The World leader in self study language courses WITH EASELEO the day-by-day method italian With Ease Original text by Giovanna Galdo and Ena Marchi Adapted for the use of English-speaking readers by Adrien Hilal Illustrated by CREACIS Published in India under licence by GOYAL SaaB goyal@goyalsaab.com www.assimil.comZED METHOD BOOKS This special low-price edition is for sale in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar and Maldives only. Bound books, lavishly illustrated, containing lessons and exercises recorded on cassettes and CDs www.assimil.com Arabic with ease Dutch with ease New French with ease Using French Business French German with ease Hungarian with ease Italian with ease Spanish with ease Using Spanish ISBN 81-8307-025-6 © ASSIMIL 1991 For the original edition © 2005 GOYAL Publishers & Dist. Pvt. Ltd. for the Indian edition All right reserved www.goyalsaab.com Printed in India by Gopsons Papers Ltd., Noida INTRODUCTION In “Italian With Ease”, you will learn the language currently spoken by Italians in all aspects of their daily lives: how to ask for information, make a purchase, use the telephone, visit the doctor, apply for a job, search for an apartment, etc. While you are being introduced to the basic structures and the essential vocabulary of Italian, we will try to show you elements of civilization which are intented to give you an idea of life in Italy today. Simulta- neously, the pace and style of the Assimil method has been respected. HOW TO LEARN “ITALIAN WITH EASE”? Here is some advice for using ASSIMIL before you start. First, read the Italian text once out loud while listening to the recordings, if you have them. If not, use the Pronunciation Script: check the English translation as you go along (we have tried to use a vocabulary familiar to both English and American readers), then read the Notes. You will find them of great assistance as they answer the questions most often asked. The N sign followed by a number will direct you to the Revision Lesson which follows at the end of every six lessons -- this will provide more detailed explanations of certain points.vi Next, read the Italian text once again (if you have the recordings, listen to them once or twice without rea- ding), and this time concentrate on the rhythm and intonation of the Italian sentence. Now re-read while listening to each sentence until you feel capable of repeating it aloud with its natural rhythm. NOTE: In the English translation, typical Italian phrases are put in parentheses. English ones are between square brackets. The second part of your work will be to complete the exercises; this is a helpiul way to test yourself. Don't forget, though, that above all you must work regularly in order to pass the barrier of the first three weeks. If you succeed, you'll see that nothing will stop you as your progress will be obvious and satisfying. Begin with Lesson 0. It is necessary for you to familia- rize yourself with the sounds and spelling of basic Italian before starfing with the lessons themselves. In the appendix of your “Italian with Ease” you will find two useful tools: one is a grammatical index which will help you locate the Notes where certain points have been explained; the other is a list of the main irregular verbs and a chart of the three regular conju- gations. We hope your trip into the world of Italian will be entertaining and we wish you ... in bocca al lupo! (literally “in the wolf's mouth’, metaphorically: good luck!) Vil LESSON 0 Italian is a very musical language, but where does this specific musicality come from? Mainly from two sources: tonic stress and sentence stress. THE TONIC STRESS First of all, you must know that in Italian the tonic stress can fall on any one syllable in a word. More often it falls on the second from the last syllable, as in the words settimana (week), parola (word), pianista (pianist). There are also many words where the stress falls on the third from last syllable, as in stupido (stupid), difficile (difficult). There are even a few where the stress falls on the syllable preceding the third from last, such as in meritano (they deserve). Finally, there are those thai are stressed on the last syllable, as in caffé (coffee), novita (novelty), and this is the only case where the stressed syllable is marked with a written accent. As you have just seen, the stressed syllables are marked In heavy type throughout the book. It must be added that all the ‘‘small words” (articles, prepositions, personal pronouns, conjunctions) should be pronounced as though they were part of the follo- wing word. Thus, i/ telefono (the telephone) as though it were: iltelefono, and della casa (from the house): dellacasa. We will remind you of this throughout the first six lessons of this book in the Pronunciation Script by means of a joining stroke. From then on, we will do so only occasionally. Similarly, words separated by