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Italian
GRAMMAR SUPPLEMENT
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Grammar
Supplement
Page 1
Grammar PM65
VENDERE
FINIRE
vendevo
vendevi
vendeva
vendevamo
vendevate
vendevano
finivo
finivi
finiva
finivamo
finivate
finivano
Grammar PM65
The majority of verbs follow one of the above regular patterns in the imperfect tense.
BERE
DIRE
FARE
PORRE
ero
eri
era
eravamo
eravate
erano
bevevo
bevevi
beveva
bevevamo
bevevate
bevevano
dicevo
dicevi
diceva
dicevamo
dicevate
dicevano
facevo
facevi
faceva
facevamo
facevate
facevano
ponevo
ponevi
poneva
ponevamo
ponevate
ponevano
Meaning:
The imperfect tense is a past tense. It should not however be confused with the
perfect tense.
The perfect tense is used to express a single, completed action in the past, e.g.
Sabato sera sono andato al cinema.
Ieri ho visto la tua mamma in citt.
Grammar PM65
Before you do the following exercises re-read La fidanzata di Valentino and try to work
out why the author has used the imperfect.
Change the infinitives into the correct part of the imperfect tense
tense.
Show this work to your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
Grammar PM65
Ex.1:
Change the infinitives into the correct part of either the imperfect or perfect tenses
tenses. Show
this work to your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Grammar PM65
Ex.2:
Ex. 1:
1. parlava 2. rispondevano 3. finivano 4. ero 5. usciva, entravo 6. andavi
7. facevate, eravate 8. bevevamo 9. partiva 10. ero, avevo 11. si chiamava
12. volevi 13. poneva 14. scendevate 15. mangiavamo 16. piaceva
17. mi sentivo 18. lavavano 19. giocava 20. spendevo 21. chiudeva 22. dicevi
23. sapevate 24. avevamo 25. potevo, lavoravo 26. voleva, faceva 27. era,
piaceva 28. facevo, avevo 29. dicevano, uscivano 30. ascoltava, giocavano
31. salivano, desideravano 32. potevi, faceva 33. chiedeva, rifiutavano
34. salivi 35. parlavamo, ascoltavate
Ex. 2:
Grammar PM65
UN MATRIMONIO SINGOLARE:
STARE PER + INFINITIVE
If you want to say you are about to do something, in Italian you use the verb stare with
per
per. For example:
Sto per uscire
I am about to go out
Here are some sentences. Translate them into English and show your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
To talk about what you were about to do in the past, you use the imperfect of stare with
per
per. For example:
Stavo per uscire
Put these sentences into English and show them to your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
He is about to leave.
I was about to get on the train.
Is she about to go out?
She was about to phone him.
We were about to buy the house when we saw the next door neighbour!
They were about to buy tickets when they saw the price.
Grammar PM65
See if you can find any examples of stare per in the passage.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The sun was shining. It was a splendid day. I was about to go out when I saw my
friend from the window. I called over to him and he waited for me. We were about
to catch the bus when we decided to walk to school.
Sta per partire.
Stavo per salire sul treno.
Sta per uscire?
Stava per telefonargli.
Stavamo per comprare la casa quando abbiamo visto il vicino di casa!
Stavano per comprare dei biglietti quando hanno visto il prezzo.
Grammar PM65
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Re-read the passage Una cena in famiglia. The writer uses a tense called the Past
Definite (also known as the Preterite or the Past Historic). The Italian name for this tense
(il passato remoto) gives you a clue about when it is used, i.e. to describe events that
happened only once some time ago. Here are some examples taken from the passage:
Partimmo con la vecchia auto.
Alberto mi fece entrare in casa.
Quando dissi che...
La signora Rossi mi guard
guard...
Lei sorrise e and a prendere...
It is a literary tense and is used for the most part in short stories and novels to
describe single actions in the past which are started and completed
completed. Where have
you heard this before? Answer: when you learnt the perfect tense.
b.
Dont use this tense in conversation, although you will hear it being spoken in Tuscany.
c.
As far as the Higher is concerned, the Past Definite is a recognition tense, i.e. you
are only required to understand what it means when you see it and not to write or
speak it. To do this, however, you will have to be familiar with the different forms of
the tense and especially the irregular forms.
d.
Your teacher will give you further information about this tense if you need it.
Grammar PM65
Remove the last three letters from the infinitive to form the stem.
Add on the endings (in bold below).
Note that there are alternative endings for the first and third person singular and
third person plural of -ERE verbs.
