Italian Grammar 1572224215, 9781572224216

Table of contents :
Numbers
The Italian Alphabet
Pronunciation
Accents
Nouns
Articles
Definite Articles ("the" in English)
Indefinite Articles ("a" or "an" in English)
Adverbs
Adjectives
Demonstrative Adjectives
Possessive Adjectives
Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Prepositions
Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
Pronoun "NE"
Relative Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns: "this one" "that one"
Negatives
Verbs
Formation of Regular Verbs
Stem-Changing Verbs
Key Irregular Verbs
Verb Tenses, Form & Usage
More on Verbs

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Summary of Italian Grammar

THE ITALIAN ALPHABET

9 nove

1.000 mille

ALPHABET

The Italian alphabet consists of 21 letters; it is the same as its English counterpart, except for J, K, W, X and Y, which appear only in foreign words; the “H” at the beginning of a word is silent

PRONUNCIATION A. Generally, Italian vowels are more open than vowels in English B. A few keys to understanding the pronunciation of some consonant and vowel clusters are essential:

8 otto

0 zero

NOUNS

accents

Nouns in Italian are either masculine or feminine

ARTICLES

ARTICLES

1. Masculine singular nouns usually end in -o 2. Feminine singular nouns end in -a 3. Some nouns end in -e in the singular; these can be either masculine or feminine 4. Common exceptions: Many nouns ending in -ma are masculine Some nouns ending in -o are feminine Nouns ending in -ta can be either masculine or feminine 5. Masculine plural nouns change the final -o to -i 6. Feminine plural nouns change the final -a to -e 7. Nouns ending in -e in the singular, change to -i in the plural

Articles must agree in gender and number with the nouns they accompany

DEFINITE ARTICLES ( “the” in English)

A. Masculine: 1. Il, lo, and l’ (“the” in English) 2. The majority of masculine nouns will be preceded by the form il 3. Masculine nouns that begin with -z or -s followed by a consonant, will be preceded by the form lo 4. All nouns beginning with a vowel are preceded by l’: l’amico (the friend)

In the plural il becomes i i padri (the fathers) 6. lo and l’ becomes gli gli amici (the friends) B. Feminine: 1. la or l’ in the singular: La zia (the aunt), l’amica (the “female” friend) 2. le at all times in the plural: le zie (aunts)

INDEFINITE ARTICLES (“a” or “an” in English)

A. Masculine 1. Un is used most of the time un piede (a foot) 2. Uno precedes masculine nouns beginning with a z or s + consonant -uno zoo, uno stadio (a zoo, a stadium) B. Feminine 1. Una is used -una bocca (a mouth) 2. Un’ is used before feminine nouns beginning with a vowel -un’ idea (an idea)

ADVERBS

ADVERBS

Modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb

A. Adverbs are formed in Italian by adding -mente to the feminine singular of the adjective -rapido/a (quick, fast) = rapidamente (quickly); -chiaro/a, (clear) = chiaramente (clearly) B. Adverbs usually follow the verbs they modify, but precede the adjectives or other adverbs they modify -Lei è molto simpatica. (She is very nice.) -Cantano molto bene. (They sing very well.) C. Common adverbs that do not end in -mente: bene (well) male ( badly) troppo (too much) molto (very) assai (very much) tanto (so much, very much) presto (quickly, soon, early) sempre (always) subito (immediately) spesso (often) D. Comparative adverbs: Follow the same rules as adjectives

ADVERBS

A. Italian consists of only two accents: 1. acute (é) 2. grave (à) B. Accents appear almost exclusively on final vowels, and then infrequently; their use should be learned when encountering new words C. Most of the time only the grave (à) accent is used D. At times accents are crucial; they distinguish certain words that are spelled the same way but have different meanings: -e (and) and è (he/she/it is) -si (oneself) and sì ( yes) -la (the, her) and là (there)

GENDER

PRONUNCIATION

5.

ACCENTS

NOUNS

1. c followed immediately by i or e is a “ch” sound (as in church) 2. c followed by hi or he sounds like “key” 3. g followed directly by i or e produces a sound like “gee” 4. g followed by h makes the sound “gee” as in (old geezer) 5. gli sounds like the “ll” and “y” part of “million years” pronounced very fast 6. Gn (as in gnocchi) sounds like “nye” as in the Russian “nyet”

1

E. Some adverbs have irregular forms: Bene becomes meglio -Laura parla meglio di me. (Laura speaks better than I.) male becomes peggio -Carlo gioca a tennis peggio di Luigi. (Carlo plays tennis worse than Luigi.)

ADVERBS

ADJECTIVES

ADJECTIVES

60 sessanta

ARTICLES

NUMBERS

13 tredici 0 zero 26 ventisei novanta 90 14 quattordici 1 uno 27 ventisette cento 100 15 quindici 2 due 28 ventotto duecento 200 16 sedici 3 tre 29 ventinove settecento 700 17 diciassette 4 quattro 30 trenta 800 ottocento 18 diciotto 5 cinque 31 trentuno 900 novecento 19 diciannove 6 sei 32 trentadue 1.000 mille 20 venti 7 sette 33 trentatrè 2.000 duemila 21 ventuno 8 otto 40 quaranta 3.000 tremila 22 ventidue 9 nove 50 cinquanta 5.000 cinquemila 23 ventitrè 10 dieci 60 sessanta 1.000.000 un milione 24 ventiquattro 11 undici 70 settanta 2.000.000 due milioni 25 venticinque 12 dodici 80 ottanta 3.000.000 tre milioni A. Numbers over one thousand are written using a period (.) where a comma (,) would appear in English B. When tre (three) is the last digit of a larger number, it takes an accent (ventitrè, trentatrè, etc.) C. Cento has no plural form D. Mille has the plural mila E. Milione (plural: milioni) and miliardo (plural: miliardi) require -di when they occur directly before a noun

Describe a noun or pronoun A. Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify B. Unlike adjectives in English, adjectives in Italian usually follow the noun they modify C. Most masculine adjectives end in -o in the singular, and -i in the plural -allegro -allegri D. Most feminine adjectives end in -a in the singular, and -e in the plural -bassa -basse E. Some adjectives have the same form for both masculine and feminine These adjectives end in -e in the singular, and -i in the plural -la lezione facile (the easy lesson) -le signore gentili (the polite ladies) -lo studente francese (the French student) F. Some common adjectives precede the nouns they modify -bello (beautiful, handsome) -buono (good) -grande (big, large) -piccolo (small)

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

A. “This,” “that,” “these,” “those” always agree with the noun they accompany B. Masculine forms questo (this) quest’ (before a vowel) questi (these) C. Feminine forms questa ( this) quest’ (before a vowel) queste (these) The demonstrative adjective: THAT, THOSE Takes the following forms: Quella ragazza è carina. (That girl is pretty.)

Plural (those) quelle quelle

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

ADJECTIVES

Unlike English, they agree with the possession, NOT with the possessor: Singular Plural A. Masculine il mio (my) i miei il tuo (your) i tuoi il suo (his,her,its) i suoi il nostro (our) i nostri il vostro (your) i vostri il loro ( their) i loro B. Feminine la mia (my) le mie la tua (your) le tue le sue la sua (his,her,its) la nostra (our) le nostre la vostra (your) le vostre la loro (their) le loro

COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

PREPOSITIONS Connect a noun or pronoun to another word The most common prepositions in Italian are: a (to, at) in (in, into) di (by, of) per (for) da (from) su (on) con (with) senza (without) tra/fra (between, among)

PREPOSITIONS

A. Inequality 1. The basic way to express comparison in Italian is to use più (more) - Questo libro é piú interessante. (This book is more interesting.) meno (less) - Maria è meno bella. (Maria is less beautiful.) 2. Both più and meno are used with adjectives and adverbs 3. To express the “than” part of a comparison, di or che are used; di is used when two persons or things are compared using one adjective - Maria è meno alta di Lola. (Maria is less tall than Lola.) Che is used when only one person is mentioned in the sentence and the comparison is between two infinitives, two nouns or two adjectives - Maria ama piú la musica classica che la musica rock. (Maria loves classical music more than rock music.) - Maria ama piú nuotare che correre. (Maria loves swimming more than running.) - Maria é piú bella che intelligente. (Maria is more beautiful than smart.) B. Equality Expressed by using either: così...come or tanto...quanto Lola è così alta come me, or Lola è tanto alta quanto me. (Lola is as tall as I am.) C. The Superlative Formed by the adjective preceding the definite article: il più interessante (the most interesting) la più famosa (the most famous) il meno loquace (the least talkative) D. The Absolute Superlative Formed by adding -issimo to the stem of the adjective (take the masculine singular adjective and drop the final vowel): -bellissima (most beautiful) -carissimo (dearest, most expensive) -ricchissimo (richest)

