AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR BY RUTH SHEPARD PHELPS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES IN THI UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO \\ COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY RUTH SHEPARD PHELPS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 225.5 Wbt iSttienatum grettg GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. PREFACE What is new in this work is chiefly the division and arrange- ment of topics, though the Introduction assembles material upon pronunciation and versification not hitherto brought together in English, and there is some novelty in subject matter in the exer- cises for translation. The plan of the book has the merit of having grown directly out of the needs of the classroom. The arrange- ment is such, it is hoped, as will make the book equally serviceable for the classroom and for private study, and will give it certain of the advantages of both " first book " and reference grammar. The beginning has been deliberately made very easy. Even the definite article, with which most Italian grammars naturally begin, has been deferred in favor of the indefinite, which, as it lacks a plural, has fewer forms itself and does not immediately require the plural of nouns. This leaves the attention free to center upon the single new principle of the "^ impure." The definite article with its more complicated forms is not introduced until the fourth les- son, and the main body of rules governing its syntax not until the twenty-second. The plural of nouns is treated in its simpler aspects in the third lesson, and extensively in the thirtieth. This method of breaking up the more diflficult subjects and pre- senting them at first piecemeal, reserving more thorough-going treatment for a later chapter, has been followed throughout. The subjunctive, for example, is introduced one rule at a time, each illustrated by a sentence or two in all subsequent exercises, so that its use in a few standard cases at least will become automatic, and the student will not fall into the way of regarding it as an unusual, unnatural mood, reserved for special occasions. The subject is iii ivi209968 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR treated as a whole in Lesson XXVI 1 1. Many of the idiomatic uses of da^ likewise, are introduced early, although the general treatment of prepositions, including a great number of idioms con- structed by means of them, is one of the last in the book. The verbs essere and avere^ except for the indispensable present indica- tive, are postponed until the regular verbs have been completely learned. The subject of conjunctive pronouns, sometimes pre- sented in a single lesson, is here divided among four, not consecu- tive, while sentences in the intervening and subsequent exercises continue practice upon them. In consequence of this method of introducing a working knowl- edge of many difficult principles early, while leaving their more complicated treatment for later chapters, the book can be divided rather easily, if desired, into first and second year work. Twenty- seven lessons, let us say, would introduce more or less fully all the more important principles, and cover completely the subject of conjunctive pronouns. These lessons, with the irregular verbs of the remaining lessons, might constitute the first year's work, leaving twelve lessons of more complicated questions of syntax for the second year. It has not always seemed desirable to be entirely consistent in this breaking up of the more difficult subjects ; logical arrangement has sometimes seemed to require, as in the case of the person in address, a complete treatment at first. Where this has been the case, the paragraphs dealing with the more subtle points are marked with a star, and may be assigned merely to be read over, or omitted altogether, as the exercises do not illustrate them. In any case the index makes scattered material readily available. As to the exercises, the older custom has been observed of mak- ing them accompany the lessons they illustrate, in the belief that this arrangement keeps the student better in mind of all the work he has done and facilitates review. In designing the work which illustrates the new principles as they are introduced, the desirability of continuing practice on principles already acquired has been kept iv PREFACE steadily in mind. If the instructor prefers fewer sentences for translation, the assignment may be limited to those which illus- trate the current lesson. Where the vocabulary seems long, there will usually be found a large proportion of those words whose meaning can be guessed at a glance, and far more of them occur in the paragraphs of Italian reading matter than in the sentences for translation. The paragraphs of Italian on which the exercises for translation are based are in small part original, in large part borrowed or adapted from Italian school readers designed for the lower grades. So they furnish practice from the first in reading connected prose, offer a good practical vocabulary, and deal at- tractively with Italian home and school life, and the history of modern Italy. Thanks are due to Messrs. Bemporad e Figlio for permission to use selections from the readers 77 mondo nuovo by Renato Fucini and two Libri di lettura by Neretti and Gironi, and to the Societk Laziale Editrice of Rome for permission to make similar use of paragraphs from La terza Italia in Lessons XXVIII and XXIX. These last, it may to-day be necessary to add, were not selected with any idea of influencing American sen- timent, but to show what topics were agitating the Italian mind in the last days before the Great War broke out. The series of dialogues in the latter part of the book offers a little practice in familiar idiom ; they are especially intended for travelers, as they include a good many words useful in the shops and hotels, on the railway, and so on. They are composed in a Tuscan too colloquial to form the basis of exercises, and may be entirely omitted at the pleasure of the instructor. The third person as the person of address in ordinary inter- course, being the only one for which most travelers have occasion, is introduced very early, before the habit of the true second person is acquired. Accordingly, in the exercises it is the latter which is made to seem the unusual form. Questions of pronunciation, accent, orthography, and the like are treated in the Introduction, along with an outline of the Italian AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR system of versification and some hints as to the reading of Italian poetry. As the pronunciation cannot be perfectly represented for English readers by any system of equivalent spellings, the instructor will find it necessary to supplement viva voce what is said here. Of the many works that have been consulted in the preparation of this book, those which have been most closely followed are R. Fornaciari's Grammatica italiana delP uso moderno, Parts I and II, and, especially for the Introduction, Ortoepia e ortografia ita- liana moderna, by G. Malagoli. The dictionaries of Edgren and Petrocchi have been constantly consulted ; suggestions as to ma- terial and arrangement have been gained from the Italian work of Morandi and Cappuccini and from my American predecessors in this field, and for several hints as to Tuscan idiom I am indebted to the grammars of N. Orlandi and Alina Vannini. And I desire to thank Professor A. A. Livingston of Columbia University for kindly undertaking the laborious task of reading this book in proof, and for his very valuable suggestions on many points. RUTH SHEPARD PHELPS University of Minnesota VI CONTENTS PAGE Introduction Alphabet i Pronunciation 2 Syllabification 15 Tonic Accent 15 Graphic Accents 19 Elision 20 Apocopation 22 Variant Forms of Words 24 Capitalization 25 Archaic and Poetic Forms 26 Versification 28 Lessons I. Indefinite Article 33 II. Present of avere and essere. Pronouns in Address ... 36 III. Plural of Nouns. Future Indicative 39 IV. Definite Article. Past Absolute Indicative 41 V. Contraction of Article. Past Future 45 VI. Gender of Nouns 48 VII. Adjectives and Adverbs 51 VIII. Regular Verbs 58 IX. Conjunctive Pronouns 63 X. Essere. The Passive Voice 67 XI. Conjunctives Continued. Auxiliaries with Intransitive Verbs 71 XII. Reflexive Verbs 76 XIII. Possessives 81 XIV. Changes of Letters in Regular Verbs. Relative Pronouns . 86 XV. The Comparative 90 XVI. The Verb avere 95 vii AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Lessons page XVII. Two Conjunctive Objects. Conjunctive Adverbs . . loo XVIII. Irregular Verbs .103 XIX. Dare, sap ere, volere 107 XX. Disjunctives. Venire 1 1 1 XXI. Tenses. Verb and Subject 117 XXII. Definite Article. Andare. L'Arrivo 126 XXIII. Cardinal Numerals. Morire 135 XXIV. Ordinal Numerals, Collectives, etc. Parere . . . 142 XXV. Indefinite Article. Fare. Dialogue: L'Albergo . 149 XXVI. Impersonal Verbs. Stare 155 XXVII. Conjunctive with Dependent Infinitive. Potere. Dia- logue : Dalla sarta 160 XXVIII. The Subjunctive. Dolere 164 XXIX. The Infinitive. Dire 170 XXX. Number of Nouns. Piacere 175 XXXI. Modal Auxiliaries. Dovere. Dialogue: Dal sarto . 184 XXXII. Relative, Demonstrative, and Interrogative Pro- nouns. Udire 190 XXXIII. Participles. Porre. Dialogue: Dal calzolaio . . 196 XXXIV. Gender of Nouns. Uscire 203 XXXV. Indefinites. Scegliere. L 'Automobile . . . . 209 XXXVI. Adverbs. Valere 220 XXXVII. Prepositions. Dialogue: Dalla modista . . . . 232 XXXVIII. Augmentatives and Diminutives. Dialogue: Si fanno le compre 246 XXXIX. Conjunctions and Interjections 251 Alphabetical List of Irregular Verbs 261 Italian-English Vocabulary 275 English-Italian Vocabulary 301 Index 323 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR INTRODUCTION I. The Alphabet 1. The Italian alphabet is composed of twenty-one letters. Those whose names end in -a are of feminine, those in -e of common, and the others of masculine gender ; but they all may be treated as feminine, to agree with lettera understood. They do not change for the plural. Their Italian names are — Italian Letters Names a bi ci di e effe gi acca i elle emme Pronuncia- tion (ah) (bee) {chez!C) (Dee) (^le) (effay) (ahkkah) (mach/ne) (ellay) (emmay) Italian Pronuncia- Letters Names enne pi cu erre esse ti u vu zeta (ennay) (toll) (pea) (coo) (erray) (essay) (tea) {poz€) iyoodiOO) (dzayta) The^letter j (i lungoVe^ists, but only as a di^jsritical mark some writers to^imicate the use of i as,«^mivowel (of. 4) : 1, operajo ; or mrfead of ii : desidf rj ; fik for the spelling of words. &. The following consonants also exist in Italian, for the spelling of foreign words : k (cappa), w (doppio vu), y (ipsilon or i grfco), and X (icse or ics). j§ 2-3 ' " AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR II. Pronunciation of the Letters 2. The Vowel Sounds. There are seven ilian, as follows : a = ah fa ? (close) = ale pep? f (open) = m^n bfUa i = machme Mimi 9 (close) = low SQlQ q (open) = ought SQ u = moon luna a. As the rules given (cf. 3) for determining the close and open e and o, besides being difficult to remember, do not cover all cases, these vowels, when accented, will be marked in this book (as indicated above) when appearing in the text for the first time, in the special vocabularies, and in the complete vocabulary at the end of the volume. b. People accustomed to speak English incline to mispronounce a, i, and u in certain combinations, slackening and dulling their qual- ity by analogy with English ; this tendency is apparent in a when final, as in Amfrica, and in i and u when followed by two or more consonants, or by 1 or r when accented in the antepenult. Thus i in virtu 'virtue,' ninfa 'nymph,' mirra 'myrrh,' principe 'prince,' is slackened to the i of 'virile'; u in singulto 'sob,' Bulgaro 'Bulgarian,' giunto 'arrived,' to the u of 'pull.' This tendency should be avoided, and the sound of these vowels kept identical in all combinations. 3. Close and Open E and 0. A few rules apply alike to both, but there are numerous special rules for each. a. Both are Close when followed by gn, Im, mm, nn {except d9nna 'woman,' m9nna *Lady,' n9nno * grandfather'). Examples : pegno 'pledge,' sogno 'dream,' elmo 'helmet,' olmo 'elm,' vendemmia 'vintage,' sommo 'supreme,* venni 'I came.' 2 INTRODUCTION § 3 b. Both are Open — 1. When followed by ns, q, str, or (nearly always) a single consonant + two vowels. Examples : pf nso ' I think,' C9nsole * consul,' fquo 'equal,' ngstro 'our,' fin^stra 'window,' Venfzia 'Venice,' commfdia 'comedy,' purgat9rio 'purgatory,' coUfgio 'college.' 2. When preceded by a consonant + 1: glQbo 'globe,' splfndido * splendid.' 3. Contrary to rules, in so-called ' learned ' words, not in com- mon use by the people at large : prec9ce ' precocious,' testim9ne 'witness,' alfabfto 'alphabet,' ditt9ngo 'diphthong,' napole9nico 'Napoleonic,' rec9ndito 'recondite,' Calif9rnia. c. E is Close {Lat. i, g, oe > It. e) — 1. In unaccented syllables : Petrucchio; come 'like.' 2. In monosyllables and oxy tones ending in e: merc^ 'thanks to,' re 'King.' Exceptions: chf I 'what!' and other interjections; I 'is,' T% (musical note), di| 'he gave,' pi| 'foot,' and foreign nouns like cafff 'coffee,' No§ 'Noah.' 3. In the endings -efice, -eggio, -embro, -esco -a, -ese, -esimo (in nouns), -essa, -eto (in collectives), -etto -a (cf, //. i§, f) — 1. When preceded by i, or when i has been dropped from before it : cifco 'blind,' s^te (for sifte) 'you are.' 2. In the endings -fUo -a (except capello ' hair ' and stella *star'), -fma, -^ndo -a (except vendo 'I sell,' scendo 'I descend'), -§nse, -f nte -0 -i -a, -If nto, -^ nza, -fro (in nouns of more than two syllables), -fsimo (in numerals). Examples : bfllo ' beautiful,' problfma 'problem,' bfnda 'band,' estfnse 'of Este,' Benevfnto, vivfnte 'living,' sonnolfnto 'somnolent,' prudfnza 'prudence,' im- pfro 'empire,' ventfsimo 'twentieth.' 3. When followed by a single vowel: sfi 'six,' ebrfo 'Hebrew.' 4. In foreign nouns, when final and accented : Moisf ' Moses,' tf 'tea.' 5. In the adverbs bfne 'well,' Cfrto 'surely,' mfglio 'better,' pfggio 'worse,' prfsso 'near,' sfmpre 'always,' vfrso 'towards,' in the preposition sfnza 'without,' and in the numerals tfrzo 'third,' sfsto 'sixth,' sftte 'seven,' sfttimo 'seventh.' 6. In verbs : in past absolutes in -ftti and past participles in -f nto and -ftto ; in present participles in -f ndo and -f nte ; in the first and third singular and third plural of the past future; in chifsi and its compounds, and fbbi 'I had,' fbbe 'he had,' fbbero INTRODUCTION § 3 'they had' Examples: credftti 'I believed,' attfnto 'attentive,' Iftto 'read,' potrfi 'I might,' avrfbbe 'he would have,' saprfbbero 'they would know.' e. The following are a few of the words which, although spelled alike, differ in meaning according as the e is close or open : accetta hatchet acc?tta/n7»/ accettare to accept dieltefrom dire to say ^%\\Afrom dare to give legge law Ifgge/r^;^ Ifggere to read mele apples m^le (mi^le) honey mente memory vci%Vi\A from mentire to lie "PQScaifrom pescare to fish p§sca peach peste footprints p^ste pest sete thirst s^te (si?te) you are iBVDA/rom temere to fear t?ma theme / is Close {Lat. u, o > It. o) — 1. In the endings -oce, -doio, -solo, -toio, -one -o -a, -ore -a, -080 (in adjectives). Examples : feroce ' ferocious,' corridoio 'corridor,' vassoio 'tray,' scrittoio 'writing-desk,' portone 'great gate,' padrona 'mistress,' imperatore 'emperor,' stiratora 'laun- dress,' glorioso 'glorious,' sontuoso 'sumptuous.' 2. Before r + 1, m, n, r, s; before m or n 4- any consonant except 8 ; and before 1 -f c, f , p, 8, or t {except in the inflections of C9gliere ' to pluck,' 8ci9gliere ' to loosen,' t^gliere ' to take away,' V9lgere 'to turn': C9lto, 8ci9l8i, t9l8e, V9lta, etc.). Exam- ples: orlo 'margin,' forma 'form,' forao 'oven,' torre 'tower,' torso 'torso,' Orsola 'Ursula,' ombra 'shadow,' compra 'buys,' gondola 'gondola,' tronco 'trunk,' contro 'against,' monte 'moun- tain,' biondo 'blonde,' bronzo 'bronze,' oppongo 'I oppose,' 80lco 'furrow,' dolce 'sweet,' golfo 'gulf,' volpe 'fox,' colto 'cultivated.' 3. In past absolutes and past participles in -08i, -oso (except espl9so, espl9si), -osto, -otto. Examples: na8C08i 'I hid,' roso 'gnawed,' opposto 'opposed,' rotto 'broken.' S §3 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 4. In the pronouns lo 'him,' loro 'their,' colore, costoro, 'they,' ogni 'every'; in the numerals dodici 'twelve,' quattordici 'four- teen,'; in molto 'much'; in the prepositions and conjunctions come 'like,' dopo 'after,' dove 'where,' oltre 'beyond,' sopra 'over,' sotto 'under'; in the negative non ; and in the past subjunctive of fssere 'to be': fossi 'I might be' etc. g. O is Open {Lat. 6, au > It. ug, 9) — 1. After u, and in words from which a preceding u has been dropped. Examples: fugco 'fire,' n9vo (for nugvo) 'new.' Cf./, i. 2. In monosyllables and oxytones ending in 0, except lo. Ex- amples : ci$ 'that,' and$ 'he went,' far^ 'I shall do,' Pg the river, d9 ' I give.' 3. When followed by a vowel (except in noi, vol, and the endings -doio, -soio, -toio). Examples : Savgia ' Savoy,' n^ia ' annoyance," erge ' hero,' Balbga, tugi ' thy.' 4. Before b, d (except coda 'tail,' dSdici * twelve,' rodo 'I gnaw'), f , ns, -cchi-, -rchi-. Examples : rgba ' things,' ggbbo ' hunchback,' brgdo 'broth,' stgffa 'goods,' respgnso 'response,' gingcchio 'knee,' rimgrchio 'towing.' 5. When accented in the antepenult before a single t or s, or any double consonant except m or r. Examples: esgtico 'exotic,' propgsito 'resolution,' zgccolo 'wooden shoe,' sgffoca 'suffocates,' vigttola 'lane.' 6. In the endings -gccio, -9I0, -gntico, -910, -gtto (except past participles, cf. /, 3), -9220. Examples : carrgccio ' cart,' Tirglo 'Tyrol,' anacregntico 'Anacreontic,' igngto 'unknown,' aquilgtto 'eaglet,' bgzzo 'sketch.' 7. In the adverbs 9ggi 'to-day,' P9C0 'little,' talvglta 'some- times,' tgsto 'soon,' trgppo *too much'; the conjunctions per$ 'however,' perci^ 'on this account,' etc.; the negative ng 'no'; and the numerals ngno 'ninth,' ngve 'nine.' 8. In past absolutes in -gssi, -glsi. Examples: mgssi 'I moved,' sciglse 'he loosened.' 6 INTRODUCTION §4 h. Some of the words which, although spelled alike, dif- fer in meaning according as the o is close or open : Close Open cggli contracted prep, with the CQgliyh?^ CQgliere to pluck cpUo co7itracted prep, with the cqUo neck iqsst from fssere to be fgsse ditches i()S2ifrom rodere to gnaw rgsa rose tprre tower tgrre (tggliere) to take away tQsco Tuscan {poetic) tgsco poison vplgo ignorant class yqlgo from vQlgere to turn volto face ifs^itofrom vglgere to turn 4. Semivowels and Diphthongs. Any two vowels pro- nounced as one syllable constitute a diphthong. The vow- els i and u before another vowel are usually pronounced respectively y and w, and are then called semivowels. (See below, 4, d) Diphthongs are of two kinds : a. Risi7ig diphthongs, in which a "weak*' vowel (i or u) precedes a "strong" vowel (e, 0, or a) and the strong is stressed. Examples : li^o 'joyous,' fu^co 'fire,' guard! 'look,' u^mo 'man,' ieri 'yesterday,* qui. h. Falling diphthongs, in which a strong vowel precedes a weak, and still receives the stress. Examples : noi 'we,' poich^ 'since,' £ur9pa 'Europe,' Laura. I. When two weak vowels combine, the second usually takes the stress. Examples: guida * guide,' %\U *down.' c. Triphthongs. A strong vowel between two weak ones, or a weak between two strong, may form a triphthong, which :s really two diphthongs in one, a rising and a falling. Examples : miei *my,' su^i *his,' studioi 'I studied,' be8tiu9la 'small creature.' §§4-5 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR I . Four or even five vowels may be contiguous, and pronounced together ; but usually the first of these stands after g or c merely to give it a special sound (cf. 5, fl), and so only three, or four, are heard. Examples: gioif Ho 'jewel,' merciaio 'dry-goods merchant,' bagagliaio 'baggage room,' Acciaiuglo. d. In many v^ords, often compound or derivative, i and u are not semivowels but are pronounced as a separate sylla- ble. In such case the combination is not a diphthong. Examples: spi-a *spy,' spi-are 'to spy,' signori-a 'lordship,' obli-o 'oblivion,' ri-fsco 'I succeed,' ri-uscire 'to succeed,' pi- U9I0 'rung,' tri-^nfo 'triumph,' vi-aggio 'journey,' sontu-oso 'sumptuous,' ambigu-o 'ambiguous.' 6. Consonant Sounds, a. The following consonant sounds occur in Italian, all of them being pronounced more explo- sively than in English, except when standing alone between two vowels. b, as in English. c, cc, (hard) before a, 0, u, = k'. caro 'dear,* con 'with,' cura 'care.* C, cc, (soft) before i or e, — ch: Cina ' China,' Cfntro 'center.' ch (used only before i or e), = ^ : chi * who.'* ' che 'which.' ci before another vowel, = ch : ci§co ' blind,' ciuco ' donkey,' provinci^ ' province.' d, t, pronounced with tip of tongue farther forward than in English. f, as in English. g (hard) before a, 0, u, = '^o' : B?lga ' Belgian,' gpla ' throat,' laguna 'lagoon.' g, gg, (soft) before i or e, = '^in ' : g?nte ' people,' gita ' excursion.' gh (used only before i or e), = '^o' : aghi ' needles,' botteghe * shops.' gi before another vowel, = '^in' : mangiare 'to eat,' Giovanni 'John,' giudice 'judge.' gl^before i, = ' mi///on ' : gli ' to him,' figli ' sons.' (But cf. 6, c.) <^glf' before another vowel, = ' mi///on ' : glie ' to her,' Baglipni, Pagliacci. gn, = ' canyon ' : Bologna, h, silent. 8 INTRODUCTION § 5 1 and n, pronounced with the tongue a little nearer the front teeth than in English. m, p, q, as in English. n before the hard sound of c or g or q, = ng\ franco * franc,' fungo 'mushroom,' cinque 'five.' r, always rolled, especially when double. s, = 'jir': se 'if,' sprone 'spur.' 8, = *roje': r^sa 'rose,' smeraldo 'emerald,' sbaglio 'mistake.' sc before i or e, = sh : scimmia ' monkey,' conoscere 'to be acquainted with.' sci before another vowel, = sh : scii 'shah,' liscio 'smooth,' sci^nza * science.' V, as in English. z, = ts\ conversazipne 'conversation,' pazzo 'mad.' z, =^ dz: mfzzo 'half,' dozzina 'dozen,' z^ro 'zero.' h. Double Consonants. Double consonants must be pro-^ nounced double, but without hiatus. Few single words (such as unnatural, tailless) present this phenomenon in English ; but it is easily illustrated by combinations of two words, such as mad dog, big gun, a mile long, room-mate, pine, knot, etc. Pronounce on this principle b^llo * beautiful,' tfrra 'earth,' Boccaccio, mgsso 'moved.' Note that cci and ggi sound not as c-ci and g-gi but as t-ci and d-gi ; similarly cc and gg before e. Also that zz, zz, sound like z, z, not doubled. This distinction between the single and double consonant should be carefully observed, as there are many words whose meaning, when spoken, would otherwise be mistaken. The following are some of these : aringa herring arringa harangue baco silkworm Bacco Bacchus b?la baa bf 11a beautiful . camino hearth cammino road canone large dog cann9ne cannon §5 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR casa house cassa money-chest C9pia plenty cQppia couple dita fingers ditta firm Ino I no inno hymn Luca Luke Lucca the city nQno ninth nQnno grandfather risa laughter rissa quarrel sonetto sonnet sonnetto nap Tracia Thrace traccia trace vano vain vanno they go 1. Similarly, 1, m, n, r, in an accented syllable before another consonant, are prolonged, and pronounced as if double. Examples : altro (all-tro) 'other,' quando (quann-do) 'when,' Dante (dann-te), novfmbre (novemm-bre) 'November,' pgrta (porr-ta) 'door,' anche (ang-che) 'also,' pongo (pong-go) 'I put,' stance (stang-co) 'tired/ propinquo (proping-quo) 'near/ 2. Special Doublings. A word ending in an accented vowel, or a monosyllable ending in a vowel, has in pronunciation the effect of doubling the initial consonant of the following word. Thus Si, Signora 'Yes, madam,' is actually pronounced sissignora ; ma chf 1 'what ! ' is pronounced macch^ ; va bfne 'all right,' vabbfne ; etc. a. When compounds are made of words in such groups, the spelling follows the pronunciation. Examples: piii 'more' and t9sto 'soon' combine in piutt9sto 'rather'; chi 'who,' che 'that,' and sia 'be,' in chicchessia 'whoever.' h. The following words, although not accented on the last syllable, double the initial consonant of the following word: come 'how,' dove 'where,' qualche 'some,' sopra 'upon.' Exam- ples: comemmai (come mai) 'how in the world,' dovewa? (dove va)' where does he go?' qualchew9lta (qualche volta) 'sometimes,' and the compound soprattutto (sopra tutto) 'above all' c. The words dio, dfa, dfi, dfe, 'god' and * goddess,' singular and plural, double their initial consonant after any word ending in a vowel, as bfUaddfa (bella dea) ' beautiful goddess.' lo INTRODUCTION § 5 d. Doubling does not take place where there is any break in the sense between the two words ; after a conjunctive pronoun object (cf. 94), because, being proclitic, it never takes the accent ; or after a word ending with an apostrophe, as sta* quif to ' be quiet,' unless the succeeding word be a conjunctive pronoun (see below). e. But when the conjunctive object follows a form of the verb which is accented on the last syllable, even with the apostrophe, its initial consonant is doubled (cf. 100, ft). Examples: parl9mmi (parld mi) 'he spoke to me,' dUle (di» le) *tell her,' faUo (fa» lo) 'do it.' c. Gli keeps the hard sound of g when preceded by n, as ganglio 'ganglion,' and in the words geroglifico 'hieroglyphic,' glicerina 'glycerine,' negligfnte 'negligent,' and a few others. indico, Imitor > imito or imito, conjuro > congiuro. 14. The syllable that receives the tonic accent is usually a few tones higher in pitch than the others, particularly in the important i6 INTRODUCTION 14-15 word of the sentence. The failure to observe this difference will make even well-pronounced Italian sound foreign. Sometimes, as in calling to a distant person, the tonic accent will be an octave above : Su, Corr^do, Vieni a veder che Dio per grazia volse. (Oh, Corrado, come and see what God has willed !) In exclamations, or in questions expressing amazement or in- credulity, and to some extent in all speech, the whole sentence takes a kind of tonic accent. This falls sometimes on the first syl- lable of the sentence. A comparison of the sentences ^^Are you going to-day ? " "Are you going to-day ? " "Are you going to- day ? " will illustrate this, but in Italian such variety is not reserved exclusively for particular rhetorical effects. English as spoken in England presents a closer analogy than American speech to this peculiarity of Italian. 15. Many words are distinguished in meaning from their homonyms only by the tonic accent. The following are a few of these : ancora still capitano captain com^lto from compire to fulfill Cupido Cupid imparl /r^w imparare to learn pagano pagan perdono pardon principi beginnings, principles nibino ruby ancora anchor capitano /r^/« capitate to fall compito task cupido eager imparl uneven •psigdino from pagare to pay p|rdono/r(j7/« perdere to lose principi princes mhivLofrom rubare to rob 17 § 16-17 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR V. Words for Practice in Pronunciation 16. For practice on the consonants : pazzo svisceratezza sgattigliare santo scianto ella lascio sguaglianza macchia Brescia sonno giungeva Gugli^lmo stortigliatura montagna glauche flgscio stagno sf9glia negli sragionevole staiuQlo scr9scio somigliano segni fatto bagagli 9Cchio v^cchio malizia somiglianza chicche sgagliardare ingegno lu9ghi sci9gliere curiosa guai srugginire svolazzatoio alio lusinghi^ro ghiacciai sf^rza lasciare pi9ggia secco azzurro scricchiolare slanciamento sdraiare sfilacciatura sfregiare svogliatamente s^ccia accostandoglisi attesa Russia uscio sceglie secche sbirracchi9lo figli9ccia gloriose gin9cchi sloggiare secchita chiacchierare sfregacciare bianche smemorataccio sassoso tedeschi r9ccia stovigliaio villaggio dramma disse sci^nte svegliamento gl9ria scheggetta qualche scusa sghimb^scio smagio bisbiglio sguardo scrlcchiolano tacque stanche giudizio gigli z^ro vizio fertilizzare 7. For practice on close and open vowels : allora Londra Siena dolce forestiere settembre elemosina parente solenne senza bronzo borchia luogo legno togliere buono rotondo dormitorio Maremma moda membro deplora inchiostro donna fuori prendo Orfeo femmina milanese colmo contento insolenza i8 INTRODUCTION §§ 17-20 cielo nocciolo Raffaello Po silenzio piega ecco Pietro talvolta penitenza ponte Spezzia allegrezza faticoso chieso atteso VI. Graphic Accents 18. Three graphic accents are used in Italian; the grave (^), the most common ; the circumflex (^), used in a few cases; and the acute (^), which is rare in Itahan. 19. The grave accent is used — a. On final accented vowels of words of more than one syllable. Examples: virtu 'virtue,' cittk 'city.' h. On final vowels of monosyllables to indicate a diphthong. ExAxMPLES: pu9 'he can,' piu 'more.' c. On the truncated forms (cf. 31, a ; 48, c) of the poetic past absolutes in -aro, -iro, -ero, to distinguish them from the truncated infinitives of the same verbs. Thus, am^r = amaro (amarono), not amare. d. On monosyllables that have been combined with some other word or prefix, in order to keep the tonic accent in the same place. Examples: fa 'makes,' rifk 'remakes'; re *king,' vicer^ 'viceroy.' e. On certain monosyllables in common use, to distinguish them from others identical in spelling but of different meaning. Ik, li, there nh neither s^ himself si so, yes t| tea 20. The circumflex is used on certain shortened forms such as torre (t9gliere) 'to take away,' and often over final i when it represents ii. Example: desidfrio 'desire,'//, desi- dfrt (vn-itten also desid^rii, desid^rj). 19 Che that ch^ because la, li, articles da from da gives ne of it, of them di of di day se if e and lis si himself fe' he did f^ faith te thee §§ 21-24 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 21. The acute accent is used — a. To indicate that a certain word with close e or o is meant, and not its homonym with open vowel; as t6sco, indicating the poetic word for Tuscan, instead of tgsco 'poison.' 6. In poetry, when the tonic accent is altered to suit the rhythm. c. In dictionaries it serves to indicate the close vowels, and the grave the open. d. The tendency is increasing among grammarians to encour- age the use of the acute accent over final i and u, and final close e and o, when these are accented. VII. Elision 22. Elision is the omission of the final vowel of one word before the initial vowel of the following word. It takes place only between two words closely bound together in sense, as verb and subject or object, preposition and object, adjective or article and noun ; and any pause or punctuation mark prevents its use. It is indicated by the apostrophe. Examples : r ugmo 'the man,' neir aria *in the air,' tutt' altro (cf. 8). It may occur in the following cases, but is most usual with the articles. 23. In the articles lo, la, gli, le, alone or when contracted with prepositions (cf, 75). Gli is elided only before i; le only before e, and then not if the word is unchanged in the plural. Examples: 1(o)' amico 'the friend,' 1(a)' anima 'the soul,' dell(o)' amore 'of love,' all(a)' arnica 'to the friend* (f.), 1(e)' frbe 'the herbs,' gl(i)' Inglesi 'the English,' le etk 'the ages,* gli ugmini 'the men.' 24. In the singular feminine form of the indefinite article: uii(a)' ora 'an hour.' 20 INTRODUCTION §§ 25-28 25. In the pronoun objects mi, ti, si, vi, ne, lo ; and ci before 1 or e. Examples : m' abltuo ' I accustom myself,* t' insegna *he teaches thee,' s' intfnde 'that is understood,* n' ha parlato *he has spoken of it,' 1' aspftto *I await him,* c' imita 'he imitates us,' c' frano 'there were.' 26. In the pronouns ogni, questo, quelle, codes to, altro, nulla, ni^nte ; the adverbs p9co, tanto, quanto ; the prepositions di, da, oltre, prfsso, and sfnza, in certain adverbial expressions ; the adjectives santo, bfllo, and bu9no, when immediately followed by their substantives ; the conjunctions anche, che, dove, onde, come, and se before e ; and the numerals secondo, tfrzo, quarto, quattro, cinque, dfcimo, etc., venti, trenta, c^nto, mille, mfzzo. Examples : ogn' altro ' every other,' quest' animale ' this animal,* quell* amico *that friend,' codest' U9mo *that man,* altr* ifri 'day before yesterday,' null' U9mo ' no man,' nif nt' affatto ' nothing at all,' p9c' altro 'little else,' tant' 6 'so it is,' quant' 9ro 'how much gold,' tazza d(i)' acqua ' cup of water,' oltr' Amo ' beyond the Amo,' prfss' a P9C0 'nearabout,' sfnz' altro 'without delay,' d(a)' allora ' from then,' Sant' Orsola ' Saint Ursula,' bfU' aria ' beautiful air,' bu9n'anima 'good soul,' dov'^ 'where is itP'anch'io 'I too,' com' 6 'how is it?' ond' and$ 'whence he went,' ch' hanno 'that they have,* s' I vero 'if it is true,' second' anno ' second year,' tfrz' ultimo ' third from the last,' quattr' arance ' four oranges,' vent' anni ' twenty years,' mill' anni 'a thousand years,' mfzz' ora 'a half-hour.' 27. In the first and third persons singular of verbs before a pronoun subject, and in the third person singular of the past future before a word beginning with e. Examples : diss' io 'said I,' die' egli 'says he,' potrfbb' fssere 'it might be.' 28. In the following contracted forms : 9? for bX to the m9'^rm9do manner h%* for b^ne well n^* for nei in the 21 §§28-30 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR CQ*/orcQi with the pe'y^r pei for the da'/^rdai from the . pQ*/^rp9co little de'/^rdei of the prg'/^rprQde brave di'y»rdici say que' >r quel those e*/orei he sn* for sui on the fe'>rfece hedid t§»>rti§ni hold fra'y^rfrai among the tQ* for tqgli takeaway gna'yyr guarda look tra.* for tmi among the ma'y27rmali evils ve'y^rvedi see m?»yijrm?glio better yq* for YQglio I will Note. All these contractions are used in speech with the greatest frequency, but their use in the written language depends upon the discretion and taste of the author. The forms be', di', gua', te', are Tuscan popular forms; ma', me', pro', are poetic forms; the others are admissible in prose. VIII. Apocopation 29. Apocopation (troncamento) is the dropping of the final unaccented vowel or sometimes syllable of a word under cer- tain conditions, as amor for amore, val for valle, caval for cavallo. 30. It takes place only under the following conditions : a. In a word of more than one syllable, not accented on the last. b. When the final vowel (as a rule not a, of. 32) is immediately preceded by 1, n, r, rarely m. c. When the word to be apocopated is not followed by one begin- ning with two consonants or (generally speaking) a vowel, and is not (in prose) a plural substantive. d. When the two words are closely bound together without pause or break in the sense. Examples : andar(e) via ' to go away,* n9bil(e) d9nna * noble lady,' bfn(e) fatto *well done,' ci 8iam(o) tutti 'we are all here,' caval(lo) di battaglia *war horse,' un(o) bfl(lo) giorno 'a fine day.' 22 INTRODUCTION §§ 31-32 31. Words regularly apocopated are — a. Those ending in -le, -lo, -llo, -ano, -eno, -ino, -ono, -nno, -ne, -re, -^ro. Examples: cattedral(e) 'cathedral,' vu9l(e) 'he will,' figliu9l(o) 'son,' ca8tfl(lo) 'castle,' man(o) 'hand,' fren(o) 'check,' fin(o) 'till,' fan(no) 'they do,' diran(no) 'they will say,' bu9n(o) 'good,' vi9n(e) 'comes,' mar(e) 'sea,' par(e) 'appears,' pensi9r(o) 'thought.' b. The words U9m(o) 'man,' in8i9m(e) 'together,' un(o) 'one' and its compounds, doinan(i) 'to-morrow/ fu9r(i) 'outside,' i9r(i) 'yesterday,' p9ver(o) (only before a vowel) 'poor,' par(o) 'pair'; the first person plural of verbs in -mo (not -mmo), as sarem 'we shall be,' andavam 'we were going'; and the third person plural in -ro, as 8fpper(o) 'they knew,' potrfbber(o) 'they might,' f688er(o) 'they would be.' c. Titles before proper names, or one proper name before another. Examples: dottor(e) Ant9nio 'Doctor Anthony,' 8i- gnor(e) Bondi ' Mr. Bondi,' Giovan(iii) Battista ' John the Baptist,' Val(le) di Chiana 'Valley of the Chiana,' Ant9n(io) Piftro 'Anthony Peter,' Pi9r(o) Ant9nio 'Peter Anthony.' d. In poetry : plurals in -ni, -ri ; nouns in -iro, -oro, nouns and adjectives in -aro, -uro, and adjectives in -ero; parqle sdrucciole in -re; and van(o) 'vain,' 8an(o) 'sane,' ver(o) 'true,' color(o), costor(o), 'those.' Examples: can(i) 'dogs,' pen8i9r(i) 'thoughts,' acciar(o) ' steel,' 8icur(o) 'sure,' dur(o) 'hard,' gir(o) 'circle,' lavor(o) 'labor,' fi9r(o) 'proud.' 32. Irregular apocopations are or (a) 'hour' and its com- pounds, 8U9r(a) 'Sister' (a nun), fra(te) 'Brother' (a friar), 801(a) 'only,' 8an(to) 'Saint,' and gran(de) 'large' (of. 85). Ex- amples : or ora 'just now,' finor 'until now,' 8U9r Maria 'Sister Mary,' fra Gir^lamo 'Brother Jerome,' una sol V9lta 'just once,' 8an Luigi 'Saint Louis,' gran caso 'important circum- stance.' 23 §§33-37 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 33. Apocopation does not affect the tonic accent. As it may be used in poetry before a pause or at the end of a line, apocopation provides "masculine endings" which other- wise could scarcely occur in Italian verse. IX. Variant Forms of Words 34. For a good many words there are two different, equally correct forms, though one will be generally pre- ferred, and the other often confined in its use to Tuscany.. Compare English crawfish^ crayfish ; toward, towards ; spe- cialy especial. Among such variable words are — altfro, altifro, 'haughty'; angelo, angiolo, * angel'; castigo, gas- tigo, * punishment'; ceppo, cippo, 'log'; cili^gia, cirifgia, 'cherry'; crgnaca, cr9nica, 'chronicle'; decfmbre, dicfmbre, 'December'; denaro, danaro, 'money'; domani, dimani, 'to-morrow'; foresti^re, foresti^ro, 'foreigner'; native, natio, 'native'; n§rvo, nfrbo, 'nerve'; nugvo, n9vo, 'new'; Pancrazio, Brancazio, 'Pancras'; pellegrino, peregrine, 'pilgrim'; rinunziare, rinunciare, 'to renounce'; riva, ripa, *bank'; scirgcco, sirgcco, 'sirocco.' In addition to such sporadic divergences, there are certain principles of variation, as follows : 35. Apheresis. The first syllable is sometimes dropped, as in evangflo, vangflo, * gospel'; arfna, rfna, 'sand.' 36. Syncope. The middle syllable is sometimes dropped. Examples : $pera, 9pra, ' work ' ; anderg, andrj, ' I shall go ^ ; t9gliere, t9rre, *to take away'; onorevole, orrevole, 'honorable.* 37. Apocope. The last syllable may be dropped, as in fede, f^, * faith'; pi^de, pif, 'foot'; umiltade, umiltli, 'humility'; su and gid 'up' and 'down' for suso and giuso (now current 24 INTRODUCTION §§ 37-42 only in poetry) ; and (in poetry only) amaro, finiro, temero (cf . 48, c), etc., for amarono, finirono, temerono, 'they loved,' 'they finished,' 'they feared.' 38. Prefixion of /. When a word ending in a consonant is followed by one beginning with s impure (cf. 59, a, i), an i is prefixed to the latter to prevent the juxtaposition of too many consonants. This is more common in speaking than in writ- ing. Examples : in i-stiva 'in the hold,' per i-sch^rzo 'in jest.' 39. Conversely, the words a 'to,' e 'and,' o 'or,' and su 'on,' may become respectively ad, ed, od, sur before a word beginning with a vowel, especially if it is the same one. Examples: ad es^mpio 'for example,' ad Anna 'to Anna,' ed fbbe 'and he had,' o f^rro od gro 'either iron or gold,' sur una tavola 'on a table.* 40. Metathesis. Letters may be reversed, as in sucido for sudicio 'dirty.' X. Capitalization 41. Italian capitalization is in general governed according to the same rules as English, but presents the following differences of usage : 42. Capitals are usually omitted, contrary to English usage, a. From all but the first word of book titles, unless the title consist of but one word and that a noun. Examples : Alcune re- lazioni del F9SC0I0 con la letteratura tedesca * Certain Relations between Foscolo and German Literature,' II Santo *The Saint.' h. From proper adjectives, sometimes even used substantively. Examples : 11 p^polo toscano ' the Tuscan people,' le gufrre napo- le9niche ' the Napoleonic wars,' il linguaggio manzoniano ' the lan- guage of Manz9ni,' i Tedeschi ' the Germans.' 25 §§42-47 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR c. From titles, when followed by a proper name. Examples : don Carlo ' Don Carlos,' dottor Antgnio ' Doctor Anthony,' il prin- cipe Umbfrto 'Prince Humbert,' il signor Martini 'Mr. Martini.' d. From the names of the days and the months. Examples : venerdi 'Friday,' luglio 'July.' e. In most contemporary poetry, from the first word of each line, unless the rules of prose would call for it. Note. Usage in Italian books will often be found to vary consider- ably from these rules, which have, however, the support of the best authorities. 43. Capitals are used, though not invariably, for the more formal pronoun of address which is borrowed from the third person (cf. 65, a). Examples : L§i, Ella, Loro 'you' (singular and plural), Suo 'your,' Le 'to you.' XI. Archaic and Poetic Forms' 44. In Italian poetry and old Italian occur many forms unfamiliar to the student of modern Italian prose. The following are the most important of such variations : 45. In general, open e and o often replace respectively ie and uo : t§n for tif ne, Igco for luggo, etc. ; and e is often added to a final vowel, as in |e for |, tue for tu, etc. 46. Nouns. Nouns in -alio, -§llo, often form their plural in -ai, -agli, -fi, -§gli : cavallo, pi. cavai, cavagli ; fratfUo, // fratfi, fratfgli. 47. Pronouns. The forms mel, tel, sel, etc. are very com. mon substitutes for me lo, te lo, se lo, etc. ; men, ten, etc., foi me ne, te ne, etc.; and nol for non I9. 26 INTRODUCTION §§ 48-49 48. Verb-Endings in Particular Tenses. a. Present Indicative : in the first person plural, -i^mo, -fmo, -imo, for -iamo. h. Past Descriptive : in the first and third persons singular of the second and third conjugations, v is often dropped : temea for temeva, seguia for seguiva. c. Past Absolute: in the third singular, temeo, finio, for tem^, fini; in the third plural, trovaro, trovar, trovamo, trovorono, trovonno, for trovarono ; colpiro, colpir, colpinno, for colpirono ; temero, temer, temenno, for temerono. d. Future : in the first person singular, -aggio, -abbo, for -o ; in the third plural, -aggiono, -abbono, for -anno: troveraggio, troverabbo, for trover^ ; finiraggiono, finirabbono, for finiranno, etc. e. Past Future : in the first and third singular, -ia for -f i, -§bbe ; troveria for troverfi, troverfbbe, etc. ; in the third plural, -iano, -fbbono, for -fbbero: finiriano, finirfbbono, for finirfbbero, etc. /. Present Subjunctive : in the singular, e for i in the first con- jugation, i for a in the second and third : trgve, finischi, temi, for trgvi, finisca, tema. g. Past Subjunctive: in the first person singular, e for i: trovasse, finisse, temesse, for trovassi, finissi, temessi. In the third plural, -assino, -asseno, -assono, for -assero ; -essino, -fsseno, -essono, for -essero ; and -issino, -isseno, -issono for -issero : trovassino etc., finissino etc., temessino etc. h. Past Participle : in the first conjugation -at- is omitted, leav- ing such forms as acconcio for acconciato, carico for caricato. 49. Special Forms of Particular Verbs : a. Avere : aggio, abbo, avo, aio, for h^ ; aggia, aia, for abbia ; fi, fbbimo, for ^bbi, avemmo ; ar$ etc. for avr$ etc., and similar forms in the conditional. h. Dare ; di| for difde ; dif r, dif ro, difrono, for difdero. 