Learn Italian - Lesson One

Lesson One - Italian Present Tense, Plural, Articles, Italian Numbers, Alphabet

Text: Mi chiamo Paulo, ho 26 anni, vivo negli Stati Uniti, a Washington D.C, io parlo l’inglese è imparo l’italiano da un mese perché mi piacerebbe visitare l’Italia un giorno di questi.

Read the text and see if you can understand anything, try not to look at the translation below the first time.

Translation: My name is Paulo, I’m 26 years old, I live in the USA, in Washington D.C, I speak English, and I’ve been learning Italian for a month, because I would like to visit Italy one of these days.


Italian Verbs

Italian Present Tense

 

Regular verbs

Irregular verbs

Pronouns

Parlare

(to speak)

Credere

(to believe)

Partire

(to leave)

Finire

(to finish)

Essere

(to be)

Avere

(to have)

I

You

He/She

We

You

They

Io

Tu

Lui/ lei

Noi

Voi

Loro

Parlo

Parli

Parla

Parliamo

Parlate

Parlano

Credo

Credi

Crede

Crediamo

Credete

Credono

Parto

Parti

Parte

Partiamo

Partite

Partono

Finisco

Finisci

Finisce

Finiamo

Finite

Finiscono

Sono

Sei

È

Siamo

Siete

Sono

Ho

Hai

Ha

Abbiamo

Avete

Hanno

               

The table above shows all types of Italian verbs in the present tense, verbs ending with (~are, ~ere, ~ire, ~ire type two) plus irregular verbs.

The blue font at the end of the verbs shows the endings that similar verbs may take, so it’s all about manipulating the endings…

But when it comes to irregular verbs they should be memorized by heart, since they don’t follow a logic rule.

Note that irregular verbs are used very often, that’s why you have to focus on them. Also note that the pronouns are optional to use, since you can understand the subject with the way a verb is conjugated, so for example: I speak can be either: io parlo, or simply “parlo”.

Note that “Lei” can mean (she or you formal). Italian books usually use “Egli/Ella” for “He/She” and “Essi/Esse” for “They”.


Italian Singular to Plural (Nouns & Adjectives)

Italian nouns and adjectives are different than the English ones, The Italian noun and adjective take 4 forms, usually nouns & adjectives take “o” at the end of the singular masculine, and “a” for singular feminine, for plural masculine “i”, plural feminine take “e”.

Italian Singular to Plural

 

Singular masculine

Singular feminine

Plural masculine

Plural feminine

Small

Child/ Children

Piccolo

Bambino

Piccola

Bambina

Piccoli

Bambini

Piccole

Bambine

However, it’s not always the case, some nouns and adjectives ending with “e” for example only change to their plural, the feminine or masculine doesn’t matter to them.

Italian Singular to Plural

 

Singular masculine

Singular feminine

Plural masculine

Plural feminine

Big

Restaurant

Night

Grande

Ristorante

--

Grande

--

Notte

Grandi

Ristoranti

--

Grandi

--

Notti

Other exceptions are:

Nouns and adjectives ending in ~co/~ca and ~go/~ga are spelt ~chi/~che and ~ghi/~ghe in the plural; these modifications are made simply to maintain the same sound in the plural as well as the singular.

 

Singular masculine

Singular feminine

Plural masculine

Plural feminine

White

Rich

Mushroom

Lines

Bianco

Ricco

Fungo

Bianca

Ricca

--

Riga

Bianchi

Ricchi

Funghi

Bianche

Ricche

--

Righe


The Definite Articles

In Italian, the English “the” is expressed in a more specific way.

Italian Definite Articles

Masculine

Singular à Plural

Feminine

Singular à Plural

il à i [il bambino (the child) à i bambini (the children]

lo à gli (used only before word starting with sc/sp/st/gn/z) [lo stato (the state) à gli stati (the states)]

l’ à gli [used only before vowels l’uomo (the man) à gli uomini (men)]

la à le [la donna (the woman) à le donne (women)]

l’ à le [used only before vowels, l’isola (the island) à le isole (the islands)]


The Indefinite Articles

Italian Indefinite Articles

Masculine Singular

Feminine Singular

Un (a book = un libro)

Uno (used only before word starting with sc/sp/st/gn/z) example:

          (a student = uno studente)

Una (a woman = una donna)

Un’ (used only before feminine nouns with a vowel, instead for masculine nouns with a vowel it’s used Un) example:

        (a friend = un’amica) Feminine

        (a friend = un amico) Masculine

        (a plane = un aereo) Masculine

As you know, the indefinite article doesn’t have plural in English, but in Italian there is a close way to express it, in English it is expressed by “some”

A book à books (no article) or some books. Un libro à libri or dei libri (you will learn later how to use the form “del”)


Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

Italian Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers are simple and easy to learn:

Italian Numbers

Cardinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers

1 = Uno

11 = Undici

21 = Ventuno

87 = Ottantasette

1st  = Primo

For ordinal numbers after 10 you only need to delete the last vowel and add~esimo.

