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Italian Grammar Help

Alphabetized Listing

Verbs

Pronouns

Articles

Demonstratives

Indefinites

Adjectives

General

Nouns

Quantifiers


Alphabetized Listing

Topics in alphabetical order

Adjective Inflections
Adverb Comparison
Avere/Essere
Article Inflections
Comparatives
Conditional
Conditional Perfect
Conditional Sentences
Conjunctive Pronouns
Definite Article
Demonstratives
Demonstrative Inflections
Diminutive Nouns
Direct Address Pronouns
for
Future Perfect
Future Tense
her
Idiomatic Use of Fare
Imperfect Indicative
Imperative
in
Indefinite Pronouns and Adjectives
Intensified Adjectives
Interrogative Inflections
Interrogative Pronouns
it
Lei/Tu
Modal Verbs
Non-Inflecting
Noun Inflections
Passato Remoto
Past Perfect
Past Subjunctive
Personal Object Pronouns
Personal Pronoun Inflections
Personal Pronouns
Personal Pronouns II
play
Pluperfect Subjunctive
Possessive Inflections
Possessive Pronouns
Prepositional Pronouns
Present Perfect
Present Perfect Subjunctive
Present Subjunctive
Pronoun Inflections
Present Tense
Quantifier Inflections
Reflexive Pronouns
Relative Pronouns
Subjunctive After Impersonal
Subjunctive/Adjective Clauses
Subjunctive/Noun Clauses
Superlatives
that
Time of Day
Trapassato Remoto


Verbs

Present Tense

Passato Remoto

Imperfect Indicative

Imperative

Future Tense

Conditional

Present Subjunctive

Past Subjunctive

Present Perfect

Trapassato Remoto

Past Perfect

Future Perfect

Conditional Perfect

Present Perfect Subjunctive

Pluperfect Subjunctive

Modal Verbs

Avere/Essere

Idiomatic Use of Fare

Subjunctive/Noun Clauses

Subjunctive/Adjective Clauses

Subjunctive After Impersonal


Present Tense

The present tense is formed by adding -o, -i, -a, -iamo, -ate, -ano to verbs of the ARE verb stem, -o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ete -ono to verbs of the ERE verb stem, and -o, -i, -e,-iamo, -ite, -ono to verbs of the IRE verb stem.  It has several uses:

• To express something that is presently occurring:

C'è una mosca nella mia zuppa.
There is a fly in my soup.

• To translate the English present progressive most of the time:

Leggo un buon libro.
I am reading a good book.

• To express something that is accurate for only a short period of time:

Abita a Parigi in questo momento.
He lives in Paris at this moment.

• To express a sentiment that may extend indefinitely back into the past and forward into the future, this usage is referred to as the "universal present."

Più le cose cambiano, Più restano le stesse.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.


Passato Remoto

The preterite tense (passato remoto) expresses an action that was completed in the distant past.  To form the preterite form for regular -ARE verbs, drop the verb's infinitive ending and add -ai, -asti, -ò, -ammo, -aste, -arono.  For -ERE verbs add -ei, -esti, -é, -emmo, -este, -erono after dropping the infinitive ending.  For -IRE verbs add -ii, -isti, -í, -immo, -iste, -irono after the infinitive ending has been dropped.

Napoleon morì nel 1821.
Napoleon died in 1821.


Imperfect Indicative

The imperfect indicative is a past tense.  Because "imperfect" implies incomplete, the imperfect tense describes an action which was continuous in the past but whose state of completion is unknown or ambiguous.  To form the imperfect tense with regular -ARE verbs, drop the infinitive ending and add -avo, -avi, -ava, -avamo, -avate, -avano.  For the -ERE verbs, add -evo, -evi, -eva, -evamo, -evate, -evano, after dropping the infinitive ending.  For the -IRE verbs, add -ivo, -ivi, -iva, -ivamo, ivate, -ivano.  This tense expresses:

• A past state of mind, opinion or emotion:

Sapevo che ai miei amici non piacevano le mie idee.
I knew my friends didn't like my ideas.

• A description of a scene in the past:

Nel parco, il tempo era bello e gli uccelli cantavano.
In the park, the weather was beautiful and the birds were singing.

• An habitual action that took place in the past.

Quando ero al liceo, lavoravo tutti i week-ends.
When I was in college, I worked every weekend.

• Mental, emotional, and physical conditions in the past as well as other past conditions such as weather, time, and age.

L'amava molto.
He loved her very much.

Faceva molto caldo e umidità.
It was very hot and humid.


Imperative

The imperative mood expresses commands, strong advice and calls to action.  In Italian, there are forms of the imperative mood for formal and familiar discourse.

Familiar imperative:
The familiar imperative uses the tu or voi forms of the present indicative.
Scrivi la lettera!
Write the letter!

Finite il compito!
Finish the homework!

The second person singular, familiar (tu) form of regular verbs with infinitives in ARE uses the third person singular, indicative verb ending.
Mangia la frutta ogni giorno!
Eat fruit every day!

Four short verbs with infinitives in ARE have frequently-used irregular tu imperative forms: andare, dare, fare, and stare.
Va' con lui!
Go with him!

Da' il libro a Maria!
Give the book to Maria!

Fa' il lavoro oggi!
Do the work today!

Sta' a casa questa settimana!
Stay home this week!

Dire has just one familiar imperative form: di'.
Di' la storia ai ragazzi!
Tell the story to the boys!

Formal imperative:
The Italian formal (Lei/Loro) imperative uses the same verb forms as the third person present subjunctive mood.  If a verb is irregular in the subjunctive, it will also be irregular in the formal imperative.
Finisca da leggere!
Finish reading!

Paghino in contanti, per favore!
Pay in cash, please!

Dia la verità al professore!
Tell the truth to the teacher!

First person plural imperative:
Italian has an imperative form corresponding to the English let's.  It is identical to the first person plural, indicative inflection of the Italian verb.
Andiamo al cinema!
Let's go to the movies!

Negative imperative:
To negate any Italian verb in the imperative mood, simply precede the imperative with non.  To negate the tu imperative, use non followed by the infinitive of the verb.
Non andiamo al cinema stasera!
Let's not go to the movies tonight!

Non dormite in quel letto!
Don't sleep in that bed!

Non parlare mentre la professoressa parla!
Don't talk while the teacher is talking!


Future Tense

To form the future tense in Italian two things must be done.  For the -ARE verbs, the infinitive ending -are is changed to -er and then -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno is added.  Both the -ERE and the -IRE verbs are formed as follows.  First, the final e is dropped from the infinitive ending, changing -ere to -er and -ire to -ir.  Next, one of the following future endings is added onto the word, -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, or -anno.

To express actions or states that, it is assumed, will take place at a time future to the present:

Il balletto avrá luogo sabato prossimo.
The ballet will take place next Saturday.

To use the future on present intent or determination.

Andrò a vederlo domani.
I will go to see him tomorrow.

Use of the future after quando (when).  When the main clause is in the future, and the subordinate clause is introduced by quando, the subordinate clause will be in the future:

Lo vedrò quando arriverò
I will see him when I (will) arrive.


Conditional

Like the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive, the conditional is a mood, with its own endings for various tenses.  The root of the verb is the same as the future root.  The -ARE verb ending changes to -er and a conditional ending is added -ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero.  The -ERE and -IRE verbs drop their final e before adding one of the following conditional endings, -ei, -esti, -ebbe, -emmo, -este, -ebbero.  It has four major uses:

• To express a past of the future,(i.e. to express an action or state that was future with respect to the past):

Ha detto che verrebbe presto.
He said he would come soon.

• To express the result of a hypothetical situation, the verb in the conditional follows the conjunction se plus a verb in the past subjunctive:

Se fossi Lei, non lo farei.
If I were you, I would not do it.

• To express a probability in the future:

Andrei in Italia domani.
I would go to Italy tomorrow.

