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Italian IV Tutorial

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61. Object Pronouns

1. S.i. means singular informal, s.p. means singular polite, p.i. means plural informal, and p.p. means plural polite.  For you (s.p.) and you (p.p.) they are capitalized to set them apart from the other meaning.  (Lei instead of lei and Loro instead of loro.)  

2. Direct and Indirect pronouns go directly in front of the verb, except loro, which always follows the verb.  

3. With infinitives or participles, the pronoun (except loro) follows it and is written as one word.  This also is true of commands, except for Lei or Loro.  

4. When you have more than one pronoun, the indirect comes before the direct.

5. The i of mi, ti, ci, and vi changes to an e before lo, la, li and le.  

6. Gli and le become glie before lo, la, li, and le; and are written as one word connected with the other pronoun (glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele).

If you use lo, la, li, le; the past participle must agree with them.

In negative sentences, pronouns go before the entire verb as well, but after the non.

62. Parts of the Body

You can use the expressions Ho mal di + body part or Mi fa male + definite article and the body part to say that something hurts.  If the noun is plural, you have to use mi fanno male instead of mi fa male.

Ho mal di testa.  My head hurts. / I have a headache.
Mi fa male il dito.  My finger hurts.
Mi fanno male gli occhi.  My eyes hurt.

63. Interrogative Pronouns

Most of the question words are invariable (they don't have to agree with the noun), but quale (which) and quanto (how much/many) must agree.  Note that these words do not require a noun to follow them.

Before singular nouns, quale is used, and before plural nouns, quali is used.
Quale camicetta compri?  Which blouse are you buying?
Quali maglioni compri?  Which pullovers are you buying?
Quali compri?  Which ones are you buying?

Quanto has four forms that follow the regular adjective pattern.  Quanto is masculine singular, quanta is feminine singular, quanti is masculine plural and quante is feminine plural.
Quanto denaro hai?  How much money do you have?
Quante camicette compri? How many blouses are you buying?
Quanto costa?  How much does it cost?

64. Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns connect a dependent clause and a main clause together in a sentence.  An antecedent is the noun or pronoun that the relative pronoun refers back to. The relative pronouns in English are that, what, which, whom, and whose. The relative pronouns in Italian are che, cui, il quale (and its forms), chi, quello che, quel che, and ciò che.

When the antecedent is a definite person, animal or thing, che, cui or a form of il quale is used.  Che is invariable and never used with a preposition.  Cui is also invariable, but it is always used with a preposition.  Il quale and its forms can be used with articles or articles plus prepositions.  It is mainly used in formal speech, writing and for clarity, and rarely in casual conversation.

La ragazza che vedi è mia sorella.  The girl whom you see is my sister.
Per le pillole di cui hai bisogno ci vuole la ricetta.  The pills (of) which you need require a prescription.
Lei è la sola persona nella quale (or in cui) io abbia fiducia.  You are the only person whom I trust.
È una medicina la quale (or che) non fa male allo stomaco.  It's medicine that doesn't upset your stomach.

When the antecedent is unknown or indefinite, chi is used when referring to people.  It is invariable and means "he/she who," "whoever," "the one who" and takes a verb in the third person singular form.  Quello che, quel che, and ciò che are all invariable and interchangeable.  They refer to things only and mean "what" or "that which."

Chi sta bene non va dal dottore.  He who feels well doesn't go to the doctor.
Chi trova un amico, trova un tesoro.  One who finds a friend, finds a treasure.
Non capisco quello che dice.  I don't understand what he's saying.
Ciò che scrivi è sbagliato.  What you're writing is wrong.

65. To Read, to Say/Tell, to Go Out, to Laugh

66. Disjunctive Pronouns

Disjunctive pronouns are used independently of the verb.  They are the pronouns which follow prepositions, or show emphasis.  They can also be found in exclamations.

Vengo con te.  I'll come with you.
Amo te, non lui.  I love you, not him.
Fortunati voi!  Lucky you!

67. Ci and Ne

Ci (there, it, about it, of it) and ne (some, of them, of it) are both pronouns that go before the verb and they replace prepositional phrases.  Ci will replace phrases that begin with in, on, to, at, under, etc. and ne will replace phrases that begin with some or a number.  

Quante caramelle hai mangiato? How many candies did you eat?
Ne ho mangiate quattro. I ate four of them.

68. Animals

69. Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect or past perfect tense corresponds to the English "had + past participle."  It indicates an event that happened prior to another event in the past.  It consists of the imperfect of avere or essere (whichever auxiliary verb the main verb takes in the past indefinite tense) and a past participle.

