . . (mongiore) b drink (bere) c sleep (dormire)

My parents would be interested in going to Austria.

How would you say the following? a cal

would like lo go out.

going lO the cinema.

-ire verbs

Ia

Piacere and a few other verb are 'back-to-front' verbs. Add t he right part of each one, and the correct pronoun ( ee sections 1 .2.2 and 1 .9.6) .

It i easy to learn a it uses t he same stem as the future tense + a special set of endings which are the same for all verbs.

- are verbs

VITI

We would prefer lo dine in

e What would you prefer lo do?

XI

__

Add the right part of preferire to these sentences. a I would prefer lO go lo

You probably already know the expressions vorrei and mi piocerebbe for 'I would like', both good examples of the conditional.

o tennis. lo La mio omico onche lei. Anche i suoi amici Noi non Voi a pallovolo.

B

Coso fore, rogozzi? (piocere) Che fore, Signor Pioggio? (piocere) Vi dei biglietti del teotro, Signori? (interessore) __

__

__

I rregular verbs I n the conditional, i rregular verbs use the same tern as for the future, but with onditional ending . As a

88 Ill

..a ..

�

reminder, her t hey are, Laning with t h full e t of form · for esserr>.

XII

Talking about yourself: how would you say the following? a I would make somet hing

to caL

essere

b I c I d I

sorei soresti sorebbe soremmo soreste sorebbero

__

would have a friend. would tell my friends.

e I would come to Italy.

f I could windsurf.

__

g I would put on a coaL h I would know the answer.

I would want to go ouL j I would have w1itlcn to him.

Verb with honened infinitve tems: XIII Infinitive

Future

ondore overe codere dovere potere sopere vedere vivere

andrei ovrei cod rei dovrei potrei soprei vedrei vivrei

Verb with

would leave town.

- rr-

tern:

Infinitive

Future

bere morire porere rimonere tenere volere venire volere

berrei morrei porrei rimorrei terrei vorrei verrei vorrei

Verbs with modified tern spelling : Infinitive

Future

dare fore store cominciore mongiore cercore pogore

do rei fa rei storei comincerei mongerei cercherei pogherei

lo ___ do mongiore. lpreporore) dollo citto. luscire) ___ un ornico. Iavere) Lo ___ oi miei amici. !dire) ___ in ltolio. !venire) fore windsurf. lpotere) il coppotto. lmettere) Mi Ia risposto. lsopere) lo ___ uscire. lvolere) scritto. Iavere) lo gli __

__

___

What ould they do? Fill in the corre t form of potere. a

b

adia could go home. We could go to the cinema.

c We could go to the sports

Nadia Noi ___

tornore o coso. ondore ol cinema. ondore ol centro sportive.

centre.

d I

could do karat .

e You could play volleyball.

f

on etta could go riding.

g The children could go swi mming.

h i j

We could meet afterwards. We could go to the bar. We could go back to my house.

fore karate. lo giocore o pollovolo. Tu ondore o Concetto covollo. I bambini ondore in piscino. ___ incontrorci dopo. ondore ol bar. tornore a coso mio. __

1 .5.4 ..... Fast track: the future and conditional To say what you are going to do or what i going to happen, u e the future tense ilfuturo which is made up from a tern based on the infinitive with ending : -o, -ai, -d, -emo, -ele, -anno. The e are the mo t commonly used irregular verbs in t he future. Jt is u eful to be able to recognise which verb they come from. ondore overe dovere essere fore pogore potere sopere store

ondro ovro dovr6 sore foro poghero potro sopro storo

89

90

vedere venire vivere volere

vedr6 verr6 vivr6 vorr6

... or a requirement (after bisogna che/e necessario che, ( ' i t is necessary that ' ) : Bisogno che lui soppio guidore.

You probably already know vO'rrei and mi piacerebbe ( ' I would like' ) , o you already know a couple of the endings.

I don ' t think ( that) he has any

E possibile che i bambini siono

lt is possible that the children

money are t i red.

and after certain fixed expression

uch as:

'in order that', affinche/in modo che:

I would like

ollinche lui orrivi in tempo

I would love I would prefer

in order that he arrives on time

'although ' , benclzi.

we could we should, ought to

benche lei porto aile 6:00

it would be

' before', prima che: prima che lui compri il suo biglietto

although she leaves at 6 o'clock

before he buys his ticket

'until', finche non:

The subjunctive

linche non orrivi olio stozione

If you are not ready for the subiunctive yet go on to section 1 .8.

The subjunctive is not used much in English any more (only in expression uch a ' I f I were you' ... ) , but it ha to _ be used in many expre sion in I talian. You are not likely to need to u e t hose ex pre ions yourself very often other than those form u ed for imperative which you have already met ( ee 1 .3.3) , but it is useful to b able to recogni e them when you hear them and you may need to know which verb is being used. Choose one or two of t he expre sion to learn by heart and then usc them as a model. If you want to know more about the subjunctive go to Azione Orammalica (I I odder and Stoughton ) .

1 .6. 1

How to form the subjunctive Put simply, the subjunctive is formed with the same stem as the pre ent tense, and by and large follows the same patterns of spelling variation from one person form to another. For -are verbs, the subjunctive endings are: -i, -i, -i, -iomo, -iote, -ino and for -ere and -ire verbs, the ubjunctive endi ngs are: -a, -a, -a,

In I talian, th ubjunctive is u ed after verb which expre a wish or de ire:

•

I want him to go.

I hope that she will come.

until he arrives at the station

II in doubt, look at a good dictionary: they will ohen give examples of expressions using these and other constructions, from which you con see when the subjunctive is necessary.

The subjunctive i very often preceded by the word che. B T this doe not mean that che is always followed by t he subjunctive!

Voglio che vodo lui. Spero che lei vengo.

drive.

Non credo che obbio soldi.

stonchi .

The most useful onditionals are:

1 .6

LO

or a doubt or uncertainty:

The conditional t ran lates 'would', e.g. ' I would go', ' I would like'.

mi piocerebbe vorrei prelerirei potremmo dovremmo sorebbe

He m u t be able

-iomo, -iote, -ono

Can you spot the following feature ?

•

-are verbs have endings mo Lly with a dominant -i-, not t he -a- you would expect. -ere and -ire verbs have ending mostly with a dominan t -{}; instead of -i-.

91

•

92

•

Ill ..a

Form for io, tu, lui, �i and Lei are all the same. The noi forms are the same as for the ' normal' prcsct1l (the i ndicativc ) .

You will recognise most of t hese forms from t h e imp ralive u e of th subjunctive (see 1 .3.3) . As you can cc, the io form do not end in -o as in the normal pre enl lcn c (indicative) , but is the same as the second and third person singular. o io, tu, lui, lPi, lfi arc used in front of t he verb to clarify who is the person doing the action

...

�

There are obvious pauern : on c you know one form, the others follow very predictably and easily.

A

Regular verbs io form

prelerire

io form

par/are

io form

vendere

io form

partire

porlo

porli porli porli porliomo porliote porlino

vendo vendo venda venda vendiomo vendiole vendono

porto

preferisco preferisca porto preferisco porto preferisco porto preferiomo portiomo preferiote portiote preferiscono porto no

ole that prrferire and similar verb use the long -isr- form for the amc persons as in the normal pre enl lcnsc.

B

C

Spelli ng-change verbs pclling-change verbs follow very obvious rules, as in t he pre ent tense: c+h before -i-

g+h before -i-

Removal of -i-

cercare

pagare

mangiare

cere hi cerchi cere hi cerchiomo cerchiote cerchino

poghi poghi poghi poghiomo poghiote poghino

mongi mongi mongi mongiomo mongiote mongino

Irregular verbs The mo t useful irregular verb are in any ca c ones which will be familiar to you bccaus you see and hear them a lot as instructions in public places. For other forms of t he e

verb in th subjunctive, check th verb tables at the end of thi book. Infinitive

Present io form

Subjunctive

andere overe bere dare dire dovere essere fore p1ocere potere so lire sopere sedere store tenere usc ire venire volere

vodo ho bevo do dico devo sano foccio pioccio possa solgo so siedo sto tengo esco vengo voglio

vodo obbio bevo dio dico devo (debbo) sio foccio pioccio posso solgo soppio siedo slio lengo esca vengo voglio

1 .6.2 Expressions which toke the subj unctive Thcs expressions are always followed by the subjunctive, and they arc onl example . Choose two to memorise as a panern. Expressions of necessity

E necessaria che me ne vodo. Bisogno che lei lo soppio.

I have Lo go. She h1L� LO know.

Futurity and purpose Prendero il !reno offinche il vioggio sio comodo. La chiomeremo perche soppio Ia notizio.

I 'll Lake Lhe U
Wishes, influence or preferences Voglio che lui orrivi in tempo. Preferisce che io vodo li.

I wanL h i m Lo be on Lime. l ie prefers me LO go ( L here ) .

Possibility

E possibile che lui posso venire. E impossibile che lui orrivi in ritordo.

I L i s possible lhaL h e can come. IL is noL possible for him Lo be IaLe.

93 Ill ..a ...

Q)

>

94

Doubt and disbelief

Non credo che lui sio moloto. Penso che lei vengo.

I don't believe that he is ill. I think she will come.

Emotion and judgement Mi dispiace che lui sio stato ferito. E un peccato che tu non possa venire.

I am sorry that he has been hurt. I t 's a pity t hat you can ' t come.

The subjunctive is u ed after certain verbs and expre sions. It usually convey a feeling of negativity, uncertainty, doubt or indecision: 'I don't wan t ' , ' I am not sure that', ' I t is possible that', etc. It i usually preceded by a conjunction or another verb and che, 'that':

Conjunctions such as benclu!, 'although' and sebbene, 'even if

I hope/wish/doubt t h a t ...

Benche Lei sia malato, deve presentarsi in tribunale.

i .e. it i usually the second verb in the sentence.

Although you are ill, you have to go to coun.

Essentially, the subjunctive is used whenever the statement is looking forward, or refers to an unfulfilled or hypothetical action. Ask yourself 'did it happen/is it happening/will it happen?' If the answer is 'no', or 'not yet', you probably need the subjunctive. Note that the subjunctive form for Lei and Loro are used as imperative forms.

1 .6.3 Recog nising the subjunctive Even if you do not feel ready to use the ubjunctive yet, it is useful to be able to recognise it when you hear it. I

1 .6.4 ...... Fast track: the subjunctive

Which verb is being used? Read the sentence and work out the infinitive of the word in i ta lics. a E necessaria che venga. b Non penso che prenda l'outobus. c Sono contento che faccia bel tempo oggi. d Spero che vi senfiafe benvenuti! e E possibile che siano maloti. f Sebbene abbia l'outo, ondra sempre o piedi. g Bisogna che lo sappia lei. h E impossibile che si possa finire in tempo. Dubito che abbiano un'auto nuavo. Mi dispiace moho che j vog/iole portire.

l- Ie must come. I don't believe he'll come by bus. I ' m pleased that i t 's fine today.

The subjunctive of most verbs is made from a tern based on the i n finitive. Remove the infinitive ending and then add t hese endings for -are verbs: -i, -i, -i, -iamo, -iale, -ino and t hese for -ere and -ire verbs: -a, -a, -a, -iamo, -iale, -ano. Although many of the most commonly used verbs are irregular, some of the subjunctive forms are familiar as commands ( imperative forms) in public notices and instructions. You don't need to learn them but it is useful to be able to recognise which verb they come from: andare - vada avere - abbia dire - dica essere - sia fare - faccia prendere - prenda sapere - sappia sedere - sieda venire - venga You can try to avoid using the subjunc tive •

I hope you feel welcome! I t's possible that they arc ill. Even if she has a car, she will always go on foot. he will have to know.

• •

by being positive and avoiding making negative statements! using secondo me or a mio avviso to express an opinion, using the infinitive instead of che + subjunctive where possible:

completed in time.

Bisogna che bevimno due litri d 'acqua al giomo ( 'We have to drink two litres of water a day') become :

I don't think (doubt) they have

Dobbiamo bere 2 litri d 'acqua al giorna.

It's i m possible for it to be

a new car. I am very sorry that you want to go.

Think of an easier way of saying it in English. Don't use two verb joined by ' that' in one sentence. Split it up and make two sentences: ' I am sorry t hat he is ill', Mi disfJiace che sia malalo.

E malato? Mi dispiace!

95

96

Choo e two or thr e examples to memori e, and usc them a a pat lern. Of cour e, i ncc nothing i ever imple, the subjun tive has form in other ten e too, but you will not orne aero s t hem often. I f you want to know more, then consult Azione Grammatica.

1 7 •

1 .8 A

ovevo studioto ovevi studioto ovevo studioto

I (had) swdiecl

ero orrivoto/o eri orrivoto/a era orrivoto/a

I (had) arrived

ovevote studioto

you (had) studied

ovevono studioto

they ( had) swclied

you (had) arrived he/she (had) arrived

tudied we (had) sLUdied

B

erovomo orrivoti/e erovote orrivoti/e erono orrivoti/e

Do you read a daily paper? Do you watch ... ?

I (have) played tennis. I (have) tried to do it.

The c are the question form : Hoi giocoto (tul? Hoi provoto a forlo?

c

Have you played? Did you try to do i t?

Im perfect You u e the imperfect ten e to talk about what has happened i n the past i f: •

it wa a habitual action: Giocovo quando ero piccolo/a.

•

I used to play (when I was young).

it was an ongoing and i nterrupted action:

we ( had) arrived

Guordovo Ia televisione quando ho sentito un rumore.

you ( had) arrived

Th se are t he que Lion form .

they (had) arrived

I don't watch much television.

Perfect You u c the perfect tense to talk about what has happened at a specific moment in the pa t . Ho giocoto a tennis. Ho provoto a Iorio.

We had gone up at two o'clock.

Meaning

ovevomo studioto

Leggi (tul un giornole? Guordi (tul . . . ?

left.

essere + arrivato

generali ations:

The e are t he que Lion forms:

They had worked hard.

Meaning

I am reading.

Non guordo moho Ia televisione.

I called Luigi, but he had already

avere + studiato

he/she (had)

and to expre

Before going out I had eaten.

As you can see, thi ten e takes a jump one tep further back into the past, to a time when omethi ng had happened before t he main L ime-frame. Here are example of an avere verb and an essere verb in t he pluperfect tense.

you (had) sllldiecl

Present You use the present tense to talk about what is happening now: Leggo.

J ust when you think you have learned all t he ten e , you pick up a book or a new paper and find that ther are even more. Fortunately, you don't have to learn to u t hem to peak good I talian. I f you want to know more about t he e other tenses go to Azione Crammatica.

Primo di uscire, ovevo mongioto. Ho chiomoto Luigi, mo era gia portito. Avevono Iavorata moho. Erovomo soliti aile due.

....,. Fast track: verbs If you know when to use the diHerent tenses etc., go on to 1 .9.

Other tenses

Here, to give you a flavour, is one extra ten e which you may find useful to b able to recogni e: the plupe1·fect. This i formed in the same way as the perfect ten e except that in tead of the present ten e of avere or essere, it u e th imperfect. Here are ·orne examples:

97

Giocovi (tul . . . ? Guordovi (tul Ia televisione quando . . . ?

I was watching television when I heard a noise.

Did you use to play ... ? Were you watching television when ... ?

98

D

Gioco a tennis. Arrivorono I' anna scorso.

E

ubjunctive verbs seem to have the 'wrong' endings: ba eel on -i- for -are verb , and based on -(1;- for -ere and -irr verb .

Past defi nite You use the past definite ten e or passalo remolo to wr·ite about what happened at a defined moment in the not-so recent past.

I rregular verbs mostly ound familiar because they arc often used for public notice and in tructions. l n any case, you can alway t II which verb they omc from, .g.:

l ie played tennis.

sio - essere tengo - tenere vodo - ondore foccio - fore soppio - sopere

They arrived last year.

Future The future tense is used to express intention of what you are going to do in the fut ure. Foro ordine nel mio ufficio domoni. Fro poco ondremo in Messico.

I will tidy my office tomorrow.

Recognising a verb

oon we will go to Mexico.

•

These are the question forms: Che foroi (tu)? Quando portiroi?

F

•

•

Fetch me my slippers! ( tu }

•

Shut t h e door, please! ( Lei) Come to see me soon. (voi) Put your sui tcases there. ( Loro)

•

Interrogative The interrogative is used to ask questions. Hoi . . . ? Hoi vista . . ? .

H

•

When will you go?

Imperative The imperative is used to give order or in t ruction Vo' a prendermi le pontofole! Chiudo Ia porto, per fovore! Venite a trovormi presto. Mettono le lora voligie li.

G

What will you do?

•

•

I lave you got a ... ? Did you see . . .?

I would like ... Could you help me?

I would buy you a present

if

I had enough mone .

Subjunctive The subjunctive is used after certain verbs and expre sions. It is usually preceded by another verb and che, ' t hat'. You can avoid having to use it yourself by keeping sentences simple.

verb in the future tense. If it ends in -rei, -resti, -rebbe, -remmo, -reste, -rebbero, it is definitely a verb in the conditional tense. If it ends in -oi, -osti, -6, -ammo, -oste, -orono, or -ei, -este, -e, -emma, -este, -erono or -ii, -isli, i -immo, -isle, -irono, it is the post definite form of a verb.

1 9

Useful expressions using verbs

...... ......

If you know all these go on to 1 .9. 1 2.

•

or to express conditions: lo ti comprerei un regolo se ovessi obbastonzo soldi.

-eva, -evamo, -evale, -evano or -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, -ivale, -ivano it is definitely a verb in the imperfect tense. If it ends in -ro, -rai, -ro, -remo, -rete, -ranno, it is definitely a

- ,

Conditional The conditional is used to put things more politely: Mi piocerebbe . . . Potrebbe oiutarmi?

If a word that you don't know comes after a noun, the nome of a person or after a pronoun (io, lu, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, /oro or Lora), it is probably a verb. If it ends in -ore, -ere, -ire, -orsi, -ersi or -irsi, it is on on infinitive. If it comes after a port of avere or essere and ends in -to, it is a post participle of a verb. If it ends in -o, -i, -o, -e, -iamo, -ole, -ete, -ite, -ono or -ono, it is probably a verb in the present tense. If it ends in -avo, -ovi, -ova, -ovamo, -ovate, -ovano or -evo, -evi,

A

Essere and store ome everyday expres ions using 'to be' in English do not usc essere in I talian but stare instead. However, essere is the most used.

B

'There is/are ' : c 'e, ci sono The I talian expressions for ' there is/are' arc c 'e and ci sono respectively.

99

100

C

D

E

F

'To have ' : special uses of avere Avere is u eel for a host of special expressions, and in a few where we would expect essere.

ote that instead of essere, avere is often u eel in expression where we would use t he verb ' to be' in English.

'To know' There are two verbs for ' t o know' in I talian - to know a person or thing, conoscere, and to know a fact , sajJere. I m personal verbs These are expres ion in which there is no part icular subject; they include many common, everyday expressions such as time and weather.

e.g. In I talian you don ' t say: ' I am 2 1 ' but ' I have 2 1 year ', Ho

'To take', 'to bring' and 'to look for/fetch/meet a person' Prendere and porlare

H

'To remember', and 'to forget' Ricordarsi di, ' to remember' ( ' to remind yourself or) and dimenticarsi, 'to forget '

I

essere comes

from Latin esse, ' to be', so use essere for what is of the essence, essential, i .e. to say what something or somebody is or is like.

Which verb would you use to translate the following? b

They are at home.

c We are I talian.

d

Stay sLi I l l

e I am a Ferrari fan.

1 .9.2 'There is/ a re' : c 'e, ci

sono

The Italian impersonal expressions for ' there is/are' are very similar to English, and t ransfer ea ily into other tense by using the appropriate form of essere in the tense required: C'e moho do fare. C'e frutta? C'e una pera. . . . e ci sono malte orance. Non c'era pone. C'erano dei posticcini . Ci sara qualcos'altro? Si, ci saranno dei biscotli. leri c'e stato un temporale.

Essere and stare Some everyday expression using ' to be' in English u e stare rather than essere in I talian, though in fact essere is the most used. An easy way to decide which to use is to remember that:

anni.

a He is a student.

I f you don't know them well, study t he following sections.

1 .9. 1

21

For more of these, see 1 .9.3.

' Back to front' verbs Piacere, inleressare and one or two other are used with the object liked, loved etc. as the subject.

G

101

e necessaria - i t is necessary e vietato - it is forbidden

II

There is a lot to do. Is there any fruit? There is one pear ... ... and there arc lots of oranges. There was no bread. There were some cakes. Will there be anything else? Yes, there will be some biscuits. Yesterday there was a storm.

Describe t he room you are in using

c 'e and ci sono.

1 .9.3 'To have' : special uses of avere

inglese, sono vecchio

u eel in some expre sions where ' have' is not used in English. First, a reminder of t he verb avere in the presenL tense:

stare comes

ho, hoi, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanna

I am a teacher, I am English, I am old

-

Sono professore, sono

from Latin stare, 'to stand', so use stare for anyt hing involving posi t ion, and in just a few cases state. I t i s u eel for aying where something or somebody is, or what stale t hey are in. sto qui - I am staying here; sta' zitto - b e quiet!; stare fermo - t o be sLill; stare seduto - to be seated; stare i n pied i - to stand; come stai? how are you?

There are many imper onal expressions consisting of essere plus an adjective, e.g.

Avere i

Here are the expre sions which use avere in this way: note the abbreviated form aver which i often u eel for the infinitive in such expres ion . Expressing age: Quanti anni hoi? Ho 2 1 anni.

avere . . . ar mi,

'to be ... years old': How old are you? I am 2 1 .

Ill .a ..

�

102 VI ..0

...

�

Checklist: expressions taking overe overe . . . anni t o be . . . years old aver paura di lO be afraid aver freddo/coldo to be cold/hot aver fame/sete to be hu ng•)'/thirsty (non) over ragione to be right/wrong aver fortuna to be lucky aver sonno to be t i red aver frella lO be in a hurry aver mal di . . . to have a pain in the ...

Ex pre sing heat and cold: aver caldo/Jreddo Ho freddo. Ho freddo Lei? Hanna moho freddo. Hoi coldo? Lei ho coldo. Avete coldo, non e vera?

I am cold. Arc you cold? They arc very cold . Are you hot? he is hoL. You are hot, aren't you?

