Congiuntivo trapassato (pluperfect subjunctive)

		singular			plural
			----- 1st conjugation -----
1st person		(che) io avessi lavato	(that) I have washed		(che) avessimo lavato	(that) we have washed
2nd person		(che) tu avessi lavato	(that) you have washed (sing.)		(che) aveste lavato	(that) you have washed (pl.)
3rd person		(che) egli / ella avesse lavato	(that) he/she has washed		(che) avessero lavato	(that) they have washed
			----- 2nd conjugation -----
1st person		(che) io avessi preso	(that) I have taken		(che) avessimo preso	(that) we have taken
2nd person		(che) tu avessi preso	(that) you have taken (sing.)		(che) aveste preso	(that) you have taken (pl.)
3rd person		(che) egli/ella avesse preso	(that) he/she has taken		(che) avessero preso	(that) they have taken
			----- 3rd conjugation -----
1st person		(che) io avessi aperto	(that) I have opened		(che) avessimo aperto	(that) we have opened
2nd person		(che) tu avessi aperto	(that) you have opened (sing.)		(che) aveste aperto	(that) you have opened (pl.)
3rd person		(che) egli/ ella avesse aperto	(that) he/she has opened		(che) avessero aperto	(that) they have opened

se io lavassi il cane... = if I washed the dog... nel caso prendeste l'autobus... = in the case you (plural) took the bus... se aprissero la porta... = if they opened the door...

Past subjunctive is only required when the other part of the sentence uses a conditional tense. The difference will be easy to understand focusing these examples (by now, disregard the conditional inflection):

se mi incontri, ti inviterò a pranzo = if you meet me, I will invite you to lunch (no subjunctive required: present indicative for "meet", future for "will invite") se mi incontrassi, ti inviterei a pranzo = if you met me, I would invite you to lunch (past subjunctive required for "met", conditional required for "would invite") volete che io rimanga = you (plural) want me to stay (literally: "you want that I stay") (as explained in paragraph 9.1, present indicative for "want", present subjunctive for "stay") vorreste che io rimanessi = you would like me to stay (literally: "you would like that I stayed") (past subjunctive required for "would like", conditional required for "stay")

Further examples will be shown in paragraph 9.4.

10.1 DIMINUTIVE

Some suffixes can be used with nouns, to indicate that they are small, large or bad. They are all gender- and number-sensitive, so they have to match the noun's own gender and number. This page will discuss diminutive. Some inflections indicate that the noun is generically small, in most cases referring to its actual size, but sometimes having a more metaphoric sense (i.e. "cute", "refined", etc). The two most common diminutive suffixes are -ino / -ina and -etto / -etta.

uccello = bird uccellino = little bird uccelletto = little bird strada = road stradina = small or narrow road stradetta = small or narrow road ragazzi = boys ragazzini = small boys, children ragazzetti = small boys, children palle = balls palline = small balls pallette = small balls

Some nouns, among which the above-mentioned examples, may use both inflections. Other nouns, though, usually follow only one of the two. The other form would either sound very unusual, or even wrong, because it may have a bad sound, or sometimes it may have a different meaning.

gatto = cat gattino = small cat, kitten (never "gattetto", which would sound horrible) muro = wall muretto = small or low wall (the form "murino" is an adjective referring to mice!) borsa = bag borsetta = small bag, lady's bag (the form "borsina" is very unusual) pezzo = piece pezzetto = small piece ("pezzino" is very unusual)

If you are in doubt, the inflection ...etto is the most common of the two, and with few exceptions it may be used even in those cases where ...ino is preferred. There is also a third suffix for diminutive, -ello / -ella, used with a fewer number of words.

albero = tree alberello = small tree asino) = donkey asinello = small, young donkey porzione (feminine) = portion porzioncina = small portion

Usually, words which take -ello may not take -ino or -etto as an alternative.

When the noun's singular inflection is ...e (which may be either masculine or feminine), the suffix behaves as if the noun ended with ...o (for masculine) or ...a (for feminine):

rete (feminine) = net retina = small or thin net dolore (masculine) = pain doloretto = slight pain lume (masculine) = lamp lumetto = small lamp chiave (feminine) = key chiavetta = small key

It is very important to match the noun's gender, because in some cases the other gender has a completely different meaning:

casa (feminine) = house casetta (or casina) = little house ...BUT casino = brothel (slang)

So gender can really make a big difference!! Therefore, in forming diminutives, the original noun's gender should always remain unchanged:

pezzo (masculine) = piece, fragment pezza (feminine) = cloth, fabric, rag ...therefore pezzetto = small piece pezzetta = small piece of cloth

For some nouns, diminutive forms are not made by simply adding the two suffixes, but require a lengthening of the noun's root (additional parts are shown in lighter blue).

cuore (masculine) = heart cuoricino = small heart (the form "cuorino" does not exist) cane (masculine) = dog cagnolino = little dog (the form "canino" is the adjective referring to a dog, or the name of the canine tooth) porzione (feminine) = portion porzioncina = small portion vento = wind venticello = slight wind, breeze

There is no fixed rule for lengthening the root of the noun, when this is required, but in many cases (see previous examples) -ic- is added before the ordinary suffix.

Some nouns are actual diminutives, although they are considered as individual words because of their meaning, in which a different idea than that of "small size" may be expressed. In this case, their gender does not necessarily match.

gallo (masculine) = rooster gallina (feminine) = chicken (i.e. "small rooster") spazzola (feminine) = brush spazzolino (masculine) = tooth-brush (i.e. "small brush") pane = bread panino = sandwich (i.e. "small bread") carro (masculine) = chariot carrello (masculine) = trolley carretto (masculine) = cart

Students should be well aware of the fact that some nouns end with ...ino, ...etto, and similar inflections, without being diminutives at all. For many of these "false diminutive nouns", other words phonetically corresponding to their non-diminutive form may exist, but they often have a different gender, and their meaning is usually completely different:

pulce (feminine) = flea pulcino (masculine) = chick canto (masculine) = song, singing cantina (feminine) = cellar desto, desta = awake (adjective) destino (masculine) = destiny, fate casta (feminine) = social rank castello (masculine) = castle pasto (masculine) = meal pastello (masculine) = crayon

For several words such as the ones above (especially with -ello) a non-diminutive form does not even exist:

pisello = pea ("piso" does not exist) cancello = gate ("cancio" does not exist) catino = tub ("cato" does not exist) giardino = garden ("giardo" does not exist)

All these nouns can be misleading, so care should be taken not to misunderstand them. However, these words too may take a real diminutive suffix, thus appearing as "double diminutives":

cancello = gate cancelletto = small gate catino = tub catinella (notice the change of gender) = small tub gallina = hen gallinella = small hen

Very few nouns allow a real "double diminutive":

pezzo = piece pezzetto = small piece pezzettino = (very) small piece boccia = flask, decanter boccetta = small bottle or flask boccettina = tiny bottle, vial

There is another diminutive suffix, -uccio / -uccia, which is used with a limited number of nouns, because rather than "small" it usually carries a meaning of "humble, poor, cheap", especially when -ino, -etto, or -ello can be also used with the same word.

vestito = dress vestituccio = humble, cheap dress in contrast with vestitino = small, cute dress cavallo = horse cavalluccio = toy horse, hobby-horse in contrast with cavallino = young, cute horse bottega = shop, workshop botteguccia = humble, small shop

This suffix does not often occur in spoken language now, but it may still be found in written texts. For an even more limited number of words, a further diminutive suffix is -uolo / -uola, which has become rather obsolete, since in most cases the common ones already discussed may be used, and are now preferred in common speech:

chiesa = church chiesuola = small church (obsolete, but sometimes found in written texts) chiesetta = (same as above, currently used) laccio = boot-lace, bind lacciuolo = small lace, or metaphorically a limitation (obsolete) laccetto = (same as above, currently used) donna = church donnicciuola = trivial woman, or sissy (referred to a male person) donnetta = (same as above, now more common than the previous form)

synopsis of diminutive suffixes

masculine singular	feminine singular	masculine plural	feminine plural
-ino	-ina	-ini	-ine
-etto	-etta	-etti	-ette
-ello	-ella	-elli	-elle
	less common	suffixes
-uccio	-uccia	-ucci	-ucce
-uolo	-uola	-uoli	-uole

10.2 AUGMENTATIVE

Augmentative indicates that the noun is large, big, great, etc., more often in the sense of "large size", but sometimes with the meaning of "important" too. There is only one augmentative inflection: -one / -ona (plurals -oni / -one). Notice how the masculine singular and the feminine plural are the same (-one).

martello (hammer) ~ martellone (big hammer) martelli (hammers) ~ martelloni (big hammers) piede (masculine, foot) ~ piedone (big foot) piedi (feet) ~ piedoni (big feet) palazzo (building) ~ palazzone (tall, large building) palazzi (buildings) ~ palazzoni (tall, large buildings) ruota (wheel) ~ ruotona (large wheel) ruote (wheels) ~ ruotone (large wheels) chiave (feminine, key) ~ chiavona (large key) chiavi (keys) ~ chiavone (large keys) borsa (bag, handbag) ~ borsona (large bag) borse (bags, handbags) ~ borsone (large bags)

