C M Ita an Second Semester Text

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CCM Italian Text part 2 Table of Contents

Chapter Nine p. 161 Mini Dialogues / Reflexive Verbs / Reciprocal Verbs / Si Impersonale/ Present Progressive Tense / Andare + a + infinitive / Stare + per + infinitive Chapter Ten p. 186 Mini Dialogues / Imperfetto The Imperfect Tense / Comparative and Superlative of adjectives Chapter Eleven p. 201 Mini Dialogues / The Future Tense / The Conditional Tense Chapter Twelve p. 218

Mini Dialogues / The Imperative Mood / Adverbs / Double Object Pronouns Chapter Thirteen p. 236

Mini Dialogues / Passato Remoto/ Ci and Ne Chapter Fourteen p. 252

Mini Dialogues / Relative Pronouns / Subjunctive Verb Forms (il congiuntivo)

Italian English Glossary, chapters 1-14 p. 266

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CCM ITALIAN

Chapter Nine

Mini Dialogues

Reflexive Verbs / Reciprocal Verbs

Si Impersonale

Italian Present Progressive sta parlando

Andare a plus infinitive (andare a mangiare)

Stare per plus infinitive

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Chapter Nine

Mini Dialogues

Ciao. Come ti chiami? Hi. Whats your neam? Mi chiamo Giovanni. E tu, come ti chiami? My name is Giovanni. And whats your name? Mi chiamo Enrico. E questo mio amico. My name is Enrico. And this is my friend. Si chiama Giorgio. His name is Giorgio. Luisa, quando ti alzi la mattina? Luisa, when do you get up in the morning? Di solito, mi alzo alle sette. Usually I get up at 7. E stamattina? And this morning? Mi sono alzata tardi, alle otto e mezzo. I got up late, at 8:30. Dorme Mario ancora? Deve svegliarsi. Is Mario still asleep? He needs to wake up. Va bene. Vado a svegliarlo. OK. Ill go wake him. Mi lavo le mani sempre prima di mangiare, I always wash may hands before eating, ma oggi mi sono dimenticato di lavarmi le mani. but today I forgot to wash my hands Allora, devi andare subito a lavarti le mani! Then you have to go right away to wash your hands. Hai sentito la notizia? Paolo si rotto una gamba. Did you hear the news? Paolo broke his leg. O Dio! Rompersi la gamba una cosa terribile! O God! To break a leg is a terrible thing! Come si sente? How does he feel? Non si sente bene, si sente male. He doesnt feel well, he feels badly. Non trovo i miei occhiali. Li hai visti? I dont find my glasses. Have you seen them? Li ho messo nel cassetto. I put them in the drawer. Mi diverto sempre quando vado da Barbara. I always have fun when I go to Barbaras.

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La trovo una persona molto divertente. I find her a very enjoyable person. Ti sei divertita da Barbara? Did you enjoy yourself at Barbaras? No, non mi sono divertita. Di solito No, I didnt enjoy myself. Usually mi annoio da Barbara. La trovo una persona I get bored at Barbaras. I find her a not non molto interessante. very interesting person. Sono andato a riposarmi e mi sono addormentato. I went to lie down and I fell asleep. I slept Ho dormito unora, e ora mi sento molto meglio. an hour, and now I feel much better. Va bene, ma ora ti devi vestire. Fine, but now you have to get dressed. Non ti ricordi che andiamo a cena con Claudia? Dont you remember that we are going to dinner with Claudia? Oh! Mi sono fatto male! Oh! I hurt myself! Dove ti sei fatto male? Where did you hurt yourself? Al dito piccolo. Dove si trova una benda? On my little finger. Where do I find a bandage? Cameriere, ho bisogno di una forchetta Waiter, I need a fork e un coltello. Qui c solo un cucchiaio. and knife. There is only a spoon here. Scusi, signore! Le porto subito! Excuse me, sir! Ill bring you (them) right away.

Marco a letto

Marco non si sente bene. Ha un raffreddore; ha la febbre e un mal di testa. Si addorementato molto tardi la notte scorsa. Quando si alzato, ha provato di vestirsi, ma si stancato subito, e poi tornato a letto a riposarsi. Dopo unora a letto si annoiato, e si alzato di nuovo. Si fatto la barba e la doccia, e poi si sentito meglio. Poi ha detto a se stesso Mi sono dimenticato che oggi ho dovuto incontrare Paolo alla biblioteca; ma ora troppo tardi. Ora non possiamo incontrarci. Gli devo telefonare. Marco arrabbiato con se stesso.

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New Vocabulary (vocabolario)

Nouns la persona the person (always feminine no matter to whom it refers: Giorgio una persona simpatica.) la notizia news (information about a single event); (when news is referred to in a general sense, the plural is used: le notizie) lo sposo / la sposa the bridegroom / bride (literary husband / wife) il piatto the plate la forchetta the fork il coltello the knife il cucchiaio the spoon il cassetto the drawer le forchette gli occhiali the glasses (eyeglasses) la febbre the fever il raffreddore the (head)cold (adj. raffreddato)

Adverbs i cucchiai di nuovo again (ancora)

meglio better

adjectives terribile terrible

i coltelli

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A summary of the reflexive and reciprocal verbs introduced in this chapter:

All the verbs introduced in this chapter have regular past participles, except: mettere/mettersi messo and rompere/rompersi rotto

reflexive / reciprocal verbs transitive verbs / other related words

addormentarsi to fall asleep (addormentatoasleep)

alzarsi to get up (alzare to lift, raise)

annoiarsi to get bored (la noiaboredom; noioso boring)

arrabbiarsi to become angry, get mad (la rabbia anger; arrabbiato angry )

chiamarsi to be called (chiamare to call; la chiamata the call)

conoscersi to meet, make the acquaintance of, get to know one another (conoscere to know, be acquainted with) dimenticarsi (di) to forget

divertirsi to enjoy (oneself), have fun (il divertimento the entertainment, amusement) (divertente entertaining, amusing) farsi male (a) to hurt oneself

farsi Il bagno to take a bath; to go for a swim Can also be non-reflexive, chap. 4

farsi la doccia to take a shower Can also be non-reflexive, chap. 4

farsi la barba to shave

fermarsi to stop, come to a halt (fermare to stop [something]) la fermata the [bus]stop) incontrarsi to meet, encounter (lincontro the meeting, encounter)

innamorarsi (di) to fall in love (innamorato in love)

lamentarsi to complain (lamentare to lament)

lavarsi to wash (oneself) (lavare to wash [something])

mettersi to put on (clothing) (mettere to put. p.p messo)

preoccuparsi to worry, be concerned (preoccupato worried)

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ricordarsi (di) to remember (il ricordothe memory, souvenir, reminder)

riposarsi to lie down, to rest (il riposo the rest, repose)

rompersi to break (an arm, a leg, etc.) (rompere to break [something else]. p.p. (rotto)

sedersi to sit down (sedere to sit, be seated)

sentirsi to feel (health) (sentire to feel, to hear, to sense)

sposarsi (con) to get married (sposare to marry [someone])

stancarsi to get tired (stancotired, weary)

svegliarsi to wake up (sveglio awake)

vestirsi to get dressed (vestire to dress [someone else])

Reflexive Verbs Transitive verbs take a direct object: I hurt him. Reflexive verbs are verbs that act back on the subject using a reflexive pronoun: I hurt myself; he hurt himself. English has few reflexive verbs, but Italian has many, as do other languages. English translations of reflexive verbs from other languages usually use non-reflexive forms. Sometimes verbs using this construction that are not truly reflexive are called pronominal verbs. Since they have the same construction we can consider them a one group. Reflexive pronouns in Italian are almost the same as the unstressed object pronoun forms found in chapter 7. The ones that are the same are mi, ti, ci, and vi. In Italian, the infinitive of a reflexive verb may be any of the three conjugations, but the final e of the usual infinitive ending is dropped, and the reflexive si is added. One of the most common reflexive verbs in Italian is chiamarsi. Literally it means to call oneself. It is used in asking or saying what a persons name is: Mi chiamo Elena. My name is Elena. (I call myself Elena.) Ti chiami Elena. Your name is Elena. (You call yourself Elena.)

The difference is that third person singular and plural, masculine and feminine, all use si.

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Come ti chiami? What is your name? (How do you call yourself?) Si chiama Elena. Her name is Elena. (She calls herself Elena.) Come si chiama? What is her/his name? (How does she call herself?) (This last can also be used for formally asking, What is your name? (Lei form)

Come ti chiami? (familiar) Come si chiama? (formal) Although not used as often, chiamarsi can be used in plural forms: Come si chiamano queste montagne? Si chiamano le Alpi. What are these mountains called? They are called the Alps. (How do these mountains call themselves? They call themselves the Alps.)

The Stressed Pronoun Se Just as mi and ti have stressed forms me and te, so si has a stressed form se, used after prepositions. (It is sometimes spelled s, to distinguish it from se, meaning if, but is just as often seen without the accent.) It translates as himself, herself, itself, oneself, or themselves. It is normally not used in reflexive constructions, which only use the unstressed form. Lha fatto da se. He did it himself Lhanno fatto per se. They did it for themselves. Lei parla sempre di se (stessa). She always talks about herself. Se is often used with added stesso/a for emphasis: per se or per se stesso for himself, for oneself; per se stessa for herself.

