Daily Italian For Beginners

How To Easily Speak Italian With Only 10 Minutes OfPractice A Day

By

Bruno Palermo

Table of Contents

Introduction

Day 1: How To Make Sense Of Italian

The Alphabet, Spelling, And PronunciationDay 2: The Accent

Day 3: Greetings In Italian

Day 4: Meeting Someone For The First Time Or Fare La Conoscenza DiQualcuno

Day 5: The Sentence Structure In Italian

To RecapDay 6: To Be Or Not To Be?

The Verb Essere Or To BeDay 7: Phrases Containing The Verb Essere

Day 8: The Conjugations

Day 9: Nouns And Articles

The NounGender: Masculine And Feminine

Day 10: Exceptions In The Grammatical Gender

Heads Up! Grammatical And Natural GenderDay 11: The Grammatical Number: Singular And Plural

Day 12: Article 1

Indefinite Articles: Un/ Uno/ UnaDay 13: Article 2

Definite Articles: Il, Lo, La / I, Gli, Le

Day 14: Vocabulary: Jobs, Sports, And Athletes

Names Of JobsNames Of SportsAthletes Of These Sports

Day 15: Adjectives 1

Qualifying AdjectivesDay 16: Adjectives We Use To Describe Things

Day 17: Adjectives We Use To Describe People

Day 18: Adjectives 2

The InflectionDay 19: Conjunctions 1

The Conjunctions E, O, And MaDay 20: The Verb To Have

Day 21: Numbers

Cardinal NumbersDay 22: Asking Questions: The Interrogative Pronouns Quanto? And Quale?

Heads-Up! ExclamationsDay 23: Adjectives 3

Classifying AdjectivesDay 24: Saying People’s Nationality

Day 25: Quanto?

Day 26: Demonstratives

Demonstrative Adjectives And PronounsDay 27: Pronouns

Subject And Object Pronouns

Day 28: Possessive Adjectives

Day 29: Possessive Pronouns

Heads-Up!Day 30: What Time Is It?

Che Ore Sono?Day 31: The Verb

Day 32: The Present Indicative

Day 33: Irregular Indicative

Day 34: Prepositions

Day 35: Typical Expressions That Use Prepositions

Day 36: Use Of The Present Indicative

Day 37: Days And Months > Dates

Day 38: The Present Tense For Scientific And Historical Facts

Day 39: Verbs For Sports, School, Business And Free Time

SportsSchoolBusiness

Day 40: Talking About Ongoing Actions: The Gerund

Day 41: Prepositions + Articles > Articulated Prepositions

Day 42: Talking About The Past: Actions That Have Taken Place In ARecent Past

Day 43: Past Participle

False Friends: Passato Prossimo And Present PerfectDay 44: Verbs With An Irregular Past Participle

Day 45: Talking About The Past: Continuous Actions

Day 46: Conjunctions 2

Addition And ClarificationDay 47: Conjunctions 3

Cause And CorrelationDay 48: The Subjunctive Mood

Day 49: Irregular Subjunctive

Day 50: Present Conditional For Requests

Day 51: Irregular Conditional

Conclusion

Disclaimer

Introduction

You have picked up a book to learn a new language. This time you havechosen Italian: maybe the Colosseum encouraged you, or the possibility oftaking a romantic gondola ride through the canals of Venice and going to theOpera. Learning a new language is never easy, and takes time, effort as wellas a lot of practice. Italian is no exception; in fact, it appears to nativespeakers of English as having seemingly overwhelming difficulties: thesentences that change according to gender and grammatical number, themany moods and verbal tenses used, its vast vocabulary and so on.

In this book, I am going to show you a way to familiarize yourself withItalian and successfully master the basics of the language for everydaycommunication while devoting only 10 minutes each day to studying.

I studied foreign languages and linguistics myself as part of my academicsubjects as I was driven by curiosity and the chance of traveling and workingin a country where the languages I studied were spoken. As a result, I canaffirm that the time that I spent studying books has no doubt made it easierfor me to interact with people and have a grasp of what they were sayingwithout having to use a dictionary to look up every single word.

I wished I could work near those monuments and that culture that I hadstudied and I eventually managed to find a job in a tourist office in thehistoric center of one of the most beautiful cities in Italy for me, Naples.

This book was borne out of the desire to share the experience and knowledgeI acquired, and is designed for those who do not have much time to devote toa more traditional and longer study. By reading this book, you can find all thegrammar alongside the most common and interesting expressions Italianswidely use, organized in convenient daily lessons. It will take only 10minutes a day to learn Italian: not only abstractly, but aiming at making itpossible for those who take advantage of what is written in this book to usethe language for practical everyday communication.

In return for the time you spend reading and studying this book, you willachieve the necessary skills to understand and use one of the most beautifuland sophisticated languages in the world. Whether for tourism, business orstudy: from now on, you will have no problem with the language of the “BelPaese”.

Do not delay, or else you will also have to postpone all the possibilities that anew language has for you: travelling, working, learning a new culture,making new friends. Let’s get started on speaking Italian RIGHT NOW!

The method used in this book has proven results. Each chapter provides newinsights that will help you get a solid grasp of the language AND, little bylittle, get to master more complex grammar and language structures. If youfollow the book in its unfolding, we reveal you a number of hints and tipsthat will most likely come in handy to enjoy learning Italian without anyparticular difficulties.

Day 1: How To Make Sense Of Italian

The Alphabet, Spelling, And Pronunciation

Before you get to the heart of the language, you need to know how to readand pronounce the words correctly in Italian.

Currently, the Italian alphabet consists of 26 letters. These comprise 21traditional letters plus 5 letters only recently added in order to write foreignwords, especially English words.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T U, V, W, X, Y, Z

The Italian alphabet is a phonetic alphabet, with each letter representing asound as you pronounce it when reading words.

The alphabet, however, does not represent all the sounds of the Italianpronunciation. In particular:

The vowels “e” and “o” have two distinct pronunciations:1. / ɛ / as in earth and in Italian bene, centro, lento, è (third-person

singular of the verb essere/to be) > this is the most commonpronunciation and is sometimes indicated by an accent tracedfrom top left to the bottom right, called grave. In Italian, we callthis pronunciation aperta (open).

2. /e/ as in energy or let and in Italian bere, fede, pera > In Italian,we refer to this pronunciation as chiusa (closed) and issometimes denoted by the acute accent, which is drawn startingfrom the bottom left and going up to the right as in the followingwords: poiché, benché.

3. / ɔ / as in wall, war or short and in Italian moda, nove > againthis is the aperta pronunciation of the letter –o

4. /o/ as in oat, so and go in American English and in Italian sole,botte > pronunciation chiusa

As for the consonants:1. – gn > we never pronounce this like in recognize, but always

like in gnocchi. For example, gnomo (dwarf)

2. – gl > we pronounce this like in yell or yellow

3. – sc > we pronounce this like in shell and in Italian sciolto,scelto, sciocco > we don’t pronounce the –i in this case.

4. –g is pronounced as in gather and get when followed by –a, –o, –u or –h and -e or –i. However, when –e or –i without the letter –hfollowing it, then we will pronounce it as in gentleman or in jib.For example, gelo, getto, gita

5. –c > we pronounce like in cat when followed by –a, –o and –u,e.g. cane, casa, cotto, colla. On the contrary, we pronounce the –c sound like in child or in chair when –e or –i follows it — forexample, cena, cento.

Exercise: Pronounce the following words paying attention to correctvowel pronunciation.- è: bene, centro, lento, presto, remo, servizio, zero- é: bere, fede, pera, mela, selvatico, seta, sera- ò: bosco, bomba, grosso, moda, novanta, notte- ó: errore, borsa, corsa, forza, ora, orologio

Can you write the right accent on the stressed syllable?

Day 2: The Accent

We have talked about acute and grave accents when indicating the correctpronunciation of a vowel, but you may have noticed that in Italian not allvowels are marked with an accent.

Unlike English, where the stressed vowel is never marked with an accent, inItalian, the latter could be virtually on any vowel within the word, but weonly write it if it occurs on the last syllable and the word is not amonosyllable. Words consisting of a single syllable are not marked with anaccent unless there are other monosyllables written in the same way but withdifferent meanings. It is, therefore, a way of distinguishing them.

Interestingly, in contemporary Italian, regional varieties very often affect thepronunciation of words as well as the position of the accents. If you have anydoubts about this, all you have to do is to consult a good dictionary.Dictionaries, in fact, always show the accent of each word.

Day 3: Greetings In Italian

The first word that comes to mind when we think about Italian is definitelyCiao. This greeting, actually quite informal, by now has become verypopular, but English native speakers use it mainly as a farewell greeting, asanother way of saying, “see you later”.

In Italy, you can say ciao both when you see someone you know and whenyou say goodbye or you are leaving a place. It is, however, a very informalgreeting, which we can translate as hello or bye-bye.

For example, if you visit Italy for the first time and, walking down the street,a shop window attracts your attention, when you enter to ask if you can trythat hat to cover yourself from the sun, you will say:

Buongiorno, vorrei provare quel cappello esposto in vetrina. (Good morning,I would like to try on that hat displayed in the shop window).

Buongiorno, which means good morning, is the most used Italian greetingboth to say hello to somebody you have just met for the first time and tofriends and acquaintances. We use it from morning until late afternoon, whenwe replace it with buonasera, which is good evening. In the afternoon, youcan also say buon pomeriggio, that is, good afternoon, but this greeting isslowly falling into disuse.

Let’s see, then, the main greetings in Italian:- Buongiorno > good morning (from 8am to 6pm)- Buon pomeriggio > good afternoon (from about 2 pm until 6 pm, but it is

less and less used)- Buonasera (for the evening after 6 pm)- Salve > a generic greeting with an average degree of formality. We use it

mainly when meeting someone and in letters, including e-mails,especially if we do not know the name of the recipient.

- Arrivederci > we use this to say goodbye to someone with whom there islittle familiarity or when you have to be formal. For example, we will usethis greeting on leaving a shop.

If we want to be more formal, we could say arrivederla, but nowadays wetend to use it almost only in very formal communications within institutions,such as schools, hospitals, and courts.

- A presto! > like arrivederci but less formal- Ci vediamo! > when you leave someone who you will see again. As in

English, you can then add a day or other time when you will see eachother again, for instance. See you tomorrow > Ci vediamo domani or,more briefly, A domani.

- Ci sentiamo! > like ci vediamo! However, it means that we will talk byphone

- Pronto? > we say this when answering the phone- Come va? > to which you usually reply “tutto bene, grazie”.

Day 4: Meeting Someone For The First Time OrFare La Conoscenza Di Qualcuno

In Italian the expression “to meet someone” translates as conoscere or fare laconoscenza di qualcuno (“to know someone”), using a verb, conoscere,which means “to know”. You get to know someone even if it is the first timeyou have met him or her.

