Italian Language Grammar

ITALIAN ARTICLES
In Italian, as well as all the other Romance languages (French, Spanish, etc), all nouns have a gender and a number associated with them. The article indicates gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun. "il"-"lo" are the definite article that corresponds to masculine nouns. Examples:

il professore the teacher. il telefono the phone. il vecchio zio the old uncle.

la is the definite article that corresponds to feminine nouns. Examples:

la casa the house. la tavola the table. la finestra the window.

When using nouns, you must make sure that you use the correct gender and number when using an identifier. The identifiers are il, lo, la, i, gli, le, un, uno and una. Il, lo and la are singular definite articles, which means you are talking about a specific thing. Examples:

La sedia the chair (you are talking about a specific chair) Il telefono verde The telephone is green. La parete brutta The wall is ugly.

The use of these identifiers is identical to the way you would say it in English - if you want to say "a table", use una, and if you want to say "the table", use la. "i" and "gli" are the plural of "il" and "lo", and "le" is the plural of "la". You use these plural definite articles when you are talking about several specific members of a group. There are no plural forms of uno and una, and to translate "some" when used in sentences, one must use indeterminate pronouns. Examples

Le stanze sono grandi The rooms are big. Delle sedie sono in cucina Some chairs are in the kitchen. Gli stessi ragazzi the same boys Dei tavoli some tables.

In Italian, larticolo determinativo has different forms according to the gender, number, and first letter of the noun or adjective it precedes. There are some guidelines that help you to determine what article to use.

For singular nouns:

lo-LO: is used for all masculine nouns beginning with s+consonant or z. il-IL: is used for all masculine nouns starting in a consonant, except the case where you use "lo". la-LA: is used with feminine nouns starting with any consonant l-L: This is the elision of lo or la is used before masculine or femenine nouns beginning with a vowel.

Examples: o zucchero the sugar lo zio the uncle il castello the castle la scatola the box For plural nouns:

il vecchio zio the old uncle l'impatto the impact (masculine) l'acqua the water (feminine)

gli-GLI: It is used whith masculine nouns starting with vowels, the consonant z , cluster gn or clusters made of s+consonant. i-I: It is used whith masculine nouns starting with consonants which do not belong to the previous case: le-LE: It is used before any plural feminine noun

Examples: gli artisti the artists le ali the wings i cavalli the horses gli elefanti the elephants i ragazzi the boys gli stessi ragazzi the same boys

The Italian indefinite article (l'articolo indeterminativo) corresponds to English a/an and is used with singular nouns. It also corresponds to the number one. When the noun to which the article applies is a masculine noun then "a/an" can be translated as "un", or "uno", if the article applies to a feminine noun then the article that has to be used is "una". As the definite articles, there are some rules to understand the use of these articles:

uno-UNO: It is used for masculine words beginning with z or s + consonant. un-UN: It is used for all other masculine words, except the cases where you have to use "UNO" una-UNA: it is used with feminine nouns starting with any consonant. un'-UN': It is the elision of una, used when feminine nouns start with any vowel.

Examples:

 un treno e una bicicletta un aeroplano e unautomobile uno stadio e una stazione

A train and a bicycle An airplane and a car One(an) stage and one(a) station

When plural nouns are indefinite, they simply do not use an article, or they use the partitive form: i.e. cats (no article) or some cats (partitive), coins or some coins (partitive), etc. Partitive will be dealt with further on, so for the time being simply disregard its use.

ITALIAN NOUNS
Noun (nome) is a person, place, or thing. Nouns have endings that change depending on the gender and number. So, the ending of an Italian noun reveals its gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

Singular il piatto bianco (the white plate) MASC. il cane grande (the large dog) la pizza calda (hot pizza) FEM. la carne tenera (tender meat)

Plural i piatti bianchi (the white plates) i cani grandi (the large dogs) le pizze calde (hot pizzas) le carni tenere (tender meats)

Nouns often are accompanied by a masculine or feminine definite article (In english: "The"): il, lo, la (singular); i, gli, le (plural). Indefinite articles (Like the English a, an, some) - un, una (singular). However, As in English, there's no indefinite articles for plural nouns.

GENDER OF ITALIAN NOUNS

Most Italian nouns end in a vowelthose that end in a consonant are of foreign originand all nouns have a gender, even those that refer to a qualities, ideas, and things. Usually, Italian singular masculine nouns end in -o, while feminine nouns end in a(-t).

Masculine Tavolo (table) Sviluppo (development) Organismo (organism)

Feminine Casa (house) Rosa (rouse) Citt (city)

There are exceptions for this rule, of course (see table below):

 Masculine Giornale (newspaper) Pane (bread) Nome (name)

Gender Inflections for Nouns:

Feminine F rase (sentence) Canzone (song) Notte (night)

Feminine is often obtained from masculine by the alternation -o : -a in the endings

Masculine Amico friend Bambino little boy Cugino cousin (he) Figlio son Maestro master, teacher
The alteration -e : -a also occurs, cf.:

Feminine Amica friend Bambina little girl Cugina cousin (she) Figlia daughter Maestra teacher (female)

Masculine Signore mister Padrone master, owner

Feminine Signora mistress Padrona mistress of the house

Sometimes masculine and feminine are derived from different (or modified) roots:

Masculine frate friar fratello brother padre father uomo man paperone drake

Feminine soura nun sorella sister madre mother donna woman oca duck

These are nouns with one form for both genders. Here are included all the nouns suffixed by ista. Examples:

o o o o

Artista artist Giornalista journalist Pianista pianist Turista tourist etc

Some other nouns, like:

camerata comrade

consorte consort

 compatriota compatriot eresiarca heresiarch idiota idiot omicida murderer

amante lover cliente client commerciante trader interprete interpreter

NUMBER OF ITALIAN NOUNS

For nouns, the number (whether the word is singular or plural) works exactly as in English: the singular form is used when referring to one subject and the plural form when referring to two or more. But in Italian also adjectives and articles are number-sensitive, whereas in English they are not: "the old house" in plural form becomes "the old houses", only the noun changes, while in Italian also the article and the adjective would be turned in plural form. Number Inflections for Nouns: There are many rules to obtain the plural of italian nouns; but, generally, the plural is derived according to the following rules:

For regular masculine nouns that end in -o, the ending changes to -i in the plural. In the same way regular feminine nouns that end in -a take on -e endings in the plural. Examples: For masculine nouns Singular fratello libro nonno ragazzo For Femenine nouns Singular casa penna pizza ragazza Plural fratelli libri nonni ragazzi Plural case penne pizze ragazze English brothers books grandfather boys English houses pens pizzas girls

The plural forms of some nouns end in -e will end in -i (regardless of whether these nouns are masculine or feminine).

Singular Plural English bicchiere bicchieri (wine) glass chiave chiavi keys fiume fiumi rivers frase frasi phrases As a particular case, we have the words ending with co, ca, go, ga; these nouns and adjectives add an h to

their plural form. Examples: Singular Plural English buco buchi holes fico fichi figs chirurgo chirurghi surgeons mucca mucche cows However, when the vowel that comes before co or go is i (i.e. ...ico, ...igo), in most cases the masculin plural drops the h, thus becoming ...-ci or ...-gi (English sound ...chyh or ...jyh). Examples: Singular Plural English amico amici friends nemico nemici enemies tecnico tecnici technical comico comici comical - comedians Nouns ending with an accented vowel or a consonant (such as words of foreign origin) do not change in the plural, nor do the abbreviated words. Singular In plural would be... English caff due caff Two coffees film due film Two films foto due foto Two photos In other cases the plural is a little difficult to recognize for a beginner; many times is recognized by external indicators, as articles, pronouns etc. Examples: Singular il trib la citt l'analisi Plural i trib le citt gli analisi English the tribes the cities the analyses

Note: Adjectives follow the same two patterns as nouns

ITALIAN PRONOUNS
Personal pronouns are little words that replace persons or things: he, she, they, it, me, her etc. Personal pronouns can play the role of subjects or be in a different role. For instance, in the sentence "I eat a food", "I" is a subject, but in the sentence "That lion wants to eat me", "me" is the object. Other pronouns (not personal) also replace nouns, with a more specific usage. For instance, this can replace a noun, with a meaning similar to it (or he/she), e.g. in the sentence this is good for you. The types of object pronouns are:

Italian Italian Italian Italian

subject pronouns object pronouns possessive pronuns relative pronouns

Subject Pronouns: Subject Pronouns are often omitted, since the verb form indicates the subject:

Ho freddo I'm cold

Since the endings of conjugated verb forms indicate person and number, subject pronouns may be omitted in Italian except when necessary: (1) for clarity, (2) when modified by anche (also), or (3) when emphasis or contrast is desired. Examples:

o o o

Io ho freddo I, for my part, am cold Lui detesta il film He hates the movie Vorrebbe Lei venire con me? Would you like to come with me?

It and they referring to things are almost never used in Italian and need not be translated. Below you can see a table with subject pronouns:

Persons 1st. person 2nd. person familiar 2nd. person polite* 3rd. person

Singular io I tu you Lei you lui him lei her esso it (m.) essa it (f.)

Plural noi we voi you Loro You loro them loro them essi them (m.) esse them (f.)

