The Italian c has 2 possible sounds. It can sound like the ch in chip, or like the k in kite. Unlike English, there are very strict rules about when the Italian c sounds like a ch or a k. If the c precedes (comes before) an e or an i, the c will have a ch sound. For example, undici. If the group ci precedes an a, o or u, it is also pronounced as ch AND the i is mute : ciao sounds as English chao. If the c precedes any other letter (a, o, u, or a consonant, although the latter is very rare), then it will have a k sound, as in comodo. If the group ch precedes an i, or an e, it is pronounced as k : chi sounds as English kee. The word cucina has both types of c in it - the first c makes the k sound, and the second c makes the ch sound.

g, gi, gh

The Italian g has 2 possible sounds. It can sound like the g in got, or like the j or dg in judge. The rules are similar to the ones described above for c. Thus getto is pronounced as English jet-toh, and gioia as English joy-ah. While gotto and ghetto are pronounced as English got-toh and get-toh.

j y

In Italian j and y are not used, and when they occur (in foreign or arcaic words), they are pronounced as an Italian i.

w

In Italian w is not used, and when it occurs (in foreign words), a native Italian would pronounce it as a v.

rr and all other double consonants.

All times a double consonant is written, it is actually pronounced twice. It takes practice to do it well.

v

Sounds exactly like in English.

s

The Italian s may have two pronounciations. One of them is like English z or s : rosa is pronounced similarly to English rose with a terminal ah. The other one is like English s e.g. in set : sette is pronounced like set-teh. There are no definite rules on two pronounciations (although some dictionaries report the correct one), and there are regional variations in the pronounciation of the same word. In general you will be understood, even if your pronounciation may sound strange. As a rule of thumb, s followed by vowel in the second or further syllable of a word, has the z sound (e.g. rosa, casa), while s followed by vowel or consonant (usually t or p) at the beginning of a word is an s sound : sette, stare.

z

The Italian z is pronounced much harder than an English, like sound ts, or tz, like in word tzar. There are actually two variant of the z sound in Italian, which are marked in dictionaries, but are subject to regional variations and make little difference for the everyday speaker.

Two (not so) confusing verbs - essere and stare

If you have already read the New Words section, you probably noticed that the two verbs introduced this week sometimes may mean both to be. In fact however essere is the proper verb corresponding to to be. Stare means to stay, and is used where an English speaker would expect to use to be only in two cases. Confusing the two verbs is proper of popular speech in Southern Italy but feels somewhat uncouth.

Verb Conjugation

As in English, verbs are conjugated, or take various forms, in Italian. In the present tense, there are 6 verb forms (persons), depending on who the subject of the verb is. Here are the conjugations for essere and stare:

essere - to be

io sono (I am)

tu sei (you are)

Lei /egli (lui) /ella (lei) /esso(-a) è (you (formal)/he/she/it is)

noi siamo (we are)

voi siete (you (plural) are)

Loro/essi(-e)/loro sono (you (old formal plural)/they (things and persons)/they (persons) are)

stare - to stay

io sto (I stay)

tu stai (you stay)

Lei /egli (lui) /ella (lei) /esso(-a) sta (you (formal)/he/she/it stays)

noi stiamo (we stay)

voi state (you (plural) stay)

Loro/essi(-e)/loro stanno (you (old formal plural)/they (things and persons)/they (persons) stay)

Note that the conjugations for Lei (you), egli (he), ella/lei (she) and esso(-a) (it) use the same form of the verb. The same goes for their plurals (though the singular and the plural use different forms).

* - You will note there are formal and familiar forms for the second person, unlike English where forms like thou are in disuse. It is important to use the proper one otherwise you’ll look uneducated. In the singular form you use tu when addressing to a relative, a friend, a colleague or a child.

It is felt uneducated and unkind to use tu when addressing a person you do not know. In such cases the form now preferred in modern Italian is Lei (literally, she, and verbs are conjugated like in the third person singular). I’ll write this Lei with a capital L to make it clear. This is not necessary, although it is used e.g. in commercial letters. Note that the feminine form is used also when addressing to men : this is because she is your Lordship and the word Lordship in Italian is of feminine gender. In the popular speech in Northern Italy this is felt strange, and sometimes you’ll hear Lui (literally, he) as a courtesy form for you when addressing a man. This usage is not recommended.

Another courtesy form used to address a person instead of tu is Voi (literally, you, i.e. the plural form, like in English, and using the same conjugation of the plural form). This form is felt somewhat archaic (it might be used in the South or in the countryside, and was favoured by the Fascist regime).

In the plural, nowadays use goes for voi both as a familiar and as a formal form. You would sound unusually formal, if you’d use Loro (literally, they) when addressing more than one persons. However sometimes it is used.

I will include with all verb conjugations all the 6 main forms.

A further note regarding the third person. Egli and ella, for he and she, are literary forms, which in spoken Italian are usually replaced by lui and lei (literally him and her). These are the masculine and feminine forms for persons. Esso and essa are the forms for it, and have a masculine and feminine form according to grammatical gender of the noun of the thing to which they refer. In the plural, essi and esse are respectively the masculine and feminine form for they for persons and things. However nowadays spoken Italian prefers loro (literally, them) for persons.

Now that you have this pretty little conjugation, what does one do with it? Make sentences, of course. The conjugation of a verb tells you which form of the verb to use depending on who is the subject of the verb. In English we conjugate without thinking about it - I am, you are, he is, etc. You don’t (normally) say I are or you is, because it’s gramatically incorrect. Likewise in Italian, you don’t say io sei, because it’s just plain wrong. Here are some examples of using essere and stare: