Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Italian is not only spoken in Italy (Italia) and its islands. It is also spoken in Switzerland (Svizzera) although there are
more speakers of German and French there. There are large Italian communities in the USA (Stati Uniti) and Canada
(Canada).
Italian alphabet
The Italian alphabet is a variant of the Latin alphabet used by the Italian language. The standard
contemporary Italian alphabet has 21 letters, shown in the table below.
A, a a N, n enne
B, b bi O, o o
C, c ci P, p pi
D, d di Q, q cu
E, e e R, r erre
F, f effe S, s esse
G, g gi T, t ti
H, h acca U, u u
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I, i i V, v vu or vi
L, l elle Z, z zeta
emm
M, m
e
In Italian, the alphabet is the same as for English, except that J, K, W, X , and Y are not used. These letters appear in
some Italian words of foreign origin, however.
Vowels
Vowel Groups:
• Strong vowels: a, e, o
• Weak vowels: i, u
STRESS
Every Italian word has one syllable which is more strongly stressed than others. The general rule throughout the
language is that this stronger stress is given to the syllable before the last. Some dictionaries provide indication of
this stress. Thus: fratello, brother: e is stressed. Caro, dear: a is stressed. Parola, word: o is stressed. This rule
embraces the majority of words in the language. But there are two groups of exceptions:
1) words in which the last syllable is stressed, and this is indicated by the grave accent (`) - bontả,
goodness; attivitả, activity; and
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2) a large group in which the stress is given to a syllable other than either the last syllable or syllable
before the last. Again, some dictionaries provide indication of this stress. We shall indicate the stress in
words of this group by printing the stressed vowel in italic type. Thus: ultimo: u is stressed. Similarly:
perdere, to lose umido, moist, humid
Note: The learner must memorize the stress with every new word, pronouncing it aloud several times until word and
stress are known as a whole.
Pronunciation of Consonants: Italian consonants are pronounced as in English with the following exceptions: C, G, H,
R, S, Z, and certain combinations which will be given below:
c before e and i is pronounced like the English ch in church, cheap. Thus: cittả, city; centro, center
cc before e and i is pronounced like a double ch in English. Thus: accento, accent = ach-chệnto.
g before e and i is pronounced like English j in jam, or soft g in gem. Thus gelo, frost = jaylo
gg before e and i is a similar sound but more clearly made, as if it were our dj. Thus: oggi, today = od-jee
gl has two ways of being pronounced. When it precedes a,e,o,u, it is always pronounced as a guttural g (or
hard) as in English: gladiatore, gladiator; gloria, glory . It has instead a sound very similar to lli followed by a vowel
like millions, billiards. Thus: egli, he, gli, to him = aylyee, lyee.
gn is like our ni in union, onion and is equivalent to Spanish ň, in Seňor. Thus: incognito, unknown =
eencony’eeto; bagno, bath = bahnyo
gu is always pronounced like English gw. Thus: guerra, war =gwerra; guida, guide = gweeda
h is always silent in Italian. Thus: ho, hai, ha, I have, you have, she/he has = oh, ai, ah.
r is well trilled and pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth. Thus: raro, rare
=rrarrho.
Unvoiced (when it is at the beginning of a word followed by a vowel) as in soap – sera, sano, passo
Voiced (in front of any other consonants at the beginning) as in rose- svaglio, snello
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sc before e and i is pronounced like English sh in ship, but before a, o, u is like our sk. Thus: scena, scene
=shayna; scelta, choice =shaylta; scusare = to excuse = skoosahrey.
sch is always pronounced hard like sch in school. Thus: schiavo, slave = skeeah’vo.
z at the beginning of a word usually sounds like dz in adze. Thus: zero, zero = dzayro; zelo, zeal = dzaylo.