In modern Italian he, she, and they are usually expressed by lui, lei, and loro, respectively. (Egli, ella, essi, and esse are used more in written Italian than in the spoken language. Esso and essa are seldom used.) Examples:

o o o o

Tu ricevi una cartolina You receive a postcard Io arrivo alle otto I arrive at 8 Lui entra in aula He enters to the classroom Sono felice We are happy

Personal pronouns are the only part of the sentence in which Italian makes a distinction between masculine/feminine and neutre. Neutre gender is used for objects, plants and animals except man; but this distinction does not cause any important change, because all other parts of the sentence (nouns, verb inflections, adjectives, etc.) do not have a neutre gender, which is simply handled by using either masculine or feminine. Object Pronouns: Object Pronouns are either direct or indirect, and cannot stand alone without a verb. The direct object receives the action of the verb directly while the indirect object is indirectly affected by it.

Direct Object Pronouns Indirect Object Pronouns

(*) Note that second person polite form pronouns are capitalized.

DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

A direct object is the direct recipient of the action of a verb. Direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns. In Italian the forms of the direct object pronouns (i pronomi diretti) are as follows:

Person 1st. person 2nd. person familiar 2nd. person polite* 3rd. person
These pronouns are used as follows:

Singular mi me ti you La you (m. and f.) lo him, it la her it

Plural ci us vi you Li You (m.) Le You (f.) li them (m.) le them (f.)

1. They stand immediately before the verb or the auxiliary verb in the compound tenses. Examples:

o o o

Li ho invitati a cena I have invited them to dinner L'ho veduta ieri I saw her yesterday Ci hanno guardati e ci hanno seguiti They watched us and followed us

In a negative sentence, the word non must come before the object pronoun.

o o

Non la mangia He doesnt eat it Perch non li inviti? Why dont you invite them?

2. The object pronoun is attached to the end of an infinitive. Note that the final e of the infinitive is dropped.

o o o

importante mangiarla ogni giorno It is important to eat it every day una buonidea invitarli Its a good idea to invite them Volevo comprarla I wanted to buy it

3. The Object pronouns are attached to ecco to express here I am, here you are, here he is, and so on.

o o

Dov la signorina? Eccola! Where is the young woman? Here she is! Hai trovato le chiavi? S, eccole! Have you found the keys? Yes, here they are!

4. The pronouns lo and la are often shortened to l'. (*) Note that second person polite form pronouns are capitalized.

INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

While direct object pronouns answer the question what? or whom? Indirect object pronouns answer the question to whom? or for whom? Also, they're the same as the Direct Object Pronouns except for the pronouns in the Third Person (i.e. to him; to her; to them).

Singolare mi ti gli le Le

Singular (to/for) me (to/for) you (informal) (to/for) him, it (to/for) her, it (to/for) you (formal f. & m.)

Plurale ci vi loro Loro

Plural (to/for) us (to/for) you (informal) (to/for) them (m. & f.) (to/for) you (formal f. & m.)

The direct object is governed directly by the verb, for example, in the following statement: Romeo loved her. The Indirect Object in an English sentence often stands where you would expect the direct object but common sense will tell you that the direct object is later in the sentence, e.g.: Romeo bought her a bunch of flowers. The direct object i.e. the thing that Romeo bought is a bunch of flowers; Romeo didn't buy her as if she were a slave. So the pronoun her in the sentence actually means "for her" and is the Indirect Object. Examples: Qulacuno mi ha mandato una cartolina dalla Spagna Someone (has) sent me a postcard from Spain. Il professore le ha spiegato il problema The teacher (has) explained the problem to her. Gli hai detto di comprare un regalo per sua madre? Did you tell him/them to buy a present for (his/their) mother. Voglio telefonargli I want to phone him. Il signor Brambilla ci ha insegnato l'italiano Mr Brambilla taught us Italian. Cosa gli dici? What are you saying to him/to them?

 Lucia,tuo padre vuole parlarti! Lucia, your father wants to speak to you! Non gli ho mai chiesto di aiutarmi I (have) never asked him to help me. Non oserei consigliarti I would not dare to advise you Le ho regalato un paio di orecchini I gave her a present of a pair of earrings.

ITALIAN PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are short words which express conditions, directions, specifications, such as of, over, to, from, etc. Prepositions are those little words that mark places in space or time. When prepositions are used together with definite articles, the preposition and the article are sometimes condensed into a single word. When they are not followed (and bound) to articles, they are called "simple prepositions". Simple prepositions: They are words that aren't followed by articles. Simple prepositions are: di (d) of a to da from, by, since in in con with tra, fra between su on per for Di: "Di" means "of", indicating possession, or "from" (to be from). Examples:
o o o o o o

un bicchiere di vino a glass of wine la citt di Roma the city of Rome il libro di Paolo Paul's book (literally: "the book of Paul") la madre di Roberto Robert's mother io sono di Roma I am from Rome i due ragazzi sono di Berlino the two boys are from Berlin

A: "A" means "to" (indirect object and movement) or "in", indicating location (cities and places).

When preposition "a" is followed by another word starting with a vowel, for mere phonetic reasons it changes to "ad". Examples:
o o o o

regalo il libro a Stefania I give the book to Stephanie vender la bicicletta a Carlo I shall sell the bycicle to Charles a destra to the right (note how in Italian the two directions have no article) torner ad Amburgo I shall return to Hamburg

o o

siamo a letto we are in bed tu vivi a Roma you live in Rome

Da: "Da" means "since", "from" (to come from), "by" (passive) and it's used with location referring to people. Examples:
o o o o

Vivo a Foggia da 16 anni I've lived in Foggia for 16 years Vengo da Foggia I come from Foggia Questo corso stato fatto da Davide This course was made by Davide Sono da Davide I'm at Davide's

In: "In" usually means "in". Examples:

o o o

Vivo in una bella citt I live in a beautiful city. ho dieci monete in tasca I have ten coins in my pocket traverseremo il fiume in barca we will cross the river by boat

Con: "Con" means "with". Examples:

o o o

Sono con te I'm with you ho comprato il libro con pochi soldi I bought the book with little money il bambino era con un adulto the child was with an adult

Su: "Su" means "on(to)", "over". Examples:

o o

I libri sono su un banco The books are on a desk. l'aereo vola su Firenze The plane flies over Florence

Per: "Per" It can translate English for, to, by, or even as, according to the different use. Examples:
o o o

Questo regalo per te This present is for Davide Ho un biglietto per il teatro I have a ticket for the theatre Il pacco per la signora the parcel is for the lady

Tra-fra: "Tra" and "fra" mean "between" or "in" followed by a time expression. Examples:
o o o o

Sono tra(fra) il tavolo e la sedia I'm between the table and the chair Vengo a casa tra(fra) due minuti I'd come home in two minutes l'autobus passer fra(tra) due ore the bus will pass in two hours time l'albero fra(tra) le due case alto the tree between the two houses is tall

ITALIAN VERBS

A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (to decompose (itself), to glitter), or a state of being (exist, live, soak, stand).

Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (wha we usually call subject, object, etc.). Examples:
o o o o o o o o

Vado in Italia con la mia famiglia I will go to Italy with my family. Il biglietto costa 2200 dollari australiani The ticket costs 2200 australian dolars. Faccio studiare i ragazzi I make the boys study. Noi studiamo sempre We always study. Vuole anche questo libro He wants that book, too. Le fragole sono dolcissime Strawberries are very sweet. Questa arancia molto buona This orange is very good. Lei parla piano piano She speaks very softly

In Italian, most verbs end in a common pattern, such as -are, -ere, and -ire. These are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations respectively. Examples: ARE parlare cantare lavorare amare Means to speak to sing to work to love ERE scrivere vedere vendere vivere Means to write to see to sell to live IRE dormire partire aprire servire Means to sleep to leave to open to serve IRE (*) finire colpire costruire sparire Means to finish to hit to build to disappear

The features of the verbs are:

The Person: (indicates the subject that does the action) The persons in Italian are io, tu, lui (masculine), lei (feminine), noi, voi, loro (masculine and feminine). The Manner: (indicates how the action happens) In Italian there are seven manners or moods with different forms and functions: indicativo (indicative), congiuntivo (subjunctive), condizionale (conditional),imperativo (imperative), infinito (infinitive), gerundio (gerund), participio (participle).

The Time: (indicates when the action happens) In Italian there are many different times: all the seven manners of the verb have different times.The times can be simple (only one word) or compound (two or more words). The Form: (indicates the kind of action) In Italian the form can be active transitive, active intransitive, reflexive and passive.

(*) There are few verbs of the -ire conjugation in Italian that have different suffix.

ACTIVE & PASSIVE VOICES

In passive sentences, the subject receives the action of the verb. In active sentences, the subject does the action. However, the meaning of both sentences is the same. The passive form is only possible with transitive verbs and is much more common in English than in Italian. The passive form consists of the verb essere plus the past participle of the main verb followed by da (by) and its contractions. Essere should be in the same tense as the verb in its corresponding active sentence. The past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Active Voice I miei genitori pagano l'affitto. My parents pay the rent. Examples: Active. Le ragazze firmano il contratto Passive. I contratti sono firmati dalle ragazze. The contracts are signed by the girls. Active. Carlo arreda la stanza Passive. La stanza (stata) arredata da Carlo. The room has been furnished by Carl. Active. I miei genitori pagheranno l'affitto . Passive. L'affitto sar pagato dai miei genitori. The rent will be paid by my parents. Passive Voice L'affitto pagato dai miei genitori. The rent is paid by my parents.

