Italian I tutorial

Italian II Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
21. TO DO OR MAKE
fare - to do / make
faccio fah-cho facciamo fah-chah-moh
fai fah-ee fate fah-teh
fa fah fanno fahn-noh
Che cosa fa? What do you do (as a profession)?
Io faccio il contabile. I'm an accountant.
Che facoltà fa? What's your major?
Faccio architettura. I'm studying/majoring in architecture.
Idomatic expressions used with fare:
fare una domanda - to ask a question
fare un viaggio - to take a trip
fare un bagno - to take a bath
fare una passeggiata - to take a walk
fare attenzione - to pay attention
fare un piacere - to do a favor
fare una conferenza - to give a lecture
fare l'attrice / il cantante - to be an actress / a singer
fare l'università - to study at university / be in college
Notice than in English we use the indefinite article (a or an) when talking
about professions, but in Italian, you must use the definite article.
22. WORK & SCHOOL
architect l'architetto teacher (m) il maestro
author l'autore teacher (f) la maestra
banker il banchiere professor (m) il professore
waiter il cameriere professor (f) la professoressa
waitress la cameriera hair stylist (m) il parrucchiere
saleswoman la commessa hair stylist (f) la parrucchiera
salesman il commesso secretary (m) il segretario
accountant il contabile secretary (f) la segretaria

doctor (m) il dottore soldier il soldato
doctor (f) la dottoressa journalist il/la giornalista
musician il/la musicista office worker (m) l'impiegato
barber il barbiere office worker (f) l'impiegata
When stating your job or profession, use the verb fare + the definite article: Faccio il
professore. I'm a professor.
biology la biologia architecture l'architettura
chemistry la chimica business il commercio
economics l'economia law la giurisprudenza
philosophy la filosofia engineering l'ingegneria
physics la fisica literature le lettere
geography la geografia political science le scienze politiche
foreign languages le lingue straniere sociology la sociologia
mathematics la matematica astronomy l'astronomia
medicine la medicina dramatic arts l'arte drammatica
accounting la ragioneria computer science l'informatica
history la storia communication
la scienza della
comunicazioni
psychology la psicologia physical education l'educazione fisica
When talking about your major or specialization, use the verb fare without the definite
article: Faccio geografia. I study geography.
course, class il corso oral exams gli orali
department la facoltà written exams gli scritti
subject la materia semester / trimester
il semestre /
trimestre
Listen Ascoltate Correct! Giusto!
Read Leggete Wrong! Sbagliato!
Repeat Ripetete All together! Tutti insieme!
Answer Rispondete One more time. Ancora una volta.
Write Scrivete How do you pronounce...?
Come si
pronuncia...?
Open your books Aprite i libri. How do you write...? Come si scrive...?
Close your books Chiudete i libri. How do you say...? Come si dice...?

Do the exercise Fate l'esercizio What does ... mean? Cosa vuol dire...?
Attention! Attenzione! Repeat, please. Ripeta, per favore.
Very good! Molto bene / Benissimo! OK. Va bene.
23. PREPOSITIONS & ADVERBS OF PLACE
at, to a over / above sopra
in in under / below sotto
on / up su inside dentro
from, by da outside fuori
of di around intorno a
with con between tra
without senza among fra
for per near vicino a
next to accanto a far lontano da
behind dietro before prima (di)
in front of davanti a after dopo (di)
across attraverso against contro
down giù toward verso
24. PREPOSITIONAL CONTRACTIONS
il lo l' la i gli le
a at, to al allo all' alla ai agli alle
da
from,
by
dal dallo dall' dalla dai dagli dalle
di of del dello dell' della dei degli delle
in in nel nello nell' nella nei negli nelle
su on sul sullo sull' sulla sui sugli sulle
con with col collo coll' colla coi cogli colle
The only contractions for con that are still used nowadays are col and coi,
but even these contractions are optional.

