MIDTERM REVIEW

I. IMPERFETTO

·        habitual actons in the past = “used to be”, “used to do”, etc.

Quando avevo 7 anni mi piaceva leggere favole. – When I was 7 yrs. old I liked to read fairy tales.  

·        actions in progress, when something else happened or was happening:

1)      Io dormivo, mentre lui leggeva. = I was sleeping, while he was reading. - 2 simultaneous progressive actions – use imperfetto for both

2)      Io dormivo, quando lui è arrivato. = I was sleeping when he came. – the second acton is a single interruption, for which you use passato prossimo.

·        states in the past; age, time, weather.

Il tempo era bruttissimo, pioveva e io avevo un grande freddo. = The weather was very bad, it was raining and I was cold.

·        once upon a time = C’era una volta…; once, some time ago = una volta.

Una volta la gente era più religiosa. (LA GENTE IS A SINGULAR, FEMININE NOUN REQUIRING A VERB FORM IN 3RD PERSON, SINGULAR)

·        DIFFERENCE BETWEEN USE OF IMPERFETTO VS. PASSATO PROSSIMO

Passato prossimo – SPECIFIC EVENTS IN THE PAST, THAT HAPPENED AT A CERTAIN SPECIFIED POINT IN TIME.

Ieri ho mangiato un tiramisù.

Mangiavamo il tiramisu ogni domenica.

Una volta Mario andava in chiesa ogni giorno. – È andato in chiesa domenica scorsa./ un mese fa/ (specific time)  

Un giorno, mentre io giocavo (ACTION IN PROGRESS=IMPERFETTO) con i miei amici, mi sono nascosta (I hid)(SINGLE, SPECIFIC ACTION=PASSATO PROSSIMO) in cantina. Qualcuno però ha chiuso )(SINGLE, SPECIFIC ACTION=PASSATO PROSSIMO la porta senza sapere che io ero li.(STATE OF BEING=IMPERFETTO) = One day, while I was playing with my friends, I hid in the basement. But someone closed the door without knowing that I was there.

 

II.                 COMPARATIVES

·        Gli italiani bevono più/meno vino degli americani. = Italians drink more/less wine than Americans.

·        Gli italiani bevono più vino che birra. = Italians drink more wine than beer.

A simple way to tell whether to use DI or CHE is to reverse the two things on either side of the THAN (di/che) and see if the sentence still makes logical sense. For example, “Io mangio più pasta di Maria.” (I eat more pasta than Maria does) If you try the sentence with “che”, “Mangio più Maria che pasta”, then it means “I eat more pasta than I eat Maria”. You can’t eat Maria, so you have to use “DI”.

·        Irregular comparatives: migliore=better; maggiore – bigger, older; peggiore – worse; - all these are adjectives. Adjectives describe nouns or people.

Meglio = better; peggio = worse; - are ADVERBS. Adverbs describe actions, HOW you do something.

1.      SUPERLATIVES. There are two ways to say a superlative:

1)      by adding –issimo/a/e/I, ex. Bellobellissmo;

2)      by adding the article + the comparative “più”/ “meno” – il più bello; la più bella, etc. il meno bello; la meno bella, etc.

 

III.               FUTURE

THe endings of the future – ò, ai, à, emo, ete, anno – are added to the infinitive, after cancelling the final “e”: parlareparlerò.  The endings are the same for all 3 groups of verbs – ARE, ERE, IRE.  The only particularity is that ARE verbs change the A, which makes them ARE verbs into an E: comprArecomprE.  The only ARE verbs which DO keep their A are the short ones, like DARE, FARE, STARE.

Many verbs have a slight stem variation when forming the future, like andare, avere, dovere, potere, vedere, venire, volere.

ESSERE is completely irregular: sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno.

*** Don’t forget the accents in the IO and LUI/LEI forms!!!

 

IV.               PRONOUNS

 

The pronouns we’ve studied are:

  1. subject: io, tu, lui, lei (esso, essa for inanimate objects), noi, voi, loro. Lei is formal “you”.

The subject of a sentence is the one that does the action. The verb always agrees with the subject, therefore these pronouns are often omitted.

