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ITALIAN LESSONS - ARTICLES / ARTICULI

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Definite and Indefinite articles Articuli indeterminativo ed determinativo

Articles arewords that precede the substantive (a noun).

Definite article: used to indicate that a thing is unique in some way.

Indefinite article: used to indicate that a thing is not identified as unique.

In Italian the article must agree in gender and number with the noun, which means that the definite article la,

for example, should precede a singular and feminine. Study the chart below:

Articles

Definite - THE Indefinite - A / AN

Singular PluralSingular (there is not

a formal plural)

Masculine(maschile)

IL / L' / LO I / GLI UN / UNO

Feminine(femminile)

LA / L' LE UNA / UN'

* Note

L - before a vowelLo- before words starting with: s + another consonant (ie: st; sb) or zGli- before a vowel or words starting with: s + another consonant (ie: st; sb) or z

Un' - before a vowel (only to feminine words)Uno - before words starting with: s + another consonant (ie: st; sb) or zUna - before a consonante

Examples

Study the examples below:

Definite article - masculine

Il libro The book

L'amico The friend (the male friend)

Lo spettacolo The spectacle

Lo zio - The uncle

I libri The books

Gli amici The friends

Gli spettacoli - The spectacles Gli zoccoli - The claws

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PLURAL IN ITALIAN / PLURALI DELLA PAROLE

Un libro A book

Un premio - a prize

Un amico A friend

Uno spettacolo A spectacle

Uno zoccolo - A claw

Definite article - feminine

La macchina The car

L'amica The friend (the female friend)

Le macchine The cars

Le amiche

Indefinite article - feminine

Una macchina A car

Unamica a friend (a female friend)

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About plural sopra i plurali

The plural in Italian is quite different from the plural in English or any other romance languages such asSpanish, French or Portuguese. The general rule in English is to add the letter " s " at the end of a word.

In Italian the general rule is to substitute the last letter of a a masculine word for the vowel " i " or if it is afeminine word the general rule is to substitute the last letter for the vowel " e ".

Examples Esempio

Words ending in co/ go or

cio/gio

In order to keep the sound ofsingular words ending in co/goor cio/gio there are somespecific rules.

Most of the words ending in"co" and "go" follow thegeneral rule that was

mentioned above, but in some cases the pronunciation is changed when the vowel i is added to form theplural.

Usually words ending in VCV (vowel - consonant - vowel) have the pronunciation changed in the plural. Wordsending in CCV (consonant consonant vowel) do not have the pronunciation changed but someorthographic adjustments may be necessary in order to keep the sound of the word. Study the chart below:

Singular Plural Translation Observation

L'amico Gli amiciThe friend thefriends

The rule is the samebut the pronunciation ofthe "c" is different.

Il medico I mediciThe (medical) doctor -the doctors

The rule is the samebut the pronunciation ofthe "c" is different

Tedesco

Tedeschi('Tedesci' wouldchange the

pronunciation)

German - GermansThe rule is different butthe pronunciation of the"c" is the same

Il fungo

I funghi('fungi' wouldchange thepronunciation)

The mushroom - themushrooms

The rule is different butthe pronunciation of the"g" is the same

I dialoghi('dialogi' would The dialogue - the

The rule is different but

Singular Plural Translation

Il libro I libri The book the books

La tavola le tavole The table The tables

Il bambino i bambini The baby the babies

La ragazza Le ragazze The girl - the girls

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REGULAR VERBS - PRESENT TENSE - VERBI PRESENTE

Words ending in "cio", "zio" and "gio" are subjected to a different rule. To get the word pluralized you just mustdrop the last vowel.

Some words endingin "" or "" dont suffer any changes when pluralized and some words can be masculine in the singular formand feminine in the plural form.

pronunciation)

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In Italian youll find regulars and irregular verbs. Regular verbs are easier to learn because when conjugating

they follow a regular pattern that can be generalized to all the others regular verbs. In this lesson you will learn

how to conjugate the Regular Verbs.

In Italian there are 3 different classes of verbs: verbs ending in are, verbs ending in ere, verbs ending in

ire. Each class of regular verbs has its own pattern of termination when conjugated. Those classes of verbs

are known in Italian as:

Prima coniugazione - literally 'first conjugation' (verbs ending in are)

Seconda coniugazione - literally 'second conjugation' (verbs ending in ere)

Terza coniugazione - literally 'third conjugation' (verbs ending in ire).

When conjugating regular verbs in Italian you just have to preserve the root of the verb and substitute areorere for the following bold terminations.

