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IMPORTED - Cortina Conversational Italian in 20 Lessons
IMPORTED - Cortina Conversational Italian in 20 Lessons
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CO
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SATI
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T T A L
IN 20 L
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Cortina Me
thod B
ooks
F REN CH IN 20 LEssSONS
SPANISH IN 20 LEssoNns
G ER MAN IN 20 LEssoNS
ÎTALIAN IN 20 LESSONS
AMERICAN ENGLISH IN 20 LESsSONS
MODE RN GREEXK IN 20 LESsSONS
RUSSIAN IN 20 LEssoNS
INGLÉS EN 20 LECCIONES
FRANCÉS EN 20 LECCIONES
INGLÉS EmM 20 LigòEs
CONVERSATIONAL BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE
CONVERSATIONAL JAPANESE
SPANISH CONVERS
ATIONAL GUIDE
SPANISH IN SPANISH
FRANGCAIS EN FRANGCAIS
ENGLISH IN ENGLISH
DeEuTsScH AuF DeUTsScCH
ITALIANO IN ITALIAN O
CONV
ERSA
TIONAL
I T A L
IN 20 L
I
E
A
SS
N
ONS
ILLUSTRATED
Intended for self-study and for use in schools
With a Simplified System of Phonetic Pronunciation
R. DIEZ DE LA C
ORTI
NA
UNI VERSITIES OF MADRI
DA NDB ORDEAUX
AUTHOR OF T HEC ORTINAM ETHO
D
R
OIGINATOR OF T HEP HONO GRAPHICM ETHOD OF
TEACHINGL ANGUAGES.
By
MICHAELC AGNO
S
É
An Ow1l Book
HEN
RYHOLTA ND C OM
PAN
Y
New York
è
C
LI
O0
E
n
Copyright © 1954, 1977
by Cortina Learning International, Inc.
AIl Rights Reserved
Cataloging Information
Cortina Method Italian in 20 Lessons, intended for self-study and for use in
schools; with a simplified system of phonetic pronunciation, by Michael
Cagno, based on the method of R. Diez de la Cortina. N ew York, R. D.
Cortina Co., 1977.
336 p. illus. 21 cm.
1. Italian lan g uage—Co nvers
atio
n and phrase books. 2. Italian
languag e- —Gramma r . 1. Title.
PC1112.5.C3 1977 458.242 54-14366
ISBN 0-8327-0005-3 (hardbound)
ISBN 0-8327-0013-4 (paperback)
Introduction
Preface
How to Study
Guide to Italian Pronunciation 19
ELEV
ENT
H LESSON About the We
a t
her
Vocabularies 104
Conversation 106
TABLE OF CONTENTS 13
PAGE
TWELFTH LESSON The Tailor * The Dressmaker * Fashion
Vocabularies 112
Conversation 114
Dialogues
SEVENTEENTH LESSON Inthe Home o} Friends in
Naples 152
THE ART
ICLE
#] The Definite Article 199
$82 Special Uses of the Definite Article 200
$3 Omission of the Definite Article 201
84 ‘The Indefinite Article 202
$85 Omission of the Indefinite Article 203
$86 ‘The Contractions 203
T
HE NOUN
T
HE ADJECTIVE
PAGE
$12 pPlural of Adjectives 214
$818 Demonstrative Adjectives 214
$814 Indefinite Adjectives 215
$815 Interrogative Adjectives 215
$16 The Possessive Adjectives 216
$817 Comparison of Adjectives 219
$818 Some Irregular Adjectives 223
THE PRONOUN
819 Personal Subject Pronouns 224
820 Direct Object Pronouns 225
821 Indirect Object Pronouns 226
822 Disjunctive Pronouns 227
$23 Interrogative Pronouns 228
824 Relative Pronouns 229
$25 Demonstrative Pronouns 231
826 Indefinite Pronouns 231
$827 Possessive Pronouns 232
828 Reflexive Pronouns 232
829 The Double Pronouns 233
THE ADVERB
830 Classes of Adverbs 234
831 Formation of Adverbs 236
832 Comparison of Adverbs 236
THE PR
EPOS
ITIO
N
833 The Preposition a 237
834 The Preposition da 239
$ 35 ‘The Prep
Position di 241
16 THE CORTINA METHOD
PAGE
THE CONJUNCTION
THE INTE
RJECTION
T
HE V
ERB
841 The Transitive Verbs 246
842 The Intransitive Verbs 246
843 The Infinitive 247
844 The Gerund 249
845 The Participle 249
846 The Conjugation of Verbs 251
847 Conjugation of the Verbs Essere and Avere 251
848 The First Conjugation 256
849 The Second Conjugation 259
850 The Third Conjugation 261
851 Verbs with the Auxiliary Essere 264
852 The Reflexive Verbs 266
853 Impersonal Verbs 268
854 ‘The Present Indicative Tense 269
855 The Present Perfect "Tense 269
856 The Past Definite Tense 270
857 ‘The Past Anterior Tense 271
$58 ‘The Imperfect Indicative T'ense 271
859 The Pluperfect Indicative Tense 2 72
TABLE OF CONTENTS 17
PAGE
Dictionaries
The Vowels
Vowels in Italian are pronounced fully and distinctly, and are
never slurred.
ITALIAN PHONETIC
SPELLING SOUND ITALIAN EXAMPL
E SYMBOL
a Like the a in far. scala (skAH-lah) stairs ah
e Like the e in let, but slight- pera (reH-rah) pear ech
ly towards the a of ate.
19
20 THE CORTINA METHOD
ÎTALIAN PHONETIC
SPELLING SOUND JTALIAN EXAMPLE SyYMBOL
i Like the i of machine. amico (ah-MEE-koh) friend ee
o Like the o of fort. porto (roHr-toh) port oh
u Like the o0 in fool. muto (mMoo-toh) mute 00
The Consonants
As in English. basta (BAH-stah) enough
o
w
1. Before a, o, and u, hard, cane (kAH-neh) dog
like &, as in cat. .
2. Before e and i, soft, like cena (cHEH-nah) supper
&
ch, as in chin.
Occurs only before e or i, anche (AHN-keh) also
w
to harden the c into a à
sound.
NoTE: When chi is followed chiave (KyYAH-veh) key
by a vowel, the i is pro-
nounced like a very light
), as in cute, cure.
As in English, but with the dove (DoH-veh) where
tongue touching the up-
per teeth.
As in English. fine (FrE-neh) end
1. Before a, o, and u, hard, gamba (canm-bah) leg
as in game, go.
2. Before e and i, soft, as gelo (JEH-loh) frost
tanie
in gentle, gem.
Occurs only before e and i, righe (reE-geh) rulers
to harden the g.
NoTtE: Wh en ghi is followed ghiotto (GyoHT-toh)
by a vowel, the i is pro- glutton
nounced like a very light
ITALIAN PHONETIC
SPELLING SoUND ÎTALIAN EXAMPLE SYMBOL
[y] Does not exist in the Italian
alphabet.
z 1. Unvoiced, like the ts in stanza (sTAHN-tsah) room ts
pots.
2. Voiced, like the ds in pranzo (rrAHN-dzoh) dz
buds. dinner
Diphthongs
A diphthong is a combination of two vowels pronounced as one
syllable. There are three classes of diphthongs in Italian:
A. ‘Those in which the first of the two vowels is stressed. We shall
separate the two vowels by an apostrophe as a reminder that they
are to be pronounced in one breath, without a break, even though the
sound of the first vowel is stronger than the second:
ai Similar to the i of high. parlai (pahr-LAH'y) I spoke AH'Y
ao Say ‘“ah” and elide it to an Paolo (raH'oh-loh) Paul AH'oh
‘“oh” sound.
au Similar to the “ow"” of cow. cauto (kAH’oo-toh) cautious AH'’0O
e2a No English equivalent. À idea (ee-DEH'ah) idea EH’ah
com bi
nation of ek and
ah.
Like the ay in day. lei (LAY) you
No English equivalent. A ebreo (ech-BREH’oh) Hebrew EH'oh
combination of eh and
oh.
cu No English equivalent. A neutro (NEH’oo-troh)
co
mbin
ation of ek and neuter
long oo.
ia No English equivalent. A mia (MEE'ah) my
combination of ee and ah.
No English equivalent. A bugie (boo-JEE'eh) lies
combination of ee and eh.
No English equivalent. finii (fee-NEE'y) 1 finished
Like a d
raw
n-o
ut ee
sound.
No English equivalent. A Dio (vEE'oh) God EF’oh
com bination of ee and
oh.
DIPHTHONGS 23
ÎTALIAN PHONETIC
SPELLING SOUND ÎTALIAN EXAMPLE SYMBOL
0e No English equivalent. A eroe (eh-roH'eh) hero or'eh
combination of oh and
eh.
oi Similar to the o0y of boy. noi (NoyY) we - OoY
ua No English equivalent. A sua (soo’ah) his, her oo0’ah
combination of long oo
and ah.
ue No English equivalent. A due (boo'eh) two oo'eh
combination of long oo
and eh.
ui Similar to the ewy of chewy, fui (r00'y) I was 00'y
but without the “w”
sound.
uo No English equivalent. A duo (poo'oh) duet oo'oh
combination of long oo
and oh. ,
Triphthongs
A triphthong is a combination of three vowels pronounced as one
syllable.
iei A. combination of initial > miei (M'YAY) my "YAY
and ay.
uoi A combination of w and oy. tuoi (Twox) your WOY
Double Consonants
Double consonants in Italian have a stronger sound than single
consonants. In our phonetic transcription, the first of the double
consonants is written at the end of the preceding syllable. Examples:
pena (rEH-nah) pain; penna (PEHN-nah) pen
Caro (kAH-roh) dear; Carro (KAHR-roh) car, cart
Accent
In Italian the accented syllable is usually the next to the last one,
called the penult:
tesoro (teh-zoH-roh) treasure
trovare (troh-vaH-reh) to find
However, there are many words which do not follow this rule. Some
words are accented on the final syllable, in which case they usually take
a grave accent (‘) on the vowel of that syllable:
facoltà (fah-kohl-TAH) pietà (pyeh-TAH) pity
Vocabularies and
Conversations
i '
W
o
i
NL
C
ONV
ERS
ATI
ON
1 lIo desidero ...
2 Che desidera,!’ signore?
3 Io desidero parlare" italiano.
4 Chi desidera parlare italiano?
5 Egli desidera parlare italiano.
PRONUNCIATION TR
ANSLATION
1 rg'oh deh-zer-deh-roh... Iwish...
2 keh deh-zere-deh-rah, see-N°YOH- What do you wish, sir?
reh?
3 Eg'oh deh-zeE-deh-roh pahr-LAH- I wish to speak Italian.
reh ee-tah-LyAH-noh.
4 KEE deh-zee-deh-rah pahr-LAH- Who wishes to speak Italian?
reh ee-tah-LyAH-noh?
5 En-l’yee deh-zee-deh-rah pahr- He wishes to speak Italian.
LAH-Teh ee-tah-LyYAH-noh.
6 LAay deh-zee-deh-rah pahr-LAH-reh Do you wish to speak the English
lah LEEN-gwah een-GLEH-zeh? language?
7 sEE, see-N'yOH-reh, EE’oh deh-zEE- Yes, sir, 1 wish to speakK it.
deh-roh pahr-LAHR-lah.
8 PpaHR-lah Lay frahn-cHeH-zeh? Do you speak French?
9 gE'oh rAHR-loh ee-tah-LyAH-noh I speak Italian and French also.
eh AHN-keh frahn-cHEH-zeh.
10 deh-zee-deh-rah LAY pahr-LAHR- Do you wish to speak to me in
mee een ee-tah-LyAH-noh? Italian?
11 gr'oh deh-zee-deh-roh mMomnL-toh I want very much to speak to you,
pahr-LAHR-leh, mah Eg'oh nohn butll don't speak ltalian very
PAHR-loh ee-tah-LYAH-noh MOHL- well.
toh BeH-neh.
12 lay PAHR-lah eenGLEH-zeh pehr- You speak English perfectly.
feht-tah-MEHN-teh.
13 NoHn, see-N'yoH-reh, EF'oh loh No, sir, I speak it only a little.
PAHR-lo oon POH sohl-TAHN-toh.
14 pehr-xEH deh-zee-deh-rah eem- Whsy do you wish to learn Italian?
pah-rAH-reh lee-tah-LyAHn-noh
lay?
15 pehr-KEH Er'oh deh-zee-deh-roh Because I wish to live in Italy.
ah-bee-TaH-reh een ee-TAH-l1yah.
followed by a noun. 4. ‘The definite article “the” has several forms in Italian:
il (masc.); la (fem.); 7’ (before a masc. or fem. noun beginning with a vowel);
lo (before a masc. noun beginning with z or s-impura); i (masc. pl.); le (fem. pl.);
gli (masc. pi. before z, s-impura, or a vowel). 5. Note that “business” in Italian
is plural. 6. Parlarlo is a combination of parlare and lo. Lo is a direct object
pronoun meaning ‘“it” and is attached to the infinitive, which drops the final e.
All other direct and indirect object pronouns, except loro, are likewise attached
to the infinitive. See also Note 20. 7. Notice that in Italian the words for “my”
(il mio, la mia, i miei, le mie) are preceded by the definite article. However, il and
la are omitted if the words mio or mia are used before a noun denoting a relative
or a member of the family. Ex.: mio padre, mia zia, mio figlio. 8&. The possessive
30 THE CORTINA METHOD
II N
E
:
' :
LA
a$ g
o
o LE:E-:-ÈV-‘-.
i
a
:'à?;':“ N S
o
P
Éx;
L
Vocabolario per Questa Lezione
I CIBI ed I PASTI
Foops AND MEALs (ee CHEE-bee ed ee PAH-stee)
il pasto (PAH-stoh) meal
il pranzo!! (PRAHN-dzoh) dinner
la cena (cHEH-nNah) supper
la colazione (koh-lah-TsyvoH-neh) _ breakfast, lunch
la colazione del mezzogiorno lunch
(. . . dehl meh-dzoh-joHr-noh)
C
ONV
ERS
ATI
ON
1 Io faccio colazione.'®
2 A che ora fa colazione lei?
3 Faccio* colazione di buon'’ora.
PRONUNCIATION "TRANSLATION
1 er'oh Fam-tchoh koh-lah-TsyYOH- I have breakfast.
neh.
2 ah keh on-rah fah koh-lah-TsyOH- At what time do you have break-
neh LAY? fast?
3 er'oh FAaH-tchoh koh-lah-TsyYOH- I have breakfast early.
neh dee bwoh-NomH-rah.
4 een keh kohn-see-steh jeh-neh- What does your breakfast gener-
rahl-MEHN-teh lah soo’ah koh-lah- ally consist of (lit., in)?
TsyoH-neh?
35 lah mMeEr'ah koh-lah-tTsyoH-neh My breakfast generally consists of
jeh-neh-rahl-MEHN-teh kohn-sgeg- a cup of coffee with milk, or
steh dee oo-nah TAaH-tsah dee chocolate and a roll with jam.
kahf-feh-LAHT-teh oh dee chok-
koh-LaH-tah, ed oon pah-nNeg-noh
kohn mahr-mehl-LAaH-tah.
lei può, noi possiamo, voi potete, loro possono. 10. Lit., it is pleasing to me.
11. Normally il pranzo is the noon meal. However, if it is not a complete dinner
the expression colazione or colazione del mezzogiorno is used. 12. Panino is a
diminutive form of pane (bread). Lit., it means “little bread.” 13. Verdura is a
generic word to indicate any green vegetable or vegetables. 14. La frutta means
“the fruit” or “fruits of a tree.” In a figurative sense il frutto and i frutti are used.
15. Ottimo (fem. ottima) is the absolute superlative form of buono. See Reference
Grammar. 16. Fare colazione is an idiom. 417. Notice the omission of the
subject pronoun io. Subject pronouns are often omitted in Italian. 18. In che
lit. means “in what.” 19. Caffelatte is composed of caffè and latte. Notice caffè
loses its accent mark. In Italian accents are used only on the final vowel of a word.
20. "The conjunction e usually becomes ed before a vowel. 271. This is the noi
form of the imperative of andare. ‘The personal pronouns are omitted in the
38 THE CORTINA METHOD
16 xweEH-stoh ahr-RoH-stoh dee Boo’e "This roast beef is not very tender.
eh n ohn EH MoHL-toh TEH-neh-
roh.
17 eel reEH-sheh, een-veH-cheh, EH The fish, on the other hand, is
veh-rah-ME HN-teh skwee-zEE-toh. really delicious.
18 keh deh-zre-deh-rah ah PRAHN- What do you wish to have for
dzoh? dinner?
19 xAHr-neh, een-sah-LAH-tah, PAH- Meat, salad, bread and butter.
neh eh Boor-roh.
20 eh pPoyY? And then? (What next?)
21 nohn som. keh ron-zah mee kohn- I don’t know. What do you sug-
SEE-l’yah LAY? gest (lit., What do you advise
me) ?
RE NIIN IZN
FSE Z :
COS LQN SNL ZAN SAN E RSIO
S E
RESSIDANIIZIN SO RSO L
I
L Nè
'} A 3
E:PS$} ‘-:,.Ve A
.F"ÉZ RN
SL
AZe A;N
N ANI ?
ISES SE
EO R
NO AO : Ì : : AI i SEE ; SAI o
SASC
FNN I
LN N MO
IASION Z
Z L: : S3 o
N ; L
Aò
g AAò
SN & “iRN E
& I PL
è I G S guo SI
; NT GIST
: SL CILT
oN ro ANR AZIO
:È.
, ‘.». n.?.}LCAN
E “ NS: IE I RNO LE :RNNI N A3 g è A " &N A P; RNSA GPNN
ESN
NGNASE
AA LZNIS A ER OIT R L ER IAS SSS RZA RNA S
I NSI SIIN TNA FSE
:S OLIT;
V
ESTIARIO e CALZATURE
CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (veh-stee’AH-ryoh eh kahl-tsah-tT00-reh)
CONVERSATION
6 Le vanno be
n e' i calzoni?
PRONUNCIATION "T
RANSLATION
1 bwohn JoHr-noh, see-N°yoH-reh. Go
od day, sir. Good evening,
BWOH-nah sEH-rah, see-N°YoH-rah. madam. Good night, my child.
BwoH-nah NoHt-teh, bahm-BEE-
noh MeEE'oh.
2 dee keh coHn-zah pahr-LAH-vah- What were you talking about
noh K W AHN-doh EE'oh soH-noh when 1 came in?
ehn-TrAH-toh?
3 pahr-lah-vaAH-moh dee veh-stee" We were talking about clothes
AH-ryoh eh dee kahl-tsah-to0-reh. and footwear.
4 lay AH oon veh-stEE-toh keh leh You have a suit which fits you
STAH ah pehn-NEHL-loh. perfectly.
5 crAaH-tsyeh. lah stoHr-fah EH Thank you. ‘The material is good,
BwoH-nah, mah lah JAHKc-kah mee but the coat seems too long to
sEHM-brah TroHP-poh LooNn-gah me, and the vest too short.
ed eel pahn-cHoHT-toh TRrOHP-
poh Kcomnr-toh.
6 leh vann-noh sEH-neh ee kahl- Do the trousers fit you well?
TsOoH-nee?
7 SEE, ee kah]l-TsoH-nee mee VAHN- Yes, the trousers fit me very well.
no beh-NgEgs-see-moh.
8 oh bee-zoH-n’yoh doon soh-PRAHR- I neqd an overcoat, a hat, and a
bee-toh, doon kahp-rEHL-loh eh pair of gloves.
doon PAH-yOoh dee GWAHN-tee.
9 een xweH-stoh neh-GoH-tsyoh In this store you can buy every-
PWOH kohm-praH-reh ToorT-toh thin you need: neckties, hand-
KwEHL-]oh dee cooy ah bee-zoH- kerchiefs, shirts, and socks.
n’yoh: krah-vanTt-teh, fah-tsoh-
LEHT-tee, kah-MEE-cheh eh kahl-
TSEE-Nee.
10 ah AnN-keh bee-zoH-n'yoh dee Do you need underwear also?
mMmOoo-TAHN-deh?
first conjugation: io parlavo, tu parlavi, lei parlava, noi parlavamo, voi parlavate,
loro parlavano. For the use of this tense see Reference Grammar. 11. This isa
form of the present perfect (passato prossimo). It is used to express an action which
took place recentiy. Entrare is one of the few verbs which takes the present of
essere (to be) as an auxiliary. The great majority of verbs take instead the present
of avere (to have). See Note 12. 12. This is a form of the present of avere:
io ho, tu hai, lei ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro hanno. REMINDER: the k is silent.
13. Sta is a form of the irregular verb stare (to stay), whose present is: io sto, tu stai,
lei sta, noi stiamo, voi state, loro stanno. 14. Le sta a pennello is an idiom and
requires the indirect object. Le therefore is an indirect object pronoun, meaning
“to you” The word pennello means “a painter's brush.” 15. Le vanno bene is an
idiom, and requires the indirect object. 16. d’un is a contraction oî di un. The
46 THE CORTINA METHOD
20. Ne is a direct object pronoun meaning “of it, of them, some, some of it, some
of them.” Like other direct object pronouns it precedes the verb. 21. W o rds
ending in go and ga normally take an h before the e or i of the plural. 22. Costi
is a form of the present subjunctive of costare. The subjunctive in this case is used
after an indefinite antecedent. See Reference Gramimar. 23. degli is a contraction
of di and gli and means “some” or “of the.” 24. da sera (for use in the evening);
da passeggio (used for walking). This is a special use of the word da, which nor-
48 THE CORTINA METHOD
mally means “from’” or “at"” (person's home, office, shop, etc.). 25. delle is a
contraction of di and le and means “some” or “of the.” 26. Tacchi is the plural
Of tacco. A great many words ending in co change to chi in the plural. 27. The
singular of sottili is sottile. Nouns and adjectives ending in e change e to i to
form the plural. 28. Numero ordinarily means “number.” In this case it me
a ns
THIRD LESSON 49
23 PWOH DEER-mee DOH-veh pos-soh Can you tell me where I can buy
k
ohm-pPraH-reh DEEHL-leh SKAHR- some shoes?
peh?
24 CHEH oon neh-cGomH-tsyoh dee kahl- ‘There ig a shoe store at the corner
tsah-ToOO-reh ahl-LAHN-goh-loh of this street which has a large
dee cxwgEH-stah stTRrAH-dah keh ah asso
rtment
.
oon vaH-stoh ahs-sohr-tee-MEHN-
toh.
25 lah see-N'yOH-rah BYAHN-kee deh- Mrs. Bianco wishes to buy so
me
zEE-deh-rah kohm-PRAH-reh DEHL- dancing shoes with high heels
leh skAHR-peh dah BAHL-loh kohn and thin soles.
TAHK-kee AHL-tee eh swoH-leh
soht-TEE-lee.
“size.” 29. Eccole—'"here they are” (lit., here are they). The le is a direct object
pr onou n. 30. Vorrei is a form of the conditional of the verb volere (to want).
31. Spiccioli is always used in the plural. 32. Non ho dove metterli. Notice the
idiomatic construction of this sentence.
. e:
S i
R
N=:\(_, ?
MEZZI DI TRASPORTO
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION (MEH-dzee dee trah-spoHRr-toh)
CONVERSATION
presto.
_ i =
3
‘\ | {
@ 7 Allora bisognerà° prendere un
lg tassì per arrivare più presto,
perchè gli autobus passano rara-
mente a quell’ora.
& Sono pronti i suoi bagagli?
9 SÌ, le mie valigie ed i miei bauli sono già alla stazione.
10 Vuole avere la bontà di dirmi dov’è la biglietteria?
FOOTNOTES: 1. Lit., “will you have the kindness.” Bontà is followed by the
word di before the infinitive. 2. Trovarsi is a reflexive verb. Lit., it means “to
find oneself.” ‘The present tense is: io mi trovo, tu ti trovi, lei si trova, noi ci
troviamo, voi vi trovate, loro si trovano. ‘The reflexive pronouns always precede
the verb, except when the infinitive form is used, in which case the reflexive pro-
nouns are attached to it. Almost any verb can be made refiexive if it makes sense.
At times the Italian expression may be reflexive whereas the English equivalent
FOURTH LESSON 33
PRONUNCIATION "TRANSLATION
1 mee vwoHL DEE-reh doh-veH lah Will you please tell me where the
stah-TsYoH-neh, pehr pyah-CHEH- station is.
reh?
2 chee soH-noh dee-vEHR-seh stah- "There are several stations. W
her
e
TsyOoH-nee. DOH-veh DEH-veh ahn- must you go?
DAH-reh?
3 pEH-voh ahn-DAH-reh ah mee-LAH- I must go to Milan.
noh.
4 . . . PREHN-deh-reh eel TREH-noh To go to Milan you must take the
AHL-lah stah-TsyoH-neh chehn- train at the Central Station.
TRAH-leh.
$ ah keh oH-rah PAHR-teh eel PREE- At what time does the first train
mohTREH-noh? leave?
PAHS-Sah-noOh rah-rah-MEHN-teh
ah kwehl-LoH-rah.
8& soH-noh PROHN-tee ee swoy bah- Is your baggage ready?
GAH-l'yee?
9 SEE, leh MEr'eh vah-Leg-jeh ed ee Yes, my suitcases and my trunks
M'YAY bah-oo-lee soH-noh JAH are already at the station.
AHL-lah stah-tTsyOH-neh.
10 vwon-leh ah-veH-reh lah bohn- Will you kindly tell me where the
TAH dee DEER-mee doh-veH lah ticket office is?
bee-l’yeht-teh-reg'ah?
11 EwAH N-toh xoH-stah oon bee- How m uch does a third class
L'yEHT-toh dee TEHR-tsah KLAHS- round-trip ticket to (lit., for)
seh pehr mee-LAH-noh, ahn-DAH- Milan cost?
tah eh ree-ToHR-noh?
future of bisognare. This verb is normally used only in the third person.
10. ‘There are three classes on Italian trains. The third class is the least expensive.
11. ‘The singular of bagagli is bagaglio. Words ending in io drop the o in the
plural, unless the i is stressed, in which case you change o to i. Ex.: zio (uncle), zii.
12. In a general sense vettura means any sort of conveyance. In reference to a
train it means “a railroad car.”” 13. Stare per is an idiom meaning “to be about
to.” 14. Per favore is used interchangeably with per piacere. 15. Arriverà is
a future form of arrivare: io arriverò, tu arriverai, lei arriverà, noi arriveremo, voi
arriverete, lòro arriveranno. AIll first and second conjugation regular verbs form
FOU
RTH L
ESSO
N 55
21 NoH, mah soH keh eel TREH-noh No, but 1 know that the train
ahr-ree-veh-RAH doh-MAH- nee will arrive tomorrow morning
maht-TE E-nah AHL-leh oHT-toh. at eight.
22 ahl-LoH-rah ahr-ree-veh-REH-moh ‘Then we shall arrive on time to
een TEHM-poh pehr pPREHN-deh- take the boat.
reh eel vah-PonH-reh.
23 ah preh-noh-TAH-toh lah kah-BEE- Have you reserved a cabin?
nah?
the future in the same manner; that is, by adding the endings erò, erai, erà, eremo,
erete, eranno to the stem of the verb. 16. Alle is a contraction of a and le. In
Italian the definite article is used before the hours, whereas in English it is not.
17. Ha prenotato is a form of the present perfect of prenotare. ‘The past participle
of the first conjugation verbs ends in ato and is preceded by the present of the
auxiliary verb avere. See Note 11, Lesson 38. 18. The definite article is used
before cabina because in this case it refers to a definite cabin, your cabin.
56 THE CORTINA METHOD
26 Veramente? Mi piacerebbe®
fare un viaggio in aereo.
27 Vorrei visitare l’aeroporto
prima d’imbarcarmi.*°
28 Benissimo. Visiteremo l’aeroporto da dove partono gli
aeroplani transatlantici.
19. Like the other object pronouns ne Îs attached to the infinitive. 20. Libera
normally means “free.”’
In this case it means “available.” 27. It is common use
to say in aereo rather than in aeroplano. 22. Piacerebbe is a form of the condi-
FOURTH LESSON 37
24 nohn ahn-koH-rah, mah spEH-roh Not yet, but 1 hope to find one
troh-vAnr-neh oo-nah LEr-beh- available even without a reser-
rah AHN-keh seHN-tsah preh-noh- vation.
tah-TsyoH-neh.
25 eel see-N'"YOHR BYAHN-
ke e vah ah Mr. Bianchi is going to London
L OHN-drah een ah-EH-reh’oh. by plane.
tional of piacere. This verb is used mostly in the third person. 23. Imbarcarmi
is a reflexive verb. Like other pronouns mi (myself) is attached to the infinitive.
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FIFTH LESSON 39
I NUM
ERI CAR
DINALI
(CONTINUED)
I Numeri Ordinali
THE ORDINAL NUMBERS (ee Noo-meh-ree ohr-dee-NAH-lee)
primo (PREE-moh) first sesto (seH-stoh) sixth
secondo (seh-KoHN-doh) second settimo (seHT-tee-moh) seventh
terzo (TEHR-tsoh) third ottavo (oht-TAH-voh) _ eighth
quarto (kKWwWAHR-toh) fourth nono {(NoH-noh) ninth
quinto (KWEEN-toh) fifth decimo (DEH-chee-moh) tenth
undicesimo? (oon-dee-cHEH-zee-moh) eleventh
dodicesimo (doh-dee-cHEH-zee-moh) twelfth
Le Frazioni
‘THE FRACTIONS (leh frah-TsYOH-nee)
la metà (meh-TAH), mezzo (MEH-dzoh) half
un terzo (oon TEHR-tsoh) a third
un quarto (oon KWAHR-toh) one fourth
tre quarti (TREH KWAHR-tee) three quarters
un quindicesimo (oon kween-dee-cHEH-zee-moh) one fifteenth
60 THE CORTINA METHOD
CONVERSATION
1 Sa® contare lei?
2 SÌ, so contare.
3 Vuole contare, per piacere?
4 Sì. Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque.
5 Lei ha contato da uno a cinque.
P
RON
UNC
IATION "TR
A NSLATION
1 sah kohn-TAH-reh LAY? Do you know how to count?
2 SEE, EE'oOh soh kohn-TAH-reh. Yes, I know how to count.
3 vwoH-leh kohn-TAHreh, pehr Will you count, please?
pyah-cHhEH-reh?
4 seE. oo-noh, voo'’eh, TREH, Yes. One, two, three, four, five.
K
WAHT-troh, CHEEN-kweh.
5 LAy ah kohn-TaH-toh dah oo-noh Yoitì1 have counted from one to
ah CHEEN-kweh. ve.
11 EE'oh neh oH lah meh-TAH. neh I have half as many (lit., the half
OH CHEEN-kweh. of them). 1 have five.
12 ahl-LoH-rah lay AH TAHN-tee LEE- ‘Then you have as many books as
bree KxwAHN-tee neh OH EF'oh, I, don't you (lit., isn't that
nohn EH veEH-roh? true) ?
13 NoH, EE'oh OH M EH-nOh LEE-bree No, I have fewer (lit., less) books
dee LAY. than you.
14 lah see-n'yoh-ReE-nah fehr-RAH- Miss Ferrara has three hats and 1
rah AH TREH kahp-reHL-lee ed have only one.
EE'Oh NOHN neh oH keh oo-noh.
15 EHL-lah AH PyOO kahp-rpEHL-lee She has m
ore hats than I.
dee MEH.
6. Note that un milione, unlike cento and mille, does take un in front of it.
7. Beginning with undici, the ordinal numbers in Italian are formed by dropping
the final vowel of the number and adding -esimo. However, numbers ending in
trè drop the accent but not the e. Ex.: ventitrè becomes ventitreesimo. 8. Any
62 THE CORTINA M
ETH
OD
form of sapere followed by an infinitive means “to know how.” 9. The singular
of quali, an interrogative adjective, is quale (masc. and fem.). Quale and quali
are also interrogative pronouns. 10. Ne, meaning “of it, of them, some, any,
etc.” is never omitted in Italian, whereas its English equivalent often is omitted.
11. Tanto and quanto are used in the comparative of equality. They agree with
the noun to which they refer. 12. The word “than” is usually translated by di
before a noun, pronoun, or number. 13. Non ...(verb) ...che is an idiomatic
expression meaning “only.” Soltanto, solo, or solamente can be used instead of non
. ..che. 14. Me is a pronoun which follows a preposition, unlike the direct and
indirect object pronouns. Pronouns unrelated to the verb are called disjunctive
pronouns. See Reference Grammar. 15. Notice that tante agrees With camicie,
FIFTH LESSON 63
which is feminine plural. 16. Compri is the lei form of the imperative of
c
omprare. 17. ‘The relative pronoun che (that) is never omitted in Italian, as it
frequently is in English. 18. Sono is a form of the present of essere (to be):
io sono, tu sei, lei è, noi siamo, voi siete, loro sono. 19. Sono stato is a f
orm of
the present perfect of essere, which takes its own present tense as an auxiliary.
In verbs conjugated with essere the past participle agrees with the subject. Ex.:
ella è stata (she has been or was). 20. bel is used before a singular masculine
noun if it does not begin with z, s-impura, or a vowel. The feminine form is always
bella. 21. La Svizzera (Switzerland): In Italian names of countries are preceded
by the definite article. 22. Che is used here in a comparative of equality, and
means ‘“as.”
y RSR
“C”‘
A
aa nn
I GI
ORNI
lunedì® (loo-neh-DEE) Monday venerdì (veh-nehr-DEE) Friday
martedì (mahr-teh-bpee) "Tuesday sabato (sam-bah-toh) Saturday
mercoledì Wednesday | domenica
(mehr-koh-leh-DEE) (doh-MEH-nee-kah) Sunday
giovedì (joh-veh-DEE) Thursday
I MESI
gennaio (jehn-NAH-yoh) January settembre September
febbraio (fehb-BraAH-yoh) February (seht-TEHM-breh)
marzo (MAHR-tsoh) March ottobre October
aprile (ah-PREE-leh) April (oht-ToH-breh)
maggio (MAH-djoh) May novembre November
giugno (Joo-n’yoh) June (noh-veHM-breh)
luglio (1Lo0o-l'yoh) July dicembre December
agosto (ah-GoH-stoh) August (dee-cHEHM-breh)
LE STAGIONI
la primavera® (lah pree-mah-veH-rah) spring
l’estate (fem.) (lteh-sTAH-teh) summer
l’autunno (lah'oo-Toon-noh) autumn
l’inverno (leen-veHRr-n0h) winter
CONVERSATION
1 Come si compone la giornata?
2 La giornata si compone del mattino,' del pomeriggio e
della sera.
3 Il mattino dura fino a mezzogiorno. Il pomeriggio dura
fino al tramonto.
4 Quando comincia la sera?
5 Generalmente parlando, la
sera comincia dopo il tra-
monto.
PRONUNCIATION "TR
A NSLATION
1 xoHn-meh see k
ohm-rpoH-neh lah H
ow is the day divided (lit., com-
johr-NAH-tah? posed) ?
2 ... dehl maht-TeE-noh, dehl poh- The day is composed of the mor-
meh-reE-djoh eh pEHL-lah sEH- ning, the afternoon, and the
rah. evening.
3 eel maht-TEEe-noh pDoo-rah FEEF- The morning lasts until noon.
noh ah meh-dzoh-JjoHr-noh. eel T he afternoon lasts until sun-
poh-meh-reg-djoh poo-rah FEE- set.
noh ahl] trah-MoHN-toh.
4 KWA HN-doh koh-MEEN-chah lah When does the evening begin?
sEH-rah?
5 jeh-neh-rahl-MEHN-teh pahr- Generally speaking, the evening
LAHN-doh, lah seH-rah k
oh-
MEE
N- begins after sunset.
chah DOH-poh ...
the sun. 4. ‘The words scorsa and prossima may either follow or precede the
noun. 5. Lit., a day of vacation. 6. Although the great majority of words
ending in a are feminine, there are several that are masculine. Clima is one of
these. 7. Days, months, and seasons are not capitalized in Italian. 8. "The days
68 THE CORTINA METHOD
16 mee PWOH DEF-reh KoH-meh see Can you tell me how the year is
dee-vEeE-deh LAHN-noh
? divided?
17 Launn-noh see dee-veg-deh een The year is divided into twelve
DpoH-dee-chee MEH-Zee. months.
18 keh MEH-zeh EH RwEH-stoh? Wha
t month is this?
19 rweH-stoh EH eel MEH-zeh dee This is the month of September,
seht-TEHM-breh, eel MeEH-zeh next month will be October,
P
ROHS-see-mOh sah-RAH oht-ToOH- and last month was August.
breh ed eel MEH-zeh skoHR-soh eh
sTAH-toh ah-GoH-stoh.
20 kwah-LEH eel PREE-mOh MEH-zeh Which is the first month of the
d
ehl-LAHN-noh? year?
spuntar del sole literally means “the appearing of the sun.” 13. È composta is a
syn onym for si compone. 14. In Italy Mo nday is considered the first day of the
week. 15. See Not e 19, Lesson 5. 16. ‘The present perfect is used here because
lmese scorso is a recent occurrence.
70 THE CORTINA METHOD
L’
ORO
LOG
IO * L’ORA
THE WATCH, THE TIiME (loh-roh-LoH-joh, LoH-rah)
l’orologio (loh-roh-LoH-joh) watch, clock
un orologio da5 polso (dah POHL-soh) a wrist watch
un orologio a° pendolo (ah rErN-doh-]Joh) a wall clock (pendulum)
un orologio a$ sveglia (ah zveH-l'yah) an alarm clock
un orologio d’oro? (poH-roh) a gold watch
un orologio da5 tasca (dah TAH-skah) a pocket watch
“
CHE ORA E?
WHAT TimMe Is It? (keh oH-rah EH)
È l’una!° (EH Loo-nah) It is one o’clock.
Sono le due!° (soH-noh leh poo’eh) It is two o’clock.
Sono le quattro precise!! (. .. preh-cHEE-zeh) It is four o’clock sharp.
È l’una e mezzo!? (EH Loo-nah eh MEH-dzoh) It is half past one.