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Another common reflexive verb in Italian is alzarsi. It is most commonly used to express getting up out of bed, but it can also mean to get up out of a chair or any other situation where one gets up. Literally it means to raise oneself. As usual with Italian verbs, if the subject is a pronoun, it usually is not used, although it may be, especially for emphasis. If the subject is a noun, of course it must be used. (io) mi alzo I get up (I raise myself)

(tu) ti alzi You get up (You raise yourself)

(lui, lei) si alza He, She gets up (He, She raises him/herself)

(noi) ci alziamo We get up (We raise ourselves)

(voi) vi alzate You get up (You raise yourselves)

(loro) si alzano They get up (They raise themselves)

Giorgio si alza alle otto. Giorgio gets up at 8. Giorgio e Luisa si alzano alle sette. Giorgio and Luisa get up at 7. Io e Roberto ci alziamo alle sei. Roberto and I get up at 6. Rachele, quando ti alzi? Rachel, when are you getting up? (do you get up?) Quando vi alzate? When are you (all) getting up? (do you get up?) alzare as a non-reflexive verb means to raise; to lift up: alzare la voce to raise ones voice alzare la temperatura to raise the temperature A reflexive verb similar to alzarsi is: svegliarsi to wake up (to wake oneself) It can replace all the forms above with that meaning. mi sveglio, ti svegli, si sveglia, ci svegliamo, vi svegliate, si svegliano

Mi sveglio ogni mattina alle sette e mezza. I wake up every morning at 7:30.

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Reflexive Verbs with Modal Verbs

As we have learned, modal verbs usually work with another verb in the infinitive. When reflexive verbs are used with modal verbs, there are two equally valid ways to structure the sentence: Devo alzarmi alle sei or Mi devo alzare alle sei Both mean I have to get up at six. Notice that the verb is in the infinitive, but the correct reflexive pronoun must be used. If the pronoun is separated (coming first, before the verbs) the non-relexive form of the infinitive is used, ending in -e. Quando volete alzarvi? Quando vi volete alzare? Ci possiamo alzare alle sette. Possiamo alzarci alle sette.

Another way that Italian reflexive verbs work is in an expression such as I wash my hands.

In English my hands is a clear direct object of the verb wash. In Italian it is a little different because of the reflexive construction, and works this way:

Il signore non si sveglia.

Non mi voglio alzare. Non voglio alzarmi.

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lavarsi le mani to wash ones hands (io) mi lavo le mani. I wash my hands. (I wash myself the hands.)

(tu) ti lavi le mani you wash your hands.

(lui, lei) si lava le mani he/she washes his/her hands.

(noi) ci laviamo le mani we wash our hands.

(voi) vi lavate le mani you (all) wash your hands.

(loro) si lavano le mani they wash their hands.

Notice how the reflexive pronoun (mi) takes the place of the English possessive pronoun (my). Italian never uses the possessive pronoun in these constructions.

I ragazzi si lavano le mani. Il ragazzo si lava i capelli.

It is important to note that most reflexive verbs can be used non-reflexively, that is, as normal verbs that take a direct object (transitive verb). The reflexive pronoun is omitted, replaced by a direct object. Mi chiamano Mim. They call me Mim. Ti sveglio alle cinque. Ill wake you at 5.

Ho svegliato Anna troppo tardi. I woke Anna too late. Ho alzato gli occhi. I raised (my) eyes. Ha lavato la camicia. He/She washed the shirt.

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Il signore lava la macchina. Tutti e due alzano le voci.

Passato Prossimo of Reflexive Verbs Please take note of and remember the following points: ALL REFLEXIVE VERBS USE ESSERE AS THE HELPING VERB. NO EXCEPTIONS. There must be agreement between the subject of the Italian reflexive verb and the past participle required by the passato prossimo, similar to adjective agreement. The reflexive pronoun always precedes the two parts of the verb. If the sentence is negative, non precedes all of the above. Examples: Mi alzo. I get up.

Mi sono alzato I got up. (said by a man)

Non mi sono alzata. I didnt get up. (said by a woman)

Ti sei alzato? Did you get up? (asked of a man)

Non ti sei alzata? Didnt you get up? (asked of a woman)

Mario si alzato. Mario got up. (as a question: Did Mario get up?)

Maria non si alzata. Maria didnt get up. (as a question: Did Maria get up?)

Ci siamo alzati. We got up.

Vi siete alzati. You got up. (as a question: Did you get up?)

Si sono alzati. They got up. (as a question: Did they get up?)

Le ragazze si sono alzate. The girls got up. (as a question: Did the girls get up?)

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Mi sono lavato le mani. I washed my hands. (said by a man)

Mi sono lavata le mani. I washed my hands. (said by a woman)

Ci siamo lavati le mani. We washed our hands.

Vi siete lavati le mani? Did you wash your hands?

Si lavata le mani. She washed her hands.

Non si lavato le mani. He didnt wash his hands.

Non si sono lavati le mani. They didnt wash their hands

Rompere; Rompersi The verb rompere means to break (stress on the stem). It conjugates regularly in the present tense but has an irregular past participle, rotto. It is probably seen most frequently in the passato prossimo:

This sentence is an example of a transitive verb taking a direct object, which is the same in Italian and English. In Italian, it can also be used reflexively, as in:

In this sentence, Italian has the same verb being used to reflect back on the subject, using the reflexive pronoun. English doesnt use a reflexive pronoun in this case, but you could think of the sentence as The plate broke itself.

Il piatto si rotto. The plate broke. (The plate was broken.)

Il piatto rotto. The plate is broken.

Ha rotto il piatto.

He broke the plate.

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This construction is very common in Italian. Remember the past participle has to agree with the subject, as if it were an adjective:

La televisione si rotta. The TV broke.

Si rotta la macchina. The car broke down.

I miei occhiali si sono rotti. My (eye)glasses broke.

The reflexive form of this verb is used to express to break an arm (or leg, or finger, etc.). The construction is similar to lavarsi, above. The past participle agrees with the subject, not the thing that was broken:

Mi sono rotto il braccio. I broke my arm. (said by a man)

Maria si rotta il braccio. Maria broke her arm.

To repeat, Italian never uses the possessive pronoun in such cases. The reflexive pronoun serves the purpose that the English possessive provides. There are many situations in Italian in which transitive verbs are used non-transitively with a si construction. For example, aprire can be used transitively, as in Io apro la porta, but it can also be used non-transitively, as in Il fiore si apre The flower opens up. To reiterate, the point to remember is that Italian uses si constructions in many ways, most of which dont correspond to English reflexive constructions, which are relatively rare. Since the si construction uses essere in the passato prossimo there is always agreement with the subject: Quando si chiusa la farmacia? When did the pharmacy close?

Si chiusa alle 21. It closed at 9 p.m.

Luigi si rotto la gamba. Luigi broke his leg.

Luigi ha una gamba rotta. Luigi has a broken leg.

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Other Commonly Used Reflexive Verbs Some of them can also be used transitively, as indicated.

divertirsi to enjoy (oneself), have fun Io mi diverto I am having fun; I am having a good time. Ti sei divertito/a? Did you enjoy yourself/have fun/have a good time? Vi siete divertiti? As a transitive verb, divertire, to amuse, entertain. Quel film mi ha divertito. Adjective: divertente amusing, entertaining

addormentarsi to fall asleep Maria si addormentata molto tardi. Maria fell asleep very late. Quando lui parla, mi addormento. When he talks, I fall asleep.

annoiarsi to be bored, to become bored Annoiare as a transitive verb means to bore. Notice the difference: Mi annoio nella classe ditaliano. I get bored (am bored) in Italian class. La classe ditaliano mi annoia. Italian class bores me. Ci siamo sempre annoiati nella classe. We always got bored in class. La classe ci ha sempre annoiato. The class always bored us. noioso: adjective boring; annoying; tiresome; tedious

Mi annoio.

Il libro noioso.

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sedersi to sit down

sedere means to sit, be seated whereas sedersi refers to the act of sitting down.

English doesnt always differentiate between sit and sit down. If an Italian sentence does not specify someone in a seated position, then sedersi is generally used.

Both have an irregular conjugation (present tense only), inserting an i that is not in the infinitive (except noi and voi forms): siedo, siedi, siede, sediamo, sedete, siedono (p.p. seduto).

Luigi siede alla tavola. Luigi is sitting at the table.

Luigi si siede alla tavola. Luigi sits down at the table. Il sedere as a noun refers to a persons behind.

accomodarsi to make oneself comfortable

This verb is most commonly used to politely invite someone to sit down or to enter a room. It is usually used in the imperative form (chapter 12): Si accomodi. Have a seat; be seated The plural is accomodatevi. Accomodare as a non-reflexive verb usually means to arrange or to fix, repair.

arrabbiarrsi (con) to get angry (with); get mad (at) Mi arrabbio con Maria quando in ritardo. I get mad at Maria when shes late.

Luisa si arrabbiata con me. Luisa was angry with me.

Arrabbiato as an adjective means angry, mad. Perch sei cos arrabbiato?

La rabbia, a noun, means anger.

Gli uccelli arrabbiati. La signora si arrabbia.

La signora arrabbiata.

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sentirsi to feel (in regards to health)

Mi sento bene / male I feel well, fine / sick, ill Come ti senti? How do you feel? Come si sente? How do you feel? (formal) How does he/she feel? Sentire as a transitive verb can mean to feel, sense with any of the five senses except sight. Most often it is used for to hear. Non ti sento. I cant hear you. The title character of Don Giovanni says at one point, Mi par sentir odor di femmina. (I seem to sense the scent of (a) woman.)

riposarsi to rest, lie down I miei genitori si sono riposati un po. My parents rested for a little (while). Carla si riposa sempre dopo lavoro. Carla always lies down after work. Noun: il riposo rest

vestirsi to dress, get dressed Luisa si veste sempre con eleganza. Luisa always dresses elegantly. Mi alzo, poi mi vesto. I get up, then I get dressed. Vestire as a transitive verb means to dress someone else: La madre veste il bambino.

stancarsi to get tired, to become weary Stancare as a transitive verb means to tire. Stanco is a regular adjective, tired, weary. Notice the difference: Mi stanco al lavoro. I get tired at work. Il lavoro mi stanca. Work tires me.

