Italian Language: Present Tense and Nouns, Study notes of Italian

Download Italian Language: Present Tense and Nouns and more Study notes Italian in PDF only on Docsity! MFLE Italian Reference Grammar Introduction ‘Grammar is the way that words make sense. It is a code or set of rules accepted by any community who share a language.’ (Language into Languages Teaching, SEED, University of Glasgow, 2001) What follows is an attempt to set out the rules of grammar for the structures which are recommended in the accompanying outline of work for the teaching of Italian for P6 and P7. It is not intended for use by pupils, unless perhaps as a spell-check for the months of the year, for example. Why use this resource? It is appreciated that a number of teachers who have completed their MLPS training may feel a little insecure in their knowledge of basic Italian grammar. This is understandable, and this booklet attempts to be a resource to help. It is by definition very restricted, but closely tied to the requirements of teachers offering Italian in the primary school. The fact that it has been produced does not mean that primary school teachers will now be expected to teach grammar formally as it is laid out in this booklet. There is no expectation that pupils should work through this grammar booklet. It is a reference resource for teachers, to try to make them more comfortable with the rules behind the communicative language which they are offering in class. It is felt that a degree of security about the rules of grammar will make teachers more comfortable in their use of Italian. How should I use this resource? As will be seen in the course notes, we do not shy away from explaining simple rules of grammar to the pupils. However, such explanations should be done in a sensitive way. There is nothing to be gained in foreign language teaching from leaving pupils unsure and insecure when a simple explanation, where possible drawing analogies with English, would remove doubts and make the picture clearer. Once again, any explanation of grammar given to pupils should not be taken directly from this booklet and written on the board, for example. The teacher will be expected to use this booklet to inform himself or herself about the correctness of form before going on to explain, in his or her words, the basic rules of grammar, according to the needs of the pupils, some of whom will benefit from a sharper exposure to grammar than has been the case heretofore. 1 Verb forms Introduction ‘Verbs are used to assert or state what is happening, or what is the case. They are sometimes called ‘doing words’ or ‘action words’, but they do not always show action: if we say ‘he is bone idle’ or ‘he has stopped’ there is not much action going on. Verbs also show the time when things are happening: this is called the tense of the verb.’ (Language into Languages Teaching: SEED: University of Glasgow: 2001) The subject pronouns are Io – I Noi – we Tu – you Voi – you Lui/lei/ - he/she Loro – they Esso/essa - it Essi/esse - they ‘Lo’, ‘tu’ and ‘lui/ lei’, ‘esso/essa’ are first, second and third singular persons respectively. ‘Noi’, ‘voi’ and ‘loro’, ‘essi/esse’ are first, second and third plural persons respectively. Notes on the subject pronouns ‘Tu’ is traditionally used to address close friends, members of the immediate family, close relatives, children and animals and pets. Otherwise its use can be considered condescending. ‘Lei’, strictly speaking is the third singular person, but is also the polite form to address to another person when the speakers are not closely acquainted. It is the formal mode to address a single person. In school, teachers would address individual pupils by ‘tu’, and groups of pupils by ‘voi’. Pupils should address the teacher by ‘lei’. ‘Esso’ singular masculine/’essa’ singular feminine – ‘essi’ plural masculine /’esse’ plural feminine are used to address animals and objects. Note: usually the subject pronoun is not expressed in sentences. 2 Irregular verbs Unfortunately, many verbs are irregular, and, equally unfortunately, they tend to be the ones most commonly used. This is not a case of Italian being awkward, it’s the same in all languages – think of the present tense of the verb to be in English, for example. This section gives the full present tense of the irregular verbs which appear in the course outline. In all cases, teachers will not be actually using the full present tense, but they are included for reference – and for security! andare: to go io vado noi andiamo tu vai voi andate lui/lei va loro vanno esso/essa essi/esse avere: to have io ho noi abbiamo tu hai voi avete lui/lei ha loro hanno esso/essa essi/esse bere: to drink io bevo noi beviamo tu bevi voi bevete lui/lei beve loro bevono esso/essa essi/esse dare: to give io do noi diamo tu dai voi date lui/lei da loro danno 5 esso/essa essi/esse dire: to tell io dico noi diciamo tu dici voi dite lui/lei dice loro dicono esso/essa essi/esse fare: to do, to make (also used in 3rd person singular for some weather expressions) io faccio noi facciamo tu fai voi fate lui/lei fa loro fanno esso/essa essi/esse sapere: to know io so noi sappiamo tu sai voi sapete lui/lei sa loro sanno esso/essa essi/esse scegliere: to choose io scelgo noi scegliamo tu scegli voi scegliete lui/lei sceglie loro scelgono esso/essa essi/esse stare: to stay io sto noi stiamo tu stai voi state lui/lei sta loro stanno esso/essa essi/esse 6 tenere : to keep