PORTARE
CREDERE
FINIRE
portai
ai
credei
ei
etti
credetti
finiiii
portasti
asti
credesti
esti
finisti
isti
port
cred
ette
credette
fin
portammo
ammo
credemmo
emmo
finimmo
immo
portaste
aste
credeste
este
finiste
iste
portarono
arono
crederono
erono
ettero
credettero
finirono
irono
10
Now lets look at some irregular verbs. With the exceptions of DARE, ESSERE and STARE
(see below) verbs with irregular Past Definites all follow a pattern. Only the first person
singular, third person singular and third person plural come from the irregular Past Definite:
the other persons are taken from the infinitive of the verb itself, e.g.:
CORRERE (to run)
CORSI
corresti
CORSE
corremmo
correste
CORSERO
AVERE
BERE
CADERE
CHIEDERE
CHIUDERE
CONOSCERE
CORRERE
CRESCERE
DARE *
DECIDERE
(to have)
(to drink)
(to fall)
(to ask)
(to close)
(to know)
(to run)
(to grow)
(to give)
(to decide)
= EBBI
= BEVVI
= CADDI
= CHIESI
= CHIUSI
= CONOBBI
= CORSI
= CREBBI
= DETTI
= DECISI
Grammar PM65
This can be tricky to understand so check it out with your teacher. The following are the
most common irregular Past Definites (the first person singular of each is given after the
infinitive):
= DISSI
= DOVEI/DOVETTI
= FUI
= FECI
= GIUNSI
= LESSI
= MISI
= NACQUI
= NASCOSI
= PERSI
= PIACQUI
= PIOVVE
= PRESI
= RISI
= RIMASI
= RISPOSI
= SEPPI
= SCELSI
= SCESI
= SCRISSI
= SPINSI
= STETTI
= TENNI
= TOLSI
= TRADUSSI
= VIDI
= VENNI
= VOLSI
DIRE
DOVERE
ESSERE *
FARE
GIUNGERE
LEGGERE
METTERE
NASCERE
NASCONDERE
PERDERE
PIACERE
PIOVERE
PRENDERE
RIDERE
RIMANERE
RISPONDERE
SAPERE
SCEGLIERE
SCENDERE
SCRIVERE
SPINGERE
STARE *
TENERE
TOGLIERE
TRADURRE
VEDERE
VENIRE
VOLERE
11
diedi
detti
fui
stetti
desti
fosti
stesti
diede
dette
fu
stette
demmo
fummo
stemmo
deste
foste
steste
diedero
dettero
furono
stettero
Grammar PM65
Verbs marked with an asterisk (*) in the above list are highly irregular and are conjugated
as follows (note that DARE has some alternative forms):
Now for some practice. Read this fairy tale which is written in the Past Definite. To help
you the Past Definite verbs are in bold type.
UNA FAVOLA
12
Cera una volta una povera donna che and nel bosco a prendere legna per il fuoco.
Mentre tornava a casa, trov
trov, dietro una siepe, un gatto ammalato che gemeva e che
piangeva. La donna aveva buon cuore, e, piena di compassione, port il gatto a casa.
domandarono:
Per la strada incontr due bambini che domandarono
Che cosa hai nel grembiule? un gatto! Possiamo giocare con il gatto?
Ma la donna voleva proteggere lanimale ammalato e non lo lasci ai bambini. Quando
arriv a casa, prepar un letto per il gatto su un mucchio di vestiti logori e port un po di
latte. Il gatto fin il latte e dorm fino alla mattina dopo. Poi spar
spar, e non torn pi in quella
casa. Qualche tempo dopo questo fatto, la donna and di nuovo nel bosco con lintenzione
di cercare un po di legna e, mentre tornava a casa, trov allo stesso posto, invece del
gatto, una bella ragazza, molto elegante, che la chiam per nome. La bella ragazza
gett cinque ferri da calza nel grembiule della donna e poi spar
spar.
La donna non sapeva che cosa pensare: e quella sera lasci i ferri da calza sul tavolo e
and a dormire. La mattina dopo trov sul tavolo un bel paio di calze gi pronte. Molto
meravigliata la donna, la sera seguente, lasci di nuovo i ferri sul tavolo ed il giorno dopo
trov un altro paio di calze.
Allora cap che quei ferri magici erano il premio della compassione per il gatto. Con
laiuto di essi vest tutta la famiglia e poi cominci a vendere le calze e divent molto
ricca.
Grammar PM65
Now do these exercises and show them to your teacher for correction:
Ex.1:
Translate the fairy tale into English.
Ex.2:
In the following sentences, change the singular to the plural and vice-versa (you may also
have to do the same to some nouns and adjectives!):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13
Ex. 3:
Insert the correct form of the Past Definite:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ex.4:
Substitute the correct tense of the verb (choose between the Perfect, Imperfect or Past
Definite):
Definite
Grammar PM65
FARE
VOLERE
Quella sera (FARE
FARE) molto freddo, e Giovanni (VOLERE
VOLERE) passare la sera a casa. Per, alle
ARRIVARE
DESIDERARE
sette e mezzo (ARRIVARE
ARRIVARE) Antonio che (DESIDERARE
DESIDERARE) andare al cinema. A quale cinema
DOMANDARE
ESSERE
vuoi andare? (DOMANDARE
DOMANDARE) Giovanni. (ESSERE
ESSERE) al Rex mercoled sera con la fidanzata,
VEDERE
e (VEDERE
VEDERE) il film che danno allOdeon. Perch non vuoi stare qui a guardare la televisione?