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mettersi to put on (clothing) Perch non ti metti una giacca? Why dont you put on a jacket?

Quando fa freddo mi metto un maglione. When its cold I put on a sweater.

Maria si messa un bellabito. Maria put on a lovely dress.

Mettere as a transitive verb: to put. Ho messo le chiavi sul tavolo.

ricordar(si) / dimenticar(si)

These two related verbs are used both reflexively and non-reflexively. ricordare / ricordarsi (di) to remember

dimenticare / dimenticarsi (di) to forget

Each pair is essentially equivalent in meaning. The first uses avere as the helping verb, and the second, because reflexive, uses essere.

Ricordi quel concerto? Do you remember that concert?

Ti ricordi di quel concerto? Do you remember that concert?

Ho dimenticato il suo nome. I have forgotten his (her) name. (or I forgot)

Mi sono dimenticato del suo nome. I have forgotten his (her) name.

Usually, when standing alone, the reflexive is used: Non mi ricordo. Ti ricordi? A literary word for to remember is rammentare. Another word for to forget is scordare. These alternative words are often used in vocal texts. They appear both reflexively and non-reflexively.

lamentarsi to complain lamentare as a transitive verb is a cognate, meaning to lament. As a reflexive, it changes to complain. Mia madre si lamenta sempre.

Non mi lamento. Im not complaining.

Non mi posso lamentare. I cant complain.

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fermarsi to stop fermare is to stop, to halt something, usually with a direct object stated or implied.

Luigi mi ha fermato sulla strada.

fermarsi as a reflexive means to stop intransitively.

Lautobus si ferma qui ogni giorno alle due.

Il treno si fermato alla stazione.

The derived noun la fermata means the stop, usually in reference to a bus stop.

preoccuparsi (per) This verb is usually seen in the reflexive form, meaning to worry (about).

Paolo si preoccupa per sua madre. Paolo is worried about his mother.

Often seen in the imperative (chap. 12): Non ti preoccupare Non si preoccupi. Dont worry. Preoccupare also occurs transitively:

La situazione mi preoccupa. The situation concerns (worries) me.

Preoccupato past participle/adjective: Maria preoccupata.

farsi It can mean to become (diventare) Mario si fatto grande. Mario has become tall. It can be literally reflexive, as in farsi un nome to make a name for oneself. Many other examples. There are many expressions that use farsi. Here are a few: farsi male (a) to hurt oneself Notice the difference: Mi fa male la gamba or La gamba mi fa male My leg hurts. Mi sono fatto male alla gamba I hurt my leg.

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farsi il bagno to take a bath; also to go for a swim farsi la doccia to take a shower (these expression can also be used non-reflexively, as we learned in chapter 4.) farsi la barba to shave (also radersi) Ogni mattina mi faccio la barba. Ogni mattina mi rado, poi mi faccio la doccia.

Reciprocal Verbs

In English, reciprocity is expressed by each other. In Italian it is expressed by the same reflexive pronouns introduced above, and is really an extension of reflexive verbs. English does not always translate Italian reciprocal constructions into English each other forms. Often the same verb can function either reflexively or reciprocally, depending on the context. By the very nature of each other, reciprocal constructions are always plural.

Incontrarsi to meet (in the sense of run into, encounter, meet up with) Si incontrano al ristorante. Theyre meeting (each other) at the restaurant.

Ci incontriamo al teatro. Well meet at the theater.

Dove vi siete incontrati? Where did you meet up? (run into each other)

(this is different from conoscere, to meet when being introduced to someone.)

incontrare can also be transitive: Ho incontrato Mario al bar. I met Mario at the bar. (ran into)

Ci siamo incontrati al bar.

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conoscersi to meet, make the acquaintance of (each other)

(usually used in the past tense with this meaning) Ci siamo conosciuti lanno scorso. We met (each other) last year.

as opposed to

Ho conosciuto Giorgio lanno scorso. I met Giorgio last year.

or

Non conosco Giorgio. I dont know Giorgio.

sposarsi (con) to get married (to)

(Io) mi sposo con Claudia domani Im getting married to Claudia tomorrow. (refl.) Piero e Claudia si sposano/si sono sposati. Piero and Claudia are getting married/got married. (are marrying each other) (reciprocal) Perch non ci sposiamo? Why dont we get married? (marry each other) sposare can also be transitive: Piero ha sposato Claudia. Piero married Claudia. The nouns lo sposo/la sposa are often used in vocal texts for husband/wife.

In modern Italian they mean bridegroom/bride.

innamorarsi (di) to fall in love (with) Mi sono innamorato di Carla I fell in love with Carla.

Paolo e Carla si sono innamorati. Paolo and Carla fell in love. (with each other)

Luigi sinnamora sempre. Luigi is always falling in love.

innamorare as a transitive verb means to charm; to enchant. It can also be used with fare to express making (someone) fall in love. Tu mi hai fatto innamorare di te. You made me fall in love with you. innamorato (di) as an adjective means in love (with). Francesca innamorata (di Roberto).

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Generally, any normal verb that can function reciprocally in English also can in Italian.

amare/amarsi Piero e Claudia si amano. P. And C. love each other.

vedere/vedersi Quando ci vediamo ancora? When will we see each other again?

capire/capirsi Non si capiscono. They dont understand each other.

guardare/guardarsi Non ci siamo guardati. We didnt look at each other. There are many other possibilities.

Si impersonale A construction similar to reflexive verbs is called the impersonal si (si impersonale). As the name implies, it only uses si and expresses what English says in expressions such as one . or the more colloquial (and usual) you . How do you (does one) say coffee in Italian? Come si dice coffee in italiano? You (one) might think of this as: How does coffee say itself in Italian? This can be extended to expressions like:

Si dice che. They say that. (One says that. it is said that)

Si vede che. You see that

Come si fa questo? How do you do this? (How is this done?)

Come si pu fare questo? How can one (you) do this?

Non si pu, impossibile. You cant, its impossible. (One cant)

Si fa cos. You do it like this. (It is done like this.)

Dove si trova.? Where do you find? (does one find)

Si deve You have to (one has to one ought to)

Non si deve camminare sullerba. You (one) shouldnt walk on the grass.

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An expression like the one below can be translated in different ways:

Si trovano le forchette nel cassetto. The forks are in the drawer. (Le forchette sono nel cassetto.)

You can find the forks in the drawer. (Si pu trovare le forchette nel cassetto.)

The forks are (to be) found in the drawer. (The literal meaning.)

The Italian Present Progressive Tense Stare + Gerund Form of Verb In chapter 3 we learned that Italian generally uses single words for present tense verbs, whereas English has several options parla can be translated speaks, is speaking, or does speak. In fact English favors using the is speaking form, which is called the present progressive tense, to differentiate it from simple present tense, which is speaks. Italian has a construction that is similar to English present progressive. The important difference is that the Italian construction is very specific, describing an action that is taking place right now. English allows the present progressive to serve in a variety of situations. In English, the -ing form of a verb is called a gerund. It is used to form the present progressive tense, as in is speaking. The Italian gerund is formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding -ando for -are verbs, and -endo for both -ere and -ire verbs. When the present tense of the verbs stare is used with the gerund, it makes the Italian present progressive tense, which seems to act just like the English equivalent: parlare parl-are parl-ando parlando: sta parlando is speaking But to translate a sentence such as Peter is speaking at the meeting today, the Italian verb form must be parla, because Peter isnt speaking right at the moment. Pietro sta parlando means Peter is in the act of speaking right now. Examples of Italian gerund forms:

-are verbs: aiutando, lavorando, aspettando, arrivando, cercando, mangiando, studiando

-ere verbs: leggendo, scrivendo, chiudendo, piangendo

-ire verbs: aprendo, partendo, dormendo

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The verbs fare, bere, and dire revert to their Latin infinitive forms to determine their gerund forms:

facendo bevendo dicendo.

Cosa fai? and Cosa stai facendo? both mean What are you doing? and are essentially interchangeable by themselves. In a sentence such as What are you doing this evening, Italian could not use the present progressive. It must be Cosa fai stasera?

Verb Construction Andare a + infinitive In English, going to plus another verb is one way of expressing the future tense, e.g Im going to visit my parents; They are going to buy a new car. Italian has a construction with andare a plus another verb that looks like English going to, but rather than the future tense, it usually expresses immediate action. Vado a visitare i miei genitori. Im going to visit my parents. (right now; Im on my way.) Vanno a comprare una macchina nuova. They are going to buy a new car. (now, not some time in the future.) The andare a + infinitive construction is also found in sentences such as: Mi piace andare a ballare. I like to go dancing. Giorgio va a correre ogni giorno. Giorgio goes running every day. In both English and Italian to go dancing and to go running function as single verbal units.

Stanno leggendo il giornale. Cosa fanno?

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It is true that recently andare a plus infinitive has become accepted in colloquial spoken Italian to express immediate future action, such as Domani vado a comprare una macchina. French and Spanish have constructions like this that express future tense. However the pervasive English use of going to does not extend as far in Italian, so that English Next year Im going to study Italian could not be expressed with andare a. It is expressed with the simple future tense, introduced in chapter 11.

Stare per + infinitive A standard and commonly used construction to express immediate future action in Italian is to us stare per with an infinitive: Sto per comprare una macchina. This can be translated I am going to buy a car or I am about to buy a car. It must be emphasized that it expresses immediate future action, not long term future action. Sto per andare al lavoro. I am about to go to work. Laereo sta per arrivare. The plane is about to arrive. To review and compare:

Sto guardando la televisione. I am watching television. (right now)

Sto per guardare la televisione. I am about to watch television.

Stanno ascoltando la musica. They are listening to (the) music. (right now)

Stanno per ascoltare la musica. They are about to listen to (the) music.

Il concerto sta cominciando. The concert is beginning. (right now)

Il concerto sta per cominciare. The concert is about to begin.

Il professore sta rispondendo. The professor is answering. (right now)

Il professore sta per rispondere. The professor is about to answer.

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Maria e Luisa

Maria sta per uscire di casa a fare la spesa. Prima di uscire parla con Luisa. Di che cosa abbiamo bisogno? chiede Maria. Non mi ricordo. Di quasi tutto, mi pare le risponde Luisa. La pasta non c, la frutta non c, non ci sono i legumi o la carne, non c niente da bere. Nel frigo* non si trova niente. Va bene. Mi puoi dare del denaro. Io ho poco. Ecco venti euro. Grazie. Io ho anche venti. Allora* non posso spendere* pi di quaranta euro. Quando torni? chiede Luisa. Non so di sicuro* risponde Maria. Forse fra due ore. Perch? Non ti ricordi? Stasera si mangia fuori. Poi sincontra con Carlo e Paolo al bar, e poi andiamo a mangiare. Bisogna divertirci! Tu ti diverti, io no! Non voglio uscire, non mi sento bene, sono stanca. Voglio farmi un bagno e andare a letto. Allora, vado io a far la spesa, e tu ti riposi. Dormi unoretta*, poi ti alzi, ti fai la doccia, e ti vesti. Ti sentirai* molto meglio.*

*frigo refrigerator (short for frigorifero)

*allora then, therefore, so, in that case; also at that time, then.

*spendere to spend

*di sicuro for sure

*oretta diminutive of ora, meaning about an hour; an hour or so.

*sentirai future tense of sentire you will feel

*meglio better

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CCM ITALIAN

Chapter Ten

Mini Dialogues

Imperfetto / The Imperfect Tense

Comparatives and Superlatives of Adjectives

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Chapter Ten

Mini Dialogues Ciao, Giorgio. Cosa facevi ieri quando Hi Giorgio. What were you doing yesterday ti ho visto da lontano in centro? when I saw you from a distance downtown? Aspettavo il mio amico Tommaso. Volevamo I was waiting for my friend Tommaso. We andare al museo, ma era chiuso. wanted to go to the museum, but it was closed. Maria, sai che successo marted scorso? Maria, do you know what happened last Tuesday? No, dimmi. No, tell me. (Imperative verb form not yet covered) Ero a casa e stavo mangiando da sola, quando I was home, eating by myself., when the phone ha suonato il telefono. Ho risposto. Sai chi era? Rang. I answered. Do you know who it was? No. Chi? No. Who? Era Roberto! Non mi ha parlato da due anni. It was Roberto! He hasnt spoken to me for two years. Mi diceva tante cose che io non volevo sentire. He told me a lot of things I didnt want to hear. Nonno, cosa ti piaceva fare quando eri giovane? Grandad, what did you like to do when you were young? Io facevo tante cose con mia sorella. Lei era I did so many things with my sister. She was older pi grande di me da dieci anni. Eravamo sempre than me by 10 years. We were always together. insieme. Giocavamo insieme, parlavamo insieme. We played together, we talked together. Almost Mi leggeva quasi ogni notte prima di andare a letto. Every night she would read to me before going to bed. Ieri ho lavorato tutto il giorno. Yesterday I worked all day. Allora lavoravi quando ti ho telefonato? Then you were working when I called? S, lavoravo. Yes, I was working. Mentre parlavamo al telefono, io guardavo la tv. While we were talking on the phone, I was Quando abbiamo finito di parlare, sono uscito. watching tv. When we were done talking, I went out.

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Hai sentito da Pietro e Lucia? Have you heard from Pietro and Lucia? S. Quando erano a Londra, ci scrivevano una Yes. When they were in London they wrote us cartolina ogni giorno. Ora sono a Parigi. a postcard every day. Now theyre in Paris.

Maria e Marco quando erano giovani

Come abbiamo letto nel primo capitolo* Maria e Marco sono cugini. Quando erano piccoli, le loro famiglie erano insieme spesso, o* alla casa di Marco o* alla casa di Maria. Quasi ogni festa importante le famiglie sono venute insieme per un pranzo Natale* e Pasqua* per certo, e anche il giorno di Ferragosto*, se non erano fuori citt.* E tanti weekend, anche se non cera una festa. Maria e Marco e i loro fratelli e sorelle amavano giocare insieme. Quando il tempo faceva bello, giocavano fuori* casa. Quando pioveva* o quando faceva freddo giocavano dentro*. Maria e Marco erano i pi grandi dei ragazzi. Gli piaceva organizzare i giochi per gli altri bambini. Quando venuta lora di mangiare tutti sedevano insieme a una tavola grandissima. *il capitolo the chapter *o...o either...or *Natale Christmas;

*Pasqua Easter *Ferragosto Aug. 15 (a holiday in Italy)

*fuori citt out of town; fuori outside

*piovere to rain *dentro inside, within

New Vocabulary (vocabolario)

Verbs succedere to happen (stress on stem) (pp successo, auxiliary essere). In this, its most common usage, it appears only in 3rd person. Cosa succede? Cos successo? Sono cose che succedono. It can also mean to succeed in the sense of to follow

There is a literary word that means to happen accadere (stress on ending), also usually seen in 3rd singular. Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia sings: Che cosa accade? What is happening?

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uscire to go out, exit (pp. uscito, auxiliary essere). Noun luscita, le uscite (f) exit.

Irr. present tense: io esco noi usciamo tu esci voi uscite lui esce loro escono.

io sono uscito/a; noi siamo usciti, etc.

Nouns la gente people The Italian word is singular, taking a singular verb form, but it is

equivalent to the English plural word, which takes a plural verb form.

La gente di Milano simpatica. The people of Milan are nice.

Tanta gente! So many people! Cera molta gente. There were a lot of people.

la povert poverty (cf. povero) lo zucchero sugar (il) sud south (il) nord north (l) est east (l)ovest west Adjectives / Adverbs

comodo comfortable Le scarpe sono comode. (stress on first syllable)

veloce fast, rapid La macchina veloce.

alto tall, high Maria alta. It also means deep with reference to water: acqua alta

and loud or aloud with reference to speaking: ad alta voce solo alone; lonely (regular adjective) Siamo soli. We are alone. da solo/a all alone, by oneself. Lho fatto da solo/a. I did it by myself.

As an adverb only, just Avevo solo cinque dollari. I only had 5 dollars. cos thus; like this; so (adverb) quasi almost, nearly; hardly (adverb) Sono quasi le sei. Its almost six.

quasi impossibile quasi niente quasi mai hardly ever.

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Conjunction

mentre while, as Because of its meaning, often used with the imperfetto verb tense.

Mentre uscivo As I was going out

Mentre mangiavamo While we were eating

Preposition

senza without (with pronouns usually w/di senza di me; senza di noi)

senza niente without anything senza dubbio without doubt, certainly

also w/ verb infinitives: senza sapere without knowing senza parlare without speaking

The Imperfect Tense Limperfetto Western European languages have more than one way to express action or state of being in the past. There are different tenses which vary according to the nature of the action / state of being, and the relation of different actions to each other in time. In chapter 6 the passato prossimo was introduced. It corresponds in construction to English present perfect tense, and can be translated that way, so that ho mangiato can be translated as I have eaten. Probably more often, however, ho mangiato is translated as I ate, the English simple past tense (simple because only only one word is used). English also has the past progressive tense, which is I was eating. It suggests an action in the past which is unfolding over a period of time, as opposed to I ate, which suggests a completed action. The Italian imperfetto tense doesnt completely correspond to English past progressive, but it is frequently used in the same way. Further information and examples will be given below. Here is a chart of endings for the imperfetto. Its formation is simple. Remove -re from the infinitive and add the endings -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano. (Obviously the key letter is v.) -are (mangiare) -ere (vedere) -ire (partire) io mangiavo vedevo partivo

tu mangiavi vedevi partivi

lui,lei mangiava vedeva partiva

noi mangiavamo vedevamo partivamo

voi mangiavate vedevate partivate

loro mangiavano vedevano partivano

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Notice these points:

*stress is on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable, except for 3rd person plural, which has third-to-last syllabic stress, just as in the present tense. *-isc- verbs of the third conjugation do not use -isc- in the imperfetto capivo, etc. *Among the verbs we have covered there are no irregular forms in imperfetto, except for essere, fare, dire, and bere. (There are a few others.) The verbs fare, dire, and bere, as you might expect by now, revert to their Latin infinitive forms for the formation of the imperfetto: facevo, facevi, faceva, facevamo, facevate, facevano dicevo, dicevi, diceva, dicevamo, dicevate, dicevano bevevo, bevevi, beveva, bevevamo, bevevate, bevevano Essere is completely irregular in the imperfetto: io ero noi eravamo

tu eri voi eravate

lu, lei era loro erano

Word stress as above: second-to-last syllable, except 'erano. The imperfetto forms of essere are translated as was or were. Other verbs usually translate imperfetto into English with the simple past form ate, or by the past progressive was/were eating. It is also used to translate the English construction used to, and also would as in we would often eat at that restaurant.

Literary Italian, used in opera libretti, often eliminates the v in third person imperfect tense forms of -ere and -ire verbs, so that, for example, dicevano becomes dicean(o) and partiva becomes partia. Strangely, the third person singular form of -ere verbs often serves as the first person singular in such cases, so that the aria Ah, non credea means Ah, I did not believe.