• To express politeness, and in sentences where there is only one verb what is expressed in English by, I would . . .:

Lo farei con piacere.
I'd do that with pleasure.

Vorrei una tazza di caffè.
I would like a cup of coffee.


Present Subjunctive

The subjunctive mood is rarely used in English but is frequently used in Italian.  A verb takes the subjunctive when it is preceded by certain verbs or certain expressions that indicate a subjective situation.

After an expression of personal sentiment (emotion, will, or desire):

Sono contento che voi siate qui.
I am happy that you are here.

Desidero che tu arrivi presto.
I wish that you arrive early.

 After an expression of necessity, doubt or possibility:

E necessario che tu venga con me.
You must come with me.

E possibile che noi andiamo a Parigi.
It is possible that we're going to Paris.

 After verbs of opinion (pensare, credere, sperare, sentire) when they are in the negative or interrogative:

Lei non pensa che sia freddo in Alaska.
She doesn't think it is cold in Alaska.

Le sembra che io sia malato?
Does it seem to you that I am sick?

After certain conjunctive phrases that express the idea of unaccomplished goal or aim:

benchè	so that; in order that
affinchè	so that; in order that
in modo che	so that; in order that
prima che	before (that)
per paura che	out of fear that
a meno che	unless
fino a che	until
benchè	although
After chiunque (whoever), qualunque (whatever), dovunque (wherever):

Chiunque Lei sia . . .	Whoever you are . . .
Qualunque cosa io faccia. . .	Whatever I do . . .
Dovunque si vada . . .	Wherever one goes . . .
After a superlative adjective when there is an idea of doubt, probability, but not certainty:

Tu sei forse il miglior amico che io abbia.
You are maybe the best friend that I have.

Formation:
The present subjunctive tense is formed by dropping the final o found at the end of the present indicative and then adding a present subjunctive ending.  For -ARE verbs, add -i, -i, -i, -iamo, -iate, -ino.  For -ERE and -IRE verbs, add -a, -a, -a, -iamo, -iate, -ano.


Past Subjunctive

The past subjunctive is a literary tense whose modern use is rare, even in literature.  It may be used in sentences where the subjunctive is called for but the verb of the main clause is in the past tense or conditional mood.  To form the past subjunctive for -ARE verbs add -assi, -assi, -asse, -assimo, -aste, assero.  For -ERE verbs, add -essi, -essi, -esse, -essimo, -este, -essero.  For -IRE verbs, add -issi, -issi, -isse, -issimo, -iste, -issero.

The past subjunctive:

Volevo che ella arrivasse molto presto.
I wanted her to arrive very early.

The present subjunctive:

Voglio che ella arrivi molto presto.
I wanted her to arrive every early.


Present Perfect

The present perfect, or conversational past (passato prossimo):
The present perfect tense, along with the imperfect tense, is the main past tense in Italian.  It is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb (avere or essere) plus the past participle of the main verb.  The present perfect (passato prossimo) has two major uses:

• To express an action or a state of mind, emotion, or opinion at a precise or sudden moment in the past:

Quando mi ha visto, ho avuto paura.
When he saw me, I was afraid.

• To express a completed action, thought, or statement:

Ella ha aperto le porte e io sono entrato.
She opened the door and I entered.

The conjugation of the "passato prossimo" with the present tense of avere or essere depends on whether the following verb is transitive or intransitive.  Transitive verbs are conjugated with avere.  Intransitive verbs are conjugated with essere.  Transitive verbs take a direct object that answers the question what or whom.  The object can be a noun or a verb.

Ha mangiato una pizza.
He ate a pizza.

Ha guardato la TV.
He watched TV.

Ha voluto cantare.
He wanted to sing.

Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object or answer the question the question what.  They usually express movement.

E andato a Roma.
He went to Rome.

Sono partiti ieri.
They left yesterday.

See also Avere/Essere


Trapassato Remoto

The preterite perfect tense, (trapassato remoto) like the preterite tense (see alsoPassato Remoto), is limited in modern Italian to literary or historical contexts.  It may be used in writing to indicate the relationship between two successive past actions.  The preterite perfect is generally found in a subordinate clause, introduced by a conjunction of time:  appena, quando.  It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb (essere or avere) in the perfect tense with the past participle of the main verb.

Using the preterite perfect tense:

Quando il re ebbe finito, fece un discorso.
After the king had finished, he gave a speech.


Past Perfect

The past perfect indicative tense is used to express an action which happened in the past before another past action.  Since it is used in relation to another past action, the other past action is ordinarily expressed in the present perfect indicative (passato prossimo).  In Italian, this tense is formed with the imperfect indicative of the auxiliary (essere or avere) plus the past participle of the main verb.

Using the past perfect Indicative:

Quando sono arrivato a casa, mio fratello era giá uscito.
When I arrived home, my brother had already gone out.


Future Perfect

The future perfect tense is a compound tense formed with the future of the auxiliary (avere or essere) plus the past participle of the verb you have in mind.  In Italian and in English, this tense is used to express a future action that will happen before another future action.  In English, this tense is formed by using shall have or will have plus the past participle of the verb you have in mind.

Action in the future completed before another future action:

Quando Lei avrà terminato, me lo dirà.
When you (will) have finished, you'll tell me.

The conjunctions quando, non appena, che, when indicating a future action, must be followed by either the future or the future perfect.


Conditional Perfect

The conditional perfect is formed with the conditional of the auxiliary verb (essere or avere) plus the past participle of the main verb.  It is used to express the result of a hypothetical condition or supposition in the past.  The conditional perfect is only used when the other verb is in the past perfect (trapassato prossimo).

To express a result of a past hypothetical condition:

Se voi foste venuti, noi saremmo stati molto contenti.
If you had come, we would have been very happy.


Present Perfect Subjunctive

The present perfect subjunctive tense (congiuntivo passato) is formed by using the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb (essere or avere) plus the past participle of the main verb.  It is used when the action in the subordinate clause has come before the action in the main clause (and all other conditions requiring the use of the Present Subjunctive are met).

Use the present perfect subjunctive when the subordinate action precedes the main action:

Non credo che Lei abbia pagato il ragazzo per i fiori.
I don't believe you have paid the boy for the flowers.

Sono contento che siano venuti a trovarmi.
I am glad that they came to see me.


Pluperfect Subjunctive

The pluperfect subjunctive tense is a tense reserved for literary contexts.  It is similar in use to the imperfect subjunctive, and consists of the imperfect subjunctive form of the auxiliary verb followed by a past participle.  Modern usage exists only in the third person.

Using the pluperfect subjunctive:

Ero contento che Maria fosse arrivata.
I was happy that Mary had arrived.


Modal Verbs

The modal verbs may be conjugated with either avere or essere, depending on the infinitive that follows.  If the infinitive is a transitive verb, it is conjugated with avere.  If the infinitive expresses movement and is not transitive, then it is conjugated with essere.

When the modal verb is used in a response, where the infinitive is understood, avere is used as the auxiliary verb.

For example, to finish is transitive.

Maria ha dovuto finire il compito.
Maria had to finish the homework.

To go out expresses movement.

Non sono voluti uscire con noi.
They didn't want to go out with us.

Answer the question Why didn't you go out?:

Perché non ho potuto.
Because I couldn't.


Avere/Essere

Verbs conjugated with avere:
All transitive verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary avere.  The past participle stays the same unless the direct object is a pronoun.

Loro hanno usato la mia bicicletta.
They used my bicycle.¤

There are also some intransitive verbs that are conjugated with avere, although most are conjugated with essere.  The following are conjugated with avere:

camminare	to walk
parlare	to talk
dormire	to sleep
passeggiare	to walk
vivere	to live
viaggiare	to travel
nuotare	to swim
The past participle must agree in gender and number when the direct object is a pronoun.

Li ho mangiati tutti.
I ate them all.

Le ho viste ieri.
I saw them yesterday.

