Italian I

1. Some Basic Phrases

2. Pronunciation

3. Alphabet

4. Articles and Demonstratives

5. Useful Words

6. Subject Pronouns

7. To Be and to Have

8. Question Words

9. Numbers / Ordinals

10. Days of the Week

11. Months of the Year

12. Seasons

13. Directions

14. Color

15. Time

16. Weather

17. Family and Animals

18. To Know People and Facts

19. Formation of Plural Nouns

20. Possessive Adjectives

21. To Do or Make
 22. Work and School

23. Prepositions

24. Prepositional Contractions

25. Countries and Nationalities

26. To / In and From places

27. To Come and to Go

28. Conjugating Regular Verbs

29. Reflexive Verbs

30. Irregularities in Regular Verbs

31. Past Indefinite Tense

32. Irregular Past Participles

33. Essere Verbs

34. Food and Meals

35. Piacere and Servire

36. Fruits, Vegetables, Meats

37. To Take, Eat or Drink

38. Commands

39. More Negatives

40. Holiday Phrases

Italian National Anthem

Italian II

41. Stare

42. Present Participles

43. Imperfect Tense

44. Places

45. Transportation
46. To Want, to Be Able to, to Have to

47. Asking Questions

48. House and Furniture

49. Comparative and Superlative

50. Irregular Forms

51. Clothing

52. To Wear

53. Future Tense

54. Preceding Adjectives

55. Adjectives: Feminine & Plural

56. More Adjectives

57. Position of sempre and anche

58. Sports

59. To Play

60. Nature

61. Object Pronouns

62. Parts of the Body

63. Interrogative Pronouns

64. Relative Pronouns

65. To Read, to Say/Tell, to Laugh

66. Disjunctive Pronouns

67. Ci and Ne

68. Animals

69. Pluperfect

70. Suffixes

Italian III
 71. Adverbs

72. Passive Voice

73. The Impersonal "Si"

74. Post Office and Bank

75. To Give and to Receive

76. Infinitives followed by Prepositions

77. The Beach

78. To Follow

79. Fare Causative

80. Office / School Supplies

81. Conditional Tenses

82. Parts of a Car / Gas Station

83. To Drive

84. Travelling / Airport

85. Directional Words

86. Use of the Infinitive

87. Subjunctive Mood

88. Uses of the Subjunctive Mood

89. Possessive Pronouns

90. The Farm

91. Historical Past

1. Some Basic Phrases

Buongiorno Buona sera/notte

bwon-zhor-no bwoh-nah seh-rah/noht-teh
Hello/Good day Good evening/night

A più tardi A domani

ah pyoo tar-dee ah doh-mahn-ee
See you later See you tomorrow

A presto Arrivederci
ah press-to ah-ree-vuh-dehr-chee
See you soon Goodbye

Per favore Grazie

pehr fah-voh-reh graht-zee-eh
Please Thank you

Prego Mi dispiace
preh-go mee dee-spyah-cheh
You're Welcome Sorry

Mi scusi Andiamo!
mee skoo-zee on-dee-ah-mo
Excuse me Let's go!

Sì/No
see/noh
Yes/No

Come si chiama? Mi chiamo...

koh-meh see kee-ah-mah mee kee-ah-mo
What is your name? My name is...

Signore, Signora, Signorina

seen-yoh-reh, seen-yoh-rah, seen-yoh-reen-ah
Mister, Misses, Miss

Dove abita? Di dov'è?

doh-veh ah-bee-tah dee doh-veh
Where do you live? Where are you from?

Abito negli Stati Uniti. Vengo dagli Stati Uniti.

ah-bee-to neh-lyee stah-tee oo-nee-tee vehn-go dah-lyee stah-tee oo-nee-tee
I live in the United States. I come from the United States.

Come sta? Sto bene.

koh-meh stah stoh beh-neh
How are you? I am fine.

Parla italiano? [Non] parlo...

par-lah ee-tahl-ee-ah-no [non] par-lo
Do you speak Italian? I [don't] speak...

inglese, francese, tedesco, russo, spagnolo

een-gleh-zeh, frahn-chez-eh, teh-des-koh, roo-soh, spahn-yoh-loh
English, French, German, Russian, Spanish
 [Non] capisco. Non so. / Lo so.
[non] kah-pees-koh non soh / low soh
I [don't] understand. I don't know. / I know.

Quanti anni ha? Ho ______ anni.

kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah oh ______ ahn-nee
How old are you? I am _____ years old.

Ti amo.
tee ah-moh
I love you.

2. Pronunciation

Italian Letter(s) English Sound

a ah
e eh
i ee
o oh
u oo
ai eye
au ow
ei ay
ia yah
ie yeh
io yoh
iu yoo
ua wah
ue weh
uo woh
ui wee
ci or ce ch
gi or ge zh
sci sh
sch sk
aia ah-yah
aio ah-yoh
iei ee-yay
uio oo-yoh
uoi oo-oy
ch k
h silent
r trilled
Note: Italian is a very phonetic language, so pronunciation is very easy. Most words are pronounced
exactly like they are spelled.

3. Alphabet

a ah q koo
b bee r ehr-reh
c chee s ehs-seh
d dee t teh
e eh u oo
f eff-eh v voo
g zhee z dzeh-tah
h ahk-kah
i ee Foreign Letters
l ehl-eh j ee loon-gah
m ehm-eh k kahp-pah
n ehn-eh w dohp-pyah voo
o oh x eeks
p pee y ee greh-kah (or) eep-see-lohn

4. Definite and Indefinite Articles and Demonstratives

Definite Article - The

Masculine Feminine
il eel sing., before consonants
la lah sing., before consonants
lo low sing., before z, gn, or s + cons.
l' l sing., before vowels l' l sing., before vowels
i ee plural, before consonants
le leh plural, before consonants and vowels
gli lyee plural, before vowels, z, gn, or s + cons.

Indefinite Articles - A, an, some

Masculine Feminine
oon-
un oon before consonant or vowel una before consonants
A, An ah
uno oon-oh before z, gn, or s + consonant un' oon before vowels
dei day before consonants
before vowels and
Some deh- before vowels, z, gn, or s + delle dell-eh
degli consonants
lyee cons.

Demonstratives - This, that, these, and those

 This and these
This These
Masc. questo questi before a consonant
quest' questi before a vowel

Fem. questa queste before a consonant

quest' queste before a vowel
That and those
That Those
Masc. quel quei before a consonant
quell' quegli before a vowel
quello quegli before z, gn, or s + consonant

Fem. quella quelle before a consonant

quell' quelle before a vowel

Note: If you use that and those as a subject, use these four forms: quello for masculine singular,
quella for feminine singular, quelli for masculine plural, and quelle for feminine plural.

5. Subject Pronouns

io ee-oh I noi noy we

tu too you (familiar singular) voi voy you (plural)
lui, lei lwee/lay he, she, you (polite sing.) loro loh-roh they, you (polite pl.)

Note: The Lei form is generally used for you (singular), instead of tu, unless you're referring to kids or
animals. Loro can also mean "you," but only in very polite situations.

6. To Be and to Have

Essere - to be
I am sono soh-noh We are siamo see-ah-moh
You are sei say You are siete see-eh-teh
He/she/it is è eh They are sono soh-noh

Note: You do not have to use the subject pronouns as the different conjugations imply the subject.

