Tabele Gerund

Tabele gerund
18.1
THE GERUND TENSE
ALSO INTRODUCING THE VERB STARE
Gerund is the tense which expresses an action in progress (being, coming, seeing, etc.). The Italian gerund is very easy, modelled on the inflection
...endo, except for verbs of the 1st conugation, whose penultimate vowel is a (...ando)!
1st con. mangare (to eat) mangando (eating)
"st con. !ad"re (to fall) !adendo (falling)
"st con. #$rdere (to lose) #erdendo (losing)
#st con. !a#re (to understand) !a#endo (understanding)
$hen gerund is referred to a specific person it behaves as a compound verb, re%uiring an auxiliary verb. In &nglish this verb is always to be (I am
staying, he was watching, etc.), while Italian uses %&are, a verb of the 1st conugation.
S&are can be simply translated to be, though it has a specific meaning of to be present, to exist (either for a given condition or for a physical obect).
S&are is used with the gerund tense of both transitive and intransitive verbs. It has a couple of slightly irregular present inflections (shown in red
colour)!
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) %&o I am (no) %&amo we are
"nd person (&u) %&a you are (singular) (*o) %&a&e you are (plural)
#rd person (egl + ella) %&a he/she/it is (e%% + e%%e) %&anno they are
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (o) %&a*o I was (no) %&a*amo we were
"nd person (&u) %&a* you were (singular) (*o) %&a*a&e you were (plural)
#rd person (egl + ella) %&a*a he/she/it was (e%% + e%%e) %&a*ano they were
'ince this verb will be now used only with gerund, it is enough to practice the aforesaid present and imperfect tenses( others will be discussed in a
future paragraph.
)s in &nglish, the gerund*s auxiliary verb may be ta+e the present tense and the past tense (imperfect in Italian), thus obtaining a present gerund and a
past gerund.
The following tables show both of them for the verb #en%are (to think).
GERUNDIO 'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) %&o #en%ando I am thinking (no) %&amo #en%ando we are thinking
"nd person (&u) %&a #en%ando you are thinking (s.) (*o) %&a&e #en%ando you are thinking (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) %&a #en%ando he/she is thinking (e%% + e%%e) %&anno #en%ando they are thinking
GERUNDIO 'ASSATO
singular plural
1st person (o) %&a*o #en%ando I was thinking (no) %&a*amo #en%ando we were thinking
"nd person (&u) %&a* #en%ando you were thinking (s.) (*o) %&a*a&e #en%ando you were thinking (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) %&a*a #en%ando he/she was thinking (e%% + e%%e) %&a*ano #en%ando they were thinking
In Italian, gerund is used more sparingly than in &nglish. It is re%uired to express either the lapse of time during which an action is carried out, or by
which means the other action occurs.
!om#rer. la !ena &ornando a !a%a , I will buy the dinner (while) coming home
/a guadagna&o 0ue%&o denaro *endendo lbr , he/she earned this money (by) selling books
/a a##re%o 0ue%&a no&1a leggendo l gornale , he learned about this news (by / while) reading the paper
In most cases it is also possible to reverse the position of the gerund, to give the other action a stronger emphasis!
&ornando a !a%a !om#rer. la !ena , (while) coming home I will buy the dinner
*endendo lbr /a guadagna&o 0ue%&o denaro , (by) selling books he/she earned this money
leggendo l gornale /a a##re%o 0ue%&a no&1a , (by / while) reading the paper he learned about this news
-or simple actions in progress, such as I am writing, he was sleeping, etc., proper Italian would re%uire a gerund, as well. In common speech, though,
this is very often replaced by present indicative or by imperfect indicative!
%&o mangando (more collo%uially! mango) , I am reading
%&a*amo !orrendo (more collo%uially! !orre*amo) , we were running
%&anno %&udando %&ora (more collo%uially! %&udano %&ora) , they are studying history
NOTE
In Italian, the gerund is never used to express the verb impersonally, as to describe an activity, as it is in &nglish. -or this purpose, in Italian either the
infinitive tense or a specific noun referred to the verb are used!
leggere (or la le&&ura) 2 una !o%a #o%&*a , reading is a positive thing
odo guardare la &ele*%one , I hate watching the television
3umare (or l 3umo) 2 una !a&&*a ab&udne , smoking (or smoke) is a bad habit
!orrere (or la !or%a) 2 uno %#or& mol&o !omune , running is a very common sport
dormre (or l %onno) 2 la no%&ra a&&*&4 #re3er&a , sleeping is our favourite activity
18.5
'RESENT 'ARTICI'LE
AND
'AST 'ARTICI'LE
'RESENT 'ARTICI'LE
The present participle is a tense which in Italian does not act as a verb, becoming either a noun or an adective. It indicates who carries out the action
expressed by the verb, either temporarily or continuously (i.e. as a ob, or as a condition).
To obtain the present participle, the standard inflections ...an&e (1st conugation) and ...en&e ("nd and #rd conugations) are applied to the root of the
verb.
&nglish has no matching tense, so that the Italian present participle may be translated in most cases either with a noun whose suffix is ...er or with an
adective in the shape of a gerundive (...ing).
1%& !on6uga&on
la*are (to wash)
na*gare (to sail)
!ammnare (to walk)
la*an&e (he who washes, washing, washer)
na*gan&e (he who sails, sailing, sailer)
!ammnan&e (he who walks, walking, walker)
5nd !on6uga&on
*edere (to see, to watch)
#erdere (to lose)
!/edere (to ask for)
*eden&e (he who sees, seeing)
#erden&e (he who loses, loser)
!/eden&e (he who asks for, asking, asker)
7rd !on6uga&on
!o#rre (to cover)
!a#re (to understand)
morre (to die)
!o#ren&e (he who covers, covering)
!a#en&e (he who understands, understanding)
moren&e (he who dies, dying)
) few verbs of the #rd conugation may use a double inflection, i.e. the ordinary one (...en&e) and one with an added (...en&e).
-or instance, dormre (to sleep) has both dormen&e and dormen&e, while nu&rre (to nourish) has nu&ren&e, much more common than nu&ren&e
(regular participle). The same for #ar&orre (to give birth, to deliver a baby), whose form #ar&oren&e is always preferred to the regular one.
The use of present participles in modern Italian is somewhat limited( many of the ones still found come from archaic verbs no longer used (i.e. they are
no longer considered participles, but nouns or adectives), or they are often irregular, or follow the archaic .atin verb, or come from a modified root of
a normal verb, or are even based on verbs that do not exist.
l m&&en&e della le&&era , the sender of the letter (from the .atin verb mittere = to send)
l8a!0uren&e , the buyer (from the verb a!0u%&are , to buy, with an irregular present participle)
l brgan&e , the brigand, the bandit (from the almost obsolete verb brgare , to intrigue, to scheme for)
#!!an&e , hot, spicy (from a theorical verb #!!are, which does not actually exist)
l garan&e del #a&&o , the guarantor of the deal (from the verb garan&re , to guarantee, with a contracted participle)
l8n%er*en&e , the shopboy, the assistant, the servant (from the verb %er*re , to serve, with an extra , plus preposition n)
In everyday*s speech not many present participles are used, but some of them are %uite common!
una #er%ona non uden&e , a nonhearing person, a deaf person (from udre , to hear)
l8a!0ua bollen&e , the boiling water (from bollre , to boil, to be boiling)
una !o%a m#or&an&e , an important thing (from m#or&are , to matter, to be of importance)
l go!a&ore *n!en&e , the winning player (from *n!ere , to win)
l8agen&e d #ol1a , the police officer, the policeman (from agre , to act, to take action)
l ba&&en&e della #or&a , the door!s knocker (from ba&&ere , to hit, to knock)
l %ole na%!en&e , the rising sun (from na%!ere , to be born, literally the sun being born)
The reason for which not many present participles are used is that for many activities a specific nouns exists to describe he or she who carries out the
action, and they do not necessarily match the present participle of the verb.
-or instance!
l8a&&a!!an&e , the forward of a team (present participle of a&&a!!are , to attack)
..."#$
l d3en%ore , the defender (noun from d3endere , to defend)
l !an&an&e , the singer (present participle of !an&are , to sing)
..."#$
l8a&&ore , the actor (noun from agre , to act, take action)
l %or*eglan&e , the watchman, the caretaker (present participle of %or*eglare , to watch over)
..."#$
l !u%&ode , the caretaker, the guardian (noun from !u%&odre , to keep, watch over)
$hen a present participle is used as a noun or as an adective, sometimes its meaning changes from that of the original verb, or becomes metaphorical!
!on&an&e (p.participle of !on&are , to count) as a masculine noun means cash money(
%orgen&e (p.participle of %orgere , to rise) as a feminine noun means spring, source (of a river)(
#ul%an&e (p.participle of #ul%are , to pulse, throb) as a masculine noun means button (to press)(
!orren&e (p.participle of !orrere , to run) as a feminine noun means draft, air current(
#a%%an&e (p.participle of #a%%are , to pass) as a masculine noun means loop (of a belt).
%!a&&an&e (p.participle of %!a&&are , to spring, to %ump off a spring) as an adective means fast, ready, full of vigour.
In any case, when a participle is used as a noun or as an adective, it will have singular and plural forms. /oth masculine and feminine will be similar,
because they are nouns and adectives ending with ...e, so their plurals will be ... for both genders.
lo %#e&&a&ore #agan&e , the paying spectator
gl %#e&&a&or #agan& , the paying spectators
la bagnan&e , the (female) bather, the woman who bathes
le bagnan& , the (female) bathers, the women who bathe
l !an&an&e , the (male) singer
la !an&an&e , the (female) singer
!an&an& , the (male) singers
le !an&an& , the (female) singers
'AST 'ARTICI'LE
This tense has already been already dealt with in paragraph 0.1 and particularly in paragraph 0.# , because the past participle is needed to form all
compound tenses.
Therefore, these concepts will be only summari1ed once again in this page.
The most common past participle inflections for the three conugations are!
1st conugation! ...a&o
"nd conugation! ...u&o
"nd conugation! ...&o
#arlare (to talk, speak) 2 #arla&o (talked, spoken)
*olare (to fly) 2 *ola&o (flown)
#en%are (to think) 2 #en%a&o (thought)
*endere (to sell) 2 *endu&o (sold)
!adere (to fall) 2 !adu&o (fallen)
%edere (to sit down) 2 %edu&o (sit)
!a#re (to understand) 2 !a#&o (understood)
%egure (to follow) 2 %egu&o (followed)
#ar&re (to leave) 2 #ar&&o (left)
The auxiliary verb a*ere (to have) forms a regular past participle, a*u&o.
The other auxiliary verb, e%%ere (to be), does not have its own, and borrows it from the verb %&are, recently discussed, whose meaning is similar! %&a&o,
which acts as the past participle of both verbs %&are and e%%ere.
'ome verbs (in particular, belonging to the "nd and #rd conugations) do not follow this scheme, since other past participle inflections do exist.
) sample of each is shown below, but for more examples see again paragraph 0.# .
#rendere (to take) 2 #re%o (taken)
me&&ere (to put, to place) 2 me%%o (put, placed)
%#ngere (to push) 2 %#n&o (pushed)
leggere (to read) 2 le&&o (read)
!/edere (to ask) 2 !/e%&o (asked)
a#rre (to open) 2 a#er&o (opened)
18.7
VERBS 9HOSE IN-INITIVE
IS CONTRACTED
This small group of verbs has a particular infinitive tense, which ends with a double r (i.e. ...:rre) instead of the usual one ...(vowel):re.