Expre ing hunger and t h i r t: averJame/sele, 'to be hungry/thirsty': Ho fame. Hoi sete? Ho sete onche lei. Avete fame? Non obbiomo fame. Non ovete sete! Non hanna moho fame. Expre sing fear: aver paura (di),

I am hungry. Arc you t h i rsty? he is t h i rsty too. Arc you h ungry? We are not h ungry. You are not th irsty! They are not very hungry. 'to

be afraid (of) ' :

I am afraid of you!

H o pauro di tel Abbiomo pauro del fulmine. I bambini hanna pauro del tuono.

The children arc afraid of the

Lora non hanna pauro di niente.

They fear nothing.

We are afn1id of the lightning. thunder.

Being right or wrong: aver ragi.one, 'to be right': Ho1 rogione! Ho ragione, vedi? Non ovete rogione. Non abbiamo ragione.

You are right!

I

am right, as you can sec!

You arc not right/you arc wrong. We arc wrong.

Being in a hurry: aver Jrella, 'to be in a hurry': Ho frella. Avete fretta?

I am in a hurry. Arc you in a hurry?

Being sleepy: aver sonno, 'to be sleepy': Ho moho sonno. Hoi sonno?

I am VCJ)' sleepy Are you feeling sleepy?

Being lucky or unlucky: aver fmtuna, 'to be lucky': Hoi avuto fortuna! Abbiamo moho fortuna, non e vera? Non hanna fortuna. Lei non avro moho fortuna.

You've been lucky! We arc very lucky, aren't we? They are not lucky. You arc not going to have much luck.

Ill

How would you ay t h e following? a

We arc right.

b

You are wrong.

c

I am hot.

(tu)

d

He is thirsty.

e

They arc hu ngry.

f

We are cold.

g

I am t h i rsty.

h

You are vCJ)' sleepy.

j

(lei)

We arc lucky.

I am in a hurry

And some more: k They arc wrong. I m n

I am ve•)' cold. They are hot. We arc t h i rsty.

o I

am afraid of spiders.

p Are you t h i rsty? (tu) q Arc you cold? (Lei) r

Are you hot?

s

Are you h ungry?

w

I am not afraid.

(voi) (Lora) t Are you right? (tu) You arc wrong! (Lei) u Are you afraid? (voi) v x

y z

l ie is not afraid.

We are not afraid. He is always right.

Being in pain: aver male/far male As in English, there are two ways of saying that something hurts or that you have a ... ache.

103

104

aver mal di

to have a

pain i n

Ho conosciuto tuo zio. Ci siamo conosciuti ieri. Lui conosce bene Modena. Lei conosce le opere di Puccini?

the . . . / to have a

bad/sore .. ./. .. hurts

ho mal di testa ho mal di stomaco far male a mi fa male il naso leri mi facevano male i piedi

I have a headache I have a stoma h ache

Puccini?

My no c hurts

As you can see from the examples:

YcslCrday my feet ached

sapere i to know how to do something (as a result of learning how to do it ) : so, sai, sa, safJfJiamo, sapele, sanno:

Singular

Plural

Meaning

il braccio il dente il dito Ia gamba Ia gola Ia mono l'occhio l'orecchio il piede Ia schiena lo stomaco

le braccia* i denti le dita le gambe

arm (s)

So guidare. Sapevo cucinare.

finger(s) leg( ) throat

le mani gli occhi gli orecchi/le orecchie i piedi

eye ( ) car(s) back stomach

ote that braccio is mas uline in the singular but feminine in the

(literally ' ince three years ago')

So guidare do cinque mesi.

(tu)

I lave you got a tootha he?

(Lei)

j

__

__

(voi) back hurt? (Loro)

__

__

He has backache.

___

1 .9.4 'To know': sapere or conoscere? There are two verbs for ' to know' in I talian - sapere for 'to know a fact ' or ' to be able to', and conoscere for 'to know a person or thing'. Here are some examples: Non so coso e successo. Soi che coso ha fatto? Lei non sa guidare.

(lo) il signor Pacelli do dieci anni. b Mio figlio suo figlio. c I nostri figli ___ usare Ia pasta elettronica. d (Noi) bene Ia famiglia Pacelli. e Mia moglie Ia signora Pacelli due anni fa. (perfect) f I miei genitori suo padre. (imperfect) Mio padre bene Ia regione dove abitavano. (imperfect) g h Mia moglie ed io non spedire messaggi di pasta elettronica. i I miei genitori non usare il telefonino. j Mia figlia spedire delle foto con il suo telefonino. k lo non ___ mandare delle foto via pasta elettronica. __

g She has earache. h Do your eyes hurt? Docs your

Which part of which verb are you going to use? (you might wi h to try more t han one ten e.) __

His knee hurts.

f I lave you got a headache?

h ave been able ( known how

(literally 'since five months ago')

a

My arms ache.

'I

to) drive for five months'.

V

c l ler foot hurts. e

I know h i m . I knew h i m .

To express the idea of how long you have been doing something, e.g. knowing a person, Italian uses the present tense, not the past, as in the following examples: Conosciamo questa 'We have known t h is famiglia do Ire anni. family for three years'.

foot, feet

a I have a headache.

d

I used to know how to cook.

Lo conosco. Lo conoscevo.

hand(s)

How would you ay the fol lowing? Experience will tell you which expression to u e, though in most cases either expression can b used. b

I know how to d•·ivc a car.

cono cere i to know a per on, thing or place (to recogni e by eeing, hearing, tasting or touching) : conosco, conosci, conosce, conosciamo, conoscele, conoscono:

tooth, teeth

plural.

IV

He knows Modena well. Do you know the operas by

to have a ... a he

Parts of the body which migh t hurt:

*

I met your uncle. We met yesterday.

I don' t know what happened. Do you know what he did? She does not know how to drive.

___

__

1 .9.5 I m personal verbs The e are expres ions in which ther is no particular ubject; they include many ommon, everyday expressions such as time, and weather.

105

106

Weather expressions such as: fa caldo piove nevico e nuvoloso Time expre sion

it is raining

These English verbs can be t ranslated in various ways using Jmmdere and portare; here are some examples of each.

it is snowing it is cloudy

prendere

uch as:

che ora e? e l'una sono le due e mezzo/ mezzo

bisogna basta manco si tratta di sembra che ci vuole

thi ngs in general, to fetch/ meet

it is one o'clock it is half-past two as:

it is necessary it is enough

b

i t 's a quest.ion of ... it seems that it takes ...

K.

It is hot in Italy.

e

he went to mee1 her at/fetch her from the station

porlore

to car..-y, wear, bring, fetch, take

something/ somebody

I t is 9. 1 5. I t 's necessary to rest!

he's wearing a red shin she's carrying a leather handbag bring me a glass of wine I want to take my watch to the beach I took the children to the don't take the cup away a take-away piua

ote al o cercare, 'to look for' (and 'to try to') cerco una coso senza giardino

g I t seems to be the motor. It Lakes a day to get to Italy.

h

I ' m looking for a house without a garden

1 . 9.6 ' Bock-to-front' verbs

vi cerchero davanti al bar

Piacere, inleressare and one or two others are used with the object liked, loved etc. as the ubject: Mi piace prendere un caffe aile dieci Mi piacciono i vini italiani Non mi interessa il golf M1 interessano le auto

somewhere

porta una camicia rossa porta una barso di cuoio portami un bicchiere di vino voglio portare il mio orologio alia spiaggia ho portato i bambini alia piscino non portare via Ia tazza una pizza do porter via

f We need some bread.

I like to have a coffee at ten o'clock I like Italian wines

Write five sentences saying what you like and don't like, and another five saying what you are and are not interested 111. Make sure you have examples of singulars and plurals, and then learn them.

I ' ll look out for you in front of the bar

1 .9.8 'To remember' a nd 'to forget' Riwrdare, 'to remember, recall' Ricardo che tu eri a coso.

I remember t hat you were at

Ricordi il suo indirizzo?

Do you rememb ·r her address?

home.

I am not interested in golf I am i n terested in cars

ole how an infinitive i the subject in the first one, and how the verb ha to be third person plural when a plural thing i liked etc.

1

I am taking the bus shall we have ( take) a beer?

swimmi ng-pool

c It is 12 noon.

d

prendo I' autobus prendiamo una birra? e andato a prenderla alia stazione

(we) need, there's ... missing

I low would you say these in I talian? a I t rdins a lot in the

to take transport, a drink and

what Lime is i t?

Other common imper onal expressions such

VI

1 .9.7 'To take', 'to bri ng' a nd 'to look for/fetch/ meet' a person

it is hot

This verb hold no urpri es, but the reflexive form can al o be u ed when more of an ' ffort to remember' i implied, e pecially remembering people: Ricordarsi di, 'to remember' (literally ' to remind yourself of something/someone/of doing something' ) . In I talian, you remind yourself of omet hing.

107 "' .a

..

�

108

Mi ricordo di Marco. Non ti ricordi di me? Ricordoti di comprore il pone.

Ill

..0 ..

I remember Marco.

non . . . niente, ' nothing/not anything':

Don't you remember me?

Non ho fotto niente.

Remember to buy bread.

Dimenticare, ' to forget':

�

Preferisco dimenticare il mio incidente. Hoi dimenticoto Ia lettero.

I prefer to forget about my accident. You have forgoueu I left the

Non mi dimentichero di te. Ti sei dimenticoto di chiudere Ia porto ! . VII

Ill ..0

Non ho visto nessuno. Non venivo nessuno. Non ovete nessuno obiezione?

�

Nessun errore.

I won' t forget you.

l ie remembers me.

door!

( non ... ) ne ... ne,

We both remember the holidays.

f

I don't remember her smile.

e

Don't you have any o�jections?

o mistakes.

' n ot . . . either . . . or' / ' n eithcr . . . nor':

Non ho ne tempo ne soldi Ne mio sorello ne mio frotello porlono l'itoliono.

c.

d

obody was coming.

The ideo of 'any' in 'not any' or ' no . . .' is not translated: non ho tempo, 'I haven't any time/1 hove no time'.

You've forgotten to shut the

a I remcmberJohn. c He remember my hou

He didn' t sec anyone.

essuno is shortened to nessun before ma culine noun

I low would you say: b

I didn't do anything.

non . . . nessuno/a, 'nobody/no one/no' ... :

lcuer behind.

Dimentimrsi, 'to forget about omethi ng/doing omcthing'

I have neither time nor money. either my sister nor my brother speaks l wlian.

I have forgouen my wife.

If you start with the main negative word you don't need the marker non in front of the verb: Nessuno e venuto. obody came

g My children have not forgou ·u their mother.

1 .9.9 Negative expressions cgativc statements include saying what you don't do, and cxpre sion with ' no', 'nothing', 'never', 'nobody', etc. cgation often start with 'no' as the Lirst word in the sentence. You have already seen how non is put in front of the verb to express 'not ' . o , I don't know. I don't speak I talian. I don't caL meal. l ie docsn 't drink wine. They don ' t livc in Ancona. You arcn 't married?

No, non so. Non porlo itoliono. Non mongio carne. Lui non beve vino. Non obitono ad Ancona. Lei non e sposoto/o?

Some negative expressions arc 'double negatives': non goes in front of th verb, and th other n gative word after t he verb.

VIll

How would you ay the following? I f po sible, say them aloud so that you can get u eel to the sound of t hem. Then cover up the English, read t hem again and think about the meaning. Finally cover up th I talian and translate t he whole sentence. a I have never been to I taly.

b

They didn't hun anyone.

c I never sec Anna.

d

They have nothing in

e

You have never learned

their house.

f

I don't sec anybody.

g She never rides a bike. h I have nothing in my pocket. I have never been to Massa

he has never been to Capri.

lo Ll sono [_) stato in Italic. Lora [_] hanno fotto mole a [_). [_] vedo [_) Anna. [_) hanna [_] nella lora coso. [_] hoi Ll imporato a nuotare?

to swim?

non . . . mai, 'never': Lei non e moi ondoto a Capri.

109

j

CatTara. obody is at home.

Ia [_] veda [_]. Lei U vo [_] in bicicletta. [_] ho [_] in Iasca. [_] sano [_] stato a Massa Carrara. [_) e a coso.

..

110

IX

Ill ..0 ..

Match up these entence .

f

a We haven'L anyLhing Lo cal.

g

b

�

Nobody has been shopping.

c I didn 'L have lime Lo go

Non ho avuto tempo per andore in citta. Non c'e ne pone ne formaggio. Non ho soldi.

There is no bread or cheese.

e You never go Lo Lhe

1 .9. 1 1

Non obbiamo niente do mangiare. Nessuno ha fatto Ia spesa.

haven 'L any money.

Non vai mai al supermercato.

1 9. 1 0 Question words and word order •

When? Why? How much/many?

XI

How long? WhaL? /Which?

X

___

abita il signor Vincenzo? si chiama sua moglie? c ___ portono per Londra? vanno a Londra? d faranno a Londra? e a

___

I have had l h is car a year. They have been wailing an hour. I have been here lwo days.

How would you answer these que tions? Remember to use the pre ent tense in your answer . Do quanto tempo abiti qui? b Do quanta tempo impori l'italiano? c Do quanta tempo conosci il/la tuo/tua migliore amico/amica?

Which?

Where arc you going? LO

Cro sew?

Why is she in Germany? When arc you leaving? Whal arc you doing? Who do you know? How many bedrooms do you WhaL arc you going Lo do?

Which question word would you use? b

Ho questa macchina do un anno. Aspettano do un'ora. Sono qui do due giorni.

He has been learning I talian for

a

WhaL? Who?

have?

Coso farai?

I have lived here for s i x years.

lwo years.

Where?

How is he going

do, fa a nd

Abito qui do sei anni. lmpora l'italiano do due anni.

How?

After the e question words you invert t he order of the subject and the verb if a separate subject is expressed otherwi e the verb follows the question word, as in the examples. ( ec section 1 .3.2.) Dove andate? Come va o Grosseto? Perche e in Germanic? Quando partite? Che coso fate voi? Chi conoscono Loro? Quante camere ovete?

'Since' , 'ago' and ' to have j ust appena

With thi expression you use a different ten e in I talian from t he one you would expect to usc in English. I n English, when we want t o ay we have been doing something for a certain length of time, we usc the perfect ten e. I n I talian, we have to ay t hey have been doing it ince (a year etc.) and still are, o t he present tense is used.

Remember, there is no need for 'ony' after o negative in ltolian.

Come? Dove? Quando? Perche? Quanto/a/i/e? Quanto tempo? Che? Che cosa?/Cosa? Chi? Quale?

111

ha un appuntamento in banco? giorni staranno a Londra? conosce a Londra?

Da, 'since' (also 'from' etc.)

supcrmarkcl.

f I

___

h

LO lOWn.

d

___

Fa, 'ago' To expres the idea of a certain amount of time ago, simply use an expres ion of time followed by fa. Sono portito due anni fa. Siete orrivati poco fa.

I lefL two years ago. You have only jusl arrived.

AfJpena: used to ex pres ' to have just' I n I talian, use this adverb ( normal meaning 'hardly/ scarcely') to expre the idea of a very recent act ion. For current situations, use the perfect with i t; if related to a situation in the past, use the imperfect. Sono appena arrivato a coso. Ha appena telefonato. Abbiamo appena guardato un film moho brutto. La mia ragazza era appena arrivato. Avevamo appena sentito Ia notizia.

I have jusL gol i n . H e has jusl rung. We have jusL seen a dreadful film.

My girlfriend had jusl arrived. We had jusl heard lhc news.

Ill ..0 ..

�

112

Xl1

Non fonno niente Non ho moi nuototo li Non ho vista nessuno

How would you translate: Pino e oppeno orrivoto a coso. b II mio ornico ho oppeno telefonoto. c Abbiomo oppeno cenoto. d I miei genitori hanna oppeno venduto Ia lora coso. e Ho oppeno finito il mio lovoro.

a

1 .9. 1 2 � Fast track: more on useful verbs

avere

B

and other

I am ... years (old) I am hot/ cold

c'e/ci sana c'ero/c'erono

I am right

there was/were

How to say 'bring/take/fetch' : prendere portore

to take - prendo I'autobus

to take/bring (someone/ t h ing)

How to say 'to remember/recall' ricordore ricordorsi di

to

remember

to remember (lit: to remind yourself

of someone/ ometh ing/doing

dimenticore dimenticorsi

A

to

something)

C

to forget about

Where other negative expres ions are used, non is put i n front of t he verb a n d nienle/nulla, nessuno/a, mai and n e . . . n e come after the verb. not hing nobody never

When? Why? I low much/many? I low long? What? Who? Which?

Do and appena Da ha several meanings, including ' ince'. You use da to an wer the que Lion 'how long'? Do quanta tempo obiti in Calabria? Abita li do dieci onni.

How long have you lived in C'..alabria? I have l ived t here ten years. ( l iterally: I live there since I 0 years ) .

In I talian t he an wer is in the pr sent tense because you still live there. Appena used to ex pre

' t o have just'

Sana oppeno orrivoto.

I have just arrived. ( I have scarcely

La ho oppeno folio.

l ie has (only) just done i t . ( l ie has

arrived.)

forget

Negatives on is u eel by itself for straight negation ( ' I have not' . . . ) , whit t o i s used t o start a entence.

non . . . niente/nullo non . . . nessuno/a non . . . moi

Question words The e word i n t roduce a que L ion:

Quando vo tuo padre ad Alessio? Dove voi tu?

I am hungry/thirsty

t here is/there arc

I didn' t see anyone

The ubject (where there is one ex pre · eel) and verb ar inverted after a que L ion word.

I am afraid

Here arc some other useful expression based on verbs:

I have never swum there

Quando? Perche? Quanta/o/i/e? Quanta tempo? Che/Coso/Che coso? Chi? Quale?

I n I talian t here are orne expression which us avere wh re we usc the verb 'to be' in English. The most common one are: Ho . . . onni Ho pouro Ho coldo/freddo Ho fome/sete Ho rogione

They aren't doing anything

hardly done i t . )

In I talian you use t he present tense because you are 'probably still doing it'.

113

2.2

Nouns a nd the word for 'the ' : if, Ia, etc . Th word 'th ' i a determiner. I t i al o ailed t he definite article b aus it refers to a definite thing, e.g. the hou e you live in and not j ust any hou e. If you know about il and Ia and the gender of nouns, go on to 2.3.

How to recog n ise nouns and determi ners

2.2. 1

Singular nouns

•

If you know what nouns and determiners are, go on to 2.2.

Nouns are naming word . They tell you who somebody i (e.g. 'he is a soldier', ' he i a mother') or what something is (e.g. 'it is a table', 'it i a rainbow' ) .

•

You con recognize nouns because you con soy 'a' or 'the' in front of them - e.g. a pencil, the dog, a house, the postman.

•

Sometimes in English the same word can be a noun or a verb. to drin k - the drink

•

to walk - the walk

I

There are

10

noun in thi text.

My sister has her own restaurant. morning

LO

an you find them all? he goes to the market each

buy fresh vegetables to make the oup for lunch. The

other dishes she has prepared the night before and left ready to cook in the fridge.

A determiner is a word which come in front of a noun to tell you (determine) which one it is: the coat; a coat; my coat; your coat, t h is coat, which coat?

2 1 •

��

I

b c

d e

Nouns and gender

f g

h If you know about the gender of nouns go on to 2.2.

In I talian all nouns arc either rna culine or feminine. The word for 'bottle', bolliglia, is a fem inine word. The word for 'garden', giardino, is a masculine word. Feminine noun are usually indicated by nfin the dictionary (n noun f feminine) and masculine words by nm. =

=

'

in front of ingular feminine noun the girl the door

The word for ' the' in front of ingular rna ·culine and feminine words begi nning with a vowel is t : the man l'uomo l'ocquo the water Th word for 'the' in front of a fairly mall group of singular rna culine noun beginning with t he letter z, g;n, x, pn, ps, i/y with a vowel, or s with a consonant, is Lo. lo specchio the m irror lo gnocco the dumpling

Put the con·ect form ( i� Lo, t or La) in front of the e. a

j

k

Ill '"

Q) c

·e

..

;

Q ., c 0 Ill

The word for ' the' in fron t o f singular rn a culine nouns is usually i/: il rogozzo the boy the train il treno The word for 'th u ually La: Ia rogozzo Ia porto

115

mocchino (f) olivo (f) ponino ( m ) penna (f) citto (f) squash ( m ) uscito ( m ) autostrada (f) ferrovio (f) sport ( m ) biglietto ( m )

car olive sandwich ballpoint pen, biro town, city squash (sport, not dri n k ! ) exit motorway railway sport ticket

c :I 0

z

116

II

ow do the arne for t hese places. coso (f) a b ___ farmacia (I) c ___ staziane (I) d strode (f) e sollopossaggio ( m ) porcheggio ( m ) f g ___ banco (I) b negozio ( m ) ___ ufficio postale ( m ) ponte ( m ) j

house

___

� Q) c

E �

.!

Q) 0 , c 0 c ;:::)

0 z

station

___

street

___

subway

___

car park

___

Ill

chemist's

bank shop post oflicc bridge

___

m

Fill in the gaps with i� l', to or la. a

b c

d e

f g b

j

k 1

icc cream

___

hazelnut

___

bathroom

___

salad

___

office

___

buucr brush

___

uncle

___

mosquito lunch

___ ___

journey

m

___ ___

juice

___

man

p q r s

t

..... .....

oil

n 0

2 .3

olio ( m ) gelato ( m ) nocciola (I) bagno ( m ) insolate (I) ufficio (m) burro ( m ) ___ spozzola (f) zio ( m ) zanzara (I) pranzo ( m ) viaggio ( m ) aequo (f) succo ( m ) uomo ( m ) carla (f) scuola (f) mono (I) finestra (I) ___ polio ( m ) ___

___

water

___

paper, map

___

school

___

hand

___

window

Nouns i n the plura l :

chicken

1,

gli and /e

If you know about the plural go on to 2.4.

In the plural, t he word for ' t he' with all feminine words is le. The word for ' the' with most masculine nouns is i. With the group of masculine nouns begi nning with z, gn, x, fm, ps etc., it i gli.

