Italian grammar

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The Italian language has retained much of the inflectional character of Latin within its verb system , but, like almost all European languages, has incorporated many agglutinating and isolating elements.

The Italian verb

The Italian verb expresses three tenses in finite forms with the corresponding prehistoric tenses , two aspects (also a progressive form ), three persons , the numbers singular and plural as well as the genera verbi active and passive and forms the four modes indicative, subjunctive, conditional and Imperative. In the case of compound forms, a distinction is also made between the gender of the subject and the direct object under certain conditions .

The infinite forms of the verbs include an infinitive , a past participle passive , a present participle active (but still existing) and the gerund .

Some of the forms are formed morphologically , others by auxiliary verbs , i.e. syntactically . The Italian grammar distinguishes between “simple” (tempi semplici) and “compound tenses” (tempi composti) .

Overview of the verb forms

Finite verb forms

tempi semplici tempi composti tempi semplici tempi composti tempi semplici tempi composti tempi semplici tempi composti
indicative conjunctive Conditional imperative
present Present * Present * Present * Present *
past * Composite perfect * Composite perfect * Compound conditional * *
Past tense past continuous Past tense past continuous * * * *
Historical perfect Historical past perfect * * * * * *
future Future tense I. Future tense II * * * * * *

Infinite verb forms

tempi semplici tempi composti tempi semplici tempi composti tempi semplici tempi composti
infinitive participle gerund
present Present * Present active * Present *
past * Perfect * Perfectly passive * Perfect

The tense combinations marked with * do not exist in Italian grammar.

Use of the modes and tenses

Indicative (indicativo)

The indicative is used to describe actual, unquestionable events.

Present (presente)

One uses the presente

  • to describe an actual event in the present:
Vado ad ascoltare un concerto di Michelangelo. - "I'm going to listen to a concert by Michelangelo."
  • to describe a habit:
Di domenica vado a mezzogiorno dalla nonna. - "On Sundays I go to Grandma's at noon."
  • to describe something that is always true:
Il sole concern a Oriente. - "The sun rises in the east."
Allora vedo un cane che abbaia ad un uccello. - "Then I see a dog barking at a bird."
  • to express an event in the near future, usually in connection with an adverbial time:
Domani vengo a trovarti. - "I'll come to visit you tomorrow."
Compound perfect tense (passato prossimo)

The compound perfect describes a punctual process of the past that is considered to be completed, i.e. it contains the perfect aspect . It is the main past tense in spoken Italian, especially in the north, but not in the south.

Mia madre ha sposato mio padre all'età di 25 anni. - "My mother married my father at the age of 25."
Sono stato quattro volte in Italia. - "I've been to Italy four times."

Often the still present result of the process from the past is emphasized:

Adesso ho già mangiato. - "Now I've already eaten."
Future tense I (futuro semplice)

The simple future tense describes a process in the future:

Il prossimo mese andrò a lavorare al supermercato. - "In the next month I'll be working in the supermarket."

Similar to German, it is also used to express an assumption:

Sarà pure ricco, ma quanto è gross! - "He will be rich, but how ugly he is!"
Mi scuserà ... - "You will excuse me ..."
Future II (futuro anteriore)

The future tense two expresses the prematurity of a future process before another process from the future:

Vedrai la televisione dopo che avrai fatto i compiti. - "You will watch TV after you have done your homework."

The future tense II is also used to express a conjecture that relates to the near past:

Avrà dimenticato il nostro appuntamento. - "He will have forgotten our appointment."
Imperfect tense (imperfetto)

The past tense describes an event in the past that is not viewed as a whole, as completed, but as a state. So it includes the imperfective aspect , where the action is presented as incomplete. The imperfetto is used

  • for the description of a state in the past, it is the classic narrative tense for descriptions:
Michele era biondo, con gli occhi azzurri, e alto come un albero. - "Michele was blond, blue-eyed and tall as a tree."
  • for an ongoing event (durative):
Mentre ascoltavo il compact, leggevo il giornale - "While I was listening to the CD, I was reading the newspaper."
  • for a usually occurring (habitual) or regularly recurring event (iterative):
Ogni mattina mangiava due uova. - "Every morning he ate two eggs."

