Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Words borrowed from another language like sport, weekend, jogging, film are masculine and
have no plural form.
1. Nouns which end in -A are nearly always feminine; to make them plural change -A to -E:
e.g.
casa = house ; houses = case
pizza = pizza ; pizzas = pizze
porta = door ; doors = porte
2. Nouns which end in -O are nearly always masculine; to make them plural change -O to -I:
e.g.
ragazzo = boy ; boys = ragazzi
gelato = ice cream ; ice creams = gelati
tempo = time ; times = tempi
3. Nouns which end in -E can be either masculine or feminine and you have to learn the
gender when you learn the word; to make these nouns plural change -E to -I :e.g.
ristorante = restaurant ; restaurants = ristoranti
notte = night ; nights = notti
studente = student ; students = studenti
Notes:
1. Many nouns in Italian end in -ità (note the grave accent on the final -a). These nouns do not
have a plural form. Nor does the noun città (city).
2. Look at these two masculine nouns: zio (plural zii) and occhio (plural occhi). You will only
find two 'i's if the 'i' in the singular carries the stress of the word.
3. Spelling: Nouns ending in -ca and -ga are spelt -che and -ghe in the plural: e.g.
Nouns ending in -co and -go are spelt -chi and -ghi in the plural: e.g.
fico = fig ; figs = fichi
fungo = mushroom ; mushrooms = funghi
Exercise 1: Turn all the nouns below into the plural. (This is not an interactive exercise;
you'll have to use paper and check your answers)
porta ; finestra ; gatto ; cane ; ombrello ; ospedale ; cerimonia ; opportunità ; film ; posto ;
lago ; unione ; spiaggia ; giacca ; albergo ; sbaglio ; sacco ; università ; sport ; città.
1. il cinema
2. Nouns ending in -ma which are Greek in origin.
il clima
il diploma
il problema
il programma
il tema (theme)
B. Nouns ending in -ista correspond to English nouns ending in -ist; they denote people who
do things and can be masculine or feminine; the plural can be -isti or -iste depending on the
gender.
C. The noun mano is feminine even although it end in -o: la mano and the plural is le mani.
singular plural
il braccio (arm) le braccia
il dito (finger) le dita
l'osso (bone) le ossa
il labbro (lip) le labbra
l'uovo (egg) le uova
il paio (pair) le paia
singular plural
la ragazza le ragazze
la casa le case
l'ora le ore
l'erba le erbe
la chiave le chiavi
la notte le notti
l'opinione le opinioni
l'opportunità le opportunità
1. Use IL and its plural I when the masculine noun begins with a consonant.
2. Use LO and its plural GLI when the masculine noun begins with a vowel, or z or
“impure s” — i.e. the letter s followed by another consonant. LO can be abbreviated
to L' before a word beginning with a vowel.
3. Remember that any nouns borrowed from another language are masculine and have
no plural.
This table summarises all you need to know about masculine nouns and there articles:
singular plural
il ragazzo i ragazzi
il ristorante i ristoranti
l'albergo gli alberghi
lo sbaglio gli sbagli
lo zio gli zii
l'ufficiale gli ufficiali
lo sport gli sport
il film i film
If you can master how to change words from singular to plural a huge amount of Italian
grammar will become very easy. It is vital that you try very hard to master this piece of
grammar before you move on.
If you can master the definite article, you will be able to understand and use correctly some
necessary but rather tricky pieces of Italian grammar, so try to master this before you move
on.
masculine feminine
un ragazzo una ragazza
un amico un'amica
un ospedale un'intezione
uno sconto una scarpa
uno specchio una specie
uno zingaro una zingara
un salmone una salsiccia
un trattore una trattoria
Exercise 2 : Put the Definite Article (il/lo/l'/la/l') in front of each of the following singular
nouns;
if you are not immediately sure of the gender of the noun, check in a dictionary.
1) .....
6) .... madre
paesino
2) ..... stanza 7) .... padre
3) ..... stato 8) .... umidità
4) ..... acqua 9) .... zucchero
5) .....occhio 10) .... insalata
Exercise 3: Put the Indefinite Article (un/uno/una/un') in front of each of the following
nouns;
if you are not immediately sure of the gender of the noun, check in a dictionary.
1) .....
6) .... madre
paesino
2) ..... stanza 7) .... padre
3) ..... stato 8) .... orecchio
4) .....
9) .... zero
opinione
5) .....occhio 10) .... insalata
1. la sera
2. la stazione
3. l'uva
4. l'idea
5. il libro
6. il dente
7. lo strumento
8. lo studente
9. l'ospedale
10. l'uccello
1 The commonest word for "some" is del. This word is a combination of the word di and the
various forms of the definite article as shown in the table below. If you're not sure about all
the various forms of the definite article revise it again here.
Master this word before you move on. The form you need is the one which corresponds to the
definite article which would be used with the noun: for example:
1. Suppose you want to say "some wine"; 'the' wine is il vino, so 'some' wine is del vino.
2. Suppose you want to say "some friends" ; 'the' friends is gli amici, so 'some' friends is degli
amici.
You will see that to handle this word correctly you must understand the definite article.
Revise it again if you have to but it won't get any easier if you pretend that it will go away if
you ignore it.
Exercise 1 Here is a shopping list; translate the items into Italian. (Use a dictionary for the
nouns)
1. some wine
2. some bread
3. some cheese
4. some apples
5. some fruit
6. some biscuits
7. some mineral water
8. some oil
9. some vinegar
10. some garlic
11. some spaghetti (N.B. this word is masc. plur.)
12. some lasagne (N.B. this word is fem. plur.)
13. some sugar
14. some onions
15. some courgettes (courgette = zucchino)
Exercise 2 Use a dictionary to help you translate these sentence into Italian, using the correct
part of del.
N.B. "there is" = c'è ; "there are" = ci sono.
Master the word del before you go any further. The adjectives bello and quello follow the
same pattern; learn it thoroughly.
Here are the other ways of saying "some" : Look carefully at the conditions under which they
can be used.
2 alcuni ; alcune [only used with a plural noun; it agrees with its noun]
3 qualche [invariable; followed by a singular noun in Italian, but its meaning is plural]
Exercise 3 Here are some sentences in English which have been partially translated into
Italian. You have to supply the missing words, but be careful, not all the gaps require a word
— look at 5 above!