Past and Future of Essere

I was ero we were eravamo I will be sarò we will be saremo
you were eri you were eravate you will be sarai you will be sarete
 he/she/it is era they were erano he/she/it will be sarà they will be saranno
Avere - to have
I have ho oh We have abbiamo ahb-bee-ah-mo
You have hai eye You have avete ah-veh-teh
He/she has ha ah They have hanno ahn-noh
Past and Future of Avere
I had avevo we had avevamo I will have avrò we will have avremo
you had avevi you had avevate you will have avrai you will have avrete
he/she/it had aveva they had avevano he/she/it will have avrà they will have avranno

Avere is used with many idioms and expressions that normally use the verb to be in English:
avere fame - to be hungry
avere sete - to be thirsty
avere caldo - to be warm
avere freddo - to be cold
avere fretta - to be in a hurry
avere paura - to be afraid
avere ragione - to be right
avere sonno - to be sleepy
avere bisogno di - to need
avere (number) anni - to be (number) years old

7. Useful Words

and e eh
or o oh
but ma mah
while mentre mehn-treh
if se seh
because perché pehr-kay
although benché behn-kay
there is C'è cheh
there are Ci sono chee soh-noh
there was C'era che-rah
there were C'erano che-rah-no
now adesso, ora ah-deh-so, oh-rah
perhaps, maybe forse for-seh
then allora ahl-loh-rah
here is ecco ehk-koh

8. Question Words

Who Chi kee

 What Che cosa keh koh-sah
Why Perché pehr-keh
When Quando kwahn-doh
Where Dove doh-veh
How Come koh-meh
How much Quanto kwahn-toh

Note: When dove, come, and quale are followed by è (is), dove and come contract to dov'è and
com'è; and quale drops its e to become qual è.

9. Numbers / Ordinals

0 zero dzeh-roh
1 uno oo-noh
2 due doo-eh
3 tre treh
4 quattro kwaht-troh
5 cinque cheen-kweh
6 sei say
7 sette seht-teh
8 otto aw-toh
9 nove naw-vay
10 dieci dee-ay-chee
11 undici oon-dee-chee
12 dodici doh-dee-chee
13 tredici treh-dee-chee
14 quattordici kwaht-tohr-dee-chee
15 quindici kween-dee-chee
16 sedici seh-dee-chee
17 diciassette dee-chahs-seht-teh
18 diciotto dee-choht-toh
19 diciannove dee-chahn-noh-veh
20 venti vehn-tee
21 ventuno vehn-too-noh
22 ventidue vehn-tee-doo-eh
30 trenta trehn-tah
40 quaranta kwah-rahn-tah
50 cinquanta cheen-kwahn-tah
60 sessanta sehs-sahn-tah
70 settanta seht-tahn-tah
80 ottanta oh-tahn-tah
90 novanta noh-vahn-tah
 100 cento chehn-toh

Note: When you have a word that ends in a vowel, like venti, and another word that begins with a
vowel, like uno; the first word loses its vowel when putting the two words together. Venti (20) and uno
(1) make ventuno (21). One exception is cento; it does not lose its vowel. Cento (100) and uno (1)
make centouno (101). And be aware that Italian switches the use of commas and decimals.

Ordinal Numbers
first primo (a)

second secondo (a)

third terzo (a)

fourth quarto (a)

fifth quinto (a)

sixth sesto (a)

seventh settimo (a)

eighth ottavo (a)

ninth nono (a)

tenth decimo (a)

eleventh undicesimo (a)

twentieth ventesimo (a)

hundredth centesimo (a)

From eleventh on, just drop the final vowel of the cardinal number and add -esimo. For numbers like
venitrè, trentatrè, add -esimo but do not drop the final e. Ordinal numbers are adjectives and must
agree with the nouns they modify; -o is the masculine ending, -a is the feminine ending.

10. Days of the Week

Monday lunedì loo-neh-dee

Tuesday martedì mahr-teh-dee
Wednesday mercoledì mehr-koh-leh-dee
Thursday giovedì zhoh-veh-dee
Friday venerdì veh-nehr-dee
Saturday sabato sah-bah-toh
Sunday domenica doh-men-ee-kah
 Yesterday ieri yer-ee
Today oggi ohd-jee
Tomorrow domani doh-mahn-ee
Day il giorno eel zhor-noh

Note: To say on Mondays, on Tuesdays, etc., use il before lunedì through sabato, and la before
domenica.