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Usage of Imperfetto

The imperfetto expresses actions or states of being in the past that lasted an indefinite time, or occurred over a period of time without a clear ending point. I fiori erano belli. The flowers were beautiful. Ieri avevo un mal di testa. Yesterday I had a headache. Gioved faceva freddo. Thursday it was cold. Quando ero giovane, mi piaceva andare a ballare. When I was young I liked to go dancing. A particular use of da means as or when (noun or pronoun) was/were with the imperfetto: Da bambino, Roberto mangiava poco. As a child, Roberto didnt eat much. It is also used to express a repeated action in the past: Andavo al cinema ogni sabato. I went to the movies every Saturday. I used to go to the movies every Saturday. Quando vivevo a Firenze, vedeva When I lived in Florence, I saw my friend Luisa mia amica Luisa quasi ogni giorno. almost every day.

The imperfetto is also used to describe an action in the past that was interrupted by another action, which is in the passato prossimo:

Quando preperavo la cena,... ... arrivato Mario.

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Mentre Luisa usciva di casa,.... ... il bambino ha cominciato a piangere.

It is also used to describe simultaneous actions in the past:

The passato prossimo is used if there is a clear termination to the past event.

Ieri abbiamo lavorato dalle otto alle cinque.

Ho studiato tutto il giorno.

Here is a comparison:

Ieri alle sette Paolo scriveva una lettera. was writing

Ieri alle sette Paolo ha scritto una lettera. wrote

The first sentence stresses what was happening at seven rather that the action itself. Paolo was in the act of writing a letter, but we do not know if he finished writing it. The second sentence stresses a completed act, one that is over and done with.

Mentre aspettavano il treno, giocavano a schacchi (chess).

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Here is a descriptive passage that uses both passato prossimo and imperfetto: Lanno scorso sono andata al mare in una piccola isola* della Sardegna. Sullisola cerano pochi turisti* e la gente del luogo era molto gentile e simpatica. Io e i miei amici di solito ci alzavamo tardi e poi andavamo al mare. Facevamo subito il bagno (lacqua era perfetta*: trasparente* e tiepida*). Dopo mezzora nellacqua dormivamo al sole. Mentre noi dormivamo, il mio amico andava a prendere gelati*: erano molto buoni.

Il pomeriggio andavamo per lisola a vedere dei posti* incredibili*: abbiamo visto una zona* naturale protetta*. Abbiamo anche conosciuto molti ragazzi e ragazze di tutta Italia. stata una vacanza meravigliosa* e ci siamo divertiti. *most of these new words are cognates or near-cognates: lisola (island); il,la turista; perfetto; trasparente; tiepido (tepid, lukewarm); il gelato (ice cream); il posto (place); incredibile; la zona; protetto; meraviglioso. Here is another paragraph describing activities in the past that were habitual, therefore using the imperfetto.

La domenica

Quando ero bambino ogni settimana aspettavo la domenica, perch non dovevo andare a scuola e perch cos potevo dormire pi a lungo. La mattina mio fratello e io facevamo colazione e poi, con i nostri genitori, uscivamo di casa per andare a fare una passeggiata. Dopo nostra madre tornava a casa, infatti aveva molte cose da fare, ma noi, se il tempo era bello, andavamo in un parco pubblico. Mio fratello e io correvamo insieme agli altri bambini e giocavamo sul prato con la palla, mentre nostro padre, seduto su una panchina, leggeva il giornale. Verso mezzogiorno tornavamo a casa, ma prima passavamo da una pasticceria dove compravamo un dolce per festeggiare la domenica. A casa aiutavamo la mamma a preparare il pranzo e ad apparecchiare la tavola. La domenica mangiavamo prima degli altri giorni e cera quasi sempre un piatto speciale.

pi a lungo longer infatti indeed correre to run (stress on 1st syl.) prato lawn, grassy area palla ball panchina bench verso towards, around pasticceria pastry shop festeggiare celebrate apparecchiare prepare, set

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Comparative of Adjectives

The most common comparative is when we say something is more or less than something else. English has two ways to do this. With one-syllable and often two-syllable adjectives, the suffix -er is usually added: big, bigger small, smaller wide, wider narrow, narrower pretty, prettier Longer adjectives are simply modified by more or less: more / less beautiful more / less difficult more / less complicated Except for a few irregular cases (see below) Italian uses only the more / less pattern: pi bello/ meno bello pi ricco / meno ricco pi largo / meno largo pi lontano / meno lontano pi difficile / meno difficile Questo libro lungo, ma quellaltro This book is long, but that other one is longer. pi lungo. La camicetta bella, ma questa qui The blouse is pretty, but this one here is even ancora pi bella. prettier. Lho fatto cos perch era meno difficile. I did it like this because it was less difficult. When comparing two things or people directly, than is translated by di.

Luigi pi alto di Giovanni. Questa sedia pi comoda di quella. Luigi is taller than Giovanni. This chair is more comfortable than that one.

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Pi di and meno di can also be used in non-comparative construcions: La citt di Roma ha pi di due milioni abitanti, ma meno di tre milioni. Certain constuctions use che to mean than, but they are less commonly encountered. One such construction is when two infinitives are compared (English uses ing forms):

Fare le spese pi divertente che fare i compiti. Shopping is more fun than doing homework.

La sua macchina meno veloce della mia. His car is less fast than mine. (not as fast as)

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Superlative Constructions Regular superlative constructions in English attach the suffix -est: the highest, the tallest, the biggest, the smallest; or with longer adjectives, modifying them with most or least: the most beautiful, the least problematic. Italian achieves the same by simply adding the definite article to the comparative construction. In Italian this is called the relative superlative (superlativo relativo):

Luigi il pi alto ragazzo della classe. New York la citt pi grande degli Stati Uniti. Luigi is the tallest boy in the class. New York is the biggest city in the US. Such construcions use di in Italian, whereas English generally uses in. Notice that the superlative construction can either precede or follow the noun it modifies. Italian has another superlative construction called the absolute superlative (superlativo assoluto). It is formed by removing the -o, -a, or -e from the adjective, and adding -issimo/a; plural -i, -e. It is translated by using very or really: Luigi altissimo. Luigi is very tall. (really tall) (molto alto) New York grandissima. NY is very big. (molto grande) I signori sono ricchissimi. The lady and gentleman are very rich. (molto ricchi)

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Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives Like English, Italian has some adjectives that have irregular forms in comparative and superlative. Elisa una migliore pianista di Giulietta. Elisa is a better pianist than Giulietta. Il tuo italiano migliore del mio inglese. Your Italian is better than my English. La povert in Italia peggiore nel sud. Poverty in Italy is worse in the south. A difference from English is that these same adjectives can also be used with pi and meno. There is no appreciable difference in meaning. Il caff pi buono senza zucchero. Coffee is better without sugar. Il caff migliore senza zucchero. Similarly, a relative superlative can be made with migliore and peggiore by using the definite article, resulting in best and worst. Il migliore vino del ristorante. The best wine in the restaurant. Questa la peggiore canzone di tutte. This is the worst song of all.

Ottimo often has the sense of excellent, as in il vino ottimo. In that sense it is equivalent to buonissimo. Similarly, pessimo often means terrible; very bad. Big and small have regular comparative and superlative forms in English, but Italian has both regular (with pi and meno) and irregular forms with these adjectives:

buono good migliore better ottimo best

cattivo bad peggiore worse pessimo worst

grande big, great maggiore bigger, massimo biggest, greater greatest

piccolo small minore smaller, minimo smallest, lesser least

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As above with buono/cattivo, regular relative superlatives can be created with the definite article: Luisa stata il pi grande amore della mia vita. Luisa was the greatest love of my life. Questalbero il pi piccolo di tutta la foresta. This tree is the smallest of the whole forest. Among other things maggiore and minore are used to express relative ages of people il fratello maggiore the older brother; la sorella minore the younger sister. They are also used to express musical keys, major and minor: do maggiore C major; re minore D minor. Massimo and minimo are often used like English maximum and minimum. A phrase such as la massima espressione would translate as maximum expression, whereas la espressione pi grande or la pi grande espressione would be the greatest expression.

Meglio / Peggio

In English, better and worse can be adjectives or adverbs. In Italian the adverbs are different words from the adjectives, although similar in appearance: meglio and peggio.

There are a number of set expressions using these words: meglio ancora better yet tanto meglio so much the better peggio ancora worse yet tanto peggio so much the worse meglio tardi che mai better late than never sempre peggio worse and worse di male in peggio from bad to worse Often, in more colloquial Italian, these adverbs get used as adjectives: Maria peggio di suo fratello.

io suono il violino, ma Anne-Sophie Mutter suona meglio di me.

Oggi mi sento peggio di ieri.

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Equal Comparisons Two things can be compared that are equal in some quality:

Italian has several ways to do this. One is coscome, another is tantoquanto, and finally, either can be used omitting the first word. Marco cos alto come Giorgio. Marco tanto alto quanto Giorgio. Marco alto come Giorgio. Marco alto quanto Giorgio. These all mean Marco is as tall as Giorgio.

Marco is as tall as Giorgio.

