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Greetings,and,Introductions,
SALUTI!E!PRESENTAZIONI!
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Basic!greetings!
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Ciao!(Hello%/%Goodbye)!! ! used!only!in!informal!situations!
!
Buongiorno!(Good%morning)!
Buonasera!(Good%evening)!! used!in!formal!and!informal!situations!
Buonanotte!(Good%night)!
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Arrivederci!(Goodbye)! ! used!in!formal!and!informal!situations!
ArrivederLa!(Goodbye)! ! used!only!in!formal!situations!
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A!domani!(See%you%tomorrow)! used!in!formal!and!informal!situations!
A!presto!(See%you%soon)!
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Ci!vediamo!(See%you)!!! used!only!in!informal!situations!
!
Say!who!you!are!and!ask!someone’s!name!
!
To!state!your!name!in!Italian!say:!
!
Mi!chiamo!…!
or!
Sono!…!
!
Buongiorno,!mi!chiamo!Mirella! Good%morning,%my%name%is%Mirella%
Sacchi.! Sacchi.%
Piacere.!Sono!Gianni!Rossi.! Nice%to%meet%you.%I%am%Gianni%Rossi.%
!
When!you!say!Mi!chiamo!you!are!literally!saying!“I%call%myself…”!!
“Sono”!literally!means!“I%am”.!You!may!add!the!subject!pronoun!Io!(I)!for!emphasis:!
!
% Io!mi!chiamo!Gianni!Rossi.! Io!sono!Gianni!Rossi.!
!
To!ask!for!someone’s!name!you!say:!
!
(a)!Come!si!chiama?!! or!(b)!Come!ti!chiami?!
!
Question!(a)!is!formal!and!question!(b)!is!informal.!!
You!should!use!the!formal!address!with!people!you!don’t!know!well!or!people!you!
know!well!but!to!whom!you!owe!respect!or!who!are!your!superiors!(i.e.!a!professor,!
your!boss,!anyone!in!a!position!of!authority).!

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You!should!use!the!informal!address!with!your!friends!and!relatives!and!with!
children.!Young!people!are!informal!among!themselves!even!if!they!don’t!know!each!
other!well.!Older!people!may!be!formal!among!themselves!even!if!they!have!known!
each!other!for!many!years.!
!
The!subject!pronoun!used!to!address!someone!formally!is!Lei!(generally!
capitalized).!The!subject!pronoun!used!to!address!someone!informally!is!tu.!Subject!
pronouns!are!used!generally!only!for!emphasis!or!to!avoid!misunderstandings.!
!
Tu'come'ti'chiami?!or!Come'ti'chiami?! !
Lei'come'si'chiama?!or!Come'si'chiama?!
!
In!formal'situations,!you!address!someone!by!her/his!last!name!preceded!by!the!
following:!
'
!
Signor' Mr.%
!
Signora' Mrs.%/%Ms.%
!
Signorina' Miss%
!
! Dottor' Doctor%(male)%
! Dottoressa' Doctor%(female)%
! Professor' Professor%(male)%
! Professoressa' Professor%(female)%
!
Please notice that "Signor", Dottor" and "Professor", when they are not followed by a proper
name, they become " Signore", "Dottore" and "Professore". Here’s!an!example!of!a!formal!exchange:! !

Signora!Sacchi:!! Buonasera,!mi'chiamo'Marta'Sacchi.'E!Lei'come'si'chiama?!
Good%evening,%my%name%is%Marta%Sacchi.%And%what%is%your%name?!!
!
Signor!Conti:!!! Buongiorno,'signora'Sacchi.'Mi'chiamo'Michele'Conti.!
Good%morning,%Mrs.%Sacchi.%My%name%is%Michele%Conti.%! !
!
Signora!Sacchi:!! Piacere,'signor'Conti!!
Pleased%to%meet%you,%Mr.%Conti!!
!
Signor!Conti:!!! Molto'piacere!!
Very%pleased%to%meet%you!!
!
! ! !
Signora!Sacchi:!! ArrivederLa.!
! Goodbye%

!Signor!Conti:!!!
! ! ArrivederLa.!
Goodbye!

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Here’s!an!example!of!an!informal!exchange:!
!
Gianni:!Ciao,!mi&chiamo&Gianni,&e&tu?&&
Hello,%my%name%is%Gianni,%and%yours?%
!
Mirella:!Sono&Mirella.&Piacere,&Gianni.!
I%am%Mirella.%Pleased%to%meet%you,%Gianni.%
!
Gianni:!Molto&piacere!!
Very%pleased%to%meet%you!%
!
Mirella:!Arrivederci.!
Goodbye%
!
Gianni:!Ciao,&Mirella!!!
Goodbye,%Mirella!%
&
Say&how&you&are:&formal&and&informal&ways(
!
To!ask!“How%are%you?”!Italians!use!the!verb!stare,!which!literally!means!“to%stay”.!
!
! Come&stai?&& How%are%you%(s.)?%(informal)&&
% %
! Come&sta?& How%are%you%(s.)?%(formal)!
%
! Come&va?& How%is%it%going?%(informal)!
!
Possible!answers!are:!!
!
! Sto&molto&bene.& I%am%very%well.%
! Molto&bene.& % Very%well.& %
! Sto&bene.& I%am%fine.%
! Bene.& % Fine.&
! Sto&abbastanza&bene.& I%am%quite%well.%
! Abbastanza&bene.% Quite%well.%
! Così&così.& So%so.%
! Non&c’è&male.& Not%bad.%
!
Here’s!is!a!sample!of!a!“mixed”!conversation!(formal!and!informal):!
!
Buongiorno,!professoressa!Verdi,&come& Good%morning,%Professor%Verdi,%how%are%
sta?& you?%
Molto&bene,&grazie.&E!tu,!Emilia,!come& Very%well,%thank%you.%And%you,%Emilia,%
stai?& how%are%you?%
Bene,&grazie.& Fine,%thank%you.%
Ciao,&Emilia,!a!presto.& Bye,%Emilia,%see%you%soon.%
ArrivederLa,&professoressa!Verdi!& Goodbye,%Professor%Verdi.%

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Here’s!a!sample!of!an!informal!conversation:!
!
Ciao,!Giovanna,!come!va?!
Non!c’è!male,!grazie,!e!tu!come!
stai?!
Abbastanza!bene,!grazie.!!
Ora!devo!andare.!
Ci!vediamo,!Giovanna.!
A!domani,!Renata!!
Hi,%Giovanna,%how%is%it%going?% !
Not%bad,%thank%you,%and%how%are%
you?%
Quite%well,%thank%you.%
Now%I%must%go.%
See%you,%Giovanna.%
See%you%tomorrow,%Renata!%

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