They all come from .atin forms, whose inflection was regular (...ere), and whose penultimate and last syllables were contracted into a single one by
doubling the last r.
These few main verbs form a number of compounds, which have the same inflections!
TRARRE , to draw, take from
(from .atin traere)
!on&rarre , to contract
de&rarre , to detract
%o&&rarre , to subtract
'ORRE , to place, put
(from .atin ponere)
e%#orre , to expose, display
m#orre , to impose
de#orre , to let down, put down
an&e#orre , to place in front, give preference to
#o%#orre , to postpone
!om#orre , to compose, form
...DURRE 3see 45T& below6
(from .atin ducere , to conduct, lead)
!ondurre , to conduct, lead
&radurre , to translate and to transfer
ndurre , to induce
dedurre , to deduct
rdurre , to reduce
#rodurre , to produce
NOTE 2 durre does not exist alone, but only in its compounds
These verbs basically follow the "nd conugation (see paragraph 7.0)( the .atin root is used for all tenses, and only the future indicative and present
conditional tenses +eep the double r, which is a contraction of the .atin ending ...ere
The following tables only show the simple tenses (compound tenses use the past participle, and do not have specific inflections). The few irregular
inflections are mar+ed in red.
TRARRE and its compounds
(.atin root! &ra:)
INDICATIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) &raggo I draw (no) &raamo we draw
"nd person (&u) &ra you draw (s.) (*o) &rae&e you draw (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) &rae he/she draws (e%% + e%%e) &raggono they draw
I,'ER-ETTO
all inflections are regular
(&rae*o; &rae*; &rae*a; &rae*amo; &rae*a&e; &rae*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) &rarr. I shall draw (no) &rarremo we shall draw
"nd person (&u) &rarra you will draw (s.) (*o) &rarre&e you will draw (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) &rarr4 he/she will draw (e%% + e%%e) &rarranno they will draw
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) &ra%% I drew (no) &raemmo we drew
"nd person (&u) &rae%& you drew (s.) (*o) &rae%&e you drew (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) &ra%%e he/she drew (e%% + e%%e) &ra%%ero they drew
SUBJUNCTIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) &ragga (that) I draw (!/e no) &raamo (that) we draw
"nd person (!/e &u) &ragga (that) you draw (s.) (!/e *o) &raa&e (that) you draw (p.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) &ragga (that) he/she draws (!/e e%% + e%%e) &raggano (that) they draw
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) &rae%% (that) I drew (!/e no) &rae%%mo (that) we drew
"nd person (!/e &u) &rae%% (that) you drew (s.) (!/e *o) &rae%&e (that) you drew (p.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) &rae%%e (that) he/she drew (!/e e%% + e%%e) &rae%%ero (that) they drew
CONDITIONAL
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) &rarre I would draw (no) &rarremmo we would draw
"nd person (&u) &rarre%& you would draw (s.) (*o) &rarre%&e you would draw (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) &rarrebbe he/she would draw (e%% + e%%e) &rarrebbero they would draw
IMPERATIVE
(&u) &ra (you) draw (singular)
(*o) &rae&e (you) draw (plural)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
&raen&e drawer, drawing
'ASSATO
&ra&&o drawn
GERUND
&raendo drawing
'ORRE and its compounds
(.atin root! #on:)
INDICATIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) #ongo I place (no) #onamo we place
"nd person (&u) #on you place (s.) (*o) #one&e you place (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) #one he/she places (e%% + e%%e) #ongono they place
I,'ER-ETTO
(#one*o; #one*; #one*a; #one*amo; #one*a&e; #one*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) #orr. I shall place (no) #orremo we shall place
"nd person (&u) #orra you will place (s.) (*o) #orre&e you will place (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) #orr4 he/she will place (e%% + e%%e) #orranno they will place
'ASSATO RE,OTO
(#o%; #one%&; #o%e; #onemmo; #one%&e; #o%ero)
SUBJUNCTIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) #onga (that) I place (!/e no) #onamo (that) we place
"nd person (!/e &u) #onga (that) you place (s.) (!/e *o) #ona&e (that) you place (p.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) #onga (that) he/she places (!/e e%% + e%%e) #ongano (that) they place
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u #one%%; !/e #one%%e; !/e #one%%mo; !/e #one%&e; !/e #one%%ero)
CONDITIONAL
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) #orre I would place (no) #orremmo we would place
"nd person (&u) #orre%& you would place (s.) (*o) #orre%&e you would place (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) #orrebbe he/she would place (e%% + e%%e) #orrebbero they would place
IMPERATIVE
(&u) #on (you) place (singular)
(*o) #one&e (you) place (plural)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
#onen&e (never used(
actual meaning! the west)
placer, placing
'ASSATO
#o%&o placed
GERUND
#onendo placing
CONDURRE and other compounds of :durre
(.atin root! ...du!:)
INDICATIVE
'RESENTE
(!ondu!o; !ondu!; !ondu!e; !ondu!amo; !ondu!e&e; !ondu!ono)
I,'ER-ETTO
(!ondu!e*o; !ondu!e*; !ondu!e*a; !ondu!e*amo; !ondu!e*a&e; !ondu!e*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) !ondurr. I shall conduct (no) !ondurremo we shall conduct
"nd person (&u) !ondurra you will conduct (s.) (*o) !ondurre&e you will conduct (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) !ondurr4 he/she will conduct (e%% + e%%e) !ondurranno they will conduct
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) !ondu%% I placed (no) !ondu!emmo we conducted
"nd person (&u) !ondu!e%& you conducted (s.) (*o) !ondu!e%&e you conducted (p.)
#rd person (egl) !ondu%%e he/she conducted (e%% + e%%e) !ondu%%ero they conducted
SUBJUNCTIVE
'RESENTE
(!/e o + &u + egl + ella !ondu!a; !/e !ondu!amo; !/e !ondu!a&e; !/e !ondu!ano)
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u !ondu!e%%; !/e !ondu!e%%e; !/e !ondu!e%%mo; !/e !ondu!e%&e; !/e !ondu!e%%ero)
CONDITIONAL
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) !ondurre I would conduct (no) !ondurremmo we would conduct
"nd person (&u) !ondurre%& you would conduct (s.) (*o) !ondurre%&e you would conduct (p.)
#rd person (egl + ella) !ondurrebbe he/she would conduct (e%% + e%%e) !ondurrebbero they would conduct
IMPERATIVE
(&u) !ondu! (you) conduct (singular)
(*o) !ondu!e&e (you) conduct (plural)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
!ondu!en&e conductor, driver (of a bus, train, etc.)
'ASSATO
!ondo&&o conducted
GERUND
!ondu!endo conducting
18.<
OTHER I,'ORTANT
IRREGULAR VERBS
The verbs dealt with in this page are very commonly used.
The irregular inflections only concern some persons and some tenses, which are mar+ed in red. The irregularities may consist of a change of vowel, or
the use of accented vowels in place of simple ones, or the same root may be different.
Therefore, before memori1ing these verbs be sure you are confident with the ordinary conugations, described in chapter 7.
In some cases two different inflections are possible! in this case they are shown in s%uare brac+ets.
)ll regular tenses are simply mentioned in a row.
Irregular verbs are indeed difficult to memori1e, but some of the changes found in their roots are repeated! for instance, the same changes found in the
1st singular person are also found in the #rd plural one, and all the ones found in the present indicative also belong to present subunctive, and the
future indicative tense has similar changes to the present conditional. 8eeping in mind these relations, it should be slightly easier to memori1e them.
This page shows the following verbs (clic+ on each of them to reach the relevant table)!
ANDARE , $& '& -ARE , $& (&
BERE , $& ()I*+ 'OTERE , $& ", -"., $&, /-*
DARE , $& 'I0, SA'ERE , $& +*&1
DIRE , $& 2-3, $& $,.. VENIRE , $& /&4,
DOVERE , $& 5-0, $&, 4#2$ VOLERE , $& 1-*$
ANDARE
(to go)
This verb is only strongly irregular in its present tenses (indicative and subunctive), while the others are not too far from the standard conugation.
INDICATIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) *ado I go (no) andamo we go
"nd person (&u) *a you go (sing.) (*o) anda&e you go (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *a he/she goes (e%% + e%%e) *anno they go
3see the 45T& at the bottom of the section for the verb andare6
I,'ER-ETTO
(anda*o; anda*; anda*a; anda*amo; anda*a&e; anda*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) andr. I shall go (no) andremo we shall go
"nd person (&u) andra you will go (sing.) (*o) andre&e you will go (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) andr4 he/she will go (e%% + e%%e) andranno they will go
'ASSATO RE,OTO
(anda; anda%&; and.; andammo; anda%&e; andarono)
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) *ada (that) I go (!/e no) andamo (that) we go
"nd person (!/e &u) *ada (that) you go (sing.) (!/e *o) anda&e (that) you go (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) *ada (that) he/she goes (!/e e%% + e%%e) *adano (that) they go
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u anda%%; !/e anda%%e; !/e anda%%mo; !/e anda%&e; !/e anda%%ero)
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) andre I would go (no) andremmo we would go
"nd person (&u) andre%& you would go (sing.) (*o) andre%&e you would go (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) andrebbe he/she would go (e%% + e%%e) andrebbero they would go
IMPERATIVE
(&u) *4 (you) go (sing.)
(*o) anda&e (you) go (pl.)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
andan&e (rarely used) goer, going
'ASSATO
anda&o gone
GERUND
andando going
NOTE
The second singular person of the indicative present tense (*4 , he / she goes) should use an accented vowel, but it has become a common custom to
spell it *a, without an accent, also to distinguish this tense from the imperative one, *= , go6, when the subect (shown in light grey colour in the
following example) is not clearly mentioned.
egl + ella *a *a , he / she goes away
&u *= *a , go away
In the spo+en language, both the context of the sentence and the voice pitch help to understand which of the two meanings is the right one!
2 &ard; ora egl + ella *a *a , it is late, now he / she goes (is going) away
0ue%&o 2 un !or&le #r*a&o; *= *a> , this is a private yard, go away6
BAC? TO THE L IST O- VERBS
BERE
(to drink)
This verb is not really irregular( due to the .atin verb it comes from (bevere), traces of the old root remained in most tenses, except the infinitive.
Therefore, many of the irregular inflections are regular if referred to the latter form! try to thin+ of the root as be*... and follow the usual
"nd conugation.
5nly the future and the present conditional tenses contract the ..*er.. cluster into a double r, which is a true irregularity (i.e. as the verbs discussed in
the previous page).
INDICATIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) be*o I drink (no) be*amo we drink
"nd person (&u) be* you drink (sing.) (*o) be*e&e you drink (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) be*e he/she drinks (e%% + e%%e) be*ono they drink
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (o) be*e*o I drank (no) be*e*amo we drank
"nd person (&u) be*e* you drank (sing.) (*o) be*e*a&e you drank (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) be*e*a he/she drank (e%% + e%%e) be*e*ano they drank
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) berr. I shall drink (no) berremo we shall drink
"nd person (&u) berra you will drink (sing.) (*o) berre&e you will drink (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) berr4 he/she will drink (e%% + e%%e) berranno they will drink
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) be** I drank (no) be*emmo we drank
"nd person (&u) be*e%& you gave (sing.) (*o) be*e%&e you drank (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) be**e he/she gave (e%% + e%%e)be**ero they drank
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) be*a (that) I drink (!/e no) be*amo (that) we drink
"nd person (!/e &u) be*a (that) you drink (sing.) (!/e *o) be*a&e (that) you drink (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) be*a (that) he/she drinks (!/e e%% + e%%e) be*ano (that) they drink
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) be*e%% (that) I drank (!/e no) be*e%%mo (that) we drank
"nd person (!/e &u) be*e%% (that) you drank (sing.) (!/e *o) be*e%&e (that) you drank (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) be*e%%e (that) he/she drank (!/e e%% + e%%e) be*e%%ero (that) they drank
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) berre I would drink (no) berremmo we would drink
"nd person (&u) berre%& you would drink (sing.) (*o) berre%&e you would drink (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) berrebbe he/she would drink (e%% + e%%e) berrebbero they would drink
IMPERATIVE
(&u) be* (you) drink (sing.)
