Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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6. Come , bambino? What is your name, little boy?
Piero. My name is Piero.
7. È vero che lei in centro? Is it true that she has
fun downtown?
Sì, è vero, lei molto in centro. Yes, it is true, she
enjoys herself a lot downtown.
8. Signora e signore, come ? Madam and sir, how
are you dressing?
semplicemente. We are dressing simply.
Imperative Forms of Refl exive Verbs
In the imperative tense, refl exive verbs are conjugated the same way as nonrefl exive
verbs except with the addition of the refl exive pronouns. If you feel you need to, go
back to Chapter 10 for a review of the imperative.
The refl exive pronouns are attached to the end of verbs when using the familiar
(tu, voi) and fi rst-person plural (noi) forms of the affi rmative imperative. The pro-
nouns are placed before the verbs when using the polite forms.
Familiar Polite
Tu Forms Lei Forms
Marco, vestiti! Marco, get dressed! Signor Verdi, si vesta! Mr. Verdi, get dressed!
Maria, alzati! Mary, get up! Signora Rossi, si alzi! Mrs. Rossi, get up!
Noi Forms Noi Forms
Divertiamoci! Let’s have fun! Laviamoci! Let’s wash!
Vestiamoci! Let’s get dressed! Alziamoci! Let’s get up!
Voi Forms Loro Forms
Divertitevi! Enjoy yourselves! Si divertano! Enjoy yourselves!
Alzatevi! Get up! Si alzino! Get up!
Refl exive pronouns are also attached to the verbs in the negative imperative in the
same way. Remember, though, that in the case of the second-person singular form
of the negative imperative, the infi nitive is required. With refl exive verbs, however,
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the pronoun may either be attached or may be put before the infi nitive in the nega-
tive imperative. If attached, the fi nal -e of the infi nitive is dropped.
Affi rmative Negative
Tu Forms
Marco, alzati! Marco, get up! Marco, non ti alzare! Marco, do not get up!
Maria, alzati! Mary, get up! Maria, non alzarti! Mary, do not get up!
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Maria, alzati! È tardi! Mary, get up! It is late!
Signor Verdi, si alzi! Sono già Mr. Verdi, get up! It is already eight!
le otto!
Marco, non metterti quel vestito! Mark, do not put on that suit!
Signor Rossi, non si metta quel Mr. Rossi, do not put on that suit!
vestito!
Marco e Maria, divertitevi al Mark and Mary, have fun at the movies!
cinema!
Signori, si divertano in Italia! Gentlemen, have fun in Italy!
Pina, svegliati! Sono già le sette! Pina, wake up! It is already seven!
Signora, si svegli! È tardi! Madam, wake up! It is late!
Alziamoci presto domani! Let’s get up early tomorrow.
No, non alziamoci presto! No, let’s not get up early.
Gina, mettiti quel vestito! Gina, put on that dress.
Signorina, si metta quel vestito! Miss, put on that dress.
Gina, non svegliarti presto domani! Gina, do not wake up early tomorrow.
Signorina, non si svegli presto Miss, do not wake up early tomorrow.
domani!
Dina e Pino, vestitevi subito! Dina and Pino, get dressed right away!
È tardi! It is late!
Signori, si vestano! È molto tardi! Gentlemen, get dressed! It is very late!
Written Practice 2
Fill in the blanks with the missing refl exive verbs in their appropriate imperative
forms.
1. Giovanni, ! È tardi! John, wake up! It is late!
2. Signor Marchi, ! Sono già le otto! Mr. Marchi, wake
up! It is already eight!
3. Claudia, non quella giacca! Claudia, do not put on that
jacket.
4. Signora, non quella giacca! Madam, do not put on that
jacket.
5. Marco e Maria, in Italia! Mark and Mary, have fun in
Italy!
6. Signori, in Italia! Gentlemen, have fun in Italy!
7. Maria, ! Sono già le sette! Mary, get up! It is already
seven!
8. Signora, ! È tardi! Madam, get up! It is late!
9. presto domani! Let’s wake up early tomorrow.
10. No, non presto! No, let’s not wake up early.
11. Pina, subito! È tardi! Pina, wash yourself right away. It
is late!
12. Signorina, , per favore! È tardi! Miss, please get dressed.
It is late!