ITALIAN ADJETIVES
Italian and English differ in their usage of adjectives. Italian descriptive adjectives are usually placed after the noun they modify, and with which they agree in gender and number. As a difference with English, adjectives may be placed both before or after the noun.

La grande citt the large town. La citt grande the large town.

are both correct, but in the second one the idea of large is slightly more. More examples:

La macchina rossa the red car Le macchine rosse the red cars Il divano rosso the red sofa I divani rossi the red sofas

Endings for adjectives: - Adjectives ending in -o have four forms. They need to modify their endings for gender and number.

Gender & number masculine singular masculine plural feminine singular feminine plural
There's a list of adjectives ending in -o:

Adjective ending -o -a -i -e

allegro cheerful, happy buono good, kind cattivo bad, wicked freddo cold stretto narrow
Exampes:

grasso fat leggero light nuovo new pieno full timido timid, shy

il gatto nero (the black cat, m) i gatti neri (the black cats, m) la gatta nera (the black cat, f) le gatte nere (the black cats, f) il ragazzo cattivo (the bad boy) i ragazzi cattivi (the bad boys) la ragazza cattiva (the bad girl) le ragazze cattive (the bad girls)

- Adjectives that end in -e do not need to modify their endings for gender. Their endings change to "i" only depending on whether the noun is singular or plural. Examples:

Il libro verde the green book La porta verde the green door I libri verdi the green books Le porte verdi the green doors

There are quite a few other exceptions for forming plural adjectives. For instance, adjectives that end in -io (with the stress falling on that i) form the plural with the ending

-ii: addio/addii; leggio/leggii; zio/zii. The table below contains a chart of other irregular adjective endings you should know.

Singular Ending -ca -cia -cio -co -scia -scio

Examples:

Plural Ending -che -ce -ci -chi -sce -sci

Singular Ending -ga -gia -gio -glia -glio -go

Plural Ending -ghe -ge -gi -glie -gli -ghi

pacifico pacific (m) pacifici pacific pacifica pacific (f) pacifiche pacific largo large (m) larghi large larga large (f) larghe large vecchio old (m) vecchi old vecchia old (f) vecchie old bianco white (m) bianchi white bianca white (f) bianche white

There are only 3 irregular adjectives: buono (good), bello (beautiful, nice), quello (that). When these adjectives are put in front of their noun, they follow their own rules.

ITALIAN ADVERBS
An adverb (avverbio) is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb can be compared to an adjective but instead it says something about a verb or an adjective instead of a noun.

o o o o

Luciano agisce lentamentes Luciano acts slowly. Leonardo viene tardi Leonardo comes late. Usciamo adesso We're leaving now. Ci andiamo a giugno We are going there in June.

In English, adverbs are often formed by adding the suffix -ly to adjectives: slowly, softly, surely. Adverbs often answer the question: come? (how?), quando? (when?), or dove? (where?) In Italian, many adverbs are formed by adding the ending -mente (which corresponds to the suffix -ly) to the feminine form of the adjective:

Adjective (masc.) felice (happy)

Adjective (fem.) felice (happy)

Adverb felicemente (happily)

vero (true) lento (slow) stanco (tired)

Examples:

vera (true) lenta (slow) stanca (tired)

veramente (truly) lentamente (slowly) stancamente (tiredly)

o o o

Lui corre rapidamente He runs fast Parlo lentamente I speak slowly Parla Italiano fluentemente He/She/It speaks Italian fluently

If the adjective ends in -le or -re, the final vowel e is dropped before adding the suffix -mente:

Adjective (m. or f.) esemplare(exemplary) gentile (kind) speciale(special) generale (general) regolare (regular)

Adjectival root Adverb esemplarigentilspecialgeneralregolaresemplarmente(exemplarily) gentilmente(kindly) specialmente(especially) generalmente(generally) regolarmente(regularly)

Not all Italian adverbs are formed from adjectives. Below we have a list of those adverbs.

ITALIAN ancora attorno bene contro dentro dietro dopo fuori

Examples:

ENGLISH still around, about well against in, inside behind of then, afterwards outside

ITALIAN gi inoltre insieme male (non)...mai (non)...pi oltre sempre

ENGLISH already moreover together badly never not anymore beyond always

o o o o o

Beve sempre la birra He always drinks beer. Sono arrivato tardi al museo I arrived late at the museum. Non ci sei pi andata You don't go there anymore. Enzo sempre venuto in orario Enzo always came on time. Non ho ancora finito i miei compiti I still hadn't finished my homework.

AUXILIARY VERBS IN ITALIAN

"Essere" (to be) and "Avere" (to have) are called auxiliary verbs; they are called so because they help in the formation of compound tenses ("essere" + the past participle of a verb, "avere" + the past participle of a verb) and the passive construction ("essere"+ a verb) Generally speaking, "avere" is used with Transitive verbs (verbs which take an object) while "essere" is used with Reflexive and Intransitive verbs (verbs of motion, position, physical or mental condition, etc.). Examples:

o o o

Abbiamo venduto la casa We have sold the house Si frenata She restrained herself Voi siete arrivati a tempo You arrived on time

"Stare" (to stay, to be) is used as an auxiliary verb with adverbial participles (so-called gerunds) to form Progresive Tenses: The present progressive uses the present tense of "stare": Sto parlando I am speaking The past progressiveuses the imperfect tense of "stare": Stava leggendo He was reading "Andare" is used in a similar fashion as an auxiliary verb: Example:

Andava cantando He went around singing

ITALIAN COMPOUND TENSES

Italian features a set of compound tenses, based either on avere (to have) or essere(to be). The three compound tenses are:

English tense Recent Past Recent Pluperfect Remote Pluperfect Future Perfect

Italian Tense Passato Prossimo Trapassato Prossimo Trapassato Remoto Futuro Anteriore

English have done had done(*) had done will have done

Italian ho fatto avevo fatto ebbi fatto avr fatto

The choice of whether to use avere or essere depends on the type of verb:

Non-reflexive transitive verbs (i.e. verbs that take a direct object) use avere Intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take a direct object), verbs of motion, and reflexive verbs (even if those verbs are based on transitive verbs) take essere
(*) The Trapassato Prossimo (Recent Pluperfect) and the Trapassato Remoto (Remote Pluperfect) are separate tenses in Italian though not in English.

he compound tenses (i tempi composti) are verb tenses that consist of two words, such as the passato prossimo (present perfect). Both the verbs essere and avere act as helping verbs in compound tense formations. For example: io sono stato (I was) and ho avuto (I had). In Italian there are four compound tenses: Present Perfect: The passato prossimogrammatically referred to as the present perfectis a compound tense (tempo composto) that expresses a fact or action that happened in the recent past or that occurred long ago but still has ties to the present. Examples:

Ho appena chiamato I just called Mi sono iscritto all'universit quattro anni fa I entered the university four years ago Questa mattina sono uscito presto This morning I left early Il Petrarca ha scritto sonetti immortali Petrarca wrote enduring sonnets

Future perfect: The futuro anteriore or future perfect tense is a compound tense. How to express the idea of "I will have" or "they will have"? Use future perfect tense. Examples:

Alle sette avremo gi mangiato By seven we'll already have eaten Noi avremo parlato al padre di Anna We will already have spoken to Anna's father

Pluperfect (past perfect tense): In English the past perfect tense (trapassato prossimo) is formed with the auxiliary "had" + the past participle of the main verb. In Italian, the trapassato prossimo, a compound tense, is formed with the imperfetto of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle of the acting verb.

Gi erano partiti quando sono arrivato They had already left when I arrived Avevo chiuso le finestre quando cominciato a piovere I had shut the windows when it started to rain La macchina sbandava perch aveva piovuto The car was sliding because it had rained

Past anterior (trapassato remoto): Known in English as the preterite perfect, is used primarily in literary contexts. It's a compound tense formed with the passato remoto of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle of the acting verb. To see how avere and essere conjugate in the remote past tense, see the tables below.

CONJUGATING AVERE IN THE REMOTE PAST PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL I (io) ebbi (noi) avemmo II (tu) avesti (voi) aveste III (lui, lei, Lei) ebbe (loro, Loro) ebbero PERSON I II III
Examples:

CONJUGATING ESSERE IN THE REMOTE PAST SINGULAR PLURAL (io) fui (noi) fummo (tu) fosti (voi) foste (lui, lei, Lei) fu (loro, Loro) furono

Partirono, quando ebbero ricevuto la notizia They were leaving when they received the notice Renata entr, appena Giorgio fu uscito Renata entered just after Giorgio had left And a casa, quando ebbe finito di lavorare He went home when he had finished working

As you can see, in each sentence set in the trapassato remoto, you will encounter an expression of time, such as the following: appena (scarcely), dopo che (as soon as), or finch non (up until).

ITALIAN CONJUGATION
The infinitives of all Regular Verbs in Italian end in are, ere, or ire and are referred to as first, second, or third conjugation verbs, respectively. In English the infinitive (l'infinito) consists of to + verb. Examples:

o o o

amare - to love. temere - to fear. sentire - to hear.

A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (to decompose (itself), to glitter), or a state of being (exist, live, soak, stand).

Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (wha we usually call subject, object, etc.). Examples:
o o o o o o o o

Vado in Italia con la mia famiglia I will go to Italy with my family. Il biglietto costa 2200 dollari australiani The ticket costs 2200 australian dolars. Faccio studiare i ragazzi I make the boys study. Noi studiamo sempre We always study. Vuole anche questo libro He wants that book, too. Le fragole sono dolcissime Strawberries are very sweet. Questa arancia molto buona This orange is very good. Lei parla piano piano She speaks very softly

In Italian, most verbs end in a common pattern, such as -are, -ere, and -ire. These are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations respectively. Examples: ARE parlare cantare Means to speak to ERE scrivere vedere Means to write to IRE dormire partire Means to sleep to IRE (*) finire colpire Means to finish to

lavorare amare

sing to work to love

vendere vivere

see to sell to live

aprire servire

leave to open to serve

costruire sparire

hit to build to disappear

The features of the verbs are:

The Person: (indicates the subject that does the action) The persons in Italian are io, tu, lui (masculine), lei (feminine), noi, voi, loro (masculine and feminine). The Manner: (indicates how the action happens) In Italian there are seven manners or moods with different forms and functions: indicativo (indicative), congiuntivo (subjunctive), condizionale (conditional),imperativo (imperative), infinito (infinitive), gerundio (gerund), participio (participle).

The Time: (indicates when the action happens) In Italian there are many different times: all the seven manners of the verb have different times.The times can be simple (only one word) or compound (two or more words). The Form: (indicates the kind of action) In Italian the form can be active transitive, active intransitive, reflexive and passive.

(*) There are few verbs of the -ire conjugation in Italian that have different suffix.
Below you have detailed lists with three italian regular verbss conjugations in the eight simple & compound tenses: Parlare (To talk) Scrivere (To write) Dormire (To sleep) andCapire (to understand). The last one has a different conjugation in present tense, as you can see in the first table, but is a regular verb as well.

SIMPLE TENSE CONJUGATION

Below we have a list of 3 regular verbs and their simple tense conjugation. Present Tense:

Personal pronoun io (I) tu (You) lui / lei (He, She, It) noi (We) voi (You) loro (They)

Parlare parlo parli parla parliamo parlate parlano

Scrivere Scrivo scrivi scrive scriviamo scrivete scrivono

Dormire dormo dormi dorme dormiamo dormite dormono

Capire capisco capisci capisce capiamo capite capisc

 Imperfect Tense (Imperfetto):

Personal pronoun io (I) tu (You) lui / lei (He, She, It) noi (We) voi (You) loro (They)

Parlare Parlavo arlavi Parlava Parlavamo Parlavate Parlavano

Scrivere scrivevo scrivevi scriveva scrivevamo scrivevate scrivevano

Dormire dormivo dormivi dormiva dormivamo dormivate dormivano

Capire capivo capivi capiva capivamo capivate capivano

Future Tense (Futuro semplice):

Personal pronoun io (I) tu (You) lui / lei noi (We) voi (You) loro (They)

Parlare parler parlerai parler parleremo parlerete parleranno

Scrivere scriver scriverai scriver scriveremo scriverete scriveranno

Dormire dormir dormirai dormir dormiremo dormiete dormiranno

Capire capir capirai capir capiremo capirete capiranno

Simple Past Tense (Passato remoto):

Personal pronoun io (I) tu (You) lui / lei (He, She, It) noi (We) voi (You) loro (They)

Parlare parlai parlasti parl parlammo parlaste parlarono

Scrivere scrissi scrivesti scrisse scrivemmo scriveste scrissero

Dormire dormii dormisti dorm dormimmo dormiste dormirono

Capire capii capisti cap capimmo capiste capirono

COMPOUND TENSE CONJUGATION

Below we have a list of 3 regular verbs and their simple tense conjugation. Present perfect (Passato prossimo): Personal pronoun Parlare io (I) ho Parlato tu (You) hai parlato Scrivere ho scritto hai scritto Dormire ho dormito hai dormito Capire ho capito hai capito

lui / lei (He, She, It) ha Parlato noi (We) abbiamo parlato voi (You) avete parlato loro (They) hanno parlato

ha scritto abbiamo scritto avete scritto hanno scritto

ha dormito abbiamo dormito avete dormito hanno dormito

ha capito abbiamo capito avete capito hanno capito

Plusperfect - Past perfect (Trapassato prossimo): Personal pronoun Parlare io (I) avevo parlato tu (You) avevi parlato lui / lei aveva parlato (He, She, It) noi (We) avevamo parlato voi (You) avevate parlato loro (They) avevano parlato Future Perfect (Futuro anteriore): Personal pronoun io (I) tu (You) lui / lei (He, She, It) noi (We) voi (You) loro (They) Parlare avr parlato avrai parlato avr parlato avremo parlato avrete parlato avranno parlato Scrivere avr scritto avrai scritto avr scritto avremo scritto avrete scritto avranno scritto Dormire avr dormito avrai dormito avr dormito avremo dormito avrete dormito avranno dormito Capire avr capito avrai capito avr capito avremo capito avrete capito avranno capito Scrivere avevo scritto avevi scritto aveva scritto avevamo scritto avevate scritto avevano scritto Dormire avevo dormito avevi dormito aveva dormito avevamo dormito avevate dormito avevano dormito Capire avevo capito avevi capito aveva capito avevamo capito avevate capito avevano capito

Preterite perfect (Trapassato remoto): Personal pronoun io (I) tu (You) lui / lei (He, She, It) noi (We) voi (You) loro (They) Parlare ebbi parlato avesti parlato ebbe parlato avemmo parlato aveste parlato ebbero parlato Scrivere ebbi scritto avesti scritto ebbe scritto avemmo scritto aveste scritto ebbero scritto Dormire ebbi dormito avesti dormito ebbe dormito Capire ebbi capito avesti capito ebbe capito

avemmo dormito avemmo capito aveste dormito aveste capito ebbero dormito ebbero capito

Conjugation of irregular verbs: While the majority of Italian verbs are regular, many of the most commonly used ones are irregular; they do not follow the regular pattern of conjugation (infinitive stem + endings). In particular, the auxiliary verbs essere andavere, and the common modal verbs potere (ability, to be able to), dovere (duty, to have to), stare (to stand, to be in a particular state), sapere (to know), and volere (to want to) are all irregular.

IRREGULAR VERBS CONJUGATION

Essere (To be - an auxiliary) Pron. io tu egli noi voi essi Present sono sei siamo siete sono Preterite fui fosti fu fummo foste furono Imperfect ero eri era eravamo eravate erano Future sar sarai sar saremo sarete saranno

Avere (To have - an auxiliary) Pron. io tu egli noi voi essi Present ho hai ha abbiamo avete hanno Preterite ebbi avesti ebbe avemmo aveste ebbero Imperfect avevo avevi aveva avevamo avevate avevano Future avr avrai avr avremo avrete avranno

Potere (To be able to - a modal) Pron. io tu egli noi voi essi Present posso puoi pu possiamo potete possono Preterite potei potesti pot potemmo poteste poterono Imperfect potevo potevi poteva potevamo potevate potevano Future potr potrai potr potremo potrete potranno

Dovere (To have to to, must - a modal)

Pron. io tu egli noi voi essi

Present devo devi deve dobbiamo dovete devono

Preterite dovei dovesti dov dovemmo doveste doverono

Imperfect dovevo dovevi doveva dovevamo dovevate dovevano

Future dovr dovrai dovr dovremo dovrete dovranno

ITALIAN CONJUNCTION
Conjunctions (le congiunzioni) join words and sentences together. Some of them are simple and common and don't cause any trouble--such as "e" and "o." Some other, longer ones require the use of the subjunctive. They are: - bench, sebbene, malgrado, nonostante, quantunque all mean: although, in spite of, even though - purch, a patto che, a condizione che all mean: provided that - nel caso che in case Some others require the use of the subjunctive only if the subject of the main verb and the subject of the subjunctive are different; if the subjects are the same, the infinitive is required. They are: - affinch, perch, cosicch, in modo che in order to, so that - senza che without - prima che before Below we have a list of the most common conjunctions:

Italiano a meno che...non affinch perch (with sub) in modo che bench malgrado sebbene quantunque prima che purch a patto che

English unless so that, in order that so that, in order that so that, in order that although although although although before provided that provided that

Takes subjunctive? yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

a condizione che senza che anche se dopo che dunque perch (w/out sub) perci per poiche quindi siccome

provided that without even if after therefore because for this reason, therfore however since, seeing that therefore, consequently as, since

yes yes no no no no no no no no no

ITALIAN SUBJUNCTIVE
The Subjunctive mood expresses doubt, uncertainty, hope, fear, possibility, opinions, etc. and is used much more frequently in Italian. It is mainly used in dependent clauses (sentences introduced by a conjunction that do not have a complete meaning) that are introduced by che. The "congiuntivo" is also required with particular expressions such as:

Impersonal forms necessario che, bisogna che, importante che... tu venga al cinema it's necessary that, it's important that... you come to the movie Comparative clauses il film pi interessante che abbia visto - it is the most interesting movie that I saw Sentences introduced by affinch - perch (so that), tranne che (a part that), a meno che (unless), sebbene - malgrado - nonostante (altough), purch - a patto che(provided that), come se (as if) Sentences introduced by the adjectives or pronouns qualsiasi qualunque(any), chiunque (whoever), dovunque (anywhere) Sentences introduced by the adjectives or pronouns niente che - nulla che(nothing that), nessuno che (nobody that), l'unico/a che - il solo/a che (the only one that)

Italian subjunctive has four forms. The two first ones (Present and Imperfect Subjunctive) are simple tenses, with their own inflections:

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
The present subjunctive of regular verbs is formed by dropping the normal endings, and adding these new endings:

ARE ending

ERE ending

1st. IRE

2nd. IRE

Sing. -i -i -i

Plur. -iamo -iate -ino

Sing. -a -a -a

Plur. -iamo -iate -ano

Sing. -a -a -a

Plur. -iamo -iate -ano

Sing. -isca -isca -isca

Plur. -iamo -iate -iscano

In the other hand, most irregular verbs that change stem in the present conjugation change stem in the "congiuntivo". The table below provides examples of three regular verbs conjugated in the present subjunctive tense.

Che+Pronoun che io che tu che lui/lei/Lei che noi che voi che loro/Loro

-ARE Verb parli parli parli parliamo parliate parlino

-ERE Verb scriva scriva scriva scriviamo scriviate scrivano

-IRE Verbs senta senta senta sentiamo sentiate sentano

capisca capisca capisca capiamo capiate capiscano

Typical phrases that call for the subjunctive tense include:

Credo che... (I believe that...) Suppongo che... (I suppose that...) Immagino che... (I imagine that...) necessario che... (It is necessary that...) Mi piace che... (I'd like that...) Non vale la pena che... (It's not worth it that...)
Examples:

Non suggerisco che... (I'm not suggesting that...) Pu darsi che... (It's possible that...) Penso che... (I think that...) Non sono certo che... (I'm not sure that...) probabile che... (It is probable that...) Ho l'impressione che... (I have the impression that...)

Ho paura che sia troppo tardi I am afraid it may be too late Credo che lavino il cane molto spesso I think that they wash the dog very often Desidero che venga con me I want her to come with me Spero che prenda la giusta decisione I hope that he / she takes (= will take) the right decision Penso che dorma I think he's sleeping Che abbia venduto la macchina? I wonder if he sold his car

IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE

Is used when the action expressed in a conditional sentence is not sure: if I came...; in the case you went...; shoul he call...; etc. This subjunctive is formed by adding personal endings to the imperfect stem. For conjugations of regular verbs, the endings are identical for all three conjugations: 1st. CONJUGATION Parlare To Speak parlaparla-ssi parla-ssi parla-sse parla-ssimo parla-ste parla-ssero 2nd. CONJUGATION Vendere To Sell vendevende-ssi vende-ssi vende-sse vende-ssimo vende-ste vende-ssero 3rd. CONJUGATION Dormire To Sleep dormidormi-ssi dormi-ssi dormi-sse dormi-ssimo dormi-ste dormi-ssero

Che + Pronoun che io che tu che lei che noi che voi che loro Examples:

Credevo che avessero ragione I thought they were right Non era probabile che prendessimo una decisione It wasn't likely we would make a decision Non c'era nessuno che ci capisse There was no one who understood us Il razzismo era il peggior problema che ci fosse Racism was the worst problem there was.
And the last compound tenses (congiuntivo passato and congiuntivo trapassato) are made in the same way as the indicative ones (auxiliary verb + past participle of the main verb), though the two auxiliaries essere and avere use subjunctive inflections.

PERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE
The Perfect subjunctive or past subjunctive ("congiuntivo passato"), is a "compound tense" (like the "passato prossimo") because it is formed with the present subjunctive of an auxiliary verbs ("essere" or "avere") plus the past participle of a verb. Whether it requires "essere" or "avere", depends on the verb. If the verb is a transitive verb, it requires the auxiliary "avere". If the verb is intransitive (like most verbs that express movement or state of being) or if the verb is reflexive, it requires the auxiliary"essere". Personal Auxiliar Past English

Pronoun io tu lei noi voi loro Personal Pronoun io tu lei noi voi loro

"avere" abbia abbia abbia abbiamo abbiate abbiano Auxiliar "essere" sia sia sia siamo siate siano

Participle parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato parlato Past Participle arrivato arrivato arrivata arrivati arrivati arrivate

I have spoken, I spoke you have spoken, you spoke she has spoken, she spoke we have spoken, we spoke you have spoken, you spoke they have spoken, they spoke

English I have arrived, I arrived you have arrived, you arrived she has arrived, she arrived we have arrived, we arrived you have arrived, you arrived they (f.) have arrived, they arrived

"Dormire" (to sleep), "rispondere" (to answer), "viaggiare" (to travel), "vivere" (to live) though intransitive require the auxiliary "avere" ("ho dormito, ho risposto, ho viaggiato, ho vissuto...") Verbs that express movement, like "venire" (to come), "andare" (to go), "uscire" (to go out)... require the auxiliary "essere" Verbs that express state of being, like "essere" (to be), "stare" (to stay), "rimanere" (to remain), "nascere" (to be born)... require the auxiliary "essere" Examples: Credo che abbiano ripreso le discussioni I think they resumed discussions Mi dispiace che abbia parlato cos I'm sorry that he spoke that way Siamo contenti che siano venuti We're glad they came Non credo che siano andati in Italia I don't believe they went to Italy

PLUPERFECT

To complete the fourth of subjunctive-tense verb forms, there's the congiuntivo trapassato (referred to as the past perfect subjunctive in English), which is a compound tense. Form this tense with the congiuntivo imperfetto of

the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle of the acting verb. Che+Pronoun che io che tu che lui/lei/Lei che noi che voi che loro/Loro Avere avessi avuto avessi avuto avesse avuto avessimo avuto aveste avuto avessero avuto Essere fossi stato(-a) fossi stato(-a) fosse stato(-a) fossimo stati(-e) foste stati(-e) fossero stati(-e)

Bellow we have a list with some examples of congiuntivo trapassato with the verbs"mangiare" (to eat), "leggere" (to read), "andare" (to go) and "venire" (to come). AVERE Pron. io tu lui lei Lei noi voi loro Mangiare avessi mangiato avessi mangiato avesse mangiato avesse mangiato avesse mangiato avessimo mangiato aveste mangiato avessero mangiato Leggere avessi letto avessi letto avesse letto avesse letto avesse letto avessimo letto aveste letto avessero letto Andare fossi andato/a fossi andato/a fossi andato fossi andata fossi andato/a fossimo andati/e foste andati/e fossero andati/e ESSERE Venire fossi venuto/a fossi venuto/a fosse venuto fosse venuta fosse venuto/a fossimo venuti/e foste venuti/e fossero venuti/e

As well as the congiuntivo passato, the verbs "Dormire" (to sleep), "rispondere" (to answer), "viaggiare" (to travel), "vivere" (to live) though intransitive require the auxiliary "avere" ("avessi dormito, avessi risposto, avess viaggiato, avessi vissuto...") Verbs that express movement, like "venire" (to come), "andare" (to go), "uscire" (to go out)... require the auxiliary "essere" Verbs that express state of being, like "essere" (to be), "stare" (to stay), "rimanere" (to remain), "nascere" (to be born)... require the auxiliary "essere" Examples: Speravo che avessero capito I was hoping they had understood Avevo paura che non avessero risolto quel problema I was afraid they hadn't resolved that problem Vorrebbero che io raccontassi una storia They would like me to tell a story Non volevo che tu lo facessi cos presto I didn't want you to do it as soon

ITALIAN DEFINITE ARTICLES

In Italian, larticolo determinativo has different forms according to the gender, number, and first letter of the noun or adjective it precedes. There are some guidelines that help you to determine what article to use. For singular nouns:

lo-LO: is used for all masculine nouns beginning with s+consonant or z. il-IL: is used for all masculine nouns starting in a consonant, except the case where you use "lo". la-LA: is used with feminine nouns starting with any consonant l-L: This is the elision of lo or la is used before masculine or femenine nouns beginning with a vowel.

Examples: o zucchero the sugar lo zio the uncle il castello the castle la scatola the box For plural nouns:

il vecchio zio the old uncle l'impatto the impact (masculine) l'acqua the water (feminine)

gli-GLI: It is used whith masculine nouns starting with vowels, the consonant z , cluster gn or clusters made of s+consonant. i-I: It is used whith masculine nouns starting with consonants which do not belong to the previous case: le-LE: It is used before any plural feminine noun

Examples: gli artisti the artists le ali the wings i cavalli the horses gli elefanti the elephants i ragazzi the boys gli stessi ragazzi the same boys

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES
When demonstrative pronouns questo (questa, questi, queste) and quello (quella, quelli, quelle) are followed by noun, they turn into adjectives. The Demonstrative adjective (aggetivi dimostrativi) are: Singolare questo questa Singular this this Plurale questi queste Plural these these

Masculine Feminine

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

quello quella codesto codesta

that that that that

quelli quelle codesti codeste

those those those those

Codesto refers to something near the person being spoken to, but itis falling into disuse: quello is replacing it. There is elision of questo, questa, and quella before a noun beginning with a vowel. Examples:
o o o

quest'aereo this airplane quest'aula this classroom quell'autostrada that highway

Questa is sometimes shortened to "sta" and contracted with the noun it modifies:
o

questa sera (this evening) stasera (this evening)

Demonstratives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify, and always precede them:

Questo libro this book Quella casa that house

More examples:

Quel film che ti ho raccomandato si chiama "La vita bella". The movie that I recommended to you is called "The life is beauty" Roberto Benigni quell'attore che fa ridere tutti. Roberto Benigni is the actor that made everybody laugh. Quell'attrice che lavora nel film si chiama Nicoletta Braschi; quella che sposata con Benigni. The actress that was in that movie is Nicoletta Braschi; she is Benigni's wife.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
They are used to indicate a person or an object, as if pointing towards it with a finger. As for the possessives, the adjectives and the pronouns for the demonstratives have the same form. The Demonstrative Pronouns are:

Masc.

Singolare questo

Singular this / this one

Plurale questi

Plural these / these ones

Fem. Masc. Fem.

Examples:

questa quello quella

this / this one that / that one that / that one

queste quelli quelle

these / these ones those / those ones those / those ones

o o o o o

Questo il tuo cane this is your dog, or this one is your dog Quella mia madre that one (= that woman) is my mother Quelli sono i suoi libri those are his/her books, or those ones are his/her books Queste sono le nostre zie these are our aunts or these ones are our aunts Questa e quella sono identiche this one and that one are identical

These pronouns may be used either as a subject of the sentence (as in the previous examples), or as an object (as in the following sentences), in which case the English translation always includes ...one:

o o o o

(egli / ella) non prese questa, ma quella he / she did not take this one, but that one (tu) comprerai quelli you will buy those ones Domani vernicer questi tomorrow I will paint these ones Preferite questo o quello? do you prefer this one or that one?

ITALIAN DETERMINERS
Determiners are words (as an article, possessive, demonstrative or quantifier) that makes specific the denotation of a noun phrase. In Italian they agree in gender and number with the noun. Articles (a, an, the): They are used before nouns, but in Italian, nouns have gender and the articles must agree with the gender. Masculine words generally end in -o and feminine words generally end in -a. Words that end in -e may be either, so you will just have to memorize the gender. Examples:

un amico a friend (m) l'amico the friend un' amica a friend (f) l'amica the friend un ragazzo a boy il ragazzo the boy una ragazza a girl la ragazza the girl uno stato a state (m)

degli amici friends gli amici the friends delle amiche friends le amiche the friends dei ragazzi boys i ragazzi the boys delle ragazze girls le ragazze the girls dei stati states

lo stato the state uno zingaro a gypsy (m) lo zingaro the gypsy

gli stati the states dei zingari gypsies gli zingari the gypsies

See [Italian Articles] for a deeper explanation and some examples of definite and undefinite articles. Possessive Adjectives (my, your, his, her): See [Italian Possessive Adjectives] for a deeper explanation and some examples of this topic. Examples:

Singular il mio amico my friend (male) il nostro amico our friend (male) la mia amica my friend (female) la nostra amica our friend (female)

Plural i miei amici my friends (males) i nostri amici our friends (males) le miei amiche my friends (females) le nostre amiche our friends (females)

Demonstrative Adjective (this, these, that, those): See [Italian Demonstrative Adjectives] for a deeper explanation and some examples of this topic. Examples:

Singular questo libro this book quel libro that book quello studente that student quella donna that woman

Plural questi libri these books quei libri those books quelli studenti those books quelle donne those women

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
Possessive adjectives are those that indicate possession or ownership. They correspond to the English "my", "your", "his", "her", "its", "our", and "their".The Italian possessive adjectives are also preceded by definite articles and agree in gender and number with the noun possessed, not with the possessor. Possessive adjectives (aggettivi possessivi) and Possessive pronouns (pronomi possessivi) are usually compound forms which include a definite article that is not translated into English. Also, they are identical in form; the difference is in meaning. Where the possessive adjective "il mio" means "my," for example, the possessive pronoun "il mio" means "mine": "le tue scarpe e le mie" your shoes and mine. It is important to note that possessives agree in gender and number with the thing

possessed, rather than with the possessor. Examples:

o o

i miei amici my friends. la loro automobile their car.

The table below provides a chart of possessive adjectives (aggettivi possessivi) in Italian: Possess. Adjective my your (fam.) your (pol.) his, her , its our your (fam.) your (pol.) their Masculine Singular il mio il tuo il Suo il suo il nostro il vostro il Loro il loro Feminine Singular la mia la tua la Sua la sua la nostra la vostra la Loro la loro Masculine Plural i miei i tuoi i Suoi i suoi i nostri i vostri i Loro i loro Feminine Plural le mie le tue le Sue le sue le nostre le vostre le Loro le loro Possess. Pronoun mine yours yours hers,his, its ours yours yours theirs

Yo can see that mio, tuo and suo behave like normal adjectives except in the masculine plural. Also, loro does not make any changes at all, it is invariable. Examples:
o o

la mia automobile veloce my car is fast (here my acts as an adjective for the noun car) la loro lenta theirs is slow (here theirs is a pronoun, meaning their car, not mentioned) il suo gatto prese un topo his cat caught a mouse anche il tuo prese un topo also yours caught a mouse il vostro albero alto your (plur.) tree is tall il loro basso theirs is short

o o o o

Only when the possessed noun is a specific family relative the article is dropped, as in English:
o o o

mio padre alto (not "il mio padre") my father is tall mia madre giovane (not "la mia madre") my mother is young mio fratello pigro (not "il mio fratello") my brother is lazy

Another important difference is that while in English the gender of the possessive pronoun matches the possessor, in Italian it matches the possessed subject:
o

mio padre ha una bicicletta my father has a bycicle

la sua bicicletta (sua matches bicicletta, feminine) his bycicle (his matches father, masculine)
o

mia madre ha un cane my mother has a dog il suo cane (suo matches cane, masculine) her dog (her matches mother, feminine)

ITALIAN EXCLAMATION
The exclamation "What...!" is expressed in Italian with the help of the word che. These phrases will surely prove to be very useful in your Italian conversations:

o o o o o

Che Che Che Che Che

bei fiori! What beautiful flowers! belle ragazze! What beautiful girls! buon'idea! What a good idea! partita! What a game! rumore! What a noise!

The Exclamation Pronouns give a stronger emphasis to an exclamation, although their use is not always necessary. The more usually exclamation pronouns are:

che...! how...!
Examples:

quanto...! how...! how much...!

quanti...! how many...!

o o o o o o

che bello! how nice! (masculine singular) che bella! how nice! (feminine singular) quanto ha mangiato! how much he ate! quanto dormono! how much they sleep! quanto vino! how much wine! quanta roba! how much stuff!

Below is a list with the "Ten more used Italian Expressions":

Mamma mia! (My goodness!) Italians use Mamma mia! (mahm-mah mee-ah) to express surprise, impatience, happiness, sorrowany strong emotion. Che bello! (How lovely!) Che bello! (keh behl-loh) is used when you're enthusiastic about something. Uffa! (Aargh!) Uffa! (oof-fah) is a clear way to show that you're annoyed, bored, angry, or fed up. Che ne so! (How should I know?) When Italians want to say that they have no idea, they shrug their shoulders and say Che ne so! (keh neh soh). Magari! (If only!) Magari (mah-gah-ree) is just one word, but it expresses a lot. It indicates a strong wish or hope. It's a good answer if, for instance, somebody asks you if you'd like to win the lottery.

Ti sta bene! (Serves you right!) Ti sta bene! (tee stah beh-neh) is the Italian way to say "Serves you right!" Non te la prendere! (Don't get so upset! / Don't think about it!) If you see that somebody is sad, worried, or upset, you can try to console him by saying Non te la prendere! (nohn teh lah prehn-deh-reh). Che macello! (What a mess!) Figuring out the derivation of Che macello! (keh mah-chehl-loh) isn't difficult. The literal translation is "What a slaughterhouse!" Non mi va! (I don't feel like it!) Non mi va! (nohn mee vah) is one of the first phrases that Italian children learn. It means that you don't want to do something. Mi raccomando! (Please, I beg you!) With Mi raccomando! (mee rahk-koh-mahn-doh), you express a special emphasis in asking for something. An example is Telefonami, mi raccomando! (Don't forget to call me, please!)

ITALIAN GERUND
This is equivalent to the English present participle i.e. the part of the verb ending in -ing, like thinking, running, talking, going etc. The Adverbial Present Participle or gerund ("gerundio") is formed by adding a suffix to the verb stem:

ARE verbs add "-ando". Example: parl-ando (speaking) ERE verbs add "-endo". Example: vend-endo (selling) IRE verbs add "-endo". Example: dorm-endo (sleeping)

Adverbial participles answer questions about the action expressed by the main verb. Examples:
o

Sbagliando si impara One learns by making mistakes (answering the question, "How does one learn?").

They are used like English present participles to form progressive tenses with the verb "stare":
o o

Sto parlando I am talking (Present progressive, answering the question, "What am I engaged in doing?"); Stava dormendo He was sleeping (Past progressive, answering the question, "What was he engaged in doing?").

Because they function as adverbs, defining an action, these participles are invariable in form, and do not agree in gender or number with the subject of the verb. The Adverbial Present Participle (Gerundio perfetto) is formed with the adverbial present participle of the auxiliary verb and the past participle of the main verb: "avendo parlato" (having

spoken); "essendo arrivato" (having arrived). The Italian name "gerundio" has led to the use of the English word "gerund" to denote adverbial participles. This is misleading, since the English gerund is a verbal noun ("Walking is good exercise"). It is best for English--speaking students to avoid using the term "gerund" when studying the Romance languages like Spanish and Italian. Examples:
o o o o o

Cosa stai facendo? What are you doing? Sto legendo il giornale. I am reading the newspaper. Stanno preparando l'insalata. They are preparing the salad. Stavo ascoltando la radio quando il telefono ha squillato. I was listening to the radio when the telephone rang. I ragazzi stavano vestendosi. the boys were gettin dressed.

