Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
2.3
Grammatica
cercare
(to
look
for,
to
search,
to
try)
portare
(to
bring,
to
carry,
to
wear)
praticare
(to
practice)
cominciare
(to
begin,
to
start)
ritornare
(tornare)
(to
return)
comprare
(to
buy,
to
purchase)
dimenticare
(to
forget)
spiegare
(to
explain)
entrare
(to
enter)
studiare
(to
study)
frequentare
(to
attend,
to
frequent)
suonare
(to
play,
i.e.
an
instrument)
telefonare
(to
telephone)
giocare
(to
play,
i.e.
a
game,
a
sport)
guidare
(to
drive)
trovare
(to
find)
1
UNIT
2.3
Grammatica
Verbs
with
the
infinitive
ending
in
–iare
do
not
double
the
“i”
in
the
“tu”
and
“noi”
forms
of
the
verb.
Study
the
conjugation
of
studiare
(to
study):
studiare
(to
study)
(io)
studio
(noi)
studiamo
(tu)
studi
(voi)
studiate
(lui
/
lei
/
Lei)
studia
(loro)
studiano
Other
common
verbs
ending
in
–iare
are:
cominciare
(to
begin,
to
start)
mangiare
(to
eat)
Verbs
with
the
infinitive
in
–care
and
–gare
add
an
“h”
to
the
“tu”
and
“noi”
forms
of
the
verb.
The
“h”
allows
the
retention
of
the
hard
“c”
[k]
or
“g”
[g]
sound.
Study
the
conjugations
of
cercare
(to
look
for)
and
pagare
(to
pay):
cercare
(to
look
for)
(io)
cerco
(noi)
cerchiamo
(tu)
cerchi
(voi)
cercate
(lui
/
lei
/
Lei)
cerca
(loro)
cercano
pagare
(to
pay)
(io)
pago
(noi)
paghiamo
(tu)
paghi
(voi)
pagate
(lui
/
lei
/
Lei)
paga
(loro)
pagano
Other
common
verbs
conjugated
like
cercare
and
pagare
are:
dimenticare
(to
forget)
giocare
(to
play)
praticare
(to
practice)
spiegare
(to
explain)
2
UNIT
2.3
Grammatica
Use
of
the
present
tense
The
present
tense
(presente)
is
used
in
Italian
in
three
situations:
1. Habitual
actions
in
the
present
time:
• Lavoro
in
banca
dal
lunedì
al
venerdì.
(I
work
in
a
bank
from
Monday
to
Friday.)
• Guardiamo
la
televisione
tutte
le
sere.
(We
watch
TV
every
evening.)
2. Ongoing
actions
in
the
present
time
or
actions
in
progress:
• Che
cosa
mangi?
(What
are
you
eating?)
• Di
che
cosa
parlano?
(What
are
they
talking
about?)
3. Actions
started
in
the
past
and
continuing
in
the
present
time:
• Studiamo
italiano
da
due
mesi.
(We
have
been
studying
Italian
for
two
months.)
• Viaggiano
in
Italia
da
aprile.
(They
have
been
travelling
in
Italy
since
April.)
Notice
that
the
preposition
“da”
means
“for”
or
“since”
in
the
above
sentences.
Study
these
questions
and
answers:
Da
quanto
tempo
abitate
a
Roma?
How
long
have
you
been
living
in
Rome?
Abitiamo
a
Roma
dal
2001.
We
have
been
living
in
Rome
since
2001.
Da
quanto
tempo
sono
sposati?
How
long
have
they
been
married?
Sono
sposati
da
tre
anni.
They
have
been
married
for
three
years.
Some
Adverbs
Commonly
Used
in
the
Present
ALCUNI
AVVERBI
COMUNEMENTE
USATI
AL
PRESENTE
sempre
always
tutti
i
giorni
every
day
[lit.
all
the
days]
abitualmente
/
generalmente
generally
di
solito
usually
spesso
often
non
…
m ai
never
Study
the
following
examples
and
notice
that
the
adverbs
“sempre”
and
“spesso”
follow
the
verbs:
Tu
arrivi
sempre
a
scuola
in
Do
you
always
arrive
at
school
orario?
on
time?
Giochiamo
a
calcio
tutti
i
giorni.
We
play
soccer
every
day.
3
UNIT
2.3
Grammatica
Generalmente
Lucia
paga
con
la
Generally
Lucia
pays
with
a
carta
di
credito.
credit
card.
Di
solito
parlo
con
i
miei
genitori
I
usually
speak
with
my
parents
il
sabato
o
la
domenica.
on
Saturday
or
Sundays.
Studio
spesso
in
biblioteca.
I
often
study
in
the
library.
Non
arriviamo
mai
in
ritardo
agli
We
never
arrive
late
at
[our]
appuntamenti!
appointments.
Question
Formation
FORMAZIONE
DELLE
DOMANDE
Questions
are
formed
in
Italian
in
two
ways:
1. Simply
adding
a
question
mark
“?”
at
the
end
of
any
statement
and
raising
the
intonation
of
your
voice
at
the
end.
2. Placing
the
subject
at
the
very
end
of
the
sentence.
Study
the
following
examples
(the
subject
are
in
bold):
Affermazione
(Statement)
Marta
e
Luca
frequentano
un’università
Marta
and
Luca
attend
an
Italian
italiana.
university.
Domande
(Questions)
Marta
e
Luca
frequentano
un’università
Do
Marta
and
Luca
attend
an
Italian
italiana?
university?
[same
word
order
as
the
declarative
statement]
Frequentano
un’università
italiana
[subjects
placed
at
the
end
of
the
Marta
e
Luca?
question]
4
UNIT
2.3
Grammatica
Interrogative
Expressions
ESPRESSIONI
INTERROGATIVE
Che
cosa
…?
Che
…?
Cosa
…?
What
…?
Which
…?
Quando
…?
When
…?
Come
…?
How…?
Dove…?
Where
…?
Perché
…?
Why
…?
Quanto…?
Quanta…?
How
much
…?
Quanti…?
Quante…?
How
many
…?
Study
the
following
sentences:
Che
cosa
studi
in
questa
università?
What
are
you
studying
at
this
university?
Quando
ritorna
in
Italia
Giovanna?
When
is
Giovanna
going
back
to
Italy?
Come
arrivano
a
scuola
di
solito?
How
do
they
usually
arrive
to
school?
Dove
abiti?
Where
do
you
live?
Perché
non
telefoniamo
a
Caterina?
Why
don’t
we
call
Caterina?
Quanto
costa
l’ingresso
al
museo?
How
much
does
the
entrance
to
the
museum
cost?
Quanta
pasta
cucini?
How
much
pasta
are
you
cooking?
Quante
amiche
hai
in
Italia?
How
many
friends
[f.]
do
you
have
in
Italy?
Quanti
corsi
seguono
questo
How
many
courses
are
they
taking
this
semestre?
semester?
5