an apostrophe will be joined to form one single word. Thus, in the Pronunciation Script, /‘amore (love) will be written: lahmaurreh *.Vil * In the Pronunciation Script, you will often find the letter A following a vowel. This Ais not to be pronoun- ced; it is there only to indicate the way the preceding vowel is to be pronounced if an A had been there. The following pronunciation key should help you under- stand the Pronunciation Script used extensively in the first lessons. PRONUNCIATION KEY Pronun- ciation Vowel Asin Meaning Script’ Asin a albergo hotel aorah attention e erba grass e elegant but also eroe hero eh elephant i vincere to win ee tea ° povero poor au authentic u fungo mushroom 00 tooth Vowel Combi- nation ai aiuto | help igh fight au aumento increase aw owl also pro-paura fear awoo) — nounced ei lei you ay may eu europeo european ewoo ia chiasso uproar ya biathlon ie niente nothing ye yellow io fiori flowers yau yawn iu piuttosto rather yoo news oi noi we, us oy boy ui luigi louis wee squeeze uo nuovo new wo woeful —_— Consonants \talian consonants are pronounced the same way as English consonants. Depending on the vowels com- bined with them, c’s and g's are pronounced differently. ca camera room ka kart ce carecere prison tsheh ezechoslovakia ci cinque five tshee cheese co correre torun kau caution cu cucina kitchen koo —_— cool che che what, which keh ~— chemist chi chitarra guitar kee key ga gallina ~=hen ga gaia ge gente people djeh jet gi ginocchio knee djee jeans go ‘governo government gau gauge gu gusto taste goo goose ghe ghepardo cheetah geh guerilla ghi ghinea guinea gee gear glia figlia daughter lya _ glio figlio son lyo _— With the exception of a few technical words of foreign origin, Italian words never end with a consonant. Note that the fis never pronounced: it is only a sign used after a c or a g before an jor an e, as in the words chi (who) pronounced kee, che (what), pronounced keh; ghirlanda (garland) pronounced gheerrr-lahn-dah, spaghetti pronounced spah-ghet-tee. THE SENTENCE STRESS The second element giving the Italian sentence its specific musicality is the sentence stress (the words which are emphasized in a sentence).Let's take an example: quando parti per Milano? (when are you leaving for Milan?). The sentence is pronoun- ced in the following manner: a NS Quando, parti per_Milano? In reality, the stress is only on two syllables, all the other words being pronounced as though they were all linked with each other. (1) Above all, however, one must bear in mind that one of the most essential elements in any language is the intonation. Every language possesses its own distinct- ive intonation. The Italian one is quite unlike the English one, different from the French. Remember it is as important to observe the intonation as it is to correctly pronounce the words. For this Purpose, we advise you to listen carefully to the recording and then try to reproduce the intonation and rhythm of the Italian phrases as faithfully as possible. As far as Italian sounds are concerned, there are no major difficulties regarding their spelling. Here are a few pronunciation “hints”: (1) At the end of lesson0, you will find several examples of what we have just said — these are also recorded. — Xl DOUBLE CONSONANTS These are not pronounced in the same manner as the simple consonants. This difference is important be- cause it often indicates a change in meaning: polo (pole) and pollo (chicken), pena (grief) and penna (pen), casa (house) and cassa (cash-box) etc. are but a few examples. In order to remind you to emphasize the pronunciation of the double consonants, you will find three of them in the pronunciation script: pollloh, pennnah, kahss- sah. Now here are a few sentences which you should listen to and repeat several times while concentrating on their rhythm and intonation. Listening to the recordings is of course essential, but the lines drawn above these sentences - which will no longer appear in the pronun- ciation script - mark both the sentence stress, and as you have just seen, the words on which the voice comes to a halt. The spot where the line rises, forming a curve, is the signal for the pitch of the voice to rise: You will also be able to identify, in particular, the cases of interrogative phrases. Good luck! In the recordings, we have chosen speakers from different regions in Italy. Hearing the slight differences in pronunciation will make you more familiar with those same differences you are sure to notice on italian radio or television. Che bella giornata!: What a beautiful day! a Pronounced: Keh_bellla_djaurrrnahta!xil Studia l'italiano anche Lei?: You study |talian too? ee Pronounced: stoodya _leetalyanoh ankeh_ lay? Com’é buono questo caffé!: Oh, this coffee is so good! ee Pronounced: Kohmeh bwohnoh_kwestoh_kaffeh! Che noia! Non ho niente da fare!: It's so boring! | have nothing to do! ee Pronounced: Keh_nauya! Non