MIDTERM
REVIEW
I.
IMPERFETTO
·
habitual
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
·
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
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.
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”: parlare – parlerò. 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: comprAre – comprErò. 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:
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.
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
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? Sì, 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
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? Sì, 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?) –
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)
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
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