Unit 11 Flashcards
What’re impersonal expressions (espressioni impersonali)?
impersonal expressions are general statements with NO SPECIFIED SUBJECT!
eg. è bello dormire 9 ore = It’s nice to sleep 9 hours
è bene mangiare l’insalata = It’s good to eat salad
What’re “espressioni impersonali”?
impersonal expressions!
espressioni impersonali
- it’s enough to
- it’s necessary to
- it’s enough to is BASTA
2. It’s necessary to is BISOGNA
espressioni impersonali
- it’s nice to
- it’s good to
- it’s nice to is È BELLO
4. it’s good to is È BENE
espressioni impersonali
- it’s right to
- è difficile/facile
- è giusto means IT’S RIGHT TO
6. è difficile/facile means IT’S DIFFICULT/EASY TO
espressioni impersonali
- it’s possible/impossible to
- it’s likely/unlikely to
- it’s possible/impossible to is È POSSIBILE / IMPOSSIBILE
8. it’s likely/unlikely to is È PROBABILE / IMPROBABILE
espressioni impersonali
- è meglio
- è male
- è meglio means IT’S BETTER TO
10. è male means IT’S BAD TO
espressioni impersonali
- it’s time to
- it’s a pity
- it’s time to is È ORA
12. it’s a pity is È UN PECCATO
espressioni impersonali
- è strano
- è strano means IT’S STRANGE TO
espressioni impersonali
- pare/sembra
- pare/sembra means IT SEEMS
How do you use “espressioni impersonali” (impersonal expressions)?
- use espressioni impersonali with INFINITIVE VERBS!
- IE before the infinitive
- means it is (IE) TO VERB
- IE after the infinitive
- means VERB-ING is (IE)
espressioni impersonali
- it’s inappropriate / appropriate to
- it’s appropriate is È OPPORTUNO
15b. it’s not appropriate È INOPPORTUNO
How do you use espressioni impersonali “it’s time to” in a sentence?
- when no specified subject, you need the preposition “DI” after it!
- è ora DI + infinitive
eg. è ora di dormire bene = it’s time to sleep well
What’re the rules for using espressioni impersonali in a sentence?
*VERY IMPORTANT!
- use impersonal expressions with INFINITIVE verbs only!
- eg. è bello imparare italiano = it’s nice to learn Italian
- if subjects are unspecified, make the adjectives in that sentence MASCULINE PLURAL
- eg. è meglio essere felici che ricchi = it’s better to be happy than rich
What does the word “essere” mean as an infinitive verb?
it literally means “TO BE”
- eg. è meglio essere felici che ricchi = it's better to be happy than rich
How do you NEGATE an espressioni impersonali in a sentence?
put “non” in front of è (the verb as usual!)
eg. non è difficile = it’s not hard to
What’re the ways to use espressioni impersonali in a sentence?
*VERY IMPORTANT!
- put the impersonal expression BEFORE the infinitive
- infinitive means “to (verb)”
- eg. è bello dormire 9 ore = It’s nice to sleep 9 hours
- put the impersonal expression AFTER the infinitive
- infinitive means “(verb)-ing”
- eg. mangiare verdure è bene = eating vegetables is good
prendere
to take
in my opinion
- secondo me
2. a mio parere
temo che
I’m afraid that
me sembra
it seems to me
ti assicuro
I assure you
ultimamente
lately
sicuramente
surely
sperare
to hope
dopo che
after that
così
so
- used to describe order of events
- eg. I was worried and so….
mi pare
I think
prima
before
sono sicuro, non sono sicuro
1, sono sicuro means I’M SURE
- non sono sicuro means I’M NOT SURE
magari
let’s hope
a mio parere, secondo me
BOTH MEAN in my opinion
anche se
though
fino ad
until (specific time)
eg. fino ad oggi = until today
What’s the “congiuntivo presente”?
the “congiuntivo presente” is the PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
eg. È necesario che Enrique sia puntuale = it’s necessary that Enrique is punctual.
What’s the indicative mood?
- uses
- forms
Used for
- certain statements
- facts
Forms:
- present
- imperfetto
- futuro semplice
- passato prossimo
What’s il congiuntivo?
*VERY IMPORTANT!
- il congiuntivo is the SUBJUNCTIVE.
- for statements that aren’t certain/factual: mental things, hypothetical situations, uncertain situations, relative superlatives
- conjugate the subjunctive verb for the SECOND subordinate clause!
eg. È necesario che Enrique sia puntuale = it’s necessary that Enrique is punctual.
How do you define “il congiuntivo”? (6)
The SUBJUNCTIVE expresses statements that AREN’T certain or factual
- emotions
- opinions
- desires
- subjective attitude towards events
- hypothetical actions and states
- uncertain actions and states