AVERE
SPIEGARE
Ma lamico (AVERE
AVERE) gi un appuntamento per andare al cinema. Mentre (SPIEGARE
SPIEGARE)
ENTRARE
COMINCIARE
questo a Giovanni, la mamma (ENTRARE
ENTRARE) in cucina e (COMINCIARE
COMINCIARE) a preparare il caff.
Ex.1:
Once upon a time there was a poor woman who went into the forest to gather
some firewood. While she was going back home, she found, behind a hedge, a sick
cat which was moaning and crying. The woman had a tender heart, and, full of pity,
brought the cat home.
On the way she met two children who asked:
What do you have in your apron? Its a cat! Can we play with the cat?
But the woman wanted to protect the sick animal and didnt leave it with the children.
When she arrived home, she prepared a bed for the cat on a pile of shabby clothes and
brought it some milk. The cat finished the milk and slept until the following morning.
Then it disappeared, and never again returned to the house. Some time after these events,
the woman went once again into the forest with the intention of gathering some firewood
and, while she was returning home, she found in the same place not the cat but a
beautiful and very elegant girl, who called her by her name. The beautiful girl threw five
knitting needles into the womans apron and then vanished.
14
The woman did not know what to think, and that evening she left the knitting needles
on the table and went to bed. The next morning she found on the table a lovely pair of
stockings ready to be worn. Amazed by this, the woman left the knitting needles once
again on the table the following evening and the next day found another pair of stockings.
She then realised that the magic needles were a reward for the pity she had shown
towards the cat. With their help she clothed her entire family , then began to sell the
stockings and became very rich.
Ex.2:
1. Portaste i gatti a casa. 2. Andai a dormire. 3. Entrarono in quei negozi. 4. Dove trov la
calza? 5. Le donne diventarono molto ricche. 6. Le ragazze lasciarono le valigie. 7. Mentre
tornavamo a casa, trovammo dei gatti. 8. Accompagnammo le amiche di Giovanni al
cinema. 9. Portaste le valigie alla stazione. 10. I gatti finirono il latte. 11. I ragazzi non
venderono / vendettero le loro biciclette. 12. Non potemmo arrivare al teatro in tempo.
Ex.3:
Ex.4:
faceva, voleva, arriv, desiderava, domand, ero, ho / abbiamo visto, aveva, spiegava,
entr, cominci
Grammar PM65
15
Masculine singular:
Feminine singular:
Masculine plural:
Feminine plural:
Type A
Type B
italiano
italiana
italiani
italiane
diligente
diligente
diligenti
diligenti
One other thing: there are a few adjectives which end in other letters apart from
o and e, e.g. blu, gratis. These adjectives do not need to agree.
Here are some examples of adjectives agreeing with nouns:
Grammar PM65
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Grammar PM65
Now for some practice. In the following exercise rewrite the adjective in brackets so that
it agrees with the noun:
16
ANSWER KEY
1. italiani 2. verde 3. bionda 4. grigio 5. intelligente 6. gialli 7. bianca 8. arancione 9. nero
10. corti 11. breve 12. rossa 13. rapidi 14. marrone 15. rettangolari 16. elegante
17. nuove 18. blu 19. esclusiva 20. azzurra 21. stanco 22. sportiva 23. diligenti
24. brave 25. pigri 26. noioso 27. cattive 28. interessanti 29. meravigliosi 30. libero
Grammar PM65
17
18
Non is easy to use; you just place it before the verb to make a sentence negative. There
are other negative expressions, however, which are usually in two parts; the first part is
non and goes in front of the verb with the second part going after the verb. Look at these
examples:
Dario non ha scritto niente
niente.
non
mai
Dario
ha scritto mai.
Dario non ha scritto pi
pi.
Grammar PM65
non... nessuno
non...niente
non...nulla
non...n...n
non...mai
non...ancora
non...pi
non...affatto
non...mica
non...neanche
non...nemmeno
non...neppure
non...che
affatto, ancora, mai, neanche, nemmeno, neppure and pi can either follow the
past participle or go between the auxiliary verb and the past participle, e.g.
Non sono andato ancora in Italia OR Non sono ancora andato in Italia.
Non sono andato mai in Italia OR Non sono mai andato in Italia.
Non sono andato pi in Italia OR Non sono pi andato in Italia.
c.
You can sometimes use the second part of negatives on their own, e.g.
Chi ha bussato alla porta? Nessuno.
Cosa ti ha comprato? Niente.
Quando vieni a casa mia? Mai.
Grammar PM65
a.
19
Ex.1:
Rewrite these sentences using the negative expression in brackets (all verbs are in the
present tense
tense):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Ex.2:
20
Here are the same sentences with all the verbs now in the perfect tense
tense. Rewrite them
using the negative expression in brackets:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Grammar PM65
Ex. 1:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
21
Ex. 2:
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Marta non ha mai fatto i compiti ditaliano OR Marta non ha fatto mai i compiti
ditaliano.
