Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pronouns
Italian Present Tense Regular verbs Credere Partire Finire (to believe) Credo Credi Crede Crediamo Credete Credono (to leave) Parto Parti Parte Partiamo Partite Partono (to finish) Finisco Finisci Finisce Finiamo Finite Finiscono
Irregular verbs Essere Avere (to be) Sono Sei Siamo Siete Sono (to have) Ho Hai Ha Abbiamo Avete Hanno
I You
Io Tu
The table above shows all types of Italian verbs in the present tense, verbs ending with (~are, ~ere, ~ire, ~ire type two) plus irregular verbs. The blue font at the end of the verbs shows the endings that similar verbs may take, so its all about manipulating the endings But when it comes to irregular verbs they should be memorized by heart, since they dont follow a logic rule.
Note that irregular verbs are used very often, thats why you have to focus on them. Also note that the pronouns are optional to use, since you can understand the subject with the way a verb is conjugated, so for example: I speak can be either: io parlo, or simply parlo. Note that Lei can mean (she or you formal).
Italian nouns and adjectives are different than the English ones, The Italian noun and adjective take 4 forms, usually nouns & adjectives take o at the end of the singular masculine, and a for singular feminine, for plural masculine i, plural feminine take e
Italian Singular to Plural Singular masculine Singular feminine Plural masculine Piccolo Piccola Piccoli Bambino Bambina Bambini
However, its not always the case, some nouns and adjectives ending with e for example only change to their plural, the feminine or masculine doesnt matter to them.
Italian Singular to Plural Singular masculine Singular feminine Plural masculine Grande Grande Grandi Ristorante --Notte Ristoranti --
Other exceptions are: Nouns and adjectives ending in ~co/~ca and ~go/~ga are spelt ~chi/~che and ~ghi/~ghe in the plural; these modifications are made simply to maintain the same sound in the plural as well as the singular.
Masculine
Italian Definite Articles Feminine Singular Plural la le (la donna (the woman) le donne (women) l le (used only before vowels, lisola le isole)
Singular Plural il i (il bambino (the child) i bambine (the children) lo gli (used only before word starting with sc/sp/st/gn/z) l gli (used only before vowels luomo (the man) gli uomini (men)
Italian Indefinite Articles Feminine Singular Una (a woman = una donna) Un (used only before vowels) example: (a friend = unamica)
Uno (used only before word starting with sc/sp/st/gn/z) example: (a student = uno studente)
As you know, the indefinite article doesnt have plural in English, but in Italian there is a close way to express it, in English it is expressed by some A book books (no article) or some books. Un libro libri or dei libri. (you will learn later how to use the form del)
Italian Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers are simple and easy to learn:
Italian Numbers 1 = Uno 2 = Due 3 = Tre 4 = Quattro 5 = Cinque 6 = Sei 7 = Sette 8 = Otto 9 = Nove 10 = Dieci 11 = Undici 12 = Dodici 13 = Tredici 14 = Quattordici 15 = Quindici 16 = Sedici 17 = Disiasette 18 = Diciotto 19 = Diciannove 20 = Venti Cardinal Numbers 21 = Ventuno 22 = Ventidue 23 = Ventitre 30 = Trenta 31 = Tretuno 32 = Trentadue 43 = Quarantatre 54 = Cinquantaquattro 65 = Sessantacinque 76 = Settantasei 87 = Ottantasette 98 = Novantotto 100 = Cento 1000 = Mille 2006 = Duemilasei A number ending with a vowel + a number starting with a vowel = 1st one loses its vowel example: ventuno 21 Ordinal Numbers 1st = Primo For ordinal numbers nd after 10 you only need 2 = Secondo rd to delete the last vowel 3 = Terzo th and add ~esimo. 4 = Quarto th 5 = Quinto 11th = Undicesimo 6th = Sesto 7th = Settimo 12th = Dodicesimo 8th = Ottavo 9th = Nono 20th = Ventesimo th 10 = Decimo
Time in Italian Che ore sono? (what time is it?) 01:00 = luna 10:45 = Sono le undici meno un quarto 02:00 = Sono le due 12:00 = le dodici 03:05 = Sono le tre e cinque mezzogiorno = Its midday 04:10 = Sono le quattro e dieci mezzanotte = Its midnight 05:15 = Sono le cinque e un quarto Note that all time expressions start with sono, except one and twelve oclock, they both start 06:20 = Sono le sei e venti with . 07:30 = Sono le sette e mezza
Writing training: write the same text I wrote about myself at the beginning of this page, but this time it should be about you. Speaking training: try to read the text you just wrote about yourself out loud, if you find any difficulty, take a look at the Italian alphabet table.
Italian Alphabet Aa as in the word ask and never as in the word able Bb same as in English Cc like tsh before i or e, otherwise like "k in Creole. Dd same as in English Ee as in elevated Ff same as in English Gg like the "dg", before i or e, otherwise like the "g" in "Good". Hh silent most of the time. Ii as in the word ink never as in the word island Jj as in Job, or the s of pleasure. Kk same as in English Ll same as in English Mm same as in English Nn same as in English Oo same as in English Old. Pp same as in English Qq same as in English Rr Spanish r Ss between vowels as z, and as s otherwise. Tt same as in English not as sharp. Uu as in the ultra, never as in the word up or university Vv same as in English Ww as in English, sometimes as v Xx same as in English
cc as tshee before i and e, or as kee elsewhere. ch like k as in kid. gg as in dgee before I and e, or as the gee in geese. gh like g in God gli as in gli gn like n in news qu like kw in quest sc like sh before i and e, or like k elsewhere.
Some help: Mi piace: I like/ imaparare: to learn/ un mese: a month/ di dove: where..from/ anni: years/ la scuola: school.
Monday: luned Tuesday: marted Wednesday: mercoled Thursday: gioved Friday: venerd Saturday: sabato Sunday: domenica
January: gennaio February: febbraio March: marzo April: aprile May: maggio June: giugno July: luglio August: agosto September: settembre October : ottobre November : novembre December : dicembre
Dates in Italian Dates in Italian: note that to express the day in Italian you should use il before all days except Sunday: Domenica: il lunedi (on Monday), il venerdi (on Friday) but la domenica (on Sunday). My birthday is on may the 10th: il mio compleanno il dieci maggio. May the 1st: primo maggio/ 16th of March: 16 marzo. Today is the 20th: oggi il venti.
