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Victorian School of Languages Distance Education

Year 9 Italian NOTE GRAMMATICALI

(GRAMMAR SUPPLEMENT) This grammar reference accompanies the VSL Year 9 Italian course.

It contains a summary of the grammar rules and language structures introduced in the course, along with examples of their use.

Use this booklet for regular reference and revision.

Indice (Contents) page

1 I sostantivi Nouns 1-2

2 Gli articoli Articles 2-3

3 I verbi Verbs 3-14

4 I pronomi Pronouns 14-16

5 Gli aggettivi possessivi e gli aggettivi dimostrativi

Possessive adjectives and demonstrative adjectives

17-18

6 Le frasi interrogative Questions 18-19

7 I numeri Numbers 19-20

8 Che ora è? Telling the time 20-21

9 I giorni, i mesi, le date, le stagioni Days, months, dates and seasons 22-24

10 Gli aggettivi Adjectives 24-25

11 Le preposizioni Prepositions 26-27

12 I comparativi Comparatives 27

13 I superlativi Superlatives 27

14 Il tu ed il Lei Informal and formal address 28 Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act, reproduction by whatever means is prohibited. However, limited photocopying for classroom use is permitted by educational institutions that have a licence with the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL). Any enquiries should be addressed to the Copyright Officer, Legislative Services, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, GPO Box 4367, Melbourne 3001. © VICTORIAN SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2011 Produced by the Victorian School of Languages (Italian Department)

To contact the Victorian School of Languages Distance Education Section:

Telephone: (03) 9474 0502

Freecall: 1800 675 872

Fax: (03) 9416 8598

Postal Address: 315 Clarendon Street Thornbury 3071

Email: [email protected]

Websites: http://www.vsl.vic.edu.au (administration) http://www.languages.vic.edu.au (course materials)

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Year 9 Italian – Note Grammaticali

1 I sostantivi (Nouns)

1.1 Nouns are words we use to label objects, people, animals, concepts etc. In Italian, all nouns have a gender: they can be either masculine or feminine. The ending of a noun gives us a clue as to its gender.

1.2 Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine.

Esempi: il ragazzo il libro il teatro Carlo 1.3 Nouns ending in -a are normally feminine.

Esempi: la ragazza la macchina l’Italia Stella 1.4 Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine. To be sure of the gender of a

specific noun ending in -e, you need to consult a dictionary or check the article that precedes it.

Esempi: masculine feminine il padre la madre l’esame la televisione

There are many nouns that don’t fit into the categories above. They have irregular

endings. You will just have to learn them as you come across them. But for now, you should concentrate on learning the regular patterns at least.

1.5 The ending of a noun will also tell you if it’s singular (referring to only one person,

thing etc.) or plural (referring to more than one person, thing etc.) Here’s a simple table to help you remember regular noun endings.

singular plural

masculine -o -i

feminine -a -e

masculine or feminine -e -i 1.6 Irregular noun plurals

There are many nouns that don’t fit these categories. They have irregular plural endings. You will just have to learn them as you come across them. For now, you should concentrate on learning at least the regular patterns. However, there a few rules that you should consider.

1.7 You should already be aware that the letters c and g in Italian produce two different

sounds, depending on the vowels that follow them. In most cases, it is important to maintain the same sound in the plural form. Study the following:

The letter c is pronounced:

like ch (soft sound), when followed by the vowels i or e. Esempi: baci, amici. like k (hard sound), when followed by the vowels a, o or u. Esempi: amica, parco.

The letter g is pronounced:

like j (soft sound), when followed by the vowels i or e. Esempi: bugia, gente. like g (hard sound), when followed by the vowels a, o or u. Esempi: gatto, gonna.

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Keeping in mind the sound patterns above, you should be careful to maintain the same ‘hard’ sound in the plural form of words that end in -co, -go, -ca and -ga. To do this, you must add an h before the plural ending. Without the h, the ‘hard’ sounds would change to ‘soft’ sounds. By adding h the ‘hard’ sound is maintained.

Esempi: parco parchi amica amiche

dialogo dialoghi riga righe

1.8 There are some exceptions to this rule. Learn them as you come across them.

Some of the more common ones are: Esempi: amico amici

nemico nemici greco greci medico medici

2 Gli articoli (Articles)

2.1 Articles are words placed before nouns that allow us to specify nouns in some way. 2.2 The articles used to designate specific nouns are called definite articles.

Esempio: il libro – the book 2.3 The articles used to designate non-specific nouns are called indefinite articles.

Esempio: un libro – a book 2.4 The forms of both definite and indefinite articles varies, depending on the type of

nouns they accompany. This table shows the singular and plural forms of the articles.

The definite article (‘the’)

masculine

singular plural

il i used with most masculine nouns.

l’ gli used with masculine nouns beginning with a vowel.

lo gli used with masculine nouns beginning with s followed by a consonant or nouns beginning with a z.

feminine la le used with feminine nouns beginning with a consonant.

l’ le used with feminine nouns beginning with a vowel.

The indefinite article (‘a/an’)

masculine un used with most masculine nouns.

uno used with masculine nouns beginning with s followed by a consonant or nouns beginning with a z.

feminine una used with most feminine nouns.

un’ used with feminine nouns beginning with a vowel.

2.5 Partitive articles are used to express ‘some’ or ‘any’. They are formed by combining

the preposition di with the appropriate definite article, as shown on the next page. A partitive article must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (feminine or masculine) with the noun it refers to.

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di + la = della1 Prendo della limonata, per favore. I’ll have some lemonade, please.

di + le = delle Mi puoi prestare delle spille di sicurezza, per favore? Can you lend me some safety pins please?

di + i = dei La mamma compra sempre dei pasticcini per la colazione. Mum always buys some pastries for breakfast.

2.6 Here are all the forms of the partitive article.

di + il lo l’ la i gli le

= del dello dell’ della dei degli delle

NOTE: Partitive articles look exactly the same as the articulated forms of the preposition di,2 but they are used in a different context.

2.7 In negative sentences, the partitive article is omitted.

Esempi: Prendo dello zucchero. Non prendo zucchero. I’ll take some sugar. I don’t take any sugar.

Mangiamo della carne. Non mangiamo carne. We eat some meat. We don’t eat any meat.

3 I verbi (Verbs)

3.1 Verbs are words that indicate the action performed by the subject of the sentence. For this reason, the verb must agree with the person (subject of the sentence: 1st, 2nd or 3rd person) and number (singular or plural).

3rd person

singular subject 3rd person plural subject

Esempi: Marina studia. Gli studenti studiano.

3rd person singular verb ending

3rd person plural verb ending

3.2 In other words, when you write a sentence in Italian, you must check that the form of

the verb matches the subject of the sentence (person). This is called agreement of subject and verb. Here’s a summary.