ADJECTIVES — Aggettivi
This page is divided into 4 sections dealing with:
• regular adjectives
• irregular adjectives
• possessive adjectives
• comparative and superlative adjectives
1. REGULAR ADJECTIVES
Adjectives in Italian must match the noun they describe in
gender and number.
This means that if the noun is feminine, the adjective must be
feminine, and
if the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural.
Gender means making the adjective masculine or feminine to agree with the noun.
Number means making the adjective singular or plural to agree with the noun.
Adjectives make their plurals in the same way that nouns make their plurals, so go
back and revise the page about nouns if you are not sure.
In Italian, adjectives usually come after the noun they are describing but a few
always stand before their noun; these are as follows:
1. possessive adjectives (my, your, his/her etc.) which are dealt with below.
2. demonstrative adjectives (this/that) also dealt with below.
3. the adjectives "molto" (much) and "troppo" (too much)
4. some adjectives denoting size can come before or after their noun.
In dictionaries, adjectives are always given in the masculine singular and this may not be
the form in which you need the adjective and you may have to change it.
There are only 3 irregular adjectives which you need to know; they are dealt with at the
end of this page.
Italian adjectives are of two basic types: piccolo and grande — i.e. they either end
in -o or they end in -e.
If the adjective ends in -o, it has four possible endlings: piccolo (masc. sing.)
piccola (fem. sing.)
This type of adjective has no feminine form; it only has a plural form which is both masculine
and feminine.
Spelling: Be careful when changing some adjectives because you may need to make a
spelling change to preserve the sound of the consonant before the ending: for example:
The last adjective above "drammatico" shows you something which regularly happens with
adjectives ending in "-ico", — i.e.the masculine plural is -ici while the feminine plural is
-iche.
Similarly, adjectives ending in "-igo" have the masculine plural -igi, and the feminine plural
-ighe.
singular plural
ends in -a change to -e
ends in -o change to -i
ends in -e change to -i
Now try a couple of exercises to see if you have mastered the idea of plurals of nouns and
agreement of adjectives:
Exercise 1 : Change the following phrases into the plural. If you have not met the definite
article yet, don't try to make the first word in each phrase plural. If you need to revise the
article, do that before you try this exercise.
1. la bella ragazza
2. il nuovo metodo
3. il bravo studente
4. il vecchio amico scozzese
5. il giovane ragazzo
6. la prima lezione francese
7. il formaggio francese
8. lo studente tedesco
9. il nuovo sport popolare
10. la grande città industriale
11. il vino magnifico italiano
12. l'attore famoso.
Exercise 2 Change the following phrases into the plural. Be careful about the spelling of
some of the adjectives in the plural. You don't need to know the definite article for this
exercise.
2. IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES
There are only 3 irregular adjectives:
1. buono (good)
2. bello (beautiful, nice)
3. quello (that)
When these adjectives are put in front of their noun, they follow their own rules:
1. buono has two forms for the masculine singular, so it looks like this:
2. bello and quello have all the possible forms of the word del (the partitive article)
If you have not met the word del yet go and study it now because these two adjectives follow
the same pattern and you need to know it. Go to the page on the Partitive Article.
For those of you who have already met the Partitive Article, here are all the possible forms of
bello and quello:
Exercise 4. Insert the correct part of buono, bello or quello in these phrases:
Singular Plural
masc. fem. masc. fem.
my il mio la mia i miei le mie
your il tuo la tua i tuoi le tue
his/her il suo la sua i suoi le sue
our il nostro la nostra i nostri le nostre
your il vostro la vostra i vostri le vostre
their il loro la loro i loro le loro
Pay particular attention to the boxes which have been given a different colour and notice 2
things:
1. mio, tuo and suo behave like normal adjectives except in the masculine plural.
2. loro does not make any changes at all, it is invariable.
REMEMBER! These adjectives require the definite article UNLESS you are referring to
members of the family, when they are not used.
REMEMBER too, they take the gender of the noun following them, not the gender of the
possessor.
Exercise 3: Translate the following phrases which use possessive adjectives into Italian:
1. my house
2. your name
3. my mother
4. our friends
5. his car
6. her father
7. their holidays
8. his father
9. my parents
10. her eyes
11. their tickets
12. our family
In Italian there is no equivalent to the English suffixes -er and -est; instead, Italian uses the
adverb più = more.
Sentence 3 show a structure called the “comparative of inequality”. Use più with the adjective
to make the comparative form, and di to translate the English word than.
Use it whenever you want to say someone or something is bigger than/ older than/ better than/
faster than/ someone or something else.
Now have a careful look at the following sentences, which show another type of comparison:
1. Marco is intelligent = Marco è intelligente.
2. Giorgio is less intelligent. = Giorgio è meno intelligente.
3. Giorgio is less intelligent than Marco = Giorgio è meno intelligente di Marco.
Sentence 3 shows another type of “comparative of inequality” — when you want to say
someone/something is less old/interesting/exciting than someone/something else; use meno
for the English word less and di to translate the English word than.
Comparative of Equality:
Alternatively, you can express as .....as by using tanto ...... quanto (like the correlative
construction in Latin).
So you could translate the two sentences above this way:
SUPERLATIVES.
In English we can use the suffix -est to create the superlative form of the adjective,
producing words like oldest, weakest, fastest etc.
There is no equivalent in Italian. Instead you use the definite article (il/la/i/le) plus
più or meno and the adjective.
Some examples should make this clear. Read carefully the following English sentences and
their translation into Italian:
1. The most beautiful churches in Tuscany are in Florence.
= Le chiese più belle della Toscana sono a Firenze.
N.B. Notice how, in Italian, the phrases “in Tuscany”, “in the city” etc. are translated with the
preposition di.
This is the grand name for the suffix -issimo (which you must have seen many
times if you are a musician).