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These are some common irregular verbs that you might come across very often: (stare, volere, sapere, potere, dare, fare, dovere, tenere, venire), please memorize them by heart, because they dont follow any regular rule and also because theyre used very often.
Sapere
Potere
Italian Irregular Verbs Dare Dovere Fare (to give) Do (to have to) Devo (to do) Faccio
Venire
Andare
Io
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Stai Sta
Vuoi Vuole
Sai Sa
Puoi Pu
Dai D
Fai Fa
Tieni Tiene
Vai Va
Dici Dice
Stiamo Vogliamo Sappiamo Possiamo Diamo State Volete Sapete Sanno Potete Possono Date Danno
The verb Stare means to be or to stay, and used a lot in many idiomatic expressions. -Come stai? (how are you?) -Sto bene, grazie (I'm fine, thanks). Stare is used also as a gerund referring to an action in progress: sto imparando litaliano. (Im learning Italian) Potere (to be able to, can), Dovere (to have to), Volere (to want) are modal verbs as well as irregular verbs. These are some examples of the verbs on the top:
Sto leggendo il giornale (Im reading the newspaper) Voglio visitare Roma (I want to visit Rome) Non lo so! (I dont know)
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Posso aiutarti? (can I help you?) Noi vi diamo il libro gratis (we give you the book for free) Devi parlare in italiano. (you have to speak in Italian) Che fai oggi pomeriggio? (what are you doing this afternoon?) Tengo un libro in mano (I have a book in my hand) Vieni oggi Jennifer? (are you coming today Jennifer?) Oggi vado con la mia famiglia mangiare fuori (today I go with my family to eat outside) Ti dico che sono daccordo con te (I tell you I agree with you)
Italian reflexive verbs are used to express an action applied to oneself, I wash myself = io mi lavo Theyre easy to form, just place (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) before the verb that is considered a reflexive verb. Io mi lavo (I wash myself), tu ti lavi (you wash yourself)... lui si lava, noi ci laviamo, voi si lavate, loro si lavano. Italian Reflexive Verbs are used more often than in English; sometimes you can use a reflexive verb in Italian but not in English:
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Italian Direct Object (not after preposition): almost the same as the ones you just saw in the Italian reflexive verbs (mi, ti, lo/ la, ci, vi, le), the difference is in the blue font (3rd person singular and plural). Lui mi dice (he tells me), io ti dico (I tell you), io lo/ la vedo (I see him/her), il ci dice (he tells us), io vi dico (I tell you all), il le vede (he sees them)
Writing training: write the same conversation which was between Speak7 and Maria, but this time you and an imaginary person, try to look up info that you dont know their translation in Italian, apply some of the grammar you learned, and see how it goes Speaking training: try to read the conversation you just wrote out loud, train yourself well, you might need that for a real conversation in the future.
This table has some useful expression that might help you expend your knowledge of Italian:
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Exactly! Excellent! Excuse Me ...! ( to ask for something) Excuse Me! ( to pass by) Four, Five, Six Give Me This! Go ahead! Go on! Go Straight! Then Turn Left/ Right! Good Bye! Good evening Good Luck! Good Morning! Good night Good Night & Sweet Dreams! Good/ Bad/ So-So. Good/ So-So. Goodbye Hands up! Happy Birthday! Happy Easter Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! Have a good holiday! Have a good stay Have a good time/ Enjoy yourself Have a good trip/ journey Hello!
Italian Expressions Esatto! ttimo Scusami!/ Mi scusi! (polite) Permesso Quattro, Cinque, Sei. Dammi questo! Stto!/ Passi pure! Avanti! Vada dritto! e poi giri a destra/ sinistra! Arrivederci! Buonasera Buona fortuna! Buongiorno! Buonanotte Buona notte e sogni d'oro! Buono/ Cattico/ Cos e cos Bene/ cos e cos. Arrivederci Mani in alto! Buon compleanno! Buona Pasqua Buone feste! Felice anno nuovo!/ Buon Capodanno Buona vacanza! Buona permanenza Buon divertimento! Buon viaggio. Prnto!
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Hello, Bye Hello, who's this? Here is / Here are... Here You Go! (when giving something) Hey! Friend! Hey, you Hi! Hold On Please! (phone) How Are You? How boring! How do you feel? How Do You Say "Please" In Italian? How far is it to Milano (from here)? How long are you staying here? How long have you been here? How Much Is This? How Old Are You? How's going? Hurry Up! I beg your pardon. Sorry. I Don't Know! I don't remember
Ciao Prnto, chi parla? Ecco... Eccolo! Ciao! Amico! Ehi l Ciao! Attenda prego! Come stai?/ Come state (polite)? Che barba! Come si snte? Come dite please in italiano? Quanto dista Milano (da qui)? Per quanto tempo si ferma/ti fermi/ vi fermate qui? Da quanto tempo /sei/siete qui? Quanto costa questo? Quanti anni hai? Come va?/ Come t la passi? Sbrigati!/ Fccia presto! Scusi Non lo so! Non ricordo.
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Italian Past Participle Regular Form: Simply add (~ato, ~uto, ~ito) to the stem of verbs, depending on the type of verbs, if the verb in the infinitive ends with ~are, then add ~ato: parlato (the verb parlare), add ~uto to the verbs ending with ~are: creduto (the verb credere), and finally add ~ito to the verbs ending in their infinitive with ~ire: partito (the verb partire) Note that some verbs take their past participle with the verb avere, while some other verbs take their past participle with the verb essere (usually motion verbs) Also note that the past participle of verbs going with essere should agree with the number and gender, so for example partito (gone) can also be partita/ partiti/ partite. Verbs going with avere dont have to agree with the number and gender, look in the examples in the side. Remember: to form the past participle with verbs conjugated with essere the gender and number matter, but not with verbs conjugated with avere.