→ Usually no article is used with in before words denoting rooms in a house
or buildings in a city.
→ Di is also used when showing possession. Italian does not have the -'s
construction that English uses, so you must say that whatever is possessed
is of the person.
Questo cane è di Marco. This dog is Marco's. / This is Marco's dog.
(Literally: This dog is of Marco.)
25. COUNTRIES & NATIONALITIES Part 1: Part 2:
Africa l'Africa Indonesia l'Indonesia
African africano/a Indonesian indonesiano/a
Albania l'Albania Ireland l'Irlanda
Albanian albanese Irish irlandese
America l'America Israel l'Israele
American americano/a Israeli israeliano/a
Argentina l'Argentina Italy l'Italia
Argentine argentino/a Italian italiano/a
Asia l'Asia Japan il Giappone
Asian asiatico/a Japanese giapponese
Australia l'Australia Latvia la Lettonia
Australian australiano/a Latvian lettone
Austria l'Austria Lithuania la Lituania
Austrian austriaco/a Lithuanian lituano/a
Belgium il Belgio Luxembourg il Lussemburgo
Belgian belga Luxembourger lussemburghese
Bosnia la Bosnia Macedonia la Macedonia
Bosnian bosniaco/a Macedonian macedone
Brazil il Brasile Malta Malta (f)
Brazilian brasiliano/a Maltese maltese
Bulgaria la Bulgaria Netherlands i Paesi Bassi / Olanda
Bulgarian bulgaro/a Dutch olandese
Canada il Canada New Zealand la Nuova Zelanda
Canadian canadese New Zealander neozelandese
China la Cina Norway la Norvegia

Chinese cinese Norwegian norvegese
Croatia la Croazia Poland la Polonia
Croatian croato/a Polish polacco/a
Czech Republic la Repubblica Ceca Portugal il Portogallo
Czech ceco/a Portuguese portoghese
Denmark la Danimarca Romania la Romania
Danish danese Romanian romeno/a
Egypt l'Egitto Russia la Russia
Egyptian egiziano/a Russian russo/a
England l'Inghilterra Scotland la Scozia
English inglese Scottish scozzese
Estonia l'Estonia Serbia la Serbia
Estonian estone Serbian serbo/a
Europe l'Europa Slovakia la Slovacchia
European europeo/a Slovak slovacco/a
Finland la Finlandia Slovenia la Slovenia
Finnish finlandese Slovene sloveno/a
France la Francia Spain la Spagna
French francese Spanish spagnolo/a
Germany la Germania Sweden la Svezia
German tedesco/a Swedish svedese
Great Britain la Gran Bretagna Switzerland la Svizzera
British britannico/a Swiss svizzero/a
Greece la Grecia Turkey la Turchia
Greek greco/a Turk turco/a
Hungary l'Ungheria Ukraine l'Ucraina
Hungarian ungherese Ukrainian ucraino/a
Iceland l'Islanda United Kingdom il Regno Unito
Icelandic islandese United States gli Stati Uniti
India l'India Wales Galles
Indian indiano/a Welsh gallese
If the adjective is referring to a language, it will always be the masculine
form. If the adjective is referring to a woman instead of a man, then the
adjectives ending in -o change to end in -a. The adjectives ending in -e do
not change for gender. Also, the adjective americano usually refers to

someone living anywhere in the American continent, but many people do
use it to mean a person from the United States, instead of statunitense.
When talking about your country of origin, it is more common in Italian to use
the adjective of nationality. For example, instead of saying She is from
Denmark, you would say She is Danish.
26. TO AND FROM PLACES
To From
Country (singular) in da (+ contraction)
Country (plural) negli da (+ contraction)
City a da
Vado in Francia. I'm going to France.
Vengo dalla Francia. I come from France.
Vado negli Stati Uniti. I'm going to the United States.
Vengo dagli Stati Uniti. I come from the United States.
Vado a Parigi. I'm going to Paris.
Vengo da Parigi. I come from Paris.
27. TO COME AND TO GO
Venire - to come Andare - to go
vengo vehn-goh veniamo
ven-ee-ah-
moh
vado vah-doh andiamo
ahn-dee-ah-
moh
vieni vee-en-ee venite ven-ee-teh vai vah-ee andate ahn-dah-teh
viene vee-en-eh vengono
ven-goh-
noh
va vah vanno vahn-noh
→ To make a verb negative, add non before it:
Non vengo a scuola in macchina. I don't come to school by car.
→ If andare is followed by another infinitive, then a must be used before the
infinitive:
Vado a mangiare adesso. I'm going to eat now.