A: Buongiorno/buonasera/Salve, sono (or mi chiamo) Luca, piacere (diconoscerti/conoscerla).A: Good morning/good evening/ hello, I am (or my name is) Luca, nice tomeet you.B: (Io sono) Anna, piacere mio.B: (I am) Anna, nice to meet you too.

In a more informal situation:A: Piacere, Luca (A: Nice to meet you, Luca).B: Anna, piacere mio (B: Anna, nice to meet you too).

Now, if we want to get to know more, then we will ask:Cosa fai nella vita? (What do you do?)

Cosa studi? / Che lavoro fai?(What do you study? / What is your job?)

“Cosa” at the beginning of the sentence means “what”, although it would becorrect to write Che cosa...? However, you will notice that very often, incolloquial and faster speeches, people would simply say che...? Thus, leavingout “cosa”.

Da dove vieni/di dove sei? > Where do you come/are you from?- Da > from- Dove > where- Vieni > (you) come- Sei > (you) are

Quanti anni hai? > How old are you?- Quanti > how many- Anni > years- Hai > (do you) have

Warning! False Friends!

Do not mistake the verb “to introduce”, which means to introduce someoneor to introduce oneself, for the Italian verb introdurre! The latter in factmeans to let something or someone in some place:

Introduci la chiave nella serratura, e poi… (Insert the key into the lock, andthen...)

In Italian, we use the verb presentare (followed by an object, since it is atransitive verb) or presentarsi (meaning that you make a self-introduction).

Domani Andrea vuole presentare la sua ragazza ai genitori.- Domani > tomorrow- vuole > he/she wants- presentare > to introduce- la sua ragazza > his girlfriend- ai > to- suoi > his/her- genitori > parents

Day 5: The Sentence Structure In Italian

Though the sentence structure in Italian may seem similar to the one inEnglish, there are some important exceptions.

In positive sentences, the subject may very often be omitted > you do noteven have to write the first-person personal pronoun since the ending of theverb indicates quite clearly who is performing an action in most cases.

- Mangio una mela > Io (the first-person pronoun is implicit) + mangio >verb to eat, first person singular, present tense + una mela (an apple) >objectI eat an apple > I > subject + eat > verb + an apple > object

- Bevo sempre caffè a colazione. > I always drink coffee for breakfast. >Here as well the subject of the verb is implicit.

In negative sentences, you simply place “non” before the verb. We do not usea negative auxiliary, but we conjugate the verb as in the positive sentences.

- Non mangio mele. > I don’t eat (or better I’m not eating) apples.- Il Rosa non è il mio colore preferito. > Pink is not my favorite color.

Even when asking a question in Italian, we do not use any auxiliaries, such asdo before the subject of the English sentences. Rather, what is fundamental isthe intonation of the sentence. In spoken Italian, the pitch of a sentence is theelement that sets a statement apart from a question (and is very often the mostmisunderstood thing when talking!). When writing, however, you have to usea question mark at the end of the sentence.

Viaggi mai da solo? > Do you ever travel on your own?- Viaggi > verb, second person singular to travel, present tense

- Mai > ever (in questions)- Da solo > on your own.

In this sentence, there is no need to express the subject because the verbalready lets us know to whom we are addressing our question. At the sametime, if we did not write a question mark at the end of the question, thesentence would still make sense, but, actually, we would be making a truestatement.

- Esci il sabato sera? > Do you go out on Saturday night?- Esci il sabato sera. > you go out on Saturday night.

To Recap

1. The Italian alphabet is a phonetic alphabet: each letter has its ownpronunciation when you read the words, with some exceptions.

2. It is compulsory to write the accent only when the stressed syllableis the last one.

3. You do not have to write always the subject of the sentence, but youmay want to write it when you want to emphasize who hasperformed a certain action.

4. When asking questions in Italian, it is essential that you remember towrite the question mark at the end of the sentence and to be carefulto use the right intonation.

Day 6: To Be Or Not To Be?

The Verb Essere Or To Be

It is a sunny day, there is a gentle breeze, if you take a walk in one of Italy’smany big historical city centers, you may hear: Oggi è una bella giornata! >Today is a beautiful day! In this sentence, “è”, written with the grave accent,is the third person singular of the verb to be, in Italian, essere.

We use the verb essere (with the stress on the first syllable, èssere) when wewant to express the condition of something or the way they are:- Il cane è in giardino. > The dog is in the garden.- La sedia è scomoda. > The chair is uncomfortable.- Enrica è molto brava in matematica. > Enrica is very good at math.- Sono in biblioteca per fare una ricerca. > I’m in the library to carry out a

research.

The verb essere, as the ending –ere shows, is a second conjugation verb, butits flexion is irregular.

The present tense of the Indicative mood is:- Io sono (I am)- Tu sei (you are)- Egli/ella è (he/she is)- Noi siamo (we are)- Voi siete (you are)- Essi sono (they are)

We use the indicative mood in order to make statements, ask questions orexpress opinions.

In the conjugation above, you can also see the Italian personal pronouns:

- “I” is Io- “You” (singular) is Tu- “He” is Egli (or lui in informal/colloquial language)- “She” is Ella (or lei in informal/colloquial language)

There is no “it” pronoun in Italian, as all the nouns are either masculine orfeminine.

- “We” is Noi- “You” (plural) is Voi- “They” is Essi (or loro in informal/colloquial language)

Day 7: Phrases Containing The Verb Essere

Essere bravo a +infinitive/ in or nel + nouns > to be good atMarta è brava a cantare. / Marco è bravo in chimica. > Marta is good atsinging. / Marco is good at chemistry.

A synonym for “essere bravi a” is essere portati per > having a flair forsomething.

- Essere al settimo cielo > to be very happy, elated, on cloud nine- Esserci > to reach your goal, to succeed in something: Ci sono! I made

it!- Essere una buona forchetta > (literally to be a good fork…) to be a

person who enjoys eating- Quant’è? > How much is it?- Essere la pecora nera > (literally “to be the black sheep” in a group)

means to be the one that stands out from the crowd because of itsdifferent behavior, which does not conform to habits or traditions, and isgenerally judged to be a bad thing.

- Essere un peccato > (to be a pity) It refers typically to something thatgoes to waste, to a missed opportunity, and so on. E.g. È un peccato chenon sei potuto restare alla festa > it is a pity you could not stay at theparty.

- Essere puntuale > to be on time- Essere in ritardo > to be late- Essere felice > to be happy- Essere triste > to be sad- Essere malato > to be ill- Essere gentile con qualcuno > to be kind to someone- È tardi > it is late

Exercise: Complete the following sentences with the correct form of theverb essere.

1. Gianluca non … mai puntuale

2. Dopo un bagno, il mio cane … sempre al settimo cielo!3. Sono una persona puntuale - non … mai in ritardo!4. Non … mai troppo tardi per imparare l’italiano5. Fai sempre le cose a modo tuo, … la pecora … del gruppo.6. Marco e Sandra … i nostri migliori amici

Answers on the next page.

Answers to previous exercise:1. È2. È3. Sono4. È5. Sei, nera6. Sono

Day 8: The Conjugations

When you look up verbs in the dictionary, you will find them in the infinitiveform, which in Italian has three different endings, also called conjugations.

In order to make it easier to pronounce the words correctly, you will find herethe accents on the stressed syllables even within the words, but please bear inmind that, as a rule, you have to write the accent only when it occurs on thelast syllable.

–are, the first conjugation:- Amare > to love- Saltare > to jump- Guardare > to watch- Studiare > to study- Lavorare > to work- Scivolare > to slip- Dimenticare > to forget- Ricordare > to remember

–ere, the second conjugation:- Bere > to drink- Sedere > to sit- Vedere > to see- Lèggere > to read- Correre > to run- Scrivere > to write- Cuocere > to cook- Scegliere > to choose

–ire, the third conjugation:- Dormire > to sleep- Sentire > to hear

- Apparire > to appear- Aprire > to open- Bollire > to boil- Capire > to understand- Distribuire > to give out

Knowing the conjugation is important, because it will give you a leading hinton how the verb will be in different moods and tenses. In Italian, althoughthere are many tenses, most verbs are regular and follow the same pattern.

Day 9: Nouns And Articles

The Noun

The noun is the element of the sentence that designates a living being (peopleor animals) or inanimate objects (including places, ideas and so on) and itmay be the subject or the object of the sentence. In Italian, the noun is avariable part of speech, because its ending expresses gender and number, andtherefore changes according to whether the name is masculine or feminine aswell as if it is singular or plural.

It is very important to know the gender and number of the noun, since inItalian other parts of speech, including articles, adjectives, and verbs, must bein agreement with it.

Gender: Masculine And Feminine

The ending of nouns, in their singular form, can be the element that identifiesthe gender, but there are some exceptions.

Generally, masculine nouns are:- Most nouns ending in –o, such as casco (helmet), pollo (chicken), divano

(couch), mento (chin), faro (lighthouse), quadro (painting).- Many of the nouns ending in –e, such as cane (dog), cantiere (worksite),

gettone (token), monte (mount), odore (smell), paniere (basket), portiere(doorman).

- Some nouns ending in –i, such as brindisi (toast > drink), taxi (taxi)

Generally, feminine nouns are:- Most nouns ending in –a, such as rosa (rose), stanza (room), calma

(quiet), posta (mail), marca (brand), sedia (chair), camicia (shirt),finestra (window).

- All nouns ending in –tà or in –tù, such as virtù (virtue), onestà (honesty),verità (truth).

- Some nouns ending in –e, such as pensione (pension), gestione(management), assunzione (hiring), sorgente (source), gente (people),canzone (song), corrente (current), televisione (television).

- Some nouns ending in –i, such as crisi (crisis), ipotesi (hypothesis),analisi (analysis).

Foreign words that have become part of the everyday language can be eithermasculine or feminine. For example:

Day 10: Exceptions In The Grammatical Gender

Some nouns, whose endings are in –a, belong, nevertheless, to the masculinegender:- Poeta > poet- Cinema > cinema- Pigiama > pajamas- Problema > problem- Panorama > landscape

In addition to these, there are a number of other names that we usually call“mobili”, movable, since it is possible to pass from the masculine form to thefeminine one by changing the final ending:

- ragazzo (masculine > boy) /ragazza (feminine > girl)- alunno (boy pupil) / alunna (girl pupil)- lupo (wolf)/lupa (she-wolf)- studente (schoolboy)/studentessa (schoolgirl)- dottore (doctor)/dottoressa (a female doctor)- signore (gentleman)/signora (lady)

Heads Up! Grammatical And Natural Gender

The grammatical gender of a noun does not always correspond to the naturalgender, that is, not always nouns that grammatically have masculine endingsrefer to animals or people of the masculine gender, but they can also refer topeople and animals of the feminine gender and vice versa.

For example:- Spia (spy) is a feminine name, but both a man and a woman can be a spy.- Soprano and contralto (alto) are nouns that refer to different types of

female singers within the Opera, but the grammatical gender of these

nouns is masculine.

Day 11: The Grammatical Number: Singular AndPlural

For the most part, in Italian, we create the plural form of a noun by changingthe final ending.

If masculine:- singular ending –a > plural –i. For example, panorama

(landscape)/panorami (landscapes)- singular ending –o > plural –i. For example, posto (place)/posti (places)- singular ending –e > plural –i. For example, mare (sea)/mari (seas)

If feminine:- the singular ending –a > plural –e > casa (house) /case (houses)- singular ending in –e > plural –i > fronte (forehead)/fronti (foreheads)

The nouns that have endings –i in the singular, whether masculine orfeminine, have the same endings in the plural, so they do not change. Thesenouns are part of a larger group of nouns defined as “invariable” because theyhave the same form in the singular and in the plural. In this case, decisive forthe understanding of a sentence or a text is the other parts of speech thatconcord morphologically with the noun: namely verbs, adjectives, but aboveall the articles.

Day 12: Article 1

Unlike English, in Italian the article is a variable part of speech. It precedesthe noun or the adjective that modifies the noun and its usage is sowidespread that there we virtually use no noun without an article.

The articles differentiate into definite and indefinite ones, as in English, butin addition to this subdivision, there is also the subdivision into singular andplural, masculine and feminine. Thus, we have:

Indefinite Articles: Un/ Uno/ Una

We use indefinite articles for people or things that have appeared for the firsttime in a text or that we have mentioned for the first time. Alternatively,when there is no need to specify the things we are talking about.

Since only the singular form exists, they only concord with the gender of thenouns.

“Uno” comes before masculine nouns beginning with s + consonants, z, x,gn, pn, ps.- Uno stagno (a pond)- Uno gnu (a wildebeest)- Uno scoiattolo (a squirrel)- Uno psicologo (a psychologist)

“Un” comes before all the other singular masculine nouns.- Un giorno (a day)- Un calendario (a calendar)- Un albero (a tree)- Un bambino (a child)

“Una” comes before all the feminine nouns and elides before the onesbeginning with a vowel.- Un’amica (a girlfriend)- Una banda (a band)

Day 13: Article 2

Definite Articles: Il, Lo, La / I, Gli, Le

They come before a thing or a person already known to the speaker or to thelistener, or before something that we already mentioned in a text.

It agrees in gender and grammatical number, so it has both singular andplural forms for the masculine and the feminine.

“Lo” comes before nouns beginning with s + consonants, z, x, gn, pn, ps,(like for the indefinite article “one”)- Lo stagno (The pond)- Lo gnu (the wildebeest)- Lo scoiattolo (the squirrel)

The “o” is elided before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel. Forexample, L’uomo (the man)

Plural > “Gli” > Gli scoiattoli (the squirrels)Gli stagni (the ponds)

“Il” comes before masculine nouns beginning with all other consonants. > Ilvestito (the dress)The plural is > “I” > I vestiti (the clothes)

“La” comes before all singular feminine nouns beginning with one or moreconsonants, while it becomes “l’” with the “a” elided before all femininenouns beginning with a vowel.- La madre (the mother)

“Le” is the plural of “La”, but the “e” is never elided before a vowel!- Le madri (the mothers)

Exercise: Complete the sentences with the correct word (name, article,and verb). Consult a dictionary if needed.

1. Vado al cinema per vedere … nuovo film.

Hint: I’m going to the cinema to see… new film.2. La sera, leggo sempre … libro per addormentarmi.

Hint: In the evening, I always read … to get to sleep.3. (Proverbio) … mela al giorno, toglie il medico di torno.

Hint: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.4. Piove! Non … proprio … giornata giusta per uscire.

Hint: It’s raining, it just …. the right day to go out.5. Purtroppo … telefonino nuovo … ha … fotocamera avanzatissima.

Hint: Unfortunately, … new mobile phone…does not have … innovativecamera.

6. … cani ... i migliori … dell’uomo.

Hint: Dogs … men’s best friends.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Il2. Un3. Una4. È/la5. Il/non/una6. I/sono/amici

Day 14: Vocabulary: Jobs, Sports, And Athletes

Names Of Jobs

- Dottore > Doctor- Ragioniere > account manager- Avvocato > lawyer- Giudice > judge- Professore > teacher (high school) or professor (university)- Contabile > accountant- Direttore (di un’azienda) > general director (of a company)- Preside > principal- Ricercatore > researcher- Scienziato > scientist- Cameriere > waiter- Cuoco > cook- Infermiere > nurse- Segretario > secretary- Tirocinante > trainee or intern

Names Of Sports

- Calcio > football- Pallavolo > volleyball- Nuoto > swimming- Atletica > athletics- Ciclismo > cycling- Pallanuoto > water polo- Pallacanestro > basketball- Golf > golf- Rugby > rugby- Tennis > tennis- Culturismo > bodybuilding

Athletes Of These Sports

- Calciatore > footballer- Pallavolista > volleyball player- Nuotatore > swimmer- Atleta > athlete- Ciclista > cyclist- Pallanuotista > water polo player- Cestista > basketball player- Golfista > golfer- Rugbista > rugby player- Tennista > tennis player- Culturista > bodybuilder

Day 15: Adjectives 1

Qualifying Adjectives

In Italian, the adjective is a variable part of speech that goes with the noun todescribe its characteristics and quality. Qualifying adjectives can express theappearance, shape, color of things, but also moral qualities of a person, as thefollowing underlined words:- Un cielo blu > a blue sky- Un ampio giardino > a wide garden- Una donna intraprendente > an enterprising woman

Qualifying adjectives, like all adjectives, agree with the name to which theyrefer as regards gender and grammatical number.

For example, we say un lungo viaggio (a long journey), but una giornatanoiosa (a boring day).

Viaggio, as the ending shows, is a masculine noun; therefore, the ending ofthe adjective will be the masculine –o. On the contrary, giornata is afeminine noun and will need a feminine adjective, with ending in –a.

You will find here the adjectives written like this: lungo/a, in order toindicate that there is both a masculine and a feminine form for the adjective.Nevertheless, note that the dictionary shows the qualifying adjectives in theirmasculine singular form and then goes on to provide information about theirinflection.

Lungo/a means long, both when talking about distances and length ofsomething. The adjectives carrying the opposite meanings then will becorto/a (short) or breve/e (brief, referring to the length). To describe people,we will say alto/a (tall) or basso/a (short).

Day 16: Adjectives We Use To Describe Things

- Caldo/a > warm or hot- Freddo/a > cold- Duro/a > hard- Morbido/a > soft- Asciutto/a > dry- Bagnato/a > wet- Spazioso/a > wide- Stretto/a > narrow or cramped- Pulito/a > clean- Sporco/a > dirty- Comodo/a > comfortable- Scomodo/a > uncomfortable- Costoso/a > expensive- Economico/a > cheap- Interessante/e > interesting- Noioso/a > boring- Grande/e > big- Piccolo/a > small- Vivace/e > lively- Deprimente/e > depressing- Semplice/e > simple- Complicato/a > complicated- Facile/e > easy- Difficile/e > difficult- Piacevole/e > pleasant- Sgradevole/e > unpleasant- Buono/a > good, tasty

Day 17: Adjectives We Use To Describe People

- Intelligente/e > clever- Stupido/a > silly- Magro/a > slim- Grasso/a > fat- Sportivo/a > sporty- Pigro/a > lazy- Felice/e > happy- Triste/e > sad- Solare/e > cheerful- Malinconico/a > gloomy- Determinato/a > strong-willed- Indeciso/a > indecisive- Scuro/a > dark. This word is also used to indicate a person with dark skin

(carnagione scura in Italian)- Chiaro/a > clear. This word is also used to indicate a person with fair

skin (carnagione chiara in Italian)

Day 18: Adjectives 2

The Inflection

According to the inflection, the adjectives are divided into three classes:

Class I: adjectives with masculine singular ending in –o and femininesingular ending in –a form the plural with the masculine ending –i andfeminine ending –e. For instance: caldo/calda > caldi/calde. Le castagnecrude non sono calde (Raw chestnuts aren’t warm).

Class II: adjectives with both masculine and feminine singular ending in –ehave the plural ending in –i for both grammatical genders. For instance:dolce/dolce (sweet) > dolci/dolci. Un caffè dolce (a sweet coffee), biscottidolci (sweet cookies), but also canzoni dolci (sweet songs).

Class III: adjectives with masculine and feminine singular ending in –a >masculine plural in –i, feminine plural in –e. For instance: egoista(masculine) > egoisti; egoista (feminine) > egoiste. Un uomo egoista (aselfish man), but also gli uomini sono egoisti (men are selfish). For thefeminine: anche le ragazze sono egoiste (girls too are selfish).

There are some exceptions:

Adjectives ending in –co/ca, which have the accent on the syllable before thelast one, form the plural with the ending –chi/–che (for example, the adjectivetired > stanco/stanca > stanchi/stanche). On the other hand, if the accent ison the second syllable before the last one, the plural ending will be –ci/–che.For instance, the adjective pathetic > patetico/patetica > patetici/ patetiche.

Adjectives ending in –go/ga have a plural ending in –ghi/–ghe, as inlungo/lunga > lunghi/lunghe.

The adjectives ending in –io/–ia (with the stress on –i) in the plural become –ii /–ie, while, if the –i in the singular is not stressed, then the masculine pluralending will be –i and the feminine plural ending will be either –ie or –e.

For example:

1st case: resti(ì)o/ resti(ì)a > restii/restie (reluctant)

2nd case: saggio/saggia > saggi/sagge (wise)

Finally, some adjectives are invariable, that is, they have the same form bothfor the masculine and the feminine and in the singular and in the plural:Pari (equal/even), dispari (odd) and some colors that are derived fromnames, such as rosa (pink), viola (violet) and blu (blue).

Exercise: Complete with the correct form. Look up the adjective in thedictionary, then complete the sentences.

1. La Luna stasera è …(bright)2. Il curry è …(spicy)3. Il pane è …(stale)4. Il film è … (interesting)5. Sandra è una persona … (cheerful)

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Luminosa (Luna is a feminine noun)2. Piccante (curry is a masculine noun)3. Stantio (pane is a masculine noun)4. Interessante (film is a loanword from English which has become a

masculine noun in Italian)5. Vivace or solare are both valid answers (Sandra is a proper name for

a woman)

Day 19: Conjunctions 1

The Conjunctions E, O, And Ma

In Italian, conjunctions are invariable parts of speech whose function is tolink two or more elements of a sentence or to connect two sentences.

Suppose we want to point out two features of a thing, we will say:- La borsa è vecchia e rotta. (The bag is old and broken.)- La maestra è severa ma giusta. (The teacher is strict but fair.)- Il nuovo computer è fisso o portatile? (Is the new computer a desktop or

a laptop?)

In the previous sentences, we call the words in bold “coordinatingconjunctions”. Coordinating conjunctions combine elements that have thesame logical function: two adjectives, two nouns or two sentences.