(*o) be*e&e (you) drink (pl.)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
be*en&e drinking
'ASSATO
be*u&o drunk
GERUND
be*endo drinking
BAC? TO THE LIST O- VERBS
DARE
(to give)
This verb appears very irregular, but comparing its inflections with the regular ones of the 1st conugation many of them turn out to have a simple
change of vowel.
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) do I give (no) damo we give
"nd person (&u) da you give (sing.) (*o) da&e you give (pl.)
#rd person (egl + e%%a) d4 he/she gives (e%% + e%%e) danno they give
I,'ER-ETTO
(do*e*o; do*e*; do*e*a; do*e*amo; do*e*a&e; do*e*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) dar. @de&&A I shall give (no) daremo we shall give
"nd person (&u) dara you will give (sing.) (*o) dare&e you will give (pl.)
#rd person (egl + e%%a) dar4 he/she will give (e%% + e%%e) daranno they will give
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) ded @de&&A I gave (no) demmo we gave
"nd person (&u) da%& you gave (sing.) (*o) de%&e you gave (pl.)
#rd person (egl + e%%a) dede @de&&eA he/she gave (e%% + e%%e) dedero @de&&eroA they gave
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) da (that) I give (!/e no) damo (that) we give
"nd person (!/e &u) da (that) you give (sing.) (!/e *o) da&e (that) you give (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) da (that) he/she gives (!/e e%% + e%%e) dano (that) they give
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) de%% (that) I gave (!/e no) de%%mo (that) we gave
"nd person (!/e &u) de%% (that) you gave (sing.) (!/e *o) de%&e (that) you gave (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) de%%e (that) he/she gaves (!/e e%% + e%%e) de%%ero (that) they gave
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) dare I would give (no) daremmo we would give
"nd person (&u) dare%& you would give (sing.) (*o) dare%&e you would give (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) darebbe he/she would give (e%% + e%%e) darebbero they would give
IMPERATIVE
(&u) d4 @daA (you) give (sing.)
(*o) da&e (you) give (pl.)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
dan&e (rarely used) giver, giving
'ASSATO
da&o given
GERUND
dando giving
DIRE
(to say, to tell)
This is a verb of the #rd conugation born as a contraction of the .atin e%uivalent dicere. )s for bere, previously discussed, also in this case many of
the irregular inflections are regular ones of the "nd conugation which survived the verb*s change (i.e. try thin+ing of the root as d!... instead of d...,
and most irregular inflections turn out regular).
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) d!o I say (no) d!amo we say
"nd person (&u) d! you say (sing.) (*o) d&e you say (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) d!e he/she says (e%% + e%%e) d!ono they say
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (o) d!e*o I said (no) d!e*amo we said
"nd person (&u) d!e* you said (sing.) (*o) d!e*a&e you said (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) d!e*a he/she said (e%% + e%%e) d!e*ano they said
-UTURO
(dr.; dra; dr4; dremo; dre&e; dranno)
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) d%% I said (no) d!emmo we said
"nd person (&u) d!e%& you said (sing.) (*o) d!e%&e you said (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) d%%e he/she said (e%% + e%%e) d%%ero they said
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) d!a (that) I say (!/e no) d!e%% (that) we say
"nd person (!/e &u) d!a (that) you say (sing.) (!/e *o) d!e%&e (that) you say (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) d!a (that) he/she says (!/e e%% + e%%e) d!ano (that) they say
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) d!e%% (that) I said (!/e no) d!e%%mo (that) we said
"nd person (!/e &u) d!e%% (that) you said (sing.) (!/e *o) d!e%&e (that) you said (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) d!e%%e (that) he/she said (!/e e%% + e%%e) d!e%%ero (that) they said
IMPERATIVE
(&u) dB (you) say (sing.)
(*o) d&e (you) say (pl.)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
d!en&e (rarely used) sayer, saying
'ASSATO
de&&o said
GERUND
d!endo saying
DOVERE
(to have to, must)
This is another verb with a few .atin reminiscences.
In particular, the letter * often turns into a double b, sometimes with a change of vowel too.
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) debbo @de*oA I have to (no) dobbamo we have to
"nd person (&u) de* you have to (sing.) (no) do*e&e you have to (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) de*e he/she has to (e%% + e%%e) debbono @de*onoA they have to
I,'ER-ETTO
(do*e*o; do*e*; do*e*a; do*e*amo; do*e*a&e; do*e*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) do*r. I shall have to (no) do*remo we shall have to
"nd person (&u) do*ra you will have to (sing.) (*o) do*re&e you will have to (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) do*r4 he/she will have to (e%% + e%%e) do*ranno they will have to
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) do*e&& I had to (no) do*emmo we had to
"nd person (&u) do*e%& you had to (sing.) (*o) do*e%&e you had to (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) do*e&&e he/she had to (e%% + e%%e) do*e&&ero they had to
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) debba @de*aA (that) I have to (!/e no) dobbamo (that) we have to
"nd person (!/e &u) debba @de*aA (that) you have to (sing.) (!/e *o) dobba&e (that) you have to (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) debba @de*aA (that) he/she has to (!/e e%% + e%%e) debbano (that) they have to
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u do*e%%; !/e do*e%%e; !/e do*e%%mo; !/e do*e%&e; !/e do*e%%ero)
IMPERATIVE
(not used)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
do*en&e (never used) doer, doing
'ASSATO
do*u&o had to, due
GERUND
do*endo having to
-ARE
(to do)
This verb comes from .atin facere, and some irregularities are explained by the old root (3a!...).
The future and conditional tenses, instead, are basically regular, but the inflections start with vowel ..a.. instead of the usual ..e...
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) 3a!!o I do (no) 3a!!amo we do
"nd person (&u) 3a you do (sing.) (*o) 3a&e you do (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) 3a he/she does (e%% + e%%e) 3anno they do
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (o) 3a!e*o I did (no) 3a!e*amo we did
"nd person (&u) 3a!e* you did (sing.) (*o) 3a!e*a&e you did (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) 3a!e*a he/she did (e%% + e%%a) 3a!e*ano they did
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) 3ar. I shall do (no) 3aremo we shall do
"nd person (&u) 3ara you will do (sing.) (*o) 3are&e you will do (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) 3ar4 he/she will do (e%% + e%%e) 3aranno they will do
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) 3e! I did (no) 3a!emmo we did
"nd person (&u) 3a!e%& you did (sing.) (*o) 3a!e%&e you did (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) 3e!e he/she did (e%% + e%%e) 3e!ero they did
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) 3a!!a (that) I do (!/e) 3a!!amo (that) we do
"nd person (!/e &u) 3a!!a (that) you do (sing.) (!/e) 3a!!a&e (that) you do (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) 3a!!a (that) he/she does (!/e) 3a!!ano (that) they do
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) 3a!e%% (that) I did (!/e no) 3a!e%%mo (that) we did
"nd person (!/e &u) 3!e%% (that) you did (sing.) (!/e *o) 3a!e%&e (that) you did (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) 3a!e%%e (that) he/she did (!/e e%% + e%%e) 3a!e%%ero (that) they did
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) 3are I would do (no) 3aremmo we would do
"nd person (&u) 3are%& you would do (sing.) (*o) 3are%&e you would do (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) 3arebbe he/she would do (e%% + e%%e) 3arebbero they would do
IMPERATIVE
(&u) 34 @3aA (you) do (sing.)
(*o) 3a&e (you) do (pl.)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE 'ASSATO
3a!en&e doer, doing 3a&&o done
GERUND
3a!endo doing
'OTERE
(to be able to, can)
The syllable ..&e.. is often modified in different ways, sometimes contracted into a double %, sometimes by dropping the vowel e.
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) #o%%o I can (no) #o%%amo we can
"nd person (&u) #uo you can (sing.) (*o) #o&e&e you can (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) #u. he/she can (e%% + e%%e) #o%%ono they can
I,'ER-ETTO
(#o&e*o; #o&e*; #o&e*a; #o&e*amo; #o&e*a&e; #o&e*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) #o&r. I shall will be able to (no) #o&remo we will be able to
"nd person (&u) #o&ra you will will be able to (sing.) (*o) #o&re&e you will be able to (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) #o&r4 he/she will will be able to (e%% + e%%e) #o&ranno they will be able to
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) #o&e I could (no) #o&emmo we could
"nd person (&u) #o&e%& you could (sing.) (*o) #o&e%&e you could (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) #o&2 he/she could (e%% + e%%e) #o&erono they could
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) #o%%a (that) I can (!/e no) #o%%amo (that) we can
"nd person (!/e &u) #o%%a (that) you can (sing.) (!/e *o) #o%%a&e (that) you can (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) #o%%a (that) he/she can (!/e e%% + e%%e) #o%%ano (that) they can
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u #o&e%%; !/e #o&e%%e; !/e #o&e%%mo; !/e #o&e%&e; !/e #o&e%%ero)
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) #o&re I could (no) #o&remmo we could
"nd person (&u) #o&re%& you could (sing.) (*o) #o&re%&e you could (pl.)
#rd person (egl) #o&rebbe he/she could (e%% + e%%e) #o&rebbero they could
IMPERATIVE
(not used)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
#o&en&e (never used(
actual meaning! powerful, mighty)
able to
'ASSATO
#o&u&o been able to
GERUND
#o&endo being able to
SA'ERE
(to know)
Sa#ere has %uite a few irregularities in the present indicative tense and, unli+e other verbs, they do not match the ones found in the present subunctive.
In several inflections the syllable ..#e.. is contracted into a double #.
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) %o I know (no) %a##amo we know
"nd person (&u) %a you know (sing.) (*o) %a#e&e you know (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) %a he/she knows (e%% + e%%e) %anno they know
I,'ER-ETTO
(%a#e*o; %a#e*; %a#e*a; %a#e*amo; %a#e*a&e; %a#e*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) %a#r. I shall know (no) %a#remo we shall know
"nd person (&u) %a#ra you will know (sing.) (*o) %a#re&e you will know (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) %a#r4 he/she will know (e%% + e%%e) %a#ranno they will know
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) %e## I knew (no) %a#emmo we knew
"nd person (&u) %a#e%& you knew (sing.) (*o) %a#e%&e you knew (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) %e##e he/she knew (e%% + e%%e) %e##ero they knew
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) %a##a (that) I know (!/e no) %a##amo (that) we know
"nd person (!/e &u) %a##a (that) you know (sing.) (!/e *o) %a##a&e (that) you know (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) %a##a (that) he/she knows (!/e e%% + e%%e) %a##ano (that) they know
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u %a#e%%; !/e %a#e%%e; !/e %a#e%%mo; !/e %a#e%&e; !/e %a#e%%ero)
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) %a#re I would know (no) %a#remmo we would know
"nd person (&u) %a#re%& you would know (sing.) (*o) %a#re%&e you would know (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) %a#rebbe he/she would know (e%% + e%%e) %a#rebbero they would know
IMPERATIVE
(not used)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
%a#en&e
(never used as a participle)
knower
(actual meaning! wise man)
'ASSATO
%a#u&o known
GERUND
%a#endo knowing
VENIRE
(to do)
This verb features a strongly irregular present tense, in which ..n.. sometimes turns into cluster ..ng.., and ..e.. sometimes turns into diphthong ..e...