ho_nyenteh da, fahrrreh! Che cosa fai di bello?: Are you doing anything interes- ting? Leo eRe Pronounced: Keh kauza_fy dee, bellloh? Vado a casa di Lucia: I'm going to Lucia’s home. ‘aseeniiliei etanemaineasienfasle Pronounced: Vahdo ah_kahza_dee_Lootsheeya. Che persona simpatica!: What a nice person! (oi i eae es Pronounced: Keh pehrrrsauna_seempateeka! Qual’é la sua professione?: What is your profession? Ree I ee Pronounced: Kwaleh_lasoowa_prrraufesssyauneh? Xill Sono gia fe undicil: \t’s already eleven o'clock! —___ Pronounced: Saunoh_djah_leh oondeetshee! Ma che dici? Non capisco niente!: But what are you saying? | don’t understand anything! ge ee Pronounced: Ma keh deetshee? Non_kapeeskoh,, nyenteh! E’ tanto tempo che non ci vediamo!: |t's been so long since we last met! EE a en Pronounced: Eh_tantoh_tempoh_keh non tshee,, vedyamoh! L’hai visto anche tu?: Have you seen him too? ee ere Pronounced: Lie_veestoh_ankeh_too? Mi piacerebbe tanto tornare in Italia!: | would so much like to go back to Italy! ee Pronounced: Mee pyatshehrrrebbbeh_tantoh_, torrrnahrrreh_een_eetalya! Non ho nessun impegno: | don’t have any commitment. PATI eee SAM eens Pronounced: Non ho nesssoon_eempehnyoh.XIV Andiamo a cena insieme?: Shall we go and have dinner together? poe eee ea ee ae Pronounced: Andyamoh_atshehnah eensyehmeh? C’é un tabaccaio da queste parti?: |s there a tobacco- nist around here? 2a ie SAS SN Pronounced: Tsheh oon_tabakkkahyoh_da kwesteh_pahrrrtee? Ho proprio voglia di fare un bel viaggiol: How | would like to travel! ee Pronounced: Oh_prrroprrryoh_volya_dee_farrreh., oon bel vyadddjon!1 uno (ouno) PRIMA LEZIONE (prrreema letsauneh) Al telefono 1 — Pronto! Vorrei parlare con Davide, per fa- vore. (1) 2 — Davide non é a casa. lo sono Franesca. Chi @? (2) 3 — Sono Marco. Ciao, Francesca! Come va? 4 — Bene, grazie, e tu? - Benissimo! - Sei a Milano? (3) (4) 5 — No, non sono a Milano, sono a Roma. Arrivo a Milano domani mattina. 6 — Benissimo! A domani, allora. - D’accordo! Arrivederci! 7 — Sei di Milano? - No, non sono di Milano, sono di Roma. 8 Marco é di Roma. Francesca e Davide sono di Milano. (5) 9 — Siete di Firenze? - No, non siamo di Firenze, siamo di Bologna. (N.2) NOTES (1) In Italian, personal pronouns are omitted, unless needed to stress a comparison or a contrast. Carlo é di Padova; io, invece, sono di Venezia: Carlo is from Padua; I, however, am from Venice. On the other hand: Sei di Modena? - No, sono di Parma: Are you from Modena? No, | am from Parma. PRONUNCIA (prrraunooncha) Ahl.telephaunau 1 prrrauntau! vaurrrey pahrrrlahrrreh kau. dahveedeh, pairrr_ fahvaurrreh, 2 dahveedeh nau eh ah kahza. eeyau sauaunoh Frrrancheska. keejeh? 3 saunau marrrkau. tshah w Frrrancheska, kaumeh vah? 4 behneh, grrratsyeh, eh, too? behneessseemau! say ah meelahnau? 5 noh, non_saunau,, ah meelahnau, saunau ah rrrauma. arrreevau_ah meelahnau,, daumahnee_mattteenah. 6 behneessseemau. ah_daumahnee, all- laurrra. dakkkaurrrdau. arrreevehdehrrrtshee! 7 say dee ,meelah- nau? nau, non saunau dee meelahnau, saunau_dee_rrrauma. 8 martrkau_eh_dee_rrrauma. Frrrancheska eh_dahveedeh_saunau,, dee_meelahnau. 9 Syehteh_dee_feerrrentseh? noh, non syah- mau_dee,feerrrentseh, syahmau_dee_baulaunya. due (doug) 2 FIRST LESSON On the Telephone Hello! [I]'d like to speak to (with) Davide, please. 2 — Davide isn’t at home. I'm Francesca! Who's [calling]? 3 — It's (| am) Marco. Hello, Francesca! How are you (is it going)? 4 — Fine, thank you, and you? Very well! Are you 5 6 = in Milan? — No, [I]’m not in Milan, [I]’m in Rome. [I]'m arriving in Milan tomorrow morning. — Very well! [See you] tomorrow then. All right! Goodbye! 7 — Are [you] from Milan? [I]'m not from Milan, [!]'m from Rome. 8 Marco is from Rome. Francesca and Davide are from Milan. 9 — Are [you] from Florence? No, [we]'re not from Florence, [we]'re from Bologna. NOTES (continued) (2) To turn a verb into the negative form, you only have to place non before the verb. (Beware of the difference between non and no!) (3) Now you've run into a major difference between English and Italian. Whereas there is only one form of “you” in English, in Italian there are three! Tu is the singular and familiar form. Lei is the singular but polite or formal way to say you. And vojis the plural form of “you” used most often. This may seen confusing now, but don’t worry, you (tu or /e/?) will catch on quickly. (4) In Italian, if you want to turn a verb into the interrogative form, all you do is put a question mark at the end of the sentence! By this, we mean that there is no modification in the sentence itself. Therefore, the only difference between Marco é di Roma: Marco is from Rome, and Marco é di Roma?: is Marco from Rome?, lies in the intonation of the voice. Listen to the recordings and try to reproduce as faithfully as possible the intonation of the Italian voices (often by raising the voice at the end of the sentence) (5) lo sono di Roma; Francesca e Davide sono di Milano: | am from Rome, Francesca and Davide are from Milan. Finding the same form for the first person singular and the third person plural should not baffle you: it is the context which will reveal whether it means “I am" or ‘they are”. Lezione 13° tre (tré) ESERCIZI (ehzerrrtsheetsee): 1 Pronto! Vorrei parlare con Davide. 