Otherwise it is pronounced like ts in bits. Thus: scienza, science = sheentsa.
zz is generally pronounced like ts in bits. Thus: bellezza, beauty = bellaytsa. But in the following words, the
double zz is pronounced like dz: Mezzo, half, middle: dozzina, ; analizzare, to analyse
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Abbastanza bene. Così così. Sì / No
ah-bah-stahn-tsah beh-neh koh-zee koh-zee see / noh
Pretty good. So so. Yes / No
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Dov'è / Dove sono...? Ecco... C'è / Ci sono...
doh-veh / doh-veh soh-noh eh-koh cheh / chee soh-noh
Where is / Where are... ? Here is / Here are... There is / There are...
Notice that Italian has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one
meaning to "you" in Italian (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to
close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met,
do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is
also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person.
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Also, the words pazzo and zitto refer to men. If you are talking to a woman, use pazza and zitta. If you are
talking to more than one person (all men, or a group of men and women), use pazzi and zitti. If you are
talking to more than one person (all women), use pazze and zitte.
PADRE NOSTRO
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Dacci oggi in nostro pane quotidiano,
CARDINALS: The cardinal numbers are invariable except uno, one, which changes to una in the feminine. It is the
same when used to form a compound number as in ventuno, twenty one. Note that the i of venti is dropped when a
compound is formed, but the i is resumed in ventidue, ventitre, etc.
Mille, thousand, changes to Mila in numbers above 1,000: duemila, 2,000, tre mila, 3,000, etc. Milione, million,
changes to Milioni: un milione, due milioni.
The words cento, hundred, and Mille, thousand, do not require the article.
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Lunedì, MONDAY
Martedi, Tuesday
Mercoledi, Wednesday
Giovedi, Thursday
Venerdi, Friday
Sabato, Saturday
Domenica, Sunday
Seasons
La stagione, season
L’estate, summer
L’inverno, winter,
La primavera, spring
L’autunno, autumn
Vocabularies: il giorno, day; il pomerriggio, afternoon; la notte, night; domani, tomorrow; il mattino, morning; la sera,
evening, oggi, today; ieri, yesterday; la settimana scorsa, last week; la prossima settimana, next week
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I. THE NOUNS - I NOMI
Italian nouns are divided into two genders: masculine and feminine.
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.
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.
N.B. THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE SET OF RULES: THERE ARE SOME IRREGULAR NOUNS WHICH
ARE NOT DEALT WITH HERE. LEARN THEM AS YOU MEET THEM!
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
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singular plural
l'uomo (man) gli uomini
la moglie (wife)
I. THE ARTICLES-L’ARTICOLI
If the feminine noun is singular, use LA (or abbreviate it to L'if the noun begins with a vowel). If the feminine
noun is plural use LE and never abbreviate it, even if the noun begins with a vowel. For example:
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
There is only one word for "the" for feminine nouns, but before a masculine noun you need to choose
between IL and LO. You make the choice depending on how the masculine noun begins. You should find
that you choose IL most of the time. Here are the rules:
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:
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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.
The word for “a” before a feminine noun is una which can be abbreviated to un' if the noun begins with a
vowel.
The usual word is un which is used before all masculine nouns (including those which begin with a vowel)
except those which begin with z or s impure. Study the following table which should explain it all.
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
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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.
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. 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
This is the grammatical name for the English word "some" or "any".
There are several ways that this can be translated into Italian but you must master the first method so that
you can use the two irregular adjectives bello and quello which follow the same pattern.
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.
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masc. sing. fem. sing. masc. plur. fem. plur.
Definite Article Il lo l' la l' i gli le
Partitive Article Del dello dell' della dell' dei degli delle
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 5 Here is a shopping list; translate the items into Italian. (Use a dictionary for the nouns)
Exercise 6 Use a dictionary to help you translate these sentence into Italian, using the correct part of del.
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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]
e.g. I didn't prepare any special dishes = Non ho preparato nessun piatto speciale.
I don't have any idea = Non ho nessun'idea.
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!
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3. I met some nice people = Ho conosciuto ___________ persone simpatiche.
