French & Italian Comparative Tutorial Index : Learn Two Languages Simultaneously

FRENCH & ITALIAN I

Basic Phrases

Pronunciation

Alphabet

Numbers

Articles & Demonstratives

Nouns: Gender & Number

Personal Pronouns

Verbs: Be, Have, Do

Interrogatives / Conjunctions / Adverbs

Days / Months / Seasons

Time / Weather / Directions

Colors & Shapes

Family

Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns

FRENCH & ITALIAN II

Adjectives: Gender & Number

Verbs: Come, Go

Asking Questions

Negatives

Work & School

Countries & Nationalities

Prepositions & Contractions

Verbs: Know

Food & Meals

Verbs: Can, Want, Must

Fruits & Vegetables

There is, are : Il y a / C'e, ci sono

Necessity: Il faut / Bisogna, Occorre, Ci vuole

Partitive

FRENCH & ITALIAN III

Verbs: Present & Past Tenses

Spelling Changes in the Present Tense

Irregular Imperfect Verbs

Pronominal Verbs

Etre sur le point de / Stare per + infinitive

Etre en train de / Stare + gerund

On / Si

Plaire / Piacere

Verbs: Imperative

Verbs: Present Perfect / Past Perfect Tenses

Venir de / Appena

House & Furniture

Buildings & Materials

FRENCH & ITALIAN IV

Comparatives / Superlatives

Clothing & Toiletries

Verbs: Other common irregular verbs

Human Body

Verbs: Future / Conditional

Tenses

Verbs: Would, Should, Could

Y & en / Ci & ne

Verbs: Subjunctive Mood

Animals & Insects

Nature & Geography

Indefinite Pronouns & Adjectives

Relative Pronouns

Verbs: Passive Voice

Faire / Fare Causative

Verbs followed by Prepositions

French & Italian V

Uses of the Infinitive

Post Office & Bank

Sports & Instruments

Hobbies & Tools

Conjunctions

Impersonal Verbs

Car & Gas Station

Travel & Transportation

Adverbs

Farm & Beach

Holidays & Fairy Tales

Verbs: Simple Past Tense

Exclamations & Interjections

French Regions & Cities / Italian States & Cities

OTHER USEFUL LINKS

WordReference English-French Dictionary

WordReference English-Italian Dictionary

French & Italian Comparative Tutorial I: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously

Rocket French | Rocket Italian

BASIC PHRASES

English French Italian

Good day Bonjour Buongiorno

Good evening Bonsoir Buona sera

Good night (going to bed) Bonne nuit Buona notte

Hello / Hi / Bye Salut Ciao

Goodbye Au revoir Arrivederci

Thank you (very much) Merci (beaucoup) Grazie (mille)

You're welcome De rien Prego

Please S'il vous plaît Per favore

How are you? (formal) Comment allez-vous ? Come sta?

How are you? (informal) Ça va? Come stai?

I'm (really) good. Je vais (très) bien. Sto (abbastanza) bene.

I'm ok. Comme ci, comme ça. Cosí cosí.

Bad / not bad Mal / pas mal Male / Non c'è male

What's your name? (f) Comment vous appelez-vous ?

Come si chiama?

What's your name? (in) Tu t'appelles comment ? Come ti chiami?

My name is… Je m'appelle… Mi chiamo…

Where are you from? (f) D'où venez-vous ? Di dov'è Lei?

Where are you from? (in) Tu es d'où ? Di dove sei?

I'm from…. Je suis de… Sono di…

How old are you? (f) Quel âge avez-vous ? Quanti anni ha?

How old are you? (in) Tu as quel âge ? Quanti anni hai?

I'm ___ years old. J'ai ___ ans. Ho ___ anni.

Yes / No Oui / Non Si / No

Do you speak … ? (f) Parlez-vous … Parla…

Do you speak … ? (inf) Est-ce que tu parles … Parli…

I (don't) speak… Je (ne) parle (pas)… (Non) parlo…

I (don't) know Je (ne) sais (pas). (Non) lo so.

Do you understand? (f) Comprenez-vous? Capisce?

Do you understand? (inf) Est-ce que tu comprends ? Capisci?

I (don't) understand Je (ne) comprends (pas). (Non) capisco.

Can you help me? (f) Pouvez-vous m'aider ? Può aiutarmi?

Can you help me? (inf) Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ? Puoi aiutarmi?

Of course. Bien sûr Certamente

I would like… Je voudrais… Vorrei…

Where is / are … ? Où est / sont… ? Dov'è / Dove sono… ?

Excuse me Excusez-moi Con permesso

Pardon me Pardonnez-moi Mi scusi

I'm sorry Je suis désolé(e). Mi dispiace

See you tomorrow A demain A domani

See you later / soon A tout à l'heure / A bientôt A più tardi / A presto

Mister / Misses / Miss Monsieur / Madame / Mademoiselle

Signore / Signora / Signorina

Pleased to meet you. Enchanté(e). Piacere. / Molto lieto.

Pardon? Comment ? Come?

How do you say … ? Comment dit-on … ? Come se dice … ?

What's the matter? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? Cosa c'è?

What's happening? Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? Che succede?

There is / are… Il y a… C'è / Ci sono…

What is it? Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ? Che cosa è?

Right? N'est-ce pas ? Vero?

It doesn't matter. Ça ne fait rien. Non importa

I have no idea. Je n'ai aucune idée Non ho idea

I don't care. Ça m'est égal. Non m'importa

I'm tired / sick. Je suis fatigué(e) / malade. Sono stanco(-a) / malato(-a)

I'm hungry / thirsty. J'ai faim / soif. Ho fame / sete.

I'm cold / hot. J'ai froid / chaud. Ho freddo / caldo.

I'm bored. Je m'ennuie. Mi annoio.

I forgot. J'ai oublié. Ho dimenticato.

I have to go. Je dois y aller. Devo andare.

Welcome! Bienvenue Benvenuti

Let's go! Allons-y ! Andiamo!

Good luck! Bonne chance ! Buona fortuna!

Have fun! (inf) Amuse-toi ! Divertiti!

Bless you! A tes souhaits ! Salute!

Cheers! A la vôtre ! Cincin!

Pay attention! / Be careful! (f)

Faites attention ! Fate attenzione!

Don't worry! (inf) Ne t'en fais pas ! Non ti preoccupare!

Shut up! (f / inf) Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! Sta zitto! / Stai zitto!

Congratulations! Félicitations ! Congratulazioni!

Happy New Year Bonne Année Buon Anno

Happy Easter Joyeuses Pâques Buona Pasqua

Merry Christmas Joyeux Noël Buon Natale

Happy Birthday Bon Anniversaire Buon Compleanno

I love you. (singular) Je t'aime Ti amo / Ti voglio bene

I miss you. (singular) Tu me manques Mi manchi

Adjectives in both languages must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular and plural) with the nouns they describe. For example. if you are a man, you would use je suis fatigué in French and sono stanco in Italian for I am tired. If you are a woman, you would use je suis fatiguée in French and sono stanca in Italian. Vocabulary words are generally given in the masculine form, with the feminine ending in parentheses.(In French, you generally add -e to form the feminine; while in Italian, you change -o to -a). If there is only one form of an adjective given, then it is the same for masculine and feminine (such as malade in French).

There are two ways to say "you" in both languages, formally (f) or informally (inf). The formal you is the polite form and should be used with people you do not know or with people to whom you want to show respect. The informal you should be used with children and animals, and with close friends and family.

Pronunciation

The major difference in pronunciation between the two languages is that French has several silent letters, while every letter must be pronounced in Italian. In addition, French contains four distinctive nasal vowels that do not exist in Italian.

Vowels

Vowels in French are somewhat complex (12). Vowels in Italian are much simpler (7). Vowels that do not exist in English are highlighted.

French Vowels Italian Vowels

English Pronunciation

[i] vie, midi, lit, riz [i] vita meet

[y] rue, jus, tissu, usine ee rounded

[e] blé, nez, cahier, pied [e] vedi wait

[ø] jeu, yeux, queue, bleu ay rounded

[ɛ] lait, aile, balai, reine [ɛ] era bet

[œ] sœur, œuf, fleur, beurre eh rounded

[a] chat, ami, papa, salade [a] kane not

[ɑ] bas, âne, grâce, château

ah longer

[u] loup, cou, caillou, outil [u] uva boot

[o] eau, dos, escargot, hôtel

[o] sole coat

[ɔ] sol, pomme, cloche, horloge [ɔ] modo law

[ə] fenêtre, genou, cheval, cerise

rut

I'm using the International Phonetic Alphabet symbols for the vowels and a rough phonetic transcription for those who do not know the IPA.

French has three front rounded vowels that do not exist in English, but you can learn to pronounce them correctly because their unrounded counterparts do exist in

English. To pronounce [y], round your lips when saying [i]; to pronounce [ø], round

your lips when saying [e]; and to pronounce [œ], round your lips when saying [ɛ]. The

distinction between [a] and [ɑ] continues to disappear in modern French, so don't worry about trying to distinguish these two sounds.

Pronouncing Italian vowels is rather easy. The only problems arise when distinguishing the two e's and o's. If the vowel is stressed, then it is always closed [e]

and [o]. If the vowel is not stressed, it is always open [ɛ] and [ɔ]. This can change according to regional dialects in Italy, of course, but this is the standard rule.

Nasal Vowels, Semi-Vowels/Consonants, & Diphthongs

The four nasal vowels are a distinctive feature of French. There are also three semi-vowels. In Italian, there are two semi-vowels, several diphthongs and a few triphthongs.

French nasal vowels

French semi-vowels

Italian semi-vowels

[ ] gant, banc, dent

[w] oui, Louis [w] quando, uomo

[ɛ ] pain, vin, linge [ɥ] lui, suisse [j]

piano, ieri, piove

[ ] brun, lundi, parfum

[j] oreille, Mireille

[ ] rond, ongle, front

The distinction between the two nasals [ɛ ] and [ ] is disappearing in French. Italian semi-vowels are written ua, ue, uo, ui for [w] and ia, ie, io, iu for [j]. If another vowel precedes u or i, then it is a diphthong: ai, ei, oi, au, eu. The combination iu + another vowel creates a triphthong.

Consonants

French consonants

ex + vowel egz examen, exercice eg-zah-mawn, eg-zehr-sees

ex + consonant

eks exceptionnel, expression

ek-sehp-see-oh-nel, ek-spreh-see-ohn

ch (Latin origin)

sh architecte, archives

ar-shee-tekt, ar-sheev

ch (Greek origin)

k orchestre, archéologie

ohr-kehs-tr, ar-kay-oh-loh-zhee

ti + vowel (except é)

see démocratie, nation day-moh-krah-see, nah-see-ohn

Italian consonant + vowel combinations

c + a, o, u, he, hi

k amica, amico, amiche

ah-mee-kah, ah-mee-koh, ah-mee-keh

c + ia, io, iu, ch bacio, celebre, bah-cho, cheh-leh-breh,

e, i cinema chee-neh-mah

g + a, o, u, he, hi

g gara, gusto, spaghetti

gah-rah, goo-stoh, spah-geh-tee

g + ia, io, iu, e, i

dj Giotto, gelato, magico

djoh-toh, djeh-lah-toh, mah-djee-koh

sc + a, o, u, he, hi

sk scala, scuola, scheda

skah-lah, skoo-oh-la, skeh-dah

sc + ia, io, iu, e, i

sh sciarpa, sciupato, scemo

shar-pah, shoo-pah-toh, sheh-moh

In both languages, s is generally pronounced the same as in English, except when it is between two vowels, then it is pronounced like z. H is always silent.

Double consonants in Italian must be pronounced individually: il nonno (eel nohn-noh) is pronounced differently than il nono (eel noh-noh)

Liaison in French forces a preceding consonant to be pronounced before the following vowel of the next word. Normally, this consonant is silent, but it must be pronounced at the beginning of the next word: très (treh) and heureux (uh-ruh) become treh zuh-ruh when pronounced together. S and x are pronounced as z, d as t and f as v in liaisons.

Stress

In general, stress falls on the last syllable in French and the second-to-last syllable in Italian. If stress falls on the last syllable in Italian, the vowel is written with an accent mark (la città). However, it is also possible for the stress in Italian to fall on the third-to-last syllable (America, telefono) and even the fourth-to-last syllable (telefonano) in third person plural verb conjugations.

ALPHABET

English French Italian

A ah ah

B bay bee

C say chee

D day dee

E uh eh

F eff eff-eh

G zhay zhee

H ahsh ahk-kah

I ee ee

J shee ee loon-gah

K kah kahp-pah

L ell ehl-eh

M emm ehm-eh

N enn ehn-eh

O oh oh

P pay pee

Q kew koo

R air ehr-reh

S ess ehs-seh

T tay teh

U ew oo

V vay voo

W doo-blah-vay dohp-pyah voo

X eeks eeks

Y ee-grek ee greh-kah

Z zed dzeh-tah

NUMBERS

English French Italian English French Italian

zero zéro zero

one un uno first premier (ère) primo (a)

two deux due second deuxième secondo (a)

three trois tre third troisième terzo (a)

four quatre quattro fourth quatrième quarto (a)

five cinq cinque fifth cinquième quinto (a)

six six sei sixth sixième sesto (a)

seven sept sette seventh septième settimo (a)

eight huit otto eighth huitième ottavo (a)

nine neuf nove ninth neuvième nono (a)

ten dix dieci tenth dixième decimo (a)

eleven onze undici eleventh onzième undicesimo (a)

twelve douze dodici twelfth douzième dodicesimo (a)

thirteen treize tredici thirteenth treizième tredicesimo (a)

fourteen quatorze quattordici fourteenth quatorzième quattordicesimo (a)

fifteen quinze quindici fifteenth quinzième quindicesimo (a)

sixteen seize sedici sixteenth seizième sedicesimo (a)

seventeen dix-sept diciassette seventeenth dix-septième diciassettesimo (a)

eighteen dix-huit diciotto eighteenth dix-huitième diciottesimo (a)

nineteen dix-neuf diciannove nineteenth dix-neuvième diciannovesimo

(a)

twenty vingt venti twentieth vingtième ventesimo (a)

twenty-one vingt et un ventuno twenty-first vingt et unième

ventunesimo (a)

twenty-two vingt-deux ventidue twenty-second

vingt-deuxième

ventiduesimo (a)

twenty-three

vingt-trois ventitre twenty-third vingt-troisième

ventitreesimo (a)

thirty trente trenta twenty-fourth

vingt-quatrième

ventiquattresimo (a)

forty quarante quaranta twenty-fifth vingt-cinquième

venticinquesimo (a)

fifty cinquante cinquanta

sixty soixante sessanta one-half une moitié un mezzo

seventy soixante-dix

settanta one-third un tiers un terzo

eighty quatre-vingts

ottanta one-fourth un quart un quarto

ninety quatre-vingt-dix

novanta

hundred cent cento once une fois una volta

hundred one

cent un centuno twice deux fois due volte

two hundred

deux cents duecento three times trois fois tre volte

thousand mille mille

million un million un milione

When writing numbers, switch the use of commas and periods. For example, 4.50 in English would be written as 4,50 in French and Italian. In French, cent has a plural form: cents, but mille is invariable (there is no plural form); while in Italian,cento is invariable and mille has a plural form: mila.

