The adjectives bello (beautiful, handsome, nice, fine) and quello (that) have shortened forms when they precede the nouns they modify. Note that the shortened forms are similar to those of the definit
In modern Italian he, she, and they are usually expressed by lui, lei, and loro, respectively. (Egli, ella, essi, and esse are used more in written Italian than in the spoken language. Esso and essa a
In questions beginning with an interrogative word, the subject is usually placed at the end of the sentence.Quando guarda la TV Michele? (When does Michael watch TV?)Prepositions such as a, di, con, a
A direct object is the direct recipient of the action of a verb.I invite the boys. Whom do I invite? The boys.He reads the book. What does he read? The book.The nouns boys and books are direct objects
In a reflexive sentence the action of the verb reverts to the subject, as in the following examples: I wash myself. They enjoy themselves. In reflexive sentences, Italian verbs, like English verbs, ar
C’è (from ci è) and ci sono correspond to the English there is and there are. They state the existence or presence of something or someone.C’è tempo; non c’è fretta. (There’s time; there i
Italian uses present tense + da + time expressions to indicate an action that began in the past and is still going on in the present. English, by contrast, uses the present perfect tense (I have spoke
You’ve heard it since grade school: What’s a noun? A person, place, or thing. Nouns (i nome) are one of the first things that people learn, whether it’s their native or second language. Bicchier
When forming the plural of Italian nouns, the vowel endings change to indicate a change in number. For regular masculine nouns that end in -o, the ending changes to -i in the plural.The table below in
Mom and dad, your brothers and sisters, grandpa and your Aunt Millie. They’re all special people, and so there’s a rule just for them. In the plural form, the Italian definite article will appear