4. There were some long tables = C'erano ________ lunghi tavoli.
5. On the tables there were some bottles of beer = Sui tavoli c'era _________ bottiglia di birra.
6. There were also a few plates of cheese. = C'erano anche ________ piatti di formaggio.
7. There wasn't any more sparkling wine nor any brandy. = Non c'era più _______ spumante e
neanche ______ cognac.
8. I drank a few glasses of red wine = Ho bevuto _______ bicchiere di vino rosso.
9. I ate some salad, and some olives = Ho mangiato _______ insalata e ________ olive.
10. Maria left with some students. = Maria è partita con ________ studenti.
regular adjectives
irregular adjectives
possessive adjectives
comparative and superlative 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.
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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:
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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
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:
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buon or buono (masc. sing.) buona (fem. sing.)
buoni (masc. plur.) buone (fem. plur.)
Use the form buon where you would use the indefinite article un — i.e. before a masculine noun beginning
with a vowel or consonant or most groups of consonants BUT
use buono where you would use the indefinite article uno — i.e. before a masculine noun beginning with z
or s+consonant.
You'll see that the rest of this adjective is normal.
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:
IMPORTANT RULE: In Italian you must put the definite article in front of these adjectives. Make yourself
familiar with the table below:
Singular Plural
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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
Very basically, “comparative” adjectives are words like “taller”, older”, “more intelligent”.
In Italian there is no equivalent to the English suffixes -er and -est; instead, Italian uses the adverb più =
more.
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COMPARATIVES: — Comparative of Inequality:
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:
This is when you say something like “Edinburgh is as lively as Glasgow”, or “Hearts are as good as Hibs”
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.
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Some examples should make this clear. Read carefully the following English sentences and their
translation into Italian:
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:
However, you can also say più buono and il più buono and buonissimo, and similarly with the others in the
table.
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”.
IV. PREPOSITIONS
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.
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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
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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:
Abito a Edimburgo = I live in Edinburgh [use a if you are referring to a town, otherwise use in]
C'è un programma alla televisione = There is a programme on television.
Non è possibile andare a piedi = It's not possible to go on foot.
Passo le vacanze al mare = I spend my holidays at the seaside.
Vorrei andare all'estero = I would like to go abroad.
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.
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C'era una festa da Franco. = There was a party at Franco's house.
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
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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.:
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incapace di ... incapable of
sicuro di sure of ...
soddisfatto di satisfied to ...
spiacente di sorry to ...
stanco di tired of ...
triste di sad to ...
BASTA ADESSO!
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V. THE PARTITIVE ARTICLE- IL PARTITIVO
This is the grammatical name for the English word "some" or "any".
There are several ways that this can be translated into Italian but you must master the first method so that
you can use the two irregular adjectives bello and quello which follow the same pattern.
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.
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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]
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6 nessun ; nessuno ; nessuna ; nessun' = not any [double negative! sing.only]
e.g. I didn't prepare any special dishes = Non ho preparato nessun piatto speciale.
I don't have any idea = Non ho nessun'idea.
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!
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).
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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:
In English this tense looks like "he runs", "they live", "she is working", "we are talking"
These four examples all have pronouns — he, they, she, we, but in Italian the pronouns are not necessary
because the verb always has an ending to indicate what personal pronoun we want. the four English
examples above would each be one single word in Italian.
Italian does have personal pronouns; you won't see them very often, but here they are:
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.
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2nd pers. sing. you parli scrivi dormi capisci
3rd pers. sing. he, she, it parla scrive dorme capisce
1st pers. plur. we parliamo scriviamo dormiamo capiamo
2nd pers. plur. you parlate scrivete dormite capite
3rd pers. plur. they parlano scrivono dormono capiscono
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.
essere = to venire = to
avere = to have uscire = to go out andare = to go dare = to give
be come
ho sono vengo esco vado do
hai sei vieni esci vai dai
ha è viene esce va dà
abbiamo siamo veniamo usciamo andiamo diamo
avete siete venite uscite andate date
hanno sono vengono escono vanno danno
The future tense in English is a compound (i.e. more than a single word) tense, made with the auxiliary
verbs "shall" and "will".