La abbiamo letta.
We read it.

Verbs conjugated with essere:

• Verbs which express movement:

E andato a Roma.
He went to Rome.

E andato a Roma.
He went to Rome

• Reflexive verbs:

Questa mattina mi sono alzato tardi.
This morning I woke up late

• Verbs which express a change:

E morto ieri.
He died yesterday

• Impersonal verbs:

Si è parlato in inglese, alla conferenza.
English was spoken at the conference

• Verbs in the passive form:

Il libro è stato pubblicato da Random House.
The book was published by Random House

Note:  The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb.  Examples:

Siamo arrivati in ritardo.
We have arrived late.

Si sono smarrite.
They (f.) got lost.

E venuta mia sorella?
Has my sister come?

A che ora ti sei alzato?
At what time did you get up?


Idiomatic Use of Fare

Besides its idiomatic uses in expressions of weather, the verb fare, followed by an infinitive, conveys the idea of having something done (the past participle of any verb), or causing someone to do.  The object pronoun(s), if any, precede(s) the inflected form of fare, and not the infinitive.  For example:

Che tempo fa oggi?
How is the weather today?

Faceva freddo quando uscii.
It was cold when I went out.

Gli ho fatto dire uno sproposito.
I have made him say a silly thing.

Me l'ha già fatto ripetere due volte.
He has already made me repeat it twice.

Glielo feci vedere l'altro giorno.
I had him to see it yesterday.

Ha fatto chiamare Suo fratello?
Have you sent for your brother?

Glielo farò ammettere, non dubiti.
I will make him admit it, do not doubt it.


Subjunctive/Noun Clauses

The verb of a noun clause (introduced by che) is in the subjunctive in the following two cases:
• After the verbs or expressions that imply doubt, denial, probability, possibility, and the like.  For example:

Dubito che sia vero.
I doubt that it is true.

Non posso ammettere che sappia farlo.
I cannot admit that he can do it.

E probabile che l'abbia ricevuto.
It is probable that he has received it.

E possible che se ne sia andato?
Is it possible that he has gone away?

• After verbs of thinking and believing when doubt or uncertainty is implied.  For example:

Veramente non credo che abbia ragione.
I really do not think that he is right.

Crede Lei che me ne importi?
Do you think I care?

Note:  The future, however, is used when there is no uncertainty.

Credo che mi ascolterà.
I believe he will listen to me.


Subjunctive/Adjective Clauses

The verb of an adjective clause is in the subjunctive in the following two cases:

• After a relative pronoun the antecedent of which is indefinite.  For example:

Me ne dia un altro che non sia troppo caro.
Give me another that is not too expensive.

Cerco qualcuno che sia capace di farlo.
I am looking for someone who can do it.

But,

Ne ho visto parecchi che sono a buon mercato.
I have seen several that are cheap.

Ho trovato un individuo che sa fare qualunque cosa.
I have found a person who can do anything.

• After a superlative or one of the following adjectives having a superlative force:  primo, ultimo, solo, unico (first, last, only, only).  For example:

E il più antico che esista.
It is the oldest there is.

Sono stati i primi che l'abbiano fatto.
They have been the first to do it.

E l'unico che non sia riuscito.
He is the only one who has not succeeded.


Subjunctive After Impersonal

The verbs of a subordinate clause, introduced by che, after impersonal verbs or expressions implying possibility, probability, necessity, usefulness, uselessness, right, wrong, fairness, seeming, and the like, are in the subjunctive.  For example:

È probabile che non ne sappia nulla.

He probably knows nothing about it.

E possible che me lo dia.
It is possible that he may give it to me.

Bisogna (è necessario) che Lei agisca subito.
It is necessary that you act at once.

E inutile che gliene parli
It is useless for me to talk to him about it.

Non è giusto che anche Lei s'incomodi.
It is not proper that you too should inconvenience yourself.

Sembra che si sia deciso.
He seems to have made up his mind.

E giusto che ognuno riceva la sua parte.
It is fair that each receive his share.

E facile che ci faccia questo favore.
Very likely he will do us this favor.

This rule does not apply, however, to affirmative impersonal expressions such as è vero, si vede, è chiaro, è perchè, etc., in which the indicative is used.  For example:

Si vede è chiaro che non ha voglia di fare nulla.
It is clear that he has no desire to do anything.

E perchè lo dico io.
It is because I say so.

E vero che lo disse.
It is true that he said it.

The infinitive is used when the subordinate clause has no expressed subject.  For example:

E possible farlo.
It is possible to do it.

E inutile proseguire.
It is useless to continue.

Bisogna parlare chiaramente.
We (one, they) must speak clearly.


Pronouns

Direct Address Pronouns

Conjunctive Pronouns

Lei/Tu

Personal Object Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns II

Prepositional Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Inflections

Pronoun Inflections

Personal Pronoun Inflections

Relative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns


Direct Address Pronouns

	Subject	Direct Object	Indirect Object
Singular	tu, Lei	ti, La	ti, Le
Plural	Loro	Li (m.) Le (f.)	Loro
Tu is informal and familiar.  Lei is the polite form of address and requires the verb in the third person.  Unless otherwise indicated, use Lei at all times.


Conjunctive Pronouns

Italian has a group of pronouns, called conjunctive pronouns, used only in conjunction with verbs.  These pronouns follow imperative, infinitive and participle forms and are written together with the verb form. In the first and second person, singular and plural, the pronoun has the meaning of both direct and indirect object. In the third person, the pronouns have different forms for direct and indirect objects.

	Singular	Plural
First Person	mi (me; to me)	ci (us; to us)
Second Person	ti (you; to you)	vi (you; to you)
Third Person	lo (him; it)	li (them, m)
	gli (to him; to it)
	la (her; it)	le (them, f)
	le (to her; to it)
Formal	La (you, m)	Li (you,f)
	Le (to you, f)
	La (you, f)	Le (you, f)
	Le (to you, f)
Note that lo and la are contracted to l' before a verb beginning with a silent h or a vowel.

Italian has no third person plural indirect conjunctive pronoun for to them or to you (formal, plural). In their place, loro (to them) and Loro (to you formal plural) are used.  This is not a conjunctive pronouns and, therefore, does not precede the verb.

Direct object pronouns may be placed after the verb for emphasis, in this case the following forms are used:

	Singular	Plural
First Person	me (me)	noi (us)
Second Person	te (you)	voi (you pl.)
Third Person	lui (him)	loro (them)
	lei (her)	loro (them)
Formal	Lei (you)	Loro (you pl.)


Lei/Tu

There are more pronouns in Italian for the expression of the subject you than in English, because Italian observes a distinction between styles of direct address that does not now exist in English.

Tu is second person form of the verb, and is employed when the relationship between speaker and person spoken to is intimate or familiar (close friends and family).  Lei is used when the relationship is more formal.


Personal Object Pronouns

	Direct Object	Indirect Object
Singular:	mi me	mi to me
	ti you	ti you
	lo him, it	gli to him, to it
	la her, it	le to her, to it
	La you (m,f)	Le to you
Plural:	ci us	ci to us
	vi you	vi to you
	li them (m)	loro to them
	le them (f)
	Li you (m)
	Le you (f)	Loro to you
Note:  The final vowel of mi, ti, lo, la, La may be elided before a vowel.  Ci and vi lose their i only before another i.


Personal Pronouns

Order of personal object pronouns:
Two personal pronouns used as the objects of the same verb have the following order:  indirect-direct.

• Mi, ti, ci and vi and the reflexive si change respectively to me, te, ce, ve and se when followed by lo, la, li, le and ne (of it, of them, any, some, about it, about them).

• Gli and le(Le) change to glie before lo, la, li, le, and ne are written as one word.

• Me lo, te lo, ce lo, etc. are written as one word when joined to a verb form.

• Loro always follows the verb, but is not joined to it.

Examples:

Me lo farà sapere.
He will let me know (it).