Sono le cinque e mezzo (... MEH-dzoh) It is half past five.
È l’una e un quarto!? (... oon kWAHr-toh) It is a quarter past one.
È l’una meno un quarto It is quarter to one.
Sono le dieci meno un quarto It is a quarter to ten.
Sono le undici meno cinque! It is five to eleven.
Sono le sei e dieci!2 It is ten after six.
74 THE CORTINA M
ETH
OD
CONVERSATION
1 Scusi, signore, mi può dire che ora è, per piacere?
2 Certo, signore. Sono le due e venti.
3 Sono già le tre?
4 SÌ, sono le tre precise.
5 Non è ancora l’una meno
un quarto.
PRONUNCIATION TR
ANSLATION
1 sroo-zee, see-N’YyoH-reh, m
ee Pardon me, sir, can you please
PWOH DEE-reh keh oH-rah EH, tell me what time it is?
pehr pyah-cHeH-reh?
2 cHEHR-toh, see-N’YyoH-reh. SsoH- Certain]ly, sir. It is twenty after
noh leh Doo’eh eh VEHN-tee. two.
3 soH-noh JAH leh TREH? Is it three o’clock already?
4 SEE, soH-noh leh TREH preh-CHEE- Yes, it is three o’clock sharp.
zeh.
5 nohn EH a hn-koH-rah Loo-nah It isn’t a quarter to one yet.
MEH-noh oon KWAHR-toh.
6 een-FAHT-tee, noh
n soH-noh ahn- In fact, it is not yet three o’clock.
coH-rah leh TREH.
7 nohns oH-noh ahn-koH-rah swoh- Hasn’t four o’clock struck yet?
NAH-teh leh rwAHTt-troh?
8 SEE, PyEH-troh. ... P
OH-k
oh FANH. Yes, Peter, four o’clock struck a
eel soo'oh oh-roh-LoH-joh nohn short while ago. Your watch
vah BEH-neh. cxrEH-doh keh vAan- isn't right. I think it is five
dah C HEEN-kweh mee-Noo-tee ah- minutes fast.
VAHN-tee.
9 eel MEE'oh oh-roh-LoH-joh, een- My watch, instead, is a quarter of
veEH-cheh, vah oon KwAHrR-toh an hour slow.
poH-rah een-DYEH-troh.
10 EH ronTt-toh? Is it broken?
17 Sì chiama Pelloni.
In Italian, when mentioning an address, the n u mber follows the street. 21. Se
non mi sbaglio is a form of the reflexive verb sbagliarsi. 22. Il (numero under-
78 THE CORTINA METHOD
26 Mi sembra caro. Non potrebbe farmelo“” per meno?
27 Impossibile, signore. La molla
è rotta e dovrò sostituirla.
28 È in buone condizioni il resto
del meccanismo?
IL COMMERCIO
TRADE (kohm-mMEHR-choh)
il cambio (KAHM-byoh) exchange
il commerciante (kohm-mehr-cHAN-teh) merchant
80
EIGHTH LESSON 81
lo sportello (spohr-tEHL-loh) pay-window
il guadagno (gwah-pAH-n’yoh) profit
il dirigente (dee-ree-JEHN-teh) manager
la succursale (sook-koor-sAH-leh) branch (of a firm)
Pe
CONVERSATION
PRONUNCIATION “"TRANSLATION
1 roHn-meh STAH, KAH-roh see- How are you, my dear sir? I am
N’y
oH-r
eh?soH-nohfeh-lee-CHEES- very happy to see you.
see-moh dee veh-pEHR-lah.
2 MoHL-toh BEH-neh, GRAH-tsyeh; I am very well, thank you; and
eh LAY? you?
3 nohn cHEH MaH-leh, GrRAH-tsyeh. Not bad, thank you.
4 xoHn-tah ree-mah-NEH-reh ah Do you expect to remain in
LOON-goh ah RoH-mah? Rome a long time?
5 NoH, see-N°YyoH-reh. mee fehr- No, sir. I am going to stay only a
meh-RoH ahl-Koo-nee MEH-zee few months, because I came on
sohl-TAHN-toh, pehr-KEH sohn business.
veh-Noo-toh pehr ahf-FAH-ree.
6 ech cxoH-meh vaAHNn-noh leh Kor- And how are things in the United
seh NEH-l’yee STAH-tee OO-NEE-tee? States? Undoubtedly you will
sEHN-tsah DOOB-byoh lay sah-RAH be back before spring.
dee ree-TOHR-n0h PREE-mah DEHL-
lah pree-mah-vEH-rah.
7 ... nehl fraht-TEHM-poh speH-roh Yes, sir, and in the meantime I
poh—‘r1«:rm zbree-GaH-reh TooT-tee hope to be able to settle all my
ee M 'Y AY ahf-FAH-ree. affairs.
8 AH een-ten-TsyoH-neh dee FAH- Do you intend to do importing?
reh DEHL-leh eem-pohr-tah-TsYOH-
nee?
9 vohr-RAY eem-pohr-TAH-reh kahf- I should like to import coffee,
FEH, tah-BAHK-koh, pzoox-keh- tobacco, sugar, wool, and some
roh, LAH-nah eh kWAHL-keh vah- varieties of fruit.
ryeh-tTAH dee FRooT-tah.
10 een-teHN-deh eem-pohr-TAH-reh Do you intend to import these
KWEH-stee proh-poHT-tee dah products from all the Mediter-
TooT-teh leh reh-joH-nee mekbh- ranean regions?
dee-tehr-rAH-neh'eh?
Nness.”” 11. Negli is a contraction of in and the definite article gli. 12. Sarà di
sitorno is an idiom. 13. Normally an infinitive depending on a noun is intro-
duced by di. Compare sentences 8 and 10. 14. Delle importazioni. ‘The plural is
used because it refers to different products to be imported. 15. ‘The word
qualche is always singular. The word that follows is, of course, singular also.
84 THE CORTINA METHOD
also means “to expect.” 23. Future of avere: io avrò, tu avrai, lei avrà, noi avre-
mo, voi avrete, loro avranno. 24. À nome di, idiom m eanin g “in the n ame of.”
25. Chi is an interrogative pronoun and refers only to persons. 26. Bisogna is
FEIGHTH LESSON 87
an impersonal expression and means “must.” 27. Davanti requires the prepo-
sition a before a noun or pronoun. 28. Ne (of it) cannot be omitted in Italian.
P
s
SA
I
SP
LSLZ
NINTH LESSON 89
IL RISTORANTE © I CIBI
THE RESTAURANT, Foop (eel ree-stoh-RAHN-teh, ee CHEE-bee)
“
CONVERSATION
just now, a while ago.” 7. Da, wh ich n ormally m eans “ from” or “at,” m eans
“with” in this case. 8. C hiami amo is the noi form of the imperative of chiamare.
Notice that the noi form of the imperative in all cases is the same as the noi form
of the present. 9. Al sangue is an idiom. Sangue means “blood.” 10. Si dice
is the impersonal form of the present of the irregular verb dire. 11. Mi porti
is the lei form of the imperative of portare. Notice that the pronoun mi follows
92 THE CORTINA M
ETH
OD
12 nohn mee pyAH-cheh lah KAHR- I don’t like meat too well done;
neh TroHP-poh xoHT-tah; lah I prefer it rare.
preh-feh-REE-skoh ahl sann-gweh.
13 see pEE-cheh keh . . . ser'ah They say that rare meat is more
PYOO noo-tree-EHN-teh, nohn EH nutritious, don’t they?
vEH-roh?
14 mee roHr-tee dehl poHL-loh ahr- Bring me some roast chicken and
rRoH-stoh eh MeEH-dzah boht-TEE- g half bottle of red wine, the
l’'yah dee vEE-noh RoHs-soh, eel est.
mee-L'YoH-reh.
15 vwoHL mMeEHT-teh-reh lay STEHS- Do you wish to put salt, oil, and
soh eel san-leh, LoH-lyoh eh lah- vinegar in your salad yourself?
cHEH-toh NEHL-lah soo’ah een-
sah-LAH-tah?
instead of the indirect object pronoun mi for emphasis. 16. Sia is the subjunc-
tive of essere, here required by the impersonal expression mi sembra. 17. Mi dia
is the lei form of the imperative of dare. See Note 11. 18. Bricco, s yn onym for
caffettiera, is the more elegant word for “coffee pot,” when serving at the table.
94 THE CORTINA METHOD
19. Lei is used for emphasis after the imperative metta. ‘The word stesso after lei
is understood. 20. The word luculliano derives from Lucullus (Lucullo) a
R oman general and consul, famous for, among other things, the sumptuous
banquets he gave. ‘The expression un pranzo luculliano is still in c ommo n use
NINTH LESSON 95
26 mee fah-REHB-beh mM
omL-
toh It would please me very much.
pyah-cHEH-reh.
after two thousand years. 21. D ovre m mo is the noi form of the conditionai
of dovere. 22. Fare una passeggiata is an idiom: “to take a walk.” 23. farebbe
is the impersonal third person of the conditional of fare. 24. Lit., it would be
very pleasing to me.
Vocabolario per Questa Lezione
96
TENTH LESSON 97
LA CASA * LA MOBILIA
THE HOUSE, THE FURNITURE (lah ran-zah, lah moh-Ber-1yah)
CONVERSATION
PRONUNCIATION "TRANSLATION
1 Er'oh AH-bee-toh een cheet-TAH. I live in the city. Where do you
DpoH-veh AH-bee-tah-noh LoH-roh? live?
2 noy ah-bee-tryYAH-moh AmnL-lah We live in the suburbs.
peh-ree-feh-REE’ah.
3 dee K WAHN-tee PyAH-nNee EH lah How many floors are there in
LOH-roh KAH-zah? your house?
4 . . . pah-LAH-tsoh dee treh PYAH- We live in a three-story building,
nee, SEHN-tsah koh
n-TA
H-re
h eel not counting the ground floor.
pyahn-tehr-rReEH-noh.
5 KWAHN-tee vVAH-nee chee soH-noh How many rooms are there in
neh] LoH-roh ahp-pahr-tah-MEHN- your apartment?
toh?
11 seh nohn leh DAH MoHL-toh dee- 1f it is no bother to you (lit., gives
stooR-boh, mee pyah-cheh-REHB- you no bother), I should like
beh veh-peEH-reh lahr-reh-dah- very much to see how your
MEHN-toh dehl soo’oh ahp-pahr- apartment is furnished (lit.,
tah-MEHN-toh. the arrangement of).
5. Lit., of how many floors. 6. Loro besides being a subject personal pronoun
meaning “you” (polite plural) is a possessive adjective or pronoun meaning “your,
yours (polite plural), their, theirs.’’ As a possessive loro requires the definite article
100 THE CORTINA METHOD
20 Co
m’è
” grande la sua cucinal Più!° la guardo,*” più'°
mi piace.
both a possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun. Its different forms are: il no-
stro, la nostra, i nostri, le nostre. 19. Faccia, lei form of the imperative of fare.
20. Fosse, lei form of the imperfect subjunctive of essere. Subjunctive is required
TENTH LESSON 103
20 koh-MEH GrAHN-de
h lah soo’ah How large your kitchen is! The
koo-cHEE-nahl p
y oo lah GWAHR- more 1 look at it, the more 1
doh, Pyoo mee rPyAH-cheh. like it.
la tempesta (tehm-peH-stah) s
torm
l’uragano (loo-rah-6aAH-noh) hurricane
l’umidità (loo-mee-dee-TAH) humidity
c’è umidità (CHEH 00-mee-dee-TAH) it is damp, humid
il ghiaccio (GyAH-tchoh) ice
c'è fango' (CHEH FAHN-g0h) it is muddy
CONVERSATION
1 Che tempo far®
2 Il tempo è meraviglioso. Fa bel tempo.
3 Apra,° per piacere, la finestra e veda' che tempo fa.
4 C’è un bel sole, ma fa molto freddo.
> Quanti gradi abbiamo? La temperatura è sopra o sotto
Zzero?
PRONUNCIATION “
TRANSLATION
1 keh TEHM-poh FAHR? Ho w is the weather?
2 eel TEHM-poh EH meh-rah-vee- The weather is wonderful. T he
L’yoH-zoh. FAH behl TEHM-poh. weather is fine.
3 AmH-prah, pehr pyah-cHEeH-reh, lah Please open the w indow and see
fee-NEH-strah eh veH-dah keh how the weather is.
TEHM-poh FAH.
4 cHEH oon behl soH-leh, mah fah ‘There is a beautiful sun, but it is
MOoHL-toh FrEHpD-doh. very cold.
5 KkwAHN-tee GRAH-dee ahb-BYAH- What is the temperature (lit.,
moh? lah tehm-peh-rah-Too-rah how many degrees do we
EH soH-prah oh soHT-toh DZEH- have)? Is the temperature
roh? above or below zero?
20 Ha le soprascarper?®®
14. Idiom. Linea means “line.” 15. Notice that the Italian expression for “never”
is: non before the verb, and mai after the verb. The word mai alone means “never'
when used without a verb. 16. Notice the idiomatic use of the word di (of).
17. Quello is a demonstrative pronoun. The other forms are: quella, quelli, quelle.
18. Sarà is future of probability. 19. Piacerebbe is the impersonal third person
of the conditional of piacere. 20. Passare means “to spend” when used in con-
nection with a noun implying duration of time. Otherwise it means “to pass.”
ELEVENTH LESSON 109
e
I
P EI
e
S
Ne
RL
NINa
IL SA
RTO + LA S
ARTA + LA MODA
THE TAILOR, THE DRESSMAKER (eel saHr-toh, lah sanr-tah,
FASHION lah MoH-dah)
la sartoria (sahr-toh-rReE-ah) tailor shop
la macchina (MAHxK-kee-nah) machine
la macchina da? cucire (...dah koo-cHEE-reh) sewing machine
le forbici (FoHR-bee-chee) SCiSSOrs
il modello (moh-pEHL-1oh) pattern
CONVERSATION
PRONUNCIAT
ION "TRANSLATION
1 see-n’yoh-rREE-nah dehl vEHK- Miss Del Vecchio, will you be
kyoh, vwonH-leh ah-veH-reh lah good enough to tell us of how
bohn-TAHn dee pDEER-chee dee many pieces a woman’s dress
KWAH N-tee pEH-tsee see k
ohm- is made?
pPoH-neh oo-nah veH-steh dah
DOH N-nah?
11. Note the generic use of the definite article. 12. S’intende di cucito is an
idiom. Notice reflexive form of the verb. 13. T h
e infinitive of o ccorrono is
occorrere, used only in the third person. 14. A meter is 39.87 inches. It is the
standard m easurem ent of length in ltaly. 15. Si taglia and si cuce are impersonal
expressions. 16. ‘The word a is used idiomatically before mano and macchina,
It means “by.” 17. Suppon go is a form of the present of the irregular verb
supporre. For other forms see table o£ irregular verbs. 18. Si prova is a reflexive
116 THE CORTINA METHOD
verb. It means ‘“try on yourself.” 19. Comprarsi is a reflexive verb and means
“to buy for himself.” 20. -ci is a pronoun referring to a place already mentioned,
TWELFTH LESSON 117
11 mee vWoHL DEE-reh KkOH-meh see Will you tell me how a dress is
FAH 00-nah vEH-steh? made?
12 kohn pyah-cHEH-reh. ohk-KOHR- With pleasure. You need (lit., are
roh-noh treh MEH-tree oh pyoo necessary) three or more yards
dee sToHF-fah, keh see TAH-l’yah of material, which is cut with
kohn leh rFomHr-bee-chee sebh- the scissors, following the pat-
GWEH N-doh eel m oh-pEHL-loh eh tern and the measu
rements,
leh mee-zoo-reh. eh PoY see Koo- and then it is sewn with a
cheh kohn LAH-goh een-fee-LAH- needle threaded with cotton or
toh kohl k oh-ToH-neh oh k ohn silk. Some sewing (lit., certain
lah sEH-tah. cHhEHr-teh koo-chee- sewings) is done by hand and
Too-reh see F AHN-noh ah MAH- some (others) by machine.
noh, aAnnL-treh ah MAHK-kee-nah.
13 von-poh dee cHoH soop-POHN-g0oh After that 1 suppose you try the
keh lay see PROH-vah lah vEH-steh dress on to see if it fits you well.
pehr veh-pEH-reh seh leh vah
BEH-neh.
14 preh-chee-zah-MEHN-teh. poy see Exactly. Then you add the trim-
ah-pjoon-goh-noh leh gwahr-nee- mings, which consist of lace,
I1syoH-nee keh kohn-seE-stoh-noh embroidery, ribbons, and col-
een mehr-LEHT-tee, ree-KAH-mee, ored buttons.
NnAH-stree eh boht-ToH-nee ah
koh-LoH-reh.
and is attached to the imperative andiamo. 21. ‘This is a peculiar use of farmi.
It means “to have made for myself.” 22. Imperative form of dimenticare. I n
118 THE CORTINA METHOD
verbs ending in -care and -gare an h is inserted between the stem of the verb and
the ending when the ending is or begins with e or i. See Reference G rammar.
23. From the future of cercare. See Note 22 above. 24. -glielo is a double pro-
TWELFTH LESSON 119
IN CITTA
IN TOWwNn (een cheet-TAH)
un edificio (eh-dee-rEE-choh) a building
il palazzo di giustizia (. . . joo-sTee-tsyah) court house
un ospedale (oh-speh-pAH-leh) a hospital
il municipio (moo-nee-cHEE-py0h) city hall
il mercato (mehr-KAH-toh) the market
CONVERSATION
ieri sera. 6. See Note 19, Lesson 1. 7. Son, same as sono. Reflexive verbs
require the auxiliary essere in all compound tenses. 8. Proprio adesso means
literally “just now.” 9. ‘The present is often used in Italian to indicate immediate
124 THE CORTINA METHOD
is an indirect object pronoun. 26. Farle da guida is an idiom. It means “to act
as a guide to you.-” 27. Arrivederla is an idiom. It means “good-bye, until we
meet again.” ‘The familiar form is arrivederci. 28. A presto is an idiom. It means
“until soon.”” L
ike
wis
eadom
ani, a lunedì, etc.
Vocabolario per Questa Lezione
128
FOURTEENTH LESSON 129
DAL MEDICO
AT THE DoCToR's (dahl MEH-dee-koh)
FS
CONVERSATION
21 Che cosa ha?!° Non ha un’ottima cera oggi.
2 Non mi sento bene. Non ho più*! appetito e vorrei farmi
visitare da un medico.
3 Quanto prende il dottor* Valdengo per una visita a
domicilio?
PRONUNCIATION "TRANSLATION
1 keh coH-zah AH? nohn AH OHT- What is the matter with you? You
tee-mah cHEH-rah oH-djee. don’t look too well today.
2 noh
n mee sEHN-toh BEH-neh. 1 don’t feel well. I have no (more)
nohn oh reyoo ahp-peh-TEE-toh appetite and 1 should like to
eh vohr-RAY F AHR-mee vee-zee- see a doctor (lit., make a doctor
TAH-reh dah oon mMreH-dee-koh. visit me).