I ragazzi non hanno comprato nulla.
Non ho messo che tremila lire nel portafoglio.
Non abbiamo visto n Rita n Sandra.
Non hai pi ascoltato il programma OR Non hai ascoltato pi il programma.
Non ho mangiato affatto.
Non hanno incontrato nessuno alla stazione.
Non ha bevuto neppure un bicchiere di vino.
Grammar PM65
1.
LA GIORNATA DI EDOARDO:
REFLEXIVE VERBS
Read the passage La giornata di Edoardo. As you know, this passage describes Edoardos
daily routine and that of his family. To do this, a special type of verb called a reflexive verb
is often used. Here is a list of phrases from the passage which use reflexive verbs. Read
over them and write next to each one what you think it means in English:
ci alziamo tutti molto presto
mio padre si alza per primo
mia sorella si lava, si veste
mi alzo anchio
mi lavo, mi vesto
22
From the English translations you will see that reflexive verbs usually (but not always) use
the words myself, yourself, himself, etc. These are a vital part of every reflexive verb and
are called reflexive pronouns
pronouns. In Italian these are:
mi
ti
si
ci
vi
si
Grammar PM65
Mi chiamo Edoardo.
Si pettinato.
Ci siamo svegliati tardi.
to fall asleep
to get up
to get angry
to be called / named
to go to bed
to enjoy oneself
to have a shower
to get hurt / injured
to get engaged
to get washed
to graduate
to put on (clothing)
to comb ones hair
to get oneself ready
to clean oneself
to shave
to remember
to sit down
to feel (an emotion)
to undress
to get married
to wake up
to put on make-up
to get dressed
23
You will have noticed that when reflexive verbs are in their infinitive form the reflexive
pronoun si is tagged onto the end of the infinitive. This makes no difference to how the
verb is formed, e.g. to make up the present tense of sposarsi just think of it as a normal are verb (i.e. remove the -are and add your endings) but remember to add the reflexive
pronouns, as follows:
Mi sposo, ti sposi, si sposa, ci sposiamo, vi sposate, si sposano.
Here is the same verb in the perfect tense:
Mi sono sposato/a, ti sei sposato/a, si sposato/a,
ci siamo sposati/e, vi siete sposati/e, si sono sposati/e.
The thing to remember here is that all reflexive verbs are conjugated with essere in the
perfect tense, and so you sometimes have to make the past participle agree. Talk this
over with your teacher if you dont understand it!
Grammar PM65
One final thing; watch out for verbs in the above list which are asterisked.
This means that they have either an irregular present tense and/or past participle
so check them out in your verb tables before you use them.
Now for some practice. Get your teacher to correct these exercises once you
complete them:
Ex.1:
Put the reflexive verb in brackets into the correct part of the present tense:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
24
Ex.2:
Now do Ex.1 again, but his time put the reflexive verb in brackets into the correct part of
the perfect tense, not forgetting to make the past participle agree if necessary.
Ex.3:
Using some of the verbs in the above list, write out a short account in the present tense of
your daily routine. Start your account with the words Ogni mattina...
Ex.4:
Grammar PM65
Now rewrite your daily routine in the perfect tense starting with the words Ieri mattina...
LA GIORNATA DI EDOARDO:
REFLEXIVE VERBS
ANSWER KEY
We all get up very early.
My father gets up first.
My sister gets wasted and dressed.
I also get up.
I get washed and dressed.
Ex.1:
1. mi alzo 2. si sveglia 3. si truccano 4. si pettina 5. si sposano 6. ci laviamo 7. mi corico
8. vi vestite 9. ti fidanzi 10. si fa, si rade
25
Ex.2:
Grammar PM65
26
Grammar PM65
-are verbs: take infinitive, remove -are and add -ando, e.g. parlare, parlando
-ere verbs: take infinitive, remove -ere and add -endo, e.g. vendere, vendendo
-ire verbs: take infinitive, remove -ire and add -endo, e.g. finire, finendo
Ex.1:
Form gerunds from these infinitives:
aprire, desiderare, smettere, decidere, amare, pulire, copiare, rendere, guarire,
chiacchierare, dire, bere.
27
Ex.2:
Replace the underlined verb with the present tense of stare + gerund:
Example:
l.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ex. 3
Fill in the blank with the imperfect tense of stare plus the gerund of the infinitive in brackets:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
leggere
Quando sono arrivato mio fratello _____ una rivista. (leggere
leggere)
uscire
Io e Giulia _____ dal negozio quando ci siamo accorsi di non aver pagato. (uscire
uscire)
fare
Ho visto Gino due minuti fa, _____ i piatti in cucina. (fare
fare)
lavorare
Io _____ quando suonato lallarme. (lavorare
lavorare)
urlare
Ti ho sentito ieri; _____ a tuo cugino. (urlare
urlare)
dire
Non vi ho capito; cosa _____ ? (dire
dire)
suonare
I due ragazzi _____ invece di ascoltare il professore. (suonare
suonare)
perdere
Lei _____ la partita perch non era in forma. (perdere
perdere)
Grammar PM65
Example:
Ex. 1:
aprendo, desiderando, smettendo, decidendo, amando, pulendo, copiando, rendendo,
guarendo, chiacchierando, dicendo, bevendo.