13. Maria, non presto domani! Mary, do not get up early
tomorrow.
14. Signorina, non presto domani! Miss, do not get up early
tomorrow.
Reciprocal Forms of Verbs
Some verbs can be turned into a refl exive form. This is called the reciprocal form
of the verb.
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Verb Reciprocal
parlare to speak parlarsi to speak to one another
telefonare to phone telefonarsi to phone one another
vedere to see vedersi to see one another
capire to understand capirsi to understand one another
Conjugate each reciprocal verb as you would any refl exive verb. Notice, however,
that conjugating such verbs makes sense only in certain persons (Can you phone
yourself?). Basically, reciprocal verbs are only used in the plural.
Noi Forms
Noi ci vediamo spesso. We see each other often.
Noi ci capiamo molto bene. We understand each other quite well.
Voi Forms
Voi vi vedete spesso, no? You see each other often, isn’t that right?
Voi vi telefonate ogni sera. You phone each other every evening.
Loro Forms
Loro si parlano ogni giorno. They speak to each other every day.
Loro si vedono spesso. They see each other often.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Marco e Giulia si parlano ancora? Do Mark and Julia still speak to each
other?
No, non si parlano più. No, they do not speak to each other
anymore.
Voi vi telefonate ancora? Do you still phone each other?
Sì, ci telefoniamo spesso. Yes, we phone each other often.
Quanti anni sono che non vi vedete? How many years is it that you have not
seen each other?
Noi non ci vediamo da molti anni. We have not seen each other for many
years.
Gino e Pina si capiscono, vero? Gino and Pina understand each other,
right?
No, loro non si capiscono mai. No, they never understand each other.
Written Practice 3
Fill in the blanks with the missing reciprocal verbs in their appropriate forms.
1. Quei due signori spesso? Do those two gentlemen
phone each other often?
No, non mai. No, they never phone each other.
2. Voi ancora? Do you still speak to each other?
Sì, sempre. Yes, we speak to each other all the
time.
3. Loro spesso? Do they see each other often?
Sì, loro ogni giorno. Yes, they see each other
every day.
4. Voi , vero? You understand each other, right?
Sì, noi perfettamente. Yes, we understand each
other perfectly.
Fractions and Other Numerical Expressions
Remember the cardinal numbers (uno, due, tre, quattro,...) and the ordinal num-
bers (primo, secondo, terzo, quarto,...)? These numbers are also used to make
fractions in Italian.
As in English, cardinal numbers are used to express the numerator and ordinal
numbers express the denominator of fractions. Note that if the numerator is greater
than one, the denominator, being an ordinal adjective, must be in the plural.
1/17 un diciasettesimo
3/4 tre quarti
5/9 cinque noni
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Be careful! The fraction 1/2 is different, however. There are two ways to express
one-half or half. When used as an adjective, the word mezzo is used. But when it is
used as a noun, metà is used. For example:
mezzo litro a half liter
la metà di tutto half of everything
Here are a few useful numerical expressions:
il doppio double
a due a due, a tre a tre,… two by two, three by three, . . .
una dozzina a dozen
una ventina, una trentina,… about twenty, about thirty, . . .
un centinaio, due centinaia, tre centinaia,… about a hundred, about two hundred, . . .
un migliaio, due migliaia, tre migliaia,… about a thousand, about two thousand . . .
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Quanto costa quella camicia? How much does that shirt cost?
Costa un quarto di quella. It costs a quarter of that one.
Quanta pasta vuoi? How much pasta do you want?
Tre quarti della tua. Three-fourths of yours.
Quanto fa due terzi e sette noni? What is two-thirds plus seven-ninths?
Fa tredici noni. It equals thirteen-ninths.
Quanta pasta vuoi? How much pasta do you want?
La metà. Half.
Quanto costa quella giacca? How much does that jacket cost?
Costa il doppio di questa. It costs double this one.
Di quanti bicchieri hai bisogno? How many glasses do you need?
Una quarantina. About forty.
Quante persone ci sono in quella How many people are in that city?
città?
Ci sono migliaia di persone. There are thousands of people.
Quanti ravioli vuoi? How many ravioli do you want?
Una dozzina, grazie. A dozen, thanks.
Quanti studenti ci sono in quella How many students are there in that
scuola? school?