The distinction between the verbal aspect is essential for the Italian verb system. Some verbs change their meaning decisively in the different tense forms, for example the verb sapere ("to know"): Past tense : Sapevo che aveva tanti problemi. - "I knew that he had a lot of problems." Perfect: Ho saputo che ha tanti problemi - "I learned that he had a lot of problems."

The past tense is increasingly used in modal verbs in polite forms or instead of the conditional perfect:

Volevo chiedere ... - "I wanted to ask ..."
Dovevo nascere ricco, io! - "I should have been born rich!"
Plusquamperfekt (trapassato prossimo)

The past perfect is the tense of the past. It expresses events that happened before the past:

Quando aveva vinto il concorso, era molto fiero - "When he won the competition, he was very proud."
Historical perfect (passato remoto)

The historical perfect has developed from the Latin perfect as a morphologically formed form. Like the compound perfect, it expresses completed actions from the past, but without any reference to the present. The ingressive type of action can also be expressed, i.e. the beginning of a state. It is the main narrative time in literature. In northern Italy its use in everyday language is declining and depends on the level of education; however, in the south of the Italian-speaking area, it is in full use in both colloquial language and dialects.

Romolo nacque tanto tempo fa. - "Romulus was born a long time ago."
E so fu fatto. - "And so it was done (and so it happened)."

Here, too, there are significant differences in meaning to the other tenses of the past:

Historical perfect: Lo conobbi vent'anni fa. - "I met him 20 years ago (and now I have no more contact)."
Compound perfect: L'ho conosciuto vent'anni fa. - "I met him 20 years ago (and we are still friends)."
Historical perfect: Fu una bella donna. - "She became a beautiful woman." (Ingressive - "began to be")
Past tense: Era una bella donna. - "She was a beautiful woman." (Durative - "was then")

In colloquial language, the historical perfect is more common in the south than the compound perfect. In Tuscany and Central Italy the two tenses have different functions; this differentiation has entered the literary language.

Historical past perfect (trapassato remoto)

This form (the past perfect with the auxiliary verb in the historical perfect) is only used in written form today. The trapassato remoto is only permitted if the action described in the subordinate clause occurred immediately before the following action in the main clause (in the passato remoto ); Furthermore, there must be equality of subjects. If one of these two conditions is not met, the trapassato prossimo applies to the subordinate clause.

Quando ebbe finito, uscì di casa. - "When he was (just) finished, he went out of the house."

Conditional (condizionale)

The conditional is used to reproduce conditional processes. It is the mode that expresses the consequence in the hypothetical conditional statement. In main clauses it mainly serves as a form of politeness or to express a wish. There is a conditional I (condizionale semplice or presente) and a conditional II (condizionale passato or composto) .

Ti avrei telefonato, se non avessi dimenticato il tuo numero. - "I would have called you if I hadn't forgotten your number."
Vorrei rivederti. - "I want to see you again."
Potrebbe darmi il suo numero di telefono? - "Could you give me your phone number?"

In press releases, statements that the author does not want to commit to are sometimes given in conditional:

I due presidenti s'incontrerebbero domani a Camp David. - "The two presidents should (" will probably ") meet tomorrow in Camp David."

The conditional II also serves to reproduce an action that is in the future with regard to a past event:

Sapevo che avresti fatto una figuraccia. - "I knew that you would embarrass yourself."

Subjunctive (congiuntivo)

The subjunctive is used to express events that are viewed personally, not actual or uncertain, and it illustrates uncertainty, possibility, desire, worry and fear. It is found mainly in subordinate clauses. The use of the subjunctive is tied to certain conjunctions or, in the case of subordinate clauses, to some verbs.

