Learn Italian - Lesson Nine

Lesson Nine - Conditional, Italian Idioms and Proverbs

The "condizionale" (conditional) is a verb mode used to express something that is not definite and certain, and has two tenses: present and past. It is somewhat similar to the English use of the form "would + infinitive".

It is used in the following cases:

- To express hopes and desires: Mi piacerebbe andare in Italia (I would like to go to Italy).

- To express a possibility which depends on certain conditions to take place (or not to take place): Andrei in spiaggia se non piovesse (I would go to the beach if it wasn't raining). Note that when used in this way the conditional is often combined with the "congiuntivo", see lesson 3 of level 2.

- To express an opinion or a personal idea: Direi che questo corso è abbastanza facile (I would say that this course is quite easy).

- To soften a request and be more polite: Giorgio, mi daresti una mano a dipingere casa domani, per favore? (Giorgio, would you give me a hand to paint the house tomorrow, please?)

The four previous example are all in the present conditional. The past conditional can be used in the same cases when the action is in the past:

- Mi sarebbe piaciuto andare in Italia (I would have liked to go to Italy)

- Sarei andato in spiaggia se non avesse piovuto (I would have gone to the beach if it hadn't rained)

- Avrei detto che questo corso era abbastanza facile (I would have said that this course was quite easy)

- Giorgio ieri hai detto che mi avresti dato una mano a dipingere casa oggi (Giorgio, yesterday you said you would have given me a hand to paint the house today).

An additional way to use the past conditional is seen in the last sentence above: when an action in the future is indicated from the point of view of the past. Yesterday Giorgio said to the speaker that the following day he would have given him a hand, so the sentence refers to a future action (painting the house today) from a past perspective (Giorgio said so yesterday).

The present conditional is easy to use: it takes the stem of the future tense plus regular endings which never change:

Mangiare	Ricevere	Finire
Manger-ei	Ricever-ei	Finir-ei
Manger-esti	Ricever-esti	Finir-esti
Manger-ebbe	Ricever-ebbe	Finir-ebbe
Manger-emmo	Ricever-emmo	Finir-emmo
Manger-este	Ricever-este	Finir-este
Manger-ebbero	Ricever-ebbero	Finir-ebbero

Of course if the stem of the future tense is irregular, it will remain irregular at the conditional and will take the endings as usual: avere (avr-ei, avr-esti, avr-ebbe, ecc.), essere (sar-ei, sar-esti, sar-ebbe, ecc.).

TIPS: the first person plural of every verb is very similar in the future tense and in the present conditional tense (manger-emo, manger-emmo; ricever-emo, ricever-emmo; finir-emo, finir-emmo). The only difference is a double 'm', which can be sometimes difficult for English-speaking people to pronounce correctly. It needs to be emphasized quite strongly so that it is clearly perceived, as in this case it makes the difference between a certainty (manger-emo, we will eat for certain) and a possibility (manger-emmo, we would eat, if there was food).

The past conditional is easily formed with the present conditional of avere or essere (according to what the verb takes) and the past participle: Avrei mangiato (I would have eaten), Sarei andato (I would have gone), ecc.

Italian Proverbs and Idioms

Buon per te!	Lucky you
C'è modo e modo!	There are ways and ways
Caschi il mondo	No matter what
Che barba!	How boring
Che macello!	What a mess
Che pizza!	How boring
Che noia!	How boring
A buon intenditor poche parole	A word to the wise is sufficient
Chi fa da sé fa per tre	If you want something done, do it yourself
Chi la fa l'aspetti	What goes around comes around
L’unione fa la forza	Union is strenght
Il tempo è denaro	Time is money

AN ESSENTIAL DICTIONARY OF ITALIAN - PART 2

caro	Dear, expensive
carta	Paper
casa	House
caso	Case
cattivo	Bad, wicked
cattolico	Catholic
causa	Cause
cavallo	Horse
celebrare	To celebrate
centrale	Central
centro	Center
cercare	To search
certamente	Certainly
certo	Sure, certain
che	That, what
chi	Who
chiamare	To call
chiaro	Clear, bright
chiave	Key
chiedere	To ask
chiesa	Church
chilometro	Kilometer
chissà	Who knows
chiudere	To close
ciascuno	Each one
cielo	Sky
cioè	That is
circa	About
città	Town, city
cittadino	Citizen
civile	Civil
civiltà	Civilization
classe	Class
collina	Hill
collo	Neck
colore	Color
colpa	Guilt
colpire	To hit
colpo	Hit, impact
come	How
cominciare	To start
commercio	Commerce, trade
commissione	Commission, errand
comodo	Comfortable
compagnia	Company
compagno	Companion
compiere	To achieve, to carry out
completamente	Completely
comporre	To compose
comprare	To buy
comprendere	To understand
comune	Common, municipality
comunicazione	Communication
comunque	Anyway, anyhow
con	With
concedere	To concede
concetto	Concept
concludere	To conclude
condizione	Condition
condurre	To lead, to conduct
confessare	To confess
confronto	Comparison
congresso	Congress
conoscenza	Knowledge
conoscere	To know
conseguenza	Consequence
consentire	To consent, to agree
conservare	To preserve, to conserve
considerare	To consider
consiglio	Suggestion, advice, reccommendation
contadino	Farmer, peasant
contare	To count
contatto	Contact
contenere	To contain
contento	Happy, content
continuare	To continue
continuo	Continuous
conto	Account
contrario	Contrary, opposite
contro	Against
controllo	Control
convincere	To convince
coprire	To cover
coraggio	Courage
corpo	Body
corrente	Current
correre	To run
corsa	Run, race
corso	Course
cortile	Courtyard, backyard
cosa	Thing, what
coscienza	Conscience
costa	Coast
costituire	To constitute
costringere	To force
costruire	To build
costruzione	Building, construction
creare	To create
credere	To believe
crescere	To grow
crisi	Crisis
cristiano	Christian
croce	Cross
cucina	Kitchen
cultura	Culture
cuore	Heart
cura	Treatment
da	From
dare	To give
davanti	In front of
davvero	Really, truly
decidere	To decide
decisione	Decision
dedicare	To dedicate
denaro	Money
dente	Tooth
dentro	Inside, within
descrivere	To describe
desiderare	To desire, to wish
desiderio	Wish
destino	Destine
destro	Right
determinare	To determine
di	Of
dichiarare	To declare
dietro	Behind
difendere	To defend
difesa	Defense
differenza	Difference
difficile	Difficult
difficoltà	Difficulty
diffondere	To diffuse, to spread, to broadcast
dimenticare	To forget
dimostrare	To demonstrate
dio	God
dipendere	To depend
dire	To say
diretto	Direct
direttore	Director
direzione	Direction
dirigere	To direct
diritto	Straight
discorso	Talk, speech, discourse
discutere	To discuss, to talk about something