Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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Also, avoid confusion by remembering that the verb in a sentence agrees with the
subject, not the object pronoun. For example, in the sentence (Io) la chiamo spesso,
translate each part: I-her-call-often. Note how the verb call agrees with I, just as in
the Italian sentence, the verb chiamo agrees with io.
Lastly, don’t forget to keep familiar and polite forms distinct.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
È vero che Maria ti chiama Is it true, Pina, that Mary calls you
spesso, Pina? often?
Sì, Maria mi chiama spesso. Yes, Mary calls me often.
Angela, è vero che tu chiami Marco Angela, is it true that you call Mark
spesso? often?
Sì, lo chiamo spesso. Yes, I call him often.
È vero che tu ci inviterai alla tua Is it true that you are going to invite us
festa? to your party?
Sì, vi inviterò volentieri. Yes, I am going to invite you gladly.
Pino, quando mi darai il tuo Pino, when are you going to give your
indirizzo? address to me?
Ti ho già dato il mio indirizzo. I have already given my address to you.
Signor Dini, quando mi darà il Suo Mr. Dini, when are you going to give
indirizzo? your address to me?
Le ho già dato il mio indirizzo. I have already given my address to you.
Marco, quando parlerai al Mark, when are you going to speak to
professore? the (male) professor?
Gli ho già parlato. I have already spoken to him.
E quando parlerai alla And when will you speak to the (female)
professoressa? professor?
Le ho già parlato. I have already spoken to her.
Maria, quando ci scriverai? Mary, when will you write to us?
Vi scriverò tra poco. I will write to you in a little while.
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Written Practice 1
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate object pronouns.
1. Maria, perché chiami spesso? Mary, why do you call me often?
Io chiamo spesso, perché non ho niente da fare. I call you often,
because I have nothing to do.
2. Signora Dini, perché chiama spesso? Mrs. Dini, why do you call
me often?
Io chiamo spesso, perché non ho niente da fare. I call you often,
because I have nothing to do.
3. Maria, quante volte chiami Marco ogni giorno? Mary, how many times do
you call Mark every day?
chiamo spesso. I call him often.
4. Marco, quante volte chiami Maria ogni giorno? Mark, how many times do
you call Mary every day?
chiamo spesso. I call her often.
5. Pina, inviterai alla tua festa? Pina, are going to invite us to your
party?
Sì, inviterò. Yes, I am going to invite you.
6. Inviterai anche i nostri amici? Are you also going to invite our friends?
Sì, inviterò. Yes, I am going to invite them.
7. Inviterai anche le mie amiche? Will you also be inviting my (female)
friends?
Sì, inviterò di sicuro. Yes, I will invite them for sure.
8. Pino, perché non dai il tuo indirizzo? Pino, why don’t you give
your address to me?
ho già dato il mio indirizzo. I have already given my address to
you.
9. Signor Dini, perché non dà il Suo indirizzo? Mr. Dini, why don’t
you give your address to me?
ho già dato il mio indirizzo. I have already given my address to
you.
10. Quando parlerai a mio fratello? When are you going to speak to my
brother?
ho già parlato. I have already spoken to him.
11. E quando parlerai a mia sorella? And when will you speak to my sister?
ho già parlato. I have already spoken to her.
12. Signora Verdi, quando scriverà? Mrs. Verdi, when will you write to
us?
scriverò tra poco. I will write to you in a little while.
13. E quando scriverà ai Suoi amici? And, when will you write to your friends?
scriverò subito. I will write to them right away.
14. E quando scriverà alle Sue amiche? And when will you write to your
(female) friends?
scriverò subito. I will write to them right away.
FORMS AND USES OF THE DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN LO
The English direct object pronoun it (plural: them) is expressed by using a form of
the third person direct object pronoun in Italian. Be careful! Choose the pronoun
according to the gender and number of the noun it replaces.
Masculine Singular
Marco comprerà il gelato domani. Marco will buy the ice cream tomorrow.
Marco lo comprerà domani. Marco will buy it tomorrow.
Masculine Plural
Maria comprerà i biglietti domani. Mary will buy the tickets tomorrow.
Maria li comprerà domani. Mary will buy them tomorrow.
Feminine Singular
Il signor Verdi comprerà la rivista Mr. Verdi will buy the magazine
domani. tomorrow.
Il signor Verdi la comprerà domani. Mr. Verdi will buy it tomorrow.
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Feminine Plural
La signora Dini comprerà le riviste Mrs. Dini will buy the magazines
domani. tomorrow.
La signora Dini le comprerà domani. Mrs. Dini will buy them tomorrow.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Franco, vuoi lo zucchero? Frank, do you want sugar?
No, non lo voglio. No, I do not want it.
Maria, hai gli stivali? Mary, do you have boots?
No, non li ho. No, I do not have them.
Giovanni quando pulirai la casa? John, when are you going to clean the
house?
La pulirò domani. I am going to clean it tomorrow.
Pina, quando comprerai le scarpe Pina, when are you going to buy new
nuove? shoes?
Le comprerò tra poco. I am going to buy them in a little while.
Anche tu mangerai la carne? Are you also going to eat the meat?
Sì, anch’io la mangerò. Yes, I am also going to eat it.
Mangerai anche le patate? Are you also going to eat the potatoes?
No, non le mangerò. No, I will not eat them.
Signora, vuole questi stivali? Madam, would you like these boots?
Sì, li compro volentieri. Yes, I will buy them gladly.
Written Practice 2
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate object pronouns.
1. Dina, vuoi il cappuccino? Dina, do you want cappuccino?
No, non voglio. No, I do not want it.
2. Giovanni, hai i biglietti? John, do you have the tickets?
No, non ho. No, I do not have them.
3. Signor Marchi, quando comprerà quella macchina? Mr. Marchi, when are
you going to buy that car?
comprerò domani. I am going to buy it tomorrow.
4. Signora, quando comprerà quelle scarpe? Madam, when are you going to
buy those shoes?
comprerò tra poco. I am going to buy them in a little while.
5. Volete la minestra? Do you want soup?
No, non vogliamo. No, we do not want it.
6. Mangerete le patate? Are you going to eat the potatoes?
Sì mangeremo. Yes, we will eat them.
7. Signora, vuole il tè? Madam, would you like tea?
No, non voglio. No, I do not want it.
8. Signora, vuole i ravioli? Madam, would you like ravioli?
Sì, mangio volentieri. Yes, I will eat them gladly.
Object Pronouns with Past Participles
When the verb is in a compound tense, the past participle agrees in gender and
number with these four direct object pronouns: lo, la, li, and le.
Masculine Singular
Marco ha comprato il gelato ieri. Mark bought the ice cream yesterday.
Marco lo ha comprato ieri. Mark bought it yesterday.
Masculine Plural
Marco ha comprato i biglietti ieri. Mark bought the tickets yesterday.
Marco li ha comprati ieri. Mark bought them yesterday.
Feminine Singular
Marco ha comprato la rivista ieri. Mark bought the magazine yesterday.
Marco la ha comprata ieri. Mark bought it yesterday.
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Feminine Plural
Marco ha comprato le riviste ieri. Mark bought the magazines yesterday.
Marco le ha comprate ieri. Mark bought them yesterday.
NOTE:
NOTE: Only the singular forms lo and la can be elided and only with these auxil-
iary forms of avere: ho, hai, ha, hanno.
Marco lo ha comprato ieri. Marco l’ha comprato ieri.
Marco la ha comprata ieri. Marco l’ha comprata ieri.
Agreement with the other direct object pronouns is optional.
Giovanni ci ha chiamato. John called us.
Or:
Giovanni ci ha chiamati. John called us.
There is no agreement with indirect object pronouns.
Giovanni gli ha scritto. John wrote to him/them.
Giovanni le ha scritto. John wrote to her.
Be very careful! Remember that the pronoun form le has two meanings.
As a Direct Object Pronoun: Agreement
Lui ha già mangiato le patate. He already ate the potatoes.
Lui le ha già mangiate. He already ate them.
As an Indirect Object Pronoun: No Agreement
Lui ha scritto a sua sorella. He wrote to his sister.
Lui le ha scritto. He wrote to her.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Marco, hai letto quel romanzo? Mark, did you read that novel?
Sì, l’ho già letto. Yes, I have already read it.
Maria, hai mangiato i ravioli? Mary, did you eat the ravioli?
Sì, li ho mangiati. Yes, I ate them.
Signor Verdi, ha venduto la casa? Mr. Verdi, did you sell the house?
Sì, l’ho venduta due settimane fa. Yes, I sold it two weeks ago.
Signora Marchi, ha comprato le Mrs. Marchi, did you buy the shoes?
scarpe?
Sì, le ho comprate una settimana fa. Yes, I bought them a week ago.
Marco e Maria, avete visto quel Mark and Mary, did you see that movie?
fi lm?
No, non lo abbiamo visto. No, we did not see it.
Gino, i tuoi amici hanno visto Gino, did your friends see the game?
la partita?
No, non l’hanno vista. No, they did not see it.
Signora Dini, ha comprato i Mrs. Dini, did you buy the tickets?
biglietti?
Sì, li ho già comprati. Yes, I have already bought them.
Signor Verdi, ha scritto le e-mail? Mr. Verdi, did you write the e-mails?
Sì, le ho scritte tutte. Yes, I wrote them all.
Written Practice 3
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate object pronouns, making the necessary
changes to the past participles.
1. Marco, hai letto il giornale? Mark, did you read the newspaper?
Sì, ho già lett . Yes, I have already read it.
2. Maria, hai mangiato gli spaghetti? Mary, did you eat the spaghetti?
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Sì, ho mangiat . Yes, I ate it. (Be careful! In Italian, this is
plural.)
3. Signor Verdi, ha venduto la macchina? Mr. Verdi, did you sell the car?
Sì, ho vendut due settimane fa. Yes, I sold it two weeks ago.
4. Signora Marchi, ha comprato le riviste? Mrs. Marchi, did you buy the
magazines?
Sì, ho comprat ieri. Yes, I bought them yesterday.
5. Marco e Maria, avete visto quel programma? Mark and Mary, did you see
that program?
No, non abbiamo vist . No, we did not see it.
6. Gino, i tuoi amici hanno letto la rivista? Gino, did your friends read the
magazine?
No, non hanno lett . No, they did not read it.
7. Signora Dini, ha comprato gli stivali? Mrs. Dini, did you buy the boots?
Sì, ho già comprat . Yes, I have already bought them.
8. Signor Verdi, ha comprato le scarpe? Mr. Verdi, did you buy the shoes?
Sì, ho comprat . Yes, I bought them.
A Bit More About Adjectives
In addition to all of the adjectives you have been using, there are certain words that
sometimes function like adjectives, though they may not always be classifi ed as
such. Here are the most common. Note that you have already come across many of
them.
abbastanza enough poco little, few
altro other qualsiasi whichever, any
assai quite, enough stesso same
certo certain tanto much, many, a lot
molto much, many, a lot troppo too much
ogni each, every tutto all
parecchio several, quite a few ultimo last
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Vuoi ancora zucchero nel caffè? Would you like more sugar in your
coffee?
No, c’è abbastanza zucchero. No, there is enough sugar in it.
Vuoi un’altra pasta? Would you like another pastry?
Sì, vorrei lo stesso tipo di pasta. Yes, I would like the same type of pastry.
Vuoi ancora patate? Do you want more potatoes?
No, ho assai patate. No, I have enough potatoes.
Conosci un certo uomo che si Do you know a certain man named Dino?
chiama Dino?
Conosco tanti uomini che si I know many men named Dino.
chiamano Dino.
Vuoi molta o poca pasta? Would you like a lot or a little pasta?
Voglio tutta la pasta che hai. I want all the pasta that you have.
Quante volte vai in centro ogni How many times do you go downtown
settimana? each week?
Vado parecchie volte. I go several times.
Quale frutta vuoi? Which fruit do you want?
Qualsiasi frutta va bene per me. Any fruit is fi ne with me.
Vuoi anche quest’ultima patata? Would you also like this last potato?
No, ho mangiato troppe patate. No, I have eaten too many potatoes.
Written Practice 4
Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the appropriate adjectives, as they have
been classifi ed here.
1. Vuoi ancora spaghetti? Would you like more spaghetti?
No, ho mangiato . No, I have eaten enough.
2. Vuoi un panino? Would you like another
sandwich?
Sì, vorrei panino al formaggio. Yes, I would like
the same cheese sandwich.
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3. Vuoi ancora carne? Would you like more meat?
No, ho mangiato carne. No, I have eaten enough
meat.
4. Conosci una donna che si chiama Pina? Do you
know a certain woman named Pina?
Conosco donne che si chiamano Pina. I know
many women named Pina.
5. Vuoi o zucchero? Would
you like a lot or a little sugar?
Voglio lo zucchero che hai. I want all the sugar
that you have.
6. Quante volte vai al cinema mese? How many
times do you go to the movies each month?
Vado volte. I go several times.
7. Quale panino vuoi? Which sandwich do you want?
panino va bene per me. Any sandwich is fi ne with
me.
8. Vuoi anche quest’ bicchiere? Would you also like
this last glass?
No, ho bevuto bicchieri. No, I have drunk too
many glasses.
Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They convey relations of time,
place, degree of intensity, and manner.
Maria guida lentamente. Maria drives slowly.
Questa casa è molto bella. This house is very beautiful.
Giovanni guida troppo velocemente. John drives too quickly.
The following guidelines describe how to form adverbs of manner. Notice that
the adverb ending -mente corresponds to the English adverb ending -ly.