Ex. 2:
1. sta arrivando 2. stai mettendo 3. sta finendo 4. Stiamo raccontando 5. state scrivendo
6. Stanno facendo 7. Sto bevendo 8. Stai pulendo 9. sta dicendo 10. Stiamo cantando
28
Ex. 3:
Grammar PM65
1. stava leggendo 2. stavamo uscendo 3. stava facendo 4. stavo lavorando 5. stavi urlando
6. stavate dicendo 7. stavano suonando 8. stava perdendo
29
(b)
(b)
(c)
30
Grammar PM65
(c)
In the first half of the sentence potere is used with avere because it is followed by aprire
which is an avere verb; in the second half potere is used with essere because it is followed
by entrare which is an essere verb, and potuto changes to potuta because Maria is feminine
singular.
If you dont understand this talk it over with your teacher. Now for some practice. Read
the following passage carefully a couple of times (see your teacher about any vocabulary
you dont know), then fill in the blanks with the correct parts of volere and potere given
below (you can use each part once only):
31
- Senti, Carlo, lo sai bene che sono tanti anni che ______ andare in America ma non
______ andarci per il fatto del lavoro; non ______ organizzare qualcosa? So tu mi ______
bene allora ______ dimenticare i tuoi pregiudizi e andare subito in agenzia.
Mio marito non era daccordo.
- No, Teresa, io non ______ mai andare in America. ______ andare in qualche altro
posto, forse in Spagna o in Grecia. Ma c una soluzione facile; tu ______ andare da
sola in America, o forse i ragazzi ti ______ accompagnare.... s, sarebbe meglio cos,
______ divertirvi senza di me.
Che uomo! Forse un giorno riuscir a convincerlo.....
Grammar PM65
Show this work to your teacher once you have finished it.
ANSWER KEY
volevo, voleva, pu, ho voluto, sono potuta, potremmo, vuoi, potresti, possiamo, voglio,
vorrei, potresti, vorranno, potrete
Grammar PM65
32
siamo
siate
siano
Avere:
abbia
abbia
abbia
33
abbiamo
abbiate
abbiano
You will most often see the third person singular and plural used. Look at these
sentences, translate them into English and show your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The past subjunctive of these two verbs is very often used alongside the conditional tense.
For example:
Se io avessi tanti soldi, comprerei dei vestiti firmati.
fossimo
foste
fossero
Avere:
avessi
avessi
avesse
avessimo
aveste
avessero
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Essere:
fossi
fossi
fosse
1.
2.
3.
4.
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34
ANSWER KEY
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
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35
36
It can also be used in the imperfect tense when it means you/we had to or it was
necessary to. Try these examples:
1.
2.
3.
Other impersonal verbs are used with indirect object pronouns. Here are some examples:
mi piace/piacciono
mi occorre/occorrono
mi sembra/sembrano
mi pare
mi manca/mancano
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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ANSWER KEY
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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37
A CAVALLO:
DIRECT / INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
We use these pronouns all the time in English. We use them when we dont want
to keep repeating ourselves. For example:
I see John every day. I see him at the bus stop.
Him is used to stop us repeating John.
I buy magazines every Saturday. I buy them with my pocket money.
Them is used to stop us repeating magazines.
Italian uses direct object pronouns in the same way.
Vedo John ogni giorno. Lo vedo alla fermata.
38
me
you
him/it (masc. sing.)
her/it (fem sing.)
ci
vi
li
le
us
you (pl)
them (masc. pl)
them (fem. pl)
Put these sentences into English and then show them to your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Now try some yourself. Fill in the missing pronouns, translate them into English
and show them to your teacher.
(il regalo)
(i ragazzi)
(la canzone)
(le zie)
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Now lets have a look at indirect object pronouns. These are often, but not always,
translated as to in English. For example:
Giovanni mi parla
Francesca le scrive
39
You will soon learn which verbs take the indirect object pronouns. Here are some of the
most common:
parlare
scrivere
telefonare
mandare
dare
rispondere
domandare
inviare
mi
ti
le
gli
ci
vi
loro
(to) me
(to) you
(to) her
(to) him or (to) them
(to) us
(to) you
(to) them
These pronouns come before the verb, apart from loro which comes after.
Translate these sentences into English and show your teacher.
Lei ti parla sempre.
Lui ci d sempre un invito.
Gli vuoi dare il tuo indirizzo?
Le scrivo una volta al mese.
Mi risponde sempre male.
Vi telefonano spesso?
Mandi loro un invito?
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
It is also possible to add these pronouns on to the infinitive, you simply remove the
final e first, e.g.
Non voglio mandargli lindirizzo.