French telephone numbers are ten digits, beginning with zero, and the country code is 33 (Belgium: 32, Switzerland: 41, Canada: 1). Italian telephone numbers are between 8 and 11 digits, most beginning with zero, and the country code is 39.

ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Definite Article (the)

French Italian Indefinite Article (a, an)

French Italian

masculine singular le il masculine singular un un

begins with vowel l' l' begins with vowel un un

begins with s + cons.

lo begins with s + cons.

uno

masculine plural les i masculine plural des dei

plural of l' and lo gli plural: di + gli degli

feminine singular la la feminine singular une una

begins with vowel l' l' begins with vowel une un'

feminine plural les le feminine plural des delle

Articles are slightly more complicated in Italian. The rows in italics only concern Italian and not French. If a masculineItalian noun begins with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x, or i + vowel, you must use lo as the definite article (instead of il). However, la is still used for all feminine Italian nouns that begin with those same letters. Only il changes to i in the plural, while l' and lo change to gli. Feminine articles are more simple: la and l' change to le in the plural. The plural indefinite article can be expressed as some in English, but it is not always used.

Demonstrative Adjectives

this / these + noun French Italian that / those + noun French Italian

masculine singular ce questo masculine singular ce quel

begins with vowel cet quest' begins with vowel cet quell'

begins with s + cons.

questo begins with s + cons.

quello

masculine plural ces questi masculine plural ces quei

plural of l' and lo questi plural: di + gli quegli

feminine singular cette questa feminine singular cette quella

begins with vowel cette quest' begins with vowel cette quell'

feminine plural ces queste feminine plural ces quelle

In French, ce, cet, and cette can be translated as this or that, while ces can be translated as these or those. If you would like to be precise, you can add -ci to the end of the noun to specify this/these (for what is close to you), and -là to the end of the noun to specify that/those (for what is further away from you). For example, cette chaise-ci means this chair whilecette chaise-là means that chair. In Italian, two distinct forms exist to distinguish between what is close and what is far away: quest- for close, and quel- for far away.

In Italian, demonstrative adjectives (which precede nouns) and demonstrative pronouns (which take the place of nouns) have very similar forms. In French, the demonstrative pronouns have different forms. You can add -ci and -là to the French demonstrative pronouns to specify what is close (this/these) and what is far away (that/those): celui-ci meansthis one, while celui-là means that one.

Demonstrative Pronouns

this / these + verb French Italian that / those + verb French Italian

masculine singular celui questo masculine singular celui quello

masculine plural ceux questi masculine plural ceux quelli

feminine singular celle questa feminine singular celle quella

feminine plural celles queste feminine plural celles quelle

NOUNS: GENDER & NUMBER

There are two genders of nouns in both languages, masculine and feminine, and two numbers, singular and plural. Adjectives agree in gender and number with nouns, so you must learn the gender with each noun in order to form grammatically correct phrases. Usually the last letter of the noun will tell you which gender it is.

Gender In French, masculine singular nouns generally end with a consonant, - age or -ment. Feminine singular nouns generally end with -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -té, and -ette. In Italian, masculine singular nouns generally end with -o or -ore. Feminine singular nouns generally end with -a or -zione. Nouns ending with -e and -ista can be either gender, so you must learn those individually. A few masculine nouns end with -a: il problema, il tema, il teorema, il poeta, il cinema, il programma; and a few feminine nouns end with -o: la mano, la radio, la foto, la moto.

In most cases, the gender of a noun is the same in French and Italian. But there are some cases in which the genders are reversed. (For example, names of cities and letters of the alphabet are masculine in French, but feminine in Italian.)

Masculine in French / Feminine in Italian Feminine in French / Masculine in

Italian

English French Italian English French Italian

air l'air l'aria affair, case l'affaire l'affare

art l'art l'arte tooth la dent il dente

calm le calme la calma oil l'huile l'olio

number/digit le chiffre la cifra limit la limite il limite

couple le couple la coppia sea la mer il mare

Sunday le dimanche la domenica method la méthode

il metodo

summer l'été l'estate minute la minute il minuto

forehead le front la fronte panic la panique il panico

guide le guide la guida period la période il periodo

spring le printemps

la primavera planet la planète il pianeta

sand le sable la sabbia second la seconde

il secondo

evening le soir la sera attempt la tentative

il tentativo

Number In French, singular nouns generally add -s (unless the noun already ends in -s, -z, or -x, then they change nothing for the plural), though nouns ending in -au, -eau, and -eu add -x instead (or change -al/-ail to -aux) to form the plural. (Exceptions:festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, détail, chandail all add -s) There are also seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou, joujou, hibou

French Irregular Plurals: l'œil - les yeux (eye-eyes); le ciel - les cieux (sky-skies); le jeune homme - les jeunes gens(young man-young men); and three nouns are masculine in the singular, but feminine in the plural: amour, délice, orgue In Italian, singular nouns that end with -o or -e, whether masculine or feminine, change to -i in the plural. Feminine nouns change -a to -e in the plural. Monosyllabic nouns, nouns that end with an accented letter, with a consonant, and with -i do not change in the plural. Nouns ending in -ca, -go, -ca, and -ga add an -h before the plural ending (as a rule of pronunciation). Nouns that end with -io can either change to -ii in the plural (if the i of -io is stressed), or to -i (if the i of -io is not stressed).

Italian Irregular Plurals: l'uomo - gli uomini (man-men); il dio - gli dei (god-gods); il bue - i buoi (beef); il centinaio - le centinaia (century-centuries); il dito - le dita (finger-fingers); il riso - le risa (laughter); l'uovo - le uova (egg-eggs);l'ala - le ali (wing-wings); l'arma - le armi (weapon-weapons); la mano - le mani (hand-hands)

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Subject Pronouns Direct Object

Pronouns Indirect Object

Pronouns Disjunctive Pronouns

English French

Italian

English

French

Italian

English

French

Italian

English

French

Italian

I je io me me mi me me mi me moi me

you (s, inf)

tu tu you (s, inf)

te ti you (s, inf)

te ti you (s, inf)

toi te

you (s, f)

vous Lei you (s, f)

vous La you (s, f)

vous Le you (s, f)

vous Lei

he / she

il / elle lui / lei

him / her

le / la lo / la him / her

lui gli / le

him / her

lui /elle

lui / lei

one / we

on si

we nous noi us nous ci us nous ci us nous noi

you (pl, inf/f)

vous voi you (pl, inf)

vous vi you (pl, inf)

vous vi you (pl, inf)

vous voi

they (m/fem)

ils / elles

loro them les li them leur loro them eux / elles

loro

s = singular, pl = plural, inf = informal, f = formal, m = masculine, fem = feminine

There is more than one you in both languages, depending on how many people you are speaking to and how informal or formal you are being. In French, tu is singular and informal (when speaking to one person, such as a family member); while vous is plural, whether informal or formal (when speaking to more than one person) AND singular and formal (when speaking to one person, whom you do not know well or to whom you'd like to show respect). In Italian, tu is informal and singular, while Lei is formal and singular and voi is plural, whether informal or formal. Keep in mind that Leitakes a third person singular form when conjugating verbs (same as for he/she - lui/lei).

On and si are used as an abstract subject meaning one, they, you, we, people in general, etc. There are several translations of this into English where the subject doesn't refer to any person already mentioned: They say it's going to rain today. How are you supposed to do this? What should one do with $10 million? In addition, the French on is very commonly used to mean we instead of nous in everyday conversation. It always take a third person singular form when conjugating verbs, even though it refers to more than one person.

In both languages, if you want to use it to refer to a noun, you must know the gender. For example, il in French can meanhe or it, depending on what noun the pronoun refers to. Il est petit, le garçon. He is small, the boy. Il est petit, le lit. It is small, the bed. Notice that they can also be translated in two ways in French (ils and elles), depending on the gender of the noun.

VERBS: BE, HAVE, DO

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

être / essere - to be

suis sono étais ero serai sarò

es sei étais eri seras sarai

est è était era sera sarà

sommes siamo étions eravamo serons saremo

êtes siete étiez eravate serez sarete

sont sono étaient erano seront saranno

avoir / avere - to have

ai ho avais avevo aurai avrò

as hai avais avevi auras avrai

a ha avait aveva aura avrà

avons abbiamo avions avevamo aurons avremo

avez avete aviez avevate aurez avrete

ont hanno avaient avevano auront avranno

faire / fare - to do, make

fais faccio faisais facevo ferai farò

fais fai faisais facevi feras farai

fait fa faisait faceva fera farà

faisons facciamo faisions facevamo ferons faremo

faites fate faisiez facevate ferez farete

font fanno faisaient facevano feront faranno

Past tense here refers to the imperfect, not preterite.

In French, the subject pronoun must always be used before the verb conjugations. When the verb begins with a vowel, jebecomes j' and is connected to the verb (j'ai). In informal speech, the same happens with tu, it becomes t' and is connected to the following verb (t'as). In Italian, you do not have to use the subject pronouns, unless you want to emphasize the subject or to avoid ambiguity.

There are several common and idiomatic expressions with the verbs avoir and avere, which translate to be in English:

to be hungry avoir faim avere fame

to be thirsty avoir soif avere sete

to be warm avoir chaud avere caldo

to be cold avoir froid avere freddo

to be right avoir raison avere ragione

to be wrong avoir tort avere torto

to be sleepy avoir sommeil avere sonno

to be afraid (of) avoir peur (de) avere paura (di)

to be # years old avoir # ans avere # anni

to need avoir besoin de avere bisogno di

to want, feel like avoir envie de avere voglia di

There is another verb in Italian that means to be, stare. But this verb is only used in expressions relating to health and feelings and when expressing the progressive form (be + gerund in English).

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

stare - to be

sto stavo starò

stai stavi starai

sta stava starà

stiamo stavamo staremo

state stavate starete

stanno starano staranno

INTERROGATIVES / CONJUNCTIONS / ADVERBS

English French Italian English French Italian

who qui chi because parce que perché

whose de qui di chi and et e

what qu'est-ce que / quoi che cosa / che / cosa or ou o

where où dove but mais ma

where from d'où di dove if si se

why pourquoi perché not pas non

when quand quando very très molto

how comment come also aussi anche

how much combien quanto while pendant mentre

which quel(le) quale since depuis da

that que che although bien que benché

DAYS / MONTHS / SEASONS

English French Italian English French Italian

Monday lundi lunedì January janvier gennaio

Tuesday mardi martedì February février febbraio

Wednesday mercredi mercoledì March mars marzo

Thursday jeudi giovedì April avril aprile

Friday vendredi venerdì May mai maggio

Saturday samedi sabato June juin giugno

Sunday dimanche domenica July juillet luglio

August août agosto

spring le printemps la primavera September septembre settembre

summer l'été (m) l'estate (f) October octobre ottobre

autumn l'automne (m) l'autunno November novembre novembre

winter l'hiver (m) l'inverno December décembre dicembre

The days of the week and months of the year are all masculine in both languages (except domenica in Italian). If you want to express an action that happens habitually on a certain day, use the definite article before the day: le lundi / il lunedì (on Mondays). In a season or a month is translated as en in French (except for in spring, which is au printemps) and in in Italian. When writing the date, use the definite article (le or il) plus the number and then the month: le 5 mai / il 5 maggio. For the first day of a month, you must use premier or primo instead of the number.

TIME / WEATHER / DIRECTIONS

What time is it?

Quelle heure est-il ?

Che ora è? / Che ore sono?

What's the weather like?

Quel temps fait-il ?

Che tempo fa?

At what time?

A quelle heure ?

A che ora? It's nice Il fait bon Fa tempo buono

1:00 Il est une heure

È l'una It's beautiful Il fait beau Fa bel tempo

2:00 Il est deux heures

Sono le due It's hot Il fait chaud Fa caldo

3:10 Il est trois heures dix

Sono le tre e dieci

It's cold Il fait froid Fa freddo

19:50 Il est vingt heures moins dix

Sono le venti meno dieci

It's sunny Il fait du soleil

C'è il sole

18:15 Il est dix-huit heures et quart

Sono le diciotto e un cuarto

It's windy Il fait du vent

Tira vento

7:45

Il est huit heures moins le quart

Sono le otto meno un quarto

It's cool Il fait frais Fa fresco

15:30 Il est quinze heures et demie

Sono le quindici e mezzo

It's bad Il fait mauvais

Fa brutto tempo

noon midi mezzogiorno It's foggy Il fait du brouillard

C'è la nebbia

midnight minuit mezzanotte It's cloudy Il fait nuageux

È nuvoloso

exactly précise in punto It's stormy Il fait orageux

Il tempo è burrascoso

in the morning

du matin di mattina It's raining Il pleut Piove

in the afternoon

de l'après-midi

del pomeriggio It's snowing Il neige Nevica

in the evening

du soir di sera It's freezing Il gèle Fa un freddo gelido

English French Italian English French Italian

afternoon l'après-midi (m)

il pomeriggio sunrise le lever du soleil

il levar del sole

century le siècle il secolo sunset le coucher du soleil

il tramonto

dawn l'aube l'alba time le temps il tempo

day le jour il giorno today aujourd'hui oggi

daybreak le point du jour

la spuntar del giorno

tomorrow demain domani

dusk la tombée de la nuit

il far della notte week la semaine la settimana

evening le soir la sera year l'an (m) l'anno

fortnight la quinzaine la quindicina yesterday hier ieri

holiday la fête la festa last, dernier (ère) ultimo

previous

hour l'heure (f) l'ora next prochain(e) prossimo

half hour une demi-heure

una mezz'ora north nord nord

quarter hour

un quart d'heure

un quarto d'ora south sud sud

hour and half

une heure et demi

un'ora e mezzo east est est

leap year l'année bissextile

l'anno bisestile west ouest ovest

midnight la minuit la mezzanotte northeast nord-est nord-est

minute la minute il minuto northwest nord-ouest nord-ovest

month le mois il mese southeast sud-est sud-est

morning la matin la mattina southwest sud-ouest sud-ovest

night la nuit la notte to/on the left

à gauche a sinistra

noon le midi il mezzogiorno to/on the right

à droite a destra

season la saison la stagione straight tout droit sempre diritto

second la seconde il secondo

COLORS & SHAPES

English French Italian English French Italian

red rouge rosso (-a) square le carré il quadrato

pink rose rosa circle le cercle il cerchio

orange orange arancione triangle le triangle il triangolo

yellow jaune giallo (-a) rectangle le rectangle il rettangolo

green vert(e) verde oval l'ovale l'ovale

blue bleu(e) azzurro (-a)

box la boîte la scatola

purple lila / violet(te)

viola sphere la sphère la sfera

brown brun(e) / marron

marrone cube le cube il cubo

black noir(e) nero (-a) pyramid la pyramide la piramide

white blanc(he) bianco (-a)

cone le cône il cono

gray gris(e) grigio (-a) cylinder le cylindre il cilindro

silver argenté(e) argento (- heart le cœur il cuore

a)

gold dor oro (-a) star l'étoile (f) la stella

diamond le diamant il diamante

crescent le croissant la mezzaluna

Remember that colors are adjectives and they are placed after the noun they modify. In French, add -e to form the feminine; in Italian, change the final -o to -a. Adjectives that already end in -e do not change for the feminine in either language. Adjectives that end in -a (such as lila or viola) tend to be invariable and do not change at all, not even for the plural.

FAMILY

family la famille la famiglia stepson le beau-fils il figliastro

mother la mère la madre stepsister la belle-sœur

la sorellastra

mom maman mamma stepbrother le beau-frère

il fratellastro

father le père il padre half-sister la demi-sœur

la sorellastra

dad papa papà half-brother le demi-frère

il fratellastro

parents les parents i genitori mother-in-law la belle-mère

la suocera

daughter la fille la figlia father-in-law le beau-père

il suocero

son le fils il figlio daughter-in-law

la belle-fille la nuora

children les enfants i figli son-in-law le gendre il genero

sister la sœur la sorella sister-in-law la belle-sœur

la cognata

brother le frère il fratello brother-in-law

le beau-frère

il cognato

wife la femme / l'épouse

la sposa godmother la marraine la madrina

husband le mari / l'époux

lo sposo godfather le parrain il padrino

grandmother la grand-mère

la nonna girl la jeune fille la ragazza

grandfather le grand-père

il nonno boy le garçon il ragazzo

grandparents les grands- i nonni baby le bébé il bambino

parents

granddaughter la petite-fille

la nipote woman la femme la donna

grandson le petit-fils il nipote man l'homme l'uomo

grandchildren les petits-enfants

i nipoti adult l'adulte l'adulto

cousin (f) la cousine la cugina relatives les parents i parenti

cousin (m) le cousin il cugino twins les jumeaux i gemelli

aunt la tante la zia birth la naissance

la nascita

uncle l'oncle lo zio death la mort la morte

niece la nièce la nipote marriage le mariage il matrimonio

nephew le neveu il nipote divorce le divorce il divorzio

stepmother la belle-mère

la matrigna

single célibataire celibe / nubile

stepfather le beau-père

il patrigno married marié(e) sposato (-a)

stepdaughter la belle-fille la figliastra divorced divorcé(e) divorziato (-a)

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES & PRONOUNS

Possessive Adjectives

French Italian French Italian French Italian French Italian

adjective + noun

masculine singular

masculine plural

feminine singular

feminine plural

my mon il mio mes i miei ma la mia mes le mie

your (s) ton il tuo tes i tuoi ta la tua tes le tue

his / her son il suo ses i suoi sa la sua ses le sue

our notre il nostro nos i nostri notre la nostra

nos le nostre

your (pl) votre il vostro vos i vostri votre la vostra vos le vostre

their leur il loro leurs i loro leur la loro leurs le loro

In Italian, you must always use the definite article before the possessive adjective, except with singular family members that are not modified in any way. However, loro is invariable and always preceded by the definite article. In both languages, you generally use the definite article instead of a possessive adjective when referring to parts of the body (because it is obvious who they belong to).

In Italian, possessive adjectives (which precede nouns) and possessive pronouns (which take the place of nouns) have the same form. However, in French, there are different words for the possessive pronouns.

Possessive Pronouns

French Italian French Italian French Italian French Italian

verb + pronoun

masculine singular

masculine plural feminine singular feminine plural

mine le mien il mio les miens

i miei la mienne

la mia les miennes

le mie

yours (s) le tien il tuo les tiens i tuoi la tienne la tua les tiennes

le tue

his / hers le sien il suo les siens

i suoi la sienne

la sua les siennes

le sue

ours le nôtre

il nostro

les nôtres

i nostri

la nôtre la nostra

les nôtres le nostre

yours (pl) le vôtre

il vostro

les vôtres

i vostri

la vôtre la vostra

les vôtres le vostre

theirs le leur il loro les leurs i loro la leur la loro les leurs le loro

Remember that the forms for her/hers in Italian can also be capitalized and use for the singular formal your/yours: il Suo / i Suoi / la Sua / le Sue.

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French & Italian Comparative Tutorial II: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously

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ADJECTIVES: GENDER & NUMBER

Adjectives are placed after the noun they describe in French and Italian, though there are a few common adjectives that are placed before the noun (adjectives of beauty, age, goodness and size). They also must agree in gender and number with the noun. Most of the rules for changing gender and number in both languages are the same for adjectives as they are for nouns.

Gender In French, add -e to the masculine adjective to form the feminine. If the masculine adjective already ends in -e, then add nothing (the masculine and feminine forms are the same). There are several other rules for forming feminine adjectives inFrench: -x changes to -se, -il, -el, and -eil change to -ille, -elle, and -eille, -et changes to -ète, -en and -on change to -enne and -onne, -er changes to -ère, -f changes to -ve, -c changes to -che, -g changes to -gue, -eur changes to -euse if adjective is derived from verb, -eur changes to -rice if adjective is not same as verb, -eur changes to -eure with adjectives of comparison. Three common adjectives are irregular, and generally precede the noun: beau - belle (beautiful); nouveau - nouvelle (new); vieux - vieille (old). These three adjectives also have an alternate form that is used before masculine adjectives that begin with a vowel: bel, nouvel, vieil.

In Italian, masculine adjectives change -o to -a for the feminine. Adjectives that end in -e can be masculine or feminine.

Number In French, add -s to a singular adjective to form the plural, unless it already ends in -s, -x, or -z (adjectives ending in these letters are the same in the singular and plural).

In Italian, singular masculine adjectives change -o to -i and singular feminine adjectives change -a to -e to form the plural. Adjectives ending in -e (regardless of gender) change to -i for the plural. Same as for nouns, adjectives ending in -ca, -go, -ca, and -ga add an -h before the plural ending. Adjectives that end with -io can either change to -ii in the plural (if the i of -io is stressed), or to -i (if the i of -io is not stressed).

In both languages, when an adjective describes more than one noun of different genders, the adjective will be masculine plural. Mes amis et mes amies sont tous italiens. / I miei amici e le mie amiche sono tutti italiani. My male friends and my female friends are all Italian. However, in Italian, the adjective can also agree with the noun that is closest to it.

nice gentil / gentille gentile ugly laid/e brutto/a

mean méchant/e meschino/a open ouvert/e aperto/a

great / large grand/e grande closed fermé/e chiuso/a

small petit/e piccolo/a wide large largo/a

long long/ue lungo/a narrow étroit/e stretto/a

short (length) court/e corto/a hot chaud/e caldo/a

tall grand/e alto/a cold froid/e freddo/a

short (height) petit/e basso/a dirty sale sporco/a

new nouveau / nouvelle

nuovo/a clean propre pulito/a

young jeune giovane quiet tranquille zitto/a

old vieux / vieille vecchio/a loud bruyant/e rumoroso/a

first premier / première

primo/a thin maigre magro/a

next prochain/e prossimo/a big / fat gros / grosse grasso/a

last dernier / dernière

ultimo/a empty vide vuoto/a

same même stesso/a full plein/e pieno/a

different différent/e differente slow lent/e lento/a

good bon / bonne buono/a fast vide veloce

bad mauvais/e cattivo/a happy content/e felice

beautiful beau / belle bello/a sad triste triste

Remember for adjectives, you add -e to form the feminine in French; while in Italian, you change -o to -a.

VERBS: COME, GO

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

venir / venire - to come

viens vengo venais venivo viendrai verrò

viens vieni venais venivi viendras verrai

vient viene venait veniva viendra verrà

venons veniamo venions venivamo viendrons verremo

venez venite veniez venivate viendrez verrete

viennent vengono venaient venivano viendront verranno

aller / andare - to go

vais vado allais andavo irai andrò

vas vai allais andavi iras andrai

va va allait andava ira andrà

allons andiamo allions andavamo irons andremo

allez andate alliez andavate irez andrete

vont vanno allaient andavono iront andranno

Aller and andare can both be used to indicate the future, as does go in English: to be going to + infinitive. In French, aller is followed directly by the infinitive, but in Italian, the preposition a is placed between andare and the infinitive.

Je vais partir. / Vado a partire. I'm going to leave.

ASKING QUESTIONS

Yes / No Questions

The easiest way to form yes/no questions in both languages is to add n'est-ce pas to the end of French statements andnon è vero to the end of Italian statements. These phrases are similar to the tags that English adds to the end of questions, and therefore there are several translations into English.

Tu es une étudiante, n'est-ce pas ? / Sei una studentessa, non è vero? You're a student, aren't you?

You can also change the word order to form yes/no questions. In French, you invert the subject and verb and write them together with a hypen. If the verb ends in a vowel, you must add -t- between the verb and subject for ease of pronunciation. And if there is a subject other than the subject pronoun, you leave the subject at the beginning and invert the subject pronoun and verb. In Italian, you simply add a question mark to the end of the sentence and raise the intonation of your voice. Or if there is a subject, you can move it to the end of the sentence.

Parlez-vous allemand ? / Parlate tedesco? Do you speak German? Le garçon a-t-il faim ? / Ha fame, il ragazzo? Is the boy hungry?

Another way to form yes/no questions in French involves adding est-ce que before the statement: Est-ce que vous parlez allemand ? You can also simply add a question mark and raise the intonation of your voice to form questions inFrench, but this is informal and not advised in writing: Vous parlez allemand ?

Interrogative Questions

For questions that begin with wh- words or phrases in English, you use question word + inversion of subject and verb inFrench and simply the question word + verb in Italian. You can also use question word + est-ce que + subject + verb inFrench if you do not want to use inversion. A third, and informal, way of forming wh- questions in French is to use the question word + subject + verb (no est-ce que and no inversion).

Quelle heure est-il ? / Che ore sono? What time is it?

NEGATIVES

In French, ne and pas are placed around the verb to make the phrase negative. (In everyday spoken French, ne is often dropped, but it must always be written). In Italian, non is placed before the verb.

Il n'est pas triste. / Non è triste. He is not sad. Tu n'es pas parti ? / Non è partito? You haven't left? Je ne joue pas au foot. / Non gioco a calcio. I don't play soccer.

Other negatives use two words in both languages. Ne or non is placed before the verb, and the other word is placed after. Unlike English, it is possible to use two negative words in a sentence.

English French Italian

never ne...jamais non...mai

no longer, no more ne...plus non...più

nothing ne...rien non...niente

nobody ne...personne non...nessuno

neither...nor ne...ni...ni non...nè...nè

WORK & SCHOOL

English French Italian English French Italian

actor l'acteur l'attore lawyer l'avocat l'avvocato

actress l'actrice l'attrice mechanic le mécanicien il meccanico

author l'écrivain l'autore musician le musicien il/ la musicista

baker le boulanger il fornaio nurse l'infirmière l'infermiera

bookseller le libraire il libraio optician l'opticien l'ottico

businessman le commerçant

il commerciante

painter le peintre il pittore

butcher le boucher il macellaio pharmacist le chimiste il chimico

clerk le vendeur il commesso photographer le photographe

il fotografo

cook le cuisinier il cuoco policeman l'agent de police

la guardia

customer le client il cliente postman le facteur il

portalettere

dentist le dentiste il dentista priest le curé il prete

doctor le médecin / docteur

il medico / dottore

publisher l'éditeur l'editore

employee l'employé l'impiegato shoemaker le cordonnier il calzolaio

engineer l'ingénieur l'ingegnere singer le chanteur il cantante

fisherman le pêcheur il pescatore soldier le soldat il soldato

gardener le jardinier il giardiniere student l'étudiant lo studente

hairdresser le coiffeur il parrucchiere surgeon le chirurgien il chirurgo

jeweler le bijoutier il gioielliere teacher l'instituteur il maestro

journalist le journaliste il giornalista typist le dactylographe

il dattilografo

judge le juge il giudice workman l'ouvrier l'operaio

English French Italian English French Italian

accounting le comptabilité

la ragioneria

history l'histoire (f) la storia

architecture

l'architecture l'architettura

law le droit la giurisprudenza

art l'art l'arte (f) linguistics le linguistique la linguistica

astronomy l'astronomie l'astronomia literature la littérature le lettere

biology la biologie la biologia mathematics

les mathématiques

la matematica

business les commerces

il commercio

medicine la médecine la medicina

chemistry la chimie la chimica music la musique la musica

computer science

l'informatique

l'informatica philosophy la philosophie la filosofia

earth science

la science de la terra

la scienza della terra

physical education

l'éducation physique

l'educazione fisica

economics l'économie l'economia physics la physique la fisica

engineering

l'ingénieur l'ingegneria political science

la science politique

le scienze politiche

foreign languages

les langues étrangères

la lingua straniera

psychology la pyschologie la psicologia

geography la géographie

la geografia science la science la scienza

geometry la géométrie la geometria sociology la sociologie la sociologia

In the French school system, foreign languages is referred to as les langues vivantes (living languages).