A. Personal Pronouns as Subject: io (I), tu (you familiar), lui (he), lei (she), Lei (you, formal), noi (we), voi (you, familiar plural), loro (they), Loro (you, formal plural) B. Pronouns as Direct Object: mi (me), ti (you), lo (him, it, masculine), la (her, it, feminine), La (you, formal), ci (us), vi (you), li (them, masculine), le (them, feminine), Li (you, formal masculine plural), Le (you, formal feminine plural) C. Pronouns as Indirect Objects: mi (to/for me), ti (to/for you), gli (to/for him), le (to/for her), Le (to/for you, formal), ci (to/for us), vi (to/for you), loro (to/for them), Loro (to/for you, formal plural) D. Stressed Forms of Pronouns after a Verb or a Preposition: me (me), te (you), lui (him), lei (her), sè (himself, herself, onself, itself), Lei (you, formal), noi (us), voi (you), Loro (you, formal plural), loro (them), sè (themselves)

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Used to conjugate reflexive verbs: Mi alzo tardi. (I wake [myself] up late.) mi (myself), ti (yourself), si (himself/herself/itself/yourself formal), ci (ourselves), vi (yourselves), si (themselves/ yourselves formal plural)

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS Agree with possessed, not possessor 1. Masculine Singular il mio (mine) il tuo (yours) il suo (his, hers, its) il nostro (ours) il vostro (yours, plural) il loro (theirs, plural)

Plural i miei (mine, masculine plural) i tuoi (yours) i suoi (his, hers, its) i nostri (ours) i vostri i loro (theirs, plural)

2. Feminine Singular la mia (mine) la tua (yours) la sua (his, hers, its) la nostra (ours) la vostra (yours, plural) la loro (theirs, plural)

Plural le mie (mine, feminine plural) le tue (yours) le sue (his, hers, its) le nostre (ours) le vostre (yours, plural) le loro (theirs, plural)

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS chi? who? che cosa? what? quale? (plural quali) which? quanto? quanta? how much? quanti? quante? how many?

PRONOUN

“NE”

Ne (intranslatable by itself) replaces nouns preceded by di, especially when used with a number or a quantity - “Quante sorelle hai?” (How many sisters do you have?) - “Ne ho due.” (I have two [of them].) - “Quanto prosciutto hanno comprato?” (How much prosciutto did they buy?) - “Ne hanno comprato un chilo.” (They bought one kilo [of it].)

RELATIVE PRONOUNS Introduce relative clauses in the sentence and serve as a subject or object in the clause 1. che (that, which, who) Il vestito che ho comprato. (The dress that I bought.) 2. chi (he who, she who) Chi va in Italia si divertirà. (He who goes to Italy will have fun.) 3. cui (whom, which with a preposition or whose) Ecco Lola, la ragazza con cui abito. (Here’s Lola, the girl with whom I live.) É Lola la ragazza la cui madre torna da Roma? (Is Lola the girl whose mother is returning from Rome?)

2

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS: “this one,” “ that one” Masculine Singular questo (this one) quello (that one)

Plural questi (these ones) quelli (those ones)

Feminine Singular questa (this one) quella (that one)

Plural queste (these ones) quelle (those ones)

NEGATIVES

NEGATIVES

Words that replace nouns

A. The simplest way to make a sentence negative in Italian is to place non (not) in front of the verb B. Other negative words or expressions that often appear with non: -niente/nulla (nothing) -nessuno (nobody) -mai (never) -ancora (not yet) -più (no longer) -nè...nè (neither...nor) -Non vedo nessuno. (I see nobody./I don’t see anyone.) -La ragazza non capisce niente. (The girl doesn’t understand anything/understands nothing.) C. When niente or nessuno precedes the verb, non is omitted -Niente è facile. (Nothing is easy.) -Nessuno può farlo. (Nobody can do it.)