The ending follows the form of unisex adjectives ending in "_e," changing to "_i" in the plural: "l'uomo dormente" (the sleeping man); "le lezione seguenti" (the following lessons).

ITALIAN INDEFINITE ARTICLES

The Italian indefinite article (l'articolo indeterminativo) corresponds to English a/an and is used with singular nouns. It also corresponds to the number one. When the noun to which the article applies is a masculine noun then "a/an" can be translated as "un", or "uno", if the article applies to a feminine noun then the article that has to be used is "una". As the definite articles, there are some rules to understand the use of these articles:

uno-UNO: It is used for masculine words beginning with z or s + consonant. un-UN: It is used for all other masculine words, except the cases where you have to use "UNO" una-UNA: it is used with feminine nouns starting with any consonant. un'-UN': It is the elision of una, used when feminine nouns start with any vowel.

Examples:

un treno e una bicicletta un aeroplano e unautomobile uno stadio e una stazione

A train and a bicycle An airplane and a car One(an) stage and one(a) station

When plural nouns are indefinite, they simply do not use an article, or they use the partitive form: i.e. cats (no article) or some cats (partitive), coins or some coins (partitive), etc. Partitive will be dealt with further on, so for the time being simply disregard its use.

TALIAN INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word or expression often given increased emotive value in the stream of speech. Although a interjeccin can form a complete sentence (that is to say, expressing a thought with no need of a subject and a verb), one can often also be inserted within an sentence, separated generally by commas of the rest of the sentence. Interjections are rarely used in formal or business writing. In print interjection is usually followed by an exclamation mark or a comma:

suvvia! = C'mon! aiuto! = help! hey! = hey! oh! = wow! ahi! = ouch! bont mia! = My goodness!

Examples:
o o

Ahi! Mi sono rotto una gamba! Ouch! I broke my leg! Suvvia, vedi di non dire sciocchezze! C'mon stop talking nonsense!

ITALIAN INTONATION
You love those melodious sounds at the opera, and listening to the voices of those Italian stars in foreign films is an aural thrill. Below You have some tips will help you to sound like you were born in Italy:

Usually, Italian words are stressed on the next-to-the-last syllable. When the final -e is dropped from a word, as happens with some masculine titles when they are directly followed by a proper name, the position of the stress remains unchanged.

Following the above rule, dottore (doctor) becomes dottor Nardi/Doctor Nardi andprofessore (professor) becomes professor Pace/Professor Pace. When words are stressed on the last vowel, they always have a written accent over that vowel. For instance, cio (namely) and citt (city).

ITALIAN ONOMATOPOEIA
Bang! boom! pop! splat! thump! goosh! boing! sss!. As you say these words, you can hear each of these different sounds that objects make, and there are lots more of them. That's onomatopoeia, using speech sounds to mimic sounds we hear around us. In Italian there are many of onomatopoeic sounds, for example:

Animal name Le api (bees) Gli uccelli (birds) I gatti (cast) I pulcini (chicks) Le mucche (cows) I corvi (crows) I cuculi (cuckoos) I cani (dogs) Gli asini (donkeys) Le oche (geese) Le rane (frogs) Le galline (hens) I cavalli (horses) I topi (rats) I galli (roosters) Le pecore (sheeps)

Sound name ronzano (buz) cinguettano (chirp) miagolano (mew) pigolano muggiscono (low) gracchiano (caw) abbaiano (bark) ragliano (bray) starnazzano (honk) gracidano (croak) (cakle and cluck) nitriscono (neigh or whinney) squittiscono (squeak) (crook) belano (bleat)

Onomatopoeia zzzzzz cip cip. miao. pio pio. muuuuuu. cra cra. cuc, cuc.. bau bau. i-oo, i-oo. qua qua. cra cra. coccod. squitt squitt. chicchirich. beeee.

ITALIAN ORTHOGRAPHIC ACCENT

This part is not really fundamental for a beginner, who might want to skip it. However, some readers may have noticed that in most cases the accented vowels bear a grave accent, i.e. slanted leftwards (perci, sar), while a few others are slanted in the opposite direction (perch). Modern Italian uses the following set of accented vowels: "grave" accents. slanted leftwards ("wide" sound pronunciation) "acute" accent. slanted rightwards ("narrow" sound pronunciation)

It has already been said that when the accent is carried by the last syllable, an accented vowel has to be used. Since most vowels only take the grave accent, this is the only one that can be used: andr l fal per he/she will go there great fire, pire but luned fin laggi pi monday it finished down there, over there more - plu

Only the vowel e can take two different accents; according to the word, either one or the other should be used. These are examples of words whose final e bears a grave accent ("wide" sound): caff frapp he/she/it coffee or coffee-bar milk shake

In other words, instead, the final e bears the acute accent ("narrow" sound): perch n s why, because not, nor, neither self, one's self

In very few cases, an accented e can be very useful to mark the stressed syllable, thus the correct sound of the vowel: psca ("wide" e) peach psca ("narrow" e) fishing

Also in this case the accent is not mandatory; actually, many people spell both words pesca (i.e. with a normal e) because the context of the sentence is enough to understand which of the two makes more sense.

SENTENCE IN ITALIAN

Sentences are made up of one or more clauses. A clause consists of a subject (a noun or pronoun) and a predicate (what is said about the noun or pronoun). The predicate always contains a verb. For example, in the simple sentence: Il re ama la regina The king loves the queen. - re is the subject and ama is the predicate. The Direct Object of a verb is a noun or pronoun which receives its action. In the sentence: Il re ama la regina The king loves the queen. - "regina" is the Direct Object of the verb. Some verbs take an Indirect Object. For example, in the sentence: Il re d un regalo alla regina The king gives a gift to the queen - "regalo" (gift) is the direct object and "alla regina" (to the queen) is the indirect object. Types of Sentences: Declarative sentences are statements; these sentences are sometimes referred to as positive sentences to distinguish them from negative sentences. Examples:

o o o o o

Parlo con Andrea Im talking with Andrea I libri sono su un banco The books are on a desk Compra la frutta e la mangia He buys the fruit and eats it Parlo bene litaliano I speak Italian well Domenica studio Im studying on Sunday

Negative sentences express a negation. Examples:

o o o

Joselo non voule dormire Joselo doesn't want to sleep Loro non parlano cinese They don't speak Chinese Non ho paura di chiccessia I'm not afraid of anybody

Interrogative sentences are questions. Examples:

o o o o

Che cos la semiotica ? What is semiotics? Sar grigio e piovoso il mese ? Will the month be dull and rainy? Sar un esame difficile ? Will it be a difficult exam? Qual il numero di Roberto ? What is Robertos number?

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

A negative sentence in Italian us usually made by adding non in front of the verb: Mi piace studiare / Non mi piace studiare. There are of course other ways of expressing negation, as well. Here is a chart with negative expressions in English and their Italian equivalent:

Non (Not) in America non mangiamo i cani in America we do not eat the dogs non cambiare una virgola not to change a single word Non...mai (Never) noi non studiamo mai il gioved sera we never study the thursday evening Non...ancora (Not yet) Non hai ancora un account? Creane uno! No account yet? Create one! Non...pi (Not anymore No longer No more) non ho pi fame Im not hungry any more (non ...) n...n (Neither...nor) N I soldi n il potere possono farti felice. Neither money nor power can make you happy n io n lui abbiamo visto quel film Neither I nor he have seen that film (non)...neanche, nemmeno, neppure (Not even ) (io) non lo guarder nemmeno I won't even look at him / it non.. nessun,nessuno(a) (Not...any Nobody No one) (essi) non hanno letto nessun libro they haven't read any book quella persona non conosce nessuno that person doesn't know anybody non... niente, nulla (Nothing)

in quel cassetto egli non trov niente in that drawer he didn't find anything da lontano (essi) non vedranno nulla from afar they won't see anything non...affatto / non...mica (Not at all ) non sono affatto innamorata del tuo ragazzo! I'm not at all in love of your boy! non sono mica pazza, io non potrei mai innamorarmi di lui! I'm not crazy at all, I never could fall in love with him.
This is simply obtained by adding a uestion mark at the end of the sentence, while in speech only the inflection of the voice expresses a question.

o o o o

hai una penna rossa you have a red pen hai una penna rossa ? do you have a red pen ? l'albero nel giardino the tree is in the garden l'albero nel giardino ? is the tree in the garden ?

In spoken language, the question will be expressed by simply raising the pitch of the voice while approaching the end of the sentence, especially stressing the last one or two words The only situation in which words change order is when verb essere (to be) introduces a copula, expressing a quality, a condition, etc. (not a direct object). The verb and the copula go before the rest of the sentence, and the subject is postponed.

o o o o o o

la penna rossa the pen is red rossa la penna ? is the pen red ? la casa era fredda the house was cold era fredda la casa ? was the house cold ? il mio gatto nero my cat is black nero il mio gatto ? is my cat black ?