Regular verbs

Prima

coniugazione

Secondaconiugazione

Terzaconiugazione

(PrimoGruppo)

Terzaconiugazione

(SecondoGruppo)

PersonParlare

(to speak)

Rispondere

(to answer)

Sentire (to

feel)

Capire

(to

understand)Io parl- | -o rispond- | -o sent- | -o cap- | -isco

Tu parl- | -i rispond- | -i sent- | -i cap- | -isci

Lui /

lei / Lei

esso /

essa

parl- | -a rispond- | -e sent- | -e cap- | -isce

Noi parl- | -iamorispond- |

-iamosent- | -iamo cap- | -iamo

Voi parl- | -ate rispond- | -ete sent- | -ite cap- | -ite

Loro parl- | -ano rispond- | -onosent- | -ono cap- | -iscono

Examples of verbs in each conjugation:

Prima

coniugazione

Seconda

coniugazione

Terzaconiugazione

(PrimoGruppo)

Terzaconiugazione

(SecondoGruppo)

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IRREGULAR VERBS - PRESENT TENSE - VERBI PRESENTEVerbs

- (to love)- Abitare- (to live)- Parlare- (to speak)- Mancare- (to need)

- Magiare- (to eat)- Studiare- (to study)

- emere- (to fear)- Rispondere- (to answer /reply)- Credere- (to believe /trust)

- Conoscere- (to know)- Trovare- (to find)

- Morire- (to die)- Dormire- (to sleep)- Aprire- (to open)- Sentire

- (to feel)- Vestire- (to dress)

- Capire- (tounderstand)- Finire- (to finish)

- Preferire- (to prefer)

Examples:

Verbo mangiare / verb to eat (verbi regolari - prima coniugazione)

Io mangio. (I eat) Tu mangi. (You eat - informal) Lei mangia. (You eat - formal - the 'L' of the word 'Lei' is always a capital letter) Lui mangia. (He eats) Lei mangia. (She eats) Noi mangiamo. (We eat) Voi mangiate. (You eat - more than one person) Loro mangiano. (They eat)

Verbo temere / verb to fear (verbi regolari - seconda coniugazione)

Io temo. (I fear) Tu temi. (You fear - informal) Lei teme. (You fear - formal - the 'L' of the word 'Lei' is always a capital letter) Lui teme. (He fears) Lei teme. (She fears) Noi temiamo. (We fear) Voi temete. (You fear - more than one person) Loro temono. (They fear)

Verbo venire / verb to come (verbi regolari - terza coniugazione primo gruppo)

Io vengo. (I come) Tu vieni. (You come - informal) Lei viene. (You come - formal - the 'L' of the word 'Lei' is always a capital letter) Lui viene. (He comes) Lei viene. (She comes) Noi veniamo. (We come) Voi venite. (You come - more than one person) Loro vengono. (They come)

Verbo preferire / verb to prefer (verbi regolari - terza coniugazione secondo gruppo)

Io preferisco. (I prefer)

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. Lui preferisce. (He prefers) Lei preferisce. (She prefers) Noi preferiamo. (We prefer) Voi preferite. (You prefer - more than one person) Loro preferiscono. (They prefer)

Irregular verbs are harder to learn because when the verb is conjugated there is not a regular

pattern that can be generalized to all verbs or persons. In this lesson you will learn the conjugation

of some irregular verbs and we strongly recommend you to memorize them. As you have seen in

the lesson about Regular Verbs, in Italian there are three classes of verbs:

Prima coniugazione - literally 'first conjugation' (verbs ending in are)

Seconda coniugazione - literally 'second conjugation' (verbs ending in ere)

Terza coniugazione - literally 'third conjugation' (verbs ending in ire).

I - Examples - irregular verbs in present tense - Prima coniugazione.

Irregular

verbs Andare

(to go)

Dare

(to give)

Stare

(to stay /

remain)

Fare

(to do / to

make)Person

Io vado do sto faccio

Tu vai dai stai fai

Lui / lei /

Lei esso

/ essa

va d sta fa

Noi andiamo diamo stiamo facciamo

Voi andate date state fate

Loro vanno danno stanno fanno

II - Examples - irregular verbs in present tense - Seconda coniugazione.

Irregular

verbs Bere

(to drink)

Sapere

(to know)

Vedere

(to see)

Potere

(to can / be

able to)Person

Io bevo so vedo posso

Tu bevi sai vedi puoi

Lui / lei /

Lei esso

/ essa

beve sa vede pu

Noi beviamo sappiamo vediamo possiamo

Voi bevete sapete vedete potete

Loro bevono sanno vedono possono

III - Examples - irregular verbs in present tense - Terza coniugazione.

