Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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ho avuto
sei andato
hai venduto
sei uscito
hai fatto
è arrivato
ha potuto
For the following sentences, circle the present perfect, imperfect, or pluperfect form
of each verb as required by meaning.
2. Loro quando mi hai chiamato.
(a) sono già tornati
(b) tornavano
(c) erano già tornati
3. Loro per l’Italia ieri.
(a) sono partiti
(b) partivano
(c) erano partiti
4. Loro spesso quando erano giovani.
(a) sono usciti
(b) uscivano
(c) erano usciti
5. Lui mi ha detto che tu quel libro.
(a) hai già andato
(b) leggevi
(c) avevi già letto
6. Lui poco tempo fa.
(a) è uscito
(b) usciva
(c) era uscito
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278 Italian Demystifi ed
7. Ieri non avevo fame perché .
(a) ho già mangiato
(b) mangiavo
(c) avevo già mangiato
8. Dopo che lui a Roma, vide molte cose.
(a) è andato
(b) andava
(c) era andato
For each present perfect form, give the corresponding past absolute form. For
example:
ho mangiato
mangiai
9. ho venduto
sono partita
ho avuto
sei andato
hai venduto
sei uscito
hai fatto
è arrivato
ha potuto
Personal Matters! Answer the question appropriately.
10. Vuoi fare un viaggio in Italia? Dove?
.
279
CHAPTER 15
More About Nouns
and Adjectives
Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:
More About Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Nouns of Greek Origin
Position of Adjectives
Form-Changing Adjectives
Human Body
More About Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Amico e amica. Friend, male or female. In Chapter 2 you learned that a noun refer-
ring to a male ends in -o and a noun referring to a female ends in -a. This is gener-
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280 Italian Demystifi ed
ally true, but there are exceptions and there are still a few more rules to Italian
nouns, some of which we have already covered. They are repeated here for
reinforcement.
Masculine nouns ending in -tore often correspond to feminine nouns ending in
-trice.
Masculine Feminine
il pittore the (male) painter la pittrice the (female) painter
l’autore the (male) author l’autrice the (female) author
l’attore the (male) actor l’attrice the (female) actor
lo scultore the (male) sculptor la scultrice the (female) sculptor
lo scrittore the (male) writer la scrittrice the (female) writer
Sometimes to form a feminine noun from a masculine noun, the ending -essa is
added. This means that you must be careful with the ending you use when referring
to people!
Masculine Feminine
il dottore the (male) doctor la dottoressa the (female) doctor
il professore the (male) professor la professoressa the (female) professor
l’elefante the (male) elephant l’elefantessa the (female) elephant
il leone the lion la leonessa the lioness
Some of the feminine forms of nouns, however, have been eliminated in Italy,
especially with nouns indicating professions.
l’avvocato male or female lawyer
il medico male or female doctor
lo scultore male or female sculptor
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Chi era Raffaello? Who was Raphael?
Era un famoso pittore. He was a famous painter.
Chi è Marialuisa Tadei? Who is Marialuisa Tadei?
Lei è una scultrice contemporanea. She is a contemporary sculptress.
Chi era Marcello Mastroianni? Who was Marcello Mastroianni?
Marcello Mastroianni era un attore. Marcello Mastroianni was an actor.
Chi era Anna Magnani? Who was Anna Magnani?
Anna Magnani era un’attrice. Anna Magnani was an actress.
Chi era Rosalba Carriera? Who was Rosalba Carriera?
Era una pittrice. She was a painter.
Chi era Italo Calvino? Who was Italo Calvino?
Italo Calvino era un autore. Italo Calvino was an author.
Chi era Natalia Ginzburg? Who was Natalia Ginzburg?
Natalia Ginzburg era una scrittrice. Natalia Ginzburg was a writer.
Hai conosciuto la dottoressa Dini? Did you meet Dr. Dini?
Sì, conobbi la dottoressa tempo fa. Yes, I met the doctor a while ago.
Com’è il tuo cane? How is your dog?
È grande come un elefante. It is as big as an elephant.
E la tua gatta? And your (female) cat?
Anche lei è un’elefantessa. She is also an elephant.
Com’è tuo fratello? How is your brother?
Lui è un leone. He is a lion.
Com’è tua sorella? How is your sister?
Anche lei è una leonessa. She is also a lioness.
Che professione fa tuo fratello? What profession does your brother do?
Fa l’avvocato. He is a lawyer.
E tua sorella? And your sister?
Anche lei fa l’avvocato. She is also a lawyer.
Written Practice 1
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate noun forms.
1. Chi era Michelangelo? Who was Michelangelo?
Era un famoso . He was a famous painter.
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282 Italian Demystifi ed
2. Chi è Sofi a Loren? Who is Sofi a Loren?
Lei è un’ contemporanea. She is a contemporary
actress.
3. Chi era Rosalba Carriera? Who was Rosalba Carriera?
Era una . She was a painter.
4. Chi era Harriet Frishmuth? Who was Harriet Frishmuth?
Lei era una americana. She was an American
sculptor.
5. Chi era Humphrey Bogart? Who was Humphrey Bogart?
Era un americano. He was an American actor.
6. Chi era Dino Buzzati? Who was Dino Buzzati?
Dino Buzzati era un . Dino Buzzati was an
author.
7. Chi era Natalia Ginzburg? Who was Natalia Ginzburg?
Natalia Ginzburg era un’ . Natalia Ginzburg was
an author.
8. Hai conosciuto Dini? Did you meet Dr. Dini?
Sì, conobbi tempo fa. Yes, I met the doctor a
while ago.
9. Com’è la tua gatta? How is your cat?
Lei è grande come un’ . She is as big as an
elephant.