In Italian, the future tense is a simple (i.e. single word) tense, made by adding six ending to the present
infinitive:
singular plural
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-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.
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
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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
andrem darem farem starem saprem dovrem potrem vorrem vedrem verrem
o o o o o o o o o o
andrete darete farete starete saprete dovrete potrete vorrete vedrete verrete
andran daran faran staran sapran dovran potran vorran vedran verran
no no no no no no no no no no
Apart from the verb essere, only two verbs, volere and venire, are awkward and need careful attention.
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 would... -ebbero = they 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
andrebb darebb farebb starebb saprebb dovrebb potrebb vorrebb vedrebb verrebb
e e e e e e e e e e
andrem darem farem starem saprem dovrem potrem vorrem vedrem verrem
mo mo mo mo mo mo mo mo mo mo
andrest darest starest saprest dovrest potrest vorrest vedrest verrest
fareste
e e e e e e e e e
andrebb darebb farebb starebb saprebb dovrebb potrebb vorrebb vedrebb verrebb
ero ero ero ero ero ero ero ero ero ero
So, once you have learned how this mood is formed,you need to be clear about when it is used. Here is a
list:
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1. to express wishes, hopes, desires, aspirations:
3. to express doubt:
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:
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1. Sandra could learn Italian but she's too lazy.
Sandra potrebbe imparare l'italiano me è troppo pigra.
In English the equivalent tense/mood is made with the auxiliaries would have: e.g.—
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.
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She said yesterday that she would come.
Lei ha detto ieri che sarebbe venuta.
I knew that it would be difficult.
Ho saputo che sarebbe stato difficile.
My father promised that he would buy me a car for my birthday.
Mio padre ha promesso che mi avrebbe comprato una macchina per il mio compleanno.
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.
1. This is a compound tense — i.e. composed of two words — auxiliary verb and past participle.
2. This tense corresponds to two different tenses in English:
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:
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Present Infinitive Past Participle
parlare parlato
vedere veduto
finire finito
So, to say in Italian "I have finished" you say Ho (I have) finito (finished); if you want to say "I finished" it is
also Ho finito.
It is important that you understand that you can only make the past tense in Italian in two words — auxiliary
verb and a past participle. Here is the full past tense of the verb vedere (to see) :
ho veduto I saw; I have seen abbiamo veduto we saw; we have seen
hai veduto you saw; you have seen avete veduto you saw; you have seen
ha veduto he/she saw; has seen hanno veduto they saw; they have seen
Note that the past participle does not change when the auxiliary verb is avere.
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!
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vincere to win vinto
vivere to live vissuto
You will see that the verb vedere (to see) has two past participles: veduto and visto; choose whichever you
like.
Intransitive verbs (usually verbs of motion) and all the reflexive verbs require essere as the auxiliary verb,
not avere. This means that you use the present tense of essere and the past participle.
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.
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]
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2. Maria has gone to the cinema.
3. The guests left this morning.
4. The girls got up very early.
5. Franco got dressed in a hurry.
6. The children fell asleep.
7. Giuliana has been in Florence on holiday.
8. The others arrived two hours ago.
9. She went out and got into the car.
10. The boys have gone home.
In Italian the imperfect tense is a simple (i.e. a single word) past tense for describing repeated actions in
the past or conditions that last for an indefinite time or for descriptions in the past.
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!
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parlavano scrivevano dormivano
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:
fare [facere] dire [dicere] bere [bevere] porre [ponere] -durre [ducere]
facevo dicevo bevevo ponevo -ducevo
facevi dicevi bevevi ponevi -ducevi
faceva diceva beveva poneva -duceva
facevamo dicevamo bevevamo ponevamo -ducevamo
facevate dicevate bevevate ponevate -ducevate
facevano dicevano bevevano ponevano -ducevano
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:
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"The policeman asked me where Stefano lived, but I didn't know
= Il poliziotto mi ha chiesto dove abitava Stefano, ma non lo sapevo.
Usually if you want to say "I didn't know", you say "non ho saputo". (past tense).
In English this is a compound tense using the auxiliary "had" and a past participle.
In Italian this is a compound tense (i.e. two words) using the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb avere or
essere and the past participle of the verb.
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:
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Exercise 2. Translate these sentences into Italian:
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.
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
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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
preoccuparsi to be worried
accorgersi to be aware of; 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.
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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.
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.:
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
preoccuparsi to be worried
accorgersi to be aware of; 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:
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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.
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This is the form of the verb which is used to give orders, commands or requests.
For example:
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.
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sing. va' da' fa' sta' di'
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.:
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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!
Verbs can be active or passive voice. This means that when the subject of the verb performs the action of
the verb, we say that the verb is in the active voice. A verb is in the passive voice if the subject has the
action of the verb done to it, e.g.:
Active Voice = Calvino is writing a book = Calvino scrive un libro.
Passive Voice = The book is written by Calvino = Il libro è scritto da Calvino
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.:
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conditional: molte informazioni sarebbero date dal professore.
a lot of information would be given by the teacher.
N.B. The verb venire can be used instead of essere in the present, future, imperfect and conditional, e.g.:
Although the passive voice is available as outlined above, a very neat way to create it is by using the
pronoun si with the third person of the active voice of the verb. This construction is called si passivante.
This is how to use it:
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
IMPERSONAL VERBS
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
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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.
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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.
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siate abbiate foste Aveste
siano abbiano fossero Avessero
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
è possibile/impossibile
occorre che ... it is necessary that .... it is possible/impossible that
che ...
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.:
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3. I went to the bank in order to change money.
= Sono andato alla banca per cambiare soldi.
SECTION 5: USE IT after the conjunction “prima che”to translate “before” if the subjects of the two clauses
are different, e.g.:
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use prima di + infinitive, e.g.:
SECTION 6: USE IT after the conjunction “senza che”to translate “without” if the subjects of the two
clauses are different, 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.:
SECTION 7: USE IT with the structure“non vedo l'ora che”to translate “I can't wait; I am looking forward to”
if the subjects of the two clauses are different, e.g.:
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2. I couldn't wait for the phone to ring.
= Non vedevo l'ora che il telefono squillasse.
But DON'T USE IT if you want an infinitive; instead, use non vedo l'ora + 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
In Italian there are four types of pronouns; they sometimes have horrendous technical names but they are
quite easy. They are given below with their grammatical names and a translation into English.
mi me ci us
ti you vi you
lo him li them (masc.)
la her le them (fem.)
La you (formal) Le you (formal
These pronouns are the direct object of the verb. They are used as follows:
1. They stand immediately before the verb or the auxiliary verb in the compound tenses. See exercise
3 about perfect tense!
2. They are attached to the end of an infinitive to form one word. (N.B. the final -e of the infinitive is
dropped), e.g. volevo comprarla = I wanted to buy it.
3. They are always attached to the word ecco, e.g. eccola! = Here she is!
4. The pronouns lo and la are often shortened to l'.
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Exercise 1. Translate these sentences into English:
1. Non ti capisco.
2. Maria è un' amica; la vedo ogni giorno.
3. Chi è quel ragazzo? Lo conosci?
4. Ti vedrò domani.
5. Perché ci guardano così?
6. Ti amo molto.
7. Dov'è Maria; vorrei vederla.
8. Il francese è troppo difficile; è impossibile capirlo.
9. Dove sono i miei occhiali? non li trovo.
10. La pasta è molto buona, ma non la mangio mai.
There is one area where learners often find difficulty and that is when using pronouns with verbs in the
perfect tense. At the top of the page you were told that these pronoun are put in front of the auxiliary verb
but there is another thing for you to remember: the past participle agrees with the pronoun. this only
happens with the direct object pronouns. If you have studied French, you will know that the same thing
happens in French. The following examples will illustrate the point:
1. I have invited them to dinner = Li ho invitati a cena. [invitati agrees with li]
2. I saw her yesterday = L'ho veduta ieri. [veduta agress with la which has been shortened to l']
3. They watched us and followed us. = Ci hanno guardati e ci hanno seguiti [guardati and seguiti
agree with ci]
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5. Che belle scarpe! Grazie, le ho comprate a Roma.
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
Le Loro to you (formal)
(formal)
Rules:
1. Like all pronouns, the Indirect Object Pronouns stand before the verb, or before the auxiliary in
compound tenses, but there is one exception: the pronoun loro always follows the verb. e.g.:
Suo padre gli ha comprato una macchina = His father bought him a car.
Il professore non le fa mai domande difficili = The teacher never asks her difficult questions.
but, Chiedo loro dove sono stati = I am asking them where they have been.
In the last example you could also say: Gli chiedo dove sono stati.
2. They are attached to the end of the infinitive, the gerundio, and the imperative, forming one word.
e.g.
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Non ho voluto darle il mio numero telefonico = I didn't want to give her my telephone number.
Sua madre ha cercato di scrivergli = His mother tried to write to him.
Be very sure that you understand in English the distinction between direct and indirect objects or you will
never understand the difference in the Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns.
Put very simply, the direct object is governed directly by the verb, e.g. Romeo loved her.
The Indirect Object in an English sentence often stands where you would expect the direct object but
common sense will tell you that the direct object is later in the sentence, e.g.:
Romeo bought her a bunch of flowers .
The direct object — i.e. the thing that Romeo bought is “a bunch of flowers”; Romeo didn't buy “her” as if
she were a slave. So the pronoun her in the sentence actually means "for her" and is the Indirect Object.
If this is unclear, get yourself a book of English grammar; I'm trying to teach you Italian!
Certain verbs, which take a direct object in English, take and Indirect Object Pronoun in Italian. Learn them
now!
chiedere to ask
consigliare to advise
dire to say
domandare to ask
insegnare to teach
parlare to speak
rispondere to answer
somigliare to resemble; look like
telefonare to telephone.
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To check your answers click here.
3 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS:
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.
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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
preoccuparsi to be worried
accorgersi to be aware of; 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.
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1. Ogni mattina mia madre si alza alle sette.
2. Ieri mi sono svegliato molto presto.
3. La festa era orrenda; mi sono annoiato molto.
4. Prima di vestirti, Franco, devi lavarti la faccia.
5. Gina si era già lavata i denti.
6. Se tu prendi la macchina, papà si arrabbierà.
7. Avevo paura di sbagliarmi.
8. Luigi si annoia perché non c'è niente da fare.
9. Ci siamo divertiti alla festa.
10. Il treno, avvicinandosi alla stazione, si è fermato all'improvviso.
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.
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4 DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS (used after prepositions)
1. from me to you
2. in front of them
3. beside us
4. near her
5. with him
6. for me
7. far from them
8. without you
9. at my house
10. at our place
This pronoun is very idiomatic. Spend a little time with it and try to master it, especially if you are doing
Higher Writing.
Rules:
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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.:
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:
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1. Ti sei accorto di quanto costava la macchina? — Sì, me ne sono accorto.
= Did you notice how much the car cost? — Yes, I noticed (it).
2. A che ora tuo marito è uscito dall'ufficio? — Ne è uscito alle sette e mezzo.
= What time did your husband leave the office? He left it at 7.30.
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:
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.
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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 (himself/herself) se lo se la se li se le se ne
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
ADVERBS indicate time, place, manner or quantity; unlike adjectives, they are invariable and can modify
verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
Here are some common adverbs which you should know as items of vocabulary. Learn them:
Many adverbs can be made from adjectives by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine form of the
adjective as shown below:
ADJECTIVE ADVERB
vero true veramente truly
chiaro clear chiaramente clearly
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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
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.
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