Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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aprire to open
(tu) apri open (familiar)
(Lei) apra open (polite)
(noi) apriamo let’s open
(voi) aprite open (familiar plural)
(Loro) aprano open (polite plural)
Remember, however, that some third-conjugation verbs require an -isc in their
present tense conjugations. Those verbs will also require -isc when in the impera-
tive, except before -iamo and -ite.
fi nire to fi nish
(tu) fi nisci fi n i s h (familiar)
(Lei) fi nisca fi n i s h (polite)
(noi) fi niamo let’s fi nish
(voi) fi nite fi n i s h (familiar plural)
(Loro) fi niscano fi n i s h (polite plural)
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Giovanni, chiudi la porta, va bene? Mark, close the door, okay?
Signor Dini, chiuda la porta, per favore! Mr. Dini, close the door, please.
Chiudiamo la fi nestra, va bene? Let’s close the window, okay?
Marco e Maria, chiudete la fi nestra! Mark and Mary, close the window.
Signori, chiudano la porta, per favore! Gentlemen, close the door, please.
Marco, apri la porta, va bene? Mark, open the door, okay?
Signor Dini, apra la porta, per favore! Mr. Dini, open the door, please.
Apriamo la fi nestra, va bene? Let’s open the window, okay?
Marco e Maria, aprite la fi nestra! Mark and Mary, open the window.
Signori, aprano la porta, per favore! Gentlemen, open the door, please.
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Written Practice 2
Fill in the blanks with the missing imperative form of the indicated verb.
1. Giovanni, quel romanzo! John, read that novel.
Signor Dini, il giornale! Mr. Dini, read the newspaper.
il giornale! Let’s read the newspaper.
2. Marco e Maria, la scatola qui! Mark and Mary, put the
box here.
Signori, la scatola qui! Gentlemen, put the box here.
3. Maria, la porta, va bene? Mary, open the door, okay?
Signor Dini, la fi nestra, per favore! Mr. Dini, open the
window, please.
la fi nestra, va bene? Let’s open the window, okay?
4. Marco e Maria, pure! Mark and Mary, go ahead and
sleep.
Signori, pure! Gentlemen, go ahead and sleep.
5. Giovanni, la pasta, va bene? John, fi nish the pastry,
okay?
Signora Verdi, il caffè, per favore! Mrs. Dini, fi nish the
coffee, please.
gli spaghetti, va bene? Let’s fi nish the spaghetti, okay?
6. Marco e Maria, la casa! Mark and Mary, clean the
house.
Signori, la casa, per favore! Gentlemen, clean the house,
please.
IMPERATIVE WITH IRREGULAR VERBS
Remember that some Italian verbs have irregular forms in the present indicative.
These verbs will also be irregular in the imperative and, therefore, their imperative
conjugations must be memorized. Of the verbs you have encountered so far, the fol-
lowing have irregular imperative forms:
andare to go
(tu) va’, (Lei) vada, (noi) andiamo, (voi) andate, (Loro) vadano
avere to have
(tu) abbi, (Lei) abbia, (noi) abbiamo, (voi) abbiate, (Loro) abbiano
bere to drink
(tu) bevi, (Lei) beva, (noi) beviamo, (voi) bevete, (Loro) bevano
dare to give
(tu) da’, (Lei) dia, (noi) diamo, (voi) date, (Loro) diano
dire to say, tell
(tu) di’, (Lei) dica, (noi) diciamo, (voi) dite, (Loro) dicano
essere to be
(tu) sii, (Lei) sia, (noi) siamo, (voi) siate, (Loro) siano
fare to do, make
(tu) fa’, (Lei) faccia, (noi) facciamo, (voi) fate, (Loro) facciano
stare to stay
(tu) sta’, (Lei) stia, (noi) stiamo, (voi) state, (Loro) stiano
uscire to go out
(tu) esci, (Lei) esca, (noi) usciamo, (voi) uscite, (Loro) escano
venire to come
(tu) vieni, (Lei) venga, (noi) veniamo, (voi) venite, (Loro) vengano
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Marco, va’ con loro! Mark, go with them.
Signora Dini, abbia pazienza! Mrs. Dini, have patience.
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Beviamo il caffè! Let’s drink the coffee.
Ragazzi, date la mela al professore! Guys, give the apple to the professor.
Signori, dicano la verità! Gentlemen, tell the truth.
Maria, sii brava! Mary, be good.
Signor Dini, faccia questo! Mr. Dini, do this.
Stiamo zitti! Let’s be quiet.
Marco e Maria, uscite con noi! Mark and Mary, go out with us.
Signori, vengano alla festa! Gentlemen, come to the party.
Written Practice 3
Fill in the blanks with the missing imperative form of the indicated verb. Don’t for-
get to make the distinctions between familiar and polite forms!
1. Signora Verdi, con loro. Mrs. Verdi, go with them.
Signori, con loro. Gentlemen, go with them.
2. Maria, pazienza! Mary, have patience.
Ragazzi, pazienza! Boys, have patience.
3. Signor Verdi, il caffè! Mr. Verdi, drink the coffee.
Anche voi, il caffè! You, too, drink the coffee.
4. Maria, la mela al professore! Mary, give the apple to the
professor.
Signora, la mela a noi! Madam, give us the apple.
5. Marco e Maria, la verità! Mark and Mary, tell the truth.
Signori, la verità! Gentlemen, tell the truth.
6. Dino, bravo! Dino, be good.
Studenti, bravi! Students, be good.
7. Signora, questo! Madam, do this.
Maria, questo! Mary, do this.
8. Marco, zitto! Mark, be quiet.
Studenti, zitti! Students, be quiet.
9. Maria, con noi! Mary, go out with us.
Professore, con noi! Professor, go out with us.
10. Maria, alla festa! Mary, come to the party.
Dottoressa, alla festa! Doctor, come to the party.
Negative Imperative
To form the negative imperative, add non before the verb in the sentence. However,
you must also change the second-person singular verb forms to infi nitives in the
negative imperative. For example:
Affi rmative Negative
(tu) Aspetta! Wait! Non aspettare! Do not wait!
(tu) Scrivi! Write! Non scrivere! Do not write!
(tu) Finisci! Finish! Non fi nire! Do not fi nish!
(tu) Va’ Go! Non andare! Do not go!
(tu) Vieni! Come! Non venire! Do not come!
But:
(Lei) Aspetti! Wait! (polite singular) Non aspetti! Do not wait!
(noi) Scriviamo! Let’s write! Non scriviamo! Let’s not write!
(voi) Finite! Finish! (familiar plural) Non fi nite! Do not fi nish!
(Loro) Aspettino! Wait! (polite plural) Non aspettino! Do not wait!
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Marco, mangia la mela! Mark, eat the apple.
No, Marco, non mangiare la mela! No, Mark, do not eat the apple.
Signora, mangi la pesca! Madam, eat the peach.
No, signora, non mangi la pesca! No, madam, do not eat the peach.
Maria, leggi il giornale! Mary, read the newspaper.
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No, Maria, non leggere il giornale! No, Mary, do not read the newspaper.
Andiamo in Italia! Let’s go to Italy.
No, non andiamo in Italia! No, let’s not go to Italy.
Written Practice 4
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate imperative forms of the indicated verbs.
1. Maria, non quelle pesche! Mary, do not eat those
peaches.
Signora, non quelle pesche! Madam, do not eat
those peaches.
2. Marco, non con loro! Mark, do not go out with
them.
Professore, non con loro! Professor, do not go out
with them.
3. Dina, non delle spese! Dina, do not do any
shopping.
Signora, non delle spese! Madam, do not do any
shopping.
4. Ragazzi, non la casa! Guys, do not clean the
house.
Signori, non la casa! Gentlemen, do not clean the
house.
Using the Verbs Sapere and Conoscere
Marco, sai parlare francese? Maria, conosci Franca? Mark, do you know how
to speak French? and Mary, do you know Franca? The verbs sapere and cono-
scere, as you can see, both mean to know, but they are used in different ways.
Before learning about these differences, note that conoscere is a regular second-
conjugation verb, but sapere is irregular. The following shows sapere in its present
indicative conjugation:
sapere to know
(io) so I know
(tu) sai you know (familiar)
(Lei) sa you know (polite)
(lui/lei) sa he/she knows
(noi) sappiamo we know
(voi) sapete you know (familiar plural)
(Loro) sanno you know (polite plural)
(loro) sanno they know
Here are the different uses for conoscere and sapere:
• To express the idea of knowing someone, the verb conoscere must be used.
Maria non conosce quell’avvocato. Mary does not know that lawyer.
Chi conosce la dottoressa Verdi? Who knows Dr. Verdi?
• To express the idea of being familiar with something, again, use the verb
conoscere.
Conosci Roma? Are you familiar with Rome?
Conosco un bel ristorante qui vicino. I know a good restaurant nearby.
• However, to know how to do something is expressed by using the verb
sapere.
Mia sorella sa parlare italiano. My sister knows how to speak Italian.
Sai cantare? Do you know how to sing?
• To know something/know a fact is also expressed by using sapere.
Marco non sa la verità. Mark does not know the truth.
Chi sa come si chiama quella Who knows what that woman’s name
donna? is?
