Italian Grammar You Really Need To Know

Teach Yourself

Anna Proudfoot

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781444179460
• eBook ISBN: 9781444179484
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Italian Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Comprehensive and clear explanations of key grammar patterns and
structures are reinforced and contextualized through authentic
materials. You will not only learn how to construct grammar correctly,
but when and where to use it so you sound natural and appropriate.
"Italian Grammar You Really Need to Know will help you gain the
intuition you need to become a confident communicator in your new
language.

1

Asking for and giving personal information

In this unit, you will learn how to:

• say who you are / what your name is

• say where you are from / what nationality you are

• say what region or city you are from

• say what your occupation and marital status is

• ask other people for similar information

• give similar information about other people

Language points

• io, tu, lui, etc. (subject pronouns)

• essere (present tense)

• chiamarsi (present tense)

• adjectives of nationality, region, city of origin

• plurals of adjectives

• profession, marital status, titles

INTRODUCTION

To give or ask for personal information, you need to know the subject pronouns io, tu, Lei, etc. (I, you, etc.), the verb chiamarsi (to be called), and the verb essere (to be). Look at these examples before going on:

Mi chiamo Anna.	My name’s Anna.
Sono inglese.	I’m English.
Sono di Oxford.	I’m from Oxford.
Lei è italiana?	Are you Italian?
È di Roma?	Are you from Rome?
Lui si chiama George.	He’s called George.
È inglese.	He’s English.
E lei?	And (what about) her?
Lei si chiama Georgina.	She’s called Georgina.
È inglese.	She’s English.

Focus on grammar

1 IO, TU, LUI, LEI, LEI, NOI, VOI, LORO

The subject pronouns io, tu, lui, lei, Lei, etc. (English I, you, etc.) are not normally needed in Italian, because the ending of the verb indicates the person carrying out the action. It will sound much more natural if you just use the verb on its own, without the subject pronoun. The subject pronouns can, however, be used:

a when you want to distinguish between he and she, which have the same verb form.

Lui è inglese.	He is English.
Lei è italiana.	She is Italian.

b when you want to emphasize a difference or contrast.

Io sono italiano. Lui è inglese.	I am Italian. He is English.
Noi siamo inglesi ma loro sono scozzesi.	We are English, but they are Scottish.

c after anche (also, too).

Noi siamo italiani, di Roma.	We are Italian, from Rome.
Anche voi siete di Roma?	Are you from Rome, too?

d to make a question sound less abrupt, particularly when using the polite form.

Lei è italiana?

Are you Italian?

Here are all the subject pronouns:

2 TU OR LEI?

Italian has two forms of address meaning you in the singular: tu (the informal form) used with friends, family, children and animals; and Lei (the formal form, normally written with upper case ...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Title
• Contents 
• Meet the author
• Introduction
• 1 Asking for and giving personal information
• 2 Identifying people and things
• 3 Asking about availability
• 4 Talking about location
• 5 Stating choice and preference
• 6 Talking about the present
• 7 Talking about routine and habits
• 8 Talking about possibility and asking permission
• 9 Giving orders and instructions
• 10 Talking about possession
• 11 Talking about events and actions in the past
• 12 Describing the past
• 13 Talking about the future
• 14 Talking about wants and preferences
• 15 Describing processes and procedures
• 16 Talking about likes and dislikes
• 17 Asking for and giving an opinion
• 18 Expressing obligation and need
• 19 Expressing emotions and uncertainty
• 20 Expressing wishes or polite requests
• 21 Expressing regrets
• 22 Expressing conditions
• Taking it further
• Key to the exercises
• Grammar appendix
• Glossary of grammatical terms
• Index
• Copyright