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CCM ITALIAN

Chapter Eleven

Mini Dialogues

The Future Tense

The Conditional Tense

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Chapter Eleven

Mini Dialogues Maria, vorrei offrirti qualcosa da bere. Maria, I would like to offer you something to drink. Grazie, molto gentile. Dove andremo? Thank you, how kind. Where shall we go? Ci sar un bar qui vicino, da qualche parte. Theres probably a bar near here, somewhere. Giorgio, mi faresti un favore? Giorgio, would you do me a favor? S, certo. Sarebbe un piacere. Cosa? Yes, certainly. It would be a pleasure. What? Domani sera ci sar un concerto, e non ho Tomorrow evening there will be a concert, and I dont un biglietto. Se mi potresti fare un biglietto, have a ticket. If you could get me a ticket, I would be so ti sarei tanto grata. grateful to you. Quando verranno, questi tuoi amici? When will these friends of yours come? Fra una settimana. In a week. E cosa farai con loro? And what will you do with them? Avremo tanto da fare! Ci saranno alcune feste, Well have so much to do! There will be some parties, forse andremo al cinema due o tre volte. maybe well go to the movies two or three times. Mi piacerebbe andare allo zoo. Non ci sar I would like to go to the zoo. There wont be enough abbastanza tempo di fare tutto che time to do everything that we would like to do. vorremmo fare. Luisa, quando partirai per America? Luisa, when will you leave for America? In agosto. Partirei prima, ma devo lavorare. In August. I would leave sooner, but I have to work. E quando tornerai? And when will you return? Non sono sicura. Se potr venire mio fratello Im not sure. If my brother will be able to come farei volentieri un giro per Nuova Inghilterra I would really like to tour New England with him. con lui. Per al momento non so se verr. However at the moment I dont know if he will come. Se lui non viene, far delle cose da sola If he doesnt come, Ill do some things by myself a New York, e torner dopo due settimane. in New York, and Ill return after two weeks. Ti porter un regalo! Cosa vorresti? Ill bring you a present! What would you like?

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New Vocabulary (vocabolario) la volta time (in the sense of one time, another time) - different from tempo una volta due volte questa volta unaltra volta

molte volte tante volte ogni volta per la prima volta per lultima volta poco alla volta ancora una volta again, one more time di volta in volta from time to time

Cera una volta Once upon a time

from Figaros aria Largo al factotum: uno alla volta one at a time

Giuliettas aria (I Capuleti e i Montecchi): O quante volte How many times...

Il denaro money (like English, used in the singular)

another word for money is i soldi (usually used in the plural)

yet another word is il contante, used in both singular and plural. This word occurs in Figaros aria Non pi andrai when he sings poco contante

grato/a grateful, thankful (regular adjective)

essere grato to be grateful

grato a grateful to grato per grateful for

abbastanza enough, sufficient; also rather (invariable adj. and adv.)

abbastanza denaro enough money

abbastanza bene rather well; well enough

bastare to suffice, be enough.

Basta! Enough! Non basta its not enough. = Non abbastanza

per however, but (often, but not always, interchangeable with ma)

Perhaps the simplest way to think of the difference is that ma is equivalent to English but and per to English however.

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New Words Meaning Some a Few Any

In chapter 1 we learned that some may be expressed by di plus article: del pane, dei fiori. There are other adjectives that may also be translated as some: qualche some, a few, any.

This word is invariable and is always used with the singular, even though in English it is usually translated with a plural:

qualche libro some books qualche lettera some letters

Ce qualche giornale? Are there any newspapers? (or Is there some newspaper?) The words qualcosa (something) and qualcuno (someone) abbreviate qualche.

It is used in some set expresssions:

qualche volta sometimes (also talvolta, a volte, delle volte)

qualche giorno some day

in qualche modo somehow

da (in) qualche parte somewhere

alcuno in the singular it means any. In the plural it means some.

It works like the indefinite article uno. Before masculine singular nouns (except lo words) it is alcun. In the singular it is often seen in negative constructions, in which case it can be (not) any:

Non c alcun problema Theres no (not any) problem.

Senza alcun aiuto Without any help

Plurals: alcune parole some words per alcuni anni for some years It can also be a pronoun, equivalent to qualcuno (someone), or in the plural alcuni (some people). In negative constructions it means nobody, not anyone (in this sense it is equivalent to nessuno, see below):

Non c alcuno qui. Theres no one here.

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Niente / Nessuno We have learned niente as a pronoun meaning nothing. It can also function as an invariable adjective meaning no, not any.

Niente problema no problem Niente paura no fear.

Nessuno Alone, as a pronoun, it means no one, nobody. Often truncated to nessun.

It is usually used with non: Non vedo nessuno. I dont see anyone. But in some constructions non may be omitted: Hai visto nessuno? Didnt you see anyone? (Did you see no one?) C nessuno? Is anyone there? Nessun lo sa. Nobody knows. (in the first scene of Cos fan tutte, Don Alfonso repeats these words.) The famous aria Nessun dorma has the verb in present subjunctive form (chapter 14), and means Let no one sleep or No one may sleep.

Modifying another word as an adjective it means no, not any and also works like uno. Usually non is used, but in some cases not:

Non ho nessuna domanda. I have no question (I dont have any question) In nessun caso... In no case.... As pronouns in negative constructions, alcuno and nessuno are basically interchangeable:

Non c alcuno = Non c nessuno (pronoun) As adjectives, nessuno and niente are often interchangeable with each other and with alcuno:

Non c alcun problema = Non c nessun problema = Non c niente problema

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The Future Tense and the Conditional Tense It is useful to learn these two tenses together because they use the same stem. That stem is characterized by the letter r. When a stem is irregular, the same irregular stem is used for both tenses.

Future (Futuro semplice) The future tense in English is usually expressed by the helping verb will. It is therefore a compound tense, using a helping verb with the main verb in the dictionary form (the infinitive minus to) I will go, she will do etc. In Italian the future tense is a simple tense, using only one word. In Italian it is called the futuro semplice. Here are the regular stems and endings for the future tense in the three conjugations:

-ARE -ERE -IRE parler- scriver- partir- parler-ai scriver-ai partir-ai parler- scriver- partir- parler-emo scriver-emo partir-emo parler-ete scriver-ete partir-ete parler-anno scriver-anno partir-anno

Notice that -ere verbs keep the e in the stem, and -ire verbs keep the i in the stem, whereas -are verbs change the a to e. Regarding word stress, the singular forms are all stressed on the final syllable, and all plural forms have penultimate stress, including 3rd person plural. The endings for all three conjugations are the same. Domani parler con Luigi. Tomorrow I will speak with Luigi. Lautore dice che non scriver The author says that he will write niente di pi. nothing more. Fra qualche giorno partiremo In a few days we will depart per la Cina. for China. Third conjugation -isc- verbs do not use -isc- in the future or conditional: finir, capirai, preferiranno.

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Spelling changes, like those we have already encountered, result in h being inserted to maintain a hard sound for c and g in the stem in verbs which have infinitives ending in -care and gare: giocare: giocher, giocherai, giocher, giocheremo, giocherete, giocheranno

pagare: pagher, pagherai, pagher, pagheremo, pagherete, pagheranno Conversely, verbs with infinitives ending in -ciare and -giare drop the -i- from the stem, since it is not needed to maintain the soft c and g sounds: cominciare: comincer, comincerai, comincer, cominceremo, comincerete, cominceranno

mangiare: manger, mangerai, manger, mangeremo, mangerete, mangeranno The we and they forms of the future tense are often truncated in opera libretti, with the anno ending dropping the final no, as in parleran. See some examples below.

Irregular Future Stems

All irregular future tense forms affect the stem only. The endings are always the same as the regular patterns described above. The stem, however, is always characterized by the letter r. Also, the stress pattern is always the same for regular and irregular future tense forms final syllable stress with singular forms and penultimate syllable stress with plural forms. As usual, essere is irregular in the future tense: sar, sarai, sar, saremo, sarete, saranno

Don Giovanni sings to Zerlina: Rosina sings:

Quel casinetto mio: soli saremo, S, Lindoro mio sar... e l, gioiello mio, ci sposeremo. L ci darem la mano, l mi dirai di s...

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A common irregular future stem pattern affects mostly -ere verbs, but also, importantly, andare. This pattern simply drops the stem vowel before the ending:

andare (to go): andr, andrai, andr, andremo, andrete, andranno

avere (to have): avr, avrai, avr, avremo, avrete, avranno

These common verbs also drop the stem vowel:

dovere (to have to): dovr, dovrai, dovr, dovremo, dovrete, dovranno

potere (to be able to): potr, potrai, potr, potremo, potrete, potranno

sapere (to know): sapr, saprai, sapr, sapremo, saprete, sapranno

vedere (to see): vedr, vedrai, vedr, vedremo, vedrete, vedranno

vivere (to live) : vivr, vivrai, vivr, vivremo, vivrete, vivranno

Cleopatra sings:

Pianger la sorte mia...

Finch vita in petto avr

Figaro sings to Cherubino:

Non pi andrai..

Non pi avrai.

La Wally sings:

Ebben, ne andr lontano.

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Irregular Future Stems with -rr- The other modal verb, volere, is more irregular in the future, changing the stem to vorr-

vorr, vorrai, vorr, vorremo, vorrete, vorranno Similarly, venire changes the stem to verr-

verr, verrai, verr, verremo, verrete, verranno

Also doubling the r to rr is bere, although the stem remains regular (not Latin bev-)

berr, berrai, berr, berremo, berrete, berranno

A favorite verb in libretti, morire, has two future tense forms. One is regular, morir, etc., and the other has an irregular future stem with rr. The irregular form frequently occurs in opera libretti:

morr, morrai, morr, morremo, morrete, morranno

Fare and dire also do not use their Latin stems, and simply drop the -re:

far, farai, far, faremo, farete, faranno

dir, dirai, dir, diremo, direte, diranno

Orfeo sings: Che far senza Euridice, Violetta sings to Germont: Morr! dove andr senza il mio ben?

Don Giovanni sings to the statue:

Verrete a cena?