io tengo noi teniamo tu tieni voi tenete lui/lei tiene loro tengono esso/essa essi esse tradurre : to translate io traduco noi traduciamo tu traduci voi traducete lui/lei traduce loro traducono esso/essa essi esse uscire: to go out io esco noi usciamo tu esci voi uscite lui/lei esce loro escono esso/essa essi/esse vedere: to see io vedo noi vediamo tu vedi voi vedete lui/lei vede loro vedono esso/essa essi/esse venire: to come io vengo noi veniamo tu vieni voi venite lui/lei viene loro vengono esso/essa essi/esse 7 Reflexive verbs In Italian verbs such as get up, sit down, stand up and combinations with get (get cold/hot, dressed) are usually reflexive (meaning to do something to oneself). The verb takes a reflexive form when the subject acts on itself, therefore subject and object are the same. The reflexive form can be made only with transitive verbs (verbs which take an object). In the reflexive form the verb is always used with the personal pronouns mi, ti, si,ci,vi. The personal pronouns are placed usually before the verb. So, the simple present tense of the verb lavarsi (to wash oneself/ to get washed) is: io mi lavo noi ci laviamo tu ti lavi voi vi lavate lui/lei si lava loro si lavano esso/essa essi/esse Other commonly used reflexive verbs include alzarsi (to get/ stand up), sedersi (to sit down), vestirsi (to dress oneself/ get dressed). The personal pronouns are placed after the verb with the infinitive, (io) devo lavarmi – I must wash myself/ I must get washed, the present continuous form, (io) sto lavandomi – I’m washing myself/ I’m getting washed and the imperative forms (see below), laviamoci! – let’s wash ourselves!/ let’s get washed!, lavati! – wash yourself!/ get washed! 10 The imperative mood (commands) The imperative exists basically in three forms, second person singular and plural, and first person plural, though the latter might be considered more an exhortation rather than a command. To form the imperative, take the second or third person singular and the second plural forms of the present tense and omit the tu and the voi. Do likewise with the first person plural form, omitting the noi. Voi andate: you go andate!: go! Voi guardate: you look guardate!: look! Noi guardiamo: we look guardiamo!: let’s look! The imperative forms suggested in the course outline are: Singular form Plural form ascolta : listen ascoltate: listen alzati: stand up alzatevi: stand up apri: open aprite: open cammina: walk camminate: walk chiudi: close, shut chiudete: close, shut colora: colour (in) colorate: colour (in) disegna: draw disegnate: draw esci: go out uscite: go out guarda: look guardate: look scrivi : write scrivete: write siediti: sit down sedetevi: sit down studia: study studiate: study sveglia: wake up svegliatevi: wake up 11 The noun ‘Nouns are the types of words which give the names of things, people, places, happenings and ideas…Nouns can be singular (referring to one thing) or plural (referring to many’). (Language into Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow, Scottish Executive Education Department, 2001) All nouns in Italian are either masculine or feminine. In some other languages, including English, nouns can also be neuter. In English the situation has more or less resolved itself into the use of the masculine for male humans or animals, feminine for female humans or animals, and neuter for objects or things. But things are not quite as simple as they seem. For example, in English we readily say: 'Look at that child. It’s going to run across the road.' 'The ship is on time. She will arrive at noon.' In Italian, nouns which refer to objects or things are either masculine or feminine. Nouns which refer to male humans or animals are, as in English, masculine; nouns which refer to female humans or animals are feminine. But there can be exceptions. Even though an engineer may be a woman, the correct term is l’ingegnere. Many nouns denoting jobs or characteristics originally associated with men are still masculine even when applied to women, though, as you might expect, some sections of modern Italian society are not happy with that situation. Note: when referring to the gender of nouns, the correct grammatical terms must be used. They are masculine and feminine. For objects or things the gender is arbitrary, only the use has established that, for instance, il libro – the book is masculine and la matita – the pencil is feminine. Knowing the gender of the nouns is important because there are variables like articles and adjectives which refer to the name and change according to it: Il libro è giallo – the book is yellow. Plurals For plurals the general rule is that the masculine names change their endings in -i: libro – libri book – books. The feminine names ending in -a change in -e while the ending in -e change in -i. 12 l’ le – the (before words that start with vowels: l’Italia-Italy, le italiane- the Italian girls/ women). The indefinite article The indefinite article in English is ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘some’. In Italian, the indefinite article is uno/un if the noun is masculine and una/un’ if the noun is feminine. Masculine singular Uno before words that starts with s +consonant, z,ps,gn: uno studente – a student Un before words that start with the other consonants or with a vowel: un orologio – a clock, un cane – a dog Feminine singular Una before words that start with consonant: una città - a town. Un’ before words