“E” is a copulative conjunction > it combines words and phrases that containsimilar ideas in a positive or even negative way (in this case, we will find “enon”, that means “and not”).

La borsa è rossa e non rosa. (The bag is red and not pink.)

“O” is a disjunctive conjunction > it separates the elements by exclusion:either you have a certain quality or you do not have it.

I capelli della mamma sono ricci o lisci? (Is mum’s hair curly or straight?)

“Ma” is an adversative conjunction > it contrasts two words or twoadjectives.

Questi dolci sono brutti ma buoni. (These sweets are ugly looking but tasty.)

Exercise: Among the following sentences, identify the ones that arewrong and correct them. Use a dictionary to find out what the newwords mean.

1. Il cappello è nuovo ma bello.2. Le forbici sono grandi e affilate.3. Gli elefanti sono grandi o grigi.4. Lavorare è faticoso ma necessario.5. Fare sport è facoltativo o obbligatorio?

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Wrong, the two adjectives have the same positive meaning. > nuovo

e bello.2. Right3. Wrong, grandi (big) and grigi (grey) are both features belonging to

elephants, so the correct conjunction is e.4. Right5. Right

Day 20: The Verb To Have

The main meaning of the verb to have is to own something or to possess aquality. It is an irregular verb as we change its root when we conjugate it.Specifically, in the present tense of the indicative mood:- Io ho (I have)- Tu hai (you have)- Egli/ella ha (he/she has)- Noi abbiamo (we have)- Voi avete (you have)- Essi hanno (they have)

Note: remember that the “h” is always silent in Italian and just allows us todistinguish between two words pronounced the same way, but whichotherwise would also have the same spelling: Hanno > they have and anno >year.

In addition to the concrete meaning of possessing, as in Anita ha gli occhi blu(Anita has blue eyes), the verb to have is also used to express a number ofabstract qualities. In English, we often formulate the same expressions withthe verb to be:- Avere fame > to be hungry- Avere sete > to be thirsty- Avere caldo > to be hot- Avere freddo > to be cold- Avere sonno > to be sleepy- Avere da fare > to be busy- Avere ragione > to be right- Avere torto > to be wrong- Avere fretta > to be in a hurry / in a rush- Avere diciott’anni > to be eighteen

In Italian, we use the verb avere in order to say how old a person is.

Day 21: Numbers

Cardinal Numbers

In Italian, cardinal numbers are:- Uno > 1- Due > 2- Tre > 3- Quattro > 4- Cinque > 5- Sei > 6- Sette > 7- Otto > 8- Nove > 9- Dieci > 10- Undici > 11- Dodici > 12- Tredici > 13- Quattordici > 14- Quindici > 15- Sedici > 16- Diciassette > 17- Diciotto > 18- Diciannove > 19- Venti > 20- Ventuno > 21- Ventidue > 22

…and so on adding the units up to trenta (30), and again trentuno 31,trentadue 32, trentatré 33... Quaranta 40, cinquanta 50, sessanta 60, settanta70, ottanta 80, novanta 90 e cento 100. From here on, we form new numbersby adding the digits from the largest to the smallest one, like incentoventicinque > 125 (100 + 20 +5).

Grammatically, the numbers are invariable numeral adjectives, except for the

number uno, which has the feminine una, and mille, which becomes –mila incompounds, such as duemila (2000).

We write numbers made up of several digits as one word, for example, 53 >cinquantatré. In the case of a compound number ending in –tre, we alwayswrite it with the acute accent on the final –e. In some expressions, however,we can write the numbers made up of several digits even separately andjoined by the conjunction e, such as mille e duecento (1200).

Note: we write 21, 28, and all the other multi-digit numbers ending witheither one or eight leaving out the last vowel before the number uno and otto.For example, ventuno, ventotto, and likewise trentuno and trentotto, and soforth...

Recap exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the correct word.1. Il gatto miagola, …. Fame! > the cat is meowing.2. Il cane ha il pelo nero. … sporco!3. È tardi, non … sonno?4. Ho un libro interessante … lungo. Non lo finirò mai! > I will never

get to the end of it!5. Non puoi comprare la birra, … diciassette anni. > You can’t buy

beer.6. A casa ho 2 computer*, ma … (1) sola tastiera. > At home/only

* Computer is a loanword in Italian, and as such, we use it as an invariablenoun. Therefore, even though in the previous sentence we were talking abouttwo computers, we didn’t add the –s of English plural nouns.

Exercise 2: Write the word for each number1. 21 >2. 104 >3. 271 >4. 888 >

5. 5143 >6. 6200 >7. 3067 >

Exercise 3: Write the number for each word1. Trecentodiciotto >2. Trentuno >3. Millenovecentosei >4. Cinquecento sessantanove >5. Quattrocentottantaquattro >6. Duecentonovantasei >7. Settemilanovecentocinquantuno >

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercises:Exercise 1

1. Ha2. È3. Hai (avere sonno > to be sleepy)4. Ma5. Hai6. Una

Exercise 21. Ventuno2. Centoquattro3. Duecentosettantuno4. Ottocentottantotto5. Cinquemilacentoquarantatré6. Seimila e duecento7. Tremilasessantasette

Exercise 31. 3182. 313. 19064. 5695. 4846. 2967. 7951

Day 22: Asking Questions: The InterrogativePronouns Quanto? And Quale?

In order to ask a question, we use pronouns or adjectives called interrogative.They vary according to the information we would like to ask for:

Quale? Identical in both masculine and feminine singular, but in the pluralquali? We use this to refer to both people and things when we ask forinformation about their quality or identity. We can translate it as “which” or“what” depending on the context. The singular form is quale: if before aword that begins with a vowel, undergoes clipping and becomes qual, with noapostrophe. For example, Qual è il tuo colore preferito? (What is yourfavorite color?).

Che has the same meaning and use as quale, but we use it more often inspeaking than in writing. Unlike quale, it is invariable and remains che,regardless of the gender and the grammatical number of the noun to which itrefers. Be careful that, while as an adjective we can also use it to refer topeople, if we use it as a pronoun, we can only use it in reference to objects.

When asking questions about people, the corresponding pronoun is chi,which is an invariable pronoun that we can translate as “who” or “whom”depending on the context.

Quanto (masculine), quanta (feminine) and, respectively, in the pluralquanti/quante, indicates a request for information on the number of people orobjects. For example, Quanti anni hai? (How old are you?).

Heads-Up! Exclamations

In Italian, in order to write an exclamation sentence, we use the samepronouns and adjectives as for questions, but, instead of a question mark, we

end the sentence with an exclamation mark. Thus, in terms of the structure ofthe sentence, it is very easy to make an exclamation, but then the intonationwill be decisive to express moods such as anger, happiness, disappointment,approval, etc.

Exercise: Complete the sentence with the missing word in the correctform.

1. … sei alto? 1,87m2. Marisa: Ho un nuovo profumo. Eleonora: … marca è?3. Piero: Questa festa è fantastica, … l’ha organizzata?4. Sono pieno, … ho mangiato!5. … cosa hai in valigia?6. La tua libreria è grandissima! … libri hai? Luigi: penso 100!

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Quanto2. Quale/che3. Chi4. Quanto5. Che6. Quanti

Day 23: Adjectives 3

Classifying Adjectives

The adjective, expressing the quality and the characteristics of a noun,expands its meaning. In some cases, the adjective becomes an essential partof the meaning of the noun. In other words, it distinguishes one thing fromanother. We call this function classifying.

- Ho una macchina elettrica. (I have an electric car.) > My car is anelectric one.

- Qual è il tuo cellulare? È quello rosso. (Which is your mobile phone?The red one.) > My mobile phone is red.

One more way to use the adjective, which helps to avoid repetition, is to useit as a noun. In fact, if preceded by an article, either definite or indefinite, theadjective will acquire the function of a noun, thereby making the oralexpression more straightforward and immediate.

Some very common examples are:- Il rosso è il mio vino preferito. > Il rosso > Il vino rosso (literally: The

red one is my favorite wine.)- Beccare il rosso > hitting a red light- Marco e Arianna sono gemelli, ma i due non sono simili. (Marco e

Arianna are twins, but the two are not very similar.)

We use the substantive adjective when we want to express an abstractconcept, for example, il giusto (the right), il falso (the false), il vero (thetrue), il bello (the beautiful), or when it indicates the name of the people.

Some adjectives have become actual nouns and continue to be widely used: ilquotidiano (the daily, that is the newspaper that is published every day), ilmensile (the monthly), il settimanale (the weekly), and la Metropolitana,

from la ferrovia Metropolitana (the metropolitan railway).

Day 24: Saying People’s Nationality

The substantive adjective is also the form we use to express people’snationality:Italiano, qualifying adjectives like in lingua italiana > un italiano, a personfrom Italy.

Other nationalities include (country > nationality):- Australia > australiano- Austria > austriaco- Algeria > algerino- Brasile (Brazil) > brasiliano- Bulgaria > bulgaro- Croazia (Croatia) > croato- Cina (China) > cinese- Giappone (Japan) > giapponese- Germania (Germany) > tedesco- India > indiano- Ucraina (Ukraine) > ucraino- Polonia (Poland) > polacco- Russia > russo- Svezia (Sweden) > svedese- Regno Unito (United Kingdom) > britannico and inglese from

Inghilterra (England), scozzese from Scozia (Scotland), gallese fromGalles (Wales) and irlandese from Irlanda (Ireland).

Day 25: Quanto?

Quanto (quanto/a – quanti/e) = How much (how much - how many) is used toask for information about the quantity. In particular, we use it with certainverbs:Costare, misurare or essere alto, lungo, etc., and pesare, conjugated in thethird person singular.

- Quanto pesa una confezione di insalata? (How much does a pack ofsalad weigh?)

- Quanto sei alto? (How tall are you?)- Quanti anni ha il tuo cane? (How old is your dog?)- Quanto è lunga questa strada? (How long is this road?)- Quanto costa la torta? (How much does the cake cost?)- Quanto costa un kilo di pasta fresca? (How much does a kilo of fresh

pasta cost?)- Quanto misura la nuova nave? (How big is the new ship?)

Note: In order to ask about the distance between two cities or more generallytwo points, we use more often Quale than quanto: Qual è la distanza traNapoli e Roma? (What is the distance between Naples and Rome?); Qual è ladistanza Terra-Luna? (What is the distance between the Earth and theMoon?)

Alternatively, we can use the verb distare: Quanto dista Napoli da Roma?(How far is Naples from Rome?); Quanto dista la Luna dalla Terra? (Howfar is the Moon from Earth?). This is, however, a more formal use.

In Italian, the units of measurement to indicate the quantities are:

Length/Distance > metro, which has submultiples: decimetro, centimetro,millimetro, and multiples: kilometro, that is 1000 meters, is the most widelyused for distances between places and cities.

