Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud. Note the new vocabulary words.
Marco, che fai domani? Mark, what are you doing tomorrow?
Non faccio niente. I am not doing anything.
E Lei, che fa, signora? And what are you doing, madam?
Faccio delle spese. I am doing some shopping.
Che fa il signore? What is the gentleman doing?
Lui fa la spesa con la moglie. He is shopping for food with his wife.
Che fate domani, Bruno e Dina? What are you doing tomorrow, Bruno
and Dina?
Non facciamo niente. We are not doing anything.
Che cosa fanno gli studenti? What are the students doing?
Gli studenti studiano. The students are studying.
Che cosa dici, Maria? What are you saying, Mary?
Non dico niente. I am not saying anything.
Che cosa dice, signora? What are you saying, madam?
Dico la verità. I am telling the truth.
Che cosa dice il tuo amico? What is your friend saying?
Il mio amico dice solo la verità. My friend is telling only the truth.
Che cosa dite voi? What are you saying?
Noi non diciamo niente. We are not saying anything.
Che cosa dicono i bambini? What are the children saying?
I bambini dicono la verità. The children are telling the truth.
Written Practice 2
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate present indicative forms of fare or dire.
1. Carla, che cosa ? Carla, what are saying?
2. (Io) la verità. I am telling the truth.
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3. Che cosa domani, Franca? What are you doing
tomorrow, Franca?
4. (Io) delle spese. I am doing some shopping.
5. Che cosa domani, Marco e Maria? What are you doing
tomorrow, Mark and Mary?
6. Domani delle spese insieme. Tomorrow we are doing
some shopping together.
7. Che cosa , signorina? What are you saying, miss?
8. (Io) non niente. I am not saying anything.
9. Che cosa gli amici? What are the friends doing?
10. Loro delle spese insieme. They are doing some shopping
together.
11. Che insieme, Dina e Pina? What do you do together,
Dina and Pina?
12. Ogni giorno la spesa insieme. Every day we do the
shopping together.
13. Che gli studenti? What are the students saying?
14. Loro non niente. They are not saying anything.
SHOPPING FOR FOOD
From the previous practice sessions, note the difference between going shopping in
general (fare delle spese) and shopping for food (fare la spesa), which indicates
that Italians see the two things as separate. Also, note that il tavolo refers to a table
in general, whereas la tavola refers to an eating table (with some exceptions). Again,
this indicates a cultural difference.
Prepositional Contractions
Facciamo delle spese domani. We are doing some shopping tomorrow. Take note
of the form delle in this sentence. It is actually a contraction of the preposition di
(of) plus the defi nite article form le. This is called a prepositional contraction.
When the following prepositions immediately precede a defi nite article form,
they contract to form one word.
a to, at in in
di of su on
da from
Questo è il libro del fratello di This is the book of Francesca’s brother.
Francesca.
del di il (fratello)
Ci sono due euro nella scatola There are two euros in the box.
(skAh-toh-lah).
nella in la (scatola)
Loro arrivano dall’Italia domani. They are arriving from Italy tomorrow.
dall’ da l’ (Italia)
The following chart summarizes the contracted forms:
il i lo l’ gli la le
a al ai allo all’ agli alla alle
da dal dai dallo dall’ dagli dalla dalle
di del dei dello dell’ degli della delle
in nel nei nello nell’ negli nella nelle
su sul sui sullo sull’ sugli sulla sulle
Forming a contraction with the preposition con (with) is optional. In fact, only
the forms col ( con il) and coll’ ( con l’) are found today in Italian, with
any degree of frequency.
Lui parla col professore domani. He will speak with the professor
tomorrow.
Loro arrivano coll’Alitalia. They will arrive with Alitalia.
The other prepositions in Italian do not contract.
tra, fra between, among sopra above, on top
per for, through, on account of sotto under, below
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Metto la scatola tra la tavola e I am putting the box between the table
la sedia. and the chair.
Metto il libro sotto la tavola. I am putting the book under the table.
The defi nite article is dropped in expressions that have a high degree of usage or
that have become idiomatic.
Sono a casa. I am at home.
Arrivo in automobile. I am arriving by car.
However, if the noun in such expressions is modifi ed in any way, the article must
be used and prepositional contractions are formed.
Siamo alla casa nuova di Michele. We are at Michael’s new home.
Arriviamo nell’automobile di Marco. We are arriving in Marco’s car.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Dov’è il libro? Where is the book?
È sul tavolo. It is on the table.
Dov’è Maria? Where is Mary?
È alla partita di calcio. She is at the soccer game.
Di chi è il giornale? Whose newspaper is it?
È il giornale degli studenti. It is the students’ newspaper.
Dove vivono? Where do they live?
Vivono negli Stati Uniti. They live in the United States.
Da dove arrivate? From where are you arriving?
Arriviamo dall’Italia. We are arriving from Italy.
Dov’è la scatola? Where is the box?
La scatola è tra il tavolo e la sedia. The box is between the table and chair.
Per chi è il libro? For whom is the book?
È per mio fratello. It is for my brother.
Dov’è la penna? Where is the pen?
La penna è sul pavimento. The pen is on the fl oor.
Dove sono le matite? Where are the pencils?
Le matite sono sotto la sedia. The pencils are under the chair.
Dove siete? Where are you?
Noi siamo a casa. We are at home.
Written Practice 3
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition or prepositional contraction.
1. A chi dai le bibite? To whom are you giving the soft drinks?
Do le bibite bambini. I am giving the drinks to the
children.
2. Chi è? Who is it?
È il fratello zio. He is the uncle’s brother ( the brother
of the uncle).
3. Dov’è il computer? Where is the computer?
Il computer è tavolo. The computer is on the table.
4. Che fai domani? What are you doing tomorrow?
Domani faccio spese. I am doing some shopping
tomorrow.
5. Dove vivi? Where do you live?
Vivo Stati Uniti. I live in the United States.
6. Con chi parli? With whom are you speaking?
Parlo professoressa. I am speaking with the professor.
7. Dov’è la scatola? Where is the box?
È sedia. It is under the chair.
SPECIAL USES OF PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions have many uses and are important to everyday communication. Keep
in mind the following special uses for a, in, di, and da within sentences.
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• The preposition a is used in front of a city name to render the idea of being
“in a city.”
Vivo a Roma. I live in Rome.
• Otherwise, the preposition in is used.
Vivo in Italia. I live in Italy.
Vivo nell’Italia centrale. I live in central Italy.
N
OTE: Remember that the defi nite article is used with a modifi ed noun. (In
the previous example sentence the defi nite article is contracted with the
preposition.)
• Use the preposition di to indicate possession or relationship.
È l’automobile nuova di Alessandro. It is Alexander’s new car.
Come si chiama la fi glia del What is the name of the professor’s
professore? daughter?
• The preposition da translates to from or at in expressions such as the
following:
Arrivo dalla farmacia. I am arriving from the pharmacy.
Sono dal medico. I am at the doctor’s.
• But da translates to both since and from in time constructions.
Vivo qui dal 2004. I have been living here since 2004.
Vivo qui da undici anni. I have been living here for eleven
years.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Dove vivete? Where do you live?
Viviamo a Pisa. We live in Pisa.
Dove sono i tuoi amici? Where are your friends?
Sono in Italia. They are in Italy.
Dove vivono? Where do they live?
Vivono nell’Italia centrale. They live in central Italy.
Chi sono? Who are they?
Sono i fi gli della signora Marchi. They are Mrs. Marchi’s children.
Dove sono le tue amiche? Where are your friends?
Sono dal medico. They are at the doctor’s.
Da quando vivi qui? Since when have you been living here?
Vivo qui dal 2005. I have been living here since 2005.
Written Practice 4
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition or prepositional contraction.
1. Dove sono i tuoi amici? Where are your friends?
Sono Chicago. They are in Chicago.
2. Dove sono i tuoi genitori? Where are your parents?
Sono America centrale. They are in Central America.
3. Chi sono? Who are they?
Sono gli studenti professore. They are the professor’s
students.
