4. Subject Pronouns
Singolare Plurale
In Italian the verb 1 io noi
ending always
identifies the subject.
For that reason, 2 tu voi
subject pronouns are
usually not expressed.
3 lui/lei/Lei loro
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
5. Written Style
Singolare Plurale
In formal writing egli is
used instead of lui and 3 egli (person) essi
essi/esse instead of (maschile)
loro. esse
(femminile)
In everyday
conversation, however,
these forms are rarely
used.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
6. Subject pronouns are
expressed when:
o the subject is not clear: Sono a Roma →
Io sono a Roma. Loro sono a Roma.
o we wish to put more emphasis on the
subject:
Io sono italiano, ma lui è spagnolo.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
7. Formal
To address somebody formally, we use Lei and the
third person singular of the verb:
Lei è irlandese?
Scusi, Lei è il dottor Rossi?
o Lei should always be written with capital L, even inside
a sentence.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
9. Forms and use
The Italian indefinite article
corresponds to the English a/an.
It is used only with singular nouns.
It has four forms:
Masculine: un / uno
Feminine: una / un’
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
10. Which form?
MASCULINE
before nouns starting with
un ragazzo, un albero
UN consonant, vowel
uno stereo, uno zaino,
UNO s + consonant, z, ps, gn. uno psicologo, uno gnomo
FEMININE
before nouns starting with
UNA consonant una ragazza
UN’ vowel un’isola
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
12. ESSERE
io sono
Essere is an
irregular verb. tu sei
This is the present lui/lei/Lei è
tense.
noi siamo
voi siete
loro sono
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
13. Some expressions with essere:
Essere di + name of a city - to be
from (sono di Roma)
Di dove sei? -where are you from?
(informal)
Di dove è Lei? - where
are you from (formal)?
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
15. Italian verb endings
The infinitive of all Italian regular verbs ends in –
are, -ere or –ire.
When you look up a verb in the dictionary you
will find the infinitive (corresponding to to work,
to study, etc.). The present tense of regular
verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending
(-are, -ere or –ire) and adding the appropriate
endings to the remaining stem. The ending is
different for each person.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
16. Verbs in –are: ABITARE (to
live)
abitare is a regular io abit-o
verb.
tu abit-i
To form the present
tense of abitare and lui/lei/Lei abit-a
all regular verbs in
–are, just drop ARE noi abit-iamo
and add the endings
shown in the table: voi abit-ate
loro abit-ano
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
17. CHIAMARSI
chiamarsi is a regular mi chiam-o
reflexive verb.
The reflexive pronoun ti chiam-i
must always precede the
verb. si chiam-a
To form the present tense
of chiamarsi (and all ci chiam-iamo
regular reflexive verbs in
–arsi), just drop ARSI and vi chiam-ate
add the endings shown in
the table: si chiam-ano
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
19. Non
Italian negative sentences are formed
by simply adding non before the verb:
Non siamo italiani.
Non abito a Milano.
In negative answers we use No:
- Sei spagnolo?
- No. / No, non sono spagnolo
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
21. Endings
Adjectives can end in –o (i.e., if you look up the
adjective SLOW in the dictionary, you will find the Italian LENTO .
This adjective ends in –o) or in –e (i.e., if you look up the
adjective FAST in the dictionary, you will find the Italian VELOCE.
This adjective ends in –e).
Italian adjectives agree in gender
(masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural)
with the noun they refer to.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
22. Adjectives in -o
Adjectives ending in –o have four possible forms:
Masculine singular: -o
Masculine plural: -i
Feminine singular: -a
Feminine plural: -e
Esempio: NUOVO (new)
M: libro nuovo – libri nuovi
cellulare nuovo – cellulari nuovi
F: casa nuova – case nuove
canzone nuova – canzoni nuove
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
23. Adjectives in -e
Adjectives ending in –e have only two forms:
Singular (masculine/feminine): -e
Plural (masculine/feminine): -i
Esempio: INTERESSANTE
M: libro interessante – ibri interessanti
F: rivista interessante – riviste interessanti
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
24. Position
Unlike English, in Italian adjectives
usually come after the noun they refer
to.
Colours and nationalities ALWAYS
come after the noun they refer to.
Esempio: vino rosso, mela verde, ragazzo irlandese, donna
italiana.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
25. Nationalities (1)
The following nationalities end in –o and therefore have four
possible forms:
americano
arabo
australiano
austriaco
europeo
italiano
polacco
spagnolo
tedesco (masc. plur: tedeschi – fem plur: tedesche)
ecc .
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
26. Nationalities (2)
The following nationalities end in –e and therefore have
only two possible forms (-e for the singular and –i for
the plural):
canadese
danese
francese
inglese,
irlandese
portoghese
svedese
ecc.
Dr Laura Incalcaterra McLoughlin