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Chi conosce quell’avvocato? Who knows that lawyer?
Maria conosce quell’avvocato. Mary knows that lawyer.
Chi conosce la dottoressa Verdi? Who knows Dr. Verdi?
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Tutti conoscono la dottoressa Verdi. Everyone knows Dr. Verdi.
Marco, tu conosci Roma? Mark, are you familiar with Rome?
No, non conosco Roma. No, I do not know Rome.
Ragazzi, conoscete un bel ristorante? Guys, do you know a nice restaurant?
Sì, conosciamo un bel ristorante Yes, we know a good restaurant nearby.
qui vicino.
Chi sa parlare italiano bene? Who knows how to speak Italian well?
Mia sorella sa parlare italiano bene. My sister knows how to speak Italian
well.
Dina, sai cantare? Dina, do you know how to sing?
No, non so cantare. No, I do not know how to sing.
Ragazzi, sapete la verità? Guys, do you know the truth?
Sì, sappiamo la verità! Yes, we know the truth!
Loro sanno come mi chiamo? Do they know my name?
Sì, loro sanno come ti chiami. Yes, they know your name.
Written Practice 5
Fill in the blanks with either conoscere or sapere in their appropriate forms, as
necessary.
1. Voi come mi chiamo? Do you know my name?
Sì, noi come ti chiami. Yes, we know your name.
2. Signora Dini, Lei Roma? Mrs. Dini, are you familiar
with Rome?
No, non Roma. No, I do not know Rome.
3. Chi parlare francese bene? Who knows how to speak
French well?
Mio fratello parlare francese bene. My brother knows
how to speak French well.
4. Alessandro, cantare? Alexander, do you know how to
sing?
No, non cantare. No, I do not know how to sing.
5. Ragazzi, la verità? Guys, do you know the truth?
Sì, la verità! Yes, we know the truth!
6. Chi quell’uomo? Who knows that man?
Maria quell’uomo. Mary knows that man.
7. Chi il professore d’italiano? Who knows the Italian
professor?
Tutti il professore d’italiano. Everyone knows the Italian
professor.
8. Marco, tu Venezia? Mark, are you familiar with Venice?
No, non Venezia. No, I do not know Venice.
Partitives
Voglio dell’acqua e degli spaghetti. I want some water and some spaghetti. Did
you notice the contraction of di the article in this sentence, which translates as
some? Using di the defi nite article is called the partitive. Partitives are structures
used to indicate a part of something as distinct from its whole.
dell’acqua some water
degli spaghetti some spaghetti
Before count nouns (nouns that have a plural form and use the indefi nite article
in their singular forms), the partitive can be considered to function as the plural of
the indefi nite article.
Singular Plural
uno sbaglio a mistake degli sbagli some mistakes
un albero a tree degli alberi some trees
un bicchiere a (drinking) glass dei bicchieri some glasses
un coltello a knife dei coltelli some knives
una forchetta a fork delle forchette some forks
una sedia a chair delle sedie some chairs
un’automobile an automobile delle automobili some automobiles
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With mass nouns (nouns that do not, normally, have a plural form), the partitive
is rendered by using either di the singular forms of the defi nite article, or by the
expression un po’ di (a bit of).
del vino some wine un po’ di vino some wine, a little wine
dello zucchero some sugar un po’ di zucchero some sugar, a little sugar
dell’orzo some barley un po’ d’orzo some barley, a little barley
della pasta some pasta un po’ di pasta some pasta, a little pasta
dell’acqua some water un po’ d’acqua some water, a little water
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Che cosa vuoi, Maria, un po’ d’orzo? What do you want Mary, a little barley?
Sì, voglio dell’orzo. Yes, I want some barley.
Che cosa fanno spesso gli studenti? What do the students often do?
Fanno degli sbagli. They make some mistakes.
Che cosa c’è davanti alla tua casa? What is there in front of your house?
Ci sono degli alberi. There are some trees.
Signora, vuole dello zucchero? Madam, would you like some sugar?
Sì, voglio un po’ di zucchero. Yes, I want a bit of sugar.
Di che cosa hai bisogno? What do you need?
Ho bisogno dei bicchieri. I need some glasses.
Che cosa sono? What are they?
Sono delle automobili nuove. They are some new automobiles.
Vuoi un po’ di vino? Would you like a little wine?
Sì, voglio del vino. Yes, I would like some wine.
Di che cosa altro hai bisogno? What else do you need?
Ho bisogno dei coltelli e delle I need some knives and forks.
forchette.
Che cosa vuoi mangiare, Maria? What do you want to eat, Mary?
Voglio mangiare della pasta. I would like to eat some pasta.