Singular

Plural

Ia coso il treno lo gnocco

le case i treni gli gnocchi

117 Ill �

Q) c

To make the plural of t he noun in Engli h, we usually add an -s. I talian nouns are not so simple, because they come more directly from Latin, which had a wide variety of ways of forming plurals. Here is a list of the main ways of forming Italian plural . The first two ways of making plurals cover the majority of noun , but there are plenty of the other kinds. Masculine nouns which end in -o or -a form their plural with an -i: i vini i sistemi

il vino (wine) il sistema (system)

Feminine nouns which end in -a form their plural with an -e: le ragazze le Iavoie

Ia ragazza (girl) Ia lavola (table)

AJl nouns (both masculine and feminine) which end in -e form their plural with an -i: il carabiniere ( I talian Ia luce ( l ight)

gendarme)

carabinieri le luci i

ouns of both genders which end in -co or -ca, or -go or -ga, add an h in the pl ural before the c or the g, to stop the c or g bccoming soft ( i.e. sounding like ch or j in English) : i l logo (lake) lo scacco (chequer) l'amica ( female friend)

i laghi gl i scacchi le amiche (but

see

l'amico below)

However, t here are a few exceptions. With a few nouns, the h is left out, and so t he c or g doc become oft, and is pronounced like ch or j. A good demonstration of this is the family name Medici, which actually means 'doctors'. l'amico ( male friend) i l medico (doctor)

gli amici i medici

A small number of femin ine noun · ending in -o, -i, -ie and those ending with accented -a or -t't tay the same in the plural. There are some common exceptions among feminine nouns ending in -ie such as: la moglie > le mogli.

E

�

.!

Q) 0 , c 0

Ill

c ;:::)

0 z

118

l'outo (car) Ia moto (motor bike) Ia citta ( town)

Ill ..

d Ia terrazzo e Ia macchina f Ia moto g il costello h il tedesco i il pacco

le auto le moto le citta

A mall number of masculine nouns stay the arne in the plural, including all those ending i n a con onanL or an accemed vowel.

� c

.E..

;

l'autobus (bus) il bar (bar) lo sci (ski) il ragu ( meat sauce)

Q ., c a

Ill

c :)

gli autobus i bar gli sci i ragu

l'uovo (egg) il braccio (arm) l'orecchio (ear) il ginocchio (knee) il dito (finger) mille ( thousand)

2.4

le uova le braccia le orecchie or gli orecchi le ginocchia le dita due mila ( two thousand)

•

-o

Singular

Singular

Plural

-i

-o

-e

I

I

lu.al

E ..

' u n , un , uno

•

a ferry boat

Th word for 'a' in fron t of masculine noun beginning with z, gn , x, jm, p , i/y with a vowel, or s with a consonant is uno. a t rap-door, ticket window uno spartello The word for 'a' in front of feminine noun i una pizza a pizza

un'amica un'idea

una.

a female friend an idea

Ho . . . b c

d e

fratello sorella non no non no zio

f g h

j

zia cugino cugina figlia cane

Put the e word into the plural. il cane b il gatto c Ia barco a

the dog the cal the boat

' un .

I magin you are talking about your family and pets. How would you ay you have one of all the e? hoose between ' un, u n , u n o and una.

a

� Q ., c a

Ill

I f t he feminine noun begin with a vowel, th article is

Plural

�

the packet

un.

•

Feminine

Masculine/feminine

c

"'

The word for 'a' in fron t of rna culine nouns is u ually un battelle

I Singular

�

erman

Nouns and the word for 'a ' : a nd una

To sum up, the majority of nouns form their plurals as follows: Masculine

the castle the

If you know about un, uno and una go on to 2.5.

le mogli gli uomini le facce le spiagge le mani

h)

the motor-bike

The word 'a' i a determiner. I t i al o called the indefin i te article becau e i t refer to any one item and not a specific one: a bottle of red wine, not lhe bottle that you have cho en pecifically.

orne plurals are j ust irregular and have to be learned. Fortunately there are not many of them. I n the case of words ending in -ccia and -ggia, both words lose the penultimate -i because it i not needed to soften t he cc and gg, as the -e which replaces it doe the arne job. Ia moglie (wife) l'uomo ( man) Ia faccio ( face) Ia spioggio (bea Ia mono (hand)

the car

!

A group of masculine noun become feminine in the plural, ending i n -a or -e:

0 z

119

the terrace

In Italian, you omit the indefinite article when talking about occupations, jobs, religions, nationality, etc.

c :)

0 z

1 20

Sono studente. E americana. Gino e medico. Sei cottolico?

"' "" Q) c

I am a studenl. He is American. Gino is a doCLor. Are you a Ouholic?

orne noun have a rna culinc and a feminine form. Th masculine form u ually end in -o, and to make the feminine form you u ually replace the -o with an -a. ometimes there i a cparate word for the feminine and masculine forms and omet i me the word is t he same , j ust with a different article, e.g iL lassisla/la lassisla.

·e"" .!

Q) Q "'0 c 0 "' c :::» 0 z

un un un un un un un ll

ornico, un'omico dottore, uno dottoresso ottore, un'ottrice contonte, uno contonte padre, uno madre morito, uno moglie figlio, uno figlio

I n I talian, you often need to usc a word for 'some' or 'any' with a plural po itive senten e, and the word for 'some' or 'any' has to agre with the noun in th sentence. Here are the words you need to u e:

1 21

Masc. pi (most words)

·e""

dei

Masc. pl. beginning with z, gn, .x, pn, ps, i/y, with a vowel, or with s with a consonant

Fem. pl. (all words)

degli

delle

a friend a doCLor

Singular

Plural

Ho . . .

un giordino un proto uno coso

dei fiori degli olberi delle pionte

S/hc has got . . .

a garden

some flowers

an aCLor, an actress a singer a father, a mother a h usband, a wife a son, a daughter

How would you ay ... a Viuorio i s a doctor.

b

Non ho . . .

Chiara is a sllldcnl.

c Ermenegildo is a teacher.

d e

f

Toni is an American.

/he hasn't got . . .

Enrico is a Catholic.

g She is a car driver. ill

some trees

a house

some plants

un garage uno studio uno piscino

alberi do fruita olmi rose any fruit t rees

a garage

He is unemployed.

The words for a ore also known as the indefinite article, because they ore used to talk about one thing but not any particular one.

a lawn

a swdy

any elms

a pool

any rose

Complete the sentence with un, uno, una, dei, degli or delle. II mio ornico obito in ___ grande condominia. b Ho ___ piccolo opportomento ol quarto piano. c Ho bello solo do pronzo. d Ho ___ piccolo olcone dove tiene Ia bicicletto. e Sui bolcone ci sono onche pionte in _ vosi do fiori. f Nella suo camera ci sono ormodio, ___ libri, sedie e specchi. g Ho CD e videogiochi, mo non ho leflore di DVD. h C'e solo oscensore, mo e sempre rotto. a

__

They are used with ingular nouns: Ho un apparlarnmlo/Ho una casa.

___

___

To tal k about more than one thing in Engli h we say 'some' or 'any', and sometimes we just miss out the word completely: He's got some flats. Has he got any farms? He hasn't got any houses.

Ho degli opportomenti. Ho delle fottorie? Non ho case.

Sometime you can j u t mis out the word for 'any', particularly in negative ntences: I haven't got (any) t i me I haven't got (any) money

Non ho tempo Non ho soldi

_ _ _

___

__

__

__

___

2.5

How to tell if a noun is masc u l i ne or fem i n i ne It is not always possible to tell whether a word is masculine or feminine in I talian unless you already know it. I t is helpful to learn nouns along with their word for 'the'

"' "" Q) c

.!

Q) Q "'0 c 0 "' c :::» 0 z

122 "' ... Q) c

·e

...

; Q ., c a "' c

;::)

0 z

( il or La) . There are also some other ways of working out if a word is masculine or feminine:

I

N ow put t he correct form of il, r ' lo or La in front of t hese word . The rules above will help you.

If you hear

il, lo, un or uno being u ed in fron t of i t, i t is masculine. Ia or una being used in front of it, i t is fem i nine (but if you hear I' it could be either) . If you hear i, gli or le being used in front of i t, it is plural.

a

If you hear

b

The word for 'a' in front of � min ine nouns begi nning with a vowel is usually un :

e

un'arancia

c

d f g h

an orange

i

Jn addition to this, t here are some rules - but there are also a lot of exceptions! As a rule, mo t noun ending in -o are masculine and mo t noun ending in -a arc feminine. il !reno Ia macchina

train car

The e endi ngs al o usually indicate that a noun is masculine: -ore/tore -ere/·iere

il professore ( teacher), l'autore (author) l'ingegnere (engineer) , il carabiniere

-ome/-ole/-ile

il falegname

J

2.6 ....... .......

(carpen ter) ,

il missile

il giornale ( m issile)

The following endings usually mean t hat a noun is feminine: -ione -ta -tu -udine -igine -ite -ice -i -ie

Ia soluzione Ia banta Ia gioventu Ia solitudine l'origine Ia laringite l'attrice Ia crisi Ia serie

Ia figlia Ia nonna Ia scrittrice Ia cameriera Ia dottoressa l'attrice

I m

n

0

p q r s

t

"' ...

Q)

.c

e

...

Q) Q) Q ., c a "' c ..

;::)

0 z

How to say ' my' , 'your' , 'his', ' her' , etc . If you know about these words, go on to 2.6.8.

The c arc word for saying what belongs to whom: 'my coat', 'his umbrella', 'your bliefcasc', 'their hou c ' , 'our cat', etc.

my

(solution)

your (familiar

(goodness)

Masc. sg.

Fem. sg.

Masc. pl.

Fem. pl.

il mio il tuo

Ia m ia Ia tua

i

miei i tuoi

le mie le tue

il il il il

Ia Ia Ia Ia

suoi suoi i nostri i vostri

le sue le sue le nostre le vostre

singular)

(youth)

your ( formal)

(solitude)

his/her/its

(origin)

our

( laryngitis)

your ( fam iliar

(act ress)

suo suo nostro vostro

sua sua nostra vostra

i i

plural)

(crisis)

your ( formal

(series)

plural) their ( mas

orne nouns have a masculine and a feminine form: il figlio il nonno lo scrittore il cameriere il dottore l'attore

pinacoteca tangenziale autostrada cilia negozio carla fiasco barco pasta vaporetto

k

I n Engli h, we only have one form of each: ' my', 'your', ' h is', 'h r', 'our', ' their'. In I talian, there are singular and plural and masculine and femin ine forms to agree with their noun .

( I talian gendarme) (newspaper) ,

emozione scarpa seggio enoteca manifestazione albergo zanzara zucchero sparco spiedo

il laro

Ia loro

i

loro

le loro

il loro

Ia loro

i loro

le loro

and fem )

(son/ daughter) (grandfather/grandmother) (writer) (wai ter/waitress) (doctor) (actor/actress)

2.6. 1

1 23

'My' : il mio, Ia mia, i miei, le mie The word for ' my' agrees in numb r and gender with t he person or thing it i de cribing. This means that you u e the masculine form il mio with masculine nouns and t he feminine form La mia with feminine nouns.

1 24

il mio giordino Ia mio segretorio il mio cone

Ill ... Gl c:

E il tuo/lo tuo . . . Sono i tuoi/le tue . . .

my garden my secretary

b

ote t hat t he definite article if, La, l ' i omitted b fore members of the family in the singular, unless the word is accompanied by an adjective or modi{icd ( it mio Jrat.Pllo

·e...

; Q

minore, it mio Jratellino) :

mio frotello mio madre

.,

c: D Ill c: :;) 0 z

bambini padre c madre d sorelle

a

my dog

V

my moLher

colleghe b college c amico d amiche

c

d e

II

f g h

j

b

c

d e

conigli case battelli maglie amici

f g h

j

coso a mica tessero cone mocchino

Ecco it mio/ i miPi . . . I Erco La mia/ Le mie . . .

bambini b morito c moglie d padre

e

madre f sorello g frotelli h non no

non no

j cugine

k cugino

2.6.2 'Your' : if tuo, Ia tua, i tuoi, le tue ..... .....

If you are not going to need this, go on to 2.6.3. fl luo/La /ua etc. agrees in gender and number with its noun, like it mio etc., and behaves in the same way. You can

only usc the e form when speaking to a hild or someone that you know very well (the familiar singular form ) . IV

·e...

e

amici f a mica g frotello h sorelle

..... .....

. . .

i genitori j madre

Put the correct form of ltw/il tuo, ltw/La lua, i /uoi or le lue in front or the c words.

If you know about il s uo, Ia sua, etc. go on to

2.6.4.

The words for ' h is/her' rhyme with il ltw/la ltta ct ., and arc used in the amc way. otc: suo Jratello means both 'his brother' and 'her brot her'; sua sorella means both 'his sister' and 'her sister'; i suoi amici means both 'h is friends' and 'her fri ·nels'.

VI

Pada di Luigi. Talk about Luigi by {illing in t he right word ( suo/it suo/ ua/la ua/i uoi/le sue) . a

b

c

d

e

f g h

j

Gl Gl Q ..

2.6.3 ' H is' a nd ' her' : if suo, Ia sua, i suoi, le sue

giocche pesche giordini occhi denti

... and your famil . I magine you are showing omeone photographs of your family. What would you ay? a

Gl c:

Note that coLlega ( OT collego) can b either masculine or feminine, like many nouns in -a, like il/la giornalisla, t 'artisla.

ow do the ·ame for these plurals. a

m

my caLS

my sisLers

golfo voligio momma papa libro

b

Ill ...

How would you ask what they arc called?

a

ll mio or La mia? a

cone

j gotti

.

' My' in front or plural noun i · i miei for ma ·culine and le mie for feminin . The de{i nit article i/ le is alway used.

I

frotello f genitori g figlio h figlie

Come si chiomo il tuo/lo tuo . . ? Come si chiomano il tuoi/le tue ?

my broLhcr

i miei gotli le mie sorelle

e

125

omiche si chiomono Mario e Giulio. cugino si chiomo Giuseppe. frotello e grande. madre e scultrice. padre lavoro alia Banco d'ltolio. sorelle sono professoresse. fratello minore ho solo otto onni. sport preferito e il tennis. ___ piolli preferiti sono Ia pizza Guottro Stogioni e gli spaghetti olio Corbanoro. colore preferito e i l blu scuro.

.,

c: D Ill c: :;) 0 z

1 26

Not sure whether co/ore is (m) or (I)? Look lor a clue in the sentence: preferito.

2.6.6 'Thei r' : if /oro, Ia foro, i foro, le foro The word for ' th e i r' is il/la/i/l.e foro. U n like the other posse sivcs, thi word i invariable - although t he article before i t changes according to gender and number, the word foro doesn 't.

Ill ...

Q) c

·e

vn

...

Q) Q) Q ., c 0 ..

Parla di Gabri.ella. Now do the arne for Gabriella's family and friend . a

b c

d

Ill

e

c :::» 0 z

f g h

j

ornico si chiomo Filomeno . nonno si chiomo Flavia. lrotelli si chiomono Enrico e Bruno. sorello si chiomo Bianco. Come si chiomono genitori? monopollino e nero e giollo. possolempo prelerito e il pollinoggio. colori preleriti sono il rosso e il bianco. ___ piollo prelerilo sono gli spaghetti . bevonde prelerite sono Ia groppo e Ia birro.

X

E il/lo lora . . . Sono i/le lora . . . mocchino b garage c biciclette d giordino e liori f pionte g coso h porto i lineslre j bolcone a

2.6.4 'Our' : if nostro, Ia nostra, i nostri, le nostre ��

Know about il nostro, Ia nostra, etc.? Go on to

2.6.5.

The words for 'our' are nostro/nostra and nostri/nostr·e. Like the other words you have met so far, they change in the singular, plural, masculine and feminine: il nostro afJfJartamento, La nostra casa, i nostri cani, Le no tre macchine. VIII

2.6.7 'Your' (formal ) : if suo, Ia sua, i suoi, le sue; if /oro, Ia foro, i foro, le foro The word for 'your' ( formal form - for talking to strangers, people older than you, etc.) is t he same form as the word for 'his/her' ( il suo, La sua, i suoi, Le sue) , and work the arne way. For the formal plural 'your', t he word is the arne a 'their' ( il loro, La foro, i foro and Le foro) . Sometime , in more formal writing, the initial s or l is capitalized ( il uo, La Loro, e tc . ) .

How would you ay the e are our thing ?

E il nostro/lo nostro . . . Sono i nostri/le nostre . . . coso b opportomenlo c coni d negozio a

e

f g h

vini coponnone mocchino giordino

olbero j comere

The word for 'your' ( familiar plural form) is easy to remember because it rhymes with it noslro/ La nostra and i nostril le no tre and behaves in the same way: vostro figlio, Le vostre sorelle. Ask if the c arc your things.

E il vostro/lo vostro . . . Sono i voslri/le vostre . . . officina? b sedio? c motile? d libri? a

e

pontoloni? guonti? g ombrello? h robo? f

XI

Ask i f t hese are your things, using the formal fonn il suo, La sua, i suoi, Le sue.

E il suo/lo suo . . ./Sono i suoi/le sue . . .

2.6.5 'Your' : if vostro, Ia vostra, i vostri, le vostre

IX

ay these are their thing .

lettero? j chiovi?

gotto? b sedio? c libri? d piedi? e giocco? f tozze? g lrotelli? h mota? camera? j molito? a

127 � Q) c

·e

...

;

Q ., c 0 Ill

c :::» 0 z

128

2.6.8

2.7

...... Fast track: nouns and determi ners All nouns in I talian are eit her masculine or feminine.

Ill ..

� c

·e..

�

Q

"'0

c a

Ill

c ::)

0 z

Remember determiners are words which ome before the nouns and ay 'which' one it i . You already know some but t here are some more.

The word for ' t he' with ma�culine singular nouns is i/, The word for ' t he' wilh masculine singular nouns that begin wilh z, gn,

x,

pn, ps, i!y with a vowel, or

s

with a consonam, is lo.

The word for 'the' wi t h feminine singular nouns is Ia.

Ones you already know: 'Lhe table/a table/my table/your table'

The word for 't he' with singular nouns of either gender that begin

ew ones:

with a vowel is l'.

I f you do not think you need the come back to them later.

The word for 't he' with masculine plural nouns t hat begin with z, gn,

pn, fJs, i/y with a vowel, or s wi t h a consonant, is gli.

The word for 'the' with fem i n ine plural nouns is /e. The word for 'a' with masculine nouns is

x,

pn, ps,

i/y with a vowel, or s with a consonam, is uno. The word for 'a' with feminine nouns is una. The word for 'a' wi t h fem i nine nouns that begin wilh a vowel is un '.

To ay what people are or do ( t heir jobs, nationalitie , etc.) you often omit t he a in I talian: Sono studente.

I am (a) student.

'A' does not have a plural of its own. The plural or 'a' in Engli h would be 'some' or 'any' . In I talian it is sometimes mi ed out, but usually it is rendered a dei, degli or delle according to the gender and type or the noun it is with: Cerco dei libri. Non cerco libri/nessun libra.

I am looking for some books. I am not looking for (any) books.

I t i a good idea to learn I tal ian noun with 'the' ( il and La) : La strada; il gallo. How to t ranslate ' my', 'your', 'his', 'her', 'its', etc.:

my your ( formal singular) his/her/its our yout· ( familiar plural) their ( masc. and fem . ) your ( formal plural)

With sing. nouns

With pl. nouns

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

mio tuo suo suo noslro voslro lora il loro

Ia mio Ia tuo Ia suo Ia suo Ia noslro Ia vostro Ia lora Ia lora

i i i i i i i i

le mie le tue le sue le sue le noslre le voslre le lora le lora

miei tuoi suoi suoi noslri voslri lora lora

c

yet, leave t hem and

il/lo un/uno/uno/un' il mio/lo mio/i miei/le mie questa/questa/questi/quesle quanta/quanta/quanti/quonte? oltro/altra/altri/altre molto/ moho/ molti/ molte poco/poco/pochi/ poche lanto/tonla/tanli/tanle luttoItulia/tutti/Iuiie tutti/tulle e due OR entrombi/enlrambe certo/ceria/cerli/certe lroppo/troppo/troppi/lroppe stesso/slessa/slessi/slesse qualche alcuni/alcune nessunlol/nessuna nolne).

un.

The word for 'a' with masculine nouns that begin with z, gn,

your ( familiar singular)

'which table? /all tables/ t he same table/ several tables/ ome table /every table' . . . .

The word for ' t he' with masculine plural nouns is i. x,

129

More determi ners

2.7. 1

·e..

J! �

Q "'0

c a

Ill

0 z

Lhe a my t h is how much/how many? other much, many (a) little, few so much/many all or every bolh (a) certain too much, too many same

some/any/a few some not any, no/none

The demonstrative adject ives queslo/questa etc. arc u ed to point to a particular thing or thing . Lhis page, these clolhes, Lhat book, t hose books

Singular

this, t hese

� c

c ::)

'Th is' , ' these', 'that' a nd 'those': q uesta, questa, questi, queste, que/, quello, quella, quell', quei, quegli, quelle

t hat, those

Ill ..

Plural

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

questa quel, quello

questa quella, quell'

questi quei, quegli

quesle quelle

ole that questo and questa become quest ' in front of words beginning with a vowel, e.g. quesl 'a nno, quest 'e tate and quella becomes quell ' e.g. quell'amncia.

1 30

I

Put the correct form in front of these words. a

Ill

b

..

G) c

c

E ..

.!

d

G)

Q .,

e

c 0

f

Ill

c :I 0 z

g h

hotel e moho buono. Di fronte a coso, c'e un giordino. In giordino crescono delle pionte. donne lovorono nel giordino. fiori sono rori. olbero e moho vecchio. porto e riservoto oi turisti. riviste sono grotuite. uomo fa delle foto. primovero ci sono molti tromboncini. ___

j

2.7.2

molto/molta/uwlti/uwlte, ' much ' , ' many'

That hotel is very good. In fron t of t h is house there is a garden . I n lhis garden, some planlS grow.

There are many fishes in the ea.

jJoco/poca/jJochi/jJoche, ' (a) little', ' few' C'e poco gente qui.

There aren't many (= there are few) people here.

Ho pochi soldi .

garden.

I haven't got much (= I have got

Those nowcrs arc rare . This tree is very old. That door is reserved for tourislS. These magazines arc free. That man is taking photographs.

l i t t le) money.

Ci sono poche case nel villoggio.