Dovete darle il regalo.
Perch non vuole telefonarmi?
Now pick another reading passage and see if you can find any direct and indirect
pronouns. When you find them, write them down, translate them into English and
show your teacher.
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ANSWER KEY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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A CAVALLO:
DIRECT / INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS
41
ha studiato
ha tentato
ho interpretato
You will see that there is a definite pattern. The perfect tense always has two parts.
The first part is called the auxiliary
auxiliary; this means that it helps the main verb. The auxiliary
can be either the correct bit of avere or essere
essere. For now we are going to deal with verbs
which are helped by avere
avere.
What do we mean by the correct bit? This simply means the bit of avere which matches
up with the person or persons doing the action, e.g.
I
you
he/she/it
ho
hai
ha
we
you(pl)
they
42
abbiamo
avete
hanno
So, lets say we wanted to write I bought or I have bought. We know the first part,
the auxiliary is going to be ho because thats the bit of avere which matches up with I.
Now for the second part. This is called the past participle
participle. We get this from the infinitive
of the verb we want to use. We want to say I bought so the infinitive we need is comprare
which means to buy.
To make this into a past participle we change the -are ending to -ato. So comprare becomes
comprato. Now we put both parts together and we get ho comprato which means I
bought or I have bought. Easy!
If you wanted to change this to say you bought all you need to do is change the ho for
the bit of avere which matches up with you. So, to say you bought you say hai comprato.
It is important that you make sure you understand this bit before we move on. Try this
mini-exercise and then ask your teacher to correct it:
Put these phrases into Italian:
I bought
Anna bought
We bought
They bought
Did you(pl) buy?
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
so................
Ho venduto = I sold
Ho finito = I finished
Now try these examples and ask your teacher to correct them:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Paolo finished
We sold
They finished
The boys bought
Have you (sing.) finished?
43
You may have noticed that we have said that most of the endings for the past
participle follow the pattern above. Unfortunately this means that some of them
do not. The ones which follow the pattern are called regular and the ones which
do not are called irregular.
Here is a short list of infinitives which have regular past participles. Try to change
them into past participles and then show them to your teacher. Make sure you
find out what the verbs mean, and find out why vedere has an asterix!
cambiare
pensare
battere
agire
cantare
potere
volere
cucire
parlare
vedere*
servire
sognare
spremere
mentire
O.K. Now try to make up a few phrases using these verbs in the perfect tense.
(Dont forget you need 2 parts - the auxiliary and the past participle.)
What about irregular past participles? Well, you just have to learn them. Here is a short
list of some of the more common ones. Your teacher will help you to add to the list.
fare = fatto
prendere = preso
vedere* = visto
spendere = speso
scrivere = scritto
leggere = letto
chiudere = chiuso
aprire = aperto
dire = detto
chiedere = chiesto
rispondere =risposto
mettere = messo
(Dont forget you need 2 parts - the auxiliary and the past participle.)
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Now try to make up a few phrases in the perfect tense using these irregular past
participles. Show them to your teacher before you go on.
comprare
e.g. Io ____ la macchina. (comprare
comprare) = Io ho comprato la macchina.
I bought the car.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Here are some sentences for you to practise with. Put the verb in brackets into the
perfect tense. Be careful! Some past participles are regular, some are not - check
your list! When you have done this, translate the sentences into English. Show your teacher.
44
Ho comprato
Anna ha comprato
Abbiamo comprato
Hanno comprato
Avete comprato?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Paolo ha finito
Abbiamo venduto
Hanno finito
I ragazzi hanno comprato
Hai finito?
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cambiato, cantato, parlato, sognato, pensato, potuto, veduto OR visto, spremuto, battuto,
voluto, servito, mentito, agito, cucito
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nato
morto
Once again you can see that we need two parts. This time the first part, the auxiliary is
the correct bit of essere. The correct bit simply means the bit of essere which matches
up with the person or persons doing the action , e.g.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I
you
he/she/it
we
you(pl)
they
sono
sei
siamo
siete
sono
46
Before we go any further, we have to know which verbs take essere in the perfect tense.
Well, we just have to learn them! Its not as difficult as it sounds because mostly these are
verbs of movement. The rules for the formation of the past participle with verbs which
take essere are almost the same as for verbs taking avere - with one big difference - but
more of that later! Here is a list of the most commonly used verbs which take essere
along with their past participles. You will see that some of these are regular and some
irregular. Find out what these verbs mean.
andare = andato
arrivare = arrivato
entrare = entrato
essere = stato
partire = partito
uscire = uscito
cadere = caduto
venire = venuto
morire = morto
crescere = cresciuto
diventare = diventato
nascere = nato
So, if we wanted to say I went or I have gone all we need to do is...... choose the bit of
essere which goes with I which is sono and match it up with the past participle which is
andato. So, sono andato means I went.
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This is correct but the person saying or writing this about himself would have to be male.
