Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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quello zio that uncle quel simpatico zio that nice uncle
quegli amici those friends quei simpatici amici those nice friends
And also as with the articles, remember to repeat the demonstratives before every
noun.
questo ragazzo e questa ragazza this boy and girl
quel ragazzo e quella ragazza that boy and girl
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Ti piace quel cane? Do you like that dog?
Ti piacciono quei cani? Do you like those dogs?
Ti piace quello zaino? Do you like that backpack?
Ti piacciono quegli zaini? Do you like those backpacks?
Ti piace quell’espresso? Do you like that espresso?
Ti piacciono quegli espressi? Do you like those espressos?
Ti piace quella camicia? Do you like that shirt?
Ti piacciono quelle camicie? Do you like those shirts?
Ti piace quell’amica? Do you like that friend?
Ti piacciono quelle amiche? Do you like those friends?
Written Practice 6
Supply the appropriate form of the demonstrative before the given noun or expres-
sion. For example:
quel ragazzo
ragazzo that boy
1. amico that friend
2. amici those friends
3. bambino that child
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158 Italian Demystifi ed
4. altro bambino that other child
5. bambini those children
6. zio that uncle
7. zii those uncles
8. ragazza that girl
9. ragazze those girls
10. altra ragazza that other girl
11. amiche those friends
Expressing Dates
Dates are expressed by the following formula:
il quindici settembre September 15 (literally: the fi fteen September)
il ventun settembre September 21 (literally: the twenty-one September)
The exception to this formula is the fi rst day of every month, in which case you
use the ordinal number primo.
È il primo ottobre. It is October 1.
È il primo giugno. It is June 1.
Years are always preceded by the defi nite article.
È il 2007. It is 2007.
Sono nato/a nel 1994. I was born in 1994.
(nel 1994 in il 1994)
However, when stating complete dates, the article is omitted before the year.
Oggi è il 5 febbraio, 2012. Today is February 5, 2012.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Che giorno è? What day is it?
È il trenta agosto. It is August 30.
Che data è? What is the date?
È il 5 novembre, 2009 It is November 5, 2009.
(duemila nove).
Quando sei nato, Giovanni? When were you born, John?
Sono nato il 12 febbraio. I was born on February 12.
E tu, Maria, quando sei nata? And when were you born, Mary?
Io sono nata il primo gennaio. I was born on January 1.
Written Practice 7
Fill in the blanks with the answer to each question.
1. Che giorno è? What day is it?
È . It is August 16.
2. Che data è? What is the date?
È . It is July 9, 2009.
3. Quando sei nato, Marco? When were you born, Mark?
Io . I was born on March 25.
4. E tu, Claudia, quando sei nata? And when were you born, Claudia?
Io . I was born on April 1.
Italian Holidays
Italy, like all countries, has national holidays. The main Italian holidays are as
follows:
il Natale (il venticinque dicembre) Christmas
il Capo d’Anno (il primo gennaio) New Year’s Day
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160 Italian Demystifi ed
L’Epifania (eh-peeh-fah-nEEh-ah) (il sei gennaio) the Epiphany
la Pasqua (primavera) Easter
il Ferragosto (il quindici agosto) the Assumption
In Italy most homes and churches have a presepio (Nativity scene) for Christmas.
A bread called il panettone, which is made with raisins and candied fruit, is also
popular at Christmas. Italian children receive gifts from la Befana, a kindly old
lady, on the eve of the Epiphany, January 6.
Easter is preceded by il Carnevale (Carnival) throughout Italy. Most carnivals
today are small and are held in towns and small cities, setting up their attractions in
streets and parking lots. The Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a similar famous Amer-
ican carnival.
QUIZ
Supply the missing ending from each verb.
1. Maria, che cosa sent ?
I negozi apr alle sette e mezzo?
Anch’io part per l’Italia domani.
Marco cap molte lingue.
Noi prefer la lingua italiana.
Anche voi pul la casa oggi, non è vero?
Loro fi n di lavorare alle sei.
Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best answers each question or completes
each sentence.
2. Dove vai oggi pomeriggio, Maria?
(a) Vado in centro.
(b) Va in centro.
3. A che ora uscite?
(a) Usciamo alle sei.
(b) Escono alle sei.
4. Quando viene la professoressa?
(a) Vengo domani.
(b) Viene domani.
5. Lui vive piano.
(a) al ventesimo
(b) alla ventesima
6. Che giorno è oggi?
(a) È il cinque gennaio.
(b) È gennaio.
7. Quando sei nata, Maria?
(a) Sono nato il sei gennaio.
(b) Sono nata il sei gennaio.
Give the corresponding demonstrative showing nearness or farness, as necessary.
For example, if you are given questo ragazzo (this boy), you would give quel
ragaz zo (that boy).
8. quei bambini
questa ragazza
quegli amici
quest’amica
queste ragazze
quelle bambine
questo studente
questi zii
quest’uomo
Vero o falso? Indicate whether each statement is true (vero) or false (falso).
9. Il Natale si festeggia (is celebrated) il venticinque dicembre.
La Befana si festeggia il sei gennaio.
