Buongiorno! (boo-ohn-johr-noh) (Hello! and Good morning!

)
Arrivederci! (ahr-ree-veh-dehr-chee) (Goodbye!) (Formal)
Ciao! (chah-oh) (Hello! and Good-bye!) (Informal)
Salve! (sahl-veh) (Hello! and Good-bye!) (Neutral)
Buonasera! (boo-oh-nah-seh-rah) (Good afternoon! Good evening!) (Formal)
Buonanotte! (boo-oh-nah-noht-teh) (Good night!) (Informal)
Mi chiamo…(mee kee-ah-moh) (My name is. . .)
Come sta? (koh-meh stah) (How are you?) (Formal)
Come stai? (koh-meh stah-ee) (How are you?) (Informal)
Bene, grazie. (beh-neh grah-tsee-eh) (Fine, thank you.)

Per favore? (pehr fah-voh-reh) (Please.)

Grazie. (grah-tsee-eh) (Thank you.)
Non c'è di che. (nohn cheh dee keh) (You’re welcome.)
Mi dispiace. (mee dees-pee-ah-cheh) (I’m sorry.)
Mi scusi. (mee skoo-zee) (Excuse me.)
Sì. (see) (Yes.)
No. (noh) (No.)

Parla inglese? (pahr-lah een-gleh-zeh) (Do you speak English?)

Chi? (kee) (Who?)
Cosa? (koh-sah) (What?)
Quando? (koo-ahn-doh) (When?)
Dove? (doh-veh) (Where?)
Perché? (pehr-keh) (Why?)
Come? (koh-meh) (How?)
Quanto? (koo-anh-toh) (How much?)
N.B. The verb 'essere' is also the auxiliary verb
Permesso? (pehr-mehs-soh) for
(May I?)
itself; the past participle is "stato". Here is the
full past tense :
I was/have sono we were siamo
been stato/a stati/e
you were sei stato/a you were siete stati/e
he was è stato they were sono stati/e
she was è stata    
 
Notice how the past participle must change to
match the gender and number of the subject.
Italian/Abbreviation Pronunciation Translation

domenica/do. doh-meh-nee-kah Sunday

lunedì/lun. Loo-neh-dee Monday

martedì/mar. Mahr-teh-dee Tuesday

mercoledì/mer. mehr-koh-leh-dee Wednesday

giovedì/gio. Joh-veh-dee Thursday

venerdì/ven. veh-nehr-dee Friday

sabato/sab. sah-bah-toh Saturday

Aiuto! (ah-yoo-toh) (Help!)

Emergenza! (eh-mehr-jehn-tsah) (Emergency!)
Chiamate la polizia! (chee-ah-mah-teh lah poh-lee-tsee-ah) (Call the police!)
Chiamate un'ambulanza! (kee-ah-mah-teh oo-nahm-boo-lahn-tsah) (Call an ambulance!)
Ho bisogno di un medico. (oh bee-zoh-nyoh dee oon meh-dee-koh) (I need a doctor.)
Dov' è l'ospedale? (doh-veh lohs-peh-dah-leh) (Where is the hospital?)

Counting in Italian
Italian Pronunciation Translation
zero dzeh-roh 0
uno oo-noh 1
due doo-eh 2
tre treh 3
quattro koo-aht-troh 4
cinque cheen-koo-eh 5
sei say 6
sette seht-teh 7
otto oht-toh 8
nove noh-veh 9
dieci dee-eh-chee 10
undici oon-dee-chee 11
dodici doh-dee-chee 12
tredici treh-dee-chee 13
quattordici koo-aht-tohr-dee-chee 14
quindici koo-een-dee-chee 15
sedici say-dee-chee 16
diciassette dee-chahs-seht-teh 17
diciotto dee-choht-toh 18
diciannove dee-chahn-noh-veh 19
venti vehn-tee 20
ventuno vehn-too-noh 21
ventidue vehn-tee-doo-eh 22
trenta trehn-tah 30
quaranta koo-ah-rah-tah 40
cinquanta cheen-koo-ahn-tah 50
sessanta sehs-sahn-tah 60
settanta seht-than-tah 70
ottanta oht-than-tah 80
novanta noh-vahn-tah 90
cento chehn-toh 100
cinquecento cheen-koo-eh-chehn-toh 500
mille meel-leh 1,000
duemila doo-eh-mee-lah 2,000
un milione oon mee-lee-oh-neh 1,000,000
due milioni doo-eh mee-lee-oh-nee 2,000,000
un miliardo oon mee-lee-ahr-doh 1,000,000,000
 English Italian
Good morning. Buona mattina.
Good afternoon. Buon pomeriggio.
Good evening. Buona sera.
Hello, my name is John. Ciao, il mio nome è John.
What is your name? Come ti chiami?
How are you? Come stai?
I am fine. Sto benissimo.
Nice to meet you. Piacere.
Goodbye. Arrivederci.
See you later. A presto.
I am lost. Where is the restroom? Sono perso. Dov' è il bagno?
the hotel l'hotel
the restaurant il ristorante
the airport l'aeroporto
the American embassy l'ambasciata americana
Excuse me. Mi scusi.
Please. Per favore.
Thank you. Grazie.
I'm sorry. Sono spiacente.
You are welcome (it was nothing). Di niente.
How much does it cost? Quanto costa?
There are many. Ce ne sono molti.
Will you buy this? Comprate questo?
What time is it? Che ora e`?
How do you say maybe in French? Come si dice forse in francese?
Yes. Sì.
No. No.
I do not understand. Non capisco.
Would you speak slower, please. Puo` parlare lentamente per piacere?
Who? Chi?
Why?   Perchè?

family => la famiglia grandchildren => nipoti

relatives => il parenti grandson => il nipote
parents => i genitori granddaughter => la nipote
mother => la madre niece => la nipote
father => il padre nephew => il nipote
brother => il fratello cousin (m/f) => il cugino / la cugina
sister => la sorella husband => il marito
son => il figlio wife => la moglie
daughter => la figlia single => singolo
uncle => lo zio married => sposato
aunt => la zia divorced => divorziato 
grandmother => la nonna widow => vedova
grandfather => il nonno
office => ufficio  to pay => pagare 
city => città to buy => comprare 
the rent => l'affitto to sell => vendere
tax => tassa  to cost => costare
the cost => il costo to rent => affittare
price => il prezzo to deposit => depositare
bill => fattura  currency exchange => cambio 
estimate => valutazione customs => abitudini 
check => l'assegno entrance => entrata 
balance => totale exit => uscita 
passport => passaporto information => le informazioni
luggage/baggage => bagaglio

Accounting => la contabilità board/chalkboard => la lavagna

Algebra => l' algebra book => il libro
Art => l'arte college => l'università 
Biology => la biologia computer => il computer
Business => il commercio desk => il banco
Chemistry => la chimica dictionary => il dizionario
Computer Science => l'informatica paper => la carta
Dance => la danza pencil => la matita
Economics => l'economia pen => la penna
Foreign languages => le lingue straniere professor => il professore / la professoressa
Geography => la geografia school =>la scuola
Geometry => la geometria student => lo studente
History => la storia teacher => il maestro / la maestra
Math => la matematica test/quiz => l'esame (m)
Music => la musica  university => l' università 
Physical education => l'educazione fisica to study => studiare
Physics => la fisica to learn => imparare
Political Science => le scienze politiche to teach => insegnare

breakfast => la colazione bread => il pane

lunch => il pranzo pasta => la pasta 
dinner => la cena cereal => i cereali 

bowl => la ciotola  fruit => la frutta

cup => la tazza apple => la mela
fork => la forchetta banana => la banana
knife => il coltello orange => l'arancia
plate => il piatto grapes => l'uva 
spoon => il cucchiaio peach => la pesca
tomato => il pomodoro 
beer => la birra  watermelon => l'anguria
coffee => il caffè
juice => il succo di frutta meat => la carne
milk => il latte  chicken => il pollo
tea => il tè  turkey => il tacchino 
water => l'acqua  ham => il prosciutto
wine => il vino fish => il pesce
egg => l' uovo
desert => il dolce cheese => il formaggio
ice cream => il gelato
cake/pie => la torta vegetables => le verdure
lettuce => la lattuga 
broccoli => i broccoli
butter => il burro  carrot => la carota
jam => la marmellata celery => il sedano
cucumber => il cetriolo
sugar => lo zucchero salad => l'insalata
salt => il sale
pepper => il pepe
broth/soup => il brodo / la zuppa

How do we get to ? => Come si arriva a______ to accelerate => accelerare 

Where is _? => Dov'e` il/la_ to break/stop => fermarsi
What time does it leave? =>  A che ora parte il/la __ to go => andare 
Can you draw it for me? =>  Puo` scriverlo per favore? turn left => girare a sinistra 
turn right => girare a destra 
map => la cartina go straight => andare diritto
corner => l'angolo
street => la starda
city => la citta`
downtown => il centro citta`

house => la casa table => la tavola

apartment => l' appartamento chair => la sedia
room => la stanza couch => il divano
living room => il soggiorno desk => la scrivania
kitchen => la cucina window => la finestra
dining room => la sala da pranzo door => la porta
hallway => il corridoio wall => la parete / il muro
stairs => la scala bed => il letto
bathroom => il bagno blanket => la coperta 
bathtub => la vasca da bagno television => la televisione
shower => l' acquazzone  radio => la radio 
sink => il lavandino refrigerator => il frigorifero
roof => il tetto stove => la stufa 
garage => il garage  oven => il forno
yard => il prato dishwasher => la lavapiatti 
closet => l'armadio microwave => il microonde 
light => la luce 
garbage => l' immondizia

head => la testa hat => il capello

brain => il cervello  earrings => gli orecchini
hair => i capelli shirt => la camicia
face => la faccia blouse => la camicetta
ear => l'orecchio dress => il vestito
eye => l'occhio pants => i pantaloni
mouth => la bocca jeans => i jeans
nose => il naso shorts => i pantaloncini
neck => il collo skirt => la gonna
shoulder => la spalla sock => il calzino
chest => il torace  shoe => la scarpa
stomach => lo stomaco swimsuit => il costume da bagno
waist => la vita  underwear => la biancheria intima 
back => la schiena glove => il guanto
heart => il cuore  belt => la cintura
arm => il braccio coat => il cappotto
elbow => il gomito ring => l' anello
wrist => polso
hand => la mano My arm hurts. =>Mi fa male il braccio.
finger => il dito Are you hurt? => State male?
leg => la gamba I have a headache. => Ho mal di testa.
thigh => la coscia  Do you have aspirin? => Avete un' aspirina?
shin => lo stinco You are hurting me. => Mi fate male. 
foot => il piede Don't hurt him/her. => No fargli/farle male.
toe => il dito

dog => il cane forest => la foresta

cat => il gatto trees => l' albero
mouse => il topo plant => la pianta
bird => l'uccello flower => il fiore
chicken/rooster => il pollo/gallo  jungle => la giungla 
cow => la mucca ocean => l'oceano 
duck => l'anatra river => il fiume
goat => la capra pond => lo stagno
horse => il cavallo lake => il lago
pig => il maiale hill => la collina
sheep => la pecora mountain => la montagna
waterfall => la cascata
lion => il leone rainbow => l'arcobaleno 
tiger => la tigre sky => il cielo
bear => l'orso  cloud => la nube
wolf => il lupo rain => la pioggia 
elephant => l'elefante snow => la neve
monkey => la scimmia
skunk => la puzzola
eagle => l'aquila 
fish => il pesce 
whale => la balena

angel => l'angelo  hell => l'inferno 

baptism => il battesimo Judaism => il Giudaismo 
Bible => la Bibbia  monastery => il monastero
bishop => il vescovo Pope => il papa 
Buddhism => il Buddismo prophet => il profeta
cathedral => la cattedrale  Protestant =>  protestante 
Christianity => cristianita` religion => la religione 
church => la chiesa  sermon => il sermone 
faith => la fede temple => il tempio 
God => dio worship => il culto
heaven => il cielo

archer => il tiratore d'arco giant => il gigante 

armor => l'armatura goblin => il nano
arrow => la freccia  king => il re 
axe => l'ascia  knight => il cavaliere 
bow => l'arco  lance => la lancia 
castle => il castello  magic => la magia 
cauldron => il calderone  mermaid => la sirena
demon => il diavolo moat => il fossato 
devil => il diavolo  monster => il mostro
dragon => il drago mummy => la mummia
dungeon => il castello princess => la principessa 
dwarf => il nano  queen => la regina 
elf => l'elfo shield => lo scudo
fairy => la fata sword => la spada 
ghost => il fantasma throne => il trono
unicorn => l'unicorno tower => la torretta 
wizard => il mago
Colors in English Pronunciation in Italian
black nero/a
white bianco/a
gray grigio/a
brown marrone/i
red rosso/a
orange arancione/i
yellow giallo/a
green verde/i
blue azzurro/a
purple viola

Days of the Week: Seasons:

Sunday => domenica Spring => la primavera
Monday => lunedì Summer => l'estate
Tuesday => martedì Autumn/Fall => l'autunno
Wednesday => mercoledì Winter => l'inverno
Thursday => giovedì
Friday => venerdì Other:
Saturday => sabato day => il giorno
today => oggi
Months of the Year: yesterday => ieri
January => gennaio tomorrow => domani
February => febbraio week => la settimana
March => marzo next => il prossimo
April => aprile last => l'ultimo
May => maggio month => il mese
June => giugno year => l'anno
July => luglio decade => decennio
August => agosto century => secolo
September => settembre
October => ottobre
November => novembre
December => dicembre