Benché sia ​​tardi, ti voglio vedere - "Even though it's late, I want to see you."
Credo che sia troppo tardi - "I think it's too late."
Non so come sia questo film - "I don't know what this film is like."
Si dice che sia abbastanza avaro - "They say he's pretty stingy."
Ti seguo dovunque sia - "I will follow you wherever it is (wherever)."

In the propositional sentence, the subjunctive describes a wish:

So sia! - "So be it!"

In contrast to German, the subjunctive in Italian does not play a role in rendering indirect speech.

The imperfect subjunctive and past perfect tense also serve in conditional clauses to express the hypothetical condition, the sequence (in the main clause) is in the conditional:

Se tu fossi saggio, non lo manderesti via - "If you were smart, you wouldn't send him away."
Se fosse venuto in tempo, avremmo potuto cenare insieme - "If he had come on time, we could have had dinner together."

In the sentence, the imperfect subjunctive describes an unreal wish:

Potessi vederlo - "If only I could see him!"
Fossimo andati via! - "If only we had gone!"

Imperative (imperativo)

The Italian imperative knows forms for all persons and numbers except for the first person singular, since the third person is also used as a polite form to address people. Here forms of the present subjunctive are used. The infinitive is used to negate the form of the 2nd person singular.

Vieni qua! - "Come here!"
Non mi rompere le palle! - "Don't steal my nerves!"
Andiamo via! - "Let's go away!"
Scusi, per favore! - "Excuse me please."
Si accomodi! - "Make yourself comfortable!"
Accomodatevi! - "Make yourself comfortable!"

Conjugation of the simple tenses

The following rules apply to all times:

  • If there is an i in front of the infinitive ending, it is dropped before an i of an ending, it is not emphasized.
  • A prefix does not change the conjugation (for example sostenere like tenere, provvedere like vedere, proporre like porre etc.)

Indicativo

Present (presente)

-are
z. B. parl-are 		-gare / -care
z. B. pag-are / cerc-are 		-ere
z. B. cad-ere 		-gliere
z. B. racco-gliere 		-drought
z. B. tra-durre 		-ire
z. B. part-ire / cap-ire 		-parire
z. B. appa-rire
ok -O -O -O - lg o -duco -o / -isco - i o
do -i - h i -i -gli -duci -i / -isci -ri
lui, lei -a -a -e -glie -duce -e / -isce -re
noi -iamo - h iamo -iamo -gliamo -duciamo -iamo -riamo
voi -ate -ate -ete - glided -ducete -ite -rite
loro -ano -ano -ono - lg ono -ducono -ono / -iscono - i ono

Irregular verbs:


do fare		 stare
standing
give dare		 andare
go		 spegnere
delete u. a.		 put leeks
, set, set		 trarre
blow, pull		 muovere
move		 parere
believe seem		 piacere
liked		 cuocere
cook		 sedersi
s. put		 dovere
should, must
ok faccio sto do vado spe ng o pongo traggo muovo paio piaccio cuoc i o mi s i edo devo
do fai stai dai vai spegni poni trai muovi par piaci cuoci ti s i edi devi
lui, lei fa sta there va spegne pone trae muove pare piace cuoce si s i ede deve
noi facciamo stiamo diamo andiamo spegniamo poniamo traiamo m (u) oviamo paiamo piacciamo cuociamo ci sediamo dobbiamo
voi fate state date andate blessed ponete touched m (u) ovete parete piacete cuocete vi sedete dovete
loro fanno stanno theno vanno spe ng ono pongono traggono muovono paiono piacciono cuoc i ono si s i edono devono
potere
can, may		 sapere
know
want volere		 Compiere
end		 morire
die
say dire
fill riempire		 uscire
emanate
ok posso so voglio compio m u o i o dico riemp i o e sco
do puoi sai vuoi compi m u ori dici riempi e sci
lui, lei può sa vuole compie m u ore dice riemp i e e sce
noi possiamo sappiamo vogliamo compiamo moriamo diciamo riempiamo usciamo
voi potete wallpaper volete comp ite morite dite riempite uscite
loro possono sanno vogliono compiono m u o i ono dicono riemp i ono e scono