27 §§49-51 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR c. Dovere : present indicative dfo, d§i, dfe, dovemo, dovete, df ono or d§nno. d. Essere: eramo, erate, for eravamo, eravate; sfm, sfte, for siamo, sifte ; fnno, §n, for sono (pi); sie, sieno, for sia, siano ; u for in the past absolute and past subjunctive ; furo, foro, for furono, and fue for fu ; fia, fiano or fieno, for sara, saranno ; fora, forano, for sar§i, sarfbbe, sarf bbero ; s^ndo for essf ndc ; suto, essuto, issuto, for stato. e. Fare : faci, face, for fai, fa ; a past descriptive fea etc. ; a past absolute fei, festi, f^ or feo, femmo, feste, ferono, fer, fenno. /. Potere : a past future poria etc. ; pu^te, p9nno, for pu?, p^ssono. g. Volere : vu9gli or vu^li for vugi ; V9lsi, V9lse, v9l8ero, for v9lli, voile, v9llero. XII. Versification 50. Italian versification is reckoned not in feet but in syllables. These are grouped and divided by the '' rhyth- mic accent," v^hich falls at least twice in every line, on the penultimate syllable and at least one other. Nel m^zzo del cammin di n9Stra vita. 51. An Italian verse or line, like an Italian word, is either piano, trgnco, or sdrucciolo, according as the closing accent falls on the penultimate, ultimate, or antepenultimate syllable. But all lines are counted as piani, since if represented in musical notation the time would be the same ; that is, the accented ultimate of a verso trqnco would equal the two syllables of a v^rso piano, while the last two short syllables of a verso sdrucciolo would be no longer than the final un- accented one of a verso piano. For example, in the following stanza each line is counted as having seven syllables : 28 INTRODUCTION §§ 51-54 Tu che, da tanti sf coli, S9ffri, combatti e pr?ghi ; Che le tue t^nde spi^ghi Dair uno all' altro mar. 52. Elision always occurs when a word ending in a vowel is followed by a word beginning with one, and the two syllables are counted, not pronounced, as one. There are two in the above selection, combattz e and uno all', and it would be difficult to find a stanza in which there was no example of elision. 53. Diphthongs are counted as two syllables at the end of a verse, and usually as one in the middle. But those which begin with i are often, and others sometimes, counted as two in the middle of a verse, and are then marked with a diaeresis. Di tal sup^rbia qui si paga il fio. Se bugna orazion lui non aita. a. Triphthongs are counted usually as one syllable. E come gia s^i de' mi§i rari amici. 54. Number of Syllables. Italian verses are classified as either even-numbered (parisillabi) or odd-numbered (imparisil- labi) according as the number of syllables is even or odd. The parisillabi are often tronchi but rarely sdruccioli ; the imparisillabi may be either. There are four varieties of each : a. Parisillabi: The four-syllabled verse (quaternario) and the eight-syllabled (ottonario) give the effect of trochaic meter. Bf n ^ ver, quando | giocpndo Ride il mpndo, Ride il cif 1 quando "k gioioso ; B?n \ ver ; ma ngn san pgi Cpme vpi Fare un riso grazipso. 29 §54 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 1 . The six-syllabled verse (senario) is amphibrachic : Stringiamci a coorte, Siam pronti alia mgrte : Italia chiam^ ! 2. The ten-syllabled verse (decasillabo) is anapaestic: Oh gi ornate del ngstro riscatto ! Oh dol^nte per sfmpre colui Che da lunge, dal labbro d' altrui, Come un ugmo strani^ro, le udr^. b. Imparisillabi : 1 . The seven-syllabled (settenario) and eleven-syllabled (endeca- sillabo) verses are the most employed of all : the latter is iambic in effect; the former, either iambic or anapaestic. The two are often combined : Non ^ questo un morire, Immortal Margherita, Ma un passar anzi t§mpo a V altra vita. Benigne stelle che compagne ferse Al fortunato fianco Quando '1 bel parto gili nel mondo sc6rse ! 2. The endecasillabo, or heroic measure (vfrso er9ico), when tronco, corresponds exactly to a line of English blank verse ; when normally J>mno, to one of feminine ending. It may also be sdrucciolo. O fQlle Aragne, si vedea io te Gik m^zza aragna, trista in su gli stracci Deir 9pera che mal per te si fe'. Innanzi assai ch' all' gpra inconsumabile Fosse la g§nte di Nembrot att^nta. 3. The five-syllabled verse (quinario), when accented on the first syllable, gives the effect of a dactyl plus a spondee; when 30 INTRODUCTION §§ 54-57 accented on the second, of an iamb plus an amphibrach. It is sometimes combined with the endecasillabo. Oh beir andare Per barca in mare Vf rso la sera Di primavf ra ! Chi^ser merce de 1' alta st?rpe e de la Gloria di Roma. 4. The nine-syllabled verse (novenario) is variously accented, but never very effective or musical. Fu spQsa, fu madre felice. Quel rubino ch' \ il mio tesgro. A duro stral di ria ventura. 55. Rhyme. The rhyme-word is piano or tronco, rarely sdrucciolo. Close and open vowels may rhyme with each other, and the voiced and unvoiced s and s ; but not z and z. The same word may be used as rhyme-word, if taken in a different meaning. Thus chifsa may rhyme with impresa, r9sa with gloriosa, pure 'pure' with pure 'however,' but not mfzza with tenerezza. 56. Blank Verse is written in unrhymed endecasillabiy and is called vfrso sci9lto. 57. Strophes. Strophes are formed of lines combined in a certain pattern. They are often grouped in pairs, their final verses rhyming on a word that is tronco, which makes a ringing sonorous effect among the more numerous feminine endings. The following are the commoner forms of strophe : T^rza rima, the measure of the '' Divina Comm^dia," is made up of endecasillabi grouped in threes, and rhyming aba bcb cdc. The quartina consists of four lines rhyming abab or abba. .31 §57 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR The sestina consists of six lines, rhyming abbacc or ababcc. Ottava rima consists of eight endecasillabi, rhyming abababcc. The sonnet is the sonnet of English poetry, composed of endecasillabi. The octave must have but two rhyme-sounds, rhyming either abba on the Petrarcan or abab on the Shake- spearean model. The Petrarcan strophe is an extremely complicated arrangement of endecasillabi and settenari, in usually from nine to twenty lines. It is divided into two parts : the first, of six or eight lines, with intricate rhyme-scheme; the second an arrangement of tercets and couplets, connected with the first by a line (called the chiave, 'key') which rhymes with the one preceding it. The old sestina is a form composed of six stanzas of six lines each, and a seventh stanza of three lines. These are unrhymed, but the end words of the first stanza are repeated in all the others, after a fixed order, the last word in the first line of each stanza being identical with that of the last line of the one pre- ceding. The seventh stanza has one of these words at the end, and one in the middle, of each of its three lines. 3? LESSON I INDEFINITE ARTICLE 58. Indefinite Article. Masculine singular Feminine singular un una uno un' 59. Masculine, a. Un is used before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel, or with any consonant except 6 impure or z. Un padre A father Un ugmo A man I. The 8 impure is s followed by another consonant. h. Uno is used before a masculine noun beginning with 8 impure or z. Uno schi9ppo A gun Uno zio An uncle 60. Feminine. Una is used before a feminine noun beginning with a consonant. a. Una becomes un' before a vowel. Una madre A mother Un* ora An hour 61. The article in Italian, whether definite or indefinite, must be repeated before each noun. Un ragazzo e una ragazza A boy and girl 62-63 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 62. Interrogative sentences, a. The interrogative is com- monly expressed merely by the inflection of the voice and the use of the interrogation point. La dQnna parla a un ragazzo The woman speaks to a boy La d9iina parla a un ragazzo ? Does the woman speak to a boy ? b. The order may be inverted, the subject being thrown at the very end of the sentence. Parla a un ragazzo la dgnna ? Does the woman speak to a boy ? Torna a m^zzogiorno il padre ? Does the father return at noon ? I. * Do ' or * does,' used as auxiliary, does not exist in Italian. 63. Present Indicative of the Three Conjugations. ' I find,' ' am finding,' eU. ' I lose,' ' am losing,' eU. ' I understand,' etc. tTQvo troviamo p§rdo perdiamo trQvi trovate tr9va trgvano p^rdi perdete p^rde pfrdono capisco capiamo capisci capite capisee capiscono a. Subject pronouns are usually omitted, except when required for clearness or emphasis. VOCABULARY un bambino a child, little boy un libro a book un padre a father un panchetto a stool, footstool uno schigppo a gun uno scolare a pupil parlare speak tornare return finire finish rispondere reply f ceo here is, here are il the (m.) tutti all, everybody (pi. verb) una bambina a child, little girl una madre a mother una scuQla a school a, ad {cf. 39) to, at dice {fr. dire, irr^ %2i:^^ dicono (they) say dQpo after m^zzogiorno noon BuQn giorno ! Good morning ! Bugna sera ! Good evening ! e, ed {cf. 39) and la the {f) 34 INDEFINITE ARTICLE §63 EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson Buon giomo ! — dice un bambino. — Buon giomo ! — rispon- dono il padre e la madre. — Buon giomo ! — dicono tutti. II bambino toma a scuola e dice — Buon giomo ! — ad uno scolare. Dopo mezzogiomo tutti dicono — Buona sera I II I . Finisco ; toma ; perdiamo ; rispondete ; trovano ; capiscono ; finisci. 2. Ecco un libro ed un panchetto. 3. Ecco un bambino ed una bambina. 4. Finiamo un libro. 5, Parla ad uno scolare. 6. Risponde — Buona sera! 7. Un padre e una madre parlano. 8. Ecco uno scolare. 9. Uno scolare finisce un libro. 10. Tro- vate uno schioppo. 11. Perde un libro. 12. Rispondono un bam- bino e una bambina. Ill I. Here is a little girl. 2. Here are a book and a gun. 3. I finish, you (//.) understand ; thou repliest ; they lose, he speaks ; thou speakest, he understands, we are returning, we understand. 4. The mother speaks to a little boy. 5. They are replying " Good evening! " 6. A pupil is returning to school. 7. I lose a gun. 8. A mother and a little boy are speaking. 9. They are speaking to a pupil. 10. We are returning to school. 11. Are you finishing a book ? 12. The little girl finds the footstool 35 hg abbiamo hai avete ha hanno 64-65 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON II PRESENT OF AVERE AND ESSERE 64. Present Indicative of avere *have* and ^sere 'be.' I have, etc. I am, etc. spno siamo 8^1 si^te \ sono 65. Personal Pronouns, Nominative Forms (cf. 63, a). io I noi we tu thou vol you egli, ei, he eglino, oftener essi, they {in.) ella she elleno, oftener esse, they (/!) esso, essa, he, she, it essi, esse, they a. The third person is the one commonly used in address in Italian, to persons not members of one's family ; the sin- gular for one person, the plural for more than one. Ha finito il libro,? Have you {sg.) finished the book.? Hanno comprato la casa? Have you (//.) bought the house.? *i. The pronoun is the feminine Ella, or more familiarly Lfi (pi. Lore ; usually written with capitals), even when a man is addressed. It stands for some feminine noun like Vossignoria 'Your Lordship,' formerly used in respectful address. L^i \ ammalato, Signore .? Are you ill, sir "i b. The second singular is used to a member of one's family, to the Deity, to a small child, to a woman house- servant, or to animals. Its plural is vol. *c. The second plural is used to a manservant, a peasant, a cabman, or a porter; but in the south of Italy it is the form in general use except for especial formahty. 36 PRESENT OP^ A VERE AND ESSERE §§ 65-66 *d. The second person, singular or plural, is used by the author to his reader. e. In these exercises use the third person in address, unless it is indicated that the person spoken to is a small child or a member of the speaker's family. Bu9n giorno, Signore ! Come sta 1 Good morning, sir. How do you do? Hai il libro, Giovannino? Have you the book, Johnny? Mammina, vi?ni qua Mother, come here Tornano a m^zzogiorno, Signori ? Do you return at noon, gentiemen ? /. 'It is' with a personal pronoun ('It is I,' 'It is you,' etc.) is rendered by a form agreeing in person with the pronoun. E L^i ? Is it you ? S?i tu ? Is it thou ? Siamo noi It is we Chi \ la? Sono io Who is there? It is I 66. Omission of the Indefinite Article. The indefinite article is omitted in the predicate after fssere (and fare, diven- tare) before an unmodified noun of rank, profession, or nationality, except in answer to 'Who is he.-*' Chi \ questa signpra ? Who is this lady ? E una contessa She is a countess Questa signora \ contessa This lady is a countess Questo signore \ un mfdico in- This gentleman is an English glese physician Note. For the syntax of the indefinite article, cf. Lesson XXV. 37 66 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR VOCABULARY un Americano an American (w.) un' Americana an American {/.) un cognato a brother-in-law una cognata a sister-in-law una contessa a countess un frat^llo a brother un Italiano an Italian {m.) un' Italiana an Italian {/.) un professore a professor una signora a lady, a married woman Signora used in address una signorina a young lady, an unmarried woman Signorina used in address un signpre a gentleman Signore used in address » una soif 11a a sister uno zio an uncle una zia an aunt italiano Italian americano American di of questo this {before masc. noun) questa this {before fern, noun) ng no non not {precedes the verb) si yes chi? who? {cf 39) or amare love avere paura (di) be afraid (of^ portare carry preferire prefer temere fear EXERCISE I. Chi e questo signore? 2. £ un professore. 3. Ha una sorella? 4. No, ha un fratello e una cognata. 5. Finisce il libro, Signora ? 6. II bambino ha il padre, la madre, e uno zio. 7. II bambino e la bambina sono a scuola. 8. Siamo a scuola? 9. No, non siamo a scuola. 10. II signore e la signora amano il bambino. II. Tornano a mezzogiorno, Signore? No, non torniamo. 12. La bambina capisce. 13. £ Americana, Signorina? 14. No, non sono Americana, sono Italiana. 15. Ecco uno scolare. 16. Chi e ? Sono io. 17. Ecco un signore. £ professore? Si, e un professore americano. 18. Tutti parlano a questa bambina. 19. Preferiamo il libro. 20. Non hanno paura. 38 PLURAL OF NOUNS §§67-68 II I. Are you an Italian, Madam? 2. No, I am an American. 3. This little girl is afraid of a gun. 4. Are they at school ? 5. No, they are not at school. 6. Have you (//.) a brother? 7. No, we have a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law. 8. Are you speaking to a professor? 9. Yes, I am speaking to a professor. 10. Who is this lady? She is an Italian. 11. Is she a countess? 12. Yes, she is an Italian countess. 13. Does the professor prefer a gun or a book ? 1 4. The lady has an uncle. LESSON III PLURAL OF NOUNS 67. Plural of Nouns, a. Nouns ending in or e in the singular change or e to i in the plural. Un ragazzo, due ragazzi A boy, two boys Un inglese, di^ci inglesi An Englishman, ten Englishmen Una lezione, tre lezipni One lesson, three lessons b. Feminine nouns ending in a in the singular change a to e in the plural. Una fin^stra, n9ve fin^stre A window, nine windows I. Masculine nouns in a take i in the plural. Un socialista, quattro socialisti A socialist, four socialists Note. For full treatment of plural of nouns, see Lesson XXX. 68. Compound Tenses, a. The compound tenses of all transitive and some intransitive verbs are formed by means of avere (cf. 120). Certain others take fssere (cf. 96, 98). h. The past participle of verbs of the first conjugation ends in -ato, of the second in -uto, and of the third in -ito, 39 68-69 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR these terminations being substituted respectively for the in- finitive endings -are, -ere, and -ire. H9 finite il libro Abbiamo visitato la famiglia Hanno creduto la st9ria II padre | tornato I have finished the book We have visited the family They have believed the story The father has returned 69. Future Indicative of Model Verbs : ' I shall find,' etc. trover9 troveremo perder9 perderemo capir9 capiremo troverai troverete perderai perderete capirai capirete troverk troveranno perdera perderanno capirk capiranno VOCABULARY un bicchifre a glass aiutare help {takes a before in- un colt?llo a knife finitive) un cucchiaio {pi. cucchiai) a spoon apparecchiare set table una forchetta a fork consistere (in) consist (of) un piatto a plate, dish distfndere {irr, p. abs. and p.p.) una posata knife, fork, and spoon, spread a place at table mettere (/rr. p. abs. and p.p) put. una tavola a table put on una tovaglia a tablecloth prima di before {time) un uQmo {pi. ugmini) a man domani to-morrow ma but gggi to-day due two in in, into quattro four su {cf. 39) on EXERCISE I I. La Flora b una buona {good) bambina. 2. Aiuterk la mamma ad apparecchiare. 3. Apparecchia prima di mezzogiorno. 4. Do- mani torneranno due uomini e un bambino. 5. Distende la tova- glia, matte quattro piatti, quattro bicchieri, e quattro posate. 6. Una posata consiste in un coltello, una forchetta, e un cucchiaio. 7. Un 40 DEFINITE ARTICLE §§70-71 bambino e una bambina distenderanno la tovaglia. 8. Mettero uno schioppo sur una tavola. 9. Troveremo il libro prima di domani. 10. Bambini, apparecchierete a mezzogiorno. II I. One mother, two mothers; a glass, four glasses; a pupil, four pupils. 2. I shall understand, thou wilt put, they will reply, we shall return. 3. They will return to-morrow. 4. We shall set the table before noon. 5. Children, you will lay the cloth. 6. I shall put on four knives, two forks, two glasses, and one spoon. 7. Shall you return before to-morrow, sir? 8. Uncle, shall you bring a gun and a knife ? 9. They will return to school and finish the book, i o. Two men are speaking to a pupil. 1 1 . They have set the table, but we have lost two knives. 12. They will help Maria to find the fork. LESSON IV DEFINITE ARTICLE 70. The Definite Article. Forms : Masc. Sing. Masc. Plur. Fem. Sing. Fem. Plur. 11 i la le lo gli 71. Masculine, a. II, i, are used before masculine nouns beginning with any consonant except s impure, z, or gn. II l?tto, i l§tti The bed, the beds b. Lo, gli, are used before masculine nouns beginning with s impure, z, or gn. Lo Spagnu9lo, gli Spagnu9li The Spaniard, the Spaniards Lo zio, gli zii The uncle, the uncles Lo gn9cco, gli gn9cchi The dumpling, the dumplings 41 §§ 71-73 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR '' *i. For gli is often substituted li before words in which the syllable gli occurs. Lo scQglio, 11 sc9gli The reef, the reefs *2. For i is substituted gli before the plural of dio. II dio, gli d?i (cf. § 179, c) The god, the gods c. L', gli, are used before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel. ij' autpre, gli autori The author, the authors I. Gli becomes gl' when the vowel is i. L' imperatore, gl' imperatori The emperor, the emperors *d. The form li often occurs in dates. Li 8 dic^mbre The eighth of December 72. Feminine, a. La, le, are used before feminine nouns beginning with a consonant. La sfggiola, le sfggiole The chair, the chairs La stanza, le stanza The room, the rooms b. V, le, are used before feminine nouns beginning with a vowel. L* ora, le ore The hour, the hours I. Le becomes 1' when the vowel is e unless the plural is iden- tical with the singular. L' ^ra, V §re The era, the eras L'etk, le etk The age, the ages 73. Uses of the Definite Article, a. The definite article is required, contrary to English usage, before an abstract noun, or a noun taken in a general sense as representative of its class. La vita ^ br^ve Life is short I cavalli sono intellig^nti Horses are intelligent La pazi^nza ^ una virtu Patience is a virtue La vita dell' ape The life of the bee . 42 DEFINITE ARTICLE §§ 73-74 b. The definite article is used before the surnames of men ; and familiarly before the given names of women. L' Ari9sto fu un grande scrittore Ariosto was a great author La Pietrina chiama la Signora B. Pietrina is calling Mrs. B. Note. For the syntax of the definite article, see Lesson XXII. 74. Past Absolute Indicative of Model Verbs : ' I found,' ^/^. trovai trovammo trovasti trovaste trov9 trovarono perdei perdemmo perdesti perdeste perde perderono capn capimmo capisti capiste capi capirono VOCABULARY Kamico (m.) friend P awocato (m.) lawyer la battaglia batde la bellezza beauty la bussola compass, bearings 11 cervfUo brain, mind il CQlmo summit 11 coraggio courage 11 denaro money la f9rza force 11 generale general la gioventu youth la gloria glory P imprud§nte (;/?.) imprudent man P ingrato (m.) ingrate la lite lawsuit la memQria memory il mpndo world P occasipnie (/.) opportunity la pazif nza patience la salute health la scommessa wager il spnno sleep lo speculatgre speculator la sventura misfortune il tfmpo time il tiranno tyrant la vita life ifii yesterday finalmente finally stamane this morning per for; w/tk infinitive in order to tre three cinque five tutto all, everything 43 §74 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson L' uomo perde tutto in questo mondo : perde la bellezza, la gio- ventu, le forze, gli amici, la pazienza, il tempo, il coraggio, la gloria, r occasione, la bussola, le scommesse, il cervello, e finalmente, per colmo di sventura, perde la vita. Gl' imprudenti perdono la salute, gli avvocati perdono le liti, i generali perdono le battaglie, i tiranni perdono il sonno, gl' ingrati la memoria e gli speculatori il denaro. II I. Lo speculatore perde la scommessa. 2. II generale, per colmo di sventura, perde 1' occasione. 3. Apparecchieranno, tornarono ; consiste, distendesti, finiste, capi ; tememmo, risponderemo ; aiutb, parlano, portai, aiutero, parlerai, temerono. 4. L' avvocato parlo ad un amico. 5. Gli scolari finirono il libro. 6. I generali perderono la battaglia. Ill I. Did you understand the lesson yesterday, children? 2. The men lost the gun, and returned. 3. Speculators lose sleep. 4. Did you return yesterday, sir? 5. The lawyers will lose the case. 6. We have the opportunities in this world, but we lose time. 7. The pupil carried the books to school. 8. We laid the cloth and helped our mother [la mamma], 9. The imprudent (men) talked to a speculator. 10. Thou retumest, he spoke, we finished ; I shall put, they carried, he will aid; thou spokest, you returned, they feared, I found ; we are afraid. 44 CONTRACTION OF ARTICLE §§75-77 LESSON V CONTRACTION OF ARTICLE 75. Contraction. The prepositions a, con, da, di, in, per, and 8U, when followed by the definite article, are contracted with it to form one word as follows : il i lo gU la le V a to, at al ai or B? alio agli alia alle all' con with cpl CQi or CQ* cpllo cpgli cpUa cpUe cplP da by, from dal dai^rda' dallo dagli dalla dalle dall' di of del dei or de' dello degli della delle delP in in, into nel nei or ne* nello negli nella nelle nelP per for pel pei^rpe* per lo per gli per la perle perP 8U on sul sui or su' suUo sugli suUa suUe sull' 76. The preposition must be repeated before each noun. Parl9 alio Spagnu9lo e al Francese He spoke to the Spaniard and the Frenchman 77. The Partitive. The partitive idea, of something less than the whole or fewer than all, expressed in English, if at all, by 'some' or 'any,' is expressed in Italian by di plus the definite article. It is sometimes omitted, but in good Tuscan usage is oftener expressed. (For 'some,' *any,' used as pronouns, cf. 94, 124. Here, they are adjectives.) H9 del pane I have bread, I have some bread Ci sono dei libri suUo scaffale There are books on the shelf a. This sign of the partitive is omitted in the negative, unless the noun is modified by an adjective. Non h9 pane I have no bread, I haven't any bread Non h9 d?l pane bianco I have no white bread 45 §§77-79 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR b. And in enumerations. Garibaldi non offri ai su9i soldati Garibaldi offered his soldiers noth- che fame, sete, marce forzate, ing but hunger, thirst, forced battaglie e m9rte marches, battles, and death tS, The Possessive. The possessive in Italian is always expressed by di before a noun. La casa di mio padre My father's house L' orol9gio di Giovanni John's watch Ecco un quad^rno ; 9 dello scolare? Here is an exercise book; is it the pupil's? 79. Past Future (* should, » * would of Model Verbs. trover^i troveremmo perder^i perderemmo troveresti trovereste perderesti perdereste trovet^bbe trover|bbero perder^bbe perderfbbero' capir^i capiremmo capiresti capireste . capir?bbe capirfbbero VOCABULARY V acqua (/) water annaffiare water il fiore flower appassire wither il giardino garden fiorire bloom la mattina morning alzare raise il mughetto lily-of-the-valley scendere {p.abs. and p.p. irr.) de- la pianta plant, tree scend, go down la rgsa rose alle sf i at six o'clock lo scaffale shelf ci sono there are la tazza cup sfnza without : :::T , bfl beautiful sftte seven fiorito in bloom si (third person rejf.) himself, her- molto much self, itself, themselves ogni every si alza {rejl. use 0/ alzare) rises 46 CONTRACTION OF ARTICLE §:T? EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson La Luigina ha un bel giardino tutto fiorito. Nel giardino ci sono rose e mughetti. La Luigina ama molto i fiori. Ogni mattina si alza alle sei, scende nel giardino e annaffia le piante. Le piante appassirebbero senz' acqua. II I. II padre della bambina aiutb la famiglia dello zio. 2. Metterei i coltelli colle forchette sulla tavola. 3. Ci sono dei fiori nel giardino dell'amico? 4. Portano dei libri dalla scuola. 5. Non troveremmo il libro sullo scaffale ? 6. I bambini non apparecchierebbero sehza la mamma. Ill I. Are there some roses on the table? 2. There are roses and lilies-of-the-valley in the garden. 3. Would the plants bloom with- out water ? No, they would wither. 4. The little boys carried a gun from the table to the shelf. 5. By the men, to the pupils, for the little boys, for the mother, of the books, with the friend, on the footstool, in the cup. 6. Would you speak to the speculator and the lawyer? 7. We should not put the flowers with the books. 8. The uncles would go down into the lawyer's garden. 9. The pupils' mother will lay the cloth. 10. They will put the table in the garden. 47 §80 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON VI GENDER OF NOUNS 80. Gender of Nouns, a. Names of males are masculine ; names of females are feminine. II nQnno The grandfather La d9nna The woman I. Exceptions: guida 'guide,' guardia 'guard,' 'policeman,' persona 'person,' recluta 'recruit,' sentin^Ua 'sentinel,' spia 'spy,' and vedetta ' sentinel,' which are feminine, although usually refer- ring to men. b. Names of objects without sex are either masculine or feminine, there being no neuter in Italian. 1. Nouns ending in a are feminine. La lampada The lamp Exceptions : duca ' duke,' monarca ' monarch,' pof ta ' poet,' and other words listed under Lesson XXXIV ; and words ending in -ista, like artista 'artist' and pianista 'pianist,' when referring to men. 2. Nouns ending in -gione, -zione, and -fidine are feminine. la ragipne reason la solitudine solitude la conversazipne conversation 3. Nouns ending in are masculine. il ginQCchio knee Exceptions: Pfco (of common gender) 'echo,' and la mano 'hand.' 4. Nouns ending in u are feminine. la virtu virtue 48 GENDER OF NOUNS §§ 80-81 Exceptions : a few foreign words, like il bambu ' bamboo ' ; and some other parts of speech used substantively, as il pi^ * the most,' per lo piii 'for the most part.' Note. For further treatment of the gender of nouns, see Les- son XXXIV. 81. Four Tenses of ^ssere 'be.* Present Indicative sono I am 8?i thou art I he, she, it is ciamo we are si§te you are spno they are Future Indicative sar^ I shall be sarai thou wilt be sari he, she, it will be saremo we shall be sarete you will be saranno they will be Past Future Past Absolute sar^i I should be fui I was saresti thou wouldst be fpsti thou wast sargbbe he eU. would be fu he e/c. was saremmo we should be fummo we were sareste you would be fpste you were sarf bbero they would be furono they were VOCABULARY ^ la casa house la sentin^Ua sentinel a casa home, homeward la settimana week il duca duke (//. duchi) la vacanza vacation la ff sta festival la vedetta scout la fine end la guida guide la volontA will, willingness battere beat, clap la lezipne lesson bisognare (impers.) be necessary la mano hand «0^ "- cominciare begin (/a^es a de/ore il monarca monarch infin^ la perspna person continuare continue il pof ta poet imparare learn la pQrta door aviQ I shall have 49 § 81 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR anche also, even quel che what, that which b?ne well gtto eight che who, which {rel^ di^ci ten come how, as starg {from stare, irr) I shall be quanti, -e how many? VQglio {from vol^re, irr.) Iwish andremo we shall go non e necessario it is not necessary EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson II bambino dice : Lunedi. — Voglio cominciare bene la settimana; staro attento alle lezioni, e saro buono. Martedi. — Bisogna continuare quel che abbiamo ben cominciato. Anche oggi saro buono. Mercoledi. — Come sono cont^nto 1 Domani e giovedi, e avrb vacanza! Giovedi. — Abbiamo vacanza ! Battiamo le mani ! Venerdi. — Oggi tornerb a scuola con molta volonta. Sabato. — £ la fine della settimana. Domenica. — La domenica e giorno di festa ! II I. Quanti giorni ci sono nella settimana? 2. Nella settimana ci sono s^tte giorni. 3. Domani e lunedi ; bisognerk tornare a scuola. 4. Chi sono arrivati lunedi ? Un poeta e una sentinella. 5. I bam- bini imparerebbero le lezioni. 6. Saremo, sarebbero, siete, fui, sono, siamo, saranno. 7. Abbiamo vacanza il giovedi. 8. Cominicib a imparare le lezioni. Ill I. To-morrow is Friday, and I shall learn the four lessons. 2. He would be at the door of the school at noon. 3. We shall go to school Monday, but at the end of the week we shall return home. 4. It is necessary to set the table before noon, and the 50 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS §§82-83 children will put on the cups with the glasses. 5. How many cups are there on the shelf ? 6. Dante was an Italian poet. 7. Who are the men in the garden ? They are a guide and a scout ; they are speaking to the duke. 8. The children will clap their (the) hands at the end of the week. 9. The lady's flowers are in the glass ; I shall put some water in the glass, i o. On Sunday it is not necessary to learn lessons. LESSON VII ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 82. Most adjectives end in either or e, masc. sing. a. Adjectives in have the forms of the nouns in and a: rpsso, rossi, rossa, rosse, *red.' II libro rosso The red book Le r9se rosse The red roses h. Adjectives in e take i in the plural, but do not change for gender. La camera grande, le camere grandi The large room, the large rooms Un contadino semplice, del con- A simple peasant, simple peasants tadini semplici 83. Agreement of Adjectives, a. An adjective agrees with its noun in gender and number. II capp^llo nero The black hat Le pTccole mani The small hands La r9sa e la mammola b^lle The beautiful rose and violet *6. An adjective modifying two or more nouns of differ- ent gender is either masculine plural or in agreement with the noun nearest it. Prati e s^lve vastissime Very vast meadows and woods 51 §§83-84 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR I. But when referring to persons it must be in the masculine plural. I signori e le signpre sono partiti The gentlemen and ladies are gone *c. A plural noun may take two or more adjectives in the singular instead of being repeated in the singular before each adjective. I gov^rni inglese e tedesco The English and German govern- ments 84. Position of Adjectives, a. Most adjectives of size or quantity, numerals and pronominal adjectives, and usually bfUo, bu9no, solo, ultimo, and unico, precede the noun. Una piccola scatola A small box H9 P9C0 denaro I have litde money II primo capitolo The first chapter Quegli U9mini sono francesi Those men are French I. Numerals may follow when emphatic. Lire 20 20 lire h. Adjectives of shape, color, nationality, and descriptive qualities generally, participles used as adjectives, adjectives longer than their nouns, and adjectives modified by an ad- verb or a suffix, usually follow. La stampa inglese The English press II vestito celeste The blue dress La cioccolata svTzzera Swiss chocolate La n9tte oscura The dark night II risultato voluto The desired result Una persona rispettabile A respectable person Una b^lla signora, una signora piu A beautiful lady, a more beautiful b^Ua, una signorina bellina lady, a pretty young lady 52 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS §§84-85 I. Adjectives of characteristic may precede, when the character- istic is peculiarly intimate or usual. La bianca neve The white snow *c. When two or more adjectives modify the same noun, either both follow, or one precedes and the other follows, the less emphatic preceding. Un palazzo antico e hello 1 . , ., , T T , , , ,. r' A beautiful ancient palace Un bel palazzo antico J ^ *d. Some adjectives have a different meaning according as they precede or follow their noun. The unusual position often indicates the literal, and the usual position a more metaphorical, meaning. Un UQmo grande A large man Un grand' UQmo A great man Una cara figlia A dear daughter Una collana cara A costly necklace La chi^sa di santo Stefano The church of St. Stephen £ un UQtno santo He is a saintly man *e. The adjective may also be placed in the unusual position for emphasis. 85. Some Irregular Adjectives, a. The adjectives bu9no 'good,' bfUo 'beautiful,' santo 'saint,' 'saintly,' and grande 'large,' vary in the masculine on the same principle as do the articles. The forms are — I. Before any consonant except s impure, sg. buQn, bfl, san, gran ; pi. bugni, bfi, santi, grandi. (Gran may also be used in the feminine singular and the masculine plural.) Un bu9n soldato A good soldier Un b§l cavallo, dei b?i cavalli A handsome horse, handsome horses San Paolo Saint Paul Una gran sala A large hall 53 §§85-86 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR .2. Before a vowel, sg. (m. and f.) bugn, bfU', sant', grand'; pi. (m.) bugni, bfgli, santi, grandi, Un bugn amico A good friend Un b§ll' u9mo A handsome man Sant' Agostino Saint Augustine B§gli ucc^lli Beautiful birds La b§ll' aria The beautiful aria 3. Before s impure, in the predicate, or when placed after their noun, the full forms: sg. bu^no, b§llo, santo, grande; pi. bugni, bf Hi, santi, grandi ; bf gli with s impure. Bu^n pane Good bread Questo pane e bugno This bread is good Un b^llo spettacolo A fine spectacle Santo Stefano Saint Stephen I bugni stivali Good boots Btgliu9mini Handsome men Gli U9mini sono b?lli The men are handsome h. The following adjectives are invariable: fu 'the late,' 'formerly,' pari 'equal,' 'even,' impari 'unequal,' 'odd,' piii 'many,' 'most,' and ogni 'every' (with no plural). La fu Signora Bianchi The late Mrs. White II niimero pari The even number I niimeri impari Uneven numbers Sono andato pivi V9lte a Parigi I have been to Paris several times II pane di ogni giorno Daily bread 86. The Demonstrative Adjective. (Cf. 190.) a. Questo 'this.' Singular Plural questo, quest' (/«.) questi (///.) questa (_/!) queste (/!) 54 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS §§86-89 b. Quelle 'that' Singular Plural quel, quelle, quell' (m.) quelli, quei, quegli quella, quell' (/!) quelle I. Quelle is inflected like b^Uo. (Cf. 85, a.) 87. The Interrogative Adjective. (Cf. 191.) a. Quanto, quanta ? ' how much ? ' Quanti, quante? 'how many?' b. Quale, quail? * which, which one ? ' 'which ones ? ' c. Che? 'what?' 88. Any adjective may be used substantively. II pQvero The poor man a. Proper adjectives are not capitalized unless used substan- tively, and not invariably even then. ~ La lingua francese The French language Ecco due Inglesi (inglesi) There are two Englishmen *b. The substantive is understood after the adjective in a good many familiar phrases. Per la piu br^ve (strada) By the shortest route Alia d§stra (mano) To the right Averla (sgrte) p?ggio To have a worse lot Nel (territ9rio) fiorentino In the Florentine territory Alia bugna (mani^ra) Familiarly, in everyday fashion Alia (mani^ra) francese In the French mode 89. Adverbs. (See Lesson XXXVI.) a. Adverbs are most commonly formed by adding -mente to the feminine form of the adjective. Sinc^ro, sinceramente Sincere, sincerely Prud^nte, prudentemente Prudent, prudently 55 89 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR b. The words molto 'much tanto 'so much,' and quanto either adverbs or adjectives, forms of adjectives in o ; as Molti U9mini sono molto infelici L§i I tanto bu9no, Signore Tanti saluti a casa H9 pQchi libri ; sono trQppo cari Ci sono trgppe persone nella stanza ,' P9C0 'Httle,' tr9ppo 'too much,' 'as much' or 'how much,' are As adjectives they have the adverbs they are invariable. Many men are very unhappy You are so kind, sir Many kind regards to your family I have few books ; they are too dear There are too many persons in the room VOCABULARY 1' angolo (m.) corner 1' appartamento (m.) apartment la camera da l§tto {m.) bedroom la chif sa church la cucina kitchen, cooking rinv^rno (m.) winter il palazzo palace il panorama view ilppnte bridge la riva bank, wharf la sala da pranzo {m.) dining-room il salone parlor la stanza room la terrazza balcony la tgrre tower la via street Fir§nze Florence Le Cascine ' the Dairies,' public gardens of Florence lo Schiavone Slav la piazza square bfUo fine, beautiful bugno good fampso famous grande large largo (//. larghi, larghe) wide lungo {p/. lunghi, lunghe) long santo saint, saintly v§cchio {p/. y^cchi) old abitare dwell, live guardare look at passare pass, spend sedere (I'rr.) sit accanto next, next door dinanzi a in front of dpye where fa makes, does (from fare, z'rr.) fa angolo cgn is at the corner of perche because, why sfmpre always vediamo we see vicino a near 56 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS §89 EXERCISE I. Passiamo quest' inverno a Firenze. 2. Abbiamo un bell' ap- partamento vicino alle Cascine. 3. II signore che abita nella casa accanto h un buon medico inglese. 4. Nell' appartamento ci sono sette stanze : un salone, una sala da pranzo, la cucina, e quattro camere da letto. 5. Le camere sono grandi, e il salone e bello, con una terrazza molto larga. 6. Dopo il pranzo sediamo ogni sera sulla terrazza, e guardiamo il bel panorama. 7. Vediamo la torre della chiesa di Santo Spirito, e il Ponte Vecchio famoso, ma non vediamo il Palazzo Vecchio. 8. II palazzo dove abitiamo fa angolo colla Via Curtatone. 9. II Palazzo Pitti e vicino al Ponte Vecchio. II I. We live in a large apartment in Florence. 2. We have sbc rooms, with a large parlor,- but a very small kitchen. 3. That man is the lawyer who lives near the Old Palace. 4. The gentleman who lives in the house next door is a lawyer. 5. There is a fine square in front of the Pitti Palace. 6. Near the church of Saint Mark in Venice is the Church of St. Stephen. 7. The Duke's palace is near the Wharf of the Slavs. 8. Handsome men are not always good ; good men are not always handsome. 9. Those men live in a large palace ; the rooms are large, they are long and wide. 10. Why are those ladies looking at the Old Bridge } Because it is beautiful and famous. 1 1. Those gentlemen are looking at the Palace of the Uffizi (//.). 57 90 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON VIII THE REGULAR VERBS 90. a. There are three regular conjugations, the first ending in -are in the infinitive, the second in -6re or '-ere, and the third in -ire. b. Table of Regular Verbs. INFINITIVE trov-are 'find' cred-ere ' believe, think ' PRESENT PARTICIPLE cap-ire 'understand' trov-ando cred-^ndo PAST PARTICIPLE cap-§ndo trov-ato, -a, -i, -e cred-uto, -a, -i, -e INDICATIVE Present I find, I am finding, eU. cap-ito, -a, -i, -e tr9v-o trov-iamo cred-o cred-iamo cap-isco cap-iamo tr9v-i trov-ate cred-i cred-ete cap-isci cap-ite tr9v-a tr9v-ano cred-e cred-ono cap-isce cap-iscono Past Descriptive I found, was finding, used to find, eU. trov-avo, -ava trov-avamo cred-evo, -eva, -ea cred-evamo trov-avi trov-avate cred-evi cred-evate trov-ava trov-avano cred-eva, -ea cred-evano, -eano cap-ivo, -iva, -ia cap-ivamo cap-ivi cap-ivate cap-iva, -ia cap-ivano 58 THE REGULAR VERBS §90 Past Absolute I found, did find, etc. trov-ai trov-asti trov-9 trov-ammo trov-aste trov-arono cred-ei, -?tti cred-esti cred-e, -?tte cred-emmo cred-este cred-erono, -f ttero cap-ii cap-isti cap-i cap-immo cap-iste cap-irono Future I shall find, etc. trov-er-9 trov-er-ai trov-er-k trov-er-emo trov-er-ete trov-er-anno cred-er-6 cred-er-ai cred-er-k cred-er-cmo cred-er-ete cred-er-anno cap-ir-9 cap-ir-ai cap-ir-k cap-ir-emo cap-ir-ete cap-ir-anno Past Future I should find, etc. trover-^i trover-esti trover-^bbe trover-emmo trover-este trover-fbbero creder-^i creder-esti creder-?bb€ creder-emmo creder-este \ creder-fbbero capir-?i capir-esti capir-^bbe capir-emmo capir-este capir-fbbero IMPERATIVE Find, let him find, let us find, etc. trov-iamo tr9v-a trov-ate cred-i tr9v-i tr9v-ino cred-a cred-iamo cap-iamo cred-ete cap-isci cap-ite cred-ano cap-isca cap-Iscano 59 §§ 90-92 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR SUBJUNCTIVE (Variously rendered, according to sense) Present tr9v-i trov-iamo cred-a cred-iamo cap-isca cap-iamo tr9v-i trov-iate cred-a cred-iate cap-isca cap-iate tr9v-i tr9v-ino cred-a cred-ano Past cap-isca cap-Iscano trov-assi trov-assimo cred-essi cred-essimo cap-issi cap-Issimo trov-assi trov-aste cred-essi cred-este cap-issi cap-iste trov-asse trov-assero cred-esse cred-essero cap-isse cap-Tssero 91. Formation of Regular Verbs. Italian regular verbs have three principal parts : the infinitive, and the present and past participles. These all have the same stem. a. All simple tenses except future and past future are formed by dropping -are, -ire, or -ere from the infinitive, and adding the personal endings. For compound tenses, cf . 96, 120. h. The future and past future are formed by dropping merely the final e of the infinitive, and adding the termina- tions ; verbs of the first conjugation first change the a of -are to e. c. Verbs of the third conjugation may be said to have a second stem in their inchoative form in -isco, from which are formed the singular and third person plural of the pres- ent indicative and subjunctive, and the singular imperative. 92. Imperative, a. The third persons of the imperative, it will be seen, are filled in from the subjunctive. Finisca il lavoro Let him finish the work Tornino a m^zzogiorno Let them return at noon Creda quello che dico, Signore Believe what I say, sir 6o THE REGULAR VERBS §§ 92-93 b. The negative of the second person singular of the im- perative is formed with the infinitive. Non aver paura, Chiarina Do not be afraid, little Clara Non apparecchiare ancora, Peppina Do not set the table yet, Josephine 93. Past Subjunctive, a. The past subjunctive is used in a condition of which the conclusion is in the past future. Se mi mandasse il danaro, com- If he should send (sent) me the prer^i questa casa money, I should buy this house VOCABULARY V anno (m.) year 1' autunno {m.) autumn 11 calore heat 11 colore color V estate {/.) summer 11 gargfano carnation la glornata day, period of one day 11 lavoro work, task 11 mese month 11 Natale Christmas la neve snow 11 nldo nest la prima v§ra spring la stagione season la tf rra earth la trlstezza sadness V ucc^llo (m.) bird la vendemmla vintage plii more, most se if azzurro blue caldo hot cprto short freddo cold prlmo first ultimo last v§rde green DQve nine dodlcl twelve quale, -1 which ? which one ? cantare sing dlmlnulre lessen fa caldo it is hot (weather) fa freddo it is cold (weather) si chludono re/i. use of chludere {irr.) close si rlaprono refl. use ^rlaprlre (irr.) reopen si tinge refl. use ^tingere {irr.) color 6i §93 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson I MESI DELL' ANNO Gennaio. — £ il primo mese. Neve, f reddo, e giornate corte. Febbraio. — £ il mese piii corto dell' anno. Marzo. — Comincia la primavera. L' uccello torna al vecchio nido. Aprile. — La terra si tinge di verde, il ci^lo d' azzurro. Maggio. — £ il mese delle rose e dei garof ani. Che f esta di colori 1 Giugno. — Finisce V anno scolastico. Luglio. — £ estate. Si chiudono le scuole. Agosto. — Fa molto caldo. Sfttfmbre. — II calore dell' estate diminuisce. Comincia la vendemmia e 1' autunno. Ottobre. — La sera e la mattina fa fresco. Si riaprono le scuole. Novf mbre. — Questo e il mese della tristezza. Dic^mbre. — 'k V ultimo mese dell' anno, e siamo all' inverno. Ecco il f reddo, ma anche la piu bella delle feste : il Natale ! II I. Quanti mesi ci sono nell' anno ? 