NOTE ON PASSIVE VOICE

A. USAGE You can turn any verb into the corresponding passive voice: Ex: Lola mangia la torta. (Lola eats the cake.) becomes La torta è mangiata da Lola. (The cake is eaten by Lola.) B. FORMATION The passive voice is formed by using essere (to be) followed by the past participle of the verb: Il tavolo è fatto a mano. (The table is made by hand.)

VERBS -The Indicative mood is used to make a statement -The Subjunctive mood is used to express a doubt or a wish -The Imperative mood is used to command or counsel

FORMATION OF REGULAR VERBS For Indicative and Subjunctive moods, simple tenses: -are ending: lavorare (to work) Singular Present: lavor o i a lavor avo avi ava Imperfect: lavor ai asti ò Preterit: Future: lavorer ò ai à Conditional: lavorer ei esti ebbe i i i lavor Pres.Subj: Imp.Subj: lavor assi assi asse Present: Imperfect: Preterit: Future: Conditional: Pres.Subj: Imp.Subj:

lavor lavor lavor lavorer lavorer lavor lavor

Plural iamo avamo ammo emo emmo iamo assimo

ate avate aste ete este iate aste

ano avano arono anno ebbero ino assero

Singular o i evi evo ei/etti esti ò ai ei esti a a essi essi

e eva è/ette à ebbe a esse

-ere ending: vendere (to sell) Present: Imperfect: Preterit: Future: Conditional: Pres.Subj: Imp.Subj:

vend vend vend vender vender vend vend

VERBS

PRONOUNS

Plural (those) quegli quegli quei

PRONOUNS

D. Masculine forms Singular (that) quello (before z or s consonant) quell’ (before a vowel) quel (before any other consonant) E. Feminine forms Singular (that) quella, quell’ (before a vowel)

PRONOUNS

Adjectives (continued)

Plural iamo evamo emmo emo emmo iamo essimo

ete evate este ete este iate este

ono evano erono/ettero anno ebbero ano essero

-ire ending: servire (to serve)

VERBS

Present: Imperfect: Preterit: Future: Conditional: Pres.Subj: Imp.Subj:

serv serv serv servir servir serv serv

Singular o i ivo ivi ii isti ò ai ei esti a a issi issi

Present: Imperfect: Preterit: Future: Conditional: Pres.Subj: Imp.Subj:

serv serv serv servir servir serv serv

Plural iamo ivamo immo emo emmo iamo issimo

ite ivate iste ete este iate iste

e iva ì à ebbe a isse

ono ivano irono anno ebbero ano issero

STEM-CHANGING VERBS Three common verbs ending in -ire change their stem to isc before the endings in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural: -finire: to finish; capire: to understand; preferire: to prefer capisco: I understand; finisce: he finishes

and

KEY IRREGULAR VERBS Present Tense

VERBS

1.ESSERE: to be io sono, tu sei, lui/lei/Lei è, noi siamo, voi siete, loro/ Loro sono 2. AVERE: to have io ho, tu hai, lui/lei/Lei ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro/ Loro hanno 3. FARE: to do, to make io faccio, tu fai, lui/lei/Lei fa, noi facciamo, voi fate, loro/Loro fanno 4. ANDARE: to go io vado, tu vai, lui/lei/Lei va, noi andiamo, voi andate, loro/Loro vanno 5. STARE: to be, to stay io sto, tu stai, lui/lei/Lei sta, noi stiamo, voi state, loro/Loro stanno 6. DARE: to give io do, tu dai, lui/lei/Lei dà, noi diamo, voi date, loro/Loro danno 7. DIRE: to say, to tell io dico, tu dici, lui/lei/Lei dice, noi diciamo, voi dite, loro/Loro dicono 8. VENIRE: to come io vengo, tu vieni, lui/lei/Lei viene, noi veniamo, voi venite, loro/Loro vengono 9. DOVERE: must, to have to io devo, tu devi, lui/lei/Lei deve, noi dobbiamo, voi dovete, loro/Loro devono 10. POTERE: can, to be able io posso, tu puoi, lui/lei/Lei può, noi possiamo, voi potete, loro/Loro possono 11. VOLERE: to wish, to want io voglio, tu vuoi, lui/lei/Lei vuole, noi vogliamo, voi volete, loro/Loro vogliono 12.BERE: to drink io bevo, tu bevi, lui/lei/Lei beve, noi beviamo, voi bevete, loro/Loro bevono 13. SAPERE: to know io so, tu sai, lui/lei/Lei sa, noi sappiamo, voi sapete, loro/Loro sanno

starò, starai, starà, staremo, starete, staranno/starei, staresti, starebbe, staremmo, stareste, starebbero

14. TENERE: to hold io tengo, tu tieni, lui/lei/Lei tiene, noi teniamo, voi tenete, loro/Loro tengono 15. USCIRE: to go out io esco, tu esci, lui/lei/Lei esce, noi usciamo, voi uscite, loro/Loro escono

stare:

Preterit (passato remoto)

Present:

1. ESSERE: to be fui, fosti, fu, fummo, foste, furono 2. AVERE: to have ebbi, avesti, ebbe, avemmo, aveste, ebbero 3. DARE: to give diedi, desti, diede, demmo, deste, diedero 4. DIRE: to say, to tell dissi, dicesti, disse, dicemmo, diceste, dissero 5. FARE: to do, to make feci, facesti, fece, facemmo, faceste, fecero 6. STARE: to be, to stay stetti, stesti, stette, stemmo, steste, stettero 7. CHIUDERE: to shut chiusi, chiudesti, chiuse, chiudemmo, chiudeste, chiusero 8. CONOSCERE: to know conobbi, conoscesti, conobbe, conoscemmo, conosceste, conobbero 9. DOVERE: must, to have to dovei, dovesti, dovè, dovemmo, doveste, doverono 10. LEGGERE: to read lessi, leggesti, lesse, leggemmo, leggeste, lessero 11. METTERE: to put, to set misi, mettesti, mise, mettemmo, metteste, misero 12. POTERE: can, to be able to potei, potesti, potè, potemmo, poteste, poterono 13. PRENDERE: to take presi, prendesti, prese, prendemmo, prendeste, presero 14. RISPONDERE: to answer risposi, rispondesti, rispose, rispondemmo, rispondeste, risposero 15. SCRIVERE: to write scrissi, scrivesti, scrisse, scrivemmo, scriveste, scrissero 16. SAPERE: to know seppi, sapesti, seppe, sapemmo, sapeste, seppero 17. VEDERE: to see vidi, vedesti, vide, vedemmo, vedeste, videro 18. VENIRE: to come venni, venisti, venne, venimmo, veniste, vennero 19. VIVERE: to live vissi, vivesti, visse, vivemmo, viveste, vissero

Irregular Future & Conditional Stems The following verbs change their stem for the future (plain text) and the conditional tenses (italicized): venire: verrò, verrai, verrà, verremo, verrete, verranno / verrei, verresti, verrebbe, verremmo, verreste, verrebbero tenere: terrò, terrai, terrà, terremo, terrete, terranno/ terrei, terresti, terrebbe, terremmo, terreste, terrebbero andare: andrò, andrai, andrà, andremo, andrete, andranno/ andrei, andresti, andrebbe, andremmo, andreste, andrebbero vedere: vedrò, vedrai, vedrà, vedremo, vedrete, vedranno/ vedrei, vedresti, vedrebbe, vedremmo, vedreste, vedrebbero fare: farò, farai, farà, faremo, farete, faranno / farei, faresti, farebbe, faremmo, fareste, farebbero

VERBS 3

Auxiliary Verbs to Form Perfect Tenses There are 2 auxiliary verbs: avere: to have, and essere: to be ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno/ sono, sei, è, siamo, siete, sono Imperfect: avevo, avevi, aveva, avevamo, avevate, avevano/ ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano ebbi, avesti, ebbe, avemmo, aveste, aveste, Preterite: ebbero/fui, fosti, fu, fummo, foste, furono Future: avrò, avrai, avrà, avremo, avrete, avranno/ sarà, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno Conditional: avrei, avresti, avrebbe, avremmo, avreste, avrebbero/sarei, saresti, sarebbe, saremmo, sareste, sarebbero Pres. Subj: abbia, abbia, abbia, abbiamo, abbiate, abbiano/sia, sia, sia, siamo, siate, siano

