Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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In ordinary conversation, morning, afternoon, and evening hours are distin-
guished by the following expressions:
di mattina (della mattina) in the morning
di pomeriggio in the afternoon
di sera (della sera) in the evening
di notte (della notte) in the night/at night
Here are some example sentences:
Sono le otto di mattina. It is eight o’clock in the morning.
Sono le nove di sera. It is nine o’clock in the evening.
Offi cially, however, telling time in Italian is carried out using the twenty-four-
hour clock. Thus, after the noon hour, continue with the numbers as follows:
le tredici 1:00 p.m. (thirteen hundred hours)
le quattordici 2:00 p.m. (fourteen hundred hours)
le quindici 3:00 p.m. (fi fteen hundred hours)
le sedici 4:00 p.m. (sixteen hundred hours)
Sono le quindici. It is 3:00 p.m.
Sono le venti. It is 8:00 p.m.
Sono le ventiquattro. It is (twelve) midnight.
Minutes are simply added to the hour with the conjunction e (and).
Sono le tre e venti. It is three-twenty.
È l’una e quaranta. It is one-forty.
Sono le sedici e cinquanta. It is 4:50 p.m.
Sono le ventidue e cinque. It is 10:05 p.m.
As the next hour approaches, an alternative way of expressing the minutes is by
saying the next hour minus (meno) the number of minutes left to go. For example:
8:58 le otto e cinquantotto or le nove meno due
10:50 le dieci e cinquanta or le undici meno dieci
CHAPTER 7 Present Indicative of -ere Verbs 137
138 Italian Demystifi ed
The expressions un quarto (a quarter) and mezzo or mezza (half) can be used
for the quarter and half hour.
3:15 le tre e quindici or
le tre e un quarto
4:30 le quattro e trenta or
le quattro e mezzo/mezza
5:45 le cinque e quaranta cinque or
le sei meno un quarto or
le cinque e tre quarti (three quarters)
Noon and midnight can also be expressed by using the words mezzogiorno and
mezzanotte, respectively.
Sono le dodici. È mezzogiorno. It is noon.
Sono le ventiquattro. È mezzanotte. It is midnight.
Finally, note the following useful expressions:
preciso exactly
È l’una precisa. It is exactly one o’clock.
Sono le otto precise. It is exactly eight o’clock.
in punto on the dot
È l’una in punto. It is one o’clock on the dot.
Sono le otto in punto. It is eight o’clock on the dot.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Che ora è? What time is it?
Sono le due e venti del pomeriggio. It is 2:20 in the afternoon.
Che ore sono? What time is it?
È l’una precisa. It is exactly one o’clock.
A che ora arriva Maria? At what time is Mary arriving?
Maria arriva alle quattro e mezzo. Maria is arriving at 4:30.
A che ora arriva Paolo? At what time is Paul arriving?
Arriva alle nove e un quarto di sera. He is arriving at 9:15 in the evening.
A che ora c’è il fi lm? At what time is the movie?
Il fi lm c’è alle sette meno dieci. The movie is at ten to seven.
Quando arrivano i tuoi genitori? When are your parents arriving?
Arrivano a mezzogiorno. They are arriving at noon.
Che ora è? What time is it?
Sono le otto e mezzo di mattina. It is 8:30 in the morning.
Che ore sono? What time is it?
Sono le ventidue in punto. It is 10:00 on the dot.
Che ora è? What time is it?
Sono le diciannove e quarantadue. It is 7:42.
Che ore sono? What time is it?
Sono le venti meno cinque. It is fi ve minutes to eight.
Written Practice 6
Fill in the blanks with the times provided.
1. Che ora è? What time is it?
Sono . It is two thirty.
2. Che ore sono? What time is it?
È . It is 1:35 in the afternoon.
3. A che ora arriva il professore? At what time is the professor arriving?
Arriva . He is arriving at 7:45 in the evening.
4. A che ora arrivano? At what time are they arriving?
Arrivano . They are arriving at midnight.
5. A che ora c’è il fi lm? At what time is the movie?
Il fi lm c’è . The movie is at 5:00 in the afternoon on the dot.
6. Quando arrivano i tuoi amici? When are your friends arriving?
Arrivano . They are arriving at 4:15.
CHAPTER 7 Present Indicative of -ere Verbs 139
140 Italian Demystifi ed
7. Che ora è? What time is it?
Sono . It is 6:01.
8. Che ore sono? What time is it?
Sono . It is twenty to four.
QUIZ
Fill in the blanks with the missing ending from each verb.
1. Maria, chi ved stasera?
Dove viv i tuoi genitori?
Anch’io ripet sempre tutto (everything) in classe.
Perché anche voi vend la casa?
Noi legg sempre il giornale.
Signora, Lei che cosa prend ?
Giovanni che cosa mett nel caffè?
Give the appropriate prepositional contraction for each phrase.
2. a lo zio
di gli amici
da il medico
in i ristoranti
su la sedia
con l’amico
a l’amica
di le amiche
Fill in each blank with the appropriate preposition and article (simple or contracted)
as required.
3. Le penne sono scatola.
Ecco i libri amici.
Le matite sono tavola.
Mio cugino è medico.
Arrivano nove stasera.
Maria sta casa domani tutto il giorno.
Siamo casa nuova di mio fratello.
Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best answers the question.
