Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
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È il padre di Alessandro. He is Alexander’s father.
Come si chiama? What is your name?
Mi chiamo Marco Vecchiarelli. My name is Mark Vecchiarelli.
Dove vai? Where are you going?
Vado in Italia. I am going to Italy.
Quando vai? When are you going?
A luglio. In July.
Perché? Why?
Perché mi piace. Because I like it.
Quali lingue parli? Which languages do you speak?
Parlo italiano e francese. I speak Italian and French.
Quante lingue parli? How many languages do you speak?
Solo l’italiano. Only Italian.
ASKING YES/NO QUESTIONS
In some cases you might have to ask a question that requires simply a yes or no
answer. The most common method of forming a question designed to get such a
response in Italian is to add a question mark at the end of the corresponding affi r-
mative sentence. Notice that non means not.
Anna è italiana? Is Anne Italian?
Sì, Anna è italiana. Yes, Anne is Italian.
Betty è italiana? Is Betty Italian?
No, Betty non è italiana. No, Betty is not Italian.
Lui parla francese? Does he speak French?
Sì, lui parla francese. Yes, he speaks French.
Lei parla francese? Does she speak French?
No, lei non parla francese. No, she does not speak French.
Another way to form this type of question is to put the subject at the end.
È italiana Anna? Is Anne Italian?
Parla francese lui? Does he speak French?
CHAPTER 3 Asking Questions 47
48 Italian Demystifi ed
TAG QUESTIONS
Some questions are designed to elicit consent, agreement, or verifi cation. These are
called tag questions because they end with an expression “tagged on.” In Italian that
expression can be one of the following:
Vero? Right?
Non è vero? Isn’t that correct?
No? No?
Lui è americano, non è vero? He is American, isn’t he?
Lei parla francese, vero? She speaks French, doesn’t she?
Oggi è lunedì, no? Today is Monday, isn’t it?
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
È russa Maria? Is Mary Russian?
Sì, Maria è russa. Yes, Mary is Russian.
Ti chiami Marco, vero? Your name is Mark, isn’t it?
Sì, mi chiamo Marco. Yes, my name is Mark.
Lui parla cinese? Does he speak Chinese?
No, lui non parla cinese. No, he does not speak Chinese.
Ti piace il caffè, no? You like coffee, don’t you?
Sì, mi piace. Yes, I like it.
Written Practice 4
Answer each of the following questions in Italian.
1. È americana Sara? Is Sarah American?
. Yes, Sarah is American.
2. Ti piace il caffè, non è vero? You like coffee, don’t you?
. No, I do not like
coffee.
3. Ti piace il tè, no? You like tea, don’t you?
. Yes, I like tea.
Italian-Speaking World
There are many speakers of Italian worldwide—in Italy alone there are more than
56 million of them. You will also fi nd them in southern Switzerland in a region
called il Ticino and, of course, throughout North America, as well as in many other
countries. The two countries that use Italian as their offi cial language or as one of
their offi cial languages are:
l’Italia Italy
la Svizzera Switzerland
Other Countries Around the World
Notice that names of countries require a defi nite article.
gli Stati Uniti the United States
il Canada Canada
l’Inghilterra England
l’Australia Australia
la Francia France
la Germania Germany
la Spagna Spain
la Cina China
il Giappone Japan
la Russia Russia
CHAPTER 3 Asking Questions 49
50 Italian Demystifi ed
To say that you are in a country, however, use in plus the country name without
the article. A major exception to this is with the United States. It presents a different
situation because it is always in the plural form. In this instance use negli Stati
Uniti (in the United States). Don’t worry too much at this point about the form
negli, which is a contraction of in gli. We will discuss this later.
in Italia in Italy
in Francia in France
negli Stati Uniti in the United States
To Italians, home is the place where one was born. So, if you ask an Italian where
he or she is from, you will get an answer such as I am from Milan.
Di dove sei? Where are you from?
Sono di Milano. I am from Milan.
Di dove sei? Where are you from?
Sono di Roma. I am from Rome.
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Dove vai? Where are you going?
In Francia. To France.
Dove vai? Where are you going?
In Inghilterra. To England .