2. Fa f reddo di gennaio, ma il f reddo diminuisce di marzo. 3. ^ primavera ; gli uccelli comin- ciano a cantare nel giardino. 4. Le nevi d' inverno sono molto fredde. 5. Qual h la stagione calda? Fa sempre caldo d' estate. 6. Nella primavera cantano gli uccelli. 7. Cantino, Signorine, questa sera. 8. Se gli uccelli non temessero il freddo, tomerebbero piu presto al nido. 9. Tomate a mezzogiomo, bambini, i o. Se il freddo diminuisse, la primavera tomerebbe. 11. Luisina, porta i piatti sulla tavola. 12. Se finissimo il lavoro prima di mezzogiomo, tomeremmo a casa. 13. Se fark troppo caldo non torneremo. 62 CONJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS §94 III I. There are twelve months in the year. 2. December, January, and February are the months of winter. What are the months of summer ? 3. Which is the cold season ? It is always cold in winter. 4, If the men should speak, would he reply? 5. Let us return home. 6. If the birds returned to the old nest, they would sing. 7. It is always very hot in August, but the heat grows less in September. 8. Do not fear the heat of summer. 9. Speak to that sentinel, sir. 10. If the cold should diminish, we should re- turn in March. 11. If we spoke to the Italians, they would reply in Italian. 12. Little girl, do not be afraid of that gun. 13. Look, madam. 14. Go down into the garden, miss. 15. How many seasons are there in the year ? 1 6. Reply in Italian, young ladies. 17. It is November; the days begin to be short. LESSON IX CONJUNCTIVE PRONOUNS 94. a. Accusative, Direct Object. mi me - ci us ti thee vi you lo him li them {m.) la her le them {/.) ne some, any, of it, of them {cf. 124) *i. Instead of ci is often found, especially in poetry and older writings, the form ne ; and sometimes il for lo. h. Dative, Indirect Object. mi to me, for me ci to us, for us ti to thee, for thee vi to you, for you gli to him, for him le to her, for her loro to them, for them {m. or/.) 63 §§94-95 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR c. Reflexive Object, Direct or Indirect, mi myself, to o?' for myself ci ourselves, etc. ti thyself, to or for thyself vi yourselves, etc. si himself, herself, etc. si themselves, etc. {in. or/.) 95. Rules of Syntax, a. These pronouns are called con- junctive, because conjoined to the verb in the relation of object. The object pronoun, whether direct, indirect, or reflexive, immediately precedes the governing finite verb (except lore, which always follows). If the verb is compound, the conjunctive (except loro) precedes the auxiliary; lore fol- lows the participle. Lq f a He does it Ne parla He speaks of it Ci alziamo We get up Mi ha detto la veritk He has told me the truth Le danno un mazzolino di fiori They give her a bunch of flowers Parliamo Ipro We speak to them, let us speak to them Abbiamo dato Ipro un quadro We have given them a picture *i. In literary usage loro will sometimes be found preceding the verb. 6. But if the governing verb be an infinitive, a positive imperative of the first or second person, a present participle, or a past participle used without auxiliary, then the conjunc- tive pronoun (except loro) becomes enclitic, being appended to the verb-form so as to make one word with it. Loro is never appended. The enclitic makes no change in the ac- cent of the verb-form. Vi^ne a trovarlo He comes to see him Abbiamo fatto il possibile di tro- We have tried our best to find varli them 64 CONJUNCTIVES §95 VU9I dir loro che sono arrivate He wishes to tell them that some delle Ifttere letters have come Av|ndolo Having it Avfndolo detto Having said it Dettogli questo This being said to him 11 dispaccio comunicatoci dal 0911- The telegram communicated to us sole aff^rma che la gu^rra e by the consul states that war stata dichiarata has been declared Lo punlrono per averne parlato They punished him for having spoken of it I. With the imperative: troviamolo non lo perdiamo trgvalo trovatelo non lo pf rdere non lo perdete lo trQvi lo tr9vino non lo p^rda non lo pf rdano 2. The e is dropped from the infinitive before an enclitic pronoun (cf. 31, a). Andiamo a trovarla Let us go and see her VOCABULARY bagnato wet 11 burro butter la campagna the country la Ifttera letter V ombr^llo 7n. umbrella V orolggio m. watch il pane bread il postino postman la strada street grazie (/! //.) thanks qua here fatto done, made; p. part, qffare (irr.) aver fretta be in a hurry la sf ggiola chair comprare buy desiderare wish, desire favorire favor with, kindly give piacere (irr.) please, be pleasing to ; mi place I like {used w. dat.) per piacere please rlavere get back, recover dlca J sg. pres. subj. and imper, of dire {irr.) say, tell {takes dl ■before inf.) vu9le J sg. pres. ind. of volere {irr.) will, wish dla J* sg. pres. subj. and imper. of ^re {irr.) give subito at once 65 §95 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I I. Le piace la campagna, Signorina? Mi piace tanto. 2. Hai perduto 1' orologio ? Si, 1' ho perduto. 3. Dov' e il denaro ? L' ab- biamo perduto ; abbiamo fatto di tutto per riaverlo. 4. Le lettere portatemi dal postino erano della famiglia. 5. Parlandole per la strada, capimmo che aveva fretta. 6. Guarda, Beppino, 1' om- brello e bagnato ; non lo portare qua. 7. Mi favorisca il pane, Signora. Grazie. 8. Ecco un bell' orologio ; bisogna comprarlo per Giuseppe. 9. Lo dia a Giovanni, e gli dica di portarlo a Giuseppe. I o. Vediamo degP Italiani. 1 1 . Le dice che abbiamo perduto il denaro, ma non lo creda. 12. Ne abbiamo dato a Gigi. II I. Is this John's book.? 2. Carry it to John, Chiarina; don't put it on the shelf. 3. Have you lost the money ? Yes, I have lost it. 4. Do you wish to find it ? I will help you. 5. Yes, help me to find it, please. 6. I spoke to him. She spoke to us. We spoke to them. 7. Please pass me the butter. Thank you. 8. Tell them to return before noon. 9. Put the chairs near the table ; do not put them in front of the door. 10. Give us the flowers, please; do not give them to Maria. 1 1 . Has he the money ? No, carrying it home he lost it. 12. It is very hot to-day ; I do not like the heat. 13. Buy some at once. 14. Don't speak of it, child. 66 ESSERE AND THE PASSIVE §96 LESSON X THE VERB ESSERE 96. The Verb Essere, 'be.' INFINITIVE PRESENT PARTICIPLE fssere ess?ndo f ssere stato INDICATIVE Present Past Descriptive Past Absolute PAST participle stato ess^ndo stato Future sono siamo ^ro, -a eravamo s^i si^te ?ri eravate ^ spno §ra frano fui fosti fu fummo foste furono sar9 saremo sarai sarete sark saranno Present Past Perfect Perfect sono stato, -a, etc. ^ro stato, eU. Second Past Perfect fui stato, eU. Future Perfect sar9 stato, etc. Past Future Past Future Perfect sar^i saremmo saresti sareste sar^bbe sar^bbero sar^i stato, e/c. saremmo stati, -e, e/c. IMPERATIVE sii sia siamo si^te siano subjunctive Present sia siamo sia siate sia sTano fossi fpssi fosse Past fossimo foste fossero Present Perfect sia stato, eU. Past Perfect fpssi stato, eU. 6j §97 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 97. The Passive Voice, a. The passive voice is con- structed by means of the auxiUary essere and the past parti- ciple of the verb conjugated. It is used chiefly when the agent is expressed ; otherwise the reflexive best translates the English passive. (See Lesson XI I.) L' Amfrica h stata scop§rta da America was discovered by Chris- Crist9foro Colombo topher Columbus *i. The passive may be constructed with the verbs andare *go,' venire ' come,' rimanere ' remain,' but with reference rather to the state resultant from the action than to the action itself (cf. 129, 138, 149). Va fatto cosl It should be done this way Prima che la frugale colazione Before the frugal luncheon was venisse imbandita, il lavoro fu served, the work was done terminate Ne rimase stupefatto He was amazed at it b. Model Passive Verb. INFINITIVE Present Perfect fssere lodato, to be praised fssere stato lodato, to have been praised PARTICIPLE ess^ndo lodato, being praised ess^ndo stato lodato, having been praised INDICATIVE Present Past Descriptive sono lodato, I am praised, etc. ?ro lodato, I was being praised, etc. Future Past Absolute sar^ lodato, I shall be praised, etc. fui lodato, I was praised, etc. Present Perfect Future Perfect spno stato lodato, etc. sarg stato lodato, etc. 68 ESSERE AND THE PASSIVE 97-99 Past Perfect fro stato lodato, etc. Past Future sar?i lodato, etc. Present sia lodato, etc. Present Perfect sia stato lodato, etc. IMPERATIVE sii lodato, etc. SUBJUNCTIVE Second Past Perfect fui stato lodato, etc. Past Future Perfect sarf i stato lodato, etc. Past f^ssi lodato, etc. Past Perfect fpssi stato lodato, etc. 98. All passive, reflexive, and impersonal verbs (except fare used impersonally) are conjugated with essere (cf. 101). I Cristiani primitivi furono perse- The early Christians were perse- guitati dai Romani cuted by the Romans S' e alzato alle s^tte He rose at seven £ piovuto It has rained 99. After the auxiliary essere, the past participle agrees with the subject, except with reflexives (cf. 104, c, i ; 194, h). Molte battaglie furono vinte dai Many battles were won by the Tedeschi Germans Sono venuti quei signori? Have those gentlemen come? VOCABULARY la bandif ra flag la gu^rra war il p9polo people il sangue blood 11 soldato soldier lo stato state la VQlta time, a time amvare arrive combattere fight diffndere {irr.) defend dividere {irr.) divide innalzare raise insegnare teach (insegno) morire {irr.) die 69 §99 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR mostrare show circa about spargere {irr.) scatter disse 3 sg. p. abs. ^dire {irr.) say venire {irr.^ p.p. venuto) come dobbiamo / pi. pres. ind. of bianco {pi. bianchi, bianche) white dovere {irr) must caro dear la ngstra our felice happy pr sono ago il prgprio own, one's own quando when rosso red stesso itself etc. {not rejl.\ same tutto all Slibito immediately ancpra yet, still vogliamo i pi. pres. ind. o/yolere Cf nto hundred, a hundred {irr.) wish, will chi? who? EXERCISE LA BANDIERA NAZIONALE La nostra bandiera nazionale e di tre colori : bianco, rosso, verde. Essa e il simbolo della patria, e noi dobbiamo amarla come la patria stessa. II soldato per essa combatte, ed b felice di spargere il proprio sangue e di morire per difenderla. La nostra bella bandiera tricolore fu innalzata la prima volta dai soldati piemontesi, circa cento anni or sono, quando 1' Italia, la nostra cara patria, non era ancora tutta unita e libera. E il popolo subito 1' amb, e disse che era la piu bella di tutte ; e la canto cos\ : La bandiera a tre colori sempre e stata la piu bella ; noi vogliamo sempre quella, noi vogliam la libertk ! II I . The national flag of the United States is of three colors : red, white, and blue. 2. The soldiers have come, carrying the flag of the state. 3. Carrying it always, they will have returned to the 70 CONJUNCTIVES AND AUXILIARIES § 100 war. 4. The tricolored flag was carried by the Italians in the war for [of] Independence. 5. Soldiers love their own country; they are glad to die to defend it. 6. The soldier has found the gun, but he has not yet returned. 7. Do you like the tricolored American flag ? Yes, I like it. LESSON XI CONJUNCTIVES (Contioted) 100. a. Ecco takes the pronouns appended in the same manner as certain parts of the verb (cf. 95, h). Dov' ^ la mia borsa .? Eccola Where is my bag? Here it is Eccone Here is some, here are some Eccoci Here we are h. All conjunctive pronouns except gli and glie double their initial consonant when appended to a verb-form which ends in an accented vowel (cf. 5, &, 2 ; 125, b, 2). Dammi del latte Give me some milk Fallo subito Do it at once Stacci attento Pay attention to it *i. The following types are confined to poetic or literary use: Parl9mmi, for Mi parlo He spoke to me Porterallo, for Lo porterk He will bring it to us Guard9cci, for Ci guardo He looked at us c. La and Le are the accusative and dative cases, respec- tively, of Lfi in direct address (cf. 65, a), and are used to persons of either sex (but Li, Le, accusative plural, accord- ing to sex). A rivederla, Signore Good-by, sir Come Le place questo dolce, Si- How do you like this dessert, sir? gnore? A rivederli, Signpri Good-by, gentlemen 71 §100 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR d. When a noun object, or an object clause, precedes the verb, it must be repeated in pronoun form, as a conjunc- tive object. La carne non 1' ho comprata The meat I haven't bought *i. Sometimes in conversation, for vivacity or emphasis, the order is reversed, a conjunctive pronoun preceding the verb re- dundantly. L' ha visto il Dugmo ? Have you seen the Cathedral ? *2. The dative is often used as the so-called dative of refer- ence or concern. M' ^ra m9rta di p9co la mamma My mother had died a short time before *e. In the predicate after 'to be,' 'so' is expressed by lo, used even w^here it would be redundant in English. Cosi imp^rvi alio spTrito mod^rno As impervious to the modern spirit come Ip sono quel rozzi contadini as are those rough peasants I . Lo translates ' so ' also in such phrases as the following : Lo credo I think so Speriamolo Let us hope so *f. The reflexive pronoun may be appended, but only in the third person, to the forms of the indicative in addition to those forms listed under 95, 6. DTcesi It is said *g. A conjunctive form is sometimes used as subject of the third person. It is unstressed, and usually redundant. The forms are these : gli, e _ J egli la = ella 1^ eglino le = elleno La non lo creda Do not (you) believe it Le son molto eleganti They {/.) are very elegant Gli is used before a word beginning with a vowel or h ; e', else- where. 72 CONJUNCTIVES AND AUXILIARIES §§ 100-101 1. The similar use of lo and li as the redundant object of reflexive verbs is provincial and incorrect. Tu s?i ammalato, lo si vede You are ill, one sees it 2. The word 'it' in such phrases as 'it is because' etc. is translated, if at all, by gli or egli. Gli ^ perche le leggi sono tr9ppo It is because the laws are too rigorose rigorous 101. Some intransitive verbs are conjugated with essere and some with avere : a. The following always with essere : andare go morire die scendere descend arrivare arrive nascere be born sorgere arise cadere fall partire depart tornare return comparire appear parvenire arrive uscire go out correre run piacere please venire come entrare enter rimanere remain stare be fssere be riuscire succeed *&. The following (for reference only) always with avere : camminare walk desinare dine dormire sleep giocare play muggire low nitrire neigh parlare speak passeggiare take a walk piangere weep pranzare dine ridere laugh sbadigliare yawn sognare dream sonnecchiare nap starnutire sneeze *c. The following is a partial list of verbs which take avere when the action is thought of, and essere when the state resultant from the action is more considered. appartenere belong bastare suffice cessare cease consistere consist degenerare degenerate dimorare dwell durare last giungere arrive invecchiare grow old montare mount partire divide ritornare return salire go up succfdere happen vivere live 73 §§ 102-103 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 102. The verb 'to be' combined with the participle in '-ing,' in such Enghsh phrases as 'to be singing,' 'they are writing,' etc., is rendered in ItaHan by the verbs stare and andare. With andare the idea conveyed is more active^ with stare more static. Stanno cantando They are singing Stg legg^ndo I am reading II ragazzo va crescendo a giorno The boy is growing day by day a giorno L' albero va perd^ndo le f9glie The tree is losing its leaves 103. Some Uses of da. The preposition da has many idio- matic uses : a. To mean 'at the house of,' 'at,' 'to,' with a word re^ f erring to a person. Andiamo dalla sorflla mia Let us go to my sister's Sono andati dal guantaio They have gone to the glover's (the glove-store) Vu9le andare da Chiara ? Do you wish to go to Clara's ? Abita da sua cognata She lives at her sister-in-law's &. With essere, to mean 'it is to be' with the sense of obligation or propriety. The infinitive then has often pas- sive force. £ da sperarsi che quest' affare non It is to be hoped that this affair andrk a finire male will not terminate badly ]f ra da ridere It was an occasion for laughter VOCABULARY la cioccolata chocolate la sfggiola chair Giuseppe Joseph la stazione railway station il nQnno grandfather la pasta small cake aspettare wait, wait for 11 patriQta patriot invitare invite 11 ritratto portrait sperare hope (sp?ro) 74 CONJUNCTIVES AND AUXILIARIES § 103 due VQlte twice andato p.p. of andare go a pi?di on foot mgrto p.p. of morire die fiorentino Florentine partito p.p. of partire go away contro against piaciuto p.p. of piacere please per t?mpo early rimasto p.p. of rimanere remain da, date, 2 sg. and pi. imper. of sctso p.p. <7/"scendere go down dare uscito p.p. of uscire go out di' 2 sg. imper. ^dire venuto/./. . abs. ^andare, irr^ go ardere, arsi, arso burn attrarre, attra^ndo, attraggo {irr), attrarrp, attrassi, attratto draw, attract dotare endow esiliare exile morire, mugio (/rr.), morrp, morii, mgrto die nascere, nacqui, nato be born peregrinare wander, go on pil- grimage prevalere, prevalgo {irr.\ prevarr^, prevalsi, prevaluto prevail riparare take refuge scoprire, scop^rsi, scop?rto dis- cover : take off one's hat EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson DANTE ALIGHI]f.RI Dante Alighi^ri, il piii grande dei poeti itahani, nacque in Fi- renze da nqbile famiglia nelF anno 1265. Dotato di straordinario ingegno, si diede con ardore agli studi e, giovane ancora, incomin- cib a poetare. L' amor di patria lo attrasse nelle lotte, che ferve- vano allora in Firenze tra i Bianchi ed i Neri, e prese parte ad alcune battaglie. Ma, prevalendo i Neri, il sommo poeta fu esiliato dalla patria con minaccia di essere arso vivo, qualora fosse tomato, e ando peregrinando per F Italia. Finalmente riparo a Ravenna, dove morl il giomo 14 settembre dell' anno 132 1 in eta di 56 anni. Scrisse molte opere ; ma il suo lavoro piii rinomato e il poema chiamato Divina Commedia, che, da seicento anni circa, gl' Italiani no DISJUNCTIVES § 135 e gli studiosi di tutto il mondo leggono e ammirano, scoprendovi ogni giorno nuove e sublimi bellezze, come in una miniera inesau- ribile di pietre preziose. Gl' Italiani dicono che Dante e 1' uomo pill straordinario che Dio abbia mandate sulla Terra. II I. We learned the news yesterday. 2. They learned it this morn- ing. 3. How much time will it take ? 4. It will take two months. 5. The Italian authors were born in Florence. 6. The Whites drew Dante into the struggle. 7. I found your newspaper, and gave it to them. 8. We did not take part in the battle. 9. We burned his books. 10. He will wander many years, and will die in Ravenna. 1 1 . The two Americans died in Paris. 1 2 . Who discovered America ? 13. The young Italian will show you a precious stone. 14. We gave it to him. 15. John will give it to his sister. 16. The Spaniard burned their house. LESSON XX THE DISJUNCTIVE PRONOUN. THE VERB VENIRE 135. The Disjunctive Pronoun. The disjunctive pronoun differs from the conjunctive in that it is not, like the latter, inseparable from the verb. It has two cases : a. The nominative (cf. 65), which is used as the subject of the verb, when expressed (cf. 63, a). h. The objective^ which has various uses. Its forms are as follows : me me noi us te thee vol you lui him loro them (;//. and/.) l§i her s^ {rejl.) himself, herself, themselves {m. and/.) Ill §136 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 136. The Objective Case of the disjunctive pronoun is used — a. After prepositions (cf. 222, a). Vanno al mus?o. Andiamo cpn They are going to the museum. Ipro Let us go with them V^nga a prf ndere il t§ da me alle Come and have tea with me at cinque five La bambina scrisse la If ttera da se The little girl wrote the letter all herself I . Instead of con me, con te, and con se, may be used the forms meco, teco, and seco. Seco is sometimes equivalent, where there is no ambiguity, to con lui or con lei. V9 a casa. Vi§n meco I am going home, come with me b. Hence, after comparatives. II suo frat^llo minore e piu grande His younger brother is taller than di lui he c. As a substitute for the conjunctive, 1. Where there are two objects in the same construction. I ngstri genitori amano te e me Our parents love you and me Parla a lui ed a noi He speaks to him and to us 2. For clearness, emphasis, or contrast. L' hanno dato pr9prio a me They have given it to me myself, to me in person. (The unem- phatic form would be Me [for Mi] lo hanno dato) L9do te, Giannetta, e biasmo lui. I praise you, Giannetta, and re- prove him (a) Sometimes the conjunctive form is retained redundantly : A me non mi place 1' arte mod^rna I do not care for modern art d. In the third person, where the other persons would take the nominative case (cf. 65). 112 DISJUNCTIVES § 136 1. When the subject follows the verb, in a declarative sentence. L' ha fatto lui, or lui stesso He has done it himself But L' ho fatto io stesso 2. When the verb is understood. Lui pittore, lui po^ta, lui musicista, He a painter, a poet, a musician, lui ingegn^re, lui archit^tto ! an engineer, an architect ! 3. Before Signori, or a cardinal number. Che desTderano l9r(o) Signori } What do you gentlemen wish 1 Lpro tre They three 4. After anche, neanche, nemmeno. Anche Ipro sono dalla mia They also are on my side Nemmeno lui h venuto Not even he came But Io vorr^i viaggiare. Anch' io I should like to travel. So should I *e. In exclamations. Felice lui ! P9vera te ! Happy he ! Poor you ! */. After come, dove, quanto, salvoch^, siccome. L^i potrk riuscirvi come me You can succeed in it as well as I Io non sono d9tto quanto lui I am not so learned as he *g. As a predicate after essere (in Tuscan usage often preceded by in). S' io fossi te (in te), non Io far^i If I were you, I would not do it Non avr^bbe voluto ^sser me (in If he had known everything, he me), se avesse saputo tutto would not have wished to be I Exception : Non sono piti io I am no more myself, I don't know myself *^. In absolute construction, as the subject of the past participle and of the present participle in -ante, -fnte. With the form in -ando, -^ndo, the nominative is preferred. (Cf. 193.) 113 §§136-138 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Venuti loro, cominciammo a par- When they had come, we began lare di politica to talk of politics Vivfnte me, non lo farai You shall not do it while I live But Essfndoci io, non V9llero parlarne I being there, they refused to speak of it *i. The disjunctive reflexive, se, can of course be used only when it represents the same person as the subject. Va da se It goes without saying (of itself) But (since 'Rembrandt' is not the subject) Un ritratto di Rembrandt, fatto da A portrait of Rembrandt painted lui medesimo by himself 1. When reciprocal, sk is replaced by loro. Non s' acc9rdano f ra loro They do not agree among them- selves 2. S^ loses its accent before stesso. Non V9lle mai parlare di se stesso He would never talk of himself 137. The subjunctive is used after credere meaning 'think' or 'believe.' The future is admissible. Credo che pi9va I think it is raining Non crede che ci sia io He does not believe I am here 138. The Verb venire 'come.' Principal Parts : venire, ven^ndo, vf ngo, verrp, venni, venuto Present Indicative Present Subjunctive v?ngo veniamo v?nga veniamo vi^ni venite v?nga veniate vi^ne vfngono v?nga vfngano 114 DISJUNCTIVES §138 a. Special uses of venire : 1. Venire is often used instead of essere to construct the passive (cf. 97, a, i). Questi desid^ri non vennero com- These desires were not fulfilled piuti 2. Venire takes a before an infinitive. V^nga a trovarmi alle quattro Come and see me at four 3. Venire is used for andare, when motion is with or towarc_ the second person. Verr5, verranno, da Lei domani I shall come, they will come, to your house to-morrow VOCABULARY il calzino sock il caporale corporal il cartellino sheet, label il fazzoletto handkerchief la fotografia photograph il francobollo postage stamp la lana wool il nome name (given) il pacco {pi. pacchi) package il principio beginning appena hardly costaggiii down there near you dunque then, well insi^me together augurare wish, wish well credere think, believe, have an opinion impostare post, mail (impQsto) lodare praise (iQdo) passare pass, pass as pensare think, reflect; pensare a think of, have in mind rispanniare save tenere, t?ngo {irr. like venire), terrQ, tenni, tenuto hold affettuoso affectionate lontano distant postale postal "S §138 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I. Reading Lesson NATALE il 2 2 dicembre Caro fratello, il babbo e la mamma mi hanno detto : scrivi tu a Lucio. Ma come fare che appena so tenere la penna in mano ? Ho pregato la signora maestra di aiutarmi, e fra lei e me si e messa insieme questa letterina. Dunque: a nome di tutti di famiglia ti auguro buon Natale e buon anno. Riceverai un pacco postale: il babbo ci ha messo i dolci, la mamma i fazzoletti, la Gigina i calzini di lana che ti ha fatti da se, ed io un bel libro, che ti ho comprato con i denari che risparmio alia scuola coi cartellini dei francobolli. Sta' allegro il giorno di Natale : noi penseremo a te che sei cos- taggiu a Tripoli, tanto lontano da noi ; ma anche tu pensa a noi, che ti vogliamo bene. £ vero che sei passato caporale ? allora fatti la fotografia, e mandacela. Tanti baci da tutti, un abbraccio dal tuo aff mo fratello Mine II I. We shall think about our family on Christmas Day. 2. Shall you think about yours ? I am always thinking of it. 3. Buy ten postage-stamps for me, and mail these letters for him. 4. I have mailed them. Many thanks. Don't mention it. 5. What was there in the postal package that Mino's brother received.? 6. Mino's brother found in it six handkerchiefs and some woolen socks. 7. Mino says his little sister has made the socks all by herself. 8. Is his sister younger than I ? 9. The teacher would not praise 116 TENSES § 139 the letters which the pupils had written. lo. Mino hardly knew how to hold the pen in his hand, and asked the teacher to help him. II. Between him and me a letter has been put together. 12. My friend will come with us, but his brothers have returned with them. 13. We shall wish them Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 14. Does the teacher praise you or him, Giannino ? 15. Give me the gun, please. No, I will not give it to you, but to him. 16. We think our brother and his friend will come on Easter Day. LESSON XXI SPECIAL USES OF TENSES. SEQUENCE OF TENSES. AGREE- MENT OF VERB AND SUBJECT. INVERSION 139. Present Indicative, a. With a measure of time after da, and sometimes in temporal clauses with dacch^, the present indicative is used to translate the English present perfect expressing an action begun in the past but continuing into the present (cf. 134). Siamo in Italia da s?i mesi We have been (and still are) in Italy for six months Dacch^ sono qui Since I have been here I. If the action, begun in the past, was continuing at a later date in the past, the English past perfect is to be translated by the past descriptive. Era ammalato da una settimana He had been ill a week (and still was so at the time of which I speak) Combattevamo da piu di sei ore We had been fighting for more than six hours h. It is used, as in English, of the immediate future. Parto domani I leave to-morrow 117 §§139-140 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR *c. For vividness of narration it is used, as in Latin and some other languages, for the past ; this is known as the historical present. Trovandomi vicino a una stazione, Happening near a station, I decided VQlli fare una corsa per la strada to take a ride on the under- sotterranea. Scendo due o tre ground railway. I descend two scale, e mi tr^vo tutt' a un or three steps, and find myself tratto sbalzato dal giorno alia suddenly transported out of day n9tte into night 140. Past Tenses of the Indicative, a. These are not susceptible of really logical analysis. The past absolute de- scribes a past action, and translates the English simple past. Ricevei una l^ttera i^ri I received a letter yesterday Mori a Parigi nel 1 860 He died in Paris in 1 860 &. The present perfect may be used — 1. Generally speaking, to translate the corresponding English tense, expressing an action completed within a period that has not yet expired. Abbiamo speso tanto denaro We have spent much money Molti soldati sono arrivati questa Many soldiers have arrived this settimana week 2. For an action completed since midnight. Stamane ho scritte tre lettere This morning I wrote three letters 3. To describe an action which happened at an unstated time in the past, whose consequences extend into the present. Hq perduto il mio orol9gio I have lost my watch L' Arigsto ha scritto 1' Orlando Ariosto wrote the Orlando Furioso Furioso Colombo ha scopf rto 1' America Columbus discovered America Note. Outside of Tuscany the distinction between past absolute and present perfect is not carefully enough observed, and foreigners who have studied French are in danger of using the present perfect too much. Still, usage varies with mental attitude, vivid interest, etc. 118 TENSES §140 c. The past descriptive is used to express incomplete or habitual action ; to describe an action that was taking place when something else occurred ; and in description. Chiacchieravano Noi si andava spesso al teatro 1' in- v^rno Scriveva quando entrai Un velo nero cadeva dalle due parti II t^mpo era cattivo II Castillo era a cavali^re di una valle angusta e serviva di con- fine ai due stati I. Cf. 139, a, I. *2. It is often found substituted for the past future perfect (especially in bisognare, convenire, dovere, potere) and sometimes for the past subjunctive. Sarei andato se potevo ') // f ^^^^^ andato se avessi potuto Andavo se avessi potuto Andavo se potevo They were chatting We used to go often to the theater in winter He was writing when I entered A black veil descended on both sides The weather was bad The castle bestrode a narrow valley, and acted as boundary to the two states equivalent toy ^^^^^^^^ ^^""^ '^ ^ ^^^ d. The past perfect translates the English past perfect except where the second past perfect is required (cf. e). While the friar stood thus in medi- tation, Renzo had appeared at the door; but seeing the holy father in thought, and the women making signs not to dis- turb him, he stopped on the threshold Mentre il frate stava cosi medi- tando, R^nzo era comparso sul- r uscio ; ma visto il padre sopra- pensi^ro e le d9nne che facevan cenno di non disturbarlo, si fermb sulla S9glia I. Past tenses of nascere. ^Was bom' is variously translated: h nato, of a person still living; era nato, of one recently dead; nacque, of one long dead. e. The second past perfect translates the past perfect — 119 §§140-141 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 1 . In temporal clauses beginning with appena, quando, tostoch^, etc., immediately followed by a principal clause whose verb is in the past absolute. Quando ebbe serrato 1' uscio di^tro When he had locked the door behind a sh, vide un uomo ritirarsi plan him, he saw a man withdrawing piano, strisciando il muro very softly, skirting the wall 2. In such phrases as this : Fra cinque minuti li ebbe finiti He had them finished in five minutes Note. To temporal clauses with either the past perfect or second past perfect, is very often preferred in actual usage the absolute con- struction with the participle (cf. 195). 141. The Future Tense. The future tense is used — a. Contrary to English usage, 1 . To indicate possibility or probability ; when the action referred to is past, the future becomes future perfect. L' avr6 perduto I must have lost it Saranno le 9tto It must, or may, be eight o'clock Sara un' illusione, sar^ vero It may be true, it may be an illusion 2. To indicate actual future time after quando, se, etc. Quando la vedr6, glielo diro When I see her, I shall tell her so *3. As an alternative to the present subjunctive, a. To indicate possibility. Bada, che ti brucerai Take care, you may burn yourself d. When the dependent clause refers to future time (169, /, n. i). Credo che verranno I think they will come b. As in English, *i. Instead of the imperative, in a general precept or when the action is not to be performed immediately. Amerai il pr9ssimo tuo cpme te Thou shalt love thy neighbor as stesso thyself I20 TENSES §§ 142-143 142. The Past Future, a. The past future is used like the EngUsh forms with should^ would, might, to express what is uncertain or indefinite in the principal clause. Potrfbbero smarrirsi They might lose their way Non mi far^bbe specie It would not surprise me Si dir§bbe che fosse pazzo One would say he was mad 6. To express future time in relation to the past tense of a verb of saying, thinking, etc. Dice che fara, diceva che farebbe, He says he will, he said he would, il giro del mondo make the tour of the world I. When the statement made has failed to come true, the past future perfect is required. Dissero che sarebbero venuti They said they would come (but they did not) c. In deferential or polite requests. Vorrei vedere i suoi quadri I should like to see his pictures tf. In a statement reported by hearsay, on the authority of another. Secondo i n9stri dispacci, la Ger- According to our telegrams, Ger- mania avrebbe dichiarato la many has declared war upon guerra alia Francia France e. In the conclusion of conditional sentences (cf. 93). Note. In general, the past future perfect is often used in Italian where English would employ the simple past future. Ciascuno studiava il luQgo dove Each one considered the point avrebbe dovuto cacciare la baio- where he should have to drive his netta bayonet *143. Sequence of Tenses. If the present or future of the independent clause be changed to a past tense, the present §§143-144 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR of the dependent clause is changed to the past descriptive, the present perfect to the past perfect. L9 l9do perche fa, ha"! , JLo lodavo {or lodai) perch^ fatto, b^ne i I faceva, aveva fatto, b^ne a. If the dependent clause states a general truth, the present tense may stand. Galileo diceva che il mondo si Galileo said that the world moves muQve *144. Agreement of Verb with Subject, a. If there is more than one subject, the verb is plural. II monarchico e il repubblicano The monarchist and the republican non sono d' acc9rdo do not agree 1. But if there is close alliance between them, a singular verb may be admitted. Grande h la fierezza e la voracita The temerity and voracity of the della talpe mole are considerable 2. Two or more singular subjects of the third person connected by take a singular verb. L' uno r altro verra senza fallo One or other of them will come without fail 3. Singular subjects connected by con or ne may take the verb in the singular or plural. Non verra, verranno, ne 1' uno ne Neither the one nor the other will 1' altro come La zia colla nipote parti, partirono, The aunt with the niece departed sul far del giorno at daybreak h. If the subjects are of different persons, the verb agrees with the first person in preference to the second, with the second in preference to the third. Lo duca ed io per quel cammino The leader and I entered upon ascoso Entrammo [Dante] that secret way Tu e lui siete dalla mia You and he are on my side 122 TENSES §§ 144-145 c. The verb of a relative clause agrees in person and number with the antecedent. Voi, che intend^ndo il t^rzo ci^l You who by understanding move movete the third heaven d. Collective nouns take a plural verb usually, if followed by a plural noun in a phrase with di. La maggior parte degli Italian! The majority of the Italians wished desideravano la liberta for liberty *145. Inversion of Verb and Subject. The subject fre- quently follows the verb in Italian, there being no hard and fast rule about it. Such inversion may occur — a. In interrogative sentences (cf. 62, &), unless beginning with an interrogative pronoun. b. With impersonal verbs, especially with the partitive. Ci mancano di^ci minuti alle 9tto It lacks ten minutes to eight Ve ne ha tanti There are so many of them c. For emphasis or contrast. L' ha detto anche lei S/ie said so too S' egli mi parlava una lingua che If he spoke to me in a language I io non capivo, io potevo b^ne did not understand, I might well parlargli una lingua che non speak to him in a language /le capisse lui would not understand d. With participles in the absolute construction (cf. 136, h). Parlando tu, tutti stanno attenti When you talk, every one gives heed e. In exhortations, wishes, or imprecations. Ci fossi tu ! If you were only here ! Lo ricomp^nsi Iddio ! May God reward him ! 123 §145 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR /.In relative clauses and indirect questions. Le mostrero il gioi^llo che m' ha I'll show you the jewel my uncle dato lo zio gave me Domando dove sono le seconde I ask where the second-class classi places are ^. In adverbial clauses of time or place. Dal fondo della escavazione cen- From the end of the central trale si partono le gallerie excavation start the secondary secondarie galleries Nel 1817 capit5 a Ven^zia un In 181 7 there happened to come viaggiatpre inglese to Venice an English traveler h. With verbs which take the dative of the person. Le displace la notizia The news causes her pain Gli tremavano le labbra His lips trembled /. When the subject or predicate has long modifying clauses, which should logically be placed near it. Quale U9mo fpsse il Thouar, quanto What kind of man Thouar was, V Italia gli d^bba, come in lui how much Italy owes him, how s' accoppiasse alia lucidita della in him goodness of heart was mente la bontk del cu9re, dice united to clearness of mind, the in questo volume il biggrafo biographer tells in this volume con autoritk che non h dato ad with an authority which it is alcuno di pareggiare given to no one else to equal / In general, in narrative style and in conversation, to avoid pedantry, or to emphasize the verb. Venne siibito la disfatta di Novara The defeat of Novara came soon after E mgrto il papa The pope is dead k. The subject may follow both verb and predicate nomi- native. Era presidente del Consiglio Mas- Massimo d' Azeglio was Presiderit simo d' Azeglio of the Council 124 TENSES §145 VOCABULARY V allgdola (/) lark il brano scrap, fragment; fare a brani tear to pieces la civiltk civilization il falco {/>/. -chi) hawk, falcon la fatica (//. -che) fatigue il nQnno grandfather il p§zzo piece il r§sto remainder, rest il risorgimento resurrection il sf colo century lo strani§ro stranger, alien il suqIo soil altro other agguantare possess oneself of appollaiarsi roost, lodge awentarsi (a) fall (upon) cacciare hunt, drive out succhiare suck dopoch^ (conj.) after dovesse j sg. p. sjibj. of dovere fecero 3 pi. p- abs. of fare gik already nonostante che (w/M subj.) not- withstanding that per uno apiece qualche some {indef. adj. w. sg. n.) sQtto under via (adv.) away EXERCISE I UN PO' DI STORIA DEL RISORGIMENTO ITALIANO Nonostante che la nostra Italia dovesse essere sacra per gli uomini di tutto il mondo dopoche da essa avevano imparato le arti, le sci^nze, le industrie e la civiltk sotto tutte le forme, gli stranieri, in altri tempi, V hanno sempre guardata come i falchi guardano le allodole : per avventarcisi, per farla a brani e per agguantarsene un pezzo per uno. E disgraziatamente per noi, non si contentarono di guardarla, ma fecero anche il resto. Vol, ragazzi italiani, avrete gik qualche idea di quello che i vostri nonni e i vostri babbi hanno fatto per cacciar via dal nostro suolo i vampiri che da secoli vi s' erano appollaiati per succhiargli il sangue. Ora i vampiri se ne sono andati. Ma quante fatiche, quanti pericoli e quanti morti I 125 §146 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR II (Involves 139, 140, 141, 142) I. The duke possessed himself of the state. 2. If many Italians had not fought for their country, they would not have driven out the alien from their soil. 3. He read my letter after I had written it for the second time. 4. Your grandfathers drove out the strangers from Italy, because they had sucked her blood for centuries. 5. According to the letter I received this morning, my mother has returned to Paris. 6. This is the shortest letter I have ever re- ceived from her. 7. The palace of the stranger was larger than the house which was near it. 8. Hawks fall upon the other birds. 9. The Spaniard said he would come before noon, but he has not yet arrived, i o. Where is my umbrella ? I must have left it in that compartment. 11. We were talking of John's pupil when he en- tered. 12. We used to see her every week last winter, but we have not seen her this year. 13. When he had bought the tickets, he put them in his pocket. 14. When I arrive at my grandfather's I shall find the others there. LESSON XXII THE DEFINITE ARTICLE. THE VERB ANDARE 146. The Definite Article. The definite article is used far more in Italian than in English. It is used where it would not be in English — a. Before the possessive adjective (of. 107, 108). b. Before abstract nouns and nouns denoting a whole class (cf. 73, d). c. Before family names of men ; often, especially to imply familiarity or affection, before given names of women ; rarely before given names of men, when referring to a character 126 DEFINITE ARTICLE 146 or to the man's works ; sometimes before the surnames of women, to indicate fame or famiHarity. II Tasso passo s^tte anni in pri- gione a Ferrara La Lauretta h una brava bambina L' Aml^to del Shakespeare Ha molto studiato il Dante La pTccola Bugiani La Duse Tasso spent seven years in prison at Ferrara Laura is a capable little girl Shakespeare's Hamlet He has studied Dante (the works of Dante) a great deal The little Bugiani girl Duse, the great actress I. When men's surnames, as Garibaldi's, are in very famiHar and affectionate use, the article would be an affectation. d. Before names of continents, countries, and provinces ; and names of lakes, islands, mountains, and rivers (except Amo). L' Australia e molto lontana dal- Australia is very far from Europe r Europa Viva r Italia ! Long live Italy ! I. After in meaning 'in' or 'to' a country it is omitted with names ending in a (unless modified). Resteremo tutta 1' estate in Italia But St^tti due mesi nel B^lgio E mai stato nel Giappone .'* Avevano passato 1' inv^rno nella Francia meridionale We shall remain all summer in Italy I stayed two months in Belgium Have you ever been in Japan ? They had spent the winter in southern France 2. It is omitted likewise after di, when preposidon and noun are equivalent to an adjective of nationality (cf. 147, d). II re d' Inghilt^rra The king of England, the English king Vini di Francia French wines 127 §146 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 3. A few names of cities require the article, such as 1' Aia ' the Hague,' il Cairo ' Cairo,' la Spf zia ' Spezia,' etc. 4. Among names of islands which do not take the article are Crfta 'Crete,' Cipro 'Cyprus,' Rgdi 'Rhodes.' e. Instead of the possessive : with parts of the body or clothing, or some names of relatives ; in general, where the idea of possession is intimate and there cannot be ambiguity (cf. 109); sometimes with ne to translate ' its ' (cf. 107, c). Si levo 1' impermeabile He took off his raincoat I capelli gli scendevano fin sulle His hair fell down to his shoulders spalle Come sta la mamma ? How is your mother } I. Likewise after avere, of personal characteristics. Egli ha gli 9cchi azzurri He has blue eyes Ella ha le mani piccole She has small hands *2. In poetic usage this may be in an adverbial accusative construction. Poggiati il gingcchio alio scudo Leaning their knees against their shields /. Before the number of the year or the hour, or the name of a particular month. II Petrarca nacque nel 1 304 Petrarch was born in 1 304 Verro da Lei alle cinque I shall come to your house at five Nell' ottobre dell' anno scorso In October of last year g. Distributively, 1. In expressing measure. H9 pagato questa seta cinque lire I paid five francs a meter for this il m^tro silk 2. With days of the week, to mean 'every.' La mia ma^stra d' italiano vi^ne My Italian teacher comes to me on da me il mercoledi Wednesdays, or every Wednes- day 128 DEFINITE ARTICLE § 146 a. Without article, the name of a day of the week may be understood to refer to the last or the next one. Lo vidi lunedi I saw him on Monday, last Monday h. Before a title followed by a proper name. £ arrivata la regina Elena nel suo Queen Helen arrived in her yacht yacht E in casa la Signora Casagrande? Is Mrs. Casagrande at home? I. Before any other part of speech used as a noun. Mi dugle il dirlo It pains me to say it Rifiut9 di dirmi il perche He refused to tell me the reason Pensava con grande sgomento al I thought with great anxiety of come avr§i fatto a pagare how I should manage to pay j. In constructing the superlative degree (cf. 116). *^. In a number of idiomatic phrases : Dare il. Jjugn giorno To say good morning Dire le bugle To tell lies Fare il Natale To keep Christmas Fare le scuse To make excuses I. Many such phrases take the feminine article alone, with a noun, presumably cgsa, understood. (Or this may be considered the feminine conjunctive pronoun, replacing la cosa.) Averla con To have a grudge against Darla vinta a To surrender DTrsela con To be congenial to Dirla schi^tta To speak frankly Farla da padrone To act arrogantly, play the master Farla finita To make an end of it lo la v^ggo brutta It looks bad to me Legarsela al dito To hold a grudge Saperla lunga To know all about it 129 §147 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 147. The Definite Article is Omitted — a. In the vocative, and after a pronominal adjective or a numeral. S' acc9modi, Signore. II signore s' accgmoda Questo lume Due scod^lle h. In proverbs. CQsa fatta capo ha Sit down, sir. The gentleman sits down This lamp Two soup-plates A thing done has an end, is ended c. In enumerations, if summed up collectively. NQbili, popolani, contadini, U9mini, d9nne, tutti s' affoUavano alio scalo Nobles, populace, peasants, men, women, everybody was throng- ing down to the landing-place d. With di, to indicate material, contents, intimate char- acteristics, or nationality. II vestito di seta II bicchi^r d' acqua II maestro d' italiano La cioccolata di Svizzera Una moltitudine di pellegrini The silk dress The glass of water The Italian teacher Swiss chocolate A multitude of pilgrims 'c. In many set phrases, such as A l^tto A scu9la Barca a r^mi Da mane a sera Di giorno, di n9tte Di sett^mbre In casa In cittk In pi^di U9mo di giudizio In bed At school Rowboat From morning till night By day, by night In September At home In town On one's feet Man of judgment, good behavior 130 DEFINITE ARTICLE §§ 148-149 *148. Agreement of Definite Article with Two or more Nouns. a. In a series of substantives of the same number and gender, the article may be used with one alone. Le montagne, valli e piagge della The mountains, valleys, and coasts Riviera italiana sono bellissime of the Italian Riviera are most beautiful But Le montagne ed i ghiacci della The mountains and glaciers of Svizzera Switzerland 149. The Verb andare 'go.' Principal Parts: andare, andando, vado, ander^ ^r andr^, andai, andato Present Indicative Present Subjunctive vado, or V9 andiamo vada andiamo vai andate vada andiate va vanno vada vadano For the imperative, cf. 130, e. a. Special uses of andare. 1. Andare takes a before the infinitive. To *go and* is trans- lated andare a. Andrb a comprare della carta da I shall go and buy some writing- scrivere paper 2. Andare with the present participle translates the verb * be/ with an additional idea of continuation (cf. 102). Va crescendo a p9CO a p9co It is growing littie by little 3. With the past participle, it makes a passive carrying the additional idea of obligation or propriety (cf. 97, a, i). I ragazzi italiani non vanno man- Italian boys are never sent to dati soli a scu9la school unaccompanied Questo non va messo qui This isn't to be put here 131 §149 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR *b. Idioms with andare. Andare a cavallo Andare in cgllera Andare di^tro a Andare in f stasi Andare fu9ri Andare a pi^di Andar sup^rbo A lungo andare To go on horseback To become angry To be inferior to ; to follow To go into ecstasies To go out To go on foot To be proud In the long run VOCABULARY il caff| coffee la conoscf nza acquaintance il figlio son la figlia daughter il latte milk Milano Milan Napoli Naples il principe prince la principessa princess la regina queen il romanzo novel la seta silk come al sglito as usual per il s^lito usually in casa at home fuQii out pr ora just now quest' altro next, coming andare a cavallo ride horseback andare a pifdi go on foot aprire, ap^rsi, ap§rto open aver piacere di be pleased to conoscere, conphbi, conosciuto be acquainted with, meet, become acquainted with dar fuQCO a set fire to dar la bupna notte eU. say good night e^c. dar npia a annoy dar pensi^ro a worry (/r.) incontrare meet, run across presentare introduce restare stay, remain sperare hope chiudere, chiusi, chiuso close EXERCISE I. £ in casa la Signorina Conti? No, Signora, e andata fuori. 2. Buon giorno, Signora. Mi permetta di presentarle il Signor OrseUi. 3. Ho piacere di far la Sua conoscenza. 4. Dove sono le Sue figlie? Perche non sono venute con Lei? 5. Sono andate in 132 DEFINITE ARTICLE § 149 Francia. Ci resteranno due mesi, e passeranno 1' estate in Inghil- terra. 6. Dove ha conosciuto il Signer Pisani ? A Napoli. Conosco lui e sua sorella. 7. Conosce il nuovo romanzo del Fogazzaro ? Desidero di comprarlo. 8. Dove va, Signorina ? Vado da mia zia. Spero che sark in casa. 9. Non ci sara. L'ho vista or ora in Via Cavour. 10. Andiamo a trovarla. L' incontreremo per la strada. II. Ha sentito che il Bianchi e andato in Inghilterra? 12. Sono andata questa mattina dalla mia maestra d'inglese. 13. Ci vo il martedi e il venerdi, e pago tre lire la lezione. 1 4. Come si chiama la regina d' Italia? Si chiama la regina |;iena. 15. Ha visto la principessa Vittoria ? Ha gli occhi neri, e le mani molto piccole. 16. Andai la settimana scorsa a fare il Natale da mio cognato. 17. L' Italia e la nostra patria. 18. Di giugno si va per il solito in campagna, e si torna di settembre in citta. 1 9. Non si dia pensiero. 20. Leggevo il famoso romanzo del Manz9ni quando venne la mia amica a trovarmi. 21. Le do noia sc apro la finestra ? L' aveva chiusa or ora. 22. Desidera una tazza di caffe e latte ? II I. We usually came into town in October. 2. America is larger than Europe. 3. Manzoni was a writer of Italy. He was bom in Milan. 4. We opened the door, as usual, but they closed it. 5. Orselli has gone to France. He will stay three weeks with Count Costa. 6. Let me introduce you to Princess Porciani. 7. Have the soldiers set fire to our house ? 8. I should have opened the window of the compartment, but it would have annoyed one of the passengers. 9. Is Mrs. B. at home ? No, miss, she has gone out. 10. Did she go on foot ? No, she went on horseback. 1 1 . This news worries us. 12. The children came and said good-morning to their teacher. 13. I wish to read Fogazzaro's best novel. 14. Hav- ing read it, I shall talk of it to my friends. 15. Where did you meet Miss C. ? I am not acquainted with her. 16. Permit me to intro- duce to you Mr. B. 17. I am happy to make your acquaintance. ^33 §149 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 1 8. We were reading, when they came and said good morning to us. 19. Bring me a glass of milk. 20. Here is my cousin's silk dress. 2 1 . When I go to her house I shall carry it to her. 22. Where are your books, Lauretta ? Go and find them. Ill L' ARRIVO IN UNA STAZIONE FERROVIARIA ITALIANA Si arriva a Firenze. Un lungo fischio, il treno rallenta, poi si ferma alia stazione. State pensando commqsso a tutto quello che avete a vedere in questa bellissima citta ; ma queste emozioni sono interrptte bruscamente dagli altri viaggiatori che cominciano a but- tar gill i loro bagagli dalla rete, con gran pericolo di farvi male. Quelli che li hanno gia in mano si sporgono alio sportello, chia- mando : — Facchino ! — Se hanno la fortuna di trovarne uno pronto, lo caricano di tanti sacchi, tante valigie, tante borse, da farlo parere piii ciuco che uomo. Vi mena all' uscita dove dovete dare il vostro biglietto all' impiegato, poiche in Italia si deve ren- derlo non solo all' entrata in treno ma anche all' uscire dalla sta- zione. £ il facchino che vi trova una carrozza, o un legno, come si chiama a Firenze. Ci mette tutta la vostra roba e vi salite anche voi. Poi gli dite di andare nel bagagliaio per ritirarne il vostro baule, dandogli la bolletta. Mentre che lo aspettate, vedete uscire dalla stazione tanta gente frettolosa, affollata, occupata a chiamarsi, a urtarsi, a stringersi la mano, baciandosi sulle gote anche gli uomini, che e un piacere a vederli. Ecco il vostro facchino col baule su un carretto. In un attimo il baule e sulla vettura, e al facchino che sta in aspettativa davanti a voi, si da una mancia che non basta mai. Per quanto generosa sia, egli vi guardera con una espressione commovente, e vi dira : — Ma . . . e poco ! — Bisogna fare 1' orecchio da mercante e tirar via per le strade rumorose, fino al Lungarno dove sta il vostro albergo. 134 CARDINALS §150 LESSON XXIII CARDINAL NUMERALS. DATES, TIME, AGE. MONEY. MEASUREMENT. THE VERB MORIRE 150. The Cardinal Numerals are I uno 21 ventuno 100 c^nto 2 due 22 ventidue loi centuno 3tre 23 ventitre 102 centodue 4 quattro 24 ventiquattro 160 centosessanta 5 cinque 25 venticinque 1 80 centottanta 6 s^i 26 ventis^i 200 dug^nto 7 s?tte 27 ventis^tte 600 seic^nto 8 9tto 28 vent9tto 800 9ttoc9nto 9 n9ve 29 ventin9ve 1000 mille 10 di^ci 30 trenta 1 00 1 mille uno 1 1 undid 31 trentuno 2000 duemila 12 dodici 32 trentadue 20,000 ventimila 13 tredici 38 trent9tto 1 4 quattordici 39 trentan9ve 15 quindici 40 quaranta 16 sedici 50 cinquanta 1 7 diciass^tte 60 sessanta 18 dici9tto 70 settanta 19 diciann9ve 80 ottanta 20 venti 90 novanta a. Uno has a feminine una, and when used adjectively has the forms of the indefinite article (cf. 59, 60). Uno sc9po, una patria, un die One purpose, one fatherland, one God I. With ventuno, trentuno, etc., used adjectively, the noun should be in the singular when it follows the numeral, in the plural when it precedes, the numeral agreeing in gender only. Trentun soldato, soldati trentuno Thirty-one soldiers Centuna lira, lire centuna One hundred and one lire 135 §§150-151 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR b. With cento and mille the indefinite article is not used. The plural of mille is mila. C§nto U9mini e mille cavalli A hundred men and a thousand horses c. 'Eleven hundred,' 'twelve hundred,' etc., must be translated ' one thousand one hundred ' etc. La prima crociata ebbe lu9go circa The First Crusade took place about il millecento 1 1 oo La gu^rra civile americana in- The American Civil War began comincio nel milleottoc^nto in 1861 sessantuno d. ' Both ' = tutti e due, tutt' e due ; /all three ' = tutti e tre ; etc. If a noun follows, it takes the article. Tutt' e due gli amici Both (the) friends e. The numerals above twenty may be written as one word or as two except when the digit is one or eight, when they must be written as one. Ventidue, venti due ; quarantuno ; sessant9tto ; trenta s^i, trentas^i */. Cento may be written cen when followed by a numeral not accented upon the first syllable. C^ndiciass^tte, c^nquaranta ; du^ c^ntos^i, c^ntoventi, c^ntosedici 151. Dates, a. For the days of the month, except the first (which takes the ordinal, primo), the cardinals are used, preceded by the definite article. Both article and numeral precede the name of the month. II quattro gennaio, il 25 giugno January fourth, the 25th of June II primo agosto The first of August I. A more stately form inserts the word di 'day.' (And for the occasional use of the form li in dates, cf. 71, d.) II di {or addi) sei di marzo The sixth of March 136 CARDINALS §151 b. The definite article precedes the number of the year (cf. 146, /). Lo Shakespeare mori nel 1616 Shakespeare died in 161 6 c. The number of a century expressed in cardinals serves to indicate the century following (cf. 157, c). Mille is often dropped. II trecento, 11 milletrec^nto The fourteenth century — ///. the 'three hundreds,' the 'thirteen hundreds ' II dug^nto, r9ttoc§nto The thirteenth century, the nine- teenth century d. *Ago' is expressed by fa, sono, or or sono, following a measure of time. Due mesi fa Anni sono C^nto anni or sono *e. Idiomatic phrases : Qtto giorni Quindici giorni Qggi a 9tto Doman 1' altro I^r r altro, 1' altro i^ri Ogni tre giorni Un giorno si, un giomo n9 Quanti ne abbiamo del mese Quanti ne abbiamo ? A' quanti siamo del mese ? j Ne abbiamo tre"! £ il tre ' I Siamo ai tre J Ai tanti del mese A' quanti del mese parte ? Nella prima metk di maggio n Two months ago Years ago A hundred years ago A week A fortnight A week from to-day The day after to-morrow The day before yesterday Every three days Every other day What day of the month is it ? It is the third On such a day of the month On what day of the month does he leave? In the first half of May 137 §§151-152 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Ai primi di ottpbre In the first days of October L' anno scorso dl luglio ^ In July of last year Fra due mesi Within two months, two months from now L' ^bbe finite in due mesi He had it finished within two months Da due anni For two years past Anno "1 L'altr'annol Last year, a year ago Oggi h V anno A year ago to-day Anno di Ik Year before last Da qui allora From now until then 152. Time of Day. a. With numerals indicating the time of day, the definite article precedes, and both article and verb agree with ora, ore, understood. Sono le tre It is three o'clock Erano le undici e m?zzo It was half-past eleven Vada alle cinque Go at five &. In time-tables, and increasingly in general usage, the hours after noon are counted from midnight. II tr^no parte alle diciass^tte e The train leaves at 5 p.m. and arriva alle ventidue arrives at 10 p.m. I. A.M. and P.M. may be expressed by the adjectives ante- meridiano and pomeridiano, modifying ore understood. Va dalla ma^stra alle di^ci ante- She goes to her teacher at ten in meridiane the morning c. 'One o'clock' is il tocco in good Tuscan usage, though V una is used elsewhere. II tpcco di nptte One o'clock at night La colazione si s^rve al tocco Luncheon is served at one d, 'Noon' is m§zzogiomo, and means twelve o'clock pre cisely; mf zzangtte is 'midnight.' 138 CARDINALS §§ 152-165 *e. Idiomatic phrases : Che ore sono ? What time is it r Sono le cinque passate It is after five £ la m^zza It is half-past Su9nano le due It is striking two Quanto c' h alle n9ve ? How near is it to nine ? Ci mancano di^ci minuti alle n9ve It lacks ten minutes to nine Sono le dodici e m^zzo It is half-past twelve Di quanto sono passate le di^ci ? How long after ten is it ? Le di^ci sono passate da tanto It is some time after ten A che ora d^vo venire ? At what time shall I come ? V§rso le s§tte About seven Sono le due meno un quarto It is a quarter before two Sono le 9tto e di^ci It is ten minutes past eight Stamane, stasera This morning, this evening Stan9tte Last night (until noon ; after noon it means ' to-night ') 153. Age. Age is expressed by means of the verb avere with anni. Quanti anni hai ? How old are you ? H9 s^tte anni I am seven years old a. In speaking of an infant or an animal, tempo replaces anni. Quanto t^mpo ha questo bimbo ? How old is this baby .'' 154. Money. The Italian system is decimal, based upon the lira, which, like the French franc, is equivalent to nearly 20 cents. 5 cent^simi = i S9ldo = about i cent 100 centfsimi = 20 S9ldi = i lira *155. Measurement. Italians use the metric system. The mftro equals nearly forty inches, and the centimetro is the 1 00th part of a mftro. An inch equals about 2^ centimetri. The chilgmetro is a long half-mile ; the chilogramma (mascu- line) a generous two pounds ; the litro about a quart. ^39 §§ 155-156 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Ho pagato questo nastro una lira I paid twenty cents a yard for this il m^tro ribbon Queste buste sono lunghe quindici These envelopes are six inches centimetri long Una stanza della lunghezza di s^i A room six meters long by four m^tri e della larghezza di quattro meters wide m§tri 156. The Verb morire *die.' Principal Parts : morire, mor^ndo, muQio, morr^, morii, mQrto Present Indicative Present Subjunctive muQio moriamo mugia moriamo muQri morite mu9ia moriate mu9re mu9iono muQia mu9iano VOCABULARY le armi arms (weapons) il bimbo baby il carbonaro charcoal-burner il consiglifre adviser CristQforo Colpmbo Christopher Columbus il fulmine thunderbolt il galantugmo honest man V indipendf nza f. independence il mgto movement 1' 9pera f. task, achievement Petrarca Petrarch il politico statesman il re king il segreto secret le truppe troops Vittgrio Emanu^le Victor Em- manuel accordarsi agree (accgrdo) cacciare chase, drive out dirigere, dirfssi, dirftto direct fallire fail istituire found, establish coprire, copf rsi, copfrto cover ardito bold dolorosamente sorrowfully faticoso laborious EXERCISE I. Quegl' Italiani che per i primi si diedero alia faticosa opera di cacciare lo straniero erano i piu intelligenti, i piii buoni e i piu arditi d' Italia. 2. Ma erano pochi e senza armi. 3. Bisognava accordarsi in segreto. 4. Istituirono nel 1820 la societa segreta, 140 CARDINALS § 156 cosi detta, dei Carbonari. 5. I primi moti rivoluzionari preparati da questa societa cominciarono a Napoli. 6. Ma dolorosamente fallirono ! 7. La liberazione d' Italia fu V opera di moltissimi eroi. 8. Li diressero quattro grandi uomini: uno scrittore, un re, un soldato, e un uomo politico. 9. II Mazzini, il grande agitatore, nacque nel 1805 e mori nel 1872 ; aveva 67 anni. 10. Vittorio Emanuele II, il re galantuomo, nacque il 14 marzo, 1820, e mori il 9 gennaio, 1878. 11. Garibaldi, quel fulmine di guerra, nacque nel 1807 e mori nel 1882. 12. II conte Cavour, il consigliere del re, nacque nel 1810 e mori nel 186 1. 13. Vittorio Emanuele, re di Piemonte, fu dichiarato re d' Italia il 18 febbraio, 1861. 14. Le truppe italiane entrarono vittoriosi in Roma il 20 settembre, 1870. 15. In che giomo nacque Dante Alighieri? II I. In what year was Petrarch bom ? In 1304. 2. In what year did he die ? In 1374. 3. There is a poor man. If I had forty-one lire, I would give them to him. 4. What day of the month is it today? It is the 17th. 5. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. 6. They wish me to leave at 7.30 p.m. 7. How old is your father ? He is fifty ; he was born fifty years ago. 8. How many books have you ? I have more than a thousand. 9. At what time to-morrow shall I return to your house ? At a quarter past eight in the evening. 10. The Spaniard died last month in Paris. He was bom in 1872, and was forty-three years old. II. Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616. 12. How old was he when he died ? He was fifty-two. 13. What time is it ? It is twenty minutes past ten. It lacks ten minutes to eleven. 14. How old is this baby? He is three months old; he was bom on the twenty-eighth of March. 15. The author died on the twenty-third of January, 19 13, at two o'clock in the moming. 16. On what day did King Victor Emmanuel die? 141 167 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON XXIV ORDINALS. COLLECTIVES. MULTIPLICATIVES. INDETERMINATES. THE VERB PARERE 157. Ordinals. The ordinal numerals are I St primo 2d secondo 3d t^rzo 4th quarto 5 th quinto 6th s^sto 7th sfttimo 8th ottavo 9th n9no I oth df cimo r undf cimo I I th J undicf simo {^dfcimo primo ( duodf cimo I2th-^ dodicfsimo [dfcimo secondo 1 3th I ^^^^^^^-^"^^ Idfcimo t^rzo , / quattordicf simo Idfcimo quarto ^^j^ fquindicfsimo Idfcimo quinto ^ , r sedicf simo Idfcimo s^sto , f diciassettf simo \ df cimo sf ttimo o , r diciottf simo Idfcimo ottavo , J diciannovf simo Idfcimo n9no 20th ^ 2ist| 22d \ 30th 40th 5 Oth 6oth 70th 8oth 90th 1 00th I Gist I02d 130th 170th 200th 500th 6ooth I oooth 1 001 St 2000th 30,000th [ 00,000th ventfsimo vigfsimo ventunfsimo ventfsimo primo ventidufsimo ventfsimo secpndo etc. trentfsimo quarantfsimo cinquantfsimo sessantfsimo settantfsimo ottantfsimo novantfsimo centfsimo centf simo primo centfsimo secondo etc. c^ntotrentfsimo c^ntosettantfsimo dugentfsimo cinquecentfsimo secentfsimo millfsimo millfsimo primo etc. duemillfsimo trentamillfsimo c^ntomillfsimo 142 ORDINALS § 157-158 a. The ordinals are adjectives, and agree as such. La quarant^sima pagina The fortieth page &. Fractions below one half are expressed by ordinals. Cinque miglia e tre quarti Five and three-quarters miles I. 'Half is translated as an adjective by mfzzo, as a noun by la meta. Mezzo agrees when it precedes. Mangio m^zza la pera He ate half the pear Una m^zz' ora A half hour Sono le tre e m^zzo It is half-past three Ne prese la met^ He took half of it c. The number of the century may be expressed by ordinals (cf. 151, c). II sfcolo dfcimo quarto The fourteenth century d. Numerical titles of rulers, and of volumes, chapters, etc., are indicated by the ordinals following, without article. Carlo quinto Charles the Fifth Luigi d^cimos^sto Louis XVI CapTtolo t^rzo Chapter three e. Ordinals precede cardinals in such phrases as I primi s^i canti The first six cantos *158. Collectives, a. The commonest are — una CQppia a couple un milione a million un paio a pair un miliardo a billion (U.S.), thou- una decina half a score sand millions (Eng.) una dozzina a dozen un bilipne a trillion (U.S.), billion una ventina a score (Eng.) un centinaio about a hundred ambedue, entrambi both un migliaio about a thousand I. 'About' so many may be indicated by da or un before a cardinal. Da seic^nto About six hundred Un settanta About seventy 143 §§ 158-159 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR &. Collectives with special meanings : 1. Games: ambo, tfrao, quadfrno, cinquina, 'a two,' 'a three,' etc., in the lottery, or certain games of cards. 2. Paper: un quadfrao, un quintfrno, a packet of four, of five sheets. 3. Time: centenario 'centenary'; triduo, novfna, quarant^na, periods of three, nine, forty days ; bimfstre, trimfstre, qua- drimfstre, semf stre, periods of two, three, four, six months ; bifnnio, trifnnio, quinqufnnio, sessfnnio, decfnnio, centfnnio, mil- Ifnnio, periods of two, three, etc. years. 4. Versification : La terzina or il terzetto, la quartina, la sestina, 1* ottava, etc., three-, four-, six-, or eight-versed stanzas ; quader- nario, quinario, senario, ottonario, etc., four-, five-, six-, or eight- syllabled verses. 5. Binario is used of the two rails of a railway-track. *159. Multiplicatives. a, Multiplicatives are the adjec- tives (also used substantively) doppio 'double,' triple 'triple,' quadruple 'quadruple,' quintuplo 'fivefold,' sestuplo 'sixfold,' centuplo 'one hundredfold,' etc. Similar forms may be con- structed with v9lte 'times.' Una scatola a dpppio fondo A double-bottomed box Dodici h il triplo di quattro Twelve is three times four La mia parte era di§ci VQlte piu My share was ten times as great grande della sua as his Due alia VQlta Two at a time I. The similar forms duplice, triplice, etc. are used only as adjectives, and only of abstract things. La Triplice Alleanza The Triple Alliance 144 ORDINALS §§ 159-160 b. Arithmetical processes : Cinque via cinque, venticinque Five times five axe twenty-five Due e due fanno quattro Two and two make four Di^ci meno cinque, cinque Ten minus five leaves five 160. Indeterminate Numerals. These are molto, p9co, tr^ppo, tutto, tanto, quanto, and parecchi (f. parecchie) 'several.' When used as adjectives, they agree, and dispense with the article (except tutto, cf. c). When used substantively, the masculine singular is abstract and neuter in meaning, while the masculine plural refers to persons. For their use as adverbs, cf. 89, b. H9 trgppe CQse da fare I have too many things to do Sp^nde pQCO He spends little Parecchie d9nne avevano paura Several women were afraid Molti hanno abbandonato la cittk Many have abandoned the city *a, Molto. Tuscan usage sanctions di before molto. Ha perduto il denaro, e ne aveva He has lost his money, and he di mglto had a great deal b, Poco. Preceded by un it means 'a little,' and is often shortened to po' ; it is used adverbially in this form to mean 'just.' In the plural it means 'few,' 'a few.' Mi dia un pQ' di pane Give me a little bread Pgchi la pf nsano come me Few are of my opinion Dimmi un p9' Just tell me c. Tutto used adjectively precedes the article and the noun, unless it follows both. The article is required. Tutti gli U9mini All men, all the men Gli ucc^lli tutti All birds, all the birds I. In the singular it may mean 'whole.' Tutto il giomo All day, the whole day Tutto un giomo All one day, a whole day 145 §§ 160-161 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 2. Reinforced by quanto it means 'all possible,' 'all there were,' 'all of them,' 'every one of them.' Tutti quanti fuggirono Every one of them fled 3. Before a relative, tutto takes quelle or ci6. Tutto quello che disse fu vero All that he said was true d. Poco, molto, troppo, tanto, and quanto are often used as referring to time. St^tte mplto a tornare Ci vorrk trgppo Quanto ci sara da aspettare ? Dopo non molto Ogni quanto c' h il tram ? Ogni tanto P9C0 fa Fra pQCO He was a long time getting back It will take too long How long will there be to wait ? After a short time How often does the tram run ? Every so often, every little while A little while ago In a little while 161. The Verb />arere * seem.* Principal Parts : parere, par? ndo, paio, parr^, parvi or parsi, parso or paruto RESENT Indicative Present Subjunctive paio paiamo paia paiamo pari parete paia paiate pare paiono paia VOCABULARY paiano Borbone m. Bourbon 11 ducato duchy le Due Sicilie the Two Sicilies, Naples and Sicily Enrico Henry Filippo Philip Giorgio George il granducato grand duchy r imp§ro m. empire il Lombardo-Vf neto Lombardy and Venetia il mesti^re trade la paglia straw ; muovere ~ stir la pera pear il Piemonte Piedmont il regnante ruler il regno kingdom la SavQia Savoy 146 ORDINALS § 161 il tomaconto advantage dawero truly, indeed la Toscana Tuscany di^tro behind f accio / sg. pres. ind. of fare {irr.) dividere, divisi, diviso divide do, make elf ggere, el§ssi, el§tto elect faceva 3 sg.past descr. ind. o/fare intf ndere, intesi, inteso understand nulla anything ; wM non, nothing mugvere, mQssi, mgsso move 9 well, now rfggere, r^ssi, r^tto rule sotto under veramente really EX£RCIS£ PIPPO DICE LA STORIA Un signore che visita la scuola domanda a un contadinello : — Come ti chiami ? — Pippo del Falomi, ai suoi comandi. — E tuo padre come si chiama ? — Gasparo del Falorni, ai suoi comandi. — Che mestiere fa ? — II contadino. — Ti piace il mestiere del contadino ? — Sissignore. — Perche ? — Perche si sta sempre all' aria aperta, si lavora di molto e siamo pieni di salute. — Bravo Pippo ! . . . E . . . dimmi un po' : di storia patria ne sai nulla ? — Sissignore. La so tutta veramente bene. — O sentiamo. In quale anno incominciarono le guerre per r indipendenza d' Italia ? — Neli848. — Va bene ! O dimmi un po', Pippo, in quanti stati si divideva a quel tempo 1' Italia ? 147 § 161 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR — L' Italia era divisa, a quel tempo, in sette stati : il Piemonte sotto la dinastia di Savoia; il Lombardo-Veneto sogg^tto all' im- pero d' Austria ; il ducato di Parma, quello di M^dena e il gran- ducato di Toscana, govemati da principi i quali non movevano paglia senza il permesso dell' Austria ; il Regno delle due Sicilie retto dai Borboni, che erano i peggio di tutto ; e lo stato Pontificio. — Bravo bambino ! E . . . dimmi un po' ; nel governo di questi piccoli stati era rappresentato il popolo ? — Non capisco. — C erano le Camere dei deputati eletti dal popolo, i senator!, i ministri ? — Nossignore. Ogni regnante faceva tutto da sb. Ben inteso che dietro c' era sempre 1' Austria che ordinava, proibiva o appro- vava, secondo il suo tornaconto. — Avevi ragione. Bravo Pippo ! La sai veramente bene dav- vero, e ne faccio i miei sinceri elogi a te e al tuo maestro. II I. Just tell me, Pippo, how many wars were fought for Italian independence? Three, sir. 2. When began the first? About seventy years ago. 3. And the second? In 1859. 4. And the third ? In 1866. 5. Few states of Italy were well governed before the War of Independence. 6. Foreign rulers divided Italy among themselves. 7. Dante was bom in the thirteenth century and died in the fourteenth. 8. Louis XIV, Charles IX, Philip II, Henry VIII, and George III were all of them famous rulers. 9. How often does the train for Florence run? 10. It is half past three; it will arrive in a little while. 11. These pears seem good; I will give you half of mine. 12. 24 — 8= 16. 27 x 14 = 378. 117-1-54= 171. 13- I shall not accompany them to the train. It would take too long. 148 INDEFINITE ARTICLE § 162 LESSON XXV THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE. THE VERB FARE 162. The Indefinite Article. The indefinite article is omitted in Italian — a. Before a predicate noun, unmodified, expressing na- tionality, or condition in life. Mori martire He died a martyr E Italiano He is an Italian £ professore ? Is he a professor ? Napoleone s' h. fatto imperatQre Napoleon became {or made him- self) emperor Quella signora h contessa That lady is a coimtess Vittgrio Emanu^le II fu un re Victor Emanuel II was a valorous valorpso king I. In answer to the question 'Who is he?' as distin- guished from 'What is he?' the indefinite article is retained. Who is he ? He is a lawyer £ un awocato What is he ? (What is his occupa- tion ?) He is a lawyer £ awocato *2. If the predicate noun is used metaphorically, the indefinite article is retained. £ un angelo He is an angel But, speaking literally, Non erano passati 9tto giomi e il In less than a week the child was bambino ?ra angelo an angel (i.e. dead) h. Before a noun in apposition, when explanatory and not alluding to a familiar fact. (The appositive often precedes.) II Gab^lli, ugmo di pensi^ro e di Gabelli, a man of thought and studi studious habits 149 §§ 162-163 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Gfnero di Alessandro Manzoni, Son-in-law of Alessandro Manzoni, amico del d' Az^glio, il Giorgini friend of d' Azeglio, Giorgini fu uno degli ultimi testim9ni di was one of the last witnesses of quel perlodo della letteratura that period of Italian literature italiana The definite article is used in familiar allusion. Giuseppe Mazzini, il grande agita- Mazzini the great agitator tore c. After da in the sense of ^like,' 'in the character of,' or when indicating origin. Mori da soldato He died like a soldier Nacque da padre veneziano e da He was born of a Venetian father madre gr§ca and a Greek mother d. Before cento and mille (cf. 150, b). e. In such phrases as 'that wretch of a,' etc. Quel mon^Uo di Gigi That rascal of a Gigi Quella civetta di Mirandolina That coquette of a Mirandolina /. After che, in exclamations. Che bambina carina, che carina What a pretty child ! bambina ! g. In fractions, before the name of the thing measured. Un t^rzo di miglio A third of a mile Mi dia m^zzo chilo Give me half a kilo 163. The Verb /are 'make,* 'do.' Principal Parts : fare, facf ndo, faccio, far6, feci, fatto Present Subjunctive faccia facciamo faccia facciate faccia facciano For the imperative, see 130, e. 150 Present Indicative faccio, fai f9' facciamo fate fa fanno INDEFINITE ARTICLE §163 a. Fare governs the infinitive directly. In this construc- tion the active present infinitive renders the passive past participle in such phrases as *to have a thing done.' Lo fecero punire They had him punished (///. they caused to punish him) Fece preparare una camera He had a room made ready *&. Idioms with fare. Fare il bagno Fare i bauli Far caldo, freddo, etc. Far capolino Fare di capp^Uo Far caso di Far C9modo Far complimenti Far fronte a Far fumo Far furpre Fare le fusa Far male a Far m^glio a Fare del suo m^glio Fare a meno di Fare un mesti^re Fare a metk Fare una passeggiata Far piacere a Far presto Farsi il ritratto Far sangue Far scippero Far si che Fare un sonnellino Far specie a To take a bath To pack one's trunks To be hot weather, cold weather, etc. To peep out To take off one's hat To make account of To come handy To stand on ceremony To face, oppose To smoke (of a stove) To make a hit To purr To hurt To find it better to To do one's best To do without To ply a trade To go halves To take a walk To do a kindness, give pleasure, to To be quick To have one's picture taken To bleed To strike ; take a holiday To bring it about; to manage so that To take a nap To surprise 151 §163 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Far strada Far di suo Far tardi Fare a t^mpo Far di tutto Fare le veci di Far vedere Fare una vTsita a Far vista di Sul far del giorno, della n9tte Due giorni fa Che t^mpo fa ? Fa b^l t^mpo To be on the way, progress To do of one's own accord To be late To be on time To try one's hardest To take the place of To show To call on To make pretense of At dawn, at dusk Two days ago What kind of weather is it ? It is fine weather VOCABULARY il bagaglio baggage, luggage 11 baule trunk 11 biglietto d' andata e rltprno round-trip ticket la carrQzza carriage 11 compleanno birthday la dgnna woman, woman servant 1' onomastico m. saint's day la rpba {collective) things il ventaglio fan CQmodo convenient, comfortable carino ^ > pretty graziQsoJ '^ ^ cortese gentile educato polite pesante heavy Tjkind :ilej fare 1 bauli pack one's trunks far CQmodo come handy far compllmenti stand on ceremony fare a meno di do without fare una passeggiata take a walk far piacere a do a pleasure to far strada be on the way fare una vislta a call upon mutar dl penslfro change one's mind non veder Pora di long to, be hardly able to wait to pigliare take sentire la mancanza dl miss (a person) di glprno by day dl ngtte by night PqI then a portata di mano within reach of one's hand PQsso I sg. pres. ind. of potere {irr.) be able 152 INDEFINITE ARTICLE § 163 EXERCISES I. Abbiamo voluto fare una visita alia Signora C. 2. La donna ci ha fatto passare, ma poi ci ha detto che non era in casa la si- gnora. 3. L' abbiamo incontrata piii tardi da nostra zia. 4. £ vero che va a Vallombrosa, Signorina? 5. Si, Signora. Non vedo I'ora di partire. 6. Mi piace tanto il viaggiare. 7. Ma pigli un biglietto d' andata e ritorno, per esser sicura di tomar qui. 8. Sentiremo molto la mancanza di Lei. 9. Ha da fare i bauli.-* 10. Si, non posso fare a meno di tre bauli per la mia roba. 11. E poi ci sono i bagagli, i quali sono molto pesanti. 12. Mi permetta di darle questo ventaglio, perche fark comodo se viaggia di giorno. 13. Grazie tante. Che grazioso ventaglio! Ci vuole molta roba per il viaggio, perch^ fa caldo prima, e poi fa freddo. 14. A che ora partirk stasera ? Ha ordinato la carrozza? 15. Non bisogna ordinarla oggi. Ho mutato di pensiero. Non parto prima di mer- coledi. 16. Chi h il forestiere che ha invitato a pranzo.? 17. £ un professorc. £ Francese .'' No, h Americano. 18. £ un uomo molto educato. Viene a farmi una visita sempre pel mio comple- anno. 19. Quando e il Suo onomastico ? II ventitre giugno. II I. What day is your birthday ? The 28th of January. And your saint's day? The i8th of July. 2. Will you take a walk with me, to [per] do me a pleasure ? 3. Please buy me a round-trip ticket to Florence. 4. When you have bought it, bring it to us. 5. The servant will pack the trunks for them. 6. Let us call upon our friend Mrs. D., and on our way we will buy some things for our mother. 7. They always travel by night, because it is less hot. 8. What a pretty fan ! It is prettier than mine. 9. I have put your books on the shelf, within reach of your hand. 10. They will miss us and I shall miss them. 11. I cannot do without my friends. 153 § 163 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 12. Here is Mrs. C. Sit down, Mrs. C. Do not stand on cere- mony. 13. They wish me to pack the trunks, and there are more than four of them. 14. Come at half -past four. Do not change your mind. DIALOGO IN UN ALBERGO Vengono tre signore e una bambina, che domandano del pa- drone. Lui viene e dice loro : — Buon giorno, Signore. Che desiderano ? — Desideriamo delle camere. Ne vogliamo due a un letto, comunicanti, e una a due letti perche la bambina stia colla mamma. — Benissimo, Signore. Faro Loro vedere quali camere sono libere. Eccone due a un letto, comunicanti, con terrazza. Sono esposte al sole. Ci si sta bene d' inverno. Ecco quest' altra che dk sul giardino ; e grande, con due letti, e se non e a mezzogiorno non c' e male perche c' e il termosifone. — Vabbene. Queste camere ci piacciono. Quanto sarebbe la pensione ? — Se Loro restano almeno tre giomi, sara di otto lire il giorno. — Vabbene. Faremo venire i bauli stasera, e verremo prima del pranzo. 154 IMPERSONAL VERBS § 164 LESSON XXVI IMPERSONAL VERBS. THE VERB STARE 164. Impersonal Verbs, a. Impersonal verbs have no real subject, and are conjugated only in the third person. What v^ould be the subject in English is often expressed by the da- tive. They are used to express necessity, convenience, or ac- cident ; weather ; appearance ; satisfaction, dissatisfaction ; etc. Non m^rita il conto It is not worth while Non imp9rta It does not matter Non convi^ne It is not proper, not suitable Me ne rincresce I am sorry about it Pigve a rov^scio It is raining in torrents Come le pare ? How does it seem to you ? What do you think ? *i. Occasionally egli (gli) or e' is used redundantly as subject of an impersonal verb (cf. 100, g, 2). Gli e che siamo in alto mare The truth is we are in deep water b. Impersonal verbs require the subjunctive if the sub- ject of the dependent clause is not of the same person as the dative pronoun ; otherv^^ise they may take the infinitive (cf. 174, c). Bisogna che tutti lavorino All must work Bisogna lavorare It is necessary to work Mi dispiace che Lei d^bba partire I am sorry you must go Mi dispiace di partire I am sorry to go I. These verbs take di before a noun object. Mi dispiace della sua malattia I regret his illness c. Many verbs not essentially impersonal may be used impersonally. 155 §§ 164-165 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Sta a lui di farlo It lies with him to do it £ (di) mestieri"! , . ^ \/ ^ y It IS necessary Fa d' u9po J Tocca a me It is my turn Pare che abbia molto denaro He seems to have much money Va b^ne It goes well ; very well Basta That's enough Minaccia di nevicare It threatens to snow £ cessato di piQvere It has stopped raining d. Many verbs are used only, or mostly, in the third per- son, but as they have a subject they are not impersonal. Mi dugle la t^sta My head aches Mi d9lgono i d^nti My teeth ache Mi place quel quadro I like that picture Mi piacciono le camera I like the rooms Mi sembrano ariose They seem airy Mi occorre un lapis I need a pencil Mi bastano questi These are enough for me 1 , These verbs when followed by a clause are strictly impersonal. Mi duQle che lo dica It pains me to have you say it Mi place che vQglia venire I am glad you wish to come Non basta che scriva ; d§ve venire It is not enough that he write ; he must come 2. Non mi place, 'I do not like,' should not be confused with mi displace, 'I am sorry,' 'I regret' Non mi place questa canzone I do not like this song Mi displace che Lei abbia ricevuto I am sorry you have had bad una brutta notizia news e. For the impersonal use of the reflexive, cf. 106, b. 165. Expressions that Describe Weather. PiQve It is raining Nevica It is snowing Tugna It thunders Lampeggia, balena It lightens IS6 IMPERSONAL VERBS §§ 165-166 Tira v?nto G^la, ghiaccia Sg^la, dighiacx:ia Fa b^l t^mpo Fa cattivo t^mpo Fa caldo, freddo, fresco, umido C h il fango C h la nebbia The wind blows It is freezing It is thawing It is fair weather The weather is bad, disagreeable It is hot, cold, cool, damp It is muddy It is foggy 166. The Verb stare *be,' « stay.' (Cf. 130, e.) Principal Parts : stare, stando, stg, starg, stftti, stato Present Indicative Present Subjunctive st9 stiamo stia stiamo stai state stia stiate sta stanno stia stiano a. Special uses of stare : 1. With the present participle, or with a and the infinitive, to translate the English 'be ' (cf. 102). StQ leggendo I am reading Stanno parlando They are talking Eravamo stati a guardarci p9chi We had been looking on a few minuti minutes 2. To mean 'be,' in the sense of to be in a place or a condition. Non st^tti molto a Fir^nze I was not long at Florence Sta b^ne di salute He is in good health St9 di casa in Via Garibaldi I live on Via Garibaldi *b. Idioms with stare. Stare allegro Stare att^nto Star b^ne, male Star b^ne a, star male a Stare al buio Star di casa To be cheerful To be attentive To be well, ill To befit, not to befit To be in the dark To live, reside 157 166 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Stare in casa Star C9modo Star fermo Stare fresco Stare con le mani in mano Star nascosto Stare in pensi^ro Stare per far una C9sa Stare in pi^di Star vicino, lontano Star zitto Come sta ? St9 b^ne To stay in To be comfortable To be still To be sadly off {derisory) To be idle To be hidden To be worried To be on the point of doing a thing To stand up To be near, far To be silent How do you do ? I am well VOCABULARY la disgrazia misfortune il fango mud il ghiaccio ice la nebbia fog il sole sun brutto disagreeable, ugly ricco (-chi, -che) rich al giorno d' 9ggi nowadays non . . . che only, not but, nothing but non c' fe male pretty well non c' h rimfdio there is no help for it non mi par vero di I can't believe, I can't wait to star di casa live, reside stare in casa stay in the house star cgmodo be comfortable stare in pensif ro worry, be worried star per (w. inf.) be about to accadere, accadde, accaduto happen awenire {like venire) happen balenare lighten bastare suffice, be enough cessare (di) cease (to) dispiacere a {irr.) make sorry, cause to regret; mi dispiace I am sorry diventare become (divfnto) ghiacciare freeze minacciare threaten nevicare snow occorrere, occorse, occorso be nec- essary piQvere, pi^vve, piovuto rain rincrescere, rincrebbe, rincresciuto (a) {impers.) make sorry ; mi rincresce I am sorry {w. dat.) tirar v^nto blow tonare (cf. 110, d) thunder iS8 IMPERSONAL VERBS § 166 EXERCISE I. Buon giomo, Signore. Come sta? Non c' e male, grazie. 2. E la Signora Bondi, come sta? Non sta tan to bene. 3. Non va fuori perche minaccia di nevicare. 4. Stark in casa tutto il giomo. 5. Mi dispiace che non stia bene di salute. 6. Quando sara cessato di nevicare, fark una passeggiata. 