Weight > grammo, kilo/kg (1000 grams) quintale (100 kg), tonnellata (1000kg)

Price > In Italian, the name of the currency is Euro (which, unlike English,stays the same in both the singular and the plural). Sterling pound becomesSterlina, female noun (in the plural Sterline) and US dollar is simply Dollaro(masculine, in the plural Dollari). Then, there is the Franco (in the pluralFranchi) for the Swiss currency and lo Yen (Japanese currency), which ismasculine, but in the plural Yen stays the same.

Day 26: Demonstratives

Demonstrative Adjectives And Pronouns

Demonstratives are adjectives and pronouns that define the noun to whichthey refer, by expressing the position in space and time with respect to thespeaker or to the listener. They all vary in gender and grammatical number.

Questo/questa (This), questi/queste (These): indicates something that isclose to the speaker, either in space or in time: Questo libro (This book),questo piatto (this dish), questa mattina (this morning). The singular formsquesto/questa, when the noun that follows begins with a vowel, have theirlast vowel elided: for example, quest’albero (this tree, instead of questoalbero), quest’autostrada (this highway, instead of questa autostrada).

In colloquial language, the use of abbreviated forms sto/sta, sti/ste is verycommon: Quanto sono stanco stamattina! (How tired I am this morning!),Sta cosa è impossibile! (This is impossible!).

Quello/quella (That), quei-quegli/quelle (Those): indicates something that isfar from both the speaker and the listener, either in space or in time. Quellamontagna è alta 3000 metri. (That mountain is 3000 meters high.). Quelmomento è indimenticabile. (That moment is unforgettable.)

As for questo/a, in the singular masculine and feminine form, when thefollowing noun begins with by a vowel, we leave out the last syllable >quell’albero, quell’autostrada.

The singular masculine form quel is used before all the nouns that require thedefinite article il. We use the singular masculine form quello in front of allthe nouns that require the definite article lo. Quegli, masculine and pluralform, is used before all those names that require the definite article gli.

Codesto/codesta, codesti/codeste: this demonstrative indicates something thatis close to the listener but far from the speaker. There is no direct equivalentin English, but even in Italian today its use is very limited in both written andspoken language. Nowadays, we use it only in a very formal style, such as inlegal texts. For example, (as a formula addressed to an office to make arequest) Prego codesto ufficio di... Which roughly translates as “I entreat thisoffice to...”

As for pronouns, demonstratives have the same form and meaning asadjectives, but we use them without the noun to which they refer.

Some typical expressions:- Stamattina/stasera/stanotte (This morning/this evening/tonight) > when

we refer to times of the day.- In quel momento: then, at that moment.- A questo punto: by now, at this point.

Day 27: Pronouns

Subject And Object Pronouns

The pronoun is the variable part of speech we use as a substitute for a noun,adjective, another pronoun or a whole sentence. This function is fundamentalboth in written and oral communication because it allows avoidingmonotonous and redundant repetitions, making the communication morestreamlined and effective.

Personal pronouns indicate the one who speaks (io/noi, or first personsingular/plural); the person to whom we speak (tu/voi, second personsingular/plural); the person or animal or thing we speak about (egli, ella,essa, esso, essi, esse - third person singular/plural).

Personal pronouns vary in grammatical number and for the third person ingender as well and can have the function of both subject and complement(object pronouns).

Subject Pronoun > Object Pronoun- Io > Me, mi- Tu > Te, ti- Egli, Lei, esso > Lui, gli, sé- Ella, Lei, essa > Lei, le, sé- Noi > Noi, ci- Voi > Voi, vi- Essi, esse, Loro > Essi, esse, loro, sé

The use of the subject personal pronouns is rather limited for the first andsecond person, io and tu, as the endings of the verbs clearly indicate whoperforms the action. We use them, instead, when we want to give them aparticular emphasis.

On the contrary, the pronoun of the third person has more widespread use assubject: the masculine one egli (or lui, colloquially) refers to people, essorefers to animals or things. As for the feminine, Ella or lei (more colloquial)if we are talking about people, essa if we are referring to animals or things. Inthe plural, essi is masculine and esse is feminine. Loro is invariable and weuse it both as a masculine and as a feminine pronoun.

Exercise: What kind of adjective/ pronoun is…?1. Quanto2. Chi3. Loro4. Sé5. Quale6. Che7. Voi

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Interrogative adjective or pronoun2. Interrogative pronoun3. 3rd person plural object pronoun4. 3rd person singular object pronoun5. Interrogative pronoun6. Interrogative pronoun, colloquial form for quale7. 2nd person plural subject pronoun

Day 28: Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives indicate who a thing, an animal, also a thought, or afeeling belong to. These adjectives are in agreement with the gender and thegrammatical number of the thing they specify the possession of but are alsoclosely related to the personal pronouns. In fact, the adjectives (andpossessive pronouns as well) also express the first, second and third singularand plural person.

All possessive adjectives are variable in gender and number according to theinflection of first class of the qualifying adjectives (–o/–a; –i/–e), except forthe possessive adjective of 3rd person plural, loro, which is invariable.

The possessive adjectives are in six forms, three with reference to the threesingular personal pronouns, plus three with reference to the three plural ones.

Mio/mia, miei/mie (my): it refers to the first singular person (Io) andindicates that the owner is the one who is speaking > Il mio quaderno (mynotebook).

Tuo/tua, tuoi/tue (your): it refers to the second singular person (tu) andindicates that the possessor is the one to whom we are speaking > Il tuolavoro (your job).

Suo/sua, suoi/sue (his/her/its): it refers to the third singular person (egli orella) and indicates that the possessor is the one we are talking about > suofiglio (his or her son).

Nostro/nostra, nostri/nostre (our): it refers to the first plural person (noi)and indicates that the owners are those who are speaking > I nostri biglietti(our tickets).

Vostro/vostra, vostri/vostre (yours): it refers to the second plural person (voi)and indicates that the owners are those to whom we are speaking > I vostribagagli (your luggage).

Loro (their): it refers to the third plural person (essi) and indicates that thepossessors are the ones we are talking about > Oggi è il loro giorno libero.(today is their day off.)

An article, which can be either definite or indefinite, usually precedespossessive adjectives, except in some cases:- When the possessive adjective is in agreement with a singular noun that

indicates kinship: mio fratello, mia sorella, mia madre, mio padre (mybrother, my sister, my mother, my father).

- When the possessive adjective comes after the noun: il libro nostro,l’opinione nostra (his book, our opinion).

Moreover, we can leave out possessive adjectives if the context of thesentence already explicitly shows who the owner is: Dopo il lavoro, vadoimmediatamente a casa. > a casa mia (After work, I go home immediately. >that is, to my home).

Exercise: Correct the following sentences:1. La mia cane è un Doberman2. Hai un mouse nuovo? La sua è vecchio3. La mia bottiglia è sporca. Ne hai un pulita?4. Il vostro macchina è molto comoda.5. Il nostro obiettivo è diverso dal vostra.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Il mio cane > cane is a masculine noun2. Il suo > mouse is an English loanword but in Italian is a masculine

noun3. Una >bottiglia is a feminine noun4. La vostra > macchina is feminine (car)5. Dal vostro > it refers to “obiettivo”, a masculine noun

Day 29: Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are the same as adjectives in form, the only differencebeing that a definite article always precedes them.

- Il tuo motorino è rumoroso, il mio, invece, è silenzioso. (Your scooter isnoisy, while mine is quiet.)

- Ho già un paio di occhiali da sole, ma i vostri sono molto belli. (Ialready have a pair of sunglasses, but yours are very nice – in a shop, forexample).

- Il mio computer è vecchio ma funzionante. Il tuo è nuovo ma lento. (Mycomputer is old but working. Yours is new but slow.)

Heads-Up!

When speaking, sometimes we use the possessive adjectives as nouns. Thatis, they stand for nouns that are left out because they are easily recognizablefrom the context. This occurs in some expressions, such as i miei, in place ofi miei genitori (my parents).

Another time this happens is when we leave out the word opinione (opinion)from the expression la mia/tua/sua/nostra/vostra/loro opinione, for example,“Dite la vostra” (Say your opinion).

Day 30: What Time Is It?

Che Ore Sono?

In Italian, to say the time, we use the feminine definite article and thenumerals: l’una, le due, le tre, as abbreviations of “l’ora una, le ore due, leore tre” etc.

Unlike English, we can use either a cardinal number up to twenty-four, or getto twelve and start again from one.

Le quattordici e venti or le due e venti del pomeriggio (2.20 p.m.)

We do not say a.m. or p.m., but instead, we divide the clock into four parts bysix hours each:- From 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. > le sei, le sette and so forth di mattina- From 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. > l’una, le due and so forth di pomeriggio- From 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. > le sei, le sette and so forth di sera- From 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. > l’una, le due and so forth di notte

Le dodici della mattina is also mezzogiorno (midday), while le dodici di notteis also mezzanotte (midnight).

To express the minutes, we will say the numerals for the hours and for theminutes united by the conjunction e.

However:- After fifteen minutes we will say e quindici or e un quarto;- After thirty minutes we will say e mezza or e trenta;- From 20 minutes to the next hour, we will say meno and venti (twenty

to…), un quarto (a quarter to), dieci (ten to…), cinque (five to...)

The right question to ask for the time in Italian is Che ore sono? (But also,che ora è?).

Exercise 1: Write the word that matches the time shown in the numbersbelow.

1. 14.352. 7.453. 8.154. 9.305. 17.006. 20.257. 19.558. 21.009. 22.50

10. 12.0011. 10.40

Exercise 2: Write the corresponding numbers for the words below:1. L’una e venti della notte >2. Le tre e diciotto del pomeriggio >3. Le sei meno un quarto della sera >4. Le undici e mezza della mattina >5. Mezzogiorno e trentacinque >6. Le diciannove e dieci >7. Le ventidue >8. Mezzanotte >9. Le sette e un quarto di mattina >

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercises:Exercise 1:

1. Le due e trentacinque del pomeriggio or le quattordici e trentacinque2. Le otto meno un quarto or le sette e quarantacinque3. Le otto e un quarto4. Le nove e mezza or le nove e trenta5. Le cinque del pomeriggio6. Le venti e venticinque or le otto e venticinque di sera7. Le otto meno cinque di sera8. Le ventuno or le nove di sera9. Le undici meno dieci di sera

10. Mezzogiorno11. Le undici meno venti di mattina or le dieci e quaranta

Exercise 2:1. 1.202. 15.183. 17.454. 11.305. 12.356. 19.107. 22.008. 24.009. 7.15

Day 31: The Verb

In Italian, the verb is the variable part of speech that conveys informationabout the actions involving the grammatical subject of the sentence, and thatspecifies the period during which they occur and in which manner.

Among the variable parts of speech, the verb is the one that undergoes thelargest number of structural changes, being the one that inflects the most. Theverbal root, in fact, expands with the thematic vowel, which indicates theconjugation, and with the ending, which indicates the grammatical personand number (singular or plural). Furthermore, we can find suffixes betweenthe root and the ending to indicate the tense (past, present, and future) andmood.