Singular

/he has so many caL�! There are so many cars in the

I ullo/lulla/lulli/tulle, 'all' or every

Plural

'

all the time all my family all the ot hers ( m ) all t h e others (r) all the nowers/cvery nowcr every day every week

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

lulli/ tulle e due or entrambi/ entrambe, 'bot h'

quonto

quanta

quanti

quonte

su entrombi i loti Tulle e due/Tutt'e due erono qui.

Put t h e corre t fonn o f quanlo/ quanta/ quanti/ quanle in front of these questions. a

___

b

___

c

d e

mocchine ci sono nel porcheggio? tipi di vino vengono prodotli qui? onni hoi? vino vuoi? lotle c'e nel bicchiere?

2.7.3 'Some', 'other' , 'all' , 'any', 'every' , etc .

The e words agree a normal with the noun (but note that qualche i only used in the ingular, even i f it has a plural en e) . altro/altra/altri/altre, 'other'

on both sides Th ·y were both here.

certo/cerla/certi/certe, ' (a) certain' uno certo donna un certo libro certi coni certe rogozze

a certain woman a certain book certain dogs certain girls

/roj;j;o/lropj)(L/froppi/trojJpP, 'too much', 'too many' Ho mongioto troppo cioccoloto. Abbiomo possoto troppo tempo ol sole. C'e troppo gente qui! C'e troppo robo in coso!

I lc's

had too much cho olatc.

We've spent too much t i me i n the sun. Th 're arc too many people here! Th •rc's too much stuff in t h e house!

Vuoi quolcos' ohro?

Do you wam somet hing

Portomi un ohro bicchiere di vino!

Bring me another glass of wine!

(anything) else?

..

.!

G)

Q

., Ill

city!

tutto il tempo tutlo Ia mio fomiglio tutti gli ohri tutte le ohre tutti i fiori tutti i giorni tutte le setlimone

E

few) houses in the vil lage.

'

' How much? ' , ' How many? ' : quanto/ quanta/quanti/quante?

G) c

c 0

lanlo/lanla/tanti/tanle, 'so m uch/ many' Ho lonti gotti! Ci sono tonte mocchine in citla!

Ill ..

There are n ' t many (= there arc

This spring there arc lolS of daffodils.

1 31

It needs/takes a lot of time.

These women work in the

Quanto/quanta/quanti/quante? mean 'how much?' or 'how many?', and agree in number and gender with the noun.

II

Ci vuole moho tempo. Ci sono mohi pesci nel more.

c :I 0 z

132

slesso/slessa/stessi/stesse, 'same' We are i n t h e same house.

�

Siomo nella stesso coso. lo stesso giorno gli stessi ragozzi

·e

qualche, 'some/any/a few'

!

Note that alcuno/ alcuna/ alctmi/ alcune can also be used to express 'some/any/a few'.

Q) c

a..

Q) 0 ., c a VI

c ::I 0 z

quolche tempo fa Ho quolche libra. Ho alcune riviste. C'e quolche mocchina guasta.

the same day the same boys

A pronoun is a word which tands for a noun. I nstead of saying:

some t i me ago I have som

·

books.

I have som

•

maga1incs.

There are some broken-down cars.

M r Jones

you can say

the woman

you can say

lui lei we: noi they: loro he:

she:

my husband/wife and I

you can say

alcun(o) /alcuna, nessun ( o) / nessuna, ' no/none', ' ( not) any'

Mr and Mrs Brown

you can say

Non ho nessun libra di Manzoni. Non c'e nessuno qui.

I n English instead of saying ' table' we say ' i t ' . In I talian the words for 'it', u ·ed with things, are esso (masculine) and essa ( feminin ) .

I have no books by Manzoni. There's no one here.

Note: Don ' t forget that in I ta lian t he ubjc t pronoun arc almost alway mis ed out, becau ·e the ending on t he verb does their job, and tells you who or what i the subject of the verb.

3. 1

I

I

lo, tu, Lei, lui, lei, esso/essa, ' I ' , you ,

'he', 'she ' , ' it' : subject pronou ns

If you know what a subject pronoun is, go on to

3. 1 . 1 .

The subject is the person or thing who doc the action. I run, you play, hf' cats, shf' drinks, il shuts,

w e l ve ,

i

you swim, lhry talk

The subject pronoun in I ta lian are a follows:

first person second person third person

Singular

Plural

io - I tu - you Lei - you (polite) lui/egli - he lei/ella - she esso/esso - it

noi - we voi - you Loro - you (polite) loro - they

1 34 Ill

c ;:) 0 c

e

A.

3. 1 . 1

(Lui) e inglese. (Esse) e Ia mia macchina. Aspetto mia zia. (Lei) arrive subito.

lo, ' I ' : first person singular You use t h e fir t person when you are talking about your elf. (lo) sono (lo) dormo (lo) bevo (lo) ascolto (lo) mi chiamo Smith e (io) obi to . . .

I am called

-o

You use noi t o talk about your e l f and omeone else. You use this word when you would usc 'we' in English. As with the other pronoun , 11oi is u ually omil led becau c the verb ending does its job for it

in t he present tense.

(Noi) parliamo tedesco. (Noi) mangiamo degli spaghetti. (Noi) non fumiamo, grazie.

3. 1 .2 Tu, 'you ' : second person singular, fam iliar form You usc tu when you arc talking to one person you know very well, someone who ha invited you to do so, or to a child. Tu hoi un cane? Tu sei andato a Rome?

I lave you got a dog? Did you go to Rome?

After lu the verb ends in -i in the present ten e.

3. 1 .3 Lei, 'you' : second person singula r, polite form

You usc Lei when you arc talking to one person you don't know very well, your boss at work, your teacher, someone who is older than you, etc. It t ranslates 'you', but has t he same form as the word for 'she', and is written with a capital in more formal writ ing, but can al o be writt 'n without After Lei t he verb ends in -a or -e in the pre ent tcnsc, except for essere (to be) which ends in -e. Lei e insegnante? Lei e italiano, signor Rossi?

Arc you a teacher? Arc you I ta l ian, Mr Ro si?

3. 1 .4 Lui (egli), lei (ella) a nd esso/ essa, ' he' , 'she', 'it' : th i rd person singular You u c lui/l.ei/esso/essa when you arc talking about someone or somethi ng else. They t ranslate ' he', 'she' and 'it'. Rememb er that in I ta l ian everyt hing is either rna uline or feminine . A chair is feminine , so if you wam to ay anything about it, you have to usc essa ( 'she ' ) ; similarly, a book is masculin e so if you wam to refer to it, you have to say esso ( 'he' ) . For people you use lui ( ' he') and lei ( ' ·he ' ) . But don't forget that the pronoun s are usually omit ted anyway you only usc them for reinforce ment, em phasis or contrast e.g. £ tuo padre ? - o, lui e mio t)(ldre.

he's

3. 1 .5 Noi, 'we' : first person plural

mith and I live . . .

lo is only written with a capital letter at the begi nning of a sentence. After io the verb usually end in

I ' m wai t i ng for my aunt.

After lui/lei/esso/essa the verb u ually ends in -a or -e in the pre em tense.

I am sleeping I am listening

I t 's my car. arriving soon.

I am ... I am drinking

135

He's English.

We speak German. We arc eating spaghetti. We don ' t smoke, than ks.

After noi the verb always ends in -imno in the present tense.

3. 1 .6

Voi, 'you' : second person plura l , familiar form You use voi when you are talking to two or more people you know well, or who are younger than you, related to you, etc. It t ranslates 'you'. Voi i often referred to as the ' familiar plural' form, as it is used in the plural when talking to people you know. After voi t he verb always ends in -ale, -ele or -ite in the pre ent tense, according to whether the verb is an -are verb, an -ere one or an -ire one. (Voi) mangiate cioccolato? (Voi) prendete il treno? (Voi) finite presto?

Do ou eat chocolate? Arc you taking the t rain? Arc you finishing �oon?

3. 1 . 7 Lora, 'you' : second person plural, polite form Y?u u e Loro when you are talking to two or more people of Cllher gender, whom you don 't know, in a very formal context. It also translates 'you'. After /,oro the verb ends in -ano, -ono or -mmo in the present ten c .

3. 1 .8 Lora, 'they' : th i rd person plural You use loro when you are talking about more than one person or thing. It t ranslate ' t hey'. Noi siamo italiani, rna loro sono tedeschi. lo ho due gatti, rna loro hanno un cane.

We are I ta l ian�. but they arc Germans. I ha\'(.' two cat'>, but they have a dog.

Ill

c ;:) 0 c

e

A.

1 36 Ill

I

c :I 0 c

After Loro the verb usually ends in -ano, -ono or -anno in the present tense.

You use lui/lei and esso/essa (third person singular) to tran late 'he', 'she' and ' i t ' .

Which I talian subject pronoun should you use?

I n I talian cver)'thing i s either masculine o r femin ine so t he table ( La lavola) is 'she' ( essa) and the book ( il Libro) is 'he' ( esso) .

a I

am going to lhe cinema tonighL.

b Afler lhe cinema we are going lO a restauranl.

f

c My girlfriends will be Lhere.

a.

After lui/lei and esso/essa the verb u ually ends in -a or -e in the present tense.

d The house is very nice. e

Luca is playing.

You u e noi (fir t person plural) to talk about yourself and omeone else. You use it when you would use 'we' in English.

f Isabel is going lo watch.

g Where are you going?

IT

Which ubject pronoun would you use in these sentences?

After noi the verb usually ends in -iamo in the present tense.

a Giovanni abita a Venezia. prende spesso il vaporetto. b I miei genilori si chiamano Luigi e Maria. abitano a Como. c non siamo ancora pronti. ? d Vieni onche e Mia sorella gioca a calcia. gioca moho bene. f Mi piace il te. bevo malta te. g Come si chiama questa ragazza? e moho bella! h vi chiamate Giovanni e Paolo? i guidiamo una Fiat 500. Andiamo moho piano! j Do dove venite ? __

You use voi ( econd person plural, familiar form ) to u·anslatc 'you'.

__

__

Voi is often referred to as the 'plural familiar' form, as it is used in the plural when talking to friends or young people.

__

__

__

After voi the verb usually ends in -ale, -ele or -ile in the pre en t tense.

__

You use Loro when you are talking in a very formal context to two or more people of either gender, whom you don't know, who are older than you, etc. It also translates 'you'.

__

3. 1 .9 ..... Fast track: subject pronouns A pronoun is a word which stands for a noun: I run, you play, he eats, she drinks, it shulS,

we

Loro is often referred to as the 'plural poli te' form , as it is used in the plural when talking to omeone older than you or to stranger in a very formal context.

live, you swim, they talk

The subject is t he person or thing who doe the action.

After Loro the verb usually ends in -ano, -ono or -anno in the prcsen t tense.

Pronouns are usually omitted in I talian, but when you do u e them ( usually for empha i or clarification ) , they are as follows:

You u e Loro (third per on plural) to tran late 'they'.

You use io (first per on singular) when you are talking about yourself.

After Loro the verb usually ends in -ano, -ono or -anno in the present ten e.

After io the verb usually ends in -o in the presen t tense You usc tu (second person singular, familiar form ) when you are talking to one person you know very well, someone who has invited you to do o, or to a child. After tu the verb usually ends in -i in the presen t tense. You use Lei when you are talking to one person you don ' t know very well, omeone who i s older than you, etc. I t translates 'you'. After Lei the verb usually end in tense.

-a

or -e in the pre ent

3.2

Lo, Ia, li, le, ' h i m ' , 'her', ' i t' , 'them ' :

d i rect object pronouns If you know what a direct object pronoun i s and how to use it, go on to 3.2. 1 .

' Him', ' her', 'it' and ' th e m ' are called object pronouns. They are the per on or object which has the action done tO it.

1 37 Ill

c :I 0 c 0 ...

a.

1 38

I

Ill

c :I 0 c 0 .. A.

saw john.

him

John saw Karen.

her

I I

bought the watch.

it

like Paul.

him

l ie likes Isabelle.

her

She doesn 't likc the boys.

them

3.2.2 Mi, ti, ci and vi: 'me', 'you' and 'us' These pronouns mean t h e same as ' m e ' , 'you' and 'us' i n English, and they a l o come in front o f th verb. Mi ha vista! Ti chiama! Ci vede. Vi aiutiamo.

In English it is easy to recogn i c the direct object as it alway comes traight after t he verb. I

Which is the direct object?

3.2.3

a I bought a new car.

b

l ie broke the wing m irror.

f l ie bought me a bunch of Oowcrs.

Lo, Ia, I 1,. Ie: ' h ·1 m I , 'h er , ' 1"t' , 'th em I ; La, Li, Le: 'you' I

Lo prendo. La vedo. Eccolo!

The word for ' h i m/her' or ' i t ' in I talian are to ( masculine) and La ( feminine) , and t he word for 'them' arc Li (masculine) and le ( feminine) . The words for 'you' ( polite form) arc La in t he i ngular and Li in the plural. I n I talian, the Lo, La, li and le u ually come in front of the verb. l lowcver, they can be attached to the end of the verb in certain cases (e.g. infinit ive, imperatives, present participle , gerund and the word ecco) .

c W e sec t h e m . ( m ) d I have i t . e

I a m helping* you. (polite form)

f I am wearing* it. ( m )

*The

c

take i t . see her.

There it is!

Like the other pronouns, these words usually come in front of the verb except after an infinitive, imp rativc, etc. Arrivederci ! Vi preghiamo d i non porlore. Mi ami? Ti odio!

I 'm taking t hem.

We'll meet (us) again! We ask you not to talk. Do you love me?

I

hate you!

helping her I see it/ h i m ( m ) .

I nsert the correct direct objcCl pronoun. a I sec her. b She sees h i m .

I I

Mi, ti, ci and vi: ' me', 'you' and ' us'

There it/he is!

Lo and La become l ' before words beginning with a vowel or lz. II

..... Fast track: d i rect object pronou ns

I n llalian, the Lo, La, Li, le, La, Le and Li usually come in front of the verb, but they arc sometimes attached to the end of it (e.g. infinitive, imperatives, present participles, gerunds and the word ecco) .

g l ie took t he car to the garage to be repaired.

Eccolo! l1 prendo. aiutandola Lo vedo.

l ie can sec us. We're helping you.

In English 'him', ' her', 'you', 'it', etc always come straight after the verb.

d l ie swerved and h i t a tree.

3.2. 1

l ie's calling you!

Lo, La, Li, Le, La, Le, Li, 'him', ' her', 'it', ' t hem', 'you': direct obje t pronouns

My h usband drove it home for me.

c A dog chased a cat across t he road. e

She's seen me!

vedo. vede ved1amo. Ce 'ho. aiuto. _ porto. __

arc present tenses, the pronoun gae before!

3.3

Mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi, gli/ /oro, 'to me' , 'to

you' , 'to h i m ' , 'to her', ' to us' , 'to them ' : indirect object pronou ns If you know what an indirect object pronoun i s and how to use it, go on to 3.3. 1 .

I n English, an indirect object pronoun is the same as a direct object pronoun but has (or can have) 'to' or 'for' in front of it. I

bough t her i l . I bought it (direct object - it is the t h ing that you bought ) for her ( indirect object ) .

1 39 Ill

c :I 0 c 0 .. A.

Give me iL Give it (dit·ect object - the thing which is being given) to

140

II

me ( i ndirect objec t ) .

a

They showed him iL They showed it (direct object - t h e 1h ing which

b

is being shown) to him ( i ndire I objec t ) .

Ill

c: ;:) 0 c: 0 ..

c

Indirect pronouns ore used with verbs like 'give/send/write/show/buy/offer/tell/lend' where you do something to/for someone/something.

ICL.

Try saying 'to/for' in front of the pronoun to see if it is indirect.

e

f g h i

j

I wrote h i m a reply.

__

__

I low many sisters have you got? I 've got three (of 1 h e m ) .

When used with a personal pronoun i t will usually mean something like 'of her/him/us' etc.

he sent it for me.

l ie sent her a new message. he did not show it me.

Mia madre e portito, e non ne ho notizie. Conosci questi piloti? Si, ne ho spesso sentita porlare.

She sent h i m a photo of herself. l ie sent her another message. he sent him a reply.

Mi, ti, gli, le, etc . : indirect object pronouns I n I talian, you always put t he indirect object pronoun in front of t he verb except for loro, which goes after t he verb. do 1 00 euro. Mi ho detto che sono scemo!

I am giving you I 00 euros.

Le ho lotto vedere Ia suo mocchina nuovo. Non ci donna abbostonza soldi!

l ie showed ( to) her his new car.

/ He said (to) me that I was stupid!

They don't give {to) us enough money!

Mi, ti, ci and vi arc the same as t he direct object pronoun , so you only have to remember: Le ( ' to you', polite singular form, 'to h i m/her' ) ,

gli/le ( ' t o h i m/her' ) , Loro ( ' to you' polite plural form, ' t o t hem' ) , and gli/loro ('to them ' ) .

__

Quante sorelle hoi? Ne ho Ire.

he t ranslated it for me.

Ti

__

e is used to replace di and a noun or pronoun. I t is u eel to mean 'of i t ' or 'of them', and has to b used in sentences when it would be omitted in English:

k She did not tell me what he aid. I She gave me my phone back and wenL

3.3. 1

__

3.3.2 The pronoun ne

b I could not read iL My friend can. I showed it her.

d

__

__

j

a Luigi sent me a text message. c

__

__

i

( to me)

__

e

f g

Identi fy the indirect object pronouns in the e English sentences.

ha data Ia sua matito Chi poria? ( to us) Quanti soldi donna ? ( to them ) hoi mandata il pocco? ( to her) ho porlato oggi? ( to you, pl. fam . ) Mia moglie ha data il biglietto? ( to you, sing. fam.) ho spiegato coso devi fare? ( to you, sing. fam . ) do un libra. ( to her) Mia zio ho data uno bottiglio di vino. ( to him) doi uno mono? (to us )

d

h

I

141

Fill in the missing pronoun .

My mother has left, and I haven't heard about her. Do you know these n1cing drivers? Yes, I have often heard of them.

3.3.3 Word order of pronou ns: indirect ..... .....

+

d i rect

If you don't want to know about this yet go on to 3.4.

I f two or more pronouns arc used together in a sentence, they go in the order shown in the table below (this table includes si, whi h is a reflexive pronoun ) . Wh n mi, ti, ci, vi and si precede another pronoun, t hey become me, le, ce, ve and se. When ne is used it goes in t he posit ion indicated by the final column of the table. me lo te lo glielo se lo ce lo ve lo

me Ia te Ia gliela se Ia ce Ia ve Ia

me li te li glieli se li ce li ve li

me le te le gliele se le ce le ve le

me ne te ne gliene se ne ce ne ve ne

Ill

c: ;:) 0 c:

e

ICL.

142 Ill

c ::;) 0 c 0 .. A.

III

143

How would you say t h e following?

Word order of pronouns: indirect + direct

a He gave it ( m ) to me.

If two or more pronouns are used together, t hey go in the following order:

b

I have wriLLcn it to her.

c She gave it (f) to them.

d

e

f

me lo te lo glielo se lo ce lo ve lo

They gave i t to you (sing) . You gave it to us. he bought h i m it ( m ) .

g H e read it to me. h He gave it to us.

i

We gave it to you ( p i ) .

j

They read it t o them.

me Ia te Ia glielo se Ia ce Ia ve Ia

me li te li glieli se li ce li ve li

me le te le gliele se le ce le ve le

me ne te ne gliene se ne ce ne ve ne

k She gave i t ( m ) to me.

I I won't give it ( m ) to you! If you have had enough of pronouns move on to Chapter 4 and come back later.

3 .4

I n English, a n indirect object pronoun i s the same a s a direct object pronoun but has (or can have) ' to' or ' for' in fron t of it.

Con lui ( 'with h i m ' ) , senzo di lei ( 'without her' ) , di Fronte o me ( 'in front of me' ) , per /oro ( 'for them' ) , ottorno o noi ( 'around us' ) , dietro di foro ( 'behind t he m ' ) , etc.

I ndirect pronoun are only used with verbs like: 'give/send/write/show/buy/offer/tell/lend' where you do something to/for someone.

Examples: Questa libro e per te. Voglio andere a Ramo con loro. E per Lei? E con lei. Compriomo un regolo per lui. Andiomo con Loro?

In I talian, indirect object pronouns go in the same place as direct object pronouns. To sum up, this is:

•

•

usually immediately in fron t of the verb, except loro, which always goe after; on the end of infinitives, imperc1tives, present participles, gerunds or rwo; compulsorily on the end of a posit ive command.

me te lui lei se Lei

to me to you ( familiar singular) to h i m

to her to it to you ( formal singular) to us to you

to them to you ( formal plural)

I

This book is for you. I want to go to Rome with them. Is it for you? He's with her. We're buying a present for h i m . Arc we going w i t h you?

Plural

Singular

The indirect object pronouns are very similar to the direct object pronouns. mi ti gli le gli/le Le ci vi gli/loro Lora

disjunctive pronouns

Preposit ional or disjunctive pronouns are only used when talking about people or animals. Most of them are the same as the subject pronouns.

3.3.4 ...... Fast track: indirect object pronouns

•

Me, te, lui, etc . : prepositional or

me you ( familiar singular) h i m/it

noi voi Ioro

us you them

her/it ... self you ( formal singular)

se Lora

... selves you ( formal plural)

Replace t he people in italics with a pronoun. Questa mocchino e di Roberto. b Giovanni e ondoto in cit1a con suo moglie. c E uscito con i suoi amici. d II Signor Nosello ho comproto un regolo per suo figlio. a

Ill

c ::;) 0 c 0 .. A.

e

144

La borsa blu e di Riccardo, e Ia borsa rossa e di /sobe//o. Ha mangialo con i miei bambini e me.

f

Che/che rosa/rosa ?, 'what?' There arc tht·ee ways of" aying 'what?' in I talian - che?, che cosa ? and just cosa ? Cosa by itself" is ·lighLiy more common in spoken I talian, but the oth r arc used too.

E suo madre!

g

Siamo porlili con i noslri bambini. i Abbiamo compralo dei gelati per le e per i luoi amici. j Esco con Gill. h

3.4. 1

Cos'e? Che coso slai per mangiare? Coso volete fare?

Mi, ti, ci, vi, /oro, ' me' , 'you' , 'us', 'them' and the i mperative

Ci sono due libri. Quale preferisci? Ha Ire sorelle. Quali sono qui?