7. Le dica che andro a pren- derla. 8. Dove sta di casa ? In Via Cavour. 9. Le rincresce della brutta notizia. 10. Per imparare una lingua, non basta che lo sco- lare la studi e la legga. 11. Occorre anche la pratica. 12. Rin- crebbe loro che non venissimo. 13. Awiene spesso al giomo d'oggi che il povero diventi ricco. 14. Che tempo fa? Fa cattivo tempo. 15. II vento tira forte, ghiaccia, dighiaccia, piove, nevica, tutto a un tempo. Che brutto tempo ! 16. Non c' e quest' invemo che il fango, la nebbia e la neve. 17. Allora non andro fuori. Si sta pill comodo in casa. 18. Non mi piace che tiri vento. C b sole ? II I. What day of the month is it ? 2. It is the 9th. 3. What kind of weather is it? 4. It is very hot. 5. It is lightening, and threat- ens to thunder. 6. Has it stopped raining? 7. Yes, and the wind does not blow, but there is no sun. 8. I shall stay in the house to-day, but I wish you to go out. 9. Do you think it is raining? 10. It seems to me they do not wish to give it to me. 11. A mis- fortune has occurred, and we are very sorry. 12. I am about to go to France. 13. They need two tmnks. 14. How do you do? I am well, but my mother is ill. 15. I am sorry, but do not be worried. 16. Your mother will be better to-morrow. 17. I hope so [it]. 18. It seems to me I have nothing but misfortunes. 19. She lives in Florence. 20. I live on Via del Casato. 21. One is very comfortable in Via Cavour. 159 167 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON XXVII CONJUNCTIVES WITH A DEPENDENT INFINITIVE. THE VERB POTERE 167. Conjunctive Objects with a Dependent Infinitive. a. Generally speaking, if a dependent infinitive has a pronoun object (or objects), the latter may either be ap- pended to it (cf. 95, 6), or precede the main verb. Manda a prenderlo ~l ,^ , . , . _ , _ , ^ He sends for him Lo manda a prf ndere J Vorrebbe dirmelo? Me lo vorrebbe dire . ^ V Should you be willing to tell it to me ? 6. But when the governing verb is impersonal, the object must go with the infinitive. Npn convi^ne farlo It is not convenient to do so Bisogna dargliela It is necessary to give it to her c. Whereas, if the governing verb be far«, lasciare, sentire, udire, or vedere, the object must precede the main verb. The dependent verb, if transitive, becomes passive in meaning. Lo fecero fucilare They had him shot Ti s?nto cantare I hear you singing Lo lasciarono battere They allowed him to be beaten I. If the object of either verb be a noun, it usually follows both verbs. Carletto amava di sentire sonare Charlie liked to hear the band play la banda II generale fece punire il soldato The general had the soldier pun- ished i6o OBJECT OF DEPENDENT INFINITIVE §§ 167-168 2. If the main verb also has an object, that object becomes indirect. Glielo vidi fare I saw him do it Per non fare prendere un raff red- In order not to let the cattle take dore ai bQvi cold Fecero accettare la carica al gene- They made the general accept the rale office La fanno accettare al generale They make the general accept it 168. The Verb potere *be able.* Principal Parts : potere, pot§ndo, pgsso, potr^, pot§i, potato Present Indicative Present Subjunctive P9SS0 possiamo P9ssa possiamo pu9i potete P9ssa possiate pu9 p9ssono P9ssa p9ssano a. Cf. 132, a, i. la banda band 11 caff? caf^ 11 cameri^re waiter la fin^stra window 11 gelato ice, ice cream la gi^ia joy la giratina little walk lo spasso walk, excursion lo statute constitution a un tratto suddenly fuQri (di) outside (of) fuQri di pgrta outside the walls m^ntre while VOCABULARY piccino littie, tiny ascoltare listen, listen to (ascolto) condurre, conduc^ndo, conduco, con- dun^, condussl, condptto take, conduct figurarsl imagine ordinare order (ordino) riunire unite, assemble sonare (110, d) play (an instrument) sorbire sip spicciarsi hasten, hurry spiegare explain stancarsl become tired i6i § 168 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I PERCHfe OGGI SUONA LA BANDA? Quella prima domenica del mese di giugno, Carletto, tutto ves- tito a festa, fu condotto a spasso dal suo babbo. Prima essi fecero una giratina fuori di porta, poi ritornarono in paese, dove, nella piazza principale, sonava la banda. Carletto si stance a stare in piedi. Allora il suo babbo lo con- dusse al caffe, li nella piazza, e gli fece prendere un gelato. II gelato piaceva tan to a Carletto : figuratevi la sua gioia di poterlo sorbire seduto, mentre ascoltava la banda. A un tratto egli domando : — Babbo, perche suona oggi la banda, e perche in molte case ci sono le bandiere alle finestre ? — Perchb oggi e la festa dello Statuto — gli rispose il babbo. — E che cosa e lo Statuto ? — Ah 1 tu sei cos\ piccino, non saprei come spiegarlo : ti basti sapere che lo Statuto e la piu solenne nostra festa civile, la quale insegna a tutti noi Italiani, adulti e piccini, che siamo liberi e riu- niti in una sola grande famiglia. Allora Carletto, battendo le mani, esclamo : Viva P Italia I II I. What day is Constitution Day in Italy? It is the first Sun- day of June. 2 . Why are there tricolored flags at the windows .'* 3. Can his father explain it to him .'* 4. He will explain it to him when he is ten years old. 5. Charlie's father took him to walk. 6. Charlie will become tired standing. 7. His father will take him to the cafe. 8. Will he give him [have him take] an ice ? 9. He cannot have him take it because there is no room. 10. Now they have found a table and they can order it. 11. The waiter will bring it to them. 12. Charlie can hardly wait to sip it. 13. But his father 162 OBJECT OF DEPENDENT INFINITIVE § 168 says : " Wait a moment. Let him bring it to you." 14. The waiter would not make them wait if he could hurry. 15. They like the ice very much. 16. They can sip it while they listen to the band. 17. Charlie's father thinks it is beginning to rain. 18. If it rained, they would leave the cafe. 19. Charlie does not wish it to rain. 20. He wishes to stay there where he can hear the band play. 21. We should like to hear them sing. 22. If it should thunder and lighten they would not be able to stay there. 23. There is the sun ! It must have stopped raining. DIALOGO DALLA SARTA £ noioso d' andare dalla sarta, ma le signore ne hanno troppo bisogno. — Dove sta la sua sarta ? Ho sentito ch' h molto brava. — Sta air ultimo piano di una casa in Via Tornabuoni. L' av- verto che ci sono molte scale. Vuole che V accompagni ? — Mi farebbe un vero piacere. Cos\ mi aiutera a scegliere il figurino e la st^ffa. . . . Vorrei un abito da passeggio. — Come dev' essere, scuro o chiaro } — Siccome sto per fare un lungo viaggio, me ne occorrerebbero due, uno d' inverno e uno di mezza stagione. Ho bisogno anche di un vestito da casa e un vestito scollato da sera. — Cominciamo col vestito da casa. Lo f arei di una stoffa mezza seta, con guamizione d' un tQno piu scuro. — Gli abiti da passeggio li vorrei colla sottana a pi^ghe, molto semplice, all' inglese, e piuttosto corta, perch' e piu pratica. Mi ci metta nella giacchetta una fQdera bianca. — Mi raccomando che la fodera sia forte, perch^ quella dell' ul- timo vestito che mi fece a me, mi si sciupb subito. — Quanto al colore, ci pensero e glielo diro quest' altra volta quando tomero per la prova del vestito da casa. 163 §169 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON XXVIII THE SUBJUNCTIVE. THE VERB DOLERE 169. The Subjunctive in Dependent Clauses. The sub- junctive, generally speaking, is used to express uncertainty, or at most something less than certainty. It is required in dependent clauses, a. After verbs of causation or prevention, desire or emo- tion, concession, doubt, opinion, or ignorance. II generale ha dato ordine che non smpntino il campo Impediranno che il nemico s' awi- cini Pregava che fossero generosi Si messe in t^sta che 1' avessero fatto a p9sta Credei d' indovinare che cercasse di morire Di dove §sca, dove vada, non lo S9 Mi fa piacere che vivano li?ti Temo che il mio figHu9lo sia am- malato The general has given orders not to break camp They will prevent the enemy from approaching He begged them to be generous He took it into his head that they had done it on purpose I fancied I had guessed that he sought to die Where he comes from, whither he is going, I do not know I am glad they are living happily I am afraid my little boy is ill I. Pleonastic non is commonly used in subordinate clauses after temere, badare, mancar pgco, non dubitare, non c' h dubbio, and similar expressions. Temo che il viaggio non sia tr9ppo I am afraid the journey will be lungo too long Pqco manc5 che non cadesse He came near falling (It lacked little that he should fall) Non dubito che non sia vero I do not doubt that it is true 164 THE SUBJUNCTIVE § 169 &. After a verb used negatively or interrogatively. Non h vero che i ricchi siano It is not true that the rich are s?mpre felici always happy Di rado awifne che un foresti^re It rarely happens that a foreigner parli italiano speditamente speaks Italian fluently Chi direbbe che fossero Inglesi ? Who would say they were English? c. After conjunctions of time (before which), concession, and purpose (not yet accomplished), and those meaning 'as if,' 'whenever,' 'wherever,' 'without.' (Cf. 230, a.) Glielo dir9 prima che vfngano I shall tell you before they come Purchfe guarisca, non imp9rta Provided he recovers, nothing else deir altro matters Benchfe lo dica lui stesso, non lo Though he says so himself, I don't credo believe it Tento di comprare un vagabondo, He tried to pay a vagabond to perchfe facesse una testimonianza give false testimony falsa Stava in pensi^ro, cpme se tem^sse He was in anxiety, as if he feared qualche disgrazia som^ misfortune Dovunque sia, lo troveremo Wherever it is, we shall find it Passarono div^rsi minuti sfnza che Several minutes passed, without desse un segno di vita his giving a sign of life d. In conditions whose conclusion is in past future (cf . 93, a). Se rimanesse, farebbe piacere a If he should remain, he would sua madre please his mother e. After impersonal verbs or expressions. Si pub dire che 1' ugmo abbia due It may be said that man has two nature natures Occorrerebbe che andasse via subito It would be necessary for him to go away at once *i. When the subordinate verb in the subjunctive has a subject, the order is often such as to make that subject appear to belong with the impersonal main verb. •6s § 169 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Tutto il paesaggio pareva che All the landscape seemed to ex- dicesse la tranquillita press tranquillity La battaglia era venuta a quel The battle had reached the point punto in cui la direzipne bisogna where it is necessary that author- che sia supplita dal senno ity be replaced by judgment /. After superlatives, and 'only' in relative clauses. Lavora il piii che sia possibile He works the most he can La pill bella cittk ch' io abbia mai The most beautiful city I have vista ever seen *i. Sometimes, for vivacity or emphasis, after comparatives. II brigandaggio h molto meno Brigandage is much less frequent frequ^nte che non lo fosse than it was g. In an attributive clause which predicates of the ante- cedent something doubtful, limited, or not yet accomplished. Un Americano che vada in Italia e studi il movimento politico C^rca degli orecchini che accom- pagnino la collana Non c' h uno su di^ci che la pgnsi come lui h» After indefinites. Chi ci avesse visti dal basso, ci avrebbe presi per due pazzi Per quanto patisse, non si lagno Chiunque venga, non sara ricevuto /. In indirect questions. Tutti sanno quale f amoso cacciatore egli fosse Pagherei sapere quello che faccia An American who should go to Italy and study the political situation (would find, etc.) She is looking for earrings to match the necklace There is not one in ten who is of his opinion Any one who had seen us from below would have taken us for two madmen No matter how much he suffered, he did not complain Whoever may come, he will not be received Everybody knows what a famous hunter he was I wonder what he does 66 THE SUBJUNCTIVE §§ 169-171 Senti quanta fosse la grandezza di He realized how great was the queir u9mo nobility of that man Note i. For the subjunctive may usually be substituted the future, when it relates to future time. It is always future, when the matter is certain. Note 2. Che is not infrequently omitted. Una sera sembro dicesse avessi date One evening it seemed that he said r^tta ai su^i consigli ! that if only I had given heed to his advice — ! 170. Sequence of Tenses, a. A principal verb in the present, imperative, future, or present perfect is followed by the present or present perfect subjunctive. Non vuole ch' io rimanga ? Do you not wish me to remain ? Dille che venga Tell her to come Non crederk che sia venuto He will not believe I have come Non hg richi^sto che vada I have not demanded that he go b, A principal verb in any other past tense will be followed by the past or past perfect subjunctive. Si diceva che avesse dei par^nti It was said that he had some poor P9veri relatives Bisognerebbe che partissi I should have to leave Non dicemmo che fosse mgrto We did not say he had died I. The past tenses of the subjunctive may, of course, follow a present tense of the main verb, where the sense requires it. Crediamo che fossero partiti prima We believe they had gone before che noi ne avessimo notizia we had news of it 171. Subjunctive in Independent Clauses. The subjunc- tive is used in the independent clause, a. To supply the missing third person of the imperative (cf. 92, a). Sia detto ad onor del vero Be it said out of respect for the truth 167 §§ 171-172 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 6. In the past tense to express an augury or imprecation, usually unlikely of fulfillment. Ho due canarini. Tu vedessi come I have two canaries. If you could son graziosi ! only see how pretty they are ! 172. The Verb dolere 'grieve,' 'pain.* Principal Parts : Dolere, dol§ndo, dglgo, dorr^, dglsi, doluto Present Indicative Present Subjunctive d9lgo (d9glio) dogliamo (dolghiamo) d9lga (d9glia) dogliamo (dolghiamo) du9li dolete d9lga dogliate du9le dolete d9lgono (d9gliono) d9lga d9lgano (d9gliano) VOCABULARY la difesa defense il dovere duty la faccia face la salvezza safety lo scQpo purpose lo spirito spirit militare military mite mild, gentle selvaggio savage, wild mnano human vile cowardly cpntro against finche as long as finche . . . non [w. subj.) until qualora whenever qualunque (adj.) whatever sebb^ne although accrescere increase alterare alter comandare command deprimere, depr^ssi, deprfsso de- press, lower dimostrare show, demonstrate esitare hesitate esporre, espon^ndo, espongo, esposi, esposto expose impedire prevent importare (impers.) be important lanciare hurl punire punish richifdere, richi^si, richi^sto de- mand sembrare seem (sembro) sparire disappear 1 68 THE SUBJUNCTIVE § 172 EXERCISE I (From La terza Italia) I. Lo scopo supremo delle istituzioni militari b la difesa del paese. 2. A questo scopo importa soprattutto che non sia depresso lo spirit© militare. 3. Giuseppe Garibaldi ha sempre comandato forze troppo piccole perche ci possa fornire insigni es^mpi di or- ganizzazione ; ma ha vinto. 4. Noi Americani possiamo dire sin- ceramente che non siamo militaristi; ma ci sembrerebbe un vile r uomo che parlasse contro il dovere di esporre la vita, qualora sia necessario, per la patria. 5. II nostro Lincoln era 1' uomo piu mite, pill antimilitarista che sia stato al mondo. 6. Ma dimostro che egli non avrebbe esitato un momento a lanciare il suo paese in una guerra tremenda, se la salvezza del paese stesso T avesse richiesto. 7. Le guerre sono una cosa terribile, uno spettacolo selvaggio; speriamo che col tempo finiscano per sparire della faccia della terra. 8. Finche il mondo rimane quello che fe, bisognerebbe alterare profondamente la natura umana per impedire che la coscienza della superiority nazionale non accresca le energie individue, in qualunque direzione esse vengano applicate. II 1. Let us hope that wars may disappear from the face of the earth. 2. As long as the world remains what it is, it is important that men should know how to fight for their country. 3. In what- ever direction they are going, they wish the soldiers to follow them. 4. Do you think that the supreme purpose of military institutions is the defense of the country? 5. The general gave orders that his soldiers should not expose their lives that day. 6. We wish to prevent the military spirit from increasing. 7. It grieves us that you should speak of it. 8. It seems to us that the defense of the country is important above all. 9. Although he was a mild man, the safety of the country demanded that he should 169 § 173 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR fight. lo. They would talk against a soldier who should hesitate to expose his life. ii. We are afraid that he will seem a coward, although he has done his duty. 12. The general had him punished, although he had shown the military spirit. 13. He exposed his life whenever the safety of the country demanded it. 1 4. We must alter the world before wars can disappear. 15. He seems the great- est general that has ever commanded our soldiers. 16. If we could reduce the military spirit, we should prevent wars from increasing. 17, The general ordered us to follow him in order not to expose his soldiers. LESSON XXIX THE INFINITIVE. THE VERB DIRE 173. The Infinitive. The infinitive may be used — fl. As a substantive, in all cases ; it often best translates the English gerund in -ing (of. 193, d). Mi du9le 11 dirlo It pains me to say it Non h assurdo lo sperare che si It is not absurd to hope that war P9ssa rinunziare alia guerra may be given up La produzione dell' Inghilt^rra e The production of England is far lungi dal bastare ai su9i bisogni from sufELcing for its needs Le arti giovano al paese nel suo The arts are helpful to a country in andare verso la civilth, its movement toward civilization Stimava il ridere essere medicina He thought that laughing was a sicura sure remedy Al primo entrare On first entering Fu imprigionato per aver congiu- He was imprisoned because of rato haying conspired &. As a verb, governing objects, etc., being substituted very often, especially where the subject is identical, for a dependent clause (usually in the subjunctive) of time, cause, 170 THE INFINITIVE §173 command, purpose, result, condition or concession, or indi- rect discourse or question. Le d9nne, a vederci passare, pian- gevano Mi tel§foni prima di venire DItegli di scrivermi Ha promesso di mutar vita Chi h posto tanto in alto da non temere di cadere ? L' ha detto in m9do da farsi credere A sentirlo parlare, si direbbe che fosse Franeese Lo lasciarono partire, a patto di tomare 1' indomani Credo di doverlo fare Cercava qualche lu9go pve fare il suo dep9sito The women, as they saw us pass, were weeping Telephone me before you come Tell him to write me He has promised to change his way of life Who is so high that he need fear no fall? He said it in such a way as to make them believe him If you heard him speak, you would say he was a Frenchman They let him go, provided he should return next day I think I have to do it He was looking for some place where he might make his deposit I. Or it may be at once substantive and verb, governing an object while itself an object. Si propose di far un viaggio He intended to make a journey c. EUiptically, with the force of a finite verb. E p9i da capo a parlare inglese Ecco venire f rettoloso un volontario Qui, il Griso a proporre, don Ro- drigo a disciitere finch^ ebbero concertata la mani^ra di con- durre a fine 1' impresa Che fare.? PiuttQsto morlre che fare una tal C9sa - Then they began all over again to talk English Here came up hastily a volunteer Hereupon Griso began to propose and Don Rodrigo to discuss, until they had arranged a method for bringing the enterprise to a conclusion What is to be done ? I would rather die than do such a thing 171 §174 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 174. Government of the Infinitive. The infinitive may depend upon — a, A noun, by means of da or di. Macchina da scrivere Typewriter Ha intenzione di farlo He intends to do it 6. An adjective. 1. By means of a, II colt^llo e adatto a tagUare Siamo pronti a partire Fu il primo a entrare C9se leggiadre a riguardare 2. By means of da. II SU9I0 h ripido da doverci posare i pi?di b?n pari 3. By means of di. Siamo felici di vederlo c. A verb. 1. Directly, upon the following ardire dare bastare suffice bisognare be necessary convenire be suitable dovere owe, must, ought essere d* uQpo, essere (di) mesti?ri, be necessary fare make, cause, have done lasciare allow, let 2. By means of a. Verbs of motion or rest, and many verbs signifying the source, beginning, continuance, or promotion of an action, take a before the infinitive. Andb a chiamarla He went to call her Si misero a discorrere in italiano They began to talk in Italian The knife is useful for cutting We are ready to leave He was the first to enter Things lovely to look at The ground is so steep that we must plant our feet very evenly We are happy to see him occorrere be necessary osare dare parere appear potere be able sapere know how sentire hear, feel udire hear vedere see volere wish, will THE INFINITIVE 174-175 St^tte a sentire con aria di curiositk He stood listening with an air of curiosity Seguitavo a Ifggere ad alta voce I went on reading aloud 3. By means of di. means of di. Most other verbs govern the infinitive by Mi par di averlo veduto Promette di venire M' ha scritto di mandarglielo Dimostra di avere gran ricchezza It seems to me I have seen him He promises to come He has written me to send it to him He appears to have great wealth 4. In special senses, by means of per and da. The infinitive with per expresses purpose; with da it expresses obligation, or propriety, and usually may be translated by the passive. O anima che vai per esser li^ta Che r^sta da fare ? Ci sark molto da aspettare ? Le costruzioni francesi sono da evitarsi O spirit who goest to (in order to) be joyful What remains to be done ? Will there be long to wait ? French constructions should b« avoided 175. The Verb dire 'say,' 'tell.* (Cf. 130, e.) PjiiNCiPAL Parts : Dire, dic?ndo, dico, dir^, dissi, detto Present Indicative Present Subjuncti dico diciamo dica didamo did dite dica didate dice dicono dica VOCABULARY dlrano il bilancio balance, account la civiltli civilization la cosci^nza consciousness V esfrcito m. army 11 danno damage V evenifnza/; occurrence 1* Qnda/i wave 1' ordinamento m. arrangement la povertll poverty il sostegno support la spesa expense assurdo absurd civile civilized, dvil fiacco weak 173 § 175 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR appartenere belong trattarsi di be a question of diffondere, diffusi, diffuse scatter eroicamente heroically figurare figure forse perhaps rinunziare a give up {sometimes di in quanto a as for before an inf.) v?rso towards EXERCISE I (From La terza Italia) I. Non e da dimenticare che in Italia lo spirito militare e molto fiacco. 2 . Naturalmente, in quanto a spese militari, la miglior cosa sarebbe che se ne potesse fare a meno. 3. Forse potra venire un giorno in cui queste spese non figureranno pili nei bilanci delle nazioni civili. 4. Ma e assurdo il credere che una nazione possa rinunziare a tenersi pronta per ogni evenienza. 5. La relativa po- verty deir Italia moderna dipende soprattutto, come credo d' aver dimostrato, dai suoi cattivi ordinamenti amministrativi, ordinamenti che non servono di sostegno al paese nel suo andare verso la civiltk. 6. Questa onda di sentimento, che si cerca di diffondere nel popolo italiano, contraria a tutto cio che sa di vita militare, finira per esser di grave danno al paese. 7. Non si tratta di fare del militarismo, ma di far si che ogni buon figlio d' Italia abbia la coscienza d' ap- partenere a un grande popolo, e sia determinato a fare eroicamente il suo dovere. 8. Non sarebbe difficile far combattere i soldati quando 1' esercito fosse condotto da buoni generali. II I. We think we have shown that it is not a question of the military spirit. 2. We must not give up holding ourselves in readiness to defend our country. 3. It is to be hoped that war will vanish from the face of the earth. 4. We wished to go to France, although the expenses of the journey would be great. 5. It is absurd to think that the army is not led by good generals. 6. We are happy to know that they are talking against everything that smacks of war. 174 NUMBER §§ 176-177 7. It is important that we should be ready to leave. 8. They ended by giving up following the army. 9. They would have told me to write them about it if they had wished to know. 10. He hesi- tates to leave, and we are trying to prevent him from leaving. 1 1 . Would it be difficult to make the army leave before the gen- eral returns? 12. It pains us to see that he cannot write. 13. It pleases us to belong to a great people. 14. They have several letters to write. 15. They are glad to write them. 16. We cannot hear them sing. LESSON XXX NUMBER IN NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES. THE VERB PIACERE 176. Invariables. All monosyllables, and all nouns end- ing in a consonant, an accented vowel, u, i, or ie (except moglie), remain unchanged in the plural. il re the king ; i re il lapis the pencil ; i lapis la liberty liberty ; le liberty il chill the cue-owl ; i chiii la crisi the crisis ; le crisi la s^rie the series ; le s?rie 177. Feminine Plurals, a. Feminine nouns, and feminine forms of adjectives, ending in unaccented a, change a to e in the plural. la spazzola the brush ; le spazzole I . Those in -ca and -ga form the plural respectively in -che and -ghe, inserting the h to preserve the hard sound of c and g. la barca the boat ; le barche la bottega the shop ; le botteghe la mano bianca the white hand ; le mani blanche §§ 177-178 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 2. Nouns (but not adjectives) in unaccented -cia and -gia pre- ceded by a consonant drop i before the e of the plural. la provincia the province ; le province la piaggia the beach ; le piagge But la nostalgia homesickness ; le nostalgie la sottana grigia the gray shirt ; le sottane grigie 3. Feminine nouns in and e (not ie) form their plural in i. la mano the hand ; le mani la lite the lawsuit ; le liti 178. Masculine Plurals, a. Masculine nouns in a, 0, e (not ie), and masculine forms of adjectives in or e, form their plural in i. il papa the pope ; i papi il probl^ma the problem ; i probl^mi il socialista the socialist ; i socialisti il buono Inglese the good Englishman ; i buoni Inglesi r Italiano intelligente the intelligent Italian ; gP Italiani intelligenti 1. Those in -ca and -ga form their plural respectively in -chi and -ghi. ^ ^^^.^ ^^vq duke ; i duchi il coUf ga the colleague ; i collf ghi Except B§lga ' Belgian/ of common gender, which has a mas- culine plural Bflgi, and a feminine Bflghe. 2. Those in unaccented -io change io to i (often written i, j, or ii). Where the i is accented, the plural is always ii. Io studio the study ; gli studi il f Qglio the sheet of paper ; i fggli But 1' oblio forgetfulness ; gli oblii 3. When a noun in -ista refers to a woman and takes the feminine gender, its plural ends in e. la socialista the woman socialist ; le socialiste 176 NUMBER § 178 b. Those in -go form their plural in -ghi. V alb^rgo the hotel ; gli alb^rghi 1. But those in unaccented -fago, and those in unaccented -logo when referring to scientists, form the plural in -gi. antropQfago man-eating; antropgfagi il filQlogo the philologist ; i filglogi But il dialogo dialogue ; i dialoghi 2. Mago has two plurals, differing according to meaning: maghi 'magicians' and magi 'Magi.' c. Those in -co form their plural in -chi if the penult is accented ; otherw^ise in -ci. Adjectives in -co likewise. il mf dico ricco the rich physician ; i mf dici ricchi il fuQco magico the magic fire ; i fuQchi magici il ci?co stanco the tired blind man : i ci?chi stanchi il mgnaco austriaco the Austrian monk ; i mgnaci austriaci 1. The following words, though the penult is accented, form their plurals in -ci: amico friend gr?co Greek nemico, inimico enemy pgrco pig Note. Greco has a regular plural in the phrase vini grechi 'Greek wines,' 2. The following words, although the penult is unaccented, form their plural in -chi: carico loaded manico handle strascico train of gown dimentico neglectful parroco parish priest tgssico poison fondaco warehouse stgmaco stomach trafS.co traffic lastrico pavement stgrico historic Note. There are further exceptions under b, i, and c, 2, but the words are obsolete or rare. § 179 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 179. Irregular Plurals, a. Certain masculine nouns in o have an irregular plural in a with change of gender. These are un centinaio about a hundred ; delle centinaia un migliaio about a thousand ; delle migliaia il miglio mile ; le miglia il paio pair ; le paia V uQvo egg ; le UQva b. Many others have this feminine plural in a in addition to a regular masculine one in i. For most of the following words the form in a is very common ; especially for those referring to parts of the body when taken collectively : V an?llo ring ; gli an? Hi, le an§lla il bud^Uo bowel ; i bud§lli, le bud^lla il calcagno heel ; i calcagni, le calcagna il cast^Uo castle ; i cast^Ui, le cast? 11a 11 dito finger ; i diti, le dita il ginQCchio knee ; i gingcchi, le gin^cchia il grido cry ; i gridi, le grida il labbro lip ; i labbri, le labbra V Qsso bone ; gli Qssi, le gssa il pugno fist ; i pugni, le pugna lo stride shriek ; gli stridi, le strida *i. In the following nouns the plural in a has a different or more restricted meaning, usually more literal: il braccio, i bracci, arm le braccia arms o/fke body il carro, i carri, wagon il carro, le carra, wagon-load il cerv§llo, i cerv§lli, brain le cerv?lla brains in the physical sense il ciglio, i cigli, visage il ciglio, le ciglia, eyebrow il coltfUo, i coltfUi, knife le colt§lla large knives il cgrno, i cgrni, horn le cgrna horns of an animal il cugio, i cupi, leather le cugia hides, whole skins il filo, i fili, thread le fila collective il fondamento, i fondamenti, foun- le fondamenta foundations of a dation building 178 NUMBER §§ 179-180 il frutto, i frutti, fruit il fuso, i fusi, spindle 11 g?sto, 1 g?stl, gesture il gomito, i gomiti, elbow il legno, i legni, wood il lenzuQlo, i lenzuQli, sheet il m^mbro, i m^mbri, member il muro, i muri, wall il riso, i risi, rice il sacco, i sacchi, sack lo staio, gli stai, barrel il suqIo, i suQli, ground, pavement V urlo, gli urli, cry le frutta fruit served on the table le fusa purring il gfsto, le g?sta, exploit le gomita eXhoyis, part of the body le legna wood to burfi le lenzuQla pair of sheets le membra parts of the body, col- lectively le mura all the walls of a building or city, collectively 11 riso, le risa, laughter il sacco, le sacca, sackful lo staio, le staia, barrelful il SU9I0, le sugla, sole of a shoe le urla human cries \2. The following have the feminine plural in a only in poetry : il fato fate il peccato sin c. Plurals wholly irregular. V ala wing ; le ali (le ale) il bue ox ; i buQi il dio god ; gli cl§i il porno apple il vestigio trace, footstep la moglie wife ; le mogli 1' u9mo man ; gli ugmini *180. Plurals of Proper Names, a. Given names form their plurals according to the regular rules, except that masculines in a and feminines in are invariable. I Carli I Geremia L' Elene Le Clio The Charleses The Jeremiahs The Helens The Clios h. Family names are invariable, unless ending in and not compound. II GalilfO, i Galilfi Galileo, the Galileos II Buondelmonte, i Buondelmpnte Buondelmonte, the Buondelmonte family n della Robbia, i della Rpbbia Delia Robbia, the Delia Robbias 179 §§ 181-182 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 181. Plural of Compound Nouns. Compound nouns form their plural in one of four ways : a. The second member only is variable. il gentilugmo gentleman ; i gentilugmini il lavamano washstand ; i lavamani h. The first member only is variable. il capopQpolo head of the popular party ; i capipgpolo c. Both members are variable. la buonamano tip, fee ; le buonemani il palcoscf nice proscenium arch ; i palchiscf nici d. Both members are invariable. il lustrascarpe bootblack ; i lustrascarpe il pgrtavoce megaphone ; i pgrtavpce *182. Defective Nouns, a. The following nouns have no singular : gli annali annals le fQrbici scissors gli occhiali spectacles le busse beating i maccheroni macaroni le tf nebre darkness le esfquie obsequies le ngzze wedding etc. b. The following have no plural : la calvizie baldness la fame hunger la sete thirst la canizie white hairs la mane morning etc. la CQpia plenty il pepe pepper Many names of metals, and many abstract nouns. c. Many nouns, though not strictly defective, are used almost exclusively in either the singular or the plural. Such are la prog|nie, la prgle, la stirpe, i ruderi ruins race, progeny gli spinaci spinach i pQsteri posterity d. Some nouns have a different meaning in the plural. la mglla spring, catch le mglle tongs il rgstro beak i rgstri tribune, rostrum il yezzo custom i vezzi caresses i8o NUMBER §§ 183-185 *183. Collectives. Collective nouns which are plural in meaning but singular in form take a verb or adjective in the singular. Sono g?nte che non viaggia mai They are people who never travel Avevo lasciato tutta la mia iQba a I had left all my things in Paris Parigi *184. Distributive Singular. The singular is used in Italian, of nouns referring to parts of the body or to clothing, to mean 'one each,' where the plural would be used in English. Alzarono la mano d^stra They raised their right hands Si levarono 11 cappfUo They took off their hats But Fece tagliar lore le mani He had their hands cut off (both hands of each) a. Yet the adjective in such cases agrees in the plural. L' idea d' uscirne sani e salvi non The idea of getting out safe and passo per il capo a nessuno sound never entered their heads 185. The Verb piacere * please,' *be pleasing.* Principal Parts : Piacere, piacf ndo, piaccio, placer^, piacqui, piaciuto Present Indicative Present Subjunctive piaccio piacciamo piaci piacete piace piacdono V alb^rgo m. hotel V antologia f. anthology 1' arancio m. orange-tree la barca boat il Bf Iga Belgian piaccia piacciamo piaccia piacciate piaccia piacciano VOCABULARY la bottega shop il chirurgo surgeon la cittH city il dialogo dialogue il dito finger i8i §185 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR il domfstico domestic le fQrbici scissors il frutto fruit il fungo mushroom la g?nte folk, people il ginQCchio knee Giulio Cesare Julius Caesar la guancia cheek il labbro lip il lapis pencil il lavamano washstand il legno wood la letteratura literature il luQgo place, location il lustrascarpe bootblack la macchia brambles, thicket la marcia march la metrgpoli metropolis la moglie wife la mQlla spring, mainspring le mglle tongs il muro wall il nemico enemy il paio pair il parroco parish priest il soprabito overcoat la spf cie kind, sort lo stivale boot il tacco heel la t§sta head 1' UQvo 7n. egg la virtii virtue, power antico ancient austriaco Austrian bf llico pertaining to war, of warfare bellicoso warlike britannico Britannic caduco weak carico loaded cifco blind classico classic etrusco Etruscan filosQfico philosophical forzato forced grfco Greek laico laic, layman ricco rich scarico run down, free, unloaded simpatico nice, congenial stanco tired tipico typical ubriaco drunk accfndere, accesi, acceso, light, kindle caricare load, wind up lustrare black, polish rompere, ruppi, rotto break tagliare cut EXERCISE I I. They have their boots blacked. 2. The Britannic kings were old. 3. The watches are run down, both of them. 4. They must be wound up. 5. The mainspring is broken. 6. The Greek boot- blacks had little shops in all the great metropolises. 7. Bring me 1S2 NUMBER * §186 some wood for the fires. 8. Let us take a walk outside the walls. 9. The Etruscan cities have been dead for centuries. 10. She has burnt her fingers. 11. The philosophical Greeks studied political institutions. 12. Julius Caesar tells us that the ancient Belgians were a warlike people. 13. I have lost two pairs of scissors, and all my pencils. 14. Her lips and cheeks are red. 15. The Austrian surgeons are very rich. 16. There are orange-trees in our garden. 17. Oranges are the fruit of the orange-tree. 18. The soldiers are not drunk but tired ; they have made many forced marches. 19. Scissors are adapted to cutting. 20. The fires were kindled by hostile soldiers. II I. The ancient Greeks were a very civilized people. 2. The boats are loaded. 3. Monks and laics are all enemies of the army. 4. Please give me the tongs. 5. The doctors finished their studies in two Austrian cities. 6. The old servants are not rich ; they are blind. 7. It is difficult to find mushrooms. 8. They will search for them in the woods and other places. 9. My friends have some anthologies of Greek and Italian literature, i o. The rich politicians have taken off their overcoats. 1 1 . In the hotels of French cities one is very comfortable. 12. The classic literatures were very congenial to him. 13. The Etruscan kings had domestic wives. 14. He had their heads cut off. 15. The virtues of the ancient Greeks were many. 16. He brought me several packages of fruit. 17. They are typical Englishmen. 18. By [with] dialogues one learns the spoken language. 19. I like Mrs. B., I think she is very nice. 20. Send me six eggs and three kinds of fruit. 21. My Greek friends will arrive to-morrow. 22. They seem typical parish priests. 23. It is absurd to say the ancient civilizations were not great. 24. The French are an agreeable people. 25. They are people who think the military spirit is an evil. 26. Her Austrian friends (/) are very nice. 27. Surgeons and doctors become tired because of working too much. 28. Guns are instruments of warfare. 183 § 186 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON XXXI MODAL AUXILIARIES. THE VERB DOVERE 186. Modal Auxiliaries, a. The modal auxiliaries are volere 'wish,' 'will,' potere 'be able,' dovere 'be obliged,' expressing what must, may, should, ought to, or is to happen. h. As these verbs are not defective like their English equivalents, potere and dovere may as auxiliaries be conjugated in the compound tenses. The dependent infinitive remains in the present tense, whereas in English it must be thrown into the compound past tense. Avrebbe dovuto farlo He ought to have done it Non avrebbe potuto venire He could not have come Non ha potuto andarvi 9ggi He has not been able to go there to-day I. But cf. 140, c, 2. c. These verbs follow the regular rules for the agreement of the past participle (cf. 194, &). Ci sarebbero voluti pQchi soldi It would have taken but a few cents Tali sono 9ggi, quali li hai potuti Such they are to-day as you have vedere been able to see (them) cf. When governing an infinitive, these verbs may take the auxiliary of the dependent verb. Non era voluto partire He had not wished to leave Non hanno potuto lavorare They could not work Sarebbe dovuto venire He ought to have come E cominciato a ammalare He began to be taken ill "^i. When the infinitive is passive, the modal auxiliary may be thrown into the passive and the infinitive remain active. Non pot^ esser portato"! __ ,, , . , ^^ r X ^ He could not be earned Non fu potuto portare J 184 MODAL AUXILIARIES §§ 186-187 2. Used absolutely, without infinitive, the auxiliary is avere. Ha voluto ma non ha potuto He wished to but could not 187. Special Uses of the Modal Auxiliaries. a. Special uses of volere. 1. The past future means * should like.* Vorrei visitare la cittk I should like to see the sights of the city 2. *Will you?' unless it means ^Do you wish?' 'Should you like ? ' is often best translated not by volere but by the present tense of the verb. Mi fa il piacere di indicarmi la Will you do me the kindness to strada ? show me the way ? 3. Cf. 133, a, I and 2. b. Special uses of potere. 1. It translates 'may' or 'might' in independent clauses (the subjunctive translates them in dependent ones). Si pub dire che tutti i Tedeschi It may be said that all Germans sappiano cantare know how to sing Potrebbe darsi It might be, it might be the case Potevano essere le due It might have been two o'clock 2. Non poter a meno di means 'not be able to help.' Non potei a meno di ridere I could not help laughing 3. Poter su 'have power over,' 'influence.' Sort! da natura fortissimo ingegno He had by nature a powerful gen- e animo fi^ro. I casi della vita ius and an intrepid spirit. The molto poterono suU'uno e sul- chances of life had great influ- I'altro ence upon both (///. had much power over the one and the other) 4. Cf. 132, a, I. 185 §§ 187-188 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR c. Special uses of dovere. 1. In the past future it means 'ought'; in the other tenses, 'must,' 'have to,' 'is to,' etc. Dovrebbe pagarlo subito He ought to pay it at once D§ve pagarlo subito He must pay it at once Doveva passare 1' inv^rno a Nizza He was to pass the winter at Nice 2. For the 'must' or 'must have' of probability is substituted the future or future perfect of the dependent verb (cf. 141, a, i). 3. In the first person singular present indicative it translates ' Shall I ? ' in the sense of ' Do you wish me to ? ' Dfvo fare i bauli? Shall I pack the trunks? (Do you wish me, is it time, to pack the trunks?) 188. The Verb dovere. Principal Parts : dovere, dov?ndo, dovr^, d§vo or d^bbo, dov§i, dovuto Present Indicative d?vo, d^bbo, (d^ggio) dobbiamo d^vi, d^i dovete d§ve, (d^bbe), d^e df vono, dfbbono, (dfggiono) Present Subjunctive d^va, d^bba, (d^ggia) dobbiamo d^va, d^bba, (d^ggia) dobbiate d^va, d§bba, (d^ggia) df vano, d^bbano, (d^ggiano) Imperative wanting. VOCABULARY il chilo kilogram di Ik on that side 11 conto bill, account di qua on this side la cprsa run, course nemmeno not even 11 fornalo baker per5 however la moneta coin, piece soltanto only 11 r^sto change stretto tight, narrow 11 servizlno litde service tra within, between dlfilato straight ahead 186 MODAL AUXILIARIES § 188 costare cost rifare make again, rebuild dubitare doubt ripftere repeat mormorare murmur rivoltare turn back osservare observe sbagliare make a mistake ricontare count over, recount voltarsi turn EXERCISE — Egisto, va' qui dal fornaio a comprare mezzo chilo di pane, di quelle da trenta centesimi il chilo. Eccoti una lira, sta' attento, fatti dare il resto. E mi raccomando, non ti fermare per la strada, eh ? — Queste parole erano dette a Egisto dalla mamma. II bambino a cui non pareva vero di fare i servizini a sua madre, andb difilato dal fornaio ; prese il pane e il resto della lira, e via verso casa, senza nemmeno voltarsi di qua o di la. Quando fu a mezza strada ebbe un' idea : quella di ricontare i denari del resto ; erano sei monete da dieci centesimi e due da un soldo, dunque il conto non tomava. — Facciamolo meglio — mormoro tra se Egisto — se un chilo di pane costa 30 centesimi, mezzo chilo costa 15. II fornaio doveva darmi 85 centesimi di resto, invece me ne ha dati soltanto 70. — Egisto non stette piii a pensare ; rivolto, e tomb di corsa dal fornaio, e gli disse : — Sa, Lei ha sbagliato, mi ha dato tre soldi meno di resto ; guardi. — Proprio, bambino ? — rispose il fornaio — Li avrai persi per la strada. — No, no, — ripetb il ragazzo con vivacitk; — li tenevo stretti stretti in questa mano. II fornaio lo guardo ; e gli lesse in viso un' aria tale di sincerity, che non dubito piu. Gli ridiede i soldi, ma gli osservb : — Ho sbagliato, e lo riconosco ; perb un' altra volta sta' attento, e il conto rifallo subito qui in presenza mia. 187 § 188 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR II I. We must always count our money. 2. She could not do with- out bread. 