It is important to know the simple form of nouns (in particular whether they are masculine or feminine), otherwise it could be difficult to tell if a given augmentative is masculine singular or feminine plural. For instance, nasone and casone sound similar, although the former is singular (from naso, nose), and the latter is plural (from case, houses). Obviously, when augmentative is used within a sentence, the article and often the verb too will help to tell both gender and number:

il nasone = the big book (singular, masculine) le casone = the big houses (plural, feminine)

However, since augmentative gives the noun a meaning of "big, large, huge", etc., especially in common speech the great majority of feminine nouns changes gender when this suffix is appended. For instance:

la faccia = the face (feminine) ...BUT il faccione = the large face (masculine) la pistola = the gun (feminine) ...BUT il pistolone = the big gun (masculine) la stanza = the room (feminine) ...BUT lo stanzone = the big room (masculine) la pietra = the stone (feminine) ...BUT il pietrone = the big stone, the rock (masculine)

This is only apparently confusing: in fact, the opportunity of turning almost every plural augmentative into masculin gender, helps to avoid any risk of doubt whether the noun is masculine singular or feminine plural. The beginner student might think of this as:

masculine singular, -one masculine plural, -oni used as the standard augmentative

feminine singular, -ona feminine plural, -one only used in limited cases

In spoken language, feminine plural augmentative changes to masculine for a cultural reason, i.e. something big, huge, tall, etc. would sound "more masculine than feminine", especially when the large size gives the word a rougher, less delicate meaning. However, feminine plural augmentative does exist. For this reason, some nouns may have both forms, although the feminine one is less used than the masculine.

la pietra = the stone (feminine) la pietrona = the big stone (feminine) il pietrone = the big stone (masculine, sounds rougher, heavier, etc.) la finestra = the window (feminine) la finestrona = the big window (feminine) il finestrone = the huge window (masculine, sounds wider) la donna = the woman (feminine) la donnona = the tall / fat lady (feminine) il donnone = the mighty / fat lady (masculine, sounds more stout and heavy) la corda = the string, the rope (feminine) la cordona = the thick rope (feminine) il cordone = the thick / braided rope (masculine, sounds thicker) la spada = the sword (feminine) la spadona = the big sword (feminine) lo spadone = the big sword (masculine, sounds longer and heavier)

Virtually, any feminine noun may be turned into masculine when using augmentative. There are also several words which were born as augmentatives, but achieved their own individual meaning, such as:

la mela = the apple (feminine) il melone = the melon (i.e. "big apple", masculine) la porta = the door of a room (feminine) il portone = the entrance, the door of a building (i.e. "large door", masculine) la tromba = the trumpet (feminine) il trombone = the trombone (i.e. "big trumpet", masculine) la palla = the ball (feminine) il pallone = the balloon, or the foot-ball (i.e. "big ball", masculine) la copia = the copy il copione = the (printed) script of a film, a play, etc.

Finally, there are several words which only resemble augmentatives, not having any relation with the noun they seem to derive from, or not having such form at all:

matto = the madman mattone (masculine) = the brick canto = song, singing cantone (masculine) = corner of a street pista = the race track, or trail pistone (masculine) = piston occasione (feminine) = occasion, opportunity canzone (feminine) = song pressione (feminine) = pressure carbone (masculine) = coal stazione (feminine) = station situazione (feminine) = situation

These words may be regarded as "false augmentatives".

10.3 PEJORATIVE

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Pejorative gives the noun a sense of "bad, nasty, ugly", etc. There is only one pejorative inflection: -accio / -accia (plurals -acci / -acce).

tavolo (table) ~ tavolaccio (old, broken table) errore (masculine, mistake) ~ erroraccio (bad mistake) libri (books) ~ libracci (cheap / evil books) vita (life) ~ vitaccia (hard life) bicicletta (bycicle) ~ biciclettaccia (cheap bycicle) scarpe (feminine, shoes) ~ scarpacce (horrible / worn out shoes) roba (stuff, things) ~ robaccia (trivia / nasty stuff) posti (places) ~ postacci (bad places) momento (moment) ~ momentaccio (bad moment) tempo (weather) ~ tempaccio (bad weather)

A fewer number of nouns may use pejorative than the ones which may use diminutive or augmentative. Also in this case, beware of "false pejorative" words:

abbraccio = hug impaccio = difficulty, straits traccia = trace, trail

11.1 ADJECTIVES RELATED TO GEOGRAPHIC SITES

Adjectives expressing a relation with geographic sites such as towns, regions and countries use suffixes, very similar to the English ones, with only a few differences. It is important to notice how in Italian all adjectives referring to countries do not use a capital (uppercase) letter, as they do in English. Also notice that when names are made of two separate words (i.e. New Zealand, South Korea, etc.), the relevant Italian adjective often merges them into one word.