L'avevo già notato.  I had already noticed it.
Ero andato ad un suo concerto.  I had been to one of his concerts.
Non avevo avuto ancora occasione.  I hadn't had the opportunity yet.
Erano già stati a San Remo.  They had already been in San Remo.

70. Suffixes

Suffixes may be attached to nouns, adjectives or adverbs.  The final vowel of the word should be dropped before adding the suffixes.  The endings -ino, -ina, -ello, -ella, -etta, -etta, -uccio, and -uccia are diminutives that express smallness.  The endings -one and -ona are augmentatives and express largeness.  The endings -ino and -uccio also express endearment.  The endings -aacio, -accia, -astro, -astra, -azzo, and -azza imply ugliness or poor quality.

Tesorino mio!  My sweetheart!
Amoruccio mio!  My sweet love!

71. Adverbs

Most adverbs are formed by adding -mente to the feminine singular form of the adjective.  Adjectives ending in -le or -re drop the final -e before adding -mente, if the l or r is preceded by a vowel.

Note that the adverbial form of buono (good) is bene, and cattivo (bad) is male.

72. Passive Voice

In passive sentences, the subject receives the action of the verb.  In active sentences, the subject does the action.  However, the meaning of both sentences is the same.  The passive form is only possible with transitive verbs and is much more common in English than in Italian.  The passive form consists of the verb essere plus the past participle of the main verb followed by da (by) and its contractions.  Essere should be in the same tense as the verb in its corresponding active sentence.  The past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

I contratti sono firmati dalle ragazze.  The contracts are signed by the girls.
La stanza è stata arredata da Carlo.  The room was decorated by Carlo.
L'affitto sarà pagato dai miei genitori.  The rent will be paid by my parents.

73. The Impersonal "Si"

Si can be used as a reflexive pronoun, but it can also be used as an impersonal pronoun.  It corresponds to "one, you, we, the people in general, or they" in English and always use the third person form of the verb (either singular or plural depending on the object).

Qui si vende carta da lettere.  We sell writing paper here./Writing paper is sold here.
Si vendono anche matite?  Do you also sell pencils?
Qui non si parla francese.  We don't speak French here./French is not spoken here.

74. Post Office and Bank

75. Useful Expressions

Non ne posso più!	I can't take it anymore!
Lasciamo perdere!	Forget about it!
Che bello!	How nice!
Per forza!	No wonder!
Non è così semplice!	It's not that easy!
Chissà?	Who knows?
Ti pelano!	They make you pay too much!
Non vedo l'ora di...	I can't wait to...
Siamo messe male.	We are in bad shape. (not physically)
Che senso ha?	What's the point?
Magari!	I wish!
Non ne voglio proprio sapere!	I really don't want to know about it!
Fai bene!	Good for you!
Non ce la faccio da sola!	I can't do it by myself!
Meglio ancora!	Even better!

76. Infinitives followed by Prepositions

The following verbs require a or di when followed by another infinitive, although the preposition is not always translated into English.

77. The Beach

78. Problem Verbs

There are four verbs in Italian that correspond to the verb to leave in English. Lasciare means to leave a person or thing behind. Partire means to leave, to depart, to go away on a trip. Uscire means to go out (of a place) or to go out socially. Andare via means to go away (opposite of to stay.)

There are three verbs that correspond to the verb to tell. Dire means to tell or say, parlare means to speak or talk, and raccontare means to tell, in the sense of narrating.

79. Fare Causative

The verb fare can be followed by an infinitive to express the idea of having someone do something or having something done.  If the object is a noun, it follows the infinitive; but if the object is a pronoun, it precedes the verb fare.  (Unless the object pronoun is loro, then it always follows the infinitive.)  Note that farsi can also be used in a causative construction when one is having something done to oneself.

Abbiamo fatto fare quella sedia.  We had that chair made.
Faccio studiare i ragazzi.  I make the boys study.
Li faccio studiare.  I make them study.
Mi faccio tagliare i capelli.  I'm having my hair cut.

When a causative sentence has two objects, the person being made to do something becomes the indirect object.  In Italian, the indirect object is introduced by a.

Il maestro fa leggere lo studente.  The teacher makes the student read.
Il maestro fa leggere la lettura allo studente.  The teacher makes the student read the passage.

To avoid ambiguity with the indirect object, the preposition da instead of a can be used.  The sentence Abbiamo fatto mandare il pacco a Maria can mean two things:  1) We had Mary send the package or 2) We had the package sent to Mary.  If the first meaning is intended, then da can replace a.

80. Office / School Supplies

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