Other verbs conjugated in the same pattern as venire are:
avvenire - to happen, to occur
convenire - to convene
divenire - to become
provenire - to come from, to proceed
sovvenire - to help
svenire - to faint
Tenere (to hold, keep) verbs are conjugated very similarly to venire too,
except the voi form ends in -ete instead of -ite:
appartenere - to belong
contenere - to contain
intrattenere - to entertain
mantenere - to maintain
ottenere - to obtain
ritenere - to retain
sostenere - to sustain, to support
trattenere - to withhold, to detain
28. CONJUGATING REGULAR VERBS
To conjugate regular verbs, take off the last three letters (-are, -ere, or -ire)
and add these endings to the stem:
Regular Verb Endings
-are -ere 1st -ire 2nd -ire
-o -iamo -o -iamo -o -iamo -isco -iamo
-i -ate -i -ete -i -ite -isci -ite
-a -ano -e -ono -e -ono -isce -iscono
Verbi Regolari / Regular Verbs
-are 1st -ire
parlare to speak dormire to sleep
cantare to sing partire to leave
arrivare to arrive sentire to hear
abitare to live aprire to open
amare to love offrire to offer
ascoltare to listen (to) servire to serve
cominciare to begin

domandare to ask
giocare to play (a game/sport)
guardare to look (at)/watch
imparare to learn
insegnare to teach
lavorare to work
mangiare to eat
pensare to think
studiare to study
-ere 2nd -ire
scrivere to write finire to finish
vedere to see capire to understand
credere to believe preferire to prefer
conoscere to know/be acquainted with colpire to hit
leggere to read costruire to build
mettere to put pulire to clean
perdere to lose sparire to disappear
prendere to take
rispondere to answer
scendere to go down/get off
vendere to sell
vivere to live
correre to run
dipingere to paint
ricevere to receive
Sample Regular Verb
Parlare-to speak
parlo parliamo
parli parlate
parla parlano
→ The present tense and the preposition da may be used to describe an
action which began in the past and is still continuing in the present. The
present perfect tense is used in English to convey this same concept.

Da quanto tempo Lei studia l'italiano? How long have you been studying
Italian?
Studio l'italiano da due anni. I've been studying Italian for two years.
→ Proprio can be used to emphasize something and it translates
as really or just.
Ho proprio sonno. I'm really sleepy.
Arrivo dalla banca proprio adesso. I just now got back from the bank.
29. REFLEXIVE VERBS
Reflexive verbs express actions performed by the subject on the subject.
These verbs are conjugated like regular verbs, but a reflexive pronoun
precedes the verb form. This pronoun always agrees with the subject. In
the infinitive form, reflexive verbs have -si attached to them with the final e
dropped. Lavare is to wash, therefore lavarsi is to wash oneself. (Note that
some verbs are reflexive in Italian, but not in English.)
Reflexive Pronouns
mi ci
ti vi
si si
Common reflexive verbs:
to be satisfied with
accontentarsi
di
to graduate (from
college)
laurearsi
to fall asleep addormentarsi to wash up lavarsi
to get up alzarsi to put on mettersi
to be bored annoiarsi to get organized organizzarsi
to get angry arrabbiarsi
to make a
reservation
prenotarsi
to be called chiamarsi to remember to ricordarsi di
to forget to dimenticarsi di
to make a
mistake
sbagliarsi
to graduate (from
high school)
diplomarsi to feel (well, bad)
sentirsi (bene,
male)
to have a good time divertirsi to specialize specializzarsi
to shave (the face)
farsi la barba /
radersi
to get married sposarsi