In some tenses, the syllable ..n.. is contracted into a double n, or into a double r.
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) *engo I come (no) *enamo we come
"nd person (&u) *en you come (sing.) (*o) *en&e you come (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *ene he/she comes (e%% + e%%e) *engono they come
I,'ER-ETTO
(*en*o; *en*; *en*a; *en*amo; *en*a&e; *en*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) *err. I shall come (no) *erremo we shall come
"nd person (&u) *erra you will come (sing.) (*o) *erre&e you will come (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *err4 he/she will come (e%% + e%%e) *erranno they will come
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) *enn I came (no) *enmmo we came
"nd person (&u) *en%& you came (sing.) (*o) *en%&e you came (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *enne he/she came (e%% + e%%e) *ennero they came
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) *enga (that) I come (!/e no) *enamo (that) we come
"nd person (!/e &u) *enga (that) you come (sing.) (!/e *o) *ena&e (that) you come (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) *enga (that) he/she comes (!/e e%% + e%%e) *engano (that) they come
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u *en%%; !/e *en%%e; !/e *en%%mo; !/e *en%&e; !/e *en%%ero)
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) *erre I would come (no) *erremmo we would come
"nd person (&u) *erre%& you would come (sing.) (*o) *erre%&e you would come (pl.)
#rd person (egl) *errebbe he/she would come (e%% + e%%e) *errebbero they would come
IMPERATIVE
(&u) *en (you) come (sing.)
(*o) *en&e (you) come (pl.)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
*enen&e (never used) comer, coming
'ASSATO
*enu&o come
GERUND
*enendo coming
VOLERE
(to want)
This verb has some similarities with the present verb, *enre! a very irregular present tense, in which some inflections curiously change the standard
root*s l into cluster gl, while others change the vowel o into diphthong uo.
)lso in this case some tenses have a double l or a double r, as a contaction of the central syllable, ...le....
INDICATIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) *oglo I want (no) *oglamo we want
"nd person (&u) *uo you want (sing.) (*o) *ole&e you want (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *uole he/she wants (e%% + e%%e) *oglono they want
I,'ER-ETTO
(*ole*o; *ole*; *ole*a; *ole*amo; *ole*a&e; *ole*ano)
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person (o) *orr. I shall want (no) *orremo we shall want
"nd person (&u) *orra you will want (sing.) (*o) *orre&e you will want (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *orr4 he/she will want (e%% + e%%e) *orranno they will want
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person (o) *oll I came (no) *olemmo we came
"nd person (&u) *ole%& you came (sing.) (*o) *ole%&e you came (pl.)
#rd person (egl + ella) *olle he/she came (e%% + e%%e) *ollero they came
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e o) *ogla (that) I want (!/e no) *oglamo (that) we want
"nd person (!/e &u) *ogla (that) you want (sing.) (!/e *o) *ogla&e (that) you want (pl.)
#rd person (!/e egl + ella) *ogla (that) he/she wants (!/e e%% + e%%e) *oglano (that) they want
I,'ER-ETTO
(!/e o + &u *ole%%; !/e *ole%%e; !/e *ole%%mo; !/e *ole%&e; !/e *ole%%ero)
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (o) *orre I would want (no) *orremmo we would want
"nd person (&u) *orre%& you would want (sing.) (*o) *orre%&e you would want (pl.)
#rd person (egl) *orrebbe he/she would want (e%% + e%%e) *orrebbero they would want
IMPERATIVE
(not used)
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
*olen&e (rarely used) wanter, wanting
'ASSATO
*olu&o wanted
GERUND
*olendo wanting
1C.1
'ASSIVE
9assive describes an action as seen from the side of whom receives it! i.e. I buy an apple, thus the apple is bought by me( if the bird eats a worm,
obviously the worm is eaten by the bird( and so on. The single parts which form the active sentence are reversed in the passive form! in particular, the
obect of the former sentence becomes the subect of the latter.
In Italian passive is obtained exactly as in &nglish! the verb of the active sentence is turned into to be (with the same tense) : the verb*s past participle!
active sentence! l bambno lan!a la #alla , the child throws the ball
passive sentence! la #alla 2 lan!a&a dal bambno , the ball is thrown by the child
The verb of the aforesaid active sentence is lan!a (#rd singular person from the present tense of lan!are, to throw), so the passive form re%uires 2
(#rd singular person from the present tense of e%%ere, to be), and lan!a&o (past participle of lan!are, i.e. thrown).
This is a full sample table of passive tenses of the same verb.
NOTE
To reduce the bul+ of the page*s layout, the personal pronouns that in other tables
have been shown in brac+ets, (o); (&u); (egl + ella); etc., have been omitted.
INDICATIVE
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person %ono lan!a&o+a I am thrown %amo lan!a&+e we are thrown
"nd person %e lan!a&o+a you are thrown (singular) %e&e lan!a&+e you are thrown (plural)
#rd person 2 lan!a&o+a he/she is thrown %ono lan!a&+e they are thrown
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person ero lan!a&o+a I was thrown era*amo lan!a&+e we were thrown
"nd person er lan!a&o+a you were thrown (s.) era*a&e lan!a&+e you were thrown (p.)
#rd person era lan!a&o+a he/she was thrown erano lan!a&+e they were thrown
-UTURO
singular plural
1st person %ar. lan!a&o+a I shall be thrown %aremo lan!a&+e we shall be thrown
"nd person %ara lan!a&o+a you will be thrown (s.) %are&e lan!a&+e you will be thrown (p.)
#rd person %ar4 lan!a&o+a he/she/it will be thrown %aranno lan!a&+e they will be thrown
'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person 3u lan!a&o+a I was thrown 3ummo lan!a&+e we were thrown
"nd person 3o%& lan!a&o+a you were thrown (s.) 3o%&e lan!a&+e you were thrown (p.)
#rd person 3u lan!a&o+a he/she/it was thrown 3urono lan!a&+e they were thrown
'ASSATO 'ROSSI,O
singular plural
1st person %ono %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a I have been thrown %amo %&a&+e lan!a&+e we have been thrown
"nd person %e %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a you have been thrown (s.) %e&e %&a&+e lan!a&+e you have been thrown (p.)
#rd person 2 %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a he/she has been thrown %ono %&a&+e lan!a&+e they have been thrown
TRA'ASSATO 'ROSSI,O
singular plural
1st person ero %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a I had been thrown era*amo %&a&+e lan!a&+e we had been thrown
"nd person er %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a you had been thrown (s.) era*a&e %&a&+e lan!a&+e you had been thrown (p.)
#rd person era %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a he/she had been thrown erano %&a&+e lan!a&+e they had been thrown
TRA'ASSATO RE,OTO
singular plural
1st person 3u %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a I had been thrown 3ummo %&a&+e lan!a&+e we had been thrown
"nd person 3o%& %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a you had been thrown (s.) 3o%&e %&a&+e lan!a&+e you had been thrown (p.)
#rd person 3u %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a he/she/it had been thrown 3urono %&a&+e lan!a&+e they had been thrown
-UTURO ANTERIORE
singular plural
1st person %ar. %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a I!ll have been thrown %aremo %&a&+e lan!a&+e we!ll have been thrown
"nd person %ara %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a you!ll have been thrown (s.) %are&e %&a&+e lan!a&+e you!ll have been thrown (p.)
#rd person %ar4 %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a he/she/it will have been thrown %aranno %&a&+e lan!a&+e they!ll have been thrown
SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person (!/e) o %a lan!a&o+a (that) I am thrown (!/e) %amo lan!a&+e (that) we are thrown
"nd person (!/e) &u %a lan!a&o+a (that) you are thrown (s.) (!/e) %a&e lan!a&+e (that) you are thrown (p.)
#rd person (!/e) egl+ella %a lan!a&o+a (that) he/she/it is thrown (!/e) %ano lan!a&+e (that) they are thrown
I,'ER-ETTO
singular plural
1st person (!/e) o 3o%% lan!a&o+a (that) I was thrown (!/e) 3o%%mo lan!a&+e (that) we were thrown
"nd person (!/e) &u 3o%% lan!a&o+a (that) you were thrown (s.) (!/e) 3o%&e lan!a&+e (that) you were thrown (p.)
#rd person (!/e) 3o%%e lan!a&o+a (that) he/she/it was thrown (!/e) 3o%%ero lan!a&+e (that) they were thrown
CONDITIONAL TENSES
'RESENTE
singular plural
1st person %are lan!a&o+a I would be thrown %aremmo lan!a&+e we would be thrown
"nd person %are%& lan!a&o+a you would be thrown (s.) %are%&e lan!a&+e you would be thrown (p.)
#rd person %arebbe lan!a&o+a he/she would be thrown %arebbero lan!a&+e they would be thrown
'ASSATO
singular plural
1st person %are %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a I would have been thrown %aremmo %&a&+e lan!a&+e we would have been thrown
"nd person %are%& %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a you would have been thrown (s.) %are%&e %&a&+e lan!a&+e you would have been thrown (p.)
#rd person %arebbe %&a&o+a lan!a&o+a he/she would have been thrown %arebbero %&a&+e lan!a&+e they would have been thrown
GERUND
e%%endo lan!a&o+a++e being trown
PARTICIPLES
'RESENTE
(none)
'ASSATO
%&a&o+a++e lan!a&o+a++e been trown
In forming passive, by adding the auxiliary verb e%%ere (to be), the subect no longer carries out the action, but receives it. $ho instead carries out the
action, specified in &nglish by preposition by, in Italian is introduced by preposition da, which according to the following noun has to be used either in
its simple form or compound form (i.e. either alone, or bound to a definite article, see paragraph ;." )!
l raga11o la*a l !ane , the boy washes the dog
l !ane 2 la*a&o dal raga11o , the dog is washed by the boy
e%% leggono l lbro , they read the book
l lbro 2 le&&o da loro , the book is read by them
%!r*er. un ar&!olo , I!ll write an article
l8ar&!olo %ar4 %!r&&o da me , the article will be written by me
l8uomo ra!!ol%e l %a%%o , the man picked up the stone
l %a%%o 3u ra!!ol&o dall8uomo , the stone was picked up by the man
9assive does not have specific inflections, because only the past participle of the main verb is used! to obtain the passive form of a verb all you need to
do is to add its past participle to the several tenses of the auxiliary verb, e%%ere. Therefore, it is very important to be confident with the latter (see
paragraphs 7.#, 0.1, <.#, <.; and 1#.1).
It has been previously said that Italian past participles are case2 and gender2sensitive, which means that they behave exactly as adectives, and have to
be matched with the subect of the sentence. -ocus the following examples!
l raga11o la*a l !ane , the boy washes the dog
l !ane 2 la*a&o dal raga11o , the dog is washed by the boy
la raga11a la*a l !ane , the girl washes the dog
l !ane 2 la*a&o dalla raga11a , the dog is washed by the girl
l raga11o la*a !an , the boy washes the dogs
!an %ono la*a& dal raga11o , the dogs are washed by the boy
la raga11a la*a !an , the girl washes the dogs
!an %ono la*a& dalla raga11a , the dogs are washed by the girl
lo %!r&&ore u%a la #enna , the writer uses the pen
la #enna 2 u%a&a dallo %!r&&ore , the pen is used the writer
la %!r&&r!e u%a la #enna , the (woman) writer uses the pen
la #enna 2 u%a&a dalla %!r&&r!e , the pen is used the (woman) writer
lo %!r&&ore u%a le #enne , the writer uses the pens
le #enne %ono u%a&e dallo %!r&&ore , the pens are used by the writer
la %!r&&r!e u%a le #enne , the (woman) writer uses the pens
le #enne %ono u%a&e dalla %!r&&r!e , the pens are used by the (woman) writer
4ote how only the subect affects the verb*s inflection, while the obect does not.