VERBS

vend vend vend vender vender vend vend

VERBS

Present: Imperfect: Preterit: Future: Conditional: Pres.Subj: Imp.Subj:

Irregular Imperfect Tenses of Some Key Verbs BERE: DIRE: ESSERE: FARE :

bevevo, bevevi, beveva, bevevamo, bevevate, bevevano dicevo, dicevi, diceva, dicevamo, dicevate, dicevano ero, eri, era, eravamo, eravate, erano facevo, facevi, faceva, facevamo, facevate, facevano

VERB TENSES, FORM & USAGE Indicative Mood Present Tense A. USAGE: The present is equivalent to the following English forms: I speak, I am speaking, I do speak: parlo; the present is also used with the preposition da to express the English present perfect progressive: Aspetto da lunedì. (I have been waiting since Monday.); it is also used to express a condition in the near furure: Domani andiamo a teatro. (Tomorrow, we will go to the theater.) B. FORM: -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) Present io parlo vendo servo tu parli vendi servi lui/lei/Lei parla vende serve noi parliamo vendiamo serviamo voi parlate vendete servite loro/Loro parlano vendono servono

Imperfect A.USAGE: Expresses a past action continued for an indefinite period of time: Mentre io dormivo, tu guardavi la TV (While I was sleeping, you watched TV.); it is also used to express an habitual or repetitive action in the past: Quando ero giovane. (When I was young.); the imperfect may also be translated by the English form used to: He used to read. (Lui leggeva.); it also can be used to express weather, age and physical characteristics in the past: Lola aveva i capelli biondi. (Lola used to have blond hair.) B. FORM Imperfect -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) io parlavo vendevo servivo tu parlavi vendevi servivi vendeva serviva lui/lei/Lei parlava noi parlavamo vendevamo servivamo vendevate servivate parlavate voi loro/Loro parlavano vendevano servivano

VERBS

Verbs (continued)

Preterit

MORE ON VERBS

Progressive Tenses

A.USAGE: The preterit or past absolute (passato remoto) is similar to the English present perfect: Marco Polo portò tante cose indietro dalla Cina. (Marco Polo brought back many things from China.) B. FORM: Preterit -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) parlai vendei (etti) servii io tu parlasti vendesti servisti lui/lei/Lei parlò vendè servì parlammo vendemmo servimmo noi voi parlaste vendeste serviste loro/Loro parlarono venderono(ettero) servirono

Compound Tenses

A. USAGE: The progressive tenses are used to describe an action in progress: Che cosa stai facendo? (What are you doing?) B. FORMATION: The progressive tenses are made up using the verb stare followed by the gerund

Future A.USAGE: It expresses an action which will take place in the future B. FORM: Future -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) parlerò venderò servirò io tu parlerai venderai servirai lui/lei/Lei parlerà venderà servirà noi parleremo venderemo serviremo voi parlerete venderete servirete loro/Loro parleranno venderanno serviranno

Conditional A. USAGE: The conditional corresponds to the English form of the conditional and is used exactly the same way B. FORM: Conditional -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) io parlerei venderei servirei tu parleresti venderesti serviresti lui/lei/Lei parlerebbe venderebbe servirebbe noi parleremmo venderemmo serviremmo voi parlereste vendereste servireste loro/Loro parlerebbero venderebbero servirebbero

Subjunctive Mood Present Subjunctive A.USAGE: The subjunctive expresses fear, doubt, point of view, hope, possibility; it is usually used in the subordinate clause introduced by che if the main verb expresses an opinion, a fear, a supposition, a wish, or an anticipation: Sembra che tu dica la verità. (It seems that you are telling the truth.) B.FORM: Pres. Subj. -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) io parli venda serva parli venda serva tu lui/lei/Lei parli venda serva noi parliamo vendiamo serviamo voi parliate vendiate serviate loro/Loro parlino vendano servano

Imperfect Subjunctive A.USAGE: The usage is the same as for the subjunctive present except the actions are expressed in the past B.FORM: Imp. Subj. -ARE (parlare) -ERE (vendere) -IRE (servire) io parlassi vendessi servissi tu parlassi vendessi servissi lui/lei/Lei parlasse vendesse servisse servissimo vendessimo parlassimo noi voi parlaste vendeste serviste loro/Loro parlassero vendessero servissero