to stop (oneself) fermarsi to wake up svegliarsi
to complain about lamentarsi di to get dressed vestirsi
Io mi lavo. I wash myself.
Noi ci alziamo presto. We get up early.
Si sveglia alle sette. She wakes up at seven.
The plural reflexive pronouns (ci, vi, si) can also be used with non-reflexive
verbs to indicate a reciprocal action. These verbs are called reciprocal
verbs and are expressed by the words each other in English.
to embrace abbracciarsi to run into incontrarsi
to help aiutarsi to fall in love with innamorarsi
to kiss baciarsi to greet salutarsi
to understand capirsi to write to scriversi
to meet conoscersi to phone telefonarsi
to exchange gifts farsi regali to see vedersi
to look at guardarsi
Ci scriviamo ogni settimana. We write to each other every week.
Vi vedete spesso? Do you see each other often?
30. IRREGULARITIES IN REGULAR VERBS
Verbs ending in -care and -gare add an h before the -i and -iamo endings
to keep the hard sound. Verbs ending in -ciare and -giare do not repeat
the i in front of the -i ending. Notice that these verbs are only slightly
irregular in spelling, while the pronunciation still follows the normal
conjugation pattern.
cercare - to look for cominciare - to start
cerco cerchiamo comincio cominciamo
cerchi cercate cominci cominciate
cerca cercano comincia cominciano
31. PRESENT PERFECT (PASSATO PROSSIMO)
The present perfect tense is used to express something that happened in
the past, and which is completely finished (not habitual or continuous). To
form this compound tense, which can translate as something happened,
something has happened, or something did happen, conjugate avere or

sometimes essere and add the past participle. To form the past participle,
add these endings to the appropriate stem of the infinitives:
-are -ato
-ere -uto
-ire -ito
Verbs that can take a direct object are generally conjugated with avere.
Verbs that do not take a direct object (generally verbs of movement), as
well as all reflexive verbs, are conjugated with essere and their past
participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Avere uses
avere as its auxiliary verb, while essere uses essere as its auxiliary verb.
Negative sentences in the present perfect tense are formed by
placing non in front of the auxiliary verb. Common adverbs of time are
placed between avere/essere and the past participle.
Io ho visitato Roma. I visited Rome.
Tu non hai visitato gli Stati Uniti. You didn't visit the United States.
Abbiamo conosciuto due ragazze. We met two girls.
Maria è andata in Italia. Maria went to Italy. (Note the agreement of the
past participle with the subject.)
Ho sempre avuto paura dei cani. I've always been afraid of dogs.
Hai già finito di studiare? Have you already finished studying?
→ In addition, some verbs take on a different meaning in the present
perfect: conoscere means to meet and saperemeans to find out (or to
hear).
Reflexive Verbs in the Present Perfect Tense
Since all reflexive verbs use essere as the auxiliary verb, the past participle
must agree with the subject. The word order is reflexive pronoun + essere +
past participle.
Mi sono divertita. I had fun.
Si è sentito male. He felt bad.
32. IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES Part 1: Part2:
The following verbs all take avere as the auxiliary:
to turn on accendere acceso to hide nascondere nascosto
to admit ammettere ammesso to offend offendere offeso
to hang (up) appendere appeso to offer offrire offerto

to open aprire aperto to lose perdere perso / perduto
to drink bere bevuto to permit permettere permesso
to ask chiedere chiesto to cry piangere pianto
to close chiudere chiuso to put, place porre posto
to grant, award concedere concesso to take prendere preso
to conclude concludere concluso to promise promettere promesso
to know (people) conoscere conosciuto to suggest proporre proposto
to correct correggere corretto to laugh ridere riso
to decide decidere deciso to solve, resolve risolvere risolto
to disappoint deludere deluso to respond, answer rispondere risposto
to defend difendere difeso to break rompere rotto
to say, tell dire detto to choose scegliere scelto
to direct, run dirigere diretto to write scrivere scritto
to discuss discutere discusso to suffer soffrire sofferto
to distinguish distinguere distinto to turn off spegnere spento
to destroy distruggere distrutto to spend spendere speso
to divide dividere diviso to push spingere spinto
to exclude escludere escluso to translate tradurre tradotto
to express esprimere espresso to draw, pull trarre tratto
to do fare fatto to kill uccidere ucciso
to insist insistere insistito to see vedere visto / veduto
to read leggere letto to win vincere vinto
to put mettere messo
Sample Avere Verb: avere - to
have
(io) ho avuto (noi) abbiamo avuto
(tu) hai avuto (voi) avete avuto
(lei) ha avuto (loro) hanno avuto
Ho avuto can mean I have, I have had, or I did have.
33. ESSERE VERBS
In general, intransitive and reflexive verbs, as well as impersonal verbs and
verbs describing a change of state or an evolution of some sorts, take
essere as the auxiliary verb in the passato prossimo. These past participles