Irregular Form: memorize the verbs that take irregular forms in the past participle such as: Verb/Past part/English Fare: fatto (done) Aprire: aperto (opened) Chiedere: chiesto (asked) Chiudere: chiuso (closed) Coprire: coperto (covered) Dare: dato (given) Dire: detto (said) Leggere: letto (read)
-Sono Partito (Im gone, masculine) lei partita (she is gone) Siamo partiti (were gone, for men) Sono stata a Roma (Ive been to Rome, a female talking) Siamo stati...(we have been..,for men)
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the time to do it) Ho parlato al telefono(Ive talked) Ha parlato (and not ha parlata) (she have spoken/ she spoke) Abbiamo parlato (and not parlati)
sono lavato (Ive washed myself), ci siamo lavati (weve washed ourselves).
Mettere: messo (put) Offrire: offerto (offered) Perdere: perso (lost) Prendere: preso (taken) Scrivere: scritto (written)
Ho detto (Ive said) Spendere: speso (spent) Ha detto (he/she has said) Vedere: visto (seen) Vivere:vissuto (lived) Rompere: rotto (broken)
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Comparison in Italian
Equality: as as [tanto...quanto... (or) cos come (used only with adjectives)] He is as tall as his father: Giovanni tanto alto quanto su padre/ Or/ Giovanni cos alto come su padre. Tanto quanto (used only with nouns, note that they have to agree in number and gender with the noun) Ho tante penne quanti libri (I have as many pens as books)
Superiority: more than... pidi (or) pi...che Romano pi alto di Giovanni. (Roman is taller than John) (pidi is used to compare two people or two things) Compro pi libri che cibo (I buy more books than food) (piche... is used to compare two characteristics of one person or thing)
Inferiority: less than... menodi (or) meno...che Romano meno alto di Giovanni. (Roman is less taller than John) (menodi is used to compare two people or two things) Compro meno libri che cibo (I buy less books than food) (menoche... is used to compare two characteristics of one person or thing)
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Superlative: (the most..., the ~est = il/ la/ li/le pi +adjective ... di....or ~issimo, ~issima, ~issimi, ~issime) In Italian, superlatives are formed by adding the suffix ~issimo to an adjective or adverb after taking off the final vowel, the suffix added should agree in number and gender. So it can be (~issimo, ~issima, issimi, ~issime) also you can form a superlative by adding: (il/ la/ li/le pi +adjective ... di) Questa la casa pi grande di Roma. il Diamante il pi duro delle pietre preziose (diamonds are the toughest amongst precious stones). Gli elefanti sono i pi grandi animali del mondo (Elephants are the biggest animals in the world) Rosa la bambina meno attiva dalla scuola (Rosa is the child less active in school) Le case americane sono grandissimi (American houses are huge, the biggest) In spoken Italian the "~issimo" is less used while palcing "molto, tanto, parecchio, assai" before the adjectives instead. Lo snowboard uno sport molto facile da imparare, molto pi facile dello sci (Snowboard is a sport very easy to learn much easier than Skiing) Questa studentessa molto intelligente. (this student is very intelligent) Also you can express superlative by repeating the adjective or adverb. il parla veloce veloce. (he speaks very fast).
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Adjective grande (big) piccolo (small) alto (high) basso (low) buono (good) cattivo (bad)
Comparative maggiore (big) minore (smaller) superiore (higher) inferiore (lower) migliore (better) peggiore (worse)
Italian Comparative and Superlative Relative Superlative (il) massimo (biggest) (il) minimo (smallest) (il) supremo/sommo (highest) (il) infimo (lowest) (il) ottimo (best) (il) pessimo (worst)
Absolute Superlative massimo (biggest) minimo (smallest) supremo/sommo (highest) infimo (lowest) ottimo (best) pessimo (worst)
Relative Superlative (il) pi (the) most (il) meno (the) least (il) meglio (the) best (il) peggio (the) worst
Absolute Superlative Moltissimo (very much) Pochissimo (very little) Benissimo (very well) Pessimo (very badly)
Demonstratives are: (this: questo, these: questi, that: quel, those: quei)
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Italian Demonstrative Pronouns This These That questo questi quel Masculine before a consonant before a vowel before a consonant before a vowel quest' questa quest'
Those quei
Feminine
before z, gn, or s + consonant (quello: that, quegli: those) only for masculine. Quegli studenti (those students)
Questo bambino molto intelligente. (this child is very intelligent) Questa studentessa molto intelligente. (this female student is very intelligent) Questa la mia penna (this is my pen) Quella casa molto grande. (that house is very big) Quelle casi sono molti grande (those house are very big)
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Note that in Italian demonstrative pronouns if you use that and those as a subject, use these four forms: quello for masculine singular, quella for feminine singular, quelli for masculine plural, and quelle for feminine plural. Example: quello il mio libro (that is my book).
Writing training: write the same conversation which was between Robert and Giovanni, but this time you and an imaginary person, try to look up info that you dont know their translation in Italian, apply some of the grammar you learned, and see how it goes Speaking training: try to read the conversation you just wrote out loud, train yourself well, you might need that for a real conversation in the future.
I Don't Understand! I Feel Sick. I forgot. I Have No Idea. I Have To Go I hope so./Let's hope so. I Like Italian I like you very much. I live in (the U.S/ Italia)
Italian Expressions Non capisco! Mi sento male! Ho dimenticato. Non ne ho idea! Devo andare Spero di si./Speriamo. Mi piace l'italiano. Mi piaci tanto. Vivo (negli stati uniti / in Italia)
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I live in that house there I Love You! I Missed You So Much! I Need A Doctor I need to practice my Italian I often come to Italy I Really Like It! I Will Be Right Back! I wish I had a car. I Work As A (Translator/ Businessman) Im (American) I'd love to come. I'd Like To Visit Italia One Day I'll be glad to (do it) I'll call back later. I'll let you talk to... I'm (twenty, thirty) Years Old. I'm bored. I'm cold. I'm coming! I'm Fine, Thanks! I'm From (the U.S/ Italia) I'm hot. I'm Hungry/ Thirsty. I'm in a hurry. I'm Looking For John. I'm Lost I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed I'm sorry I'm late.
Abito in quella casa l Ti amo!/ Ti voglio bene! Mi sei mancato molto! Ho bisogno di un dottore! ho bisogno di fare pratica con il mio italiano Vengo spesso in Italia Mi piace davvero. Torno subito! Se solo avessi una macchina! Lavoro come (traduttore/ uomo d'affari) Sono (americano). Mi far molto piacere venire. Mi piacerebbe visitare l'Italia un giorno di questi! Con piacere. Richiamo pi tardi. Le passo... Ho (venti, trenta ) anni. Mi annoio. Ho freddo. Vengo! Bene, grazie! Sono (statunitense, italiano). Ho caldo. Sono Affamato/ Assetato. Ho fretta. Sto cercando John. Mi sono perso/ persa (feminine) Ho sonno. Vado a letto. Mi dispiace di essere in ritardo.
