grammar Flashcards
when to use the indefinite article ‘uno’
-masculine, less common, used when next word is followed by: s + consonant gn z y ps
when to use the indefinite article ‘un’
- masculine, more common, used when next word begins with vowel or consonant
what are indefinite articles
un/uno
una/ un’
what are definite articles
singular masculine: il/lo/l’ -> (vowel)
singular feminine: la/l’
plural masculine: I/gli/ gli -> (vowel)
plural feminine: Le
When to use the definite article ‘lo’
Same reasons as UNO when next word is followed by: s + consonant gn z y ps
what is the definite article used for masculine plural
GLI
what is a possessive adjective
the word indicating that something belongs to you/someone
masculine singular possessive adjectives
il mio il tuo il suo il nostro il vostro il loro
masculine plural possessive adjectives
i miei i tuoi i suoi i nostri i vostri i loro
feminine singular possessive adjectives
la mia la tua la sua la nostra la vostra la loro
feminine plural possessive adjectives
le mie le tue le sue le nostre le vostre le loro
what are the main modal versb
- potere
- volere
- dovere
whats the difference between tra and fra
between
no difference, tra more common, depends on letter of next word, dont want to two of the same sounds after each other
what are the prepositions
di a da in con su per tra/fa
when the use the preposition A (2)
- express going somewhere
- in front of direct objects
when to use the preposition DI (4)
- to show possession
- to describe what something is made form
- to make comparisons
- with essere it indicates origin
when to use the preposition DA (3)
- to talk about something in the past that is still going on - essere + da + time expression
- to talk about going to someone’s house
how are articulated prepositions made (prepozioni articolate)
prepositions + definite articles
preposizioni articolate: di + definitive articles for masculine singular
di + il = del
di + lo = dello
di + l’ = dell’
preposizioni articolate: di + definite articles for masculine plural
di + i = dei
di + gli = degli
what are the main relative pronouns
che
cui
chi
quello che
when to use the relative pronoun CUI
after a preposition
preposizioni articolate: di + definite articles for female singular
di + la = della
di + l’ = dell’
preposizioni articolate: di + definite articles for feminine plural
di + le = delle
preposizioni articolate: in = definite articles for feminine singular
in + la = nella
in + l’ = nell’
direct pronouns
mi ti lo, la ci vi Li, le
what question do direct object pronouns answer?
what?
what is the crucial difference between a direct and an indirect pronoun
direct - answers the question what/who?
indirect - answers the question to what
pronouns used to say
- to him
- to her
- to him = gli
- to her = le
Does ‘dire’ take a direct or indirect pronoun?
INDIRECT
- dare a
- action you do to somebody/ something
indirect pronouns
mi ti gli (masc) le (fem) Le (formal) ci vi gli (m + f)
adjectives : group 1 (O/A)
group 1 : finish with O masculine
A feminine
I masculine plural
E feminine plural
adjectives : group 2 (E)
group 2 : masculine and feminine end in E
plurals both end in I
adjectives: group 3 invariables
invariables : finish in A / U / E
often applies to colours e.g. blu.
MOLTO - the rules
1 - when ‘molto’ means ‘very’ it doesnt vary. In this case it is an adverb and is invariable.
2 - when ‘molto’ is an adjective, it is variable and accords with the noun.
3 reasons some nouns are invariable
1 - words with vowels on the end with an accent do not change for plurals, but the article does change. e.g. –> un caffè
2 - foreign words do not change –> un computer, due computer
3 - words ending in ISTA do not change in genre in singular, but I for masculine plural and E for feminine plural.
how to form PIACERE in the past
- auxiliary essere + piacere
- agrees with the thing liked or not liked
what preposition is used for cities
A
what preposition is used for countries and regions
IN
Islands and prepoisitions
BIG islands take –> IN
small islands take –> A
what preposition do nouns ending in IA & ECA take?
IN
like farmacia & discoteca
transport and prepositions
- all transports take IN apart from ‘a piedi’
what are pronomi tonici
- pronouns used for ephasis ME TE LEI/LUI NOI VOI LORO
when do bello and quello accord
when they are before a noun
e.g. –> quello / bella …
whats the difference between
meterci
volere
when referring to time
meterci - used when there is a subject ( ci metto)
volere - no subject. Either vuole if singular and vogliono if plural.
Indirect pronouns: 3rd person plural - difference between gli and loro?
gli is used before the verb
loro is used after the verb
what is the rule about articles and family members?
members of the family in the SINGULAR do not require an article ( il, la, i le).
to be from
which prepositions come after the two verbs to say this
Essere –> di + city
venire –> DA
which preposition is used to express something being in a certain amount of time
TRA/ FRA
what is an adverb?
a word which describes a verb or an adjective
–> (!troppo!) belli
they are invariable
how to express ‘some’
DI + ARTICLE
what are the prinomi indefini (5)
can also be adjectivi indefini
- uno
- qualcuno
- qualcosa
- tutti
- tutto
how to work out whether the plural of a noun keeps or looses the ‘I’? (word that end in cia/gia)
- it keeps the ‘I’ if there is a vowel before the cia/gia
- if there is a consonant before the ‘cia’ or ‘gia’ then the word will end in ‘ce’ of ‘ge’.
- -> grigia = grigie
when to use the passato prossimo (2)
- to talk about a unique event
- to talk about an event which lasted a certain amount of time in the past but which has FINISHED
when to use the imperfecto (2)
- to describe physical aspects, places and situations in the past
- to talk about a habit in the past
what are the two main irregulars in the imperfecto
- ESSERE = ero/i/a…
- FARE = facevo/i/a…
comparativi:
when to use CHE (5)
- when something is more something than something else
- used to compare two aspects of a person/ thing
- used to compare to verbs
- used to compare nouns with a preposition in from aka A.
- used to compare adjectives
comparativi: when to use Di
- used to compare two people, when there are personal pronouns
- comparing two nouns
comparativi:
the irregulars
(4)
1) buono = migliore /il migliore
2) cattivo = peggiore/ il peggiore
3) grande = maggiore/ il maggiore
4) piccolo = minore/ il minore
when to use a superlative relativo
to describe as being the most ‘something’
how to form the conditional (3)
- take away the final E
- replace with ending
- for ARE verbs the A in the infinitve changes to an E
main irregulars in the conditional (4)
andare - andrei
dovere - dovrei
volere - vorrei
potere - potrei
what are the endings for the informal imperative TU
ARE - A
IRE - I
ERE - I
what are the endings for the informal imperative NOI
meaning lets do ____
IAMO
what are the endings for the informal imperative VOI
ARE - ATE
IRE - ITE
ERE - ETE
congiuntivi IRE & ERE endings
A A A IAMO IATE ANO
congiuntivi ARE endings
I I I IAMO IATE INO
how to find the stem for irregular subjunctives
first person of the present indicative
subjunctive of essere
sia sia sia siamo siate siano
subjunctive of avere
abbia abbia abbia abbiamo abbiate abbiano
5 subjunctive trigger phrases
- immagino che
- ho l’impressione che
- credo che
- dubito che
- penso che
subjunctive: emotion trigger phrases
4
- sono contento che
- preferisco che
- spero che
- ho paura che
subjunctive: command trigger phrases
4
- desidero che
- voglio che
- chiedo che
- esigo che
subjunctive: impersonal form trigger phrases
3
- è bisogna che
- è importante che
- è necessario che
imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto) endings
SSI SSI SSE SSIMO STE SSERO
when to use the imperfect subjunctive
when the main clause is in the past or conditional
subjunctive: what happens if the main and subordinate clause have the same subject
- cannot use the subjunctive
- the infinitive must be used instead
how is the passato congiuntivo formed
subjunctive (present) + past participle
– abbia temuto
what to use the passato congiuntivo with
the present
present + CHE + passato congiuntivo
what are the pronomi dopi
me te glie ce ve glie
pronomi dopi - pronoun order
indirect + direct pronoun
what happens when the indirect pronoun GLI goes next to the direct pronoun LA
- GLI + LA – need an E in between
= gliela
where is the pronoun with an infinite verb
- at the end of it
- unless its a model verb, in which case it can go in front or at the end
how to form the past conditional
conditional + past participle
past conditional rule with modal verbs
the verb which comes after the modal verb chooses the auxilary
–> non avrei devuto inviare
imperatives and pronouns
they join the end of the conjugated verb
– daglielo!
how to form an adverb
take the feminine adjective and add MENTE
- if the adjective ends in LE/RE, drop the last vowel and add MENTE
where do adverbs go?
- before the verb
- in between the auxiliary and the pas participle in the passato prossimo
- comes before an adjective
how to work out if molto, poco, tanto and troppo are adverbs or adjectives
- if they qualify a noun they are adjectives
- if they qualify another adverb, verb or adjective, they are adverbs
how to form the trapassato
essere/avere in the imperfect + past participle
when to use the trapassato
2
- to talk about something you ‘have done’
- to talk about an event in the past before another event in the past
bello (adjective ) rules for masculine
singluar: bel, bello (s+consonant etc) , bell’ (vowel)
plural: bei, begli (s+consonant etc) begli (vowel)
bello (adj) rules for feminine
singular: bella (consonant) bell’ (vowel)
plural: belle (both)
grande (adjective) rules
same for masc and fem
singular : gran, grande (s+cons) gran’ (vowel
plural : grandi
buono (adj) masculine rules
singular: buon (cons/vowel) buono (s+cons)
masculine : buoni
buono (adj) feminine rules
singular: buona , buon’ (vowel)
plural: buone
plural of braccio
le braccia
femenine
plural of ciglio (eyelash)
ciglia
masculine
plural of paio
paia
masculine
what are i nomi alterati
nouns modified to express a particular quality
created by taking the root of the noun and adding a suffix
what are articolo partitivo
partitive articles
- articles used to express an unknown amount, the idea of ‘some’
how to form gli articoli partitivi
di + definitive articles
feminine - della, della (plr)
masculine - (sing) del, dello, dell’ (plr) dei, degli
how to tell the difference between articoli partitivi and i preposizione articolate
if the article can be replaced with ‘un po’ di’ in the singular, and ‘alcuni/alcune’ in the plural, its an articolo partitivo
what are aggettivi indefiniti
- adjectives used to indicate the quality or quantity of something/ someone
- they are variable
- e.g: troppo, tutto, molto, alcuno
what is the rule with nessuno, niente and nulla?
when they are used after a verb, NON must be added to the sentence
what type of word is qualche and when to use it
- indefinite adjective, invariable
- used before singular nouns only
- plural of qualche is alunci/e
comparativi : what happens when di is used with an noun that needs an article
they merge together to becomes preposizioni articolate
di + article
uguaglianza : how to express that something is the same as something else
1 - tanto… quanto
2 - così …come
how to form the superlativi relativi
article + noun + più/meno + adjective + di
what are superlativo assoluto
- not a comparative, means ‘really’ and ‘very’
- take masculine plural and add ISSIMO/A/I/E at the end
e. g. - bellissimo
the nouns which take IN
5
- palestra
- ufficio
- banco
- chiesa
- piscina
pronouns and the imperative
- informal - they attach to the end of the verb (unless negative)
- formal - in front
what is the formula for gli avverbi di frequenza
time + volte al + time frame
example of avverbi di frequenza
spesso
di solito
ogni tanto
how is an adverb formed
3
1 - take the feminine adjective and add MENTE
2 - if the adjective ends in E (aka no feminine) just add MENTE
3 - if the adjective ends in LE/RE take away the last ‘e’ and add MENTE
where do adverbs go?
3
- after the verb
- in the passato prossimo it goes between the auxilary and the past participle
- before an adverb
what are the adverbs of
cattivo
and
buono
cattivo - male
buono - bene
when to use the relative preposition CHI
when talking about people
invariable
how to form the imperfect
keep the a/e/i from the stem VO VI VA VAMO VATE VANO
imperative lei andare
vada
what is an indefinite pronoun
i pronomi indefiniti
pronoun which refers to things on general terms, they dont specify the noun they replace
examples of pronomi indefiniti
6
- alcunché (anything)
- chiunque (anyone)
- nulla (nothing)
- qualcosa (something)
- niente (nothing)
- checché (whatever)
past participle of nascere
nato
è nato
past participle of morire
morto
è morto
what are the imperative endings for LEI
ARE - I
ERE - A
IRE - A
same for negative just add non
what are the main imperative tu irregulars
8
avere - abbia essere - sii sapere - sappi andare - va dire - di dare - da fare - fa stare - sta
what happens with tu imperative irrgulars when pronouns are added
the consonant doubles
nessuno vs nessun
nussun’ vs nessuna
same rules as un/uno nessun --> consonants & vowels nessuno --> s+consonant etc nessuna --> consonants nessun' --> vowels
what is special about the verb giocare
followed by preposition
usually A
aggettivi possessivi : when does the article come back with family members
when another word is added about them
LA mia sorella maggiore
nomi alteri: suffix added for piccolo
3
- INO/A
- ETTO
- ELLO
nomi alteri: suffix added for grande
3
- ONE
- OZZO
- OTTO
nomi alteri: suffix added for dispregiativo
3
- ACCIO
- ASTRO
- UCOLO
nomi alteri: suffix added for vezzeggiativo
3
- UZZO
- UCCIO
- ETTINO
how to form i numeri ordinali
take the number, take away the final vowel and add
ESIMO
passato prossimo and direct objects
the past participle must agree in gender and in number with the direct pronoun
what are the indefinite adjectives
10
- alcuno
- altro
- molto
- poco
- troppo
- tutto
- certi
- tanti
- diverso
- certi
indefinite adjectives: when to use qualche
- means some
- used for singular nouns
- doesnt agree at all
indefinite adjectives: when to use alcuni/e
- means some
- used with plural nouns, must agree with gender
indefinite adjectives: when to use di + article
- means some
- used to talk about abstract nouns (love & time)
how to form : il trapassato congiuntivo
imperfect subjunctive essere/ avere + past participle
si clauses (periodo ipotetico) –> reality phrase
- se piove, prendo l’ombrello
- se pioverà, prenderò l’ombrello
si clauses (periodo ipotetico) –> less possible phrase
- se piovesse prenderei l’ombrello
si clauses (periodi ipotetico) –> impossible phrase
- se avesse piovuto, avrei preso l’ombrello
si clauses: tenses used in possible clauses
present + present
present + future
future + future
si clauses: tenses used in less possible clauses
imperfect subjunctive + conditional
si clauses: tenses used in impossible clauses
trapassato conjuntivo + past conditional
personal pronouns
io tu lui lei noi voi loro
preposition for Gran Bretagna
in
prepositions to say
from ____ to ____
dal _____ al
preposition used with years
nel
preposition and time
alle
non penso che
subjuntvie?
yes