3 KxWAHN-toh prEHN-deh eel doht- H ow much does Dr. Valdengo
TOHR vahl-pEHN-goh pehr oo-nah charge (lit., take) for a house
vEE-zee-tah ah doh-mee-CHEE- call (lit., visit at home).
lyoh?
4 nohn soH, mah pDAH-toh keh AH- 1I don’t know, but since he lives
bee-tah MoHL-toh lohn-TAH-noh, very far from here, his fee is
eel soo°’oh oh-noh-rRAH-ryoh sah- probably high.
RAH AHL-toh.
5 . . . KAH-zO0h prehn-deh-REH-moh In that case we shall take a taxi
00n tas-sEE pehr reh-KAHR-chee (to go) to his office.
e e - KLEE-Nee-kah.
6 vehr-RoH kohn lay MoHL-toh voh- 1 shall gladly come vith you.
lehn-tTyEH-ree. EHK-
koh oon tahs- Here is a taxi.
SEE.
7 ah’oo-TEE-stah, EH LEF-beh-rah Driver, is your cab free?
lah soo’ah veht-Too-rah?
8& SEE, see-N°YOH-ree; DOH-veh VOH- Yes, gentlemen. Where do you
l’yoh-noh ahn-pAH-reh? wish to go?
9 chee roHnr-tee ahl Noo-meh-roh Take us to 13 Pietro Borsiero
TrEH-dee-chee dee vEF’ah PYEH- Avenue, in the direction of
troh b ohr-syEH-roh, vpAaHL-lah Mazzini Square. Will you
PAHR-teh dee pyAH-tsah mah- please close the door?
TsEE-nee. KyYyoo-dah loh spohr-
TEHL-loh, . . .
10 raHn-tchah prEH-stoh ed ah-VRAH Hurry, and you will get a good
oo-nah BwWwoH-nah M AHN-
cha h. tip.
16 dah KWAHN-toh TEHM-poh nohn Since when have you been indis-
see SEHN-teh BEH-neh? posed?
17 dah yEH-ree. soo0-DAH-voh KWAHN- Since yesterday. I was perspiring
doh s oH-noh oo-sHEE-toh dah when I came out of the theater
teh’An-troh eh oh rPrEH-zoh oon and I caught a nasty (ugly)
BROOT-toh rahf-frehd-pom-reh. cold.
18 mee rLAaH-shee tah-sTAH-reh eel Let me feel your pulse. Show me
PoHL-soh. m ee mMon-stree lah your tongue.
LEEN-gwah.
19 doht-ToH-reh, cxreH-deh lay keh Doctor, do you think the symp-
ee SEEN-toh-mee sEE’ah-noh GRAH- toms are serious?
vee?
20 ... noonL-lah dee GrRaH-veh. mee No, sir; nothing serious. It seems
sEHM-brah keh AHB-byah oon POH to me that you have a slight
dee rEHB-breh. mee LAH-shee fever. Let me take (measure)
mee-zoo-RAH-reh lah tehm-peh- your temperature.
rah-Too-rah.
10. Lit., what have you? This is a special use of the verb avere and implies that
something is wrong. 11. Non ... più, a special negative, meaning ‘“no longer.”
12. The definite article is used before a title, but it is omitted in direct address.
13. Sarà is future of probability. 14, 'The infinitive is recarsi (to take oneself to).
15. Future of venire: io verrò, tu verrai, lei verrà, noi ver
re mo, voi verrete, loro
verranno. 16. Vettura in this case me ans “cab.” See N ote 12, Lesson 4. 17. Da
134 THE CORTINA METHOD
quanto tempo. Lit., since how much time. Da before an expression implying
duration of time means “since” or “for.” 18. Note that si sente is present tense.
In Italian an action which began in the past but continues in the present is
expressed by the present tense, 19. Uscire is one of the verbs that takes essere
as an auxiliary verb. 20. Notice the omission of the possessive adjective, which
FOURTEENTH LESSON 135
26 seh nohn see seHN-teh MEH-l’yoh If you don’t feel better, come
ree-TOHR-nee nwoh-vah-MEHN-teh back in three days, and we shall
frah treh JoHr-nee, eh proh-veh- try more effective medication.
REH-m Oh KwaAHL-keh AHr-trah
meh-de e-cHEE-nah pPyYyoo ehf-fee-
KAH-cheh.
in Italian is normally omitted with parts of the body and articles of clothing.
Usually the indirect object is used instead. Ex: mi lavo le mani (I1 wash my hands.
Lit., I1 wash the hands to me.) 271. Subjunctive after credere, a verb of doubt.
See Reference G rammar . 22. Lit., some fever. 23. The possessive sua is
omitted because it can only mean “your temperature.”
E
o
a
R
A
136
FIFTEENTH LESSON 137
CONVER
SATIO
N
1 Debbo trovare un albergo oggi stesso.
2 Vuole una camera ammobiliata?
PRONUNCIATION "TRANSLATION
1 vEHB-boh troh-vaH-reh oon ahl- 1 must find a hotel this very day.
BEHR-gOh OH-djee sSTEHSs-soh.
2 vwoH-leh oo-nah xaH-meh-rah Do you want a furnished room?
ahm-
moh-
bee-
LyAH-tah?
3 preh-feh-ree-RAY treh sTAHN-tseh 1 should prefer three unfurnished
vwoH-teh pehr FAH-reh eel sah- (lit.,; empty) rooms for (to
LoHT-toh, lah cxAH-meh-rah dah make) the living room, the bed-
LEHT-toh ed eel BAH-N’yoh. room, and the bathroom.
4 EHN-tree POO-reh. Leh moh-streh- Come right in. l’Il show you what
ROH CHOH keh lay deh-zee-deh- you wish.
rah.
5 preh-feh-ReE-sheh oon sah-LOHT- Do you prefer a living room that
toh keh pDEE’ah soonL.-lah STRAH- faces the street or the sea?
dah oh sool MaH-reh.
6 preh-feh-REE-skoh KwgEHL-loh keh I prefer the one that faces the sea.
DAH sool MAaH-reh.
7 n ohn eem-rPoHr-tah keh lah RAH- It doesn't matter w h ether the
me h-rah dah rLEHT-toh pErF’ah b edroom faces the street or the
sooL-lah stTRrAH-dah oh sool MAH- sea.
reh.
& kwah-LEH eel prREH-tsoh dee What is the price of this room?
KWwEH-stah K
AH-m
eh-rah?
9 kwah- LEH eel pREH-tsoh dee What is the price of this apart-
KwEH-stoh ahp-pahr-tah-MEHN- ment?
toh?
10 ahf-FeetT-tah ahl mMeEH-zeh, ah Do you rent by the month, by the
seht-tee-MAH-nah oh ah johr-NAH- week, or by the day?
tah?
use of the word a, meaning ‘“by.” 4. Fin da ora and fa lo stesso are idioms.
5. ‘The word fra means in or within when used in connection with words implying
duration of time. 6. Alla carta is an adaptation of the French expression è la
140 THE CORTINA METHOD
Z '
——} | che!®5 posso permettermi.!°
ZI 9 , 18 Nella camera, s’intende, c’è
un lavabo.
19 SÌì, signore, le nostre camere
hanno tutti i confortiì mo-
derni: gas, elettricità, riscal-
damento centrale, acqua
corrente, fredda e calda.
junctive form is required by the impersonal expression non importa. See Reference
Gramma
r . 10. A giornata instead of al giorno. See Note 6, Lesson 3. 11. Pren-
dere in affitto literally means “to take for rent.” In affitto is an idiom. 12. -isco
142 THE CORTINA METHOD
verbs. See Note 27, Lesson 2, 13. Si paga is an impersonal expression meaning
“one pays.” 14. See Note 23, Lesson 12. 15. Quello che is the same as ciò che.
16. Posso permettermi literally means “I can allow myself.” 17. Lit., at the
earliest possible. 18. Sce Note 10, Lesson 13. 19. Prenderne visione is a n
FIFTEENTH LESSON 143
idiom meaning literally “to take vision of it.” 20, "The past participle ricevuta
agrees with somma, which is feminine. 21. In Italy the twenty-four hour clock is
used in official announcements and in timetables to avoid ambiguity. It is also
used, but not exclusively, in conversation. 22. See Note 29, Lesson 3.
Vocabolario per Questa Lezione
la posta aerea (roH-stah al’EH-reh’ah) air mail
per via aerea (pehr ver'ah .. .) by air mail
la carta da! lettere (KkAHrR-tah dah letter paper
LEHT-teh-reh)
nel cuore della città (nehl kwoz-reh in the center
DEHL-lah cheet-TAH) (heart) of the city
RELAZIONI COMMERCIALI
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS (reh-lah-TsyYOH-nee kohm-mehr-cHAH-lee)
CONVERSATION
5 Alcune. Ma la maggior
parte le abbiamo scritte*°
in francese poichè, come
lei sa, il francese si parla
in quasi tutte le capitali
europee, specialmente
nei paesi in cui!! la pro-
pria lingua non è molto
conosciuta all’estero: per
esempio, la Rumenia,!* la
Polonia, la Ceco-Slovac-
chia, l’Egitto e la Tur-
chia.
FoortNnoTtEs: 1. Lit., paper for letters. ‘The word da in this case implies “use.”
2. It is equally c o mmon to say la matita instead of il lapis. 3. A lungo, see
SIXTEENTH LESSON 147
PRONUNCIATION "
TRANSLATION
1 xon-sah ah FAHT-toh dee BEHL- What have you accomplished to-
loh oH-djee? day?
2 ah lah-voh-rRAH-toh MonHLn-toh? Have you done much work?
3 SEE, SYAH-moOoh . . . ohk-kK00o-PAH- Yes, we have been very busy at-
tee ah zbree-GaH-reh lah kohr-ree- tending to the correspondence
spohn-pEHN-tsah . . . ah-jehn- with our agencies throughout
TSEE’eh een TooT-tah leh’00-ROH- Europe and the Orient.
pah ed een oh-ree-EHN-teh.
4 AHN-nOh SKREET-toh leh LEHT-teh- Did you write the letters in Ital-
reh een ee-tah-LYAH-noh? ian?
5 ahl-xoo-neh. mah lah mah-DJjOHR Some. But we wrote most (lit.,
PAHR-teh leh a hb-B yAH-moh the larger part) of them in
SKREET-teh een frahn-cHEH-zeh French because, as you know,
poOy-KEH, . . . see PAHR-lah een French is spoken in nearly all
KwAH-zee TooT-teh leh kah-pee- European capitals, especially in
TAaH-lee eh’oo-roh-pEH
e'
h, speh- the countries whose (own) lan-
chahl-MEHN-teh nay pah’EH-zee guage is not very well k n own
een Koo'y lah ProH-pryah LEEN- abroad; for example, R uma-
gwah . . . koh-noh-sHYoo-tah ahl- nia, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
LEH-steh-roh; pehr eh-zEHM-pyoh Egypt, and ‘Turkey.
lah roo-meh-NEg'ah, lah poh-LoH-
nyah, la cheh-koh-sloh-vAHxR-
kyah, leh-JjEETt-toh eh lah toor-
KEE’ah.
used alone. 7. Fare qualche cosa di bello. Lit., to do something nice. 8. Essere
takes its own present as an auxiliary. In verbs conjugated with essere the past
participle agrees with the subject. Stati agrees with noi, understood. 9. O ccu pato
SIXTEENTH LESSON 149
takes a to introduce an infinitive. 10. Scritte agrees with le, which refers to
lettere. ‘The past participle of verbs conjugated with the auxiliary avere agrees
with the preceding direct object. 11. See Note 19, Lesson 3. 12. A reminder
150 THE CORTINA METHOD
22 R
ece
nte
men
te ho venduto molta merce in! Olanda e
nel* Belgio.
23 In questo caso dovrebbe aprire una succursale a' Parigi,
non le pare?
24 Sì, intendo aprire la sede centrale nel cuore della città,
vicino alla Borsa,** il quindici di questo mese.
that names of countries are preceded by the definite article. 13. The ne of
conservarne refers to copia. 14. See Note 18, Lesson 5. 15. Libretto is a
diminutive of libro. -etto is a diminutive suffix. 16. Libretto di assegni. Lit.,
little book of checks. 17. The singular of banche is banca. 18. Spedire means
“to send;” also “to ship.” 19. “In” before the name of a city is usually translated
SIXTEENTH LESSON 151
by a (ad before a vowel). 20. ‘The definite article is used idiomatically here.
21. Feminine nouns of countries, not modified by an adjective, do not take the
definite article after the preposition in. Thus we have here in Olanda (fem.) and
nel Belgio (masc.). But: nella bella Olanda (in beautiful Holland). 22. Borsa
basically means “purse;”” also “scholarship.”
ro R S,
SAAIZII
152
SEVENTEENTH LESSON 153
sentence becomes the subject of piacere, and the subject becomes an indirect
object. Thus the sentence: Vi piacciono le canzoni? (Do you like the songs?)
becomes: “are the songs pleasing to you?” In the c omp ound tenses the auxiliary
essere is used. Example: Mi è piacciuto quel libro. (I liked that book). 57. “Full
of feeling.” 58. An idiom: “To go bathing.” 59. “Passionately fond.” 60.
Che tutti definiscono: “Which everybody calls,” 61. “As you wish.” Vuoi is
SEVENTEENTH LESSON 161
present of the irregular verb volere. 62. An impersonal verb: “one cannot deny.”
63. Sia: present subjunctive of essere. 64. Macchina is often used instead of
automobile. 65. Il braccio: “your arm.” With parts of the body the possessive
adjective is usually omitted in Italian. See Reference Grammar. é66. Non se la
passa liscia is an idiomatic expression. It means, “You won’t get away with it.”
A
I
RD ; .-. 4o
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L N ONA rd È;, RZINE EN, , & o >. .£' LN e ‘!'f.E N
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SSE EBIZN LI PAT RRR SILO GL LOSAST E NIST DIGIN PA RSR AS
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I Ew ai ER a PA d I L
A L EF NA v EA RA RA N PaILITe NO “a NN ? 7 a RNA RA NPNIT '1‘='!'>&5'
possible.’” Sia is subjunctive because più has the superlative force of il più. 17.
In primo luogo: “in the first place.” 18. Italy was a monarchy up to 1946 when,
as the result of a plebiscite, it became a republic. 19. “We shall have to walk a
great deal.” In this sentence we actually have three idioms: ci toccherà, fare strada,
a piedi. 20. “There is no other way.” 21. “As one should.” 22. “In the
morning.” 23. “Early.” Literally, at a good hour. 24. “You are mistaken.”
The infinitive is sbagliarsi. 25. La maggior parte: “most.” Lit., the greater part.
EIGHTEENTH LESSON 165
26, “’To escape the heat.” Per means “in order to.” 27. “When in Rome do as
the Romans do.” Notice the literal meaning of this saying in this instance. 28.
Idiom: “It is not worth while.” 29. Imperative of irregular verb tenere. 30.
“Tha n
k s a million.” Lit., a thousand thanks. 31. “Welcome.” 32. Notice that,
even though the majordomo is welcoming a lady and a gentleman, he uses the
masculine plural form signori. 33. Here al means “on,” 34. Lit., to sign on
the register. 35. Macchè!: “Not at alll’’ 36. Conditional o£ avere, 37. “Is
166 THE CORTINA M
ETHO
D
può dire che uno stato di guerra esistesse tra la Santa Sede ed il
Governo d’Italia. Ciò non piaceva al popolo, che era tanto
patriottico quanto®® religioso. Così nacque®® 1l più piccolo stato
del mondo che è senza dubbio uno dei più importanti.
CAarnLo: Maria, signorina Borgese . ..
SIG.NA BorGESE: Mi chiami semplicemente Rosella, che è il
mio nome di battesimo.”
CAarLo: Va bene. Rosella, Maria sentite: mi è venuta un’idea
brillante.
MarI1Aa: Un’idea brillante? È possibile?
CarLo: Non scherziamo! Dunque, ecco la mia idea. Dato che
abbiamo tante e tante®5 cose da fare e da vedere a Roma, non
sarebbe meglio prendere in noleggio° un’automobile per il
periodo di tempo che resteremo qui?
SIG.NA BoRGESE: Non si può negare che l’idea sia eccellente.
Sicuro che è possibile. Credo che sia il mezzo migliore e forse il
più economico per visitare tutti i luoghi”° della città.
MARIA: Ammetto anch'io che l’idea è buona. Così potremo
veramente vedere tutta Roma, la parte antica e quella moderna.
SIG.NA BORGESE: Giustissimo. Non debbono lasciare questa
città portando con loro, come fanno tanti altri turisti, l’impres-
sione che R oma sia soltanto una città antica. Roma è anche una
città molto moderna, con nuovi quartieri residenziali, nuove vie
bellissime, larghe ed alberate, nuovi parchi e monumenti. Il più
imponente e meraviglioso di questi monumenti è quello di Vit-
torio Emanuele Secondo,”! che fu il primo Re d’Italia. Probabil-
mente sanno che al centro di questo m o
nu mento c’è la tomba
del Milite Ignoto.'?
MaAr1a: Mi piacerebbe visitare anche le famose Catacombe'®
in cui si riunivano segretamente i Cristiani.
SIG.NA BORGESE: Le Catacombe sono molto interessanti. Allora
dovranno visitare anche le Fosse Ardeatine, scena di una delle
più orrende stragi dell’ epoca moderna.
“so many.” 69. Prendere in noleggio: “to rent.” 70. Luoghi is plural of luogo
(place). 71. Victor Emanuel II (1820-1878) was the first king of United Italy.
72. “ Un known Soldier.” 73. ‘The miles and miles of Catacombs in Rome are of
great interest to tourists. It was there that the early Christians held their secret
EIGHTEENTH LESSON 171
meetings and performed their rituals, 74. “Political prisoners.” 75. Beh is
an exclamation meaning “well! so!” 76. Future of venire. 77. Future of potere.
78. Tutti e tre: “the three of them.” Likewise, tutti e due: “both.”
EN + E
Oi
i
a
1a
L *
EJJNN
N :
v
’«&5>.'-‘?-“' B, a
RR
PA
FIRENZE, CULLA DE
LLE ARTI
IN UNA PIAZZA DI FIRENZE
its artistic objects of silver and embossed leather. 30. Future of irregular verb
volere. Here it indicates probability. 31. Conditional of volere. 32. “If I am
not mistaken.” 33. “Should not be missing.” 34. Diminutive of cose (things).
178 THE CORTINA METHOD
35. “Fine!” 36. “It's my weakness!” 37. The Politeama is a magnificent con-
cert hall in Florence. 38. The Cascine is a beautiful park in Florence. 39. Che
c’entra il grillo?: “What has the cricket got to do with ito?” 40. Far fuoco: “to
NINETEENTH LESSON 179
non hanno limiti. Il cavallo vincitore viene portato in chiesa per
ricevere la benedizione. Questa festa ha luogo il due luglio e si
ripete 1l sedici agosto.
CArLO: Magnifico! Questa è una vera fortuna. Che ne dici,
Maria? Possiamo prolungare la nostra visita qui di quattro giorni
ancora?
MaARrIA: Perchè no? Abhiamo ancora molte cose da vedere da
queste parti. È molto lontana Siena?
