All of the Italian

Tutto del'italiano

The Italian Alphabet and pronunciation: a b c c d e e f g g h i  j k l m n o o p q r s t u v w x y z

as in mama as in boy as in cat, cat, befo before re a conso consonan nantt or the vowe vowels ls A, O, O, U like like CH CH in chip, chip, befo before re the the vowel vowels s I or or E as in in do dollar  (op (open) en) as as in in elb elbo ow (cl (closed osed)) as as in in egg egg as in forest as in girl, girl, before before consonan consonants ts and the vowels vowels A, A, O, U like like J in in jump, jump, before before the vowels vowels I or E is silent like like the the e in the the Eng Engli lish sh wo word rd ego ego is on only ly used used in fore foreig ign n wor words ds is on only ly use used d in fore foreig ign n word words s as in like as in mo moto tor  r  as in in ni nickel (op (open) en) as as in in ove over  r  (clo (close sed) d) as in oliv olive e as in picture as in in queen queen (as (as in Englis English, h, follo followed wed by by u) with ith a slig light tril trilll as th the z in zeb zebra as in table as in fruit as in vine vine (but (but some sometim times es like like a w in olde olderr words) words) is only used in foreign words (the w sound can also be made, as in Latin, by using an oe combination) as in box is on only ly use used d in fore foreig ign n word words s as in in TS combinati combination on in in pits pits or or the DS combin combinatio ation n in pads

The Italian Alphabet and pronunciation: a b c c d e e f g g h i  j k l m n o o p q r s t u v w x y z

as in mama as in boy as in cat, cat, befo before re a conso consonan nantt or the vowe vowels ls A, O, O, U like like CH CH in chip, chip, befo before re the the vowel vowels s I or or E as in in do dollar  (op (open) en) as as in in elb elbo ow (cl (closed osed)) as as in in egg egg as in forest as in girl, girl, before before consonan consonants ts and the vowels vowels A, A, O, U like like J in in jump, jump, before before the vowels vowels I or E is silent like like the the e in the the Eng Engli lish sh wo word rd ego ego is on only ly used used in fore foreig ign n wor words ds is on only ly use used d in fore foreig ign n word words s as in like as in mo moto tor  r  as in in ni nickel (op (open) en) as as in in ove over  r  (clo (close sed) d) as in oliv olive e as in picture as in in queen queen (as (as in Englis English, h, follo followed wed by by u) with ith a slig light tril trilll as th the z in zeb zebra as in table as in fruit as in vine vine (but (but some sometim times es like like a w in olde olderr words) words) is only used in foreign words (the w sound can also be made, as in Latin, by using an oe combination) as in box is on only ly use used d in fore foreig ign n word words s as in in TS combinati combination on in in pits pits or or the DS combin combinatio ation n in pads

Consonant Pairs CH GH

before I or E is pronounced as a ck sound as in click before I or E is pronounced as a hard g sound as in gallop is "trilled" more than a single R is pronounced mo more li like the S in in English as as in summer  as in pizza

RR SS ZZ SCI or  is pronounced as an SH sound as in sheet SCE SCA, SCU, is pronounced as SK in ski SCHI or  SCHE almost always has the pronunciation of the NY GN combination as in vineyard GU is pronounced like a GW sound as in language

Articles in Italian DEFINITE ARTICLE ("articolo determinativo"): in italian has a number of different forms, depending on whether  the noun it accompanies is masculine or feminine, singular or  plural. It also changes its form according to the initial letters letters of  the word that follows it. MASCULINE SINGULAR, before: single consonant:

il

double consonants:

lo "lo specchio" 

vowels:

l'

"l'orso"  



single consonants:

i

"i denti"  



double consonants:

gli gli "gli "gli stiv stival ali"  i" 



vowels:

gli gli "gli "gli alb alber ergh ghi"  i" 

"il teatro"  



MASCULINE PLURAL, before:

FEMININE SINGULAR, before: consonants:

la "la casa"  



vowels:

l'



"l' anima"  

FEMININE PLURAL: invariably:

le "le regole" 



"Z" and "X" count as double consonants ("DS" and "KS"). "Lo"  and "la" elide (lose their vowels and take an apostrophe) before words beginning with a vowel. Definite articles are used with nouns which are abstract, general or collective: "la vita" ; "l'oro" ; "la gente" . They are used with parts of the body and articles of clothing, where English would use a possessive adjective: "le mani"  ; "le scarpe" . Definite articles are also used with titles preceding a last name, except in direct address: "Il signor Bianchi è di Firenze."  BUT; "Buon giorno, signor Bianchi"  . Another important use of the definite article is with possessive adjectives: "Ho perso il mio libro"  .

The INDEFINITE ARTICLES ("articoli  indeterminativi")are: MASCULINE, before: single consonants:

un

"un teatro"  



double consonants:

uno

"uno specchio" 



vowels:

un

"un orso"  



consonants:

una

"una casa" 



vowels:

un'

"un' anima"  



FEMININE, before:

Omission of the Article: The indefinite article is omitted after the verbs essere and diventare before nouns that indicate religion, profession, marital status, or titles: Mario è dottore e Alfredo è avvocato. (Mario is a doctor and Alfredo is a lawyer.) Io sono cattolica e lui è protestante. (I am Catholic and he is a Protestant.) It is also omitted after  che in exclamations: Che bel uomo!  (What a handsome man!) Che peccato!  (What a shame!) The definite article is omitted after in with geographical terms if  the terms are feminine and singular and not modified. L'Emilia-Romagna è in Italia. (Emilia-Romagna is in Italy.) It is omitted with names of cities. Conosci Milano?  (Do you know Milan?)  Avete mai visto Sorrento?  (Have you ever seen Sorrento?) In some common expressions. a sinistra (to the left) a destra (to the right) in cima (on top) "Some" or "any" is expressed in Italian in affirmative sentences by the partitive construction of di + the definite article. Compro del formaggio e del pane. (I buy some cheese and some bread.)  Abbiamo dei parenti in Italia. (We have some relatives in Italy.)  Abbiamo comprato della carne. (We bought some meat.)

Plural Indefinite Articles: The partitive construction: can be considered as the plural form of the indefinite article. It is never used in negative sentences and is often omitted in questions. Non vendono pane qui. (They don't sell bread here.) Vuole carne o pesce?  (Does he want meat or fish?) The partitive is also expressed with un po' di  with singular  nouns and alcuni,-ewith plural nouns: Devo comprare un po'di verdura. (I need to buy some vegetables.) (I want to buy some apples.)

Interjections: An interjection is a word or expression often given increased emotive value in the stream of speech. Interjections are rarely used in formal or business writing. In print interjection is usually followed by an exclamation mark or a comma: suvvia! = alas! aiuto! = help! hey! = hey! oh! = wow! ahi! = ouch! bontà mia! = My goodness!  Ahi! Mi sono rotto una gamba! 

Prepositions: Prepositions are invariable connecting words preceding elements in a sentence (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs) that show the relationship between other elements or other  sentences: La bicicletta di Paolo è rotta. Mettilo sul tavolo.

Dopo averci detto tutto ciò, lui sparì. Per quello che lei ci disse, cambiammo idea.

Simple Prepositions In Italian the basic or simple prepositions, are: di  a da in con su  per  tra fra sotto sopra

(of) (at, to) (from) (in) (with) (on) (for) (among, between) (among, between) (under) (over)

Scrivo a Piero. Poco lontano da qui, câè un ristorante. Carlo è tra quella folla.

Some prepositions (a, da, di, in, su) contract and combine with the definite article to form a single word as shown in the chart below. (These are called preposizioni articolate.) al ristorante (to the restaurant) Metti il libro sul tavolo. (Put the book on the table.) Metti il libro nellâarmadio. (Put the book in the closet.) Potrò vederti domani dalle 5 alle 7. (I can see you tomorrow, from 5 to 7.) Saltò giú dal secondo piano. (He jumped from the second floor.) ARTICLE IL LO L' LA I GLI PREPOSITION  A AL ALLO ALL' ALLA AI AGLI DI  DEL DELLO DELL' DELLA DEI DEGLI DA DAL DALLO DALL' DALLA DAI DAGLI

LE

 

ALLE   DELLE   DALLE  

IN 

NEL NELLO

NELL'

NELLA

NEI NEGLI

NELLE  

SU 

SUL SULLO

SULL'

SULLA

SUI SUGLI

SULLE  

CON 

COL

COLLO  COLL'  COLLA COGLI  COLLE  COI  (ARCHAIC) (ARCHAIC) (ARCHAIC) (ARCHAIC) (ARCH 

Along with the simple prepositions there is a group words, called preposizioni improprie which are actually adverbs, adjectives or rarely verbs, but often they function as prepositions: davanti  avanti  innanzi  dietro dentro oltre  presso fuori  sopra sotto su accanto attorno intorno  prima dopo lungo secondo vicino

(in front of) (in front of) (in front of) (behind) (inside) (further) (by) (outside) (over) (under) (on) (near by) (around) (around) (before) (after) (along) (in accordance with) (near, close by)

Examples: Vai fuori!  (Go out!) (adverb) Starò fuori città per qualche giorno. (I will be out of town for a few days.) (preposition) Tu stai dietro. (You stay behind.) (adverb) Lâaltro è dietro la casa. (The other is behind the house.) (preposition) Mia nonna abita vicino. (My grandmother lives near by.) (adverb) La casa di mia nonna è vicina. (My grandmother's house is close.) (adjective)

Mia nonna abita vicino a noi. (My grandmother lives near us.) (preposition)

Nouns: Gender and agreement Gender and number  NOUNS ("sostantivi") can have two GENDERS ("generi"), masculine and feminine, and two NUMBERS, singular and plural. Generally speaking, masculine nouns end in "-o" (plural "-i" ) and feminine nouns end in "-a" (plural "-e" ): "il libro"  , "i libri"  ; "la casa" , "le case" . There are exceptions: Some feminine nouns end in "-o" . they either form the plural in "-i" : "la mano" , "le mani"  ; or (if foreign loanwords ) remain unchanged, "la foto" , "le foto" . Some masculine nouns end in "-a" ; they form their plural in "-i" : "il problema"  , "i problemi"  . Some masculine nouns change their gender to feminine in the plural, with a singular-type "-a" ending rather than the usual plural form "-e" : "l'uovo"  BUT "le uova"  ; "il dito"  BUT "le dita" . There are also a number of nouns which do not end in "-o" or "a." Nouns ending in "-e," whether masculine or feminine, invariably form the plural in "-i" : "il fiore" , "I fiori"  ; "la lezione"  ; "le lezioni" . Nouns ending in "-i" or an accented vowel do not change in the plural: "la crisi"  , "le crisi" ;

"la virtù" , "le virtù"  ; "la città" , "le città" .

The same is true of one-syllable nouns, and of foreign loanwords ending in a consonant: "il re" , "i re" ; "il film" , "i film"  . Some nouns ending in "-a" or "-e" can be either masculine or  feminine, depending on the gender of the person being named by the noun: "il pianista"  ; "la pianista"  ; "il cantante"  , "la cantante" . Other nouns change their ending according to gender: "l'attore" , "l'attrice" ; "il gallo"  , "la gallina"  ; "il cameriere" , "la cameriera" . There are also nouns that have both genders, but with a different meaning for each: "il fine" , "la fine"  ; "il tema" , "la tema" .

Agreement: A noun and its modifiers have the same gender  and have number AGREEMENT. If a noun is feminine, its modifiers will be feminine: "una antica chiesa" . If a noun is plural, its modifiers will be plural: "i capelli grigi" .

Quantity in nouns: Below are examples of countable nouns. Pay special attention to the expressions of quantity in parentheses. Those listed below are used only with countable nouns.

Expressions Expres sions of Quantity Countable Nouns uno (one) studente (student) ogni  (every) libro (book) ogni  (every) stanza (room) due (two)  piante (plants) entrambi (both) ragazzi (boys) un paio di  (a pair of) scarpe (shoes) alcuni (some/few) amici (friends) molti (many) cani (dogs)  pochi (few)  pesci (fish)  parecchi (quite a few/a lot) amici (friends) meno (fewer) vantagi (advantages) Below are examples of noncountable nouns. The expressions of  quantity preceding parentheses are used only with noncountable nouns. Expres Exp ression sions s of Quantit Quan tity y Noncount Nonc ountable able Nouns Noun s un po' di  (some/a little bit of) caffè (coffee) molto (a lot of) ghiaccio (ice) molta (many) gente (people) Cardinal adjectives -- one, two, several etc. -- are used with noncountable mass nouns (nouns of substance) only in a very restricted context and mean portion: Vogliamo due caffè per favore. (We want two coffees, please.) Il cameriere ci ha portato un tè e un caffè. (The waiter brought us one tea and one coffee.)

Noncount nouns: refer to things that cannot be counted. In English they do not usually take a definite aritcle, but in Italian they often do. Whole groups of similar items : il cibo (food) la posta (mail) la roba (stuff) la spazzatura (garbage)

Fluids: il caffè (coffee) il tè (tea)

il latte (milk) l'olio (oil) la benzina (gas) l'aceto (vinegar)

Solids: il ghiaccio (ice) il burro (butter) il formaggio (cheese) la carne (meat) il legno (wood) il sale (salt) il pane (bread)

Gases: l'aria (air) lo smog (smog) l'ossigeno (oxygen)

Particles: il riso (rice) il grano (grain) la farina (flour) lo zucchero (sugar) la sabbia (sand)

Abstract nouns: la bellezza (beauty) l'educazione (education) la salute (health) l'aiuto (help) la violenza (violence)

Sports, games, and activities: il calcio (soccer) il baseball  (baseball) il football  (football) il poker  (poker)

Nature:

il tempo (weather) la nebbia (fog) la pioggia (rain) la neve (snow) il fuoco (fire) la luce (light) il vento (wind) -- but, figuratively, "i quatri venti"  = "the Four  Winds"

Noun/Adjective Suffixes: Suffixes modify the meaning of the base word and can be used to form adjectives from nouns and vice versa. Suffixes can be used to form diminutives, augmentatives, and pejoratives (depreciatives), but they should be coined cautiously: many have preexisting preexisting figurative, figurative, slang, or sexual meanings. Many other suffixes form adjectives from nouns and verbs, but most of these adjectives can stand alone as nouns -- the noun they modify can be an unspoken unspoken indefinite indefinite pronoun: pronoun: one or  some.

Diminutives: In English, the diminutive endings endings -let and -ie (-y) are added to nouns to connote small size or endearment: pig, piglet, piggie. Italian uses the diminutive ending in the same way. The final vowel of the noun is dropped before adding the diminutive suffix. In the feminine form the -o changes to -a. -in -ino

uccel ccello lo --> --> ucce ccellin llino o (little bird)

-icino -icino cuore --> cuori cuoricino cino (little heart) -etto -etto giov giovan ane e --> --> giov giovan anet etto to (little young man) -ell -ello o font fontan ana a --> --> font fontan anel ella la (little fountain) -olo

figlio ---> fi figliolo (little son)

-  bocca --> boccuccia (cute, little mouth) uccio -olino -olino radio --> --> radiolin radiolina a (little radio)

-uzza via --> viuzza (little street)

Sometimes diminutives connote a bad quality or contempt. -  casa --> casuccia (small, ugly house) uccio -etto podere --> poderetto (worthless, little farm)

-ino -ino

Some nouns change meaning and gender when a suffix is attached. camera --> camerino (room --> changing room) coda --> codino (tail--> pigtail) Caution: codina (feminine) in some dialects means prostitute and codino (masculine) can be male prostitute if  applied to a person.

N.B.: coin diminutives cautiously -- many (including all of the above) have preexisting slang or figurative, including sexual, meanings.

Augmentatives Augnentative suffixes are added to a noun to indicate large size or exaggeration of a quality. A common one is -one. -one naso --> nasone (big nose -- or a person who has one) -one libro --> librone (big book) Some feminine nouns when the -one suffix is attached change gender. la donna --> la donnone (big woman -- or too masculine or  -one dominating, or a male transvestite) la febbre --> la febbrone (high fever -- or excitement, -one including sexual) la palla --> la pallone (soccer ball, or possibly male sexual -one arrousal without release) -one la stanza --> la stanzone (room large room)

N.B.: coin augmentatives cautiously -- many have preexisting slang or figurative,

including sexual, meanings.

Pejorative: The following suffixes convey the idea of ugliness or a bad quality: -accio ragazzo --> ragazzaccio (bad boy) -astro poeta --> poetastro (a terrible poet) -ucolo maestro --> maestrucolo (bad teacher) -accione uomo --> omaccione (ugly man)

Other Noun/Adjective Suffixes: -aggine (-ness)

stupido --> stupidaggine (foolishness or a foolish act)

-aio (one who uses/makes/ sells/is in charge of)

forno --> fornaio (baker)

-anza/enza (makes abstract)

vedova --> vedovanza (widowhood), magnifico --> magnificenza (magnificence)

-ata (-ful) (a blow by means of) (an action)

cucchiai --> cucchiaiata (spoonful)  pugnale --> pugnalata (dagger stab) cabrare (to zoom): cabrata (zooming or  aerobatics)

-ere/ore (one who does)

banco --> banchiere (banker), conquista --> conquistatore

-eria (place where)

libro --> libreria (bookstore)

-ero (changes noun to adjective)

guerra -->guerriero (warlike)

-eto/-eta (grove/orchard)

 pina --> pineta (pine grove/forest)

-ia (arts or sciences) geologia (geology) (marks maestro --> maestria abstactions) (masterliness/mastery) -iccio (-ish)

rosso --> rossicio (reddish one or reddish as an adjective)

-oso (characterized

rocco --> roccoso (rocky)

by) -ta' (-ty) -ura -uta (adjectiveforming)

fraternita' (fraternity) bravo --> bravura (something worth of  a"bravo") alto --> altura (heights/highlands) barba --> barbuta (bearded)

CONTRACTIONS: The definite articles form CONTRACTIONS ("contrazioni") with the prepositions "a" , "di" , "da" , "in" , "su" , and "con" : ARTICLE IL LO L' LA I GLI LE   PREPOSITION  A AL ALLO ALL' ALLA AI AGLI ALLE   DI  DEL DELLO DELL' DELLA DEI DEGLI DELL DA DAL DALLO DALL' DALLA DAI DAGLI DALL IN  NEL NELLO NELL' NELLA NEI NEGLI NELL SU  SUL SULLO SULL' SULLA SUI SUGLI SULL COLLO  COLL'  COLLA COGLI  COLL CON  COL COI  (ARCHAIC)*  (ARCHAIC) (ARCHAIC) (ARCHAIC) (ARC  *Modern Italian uses separate words in place of archaic forms: e.g., "con lo" vice "collo." 

ADJECTIVES Forming Adjectives: Some adjectives are formed from verbs by adding the suffix -nte. Such adjectives are actually archaic forms of the present participle.

ardere (to burn) ---> ardente (hot) fortificare (to fortify) ---> fortificante (fortifying)

Other adjectives are derived from the past participles of verbs. scrivere (to write) --> scritto (written) contorcere (to twist) --> contorto (twisted) Adjectives are sometimes formed from nouns by adding the suffixes -so (English -ous) and -ico (English -ic). miracolo(miracle) --> miracoloso (miraculous) letargo (lethargy) --> letargico (lethargic) ADJECTIVES agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Regular adjectives with separate masculine and feminine forms end in -o (m.) and -a (f.) in the singular, -i (m.) and -e (f.) in the plural: "Il battello è bianco"  ; "La colomba ha un'ala bianca"  ; "I miei denti sono bianchi"  ; "Le mie scarpe sono bianche" . (Note that the letter "h" inserted in bianchi and bianche is there to keep the "hard" sound of the "c".) Regular adjectives with identical masculine and feminine forms have a singular ending "-e" and a plural ending "-i" : "un vestito verde" ; "una mela verde" ; "dei alberi verdi"  ; "delle tartaruge verdi"  . N.B. Adjectives describing colors by means of nouns do not change form to show gender or number: "la rosa" , "rosa" , "dei fiori rosa"  ; "la viola" , "viola" , "un vestito viola"  . Other adjectives describing colors that are invariable are: "arancione" , "marrone" , "blu"  , If an adjective follows two nouns, it takes a plural form; if one of the nouns is masculine, the adjective must be masculine plural:

"un vestito e una camicia rossi"  . (also note the difference between rossa = red and rosa = pink.)

If the adjective precedes two nouns, however, it agrees with the closest one: "rosse camicie e vestiti"  . The POSITION of adjectives follows certain rules. Generally speaking, adjectives which describe or differentiate FOLLOW the nouns they modify: "una fontana magnifica"  ; "la mano destra"  . Adjectives PRECEDE the nouns they modify when they express an essential or characteristic quality, and when they limit or  quantify: "un piccolo asino"  ; "le poche case" ; "alcuni romanzi"  . Some adjectives change meaning when they precede the noun, taking on a figurative sense: "un uomo povero"  but "un pover'  uomo" .

ADVERBS: Forming Adverbs: ADVERBS of manner are usually formed by adding the suffix "-  mente" to adjectives in their feminine singular form: "esatta" , "esattamente" . "Buono"  and "cattivo"  have special adverbial forms: "bene"  and "male" .

Some singular masculine adjectives are used adverbially: "Parlo piano"  ; "Abitano vicino"  ; "Sempre risponde giusto"  .

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES: The COMPARATIVE form of adjectives and adverbs is expressed by preceding them with "più"  or "meno"  : "alto" , "più alto"  ; "diligentemente" , "meno diligentemente"  . The complete comparison is usually expressed with "di"  before nouns or pronouns and "che"  before modifiers: "Giovanni è più vecchio di te"  ; "La lezione è più istruttiva che divertente"  . The RELATIVE SUPERLATIVE of adjectives is expressed by preceding the comparative form with the definite article: "il più giovane"  ; "la meno veloce"  ; "i meno intelligenti"  ; "le più attive"  . (The definite article is not repeated if it already precedes the noun: "la ragazza più intelligente"  .) The ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE of an adjective (indicating degree rather than comparison) is regularly formed by adding the suffix "-issimo," which is then inflected like a regular  adjective: "un libro utilissimo" ; "una donna bellissima"  . The ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE of adverbs is formed by adding "-issimamente" to the stem of adverbs ending in "-mente" but "-  issimo" to the stems of other adverbs: -issimamente -- "lentamente"  , "lentissimamente" ; -issimo -- "spesso"  , "spessissimo" . Adjectives and adverbs are sometimes doubled to express an absolute superlative: "parla piano piano" 

Comparisons of Equality: To form the comparison of equality with adjectives, use: Tanto (as, so) + adjective + quanto (as) + noun  Angela e tanto bella quanto sua sorella.

or: Cosi (as, so) + Adjective + come (as) Angela e cosi bella come sua sorella.

(To form the comparison of equality with nouns, only tanto...quanto is used, and these words must agree with the nouns they modify: Lui vende tanti libri quante reviste. ) Comparisons of superiority or inferiority: when two charcteristics or qualities of one person are being compared, use: (Someone is) piu (more) or meno (less) + adjective + che (than) + adjective. When comparing two persons or things, use: (Someone or something is)  piu (more) or meno (less) + adjective + di (someone or something else.) In addition to the regular (piu, il piu) forms, there are some irregular adjective comparisons:  Alto (high)

superiore (higher)

il superiore (highest)

supremo (very high)

Basso (low)

inferiore (lower)

l' inferiore (lowest)

infimo (very low)

Buono (good)

migliore (better)

il migliore (best)

ottimo (very good)

 peggiore Cattivo (bad) (worse)

il peggiore (worst)

 pessimo (very bad)

Grande (large)

il maggiore (oldest)

massimo (very large)

maggiore (older)

Piccolo minore il minore minimo (very (small) (younger) (youngest) small) The two forms of comparison usually differ in meaning, and the differences are learned through experience and may differ  regionally ( piu grande vs. maggiore .)

There are similar irregular adverb comparisons: meglio (better)

il meglio (best)

ottimamente (excellently)

 peggio Male (badly) (worse)

il peggio (worst)

 pessimamente (very badly)

Molto (much)

il piu (most)

moltissimo (very much)

Bene (well)

 piu (more)

Poco (little) meno (less)

il meno (least) pochissimo (very little)

The piu, il piu (and meno, il meno ) forms of comparison are irregular adverb forms modifying base form adjectives: il piu (adverb) grande (adjective) = = As in English, Combinations and doubling are also used for of  emphasis and for special meanings: il piu maggiore di maggiore meno il superiore maggiore maggiore

POSESSIVES POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES ("aggettivi possessivi") and POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ("pronomi possessivi") are usually compound forms which include a definite article that is not translated into English. The forms of the possessive adjective are: MASCULINE SINGULAR il mio il tuo

MASCULINE PLURAL i miei i tuoi

FEMININE FEMININE MEANINGS SINGULAR PLURAL la mia

le mie

la tua

le tue

familiar 

il suo

i suoi

la sua

le sue

il nostro

i nostri

la nostra

le nostre

il vostro

i vostri

la vostra

le vostre

il loro

i loro

la loro

le loro

or  polite familiar  or  polite

Possessive pronouns are identical in form to possessive adjectives; the difference is in meaning. Where the possessive adjective "il mio" means "my," for example, the possessive pronoun "il mio"  means "mine": "le tue scarpe e le mie"  . It is important to note that possessives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed, rather than with the possessor: "i miei amici"  "la loro automobile"  . If ambiguity results from the use of possessives, possession may be expressed by means of  "di" with a disjunctive pronoun: "la sua valigia"  ; "la valigia di lui"  . If the possessor is also the subject of the sentence, "proprio"  may be used instead of  "suo" or "loro" : "Giovanni porta la propria valigia"  . "Proprio" MUST be used after impersonal expressions: "Bisogna portare le proprie valige"  . When referring to articles of clothing and parts of the body, the definite article is regularly used instead of the possessive adjective: "le scarpe" ; "la testa" .

Demonstratives: The DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES ("aggettivi dimostrativi") are:

singular  masculine questo quello codesto

plural masculine questi quelli codesti

singular  feminine questa quella codesta

plural feminine queste quelle codeste

meanings

"Codesto" refers to something near the person being spoken to, but itis falling into disuse: "quello"  is replacing it. "Questa" is sometimes shortened to "sta" and contracted with the noun it modifies: "questa sera" , "stasera" .

There is elision of  "questo," "questa,"  and "quella" before a noun beginning with a vowel: "quest'aereo" ; "quest'aula" ; "quell'autostrada" . Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify, and always precede them: "questo libro"  ; "quella casa" . The DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS ("pronomi dimostrativi") are identical in form to the demonstrative adjectives, but mean "this one," "that one," etc. They are used alone, but refer back to something mentioned earlier (the antecedent) and agree with it in number and gender: "Questa casa è bianca e quella è nera"  .

Pronouns: SUBJECT PRONOUNS ("pronomi") are often omitted, since the verb form indicates the subject: "Ho freddo"  . When subject pronouns are used, it is for purposes of  emphasis, clarification or courtesy: "Io ho freddo"  ; "Lui detesta il film"  ;

"Vorrebbe Lei venire con me?"  .

The subject pronouns are: Singular Plural 1st person io noi  2nd person familiar  tu voi  2nd person polite Lei  Loro 3rd person lui  loro lei  loro esso essi  essa esse Note that second person polite form pronouns are capitalized. In literary usage, "eghli" is sometimes used for  "lei" ; "ella" is sometimes used for  "lei" . Such usage is mainly literary.

OBJECT PRONOUNS are either direct or indirect, and cannot stand alone without a verb. The direct object receives the action of the verb directly while the indirect object is indirectly affected by it. With the exception of  "loro," they PRECEDE the conjugated verb: "Ti ho visto ieri"  ; "gli ho dato il mio numero di telefono"  .

The forms of the direct and indirect object pronouns are:

Singular 1st 2nd familiar  2nd polite 3rd masculine 3rd feminine

Direct mi  ti  La lo la

indirect mi  ti  Le gli  le

Plural

Direct

Indirect

1st 2nd familiar  2nd polite masculine 2nd polite femimine 3rd masculine 3rd feminine

ci 

ci 

vi 

vi 

Li 

Loro

Le

Loro

li 

loro

le

loro

With the exception of  "loro," pronouns regularly precede the conjugated verb, but they are attached to infinitives (which drop the final "-e"), participles and familiar commands: "Sono venuto per vederlo"  ; "Sto chiamandolo"  ; "Ascoltami" . In a compound (perfect) infinitive, the pronoun is attached to the auxiliary verb: "averti chiamato" . Some one-syllable familiar commands double the first consonant of the object pronoun: "Dimmi" . "Lo"  is used as a neuter pronoun referring back to a general idea or situation: "Vale la pena -- Sì, lo so!"  .

When direct and indirect pronouns are used together, the indirect pronoun comes first. "Loro"  is the exception to this rule; it always follows the verb: "Lo disse loro"  . Before "lo," "la," "li," "le,"  and "ne," the indirect object pronouns change their form as follows: mi --> me: "Giovanni me lo diede"  ti --> te:

"Te lo ho comprato" 

ci --> ce:

"Ce lo dà"  

vi --> ve:

"Ve l'ho detto ieri" 

gli--> glie: "Glieli manderò"  gli --> glie: "Glielo dicono" 



Note that "glie"  combines with the direct object pronoun. The 3rd person reflexive pronoun singular and plural "si"  changes to "se" before a direct object pronoun: "Si lava la faccia? Sì, se la lava." 

After prepositions, the following DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS are used: 1st person 2nd person familiar  2nd person polite 3rd person

Singular me

Plural noi 

te

voi 

Lei 

Loro

lui 

loro

lei 

loro

esso

essi 

essa

esse

se

se

se

se

These pronouns, also known as stressed pronouns ("pronomi  tonici"),are used most frequently as objects of prepositions. "Parla a me?"  "Preferisco lavorare  per lei"  .

Relative pronouns: RELATIVE PRONOUNS ("pronomi relativi") introduce a subordinate clause and represent persons or things mentioned previously. They can function as either subject or  object pronouns without any change in form. The most common relative pronouns are:

1) "che" or "il quale"  , referring to a specific antecedent: "L'uomo che hai visto è italiano"  ; "Giulia, la quale è italiana, non parla inglese"  ; 2) "quel che," "quello che"  or "ciò che"  , referring to an unspecified antecedent: "Quel che ha fatto non m'interessa"  ; "Non so quello che ha fatto"  ; "Fa ciò che vuole" ; 3) the impersonal pronoun "chi" : "Chi ride vince"  . After a preposition, the invariable pronoun "cui" is used in place of "che" : "Ecco la signora di cui parlai"  .

Indefinite Pronouns: Such pronouns refer to indefinite (sometimes unknown) persons or things or to indefinite quantities: Poco fa qualcuno ha bussato alla porta. Chiunque può farlo. Tutto è possibile in questa situazione. Se ti regalano molti libri ricordati che ne vorrei alcuni  anchâio. Tutti applaudirono.

The following indefinite pronouns become indefinite adjectives when they accompany a noun:  poco (little) alquanto (pretty much) tanto (much) altrettanto (as much) molto (much) troppo (too much) tutto (all) ciascuno (each) altro (other) vario (various) tale (such) Ho bisogno di molti soldi. (adjective) Quanto costano questi bicchieri? Me ne servono molti. (pronoun) Ho pochi soldi. (adjective) Devo controllare quanti soldi ho. Ne ho pochi. (pronoun) Non mi è piaciuto nessun vestito tra quelli che ho visto. (adjective). ( I didn't like any of those dresses that I saw. ) Sì, ho visto I vestiti, ma non mi è piaciuto nessuno. (pronoun)

The following indefinite pronouns can be used only and exclusively as pronouns: Uno/-a, (a person), indicates a single person, but sometimes can be used in the plural: Ha telefonato uno, che voleva parlarti. Ho ascoltato le opinioni degli uni e degli altri.

Qualcuno/qualcuna, is used only in the singular. Qualcuno ha bussato alla porta. Ho preparato dei panini. Prendine qualcuno. Ognuno/ognuna , is used only in the singular  Ognuno darà il suo contributo. Chiunque is only used in the singular and refers only to people. Chiunque potrebbe farlo. Chicchessia , used only in the singular, refers only to people. Non ho paura di chiccessia. Qualcosa is invariable and refers to things in general. Dimmi qualcosa delle tue vacanze. (Tell me something about your vacation.> Niente or nulla (nothing), is also invariable. Non ho paura di niente. (Notice the use of the double negative )

Negative Pronouns: nessuno alcuno

(nobody, none) (none)

Doubled Pronouns (Pronomi doppi): When both the direct and indirect object are expressed by pronouns: The indirect object pronoun always is first, The -i ending of  mi, ti, ci, and vi indirect object pronouns changes to -e, An -e is added to gli, glie form and the direct objec pronoun are written as one word.

 \direct indirect\ mi ti gli, le, Le ci vi ...loro o gli 

lo

la

li

le

ne

me lo

me la

me li

me le

me ne

te lo

te la

te li

te le

te ne

glielo

gliela

glieli

gliele

gliene

ce lo

ce la

ce li

ce le

ce ne

ve lo

ve la

ve li

ve le

ve ne

lo... loro glielo

la... loro gliela

li... loro glieli 

le... loro gliele

ne... loro gliene

Both pronouns are always before the verb: Te lo regalo. Ve ne ho parlato. Glieli manderò. Me li hai  comprati?  unless the verb is an infinitive, in which case they are attaged as suffixes to the infinitive: E' importante parlargliene (exceptions to the exception: Voglio/Posso/So/Devo  parlargliene or Gliene voglio/posso/so/devo parlare. ) or an imperative, where they are also attached to the verb form Diglielo! Compramelo! 

Imperative with Pronoun: Pronouns are always attached to the end of imperatives:  Andiamoci! Non fatelo! Compramelo! Parlagli!  (but also Parla loro! ) Svegliati! Alziamoci!  Negative imperatives ( tu) alow two constructions: Non andarci! or Non ci andare!  - Non comprarmelo! or Non me lo comprare! 

Negation: A verb is negated by preceding it with "non."  When there is an object pronoun in front of the verb, "non"  comes before the object pronoun: "Non mi telefona"  .

A negative response, as in English, may consist of the single word "No": "Lei parla italiano?-- No"  . Double negatives are standard in Italian: "Non vedo nessuno"  .

Verbs "i verbi": Conjugation: tense, person, and number  There are three verb CONJUGATIONS ("coniugazione") in Italian, identified by the endings of the infinitives: First Conjugation -are "parlare" Second Conjugation -ere "vendere" Third Conjugation -ire "dormire" There are four SIMPLE TENSES: PRESENT:

"Parlo"



FUTURE:

"Parlerò"



IMPERFECT:

"Parlavo"



SIMPLE PAST:

"Parlai"



There are four COMPOUND TENSES: PRESENT PERFECT: "Ho parlato"



-

"Sono arrivato"

FUTURE PERFECT:

"Avrò parlato"



-

"Sarò arrivato"



PLUPERFECT:

"Avevo parlato"

-

"Ero arrivato"



PAST ANTERIOR:

"Ebbi parlato"



-

"Fui arrivato"



The pluperfect is sometimes called the past perfect or first past perfect; the past anterior is sometimes called the preterite perfect or second past perfect. There are four verbal MOODS or modes ("modi"): INDICATIVE (stating a fact): "Parlo italiano" SUBJUNCTIVE (expressing an attitude): "Credo che lei parli italiano" CONDITIONAL (indicating a possibility): "Gli studenti parlerebbero italiano, se potessero" IMPERATIVE (giving a command): "Parla italiano!" The conjugated forms of verbs agree with the person and number of the subject. There are two NUMBERS (singular and plural) and three PERSONS. First person is the speaker; second person is the one spoken to; third person is the one spoken about. 1ST PERSON: io parlo

noi parliamo

2ND PERSON: tu parli

voi parlate

3RD PERSON:

lei parla

loro parlano

The "Lei/Loro" (polite "you") form of address is second person but uses third person verb forms.

First Conjugation: Present Infinitive Infinitive) parlare (to talk) Present Participle parlando Present

Past Infinitive (Perfect avere parlato Past Participle parlato, -ata, -ati, -ate Present Perfect

io

parlo

-

ho Parlato

tu

parli

-

hai parlato

lui/lei

parla

-

ha Parlato

noi

parliamo

-

abbiamo parlato

voi

parlate

-

avete parlato

loro

parlano

-

hanno parlato Pluperfect (Past Perfect)

Imperfect io

parlavo

-

avevo parlato

tu

parlavi

-

avevi parlato

lui/lei

parlava

-

aveva parlato

noi

parlavamo

-

avevamo parlato

voi

parlavate

-

avevate parlato

loro

parlavano

-

avevano parlato Future Perfect (Future Anterior)

Future io

parlerò

-

avrò parlato

tu

parlerai

-

avrai parlato

lui/lei

parlerà

-

avrà parlato

noi

parleremo

-

avremo parlato

voi

parlerete

-

avrete parlato

loro

parleranno

-

avranno parlato

Simple past

Preterite Perfect (Past Anterior)

io

parlai

-

ebbi parlato

tu

parlasti

-

avesti parlato

lui/lei

parlò

-

ebbe parlato

noi

parlammo

-

avemmo parlato

voi

parlaste

-

aveste parlato

loro

parlarono

-

ebbero parlato

-Present Subjunctive

Past Subjunctive

io

parli

-

abbia parlato

tu

parli

-

abbia parlato

lui/lei

parli

-

abbia parlato

noi

parliamo

-

abbiamo parlato

voi

parliate

-

abbiate parlato

loro

parlino

-

abbiano parlato

Imperfect Subjunctive

Past Perfect Subjunctive

io

parlassi

-

avessi parlato

tu

parlassi

-

avessi parlato

lui/lei

parlasse

-

avesse parlato

noi

parlassimo

-

avessimo parlato

voi

parlaste

-

aveste parlato

loro

parlassero

-

avessero parlato

Present Conditional

Past Conditional

io

parlerei

- avrei parlato

tu

parleresti

- avresti parlato

lui/lei

parlerebbe

- avrebbe parlato

noi

parleremmo

- avremmo parlato

voi

parlereste

- avreste parlato

loro

parlerebbero

- avrebbero parlato

Present Imperative tu

parla

Lei

parli

voi

parlate

Loro

parlino

Second Conjugation Present Infinitive Infinitive) vendere (to sell) Present Participle vendendo -ute

Past Infinitive (Perfect avere venduto Past Participle venduto, -uta, -uti, Perfect (Passato Prossimo)

Present io

vendo

-

ho venduto

tu

vendi

-

hai venduto

lui/lei

vende

-

ha venduto

noi

vendiamo

-

abbiamo venduto

voi

vendete

-

avete venduto

loro

vendono

-

hanno venduto Pluperfect (PastPerfect)

Imperfect io

vendevo

-

avevo venduto

tu

vendevi

-

avevi venduto

lui/lei

vendeva

-

aveva venduto

noi

vendevamo

-

avevamo venduto

voi

vendevate

-

avevate venduto

loro

vendevano

-

avevano venduto Future Perfect (Future anterior)

Future io

venderò

-

avrò venduto

tu

venderai

-

avrai venduto

lui/lei

venderà

-

avrà venduto

noi

venderemo

-

avremo venduto

voi

venderete

-

avrete venduto

loro

venderanno

-

avranno venduto

Simple Past (Historic)

Past Anterior 

io

vendei

-

ebbi venduto

tu

vendesti

-

avesti venduto

lui/lei

vendè

-

ebbe venduto

noi

vendemmo

-

avemmo venduto

voi

vendeste

-

aveste venduto

loro

venderono

-

ebbero venduto

Present Subjunctive

Past Subjunctive

io

venda

-

abbia venduto

tu

venda

-

abbia venduto

lui/lei

venda

-

abbia venduto

noi

vendiamo

-

abbiamo venduto

voi

vendiate

-

abbiate venduto

loro

vendano

-

abbiano venduto

Imperfect Subjunctive

Past Perfect Subjunctive

io

vendessi

-

avessi venduto

tu

vendessi

-

avessi venduto

lui/lei

vendesse

-

avesse venduto

noi

vendessimo

-

avessimo venduto

voi

vendeste

-

aveste venduto

loro

vendessero

-

avessero venduto

Present Conditional

Past Conditional

io

venderei

-

avrei venduto

tu

venderesti

-

avresti venduto

lui/lei

venderebbe

-

avrebbe venduto

noi

venderemmo

-

avremmo venduto

voi

vendereste

-

avreste venduto

loro

venderebbero

-

avrebbero venduto

PresentImperative tu

vendi

Lei

venda

voi

vendete

Loro

vendano

Third Conjugation Present Infinitive Infinitive) dormire (to sleep) Present Participle dormendo

Past Infinitive (Perfect avere dormito Past Participle dormito, -ita, -iti, -ite Perfect (Passato Prossimo)

Present io

dormo

-

hodormito

tu

dormi

-

haidormito

lui/lei

dorme

-

hadormito

noi

dormiamo

-

abbiamodormito

voi

dormite

-

avetedormito

loro

dormono

-

hannodormito Pluperfect (Past Perfect)

Imperfect io

dormivo

-

avevo dormito

tu

dormivi

-

avevi dormito

lui/lei

dormiva

-

aveva dormito

noi

dormivamo

-

avevamo dormito

voi

dormivate

-

avevate dormito

loro

dormivano

-

avevano dormito Future Perfect (Future Anterior)

Future io

dormirò

-

avrò dormito

tu

dormirai

-

avrai dormito

luilei

dormirà

-

avrà dormito

noi

dormiremo

-

avremo dormito

voi

dormiete

-

avrete dormito

loro

dormiranno

-

avranno dormito

Simple Past (Historic)

Past Anterior 

io

dormii

-

ebbi dormito

tu

dormisti

-

avesti dormito

lui/lei

dormì

-

ebbe dormito

noi

dormimmo

-

avemmo dormito

voi

dormiste

-

aveste dormito

loro

dormirono

-

ebbero dormito

Present Subjunctive

Past Subjunctive

io

dorma

-

abbia dormito

tu

dorma

-

abbia dormito

lui/lei

dorma

-

abbia dormito

noi

dormiamo

-

abbiamo dormito

voi

dormiate

-

abbiate dormito

loro

dormano

-

abbiano dormito

Imperfect subjunctive

Past Perfect Subjunctive

io

dormissi

-

avessi dormito

tu

dormissi

-

avessi dormito

lui/lei

dormisse

-

avesse dormito

noi

dormissimo

-

avessimo dormito

voi

dormiste

-

aveste dormito

loro

dormissero

-

avessero dormito

Present Conditional

Past Conditional

io

dormirei

-

avrei dormito

tu

dormiresti

-

avresti dormito

lui/lei

dormirebbe

-

avrebbe dormito

noi

dormiremmo

-

avremmo dormito

voi

dormireste

-

avreste dormito

loro

dormirebbero

-

avrebbero dormito

Present Imperative tu

dormi

Lei

dorma

voi

dormite

Loro

dormano

Avere and Essere: Avere (to have) Present Imperfect io tu

ho hai

avevo avevi

Simple Past ebbi avesti

Future avrò avrai

Present Imperfect Condition subjunctive Subjunctive abbia avessi avrei abbia avessi avresti

lui/ ha lei

aveva

ebbe

avesse

avrebbe

noi abbiamo avevamo avemmo avremmo abbiamo

avessimo

avremmo

voi avete loro hanno

aveste avessero

avreste avrebbero

avevate aveste avevano ebbero

avrà

abbia

avrete abbiate avranno abbiano

essere (to be)

io tu lui/ lei

sono sei

Simple Past ero eri

è

era

noi

siamo

voi loro

siete sono

Present Imperfect

fui fosti

Present Imperfect Conditional subjunctive Subjunctive sarò sia fossi sarei sarai sia fossi sares

fu

sarà

Future

sia

fosse

sareb

eravamo fummo saremo

siamo

fossimo

sare

eravate foste sarete erano furono saranno

siate siano

foste fossero

sares sareb

The PRESENT tense ("presente"): of regular verbs is formed by adding a set of personal endings to the verb stem. First conjugation

Second conjugation

"parlare"



"vendere"



io

parl-o


vend-o



tu

parl-i



vend-i



lei

parl-a



vend-e



noi

parl-iamo



vend-iamo



voi

parl-ate



vend-ete





vend-ono



loro parl-ano

Third conjugation

Third (-isco) congugation

"dormire"



"pulire"



io

dorm-o



pul-isco



tu

dorm-i



pul-isci



lei

dorm-e



pul-isce



noi

dorm-iamo



pul-iamo



voi

dorm-ite



pul-ite





pul-iscono



loro dorm-ono

The present tense can have the sense of the English present progressive: "scrive" . The present tense is also used in conversation to refer to actions which will take place in the immediate future. It is occasionally used in literature to replace the past tense, lending an immediacy to the narrative (vivid present).

The FUTURE tense ("futuro"): is formed on the basis of a future stem, which is the same as the infinitive (dropping the final "-e"), except that the A of 1st conjugation -AR verbs changes to E. Identical personal endings are used for all three conjugations: FIRST CONJUGATION "parlare"

SECOND CONJUGATION

future stem: parler-

"vendere"



future stem: vender-

io

Parler-ò



vender-ò



tu

parler-ai


vender-ai


speak>

will sell> vender-à



vender-emo



vender-ete



vender-anno



lei

parler-à



noi

parler-emo



parler-ete



voi

loro parler-anno



THIRD CONJUGATION "dormire"



future stem: dormirio

dormir-ò



tu

dormir-ai



lei

dormir-à



noi

dormir-emo



voi

dormir-ete



loro dormir-anno



In addition to expressing future time, the future tense is used to express uncertainty or probability in the present: "Saranno le cinque" .

Other ways of expressing the future: The present tense in Italian can be used to express actions intended or planned for the near future. Words denoting future time such as "domani (tomorrow)," "stasera (this evening)," etc., are usual but not necessary indicators of this construction. Vieni con noi [domani sera]? (Are you coming with us [tomorrow evening]?) No, mi dispiace -- [domani sera] lavoro. (No, I'm sorry -- I'm working [tomorrow evening].) The future tense is often used in Italian to make a guess about something in the present. This is called the future of possibility. Che ore saranno? (What time could it be?) Saranno le due. (It could be around two.) Di chi è questo libro? (Whose book is this?) Sarà di Sergio. (It might be Sergio's.)

The IMPERFECT tense ("imperfetto"): of regular verbs is formed by replacing the final "_re" of the infinitive form with personal endings. Those endings always begin with the letter "v" and are identical for all three conjugations. FIRST CONJUGATION "parlare"

SECOND CONJUGATION

imperfect stem: parla io

parla--vo

tu

parla--vi

lei

parla--va

"vendere"



imperfect stem: vende

vende--vo vende--vi vende--va



noi parla--vamo voi parla--vate loro parla--vano THIRD CONJUGATION "dormire" perfect stem: dormiio

dormi-vo

tu

dormi-vi

lei

dormi-va

noi dormi-vamo voi dormi-vate loro dormi-vano









The imperfect tense describes a situation in the past, or an action which was ongoing or repeated. For this reason, it is sometimes called the past descriptive.

The SIMPLE PAST tense ("passato remoto"): of regular verbs is formed by adding personal endings directly to the verb stems. Each conjugation has a separate set of  endings: FIRST CONJUGATION

SECOND CONJUGATION

"parlare" io

parl-ai

tu

parl-asti

lei

parl-ò

noi

parl-ammo

voi

parl-aste

loro

parl-arono



vend vend "vendere"

THIRD CONJUGATION Second conjugation -ERE verbs have the following alternate endings (unless the verb stem ends in "-t", as with "pot-ere"): io vend-etti; lei vend-ette; loro vend-ettero. "dormire"

The simple past tense narrates an action with a beginning and an end. For this reason, it is sometimes called the past historic. It is also called the preterite, or the past absolute.

The COMPOUND or PERFECT TENSES: are formed with the auxiliary verb "avere" or "essere" and the past participle of the main verb. "Avere" is used with transitive verbs, and with many intransitive verbs which express an action: "Non l'ho visto" ; "Ho parlato" . The past participle does not agree with the subject, although it agrees with a preceding direct object: "Non l'ho vista" . "Essere" is used with reflexive verbs, reciprocal verbs, and verbs which express a change or continuance in a certain state: "Mi sono lavato" ; "Ci siamo parlati" ; "Eravate partite" . Notice that the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of the verb.

There are four compound tenses in the INDICATIVE mood: PRESENT PERFECT: "Ho parlato" "Sono arrivato" FUTURE PERFECT: "Avrò parlato" "Sarò arrivato" PLUPERFECT: "Avevo parlato" "Ero arrivato" PAST ANTERIOR: "Ebbi parlato" "Fui arrivato"



The present perfect uses a present tense auxiliary; the future perfect uses a future tense auxiliary; the pluperfect uses an imperfect auxiliary; the past anterior uses a simple past auxiliary.

The pluperfect is sometimes called the past perfect or first past perfect; the past anterior is sometimes called the preterite perfect or second past perfect.

There are two compound tenses in the SUBJUNCTIVE mood: PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE:

"Abbia parlato" "Sia arrivato" PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE: "Avessi parlato" "Fossi arrivato"



There is one compound tense in the CONDITIONAL mood: PAST CONDITIONAL: "Avrei parlato" "Sarei arrivato"

The PRESENT PERFECT tense ("passato prossimo"): is formed with a present tense auxiliary verb and a past participle of the main verb. It often should be translated by the English simple past rather than the English perfect tense which it resembles: "L'ho fatto per te" . The present perfect tense describes an action which occurred at a definite time in the past. io tu lei noi voi

ho hai ha abbiamo avete

parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato



loro hanno

parlato



io tu lei noi voi loro

arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati arrivati arrivate



sono sei è siamo siete sono

The FUTURE PERFECT tense ("futuro anteriore"): is formed with a future tense auxiliary verb and a past participle of the main verb. It describes an action which will occur in the future prior to another future event or situation, and must often be translated by the English present tense: "Quando avrai finito, ceneremo" . The future perfect may also indicate conjecture or possibility with regard to a past event: "Sarà andato al teatro" . io tu lei noi voi loro

avrò avrai avrà avremo avrete avranno

parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato



io tu lei noi voi loro

sarò sarai sarà saremo sarete saranno

arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati arrivati arrivate



The PLUPERFECT or past perfect tense ("trapassato prossimo"): is formed with an auxiliary in the imperfect tense and a past participle of the main verb. It is sometimes called the first past perfect, to distinguish it from the past anterior (the second past perfect). It describes an action which occurred in the past prior  to another past event or situation. io avevo parlato tu avevi parlato lei aveva parlato noi avevamo parlato voi avevate parlato loro avevano parlato io tu lei noi voi loro

ero eri era eravamo eravate erano

arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati arrivati arrivate



The PAST ANTERIOR or preterite perfect tense ("trapassato remoto"): is formed with an auxiliary in the simple past tense along with a past participle of the main verb. It is sometimes called the second past perfect, to distinguish it from the pluperfect tense (the first past perfect). The past anterior is a literary tense, not used in conversation. Like the pluperfect, it describes an action which took place in the past prior to another past action (in the simple past tense), and must be introduced by "quando" , "dopo che" or 

"appena" : "Quando avesti finito, cenammo" . io tu lei noi voi loro

ebbi avesti ebbe avemmo aveste ebbero

parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato



io tu lei noi voi loro

fui fosti fu fummo foste furono

arrivato arrivato arrivato arrivati arrivati arrivate



The CONDITIONAL mood ("condizionale"): is used to express a doubt, a wish, or a possibility. Che cosa avremmo devuto fare? Vorrei un panino di prosciutto. Gli studenti parlerebbero italiano, se potessero. The conditional is also used in reported speech. In English, the conditional is used for reported speech with a past tense verb of  saying ("She said she would come") and the future tense is used for reported speech with a present tense verb of saying ("She says she will come"). In Italian, though, the present conditional is used with a present tense verb of saying: "Dice che verrebbe" . The past conditional is used with a past tense verb of saying: "Disse che sarebbe venuta" .

The Present conditional is based on the future stem, and adds identical personal endings to all three conjugations: FIRST CONJUGATION future stem: io tu lei noi voi loro SECOND CONJUGATION future stem: io tu lei noi voi loro THIRD CONJUGATION future stem: io tu lei noi voi loro

"parlare"



parlerparler-ei parler-esti parler-ebbe parler-emmo parler-este parler-ebbero



"vendere"



vendervender-ei vender-esti vender-ebbe vender-emmo vender-este vender-ebbero



"dormire"



dormirdormir-ei dormir-esti dormir-ebbe dormir-emmo dormir-este dormir-ebbero



The PAST CONDITIONAL ("condizionale passato") is a perfect tense using the

conditional of the auxiliary verb and a past participle of the main verb. io tu lei noi voi loro

avrei avresti avrebbe avremmo avreste avrebbero

parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato



io tu lei noi voi loro

sarei saresti sarebbe saremmo sareste sarebbero

arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati arrivati arrivate



The SUBJUNCTIVE ("congiuntivo"): indicates a subjective attitude toward the action or situation described by the verb. It is used to express an opinion or an uncertainty: "Penso che dorma" ; "Che abbia venduto la macchina?" It is also used after verbs of emotion, and of willing or hindering an event: "Ho paura che sia troppo tardi" ; "Desidero che venga con me" . The subjunctive is always used after impersonal constructions ("It is...") and for the polite imperative ("Lei"): "Bisogna che venda la sua macchina" ; "Parli piano" .

The subjunctive has four tenses: present, perfect, imperfect and pluperfect.

The PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE ("congiuntivo presente") is formed as follows:

io tu

First Conjugation "parlare" parl-i parl-i

lei

parl-i

noi parl-iamo voi parl-iate loro parl-ino THIRD CONJUGATION "dormire" io dorm-a tu dorm-a lei dorm-a noi dorm-iamo voi dorm-iate loro dorm-ano

Second Conjugation "vendere" vend-a vend-a vend-iamo vend-iate THIRD (-isco) CONJUGATION "pulire" pul-isca pul-isca pul-isca pul-iamo pul-iate pul-iscano





The IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE ("congiuntivo imperfetto") is formed by adding personal endings to the imperfect stem. The endings are identical for all three conjugations: FIRST

SECOND

CONJUGATION "parlare" imperfect stem: parlaio

parla-ssi

tu

parla-ssi

lei

parla-sse

noi parla-ssimo voi parla-ste loro parla-ssero THIRD CONJUGATION "dormire" imperfect stem: dormiio

dormi-ssi

tu

dormi-ssi

lei

dormi-sse

noi dormi-ssimo voi dormi-ste loro dormi-ssero









CONJUGATION "vendere" imperfect stem: vendevende-ssi vende-ssi vende-sse vende-ssimo vende-ste vende-ssero





The PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE or PAST SUBJUNCTIVE ("congiuntivo passato") consists of the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb and a past participle of the main verb. io tu lei noi voi loro

abbia abbia abbia abbiamo abbiate abbiano

parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato



io tu lei noi voi loro

sia sia sia siamo siate siano

arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati arrivati arrivate



The PLUPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE ("congiuntivo trapassato") consists of the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verb and the past participle of the main verb. io tu lei noi voi loro

avessi avessi avesse avessimo aveste avessero

parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato



io tu lei noi

fossi fossi fosse fossimo

arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati



voi loro

foste fossero

arrivati arrivate



Verbs and expressions that require the subjunctive in a dependent clause express: Emotion (joy, hope, sorrow, fear): Sono contenta che lei lavori. (I'm happy she is working.) Temiamo che piova. (We're afraid it's raining.) A wish or command: La maestra vuole che gli studenti ascoltino. (The teacher wants the students to listen.) Voglio che tu lavori. (I want you to work.) An opinion: Penso che siano ricchi. (I think they are rich.) Crede che Caterina abbia torto. (He thinks that Caterina is wrong.) Doubt or uncertainty: Non siamo sicuri che Angelo capisca. (We're not sure Angelo understands.) Dubita che Cristina arrivi. (He doubts (that) Cristina will arrive.) Expectation: Aspettiamo che lui venga. (We are waiting for him to come.) Verbs that express advising, permitting, forbidding, ordering, such as suggerire, ordinare, comandare, lasciare, permettere, proibire, raccomandare can be followed by two different constructions having the same meaning. Permetti che io legga. (Will you let me read?) Mi permitti di leggere. (Will you let me read?)

Subjunctive after Se and Impersonal Expressions:

A hypothetical sentence (periodo ipotetico) consists of two clauses: a dependent clause introduced by se (if) indicating a condition, a possibility, or a hypothesis: and an independent clause indicating the result of the condition. A hypothetical sentence can express real situations, probable situations, and improbable situations. Real: Se vanno in Italia, visitano molte città. (If they go to Italy, they (will) visit many cities.) Probable: Se andassero in Italia, visiterebbero molte città. (If they went to Italy, they would visit many cities.) Improbable: Se fossero andati in Italia, avrebbero visitato molte città. (If they had gone to Italy, they would have visited many cities.) When unlikely situations are described, the se clause is in the imperfect subjunctive and the result clause is in the conditional: Se lui avesse una macchina, andrebbe in montagna. (If he had a car, he would go to the mountains.) When impossible situations are described, the se clause is in the past perfect subjunctive and the result clause is in the conditional, usually the conditional perfect: Se avesse studiato, avrebbe superato l'esame. (If she had studied, she would have passed the test.) The subjunctive is used in a dependent clause and is introduced by che after impersonal verbs and expressions that express doubt, uncertainty, emotion. E' importante che lei finisca il progetto. (It is important that she finishes the project.) E' probabile che siano partiti. (It's probable that they left.) All impersonal verbs and expressions are followed by a verb in the infinitive if the verb has no expressed subject. Expressed subject E' importante che tu parta. (It's important that you leave.) Unexpressed subject E' importante partire. (It's important to leave.)

Imperative: Strictly speaking, the imperative mood is only used for second person ("you") familiar commands. For the other persons, the subjunctive mood is used as a "polite imperative."

Familiar ("tu" and "voi") positive commands

are expressed by using the present indicative form, except that the imperative singular of first conjugation -ARE verbs ends in "-a" instead of "-i": FIRST CONJUGATION tu parla voi parlate

SECOND CONJUGATION vendi vendete

THIRD CONJUGATION tu dormi voi dormite

THIRD (-isco) CONJUGATION pulisci pulite







The NEGATIVE of familiar singular commands is expressed with the infinitive form "Non parlare" ; "Non vendere la tua macchina" ; "Non dormire" . This is also the form used in written instructions (public signs, recipes, etc.), where it has a polite, impersonal sense: "Non fumare" .

The polite forms of the second person ("Lei/Loro") and the first person plural ("noi") use the present subjunctive for commands: FIRST CONJUGATION Lei

parli



Loro noi

parlino parliamo



SECOND CONJUGATION Lei Loro noi

venda vendano vendiamo



THIRD CONJUGATION Lei Loro noi

dorma dormano dormiamo



The REFLEXIVE VERB ("verbo riflessivo") expresses an action in which the subject is also the object: "Mi lavo" . Reflexive verbs are conjugated with reflexive pronouns which normally precede the finite verb form but are attached to infinitives, adverbial participles (usually called gerunds) and affirmative commands: "Mi lavo" ; "lavarsi" ; "lavandoci" ; "Lavati" . Reflexive verbs can also express RECIPROCAL actions: "Si parlano" . REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS have the same form as direct object pronouns except in the third person, where the invariable form is "si". SINGULAR First person

PLURAL mi

ci

2nd familiar 2nd polite Third person

ti si si



vi si si

The Passive voice: In the PASSIVE VOICE, a verb is turned around so that its object becomes the grammatical subject. When the agent (doer) of the action is specified, the passive voice is expressed by the following construction: SUBJECT + "essere" + past participle + "da" + AGENT "Questa lettera è stata scritta da Paolo" Since the past participle acts as a predicate adjective (following the verb "is") in this construction, it agrees in gender and number with the subject. If the passive subject is a thing and the doer is not mentioned, then a construction called the "SI PASSIVANTE" may be used. This passive reflexive construction is formed with the pronoun "si": "Qui si vendono molti libri" . "Si" is also used as an impersonal pronoun (like the English "one" or "they"> to form IMPERSONAL CONSTRUCTIONS with an indefinite subject: "Qui si mangia bene" . In compound tenses, impersonal "si" constructions must be conjugated with "essere" as the auxiliary, even when the verb would otherwise be conjugated with "avere": "Qui si è lavorato molto" . If the verb is normally conjugated with "essere," then the past participle has a plural form: "Si è abituati al lavoro" .

Passive conjugation:

lodare (to praise) Present Infinitive essere lodato (to be praised) Present Participle essendo lodato/-a/-i/-e

Past Infinitive (Perfect Infinitive) essere stato/-a/-i/-e lodato/-a/i/-e Past Participle essendo stato/-a/-i/-e lodato/a/-i/-e

Present io tu lui/lei noi voi loro

sono sei è siamo siete sono

lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato

sono sei è siamo siete sono

Perfect (Passato Prossimo) stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato

Imperfect io tu lui/lei noi voi loro

ero eri era eravamo eravate erano

lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato

ero eri era eravamo eravate erano

Future io tu lui/lei noi voi loro

io

sarò sarei sarà saremo sarete erano

fui

lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato

sarò sarei sarà saremo sarete erano

Simple Past (Historic) lodato

Pluperfect (Past Perfect) stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato

Future Perfect (Future Anterior) stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato

fui

Past Anterior  stato lodato

tu Lui/Lei noi voi loro

fosti fu fummo foste furono

lodato lodato lodato lodato lodato

fosti fu fummo foste furono

Present Subjunctive

stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato

Past Subjunctive

io

sarei

lodato

tu

saresti

lodato

lui/lei

sarebbe

lodato

noi

saremmo lodato

voi

sareste

loro

sarebbero lodato

lodato

Imperfect Subjunctive io fossi lodato tu fossi lodato lui/lei fosse lodato noi fossimo lodato voi foste lodato loro fossero lodato Present Conditional io sarei lodato tu saresti lodato lui/lei sarebbe lodato noi saremmo lodato voi sareste lodato

stato lodato stato saresti lodato stato sarebbe lodato stato saremmo lodato stato sareste lodato stato sarebbero lodato sarei

Past Perfect Subjunctive fossi stato lodato fossi stato lodato fosse stato lodato fossimo stato lodato foste stato lodato fossero stato lodato Past Conditional sarei saresti sarebbe saremmo sareste

stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato stato lodato

loro

sarebbero lodato

Present Imperative tu sii lodato noi siamo lodato voi siate lodato

sarebbero stato lodato Past Imperative essendo stato/-a/-i/-e lodato/-a/-i/-e essendo stato/-a/-i/-e lodato/-a/-i/-e essendo stato/-a/-i/-e lodato/-a/-i/-e

Participles: The ADVERBIAL PRESENT PARTICIPLE or  gerund ("gerundio") is formed by adding a suffix to the verb stem: -ARE verbs add "-ando": parl-ando -ERE verbs add "-endo": vend-endo -IRE verbs add "-endo": dorm-endo Adverbial participles answer questions about the action expressed by the main verb: "Sbagliando si impara" (answering the question, "How does one learn?"). They are used like English present participles to form progressive tenses with the verb "stare": "Sto parlando" (Present progressive, answering the question, "What am I engaged in doing?"); "Stava dormendo" (Past progressive, answering the question, "What was he engaged in doing?"). Because they function as adverbs, defining an action, these participles are invariable in form, and do not agree in gender or  number with the subject of the verb. The ADVERBIAL PERFECT PARTICIPLE (Gerundio perfetto) is formed with the adverbial present participle of the auxiliary verb and the past participle of the main verb: "avendo parlato" ; "essendo arrivato" .

NOTE: The Italian name "gerundio" has led to the use of the English word "gerund" to denote adverbial participles. This is misleading, since the English gerund is a verbal noun ("Walking is good exercise"). It is best for English--speaking students to avoid using the term "gerund" when studying the Romance languages like Spanish and Italian. The ADJECTIVAL PRESENT PARTICIPLE or simple participle ("participio presente") is formed by adding the following suffixes to the verb stem: -ARE verbs add "-ante": parlante -ERE verbs add "-ente": vendente -IRE verbs add "-ente": dormente The ending follows the form of unisex adjectives ending in "_e," changing to "_i" in the plural: "l'uomo dormente" ; "le lezione seguenti" . The PAST PARTICIPLE ("participio passato") is formed by adding the following suffixes to the verb stem: -ARE verbs add "-ato": parlato -ERE verbs add "-uto": venduto -IRE verbs add "-ito": dormito The ending is inflected like a regular adjective: MASCULINE SINGULAR: parlato venduto dormito FEMININE SINGULAR: parlata venduta dormita MASCULINE PLURAL: parlati venduti dormiti FEMININE PLURAL: parlate vendute dormite When used with the auxiliary verb "essere" to form compound tenses, the past participle agrees in person and number with the subject of the verb: "Giulia è arrivata" . When used with the auxiliary verb "avere" to form compound tenses, the past participle has an invariable ending, except that it can agree with a preceding direct object: "Ho comprato una macchina fotografica" ; "Ecco la cartolina postale che ho comprata" .

The past participle can also be used in what is called the ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION, where it modifies a noun to form a phrase with no strict grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence: "Finita la lezione, sono partiti" . The noun being modified may form part of the absolute construction, as in the preceding example, or it may be the subject of the main clause: "Arrivata a Firenze, Giulia gli telefonò" . Note that the past participle agrees in both gender and number  with the noun it modifies in the absolute construction.

The INFINITIVE ("infinito"): is the basic form of a verb given in a dictionary. There is a different infinitive ending for each of the three conjugations: 1ST CONJUGATION parlare reflexive lavarsi 2ND CONJUGATION vendere reflexive sedersi 3RD CONJUGATION dormire reflexive sentirsi Infinitives have two tenses: present and past. The present infinitive is the simple form given above. The past infinitive is a compound form consisting of the present infinitive of the auxiliary verb and the past participle of the main verb: FIRST CONJUGATION: avere parlato essere arrivato reflexive: essersi lavato 2ND CONJUGATION: reflexive:

avere venduto essere caduto essersi seduto

3RD CONJUGATION:

avere dormito

reflexive:

essere uscito essersi sentito

Infinitives can function as VERBAL NOUNS, with or without an accompanying definite article (invariably masculine singular): "Il ballare è molto divertente" . The infinitive is always used after the MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS "potere" , "dovere" and "volere" : "Non può parlare" ; "Ho dovuto portare il loro bagaglio" ; "Voglio mangiare" . The infinitive is used for familiar NEGATIVE COMMANDS: "Non andare" . It can also be used to give impersonal commands (the type found on public signs, etc.): "Non fumare" . The infinitive is also used after verbs which are followed by the linking prepositions "a" and "di," and with the causative of  "fare" (to make something be done): "Cominciarono a cantare" ; "Speravano di essere a tempo" ; "Fa' correggere gli errori" .

Auxiliary Verbs ("verbi ausiliari"): "Avere" and "essere" are used as AUXILIARY VERBS to form the compound tenses. Generally speaking, "avere" is used with TRANSITIVE verbs (verbs which take an object) while "essere" is used with REFLEXIVE and INTRANSITIVE verbs (verbs of motion, position, physical or  mental condition, etc.): "Abbiamo venduto la casa" ; "Si è frenata" ; "Voi siete arrivati a tempo" .

"Stare" is used as an auxiliary verb with adverbial participles (so-called gerunds) to form PROGRESSIVE TENSES. The present progressive uses the present tense of "stare": "Sto parlando" . The past progressive uses the imperfect tense of "stare": "Stava leggendo" . "Andare" is used in a similar fashion as an auxiliary verb: "Andava cantando" .

Polite vs. familiar forms: "Tu" (plural "voi") is the familiar form of address; to use it is to "dare del tu." This form of address is used with family members, close friends, children and pet animals: "Tu vai al teatro?" . The polite form "Lei" (plural "Loro") is more commonly used in conversation (it does not have to be capitalized); to use it is to "dare del Lei": "Vorrebbe Lei venire con me?" . The polite form of address uses third person verb forms, even though the voice is actually second person (direct address). This gives a sense of formality and respectful distance to the conversation: "Dove abita lei?" ; "Dove abita Lei?" .

Verb-Preposition Idioms: The following verbs require the preposition a when followed by an infinitive. The preposition is not necessarily always translated into English.

abituarsi (to get used to) aiutare (to help) andare (to go) cominciare (to begin) divertirsi (to enjoy oneself) fermarsi (to stop) imparare (to learn) invitare (to invite) mandare (to send) mettersi (to begin) obbligare (to oblige) pensare (to think of) riuscire (to succeed) sbrigarsi (to hurry) stare (to stay, to stand) tornare (to return) venire (to come) Vado a giocare a calcio. (I go to play soccer.) Impariamo a parlare in italiano. (We learn to speak Italian.) Sono venuti a trovarmi. (They came to see me.) The following verbs require the preposition di when followed by an infinitive. accettare (to accept) ammettere (to admit) aspettare (to wait) avere bisogno (to need) avere paura (to be afraid) avere voglia (to feel like) cercare (to try) credere (to believe) domandare (to ask) finire (to finish) offrire (to offer) pensare (to plan) sapere (to know) suggerire (to suggest) tentare (to try) vietare (to forbid) Ho bisogno di un caffè. (I need a coffee.) Ho finito di mangiare alle otto. (I finished eating at 8:00.) Tentiamo di riparare l'aspirapolvere. (We're trying to fix the

vacuum cleaner.)

Pronominal and Adverbial Particles: "Ne", "ci", and "vi": When used as a PRONOMINAL PARTICLE, "ne" stands for  something mentioned earlier, and means "of it," "about them," etc.: "Non ne ho bisogno" . When used as an ADVERBIAL PARTICLE, "ne" means "from there," "from here": "Ne siamo appena tornati" . "Ci" and "vi" are object pronouns, but they are also used as pronominal particles representing a previously mentioned noun or verb with the understood preposition "a." When used that way, "ci" and "vi" mean "to it/them," "in it/them," "about it/them," etc.: "Ci penso" . When used as adverbial particles, they mean "there" or "to there": "Ci vado" . "Ci" and "vi" change to "ce" and "ve" in front of "lo," "la," "li," "le" and "ne."

Questions: Many questions begin with either an interrogative pronoun or an interrogative adverb.

Interrogative pronouns include the following: Che? Che cosa? Cosa? Chi? Quale? Quali? Quanto?(-a,-i,-e,)

Che cosa vuole? Con chi parli? Quante vengono?
Interrogative adverbs include the following: Come? Quando? Perchè? Dove? Come mai? Come stai? Perche non studi l'italiano?

Sentences: Sentences are made up of one or more CLAUSES. A clause consists of a SUBJECT (a noun or pronoun) and a PREDICATE (what is said about the noun or pronoun). The predicate always contains a verb. In the simple sentence: Il re ama la regina. re is the subject and ama is the predicate. When an adjective or noun is used along with the verb essere in order to tell us what is being asserted about someone or something, the adjective or noun is said to be in the predicative position. In the sentence: Il re è un amante amante is a predicate noun. Predicate adjectives and nouns have the same case as the noun or pronoun they inform us about. The DIRECT OBJECT of a verb is a noun or pronoun which receives its action. In the sentence:

Il re ama la regina regina is the direct object of the verb. Some verbs take an INDIRECT OBJECT. In the sentence; Il re dà un regalo alla regina regalo is the direct object and alla regina is the indirect object.

Some verbs conjugated with essere in compound tenses: abbronzare (to tan) Accadere (to happen) accorrere (to run) andare (to go) avvenire (to occur) bastare (to be sufficient) bisognare (to need) cadere (to fall) capitare (to happen) crepare (to crack) derivare (to derive) fiorire (to flourish) immigrare (to immigrate) nascere (to be born) occorrere (to have (to)) partire (to leave) rinascere (to be reborn) spiacere (to be sorry) svenire (to faint) tornare (to return) uscire (to go out) venire (to come) arrivare (to arrive) entrare (to enter) restare (to remain) diventare (to become) scendere (to descend) stare (to stay)

List of irregular verbs: The following verbs are irregular in different tenses and persons. andare (to go) bere (to drink) cadere (to fall) cogliere (to pick) comprendere (to understand) dare (to give dire (to say) divenire (to become) dovere (to have to, must) fare (to do, to make) godere (to enjoy) introdurre (to introduce) morire (to die) parere (to appear) piacere (to please) porre (to put) potere (to be able, can) riempire (to fill) rimanere (to remain) salire (to go up) sapere (to know) scegliere (to choose) stare (to stay) tacere (to be silent) tenere (to keep) tradurre (to translate) udire (to hear) uscire (to go out) vedere (to see) venire (to come) vivere (to live) volere (to want) These verbs are irregular only in the passato remoto (past absolute) and/or the participio passato (past participle). Regular  forms are given in parentheses.

Imfinitive

(translation)

accendere (to light) accorgersi (to notice) aprire (to open) chiedere (to ask) concludere (to conclude) conoscere (to know) coprire (to cover)

Passato Remoto accesi accorsi (aprii) chiesi conclusi conobbi (coprii)

Transfer interrupted! correre (to run) corsi decidere (to decide) decisi dipingere (to paint) dipinsi discutere (to discuss) discussi dividere (to divide) divisi esplodere (to explode) esplosi evadere (to escape) evasi fingere (to pretend) finsi giungere (to arrive) giunsi leggere (to read) lessi mettere (to put) misi nascere (to be born) nacqui offrire (to offer) (offrii) perdere (to lose) persi (perdei) (perdetti) piangere (to cry) piansi piovere (to rain) piovve prendere (to take) presi rendere (to give back) resi ridere (to laugh) risi rispondere (to respond) risposi rompere (to break) ruppi scendere (to descend) scesi scoprire (to discover) (scoprii) scrivere (to write) scrissi spegnere (to turn off) spensi spingere (to push) spinsi succedere (to happen) successi trascorrere (to spend (time)) trascorsi uccidere (to kill) uccisi vincere (to win) vinsi

Participio Passato acceso accorto aperto chiesto concluso (conosciuto) coperto >

corso

deciso dipinto discusso diviso esploso evaso finto giunto letto metto nato offerto perso (perduto) pianto (piovuto) preso reso riso risposto rotto sceso scoperto scritto spento spinto successo trascorso ucciso vinto

Conjunctions: Coordinate conjunctions (e, ma, and o) join units that are equal grammatically (fill the same position in the sentence) or join two clauses of the same type: Scivolò e cadde sul pavimento. (He slipped and fell on the floor.) E joins two verbs. Si muoveva velocemente ma silenziosamente. (He moved quickly but quietly.) Ma joins two adverbs Possiamo andare attraverso il fiume o attraverso i boschi. (We can go over the river or through the woods.)O joins two adverbial phrases Ieri sera andò a casa e trovò le finestre rotte. (She went home last night and found the windows broken.) E joins two clauses.

The conjunctions: entrambi · e (both· and..) non solo· ma anche· (not only.. but also·) sia · che· (either·or·) nè · nè·. (neither·nor·) serve to intensify the coordination. Entrambi Maria ed io andremo alla festa. (Both Maria and I will go to the party.) Non solo diede regali a tutti noi, ma anche ci invitò alla festa. (She not only gave all of us presents, but she also invited us to the party.) Nè I soldi nè il potere possono farti felice. (Neither money nor  power can make you happy.) Sia mio marito che io possiamo portarti a casa. (Either my husband or I can drive you home.) If only two elements (two words, two phrases, two clauses) are

 joined by a coordinate conjunction, no comma is needed before the conjunction: Il dottore gli disse di non fumare o bere. (The doctor told him not to smoke or drink.) Disse che era molto stanco e che stava per andare a casa. (He said that he was very tired and he was going home.) If three or more units are joined, commas separate them: Uomini, donne, e bambini sono benvenuti. (Men, women, and children are welcome.)

subordinate conjunctions:  join elements of unequal rank, establishing a relation of  subordination between two phrases or clauses. Following is the list of commonly used subordinate conjunctions: perchè because quando when mentre while appena che as soon as una volta che once (that) come as se if  sebbene although a condizione che at the condition that a meno che unless dopo che after that before that prima che fino a che until Non lo vide dopo che lui ebbe lasciato la città. (She never saw him after he left the town.) Prese la multa perchè guidava troppo veloce. (He got a ticket because he was speeding.) Una volta che hai lavato lâauto asciugala bene. (Once you have washed the car, dry it very well.) Si ammalò gravemente da quando ebbe l'incidente. (She became very ill, since she had her accident.) Non va mai ai festini, a meno che sua moglie non vada con lui. (He never goes to parties unless his wife comes with him.)

Aspetteremo dentro fino a che la smette di piovere. (We will wait inside until the rain stops.)

Subordinate Clause: serves as part of a sentence but do not express a complete thought and cannot stand by itself. They are subordinate to the main clause. The adjective clause (also called relative): has the same function that an adjective or an apposition has in a sentence. That is, it specifies a preceding noun, noun phrase or  pronoun. Relative clauses are linked to the main clause by means of relative pronouns. John, che è fratello di Mario, è venuto a trovarci. (John, who is Mario's brother, came to see us.) The verb is in the indicative mood when in the relative clause a real and certain situation is presented: La ragazza, che prese in prestito la rivista, entrò nella stanza. (The girl who borrowed the magazine, entered the room.) Il negozio, nel quale ho comprato la rivista, era chiuso. (The shop where I bought the magazine was closed.) The verb is in the subjunctive mood instead, when a possible, uncertain, wished, feared or hypothetical situation is presented: Non sembra esserci nessuno di cui mi possa fidare. (There seems to be nobody I can trust.) Qualsiasi persona che conosca le regole, può giocare. (Anybody that knows the rules can play.) The interrogative pronoun chi is actually a double pronoun, in that it always refers to people. It stands for: whoever (that) he/she (who) those (who) and therefore it often introduces a relative clause. Chi ha già terminato il compito, può lasciare la stanza. (Those who have already completed the assignment can leave the room.)

Che (that) is by far the most frequently used relative pronoun. Noun clauses have the same function that a noun, used as a subject or an object, has in a sentence. Eâ ben saputo che il vino migliore è fatto in Francia. (It is well known that the best wine is made in France.) (clause acts as a subject) So che il vino migliore è fatto in Francia. (I know that the best wine is made in France. )(clause acts as an object) La mia convinzione che il vino migliore sia fatto in Francia, è corretta. (My belief that the best wine is made in France is correct.) (clause is appositive to subject)

Noun clauses: occur most frequently as the object of the verb in the main sentence. Compare: Lui si lamentava ai suoi amici di sua moglie. (He complained to his friends about his wife.) Lui si lamentava ai suoi amici che sua moglie era una cattiva cuoca. (He complained to his friends that his his wife was a bad cook.) The verbs in the main clause usually express mental activities or states and speech: credere (to believe) sapere (to know) dichiarare (to declare) dire (to tell) ricordare (to remember) scrivere (to write) mostrare (to show) chiedere (to ask) spiegare (to explain) consigliare (to suggest) dispiacersi (to regret) sognare (to dream)

predire (to predict) insegnare (to teach) accorgersi (to realize) rispondere (to answer) menzionare (to mention) notare (to notice) Non ho notato se lui portava gli occhiali. (I didn't notice notice whether  he was wearing the glasses.) Credo che sia una persona onesta. (I believe that that she is an honest person.) Non so se abbia intenzione intenzione di venire venire alla festa. (I don t know know whether or not she plans to come to the party.) Noun clauses must be linked to the main clause with che (that) or se (if) and take the indicative if they express a real and certain situation, and the subjunctive if they express an unreal, uncertain or possible condition: Indicative: So che il vino migliore migliore è fatto in Francia. (I know that the best best wine is made in France.) Subjunctive: Penso che ilvino migliore sia fatto in in Francia. (I think that the best wine is made in France.) However, the noun clause takes the conditional if it expresses an unreal, uncertain or possible condition that is likely to happen in the future: Penso che dovresti farlo. farlo. (I think that you you should do that.)

Sequence of tenses in noun clauses: The main verb in the present does not require sequence of  tenses. Lui dice che: che: (He says (that): l'autobus arriva sempre in ritardo. ritardo. (the bus always always arrives late.) late.) l'autobus sta per per arrivare. (the bus is arriving.) l'autobus è arrivato arrivato in ritardo. ritardo. (the bus has arrived late.) l'autobus arrivò in ritardo. (the bus arrived late.)

l'autobus arriverà presto. (the bus will will arrive soon.) soon.) l'autobus potrebbe potrebbe arrivare presto. presto. (the bus may be arriving soon.) If you compare these present tense sentences with the past tense sentences below, you notice that the main verb in the past requires the verb in the noun clause to be shifted to the past: Lui disse che: che: (He said said (that): (that): l'autobus arrivava sempre in ritardo. (the bus always always arrived late.) l'autobus stava per arrivare. (the bus was arriving.) arriving.) l'autobus era arrivato arrivato in ritardo. ritardo. (the bus had had arrived late.) late.) l'autobus arrivò in ritardo. (the bus arrived late.) l'autobus sarebbe sarebbe arrivato presto. presto. (the bus would would arrive soon.) l'autobus avrebbe avrebbe potuto arrivare arrivare presto. (the bus might might be arriving soon.)

Direct and Indirect Address There are two ways of describing what one or more persons have said. To refer to the exact words said by a person, direct address (discorso diretto) is used: Gianni disse: "Ho comprato questa macchina." macchina." (Gianni said: said: "I bought this car.") Disse is the verb of the first sentence, ho comprato is the verb of the second sentence. The two verbs are independent. To refer to something that was said, without using the exact words said by that person, indirect or reported speech (discorso indiretto) is used: Gianni disse che aveva comprato comprato quella macchina. (Gianni said that he had bought that car.) Disse is the principal verb on which the tense of the secondary verb depends (aveva comprato)

Indirect address is the union of two or more actions, two or  more verbs -- one that is principal and the others are secondary or dependent. The principal verb determines the tenses and moods of the dependent verbs. Some examples: DISCORSO DIRETTo

DISCORSO INDIRETTO Disse che conosceva quella Disse: "Conosco questa donna. donna." (He said (that) he knew that (He said: "I know this woman.") woman.) Gli rispose: "E' strano che Gli ripose che era strano che lui tuconosca questa donna." conoscesse quella donna. (She responded to him: "It's (he responded to him that it was strange that you know this strange that he knew that woman.") woman.) Disse che sarebbe andato al Disse: "Andrò al mare. mare. (He said: "I will go to the (He said (that) he would go to the beach.") beach.) Disse: "Sono arrivata alle Disse che era arrivata alle sette. sette." (She said that she had arrived at (She said: "I arrived at seven.") seven.) Disse che avrebbe voluto Disse: "Vorrei mangiare." mangiare (She said: "I would like to eat.") (She said that she would like to eat.)

Adverbial Clauses Like an adverb, the adverbial clause modifies the predicate of  the main clause. The following conjunctions introduce an adverbial clause: quando (when) mentre (while) dal momento che (since) prima che (before) dopo che (after) fino a che (until) appena che (as soon as)

Quando piove, non mi piace guidare. (When it rains, I don't like to drive.) Mentre camminavo nel parco, vidi dei bambini litigare. (While I was walking in the park, I saw children fighting.) Dal moment che non vuole ascoltarmi, non gli parlerò più. (Since he doesn't want to listen to me, I will not talk to him any more. Lavatevi le mani, prima che vi mettiate a tavola. (Wash your  hands before you sit down for dinner.) Dopo che ebbe finito i compiti, andò a letto. (After she finished her homework she went to bed.) Fino a che non avrai finito i compiti, non potrai andare a giocare. (Until you haven't completed your homework, you won't be going to play.)

Adverb clauses of time: This type of clause, also called a temporal clause, establishes a relation of time with the main clause. CONTEMPORANEITY. If the action expressed in the adverbial clause is occurring at the same time as the one expressed in the main clause, the adverbial clause is introduced by one of the following conjunctions: quando, allorchè, allorquando (when) nel momento che, al tempo in cui (at the time that) mentre (while) finchè, fintantochè (as long as) The verb in the temporal clause will be in the indicative mood. Quando non ci sei, mi sento triste. (When you are not here, I feel sad.) Mentre dormivamo, ha piovuto a dirotto. (While we were asleep, it rained heavily.) Tutto questo succedeva al tempo in cui abitavamo in campagna. (All of this happened at the time that we were living in the country.)

Puoi restare qui fintanto che te ne stai tranquillo. (You can stay here as long as you are quiet.) Mentre guardavo la televisione, il telefono squillò. (While I was watching TV, the phone rang.) This type of adverbial clause can also be expressed by the present gerund if its subject coincides with that one of the main clause: Elena leggeva, ascoltando la radio. (Elena was reading, (while she was) listening to the radio.)

The clause of cause and effect

indicates the cause or  the reason for which a situation expressed in the main clause is verified. The following conjunctions are used with this type of  clause: perchè, perciò, onde per cui, ragion per cui (because) come (as) fintanto che (as long as) in quanto che, per il fatto che, dal momento che, (since) poichè, giacchè, siccome, ora che (now that) Non esco perchè sono stanco. (I'm not going out because I'm tired.) Dal momento che il tempo era così brutto, decidemmo di non uscire. (Since the weather was so bad, we decided not to go out.) Ora che il progetto è completato, posso prendermi due giorni di vacanza. (Now that the project is completed, I can take a few days off.) Come arriva lâinverno, passiamo meno tempo fuori. (As it is winter now, we spend less time outside.) Fintanto che sei libero, puoi portare la lettera allâufficio postale per me? (As long as you are free, can you take the letter to the post office for me?) Eâ così sensibile che ogni piccola cosa lo disturba. (He is so emotional that every little thing upsets him.)

Aveva passato la settimana scorsa allâospedale, ragion per cui era piuttosto debole quando tornò a casa. (He spent the last week in the hospital, so he was quite weak when he came back home.) If the subject of the main clause coincides with the subject in the adverbial clause, adverbial clauses of causes and effect can also be expressed by a present or past gerund or past participle: Avendo finito di studiare, il ragazzo potè finalmente uscire. (Since he had completed his homework, the boy could finally go out.)

Conditional clauses: Statements with real conditions express different kinds of conditional meanings. Possibility: Se piove, cosa faremo? (If it rains, what will we do?) Se hai bisogno di qualcosa, fammelo sapere. (If you need anything, please let me know.) I lavoratori in sciopero torneranno al lavoro, se raggiungeranno l'accordo con l'amministrazione. (The strikers will go back to work if they reach the agreement with the administration.)

Supposition: Se sarai nominato, ti opporrai alle sue misure? (If you are elected, will you oppose his measures?) Note that in Italian if the action will take place in the future (the main clause verb is in the future), the verb in adverbial clause is also in the future. Se farà bel tempo andremo al picnic. (If the weather is nice, we will go on a picnic.) Se domani avrà abbastanza tempo, mi chiamerà. (If she has enough time tomorrow, she will call me.)

Comparative clauses: Adverbial clauses of comparison are usually introduced by comparative words, such as: come (as) piuttosto che (rather than) che (than) di quanto (than) una volta che (once) fintanto che (as long as) allorquando (when) L'esame è stato difficile proprio come prevedevo. (The test was as hard as I thought it would be.) Finì molto più presto di quando avevamo calcolato. (It ended much sooner than we planned.) La nuova macchina non è tanto più efficiente di quanto lo sia quella vecchia. (The new machine is not more efficient than the old one.) Comparative clauses can also be expressed in Italian with piuttosto di plus infinitive: Piuttosto di stirare tutta quella biancheria , laverei i piatti tutto il giorno. (Rather than iron all that linen, I would wash dishes all day long.)

Punctuation differences: In almost all cases, Italian punctuation is the same as punctuation in English. Following are some exceptions: Periods in abbreviations : Often the period is in the middle of an abbreviation Sig. Sig.ra Sig.na

Signor (Mr.) Signora (Mrs.) Signorina (Miss)

Egr. C.V. Spett.le All. v.

Egregio (distinguished) curriculum vitae (resume) Spettabile (respectable) allegato (enclosures) vedi (see)

Since the dawn of the internet, the English word "dot" has entered Italian with the meanings: period, decimal point, and "dot" (as in "netscape.com" = netscape dot com).

Comma in expressions of time: In Italian, expressions of time are written with a comma instead of a colon: 8,30 di mattina 10, 45 di sera 11,15 di notte

8:30 a.m. 10:45 p.m. 11:15 p.m.

Quotation marks (le virgolette): enclose the direct quotation, that is the repetition of someone's exact words. Frequently in Italian they appear in this manner: << >> L'avvocato disse: <> (The lawyer said: "You are unemployed?")

Prefixes and suffixes: Common Prefixes ante

(before)

antefatto

con

(with)

condividere

contra de/di in

(against) (from) (in, as a negative) (in, used in forming verbs) (before)

contrattacco deviare inesperto

(antecedents) (to divide between) (counterattack) (to deviate) (inexpert)

infiammare

(to inflame)

preavviso

(forewarning)

in pre

trans/tras (across) Latin prefixes a/ab from/out of

abrogazione

bi/bis

(twice)

bisnonno

inter

(between)

interporre

pos

(after)

posdomani

pro

(forward) (through/for/because of) (again) (half) (out)

proporre

(abrogation) (greatgrandfather) (to interpose) (the day after  tomorrow) (to put forward)

perlustrare

(to reconnoiter)

reazione semicerchio eccetto

(reaction) (semicircle) (except)

(against) (around) (with)

anticomunista (anti communist) periscopio (periscope) sincronico (synchronous)

per  re/re semi e/ex Greek Prefixes anti peri sin

Transatlantico (transatlantic)

common suffixes (Many from Latin) -zione -tore -ia -ibile -ismo -ista -ice -ore -orio x-oso

-tion -man -y -ible -ism -ist -ess -or -ory -ous

Numbers:

operazione pescatore gloria incredibile feminismo socialista actrice venditore migratorio geloso

(operation) (fisherman) (glory) (incredible) (feminism) (socialist) (actress) (vendor) (migratory) (jealous)

Cardinal Numbers: 0 zero 1 uno/una 2 due 3 tre 4 quatro 5 cinque 6 sei 7 sette 8 otto 9 nove 10 dieci

10 dieci 11 undici 12 dodici 13 tredici 14 quattordici 15 quindici 16 sedici 17 dicasette 18 dicotto 19 diciannove 20 venti

20 venti 21 ventuno 22 ventidue 23 ventitre 24 ventiquatro 25 venticinque 26 ventisei 27 ventisette 28 ventotto 29 ventinove 30 trenta

10 dieci 20 venti 30 trenta 40 quaranta 50 cinquanta 60 sessanta 70 settanta 80 ottanta 90 novanta 100 cento 101 cent(o)uno

Cardinal numbers are used in Italian to count, to indicate quantities, and for giving all dates except the first of every month (which is always "il primo".)

Milione, miliardo, bilione, trilione, etc. are nouns in italian and must be preceded by the indefinite article un or any other number and must be fillowed by the preposition di when used before another noun: $1.000.000 = un milione di dollari $2.ooo.ooo = Due milione di dollari IL1.000.000.000 = un miliardo di lire (Equivalent to the U.S. billion) IL2.ooo.ooo.ooo = due miliardi di lire (note that miliardi is plural)

Bilione, trilione, etc. are ambiguous: Bilione, for example, now most often means 1,000,000,000 (one thousand million, the same as miliardo and the U.S. billion) although it still sometimes means 1,000,000,000,000 (one thousand thousand million). Trilione now usually means 1,000,000,000,000 (one thousand thousand million, the same as the U.S. trillion) although it still sometimes means 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (one thousand thousand thousand thousand million. If your talking about large

100 cento 200 duocen 300 trecent 400 quatroc 500 cinquec 600 seicent 700 settece 800 ottocen 900 novace 1.000 mile 1.100 millec

amounts of money, especially your own money, it is best to show the amount you mean in written figures. In Italian, The only way to say 1,ioo through 1,900 is millecento, milleduecento, milletrecento, etc. There is no italian equivalent to "thirteen hundred".

Collective Numbers ("about ten, about sixty, etc.), normally formed by dropping the final vowel of the cardinal numbers and adding -ina, are used to express approximations ("about ten", "about fifty", etc.) Collective numbers are feminine nouns and are almost always indefinite, so they normally require the indefinite article una. They are followed by the preposition di if used with another noun. una diecina una cinquantina una trentina di nostri amici Exceptions: un centinaio , centinaia un migliaio , migliaia Dozen/dozens (of): una dozzina, due dozzine, etc. Una Dozzina di mele a Dozzina ) (uno sacco di: Ho uno sacco di cose da fare, -- sacco really means "sack" so

Cardinal numbers in simple Mathematical constructions: piu = plus -- Addizione meno = minus -- sottrazione per = times, multplied by -- multiplicazione diviso per = divided by -- divizione Fratto = divided by -- divizione fa (fanno) = equals, are e uguale a = equals, are tre piu sette fa (fanno) dieci <3 + 7 = 10> (Tre piu sette e uguale a dieci <3 + 7 = 10>)

trenta meno quindici fa (fann0) quindici <30 - 15 = 15> cinque per sei fa (fanno) trenta <5 x 6 = 30> quaranta diviso per diece fa (fanno) quatro <40 : 10 = 4>

Fractions -- frazione: 1/2 = la meta (le due mete ) (1 1/2 = uno e meta ) 1/2 = mezzo,-a,-i,-e (I due mezzi (cosi) ) La meta is the noun and mezzo is the adjective: la meta della classe mezza bottiglia Other fractions use the same word for nouns and adjectives, but they are also inflected when used as adjectives, e.g., la terza bottiglia 1/3 = un terzo (2/3 = due terzi ) (1.2/3 = uno e due terzi ) 1/4 = un quarto 1/5 = un quinto 1/6 = un sesto 1/7 = un settimo 1/8 = un ottavo 1/9 = un nono 1/10 = un decimo 1/11 = un undecimo .... 1/17 = un diciasettimo 1/18 = un dicottimo/un dicottavo 1/19 = un dicianovimo/un dicianono 1/20 = un ventesimo 1/21 = un ventunesimo 1/22 = un ventiduesimo 1/23 = un ventitresimo .... 1/28 = un ventottesimo/un ventottavo .... 1/100 = un centesimo .... 1/1000 = un millesimo As in English, fractions are formed by using a cardina number in the numerator and an ordinal in the denominator, and if the

numerator is more than one, the denominator is plural. Sources differ on how to form obscure fractions -mathematicians appear to prefer "un ventottesimo" for 1/28 (but are just as likely to say "uno diviso per (or fratto) ventotto.") Linguists like "un ventottoavo" for 1/28 (but they also may just say "uno diviso per ventotto.") As in English, any fraction can be spoken like "dieci diviso per  ventitre . Fratto also is translated by the English word fractional.