English Italian
a/an (f) una
a/an (m) un
a/an (mp) uno
abbey abbazia
abbot abate
ability abilita'
able abile
above sopra
abundantly abbondantemente
abyss abisso
academy accademia
accent accento
accountant ragioniere
accounting ragioneria
address indirizzo
adjustment aggiustamento
adorable adorabile
after dopo
afternoon pomeriggio
again ancora
agent agente
air aria
airplane aeroplano
airport aeroporto
airports aeroporti
alcohol alcool
algorithm algoritmo
alien alieno
alive vive
alive vivi
alive vivo
alive viva
alloy lega
almond mandorla
almonds mandorle
almost quasi
alone solo
alphabet alfabeto
alphabetic (f) alfabetica
alphabetic (fp) alfabetiche
alphabetic (m) alfabetico
alphabetic (mp) alfabetici
alphabets alfabeti
alphanumeric (f) alfanumerica
alphanumeric (fp) alfanumeriche
alphanumeric (m) alfanumerico
alphanumeric (mp) alfanumerici
already gia'
also anche
alternative alternativo
alternative alternativa
always sempre
ambassador ambasciatore
American americano
anatomy anatomia
and e
angel angelo
angry arrabbiato
animal animale
Ann Anna
answer risposta
ant formica
Anthony Antonio
Antoinette Antonietta
appetizer antipasto
apple mela
approval approvazione
apricot albicocca
apricots albicocche
April aprile
apron grembiule
apropos a proposito
arm braccio
armchair poltrona
arms braccia
arrow freccia
art arte
artichoke carciofo
article articolo
ash cenere
ashes ceneri
at a
atlantic atlantico
August agosto
aunt zia
aunts zie
author autore
authority autorita'
autumn autunno
average media
awake sveglio
axe ascia
backpack zaino
bad cattiva
bad cattive
bad cattivo
bad cattivi
baggage bagaglio
bagpipe cornamusa
bagpipes cornamuse
ball palla
balls palle
banana banana
bananas banane
bank banca
bankrupt bancarotta
barber barbiere
barefoot scalzo
basil basilico
basket canestro
bat pipistrello
beach spiaggia
beam trave
bean fagiolo
beans fagioli
bear orso
beard barba
bears orsi
beautiful bella
beautiful bellissimo
beauty bellezza
beaver castoro
because (a) perche'
bed letto
bedroom camera da letto
bee ape
beer birra
beers birre
bees api
bell campana
belt cintura
belts cinture
Berlin Berlino
better meglio
bible bibbia
bicycle bicicletta
bicycles biciclette
big grosso
big grande
bill conto
billion miliardo
bird uccello
birds uccelli
birth nascita
birthday compleanno
biscuit biscotto
biscuits biscotti
bishop vescovo
bison bisonte
bitch cagna
bitter amaro
black (f) nera
black (fp) nere
black (m) nero
black (mp) neri
blackbird merlo
blackboard lavagna
blade lama
blind (f) cieca
blind (fp) cieche
blind (m) cieco
blind (mp) ciechi
blood sangue
blouse camicetta
blue blu
boat battello
bomb bomba
bombs bombe
bone osso
bones ossa
book libro
both ambedue
bow fiocco
bow arco
bowl scodella
boy ragazzo
boys ragazzi
brain cervello
brains cervelli
branch ramo
bread pane
breakfast colazione
breast seno
breathtaking mozzafiato
brick mattone
bridge ponte
brief breve
British britannico
broom scopa
broth brodo
brother fratello
brown marrone
brush pennello
brush spazzola
building edificio
bull toro
bullet pallottola
bullets pallottole
bumper paraurti
bus autobus
bush cespuglio
but ma
butler maggiordomo
butter burro
butterflies farfalle
butterfly farfalla
button bottone
by per
cabbage cavolo
cabbages cavoli
cable cavo
cage gabbia
cake torta
cakes torte
camel cammello
camomile camomilla
camping campeggio
Canadian canadese
canal canale
candidate candidato
candle candela
candlestick candeliere
cane canna
canteen borraccia
car auto
car automobile
carnation garofano
carnival carnevale
carrot carota
carving intaglio
castle castello
cat gatto
catholic cattolico
catholic cattolica
catholic cattoliche
catholic cattolici
cause causa
ceiling soffitto
celery sedano
cell cellula
cell cella
cement cemento
cent centesimo
centimeter centimetro
centimeters centimetri
central centrale
cents centesimi
centuries secoli
century secolo
cereal cereale
cereals cereali
certain certo
certificate attestato
chain catena
chair sedia
chalk gesso
chandelier lampadario
check assegno
checkup esame
cheerful allegro
cheese formaggio
cherries ciliege
cherry ciliegia
chess scacchi
chest petto
chestnut castagna
chicken gallina
chicken pollo
chicory cicoria
child bambino
childhood infanzia
chin mento
chocolate cioccolata
Christmas natale
church chiesa
churches chiese
cinnamon cannella
circle cerchio
citizen cittadino
city citta'
clam vongola
clams vongole
clay creta
clay argilla
clean pulito
clear chiaro
cliff scoglio
clock orologio
closed (f) chiusa
closed (fp) chiuse
closed (m) chiuso
closed (mp) chiusi
closet armadio
clothing abbigliamento
cloud nuvola
clouds nubi
clouds nuvole
club mazza
coach allenatore
cocoa cacao
cod merluzzo
coffee caffe'
coffin bara
cold freddo
color colore
colors colori
comb pettine
comma virgola
committee comitato
compact compatto
compass bussola
concept concetto
concert concerto
conqueror conquistatore
conquest conquista
constrain vincolo
container recipiente
content contenuto
contented contento
contents contenuto
cooked cotto
cool fresco
copper rame
copybook quaderno
corner angolo
correctly correttamente
cotton cotone
countryside campagna
courage coraggio
court corte
cousin cugino
cousins cugini
cow mucca
cows mucche
crab granchio
crazy matto
crazy pazzo
cream crema
crease piega
credit credito
cricket grillo
crow corvo
cruise crociera
cube cubo
cup tazza
cups tazze
curfew coprifuoco
customer cliente
customers clienti
cuttlefish seppia
daddy babbo
dark oscuro
dark scuro
dashboard cruscotto
daughter figlia
dawn aurora
day giorno
dead morto
dead morta
dead morte
dead morti
deads morti
dear (fs) cara
dear (ms) caro
death morte
December dicembre
deep profondo
deer cervo
definition definizione
degree laurea
democracy democrazia
departure partenza
designated (f) designata
designated (m) designato
desire voglia
destiny destino
dictionary dizionario
difficult difficile
digit cifra
digits cifre
dinner cena
dinners cene
dirty sporco
dish piatto
dishwasher lavastoviglie
distance distanza
ditch fossato
ditch fossa
doctor medico
dog cane
dogs cani
dollar dollaro
dollars dollari
dolly bambola
dolphin delfino
donkey asino
door porta
doorbell campanello
double doppio
doubt dubbio
dough pasta
dove tortora
dove colomba
dowry dote
draftsman disegnatore
dragon drago
dream sogno
dreams sogni
dress abito
drill trapano
dry secco
duck anatra
during durante
dust polvere
eagle aquila
eagles aquile
ear orecchio
earl conte
ears orecchie
earth terra
earthquake terremoto
east est
Easter pasqua
eastern orientale
easy facile
echo eco
economy economia
edition edizione
eel anguilla
eggplant melanzana
eggplants melanzane
eight otto
eighty ottanta
election elezione
elephant elefante
elephants elefanti
elevator ascensore
elevators ascensori
empty vuoto
end fine
England Inghilterra
English inglese
engraving incisione
enough abbastanza
especially soprattutto
even pari
evening sera
ever sempre
everyone ognuno
evil cattivo
examination esame
example esempio
excuse scusa
exit uscita
eye occhio
facade facciata
face faccia
fair fiera
faithful fedele
fake finto
falls cascata
false finto
false falso
families famiglie
family famiglia
far lontano
fashion moda
fast veloce
fat grasso
father padre
fathers padri
fear paura
feather piuma
feathers piume
February febbraio
feet piedi
female femmina
fennel finocchio
ferocious feroce
fiction finzione
field campo
fifth quinto
fifty cinquanta
fig fico
finger dito
fir abete
fire fuoco
fireflies lucciole
firefly lucciola
fireplace caminetto
first primo
fish pesce
fisherman pescatore
fishermen pescatori
fishes pesci
five cinque
flame fiamma
flat piatto
flavor sapore
flight volo
Florence Firenze
florist fioraio
flour farina
flower fiore
flute flauto
fly mosca
fog nebbia
food cibo
foot piede
footstep passo
footwear calzatura
for per
force forza
foreigner straniero
forest foresta
forever per sempre
fork forchetta
forks forchette
fortune fortuna
forty quaranta
four quattro
fourth quarto
fox volpe
frame cornice
frames cornici
France Francia
Frank Franco
frantic frenetico
free libero
free gratuito
freedom liberta'
French francese
friday venerdi'
friend amico
friendship amicizia
frog rana
frogs rane
from da
fruit frutta
full (fp) piene
full (fs) piena
full (m) pieno
full (mp) pieni
function funzione
fund fondo
game gioco
garden orto
garden giardino
garlic aglio
gate cancello
gate porta
geese oche
German tedesco
Germany Germania
gipsy zingaro
girl ragazza
girls ragazze
glass vetro
glue colla
glutton ghiottone
glycerin glicerina
goat capra
god dio
goddess dea
godfather padrino
godmother madrina
gold oro
golden dorato
golf golf
good buono
good-bye arrivederci
goose oca
gourmet buongustaio
government governo
grandfather nonno
grandfathers nonni
grandma nonna
grandmother nonna
grandmothers nonne
grandpa nonno
grape uva
graveyard cimitero
gray grigio
great grandfather bisnonno
great grandfathers bisnonni
great grandmother bisnonna
great grandmothers bisnonne
greedy avido
green verde
grill griglia
grove boschetto
growth crescita
guard guardia
guide guida
guitar chitarra
guitars chitarre
gulch burrone
gutter grondaia
hair capelli
hairdresser parrucchiere
half mezzo
ham prosciutto
hammer martello
hand mano
handful manciata
handkerchief fazzoletto
hands mani
happy felice
happy (m) contento
harbor porto
hard duro
hare lepre
harp arpa
harps arpe
hat cappello
hawk falco
hay fieno
hazelnut nocciola
he egli
head testa
heart cuore
heat calore
heat caldo
heaven paradiso
hedgehog porcospino
height altezza
Helen Elena
helicopter elicottero
hello salve
help aiuto
hen gallina
her ella
here qua
here qui
here qui
hi ciao
hiccup singhiozzo
high alto
hill collina
him egli
hole buco
hole foro
holiday festa
home casa
homework compito
honey miele
honor onore
honored onorato
hook gancio
hope speranza
horn corno
horse (f) cavalla
hot (f) calda
hot (fp) calde
hot (m) caldo
hot (mp) caldi
hotel albergo
hour ora
house casa
how come
hug abbraccio
hunger fame
hurricane uragano
hurricanes uragani
husband marito
hyacinth giacinto
hybrid ibrido
I io
I drink bevo
ice ghiaccio
idea idea
if se
ill malato
impossible impossibile
income rendita
incongruous incongruo
inconsistent incongruente
inflation inflazione
inhabitant abitante
injury ferita
inlay intarsio
inquest inchiesta
instead invece
insurance assicurazione
interesting interessante
international internazionale
intimacy intimita'
invasion invasione
Irish irlandese
iron ferro
island isola
Italian italiano
Italy Italia
jade giada
jaguar giaguaro
January gennaio
Japan Giappone
jasmine gelsomino
jellyfish medusa
job mestiere
John Giovanni
Joseph Giuseppe
judge giudice
Juliette Giulietta
July luglio
June giugno
kaleidoscope caleidoscopio
key tasto
key chiave
keyboard tastiera
keys chiavi
keys tasti
kick calcio
kidney rene
kindergarten asilo
king re
kiss bacio
kitchen cucina
kite aquilone
kites aquiloni
kitten micetto
knee ginocchio
knife coltello
knight cavaliere
knights cavalieri
knives coltelli
knob maniglia
knob manopola
knot nodo
labyrinth labirinto
lace merletto
lack carenza
lagoon laguna
lake lago
lakes laghi
lamb agnello
landscape paesaggio
language linguaggio
languages linguaggi
lantern lanterna
last ultimo
lathe tornio
laugh risata
laundry lavanderia
Lausanne Losanna
lavender lavanda
law legge
lawyer avvocato
laxative lassativo
layer strato
lead piombo
leaf foglia
league lega
leaves foglie
left sinistra
leg gamba
legs gambe
lemon limone
lemonade limonata
length lunghezza
leopard leopardo
less meno
lesson lezione
letter lettera
level livello
liberty liberta'
library biblioteca
lie bugia
life vita
light luce
light (f) chiara
light (m) chiaro
lights luci
lily giglio
line linea
lion leone
lioness leonessa
lip labbro
lips labbra
lipstick rossetto
lives vite
lobster aragosta
lobsters aragoste
London Londra
long lungo
loss perdita
lost (f) persa
lost (fp) perse
lost (m) perso
lost (mp) persi
lottery lotteria
Louis Luigi
love amore
lover amante
luck fortuna
lullaby ninnananna
lunch pranzo
lung polmone
lungs polmoni
luxury lusso
magazine rivista
magic magico
maid cameriera
mail posta
majority maggioranza
man uomo
manager gerente
manager gestore
mandrel mandrino
manuscript manoscritto
many molti
marble marmo
March marzo
market mercato
marvel meraviglia
marvelous meraviglioso
mass messa
massage massaggio
master padrone
match fiammifero
matrix matrice
May maggio
meat carne
medal medaglia
medicine medicina
meeting riunione
meeting incontro
melody melodia
member membro
men uomini
menu menu'
mercy pieta'
mermaid sirena
merry allegro
message messaggio
metal metallo
method metodo
Mexico Messico
mice topi
midday mezzogiorno
middle mezzo
midnight mezzanotte
Milan Milano
milk latte
million milione
mind mente
mine (fs) mia
mine (ms) mio
mint menta
minus meno
misleading fuorviante
mist nebbia
model (f) modella
model (m) modello
mom mamma
monday lunedi'
money denaro
monkey scimmia
month mese
monthly mensile
moon luna
moose alce
more piu'
morning mattino
Moscow Mosca
mother madre
mount monte
mountain montagna
mourning lutto
mouse topo
mouth bocca
movie theater cinema
much molto
mud fango
mule mulo
music musica
mussel cozza
mussels cozze
my (fs) mia
my (ms) mio
nail unghia
nail chiodo
naked (f) nuda
naked (m) nudo
nap pisolo
nap pisolino
napkin tovagliolo
Naples Napoli
narrow stretto
nation nazione
national nazionale
nations nazioni
near vicino
necklace collana
need bisogno
needle ago
nephew (m) nipote
nest nido
net rete
never mai
new nuovo
news notizie
newspaper giornale
nice (f) carina
nice (fs) simpatica
nice (m) carino
nice (ms) simpatico
nicotine nicotina
niece (f) nipote
night notte
nights notti
nine nove
ninety novanta
no no
noble nobile
nobody nessuno
noon mezzogiorno
north nord
nose naso
nothing niente
November novembre
now adesso
number numero
nun suora
nuns suore
nymph ninfa
nymphs ninfe
oasis oasi
October ottobre
odd dispari
offense offesa
oil olio
ointment unguento
old vecchio
olive oliva
one uno
one hundred cento
one hundred and thirty centotrenta
one thousand mille
onion cipolla
onions cipolle
only solo
or o
orange arancione
orange arancia
oranges arance
orchid orchidea
original originale
ornament ornamento
ostrich struzzo
outrage oltraggio
outside fuori
owl gufo
oxygen ossigeno
oyster ostrica
pacific pacifico
page pagina
painter pittore
painting dipinto
pair paio
palm palma
palms palme
pamphlet opuscolo
pan padella
pancake frittella
pans padelle
pants pantaloni
paper carta
parachute paracadute
paradox paradosso
paragraph paragrafo
parakeet parrocchetto
parcel pacco
parent genitore
parents genitori
Paris Parigi
parish parrocchia
park parco
parking lot parcheggio
parking lot posteggio
parrot pappagallo
parrots pappagalli
parsley prezzemolo
parson parroco
party partito
passport passaporto
pasta pasta
paste pasta
payment pagamento
pea pisello
peace pace
peach pesca
peach tree pesco
peaches pesche
peacock pavone
peak cima
peanut arachide
peanuts arachidi
pear pera
pearl perla
pears pere
peas piselli
pen penna
pencil matita
penguin pinguino
people gente
people popolo
pepper pepe
percent percento
permission permesso
pharmacy farmacia
physics fisica
physique fisico
piano pianoforte
picture fotografia
picture quadro
pig maiale
pigeon piccione
pigs maiali
pin spillo
pincers tenaglie
pinch pizzico
pinch pizzicotto
pine pino
pink rosa
pioneer pioniere
pirate pirata
pizza pizza
plane aereo
planet pianeta
planets pianeti
plaster gesso
plate piatto
platypus ornitorinco
pleasure piacere
pliers pinze
point punto
poison veleno
pole palo
police polizia
pollution inquinamento
pomegranate melagrana
poor povero
Pope Papa
portal portone
postcard cartolina
pot pentola
potato patata
potatoes patate
power potere
precious prezioso
presence presenza
present regalo
pressure pressione
pretty bello
pretty (f) carina
pretty (m) carino
price prezzo
pride orgoglio
priest prete
priest sacerdote
prince principe
princess principessa
prison prigione
problem problema
proceeding procedimento
professional professionale
progress progresso
pronunciation pronuncia
property proprieta'
prophecy profezia
prophet profeta
proposal proposta
proud (f) orgogliosa
proud (m) orgoglioso
public pubblico
pudding budino
pumpkin zucca
pumpkins zucche
puppet burattino
purple viola
purse borsa
pyramid piramide
quail quaglia
quality qualita'
quantity quantita'
quartz quarzo
queen regina
queens regine
quiet tranquillo
rabbit coniglio
raccoon procione
radio radio
rain pioggia
rainbow arcobaleno
rainbows arcobaleni
rat ratto
rate tasso
rather piuttosto
ray raggio
recent recente
recipe ricetta
rectangle rettangolo
red rosso
reform riforma
refrigerator frigorifero
regret pentimento
regret rammarico
reindeer renna
relative parente
relatives parenti
religion religione
rent affitto
research ricerca
restaurant ristorante
rhubarb rabarbaro
rich ricco
right destra
right giusto
ring anello
ripe maturo
risk rischio
river fiume
road strada
rock roccia
Rome Roma
roof tetto
room stanza
rooster gallo
root radice
rope corda
rose rosa
rosemary rosmarino
rotten marcio
round rotondo
ruler riga
Russian russo
sad triste
saint santo
salad insalata
salary salario
salt sale
sand sabbia
sapphire zaffiro
saturday sabato
school scuola
scientist scienziato
scissors forbici
scissors forbice
Scotland Scozia
Scottish scozzese
screw vite
screwdriver caccivite
sea mare
seagull gabbiano
seal sigillo
seaweed alga
secluded appartato
seclusion isolamento
secluted isolato
second secondo
secretary (f) segretaria
secretary (m) segretario
sector settore
security sicurezza
seed seme
September settembre
seven sette
seventy settanta
sex sesso
shame smacco
shark pescecane
shark squalo
sharks pescecani
she ella
sheep pecora
sheet lenzuolo
shell conchiglia
shepard pastore
ship nave
shirt camicia
shoe scarpa
shop negozio
short corto
short basso
shot sparo
shower acquazzone
shower doccia
Sicily Sicilia
sick ammalato
side lato
sides lati
signature firma
silent (f) zitta
silent (fp) zitte
silent (m) zitto
silent (mp) zitti
silver argento
simple semplice
sin peccato
sincere sincero
singer cantante
sink lavandino
sinner (f) peccatrice
sinner (m) peccatore
sinners (fp) peccatrici
sinners (mp) peccatori
sins peccati
sir signore
sister sorella
six sei
sixty sessanta
skeleton scheletro
skin pelle
skirt gonna
sky cielo
sleigh slitta
slice fetta
slipper pantofola
slow lento
slowly adagio
small piccolo
smoke fumo
snake serpente
snow neve
snowfall nevicata
soap sapone
soap bar saponetta
sober sobrio
soccer calcio
sock calza
socks calze
soldier soldato
soldiers soldati
sole sogliola
some qualche
something qualcosa
son figlio
song canzone
soul anima
sound suono
south sud
souvenir ricordo
space spazio
Spain Spagna
Spanish spagnolo
sparrow passero
speech discorso
spider ragno
spider web ragnatela
spiders ragni
spoon cucchiaio
spoons cucchiai
spot macchia
spring molla
spring primavera
spy spia
square quadrato
squid calamaro
squirrel scoiattolo
stadium stadio
stain macchia
star stella
starry (fp) stellate
starry (fs) stellata
starry (mp) stellati
starry (ms) stellato
stars stelle
start partenza
station stazione
statue statua
steel acciaio
stem gambo
stink puzza
stomach stomaco
stone pietra
stool sgabello
store negozio
storm tempesta
straight diritto
strawberry fragola
street via
street strada
strength forza
stress tensione
stripe striscia
strong forte
stubborn ostinato
student scolaro
student studente
sugar zucchero
suit abito
suitable adatto
summer estate
sun sole
sunday domenica
supermarket supermercato
surgeon chirurgo
surname cognome
sustained sostenuto
swamp palude
swan cigno
sweat sudore
sweater maglione
sweet dolce
swimming pool piscina
swindle truffa
symbol simbolo
symphony sinfonia
synthetic sintetico
system sistema
table tavolo
tablecloth tovaglia
tail coda
tails code
talk parlare
tall alto
tan abbronzatura
tangerine mandarino
target bersaglio
targets bersagli
tariff tariffa
taste gusto
tea te
teacher (f) maestra
teacher (m) maestro
teachers (fp) maestre
teachers (mp) maestri
tear lacrima
tears lacrime
teeth denti
telephone telefono
television televisione
temperature temperatura
temple tempio
ten dieci
tender tenero
tenderness tenerezza
tense teso
tepid tiepido
test esame
thank you grazie
the (f) la
the (fp) le
the (m) il
the (m) lo
the (mp) i
the (mp) gli
theater teatro
then allora
theory teoria
therapy terapia
there la'
there li'
these (f) queste
these (m) questi
they loro
they essi
thief ladro
thing cosa
third terzo
thirty trenta
this (f) questa
this (m) questo
three tre
throne trono
thumb pollice
thumbs pollici
thunder tuono
thursday giovedi'
tie cravatta
tiger tigre
tights calzamaglia
tile mattonella
time tempo
tired stanco
to a
to abolish abolire
to abuse abusare
to accuse accusare
to achieve compiere
to adjust aggiustare
to adore adorare
to announce annunziare
to announce annunciare
to annoy infastidire
to answer rispondere
to applaud applaudire
to ask chiedere
to avoid evitare
to awake svegliare
to bark abbaiare
to believe credere
to boil bollire
to bring portare
to build costruire
to buy comprare
to call chiamare
to can potere
to carve intagliare
to cause causare
to choose sceliere
to choose scegliere
to clean pulire
to close chiudere
to come venire
to compact compattare
to contain contenere
to convince convincere
to cook cucinare
to create creare
to cross attraversare
to cry piangere
to cut tagliare
to dance ballare
to deceive ingannare
to deliver recapitare
to depart partire
to desacrate profanare
to designate designare
to desire desiderare
to die morire
to do fare
to dream sognare
to drink bere
to drive guidare
to dry asciugare
to earn guadagnare
to eat mangiare
to enchant incantare
to enclose accludere
to end finire
to engrave incidere
to excuse scusare
to fail fallire
to faint svenire
to fall cadere
to feel sentire
to find trovare
to finish finire
to fish pescare
to fit aggiustare
to fly volare
to forget dimenticare
to forgive perdonare
to gnaw rodere
to go andare
to grow crescere
to guess indovinare
to happen accadere
to have avere
to hear sentire
to hear udire
to help aiutare
to hide nascondere
to honor onorare
to hope sperare
to hug abbracciare
to hunt cacciare
to ignite infiammare
to ignore ignorare
to inlay intarsiare
to invent inventare
to invite invitare
to judge giudicare
to jump saltare
to kill uccidere
to kiss baciare
to know sapere
to know conoscere
to laugh ridere
to leave partire
to lie mentire
to lift sollevare
to light accendere
to like piacere
to listen ascoltare
to live vivere
to look guardare
to lose perdere
to love amare
to make fare
to manage gestire
to manage dirigere
to massage massaggiare
to mold plasmare
to oblige obbligare
to open aprire
to paint dipingere
to pass passare
to pay pagare
to perturb perturbare
to phone telefonare
to pinch pizzicare
to play suonare
to play giocare
to poison avvelenare
to pray pregare
to press premere
to print stampare
to process trattare
to pull tirare
to put mettere
to rain piovere
to read leggere
to receive ricevere
to reimburse rimborsare
to rent affittare
to respond rispondere
to resume riprendere
to ridicule deridere
to run correre
to search cercare
to seat sedere
to see vedere
to select selezionare
to sell vendere
to send mandare
to shake tremare
to shape plasmare
to shine risplendere
to shine brillare
to sign firmare
to sing cantare
to sleep dormire
to slip scivolare
to smoke fumare
to snow nevicare
to solve risolvere
to speak parlare
to spurt spruzzare
to squeeze spremere
to squirt schizzare
to stink puzzare
to stop fermare
to study studiare
to sustain sostenere
to swear giurare
to sweat sudare
to swim nuotare
to take prendere
to thank ringraziare
to think pensare
to threaten minacciare
to train allenare
to travel viaggiare
to tremble tremare
to understand capire
to understand comprendere
to upset sconvolgere
to use usare
to ventilate ventilare
to visit visitare
to vote votare
to walk passeggiare
to walk camminare
to want volere
to wash lavare
to wet bagnare
to whistle fischiare
to win vincere
to wish desiderare
to work lavorare
to write scrivere
tobacco tabacco
today oggi
tomato pomodoro
tomatoes pomodori
tomorrow domani
tongue lingua
tonight stanotte
too anche
tooth dente
top trottola
torpedo siluro
tourism turismo
tourist turista
town paese
toy balocco
toy giocattolo
toys balocchi
trace traccia
train treno
trainer allenatore
training allenamento
trains treni
transfusion trasfusione
translate tradurre
trap trappola
trapeze trapezio
trash immondizia
trash spazzatura
treasure tesoro
tree albero
triangle triangolo
trigger grilletto
trip viaggio
triumph trionfo
trophy trofeo
tropic tropico
trousers pantaloni
trout trota
true vero
trumpet tromba
truth verita'
tuesday martedi'
tuna tonno
Turin Torino
turkey tacchino
turtle tartaruga
twenty venti
twins gemelli
two due
two hundred and fifty duecentocinquanta
type tipo
typewriter macchina da scrivere
ugliness bruttezza
ugly brutto
umbrella ombrello
uncle zio
uncles zii
under sotto
underneath sotto
unfair ingiusto
unfortunately sfortunatamente
United States Stati Uniti
unthinkable impensabile
until fino a
until fino
us noi
use uso
useful utile
useless inutile
vacant vuoto
vacant vacante
vacation ferie
vacation (p) vacanze
vacation (s) vacanza
varnish vernice
vast vasto
veal vitello
vegetable ortaggio
vegetables verdure
vegetables verdura
vegetables ortaggi
Venice Venezia
verb verbo
verdict verdetto
vertical verticale
vessel vaso
vessel vascello
vice vizio
Vincent Vincenzo
vinegar aceto
vineyard vigna
violin violino
virgin vergine
virtue virtu'
virus virus
vise morsa
vitamin vitamina
vocal vocale
voice voce
void inutile
void vuoto
vote voto
vowel vocale
wagon carro
waiter cameriere
waitress cameriera
Wales Galles
wallet portafoglio
war guerra
warrior guerriero
warriors guerrieri
washable lavabile
watch orologio
water acqua
wave onda
waves onde
wax cera
we noi
weak debole
weather tempo
wedding matrimonio
wednesday mercoledi'
week settimana
weeks settimane
weight peso
well pozzo
well bene
west ovest
western occidentale
whale balena
whales balene
what cosa
wheel ruota
when quando
where dove
which quale
while mentre
whim capriccio
whistle fischio
white (f) bianca
white (fp) bianche
white (m) bianco
who chi
why (q) perche'
wide largo
width larghezza
wife moglie
wig parrucca
will voglia
wind vento
window finestra
windows finestre
windshield parabrezza
wine vino
wing ala
wings ali
winter inverno
wish desiderio
witch strega
witches streghe
without senza
wizard mago
wolf lupo
woman donna
women donne
wonder meraviglia
wonderful meraviglioso
wood legno
woods bosco
wool lana
word parola
words parole
work lavoro
worker lavoratore
workers lavoratori
wound ferita
wrong sbagliato
year anno
yeast lievito
yes si'
yesterday ieri
yolk tuorlo
you voi
you tu
young giovane
yours (f) tua
yours (m) tuo
zebra zebra
zero zero
zeroes zeri
zip cerniera
parlare-to speak/talk, vedere-to see, vendere-to sell, mandare-to send, volere-to want, dire-to tell, aspettare-to wait,
domandare-to ask a question, piacere-to like, amare-to love, odire-to hate, viaggiare-to travel, mangiare-to eat,
guadare-to watch, camminare-to walk, correre-to run, andare-to go, provare-to try, nascere-to be born, morire-to
die,cercare-to look for, vestirsi-to get dressed, mettere-to put, divertirsi-to have fun, essere-to be, avere-to have,
cambiare-to change, chiamarsi-to be named/called, telefonare-to call, cambiare a casa-to move, cultivare-to grow,
piantere-to plant, avere bisogno di-to need, dovere-to must/have to, dipingere-to paint, disegnare-to draw,
insegnare-to teach, imparare-to learn, scrivere- to write, leggere-to read, cantare-to sing, ballare-to dance, fare la
spesa-to go shopping, fare pipi`-to pee, fare-to do or make, fare una doccia- to take a shower, prendere-to take,
diventare-to become, spiegare-to explain, capire-to understand, pulire-to clean, passare l'aspirapolvere- to vaccum,
polvere-to dust, credere-to believe, giocare-to play, partire-to leave, ascoltare-to listen, sentire-to hear/feel,
rimanere-to stay, restare-to rest, piovere-to rain, avere paura di-to be afraid of, avere fame-to be hungry, avere
sonno-to be sleepy, avere sete-to be thirsty, piangere-to cry, toccare-to touch, traddure-to translate, alzarsi-to get
up, lavarsi/lavare-to wash, tenere-to keep, cucinare-to cook, lavorare-to work. some of the verbs i gave you are
irregular, some are regular
 GRAMMAR
Nouns (and how to make them plural)
Italian nouns are divided into two genders: masculine and feminine.
Italian nouns end in 3 possible ways:
-A    like pizza, pasta, casa
-O    like bambino, minuto, disegno
-E    like ristorante, studente, ospedale
Words borrowed from another language like sport, weekend, jogging, film are masculine and have no
plural form.
1. Nouns which end in -A are nearly always feminine; to make them plural change -A to -E: e.g.
casa = house ; houses = case
pizza = pizza ; pizzas = pizze
porta = door ; doors = porte
2. Nouns which end in -O are nearly always masculine; to make them plural change -O to -I: e.g.
ragazzo = boy ; boys = ragazzi
gelato = ice cream ; ice creams = gelati
tempo = time ; times = tempi
3. Nouns which end in -E can be either masculine or feminine and you have to learn the gender when
you learn the word; to make these nouns plural change -E to -I :e.g.
ristorante = restaurant ; restaurants = ristoranti
notte = night ; nights = notti
studente = student ; students = studenti
Notes:
1. Many nouns in Italian end in -ità (note the grave accent on the final -a). These nouns do not have a
plural form. Nor does the noun città (city).
2. Look at these two masculine nouns: zio (plural zii) and occhio (plural occhi). You will only find
two 'i's if the 'i' in the singular carries the stress of the word.
3. Spelling: Nouns ending in -ca and -ga are spelt -che and -ghe in the plural: e.g.
banca = bank ; banks = banche
riga = line ; lines = righe
Nouns ending in -co and -go are spelt -chi and -ghi in the plural: e.g.
fico = fig ; figs = fichi
fungo = mushroom ; mushrooms = funghi
Exercise 1: Turn all the nouns below into the plural. (This is not an interactive exercise; you'll have
to use paper and check your answers)
porta ; finestra ; gatto ; cane ; ombrello ; ospedale ; cerimonia ; opportunità ; film ; posto ; lago ; unione
; spiaggia ; giacca ; albergo ; sbaglio ; sacco ; università ; sport ; città.
N.B. THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE SET OF RULES: THERE ARE SOME IRREGULAR
NOUNS WHICH ARE NOT DEALT WITH HERE. LEARN THEM AS YOU MEET THEM!
However, you ought to know the following:
A. These nouns are masculine although they end in -a:
1. il cinema
2. Nouns ending in -ma which are Greek in origin.
il clima
il diploma
il problema
il programma
il tema (theme)

B. Nouns ending in -ista correspond to English nouns ending in -ist; they denote people who do things
and can be masculine or feminine; the plural can be -isti or -iste depending on the gender.
C. The noun mano is feminine even although it end in -o: la mano and the plural is le mani.
D. Some masculine nouns have strange plurals:
singular plural
   il braccio (arm)   le braccia
   il dito (finger)   le dita
   l'osso (bone)   le ossa
   il labbro (lip)   le labbra
   l'uovo (egg)   le uova
   il paio (pair)   le paia
E. These two nouns are irregular!
singular plural
   l'uomo (man)   gli uomini
   la moglie (wife)   le mogli

L'articolo determinativo— The Definite Article

This is the grammatical name for the English word “the”.
1 Feminine nouns — easy.
If the feminine noun is singular, use LA (or abbreviate it to L'if the noun begins with a vowel). If the
feminine noun is plural useLE and never abbreviate it, even if the noun begins with a vowel. For
example:

singular plural
   le ragazze
   la ragazza

   la casa    le case

   l'ora    le ore
    l'erba    le erbe
   le chiavi
   la chiave

   la notte    le notti

   l'opinione    le opinioni
   l'opportunità    le opportunità
 

2 Masculine nouns — tricky.

There is only one word for "the" for feminine nouns, but before a masculine noun you need to choose
between IL and LO. You make the choice depending on how the masculine noun begins. You should
find that you choose IL most of the time. Here are the rules:
1. Use IL and its plural I when the masculine noun begins with a consonant.
2. Use LO and its plural GLI when the masculine noun begins with a vowel, or z or “impure s” —
i.e. the letter s followed by another consonant. LO can be abbreviated to L' before a word
beginning with a vowel.
3. Remember that any nouns borrowed from another language are masculine and have no plural.
This table summarises all you need to know about masculine nouns and there articles:

singular plural
   il ragazzo    i ragazzi
   il ristorante    i ristoranti
   l'albergo    gli alberghi
   lo sbaglio    gli sbagli
   lo zio    gli zii
   l'ufficiale    gli ufficiali
   lo sport    gli sport
   il film    i film
If you can master how to change words from singular to plural a huge amount of Italian grammar will
become very easy. It is vital that you try very hard to master this piece of grammar before you move on.
If you can master the definite article, you will be able to understand and use correctly some necessary
but rather tricky pieces of Italian grammar, so try to master this before you move on.

L'articolo indeterminativo — The Indefinite Article

This is the grammatical name for the English word “a”.
1 Feminine nouns — easy.
The word for “a” before a feminine noun is una which can be abbreviated to un' if the noun begins
with a vowel.
2 Masculine nouns — less easy.
The usual word is un which is used before all masculine nouns (including those which begin with a
vowel) except those which begin with z or s impure. Study the following table which should explain it
all.

masculine feminine
   un ragazzo    una ragazza
   un amico    un'amica
   un ospedale    un'intezione
   uno sconto    una scarpa
   uno specchio    una specie
   uno zingaro    una zingara
   un salmone    una salsiccia
   un trattore    una trattoria
Exercise 2 : Put the Definite Article (il/lo/l'/la/l') in front of each of the following singular nouns; 
if you are not immediately sure of the gender of the noun, check in a dictionary.
1) ..... paesino 6) .... madre
2) ..... stanza
7) .... padre

3) ..... stato 8) .... umidità

4) ..... acqua 9) .... zucchero
5) .....occhio 10) .... insalata
Exercise 3: Put the Indefinite Article (un/uno/una/un') in front of each of the following nouns; 
if you are not immediately sure of the gender of the noun, check in a dictionary.
1) ..... paesino 6) .... madre
2) ..... stanza
7) .... padre

3) ..... stato 8) .... orecchio

4) .....
9) .... zero
opinione
5) .....occhio 10) .... insalata
Exercise 4: change all the following phrases into the plural:
1. la sera
2. la stazione
3. l'uva
4. l'idea
5. il libro
6. il dente
7. lo strumento
8. lo studente
 9. l'ospedale
10.l'uccello

The Partitive Article — Il Partitivo

This is the grammatical name for the English word "some" or "any".
There are several ways that this can be translated into Italian but you must master the first
method so that you can use the two irregular adjectives bello and quello which follow the same pattern.
1 The commonest word for "some" is del. This word is a combination of the word di and the various
forms of the definite article as shown in the table below. If you're not sure about all the various forms
of the definite article revise it again here.

  masc. sing. fem. sing. masc. plur. fem. plur.

Definite Article   il   lo   l'   la   l'   i   gli     le
Partitive Article  del  dello  dell'  della  dell'  dei  degli    delle
Master this word before you move on. The form you need is the one which corresponds to the definite
article which would be used with the noun: for example:
1. Suppose you want to say "some wine"; 'the' wine is il vino, so 'some' wine is del vino.
2. Suppose you want to say "some friends" ; 'the' friends is gli amici, so 'some' friends is degli amici.
You will see that to handle this word correctly you must understand the definite article. Revise it again
if you have to but it won't get any easier if you pretend that it will go away if you ignore it.
Exercise 1 Here is a shopping list; translate the items into Italian. (Use a dictionary for the nouns)
1. some wine
2. some bread
3. some cheese
4. some apples
5. some fruit
6. some biscuits
7. some mineral water
8. some oil
9. some vinegar
10.some garlic
11.some spaghetti (N.B. this word is masc. plur.)
12.some lasagne (N.B. this word is fem. plur.)
13.some sugar
14.some onions
15.some courgettes (courgette = zucchino)

Exercise 2 Use a dictionary to help you translate these sentence into Italian, using the
correct part of del.
N.B. "there is" = c'è ; "there are" = ci sono.
1. Is there any bread?
2. Are there any rolls?
 3. Is there any butter?
4. Is there any oil?
5. There are some nice strawberries in the garden (nel giardino)
6. There is some wine downstairs.
7. There are some houses
8. Are there any shops?
9. Is there any fresh milk?
10.There are some mistakes.
Master the word del before you go any further. The adjectives bello and quello follow
the same pattern; learn it thoroughly.
Here are the other ways of saying "some" : Look carefully at the conditions under which they can be
used.
2 alcuni ; alcune [only used with a plural noun; it agrees with its noun]
e.g. I invited some friends = Ho invitato alcuni amici 
     I spent a few hours in Rome = Ho passato alcune ore a Roma

3 qualche [invariable; followed by a singular noun in Italian, but its meaning is plural]

This is a good one to use in higher writing.
e.g.   I invited some friends = Ho invitato qualche amico
      I spent a few hours in Rome = Ho passato qualche ora a Roma.
      I have been leaninng Italian for a few weeks = Imparo l'italiano da qualche settimana.
      I would like to spend some days in Rome = Vorrei passare qualche giorno a Roma.

4 un po' di = a little; a bit of ; some [invariable]

e.g.  I need a bit of peace = Ho bisogno di un po' di pace.
     I take a little milk in my coffee = prendo un po' di latte nel caffe.

5 NOT USED IN A NEGATIVE SENTENCE IN ITALIAN:

e.g.  I don't have any problems = Non ho problemi
     There's no more milk = Non c è più latte.

6 nessun ; nessuno ; nessuna ; nessun' = not any [double negative! sing.only]

e.g.  I didn't prepare any special dishes = Non ho preparato nessun piatto speciale.
     I don't have any idea = Non ho nessun'idea.
 
Exercise 3 Here are some sentences in English which have been partially translated into Italian. You
have to supply the missing words, but be careful, not all the gaps require a word — look at 5 above!
1. I bought some pasta = Ho comprato ______ pasta.
2. Some friends invited me to a party. = ___________ amici mi hanno invitato a una festa.
 3. I met some nice people = Ho conosciuto ___________ persone simpatiche.
4. There were some long tables = C'erano ________ lunghi tavoli.
5. On the tables there were some bottles of beer = Sui tavoli c'era _________ bottiglia di birra.
6. There were also a few plates of cheese. = C'erano anche ________ piatti di formaggio.
7. There wasn't any more sparkling wine nor any brandy. = Non c'era più _______ spumante e
neanche ______ cognac.
8. I drank a few glasses of red wine = Ho bevuto _______ bicchiere di vino rosso.
9. I ate some salad, and some olives = Ho mangiato _______ insalata e ________ olive.
10.Maria left with some students. = Maria è partita con ________ studenti.

ADJECTIVES — Aggettivi
This page is divided into 4 sections dealing with:
• regular adjectives
• irregular adjectives
• possessive adjectives
• comparative and superlative adjectives

 1. REGULAR ADJECTIVES  

Adjectives in Italian must match the noun they describe in gender
and number.
This means that if the noun is feminine, the adjective must be
feminine, and
if the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural.
Gender means making the adjective masculine or feminine to agree with the noun.
Number means making the adjective singular or plural to agree with the noun.
Adjectives make their plurals in the same way that nouns make their plurals, so go back
and revise the page about nouns if you are not sure.
In Italian, adjectives usually come after the noun they are describing but a few always
stand before their noun; these are as follows:
1. possessive adjectives (my, your, his/her etc.) which are dealt with below.
2. demonstrative adjectives (this/that) also dealt with below.
3. the adjectives "molto" (much) and "troppo" (too much)
4. some adjectives denoting size can come before or after their noun.
In dictionaries, adjectives are always given in the masculine singular and this may not be the
form in which you need the adjective and you may have to change it.
There are only 3 irregular adjectives which you need to know; they are dealt with at the end of
this page.
Italian adjectives are of two basic types: piccolo and grande — i.e. they either end in -
o or they end in -e.
If the adjective ends in -o, it has four possible endlings: piccolo (masc.
sing.) piccola (fem. sing.)
piccolo (masc. sing.) piccola (fem. sing.)
piccoli (masc. plur.) piccole (fem. plur.)
Now compare an adjective that ends in -e

grande (masc. sing.) grande (fem. sing.)

grandi (masc. plur.) grandi (fem. plur.)
This type of adjective has no feminine form; it only has a plural form which is both masculine and
feminine.
Spelling: Be careful when changing some adjectives because you may need to make a spelling change
to preserve the sound of the consonant before the ending: for example:

stanco (masc. sing.) stanca (fem. sing.)

stanchi (masc. plur.) stanche (fem. plur.)

lungo (masc. sing.) lunga (fem. sing.)

lunghi (masc. plur.) lunghe (fem. plur.)

drammatico (masc. drammatica (fem.
sing.) sing.)
drammatici (masc. drammatiche (fem.
plur.) plur.)
The last adjective above "drammatico" shows you something which regularly happens with adjectives
ending in "-ico", — i.e.the masculine plural is -ici while the feminine plural is -iche.
Similarly, adjectives ending in "-igo" have the masculine plural -igi, and the feminine plural -ighe.
Remember the rules for making nouns and adjectives plural:
singular plural
  ends in -a   change to -e
  ends in -o   change to -i
  ends in -e   change to -i
Now try a couple of exercises to see if you have mastered the idea of plurals of nouns and agreement of
adjectives:
Exercise 1 : Change the following phrases into the plural. If you have not met the definite article yet,
don't try to make the first word in each phrase plural. If you need to revise the article, do that before
you try this exercise.
 1. la bella ragazza
2. il nuovo metodo
3. il bravo studente
4. il vecchio amico scozzese
5. il giovane ragazzo
6. la prima lezione francese
7. il formaggio francese
8. lo studente tedesco
9. il nuovo sport popolare
10.la grande città industriale
11.il vino magnifico italiano
12.l'attore famoso.

Exercise 2 Change the following phrases into the plural. Be careful about the spelling of some of the
adjectives in the plural. You don't need to know the definite article for this exercise.
1. capello lungo e biondo
2. occhio castano e lucido
3. tifoso fanatico
4. via larga
5. vecchia fiaba fantastica
6. giacca sporca
7. strada lunga e serpeggiante
8. famiglia ricca e importante
9. giovane americano ricco
10.esercizio grammaticale

2. IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES  
There are only 3 irregular adjectives:
1. buono (good)
2. bello (beautiful, nice)
3. quello (that)
When these adjectives are put in front of their noun, they follow their own rules:
1. buono has two forms for the masculine singular, so it looks like this:

buon or buono (masc. sing.) buona (fem. sing.)

buoni (masc. plur.) buone (fem. plur.)
Use the form buon where you would use the indefinite article un — i.e. before a masculine noun
beginning with a vowel or consonant or most groups of consonants BUT
use buono where you would use the indefinite article uno — i.e. before a masculine noun beginning
with z or s+consonant.
You'll see that the rest of this adjective is normal.
2. bello and quello have all the possible forms of the word del (the partitive article)
  If you have not met the word del yet go and study it now because these two adjectives follow the same
pattern and you need to know it. Go to the page on the Partitive Article.
For those of you who have already met the Partitive Article, here are all the possible forms
of bello and quello:

masc. sing. fem. sing. masc. plur. fem.pl.

del dello dell' della dell' dei degli delle
quell quell
quel quello quella quei quegli quelle
' '
Exercise 4. Insert the correct part of buono, bello or quello in these phrases:
1. una [buono] idea.
2. in [quello] casa, con [quello][bello] giardino.
3. un [bello] parco.
4. [quello][bello] appartamento.
5. [bello] isola
6. in [quello] zona di [quello] piccolo paese.
7. un [buono]strumento].
8. un [buono] amico.
9. una [buono] amica.
10.[quello] [buono] vino.

Exercise 5: Turn all the phrases in Exercise 3 into the plural.

3. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES: — my, your, his, her, our, their.

IMPORTANT RULE: In Italian you must put the definite article in front of these adjectives.
Make yourself familiar with the table below:

  Singular Plural
  masc. fem. masc. fem.
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
our   il nostro   la nostra   i nostri   le nostre
your   il vostro   la vostra   i vostri   le vostre
their   il loro   la loro   i loro   le loro
Pay particular attention to the boxes which have been given a different colour and notice 2 things:
1. mio, tuo and suo behave like normal adjectives except in the masculine plural.
2. loro does not make any changes at all, it is invariable.
REMEMBER! These adjectives require the definite article UNLESS you are referring to
members of the family, when they are not used.
REMEMBER too, they take the gender of the noun following them, not the gender of the
possessor.
Exercise 3: Translate the following phrases which use possessive adjectives into Italian:
1. my house
2. your name
3. my mother
4. our friends
5. his car
6. her father
7. their holidays
8. his father
9. my parents
10.her eyes
11.their tickets
12.our family

4. COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE and STRUCTURES.

Very basically, “comparative” adjectives are words like “taller”, older”, “more intelligent”.
“Superlative” adjectives are words like “tallest”, “oldest”, “ most intelligent”.
In Italian there is no equivalent to the English suffixes -er and -est; instead, Italian uses the
adverb più = more.
COMPARATIVES: — Comparative of Inequality:
1. Examine carefully the following sentences:

1. Maria is tall. = Maria è alta.

2. Angela is taller. = Angela è più alta.
3. Angela is taller than Maria = Angela è più alta di Maria
Sentence 3 show a structure called the “comparative of inequality”. Use più with the adjective to make
the comparative form, and di to translate the English word than.
Use it whenever you want to say someone or something is bigger than/ older than/ better than/ faster
than/ someone or something else.
Now have a careful look at the following sentences, which show another type of comparison:
1. Marco is intelligent = Marco è intelligente.
2. Giorgio is less intelligent. = Giorgio è meno intelligente. 
3. Giorgio is less intelligent than Marco = Giorgio è meno intelligente di Marco.
Sentence 3 shows another type of “comparative of inequality” — when you want to say
someone/something is lessold/interesting/exciting than someone/something else; use meno for the
English word less and di to translate the English wordthan.
Comparative of Equality:
This is when you say something like “Edinburgh is as lively as Glasgow”, or “Hearts are
as good as Hibs”
Here is how you would say that in Italian:
1. Edinburgh is as lively as Glasgow = Edimburgo è così vivace come Glasgow.
2. Hearts are as good as Hibs = Gli Hearts sono così bravi come gli Hibs.
Alternatively, you can express as .....as by using tanto ...... quanto (like the correlative construction in
Latin).
So you could translate the two sentences above this way:
1. Edinburgh is as lively as Glasgow = Edimburgo è tanto vivace quanto Glasgow.
2. Hearts are as good as Hibs = Gli Hearts sono tanto bravi quanto gli Hibs.
 
SUPERLATIVES.
In English we can use the suffix -est to create the superlative form of the adjective,
producing words likeoldest, weakest, fastest etc.
There is no equivalent in Italian. Instead you use the definite article (il/la/i/le)
plus più or meno and the adjective.
Some examples should make this clear. Read carefully the following English sentences and their
translation into Italian:
1. The most beautiful churches in Tuscany are in Florence.
    = Le  chiese più belle della Toscana sono a Firenze.
2. The oldest houses in the city are being restored.
   = Le  case più vecchie della città sono in restauro.
3. Milan is the richest city in the country.
  =  Milano è la città più ricca del Paese.
4. They are the fastest cars in the world.
   = Sono le macchine più veloci del mondo.
N.B. Notice how, in Italian, the phrases “in Tuscany”, “in the city” etc. are translated with the
preposition di.
THE ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE
This is the grand name for the suffix -issimo (which you must have seen many times if
you are a musician).
To make it, drop the final vowel of the simple adjective and add -issimo, e.g.:
1. bello (beautiful) — bellissimo (very beautiful) or you could say molto bello
2. veloce (fast) ——— velocissimo (very fast) or you could say molto veloce
Be careful! sometimes you will have to insert the letter h to preserve the sound of the consonant; e.g.:
1. lungo (long) — lunghissimo (very long) = molto lungo
2.  simpatico (nice) — simpatichissimo (very nice) = molto simpatico
3. fresco (fresh) — freschissimo (very fresh) =  molto fresco
Use this form of the word if you want to say, for example:
1. Venice is a very beautiful city.
   = Venezia è una città bellissima.
2.  Italian women are always very elegant.
   = Le donne italiane sono sempre elegantissime.
Finally, a few adjectives have kept their comparative and superlative forms from Latin:

simple comparative superlative

buono (good) migliore (better) ottimo (best)
cattivo (bad) peggiore (worse) pessimo (worst)
basso (low) inferiore (lower) infimo (lowest)
alto (high) superiore (higher) supremo (highest)
piccolo (small) minore (smaller) minimo (smallest)
grande (big) maggiore (bigger) massimo (biggest)
However, you can also say più buono and il più buono and buonissimo, and similarly with the others
in the table.
The last structure you should know is how you say in Italian phrases like “as long as possible” ,
“as warm as possible”
In Italian the equivalent is: “il più lungo possibile” and “il più caldo possibile”.