must agree with the subject in gender and number by changing the final
vowel. Irregular past participles are highlighted.
to go andare andato
to arrive arrivare arrivato
to suffice, be enough bastare bastato
to be necessary bisognare bisognato
to cost costare costato
to depend dipendere dipeso
to regret, upset dispiacere dispiaciuto
to become, grow, turn diventare diventato
to last durare durato
to enter entrare entrato
to exist esistere esistito
to be essere stato
to arrive / to succeed giungere giunto
to get old invecchiare invecchiato
to die morire morto
to be born nascere nato
to be necessary occorrere occorso
to leave partire partito
to be pleasing [to like] piacere piaciuto
to rain piovere piovuto
to stay, remain restare restato
to go/come back in, return rientrare rientrato
to remain, stay rimanere rimasto
to return ritornare ritornato
to succeed riuscire (a) riuscito
to seem sembrare sembrato
to serve, be of use servire servito
to disappear sparire sparito
to stay, be stare stato
to happen succedere successo
to come back/return tornare tornato
to go out uscire uscito
to be worth valere valso

to come venire venuto
Sono nato a Torino nel 1965. I was born in Turin in 1965.
Cosa è successo? What happened?
Lei è stato malata ma niente di grave. She was sick, but it was nothing
serious.
→ There are also a few verbs (some with irregular past participles) that use
essere as an auxiliary when they are intransitive (no direct object), but avere
when they are transitive (with a direct object).
to change, exchange cambiare cambiato
to begin, start cominciare cominciato
to run correre corso
to grow (up), increase crescere cresciuto
to diminish, decrease diminuire diminuito
to explode esplodere esploso
to finish, end, stop finire finito
to ripen, mature maturare maturato
to improve migliorare migliorato
to move muovere mosso
to pass, pass through/over passare passato
to worsen peggiorare peggiorato
to go up, rise salire salito
to descend, go down scendere sceso
to live (be alive) vivere vissuto
L'inverno è finito. Winter is finished.
Abbiamo finito di guardare il film. We finished watching the film.
Sample Essere Verb: andare - to go
sono andato / sono andata siamo andati / siamo andate
sei andato / sei andata siete andati / siete andate
è andato / è andata sono andati / sono andate

Sono andato can mean I went, I was going, or I did go. Remember that -o
is masculine and -a is feminine. The -i ending indicates all males or males
and females; whereas the -e ending indicates only females.
34. FOOD & MEALS Part 1: Part 2:
breakfast la colazione lemon il limone
lunch il pranzo honey il miele
snack la merenda olive oil l'olio d'oliva
dinner la cena vinegar l'aceto
fork la forchetta jam la marmellata
spoon il cucchiaio yogurt lo yogurt
knife il coltello cheese il formaggio
plate il piatto egg / eggs l'uovo / le uova
napkin
la salvietta / il
tovagliolo
fried egg
un uovo fritto / un uovo all'occhio di
bue
cup la tazza hard-boiled egg un uovo sodo
glass il bicchiere soft-boiled un uovo alla coque
bottle la bottiglia poached egg un uovo in camicia
dishes le stoviglie cereal i cereali
silverware le posate soup la minestra / la zuppa
saucepan la pentola rice il riso
frying pan la padella salad l'insalata
can opener l'apriscatole (m) french fries le patatine fritte
bottle opener l'apribottiglie (m) peanuts le noccioline
corkscrew il cavatappi olives le olive
appetizer l'antipasto pastries le paste
first course il primo croissant il cornetto
second
course
il secondo cake la torta
side dish il contorno tart la crostata
pizza la pizza potato chips le patatine
beverage la bevanda
biscuits /
cookies
i biscotti
ice il ghiaccio cocktail snacks i salatini
dessert il dolce sandwich il tramezzino
ice cream il gelato roll il panino