With reference to the thematic vowel, namely the typical vowel that separatesthe root from the endings, we can define three verbal conjugations:- First conjugation: thematic vowel –a > infinitive –are (nuotare > to

swim)- Second conjugation: thematic vowel –e > infinitive –ere (vedere > to see)- Third conjugation: thematic vowel –i > infinitive –ire (sentire > to hear)

In Italian, the infinitive is one of three non-finite moods, along with theparticiple and the gerund. These moods do not use different forms inaccordance with the grammatical subject; therefore, they do not conjugate.However, the participle mood is in concord with the noun to which it refersas regards the grammatical gender and number: una relazionescritta/relazioni scritte (a written relation/written relations).

In the other moods, called finite moods (indicative, conjunctive, conditionaland imperative), the verb has different forms according to the mood, the tenseand the grammatical person.

Nevertheless, within the framework of the different conjugations, the

behavior of the verbs, as far as inflection is concerned, is generallyconsistent: all you need to do, therefore, is to observe a verbal pattern toknow and identify the whole conjugation.

Day 32: The Present Indicative

The verbal mood we use when we talk about objective actions and describethings, people or situations is Indicative. In the present tense:

First conjugation: nuotare (to swim)- Io nuoto- Tu nuoti- Egli/ella nuota- Noi nuotiamo- Voi nuotate- Essi nuotano

Second conjugation: vedere (to see)- Io vedo- Tu vedi- Egli/ella vede- Noi vediamo- Voi vedete- Essi vedono

Third conjugation: sentire (to hear)- Io sento- Tu senti- Egli/ella sente- Noi sentiamo- Voi sentite- Essi sentono

Day 33: Irregular Indicative

A number of verbs are irregular, that is, they have a different inflection fromthe one of conjugation to which they belong in certain moods and tenses.They include andare (to go), bere (to drink), dare (to give), uscire (to go out)and venire (to come). In the present indicative:

Andare- Io vado- Tu vai- Egli/Ella va- Noi andiamo- Voi andate- Essi vanno

Bere- Io bevo- Tu bevi- Egli/Ella beve- Noi beviamo- Voi bevete- Essi bevono

Dare- Io do- Tu dai- Egli/Ella dà- Noi diamo- Voi date- Essi danno

Uscire- Io esco

- Tu esci- Egli/Ella esce- Noi usciamo- Voi uscite- Essi escono

Venire- Io vengo- Tu vieni- Egli/Ella viene- Noi veniamo- Voi venite- Essi vengono

Day 34: Prepositions

In Italian, prepositions are the part of speech that comes before anotherelement of the sentence, whether a name, a pronoun, an adjective or a verb inthe infinitive, an adverb, and so on, in order to connect it to or put it inrelation with another element of the sentence.

While in Italian there are various words that act as prepositions, nine wordsonly have this function and from these nine we construct the others: di, a, da,in, con, su, per, tra, fra.

They are monosyllabic and invariable; thus, they remain the same in front ofother parts of speech, regardless of whether they are masculine, feminine,singular or plural.

Di > it refers to the idea of specification, as regards the possession, thematerial and/or the quality a person or something has. For example, I capellidi Marzia sono biondi. (Marzia’s hair is blond.) Gli esami di matematicasono difficili. (Math exams are difficult.)

A > it allows setting the result of an action in time and space, in terms of stateand motion. Sono a casa. (I am at home.), a lavoro (at work).

Da > it carries the idea of provenance and departure. Vengo da Roma, dallacampagna, dalla città. (I come from Rome, from the countryside, from thecity.)

In > it shows the collocation in time and space conveying the idea of state ormotion: Sto in casa tutto il giorno. (I stay at home all day long.) Questopomeriggio sono in ufficio. (This afternoon I am in the office.)

Con > it shows conjunction, with respect to the idea of union, means, and

manner: Marta e Michela sono alla festa con amici. (Marta and Michela areat the party with friends.)

Su > it places something in space and time, with the idea of state or motion:Il gatto è su un divano. (The cat is on a sofa.)

Per > it indicates passage through space and time, as well as means andpurpose: Una guerra per la pace (A war for peace) Una ricerca per una tesidi dottorato (A research for a doctoral thesis).

Tra and fra define an intermediate position in space and time: Le valli tra ilmare e le montagne sono verde smeraldo. (The valleys between the sea andthe mountains are emerald green.)

Day 35: Typical Expressions That Use Prepositions

A che ora? > At what time? We use it to ask the hour at which a certainaction takes place.

Di dove sei/ da dove vieni? > Where are you from? > used to ask wheresomebody comes from.

Adverbs + Prepositions:- Insieme con or Insieme a > together with- Avanti/davanti a > before something- Di fronte a > in front of- Accanto a > next to- Attorno/intorno > around …- Dietro a/di > behind- Fuori di > out of- Dentro a > inside- Lontano da > far from- Vicino a > near- Secondo … > according to …

Day 36: Use Of The Present Indicative

The present tense indicates a state or an action occurring or true at the time ofenunciation.

- Giada vive a Milano. > Jade lives in Milan.- Finisco I compiti e poi scendo. > I finish my homework and then I’m off.

In the last sentence, we have two present indicatives: the first, “finisco”, tellsus that the one who performs the action is the one who speaks and that now iscompleting his or her homework. The second verb, “scendo”, preceded by “epoi”, which means “then”, refers to an event which has not yet taken place,but which will take place shortly. Talking about the near future is anotherfunction of the present, which we use above all when speaking.

The present indicative can also express a habitual action occurring over aperiod:

Marco trascorre le vacanze in Sicilia. > Marco spends his holidays in Sicily.

In particular, we use the following adverbs to talk about habitual actions:sempre (always), di solito or solitamente (usually), spesso (often), qualchevolta or talvolta (sometimes), raramente, (rarely), mai (never). It is alsopossible to add a nuance reinforcing or softening the meaning of theseadverbs by putting molto before spesso or raramente and quasi before sempreor mai.

- Molto spesso a casa da solo mi annoio. > Very often at home alone, I getbored.

- Il sabato sera esco quasi sempre. > I go out most nights on Saturdays.- Non bevo quasi mai birra o alcolici. > I hardly ever drink beer or spirits.- Pranzo quasi sempre all’una di pomeriggio. > I usually have lunch at

one o’clock in the afternoon.

Day 37: Days And Months > Dates

In Italian, the names of the days of the week are:- Lunedì > Monday- Martedì > Tuesday- Mercoledì > Wednesday- Giovedì > Thursday- Venerdì > Friday- Sabato > Saturday- Domenica > Sunday

The names of the months are:- Gennaio > January- Febbraio > February- Marzo > March- Aprile > April- Maggio > May- Giugno > June- Luglio > July- Agosto > August- Settembre > September- Ottobre > October- Novembre > November- Dicembre > December

The four seasons are:- Autunno > autumn- Inverno > winter- Primavera > spring- Estate >summer

In order to say that we are in a particular season, we will use the prepositionin > in autunno / in inverno.

When we want to say the date, we will say:Il 25 (venticinque) di maggio > the 25th of May

However, for the first day of a month, we will use the ordinal number,exactly like in English:

> il primo Aprile (the 1st of April)

Day 38: The Present Tense For Scientific AndHistorical Facts

We use the present tense to describe objective and always valid facts andsituations, such as scientific laws and truths:

- Il Po sfocia nel mar Adriatico. > the Po flows into the Adriatic Sea.- La luce viaggia a 299 792 458 m/s. > Light travels at 299 792 458 m/s.

We can also use the present tense to talk about a past event as a way ofmaking the event more remarkable:- L’Italia raggiunge la sua unità e indipendenza nel 1861. > Italy reached

its unity and independence in 1861.- Dante nasce a Firenze nel 1265. > Dante was born in Florence in 1265.

Exercise: complete the sentences with the correct form of the followingverbs:Parlare, sembrare, uscire, mangiare, guidare, bere

1. Alessandra è pigra, non … quasi mai!2. Gerardo … inglese molto bene, … un madrelingua.3. Nicola e Stefano non …. gli spiedini di pollo, sono vegetariani.4. Stasera … Maria, e non … alcool.5. La mattina, io e mia moglie … sempre un caffè

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Esce2. Parla, sembra3. Mangiano4. Guida, beve5. Beviamo

Day 39: Verbs For Sports, School, Business AndFree Time

Sports

- Giocare > to play a match- Nuotare > to swim- Praticare (uno sport) > to play a sport on a regular basis- Scalare (una montagna) > to climb (a mountain)- Arbitrare > (to referee)- Correre > to run /to do jogging (it is also possible to say fare jogging)- Andare in bici > to ride a bike > cycle/to do cycling- Partecipare > to take part in- Competere > to race for/against

School

- Studiare > to study- Leggere (un libro) > to read (a book)- Scrivere (un saggio) > to write (an essay)- Frequentare (un corso/un seminario) > to attend (a class, a seminar)- Fare (una ricerca, i compiti) > to do (a research, homework)- Dare (un esame) > to do an exam- Discutere (la tesi) > to discuss a thesis

Business

- Fare (un viaggio di lavoro) > to go on a business trip- Fare (una riunione) > to have a meeting- Seguire (un corso di aggiornamento) > to take a refresher course- Assumere > to hire- Fare un tirocinio > to take part in an internship

- Dare (le dimissioni) > to hand in one’s notice- Ricevere (una promozione) > to get a promotion

Day 40: Talking About Ongoing Actions: TheGerund

The gerund mood conveys the meaning of the verb while linking it to theinformation of another finite mood verb; it therefore expands and moreaccurately defines the meaning of another verb.

Grammatically, it is a non-finite mood, which, therefore, does not change interms of grammatical gender and number. We form the gerund by adding theending –ndo to the thematic vowel of the verb. For the third conjugation,however, the thematic vowel changes to –e, like for the second conjugation.

- 1st conjugation: nuotare > nuotando- 2nd conjugation: vedere > vedendo- 3rd conjugation: sentire > sentendo

In Italian, the gerund has a different function from the one of the Englishgerund, and it corresponds, rather, to the English present participle. It is notpossible, in fact, to use it as a name, but we can use it in a very similar way towhat happens with the –ing progressive form. The gerund verb that followsthe verb stare indicates that the action expressed by the verb is currentlydeveloping > Cosa stai facendo? (What are you doing?)

For example, if we want to say that at this moment Serena is watching TV,we will say: Serena sta guardando la tv > Sta is the third singular person ofthe present indicative of the verb stare and guardando is the present gerundof the verb guardare, which, as the thematic vowel shows, is part of the 1st

conjugation. The present tense, on the other hand, tells us that the action iscontemporary to when we speak.