PAscoLo: Appena un centinaio di chilometri. Ci“ si arriva in
meno di due ore. E, se loro permettono, li accompagnerò io.
CArno: Sa, caro ingegnere, che noi siamo forse i più fortunati
turisti che siano mai venuti in Italia?
PAscoLo: Co
me mai?
Carno: Perchè tanto a Napoli come a R
oma abbiamo avuto
la fortuna di incontrare dei buoni amici che ci hanno fatto da
guida.‘* E qui, a Firenze, abbiamo lei. Inutile dirle che accettiamo
di tutto cuore*5 la sua gentile offerta.
PAascono: Li assicuro che sarà un gran piacere per me. E che
cosa hanno intenzione di fare durante questi quattro giorni?
MaArIA: Non mancherà certo il modo di occuparli. D o mani
vogliamo andare a Fiesole, a visitare quell’incantevole monastero
di cui ho tanto sentito parlare.
PAscoLo: Non avranno a pentirsene. Fiesole è poco distante.
Il monastero è situato in cima ad una collina, e di lassù avranno
occasione di ammirare un panorama stupendo.
CAarLo: D opodom ani andremo a Pisa che, secondo i miei cal-
coli, possiamo raggiungere in circa due ore.
MaARIA: Sono molto ansiosa di vedere la famosa Torre Pen-
dente. Si può salire sulla ‘T'orre?
PAsconLo: Certo. E anche dalla Torre potranno ammirare il
magnifico panorama degli Appennini e delle verdi colline di
fire’ 41. See Note 51, Lesson 18. 42. Si svolge: “takes place.” 43, Ci:
“there.”’ 44. Idiom: “to act as a guide.” 45. Di tutto cuore: “wholeheartedly.”
46. “Law of falling bodies” 47. Allora siamo a posto: “Then everything is
180 THE CORTINA METHOD
/ accontentata.
NELL’ITALIA S
ETT
ENT
RIONALE
MarIA: Mio caro sposo, sarebbe impossibile dirti quanto sono
felice. Questo viaggio, che purtroppo volge alla fine,! mi ha riem-
pito il cuore di una gioia infinita. Non avrei mai potuto, nem-
meno lontanamente, immaginare che l’Italia fosse così bella.
CarLo: SÌì, il buon Dio è stato molto generoso verso l’Italia.
Adesso capisco le parole di Longfellow che disse: “Aprite il mio
cuore € vi troverete incisa la parola Italia.”’ Portiamo con noi
molti ricordi di questo “Bel Paese.” Che cosa ti è piaciuto? di
più, Maria?
MaArIA: Questa è la domanda più difficile che tu possa® farmi.
Ti risponderò semplicemente: tutto!l Le bellissime città. di
Napoli, Roma, Firenze, Pisa; e poi Siena. Chi avrebbe mai potuto
credere che la Festa del Palio fosse così bella? E poi la città che
più di ogni altra volevo vedere: Venezia, la città romantica, la
città dei sogni e della poesia, che sorge dalla laguna.
CAarLOo: Hai ragione, mia cara; Venezia è fantasticamente
bella. Quel labirinto di canali, quelle graziose gondole* che sci-
volano silenziosamente sull’acqua, destramente spinte® dai gon-
dolieri che stanno sempre ritti in piedi® dietro ai passeggieri. È
incredibile che si sia potuto costruire' una città così bella su
centinaia di isolette rocciose.
MarI1Aa: Chissà per quale bizzarra idea la costruirono proprio
in mezzo al mare.®
FOOTNOTES: 1. Volge alla fine: “Is coming to an end.” 2. See Note 56, Lesson 17.
3. Subjunctive of potere. Subjunctive is required by the relative superlative.
4. At the time of the Venetian Republic the luxury of the gondolas and the rivalry
of the owners were so great that the Doge ordered an end to all that, and since
182
TWENTIETH LESSON 183
Subjunctive of volere. 20. Pianura del Po: “the plain of the Po.” The Po Valley,
the most fertile part of Italy, is called the “breadbasket of Italy.” 21. Ne fa:
“makes it (of it).” 22. “The Last Supper,” 23. “With emotion.” 2#. “Con-
186 THE CORTINA METHOD
IN CASA DEL DO
TTOR BARLETTAA G
E N
O V
A
CArro: Carissimo Totò, noi apprezziamo la tua gentile ospi-
talità, ma volerci in casa tua per tutto il tempo che saremo qui
mi pare approfittare un po' troppo da parte nostra. Perchè non
ci hai prenotata una camera all’albergo?
ceived the idea of.” 25. “Has displeased me.” 26. “It's really too bad!’”
27. Ebbi is past definite of avere. 28. Fui is past definite of essere. 29. “Who
TWENTIETH LESSON 187
house.” Diminutive of casa. 41. Fare una fotografia: “to take a picture.”
42. Non sono d’accordo: “Do not agree.” 43. “Of the east.” 44. “Of the west.”
45. “Too bad!” 46. “At war against each other.” 47. Garibaldi, with his 1000
190 THE CORTINA METHOD
soldiers, called “Red Shirts,” left on his expedition to Sicily on May 6, 1860.
48. Risorgimento is the period of Italian unification, roughly from 1815 to 1870.
49. “I have heard” 50. “Will end.”
Reference G
ram
mar
T
HE NOUN
$7 ‘The Gender of Nouns 2
04
(1) Masculine and feminine genders. (2) Nouns ending in -o.
(3) Nouns ending in -a. (4) Masculine and feminine nouns ending
in -a. (5) Certain feminine nouns. (6) Masculine and feminine
nouns ending in -e. (7) Feminine nouns ending in -i. (8) N ouns
ending in -o, having form ending -a. (9) Masculine and feminine
nouns ending in -e. (10) Irregular feminine forms. (11) Masculine
nouns and feminine counterparts. (12, 18) Nouns of animals. (14)
N ames of months. (15) Days of the week. (16) Countries.
194
CONTENTS * REFERENCE GRAMMAR 193
THE ADJ
ECT
IVE
$10 The Adjective 212
(1) Classes of adjectives. (2) Agreement of. (8) Adjectives modi-
fying two or more nouns.
$811 Position of Adjectives 213
(1) Normal usage. (2) Demonstrative adjectives. (83) Numerals.
(4) Adjectives molto and tutto. (5) Possessive adjectives. (6) Com-
mon adjectives. (7) Adjectives with figurative and literal meanings.
$12 Plural of Adjectives 214
(1) Agreement with nouns. (2) Ending in -co. (3) Pari.
$18 Demonstrative Adjectives 214
(1) Questo. (2) Codesto. (3) Quello. (4) Stesso and medesimo.
(5) Tale.
814 Indefinite Adjectives 215
(1) Four forms. (2) Invariable adjectives.
$15 Interrogative adjectives 215
(1) Che. (2) Quale. (3) Quanto. (4) Di chi.
$16 The Possessive Adjectives 216
(1) “My”. (2) “Your” (fam. sing.). (8) “Your” (pol. sing.). (4)
“Our”. (5) “Your” (fam pl.). (6) “Your” ({pol. pi.) and “their”.
(7) A greement of. (8) Use of definite article. (9) Loro and definite
article. (10) M am ma, babbo and article. (11) Essere and definite
article. (12) Direct address. (13) Parts of body and articles of
clothing. (14) Indefinite article. (15) Definite article. (16) Altrui.
(17) 1 miei, etc., as nouns. (18) Proprio.
817 Comparison of Adjectives 219
(1) Comparative of equality. (2) Comparative of inequality. (3)
Relative superlative. (4) Absolute superlative.
818 Some Irregular Adjectives 223
(1) -Bello. (2) Grande. (8) Buono. (4) Santo.
196 THE CORTINA METHOD
THE PRONOUN
819 Personal Subject Pronouns 224
(1) As subject. (2) Notes.
820 Direct Object Pronouns 225
(1) List of. (2) Normal position. (8) With compound tense.
(4) Lo and la before vowel. (5) Ecco and direct object pronoun.
(6) With infinitive. (7) Witth affirmative imperative.
821 Indirect Object Pronouns 226
(1) List of. (2) Normal usage. (8) Use of loro. (4) With com-
pound tense. (5) With infinitive. (6) With affirmative imperative.
822 Disjunctive Pronouns 227
(1) List of. (2) Normal usage. (3) Lui and lei. (4) Use of stesso.
(5) Use of lui, lei, loro. (6) With animals or objects.
823 Interrogative Pronouns 228
(1) Chi? (2) Che cosa? (8) Quale? (4) Di Chi?
824 Relative Pronouns 229
(1) Che. (2) Cui. (8) Cui. (4) Il quale. (5) Cio che. (6) Chi.
825 Demonstrative Pronouns 231
(1) Questo, quello, and codesto. (2) Questi and quegli. (8) Cio.
$26 Indefinite Pronouns 231
(1) Nessuno. (2) Nulla or niente. (3) Ognuno. (4) Qualcuno. (5)
Chiunque. (6) Tutto, tutti. (7) Alcuni. (8) dltri. (9) Checche.
827 The Possessive Pronouns 232
828 Refliexive Prono
uns 232
(1) List of. (2) Normal usage.
829 TheD ou bleP ro no uns 233
(1) Direct and indirect object. (2) Mi, ti, ci, vi, and si. (8) Gli and
le. (4) Normal usage. (5) Use of loro. (6) indirect object.
THE AD
VERB
$30 Classes of Adverbs 234
831 Formation of Adverbs 236
$32 Comparison of Adverbs 236
(1) Same as adjectives. (2) Absolute superlative form. (3) Irregular
comparatives. (4) Relative superlative. (5) Absolute superlative.
(6) Diminutive or augmentative ending.
T
HE PREPOSITION
833 ‘The Preposition a 237
(1). Before indirect object nouns. (2) Before disjunctive pronouns.
(3) Before cities. (4) Idioms. (5) Before some infinitives. (6) To
indicate price. (7) To indicate time. (8) In some adverbial
locutions.
CONTENTS © REFERENCE GRAMMAR 197
T HE I N TERJ
ECTI
ON
$40 Some Common Interjections 245
THE V
E R
B
841 The Transitive Verbs 246
842 ‘The Intransitive Verbs 246
843 ‘The Infinitive 247
(1) Infinitive endings. (2) Normal usage. (3) After prepositions.
(4) Depending on noun. (5) Depending on adjective. (6) Depend-
ing on another verb. (7) Per before an infinitive. (8) Direct,
indti)rect, and reflexive pronouns. (9) Past infinitive. (10 Auxiliary
verb.
844 The Gerund 249
$45 ‘The Participle 249
(1) Present participle. (2) Normal usage of present participle.
(3) Past participle. (4) Normal usage of past participle. (5) Past
participle in absolute construction. (6) Direct, indirect, and re-
flexive pronouns. (7) C ompou nd tenses.
846 ‘The Conjugation of Verbs 251
(1) Indicative Mood. (2) Conditional Mood. (3) Imperative. (4)
Subjunctive Mood. (5) Infinitive. (6) Participle. (7) Gerund.
847 Conjugation of the Verbs Essere and Avere 251
$48 ‘The First Conjugation 256
198 THE CORTINA METHOD
86 The Contractions
A contraction results when a preposition unites with the definite
article.
1. The following five prepositions contract with each one of the
definite articles: a (to, at), da (from, at, by), in (in, into), di (of),
su (on, upon) as shown in the following table:
204 [87] THE N
OUN
few exceptions to this rule; the following two common words are
feminine even though they end in o:
la mano la radio
the ha
nd the radio
la crisi l’ipotesi
the crisis the hypothesis
EXCEPTION:
il brindisi
the toast
8. Some words ending in -o also have a form ending in -a, but the
two words have different meanings. Here is a partial list:
il collo la colla il mento la menta
the neck the glue the chin the mint
il col la colpa il modo la m od a
the blow the fault the manrner the fashion
il costo la costa il pianto la pianta
the cost the coast weeping the plant
il filo la fila il punto la punta
the thread the row the dot the point
il foglio la foglia il porto la porta
the sheet the leaf the port thepdoor
il fosso la fossa lo scalo la scala
the ditch the grave the dock the stairs
il manico la manica
the handle the sleeve
9, Some words end in -e in both the masculine and feminine, but
have different meanings:
il fine la fine
the aim the end
il fronte la fronte
the front the forehead
7. Nouns ending in -ca and -ga, end in -che and -ghe in the plural
if they are feminine, and in -chi and -ghzi if they are masculine:
la bocca il duca
the mouth the duke
le bocche i duchi
la riga il collega
the ruler the colleague
le righe i colleghi
8. Nouns ending in -cia and -gia follow the general rule when the
i is stressed:
la farmacia la bugia
the pharmacy the lie
le farmacie le bugie
However, when the i is not stressed, they usually end in -ce and -ge:
la provincia l’arancia la spiaggia
the province the orange the beach
le province le arance le spiagge
EXCEPTIONS:
la camicia la valigia la ciliegia
the shirt the valise the cherry
le camicie le valigie le ciliegie
9. Nouns ending in -co usually end in -chi in the plural when the
stress falls on the syllable preceding co, and in ci when the stress
THE NOUN [$8] 209
13. The following nouns are used mostly in the plural, very rarely
in the singular:
i calzoni (sing. il calzone)
the trousers
i pantaloni (sing. il pantalone)
the trousers
210 1[$88] THE NOUN
15. The following nouns form their plural by changing the singular
ending to a, and thus become feminine:
l’uovo il grido il ciglio
the egg the cry the eyelid
le uova le grida le ciglia
il dito il lenzuolo il ginocchio
the finger the bed sheet the knee
le dita le lenzuola le ginocchia (also i ginocchi)
il paio il centinaio
the pair about a hundred
le paia le centinaia
il miglio il migliaio
the mile about a thousand
le miglia le migliaia
l’osso le ossa
the b
one (of humans)
gli ossi
(of animals o?
in grease)
THE N
OUN [S9] 211
17. Nouns ending with an accented vowel do not change in the
plural:
il caffè la virtù
coffee virtue
i caffè le virtù
la città la libertà
the city liberty
le città le libertà
18. Monosyllabic nouns do not change in the plural:
il re
the king
i re
19. Surnames do not change in the plural:
il Barletta
i Barletta
20. Nouns ending in a consonant do not change in the plural:
il lapis il gas
the pencil the gas
i lapis i gas
2]1. Nouns composed of a verb and a plural noun do not change in
the plural:
il portalettere il lustrascarpe il tagliacarte
the letter carrier the shoeshine boy the paper cutter
i portalettere i lustrascarpe i tagliacarte
libro camera
book ro
om
libraccio cameraccia
8. The suffix -otto (£. -otta) denotes mediocre bigness:
un signore una ragazza
a gentleman a girl
un sign
orotto una ragazzotta
4. The suffix -ino (£. -ina) denotes smallness often coupled with
grace:
una stanza una donna un bicchiere
room lady glass
una stanzina una donnina un bicchierino
5. The suffixes -ello, -etto, -uccio, -olino, -icino, and their feminine
forms ending in -a, have the same meaning as -ino above:
una stanza un povero
room poor man
una stanzetta un poverello
un vecchio un pesce
old man fish
un vecchietto un pesciolino
un libro
book
un libricino
$ 12 Plural of Adjectives
1. For agreement with plural nouns, adjectives follow the same
rules as the nouns.
2. For adjectives ending in -co see rule stated in $ 8-9. The follow-
ing three common adjectives are exceptions to that rule and form
the plural in cs:
amico amici nemico memici greco greci
friendly unfriendly Greek
$. ‘The adjective pari (like, equal, even same) is invariable:
numeri pari
even num
bers
$£ 13 . Demonstrative Adjectives
1. The demonstrative adjective questo (this) is used to indicate an
object which is near the person who speaks. Since it ends in -o it has
four forms:
questo questa questi queste
2., ‘The demonstrative adjective codesto (that) is used to indicate an
object near the person addressed. It also has four forms:
codesto codesta codesti codeste
$. ‘The demonstrative adjective quello (that) is used to indicate an
object which is far from both the person speaking and the person
addressed. This adjective has various forms, similar to those of the
contractions [See $6-1]:
uel ragazzo quei ragazzi
that boy those boys
uella lettera qauelle lettere
that letter those letters
quello specchio uegli specchi
that mirror those mirrors
THE ADJECTIVE [$814] 215
qu ell’uo mo quegli u o mini
that m an those men
uell’amica quelle a m iche
that friend (£.) those friends (f.)
4. ‘The demonstrative adjectives stesso and medesimo (both mean-
ing ‘“same’) are used to indicate something of which one has previ-
ous knowledge:
Egli dice sempr e le stesse cose.
He always says the same things.
Tu ripeti il medesimo argomento.
You repeat the same argument.
5. The adjective tale (such) has the same meaning as questo, but
refers to something previously mentioned:
lIo non posso credere tale storia.
1 can't believe such a story.
$ 14 Indefinite Adjectives
The following is a list of the more common indefinite adjectives:
]. Those that have four forms:
altro certo troppo
other certain too much
alcuno molto OCcO0
some m
uch ittle
Certe cose non le capisco.
I don’t understand certain things.
Tu bevi troppa birra.
You drink too much beer.
2. ‘Those that are invariable and are always used in the singular:
ogni qualunque
every any
qu
alch
e qualsiasi
some any
Hai qualche cosa per me?
Do you have something for me?
Egli ripete q ualunq u e cosa sente.
He repeats anything he hears.
Ogniu o moa ma la libertà.
Every man loves liberty.
$8 15 Interrogative Adjectives
The following are the Italian interrogative adjectives:
1. Che? (what?) This adjective is invariable but the noun that
follows it may be of either number or gender:
Che libri hai letto?
What books have you read?
Che lingua parla egli?
What language does he speak?
216 [$8135] THE ADJECTIVE
2. Quale? (p!. quali) (which?).
Quale lezione ha imparato lei?
Which lesson did you learn?
Quali amici verranno?
Which friends will come?
38. Quanto? (four forms) (how much?).
Quanta carne devo comprare?
How much meat must I buy?
Quante valigie ha lei?
How many suitcases have you?
4. Di chi? (Whose?).
Di chi è questa p
enna
?
Whose pen is this?
Di chi sono questi libri?
Whose books are these?
NOoTE: You need not worry about any confusion arising about
who is the possessor, as the last example above might seem to
indicate. W hen you say “La sua casa è molto bella”, you will
be able to tell by the context of the conversation to w ho m
la sua refers. However, 2ny possible ambiguity may be avoided
by paraphrasing the se ntence in which the possessive occurs.
For example, instead >f saying “la sua casa”, you may say
“la casa di Carlo” if you mean Charles’ house.
4. ‘The w
ord “our” is rendered by il nostro, la nostra, i nostri, le
nostre.
Il nostro maestro è molto gentile.
Our teacher is very kind.
Noi amiamo la nostra bandiera.
We love our fliag.
I nostri libri sono nuovi.
Our books are new.
Ecco le nostre amiche?!
Here are our friends (£.).
5. The word “your” (familiar plural, voi-form) is rendered by
il vostro, la vostra, i vostri, le vostre.
Io sono il vostro amico.
I am your friend.
Am ate la vostra patria!
Love your country!
I vostri bicchieri sono vuoti,
Your glasses are empty.
Le vostre d
o mande non sono difficili.