Dove vai? Where are you going?
In Germania. To Germany.
Dove vai? Where are you going?
Negli Stati Uniti. To the United States.
Written Practice 5
Using the English translations as a guide, fi ll in the blanks with the answers to the
questions. When the city name is different in Italian, it is provided for you.
1. Di dove sei? (Napoli) Where are you from?
. I am from Naples.
2. Di dove sei?
. I am from Palermo.
3. Di dove sei? (Venezia)
. I am from Venice.
4. Di dove sei? (Firenze)
. I am from Florence.
CHAPTER 3 Asking Questions 51
52 Italian Demystifi ed
5. Di dove sei? (Genova)
. I am from Genoa.
6. Di dove sei?
. I am from Perugia.
7. Di dove sei?
. I am from Bari.
QUIZ
Write the plural form of each of the following nouns.
1. tedesco
buco
gioco
greco
amico
luogo
lago
biologo
amica
Write the singular form of each of the following nouns.
2. righe
banche
orologi
baci
facce
farmacie
camicie
Answer each question, using the day after the one provided. Note that oggi means
today. For example:
lunedì Monday
Oggi è martedì.
Today is Tuesday.
3. Che giorno è?
domenica .
lunedì .
martedì .
venerdì .
mercoledì .
Answer each question, using the month after the one provided. For example:
gennaio January
È il mese di febbraio
It is the month of February.
4. Che mese è?
dicembre .
maggio .
settembre .
aprile .
gennaio .
febbraio .
marzo .
CHAPTER 3 Asking Questions 53
54 Italian Demystifi ed
Write sentences saying that you speak each of the following languages, but that you
are not of that nationality. Note that ma means but. For example:
French
Parlo francese, ma non sono francese.
I speak French, but I am not French.
5. Portuguese
.
Italian
.
Russian
.
English
.
German
.
Personal Matters! Answer each question appropriately.
6. Qual è il tuo giorno preferito della settimana?
.
7. Di quale nazionalità sei?
.
8. Quali lingue parli?
.
9. Come ti chiami?
.
10. Di dove sei?
.
55
CHAPTER 4
Describing
People and Things
Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:
Personal Pronouns
Using the Verb Essere
Adjectives
Numbers from 0 to 20
Italian Currency
Numbers from 21 to 100
Asking Questions with Prepositions
Using Quanto and Quale
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56 Italian Demystifi ed
Personal Pronouns
To conjugate verbs, you will fi rst have to learn the subject personal pronouns. Per-
sonal pronouns are called this because they refer to a person or persons (I, you, we,
etc.). They are classifi ed according to the person(s) speaking ( fi rst person), the
person(s) spoken to ( second person), or the person(s) spoken about ( third per-
son). The pronoun can, of course, be in the singular ( referring to one person) or
in the plural ( referring to more than one person).
Singular Plural
1st person io (I) noi (we)
2nd person tu (you, familiar singular) voi (you, familiar plural)
3rd person Lei (you, polite singular) Loro (you, polite plural)
lui/lei (he/she) loro (they)
Notice that io is not capitalized (unless it is the fi rst word in a sentence). Also, note
that you has both familiar (tu, voi)and polite (Lei, Loro) forms in Italian. In writ-
ing, the polite forms are capitalized in order to distinguish them from lei meaning
she and loro meaning they. In current Italian the voi forms are used commonly as
the plural of both tu and Lei forms. The Loro form is restricted to very formal situ-
ations. For example:
Familiar Singular Familiar Plural
Chi sei tu? Who are you? Chi siete voi? Who are you?
Tu sei italiano. You are Italian. Voi siete italiani. You are Italians.
Polite Singular Polite Plural
Chi è Lei? Who are you? Chi siete voi? Who are you?
Lei è italiano. You are Italian. Voi siete italiani. You are Italians.
Chi è Lei? Who are you? Chi sono Loro? Who are you? (very polite)
Lei è italiano. You are Italian. Loro sono italiani. You are Italians. (very polite)
USE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
The personal pronouns are optional in simple affi rmative sentences, because it is
easy to tell from the verb form itself which person is the subject.
Io sono americano. I am American.
Sono americano. I am American.