hold tenere		 venire
come
stay rimanere		 valere be
worth		 salire
boarding
ok ten g o ven g o riman g o val g o sal g o
do t i eni v i eni rimani vali sali
lui, lei t i ene v i ene rimane vale sale
noi teniamo veniamo rimaniamo valiamo saliamo
voi tenete venite rimanete valete salite
loro ten g ono ven g ono riman g ono val g ono sal g ono

Imperfect tense (imperfetto)

-are
z. B. parl-are 		-ere
z. B. cad-ere 		-ire
z. B. part-ire / cap-ire
ok -avo -evo -ivo
do -avi -evi -ivi
lui, lei -ava -eva -iva
noi -avamo -evamo -ivamo
voi -avate -evate derivatives
loro -avano -evano -ivano

Irregular Verbs : The contracted (contracted) verbs use the uncontracted old form:

  • -durre as -ducere : -ducevo , -ducevi etc.
  • (-) porre as (-) ponere : (-) ponevo , (-) ponevi etc.
  • (-) trarre as (-) traere : (-) traevo , (-) traevi etc.
  • fare as facere : facevo , facevi etc.
  • dire as dicere : dicevo , dicevi etc.
  • bere as bevere : bevevo , bevevi etc.

Historical perfect (passato remoto)

-are
z. B. parl-are 		-ere (1)
e.g. B. vend-ere 		-ire
z. B. part-ire / cap-ire
ok -ai -ei, -etti -ii
do -asti -esti -isti
lui, lei -O -é, -ette -ì
noi -ammo -emmo -immo
voi -aste -est -ist
loro -arono -erono, -ettero -irono

(1) Most of the verbs in the e-conjugation form the passato remoto irregularly, e.g. B. cadere> caddi ; scrivere> scrissi ; tenere> tenni ; etc.
In this case the endings -i for the 1st P. Sg, -e for the 3rd P. Sg. and -ero for the 3rd P. Pl. All other forms are regular. Completely irregular, however, is essere (fui, Fosti, fu, fummo, foste, Furono).

Future I (futuro semplice)
The future I is made up of the infinitive without -e and the following endings:

  • -O
  • -ai
  • -à
  • -emo
  • -ete
  • -anno

However, there are a few changes to the trunk:

  • The verbs ending in -are become -er + ending, except for fare , dare , stare .
  • To preserve the pronunciation, an -h is inserted into the verbs ending in -gare and -care .
  • The -i is omitted in the verbs ending in -giare and -ciare .
-are
z. B. parlare 		-ere
z. B. cadere 		-ire
z. B. partire
ok parlerò cad (e) rò partirò
do parlerai cad (e) rai partirai
lui, lei parlerà cad (e) rà partirà
noi parleremo cad (e) remo partiremo
voi parlerete cad (e) rete partirete
loro parleranno cad (e) ranno partiranno

Irregular verbs :

  • essere (sarò, sarai, sarà, saremo, sarete, saranno)
  • bere (berrò, berrai, berrà, berremo, berrete, berranno)
  • rimanere (rimarrò, rimarrai, rimarrà, rimarremo, rimarrete, rimarranno)
  • tenere (terrò, terrai, terrà, terremo, terrete, terranno)
  • valere (varrò, varrai, varrà, varremo, varrete, varranno)
  • venire (verrò, verrai, verrà, verremo, verrete, verranno)
  • volere (vorrò, vorrai, vorrà, vorremo, vorrete, vorranno)

The following verbs correspond to regular formation + removal of the last vowel of the infinitive stem (before the r ):