Your questions are not difficult.
7. The possessive adjectives agree with the thing possessed and not
with the possessor. See the above sentences for examples.
8. The possessive adjectives are preceded by the definite article
except when followed by a singular noun indicating a m emb er of
the family or a relative. If, however, this noun is modified by an
adjective or a suffix, the definite article must be used.
218 [$16] THE ADJECTIVE
Egli ama sua madre. Io gioco con mia sorella.
He loves his mother. 1 play with my sister.
Bor:
Egli ama la sua cara madre. o gioco con la mia sorellina.
He loves his dear mother. I play with ms little sister.
10. With the words m amm a (mother) and babbo (dad) the posses-
sive adjective is always preceded by the definite article:
La sua m a mma è molto gentile.
Your mother is very kind.
Il suo bhabbo è in America.
His dad is in A
mer
ica
.
12. In direct address the possessive adjective follows the noun and
is used without the definite article:
Ami co mio, perdonami?!
Forgive me, my friend!
13. ‘The possessive adjectives are usually omitted, and the definite
article is used instead, with parts of the body or personal articles of
clothing:
Egli alzò la testa. Dammi i! cappello, Carlo.
He raised his head. Give me your hat, Charles.
14. W ith expressions such as “a friend of mine’”, “a cousin of his”,
% é
17. The possessives i miei, i tuoi, i suoi are, at times, used as nouns
to indicate one’s parents, and, in a broader sense, one’s relatives.
Come stanno i tuoi?
How are your folks?
18. The words proprio, propria, propri, proprie, meaning “own”,
are often used to add emphasis to the other possessive adjectives:
Egli ha fatto questo con le sue proprie mani.
He did this with his ewn hands.
7. ‘The direct object pronouns are attached to the tu, noi, and voi
forms of the affirmative imperative:
tu form: Porta il libro. Portalo.
carry the book. Carry it.
noi form: C om pri am o le arance. Compriamole.
Let us buy the oranges. Let us buy them.
voi form: Imparate la lezione. Imparatela.
Learn the lesson. Learn it.
Bur:
Noncompriamo i libri. N
on li c
ompr
iamo.
Let us not buy the books. Let us not buy them.
8 22 Disjunetive Pronouns
The following are called disjunctive pronouns because, unlike the
other pronouns, they are used independently of the verb. They
have special uses as explained in 2 below.
1. The disjunctive pronouns in Italian are:
me noi
me us
te voi
you (fam. sing.) you (fam. pl.)
lei loro
you (pol. sing.). her you (pol. pl.), them (persons,
lui essi
i them (masc.) (objects)
esso esse
it (masc.) them (fem.) (objects)
essa sèè
it (fem.) himself, herself, itself, themselves
228 [822] THE PRONOUN
c. In a compound subject:
Tu e lui andrete a R o ma.
You and he will go to Rome.
6. The disjunctive pronouns esso, essa, essi, esse are more com.-
monly used for animals or objects.
$ 23 Interrogative Pronouns
1. The interrogative pronoun chi? (who? whom>) is of both genders,
THE PRONOUN [$823] 229
£ 24 Relative Pronouns
1. Ghe (who, whom, that, which) is the most common of the relative
pronouns. It is used both as the subject or the direct object of a
verb. It should not be used after a preposition.
L’ u omo che parla è mio zio.
The man whkho is talking is my uncle.
Quelli che studiano i mpar ano.
"T'hose who study learn.
Mi piace il libro che mi hai dato.
I like the book (that) you gave me.
Notice in the above sentence that the word “that”, which may be
and is often omitted in English, may not be omitted in Italian.
2. Cui means “ w hom” or “which” when it is preceded by a preposi-
tion. It is used for both persons and things, and is both singular
and plural.
1I ragazzi di cui parlo.
‘The boys of w hom 1I am talking.
La p enna con cui scrivo è nuova.
‘The pen with which I am writing is new.
3. Gui preceded by the definite article or a contraction means
é
whose. LL
$ 25 Demonstrative Pronouns
1. There is no difference in form between the demonstrative pro-
nouns questo, quello, and codesto and the corresponding demon-
strative adjectives [See $ 13].
Quei ragazzi sono studiosi; quello non studia affatto.
"Those boys are studious; that one doesn’t study at all.
NorTE: It should be noted, however, that ?uello as a pronoun
has only four forms—quello, quella, quelli, and quelle.
2. The demonstrative pronouns questi (this one, the latter) and
quegli (that one, the former) are commonly used in sentences with
two substantives. They refer only to persons (masc. sing.), and are
used only as subjects of the verbs:
Conosco bene Carlo è Luigi: questi è intelligente, quegli è uno
stupido.
I lgmow Charles and Louis: the latter is intelligent, the former is a
unce.
8. The demonstrative pronoun ciò (this, that) may be used as
subject or as object of the verb, and refers to something which has
already been said or which is going to be said. It never refers to
persons.
Non hai studiato? Ciò è molto male.
You haven’t studied? That is very bad.
È inutile ripeter ciò.
It’s useless to repeat that.
NoTE: At times ciò is replaced by the particle ci:
Ha detto questo? lo non ci credo.
Did he say that? I don’t believe it.
£ 26 Indefinite Pronouns
‘The most common indefinite pronouns in Italian are:
1. Nessuno Nobody, no one
Nessuno verrà a cercarti qui.
No one vill come to look for you here.
2. Nulla or niente Nothing
Nulla mi impedisce di far ciò.
Nothing prevents me from doing that.
NoTE: Nessuno, nulla, and niente require the negative particle
non when preceded by the verb:
N
on verrè a cercarti n
essu
no.
Nobody will come to look for you.
$. Ognuno Anybody, any one, everyone, everybody
Ognuno può fare quel gli piace.
Anybody can do as he pleases.
232 1[1826] THE PRONOUN
to himself,
to herself,
to themselves se lo se la se li se le se ne
2. Notice from the above table that the indirect obg'ect pronouns
mi, ti, ci, vi, and st change to me, te, ce, ve, and se betore the direct
object pronouns.
Egli mi dà il denaro. Egli me lo dà.
He gives me the money. He gives it to me.
Essi ci man dano delle ciliegie. Essi ce ne mandano,.
‘They send us some cherries. ‘They send us some.
234 [829) THE PRONOUN
$. ‘The indirect object pronouns gli (to himì)and le (to her, to you)
become glie and combine with the direct object pronouns.
Io porto i fiori alla m amm a. lo glieli porto.
I bring the flowers to mother. I bring them to her.
4. ‘The double pronouns normally precede the verb except an
infinitive and the tu, noi, and voi forms of the affirmative impera-
tive, in which cases they are attached to the end of the verb [See
è 2
2'8, 6, 7].
$ 31 Formation of Adverbs
1. Many adverbs of manner are formed by adding -mente to the
singular feminine forms of adjectives:
ADJECTIVE SING. FEM. FORM ADVERB
ricco ricca riccamente
rich
divino divina divinamente
divine
breve breve brevemente
brief
However, adjectives which end in -ale, -ele, -ile, -ole, -are, and -ore
drop the final e before adding -mente:
generale inutile particolare
general useless particular
generalmente inutilmente particolarmente
fedele debole ma ggiore
faithful weak greater
fe del mente debo lm
ente ma gg i
o r
men
te
2. Several adjectives may be used as adverbs without changing
form, although the alternate adverbial form may also be used:
Parlate chiaro or chiaramente.
Speak clearly.
Ella mi guardò fisso or fissamente.
She stared (lit., looked straight) at me.
$ 32 Comparison of Adverbs
1. Most adverbs are compared in the same manner as the adjectives.
'The words più and meno are used for the comparative, and il più
and il meno for the superlative:
Vi prego di parlare più lentamente.
I beg you to speak more slowly.
So che egli mi serve meno fedelmente del gadre.
1 know he serves me less faithfully than the father.
Vi prego di parlare il più lentamente possibile.
1 beg you to speak as slowly as possible.
9, Adverbs, like adjectives, also have an absolute superlative form.
Simply add -mente to the singular feminine form of the absolute
superlative of the adjective:
Egli imparava tutto facilissimamentee.
He learned everything very, very easily.
THE ADVERB [832] 237
7. To indicate time:
Lo spettacolo comincia alle otto.
‘The show starts at eight.
Carlo verrà a m ezz og orno.
Charles will come at n oon.
THE PREPOSTMION [$33] 239
7. ‘To translate the English expressions “as, like, in the manner of:”
Egli parla da ragazzo intelligente.
He speaks like an intelligent boy.
Egli vive da re.
He lives like a king.
Notice the omission of the indefinite article before ragazzo and re
[See $ 5-4].
8. To indicate a place where an action occurs:
Si buttò dalla finestra.
He threw himself out of the window.
Dalla mo
ntagna si vede un panorama bellissimo.
From the mountain one sees a beautiful panorama.
Il prete predica dal pulpito.
The priest preaches from the pulpit.
9. To indicate age or condition, in sentences such as these:
Da b a mbino avevo i capelli biondi.
As a child (when I1 was a child) I had blond hair.
Da studente egli era svogliato.
As a student he was unattentive.
$ 35 The Preposition di
The preposition di (of, by) or a contraction with the definite
article is used:
1. To indicate possession:
La casa dello zio
Uncle’'s house
L’automobile di Giovanni
John’s automobile
2. Material of which something is made, or contents:
Un orologio d’oro
a gold watch
Un a veste di seta
a silk dress
Un bicchiere di latte
a glass of milk
$. In a sense of literary or artistic authorship:
Unr omanzo di Ma nzoni
a novel by Manzoni
Un quadro di Michelangelo
a painting by Michaelangelo
4. In comparisons (see $ 17-B-3 and $ 17-C-3).
5. If, in the equivalent English, a noun is used as an adjective to
modify another noun, the tendency in Italian is to place the modi-
fying noun in a prepositional phrase with di:
Una lezione di francese
a French lesson
6. With infinitives depending upon an adjective:
Egli è contento di andare là
He is glad to go there.
Sei felice di rivedermi?
Are you happy to see me again?
Io sono orgoglioso di fare questo lavoro.
I am proud to do this work.
7. Before certain nouns or pronouns depending upon an adjective:
Tu sei invidioso di lui.
You are envious of him.
Noi siamo orgogliosi della nostra patria.
We are proud of our country.
Non siete sicuri di me?
Aren’t you sure of me?
242 [$35]) THE PREPOSITION
b. To indicate time:
Danten ac que nel 1265.
Dante was born in 1265.
In tre mesi finirò il lavoro.
In three months I shall finish the work,
C. T o translate the word “to” in a verb of m
oti
on before n
ame
s of
Ccountries:
lo ritornerò negli Stati Uniti.
] shall return to the United States.
La signora va in America.
The lady is going to America.
8 39 Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions establish dependence between two
verbs. Themostcom
mon ones are:
che quindi gîacchè
that therefore inasmuch as
come mal gr ado dov unque
how, as in spite of everywhere
percheè men tre purch è
because while provided
Er benchè a patto che
Or although on condition that
quando sebbene non
o stante
when although notwithstanding
dove invec e di nepp ure or n emm e
n o
where instead of neither, not even
se
if
No n è giusto che lei faccia questo.
It is not right for you to do this.
Son o venuto per salutarti.
I have come to (for to) greet you.
Egli gioca, m en tred ovr ebbe studiare.
He plays while he ought to be studying.
È venuto perchè ha bisogno del tuo aiuto.
He came because he needs your help.
NoTE: The conjunction che (that) is never omitted in Itatian,
as 1s often done in English:
Credo che Maria verrà.
T think (that) Mary will come.
7. ‘The English expression “in order to” (or “to” alone, if it means
‘“in order to”) is rendered by per before an infinitive.
Per c ompr are queste cose ci vuole molto denaro.
In order to buy these things you need a great deal of money.
Inasmuch as the singular forms for lei (you, polite), egli (he), ella
(she), and the plural forms for loro (you, polite), essi (they, masc.)
and esse (they, fem.) are the same, only one form will be given,
except in the c om pou nd tenses of essere, where the past participle
agrees with the subject.
svere essere
to have to be
INDICATIVE Moon
PRESENT
io ho . io sono
lThave, ] am having, 1 dohave lam
tu hai . tu sei
you have, you are having, you are
you do have
egli ha _. | egli è
he has, he is having, he does he is
have
noi abbiamo | noi siamo
we have, we are having, we weare
do have
voi avete . voi siete
you have, you are having, Jou you are
do have
essi hanno . essi sono
they have, they are having, they are
they do have
PRESENTPER F ECT
io ho avuto io sono stato (or stata)
Ih ad,1 have had 1 was, I have been
tu hai avuto tu sei stato (stata)
egli ha avuto egli è stato
ella è stata
noi ab biamoa vuto noi siamo stati (state)
voi avete avuto voi siete stati (state)
essi hanno avuto essìi sono stati
esse sono state
IMPERFECT
10 avevo io ero .
I had, I used to have, 1 was 1was, I used to be, I was being
having
tu avevi tu eri
egli aveva egli era
noi avev
amo noi e ravamo
voi avevate voi eravate
essì avevana essì era no
THE VERB [$847] 233
PLUPERF
E C
T
10 avevo avuto io ero stato (-a)
l had had l had been
tu avevi avu
t o tu eri stato (-a)
egli aveva avuto egli era stato
ella era stata
noi a vev amoa vuto noi e rava mo stati (-e)
voi a vevate avuto voi eravate stati (-e)
e€ssì avevanoa vuto essi erano stati
esse erano state
PAST DEFINITE
io ebbi io fui
I kad 1 was
tu avesti tu fosti
egli ebbe egli fu
noi a ve mmo noi f um mo
voi aveste voi foste
essi ebbero essi furono
PASTANTERIOR
io ebbi avuto io fui stato (-a)
1 had had been
tu avesti avuto tu fosti stato (-a)
egli ebbe avuto egli fu stato
ella fu stata
noi a ve mmo avuto noi f umm o stati (-e)
voi aveste avuto voi foste stati (-e)
essì ebberoa vuto essi furono stati
esse furono state
FUTURE
io avrò io sarò
1 will (or shall) have I will (or shall) be
tu avrai tu sarai
egli avra egli sarà
noi a vremo noi saremo
voi avrete voi sarete
essi avranno essi saranno
FUTURE PERFECT
io avrò avuto io sarò stato (-a)
1 will (or shall) have had 1 will (or shall) have been
tu avrai avuto tu sarai stato (-a)
egli avrà avuto egli sara stato
ella saraà stata
noi a vremo avuto noi s ar emo stati (-e)
voi avrete avuto voi sarete stati (-e)
essiì avr
anno avuto essi saranno stati
esse saranno state
254 1$47] THE VERB
CONDITIONALMoon
PRESENT
io avrei io sarei
I would (or should) have I would (or should) be
tu avresti tu saresti
egli avrebbe egli sarebbe
noi a v remmo noi s ar emmo
voi avreste voi sareste
essi avrebbero essi sarebbero
PAST
io avrei avuto io sarei stato (-a)
I would (or should) have had 1 would (or should) have been
tu avresti avuto tu saresti stato (-a)
egli avrebbe avuto egli sarebbe stato
ella sarebbe stata
noi avremmo avuto noi saremmo stati (-6)
voi avreste avuto voi sareste stati (-e)
essi avrebbero avuto essi sarebbero stati
esse sarebbero state
THEIMPERA
T I
V E
abbi (tu) sii
have be
abbia (lei, egli, ella) sia
have, let him have, let her be, let him be, let her be
have
a bbia mo (noi) siamo
let us have let us be
abbiate (voi) siate
have be
a bbiano (loro, essi, esse) siano
have, let them have be, let them be
NoTE: Normally the personal pronouns are not used in the
imperative.
SUBJUNCTIVE Moonp
PRESENT
che io abbia che io sia
I have, 1 may have I be, I may be
che tu abbia che tu sia
che egli abbia che egli sia
che noi a bbiamo che noi siamo
che voi abbiate che voi siate
che essi abbiano che essi siano
PAST
che io abbia avuto che io sia stato (-al
I had, 1 might have I have been, 1 may have been
che tu abbia avuto che tu sia stato (-a)
THE VERB [$847] 2535
THE INFINITIVE
PRESENT
avere essere
to have to be
PAST
avere avuto essere stato
to have had to have been
THE PARTICIPLE
P
RESE
NT
avente (missing)
having
PAST
a
vut
o stato
had been
256 1848] THE VERB
THE GERUND
PRESENT
avendo essendo
having being
PAST
avendo avuto essendo stato
having had having been
I
MPE
RAT
I VE
am a a mi amo
love let us love
a mi a mate
love, let h
im love, let her love
love a mino
love, let them love
SUBJUNCTIVE Moop
PRES
ENT P
AST
che io ami che io abbia amato
I love, 1 may love 1 have loved, 1 may have loved
che tu ami che tu abbia a mato
che egli ami che egli abbia a mato
che noi a miam o che noi a bbiam o amato
che voi amiate che voi abbiate a mato
che essi a mino che essi a bbia moa ma to
IMPE
RFECT P
LUPE
RFECTI
che io amassi ch eio avessi am
I loved, 1 might love I had loved, 1 m:ght have loved
che tu amassi che tu avessi amato
che egli a ma sse che egli avesse amato
che noi a mas simo che noi avessimo a mato
che voi ama
ste che voi aveste a m
ato
che essi amassero che‘essi avessero amato
THE INFINITIVE
PRESENT PAST
ama re avere am ato
to love to have loved
"THE P
ART
ICI
PLE
PRESENT P
AST
am ante amato
loving, lover lov
ed
258 [$48] THE VERB
‘THE GERUND
P
RESENT P
AST
amando avendo amato
loving having loved
FU
TURE
io cercherò io £a herò
1 shall look for I shali pay
tu cercherai tu pagheraî
egli cercherà egli p ag herà
noi c er cher emo noi p aghe remo
voi cercherete voi pagherete
essi c erc heranno essi p ag heranno
CONDITIONAL
io cercherei io pagherei
I should look for 1 s£ould pay
tu cercheresti tu pagheresti
egli c ercherebbe egli pagherebbe
noi c erc herem mo noi pa ghere mmo
voi cerchereste voi paghereste
essi c ercherebbe ro essi pagherebbero
IMPERAT
IVE
cerca paga
look for pay
cerchi paghi
cer chiamo pag hiamo
cercate pagate
cerchino paghino
THE VERB [$48] 239
PRESENT SU
BJUN
CTIV
E
che io cerchi che io paghi
I look for I may pay
che tu cerchi che tu paghi
che egli cerchi che egli paghi
che noi c erchiamo che noi p aghiamo
che voi cerchiate che voi paghiate
che essi cerchino che essi paghino
2. Verbs which in the infinitive end in -ciare and -giare drop the è
before e or i. ‘This occurs in the tu and noi forms of the present
indicative, in tt: lei, noi, and loro forms of the imperative, and
the whole future, conditional, and present subjunctive tenses.
$. Other verbs which end in -iare drop the i only when the ending
is or begins with :, except when in the first person singular of the
present the stress falls on the i, as in inviare (to send) and spiare
(to spy):
Che cosa mi consigli?
Wh at do you advise me?
Perchè vi annoiate?
Wh y are you bored?