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VERB TO BE - ESSEREVerbs - Present tense (Verbi - presente)

(to go up /

to rise)

(to say / to

tell)(to come)

(to go out /

to get out)Person

Io salgo dico vengo esco

Tu sali dici vieni esci

Lui / lei /

Lei esso

/ essa

sale dice viene esce

Noi saliamo diciamo veniamo usciamoVoi salite dite venite uscite

Loro salgono dicono vengono escono

Examples:

Irregular verb (verbi irregolari - prima coniugazione)

Io vado in Italia questa settimana. (I go to Italy this week) Tu vai in Spagna? (Do you go to Spain? - informal) Lei va in Spagna? (Do you go to Spain? - formal - the 'L' of the word 'Lei' is always a

capital letter) Lui d. (He gives) Lei d. (She gives) Noi facciamo. (We make) Voi fate. (You make - more than one person) Loro stanno bene. (They are well - they are well now)

Irregular verb (verbi irregolari - seconda coniugazione)

Io vedo il futuro. (I see the future) Tu bevi molto vino. (You drink a lot of wine - informal) Lei beve molto vino. (You drink a lot of wine - formal - the 'L' of the word 'Lei' is always a

capital letter) Lui sa la centratura. (He knows the true) Lei sa la centratura. (She knows the true) Noi possiamo fare la differenza. (We can make a difference) Voi sapete perch siamo qui?. (Do you know why we are here? - more than one person) Loro vedono che impossibile vincere. (They see that it is impossible to win)

Irregular verb (verbi irregolari - terza coniugazione)

Io dico che lei bellissima. (I say that she is very beautiful) Lui viene constantemente qui. (He always comes here.) Lei dice le cose giuste. (She says the right things) Noi saliamo sul tetto della casa. (We go out trough the roof of the house) Voi venite a casa mia? (Do you come to my house? - more than one person) Loro escono dal gioco. (They are leaving the game / match)

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The verb to be. Il verbo essere.

The verb to be - essere - is used for conditions or characteristics that are either permanent or transitory. It is

important to mention that in Italian the verb essere is also one of the verbs that is used as an auxiliary verb

for past tenses a. So, we strongly recommend you to learn this verb before all the others.

Compare:

Your team has just won the championship. You are happy and talk to your friend...

- Io sono molto felice! (I am very happy!) You are happy now, the reason is because your team won the

championship. This could be a transitory situation. Today you are happier because of a particular reason,event or situation.

Your friend Luciano is always in a good mood. He is always happy and you are talking about him to anotherfriend

- Luciano felice (Luciano is happy) Luciano is happy kind of person. Being always happy is a quality ofhim.

Conjugation of the verb essere

n Italian, the conjugation of the verb istheresult of the root of the verb (stem) and a specific termination. For

example, the conjugation of a verb for the person Io (I) is different from Tu (you), so usually the

termination of the verb is enough to indicate which person the verb is related to, even when the person is

omitted in a sentence. The verb essere is irregular which means that there is not a general pattern of

conjugations that you can follow and apply for other verbs.

Verb Essere

PersonEssere

(to be)Translation

Io sono (I) am

Tu sei(You - informal)are

Lui / lei /

Lei

(He / she / you -formal) is

Noi siamo (We) are

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VERB TO HAVE - AVERE

Loro sono (They) are

Examples:

Io sono ingegnere. (I am an engineer.)

Sono insegnante. (I am a teacher.) The termination of the verb is enough to

indicate which person the verb is related to, even when the person is omitted in the

sentence. Sono is used just to refer to I

Sono italiano. (I am Italian). Reading this sentence we know that the person who is

speaking is a man, because the adjective italiano - is in the masculine form )

Sono italiana. (I am Italian) Reading this sentence we know that the person who is

speaking is a woman, because the adjective italiana is in the feminine form)

Dove sei? (Where are you?). See the conjugated verb sei is related to the person

you (tu)

Lui felice (He is happy) In this case ' felice' could be referring to he or she, so in

order to specify who is happy, usually the person is used before the verb)

Siamo qui. (We are here). In this case the conjugated verb siamo is used just torefer to we (noi)

Noi siamo qui. (We are here)This sentence has the same meaning than the

sentence above, but theperson we - 'noi' was used to emphasize the sentence

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The verb to have. Il verbo avere.