To make it, drop the final vowel of the simple adjective and add -issimo, e.g.:
1. bello (beautiful) — bellissimo (very beautiful) or you could say molto bello
2. veloce (fast) ——— velocissimo (very fast) or you could say molto veloce
Be careful! sometimes you will have to insert the letter h to preserve the sound of the
consonant; e.g.:
1. lungo (long) — lunghissimo (very long) = molto lungo
2. simpatico (nice) — simpatichissimo (very nice) = molto simpatico
3. fresco (fresh) — freschissimo (very fresh) = molto fresco
Use this form of the word if you want to say, for example:
Finally, a few adjectives have kept their comparative and superlative forms from Latin:
The last structure you should know is how you say in Italian phrases like “as long as
possible” , “as warm as possible”
In Italian the equivalent is: “il più lungo possibile” and “il più caldo possibile”.
Prepositions are words which stand before a noun or pronoun to create a phrase which
can show place, time, or manner, e.g.:
There are a few common “simple” prepositions which you should know and their basic
meanings are given below. Learn them!
a to ; at ; in
da from ; at the house of ..
su on
in in ; on
di of
These prepositions combine with the various forms of the definite article (il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le)
to form a single word. This is a fundamental part of Italian grammar and you must know it.
The table below shows you what happens when these words combine.
In combination with the article, these simple prepositions are called “articulated prepositions”
— preposizioni articolate.
N.B. Be particularly careful with the preposition in which has unusual forms when combined
with the article.
N.N.B Learn thoroughly the preposition di in its various combinations because this word is
also the “partitive article” which is equivalent to the English word “some”. It is also the
pattern for the two irregular adjectives bello and quello which, instead of having just the usual
four forms, have all the possible forms of the word del.
What the table above means is that instead of saying a le ragazze (to the girls), you say alle
ragazze.
Similarly, you do not say in il giardino (in the garden), but nel giardino.
1. sulla tavola
2. dalla scuola
3. alla porta della chiesa
4. nel centro della città
5. sui tetti delle case
6. il nome dello studente
7. negli alberghi
8. sul pavimento
9. al cinema
10. sulla sedia nella cucina
1. on the chair
2. on the table in the kitchen
3. in the bathroom
4. from the boys
5. to the hotels
6. in the drawer of the table
7. the names of the students
8. at the window of the bedroom
9. in the pupils' books — i.e. "in the books of the pupils"
10. at the end of the day
Prepositions are awkward because they often do not correspond exactly with the equivalent
propisition in the other language. There is no easy way to master them; you must simply try to
remember the way they are used in Italian. It would take up too much space to give you a
definitive list of the various usages which are not the same as in English, but here are a few
usages which you must know:
I. The preposition a.
1. The preposition a already has three basic meanings (to, at, in) but you must know the
following usages:
2. The preposition a also links certain verbs to a following infinitive, such as:
andare a to go to ...
aiutare a to help to ...
cominciare a to start/begin to
imparare a to learn to ...
incoraggiare a to encourage to ...
insegnare a to teach to ...
mettersi a to start/begin to ...
pensare a to think about ....
provare a to try to ...
riuscire a to manage to
venire a to come to ...
3. The preposition a also links certain adjectives to a following infinitive, such as:
1. The preposition da has the same meaning as the preposition chez in French: —
Ho comprato del dentifricio dal farmacista. = I bought some toothpaste at the chemist's.
2. Da is used to make an expression of time (with a verb in the present tense in Italian) to
show actions or circumstances that began in the past and continue into the present: e.g.
Carla impara l'italiano da un anno = Carla has been learning Italian for a year.
Ti aspetto da un'ora = I have been waiting for you for an hour.
IV The preposition in
1. In is used with the names of countries, states, or regions to show place, e.g.:
Abito in Scozia = I live in Scotland.
Molti scozzesi sono emigrati in Canada = Many Scots emigrated to Canada.
2. In is used with all methods of transport:
in macchina by car...
in aereo by plane
in moto by scooter
in bicicletta by bicycle
in barca by boat
in treno by train
in autobus by bus
in pullman by coach
V The preposition di
• Hai visto gli occhiali di Lucia? = Have you seen Lucia's glasses?
• Di chi sono queste scarpe? = Whose shoes are these?
4. Di is used after some verbs like parlare, discutere, trattare to indicate the topic of
discussion, e.g.:
• Giovanni è più intelligente del fratello = Giovanni is more intelligent then his brother.
• Tu parli italiano meglio di me. = You speak Italian better than I do.
There are a few common “simple” prepositions which you should know and their basic
meanings are given below. Learn them!
a to ; at ; in
da from ; at the house of ..
su on
in in ; on
di of
These prepositions combine with the various forms of the definite article (il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le)
to form a single word. This is a fundamental part of Italian grammar and you must know it.
The table below shows you what happens when these words combine.
In combination with the article, these simple prepositions are called “articulated prepositions”
— preposizioni articolate.
masculine sing. fem. sing. masc. plur. fem. pl..
il lo, l' la, l' i gli le
a al allo, all' alla, all' ai agli alle
da dal dallo, dall' dalla, dall' dai dagli dalle
su sul sullo, sull' sulla, sull' sui sugli sulle
in nel nello, nell' nella, nell' nei negli nelle
di del dello, dell' della, dell' dei degli delle
N.B. Be particularly careful with the preposition in which has unusual forms when combined
with the article.
N.N.B Learn thoroughly the preposition di in its various combinations because this word is
also the “partitive article” which is equivalent to the English word “some”. It is also the
pattern for the two irregular adjectives bello and quello which, instead of having just the usual
four forms, have all the possible forms of the word del.
What the table above means is that instead of saying a le ragazze (to the girls), you say alle
ragazze.
Similarly, you do not say in il giardino (in the garden), but nel giardino.
1. sulla tavola
2. dalla scuola
3. alla porta della chiesa
4. nel centro della città
5. sui tetti delle case
6. il nome dello studente
7. negli alberghi
8. sul pavimento
9. al cinema
10. sulla sedia nella cucina
1. on the chair
2. on the table in the kitchen
3. in the bathroom
4. from the boys
5. to the hotels
6. in the drawer of the table
7. the names of the students
8. at the window of the bedroom
9. in the pupils' books — i.e. "in the books of the pupils"
10. at the end of the day
Prepositions are awkward because they often do not correspond exactly with the equivalent
propisition in the other language. There is no easy way to master them; you must simply try to
remember the way they are used in Italian. It would take up too much space to give you a
definitive list of the various usages which are not the same as in English, but here are a few
usages which you must know:
I. The preposition a.
1. The preposition a already has three basic meanings (to, at, in) but you must know the
following usages:
2. The preposition a also links certain verbs to a following infinitive, such as:
andare a to go to ...
aiutare a to help to ...
cominciare a to start/begin to
imparare a to learn to ...
incoraggiare a to encourage to ...
insegnare a to teach to ...
mettersi a to start/begin to ...
pensare a to think about ....
provare a to try to ...
riuscire a to manage to
venire a to come to ...