A common standard suffix is -ano, corresponding to the English suffix -an, used in many cases (though not so frequently as in English):

Italia (Italy) >> italiano (Italian) Roma (Rome) >> romano (roman) Venezia (Venice) >> veneziano (venetian) Sicilia (Sicily) >> siciliano (sicilian) America (America) >> americano (American) Corea del Sud (South Korea) >> sudcoreano (South Korean) ...etc. etc.

In some cases, the suffix becomes -tano (a "t" is added), and the root of the word might slightly change too:

Napoli (Naples) >> napoletano (neapolitan) Amalfi (Amalfi, small island near Naples) >> amalfitano (from Amalfi)

Another very common suffix is -ese, often matching the same English one (but not always):

Milano (Milan) >> milanese (milanese) Rimini (Rimini) >> riminese (from Rimini) Calabria (Calabria region) >> calabrese (from Calabria) Francia (France) >> francese (French) Malta (Malta) >> maltese (Maltese) Islanda (Iceland) >> islandese (Icelandic) Cina (China) >> cinese (Chinese) Giappone (Japan) >> giapponese (Japanese) Canada (Canada) >> canadese (Canadian) ...etc. etc.

In a few cases, an "n" is added to the suffix:

Parma (Parma, northern Italian city) >> parmense (from Parma) Stati Uniti (United States) >> statunitense (from the US) Nicaragua (Nicaragua) >> nicaraguense (Nicaraguan) Panama (Panama) >> panamense (Panamese) Costa Rica (Costa Rica) >> costaricense (from Costa Rica)

Some adjectives ending with -ese slightly change the noun's root before the suffix; this happens more often than with -ano:

Svezia (Sweden) >> svedese (Swedish) Inghilterra (England) >> inglese (English) Scozia (Scotland) >> scozzese (Scottish) Portogallo (Portugal) >> portoghese (Portuguese) Nuova Zelanda (New Zealand) >> neozelandese (New Zealander) Londra (London) >> londinese (Londoner)

Another suffix which matches English -an is -ino:

Tunisia (Tunisia) >> tunisino (Tunisian) Marocco (Morocco) >> marocchino (Moroccan) Argentina (Argentina) >> argentino (Argentinean) Parigi (Paris) >> parigino (Parisian) Ginevra (Geneve) >> ginevrino (from Geneve)

A few adjectives use suffix -eno:

Cile (Chile) >> cileno (Chilean) Armenia (Armenia) >> armeno (Armenian) Iraq (Iraq) >> iracheno (Iraqi)

A very similar suffix is -egno (derived from the Spanish -eño), for two adjectives referring to Central American countries:

Ecuador (Ecuador) >> ecuadoregno (Ecuadorean) El Salvador (El Salvador) >> salvadoregno (Salvadorean)

A less common suffix is -ico, in some cases matching the English suffix -ic:

Arabia (Arabia) >> arabico, but also arabo (Arabic) Libia (Lybia) >> libico (Lybian) Caucasia (Caucasia) >> caucasico (caucasian)

NOTE - arabico is used for geographic names which refer to Arabia as a land (i.e. deserto arabico = Arabic desert); arabo instead refers to language and culture (i.e. lingua araba = Arabic language; cultura araba = Arabic culture; etc.) A few changes may occur to the root of the noun when the adjective keeps the old form from Latin:

Gran Bretagna (Great Britain) >> britannico from Latin Britannia, (British)

A particular suffix is -olo, used in a few cases:

Spagna (Spain) >> spagnolo (Spanish) Romagna (Romagna region) >> romagnolo (from Romagna)

Another particular suffix is -iota, used in a rather limited number of cases:

Cipro (Cyprus) >> cipriota (from Cyprus) Kenya (Kenya) >> keniota (Kenian)

For a number of adjectives, the suffix is simply -o:

Russia (Russia) >> russo (Russian) Grecia (Greece) >> greco (Greek) Iugoslavia (Yugoslavia) >> iugoslavo (Yugoslavian) Argentina (Argentina) >> argentino (Argentinean) Turchia (Turkey) >> turco (Turk) Repubblica Ceca (Czech Republic) >> ceco (Czech, not to be confused with cieco = blind)

