Chapter 4 Grammar Flashcards
Which past tense is a narrative tense used to report a specific action that was completed in the past?
Passato prossimo
Which past tense is a descriptive tense used to describe how things were in the past?
Imperfetto
The passato prossimo answers the question …
What happened?
The imperfetto answers the questions …
What was it like? What used to happen? What was happening?
What tense describes states of being (physical, mental, and emotional) in the past that have no specific beginning
Imperfetto
What tense expresses the onset of a state of being at a definite time in the past
Passato prossimo
What tense expresses an action that was going on while something else was going one (imperfetto) or when something else happened (passato prossimo)
Imperfetto
The verbs most often used in the imperfetto are …
Avere and essere, and verbs indicating mental states like amare, credere, desiderare, pensare, potere, ricordare, sapere, sperare, volere, …
Can verbs have different meaning if they are in the imperfetto or the passato prossimo
Yes: Conoscevo - I knew; Ho conosciuto - I met
Sapevo - I knew; Ho saputo- I found out
The imperfetto of the verbs dovere, potere, and volere leaves uncertain what?
If an action one was supposed to do, was capable of doing, or was willing to do was carried out:
Dovevamo - we were supposed to; Abbiamo dovuto - we had to
Potevano - they could (had the ability); Hanno potuto - they could (managed to)
Volevano - they wanted; Hanno voluto - they insisted
Which tense sets the scene and provides the background
Imperfetto
Which tense advances the plot
Passato prossimo
If a main action is expressed in the passato prossimo, in what tense is a circumstance accompanying the verbs action expressed
Imperfetto
What tense expresses the habitual nature of an action
Imperfetto
Me (direct object)
mi
You - informal (direct object)
tu
You - formal (direct object)
La
Him, it - informal (direct object)
lo
Her, it (f) (direct object)
la
Us (direct object)
ci
You - plural informal (direct object)
vi
You - plural formal (direct object)
Li, Le
Them (m) (direct object)
li
them (f) (direct object)
le
Where does an Italian direct object usually go?
Before the conjugated verb
Which direct objects are elided before a verb with a vowel (except for è) and the forms of avere starting with “h”
Lo and la (sometimes mi, it ci, vi)
Which direct object are never elided before a verb?
The plural forms li, le, Li, and Le
Direct object pronouns governed by an infinitive are placed where?
Attached to the end of the infinitive (the final “e” of the infinitive is dropped)
If a direct object is governed by the infinitive forms of dovere, potere or volere where is it placed
It may be attached to the infinitive or placed before the entire verb phrase
What does Ecco do?
It points out or draws attention to people, places or things (here is, here are, there is, there are)
What form of pronoun is used with Ecco
A direct object which is attached to the end of Ecco: Eccomi - here I am, Eccoti - here you are
What Italian verbs take a direct object where the English equivalent takes a preposition + object?
Ascoltare (to listen to) Chiedere (to ask for) Pagare (to pay for) Aspettare (to wait for) Cercare (to look for) Guardare (to look at)
What pronoun is used with credere, pensare, sperare, sapere, dire, and chiedere to express the previously mentioned topic
lo
With some verbs, lo, when referring to a previously mentioned topic, can be replaced with …
di si (in the affirmative) Credo di si di no (in the negative) Credo di no
When does the past particle of a verb conjugated with avere correspond in gender and number?
When a third person direct object (lo, la, li, le) precedes the verb. No, non le ho aperte- No, I did not open them
In a negative sentence what must go before the verb?
Non
In a negative sentence what is the only thing allowed between non and the verb
Object pronouns
Non ‘verb’ affatto
Not at all ‘verb’
Non ‘verb’ ancora
Not yet ‘verb’ (the affirmative counterpart is già, already)
Non ‘verb’ che
Only verb
Non ‘verb’ mai
Never ‘verb’
Non ‘verb’ mica
Not al all, not in the least, not really ‘verb’
Non ‘verb’ nè ‘verb’ nè
Neither ‘verb’ nor ‘verb’
Non ‘verb’ neanche
Not ‘verb’ even
Non ‘verb’ neppure
Not ‘verb’ even
Non ‘verb’ nemmeno
Non ‘verb’ even
Non ‘verb’ nessuno (pronoun)
Nobody, no one, not anybody ‘verb’
Non ‘verb’ nessuno/a (adjective)
No, not…any, not a single adjective ‘verb’
Non ‘verb’ niente
Nothing, not ‘verb’ anything
Non ‘verb’ più
No longer, no more, not ‘verb’ again (the affirmative counterpart is ancora, still)
Niente, nulla, nessuno can be used in a question without non to mean?
Anything or anyone
To express not ‘verb’ any with a plural noun use either non with the plural noun or non with a singular noun and …
Nessuno/a
My/mine singular
My/mine plural
Il mio, la mia
I miei, le mie
Your/yours singular
You/yours plural
Il tuo, la tua
I tuoi, le tue
Your/yours formal singular
Your/yours formal plural
Il Suo, la Sua
I Suoi, le Sue
His/hers/it singular
His/hers/it plural
il suo, la sua
i suoi, le sue
Our/ours singular
Our/ours plural
il nostro, la nostra
i nostri, le nostre
Your/yours singular
Your/yours plural
il vostro, la vostra
i vostri, le vostre
Your/yours formal singular
Your/yours formal plural
il Loro, la Loro
i Loro, le Loro
Their/theirs singular
Their/theirs plural
il loro, la loro
i loro, le loro
Possessive adjectives what the noun they modify?
The precede it and agree in gender and number
What phrases can be used to clarify possession?
di lui (of him) di lei (of her)
How is of mine, of yours expressed?
With the possessive adjective before the noun without the definite article:
un mio amico - a friend of mine
due miei cugini- two cousins of mine
When a possessive form is preceded by a preposition, the article does what?
Combines with the preposition:
dalle tue finestre- from your windows
Nei suoi occhi - in his eyes
In impersonal expressions, what is used to express one’s or one’s own?
Proprio (il proprio, la proprio, i propri, le proprio):
I propri errori- one’s mistakes
The possessive adjective is used without the definite article in nouns expressing family relationships in the ? but not the ?
Singular but not the plural
Tuo cugino, i tuoi cugini
However, it is always il loro, i loro
If a noun expressing a family relationship is modified by an adjective what happens?
The definite article is retained:
mio marito
il mio futuro marito
Possessive pronouns have what form?
The same form as possessive adjectives:
la mia - mine
i nostri - ours
The masculine plural forms i miei, i tuoi, i suoi, etc are used when referring to …
Relatives
Tanti saluti ain’t tuoi - best regards to your family
Arrivano i nostri - here come our friends
When a possessive pronoun is used after a form of essere and the sentence expresses passion, what is usually omitted?
The definite article:
È sua quella machina?
Is that your car?
When possession is obvious what happens to the possessive adjective?
It is omitted
Hai cambiato idea? You have changed your mind
With a plural subject, each of whom possesses only on the the same item how is possession expressed
With the singular form of the thing possessed:
Abbiamo alzato la voce
We raised our voices
When expressing ownership of a similar or same item by two people use what phrase before the second person?
quello di (that of)
Il mio Libra e quello di Maria
My book and Maria’s
What phrases are used to express “at someones place”?
da + a person’s name: da Luigi - at Luigi’s
a/in casa di + a person’s name for someone’s residence: in casa di Roberto (da Roberto)
