Interrogative form

This is simply obtained by adding a uestion mark at the end of the sentence, while in speech only the inflection of the voice expresses a question.

hai una penna rossa = you have a red pen hai una penna rossa ? = do you have a red pen ? l'albero è nel giardino = the tree is in the garden l'albero è nel giardino ? = is the tree in the garden ?

In spoken language, the question will be expressed by simply raising the pitch of the voice while approaching the end of the sentence, especially stressing the last one or two words (in the two examples above: ...penna rossa and ...nel giardino). The only situation in which words change order is when verb essere (to be) introduces a copula, expressing a quality, a condition, etc. (not a direct object). Compare the following examples with the previous ones:

la penna è rossa = the pen is red è rossa la penna ? = is the pen red ?

The verb and the copula go before the rest of the sentence, and the subject is postponed. More examples:

la casa era fredda = the house was cold era fredda la casa ? = was the house cold ? il mio gatto è nero = my cat is black è nero il mio gatto ? = is my cat black ? tuo marito è alto e grosso = your husband is tall and stout è alto e grosso tuo marito ? = is your husband tall and stout ? il mese sarà grigio e piovoso = the month will be dull and rainy sarà grigio e piovoso il mese ? = will the month be dull and rainy ? la donna grassa è sua madre = the fat lady is his/her mother è sua madre la donna grassa ? = is the fat lady his/her mother ?

But when there is no definite subject to be postponed, the interrogative form is simply obtained by adding a question mark:

è un treno lungo = it's a long train è un treno lungo ? = is it a long train ? sarà un esame difficile = it will be a difficult exam sarà un esame difficile ? = will it be a difficult exam ?

The interrogative form will be discussed again, at a more advanced stage.

Negative form

It is simply obtained by adding non = not to the sentence, just before the verb.

il tuo albero è una quercia = your tree is an oak il tuo albero non è una quercia = your tree is not an oak preparò un pranzo per dodici persone = he/she prepared a lunch for twelve persons non preparò un pranzo per dodici persone = he/she did not prepare a lunch for twelve persons i miei amici vivono a Parigi = my friends live in Paris i miei amici non vivono a Parigi = my friends do not live in Paris mangerete in casa ? = will you eat at home ? non mangerete in casa ? = will you not eat at home ? era facile = it was easy non era facile = it was not easy

.5 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS & ADJECTIVES

i-6-1.htmli -6-1.html

Questo (this) - quello (that)

These pronouns behave as in English; the only difference is that in Italian they are gender-sensitive, according to the object they indicate:

questo	this (masculine)		questa	this (feminine)
questi	these (masculine)		queste	these (feminine)
quello	that (masculine)		quella	that (feminine)
quelli	those (masculine)		quelle	those (feminine)

questo è il tuo cane = this is your dog quelli sono i suoi libri = those are his/her books quella è mia madre = that (she) is my mother (for persons, that is often turned into he or she) queste sono le nostre zie = these are our aunts sono questi i miei quaderni ? = are these my exercise books ? comprerai quei giornali ? = will you buy those newspapers ?

Sometimes, when demonstrative pronouns are the subject of a nominal sentence (a sentence whose verb is to be, followed by a copula), it is possible to change the arrangement of the sentence, so to leave the pronoun at the bottom; this gives them more emphasis, like in English:

questo è il tuo cane = this is your dog il tuo cane è questo = your dog is this one quelle sono le mie penne = those are my pens le mie penne sono quelle = my pens are those ones questo è il tuo posto = this is your seat il tuo posto è questo = your seat is this one

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

When demonstrative pronouns are followed by a noun, a few changes occur to match phonetically the first following letter:

QUESTO - QUELLO

When questo is followed by a noun beginning with a vowel, it drops the last ...o, whose place is taken by an apostrophe. This rule is not so strict, though this is the most correct form:

questo cane = this dog quest'occhio = this eye (less common form questo occhio) quest'anno = this year quest'inverno = this winter

Pronoun quello instead, changes according to the same rule used for article lo (see paragraph 2.4):

• when the following name starts with a vowel it turns into quell' with an apostrophe;

• when the following name starts with Z or with S + consonant (sb..., sc..., sd..., etc.) it remains as it is;

• when the following name starts with a consonant it turns into quel (simply dropping ...lo).

quel cane = that dog quell'occhio = that eye quello sport = that sport quel tavolo = that table quell'anno = that year quello zucchero = that sugar

QUESTA - QUELLA

questa only changes to quest' (with an apostrophe) if the following name starts with a vowel:

questa casa = this house quest'automobile = this car questa strada = this road quest'orchestra = this orchestra

quella changes in a similar way:

quella casa = that house quell'automobile = that car quella strada = that road quell'orchestra = that orchestra

Generally speaking, the apostrophe is not used when demonstrative pronouns carry a strong emphasis, for the meaning of the sentence:

quest'uomo translates "this man" questo uomo translates "this man", as if answering a question like "which of these men?" quell'automobile è veloce plainly translates "that car is fast" quella automobile è veloce has a sense of "that car is fast (not this one)"

In these cases, they are spelled (and pronounced) throughoutly, to stress their meaning.