Also in this case the root of the noun may change:

Croazia (Croatia) >> croato (Croatian) Slovenia (Slovenia) >> sloveno (Slovenian)

For others, the suffix is lengthened in -acco:

Polonia (Poland) >> polacco (Polish) Slovacchia (Slovakia) >> slovacco (Slovak)

And -one is also used in a few cases:

Estonia (Poland) >> estone (Estonian) Lapponia (Slovakia) >> lappone (Laplandic) Lettonia (Latvia) >> lettone (Latvian)

(for the pronounciation of these adjectives, see further down). Finally, for some countries adjectives are specific, since they use a non-standard suffix:

Lazio (Latium region) >> laziale (from Latium) Belgio (Belgium) >> belga (Belgian) A totally different adjective is used in the following case: Germania (Germany) >> tedesco (German)

As for pronounciation, most adjectives carry stress on their antepenutimate syllable (i.e. on the first vowel of the suffix):

(-ano) italiàno; romàno; (-ese) francése; inglése; (with acute accented "e") (-ense) statunitènse (notice how "e" turns to a grave accent) (-ino) tunisìno; marocchìno; (-eno) cilèno; rumèno; (-egno) ecuadorègno; salvadorègno; (-olo) spagnòlo; romagnòlo; (-acco) polàcco; slovàcco;

...BUT

(-iota) these adjectives carry stress on vowel "o": cipriòta; keniòta; etc.; (-ico) these adjectives carry stress on the antepenultimate syllable: lìbico; britànnico; etc. (-one) also these adjectives are stressed on the antepenultimate syllable: lèttone; èstone; (-o) these adjectives carry stress on the penultimate syllable (i.e. on the last vowel before the suffix): rùsso; tùrco; grèco; etc. etc.

Adjectives with non-standard prefixes do not follow a given rule; in most cases the stressed syllable is the penultimate: laziàle; tedésco; bèlga; etc. Summarizing suffixes and accents in a table, for easier learning:

(standard suffixes) .....àno .....ése .....ènse .....ìno .....èno .....ègno .....òlo .....àcco .....-iòta .....`.ico (non-standard suffixes) ......`..

Obviously, as any other adjective, also these ones need to match both gender and number of the noun to which they are referred (see paragraphs 2.1 to 2.3). Adjectives whose singular form ends with -e, are both masculine and feminine; this is also true for the very few ones whose last vowel is -a in both genders.

sono romano (I am roman, masculine); sono romana (I am roman, feminine); siamo romani (we are roman, masculine); siamo romane (we are roman, feminine) sono francese (I am French, both masculine and feminine) siamo francesi (we are French, both masculine and feminine) sono statunitense (I am from the US, both masculine and feminine) siamo statunitensi (we are from the US, both masculine and feminine) sono tunisino (I am Tunisian, masculine); sono tunisina (I am Tunisian, feminine); siamo tunisini (we are Tunisian, masculine); siamo tunisine (we are Tunisian, feminine) sono armeno (I am Armenian, masculine); sono armena (I am Armenian, feminine); siamo armeni (we are Armenian, masculine); siamo armene (we are Armenian, feminine) sono britannico (I am British, masculine); sono britannica (I am British, feminine); siamo britannici (we are British, masculine); siamo britanniche (we are British, feminine) sono cipriota (I am from Cyprus, both masculine and feminine); siamo ciprioti (we are from Cyprus, masculine); siamo cipriote (we are from Cyprus, feminine) sono croato (I am Croatian, masculine); sono croata (I am Croatian, feminine); siamo croati (we are Croatian, masculine); siamo croate (we are Croatian, feminine) sono belga (I am Belgian, both masculine and feminine); siamo belgi (we are Belgian, masculine); siamo belghe (we are Belgian, feminine) sono tedesco (I am German, masculine); sono tedesca (I am German, feminine); siamo tedeschi (we are German, masculine); siamo tedesche (we are German, feminine)

For cities which keep their foreign names (Kiev, Tucson, Helsinki, etc.), the use of prepositions is usually preferred to a suffix. Simple prepositions di (of, from) and da (from) are used in these cases:

è di Phoenix (he/she is from Phoenix) or viene da Phoenix (he/she comes from Phoenix) siamo di Valencia (we are from Valencia) or veniamo da Valencia (we come from Valencia)

However, with names of famous and larger cities (especially the ones whose name has an Italian version), an adjective is also commonly used:

sei di Londra (you are from London) or sei londinese (you are a londoner) sei di Parigi (you are from Paris) or sei parigino sei di Berlino (you are from Berlin) or sei berlinese

When it comes to countries, a suffix may be used in all cases, but prepositions too may be often used, especially in case of uncertainty about which is the right adjective. In this case, though, a compound preposition is needed (see paragraph 5.2): their use with geographic names is discussed in paragraph 11.3.

