You’re going to find…
Irregular Verbs (Presente Indicativo): Bere (“To drink”) – Fare “(To do, to make”)
C’è/Ci sono (There is/There are)
Some qualificative adjectives
Numbers (21-100)
Dialogue/Questions
New sentences
Exercises
Something about Italy and a little tip!
IRREGULAR VERBS OF THIS LESSON: BERE AND FARE
BERE (TO DRINK)
Io bev-o
Tu bev-i
Lui/Lei bev-e
Noi bev-iamo
Voi bev-ete
Loro bev-ono
FARE (TO DO/TO MAKE)
Io faccio
Tu fai
Lui/Lei fa
Noi facciamo
Voi fate
Loro fanno
As you can see, the peculiarity of the verb bere is that it’s regular in its terminations BUT before the terminations we have to put a V.
Fare is totally irregular instead. Notice that it can be translated as “to do” and “to make”: when Italian people learn English, they always have the problem to understand when they should use “to do” and when they should use “to make”; that happens because in Italian we always use the verb fare.
C’È/CI SONO (THERE IS/THERE ARE)
The literal translation of c’è and ci sono is there is and there are. The meaning is exactly the same but c’è and ci sono also mean being here/being there; for instance, the sentence Is Mary there? could be translated as C’è Mary?. Anyway you could also say Mary è lì? (lì is an adverb and it means “there”; we’re going to learn it in the next lesson).
AGGETTIVI QUALIFICATIVI – QUALIFICATIVE ADJECTIVES
These adjectives express a quality of a person or of an object: look, colour, intellectual qualities etc. There are many adjectives of this kind and it’s a productive adjective category. In this lesson we’re going to see generic adjectives; next times we’re going to learn the colours and the physical features.
You can form their plural form just like you form the plural of the nouns (we’ve learnt it in the first lesson).
Bello-a* (Beautiful, handsome)
Brutto-a (Ugly)
Grande (Big)
Piccolo-a (Small, little)
Intelligente (Intelligent)
Interessante (Interesting)
Sveglio-a (Smart)
Noioso-a (Boring)
Lungo-a* (Long)
Corto-a (Short)
Largo-a (Wide, broad)
Stretto-a (Narrow, tight)
Simpatico-a* (Funny, nice)
Antipatico-a* (Disagreeable, unpleasant, tedious)
Divertente (Funny, amusing, entertaining)
Carino-a (Nice, cute, pretty, lovely, good-looking)
Gentile (Kind, polite)
Buono-a (Good)
Cattivo-a (Bad, mean)
Curioso-a (Curious)
Generoso-a (Generous)
Egoista* (Selfish)
Caldo (Hot, warm)
Freddo (Cold)
*These adjectives have some irregularities in their plural forms.
The use of the adjective bello has got some rules:
– if it precedes the noun, it has the same rules of the definite articles lo and il. So we should write bell’ if the adjective precedes words which start with: A, E, I, O, U. We should write bel if the adjective precedes words which start with: B, C, D, F, G, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V. We should write bello if the adjective precedes word which start with X, Y, Z, S+CONSONANT, PS, GN
– its plural masculine form can be bei (+B, C, D, F, G, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, Z, S+CONSONANT, PS, GN) or begli (A, E, I, O, U)
– its plural feminine form is always belle
– if the adjective follows the noun, we only have 4 forms: bello, belli, bella, belle (for instance: un libro bello, una casa bella, degli stadi belli, delle strade belle).
-GO/-GA, -CO/-CA
The adjectives which end in –go/-ga and –co/-ca at the plural form change in –ghi/ghe and in –ci/che (lungo-a: lunghi-lunghe and simpatico-a: simpatici-simpatiche).
-E
The adjectives which end in –e are the same for both the masculine and the feminine form and the plural version always ends in –i.
Egoista is the same for both the masculine and the feminine version but it has got two different plural forms: egoisti (masculine) and egoiste (feminine).
NUMBERS (21-100)
FROM 21 TO 29
From 22 to 29 you only have to write VENTI+THE NUMBER (for example: ventidue, ventritre…BUT you have two irregular numbers: 21 and 28: VENTUNO and VENTOTTO.
30 – TRENTA
FROM 31 TO 39
From 32 to 39 you only have to write TRENTA+THE NUMBER (for example: trentadue, trentatre…BUT you have two irregular numbers: 31 and 38: TRENTUNO and TRENTOTTO.
40 – QUARANTA
From 42 to 49: QUARANTA+THE NUMBER. IRREGULAR NUMBERS: 41 and 48 (QUARANTUNO and QUARANTOTTO).
50 – CINQUANTA
From 52 to 59: CINQUANTA+THE NUMBER. IRREGULAR NUMBERS: 51 and 58 (CINQUANTUNO and CINQUANTOTTO).
60 – SESSANTA
From 62 to 69: SESSANTA+THE NUMBER. IRREGULAR NUMBERS: 61 and 68 (SESSANTUNO and SESSANTOTTO).
70 – SETTANTA
From 72 to 79: SETTANTA+THE NUMBER. IRREGULAR NUMBERS: 71 and 78 (SETTANTUNO and SETTANTOTTO).
80 – OTTANTA
From 82 to 89: OTTANTA+THE NUMBER. IRREGULAR NUMBERS: 81 and 88 (OTTANTUNO and OTTANTOTTO).
90 – NOVANTA
From 92 to 99: NOVANTA+THE NUMBER. IRREGULAR NUMBERS: 91 and 98 (NOVANTUNO and NOVANTOTTO).