that start with vowel: un’amica – a (female) friend Uno and un become degli or dei if the noun is plural and una/un’ become delle. Uno studente ( a student) - degli studenti (some students) Un orologio (a clock) - degli orologi (some clocks) Un cane (a dog) - dei cani (some dogs) Una città ( a city) - delle città (some cities) Un’amica (a female friend) - delle amiche (some female friends) The article can be omitted in English. For example, we can say I love cakes. In Italian, the article cannot normally be omitted. Therefore, if we wish to express in Italian the sentence 'I love cakes', we have to decide whether the speaker means 'I love (all) cakes' or 'I love (some) cakes'. If we agree that the statement is a general statement referring to 'all cakes', then in Italian we would use the definite article and the sentence becomes: (io) adoro i dolci. . 15 The contracted forms ‘To the’ - In Italian, you cannot use a together with the definite article lo/il/l’ or la/l’. Instead, the two words contract into allo ( a + lo), al ( a + il), all’( a + l’) and alla (a + la), all’(a + l’) both meaning ‘to the’. Masculine Singular (a+lo) Allo stadio – At the Stadium (a+il) Al parco – At the park (a + l’) All’ aeroporto – At the airport Feminine Singular (a+la) Alla stazione – At the Sation (a+l) All’ ombra – In the shadow Masculine Plural (a+gli) Agli estremi – To the extremes (a+i) Ai confini – At the borders Feminine Plural (a+le) Alle piscine – At the swimming-pools “Of the” - Similarly, you cannot use di/de together with the definite article lo/il/l’ or la/l’. Instead, the two words contract to form dello ( de + lo), del ( de + il), dell’( de + l’) and della (de + la), dell’ (de + l’), both meaning of the. Masculine Singular (di+lo) Dello stesso – Of the same (di+il) Del cane – Of the dog (di+l’) Dell’ uomo – Of the man Feminine Singular (di+la) Della ragazza – Of the girl (di+l’) Dell’ amica – Of the friend Masculine Plural (di+gli) Degli amici – Of the friends (di+i) Dei bambini – Of the children Feminine Plural (di+le) Delle piscine – Of the swimming-pools 16 Adjectives 'Adjectives qualify nouns, that is give us more detail about them. A noun such as ‘man’ is nondescript, but if we add words (to) the noun, a transformation occurs.' (Language into Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow, Scottish Executive Education Department, 2001) Adjectives are used to describe, or in grammatical terms to qualify, nouns and other expressions. In English, adjectives precede the noun unless for special effects. In Italian, the general rule is that most adjectives follow the noun. However, the adjectives used to express general qualities often precede the nouns. bello/bella nice, lovely, beautiful buono/buona good grazioso/graziosa pretty piccolo/piccola little or small In addition, all of the possessive adjectives like ‘mio/mia/tuo/tua- miei/tuoi’ naturally precede the noun. Adjectives are in accordance with the noun which they qualify. That is, if a noun is feminine singular, the adjective which qualifies it must be feminine singular. If a noun is masculine plural, any adjective in accordance with it must also be masculine plural. To make the adjective feminine, change the masculine singular ending o in a. If the masculine singular ends in e, do not change anything. Adorabile (adorable) is both the masculine singular and the feminine singular form. To make the adjective masculine plural, add i to the masculine singular. (Note the comments on forming plurals earlier!): Il mio cane è bello - my dog is nice I miei amici sono belli – my friends are nice To make the adjective feminine plural, add e to the masculine singular. La mia casa è bella - my house is nice Le mie amiche sono belle – my (female) friends are nice 17 To say I’n’ that month, you use the expression nel mese di, literally in the month of. Therefore, in January is nel mese di gennaio. You can also use di/a/in, and so you can say in gennaio, a gennaio, di gennaio. The date Apart from ‘the first’, which is ‘il primo’, cardinal numbers are used with dates. The word for ‘of’ when giving the date in Italian is optional. Thus: il primo marzo il due (di) marzo il dieci (di) marzo il trenta (di) marzo etc To say on with a date, simply use the forms il dieci marzo del 1978. Nel is used when giving the year only: Anna è nata nel 1978- Anna was born in 1978. Numbers Numbers are of two kinds: cardinal - giving the number of articles in question (one, two, three, etc) ordinal - giving the place of each article in numerical order (first, second, third, etc) Cardinal numbers zero 0 dieci 10 uno/una 1 undici 11 due 2 dodici 12 tre 3 tredici 13 quattro 4 quattordici 14 cinque 5 quindici 15 sei 6 sedici 16 20 sette 7 diciassette 17 otto 8 diciotto 18 nove 9 diciannove 19 venti 20 ventuno 21 ventidue 22 ventitrè 23 ventiquattro 24 venticinque 25 ventisei 26 ventisette 27 ventotto 28 ventinove 29 trenta 30 trentuno 31 trentadue 32 etc quaranta etc 40 etc cinquanta etc 50 etc sessanta etc 60 etc sessantanove 69 settanta 70 settantuno 71 settantadue 72 settantatre 73 21 settantaquattro 74 settantacinque 75 settantasei 76 settantasette 77 settantotto 78 settantanove 79 ottanta 80 ottantuno 81 ottantadue 82 ottantatre 83 ottantaquattro 84 ottantacinque 85 ottantasei 86 ottantasette 87 ottantotto 88 ottantanove 89 novanta 90 novantuno 91 novantadue 92 novantatre 93 novantaquattro 94 novantacinque 95 novantasei 96 novantasette 97 novantotto 98 22