Ex. Io lavoro in ufficio = Lavoro in ufficio.

  1. Stressed object: me, te, lui, lei, Lei, noi, voi, loro. is used for yourself, himself, herself, oneself both in plural and singular. 

The stressed pronouns are usually used to accentuate the object of the sentence.

Ex. Cerco proprio te. – I’m looking just for you.

      Ti cerco – I’m looking for you is not as strong.

      Carlo si aiuta da sé. – Carlo helps himself.

The also often follow a preposition:

Voglio parlalre a lui.  – I want to speak to him.

Ho dato la macchina a lei. I gave the car to her.

Ho dato I fiori a te.   I gave the flowers to you.

3.   Direct object pronouns

The direct object pronouns could replace the stressed ones, which will then be no longer stressed.  THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THESE PRONOUNS IS THAT IN THE PASSATO PROSSIMO THEY AGREE IN GENDER AND NUMBER WITH THE PAST PARTICIPLE. THIS AGREEMENT IS NECESSARY WITH 3RD PERSON SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS (LO, LA, LE, LI) AND OPTIONAL WITH THE OTHERS.

Pietro invita sua madre a pranzo. Pietro la invita a pranzo. = Pietro is inviting his mother for lunch. Pietro is inviting her. (whether you put Pietro in the second sentence is option – he is the subject)

Pietro ha invitato sua madre a pranzo. Pietro l’ha invitata. (P. invited his mother for lunch. P. invited her)

Giuliana invita suo padre a cena. (Lei) lo invita. = Giuliana invites her father for dinner. She invites him.  G. l’ha invitato. (She invited him)

Mangio i cioccolatini spesso. Li mangio spesso.(I eat them often) Li ho mangiati una volta. (I once ate them) Li mangiavo spesso (I used to eat them often)

Preparo le crostate. (I’m making the pies) Le preparo. (I’m making them). Le ho preparate. (I made them)

Gianni aiuta sempre a me. Mi aiuta sempre. Mi ha sempre aiutato.

*** Sometimes there are two verbs, one of which in the infinitive, for ex. “Penso di invitare Laura.” I think of inviting Laura. If you want to express the English “to do sth.”, in Italian you use “DI” – Penso DI fare qualcosa. The verb following DI is always in the INFINITIVE.  The direct object pronouns then is attached at the end of the vern in the infinitive.

Penso di invitare Laura. = Penso di invitarla.

 

THE VERBS “VOLERE, POTERE, DOVERE” do NOT require DI, but the verb following them is in the INFINITIVE. In such cases the object pronoun is EITHER attached at the end of the verb in the infinitive OR put in front of the conjugated verb:

 Voglio invitare Laura.  = Voglio invitarla. = La voglio invitare.

 

           

4. INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS. Mi, ti, gli, le, Le, ci, vi, loro/gli

They DO NOT agree with the past participle and are preceeded by a preposition.

Scrivo una lettera a te. Ti scrivo una lettera. (I’m writing a letter to you)

Offro un caffè alla nonna. Le offro un caffe. (I’m offering her a coffee)

Giuliana parla a Pietro, ma Pietro non ascolta Giuliana. (G. talks to P., but P. doesn’t listen to G.) Giuliana gli parla, ma lui (Pietro) non la ascolta. (“a Pietro” is the indirect object, replaced by the pronoun “gli”, Pietro is subject, replaced by “lui” and Giuliana is the direct object of Pietro’s action (ascoltare), replaced by “la”.

Telefoniamo ai nostri amici in Italia. (We’re calling our friends in Italy). Telefoniamo loro = Gli telefoniamo.

Ho telefonato a Marco. Gli ho telefonato. Lui ha telefonato a Sara. Le ha telefonato. (NO AGREEMENT WITH P.PARTICIPLE)

           

When there are two verbs these pronouns follow exactly the same rules about their position in a sentence as the direct object pronouns.