Glielo porterò io.
I shall bring it to him (her, you).

Se la farà mandare.
He will have it sent (to himself).

Me ne parlerà più tardi.
He will speak to me about it later.

Vuole darcene un pó?
Will you give us some?

Ve lo manderò domani.
I shall send it to you tomorrow.

Non me ne vuole dare.
He won't give me any.


Personal Pronouns II

Position of personal object pronouns:
Personal object pronouns precede all forms of the verb except the infinitive, present participle, and the affirmative imperative in the second singular, first and second plural.  In the latter case the pronouns are attached to the verb without any shifting of stress.  Loro, however, always follows the verb and is never joined to it.

When joining a pronoun to an infinitive, the latter drops final e .  If the infinitive ends in -rre, it drops -re.  Examples.

All object pronouns except gli double their initial consonant when joined to an imperative form ending in a stressed vowel.  The stress must be retained on the syllable originally stressed.  Examples.

If an infinitive depends upon a verb other than fare, lasciare, sentire, udire and vedere, (which is usually a modal verb) the object pronoun(s) may either precede the main verb or follow and be attached to the infinitive.  Examples.

a) Non lo voglio fare.
b) Non voglio farlo.
I do not want to do it.

a) Lo potrei vedere.
b) Potrei vederlo.
I could see him (it).

But,

Non mi lascia fare nulla.
He does not let me do anything.

Lo vidi venire a tutta furia.
I saw him coming in a great hurry.

Le farò vedere come si deve fare.
I will show you how it must be done.


Prepositional Pronouns

The personal pronouns used as objects of prepositions are as follows:

Singular	Plural
me	me	noi	us
te	thee (you)	voi	you
lui, esso	him	loro, essi	them (masc)
lei, essa	her	loro, esse	them (fem.)
Lei	you	Loro (m,f)	you
Reflexive = sè

Examples:

Non lo farebbe per sè, e molto meno per te.
He would not do it for himself and much less for you.

Per me non è mai in casa.
He is never at home to me.

Parla a lui, non a Lei.
He is speaking to him, not to you.

Notes:
• The forms esso, essa, essi, esse, are used for both persons and things, though not commonly.

• For the sake of emphasis, prepositional pronouns are used instead of the direct object form.  Lo disse a me is more emphatic than Me lo disse.

Parlo a voi, Signore.
I am speaking to you, Sir.

• To show contrast, prepositional pronouns are used in the objective case after the verb:

Interrogherò Lei, non lui.
I shall question you, not him.

Ci and vi:
These two interchangeable forms mean here, there, to this place, to that place.

Non ci sono mai stato.
I have never been there.

Non ci andiamo quasi mai.
We hardly ever go there.

Chi c'è?  Nessuno.
Who is there?  No one.

Non c'è nessuno qui.
There is no one here.

Ci and vi become ce and ve before ne (of it, of them, etc.)

Ce ne sono parecchi, non è vero?
There are several of them, are there not?

Ci is often the equivalent of the English pronoun it (or a demonstrative) preceded by a preposition.

Non ci penso mai.
I never think about it(that).

Non avevi pensato al tuo viaggio?  No, non ci avevo pensato.
Hadn't you thought of your trip?  No, I hadn't thought of it.


Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns and adjectives:

Singular	Plural
Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
il mio	la mia	i miei	le mie	my, mine
il tuo	la tua	i tuoi	le tue	your (fam)
il suo	la sua	i suoi	le sue	his,her
il Suo	la Sua	i Suoi	le Sue	your
il nostro	la nostra	i nostri	le nostre	our, ours
il vostro	la vostra	i vostri	le vostre	your
il loro	la loro	i loro	le loro	their
il Loro	la Loro	i Loro	le Loro	yours
Possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the thing possessed, and possessive pronouns with their antecedents.

La mia penna e la Sua.
My pen and yours.

La sua automobile è là.
His automobile is there.

The definite article is not used with the possessive adjective when the following noun is singular and denotes dignity, family relationship;  but it is used when the noun is plural, has a diminutive ending or is modified by another adjective.

Sua Eccellenza	His Excellency
mio fratello	my brother
mio nonno	my grandfather
But,

i miei cugini	my cousins
il mio fratellino	my little brother
il mio vecchio nonno	my old grandfather
In direct address the possessive follows the noun.  For example:

Amico mio, fai attenzione!
My friend, be careful!

The possessive also follows the noun in certain standing phrases:

A casa mia (tua, sua)
At my (your, his) house

A modo mio
In my own way (emphatic)

E colpa mia, Signore.
It is my fault, Sir.

The possessive has no article when used as the predicate after the verb essere, unless the contrast is implied:

Questo è affare mio.
This is my business.

Quel libro non è mio.
That book is not mine.

But,

Questo è il mio, quello il Suo.
This one is mine, that one yours.

Note also the expressions of mine, of his, of ours, etc.

E un amico mio.
He is a friend of mine.

E una mia idea.
It is an idea of mine.


Possessive Inflections

Possessives are sometimes referred to in traditional grammar as pronouns or possessive adjectives.  They convey a sense of ownership, or inherent quality and occur in both simple and emphatic forms corresponding to the personal pronouns.  The possessives adjectives agree in both number and gender with the following noun or noun phrase.  The possessive pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun or noun phrase they represent.

	m. sg.	m.pl.	f. sg.	f. pl.
first person sing.	mio	miei	mia	mie
second person sing.	tuo	tuoi	tua	tue
third person sing.	suo	suoi	sua	sue
third person sing. Formal	Suo	Suoi	Sua	Sue
first person pl.	nostro	nostri	nostra	nostre
second person pl.	vostro	vostri	vostra	vostre
third person pl.	loro	loro	loro	loro
third person pl. Formal	Loro	Loro	Loro	Loro
Note that the role of the third person plural (their and your plural formal) possessive adjective is filled by the possessive pronoun loro and Loro respectively.  This shows no gender or number variation.

Unlike English, the Italian possessive is preceded by a definite article, an indefinite article, a demonstrative, a quantifier which also agrees in number and gender with the following noun or noun phrase.  The possessive may also be preceded by a cardinal number, but this is invariable.  Examples:
il mio libro
my book

la nostra casa
our house

i vostri libri
your (plural) books

le loro scuole
their schools

la mia amica
my friend

una mia amica
a friend of mine

questa mia amica
this friend of mine

tre mie amiche
three freinds of mine

alcune mie amiche
some friends of mine

In the case of the possessive adjective, for a small group of nouns indicating a family relationship the definite article is omitted under the following conditions:
• the noun is singular
• the noun is unmodified
• the noun has no suffixes (diminutives etc.)
• the possessive adjective is not loro

Examples:
mio padre
my father

tua cognata
your sister-in-law

nostro padre
our father

i miei fratelli
my brothers

la mia cugina francese
my French cousin

il nostro fratellino
our little brother

il loro padre
their father

The emphatic form of the possessive behaves in the same way as the simple form with regard to the article.  Examples:
Questo è il mio
This is mine (sing. masc. noun)

Ho perso le mie
I've lost mine (fem. pl. noun)

It is important to remember that the number and gender agreement is determined by the noun or noun phrase that is modified or represented by the possessive.  The possessive forms tell the listener or reader nothing about the gender of the possessor involved.


Pronoun Inflections

There are two demonstrative pronouns in Italian: questo (this)

and quello (that).

These pronouns are used to refer to indefinite things, intangible concepts, and to concrete or animate nouns

Chi ha detto questo?
Who said this?

Questo è vero
This is true

Chi ha detto quello?
Who said that?