Person

Italian subject pronoun

English equivalent Examples

singular

1st io I (io) Mi chiamo Stella.

2nd tu you (singular familiar) (tu) Come ti chiami?

3rd lui lei Lei

he/it she/it you (singular polite)

(lui) Si chiama Marco. (lei) Si chiama Daniela. Professoressa, Lei come si chiama?

1 Note that the preposition di changes to de when it combines with articles to form the partitive. 2 See section 11 for more information about articulated prepositions.

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Person

Italian subject pronoun

English equivalent Examples

plural

1st noi we Io e la mia famiglia (= noi) abitiamo in Via Delle Grotte.

2nd voi you (plural familiar) (voi) Dove abitate?

3rd loro Loro

they you (plural polite)

Le ragazze (loro) ascoltano. Signori, (Loro) dove abitano?

3.3 In English, a subject pronoun (such as ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’, ‘she’ etc.) is always used to

indicate or replace the subject in a sentence. In Italian, however, subject pronouns are usually omitted, since the ending of the verb changes to indicate the person.

3.4 In Italian a verb is listed in the dictionary in its infinitive form (hence it is sometimes

referred to as the ‘dictionary form’). Different tenses are used to indicate when the action of the sentence has occurred: now (present tense), before (past tense) and after (future tense). In order to form different tenses, English often uses auxiliary verbs (such as ‘have’, ‘had’, ‘will’, and ‘would’). In Italian, tense is usually indicated by an ending added to the verb stem (what remains when you remove the -are, -ere or -ire ending from the infinitive form.)

3.5 The present tense of regular verbs

In Italian, regular verbs are divided into three groups according to their infinitive endings. The infinitives of the first group (conjugation) end in -are, the second group end in -ere and the third group end in -ire. The present tense of regular verbs is formed as follows:

The infinitive ending of the verb (-are, -ere, -ire) is dropped and different present tense endings are added for each person.

person

1st conjugation (-are)

2nd conjugation (-ere)

3rd conjugation (-ire)

singular

1st -o -o -o

2nd -i -i -i

3rd -a -e -e

plural

1st -iamo -iamo -iamo

2nd -ate -ete -ite

3rd -ano -ono -ono 3.6 In the 1st conjugation only (-are verbs), if a verb ends in a hard c or g sound, an h is

added before the -i and -iamo endings to maintain the hard sound. Some common verbs in this group are: pagare (to pay); cercare (to look for); toccare (to touch).

Esempio: pagare: pago, paghi, paga, paghiamo, pagate, pagano 3.7 If a verb in the 1st conjugation ends in -ciare or -giare, you drop the -i of the

infinitive before the endings -i and -iamo to avoid having a double i. Some common verbs in this group are: mangiare (to eat); cominciare (to begin); viaggiare (to travel); noleggiare (to hire); assaggiare (to taste).

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Esempio: mangiare: mangio, mangi, mangia, mangiamo, mangiate, mangiano

-i omitted from the stem 3.8 The 3rd conjugation of verbs (-ire verbs) has a second type of verb that has an

additional -isc in front of the endings -o, -i, -e and -ono. Some common verbs in this group are: pulire (to clean); finire (to finish); capire (to understand); preferire (to prefer).

Esempio: pulire: pulisco, pulisci, pulisce, puliamo, pulite, puliscono 3.9 The present tense of irregular verbs

A number of verbs do not follow the regular patterns you have learned. Unfortunately, there is no easy way of remembering them – you just have to learn them by heart as you come across them. Here are the more common irregular verbs. The irregular forms are in bold italics. Note that all forms of the verb essere are irregular.

person avere (to have) essere (to be) fare (to do)

1st ho sono faccio

2nd singular hai sei fai

3rd ha è fa

1st abbiamo siamo facciamo

2nd plural avete siete fate

3rd hanno sono fanno

person andare (to go) stare (to stay/be) dare (to give) sapere (to know)

1st vado sto do so

2nd singular vai stai dai sai

3rd va sta dà sa

1st andiamo stiamo diamo sappiamo

2nd plural andate state date sapete

3rd vanno stanno danno sanno

person volere

(to want) potere

(to be able to, can) dovere

(to have to, must)

1st voglio posso devo

2nd singular vuoi puoi devi

3rd vuole può deve

1st vogliamo possiamo dobbiamo

2nd plural volete potete dovete

3rd vogliono possono devono

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3.10 When there are two verbs in the same clause, the second verb is always in the infinitive form. This often happens when you use the verbs dovere (must, to have to), potere (can, to be able to) and volere (to want to).

Esempio: Devo partire per la scuola alle sette e mezzo.

1st verb: present tense form 2nd verb: infinitive form

3.11 Reflexive verbs

A verb is called reflexive when the verb has an object identical to the subject. Esempio: Lui si veste. He dresses himself.

The object of the action (himself) is identical to the subject (he). 3.12 The reflexive pronoun si (‘oneself’) is attached to the end of an infinitive to indicate

that verb is reflexive. Not all verbs that are reflexive in Italian are reflexive in English. Here is a list of the most common reflexive verbs.

chiamarsi to be named/call oneself asciugarsi to dry oneself

addormentarsi to fall asleep vestirsi to get dressed

svegliarsi to wake up riposarsi to rest

alzarsi to get up/stand up levarsi to take off (clothing)

lavarsi to wash oneself sbrigarsi to hurry up/make haste

farsi la doccia/il bagno to have a shower/bath sedersi to sit down

comportarsi bene/male to behave well/badly divertirsi to enjoy oneself

mettersi to put on (clothing); to start [doing something] 3.13 A reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si) must always be used with a reflexive verb.

Apart from this difference, reflexive verbs behave just like other verbs and follow the usual patterns for the different tenses.

Study the present tense forms of the verb alzarsi (a regular -are verb) below:

(io) Mi alzo alle sette. I get up at seven o’clock.

Tu a che ora ti alzi? At what time do you [singular] get up?

Stella si alza alle sette. Stella gets up at seven.

Il signor Ricci si alza alle sei. Mr. Ricci gets up at six.

Noi ci alziamo alle otto. We get up at eight.

Voi vi alzate alle sette e mezzo. You [plural] get up at seven thirty.

Stella e Claudia si alzano alle sette. Stella and Claudia [they] get up at seven. 3.14 When a reflexive verb is the second verb in a clause, then the appropriate reflexive

pronoun is attached to the end of the infinitive. The final vowel of the infinitive (e) must be dropped first. The reflexive pronoun must still match the subject of the sentence.

Esempio: Devo alzarmi presto domani mattina. (I must wake [myself] up early tomorrow morning.)

The object of the verb (myself – mi) is identical to the subject (io).

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3.15 The verb piacere is used to express liking. This is a tricky Italian verb because, although the English equivalent is ‘to like’, the two verbs are used in quite different ways. The literal meaning of piacere is ‘to be pleasing to’. So to say, for example, ‘I like tennis’, Italians say: Mi piace il tennis (i.e. ‘Tennis is pleasing to me’). Study this example carefully:

Esempio: Il calcio piace a Daniela. or A Daniela piace il calcio.

In both sentences, the subject of the sentence is il calcio and not Daniela (as it would be in English with the verb ‘to like’). Daniela is the indirect object of the verb piacere (as you can tell by the preposition a that precedes it). In other words, it is il calcio that is pleasing (i.e. piace) to Daniela (i.e. a Daniela).

3.16 The verb piacere is almost always used in the 3rd person singular (piace) or plural

(piacciono). Study the following examples carefully.

Esempi: Mi piace Maria. (I like Maria. or Maria is pleasing to me.)

Maria is the subject of this sentence, so the 3rd person singular form of piacere is required.

Ti piacciono i romanzi di Isabel Allende? (Do you like the novels of Isabel Allende? or Are Isabel Allende’s novels pleasing to you?)

Isabel Allende’s novels is the subject of this sentence, so the 3rd person plural of piacere is required.

3.17 When the subject of the sentence is a verb (in the infinitive form), the 3rd person

singular form of piacere is used.

Esempi: Mi piace sciare. I like skiing. (‘Skiing is pleasing to me.’) A Marina non piace leggere. Maria likes reading. (‘Reading is pleasing to Maria.’) Ti piace nuotare? Do you like swimming? (‘Is swimming pleasing to you?’)

See also the notes on disjunctive pronouns in section 4.4 below.

3.18 The present tense is used to express an action in the near future that is considered certain. (We do this in English too.) There are often other words in the sentence that indicate a future time.

Esempi: Arrivano domani. Stasera vado a teatro. They will arrive tomorrow. This evening I’ll go to the theatre. (They’re arriving tomorrow.) (This evening I’m going to the theatre.)

3.19 Il passato prossimo

The passato prossimo is used to describe actions and events that have occurred and were completed in the past, particularly the recent past. It is often accompanied by an expression of past time such as: due ore fa (two hours ago), stamattina (this morning), ieri (yesterday), sabato scorso (last Saturday) etc.

Esempi: Che cosa hai comprato ieri? (What did you buy yesterday?)

Ho comprato un paio di scarpe. (I bought a pair of shoes.)

Hai telefonato a Marina? (Did you ring Marina?) Sì, ho telefonato due ora fa. (Yes, I rang two hours ago.)

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The passato prossimo has three English equivalents, depending on the context.

Esempi: Hai studiato per l’esame di storia? Did you study for the history exam?

Ho studiato per l’esame di storia.

I have studied for the history exam. I studied for the history exam. I did study for the history exam.

3.20 The passato prossimo is a compound tense. This means it is made up of two parts: the auxiliary (‘helping’) verb (a present tense form of either essere or avere) and the past participle of the verb, as shown below:

auxiliary past

verb participle (direct object)

Ieri ho comprato un vestito nuovo. (Yesterday I bought a new dress.)

1st person form

of present tense of avere

regular past participle

ending

3.21 The passato prossimo with avere

Most Italian verbs form the perfect tense using avere as their auxiliary verb. These verbs are mostly transitive – that is, they can take a direct object that answers the question ‘what’? or ‘whom’?

Esempi: ho comprato … (che cosa?) … un paio di scarpe I bought … (what?) … a pair of shoes

ho fatto … (che cosa?) … i compiti I did … (what?) … my homework

ho visto … (che cosa?) … un film I saw … (what?) … a film

ho visto … (chi?) … Daniela I saw … (whom?) … Daniela

3.22 The past participle

Regular past participles are formed by adding a specific ending to the stem1 of the verb, as follows:

-ato is added to the stem of -are verbs: e.g. comprare compr + ato = comprato

-uto is added to the stem of -ere verbs: e.g. vendere vend + uto = venduto

-ito is added to the stem of -ire verbs: e.g. finire fin + ito = finito

Note that some otherwise irregular verbs may have regular past participles (e.g. andare – andato; volere – voluto).

3.23 The past participles of some commonly used verbs are irregular. On the next page

are some you are likely to meet often: 1 The verb stem is the part of the infinitive verb without the -are, -ere or -ire ending.

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irregular verb past participle

fare (to do/make) fatto (done/made)

aprire (to open) aperto (opened)

dire (to say) detto (said)

essere (to be) stato (been)

scrivere (to write) scritto (written)

nascere (to be born) nato (born)

leggere (to read) letto (read)

mettere (to put) messo (put)

bere (to drink) bevuto (drank)

piacere (to like/be pleasing) piaciuto (liked)

coprire (to cover) coperto (covered)

vedere (to see) visto (seen)1

morire (to die) morto (died)

3.24 The passato prossimo with essere

Essere is used as the auxiliary in the perfect tense when the verb: indicates motion (e.g. andare, partire, arrivare, venire etc.)

indicates a state of being or change of state (e.g. essere/stare – to be/stay; morire/nascere –to be born/to die)

describes atmospheric phenomena (e.g. piovere – to rain; nevicare – to snow etc.) NOTE: These verbs are only used in the 3rd person singular or in the infinitive form.

is reflexive (e.g. lavarsi – to wash oneself; alzarsi – to get up etc.)

3.25 The past participles of this group of verbs must agree in number and gender with the

subject of the sentence, as shown below:

Elena è andata in montagna per le vancanze.

(Elena went to the mountains for her holidays.)

I signori Castelli sono rimasti a casa.

(Mr and Mrs Castelli stayed at home.)

1 The verb vedere has both a regular (veduto) and an irregular past participle. Either may be used, though visto is probably more common.

feminine singular subject

feminine singular past participle ending

past participle

subject of the sentence

masculine plural subject

masculine plural past participle ending

subject of the sentence

past participle

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So, when essere is used, the passato prossimo is formed in three steps: Step 1: Use the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb essere, according to

the subject of the sentence. (ie. sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono)

Step 2: Add the correct past participle.

Step 3: Change the final vowel of the past participle to match the gender and number of the subject. If the subject is made up of mixed genders (e.g. Daniela e Marco), use the masculine plural form.

singular plural masculine -o -i

feminine -a -e

Esempi: andare (to go) partire (to leave) essere (to be)

io sono andato(a) sono partito(a) sono stato(a)

tu sei andato(a) sei partito(a) sei stato(a)

lui/lei è andato(a) è partito(a) è stato(a)

noi siamo andati(e) siamo partiti(e) siamo stati(e)

voi siete andati(e) siete partiti(e) siete stati(e)

loro sono andati(e) sono partiti(e) sono stati(e)

3.26 Essere uses the same past participle as the verb stare: stato. The English equivalent

of both essere and stare is ‘to be’, but they are used in different contexts.

Essere is used in descriptions, particularly to describe qualities of a person or thing. (e.g. Marina è bella; è una studentessa; è brava; etc.)

Stare is used to describe feelings or a state of being. (Come stai Marina? Sto bene grazie.) Stare can also mean to ‘stay’.

Both verbs, however can be used to indicate loction. (Sono a Melborne. Sto a casa.) 3.27 The passato prossimo of reflexive verbs

All reflexive verbs use essere as their auxiliary verb in the perfect tense. The reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si etc.) goes before the auxiliary verb. Like all other verbs which use essere as their auxiliary, the past participles of reflexive verbs must agree in number and gender with the subject of the sentence.

Esempi: Mi sono alzata presto stamattina. Daniela si è lavata e si è vestita in fretta. Marco e Daniela si sono divertiti insieme.

3.28 Special expressions with avere Although the verb avere means ‘to have’ in English, there are many common Italian expressions in which the verb avere takes on the meaning of ‘to be’. Many of these expressions refer to physical or mental states of being, while others are fixed idiomatic expressions, such as when asking or saying how old someone is.

Esempio: Quanti anni hai? How old are you? Ho sedici anni. I’m sixteen (years old).

Study and learn the list of common expressions with avere on the next page.

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avere fame – to be hungry

Esempio: Hai fame? Are you hungry? Sì, ho fame. Che c’è da mangiare? Yes, I’m hungry. What is there to eat?

avere sete – to be thirsty

Esempio: I bambini hanno sete. The children are thirsty Giorgio, hai sete? Giorgio, are you thirsty?

avere freddo – to be cold (when referring to a person)

Esempio: Hai freddo? Vuoi un’altra coperta? Are you cold? Do you want another blanket?Di notte ho sempre freddo. At night I’m always cold.

avere caldo – to be hot (when referring to a person)

Esempio: Avete caldo? Are you hot? In estate abbiamo sempre caldo. In summer we’re always hot.

avere sonno – to be sleepy

Esempio: Ho molto sonno. Non ho potuto dormire tutta la notte. I’m very sleepy. I couldn’t sleep all night.

Il bambino vuole dormire. Ha sonno. The baby wants to sleep. He’s tired.

3.29 L’imperativo

Since you have been learning Italian, you have come across instructions such as: Scrivi! Leggi! Ascolta! Osserva! Parla! Ripeti! Impara! Disegna!

All of these verbs tell you what to do – they are commands, instructions or advice. When you use verbs in this way, you are using the imperative form.

The commands above are in the tu form (ie. the singular familiar imperative form, used with people you address by their first name).

Now compare the verbs above and their infinitive forms below. Pay particular attention to the verb endings.

Scrivi! Leggi! Ascolta! Osserva! Parla! Ripeti! Impara! Disegna!

scrivere leggere ascoltare osservare parlare ripetere imparare disegnare

3.30 When you tell someone to do something (familiar form) using verbs that end in -ere or -ire in the infinitive, the imperative form ends in -i (the same as the tu form of the present tense).

Esempi: Leggi! Scrivi! Ripeti! Metti!

3.31 When you give commands or instructions to someone (familiar form) using verbs that end in -are in the infinitive, the imperative form ends in -a.

Esempi: Ascolta! Osserva! Parla! Impara! Disegna!

3.32 Impersonal expressions

To say what you (or ‘one’) can, or must do, you can use the impersonal expressions (non) si può (or si deve) followed by the infinitive form of a verb (ie. the dictionary form). Study the examples on the nxt page carefully.

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Esempi:

Si può (You/one can)

Non si può (You/one can’t)

Si deve (You/one must)

Non si deve (You/one must not)

andare alla discoteca. go to the disco.

fare rumore dopo le 23.00. make noise after 11:00 pm.

parlare durante le lezioni. talk during the lessons.

entrare in classe. go into the classroom.

studiare l’italiano. learn Italian.

fumare a scuola. smoke at school.

3.33 Il futuro

In Italian, the future tense consists of a single verb, unlike English, where it consists of the auxiliary ‘will’ (or sometimes ‘shall’) and the basic verb.

Esempi: Prenderò un caffè al bar. I will have a coffee at the bar.

Mangerai una pizza? Will you eat a pizza?

3.34 Regular future tense forms

Just like the present tense, special endings are used to form the future tense in Italian. These endings are the same for all verbs. Regular verbs form the future tense by adding these endings to the future stem of the verb, which is simply the infinitive minus the final -e. Note however that for -are verbs, the -a- changes to -e-.

-are verbs -ere verbs -ire verbs

ballare: to dance future stem – baller-

prendere: to take future stem – prender-

finire: to finish future stem – finir-

io

tu

lui/lei

noi

voi

loro

ballerò

ballerai

ballerà

balleremo

ballerete

balleranno

prenderò

prenderai

prenderà

prenderemo

prenderete

prenderanno

finirò

finirai

finirà

finiremo

finirete

finiranno 3.35 Verbs with infinitives that end in -care and -gare add an h to the stem for the future

tense to preserve the hard sound of the c or g of the infinitive.

cercare: to search future stem – cercher-

pagare: to pay future stem – pagher-

io

tu

lui/lei

noi

voi

loro

cercherò

cercherai

cercherà

cercheremo

cercherete

cercheranno

pagherò

pagherai

pagherà

pagheremo

pagherete

pagheranno

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3.36 Irregular future tense forms

The verbs dare, stare and fare simply drop the final -e of their infinitives to form the stems dar-, star- and far. The -a does not change to -e as with regular -are verbs. The future endings are added to these stems.

Esempi: Noi faremo una passeggiata. We will go for a walk.

I bambini staranno a casa. The children will stay at home.

Marina gli darà un regalo. Marina will give him a present. 3.37 The verbs essere and avere have irregular stems in the future tense (sar- and avr-

respectively), but the same endings.

essere: to be avere: to have

io

tu

lui/lei

noi

voi

loro

sarò

sarai

sarà

saremo

sarete

saranno

avrò

avrai

avrà

avremo

avrete

avranno 3.38 Like avere, the verbs andare (to go), cadere (to fall), dovere (to have to), potere (to

be able to), sapere (to know), vedere (to see) and vivere (to live) have irregular future tense stems, formed by dropping the infinitive ending -are/-ere and replacing it with -r. Here are examples of two verbs in this category:

andare: to go

future stem – andr- cadere: to fall

future stem – cadr-

io

tu

lui/lei

noi

voi

loro

andrò

andrai

andrà

andremo

andrete

andranno

cadrò

cadrai

cadrà

cadremo

cadrete

cadranno Esempi: L’anno prossimo andrò in Italia. Next year I will go to Italy.