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Both Italian and English often use present tense forms for future events, particularly events in the immediate future; often either can be used: A che ora comincia il film? What time does the movie begin?

A che ora comincer il film? What time will the movie begin?

Il treno parte fra poco. The train is leaving shortly.

Il treno partir fra poco. The train will leave shortly.

Stasera andiamo a teatro. This evening we are going to the theater.

Stasera andremo a teatro. This evening we will go to the theater.

Quando vedi i tuoi amici? When are you seeing your friends?

Quando vedrai i tuoi amici? When will you see your friends?

Venite a cena con noi? Are you coming to dinner with us?

Verrete cena con noi? Will you come to dinner with us?

Future of Probability

Italian has a particular use of the future tense whose English counterpart is rarely used any more. It expresses conjecture, what may be. For example, if you are expecting a phone call from Giorgio, when the phone rings you might say, That must be Giorgio. In Italian, this is expressed in the future tense: Sar Giorgio. (That will be Giorgio.)

This future of probability is used in everyday Italian, and it is also found in opera libretti. In Rossinis Il barbiere di Siviglia, after Figaro has sung his famous Largo aria, he notices Count Almaviva and says to himself Chi sar mai costui? which means Whoever could that be? (Costui is a literary version of lui).

In the Act 1 finale of Mozarts Cos fan tutte, when the two disguised Albanians have been cured of the poison they took, they make amorous advances towards Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Despina and Don Alfonso tell them their behavior is the result of the poison, to which the sisters respond Sar ver (That may be true).

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To read and translate:

Una vacanza nellItalia meridionale

estate e fra qualche settimana finiranno i corsi alluniversit. Paolo avr circa venti giorni di vacanza e poi comincer a lavorare come cameriere in un hotel. Far questo lavoro per tutta la stagione estiva. In queste tre settimane di vacanza, lui e la sua ragazza hanno deciso di fare un viaggio nellItalia meridionale. Partiranno da Firenze in macchina, cos saranno liberi di fermarsi dove vorranno, e come prima tappa andranno a Napoli, dove hanno alcuni amici. Ci rimarranno una settimana e poi, dopo che avranno visitato* gli scavi di Ercolano e di Pompei, prenderanno il traghetto per Capri. Qui saranno ospiti per alcuni giorni di una loro amica napoletana, che possiede una casa sullisola. Insieme andranno a vedere alcuni fra i posti pi famosi del mondo: gli splendidi giardini, la villa di Tiberio, la Grotta Azzurra, e altri luoghi incantevoli. Infine torneranno a Napoli, per andare nel Lazio, sul lago di Bolsena, dove trascorreranno gli ultimi giorni di vacanza.

circa about, approximately come as estivo summer (adj) decidere to decide meridionale southern fermarsi to stop, stay la tappa stop, stop over (n.) ci there rimanere to remain lo scavo excavation Ercolano Herculaneum il traghetto ferry Capri an Italian island near Naples lospite (m) guest napoletano Neapolitan, from Naples possedere to possess il posto the place famoso famous il giardino the garden Tiberio Tiberius, a Roman Emperor il luogho the place (also il loco) incantevole enchanting infine at last, finally Lazio Latium, the region of Italy around Rome trascorrere spend (time)

La grotto azzurra a Capri Veduta dallisola di Capri *avranno visitato this is an example of the future perfect tense, which in Italian is called futuro composto. This usage points up a difference between Italian and English. In English this phrase would read after having visited the excavations or after they have visited the excavations using a past tense construction. In Italian, because the action is in the future, but it will happen prior to another stated action in the future (prenderanno il traghetto they will take the ferry) it is expressed in the future perfect tense. The futuro composto is formed like other compound tenses. The auxiliary verb (either avere or essere) is in the future tense form, used with the past participle of the main verb.

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The Conditional Tense (Condizionale semplice) In English, when we say I would buy the car, but I dont have enough money, we are expressing a conditional situation. Buying the car is conditional on my having enough money. Such expressions use would as a helping verb in English. It is therefore a compound tense, like the future tense, because a helping verb is used with the main verb. In Italian, there is no helping verb to form the conditional, but a new verb ending attached to the same stem as is used for the future. The conditional is therefore a simple tense in Italian, using only one word, and called condizionale semplice.

Io comprerei la macchina, ma non ho abbastanza denaro. Here are the conditional endings:

-ARE -ERE -IRE parler-ei scriver-ei partir-ei parler-esti scriver-esti partir-esti parler-ebbe scriver-ebbe partir-ebbe parler-emmo scriver-emmo partir-emmo parler-este scriver-este partir-este parler-ebbero scriver-ebbero partir-ebbero

Notice: The same stem is used as for the future tense, characterized by r. 1st person singular is stressed on the final diphthong (Italian final diphthongs are always stressed). 3rd person plural has antepenultimate stress. All others have penultimate stress.

1st person plural (we) has only a double -mm- to distinguish it from its future tense counterpart.

2nd person forms, singular and plural, are distinguished from each other only by the final vowel.

3rd person plural adds -ro to the 3rd person singular. Once again, third conjugation -isc- verbs do not use -isc- in the future or conditional: finirei, capiresti, preferirebbero, etc. Since the conditional stems are the same as the future, the same spelling changes affecting hard and soft c and g are in effect with conditional: giocherei, mangerebbe, etc.

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The same irregular stems described above for the future are used for conditional: essere: sarei, saresti, sarebbe, saremmo, sareste, sarebbero

andare: andrei, andresti, andrebbe, andremmo, andreste, andrebbero

avere: avrei, avresti, avrebbe, avremmo, avreste, avrebbero

dovere: dovrei, dovresti, dovrebbe, dovremmo, dovreste, dovrebbero

potere: potrei, potresti, potrebbe, potremmo, potreste, potrebbero

sapere: saprei, sapresti saprebbe, sapremmo, sapreste, saprebbero

vedere: vedrei, vedresti vedrebbe, vedremmo, vedreste, vedrebbero

vivere: vivrei, vivresti, vivrebbe, vivremmo, vivreste, vivrebbero

volere: vorrei, vorresti, vorrebbe, vorremmo, vorreste, vorrebbero

venire: verrei, verresti, verrebbe, verremmo, verreste, verrebbero

bere: berrei, berresti, berrebbe, berremmo, berreste, berrebbero

fare: farei, faresti, farebbe, faremmo, fareste, farebbero

dire: direi, diresti, direbbe, diremmo, direste, direbbero

Usage of the Conditional The example given on the preceding page is a conditional action, which happens regularly in English as well as Italian. Conditional action sentences can get more involved, resulting in contrary to fact situations characterized by if, then formulations. This requires the subjunctive mood in Italian, which will be introduced later. For now, probably the most common usage of the conditional is in the polite expression of a request or desire, often used with volere. When ordering something at a restaurant or bar, it is not polite to say Io voglio. Instead one says I would like using the conditional Io vorrei. Similary, Would you like? is expressed Vorresti? or even more formally Vorebbe? in the Lei form. Per favore, mi daresti una forchetta? Would you please give me a fork? (mi darebbe) Andresti con me a teatro? Would you go with me to the theater? (andrebbe)

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The word volentieri is often used with the conditional: S, andrei volentieri con te a teatro. Yes, I would gladly go to the theater with you. (I would be happy to go) Piacere is often used in the conditional..., Mi piacerebbe viaggiare in Inghilterra. I would like to travel to England. (It would be pleasing to me) Ti piacerebbe vedere il film? Would you like to see the movie? (Would it be pleasing to you?): When potere is in the conditional, it translates as could: Maria e Giorgio potrebbero venire con noi. M. and G. could come with us.

Potrei invitare Luigi, ma non voglio. I could invite Luigi, but I dont want to.

Potresti chiudere la porta, per favore? Could you please close the door?

When dovere is in the conditional, it translates as should or ought to: Dovrei mangiare di meno. I should eat less. (I ought to eat less.)

Tutti gli studenti dovrebbero studiare di pi. All the students should study more.

Dovremmo lavarci le mani prima di mangiare. We should wash our hands before eating.

Signore, cosa vorrebbe? Vorrei un bicchiere di vino rosso, per favore.

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The Past Conditional (condizionale passato or condizionale composto)

The past conditional is a passato prossimo construction, in which the helping verb (either essere or avere) is in the conditional mood, and the main verb uses the past participle. Comprerei una macchina, ma non ho abbastanza denaro. I would by a car, but I dont have enough money.

Avrei comprato una macchina, ma non ho avuto abbastanza denaro. I would have bought a car, but I didnt have enough money.

Roberto verrebbe con noi, ma non ha tempo. Roberto would come with us, but he doesnt have time.

Roberto sarebbe venuto con noi, ma non ha avuto tempo. Roberto would have come with us, but he didnt have time. Volentieri faremmo una passeggiata. We would gladly go for a walk.

Volentieri avremmo fatto una passeggiato. We would gladly have gone for a walk.

Near the end of Mozarts Don Giovanni, when the statue enters, the title character says:

Non lavrei giammai creduto I never would have believed it

(giammai a literary form of mai).