Prepositions are words which stand before a noun or pronoun to create a phrase

which can show place, time, or manner, e.g.:
1. under the table = sotto la tavola
2. at midnight = a mezzanotte
3. with great care = con grande cura.
There are a few common “simple” prepositions which you should know and their basic meanings are
given below. Learn them!

a to ; at ; in
da from ; at the house of ..
su on
in in ; on
di of
These prepositions combine with the various forms of the definite article (il, lo, la, l', i, gli, le) to form a
single word. This is a fundamental part of Italian grammar and you must know it. The table below
shows you what happens when these words combine.
In combination with the article, these simple prepositions are called “articulated prepositions”
— preposizioni articolate.

  masculine sing. fem. sing. masc. plur. fem. pl..

   il lo, l' la, l' i gli le
a al allo, all' alla, all' ai agli alle
da dal dallo, dall' dalla, dall' dai dagli dalle
su sul sullo, sull' sulla, sull' sui sugli sulle
in nel nello, nell' nella, nell' nei negli nelle
di del dello, dell' della, dell' dei degli delle
N.B. Be particularly careful with the preposition in which has unusual forms when combined with the
article.
N.N.B Learn thoroughly the preposition di in its various combinations because this word is also the
“partitive article” which is equivalent to the English word “some”. It is also the pattern for the two
irregular adjectives bello and quello  which, instead of having just the usual four forms, have all the
possible forms of the word del.
What the table above means is that instead of saying a le ragazze (to the girls), you say alle ragazze.
Similarly, you do not say in il giardino (in the garden), but nel giardino.
Now try this exercise:
Exercise 1. Translate into English:
1. sulla tavola
2. dalla scuola
3. alla porta della chiesa
4. nel centro della città
5. sui tetti delle case
6. il nome dello studente
7. negli alberghi
8. sul pavimento
9. al cinema
10.sulla sedia nella cucina

Exercise 2. Translate into Italian:

1. on the chair
2. on the table in the kitchen
3. in the bathroom
4. from the boys
5. to the hotels
6. in the drawer of the table
7. the names of the students
8. at the window of the bedroom
9. in the pupils' books — i.e. "in the books of the pupils"
10.at the end of the day

Prepositions are awkward because they often do not correspond exactly with the equivalent
propisition in the other language. There is no easy way to master them; you must simply try to
remember the way they are used in Italian. It would take up too much space to give you a definitive list
of the various usages which are not the same as in English, but here are a few usages which you must
know:
I. The preposition a.
1. The preposition a already has three basic meanings (to, at, in) but you must know the following
usages:
• Abito a Edimburgo = I live in Edinburgh [use a if you are referring to a town, otherwise
use in]
• C'è un programma alla televisione = There is a programme on television.
• Non è possibile andare a piedi = It's not possible to go on foot.
• Passo le vacanze al mare = I spend my holidays at the seaside.
• Vorrei andare all'estero = I would like to go abroad.
2. The preposition a also links certain verbs to a following infinitive, such as:
andare a to go to ...
aiutare a to help to ...
cominciare a to start/begin to
imparare a to learn to ...
incoraggiare a to encourage to ...
insegnare a to teach to ...
mettersi a to start/begin to ...
pensare a to think about ....
provare a to try to ...
riuscire a to manage to
venire a to come to ...
3. The preposition a also links certain adjectives to a following infinitive, such as:
abituato a accustomed to ...
attento a careful to ...
pronto a ready to ...

II The preposition da.
1. The preposition da has the same meaning as the preposition chez in French: —
  Rosaria abitava dalla nonna = Rosaria used to live at her grandmother's .
  Ho comprato del dentifricio dal farmacista. = I bought some toothpaste at the chemist's.
  C'era una festa da  Franco. = There was a party  at Franco's house.
2. Da is used to make an expression of time (with a verb in the present tense in Italian) to show actions
or circumstances that began in the past and continue into the present: e.g.
  Carla impara l'italiano da  un anno = Carla has been learning Italian for a year.
      Ti aspetto da un'ora = I have been waiting for you for an hour.
3. Da specifies the agent in a passive sentence, e.g.:
  L'inglese è parlato da quasi tutti = English is spoken by nearly everyone.
     Marcovaldo è un libro scritto da Calvino = "Marcovaldo" is a book written by Calvino.
4. Da can indicate what something is used for, e.g.:
  un campo da calcio = a football pitch
      un campo da golf = a golf course
   scarpe da sci = ski boots.
5. Da can be followed by an infinitive in expressions like:
  Non c'è niente da  fare. = There is nothing to do.
  Cosa c'è da mangiare? = What is there to eat?

III The preposition su
• ascoltavo un dibatito sulla politica = I was listening to a discussion about politics.
• ho letto sul  giornale. = I read in the newspaper.

IV The preposition in
1. In is used with the names of countries, states, or regions to show place, e.g.:
   Abito in Scozia = I live in Scotland.
   Molti scozzesi sono emigrati in Canada = Many Scots emigrated to Canada.
2.  In  is used with all methods of transport:
in macchina by car...
in aereo by plane
in moto by scooter
in bicicletta by bicycle
in barca by boat
in treno by train
in autobus by bus
in pullman by coach

V The preposition di
1. Di shows possession, e.g.:
• Hai visto gli occhiali di Lucia? = Have you seen Lucia's glasses?
• Di chi sono queste scarpe? = Whose shoes are these?
2.  Di shows what something is made of, e.g:
• una cravatta di seta = a silk tie
• scarpe di cuoio = leather shoes
3. Di  is used to make time phrases, e.g.:
 di sera in the evenings
di mattina in the mornings
di solito usually
di nuovo again
di rado rarely
4. Di  is used after some verbs like parlare, discutere, trattare to indicate the topic of discussion, e.g.:
• Non mi piace parlare di religione = I don't like talking about religion.
• Questo libro tratta del  problema della droga = This book deals with the problem of drugs.
5. Di  is used in expressions making comparisons, e.g.:
• Giovanni è più intelligente del  fratello = Giovanni is more intelligent then his brother.
• Tu parli italiano meglio di me. = You speak Italian better than  I do.
6. Di  is used with the verb essere to indicate origin, e.g.:
• La mia famiglia è di Bologna = My family are from Bologna.
• Tu sei di qui? = Are you from here?
7. Di is also used after certain adjectives to link them to an infinitive verb, e.g.:
capace di capable of ...
contento di happy to ...
desideroso di eager to ...
felice di happy to ...
incapace di ... incapable of
sicuro di sure of ...
soddisfatto di satisfied to ...
spiacente di sorry to ...
stanco di tired of ...
triste di sad to ...
8. Di  is also used after several verbs to link to a following infinitive, e.g.:
accorgersi di to realise; be aware
cercare di to try to ...
chiedere di to ask to ...
consigliare di to advise to ...
decidere di to decide to ...
dimenticare di to forget to ...
domandare di to ask ...
essere in grado di to be in a position to ...
fingere di to pretend to ...
finire di to finish
immaginare di to imagine
lamentarsi di to complain about
offrire di to offer
 pensare di to think of
permettere di to allow
proibire di to forbid
rendersi conto di to realise; be aware
ricordarsi di to remember
scegliere di to choose to ...
smettere di to stop
sperare di to hope to ...
tentare di to attempt to ...
trattare di to be about; deal with
vietare di to forbid

9. Di  also acts as the partitive article.

VERBS — I VERBI
Italian verbs are arranged into three groups or conjugations depending on the vowel in
the infinitive:
1. parlare: ending in -are
2. vedere: ending in -ere
3. finire: ending in -ire
You need to know the type of verb you are dealing with so that you can make the tenses
correctly.
Some verbs are irregular in that they seem to have an infinitive which fits into the
scheme above but they make some of their tenses in a different way. there are very few
of these verbs and the best thing to do is learn them when you are learning or revising a
particular tense. There is only one verb which is irregular in nearly all its tenses and that
is essere (to be).
Some verbs have infinitives which are shortened versions of their original forms and this
is why they seem to be irregular, in fact it is the infinitive which is slightly irregular. the
common ones are:
dire, shortened from dicere
fare, shortened from facere
bere, shortened from bevere
porre, shortened from ponere
-durre, shortened from -ducere
PRESENT TENSE — TEMPO PRESENTE
In English this tense looks like "he runs", "they live", "she is working", "we are talking"
These four examples all have pronouns — he, they, she, we, but in Italian the pronouns are not
necessary because the verb always has an ending to indicate what personal pronoun we want. the four
English examples above would each be one single word in Italian.
Italian does have personal pronouns; you won't see them very often, but here they are:

  io   I   noi   we

  tu   you   voi   you
  lui   he   loro   they
  lei   she    
  Lei   you    
The pronoun Lei (with a capital L) means you. It is different from the pronoun tu because Lei is
formal: you would use it when politely addressing a stranger; if you speak to someone using a formal
title like signore/signorina you should use Lei and even if you don't use the pronoun, the verb should
be in the 3rd person singular.
Italian verbs fall into 3 types, depending on the vowel in the infinitive. The grammatical name is not
type but conjugation and that's the name I'm going to use.
• Conjugation 1 contains verbs with an infinitive ending in -ARE
• Conjugation 2 contains verbs with an infinitive ending in -ERE
• Conjugation 3 contains verbs with an infinitive ending in -IRE

  1 PARLARE 2 SCRIVERE 3 DORMIRE 3 CAPIRE

1st pers. sing.   I    parlo    scrivo    dormo    capisco
2nd pers. sing.  you    parli    scrivi    dormi    capisci
3rd pers. sing.  he, she,
   parla    scrive    dorme    capisce
it
1st pers. plur.  we    parliamo    scriviamo    dormiamo    capiamo
2nd pers. plur.  you    parlate    scrivete    dormite    capite
3rd pers. plur.  they    parlano    scrivono    dormono    capiscono
Don't let a table like this put you off; look for all the similarities, not the differences; for example:
All verbs use the ending -o for the first person singular — i.e. if you want to say I do something.
All verbs use the ending -i for the second person singular — i.e. if you want to say you do something.
All verbs use the ending -iamo for the first person plural — i.e. if you want to say we do something.
English has three forms of the present tense and Italian has only one. In English we can say I
speak or I am speaking but in Italian there is only the form parlo. To ask a question in English we
would use the phrase do you speak? but in Italian you can only indicate a question by the tone of your
voice or by writing a question mark — parli?
You'll see that there are two examples of a 3rd conjugation verb, dormire and capire and they behave
differently. Most verbs behave like dormire but a small number insert the syllable -isc- before the
personal endings. There is no rule about which do and which don't, you just have to learn as you meet
them. The commonest ones which insert -isc- are:-
finire (to finish)
preferire (to prefer)
pulire (to clean)
punire (to punish)
spedire (to send)

IRREGULAR VERBS — There are very few verbs which do not fit into the scheme shown in the
table above, but two which are very important are the verb avere (to have) and the verb essere (to be)
because as well as being very common verbs in their own right, they are also the auxiliary verbs which
help to make the past tense (passato prossimo). Here they are:

to
  avere essere to be
have
1  ho I have  sono I am
you
you
2  hai  sei are
have

he/she he/she
3  ha  è
/it has /it is
we
1 abbiamo  siamo we are
have
you
you
2  avete have  siete
are

they they
3  hanno  sono
have are
There are twelve common verbs which are irregular in their present tense. They are in the table below.
You have to learn them because you will not be able to find these forms in a dictionary.

essere = to venire = to uscire = to go

avere = to have andare = to go dare = to give
be come out
ho sono vengo esco vado do
hai sei vieni esci vai dai
ha è viene esce va dà
abbiamo siamo veniamo usciamo andiamo diamo
avete siete venite uscite andate date
hanno sono vengono escono vanno danno
 
fare= to do; sapere = to
stare = to stay;
make know potere = can dovere = must volere = to want
be

faccio so sto posso devo voglio

fai sai stai puoi devi vuoi
fa sa sta può deve vuole
facciamo sappiamo stiamo possiamo dobbiamo vogliamo
fate sapete state potete dovete volete
fanno sanno stanno possono devono vogliono
 
THE FUTURE TENSE — IL FUTURO
The future tense in English is a compound (i.e. more than a single word) tense, made with the auxiliary
verbs "shall" and "will".
In Italian, the future tense is a simple (i.e. single word) tense, made by adding six ending to the present
infinitive:
singular plural
  -ò = I shall ...   -emo = we shall...
  -ai = you will ...   -ete = you will ...
  -à = he/she will...   -anno = they will...
These ending are attached to the present infinitive which loses the final -e. Look at the table below:

parlare scrivere partire

  parlerò   scriverò   partirò
  parlerai   scriverai   partirai
  parlerà   scriverà   partirà
  parleremo   scriveremo   partiremo
  parlerete   scriverete   partirete
  parleranno   scriveranno   partiranno
Please note three things:
1. Verbs like parlare change the vowel in their infinitive from -a- to -e-
2. There are accents written on the First Person Singular and Third Person Singular in all verbs.
3. You will have to be careful with the spelling of some verbs when you put them into the Future Tense
in order to preserve the sound in their infinitive. This will happen with verbs ending in -care and -gare,
e.g.
pagare (to pay)       I'll pay = pagherò
cercare (to look for)   I'll look for = cercherò
This will also happen with verbs ending in -ciare and -giare, e.g.
cominciare (to begin)  I'll begin = comincerò
viaggiare (to travel)   I'll travel = viaggerò
IRREGULAR VERBS: A few verbs don't quite follow the pattern above. You need to learn what they
do:
The Future Tense of avere and essere is:

avere essere
  avrò   sarò
  avrai   sarai
  avrà   sarà
  avremo   saremo
  avrete   sarete
  avranno   saranno
There are another ten common verbs which you need to learn:

andare dare fare stare sapere dovere potere volere vedere venire
 andrò  darò  farò  starò  saprò  dovrò  potrò  vorrò  vedrò  verrò
 andrai  darai  farai  starai  saprai  dovrai  potrai  vorrai  vedrai  verrai
 andrà  darà  farà  starà  saprà  dovrà  potrà  vorrà  vedrà  verrà
 andremo  daremo  faremo  staremo  sapremo  dovremo  potremo  vorremo  vedremo  verremo
 andrete  darete  farete  starete  saprete  dovrete  potrete  vorrete  vedrete  verrete
 andranno  daranno  faranno  staranno  sapranno  dovranno  potranno  vorranno  vedranno  verranno
Apart from the verb essere, only two verbs, volere and venire, are awkward and need careful attention.

The Conditional — Il Modo Condizionale: condizionale presente

The Conditional is a mood of the verb for expressing hopes, wishes and aspirations.
In English, the equivalent is the tense/mood made with the the auxiliary very would: e.g.
—
•  I would take a holiday if I had the time.
•  I'm sure that you would enjoy the party, even if your parents are there too.
This mood of the verb is made up like the future tense, by adding endings to the infinitive. The endings
are:
singular plural
 -ei = I would ...  -emmo = we would...
 -esti = you would ...  -este = you would ...
 -ebbe = he/she
 -ebbero = they would...
would...
These ending are attached to the present infinitive which loses the final -e. Look at the table below:

parlare scrivere partire

  parlerei   scriverei   partirei
  parleresti   scriveresti   partiresti
  parlerebbe   scriverebbe   partirebbe
  parleremmo   scriveremmo   partiremmo
  parlereste   scrivereste   partireste
  parlerebbero   scriverebbero   partirebbero
Please note that as with the Future Tense, verbs like parlare change the vowel in their infinitive from -
a- to -e- and also the spelling changes for the Future Tense which affect verbs ending -care, -gare,
-ciare and -giare also apply to this tense.
IRREGULAR VERBS: The verbs which were irregular in their Future Tense, are also irregular in the
Conditional, but all you need to do is change the endings:
The Conditional of avere and essere is:

avere essere
  avrei   sarei
  avresti   saresti
  avrebbe   sarebbe
  avremmo   saremmo
  avreste   sareste
  avrebbero   sarebbero
There are the other ten common verbs which you need to learn:

andare dare fare stare sapere dovere potere volere vedere ven
andrei darei farei starei saprei dovrei potrei vorrei vedrei verrei
andresti daresti faresti staresti sapresti dovresti potresti vorresti vedresti verrest
andrebbe darebbe farebbe starebbe saprebbe dovrebbe potrebbe vorrebbe vedrebbe verreb
andremmo daremmo faremmo staremmo sapremmo dovremmo potremmo vorremmo vedremmo verrem
andreste dareste fareste stareste sapreste dovreste potreste vorreste vedreste verrest
andrebbero darebbero farebbero starebbero saprebbero dovrebbero potrebbero vorrebbero vedrebbero verreb
So, once you have learned how this mood is formed,you need to be clear about when it is used. Here is
a list:
1. to express wishes, hopes, desires, aspirations:
I would enjoy spending a year abroad.
Mi piacerebbe passare un anno all'estero.
2. to express a request politely:
 I would like an ice-cream
vorrei un gelato.
Could you help me, please?
Potresti aiutarmi, per favore? (informal)
Potrebbe aiutarmi, per favore?(formal)
3. to express doubt:
I don't think that he would earn much money.
Non penso che guadagnerebbe molti soldi.
Mum doesn't think it would be a good idea.
La mamma non crede che sarebbe una buon'idea.
4. to express personal opinions:
I would say that it should be possible to do it.
direi che dovrebbe essere possibile farlo.
5. to repeat rumours, hearsay and other people's opinions:
According to press, they will probably get divorced:
Secondo la stampa, si divorzierebbero.