The verb stare:- Io sto

- Tu stai- Egli/ella sta- Noi stiamo- Voi state- Essi stanno

Exercise 1: Write the gerund mood of the following verbs:1. Mangiare >2. Ridere >3. Vivere >4. Essere >5. Avere >6. Leggere >7. Studiare >8. Uscire >9. Andare >

Exercise 2: Read the following sentences and correct the ones that arewrong.

1. Marco sta andando in palestra ogni giorno > hint: ogni giorno >everyday

2. A: Cosa sta facendo tua sorella?

B: Letizia ascolta musica nella sua stanza.3. A: Leggi mai il giornale?

B: Lo sto leggendo ogni mattina.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:Exercise 1:

1. Mangiando2. Ridendo3. Vivendo4. Essendo5. Avendo6. Leggendo7. Studiando8. Uscendo9. Andando

Exercise 2:1. Marco va in palestra ogni giorno > not “sta andando”, because it is

a habitual action.

2. Ascolta, which is the present indicative, is not wrong, but staascoltando is more appropriate.

In Italian, we use the present simple indicative also when we talk aboutactions that are happening at the time of speaking, while the form stare +gerund emphasizes the condition of progression of action.

3. Lo leggo instead of lo sto leggendo because it is a habitual action.

Day 41: Prepositions + Articles > ArticulatedPrepositions

Some prepositions before definite articles merge and form new prepositions,defined “articulated”, that convey both the meaning of the prepositionsthemselves and that of the definite articles, that is, to indicate something thatwe have already mentioned before or a specific element.

Formed in this way, the new articulated prepositions are, in fact, variable andhave different forms depending on whether the word they precede ismasculine, feminine, singular or plural.

Di + articles becomes:- Di + il > Del- Di + lo/la > Dello/a- Di + l’ > Dell’- Di + i > Dei- Di + gli > Degli- Di + le > Delle

A + articles becomes:- A + il > Al- A + lo/la > Allo/alla- A + l’ > All’- A + i > Ai- A + gli > Agli- A + le > Alle

Da + articles becomes:- Da + l >Dal- Da + lo/la > Dallo/dalla- Da + l’ > Dall’- Da + i > Dai

- Da + gli > Dagli- Da + le > Dalle

In + articles becomes:- In + il >nel- In + lo/la > nello/nella- In + l’> nell’- In + i > nei- In + gli > negli- In + le > nelle

Su + articles becomes:- Su + il > sul- Su + lo/la > sullo/sulla- Su + l’> sull’- Su + i > sui- Su + gli > sugli- Su + le > sulle

The other prepositions, in the present-day Italian, even when there is adefinite article following them, remain distinct.

Exercise: Complete the following sentences and correct the underlinedprepositions.

1. Il gatto è saltato su il ramo … un albero.2. … estate, vado sempre a il mare.3. Susanna viene … Roma.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Sul, di2. In (estate), al3. a

Day 42: Talking About The Past: Actions ThatHave Taken Place In A Recent Past

In Italian, we use different verbal tenses when talking about events thathappened in the past, depending on their distance from the present and on thetime relations between them.

The verbal tense that we use when we want to talk about a fairly recent eventor even about events that happened a long time ago, but which are stillrelevant to the present, is the Passato prossimo (literally near past) of theindicative mood.

The Passato prossimo is a compound verb: we form the compound verbswith an auxiliary, that is, the verb essere (if the verb is intransitive) or avere(if the verb is transitive) and the past participle of the verb. Therefore, weform the Passato prossimo with the present indicative of the auxiliary (essereor avere) and the past participle of the verb expressing the action we aredescribing.

Transitive verb sentire:- Io ho sentito- Tu hai sentito- Egli/ella ha sentito- Noi abbiamo sentito- Voi avete sentito- Essi hanno sentito

Intransitive verb andare:- Io sono andato- Tu sei andato- Egli/ella è andato/a- Noi siamo andati- Voi siete andati

- Essi sono andati

In Italian, the past participle, when used with the verb to be, is in agreementwith the noun or pronoun to which it refers as regards the grammatical genderand number. In fact, it assumes the same behavior as an adjective, eventhough it is a verbal form.

As you can see from the conjugations above, the endings of the third personsingular change according to the masculine or feminine gender(“andato/andata”), and the endings of the plural persons are different fromthose of the singular (“andati”).

Day 43: Past Participle

For all verbs, we create the past participle by adding to the thematic vowelthe suffix –to, except for the verbs of the second conjugation, that replace thethematic vowel –e with the vowel –u:- Nuotare > nuotato- Volere > voluto- Sentire > sentito

- Ieri, ho sentito il nuovo CD di Beethoven. > Yesterday I listened to thenew Beethoven’s CD.

- Non ho sentito il terremoto l’altro ieri. > I didn’t feel the earthquake theday before yesterday.

- Hai già fatto colazione? > Have you already had breakfast?

False Friends: Passato Prossimo And Present Perfect

Although the passato prossimo and the present perfect are similar in theconstruction, you may have noticed from the previous sentences that, inItalian, we use with the passato prossimo also adverbs of time that in Englishrequire exclusively the past simple, such as ieri (yesterday). In fact, what isdecisive in Italian is not the adverb of time, but rather the perception that theevent of the past is still close or relevant to us when we tell about it; in otherwords, the perception that it still has some effects on the present.

Exercise: Complete the sentences with the verb in the correct form:vendere (to sell), guadagnare (to earn), essere (to be), avere (to have),giocare (to play), partecipare (to participate), fare (to do), comprare (to buy)

1. Ho…. 200 bottiglie di vino, e ho …. 30.000€2. Hai … al nuovo videogioco?3. Alla festa, abbiamo … in 15, ma non abbiamo … rumore.

4. …. andato a fare shopping, ma … … cose inutili.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Venduto, guadagnato2. Giocato3. Partecipato, fatto4. Sono, ho comprato

Day 44: Verbs With An Irregular Past Participle

A large number of Italian verbs, especially from the second conjugation, havean irregular past participle, which, instead of simply changing the thematicvowel with the –u, consists of completely different forms.

Let’s see some of these verbs:- Apparire (to appear) > apparso- Scomparire (to disappear) > scomparso- Aprire (to open) > aperto- Assumere (to hire) > assunto- Bere (to drink) > bevuto- Chiedere (to ask) > chiesto- Chiudere (to close) > chiuso- Produrre, introdurre (to make, to put in) > prodotto, introdotto- Conoscere (to know) > conosciuto- Crescere (to grow) > cresciuto- Costruire (to build) > costruito- Cuocere (to cook) > cotto- Discutere (to discuss) > discusso- Fare (to do or to make) > fatto- Dipingere (to draw) > dipinto- Leggere (to read) > letto- Mettere (to put) > messo- Perdere (to lose) > perso o perduto- Prendere (to take) > preso- Scrivere (to write) > scritto

Exercise: Can you write the infinitive form of the past participlesunderlined in the sentences below?

1. Sullo schermo è apparso un messaggio di errore.2. Non trovo le chiavi, sono scomparse.3. Ho aperto la porta e il gatto è scappato.4. Lina è contenta, l’azienda l’ha assunta!5. Alla festa di Matteo non abbiamo bevuto nulla.

6. Mamma ha chiesto a papà cosa ha cucinato a pranzo.7. Non ho chiuso la porta e il gatto è scappato.8. Quanto sono cresciuti i tuoi figli!

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercises:1. Apparire2. Scomparire3. Aprire, scappare4. Assumere5. Bere6. Chiedere, cucinare7. Chiudere8. Crescere

Day 45: Talking About The Past: ContinuousActions

In Italian, to talk about a past and lasting action, showing it in itsdevelopment, we use the “imperfect” tense of the indicative mood.Depending on the grammatical person, we form the imperfect tense byadding the endings –vo, –vi, –va, –vamo, –vate, –vano to the thematic vowel:

- For the first conjugation: nuotare > nuotavo, nuotavi, nuotava,nuotavamo, nuotavate, nuotavano.

- For the second conjugation: vedere > vedevo, vedevi, vedeva, vedevamo,vedevate, vedevano.

- For the third conjugation: sentire > sentivo, sentivi, sentiva, sentivamo,sentivate, sentivano.

For its function, we use the imperfect mainly:- As a narrative tense > for example, at the beginning of fairy tales in the

typical introductory formula C’era una volta (once upon a time)- As a descriptive past tense (storytelling): la città era pulita e luminosa, le

strade larghe e i palazzi bassi… (the city was clean and bright, the streetswide and the buildings low...).

- To express a habitual action in the past: due anni fa, uscivo ogni finesettimana. (two years ago, I went out every weekend).

Exercise: Turn the following sentences to the past converting the presenttense into the imperfect one:

1. Non è la prima volta.2. Marta dorme sul divano.3. Corrado ha la febbre.4. Emanuela sta scrivendo la sua tesi di laurea.5. La biblioteca non è piccola, ma ha libri ovunque e sembra stretta.6. Gino vede un film e subito si addormenta.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. È > era2. Dorme > dormiva3. Ha > aveva4. Sta > stava5. È > era, ha > aveva, sembra > sembrava6. Vede > vedeva // (si) addormenta could also be in the passato

prossimo, (si) è addormentato, since it is more an instantaneousaction than a progressive one.

Day 46: Conjunctions 2

Addition And Clarification

Conjunctions allow us to combine two elements of the sentence in a specificlogical order. The ability to recognize and use them is, therefore, important ifyou want to learn how to use a language as effectively as possible since itwill help you to express yourself clearly and avoid repetitions that couldmake it difficult for others to understand you.

Depending on the logical function they indicate, the conjunctions may be:

Conjunctions of addition: their function is to add an element or a concept toanother > anche and inoltre are the most common:- Ho mangiato un gelato e anche i biscotti. > I ate an ice cream and also

the biscuits.- Ho pulito la mia camera e, inoltre, ho fatto la lavatrice. > I cleaned my

room and, besides, I did the washing machine.

Conjunctions of restatement: we use these conjunctions to introduceexplanations and clarifications on previous words or phrases: cioè (that is),ossia or ovvero (namely), infatti (in fact):- Teresa parla il persiano, cioè la lingua dell’Iran. > Teresa speaks

Persian, that is, the language of Iran.- Seguo una dieta ferrea. Infatti, non sto mangiando pane e pasta.> I

follow a strict diet. Indeed, I am not eating pasta and bread.

Day 47: Conjunctions 3

Cause And Correlation

Conjunctions of cause indicate that there is a consequential relationshipbetween two sentences or they introduce the conclusion of reasoning: perciò(therefore, for this reason), pertanto (therefore, as a result), quindi (so,consequently):- Ho finito di lavorare, quindi vado in palestra.> I have finished working,

so I’ll go to the gym.- Mirko ha superato l’esame di maturità, perciò ha preso il diploma. >

Mirko has passed his high school graduation exam, therefore he hasreceived his diploma.