  • avere (avrò, avrai, avrà, avremo, avrete, avranno)
  • andare (andrò, andrai, andrà, andremo, andrete, andranno)
  • potere (potrò, potrai, potrà, potremo, potrete, potranno)
  • sapere (saprò, saprai, saprà, sapremo, saprete, sapranno)
  • vedere (vedrò, vedrai, vedrà, vedremo, vedrete, vedranno)
  • vivere (vivrò, vivrai, vivrà, vivremo, vivrete, vivranno)

Congiuntivo

The subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses to express uncertainty and doubt. Some conjunctions require the subjunctive (e.g. benché (although), affinché (with)). A negative verb in the main clause often requires the subjunctive in the subordinate clause, since an opinion is expressed (Non so quanto io debba pagare - I don't know how much I have to pay.) In the “if” clause (irrealis of the present) there is im superior sentence of conditional, in the subordinate of imperfect subjunctive. (Se tu venissi , mangeremmo insieme - if you came, we would eat together.) It is also used as a third person imperative. (Scusi - excuse me - excuse me).

Present

-are
ex. parlare 		-ere e.g.
cadere 		-ire e.g.
partire / capire
ok -i -a -a / -isca
do -i -a -a / -isca
lui, lei -i -a -a / -isca
noi -iamo -iamo -iamo
voi -iate -iate -iate
loro -in O -ano -ano / -iscano

Irregular verbs : Almost all verbs start from the 1st Ps. Singular of the indicative present tense, except:

  • essere (sia, siamo, siate, siano)
  • avere (abbia, abbiamo, abbiate, abbiano)
  • sapere (sappia, sappiamo, sappiate, sappiano)
  • stare (stia, stiamo, stiate, stiano)
  • dare (dia, diamo, diate, diano)
  • dovere (debba, dobbiamo, dobbiate, debbano)
  • fare (faccia, facciamo, facciate, facciano)
  • andare (vada, andiamo, andiate, vadano)

Past tense

-are
ex. parlare 		-ere e.g.
cadere 		-ire e.g.
partire / capire
ok -assi -essi -issi
do -assi -essi -issi
lui, lei -asse -eat -isse
noi -assimo -essimo -issimo
voi -aste -est -ist
loro -assero -essero -issero

Irregular verbs : The imperfect subjunctive is also based on the old form when forming the contracted forms (see indicative imperfect), except:

  • stare (stessi, stessi, stesse, stessimo, steste, stessero)
  • dare (dessi, dessi, desse, dessimo, deste, dessero)
  • compiere (compissi, compissi, compisse, compissimo, compiste, compissero)

Condizionale

Present
The condizionale the present has always the same strain as the future tense. This also applies to the exceptions. Only the endings change:

  • -egg
  • -esti
  • -ebb
  • -emmo
  • -est
  • -ebbero
-are
ex. parlare 		-ere e.g.
cadere 		-ire e.g.
partire
ok chatter cadrei party
do parleresti cadresti partiresti
lui, lei parlerebbe cadrebbe partirebbe
noi parleremmo cadremmo partiremmo
voi parlereste cadreste party remnants
loro parlerebbero cadrebbero partirebbero

For the irregular verbs see future tense.

Imperativo

-are
ex. parlare 		-ere e.g.
cadere 		-ire e.g.
partire / capire
do -a -i -i / -isci
voi -ate -ete -ite
Courtesy form -i -a -a / -isca

Note: The negative imperative in the second person singular is the infinitive: Parla (speak!), Non parlare (don't speak!)

The form of politeness always corresponds to the Congiuntivo Presente of the persons in the singular.

Gerundio

-are
ex. parlare 		-ere e.g.
cadere 		-ire e.g.
partire / capire
-ando -endo -endo

Contracted verbs use their old infinitive, see Imperfetto .

Participio

The present participle (active) is practically only used in attributive form. The past participle (passive) is used to form the compound verb forms and is partially declined (in the passive or direct object).

-are
ex. parlare 		-ere e.g.
cadere 		-ire e.g.
partire / capire
Present participle -ante -duck -duck
past participle -ato -uto -ito

Compound times

The compound tenses consist of the auxiliary verb essere or avere in the simple tenses and the past participle. An overview:

Easy time + Past participle Compound time
Presente   Passato Prossimo
Futuro semplice   Futuro anterior
Passato remoto   Trapassato Remoto
Conditional Presente   Condizionale Passato
Congiuntivo Presente   Congiuntivo Passato
Congiuntivo Imperfetto   Congiuntivo Trapassato

essere or avere

Can be conjugated with essere :

  • all reflexive verbs
  • Verbs of (own) movement and state (for example andare, venire, cadere, essere, ...)
  • impersonal verbs (for example nevicare, piovere, ...)
  • the verbs durare , costare , bastare , servire
  • Verbs related to the subject si (man)

To be conjugated with avere :

  • most non-reflexive verbs
  • all verbs with direct object
  • Verbs of movement that denote the type of movement (for example sciare, correre, viaggiare, ...)

To be conjugated with avere or essere :

  • cominciare, finire, terminare, iniziare, cambiare

(with essere if there is no direct object, with avere if the sentence contains a direct object).

  • passare

(with essere in the sense of "spend" or "pass" [temporal], with avere in the sense of "drive past")

  • Modal verbs ( potere, dovere, volere ) in connection with an infinitive
    • Basic rule: The decisive factor is with which auxiliary verb the following verb in the infinitive would be conjugated alone. If it uses essere , the construction with the modal verb is also conjugated with essere , the same applies to avere .
    (leggere - ho letto - ho dovuto leggere ; andare - sono andato - sono dovuto andare ; venire - sono venuto - sono potuto venire )
    • However, today both avere and essere are used in intransitive verbs that follow the modal verb:
    ( Ho dovuto uscire or Sono dovuto uscire ).
    • In connection with unstressed personal pronouns (mi, ti, si, ci, vi) a distinction has to be made: If the pronoun comes before the auxiliary verb, one uses essere , if it comes after the infinitive, one uses avere :
    ( Non si è voluto alzare. - Non ha voluto alzar si )
    • If the verb is in the infinitive essere , the auxiliary verb avere is used :
    ( Ha voluto essere la più bella. )

Alignment of the participle

  • Verbs that are conjugated with avere adapt their past participle to a direct object if it comes before the verb. There is no alignment for indirect objects.

Li ho vist i . La foto che ho fatt a è stupenda. Non gli ho telefonato.

  • Verbs that are conjugated with essere and that are not reflexive adapt their past participle to the subject.

Mi dispiace che lei sia partit a . Le scarpe sono costat e troppo. Not si sono cambiat i molto.

  • Verbs conjugated with essere that are reflexive adapt their past participle to a direct object when it comes before the verb. This direct object can or does not have to be the reflexive pronoun.

Lei si è lavat a . Lei si è lavate le mani. Loro si sono arrabbiat i .

  • Verbs referring to the subject si adapt their past participle to the object of the sentence. If the verb is conjugated with essere without the si construction , the past participle ends in -i or - in very rare cases - in -e .

Si è scritto molto su questo film. Si è partit i alle nove. You è andat e via.

The noun

Morphologically, the Italian noun forms only a plural form. The case functions are formed using prepositions. Remnants of a dative are only preserved in a few pronouns.

Grammatical gender

Italian has two grammatical genders ( genera ), the masculine and the feminine. Nouns with the ending -o are usually masculine, with the ending -a usually feminine. Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine. Nevertheless, one can find in these nouns with typical endings whether this masculine or feminine (for example, gates masculine →; eg. Imperatore or Ta → feminine; eg. Felicità from Latin felicitas or. Città from Latin civitas. ).

Exceptions are male constructions with -a. These are usually loanwords from other languages, such as ancient Greek, that are intended to retain their sound.