Decimals (Frazione decimale): Decimal fractions are formed regularly in Italian using the word "virgola" . True to the word, a comma is used in Italian rather than the period used in English: 1,25 = uno virgola venticinque <1.25 = one point two five> Italians with many english speaking contacts may say "uno punto (decimale) venticinque" when speaking to Enlish speakers.

Multiplicative numbers (double, triple, etc.): Multiplo doppio triplo quadruplo quintuplo sestuplo settuplo ottuplo nonuplo dieci volte maggiore/tanto undici volte maggiore/tanto centuplo mille volte magiore/tanto Multi-, dupli-, tripli- quadrupli-, etc. are used as prefixes multiplicare, duplicare, triplicare, quadruplicare, etc.

Telephone numbers: Italian phone numbers can have from five through ten (or even more) digits. Area codes are either two or three digits, almost always start with zero, and may or may not have to be dialed within local areas -- in Rome, for example, the 06 area code has to be dialed before local numbers. To speak a phone number, first say the individual digits of the area code (e.g., "zero, sei" for Rome, or "zero, sette, uno" for  Ancona). then say the numbers in groups of two (55551515 is "cinquantacinque, cinquantacinque, quindici, quindici" -- 55-5515-15.) if there are three digits left at the end of the number, they are combined into a group (55151 is "cinquantacinque, centocinquantuno" -- 55-151 -- never "cinquantacinque, quindici, uno.") A number including its area code combines the two usages. (Ancona 555151 is "zero, sette, zero, cinquantacinque, centocinquantuno" -- 1-7-1-55-151.) The country code for Italy is 39 and is said as a two number  group ("trentanove") before all the other numbers (Rome, Italy 55551515 is "trentanove, zero, sei, cinquantacinque, cinquantacinque, quindici, quindici" -- 39-0-6-55-55-15-15.) If you ask for a repeat, and the person on the line recognizes that you are a foreigner, you may get all the digits individually (39 06 55551515 would be "tre, nove, zero, sei, cinque, cinque, etc." -- 3-9-0-6-5-5-etc.)

Collective numerals are numbers that indicate an approximate quantity. Most of these numbers are formed by adding the suffiix -ina to the cardinal number (minus the final letter). Collective numerals are nouns and take the preposition di before another noun. Ho parlato con un quarantina di studenti. (I spoke with about 40 students.) 12 roses (12, an exact number)

una dozzina di rose (an approximation, around 12)

venti (twenty) una ventina (around twenty) cinquanta (fifty) una cinquantina (around fifty) Exceptions: un centinaio (pl. centinaia) around a hundred (hundreds); un migliaio (pl. migliaia) around one thousand (thousands)

Ordinal Numbers ORDINAL NUMBERS EXPRESS DEGREE, QUALITY, OR POSITION IN A SERIES OR SUCCESSION. 1st primo 2nd secondo 3rd terzo 4th quarto 5th quinto

11th undicesimo/ decimoprimo 12th dodicesimo/ decimosecondo 13th tredicesimo/ decimoterzo etc.

6th sesto

20th ventesimo

7th settimo 8th ottavo 9th nono

30th trentesimo etc.

10th decimo

100th centesimo 200th du(e)centesimo 300th trecentesimo etc. 101st centunesimo/ centesimo primo etc. 1,000th millesimo

21st ventunesimo/ ventesimo primo 22nd ventiduesimo/ ventesimo secondo etc.

1,000,000th milionesimo

nth ennesimo last ultimo As in English, ennesimo can mean "any number" or can mean "utmost" Ordinals agree with the nouns the modify in gender and number  Ordinals normally precede the noun the modify ("il primo capitolo" ) but can follow the noun for  empasis and always follow the noun to indicate lines of 

succession of kings, Popes, ect.: Enrico Ottavo , Papa Pio decimo < Pope Pius the Tenth. As in English, ordinals can be used without the noun they modify, but if the noun is known the ordinal should be inflected. Only the ordinal primo is used in dates: Oggi e il primo (di) febbraio All other dates us cardinal numbers: Oggi e il cinque (di) Febbraio )

"To the nth power" x al quadrato = x squared x al cubo = x cubed x alla quarta (potenza) = x to the fourth (power) x all'ennesima (potenza) = x to the nth (power) radice quadrata di x = the square root of x radice cubica di x = the cube root of x quarta radice di x = the fourth root of x ennesima radice di x = the nth root of x

Time What hour is it? Che ora e? / Che ore sono? di notte ----> e l'una ----> di pomeriggio ----> e mezzogiorno ----> ----> e mezzanotte ----> ----> sono le due ----> del pomeriggio ----> di notte ----> sono le quattro ----> del pomeriggio ----> di mattina ----> sone le cinque ----> del pomeriggio ----> sono le undici ----> di mattina ---->

it's one a.m. it's one p.m. it's noon it's midnight it's two p.m. it's four a.m. it's four p.m. it's five a.m. it's five p.m. it's 11 a.m.

di notte ----> it's 11 p.m. Because the word ora,-a is implied, the feminine definite article is used. Italian uses e (singular) for 1 o'clock and sono (plural) for hours more than one o'clock. e l'una sono le sei Morning, Noon and Night: A.M. (antimeridiano) and P.M. (postmeridiano) exist in Italian, and the abreviations are the same as in English, but they are rarely used. Some Italians use a.m./p.m only when talking to foreigners. di mattina (5 a.m. to noon), del pomeriggio (noon to 5/6 p.m.), di sera (5/6 p.m. to 10 p.m.), and di notte (10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) are more commonly used. Borders between pomeriggio / sera / notte / mattina vary considerably, but the mattina / pomeriggio line is more consistently at noon. "Mezzogiorno," however, can stretch out several hours into a long lunch. "il mezzogiorno" is the south of Italy, which is famous for long lazy afternoons. "a mezzogiorno" means , while "al sud" means "sono a mezzogiorno" can mean as well as Minutes are added to the hour using e : sono le due e venti. = E l'una e trentotto = Sono le otto e cinquantanove = Minutes past the half hour can also be expressed as: the next hour minus (meno) the minutes until the next hour -Sono le dieci meno venti = or , or as: Minutes "left to go" (mancare = to be lacking) before the next hour -Mancano dieci minuti alle sette =
minutes before seven> Manca un/uno minuto alla sei = Quarters and thirds of Hours: (ora,-e) e un quarto ... e mezzo/mezza ... e tre quarti (rarely used) ... meno un quarto ... e un terzo/terza <20 past> (rarely) ... meno un terzo/terza <20 til> At what time? When? A Che ore ...? A mezzogiorno All'una precisa alle otto precise alle otto e trentotto Time expressions: in anticipo in orario in ritardo in punto le ore di punta la mattina il pomeriggio la sera la notte E' presto E' tardi ieri ieri l'altro/l'alto ieri oggi domani dopodomani ...fa <...ago> -venti minuti fa <20 minutes ago> molto tempo fa

secoli fa Fra...e... -fra otto e nove circa -e circa l'una Sono circa le tre One Time, Two Times, Many times, at times, Sometimes, etc. Volta,-e La volta expresses repetative time: Dillo ancora una volta Quante volte ...? A volte .... Qualche volta... -volta is singular because qualche is always followed by singular nouns La secunda volta Mille volta c'era una volta una volta per sempre per l'ultima volta tre volte stupido ogni volta due per volta/tre per volta/etc. la volta tua la prossima volta la altra volta un'altra volta etc.

Days, months, seasons, years, dates Days of the week: Lunedi <(on) Monday> Martedi <(on) Tuesday> Mercolodi <(on) Wednesday> Giovedi <(on) Thursday> Venerdi <(on) Friday> Sabato <(on) Saturday> Domenica(F) <(on) Sunday> THE DEFINITE ARTICLE IS USED WITH DAYS TO MEAN "EVERY":

LA DOMEMICA = IL VENERDI =

MONTHS: GENNAIO FEBBRAIO MARZO APRILE MAGGIO GIUGNO LUGLIO AGOSTO SETTEMBRE OTTOBRE NOVEMBRE DICEMBRE "IN/A GENNAIO"

SEASONS: LA PRIMAVERA (IN PRIMAVERA) L' ESTATE (IN ESTATE) L' AUTUNNO (IN AUTUNNO) L' INVERNO (IN INVERNO)

DATES: "QUAL E' LA DATA?" RESPONSES: "OGGIE E' IL PRIMO (DI) FEBBRAIO." (FIRST DAY OF EACH MONTH) "OGGIE E' IL SETTE (DI) MAGGIO." (ALL OTHER DAYS USE CARDINALS) MUST USE THE DEFINITE ARTICLE. "DI" IS OPTIONAL.

OR, "QUANTI NE ABBIAMO OGGI?" RESPONSES: "NE ABBIAMO UNO." "NE ABBIAMO CINQUE." ALWAYS USE ORDINALS. DEFINITE ARTICLE IS NOT USED. MONTH NAME IS NOT USED.

Centuries (secoli): il Undicento (secolo) = 1101 through 1200 il Duecento (secolo) = 1201 through 1300 il Trecento (secolo) = 1301 throuh 1400 il Quatrocento (secolo) = 1401 through 1500 il Cinquecento (secolo) = 1500 through 1600 il Seicento (secolo) = 1601 through 1700 il Settecento (secolo) = 1701 through 1800 l'Ottocento (secolo) = 1801 through 1900 il Novecento (secolo) = 1901 through 2000 Note that Italian uses "the 1200 (century)" where English uses "the 13th century." The word secolo is used only if needed to avoid confusion. Centuries are capitalized.

Idiomatic Verb Constructions: Piacere : Usually used in the third person singular or plural, depending on whether what is pleasing is singular or plural: Singular -present piace imperfect piaceva future piacera conditional piacerebbe present perfect e' piaciuto,-a past perfect era piaciuto,-a future perfect sara piaciuto,-a conditional perfect sarebbe piaciuto,-a Plural -present imperfect future conditional present perfect

piacciono piacevano piaceranno piacerebbero sono piaciuti,-e

past perfect erano piaciuti,-e future perfect saranno piaciuti,-e conditional perfect sarebbero piaciuti,-e Note that piacere is conjugated with essere so the past participle agrees with its subject. The recipient of the action (the person(s)) to whom something is pleasing is either the indirect object (or the dative object -indirect object -- pronoun) or the object (or the disjunctive object pronoun) of the preposition "A." If the indirect object (dative) pronoun is used, it precedes the verb: Mi piace.... and the subject (that which is pleasing) follows the verb: mi piace il film. The verb, naturally, agrees with its subject. If a + disjunctive is used it Precedes the verb or follows the subject which follows the verb: A me (disjunctive object pronoun) piace il film (subject). -- 0r-- Piace il film (subject) a me(disjunctive pronoun.) An infinitive can be the subject of piacere: Mi piace viaggiare. Piace viaggiare a me. (The English usage of the participle as a noun is not used with piacere.

Fare: Weather -Che tempo fa? Fa bel (cattivo) tempo. Fa freddo. Fa molto caldo. (But: Poive. , Neve. , Tira vento.

Professions -Che cosa fa Suo padre?

Mio padre fa il medico. Faccio il musicista.

in place of English "have" -- to "Have something done" -Faccia aprire la porta. Mi sono Fatto un vestito. Le ho fatto scrivere una lettura. Note the use of the infinitive vice the English usage of the past participle.

Other Idiomatic Expressions -Fare una domanda fare un viaggio fare un bagno Fare una passeggiata Fare colazione fare da mangiare fare attenzione fare un piachere Fare una conferenza Farsi male farsi la barba Si fa tardi. Non fa niente.

Avere: To be hungry = to have hunger; to be thirtsy = to have thirst Ho fame Ho sete Ho caldo (not the same as Fa caldo ) ho freddo (not the same as Fa freddo ) Ho fretta Ho paura Ha ragione Ho sonno Also: Ho venticinque anni Ha i capelli biondi

Che cosa hai? Non ho niente.

Essere vs. Stare: Essere and stare both are often translated into English as "to be" but are not interchangeable. Although efforts have been made to determine rules about their  usage, there appear to be almost as many exceptions as there are uses. The easiest way to deal with them is therefore to memorize which kind of expression uses each verb. Examples: Milano e Napoli sono in Italia. -- simple location indicated by sono Come staI? Sto bene. -- health condition indicated by staI and sto Sono Ammalati. -health indicated by sono as a helping verb to form the participle of ammalare Siamo arrivati. Stiamo andando a casa. -- progressive Stiamo per andare a casa. Stiamo a Milano. Stai zitto! Stai a sentire!

C'e and Ci sono: C'e = Ci sono = C' ere = C'erano = C'e ancora molto da fare. Ci sono quattro posti liberi. C'era molto da fare. C'erano molte cose da fare.

Aver bisogno di and Bisognare: Aver bisogno (noun, masculine, singular) di expresses lack of  something and is translated literally as "to have need of." --

Ho bisogno di un paio di scarpe. The verb bisognare is impersonal and means "to be necessary." It is always followed by the subjuntive. -Bisogna ch'egli parta.

Volere: Volere is conjugated irregularly: voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo, volete, vogliono Although volere is used regularly in Italian, its translations are idiomatic in English: Voglio partire.

Vorrei andarci anch'io. Cosa vuol dire Ci vogliono due ore Come vuole. Voglio bene a mia

Dare: dar ragione dar torto dare la mano a dare del tu, del voi, del Lei, del Loro

Andare: Andare in treno, in automobile Andare a cavallo Come va? Va bene.