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I'm Sorry! (if you don't hear something) In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night. Is he/she at home? Is John there? Is that all right? Is there anyone here who speaks English? Is this place taken? Is this right? Isnt it? It looks good. Italia Is a Wonderful Country It's 10 o'clock. 07:30pm.
Sono spiacente! Di mattina/ Di sera/ Di notte. (also Stamattina/ Stasera = this ~) E a casa? C' Giovanni? D'accordo? C' qualcuno qui che parla inglese? E occupato questo posto? E giusto? Vero? Sembra buono. L'italia un paese meraviglioso. Sono le dieci precise. le sette e trenta
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In Italian you can only make the past tense by combining (the auxiliary + the past participle), its not that complicated, its almost like English, almost the same way you make the present perfect to express something that happened in the past, you can say in English: I wrote a book, or Ive written a book, in Italian you can only say Ive written the book.
Italian Past Tense ~ato (with ~are verbs) Sono Sei ~uto (with ~are verbs) Siamo ~ito (with ~are verbs) Siete Sono
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Parlare (to speak) Ho parlato Hai parlato Ha parlato Abbiamo parlato Avete parlato Hanno parlato
Italian Present Perfect avere Verbs essere Verbs Sapere Finire Partire (to know) Ho saputo Hai saputo Ha saputo Abbiamo saputo Avete saputo Hanno saputo (to finish) Ho finito Hai finito Ha finito Abbiamo finito Avete finito Hanno finito (to go) Sono partito Sei partito partito Siamo partiti Siete partiti Sono partiti
avere & essere Irregulars Vedere Nascere (to see) Ho visto Hai visto Ha visto Abbiamo visto Avete visto Hanno visto (to be born) Sono nato Sei nato nato Siamo nati Siete nati Sono nati
I You
Io Tu
As you may have noticed in the table above, most verbs are conjugated with avere, however some verbs are conjugated with essere.
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As I have mentioned in the past participle lesson, regular form simply add (~ato, ~uto, ~ito) to the stem of verbs, depending on the type of verbs, if the verbs in the infinitive ends with ~are, then add ~ato: parlato (the verb parlare), add ~uto to the verbs ending with ~are: creduto (the verb credere), and finally add ~ito to verbs ending in their infinitive with ~ire: partito (the verb partire) Note that some verbs take their past participle with the verb avere, while some other verbs take their past participle with the verb essere (usually motion verbs) Also note that the past participle of verbs associated with essere should agree with the number and gender, so for example partito (gone) can also be sono partita (I went, for a female)/ siamo partiti (we men went)/ siete partite (you females went) Verbs going with avere dont have to agree with the number and gender, look at the examples in the table above. Remember: to form the past participle with verbs conjugated with essere the gender and number matter, but not with verbs conjugated with avere.
Irregular Forms: memorize the verbs that take irregular forms in the past participle such as:
Verb/ Past participle /English Fare: fatto (done) Aprire: aperto (opened) Chiedere: chiesto (asked)
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Chiudere: chiuso (closed) Coprire: coperto (covered) Dare: dato (given) Dire: detto (said) Leggere: letto (read) Mettere: messo (put) Offrire: offerto (offered) Perdere: perso (lost) Prendere: preso (taken) Scrivere: scritto (written) Spendere: speso (spent) Vedere: visto (seen) Vivere:vissuto (lived) Rompere: rotto (broken)
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So you dont have to add (ate, uto, ito) to these verbs on the top, take their whole new form and place an auxiliary verb avere or essere before them.
Verbs that go with essere, most of them are verbs of motionhere is a list:
Verb andare arrivare cadere diventare entrare essere morire nascere partire rimanere salire scendere succedere tornare uscire venire
Italian Verbs with Essere Translation to go to arrive to fall to become to enter to be to die to be born to leave to remain to get into to get out of to happen to return to go out to come
Past Participle andato arrivato caduto diventato entrato stato morto nato partito rimasto salito sceso successo tornato uscito venuto
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Except these verbs on the top, 90% of the rest of verbs go with avere. Non ho mai visitato Roma. (Ive never visited Rome) Dove hai passato le vacanze? (where have you spent your vacation?) Ho visto un film interessante la settimana scorsa (I watched a very interesting movie last week) Sono nato negli USA (I was born in the U.S) Siamo nati in Spagna (we were born in Spain)
Italian Interrogative
To make a question in Italian you simply need to add a question mark to the sentence, if youre speaking then just add a tone to your words. However you need to know some other forms, you can make a question in three ways: Hicham ha un cane? (does Hicham have a dog?) Ha un cane Hicham? (does Hicham have a dog?) Ha Hicham un cane? (does Hicham have a dog?)
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Also you may need some interrogative pronouns and interrogative prepositions to help you make questions:
Who? chi? Whose? di chi? Where? dove? What? che cosa? What? che? What? cosa? Why? perch? When? quando? How? come? How much? quanto? Which? quale To whom? a chi?
Note: if (dove, come, quale) are followed by (), then they drop their final e and add Like (dov, com) quale adds only the so it becomes qual Chi sono io? (who I am?) Cosa dici? (what are you saying?) Come stai? (how are you?) Quale il suo nome? (whats your name?) Di dove sei? (where are you from?) Dove vivi? (where do you live?) Quanti anni hai? Come si chiama quella cosa in italiano? Cosa significa "scusami" in inglese? Che ore sono?
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Italian Possessive Pronoun most of the time the article (il/la/i/le) should be used before the possessive form, example: il mio libro (my book) la mia casa dove sono felice (my house is where Im happy) However you may use the possessive form without its preceding article (il/la/i/le) in these cases: -Before family relation words in the singular. mio pardre (my father) -When the pronoun follows the verb "essere", "Questa mia" (this is mine) -When the adjective follows the noun it refers to, "Questi sono libri miei" (these are my book)
Italian Possessive Pronoun Singular possessive Plural possessive il mio la mia i miei le mie
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Ti Lo/ la Ci Vi Li/ le
Ti Gli/ le Ci Vi Loro
They are similar to reflexive pronouns, except in the third person singular and plural ("si"). Object pronouns have two forms: one is used when the pronoun is placed before the verb form or combined with it, the other when the pronoun is placed after the verb. Object pronouns can replace more than one word or an entire sentence, and both direct and indirect pronouns go directly in front of the verb, except loro, which always follows the verb. ti amo (I love you), la amo (I love her), mi ami (you love me). With infinitives or participles, the pronoun (except loro) follows it and is written as one word. Posso studiarla oggi (I can study it today) In the negative form, "non" precede the pronoun placed in front of verb. Non la posso studiare oggi (I cant study it today)
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In case you have more than one pronoun, the indirect comes before the direct. Tei amo, te lo dico desso (I love you, I tell it to you now)
Confusion Issues:
Dont confuse; E: is Ch : what Da: verb (dare) La: there Se: himself/ Herself Si: yes
With: E: and Che : that Da: from La: the (feminine) Se: if Si: himself (reflexive)
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Writing training: write the same conversation which was between Speak7 and Antonio, but this time you and an imaginary person, try to look up info that you dont know their translation in Italian, apply some of the grammar you learned, and see how it goes Speaking training: try to read the conversation you just wrote out loud, train yourself well, you might need that for a real conversation in the future.
This table has some useful expression that might help you expend your knowledge of Italian:
It's a deal it's bad (weather) it's cold (weather) it's cool (weather) it's foggy (weather) it's freezing (weather) it's hot (weather) it's humid (weather) It's me It's nice (weather) it's raining (weather) it's snowing it's stormy it's sunny
Italian Expressions Affare fatto Fa brutto tempo Fa freddo Fa fresco C' la nebbia Fa un freddo gelido Fa caldo umido Sno io Fa bel tempo Piove Nevica Il tempo burrascoso C' il sole
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It's urgent. it's windy It's worth it It's your turn! I've Been Learning Italian For 1 Month I've got a cold. I've got a headache/sore throat/ stomachache. January 6 wish Just a Little. Keep calm! Calm down! Leave me alone Lets go/have something to eat? Let's go home. Let's see. Listen! Look! Lucky you Lucky you! Make yourself at home May I come in? May I help you? May I help you? May I talk to... May I? Me/ You. Him/ Her. Merry Christmas Mind your business Mr.../ Mrs./ Miss Much better
E urgente. Tira vento Vale la pena Tcca a te! imparo l'italiano da un mese. Ho un raffreddore. Ho mal di testa/gola/stomaco. Buona Befana Solo un po'. Calma! Calmati! Lasciami stare Andiamo?/Andiamo a mangiare Andiamo a casa. Vediamo. Ascolti/a/ate! Guarda! Buon per te Beato/a (te, lui, lei) Beati/e (voi loro) Faccia come se fsse a casa sua/ Mttiti in libert Posso entrare Posso aiutarLa Psso esserle utile? Potri parlare con... Posso? io/ tu, voi (you polite). Lui/ Lei Buon Natale Fatti gli affari tuoi Signor / Signora (usually for both Mrs. & Ms) Molto meglio
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My feet hurt. My Italian Is Bad. My name is ..., I would like to talk to ... My Name Is . My pleasure Never mind Next!
Mi fanno male i piedi. il mio italiano orribile. Mi chiamo ..., vorri parlare con... Mi chiamo ... Con piacere/ Piacere mio Non importa Stto a chi tcca!
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Italian Conversations A-Mi scusi! Dove posso trovare la strada Marconi? B-Vada dritto! E poi giri a destra, la c la strada Marconi. A-Dov la stazione ferroviaria? B-Vada alla chiesa, giri a sinistra e prosegua per un isolato. A-Dov lospidale? B-Prosegua per quattro isolati, fino a un ristorante, poi giri a destra e prosegua per due isolati, l c lospidale. A-Dov la biblioteca? B-Prosegua su questa strada e passi la scuola, quando alla stazione ferroviaria, giri a destra e la c la biblioteca. A-Sei molto gentile! Grazie!
Dove: where/ trovare: find/ turn: giri/ prosegua: keep straight/ isolato: block
Prepositions in Italian
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Prepositions are a little bit tricky because they change depending on the gender and number. Note that the prepositions a, con, da, di, in, per and su have contracted forms with the definite articles:
Italian Prepositions Simple prepositions: (di, a, da, in, su, con, per, tra, Prepositional contractions: for phonetic reasons, prepositions (di, a, da, in, su, con) are contracted to the articles they precede. fra) Un bicchiere di latte (a glass of milk) La puerta della casa (di + la= della) (the door of the house) Un tipo di musica (a kind of music) Regalo un libro a Carlos (I offered a book to Carlos) Regalo un libro ad Antonio (ad is used before vowels) Da Parigi a Roma (from Paris to Rome) Scrivo con mi penna (I write with my pen) il regalo per Rayan (the present is for Rayan) Laereo vola su Roma (the plane flies over Rome) Un libro su Da Vinci (a book about Da Vinci) La penna fra le due libri nera (the pen between the two books is black) Regalo un libro al bambino (a + il = al) (I offer a book to the child) Regalo un libro agli amici (a + gli = agli) (I offer a book to the friends) Dalla citt alla campagna (da + la = dalla, a + la = alla) (from the city to the village) il latte nella bottiglia (in + la = nella) (milk is in the bottle) il libro sul tavolo (su + il = sul) (the book above the table) luomo col berreto (con + il = col) (the man with the hat) Easy right!
