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

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