2 Non siamo di Bologna. 3 Siete di Fi- renze? 4 Davide non é a casa. 5 Come va? Bene grazie, e tu? A world about the way the Italian r is pronounced: as in Scotland, the ris rolled. This is achieved by strongly (but briefly) vibrrrating the tip of the tongue against the uperrr palate. Not difficult, rrreally! Mettete le parole che mancano (pron.: mehtttehteh leh pahrrrauleh keh mankahnau) (Fill in the missing words) 1 Marco's from Rome. Marco . di Roma. Marco isn’t from Milan. Marco .... di Milano. 2 We're from Florence. oe di Firenze We're not from Rome. Bae di Roma. 3° Are you in Milan? . a Milano. No, I'm not in Milan. Noy =. a Milano. quattro (kouattro) 4 EXERCISES: 1 Hello! | would like to speak to Davide. 2 We're not from Bologna. 3 Are you from Florence? 4 Davide is not (at) home. 5 How are you? Very well, thank you, and you? 4@ Davide and Francesca are in Milan. Davide e Francesca ..... Milano. Davide and Francesca aren't in Rome. Davide e Francesca... ..... Roma. 5 Hi, Marco! - How are you? [very] well, thank you! -++.+, Marcol-.... va? Bene, ...... i CORREZIONE: 1 é - non é. 2 siamo - non siamo. 3 sei - non sono. 4 sono a - non sono a. § Ciao - come - grazie! For the moment, try to. “enter” into the Italian lan- guage: read the text, repeat it aloud and, above all, try to capture the rhythm of the /talian sentence. Lezione 15 cinque (tchi'’nkoué) SECONDA LEZIONE (sekaunda) Alla stazione 1 — Buongiorno, signorina. Vorrei un biglietto di seconda classe per Milano. 2 E un’informazione, per cortesia: questo treno ha un vagone-ristorante? - No, non ce ha. (1) 3 — Marco, hai un giornale per il viaggio? - Si, ce I’ho, e ho anche una rivista. 4 Marco ha un posto in uno scompartimento per fumatori. (2) 5 Ha un pacchetto di sigarette, ma non ha un accendino. 6 — Scusi, Lei ha da accendere? - Si, certo. (3) lo non ho da accendere. Tu hai una rivista. Lui ha un accendino; lei non ha un giornale. Noi abbiamo un'amica a Milano; voi avete un amico a Roma. (4) 1 Loro hanno una valigia. 12 Scusi, signore, fia una sigaretta? - No, non ce l'ho. (N.2) er ) PRONUNCIA ahllla statsyauneh. 1 bwaundjaurrrnauh seenyaurrreena. vaurr- ray, con, beelyetttau_dee_sekaunda_klassseh_pairrr_meelahnau. 2 eh oon eenfaurrrmatsyauneh _ pairrr_kaurrrtehzeeya: kwestau_, trrrehnau ah_oon_vagauneh-rrreestaurrranteh? nau, naun_tsheh la. 3 Mahrrrkau_Igh oon, djaurrrnahleh_pairrr_eel_vyahdddjau? see. tsheh lau eh au ankeh_oona_rrreeveesta, 4 mahrrrkauahoon_, paustau een oonau skomparrrteementau pairrr, foomataurrree. 3 ah oon pakkketttau_dee_seegarrrettteh ma_nau_ah_oon_ahtttsh- endeenau. 6 skoozee, lay ah_da_ahtttshenderrreh? see, tshairrrtau. T eeyau_nau au da ahtttshenderrreh. 8 too_Igh_oona_reeveesta. 9 loowee ah oon_ahtttshendeenau; —_laynau,ah, oon, djaurrrnah- leh. 10 noy_ahbbbyahmoh oon ameeka_ah_meelahnau; voy, aveh- teh_oon ameekau lah rrrauma. 11 Jaurrrau annnau, oona,_eedja. 12 skoozee, seenyaurrreh ah_oona_seegarrrettta? nau, naun,, tsheh_lau. sei (séi) 6 SECOND LESSON At the [Railway] Station 1 — Good morning (day), Miss. [I’]d like a second class ticket (a ticket of second class) for Milan. 2 And some information, please (by courtesy): does this train (this train has) have a dining- car? - No, it doesn’t (have). 3 — Marco, do you have a newspaper for the jour- ney? - Yes, | have (it), and | also have a magazine. 4 Marco has a seat in a smoking compartment (compartment for smokers). 5 He has a packet of cigarettes, but he doesn’t have a [cigarette]lighter. 6 — Excuse me, do you have a (you have something to) light? - Yes certainly. 7 | don’t have a (something to) light. 8 You have a magazine. 9 He has a [cigarette]lighter; she doesn’t have a newspaper. 10 We have a (woman) friend in Milan; you have a (man) friend in Rome. ah] They have a suitcase. 12 Excuse [me], sir, do you have (he has) a ciga- rette?-No, | don’t (have it). NOTES (1) Ce I'ho - Ce I'hai - etc., are very frequent forms of the spoken language: the word ce has no autonomous meaning in this context (it is purely phraseological) and is untranslatable. Notice: before masculine nouns beginning with s and followed by a consonant or by z, the indefinite article uno is used. We will therefore say uno sport (oonau spaurrrt). Sport: one of the rare words ending with a consonant. (3) In conventional sentences, as a form of politeness, Italians use the third person singular and the feminine pronoun Lei (similar to the language used with Royals: would His or Her Majesty care to visit...) Remember, therefore, the verb must always be in the third person. (4) Also note: before feminine words beginning with a vowel, the a of una falls and is replaced by an apostrophe: un’amica. @ Lezione 27 sette (settté) The Italian has no sound: therefore, don’t pronounce it in the present tense of the verb avere! ESERCIZI: 1 Marco ha un giornale e una rivista. 