VERBS

VERBS

A. USAGE: The Indicative Present Perfect (passato prossimo) expresses simple past actions The Indicative Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo) expresses an action that occured before a simple past action: Non sono andato al cinema perchè avevo già visto quel film. (I didn’t go to the cinema, because I had already seen that film.) The Indicative Future Perfect (futuro anteriore) is equivalent to the English form of the future perfect: Andremo al cinema appena avrai finito di lavorare. (We will go to the movies as soon as you will have finished working.) The Conditional Perfect (condizionale passato) corresponds to the English past conditional: Sarei venuto alla festa, se lo avessi saputo. (I would have come to the party if I had known about it.) The Subjunctive Present Perfect (congiuntivo passato) is used in dependent clauses to express an event prior to the situation expressed in the main clause, when the verb in the main clause is in the present: Mi sembra che lui abbia detto la veritá. (It seems to me that he told the truth.) The Subjunctive Pluperfect (trapassato congiuntivo) is used in dependent clauses to express an event prior to the situation expressed in the main clause, when the verb in the main clause is in the past: Mi sembrava che lui avesse detto la veritá. (It seemed to me that he had told the truth.) B. FORM Indicative Present Perfect is formed by the auxiliary verb followed by the past participle of the verb: Ho mangiato. (I have eaten.) Indicative Pluperfect is formed by the auxiliary verb in the Imperfect (imperfetto) followed by the past participle: Avevo mangiato. (I had eaten.) Indicative Future Perfect is formed by the auxiliary in the future followed by the past participle: Avrò mangiato. (I will have eaten.) Conditional Perfect is formed by the auxiliary in the conditional present followed by the past participle: Avrei mangiato. (I would have eaten.) Subjunctive Present Perfect is formed by the auxiliary in Present Subjunctive followed by the past participle: che abbia mangiato (that I have eaten) Subjunctive Pluperfect is formed by the auxiliary in imperfect subjunctive followed by the past participle: che avessi mangiato (that I had eaten)

Gerund & Present Participle A. USAGE: The gerund or present participle is equivalent to the English -ing form B. FORMATION: By dropping the -are from the -are verbs and adding -ando, and by dropping the -ire or -ere from the -ere and -ire verbs and by adding -endo to the stem: mangiare/mangiando, scrivere/scrivendo, partire /partendo

Past Participle

Reflexive Verbs A. USAGE A reflexive verb is a verb in any tense that requires a reflexive pronoun; it is identified by the ending -si attached to its infinitive: lavarsi (to wash oneself) B. FORMATION To conjugate a reflexive verb, drop the -si and conjugate normally without forgetting the reflexive pronoun each time: Tu ti diverti. (You enjoy yourself.) The verb piacere The verb piacere is used to express “to like”, it is used almost exclusively in the third person; so, in order to express, “I like Florence,” the sentence in Italian becomes: “Florence is pleasing to me,” and it is translated: A me piace Firenze.

Imperative Mood A. USAGE: The imperative is used to express a command: B. FORM: -ARE verbs: -ERE verbs: -IRE verbs (no first person) parla vendi servi parli venda serva parliamo vendiamo serviamo parlate vendete servite parlino vendano servano

VERBS

CREDITS Edited by: Liliane Arnet Layout and Artwork: Rich Marino

NOTE TO STUDENTS This QuickStudy® guide is an outline of the grammar taught in Italian courses. Due to its condensed format, use it as an Italian to English guide, but not as a replacement for assigned classwork. DISCLAIMER Due to its condensed format, this guide cannot cover every aspect of the Italian language nor can it address every idiomatic expression; Colloquial differences of regions apply. Neither BarCharts®, its writers, designers nor editing staff, are in any way responsible or liable for the use or misuse of the information contained in this guide. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 BarCharts Inc. 0508

ISBN-13: 978-142320630-9 ISBN-10: 142320630-4

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To form the past participle of regular forms, drop the infinitive ending and add the following endings to the stem: (parlare/parlato) -ato for the -are verbs -uto for the -ere verbs (vendere/venduto) -ito for the -ire verbs (finire/finito)

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