Why? Because past participles with essere have to be treated like adjectives. In other
words they have to agree with the person or persons doing the action. Stop here and
make sure you understand this bit. Ask your teacher if you are not sure.
Here are some more sentences for you to practise with. Put the verb in brackets into the
perfect tense. Be careful! Remember to make the past participles agree. When you have
done this translate the sentences into English. Show your teacher.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
(uscire)
(crescere)
(partire)
(nascere)
(essere)
(arrivare)
(andare)
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Now you know as much as you need to know about the perfect tense. In passages which
you read and in essays that you write you will find a mixture of verbs which take avere
and verbs which take essere. You will soon become familiar with them - practice makes
perfect!
ANSWER KEY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
sono uscito/a
sei cresciuto/a
siamo partiti/e
loro sono nati/e
stata
arrivato
siete andati/e
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49
Here are some examples in Italian taken from the passage Cosa fare in futuro:
Mi piacerebbe continuare a studiare
In the first phrase, the writer would like to continue studying, but is not sure if this will be
possible. In the second phrase, there is the distinct possibility of a job being available if
jobs happen to be advertised. In the third phrase, the writer would have great
responsibilities only if she happened to be very ambitious.
The conditional tense can also be used in polite requests, e.g.
Vorrei un succo di frutta, per favore.
How do you make up the conditional tense in Italian? Basically, you have to know how to
use the future tense and especially how to make up a future stem. If you are unsure about
how to do this then re-read the grammar notes for Cosa farei come lavoro, paying special
attention to the list of irregular future stems. All you do to form the conditional in Italian
is to take the future stem of the verb you wish to use and add on these endings:
-ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero
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ei
sti
ebbe
e.g. comprare = comprer (future stem): comprerei
ei, compreresti
sti, comprerebbe
ebbe,
emmo
este
ebbero
compreremmo
emmo, comprereste
este, comprerebbero
ei
esti
ebbe
emmo
partire = partir (future stem): partirei
ei, partiresti
esti, partirebbe
ebbe, partiremmo
emmo,
este
ebbero
partireste
este, partirebbero
ei
esti
ebbe
emmo
bere = berr (irregular future stem): berrei
ei, berresti
esti, berrebbe
ebbe, berremmo
emmo,
ebbero
berreste
este, berrebbero
este
Now for some practice. In this exercise fill in the blank with the correct part
of the conditional tense of the verb given in brackets and then show the
completed exercise to your teacher:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
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ei
esti
ebbe
emmo
mettere = metter (future stem): metterei
ei, metteresti
esti, metterebbe
ebbe, metteremmo
emmo,
este
ebbero
mettereste
este, metterebbero
50
ANSWER KEY
1. terrebbe 2. rimarrei 3. dovrebbe 4. saremmo 5. saprebbe 6. andrebbero
7. cercheremmo 8. mangereste 9. offriresti 10. seguirei 11. metterebbe
12. canterebbero 13. Camminerei 14. aiuterebbero 15. leggeresti 16. perderebbe
17. preferirei 18. Comincereste 19. parcheggerebbe 20. pagherebbe 21. vorresti
22. avremmo 23. fareste 24. direbbe 25. verremmo
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As you can see, all these examples use the first person singular. The meaning should be
quite clear; the future tense is obviously used when we want to talk about things which
will happen some time from now. Now for some information on how the future tense is
made up:
52
Regular Verbs:
a.
b.
c.
Completed verbs:
parler, parlerai, parler, parleremo, parlerete, parleranno
vender, venderai, vender, venderemo, venderete, venderanno
capir, capirai, capir, capiremo, capirete, capiranno
d.
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Irregular futures:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
andr
avr
berr
cadr
dar
dovr
sar
far
morr
parr
potr
rimarr
sapr
star
terr
varr
vedr
verr
vivr
vorr
udr
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Now for some good and bad news: the good news is that every verb in Italian
uses these same future endings. The bad news is that some verbs have irregular
stems. The only way to cope with this is to get to know them. Here is a list for you
to look at (only the first part of the future is given, as this is all you need to work
out the other parts):
53
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
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Now do this exercise and show the work to your teacher once you finish it. You have to
replace the infinitive in bold type with the correct part of the future tense:
54
ANSWER KEY
1. porter 2. arriveranno 3. partiremo 4. leggerai 5. finir 6. imparerete 7. insegner
8. ripeter 9. capir 10. correremo 11. mangeranno 12. pagher 13. cercher
14. faremo 15. sar 16. potrai 17. dar 18. dovremo 19. berranno 20. vorr 21. verr
22. rimarrete 23. vedr 24. avrai 25. staranno 26. sapranno
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56
However, in the pluperfect tense, the auxiliary has to be in the imperfect tense. You will
probably need to revise this too.
Here is the imperfect tense of avere and essere to help you.
avevo
avevi
aveva
avevamo
avevate
avevano
ero
eri
era
eravamo
eravate
erano
Which one do you use? The rule here is the same as for the perfect tense. If a verb takes
avere in the perfect tense, then it takes avere in the pluperfect as well. If it takes essere in
the perfect tense, then it is the same for the pluperfect.
