class #3

Italian Greetings and Farewells

Basic Italian Phrases

• Ciao: Hi, Bye (informal)

• Buongiorno: Good day/afternoon

• Buona sera: Good evening

• Buona notte: Good night

• Piacere (di conoscerla)!: Pleased to meet you! (formal)

• Piacere (di conoscerti)!: Pleased to meet you! (informal)

• Salve: Hello (can be used generally, less formal than "Buongiorno" but more formal than "Ciao")

• ArrivederLa: Good-bye (formal)

• Arrivederci: Good-bye (informal)

• Per favore: Please

• Grazie (mille): Thanks (a lot)

• Prego: You're welcome / After you / Don't mention it

• Scusi: Excuse me (formal)

• Scusa: Excuse me (informal)

Introducing Yourself and Others

Asking and Stating Your Name

• Come si chiama?: What is your name? (formal)

  • This can also mean: What is her name? / What is his name?

• Come ti chiami?: What is your name? (informal)

• Mi chiamo .: My name is .

Stating Your Profession and Origin

• Masc. Sono professore di italiano. (I am an Italian professor.)

• Fem. Sono professoressa di italiano. (I am an Italian professor.)

• Sono di Firenze. (I am from Florence.)

Introducing Someone Else

• Ti presento .: Let me introduce you to (singular, informal).

• Vi presento .: Let me introduce you to (plural, informal/formal).

Asking About Origin

• Di dov’è Lei?: Where are you from? (formal)

• Di dove sei tu?: Where are you from? (informal)

Asking How Someone Is

• Come va?: How's it going?

• Come sta?: How are you? (formal)

• Come stai?: How are you? (informal)

Responses

• Bene, grazie, e Lei/tu?: Fine thanks, and you? (formal/informal)

• Molto bene. : Very well.

• Non c’è male: Not bad.

• Così-così: So-so.

• Ci vediamo!: See you! (informal farewell, used in conversations)

Example Conversations

Informal Dialogue

• "Salve, Roberto, come stai?"

• "Bene, grazie, e tu?"

• "Non c’è male, grazie. Ciao, Laura!"

• "Arrivederci!"

Formal Dialogue

• "Buongiorno, signor Marco, come sta?"

• "Bene, grazie, e Lei?"

• "Non c’è male, grazie. ArrivederLa, signora!"

• "ArrivederLa!"

Informal to Formal Transformation Example

• Informal: "Ciao, come ti chiami?"

• Formal: "Buongiorno, come si chiama?"

Italian Nouns: Gender and Pluralization

Grammatical Genders

Italian nouns have two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine.

General Rules for Gender

1. Nouns that end in $-o$ are usually masculine (e.g., $il libro$).

2. Nouns that end in $-a$ are usually feminine (e.g., $la casa$).

3. Nouns that end in $-e$ can be either masculine or feminine and must be memorized (e.g., $il pesce$, $la notte$).

Specific Rules and Exceptions for Gender

4. Nouns that end in $-ione$ are usually feminine and are often cognates (e.g., $una regione$, $una confusione$, $una stazione$).

5. Nouns that end in a consonant are usually of foreign origin and masculine (e.g., $uno sport$, $un bar$, $un computer$).

6. Nouns that end in $-ma$ come from Greek and are masculine (e.g., $un tema$, $un problema$, $un sistema$).

7. Nouns in a shortened form maintain their original gender (e.g., $una foto$ [from $fotografia$], $una auto$ [from $automobile$]).!!!!!!!

Pluralization Rules

To make an Italian noun plural, a change is (almost always) necessary to the singular noun’s ending.

• Masculine nouns ending in $-o$: change to $-i$

  • $gelato$ $\rightarrow$ $gelati$

  • $libro$ $\rightarrow$ $libri$

  • $corpo$ $\rightarrow$ $corpi$

• Feminine nouns ending in $-a$: change to $-e$

  • $pagina$ $\rightarrow$ $pagine$

  • $ragazza$ $\rightarrow$ $ragazze$

  • $casa$ $\rightarrow$ $case$

  • $finestra$ $\rightarrow$ $finestre$

  • $borsa$ $\rightarrow$ $borse$

• Masculine and feminine nouns ending in $-e$: change to $-i$

  • $studente$ (m.) $\rightarrow$ $studenti$

  • $chiave$ (f.) $\rightarrow$ $chiavi$

  • $pesce$ (m.) $\rightarrow$ $pesci$

  • $canadese$ (f.) $\rightarrow$ $canadesi$

  • $notte$ (f.) $\rightarrow$ $notti$

  • $treno$ (m.) $\rightarrow$ $treni$

Irregular Plural Forms and Specific Endings

• Nouns ending in $-co$ and $-go$ often form plurals in $-chi$ and $-ghi$

  • $un parco$ $\rightarrow$ $due parchi$

  • $un lago$ $\rightarrow$ $due laghi$

  • But: $un amico$ $\rightarrow$ $due amici$

• Nouns ending in $-ca$ and $-ga$ often form plurals in $-che$ and $-ghe$

  • $un'amica$ $\rightarrow$ $due amiche$

  • $una riga$ $\rightarrow$ $due righe$

• Nouns ending in $-cia$ and $-gia$ (with unaccented $i$) often form plurals in $-ce$ and $-ge$

  • $una camicia$ $\rightarrow$ $due camice$

  • $una ciliegia$ $\rightarrow$ $due ciliege$

• Nouns ending in $-io$ (when the $-i$ is unstressed) usually form plurals in $-i$

  • $un vizio$ $\rightarrow$ $due vizi$

  • But: $uno zio$ $\rightarrow$ $due zii$

Invariant Nouns (No Plural Form)

Nouns ending with accents, consonants, or that are derived from foreign words or are abbreviated, have no plural form.

• $un caffè$ $\rightarrow$ $due caffè$

• $un bar$ $\rightarrow$ $due bar$

• $una star$ $\rightarrow$ $due star$

• $una foto$ $\rightarrow$ $due foto$

• $un autobus$ $\rightarrow$ $due autobus$

Adjectives

Adjectives describe people or things. In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

• $ragazzo$ $alto$ $\rightarrow$ $ragazzi$ $alti$ (tall boy $\rightarrow$ tall boys)

• $casa$ $nuova$ $\rightarrow$ $case$ $nuove$ (new house $\rightarrow$ new houses)

• $finestra$ $aperta$ $\rightarrow$ $finestre$ $aperte$ (open window $\rightarrow$ open windows)

• $macchina$ $rossa$ $\rightarrow$ $macchine$ $rosse$ (red car $\rightarrow$ red cars)

• $ragazzo$ $italiano$ $\rightarrow$ $ragazzi$ $italiani$

• $ragazza$ $italiana$ $\rightarrow$ $ragazze$ $italiane$

Italian Subject Pronouns

There are 7 subject pronouns in Italian.

Singular

• io = I

• tu = you (informal)

• lui = he

• lei = she

• Lei = you (formal)

Plural

• noi = we

• voi = you [guys] (formal and informal)

• loro = they

Usage Notes for Subject Pronouns

• Tu is used for people you know well, like friends, family, children. This is for addressing someone directly.

• Lei (capitalized) is used for formal address, such as teachers, the Prime Minister, salesclerks, or adults you don't know intimately.

• Voi can be used to address multiple people, regardless of formality.

• When talking about people, lui/lei refer to a single male/female, and loro refers to multiple people.

Italian Question Words

• chi è…?: who is…?

• cos’è? / che è…?: what is…?

• quando è…?: when is…?

• dov’è…?: where is…?

• perché è…?: why is…?

• com’è…?: how is…?

Answering Questions

When answering a question, remember to eliminate the question word, but keep the verb.

• Di dov’è Paola? (Where is Paola from?)

• Paola è di Lecce. (Paola is from Lecce.)

The Verb "Essere" (To Be)

Conjugation of "Essere"

• io sono: I am

• tu sei: you are

• lui/lei è: he/she is

• noi siamo: we are

• voi siete: you (guys) are

• loro sono: they are

Example Description Using "Essere"

• Paola è di Lecce, in Puglia. (Paola is from Lecce, in Puglia.)

• Paola è simpatica, allegra, sensibile ed è anche molto gentile. (Paola is nice, cheerful, sensitive, and she is also very kind.)

• Andrea è sempre stressato e nervoso! (Andrea is always stressed and nervous!)