5bviously, only transitive verbs may have a passive form.
Intransitive ones, such as to sleep, to laugh, to die, to sit, to come, etc. never have a direct obect, so the latter cannot become the subect of the passive
sentence.
Transitive verbs, instead, can always be turned into passive forms.
9assive loo+s very similar to the same verb*s active compound tenses, except that the auxiliary verb used is no longer a*ere (to have) but e%%ere (to
be).
The following table is an example comparing the 1st singular person of the verb guardare (to watch) in different tenses, both active and passive( in
particular, focus the central column!
active simple tenses active compound tenses
guardo , I watch /o guarda&o , I have watched
guarda*o , I watched a*e*o guarda&o , I had watched
guarda , I watched ebb guarda&o , I had watched
guarder. , I!ll watch a*r. guarda&o , I!ll have watched
passive simple tenses passive compound tenses
%ono guarda&o , I am watched %ono %&a&o guarda&o , I have been watched
ero guarda&o , I was watched ero %&a&o guarda&o , I had been watched
3u guarda&o , I was watched 3u %&a&o guarda&o , I had been watched
%ar. guarda&o , I!ll be watched %ar. %&a&o guarda&o , I!ll have been watched
The compound tenses of an intransitive verb are even more similar to passive, because they both ta+e e%%ere. =owever, they can be told by the
meaning of the verb.
-or instance, comparing the passive form of amare (to love, transitive) with andare (to go, intransitive), you will notice that the auxiliary verb is
identical, although the meaning leaves little doubt whether the form is active or passive!
transitive verb in passive form simple tenses
%ono ama&o , I am loved
ero ama&o , I was loved
3u ama&o , I was loved
%ar. ama&o , I!ll be loved
intransitive verb simple tenses
%ono anda&o , I went / I have gone
ero anda&o , I had gone
3u anda&o , I had gone
%ar. anda&o , I!ll have gone
)s a general rule, when e%%ere is followed by a past participle (guarda&o, anda&o, ama&o, etc.), only if the latter verb is transitive, thus it may have a
direct obect, it is a passive form (%ono guarda&o, %ono ama&o, etc.), otherwise it is an active form (%ono anda&o). -urther examples are!
2 *endu&o , it is sold is passive (*endere , to sell is a transitive verb)
le #an&e erano mor&e , the plants had died is active (morre , to die is intransitive)
3ummo *%& , we were seen is passive (*edere , to see is transitive)
%ono *enu& , they have come is active (*enre , to come is intransitive)
%ono r!ono%!u& , they are recogni7ed is passive (r!ono%!ere , to recogni7e is transitive)
>emember though, that a few verbs are transitive in &nglish and intensitive in Italian, and vice2versa, and this affects the aforesaid rule!
%ono #aga& (they are payed for) is passive, because #agare (to pay for) is transitive
era*amo en&ra& (we had entered) is active, because en&rare (to enter) is intransitive
It should be noticed that both in &nglish and in Italian some past participles used with the verb to be, i.e. e%%ere, may act as adectives. This occurs
especially when the present and simple past tenses are used (i.e. with Italian presente and imperfetto tenses).
-or instance, this paper is crimpled, or the chicken was cooked, or that banknote is torn.
/rimpled, cooked and torn might be either considered past participles or adectives.
In such cases, to stress the fact that the sentence describes an action, and not a condition, (i.e. that the paper is being crimpled by somebody, and is not
crimpled as a condition, or that the chic+en was actually being cooked, etc.), Italian may choose a different auxiliary verb to form passive! *enre (see
the previous paragraph 1?.7 ), whose actual meaning is to come, in place of auxiliary e%%ere!
la lu!e 2 %#en&a , the light is off, or the light is turned off (either as a condition or as an action)
la lu!e *ene %#en&a , the light is (being) turned off (i.e. by somebody, more specifically)
la #are&e era d#n&a , the wall was painted (either as a condition or as an action)
la #are&e *en*a d#n&a , the wall was (being) painted (only as an action)
l lbro 2 #ubbl!a&o , the book is published (either as a condition or as an action)
l lbro *ene #ubbl!a&o , the book is (being) published (only as an action)
l #allone era rem#&o !ol ga% , the balloon was filled with gas (either a condition or an action)
l #allone *en*a rem#&o !ol ga% , the balloon was (being) filled with gas
Venre somewhat emphasi1es that the subect of the sentence receives or has received the action expressed by the verb. Instead e%%ere is less emphatic,
and what follows may be translated either as a past participle (i.e. a passive form), or as an adective.
=owever, in most cases *enre may be chosen also when the use of e%%ere would never cause any doubt!
l bologo 3u #rema&o #er la %ua %!o#er&a , the biologist was awarded for his discovery
l bologo *enne #rema&o #er la %ua %!o#er&a (same as above)
l8erba %ar4 &agla&a doman , the grass will be cut tomorrow
l8erba *err4 &agla&a doman (same as above)
era*amo au&a& dagl am! , we were helped by friends
*en*amo au&a& dagl am! (same as above)
The use of *enre as an auxiliary verb for passive, though, is limited to simple tenses, while compound tenses always re%uire e%%ere!
la !a%a 3u !o%&ru&a nel 1C71 , the house was built in 89:8
la !a%a *enne !o%&ru&a nel 1C71 (same as above)
..."#$
la !a%a 2 %&a&a !o%&ru&a lo %!or%o me%e (only possible form) , the house was built last month
l bgle&&o %ar4 &mbra&o alla %&a1one , the ticket will be stamped at the station
l bgle&&o *err4 &mbra&o alla %&a1one (same as above)
..."#$
l bgle&&o %ar4 %&a&o &mbra&o alla %&a1one (only possible form) , the ticket might have been stamped at the station
egl era !ura&o nel *!no o%#edale , he was cured in the nearby hospital
egl *en*a !ura&o nel *!no o%#edale (same as above)
..."#$
egl era %&a&o !ura&o nel *!no o%#edale (only possible form) , he had been cured in the nearby hospital
1C.5
TO BE HUNGRD; THIRSTD;
HOT; COLD; SLEE'D
These expressions, which describe a condition based on physical sensations, in &nglish re%uire the verb to be followed by the relevant adective (i.e. I
am hungry, you were thirsty, etc.).
Instead, in Italian they re%uire the verb to have (a*ere), followed by the relevant noun that describes the sensation! i.e. to be hungry turns into to have
hunger( to be thirsty into to have thirst, and so on!
a*ere 3ame , to be hungry (literally! to have hunger)
a*ere %e&e , to be thirsty (literally! to have thirst)
a*ere !aldo , to be hot (literally! to have heat)
a*ere 3reddo , to be cold (literally! to have cold)
a*ere %onno , to be sleepy (literally! to have sleep)
In a similar way,
a*ere ragone , to be right (literally! to have right)
a*ere &or&o , to be wrong (literally! to have wrong)
)ny tense of the verb a*ere can be used with these expressions, therefore!
egl a*r4 3ame , he will be hungry (he will have hunger)
o /o a*u&o %onno , I felt sleepy (I have had sleep)
no a*emmo %e&e , we felt thirsty (we had thirst)
*o a*e*a&e ragone , you were right (you had right)
and so on.
$hile to be right and to be wrong are always translated with the verb a*ere, to be hot and to be cold may also ta+e the verb to feel (i.e. I feel hot, you
felt cold, etc.).
In Italian this is obtained by using the verb %en&re (to feel), followed by the noun!
a*ere !aldo; %en&re !aldo , to be hot, to feel hot (literally! to feel heat)
a*ere 3reddo; %en&re 3reddo , to be cold, to feel cold (literally! to feel cold)
The verb %en&re is never used with hungry, thirsty or sleepy.
The Italian adectives a33ama&o (hungry), a%%e&a&o (thirsty), a!!alda&o (hot), ra33redda&o or n3reddol&o (cold), and a%%onna&o (sleepy) may also be
used, though more sparingly than in &nglish. In Italian they almost describe a condition, more than a personal feeling.
@ompare the following examples!
e%% mangano un #anno #er!/E /anno 3ame , they eat a sandwich because they are hungry
a33ama& do#o l lungo *aggo; e%% % 3ermarono #er un #a%&o , hungry after the long %ourney, they stopped for a meal
o a*e*o %onno e anda a le&&o #re%&o , I was sleepy and I went to bed early
egl %embra*a a%%onna&o #er!/E non a*e*a dorm&o , he seemed sleepy because he had not slept
o a*e*o !aldo (or %en&*o !aldo ) !on la ga!!a; !o%B l8/o &ol&a , I was hot / felt hot with the %acket, so I took it off
o %ono a!!alda&o; e %&o %udando , I am (feeling) hot, and I!m sweating
In most cases both forms would be correct!
e%% mangano #er!/E /anno 3ame , they eat a sandwich because they are hungry
e%% mangano #er!/E %ono a33ama& , (same as above)
e%% dormono #er!/E /anno %onno , they are sleeping because because they are sleepy
e%% dormono #er!/E %ono a%%onna& , (same as above)
=owever, especially in common speech, the first of the two forms is the one used more often.
There is also a difference in meaning when using ra33redda&o or n3reddol&o!
ra33redda&o , cooled, cooled up
0ue%&o 2 un mo&ore ra33redda&o ad a!0ua , this is a watercooled engine
ra33redda&o , running a cold
no era*amo ra33redda& e %&arnu&*amo , we were running a cold and we snee7ed
n3reddol&o , feeling cold
ella era n3reddol&a; e ndo%%. un !a##o&&o , she was feeling cold, and she put on a coat
)lthough in the previous examples ra33redda&o has been used as an adective, it is the past participle of the verb ra33reddare, to cool, cool up. Its
reflexive form ra33reddar%, when referred to living creatures has a common meaning of to catch a cold (although the proper way of saying this is
#rendere un ra33reddore).
'ince they are very common verbs, it is useful to focus well their different use (and meaning)!
o ra33reddo 0ue%&8a0ua #er o&&enere g/a!!o , I cool this water to obtain ice
a#rendo la 3ne%&ra l8ara % ra33redda , by opening the window the air cools up
*en den&ro; o & ra33reddera (collo%uial) , come inside, or you will catch a cold (, you will turn cold)
*en den&ro; o #rendera un ra33reddore (proper form) , (same as above)
There is also a similar verb, 3reddar%, whose official meaning is to become (too) cold, sometime used in common speech to replace the aforesaid
ra33reddar%.
Its positive (non2reflexive) form too exists, 3reddare, always referred to living creatures, with an idiomatic meaning of to shoot someone dead (a rather
modern use of this verb)!
l !a332 % 2 3redda&o; non berlo , the coffee has turned cold, don!t drink it
0uando /o 3a&&o la do!!a l8a!0ua % era 3redda&a , when I took a shower the water had become cold
*en a mangare o la mne%&ra % 3redder4 , come to eat, or the soup will grow cold
egl + ella mr. bene; e 3redd. l nem!o al #rmo !ol#o , he/she aimed well, and killed the enemy with the first shot
)s a general rule, 3reddar% is preferred to ra33reddar% when a somewhat negative shade of meaning is re%uired, e.g. to become excessively cold, or
to become cold (while it shouldn!t have), such as spea+ing of food, hot drin+s, water for a shower or a bath, the air in a heated room, etc.