3. He would not have been able to help losing his way. 4. Egisto's mother told him not to stop on the way. 5. She says to him : " Here are two lire for you. Don't forget to bring me the change." 6. Go to the baker's, hurry, and be careful. 7. He ought to have brought it to her. 8. Shall I light the fire in all the rooms ? 9. The boy ought to have brought two lire ; it might be that he had lost them on the way. 10. His mother told him to hurry, that he might bring her the bread before lunch. 11. He was not able to start before eleven, he could not have brought it to her in time. 12. He had the change given him. 13. It must be ten o'clock. 1 4. He had in his pocket three ten-centesimo pieces and four one-cent pieces. 15. I do not doubt that it is to happen. 16. He had to return at once to the baker's. 17. Egisto was not to stop on the way. 18. His mother feared, if he did not hurry, that he might lose his way. 19. They have not been able to re- build the walls of those cities. 20. It would have taken ten years. 21. They ought to have told us so before beginning the work. 22. Bakers make bread. 23. It was twelve o'clock before he re- turned. 24. His mother thinks he has lost his way. 25. The baker might have made a mistake. 26. He might have given me two cents too little. 27. No, he has given me three cents too much. DIALOGO DAL SARTO — Vuol venire con me dal sarto ? Mi devo provare un abito da passeggio. — Volentieri. Dev' essere pronto anche il soprabito che ho f atto pulire. Com' e il nuovo abito ? — £ fatto di una stoffa di lana leggi^ra, a quadrettini neri e bigi. £ un color pratico. 188 MODAL AUXILIARIES § 188 — Eccoci arrivati. II sarto sta al terzo piano. — Buon giorno, Signori. Sono venuti per la prova ? Tutt' e pronto. Aspettino un momento che venga il giovane. Ecco. Come le piace ? — Mi pare che i calzoni siano un pochettino troppo lunghi. E la giubba non mi sta bene sulle spalle ; e troppo attillata. Che ne pensa ? — Le maniche mi sembra che siano un po' troppo corte e anche larghe. — Come crede, Signore. Lasci fare a me. Siamo in tempo a cambiar tutto facilmente. E Lei, Signore, non le occorre niente ? — Per dir la veritk, ho proprio bisogno di una nuova redingote. Siccome non mi piace la roba bell' e fatta, devo ordinarlo. Puo farmelo fra tre giorni } Sto per far un viaggio. — Altro ! Glielo faro trovare in casa giovedi sera. Ma ci vuole la misura. Prendiamola subito. — Vabbene. Si deve pagare anticipatamente o dopo ? — Ma che Le pare ! Un amico del Signor B. I Mi pagherk quando Le converrk. Non ha bisogno di nient' altro ? — No, grazie. Andiamo dunque, e al ritomo devo far delle compre, mi occorre tanta roba da vestiario : delle scarpe basse colorate, un cappello sqdo, e un altro a cencio, da viaggio. II cilin- dro non lo prendo. Poi delle ciarpette di seta, chiare e scure. — Come le piacciono le cravatte, rigate o scozzesi ? — Ne r une ne 1' altre. Le porto sempre liscie. — Ecco una bottega che ha per insegna: Novita da uomini. Ehtriamoci. 189 § 189 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR LESSON XXXII RELATIVE, DEMONSTRATIVE, AND INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. THE VERB UDIRE 189. The Relative Pronoun, a. For the forms, see 114. &. Special uses of che : 1. It is often used elliptically, without preposition, in adverbial or descriptive clauses. Paese che vai usanza che tr9vi Whatever country you go to, [fol- low] whatever customs you find. (In Rome, do as the Romans do) £ venuto nel momento che stavo He came at the moment when I mangiando was eating Una d9nna che tutti non facevano A woman of whom every one did altro che dire che 1' era tanto nothing but say how good she bu9na was 2. When its antecedent is a phrase, it must take the article. \vevamo il largo e profondo f9sso We had behind us the wide, deep alle spalle con solo uno stretto ditch, with only a narrow bridge ponte per passo, il che rendeva for crossing, which fact made difficile la ritirata retreat difficult c. Cui, which is usually used after prepositions, may be used as a direct object, where che (which may be either subject or object) might cause ambiguity. E caddi come 1' U9m cui sonno And I fell like one whom sleep piglia overtakes d, II quale, which is either adjective or pronoun, is used (because declinable) to avoid ambiguity, and it seems rather to be preferred for general use, especially with a plural antecedent. 190 RELATIVES, DEMONSTRATIVES §§ 189-190 Quelli non frano t^mpi nei quali un presidente di Consiglio po- tesse agevolmente venir mutato Non ci maravigliamo che la sc^na de' Promessi Spqsi sia stata posta dair autore in quel di Lecco, nei lu9ghi ove lo ripor- tavano le prime e le piu care sue reminiscenze, dai quali egli si era dovuto staccare per s^mpre con un vivo dolore Those were not times in which a President of Council could easily be changed We do not wonder that the scene of "The Betrothed" was laid by the author in the territory of Lecco, in the places whither his earliest and dearest recollections bore him, from which he had to sever himself with sharp grief. (The masculine form quali can evidently refer only to luoghi) 190. The Demonstrative Pronoun, a. Questo, quelle, cotesto. 1 . For the forms of questo and quelle, see 86 ; coteste, cedesto, is inflected like questo. 2. Questo refers to what is near the speaker; cotesto, cedesto, to what is near the person addressed ; quelle, to what is more or less removed from both. Che ne p^nsa di questo cavallo ? Come si chiamano quelle colline ? M' e piaciuto parecchio cedesto abito What do you think of this horse ? What is the name of those hills ? I gready liked your costume, that costume of yours 3. Quelle and questo mean respectively 'the former' and 'the latter' ; but questo, 'the latter,' is always mentioned first. II cavallo e il bQve sono tutt' e The horse and the ox are both due utilissimi all' ugmo, ma si extremely useful to man, but affeziona meno a questo che a we have more affection for the quello former than for the latter 4. To mean ' this one ' and ' that one ' when speaking of things, questo and quello are usually reinforced by altro. Questo libro non 1' h9 l^tto. H9 This book I have not read. I l^tto quell' altro have read that one 191 § 190 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 5. Special uses of quelle : a. Quel che = 'what' when it can be resolved into 'that which.' Non crede quel che gli dissi He did not believe what I told him b. Before di or a relative, it means ' the one,' ' that one.' H9 prestato loro il mio cavallo e I have lent them my own horse quello di mio frat^Uo and my brother's Quelli che vede non sono i C9lli The ones you see are not the Euganei Euganean Hills c. Elliptically. In quel (territQrio) di Milano In the country round about Milan Tu non s^i piu quello (medesimo, You are no longer the same person or di prima) In quella (ora) At that moment h, Questi, quegli, (quel, que'). These forms are invari- able masculine singulars, applicable to persons only, and used only as subject. Questi = 'this one,' 'this man'; and quegli = 'that one,' 'that man.' Restricted to literary usage. Questi, r orme di cui pestar mi vedi This man in whose footsteps you see me tread c. Cestui, colui. These have the same meaning as questi and quegli, but are completely inflected and are used in all cases. 1. Forms: Singular Plural Singular Plural costui costoro colui colore costfi col^i 2. 'He who' is expressed by colui che, or preferably by chi. Colui che guadagna ha il diritto di He who earns has the right to spfndere spend II mondo h di chi se lo piglia The world belongs to him who takes it Chi dice soldato, dice obbedi^nza Who says soldier, says obedience 192 DEMONSTRATIVES, INTERROGATIVES §§ 190-191 *a. In this use, chi is sometimes equivalent to 'if one.' Chi h entrato nella vita politica, If one enters political life, it is not non convi^ne che c^rchi di arric- fitting that he seek to enrich chirsi himself Note. These demonstratives referring to persons only all end in the singular in i. d, Cib. Ci$ is a neuter of rather general meaning, refer- ring not to a person or a thing, but to a whole idea, mean- ing 'this' or 'that.' Gl' Italiani sognavano libertk, ma The Italians dreamed of liberty, cIq dispiaceva agli Austriaci but that displeased the Austrians e. Desso, stesso, medesimo. These words all mean 'same,' 'selfsame,' 'that very,' etc. Desso is used only substantively, as a predicate complement, and for the most part of persons. Stesso and medesimo are either substantives or adjectives, and refer to either persons or things. Questi h desso, e non fav^lla This is he, and he speaks not II re stesso 1' ha fatto The king did it himself La fortuna medesima e il n9Stro Fortune itself is our foe nemico 191. The Interrogative Pronoun. The interrogatives are — chi? who.? whom.? che? chec9sa? what.? what thing.? {pronoun), what kind of.? {adjective) quale ? {inflected) what .? which .? {adjective or pronoun) di chi ? whose .? quanto ? {inflected) how much .? how many .? come ? what did you say .? Chi lo sa ? Who knows ? Che CQsa ha detto ? What has he said? Che libro l?gge ? What kind of a book are you reading ? Quale desidera ? Which (one) do you wish ? Di chi sono questi fiori ? Whose are these flowers ? Quanti ne vu9le ? How many do you wish? 193 §§ 191-192 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR a. 'What a/ 'what,' in exclamations, is expressed by che with- out article (cf. 162,/). Che panorama stup^ndo ! What a magnificent view ! *&. The interrogatives may be reinforced by mai. Chi mai 1' avrebbe creduto ? Who would ever have believed it ? Come mai 1' ha fatto? How did you ever do it? *c. Cosa? for che cosa? is frequent in familiar speech, but is not elegant. Cqs' hai fatto 1 What have you been doing } 192. The Verb udire 'hear.' Principal Parts : Udire, udf ndo, gdo, udir^ (udr5), udii, udito Present Indicative Present Subjunctive 9do udiamo gda udiamo 9di udite 9da udiate 9de 9dono 9da 9dano VOCABULARY 11 carcere prison V ujfficiale m. officer la CQsta coast la vela sail ; far vela set sail il cugre heart la vergogna shame 11 dQsso back attfndere, attest, atteso await P erge in. hero avviarsi take one's way, start la fucilazione execution, shooting cavare take out P inganno jn. deceit corrispondere {like rispondere) cor- P isola / island respond la marina navy effettuare effect il pgrto port fuggire flee lo sbarco disembarkation sbarcare land la scintilla spark scugtere, scgssi, scqsso shake la strage butchery ,- • • t, ^. . <.„^„ assai much, very, rather il supplizio punishment, torture ' ■" il tradimento treachery, betrayal veneziano Venetian RELATIVES, DEMONSTRATIVES § 192 EXERCISE I I FRATELLI BANDIERA I fratelli Attilio ed Emilio Bandiera, figli di nobile famiglia veneziana, erano ufficiali nella marina austriaca. Cuori generosi come quelli, al servizio dello straniero ! — Vada la nostra vita, ma scuotiamoci da dosso tanta vergogna — devono aver pensato quei due giovani eroi. E fuggirono. Fuggirono in Grecia, nell' isola di Corfu. Di la, corrispondendo coi loro amid d' Italia, pensarono di effettuare uno sbarco sulle coste della Calabria, per accendere la prima scintilla di guerra in quel di Napoli. Fqcero vela con pochi compagni, e sbarcarono al porto di Cotrone. Ma r inganno e il tradimento li aspettavano su quella terra ; furono presto arrestati e immediatamente condannati alia fucila- zione. La strage fu consumata nella cittk di Cosenza. Attesero calmi r ora fatale, sentendo in cuore la gioia di dare il loro sangue alia patria. E quando i soldati del Borbone vennero a cavarli dal carcere per condurli a morte, essi e sette loro compagni si avviarono al luogo del supplizio, cantando serenamente : Chi per la patria tnuor^ vissuto e assai. II I. The Bandiera brothers, who were officers in the Austrian navy, wished to shake from their backs the shame of being in the service of the foreigner. 2. What awaited them in the territory of Venice ? 3. Deceit and treachery awaited those brothers in the land of the Bourbon. 4. That is not what they hoped. 5. Who knows how many men have given their lives for their country? 6. He who reads the history of Italy must admire her heroes. 7. What a beautiful history ! What do you think of it ? 8. What I have read of it pleases me very much. 9. The heroes were taken out of prison to be led to the place of punishment. 10. Which of the Bandiera brothers was the older? 11, We sang as we took our 195 §§ 192-193 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR way to the place of punishment. 12. What did you sing? 13. We sang, " He who dies for his country, has lived enough." 14. They were arrested, and what is worse, sentenced to be shot. 15. The officers had them punished, which was not to be expected. 16. They do not believe that what you tell them is true. 17. We have sold our house, and that of our brother. 18. I have taken my new dresses out of the box. 19. I do not like this one; I think the other one is more beautiful. LESSON XXXIII PARTICIPLES. THE VERB PORRE 193. The Present Participle. The present participle has two forms : a form in -ante, -fnte, which Italian grammar recognizes as the participle, and one in -ando, -fndo, which Italian grammar calls the *' gerundive." a. The form in -ante, -ente, has the character of adjective, substantive, or verb, and is inflected like an adjective in e. 1. As adjective it is in frequent use. II grillo parlante The talking cricket I principi regnanti The reigning princes 2. Any present participle with an article before it becomes a substantive, as V amante 'the lover.' 3. As verb it is perhaps less common than the form in -ando, -endo, and rarely takes an object. It is used, with object, of the verbs avere, contenere, fare, formate, indicare, rappresentare, tenere, etc. I tr^ni aventi wagoni-l?tto Trains having sleeping-cars h. The form in -ando, -endo, has the character of verb or adverb, and is invariable. 196 PARTICIPLES § 193 I . As a verb it may replace a clause of time, cause, concession, condition, or simple explanation, and may always govern an object. Andando insi^me al teatro, chiac- While they were going to the thea- chieravano di molte cgse ter they chatted of many things Trovandomi quell' autunno a casa, As I happened to be at home that e ricordandomi di quel v^cchio, fall, and to remember the old andava spesso a visitarlo man, I went often to visit him Sentf ndosi incapace di mu9versi, Knowing that he was incapable of disse nonostante queste par9le a movement, he yet spoke these audaci audacious words Rimproverandolo, potrk forse per- If you reprove him, you will per- suaderlo a mutar vita haps be able to persuade him to change his way of life c. To translate the English present participle, 1. With the verb 'to be,' cf. 102. 2. When standing alone or with object after a noun, it is often best to use a simple relative clause. There is a lady waiting C h una signora che aspftta And like a wasp withdrawing its E come v^spa che ritragge V ago sting 3. After a verb of sensation use the infinitive. They saw us coming Ci videro venire I heard her singing La sentii cantare d. To translate the English gerund, 1 . In general, use the infinitive. Smoking is forbidden £ vietato di fumare Working is praying Lavorare e pregare 2. After a preposition, use the form in -ando, -endo, without preposition, unless the latter be essential to the sense ; when the preposition is essential to the sense, retain it, and translate the participle by the infinitive. On recognizing him, I hastened to Riconoscfndolo, mi spicciai per overtake him raggiungerlo 197 §§ 193-194 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR One cannot make progress without Non si puy far progress! sf nza studying studiare We talk of waging war Parliamo di mugver gu?rra 194. The Past Participle, a. The past participle may be used as adjective, noun, or verb. Tutte le C9se narrate si frano All the things narrated had suc- succedute con una rapidita ceeded each other with a mar- maravigliosa velous rapidity II condannato era un p9vero Vene- The condemned man was a poor ziano Venetian Finita la messa Mass being over b. Agreement. As noun, as adjective, or when used with- out auxihary, the past participle is always inflected. With auxiliary, it agrees — 1. After essere, in intransitive and passive verbs (cf. 99). 2. After avere (cf. 122) optionally with the object. a. But it is usually invariable — (i) When the object is part of a set phrase. Ci ha dato fede He has pledged his faith to it H9 avuto fame I was hungry (2) When the participle has a dependent infinitive governing a noun object. Non ho voluto comprare quelle I did not wish to buy those shoes scarpe (3) When fatto is substituted for the repetition of some other participle. C^rto negli ultimi venti anni si son Certainly in the last twenty years salite piu montagne, che non more mountains have been s' era fatto in venti sfcoli scaled than in the preceding twenty centuries 198 PARTICIPLES §§ 194-196 b. Whereas it must usually agree — (i) When the direct obiect is a personal pronoun or ne. Dove 11 hanno veduti ? Where did they see them ? Mi hai portato (or portati) dei fiori ? Have you brought me any flowers? Te ne ho portati molti ! I have brought you a great many ! (2) This is true even when the pronoun object belongs with a dependent infinitive. Li avreste potuti vedere You might have seen them 3. With reflexives (cf. 104, c, i). a. With impersonal forms, the participle agrees if the verb is normally conjugated with essere ; if it is regularly conjugated with avere, there is no agreement. Si h vissuti tr9ppo We have lived too long Si fe comprato mplti cavalli per la Many horses were bought for the cavalleria cavalry b. When the pronoun is a dative "of reference or concern" (cf. 105, &, 3) it is not a true reflexive. c. Inversion. In temporal clauses the past participle and its auxiliary are often inverted, che then taking the place of quando, appena, etc. Liberate che f u When he was liberated, as soon as he was liberated Vinto che V abbia, lo divora When [as soon as] he has con- quered it, he devours it 195. Absolute Constructions. These are extremely com- mon in Italian, and may take the place of almost any kind of clause. Detto fatto No sooner said than done Giunto tardi a casa, ed acceso il Arriving home late, and having lume, si acc9rse subito del furto lighted the lamp, he at once noticed the theft 199 §§ 195-196 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Dopo occupato 1' altipiano, gl' Ita- After occupying the elevation, the liani cominciarono a tirare Italians began to fire fl. Cf. 136, h; 145, d. 196. The yerh porre 'place.' Principal Parts : Pprre, pon?ndo, pongo, porrg, posi, posto Present Indicative Present Subjunctive pongo poniamo, ponghiamo ponga poniamo, ponghiamo poni ponete ponga poniate pone pongono ponga pongano VOCABULARY il bavero coat-collar il benefizio benefit il cannone cannon il cittadino citizen la giacchetta jacket la giovanetta young girl il giovanetto boy, young man il gruppo group V incasso m. receipts il metaUo metal il nastrino little ribbon il p^tto breast lo scudo shield la sQmma sum il Turco Turk la vendita sale acquistare acquire andarsene go away appuntare pin dare il buon anno wish a Happy New Year formicolare swarm offrire, off^rsi, off§rto offer puntare aim sparare fire, shoot _^ ciascuno each, every one EXERCISE IL PICCOLO SCUDO I. Era il primo giorno dell' anno 19 12, V anno della nostra guerra contro i Turchi. 2. La gente formicolava per le strade e si salutava dandosi il buon anno. 3. Qua e Ik le persone, che passa- vano per le vie, erano fermate da gruppi di giovanetti e giovanette PARTICIPLES § 196 che offrivano, a chi voleva comprarli, dei piccoli scudi di metallo bianco, portanti un nastrino coi tre colori della bandiera nazionale. 4. Su ogni scudo si vedeva un soldato che sparava, e un altro che puntava il cannone. 5. Gli scudetti erano venduti da quei giovani a benefizio dei nostri soldati che combattevano in Libia. 6. Costa- vano non meno di due soldi, ma ciascuno, prendendoli, poteva offrire quello che voleva. 7. E tutti i cittadini li acquistavano volen- tieri, con entusiasmo, e se li mettevano al bavero della giacchetta. 8. Li compravano anche le donne, e se li appuntavano sul vestito. 9. Quasi tutti ebbero ben presto sul petto questi piccoli scudi col nastrino tricolore. 10. L'incasso della loro vendita dette una somma considerevole. II I, The soldiers, while fighting in Libya, were led by the officers. 2. The combatants gave up firing, the cannon having been taken by the enemy. 3. That lady will pin the little shield upon her dress. 4. People flocking through the street and saluting each other wished each other a Happy New Year. 5. Having put the little ribbon on the collar of his coat, that citizen gave no less than three lire. 6. On New Year's Day of the year 19 12, shields were sold for the benefit of the Italian soldiers. 7. As we entered the room, we found there a young girl singing. 8. We stayed, because we liked to hear her singing. 9. Having told us not to wait for them, they went away without speaking to him. 10. The shields bought, all soon had them at their breasts. 11. Little shields, on which was seen a soldier shooting, were offered by groups of young girls. 12. Do not go home before speaking to her. 13. Whoever wished to buy one, would pay not less than two cents. 14. By giving her two lire he won the approval of [made himself praised by] all the young people. 15. Have you bought a shield as you passed along the streets? 16. My brothers being both in Libya, I have bought two of them. 17. Having bought them, I shall give you one. 201 § 196 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR DIALOGO DAL CALZOLAIO — Ho da farmi fare un paio di scarpe. Andiamo in quella bot- tega di calzolaio ch' e sull' angolo di Via Parione. Ho sentito che quello lavora molto bene. — Lo conosco di nome. Fa sempre le scarpe di lusso a una signora di mia conoscenza. — Ecco il suo negozio. £ davvero troppo grande ed elegante da chiamarlo bottega. — Buon giomo, Signore. Che desiderano ? — lo vorrei ordinare un paio di scarpe bianche, alte. — Alte non si fanno le bianche, Signora. Ne ho viste delle si- gnore americane che le portano, ma qui in Italia non si trovano mai. Pero, potrei fargliene un paio su misura. Ma bisognerebbe prima fare delle forme. Prendiamo la misura del suo piede. Ecco presa la misura. Come le vuole ? Di p^lle ? — No, di tela, di buona qualita. Le portero domani una mia Scarpa per confrontarla colla f9rma. Ho sempre paura quando vado per la prima volta da un calzolaio, che mi faccia le scarpe troppo larghe e troppo corte. — Non dubiti, Signora. Colle forme ben f atte non si pub sbagliare. — Mi dia due paia di stringhe, e faccia attenzione che non scric- chiolino le scarpe. Questo paio che ho fu bagnato dalla pioggia la settimana scorsa, e d' allora scricchiolano ch' e un orrore. — Ci baderb, Signora. E i tacchi come li vuole ? Di tela ? — No, di cuoio, e piuttosto bassi. I tacchi alti sciupano i piedi. — Baderb a tutto, Signora. Sono sicuro che rimarrk soddisfatta. Quanto al prezzo, ci accomoderemo quando saprb quanto tempo ci vuole per far le forme. Farb un prezzo discreto da venti a venti- cinque lire. — Vabbene. Buon giorno. — Arrivedella, Signora. 202 GENDER §§ 197-198 LESSON XXXIV GENDER OF NOUNS. THE VERB USCIRE 197. Gender Determined by Form. a. Cf. 80, h, b. Feminine are the nouns ending in ie, si {except il brindisi 'toast'), and accented ice; and abstract nouns when accented on the last syllable : la specie 'kind,' la raur/.) duca duke, duchessa duchess eiQe hero, eroina heroine fante page, fantesca maidservant fattpre steward, (fattora), fattoressa, steward's wife filgsofo philosopher, filgsofa {burl.), filosofessa foresti^re foreigner, foresti^ra governatore governor, governatrice ; governatora governor's wife imperatore emperor, imperatrice empress istitutore teacher, tutor, istitutrice teacher, governess marchese marquis, marchesa marchioness mfdico physician, medichessa padrone master, padrona mistress papa pope, papessa patriarca patriarch, patriarchessa pittore painter, pittrice principe prince, principessa princess priore prior, priora, prioressa, prioress professQre professor professoressa proffta prophet, profetessa prophetess re king, regina queen 2o6 GENDER 203-204 sacerdQte priest, sacerdotessa priestess scolare scholar, pupil, scolara sfrvo servant, s§rva stiratore launderer, stiratora, stiratrice laundress traditore traitor, traditora, traditrice traitress uditore auditor, uditrice 204. The Verb uscire 'go out.* Principal Parts : uscire, usc?ndo, f sco, uscir^, uscii, uscito Present Indicative Present Subjunctive ?sco usciamo ^sci uscite ^sce fscono ^sca ?sca ?sca usciamo usciate fscano Imperative usciamo §sci uscite fsca fscano VOCABULARY acciaio steel arg^nto silver ffrro iron fico fig gallina hen gfnero son in-law gru crane istitutore, -trice teacher latta tin limone lemon pfcora sheep noce walnut-tree ; nut, walnut nugra daughter-in-law olmo elm Qro gold padrone landlord, proprietor pero pear-tree Pfsco peach-tree problfma problem quercia oak rame copper R?no Rhine scarafaggio beetle S?nna Seine socialista socialist sugcero, -a father-in-law, mother- in-law Tamigi Thames tfma theme Tevere Tiber traditore, -tora traitor, traitress uva grape vacca cow vite grapevine macchia thicket, brambles cggliere, cogli?ndo, cglgo, coglierg, cglsi, cglto gather uscire di go out of generalmente usually 207 §204 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I I. Beetles are usually black. 2. The grape is the fruit of the vine. 3. He has bought himself three cows and some hens. 4. Gold and silver are precious metals. 5. It is said that figs are not gathered from brambles. 6. My father-in-law and mother-in- law, having risen early, left this morning at seven. 7. The Span- iard aimed the gun at the cranes. 8. Grapes are gathered from grapevines, peaches from peach-trees, pears from pear-trees, and walnuts from walnut-trees. 9. His theme was the problem of the socialists. 10. The cows are hungry. 11. What kind of fruit is there on the table? There are figs and lemons. 12. Sheep and cows are usually bought at the village. II I. Iron, steel, tin and copper are not precious metals. 2. My son-in-law, having gathered some walnuts and having given us some, has carried the rest home in his basket. 3. As I went out of the house, I saw them returning. 4. At the end of the year 1870 the hostile soldiers came out of Rome. 5. Having gone away be- fore half past ten, I did not hear them talking about it. 6. Hurry, sir, if you wish to arrive before the train leaves. 7 . Here are some grapes ; let us gather some. 8. I do not doubt the proprietor will permit us to carry some home. 9. Traitors and traitresses are to be punished in whatever places they are found. 10. Elms and oaks are found in America. 1 1 . The Rhine, the Thames, the Seine, and the Tiber are rivers of Europe. 208 INDEFINITES § 206 LESSON XXXV INDEFINITES. THE VERB SCEGLIERE 205. Alphabetical List of Indefinites. alcuno, -i, -a, -e 'some,' 'any.' (Adj. or pron., used often with non to mean 'not any.') altrettanto, -i, -a, -e (pron. or adj.) 'as much more,' 'as many more' altri (pron.) 'another,' used of persons altri . . . altri (pron.) ' some . . . others,' used of persons (also sing, altro (pron.) 'something else,' 'anything else' altrui (pron.) ' to, of, or for another,' or * others,' used of persons, and never in the nominative certuni, -e (pron.) 'certain ones,' used of persons checch^, checchessia (pron.) 'whatever,' 'anything whatever' chi . . . chi (pron.) 'some . . . others,' 'one . . . another' chicchessia, chiunque (pron.) 'whoever,' 'any one whatever' ciascuno, -a, ciascheduno, -a (pron.) 'each one,' used of persons cosiffatto, -a, -i, -e (adj.) 'such' nessuno, -a, niuno, -a (pron. or adj.) 'not one,' 'no one' Qgni (adj.) 'every' ognuno, -a (pron.) ' every one,' used of persons parecchi, -ie (pron. or adj.) 'several' per quanto (adv.) ' however ' i piU (pron.) 'most,' 'most people' qualche (adj.) 'some' qualcheduno, -a, qualcuno, -a (pron.) 'some one' qualcQsa (pron.) 'something' qualsiasi, qualsisia, qualsivgglia (adj.) 'whatever,' 'any whatever,' never used in the nominative qualunque (adj.) 'whatever,' 'any whatever' tale, -i (adj. or pron.) 'such' tale . . . quale 'such ... as' tanto, -i, -a, -e 'so much,' 'so many' tanto . . . quanto 'as much ... as' uno, -a (pron.) 'one'; (adj.) 'one,' 'a single' 209 §§ 205-206 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR un che, un non sq che *a something,' 'something or other' una CQsa ' something,' clear in the speaker's mind un tale (adj.) 'such a'; (pron.) 'so-and-so,' 'such a one' Puno e I'altro 'both' nh V uno nh V altro ' neither ' r uno V altro ' either ' veruno, -a 'no one,' 'any one,' used in negative or doubtful sen- tences or expressions of doubt a. An indefinite followed by an adjective requires di. Ni^nte di nugvo Nothing new Qualc9sa di b^llo Something beautiful 206. Alcuno, etc., 'some,' 'any.' a. Alcuno is either adjec- tive or pronoun. In affirmative sentences its use is confined chiefly to the plural. Alcuni lo dicono Some say so H9 alcuni libri russi I have some Russian books 1. With non, alcuno in the singular regularly means 'none,' 'not any,' and follows the noun. Nella regione devastata dal terre- In the region devastated by the m9to, npn rimane piii casa alcuna earthquake, there is not a house remaining 2. 'Anything,' 'anybody,' in questions, are translated by the negative indefinites (cf. 210) nulla, nessuno, etc. £ venuto nessuno ? Has any one come .'' Di quest' affare ne sa nulla .-* Do you know anything of this matter ? 3. 'Any one else' is ogni altro. Ha fatto piu di ogni altro He has done more than any one else 4. For the translation of 'any' as pronoun, cf. 124. 210 INDEFINITES § 206 6. Qualcuno, qualcheduno, are singular substantive forms, meaning 'some one,' commonly preferred to alcuno in affirmative sentences. C h qualcuno che vorrebbe parlarle There is some one who would like to speak to you Scelga qualcuno di questi quadri Choose some one of these pictures c. Qualche, certo, are adjectives meaning *some,' 'certain,' 'a certain.' 1. Qualche is used only in the singular, even when the idea is plural. A quel p9vero si d^ve qualche That poor man should have some aiuto help Vi stf ttero qualche giprno They stayed there some days 2. Certo requires un in the singular. Cfrte abitudini sono da riprovarsi Certain habits are blameworthy Un certo Ciceruacchio men9 i A- certain Ciceruacchio led the Romani alia riv9lta Romans to revolt d, Qualcosa, meaning 'something,' is always used sub- stantively. Mi hanno detto che ha qualcgsa They tell me you have something per me for me 1. When referring to something in the mind, 'something' is translated una cosa. Mi permetta di dirle una C9sa Allow me to tell you something 2. In an abstract sense, it is translated un che, un non so che, un certo che. Nella sua pr9sa c' h s^mpre un che In hjs prose there is always some- di artificioso thing artificial In questo paesaggio tr9vo un npn I find something picturesque in sq che di pittoresco this landscape 211 §§206-207 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR e, ' Some . . . others ' is translated by alcuni . . . altri, altri . . . altri, gli uni . . . gli altri, chi . . . chi, and sometimes quale . . . quale. Chi and quale take the verb in the singular. Alcuni combattevano s^mpre, altri Some continued to fight, others la davano vinta gave up Chi lo compiangeva, chi lo deri- Some pitied him, others laughed deva at him Qual fior cadea sul lembo, qual Some flowers fell on her robe's sulle trecce bionde hem, some on her blond tresses 207. Uno 'one,' etc. a. The pronoun 'one,' in the gen- eral sense of 'we,' 'you,' 'they,' 'people,' is translated by uno, or by the third person of the reflexive (cf. 106, &). Quand' uno si tr9va in un paese When one is in a foreign country, strani^ro, d?ve studiarne i cos- he should study its customs tumi Dove si entra ? Where does one enter 1 b. Before a proper name, un is equivalent to un certo. Fu il t^rzo triumviro un Carlo The third triumvir was a certain Armellini Carlo Armellini c. Uno sometimes means 'one single,' 'one and the same.' La p9vera v^cchia non ha un The poor old woman has not a soldo (single) penny Amore e '1 cgr gentil son una C9sa Love and the gentle heart are one [Dante] same thing [Rossetti] I. In the feminine singular it modifies some word like azione * action' or truffa 'trick,' understood. Cf. 146, k, i. Ce ne ha fatta una He has played us one of his tricks d. 'The . . . one,' with an adjective between, often takes a demonstrative where it would not be needed in English ; the word 'one' is omitted in translation. 212 INDEFINITES §§ 207-208 Non mi piace quest' ombrellino. I do not like this parasol. I shall Pr^ndo quelle scuro take the dark one Codesta pera non e bu9na ; pr§nda This pear is not good ; take the queir altra other one Mi piacciono quelle bf He I like those pretty ones (/) e. 'Each one,' 'every one,' are translated by ciascuno, cias- theduno, and ognuno, pronoun. Ogni, 'each,' 'every,' is an adjective. For tutti, 'everybody,' tutto, 'everything,' cf. 160. Ciascuno di quel principi fu degno Each of those princes was worthy d' onore of honor Ogni casa aveva un giardinetto Each house had a little garden In ogni caso In any case Ognuno agisce come crede Every one acts as he thinks best I. 'Apiece' is translated by per uno, per ciascuno. Di^de loro s^i lire per uno He gave them six lire apiece /. Uno correlative with altro. Saper V un dell' altro To know one from the other L' uno e 1' altro Both L' un lito e 1' altro vidi infin la Both shores I saw as far as Spain Spagna Ne 1' uno n^ V altro Neither L' uno o 1' altro Either Gli uni . . . gli altri Some . . . others Used reciprocally, cf. 104, 6. I. Except in the phrase gli uni ... gli altri, uno has no plural. Its plural is supplied by alcuni. 208. Altro 'other,' etc. a, Altri is a singular pronoun, referring to persons; it means 'another,' 'some one else,* and is often used in contrast. N^ tu n^ altri Neither you nor any one else 213 § 208 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR b, Altrui is like altri, except that it may have a plural mean- ing, and is never nominative. - Non si d?ve bramare i b^ni altrui One should not covet the goods of others c, Altro as pronoun refers only to things, and means 'something else,' 'anything else,' 'else.' Ci vu9le altro? Is something else needed? Ni^nt' altro Nothing else Che altro? What else? Non desidero altro I do not wish anything else 1. With the article, or in the plural, it refers to persons. V altra h colei che s' ancise The other is she who killed her- amorosa self for love Un altro, che forata avea la gola Another, who had his throat pierced 2. With numbers, altro usually precedes. Altri quattro Four others d, Altro as adjective means 'other,' and has some special uses. 1. With noi and voi it is reenforcing. Noi altri Russi We Russians Vpi altri Inglesi You English 2. In the partitive construction it means 'some more.' Desidera dell' altro vino ? Do you wish some more wine ? Dell' altr' acqua calda, per piacere Some more hot water, please Le piacciono le susine? Si serva Do you like the plums? Take delle altre some more 3. Expressions of time. L' altro anno Last year Quest' altra settimana Next week 4. For its use correlatively and reciprocally, cf. 207, / 5. For its adverbial use, cf. 215,e; 216,/ 214 INDEFINITES §§ 208-209 e. Altrettanto, a pronoun referring to things, means 'as much or as many more.' Di^de cinque soldi al ragazzo e She gave five pennies to the boy, altrettanti alia sua sorellina and as many more to his little sister Lego tre mila lire a lui, e altret- He left three thousand lire to him, tanto a me and as much more to me Le auguro c^nto di questi giorni. I wish you many happy returns of Grazie, altrettanto a Lei the day. Thank you, the same to you 209. Some More General Indefinites, a. Tale 'such,' tanto 'so much,' etc. 1. Tale, un tale, means 'one,' 'a certain one.' Tal si parti da cantare alleluia One left off singing alleluia Quel tal Sandro, autor d' un ro- A certain Sandro, author of a tale manzetto 2. 'Such a' is translated un tale. Non potevano continuare a com- They could not continue fighting battere dopo una tale sconfitta after such a defeat 3. Tal quale may mean 'a kind of or Mike.' Questi ucc^Ui producono una tal These birds produce a kind of qua! armonia che piace pleasing harmony Come gli somiglia il suo gem^Uo. How much his twin brother re- £ tal quale ! sembles him ! He is exactly like 4. Tale . . . quale means ' such . . . as,' and in long poetic com- parisons quale often precedes. Tal mi fee' io quai son color che I became as those who stand still stanno, Per non int^nder quel because of not understanding ch' h lor risposto what is replied to them Qual h quel cane ch' abbaiando Like the dog which barking craves agugna . . . Cotai si fecer quelle . . . such those foul faces became facce Iprde 215 §209 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 5. Tanto . . . quanto are similarly correlative, and mean 'as much ... as.' Quanto gli prestai, tanto mi res- He returned me as much as I lent titui him 6. Special uses of tanto. Ai tanti del mese On such a day of the month Un tanto la settimana So much per week Visit9 la Turchla agli ottanta tanti He visited Turkey in the eighties b, Chiunque, qualunque, etc., 'whoever/ * whatever,' 'any whatever,' etc. 1. Chiunque and chicchessia are pronouns referring to persons; chicchessia and checchessia are not used in the nominative. Checchd is preferred to checchessia. Non lo far6, chiunque me lo con- Whoever advises it, I shall not sigli do it Non lo darei a chicchessia I should not give it to anybody at all Checchfe avv^nga, non abbandone- Whatever happens, they will not ranno la posizione abandon the position 2. Qualunque, qualsiv9glia, and qualsiasi are adjectives. Garibaldi ritirandosi da Roma, si Garibaldi, when retreating from sarfbbe rifugiato in qualsiasi Rome, would have taken refuge paesetto in any village whatever Qualunque ne sia il motivo, h Whatever may be its motive, it is un' azione indegna an unworthy action 3. Per quanto is an adverb, meaning 'however.' Per quanto il capitano fosse magna- However magnanimous the captain nimo, non pote perdonare un might be, he could not forgive tale insulto such an insult C. Cf. 169, h. 216 INDEFINITES §§ 210-211 210. Negative Indefinites, a, Nessuno, niuno, venino, are pronouns or adjectives referring to persons or things. Nes- suno is the most common. Nessun er9e fu mai piu valoroso No hero was ever braver than di Orlando Roland Nessuno ci si m9sse No one stirred 1. Nulla, niente, are pronouns meaning 'nothing.' Non c' h nulla da mangiare There is nothing to eat Non v9glio nulla I wish nothing Di ni§nte Not at all, don't mention it 2. When one of these negatives follows the verb, non must precede. If the negative precede, non is not required. Non fa ni§nte Never mind Non ci si vede nifnte There is nothing to be seen Nessuno era arrivato prima delle No one had arrived before seven s^tte Non c' h nessuno de' miei Not one of my relatives is here 3. Used absolutely, without verb, these words are negative in meaning. Chi c' 9 ? Nessuno Who is there } No one 4. Cf. 206, a, I. 211. The Verb scegliere 'choose.* Principal Parts : Scegliere, scegli?ndo, scelgo, sceglier^, scelsi, scelto Present Indicative Present Subjunctive scelgo scegliamo, scelghiamo scelga scegliamo scegli scegliete scelga scegliate sceglie scelgono scelga scelgano 217 §211 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR VOCABULARY la carezza caress la chicca sweetmeat la C9llera anger la cplpa fault, blame il difftto defect, fault la fede faith i genitpri parents il nipotino little nephew la pace peace il rimprgvero reproof il segno sign allpra then dentro di within, inside of dOYunque wherever spesso often accgrgersi, accQrsi, accgrto perceive avvezzare accustom corrfggere, corr^ssi, corr^tto correct corrfggersi di un dif^tto correct a fault durare last, hold out principiare begin rimproverare reprove (rimprgvero) riuscire {like uscire) succeed ; non mi rifsce I can't tornar conto be of advantage alcuno, -i, -a, -e some, any altrettanto as much more nessuno no, not any, no one nifnte nothing EXERCISE I DAL GIORNALE DI GIGI Tutte le volte che ho da fare qualche cosa di nuovo, dico subito dentro di me — Non mi riesce ! — e trovo gran fatica a principiare. Ma appena ho cominciato, spesso mi accorgo che quello che mi pareva impossibile e possibilissimo, e che, qualche volta, e anche facile. Ho poco fede nelle mie forze, e voglio correggermi di questo difetto. Tutti mi rimproverano perche sono troppo facile a lasciarmi prendere dalla collera. Se tutti mi dicono questo, e segno che deve esser vero. Specialmente la mamma non mi dk mai pace coi suoi rimproveri. Ma la mamma la voglio contentarla, e ora che son grande mi voglio correggere. Questa e una cosa che non la sa nessuno ; ma io la so. Una gran parte di quelle carezze che faccio ai nonni e ai miei genitori, 218 INDEFINITES § 211 le faccio perche mi toma conto. Ma io non ci ho colpa. Mi ci devono avere avvezzato da piccino, e piu di tutti mi ci deve avere awezzato la povera zia Francesca, buon' anima, che mi diceva sempre — Se mi dai un bacio, ti do una chicca. — E io, allora, du- ravo a dargliene finche ci eran chicche ; ma quando le chicche della zia Francesca eran finite, finivano subito i baci del nipotino Gigi. II I. Whenever one has something new to do, one should not say " I can't do it." 2. No one could make me begin it 3. Do not say it to any one. 4. In this book there is nothing good. 5. My par- ents gave my little brother three cents, and they gave me as many more. 6. Wherever you go, you will find no one who loves you as they do [like them]. 7. Everybody reproved him for being easily made angry. 8. Has any one spoken of it to you? No one. 9. However bad your defects may be, you can correct them. 10. Do you wish anything else? Nothing else. 11. I had already perceived it last year. 12. I was not speaking of this book, but of the new one. 13. Let us try to correct our faults. 14. Some praised him for accustoming himself to working ; others reproved him for not correcting his faults. 15. They will never give you peace as long as you let yourself become angry easily. 16. But it is not your fault. 17. Have you any nuts ? Let me give you some more. 18. No, thank you, but I should like some more coffee. 19. Come with us, gentlemen; have you noticed what time it is? 20. However difficult those lessons are, he will have them learned within a few days. Ill L' AUTOMOBILE II mio amico Giacomo ha comprato un' automobile. Siccome non sa ancora troppo bene condurla, gli capita di quando in quando qualche malanno. La prima volta ch' e rimasto in panna, fu per mancanza di benzina, il che pub succedere anche agli automobilisti 219 § 212 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR esperti. Un' altra volta una persona sul marciapiede gli fece segno che uno dei copertoni delle rote era consumalo. Era sgonfio. Immediatamente dopo, uno schianto come un tuono lo avverti che un altro pneumatico era scoppiato. Si dove fermare dieci minuti a pompare. Poi tiro via, sonando la cometta da svegliare i Sette Dormienti. Poco dopo gli e successo un accidente, di quelli gravi. Fu cosi: II mantice, che generalmente lo teneva giu, era stato alzato per la pioggia; percio non poteva vedere bene come al SQlito. A un tratto s' accorse che un bambino gli traversava la strada proprio davanti. Cercando di evitarlo, dette il freno, ma il freno, per la prima volta, non andava. Allora cercb.di sterzare piii presto che poteva, ma nell' eccitamento giro un po' troppo il vo- lante ; e 1' automobile, che stava in cima alia salita, svolto improv- visamente a destra, andando a sbattere su quel po'di muricciuolo air orlo della strada, il quale cedette, e 1' automobile slitto giu fino al fiume. Si fermb per fortuna proprio sull' orlo del torrente, e benche tutti fossero spaventati da morirne, non ci fu nessuna disgrazia. LESSON XXXVI ADVERBS. THE VERB VALERE 212. Position of Adverbs, a. Rules for position are not very strict, but most adverbs, except non, follovi^ the verb. Non lo trov9 He did not find it Lo trovo immediatamente He found it immediately b. An adverb modifying an adjective, another adverb, or a phrase, usually precedes. E tiQppo difficile It is too difficult Riusci singolarmente b^ne He succeeded singularly well Viaggiando, specialmente con un When one travels, especially with compagno simpatico, se ne g9de a congenial companion, one has moltissimo much enjoyment 2 20 ADVERBS §§ 213-215 213. Comparison of Adverbs. Cf. 115, 116, 117. 