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La penna tra le due libri grigia (the pen between the two books is grey)
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a (to, toward) avanti (before) con (with) contro (against) da (since, from, of) di (of; from; at) dentro (within, into, in) dietro (behind) dopo (later, soon, after) davanti (in front of, before) durante (during, while) fra (in, between) in (in, inside, within) in avanti (forward)
Prepositions in Italian Uno contro l'altro (against eachother) La vita non male, malgrado tutto (life is not bad, despite all) Abito in Roma da due anni
malgrado (despite, in spite of) oltre (beyond, further) per (for, through, per) presso (nearby) secondo (according to) senza (without) sotto (below, under, beneath) su (on, up, above) tra (from among, between) verso (about, towards)
Tazza di coffe Un bichiere di latte (a bottle of milk) Un tipo di musica (a kind of music) Regalo un libro a Maria (I offered a book to Maria) Regalo un libro ad Antonio (before vowels) (...to Antonio) Da Parigi a Roma (from Paris to Rome) Scrivo con mi penna (I write with my pen) il regalo e per Speak7 (the gift is for Speak7 ) Laereo vola su Roma (The plane flies over Rome) Un libro su Da Vinci (the book about Da Vinci) La penna fra li due libri (the pen between the two books) Si pu vivere senza amici? (can we live without friends?)
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The table below show how they contract, its advised to memorize it or at least refer to it each time you wonder how to contract the pronoun with the preposition:
The + il l lo la i gli le
Italian Modal Verbs Below is a table showing the helping verbs that come before the main verb, usually the verb coming after the modal verb take its infinitive just like English. Italian Modal Verbs
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Dovere (to have to, must) Devo Devi Deve Dobbiamo Dovete Devono
Ora posso dirti grazie.(now I can tell you thanks! Devo partire subito. (I have to go right now) Voglio vivere. (I want to live) Vuole avere una bicicletta.(he wants to have a bike)
Vuole Che penna vuoi? (which pen do you want?) Vogliamo Volete Vogliono
For (~are) verbs, they change first their final (~are) into (~er), example (parlare parler) then they add the suffixes (-, -ai, -, -emo, -ete, -anno). For (~ere, and ~ire) verbs, they simply drop their final (e) and add the suffixes (-, -ai, -, -emo, -ete, -anno). Refer to the table above for examples.
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As you may have noticed there are some irregular verbs that follow a different pattern, Essere and avere are one of them, so you have to memorize them instead of looking at the pattern they follow. Other examples of irregular future tense: andr (I will go), far (I will go), star (I will be), sapr (I will know), dovr (I will have to), potr (I will be able to), vorr (I will want), vedr (I will see), verr (I will come).
Italian Future Tense Scrivere (to write) Partire (to go) scriver partir scriverai partirai scriver partir scriveremo partiremo scriverete partirete scriveranno partiranno
Writing training: write the same conversation which was between A and B, but this time you and an imaginary person, try to look up info that you dont know their translation in Italian, apply some of the grammar you learned, and see how it goes
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Speaking training: try to read the conversation you just wrote out loud, train yourself well, you might need that for a real conversation in the future.
This table has some useful expression that might help you expend your knowledge of Italian:
Nice To Meet You! No Problem! No, it's free. No, it's not allowed. Not at all Not too bad Not well Nothing Much O.K. See you tomorrow. Oh! That's Good! One Moment Please! One, Two, Three Out of my house Please Please come in Please sit down Pleasure
Expressions in Italian un piacere conoscerti!/ un piacere conoscerla (polite) Non c' problema! No, libero. No, proibito. Per niente Non c' male Male Non molto Va bene. Ci vediamo domani. Grande! Un momento prego! Uno, Due, Tre. Fuori da casa mia Per favore/ Per piacere ntri Se sieda/Siediti. Piacere
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Really! Saint's Day wish Same to you Say Hi To John For me. See you later See you next Monday. See you soon See you tomorrow Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten Sleep well! So long So so Sorry (for a mistake) Sorry to bother you Speak up! Stop it! Enough! Stop thief! Take care Take care of yourself! Take your time Tell me, I' m very interested Thank You (Very Much)! Thank you too! That sounds interesting. That's a good idea. That's all That's good! The door is open the morning, the afternoon, the evening, the night
Davvero! Buon onomastico Grazie altrettanto Saluta John da parte mia! A pi tardi/ A dopo A luned prossimo Ci vediamo/ A presto A domani Sette, Otto, Nove, Dieci. Buon riposo! Addio Cos cos Scusami!/ Mi scusi! (polite) Scusi/Scusa/Scusate se la/ti/vi disturbo Parli frte! Basta!/ Finiscila (Finitela) Al ladro! Stia bene Attenta a te Con comodo Racconti, mi interessa molto Grazie (molto)! Grazie altrettanto Sembra interessante. Che bell'idea. Non c' altro Ch bravo/a/i/e! La porta aperta la mattina, il pomeriggio, la sera, la notte,
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there are This evening, tonight This time this morning, today afternoon, this evening, tonight
Small Opened
However, its not always the case, some adjectives ending with e for example only change to their plural, the feminine or masculine doesnt matter to them.
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Other exceptions are: Adjectives ending in ~co/~ca and ~go/~ga are spelt ~chi/~che and ~ghi/~ghe in the plural; these modifications are made simply to maintain the same sound in the plural as well as the singular.
White Long
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Buon/ Buono buona, Buoni Buoni (Buono is used when uno could be used) For bello and quello, they are treated like the prepositions (a, con, da, di, in )
Italian Contractions The + Bello Quello (beautiful) (that) bel quel il l lo la i gli le bell bello bella bei begli belle quell quello quella quei quegli quelle
As said before adjectives in Italian usually come after the noun they are describing but there are exceptions where the adjective always stand before its noun; here some examples:
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-possessive adjectives (il mio, il tuo) -demonstrative adjectives (quest, quello )-the adjectives "molto" (much) and "troppo" (too much) -some adjectives denoting size can come either before or after their noun (un grande amico: a great friend) (un amico grande: a tall/ huge/ big friend), usually when you have such adjectives before the name you focus more on the abstract meaning, while the physical meaning is conveyed when you place the adjective after the noun.