COUNTRIES & NATIONALITIES

English French Italian English French Italian

Africa l'Afrique (f) l'Africa Indonesia l'Indonésie (f) l'Indonesia

African africain/e africano/a Indonesian indonésien/ne indonesiano/a

Albania l'Albanie l'Albania Ireland l'Irlande (f) l'Irlanda

Albanian albanais/e albanese Irishman irlandais/e irlandese

America l'Amérique (f)

l'America Israel l'Israël l'Israele

American américain/e americano/a

Israeli israélien israeliano/a

Argentina l'Argentine (f)

l'Argentina Italy l'Italie (f) l'Italia

Argentine argentin/e argentino/a Italian italien/ne italiano/a

Asia l'Asie (f) l'Asia Japan le Japon il Giappone

Asian asiatique asiatico/a Japanese japonais/e giapponese

Australia l'Australie (f)

l'Australia Latvia la Lettonie la Lettonia

Australian

australien/ne

australiano/a

Latvian letton/ne lettone

Austria l'Autriche (f) l'Austria Lithuania la Lituanie la Lituania

Austrian autrichien/ne

austriaco/a Lithuanian lituanien/ne lituano/a

Belgian belge belga Luxembourger

luxembourgeois/e

lussemburghese

Belgium la Belgique il Belgio Luxembourg le Luxembourg il Lussemburgo

Bosnia la Bosnie la Bosnia Macedonia la Macédoine la Macedonia

Bosnian bosniaque bosniaco/a Macedonian macédonien/ne macedone

Brazil le Brésil il Brasile Malta Malte (f) Malta (f)

Brazilian brésilien/ne brasiliano/a Maltese maltais/e maltese

British brittanique britannico/a Netherlands les Pays Bas i Paesi Bassi

Bulgaria la Bulgarie la Bulgaria Dutch néerlandais/e olandese

Bulgarian bulgare bulgaro/a New Zealand la Nouvelle-Zélande

la Nuova Zelanda

Canada le Canada il Canada New Zealander

néo-zélandais/e neozelandese

Canadian canadien/ne canadese Norway la Norvège la Norvegia

China la Chine la Cina Norwegian norvégien/ne norvegese

Chinese chinois/e cinese Poland la Pologne la Polonia

Croatia la Croatie la Croazia Polish polonais/e polacco/a

Croatian croate croato/a Portuguese portugais/e portoghese

Czech tchèque ceco/a Portugal le Portugal il Portogallo

Czech Republic

la République Tchèque

la Repubblica Ceca

Romanian roumain/e romeno/a

Danish danois/e danese Romania la Roumanie la Romania

Denmark le Danemark

la Danimarca

Russia la Russie la Russia

Egypt l'Egypte (f) l'Egitto Russian russe russo/a

Egyptian égyptien/e egiziano/a Scotland l'Ecosse la Scozia

England l'Angleterre (f)

l'Inghilterra Scottish écossais/e scozzese

English anglais/e inglese Serbia la Serbie la Serbia

Estonia l'Estonie l'Estonia Serbian serbe serbo/a

Estonian estonien/ne estone Slovakia la Slovaquie la Slovacchia

Europe l'Europe (f) l'Europa Slovak slovaque slovacco/a

European

européen/ne

europeo/a Slovenia la Slovénie la Slovenia

Finland la Finlande la Finlandia Slovene slovène sloveno/a

Finnish finnois/e finlandese Spain l'Espagne (f) la Spagna

France la France la Francia Spanish espagnol/e spagnolo/a

French français/e francese Swedish suédois/e svedese

German allemand/e tedesco/a Sweden la Suède la Svezia

Germany l'Allemagne (f)

la Germania Switzerland la Suisse la Svizzera

Great Britain

la Grande-Bretagne

la Gran Bretagna

Swiss suisse svizzero/a

Greece la Grèce la Grecia Turkey la Turquie la Turchia

Greek grec/grecque

greco/a Turk turc/turcque turco/a

Hungarian

hongrois/e ungherese Ukrainian ukrainien/ne ucraino/a

Hungary la Hongrie l'Ungheria Ukraine l'Ukraine l'Ucraina

Iceland l'Islande l'Islanda United Kingdom

la Royaume-Uni il Regno Unito

Icelandic islandais/e islandese United States les Etats-Unis gli Stati Uniti

India l'Inde l'India Wales le Pays-de-Galles

Galles

Indian indien/ne indiano/a Welsh gallois/e gallese

The article is not used with Malta in either language.

PREPOSITIONS & CONTRACTIONS

Prepositions are highly idiomatic in any language, so it is always better to learn them in common phrases. Nevertheless, here are the most common prepositions:

English French Italian

to, in, at à a

in, to en / dans in

on sur su

with avec con

without sans senza

for pour per

from, by de da

of de di

over / above au-dessus sopra

under / below au-dessous sotto

in front of devant dietro

behind derrière di fronte a

near près de vicino a

far loin de lontano a

In both languages, possession is shown by using de or di (of) rather than the - 's in English:

le chat de Luca / il gatto di Luca Luca's cat (or the cat of Luca)

In French à and de combine with the definite articles: à + le = au, à + les = aux, de + le = du, de + les = des. Italian has several more contractions involving prepositions and articles:

il lo l' la i gli le

a al allo all' alla ai agli alle

da dal dallo dall' dalla dai dagli dalle

di del dello dell' della dei degli delle

in nel nello nell' nella nei negli nelle

su sul sullo sull' sulla sui sugli sulle

con col collo coll' colla coi cogli colle

Usually no article is used with in before words denoting rooms in a house or buildings in a city. The contractions with conare rarely used nowadays, but you will see them in older writings.

VERBS: KNOW

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

savoir / sapere - to know facts

sais so savais sapevo saurai saprò

sais sai savais sapevi sauras saprai

sait sa savait sapeva saura saprà

savons sappiamo savions sapevamo saurons sapremo

savez sapete saviez sapevate saurez saprete

savent sanno savaient sapevano sauront sapranno

connaître / conoscere - to know people, places; to be acquainted with

connais conosco connaissais

conoscevo connaîtrai

conoscerò

connais conosci connaissais

conoscevi connaîtras

conoscerai

connaît conosce connaissait conosceva connaîtra conoscerà

connaissons

conosciamo

connaissions

conoscevamo

connaîtrons

conosceremo

connaissez

conoscete

connaissiez

conoscevate

connaîtrez

conoscerete

connaissent

conoscono

connaissaient

conoscevano

connaîtront

conosceranno

FOOD & MEALS

English French Italian English French Italian

bacon le bacon il lardo lunch le déjeuner il pranzo

beef le bœuf il manzo meal le repas il pasto

beer la bière la birra meat la viande la carne

beverage la boisson la bevanda milk le lait il latte

biscuit le biscuit il biscotto mustard la moutarde

la mostarda

bread le pain il pane mutton le mouton la carne di montone

breakfast le petit déjeuner

la colazione oil l'huile (f) l'olio

butter le beurre il burro omelet l'omelette (f)

la frittata

cake la gâteau la torta pepper le poivre il pepe

candy le bonbon la caramella pie la tarte la torta

cheese le fromage il formaggio pork le porc il maiale

chicken le poulet il pollo rice le riz il riso

chocolate le chocolat il cioccolato roast le rôti l'arrosto

coffee le café il caffè roll le petit pain

il panino

cookie le biscuit il biscotto salad la salade l'insalata

cottage cheese

le fromage blanc

la ricotta salami le salami il salame

cotton candy la barbe à papa

lo zucchero filato

salt le sel il sale

cream la crème la panna sauce la sauce la salsa

dessert le dessert la frutta sausage la saucisse la salsiccia

dinner le dîner la cena soup la soupe la minestra

egg l'œuf (m) l'uovo steak le bifteck la bistecca

fat la graisse il grasso stew la ragoût lo stufato

flour la farine la farina sugar le sucre lo zucchero

ham le jambon il prosciutto supper le souper la cena

hamburger le hamburger l'hamburger tea le thé il tè

honey le miel il miele toast le pain grillé

il pane tostato

hot dog le hot-dog l'hot dog veal la veau la carne di vitello

ice la glace il ghiaccio vegetables le légume il legume

ice cream la glace il gelato vinegar le vinaigre l'aceto

jam la confiture la marmellata water l'eau l'acqua

juice le jus il succo wine le vin il vino

lollipop la sucette il leccalecca yogurt le yaourt lo yogurt

VERBS: CAN, WANT, MUST

Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

pouvoir / potere - to be able to, can

peux posso pouvais potevo pourrai potrò

peux puoi pouvais potevi pourras potrai

peut può pouvait poteva pourra potrà

pouvons possiamo pouvions potevamo pourrons potremo

pouvez potete pouviez potevate pourrez potrete

peuvent possono pouvaient potevano pourront potranno

vouloir / volere - to want

veux voglio voulais volevo voudrai vorrò

veux vuoi voulais volevi voudras vorrai

veut vuole voulait voleva voudra vorrà

voulons vogliamo voulions volevamo voudrons vorremo

voulez volete vouliez volevate voudrez vorrete

veulent vogliono voulaient volevano voudront vorranno

devoir / dovere - to have to, must

dois devo devais dovevo devrai dovrò

dois devi devais dovevi devras dovrai

doit deve devait doveva devra dovrà

devons dobbiamo devions dovevamo devrons dovremo

devez dovete deviez dovevate devrez dovrete

doivent devono devaient dovevano devront dovranno

FRUITS & VEGETABLES

English French Italian English French Italian

almond l'amande (f) la mandorla lentil la lentille la lenticchia

apple la pomme la mela lettuce la laitue la lattuga

apricot l'abricot (m) l'albicocca lime le citron vert la limetta

artichoke l'artichaut (m) il carciofo melon le melon il melone

asparagus l'asperge (f) l'asparago mint la menthe la menta

avocado l'avocat l'avocado mushroom le champignon il fungo

banana le banane la banana oats l'avoine (f) l'avena

barley l'orge (f) l'orzo olive l'olive (f) l'oliva

bean (broad)

la fève la fava onion l'oignon (m) la cipolla

bean (kidney)

le haricot il fagiolo orange l'orange (f) l'arancia

berry la baie la bacca parsley le persil il prezzemolo

broccoli le brocoli i broccoli pea le petit pois il pisello

cabbage le choux il cavolo peach la pêche la pesca

carrot la carotte la carota pear la poire la pera

cauliflower le chou-fleur il cavolfiore pepper le poivron il peperone

celery le céleri il sedano pine le pin il pino

cherry la cerise la ciliegia pineapple l'ananas (m) l'ananasso

chestnut la châtaigne, le marron

la castagna plum la prune la susina

chives la ciboulette la cipollina potato la pomme de terre

la patata

corn la maïs il granoturco pumpkin le potiron la zucca

cucumber le concombre il cetriolo radish le radis il ravanello

currant la groseille il ribes raspberry la framboise il lampone

cypress le cyprès il cipresso rice le riz il riso

date la datte il dattero rye le seigle la segale

eggplant l'aubergine (f) la melanzana sage la sauge la salvia

fig la figue il fico seed la graine il seme

fruit le fruit la frutta spinach les épinards (m)

gli spinaci

garlic l'ail (m) l'aglio strawberry la fraise la fragola

grapefruit le pamplemousse

il pompelmo tomato la tomate il pomodoro

grapes le raisin l'uva turnip le navet la rapa

hazelnut la noisette la nocciola vine la vigne la vite

herb l'herbe (f) l'erba walnut la noix la noce

horse-radish

le raifort la barbaforte watermelon la pastèque l'anguria

leaf la feuille la foglia wheat le froment il frumento

lemon le citron il limone zucchini le courgette la zucchina

To specify the type of tree that a certain fruit grows on, just make the noun masculine and add -ier to the French fruit / change the last letter of the Italian fruit to -o (sometimes the fruit and the tree will be the same). la pomme / la mela - apple; le pommier / il melo - apple tree

THERE IS, ARE : IL Y A / C'E, CI SONO

Il y a is the French expression for there is or are. C'è is Italian for there is, while ci sono means there are.

il y a une chaise / c'è una sedia there is a chair il y a trois chats / ci sono tre gatti there are three cats

Il y a also means ago in French when it precedes a time period. In Italian, you add fa after the time period.

il y a un mois / un mese fa one month ago

NECESSITY: IL FAUT / BISOGNA, OCCORRE, CI VUOLE

To express necessity, such as must, have to, need (to), require, it's necessary to, etc. French uses il faut + verb or a noun (whether singular or plural). Italian has several more expressions: bisogna + verb; or occorre + verb; occorre + singular noun / occorrono + plural noun; or ci vuole + singular noun / ci vogliono + plural noun. The verbs will always be in the infinitive.

Il faut faire des courses. / Bisogna fare la spesa. You must / It's necessary to go grocery shopping. Il faut acheter du pain. / Occorre comprare pane. You must buy bread. Il faut du lait. / Occorre il latte. We need milk. Il faut des biscuits. / Ci vogliono i biscotti. We need cookies.

PARTITIVE

In French, you must always express some, especially when speaking about food, even though you do not have to do this in English. Partitives are formed by using de (of) + definite article: du, de l', de la and des in the positive; but in the negative, only de or d' are used. The partitive (contractions with di) is not required in Italian. You may use it in positive sentences, but never in negative sentences.

Est-ce que tu prends du vin ou de l'eau ? / Prendi (del) vino o (dell') acqua? Are you having (some) wine or (some) water? J'ai acheté des livres intéressants. / Ho comprato (dei) libri interessanti. I bought (some) interesting books. Je n'ai pas passé de bonnes vacances. / Non ho passato buone vacanze. I didn't have a good vacation.

Go on to French & Italian III →

French & Italian Comparative Tutorial III: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously

VERBS: PRESENT & PAST TENSES

In both languages, there are three types of verbs grouped according to the last letters of the infinitive. In French, there are -er, -re, and -ir verbs; while in Italian, there are -are, -ere, and -ire verbs. The following chart uses aimer/amare (to love);vendre/vendere (to sell); and finir/finire (to finish) as examples for all regular verbs in the present and imperfect tenses.(There is another simple past tense, the preterite, but it is rarely used in modern spoken French or Italian).

French Italian

aimer vendre finir amare vendere finire

Present Tense

aime vends finis amo vendo finisco

aimes vends finis ami vendi finisci

aime vend finit ama vende finisce

aimons vendons finissons amiamo vendiamo finiamo

aimez vendez finissez amate vendete finite

aiment vendent finissent amano vendono finiscono

Imperfect Tense

aimais vendais finissais amavo vendevo finivo

aimais vendais finissais amavi vendevi finivi

aimait vendait finissait amava vendeva finiva

aimions vendions finissions amavamo vendevamo finivamo

aimiez vendiez finissiez amavate vendevate finivate

aimaient vendaient finissaient amavano vendevano finivano

Not all French verbs that end in -ir or all Italian verbs that end in -ire use the above endings. Some -ir / -ire verbs have slightly different endings in the present tense. In French, verbs such as partir, dormir, sortir (to leave, to sleep, to go out) are conjugated thus: for the singular forms, take off the last three letters, and add -s, -s, -t; for the plural forms, take off the last two letters, and add -ons, -ez, -ent. For example, je pars, tu pars, il part, nous partons, vous partez, ils partent. In Italian, verbs such as partire, dormire, aprire (to leave, to sleep, to open) are conjugated without the -isc- before the regular endings. For example, parto, parti, parte, partiamo, partite, partono.

Regular Verbs

to like, love aimer amare to sell vendre vendere

to sing chanter cantare to wait for attendre aspettare

to look for chercher cercare to listen écouter ascoltare

to begin commencer cominciare to lose perdre perdere

to study étudier studiare to answer répondre (à) rispondere (a)

to close fermer chiudere to go down descendre scendere

to live habiter abitare to live vivre vivere

to play jouer giocare to understand comprendre capire

to eat manger mangiare to finish finir finire

to show montrer mostrare to choose choisir scegliere

to speak parler parlare to punish punir punire

to think penser pensare to fill remplir riempire

to work travailler lavorare to obey obéir (à) ubbidire (a)

to find trouver trovare to succeed réussir riuscire

to jump sauter saltare to cure, heal guérir guarire

SPELLING CHANGES IN THE PRESENT TENSE

There are a few spelling changes in regular verbs in the present tense. These changes are made to reflect the pronunciation of the conjugated verb.

In French, verbs that end in -ger will use -geons as the first person singular form (nous mangeons); while verbs that end in -cer will use -çons as the first person singular form (nous commençons). Verbs that end in -yer change the y to i in all forms except nous and vous (j'essaie, tu essaies, nous essayons). Some verbs add an accent grave to the letter e to all forms except nous and vous (j'achète, il achète, vous achetez). Some verbs double the consonant before the verb endings in all forms except nous and vous (tu appelle, elle appelle, vous appelez).

In Italian, verbs ending in -care and -gare add an h before the -i of the second person singular and first person pluralforms (tu and noi). Verbs ending in -ciare and -giare do not add an extra -i before the tu and noi forms.