214. Adverbs of Manner, a. These are almost all formed by adding -mente to the feminine of the adjective. Premuroso ' eager,' premurosamente ' eagerly ' 1. If the feminine of the adjective ends in -le or -re, the -e is dropped before -mente. Facile, facilmente ; particolare, particolarmente 2. Certain adverbs ending in -one, -oni, indicate the posture of the body. Bocconi 'flat on one's face,' carppni 'on all fours' &. A few adverbs end in -i or -e ; as altrimenti 'otherwise,* bfne *well,' volentifri 'willingly,' etc. c. Certain adjectives in -o are used as adverbs ; as alto 'high,* prfsto 'quick,' sicuro 'sure,' subito 'sudden.' 1. Certain others, when so used, continue to agree with their noun. Such are caro, grande, m^zzo, solo, tutto, primo, and ultimo. M^zza m9rta Half dead DesTdero due sole paia I wish only two pairs Questa catena 1' ho pagata cara I paid dear for this chain 2. Bello is used adverbially along with the past participle. La r9ba bell' e fatta Ready-made goods Lo scorpione era bell' e mgrto The scorpion was good and dead 3. Certain adverbial phrases are used adjectively to modify nouns. II pi^de di diftro The hind foot Un u9mo per b?ne An honorable man Una C9sa da nulla A trifle 215. Adverbs of Affirmation, a. Si is 'yes' in answer to a question. Verrk stasera ? Si Shall you come this evening .? Yes 221 § 215 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR b. Gia is 'yes' in simple confirmation or agreement. Pi9ve a dirotto. Gi^ It is pouring. Yes, it is I. In such confirmatory phrases as 'I think so,' 'I hope so,' 'so' is expressed by lo (cf. 100, e, i). Lo sp^ro I hope so c. Pure adds emphasis, and is equivalent to 'do/ 'pray do.' V^nga pure Do come d. Pur troppo assents with regret, meaning 'only too much/ 'only too well,' 'yes, unfortunately.' Lo conosce? Pur tr9ppo Do you know him? Only too well e. The following are emphatic affirmatives : Altro ! By all means ! Appunto Exactly Davvero It is true. Really ? C^rto, sicuro, si b^ne Yes, indeed Lo credo ! I believe you ! /. Ma si affirms while contradicting. Non h mai stato in Amf rica, credo. You have never been in America, Ma si, pill V9lte I think. O yes, several times g, Altro Che not only answers in the affirmative, but adds something not implied in the question. Non s' e visto ancora il mfdico ? Nothing has been seen yet of the Altro che visto ! C 9 ! doctor.? Better than that ! He's here! Conosce quella signorina? Altro Do you know that young lady? che conoscerla ! E mia sor^lla ! Rather ! She is my sister ! h, Signora si and Signor no are equally admissible with Si Signora and No Signore, though less usual. ADVERBS § 216 216. Adverbs of Negation, a. Non immediately precedes the verb, or the object pronoun if there be one. Npn v9glio I will not, I refuse Npn lo trov9 He did not find it 6. Non ... Che means 'only,* 'but.' Non ne desidero che due I wish only two of them I. In the locutions non . . . che, non . . . mai, the verb stands between. Non lo fece mai He never did it Non chi^de che un p9' di pane She asks only a bit of bread c. 'Neither . . . nor' is ne . . . ne. N^ piu nh meno Neither more nor less d. No is 'no' spoken in reply to a question, and is used instead of non in the phrases o no 'or not,' se no 'if not,' and sometimes in antithetical phrases, where a part only of the proposition is contradicted. Verr9 domani, o nq? Shall I come to-morrow or not? Se n9, verro domani I'altro If not, I will come day after to- morrow Pr^ndo il bianco e il marrone, ma I'll take the white one and the non il rosso brown, but not the red one V^ngo volenti^ri al teatro, ma in I will go to the theater gladly, but plat^a ng not in the orchestra seats I. Di is required with the adverbs of affirmation or negation in such expressions as the following : Credo di ng I think not Rispose di si He said yes e. For the negatives 'nothing,' 'nobody,' etc., cf. 210. I. Niente is often used adjectively in conversation to mean 'not any.' Ni?nte frutta, grazie No fruit, thank you 223 §§ 216-217 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR /. The principal adverbs of negation are 119 no, not npn not npn . . . mai, non . . . giammai never npn . . . pill no longer, never again non . . . punto, non . . . mica {contradicting) not at all nifnte affatto nothing at all, not at all per ni?nte not in the least tutt' altro by no means, on the contrary Non lo faro piii I shall never do it again Non lavora piii He is no longer working Suo zio non le lego nifnte affatto Her uncle left her nothing at all Ma non c' h nulla, pr9prio nulla But there is nothing there, nothing at all P^nsa insomma di farlo ? Per You are thinking of doing it after ni?nte ! all ? Not for anything Le d9 n9ia se apro la fin^stra? Will it disturb you if I open the Tutt' altro; ci fa caldo window? On the contrary, it is too warm here I . Mai and punto, used absolutely and without verb, have nega- tive value ; but mai alone in comparative or interrogative sentences means 'ever.' Le place questo paesaggio ? Punto Do you like this view ? Not at all II migliore ch'io abbia mai visto The best I ever saw Ha mai visitato la Cina? Mai Have you ever visited China? Never 217. Adverbs of Place, a. 'Here,' 'there/ etc., when at all emphatic, are expressed by the following adverbs, which are to be carefully distinguished according to whether the place indicated is near the speaker, near the person spoken to, or remote from either. I. Near the speaker: qua means 'here,' 'here in this room or place'; qui means 'here by me'; quaggivi, quassii, mean respec- tively 'down here,' 'up here.' 224 ADVERBS §217 2. Near the person addressed: costi, costa, 'there where you are ' ; costaggiu ' down there where you are ' ; costassii ' up there where you are.' 3. Remote from either: Ik, cola, li, ivi, quivi, 'there' (Ik and cola being further removed than li) ; laggiu ' down there ' and lassu 'up there'; indi, quindi, 'thence.' 4. Special uses : di qua, quaggiu, mean ' here below,' ' on this earth' ; di la, costa, quassii, 'above,' 'in the other world.' Essere piu di \k che di qua To be more dead than alive Di li a due giorni Two days from then Stare li li per far una 0953 To be on the very point of doing a thing Essere in la cogli anni To be well on in years b. When not emphatic, or when referring to a place al- ready mentioned, 'here,' 'there,' and 'thence' are expressed respectively by ci, vi, ne (cf. 126). I. Special uses of ci. Ci is used very often with apparent re- dundance, as if to reinforce or enrich the meaning of the verb. Non ci s^nto ni^nte I hear nothing Ci h9 due mila lire I have two thousand lire (in the house, on my person) Iddio c' ^ God is c. 'Here is,' 'there is,' when demonstrative, are trans- lated by ecco (cf . 100, a) ; when not demonstrative, by c* ^, ci sono, v'l, vi sono. Ecco answers 'where .? ' c'fe etc., 'what? ' Ecco una farfalla ! There is a butterfly Ci sono tanti olivi sulle colline There are many olive-trees on the hillsides d. Altrove, altronde, are adverbs of place meaning ' elsewhere.' e. Dove and quando are used correlatively : dove . . . dove meaning 'here . . . there,' and quando . . . quando 'now . . . now.' 225 218-219 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 218. Adverbs of Quantity, a. Cf. 160. b. Troppo is followed by da (or per) to mean ' too much ... to.' £ trgppo bu9no da farlo He is too kind to do it I. Troppo followed by pid has the meaning of molto. £ trgppo piu difficile che non crede It is much more difficult than you think c, 'The more . . . the more' is translated by piii . . . e pm. PiU V9 innanzi cogli anni e pili amo The older I grow the more I love i giovani the young 219. Lists of Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases. (Cf. 227.) a. Adverbs of Manner. Adagio Ad alta voce Air ap^rto, al fresco A beir agio A braccetto Alia bu9na Alia carlona A suo C9modo Alia deriva Affatto A galla A gara Air improvviso Alia lunga A lutto Alia macchia A malincu9re Alia m^glio Alia p§ggio Al possTbile A quattr' 9cchi Alia rinfusa A rov^scio With ease, slowly, softly Aloud In the open At ease, conveniently, comfortably Arm in arm In a familiar way, after a fashion Carelessly At one's convenience Adrift, to leeward Entirely, at all (usually negative) Afloat In competition Unexpectedly Long drawn out In mourning In secret Against one's will For the best, as best one can The worst possible, very badly The most possible T^te-k-tete Helter-skelter ; abundantly Upside down, wrong end to 226 ADVERBS §219 Alia sf uggita Al S9lito, come al S9lito A soqquadro Alia stracca Alia sv^lta Alia svogliata Air ultimo A un tratto A vic^nda Da capo Da senno Di nascosto Di nu9vo Del r^sto Di s9lito Del tutto Fprse In compl^sso Indarno Infatti In fine In fretta In ogni caso In pubblico In tanto In vano Piano Per altro Per disp^tto S^nz' altro S^nza dubbio Si e n9 Sptto sopra Sul s^rio Suo malgrado Bocconi Carponi Ciondoloni On the fly, at a glance As usual Topsy-turvy Listlessly, unwillingly Cursorily, hastily Heedlessly, indifferentiy At last Suddenly, at once In turn ; mutually Over again In earnest Secretly Again For the rest, in other respects As a rule Altogether Perhaps Everything considered In vain In fact In short In haste Anyway, in any case In public After all, meanwhile In vain Softly, gently, slowly In other respects, for that matter For spite Without delay ; purely and simply Without doubt Approximately Upside down, helter-skelter Seriously, in good earnest In spite of him Flat on one's face On all fours Dangling 227 §219 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR In ginocchioni Penzoloni Ruzzolpni Tastoni On one's knees Hanging Head over heels Gropingly, feeling one's way b. Adverbs of Place. Abbasso Accanto Al di dentro Al di fu9ri A dritto Air indi^tro Air in giu Air in su Da ciascuna parte Dappertutto Davanti Di contro^ Di faccia J Di dentro Difilato Diritto Di fu9ri Dilk Di qua Di qua e di Ik Di sopra Di sotto Fin dove? Fu9ri di P9rta Giu In gill Innanzi In su Intorno Per ogni dove Qua e Ik Downstairs, down Next, next door Inside Outside Straight ahead Backward Downward Upward On each side Everywhere Ahead, in front Opposite Inside Straight ahead without stopping Straight ahead Outside On that side, that way On this side, this way On both sides Upstairs, above Below, down How far? Outside the walls Down, below Downward Ahead Upward Around Everywhere Here and there 228 ADVERBS §219 Su Up, above, upstairs Su e giu Up and down Su per giu Roughly, approximately c. Adverbs of Time. Alia fine At last A giorni At times Al giorno d' 9ggi Nowadays A momenti In a moment, presently Appena No sooner, hardly A t^mpo On time A V9lte At times, sometimes Da mane a sera From morning till night Da 9ggi in p9i ' Da qui innanzi Henceforth, from now on D' ora innanzi Da qui ad un mese A month from now Da un momento all' altro At any moment Da un p^zzo For some time past Dianzi Before, a little while ago Di bu9n' ora Early Di quando in quando Now and then Di rado Seldom Di rec^nte Recently Delle V9lte Sometimes Fino a quando ? Until when ? Fin dal prindpio From the first Fra br^ve In a little while Fra giorni In a few days Fra quanto ? How soon ? In giornata In the course of the day In men che non si dice In no time In9ggi Nowadays In principio At first In quel mentre, in questo mentre In the meanwhile In seguito Afterwards, in the future In un batter d' 9Cchio In a flash Nel fratt^mpo Meanwhile 229 §§ 219-220 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Ogni quanto? Ogni tanto Or ora Per ora Per t§mpo Piu qua P9C' anzi Prima o p9i Quanto prima Su due pi^di Suir ultimo TalvQlta T^mpo fa T^mpo indi^tro Una V9lta ogni tanto How often ? Every so often Just now For the present Early Later A little while ago Sooner or later As soon as possible Then and there, on the instant At the last moment Sometimes A while ago Before this, in the past, some time ago Once every so often 220. The Verb valere 'be worth.' Principal Parts : valere, val^ndo, valgo, varrg, valsi, valuto or valso Present Indicative Present Subjunctive valgo valiamo, valghiamo valga (vaglia) valghiamo (vagliamo) vali valete valga (vaglia) valghiate (vagliate) vale valgono valga (vaglia) valgano (vagliano) VOCABULARY il bgia executioner Giro Cyrus la fedelta fidelity Francesco Francis V ingegno m. talent il marito husband il martire martyr la maschera mask il mostro monster scellerato criminal, wicked buttare throw away giurare swear impiccare hang intravvedere glimpse salvare save sbarazzare rid, disembarrass tradire betray valersi di avail oneself of abbasso down, downstairs alia fine at last all' improwiso suddenly, un- expectedly 230 ADVERBS § 220 a lutto in mourning di nuQVO again, once more a momenti in a moment di rado seldom a quattr' Qcchi tete-k-tete di rec^nte recently a t^mpo on time fin dalprincipio from the beginning boccgni flat on one's face fin dove ? how far ? carponi on all fours ginocchipni on one's knees da mane a sera from morning till infatti in fact night in ogni caso in any case dappertutto everywhere quanto prima as soon as possible di nascpsto secretly sul s^rio seriously £X£RCISE GIRO MENOTTI Ecco un' altra vittima illustre della tirannia straniera, un altro martire, tradito, imprigionato e impiccato da quel ridicolo mostro che fu Francesco IV, duca di Modena. La sua elevata posizione sociale, il suo ingegno, il suo cuore, V essere marito e padre, nulla gli valse per salvarlo. Conoscendo quanto fosse ambizioso quel Duca scellerato, gli face intravvedere la possibility, se si fosse messo alia testa del movimento rivoluzionario, di diventar lui il Re della nuova Italia. E il Duca si mise alia testa dei rivoluzionari modenesi e giurb fedelta. Ma questo forse egli face per conoscer meglio gli uomini dei quali avrebbe dovuto sbarazzarsi. Infatti, colto il momento opportuno, buttb via la maschera, h fece tutti arrestare, e nel medesimo tempo scrisse al Govematore austriaco di Reggio : Mandatemi il boia. II I . Duke Francis availed himself of the mask of fidelity, in order to rid himself of the revolutionists. 2. The wicked man sought secretly, from morning till night, to rid himself of them. 3. At last, suddenly, he had them taken, and had the executioner come 231 §§ 221-222 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR as soon as possible. 4. He had the martyrs of Italian independ- ence hanged, and many Italian women dressed once more in mourning. 5. After the battle the soldiers were found not seldom on their knees, on all fours, or fiat on their faces. 6. One easily sees that you have studied seriously. 7. Was Duke Francis of Modena born in 1779 .'' Yes. 8. Here it is said that Prince Louis is a monster ; what do they say of him up there where you are ? 9. How far shall we follow this road before turning to the left? 10. In any case we must start early, because it has rained recently. 1 1 . Are you too tired to accompany me ? On the contrary, I should like to go. 12. Giro Menotti died a martyr. Yes. 13. Do you like Mrs. G.? Not at all. She is not at all congenial. 14. Shall we take a walk in the public gardens ? By all means I LESSON XXXVII PREPOSITIONS 221. The Simple Prepositions, a. The simple prepositions a, con, da, di, in, and per should as a rule be repeated before every noun or pronoun which they govern. Ne ha dato a Giovanni e a Luigi He gave some to John and Louis Parlarono di te e di me They spoke of you and me &. The prepositions contro, dentro, dope, oltre, prfsso, sfnza, sopra, sotto, su, vf rso, and sometimes fra, take di before a personal pronoun. Non parta s^nza di me Do not leave without me Arrival dopo di lui I arrived after him 222. Compound Prepositions. The great majority of Italian prepositions are compound, being composed usually of an 232 PREPOSITIONS §§ 222-223 adverb and a preposition, but sometimes of two prepositions together: fugri di 'outside,' intorao a 'around.' Su per le vie Up and down the streets Al di dentro Inside a. The prepositions compounded with a, when governing a pronoun, drop a; the pronoun (of. 136, a) becomes con- junctive in the dative case. Mi vidi innanzi una sentin^lla {not I saw in front of me a sentinel vidi innanzi a me) Gli andai incpntro (no/ incontro I went to meet him a lui) Due battaglioni gli vfngono sQpra Two battalions came upon him Cadevagli p9co discgsto Torquato Torquato fell not far from him Ci fa segno di andargli di^tro He makes a sign to us to follow him b, Lungi, lontano, di8C98to, meaning 'far/ which usually are compounded with da, take di before an adverb. Lungi di qui Far from here Lontano di Ik Far from there But Lontano dal c^ntro Far from the center 223. The Preposition with Adjectives, a. Many adjec- tives take di before a noun of material, characteristic, etc. Una catin^lla pi^na d' acqua A basin full of water I monti neri di pini The mountains black with pines II senti^ro ingombro di sassi The path cumbered with stones Others, which would not take *of ' in English, are abbondante (di) abundant (in) pQvero (di) poor (in) ammalato (di) ill (with) ricco (di) rich (in) contento"! ,., ,, .^. soddisfatto (di) satisfied (with) * Wdi) contented (with) ^.^ ,:,-^ \ .i. . ,- . pago J ^ ^ ^ ^ vestito (di) clothed (m) 233 §§223-225 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR &. Many, such as fedele 'loyal,' pericoloso 'dangerous,' pronto 'ready,' simile 'similar,' utile 'useful,' take a, as their English equivalents 'to.' c. A few, such as alifno 'foreign,' 'averse (to),* div^rso 'different (from),* indipendfnte 'independent (of),* take da. 224. The Preposition with Verbs, a. For the use of prepositions before infinitives, cf. 174. &. Many verbs which in English are transitive, in Italian require a preposition before their object, and the reverse is equally true. Those verbs which take a take the conjunctive in the dative ; when the object is a thing, the pronoun is ci. Ne is used as the pronoun object of the verbs that take di. Ubbidisce al padre She obeys her father II principe succ^sse al re The prince succeeded the king Giocare alia pallac9rda To play tennis Se ne acc9rse subito He perceived it immediately Ci d^vo rinunziare I must give it up Cambierk d' opinione He will change his mind Domandi a Margherita Ask Margaret Lo c^rco I am looking for it La guardano They are looking at her Ascoltano la musica They are listening to the music Non lo ammette ., It does not admit of it Ho sognato te I dreamed of you I. Sometimes the preposition is merely different. Domandano di Lei They are asking for you Pensare a una C9sa To think of a thing Ci p^nso I am thinking of it Ridere di una C9sa To laugh at a thing Ne ridevano tanto They laughed at it a great deal 225. Compound Nouns. English compound nouns are usually translated by means of a prepositional phrase. 234 PREPOSITIONS §§ 225-226 a. If the modifying member of the compound be merely descriptive, the preposition is di, sometimes a. biglietto di visita visiting-card galleria di cuadri picture-gallery libro di scu9la schoolbook libro di t^sto textbook a pr9va di bomba bomb-proof orolQgio a sv^glia alarm clock schi9ppo a due canne double-barreled gun &. If it indicates means, the preposition is a. barca a vela sailboat macchina a vapore steam-engine c. If it indicates purpose, the preposition is da. cani da caccia hunting-dogs tazza da caff^. (But * tazza di coffee-cup caff^ ' is * cup of coffee ') macchina da cucire sewing-machine carta da l^ttere letter-paper servizio da t| tea-service d. For the formation and pluralizing of Italian compound nouns, cf. 181. 226. List of Prepositions, a, English-Italian. about, approximately circa, pr^sso a pQco about, around intpmo a, dintprno a, attpmo a, per about, concerning di above sopra according to secQodo across a trav?rso after dppo ; before an infinitive dppo di against contra, contro along lungo among fra, tra as far as fino a, sino a §226 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR as for per, in quanto a as to in riguardo a, in rispftto a at a at the rate of a ragi^ne di because of a causa di, a motivo di, per motivo di, a ragipne di before, in front of davanti a, innanzi before {time) prima di, innanzi behind di§tro below, beneath sptto beside, besides, in addition to pltre (a or di) beside, next to accanto a between fra, tra beyond pltre, al di 111 di, di la da by {agent) da by {instrument or means) di by, beside accanto a by dint of a fgrza di by means of per mf zzo di during durante except ecc^tto, fugri di, tranne —^ for per for {with measure of time) da from da from {used of abstract things, ' from that time,' ' from the beginning ') fin da in in ; after a superlative di or fra inside of dentro di instead of invece di in the midst of in m§zzo a into in near vicino a, prf sso a of di on su (sur), sppra on this side of al di qua di on the other side of al di li di opposite to dirimpftto a, in faccia a outside of fugri di over sQpra 236 V beside, next to PREPOSITIONS § 226 through per, attrav§rso to a ; before the name of a country in ; before that of a person da, a toward v§rso under sotto until fino a, sino a with con within, inside of dentro (di or a) within, in the course of {ti7ne) fra without s^nza without, outside of fugri di h, Italian-English. a, ad at, to a benefizio di for the benefit of a causa di because of accanto a accQsto a addgsso a on, on top of, on the back of a disp^tto di in spite of ad onore di in honor of ad onta di in spite of a favore di in favor of a fQrza di by dint of al di 111 di beyond al di qua di on this side of allato a by the side of all' infuQri di outside of a malgrado di notwithstanding app?tto a facing, opposite appi| di at the foot of a piQ di to the advantage of a ragipne di because of ; at the rate of attorno a around, round about attrav?rso a across, through con with contra, cpntro (a or di) against da by, from davanti a before, in front of 237 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR dentro a {or di) within, inside of di of di^tro (a or di) behind di 1^ da on the other side of dinanzi a in front of dintprno a around di qua da on this side of dirimp^tto a opposite, facing discQsto a away from dppo, dppo di after durante during eccftto except entro a within {time) fin da from {time) fino a until, up to fra between, among ; within {time) fugri di outside of giusta according to, conformably to in in, into in cambio di in exchange for > in capo a (di) at the end of, at the head of in cima a at the summit of incpntro a against in faccia a opposite, facing in fondo a at the end of, at the back of, at the bottom of in luQgo di instead of in mf zzo a in the midst of innanzi a in front of in quanto a as to in riguardo a"! . . Y with respect to in nspf tto a J ^ insif me a (con) together with intprno a around invece di instead of lontano da (di) far from lungi da (di) far from lungo along malgrado in spite of 238 PREPOSITIONS §§ 226-227 mediante by means of merc^ thanks to Qltre a beyond per through, for per mf zzo di by means of per motivo di because of pr^sso a near prima di before {time) ras^nte a close to, grazing salvo except secondo according to sfnza without sino a up to sopra (a) above sQtto (a) below su (sur) on tra between, among tranne except v?rso towards vicino a near 227. Idiomatic Use of Prepositions. The correct use of prepositions is one of the most delicate and difficult things in the study of any foreign language. The uses of a given preposition overlap, and it is not easy to determine the limits of each. *To' and 'from,' for example, may each be translated variously, according to the shade of meaning, by a, di, or da. No rules can be formulated in this matter, practice and observation being the only guides. A careful reading and rereading of the examples assembled below will, however, show which is the preposition to be used in a good many typical cases. a. Phrases with a, meaning 'at,' 'by,* 'from,' 'in,' 'of/ 'on,' 'to,' 'with,' 'within.' A bocca ap^rta A bordo Al buio A capo chino A che C9sa p^nsa ? Al chiaro di luna A contanti A cQttimo A danaro sonante Alia d^stra, alia sinistra A due per due With open mouth On board In the dark With bowed head Of what are you thinking ? By moonlight In cash By the piece, piecework In cash To the right, to the left Two by two 239 §227 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR A due per V9lta A giornata Alia giornata, vivere All' ingrgsso A macchina A mano Al mare A mente A migliaia A minuto A m9do suo A nglo, prf ndere or dare A 9lio A ora A orecchio Alia pi9ggia A portata di mano A p9sta A che pr9 ? Al sole A volo A V9lta di corri^re La m9rte lo rapiva alia famiglia La riconosco alia voce, al color dei capelli L' ho sentito dire a degli altri Ai t§mpi di cui parlo La min^stra sembra bu9na al- 1* odore Two at a time By the day To live from day to day, from hand to mouth At wholesale By machine By hand By the sea By heart By thousands At retail In one's own way To rent or let In oils By the hour By ear In the rain Within reach of one's hand On purpose To what end ? In the sun On the wing By return mail Death took him from his family I recognize her by her voice, by the color of her hair I have heard it said by others At the time of which I am speaking The soup seems good by the odor of it h. Phrases with da, meaning 'as,' *at/ 'at the house of,' 'by,' 'characteristic of,' 'for,' 'from,' 'like,' 'on,' 'such as to,' 'to,' or 'with.' Da padre Dalla parte n9stra L|ttere da casa Like a father On our side Letters from home 240 PREPOSITIOiNS §227 Materiale da costruzione Vini da pasto Ha una famiglia da mantenere Vede il bambino dai capelli ricciuti ? Dim9ra da n9stro cugino Passi dalla p9Sta Non VU9I fssere da meno degli altri Si crede da piil degli altri La chi^sa ha tutto da guadagnare, nulla da pf rdere Non dipf nde da lui Fa da intf rprete Abbiamo sostenuto da soli una dura gu^rra Non e da dimenticare £ organizzatp in m9do da stimo- lare le energle indiyidue Non sembra C9sa da vergognarsi Lo guardano dall' alto in basso Va da s^ Non mi s^nto da tan to Non h da tutti Dei francobolli da di^ci centf simi Construction materials Table wines He has a family to maintain Do you see the child with curly hair? He lives at our cousin's Stop at the post office He does not wish to be inferior to others He thinks himself superior to others The church has everything to gain and nothing to lose It does not depend on him He acts as interpreter We have carried on by ourselves a hard war It is not to be forgotten It is organized in a manner to stimulate individual efforts It does not seem to be a thing to be ashamed of They look down on him It goes without saying I do not feel equal to so much Not every one is capable of it Some ten-centime postage stamps c. Phrases with di, meaning 'at,' 'by,' 'from,' 'in,' 'of,' to,' or 'with.' Di corsa Di giorno, di n9tte Di giorno in giorno D' estate Di gennaio Fugri d' uso Piu lungo di due m^tri Prfndere di mira Di seconda mano At a run, on the run By day, by night From day to day In summer In January Out of date Longer by two meters To take aim at At second hand 241 §227 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR La strada di Fir^nze Rideva di gi9ia Fu punito di m9rte Che facesti delle f^rbici? d. Phrases with in, per, In capelli In casa In chi^sa In mare In punta di pi^di Andare in Francia Tenere in pQCO conto Per mare, per t^rra Per la pgsta Per la strada Lo sceglie per amico Sui libri, sui giornali Tre m^tri su s?i Su misura Due su tre La camera guarda sui davanti The road to Florence She laughed for joy He was punished with death What did you do with the scissors ? and su. Bare-headed At home To church At sea On tiptoe To go to France To consider of small importance By land, by sea By mail In the street, on the way He chooses him as a friend In books, in the newspapers Three meters by six To order Two out of three The room is on the front 1 . Notice that ' to ' before the name of a person is da (or a) ; before that of a country, in ; and before that of any other place, a. Va da Maria, in Italia, alia P9sta He goes to Mary's, to Italy, to the post-office Va a Maria He goes to Mary 2. 'From,' with a word referring to a place, is di when the limits of the place are more strictly conceived, otherwise da. If the article is present, da is required. Esce di chi^sa He is coming out of church V^ngo da chi^sa I am coming from church Vi^ne di Fir^nze He comes from Florence (from within the very walls) Vi§ne da Fir^nze He comes from Florence, or its vicinity 242 PREPOSITIONS §227 He died from hunger He comes from Germany Mori di fame, dalla fame Vi^ne di Germania or da Germania But Vi^ne dall' Alta Bretagna He comes from Upper Brittany (because the modifying word requires the article, and the article requires da). VOCABULARY 1' ambizipne/l ambition AristQtile Aristode 11 duQmo cathedral la gondola gondola il lago lake 1' operaio m. workman la parte side, share il piattino da tazza saucer 11 rf mo oar la sarta dressmaker la scala a chiQcciola winding stair la scala a piugli ladder lo spedale hospital il t| tea 1' unitHy! union, unity adriatico Adriatic drammatico dramatic fino fine occidentale western, west pi^no full cadere, cadr^, caddi, caduto fall ridere, risi, riso laugh salire, salgo (salghiamo), salii or salsi, salito climb, go up addQsso a on the back of, on the top of dentro di within, inside of diftro a behind di U da beyond, on the other side of dinanzi a before, in front of di qua da on this side of discQsto a away from fin da from (time) fino a up to, until in faccia a opposite in fpndo a at the back of, at the bottom of, at the end of in m^zzo a in the middle of lontano da far from a capo chino with bowed head a contanti in cash a CQttimo by the piece a giornata by the day a mano by hand al mare by the sea di seconda mano at second hand in mare at sea indarno in vain 243 §227 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR EXERCISE I I. Bring me a teacup, child, and two saucers. 2. They both work : she has a sewing-machine and works at home, and he works by the day at the baker's. 3. The Spaniard was coming behind us, with his head bowed. 4. See how fine this lace is ! It is made by hand. 5. They are all against me. 6. Where is the cathedral? We were near it just now. Now we are two miles away from it. 7. Are we far from the walls ? No, the walls are not far from here. 8. They will not be able to do without us. 9. At first the Italians dreamed in vain of independence and unity. 10. You will arrive after us. 11. His theme was the dramatic unities of Aristotle. 12. Winding stairs are easier to climb than ladders. 13. Here there is nothing to sell. 14. Sailboats, steamboats and rowboats were following the gondolas. 15. Who are the gentleman with the white hair and the lady with the blue eyes ? 1 6. The soldiers were falling on top of us. 17. On which side of the lake do you live? 18. We live on the other side of the lake. 19. I prefer to live on this side of it. 20. Are you acquainted with the hospital for chil- dren ? Our house is opposite it. 2 1 . How long shall you stay ? From the first of April to the eleventh of May. 22. The dress- maker is in the middle of the city, at the end of Via Roma. 23. By dint of money one can do much. II I. They live outside the gates. I thought they lived inside. 2. As we were coming out of church, they passed us, coming from home. 3. We spent two months by the sea, near one of the Adri- atic ports. 4. That is a thing to remember. .5. We were not able to have the criminal imprisoned. 6. I bought these books at second hand; I shall pay for them to-morrow in cash. 7. Wait for us inside the church. 8. Children obey their parents. 9. Come 244 PREPOSITIONS § 227 to our house, all of you, at twenty minutes before five. lo. He spoke these terrible words before her and me. 1 1 . Do not look at these pictures; they are ugly. 12. He will change his mind and renounce his ambitions. 13. Instead of sending it to us now, he will bring it to us when he comes to Florence. 14. Those work- men are working by the piece. 15. Look for us outside the cathedral, on the west side. 16. The lakes are full of water at this season. 17. The prisoner stood before him. 18. You cannot do without it. 19. They were laughing at us. 20. We were two weeks at sea. 2 1 . I have received by mail some letters from home. 22. Some ladies are here who are asking for you. 23. You cannot give it up. 24. We always spend a month by the sea in summer. DIALO6O DALLA MODISTA — Vuol accompagnarmi dalla modista ? — Volentieri. Dove sta ? — Vicino, a due passi. Nella prima via a destra, numero 20. — Gik vedo il suo cartello : Sorelle Chiarini. Cappelli da Si- gnore. Entriamo. — Buon giorno, Signore. Che cosa mi comandano ? — lo non voglio niente, ma questa signora desidera un cappello da viaggio. Non e pratica di Firenze e le ho detto che Lei la servirk bene. — Grazie, Signora. Proverb di meritare la Sua raccomandazione. — Ci faccia vedere dei figurini. — Siamo a mezza stagione. Lo desidera di paglia o di feltro ? — Di feltro, di forma piccola. — Le mostrerb prima dei fondini. Eccone uno. Proviamolo. — Non mi piace. La tesa b troppo larga e il capino troppo tondo. Mi stringe alia fronte, mi dark mal di testa. 245 § 228 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR — Questo Le starebbe bene, mi pare. — Mi sta bene, davvero. Solo sarebbe un po' sfacciato per il colore. Per il viaggio ci vuole qualcosa di piii modesto. — Ecco la stessa forma di un colore piu scuro. — Benissimo. E la guarnizione ? — Per guarnizione, Signora, io direi un fiqcco di nastro di seta nera, ovvero una piccola fantasia. Con questa forma non sta bene la piuma. — Preferisco il fiocco. Quando sark finito ? — Per domani. — Vabbene. Badi di non mancare, io parto alle sette della mattina seguente. — Non abbia paura. L' avra senza fallo. A rivederla, Signora. LESSON XXXVIII AUGMENTATIVES AND DIMINUTIVES 228. Augmentatives and Diminutives. Terminations modi- fying the meaning of nouns and adjectives are very common in Italian, and with nouns may take the place of the corre- sponding adjective at the will of the speaker, unless the idea of size is to be emphasized. These terminations are augmentative or diminutive, caressing or disparaging, most diminutives combining with the idea of small size that of affection or disparagement. a. The most important augmentatives are -one, -a, -gtto, and -gccio. I. -One means 'very large,' and it may be masculine even when added to a feminine noun ; but it has a feminine form in adjectives, 246 AUGMENTATIVES AND DIMINUTIVES § 228 abstract nouns, and those describing persons as to age or family relationship. Una d9nna ; un don none {burl.) Un u9mo ; un omgne Una strada ; uno stradpne Una figliu9la ; una figliolona Una v^cchia ; una vecchiona A woman ; an enormous woman A man ; a large man A road ; a highway A little daughter; a tall, or over- grown, little daughter An old woman; a very tall old woman 2. -Otto, -occio, mean 'rather large' with nouns, and with ad- jectives modify the meaning like 'rather.' With names of animals, -otto is a diminutive meaning the young of the species. Una casa ; un casgtto A house ; a somewhat large house Grasso ; grassgtto or grassgccio Fat ; plump La tigre ; il tigrgtto The tiger ; the tiger's cub &. The most important diminutives are -ino (-cino, -icino, -olino), meaning diminutiveness, charm, and affection ; -etto and -fllo (-c^llo, -erfllo, -icfllo), implying compassion or indul- gence in addition to the idea of small size ; -uccio, -uzzo, -uzzolo, -U9I0 (-9I0), which imply endearment when applied to persons and disparagement when applied to things ; and -accio, -astro, and -azzo, which are terms of unqualified dislike and disparagement. La mano ; la manina La p9vera ; la poverina La casa ; la casuccia La vi9la ; il violino II figlio ; il figliuQlo Cantare; cantarellare Bello; bellino Caro ; carino Un mf dico ; un medicastro The hand ; the pretty little hand The poor woman ; the poor dear woman, the poor thing The house ; the poor little house The viol ; the violin The son ; the young son To sing ; to warble Beautiful; pretty Dear; charming A doctor ; a poor, unskillful doctor 247 §§228-229 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR II cavallo ; il cavallaccio The horse ; the bad-tempered, wretched horse L' asino; 1' asin?llo The donkey; the small, or young, donkey 229. Rules of Formation. These terminations cannot be used indiscriminately, but must be chosen in accordance with precedent and euphony. The ear is a sufficient guide in this matter to the ItaHan, but the foreigner must use great discretion and will find it safest to confine himself to forms he has met with. a. If the normal ending of a word chance to be one of these terminations, then not that one but some other must be chosen as diminutive or augmentative. II rusc§llo ; il ruscelletto The brook ; the small brook L' ucc^Uo ; r uccellino The bird ; the young bird La cugina ; la cuginetta The cousin ; the attractive little cousin b. If the word end in -one, the terminations -one, -ino, and -ello become respectively -clone, -cino, and -cello. II bastone ; il bastoncione The stick ; the great stick II padrone ; il padroncino The master ; the young master II violone ; il violoncello The bass viol ; the violoncello c. These terminations may be combined. Un pochino, un pochettino A little bit Un figliuQlo ; un figliolino A little son ; a dear litde son d. The augmentative or diminutive sometimes loses its character of termination, and the modification becomes a permanent new word. L' acqua ; 1' acquerf llo Water ; the water-color La su9ra ; la sor§lla The nun ; the sister II frate ; il frat^Uo The friar ; the brother II cavallo ; il cavalletto 248 AUGMENTATIVES AND DIMINUTIVES § 229 VOCABULARY il bastone cane, stick grasso fat il cane dog ignorante ignorant la facoltll division of university sapi^nte wise, sapient 11 sal^tto sitting-room annoverare enumerate, count la scala stairs p^rgere, pgrsi, p^rto hold out lo scalino step of stair presiimere, presunsi, presunto as- Tommaso Thomas sume 1' university y^ university oramai now, in view of this in salvo in safety EXERCISE I I . In Italia lo studio della medicina dura sei anni ; a New York, tre o, al piu, quattro. 2. Quali sapientoni di medici devono uscire dalle universitk americane ! 3. Ma in Italia i due primi anni della Facoltk medica sono esclusivamente dedicati alio studio delle scienze naturali. 4. Nelle universitk americane, invece, si presume che il giovane che vuole entrare in una Facoltk di medicina abbia gik di queste materie quelle nozioni che oramai fanno quasi parte della cultura generale. 5. In Italia non trovate una cittaduzza di diecimila abitanti che non abbia I'onore di annoverare entro le sue mura qualche dozzina di avvocantucci e di medicastri. 6. La fami- glia reale ha dovuto fuggire, per mettere in salvo i principini. 7. Un grand' artista fiorentino, il quale morl giovane, h conosciuto ai PQsteri sotto il nome di Masaccio, cioe, Cattivo Tommaso ! 8. Non si pub confrontare la mia casuccia con quel palazzone ! 9. Come sta, amico mio ? Benone ! 10. I canini giuocano coi gattini. II. Ho comprato qualche cosuccia per la bambina. II I . As one enters the hall, there is a stairway which leads upstairs to the drawing-room, with a sitting-room next it. 2. The steps of the stairs are rather high. 3. The young man has a cane, and 249 §229 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR his little brother has a little cane. 4. Her father is fat, and she is already plump. 5. We shall take the big dog with us, and leave the puppies at home. 6. Unskillful poets are not to be praised. 7. The little peasant boy carries a great stick. *8. These horrid big books are heavy to carry. 9. She has small hands. 10. My little son, you will one day be a big man like me. 1 1. We live near the great gate. 12. The baby put out its little hands to us. 13. Iji the Italian universities are found many students. DIALOGO SI FANNO LE COMPRE — Vuol venire con me fino al centro ? Ho tante commissioni da fare. — Volentieri. — Strada facendo, ci fermeremo dal gioielliere, dove ho lasciato il mio orologio per farlo riparare. Non va bene. Un giorno va troppo avanti, un altro giorno troppo indietro. Non va mai giusto. In questo momento fa cinque minuti il giorno. — Anch' io voglio andarci. Devo lasciare il mio fermaglio da raccommodare. Non si chiude bene, e la pietra non e incassata a dovere. — Poi andremo dal merciaio, dove ho bisogno di comprare tante cosine. Prima vorrei un metro di seta uguale a questo campione. Poi occorre tutta la roba da cucire, per un astuccio da viaggio che voglio preparare per un' amica. Comprero un paio di forbicini, degli aghi di diverse grossezze, dei rocchetti di cotone e di seta, un ditale, e degli spilli e dei ganci. £ tanto comodo viaggiando di poter trovare tutto 1' occorrente in caso di bisogno. — Al ritomo passiamo dal cartolaio, per prendere della carta protocQllo della quale mi servo per copiare. — Io ho bisogno dell' inchiostro per la penna a serbatoio, della carta da lettere, e della cartasuga. 250 CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS § 230 — La carta come la compra ? Sciqlta o in scatola ? — ^ Sempre sciolta. Non mi piace quella in scatola ; ce ne danno meno, e non e sempre di buon gusto. Mi occorre anche un pac- chetto di buste assortite colla carta, e non ci sara ajtro da fare. LESSON XXXIX CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS 230. Conjunctions. The conjunctions, like the preposi- tions, are frequently compound. The following lists are offered for ready reference in translation. The Italian- English list is much the longer, the English-Italian being confined to the more common conjunctions which the stu- dent will find useful. Those which require the subjunctive are indicated. a. List of Conjunctions, English-Italian. after dopo che also anche, pure although bench^, sebb^ne (w. sudj.) and e as, since poich^, siccQme as {offer tanto) quanto ; (offer tale) quale ; (offer cosi) cpme as if come se, quasi, quasi che (tv. sudj.) as fast as via via che as long as tanto che, fintantoch^ as well as come anco because perch^, perciocch^ before avanti che, prima che (w. subj.) both . . . and e . . . e but ma ; but if che se but rather, but indeed bensi either ... or 9 . . . o even if anche se ; ancorch^, quando anche (w. subj) 251 § 230 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR except that se non che, tranne che (w. subj.) for ch^, poich^ granting that dato che, s?mpre che (w. subj.) however, nevertheless per^, pure, tuttavia however [before adj. or adv.) per quanto, quantunque {w. subj.) if se if only splo che, purch^ {w. subj.) in case caso mai, nel caso che [w. subj.) in order that acciocch^, afflnch^, perch^ (w. subj.) in spite of the fact that malgrado che {w. subj.) much less non che {w. subj.) neither . . . nor n^ . . . n^ nevertheless per^, tuttavia, nondimeno, ci^ non ostante nor . . . either nemmeno, neppure nor even neanche, neppure not to say . . . but even non che . . . ma notwithstanding that nonostante che, malgrado che {w. subj.) on condition that a patto che, a condizione che (w. subj.) or or else oppure, ossia {equivalence), owero {difference) provided that purch^ {w. subj.) rather than piutt^sto che since {causal) poich^, siccome, giacch^ since {temporal) dacch^ so, so then dunque so that, in order that perch^, afEinch^, acciocch^ {w. subj.) so that {result) di mgdo ch?, sicch^ supposing that posto che, supposto che {nv. subj.) than che, che non, di quel che {cf. 115, &, c, d) that che that, in order that perch^ {w. subj.) that is cio| the more as, the more that tanto pih che then, accordingly dunque therefore perci^, per5, dunque, adunque though see although too anche, pure unless sf nza che, a meno che non {w. subj.) 252 CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS § 230 until finch^ npn when quando whence dpnde where dove, Ik dpve, pve whereas considerando che wherefore onde ("w. subj.