100 – CENTO
EXERCISES (KEY AT THE END OF THE LESSON)
1. Bere and Fare. Write the right form of bere or fare
1. Io … un caffè.
2. Tu … la spesa (shopping).
3. I miei amici … sport.
4. Mario e Sofia … acqua (water).
5. Io … i compiti (homework).
6. Voi … Coca Cola.
7. Mirco … una tazza di té.
8. Tu … un succo di frutta (juice).
9. Oggi … freddo.
10. Noi … molta acqua.
11. Noi … la cena (dinner).
12. Voi … lezione (lesson).
Right answers/Risposte esatte: …/12
2. C’è or ci sono?
1. … un gatto.
2. … mia sorella?
3. … pane e latte?
4. Nel bagno … uno specchio.
5. Nella mia casa … otto stanze.
6. … tre sedie.
Right answers/Risposte esatte: …/6
3. Adjectives. Choose the right adjective for every sentence. Be careful with the singular and the plural forms!
Noioso – Interessante – Simpatico – Intelligente – Gentile – Bello – Grande
1. Questo (this) libro è …
2. Il mio cane (dog) è …
3. Sei proprio (really) un ragazzo …
4. Che … quadri!
5. Questo film è troppo (too) …
6. La nostra casa è …
7. Le tue sorelle sono …
Right answers/Risposte esatte: …/7
4. Numbers. Write the following numbers in letters.
34
21
45
100
38
41
27
50
61
80
Right answers/Risposte esatte: …/10
DIALOGUE
Marco’s grandmother calls him and when the call ends he tells Will and Sarah about her…
La nonna di Marco gli telefona e quando la chiamata termina racconta di lei a Will e Sarah…
Marco: …Va bene, nonna, ci sentiamo la settimana prossima. Ciao!
Will: Era tua nonna?
Marco: Sì, mi chiama ogni settimana!
Will: Quanti anni ha?
Marco: 71. È molto intelligente, simpatica e gentile. E le vostre nonne come sono?
Sarah: La mia nonna materna ha 82 anni ed è molto generosa e la mia nonna paterna non la conosco bene perché vive in un’altra città.
Will: Mia nonna paterna ha 70 anni. È molto buona, come la mia nonna materna, che ha 83 anni.
Translation
Marco: … Ok, granny, we’ll talk next week. Bye!
Will: Were you talking to your grandmother?
Marco: Yes, I was. She calls me every week!
Will: How old is she?
Marco: She’s 71. She’s very intelligent, funny and kind. How about your grandmothers?
Sarah: My maternal granny is 82 and she’s very generous but I don’t know well my paternal granny because she lives in another city.
Will: My paternal granny is 70. She’s very good, just like my maternal granny, who is 83.
5. Questions/Domande
1) Quanti anni ha la nonna di Marco?
2) Descrivila (describe her).
3) Come sono le nonne di Sarah e Will?
Right answers/Risposte corrette: …/6 (2 points for every right answer)
NEW SENTENCES
Com’è Sarah?= This question is asked when you want to know some adjectives about somebody or something: her/his/its physical qualities, personality…
È … (description)
SOMETHING ABOUT ITALY AND A LITTLE TIP!
COFFEE
Coffee is very important to the Italian people. We drink it in the morning, after lunch and in the evening. Most of the Italian people need it to be prepared with the classical Italian coffee machine (called moka) and coffee must be espresso. Many Italian people “suffer” when they go on holiday abroad because they can’t find the coffee they need. The espresso is very short but very concentrated. If you want to try it and you’re in Italy I recommend you brands such as Lavazza and Segafredo.
The Italian Coffee Rite inspired the founder of Starbuck’s who wanted to create in his bars the same atmosphere we can find in the Italian bars.
Il caffè è molto importante per gli italiani. Lo beviamo la mattina, dopo pranzo e il pomeriggio. La maggior parte degli italiani vogliono che venga preparato con la classica moka italiana e il caffè deve essere espresso. Molti italiani “soffrono” quando vanno in vacanza all’estero perché non trovano il caffè che vogliono. L’espresso è molto corto ma anche molto concentrato. Se vuoi provarlo e ti trovi in Italia, ti consiglio marche come Lavazza e Segafredo. Il rito del caffè italiano ha ispirato il fondatore di Starbuck’s che voleva creare nei suoi bar la stessa atmosfera che possiamo trovare nei bar italiani.
E-COMMERCE
Have you ever bought something on the Internet? There are e-commerce websites such as E-bay where you can buy things from other countries. Visit its Italian version and look for some good bargain: you’ll have the possibility to read the description of the products in Italian and you’ll have to try to talk Italian to the seller. It’s a good exercise to improve your language skill!
Hai mai comprato qualcosa su Internet? Esistono siti di e-commerce come E-bay dove puoi comprare cose da altri Paesi. Visita la sua versione italiana e cerca qualche buon affare: avrai la possibilità di leggere le descrizioni dei prodotti in italiano e dovrai parlare in italiano con il venditore. È un ottimo esercizio per migliorare le tue competenze linguistiche!
KEY
1.bevo/fai/fanno/bevono/faccio/bevete/beve/bevi/fa/beviamo/facciamo/fate
2. c’è/c’è/ci sono/c’è/ci sono/ci sono
3. interessante/intelligente/simpatico/bei/noioso/grande/gentili
4.trentaquattro/ventuno/quarantacinque/cento/trentotto/quarantuno/ventisette/cinquanta/sessantuno/ottanta
5. La nonna di Marco ha 71 anni/È molto intelligente, simpatica e gentile/La nonna di Sarah è molto generosa. Le nonne di Will sono molto buone
Right answers/Risposte corrette: …/41
If your right answers are between 35 and 41, perfect!
If your right answers are between 28 and 34 … not bad but your score could be better. Notice where you made mistakes and review the topics you didn’t understand. Learning a language is like building a house: if something is wrong at the beginning you can’t keep building and if you do it your house won’t be strong enough.
If your right answers are less than 27 review the lesson and try again!