Ci sono centinaia di studenti. There are hundreds of students.
Written Practice 4
Fill in each blank with the correct word or expression, using what you have just
learned in the Oral Practice.
1. Quanto quella camicia? How much does that shirt
cost?
Costa di quella. It costs half that one.
2. pasta vuoi? How much pasta do you want?
della tua. Three-fi fths of yours.
3. Quanto fa e ? What is
one-fourth plus seven-eighths?
Fa . It equals nine-eighths.
4. Quanti ravioli ? How much pasta do you want?
. Double.
5. Quanto quelle scarpe? How much do those shoes
cost?
Costano di queste. They cost a third of these.
6. Di quanti coltelli ? How many knives do you
need?
Una . About sixty.
7. studentesse ci sono in quella classe? How many
(female) students are in that class?
Ci sono di studentesse. There are hundreds of
students.
8. gnocchi vuoi? How many dumplings do you
want?
, grazie. Two dozen, thanks.
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9. personne ci sono in quella città? How many
persons are there in that city?
Ci sono di persone. There are thousands of
persons.
Clothing
Ti piace fare delle spese? Do you like shopping? If you like to shop and would like
to do some shopping for clothes in Italy, here are a few useful words and expressions
to learn:
• When you enter a shop, a salesclerk (un commesso/una commessa) will
ask you:
Desidera? Can I help you?
• The following list shows some words for clothing items, some of which you
already know:
la camicetta blouse
la camicia shirt
la cravatta tie
la giacca jacket
la gonna skirt
il vestito dress, suit
il cappello hat
la scarpa shoe
lo stivale boot
l’impermeabile (m.) overcoat
il cappotto coat
i pantaloni pants
il calzino sock
la calza stocking
• And here are some other shopping words that will come in handy:
comprare to buy il cliente/la cliente customer (m./f.)
provarsi to try on il colore color
portare to wear il saldo sale
la taglia measurement,vorrei I would like
size
il paio (le paia, pl.) pair infi ne fi n a l l y
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Desidera, signora? May I help you, madam?
Vorrei comprare una camicetta. I would like to buy a blouse.
Qual è la Sua taglia? What is your size?
Di solito porto il quarantadue. Usually, I wear a size 42.
Va bene, si provi questa! Okay, try this one on.
Mi piace molto. Quanto costa? I like it a lot. How much does it cost?
Solo cento euro. È in saldo. Only 100 euros. It is on sale.
Quel commesso è simpatico. That (male) salesclerk is nice.
Ma i clienti non sono simpatici. But the customers are not nice.
Vorrei una camicia e una cravatta. I would like a shirt and tie.
E anche una giacca e i pantaloni. And also a jacket and pants.
Si provi questi! Try these on.
Ho bisogno di un nuovo vestito. I need a new suit.
Voglio un paio di scarpe e di I want a pair of shoes and boots.
stivali.
Forse anche dei calzini e delle Maybe also some socks and stockings.
calze.
Infi ne, un impermeabile. Finally, an overcoat.
Written Practice 5
Fill in the blanks with the missing words or expressions.
1. , signora? May I help you, madam?
2. Vorrei una camicetta. I would like to buy a
blouse.
3. Qual è la Sua ? What is your size?
4. Di solito il quaranta. Usually, I wear a size 40.
5. Va bene, questa! Okay, try this one on.
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6. Mi piace molto. Quanto ? I like it a lot. How much
does it cost?
7. Solo novanta euro. È in . Only 90 euros. It is on
sale.
8. Quel è simpatico. That (male) salesclerk is nice.
9. Anche quella è simpatica. That (female)
salesclerk is also nice.
10. Ma non sono simpatici. But the customers are not
nice.
11. signore? Can I help you, sir?
12. Vorrei una camicia e . I would like a shirt and tie.
13. Sì, una giacca e . Yes, a jacket and pants.
14. questi! Try these on.
15. un nuovo vestito. I need a new suit.
16. E di scarpe e di stivali. And a pair of shoes and
boots.
17. Forse anche e . Maybe
also some socks and stockings.
18. Infi ne, . Finally, an overcoat.
QUIZ
1. Tell Mary to . . .
enjoy herself at the party!
!
not put on red pants!
!
2. Tell Mark to . . .
try on that coat!
!