C

Do i L l

d

Wake up!

e

3.5

do you prefer? He has t h ree sisters. Which

As an adjective or a pronoun:

WriLe i t !

An interrogative word is used to ask questions like 'who', 'why', 'how', 'whi h'. Most are eit her pronouns or adverb . Here are ome ommon one , with t heir meanings. If you know all about interrogatives go on to 3.6.

Chi?, 'who ( m ) ?' This word means 'who' if it refers to the subject or the sentence and 'whom' if" it refers to t he object. Remember the subject is the person or thing who 'does' the action.

Quanto vino hoi? Quanlo lotte vuoi? Quanti fratelli hoi?

How much m i l k do you wam?

Quante case ci sono nella cilia?

How many houses arc there i n

Who ( m ) arc you wi t h ?

Di rhi ?, 'whose?' This word means 'who e' when it. is used in a question clau e. Whose car· is t h is? Whose brother is he?

How many broth ·rs have you

the city?

As an adverb: Quanlo vale? I

How much is it wonh?

Fill in the gap in t he following entcnces: a

I low mu h water do you want?

b I low many sisters have you got? c l lcrc are two rooms. Which do

you prefer?

d e

What would you like LO drink? Whose house is t h is?

f I low m u h is this car won h ? Who is t h is woman?

How much wine have you got?

got?

Chi? Che/che coso/coso? , 'Who?' 'What? ' : interrog ative words

Di chi e questa macchina? Di chi e fratello?

There are two books. Which

·

mel

Chi e questa donna? Con chi sei?

eat?

Qu.anlo? quanta ? quanti? quanle?, ' how much?', 'how many?' cd as an adjective or a pronoun, this agree with the noun (s) it refer to. I t i ometimes used as an adverb in ' which case it doesn't change.

a Look at u ! 10

LO

ones arc here?

I low would you say: b Give it

What arc you about

What would you like to do?

QualP? Quali?, 'which?' This word is used if there is a choice b tween two or more thing . Quale is the ingular and quali i the plural.

With imperative , the words for ' me', 'you', 'us' and the reflexive pronoun are joined to the end of the imperative verb. The exception i loro ( 'to t hem ' ) , which is never joined to t he verb. Arter the imperat ives fa', di', da', sla' and va', t he init ial con onant or the pronoun i doubled (e.g. dimmi, dalla, Jallo) . II

What is it?

g What d o you l i ke? h How many books have you got?

i Which house is yours?

j

Who is t h is woman?

aequo vuoi? sorelle hoi? Ecco due camere. preferisci? vuoi bere? -- e questa coso? vale questa macchina? li piace? libri hoi? coso e Ia tua? -- e questa donna? __

__

__

__

145 Ill

c :) 0 c

f

a..

146 "' c ::;) 0 c 0 ..

a.

3.6 ..... .....

II m to, Ia mia, il tuo, Ia tua: how to say

' it's m i ne' , ' it's you rs' : possessive adjectives a nd pronou ns

3.7

If you want to avoid using the possessives for the moment you can say instead eli Giovanni etc. and go on to 3.7. mine yours ( i n formal sing.) his/hers/its yours (polite sing.) ours yours ( i n formal pl.) theirs ( masc. and fern.) yours (polite pl.)

(il) mio (il) luo (il) suo (il) suo (il) noslro (il) voslro (il) lora (il) lora

(Ia) mia (Ia) lua (Ia) sua (Ia) sua (Ia) noslra (Ia) voslra (Ia) lora (Ia) lora

(i) miei (i) luoi (i) suoi (i) suoi (i) noslri (i) voslri (i) lora (i) lora

(le) (le) (le) (le) (le) (le) (le) (le)

pronouns How to express 'The one who, whom, which .. . ' If you can recognise a relative pronoun, go o n to

a.

Relative pronouns are Lhe words 'who', 'which', 'whom', 't.hat' and 'who e' when they are used to refer to someone already ment.ioned. omet.imes in English t.hese words are completely missed out - but NEVER in Italian (e.g. 'the girl - I was with/the girl who/whom I was with ' ) . orne of them look like question words, but they serve a difTerent purpose - Lhey link sentences, but they do not ask questions.

mie tue sue sue noslre voslre lora lora

Che is the normal relative pronoun, but cui has to be used after a preposition. Ia donna che abita a Roma il ragazzo che obbiomo vista in citta il cone che abboio ogni giorno

the woman who lives in Rome the boy ( whom) we saw in town the dog which/llwl barks every day

Ia mocchino con cui siamo arrivali il rogazzo con cui sono venula

the car in which we arrived

il poese di cui stovo porlondo

the country (of which) I was

the boy with whom I came ( ' t he boy I came with') talking

Guardi questa macchina. E Ia mia. (/a mio to agree with mocchino)

The part of the sentence after the relative pronoun i called a relative clause.

Replace the nouns in italics wit.h the correct form of the pronoun: ( it) rnio/( la) mia/( le) mie/( z) miei. a Oueslo non e il tuo libra. E b Oueslo coso apporliene a me. E __ c Ecco if vino che ho compralo ieri. E d Mi piace moho fa coso dove abita. E e Ci sono uno Lancia e uno Fiat nel garage. Sono f Roberto e Paolo non sono i tuoi frotelli. Sono g Maria e Assunla sono brave sore//e! Sono h Ouesli coni non sono moho giovoni. Sono

A clause is a port of a sentence which doesn't make sense on its own but depends on the rest of the sentence to complete its meaning.

__

__

__

__ __

3.7. 1

147 "' c ::;) 0 c

3.8.

Possessive adjectives translate the English 'my', 'your', 'his/her/its', etc., and posse sive pronoun are ' mine', 'yours', 'his', ' hers', 'ours', 'yours', 'theirs'. In I talian, possessive adjectives and pronouns are the same, and both are used with the definite article. They have to agree with the noun they are replacing. Remember to leave out t he defin i te article wit.h member of t he family in the singular. This omission also applies after the verb essere in case such as Di chi e questa penna? - E mia/tua.

I

Che, cut, 'who' , 'that' , 'which ' : relative

Chi, 'the person who' You can use chi to say 'people who', 'the person who', 'he/she who', 'anyone who', et.c ., but even if L he sense is plural Lhe verb is always singular and any related adject.ive will be masculine. Chi vuole uscire deve dirmelo oro. Chi non rispormio niente sara povero.

(Anyone) who wants to leave must tell me now. (Those) who don't save anything will be poor.

e

148 Ill

c � 0 c

e

D.

3.7.2 Ouello che, quella che, cia che, 'that which ' , 'what'

I

Come si chiomo Ia rogozzo ho visto nel parco? b Non conosco Ia signora vive qui. devo porlore c Non so di questo. d Ecco il rogozzo mocchino mi ho colpito. non so e E uno donna niente. f Cerco un inglese abita a Romo. a

Quello che and rio che are used to t ranslate 'what ', meaning ' t hat whi h' (e.g. ' tell me about what you did today' = ' tell me about t hat which you did today' ) . The e words are only used to give t he meaning of 'what' when it isn't a question. Note also quRllo/quella che ' t he one which' and quelli/quelle che 'the ones which'. Ouello che hoi comproto non mi pioce. Porliomo un po' di cio che e successo. Dommi Ia borso, quello che e sui tovolo.

I

bough L. happened.

__

Give me the bag, the one which is on the table.

t h e woman LO whom I have scnL a postcard

( t he woman I have scnL a postcard LO) the houses in which they l ived ( t he houses they l ived i n ) There i s t h e boy about whom

3.8

What's the name of the girl

I

saw

in L h c park?

I

don't know the woman who

l ives here. about all this. This is the boy whose car hit me. She is a woman about whom I know not h i ng. I ' m looking for an Englishman who lives i n Rome.

I

'that one ' , etc .

There are two kinds of d monst rat ive pronoun in Italian which do the same job as ' t his' and 'that' in English. They agree in number and gender with the noun t hey arc referring to, and each has a different fun lion according to how far the objc t being referred to is from the person who is speaking. When you would use ' t his' in English (i.e. for something near you) , use questo/quesla (etc . ) . For something that is further away, use quello/quella (etc. ) . Here is a table of both words in all t heir forms.

Masc.

3.7.4 II cui, Ia cui, etc. , 'whose' Cui with a definite anicle ( il, La, i or le only) has the meaning of 'whose' . The definite article has to agree in gender and number with t h noun it refers to, but cui is invariable.

Plural Fem.

Masc .

Fem.

questa

questi

queste

quello

quelli

quelle

This (ncar you)

questo That (further away)

quello

the car whose engine is noi�y

Ouole degli onelli preferisci?

Which one of the rings do you

the presidem whose nose is big

Preferisco questo. Tu preferisci quello? Ouoli fiori preferisci? lo preferisco questi e tu preferisci quelli.

I prefer Lhis one (here).

prefer? the women whose ch ildren arc boring Lhc hoLCis whose rooms arc expensive

Do you prefer that one ( t here)? Which Oowc•·s do you prefer? I prefer t hese, and you prcfe•· those.

c � 0 c

e

Questa/questa, quello/quella: ' th is one ,

Singular

Ill

D.

I don't know who to Lalk LO

you've �.<�lked. ( t he boy you've utlkcd about )

Ia mocchino il cui motore e rumoroso il presidente il cui noso e grande le donne i cui bambini sono noiosi gli olberghi le cui comere sono core

__

Let's 1.<1lk a bi t about what

ll quale/la quale/i quali/le quali i s most commonly used aft� r a preposition, and can be a direct replaccmem for per cuz, in cui, etc.

le case nelle quoli lin cui) obitovono Ecco il rogozzo del quole ldi cui) hoi porloto.

__

__

3.7.3 II quale/la quale/i quali/le quali, 'the one(s) which'

Ia donna olio quole Ia cui) ho spedito uno cortolino

__

don 't likc what you have

149

Complete the entences using t he appropriate relat ive pronoun form as best fits the meaning of the sentence:

1 50

I

Say you want to order these tJ1ings, using queslo/quesla/ quesli/quesle.

B

un dolce [_) b dei vermicelli [_) c delle coromelle [_) d uno bottiglio di vino [_] e un pocco di busle [_] f uno penna [_] g un quodro [_] h delle motile [_] i delle scorpe bionche [_] j dei guonli neri [_] a

Ill c: :') 0 c:

2

D.

II

They are: Singular

mi li lo Ia La

ay you want t hose things, u ing quello/quella/quelli/quelle. a uno bottiglio di vino [_) b dei libri [_) c uno mocchino [_) d dei guonli [_) e delle lovoglie [_) f un ormodio morrone [_) g delle lende [_) h un televisore [_] i un'oulorodio [_] j dei fiori [_)

3. 9

don't

c

They arc: Singular

Plural

io lu lui lei Lei

noi voi Ioro Loro

you ( formal)

we

ci vi li le Li/Le

see ee)

th m ( (We) them

us you them ( m ) them (f) you (formal)

Lo vedo Mi vede Ti vedono Non li vediomo

Indirect object pronouns: 'to me', 'to h i m ' , etc . I n Engli h , an indirect object pronoun is the ame as a dire t object pronoun but has (or can have) 'to' or 'for' in front of it. In Italian there is a special set of them, most of whi h are very irnilar to the direct object pronoun . I ndirect object pronoun are normally placed in front of the verb, except that they have to be attached to the end of infinitives, gerunds, imperatives and ' freestanding' past participles. They are: Singular

Plural to u�

m1

to me

Cl

li gli le Le

to you (fam iliar)

vi gli/loro

tO }'Oll

Loro

to rou (formal)

to h i m/it

to them

to her/it to you ( formal)

you they you ( formal)

Ill c: :') 0 c:

D.

In English they come after the verb; in I talian they come in front of the verb except that t hey have to be atta hed to the end of infinitives, gerunds, imperatives and ' freestanding' pa t participles.

We don ' t

They can b used in front of verbs and to replace a person or thing already mentioned. I n I talian they arc usually missed out because the verb ending does their job (which is to show who or what the verb is referring to).

she

you (formal)

They see you ( (They) you sec)

Subject pronouns subject pronoun is a person or thing who does t he action described by a verb: ' I ' 'you' ... ct .

he

h i m/it her/it

he sees me ( (She) me sees)

..... Fast track: pronouns

you

me you

151

2

Plural

I sec h i m ( ( I ) h i m see)

A pronoun i s a word which tand for a noun.

A

Direct object pronouns: 'me', 'you', etc . The direct object pronoun stands in for the per ·on or object who or which has I J1e action done to it.

Most indirect object pronouns ore the some as the direct object pronouns.

152

I f you have more than one pronoun in front of the verb, the pronouns go in t he following order:

Ill

me lo te lo glielo se lo ce lo ve lo

c ::::» 0 c 0 ..

a.

me Ia te Ia gliela se Ia ce Ia ve Ia

me li te li glieli se li ce li ve li

F

me ne te ne gliene se ne ce ne ve ne

me le te le gliele se le ce le

ve le

II mio, Ia mia, il tuo, Ia tua, etc . : possessive pronouns/adjectives They translate the English ' my/mine', 'your(s) ', ' h is', 'her(s) ', ' its', 'our(s ) ' , 'your(s ) ' , ' t heir(s) '. They have to agree with the noun they are replacing. my/mine your(s) (info•·maJ sg.) his/her(s)/its your(s) (polite sg.)

In the perfect tense the pronouns always come before the port of overe (except /oro).

our(s) your(s) ( i n formal pl.) their(s) ( masc. and

(il) mio (il) tuo (il) suo (il) suo (il) nostro (il) vostro (il) loro

(Ia) mio (Ia) tuo (Ia) suo (Ia) suo (Ia) nostro (Ia) vostro (Ia) loro

(i) miei (i) tuoi (i) suoi (i) suoi (i) nostri (i) vostri (i) loro

(le) (le) (le) (le) (le) (le) (le)

(il) loro

(Ia) !oro

(i) loro

(le) !oro

mie tue sue sue nostre vostre !oro

fem . )

D

Disjunctive pronouns There is a set of pronouns which are used after prepositions (e. g . per ml', con nm) to provide emphasis etc. These are called disjunctive or emphatic pronoun .

G

me you ( familiar) him/it her/it self you ( formal)

noi voi loro/essi !oro/esse se Loro

Che, cui, etc . , 'who', 'wh ich ' , 'whose' , etc . : relative pronouns Che, cui, - 'who', 'that', 'whom', 'which' Chi - 'the per on who .. . ' Ouello che, quello che, cia che - ' that which', 'what' II quole/fo quole/i quoli/le quoli - 'the one(s) which' II cui, lo cui, etc. - 'whose'

Plural

Singular

me te lui/esso lei/esso se Lei

your(s) (polite pl.)

us you them them selves you ( formal)

H

Ouesto/questa, quello/quella: 'this', 'that' , etc . Singular

E

· . , 'Wh at 2' . : ·tnterrogattves Ch 1·2. , Che coso2. , 'Wh o 2' These arc used to ask questions like 'Who?' or 'What?' Chi ?, 'Who ( m ) ?' This word means 'who' if it refer to the subject of the sentence and 'whom' if it refers to the object. Di chi ?, 'Whose?' This word means 'whose' when it i u ed in a question clau c . Che/che cosa/cosa?, 'What?' There are three way of sayi ng 'What?' in I ta l ian: Che?, Che cosa?, and just Cosa ?. Quale? Quali?, 'Which?' This word is used if there is a choice between two or more thing . Quale? i used when referring to singular objects or people, Quali? is used to refer to plurals. Quanto? Quanta? Quanti? Quante?, ' How much?' ' How many?' Used as an adjective or a pronoun, i t has to agree with the noun referred to: to ask how m uch use Quanto? Quanta ? for how many use Quanti? Quante?

Plural

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

questa quello

questa quello

questi quelli

queste quelle

1 53 Ill

c ::::» 0 c

e

a.

new old

II

·s a n adjective? ..... .....

She has long, blonde hair and green eyes.

nuevo vecchio

nuevo vecchio

nuovi vecchi

nuove vecchie

Fill in the right form of:

__

c He has just bought a new computer. She likes to wear new clothes for part.ies and casual clothes for gardening.

4. 1 .2 Regular adjectives

Her car is large and old and has four-wheel drive.

Most adjectives end in -o for the masculine, -a for the feminine, -i for the masculine plural and -e for the feminine plural. There are some exceptions, but these are usually quite logical and easy to predict. Here are examples of the main groups.

f l ler boyfriend is tall and dark.

g She manages a small insurance company. h l -Ie has an older sister and a younger broLher.

4. 1 . 1

Fem.

__

a PeLer is shon and fal.

j

Masc.

u n libro b uno coso c negozi d macchine e un treno f uno televisione g vestiti h borsette

H ighlight the adjectives in these sentences.

e

Fem.

a

Adjectives arc 'describing' words; you use them to say what something or someone is like.

d

Masc.

nuovo/nuova/nuovi/nuove or vecchio/vecchia/vecchi/verchie (your choice ) .

If you know what an adjective is, go on to 4.2.

b

155

Plural

Singular

Her favourite dish is spaghett.i. He likes his beer very cold.

Plural

Adjectival ag reement

Singular

I n I talian the adjective 'agrees' with the noun. Most singular adjectives end in -o when they are used with a masculine noun, and change their ending to -a with a feminine noun.

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

nuevo piccolo buono rosso

nueva piccolo buena rossa

nuovi piccoli buoni rossi

nuove piccole buone rosse

new little good

There ore some adjectives which don't work quite like this.

red

III If you know about adjectival agreement, go on to 4.3.

Fill in t h e missing forms. Check your answer and work out how the adjectives relate to each other and form a pattern.

I f the noun is feminine singular, the adjective usually ends in -a: nuova, vecchia. I f t he noun is masculine plural, the adjective usually ends in -i: nuovi, vecchi. I f the noun i feminine plural, the adjective usually end -e: nuove, verrhie.

m

Plural

Singular

If t he noun is masculine singular, the adjective usually ends in -o: nuovo, vecchio.

Masc. a

happy

b beaut.iful c

ugly

d tall e

shon

f good

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

156

Singular Masc.

Plural Fem.

Masc.

Singular Fem.

g bad

co m m u n ist

h quiet

I serious frivolous

stupid blue

q insincere r

brown

t h in

violet

fat

pink

t shon ( thing)

4. 1 .3 I rregular ad jectives Most adjecti ve ending in -e don't change b tween the rna culine and fem inine singula r and both the pl ural form arc the same as well - they both end in -i. Singular

green strong

comunisto

comunisto

comunisti

comuniste

Plural

Masc.

Fern.

Masc.

Fem.

verde forte

verde forte

verdi forti

verdi forti

Singular Masc.

Plural Fem.

Masc.

chiocchierone chiocchierona ch iocch ieron i

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fern.

blu morrone viola rosa

blu morrone viola rosa

blu morrone viola rosa

blu morrone viola rosa

Adjectives ending in -co with the stress on the last syllable I 1avc to add an h before the -i or -e ending in the masculine a nd feminine plural {to keep t he c ound hard, like ll in E ngli h ) .

i u le (not much)

Plural

I f an adject ive ends in -one in the mascul ine ingular , it change s the ending to -ona in th femini ne, and to -oni and -one in the femin ine and rna culine pl urals, like a regula r adjectiv e.

talkative

Fern.

Singular

sensible

p si ncere

s

Masc.

n 1asculine,

k hy

o

Fem.

orne adjectives do not change at all, in t he fem inine or or the singular or plural. The most common of he e are colour .

j strange

n

Masc.

.

i noisy

m

1 57

Plural

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

poco

poco

pochi

poche

Most adjective ending in -co form their masculine plural by simply adding -i (so the c sound is softened, to sound like 'ch' in English ) , but keep t he h in the feminine (so the c stays hard ) .

public

Masc.

Fern.

Masc.

Fern.

pubblico

pubblico

pubblici

pubbliche

All adjectives ending in -go add an h in t he plural before t he -i or -e (as with the adject ives ending in -co, t h is is to stop the g sound being softened to an English j sound by the i and the e) .

chiocchierone

orne adject ive end in - isla in t he mascul ine and femini ne singula r. These have a mascu line plural ending in -i and a femini ne plural ending in -e, as with regular adjectives.

Singular

Plural

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

lungo

lungo

lung hi

lunghe

.

1 58

Adjectives with an i in penultimate place don 't add another i in the masculine plural but are otherwise regular: Singular

.�

.. 1.1

Q)

;, �

conLrary

Plural

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

contrario

contra rio

conlrori

controrie

A small number of adjectives ending in a consonant followed by -cio or -gio lo e the i in the plural form (because it would be hard to say, and the i and e that follow do its job anyway) : Singular

Plural

Masc.

Fem.

liscio soggio

smooLh wise

liscio soggio

Fem.

lisci soggi

Iisee sogge

The adjectives buono and buona change in the singular only when they are before a noun, and when the noun begins with a vowel ; used without a noun t he masculine singular is buono. Singular Masc. good

buon

buono + consonant

Fem.

Masc.

buono buon' + vowel

buoni

Fem.

buone

large

Before

Before a

Before

wilh a

a vowel

conso-

vowel

nanl

conso-

Masc. and fem.

Masc. and fem.

Masc. and fem.

+ consonant

+ z/gn/ps/x

+ vowel

gran

grande

grand'

Masc. and fem.

grondi

Before a

Before s

Before

con

con so-

any-

nanL/

L h i ng

o-

nanl

nanl

before vowel

IV

bell' quell'

bello quello

bell' quell'

bello quello

bel queI

begli quegli

bei quei

belle quelle

Choose the right form of the adjective in brackets. b c

d e

f g h

II Signor Borloom e lcomunisto). La Signora Borloom e malta (chiocchierone). (viola). I moglioni sono Le pelli sono molto (liscio). Abbiomo (poco) soldi . Siomo malta (povero). II cielo e !blu). Ouesli coni sono (morrone). Gli spoghelti sono (lungo). C'e !poco) genie qui, oggi. Abbiomo delle (bello) mele. Vini (forte) in vendito qui. Ci sono dei (bello) gnocchi in questa negozio. Dove sono i gobinelti (pubblico). per fovore? Ouond'e ii (Gronde) Premia d'ltolio? A Venezia ci sono dei conoli !grande). (Buono) vioggio! La coso e molto (grande). I miei frotelli sana molto (chiocchierone). Questi uomini sono molto (forte). I miei genitori sono molto lsoggio). __

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

j

m n

o

q r s

t

Plural

a

nanL

p

The adjective grande changes in t he singular only in the following ways: Singular

Before s

k 1

Plural

Masc. + vowel

Before a con so-

a

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

Masc. VI

1 59

Plural

Singular

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

__

4. 1 .4 Ad jectives of nationality Most adjective o f nationali ty end in a n -o o r a n -e. Those ending in an -o in the masculine have a final -a for the feminine form. Those ending in an - e tay the same in the feminine form.

The adjective bello change l i ke the definite article and the demonstrative adjective quello, according to what follows it:

Plural

Singular

Belgian Moroccan German American

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

belgo morocchino tedesco omericono

belgo morocchino tedesco americana

belgi marocchini tedeschi omericoni

belghe* marocchine tedesche omericone

1 60

Singular

French English Canadian COllish pan ish ILalian Swiss Russian

Masc.

Fem.

Masc.

Fem.

froncese inglese conodese scozzese spognolo iloliono svizzero russo

froncese inglese conodese scozzese spognolo iloliono svizzero russo

froncesi inglesi conodesi scozzesi spognoli ilolioni svizzeri russi

froncesi inglesi conodesi scozzesi spognole ilolione svizzere russe

red yellow blue green black whiLe grey brown

* This is irregular!

V

orange

Fill in the nationali t ie in the corre t form. Michael Schumacher e b Jensen Bullon e c Madonna e d Luciano Povorolli e e Placido Domingo e Jose Carreras sono . f Tim Henman e Kelly Holmes sono g Roger Federer e h Tom e Martha obilono a Woshinglon: sono . i Billy Connolly e Ouesli signori vengono do Monlreol: sono j

purple pink

a

___

.

VI

___

.

c ___

d

.

e

__

___

f

.

g

4. 1 .5 Colours

h

Don'l forgel lhol lhe odjeclives come after lhe noun !hey ore wilh, and lhol lhey 'agree' in gender and number wilh lhe noun. Th adjectives of colour form th ir agreements using the same rules as the other adjectives. ote that some of the colour (e.g. msa, viola) arc invariable, i.e. don ' t change for masculine/[, min ine and plural ; vnde only ha the one in gular form and the one pl ural form.

Masc.

Fem.

rosso giollo ozzurro blu verde nero bianco grigio morrone oroncione viola rosa

rosso giollo ozzurro blu verde nero bianco grigio morrone oroncione viola rosa

rossi giolli ozzurri blu verdi neri bionchi grigi morrone oroncioni viola rosa

rosse giolle ozzurre blu verdi nere bionche grigie morrone oroncioni viola rosa

___

___

___

__

___

___

___

__

___

Most adjectives of colour agree in the arne way as other adjectives, and t hey always come after Lhe noun they describe: a red train becomes a train red, un treno TO so; the White House become the house white, La Casa Bianca. Choose a phrase lo memorise lo help you remember lhe order: un vino bianco, un golfo nero, elc.

Fem.

Alessandro porto uno comicio (rosso). suoi guonli sono (morrone). II medico porto uno comicio (verde). II suo impermeobile e (ozzurro). Mario poria un veslilo (oroncione). Le sue scorpe sono (bianco). Carlo indosso un moglione (viola). I suoi guonli sono (giollo). Enrico porto uno cinluro (nero). (grigio). I suoi slivoli sono Le loro sciorpe sono (rosa).

b I

___

Masc.

Compl tc t he sentence with the right form of the colour given in brackets. a

__ .

1 61

Plural

Singular

Plural

j

k

4.2

___

___

The position of adjectives In English , adjective come in front of the noun they are describing: 'a large house', 'a fa t car'. In I talian most adject ives come after the noun ('a hou e large ' , 'a car fa t ' ) . A few adjectives can come before the noun: bello buono breve brullo collivo giovone

beauLiful good shon bad, ugly bad young

grande grosso largo lungo piccolo vecchio

big, large big, large wide long small old

1 62

9 Acljeclives with an i in penullimate place don't add another i in

Some change their meaning according to whether they come before or after the noun: Adjective

alto basso buono cora calliva certo diverso dolce grande grosso nuovo numeroso pavera santo semplice unico varia vera

Meaning before noun

II

high

tall small, low ( n u m ber)

good (in ability)

good ( i n quali ty)

dear, precious

dear, expensive

bad, un pleasant

bad, evil

(a) certain, orne

certain, reliable

various, several

di!Terent

good, sweet

fresh (water)

great

big, tall

big, serious ( thing)

big, well built (person)

new (another one)

new ( i.e. not old)

numerous, many

large in number

poor, unfort unate

poor ( i.e. not rich)

bles ed (expletive)

holy ('sainted')

just, simply, only

simple, easy

(only) one

unique, special

various, several

different

real (emphalic)

true, authentic high

a

tall

in the plunll form.

Meaning after noun

low

alto stagiane un uomo alto uno pavera donna uno donna pavero

the masculine plural. I 0 Adjectives ending in a con onant followed by -cio or -gio lose the i

begins with a vowel.

I

3 4 5

season

6

man

plural.

-e

in the singular and -i and

14

Most adject ives of nalionality end i n

7 8

10 -e

II in the

2

Most adjectives ending in

3

Adjective· ending in -one and -ona in the singular change to -oni

4

Adjecl ives ending in isla in both singular forms make their

don't change in the singular. The

and -one in the plural.

12

u n maglione rosso un Irena verde un uomo chiacchierone un uomo comunista un libra blu poco vino un gabinetto pubblico un pasta lungo il sensa contra rio un padre soggio buon giarna! II Gran Premia

orne adject ive· do not change at all, in the feminine or masculine, or the singular or plural.

7

Masc.

Fem.

una camicia rossa una macchino verde una donna chiacchierona uno donna comunisto una barsetta blu poco aequo una Iegge pubblica una bibila lunga Ia direzione controria una madre saggia buona nolle! Ia coso grande

maglioni rossi treni verdi uomini chiocchieroni uomini comunisti libri blu pochi vini gobinetti pubblici pasli lunghi i sensi contrari

camicie rosse macchine verdi donne chiacchierone donne comuniste barsette blu poche acque leggi pubbliche bibile lunghe le direzioni conlrorie madri sagge buone nolli le case grandi

13

un bel canto

uno bella ragazzo

14

un uamo tedesca

uno donna tedesca

padri saggi buoni giorni i grondi premi dei begli spaghetti uomini tedeschi

delle belle case donne tedesche

A

Word order Most adjectives come after the word they are describing:

add an It before the ending in the plural.

una macchina rossa - a red car; un uomo bravo - a good ragazzo giovone a young girl

Adjectives ending in -co fo•-m their masculine plural by adding -i,

but the e ones often come in fron t:

Adject ives ending in -co with the stress on the penultimate syllable

but al o add an h in the feminine plural.

8

Fem.

-

plurals with -isti and -i /e.

6

i n the masculine and the

Plural

plural forms end in -i.

5

-e

fem i nine singular, or in -o in the masculine and - a in the

Singular

2

a poor ( i mpoverished) woman

-a

Bello changes in t h e singular and t h e plural (see table above) .

Masc.

a poor ( u n fortunate) woman

Most adject ives end in -o and

Grande changes in the singular only (see table above ) .

13

in the plural.

...._ Fast track: ad jectives 1

12

feminine singular, and they end in -i, or in -i and -e respecl ively,

9

4.3

Buono changes in the ingular before a noun, and when the noun

Adject ive ending in -go add an h in the plural before the -i or -e.

man ;

una

-

bello, buono, breve, brullo, calliva, giavane, grande, grossa, largo, lungo, piccolo, vecchio

1 63

1 64

B

Adjectives with more than one meaning omc adjectives change their meaning according to whether they come before or after the noun:

Signor Barloom e importonte, mo Ia Signora Barloom e piu importonte. Luigi e piccolo, mo suo sorello e piu piccolo. Riccardo e intelligente, mo suo frotello e piu intelligente di lui. Vioggio piu con Ia mocchino che col treno. II

uno nuovo mocchino a new car ( i.e. a difTerem one); uno mocchino nuovo a new car ( i.e. nol a used one) -

-

C

Colours Like most other adjective , the adjectives of colour come after the word they are de cribing. un cone nero

-

a black dog

I

Most colour tak the ame endings a other adjective :

Mr Barlaam is im ponam buL Mrs Barlaam is more

imponanL. Luigi is small buL his sisLer is smaller. Riccardo is imelligenL buL his brolher is more imelligenL Lhan him. I Lravel more by car Lhan by train.

ay the econd things are all ' more' than the first: Questa mocchino e veloce, mo quello e b Tuo sorello e bello, mo mio sorello e c I nostri coni sono grondi, mo i vostri sono d I libri di Giulio Cesare sono interessonti, mo quelli di Dante Alighieri sono e L'esome d'itoliono e difficile, mo quello di motemotico e f Lo Francia e un bel poese, mo l'ltolio e un poese g Questa coso e molto cora, mo quello e -h I miei genitori sono poveri, ma i tuoi sono Stoi per comprare uno radio cora, mo stiomo per comprare una radio j Questa bicicletta e molto bello, mo cerchiomo uno bicicletto __ per nostro figlio. a

--

__

rosso, rosso, rossi, rosse

__

4.4

Com pa rative and superlative

__

__

The comparative is the form you usc when you arc comparing two things and ay, for example, that something is bigger, maller, newer, older, etc.

__

The superlat ive is the form when you ay something is the best, biggest, mallest, be t of all. Comparative

Superlative

big

bigger

biggesL

uno mocchino grande

uno mocchino piu grande

Ia mocchino piu grande

small

smaller

smallesL

uno mocchino piu piccolo

Ia mocchino piu piccolo

Adjective

uno mocchino piccolo

To say something i le

s

you use

Alessandro e meno vecchio di suo frotello.

meno

Alexander is less old Lhan his brolher.

ay these things are all 'more' or 'less' than ..

ll

.

1+1 La Ferrari e

veloce della fv'\cLaren. Uno Lancia e cora di una Fiat. c H Luigi e intelligente di sua sorella. d 1+1 11 serpente e pericoloso dello scorpione. e 1+1 II cane e grande del gatto. f H Le Dolomiti sono alte degli Appennini. grande dello Sicilia. g H La Sardegna e b 1 +1 Torino si trove a nord di Roma. H L'argento e __ prezioso dell'oro. fomoso del Senatore j 1 +1 11 presidente Silvio Berlusconi e Giovanni Agnelli. a

b 1+1

__

__

--

As grande and piccolo are adjectives they still hove to agree with the noun they describe.

--

__

__

__

4.4. 1

Comparing two people or things I n Italian , you put piu ( 'more') in front of the adjective. For 'than' you u e di before names, pronouns, numeral and adverb . Before adverbs, nouns, pronouns, participle , infinitives, prepo itional phrases which are depend nt on the ame verb, and between two adjectives, you u e che to tran late 'than'.

instead of piu:

__

__

4.4.2 The superlative il/lo/i/le . . . piu . . . il/lo/i/le . . . meno . . .

165

166

To say ' the most' and 'the least' you u e piu and meno. The adjective ha to agree with t he noun in gender and number, as u ual, and you don ' t repeat the determiner:

piu buono or migliore piu cottivo or peggiore piu grande or maggiore

wo rse

Ia coso meno piccolo il cone piu stupido

piu piccolo or minore

smaller ( used for people,

Even when t he adjective follows t he noun you don ' t repeat the determiner:

The e adjectives are the same in masculine and feminine singular forms: migliore, fJeggiore, maggiore, minore. The masculine and feminine plural forms are: rnigliori., fJeggior-i, maggiori and minori.

implying younger)

E il vino piu cora della cantina.

It's the most expensive wine i n

Ecco il gotto piu bello del negozio.

I t 's the most beautiful cal in the

As with the other comparisons, 'than' is expressed by di, and i t is j ust omitted if there is no follow-up to t he comparison (in other words if only one t hing is said to be better, worse, etc ) .

shop.

Fill in these comparisons. (+) Venezia e Ia citto bello del mondo. (+) La Rolls-Royce e Ia mocchino cora del mondo. c (+) La boleno e il mommifero grande di tutti i mammiferi. d (+) La zonzoro e l'insetto pericoloso di tutti. e ( -) La Citto del Voticono e il poese grande del mondo. f (-) II chihuahua e il cone grande del mondo.

a

bigger ( used for people, i m plying older)

t h e winery.

m

beuer

__

b

Giovanni e i l frotello minore di Giulio. II formoggio froncese e buono mo quello itoliono e migliore.

__

__

__

__

v

I nsert t he I talian for the word in brackets: Questa vino e buono, mo l'oltro e (beller) . I miei voti sono (worse) dell'onno scorso! c Franco e ( o l de r) di Rosario. d Rosario e (younger) di Palma. e Rosario e Rosario sono ( younger) di Franco e Palma. f I colciotori dell'lnter sono ( bener) dei colciotori del Milan. a

__

b

4.4.3 Sayi ng 'as (big) as' I f you are comparing two t hings which are similar, you use the expression tanto ... quanlo or cosi ... come ( ' as (big) as' ) . As with other comparatives, the adjective have to agree with t he noun t hey are describing.

E (tonto) alto quanta suo padre. Questa vino e (cosl) buono come quello. IV

He is as tall as his father. This wine is

as

good as that

(one).

Say these places are ( 1 ) bigger; (2) le big; (3) as big as ... Remember to make the adjective agree with the noun where necessary. L'Aibergo lntercontinentole e I'Aibergo Reale. (3) La citto di Ramo e __ citto di Milano. ( 1 ) c II porto di Morghero e porto di Napoli. (2) d Gli ipermercoti Correfour sono supermercoti Penny. ( 1 ) e La Lombordio e Liguria. ( 1 ) a

__

b

__

__

__

4.4.4 I rregular comparitives The words for ' be t ter', 'worse', 'bigger' and ' maller' have optional i rregular forms which do not form their comparative with piu or meno. U nlike the other adjective comparative words, t hese fou r words are invariable in the singular and do not have to agree with the noun they are describing.

4.5 A

...... Fast track: comparative and su perlative The comparative This is the form you use when you are comparing two t hings and ay, for example, t hat something is bigger, smaller, newer or older. In English we can either add '-er' or use the word ' more': green

greener or more green

healthy

healthier or more heaiLh y

t i red

Lireder or more Lired

I n I talian there is only one way. You add the word fJiu ( more) or meno ( less). piu verde; piu intelligente; meno stance As the word is an adjective i t still must agree with the noun. L'olbero e piu verde. E meno stance di me.

The tree is greener. She is less tired than me.

167

168

B

The Superlative When you arc t.alking about the best or the worst you usc the uperlativc. I n It.alian the uperlat ive is made by in erting il, La, i or le before the pii"t or meno. Note, however, that when the adject ive fol low the noun, as mo t do, the arti lc is not repeated, since it goes in its normal place before the noun. e.g. Ia studentessa piu intelligente della classe i biglietti meno cari di tutti

the most imcll igem student in the class the cheapest tickets of all

She drives fast. l ie peaks too loudly.

s the word i an adject ive it st ill mu t agree with the noun: il bambino piu terribile Ia ragazza piu bello i libri piu interessanti

c

' Better' , 'worse' , 'older' and 'younger' The optional words for 'better', 'worse' , 'older' and 'younger' ( migliore/i, jJeggiore/i, maggiore/i and minore/1) do not change for masculin ·/feminine, only for singular/ plural. piu buono or migliore piu cattivo or peggiore piu grande or maggiore

better worse bigger (used for people, implying older)

piu piccolo or minore

smaller ( used for people, implying younger)

Di or che arc omit ted if there i no follow-up to the comparison. II formaggio francese e buono ma quello italiano e migliore.

Some adverb can qualify an adject ive or adverb, e.g. 'very' ( ' fa t ' ) , 'quite' ( 'loud ' ) , 'too' ( ' hard') .

5. 1 5. 1 . 1

Formation of adverbs Reg ular adverbs Most I talian adverb are formed by adding -uwnte to the feminine singular form of the adjective, if this is different from the masculine ingular: Iento/Iento > lentamente rapido/rapida > rapidamente alto/alta > alta mente

slowly quickly

djective which already nd in after it: dolce > dolcemente recente > recentemenle

loudly -e

ju t need to add - mente

gently recently

Adjectives which end in -le or -re lo -mente: facile > facilmente regolare > regolarmente

c

t he final -e and add

easily regularly

When t he -le or -re have another consonant before, the e is ret.aincd and - mente i added: folie > follemente mediocre > mediocremente

madly poorly

Altrimenli (differently, otherwis ) isjust. . . different. And o is violentemente.

1 70

5. 1 .2 I r regular adverbs orne adverb are irregular and are not like their adjective : buono - good (adj.) migliore beuer cottivo bad peggiore worse -

-

-

I

bene - well (adverb) meglio - better mole badly peggio - worse -

Make the e adjectives into adverbs: secco b folie c semplice d ropido e facile f regolore g roro h cottivo 1 vera j buono a

dverbs are word which de cribe an action: 'well', ' fa t', 'slowly' etc. In Engli h mo t words which end in -'ly' are adverbs: ' naturally', ' romantically', ' adly' etc. In I talian most adverbs arc made by adding -mente to the feminine singular form of t he adjective, if it is different from the masculine: Ientomente sicuromente dolcemente regolormente

orne useful adverbs:

Here are some adverb · of degree - the e can qualify other adverbs or adjectives and are often used with them: less not very, liule quite so much so, so much, so very very more too ( m uch)

Th e are adverb of time and frequency: odessa/oro olloro oncora dopa gia ormoi poi presto subito moi sempre spesso

....,_ Fast track: adverbs

Iento/Iento sicuro/sicuro dolce regolore

5. 1 .3 Adverbs to watch meno poco obbostonzo cosi tonto moho piu troppo

5.2

now then yet after already by now then soon, quickly, fast i mmediately never always often

bene mole poco meglio spesso The

c

well badly little bett r frequently/ often

words are u ed with another adverb or adjective:

moho - moho piccolo poco - poco bello sempre - sempre guosto quolche volta - quolche volta felice obbostonzo - obbostonzo brutto lroppo - troppo coro

very small not very beautiful always out of order sometimes happy quite ugly too expensive

171 Ill

.a ..

�

.,

�

173

Prep. Before Before Before Before Before Before Before ,, il lo le Ia ; gli

a

al

alia

all'

olio

ai

aile

agli

to/at/ in/on

the

nising prepositions ...... ......

If you know what a preposition is go on to 6.2

Prepo ilions are words like ' i n ' , 'on ' , and 'under' . nlik adjeclive , they do not change. They are usually u ed in conjunction with a noun or pronoun, e.g. 'in the cupboard', ' ncar the station ' , ' for her', 'with me'. Preposition can tell you: where a person or thing is, i.e. its position: sotto Ia tavola denlro Ia coso

under the table inside the house

how something is done, i.e. manner: con burro senz'acqua

with butter without water

when something happen ·, i.e. Lime: fro cinque minuli dopo cena

in live m i nutes after dinner

for whom omcthing i done: per

6.2

me

for me

Some common prepositions The following section looks at t h e most common prepositions.

6.2. 1

A,

do, di, in and

su

The preposllton hange when they are used with t he definite article, and ombinc to form a eparate set of words (in t he arne way as the adjective bello doe ) . They have a et of form which corre pond to il, La etc. depending on the first letter( ) of the following noun. One or two other prepo itions uch as con also have similar sets of forms, but they arc not often used. Here is a table of how the changes work:

do

dol

dolla

doll'

dallo

dai

dalle

dagli

from

di in

del nel

della nella

dell' nell'

dello nello

dei nei

delle nelle

deg li negli

of the

su

sui

sulla

sull'

sullo

sui

sulle

sugli

on the

the

i n / to the

A (or al, dal, etc.) can mean 'to', 'at', ' i n ' , 'or or 'on', according to the context: Siamo a coso. Arriviamo aile I= a lei dieci. Abito a Venezia. Oggi vado a Roma. Andiamo a cavallo. un ponino al formaggio

We arc at home. We arrive at ten.

I live

in

Venice.

Today I am going to Rome. Let's go on horseback. a cheese sandwich

A is used with names of towns and cit ies but not for countries or regions. Da is usually used to say where something or someone i from: Vengo do Treviso. Stava uscendo do l I= do ill negozio.

I come from Treviso. He

was

coming from/out of the

shop.

It can also signify somet hi ng's purpose, or what it is for: Ia stanza do bagno una tazza do le ote: una lazza

bath room (= room for bath)

a

teacup (= cup for tea)

di le - a cup of tea

ometimes it is u ed after adverbs to omplement an infinitive, with t he meaning 'to': Non c'e niente do fare.

There's nothing to do.

It can al o mean 'for': Studio l'italiano da lre anni. Or ' to': Vado dal denlisla. Or 'by': E slalo srrillo da Paolo. Di usually has t he ense of 'or, and i used in I talian (and other southern European languages) in tead of the axon genit ive ('s) which is commonly u ed in English and

Ill

c 0 ·� · ;;; 0 Q.

f

Q.

1 74 "' c 0 ·.:: 'iii 0

f

A.

German - in oth r words, you don' t ay 'Francesco's dog', but 'the dog of ( dz) Francesco':

Mia madre viene sempre con me.

Ia mocchino di Roberto

chilli con carne Guidote con prudenzo. Sono venuto con il treno delle 8 .

Robert's car (= the car of Roberto)

Ia coso di mio madre

my mother's house ( = the house

Ia sorello di Ermenegildo

Ermenegildo's sister ( = the sister

of my mother)

a botLle of wine cup of tea

a botLle of fizzy m ineral water

Jn can mean 'to', 'in' or 'by', according to the context :

Andiomo in citto. Vodo in Scozio. Mia madre ospetto in giordino.

L e t 's go to (= into) town. I ' m going to cotland. My moLI1er is waiting i n the

Jn is used rather than

(t

with names of count ries and region , and is often u ed for other places ( sono/vado in montagno/in spiaggia etc. ) .

I talian Renaissance.

La coso si trovo tro i due negozi.

The house is between the two

Un cone e tro gli ognelli. L'obbiomo discusso tro di noi.

A dog is among the lambs.

II boldocchino e sopro il letto. II gobinetto e sopro lo cucino. Siomo seduti sotto l'olbero. Ho porloto sotto voce.

You got eight out of ten.

Per usually means the arne as 'for' or 'in the direction or.

I

Vado ... a Ia spioggio b l'olbergo c Ia piscino d l'ospedole e il museo f Ia discoteco

Con usually m an the sam a 'with ' . It can also mean 'on', when it is us d with a means of transport.

We discussed it amongst our elves. omc of t hese women are English.

The canopy is above the bed. The toilet is above the kitchen. We are sitting under the t ree. l ie spoke in a low voice ( ' under

How would you say you were going t o the e place ?

It goes t h rough Brescia at 7.

6.2.3 Con

shops.

voice' ) .

The train for Venice leaves at I 0. I ' m calling by phone.

while.

Sopra usually mean t he arne as 'above' . Sollo means the same as 'under '.

This is a book on (= about) the

Here is a presen t for you.

The village is (situated) in the

I ' ll be back i n five m i n utes.

6.2.6 Sopra and sotto

6.2.2 Per Ecco un regolo per te. II treno per Venezia porte aile dieci. Posso per Brescia aile sette. Chiomo per telefono.

II villoggio si trovo fro i manti.

Alcune tro queste donne sono inglesi.

Your sweater is on the table.

It can al o mean 'through'.

We'll see each other in a l i t t le

Tra usually means the arne a between or auwng and is used with express ions of space.

cw Year's Day is in January.

La tuo moglio e sullo tovolo. Questa e un libra sui Rinoscimento itoliono. Hoi ottenuto otto su dieci.

Torno fro cinque minuti. Ci vediomo fro poco.

6.2.5 Tra

We're going by train.

Su i s usually used t o show something' po i l ion at o r o n a place or t hing, and i t can have the en e of 'about', as in English (e.g. 'a book on cooking' ) . It can also mean 'out or as in a fraction ('8 out of 1 0', or '8 over 1 0' ) .

I came on the 8 o'clock train.

mountains.

garden.

Andiomo in treno. Copodonno e in gennoio.

hilli wiLI1 meat Drive carefully (= with pn.tdencc) .

Fra means the same as 'in' u ed with Lime (e.g. 'in five minutes', ' i n three hours' ) , or it can have the en e of 'among' or 'between ' :

a view of the sea a

with me.

6.2.4 Fro

of Ermenegildo)

uno vista del (= di il) more uno bottiglio di vino uno tozzo di te (sec above under do) uno bottiglio di aequo minerole frizzonte

My mother always comes

175 "' c 0 ·.:: 'iii 0 a.

f

A.

176 "'

c 0

'iii 0

for whom somet hing is done etc.

A (or al, dal, etc.) can mean ' to', 'at ', 'in', 'or or 'on', according to the context.

*With some of these words in can be u ed i nstead of a.

·.;::

II

f

a..

the windscreen of t he car a cup of coffee a boule of ( t he) red wine

h the ft·iends' garden

i j

my mother's book a cheese piv.a

leri sera sono andato il mio ornico. Venezia b Abbiamo possato un poio di ore bar. c La, abbiamo porlato due belle ragazze. d Poi abbiamo preso il treno insieme Mestre. e Do Mestre siamo andati Padova. il bus f A Padova siamo andati discoteca. g Le due ragazze hanna noi. ballato h La discoteca si trova Ia stazione.

can mean ' to', 'in' or 'by'.

Per u ually mean the same as 'for' or 'in t he direction or. I t can also mean ' t h rough '. Con usually mean t he same as 'wit h'. It can also mean 'by', when it is used with a mean of tran port.

means th ame as ' i n ' used with time (e.g. 'in five minutes', 'in three hours' ) , or it can have t he sense of 'among' or 'between'. Fra

__

Last night I went to Venice wi t h my friend. We spent a couple of hours in

Tra usually means the same as 'between' or 'among'.

the bar.

Sopm usually means the same as 'above'; sollo means the same as ' under'.

There we chaucd to two prcuy girls. Then we took the t rain together to Mestre. From Mestre we wem by bus to Padua. In Padua we went to t he d isco. The two girls danced with us. The discotheque is above the station.

...,. Fast track: prepositions Preposit ions arc words like ' i n ' , 'on' and ' under'. They do not change. They tell you: where a person or t h ing is, i.e. iL� position how somet h i ng is clone, i.e. manner

6.4

Other useful prepositions There arc a lot of other prepositions which you might encounter, and which might be useful to you. Here is a list of most of t hem: attraverso circa contra dietro dentro di fronte a dopa eccetto fino a Iranne verso vicino a

"' c 0

·.;::

'iii 0 a.

f

a..

Su i usually used to show something's position, and it can have the sense of 'about'. It can also mean 'out or as in a fraction.

Complete t hese sentences with the correct preposition . a

6.3

In

___

d the teacher's car

f g

say where somet hing or someone is

___

c the girls' books e

to

Di usually has the sense of 'or.

un ponino prosciutto un gelato vaniglia i libri ragazze Ia macchina ___ professore il porabrezza ___ macchina caffe una tazza una battiglia ___ vino rosso il giardino ___ amici mia madre il libro una pizza ___ formaggio ___

b a vanilla icc cream

III

Da is u ually used from.

ay what these things arc made of or who t hey belong to by putting in the appropriate prcpo i lion, combining it with the defi nite article as necessary. a a ham sandwich

177

when something happens, i.e. t i me

g il teatro h Ia stazione ferroviaria i Ia banco j il distributore ( petrol station )

across around, about against behind inside opposite after except as far as/up to except towards ncar ( t o)

178 Ill

c 0 .oi: .iii 0

6.5

Ex p ressions of ti me These tell you when omcthing happened. aile aile dieci dopo dopo colozione prima di prima di andere in ufficio durante durante il giorno per per uno settimono verso verso le dieci

at (time)

A

at I 0 o'clock after after breakfast before before going to the office during during Lhe day

Here are ome useful words for joining two parts of a cntencc or filling in gaps in a conversation:

for for a week about about/LOwards

1 0 o'clock

Da

since

Ti ospetto dolle dieci

I 've been waiting for you since I 0

Abita qui do Ire onni.

He has been living here for t h ree

Do quanta tempo studi l'itoliano?

How long have you been

o'clock years. studying I Lalian? (you st ill arc)

Studio l'italiono do due onni.

D OTH E R S E F U L WO R DS

I have been studying I talian for two years. (and I still am)

e ma perc poi tuttavio che peccoto! eccolo/eccola Dio mio! basta

and but but then anyway whal a pity! here iL is oh dear that's all

"' � < -l

c

.g:

::T 0

c ::l � -· n (J} c.

� ::: r::r "' ":""l 0 ""1

::T 3 r.n

C"l

::T

�

"0 ,....,.

<

r-

Pol VJ

1>.1 ..... '?'" f"""'

(") (") ::l

....>

....

�

::l (")

"'

n)

Pol

.

;::::-> 0. � 0' :; ..... 53 "' ::l � ..... rPol :- � :::3 ::J'" "' O. � r::r c.

� 0 � ::T r O' ::::_ VJ

-·

o- � ::T f;

c. � .....

-· """5�. gr.n �-

r- (J'J .., - c c 0. C"l < 0. -· 0 � < ..... o. � � "' � u

-·

"0 0 ..... 0 �

,..I

� ?'" 3

g

'TJ � .

� :l · 5� 0 � cn aq � c Pol .....

Reg u l a r verbs Present

Present

Present

indicative

subjunctive

participle

porlonte

poria porliomo

porli porli porli porliomo

porlote poria no

porliote porlino

-are verbs porlo pariare porli to speak,

Gerund

Imperative

Future

Conditional

Imperfect

def"mite

poria porli porliomo

porlero porleroi poriera porleremo

porlerei porleresti porlerebbe porleremmo

porlovo porlovi porlovo porlovomo

porlote porlino

porlerete porleronno

porlereste porlerebbero

porlovote porlovono

vendi venda vendiomo

vendero venderoi vendera venderemo

venderei venderesti venderebbe venderemmo

vendevo vendevi vendeva vendevomo

vendete vendono

venderete venderonno

vendevote vendereste venderebbero vendevono

porlondo

talk

·ere verbs vendo vendere vendi to sell

vende vendiomo

venda venda venda vendiomo

vendete vendono

vendiote vendono

vendente

Past

Perfect

vendendo

ho porloto hoi porloto ho porloto obbiomo poriato ovete porloto honno porloto

porloi porlosti poria porlommo

ho venduto hoi venduto ho venduto obbiomo venduto ovete venduto honno venduto

vendei vendesti * vende** vendemmo

porloste porlorono

vendeste vendero��*

*vendetti **vendette * * *vendettero *These are alternative regular forms.

Verb Tables

• co •

� CC) N

Verb Tables

-ire "erbs servire to sen·e

-ire ,·erbs fin ire* to finish

Present

Present

Present

indicative

subjunctive

participle

servo servi serve serviomo

servo servo servo serviomo

servente

servile servono finisco finisci finisce finiomo finite finiscono

Gerund

Imperative

Conditional

Future

Imperfect

Perfect

Past definite

servi servo serviomo

serviro serviroi servira serviremo

servirei serviresti servirebbe serviremmo

servivo servivi servivo servivomo

serviote servono

servile servo no

servirete servironno

servireste servirebbero

servivote servivono

finisco finisco finisco finiomo finiote finiscono

finisci finisco finiomo finite finiscono

servendo

ho servito hoi servito ho servito obbiomo servito ovete servito hanna servito

servii servisti servi servimmo serviste servirono

*Other \'erbs of this type are:

aboli1·e, capire, colpire, condire, contribuire, costruire, digerire, diminuire, distribuire, Jallire, Javorire, garantire, gradire, impazzire, impedire, inserire, istntire, patire, preferire, proibire, pulire, punire, reagire, restiluire, riunire, sostituire, sparire, spedire, slabilire, stupire, suggerire, trasferire, ubbidire, unire.

Otherwise regular

-are

verbs with spell i ng adj ustments

a) Verbs i n -care and -gore

cercare to look for, try

pagare to pay

Present

Present

Present

indicative

subjunctive

participle

cerco cerchi cerco cerchiomo cercote cercono

cerchi cerchi cerchi cerchiomo cerchiote cerchino

cerco cerchi cerchiomo cercote cerchino

pogo poghi pogo poghiomo pogote pogo no

poghi poghi poghi poghiomo poghiote poghino

pogo poghi poghiomo pogote poghino

Gerund

Imperative

Conditional

Future

Imperfect

Perfect

Past defmite

cerchero

cercherei

poghero

pogherei

-

Note that the h is retained throughout the future and conditionaL

Verb Tables

� CC) �

1 84 VI

G)

::0 0

� ..0

II.

�

c) Verbs in -CJore, -giare and -sciare

Ill

v

...c ..... .....

0 c ?;.�

0 �

.D

0. .... "0 v ''-

]Ill

�

....

CJ

CJ

.! ...

c.

E '-

(;J

v c 0 ...::-

c 0 v ;..

ell

...c

� ;:;l

� � ..., v 0. E ell X v '-

<2

· N' "0

v !I) !I) v b !I) c :l

comincerei vioggerei loscerei

Ill

.§

<2 v -5 c

comincero vioggero loscero

:

Q.,

� v '!I)

Examples of verb in this category arc cominciare, viaggiare and lasciare. These verbs also have ju t one i in the form memioned in b ) , but drop the i of the stem in the future and condit ional:

Q., "0

I rreg ular verbs

c 0 ·.c

I n t he following table, only the verb parts which are formed irregularly are given. I I other parts may be assumed to be regular.

:a

c 0

u

For the future and conditional, only the first person singular is given in the table. For other person ·, follow the regular pattern of ending :

Ill ...

B ::s

'""

Future: -0, -ai, -a, -cmo, -etc, -an no

Ill > ·.c
c.

0 � E

0

"'0 "'0 ::> ::>

""0 ::>

·-

.§

Conditional: -ei, -e ti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero

�

.Q

.

The tu, noi and voi forms of the imperative are identical to those form of Lhe pres nt indicative, unles · ot herwise stated. The Lei and Loro form arc t he third person singular and plural respectively of the present subjunctive.

v;

v; v;

"0

2

Ill t,;) · ..:

Ill

.... c.

c ·o Ill 111 · Ill ...

Q.,

�c.

Ill > ·.c CJ Q c Ill 111 ::s -'6 .:0 .:0 Ill :o' ::> .2 .2 � ::s v; "' "' 111 Ill

> .... .c c

.:0 ::> v;

·
.2

Q., . s

f

;:.... 0 "0

:0 3 c: ... � z Ill g � V>

0 E 0

2 0 0 c

.:0 -'6 ::> .2 v; "'

"'6 .2 "'

0 E 0

= 0 .:o ::> c "'

1 85

Verb Tables

an dare to go

Present

Present

Present

indicative

subjunctive

participle

vodo voi

vodo vodo vodo ondiomo ondiote vodono

VO

ondiomo andale vonno

Gerund

Imperative

Future

Conditional

Imperfect

Perfect

� 00 "'

Past defmite

andre

andrei

so no ondoto

vo (vail vodo ondiomo andale vodono

aprire

ho operto

to open

avere to have

bere to drink

cogliere to gather, pick

dare to give

dire to

say

dovere to have to

ho hoi ho obbiomo ovete han no

obbio obbio obbio obbiomo obbiote obbiono

bevo bevi beve beviomo bevete bevono

bevo bevo bevo beviomo beviote bevono

col go cogli coglie cogliomo cogliete colgono

colgo colgo colgo cogliomo cogliote colgono

do doi do diomo dote donno

dio dio dio diomo diote diana

dico dici dice diciomo dite dicono

dico dico dico diciomo diciote dicono

devo (debbol devi deve dobbiomo dovete devono lclP.hhonol

debbo (devol debbo (devol debbo (devol dobbiomo dobbiote debbono lclP.vonol

ovro

ovrei

berro

berrei

ebbi ovesti ebbe ovemmo oveste ebbero

obbi obbio obbiomo obbiote obbiono bevente

bevendo

doro

bevevo

ho bevuto

bewi bevesti bewe bevemmo beveste bewero

ho colto

colsi cogliesti colse cogliemmo coglieste colsero diedi (dettil desti diede (dettel demmo deste diedero (detterol

dorei

do' (doil dio diomo dote diono dicente

dicevo

dicendo di' dico diciomo dite dicono dovro

ho detto

dissi dicesti disse dicemmo diceste dissero

dovrei

Verb Tables

� 00 .....

� (X) (X)

Verb Tables

essere LO be

Present

Present

Present

indicative

subjunctive

participle

sono sei siamo siete so no

sia sia sia siamo siate siano

faccio fai fa facciamo fate fan no

foecia faccia foecia facciamo facciate facciano

muoio muori muore moriamo morite muoiono

muoia muoia muoia moriamo moriate muoiano

piaccio piaci piace piacciamo piacete piacciono

piaccia piaccia piaccia piacciamo piacciate piacciano

ponga poni pone poniamo ponete pongono

ponga ponga ponga poniamo poniate pongano

possa puoi puc possiamo potete possano

e

fare to do

morire

LO

die

piacere to please

porre to put

potere to be able

rimanere LO stay

salire to go up

Gerund

Imperative

Future

Conditional

Perfect

Past defmite

sore

sa rei

era eri era eravamo eravote erano

sana stato

fui fosti fu fummo foste furono

faro

farei

facevo

ho fatto

feci facesti fece facemmo faceste fecero

moriro !morro)

morirei lmorrei)

sii sia siamo siate siano facente

Imperfect

facendo fa' lfai) faccia facciamo fate facciano

e marta

porro

porrei

passa passa passa possiamo possiate possano

potro

potrei

rimango rimani rimane rimaniamo rimanete rimangono

rimanga rimanga rimanga rimaniamo rimaniate rimangano

rimarro rimarrei

salgo soli sale saliamo sa lite salgono

salgo salgo salgo saliamo saliate salgano

ponente

ponendo

ponevo

sono piaciuto

piacqui piacesti piacque piacemmo piaceste piacquero

ho pasta

posi ponesti pose ponemmo poneste posera

sono rimasto

rimasi rimanesti rimose rimanemmo rimaneste rimasero

sono salito, ho salito*

Verb Tables

� (X) U)

�

Verb Tables

sapere to know

scegliere to choose, prefer

sedere (sedersi) to sit

stare to stand, be

tenere to hold

uscire to go out

venire to come

Present

Present

Present

indicative

subjunctive

participle

so soi so soppiomo so pete son no

soppio soppio soppio soppiomo soppiote soppiono

sopiente

scelgo scegli sceglie scegliomo scegliete scelgono

scelgo scelgo scelgo scegliomo scegliote scelgono

siedo siedi siede sediomo sedete siedono

siedo siedo siedo sediomo sediote siedono

sto stoi sto stiomo stole stonno

stio stio stio stiomo stiole stiono

tengo tieni tiene teniomo tenete lengono

tengo lengo lengo teniomo teniote tengono

esco esci esce usciomo uscite escono

esca esca esca usciomo usciote escono

vengo vieni viene veniomo venite vengono

vengo vengo vengo veniomo veniote vengono

verro

verrei

sono venula venni venisti venne venimmo veniste vennero

vorro

vorrei

'09

voglio voglio voglio volete vogliole vooliono og

volli volesti voile volemmo voleste vollero

volere to want

Gerund

Imperative

Future

Conditional

Imperfect

Perfect

U) 0

Past defmite

sopro

seppi sopesti seppe sopemmo so peste seppero

soprei

soppi soppio soppiomo soppiote soppiono

store

storei

Ierro

terrei

ho scelto

scelsi scegliesti scelse scegliemmo sceglieste scelsero

sono stoto

stetti stesti slette slemmo sleste stettero

sto' (stoil stio stiomo stole stiono

lenni tenesti tenne tenemmo teneste ten nero sono uscito

*Verbs marked wilh an * b) lhe perfect tense take the auxiliary avere when used transi tively and

essere

when used intransitively (see pp. 64-65) .

Verb Tables

�

U)

�

1 .2.2 a parlo b tudio c porto lavoro e ascol to f suono g visito h guardo i arrivo j spiego IV

d

V

1.1

1 . 1 .3

I

VII

II

a, c, d, i b, c,

r,

h, i

1 .1.1 m a parlarc, to speak b preparare, to prepare c organizzare, to organise d cntrarc, to enter e viaggiarc, to t ravel f portare, to carry/take/ wear g comrollare, to ch k h invitarc, to invite i lavarc, to wash j sLUdiare, to study IV

cucinare, to cook b cenare, to dine c spruzzare, to sprinkle d congclarc, to freeezc e sgclare, to thaw f brasare, to braise g versare, to pour h tagliare, to cut i mangiarc, to cat j pranzare, to lunch k mcscolare, to mix V

a

to begi n, cominciare b to accept, accettare c to eparate, separarc d to evaluate, valutare e to steal, rubare f to sail, navigare g to publish, pubblicarc h to turn, girare i to ontinue, contin uare j to end, termi nare a

to know how to, sapcre b to ec, vedere c to have, avere d to go, andare e to be able to, potcrc f to have to, doverc g to want to, volere h to take, prendcrc i to be, essere j to do, fare a

1 . 1 .4 vm e

io b lei c lui d noi f Lei g loro h loro

a

voi

IX

a

loro j noi e

lui b lei c lui d loro f noi g io h loro i loro

1 .2 I c e

h

scaricare b tel fonarc accompagnare d andare portare f prendere g volare visitare i studiar j ccnare a

1 .2. 1

1 . 1 .2

I I a I am singing b you are eating ( famil iar sing.) c he/she/it is drinking, you ( formal ing.) are drinking d we are working e you are travelling ( familiar pl.) f they/you ( formal pl . ) are going up

VI

ill

a 2 vend b 1 mo t r c I can t al e l lav f 2 conclud g l ascolt h 2 chiud i 1 lasci j 2 prend k 2 scegli I 1 port n 3 ven o 3 dorm m l torn

d 3

a StO lavorando b Stai ognando c stiamo guardando d ta leggendo e ta bevendo f stanno mangiando g tate viaggiando h tanno partendo

Lavoro b rrivo c Parcheggio d Entro e aluto f o g ,erco h Entro i Cerco j Lavoro a

VI

a entro b compro c chiamo provo e pago f mando g pero h cerco i butto j amo

d

VII

a parlo b viaggio c pa so chiamo e arrivo f cntro g compro h aspetto i ccno j mando k chiacchiero I invito m telefono n guardo

d

vm

prendere b chiedere c correrc d ri pondere e vendere f leggere g bcre h vcdcrc i mettere j credere a

bevo b prendo c corro d leggo e vendo f chiedo g metto h credo i vedo j rispondo IX

a mi sveglio b mi alzo c mi faccio Ia barba d mi lavo e mi pcttino f mi vc ·to g mi siedo h mi annoio i mi arrabbio j mi addormen to

XV

a

XVI

mi fa male b mi rimangono c mi rimane d mi piace e mi intercssa f mi piacciono g mi intcressano h mi fanno male a

1 .2.3 XVII

XVIII d h

eli

f

d

XI a apro b uggcrisco c garantis o d copro e sofTro f costruisco g copro

f ix

d f

scopro b pulisco garanti co e copro uggcrisco

xm

a

apro

a

a

devo h vado d

d

iii

e 1

ti fanno male b ti rimanc d Li piace e Li va L i piacciono g L i i n teres ano a

arrivi

XXill

hai b parti c prencli e ceni f torni

a Ill

g iv

h

b vi C V d Vii ii i x j viii

e I

1 .2.4 XXIV

c

tengo b algo c conosco d tengo e rimango f conosco g vengo h risalgo i ritengo

XIV

cv

a

XXII

XII

b iv

c ll nmangono

a dormo b seguo c parto emo e o!Tro f capisco g prefcri co h spedi co

i pulisco

f

a 11

XXI

bcvi C VlVI f vendi i lavi j lavori

ei b hai c vai d vuoi stai g sai h esci i dici

a

puoi j d vi e

XX

b

vieni b stucli c mangi f L ieni g vicni e paghi

a

XIX

d

contribuisco

compri guardi h crivi

e

ccrchi iccli

X

h

a

parli g a colti d

voglio b ho c do e posso f 0 g 0110

a crivc b can ta c naviga Iegge e riceve f vencle g de iclera h pre ta i prepara j firma

d

XXV

a va b dice c puo d sa vuole f vuole g c ce h dcve i siede j muore e

a e b vuole sa f arriva g ha i chiama j torna

XXVI

c

e

h

deve mette

d

va

1 93 Ill ..

;Ill c

194 �

;

Ill c

c(

a si veglia b si alza c si fa Ia barba d si lava e i asciuga f i pettina g si vc te h si lava i i icdc j i annoia k i melle I si stane
xxvn

suggested an wer : vuolc/desidera b fuma mangia d beve e prefcriscc

XXVIII a

c

XXIX d

arr·iva

XXX d h

a ha b parte c prende e ccna f lorna

a

dormc dice

Iegge b va c prcnde e fa f prende g deve

1 .2.5 XXXI

a lavoriamo b gio hiamo vediamo d ceniamo e torniamo f andiamo g partiamo h arriviamo i compriamo j abbiamo c

a siamo b parliamo andiamo d scegl iamo e prcndiamo f cambiamo g capiamo h alloggiamo/stiamo i mangiamo j facciamo k finiamo I giochiamo

XXXII

c

XXX I II

a

ci vcgl iamo b ci alziamo c ci laviamo d ci ripo iamo e ci vcstiamo f ci scdiamo g ci addormcntiamo h ci scpariamo XXXIV

a we have, abbiamo b we arc, siamo c we are staying, rimaniamo d we arc eating, mangiamo e we can, possiamo f we arc not coming, non vcniamo g we do not understand, non capiamo h we wam, vogliamo i we arc going, andiamo j we are seeing, vediamo k we are leaving, part iamo I we are arriving, arriviamo m we are coming, vcniamo n we are doing, facciamo o we arc reading, lcggiamo

1 .2.6

a an you rcmemb r this man? Vi ricordate di questo ignore? b Are you having a rest? Vi ripo at ? c Arc you getting dre sed already? Vi vc L i te gia? d Arc you having fun? Vi divcrtitc? e Do you get up lat ? Vi alzatc tardi? f Do you wak up early? Vi svcgliatc pre to?

XXXVI

1 .2.7

XXXVII a vogliono b hanno c vanno d lasciano e fanno f e cono g ric cono h crcano i vedono j devono a 1 nposano b si svcgliano c si alzano d i lavano e si preparano f escono g van no h arrivano i si annoiano j sc nc van no

XXXVIII

1 .2.8 a ho b sono c vado prcndo e scendo f csco g att raverso h aspctto i voglio j torno

XXXIX d

XL

a

hai b ei c vai d prendi e s endi f c ci g att ravcr i h aspct ti i vuoi j torni XLI

a ha b e c va d prcnde e sccnde f esce g an raversa h aspctta i vuole j Lorna XLII

a

abbiamo b iamo c andiamo d prendiamo e ccndiamo f u ciamo g att ravcrsiamo h a pcttiamo i vogliamo j torniamo a avete b iete c andatc prcndcte e cendcte f u c i te g att ravcrsate h a pcttatc i volcte j tornate

XLIII d

a han no b sono c vanno prendono e scendono f escono g an raver ano h aspettano i vogliono j tornano

XLIV d

1 .3. 1 I

a

non bevono b non scrivo c non Iegge d non compriamo e non so f non riesce g non vengono h non vogl io i non ci piace j non mangi

1 .3.2 II

a

Abitano a Bre cia i signori Bianchi? b Vanno in vacanza loro? c Prendono il t reno loro? d Vanno alia Costa Amalfitana I oro? e Hanno un appartamento li loro? f Affittano una macchina loro? g Giocano a golf loro? h Praticano lo sci acquatico loro? i Hanno degli amici Positano loro? j La era cenano in un ristorante I oro? m a

Dove vanno loro? b Quando partono loro? c Come viaggiano loro? d Perchc stanno a Bari loro? e Che fanno loro? f Con chi hanno una riunione I oro? g Quanto tempo stanno in albergo I oro?

1 .3.3 a

orne on! Dai ! b Go! Val c Do sit down! Si accomodi! d Turn left! iri a sinistral e Li ten! Ascoltate! f Wait! Aspetta! g Hold the line! ( telephone) Resti in linea! IV

h

V c

f

f l urry up! Fai presto! a sta' b non ti sedere/ ederti fai/fa' d dammi e fai/fa' non venire g va' h alzati

VI

a Enter your PI . In crire il numero di codice scgreto. b Pull. Tirare. c Wait for the tone. Aspetti il egnale eli libcro. d peak into th microphone. Parli vicino al microfono. e ign here. Firmi qui. f Cancel your ticket. Timbri il uo biglietto. g Push. pi ngere. h Plea e hold the line. Per favore, rimanga in linea. i Wait. Aspetti. j Press the button. Prema il pulsante. k Listen, please. cnta, per favore. I Hello. (= tell me - e.g. an wering phone) Dica. VII

a

sieda b vada c beva d mangi e venga f fumi g faccia h prenda i vada j dom1a VIII

parlare; to sell; partano; finirc; look for ... !; to pay; vadano; to drink; dia; say/tel l ! ; to be; fare; to remain/stay; salga; sappiano; stare; esca; to come IX a usciamo b rimaniamo a casa c guardiamo Ia TV d mangiamo e alziamoci

a gira/giri b sali/salga prendi/prcnda d va'/vada e cont inua/continui f guarda/guardi g attraversa/ at raversi h prendi/prenda i scendi/scenda j mandami/ mi mandi

X c

19! Ill ...

Q)

� Ill c

c(

196 XI

a passi b mangi c beva d faccia e ch iuda f apra g faccia vedere h parli i venga

� 41

� Ill

,.i

XI I

a entrate b mettetcvi c t rovatc d correte e state f all ungate g fate h abba ate i ncttetc j vi muovetc/m uovctevi XIll c e

a cscano b girino prcndano d vadano attravcrsino f scguano

a ho b hai parlato c ha parlato d hanno parlato e hanno f abbiamo venduto g avelc venduto h ha i ha capita j abbiamo capita n

m

a abbiamo b hanno c ha e avete f hanno g hai ho i ha j ha

d ha h

g girino

XIV

a Don 't open t he door. ( t u ) on aprirc Ia porta. b Don't walk on the gras . (voi) Non calpestate l'erba. c Don't cat in the hop. (voi) on mangiate nel negozio. d Don 't drink the water. ( Lei) Non bcva l 'acqua. e Don 'l cross t he road here. (voi) on atl ravcrsate Ia strada qui. f Don 't lean out of t he window. ( Loro) on si sporgetevi dal fi nestrino. g Don't leave your luggage here. ( t u ) on lasciare i bagagli qui. h Don 't wait here. (voi) on aspettate qui. i Don't put your boots on the table. ( Lei) on mctta gli stivali sui tavolo. j Don' t wear black. (tu) Non vcsl ini eli nero. k Don 't smoke. ( Loro) on fumino. XV

a prepara b taglia c friggi f mctti e aggiungi g mescola h riscalda i vcr a j friggi k gira I friggi d batti

1 .4 I

1 .4. 1

a perfect b perfect c perfect d imper·fcct e perfect f impcr·fcct g imperfect h imper·fcct i perfe t j imperfc

a andato b lornata arrivata d usciti e alzati f venule

IV

c

v c e

a e arrivato b i c vegliata siamo paniti d i sono divcnili sono andati f e venula

1 .4.2 a giocato b mangiato finito d venduto e ascoltato f ripetuto g tenuto h aspet tato i sistemato j invitato k lavato n potuto I rivenduto m fermata dimenlicato q us ito o tirato p r ent rato s sen ti to t part ito

VI c

a giocato b invitato chiamato d parlato e assicurato f ·tudiato g mandato h cambiato i stampata j stampali k mandat I guardato

VII c

vm a visto b scritto c immc so d fatto e detto f chicsto

IX

a ha vinto b ha voluto c ha visto d ha compralo e e piaciuta f ha deciso g ha mes o h ha pre o i ha vi to j ha creduto k ha seguito I e andato m ha fermata n ha dovuto X

a ofia ha letto il uo ultimo romanzo. b Hai/Ha/Avete letto il libro?

on abbiamo I tto il libro.

c

d Hanno visto il film del libro.

Sofia ha vista il film ieri. f on abbiamo an ora vi to il film. g Hai/Ha/ vetc/Hanno visto il film?

e

1 .4.3 XI

a mi sono alzato b si e alzato si c alzata d si e alzalo e si sono alzati f si c alzaut g ci siamo alzati h si sono alzati i vi siete alzale j ti sci alzato c

1 .4.5 XII

a dormiva b guardava c leggeva d chiacchieravo f faceva g tclefonava e parlavamo h riparavano i giocavano XIII d

a era b facevano eri e bevcvo f diccvi

c

eravamo

XIV

a aspct tavo b ascoltavi andavamo d lcggcva e a pcttava f usciva g tavano h faceva i guardavalc j beveva c

a

faceva b nevicava c era e piovcva f tuonava g i eli olv va h faccva i era j era XV

d lirava

XVI

a era, abitava b crano c era/ era no d colt ivava f raccogli vano e lavoravano facevano h era i cucinava g j doveva k volcva

197

1 .4.7 XVIII

1 andammo 2 stemmo 3 affittammo 4 fecc 5 pa ai 6 vennero 7 divertimmo 8 cenammo 9 ballammo 1 2 face te 1 0 facemmo 1 1 anda te

1 .5. 1 I

a guardercmo b preparerai mettcrctc d mangcranno e permettera f crivcra g arrivcranno h cntrcrcmo i partir<) j saliranno c

a ponero b portera portera d portcra e porteranno f poneranno g poncrcmo h portcra i portcrai n

c

m

verrete c farai salini f sapra g vorr·anno h clircmo i mettercte j potranno k terra I ven·o a avro

d avrcmo

IV

e

b

a avro

b

d manclcro

e

andro c faro vcrrai f anclrcmo g pot remo/sara/costcra h finiro/tornero/lavorero V

a andro

b andrai c andra andrcmo f andrete g andranno h anclranno i anclranno j andro

d ancln\

e

VI

a -anno b -a c -a d -anno -a f -a g -1'1 h -cmo i -a j -etc e

VII

1 .4.6 XVII

a abitavano/e nata b era/e an data c avcva/ c nato d ha avuto/avcva e attravcrsava/si e fermata f ha visto/aspcttava g aveva/ha dato h studiava/ha deci o i faceva/ha visto j lavorava/ha cono ciuto k cra/ha fat to I faceva/si sono sposali

a panircmo b prendcrcte aspcttera/poneni d potrete e pranzcr tc/vorrcte f potrctc g fara/dovrctc

c

1 .5.3 vm

a mangerei b bcrrei dormirei d parlerei e vivrei f comprerci g chiederei h ascolterci i guarderei

c

Ill ...

;Ill c

�

a

198 IX

giocherei

c giocherebbero e

� �

� Ill

c c(

b giocherebbe d giochcr mmo

giochereste

preferirei b preferircbbc c preferirebbero d prcfcriremmo e preferireste

XI a mi piaccrcbbe b piacerebbe c intercsscrebbc d intercsserebbe

Li piaccrebbero f vi piaccrcbbe g Le piacerebbe h interesscrcbbero

e

XII

a

prcparerci b u cirei c avrei d direi e verrei f potrei g mettcrci h aprei i vorrei j avrei a

XIII

potrebbc b potrcmmo c potremmo d potrei e potrc ti f pot rebbe g potrebbero h potremmo i potremmo j potremmo

1 .6.3 I

a

Ho mal eli te ta/la t sta mi fa male b Hai mal di dcnLi/Li fanno male i denli? c Ha mal eli piedi/lc fa male il piede d Mi fanno male le braccia e Gli fa male il ginocchio f Ha mal eli tc ta/le fa male Ia te ta? g Lei ha mal d 'orecchio/le fa male l 'orccchio h Vi fanno male gli occhi? i Hanna mal eli ch iena/gli fa male Ia schiena? j Ha mal eli ch iena/la schiena gli fa male

1 .9.4 V

a

ono co b conoscc c anno iamo e ha ono ciuto f conoscevano g cono ccva h sappiamo i sanno j a k o d cono

1 .9.5

a piove molto nel Regno nito b fa aldo in I talia c c mezzogiorno d ono le nove e un quarto e bi ogna riposare! f manca pane g si tratta del motorc h ci vuole un giorno per andarc in l talia

VI

a

venire b prendere c fare d sentirsi e essere f averc g sapere h potere i averc j volcre

1 .9. 1 I a esserc b cssere d stare e esscre

non ha paura y non abbiamo paura z ha empre ragione

IV

a

X

x

c esscr

1 .9.8

a Ricordo John b Lui si ricorda eli me c Si ricorda della. mia casa d Ricordiamo le nostre vacanze e Mi sono climenticato eli mia moglie f on mi ricordo del suo sorriso g I mici figli non hanno dimenlicato Ia loro madre

Vll

1 .9.3 m

a

abbiamo ragionc b non hai ragionc c ho caldo d ha sctc e hanno fam f abbiamo frcddo g ho etc h ha molto onno i abbiamo fort una j ho frctta k non hanno ragione I ho molto f'rcddo m hanno caldo n abbiamo sctc o ho paura dei ragni p hai sctc? q ha frcddo? r avete caldo? s hanno fame? t hai r.:�gion ? u non ha ragione v avetc paura? w non ho paura

1 .9.9 Vlli

a

lo non sono mai Sl.l:lto in l talia. b Loro non hanna fatto male a nessuno. c on vedo mai Anna. d Non hanna niente nella loro casa. e on hai mai imparato

a nuotare? f lo non vedo ne suno. g Lei non v- .:� mai in bicicletta. h Non ho niente in tasca. i on sono mai stato a Massa Carrara. j Nessuno e a casa.

2.2. 1 I

a

Ia b l' c il d Ia h I' i Ia j lo k il

g I'

a

II

199

Ia b la c Ia d Ia g la h il i I' j il

e

Ia

f lo Ill ..

e

il

IX

f il

a

m a I ' b il c Ia d il e I ' f l ' g il h la i lo j Ia k il I i I m l ' n il o I ' p Ia q Ia r Ia s Ia t il

We haven't anyting to eat. Non abbiamo niente da mangiare. b Nobody has been shopping. Nessuno ha fatto Ia spcsa. c 1 didn't have time to go to town. Non ho avuto tempo per andare in citta. d There is no bread or chee e. Non c'c ne pane ne formaggio. e You never go to the supermarket. Non vai mai al upermercato. f I haven't any money. Non ho soldi.

a

dove

d pcrchc

g quanli

b come c quando chc f quando h chi e

1 .9. 1 1 XI a

Abita qui cia . . . giorni/settimanc/mcsi/anni b I m paro l 'i taliano da . . . c Conosco il/la mio/mia migliore amico/amica da . . . XII a

Pino ha just got home. b My friend ha ju ·t rung me. c We have just eaten din ner. d My parcn ts have just old t heir hou c. e I have ju t finished my work.

2 I

a

b i gatl i c le barchc e le macchinc f le moto g i castelli h i tedeschi i i pacchi i cani

d le terrazze

2.4 a un b una c un d una uno f una g un h una i una j un

I

1 .9. 1 0 X

2.3 I

ister, restaurant, market, morning, vegetable , soup, lunch, di hes, night, fridge

e

a Vittorio e medico b Chiara c tudentessa c Ermenegildo c insegnante d Toni c americana e Enri o c cattolico f E eli occupato g E autista

II

a un b un c una d un delle, dei f un, clci, delle, degli g dei, dei, un h un

OI e

2.5

I a I ' b Ia c il d I' e Ia f I' g Ia h lo i lo j lo k Ia I Ia m I ' n I a o il p Ia q il r Ia s Ia t il

2.6. 1 I

a

b Ia mia c Ia mia il mio f Ia mia g Ia h Ia mia i il mio j Ia mia

il mio

d il mio

m1a 0

a

b lc mie c i mici i miei f le mie g lc h i mici i i miei j i mici

i mici

d le mic

mie

e

e

�

� Ill

c c(

200 m

a i miei b mio C mJa d m io mia f mia g i miei h ( Ia) mia i ( i l ) mio j le mie k mio e

Ill .. Q)

� Ill

r::: c(

2.6.2 IV

a i tuoi b t UO c tua d l tue e tuo f i t uoi g lUO h le tue i il tuo j i tuoi

V

a le tue b il tuo/la tua c il tuo d I tue e i t uoi f Ia tua g tuo h le tue i i tuoi j tua ·

2.6.3 VI

a

le sue b suo c suo d ua e suo f le sue g il suo h il suo i i ·uoi j il suo Vll

a La sua b ( I I ) suo c I uoi d ua e i suoi f II uo g II suo h I suoi i II suo j Le sue

2.6.4 vm

a Ia nostra b il no tro c i no t ri d il nostro e i nostri f il no t ro g Ia no tra h il nostro i il nostro j le nostre

2.6.5 IX

a Ia vostra b Ia vostra c le vostre d i vostri e i vostri f i vostri g il vostro h Ia vostra i Ia vostra j le vostre

2.6.6 X

a Ia loro b il loro c le loro d il loro e i loro f le loro g Ia loro h Ia loro i le loro j il loro

2.6.7 XI

a il suo b Ia sua c i suoi d i suoi e Ia sua f le sue g i suoi h Ia sua i Ia sua j Ia sua

2.7. 1 a

I

que! d qu ste g quella j questa

3.4 que ta c questo e quei f quest' h que Le i quel

a lui b lei lui, lei f noi i voi j lei

3.4. 1

II

a Quante b Quanti c Quant i d Quan to e Quan t o ( latte i · masculine singular!)

3. 1 .8 e

a i o b noi c !oro d e sa lui f lei g t u/ Lei/voi/Loro

n

f io

a lui b !oro g lei h voi

noi i noi

c

d tu j voi

e

lei

a new car b it c a cat d a t ree e t he wing mirror f a bunch of Oowers g the car

3.2. 1 L'

3.5 I a Quanta d (Che) co a g (Che) cosa j Chi

a il mio mia e m ie h miei

c

Le/Li

cui

d I'

I a shon, fat b long, blonde, green c new d new, casual e large, old f tall, dark g small h older, younger i favourite j cold

mia c il mio d Ia f i miei g le mie

b

a che b che c con chi e di cui f che

4. 1 . 1 I I a nuovo/vecchio b nuova/ vecchia c nuovi/vecchi d nuove/vecchie e nuovo/vecchio f nuova/vecchia g nuovi/vecchi h nuove/vecchie

d Ia

4. 1 .2

3.3

m

I

a me b her c me d him f her g me h him i her e me j h i m k me I m e

Singular a

b

3.3. 1 fl a m1 f ti g ti

4. 1

e

3.7.4 I

a La b Lo f Lo

Quante c Quale Di chi f Quanto h Quanti i Quale

b

3.6

I

II

a quella b quelli c quella d quelli e quelle f quello g quelle h quello i quella j quelli n

a Guardaci! b Dammelo! Fallo! d vegliali! e crivilo!

I

3.2

e

0 c

201

I a que Lo b questi c queste d questa e questo f questa g questo h queste i queste j questi

!oro d lei g lei h !oro

c

e

2.7.2

I

3.8

I

b

c

b h

Ci le

C (orO d (e i gli j ci

e

Vi

d e

3.3.3

f g

ill

h

a Me l 'ha dato b liel 'ho critto c Gliel ' ha dato d Te l 'hanno dato e e l 'hai dato f Gliel 'ha comprato g Me l'ha letto h e l ' ha dato i Ve l 'abbiamo dato j Gliel'hanno letto k Me l 'ha dato I Non te lo dan)

j k I rn

n o

happy beautiful ugly tall short good bad quiet noisy st range shy eriou fdvolous en ible stupid

Plural

Masc.

Fern.

Masc.

Fern.

con ten to b llo bruLLO alto ba so buono catlivo t ranquillo rumoroso Strano Limido serio lpoco serio l frivolo ensato tupido

contenta bella bruu.a alta bassa buona cattiva tranquilla rumorosa txana Lim ida eria poco eria frivol a en ata tupida

conlenti belli brutti alli bas i buoni caLLivi Lranquilli rumorosi slrani timidi eri poco seri frivoli ensati stupidi

contente belle brutte aiLe basse buone catlive tranquille rumorose slrane tim ide serie poco serie frivole sensate stupide

Ill ..

;Ill

r::: c(

202 Ill ...

G)

� Ill c

�

Singular p sincere q insincere r thin s fat t short (thing)

Plural

Masc.

Fern.

Masc.

Fern.

sincero insincero magro grasso corto

sin era insincera magra gras a corta

inceri in i nceri magri grassi coni

in cere in incere magre gra e corte

4. 1 .3

4.4.2

IV

m

c

e

a comunista b chiacchierona viola d Iisee e pochi, povcri/povcre f blu g man·one h lunghi i poca j belle k forti I bcgli n Gran m pubblici o gnmdi p Buon q grande r chiacchicroni s forti t saggi

V

a tcdcsco b i nglese americana d italiano e spagnoli f i nglesi g svizzero h amcricani i scozzese j canadcsi c

a rossa

d azzurro

g viola k rosa

h

b marrone c verde arancione f bianche gialli i nera j gligi e

4.4. 1 I

a piu veloce b pii:1 bella c pii:• grandi d piu interessanti e p•u difficile f pitl bello g pit• cara i pii:1 cara j piu bella h pit• poveri II

a p•u b pit• c meno d pit• pit• f meno g meno h pii:1 i meno j pitl

e

c

piu

d piu

4.4.3 IV a tanto grande quanto b piu grande della c meno grande del d piu grandi dei e piu grande della

4.4.4 V

a migliore b peggiori maggiore d minore e minori f migliori

c

5 .1 .2

4. 1 .4 VI

a piu b piu meno f meno

I

a eccamente b follemente semplicemente d rapidamente e facil mente f regolarmente g raramente h male i veramente j bene c

6.2.6 I

a in b in c in d in e al f in g al h alia i in j al II

a al b alia c delle d del della f di g di h degli i di j al e

m e

a a, con con, a f in

al c con d per g con h opra

b

ita l ia n g ra m ma r made easy is id'eal for beginners as well as for non-linguists who ha,ve some knowledge of the language but need to know the nuts and bolts of Italian grammar to progress beyondl phrasebook level. It is designed to guide the learner through the language in plain English, without the need to master 'conjugations' and 'declensions'. The interactive cd-rom provides extensive interactive grammar practice and contains over 200 activities. It also includes audio recordings so that learners can practise their listening and pronunciation skill' s . Clear, authoritative and easy to use, Italian Grammar Made Easy is the ultimate tooll to get to grips with the language!

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