10. E il tuo cane? And your dog?
Anche lui è un . He is also an elephant.
11. Com’è tuo padre? How is your father?
Lui è un . He is a lion.
12. Com’è tua madre? How is your mother?
Anche lei è una . She is also a lioness.
13. Che professione fai? What profession do you do?
Faccio l’ . I am a lawyer.
Nouns of Greek Origin
So far you’ve learned that generally if a noun ends in -o it is masculine and if it ends
in -a it is feminine. However, sometimes a noun ends in -a but it is masculine,
because it is of Greek origin. Nouns of Greek origin ending in -amma and -ema
correspond to English nouns ending in -am and -em. They are all masculine.
il problema the problem il programma the program
il teorema the theorem il dramma the drama
il sistema the system il diagramma the diagram
To make these nouns plural, just change the ending to -i.
Singular Plural
il problema the problem i problemi the problems
il programma the program i programmi the programs
il diagramma the diagram i diagrammi the diagrams
Nouns ending in -si are also of Greek origin. They correspond to English nouns
ending in -sis. In this case, however, they are all feminine. And, they are invari-
able—that is, they do not change in the plural.
Singular Plural
la crisi the crisis le crisi the crises
la tesi the thesis le tesi the theses
l’ipotesi the hypothesis le ipotesi the hypotheses
l’analisi the analysis le analisi the analyses
OTHER KINDS OF NOUNS
Remember nouns ending in an accented vowel? You have seen them throughout this
book. As you may recall, some are masculine and some feminine. But they are all
invariable in the plural.
Singular Plural
il tè the tea i tè the teas
la città the city le città the cities
il caffè the coffee i caffè the coffees
l’università the university le università the universities
il tassì the taxi i tassì the taxis
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284 Italian Demystifi ed
Sometimes nouns ending in -o are feminine, and some ending in -a are mascu-
line. These are exceptions! You will simply have to learn them by memory.
la mano the hand il pianeta the planet
la radio the radio l’alfabeta the alphabet
Here are the plural forms of these nouns. Take special note of these, because they
follow no rules.
le mani the hands i pianeti the planets
le radio the radios gli alfabeti the alphabets
Some nouns ending in -o are actually an abbreviation of a full word that ends in
-a. These nouns remain feminine in their abbreviated forms.
Feminine Noun Abbreviation
la fotografi a the photograph la foto the photo
la motocicletta the motorcycle la moto the motorcycle
And some nouns ending in -a are actually abbreviated masculine nouns ending
in -o. They remain masculine in their abbreviated forms.
il cinematografo the movie theater il cinema the movies
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Che tipo di programma preferisci? What type of program do you prefer?
Preferisco i programmi di I prefer science fi ction programs.
fantascienza.
Che problema hai? What problem do you have?
Non ho problemi. I have no problems.
Conosci qualche teorema Do you know any mathematical
matematico? theorems?
Sì, conosco tanti teoremi. Yes, I know a lot of theorems.
Ti piacciono i drammi? Do you like dramas?
Sì, mi piacciono molto. Yes, I like them a lot.
Che diagramma è questo? What diagram is this?
Sono due diagrammi scientifi ci. They are two scientifi c diagrams.
Qual è la tua analisi della crisi? What is your analysis of the crisis?
Non c’è crisi! There is no crisis!
Hai una tesi o un’ipotesi? Do you have a thesis or hypothesis?
No, non ho né tesi né ipotesi. No, I have neither theses nor hypotheses.
Preferisci il tè o il caffè? Do you prefer tea or coffee?
Non mi piace né il tè né il caffè. I like neither tea nor coffee.
C’è un’unversità nella tua città? Is there a university in your city?
Ci sono due università. There are two universities.
Usi la mano destra o sinistra per Do you use the right or left hand to
scrivere? write?
Uso tutte e due le mani. I use both hands.
Quante radio hai? How many radios do you have?
Non ho la radio. I do not have a radio.
Quanti pianeti conosci? How many planets do you know?
Conosco tutti i pianeti. I know all the planets.
Di chi sono queste foto? Whose photos are these?
Sono le mie. They are mine.
Written Practice 2
Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the appropriate words.
1. Che tipi di guardi? What types of programs do
you watch?
Non guardo la televisione. I do not watch television.
2. Quanti hai? How many problems do you have?
Ho solo un grande. I have only one big problem.
3. Quanti matematici conosci? How many
mathematical theorems do you know?
Conosco solo un . I know only one theorem.
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286 Italian Demystifi ed
4. Ti piacciono i ? Do you like dramas?
Mi piace solo un . I like only one drama.
5. Che tipi di sono questi? What types of diagrams
are these?
Sono due scientifi ci. They are two scientifi c
diagrams.
6. Qual è la tua della ? What
is your analysis of the crisis?
Non c’è ! There is no crisis!
7. Hai una o un’ ? Do you
have a thesis or hypothesis?
No, non ho né né . No, I
have neither theses nor hypotheses.
8. Vuoi il o il ? Do you
want coffee or tea?
Non mi piace né il né il . I
like neither coffee nor tea.
9. C’è un’ nella tua città? Is there a university in
your city?
No, non ci sono . No, there are no universities.
10. Usi la destra o sinistra? Do you use the right or
left hand?
Uso tutte e due le . I use both hands.
11. Quante hai? How many radios do you have?
Non ho la . I do not have a radio.
12. Quanti conosci? How many planets do you know?
Conosco tutti i . I know all the planets.
13. Conosci l’ italiano? Do you know the Italian
alphabet?
Sì, conosco gli di molte lingue. Yes, I know the
alphabets of many languages.
14. Di chi sono queste ? Whose photos are these?
Sono le sue. They are hers.