11. Months of the Year

January gennaio jehn-nah-yoh

February febbraio fehb-brah-yoh
March marzo mar-tsoh
April aprile ah-pree-leh
May maggio mahd-joh
June giugno joo-nyoh
July luglio loo-lyoh
August agosto ah-goh-stoh
September settembre seht-tehm-breh
October ottobre oht-toh-breh
November novembre noh-vehm-breh
December dicembre dee-chem-breh
Week la settimana lah sett-ee-mah-nah
Month il mese eel meh-zeh
Year l'anno lahn-noh

Note: Days and months are not capitalized. To express the date, use È il (number) (month). May 5th
would be È il 5 or cinque maggio. But for the first of the month, use primo instead of 1 or uno.

12. Seasons

Summer l'estate leh-stah-teh

Fall l'autunno low-toon-noh
Spring la primavera lah pree-mah-veh-rah
Winter l'inverno leen-vehr-noh

Note: To say in the (season), just use in. In estate is in the summer, in primavera is in spring.
D'estate and d'inverno can also be used instead of in estate or in inverno.

13. Directions
 North nord nohrd
South sud sood
East est est
West ovest oh-vest

14. Color

white bianco/a
yellow giallo/a
orange arancione
pink rosa
red rosso/a
light blue azzurro/a
dark blue blu
green verde
brown marrone
grey grigio/a
black nero/a

Note: The first word is the masculine form and the second is the feminine. Ex: Rosso is masculine
and rossa is feminine. Color words go after the noun.

15. Time

What time is it? Che ora è? / Che ore sono? keh oh-rah eh / keh o-reh soh-noh
It's 1:00 È l'una eh loo-nah
noon mezzogiornio med-zoh-zhor-noh
midnight mezzanotte med-zah-noh-teh
2:00 Sono le due soh-noh leh doo-eh
3:10 Sono le tre e dieci soh-noh leh treh eh dee-ay-chee
4:50 Sono le cinque meno dieci soh-noh leh cheen-kwah meh-noh dee-ay-chee
8:15 Sono le otto e un quarto soh-noh leh awt-toh eh oon kwar-toh
7:45 Sono le otto meno un quarto soh-noh leh aw-toh meh-noh un kwar-toh
1:30 È l'una e mezza eh loo-nah eh med-zah
6:30 Sono le sei e mezzo soh-noh leh say-ee eh med-zoh
sharp in punto een poon-toh
in the morning di mattina dee maht-teen-ah
in the afternoon del pomeriggio dell poh-mehr-ee-zhee-oh
in the evening di sera dee seh-rah
at night di notte dee noht-teh
16. Weather

What's the weather today? Che tempo fa oggi?

It's nice Fa bel tempo
bad Fa brutto tempo
raining Piove
snowing Nevica
cold Fa freddo
cool Fa fresco
hot Fa caldo
freezing Fa un freddo gelido
cloudy È nuvoloso
foggy C'è la nebbia
sunny C'è il sole
windy Tira vento
humid È umido
muggy È afoso
stormy Il tempo è burrascoso
thundering Tuona

17. Family and Animals

Family la famiglia dog il cane

Parents i genitori cat il gatto
Mother la madre bird il uccello
Father il padre mouse il topo
Son il figlio rabbit il coniglio
Daughter la figlia horse il cavallo
Brother il fratello cow la mucca
Sister la sorella donkey l'asino
Grandfather il nonno goat la capra
Grandmother la nonna sheep la pecora
Grandson/nephew il nipote goose l'oca
Granddaughter/niece la nipote duck l'anatra
Uncle lo zio pig il maiale
Aunt la zia hen la gallina
Cousin (m) il cugino deer il cervo
Cousin (f) la cugina
Husband il marito
Wife la moglie

18. To Know People and Facts

 Conoscere-to know, be acquainted with Sapere-to know (facts)
conosco conosciamo so sappiamo
conosci conoscete sai sapete
conosce conoscono sa sanno

Note: Conoscere is used when you know people and places. It is conjugated regularly. Sapere is
used when you know facts. Sapere followed by an infinitive means to know how.