11th = Undicesimo

12th = Dodicesimo

20th = Ventesimo

 

2 = Due

12 = Dodici

22 = Ventidue

98 = Novantotto

2nd  = Secondo

3 = Tre

13 = Tredici

23 = Ventitre

100 = Cento

3rd  = Terzo

4 = Quattro

14 = Quattordici

30 = Trenta

1000 = Mille

4th  = Quarto

5 = Cinque

15 = Quindici

31 = Trentuno

2006 = Duemilasei

5th  = Quinto

6 = Sei

16 = Sedici

32 = Trentadue

A number ending with a vowel + a number starting with a vowel =  1st one loses it’s vowel example: ventuno 21

6th  = Sesto

7 = Sette

17 = Diciassette

43 = Quarantatre

7th  = Settimo

8 = Otto

18 = Diciotto

54 = Cinquantaquattro

8th  = Ottavo

9 = Nove

19 = Diciannove

65 = Sessantacinque

9th  = Nono

10 = Dieci

20 = Venti

76 = Settantasei

10th = Decimo


Telling the Time in Italian

Time in Italian

Che ore sono? (what time is it?)

01:00 = È l’una

10:45 = Sono le undici meno un quarto

02:00 = Sono le due

12:00 = Sono le dodici

03:05 = Sono le tre e cinque

È mezzogiorno = It’s midday

04:10 = Sono le quattro e dieci

È mezzanotte = It’s midnight

05:15 = Sono le cinque e un quarto

Note that all time expressions start with sono, except one and twelve o’clock, they both start with è.

06:20 = Sono le sei e venti

07:30 = Sono le sette e mezza/trenta

Writing training: write the same text I wrote about myself at the beginning of this page, but this time it should be about you.

Speaking training: try to read the text you just wrote about yourself out loud, if you find any difficulty, take a look at the Italian alphabet table.


The Italian Alphabet

Italian Alphabet

Aa as in the word “ask” and never as in the word “able”

Bb same as in English

Cc like “tsh” before “i” or “e”, otherwise like "k” in Creole.

Dd same as in English

Ee as in “elevated”

Ff same as in English

Gg like the "dg", before “i” or “e”, otherwise like the "g" in "Good".

Hh silent most of the time.

Ii as in the word “ink” never as in the word “island”

Jj as in “Job”, or the “s” of “pleasure”.

Kk same as in English

Ll same as in English

Mm same as in English

Nn same as in English

Oo same as in English “Old”.

Pp same as in English

Qq same as in English

Rr Spanish “r”

Ss between vowels as “z”, and as “s” otherwise.

Tt same as in English not as sharp. 

Uu as in the “ultra”, never as in the word “up” or “university” 

Vv same as in English

Ww as in English, sometimes as “v”

Xx same as in English

Yy same as in English although rare.

Zz as in “ts”, or “dz”.

cc as “tshee” before “i” and “e”, or as “kee” elsewhere.

ch like “k” as in “kid”.

gg as in “dgee” before “I” and “e”, or as the “gee” in “geese”.

gh like “g” in “God”

gli as in “gli”

gn like “n” in “news”

qu like “kw” in “quest”

sc like “sh” before “i” and “e”, or like “k” elsewhere.

Note that J- K- W- X- Y appear mainly in foreign loan words.


Some expressions to read and try to memorize

Italian Expressions

A Happy New Year

Buon Anno Nuovo

After you

Dopo di lei

All right

Va bene / Tutto bene

All the best!

Tante buone cose!

And You?

E tu? E lei? (polite)

Are you  hungry/thirsty.?

Ha/Hai/Avete  fame/sete?

Are you sure?

Sei sicuro/a?

At your service

A sua disposizione

August 15 wish

Buon Ferragosto

Be careful

Attento/a/i/e or Stai/state attento/i

Be happy

Sii felice (singolar) / Siate felici (plural)

Be my guest

Faccia pure

Be strong

Sii forte / Sia forte (polite)

Best wishes

Tanti auguri

Big/ Small

Grosso or Grande/ Piccolo

Bless you (after sneezing)

Salute!

Bravo

Bravo/a/i/e

Call back later.

Richiami più tardi.

Can I have five kilos of potatoes.

Posso avere cinque chili di patate?

Can I Help You?

Posso aiutarti?/ Posso aiutarla (polite)?

Can I smoke here?

Posso fumare qui?

Can You Help Me?

Potresti aiutarmi?/ potrebbe aiutarmi? (polite)

Can You Say It Again?

Potresti ripetere per favore?/ Potrebbe ripetere per favore? (polite)

Can You Speak Slowly?

Puoi parlare lentamente? Potrebbe parlare lentamente? (polite)

Cheer up!

Ànimo!

Cheers!

Salute!

Cloudy

È nuvoloso

Come in

Venga dentro

Come on!

Dai! / Su!

Come With Me!

Vieni con me!/ Venga con me! (polite)

Congratulations!

Congratulazioni!/ Felicitazioni

Damn it

Dannazione

Dear Maria/Riccardo, (friendly)

Cara/o  Maria/Riccardo, ...

Dear Mr Giovanni,

Caro signor Giovanni,

Did You Like It Here?

Ti piace qui?

Did you sleep well?

Ha/Hai/Avete dormito bene?

Do as you please. Be my guest

Si accomodi, prego. E’ mio ospite

Do you like coffee?

Le/Ti/Vi  piace il caffè?

Do You Like It?

Ti piace?

Do you mind my... smoking?

Le spiace se... fumo?

Do you need help?

Ha/Hai  bisogno di aiuto?

Do You Speak (English/ Italian)?

Parli (inglese/italiano)?/ Parla (inglese/italiano)? (polite)

Do your best

Fai del tuo meglio

Does it bother you if ...?

Disturbo se ...?

Doesn't matter

Fa lo stesso / Non importa

Don't mention it

Come non detto

Don't Worry!

Non ti preoccupare!

Enjoy your vacation

Buone vacanze

Enjoy! (For meals…)

Buon appetito!

Enough!

Basta!

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