4. Dove sono Maria e Dina? Where are Mary and Dina?
Sono genitori. They are at their parents’ house.
5. Da quando vivi qui? Since when have you been living here?
Vivo qui venti anni. I have been living here for twenty
years.
Numbers Over 1000
Previously you learned the numbers from 0 to 1000, and how to form them. The
same pattern of construction applies to the numbers over 1000.
1001 milleuno
1002 milledue
2000 duemila
3000 tremila
100.000 centomila
200.000 duecentomila
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1.000.000 un milione
2.000.000 due milioni
3.000.000 tre milioni
Notice that the plural of mille is mila, whereas milione is pluralized in the normal
way.
duemila two thousand
due milioni two million
Milione is always followed by the preposition di before a noun.
due milioni di euro two million euros
un milione di dollari one million dollars
As you know, the cardinal numbers may be written as one word. But for large
numbers, it is better to separate them, so that they can be read easily.
30.256 trentamila duecento cinquantasei
NOTE:
NOTE: Italians use periods where Americans use commas in numbers.
Italian American
30.256,50 30,256.50
When the number uno (or any number constructed with it, such as ventuno,
trentuno, etc.) is used with a noun, it follows the same rules as the indefi nite
article.
uno zio one uncle
ventun anni twenty-one years
trentuna ragazze thirty-one girls
The word nessuno means no in the sense of none. It is made up of ness uno,
and thus it is treated, again, like the indefi nite article when used with a noun. In this
case, however, the noun is always in the singular, even if its meaning is plural.
nessuno zio no uncles
nessun amico no friends
nessuna zia no aunts
The defi nite and indefi nite articles also vary when used with the word altro
(other).
Masculine Feminine
un altro zio another uncle un’altra ragazza another girl
l’altro zio the other uncle l’altra ragazza the other girl
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Quante persone vivono nella città? How many people live in the city?
Quasi ventidue mila. Almost twenty-two thousand.
Qual è la popolazione d’Italia? What is the population of Italy?
La popolazione è di circa sessanta The population is around 60 million.
milioni.
Quanti anni hai? How old are you?
Ho trentun anni. I am thirty-one years old.
Quanti anni ha la tua amica? How old is your friend?
Lei ha quasi quarantun anni. She is almost forty-one years old.
Quanto costa l’automobile? How much does the car cost?
Costa quasi ventimila euro. It costs almost 20,000 euros.
Quanto costa l’altra casa? How much does the other house cost?
Costa circa cinquecento mila It costs almost 500,000 dollars.
dollari.
Quanti amici italiani hai? How many Italian friends do you have?
Non ho nessun amico italiano. I have no Italian friends.
Quante amiche americane hai? How many (female) American friends
do you have?
Non ho nessun’amica americana. I have no American friends.
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Written Practice 5
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate number word(s).
1. Quante persone ci sono nella città? How many people are there in the city?
Circa . Almost nine million.
2. Qual è la popolazione degli Stati Uniti? What is the population of the
United States?
Circa . Almost 300 million.
3. Quanti anni hai? How old are you?
Ho anni. I am fi fty-one years old.
4. Quanti anni ha il tuo amico? How old is your friend?
Lui ha quasi anni. He is almost thirty-one years old.
5. Quanto costa l’automobile? How much does the car cost?
Costa quasi dollari. It costs almost 22,000 dollars.
6. Quanto costa l’altra automobile? How much does the other car cost?
Costa circa euro. It costs almost 18,000 euros.
7. Quanti cugini italiani hai? How many Italian cousins do you have?
Non ho cugino italiano. I have no Italian cousins.
8. Quante zie americane hai? How many American aunts do you have?
Non ho zia americana. I have no American aunts.
Telling Time
In this section you will learn to tell time in Italian. To inquire about the time, you
would say Che ora è? What time is it? (literally: What hour is it?) The plural form
Che ore sono? (literally: What hours are they?) can also be used.
The hours are feminine in gender. Therefore, the feminine forms of the defi nite
article are used.
l’una one o’clock ( the only singular form)
le due two o’clock
le tre three o’clock
le quattro four o’clock