IRREGULAR IMPERFECT VERBS

In French, there is only one verb in the imperfect that is irregular, être. It uses the stem ét- and the regular imperfect endings.

être

étais étions

étais étiez

était étaient

In Italian, the stem of essere becomes er- for io, tu, lui/lei and loro, and it does not take the v, while the stem for noi and voi is era- and it does take the v. The stems for bere, dire and fare are derived from the old Latin infinitives, and arebeve-, dice-, and face-. They also take the regular endings of the imperfect.

essere bere dire fare

ero eravamo bevevo bevevamo dicevo dicevamo facevo facevamo

eri eravate bevevi bevevate dicevi dicevate facevi facevate

era erano beveva bevevano diceva dicevano faceva facevano

PRONOMINAL VERBS

Pronominal verbs are conjugated like regular verbs, but have an extra pronoun before them that agrees with the subject of the verb. Most of these verbs indicate a reflexive action - that reflects back on the subject. You can translate the pronouns as myself, yourself, etc. but we rarely use these words in English. Some other verbs indicate a reciprocal action, translated by each other in English.

myself me mi

yourself te ti

himself/herself/itself se si

ourselves nous ci

yourselves vous vi

themselves se si

Reflexive verbs

to break (arm, leg, etc.)

se casser rompersi to fall asleep s'endormir addormentarsi

to hurry se dépêcher sbrigarsi to get dressed

s'habiller vestirsi

to relax se détendre rilassarsi to get married

se marier sposarsi

to rest se reposer riposarsi to get up se lever alzarsi

to get along s'entendre avec

intendersi con

to have a good time

s'amuser divertirsi

to train/practice s'entraîner allenarsi to remember to

se souvenir de

ricordarsi di

to be interested in

s'intéresser à

interessarsi di

to shave (the face)

se raser farsi la barba

to be bored s'ennuyer annoiarsi to stop (oneself)

s'arrêter fermarsi

to be called s'appeler chiamarsi to wake up se réveiller svegliarsi

to complain about

se plaindre lamentarsi di

to wash up se laver lavarsi

Notice in French that the reflexive pronoun precedes the infinitive, whereas in Italian, it is connected to the end of the infinitive.

When conjugating verbs, the reflexive pronoun is always placed before the conjugated verb in both languages. However, in sentences where the pronominal verb remains in the infinitive, the reflexive pronoun must agree with the subject of the main verb in the sentence.

Nous nous levons à 8h chaque matin. / Ci alziamo alla 8 ogni mattina. We get up at 8 am every morning. Il s'appelle Michael. / Si chiama Michael. He's called Michael. Vous allez vous amuser ce soir. / Andate a divertirvi stasera. You're going to have fun tonight.

ETRE SUR LE POINT DE / STARE PER + INFINITIVE

If you want to express to be about to do something, French uses être sur le point de + infinitive and Italian uses stare per + infinitive. You can use these expressions in the present and imperfect, just as in English.

J'étais sur le point de réussir. / Stavo per riuscire. I was about to succeed. On est sur le point de manger. / Stiamo per mangiare. We're about to eat. Vous êtes sur le point de finir. / State per finire. You are about to finish.

ETRE EN TRAIN DE / STARE + GERUND

To translate that an action is currently happening (the progressive form in English: be + gerund), French uses the phraseêtre en train de + infinitive, while Italian uses stare + gerund. Remember that être and stare can be conjugated in other tenses besides the present or imperfect. To form the gerund in Italian, just replace the verb endings: -are becomes-ando, -ere becomes -endo, and -ire also becomes -endo. There are three irregular forms: fare - facendo, dire -dicendo, bere - bevendo.

Je suis en train de lire. / Sto leggendo. I am reading. / I'm busy reading. / I'm in the middle of reading. Il était en train de parler. / Stava parlando. He was talking. Elles sont en train de partir. / Stanno partendo. They are leaving.

ON / SI

To translate you, we, they, the people (in general, abstract terms), French uses on + 3rd person singular conjugationwhereas Italian uses si + 3rd person conjugation (which agrees with the subject for number). However, on in French is a regular subject pronoun while si is not in Italian. It is actually a reflexive pronoun normally used with pronominal verbs. But this should not cause many problems as you rarely use the subject pronouns in Italian anyway. The subject for the Italian expression is placed after the verb and the verb agrees with it - singular or plural.

En France, on boit beaucoup de café. / In Francia, si beve molto caffè. In France, they drink a lot of coffee. / In France, a lot of coffee is drunk. En Italie, on mange beaucoup de glaces. / In Italia, si mangiano molti gelati. In Italy, they eat a lot of ice cream. / In Italy, a lot of ice cream is eaten.

French uses this same construction (reflexive pronoun + 3rd person conjugation) for the impersonal form and as a subsitute for the passive mood. For example, in the French Le pain s'achète à la boulangerie the verb is constructed the same as in the Italian Al panificio si compra il pane. It's just the word order that is slightly different. Both sentences mean Bread is bought at the bakery, but the French construction is not used as often because active expressions withon are more common: On achète le pain à la boulangerie.

PLAIRE / PIACERE

Because the verbs aimer and amare means to like and to love, it would be better to use the verbs plaire and piacere when talking about things that you like. The construction of these verbs can be confusing though because the word order is

different from English. In French, the word order is subject + indirect pronoun + plaire. In Italian, the word order is indirect pronoun + piacere + subject. You can think of these verbs as meaning to please rather than to like. Note that the verbs are only conjugated for third person singular and plural, because they agree with the subjects, and not the indirect pronouns.

Le football me plaît. Mi piace il calcio. I like soccer.

Le ski te plaît. Ti piace lo sci. You like skiing.

Les pommes lui plaisent.

Gli / Le piacciono le mele.

He / she likes apples.

Le sport nous plaît. Ci piace lo sport. We like sports.

Les films vous plaisent. Vi piacciono i film. You like films.

La natation leur plaît. A loro piace il nuoto. They like swimming.

VERBS: IMPERATIVE

The imperative is the command form of the verb. The subject (you) is implied and doesn't need to be expressed. You can also use the we form of verbs to express Let's... The imperative conjugations are very similar to the present tense conjugations in both languages.

Imperatives in French are slightly easier to form. The you singular form is identical to the tu conjugations, except -er verbs drop the -s. The you singular formal / you plural and we forms are identical to the vous and nous conjugations. To form the negative of an imperative, just place ne before the verb and pas after. For pronominal verbs, the affirmative imperative is formed connecting the reflexive pronoun to the verb with a hyphen (te becomes toi in imperatives). To form the negative pronominal imperative, the reflexive pronoun is once again placed before the verb and ne is placed before the pronoun and verb, and pas is placed after the verb.

Reste là. Stay there. Finis ton travail. Finish your work. Ecoutez le professeur. Listen to the teacher. Commençons. Let's begin. Ne fume pas. Don't smoke. Ne parlez pas. Don't speak. Dépêche-toi. Hurry. Ne vous levez pas. Don't get up.

Italian imperatives are not quite as similar to the present tense conjugations. The you singular form is -a for -are verbs and -i for -ere/-ire verbs. The you singular formal (the Lei form) is the opposite: -i for -are verbs and -a for -ere/-ire verbs. The you plural and we forms are identical to the voi and noi conjugations (just as in French). To make a command negative, just add non before the verb; except for you singular imperatives, where you use non + the infinitive. Pronominal verbs form the imperative by placing the reflexive pronoun after the verb, and they are written together as one word. Negative imperatives for pronominal verbs just add non before the verb; except for you singular pronominal verbs, which use non + the infinitive. However, the reflexive pronoun attached to this infinitive must still agree with the subject, so it will be -ti and not -si.

Resta lì. Stay there. Finisci il tuo lavoro. Finish your work. Ascoltate il professore. Listen to the teacher. Cominciamo. Let's begin. Non fumare. Don't smoke. Non parlate. Don't speak. Sbrigati. Hurry. Non alzatevi. Don't get up.

French Irregular

Imperatives Italian Irregular Imperatives

être avoir savoir andare venire fare dare dire essere

avere stare

you singular

sois aie sache va' vieni fa' da' di' sii abbi sta'

you sing. formal

soyez ayez sachez

vada venga faccia dia dica sia abbia stia

you plural

soyez ayez sachez

andate venite fate date dite siate abbiate

state

Let's…

soyons

ayons

sachons

andiamo

veniamo

facciamo

diamo

diciamo

siamo

abbiamo

stiamo

In Italian, dare is to give and dire is to tell.

VERBS: PRESENT PERFECT / PAST PERFECT TENSES

The perfect tenses in French and Italian are formed with to have or to be as auxiliary verbs and a past participle. (In English, to have is always the auxiliary verb.) To have or to be are in the present tense for the present perfect, and in the imperfect tense for the past perfect. The majority of verbs will use to have as the auxiliary verb; however, all prononimal/reflexive verbs in both languages use to be as the auxiliary. To form the past participle of a verb, use the following endings:

French Italian

-er / -are

-é -ato

-ir / -ire

-i -ito

-re / -ere

-u -uto

Verbs using to have (avoir/avere) as an auxiliary Verbs that can take a direct object use to have as an auxiliary. Word order is simply present/imperfect form of have + past participle. In the negative, word order becomes ne + present/imperfect of have + pas + past participle for French, and non + present/imperfect of have + past participle for Italian. There is no agreement with the past participle in gender or number unless there is a preceding

direct object. Follow the same rules for agreement as you do with nouns and adjectives: add -e for feminine and -s for plural in French; change -o to -a for feminine, -o to -i for masculine plural, and -o to -e for feminine plural in Italian.

French Italian English

Positive Tu as mangé la pomme.

Hai mangiato la mela.

You ate the apple.

Negative Tu n'as pas mangé la pomme.

Non hai mangiato la mela.

You didn't eat the apple.

Preceding Direct Object

Tu ne l'as pas mangée. Non la hai mangiata.

You didn't eat it.

Verbs using to be (être/essere) as an auxiliary Verbs that cannot take a direct object (i.e. intransitive verbs), as well as all pronominal verbs, generally use to be as an auxiliary. Word order is present/imperfect form of be + past participle for intransitive verbs and reflexive pronoun + present/imperfect form of be + past participle for prononimal verbs. In the negative, word order becomes ne + reflexive pronoun + present/imperfect of be + pas + past participle for French, and non + reflexive pronoun + present/imperfect of be + past participle for Italian. The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject for all verbs using to be as an auxiliary.

French Italian English

Positive Elle est allée à la poste. E andata alla posta.

She went to the post office.

Negative Elle n'est pas allée à la poste.

Non è andata alla posta.

She didn't go to the post office.

Positive Pronominal

Nous nous sommes lavé(e)s.

Ci siamo lavati/e.

We washed ourselves.

Negative Pronominal

Nous ne nous sommes pas lavé(e)s.

Non ci siamo lavati/e.

We didn't wash ourselves.

The verbs that require to be (être) as an auxiliary in French are: aller-to go, sortir-to go out, venir-to come, mourir-to die, arriver-to arrive, partir-to leave, devenir-to become, monter-to go up, entrer-to enter, tomber-to fall, revenir-to come back, rester-to stay, rentrer-to return home, retourner-to return, naître-to be born, passer-to go by (pass),descendre-to go down. Only a few of these verbs have irregular past participles: venir-venu, devenir-devenu, revenir-revenu, mourir-mort, and naître-né. And five of these verbs (monter, descendre, sortir, rentrer, andpasser) can sometimes be conjugated with avoir if they are followed by a direct object.

Some verbs that require to be (essere) as an auxiliary in Italian are: arrivare-to arrive, andare-to go, uscire-to go out,entrare-to enter, costare-to cost, venire-to come, essere-to be, partire-to leave, stare-to stay/be, sparire-to disappear, tornare-to come back, nascere-to be born, morire-to die. Five of these verbs have irregular past participles: venire-venuto, essere-stato, stare-stato, nascere-nato, and morire-morto.

Note that avoir and être both use avoir as an auxiliary in French, but that avere uses avere and essere uses essere as an auxiliary in Italian! And

remember that the past participle agrees with a preceding direct object when the auxiliary is to have; but the past participle agrees with the subject when the auxiliary is to be.

VENIR DE / APPENA

To express that something has just happened, use a form of venir + de + infinitive in French, and a form of the correct auxiliary verb + appena + past participle in Italian.

Le train vient de partir. / Il treno è appena partito. The train just left.

HOUSE & FURNITURE

English French Italian English French Italian

alarm clock

le réveil la sveglia hook le crochet l'uncino

armchair le fauteuil la poltrona house la maison la casa

ashtray le cendrier il portacenere iron (flat) le fer á repasser

il ferro da stiro

attic le grenier la soffitta kerosene le pétrole il petrolio

balcony le balcon il balcone key la clef la chiave

basement le sous-sol il sottosuolo kitchen la cuisine la cucina

basket la corbeille la cesta ladder l'échelle (f) la scala

bathroom le bain il bagno lamp la lampe la lampada

bathtub la baignoire la vasca da bagno

lawn la pelouse il prato

batteries la pile le pile light bulb l'ampoule la lampadina

bed le lit il letto living room

le living il soggiorno

bedroom la chambre la camera lock la serrure la serratura

bell (door) la sonnette il campanello mailbox la boîte á lettres

la cassetta postale

blanket la couverture la coperta matches les allumettes i fiammiferi

blinds le store la persiana mattress le matelas il materasso

bookcase le bibliothèque

la libreria microwave oven

le four á micro-ondes

il forno microonde

box la boître la scatola mirror le miroir lo specchio

broom le balai la scopa oven le four il fornello

bucket le seau il secchio pantry le garde-manger

la dispensa

camcorder

la caméra la telecamera picture le tableau il quadro

camera l'appareil-photo (m)

la macchina fotografica

pillow l'oreiller (m) il cuscino

candle la bougie la candela pipe la pipe la pipa

carpet le tapis il tappeto pipe (water)

le tuyau il condotto

cassette la cassette la cassetta poker le tisonnier l'attizzatoio

CD player la lecteur de CD

il lettore CD radio le radio la radio

ceiling le plafond il soffito record le disque il disco

chair la chaise la sedia refrigerator

le réfrigerateur

il frigorifero

chimney la cheminée il camino roof le toit il tetto

cigar le cigare il sigaro room la pièce la stanza

cigarette la cigarette la sigaretta rug le tapis il tappeto

clock la pendule l'orologio sheet le drap il lenzuolo

closet le placard l'armadio shelf l'étagère lo scaffale

compact disc

le CD il compact disc

shovel la pelle la pala

computer l'ordinateur (m)

il computer shower la douche la doccia

corner le coin l'angolo sideboard le buffet la credenza

cupboard l'armoire (f) l'armadio sink l'évier il lavandino

curtain le rideau la cortina / tenda

sink (bathroom)

le lavabo il lavandino

cushion le coussin il cuscino sitting room

le salon il salotto

desk le bureau la scrivania smoke la fumée il fumo

dining room

la salle á manger

la sala da pranzo

sofa le canapé il sofà

door la porte la porta stairs l'escalier (m) la scala

drawer le tiroir il cassetto steps les marches lo scalino

dresser la commode il comò story l'étage (m) il piano

driveway l'allée il viale d'accesso

stove le poêle la stufa

DVD player

le lecteur de DVD

il lettore DVD study le cabinet de travail

lo studio

fence le portail / clôture

lo steccato switch le commutateur

l'interruttore

film la pellicule il rullino table la table la tavola

fire le feu il fuoco tap (faucet)

le robinet il rubinetto

flame la flamme la fiamma telephone le téléphone il telefono

flashlight la lampe de poche

la pila tascabile

television la télévision il televisore

flat l'appartement (m)

l'appartamento

toaster le grille-pain il tostapane

floor la plancher il pavimento toilet (WC) le cabinet il gabinetto

floor (levels)

l'étage (m) il piano towel la serviette la salvietta

flower la fleur il fiore vacuum cleaner

l'aspirateur (m)

l'aspiratore (m)

freezer la congélateur

il congelatore vase le vase il vaso

front walk la promenade

la passeggiata VCR la magnétoscope

il videoregistratore

furniture les meubles (m)

i mobili wall (house)

le mur il muro

garage le garage il garage wall (room)

la paroi la parete

garden le jardin il giardino window la fenêtre la finestra

ground floor

le rez-de-chaussée

il pianterreno yard le jardin il giardino

hearth la cheminée il caminetto

BUILDINGS & MATERIALS

English French Italian English French Italian

airport l'aéroport l'aeroporto port le port il porto

bakery la boulangerie la panetteria prison la prison la prigione

bank le banc la banca restaurant le restaurant il ristorante

bar le bar il bar road le chemin / la route

il cammino / la via

barn le grange il granaio school l'école la scuola

barracks la caserne la caserma sidewalk le trottoir il marciapiede

bench le banc la panchina square la place la piazza

bridge le pont il ponte stable l'écurie (f) la stalla

bookstore le librairie la libreria stadium le stade lo stadio

building le bâtiment l'edificio stop sign le stop lo stop

butcher's la boucherie la macelleria store le magasin il negozio

castle le château il castello street la rue la strada

cathedral la cathédrale il duomo suburb la banlieue il sobborgo

cemetery le cimetière il cimitero theater le théâtre il teatro

church l'église la chiesa tower la tour la torre

cinema le cinéma il cinema town la ville la città

consulate le consulat il consolato town hall la mairie il municipio

corner le coin l'angolo traffic light

le feu de circulation

il semaforo

courtyard la cour il cortile university l'université l'università (f)

crosswalk le passage pour piétons

il passaggio pedonale

village le village il villaggio

dock le bassin il bacino alloy l'alliage (m) la lega

dry cleaner's

le pressing la tintoria brass le laiton l'ottone (m)

embassy l'ambassade (f)

l'ambasciata brick la brique il mattone

factory l'usine (f) la fabbrica cement le ciment il cemento

farm la ferme la fattoria chalk la craie la creta

fire hydrant

la bouche à incendie

l'idrante clay l'argile (f) l'argilla

fountain la fontaine la fontana coal le charbon il carbone

garage le garage il garage concrete le béton il calcestruzzo

grocery store

l'épicerie la drogheria copper le cuivre il rame

hospital l'hôpital (m) l'ospedale (m) cork le liège il sughero

hotel l'hotel l'albergo (m) glass le verre il vetro

house la maison la casa gold l'or (m) l'oro

hut la hutte la capanna iron le fer il ferro

inn l'auberge (f) l'osteria lead le plomb il piombo

lane / alley la ruelle il vicolo leather le cuir il cuoio

library la bibliothèque la biblioteca lime la chaux la calce

market le marché il mercato marble le marbre il marmo

ministry le ministère il ministero mercury le mercure il mercurio

monument le monument il monumento metal le métal il metallo

museum le musée il museo rubber le caoutchouc

la gomma

palace le palais il palazzo silver l'argent (m) l'argento

path le sentier il sentiero steel l'acier (m) l'acciaio

pavement le trottoir il marciapiede stone la pierre la pietra

pharmacy la pharmacie la farmacia tar le goudron il catrame

pier la jetée il molo tin l'étain (m) lo stagno

police station

le commisariat il commissariato

wood le bois il legno

Go on to French & Italian IV →

French & Italian Comparative Tutorial IV: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously

COMPARATIVES / SUPERLATIVES

Comparatives of Superiority, Inferiority, and Egality

English French Italian

more ... than plus ... que / plus de ... que più ... che / più ... di

less ... than moins .... que / moins de... que meno ... che / meno ... di

as ... as aussi ... que / autant de ... que così... come / tanto ... quanto

French comparatives are less complicated than Italian comparatives. Plus... que, moins... que, and aussi... que are used with adjectives, while plus de... que, moins de... que and autant de... que are used with nouns. In Italian, più...che and meno... che are used when comparing two qualities of the same thing, and with adjectives, verbs or adverbs; while più... di and meno... di are used when comparing two different things. Così... come and tanto... quanto are used interchangeably with adjectives, but tanto...quanto can also compare two quantities (in which case, the words agree in gender and number with the noun they describe).

Marc a plus d'amis que d'amies. / Marco ha più amici che amiche. Mark has more male friends than female friends. Paul est plus grand que Franco. / Paolo è più alto di Franco. Paul is taller than Frank. Paris est aussi belle que Rome. / Parigi è così bella come Roma. Paris is as beautiful as Rome.

Superlatives

Use the correct form of the definite article if using an adjective, or just the masculine singular form if using an adverb, andplus / moins or più / meno. The preposition de / di (plus contractions, if needed) means in with all superlatives.

If the adjective follows the noun, you must repeat the definite article before the superlative form in French, but not in Italian.

C'est la ville la plus riche d'Italie. / È la città più ricca d'Italia. It's the richest city in Italy.

Irregular Forms

English French Italian

adjective - comparative - superlative

good - better - best bon - meilleur/e - le/la meilleur/e

buono - migliore - il/la migliore

bad - worse - worst mauvais - pire - le/la pire cattivo - peggio - il/la peggiore

little - less - least petit - moindre - le/la moindre piccolo - minore - il/la minimo

adverb - comparative - superlative

well - better - best bien - mieux - le mieux bene - meglio - il meglio

badly - worse - worst

mal - pis - le pis male - peggio - il peggio

little - less - least peu - moins - le moins poco - meno - il meno

much - more - most beaucoup - plus - le plus molto - più - il più

CLOTHING & TOILETRIES

English French Italian English French Italian

apron le tablier il grembiale silk la soie la seta

barrette la barrette il fermaglio skirt la jupe la gonna

bathrobe le peignoir l'accappatoio sleeve la manche la manica

belt la ceinture la cintura slippers les pantoufles

la pantofola

blouse le chemisier la camicetta soap le savon il sapone

boot la botte lo stivale sock les chaussettes

il calzino

bra le soutien-gorge

il reggiseno stocking le bas la calza

bracelet le bracelet il braccialetto suit (men / women)

le costume / le tailleur

l'abito / il vestito

brush la brosse la spazzola per capelli

sunglasses les lunettes de soleil

gli occhiali da sole

buckle la boucie la fibbia suspenders les bretelles le bretelle

button le bouton il bottone sweater le pull-over il maglione

cap la casquette il berretto swimsuit le maillot de bain

il costume da bagno

clothes les vêtements

i vestiti thread le fil il filo

coat le manteau il cappotto tie la cravate la cravatta

collar le col il colletto T-shirt le t-shirt la maglietta

comb le peigne il pettine umbrella le parapluie l'ombrello

contact lens les lentilles (f)

le lenti a contatto

underwear les sous-vêtements

le mutandine

cotton le coton il cotone waistcoat le gilet il panciotto

dress la robe il vestito watch la montre l'orologio

earmuffs le cache-oreilles

il paraorecchie

wool la laine la lana

earrings la boucle d'oreille

l'orecchino toothbrush la brosse à dents

lo spazzolino

fashion la mode la moda toothpaste le dentifrice il dentifricio

glasses les lunettes gli occhiali makeup le maquillage

il trucco

glove les gants il guanto lipstick le rouge il rossetto

handbag le sac à main la borsa nail polish le vernis à ongles

lo smalto per unghie

handkerchief

le mouchoir il fazzoletto nail polish remover

le dissolvant

l'acetone (m)

hat le chapeau il cappello mascara le mascara il mascara

jacket la veste / le blouson

la giacca blush le blush il fard

jeans le jean jeans eyeliner l'eyeliner lo spazzolino per unghie

mittens les moufles le manopole eyeshadow l'ombre à paupière

l'ombretto

necklace le collier la collana foundation le fond de teint

il fondotinta

needle l'aiguille (f) l'ago lotion la lotion la lozione

nightgown la chemise de nuit

la camicia da notte

shampoo le shampooing

lo sciampo

outfit l'ensemble il corredo conditioner l'après-shampooing

il balsamo

overcoat le pardessus il soprabito shaving cream

la mousse à raser

la crema da barba

pajamas le pyjama il pigiama razor le rasoir il rasoio

pants le pantalon i pantaloni tweezers les pinces à épiler

le pinzette

pin l'épingle (f) lo spillo nail clippers le coupe-ongles

le forbicine

pocket la poche la tasca nail file la lime la lima

purse la bourse la borsetta floss le fil dentaire

il filo interdentale

raincoat l'imperméable

l'impermeable

curling iron le fer à friser

il ferro arricciacapelli

ribbon le ruban il nastro straightening iron

le lisseur la piastra stiracapelli

ring la bague l'anello hairspray la laque la lacca

sandals les sandales i sandali hairdryer le sèche-cheveux

l'asciugacapelli

scarf l'écharpe la sciarpa powder la poudre la polvere

shirt la chemise la maglia perfume le parfum il profumo

shoe la chaussure la scarpa cologne le cologne la colonia

shoelace le lacet il laccio suntan lotion

la lotion solaire

l'emulsione solare

shorts le short i pantaloncini sponge l'éponge (f) la spugna

VERBS: OTHER COMMON IRREGULAR VERBS

Other irregular verbs to memorize in French in the present tense:

mettre - to wear vivre - to live lire - to read dire - to say voir - to see

mets vis lis dis vois

mets vis lis dis vois

met vit lit dit voit

mettons vivons lisons disons voyons

mettez vivez lisez dites voyez

mettent vivent lisent disent voient

croire - to believe écrire - to write recevoir - to receive

suivre - to follow mourir - to die

crois écris reçois suis meurs

crois écris reçois suis meurs

croit écrit reçoit suit meurt

croyons écrivons recevons suivons mourons

croyez écrivez recevez suivez mourez

croient écrivent reçoivent suivent meurent

Other irregular verbs to memorize in Italian in the present tense:

dare - to give bere - to drink dire - to say, tell salire - to go up uscire - to go out

do bevo dico salgo esco

dai bevi dici sali esci

dà beve dice sale esce

diamo beviamo diciamo saliamo usciamo

date bevete dite salite uscite

danno bevono dicono salgono escono

HUMAN BODY

English French Italian English French Italian

ankle la cheville la caviglia mouth la bouche la bocca

arm le bras il braccio muscle le muscle il muscolo

artery l'artère l'arteria nail l'ongle (m) l'unghia

back le dos il dorso neck le cou il collo

beard la barbe la barba nerve le nerf il nervo

belly le ventre il ventre pain la douleur il dolore

bladder la vessie la vescica nose le nez il naso

blood le sang il sangue palm la paume la palma

body le corps il corpo pulse le pouls il polso

bone l'os (m) l'osso rib la côte la costola

brain la cervelle il cervello shin / tibia

le tibia la tibia

breast le sein il seno shoulder l'épaule (f) la spalla

breath la haleine l'alito skeleton le squelette lo scheletro

calf le mollet il polpaccio skin la peau la pelle

cheek la joue la guancia skull le crâne il cranio

chest la poitrine il petto sole la plante la pianta

chin le menton il mento spine l'épine dorsale (f)

la spina dorsale

coccyx le coccyx il coccige stomach l'estomac (m) lo stomaco

cold le rhume il raffreddore tear la larme la lacrima

complexion le teint la carnagione temple la tempe la tempia

cough la toux la tosse thigh la cuisse la coscia

disease la maladie la malattia throat la gorge la gola

ear l'oreille (f) l'orecchio thumb le pouce il pollice

elbow la coude il gomito toe l'orteil (m) il dito del piede

eye l'œil l'occhio tongue la langue la lingua

eyebrow le sourcil il sopracciglio tooth la dent il dente

eyelid la paupière la palpebra vein la veine la vena

face le visage / la figure

la faccia / il viso

wound la blessure la ferita

fever la fièvre la febbre waist la taille la vita

finger le doigt il dito wrist le poignet il polso

fist le poing il pugno

flesh la chair la carne see voir vedere

foot le pied il piede hear entendre udire

forehead le front la fronte smell sentir annusare

gum la gencive la gengiva taste goûter assaggiare

hair les cheveux i capelli touch toucher toccare

hand la main la mano

head la tête la testa enamel l'émail lo smalto

headache le mal de tête il mal di testa filling le plombage l'otturazione

health la santé la salute crown la couronne la corona

heart le cœur il cuore gum la gencive la gengiva

heel le talon il tallone bone l'os l'osso

hip la hanche l'anca root la racine la radice

intestine l'intestin (m) l'intestino nerve la nerf il nervo

jaw la mâchoire la mascella iris l'iris l'iride

kidney le rein il rene cornea la cornée la cornea

knee le genou il ginocchio pupil la pupille la pupilla

leg la jambe la gamba retina la rétine la retina

lip la lèvre il labbro optic nerve

le nerf optique

il nervo ottico

liver la foie il fegato lens le cristallin la lente

lung le poumon il polmone

moustache la moustache i baffi

VERBS: FUTURE / CONDITIONAL TENSES

Rather than using auxiliary verbs before the infinitive to form the future and conditional tenses (will and would in English), French and Italian add different endings to the infinitives. There are several irregular stems, but these stems are used to form both the future and conditional tenses.

You must drop -e from -re verbs in French and drop -e from all infinitives in Italian, as well as change -ar to -er, before adding the endings. For example, you add the endings to parler-, partir-, and prendr- in French and to parler-, partir-, and prender- in Italian.

Endings for Future and Conditional Tenses for all verbs

Future Conditional

French Italian French Italian

-ai -ò -ais -ei

-as -ai -ais -esti

-a -à -ait -ebbe

-ons -emo -ions -emmo

-ez -ete -iez -este

-ont -anno -aient -ebbero

Irregular Stems for Future and Conditional

French Stems Italian Stems

aller ir- avere avr-

avoir aur- andare andr-

courir courr- bere berr-

devoir devr- cadere cadr-

envoyer enverr- dare dar-

être ser- dovere dovr-

faire fer- essere sar-

falloir faudr- fare far-

mourir mourr- porre porr-

pleuvoir pleuvr- potere potr-

pouvoir pourr- rimanere rimarr-

recevoir recevr- sapere sapr-

savoir saur- stare star-

tenir tiendr- tenere terr-

valoir vaudr- tradurre tradurr-

venir viendr- vedere vedr-

voir verr- venire verr-

vouloir voudr- volere vorr-

For the past future and past conditional tenses, you use the future or conditional of the auxiliary verb (to have or to be) + past participle.