2 Vorrel un'informazione, per cortesla. 3 Abbiamo un posto in uno scompartimento per fumatori. 4 Scusi, ha da accendere? § Ce I'hal una sigaretta? aK Mettete le parole che mancano 1 Does this train have a dining-car? Questo treno .. .. vagone-ristorante? 2 Wehavea (woman) friend in Florence. ete) tees eee " amica a Firenze. 3 Do you have a light? (you = singular/familiar) Hale aeretrscrs = 2 4 Are you from Milan, Miss? (you = singular/polite) Lei . di Milano, Te? 5 They have a friend in Rome. Lanta un amico . Roma. aK otto (otto) 8 EXERCISES: 1 Marco has a newspaper and a magazine. 2 | would like some information, please. 3 We have a seat in a smoking compart- ment. 4 Excuse me, do you have a light? 5 Do you have (it) a cigarette? AK In lesson 0, we have seen that one of the elements making the rhythm of the Italian sentence is the tonic stress. You might ask, what does stress mean? It means '- in musical terms - that the stressed syllable is the strong beat of the word: the voice is enforced and, shall we say, comes to a halt on this syllable, whereas the following and preceding syllables - the unenforced ones - are pronounced more rapidly and without a halt in the voice: Davide - benissimo - grazie ... Have a try ... and don’t forget that listening to the recordings could be a great help. “QUESTO TRENO HA UN VAGONE- RISTORANTE > CORREZIONE: 1 Ha un. 2 Abbiamo un. 3 da accendere? 4 é - signo- rina? § Hanno - a. Lezione 29 nove (neve) TERZA LEZIONE (tehrrrtsa) Chi sono 1 Francesca e Davide Brambilla abitano a Milano, in Via Verdi nove. (1) (2) 2 Davide @ avvocato e lavora al tribunale di Milano. 3 Francesca é medico e lavora all'Ospedale di Sesto San Giovanni. 4 Marco, invece, ha una laurea in chimica, ma non lavora ancora. 5 Va a Milano per un colloquio di lavoro in un'industria chimica. (3) 6 — Dove lavori Marco? - Non lavoro ancora. 7 — Lei lavora a Milano, signora Brambilla? 8 — Dove abitate? - Abitiamo in Via Manzoni, al numero quattro. 9 Loro lavorano a Milano, noi, invece, lavo- riamo a Roma. 10 Marco desidera lavorare a Milano. (4) (5) kK PRONUNCIA keesaunau. 1 frrrantsheska_eh_dahveedeh_brrrahmbeelllah ahbee- tahnau_ah_meelahnau een_veeya_vairrrdee nauveh. 2 dahveedeh,, eh_avvvaukahtau eh_lavaurrra_ahl_trrreeboonahleh dee meelah- nau. frrrantcheska eh medeekau_eh_lavaurrra_alllauspedahleh, dee_sestau_san_djauvannnee. 4 marrrkau, eenvehtcheh, ah, oona laauwrrreah een _keemeeka mah non_lavaurrrahankaurrra. 8 vah_ahmeelahnau pairrroon_kaulllaukyau_di lavaurrrau een oon, eendoostrrreeya keemeeka. 6 dauveh Javaurrree, marrrkau? naun_lavaurrrau ankaurrra. 7 lay lavaurrra_ah meelahnau, see- nyaurrrah brrrahmbeelllah? 8 dauveh_abeetahteh? abeetyah- mau_een_veeya mahndzaunee ahl_noomerrraukwatttrrrau. 9 lau- trrau lavaurrranau ah meelahnau, nauy, eevehtscheh, lavaurrryah- mau_ahfrrauma. 10 marrrkau dezeedehrrra lavaurrrahrrreh_ ah, meelahnau. dieci (diétchi) 10 THIRD LESSON Who Are They? 1 Francesca and Davide Brambilla live in Milan at 9 Verdi Street. 2 Davide is [a] barrister and works at the Milan court of justice (the Court of Milan). 3 Francesca is [a] doctor and works at the Sesto San Giovanni hospital (at the hospital of San Giovanni). 4 Marco, however, has a degree in chemistry, but doesn't work yet. 5 He’s going to Milan for an interview (of job) with (in) a chemical company. 6 — Where do you work, Marco? - | don’t work yet. 7 — Do you work in Milan, Mrs. Brambilla? 8 — Where do you live? - We live at 4 Via Manzoni. 9g They work in Milan, while we (however) work in Rome. 10 Marco wishes [to] work in Milan. NOTES (1) Don't forget to use the correct preposition after the verb abitare: abito_a Roma, a Boston, a Milano, but: abito in Francia, in Italia, in Germania. (2) Notice that in Italian, the street number of the building comes after the name of the street. (3) Un colloquio, un'industria: \n \talian, nouns are always preceded by an article. (4) All the verbs such as /avorare, abitare, arrivare etc. belong to the first group (with infinitive ending in -are). (5) Notice that you don’t need a preposition after the verb desiderare. kee A word about the pronunciation of double consonants. Double consonants are not pronounced in the same manner as single ones; they are stressed twice as much! There is a definite purpose for this, since /a Nona di Beethoven (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) is not la nonna di Beethoven (Beethoven's grandmother)! If the pronunciation is not correct, there could be some misunderstandings... Lezione 311 undici (ou'nditchi) ESERCIZI: 1 Arrivo domani a Bologna. 2 Lui lavora a Milano, ma abita a Monza. 