Italian for beginners IItalian words

*Welcome to the Italian language course!* In this course, you’ll improve your Italian with essential grammar and useful, everyday vocabulary. Let’s start with adjectives! Adjectives describe nouns, like "ragazzo alto" (tall boy). *There are two key rules:* - They usually come after the noun ("ragazzo alto", not alto ragazzo). Some exceptions exist—e.g. "bravo ragazzo" - but more on that later. - They must agree in gender and number with the noun: ragazzo alto, ragazza alta, ragazzi alti, ragazze alte. - Some adjectives end in -o/-a depending on gender. Others, like "grande", end in -e and change only for singular/plural: "grande ragazzo, grande ragazza, grandi ragazzi, grandi ragazze" Let’s practice!

*Irregular verbs in the present* As you may have already noticed, there are many irregular verbs in Italian. We have learnt the verbs to be "essere" and to have "avere" in the previous course, so it is time to learn some other important irregular verbs, conjugated in the present tense: "Fare: faccio, fai, fa, facciamo, fate, fanno" (to do) "Dire: dico, dici, dice, diciamo, dite, dicono" (to say) "Andare: vado, vai, va, andiamo, andate, vanno" (to go) "Uscire: esco, esci, esce, usciamo, uscite, escono" (to leave, to go out) "Venire: vengo, vieni, viene, veniamo, venite, vengono" (to come) Let's practice them!

*Basic numbers* It is high time to learn the basic numbers in Italian! :) "uno" one Uno is the only number in Italian that changes its form. When standing in front of a noun it works the same way as the indefinite article. Eg. "un ragazzo" / "una ragazza" / "uno studente" "due" two "tre" three "quattro" four "cinque" five "sei" six "sette" seven "otto" eight "nove" nine "dieci" ten "undici" eleven "dodici" twelve "tredici" thirteen "quattordici" fourteen "quindici" fifteen "sedici" sixteen "diciassette" seventeen "diciotto" eighteen "diciannove" nineteen "venti" twenty We ask "Quanto/a/i/e... ?" (how many/how much) "Quanti gatti hai? Ho quattro gatti." (How many cats do you have? I have four cats.)

*Adverbs* Since you now know how adjectives work in Italian, it's about time we look at *adverbs*. Adverbs describe verbs ("guida velocemente" he drives fast) or adjectives ("molto alto" very tall) or other adverbs ("troppo velocemente" too fast). Unlike adjectives, adverbs do not change their form based on the verb/adjective/adverb they describe and therefore are much easier to use. :) Let us look at some of *the most common Italian adverbs* describing adjectives and other adverbs: "molto" (very) for example "Lucia è molto intelligente." (Lucia is very intelligent.) "poco" (a little bit) "tanto" (so much) "troppo" (too much) "quanto" (how much) *!Be careful!* this group of adverbs can also serve the function of adjectives and describe nouns. In that case, we need to change the ending based on the *person and gender of the noun*. "molto/a/i/e" (many) for example "Ci sono molte macchine" (There are many cars.) "poco/a/i/e" (few) "tanto/a/i/e" (so many) "troppo/a/i/e" (too many) "quanto/a/i/e" (how many) Let's see them in sentences :)

*There is/there are* Just like in English, we use the phrase *there is* and *there are* when we want to express where something/someone is placed. We can do that by saying "C'è" (there is- singular) or "Ci sono" (there are- plural) For example: "C'è un libro sulla tavola." (There's a book on the table.) "Ci sono due libri sulla tavola." (There are two books on the table.) We can also learn some *questions* which we ask to understand where someone/something is: "Che cosa è sulla tavola?" (What is on the table?) "C'è un libro sulla tavola." (There's a book on the table.) "Dov'è il libro?" (Where is the book?) "Il libro è sulla tavola." (The book is on the table)

*Piacere and preferire* You already know how to say you like something in Italian. Now we'll look at how to say you like something more, that you prefer it. We'll do this by looking at the difference between verbs "piacere" and "preferire". "Piacere" is like saying something pleases you. It's often used to talk about things you like or enjoy. For example: "Mi piace il gelato alla fragola." (I like strawbery ice cream.) On the other hand, "preferire" means to prefer. It's used when you want to express a choice between two or more things. For example, "Preferisco il gelato al cioccolato." (I prefer chocolate ice cream.) Or you can say: "Mi piace il gelato al cioccolato, ma preferisco il gelato alla fragola." (I like chocolate ice cream, but i prefer strawbery ice cream.) The verb "PREFERIRE" is irregular, so let's have a look at its conjugation: (io) "preferisco" (tu) "preferisci" (lei/lui) "preferisce" (noi) "preferiamo" (voi) "preferite" (loro) "preferiscono"