The modal verbs: potere (can), dovere (must/ have to), and volere (want) need a bit of care:

potrei = I could
dovrei = I should
vorrei = I would like
For Example:
1. Sandra could learn Italian but she's too lazy.
Sandra potrebbe imparare l'italiano me è troppo pigra.
2. They should write to you soon.
Dovrebbero scriverti presto.
3. Giorgio would like to accompany you.
Giorgio vorrebbe accompagnarti.
 

The Past Conditional — Il Condizionale Passato

In English the equivalent tense/mood is made with the auxiliaries would have: e.g.—
•  I would have gone, if I had been invited.
•  He would have earned more money in the States.
In Italian this is a compound tense (i.e.made with more than one word). It is made with the present
conditional tense of the auxiliary verb (avere or essere) and the past participle of the verb. Study the
table below:
 parlare finire arrivare partire vestirsi
avrei parlato avrei finito sarei arrivato/a sarei partito/a mi sarei vestito/a
avresti parlato avresti finito saresti arrivato/a saresti partito/a ti saresti vestito/a
sarebbe
avrebbe parlato avrebbe finito sarebbe partito/a si sarebbe vestito/a
arrivato/a
avremmo avremmo saremmo saremmo ci saremmo
parlato finito arrivati/e partiti/e vestiti/e
avreste parlato avreste finito sareste arrivati/e sareste partiti/e vi sareste vestiti/e
avrebbero avrebbero sarebbero sarebbero si sarebbero
parlato finito arrivati/e partiti/e vestiti/e
So, when do you use it?
1. to express a past intention or wish that can no longer be fulfilled: 
I would have booked the hotel last week; now it's too late.
Avrei prenotato l'albergo la settimana scorsa; adesso è troppo tardi.

Maria would have come to the party but she is ill.

Maria sarebbe venuta alla festa ma sta male.
 
2. to express "the future in the past" — i.e. in reported speech to express a future action from a
point of view in the past: e.g.
She said yesterday that she would come.
Lei ha detto ieri che sarebbe venuta.
 
I knew that it would be difficult.
Ho saputo che sarebbe stato difficile.
 
My father promised that he would buy me a car for my birthday.
Mio padre ha promesso che mi avrebbe comprato una macchina per il mio compleanno.
 

The "future in the past" is a difficult piece of grammar but you might want to use it in Higher writing.
In essence you use the past conditional when the clause introduced by "that" in English, or "che" in
Italian follows a verb in the past tense. In English the verb in the "that" clause sounds like a
conditional, but in Italian it has to be past conditional.

The modal verbs: potere (can), dovere (must/ have to), and volere (want) need a bit of care:

avrei potuto = I could have

avrei dovuto = I should have
avrei voluto = I would have liked to
For Example:
 1. Claudia could sit her exams next week; she could have sat them all last week. 
Claudia potrebbe fare gli esami la settimana prossima; avrebbe potuto farli la settimana scorsa.
2. You should go to the doctor's; you should have gone yesterday
Dovresti andare dal medico; avresti dovuto andare ieri.
3. Giorgio would have liked to accompany you.
Giorgio avrebbe voluto accompagnarti.

The Perfect Tense — Il Passato Prossimo

1. This is a compound tense — i.e. composed of two words — auxiliary verb and past
participle.
2. This tense corresponds to two different tenses in English:
The Simple Past: e.g. I visited Italy last year.
The Present Perfect: e.g. She has gone on holiday for a month.

N.B. This means that the English "I went" and "I have gone" are the same in Italian.

To make this tense you need the present tense of avere followed by the past participle of the verb you
want. 
You already know the present tense of avere, so you now need you learn how to make the past
participle. 
The table below explains how:

Present Infinitive Past Participle

  parlare   parlato
  vedere   veduto
  finire   finito
So, to say in Italian "I have finished" you say Ho (I have) finito (finished); if you want to say "I
finished" it is also Ho finito.
It is important that you understand that you can only make the past tense in Italian in two words —
auxiliary verb and a past participle. Here is the full past tense of the verb vedere (to see) :
abbiamo
ho veduto I saw; I have seen we saw; we have seen
veduto
hai veduto you saw; you have seen avete veduto you saw; you have seen
ha veduto he/she saw; has seen hanno veduto they saw; they have seen
Note that the past participle does not change when the auxiliary verb is avere.

If you have learned French you will see that the system is exactly the same.
The vast majority of verbs make their past participle by following the pattern in the table above, but
some do not follow the general rule; they are called strong verbs. You have to learn them as you meet
them but listed below you will find some of the most common verbs. Learn them now!
 infinitive meaning past participle
 aprire  to open    aperto
 bere  to drink    bevuto
 chiedere  to ask    chiesto
 chiudere  to close    chiuso
 dire  to say; to tell    detto
 to make; to
 fare    fatto
do
 leggere  to read    letto
 mettere  to put    messo
 prendere  to take    preso
 rispondere  to answer    risposto
 scegliere  to choose    scelto
 scoprire  to discover    scoperto
 scrivere  to write    scritto
 smettere  to stop    smesso
 vedere  to see    visto
 vincere  to win    vinto
 vivere  to live    vissuto
You will see that the verb vedere (to see) has two past participles: veduto and visto; choose whichever
you like.
 

Verbs which require the verb essere as the auxiliary:

Intransitive verbs (usually verbs of motion) and all the reflexive verbs require essere as
the auxiliary verb, not avere. This means that you use the present tense of essere and the
past participle.
N.B. When essere is the auxiliary, the past participle agrees with the subject of the verb. 
For example: “The girls have left” = Le ragazze sono partite. 
          “The boys arrived late” = I ragazzi sono arrivati in ritardo.
             “The children woke up early” = I bambini si sono svegliati presto.
Listed below are the commonest verbs which require essere as their auxiliary; learn them now be
careful to learn the strong past participles.

Infinitive Meaning Past Participle

andare   to go andato
venire   to come venuto
 partire   to leave partito
arrivare   to arrive arrivato
entrare   to enter entrato
uscire   to go out uscito
salire  to get into salito
scendere  to get out of sceso
nascere  to be born nato
morire   to die morto
tornare   to return tornato
cadere   to fall caduto
rimanere   to remain rimasto
succedere   to happen successo
essere    to be stato
diventare   to become diventato
This is a very important tense: you must be able to use it for both Standard Grade and Higher.
Try the following exercises.
Exercise 1. Translate into English:
1. Ho mangiato troppo.
2. Non ho mai visitato Roma.
3. Hai fatto i compiti?
4. Dove hai passato le vacanze?
5. Non ho fatto niente durante le vacanze.
6. Ho letto un libro interessante la settimana scorsa.
7. Hai visto quel film ieri sera?
8. Mariella ha chiuso la porta quando ha lasciato la casa.
9. La mamma ha comprato del pane al mercato.
10.Cosa hai preso da mangiare oggi?

Exercise 2. Translate into English:

1. La famiglia è andata a Roma.
2. Tutti sono arrivati in treno.
3. La mia amica è partita ieri sera.
4. L'uomo è salito in macchina.
5. Roberto si è svegliato molto presto.
6. Le ragazze si sono alzate alle sette.
7. I miei genitori sono venuti qui anni fa.
8. La principessa Diana è nata in Inghilterra ma è morta a Parigi.
9. Sono rimasti dieci giorni a Bologna.
10.Dopo la guerra gli uomini sono tornati a casa.
Exercise 3 Translate into Italian: [transitive verbs — use avere as the auxiliary]
1. I visited Italy last year.
2. I had a strange dream.
3. We have finished.
4. Have you seen my watch?
5. They spent two weeks in Sicily.
6. We ate a delicious pizza.
7. Marco drank too much.
8. They have not paid the bill.
9. I have never slept so well.
10.I closed the door and opened the windows.

Exercise 4. Translate into Italian: [intransitive and reflexive verbs — use essere as the auxiliary]
1. The results have arrived.
2. Maria has gone to the cinema.
3. The guests left this morning.
4. The girls got up very early.
5. Franco got dressed in a hurry.
6. The children fell asleep.
7. Giuliana has been in Florence on holiday.
8. The others arrived two hours ago.
9. She went out and got into the car.
10.The boys have gone home.

THE IMPERFECT TENSE — L'IMPERFETTO

In Italian the imperfect tense is a simple (i.e. a single word) past tense for describing repeated actions
in the past or conditions that last for an indefinite time or for descriptions in the past.
In English, the equivalent tense is the continuous past or the structure used to....  Here are some
examples of the tense in English:
1. I was listening to some music.
2. My parents were watching television.
3. I used to play football when I was younger.
4. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, the birds were singing.
5. Every Saturday they worked in a supermarket
6. Every morning she would wait for the postman to arrive.
N.B. In sentence 5, the English verb is worked — i.e. the 'simple past' but in Italian you must use the
imperfect because the phrase "every Saturday" shows that the action was repeated in the past.
     In sentence 6, the English verb is would wait which sounds like the 'conditional' but this is yet
another way the English language has of showing repeated actions in the past. Translated into Italian,
the verb would be in the imperfect tense.
This is an easy tense to make in Italian; it has very few exceptions: each verb group adds a set of
endings to the stem. In the table below you will see the full scheme. Look for the similarities not the
differences!
 parlare scrivere dormire
 parlavo  (I was   scrivevo      (I was   dormivo     (I was
speaking) writing) sleeping)
 parlavi   scrivevi   dormivi
 parlava   scriveva   dormiva
 parlavamo   scrivevamo   dormivamo
 parlavate   scrivevate   dormivate
 parlavano   scrivevano   dormivano
You'll see that each verb uses the endings -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano.
In front of these endings you will find the same vowel as the verb has in its infinitive.
The exceptions: You need to learn the following verbs which do not follow the above rule.

ESSERE
    ero (I was)
    eri
    era
    eravamo
    eravate
    erano
There are another five verbs which have a contracted infinitive but they make this tense from their
original uncontracted infinitive:

 dire [dicere  bere [bevere  porre [ponere

 fare [facere]  -durre [ducere]
] ] ]
 facevo  dicevo  bevevo  ponevo  -ducevo
 facevi  dicevi  bevevi  ponevi  -ducevi
 faceva  diceva  beveva  poneva  -duceva
 facevamo  dicevamo  bevevamo  ponevamo  -ducevamo
 facevate  dicevate  bevevate  ponevate  -ducevate
 facevano  dicevano  bevevano  ponevano  -ducevano
N.B. The verb -durre does not exist in this simple form; it always has a prefix like produrre (to
produce), ridurre (to reduce) etc.
The other verbs have the following meanings:
1. fare = to do; to make
2. dire = to say ; to tell
3. bere = to drink
4. porre = to put ; to place
NN.B There is one odd place where this tense is used when you would not expect it: if you look at the
following piece of English translated into Italian, you'll see it:
"The policeman asked me where Stefano lived, but I didn't know
= Il poliziotto mi ha chiesto dove abitava Stefano, ma non lo sapevo.
Usually if you want to say "I didn't know", you say "non ho saputo". (past tense).

The Pluperfect Tense — Il Trapassato Prossimo

In English this is a compound tense using the auxiliary "had" and a past participle.
In Italian this is a compound tense (i.e. two words) using the imperfect tense of the
auxiliary verb avere oressere and the past participle of the verb.
The tense describes an action in the past which took place before another action in the
past: e.g.
1. I looked for my friend but he had already left.
Ho cercato il mio amico ma lui era già partito.
2. My sister gave me a present of a book which I had read years ago.
Mia sorella mi ha regalato un libro che avevo letto anni fa.
Here is the full pluperfect tense of a few verbs:

fare meaning vedere meaning partire meaning

avevo fatto I had done avevo visto I had seen ero partito/a I had gone
avevi fatto you had done avevi visto you had seen eri partito/a you had gone
he/she had he/she had
aveva fatto aveva visto era partito/a he/she had gone
done seen
avevamo eravamo
avevamo fatto we had done we had seen we had gone
visto partiti/e
avevate eravate
avevate fatto you had done you had seen you had gone
visto partiti/e
avevano
avevano fatto they had done they had seen erano partiti/e they had gone
visto
Exercise 1 Translate the following sentences or clauses into Italian:
1. When I had finished, ........
2. They had already arrived.
3. My parents had bought a house near Naples.
4. Because I had forgotten to telephone, .....
5. The train had already left.
6. They had cancelled our flight.
IL GERUNDIO
This is equivalent to the English present participle — i.e. the part of the verb ending in -ing,
like thinking, running, talking, going etc.
The table below will show you how the gerundio is made from the present infinitive:

infinitive meaning gerundio meaning

parlare to speak parlando speaking
vedere to see vedendo seeing
dormire to sleep dormendo sleeping
 
N.B. The gerundio is invariable; it does not behave like an adjective. For example:
1. Sandra fell while skiing = Sandra è caduta sciando
2. Seeing him, the others went away = Vedendolo, gli altri sono andati via.
Notice in the last example in Italian the gerundio “vedendolo”. The “lo” is the pronoun 'him' and it
illustrates a rule with the gerundio, that pronouns are attached to the end of it to make one word, they
are not put in front of it as happens with the ordinary tenses of the verb.
STRUCTURE: This part of the verb creates a present and past continuous tense when the
verb “stare” is used as the auxiliary. For example:
1. I am thinking = sto pensando.
2. She is crying = sta piangendo.
3. They were waiting = stavano aspettando.
4. We were watching TV = stavamo guardando la TV.
Exercise 1. Translate these sentences into English:
1. Cosa stai facendo?
2. Sto leggendo il giornale.
3. Stanno preparando l'insalata.
4. Stavo ascoltando la radio quando il telefono ha squillato.
5. I ragazzi stavano vestendosi.

Exercise 2. Translate these sentences into Italian:

1. I am writing a letter.
2. She is waiting for a phone call.
3. I was watching a football match.
4. He was doing something.
5. The girls were sleeping.
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS and REFLEXIVE VERBS and how to use them:

mi    myself ci   ourselves
ti    yourself vi    yourselves
himself/herse
si si  themselves
lf
Rules:
1. Like all pronouns, the reflexive pronouns stand before the verb or the auxiliary verb in
compound tenses. e.g.:
Mio fratello si chiama Giancarlo = My brother is called Giancarlo.
L'uomo si è ucciso = the man killed himself.
2. Reflexive verbs use essere as the auxiliary verb as in the last example above. e.g.:
I bambini si erano vestiti = The children had got dressed
A che ora ti alzerai, Luisa? = What time will you be getting up, Luisa?
3. Reflexive pronouns are added to the end of the infinitive, gerundio and imperative to form one
word. e.g.:
Ero così stanco che non ho potuto alzarmi = I was so tired that I couldn't get up.
Maria è in bagno,e sta lavandosi i capelli = Maria is in the bathroom, she's washing her
hair.

English has very few real reflexive verbs, like to enjoy oneself, to hurt oneself, to kill oneself, but
they are very common in Italian, often where English uses another verbal phrase. It is useful to know
the commonest reflexive verbs; here are a few to learn as items of vocabulary, along with their
meaning.
svegliarsi to wake up
alzarsi to get up
lavarsi to get washed
vestirsi to get dressed
spogliarsi to get undressed
pettinarsi to comb one's hair
truccarsi to put on makeup
lamentarsi to complain
divertirsi to enjoy oneself
fermarsi to stop
sedersi to sit
muoversi to move
annoiarsi to get bored
arrabbiarsi to get angry
avvicinarsi to approach
sbagliarsi to make a mistake
preoccuparsi to be worried
accorgersi to be aware of; realise
Relfexive verbs behave like ordinary verbs except that you have to put a reflexive pronoun in front.
Make sure you know what type of verb you are dealing with; e.g. divertirsi is conjugated
as divertire with a reflexive pronoun in front; similarlyannoiarsi is annoiare with a reflexive pronoun.
If you would like to see the whole present tense of a reflexive verb look at the table below,
where divertirsi (to enjoy oneself) has been laid out for you:

mi diverto ci divertiamo
ti diverti vi divertite
si diverte si divertono
N.B. Higher candidates: make sure you know and can use the following reflexive verbs:
1. mettersi a ... = to start to ...
2. accorgersi di ... = to be aware of; to realise
3. andarsene ...= to go away; leave [= s'en aller in French]
Now try some exercises to see if you have grasped the idea.
Exercise 1. Translate into English.
1. Ogni mattina mia madre si alza alle sette.
2. Ieri mi sono svegliato molto presto.
3. La festa era orrenda; mi sono annoiato molto.
4. Prima di vestirti, Franco, devi lavarti la faccia.
5. Gina si era già lavata i denti.
6. Se tu prendi la macchina, papà si arrabbierà.
7. Avevo paura di sbagliarmi.
8. Luigi si annoia perché non c'è niente da fare.
9. Ci siamo divertiti alla festa.
10.Il treno, avvicinandosi alla stazione, si è fermato all'improvviso.

Exercise 2. Complete the following passage by transforming the infinitive verbs into the correct form
of the present tense.
Signor Tommasini is describing his daily routine before he leaves home in the morning.
Di solito la mattina [svegliarsi] alle sette. [alzarsi] poco dopo e [farsi] la doccia. Poi [radersi] e
[spruzzarsi] con il dopobarba. Infine [vestirsi] e vado in cucina dove [prepararsi] un cappuccino. Dopo
la colazione [lavarsi] i denti, [guardarsi] allo specchio, [mettersi] la giacca ed esco di casa.

Exercise 3. Try to describe your daily routine; translate the following sentences, then modify them to
suit your own situation.
1. I wake up at 7.30.
2. I get up a little later.
3. I get dressed in a hurry.
4. I make myself breakfast.
5. Then I brush my teeth.
6. I look at myself in the mirror and comb my hair.
7. Before leaving the house, I put on a coat.

Exercise 4. Re-write exercise 3 in the perfect tense.

 1. I woke up at 7.30.
2. I got up a little later.
etc.

The Modal Verbs

There are three verbs called “modal verbs” which you will meet very frequently; learn them thoroughly
because they have very basic meanings and you will want to use them in speaking and writing. They
are the verbs:
• potere  = to be able; can
• dovere = to have to ; must
• volere  = to want
These verbs are followed by an infinitive verb without any linking preposition.
We'll look at the verbs individually
1. potere = to be able; can. Here is the scheme of its tenses; the present tense is irregular and is written
out in full; you should be able to complete the other tenses if you are given the First Person. The
present subjunctive is also irregular:

past
present future conditional imperfect perfect pluperfect pres.subj. impf. subj.
cond.
 avrei  ho  avevo
 posso  potrò  potrei  potevo  io possa io potessi
potuto potuto potuto
 puoi              tu possa tu poteesi
lui/lei
 può               potesse
possa
 possiamo              possiamo   potessimo
 potete              possiate   poteste
 possono              possano   potessero
Exercise 1. Translate into English. — These sentences require a knowledge of all the tenses, and
the subjunctive.
1. Non posso fare ciò che mi chiedi.
2. Non ho potuto finire l'esercizio.
3. Alla fine degli esami, Marco potrà rilassarsi.
4. Forse qualcuno più giovane potrebbe aiutare.
5. Quando era studente, poteva uscire a divertirsi tutte le sere.
6. Se mi telefoni domani, è possibile che ti possa dare un risposta.
7. Potrei usare questa macchina, ma preferirei un'altra.
8. Se Maria avesse potuto scegliere, avrebbe fatto una carriera diversa.
9. Avrei potuto andare alla festa, ma ho deciso di stare a casa.
10.Sì, Marco avrebbe potuto accompagnarci, ma vuole andare da solo.
The conditional mood of this verb translates the English "could" when you mean something like
"I could go, but I don't want to."
The past conditional translates the English "could have" , e.g. "I could have gone, but I didn't want to."
Use this information to help you translate the following sentences into Italian.
Exercise 2. Translate into Italian:
1. He can speak Italian very well.
2. I have never been able to understand French.
3. During the holidays I shall be able to sleep all day.
4. When they were children, they were able to understand English.
5. I can't eat much.
6. I used to be able to play the piano years ago.
7. Adriana could come with us but she prefers to go out with her boyfried.
8. I could have danced all night.
9. We could have taken a taxi.
10.If I could have gone, I would have enjoyed myself.

2. dovere = to be have to; must; ought to. Here is the scheme of its tenses; the present tense is
irregular and is written out in full; you should be able to complete the other tenses if you are given the
First Person. The present subjunctive is also irregular:

past
present future conditional imperfect perfect pluperfect pres.subj. impf. subj.
cond.
avrei ho avevo
 devo dovrò dovrei dovevo io debba io dovessi
dovuto dovuto dovuto
 devi             tu debba   tu dovessi
lui/lei
 deve               dovesse
debba
dobbiamo              dobbiamo   dovessimo
 dovete              dobbiate   doveste
 devono              debbano   dovessero
N.B. The conditional of this verb translates the English "ought" or "should"; the past conditional
translates the English "ought to have ..." or "should have"
Exercise 3. Translate into English. — These sentences require a knowledge of all the tenses, and
the subjunctive.
1. Devo partire subito, ho fretta.
2. Purtroppo dovrete fare l'esercizio di nuovo.
3. Quando ero piccolo, dovevo imparare a suonare il violino.
4. Daniela non è venuta; ha dovuto andare all'ospedale.
5. Dobbiamo comprare i biglietti prima di salire in autobus.
6. L'insegnante dice che Franco dovrebbe passare gli esami facilmente.
7. L'insegnante dice che Franco avrebbe dovuto passare gli esami facilmente.
8. I tuoi genitori avrebbero dovuto educarti meglio.
9. E' probabile che tu debba rifare l'esame.
 10.Se io avessi dovuto prendere soldi in prestito, non avrei potuto andare all'università.

Exercise 4. Translate into Italian.— These sentences get progressively more difficult.
1. I must finish this work.
2. I shall have to listen more attentively.
3. Unfortunately Maria's sister has had to cancel her holiday.
4. In primary school we used to have to wear short trousers.
5. I often had to stay at home because I didn't have any money.
6. It ought to be quite easy.
7. The doctor says that I should try to relax.
8. The students should have finished the course by now.
9. It is possible that Angela must pay the fine, if she can't find the ticket.
10.If my father had had to emigrate, he would have gone to America.

3. volere = to want. Here is the scheme of its tenses; the present tense is irregular and is written out in
full; you should be able to complete the other tenses if you are given the First Person. The present
subjunctive is also irregular:

past
present future conditional imperfect perfect pluperfect pres.subj. impf. subj.
cond.
avrei ho avevo
 voglio vorrò vorrei volevo io voglia io volessi
voluto voluto voluto
 vuoi             tu voglia   tu volessi
lui/lei
 vuole                volesse
voglia
vogliamo              vogliamo   volessimo
 volete              vogliate   voleste
 vogliono              vogliano   volessero
Exercise 5. Translate into English. — These sentences require a knowledge of all the tenses, and
the subjunctive.
1. Gina non vuole accompagnarci.
2. Quando ero piccolo,volevo avere un bicicletta.
3. So che non hai fame adesso, ma forse vorrai qualcosa più tardi.
4. Vorrei chiederti qualcosa.
5. Noi tutti vorremmo più soldi e più tempo libero.
6. Cosa vorresti vedere a Pisa?
7. Avrei voluto comprarti qualcosa, ma non avevo i soldi.
8. Forse il tuo amico vorrebbe che tu lo invitasse alla festa.
9. Era possibile che i tuoi amici volessero andarci senza di te.
10.Se io avessi voluto imparare la grammatica, ne avrei comprato un libro.
Exercise 6. Translate into Italian.
1. I want to telephone him.
2. I was not wanting to disturb you.
 3. When they were little, they wanted to have a pet.
4. My cousin would like to go on holiday with me.
5. I had never wanted to work in an office.
6. My mother would have liked a bigger house.
7. My parents don't want me to go on holiday with my friends.
8. Our teacher would like us to finish this for tomorrow.
9. It seemed that Carla wanted a more interesting job.
10.If I had wanted to study medicine, the course would have lasted six years.

THE IMPERATIVE MOOD

This is the form of the verb which is used to give orders, commands
or requests.
For example:
1. Listen carefully = Ascolta  attentamente.
2. Take notes in Italian. = Prendete appunti in italiano.
3. Let's go! = Andiamo!
Here is how the imperative is formed:

  parlare ripetere aprire finire

sing.   parla   ripeti   apri   finisci
plur.   parlate   ripetete   aprite   finite
These forms are the most frequently used.
However, to express a command or request in more polite or formal language, use the following forms:

  parlare ripetere aprire finire

sing.   parli   ripeta   apra   finisca
plur.   parlino   ripetano   aprano   finiscano
This is why there are apparently two ways of saying "Excuse me". The explanation is:
Use scusa  if you addressing someone informally.
Use scusi  if you are being formal or polite.
There is also a form of the imperative equivalent to the English structure "Let's finish early" "Let's go
to lunch". The equivalent in Italian is:
Let's finish early = Finiamo presto.
Let's go to lunch = Andiamo a pranzare.
You'll see that this form of the imperative is the same as the ordinary present tense.
A few verbs have an irregular formation:

  andare dare fare stare dire

sing.   va'   da'   fa' sta'   di'
plur.   andate  date  fate  state  dite
Very often general commands are expressed by the infinitive, e.g.:
1. Tirare = Pull
2. Spingere = Push
Remember that pronouns get attached to the end of the imperative to form one word, e.g.
1. Ripetilo, per favore. = Repeat it, please.
2. Leggimelo = Read me it.
With imperatives of only one syllable, like da', fa', sta', di',  the first consonant of the pronoun is
doubled (but not with "gli"), e.g.
1. Dimmi! = Tell me!
2. Stacci = Stay there
3. Dammelo! = Give me it!
4. Diglielo = Tell it to him!
However, with the formal imperative, pronouns go in front of it, e.g.:
1. Mi dica! = Tell me.
2. S'accomodi! = Have a seat.
 
NEGATIVE COMMANDS: "DON'T EAT IN THE CORRIDORS" "NO SMOKING"
Negative commands are usually expressed in Italian with non followed by the infinitive verb.For
example:
1. Don't eat in the corridors! = Non mangiare nei corridoi!
2. No smoking! = Non fumare!
3. Don't throw things out of the window = Non gettare oggetti dalla finestra.
However, if you want to direct a negative commands to more than one person, use the normal
imperative preceded by non, e.g.:
1. Don't run, boys! = Non correte, ragazzi!
2. Don't eat too much, gentelmen! = Non mangiate troppo, signori!
Finally, if you want the negative command using the more formal imperative, simply put non in front
of it, e.g.:
1. Don't drink it! = Non lo beva!
2. Don't give it to him! = Non glielo dia!
N.B. In the writing you will do at Standard Grade and Higher, you will probably never use this mood of
the verb, but you will certainly meet it when you are reading Italian, so learn it!

THE PASSIVE VOICE OF THE VERB

Verbs can be active or passive voice. This means that when the subject of the verb performs the action
of the verb, we say that the verb is in the active voice. A verb is in the passive voice if the subject has
the action of the verb done to it, e.g.:
Active Voice = Calvino is writing a book = Calvino scrive un libro. 
Passive Voice = The book is written by Calvino = Il libro è scritto da Calvino
The passive is formed by using the appropriate tense of essere  and the past participle of the verb, e.g.:
1. Lots of book have been written on this theme,
= Molti libri sono stati scritti  su questo tema
2. This film is being produced by Visconti.
= Questo film è prodotto  da Visconti.
Note the following points about the passive:
1. The passive voice always requires at least two words, sometimes three.
2. The past participle always agrees with the grammatical subject of the sentence.
3. Any tense can have a passive voice, e.g.:
present:   molte informazioni sono date dal professore
                   a lot of information is given by the teacher

future:      molte informazioni saranno date dal professore.

                   a lot of information will be given by the teacher
 
imperfect: molte informazioni erano date dal professore.
                   a lot of information was given by the teacher

perfect:   molte informazioni sono state date dal professore.

                   a lot of information has been given by the teacher.

pluperfect: molte informazioni erano state date dal professore.

                   a lot of information had been given by the teacher.

          conditional: molte informazioni sarebbero date dal professore.

                   a lot of information would be given by the teacher.

past conditional: molte informazioni sabbero state date dal professore.

                                    a lot of information would have been given by the teacher.

 
N.B. The verb venire can be used instead of essere in the present, future, imperfect and conditional,
e.g.:
Poche macchine veranno vendute l'anno prossimo.
= Few cars will be sold next year.
Although the passive voice is available as outlined above, a very neat way to create it is by using the
pronoun si  with the third person of the active voice of the verb. This construction is called si
passivante. This is how to use it:
1. Si danno troppi soldi al sud.
= Too much money is given to the South.
2. Non si mangia carne ogni giorno.
= Meat is not eaten every day.
You will often see this construction in newspaper advertisements or selling or renting articles. Then
the si is attached to the verb, e.g.:
 1. Vendesi bicicletta.
= Bicycle for sale.
2. Affittasi piccolo appartamento.
= Small appartment for rent.
Students usually find the passive is awkward to form correctly in Italian; the best solution is to use
the si passivantecontruction, but if that is not possible, try to turn the sentence around and write it in
the active voice, e.g. instead of trying to write "the tickets had already been posted by my parents" turn
it into "my parents had already posted the tickets

IMPERSONAL VERBS
These verbs only exist in the third person; there are three groups:
1. Verbs referring to the weather:
1. piove = it is raining
2. nevica = it is snowing
3. fa freddo = it is cold
4. fa caldo = it is warm
2. Impersonal expressions like “it is easy to ...”, “ it is likely that ...”, e.g.
1. è facile (+ infinitive) = it's easy to ...
2. è difficile (+ infinitive) = it's difficult to ...
3. è probabile che (+ subjunctive) = it's probable that ...
4. è necessario che (+ subjunctive) = it's necessary that ....
3. Certain verbs expressing need, necessity etc. e.g.
bisogna it's necessary
occorre it's necessary
pare it seems
sembra it seems
succede it happens
accade it happens
importa it's important; it matters
basta it is enough
However, the impersonal construction is very common in Italian when you want to
show that the action of a verb is perfomed by a subject which is indefinite or by people
in general.
The construction uses si + 3rd person of the verb. The construction is called si impersonale. It is used
where in English we would say “You go to school, you come home, you go to bed, you get up, you go
to school.” or “one reads about it all the time.”
The examples below should make it clear:
1. Si lavora per guadagnare soldi.
People work to earn money.
 2. Non si può pagare con una carta di credito.
You can't pay by credit card.
3. Come si dice awkward in italian?
How do you say awkward in Italian.
4. Non si paga molto in alberghi di quella categoria.
You don't pay much in hotels of that class.
5. Si scelgono diversi corsi.
People choose different courses.
(Different courses are chosen)
Look at the last example carefully. The verb is plural because the noun following it is plural. This usage
is the same as the si passivante construction.

THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD — IL MODO CONGIUNTIVO

All the tenses of the verb which are listed under the verbs on the Grammar Index Page, apart from
the conditional tenses, are in a mood called the INDICATIVE. This is the form of the verb which is
used for making statements of fact. Now meet the subjunctive:
This is a mood of the verb which no longer exists in English, except in one structure with the verb "to
be", so English speakers usually find it difficult to grasp the subjunctive. Many other languages still
have there subjunctive mood but it has vanished from English.
It is a form of the verb which is used in Italian quite commonly in certain situations.
The subjunctive mood is available in only four tenses: present, imperfect, perfect and pluperfect.
Firstly you have to get to know what the subjunctive looks like; here are some verbs to illustrate how
the present and imperfect are formed:

PRESENT TENSE IMPERFECT TENSE

parlare vedere dormire capire parlare vedere capire
   parli   veda   dorma   capisca   parlassi   vedessi   capissi
   parli   veda   dorma   capisca   parlassi   vedessi   capissi
   parli   veda   dorma   capisca   parlasse   vedesse   capisse
   parliamo   vediamo   dormiamo   capiamo   parlassimo   vedessimo   capissimo
   parliate   vediate   dormiate   capiate   parlaste   vedeste   capiste
   parlino   vedano   dormano   capiscano   parlassero   vedessero   capissero
N.B. You will see that in the present tense, the first three persons of the verb are identical and this is
one occasion when you will probably have to use the personal pronouns in order to avoid confusion.
Similarly, in the imperfect tense, you cannot distinguish the first and second persons without using
pronouns.
You know that in the present tense there are two types of verb in the Third Conjugation (those whose
infinitive ends in -ire). If you are not sure of this, go back and look again at how you form the present
tense by clicking here. Both these types of verb form there imperfect in the same way.
Here are the subjunctives of essere and avere. You need these as verbs in their own right but they are
also the auxiliary verbs which make the perfect and pluperfect subjunctives for all the other verbs in the
language.
 PRESENT TENSE IMPERFECT TENSE
essere avere essere avere
    sia    abbia    fossi   avessi
    sia    abbia    fossi   avessi
    sia    abbia    fosse   avesse
   siamo   abbiamo    fossimo   avessimo
   siate   abbiate    foste   aveste
   siano   abbiano    fossero   avessero
Again you need to use pronouns to distinguish the persons of the verb which are identical.
The tables above show you how to make the subjunctive, now you need to learn when and when not to
use it.
I have divided the rest of this page into eight sections to illustrate the uses of the subjunctive. In Higher
Grade Writing, I would expect you to be able to use a few clauses and structures which require the
subjunctive.
SECTION 1: Use it : after impersonal verbs and expressions like:

bisogna che ... it is necessary that ....   è facile/difficile che ... it is easy/difficult
è possibile/impossibile che it is possible/impossible
occorre che ... it is necessary that ....  
... that
è probabile/improbabile it is probable/improbable
sembra che ... it seems that ...  
che ... that
pare che ... it seems that ...   è meglio che ... it is better that ...
      è peccato che ... it is a pity that ...
      è bene che ... it is good that ...
      è importante che ... it is important that
But DON'T USE IT when you use an infinitive, e.g.:
1. It is difficult to understand all this = E' difficile capire tutto questo.
2. You need to book the tickets = Bisogna prenotare i biglietti.