3 Dove lavorate? - Lavo- riamo all’Ospedale di Milano. 4 Davide e Francesca abitano a Roma? - No, abitano a Milano. § Vorrei un giornale e un pacchetto di sigarette. 6 Marco ha una laurea in chimica. aK Mettete le parole che mancano 1 Where do you live? (you = plural, familiar) Dove .. -? We live in Manzoni Street. betes in... Manzoni. 2 Where do you work, Madam? Dove ......, signora? 3 | would like some information. please. teneal un'informazione, ... ...... 4 I'm in Milan for a job interview. ++... Milanoperun ....... di lavoro. 5 | would like to work in the chemical industry. Desidero........ ine. . chimica. eee dodici (deditchi) 12 EXERCISES: 1 | shall be arriving in Bologna tomorrow. 2 He works in Milan, but lives in Monza. 3 Where do you work? - We work at the Milan Hospital. 4 Do Davide and Francesca live in Rome? - No, they live in Milan. 5 | would like a newspaper and a packet of cigarettes. 6 Marco has a Master's degree in chemistry. kK You are now on your third day of Italian: isn’t it nice to come out with a few short sentences? Try to continue at the rate of fifteen to thirty minutes a day. DAVIDE EAWOCATO E LAVORA AL TRIBUNALE 01 MILANO - CORREZIONE: 1 Abitate? Abitiamo - via. 2 Lavora. 3 Vorrei - per favore. 4 Sono a - colloquio. 5 lavorare - un’industria. Lezione 313 tredici (téditchi) QUARTA LEZIONE (oondeetshee) L’arrivo a Milano 1 — Siamo in orario? domanda una signora a Marco. 2 — Credo di si. Ecco la stazione di Milano. 3 La signora ha quattro valigie e un ombrello. 4 — Facchino! Facchino! - Che guaio: oggi i facchini sono in sciopero. (N.1) 5 Marco aiuta la signora a portare le valigie (porta anche I’ombrello!). 6 — Grazie mille, signore, Lei é Proprio gentile. 7 ll treno é in orario. | treni arrivano a Milano. 8 La signora domanda I’ora. Le signore por- tano le valigie. 9 Il controllore domanda il biglietto. | control- lori guardano i biglietti. 10 Ecco la stazione di Milano. Le stazioni di Milano e di Roma hanno un traffico in- tenso, (N.4) 11 Lo scompartimento di Marco @ il numero cinque. Gli scompartimenti sono pieni. (1) PRONUNCIA Larrreevau ah meelahnau. 1 Syahmoheen_aurrrarrryau? dau- mahndaoona seenyaurrra ah marrrkau. 2 krehdau_dee_see ekk- kau_lastatsyauneh_dee_meelahnau. 3 la seenyaurrraah_ kwattt- rrrau_lvaleedjeh eh oon aumbrrrelilau. 4 fakkkeenau fakkkeenau kehlgwhyau audddjee ee_fakkkeenee saunau_ een, shaupairrrau. 5 marrrkau ayyoota lz seenyaurrra ah paurrrtahrrreh_leh_val- eedjeh - paurrrta_ahnkeh laumbrrrellau. 6 grrratsyeh meelileh see- nyaurrreh lay eh_prrrauprrryau_djenteeleh. 7 eel trrrehnau_eh., een_aurrrahriryau ee trrrehnee_arrreevanau ah méelahnau. 8 la, seenyaurrra daumanda_laurrra leh seenyaurrreh_paurrrtanau, leh_valeedjeh. 9 eel_kauntrrraulllaurrreh_ daumanda_eel_ beelyettt- au. ee_kauntrrraulllaurrree_gwarrrdaunauee, beelyatttes. 10 ek- kkau_la_statsyauneh_dee_meelahnau. lehUstatsyauneh_ dee meel- ahnau_eh, dee, rrrauma annnau_oon_trrrahffeekau_eentensau. 11 lauskaumparrrteementau_dee_marrrkau eh eel noomehrrrau_tsh- e@enkweh, lee_skaumparrrteementee saunau_pyehnee. quattordici (kouattorditchi) 14 FOURTH LESSON The Arrival in Milan — Are we on time? a lady asks Marco. — Yes | think so. Here [is] Milan station (the station of Milan). The lady has four suitcases and an umbrella. Porter! Porter! - Bad luck! The porters are on (in) strike today. Marco helps the lady with (to carry) her (the) bags: [he] also carries the umbrella. — Thanks a lot (thousand), you're really kind. oa Hn Pw Ns | The train is on time. The trains arrive in Milan. The lady asks the time. The ladies carry the suitcases. The attendant asks [for] the ticket. The atten- dants check (look) the tickets. Here [is] Milan Station. Milan and Rome sta- tions (the stations of M. and of R.) have a lot of traffic. 11 Marco’s compartment is number five (the compartment of Marco is the number five). The compartments are full. oc © ON NOTES (1) While in English the definite articles have only one form (‘‘the” for both genders), in Italian they are either masculine or feminine, and there is no neuter gender. The gender is indicated by the definite article i/, lo for masculine singular, and /a for feminine singular; therefore i, gli for mascu- line plural and /e for feminine plural. . The indefinite article (English a, an) has also two forms: un, uno, masculine and una, feminine. More is explained in the lesson 7 (Revisione e note), on page 25. The definite article /o is used before masculine nouns beginning with the letter s and followed by a consonant, or by the letter z: Jo straniero, the foreigner: fo zoccolo, the clog. Lo is also used before words beginning with a vowel, but in this case the o is dropped and is replaced by an apostrophe: /‘operaio. In the plural, the article gif is applied in both cases: gli stranieri, gli zoccoli, gli operai. Lezione 415 quindici (koul’nditchi) 12 La signora non trova |’ombrello. Le signore non trovano gli ombrelli. (N.3) . 