Future Tense Conditional Tense Future Tense Conditional Tense

avoir avere avoir avere être essere être essere

aurai avrò aurais avrei serai sarò serais sarei

auras avrai aurais avresti seras sarai serais saresti

aura avrà aurait avrebbe sera sarà serait sarebbe

aurons avremo aurions avremmo serons saremo serions saremmo

aurez avrete auriez avreste serez sarete seriez sareste

auront avranno auraient avrebbero seront saranno seraient sarebbero

Agreement of Tenses

Clauses beginning with if (si / se) require different tenses in French and Italian.

In French, if is followed by the present tense, and the verb in the following clause is in the future tense. In Italian, both verbs must be in the future tense:

Si j'ai le temps, je viendrai chez toi. / Se avrò il tempo, verrò a casa tua. If I have the time, I will go to your place.

The conditional is used after if in both languages; however, if the verb in the main clause is in a past tense, then the Italian verb in the subordinate clause must be in the past conditional. French can use either the present or past conditional in this case.

Je ne sais pas s'il pourrait le faire. / Non so se lo potrebbe fare. I don't know if he would be able to do it.

Je savais que tu ne viendrais pas / Sapevo che non saresti venuto. I knew that you wouldn't come.

VERBS: WOULD, COULD, SHOULD

The conditional tenses are used in translating would, could, and should in both French and Italian. Would is slightly different from the others in that would + main verb is one word and would have + main verb is only two words, thanks to the Romance languages conjugation patterns. I have used the verb do (faire / fare) as an example below, but remember that sometimes you may need to use essere as the

auxiliary instead of avere in Italian depending on what the main verb is. (Using avere as the auxiliary for all verbs is acceptable in conversational or colloquial Italian.) In addition, for could have and should have, I've listed the formation as conditional of have + past participle instead of past conditional to make it easier to remember that three different words are needed. For example, conditional of avoir + pu is the same as past conditional of pouvoir. Also notice for could have and should have that the past participle is used in English (done), while the infinitive is used in French and Italian (faire / fare).

English French Italian

WOULD + infinitive conditional of verb conditional of verb

I would do je ferais farei

you would do tu ferais faresti

he would do il ferait farebbe

we would do nous ferions faremmo

you would do vous feriez fareste

they would do ils feraient farebbero

WOULD HAVE + past participle

conditional of avoir + past participle of verb

conditional of avere + past participle of verb

I would have done j'aurais fait avrei fatto

you would have done tu aurais fait avresti fatto

he would have done il aurait fait avrebbe fatto

we would have done nous aurions fait avremmo fatto

you would have done vous auriez fait avreste fatto

they would have done ils auraient fait avrebbero fatto

COULD + infinitive conditional of pouvoir + infinitive

conditional of potere + infinitive

I could do je pourrais faire potrei fare

you could do tu pourrais faire potresti fare

he could do il pourrait faire potrebbe fare

we could do nous pourrions faire potremmo fare

you could do vous pourriez faire potreste fare

they could do ils pourraient faire potrebbero fare

COULD HAVE + past participle

conditional of avoir + pu + infinitive

conditional of avere + potuto + infinitive

I could have done j'aurais pu faire avrei potuto fare

you could have done tu aurais pu faire avresti potuto fare

he could have done il aurait pu faire avrebbe potuto fare

we could have done nous aurions pu faire avremmo potuto fare

you could have done vous auriez pu faire avreste potuto fare

they could have done ils auraient pu faire avrebbero potuto fare

SHOULD + infinitive conditional of devoir + infinitive

conditional of dovere + infinitive

I should do je devrais faire dovrei fare

you should do tu devrais faire dovresti fare

he should do il devrait faire dovrebbe fare

we should do nous devrions faire dovremmo fare

you should do vous devriez faire dovreste fare

they should do ils devraient faire dovrebbero fare

SHOULD HAVE + past participle

conditional of avoir + dû + infinitive

conditional of avere + dovuto + infinitive

I should have done j'aurais dû faire avrei dovuto fare

you should have done tu aurais dû faire avresti dovuto fare

he should have done il aurait dû faire avrebbe dovuto fare

we should have done nous aurions dû faire avremmo dovuto fare

you should have done vous auriez dû faire avreste dovuto fare

they should have done ils auraient dû faire avrebbero dovuto fare

Y & EN / CI & NE

Y and ci are pronouns used to replace a prepositional phrase beginning with any preposition except de / di, and they translate as it or there in English.

J'y pense. / Ci penso. I'm thinking about it. J'y suis allé. / Ci sono andato. I went there. N'y pense pas. / Non pensarci. Don't think about it.

En and ne are pronouns used to replace a prepositional phrase beginning with de / di, da or to replace the noun following a number, and they translate as about it/them or of it/them in English.

J'en ai quatre. / Ne ho quattro. I have four (of them). Parles-en. / Parlane. Talk about it. Je n'en doute pas. / Non ne dubito. I don't doubt it.

In French, y and en are placed before a conjugated verb and between a conjugated verb and infinitive, but after an imperative (and connected to it by a

hypen). In Italian, ci and ne are placed before a conjugated verb, but after an imperative, infinitive or gerund (and they are written together as one word).

VERBS: SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

Present Subjunctive of Regular Verbs

Add these endings to the ils/elles present tense stem of French (ils boivent; boiv-) and the regular verb stem (parlare; parl-) in Italian:

French Italian

all verbs -are -ere / -ire 2nd -

ire

-e -i -a -isca

-es -i -a -isca

-e -i -a -isca

-ions -iamo -iamo -iamo

-iez -iate -iate -iate

-ent -ino -ano -iscano

Present Subjunctive of Common Verbs

All of the following Italian verbs are irregular, but only a few of the French verbs are considered irregular. Notice that in both languages, if the verb has a stem change in the subjunctive, it is usually only the singular forms and the third person plural that is affected.

French Italian French Italian French Italian French Italian

être essere / stare

avoir avere faire fare aller andare

sois sia / stia aie abbia fasse faccia aille vada

sois sia / stia aies abbia fasses faccia ailles vada

soit sia / stia ait abbia fasse faccia aille vada

soyons siamo / stiamo

ayons abbiamo fassions facciamo allions andiamo

soyez siate / stiate

ayez abbiate fassiez facciate alliez andiate

soient siano / stiano

aient abbiano fassent facciano aillent vadano

venir venire vouloir volere pouvoir potere devoir dovere

vienne venga veuille voglia puisse possa doive debba

viennes venga veuilles voglia puisses possa doives debba

vienne venga veuille voglia puisse possa doive debba

venions veniamo voulions vogliamo puissions possiamo devions dobbiamo

veniez veniate vouliez vogliate puissiez possiate deviez dobbiate

viennent vengano veuillent vogliano puissent possano doivent debbano

savoir sapere boire bere dire dire donner dare

sache sappia boive beva dise dica donne dia

saches sappia boives beva dises dica donnes dia

sache sappia boive beva dise dica donne dia

sachions sappiamo buvions beviamo disions diciamo donnions diamo

sachiez sappiate buviez beviate disiez diciate donniez diate

sachent sappiano boivent bevano disent dicano donnent diano

sortir uscire poser porre rester rimanere monter salire*

sorte esca pose ponga reste rimanga monte salga

sortes esca poses ponga restes rimanga montes salga

sorte esca pose ponga reste rimanga monte salga

sortions usciamo posions poniamo restions rimaniamo montions saliamo

sortiez usciate posiez poniate restiez rimaniate montiez saliate

sortent escano posent pongano restent rimangano montent salgano

* The verb scegliere in Italian follows this same pattern.

Some impersonal verbs in French have irregular subjunctive forms: pleuvoir - il pleuve, falloir - il faille, valoir - il vaille

Uses of Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood must be used in subordinate clauses when the verb in the dependent clause expresses want, wish, doubt, fear, necessity, feelings, etc. for both French and Italian.

Italian also requires the subjunctive after verbs of hope and opinion, while French uses the indicative after these verbs (however, verbs of opinion in the negative or interrogative do in fact use the subjunctive in French).

Je veux que Paul me réponde. / Voglio che Paolo mi risponda. I want Paul to answer me. Il faut que Giacomo visite le centre. / Bisogna che Giacomo visiti il centro. Giacomo must visit the center. Je suis triste qu'il parte. / Sono triste che lui parta. I'm sad that he's leaving. Je pense qu'elle comprend l'allemand. / Penso che lei capisca il tedesco. I think that she understands German.

The subjunctive must also be used after certain impersonal phrases and conjunctions:

il est (im)possible que / è (im)possibile che it's (im)possible that il est probable que / è probabile che it's probable that il est utile que / è utile che it's useful that il est juste que / è giusto che it's right that il suffit que / basta che it's enough that bien que / benché, sebbene, nonostante although

pourvu que, à condition que / purché, a condizione che, a patto che provided that afin que / affinché so that pour que / perché in order that à moins que / a meno che unless sans que / senza che without avant que / prima che before

The imperfect subjunctive is rarely used nowadays in French, but it is still very common in Italian.

Imperfect Subjunctive of Regular Verbs

French uses the il/elle form of the simple past to form the stem for the imperfect subjunctive; while Italian uses the regular stem.

French Italian

all verbs -are -ere -ire

-sse -assi -essi -issi

-sses -assi -essi -issi

-^t -asse -esse -isse

-ssions -assimo -essimo -issimo

-ssiez -aste -este -iste

-ssent -assero -assero -issero

The third person singular in French should also add a circonflexe accent over the vowel that occurs before the t.

Imperfect Subjunctive of Irregular Verbs

Verbs that are irregular in the imperfect indicative are also irregular in the imperfect subjunctive in Italian.

essere avere bere dare dire fare stare

fossi avessi bevessi dessi dicessi facessi stessi

fossi avessi bevessi dessi dicessi facessi stessi

fosse avesse bevesse desse dicesse facesse stesse

fossimo avessimo bevessimo dessimo dicessimo facessimo stessimo

foste aveste beveste deste diceste faceste steste

fossero avessero bevessero dessero dicessero facessero stessero

Agreement of tenses is stricter in Italian, so you must use the imperfect sujunctive in a subordinate clause if the dependent clause is in a past indicative or conditional tense. Furthermore, the imperfect subjunctive is required in Italian after come se (as if) and se (if) in hypothetical sentences (with verbs that require the subjunctive); whereas the imperfect indicative is used in French.

Il parle comme s'il était italien. / Parla come se fosse italiano. He speaks as if he were Italian.

Si j'étais riche, j'achèterais un palais. / Se fossi ricco, comprerei un palazzo. If I were rich, I would buy a palace. J'ai pensé qu'il me comprenait. / Ho pensato che lui mi capisse. I thought that he understood me.

ANIMALS & INSECTS

English French Italian English French Italian

animal l'animal (m) l'animale (m)

lark l'alouette (f) l'allodola

ant la fourmi la formica lion le lion il leone

antelope l'antilope l'antilope (f) lizard le lézard la lucertola

antenna l'antenne l'antenna lobster (spiny)

la langouste l'aragosta

antler la ramure le corna louse le pou il pidocchio

badger le badger il tasso mackerel la maquereau lo sgombro

bat la chauve-souris

il pipistrello mole la taupe la talpa

beak le bec il becco monkey le singe la scimmia

bear l'ours (m) l'orso mosquito la moustique la zanzara

bee l'abeille (f) l'ape (f) moth le papillon de nuit

la falena

beetle la scarabée lo scarabeo mouse la souris il topo

bird l'oiseau (m) l'uccello mule le mulet il mulo

blackbird le merle il merlo mussel la moule il pidocchio

bull le taureau il toro nest le nid il nido

butterfly le papillon la farfalla nightingale le rossignol l'usignolo

calf le veau il vitello octopus la pieuvre il polpo

carp la carpe la carpa ostrich l'autruche lo struzzo

cat le chat il gatto owl le hibou il gufo

caterpillar le chenille il bruco ox le bœuf il bue

cheetah le guépard il ghepardo oyster l'huître (f) l'ostrica

chicken le poulet il pollo parrot le perroquet il pappagallo

chimpanzee le chimpanzé

lo scimpanzé

partridge la perdrix la pernice

claw la griffe l'artiglio paw la patte la zampa

cockroach le cafard lo scarafaggio

penguin le pingouin il pinguino

cod la morue il merluzzo pig le cochon il porco

cocoon le cocon il bozzolo pigeon le pigeon il piccione

cow la vache la vacca pike le brochet il luccio

crab le crabe il granchio pony le poney il pony

crayfish l'écrevisse (f)

il gambero rabbit le lapin il coniglio

crocodile le crocodile il coccodrillo

raccoon le raton laveur il procione

crow le corbeau il corvo rat le rat il ratto / il sorcio

deer le cerf il cervo rooster le coq il gallo

dog le chien il cane salmon le saumon il salmone

donkey l'âne (m) l'asino scale l'écaille (f) la squama

dragonfly la libellule la libellula scorpion le scorpion lo scorpione

duck le canard l'anitra sea gull la mouette il gabbiano

eagle l'aigle (m) l'aquila seahorse l'hippocampe (m)

il cavalluccio marino

eel l'anguille (f) l'anguilla seal le phoque la foca

egg l'œuf l'uovo shark le requin lo squalo

elephant l'éléphant (m)

l'elefante (m)

sheep la mouton la pecora

feather la plume la penna shrimp la crevette il gamberetto / il gambero

fin la nageoire la pinna skin le peau la pelle

fish le poisson il pesce slug la limace la lumaca

flea la puce la pulce snail l'escargot (m) la chiocciola

fly la mouche la mosca snake le serpent / la couleuvre

il serpente / la biscia

fox le renard la volpe sole la sole la sogliola

frog la grenouille

il ranocchio sparrow le moineau il passero

fur la fourrure la pelliccia spider l'araignée (f) il ragno

gill la branchie la branchia squid le calmar il calamaro

giraffe la girafe la giraffa squirrel l'écureuil (m) la scoiattolo

goat la chèvre la capra starfish l'étoile de mer la stella di mare

goose l'oie (f) l'oca stork la cigogne la cicogna

gorilla le gorille il gorilla swallow l'hirondelle (f) la rondine

grasshopper la sauterelle la cavalletta swan le cygne il cigno

hamster le hamster il criceto tadpole le têtard il girino

hare le lièvre la lepre tail la queue la coda

hedgehog le hérisson il riccio tiger le tigre la tigre

hen la poule la gallina toad le crapaud il rospo

heron le héron l'airone (m) trout la truite la trota

herring la hareng l'aringa tuna le thon il tonno

hoof le sabot lo zoccolo turkey le dindon il tacchino

horn la corne il corno turtle la tortue la tartaruga

horse le cheval il cavallo wasp la guêpe la vespa

hummingbird le colibri il colibrì weasel la belette la donnola

iguana l'iguane l'iguana whale la baleine la balena

insect l'insecte (m) l'insetto wing l'aile (f) l'ala

jellyfish la méduse la medusa wolf le loup il lupo

kitten le chaton il gattino worm le ver il verme

ladybug la coccinelle

la coccinella

zebra le zèbre la zebra

lamb l'agneau (m)