Here are some examples. Try to translate them into English and show your teacher.
You will see that past participles of verbs taking essere are once again treated like
adjectives:
avevo preparato
aveva detto
avevamo parlato
avevano capito
5.
6.
7.
8.
ero andato
Anna era partita
eravamo entrati
erano cresciute
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1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
(capire)
(dimenticare)
(arrivare)
(partire)
(preparare)
(vedere)
(decidere)
(andare)
You wont use the pluperfect very often but you must be able to recognise it and
its good to be able to use it in essays alongside the perfect and imperfect.
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Now try this exercise. If you dont understand something, ask your teacher.
Translate the sentences into English when you have added in the pluperfect .
57
ANSWER KEY
1. I had prepared 2. he/she had said 3. we had spoken/talked 4. they had understood
5. I had gone 6. Anna had left 7. we had entered/gone in 8. they had grown (up)
1. avevo capito 2. aveva dimenticato 3. erano arrivati 4. erano partite 5. avevi preparato
6. aveva visto/veduto 7. avevamo deciso 8. eravate andati/e
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59
TOWNS:
(a)
The vast majority of towns and cities all over the world retain their original spelling
in Italian, e.g. Glasgow, Belfast, San Francisco, Melbourne, Cairo. There is, however,
a significant number which have Italianised spellings; the following list is not a
complete one but includes the most important:
Londra, Dublino, Edimburgo, Parigi, Marsiglia, Nizza, Lione, Berlino, Monaco,
Francoforte, Amburgo, Zurigo, Stoccolma, Praga, Varsavia, Mosca, Atene, Lisbona,
Gerusalemme, Pechino, Tokio.
You should be able to recognise most of these (see your teacher about any you
dont know). Watch Monaco; this can mean both the Principality of Monaco in the
South of France as well as Munich in Germany. To tell the two apart Italians
sometimes refer to Munich as Monaco di Baviera (Baviera means Bavaria, the region
in Germany where Munich is situated).
The prepositions to, at and in are translated by a with the names of towns and
cities, e.g.
Io abito a Glasgow ma il mio amico abita a Dundee.
Questestate vado in vacanza a Parigi, poi a Nizza.
Ci sono tantissime cose da vedere a Londra.
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(b)
Most countries, regions and continents are feminine, e.g. lItalia, la Francia,
lInghilterra, la Scozia, la Germania, la Spagna; la Toscana, la Lombardia; lAsia,
lEuropa. A few, however are masculine, e.g. il Portogallo, il Giappone, il Canada, il
Messico, il Belgio, gli Stati Uniti, il Lazio, il Veneto. Note that the definite article is
used, and can change when combined with some prepositions, e.g.
LItalia un paese bellissimo; secondo me, la regione pi bella dellItalia la
Campania e la mia citt preferita della Campania Napoli.
(b)
The prepositions to and in are translated by in with the names of feminine countries,
regions and continents and by nel (or nell with vowels) with the names of masculine
countries, regions and continents. (Watch the United States: negli Stati Uniti.) Read
this example:
Nel corso della mia vita ho vissuto in Spagna, in Germania, nel Giappone, negli
Stati Uniti.
60
NATIONALITIES:
Nationalities act like normal adjectives, agreeing in number and gender (you may want
to revise this with your teacher). The only other thing you have to remember is that
nationalities begin with small letters. Read these examples:
A me piacciono i vini francesi
francesi, le birre tedesche
tedesche, e il whisky scozzese
scozzese.
A casa abbiamo un televisore giapponese
giapponese, una lavatrice italiana
italiana, due tappeti persiani
persiani,
tre vasi cinesi e un orologio svizzero
svizzero.
Make sure that you dont get confused between nationalities and the names of the
inhabitants of a country. Look at this example:
Gli abitanti dellItalia sono gli Italiani; quelli della Francia sono i Francesi; e quelli del
Canada sono i Canadesi.
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You will have noticed that when you refer to the inhabitant of a country you have to use
the correct part of the definite article and a capital letter. Otherwise the same words are
used to describe both nationalities and the inhabitants of a country.
Ex. 1:
Complete the following sentences with the correct towns and countries given below. You
might have to brush up on your geography to get them all correct!
I.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
61
Svizzera, Francia, Cairo, Londra, Mosca, Portogallo, Copenhagen, Lione, Roma, Vienna,
Oslo, Edimburgo, Berlino, Stoccolma, Australia, Stati Uniti, Germania, Toronto.
Ex. 2:
Fill in the gaps in the following sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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Ex. 1:
1. Londra 2. Edimburgo 3. Roma 4. Berlino 5. Mosca 6. Stoccolma
7. Svizzera 8. Australia 9. Portogallo 10. Stati Uniti 11. Francia
12. Germania 13. Copenhagen 14. Toronto 15. Cairo 16. Oslo 17. Lione
18. Vienna
62
Ex. 2:
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