4. 32.345
(a) trentadue mila trecento quarantacinque
(b) trentadue milioni trecento quarantacinque
5. A che ora arrivano gli amici?
(a) Alle nove e mezzo.
(b) Sono le nove e mezzo.
6. Che ore sono?
(a) A mezzogiorno.
(b) È l’una e un quarto.
7. Quando arrivano?
(a) Le due meno venti.
(b) Alle due meno venti.
CHAPTER 7 Present Indicative of -ere Verbs 141
142 Italian Demystifi ed
Personal Matters! Answer each question appropriately.
8. Quanti anni hai?
.
9. Che ora è adesso?
.
10. A che ora studi di solito?
.
143
CHAPTER 8
Demonstratives
and the Present
Indicative of
-ire Verbs
Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:
Present Indicative of -ire Verbs Demonstratives
Using the Verb Capire Expressing Dates
Using the Verbs Andare, Uscire, and Venire Italian Holidays
Ordinal Numbers
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144 Italian Demystifi ed
Present Indicative of -ire Verbs
Quando parti per l’Italia? When are you leaving for Italy? The verb used in this
question is partire which means to leave. Notice that it ends in -ire (instead of -are
or -ere). Verbs ending in -ire are called, logically, third-conjugation verbs.
To conjugate regular third-conjugation verbs in the present indicative, drop the
infi nitive ending -ire from the verb root (in this case, part-), and add on the endings
-o, -i, -e, -iamo, -ite, -ono according to the person (fi rst, second, third) and number
(singular and plural).
(io) parto I leave, am leaving, do leave
(tu) parti you (familiar) leave, are leaving, do leave
(Lei) parte you (polite) leave, are leaving, do leave
(lui/lei) parte he/she leaves, is leaving, does leave
(noi) partiamo we leave, are leaving, do leave
(voi) partite you (familiar plural) leave, are leaving, do leave
(Loro) partono you (polite plural) leave, are leaving, do leave
(loro) partono they leave, are leaving, do leave
COMMON -IRE VERBS
Here are some common useful -ire verbs.
dormire to sleep
sentire to hear, feel
aprire to open
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Quando parti, Maria? When are you leaving, Mary?
Parto domani. I am leaving tomorrow.
Chi dorme adesso? Who is sleeping now?
Mia sorella dorme adesso. My sister is sleeping now.
Quando aprono tutti i negozi? When do all the stores open?
Aprono alle sette. They open at seven.
Che cosa sentite? What do you hear?
Sentiamo una voce strana. We hear a strange voice.
Written Practice 1
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate present indicative forms of the verbs
provided.
1. Quando , signorina? When are you leaving, miss?
domani. I am leaving tomorrow.
2. Marco, tu in classe? Mark, do you sleep in class?
No, non mai in classe. No, I never sleep in class.
3. Quando il negozio? When does the store open?
Tutti i negozi alle sette. All the stores open at seven.
4. Che cosa , Dino e Dina? What do you hear, Dino and
Dina?
una voce strana. We hear a strange voice.
Using the Verb Capire
Capisci l’italiano? Sì, capisco l’italiano. Do you understand Italian? Yes, I under-
stand Italian. The verb used in this case is capire (to understand), which is also, as
you can see, a third-conjugation verb. However, it is conjugated differently than the
-ire verbs previously discussed. With capire and a few other -ire verbs, -isc is
added to the verb stem before the endings are added except -iamo and -ite. Pay spe-
cial attention to this conjugation.
(io) capisco I understand, am understanding, do understand
(tu) capisci you (familiar) understand, are understanding, do understand
(Lei) capisce you (polite) understand, are understanding, do understand
(lui/lei) capisce he/she understands, is understanding, does understand
(noi) capiamo we understand, are understanding, do understand
(voi) capite you (familiar plural) understand, are understanding, do understand
(Loro) capiscono you (polite plural) understand, are understanding, do understand
(loro) capiscono they understand, are understanding, do understand
CHAPTER 8 Present Indicative of -ire Verbs 145
146 Italian Demystifi ed
So, -ire verbs have two sets of endings and learning to which category an -ire
verb belongs must be memorized, as there are no rules governing this. If you are
unsure, consult an Italian verb dictionary.
Here are a few other common third-conjugation verbs conjugated with -isc:
fi nire to fi nish
preferire to prefer
pulire to clean
CHE
Before the Oral Practice, you should learn the relative pronoun che, meaning that,
which,or who. Do not confuse che with che (cosa), which, as you know, means
what. Note how che and che cosa are used in the following sentences:
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Capisci che non è vero? Do you understand that it is not true?
Sì, capisco. Yes, I understand.
Che cosa preferite, voi due? What do the two of you prefer?
Preferiamo un cappuccino. We prefer a cappuccino.
Chi pulisce la casa oggi? Who is cleaning the house today?
Loro puliscono la casa oggi. They are cleaning the house today.
Quando fi nisce di lavorare Marco? When does Mark fi nish working?
Lui fi nisce di lavorare alle sei. He fi nishes working at six.
Che fate domani? What are you doing tomorrow?
Finiamo di fare le spese. We are fi nishing the shopping.
Anche voi pulite la casa oggi? You, too, are cleaning the house today?
Sì, anche noi puliamo la casa. Yes, we, too, are cleaning the house.
Signora, Lei capisce il francese? Madam, do you understand French?
No, capisco solo l’italiano. No, I understand only Italian.