 

5.DOUBLE PRONOUNS. When you combine direct and indirect objects in One sentence, then the INDIRECT pronouns are slightly changed:

Mi = me; ti = te; gli/le/Le/loro = glie; ci = ce; vi =ve;

Mi presti il tuo zaino? , te lo presto. (the subject is “tu”, because the verb- “presti” is in the “tu” conjugation)

Ci presti i zaini? Sì, ve li presto. (same subject)

Maria ha offerto un caffè agli ospiti? Si, glielo ha offerto. = Sì, l’ha offerto loro.

Maria e Elena hanno offerto 2 caffè agli ospiti? Si, glieli hanno offerti. = Si, li hanno offerti loro. (NOTE THE AGREEMENT OF THE DIRECT OBJECT – IL/I CAFFE WITH THE PAST PARTICIPLE)

 

1.      REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS. Reflexives verbs always use essere in the past and THEREFORE their past participle always agrees with the SUBJECT of the sentence.

EX. Mi lavo. – I wash myself. Mi sono LAVATO (if the person speaking is a male) OR Mi sono LAVATA (if the person speaking is a female).

WHEN THERE IS A DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN TOGETHER WITH THE REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS, THEN THE PAST PARTICPLE AGREES WITH THE DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN, BECAUSE THE REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS ACT AS INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS – YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING TO YOURSELF).

Mi lavo le mani. I wash my hands.

Me le sono lavate.

Pietro si mette il cappello. Pietro se lo mette. (Lo mette A SÈ)

Pietro si è messo il cappello. Pietro se lo è messo.

Giuliana si mette la giacca. Se la mette.

Giuliana si è messa la giacca. Se la è messa.

 

V.                 CI.

Ci is a type of pronouns replacing places or the objects fo the verbs “pensare a”, “credere a”, “riuscire a” (to succeed, to manage to o sth.). It si the same pronouns used in the phrase “Ci è” = there is and “Ci sono” = there are.

Andiamo in montagna? – Si, andiamoCI! (Let’s go there!)

Vai in Francia quest’anno? No, non CI vado.  (no, I’m not going there).

Pensi di andare all’università quest’anno? , penso di andarCI. (I’m thinking of going there)

Pensi alla tua famiglia? – Si, ci penso spesso.(I think about it often)

Credi ai fantasmi? (do you believe in ghosts) – Si, ci credo. (I believe in them)

 

*** When CI is used with DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS then it becomes “CE”, just like the “CI” that means “to us” and “us”.

EX. Chi invita la mamma e la sorella di Pietro a casa di Pietro e Giuliana? (Who is inviting Pietro’s mother and sister to Pietro and Giuliana’s house?)

            Ce le invita Pietro. Pietro invites them there.

In the past: “Ce le ha invitate Pietro.” (“le” refers to the mother and sister and is a DIRECT object pronoun, therefore the past participle “invitato” becomes “INVITATE”.

 

VI.              NE.

Ne” is a TYPE OF DIRECT OBJECT pronoun translated in English most often with “SOME”, “SOME OF THAT”.

1. NE replaces things that are preceded by the PREPOSITION “DI”, or when you are talking about a general category of things, like “fiori”(flowers), “pasta”, “frutta”, etc. General nouns means unspecified ones, used WITHOUT their definite article. 

Vuoi fiori? (Do you want flowers?) – Si, ne voglio. (Yes, I want some)

BUT: Vuoi i fiori? Si, li voglio. (“li” is the obect pronoun used when here is an article in front of the noun, when the object is SPECIFIC)

ALSO: To express “SOME”   YOU COULD USE THE PREPOSITION “DI” + THE DEFINITE ARTICLE. Vuoi dei fiori? (Do you want some flowers?) – Si, NE voglio ALCUNI. – Yes, I want some. 

 

2.NE also replaces objects which quantity is questioned.

            Quanto caffè bevi? Ne bevo troppo. = How much coffee do you drink? – I drink too much (of it).

            Quante lingue parli? – Ne parlo molte / 6.

PAST: Quanti polli ha cucinato Vittoria? (How many chickens did V. cook?) – Ne ha portati 2. (She brought 2). JUST LIKE WITH DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS THE OBJECTS REPLACED BY “NE” AGREE WITH THE PAST PARTICIPLE IN THE PASSATO PROSSIMO. 