\ per I9 che wherever dovunque (w. subj.) whether se, sia, sia che while mentre, mentre che yet nondimeno, tuttavia, per^, pure, nuUadimeno h. List of Conjunctions, Italian-English. acci^, acciocch^ {w. subj.) so that, in order that a condizipne che {w. subj.) on condition that adunque then, so then affinch^ {w. subj.) in order that a mano a mano che proportionately as, as fast as a meno che npn {w. subj.) unless anche also anche se even if ancpra yet, still, again ancorchfe (w. subj.) even if, although anzi che rather that a patto che {iv. subj.) on condition that avanti che {iv. subj.) before awegna che (w. subj.) although bench^ {iv. subj.) although bensi but rather, nay indeed caso, caso mai {iv. subj.) in case che that che, che npn than chfe for cio| that is ci^ non ostante notwithstanding come as, as it were come anco as well as cpme se {w. subj.) as if conciossiach^ although 253 230 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR considerando che whereas cpn questo che {w. subj.) notwithstanding that cosi as {after come) dacch^ since {temporal) dato che {w. subj.) granting that di mQdo che so that {result) dpnde whence dopo che after dovunque {w. subj.) wherever dunque then, so then e and e . . . e both . . . and ecc§tto che {w. subj.) unless finche as long as finche non until fintantoch^ as long as fuorch^ {w. subj.) except that giacch^ since {causal) in guisa che so as to \k dpve where laonde wherefore ma but malgrado che {w. subj.) notwithstanding that mentre, mentre che while ne nor ne . . . ne neither . . . nor nel caso che {w. subj.) in case nemmeno nor, nor . . . either neppure nor, nor . . . either npn che {w. subj.) much less non che . . . ma not to say . . . but even nondimeno, non perci^, nulladimeno nevertheless non ostante che {w. subj.) notwithstanding that non splo . . . ma not only . . . but 9 or 9 ... either ... or pnde {w. subj.) wherefore, because of which, so as to oppure, ossia, owero or else 254 CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS § 230 perche because ; {w. subj.) in order that perci^ therefore perciocch^ because per I9 che wherefore, because of which per^ however perocche because per quanto {iv. subj) however {before adj.) piuttQsto che rather than poiche since {causal) PQscia che after PQsto che {w. subj) supposing that prima che {w. subj) before purch^ {w. subj) provided that pure however, also quale as {after tale) qualpra {w. subj) whenever, as often as quando when quando anche {w. subj) even if quanto as {after tanto) quantunque {w. subj) whenever quasi, quasi che {w. subj) as if se if sebbf ne {w. subj) although secQudoche according as sfmpreche {w. subj) granting that se npn che except that sf nza che {w. subj) unless se pure {w. subj) if only sia, sia che whether sicche so that {result) siccome as, since sqIo che {w. subj) if only supposto che {w. subj) supposing that tanto che as long as tanto pill che the more that tranne che {w. subj) except that tuttavia however, anyway via via che as fast as 255 §§ 230-231 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR 1. Certain conjunctions, as anche se, di m9do che, etc., which are usually followed by the indicative, are sometimes followed by the subjunctive. 2. Questions and exclamations are introduced sometimes, for greater vivacity, by o or che, used pleonastically. Dimmi, Santino, che ti place piu Tell me, Santino, do you like fresh la frutta f resca o quella secca ? fruit better, or dried ? provatevi anche voi ! £ tan to Try it yourself ! It is very easy facile credete chi ci fosse ? Now who do you think was there ? 3. A clause is introduced sometimes by si che, as a strengthen- ing or contrasting form. E si che di amministrazioni libere And yet Italian statesmen did not agli U9mini di stato italiani non lack for examples of liberal mancavano es^mpi ! administration ! Se, per es^mpio, il giovane leg- If, for example, the youth should gesse un' orazione di Cicerone, read a speech of Cicero, a few alcune Qdi di Orazio, un libro odes of Horace, a book of Vir- di Virgilio . . . allora si che egli gil . . . then he would indeed avr^bbe un' id^a, tutt' altro che have an idea, far from complete, compl^ta, ma almeno rispettabile, but at least tolerable, of classic della letteratura classica literature 4. The conjunction che is often used alone in familiar speech to mean 'so that,' 'such that.' Cantavano ch' era un piacere They sang so that it was a delight (to listen) Parlava italiano ch' era un orrore He spoke Italian horribly 231. Interjections. The following are the more frequent interjections in Italian : a. Expressing joy, admiration, enthusiasm, and the like : B§ne! Well! Good! Bravo! Brava! Well done! Good for him (^r her)! 356 CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS § 231 Oh gigia ! What joy ! How delightful ! Viva ! Evviva ! Hurrah! Beato te ! Happy you ! b. Grief, pain, compassion. anger, and the like : Ahi! Ohi! Deh! Ahime ! Ohim^! Alas! Guai! Woe! Beware! Peccato ! Che peccato ! What a pity ! What a shame ! P9vero a me ! Poor me Oh, poverino! Oh, the poor thing I Pieta! Mercy ! Dio ci aiuti ! Heaven help us ! Oib9! Vergogna! Shame! Maledetto! Diavolo! Zounds! The deuce! c. Surprise : Diamine ! Per bacco ! Is it possible ! Of course I Oh b?lla ! Curioso ! How strange ! Mah! Mach?!' But — ! How absurd ! Come mai ! How in the world? How can it possibly be? d. Encouragement: Pazi^nza ! Have patience ! Resignation ! Speriamo ! Let us hope so ! Coraggio ! Animo ! Courage ! Orsu! Come now ! Su! Here! Come! e. Miscellaneous : Ecco! There! Exactly! Via! Come, come ! Oh, come now ! Ben venuto ! Ben venuta ! Welcome ! Largo ! Make way ! Magari ! Rather ! Would to God ! Zitto ! Hush! Chi lo sa ! Who knows ! Piano ! Softly! Gently! 257 §231 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR Basta ! Al ladro ! Air armi ! Abbasso la tirannide ! Viva 1' Italia ! Enough ! Stop thief ! To arms ! Down with tyranny ! Long live Italy ! VOCABULARY V albero m. tree, mast la breccia breach •la cima summit la ferita wound la finzipne pretense LivQino Leghorn il marinaio sailor la polvere powder il rischio risk 11 sepolcreto cemetery il sogno dream lo strapazzo abuse, neglect awerare fulfill deplorare regret gridare shout redimere, red?nsi, red§nto redeem saltare in aria be blown up a meno che unless a patto che on condition that a vic^nda in turn ; mutually caso mai in case dacch^ since (fime) in cima a on the top of malgrado che notwithstanding that neppure not even nondimeno nevertheless piuttQsto che rather than poich^ since (cause) prima che before purch^ provided that siccome as tranne che except that irrgdento unredeemed EXERCISE I ULTIMI ANNI BELLA GUERRA Nel 1 866, alia battaglia navale di Lissa, Alfredo Cappellini li- vornese, un erqe da paragonarsi ai piu grandi dell' antichitk, piut- tosto che veder cadere nelle mani dei nemici la sua nave, Talestro', dette fuoco alle polveri e saltb in aria con tutti i suoi marinai, i quaU morirono gridando dalle cime degli alberi : Vzva V Italia / A Villa Gloria cade Enrico Cairoli, e vi resta malamente ferito Giovanni CairoH, il quale mor\ poi, nel 1869. Nomi di una famiglia 258 CONJUNCTIONS AND INTERJECTIONS § 231 sacra alia patria, di una famiglia che per questa patria dette la vita di quattro sopra cinque che erano i suoi figli generosi. Er- nesto muore combattendo a Varese; Luigi muore a Napoli per gli strapazzi della guerra del i860 ; Benedetto solo, carico di ferite, sopravvive dopo tanti rischi a conforto della madre. Onore alia memoria di Adelaide Cairoli, di questa fortissima donna, che dorme ora nel sepolcreto di Groppello, in mezzo a quel figli, che, educati da lei, seppero dare tanta gloria al loro nome e all' Italia. Oggi, al fine, dopo tante fatiche, tanti sacrifizi, e tanti martiri, eccoci arrivati alia nostra capitale, ecco finalmente avverato il sogno di tanti secoli ! Ci saremmo dovuti entrare senza le armi, ma le armi ci vollero. II 20 settembre, 1870, i cannoni dell' esercito ita- liano tuonavano dinanzi alle mura di Porta Pia. Breve fu la fin- zione di resistenza da parte dei soldati che la difendevano, e una larga breccia apr\ il passo nella cittk eterna al trionfo dell' Italia redenta. Viva Roma capitale d' Italia 1 Ci siamo e ci resteremo 1 II I . The sailors, on top of the masts, were awaiting death. 2 . Alfred Cappellini of Leghorn preferred to set fire to the powder and be blown up, rather than let his ship be taken. 3. Since I have been in Italy, the great war has begun. 4. Since they are to arrive so soon, let us not go away before they come. 5. Of the sailors of the ship ' Palestro ' not one was left [remained] alive. 6. They were all blown up. 7. Benedetto Cairoli saw his four brothers die in the war. 8. Only he survived them. 9. Unless many men know how to die for their country, Italy can never be united, i o. The Italian soldiers may say: Italy's dream of so many centuries could not have been fulfilled without us. 11. Nevertheless, it is to be re- gretted that arms were necessary. 12. Enrico was glad to die fighting, provided that Italy might be free and united. 13. The soldiers opened several breaches in the wails of the city. 14. Few 259 §231 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR cities have survived longer than [more than] Rome. 15. She has survived in spite of governments having been changed and wars having been fought [in spite of (the fact) that, notwithstanding that, governments have been, etc.]. 16. Italian soldiers and sailors were glad to fight to capture Rome, on condition that their sons should know how to defend it. 17. For many years this country which you see was called by the Italians " Unredeemed Italy." 18. Here we are arrived in that part of Italy of which we have so often thought. 19. The physicians ought to have visited the sol- diers in the hospital before their wounds became so dangerous. 20. Although they were covered with wounds, the soldiers opened the way into the Eternal City, crying, " Long live Italy 1 " 260 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF IRREGULAR AND DEFECTIVE VERBS (cf. 96, 120, 130) acc^ndere, light, kindle accesi acceso accludere, inclose acclusi accluso acc^rgersi, be aware mi accijrsi acc9rtosi addurre, produce, convey adduce, adduc^ndo addussi, addurrg addgtto affliggere, afflict afflissi afflitto algere, be cold alsi Defective. Rare alludere, allude allusi alluso andare, go Ind. pres. vq or vado, vai, va, andiamo, andate, ann^ttere, combine apparire, appear appartenere, belong appf ndere, hang applaudire (applaudere, poetical), applaud aprire, open ardere, bum ardire, be bold arr^ndere, comply arr9gere, add ascondere, hide asp|rgere, scatter, sprinkle vanno. Fut. anderg, andrQ. Past fut. ander^i or andr^i. Subj. vada etc., andiamo, andiate, vadano. Imp. va', andate Past abs. annettei or ann^ssi, annett^ or ann^sse, etc. Past part, ann^sso Ind. pres. apparisco or appaio, apparisci or appari, apparisce (7r appare; (appariamo), appa- rite, appariscono or appaiono. Past abs. apparii, apparvi, apparsi, etc. Subj. apparisca or appaia. Past part, apparito ^rapparso See tenere appesi appeso applaudo, applaudisco Pres. ind. apro. Past abs. ap^rsi t^r aprii. Past part. ap^rto arsi arso Defective in parts which are identical with ardere See rendere arrQsi arr9SO or arr9to. Defective. Rare See nascondere asp^rsi asp^rso 261 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR assalire, assail assldersi, besiege assistere, assist ass^lvere, absolve assorbire, absorb assumere, assume avere, have avvertire, warn Ind. pres, assalgo or assalisco, assali or assalisci, etc.^ assaliamo ^rassalghiamo, assalite, assalgono or assaliscono, etc. Past abs. assalii or assalsi. Subj. assalga or assalisca. Past part, assalito mi assisi assise assistito assolvei, assolv^tti or assalsi, assoluto or assglto Ind. pres. assorbisco or ass9rbo etc. Subj. assor- bisca or assgrba etc. Past part, assorbito or assQrto assunsi assunto See 120 avv^rto, avvertisco, etc. benedire, bless bevere or bere, drink bollire, boil Past descr. benedicevo or benedivo etc. Past abs. benedissi or benedii. Imp. benedici etc. Past part, benedetto Ind. pres. bevo or beo, bevi or bei, beve or bee, bevono or beoRO. Past abs. bevvi or bev^tti. Fut. beverg or berrg Pres. ind. boUo etc. czdtxQ^fall calere, matter capire, be contained in c^dere, yield chi^dere, ask chiudere, close cingere, gird circoncldere c^gliere or cgrre, pluck C9lere, revere comparire, appear caddi, caduto Fut. cadrQ J j^. (mi) cale, /, deceive mf rgere, plunge mescere, mix mettere, put m^lcere, soothe riKjrdere, bite See benedire See tenere Ind. pres. m^nto, mentisco. Subj. m^nta, mentisca. Imp. m^nti etc. m^rsi ni^rso misto or mesciuto misi or messi messo Ind. pres. niQlci, mglce. Past descr. molcevo etc. Imp.TC\(^\c\. SttbJ. past molcessi etc. Pres. part. molc^ndo Defective. Poetical m9rsi mQrso 266 LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS morire, die mungere, milk muQvere, move nascere, be bom nascondere, hide negligere {cf. 6, c), neg- lect nu^cere, harm nutrire, nourish off^ndere, offend offrire or offerire, offer opprlmere, oppress ottenere, obtain parere, appear partire, leave^ go away patire, suffer pentirsi, repe^it percipere, perceive percuQtere, strike p^rdere, lose permettere, permit persistere, persist persuadere, persuade pervertire, pervert Ind.pres. muQio, mugri, mugre, moriamo, monte, mu^iono. Ftct. morr^, morirQ. Imp. muQri. Subj. muQia, mgra {poet.), moriamo, moriate or moiate, mu^iano, m^rano {poet.). Part. pres. mor^nte, mori^nte ; past mgrto munsi munto mgssi rngsso nacqui nascosi negl^ssi nato nascosto or nascoso negl^tto Ind. pres. nuQCO or ngccio, nu^cono or n9Cciono, etc. Past abs. riQcqui. Past part, nociuto Ind. pres. nutro, nutrisco. Subj. nutra, nutrisca offesi offeso Ind.pres. gffro, offerisco. Past abs. offers! <7r offrii. Subj. gffra, offerisca. Past part, offfrto See comprimere See tenere Ind. pres. paio, pari, pare, paiamo, parete, paiono. Past abs. parvi or parsi. Fut. parrg. Imp. lack- ing. Subj. paia etc., paiano. Past part, parse or paruto Ind.pres. parto; ^"^ share" partisco Rare forms: pato, pad, pate, patono ; p. part, passo. Ind. pres. mi p^nto etc. Imp. p^ntiti. Subj. si p^nta etc. Past part, perc^tto Defective. Rare percQssi percQSSo The diphthong is preserved in the ind. pres. wher- ever the tonic accent falls upon the o. p^rsi, perdei, or perd^tti ; p^rso or perduto. The compounds disperdere and sperdere have only the irregular forms . See mettere See assistere persuasi See avvertire persuaso 267 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR piacere, please piangere, weep pingere, push -p\^\e.rt{impersonal),rain plaudere, applaud p^rgere, stretch forth porre {p6nere),//a;<:^ possedere, possess potere, be able precf dere, precede prediligere, prefer preludere, prelude pr|mere, crush pr^ndere, take presumere, assume produrre, produce profferire, proffer promettere, promise protf ggere, protect pungere, prick Ind. pres. piaccio, piaci, place, piacciamo, piacete, piacciono. Fastabs.^\zc(\m. ^?/^'. piaccia ; piac- ciamo, piacciate, piacciano. Fast part, piaciuto piansi pianto See dipingere Rare in prose pi9vve piovuto See applaudire Poetical P9rsi P9rto Ind. pres. pongo, poni, pone, poniamo or pon- ghiamo, ponete, pongono. Past abs. posi. Fut. porr9. Imp. poni. Subj. ponga ; poniamo or ponghiamo, poniate, pongano. Part. pres. po- n^ndo ; past posto See sedere Ind. pres. PQSSO, pugi, puQ, possiamo, potete, p9S- sono (p9nno, /^^/, sme// seppellire, inter servire, serve sodisfare, satisfy soffolcere, support soffrire, suffer solere (defective), be wont scissi scisso Prescindere has prescind^tti also Ind. pres. sciQlgo, sci9gli, sciQglie, sciogliamo, sciogliete, sci^lgono. Fast abs. sci9lsi. Fut. scioglier9 or sciorr9. Imp. sci9gli. Subj. sci9lga. Fast part. sci9lto scolpii or poet. See annettere sculsi scolpito or poet, sculto scop^rsi sc9rsi scrissi scop^rto So coprire sc9rto scritto sc9ssi SC9SS0 s^lvere^ undo Diphthong VlO preserved only where the accent falls on it Ind. pres. sdrucio or sdrucisco. Subj. sdrucia or sdrucisca Ind. pres. s^ggo or si^do, si^di, si^de, sediamo, sedete, s^ggono or si|dono. Fast abs. sedei. Imp. si^di. Stibj. s^gga or si^da, s|ggano or sif dano. Fast part, seduto See addurre Ind. pres. seguo, segui, etc. Subj. segua etc. Imp. segui. Conseguire in sense of ^^obtaiti," regular. Eseguire regular Ind. pres. s^nto, s^nti, etc. Subj. s^nta etc. Imp. s^nti sepolto or seppellito Ind. pres. s^rvo, s^rvi. Subj. s^rva. Imp. s^rvi Ind. pres. sodisf9 or sodisfaccio, sodisfi, sodisfa, sodisfacciamo, sodisfate, sodisfano. Subj. so- disfi or sodisfaccia etc., sodisfacciamo, sodisfac- ciate, sodisfino or sodisfacciano. Imp. sodisfa, sodisfate. See fare soffolse soffolto Defective. Rare See offrire Ind. pres. S9glio, su9li, su9le, sogliamo, solete, S9gliono. Subj. S9glia etc. Fast abs., fut., past fut., imp., wanting; supplied by esser solito. Fast part. %q^\\.o solvei (solv^tti) soluto Foetical 270 LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS sonare, nng sopprimere, suppress sorbire, sip sorgere, arise sosp^ndere, suspend sostenere, sustain spandere, spill spargere, spatter sparire, disappear spandere, spend spfngere or spfgnere, extinguish sp^rdere, lose spargere, disperse spingere, push sp9rgere, project stare, be, stay st^ndere, extend stringere, press strfiggere, melt succ^dere, succeed suggere, suck susslstere, subsist sv^Uere or sv^lgere (sv^rre), uproot svenire, swoon tacere, be silent Ind.pres. su^no, su^ni. Diphthong occurs wherever the accent falls on o See comprimere See assorbire sorsi sorto sospesi, sospeso. So appendere, impendere ; pen- dere is reg., dipendere either reg. or irreg. See tenere spanduto or poet, spanto sparsi sparse or rare sparto See apparire spesi speso sp^nsi spanto See perdere sparsi sp^rso Rare spinsi spinto spQrsi spQrto Ind. pres. stg, stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno. Past descr. stavo etc. Past abs. st^tti, stesti, st^tte or {poet.) stie, stemmo, steste, st^ttero. Imp. sta', state. SubJ. stia etc., stiamo, stiate, stiano ; past stessi etc. Past part, stato. Ri^stare and sopra- stare, like stare : rist^, ristai, etc. See tendere strinsi stretto strussi strutto Distruggere like struggere See concedere suggei or sussi. Past part, lacking. Rare See assistere Ind. pres. sv^lgo, sv^lgi or sv^lli, sv^lge or sv^lle ; svelgiamo or svelghiamo, svelgete, svflgono. Past abs. sv^lsi. Fut. sveller^. Subj. sv^lga, §velghiamo, svflgano. Past part. §v^lto See venire. Fut. svenir^, sverr^ Ind. pres. taccio, taci, tace, taciamo, tacete, tac- ciono. Past abs. tacqui. Imp. taci. Subj. taccia ,-, tacciamo, tacciate, tacciano. Past part, taciuto 271 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR t^ndere, extend tenere, hold tf rgere, wipe tingere, tint t^gliere or tgrre, take away tonare, thunder t^rcere, twist tossire, coicgh tradurre, translate trarre (traere), drag tesi teso Jnd.pres. t^ngo, ti^ni, ti^ne, teniamo t^rtenghiamo, tenete, tf ngono. Pastabs.\.t.xvm. Fut. terrq. Imp. ti^ni. Subj. t^nga, teniamo or tenghiamo, etc. Past part, tenuto t^rsi t^rso Rare tinsi tinto Jnd. pres. tQlgo, tggli, tQglie, togliamo, togliete, trigone. Past abs. tQlsi. Fut. torr^ or toglierQ. Imp. tQgli, tg'. Stibj. tglga etc. Past part, tglto Pres. tugno. Diphthong occurs on the accent. tgrsi tgrto Ind. pres. tgsso. Subj. tgssa. Imp. tgssi. {^Rarely tossisco etc.) See addurre Ind. pres. traggo, trai, trae, tragghiamo, traete, trag- gono. Past abs. trassi, traesti, trasse, traemmo, traeste, trassero. Fut. trarrg. Imp. trai. Subj. tragga etc., tragghiamo, traggano. Part. pres. tra^ndo ; past tratto. The compounds attrarre, contrarre, distrarre, ritrarre, etc., like trarre uccidere, kill uccisi ucciso udire, hear Ind. pres. gdo, gdi, gde, udiamo, udite, ^dono. Subj. gda; udiamojudiate, gdano. Zw/. gdi, udite. Fut. udirg or udrg. Past abs. udii. Past part, udito ungere, anoint unsi unto urgere, urge Forms in tise : Ind. pres. urge, urgono. Past descr. urgevo, urg^vano. Subj. pres. urga, urgano ; past urgesse, urgessero. Part. pres. urg^nte, urg^ndo. Fut. urgera, urgeranno Defective uscire {rarely escire), go Ind. pres. ^sco, ^sci, ^sce, usciamo, uscite, ^scono. out Subj. ^sca ; usciamo, usciate, |scano. Imp. §sci, uscite. Past abs. uscii. Past part, uscito valere, be worth Ind. pres. valgo, vali, vale, vagliamo or valghiamo, valete, valgono. Past abs. V2\^\. Fut.\2itxci. Imp. vali. Subj. valga or vaglia, valghiamo or vaglia- , mo, valghiate, valgano or vagliano. Past part. valso or valuto 272 LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS vedere, see venire, come vestire, dress vilip^ndere vincere, conquer vivere, live volere, wish^ will V9lgere, turn v^lvere, turn votare, empty Ind. pres. vedo or veggo, vedi, vede, vediamo, vedete, vedono or veggono {poet, veggio, veg- giono). Past CLbs.\'\dS.. Put. \edrQ. Imp. vedi or ve', vedete. Sudj. veda or vegga, poet, veggia ; vediamo, vediate, vedano or veggano, poet. veggiano. Part. pres. ved^nte or vegg^nte ; pa^t visto or veduto. Prevedere and provve- dere have futures preveder9 and prowederQ. Other compounds ^t/" vedere, like vedere Ind. pres. v^ngo, vi^ni, vi^ne, veniamo, venite, v^ngono. Past abs. venni. Put. verrQ. Imp. vi^ni, venite. Subj. v^nga, poet, v^gna. Part, pres. veni^nte or vegn^nte ; past venuto. Com- pounds ^venire conjugated like venire Ind. pres. v^sto, v^sti, v^ste, etc. Past part, vestito, poet, vestuto See appendere vinsi vinto Past abs. vissi. Put. vivrg. Past part, vissuto {rarely vivuto) Ind. pres. vgglio or vq', vugi, vugle, vogliamo, vo- lete, v^gliono. Past abs. vqIH. Put. vorrg. Imp. VQgli, vogliate. Subj. vgglia etc., vogliamo, vo- gliate, v9gliano vglsi vglto vglsi vqUo Rare Devolvere has a past part, devoluto Ind. pres. vuQto, vuQti, etc., diphthong occurring whenever the accent falls on o. 273 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY a, ad (39), at, to abbandonare abandon abbasso below; downstairs abbiamo i pi. pres. ind. o/eLveie abitante w. inhabitant abitare dwell, reside abito m. coat abituarsi (a) accustom oneself (to) accadere happen accanto (a) next, next door (to) accfndere light, kindle accettare accept acciaio m. steel accidfnte m. accident accomodarsi make oneself comfort- able, sit down accompagnare accompany ; match accordarsi agree accQido ?n. agreement accQrgersi di notice, become aware of accrescere increase acqua /. water acquistare acquire acre sharp, bitter adatto adapted, suitable addgsso (a) on top, on the back (of) adriatico adj. Adriatic adulto adult, mature affare m. affair ; //. business affermare affiirm, declare affettUQSO affectionate, cordial affisso m. placard, notice affoUato crowded, thronged agguantare seize upon agire act agitatore m. agitator agli, ai, 75 ago m. needle; hand (of clock) Agostino Augustine agosto m. August PAia the Hague aiutare help al, alio, 75 ; alle s§i at six o'clock alb^rgo ?n. hotel albero m. tree ; mast alcuno some, some one allegro joyful allQdola /. lark allpra then, at that time almeno at least alterare alter altezza /. height ; highness alto high altrettanto as much again altro other ; «>3 ! of course ! altrui of others alzarsi rise, get up amare love ambedue both ambizipne /. ambition ambizipso ambitious I'Amfrica /. America americano American 275 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR arnica {pi. -che) / friend amico (//. -ci) m. friend Aml§to Hamlet ammalato ill amministrativo administrative ammirare admire amore m. love anche also ancora yet, still, again andare (149) go; andarsene (127) go away andg 3 sg. p. abs. o/gmdaie an^llo m. ring angelo m. angel angolo m. corner; far ev) con be at the corner of angusto narrow annaf&are water annaffiatpio m. watering-pot anno w. year; buoncv) Happy New Year annoverare enumerate antemeridiano of the morning antichita /. antiquity anticipatamente beforehand, in ad- vance antico ancient antimilitarista m. anti-militarist antologia / anthology ape /. bee apfrto open apparecchiare set table appartamento m. apartment appartenere belong appassire wither appena hardly ; no sooner appiicare apply appollaiarsi roost approvare approve appuntare pin aprile m. April aprire open arancio m. orange-tree archit?tto m. architect ardere bum ardito bold ardore m. ardor argfnto m. silver aria /. air AristQtile Aristotle armi /. pi. arms arrestare arrest arrivare arrive arrive m. arrival arte / art artista m. artist ascoltare listen aspettare wait, await aspettativo m. expectancy assai very; much assortito to match, like assurdO absurd astuccio m. sewing-case attfndere await attf nto attentive ; stare cv> pay at- tention attenzipne /. attention ; fare 03 pay attention attillato close fitting ; well dressed attimo /;/. instant attrarre draw, attract augurare wish, wish well austriaco Austrian autompbile c. automobile autQie m. author autunno m. autumn avanti before, ahead; <>» che conj. w. subj. before avaro w. miser avere (120) have ; ~ da have to ; aver 276 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY caMo, freddo, be hot, cold ; aver fretta, furia, be in a hurry ; aver- sela a male take ill, be offended avr^ I sg.fut. ind. o/aLYere awenire (138) happen awentarsi a rush upon arverare aver, confirm awertire advise, warn awezzare accustom avviarsi take one's way awicinarsi a approach awisarsi bethink oneself awiso m. placard awocato m. lawyer azzurro blue babbo m. papa baciare kiss bacio m. kiss badare take care bagagliaio m. baggage- room bagaglio m. baggage, trunk bagnato wet bagno m. bath balenare lighten bambino, -a, child banda /. band bandif ra /. flag barattare exchange barca /. boat basso low bastare suffice, be enough bastpne m. cane battaglia /. battle battere beat baule m. trunk ; fare il «>3 pack one's trunk bavero m. coat-collar bebe m. baby bf 1 for b§llo Bflga {//. -gi, -ghe) Belgian il B^lgio Belgium bellezza /. beauty bfUico pertaining to war bellicoso warlike bellino pretty b^llo fine, beautiful ; b§ll* e fatto ready-made benche conj. 7v. subj. although b^ne, b^n, well benefizio m. benefit benissimo, benpne, very well indeed benzina /. gasolene bere drink bianco white biasmare blame bicchifre m. drinking-glass bigio gray biglietto m. ticket; reside le Cascine " The Dairies," a park in Florence caso ni. case ; in ogni os in any case ; cv) mai in case castfUo m. castle catena / chain cattivo bad cavalifre m. knight, man on horse- back cavallo ni. horse ; andare a «>? ride horseback cavare take out 278 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY cfdere yield cflebre celebrated celf ste light blue c^ncio m. rag ; cappello a ~ soft hat cenno m. signal, nod centfsimo m. centime centimetro m. centimeter centinaio m. collective hundred c^nto hundred, a hundred centrale central Cfntro m. center; al ~ down town cercare look for ; ~ di {w. inf.) try cerv^llo m. brain Cesare Caesar cessare cease che which, that chi who, whom chiacchierare chat chiamare call ; chiamarsi be called, be named Chiara Clara chiaro clear, light (color) chicca f. sweetmeat chi^sa /. church chilo 7n. kilogram chino bent; a capo ~ with bowed head chiQCCiola f. snail ; scala a ^vj wind- ing stair chirurgo m. surgeon chiudere shut ci, ce, pivn. us ; adv. there, at it, to it ; c'e, ci sono, there is, there are ciarpetta f. necktie, scarf ciascuno each one ci^co blind cilindro m. cyUnder; cappello a £v> tall hat cima /. summit ; in t^s a on top of cinquanta fifty cinque five cioccolata /. chocolate circa about, approximately Ciro Cyrus citta / city cittadino m. citizen Ciuco m. donkey civetta / coquette civile civilized ; civic ; polite civilt^ /. civilization classe /. class classico classic cogli, cpi, 75 CQgliere gather, pluck cognata /. sister-in-law cognato m. brother-in-law col, colic, coUa, 75 colazipne /. luncheon; far c>s take luncheon coUana / necklace CQllera / anger coUina /. hill CQlmo m. summit colorato colored; tan colore m. color cplpa /. blame, fault colt^Uo m. knife comandare command comando m. command combattere fight come as, like cominciare begin commissipne / errand commQSSO moved commoY^nte moving CQmodo convenient, comfortable ; far cxs come handy; star <>3 be comfortable compagno, -a, companion comparire appear 279 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR compile fulfill, complete compleanno m. birthday complimento m. compliment; far complimenti stand on ceremony compra /. purchase comprare buy comunicante connecting, communi- cating comunicare communicate cpn with condannare condemn condurre conduct confine m. boundary confprto ni. comfort confrontare compare congiurare conspire conosc^nza f. acquaintance conoscere know, be acquainted with conquistatore m. conqueror considerare consider considerevole considerable consigli^re m. adviser, counselor consiglio m. advice consistere consist console m. consul consumato used up contadino, -a, peasant contante m. counting, cash ; a con- tanti in cash cpnte m. count contentarsi (di) content oneself (with) cont^nto contented contessa f. countess continuare continue conto m. bill ; tornar cv. be of advan- tage ; non mf rita il os it is not worth while contrario contrary contro against convenire (138) be suitable, be fitting conversazione /. conversation copertone m. blanket copiare copy CQppia f. couple coprire cover coraggio m. courage cornetta /. horn corrfggere correct correre run corrispondere correspond corsa /. course, run cortese kind corto short CQsa / thing cosci^nza /. consciousness cosi thus, so CQsta f. coast costaggiii down there costare cost cotone m. cotton C^ttimo m. contract; a ~ by the piece cravatta /. necktie, cravat credere believe crescere grow cristiano Christian Cristgforo Colombo Christopher Columbus crociata /. crusade cucchiaio m. spoon cucina f. kitchen ; cookery cucire sew cugino, -a, cousin cui to whom, of whom, to which, of which cultura /. culture cuQcere cook cugio m. leather 280 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY cuQre w., heart da by, from dacche since {^temporal) dagli, dai, dal, dallo, dalla, 75 danno s pi. o/dane danno m. damage, injury dappertutto everyv/here dare (131) give; ~ su face on; ~ il bugn viaggio wish (one) a pleas- ant journey davanti a in front of dawero indeed dfcimo tenth decina /. {collective) ten dedicare dedicate degenerare degenerate degli, dei, del, dello, della, 75 denaro m. money dfnte m. tooth dentro (di) within deplorare regret, lament deprimere depress deputato w. deputy, representative desiderare desire desidfrio m. desire desinare dine dfstro right determinare determine detto /./. of dire d§vi, d§ve, 2-j sg.pres. ind. o/doyeie di of ; di 111 da beyond ; di qua da on this side of di m. day dia sg.pres. subj. of dsae dialogo m. dialogue dica sg. pres. subj. of dire dice says dic^mbre m. December dichiarare declare dicianngye nineteen diciassftte seventeen diciQtto eighteen dicono J //. pres. ind. of dire di^ci ten di^tro a behind diffndere defend difesa /. defense difftto 771. fault, defect difficile difficult diffondere scatter difilato straight ahead dighiacciare thaw dimenticare forget diminuire diminish dimorare dwell, reside dimostrare show dinanzi a in front of dinastia /. dynasty dio 771. god dire (175) say direzione /. direction dirigere direct discQstO (a) distant (from) discrete modest, discreet discutere discuss disfatta /. defeat disgrazia f. misfortune disgraziatamente unfortunately dispaccio t7i. telegram disperato desperate dispiac§nte sorry dispiacere displease disse 3 sg. p. abs. o/C^e distfndere spread ditale m. thimble dito 771. finger diventare become diverse different divertirsi amuse oneself dividere divide 28] AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR dQ I sg. pres. ind. of dare dobbiamo i pi. pres. ind. of doweie dpdici twelve dolce m. sweetmeat, dessert; adj. sweet dolere (172) grieve ; w. dat. ache dolorosamente sorrowfully, pain- fully domandare ask; ~ di ask for (a person) * domani to-morrow domenica /. Sunday domfstico m. servant; adj. domes- tic dQnna f. woman ; woman-servant dopo prep, after ; ~ che conj. after dpppio double dormire sleep dgsso m. back dotare endow dgtto learned dove where dovere v. (188) owe ; m. duty dovesse j sg. p. subj. of dovere dovunque conj. w. subj. wherever dozzina f. dozen drammatico dramatic dubitare doubt duca m. duke ducato m. duchy due two; Due Sicilie/.//. Kingdom of the Two Sicilies dunque then, accordingly duodfcimo twelfth dugmo m. cathedral durare last e, ed (39), and I is eccitamento m. excitement §cco here is, there is, behold §co c. echo educate polite effettuare effect egli, ei, he eglino they {m.) elegante elegant elevato elevated elfggere elect ella she elleno they (/) elpgio m. praise, eulogy emozione f. emotion energia f. energy Enrico Henry entrambi both entrare enter entusiasmo m. enthusiasm ?ra /. era eredita /. heredity erge m. hero eroicamente heroically esclusivamente exclusively esfmpio m. example esfrcito m. army esiliare exile esitare hesitate esparto skillful, expert esporre (196) expose espressione f. expression esprime j sg. pres. ind. <7/'esprimer\ esprimere express f ssere (96) be esso, -a, he, him, she, her, it estate /. summer et^ f. age ; in ~ di at the age of et§rno eternal etrusco Etruscan evenif nza /. event, occurrence evitare avoid 282 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY fa J ^g.pres. ind. o/faie fa' without fail fame /. hunger ; aver ~ be hungry famiglia /. family famoso famous fango m. mud fantasia f. ornament fare (163) make, do ; far caldo be hot weather ; far fr^ddo be cold weather ; far colazione take break- fast ; far passare, far entrare, show in ; far tardi be late fatale fatal fatica / fatigue, effort faticoso wearisome fatto m. fact, deed; /./. o/fate favore m. favor ; per ev) please favorire favor, favor with fazzoletto m. handkerchief febbraio m. February fecero 3 pi- P- abs. off axe fede /. faith f edeltH /. fidelity felice happy feltro m. felt ferire wound, strike ferita /. wound fermaglio m. brooch fermarsi stop fermo firm, still f^rro m. iron ferroviario railway (adj.) ffrvere burn, be fervent f §sta /. holiday fiacco weak fico m. fig figlia / daughter figlio m. son figurare figure figurarsi imagine figurino m. pattern; manikin Filippo Philip filosQfico philosophical finalmente finally finche as long as ; ~ non until fine /. end ; m. aim ; alia f^ at last finf stra /. window finire finish fino fine fino a up to, as far as ; fin da from {time) ; fin dove how far finzione /. fiction, pretense figcco m. bow fiore m. flower fiorentino Florentine fiorire bloom fiorito in bloom Fiifnze Florence fischio m. whistle fiume m. river fgdera /. lining f 9glia /. leaf fondino m. shape, foundation fpndo m. back, bottom, end; in^Nsa at the back etc. of f Qibici /. pi. scissors f orchetta / fork forestifre foreigner forma /. form, last formicolare swarm 283 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR fornaio m. baker fornire furnish forse perhaps fQrte strong fortuna /. fortune, good luck fQrza /. force ; a ~ di by dint of forzato forced f otograf ia /. photograph fra among, between francese French Francesco Francis la Francia France francobollo m. postage-stamp frate m. friar, brother fratfllo m. brother freddo cold ; fa ~ it is cold freno m. brake fresco cool fretta /. haste ; aver ~ be in haste frettolpso hurried [resist f rgnte /. front ; forehead ; f ar ~ a frugale frugal frutto m. fruit fu the late, deceased fucilazione f. execution, shooting fuggire flee fulmine m. thunderbolt fumo m. smoke fungo m. mushroom fugco m. fire fugri outside ; o^ di porta outside the city ; andar cv) go out galantuQmo m. honorable man gallina /. hen ganci m. pi. hooks (and eyes) gargfano m. carnation gattino m. kitten gelare freeze gelato m. ice-cream generale adj. general ; m. general generalmente usually, generally gfnere m. sort, kind gfnero m. son-in-law generoso generous genitori m. pi. parents gennaio m. January gf nte /. folk, people gentile kind, agreeable ghiacciare freeze ghiaccio m. ice gia already ; once, formerly giacchetta /. jacket il Giappone Japan giardino m. garden gingcchio m. knee ginocchipni on one's knees giocare (110, d) play gipia /. joy gioiellifre m. jeweler gioifUo m. jewel Giorgio George giornale m. newspaper giornata f. day, period of a day ; a ~ by the day giorno m. day; di ~ by day giovane young giovanetto, -a, young person Giovanni, Giovannino, John giovare be of use giovedi m. Thursday gioventu /. youth girare turn giratina /. short walk giro m. tour, circular journey gill down giubba f. dress-coat giudizioso sensible, judicious giugno in. June Giulio Julius •84 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY giungere arrive giurare swear Giuseppe Joseph giusto just, right gli to him; the {m. pL, 71, h,c) glgria /. glory gnQCCO m. dumpling gomito m. elbow gondola /. gondola ggta /. cheek governatore m. governor gov^rno m. government grammatica / grammar grande large, great granducato m. grand duchy grasso fat grave heavy grazie///. thanks grazioso pretty, charming, graceful gr^co Greek gridare cry, shout grigio gray grossezza size, magnitude grgsso big gni /. crane gruppo m. group guadagnare earn guancia /. cheek guantaio m. glover guanto 7n. glove guardare look, look at guardia /. conductor, guard guarire recover, be cured guarnizione /. trimming guf rra /. war guida /. guide gusto ni. taste id^a /. idea i^ri yesterday ignorante ignorant il, i, the {m. sg. and pi.) illustre illustrious imbandire serve (a meal) immediatamente immediately imparare learn imparl odd, uneven impedire prevent, hinder imperatpre m. emperor impermeabile m. rain-coat impfro m. empire impfrvio impervious impiccare hang (a man) impiegato w. employee imporre (196) impose importare import impossibile impossible impostare post, mail imprigionare imprison improwiso unforeseen ; all' «vi un expectedly imprud^nte imprudent in in, into incassare set incasso m. receipts InchiQstro m. ink incominciare commence incontrare meet indarno in vain indi^tro back, backward indipend^nza f. independence individuo individual indomani /«. (the) next day indovinare guess industria /. industry inesauribile inexhaustible infatti in fact infelice unhappy inferiore inferior, lower inferno m. Inferno, hell ^8S AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR infimo lowest inganno m. deceit ingegnfre m. engineer ingegno m. talent, genius I'Inghiltf rra /. England inglese English Inglese m. Englishman ingrato ungrateful innalzare raise insegna f. shop sign insegnare teach insi^me together insigne remarkable insudiciare soil integro whole, entire intelligfnte intelligent intfndere understand interrptto interrupted intitolare entitle intravvedere glimpse invecchiare grow old invece instead ; on the contrary inv§rno m. winter inviare send io I isola / island istituire establish istitutore, -trice, instructor, teacher istituzione /. institution PItalia / Italy italiano Italian la, le, the (/. sg. and pi.) ; her, them (/.) la there labbro m. lip lagnarsi complain lago m. lake laico lay, layman lampada / lamp lana /. wool lanciare throw lapis m. pencil larghezza / width largo wide lasciare leave, allow latino Latin latta /. tin latte 7n. milk lavamano m. washstand lavarsi bathe, wash lavorare work lavpro m. task le to her ; the (/. //.) legge / law legg^ndo reading Ifggere read leggi^ro light; light-colored legno m. wood; carriage Ifi her ; you, sg. (65, a) If ttera /. letter letteratura /. literature l^tto /./. ^Ifggere Iftto m. bed levare lift ; levarsi rise ; take off lezione /. lesson li them {m.) li there liberazipne /. liberation libero free liberty /. liberty libraio m. bookseller libro m. book licf nza /. leave li^to gay, cheerful limone m. lemon lingua f. language ; tongue lira /. lira, twenty cents liscio smooth, plain lite /. lawsuit 186 ITALIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY liyornese Leghomese Livprno Leghorn lo him ; the (w. sg., 71, 6) lodare praise il Lombardo-V§neto Lombardo- Venetia Londra London lontano (da) distant (from) loro their, them ; you, //. (65, a) Igtta / struggle Igtto m. lottery luglio m. July lui him Luigi Louis lume m. light, lamp lunedi m. Monday lunghezza /. length lungi far lungo long lUQgo m. place lusso m. luxury lustrare polish, black lustrascarpe m. bootblack lutto w. mourning; ao' in mourning ma but macchia /. stain; thicket; brambles macchina f. machine ; ~ da scrivere typewriter madre /. mother maestll /. majesty maestro, -a, teacher maggio m. May maggiore greater; elder mai ever ; non . . . ~ never malamente badly malanno w. misfortune malattia / illness male badly ; f ar e>3 a hurt ; non c* e ~ pretty well ; oa di tf sta headache malgrado m. displeasure ; ~ che conj. w. subj. notwithstanding that mamma, mammina,/ mamma mammola / violet mancanzay. lack; sentire la <» di miss mancare fail, be lacking mancia / fee, tip mandare send mane / morning [poet.) ; da <^ a sera from morning till night mangiare eat manica /. sleeve manico m. handle mani^ra /. manner mano / hand ; a e>3 by hand ; di secpnda (>3 at second hand ; dar la ~ a shake hands with mantice m. bellows ; automobile-top marcia /. march marciapi^de m. sidewalk mare m. sea ; al ~ by the sea ; in ev) at sea marina /. navy marinaio m. sailor marito m. husband martedi m. Tuesday martlrio m. martyrdom marzo m. March maschera / mask maschio male massimo greatest matf ria f. subject, matter, material mattina f. morning mazzolino m. bouquet medesimo same, self medicina /. medicine mfdico m. physician m^glio better [adv.) mela /. apple memgriay. memory •87 AN ITALIAN GRAMMAR meno less {^adv.) ; fare a ~ di do without; a oa che conj. w. subj. unless mente f. mind ; a ~ by heart mentire lie mentre while merciaio m. dry-goods merchant mercoledi m. Wednesday meridionale southern meritare deserve mfse 7H. month messa f. Mass mesti^re m. trade, craft metll /. half metallo m. metal m^tro m. meter metrgpoli /. metropolis mettere put, put on ; mettersi a be- gin ; mettersi a sedere sit down mf zzangtte /. midnight mfzzo m. half; middle; in ~ a in the middle of m^zzogiorno m. mid-day; south mi, me, me miglio {pi. miglia) m. mile migliore better {adj.) Milano Milan milipne m. million militare military • militarismo w. militarism militarista m. militarist mille thousand, a thousand minaccia /. threat minacciare threaten minora /. mine minimo least ministro m. member of Cabinet minore less; younger minuto m. minute mio my misero miserable, wretched misura /. measure ; su ~ to order mite gentle Mpdena a city in northern Italy modenese of Modena mod^rno modern modfsto modest modista f. milliner moglie {pi. mogli) /. wife mQlla f. spring, mainspring mglle / //. tongs moltitudine /. multitude mplto, -i, much, many momento m. moment; a momenti in a minute mgnaco m. monk monarca m. monarch monarchico monarchical mondo m. world mon^llo m. rascal moneta f. coin, piece of money montagna f. mountain montare mount, climb montpne m. sheep morire (156) die mormorare murmur mgrte /. death mgrto dead mostrare show mostro m. monster mgto m. motion movimento m. movement muggire low mughetto m. lily-of-the-valley muQvere (110,