3. The preposition a also links certain adjectives to a following infinitive, such as:
1. The preposition da has the same meaning as the preposition chez in French: —
Rosaria abitava dalla nonna = Rosaria used to live at her grandmother's .
Ho comprato del dentifricio dal farmacista. = I bought some toothpaste at the chemist's.
2. Da is used to make an expression of time (with a verb in the present tense in Italian) to
show actions or circumstances that began in the past and continue into the present: e.g.
Carla impara l'italiano da un anno = Carla has been learning Italian for a year.
Ti aspetto da un'ora = I have been waiting for you for an hour.
IV The preposition in
1. In is used with the names of countries, states, or regions to show place, e.g.:
Abito in Scozia = I live in Scotland.
Molti scozzesi sono emigrati in Canada = Many Scots emigrated to Canada.
in macchina by car...
in aereo by plane
in moto by scooter
in bicicletta by bicycle
in barca by boat
in treno by train
in autobus by bus
in pullman by coach
V The preposition di
• Hai visto gli occhiali di Lucia? = Have you seen Lucia's glasses?
• Di chi sono queste scarpe? = Whose shoes are these?
4. Di is used after some verbs like parlare, discutere, trattare to indicate the topic of
discussion, e.g.:
• Giovanni è più intelligente del fratello = Giovanni is more intelligent then his brother.
• Tu parli italiano meglio di me. = You speak Italian better than I do.
7. Di is also used after certain adjectives to link them to an infinitive verb, e.g.:
Italian verbs are arranged into three groups or conjugations depending on the vowel
in the infinitive:
You need to know the type of verb you are dealing with so that you can make the
tenses correctly.
Some verbs are irregular in that they seem to have an infinitive which fits into the
scheme above but they make some of their tenses in a different way. there are very
few of these verbs and the best thing to do is learn them when you are learning or
revising a particular tense. There is only one verb which is irregular in nearly all its
tenses and that is essere (to be).
Some verbs have infinitives which are shortened versions of their original forms
and this is why they seem to be irregular, in fact it is the infinitive which is slightly
irregular. the common ones are:
Italian does have personal pronouns; you won't see them very often, but here they are:
io I noi we
tu you voi you
lui he loro they
lei she
Lei you
The pronoun Lei (with a capital L) means you. It is different from the pronoun tu because Lei
is formal: you would use it when politely addressing a stranger; if you speak to someone
using a formal title like signore/signorina you should use Lei and even if you don't use the
pronoun, the verb should be in the 3rd person singular.
Italian verbs fall into 3 types, depending on the vowel in the infinitive. The grammatical name
is not type but conjugation and that's the name I'm going to use.
Don't let a table like this put you off; look for all the similarities, not the differences; for
example:
All verbs use the ending -o for the first person singular — i.e. if you want to say I do
something.
All verbs use the ending -i for the second person singular — i.e. if you want to say you do
something.
All verbs use the ending -iamo for the first person plural — i.e. if you want to say we do
something.
English has three forms of the present tense and Italian has only one. In English we can say I
speak or I am speaking but in Italian there is only the form parlo. To ask a question in
English we would use the phrase do you speak? but in Italian you can only indicate a
question by the tone of your voice or by writing a question mark — parli?
You'll see that there are two examples of a 3rd conjugation verb, dormire and capire and they
behave differently. Most verbs behave like dormire but a small number insert the syllable -isc-
before the personal endings. There is no rule about which do and which don't, you just have to
learn as you meet them. The commonest ones which insert -isc- are:-
finire (to finish)
preferire (to prefer)
pulire (to clean)
punire (to punish)
spedire (to send)
IRREGULAR VERBS — There are very few verbs which do not fit into the scheme shown
in the table above, but two which are very important are the verb avere (to have) and the verb
essere (to be) because as well as being very common verbs in their own right, they are also
the auxiliary verbs which help to make the past tense (passato prossimo). Here they are:
There are twelve common verbs which are irregular in their present tense. They are in the
table below. You have to learn them because you will not be able to find these forms in a
dictionary.
In Italian, the future tense is a simple (i.e. single word) tense, made by adding six ending to
the present infinitive:
singular plural
-ò = I shall ... -emo = we shall...
-ai = you will ... -ete = you will ...
-à = he/she will... -anno = they will...
These ending are attached to the present infinitive which loses the final -e. Look at the table
below:
1. Verbs like parlare change the vowel in their infinitive from -a- to -e-
2. There are accents written on the First Person Singular and Third Person Singular in all
verbs.
3. You will have to be careful with the spelling of some verbs when you put them into the
Future Tense in order to preserve the sound in their infinitive. This will happen with verbs
ending in -care and -gare, e.g.
pagare (to pay) I'll pay = pagherò
cercare (to look for) I'll look for = cercherò
This will also happen with verbs ending in -ciare and -giare, e.g.
IRREGULAR VERBS: A few verbs don't quite follow the pattern above. You need to learn
what they do:
avere essere
avrò sarò
avrai sarai
avrà sarà
avremo saremo
avrete sarete
avranno saranno
There are another ten common verbs which you need to learn:
andare dare fare stare sapere dovere potere volere vedere venire
andrò darò farò starò saprò dovrò potrò vorrò vedrò verrò
andrai darai farai starai saprai dovrai potrai vorrai vedrai verrai
andrà darà farà starà saprà dovrà potrà vorrà vedrà verrà
andremo daremo faremo staremo sapremo dovremo potremo vorremo vedremo verremo
andrete darete farete starete saprete dovrete potrete vorrete vedrete verrete
andrann darann farann starann saprann dovrann potrann vorrann vedrann
verranno
o o o o o o o o o
Apart from the verb essere, only two verbs, volere and venire, are awkward and need careful
att
The Conditional — Il Modo Condizionale: condizionale
presente
The Conditional is a mood of the verb for expressing hopes, wishes and
aspirations.