QUESTI - QUESTE & QUELLI - QUELLE

Pronouns questi, queste and quelle do not have special phonetic changes:

questi uomini = these men questi numeri = these numbers questi alberi = these trees questi scudi = these shields queste idee = these ideas queste carte = these cards queste armi = these weapons queste zone = these zones questi idioti = these idiots questi giardini = these gardens questi operai = these workmen questi strumenti = these instruments

BUT...

when followed by a noun, quelli changes to quei or quegli (according to the same reasons for which articles i or gli are used, see paragraph 2.4):

quegli is used when the following noun starts with a vowel, or with z..., or with cluster s + consonant (sb...; sc...; etc.)

quegli uomini = those men quegli zoccoli = those clogs quegli schermi = those screens

quei is used in all other cases:

quei tavoli = those tables quei serpenti = those serpents quei libri = those books

These rules are summarized in the following table:

the following noun starts with...		masculine singular	feminine singular	masculine plural	feminine plural
pronoun used alone (no noun)		questo	questa	questi	queste
followed by any vowel		quest'	quest'	questi	queste
followed by any consonant		questo	questa	questi	queste
pronoun used alone (no noun)		quello	quella	quelli	quelle
followed by any vowel		quell'	quell'	quegli	quelle
followed by Z or S+consonant		quello	quella	quegli	quelle
followed by any other consonant		quel	quella	quei	quelle

.1 VERB ESSERE PART II COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES

To proceed with this paragraph you should feel confident with the simple tenses of this verb (paragraph 4.3). For an introduction to these tenses, see paragraph 4.2. As explained in paragraph 4.2, compound tenses are made of two parts: an auxiliary verb (used in one of the simple tenses previously discussed) and the actual verb (used in past participle tense). Essere (to be) is a transitive verb, so avere (to be) should be used as an auxiliary verb; but essere is a very irregular verb, so as an exception, the same verb essere is also used as the auxiliary one. The past participle of the verb essere is stato (irregular). Actually, stato is the regular past participle of the verb stare = to stay, to be (phisically), which is though used also by essere, because often the meaning of these two verbs overlaps.

PASSATO PROSSIMO This tense is made by present + past participle:

		singular			plural
1st person		sono stato	I have been		siamo stati	we have been
2nd person		sei stato	you have been (singular)		siete stati	you have been (plural)
3rd person		è stato	he/she/it has been		sono stati	they have been

As will be explained more in detail in paragraph 6.3, when essere acts as an auxiliary verb for a past participle, the latter becomes gender- and number-sensitive: since this condition now occurs, when stato is referred to feminine gender it becomes stata, while their plurals are stati and state (all regular).

è stato un bello spettacolo = it has been a nice show sono stati giorni terribili = they have been terrible days è stata la segretaria del ministro = she has been the secretary of the minister tutti noi siamo stati giovani = all of us have been young

TRAPASSATO PROSSIMO This tense is made by imperfect + past participle:

		singular			plural
1st person		ero stato	I had been		eravamo stati	we had been
2nd person		eri stato	you had been (singular)		eravate stati	you had been (plural)
3rd person		era stato	he/she/it had been		erano stati	they had been

Actions expressed by this tense have taken place in the past, translating the English form "I had been".

ero stato a Roma quattro volte = I had been to Rome four times eravamo stati al museo = we had been to the museum erano state con un amico = they (feminine) had been with a friend

TRAPASSATO REMOTO This tense is made by past perfect + past participle.

		singular			plural
1st person		fui stato	I had been		fummo stati	we had been
2nd person		fosti stato	you had been (singular)		foste stati	you had been (plural)
3rd person		fu stato	he/she/it had been		furono stati	they had been

Due to the fact that the verb essere acts both as an auxiliary verb and as a main verb, this tense is not commonly used, and other forms (which will be discussed further on) are more commonly used to express the same concept.

FUTURO ANTERIORE This tense is made by future + past participle:

		singular			plural
1st person		sarò stato	I will have been		saremo stati	we will have been
2nd person		sarai stato	you will have been (singular)		sarete stati	you will have been (plural)
3rd person		sarà stato	he/she/it will have been		saremo stati	they will have been

This tense can express two concepts:

• when used in a future sentence, it indicates an action that has already happened by that time: tomorrow by 10 o'clock, you will have gone to work.

• more often, this tense expresses the chance that an action has already been carried out, but we have no proof of it, or we are not sure:

sarà stato a Firenze = he might have been to Florence saranno state in casa = they (feminine) might have been at home sarà stato un incidente = it might have been an accident

.2 VERB AVERE PART II COMPOUND INDICATIVE TENSES

Avere (to have) is transitive, so it will also be used as an auxiliary verb. The past participle of the verb is avuto (regular past participle inflection). In these tenses, the participle is insensitive to gender and number, so avuto will be the participle for both masculine and feminine, both singular and plural.