19. Formation of Plural Nouns

If a word is masculine singular, change the last letter to an i. If a word is feminine singular, change the
last letter to an e if it ends in a, or if it ends in e, change it to an i.

Singular to Plural Nouns

Masculine
-o -i
-a -i
-e -i
Feminine
-a -e
-e -i

Note: Some nouns ending in -co and -go may or may not insert an h before changing the o to i.
There is no gerneral rule for it. All nouns ending in -ca and -ga insert an h before changing the a to e.
Nouns ending in an accented vowel do not change for the plural. (la città (city) becomes le città)
There are some masculine nouns that end -a, and these nouns change the -a to -i in the plural: il
programma, il poeta, il pianete, il pilota, il poema, il sistema. The plural of l'uomo (man) is gli uomini,
while the plural of la mano (hand) is le mani.

20. Possessive Adjectives

Masc. Sing. Fem. Sing. Masc. Pl. Fem. Pl.

my il mio la mia i miei (myeh-ee) le mie
your il tuo la tua i tuoi (twoh-ee) le tue
his/her il suo la sua i suoi (swoh-ee) 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

Note: You may leave off the il and la before family relation words in the singular. All other times, you
must use them. Notice that loro does not change.
21. To Do or Make

Fare-to do / make
faccio fah-cho facciamo fah-chah-moh
fai fah-ee fate fah-teh
fa fah fanno fahn-noh

Idomatic expressions used with fare:

fare una domanda - to ask a question
fare un viaggio - to take a trip
fare un bagno - to take a bath
fare una passeggiata - to take a walk
fare attenzione - to pay attention
fare un piacere - to do a favor
fare una conferenza - to give a lecture
fare (profession) - to be a (profession)

22. Work and School

architect l'architetto teacher (m) il maestro

author l'autore teacher (f) la maestra

banker il banchiere professor (m) il professore

waiter il cameriere professor (f) la professoressa

waitress la cameriera hair stylist (m) il parrucchiere

saleswoman la commessa hair stylist (f) la parruchiera

salesman il commesso secretary (m) il segretario

accountant il contabile secretary (f) la segretaria

doctor (m) il dottore soldier il soldato

doctor (f) la dottoressa journalist il/la giornalista

musician il/la musicista office worker (m) l'impiegato

barber il barbiere office worker (f) l'impiegata

biology la biologia

chemistry la chimica

economics l'economia
 philosophy la filosofia

physics la fisica

geography la geografia

foreign languages la lingua straniera

mathematics la matematica

medicine la medicina

accounting la ragioneria

history la storia

23. Prepositions

for per
beside accanto
ahead avanti
among fra di
before prima di
against contro
over sopra
under sotto
with con
without senza
across attraverso
after dopo
during durante
except eccetto
toward verso

24. Prepositional Contractions

il lo l' la i gli le
a at, to al allo all' alla ai agli alle
da from, by dal dallo dall' dalla dai dagli dalle
di of del dello dell' della dei degli delle
in in nel nello nell' nella nei negli nelle
su on sul sullo sull' sulla sui sugli sulle
con with col collo coll' colla coi cogli colle
 Note: The only contractions for con that are still used nowadays are col and coi. But even these
contractions are optional.