cream la panna meat la carne
chocolate la cioccolata steak la bistecca
juice il succo chicken il pollo
wine il vino turkey il tacchino
milk il latte fish il pesce
water l'acqua (minerale) ham il prosciutto
soft drink la bibita lamb l'agnello
coffee il caffè goat il capretto
(iced) tea il tè (freddo) rabbit il coniglio
bread il pane liver il fegato
butter il burro pork il maiale
salt il sale beef il manzo
pepper il pepe bacon la pancetta
sugar lo zucchero veal il vitello
La merenda refers to the snack that children have around 10 or 11 AM while at
school, but it can also mean afternoon snack. You can also use uno spuntino to refer
to a snack in general.
35. PIACERE & SERVIRE
Piacere - to like / Servire - to need
piaccio piacciamo servo serviamo
piaci piacete servi servite
piace piacciono serve servono
Past participle:
piaciuto
Past participle:
servito
Piacere (a) literally means to be pleasing (to) so to form a sentence you
have to invert the word order. You must also use the prepositional
contractions with a.
Maria piace a Giovanni. John likes Mary. (Literally: Mary is pleasing to
John)
Gli studenti piacciono ai professori. The teachers like the
students. (Literally: The students are pleasing to the teachers).

The most common forms are the third person singular and plural when used
with object pronouns. The object pronouns that are used with these two
verbs are somewhat similar to the reflexive pronouns:
mi I (to me) ci we (to us)
ti you (to you) vi you (to you)
gli / le he / she (to him / her) gli they (to them)
→ To say I like something, use Mi piace if it is singular and Mi piacciono if
it is plural. Piaciuto is the past participle and it is used with essere.
However, it always agrees with the subject (what is liked) instead of the
person.
Mi piace cucinare. I like to cook. (Literally: To me is pleasing to cook.)
Gli piacciono i treni. He likes trains. (Literally: To him are pleasing the
trains.)
Ci è piaciuta la bistecca. We liked the steak. (Literally: To us was pleasing
the steak.)
Non le sono piaciuti gli spaghetti. She didn't like the spaghetti.
(Literally: Not to her was pleasing the spaghetti.)
→ Stressed forms also exist for the object pronouns. They are nearly
identical to the subject pronouns, except me and teare used for me and you
(familiar). They are always preceded by the preposition a.
A me non piace sciare. I don't like to ski. (Literally: To me not is pleasing
to ski.)
A loro piace viaggiare? Do they like to travel? (Literally: To them is
pleasing to travel.)
→ Servire has the same construction as piacere. It is also used primarily in
the third person singular and plural forms and takes an indirect object. When
it takes a direct object, it simply means to serve.
Ti serve della frutta? Do you need any fruit? (Literally: By you is needed
some fruit?)
Il pane serve a Marco. Marco needs bread. (Literally: The bread is
needed by Marco.)
→ Mancare can be used in the same way as piacere and servire to mean to
miss or to lack. If used in the regular way, it means to be missing /
absent.
Mi manchi. I miss you. (Literally: To me you are missing.)
Chi manca? Who is missing?

