IT102 - Final Exam Outline

A. Vocabolario (Capitoli 7-9)

Capitolo 7
Capitolo 8
Capitolo 9
B. I partitivi
a. Partitivi (Partitives) are expressions that indicate quantities that are not exactly
quantifiable (some, a little). The English partitive some can generally/usually be
expressed in Italian by the preposition di + definite article. The forms vary (del,
dell’, dello, dei, degli, della, delle) according to the number and gender of the
noun they precede.
- Per antipasto vi consiglio dei salumi e dei formaggi misti, oppure delle
piadine. = For an appetizer, I recommend some mixed cured meats and
cheeses, or some piadinas

Qualche vs. alcuni/alcune

● The English partitive some can also be expressed in Italian with the indefinite adjectives
qualche and alcuni/alcune. They are interchangeable and are used only with countable
items. They are equivalent to di + definite article, but notice that:
 ○ qualche is invariable and it is always followed by a noun in the singular form.
○ alcuni (m. pl.) / alcune (f. pl.) is always followed by a noun in the plural form.

Un po’/poco di…
● Un po’ di (or un poco di) (a little, a little bit of) is an invariable expression that indicates
a small quantity.
- Metto un po’ di zucchero nel caffè. = I put a little sugar in my coffee.
- Io mangio un po’ di pasta tutti i giorni. = I eat a little pasta every day.

● The following table summarizes the use of partitives with countable and uncountable
items

C. Il si impersonale.
● In Italian, the pronoun si can be used when the person who performs the action is not
identified (this is also known as “impersonal construction”). In English this construction
corresponds to one, they, people, etc
● The pronoun si is often used to express common habits and rules, or to request and give
information
- In Sicilia, si va al mare fino a ottobre = In Sicily, people go to the beach until
October
- Mi dispiace, non si fuma in aereo = I’m sorry, there is no smoking in the
airplane
- Come si va a Palermo da Catania? = How does one get to Palermo from Catania?
- Ragazzi, cosa si fa oggi? = Guys, what are we going to do today?
- Molto tempo fa si viaggiava spesso in treno = A long time ago people used to
travel often by train
a) The pronome si can be followed by the third-person singular or plural form of the verb.
It is always followed by a verb in the third-person singular form when:

● If the direct object is plural, the pronome si is followed by the third-person plural form
of the verb

b) When the pronome si is used with reflexive or reciprocal verbs, ci si is used to avoid
repeating the word si twice
- In vacanza ci si alza tardi e la sera ci si incontra con gli amici = On vacation
people (we all) get up late and in the evening meet with their (our) friends
D. Il futuro
● Il futuro is used to express events that will happen in the future

a) The table below shows how to conjugate regular verbs in the future tense

b) To form the futuro with verbs ending in -ciare and -giare, such as cominciare and
viaggiare, drop the -i from the stem in every verb form in order to maintain the soft
sound. With verbs ending in -care and -gare such as giocare and pagare, add an -h after
the c and g in every verb form in order to maintain the hard sound

Verbi irregolari nel futuro

● Some verbs are irregular when forming the futuro. The following list shows the most
common irregular verbs in the future tense
E. L’imperativo e i pronomi doppi
a. The imperativo (imperative) is the verb mood used to give commands, advice,
instructions, directions, and strong suggestions. It is used with all persons except for the
first-person singular (io) and the third-person plural (loro)

● The following table shows the imperativo affermativo (affirmative imperative) of

regular verbs
→ Controllare in the tu and Lei forms are wrong; switch them around
● Notice that most of the imperativo forms–all except the tu form of -are verbs and the
Lei form for all verbs–are the same as the presente indicativo. The imperative of the noi
form corresponds to the English Let’s + verb. Also, in Italian, as in English, subject
pronouns are not generally expressed with the imperativo. They are used in rare cases
for emphasis

b. Verbs ending in -care and -gare add an h in the Lei form to preserve the hard sound of
the consonants c and g. Verbs with an -i at the end of the stem, such as studiare,
mangiare, do not add a second i to the verb ending

Verbi irregolari
● The following verbs are irregular in the imperativo. The verbs andare, dare, fare, stare,
and dire can be shortened in the tu form, in which case an apostrophe is added. Both
forms are commonly used.

Imperativo negativo
 ● To form the imperativo negativo (negative imperative), for Lei, noi and voi forms, place
non before the affirmative imperativo forms. To form the imperativo negativo for the
tu form, place non before the infinitive.