Quello è vero
That is true

Questo and quello must agree in gender and number with the nouns they represent, as shown in the table below:

	Questo	Quello
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Masculine	questo	questi	quello	quelli
Feminine	questa	queste	quella	quelle
Voglio leggere il libro
I want to read the book

Voglio leggere questo
I want to read this (one)

Voglio leggere quello
I want to read that (one)

La ragazza è inglese
The girl is English

Questa è inglese
This (one) is English

Quella è inglese
That (one) is English

It is possible to add extra emphasis to either of the demonstrative pronouns by adding qui (here) or lì (there).
Questo qui è interessante
This one here is interesting

Quello lì è interessante
That one there is interesting


Personal Pronoun Inflections

Like their English counterparts, Italian personal pronouns exist in singular and plural forms for the first, second, and third persons. Unlike English, Italian personal pronouns include both formal and informal forms of the second person pronouns.  As do many European languages, Italian distinguishes between a formal (Lei) and informal (tu) second person pronoun. The use of one or the other is determined by the social relations between the speakers.

Subject forms
	Singular	Plural
First Person	io (I)	noi (we)
Second Person	tu (you)	voi (you pl.)
Third Person (m. or f.)		loro (they)
	lui, egli, esso (he)	essi (they, m)
	lei, ella, essa (she)	esse (they, f)
Formal	Lei (you)	Loro (you pl.)
In modern spoken Italian lui, lei and loro are most frequently used for he, she, they.  In Italian the verb ending indicates the subject, and for this reason it is very common to drop the subject pronoun.


Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns are:  che (invariable), cui (variable), il quale (inflected).  Che refers to persons and things and is used as the subject and the object of verbs.  It is never omitted in Italian.

Il libro che è sulla tavola.
The book that is on the table.

Il danaro che ho ricevuto.
The money (that) I received.

Sono io che l'ho fatto.
It is I who did it.

E Suo padre che voglio vedere.
It is your father whom I wish to see.

Cui is used chiefly as the object of prepositions:

Il signore a cui parlo.
The gentleman to whom I speak.

English whose, is il (la,etc.) cui or del (della, etc.) quale, both forms being inflected.

E un uomo il cui ingegno tutti ammirano.
He is a man whose intelligence all admire.

E un uomo del quale tutti ammirano l'ingegno.
He is a man whose intelligence all admire.

Il quale and its inflected forms la quale, i (le) quali, are used instead of che when clearness demands it.  They are used as subjects of verbs and objects of prepositions.

Il fratello di Anna, il quale venne a vedermi, è un bravo giovanotto.
Anna's brother who came to see me, is a fine young man.

Questa è la macchina nella quale ho fatto tanti viaggi.
This is the car in which I have taken so many trips.

He who (without an antecedent) is generally rendered by chi.  Those who is rendered by quelli (quelle) che.  The one which and those which by quello (quella) che and quelli (quelle) che respectively.

Chi l'ha detto non sa nulla.
He who said it knows nothing.

Quello che ho io è migliore del Suo.
The one I have is better than yours.

Preferisco quelli che ho visto ieri.
I prefer the ones I saw yesterday.


Interrogative Pronouns

The interrogative pronouns for direct and indirect questions are:

Chi?	who, whom?
Che? che cosa? cosa?	What?
Quale (quali)?	Which one(s)?
Examples:

Chi mi stava cercando?
Who was looking for me?

Non so chi voglia dire.
I do not know who he means.

Che cosa vuole che gli dica?
What do you wish me to tell him.

Chi? is never used subjectively in the plural except with the verb essere.

Chi sono costoro?
Who are these fellows?

Che? is used as the object of verbs and prepositions, and refers to things only.

Che vuol fare, signore?
What do you wish to do, Sir?

Di che parla quell'uomo?
What is that man talking about?

Note:  In an indirect question che (what) when used as the object of a dependent infinitive.

Non saprei che dire.
I would not know what to say.

Quale (quali) as pronouns, are used as the subjects and objects of both verbs and prepositions, and refer to persons and things.

Quale delle due è da preferirsi?
Which one of the two is preferable?

Quale dei due arrivò primo?
Which of the two arrived first?

Quale desidera?
Which do you desire?

Interrogative whose is rendered by di chi?

Di chi è quella bella casa?
Whose beautiful house is that?

Interrogative adjectives:
The interrogative adjectives are che and quale (quali).  They precede the noun and modify both persons and things.

Che modo di agire è questo?
What kind of behavior is this?

Quale barca preferisce, Lei?
Which boat do you prefer?

Quale maestro vuol dire, Lei?
Which teacher do you mean?

Note:  In exclamations che means what a...! and quale simply means what...!.  Examples:

Che bella giornata!
What a beautiful day!

Quale avvenire sarebbe stato il suo!
What future his would have been!


Reflexive Pronouns

	Singular	Plural
First Person	mi (myself)	ci (ourselves)
Second Person	ti (yourself)	vi (yourselves)
Third Person	si (himself, herself, itself)	si (themselves)
Formal	si (you)	si (yourselves)


Articles

Definite Article

Article Inflections


Definite Article

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	il	i
	lo, l'	gli
Feminine	la, l'	le
Notes:
• Il and i are used before masculine nouns beginning with a consonant except z and s impure (i.e. s + consonant), ps and gn.

• Lo, l', and gli are used before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel, s impure, z, ps and gn.

• La and le are used before feminine nouns.

• Lo and la are written l' before a vowel, and gli may become gl' only before i.  Examples:

il cervello	the brain
i ricchi	the wealthy
lo zio	the uncle
gli amici	the friends
lo spazio	the space
la strada	the road
l'anima	the soul
gl'Italian	the Italians
Uses of the definite article:
The definite article is used in Italian whenever it is used in English.  When an English noun is not preceded by the definite article, the Italian equivalent must have it in the following two cases:

• When the noun is used in a general sense or when it represents the whole class:

La natura è bella
Nature is beautiful.

L'uomo è un essere razionale.
Man is a rational being.

Le automobili sono utili.
Automobiles are useful.

• When the noun denotes a part of the body or an article of clothing ( in these two cases, English often has a possessive adjective).

Ho perduto il cappello.
I have lost my hat.

Ha gli occhi azzurri.
He has blue eyes.

Ritrovò i guanti.
He found his gloves again.


Article Inflections

Italian articles exist in both masculine and feminine, singular and plural, and definite and indefinite forms.

The definite article has seven forms, used as follows:

Masculine		Singular	Plural
	Before "pure" consonant	il	i
	Before "impure" consonant	lo	gli
	Before vowel	l'	gli
Feminine
	Before consonant	la	le
	Before vowel	l'	le
An "impure" consonant is an s followed by another consonant (sb, sc, sp, st), z, ps or gn.  Examples:
lo stato
the state

lo zio
the uncle

lo psicologo
the psychologist

lo gnosticismo
agnosticism

A pure consonant is any other consonant or group of consonants.

The Italian definite article is used with all general or abstract nouns.  Examples:
I libri sono importanti.
Books are important.

L'amore fa bene a tutti.
Love is good for everyone.

The definite article must be used with titles when talking about someone. The article is omitted, however, in direct address.
La signora Savorelli abita à Roma

but

Buona sera, signora Savorelli

The definite article is usually used with the following geographical names:
• continents
• countries
• islands
• regions.

Note, however, that the definite article is omitted when the name of the continent, country, island, or region is preceded by the preposition di or in, unless the name of the country is masculine. The article is also omitted if the name of the continent, country, island or region is modified in any way.

The Italian indefinite article has four forms, as follows:

Masculine
	Before "pure" consonant	un
	Before "impure" consonant	uno
	Before vowel	un
Feminine
	Before consonant	una
	Before vowel	un'
Examples:
un treno
a train

uno specchio
a mirror

un ufficio
an office

una donna
a woman

un'eccezione
an exception

The use of the Italian indefinite article is similar to the English indefinite article a/an.


Demonstratives

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns:

Demonstrative Inflections


Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns:

Demonstrative adjectives agree in gender and number with their nouns, and demonstrative pronouns with their antecedents.

Singular	Plural
Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
questo	questa	questi	queste	this, these
quello	quella	quelli	quelle	that, those
Questo and questa are usually written quest' before a vowel.