*Expressing possession* In Italian, we can say that something belongs to someone in two ways: *1) The preposition DI* "È il libro di Marco" (Is it Marco's book) "Sono i fiori di Giovanna." (These are Giovanna's flowers) *2) Possessive pronouns* My: "mio / mia / miei / mie" Your: "tuo / tua / tuoi / tue" Her/his: "suo / sua /suoi / sue" Our: "nosto / nostra /nostri / nostre" Your: "vostro / vostra / vostri / vostre" Their: "loro" The Italian possessive pronouns stand in front of a noun and share the *gender and number* form with the noun. "Il mio libro" (my book) / "I miei libri" (my books) The only possessive pronoun that never changes its form is "loro". "Il loro libro" (their book) / "I loro libri" (their books) We usually use the *definite article* in front of the possessive pronoun.

*Comparisons I - Comparative * Let's dive into the fascinating world of Italian comparative. It's a great way to describe things and express differences. In Italian, we use different forms of adjectives to compare things. We have the *comparative* and the *superlative* forms. *Comparative:* We compare two things. We use "più" (more) or "meno" (less) before the adjective and a preposition "di" before the next noun we are comparing. For example: "Il gatto è più piccolo del cane." (The cat is smaller than the dog.) Remember to *change the ending of the adjective to match the gender and number of the noun* it's describing. For example, "piccolo" (small) becomes "piccola" for a feminine noun and "piccoli" for plural masculine nouns.

*Comparisons II - Superlative* Now that you know how to say something is better than something else, it's time to learn how to say something is the best! Or the worst. You can do this by making a *superlative* of an adjective. *Superlative:* We want to say something is the most or the least. We use "il/la/i/le + più" (the most) or "il/la/i/le + meno" (the least) before the adjective. In many cases, you can also form a superlative. For example: "La pizza è la più deliziosa." (Pizza is the most delicious.) In many cases, you can also form a superlative by ending an adjective with "-issimo/a". So, you can also say: "La pizza è deliziosissima!" Another example: "La festa ieri sera è stata bellissima." (The party last night was the most beautiful.) Or: "Il mio appartamento è piccolissimo, ma accogliente." (My apartment is the smallest, but cozy.) You know what's coming next, right... It's time for a bit of practice again!

*Modal verbs* Modal verbs in Italian are irregular, that is why we'll learn them separately in this section: "Volere: voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo, volete, vogliono" (to want) "Potere: posso, puoi, può, possiamo, potete, possono" (to be able to) "Sapere: so, sai, sa, sappiamo, sapete, sanno" (to be able to) - synonymous to "potere" "Dovere: devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo, dovete, devono" (to must) Time to practice!

*Telling the time* Let's now have a look at something easier - telling the time. "Che ore sono? / Che ora è?" You can use both to ask someone what the time is. The easiest is the full hours. When it's three o'clock, you simply say "Sono le tre." "Sono le cinque." It’s 5am. "Sono le diciotto." It's 6pm. Yo need to use a singular verb in these three cases: "È l’una." It’s one o’clock "È mezzogiorno." It’s noon. "È mezzanotte." It’s midnight. To get more specific about the minutes you need to add the word "e" (and) followed by the number of minutes. "Sono le quattro e cinque." (It's five past four (4:05) Another exemple: "Il treno arriva alle venti e quarantacinque." If more than 30 minutes passed after the full hour, you use the word "meno" (minus) and the number of minutes that are needed to pass before the next full hour (just like in English). "Sono le quattro meno cinque" It's five to four (3:55)

*Asking questions* In Italian, forming questions is not difficult. It is often enough to add a question mark at the end of the sentence: "Sei italiano." (You're Italian.) --> "Sei italiano?" (Are you Italian?) However, just as in English, there are questions where we need to use *interrogative pronouns*. Let's see them individually: "Chi" = who "Chi è venuto alla festa?" (Who came to the party?) "Che cosa" or "Cosa" = what "Che cosa vuoi mangiare?" (What do you want to eat?) "Che cosa" is more formal than "cosa" "Qual/e" = which "Quale" has different forms depending on the number of the noun it is replacing: "quale" (singular), "quali" (plural) "Quale vino preferisci?" (Which wine do you prefer?) "Quanto/a" = How much, how many "Quanto costa?" (How much does it cost?) "Come" = how "Come ti piace la pizza?" (How do you like the pizza?) "Dove" = where "Di dove sei?" (Where are you from?) "Perché" = why "Perché sei così stanca?" (Why are you so tired?)

*Quello e questo* Have you ever heard about demonstrative pronouns? They point to specific objects or people. In Italian you will find "quello" and "questo". "Quello" is used to point at something/someone at a further distance from us ("quel libro" - that book) "Questo" is used to point at something/someone near us ("questo libro" - this book) Both "questo" and "quello" substitute the article and both of them change their ending based on the *noun* as follows: *Singular masculine* "quel / questo ragazzo" (that boy / this boy) "quello /questo studente" "quell' /quest' ingeniere" *Singular feminine* "quella / questa ragazza" (that girl / this girl) "quell' / quest' italiana" *Plural masculine* "quei / questi ragazzi" (those boys / these boys) "quegli / questi studenti" "quegli / questi ingenieri" *Plural feminine* "quelle/ queste ragazze" (those girls / these girls) "quelle/ queste italiane"

*Prepositions* Prepositions are small but crucial words that help us understand relationships between objects, people, and places in sentences. In Italian, prepositions are used similarly to English, but they may be combined with definite articles to create "preposizioni articolate" for more specific meanings. Let's start with some fundamental Italian prepositions: "In" means *in* or *at*. For example: "Le chiavi sono in casa." (The keys are in the house.) "A" means *to* or *at*. For example: "Vado a scuola." (I go to school.) "Con" means *with*. For example: "Mangiamo con gli amici." (We eat with friends.) "Da" means *from* or *at someone's place*. For example:"Vengo da Roma." (I come from Rome). "Vado da Maria." (I go to Maria's place.) "Di" also means *from* or *of*. For example: "Io sono di Roma." (I am from Rome.) "Su" means *on* or *above*. For example: "Il libro è sul tavolo." (The book is on the table.) "Sotto" means *under*. For example: "Il gatto è sotto il tavolo." (The cat is under the table.) "Tra/Fra" means *between* or *among*. For example: "Tra amici." (Among the firends). "Fra le montagne." (Between the mountains.) "Per" means *for* or *through*. For example: "È per te." (It's for you.) "Viaggio per l'Italia." (I travel through Italy.) These are just a few basic Italian prepositions, but they are essential for constructing sentences and expressing relationships. As you learn more prepositions and their combinations with articles, your ability to communicate in Italian will expand. So, let's practise a little!

*Pronunciation* Lastly, we will learn some basic rules of pronunciation. Fortunately, the Italian language usually pronounces words just as they are written, however, we still need to keep some things in mind. *letter C* followed by *i* or *e* it is pronounced as *ʧ* ("ciao") followed by other letters it is pronounced as *k* ("capire") *letter G* followed by *i* or *e* it is pronounced as *ʤ* ("Giorgia") followed by other letters it is pronounced as *g* ("gola") *letter S* between two vowels it is pronounced as *z* ("casa") in other cases, it is pronounced as *s* ("semplice") *letter H* is not pronounced ("hotel") *letters GN* are pronounced as in "gnocchi" *letters SC* followed by *i* or *e* are pronounced as *ʃ* ("scienza") followed by other letters are pronounced as *sk* ("scappare") Now when you practice your vocabulary, read your cards aloud!

*Passato Prossimo* Passato prossimo means 'the near past' and we use it mostly to talk about *past events that happened recently*. In the spoken language, however, "passato prossimo" is used in most of the past situations. *How to form passato prossimo with regular verbs?* 1) Auxiliary verb "avere" or "essere" conjugated in the present "io ho, tu hai, lui ha, noi abbiamo, voi avete, loro hanno" "io sono, tu sei, lui è, noi siamo, voi siete, loro sono" 2) Main verb's root plus the past participle: *-ato* (first class verbs: "parlato") *-uto* (second class verbs: "caduto") *-ito* (third class verbs: "dormito") Let's see an example of the verb *parlare in passato prossimo*: "(Io) Ho parlato" (I spoke) "(Tu) Hai parlato" (You spoke) "(Lui/lei) Ha parlato" (He spoke) "(Noi) Abbiamo parlato" (We spoke) "(Voi) Avete parlato" (You spoke) "(Loro) Hanno parlato" (They spoke) *Negatives*: add "non" in front of the auxiliary verb ("Io non ho parlato.") Let's practice some verbs that use the auxiliary verb *avere*.

*Past tense with auxiliary to be* As you already know, when forming "passato prossimo", you can use the auxiliary "avere" or "essere". Most commonly, "avere" is used, so which verbs use "essere"? 1) verbs of movement towards a destination ("andare, arrivare, entrare, partire, venire"...) 2) verbs expressing a state or change of state ("essere, stare, piacere, passare, morire"...) 3) reflexive verbs ("lavarsi, sentirsi, svegliarsi"...) When using "essere", we must pay attention to the ending of the main verb. The ending must change according to the *gender and number of* the subject: "Io sono andato al lavoro." (A male is speaking.) "Io sono andata al lavoro." (A female is speaking.) Let's look at all the forms of the verb *to go* in the near past "(Io) Sono andato/a." "(Tu) Sei andato/a." "(Lui/lei) È andato/a." "(Noi) Siamo andati/e" "(Voi) Siete andati/e." "(Loro) Sono andati/e."