Egli ti consiglierà di fare questo.
He vwill advise you to do this.
Bour:
A chi invii questa lettera?
To whom are you sending this letter?
CONDITIONALMo
op
PRESE
NT PAST
io temerei io avrei temuto
1 would (or should) fear I would (or should) have feared
tu tem
ere
sti tu avresti temuto
egli temerebb
e egli avrebbe temuto
noi temeremmo noi a vre mmo temuto
voi temereste voi avreste temuto
essi temerebbero essi avrebbero t em
uto
IMPERATIVE
temi temiamo
fear let us fear
tema : temete
fear, let him fear, let her fear
fear temano
fear, let them fear
SUBJUNCTIVE Moop
PRESENT P
AST
che io tema che io abbia temuto
1 fear, I] may fear I have feared, 1 may have feared
che tu tema che tu abbia temuto
che egli tema che egli abbia temuto
che noi te mia mo che noi a bbiamo temuto
che voi terniate che voi abbiate temuto
che essi tema no che essi abbiano t emuto
THE VERB [$850] 261
IMPERFECT PL
UPERFECT
che io temessi che îo avessi temuto
I feared, 1 might fear 1 had feared, 1 might have feared
che tu temessi che tu avessi temuto
che egli temesse che egli avesse temuto
che noi t emessimo che noi avessimo temuto
che voi temeste che voi aveste temuto
che essi temessero che essi avessero temuto
THEINFINITIVE
PRESENT PAST
temere a
ver
e temuto
to fear to have feared
THE PARTICIPLE
PRESENT PAST
temente temuto
fearing feared
‘THE GERUND
PRESENT PAST
te mendo aven dot e muto
fearing having feared
PRESENT INDICATIVE
io finisco . noi finiamo
1 finish, I do finish, 1 am
finishing
tu finisci voi finite
egli finisce essi finiscono
IMPERATIVE
finisci finiamo
finish let us finish
finisca finite
let him finish, let her finish finish
f iniscano
let th em finish
262 [850] THE VERB
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
che io finisca che noi finiamo
I finish, 1 may finish
che tu finisca che voi finiate
che egli finisca che essi finiscano
In all the other tenses the -isco verbs follow the pattern of dormire.
dormire to sleep
INDICATIVE Moop
PRESE
NT PRESENT PERFECT
io dormo io ho dormito
1 sleep, 1 do sleep, I1 am I slept, 1 have slept
sleeping
tu dormi tu hai dormito
egli dorme egli ha dormito
noi do rmiamo noi a bbiamo d ormito
voi dormite voi avete dormito
essi dormono essi hanno d ormito
IMPERFECT P
LUPE
RFE
CT
io dormivo io avevo dormito
I slept, 1 used to sleep, 1 was I had slept
sleeping
tu dormivi tu avevi dormito
egli dormiva egli aveva dormito
noi dor mivamo noi a vevamod ormito
voi dormivate voi avevate dormito
essi dormivano essi avevano dormito
PAST D
EFI
NITE P
AST ANTERIOR
io dormii io ebbi dormito
1 slept 1 had slept
tu dormisti tu avesti dormito
egli d ormì egli ebbe dormito
noi d ormimmo noi a v emm o dormito
voi dormiste voi aveste dormito
essi d ormirono essi ebbero dormito
FUTURE F
UTUR
E PERFECT
io d ormir ò io avrò dormito
I1 will (or shall) sleep 1 will (or shall) have slept
tu dormirai tu avrai dormito
egli d ormi rà egli avrà dormito
noi d o rm ir emo noi a v rem o dormito
voi dormirete voi avrete d ormi to
essi d orm ir anno essi avranno d or mito
THE VERB [$850] 263
CONDITIONAL Moo»n
PRESENT PAST
io dormi io avrei do
rmito
I would (orshould) sleep 1 would (or should) have slept
tu dormiresti tu avresti dormito
egli d ormirebbe egli avrebbe dormito
noi d o rmiremmo noi a vr emmo dormito
voi dormireste voi avreste dormito
essiì do
rmirebbero essi avrebberod ormito
IMPERATIVE
dormi d orm iam o
sleep let us sleep
dorm dormite
sleep.let him sleep, let sleep
her sleep dormano
sleep, let them sleep
SUBJUNCTIVE MoopD
PRES
ENT PA
ST
che io dorma che io abbia dormito
1 sleep, 1 may sleep I have slept, 1 may have slept
che tu dorma che tu abbia d ormito
che egli dorma che egli abbia dormito
che noi do rmiamo che noi a bbiamo d ormito
che voi dormiate che voi abbiate dormito
che essi dormano che essi abbiano dormito
IMPERFE
CT P
LUP
ERF
ECT
che io dormissi che io avessi dormito
1 slept, 1 might sleep I had slept, 1 might have slept
che tu dormissi che tu avessi dormito
che egli d ormisse che egli avesse d
ormito
che noi d ormissi mo che noi avessimo d ormito
che voi dormiste che voi aveste dormito
che essi d ormissero che essi avessero dormito
THE INFINITIVE
PRESENT PAS
T
dormire avere dormito
to sleep to have slept
THE PARTICIPLE
PR
E SENT P
AST
dormente dormito
sleeping slept
THE GERUND
P
RESENT PAST
dormendo avendo dormito
sleeping having slept
264 [851] THE VERB
to leave
NorTEs: a. Morire is commonly used only in the third person:
La povera vecchia è morta ieri.
‘The poor old lady died yesterday.
b. Salire and scendere take the auxiliary verb avere if
they have a direct object:
Ho Ssalito le scale lentamente.
1 climbed the stairs slowly.
Bur:
.Sono salito lentamente.
1 climbed slowly.
2. Reflexive verbs take the auxiliary essere [See $ 52].
8. Verbs used in the passive voice take the auxiliary essere:
Questa canzone è conosciuta dappertutto.
‘This song is known everywhere.
NorteE: The passive voice is used rather infrequently in Italian.
More often than not the impersonal expression is used instead
when no subject is mentioned. T'hus the above example would
be written:
Questa canzone si conosce dappertutto.
4. Impersonal verbs (used only in the third person singular) take
the auxiliary essere:
È necessario fare questo.
It is necessary to do this.
Era impossibile partire a quell’ora.
It was impossible to leave at that hour.
However, most impersonal expressions denoting metereological
facts may take either essere or avere:
È piovuto (or ha piovuto) tutta la notte.
It rained the whole night.
THE VERB [$851] 265
P
AST ANTERIOR FUTURE P
E R
F E
C T
io fui andato (-a) io sarò andato (-a)
I had gone 1 shall have gone
tu fosti andato (-a) tu sarai andato (-a)
lei fu andato (-a) lei sarà andato (-a)
egli fu andato egli sara andato
ella fu andata ella sarà andata
noi f u mmo andati (-e) noi s arem o andati (-e)
voi foste andati (-e) voi sarete andati (-e)
loro furono andati (-e) loro saranno andati (-e)
essi furono andati essi saranno andati
esse furono andate esse saranno andate
PAST C
OND
ITI
ONA
L
io sarei andato (-a) noi s are mmo andati (-e)
I would (or should) have gone
tu saresti andato (-a) voi sareste andati (-e)
lei sarebbe andato (-a) loro sarebbero undati (-a)
egli sarebbe andato essi sarebbero andati
ella sarebbe andata esse sarebbero a ndate
266 [852] THE VERB
PAST S UBJ UNCTI VE P LUPER F ECTS U BJUNCTIVE
che io sia endato (-a) che io _ fossi andato (-a)
that I have gone, that 1 may that I had gone, that 1 might have gone
have gone
che tu sia andato (-a) che tu fossi andato (-a)
che lei sia andato (-a) che lei fosse andato (-a)
che egli sia andato che egli fosse andato
che ella sia andata che ella fosse andata
che noi siamo andati (-e) che noi fossimo andati (-e)
che voi siate andati (-e) che voi foste andati (-e)
che loro siano andati (-e) che loro fossero andati (-e)
che essi siano andati che essi fossero andati
che esse siano andate che esse fossero andate
P
AST INFIN
ITIVE
essere andato
to have gone
PAST GERUND
essendo andato
having gone
8 53 Impersonal Verbs
1. Impersonal verbs are so called because they have no definite
subject. Impersonal verbs are used only in the third person singular.
Impersonal verbs express a fact, a phenomenon, or a condition.
In English the subject of an impersonal verb is “it.”
2. Several impersonal expressions refer to weather conditions. Here
are the most common:
fa bel tempo lampeggia
the weather is fine it is lightning
fa cattivo (or mal) tempo gela
the weather is bad it is freezing
fa caldo grandina
it is hot or wa
rm it is hailing
fa freddo tira vento
it is cold it is windy
fa fresco si scivola
it is cool it is slippery
iove c’è fango
it is raining it is muddy
nevica c’è umidità
it is snowing it is damp, humid
tuona
it is thundering
3. Of the above expressions, those with fare take the auxiliary
avere in the compound tenses; the others may take either avere
Or essere:
Ha fatto freddo. Ha piovuto or è piovuto.
It has been cold. It has rained.
Ha nevicato or è nevicato.
It has snowed.
C’è fango and c’è umidità, of course, have the verb essere.
4. ‘There are many other impersonal verbs. Here is a partial list of
the most common ones. All of these take essere in the compound
tenses.
accade basta è meglio
it happens it is enough it is better
bisogna occorre _ è certo _
it is necessary it is required it is certain
importa vale la pena _ è impossibile
it matters it is worth while it is impossible
conviene . è necessario è giusto
it is proper, fitting it is necessary it is right
piace è possibile è tempo
it is pleasing it is possible it is time
sembra è probabile è evidente
it seems it is probable it is evident
THE VERB [$854] 269
SECOND CONJUGATION: Drop ere and add: -ei, -esti, -è, -emmo,
-este, erono [See $ 49]
perdere io perdei
‘THIRD CONJUGATION: Drop ire and add: -ii, -isti, -}, -«immo, -iste,
“-irono [See & 50]
dormire io dormii
2. The past definite is used to express an action which took place
long ago, in narratives, and in expressions indicating elapsed time,
such as l’anno scorso (last year), due annti fa (two years ago), etc.
I soldati attaccarono la fortezza.
‘The soàc)iiers attacked the fortress (a considerable lapse of time under-
stoo
Cinqu e anni fa c omprai una casa.
Five years ago 1 bought a house.
‘The past definite is not used when the verb expresses:
a. a continued action in the past.
b. a habitual or customary action in the past.
c. a description in the past [See 858 below].
dovere
to have to, must
dovrò, dovrai, dovrà, dovremo, dovrete, dovranno
essere
to be
sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno
fare
to do, make
farò, farai, farà, faremo, farete, faranno
potere
to be able to, may, can
potrò, potrai, potrà, potremo, potrete, pot
r anno
rimane:_*e
to rem ain
rimarrò, rimarrai, rimarrà, rimarremo, rimarrete, ri
marr
anno
sapere
to k
now
saprò, saprai, saprà, sapremo, saprete, sapranno
stare
to stay
starò, starai, starà, staremo, starete, staranno
tenere
to hold
terrò, terrai, terrà, terremo, terrete, terranno
vedere
to see
vedrò, vedrai, vedrà, vedremo, vedrete, vedranno
venire
to come
verrò, verrai, verrà, verremo, verrete, verra
nno
volere
to w
ant
vorrò, vorrai, vorrà, vorremo, vorrete, vorranno
$
64 The Imperative Mood
1. The first person singular of the imperative does not exist. You
cannot reasonably give yourself a command.
2. The tu, lei, noi, voi, and loro forms of the imperative express
direct command, whereas the egli, ella, essi, and esse forms express
indirect commands.
3. The imperative of regular verbs is formed as follows:
FIRST CONJUGAT
ION: Drop -are and add: -a, -i, -iamo, -ate, -ino
[See $ 48]
parlare parla
SECOND CONJUGATION: Drop -ere and add: -i, -a, -iamo, -ete, -ano
[See $ 49]
perdere perdi
‘THIRD CONJUGATION: Drop -ire and add: -i, -a, -iamo, -ite, -ano
[See $ 50]
dormire dormi
4. ‘The personal pronouns are usually omitted in the imperative.
5. The negative forms (non before the verb) of the imperative are
the same as the positive forms except the tu form, in which case
the infinitive is used instead.
Carlo, m angi a la carne.
Charles, eat the meat.
Carlo, non m an giare la carne.
Charles, don’t eat the meat.
Bour:
Ragazzi, mangiate la carne.
Children, eat the meat.
Ragazzi, non mangiate la carne.
Children, don’t eat the meat.
7. ‘The egli, ella, essi, and esse forms of the imperative are translated
by ‘“let him, let her, let them.”
C
onsu
lti un avvocato.
Let him (her) consult a lawyer.
Ve
ndan
o la casa.
Let t
hem sell the ho
use,
THE VERB [$863] 277
The above endings are added to the first person singular of the
present indicative of the irregular verb, after the final o is dropped,
to give the three persons of the singular and the third person plural.
"The first and second person plural Yzoi and voi) are formed from
the first person plural of the irregular verb. Study the following:
uscire to go out (irreg. verb)
PRES. IND. PRES. SUBJ.
Îo esco che io esca
tu esci che tu esca
lei esce che lei esca
noi u scia mo che noi u sc iamo
voi uscite che voi usciate
loro escono che loro escano
EXCEPTION TO THE ABOVE RULE: The entire present subjunctive of
the following five verbs is formed from the no: form of the present
indicative:
PRES. IND. PRES. SUBJ.
avere noi abbiamo che io abbia, che tu abbia, etc.
to have
essgre noi siamo che io sia, che tu sia, etc.
to be
dare noi diamo che io dia, che tu dia, etec.
to give
stare noi stiamo che io stia, che tu stia, etc.
to stay
sapere nmoi sappiamo che io sappia, che tu sappia, etc.
to know
£ 66 Servile Verbs
‘The verbs volere (to want), potere (to be able to, can), and dovere
(to have to, mustì are called servile verbs because when they are
not used absolute y, that is, by themselves, they require an infinite
as a predicate complement:
Io voglio studiare.
1 want to study.
Essi devon o partire.
They must leave.
Tu non puoi uscire.
You cannot go out.
When these verbs are used absolutely they require the auxiliary
avere.
Io non ho potuto; egli non ha voluto; etc.
THE VERB [$66] 283
Bere Co
ndur
re
to drink (conjugated from the old in- to lead, to conduct (conjugated from
finitive bevere) old infinitive conducere)
P.P. bevuto P.P. condotto
P. DEF. bevvi, bevesti, bevve, bevem PRES. GERUND. c onduc endo
mo, beveste, bevvero PRES. c onduco, conduci, c onduce,
FUT. berrò, berrai, berrà, berremo, co nduciamo , conducete, c onducono
berrete, berranno IMPF. c onducevo, conducevi, condu-
COND. berrei, berresti, berrebbe, ceva, c onducevamo, c onducevate,
berremmo, bLerreste, ber
rebb
ero c onducev ano
Cadere P. DEF. condussi, conducesti, con-
to fall (takes auxiliary essere) dusse, c onducemmo , conduceste,
P. DEF. caddi, cedesti, cadde, cadem- c ondussero
mo, cadeste, caddero FUT. c ondurrò
, condurrai, c ondurrà,
FUT. cadrò, cadrai, cadrà, c adremo, c ondurr emo, condurrete, c ondur-
cadrete, c adranno r anno
COND. cadrei, cadresti, cadrebbe, ca- COND. condurrei, condurresti, con-
d rem mo, cadreste, c adrebbero durrebbe, condurremmo, condur-
reste, condurrebbero
Chiedere IMPV. conduci, conduca, conducia-
to ask
mo, conducete, c onducano
P.P. chiesto
PRES. SUB. conduca, c onduca, con-
P. DEF. chiesi, chiedesti, chiese, chie-
duca, co nduciamo
, conduciate, con-
demmo, chiedeste, chiesero
du cano
Chiudere IMPF. SUB. conducessi, conducessi,
to close conducesse, c onducessimo, c ondu-
P.P. chiuso ceste, cond
ucessero
P. DEF. chiusi, chiudesti, chiuse,
chiud emmo, chiudeste, chiusero Conoscere
to know (usually a person)
Cogliere P.P. conosciuto
to pick (flowers, etc.), to gather P. DEF. conobbi, conoscesti, conobbe,
P.p. colto c on osce mmo , conosceste, conob-
P. DEF. colsi, cogliesti, colse, cogliem- bero
mo, coglieste, colsero
Com pi ere or C ompi re Coprire
to accomplish, to finish to cover
P.P. compito or compiuto P.p. coperto
PRES. compio, compi, compie, com- Cor regg ere
piamo, compite, compiono; also to correct
compisco, compisci, compisce, com- P.P. corretto
piamo, compite, c
omp
isc
ono P. DEF. corressi, correggesti, corresse,
FUT. compirò, compirai, compirà, c
orr
egg
emmo
, correggeste, corres-
compiremo, compirete, compiranno sero
COND. compirei, compiresti, compi-
rebbe, compiremmo, compireste, Correre
compirebbero to run (conjugated with essere when it
IMEV. compi, compia, compiamo, means from one place to another, other-
compite, comp
iano Wise it is conjugated with avere)
PRES. SUB. compia, compia, compia, P.P. corso
co mpiamo, c ompiate, c ompia no; P. DEF. corsiì, corresti, corse, correm-
also compisca, compisca, compisca, mo, correste, corsero
compiamo, compiate, compiscano Crescere
Con ce der e to grow (conjugated with essere except
to grant, to concede when it has a direct object)
P.P. concesso P.P. cresciuto
P. DEF. concessi, concedesti, concesse, P. DEF. crebbi, crescesti, crebbe, cre-
co nc edem mo, concedeste, concessero scem
mo, cresceste, crebbero
286 IRREGULAR VERBS
Persuadere Prendere
to persuade to take
| P.p. preso
P.P. persuaso P. DEF. presi, prendesti, prese, pren-
P. DEF. persuasi, persuadesti, per- demmo, prendeste, presero
suase, p ersuademm, persuadeste,
o
persuasero Produrre
| to produce (conjugated like condwurre)
Piacere
to like, to please, to be pleasing (con- Proteggere
jugated with essere) | to protect
NOTE: This verb is used mostly in the P.P. protetto
third person singular and plural, P. DEF. protessi, proteggesti, protesse,
P.P. piaciuto C proteggemmo, proteggeste, protes-
PRES. piaccio, piaci, piace, piaccia- sero
mo, piacete, piacciono
P. DEF. piacqui, piacesti, pracque, Radere
to shave
piacemmo, piaceste, piacquero _ P.P. raso
PRES. SUB. piaccia, piaccia, piaccta, P. DEF. 7asi, redesti, rase, ra
demm
o,
piacciamo, piacciate, piacciano radeste, rasero
Piangere
to cry, to weep Ren de re
to render, to give back
P.P. pianto | C P.P. reso
P. DEF. piansi, piangesti, pianse, P. DEF. resi, rendesti, rese, rendem-
pi ange mmo, piangeste, piransero mo, rendeste, resero
Porre (Ponere)
to put, to place Ridere
to laugh
P.P. posto P.P. ris0
PRES. GERUND. ponendo |
P. DEF. risi, ridesti, rise, ridemmo,
PRES. pongo, poni, pone, poniamo, rideste, risero
ponete, pongono
P. DEF. posi, ponesti, pose, ponem- Rimanere
mo, poneste, posero to remain
FUT. porrò, porrai, porrà, porremo, P.P. rimasto
porrete, porranno . PRES. r imango, rimani, rimane, ri-
COND. porrei, porrestt, porrebbe, m ani a
m o, rimanete, r imangono
porremmo, porreste, porrebbero P. DEF. rimasi, rimanesti, rimase,
IMPF. ponevo, ponevi, poneva, po- r im anemm o, rimaneste, rimasero
n evamo , ponevate, p onevano FUT. rimarrò, rimarrai, rimarraà, ri-
IMPVv. poni, ponga, poniamo, ponete, m ar remo, rimarrete, r i
m a
r ranno
p on gano COND. rimarrei, rimarresti, riamar-
PRES. SUB. ponga, ponga, ponga, po- rebbe, r imarremmo, rimarreste, ri-
niamo, poniate, pongano mar rebbero.