l'agnello

NATURE & GEOGRAPHY

English French Italian English French Italian

air l'air (m) l'aria (f) rain la pluie la pioggia

archipelago l'archipel l'arcipelago (m)

rainbow l'arc-en-ciel (m)

l'arcobaleno (m)

bank la rive la riva river la fleuve il fiume

bay la baie la baia rock le rocher lo scoglio

barn la grange la stalla root la racine la radice

beach la plage la spiaggia rose la rose la rosa

branch la branche il ramo sand le sable la sabbia

bridge le pont il ponte sea la mer il mare

bud le bouton il bocciolo shadow l'ombre (f) l'ombra

bush le buisson l'arbusto (m) sky le ciel il cielo

cape le cap il capo / promontorio

snow la neige la neve

cave la caverne la caverna soil la terre il terreno

city la ville la città south le sud il sud

climate le climat il clima spring (water) la source la sorgente

cloud le nuage la nube / nuvola

star l'étoile la stella

coast la côte la costa stem la tige il gambo

comet la comète la cometa storm l'orage (f) / la tempête

il temporale

constellation la constellation

la costellazione

strait le détroit lo stretto

country le pays il paese stream le ruisseau il ruscello

country(side)

la campagne la campagna street la rue la strada

current le courant la corrente sun le soleil il sole

daffodil la jonquille il narciso sunflower le tournesol il girasole

daisy la marguerite la margherita thaw la fonte il disgelo

darkness l'obscurité l'oscurità (f) thunder le tonnerre il tuono

desert le désert il deserto tornado la tornade il turbine

dew la rosée la rugiada tree l'arbre l'albero

dust la poussière la polvere trunk le tronc il tronco

earth la terre la terra tulip la tulipe il tulipano

east l'est (m) l'est (m) valley la vallée la valle

farm la ferme la tenuta view la vue la vista

field le champ il campo water l'eau (f) l'acqua

flower la blume il fiore fresh water l'eau douce l'acqua dolce

foam l'écume (f) la schiuma salt water l'eau salée l'acqua salata

fog le brouillard la nebbia watering can l'arrosoir l'annaffiatoio

foliage le feuillage il fogliame waterfall la cascade la cascata

forest la forêt il bosco / la foresta

wave la vague / l'onde (f)

l'onda (f)

frost la gelée il gelo weather le temps il tempo

grass l'herbe (f) l'erba (f) west l'ouest (m) l'ovest (m)

gulf la golfe il golfo wind le vent il vento

hail la grêle la grandine world le monde il mondo

hay le foin il fieno

high tide la marée haute

l'alta marea North Pole le pôle Nord il Polo Nord

hill la colline la collina South Pole le pôle Sud il Polo Sud

ice la glace il ghiaccio Northern Hemisphere

l'hémisphère nord

l'emisfero settentrionale

island I'île (f) I'isola (f) Soutern Hemisphere

l'hémisphère sud

l'emisfero meridionale

isthmus l'isthme l'istmo (m) Arctic Circle la cercle polaire

il circolo polare artico

jungle la jungle la giungla equator l'équateur (m)

l'equatore (m)

lake le lac il lago Arctic Ocean l'océan Arctique

l'Oceano Artico

leaf la feuille la foglia Atlantic Ocean

l'océan Atlantique

l'Oceano Atlantico

light la lumière la luce Pacific Ocean l'océan Pacifique

l'Oceano Pacifico

lightning l'éclair (m) il fulmine / Indian Ocean l'océan l'Oceano

lampo Indien Indiano

lily le lis il giglio Caribbean Sea

la mer des Antilles

il Mar dei Caraibi

low tide la marée basse

la bassa marea

Mediterranean Sea

la Méditerranée

il Mar Mediterraneo

meadow le pré il prato North Sea la mer du Nord

il Mare del Nord

moon la lune la luna Red Sea la mer Rouge

il Mar Rosso

mountain la montagne la montagna Black Sea la mer Noire il Mar Nero

mountain range

la chaîne de montagnes

la catena montuosa

mouth (river) l'embouchure (f)

l'imboccatura

Mercury Mercure Mercurio

mud la vase il fango Venus Vénus Venere

nature la nature la natura Earth Terre Terra

north le nord il nord Mars Mars Marte

peninsula la péninsule la penisola Jupiter Jupiter Giove

plain la plaine il piano / la pianura

Saturn Saturne Saturno

planet la planète il pianeta Uranus Uranus Uranio

plant la plante la pianta Neptune Neptuno Nettuno

pond l'étang (m) lo stagno Pluto Pluton Plutone

pot (for plants)

le pot à fleurs

il vaso da fiori

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS & ADJECTIVES

English French Italian English French Italian

each chacun ciascuno / ognuno

some quelque alcuno

each / every chaque ogni as much / many

autant de altrettanto

everyone tout le monde tutti other autre altro

everything tout tutto some / certain

certain certo

everywhere partout dappertutto / ovunque

a lot of beaucoup de

molto

someone quelqu'un qualcuno not one / none

aucun nessuno

something quelque chose qualcosa several plusieurs parecchio

somewhere quelque part da qualche few peu de poco /

parte pochi

no one personne nessuno some quelque(s) qualche

nothing rien niente / nulla such a tel tale / tali

nowhere nulle part da nessuna parte

so much/many

tant de tanto

whoever n'importe qui / quiconque

chiunque too much trop de troppo

which/whatever n'importe quel / quelconque

qualunque / qualsiasi

everything tout tutto

wherever n'importe où dovunque various différents vario / vari

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Relative pronouns are slightly easier to learn in Italian than French.

French Italian

who / that (subject) qui che

who / that (object) que che

about which / whom dont di cui

whose dont il/la/i/le cui

from where d'où da cui

preposition + whom prep. + qui prep. + cui

preposition + which prep. + form of lequel prep. + cui

Notice that cui remains invariable at all times; however, when translating whose in Italian, you must change the article before cui to agree with the noun and not the antecedent. Il quale can always replace cui, but it does agree with the gender and number of its antecedent (comparable to how lequel agrees in French). Plus you have to remember to use the prepositional contractions with the article before quale, so in general, it is easier to just use cui in everyday speech. Il quale is preferred in formal writing.

Forms of lequel and il quale

French Italian

masc. sing. lequel il quale

fem. sing. laquelle la quale

masc. plural lesquels i quali

fem. plural lesquelles le quali

Sample Sentences

La fille qui parle est sympathique. La ragazza che parla è simpatica.

The girl who is talking is nice.

La femme que je rencontre s'appelle Lorenza. La donna che incontro si chiama Lorenza.

The woman that I'm meeting is named Lorenza.

Les livres dont je parle sont d'Elsa. I libri di cui parlo sono di Elsa.

The books about which I'm talking are Elsa's.

L'homme dont les cheveux sont blancs est mon grand-père. L'uomo i cui capelli sono bianchi è mio nonno.

The man whose hair is white is my grandfather.

Les personnes à qui je pense sont loin. Le persone a cui penso sono lontane.

The people about whom I'm thinking are far away.

La maison dans laquelle je vis est très grande. La casa in cui vivo è grande. = La casa nella quale vivo è grande.

The house in which I live is very big.

VERBS: PASSIVE VOICE

Only verbs that can take a direct object can be made passive in French and Italian. The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent in the passive sentence (expressed by par in French and da + contractions in Italian), and the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The verb becomes a form of be (in the same tense as in the active sentence) + a past participle, which agrees with the subject of the passive sentence. Remember that you can avoid the passive voice by using on / si as explained earlier (especially for verbs that only take indirect objects). The passive voice is used more often in English than in French or Italian, and it is usually best to avoid it in formal writing.

Active Passive

English

The cat eats the mouse. (present) The cat ate the mouse. (past) The cat has eaten the mouse. (pres. perf.) The cat will eat the mouse. (future)

The mouse is eaten by the cat. The mouse was eaten by the cat. The mouse has been eaten by the cat. The mouse will be eaten by the cat.

French

Le chat mange la souris. Le chat mangeais la souris. Le chat a mangé la souris. Le chat mangera la souris.

La souris est mangée par le chat. La souris étais mangée par le chat. La souris a été mangée par le chat. La souris sera mangée par le chat.

Italian

Il gatto mangia il topo. Il gatto mangiava il topo. Il gatto ha mangiato il topo. Il gatto mangerá il topo.

Il topo é mangiato dal gatto. Il topo era mangiato dal gatto. Il topo é stato mangiato dal gatto. Il topo sará mangiato dal gatto.

FAIRE / FARE CAUSATIVE

You can use the verbs faire / fare + an infinitive to the express the idea of having or getting something done or having or making someone do something (instead of doing it yourself.) If the object of the verb is a noun, it is placed after the infinitive. If it is a pronoun, then it is placed before faire or fare (except for loro, which is always placed after the infinitive).

In the present perfect tense, the past participle does not agree with the preceding direct object as it normally would in French, but it does in Italian.

Je fais réparer la voiture. / Faccio riparare la macchina. I'm having the car fixed. Je la fais réparer. / La faccio riparare. I'm having it fixed.

Je l'ai fait réparer. / La ho fatta riparare. I had it fixed. [No agreement with preceding direct object in French only.]

The reflexive verbs se faire / farsi can also be used in this way when expressing having something done or made for oneself. Remember that être / essere are used as the auxiliary verb in compound tenses.

Je me fais couper les cheveux. / Mi faccio tagliare i capelli. I'm getting my hair cut. Je me suis fait couper les cheveux. / Mi sono fatto tagliare i capelli. I got my hair cut.

Italian only:

When a causative sentence has two objects, the person being made to do something becomes the indirect object. In Italian, the indirect object is introduced by a.

Il maestro fa leggere lo studente. The teacher makes the student read. Il maestro fa leggere la lettura allo studente. The teacher makes the student read the passage.

To avoid ambiguity with the indirect object, the preposition da instead of a can be used. The sentenceAbbiamo fatto mandare il pacco a Maria can mean two things: 1) We had Mary send the package or 2) We had the package sent to Mary. If the first meaning is intended, then da can replace a.

VERBS FOLLOWED BY PREPOSITIONS BEFORE AN INFINITIVE

Many verbs require the prepositions à / a or de / di before an infinitive. In French, de contracts to d' before an infinitive beginning with a vowel. In Italian, a becomes ad before infinitives beginning with a-. Before infinitives beginning with other vowels, either a or ad may be used.

French verbs + à + infinitive Italian verbs + a + infinitive

aider à to help abituarsi a to get used to

apprendre à to learn aiutare a to help

arriver à to manage andare a to be going to

chercher à to look for apprendere a to learn

commencer à to begin aspettare a to wait

consister à to consist cominciare to begin

continuer à to continue consentire a to agree

demander à to ask to continuare a to continue

donner à to give convincere a to convince

encourager à to encourage correre a to run

enseigner à to teach dare a to give

hésiter à to hesitate decidersi a to decide

inciter à to incite divertirsi a to have fun

insister à to insist esitare a to hesitate

inviter à to invite fare bene a to do well

obliger à to force to fare in tempo a to be on time

parvenir à to succeed fare meglio a to be better off

persister à to persist in fare presto a to hurry up

pousser à to push forzare a to force

provoquer à to provoke giocare a to play

renoncer à to give up godere a to enjoy

réussir à to succeed imparare a to learn

s'acharner à to be bent on insegnare a to teach

s'amuser à to have fun invitare a to invite

s'appliquer à to apply oneself to mandare a to send

s'apprêter à to prepare to mettersi a to begin to

s'attacher à to become attached passare a to go on

s'attendre à to expect to pensare a to think of

se décider à to decide persuadere a to persuade

se mettre à to begin to preparare a to prepare

se plaire à to enjoy procedere a to proceed

se préparer à to get ready provare a to try

se refuser à to refuse to restare a to stay

se résigner à to resign oneself to rimanere a to remain

se résoudre à to resolve to rinunciare a to give up

se risquer à to risk ritornare a to come back

s'employer à to use riuscire a to succeed

servir à to be useful for salire a to go up

s'exercer à to practice/learn scendere a to come down

s'habituer à to get used to seguitare a to keep on

s'obstiner à to insist servire a to be good for

songer à to consider stare a to stay, stand

tarder à to be slow to stare attento a to be careful

tendre à to tend to tardare a to be late

tenir à to be anxious to temere a to be afraid to

veiller à to look after tornare a to return

viser à to aim venire a to come to

French verbs + de + infinitive

Italian verbs + di + infinitive

accepter de to accept

accettare di to accept

arrêter de to stop

ammettere di to admit

avoir envie de to feel like

aspettare di to wait for

avoir honte de to be ashamed

aspettarsi di to expect

avoir peur de to be afraid

augurare di to wish

avoir raison de to be right

avere bisogno di to need

avoir tort de to be wrong

avere il piacere di to have the pleasure

cesser de to stop

avere intenzione to intend

di

choisir de to choose

avere paura di to be afraid

conseiller de to advise

avere voglia di to feel like

convenir de to agree upon

avvertire di to warn, caution

craindre de to fear

cercare di to try

décider de to decide

cessare di to cease

défendre de to forbid

chiedere di to ask

demander de to ask

comandare di to command

désespérer de to despair

credere di to believe

dire de to say

decidere di to decide

dissuader de to dissuade

dimenticare di to forget

empêcher de to prevent

dire di to say, tell

entreprendre de to undertake

dispensare di to excuse

envisager de to contemplate

domandare di to ask

essayer de to try

dubitare di to doubt

être heureux de to be happy

fingere di to pretend

être obligé de to be required

finire di to finish

éviter de to avoid

lamentarsi di to complain

finir de to finish

mancare di to lack

interdire de to forbid

minacciare di to threaten

menacer de to threaten

offrire di to offer

négliger de to neglect

ordinare di to order

oublier de to forget

pensare di to plan

permettre de to permit

permettere di to permit

persuader de to persuade

proibire di to prevent, prohibit

prier de to beg

promettere di to promise

promettre de to promise

rendersi conto di to realize

recommander de

to recommend

ricordare di to remember

refuser de to refuse

sapere di to know

regretter de to regret

sbagliare di to make a mistake

remercier de to thank

scrivere di to write

reprocher de to reproach

scusarsi di to apologize

rêver de to dream

smettere di to stop, cease

risquer de to risk

sognare di to dream

se dépêcher de to hurry up

sperare di to hope

se garder de to keep oneself

suggerire di to suggest

s'étonner de to astonish

tentare di to try, attempt

s'excuser de to apologize

tratarre di to bargain

venir de to have just

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