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162 Italian Demystifi ed
Il Carnevale c’è prima di Pasqua.
Il Ferragosto si festeggia il quindici agosto.
Personal Matters! Answer the question appropriately.
10. Quante lingue capisci?
.
163
CHAPTER 9
Present
Progressives and
Possessives
Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:
Present Progressive Tense
Using the Verbs Potere, Volere, and Dovere
Possessives
Talking About the Weather
Italian Cities
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164 Italian Demystifi ed
Present Progressive Tense
Maria, che cosa stai leggendo? Anche lui sta dormendo, vero? Mary, what are
you reading? and He is also sleeping, isn’t he? The verbs in these two sentences are
in the present progressive tense. This is an alternative tense to the present indicative
when speaking of an ongoing action.
The present progressive tense uses the verb stare, which you already know from
Chapter 5, plus the gerund form of the verb showing the action. To form a gerund in
Italian, simply drop the infi nitive ending and add -ando to the stem of fi rst-conjuga-
tion verbs and -endo to the stems of the other two conjugations.
-are Verbs -ere Verbs -ire Verbs
parlare to speak mettere to put dormire to sleep
parlando speaking mettendo putting dormendo sleeping
Here is an example of each verb type conjugated in the present progressive
tense:
guardare to watch
(io) sto guardando I am watching
(tu) stai guardando you (familiar) are watching
(Lei) sta guardando you (polite) are watching
(lui/lei) sta guardando he/she is watching
(noi) stiamo guardando we are watching
(voi) state guardando you (familiar plural) are watching
(Loro) stanno guardando you (polite plural) are watching
(loro) stanno guardando they are watching
leggere to read
(io) sto leggendo I am reading
(tu) stai leggendo you (familiar) are reading
(Lei) sta leggendo you (polite) are reading
(lui/lei) sta leggendo he/she is reading
(noi) stiamo leggendo we are reading
(voi) state leggendo you (familiar plural) are reading
(Loro) stanno leggendo you (polite plural) are reading
(loro) stanno leggendo they are reading
fi nire to fi nish
(io) sto fi nendo I am fi nishing
(tu) stai fi nendo you (familiar) are fi nishing
(Lei) sta fi nendo you (polite) are fi nishing
(lui/lei) sta fi nendo he/she is fi nishing
(noi) stiamo fi nendo we are fi nishing
(voi) state fi nendo you (familiar plural) are fi nishing
(Loro) stanno fi nendo you (polite plural) are fi nishing
(loro) stanno fi nendo they are fi nishing
There are a few verbs that have irregular gerund forms. Of the verbs you have
encountered in this book so far, only the following four have irregular forms. As
always, there is no other way to learn these irregularities but to memorize them.
dire to say, tell dicendo saying, telling
dare to give dando giving
bere to drink bevendo drinking
fare to do facendo doing
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Che cosa stai guardando in questo What are you watching at this moment?
momento?
Sto guardando la televisione. I am watching television.
Che cosa sta leggendo lui? What is he reading?
Sta leggendo un romanzo. He is reading a novel.
Che cosa state fi nendo, Maria What are you fi nishing, Mary and Mark?
e Marco?
Stiamo fi nendo di mangiare. We are fi nishing eating.
Che cosa stanno parlando loro due? What are the two of them speaking?
Stanno parlando italiano. They are speaking Italian.
Che cosa stai facendo, Marco? What are you doing, Mark?
Sto studiando. I am studying.
Che cosa stanno dicendo quei due? What are those two saying?
Non stanno dicendo niente. They aren’t saying anything.
Che cosa sta bevendo, dottoressa What are you drinking, Dr. Rossi?
Rossi?
Sto bevendo un caffè. I am drinking a coffee.
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166 Italian Demystifi ed
Written Practice 1
Fill in the blanks with the missing part of the progressive verb forms.
1. Che cosa stai in questo momento? What are you doing at
this moment?
Sto . I am eating.
2. Che cosa scrivendo lui? What is he writing?
Lui scrivendo una e-mail. He is writing an e-mail.
3. Che cosa state , Maria e Marco? What are you doing,
Mary and Mark?
Stiamo la casa insieme. We are cleaning the house
together.
4. Che cosa facendo loro due? What are the two of them
doing?
uscendo. They are going out.
5. Che cosa stai , Marco? What are you doing, Mark?
cominciando un romanzo. I am beginning a novel.
6. Che cosa stanno quei due? What are those two saying?
Non stanno niente. They aren’t saying anything.
7. Che cosa bevendo il bambino? What is the boy drinking?
bevendo una bibita. He is drinking a soft drink.
Using the Verbs Potere, Volere, and Dovere
Puoi venire alla festa, Maria? Voglio venire, ma non posso. Devo studiare. Can
you come to the party, Mary? I want to come, but I cannot. I have to study. These
sentences are constructed with the verbs potere (to be able to), volere (to want, to
want to), and dovere (to have to). Like other verbs you have learned in previous
chapters, these verbs are irregular verbs. This means, of course, that you will have
to memorize their conjugations. The following shows the present indicative conju-
gation of each of these verbs: