Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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Written Practice 5
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the possessive adjective suo.
1. È il cellulare di tuo cugino? Is it your cousin’s cell phone?
Sì, è cellulare. Yes, it is his cell phone.
2. È il cellulare di tua nonna? Is it your grandmother’s cell phone?
Sì, è cellulare. Yes, it is her cell phone.
3. Sono gli stivali del professore? Are they the professor’s boots?
Sì, sono stivali. Yes, they are his boots.
4. Sono gli stivali della signora Verdi? Are they Mrs. Verdi’s boots?
Sì, sono stivali. Yes, they are her boots.
5. Sono le scarpe di tua zia? Are they your aunt’s shoes?
Sì, sono scarpe. Yes, they are her shoes.
6. Sono le scarpe di tuo zio? Are they your uncle’s shoes?
Sì, sono scarpe. Yes, they are his shoes.
Talking About the Weather
Che tempo fa oggi? How is the weather today? Notice that this expression uses the
word tempo, which means both time and weather, and the verb fare, which you
have encountered already.
When talking about the weather in Italian, the following words and expressions
are often used.
le stagioni the seasons l’inverno winter
la primavera spring il tempo the weather
l’estate summer nevicare to snow
l’autunno fall piovere to rain
Here are some example sentences:
Che tempo fa? How is the weather?
Fa bel tempo! It is nice/beautiful weather!
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Fa brutto tempo! The weather is awful!
Fa freddo! It is cold!
Fa caldo! It is hot/warm!
Tira vento! It is windy!
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Che tempo fa oggi? How is the weather today?
Fa bel tempo! It is beautiful!
Che tempo fa domani? How is the weather going to be
tomorrow?
Domani fa brutto tempo! Tomorrow, it is going to be awful!
Che tempo fa di solito in inverno? What is the weather usually like in the
winter?
Fa freddo e nevica molto! It is cold and it snows a lot!
Che tempo fa di solito in estate? What is the weather usually like in the
summer?
Fa caldo! It is hot!
Che tempo fa di solito in primavera? What is the weather usually like in the
spring?
Fa caldo, ma tira vento! It is warm, but it is windy!
Che tempo fa di solito in autunno? What is the weather usually like in the
fall?
Fa bel tempo! It is nice!
Written Practice 6
Answer each question using the English translations as a guide.
1. Che tempo fa oggi? How is the weather today?
! It is awful!
2. Che tempo fa domani? How is the weather going to be tomorrow?
! Tomorrow, it is going to be beautiful!
3. Che tempo fa di solito in inverno? What is the weather usually like in the
winter?
! It snows a lot!
4. Che tempo fa di solito in estate? What is the weather usually like in the
summer?
! It is hot!
5. Che tempo fa di solito in primavera? What is the weather usually like in
the spring?
! It is windy and it rains!
6. Che tempo fa di solito in autunno? What is the weather usually like in the
fall?
! It is cold and often it snows!
Italian Cities
Italy has a rich history. Italian cities (le città italiane) were originally run as city-
states—little nations, each with its own government (il governo) and often ruled by
a king (un re), a nobleman, or a small group of powerful citizens. In some cases
political life was controlled by city dwellers, and in other cases by people of both
the countryside and the city.
Some well-known Italian cities are:
Ancona Ancona Napoli Naples
Bari Bari Perugia Perugia
Bologna Bologna Potenza Potenza
Cagliari Cagliari Roma Rome
Catanzaro Catanzaro Siena Siena
Firenze Florence Siracusa Syracuse
Genova Genoa Torino Turin
L’Aquila Aquila Trieste Trieste
Milano Milan Venezia Venice
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QUIZ
Provide the missing form of each verb in either the present indicative or the present
progressive.
1. Present Indicative Present Progressive
io sto cominciando
tu metti
lui sta dormendo
noi facciamo
lei sta dando
voi bevete
loro stanno dicendo
Supply the corresponding present indicative forms of the indicated verbs.
2. potere 3. volere 4. dovere
io devo
tu puoi
lui vuole
lei deve
noi possiamo
voi volete
loro devono
Fill in each blank with the corresponding singular or plural form of the possessive,
as necessary.
5. Singular 6. Plural
il mio orologio
le nostre amiche
la mia camicia
i nostri libri
il tuo cane
le vostre amiche
la tua automobile
i vostri amici
il suo gatto
le sue amiche
il loro amico
le loro case
Fill in each blank with the appropriate form of the defi nite article, when
necessary.
7. Lui è mio fratello.
Lei è nostra sorella.
Quel ragazzo è loro fi glio.
Lei è sua fi glia.
Signora Marchi, come si chiama Sua fi glia?
Signora e signor Marchi, come si chiama Loro fi glio?
Lui è mio amico.
Anche lei è mia amica.
Fill in each blank with the appropriate form of suo, Suo, loro, or Loro.
8. Questo è il libro di mia sorella. È libro. This is her book.
Questo è il libro di mio fratello. È libro. This is his book.
Queste sono le riviste di mia madre. Sono riviste. These
are her magazines.
Queste sono le riviste di mio padre. Sono riviste. These
are his magazines.