Quest'uomothis man

Quest'ariathis air

Quello (as an adjective) is inflected as follows:

quel	before a noun beginning with any consonant except z, s impure, ps and gn
quello	before z and s impure, ps and gn
quei	the plural of quel
quegli	the plural of quello
Ciò (this, that), represents a whole idea and not a single word.

Ciò si capisce.
That is understood.

Ciò è chiaro.
That is clear.

When what may logically be rendered by that which, use quello che or ciò che:

Ciò che Le dico è la pura verità.
What I tell you is the pure truth.

That which may be omitted in English, but never in Italian:

Non è tutto oro quello che luccica.
All is not gold that glitters.

Tutto quello che disse si è avverato.
Everything (that) he said has come true.

This man is translated by questi; that man is translated by quegli.  These two forms are invariable, refer only to a person, and are used in the subjective case exclusively.

English former and latter are rendered by quegli and questi respectively when referring to a person; otherwise by quello and questo.

That of, those of, are frequently omitted in English, but never in Italian:

Il mio e quello di Roberto.
Mine and Robert's

La mia casa e quella di Suo fratello.
My house and your brother's.

The forms costui (this man), costei (this woman) costoro (these people), are used, if not to express contempt, certainly indifference and aloofness:

Chi è costui?
Who is this fellow?

Che ardire hanno costoro!
What boldness these people have!


Demonstrative Inflections

The Italian demonstratives are questo (this) and quello (this).  Questo and quello must agree in gender and number with the nouns they precede, as shown in the tables below:

Questo
Masculine		Singular	Plural
	Before consonant	questo	questi
	Before vowel	quest' or questo	questi
Feminine	Singular	Plural
	Before consonant	questa	queste
	Before vowel	quest' or questa	queste
Questo libro
this book

Questi libri
these books

Quest'albero
this tree

Questo albero
this tree

Questi alberi
these trees

Questa ragazza
this girl

Queste ragazze
these girls

Quest'opera
this opera

Questa opera
this opera

Queste opere
these operas

Quello
Masculine		Singular	Plural
	Before "pure" consonant	quel	quei
	Before "impure" consonant	quello	quegli
	Before vowel	quell'	quegli
Feminine
	Before consonant	quella	quelle
	Before "impure" consonant	quella	quelle
	Before vowel	quell'	quelle
An "impure" consonant is an s followed by another consonant (sb, sc, sp, st), z, ps or gn.  Examples:
quello stato
that state

quello zio
that uncle

quello psicologo
that psychologist

quello gnosticismo
that agnosticism

A pure consonant is any other consonant or group of consonants.


Indefinites

Indefinite Pronouns and Adjectives

Nessun(o) (no one, none, nobody) is invariable when used as a pronoun.  When used as an adjective, it is inflected and means no, not...any.

Nessuno l'avrebbe fatto così.
No one would have done it that way.

Nessuno l'ha visto
Nobody saw him.

Nessun aiuto mi gioverà.
No help will do me any good.

Nessuna spiaggia è più pittoresca di questa.
No beach is more picturesque than this.

When nessuno follows a verb (not interrogative), that verb must be preceded by non.  When the verb is interrogative, non is used if the answer expected is negative.  Otherwise non is omitted.

Non vedo nessuno.
I do not see anyone.

Non è venuto nessuno? No.
Nobody came?  No.

È venuto nessuno?  Sì.
Did anyone come?  Yes.

Niente and nulla are synonymous.  They mean nothing, not....anything.  The rule for their position is the same as for nessuno.

Non desidero nulla, grazie.
I do not wish anything, thank you.

Nulla è buono per Lei.
Nothing is good for you.

Non vuole nulla, Lei?  No, grazie.
Don't you wish anything?  No thanks.

Vuole nulla, Signore? Sì.
Do you wish anything, Sir?  Yes.

Qualche cosa (something):

Mi dia qualche cosa di meglio.
Give me something better.

Qualunque (any, any...whatever) when used as an adjective.  Qualunque cosa (anything, whatever, at all):

Ne prenda uno qualunque.
Take any one of them (at random).

Farò qualunque cosa purchè sia dignitosa.
I will do anything (at all) provided that it be dignified.


Adjectives

Comparatives

Intensified Adjectives

Superlatives

Adjective Inflections

Adverb Comparison


Comparatives

The comparative degree of adjectives:

The comparative degree of adjectives is formed by placing più (meaning more) and meno (meaning less) before the adjective.  Example:

The following adjectives, in addition to the regular comparative degree, have an irregular one:

alto	high
più alto or superiore	higher
basso	low
più basso or inferiore	lower
buono	good
più buono or migliore	better
cattivo	bad
più cattivo or peggiore	worse
grande	big
più grande or maggiore	bigger
piccolo	small
più piccolo or minore	smaller
The forms maggiore, minore, superiore, inferiore are rarely used except to mean older, younger, superior, and inferior respectively.  Migliore and peggiore are preferable to più buono and più cattivo.


Intensified Adjectives

Many adjectives have, in addition to their normal forms, intensified forms in -isimo which add emphasis and convey a sense of "very" or  "extremely".
The intensified adjective endings follow the regular model of normal adjectives such as e.


Superlatives

The superlative degree of adjectives:
The superlative degree is formed by placing the definite article before the comparative.  For example:

Note:  When the superlative immediately follows the noun, the article is omitted.  For example:

Napoli è la città più popolosa d'Italia.
Naples is the most crowded city in Italy.

English in after a superlative is expressed by di.

Il più bello di tutto il mondo.
The most beautiful in the whole world.

By dropping the final vowel from an adjective and adding the suffix -issimo (inflected), we get a form that is an emphasis of an adjective in English.  The same meaning results from prefixing the adverbs molto or assai (both mean very) to the adjective.  This is called absolute superlative, since it does not involve any idea of comparison.

È un bravissimo ragazzo.
Or:  È un ragazzo molto bravo.
He is a very fine boy.

The word than is expressed in the following three ways:
By che before an adjective, an infinitive, an adverb and after piuttosto (meaning rather).  For example:

Sono più furbi che intelligenti.
They are shrewder than smart.

Meglio tacere che dire troppo.
Better to keep still than say too much.

Meglio tardi che mai.
Better late than never.

Prendo questo piuttosto che quello.
I take this rather than that.

By di before a numerical expression, a noun, or a pronoun.

Ne ha fatto più di venti.
He has made more than twenty.

Lo so fare meglio di Lei.
I can do it better than you.

Come cibo, il pane è migliore del cavolo.
As food, bread is better than cabbage.

By di quello che (than, that, which), before an inflected verb.

Spende più di quello che guadagna.
He spends more than he earns.


Adjective Inflections

Most Italian adjectives are regularly formed, and follow the model of alto (tall):

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	alto	alta
Plural	alti	alte
Other common models are:
• Adjectives ending in -e (masculine and feminine forms the same)

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	elegante	elegante
Plural	elgeganti	eleganti
• Adjectives ending in -ista (masculine and feminine forms the same)

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	communista	communista
Plural	communista	communista
Most adjectives regularly form their comparatives with piú and their superlatives with the appropriate article and piú:
Questo ragazzo è alto.
This boy is tall

Questo ragazzo è piú alto degli altri.
This boy is taller than the others

Questo ragazzo è il piú alto della famiglia.
This boy is the tallest in the family

Some very common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms.  These include:

buono	migliore	il migliore

grande	maggiore	il maggiore

Unlike English, Italian adjectives usually follow the noun or noun phrase which they modify.  A few adjectives, commonly buono, grande and bello, may also occur before the noun or noun phrase, often with a slight change of meaning.  Such adjectives often require special endings for the masculine singular which parallel the definite or indefinite article.

The substitution of an adjective for a noun referring to a person or object with a particular quality is more widespread in Italian than in English.
La vecchia voleva comprare del latte.
The old woman wanted to buy some milk.

Il giovane è bello.
The young man is handsome.


Adverb Comparison

The formation and comparison of adverbs:
Most adverbs of manner are formed by adding -mente to the feminine singular of the corresponding adjective.  Adjectives ending in -le and -re drop final e before adding -mente.  For example:

franco	frank
francamente	frankly
debole	feeble
debolmente	feebly
facile	easy
facilmente	easily
maggiore	greater
maggiormente	more greatly
Adverbs are compared like adjectives.  For example:

facilmente
più facilmente
il più facilmente

The following adverbs, however, have an irregular comparison:

bene	well
male	badly
meglio	better
peggio	worse
il meglio	the best
il peggio	the worst
molto	much
poco	little
più	more
meno	less
il più	the most
il meno	the least
Adverbs not ending in -mente may add -issimo after dropping the final vowel, and the result is the superlative equivalent of molto (very) + adverb.  For example:

bene	well
molto bene	very well
benissimo	very well
piano	softly
molto piano	very softly
pianissimo	very softly
Adverbs generally follow the verb.  Non, however, always precedes.  In compound tenses the adverb invariably follows the past participle, except that già (already), mai (ever, never), più (more) and sempre (always) are usually placed between the auxiliary and the past pariciple.  For example:

Ha già finito?
Have you already finished?

Sono sempre stato così.
I have always been that way.

Vi è mai stato?
Have you ever been there?

Non ha più voluto saperne.
He hasn't wanted to hear of it any more.

Non ha mai voluto ascoltarmi.
He has never wanted to listen to me.


General

Conditional Sentences

Time of Day

that

her

for

play

in

it

more

Interrogative Inflections

Non-Inflecting


Conditional Sentences

All conditional sentences are patterned after the following models:

Se me lo mandano, glielo darò.
If they send it to me, I shall give it to him.

Se me lo mandassero, glielo darei.
If they sent it to me, I would give it to him.

Se me lo avessero mandato, glielo avrei dato.
If they had sent it to me, I would have given it to him.


Time of Day

Following are some common expressions dealing with time.

Che ora è?
What time is it?

E l'una.
It is one o'clock.

Sono le due.
It is two (o'clock).

Sono le sei e dieci.
It is ten after six.

Sono le otto meno venti.
It is twenty of eight.

Sono le tre e mezzo.
It is half past three.


that

English uses one word, that, in grammatical situations where Italian would require different kinds of words, according to the context.

In English, that may be used as a conjunction.  For example:

I know that boys play football.

Choose the Italian conjunction, che, as the translation for the conjunction, that.

When that in English serves as a relative pronoun, it replaces the noun or noun clause that immediately precedes it.  For example:

The car that you saw was speeding.

Use the Italian relative pronoun, che, to translate the relative pronoun, that.

If that is used as a demonstrative adjective, it points out some object or person.  For example:

That sandwich tasted good.

Translate the demonstrative adjective, that, with the Italian word, quel(masculine) quella(feminine).

The word that is often used to mean that one, as opposed to this one.  For example:

This computer is better than that one.

Choose the pronoun, quello(masculine) quella(feminine), as the translation of that one.

That may be used in English to replace an unspecified noun:

We bought that yesterday.

To translate this usage of that, choose the Italian pronoun quello/quella.


her

The word, her, in English can be either a pronoun or an adjective.  When translating her into Italian , you must choose from among several pronouns and adjectives, depending on the function of her in the original sentence.

Her may be used as an adjective, indicating ownership or possession.  For example:

Her book is red.

Translate this usage of her with the Italian possessive adjective, suo.

If her replaces a noun that is the direct recipient of an action, it is functioning as a direct object pronoun.  For example:

I saw her.

(Her replaces a noun, such as the woman.)  To replace a feminine direct object in Italian, choose the pronoun, la.

Her may be used as an indirect object pronoun, replacing an oblique recipient of some action.  For example:

I wrote (to) her a letter.

(Her replaces a noun, such as my girlfriend.)  Translate the English indirect object pronoun, her, with the Italian pronoun, le.

English also uses her to indicate the object of a preposition.  Prepositions are words like of, to, and with.  For example:

I went with her.

To indicate the feminine object of a preposition, choose the Italian pronoun, lei.

Finally, English uses her to indicate the object of a command.  For example:

Help her!

The correct Italian translation for her when it is used as the object of a command is the tonic pronoun, la.

Note:  When ordering a command the verb must be conjugated.  For example:

Aiutiamo la!
(Let's) Help her!


for

The word, for, is most often used as a preposition.  It expresses a relationship between two other words.  For example:

The gift is for me.

Use the Italian preposition, per, as  the  translation  of  the English preposition, for.

For may also be a conjunction:

I left in a hurry, for I was late.

Translate the above usage of for with the Italian conjunction, perché.


play

The English noun, play, can indicate recreation or amusement:

The workers disturbed the play of the children.

Translate this usage of play with the Italian noun, gioco.

Play may also indicate a theatrical presentation:

I haven't seen a play by Molière.

The Italian word for a theatrical presentation is dramma.

The English verb, to play, indicates the action of recreating:

Six boys are playing in the street.

Translate this general use of to play with the Italian verb, giocare.

When to play takes an object, you must determine whether that object is a game or a musical instrument:

John loves to play cards.
Mary can play the piano.

(The object, cards, is a game.  The object, piano, is an instrument.)  When the object of to play is a game, use the Italian phrases, giocare al (for a masculine game), giocare alla (for a feminine game), or giocare a for a game that ends in the plural (such as cards above).

When the object of to play is a musical instrument, choose the Italian phrase, suonare il for a masculine instrument, suonare la for a feminine instrument.


in

In most cases, when the preposition in occurs before a noun modified by an adjective or article that is feminine, choose the Italian preposition, nella (in + la = nella).  If the adjective is masculine and has the article lo, then the choose the Italian preposition nello.  If the article is il, then the preposition becomes nel.  For example:

I am in the room.
Sono nella stanza.

He is in the studio.
Lui è nello studio.

They are in the café.
Loro sono nel café.

When in is used to specify the amount of time that will pass before something happens, use fra.  For example:

He will leave in three days.
Lui partirà fra tre giorni.

When in precedes a specific month or year, use a for the month, and nel for the year.  For example:

I will see you in May, in 1993.
Ti vedró a Maggio, nel 1993.

When speaking of the seasons in general, choose in.  For example:

In winter, the temperature drops below zero.

When speaking of a particular season, choose nel.  For example:

In spring of 1990, there was an earthquake in Costa Rica.

Before a country, state, or continent, choose in.

We do not live in France.
Noi non abitiamo in Francia.

With a masculine plural country, use negli.

There are 250 million people in the United States.

Preceding the name of a city, choose in.

We will arrive in New York Thursday.


it

When it is the subject of a sentence or clause, use the Italian pronoun il to replace a masculine noun or la to replace a feminine noun.  For example:

It goes very fast!
La macchina va molto veloce!

When the subject of the sentence is masculine use lo, or la when the subject is feminine.

We know that it is stolen.
Sappiamo che lo hanno rubato.

When it is a direct object, use lo to replace a masculine noun, or la to replace a feminine noun.  For example:

I saw it yesterday.
L'ho visto ieri.
Or Lo vidi ieri.

Use é as the Italian pronoun to replace it when it precedes a name, a pronoun, or a superlative.  For example:

It's Mary!
É Maria!

It is she.
É lei.

It's the best movie that I've ever seen.
É la miglior pellicola che ho mai visto.

Similarly, choose è as it with the verb essere (to be) when it is followed by a noun that has been modified by an article or adjective as in the following:

It is a heavy book.
It is an apple.

For the phrase of it, choose the pronoun ne.  For example:

I have had enough of it.
Ne ho avuto abbastanza.