25. Countries and Nationalities

l'Australia Australia australiano Australian

il Canada Canada canadese Canadian
la Cina China cinese Chinese
la Francia France francese French
la Germania Germany tedesco German
l'Inghilterra England inglese English
la Gran Bretagna Great Britain britannico British
l'Italia Italy italiano Italian
il Giappone Japan giapponese Japanese
il Messico Mexico messicano Mexican
la Russia Russia russo Russian
la Spagna Spain spagnolo Spanish
gli Stati Uniti United States statunitense American
la Svizzera Switzerland svizzero Swiss
l'Austria Austria austriaco Austrian
la Polonia Poland polacco Polish
il Belgio Belgium belga Belgian
la Norvegia Norway norvegese Norwegian
la Svezia Sweden svedese Swedish
la Danimarca Denmark danese Danish
i Paesi Bassi Netherlands olandese Dutch
la Finlandia Finland finlandese Finlander

Note: The adjective americano usually refers to someone living anywhere in the American continent,
but many people do use it to mean a person from the United States, instead of statunitense.

26. To and From Places

To From
Country (sing) in da (+ contraction)
Country (plural) negli da (+ contraction)
City a da

27. To Come and to Go

Venire-to come
 vengo vehn-goh veniamo ven-ee-ah-moh
vieni vee-en-ee venite ven-ee-teh
viene vee-en-eh vengono ven-goh-noh

Vengo a scuola in macchina. I come to school by car. (It's a scuola instead of alla scuola because it's an idiom.)

To make a verb negative, add non before it: Non vengo a scuola in macchina. I don't come to
school by car.

Andare-to go
vado vah-doh andiamo ahn-dee-ah-moh
vai vah-ee andate ahn-dah-teh
va vah vanno vahn-noh

Other verbs conjugated in the same pattern as venire are:

avvenire - to happen, to occur
convenire - to convene
divenire - to become
provenire - to come from, to proceed
sovvenire - to help
svenire - to faint

Tenere (to keep) verbs are conjuaged very similarly to venire too, except the voi form ends in -ete
instead of -ite:
appartenere - to belong
contenere - to contain
intrattenere - to entertain
mantenere - to maintain
ottenere - to obtain
ritenere - to retain
sostenere - to sustain, to support
trattenere - to withhold, to detain

28. Conjugating Regular Verbs

To conjugate regular verbs, take off the last three letters (-are, -ere, or -ire) and add these endings to
the stem:

Regular Verb Endings

-are -ere 1st -ire 2nd -ire
-o -iamo -o -iamo -o -iamo -isco -iamo
-i -ate -i -ete -i -ite -isci -ite
-a -ano -e -ono -e -ono -isce -iscono
Regular Verbs
-are 1st -ire
parlare to speak dormire to sleep
cantare to sing partire to leave
arrivare to arrive sentire to hear
 abitare to live aprire to open
amare to love offrire to offer
ascoltare to listen (to) servire to serve
cominciare to begin
domandare to ask
giocare to play (a game/sport)
guardare to look (at)/watch
imparare to learn
insegnare to teach
lavorare to work
mangiare to eat
pensare to think
studiare to study
-ere 2nd -ire
scrivere to write finire to finish
vedere to see capire to understand
credere to believe preferire to prefer
conoscere to know/be acquainted with colpire to hit
leggere to read costruire to build
mettere to put pulire to clean
perdere to lose sparire to disappear
prendere to take
rispondere to answer
scendere to go down/get off
vendere to sell
vivere to live
Sample Regular Verb
Parlare-to speak
parlo parliamo
parli parlate
parla parlano

Note: The present tense and the preposition da may be used to describe an action which began in the
past and is still continuing in the present. The present perfect tense is used in English to convey this
same concept.

Da quanto tempo Lei studia l'italiano? How long have you been studying Italian?
Studio l'italiano da due anni. I've been studying Italian for two years.

29. Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs express actions performed by the subject on the subject. These verbs are conjugated
like regular verbs, but a reflexive pronoun precedes the verb form. This pronoun always agrees with
the subject. In the infinitive form, reflexive verbs have -si attached to them with the final e dropped.
Lavare is to wash, therefore lavarsi is to wash oneself. (Note that some verbs are reflexive in Italian,
but not in English.)

Reflexive Pronouns
mi ci
ti vi
si si

Io mi lavo. I wash myself.