Examples are poeta 'poet' (ancient Greek origin) or barista 'barman'. The latter is a suffix -ista, which is used in Italian (as in other Romance languages, see Spanish el periodista 'the journalist') to denote a professional group. Also Boia , Executioner 'goes back ancient Greek albeit in a roundabout way.

There are also female constructions with -o, like 'mano' (cf. Spanish). la mano destra , 'the right hand'.

Plural formation

Nouns with a singular ending in -o (almost exclusively masculine) change their ending in the plural to -i:

  • il treno 'train' - i treni
  • la mano 'hand' - le mani

Feminine nouns that end in -a in the singular change their ending to -e:

  • la spiaggia 'beach' - le spiagge
  • la regista 'director' - le registe
  • la prostituta 'prostitute' - le prostitute

A large number of Italian nouns end in the singular with -e , in the plural with -i:

  • il signore (m) 'Lord' - i signori
  • la notte (f) 'night' - le notti

Some nouns ending in -o form the plural with -a (rarely -e) and become feminine in the plural. They are mostly derived from Latin neuter and often refer to body parts that occur in pairs:

  • il braccio (m) 'arm' - le braccia (f), next to it i bracci (m) 'river arms'
  • il paio (m) 'pair' - le paia (f)

Masculine nouns that end in -a and denote male living beings form the plural on -i:

  • il poeta (m) 'poet' - i poeti
  • il regista (m) 'director' - i registi

Some feminine nouns ending in - (i) e keep this ending in the plural

  • la serie (f) ‚ serie '- le serie

Nouns that end in -u, -i or consonant , as well as accented and abbreviated nouns and some special cases have the same ending in the singular and plural:

  • la virtù (f) 'virtue' - le virtù
  • l'università (f) 'university' - le università
  • la crisi (f) 'crisis' - le crisi
  • il gas 'gas' - i gas
  • la città (f) 'city' - le città
  • l'auto (f) 'Auto' - le auto
  • il boia (m) 'executioner' - i boia
  • il boa (m) 'boa' - i boa

Derivations from the noun (alterazione)

Italian has several derivative suffixes for the noun. The corresponding suffixes can sometimes be combined.

Endings -ino / -ina, -etto / -etta, -ello / -ella
Endings -one (the corresponding noun is exclusively masculine), -oni / -ona
Ending -accio / -accia
  • Vezzeggiativo (diminutive form)
Ending -uccio / -uccia

Examples

  • spago 'cord', spaghetti 'string, spaghetti'
  • canna 'pipe', cannella 'cinnamon', cannone 'cannon', cannuccia 'drinking straw'
  • donna 'woman', donnetta 'weiblein' [simple woman], donzella ' fräulein ', donnone 'man woman', donnaccia 'female'
  • Pietro 'Peter', Pierino, Petruccio ', Pitichino ' Peterchen ', Pitichinaccio ' bad Peterchen '

syntax

main clause

The word order in the Italian main clause corresponds to that of an SVO language :

La madre scrive una lettera. - "The mother is writing a letter."

Since the case, unlike in German, is not marked on the noun, one can often only recognize subject and object based on the word order:

L'avvocato chiama l'assistito. - "The lawyer calls the client."

In the case of ditransitive verbs , the direct object comes before the indirect one:

La madre scrive una lettera al figlio. - "The mother is writing a letter to her son."

To emphasize a sentence element, you can change the word order. The highlighted element is placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence:

Ha chiamato l'avvocato. - " The lawyer called."

Al figlio la madre scrive una lettera. - " The mother is writing a letter to her son."

La madre scrive al figlio una lettera. - " The mother writes a letter to her son."

literature

Web links

Wikibooks: Italian  - learning and teaching materials
Commons : Italian pronunciation  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ berloco
  2. ↑ Anna L. Lepschy, Giulio Lepschy: The Italian language. Francke, Tübingen 1986 (Uni-Taschenbücher 1371), p. 290.
  3. ^ Language Italian. In: WALS Online. Retrieved December 18, 2017 .