Vedremo la torre di Pisa. We will see the tower of Pisa. 3.39 The verbs bere (to drink), volere (to want), valere (to be worth), tenere (to hold;

have), rimanere (to stay; remain), parere (to seem) and venire (to come) also have irregular future tense stems, which end in -rr.

Esempi: Verrò alle due in punto. I will come at two o’clock on the dot.

Noi berremo un po’ di vino. We will drink a little wine. Here are the future tense stems of these common irregular verbs, followed by

complete future tense conjugations of two verbs in this category:

bere – berr-; volere – vorr-; valere – varr-; tenere – terr-; rimanere – rimarr-; parere – parr-; venire – verr-

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rimanere: to stay future stem – rimarr-

venire: to come future stem – verr-

io

tu

lui/lei

noi

voi

loro

rimarrò

rimarrai

rimarrà

rimarremo

rimarrete

rimarranno

verrò

verrai

verrà

verremo

verrete

verranno There are many other irregular verbs in Italian, apart from those mentioned above.

Most good dictionaries contain a section on irregular verbs, where you can look up information such as the future tense stem.

3.40 Reflexive verbs behave the same way as other verbs in the future tense, but remember

to use the correct reflexive pronoun before the verb. Esempi: Domenica prossima mi alzerò alle cinque.

Next Sunday I will get up at five o’clock.

Ci divertiremo molto alla gita. We will enjoy ouselves on the trip.

4 I pronomi (Pronouns)

4.1 The Italian subject pronouns (indicating the person or thing doing the action in a sentence) are:

Singular Plural

io I noi we

tu you (informal) voi you (informal)

lui he/it loro they

lei she/it

Lei you (formal) Loro you (formal)

See sections 3.1-3.3 above for how to use these pronouns.

When the subject of a sentence is not a person, the 3rd person singular or plural form of the verb of the verb must be used. The subject pronouns you can use in this case are esso/essa (‘it’), essi/esse (‘they’). Though you will rarely need to use these subject pronouns, you may occasionally see them in texts.

Esempi: In casa abbiamo un cane ed una gatta. Esso si chiama Totò ed essa si chiama Giuseppina.

Note that in the second sentence, the subject pronouns esso and essa had to be used to give the appropriate emphasis as well as to avoid ambiguity.

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Sometimes the subject of a sentence can be a verb or verb phrase. In this case the 3rd person singular form of the verb must be used. The pronouns esso or essa would not be appropriate in this case. Instead you could use questo or ciò if necessary.

Esempi: Mi piace molto leggere. Questo è il mio passatempo preferito. I really like reading. It is my favourite pastime.

È importante scegliere l’albergo giusto. Spesso, ciò può essere difficile. It’s important to choose the right hotel. Often, this can be difficult.

4.2 Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs (see sections 3.11-3.14 and 3.27

above). The Italian reflexive pronouns are shown on the next page.

Singular Plural

mi I ci we

ti yourself (informal) vi yourselves (informal)

si himself, herself, itself si themselves

si yourself (formal) si yourselves (formal)

4.3 Direct object pronouns

In order to avoid repetition, we can replace a noun with a pronoun such as ‘it’ and ‘them’ in English. These are called (direct) object pronouns because they replace the direct object of the sentence – the person or thing directly acted on by the verb. Study the examples below.

Esempi: Dove posso mettere la mia valigia? La puoi mettere sotto il letto. Where can I put my suitcase? You can put it under the bed.

Dove posso mettere il mio pigiama1? Lo puoi mettere sotto il cuscino. Where can I put my pyjamas. You can put them under the pillow.

Dove posso mettere le mie scarpe? Le puoi mettere nell’armadio. Where can I put my shoes? You can put them in the wardrobe.

Dove posso mettere i miei vestiti? Li puoi mettere in questo cassetto. Where can I put my clothes? You can put them in this drawer.

There are two ways of saying ‘it’ and two ways of saying ‘them’ in Italian, depending on whether the noun they replace is masculine or feminine. Study the table below.

masculine feminine

‘it’ lo la

‘them’ li le 4.4 Direct object pronouns usually go before the verb, as in the examples above. But

sometimes they are attached to the end of the verb – for example, when used with the imperative form2 of the verb. Study the examples below.

Esempi: Dove posso mettere la mia maglia? Mettila in questo cassetto. Where can I put my jumper? Put it in this drawer.

Dove posso mettere il mio ombrello? Mettilo fuori, davanti alla porta. Where can I put my umbrella? Put it outside, in front of the door.

1 Note that this noun is singular in Italian but plural in English. 2 See sections 3.29-3.32 above.

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Dove posso mettere le mie magliette? Mettile nell’armadio. Where can I put my T-shirts? Put them in the wardrobe.

Dove posso mettere i miei libri? Mettili nella libreria. Where can I put my books? Put them in the book case.

4.5 Indirect object pronouns

Different pronouns are used to stand for the indirect object of a sentence – usually the person for whom something is done. The forms are shown on the next page.

Singular Plural

mi to me ci to us

ti to you vi to you

gli to him loro to them

le to her

Le to you (formal) Loro to you (formal) 4.4 Indirect object pronouns may be replaced by disjunctive pronouns to provide

emphasis or contrast. The forms are:

Singular Plural

a me to me a noi to us

a te to you a voi to you

a lui to him a loro to them

a lei to her

a Lei to you (formal) a Loro to you (formal)

4.6 Indirect object pronouns are used with the verb piacere to indicate who likes (doing) something (see sections 3.15-3.17 above).

4.7 Indirect object pronouns are also used in combination with various prepositions. For example, when you want to say who something is for, you can use the preposition per followed by an appropriate indirect object pronoun.

Esempi: per te when giving something to someone you call by their first name. per Lei when giving something to someone older than you, or a stranger. per voi when giving something to more than one person.

To say whose house or home you are talking about, use the preposition da followed by the appropriate indirect object pronoun. Note that the preposition da must be articulated where appropriate.

Esempi: da me to/at my place/house/home da lei to/at her place/house/home dai miei nonni to/at my grandparents’ place/house/home

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5 Gli aggettivi possessivi (Possessive adjectives) Gli aggettivi dimostrativi (Demonstrative adjectives)

5.1 Possessive adjectives are used to express ownership and belonging. They act like all all other adjectives (see section 10 below) in that they must agree in number (singular or plural) and gender (feminine or masculine) with the noun they describe.

Esempi: mia madre – my mother mio padre – my father 5.2 In Italian, unlike English, possessive adjectives are usually preceded by the definite

article, except with members of the family in the singular form.

Esempi: mia sorella – my sister but le mie sorelle – my sisters 5.3 Although the definite article is usually omitted before singular members of the

family, the exceptions to this rule are nouns which have been modified in some way.

Esempi: mio fratello – my brother but il mio fratellino – my little brother mia sorella – my sister but la mia cara sorella – my dear sister

5.4 Here is a summary of the singular forms of Italian possessive adjectives.

masculine singular feminine singular masculine plural feminine plural

my il mio la mia i miei le mie

your il tuo la tua i tuoi le tue

his/her il suo la sua i suoi le sue

5.5 Demonstrative adjectives are words used to point out a person or an object. In English the demonstratives adjectives are:

this (singular) or these (plural), which point out a person or object near the speaker;

that (singular) or those (plural), which point out a person or object further away from the speaker.

In Italian the demonstrative adjectives are:

questo – used to point out a person, animal or object near the speaker.

quello – used to point out a person, animal or object further away from the speaker.

Esempi: Questo libro è mio. This book is mine. Quel cane è di Tony. That dog is Tony’s.

5.6 Demonstrative adjectives in the sentence are always positioned before the noun, and must agree in gender and number with the noun they accompany. The adjective questo has the same regular forms as other adjectives ending in -o. It can however be shortened to quest’ before singular nouns beginning with a vowel.

Esempi: masculine feminine

Questo letto è comodo. Questa camera da letto è spaziosa.

Quest’armadio è grande. Quest’aranciata non è fresca.

Questi vestiti sono di Maria. Queste tende sono belle.

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5.7 The demonstrative adjective quello follows the same pattern as the articulated prepositions (see section 11.1 below). Study this table.

Singular Plural

Masculine: used before masculine nouns starting with z, s + consonant, or the letter combinations gn or ps.

quello quegli

Esempi: Quello zaino è rosso. Quegli zaini sono rossi.

Masculine: used before masculine nouns starting with any other consonant.

quel quei

Esempi: Quel ragazzo è alto. Quei ragazzi sono alti.

Masculine: used before masculine nouns starting with a vowel.

quell’ quegli

Esempi: Quell’orologio è bello. Quegli orologi sono belli.

Feminine: used before feminine nouns starting with a consonant.

quella quelle

Esempi: Quella ragazza è elegante. Quelle ragazze sono eleganti.

Feminine: used before feminine nouns starting with a vowel. quell’ quelle

Esempi: Quell’aula è grande. Quelle aule sono grandi.

6 Le frasi interrogative (Questions)

6.1 In Italian, as in English, there are many different ways of asking a question, depending on the information that is required.

6.2 Yes/No questions

When you want to ask a question that can be answered with words like ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘perhaps’ etc., you can simply put a question mark at the end of a normal statement. In speech, the voice goes up at the end of the sentence, as it does in English.

Esempi: Statements

Hai fratelli e sorelle. You have brothers and sisters.

Daniela abita in via Delle Grotte. Daniela lives in via Delle Grotte.

Questions

Hai fratelli e sorelle? Do you have brothers and sisters?

Daniela abita in via Delle Grotte? Does Daniela live in via Delle Grotte?

6.3 Questions starting with interrogative (question) words:

These are questions which cannot be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. They require some information in response. On the next page are some common interrogative words you can use to form questions:

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chi? who? Chi è quella ragazza? Who is that girl?

che/che cosa/cosa? what? Cosa vuoi fare adesso? What do you want to do now?

che? which? Che classe fai? Which class are you in?

quale? which? Quale cartolina vuole? Which card do you want?

(quali before plural nouns) Quali materie ti interessano di più? Which subjects interest you the most?

(quale changes to qual before è) Qual è la tua casa? Which is your house?

dove?(dov’ before è)

where? Dove abiti? Where do you live?

quando? (quand’ before a vowel)

when? Quando parti? When will you leave?

perchè? why? Perchè piangi? Why are you crying?

quanto? (before a verb)(quant’ before a vowel)

how much? Quanto costa? How much does it cost?

Quanto mangi? How much do you eat?

quanto? (before a noun) must agree in number and gender

with the noun it refers to

how much? how many?

Quanto pane hai comprato? How much bread did you buy? Quanta frutta mangi al giorno? How much fruit do you eat each day? Quante persone ci sono? How many people are there? Quanti anni hai? How old are you?

7 I numeri (Numbers)

7.1 Here is a summary of how numbers are formed in Italian.

1 uno 11 undici 21 ventuno1 31 trentuno1

2 due 12 dodici 22 ventidue 32 trentadue

3 tre 13 tredici 23 ventitrè2 33 trentatrè2

4 quattro 14 quattordici 24 ventiquattro … ecc.

5 cinque 15 quindici 25 venticinque 40 quaranta

6 sei 16 sedici 26 ventisei 50 cinquanta

7 sette 17 diciassette 27 ventisette 60 sessanta

8 otto 18 diciotto 28 ventotto1 70 settanta

9 nove 19 diciannove 29 ventinove 80 ottanta

10 dieci 20 venti 30 trenta 90 novanta

1 When uno or otto is attached to a tens number, the final vowel of that number is dropped. 2 Don’t forget that tre has an accent on the final vowel when added to another number.

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100 cento 10,000 diecimila

200 duecento 20,000 ventimila

300 trecento 30,000 trentamila

400 quattrocento 40,000 quarantamila

500 cinquecento 50,000 cinquantamila

1000 mille 100,000 centomila

2000 duemila 150,000 centocinquantamila

3000 tremila 200,000 duecentomila

4000 quattromila 250,500 duecentomilacinquantacinquecento

Note that mille by itself means one thousand. Note also how the spelling changes in duemila, tremila, etc.

Note that all numbers are written as one word in Italian.

8 Che ora è? (Telling the time)

8.1 To ask what time it is, you can say either:

Che ora è? or Che ore sono?

Both expressions mean ‘What time is it?’ or ‘What’s the time?’ However, when you tell someone what the time is, you have to be careful which verb form you use – è or sono. Study the following notes carefully.

8.2 To express a time at one o’clock, midday or midnight, you should use è:

Esempi: È l’una. It’s one o’clock. È mezzogiorno. It’s midday/It is (twelve) noon. È mezzanotte. It’s (twelve) midnight.

8.3 If you are expressing any other time, then you should use sono:

Esempi: Sono le due. It is two o’clock. Sono le cinque. It’s five o’clock.

8.4 To express the half hour: [hour +] e mezzo:

Esempi: Sono le tre e mezzo. It’s half past three. È l’una e mezzo. It’s half past one.

8.5 To express the quarter hour: [hour +] e un quarto/meno un quarto:

Esempi: Sono le sei e un quarto. It’s quarter past six È l’una meno un quarto. It’s quarter to six.

8.6 To express time after the hour: [hour +] e (dieci, venti etc.):

Esempi: Sono le sette e venti. It’s twenty past seven. È l’una e dieci. It’s ten past one.

8.6 To express time before the hour: [hour +] meno (dieci, venti etc.):

Esempi: Sono le due meno dieci. It’s ten to two. È l’una meno cinque. It’s five to one.