However, all of the questions above have implied either a yes or no answer. To ask questions that require more than a yes or no answer, you generally have to use a question word. Here is a list of some English question words and their Italian equivalents:

What - che cosa Who - chi When - quando

Examples:

Why - perch Which - quale Where - dove

How many - quanti(-e) How much - quanto(-a)

Quando ritorna Roberto ? When is Roberto returning?

o o o o o o o

Dove studia ? Where does s/he study? Che ora ? What time is it? A che ora la lezione ? At what time is the lesson? Chi in casa? Who is in the house? Perch torni a scuola ? Why do you return to school? In quale universit studi ? At which university do you study? Quanti studenti ci sono in classe ? How many students are there in the classroom?

Che and cosa are abbreviated forms of che cosa. The forms are interchangeable:
o o o
Che cosa bevi? What are you drinking? Che dici? What are you saying? Cosa fanno i bambini? What are the children doing?

COORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS
Coordinate conjunctions (e, ma, and o) join units that are equal grammatically (fill the same position in the sentence) or join two clauses of the same type:
o o o o

Scivol e cadde sul pavimento. He slipped and fell on the floor. (E joins two verbs) Si muoveva velocemente ma silenziosamente. He moved quickly but quietly. (Ma joins two adverbs) Possiamo andare attraverso il fiume o attraverso i boschi. We can go over the river or through the woods. (O joins two adverbial phrases) Ieri sera and a casa e trov le finestre rotte. She went home last night and found the windows broken. (E joins two clauses)

The conjunctions: entrambi / e(Both / and), non solo / ma anche (Not only / but also), sia / che (Either / or) and n / n (Neither / nor); serve to intensify the coordination. Examples:
o o o o

Entrambi Maria ed io andremo alla festa. Both Maria and I will go to the party Non solo diede regali a tutti noi, ma anche ci invit alla festa. She not only gave all of us presents, but she also invited us to the party N I soldi n il potere possono farti felice. Neither money nor power can make you happy Sia mio marito che io possiamo portarti a casa. Either my husband or I can drive you home

SUBORDINATE CONJUNCTIONS
Subordinate conjunctions join elements of unequal rank, establishing a relation of subordination between two phrases or clauses. Following is the list of commonly used subordinate conjunctions:

perch because quando when mentre while appena che as soon as una volta che once (that) come as se if
Examples:

sebbene although a condizione che at the condition that a meno che unless dopo che after that before that prima che fino a che until

o o o o o o

Non lo vide dopo che lui ebbe lasciato la citt. She never saw him after he left the town Prese la multa perch guidava troppo veloce. He got a ticket because he was speeding Una volta che hai lavato lauto asciugala bene. Once you have washed the car, dry it very well Si ammal gravemente da quando ebbe l'incidente. She became very ill, since she had her accident Non va mai ai festini, a meno che sua moglie non vada con lui. He never goes to parties unless his wife comes with him Aspetteremo dentro fino a che la smette di piovere. We will wait inside until the rain stops

ITALIAN VERB TENSES

Italian verbs are complex to English speakers, only because of the number of distinct forms each verb can have. The complexity comes with the number of tenses and persons. There is no gender distinction in Italian verbs (unlike nouns, which have two genders). However, there are six personal forms per tense (three persons: first, second, third; and two numbers: singular, plural).
There is two verb tenses:

Simple tenses:The simple tenses are verb tenses that consist of one word only, such as the present tense.

Compound tenses:The compound tenses (i tempi composti) are verb tenses that consist of two words, such as the passato prossimo (present perfect).

The conjugated forms of verbs agree with the person and number of the subject. There are two numbers (singular and plural) and three persons. First person is the speaker; second person is the one spoken to; third person is the one spoken about. For example, for the present tense:

Persons 1st. Person 2nd. Person 3rd. Person

Singular io parlo I speak tu parli you speak lei parla she speaks

Plural noi parliamo we speak voi parlate you speak loro parlano they speak

ITALIAN SIMPLE TENSES

The simple tenses are verb tenses that consist of one word only, such as the present tense. There are four simple tenses: Present tense: The Italian present tense (presente) is happening right now. It's a simple tense that is, the verb form consists of one word only. Examples:

regalo il libro a Stefania I give the book to Stephanie i due ragazzi sono di Berlino the two boys are from Berlin scrivo con una penna I write with a pen ho un biglietto per il teatro I have a ticket for the theatre

Imperfect tense: The imperfect is much more frequently used in Italian than in English. It expresses the English "used to" and is used to describe actions or conditions that lasted an indefinite time in the past. It's also used to express an habitual action in the past and to describe time, age, and weather in the past. Examples:

Giocavo a calcio ogni pomeriggio I played soccer every afternoon Sempre credevano tutto They always believed everything Volevamo andare in Italia We wanted to go to Italy Il cielo era sempre blu The sky was always blue

Simple Past tense: Or remote past tense (passato remoto); is a simple tense and is formed by one word. In general, it refers to the historical past or to events that have happened in the distant past relative to the speaker.

Dante si rifugi a Ravenna Dante took refuge in Ravenna Petrarca mor nel 1374 Petrarca died in 1374 Michelangelo nacque nel 1475 Michelangelo was born in 1475

Future tense: The future tense in Italian expresses an action that will take place in the future. Although in English the future is expressed with the helping verb "will" or the phrase "to be going to," in Italian a verb ending marks it as being set in the future tense.

Alla fine di settembre partir per Roma At the end of September I will leave for Rome Che sar, sar what will be, will be!

ITALIAN COMPOUND TENSES

The compound tenses (i tempi composti) are verb tenses that consist of two words, such as the passato prossimo (present perfect). Both the verbs essere and avere act as helping verbs in compound tense formations. For example: io sono stato (I was) and ho avuto (I had). In Italian there are four compound tenses: Present Perfect: The passato prossimogrammatically referred to as the present perfectis a compound tense (tempo composto) that expresses a fact or action that happened in the recent past or that occurred long ago but still has ties to the present. Examples:

Ho appena chiamato I just called Mi sono iscritto all'universit quattro anni fa I entered the university four years ago Questa mattina sono uscito presto This morning I left early Il Petrarca ha scritto sonetti immortali Petrarca wrote enduring sonnets

Future perfect: The futuro anteriore or future perfect tense is a compound tense. How to express the idea of "I will have" or "they will have"? Use future perfect tense. Examples:

Alle sette avremo gi mangiato By seven we'll already have eaten Noi avremo parlato al padre di Anna We will already have spoken to Anna's father

Pluperfect (past perfect tense): In English the past perfect tense (trapassato prossimo) is formed with the auxiliary "had" + the past participle of the main verb. In Italian, the trapassato prossimo, a compound tense, is formed with the imperfetto of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle of the acting verb.

Gi erano partiti quando sono arrivato They had already left when I arrived

Avevo chiuso le finestre quando cominciato a piovere I had shut the windows when it started to rain La macchina sbandava perch aveva piovuto The car was sliding because it had rained

Past anterior (trapassato remoto): Known in English as the preterite perfect, is used primarily in literary contexts. It's a compound tense formed with the passato remoto of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle of the acting verb. To see how avere and essere conjugate in the remote past tense, see the tables below.

CONJUGATING AVERE IN THE REMOTE PAST PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL I (io) ebbi (noi) avemmo II (tu) avesti (voi) aveste III (lui, lei, Lei) ebbe (loro, Loro) ebbero CONJUGATING ESSERE IN THE REMOTE PAST PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL I (io) fui (noi) fummo II (tu) fosti (voi) foste III (lui, lei, Lei) fu (loro, Loro) furono
Examples:

Partirono, quando ebbero ricevuto la notizia They were leaving when they received the notice Renata entr, appena Giorgio fu uscito Renata entered just after Giorgio had left And a casa, quando ebbe finito di lavorare He went home when he had finished working

As you can see, in each sentence set in the trapassato remoto, you will encounter an expression of time, such as the following: appena (scarcely), dopo che (as soon as), or finch non (up until).

ITALIAN EXPRESSIONS
Avere la stoffa del campione Averne fin sopra i capelli Dai! Dare un colpo di telefono Dare per scontato Darsi del tu Fare il bagno To have what it takes to be a champion To be fed up with something or someone Come on! To telephone To take for granted To speak to each other informally To take a bath

Fare benzina Fare colazione Fare due passi Fare la doccia Fare una foto Fare quattro chiacchiere Fare un salto Farsi un nome Farsi in quattro Essere a secco Essere gi di morale Essere in piena forma Essere fuori di s Essere fuori di testa Essere tagliato per un lavoro In bocca al lupo Lasciare stare; Lasciare perdere Mettersi in proprio Mi prendono i cinque minuti Non mi fa n caldo n freddo Non mollare Osso duro Passarsela bene Prendere in giro Tenere duro Un tipo in gamba A chi tocca? Tocca a noi. Vecchia roccia

To get gasoline To have breakfast To take a walk To take a shower To take a photograph To chat To drop by someone or somewhere To become well known To work very hard To be out of money or gasoline To feel down To feel great; be in great shape To be angry To be out of control; nut To be cut for the job Good luck; break your leg To give up To set up on one's own I become furious, enraged It doesn't make any difference for me Don't give up Tough cookie To have a good period in life To pull one's leg To hold on, don't give up A smart, capable person Whose turn is it? It's our turn. Good, old, strong person/ friend