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To read and translate:

Regalo di compleanno Fra qualche giorno sar il compleanno di Giulia e Luigi non sa ancora che cosa regalarle. Pensa che le farebbe piacere avere una macchina fotografica, ma un regalo troppo costoso. Luigi quasi sempre al verde e non si pu permettere una spesa cos grande. La settimana scorsa ha parlato con una loro comune amica e questa gli ha detto che lei le avrebbe comprato un taglio di stoffa per una camicetta. A Luigi sembra una buona idea, ma lui non sa risolvere il problema. Le potrebbe regalare una cintura, Giulia le adora, e le starebbe bene con quel vestitino rosso che hanno comprato insieme. Con i prezzi di oggi, per, anche una bella cintura coster un sacco di soldi. Finalmente ha trovato una buono idea: le regaler un bel mazzo di fiori. Non un regalo originale, ma ci che conta il pensiero. costoso costly al verde broke non si pu permettere cant permit himself la spesa expense, expenditure comune common il taglio cut la stoffa material risolvere to resolve la cintura belt adorare to adore le starebbe bene it would look good on her (notice use of i.o. pronoun) vestitino diminutive of vestito Il prezzo the price il sacco the sack finalmente finally il mazzo the bunch,bouquet contare to count

Literary Forms of Future/Conditional In opera libretti, an alternative literary conditional form is often encountered. It usually appears for the verbs essere and avere and the three modal verbs potere, dovere, and volere. Occasionally it is seen with other verbs. This alternative form is limited to 3rd person, singular and plural.

essere saria, sariano (instead of sarebbe, sarebbero)

avere avria, avriano (instead of avrebbe, avrebbero)

potere potria, potriano (instead of potrebbe, potrebbero)

dovere dovria, dovriano (instead of dovrebbe, dovrebbero)

volere vorria, vorriano (instead of vorrebbe, vorrebbero)

Moreover, the 3rd plural forms sometimes use e instead of a so that sariano becomes sarieno, potriano becomes potrieno, etc. The 3rd plural forms are also subject to apocopation, so that vorriano = vorrieno = vorrien. (NB the i is always stressed in these forms, and sometimes spelled with the accent sara Sometimes these forms translate as future tense, but usually they are conditional.

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There are many examples in the Italian opera repertory. Here are a few: In the same opera, before his act 4 aria, Figaro says: chi creduto lavria? (instead of lavrebbe) who would have believed it? Also in Cos fan tutte, Don Alfonso says to Despina: (se) tu ritrovassi il modo da metter in lor grazia due soggetti di garbo che vorrieno provar... If you were to find a way to put into their grace two well-mannered persons who would like to try

The very first line of Don Pasquale has the title character say: Son nov'ore; di ritorno il dottore esser dovria. (instead of dovrebbe) Its 9 oclock; the doctor should be back. Here is an example with the verb volgere (to turn) from the recitative before Norinas aria from Don Pasquale: giur che ad altra mai: non volgeria il pensier. (instead of volgerebbe) he swore that to another he would never turn his thought.

Near the beginning of Le nozze di Figaro, Figaro says to Susanna: Guarda un poco se potria meglio stare in altro loco. (instead of potrebbe) Look (a little) whether it could be better to be in another place.

At one point in the act 1 finale of Cos fan tutte Fiordiligi says: In momenti s dolenti, chi potriali abbandonar? In such sad moments who could abandon them? (notice that the object pronoun can attach to potria, but it could not to potrebbe.)

Near the end of Act 1 of La traviata, Violetta asks herself: Saria per mia sventura un serio amore? (instead of sarebbe) Would a serious love be a misfortune for me?

In Rigoletto, the Dukes act 2 aria has him say: ei che vorria collanima farti quaggi beata (instead of vorrebbe) he who with his soul would like to make you blessed down here (on earth)

An example with the verb morire from Edgardos aria near the end of Lucia di Lammermoor: Rispetta almen le ceneri di chi moria per te. (instead of morirebbe or morir) Respect at least the ashes of him who would die for you.

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CCM ITALIAN

Chapter Twelve

Mini Dialogues

Verbs - The Imperative Mood

Adverbs

Double Object Pronouns

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Chapter Twelve

Mini Dialogues Roberto, alzati, sono gi le sette. Roberto, get up, its already ten. Non mi disturbare, voglio dormire. Dont bother me, I want to sleep. Alzati, fatti la doccia, e vestiti. lora Get up, take a shower, and get dressed. di andare a scuola. Its time to go to school. Non ti preoccupare, mi sto alzando. Dont worry, Im getting up. Maria, vieni con me alla festa stasera. Maria, come with me to the party tonight. No, Giulia, mi scusa, sono troppo stanca. No, Giulia, excuse me, Im too tired. Allora, riposati unoretta. Ti sentirai Then rest for an hour or so. Youll feel meglio e puoi venire. better and you can come. No, mi sento veramente male. Vado No, I really dont feel well, Im going to subito a letto per la notte. Vai e divertiti. bed right away for the night. Go and have fun. Ascoltami, Luisa, e non ti arrabbiare. Listen to me, Luisa, and dont get angry. Dimmi. Cosa c? Tell me. What is it? Non dimenticare che Giorgio era il mio Dont forget that Giorgio was my ragazzo prima che era il tuo. Ti sto boyfriend before he was yours. Im asking you pregando di non stare pi con lui. not to go with him anymore. Ma che dici? Sono innamorata di lui. But what are you saying? Im in love with Non posso lasciarlo cos. Cosa gli devo him. I cant just leave him. What am I dire? Che non lo amo pi? Fammi supposed to say to him? That I dont love un piacere him anymore? Give me break.

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Mi dica, signora. Ha scelto qualcosa? How can I help you madam? Have you chosen something? Vorrei provare questabito. Id like to try on this dress. Provilo pure. Qui c il camerino. Go ahead, try it on. Heres the fitting room. Mi dia la chiave per favore. Give me the key please. Ah, s. Ecco la chiave. Ah, yes. Heres the key. Mi pu tenere la borsa, per favore? Can you hold on to my purse, please? S. Gliela tengo. Yes, Ill hold it for you.

Vocabulary (vocabolario)

These four verbs share common irregular forms. See next page.

tenere to hold, keep rimanere to remain, stay scegliere to choose togliere to take, remove

scusare to excuse (usually used in the imperative) (Mi) scusi! (formal) scusa! (informal) also scusate! (plural) ci that It is a pronoun, equivalent to quella cosa. It stands alone and does not modify another

word, like quello can. It is often used in the formulation ci che meaning that which Quello che means the same thing.

In chapter 8 we had cio meaning that is. It is used in the sense of that is to say

pure also, too, as well (like anche): arrivata Anna e pure Maria.

but, nevertheless, yet (like ma, per): Non ho molto tempo libero, pure vado a teatro quando posso.

It can give emphasis to an imperative (as in the dialogue above): Faccia pure! Go ahead!

Another word that is used in similar situations is permesso, the past participle of the verb permettere (to permit). If you are trying to get past someone in a crowd, you say permesso rather than scusi. The latter is used if you bump into someone, or if you want to be excused for something you said, or if you want to get someones attention. Permesso is also used to ask permission to enter a room. It is short for permesso? (Is it permitted?) Il permesso as a noun means permission, authorization; also permit.

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Conjugation of tenere, rimanere, scegliere, togliere

tenere and rimanere have infinitive stress on the ending (penultimate syllable).

scegliere and togliere are stressed on the stem (antepenultimate stress).

tenere conjugates like venire:

tengo, tieni, tiene, teniamo, tenete, tengono

p.p. tenuto (avere) fut./cond. stem terr-: terr, etc.

(One of the meanings of Spanish tener is to have. Italian tenere never has this meaning.)

rimanere is irregular in 1st singular and 3rd plural, also with ngo and -ngono

rimango, rimani, rimane, rimaniamo, rimanete, rimangono

p.p. rimasto (essere) fut./cond. stem rimarr-: rimarr, etc.

scegliere is similar to salire in the present tense, but with an irregular past participle:

scelgo, scegli, sceglie, scegliamo, scegliete, scelgono

p.p. scelto (avere) fut/cond. is regular: sceglier

(notice the changing position of the g and l in the various forms)

togliere works like scegliere:

tolgo, togli, toglie, togliamo, togliete, tolgono p.p. tolto

See below for the formation of imperatives for these verbs.

Imperative (imperativo) The imperative mood in any language is used to command, exhort, urge, request.

It is usually used in the you form, both singular and plural. The you is not stated but implied in the verb:

Come here! Do your homework! Give me a hand! Please be quiet! (English uses the dictionary form of the verb for the imperative; to be becomes be.) It can also be used in the we form. In English, the we imperative is expressed by lets.

Lets go to the movies Lets eat! Lets play a game. Lets be friends.

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Because Italian has four forms of you informal singular and plural: tu, voi, and formal singular and plural: Lei, Loro it has separate forms for each, as well as one for the we (noi) form. Here is a table of the imperative endings. The underlined forms are different from present tense: -ARE -ERE -IRE guardare prendere aprire finire Tu guarda prendi apri finisci

Lei guardi prenda apra finisca

Noi guardiamo prendiamo apriamo finiamo

Voi guardate prendete aprite finite

(Loro guardino prendano aprano finiscano)

Conveniently, the voi and noi forms are exactly the same as in the present indicative: andate can mean either you are going or go! depending on context, and andiamo can mean we are going or lets go! depending on context. The tu forms for Italian -ere and -ire verbs are also the same as the present indicative:

Prendi Take! Chiudi! Close! Apri! Open! Finisci! Finish!

There is a difference with -are verbs, which can be confusing at first. The tu imperative form, instead of ending in -i, as above, ends in a, the stem vowel of the infinitive:

Parla! Speak! Canta! Sing! Mangia! Eat! Ascolta! Listen!

The Lei form of the imperative for -ire and -ere verbs end in a. Prenda!

The Lei form if the imperative for are verbs end in -i. Guardi! The result is that formal and informal forms of the singular you imperatives reverse the endings for -are verbs and -ere, -ire verbs: Mangia! Eat! (informal tu) Mangi! Eat! (formal Lei) (Mi) Scusa! Excuse me! (Mi) Scusi! E