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8.7 To indicate at what time something happens you should use:

a before mezzogiorno and mezzanotte. all’ before times with una. alle before other times.

Esempi: Io torno a casa a mezzogiorno ma mia sorella torna all’una e un quarto. I return home at midday but my sister returns at quarter past one.

Mio madre torna a casa alle cinque e mezzo. My mother returns home at half past five.

To indicate the approximate time at which something happens, use verso:

Esempi: verso l’una (at about 1.00) verso le due e mezzo (at about 2.30) 8.8 If you need to show the difference between a.m. and p.m., add the following

expressions to the time indicated: di mattina in the morning (a.m.)

di sera in the evening (p.m.) del pomeriggio in the afternoon (p.m.)

8.9 The 24-hour clock

For official time, the 24-hour clock is used in Italy, particularly for such things as timetables for buses, trains, planes, for office hours, theatre performance times, television guides etc.

The 24-hour clock system begins at midnight.

È l’una is one o’clock in the morning. Sono le tredici is one o’clock in the afternoon.

In other words, the a.m. (morning) times stay the same, while for the p.m. times (afternoon and evening), you add twelve to the hour.

8.10 An important point to remember if you use the 24-hour clock system is that you must

always use numbers for the minutes and that they are always expressed as minutes after the hour. That is, you cannot use expressions like un quarto, mezza or meno.

8.11 You sometimes hear people using 24-hour clock times in everyday conversation, but

usually they stick to the ordinary hours. Generally it’s obvious if you mean nine o’clock in the morning or the evening. If there is any doubt, Italians can say:

Esempi: le nove di mattina 9 o’clock in the morning le nove di sera 9 o’clock in the evening

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9 I giorni, i mesi, le date, le stagioni (Days, months, dates, seasons)

9.1 I giorni della settimana

The days of the week in Italian are: lunedì Monday

martedì Tuesday mercoledì Wednesday giovedì Thursday

venerdì Friday sabato Saturday domenica Sunday

9.2 Here are some important things to remember: Unlike English, the days of the week are not capitalised in Italian.

All days of the week except domenica are masculine.

Lunedì (not domenica) is the first day of the week on Italian calendars.

The definite article is used with days of the week to describe repeated occurrences.

Esempi: Lunedì vado al cinema. On (this) Monday I’m going to the movies. Il lunedì vado al cinema. On Mondays I go to the movies.

9.3 The invariable adjective ogni is often used with the days of the week in the sense of ‘every (single)’.

Esempio: Ogni domenica vado al caffè. Every (single) Sunday I go to the café.

9.4 Here are some useful expressions of time. Study them carefully and try to learn them by heart.

oggi today oggi pomeriggio this afternoon stamattina this morning stasera this evening stanotte tonight la mattina (in) the morning il pomeriggio (in) the afternoon la sera (in) the evening la notte at night ieri yesterday l’alto ieri the day before yesterday

domani tomorrow domani mattina tomorrow morning domani pomeriggio tomorrow afternoon domani sera tomorrow night dopodomani the day after tomorrow lunedì mattina Monday morning martedì pomeriggio Tuesday afternoon mercoledì sera Wednesday evening giovedì notte Thursday night la settimana week la scorsa settimana last week la settimana passata last week

9.5 I mesi dell’anno

The months of the year in Italian are: gennaio

febbraio marzo aprile maggio giugno

January February March April May June

luglio agosto settembre ottobre novembre dicembre

July August September October November December

Note that the months of the year are not capitalised in Italian.

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9.6 The preposition a is usually used with the names of the months to express in.

Esempio: A febbraio vado in Italia. In February I’m going to Italy. 9.7 Le date

In English, dates are expressed in ordinal numbers ( the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd, etc.). In Italian, however, only the first day of the month is expressed with an ordinal number (1st). The other days of the month are expressed with cardinal numbers (two, three, four, etc.)

Esempi: È il primo [di] novembre. It’s the 1st of November È il due (tre, quattro, ecc.) [di] Marzo. It’s the 2nd (3rd, 4th, etc.) of March

Note that the definite article il is always used in front of the number to express dates.

The preposition di between the day and the month is optional. 9.9 When the date is used alone, at the top of a letter for example, the article is not used

in front of the number.

Esempio: martedì, 5 (cinque) luglio 9.10 When used alone, the year requires the definite article.

(Note also that numbers in Italian are written as one word.)

Esempi: il millenovecentocinquantasette 1957 nel1 milletrecentoventuno in 1321

9.11 To ask what the date today is: Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? The answer is expressed either with Oggi ne abbiamo… or Oggi è il…

Esempi: Quanti ne abbiamo oggi? Oggi ne abbiamo tre. Oggi è il tre.

9.12 To say when someone was born, use the passato prossimo of the verb nascere

(essere + past participle). The past participle, like an adjective, must agree with the subject. Note the use of the articulated preposition del (di + il) before the year.

Esempi: Mia madre à nata il 26 dicembre del 1952. My mother was born on 26 December 1952.

Mio padre è nato il 3 agosto del 1950. My mother was born on 3 August 1950.

9.13 To refer to a particular century in Italian, there are special conventions. Note that

Roman numerals are used in writing.

nel duecento in the 1200s nel secolo XIII in the 13th century nel trecento in the 1300s nel secolo XIV in the 14th century nel cinquecento in the 1500s nel secolo XVI in the 16th century nel seicento in the 1600s nel secolo XVII in the 17th century nel settecento in the 1700s nel secolo XVIII in the 18th century nell’ottocento in the 1800s nel secolo XIX in the 19th century nel novecento in the 1900s nel secolo XX in the 20th century

1 Note the articulated preposition nel (= in + il). See section 11 below.

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9.14 Le stagioni

The seasons in Italian are:

la primavera spring l’autunno autumn

l’estate summer l’inverno winter 9.15 The preposition in is used with the names of the seasons to express ‘in’.

Esempi: in primavera – in spring in estate – in summer

in autunno – in autumn in inverno – in winter

With estate and inverno only, di (d’) can be used where habitual action is involved.

Esempi: D’estate vado al mare. D’inverno fa freddo qui.

In the summer I go to the beach. In the winter it is cold here.

10 Gli aggettivi (Adjectives)

10.1 In Italian, adjectives (or describing words) take on the gender (masculine or feminine) and the number (singular or plural) of the noun that they describe. This is called agreement. There are three categories of adjective.

10.2 Adjectives that end in -o in the dictionary form (masculine singular) – 4 endings

singular plural Esempi:

sportivo, sportivi, sportiva, sportive

calmo, calmi, calma, calme

alto, alti, alta, alte

serio, seri, seria, serie

masculine -o -i

feminine -a -e

10.3 Adjectives that end in -e in the dictionary form (masculine or feminine singular)

– 2 endings

singular plural Esempi:

intelligente, intelligenti

grande, grandi

sensibile, sensibili

forte, forti

masculine or feminine -e -i

10.4 Adjectives which do not change (same form for masculine, feminine, singular or

plural). The most common ones are names of colours: marrone, arancione, rosa, blu, viola ecc.

Esempi: la maglia marrone, le scarpe marrone il pallone blu, i palloni blu ecc.

10.5 Italian adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

Esempi: i capelli lunghi – long hair la città grande – the big city

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10.6 To modify adjectives, you can use the following adverbs:

abbastanza – rather, fairly; enough molto – a lot, very

un po’ – a bit, a little troppo – too (much)

Esempi: Sono abbastanza sensibile, Lisa è molto intelligente, Silvia è un po’ timida, Daniel è troppo serio.

10.7 Adjectives are used to express nationality. Like other adjectives, the endings of

adjectives change in different ways to agree with the subject. Some change in four ways:

country masc. sing. masc. plural fem. sing. fem. plural

Italia Australia America Grecia Spagna

italiano australiano americano

greco spagnolo

italiani australiani americani

greci spagnoli

italiana australiana americana

greca spagnola

italiane australiane americane

greche spagnole

Some change in two ways, with only a singular and a plural form

country m. & f. sing. m. & f. plural

Inghilterra Francia Canada

Danimarca Portogallo

inglese francese

canadese danese

portoghese

inglesi francesi canadesi danesi

portoghesi

Some change in ways which are really hard to guess, so you have to learn them

carefully.

country masc. sing. masc. plural fem. sing. fem. plural

Belgio Germania Marocco

Egitto Austria

belga tedesco

marocchino egiziano austriaco

belgi tedeschi

marocchini egiziani austriaci

belga tedesca

marocchina egiziana austriaca

belghe tedesche

marocchine egiziane

austriache

10.8 The ending used to talk about the people (in general) of a particular nationality is

always masculine plural (e.g. italiani, australiani, americani).

10.9 Unlike English, the first letter of an adjective of nationality is written in lower case.

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11 Le preposizioni (Prepositions)

11.1 Prepositions are little words that tell you about the relationship between things, and often indicate location. When the following prepositions are combined with definite articles, they form new combined words known as articulated prepositions. Study the table below carefully, and learn the articulated prepositions by heart. (Note how important it is to know the gender of a noun, so that you can use the correct form of the articulated preposition.)

+ il lo l’ la i gli le

a (to) al allo all’ alla ai agli alle

di (of) del dello dell’ della dei degli delle

da (from) dal dalle dall’ dalla dai dagli dalle

su (on) sul sullo sull’ sulla sui sugli sulle

in (in) nel nello nell’ nella nei negli nelle

Esempi: Io vado …

…al cinema – to the cinema allo stesso tempo – at the same time …all’estero – overseas, abroad alla spiaggia – at the beach …ai negozi – to the shops alle otto – at 8.00 …agli stadi – to the stadiums

11.2 The preposition a is used on its own in certain expressions with andare.

Esempi: Vado a scuola. I go to school. a casa. I go home.

Vado a Melbourne. ad1 Arezzo. with names of cities and towns a Cortona.

11.3 In other expressions with andare, the preposition in is used instead of a, with certain

places. Here is a list of the more common places preceded by the preposition in.

Vado

in città.

in montagna.

in campagna.

in chiesa.

in piscina.

in biblioteca.

in pizzeria.

in gelateria.

in bagno.

in cucina.

in salotto.

in giardino.

I go

to (into) the city.

to the mountains.

to (into) the country.

to church.

to the swimming pool.

to the library.

to the pizza parlour.

to the ice-cream parlour.

to the bathroom.

to (into ) the kitchen.

to (into) the living room.

to (into) the garden.

1 Note that a becomes ad before a vowel.

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11.4 Here are some common expressions (including prepositions) which are used to indicate precise locations. The prepositions a and di in these expressions are usually articulated when a noun follows.

vicino a near, next to accanto a beside, next to tra between di fronte a opposite a sinistra di on/to the left of a destra di on/to the right of davanti a in front of dietro a behind

Esempi: Il mio letto è accanto alla finestra. My bed is beside the window. Di fronte al bar c’è l’ufficio postale. Opposite the bar there’s a post office.

12 I comparativi (Comparatives)

12.1 When comparing two people or two things, the key words you will usually need are più … di …(more … than …) and meno … di …(less … than …; not as … as)

Esempi: Marco è più alto di Stefano. Stefano è meno alto di Marco.

Marco is taller than Stefano. Stefano is not as tall as Marco.

12.2 Remember that if di comes before the definite articles il, la, l’, etc. the two words

combine to an articulated preposition. (See section 11.1 above.)

Esempi: La maglia è più cara della borsa. I cani sono meno carini dei gatti.

The jumper is dearer than the bag. Dogs are not as cute as cats.

13 I superlativi (Superlatives)

13.1 In English, we use the words ‘the most’ or add -est to the end of an adjective to indicate the superlative. Italian uses the definite article + più + adjective to convey the same meaning.

grande (big)

il/la più

grande (the biggest)

largo/a (large) largo/a (the largest)

alto/a (tall) alto/a (the tallest)

bello/a (beautiful) bello/a (the most beautiful)

importante (important) importante (the most important)

Esempi: la piazza più grande di Arezzo la chiesa più bella

the biggest square in Arezzo the most beautiful church

13.2 To say something or someone is the best:

il/la migliore (sing.) + name of thing being described

i/le migliori (plural)

Esempi: Questa è la migliore pizzeria. In Toscana trovi i migliori dolci.

This is the best pizza-house. In Tuscany you find the best sweets.

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14 Il tu ed il Lei (Informal and formal modes of address)

14.1 The informal form (you – il tu) is the 2nd person singular (as used in English).

Esempi: Come ti chiami? Dove abiti? Ti piace …? ecc. (What is your name?) (Where do you live?) (Do you like …?) etc.

14.2 The formal form (you – il Lei) is the same as the 3rd person feminine form

(regardless of the actual gender of the person you are speaking to).

Esempi: Come si chiama? Dove abita? Le piace …? ecc. (What is your name?) (Where do you live?) (Do you like …?) etc.

See section 4 above for the formal forms of personal pronouns. Note that formal

subject and object pronouns must have a capital letter.

And finally…

There are many websites for learners of Italian, containing all sorts of useful materials, including exercises for practice. If you want to explore Italian grammar in more detail, or

get more information and practice on a particular grammar topic, try the following:

http://www.oneworlditaliano.com/english/italian/italian-grammar.htm

http://italian.about.com/

http://italian.about.com/od/grammar/Grammar.htm

http://www.ielanguages.com/italian.html

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