In English, the equivalent is the tense/mood made with the the auxiliary very
would: e.g.—
This mood of the verb is made up like the future tense, by adding endings to the infinitive.
The endings are:
singular plural
-ei = I would ... -emmo = we would...
-esti = you would ... -este = you would ...
-ebbe = he/she -ebbero = they
would... would...
These ending are attached to the present infinitive which loses the final -e. Look at the table
below:
Please note that as with the Future Tense, verbs like parlare change the vowel in their
infinitive from -a- to -e- and also the spelling changes for the Future Tense which affect verbs
ending -care, -gare, -ciare and -giare also apply to this tense.
IRREGULAR VERBS: The verbs which were irregular in their Future Tense, are also
irregular in the Conditional, but all you need to do is change the endings:
avere essere
avrei sarei
avresti saresti
avrebbe sarebbe
avremmo saremmo
avreste sareste
avrebbero sarebbero
There are the other ten common verbs which you need to learn:
andare dare fare stare sapere dovere potere volere vedere venire
andrei darei farei starei saprei dovrei potrei vorrei vedrei verrei
andresti daresti faresti staresti sapresti dovresti potresti vorresti vedresti verresti
andrebbe darebbe farebbe starebbe saprebbe dovrebbe potrebbe vorrebbe vedrebbe verrebbe
andremm daremm faremm staremm saprem dovrem potrem vorrem vedrem verremm
o o o o mo mo mo mo mo o
andreste dareste fareste stareste sapreste dovreste potreste vorreste vedreste verreste
andrebbe darebbe farebbe starebbe saprebbe dovrebbe potrebbe vorrebbe vedrebbe verrebber
ro ro ro ro ro ro ro ro ro o
So, once you have learned how this mood is formed,you need to be clear about when it is
used. Here is a list:
3. to express doubt:
I don't think that he would earn much money.
Non penso che guadagnerebbe molti soldi.
The modal verbs: potere (can), dovere (must/ have to), and volere (want) need a bit of care:
potrei = I could
dovrei = I should
For Example:
In Italian this is a compound tense (i.e.made with more than one word). It is made with the
present conditional tense of the auxiliary verb (avere or essere) and the past participle of the
verb. Study the table below:
I would have booked the hotel last week; now it's too late.
Avrei prenotato l'albergo la settimana scorsa; adesso è troppo tardi.
2. to express "the future in the past" — i.e. in reported speech to express a future action
from a point of view in the past: e.g.
The "future in the past" is a difficult piece of grammar but you might want to use it in Higher
writing. In essence you use the past conditional when the clause introduced by "that" in
English, or "che" in Italian follows a verb in the past tense. In English the verb in the "that"
clause sounds like a conditional, but in Italian it has to be past conditional.
The modal verbs: potere (can), dovere (must/ have to), and volere (want) need a bit of care:
For Example:
1. Claudia could sit her exams next week; she could have sat them all last week.
Claudia potrebbe fare gli esami la settimana prossima; avrebbe potuto farli la
settimana scorsa.
N.B. This means that the English "I went" and "I have gone" are the same in Italian.
To make this tense you need the present tense of avere followed by the past participle of the
verb you want.
You already know the present tense of avere, so you now need you learn how to make the past
participle.
The table below explains how:
If you have learned French you will see that the system is exactly the same.
The vast majority of verbs make their past participle by following the pattern in the table
above, but some do not follow the general rule; they are called strong verbs. You have to
learn them as you meet them but listed below you will find some of the most common verbs.
Learn them now!
You will see that the verb vedere (to see) has two past participles: veduto and visto; choose
whichever you like.
N.B. When essere is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees with the subject of the
verb.
Listed below are the commonest verbs which require essere as their auxiliary; learn them now
be careful to learn the strong past participles.
Infinitive Meaning Past Participle
andare to go andato
venire to come venuto
partire to leave partito
arrivare to arrive arrivato
entrare to enter entrato
uscire to go out uscito
salire to get into salito
scendere to get out of sceso
nascere to be born nato
morire to die morto
tornare to return tornato
cadere to fall caduto
rimanere to remain rimasto
succedere to happen successo
essere to be stato
diventare to become diventato
This is a very important tense: you must be able to use it for both Standard Grade and
Higher. Try the following exercises.
1. Ho mangiato troppo.
2. Non ho mai visitato Roma.
3. Hai fatto i compiti?
4. Dove hai passato le vacanze?
5. Non ho fatto niente durante le vacanze.
6. Ho letto un libro interessante la settimana scorsa.
7. Hai visto quel film ieri sera?
8. Mariella ha chiuso la porta quando ha lasciato la casa.
9. La mamma ha comprato del pane al mercato.
10. Cosa hai preso da mangiare oggi?
Exercise 3 Translate into Italian: [transitive verbs — use avere as the auxiliary]
Exercise 4. Translate into Italian: [intransitive and reflexive verbs — use essere as the
auxiliary]
In English, the equivalent tense is the continuous past or the structure used to.... Here are
some examples of the tense in English:
N.B. In sentence 5, the English verb is worked — i.e. the 'simple past' but in Italian you must
use the imperfect because the phrase "every Saturday" shows that the action was repeated in
the past.
In sentence 6, the English verb is would wait which sounds like the 'conditional' but this is
yet another way the English language has of showing repeated actions in the past. Translated
into Italian, the verb would be in the imperfect tense.
This is an easy tense to make in Italian; it has very few exceptions: each verb group adds a set
of endings to the stem. In the table below you will see the full scheme. Look for the
similarities not the differences!
You'll see that each verb uses the endings -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano.
In front of these endings you will find the same vowel as the verb has in its infinitive.
The exceptions: You need to learn the following verbs which do not follow the above rule.
ESSERE
ero (I was)
eri
era
eravamo
eravate
erano
There are another five verbs which have a contracted infinitive but they make this tense from
their original uncontracted infinitive:
N.B. The verb -durre does not exist in this simple form; it always has a prefix like produrre
(to produce), ridurre (to reduce) etc.
NN.B There is one odd place where this tense is used when you would not expect it: if you
look at the following piece of English translated into Italian, you'll see it:
Usually if you want to say "I didn't know", you say "non ho saputo". (past tense).
The tense describes an action in the past which took place before another action in
the past: e.g.
IL GERUNDIO
This is equivalent to the English present participle — i.e. the part of the verb ending in -ing,
like thinking, running, talking, going etc.
The table below will show you how the gerundio is made from the present infinitive:
N.B. The gerundio is invariable; it does not behave like an adjective. For example:
Notice in the last example in Italian the gerundio “vedendolo”. The “lo” is the pronoun 'him'
and it illustrates a rule with the gerundio, that pronouns are attached to the end of it to make
one word, they are not put in front of it as happens with the ordinary tenses of the verb.
STRUCTURE: This part of the verb creates a present and past continuous tense when the
verb “stare” is used as the auxiliary. For example:
1. I am writing a letter.
2. She is waiting for a phone call.
3. I was watching a football match.
4. He was doing something.
5. The girls were sleeping.
To check your answers click here.
mi myself ci ourselves
ti yourself vi yourselves
si himself/herself si themselves
Rules:
1. Like all pronouns, the reflexive pronouns stand before the verb or the auxiliary verb in
compound tenses. e.g.:
2. Reflexive verbs use essere as the auxiliary verb as in the last example above. e.g.:
3. Reflexive pronouns are added to the end of the infinitive, gerundio and imperative to
form one word. e.g.:
Ero così stanco che non ho potuto alzarmi = I was so tired that I couldn't get up.
Maria è in bagno,e sta lavandosi i capelli = Maria is in the bathroom, she's washing
her hair.
English has very few real reflexive verbs, like to enjoy oneself, to hurt oneself, to kill
oneself, but they are very common in Italian, often where English uses another verbal phrase.
It is useful to know the commonest reflexive verbs; here are a few to learn as items of
vocabulary, along with their meaning.
svegliarsi to wake up
alzarsi to get up
lavarsi to get washed
vestirsi to get dressed
spogliarsi to get undressed
pettinarsi to comb one's hair
truccarsi to put on makeup
lamentarsi to complain
divertirsi to enjoy oneself
fermarsi to stop
sedersi to sit
muoversi to move
annoiarsi to get bored
arrabbiarsi to get angry
avvicinarsi to approach
sbagliarsi to make a mistake
preoccuparsito be worried
to be aware of;
accorgersi
realise
Relfexive verbs behave like ordinary verbs except that you have to put a reflexive pronoun in
front. Make sure you know what type of verb you are dealing with; e.g. divertirsi is
conjugated as divertire with a reflexive pronoun in front; similarly annoiarsi is annoiare with
a reflexive pronoun. If you would like to see the whole present tense of a reflexive verb look
at the table below, where divertirsi (to enjoy oneself) has been laid out for you:
mi diverto ci divertiamo
ti diverti vi divertite
si diverte si divertono
N.B. Higher candidates: make sure you know and can use the following reflexive verbs:
Now try some exercises to see if you have grasped the idea.
Exercise 2. Complete the following passage by transforming the infinitive verbs into the
correct form of the present tense.
Signor Tommasini is describing his daily routine before he leaves home in the morning.
Di solito la mattina [svegliarsi] alle sette. [alzarsi] poco dopo e [farsi] la doccia. Poi [radersi]
e [spruzzarsi] con il dopobarba. Infine [vestirsi] e vado in cucina dove [prepararsi] un
cappuccino. Dopo la colazione [lavarsi] i denti, [guardarsi] allo specchio, [mettersi] la giacca
ed esco di casa.
Exercise 3. Try to describe your daily routine; translate the following sentences, then modify
them to suit your own situation.
1. I wake up at 7.30.
2. I get up a little later.
3. I get dressed in a hurry.
4. I make myself breakfast.
5. Then I brush my teeth.
6. I look at myself in the mirror and comb my hair.
7. Before leaving the house, I put on a coat.
1. I woke up at 7.30.
2. I got up a little later.
etc.
These verbs are followed by an infinitive verb without any linking preposition.
1. potere = to be able; can. Here is the scheme of its tenses; the present tense is irregular and
is written out in full; you should be able to complete the other tenses if you are given the First
Person. The present subjunctive is also irregular:
past
present future conditional imperfect perfect pluperfect pres.subj. impf. subj.
cond.
avrei ho avevo
posso potrò potrei potevo io possa io potessi
potuto potuto potuto
puoi tu possa tu poteesi
lui/lei
può potesse
possa
possiamo possiamo potessimo
potete possiate poteste
possono possano potessero
Exercise 1. Translate into English. — These sentences require a knowledge of all the
tenses, and the subjunctive.
The conditional mood of this verb translates the English "could" when you mean something
like "I could go, but I don't want to."
The past conditional translates the English "could have" , e.g. "I could have gone, but I didn't
want to."
Use this information to help you translate the following sentences into Italian.
2. dovere = to be have to; must; ought to. Here is the scheme of its tenses; the present tense
is irregular and is written out in full; you should be able to complete the other tenses if you are
given the First Person. The present subjunctive is also irregular:
past
present future conditional imperfect perfect pluperfect pres.subj. impf. subj.
cond.
avrei ho avevo
devo dovrò dovrei dovevo io debba io dovessi
dovuto dovuto dovuto
devi tu debba tu dovessi
lui/lei
deve dovesse
debba
dobbiamo dobbiamo dovessimo
dovete dobbiate doveste
devono debbano dovessero
N.B. The conditional of this verb translates the English "ought" or "should"; the past
conditional translates the English "ought to have ..." or "should have"
Exercise 3. Translate into English. — These sentences require a knowledge of all the
tenses, and the subjunctive.
Exercise 4. Translate into Italian.— These sentences get progressively more difficult.
3. volere = to want. Here is the scheme of its tenses; the present tense is irregular and is
written out in full; you should be able to complete the other tenses if you are given the First
Person. The present subjunctive is also irregular:
past
present future conditional imperfect perfect pluperfect pres.subj. impf. subj.
cond.
avrei ho avevo
voglio vorrò vorrei volevo io voglia io volessi
voluto voluto voluto
vuoi tu voglia tu volessi
lui/lei
vuole volesse
voglia
vogliamo vogliamo volessimo
volete vogliate voleste
vogliono vogliano volessero
Exercise 5. Translate into English. — These sentences require a knowledge of all the
tenses, and the subjunctive.
However, to express a command or request in more polite or formal language, use the
following forms:
This is why there are apparently two ways of saying "Excuse me". The explanation is:
Use scusa if you addressing someone informally.
Use scusi if you are being formal or polite.
There is also a form of the imperative equivalent to the English structure "Let's finish early"
"Let's go to lunch". The equivalent in Italian is:
Let's finish early = Finiamo presto.
Let's go to lunch = Andiamo a pranzare.
You'll see that this form of the imperative is the same as the ordinary present tense.
1. Tirare = Pull
2. Spingere = Push
Remember that pronouns get attached to the end of the imperative to form one word, e.g.
With imperatives of only one syllable, like da', fa', sta', di', the first consonant of the pronoun
is doubled (but not with "gli"), e.g.
Negative commands are usually expressed in Italian with non followed by the infinitive
verb.For example:
However, if you want to direct a negative commands to more than one person, use the normal
imperative preceded by non, e.g.:
Finally, if you want the negative command using the more formal imperative, simply put non
in front of it, e.g.:
N.B. In the writing you will do at Standard Grade and Higher, you will probably never use
this mood of the verb, but you will certainly meet it when you are reading Italian, so learn it!
The passive is formed by using the appropriate tense of essere and the past participle of the
verb, e.g.:
1. The passive voice always requires at least two words, sometimes three.
2. The past participle always agrees with the grammatical subject of the sentence.
3. Any tense can have a passive voice, e.g.:
N.B. The verb venire can be used instead of essere in the present, future, imperfect and
conditional, e.g.:
You will often see this construction in newspaper advertisements or selling or renting articles.
Then the si is attached to the verb, e.g.:
1. Vendesi bicicletta.
= Bicycle for sale.
2. Affittasi piccolo appartamento.
= Small appartment for rent.
Students usually find the passive is awkward to form correctly in Italian; the best solution is
to use the si passivante contruction, but if that is not possible, try to turn the sentence around
and write it in the active voice, e.g. instead of trying to write "the tickets had already been
posted by my parents" turn it into "my parents had already posted the tickets
These verbs only exist in the third person; there are three groups:
1. piove = it is raining
2. nevica = it is snowing
3. fa freddo = it is cold
4. fa caldo = it is warm
2. Impersonal expressions like “it is easy to ...”, “ it is likely that ...”, e.g.
However, the impersonal construction is very common in Italian when you want to
show that the action of a verb is perfomed by a subject which is indefinite or by
people in general.
The construction uses si + 3rd person of the verb. The construction is called si impersonale.
It is used where in English we would say “You go to school, you come home, you go to bed,
you get up, you go to school.” or “one reads about it all the time.”
Look at the last example carefully. The verb is plural because the noun following it is plural.
This usage is the same as the si passivante construction.
All the tenses of the verb which are listed under the verbs on the Grammar Index Page, apart
from the conditional tenses, are in a mood called the INDICATIVE. This is the form of the
verb which is used for making statements of fact. Now meet the subjunctive:
This is a mood of the verb which no longer exists in English, except in one structure with the
verb "to be", so English speakers usually find it difficult to grasp the subjunctive. Many other
languages still have there subjunctive mood but it has vanished from English.
It is a form of the verb which is used in Italian quite commonly in certain situations.
The subjunctive mood is available in only four tenses: present, imperfect, perfect and
pluperfect.
Firstly you have to get to know what the subjunctive looks like; here are some verbs to
illustrate how the present and imperfect are formed:
N.B. You will see that in the present tense, the first three persons of the verb are identical and
this is one occasion when you will probably have to use the personal pronouns in order to
avoid confusion. Similarly, in the imperfect tense, you cannot distinguish the first and second
persons without using pronouns.
You know that in the present tense there are two types of verb in the Third Conjugation (those
whose infinitive ends in -ire). If you are not sure of this, go back and look again at how you
form the present tense by clicking here. Both these types of verb form there imperfect in the
same way.
Here are the subjunctives of essere and avere. You need these as verbs in their own right but
they are also the auxiliary verbs which make the perfect and pluperfect subjunctives for all the
other verbs in the language.
Again you need to use pronouns to distinguish the persons of the verb which are identical.
The tables above show you how to make the subjunctive, now you need to learn when and
when not to use it.
I have divided the rest of this page into eight sections to illustrate the uses of the subjunctive.
In Higher Grade Writing, I would expect you to be able to use a few clauses and structures
which require the subjunctive.
bisogna che
it is necessary that .... è facile/difficile che ... it is easy/difficult
...
occorre che è possibile/impossibile it is possible/impossible
it is necessary that ....
... che ... that
è probabile/improbabile it is probable/improbable
sembra che ... it seems that ...
che ... that
pare che ... it seems that ... è meglio che ... it is better that ...
è peccato che ... it is a pity that ...
è bene che ... it is good that ...
è importante che ... it is important that
SECTION 2: Use it : after verbs expressing hope, want, expect, prefer, fear, think,
e.g.
1. I hope that you understand all this = Spero che tu capisca tutto questo.
2. The boss wanted us all to work hard = Il padrone voleva che lavorassimo sodo.
3. My parents prefer me to go with them = I miei genitori preferiscono che io li
accompagni.
4. I thought Angelina was very sweet = Pensavo che Angelina fosse molto simpatica.
benché although
sebbene although
purché provided that
a condizione che on condition that
... ...
nel caso che ... in case
For example:
SECTION 4: USE IT to express purpose after the following conjunctions BUT only if
the subjects of the main and dependent clauses are different/
For example:
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use per +
infinitive, e.g.:
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use prima di
+ infinitive, e.g.:
1. The boys used to smoke without their parents being aware of it.
= I ragazzi fumavano senza che i loro genitori se ne accorgessero.
2. I can't do anything without my family knowing about it.
= Non posso fare niente senza che la mia famiglia lo sappia.
