Italian

Nouns and Articles

Definite “Defined” (The): use when talking about one specific exact thing.

ex) masculine: the book = il libro

feminine: the pizza = la pizza


Gender:

masculine: il (singular) i (plural) ex: il ragazzo = i ragazzi

masculine: lo (singular) gli (plural) ex: lo studente = gli studenti

masculine: l’ (singular) gli (plural) ex: l’amico = gli amici

feminine: la (singular) le (plural) la classe = le classi

feminine: l’ (singular) le (plural) l’idea = le idee


When to use them:

il used with regular masculine. ex: il libro

lo used with s + consonant, z, etc. ex: lo studente

il used with vowel. ex: l’amico

la used with regular feminine. ex: la casa

l’ used with feminine + vowel. ex: l’idea


INDEFINITE ARTICLES: “In general” (A/An) use when it could be any random item.

ex: masculine: a book = un libro

feminine: a pizza = una pizza


Gender:

masculine: un — ex: un ragazzo

masculine: uno — ex: uno studente

feminine: una — ex: una ragazza

feminine: un’ — ex: un’amica


Singular to Plural:

Masculine; -o (singular) ì (plural) ex: ragazzo = ragazzi

Feminine: -a (singular) e (plural) ex: ragazza = ragazze

Either: -a (singular) i (plural) ex: classe = classi

  • change final vowel

  • if it ends in -co, -go, -ca, -ga = an h is added in plural form

  • words that end in -o are usually masculine.

  • feminine words usually end in -a

  • if it ends in -tore = masculine

  • -ema = masculine

  • -trice = feminine

  • -ione = generally feminine

  • words that end in a consonant like computer are usually masculine.


NUMBERS AND ALPHABET

A (ah) B(bee) C(chee) D(dee) E(Eh) F(effe) G(jee) H(ahk-kah) I(ee) L(elle) M(emme) N(enne) O(oh) P(pee) Q(koo) R(erre) S(esse) T(tee) U(oo) V(voo/vee) Z(zeta)


1: uno, 2: due, 3: tre, 4: quattro, 5: cinque, 6: sei, 7: sette, 8: otto, 9: nove, 10: dieci, 11: undici, 12: dodici, 13: tredici, 14: quattordici, 15: quindici, 16: sedici, 17: diciassette, 18: diciotto, 19: diciannove, and 20: venti.

  • memorize the tens:

  • 20 venti

  • 30 trenta

  • 40 quaranta

  • 50 cinquanta

  • 60 sesanta

  • 70 settanta

  • 80 ottanta

  • 90 novanta

  • when the number is 1 or 8, the final vowel of the tens disappears. ex) trentuno (not trentauno)


TELLING TIME

  • What time is it? = Che ora è? (singular) Che ora sono? (plural)

  • Answer will be singular or plural depending on number of hours

  • In general, formula used to tel time from 2-12: sono le + number. response: E l’una

  • Mezzogiorno = noon

  • Mezzanote = midnight

  • To express anything between the hour & a half hour, use e. ex) sono le dieci e dieci (it’s 10:10)

  • When it’s 20 minutes or less to the next hour, use meno. ex) sono le cinque meno dieci (it’s 4:50/it’s ten minutes to five)

  • When the time is on the half-hour, use mezzo or mezza instead of trenta. ex) sono le tre a mezza

  • For ‘a quarter PAST,” use “e un quarto.” ex) sono le due e un quarto = 2:15 / it’s quarter past two

  • For ‘a quarter TO',’ use “meno un quarto.” ex) E mezzogiorno meno un quarto = it’s 11:45 / it’s a quarter to noon

  • To ask what time something is, use “A que ora.” To respond, we use: a, all’, alle

  • Italy uses 24 hour clock

  • “di sera” to describe something at night/p.m.

  • “del mattino” to describe morning/a.m.

  • “del pomeriggio” to describe afternoon


Times and when to use a, all’,alle:

1:00 = all’ ex) all’una

2:00 —12:00 = alle ex) alle due, alle cinque

1:00 — 1:59 = all’ ex) all’una e mezza

2:00 — 12:50 = alle ex) alle tre e dieci

  • “a” usually when saying “at + something".” ex) a mezzogiorno


SUBJECT PRONOUNS AND THE VERB ESSERE

  • sentences in Italian always have a subject & a verb, like in English.


Subject:

Io — singular, first person. essere is sono. in english = I am

Tu — singular, second person, informal. essere is sei. in english = you are

Lui/Lei — singular, third person, formal. essere is è. in english = he/she is

Noi — plural, first person. essere is siamo. in english = we are

Voi — plural, second person. essere is siete. in english = you all are

Loro — plural, third person. essere is sono. in english = they are

  • Lei and Loro are formal w/ capital L, lowercase l for loro when second person


ADJECTIVE AGREEMENT

  • in italian, adjectives can change form depending on what they’re describing.


Common adjectives:

  • bello/a = beautiful, handsome

  • bravo/a = good, talented (person who is skilled or talented)

  • buono/a = good (quality of something)


example: Gli studenti sono americani sono simpatici =. the american students are nice.

  • americani and simpatici end in ì because adjectives have to agree in gender and number w/ nouns they modify


Other examples:

italiano (singular) = italiani (plural)

italiana (singular) = italiane (plural)

intelligente (singular) = intelligenti (plural)


  • like nouns, adjectives that end in -co, -go, -ca, and -ga, add an h to the plural. ex) La ragazza è simpatica turns into La ragazza sono simpatiche