IMPF. SUB. ponessi, ponessi, ponesse, IMPV. rimani, r imanga, riman iamo,
ponessimo, poneste, ponessero rimanete, r imangano |
PRES. SUB. rimanga, rimanga, ri-
Potere manga, ri
mani
amo, rimaniate,
to be able to, can, may ri
manga
no
PRES. posso, puoi, può, possiamo,
potete, possono Ris po nde re
FUT. potrò, potra:, potrà, potremo, to answer, to reply
potrete, potrann o | P.P. risposto
COND. potrei, potresti, potrebbe, P. DEF. risposi, rispondesti, rispose,
potremmo, potreste, potrebbero rispondemmo, rispondeste, rispo-
IMPV. possa, possa, possiamo, pos- sero
siate, possano
PRES. SUB. possa, possa, possa, pos- Ritenere
siamo, possiate, possano to retain (conjugated like tenere)
IRREGULAR VERBS 289
Ro
mpere Sco mpari re
to break to disappear
P.P. rotto P.P. scomparso or scomparito
P. DEF. ruppi, rompesti, ruppe, rom- PRES. scompaio, scompari, scompare,
pe mm o, rompeste, ruppero sc om pariam o, scomparite, scom-
paiono
Salire P. DEF. scomparii (or scomparvi or
to go up, to climb, to ascend, to get on
PRES. salgo, sali, sale, saliamo, salite, scomparsi), scomparisti, scomparì
salgono (or scomparve or scomparse), scom-
IMPV. sali, salga, saliamo, salite, parimmo, scompariste, scompariro-
salgano no (or scomparvero or scomparsero)
PRES. SUB. salga, salga, salga, saliamo, IMPV. scompari, scompaia, scompa-
riamo, scomparite, scompaiano
saliate, salgano
PRS. SUB. s
Compaia,scompaia, scom-
Sapere paia, scompariamo, scompariate,
to know, to know how (never to know scompaiano
a person NoTE: Besides the forms given above,
PRES. S0, sai, sa, sappiamo, sapete, this verb also has the regular -isco forms
sanno in the present indicative, imperative,
P. DEF. seppi, sapesti, seppe, sapem- and present subjunctive [See $50].
mo, sapeste, seppero
FUT. saprò, saprai, saprà, sapremo, Scoprire
saprete, sapranno to discover
COND. saprei, sapresti, saprebbe, sa- P.P. scoperto
pr emmo, sapreste, saprebbero P. DEF. scoprii (or scopersi), scopristi,
IMPV. sappi, sappia, sappiamo, sap- scoprì (or scoperse), scoprimmo, sco-
piate, sappiano priste, scoprirono (or scopersero)
PRES. SUB. sappia, sappia, sappia,
sappiamo, sappiate, sappiano Scrivgere
to write
Scegliere P.P. scritto
to choose, to select P. DEF. scrissi, scrivesti, scrisse, scri-
P.P. scelto vemmo, scriveste, scrissero
PRES. scelgo, scegli, sceglie, sceglia-
mo, scegliete, scelgono Sedere
P. DEF. scelsi, scegliesti, scelse, sce- to sit
glie mmo, sceglieste, scelsero PRES. siedo jor Sseggo), siedi, siede,
IMPV. scegli, scelga, scegliamo, sceg- sediamo, sedete, siedono (or seggo-
liete, scelgano no)
PRES. SUB. scelga, scelga, scelga, sce- IMPV. siedi, segga, sediamo, sedete,
gliamo, scegliate, scelgano seggano
Scendere PRES. SUB. Segga, segga, segga (or
to descend, to go down, to get down, to sieda, sieda, sieda), sediamo, sediate,
get off seggano (or siedano)
P.P. sceso
Soffrire
P. DEF. scesi, scendesti, scese, scen- to suffer
d emm o, scendeste, scesero
P.pP. sofferto
Sciogliere P. DEF. soffrii (or soffersi), soffristi,
to untie, to dissolve, to melt soffrì (or sofferse), soffrimmo, soffri-
P.P. sciolto ste, soffrirono (or soffersero)
P. DEF. sciolsi, sciogliesti, sciolse,
sc iogli emmo, scioglieste, sciolsero Sorgere .
IMPV. sciogli, sciolga, sciogliamo, to arise, to rise
sciogliete, sciolgano P.P. sorto
PRES. SUB. sciolga, sc:'olga, sciolga, P. DEF, sorsi, sorgesti, sorse, sorgem-
sciogliamo, sciogliate, sciolgano mo, sorgeste, sorsero
290 IRREGULAR VERBS
Sorridere Supporre
to smile (conjugated like ridere) to suppose (conjugated like porre)
Spargere Svenire
to spread, to scatter to faint (conjugated like venire; takes
P.P. sparso the auxiliary essere)
P. DEF. sparsi, spargestt, sparse, spar-
g emm o, spargeste, sparsero Tacere
to be silent, to keep quiet
Spe gn ere or S pengere P.P. taciuto
to extinguish PRES. taccio, taci, tace, taciamo, ta-
P.P. spento cete, tacciono
PRES. (regular) also io spengo, essi P. DEF. tacqui, tacesti, tacque, ta-
spengono cemmo, taceste, t
acqu
ero
P. DEF. spensi, spegnesti, spense, IMPV. {taci, taccia, taciamo, tacete,
sp egnemmo, spegneste, spensero tacciano
IMPV. spegni, spenga, spegniamo, PRES. SUB. taccia, taccia, taccia,
spegnete, spengano tacciamo, tacciate, tacciano
PRES. SUB. spenga, spenga, spenga, (may also be written with one c)
spegniamo, spegniate, spengano
Spendere Tenere
to spend to hold, to have, to keep
P.P. speso PRES. tengo, tieni, tiene, teniamo,
P. DEF. spesi, spendesti, spese, spen- tenete, tengono
demmo, spendeste, spesero P. DEF. tenni, tenesti, tenne, tenem-
mo, teneste, tennero
Spingere FUT. {terrò, terrai, terrà, terremo,
to push, to shove, to thrust terrete, terranno
P.P. spinto COND. {terrei, terresti, terrebbe, ter-
P. DEF. spinsi, spingesti, spinse, spin- remmo, terreste, terrebbero
gemmo, spingeste, spinsero IMPV. tieni, tenga, teniamo, tenete,
tengano
Stare PRES. SUB. tenga, tenga, tenga, te-
to stay (sometimes, to be, to stand) niamo, teniate, tengano
(conjugated with essere)
P.p. stato Togliere
PRES. sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state, to take away, to remove, to take from
stanno
P. DEF. stetti, stesti, stette, stemmo, P.P. tolto
steste, stettero
PRES. tfolgo, togli, toglie, togliamo,
IMPF. stavo, stavi, stava, s
tav
amo
, togliete, tolgono
s
tav
ate
, st
avan
o
P. DEF. tolsi, togliesti, tolse, togliem-
FUT. starò, starai, starà, staremo, mo, toglieste, tolsero
starete, staranno
FUT. torrò, torrai, torrà, torremo,
torrete, torranno
COND. starei, staresti, starebbe, sta-
remmo, stareste, starebbero COND. torrei, torresti, torrebbe, tor-
IMPV. stà, stia, stiamo, state, stiano remm
o, torreste, torrebbero
PRES. SUB. stia, stia, stia, stiamo, NOoTE: Both the future and the con-
stiate, stiano
ditional have the regular forms in
IMPF. SUB. stessi, stessi, stesse, stes- addition to those given above.
simo, steste, stessero
IMPVY. togli, tolga, togliamo, togliete,
tolgano
Stringere . PRES. SUB. tolga, tolga, tolga, toglia-
to hold fast, to squeeze, to grasp, to bind mo, togliate, tolgano
fast
P.P. stretto Tradu rre
P. DEF. strinsi, stringesti, strinse, to translate (from the old infinitive
stringemmo, stringeste, strinsero traducere; conjugated like c
ond
u rre)
IRREGULAR VERBS 291
Trarre valeste, valsero
to draw or pull out; to drag, to haul, to FUT. varrò, varrai, varrà, varremo,
derive varrete, varranno
P.P. tratto COND. varrei, varresti, varrebbe, var-
PRES. GERUND. traendo | remmo, varrete, varrebbero
PRES. traggo, trai, trae, traiamo, IMPV. vali, valga, valiamo, valete,
traete, traggo
no valgano
P. DEF. trassi, traesti, trasse, traem- PRES. SUB. valga, valga, valga, va-
m
o, traeste, tr
asse
ro liamo, valiate, valgano
IMPF. traevo, traevi, traeva, traeva- NoTE: Of this verb usually only the
m
o, traevate, traevano third person singular and the third
FUT. trarrò, trarrai, trarrà, trarremo, person plural are used.
trarrete, trarranno
COND. trarrei, trarresti, trarrebbe, Vedere
trarremmio, trarreste, trarrebbero to see
IMPV. trai, tragga, traiamo, traete, P.P. visto or veduto
traggano P. DEF. vidi, vedesti, vide, vedemmo,
PRES. SUB. {tragga, tragga, tragga, vedeste, videro
traiamo, traiate, traggano FUT. vedrò, vedrai, vedrà, vedremo,
IMPF. SUB. traessi, traessi, traesse, vedrete, vedranno
traessimo, traeste, traessero COND. vedrei, vedresti, vedrebbe, ve-
dr emm
o , vedreste, vedrebbero
Uccidere
to kill Venire
P.P. Uucciso | l to come (conjugated with the auxiliary
P. DEF. uccisi, uccidesti, uccise, ucci- essere)
demmo, uccideste, uccisero P.P. venuto
PRES. vengo, vieni, viene, veniamo,
Udtilre venite, vengono
r
° Î>aax-:s. odo, odi, ode, udiamo, udite, P. DEF. venni, venisti, venne, ve-
nimmo, veniste, v
enn
ero
dono
:UT. udrò, udrai, udrà, udremo, FUT. verrò, verrai, verrà, verremo,
udrete, u
dran
n o
verrete, verranno
COND. verrei, verresti, verrebbe, ver-
COND. udrei, udresti, udrebbe,
udremmo, udreste, u drebbero re
m m
o, verreste, v
err
e b
ber
o
NoTE: Both the future and the con-
IMPV. vieni, venga, veniamo, venite,
ditional] have regular forms in addi- vengano
PRES. SUB. Venga, venga, venga, ve-
tion to those given above. |
IMPV. odi, oda, u di amo, udite, niamo, veniate, vengano
odano | Vim;em
PRES. SUB. oda, oda, oda, udiamo, to win
udiate, odano P.P. vinto
Uscire - P. DEF. vinsi, vincesti, vinse, vincem-
to go out (takes the auxiliary essere) mo, vinceste, vinsero
PRES. esco, esci, esce, usciamo, uscite,
escono . | Vivere
IMPV. esci, esca, usciamo, uscite, to live (not to reside)
escano | NoTE: Takes the auxiliary avere if
PRES. SUB. esca, esca, esca, usciamo, followed by a direct object, other-
usciate, escano Wwise it takes the auxiliary essere.
P.P. vissuto
P. DEF. vissi, vivesti, visse, vivemmo,
Yoalbîerîvorth (takes the auxiliary essere) viveste, vissero
P.P. valso FUT. vivrò, vivrai, vivrà, vivremo,
PRES. valgo, vali, vale, valiamo, va- vivrete, v
ivr
ann
o
lete, valgono COND. vivrei, vivresti, vivrebbe, viv-
P. DEF. valsi, valesti, valse, valemmo, rem m
o , vivreste, vivrebbero
292 IRREGULAR VERBS
Volere è potere.
W
her
e there's a will there’s a way.
Dove c’è fumo c’è fuoco.
Where there's s
mok
e there's fire.
L’unione fa la forza.
In union there is strength.
Uom o avvisato è m e zzo salvato.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Finchè c’è vita c’è speranza.
Where there is life there is hope.
Scopa nuova scopa bene.
A new broom sweeps clean.
Sq son rose f ioriranno.
Time will tell.
A
nda
r e a passeggio Avere caldo
To go for a walk To be (feel) warm, hot
Andare a letto Avere freddo
To go to bed To be (feel) cold
Andare a teatro Fare colazione
To go to the theater T
o have breakfast
C carta paper
foglio di . . . sheet of paper
cabina cabin . . . da lettere letter paper
caduta fall e . . geografica map
caffè coffee e . . sugante blotter
caffelatte coffee with milk cartoleria stationary store
caffettiera coffee pot casa house
calamaio inkwell caserma barracks
calcolo calculation cassettone m. the bureau
caldo hot, warm (furniture)
fa . .. it is warm, hot cassiere m. cashier
calendario calendar castagna chestnut
calosce f. pl. overshoes, rubbers castrato mutton
calza stocking ca tacombe catacombs
calzatura footwear cattedrale f. cathedral
calzino sock cattivo bad
calzoni m. pl. trousers, pants fa . . . tempo the weather is bad
cambio rate of exchange cattolico catholic
cameriere m. waiter cavallo horse
camera room, chamber c'è there is
. . . da letto bedroom Ceco-slovacchia Czechoslovakia
camicetta blouse cedere to yield, to cede
camicia (p!. camicie) shirt celebrare celebrate
c am mi n facendo on the way celeste blue
cammino path, walk cena supper
campanello doorbell, small bell cenare to have supper
campo field centesimo cent
Canadà m. Canada centigrado centigrade
canale m. canal centinaia f. pl. hundreds
cane m. dog centinaio about a hundred
canterellando h umming cento one h un dred
cantare to sing centrale central
canzone f. song centro center
canzonetta popular song cera appearance, look
capelli hair avere buona . . . to look well
capire to understand cercare to look for, seek
capitale f. capital (of a country) e . . di to try to
m. capital (money) cereale m. cereal
capitano captain certamente certainly
capo head certo certain, certainly
cesta basket
capolavoro masterpiece
che who, that, whom, which, what,
cappella chapel what a, than
cappello hat non (verb) . . . only
carabiniere m. military policeman che cosa? what?
caraffa decanter, pitcher chi who, w ho m
carbone m. coal chiamare to call
caricare to load, to wind (a watch) chiamarsi to be called (name)
carne f. meat chiarore m. light
caro dear, expensive chiave f. key
carriera career chiedere to ask
carrozza railroad car, carriage chiesa churc h
ITALIAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY 303
corpo body D
correre to run da from
corrispondenza correspondence danaro money
sbrigare la . . . to write the dappertutto everywhere
correspondence dare to give
corsa race e « . SU to face, open upon
fare un a. .. to run a race davanti in front
corso boulevard, course davvero really
cortesia courtesy | decadenza decadence
cortile m. courtyard, inner court decidere to decide
corto short decimo tenth
così thus, so decisione f. decision
cosparso strewn decollare to take off (aviation)
costa coast definire to define
costare to cost delizioso delicious
costoletta chop | denaro money
costruire to construct, build dente f. tooth
cos tume m. costume, custom dentifricio toothpaste
cotone m. cotton dentista m. & f. dentist
cotto cooked dentro inside
ben . . . well done, well cooked depositare to deposit, check
cravatta necktie deposito di bagagli checkroom
creatura creature (for baggage)
creazione f. creation descrivere to describe
credenza buffet descrizione f. description
credere to believe desiderare to wish, to desire
credito credit desideroso desirous
a ... on credit destra, a to the right
cre ma cream destramente expertly, skillfully
. . . a base d’olio cold cream detenuto prisoner
crescere to grow dettagliato detailed
crespo crepe , devo 1 must
cristianesimo Christianity di of
Cristo Christ | diamante m. diamond
crollare to collapse, to fall to pieces dicembre m. December
crudo raw dichiarare to declare
cucchiaio spoon diciotto eighteen
cucchiaino teaspoon diciannove nineteen
cucina kitchen diciassette seventeen
cucinare to cook dieci ten
cucire to sew diecina about ten
cucitura seam, sewing dietro behind
cugino,-a cousin differente different
cultura culture differenza difference
cuoio leather difficile difficult
cuore m. heart difficoltà difficulty
nel . .. della città in the center of Dio God
the city dimenticare to forget
cupo deep dark (in ref. to a color) dimostrare to show
cupola cupola dipingere to paint
cuscino pillow dire to say, tell
ITALIAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY _ 305
direttamente directly dove where
direttore m. director dov’èè? where is?
dirigente m. manager dovere must, to have to, owe
disastro disaster dovere m. duty
discesa, in dropping dovunque anywhere, everywhere
discutere to discuss dovuto due
disopra, al above dozzina dozen
disotto, al below dubbio d oubt
dispiacere to displease due two
dispiace, mi 1I am sorry dunque therefore
disposizione f. disposition durante during
a sua . .. at your service durare to last
disposto disposed duraturo lasting
distante distant duro tough, hard
distanza distance
distinguere to distinguish
disturbare to bother, to disturb e, ed and
disturbo bother, disturbance ebreo Jewish
dito (p!l. le dita) finger eccellente excellent
ditta f. firm eccetto except
divano sofa ecco here is, here are; there i,
diventare become there are
diversi several economico economical
diverso different edificio building
diverse volte several times Egitto Egypt
divertente amusing egli he
divertimento a m usement eguale equal, even, alike
dividere divide elegante elegant, stylish
divinamente divinely elettricità electricity
dizionario dictionary elettrico electric
doccia shower (bath) ella she
dodici twelve entusiasmo enthusiasm
dogana customs house entusiasta m. & f. enthusiastic
doganiere m. customs officer entrare to enter, come in
dolce adj. sweet; n. m. dessert epoca epoch, era
dollaro dollar eppure yet, nevetheless
dolore m. pain, ache eruzione f. eruption
doloroso painful esagerare exaggerate
doma ndare to ask esaminare to examine
domani tomorrow egsattamente exactly
domenica Sunday esattezza exactness
domestica maid esatto exact
domicilio, a at home, to the house esempio example
dominare dominate Esistere exist
donna w oman esplorare to explore
dopodomani the day after esportare to export
tomorrow espressione f. expression
doppio m. double essa f. she, it
dopo, dopo di after esse f. they, them
dormire to sleep essenziale essential
dotto learned essi m. they, them
dottore m. doctor estasiato ecstatic
306 THE CORTINA METHOD