Negation in Italian
To form negative forms just add (non before the verb, Capisco (I understand), non capisco (I dont understand). Also in other expressions where there is no verb: non c problema! (there is no problem) Italian uses a lot double negatives: non ho dico niente (I havent said anything)
Some negative expressions: never: mai no longer: non ... pi nothing: niente nobody: nessuno
Italian Negation If you have verb then you need to place it after the first non, all of them are double negatives: never: non ...mai (di sabato non lavoro mai: I never work on Saturdays) no longer: non ... pi (non lavoro pi: I no longer work) nothing: non niente (non ho niente: I have nothing) nobody: non ...nessuno (non conosco nessuno: I dont know anyone) neither nor: non ... n ...n (non ho n soldi n felicit: I have neither money nor
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not even: neanche neither nor: n ...n not important: da niente no, not...any: nessun at all: per niente Past Perfect in Italian
happiness)
The Trapassato prossimo (recent pluperfect tense) is similar to the English past perfect "I had gone"; it expresses actions which have taken place a long time ago and ended. In Italian you can only make the past perfect by combining (the auxiliary in the past + the past participle), its not that complicated, its almost like English, almost the same way you make the past perfect to express something that had happened in the past: I had written a book. (avevo escrito il libro)
Italian Past Perfect ~ato (with ~are verbs) Ero Eri ~uto (with ~are verbs) Era
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Parlare (to speak) Avevo parlato Avevi parlato Aveva parlato Avevamo parlato Avevate parlato Avevano parlato
Past Perfect in Italian avere Verbs essere Verbs Sapere Finire Partire (to know) Avevo saputo Avevi saputo Aveva saputo Avevamo saputo Avevate saputo Avevano saputo (to finish) Avevo finito Avevi finito Aveva finito Avevamo finito Avevate finito Avevano finito (to go) Ero partito Eri partito Era partito Eravano partiti Eravate partiti Erano partiti
avere & essere Irregulars Vedere Nascere (to see) Avevo visto Avevi visto Aveva visto Avevamo visto Avevate visto Avevano visto (to be born) Ero andato Eri andato Era andato Eravano andato Eravate andato Erano andato
I You
Io Tu
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As you may have noticed in the table above, most verbs are conjugated with avere, however some verbs are conjugated with essere. As I have mentioned in the present perfect lesson, regular form simply add (~ato, ~uto, ~ito) to the stem of verbs, depending on the type of verbs, if the verbs in the infinitive ends with ~are, then add ~ato: parlato (the verb parlare), add ~uto to the verbs ending with ~are: creduto (the verb credere), and finally add ~ito to verbs ending in their infinitive with ~ire: partito (the verb partire) Note that some verbs take their past participle with the verb avere, while some other verbs take their past participle with the verb essere (usually motion verbs) Also note that the past participle of verbs associated with essere should agree with the number and gender, so for example partito (gone) can also be ero partita (I had gone, for a female)/ eravano partiti (we men had gone)/ eravate partite (you females had gone) Verbs associated with avere dont have to agree with the number and gender, look at the examples in the table above. Remember: to form the past perfect with verbs conjugated with essere the gender and number matter, but not with verbs conjugated with avere.
Irregular Forms: memorize the verbs that take irregular forms in the past participle such as:
Verb/ Past participle/ English Fare: fatto (done) Aprire: aperto (opened)
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Chiedere: chiesto (asked) Chiudere: chiuso (closed) Coprire: coperto (covered) Dare: dato (given) Dire: detto (said) Leggere: letto (read) Mettere: messo (put) Offrire: offerto (offered) Perdere: perso (lost) Prendere: preso (taken) Scrivere: scritto (written) Spendere: speso (spent) Vedere: visto (seen) Vivere:vissuto (lived) Rompere: rotto (broken)
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So you dont have to add (ate, uto, ito) to these verbs on the top, take their whole new form and place an past form of the auxiliary verb avere or essere before them.
Verbs that go with essere, most of them are verbs of motionhere is a list:
Verb andare arrivare cadere diventare entrare essere morire nascere partire rimanere salire scendere succedere tornare uscire
Translation to go to arrive to fall to become to enter to be to die to be born to leave to remain to get into to get out of to happen to return to go out
Past Participle andato arrivato caduto diventato entrato stato morto nato partito rimasto salito sceso successo tornato uscito
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venire
to come
venuto
Except these verbs on the top, 90% of the rest of verbs go with avere.
This table has some useful expression that might help you expend your knowledge of Italian:
This/ That. Here/There Till Monday. Today/ Now Tomorrow/ Yesterday Very well, thank you. And you? Wait a minute! Wait for me! Wait! Watch out We had a lot of fun Welcome! (to greet someone) Well done What a lovely day!
Italian Expressions Questo/ Quello. Qui/ Li. Fino a luned. Oggi/ Adesso Domani/ ieri Bne, grzie, e Li? Asptti un momento! Mi asptti! Mi aspttino! Asptti! Attenzione Ci siamo proprio divertiti. Benvenuto!/ Benvenuta! (female) Bn fatto! Che bella giornata!
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What a mess What Do You Do For A Living? What Does "scusami" Mean In English? What happened to you? What Is This? What should I say? What Time Is It? What? Where? What's New? What's That Called In Italian? What's the date (today)? What's the matter? What's wrong with you? What's Your Name? What's the weather like today? Where Are You From? Where Do You Live? Where is the (bathroom/ pharmacy)? Who is this? Whom am I talking to? Who's that girl? Who's this? Why do you learn Italian? Will you show me your photos? Would you like (a cup of coffe, a drink)? Would you like to go for a walk? Write It Down Please! Yes, I do, but I prefer tea. Yes/ No
Che macello cosa fai per vivere? Cosa significa "scusami" in inglese? Che Le succsso? Cos' questa cosa? Come devo dire? Che ore sono? Cosa? Dove? che c' di nuovo? Come si chiama quella cosa in italiano? Che data (oggi)? Che ha? Che ti prnde? Quale il suo nome? Che tempo fa oggi? Di dove sei?/ Di dove ? (polite) Dove vivi?/ Dove vive? (polite) Dove posso trovare (il bagno/ la farmacia?) Chi ? Con chi parlo? Chi quella ragazza? Chi parla? Perch studia l'italiano? Mi fa/fai vedere le fotografie? Gradisce (un caff, un bicchierino...)? Vuole/Vuoi/Volete fare una passeggiata? Scrivilo per favore!/ Lo scriva per favore (polite) Si, mi piace, ma preferisco il Si/ No
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You are right. You're crazy! You're Very Kind! You're Welcome! (answering "thank you")
Ha ragione. Sei pazzo! Sei molto gentile!/ lei molto gentile (polite) Prego!
Italian Lesson 7
Gerund in Italian
The gerund is easy to form, for (~are) verbs just add ~ando to their stem, for (~ere, ~ire) verbs add ~endo to their stem.
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Present continuous/ Past continuous/ Future continuous can be formed easily with the verb stare + verb + gerund. To form a continuous action you need to add the verb stare and not essere
Present continuous (Im ing) sto pensando/ credendo stai pensando/ credendo sta pensando/ credendo stiamo pensando/ credendo state pensando/ credendo stanno pensando/ credendo
Italian Gerund Past continuous (I was ...ing) stavo pensando/ credendo stavi pensando/ credendo stava pensando/ credendo stavamo pensando/ credendo stavate pensando/ credendo stavano pensando/ credendo
Future continuous (I will be ...ing) star pensando/ credendo starai pensando/ credendo star pensando/ credendo staremo pensando/ credendo starete pensando/ credendo staranno pensando/ credendo
Che cosa stavi pensando? non stavo pensando.(what were you thinking? I wasnt thinking)
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There are however some rare cases where the gerund is irregular like: dire (dicendo), fare (facendo), porre (ponendo), tradurre (traducendo). Che cosa stai facendo? Sto credendo (what are you doing? Im thinking).
Italian Imperative
Its easy to form the imperative especially with tu and Lei, you just need to switch them in the case of (~are) verbs, for example in the present tense we say: tu parli informal of (you speak) and (Lei parla) formal of (you speak), in the imperative you just need to switch them. parla! means speak! informal, parli! means speak! formal. For (~ere, ~ire) the affirmative second person singular is identical to the second person singular form of the present tense. For all conjugations (are/ere/ire), the second person plural (voi) is identical to the second person plural form of the present tense. Check out the table below, it will explain it all:
parlare
finire
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Negative commands are usually expressed in Italian with non followed by the infinitive verb. For example: Don't eat! (non mangiare!) No smoking! (non fumare!) Adverbs in Italian (avverbi)
An adjective can be made into an adverb by simply adding -mente to the adjective example: veloce "quick" becomes velocemente "quickly. There are exceptions that are easy to understand: Adding mente to adjectives that their feminine singular is ending with a, example: lenta "slow" becomes lentamente "slowly". If an adjective ends in -ale, -ile, or -are, the adverb is formed with the root of the adjective plus the ending -mente.
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Adverb velocemente (quickly) lentamente (slowly) gentilmente (kindly) facilmente (easily) specialmente (specially)
The table below contains adverbs that dont come from adjectives; theyre used very often so try to memorize them.
Above: sopra Against: contro Already: gi Always: sempre Around: attorno Badly: male
List of Italian Adverbs Behind: dietro Beyond: oltre in, inside: dentro Moreover: inoltre Nearby: vicino Outside: fuori
Soon: presto Still: ancora Then: dopo Together: insieme Below: sotto Well: bene
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to abandon oneself to accept to admit to affirm to agree to agree to announce to apply oneself to to appreciate to ask to ask to aspire to assure to attempt to avoid to avoid to be able to to be able to, can to be about to be ashamed to be ashamed of to be concerned with
Italian Expressions abbandonarsi accettare ammettere affermare convenire accondiscndere annunciare mttersi gradire chiedere domandare aspirare assicurare tentare evitare tralasciare essere in grado potere accngersi averevergogna vergognarsi occuparsi
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to be eager for to be exhausted to be happy to be happy to be happy to be in a hurry to be in the position of to be interested in to be late to be on the point of to be proud to be saddened to be sorry to begin to believe to believe to carry on to come to communicate to compel to complain to condemn to confess to confirm to consent to continue to convince to dare to dare
anelare non poterne pi essere lieto essere contento essere felice avere fretta essere nella posizione interessarsi tardare avviarsi essere fiero dispiacersi dolersi iniziare credere ritenere proseguire venire comunicare obbligare lamentarsi condannare confessare confermare acconsentire continuare persuadere osare arrischiarsi
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to decide to decide to declare to defend to delude oneself to demonstrate to devote oneself to do one's best to doubt to dream to encourage to encourage to end by to establish to exclude to expect to fantasize to fantasize to fear to feel to feel like to force to force to forget to forget about something to get ready to get ready to get tired of something to get tired of
decidere decdersi dichiarare sostenere illudersi dimostrare darsi ingegnarsi dubitare sognare incoraggiare incoraggiare finire stabilire escludere aspettarsi fantasticare fantasticare avere paura avere l'impressione sentirsela costrngere obbligare dimenticare lasciar perdere apprestarsi disprsi stancarsi stancarsi
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to get used to to go to go back to go on to guess to have a good time to have difficulty to have in mind to have the right to have to to hazard to hazard to help to hint to hope to hope to hurry up to hurry up to ignore to inform to insist to intend to intend to invite to invite to know to know to learn to learn
abituarsi andare tornare seguitare indovinare divertirsi stentare ripromettersi avere il diritto dovere azzardare azzardarsi aiutare accennare augurarsi sperare affrettarsi sbrigarsi ignorare informare insstere avere intenzione intendere invitare invitare sapere sapere apprndere imparare
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to limit oneself to long for to love to narrate to need to need, to feel like to negate to neglect to oblige to offer to pass to persist to persist to plan to prefer to prepare oneself to prepare oneself to pretend to promise to propose to realize to realize to recognize to refuse to regret to regret to remember to remember to renounce
limitarsi ambire amare narrare avere bisogno avere voglia negare trascurare costrngere offrire passare ostinarsi persstere proporsi preferire acconciarsi prepararsi fingere promettere proporre accrgersi rendersi conto riconoscere rifiutarsi pentirsi rimpiangere ricordare ricordarsi rinunciare
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to repeat to report to resign oneself to risk to run to say to scream to send to start to start to start to start to start over to stay to stop to stop to stop to stop to stop, to end to succeed to suffer to suppose to suspect to swear to tell to tend to thank to think to think
ripetere riferire rassegnarsi rischiare crrere dire spolmonarsi mandare attaccare cominciare incominciare prndere riprndere stare smettere cessare smettere fermarsi finire riuscire soffrire supporre sospettare giurare raccontare tndere ringraziare pensare avere idea
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to think of to threaten to to be a question of to try to try to try to understand to undertake to value, to care to wait to wait to want to wish to wonder to wonder to worry to yearn for
pensare minacciare trattarsi cercare provare provarsi capire intraprndere tenrci attendere aspettare volere desiderare meravigliarsi stupirsi preoccuparsi agognare
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