Finally, conjunctions can have a correlative function, that is, to put twoelements of a sentence or two sentences in relation to each other. Forexample, e...e, o...o, or sia...sia with a positive meaning and né...né with anegative meaning:- Simone ha sia un computer fisso che un portatile.> Simone has both a

desktop computer and a laptop.- Massimo è disoccupato: non va né a scuola né a lavoro. > Massimo is

unemployed: he goes neither to school nor to work.

Note that when the intransitive verb requires a preposition, we will have towrite the latter after the conjunction.

Exercise: Add the right conjunctions.1. Antonella e Domenico in estate restano in città: non vanno … al

mare … in montagna.2. Irene non ha l’auto, va a lavoro … in autobus … in metro.3. Io e Sergio non abbiamo superato l’esame, … stiamo studiando di

nuovo4. Sono iscritto al corso di traduzione specialistica, … traduzione di

testi di argomenti specifici.5. Maria e Anna sono amiche d’infanzia e sono …. andate

all’università insieme.

Answers on the next page.

Answers to the previous exercise:1. Né, né2. O, o3. Quindi (or perciò, pertanto)4. Cioè (or ovvero, ossia)5. Anche

Day 48: The Subjunctive Mood

In Italian, the subjunctive mood or congiuntivo is clearly distinct from theindicative mood as regards both form and function: while, in fact, theindicative expresses objectivity and we use it in order to describe places andtell facts, the subjunctive mood is the mood of subjectivity, of possibility, ofdoubt and of uncertainty.

A verb in the subjunctive is required in all the situations in which we want toexpress in particular the point of view of someone.

For the three different conjugations, we form the present subjunctive byputting che before the following forms (the typical ending is underlined):

1st conjugation: nuotare- Che io nuoti- Che tu nuoti- Che egli/ella nuoti- Che noi nuotiamo- Che voi nuotiate- Che essi nuotino

2nd conjugation: vedere- Che io veda- Che tu veda- Che egli/ella veda- Che noi vediamo- Che voi vediate- Che essi vedano

3rd conjugation: sentire- Che io senta

- Che tu senta- Che egli/ella senta- Che noi sentiamo- Che voi sentiate- Che essi sentano

“Che” is a conjunction we add after verbs such as: pensare (to think), credere(to believe), sembrare (to seem), sostenere (to maintain), aspettare (toexpect), desiderare (to wish), chiedere and richiedere (to ask), dubitare (todoubt), preferire (to prefer), and volere (to want) and before the subjunctivemood in order to introduce various kinds of subordinate clauses in which weexpress:

A desire:- Preferisco che la bistecca sia ben cotta. (I prefer the steak to be well

done).

A personal opinion, doubt or the way something appears to be:- Sembra che il progetto sia finite. (It seems that the project is over).

Day 49: Irregular Subjunctive

As it is the case with the other moods and tenses, a number of verbs areatypical, in fact they do not follow the same pattern as the other verbs whenforming the subjunctive present. The most important ones are:

The verb essere (to be):- Che io sia- Che tu sia- Che egli/ella sia- Che noi siamo- Che voi siate- Che essi siano

The verb avere (to have):- Che io abbia- Che tu abbia- Che egli/ella abbia- Che noi abbiamo- Che voi abbiate- Che essi abbiano

The verb andare (to go):- Che io vada- Che tu vada- Che egli/ella vada- Che noi andiamo- Che voi andiate- Che essi vadano

The verb uscire (to go out)- Che io esca- Che tu esca

- Che egli/ella esca- Che noi usciamo- Che voi usciate- Che essi escano

The verb venire (to come)- Che io venga- Che tu venga- Che egli/ella venga- Che noi veniamo- Che voi veniate- Che essi vengano

The verb fare (to do/to make)- Che io faccia- Che tu faccia- Che egli/ella faccia- Che noi facciamo- Che voi facciate- Che essi facciano

Exercise: Replace the verb in brackets with the correct form of thepresent subjunctive.

1. Pare che Eliana e Mirko (andare) in Trentino per le vacanze estive.

Pare > synonym of sembrare2. Milena spera che (noi – uscire) più spesso.

Più spesso > more often3. Veronica non crede che il suo fidanzato le (fare) un regalo per il suo

compleanno.4. Voglio che i miei genitori (venire) a casa mia per Pasqua.

Answers on the next page.

Answers of the previous exercise:1. Vadano2. Noi usciamo3. Faccia4. Vengano

Day 50: Present Conditional For Requests

In Italian, the conditional mood is the conditioned possibility mood: werepresent events as possibilities that can only occur if certain conditions aremet.

More often than not, however, when speaking every day, we leave out theconditions and use the present conditional to express:

A request: Stamperesti questi documenti per me, per favore? > Would youprint these documents for me, please?

The conditional is a way that shows that you have a particular courtesy, andthe formula “per favore” helps to reinforce the sense of politeness that youwant to convey by formulating the question in this way.

A wish: Vorrei un bitter analcolico. > I would like a non-alcoholic bitter.

This is, for example, a polite manner of ordering at a restaurant or bar.

A lessened personal opinion or a doubt: Quell’azienda è molto selettiva,non supererei un colloquio con loro. > That company is very selective, Iwould not pass an interview with them.

Forming the conditional:

1st conjugation: nuotare (to swim) > we replace the thematic vowel –a with –e, then we add for each grammatical person the endings underlined below:- Io nuoterei > I would swim- Tu nuoteresti > you would swim- Egli/ella nuoterebbe > he/she would swim- Noi nuoteremmo > we would swim

- Voi nuotereste > you would swim- Essi nuoterebbero > they would swim

2nd conjugation: conoscere (to know) > we add the same endings as for thefirst conjugation:- io conoscerei > I would know- tu conosceresti > you would know- egli/ella conoscerebbe > he/she would know- noi conosceremmo > we would know- voi conoscereste > you would know- essi conoscerebbero > they would know

3rd conjugation: sentire (to hear) > the same as for the second conjugation,we add the typical endings of the conditional:- io sentirei > I would hear- tu sentiresti > you would hear- egli/ella sentirebbe > he/she would hear- noi sentiremmo > we would hear- voi sentireste > you would hear- essi sentirebbero > they would hear

Day 51: Irregular Conditional

As in other tenses, some verbs have irregular forms in the conditional as well.These verbs change completely, so they should be committed to memory. Inparticular:

The verb essere (to be):- Io sarei- Tu saresti- Egli/ella sarebbe- Noi saremmo- Voi sareste- Essi sarebbero

The verb avere (to have):- Io avrei- Tu avresti- Egli avrebbe- Noi avremmo- Voi avreste- Essi avrebbero

The verb stare (the same that we use with the gerund):- Io starei- Tu staresti- Egli/ella starebbe- Noi staremmo- Voi stareste- Essi starebbero

The verb andare (to go):- Io andrei- Tu andresti

- Egli/ella andrebbe- Noi andremmo- Voi andreste- Essi andrebbero

The verb venire (to come):- Io verrei- Tu verresti- Egli/ella verrebbe- Noi verremmo- Voi verreste- Essi verrebbero

The verb dare (to give):- Io darei- Tu daresti- Egli/ella darebbe- Noi daremmo- Voi dareste- Essi darebbero

The verb fare (to do/make):- Io farei- Tu faresti- Egli/ella farebbe- Noi faremmo- Voi fareste- Essi farebbero

Conclusion

Now that you have reached the end of the book following the course of thelessons, you have learned one step at a time all the basic grammar rules,pronunciation and some of the most common expressions of Italian.

As a result, you will be able to speak Italian in those situations that requiremore spontaneity: you have the skills to read a news article, to describe aplace with the appropriate adjectives and to talk about an event using theright tenses. In addition, you know how to express your doubts, to makeobservations or requests without seeming impolite.

More than sixty million people living in various countries of the world speakItalian, which is, therefore, a living and ever-changing language. In fact, thesame native speakers increasingly need to refresh themselves to keep up withthe new languages of television, newspapers, cinema, TV series and songs.While this may seem like a challenging task, it was our goal to providestudents with all the fundamental knowledge of Italian.

We made an effort in order to cover all the bases and make themindependent-users, who are not only able to learn how to use the language ina practical way but also to have fun and grasp the linguistic nuances so thatthey can be creative with the new language.

In lessons that only take 10 minutes a day, we have committed ourselves toachieve our goal: from being absolute beginners to being users of Italian withcompetence and awareness of the rules of the language.

If you do not feel confident enough about your knowledge, you can alwaysgo back to the previous chapters of this book. Otherwise, if you feel confidentand curious to know more about the Italian language, well, then we can’t helpbut encourage you to go on with your studies... trying to give you someadvice:

- To improve your reading and expand your vocabulary, you may havealready heard that the best way is to read as much as possible, whether itis newspapers, novels or magazines. Learning a language throughlanguage immersion is a tried and tested method.

- Moreover, if you aim at learning a more specific vocabulary, you can setthe language of applications or websites to Italian: you can do it withFacebook or Google, for example, and it is a tip that teachers also give tostudents of English in Italy.

- As for the listening, podcasts or YouTube channels can really help:online you can find literally anything, but it is best to give priority to soto speak official channels, in order to avoid getting used to hearingregional varieties instead of national or standard ones.

- Finally, to improve your speaking skills, there is no better way thangoing on a trip to Italy to meet the locals face to face and learn firsthandmany expressions that will help you to be more fluent and clearer.

Never let the fear of not being able to pronounce the words perfectly or ofmistaking a verb stop you: mistakes of this kind are also common amongnative speakers of many languages. On the contrary, learning a new languagecan be an invaluable stepping-stone to new opportunities in the future, bothon a personal and a professional level.

Put into practice the knowledge gained from this book and overcome all theobstacles you may be facing when studying the language at a more advancedlevel.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this book and its components, is meant to serveas a comprehensive collection of strategies that the author of this book hasdone research about. Summaries, strategies, tips and tricks are onlyrecommendations by the author, and reading this book will not guarantee thatone’s results will exactly mirror the author’s results.

The author of this book has made all reasonable efforts to provide current andaccurate information for the readers of this book. The author and itsassociates will not be held liable for any unintentional errors or omissionsthat may be found.

The material in the book may include information by third-parties. Third-party materials comprise of opinions expressed by their owners. As such, theauthor of this book does not assume responsibility or liability for any third-party material or opinions.

The publication of third-party material does not constitute the author’sguarantee of any information, products, services, or opinions containedwithin third-party material. Use of third-party material does not guaranteethat your results will mirror our results. Publication of such third-partymaterial is simply a recommendation and expression of the author’s ownopinion of that material.

Whether because of the progression of the Internet, or the unforeseen changesin company policy and editorial submission guidelines, what is stated as factat the time of this writing may become outdated or inapplicable later.

This book is copyright © 2019 by Bruno Palermo with all rights reserved. Itis illegal to redistribute, copy, or create derivative works from this bookwhole or in parts. No parts of this report may be reproduced or retransmittedin any forms whatsoever without the written expressed and signed permissionfrom the author.