SECTION 2: Use it : after verbs expressing hope, want, expect, prefer, fear, think, e.g.
1. I hope that you understand all this = Spero che tu capisca tutto questo.
2. The boss wanted us all to work hard = Il padrone voleva che lavorassimo sodo.
3. My parents prefer me to go with them = I miei genitori preferiscono che io li accompagni.
4. I thought Angelina was very sweet = Pensavo che Angelina fosse molto simpatica.
But DON'T USE IT when you use an infinitive, e.g.:
1. I hope to go to university = Spero di andare all'università.
2. I would like to study law = Vorrei studiare legge.
3. I would prefer to continue to study Spanish = Preferirei continuare a studiare lo spagnolo.
 4. I am thinking of looking for a job = Penso di cercare un lavoro.

SECTION 3: It must be used in clauses introduced by the following conjunctions:

benché although
sebbene although
purché provided that
a condizione che ... on condition that ...
nel caso che ... in case
For example:
1. We enjoyed ourselves although the weather was terrible 
= Ci siamo divertiti benché il tempo fosse terribile
2. I'll buy him a present for his birthday provided it doesn't cost too much 
= Gli comprerò un regalo per il suo compleanno purché non costi troppo
3. I'll take an umbrella in case it rains.
= Porterò un ombrello nel caso che piova.

SECTION 4: USE IT to express purpose after the following conjunctions BUT only if the subjects
of the main and dependent clauses are different/
affinché   in order that ...; so that ...
perché   in order that ...; so that ...
cosicché   in order that ...; so that ...
in modo che   in order that ...; so that ...
For example:
1. We hired bikes so that the children could go into the countryside.
= Abbiamo noleggiato delle biciclette affinché i bambini vadano in campagna.
2. Let's wait a little for the wine to get cooler.
= Aspettiamo un po' cosicche il vino sia più freddo.
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use per + infinitive,
e.g.:
1. I would like to go to university to study foreign languages.
= Vorrei andare all'università  per studiare lingue straniere.
2. If I had the money, I would go to Italy to improve my Italian.
= Se io avessi i soldi, andrei in Italia per migliorare  il mio italiano.
3. I went to the bank in order to change money.
= Sono andato alla banca per cambiare soldi.

SECTION 5: USE IT after the conjunction “prima che”to translate “before” if the

subjects of the two clauses are different, e.g.:
1. I'll leave before your parents come back home.
= Partirò prima che i tuoi genitori tornino a casa.
2. The house had been burning for half an hour before the firemen arrived.
= La casa brucciava da una mezz'ora prima che i pompieri arrivassero.
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use prima di +
infinitive, e.g.:
1. We played cards before going to bed.
= Abbiamo giocato a carte prima di andare a letto.
2. I would like to have a gap year before going to university.
= Vorrei avere un anno sabatico prima di andare all'università.

SECTION 6: USE IT after the conjunction “senza che”to translate “without” if the

subjects of the two clauses are different, e.g.:
1. The boys used to smoke without their parents being aware of it.
= I ragazzi fumavano senza che i loro genitori se ne accorgessero.
2. I can't do anything without my family knowing about it.
= Non posso fare niente senza che la mia famiglia lo sappia.
But DON'T USE IT if the subjects in the two clauses are the same; instead, use senza + infinitive,
e.g.:
1. I didn't want to come back without buying some presents.
= Non volevo tornare senza comprare qualche regalo.
2. Breakfast is important. It's not a good idea to leave home without having something to eat.
= La colazione è importante. Non è una buona idea uscire di casa senza mangiare qualcosa.

SECTION 7: USE IT with the structure“non vedo l'ora che”to translate “I can't
wait; I am looking forward to” if the subjects of the two clauses are different, e.g.:
1. I can't wait for the holidays to arrive.
= Non vedo l'ora che le vacanze arrivino.
2. I couldn't wait for the phone to ring.
= Non vedevo l'ora che il telefono squillasse.
But DON'T USE IT if you want an infinitive; instead, use non vedo l'ora + infinitive, e.g.:
1. I can't wait to go back to Rome.
= non vedo l'ora di tornare a Roma.
2. My partner was looking forward to visiting Scotland.
= La mia corrispondente non vedeva l'ora di visitare la Scozia.

SECTION 8: Commonest mistakes when using the subjunctive.

These are:
1. Using the subjunctive when you don't need it. Look at the sections above and note when it is not
required; it is usually only needed after certain conjunctions when the subjects in the two clauses are
different.
2. Using the wrong tense. 
   There are only four tenses which have a subjunctive: present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect.
Rule: If the verb in the main clause is present, future, or imperative, use the present or perfect
subjunctive.
If the verb in the main clause is past, or conditional, use the imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive.
Exercise 1:Here is a short passage in English; after it you will find that most of it has been translated
but you have to change the verbs given from the infinitive into the correct tense of the subjunctive. In
the passage someone is telling of their dreams and wishes when he was younger and this is a situation
where the subjunctive is needed.

When I was a little boy, I always wished

that my father was rich. I wanted my Quando ero piccolo,sempre volevo che mio padre
family to live in a big house. I hoped (essere) ricco. Volevo che la mia famiglia (abitare)
that my father would buy us a car, and in una grande casa. Speravo che mio padre ci
that we would spend our holidays (comprare) una macchina, e che noi (passare) le
abroad. I wanted us to live in a big town nostre vacanze all'estero.Volevo che noi (abitare) in
because I always thought that our town una grande città perché pensavo sempre che il
was boring and I would have liked us to nostro paese (essere) noioso e mi sarebbe piaciuto
have been able to go to concerts and the che noi (potere) andare ai concerti ed a teatro ecc.
theatre etc.

Exercise 2: Translate these sentences into Italian:

1. I used to think that life in America was exciting.
2. I doubt that Anna is happy.
3. I suppose that teachers in Italy don't earn much.
4. My mother hoped that we were spending our holiday quietly.
5. I always imagined that the beaches were crowded in summer.
6. Our grandmother always wished that we had gone to university.
7. It is possible that someone has found the wallet.
8. It was necessary for the children to get dressed in a hurry.
9. I had bought a house in the country because I thought that the air was cleaner there.
10.My parents would have liked me to stay at home.

PRONOUNS — I PRONOMI
This page is divided into six sections organised as follows:
1. Direct Object Pronouns
2. Indirect Object Pronouns
3. Reflexive Pronouns
4. Disjunctive Pronouns
5. The pronoun “ ne”
6. Rules for using two pronouns before the verb
Pronouns are words which take the place of nouns.
In Italian there are four types of pronouns; they sometimes have horrendous technical names but they
are quite easy. They are given below with their grammatical names and a translation into English.
There is also a special pronoun ne which is in a class of its own.
1 DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS:

mi   me ci   us
ti   you vi   you
lo   him li  them (masc.)
la   her le  them (fem.)
La you (formal) Le you (formal

2 INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS:

mi   to/for me ci   to/for us
ti    to/for you vi    to/for you
gli    to/for him loro   to them
le    to/for her loro   to them
to you to you
Le Loro
(formal) (formal)

3 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS:

mi    myself ci   ourselves
ti    yourself vi    yourselves
himself/herse
si si  themselves
lf

4 DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS (used after prepositions)

me   me noi   us

te   you voi   you
lui   him loro  them (masc.)
lei   her loro  them (fem.)
 Lei you (formal) Loro you (formal

5 THE PRONOUN ne.
This pronoun is very idiomatic. Spend a little time with it and try to master it,
especially if you are doing Higher Writing.
Rules:
1. It stands before the verb or before the auxiliary verb in compound tenses.
2. It is attached to the end of the infinitive, gerundio and imperative to form one word.
3. It follows the rule about using two pronouns before the verb. Check it out in the next section.
4  In compound tenses, when ne replaces the direct object, the past participle agrees with the direct
object:—
    Quante bottiglie di vino hai comprato? — Ne ho comprate dieci.
    = How many bottles of wine did you buy? — I bought ten.

1. Nemeans “of it; of them”. It frequently does not need to be translated into English:
e.g.:
1. Hai molti esami? — Sì, ne ho sette. 
= Do you have many exams? Yes, I have seven (of them)
2. Hai fatto tutti gli esercizi? — No. Però, ne ho fatti tre. 
= Have you done all the exercises? No. But I've done three (of them)
Although English not have an equivalent for ne in the type of sentences shown above, you must
remember to use it in Italian.

2. This pronoun replaces a prepositional phrase beginning with di, and it does need to be translated
into English. For example:
1. Hai paura del cane? — No, non ne ho paura.
= Are you frightened of the dog? No, I'm not frightened of it.
2. Carlo parla mai della sua infanzia? — Sì, ne parla spesso. 
= Does Carlo ever talk about his childhood? Yes, he often talks about it.
You could find that you need to use this pronoun if you are dealing with one of the common verbs or
expressions which are followed by di. Here are the commonest; try to learn them:
avere bisogno di to need
avere paura di to be afraid of
avere voglia di to want
sapere di to know of
accorgersi di to notice; realise
rendersi conto di to notice; realise
ricordarsi di to remember
dimenticarsi di to forget
For example:
1. Ti sei accorto di quanto costava la macchina? — Sì, me ne sono accorto.
  = Did you notice how much the car cost? — Yes, I noticed (it).
2. Ti ricordi della scuola materna? — No, non me ne ricordo niente.
  = Do you remember your nursery school? — No, I don't remember anything about it.
3. Cosa sai di Sardegna? — Non ne so molto.
  = What do you know about Sardinia? — I don't know much about it.

3. This pronoun also replaces expressions consisting of da  + place. For example:

1. Ha aperto la borsetta e ne ha preso una fotografia.
    = She opened her handbag and took a photograph out of it.
2.  A che ora tuo marito è uscito dall'ufficio? — Ne è uscito alle sette e mezzo.
   = What time did your husband leave the office? He left it at 7.30.

4. This pronoun also has some idiomatic usages which have no equivalent in English. The only one
which you should be familiar with is with the reflexive form of the verb andare. This produces the
verb andarsene which means “to leave; go away”. Although there is no equivalent in English, in
French you may have met the verb s'en aller . Here is the verb in its present and perfect tenses. This
verb cannot take a direct object.

present tense passato prossimo

me ne vado I am leaving me ne sono andato/a I left/ have left
te ne vai you .... te ne sei andato/a you ....
se ne va he/she/it .... se n'è andato/a he/she/it ....
ce ne andiamo we .... ce ne siamo andati/e we ....
ve ne andate you .... ve ne siete andati/e you ....
se ne vanno they .... se ne sono andati/e they ....

6 RULES ABOUT USING TWO PRONOUNS.

Look at these sentences:
1. I bought her a present but forgot to give her it.
2. We sent for their autographs and they said they would give us them.
There are two pronouns highlighted in each one. English speakers often have problems translating this
kind of sentence into Italian because they are not quite sure what pronouns to use. the sentences
actually mean:
1. I bought a present for her, but I forgot to give it to her.
2. We sent for their autographs and they said they would sent them to us.
So, in the first sentence it is a direct object pronoun and to her is an indirect object pronoun.
Similarly in the second sentence, them is a direct object pronoun and to us is an indirect object
pronoun.
In Italian there is a rule which governs the order in which these pronouns are used, namely:
indirect object followed by direct object.
This causes a slight change of spelling: pronouns which normally end in i change this letter to e. This is
more complicated than it should be and perhaps the best way to grapple with it is to look at the
following table where two pronouns are used.The first pronoun means "to me" , "to you"
etc.; lo and la mean "it", and li and le mean "them". You'll see that the pronoun gli means "to him" or
"to her" or "to them" and it combines into one word with the direct object pronouns lo, la, li, le.

Indirect Object
Direct Object Pronouns
prons.
lo (him/it li (them ne (of it/of
  la (her/it) le (them)
) ) them)
mi (to me) me lo me la me li me le me ne
ti (to you) te lo te la te li te le te ne
gli (to him) glielo gliela glieli gliele gliene
le (to her) glielo gliela glieli gliele gliene
ci (to us) ce lo ce la ce li ce le ce ne
vi (to you) ve lo ve la ve li ve le ve ne
gli (to them) glielo gliela glieli gliele gliene
So, look at how these English senteces translate into Italian:
1. They bought a scooter and gave me it for my birthday
Hanno comprato un motorino e me l'hanno regalato per il mio compleanno.
2. She doesn't have your telephone number; I'll send her it with my letter.
Non ha il tuo numero telefonico; glielo mando con la mia lettera.
3. They already have the results; when will they give us them?
Hanno già i risultati; quando ce li daranno?
4. He has a new car; he was showing her it. 
Ha una nuova macchina; gliela mostrava.
As with single pronouns, both of these pronouns get attached to the end of the infinitive, gerundio, or
imperative, so the last sentence could also be : Ha una nuova macchina; stava mostrandogliela.
When added to an infinitive or imperative, pairs of pronouns can make the verb look very strange, e.g.
Ti ho comprato qualcosa; quando posso dartela? = I bought something for you; when can I give you
it?
Mi hanno chiesto di spiegarglielo = They asked me to explain it to them.
Quelle sigarette sono le mie; dammele subito. Those cigarettes are mine; give me them immediately.
The same rules apply to reflexive pronouns used with direct object pronoun,e.g.

Reflexive
Direct Object Pronouns
pronouns.
 lo (him/i li (them le (them ne (of it/of
  la (her/it)
t) ) ) them)
mi (myself) me lo me la me li me le me ne
ti (yourself) te lo te la te li te le te ne
si (himself/herself
se lo se la se li se le se ne
)
ci (ourselves) ce lo ce la ce li ce le ce ne
vi (yourselves) ve lo ve la ve li ve le ve ne
si (themselves) se lo se la se li se le se ne

ADVERBS — GLI AVVERBI
ADVERBS indicate time, place, manner or quantity; unlike adjectives, they are invariable and can
modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
Here are some common adverbs which you should know as items of vocabulary. Learn them:

adverbs of time adverbs of place adverbs of manner adverbs of quantity

ieri yesterday qui here così so molto very
too
oggi today lì there bene well troppo
(much)
quite;
domani tomorrow vicino near male badly abbastanza
enough
sempre always lontano far away meglio better piuttosto rather
spesso often daperttutto everywhere peggio worse assai quite
tardi late fuori outside purtroppo unfortunately più more
presto early dentro inside davvero really anche also
subito immediately            
ancora still; again            
fa ago            
già already            
Many adverbs can be made from adjectives by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine form of the
adjective as shown below:

ADJECTIVE ADVERB
vero true veramente truly
chiaro clear chiaramente clearly
ovvio obvious ovviamente obviously
recente recent recentemente recently
 veloce quick velocemente quickly
If the adjective ends in -le or -re and there is a vowel in front, the final -e is dropped and -mente is
added, for example:

ADJECTIVE ADVERB
facile easy facilmente easily
probabile probable probabilmente probably
regolare regular regolarmente regularly
popolare popular popolarmente popularly

Comparative Adverbs
Comparative is when you want to say “more easily” or “less often”.
The equivalent in Italian is to say “più facile” and “meno spesso”.
Position of Adverbs:
1. Adverbs usually follow the verb they qualify: e.g.
Marco va sempre in macchina = Marco always goes by car.
2. Adverbs qualifying a noun, precede it: e.g.
Roma è una città molto viva =  Rome is a very lively city.
3. The common adverbs ancora, anche, già, mai, più, sempre usually insert themselves between
the auxiliary verb and past participle in the perfect tense: e.g.
Non ho mai visitato gli Stati Uniti =  I have never visited the USA.
Maria è già andata via = Maria has already gone away