12 la_see- fyaurrra naun.trrrauva,l'aumbrrrelilau. lejseenyaurrreh naui, trrrauvanau_lyee_ aumbrrreillee. ESERCIZI: 1 II treno é@ in orario? - Credo di si. 2 | facchini sono in sciopero, Che guaio! 3 Lo scomparti- mento numero cinque é pieno. 4 L’amico di Davide abita a Rema. 5 Pronto! La signora Brambilla é a casa? Mettete le parole che mancano 1 Marco carries the suitcases. 2 Here is Milan station. clas. di Milano. 3. The compartments are full. Fete e eee eee sono pieni. 5 The attendant asks [for] she tickets. . controllore domanda . biglietti. 6 You are really nice, Sir. Lei. ....... gentile, signore! sedici (séditchi) 16 12 The lady doesn’t find the umbrella. The ladies don’t find the umbrellas. EXERCISES: 1 Is the train on time? - Yes | think so. 2 The porters are on strike. Bad luck! 3 Compartment number 5 is crowded. 4 Davide's friend lives in Rome. 5 Hello! Is Mrs. Brambilla home? Constant reference to the Pronunciation Script will help you pronounce correctly (it is of course less essential for those of you who possess the recordings). As you go along, the use of the Pronunciation Script will become less and less important, and you'll need to use it less frequently. The pronunciation of the combination gli. Now here is a sound which might seem rather difficult: pronounce it a bit like the poetic ‘‘ye” preceded by an I. We remind you that in the Prenunciation Script, this sound is indicated to you by the approximation “‘lyee’’, so use your recordings! CORREZIONE: 1 porta le valigie. 2 Ecco - stazione. 3 Gli scomparti- menti. 4 l'ombrello? § Il - i. 6 & proprio. Lezione 417 diciassette (ditchasssetté) QUINTA LEZIONE (kweenta) A Milano 1 Marco entra in un bar. (1) 2 — Un caffé ristretto, per favorel! Scusi, qual’é l‘autobus per andare a via Verdi? (2) 3 — Il trentasette. Oppure la metropolitana, li- nea B; ma é molto affollata a quest’ora. 4 'l tempo é@ bello e Marco decide di prendere l'autobus. : 5 E una buona idea! L’autobus non é troppo pieno. 6 Scende dopo dieci minuti davanti al palazzo dove abitano Francesca e Davide. (3) (4) 7— Prendi un caffé? - No, prendo un cappuc- cino. 8 — Prendete il taxi? - No, é troppo caro, pren- diamo |’autobus. At the beginning of a word, the Italian s is pronounced in the same manner as in English (in the Pronunciation Script it is also represented by an s): sono, | am; siamo, we are. Similarly, words such as stupido (stoo- peedau): stupid, sporco (spaurrrkau): dirty, scarpa (skahrrrpa): shoe, apply to this rule. The pronunciation becomes 2 when found between two vowels as in the words mese (mehseh): month, cosa (cauza): thing, or riso (rrreezau): rice. PRONUNCIA a meelahnay. 1 marrrkau_entrrra een oon bahrrr. 2 oon, katfeh- rreestrrvetttau pehrrr favaurrreh! skoozee kwaleh, Jahwiauboos pehrrrahndahrrreh_ahveeya wehrrrdee? 9 eol trrrentasettteh aupppoorrreh_la_metrrraupauleetahna leenya bee ma_eh maul- tau_ahfffaulllaia ah kwestaurrrah. 4 eel tempau_eh_pelllau eh marrrkau detsheedeh dee prrrenderrreh. lahwtauboos. 5 eh. cona_bwauna_eedea! lahwtauboos naunsh_trrraupppau, pyehnau, 6 shendeh_daupau_dyetshee_meenootee davantee_ahl_palatttsau dauveh_ahbeetanau_jfrrrantsheska eh dahveedeh.~7 prrrendee, oon_kaffieh? nau, prrrendoh oon kapppootsheenau. 8 prrrend- ehteh_eel taksee? nau, eh_trrraupppau_kahrrrau prrrendyamau lahwtauboos. diciotto (ditchotitc) 18 FIFTH LESSON In Milan 1 Marco enters (in) a café. 2 — A (ristretto) coffee, please. Excuse me, which is the bus for (to go to) Verdi Street? 3 — (The) [Number] thirty-seven. Or the under- ground, Line B; but it’s very crowded at this hour. 4 The weather is fine and Marco decides to take the bus. 5 (It is a) good idea! The bus isn’t too full. 6 [He] gets off after ten minutes in front of the building where Francesca and Davide live. 7 — Wouid you like (you take) a coffee? - No, I'll have (take) a ‘‘cappucino” 8 — Will you take a (the) taxi? - No, it’s too expen- sive; we're going by bus. (take the bus) NOTES (1) Un bar: a café where there are no seats and in which you drink at the counter. Un caffé: a coffee-house in which you can sit down. In Italy today, these have unfortunately become scarce, but there are still some left; the most famous of which are the Caffé Greco and Doney in Rome, and the Caffé Florian in Venice. (2) The contrary? Un caffé lungo: a light coffee. in Italy, particularly in the south, coffee constitutes a daily social ritua!, and there are many kinds of coffee to choose from. The most common ones are: caffé macchiato (literaily, tinged coffee, meaning coffee with a drop of milk), caffellatte (coftee with milk), caffé corretto (literally, laced coffee, meaning coffee with a bit of cognac or grappa) and, of course, the famous cappuccino: a dense or strong coffee which is added to a cup of hot milk previously made inio foam with steam. As a finishing touch, one can aiso have 2 sprinkling of cocoa. (3) Scenae: [he] gets off. in Italian, personal pronouns don't neces- sarily precede verbs. The form of the verb indicates the personal pronoun concerned. (4) Un palazzo di quattro piani. a four-storey buiiding. But also: un palazzo del Rinascimento: A Renaissance palace. Lezione 519 diciannove (ditchannnové) 9 La signora lori prefde il taxi. | signori lori prendono il taxi. (5) 10 Questa signora @ napoietana. Questo sig- nore, invece, é romano. 