1C.7
THE 'OST'ONED SUBFECT
)s far as now, in all the sample sentences shown, the subect stood before the verb, and the obect followed it (as it always happens in &nglish, as
well).
l raga11o a#re la #or&a
(transitive verb) subect verb obect
the boy opens the door
l8o%#&e era #ar&&o
(intransitive verb) subect verb
the guest had left
The early stages of this course, for instance paragraph ".; about the position of adectives, mentioned how in Italian the last part of the sentence often
carries the emphasis of the concept expressed!
ab&a*ano n una grande !a%a , they lived in a large house
(this tells us where they lived)
ab&a*ano n una !a%a grande , they lived in a lr!e house
(this tells us how was the house they lived in)
$hen a sentence has no obect (a situation that typically occurs with intransitive verbs, but sometimes with transitive ones too), in Italian it is common
to shift the subect at the bottom, i.e. after the verb.
) few examples!
ogg l &uo am!o *err4 e #ran1er4 0u , today your friend will come and will have lunch here
could be turned into
ogg *err4 l &uo am!o e #ran1er4 0u , (same as above)
3a #re%&o; l &reno 2 arr*a&o> , be ;uick, the train has arrived6
3a #re%&o; 2 arr*a&o l &reno> , (same as above)
una #er%ona era u%!&a , one person had come out
era u%!&a una #er%ona , (same as above)
There is no special reason for postponing a subect, except to place a little more emphasis on the last word.
-or instance, in the first sentence the usual form puts the emphasis on the fact that your friend "ill come, while with a postponed subect it means #o$r
%riend will come.
It is not a strong emphasis, i.e. the second form would not mean #o$r %riend is coming, not mine, but we are having for lunch #o$r %riend, as if the
subect (your friend) had not yet been introduced in the conversation.
The usual form, instead, would sound li+e today your friend (who has li+ely been mentioned already) "ill come, and have lunch here.
In the same way, the second example puts a little stress on the train, rather than on the fact that it has arrived, while the third example tells us that a
person (not two or more, not a dog, but a single individual) had come out, while the usual form would slightly emphasi1e the coming out of the person,
i.e. his action.
-ocusing the inflections of the verbs, in the aforesaid samples we see that!
*err4 matches l &uo am!o(
2 arr*a&o matches l &reno(
era u%!&a matches una #er%ona.
Therefore, the postponed subect could rarely be mista+en with an obect, because the inflection of the verb always matches the subect, not the obect.
This is also clear enough from the meaning of the verb and from the general context of the speech!
ade%%o %alr4 'aolo , now <aul will go up / climb (i.e. it is 9aul*s turn to go up)
ade%%o %alr4 le %!ale , now he / she will climb the steps
In the first example, the action of climbing is %uite evidently carried out by 9aul, because 9aul cannot Abe climbedA! despite the noun follows the verb,
the person is clearly the subect of the sentence.
In the second example, instead, the stairs are climbed (i.e. they do not climb themselves), so they are the obect.
-urthermore, %alr4, inflection of the #rd singular person, does not match %!ale, a plural noun, but either 9aul (in the first sentence) or somebody else
not mentioned (in the second).
/ut even if the match had been possible, the meaning of the verb would have been enough to tell the subect from the obect.
n 0ue%&o r%&oran&e manga %#e%%o l mo !ollega , my colleague often eats in this restaurant
n 0ue%&o r%&oran&e manga %#e%%o l #e%!e , in this restaurant he / she often eats fish
In this case manga could match both !ollega and #e%!e, but it is obvious that the colleague does the action of eating, i.e. he or she is the subect, while
the fish is eaten, thus acts as an obect.
=owever, there are a few cases in which the meaning might be doubted. @ompare these two sentences!
-ran!o a*e*a !/ama&o , =rank had called
a*e*a !/ama&o -ran!o , =rank had called, but also he / she had called =rank
In the secon example both meanings are possible. In these cases the context or the rest of the sentence will provide more clues( for instance!
a*e*a !/ama&o -ran!o; ma &u non er n !a%a , =rank had called, but you were not at home
a*e*a !/ama&o -ran!o #rma d !/amare Elena , he / she had called =rank before calling 5elen
The main condition for postponing a subect is that the sentence must NOT have an obect. In fact, this form is used more often with intransitive verbs
(which never have a direct obect), and less often with transitive ones, as well, if the direct obect is missing!
lo %&ranero era arr*a&o , the stranger had arrived, almost meaning he had finally made it there
era arr*a&o lo %&ranero , (same as above), almost answering the %uestion! who had arrived>
l8albero 2 !adu&o , the tree fell down, almost meaning it did not stand the wind
2 !adu&o l8albero , (same as above), almost answering the %uestion! what happened>
#re%&o l8n*erno 3nr4 , winter will soon be over, almost meaning it will not last long
#re%&o 3nr4 l8n*erno , (same as above), almost meaning ...and spring will begin
#re%&o lo %&uden&e 3nr4 %uo !om#& , the student will soon finish his homework
(only possible form, due to the obect)
l !am#one /a *n&o , the champion won, almost meaning he did not lose
/a *n&o l !am#one , (same as above), almost answering the %uestion! who won the match>
l !am#one /a *n&o la %3da , the champion won the challenge
(only possible form, due to the obect)
$hen the verb used in the sentence is e%%ere (to be), there is no real obect, because the verb describes a condition, not an action, therefore the subect
may be freely postponed. This occurs very fre%uently in %uestions.
0ue%&a b!!le&&a 2 bella , this bycicle is nice
2 bella 0ue%&a b!!le&&a , (same as above)
l !a##o&&o era *e!!/oG , was the coat old>
era *e!!/o l !a##o&&oG , was the coat old>
l &em#o 2 buonoG , is the weather fine>
2 buono l &em#oG , is the weather fine>
non 2 &u&&o oro !H !/e rlu!e (proverb) , not all things that shine are gold
(the other way is possible, but being a proverb it is only used in this form)
$hen a subect is postponed, the sentence must end there, i.e. either a full stop must close the period, or a further sentence should be introduced by
means of a comma andBor a conunction (e.g. and, or, so, thus, etc.).
In the following examples the spot where the sentence brea+s is shown in yellow, and what brea+s it is shown in red.
#re%&o 3nr4 l8n*erno II e l &em#o mglorer4 , winter will soon be over and the weather will improve
/a *n&o l !am#one ; II 0und la 3olla ora e%ul&a , the champion won, therefore the crowd now re%oyces
2 !adu&o l8albero II #er!/E l *en&o era 3or&e , the tree fell because the wind was strong
2 arr*a&o l &reno J II #rend bagagl , the train has arrived? take the luggage
In order to postpone the subect, other parts of the same sentence may sometimes be moved from their original position( compare the following
examples!
un !ane en&r. nella %&an1a , a dog came into the room (the action is slightly emphasi1ed)

nella %&an1a en&r. un !ane , (same as above, though now the dog is more emphasi1ed)
en&r. nella %&an1a un !ane , (same, but less common than the previous one)
l8n%egnan&e &orn. a %!uola , the teacher returned to school (slight emphasis on the action)

a %!uola &orn. l8n%egnan&e , (same as above, though now the teacher is more emphasi1ed)
&orn. a %!uola l8n%egnan&e , (same, but less common than the previous one)
uno %#e!al%&a *err4 dall8e%&ero , a specialist will come from abroad (emphasis on from abroad)

*err4 uno %#e!al%&a dall8e%&ero , (same( both the specialist and from abroad are emphasi1ed)
dall8e%&ero *err4 uno %#e!al%&a , (same( now the specialist is more emphasi1ed)
'ince this particular form does not follow a standard rule, and not all parts of the sentence may be shifted in a similar way, there is no need for the
student to memori1e every possible disposition, and leave it with its AclassicA arrangement (subect : verb : etc. etc.).
In particular, the adverbs are usually left in their original position, i.e. next to the verb, because when an adverb is used it often carries the emphasis!
l !am#one /a *n&o , the champion "on
/a *n&o l !am#one , t&e c&mpion won
l !am#one /a *n&o 3a!lmen&e , the champion won e'il#
l8albero era !adu&o , the tree &d %llen do"n
era !adu&o l8albero , t&e tree had fallen down
l8albero era !adu&o %#e%%o , the tree had o%ten fallen down
lo %&ranero arr*. , the stranger rri(ed
era arr*a&o lo %&ranero , t&e 'trn!er arrived
lo %&ranero arr*. &ard , the stranger arrived late
=owever, also when an adverb is present, the Italian language allows forms similar to the ones discussed so far!
/a *n&o 3a!lmen&e l !am#one... , t&e c&mpion won e'il#...
era !adu&o %#e%%o l8albero... , t&e tree had o%ten fallen...
arr*. &ard lo %&ranero... , t&e 'trn!er arrived lte...
This special form helps to +eep the emphasis strong enough on both parts of the sentence, i.e. the adverb and the subect. It is used when another
sentence follows in the same period, to obtain a particular lingering effect!
/a *n&o 3a!lmen&e l !am#one; e la 3olla lo e%al&a , the champion won easily
era !adu&o %#e%%o l8albero; ed era d*en&a&o %&or&o , the tree had often fallen down, and it had become crooked
arr*. &ard lo %&ranero; e &ro*. la #or&a !/u%a , the stranger arrived late, and found the door closed
The subect is also postponed so that, after having read the sentence, the reader*s attention will somewhat linger on the champion, the tree or the
stranger, because the following sentence may li+ely continue to concern or to describe the same subect.
Instead the standard arrangement (subect : verb) does not give the sentence any particular shade nor emphasis, i.e. it simply describes what happens to
the subect.
1C.<
DOUBLE NEGATIVE
In &nglish there are expressions which have a double form according to whether they are used alone or with a negative conunction. -or instance, the
two sentences there was nothing and there wasn!t anything have the same meaning, although two different adverbs, nothing and anything, have to be
used. The same pattern occurs for nobody @ anybody, never @ ever, nowhere @ anywhere and so on.
Instead in Italian the e%uivalent adverbs have only one form, which is the negative one (i.e. they match nothing, nobody, nowhere, etc.).
There is only one exception( for the sa+e of an easier comprehension, this topic will be discussed in the following paragraph 1<.;.
9rovided that in Italian negative sentences always contain the conunction non (not), the use of the aforesaid pronouns or adverbs turns the sentence
two times negative, almost as AI can!t see nothingA? Ashe won!t never comeA? Awe didn!t do this neitherA( and so on.
In Italian this is the only possible (and correct) way of using negative pronouns and adverbs.
ne%%uno (indefinite pronoun) , nobody, no one, none
nen&e (indefinite pronoun) , nothing
nulla (indefinite pronoun) , nothing
ma (adverb) , never
nemmeno (adverb) , not even, neither
nean!/e (adverb) , not even, neither
ne##ure (adverb) , not even, neither
4ote how the aforesaid words are compounds (except ma and nulla), and begin with the prefix ne: (from the .atin ne , not), although the final word
contains some further alteration!
ne K uno (one) CC ne%%uno (nobody, no one, none)
ne K en&e (archaic for entity, thing) CC nen&e (nothing)
ne K meno (less) CC nemmeno (not even, neither)
ne K an!/e (also, even) CC nean!/e (not even, neither)
ne K #ure (also, even) CC ne##ure (not even, neither)
Instead nowhere has no Italian e%uivalent, so the expression da ne%%una #ar&e (literally! in no place) is used.
In fact, ne%%uno and its feminine ne%%una may be also used with any noun, as an adective, with the meaning of no....
4ote that since ne%%uno is a compound of uno, before masculine nouns it drops its final o, except when the following noun begins with 1 or with
% K consonant (e.g. %!...; %#...; %&...; etc.). -or this phonetic rule refer to the indefinite article uno, paragraph ".7 ).
ne%%un am!o , no friend
ne%%un &more , no fear
ne%%un rmor%o , no regret
..."#$
ne%%uno %!ambo , no exchange
ne%%uno %&rumen&o , no instrument
ne%%uno 1o , no uncle
Instead ne%%una may undergo an elision and ta+e an apostrophe (ne%%un8) when the following noun begins with the vowel AaA. This change is not
compulsory, and with other vowels it is usually avoided!
ne%%una !a%a , no house
ne%%una dea , no idea
ne%%una emergen1a , no emergency
..."#$
ne%%un8arma or ne%%una arma , no weapon
ne%%un8a%%en1a or ne%%una a%%en1a , no absence
ne%%un8a&&r!e or ne%%una a&&r!e , no actress
The use of ne%%un and ne%%una will be discussed again, further on, in this same paragraph.
Deanwhile, these are some examples of double negative sentences!
n 0uel !a%%e&&o (egl + ella) non &ro*. nen&e , in that drawer he / she didn!t find anything
da lon&ano (e%%) non *edranno nulla , from afar they won!t see anything
(e%%) non /anno le&&o ne%%un lbro , they haven!t read any book
0uella #er%ona non !ono%!e ne%%uno , that person doesn!t know anybody
l lunedB (o) non mango ma a !a%a , on 4ondays I never eat at home
(o) non lo guarder. nemmeno , I won!t even look at him / it
#er!/E (&u) non *edra ne##ure 0ue%&o 3lmG , why won!t you watch this movie either>
(egl + ella) non !ono%!e*a ne##ure l8ndr11o , he / she didn!t even know the address
(no) non *oglamo nemmeno 0uello , we don!t want that (one) either
&xamining these sentences, a first consideration is that the basic structure of double negative expressions is!
(subect) : non : (verb) : negative pronoun or negative adverb.
e.g. 0uella #er%ona (subect) K non K !ono%!e (verb) ne%%uno (negative pronoun).
4otice how the negative pronouns and adverbs are simply added after the verb( in fact, by dropping them or by replacing them with a definite noun
(shown in green in the following samples), the aforesaid sentences turn out AordinaryA negatives!
n 0uel !a%%e&&o (egl + ella) non &ro*. la #enna , in that drawer he / she didn!t find the pen
da lon&ano (e%%) non *edranno de&&agl , from afar they won!t see the details
(e%%) non /anno le&&o 0ue%&o lbro , they did not read this book
0uella #er%ona non !ono%!e &uo 3ra&ello , that person does not know your brother
$hen the verb uses a compound tense (passato prossimo, trapassato prossimo, futuro anteriore, etc.), the negative pronouns ne%%uno; nen&e and nulla
follow the standard pattern shown above!
(subect) : non : (verb) : negative adverb or negative pronoun
e.g. e%% non /anno le&&o ne%%un lbro.
Instead the negative adverbs ma; nemmeno; nean!/e and ne##ure may either follow the standard se%uence, as above, or they may be inserted
between the two parts of the compound tense, i.e. the auxiliary verb and the primary verb!
(subect) : non : (auxiliary verb) : negative adverb : (past participle of the primary verb)
e.g. e%% non /anno le&&o ma 0ue%&o lbro( alternatively! e%% non /anno ma le&&o 0ue%&o lbro.
) few more examples should ma+e this concept clear enough!
l lbro non era a##ar&enu&o a ne%%uno (only possible form) , the book had not belonged to anybody
n 0uel !a%%e&&o non /a &ro*a&o nen&e (only possible form) , in that drawer he / she didn!t find anything
da lon&ano non a*ranno *%&o nen&e (only possible form) , from afar they won!t have seen anything
non /o manga&o ma a !a%a , I never ate at home
non /o ma manga&o a !a%a , (same as above)
non a*e*o guarda&o nemmeno la TV , I hadn!t even watched the $0, but also I hadn!t watched the $0 either
non a*e*o nemmeno guarda&o la TV , (same as above)
non a*e*a *%&o nemmeno un 3lm , he / she hadn!t even seen a movie, but also he / she hadn!t seen a movie either
non a*e*a nemmeno *%&o un 3lm , (same as above)
non a*r4 le&&o ne##ure l8ndr11o , he / she might have not even read the address, but also he / she might have not read the address either
non a*r4 ne##ure le&&o ne##ure l8ndr11o , (same as above)
non abbamo *olu&o ne##ure 0uello , we didn!t even want that (one), but also we didn!t want that (one) either
non abbamo ne##ure *olu&o 0uello , (same as above)
$hen the alternative form is possible, in most cases to use one or the other is a free choice, although the first of the two would give the negative adverb
a slightly more emphatic meaning, especially in spo+en language (i.e. the voice pitch would slightly raise in pronouncing the adverb), while the second
form is less strong, somewhat more stylish, and would be preferred in writing.
) second consideration about the previous examples is that nemmeno; nean!/e and ne##ure have the same meaning. It would sometimes be more
stylish to choose a specific one according to the sentence, but in common speech, or for a student*s purpose, any of the three may be freely used.
non !ono%!e*a ne##ure l8ndr11o , he / she didn!t even know the address
non !ono%!e*a nean!/e l8ndr11o , (same as above)
non !ono%!e*a nemmeno l8ndr11o , (same as above)
/ut these adverbs do translate two different &nglish expressions! not even and neither.
non !ono%!e*a ne##ure l8ndr11o , he / she didn!t know the address either
In most cases, which of the two is the actual meaning is made clear by the context of the sentence, since neither can only be possible if a first obect
has already been mentioned (i.e. he didn!t know my house 2 he didn!t know my address either).
The form we discussed so far may have both meanings (see once again the previous examples), and is stylistically correct.
=owever, in Italian it is still possible to distinguish more clearly the two meanings by using different arrangements of the words. In spo+en language,
especially in central and southern Italy, to strengthen the meaning of not even it is a common custom to drop the negative conunction non by replacing
it with the negative adverb or pronoun, moved to the front, and to leave the verb at the bottom of the sentence!
but this may also be translated as! she didn!t know the address either
ne##ure l8ndr11o !ono%!e*a (very collo%uial) , he / she didn!t even know the address
l &reno non 3erma nean!/e a -ren1e , the train doesn!t even stop in =lorence
but this may also be translated as! the train doesn!t stop in =lorence either
l &reno nean!/e a -ren1e 3erma (very collo%uial) , the train doesn!t even stop in =lorence
0uella %!uola non !/ude nemmeno d8e%&a&e , that school doesn!t even close in summer
but this may also be translated as! that school doesn!t close in summer either
0uella %!uola nemmeno d8e%&a&e !/ude (very collo%uial) , that school doesn!t even close in summer
This collo%uial form is no longer a double negative, having lost non. /ut remember! although it is commonly heard, according to the official Italian
grammar this form is not correct.
$hen the obect of the sentence is a personal pronoun, the two different meanings not even and neither are more clearly understood.
)t first, let*s see a couple of typical sentences that contain a pronoun as a direct obect!
non l n!on&rer. (standard form) , I won!t meet them
non n!on&rer. loro (emphatic form) , I won!t meet t&em (i.e. I will meet somebody else)
l gud!e non lo /a !ondanna&o (standard form) , the %udge did not sentence him
l gud!e non /a !ondanna&o lu (emphatic form) , the %udge did not sentence &im (i.e. the udge sentenced somebody else)
)s explained in paragraph ?.1 , forcing the pronoun at the bottom of the sentence gives the latter a stronger emphasis (in the aforesaid example, the
pronouns them and him are emphasi1ed).
The same form used with nean!/e; nemmeno or ne##ure gives them a clear meaning of neither.
Instead, the standard form used so far (i.e. non : pronoun : verb : negative adverb) would only have the meaning of not even.
-urthermore, in the case of a pronoun used as direct obect, the collo%uial form explained above is considered correct (i.e. with the adverb moved in
front, to replace non), and may be used as an alternative and somewhat stronger expression!
non & guarder. ne##ure , I will not even look at you
ne##ure & guarder. , (same as above, but stronger)
non guarder. ne##ure &e (emphasi1ed form) , I will not look at you either
#ur&ro##o non lo *d nemmeno , unfortunately I didn!t even see him
#ur&ro##o nemmeno lo *d , (same as above, but stronger)
#ur&ro##o non *d nemmeno lu , unfortunately I didn!t see him either
l8anno %!or%o non le abbamo nean!/e n*&a&e , last year we haven!t even invited them
l8anno %!or%o nean!/e le abbamo n*&a&e , (same as above, but stronger)
l8anno %!or%o non abbamo n*&a&o nean!/e loro , last year we haven!t invited them either
)mong the the indefinite pronouns discussed so far, nen&e; nulla and ne%%uno somewhat differ from ordinary ones, such as personal pronouns,
relative pronouns, etc.
-irst of all, they do not have a plural form, due to their respective meaning( this also happens in &nglish.
Nen&e and nulla are both dealt with as masculine singular words.
)lso ne%%uno is a masculine singular pronoun( however, as already mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, when it is followed by a noun it turns
into an adective, whose &nglish e%uivalent would be no...(noun)!
(as a pronoun) ne%%uno /a de&&o 0ue%&o , nobody said this
(as an adective) ne%%un uomo #e%a ol&re 7LL !/l , no man weighs over :BB kilograms
(as an adective) ne%%una #er%ona !om#rerebbe 0ue%&o lbro , no person would buy this book
Esed as a pronoun, ne%%uno does not change( it is considered a masculine word, also when it evidently refers to feminine individuals. Therefore, if a
compound verb*s past participle is gender2 and number2sensitive (see paragraph 0.7 ), the pronoun ne%%uno always re%uires a masculine inflection.
ne%%uno (pronoun) 2 en&ra&o nel re#ar&o 3emmnle , nobody entered the women!s ward ne%%una #a1en&e (adective) 2 en&ra&a nel re#ar&o
3emmnle , no (female) patient entered the women!s ward
Esed as an adective, instead, ne%%un and ne%%una match the gender of the noun they refer to, as any other ordinary adective.
$hile ne%%un (: masculine noun) turns again into ne%%uno when the following noun begins with 1 or with % K consonant (see previous examples),
ne%%una (: feminine noun) may undergo an elision, i.e. the last a dropped and replaced by an apostrophe, when the following noun begins with the
vowel a. This change, though, is facultative, and it rarely occurs when the noun begins with e; ; o; u.
ne%%un *n!&ore , no winner
ne%%un uomo , no man
ne%%uno %!on&o , no discount
ne%%una domanda , no ;uestion
ne%%un8am!a or ne%%una am!a , no (female) friend
ne%%una m#o%&a (seldom ne%%un8m#o%&a) , no tax
ne%%un m#ega&o en&r. nell8u33!o , no clerk entered the office
ne%%uno %&ranero *enne n !&&4 , no stranger came into town
ne%%un8al&ra raga11a , no other girl
/eware of nouns whose inflection is similar to a typical feminine one, such as a&le&a (athlete), #oe&a (poet), ar&%&a (artist), om!da (murderer), %o%a
(lookalike), etc., see paragraph ".# Dany of them are both masculine and feminine, although a few of them have specific feminine forms (for instance
#oe&a , poet, #oe&e%%a , female poet), or are only masculine (for instance #rogramma , program).
ne%%un a&le&a , no (male) athlete
ne%%un8a&le&a , no (female) athlete
ne%%un %o%a , no (male) lookalike
ne%%una %o%a , no (female) lookalike
ne%%un ar&%&a , no (male) artist
ne%%un8ar&%&a , no (female) artist
ne%%un #oe&a , no (male) poet
ne%%una #oe&e%%a , no (female) poet
ne%%un #rogramma , no program
ne%%uno %!/ema , no scheme
TEACH DOURSEL- ITALIAN
GRA,,AR
AND
EMERCISES
go &o
USE-UL EM'RESSIONS
) lte't ddition' )
re*%on% and enlargemen&% neN #age%
#aragra#/ 7.5
#aragra#/ 7.7
#aragra#/ O.O
#aragra#/ P.P
#aragra#/ C.<
#aragra#/ 15.7
#aragra#/ 1C.<
eQer!%e% 3or 7.7
eQer!%e% 3or 8.5
eQer!%e% 3or 8.7
#aragra#/ 1C.O
#aragra#/ 5L.1
#aragra#/ 5L.5
#aragra#/ 5L.7
'incere polo!ie' %or 'ome t#po'* %o$nd in t&e pre(io$' edition nd no" corrected
RRR m#or&an& no&e% abou& Sour broN%er8% %e&&ng% RRR
+'kip t&e note',
ACCENTED VO9ELS
In &/e%e #age% a!!en&ed *oNel% are u%edT n order &o %ee &/em #ro#erlS; one o3 &/e 3olloNng
!/ara!&er %e&% %/ould be !/o%enT
(Dicrosoft &xplorer)
9e%&ern al#/abe&
(4etscape)
9e%&ern ISO:88OC:1
Se*eral o&/er !/ara!&er %e&% maS *%ual1e &/e%e *oNel% #ro#erlS; bu& no& all o3 &/em. To &e%&
N/e&/er Sour broN%er %ee% &/em !orre!&lS; !om#are &/e 3olloNng roN% o3 *oNel% (&/e bo&&om
one % a #!&ure 3le)T
how your browser sees them! = $ " U H V W X Y Z [ \
what they should loo+ li+e!
I3 &/e *oNel% and &/er a!!en&% ma&!/; Sour broN%er %e&&ng % !om#a&ble.
I& maS %&ll /a##en &/a& N/en a!!en&ed le&&er% !ome &oge&/er N&/ !omma%; bra!]e&%; e&!.
3unnS !/ara!&er% are *%ual1ed n &/er #la!e. S/ould &/% o!!ur; &rS !/angng Sour %e&&ng &o
&/e one% %ugge%&ed abo*e.
HoN &o &S#e &/e%e *oNel% N&/ an n&erna&onal ]eSboard % eQ#laned n #aragra#/ 1.O .
SOUND -ILES
De%#&e all &/e .9AV %ound 3le% n &/% Neb#age /a*e been re!en&lS &e%&ed N&/ Ne&%!a#e
broN%er (<.Q &o P.Q) and N&/ 9ndoN%8 ,ul&meda 'laSer; I /a*e been n3ormed &/a&
,!ro%o3& EQ#lorer broN%er mg/& /a*e #roblem% n o#enng &/em. S/ould an error me%%age
a##ear; &/e ea%e%& %olu&on % &o %a*e &/e 9AV 3le n one8% oNn 'C; and &/en o#en & N&/
,ul&meda 'laSer; N/en needed.
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THE LANGUAGE AND THE ,AIN DI--ICULTIES -OR THE BEGINNER
) - )
ALP.ABET AND PRONOUNCIATION
1.1 : THE AL'HABET AND THE BASIC SOUNDS
1.5 : S'ECIAL CLUSTERS
1.7 : ENGLISH S'ELLING O- ITALIAN SOUNDS
1.< : DOUBLE CONSONANTS
1.O : ACCENT (STRESS)
) / )
GENDER AND NUMBER O0 NOUNS* ADJECTIVES* ARTICLES
5.1 : GENDER AND NU,BERT STANDARD IN-LECTIONS
5.5 : GENDER AND NU,BERT STANDARD IN-LECTIONS ('ARTICULAR CASES)
+'ee /1/, 5.7 : GENDER AND NU,BERT NON:STANDARD IN-LECTIONS
5.< : ARTICLES
5.O : THE 'OSITION O- ADFECTIVES
) 2 )
NUMBERS
7.1 : CARDINAL AND DECI,AL NU,BERS
+'ee 21-, 7.5 : ORDINAL NU,BERS re(i'ed
7.7 : -RACTIONS AND ROUGH ^UANTITIES enlr!ed e3erci'e'
) 4 )
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND VERBS 5 prt I
<.1 : 'ERSONAL 'RONOUNS USED AS SUBFECTS : #ar& I
<.5 : INDICATIVE TENSES O- ITALIAN VERBS
<.7 : THE VERB ESSERE (TO BE) : SI,'LE INDICATIVE TENSES
<.< : THE VERB AVERE (TO HAVE) : SI,'LE INDICATIVE TENSES
<.O : 1%& CONFUGATION : SI,'LE INDICATIVE TENSES
<.P : 5nd CONFUGATION : SI,'LE INDICATIVE TENSES
<._ : 7rd CONFUGATION : SI,'LE INDICATIVE TENSES
) 6 )
OT.ER BASIC ELEMENTS O0 T.E SENTENCE
O.1 : SI,'LE 'RE'OSITIONS
O.5 : CO,'OUND 'RE'OSITIONS
O.7 : 'OSSESSIVE 'RONOUNS AND ADFECTIVES
O.< : INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE -OR,S
O.O : DE,ONSTRATIVE 'RONOUNS AND ADFECTIVES enlr!ed
) 7 )
VERBS 5 prt II 5 COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES
P.1 : THE VERB ESSERE : CO,'OUND INDICATIVE TENSES
P.5 : THE VERB AVERE : CO,'OUND INDICATIVE TENSES
P.7 : 'AST 'ARTICI'LES
P.< : 1%& CONFUGATION : CO,'OUND INDICATIVE TENSES
P.O : 5nd CONFUGATION : CO,'OUND INDICATIVE TENSES
P.P : 7rd CONFUGATION : CO,'OUND INDICATIVE TENSES re(i'ed
) 8 )
TIME AND DATES
_.1 : DADS O- THE 9EE?
_.5 : ,ONTHS AND SEASONS O- THE DEAR
_.7 : DEARS AND CENTURIES
_.< : DATES
_.O : 9HAT TI,E IS IT G
_.P : TI,E ADVERBS AND DURATION -OR,S
) 9 )
PERSONAL PRONOUNS 5 prt II
8.1 : 'ERSONAL 'RONOUNS AS DIRECT OBFECT
8.5 : 'ERSONAL 'RONOUNS IN DATIVE CASE enlr!ed e3erci'e'
8.7 : 'ERSONAL 'RONOUNS IN RE-LEMIVE -OR, enlr!ed e3erci'e'
) : )
VERBS 5 prt III 5 SUBJUNCTIVE TENSES
C.1 : BASIC CONCE'TS AND 'RESENT TENSE re(i'ed ; enlr!ed
C.5 : 'AST TENSE
C.7 : 'RESENT AND 'AST TENSES O- VERBS ESSERE AND AVERE
C.< : 'ER-ECT AND 'LU'ER-ECT re(i'ed
C.O : 'ER-ECT AND 'LU'ER-ECT O- VERBS ESSERE AND AVERE
) -< )
DIMINUTIVE* AUGMENTATIVE* PEJORATIVE
1L.1 : DI,INUTIVE
1L.5 : AUG,ENTATIVE
1L.7 : 'EFORATIVE
) -- )
NOUNS* ADJECTIVES AND PREPOSITIONS USED =IT. GEOGRAP.IC SITES
11.1 : ADFECTIVES RELATED TO GEOGRA'HIC SITES
11.5 : ,ORE ABOUT GEOGRA'HIC NA,ES
11.7 : ARTICLES AND 'RE'OSITIONS 9ITH GEOGRA'HIC NA,ES
) -/ )
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
15.1 : CO,'ARATIVE : #ar& I
15.5 : CO,'ARATIVE : #ar& II
15.7 : RELATIVE SU'ERLATIVE enlr!ed
15.< : ABSOLUTE SU'ERLATIVE
) -2 )
VERBS 5 prt IV 5 CONDITIONAL TENSES
17.1 : BASIC CONCE'TS : VERBS ESSERE AND AVERE
17.5 : REGULAR VERBS O- THE THREE CONFUGATIONS
17.7 : THE USE O- CONDITIONAL TENSES
) -4 )
VERBS 5 prt V 5 IMPERATIVE TENSE
1<.1 : I,'ERATIVE IN-LECTIONS
1<.5 : I,'ERATIVE 9ITH 'RONOUNS : NEGATIVE : GENERAL USE
) -6 )
0ORMAL LEVEL O0 SPEEC.
1O.1 : THE BASICS
1O.5 : 'RONOUNS AND ADFECTIVES
) -7 )
OT.ER PRONOUNS
1P.1 : INTERROGATIVE AND EMCLA,ATIVE 'RONOUNS
1P.5 : RELATIVE 'RONOUNS : #ar& I
1P.7 : RELATIVE 'RONOUNS : #ar& II : CO,BINING 'RE'OSITIONS
1P.< : RELATIVE 'RONOUNS : #ar& III : THE USE O- C.I
1P.O : RELATIVE 'RONOUNS : #ar& IV : THE USE O- CI> C.E
) -8 )
CAPITAL LETTERS* COLOURS* S?LLABLES
1_.1 : THE USE O- CA'ITAL (U''ERCASE) LETTERS
1_.5 : COLOURS USED AS NOUNS AND AS ADFECTIVES
1_.7 : DIVIDING 9ORDS INTO SDLLABLES
) -9 )
VERBS 5 prt VI 5 T.E GERUND AND T.E PARTICIPLES 5 IRREGULAR VERBS
18.1 : THE GERUND TENSE; AND THE VERB STARE
18.5 : 'RESENT AND 'AST 'ARTICI'LES
18.7 : VERBS 9HOSE IN-INITIVE IS CONTRACTED
18.< : OTHER I,'ORTANT IRREGULAR VERBS
) -: )
VERBS 5 prt VII 5 PASSIVE TENSES* AND OT.ER USE0UL E@PRESSIONS
1C.1 : 'ASSIVE
1C.5 : TO BE HUNGRD; THIRSTD; HOT; COLD; SLEE'D
1C.7 : THE 'OST'ONED SUBFECT
1C.< : DOUBLE NEGATIVE re(i'ed
1C.O : THE USE O- ALCUNO
) /< )
PARTITIVE AND T.E USE O0 T.E PRONOUN NE
5L.1 : 'ARTITIVE
5L.5 : ,ORE 9ADS O- USING THE 'RONOUN NE
5L.7 : THE VERB ANDARSENE
+TO BE CONTINUED,
APPENDI@
A.1 : RO,AN NU,BERS
&/an] Sou 3or /a*ng a!!e%%ed &/% #age &me%
And#A' Enterpri'e' B ; MIM ; MMI

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