Noi ci alziamo presto. We get up early.

The plural reflexive pronouns (ci, vi, si) can also be used with non-reflexive verbs to indicate a
reciprocal action. These verbs are called reciprocal verbs.

Ci scriviamo ogni settimana. We write to each other every week.

Vi vedete spesso? Do you see each other often?

30. Irregularities in Regular Verbs

Verbs ending in -care and -gare add an h before the -i and -iamo endings to keep the hard sound.
Verbs ending in -ciare and -giare do not repeat the i in front of the -i ending.

cercare - to look for cominciare - to start

cerco cerchiamo comincio cominciamo
cerchi cercate cominci cominciate
cerca cercano comincia cominciano

31. Past Indefinite Tense

To form the past tense (something happened, something has happened, or something did happen),
conjugate avere or sometimes essere and add the past participle. To form the past participle, add
these endings to the appropriate stem of the infinitives:

-are -ato
-ere -uto
-ire -ito

Verbs that can take a direct object are generally conjugated with avere. Verbs that do not take a direct
object (generally verbs of movement) are conjugated with essere and their past participle must agree
in gender and number with the subject. Avere uses avere as its auxiliary verb, while essere uses
essere as its auxiliary verb. Negative sentences with the past indefinite tense are formed by placing
non in front of the auxiliary verb.

Io ho visitato Roma. I visited Rome.

Tu non hai visitato gli Stati Uniti. You didn't visit the United States.
Abbiamo consciuto due ragazze. We met two girls.
Maria è andata in Italia. Maria went to Italy. (Note the agreement of the past participle with the
subject.)

32. Irregular Past Participles

fare fatto
aprire (to open) aperto
bere (to drink) bevuto
chiedere (to ask) chiesto
chiudere (to close) chiuso
conoscere conosciuto
coprire (to cover) coperto
dare dato
dire detto
leggere letto
mettere (to put) messo
offrire (to offer) offerto
perdere (to lose) perso (or perduto)
prendere preso
rispondere (to answer) risposto
scrivere (to write) scritto
soffrire (to suffer) sofferto
spendere (to spend) speso
vedere (to see) visto (or veduto)
vivere (to live) vissuto
scendere (to go down) sceso
rompere (to break) rotto
Sample Avere Verb
Avere-to have
ho avuto abbiamo avuto
hai avuto avete avuto
ha avuto hanno avuto

Note: Ho avuto means I have, I have had, or I did have.

33. Essere Verbs

arrivare arrive
andare go
uscire go out
 entrare enter
costare cost
venire (venuto) come
essere (stato) be
partire leave
stare (stato) stay, be
sparire disappear
tornare come back/return

These verbs that are conjugated with essere must agree with the subject. Irregular past participles are
in parentheses.

Sample Essere Verb

Andare-to go
sono andato/a siamo andati/e
sei andato/a siete andati/e
è andato/a sono andati/e

Note: Sono andato means I went, I was going, or I did go. Remember that -o is masculine and -a is
feminine. The -i ending indicates all males or males and females; whereas the -e ending indicates
only females.

34. Food and Meals

breakfast la prima colazione tea il tè

lunch la colazione bread il pane
dinner il pranzo salt il sale
fork la forchetta pepper il pepe
spoon il cucchiaio steak la bistecca
knife il coltello cake la torta
plate il piatto chicken il pollo
napkin la salvietta coffee il caffè
cup la tazza fish il pesce
glass il bicchiere french fries la patate fritte
ice il ghiaccio soup il brodo
saucer il piattino jam la marmellata
dessert il dolce rice il riso
ice cream il gelato salad l'insalata

35. Piacere and Servire

Piacere - to like and Servire - to need

 piaccio piacciamo servo serviamo
piaci piacete servi servite
piace piacciono serve servono

Piacere (a) literally means "to be pleasing," so to form a sentence you have to invert the word order.
You must also use the prepositional contractions with a.

Maria piace a Giovanni. John likes Mary. (Literally: Mary is pleasing to John)
Gli studenti piacciono ai professori. The teachers like the students. (Literally: The students are
pleasing to the teachers).

The most common forms are the third person singular and plural when used with object pronouns. The
object pronouns that are used with these two verbs are somewhat similar to the reflexive pronouns:

mi I (to me) ci we (to us)

ti you (to you) vi you (to you)
gli / le he / she (to him / her) gli they (to them)

So to say I like something, use Mi piace if it is singular and Mi piacciono if it is plural.

Mi piace il calcio. I like soccer.

Mi piacciono i treni. I like trains.

Servire has the same construction as piacere. It is also used primarily in the third person singular and
plural forms and takes an indirect object.

Ti servono della frutta? Do you need any fruit? (Literally: By you is needed some fruit?)
Il pane serve a Marco. Marco needs the bread. (Literally: The bread is needed by Marco.)

36. Fruits, Vegetables and Meats

fruit la frutta cucumber il cetriolo

apricot l'albicocca onion la cipolla

pineapple l'ananasso bean il fagiolo

watermelon l'anguria (il cocomero) mushroom il fungo

orange l'arancia lettuce (salad) l'insalata

banana la banana eggplant la melanzana

cherry la ciliegia olive l'oliva

strawberry la fragola potato la patata

 raspberry il lampone celery il sedano

lime la limetta spinach gli spinaci

lemon il limone zucchini gli zucchini

apple la mela meat la carne

pear la pera lamb l'agnello

peach la pesca goat il capretto

plum la prugna (la susina) rabbit il coniglio

grape l'uva liver il fegato

vegetables i legumi pork il maiale

broccoli i broccoli beef il manzo

carrot la carota bacon la pancetta

cauliflower il cavolfiore ham il prosciutto

cabbage il cavolo veal il vitello

37. To Take, Eat or Drink

Prendere - to take, eat or drink and Bere - to drink

prendo prendiamo bevo beviamo
prendi prendete bevi bevete
prende prendono beve bevono

Note: You must express some in Italian even though we leave it out in English. Use the proper
contractions from the top of the page. Or you can use un po' di, which literally means a little bit. Bere
is only used to mean to drink when it is used in the general sense, as is mangiare - to eat.

38. Commands

-are -ere -ire

tu form (sing. fam.) -a -i -i/-isci
Lei form (sing. pol.) -i -a -a/-isca
voi form (pol. pl.) -ate -ete -ite
noi form (Let's ...) -iamo -iamo -iamo
 Note: To make a command negative, add non before the command. Except for the singular familiar
commands, when you use non and the infinitive.

Irregular Commands
andare venire fare dare dire essere avere stare (to be, stay)
sing. fam. va' vieni fa' da' di' sii abbi sta'
sing. pol. vada venga faccia dia dica sia abbia stia
plural andate venite fate date dite siate abbiate state
Let's andiamo veniamo facciamo diamo diciamo siamo abbiamo stiamo

39. More Negatives

non...mai never
non...più no longer, no more
non...niente nothing
non...nessuno nobody
non...neanche not even
non...nè...nè neither...nor

Note: The non goes before the verb and the second part goes after. I have nothing. Non ho niente.

40. Holiday Phrases

Buon Anno! Happy New Year!

Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter!
Buon Compleanno! Happy Birthday!
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
Buone Feste! Happy Holidays!

The Italian National Anthem: Inno di Mameli

by Goffredo Mameli

Fratelli d'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta,

Dell'elmo di Scipio s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la vitoria? Le porga la chioma,
Ché schiava di Roma Iddio la creò.

Stringiamci a coorte, siam pronti alla morte,

siam pronti alla morte, l'Italia chiamò. Sì!

Italian brothers, Italy has arisen,

Has put on the helmet of Scipio,
Where is victory?
Created by God
The slave of Rome,
She crowns you with glory.
Let us unite,
We are ready to die,
Italy calls.