11.2 MORE ABOUT GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

It should be noticed that the Italian names of geographic regions countries have a definite gender, and in most cases require a definite article, unlike English ones. Some are masculine, while some others are feminine, which of the two depending on the last vowel of the name. Names ending with ...o and ...i are usually masculine:

Lazio (Latium region); Belgio (Belgium); Marocco (Morocco); Regno Unito (United Kingdom); etc. Stati Uniti (United States); Emirati Arabi Uniti (United Arab Emirates); etc. notice how only the noun's inflection has been highlighted in red (i.e. States, Emirates), not the adjective's, which simply matches the noun both for gender and number

Names ending with ...a are usually feminine:

Alsazia (Alsace region); Borgogna (Burgundy region); Italia (Italy); Francia (France); Spagna (Spain); etc.

Names ending with ...e can be either masculine or feminine, according to whether they are singular (masculine) or plural (feminine):

masculine (with very few wxceptions) Brasile (Brazil); Piemonte (Piedmont region); Artide e Antartide (Arctica and Antarctica); etc. feminine Filippine (Philippines); Azzorre (Azores); etc. NOTE - plural geographic names ending with "e" usually refer to the noun isole = islands, simply omitted.

For regions and countries whose names end with a consonant, because they keep their foreign name, a masculine gender is usually adopted, except for names referring to groups of islands (see note above):

masculine (singular) Liechtenstein; Kansas; Yorkshire; Pakistan; Madagascar (single island, thus masculine); etc.

Therefore: il Liechtenstein, il Kansas, lo Yorkshire, etc.

feminine (plural) Mauritius; Seichelles; Shetland; etc. (all names referring to isole = islands)

Therefore: le Mauritius, le Seichelles, etc. In the same way, if a name refers to a natural feature, such as a desert, a river, an ocean, etc. it keeps the same feature's gender. The word referring to the feature itself, instead, in many cases may be omitted.

fiume (masculine) = river il fiume Tevere; il Tevere = the (river) Tiber il fiume Volga; il Volga = the (river) Volga il fiume Isar; l'Isar = the (river) Isar il fiume Tamigi; il Tamigi = the (river) Thames

For very few rivers whose name suggests a feminine gender (Italian ones, and no more than two or three famous non-Italian ones), an exception is made:

la Dora Baltea (feminine) = the Dora Baltea ...BUT il fiume Dora Baltea = the river Dora Baltea la Senna (feminine) = the Seine ...BUT il fiume Senna = the river Seine

mare (masculine) = sea NOTE - in given names, the word mare is phonetically shortened to mar; this is not a rule, but it is the most common form used, both in spoken and written language. il mar Mediterraneo; il Mediterraneo = the Mediterranean (Sea) il mar Ionio; il Mediterraneo = the Ionian (Sea) il mar Baltico; il Baltico = the Baltic (Sea) il mar Baltico; il Baltico = the Baltic (Sea)

When the adjective alone might be mistaken (Red Sea, Dead Sea), or in compound names (Sea of Japan, etc.) the word for sea is always required. In compound names, mare is often used in full.

il mar Nero = the Black Sea il mar Morto = the Dead Sea il mar (or mare) del Giappone = the Sea of Japan il mar (or mare) dei Caraibi = the Caribbean Sea il mar (or mare) del Nord = the North Sea

oceano (masculine) = ocean l'Oceano Atlantico; l'Atlantico = the Atlantic (0cean) l'Oceano Pacifico; il Pacifico = the Pacific (0cean) l'Oceano Indiano (only form used) = the Indian 0cean

monte (masculine) = mountain, hill il Monte Bianco; il Bianco = the Mont Blanc il Monte Everest; l'Everest = Mount Everest, the Everest il Monte Olimpo; l'Olimpo = Mount Olympus, the Olympus il Monte K2; il K2 = the K2

12.3 RELATIVE SUPERLATIVE

Superlative grades of adjectives express the maximum level of a quality. They either compare an individual subject to the group or category he belongs to (relative superlative), or they express a high quality level without making a comparison (absolute superlative). Relative superlative corresponds to the English forms the (adjective)...est (i.e. the highest, the fattest, the darkest, etc.), and the most... (adjective) (the most interesting, the most exciting, etc.). To obtain this in Italian, the adverb più is used; it is the same adverb used for comparative of majority (see paragraph 12.1), but by adding a definite article in front of più the maximum grade is expressed.

più nuovo di ... = newer than ...

il più nuovo (di ...) = the newest (among ...)