9 la seenyaurrra yaurriee_prrrendeh_ eel, taksee ee_seenyaurrree yaurrree_prrrendaunaueel_taksee. 10 kwesta,, seenyaurrra_eh_nahpauletahnah. kwestauseenyaurrreh eenvehts- heh, eh rrraumahnau akK ESERCIZI: 1 Non prendiamo quest’autobus, é troppo affollato. 2 Vorrei un caffé ristretto. 3 Marco scende davanti al palazzo di Francesca e Davide. 4 Questo taxi € molto caro! 5 Qggi il tempo é bello. aK Mettete le parole che mancano 1 Mr. and Mrs lori take the piane. Le | l'aereo, 2 Madam, where do you get oft? Signora, dove ..... 2 3 Are you taking the train? No, we're taking the plane. see wees iltreno? .., +++++. Paereo, 4 Will you have a coffee? No, I'll havea “cappuccino”. + un caffe? No, 2.0... un cappuccino. 5 The train is (comes) on time. venti (vé’nti) 20 9 Mrs lori takes a (the) taxi. Mr. and Mrs. lori take a (the) taxi. 10 This lady is Neapolitan. This gentleman, on the other hand, is Roman. NOTES (continued) (5) The article always precedes the words signora, signore and il signore e la signora. Even if they are followed by the surname: La signorina Palumbo non é a casa: Miss Palumbo isn't at home. Note also that in the case of a couple it is said i signori Fiorelli, instead of i/ signore e Ia signora Fiorelli. KKK We will now stop using brackets to point out the English use of personal pronouns preceding verbs on the translated page. The English text will be more pleasant to read. RAK EXERCISES: 1 We won't take this bus; it’s too crowded. 2 | would like a strong coffee. 3 Marco gets off in front of Francesca and Davide's building. 4 This taxi is very expensive. § Today the weather is fine. | UN AUTOBUS AFFOLLATO . CORREZIONE: 1 signori - prendono. 2 scende? 3 Prendete - no, prendiamo. 4 Prendi - prendo. 5 Il - arriva - orario. Lezione 521 ventuno (vé'ntouno) SESTA LEZIONE (sessta) In via Verdi 1 Via Verdi é una strada molto bella ma un po rumorosa. (1) 2 L’appartamento di Francesca e Davide é al quinto piano. 3 Marco chiama l’ascensore, ma... l'ascen- sore é rotto! 4 — Accidenti! com’é pesante questa valigia! Ah, ecco !a porta. 5 — Benvenuto, Marco, accomodati! (2) 6 Le strade sono affollate. | negozi seno aperti. 7 Questo negozio é chiuso. 8 La viligia di Marco @ pesante: Le valigie sono pesanti. (3) (N.5) 9 L'appartamento @ grande e comodo. Gli appartamenti sono grandi e comadi. PRONUNCiA een_veeya_vehrrrdee. 1 veeya vehrrrdee eh_oona strrrahda , maultau bella mah oon_pau rrroomaurrrauza. 2 lappparrrta- mentau_dee_frrrantsheskajeh_dahveedeh eh_ahl_kweentau pyah- nau 3 marrrkau_kyahma_lashensaurrreh mah lashensaurrreh_eh,, rrrautitau! 4 ahtsheedentee! kaumeh_pehzahnteh_kwesta, valee- dja! ah ekkkau la paurrrta. 5 benvenootau marrrkau akkkaumau- datte! 6 leh strrrahdeh_saunau,ahftfaulllahteh ee negautsee sau- noh apehrrrtee. 7 kwestauh_negautsyau eh kyoozau. 8 la_valee- dja_dee_marrrkau_eh_pezahnteh. leh_valeedjeh, saunau_pez ahn- tee. 9 lappparrrtamentau_eh_grrrandeh_ eh kauhmauhdauh. lyee, appparrrtamentee_saunau_grrrandee_eh_kauhmauhdee. ESERCIZI: 1 A quest’ora la metropolitana é affollata. 2 Marco ha una valigia pesante. 3 Accidenti, l'ascen- sore @ rotto! 4 Benvenuto, Marco, ‘accomodati! 5 Com’é grande quest’appartamento! ventidue (vé'ntidoué) 22 SIXTH LESSON In Verdi Street 1 Verdi street is a very nice street but [it’s] a bit noisy. 2 Francesca and Davide's apartment (The apart- ment of Francesca and Davide) is on the fifth floor. 3 Marco calls the lift, but ... the litt is out of order. 4 — Damn! this suitcase is really heavy (How is heavy this suitcase)! Ah, here[’s] the door. 5 — Welcome, Marco, come in! 6 The streets are crowded. The shops are open. 7 This shop is closed. 8 Marco's suitcase (the suitcase of Marco) is heavy. The suitcases are heavy. 9 The apartment is large and comfortable. The apartments are large and comfortable. NOTES (1) Un po is the contraction of un poco, a form more often used in the spoken language. (2) Accomodati, Accomodatevi when speaking to several persons, and the formal Si accomodi are very common expressions of politeness which are quite untranslatable. Depending on their context, they can mean “please come in”, “sit down", “make yourself comfortable’! We will see them again later. Italians always use dj (of) for the possessive form, never an apostrophe and s: L'appartamento di Marco = Marco's apart- ment. @ EXERCISES: 1 At his hour the underground is very crowded. 2 Marco has a heavy suitcase. 3 Damn, the lift is out of order! 4 Welcome Marco, come in. 5 This apartment is so large! Lezione 6