The verb avere means to have and it is used for express that someone possesses something

In Italian the verb avere is also used as an auxiliary verb for past tenses as the verb essere is. So we

strongly recommend you to learn it before all others verbs.

Examples:

You have bought a car. You are talking to a friend...

- Ho una macchina. (I have a car)

You and your wife have a dog. You are talking to a friend...

- Noi abbiamo un cane. (We have a dog)

Note that the person could be omitted as 'ho' is specific to the person 'Io' (I) and thus can not be usedto another person.

Conjugation of the verb avere

In Italian, the conjugation of the verb is the result of the root of the verb (stem) and a specific

termination. For example, the conjugation of a verb for the person Io (I) is different from Tu (you),

so usually the termination of the verb is enough to indicate which person the verb is related to, even

when the person is omitted in the sentence. The verb to have - avere - is an irregular verb which

means that there is not a general and applicable pattern of conjugation. Study the conjugation of the

verb avere below:

.

Verb Avere

PersonEssere

(to be)Translation

Io ho (I) have

Tu hai(You - informal)have

Lui / lei /

Lei ha

(He / she / you -

formal) has

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ITALIAN PHRASEBOOK - WHAT TIME IS IT? / CHE ORE SONO?

Voi avete (You) have

Loro hanno (They) have

Pronunciation! Don't forget that the letter 'H' in Italian is silent which means that the pronunciation of'ho', 'ha', 'hai', 'hanno' is exactly the same of 'o', 'a', 'ai', 'anno'. If you have any doubt, go to the

alphabet page where you can hear how each sound is pronounced.

Examples:

Io ho una casa. (I have a house.)

Ho una casa. (I have a house.) The termination of the verb is enough to indicate which person

the verb is related to, even when the person is omitted in a sentence.

Ho ventotto anni. (Literally 'I have twenty eight years' - I am twenty eight years old). Note that

in Italian you express your age using the verb 'avere', not the verb 'essere' (to be)

Lei ha la fortuna di essere bella.(She is lucky for being beautiful). 'Ha' could be used for either

he or she, so in order to specify who has is lucky, usually the person should be referred)

Abbiamo una bella casa. (We have a beautiful house)

Loro hanno una fattoria. (They have a farm)

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If you already know how to say numbers in Italian, it is very easy to say what time is it in Italian. The officialrule says that time must be expressed in a 24:00 basis; thus at airports, train stations, newspapers, businessand official information you will see the numbers 1 to 24 referring to what time it is. Informally and amongfriends it is common to use the 12:00 notation to express time and so the context indicates if it is 3:00 AM or3:00 PM (15:00). Sometime you will find a comma replacing the usual colon in a timetable. So, you will see6,00 instead of 6:00. The word "o'clock" doesn't have an equivalent in Italian.

English / your clock Italiano Listen

Watch OrologioWrist watch Orologio da polso

Half past e mezzo

A quarter un quarto

What time is it? Che ore sono?What time is it? * Che ora ?

Morning di mattino

Afternoon del pormeriggioEvening di sera

It is noon mezzogiornoIt is midnight mezzanotte

It is 12:15 mezzo giorno e quindici

It is one o'clock l'una ora

It is two o'clock Sono le due ore2:00h Sono le due3:00h Sono le tre

4:02h Sono le quattro e due4:10h Sono le quattro e dieci

5:15h Sono le cinque e quindici5:15h Sono le cinque e un quarto

6:30h Sono le sei e mezzo

6:30h Sono le sei e trenta

7:45hSono le sette equarantacinque

7:45h Sono le sette e tre quarti

7:45hSono le otto meno unquarto

8:00h Sono le otto

8:50h Sono le otto e cinquanta8:50h Sono le nove meno dieci

From 7:00h to 8:00h Dalle sette alle otto

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From noon to 1:00h Da mezzogiorno all'una

* There are two two ways to ask somebody what time it is; both are translated exactly in the same way inEnglish and have the same meaning. The most common is "Che ore sono?" which is plural. It is expectedthat the answer will be 2 or a great number of hours.

The second is "Che ora ?" which require the answer to be in singular. There are only three situations whenit is possible to answer in singular: noon, midnight or 1:00 o'clock.

So (you are thinking) if I am asking 'what time is it?' I don't know if it is 1:00 or 2:00, so what should I ask?

Well, if you have no idea what time is it, just ask "Che ore sono?" if it is 1:10 you will get the answer " unaora"; if it is 2:10 you will get "Sono le due". If you already know that it is noon, midnight or one o'clock andsomething. It is convenient to ask "Che ora ?".