36. FRUITS & VEGETABLES
almond la mandorla lettuce la lattuga
apple la mela lime la limetta
apricot l'albicocca melon il melone
artichoke il carciofo mint la menta
asparagus l'asparago mushroom il fungo
avocado l'avocado nut la noce
banana la banana oats l'avena
barley l'orzo olive l'oliva
bean (broad) la fava onion la cipolla
bean (kidney) il fagiolo orange l'arancia
berry la bacca parsley il prezzemolo
broccoli i broccoli pea il pisello
cabbage il cavolo peach la pesca
carrot la carota pear la pera
cauliflower il cavolfiore pepper il peperone
celery il sedano pine il pino
cherry la ciliegia pineapple l'ananasso
chestnut la castagna plum
la prugna / la
susina
chives la cipollina potato la patata
corn il granoturco pumpkin la zucca
cucumber il cetriolo radish il ravanello
currant il ribes raspberry il lampone
cypress il cipresso rice il riso
date il dattero rye la segale
eggplant la melanzana sage la salvia
fig il fico seed il seme
fruit la frutta spinach gli spinaci
garlic l'aglio strawberry la fragola
grapefruit il pompelmo tomato il pomodoro

grapes l'uva turnip la rapa
hazelnut la nocciola vegetables
i legumi / le
verdure
herb l'erba vine la vite
horse-radish la barbaforte walnut la noce
leaf la foglia watermelon
l'anguria / il
cocomero
lemon il limone wheat il frumento
lentil la lenticchia zucchini la zucchina
37. TO TAKE, EAT OR DRINK
Prendere - to take, eat or drink and Bere - to drink
prendo prendiamo bevo beviamo
prendi prendete bevi bevete
prende prendono beve bevono
Past participle: preso Past participle: bevuto
Bere is only used to mean to drink when it is used in the general sense, as
is mangiare - to eat. The rest of the time you simply use prendere when
referring to eating or drinking, similar to how we can use the verb have in
English.
38. COMMANDS
-are -ere -ire
tu form (singular familiar) -a -i -i / -isci
Lei form (singular polite) -i -a -a / -isca
voi form (plural polite) -ate -ete -ite
noi form (Let's ...) -iamo -iamo -iamo
To make a command negative, add non before the command, except for
the tu (singular familiar) commands, when you use non and the infinitive.
tu form Lei form voi form
Answer! Rispondi! Risponda! Rispondete!

Don't
answer!
Non
rispondere!
Non
risponda!
Non
rispondete!
Irregular Commands
andare -
to go
venire - to
come
fare - to
do
dare -
to give
dire - to
say / tell
essere -
to be
avere - to
have
stare -to
be / stay
sing.
fam.
va' vieni fa' da' di' sii abbi sta'
sing.
pol.
vada venga faccia dia dica sia abbia stia
plural andate venite fate date dite siate abbiate state
Let's andiamo veniamo facciamo diamo diciamo siamo abbiamo stiamo
The words avanti, dai and su can accompany commands to give emphasis,
similar to come on! in English. If pure is used with a command, it softens the
intensity.
39. MORE NEGATIVES
non...mai never
non...più no longer, no more
non...niente / nulla nothing
non...nessuno nobody, no one
non...neanche not even
non...né...né neither...nor
The non goes before the verb and the second part goes after.
Non ho niente. I have nothing.
Nessuno and niente can also be subjects. In this case, non is not used.
Nessuno è venuto. No one came.
40. HOLIDAY PHRASES
Buon Anno! Happy New Year!
Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter!
Buon compleanno! Happy Birthday!
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!

Buone feste! Happy Holidays!
Buona vacanza!
Have a good
vacation!
Buon divertimento! Have a good time!
Buon viaggio! Have a good trip!
Tanti auguri! Best wishes!
Babbo Natale is Santa Claus and il panettone or il pandoro are the traditional cakes
eaten at Christmas. For Easter, the traditional cake is called la colomba. Be careful
with the difference between ferie and feriale: le ferie or i giorni di ferie are holidays
when most places of business are closed; the opposite is un giorno feriale, or a
weekday/working day.
THE ITALIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM: INNO DI MAMELI
by Goffredo Mameli
Fratelli d'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta,
Dell'elmo di Scipio s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria? Le porga la chioma,
Ché schiava di Roma Iddio la creò.
Stringiamci a coorte, siam pronti alla morte,
siam pronti alla morte, l'Italia chiamò. Sì!
Italian brothers, Italy has arisen,
Has put on the helmet of Scipio,
Where is victory?
Created by God
The slave of Rome,
She crowns you with glory.
Let us unite,
We are ready to die,
Italy calls.

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