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use senza +
infinitive, e.g.:
These are:
1. Using the subjunctive when you don't need it. Look at the sections above and note when it
is not required; it is usually only needed after certain conjunctions when the subjects in the
two clauses are different.
Rule: If the verb in the main clause is present, future, or imperative, use the present or
perfect subjunctive.
If the verb in the main clause is past, or conditional, use the imperfect or pluperfect
subjunctive.
Exercise 1: Here is a short passage in English; after it you will find that most of it has been
translated but you have to change the verbs given from the infinitive into the correct tense of
the subjunctive. In the passage someone is telling of their dreams and wishes when he was
younger and this is a situation where the subjunctive is needed.
PRONOUNS — I PRONOMI
This page is divided into six sections organised as follows:
1. Direct Object Pronouns
2. Indirect Object Pronouns
3. Reflexive Pronouns
4. Disjunctive Pronouns
5. The pronoun “ ne”
6. Rules for using two pronouns before the verb
mi me ci us
ti you vi you
lo him li them (masc.)
la her le them (fem.)
you
La Le you (formal
(formal)
mi to/for me ci to/for us
ti to/for you vi to/for you
gli to/for him loro to them
le to/for her loro to them
to you to you
Le Loro
(formal) (formal)
3 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS:
mi myself ci ourselves
ti yourself vi yourselves
si himself/herself si themselves
me me noi us
te you voi you
lui him loro them (masc.)
lei her loro them (fem.)
you
Lei Loro you (formal
(formal)
Rules:
1. It stands before the verb or before the auxiliary verb in compound tenses.
2. It is attached to the end of the infinitive, gerundio and imperative to form one word.
3. It follows the rule about using two pronouns before the verb. Check it out in the next
section.
4 In compound tenses, when ne replaces the direct object, the past participle agrees with the
direct object:—
Quante bottiglie di vino hai comprato? — Ne ho comprate dieci.
= How many bottles of wine did you buy? — I bought ten.
1. Nemeans “of it; of them”. It frequently does not need to be translated into
English: e.g.:
1. Hai molti esami? — Sì, ne ho sette.
= Do you have many exams? Yes, I have seven (of them)
Although English not have an equivalent for ne in the type of sentences shown above, you
must remember to use it in Italian.
2. This pronoun replaces a prepositional phrase beginning with di, and it does need to be
translated into English. For example:
You could find that you need to use this pronoun if you are dealing with one of the common
verbs or expressions which are followed by di. Here are the commonest; try to learn them:
For example:
4. This pronoun also has some idiomatic usages which have no equivalent in English. The
only one which you should be familiar with is with the reflexive form of the verb andare.
This produces the verb andarsene which means “to leave; go away”. Although there is no
equivalent in English, in French you may have met the verb s'en aller . Here is the verb in its
present and perfect tenses. This verb cannot take a direct object.
There are two pronouns highlighted in each one. English speakers often have problems
translating this kind of sentence into Italian because they are not quite sure what pronouns to
use. the sentences actually mean:
So, in the first sentence it is a direct object pronoun and to her is an indirect object pronoun.
Similarly in the second sentence, them is a direct object pronoun and to us is an indirect
object pronoun.
In Italian there is a rule which governs the order in which these pronouns are used, namely:
indirect object followed by direct object.
This causes a slight change of spelling: pronouns which normally end in i change this letter to
e. This is more complicated than it should be and perhaps the best way to grapple with it is to
look at the following table where two pronouns are used.The first pronoun means "to me" ,
"to you" etc.; lo and la mean "it", and li and le mean "them". You'll see that the pronoun gli
means "to him" or "to her" or "to them" and it combines into one word with the direct object
pronouns lo, la, li, le.
Indirect Object
Direct Object Pronouns
prons.
lo li le ne (of it/of
la (her/it)
(him/it) (them) (them) them)
mi (to me) me lo me la me li me le me ne
ti (to you) te lo te la te li te le te ne
gli (to him) glielo gliela glieli gliele gliene
le (to her) glielo gliela glieli gliele gliene
ci (to us) ce lo ce la ce li ce le ce ne
vi (to you) ve lo ve la ve li ve le ve ne
gli (to them) glielo gliela glieli gliele gliene
As with single pronouns, both of these pronouns get attached to the end of the infinitive,
gerundio, or imperative, so the last sentence could also be : Ha una nuova macchina; stava
mostrandogliela.
When added to an infinitive or imperative, pairs of pronouns can make the verb look very
strange, e.g.
Ti ho comprato qualcosa; quando posso dartela? = I bought something for you; when can I
give you it?
Mi hanno chiesto di spiegarglielo = They asked me to explain it to them.
Quelle sigarette sono le mie; dammele subito. Those cigarettes are mine; give me them
immediately.
The same rules apply to reflexive pronouns used with direct object pronoun,e.g.
Reflexive
Direct Object Pronouns
pronouns.
lo li le ne (of it/of
la (her/it)
(him/it) (them) (them) them)
mi (myself) me lo me la me li me le me ne
ti (yourself) te lo te la te li te le te ne
si
se lo se la se li se le se ne
(himself/herself)
ci (ourselves) ce lo ce la ce li ce le ce ne
vi (yourselves) ve lo ve la ve li ve le ve ne
si (themselves) se lo se la se li se le se ne
Here are some common adverbs which you should know as items of vocabulary. Learn them:
ADJECTIVE ADVERB
vero true veramente truly
chiaro clear chiaramente clearly
ovvio obvious ovviamente obviously
recente recent recentemente recently
veloce quick velocemente quickly
If the adjective ends in -le or -re and there is a vowel in front, the final -e is dropped and
-mente is added, for example:
ADJECTIVE ADVERB
facile easy facilmente easily
probabile probable probabilmente probably
regolare regular regolarmente regularly
popolare popular popolarmente popularly
Comparative Adverbs
Comparative is when you want to say “more easily” or “less often”.
The equivalent in Italian is to say “più facile” and “meno spesso”.
Position of Adverbs:
3. The common adverbs ancora, anche, già, mai, più, sempre usually insert themselves
between the auxiliary verb and past participle in the perfect tense: e.g.
Non ho mai visitato gli Stati Uniti = I have never visited the USA.
Maria è già andata via = Maria has already gone away.