Signora Verdi, come si chiama fi glia? Mrs. Verdi, what is
your daughter’s name?
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Signor Verdi, come si chiama fi glia? Mr. Verdi, what is
your daughter’s name?
Signora e signor Verdi, come si chiama fi glia? Mrs. and
Mr. Verdi, what is your daughter’s name?
Personal Matters! Answer each question appropriately.
9. Dove vuoi andare in Italia?
.
10. Che tempo fa oggi?
.
183
CHAPTER 10
Giving Commands
Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:
Imperative Tense
Negative Imperative
Using the Verbs Sapere and Conoscere
Partitives
Talking About Addresses
Imperative Tense
Marco, mangia la pesca! Signor Verdi, legga il giornale! Mark, eat the peach!
and Mr. Verdi, read the newspaper! The verb in both of these sentences is in the
imperative—a tense that allows you to give commands, advice, orders, instructions,
and so on. The imperative in Italian is formed by dropping the infi nitive ending of
the verb, and then adding the imperative endings according to the verb type.
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184 Italian Demystifi ed
IMPERATIVE WITH FIRST-CONJUGATION VERBS (-ARE)
For -are verbs, the imperative endings are as follows. Notice that there is no fi rst-
person singular form used in the imperative tense.
aspettare to wait (for)
(tu) aspetta wait (familiar)
(Lei) aspetti wait (polite)
(noi) aspettiamo let’s wait
(voi) aspettate wait (familiar plural)
(Loro) aspettino wait (polite plural)
In order to maintain the hard c and g sounds of verbs ending in -care and -gare,
an h must be added to the -i, -iamo, and -ino endings.
cercare to search for
(tu) cerca search (familiar)
(Lei) cerchi search (polite)
(noi) cerchiamo let’s search
(voi) cercate search (familiar plural)
(Loro) cerchino search (polite plural)
pagare to pay
(tu) paga pay (familiar)
(Lei) paghi pay (polite)
(noi) paghiamo let’s pay
(voi) pagate pay (familiar plural)
(Loro) paghino pay (polite plural)
And for verbs ending in -ciare and -giare, the -i- is dropped so it is not repeated
before the -i, -iamo, and -ino endings.
cominciare to begin
(tu) comincia begin (familiar)
(Lei) cominci begin (polite)
(noi) cominciamo let’s begin
(voi) cominciate begin (familiar plural)
(Loro) comincino begin (polite plural)
mangiare to eat
(tu) mangia eat (familiar)
(Lei) mangi eat (polite)
(noi) mangiamo let’s eat
(voi) mangiate eat (familiar plural)
(Loro) mangino eat (polite plural)
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Marco, aspetta qui! Mark, wait here.
Signora Verdi, aspetti qui, per favore! Mrs. Verdi, wait here, please.
Aspettiamo qui, va bene? Let’s wait here, okay?
Marco e Maria, aspettate qui! Mark and Mary, wait here.
Signori, aspettino qui, per favore! Gentlemen, wait here, please.
Claudia, mangia questa pesca! Claudia, eat this peach.
Signora Dini, mangi questa mela! Mrs. Dini, eat this apple.
Mangiamo quelle pesche! Let’s eat those peaches.
Pina e Bruno, cominciate a lavorare! Pina and Bruno, start working.
Signori, comincino, per favore! Gentlemen, begin, please.
Maria, cerca la mia penna! Mary, look for my pen.
Signora Dini, cerchi la Sua borsa! Mrs. Dini, look for your purse.
Paghiamo il conto! Let’s pay the bill.
Bruna e Paolo, pagate il conto! Bruna and Paul, pay the bill.
Signori, paghino il conto, per favore! Gentlemen, pay the bill, please.
NOTE:
NOTE: To indicate that the verb is in the imperative, it is better to end the sentence
with an exclamation point.
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186 Italian Demystifi ed
Written Practice 1
Fill in the blanks with the missing imperative form of the indicated verb.
1. Marco, italiano! Mark, speak Italian.
Signora Verdi, italiano, per favore! Mrs. Verdi,
speak Italian, please.
italiano, va bene? Let’s speak Italian, okay?
2. Marco e Maria, Paolo! Mark and Mary, call
Paul.
Signore, stasera, per favore! Ladies, call tonight,
please.
3. Gino, questa mela! Gino, eat this apple.
Signora Dini, queste pesche! Mrs. Dini, eat these
peaches.
quelle mele! Let’s eat those apples.
4. Ragazzi, il conto! Guys, pay the bill.
Signori, il conto, per favore! Gentlemen, pay the
bill, please.
IMPERATIVE WITH SECOND-CONJUGATION VERBS (-ERE)
Verbs that end in -ere take the following endings in the imperative:
chiudere to close
(tu) chiudi close (familiar)
(Lei) chiuda close (polite)
(noi) chiudiamo let’s close
(voi) chiudete close (familiar plural)
(Loro) chiudano close (polite plural)
IMPERATIVE WITH THIRD-CONJUGATION VERBS (-IRE)
The -ire verbs take the following endings in the imperative: