Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide
Подождите немного. Документ загружается.
• When tre is added on, it must be written with an accent (to show that the
stress is on the fi nal vowel).
23 venti tre ventitré
33 trenta tre trentatré
Here are the number words representing the tens values. Only the twenties are
given to you in full, since you can easily complete the others on your own.
21 ventuno 50 cinquanta
22 ventidue 51 cinquantuno
23 ventitré 52 cinquantadue
24 ventiquattro 53 cinquantatré
25 venticinque 60 sessanta
26 ventisei 61 sessantuno
27 ventisette 62 sessantadue
28 ventotto 63 sessantatré
29 ventinove 70 settanta
30 trenta 71 settantuno
31 trentuno 72 settantadue
32 trentadue 73 settantatré
33 trentatré 80 ottanta
40 quaranta 81 ottantuno
41 quarantuno 82 ottantadue
42 quarantadue 83 ottantatré
43 quarantatré 90 novanta
91 novantuno
92 novantadue
93 novantatré
100 cento
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Quanto costa? How much does it cost?
Forse costa ventuno o trentadue Maybe it costs 21 or 32 euros.
euro.
CHAPTER 4 Describing People and Things 67
68 Italian Demystifi ed
Quanto costa?
Forse costa quarantatré o Maybe it costs 43 or 55 euros.
cinquantacinque euro.
Forse costa sessantotto o Maybe it costs 68 or 76 dollars.
settantasei dollari.
Forse costa ottantasette o Maybe it costs 87 or 94 dollars.
novantaquattro dollari.
Forse costa trentotto o ventiquattro Maybe it costs 38 or 24 euros.
euro.
Written Practice 5
Answer the questions using the digits in the English translations as a guide.
1. Quanto costa?
. Maybe it costs 73 or 98 euros.
2. Quanto costa?
. Maybe it costs 49 or 57 dollars.
3. Quanto costa?
. Maybe it costs 0 or 100 dollars.
Asking Questions with Prepositions
Di chi è? Whose is it? (literally: Of whom is it?). Many questions begin with a
preposition. The following are some of the most commonly used prepositions:
a to con with
di of in in
da from di chi whose
Here are a few examples of questions beginning with these prepositions:
Di chi è la camicia? Whose shirt is it?
A chi parli? To whom are you speaking?
Di dove sei? Where are you from?
Con chi parli? With whom are you speaking?
Using Quanto and Quale
Recall quanto (how much) from Chapter 3. Note that when used as an adjective its
endings change according to the required gender and number.
Quanto caffè prendi? How much coffee are you having?
Quanta pizza mangi? How much pizza are you eating?
Quanti caffè prendi? How many coffees are you having?
Quante pizze mangi? How many pizzas are you eating?
However, when used as a pronoun, the only form possible is quanto.
Quanto costa? How much does it cost?
Similarly, when quale (which) is used as an adjective its endings also change in
the usual manner.
Quale caffè prendi? Which coffee are you having?
Quale pizza mangi? Which pizza are you eating?
Quali caffè prendi? Which coffees are you having?
Quali pizze mangi? Which pizzas are you eating?
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Di chi è l’automobile? Whose car is it?
È di Mario. It is Mario’s.
A chi parli? To whom are you speaking?
Parlo a Maria. I am speaking to Mary.
Da dove vieni? Where are you coming from?
CHAPTER 4 Describing People and Things 69
70 Italian Demystifi ed
Vengo da Milano. I am coming from Milan.
Con chi parli? With whom are you speaking?
Parlo con Giovanni. I am speaking with John.
Dove sono Marco e Maria? Where are Mark and Mary?
Forse sono in Italia. Maybe they are in Italy.
Quanto caffè ti piace? How much coffee do you like?
Non mi piace il caffè. I do not like coffee.
Quale caffè ti piace? Which coffee do you like?
Non mi piace il caffè. I do not like coffee.
Quanti caffè prendi? How many coffees are you having?
Due, grazie. Two, thanks.
QUIZ
Using the pronouns in parentheses, write sentences giving that person’s nationality.
Be sure to make all appropriate changes to the adjective. For example:
Marco è italiano. (Maria) Mark is Italian. (Mary)
Anche Maria è italiana.
Mary is also Italian.
1. Io sono americano. (tu)
.
Tu sei australiano. (lei)
.
Lui è inglese. (noi)
.
Lei è francese. (voi)
.
Noi siamo canadesi. (loro)
.
Voi siete russi. (io)
.
Loro sono cinesi. (lui)
.
Maria è italiana. (Paolo)
.
Marco e Claudia sono italiani. (il signor Giusti)
.
La signora Marchi è americana. (la signorina Dini)
.
Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.
2. Di che nazionalità è Lei, signora Marchi?
(a) Sono italiana.
(b) È italiana.
3. Di che colore è la giacca?
(a) È rossa.
(b) Sono rosse.
4. Come sono le donne?
(a) Sono simpatici.
(b) Sono simpatiche.
Write each phrase in its corresponding masculine or feminine form.
Masculine Feminine
5. ragazzo intelligente
amica alta
zio alto
donna intelligente
padre simpatico
amica italiana
ragazzo francese
donna simpatica
CHAPTER 4 Describing People and Things 71
72 Italian Demystifi ed
Write each phrase in its corresponding singular or plural form. Note: The plural of
uomo (man) is uomini (men).
Singular Plural
6. vestito rosa
sciarpe rosse
uomo alto
zaini marrone
uomo simpatico
sciarpe grige
Answer each question, writing out the numbers in words. For example:
Quanto costa?
2 or 3 dollars
Forse costa due o tre dollari.
7. Quanto costa?
78 or 79 euros
87 or 88 dollars
16 or 17 dollars
23 or 24 euros
61 or 62 euros
Personal Matters! Write full sentences in Italian indicating the following:
8. Your favorite color
.
9. Your nationality
.
10. The name of your friend
.
73
CHAPTER 5
Expressing Likes
and Dislikes
Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:
Forms of the Indefi nite Article
Forms of the Defi nite Article
Expressing Here and There with Essere
Using the Verb Avere
Using the Verb Stare
More About Using the Verb Piacere
Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use.
74 Italian Demystifi ed
Forms of the Indefi nite Article
Chi è? Che cos’è? Who is it? or What is it? There are two basic ways to answer
these questions, according to who or what someone or something is. For example,
if you answer that it is a book, then you mean to say that it is a book in general, dis-
tinct from, say, a magazine or a record. However, if you answer that it is the book,
then you mean to say that it is a specifi c book, such as the book that you read yester-
day. The words a and the allow you to make this distinction. They are called arti-
cles. The former is called the indefi nite article and the latter the defi nite article.
In Italian the indefi nite article varies according to the gender and initial sound of
the noun it precedes. The indefi nite article can only be used with singular nouns, of
course, because when using it you can only refer to one person or thing: a student,
an uncle, and so on. Here are some rules for using the indefi nite article in Italian:
• The indefi nite article uno is used before a masculine noun beginning with
z, s consonant, gn,orps. For example:
uno zio an uncle uno gnocco a dumpling
uno studente a student uno psicologo a psychologist
• Un is used before a masculine noun beginning with any other sound
(consonant or vowel).
un ragazzo a boy un gatto a cat
un cane a dog un amico a friend
• Una is used before a feminine noun beginning with any consonant
(including z, s consonant, gn,or ps).
una zia an aunt una ragazza a girl
una studentessa a female student una psicologa a (female) psychologist
• Un’ is used before a feminine noun beginning with any vowel.
un’amica a friend un’americana an American
un’ora an hour un’isola an island
(EEh-zoh-lah)
When an adjective precedes the noun, it is necessary to adjust the indefi nite arti-
cle according to the beginning sound of the adjective.
uno zio an uncle but: un caro zio a dear uncle
un’amica a friend but: una cara amica a dear friend
In uno zio the indefi nite article is before z so uno must be used, while in un caro
zio it is before the c so un is used. It may help to remember that a similar pattern
applies in English (albeit for different reasons).
a boy but: an intelligent boy
an apple but: a good apple
The indefi nite article in Italian has basically the same uses as it does in English.
However, there are a few differences. It is omitted in some Italian exclamations. For
example:
Che ragazzo simpatico! What a nice boy!
Che camicia bella! What a beautiful shirt!
On the other hand, it must be repeated before every noun.
un ragazzo e una ragazza a boy and girl
un amico e uno zio a friend and uncle
Oral Practice
Practice saying the following sentences out loud.
Chi è? Who is he?
È uno zio. He is an uncle.
Chi è? Who is he?
È uno studente. He is a student.
Chi è?
È un ragazzo. He is a boy.
Chi è? Who is she?
È una zia. She is an aunt.
È una studentessa. She is a student.
È una psicologa. She is a psychologist.
Chi è? Who is she?
È un’americana. She is an American.
Chi è? Who is he?
CHAPTER 5 Expressing Likes and Dislikes 75
76 Italian Demystifi ed
È un caro zio. He is a dear uncle.
Chi è? Who is she?
È una cara amica. She is a dear friend.
Chi sono? Who are they?
Sono uno zio e una zia. They are an uncle and aunt.
Written Practice 1
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the indefi nite article.
1. Chi è? Who is it?
È psicologo. It is a (male) psychologist.
2. Chi è?
È amico. It is a (male) friend.
3. Chi è?
È ragazza. It is a girl.
4. Chi è?
È amica. It is a (female) friend.
5. Chi è? Who is it?
È caro studente. It is a dear student.
6. Chi sono? Who are they?
Sono studente e donna. They are a student and a woman.
7. Che cos’è? What is it?
È gatto. It is a cat.
8. Che cos’è?
È isola. It is an island.
9. Che cos’è?
È bella isola. It is a beautiful island.
10. Che cosa sono? What are they?
Sono cane e gatto. They are a dog and cat.