Both adjective and article have to match the subject's number (i.e. singular or plural). However, the gender of the article is that of the group or category the subject belongs to (which is not always the same gender of the subject). These sample sentences analyze articles in detail.

Marco è il più giovane dei nostri amici = Mark is the youngest among our friends

The subject is Marco (singular, masculine), the category is amici (plural, masculin). Therefore, the article required is singular (as Marco) and masculine (as amici). Among singular masculine articles, il, lo, l' (see paragraph 2.4), the first one will be chosen because it matches phonetically the following word (più).

la balena è il più lungo dei mammiferi = the whale is the longest among mammals

Here the subject is balena (singular, feminine), the category is mammiferi (masculine, plural). The article will be singular and masculine (despite the subject is feminine).

il cane è il più fedele degli animali = the dog is the most faithful among animals era il più anziano dei miei insegnanti = he was the oldest among my teachers la matematica è la più interessante delle materie scolastiche = maths is the most interesting among school subjects

This may appear complicated, but it is easier to understand by turning the sentence the other way round:

il più lungo dei mammiferi è la balena = the longest among mammals is the whale

Thus, in the aforesaid sentence, article il and lungo have to be used, because evidently referred to mammiferi (masculine), although remaining singular as balena is. Here are further examples:

la pizza è il più famoso dei piatti italiani = pizza is the most famous among Italian dishes (pizza feminine singular - piatti masculine plural) Turning the sentence the other way round, it would be: il più famoso dei piatti italiani è la pizza = the most famous among Italian dishes is pizza (pizza feminine singular - piatti masculine plural) il coraggio è la più importante delle virtù = courage is the most important among virtues (coraggio masculine singular - virtù feminine plural: being a truncated word, singular and plural are identical) i batteri sono le più minute delle specie viventi = bacteria are the tiniest among living species (batteri masculine plural - specie feminine plural)

It should be noticed that in this case, preposition di (and its compounds) does not express a comparison, as it does in comparative, but the subject's belonging to the category or group (i.e. di = of), although in English it would be more properly translated as among. As an alternative to preposition di, the group or category may be introduced by the other prepositions tra or fra, (although tra is stylistically more correct), both meaning among. This is easier to use for those who are not yet familiar with compound prepositions (see paragraph 5.2), since tra and fra never bind to the following article, always remaining simple prepositions.

il whisky è la più forte delle bevande alcoliche = whisky is the strongest among alcoholic drinks il whisky è la più forte tra le bevande alcoliche = whisky is the strongest among alcoholic drinks Carlo era il più alto dei nostri amici = Charles was the tallest among our friends Carlo era il più alto tra i nostri amici = Charles was the tallest among our friends Roma era la più potente delle città antiche = Rome was the most powerful among ancient cities Roma era la più potente tra le città antiche = Rome was the most powerful among ancient cities

Since the formal meaning of tra or fra is different from di (although the overall meaning does not change), the sentence is often turned the other way round, with a slightly more emphatic effect. Notice how these sample sentences change:

il whisky è la più famosa tra le bevande alcoliche = whisky is the most famous of alcoholic drinks tra le bevande alcoliche il whisky è quella più famosa = among alcoholic drinks, whisky is the most famous one Roma era la più potente delle città antiche = Rome was the most powerful of ancient cities tra le città antiche Roma era quella più potente = among ancient cities, Rome was the most powerful one

As shown in underlined style, no longer a definite article is used to introduce the subject, but a demonstrative pronoun (already discussed in paragraph 5.5), which in the English version corresponds to "one".

A slightly different way of expressing the same sentences without changing the meaning is:

the dog is the most faithful among animals

which can be turned into

the dog is the most faithful animal

In Italian, the position of the adjective can be either before or after the noun (see paragraph 2.5). More often, sentences in which the adjective is part of a relative superlative follow a "noun - relative superlative" ordering. For instance:

il cane è l'animale più fedele = the dog is the most faithful animal

The ordering is l'animale (noun) più fedele (relative superlative). Compared to the form previously discussed, the main change which takes place is the article: the phonetic match is now with the noun (animale), and no longer with più. Gender and number, instead, remain unchanged. Here are more samples of previous sentences turned into this form, plus a few new ones (always focus the article!):

la balena è il mammifero più lungo = the whale is the longest mammal il coraggio è la virtù più importante = courage is the most important virtue il cervello è l'organo umano più complesso = the brain is the most complex human organ il whisky è la bevanda alcolica più forte = whisky is the strongest alcoholic drink la pizza è il piatto italiano più famoso = pizza is the most famous Italian dish

The last three sentences also show how if the noun already has an adjective (i.e. bevanda alcolica; piatto italiano), the relative superlative comes after both of them (bevanda alcolica più forte; piatto italiano più famoso). Although the "noun - relative superlative" is the most common case, there are sentences in which the "relative superlative - noun" is preferred. There is no specific rule for them, but they sound somewhat more emphatic, and often occurs in popular sayings, titles of books or films, etc. These are a few examples:

la più grande scoperta del secolo = the greatest discovery of the century il più ricco abitante del quartiere = the richest inhabitant of the district la più bella poesia del libro = the most beautiful poem of the book

However, the "alternative forms", less emphatic, would be perfectly accepted, although the article should be sometimes changed for a phonetic match with the noun:

la scoperta più grande del secolo = the greatest discovery of the century l'abitante più ricco del quartiere = the richest inhabitant of the district la poesia più bella del libro = the most beautiful poem of the book

12.4 ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE

Absolute superlative expresses the maximum grade of a quality, without any comparison. English does not have absolute superlative, so it is difficult to express its meaning exactly: in most cases it would be almost identical to very + adjective (i.e. very nice, very tall, very old, etc.), or even extremely + adjective. But in Italian absolute superlatives express the quality in an even higher grade than by using adverb very or extremely. Absolute superlatives are not really "emphatic" expression, and their use in common speech, as well as in literature, is very common. Absolute superlative is obtained by attaching to adjectives the suffix -issimo, which behaves as an ordinary adjective (i.e. -issimo is for masculine singular, -issima for feminine singular, -issimi for masculine plural and -issime for feminine plural). The accent (stress) is always carried by the first i of the suffix (-ìssimo, etc.).

la mia casa è molto nuova = this house is very new la mia casa è nuovissima = this house is very new questo racconto è molto bello = this novel is very nice questo racconto è bellissimo = this novel is really very nice ha due cani molto piccoli = (he/she) has two very small dogs ha due cani piccolissimi = he/she has two very small dogs sono molto stanche = they (feminine) are very tired sono molto stanchissime = they (feminine) are extremely tired

So absolute superlative is quite easy to use. It should only be noticed that if an adjective has the -e inflection for both masculine and feminine singular and -i for masculine and feminine plural (facile, facili; breve, brevi; utile, utili; importante, importanti; etc., see also paragraph 2.1), in absolute superlative grade they are turned into the more common pattern (-o for masculine and -a for feminine).

un esempio molto facile = a very easy example un esempio facilissimo = a really easy example una spiegazione molto utile = a very useful explanation una spiegazione utilissima = a very useful explanation uomini molto importanti = very important men uomini importantissimi = very important men sono regole molto utili = they are very useful rules sono regole utilissime = they are extremely useful rules

Only very few adjectives use a different suffix, -errimo. Among the ones more commonly used are misero (poor, miserable, wretched), integro (whole, integer, or upright, honest), aspro (sour, or harsh, rough, difficult). In linking this suffix to the adjective, not only the last vowel, but two or three letters of the root are dropped:

una vita miserrima = a very miserable life un giudice integerrimo = an absolutely incorruptible judge tre salite asperrime = three extremely difficult ascents

The -errimo superlative is indeed used in literature, but not very often in everyday's speech. With the three aforesaid adjectives, the use of an adverb is more commonly preferred: molto aspro (very harsh); davvero misero (really miserable); etc. Obviously, the use of the suffix -issimo with these few adjectives is never allowed.

13.1 CONDITIONAL BASIC CONCEPTS VERBS AVERE AND ESSERE

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Conditional tenses require a knowledge of subjunctive ones, because in many cases they both occur in the same sentence. If you are not confident with subjunctive yet, it would be better to rehearse the relevant pages (paragraphs 9.1 through 9.5). In Italian, conditional has two tenses:

• CONDIZIONALE PRESENTE (present conditional)

• CONDIZIONALE PASSATO (past conditional)

The first one has specific inflections, while the second one is a compound tense made of present conditional + past participle of verb avere for transitive verbs, essere for intransitive ones. Therefore, these two auxiliary verbs will be discussed first.