For the phrase in it, choose the pronoun dentro as in the following:

The room was so dark that I couldn't find the ball in it
La camera era così buia che non ho potuto trovare la palla dentro.


more

When more is used as a comparative adverb, use the Italian adverb piú:

She is a more talented artist.

When more is used as an adjective expressing quantity, use piú:

He has more money in the bank than his friends.

For the expression more than, followed by a number, use piú di:

More than 10,000 people were at the concert.

When more than is followed by a subject, use piú di:

Mary has more cars than Peter does.


Interrogative Inflections

Many Italian interrogative words are uninflected for gender and number.
Dove sono i bambini?
Where are the children?

Quando vuoi andare a casa?
When do you want to go home?

Perché vai a casa?
Why are you going home?

The uninflected interrogatives che (what) and chi (who, whom) may assume the following positions in a question:
• subject
• direct object
• object of a preposition

Che succede?
What is happening?

Chi è arrivato?
Who has arrived

Che stai dicendo?
What are you saying?

Chi vedi?
Whom do you see?

Di che parla?
What is he talking about?

Per chi voterete?
For whom will you vote?

Note that che can be replaced by che cosa or cosa.

The Italian interrogatives quale and quanto can stand alone or precede a noun or noun phrase. The interrogative quale (which) can have both singular and plural forms, but shows no gender variation.  Note, however that quale drops the final -e in front of è or era, and no apostrophe is inserted. Quanto (how much, how many) is inflected for both gender and number. Quale is used to indicate a quality; quanto indicates a quantity.
Quale dei libri hai letto?
Which of the books have you read?

Quale hai letto?
Which have you read?

Quali vuoi?
Which ones do you want?

Qual era il tuo libro?
Which was your book?

Quale ragazzo legge?
Which boy is reading?

Quale ragazza legge?
Which girl is reading?

Quali ragazzi leggono?
Which boys are reading?

Quali ragazze leggono?
Which girls are reading?

Quanto costa il biglietto?
How much does the ticket cost?

Quanto costano le arance?
How much do the oranges cost?

Quanto denaro hai?
How much money do you have?

Quanti libri hai?
How many books do you have?

Quanta pazienza hai?
How much patience do you have?

Quante amichette hai?
How many girlfriends do you have?


Non-Inflecting

The following parts of speech have no inflectional models:
• Conjunction
• Intensifier
• Non-Grammatical
• Note
• Preposition
• Prefix
• Relative
• Slot Phrase
• Suffix
• Title


Nouns

Noun Inflections

Diminutive Nouns


Noun Inflections

Italian nouns occur in either masculine or feminine gender and have both singular and plural forms.

Most Italian nouns are inflected according to one of the five following patterns

Pattern	Singular	Plural	Example
1	-o	-i	ragazzo, ragazzi (boy)
2	-o	-a	uovo, uova (egg)
3	-a	-e	sorella, sorelle (sister)
4	-a	-i	turista,turisti (tourist)
5	-e	-i	cane, cani (dog)
When a noun ending in -co, -go, -ca or -ga forms its plural by adding -i or -e and there is no change in the pronunciation of the "hard" -c or -g of the stem, the plural is spelled with -chi, -ghi, -che or -ghe respectively to retain the hard sound.  Examples:
albergo (m. sg.)
hotel

alberghi (m. pl.)
hotels.

Nouns ending in -io with a stressed -i form a regular plural, that is the final -o is replaced by -i.  Example:
zio
uncle

zii
uncles

Nouns ending in -io with an unstressed -i, lose the -i of the root.  Example:
bacio
kiss
baci
kisses

occhio
eye
occhi
eyes

Almost all nouns not belonging to Patterns 1 - 5 above are invariable in the plural, including:
• nouns ending in a stressed vowel
la città
the city

le città
the cities

• nouns of one syllable
il re
the king

i re
the kings

• nouns ending in -i
la crisi
the crisis

le crisi
the crisis

• nouns ending in a consonant
l'autobus
the bus

gli autobus
the buses

• abbreviations
l'auto
the car

le auto
the cars

• family names
i Marcenaro
the Marcenaro's

• foreign loan-words
lo sport
the sport

gli sport
the sports

The gender of Italian nouns cannot be determined based on either morphology or meaning, except that all that all nouns of type 2 above are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural (e.g. il ginocchio the knee, le ginocchia the knees) and nouns in pattern 4 are masculine (l'artista the artist, gli artisti the artists). Most nouns in pattern 1 are masculine (except for la mano the hand, le mani the hands) and most nouns in pattern 4 are feminine. Nouns ending in -e in pattern 5 are about equally distributed between masculine and feminine.

Many masculine nouns ending in -o or -e have a corresponding feminine form ending in -a.  Examples:
zio
uncle
zia
aunt

signore
gentleman
signora
lady

Certain nouns have a special form for the feminine.  Examples:
attore
actor
attrice
actress

dottore
doctor;
dottoressa (female)
doctor

eroe
hero
eroina
heroine


Diminutive Nouns

Diminutive in Italian convey an idea of lesser size. The most common diminutive suffixes are:

Masculine	Feminine
-ino	-ina
-etto	-etta
A diminutive may be used to convey an idea of affection as in the examples above and in the following:

-ello, ella	asino, asinello	little donkey
-olo, -ola	figlio, figliolo	dear son
-uccio, -uccia	bocca, boccuccia	pretty little mouth
Alternatively, a depreciative diminutive may convey an idea of something undesirable, ugly or hateful.  Some examples:

-accio, -accia	libro, libraccio	horrible book
-astro, -astra	poeta, poetastro	terrible poet
-onzolo, -onzola	medico, mediconzolo	awful doctor
-ucolo, -ucola	paese, paesucolo	horrible little town


Quantifiers

Quantifier Inflections

In Italian, as in English, there are three major types of quantifiers: cardinal numbers, ordinals numbers and general quantifiers.

Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal or counting numbers (uno, due, tre etc.)  may either stand alone or before a following noun or noun phrase
Dieci e dieci fanno venti
Ten and ten are twenty

Ci sono tre ragazzi sulla strada
There are three boys on the street

They are invariable in form with several exceptions:
The final vowel of venti, trenta, quaranta etc. is dropped when uno and otto are added, giving trentuno, quarantotto etc.  Note too that tre becomes accented when added to a multiple of ten, giving sessantatré etc.

The final -o of compound numbers ending in uno (ventuno, sessantuno) is dropped before nouns.  Examples:
ventun ragazzi
twenty-one boys

ottantun libri
eighty-one books

The word cento is invariable and the compounds of cento are attached (seicento, settecento). Mille, milione, miliardo on the other hand, do have plural forms and the compounding element is not attached.  Examples:
due mila
tre milioni
quattro miliardi

Note too that one hundred and one thousand in Italian are cento and mille respectively, never un cento or un mille.  In the higher numbers milione and miliardo un used, giving un milione and un miliardo respectively.

Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal or ordering numbers (primo, secondo, terzo etc.) stand before a following noun or noun phrase, and agree in both number and gender.
il primo cane
the first dog

la terza volta
the third time

From the number undici (eleven) and up the final vowel of the cardinal number is dropped and the suffix -esimo is added.  Examples:

dodici	dodicesimo	twelfth
ottanta	ottantesimo	eightieth
All compound cardinal numbers ending in tré are an exception to this rule, as they simply drop the accent and add the suffix  -esmo.  Example:

ventitré	ventitreesimo	twenty-third
General Quantifiers
Italian Assistant may classify as general quantifiers words such as all, some, and last which carry a quantifying or ordering meaning.


Glossary of Terms

conjunction


conjunction

A word functioning as a connector between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.  For example: and, because, but, however.


vedere
vederlo

condurre
condurlo


dí
tell(thou)

dimmi
tell me

dà
give(thou)

dammi, dallo
give me, give it

diamo
let us give

diamolo
let us give it

diamogli
let us give to him


utile	più utile	 meno utile

bello	più bello	meno bello


alto	più alto	il più alto

bello	più bello	il più bello