*** WHEN “NE” IS USED WITH INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS, IT BEHAVES LIKE THE OTHER DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS.      

Ex. Quanti polli ha portato Vittoria a Giuliana? (how many chickens did V. bring to G.?) – Gliene ha portati 2. (She brought her 2)

 

3.      NE is also used to replace the objects of expressions like:

Avere paura di (to be afraid of sth.), avere bisogno di (to need sth.), avere voglia di (to want sth.), parlare di (talk about something or someone).

 

Hai voglia di fare una bella gita in montagna? – Do you feel like taking a nice day trip in the mountains? – Si, NE ho voglia. (Yes, I feel like it.)

 

Parli sempre dei tuoi amici? = Do you always talk about your friends?

No, non NE parlo mai. = No, I never talk about them.

** There is not agreement with the past participle and the object replaced when PARLARE is used). – Non ne ho mai parlato. (I never talked about them)

 

VII.            “CI” AND “NE” TOGETHER.

If you are asking “are there some things”. Ci sono alcuni biglietti per il cinema?

Si, ce ne sono alcuni. = Ce ne è qualche. (Ce n’è qualche)

 

VIII.         INDEFINITI

QUALCHE – SOME used with singular nouns. C’è qualche biscotto?

ALCUNO/A/E/I  - SOME used with plural nouns. Ci sono alcuni biscotti?

DI+DEFINITE ARTICLE – SOME Ci sono dei biscotti? C’è della torta?

QUALUNQUE – any kind; anyone; anything.

QUALCUNO – someone, but also something.

QUALCOSA – something. QUALCOSA DI + ADJECTIVE; QUALCOSA DA+VERB. Ho qalcosa di bello da dirti. = I have something nice to tell you.

OGNI – every (adjective) – Ogni giorno mangio frutta. I eat fruit every day

OGNUNO – every (pronoun for people) Ognuno mangia frutta. – Everybody eats fruit.

 

IX.              NEGATIVI.

NIENTE/NULLA – nothing

NESSUNO – no one (FOR PEOPLE AND THINGS)

MAI – never

NÉ…NÉ – NEITHER, NOR

Hai già parlato a lui? – Non gli ho ancora parlato. (Did you already talk to him? – I haven’t talked to him yet.)

Parli ancora di lui? – No, non ne parlo più. (Are you still talking about/of him? – No, I’m not talking about/of him any more)

 

X.                 IMPERATIVES

 

Forms are the same except TU in the ARE verbs ends in A rather than in I.Parla! The negative TU form is also peculiar because it keeps the infinitive – NON ANDARE al cinema! 

 

ESSERE and AVERE are irregular: sii, siamo, siate; abbi, abbiamo, abbiate.

 

ANDARE, FARE, DARE, STARE are irregular in the TU form: vai/va’, dai/da’, fai/fa’, stai/sta’. 

DIRE has only TU form = di’.

 

When the imperative is followed by any kind of pronouns – reflexive, direct object, indirect object, they all go at the end of the verb in the imperative mode. The only exception is when the verb is a negative command – then they can either go after or in front of the verb. 

Alzarsi – alzati!

Da' il vestito a lei. = Daglielo!

Non dare il vestito a lei = Non daRglielo! OR Non glielo dare!

 

XI.              Si impersonale

 

Cosa si fa all'università? = What is being done at the university?/ What does one do at the university?

Si studia.  - in the passato prossimo: Si è studiato. (if the verb takes avere in the past, then it is singular in the passato prossimo)

Si leggono dei libri.  - if there is an object, i.e. "libri", then the verb agrees with the object in gender and number (leggono agrees with libri - 3p, pl). 

Si sono letti dei libri. - in the passato prossimo the past participle "letti" agrees with the objects of the acrtion "libri". 

Ci si laurea.  - One graduates.  If the verb is reflexive, i.e. "laurearsi", you put a "ci" in front and conjugate in 3p, sing.

Ci si è laureati - One graduated.  In the passato prossimo the past participle "laureati" is plural, but the verb "essere" is conjugates in the singular, 3p.("è"). 

 

Contribuzione: Silvia Stoyanova