Transcript
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 bwon-zhor-no Hello/Good day
Buona sera/notte bwoh-nah seh-rah/noht-teh Good evening/night
A più tardi ah pyoo tar-dee See you later
A domani ah doh-mahn-ee See you tomorrow
A presto ah press-to See you soon
Arrivederci ah-ree-vuh-dehr-chee Goodbye
Per favore pehr fah-voh-reh Please
Grazie graht-zee-eh Thank you
Prego preh-go You're Welcome
Mi dispiace mee dee-spyah-cheh Sorry
Mi scusi mee skoo-zee Excuse me
Andiamo! on-dee-ah-mo Let's go!
Sì/No see/noh Yes/No Come si chiama? koh-meh see kee-ah-mah What is your name?
Mi chiamo... mee kee-ah-mo My name is...
Signore, Signora, Signorina seen-yoh-reh, seen-yoh-rah, seen-yoh-reen-ah Mister, Misses, Miss Dove abita? doh-veh ah-bee-tah Where do you live?
Di dov'è? dee doh-veh Where are you from?
Abito negli Stati Uniti. ah-bee-to neh-lyee stah-tee oo-nee-tee I live in the United States.
Vengo dagli Stati Uniti. vehn-go dah-lyee stah-tee oo-nee-tee I come from the United States.
Come sta? koh-meh stah How are you?
Sto bene. stoh beh-neh I am fine.
Parla italiano? par-lah ee-tahl-ee-ah-no Do you speak Italian?
[Non] parlo... [non] par-lo 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] kah-pees-koh I [don't] understand.
Non so. / Lo so. non soh / low soh I don't know. / I know.
Quanti anni ha? kwahn-tee ahn-nee ah How old are you?
Ho ______ anni. oh ______ ahn-nee 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
e eh
u oo
f
v voo
eff-eh
g zhee
teh
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 il
eel
sing., before consonants
Feminine la lah sing., before consonants
lo low sing., before z, gn, or s + cons. l'
l
sing., before vowels
i
ee
plural, before consonants
l' l
sing., before vowels
le leh plural, before consonants and vowels
gli lyee plural, before vowels, z, gn, or s + cons.
Indefinite Articles - A, an, some Masculine A, An
Feminine
un
oon
before consonant or vowel
una
oonah
before consonants
uno
oon-oh
before z, gn, or s + consonant
un'
oon
before vowels
dei
day
before consonants
degli
dehlyee
before vowels, z, gn, or s + cons.
Some
delle dell-eh
before vowels and consonants
Demonstratives - This, that, these, and those
This and these This
These
Masc. questo questi quest' Fem.
questi
before a consonant before a vowel
questa queste before a consonant quest'
queste before a vowel That and those
That
Those
Masc. quel
Fem.
quei
before a consonant
quell'
quegli
before a vowel
quello
quegli
before z, gn, or s + consonant
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
you (plural)
voy
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
siete
He/she/it is è
say
You are
eh
They are sono
see-eh-teh 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
you were
eri you were eravate
I will be
sarò we will be
saremo
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
You have
hai eye You have
He/she has ha ah
We have
abbiamo ahb-bee-ah-mo avete
They have hanno
ah-veh-teh ahn-noh
Past and Future of Avere I had
avevo we had
avevamo
you had
avevi you had avevate
he/she/it had aveva they had avevano
I will have
avrò we will have
avremo
you will have
avrai you will have avrete
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
When
Quando
kwahn-doh
Where
Dove
doh-veh
How
Come
koh-meh
How much Quanto
pehr-keh
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 October
ottobre
seht-tehm-breh 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
Spring
la primavera lah pree-mah-veh-rah
Winter
l'inverno
low-toon-noh 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 East
est
sood 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
Grandmother
la nonna
sheep la pecora
Grandson/nephew
il nipote
goose l'oca
Granddaughter/niece la nipote
la capra
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
fa
fah
fah-teh
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 per
for
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
da
from, by dal dallo dall' dalla dai dagli dalle
di
of
in
in
nel nello nell' nella nei negli nelle
su
on
sul sullo sull' sulla sui sugli sulle
con with
al allo all' alla ai agli alle del dello dell' della dei degli delle
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
Country (sing)
To
From
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
va
vah
vanno
ahn-dah-teh 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 parlare
to speak
1st -ire 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 leggere
to hit
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
cerca
cercano
comincia cominciano
cominciate
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 il pesce
cup
la tazza
fish
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
salad
l'insalata
ice cream il gelato
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
mushroom
il fungo
watermelon l'anguria (il cocomero) orange
l'arancia
lettuce (salad) l'insalata
banana
la banana
eggplant
la melanzana
cherry
la ciliegia
olive
l'oliva
potato
la patata
strawberry la fragola
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
pork
il maiale
vegetables i legumi broccoli
i broccoli
beef
il manzo
carrot
la carota
bacon
la pancetta
ham
il prosciutto
veal
il vitello
cauliflower il cavolfiore cabbage
il cavolo
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 -ere
-ire
tu form (sing. fam.) -a
-are
-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.