F. Imperativo e pronomi
● When object pronouns (direct or indirect), reflexive pronouns, reciprocal pronouns, ci,
ne, or any combined forms (pronomi doppi) are used with the affirmative imperativo,
their position varies according to the subject pronoun
● With the tu, noi and voi forms of the imperativo, pronouns are attached to the end of the
verb form, creating one word
 ● With the Lei form, however, pronouns always precede the imperativo

Vai / Dai / Di’ / Fai / Stai + pronomi

● When using pronouns with the single syllable imperativo forms, such as vai (va’), dai
(da’), di’, fai (fa’), stai (sta’), the apostrophe from the shorter form is dropped and the
initial consonant of the pronoun being added is doubled. The exception is the pronoun gli,
which is added in its regular form

Imperativo negativo e pronomi

● Pronouns may either precede or follow the imperativo negativo in the tu, noi, and voi
forms. When pronouns follow the imperativo negativo in the tu form, they are attached
to the infinitive after deleting the final -e, creating one word
○ Remember that the imperativo negativo for tu is formed by non + infinitive
G. I pronomi relativi
a. Pronomi relativi (relative pronouns) connect two clauses in order to create a more
elaborate and complex sentence. These pronouns refer to a previously mentioned noun
(person, place, or thing) about which more information is given. As with other types of
pronouns, pronomi relativi also help to avoid repetition

b. The most common Italian pronomi relativi are:

● Che (who, whom, which, that) is invariable and refers to people and things.

● Cui (whom, which) is also invariable and it is used in place of che only after a
preposition.
 ● Cui preceded by a definite article indicates possession, ownership, and corresponds to
the English whose. The definite article takes the gender (m./f.) and number of the noun
that comes immediately after the pronoun cui

● Chi (those who, the one / the person who or the ones / the people who) refers only to
people and it always takes the verb in the singular form

● Quello che / Quel che / Ciò che (what, that which) only refers to things or concepts.
Quel che is a shortened form of quello che

H. Aggettivi e pronomi indefiniti

● Indefinite expressions (including pronouns and adjectives) are used to refer to an
unspecified person, thing, place, or time. Indefinite expressions can be positive or
negative
Pronomi indefiniti
a. The following table shows the most common Italian pronomi indefiniti (indefinite
pronouns)

b. Notice that the pronouns qualcuno, chiunque, and ognuno are singular and invariable.
When they are used as subjects, the verbs they precede must be in the third-person
singular. Alcuni (m.) / Alcune (f.) and tutti (m.) / tutte (f.) on the other hand, are plural
and variable when they are used as subjects. They precede a verb in the third-person
plural

c. The indefinite pronouns qualcosa and niente require the preposition di before an
adjective and da (to) or per (in order to) before a verb

d. In Italian pronomi indefiniti negativi require the negative non before the verb unless
they are the subject of the verb. Pronomi indefiniti negativi are all singular and
invariable
Aggettivi indefiniti
a. The following table shows the Italian aggettivi indefiniti (indefinite adjectives)

b. The indefinite adjectives ogni, qualunque, qualsiasi, and qualche precede nouns in the
singular form. The use of nessun, nessun’, nessuna, and nessuno follows the same rules
as the indefinite articles. The adjectives tutti/tutte precede plural nouns with their
definite articles

c. Some English adverbs can be expressed by indefinite expressions in Italian

d. Notice that the negative of qualche volta is non… mai (never)

I. Cultura: Leggi il testo e decidi se le frasi sono vere (V) o false (F). (Read the text and decide
if the sentences are true or false.)
J. Il presente, il passato e il futuro progressivo
a. The modo progressivo (progressive mood) express an action that is, was, or will be
taking place at a specific moment in the present, past, or future. In Italian, the
progressivo is expressed by a conjugated form of the verb stare plus the gerundio (verb
form ending in -ing) of the main verb

b. The gerundio (gerund) is formed by deleting the ending -are/-ere/-ire from the infinitive
and replacing it with the endings shown below. It is always invariable

● The verbs bere, dire, and fare have an irregular gerund

c. The three progressive tenses, presente, passato, and futuro, are formed as follows:
i. presente progressivo: presente indicativo di stare + gerundio
ii. passato progressivo: imperfetto di stare + gerundio
iii. futuro progressivo: futuro di stare + gerundio
1. The futuro progressivo is used to express probability or conjecture,
things that might or might not be happening at a specific time

K. BONUS - Scrittura:
Elementi da includere:
_____ 2 forme di piacere (passato, presente, o futuro)
_____ 2 verbi al trapassato prossimo
_____ 4 verbi al futuro
_____ 2 verbi al progressivo
_____ 3 esempi di pronomi (diretti, indiretti, doppi, relativi, indefiniti, ‘ne’)