Imperfetto

		singular			plural
1st person		capivo	I understood		capivamo	we understood
2nd person		capivi	you understood (singular)		capivate	you understood (plural)
3rd person		capiva	he/she understood		capivano	they understood

Accents are the same as in the 1st and 2nd conjugation. The first vowel of the inflection is i. sentivamo freddo = we felt cold (or "we were feeling cold") finivano il lavoro = they finished the work (or "they were finishing the work")

FUTURO

		singular			plural
1st person		capirò	I shall understand		capiremo	we shall understand
2nd person		capirai	you will understand (sing.)		capirete	you will understand (pl.)
3rd person		capirà	he/she will understand		capiranno	they will understand

Accents are the same as in the 1st and 2nd conjugation (two of them fall on the last syllable). Again, the first vowel of the inflection is i. aprirà un negozio = he will open a shop partiremo domani = we shall leave tomorrow

Passato remoto

		singular			plural
1st person		capii	I understood		capimmo	we understood
2nd person		capisti	you understood (singular)		capiste	you understood (plural)
3rd person		capì	he/she understood		capirono	they understood

These inflections are rather similar to the ones of the 1st conjugation. Only the 3rd singular person is slightly different, because it has an accented i instead of an accented o. Also note how the 1st singular person ends with two vowels i: both of them must be heard, pronouncing "ahpryhyh" (like a long English "ee" sound), with the accent on the first i; this should not be confused with the 3rd singular person, whose only i is accented, and therefore carries the stress: "ahpryh" (thus ending with a very short sound).

.1 SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions are short words which express conditions, directions, specifications, such as of, over, to, from, etc. The Italian language has nine basic prepositions:

··· DI ··· A ··· DA ··· IN ··· CON ··· PER ··· SU ··· TRA ··· FRA ···

When a definite article follows them, they bind to it. When they are not followed (and bound) to articles, as above, they are called "simple prepositions". Each of them will be discussed individually, showing their basic use. You don't need to memorize all their meanings now, but reading the page will let you become more familiar with these prepositions and with their use. You may also use this page as a reference, for translating exercise sentences. Most of these prepositions will be more deeply discussed in further specific paragraphs.

DI

The first important meaning of this preposition is of, so that it can be easily translated in most expressions: un bicchiere di vino = a glass of wine la città di Roma = the city of Rome un tipo di musica = a kind of music But Italian also uses di to express specifications, which in English sometimes behave as adjectives: un bastone di legno = a wooden stick (literally: "a stick of wood") una forchetta di plastica = a plastic fork (literally: "a fork of plastic") un topo di campagna = a country mouse (literally: "a mouse of country") i giorni di festa = the holidays (literally: "the days of holiday") il piano di sopra = the upper floor (literally: "the floor of up") Furthermore, since Italian does not have a genitive case, di also translates the English saxon genitive, indicating possession (either actual or metaphorical): il libro di Paolo = Paul's book (literally: "the book of Paul") la madre di Roberto = Robert's mother i dischi di Bob Dylan = Bob Dylan's records il giorno di Natale = Christmas day In a similar way, di is also used as English by (i.e in works by an artist, songs by a composer, etc., almost considered as the author's belonging): un affresco di Michelangelo = a fresco by Michelangelo una sinfonia di Beethoven = a symphony by Beethoven una commedia di Shakespeare = a play by Shakespeare un racconto di Maupassant = a novel by Maupassant Geographic origin is also expressed by possession (as if people belonged to where they come from): io sono di Roma = I am from Rome i due ragazzi sono di Berlino = the two boys are from Berlin When di is followed by a verb (always infinitive tense!) it has the English meaning of for (+ gerundive), or to (+ infinitive): decido di mangiare un panino = I decide to eat a sandwich il modo di costruire un modello = the way of building a model A further meaning of di is English on, used for days (as a habitual circumstance): di sabato = on Saturdays (note that in Italy this expression has a singular form, literally "on [every] Saturday") di mercoledì = on Wednesdays it is also sometimes used with seasons of the year; when the season's name starts with a vowel, the preposition drops the i, and its place is taken by an apostrophe: d'estate = in summer d'inverno = in winter

A (AD)

When preposition a is followed by another word starting with a vowel, for mere phonetic reasons it changes to ad. The first important meaning of this prepositon is to, as a dative case: regalo il libro a Stefania = I give the book to Stephanie venderò la bicicletta a Carlo = I shall sell the bycicle to Charles mandai un pacco ad Alberto = I sent Albert a parcel (literally: "I sent a parcel to Albert"). In a similar way, a indicates directions: a sinistra = to the left a destra = to the right (note how in Italian the two directions have no article) tornerò ad Amburgo = I shall return to Hamburg It also translates English at, or sometimes in, when stating locations: a casa = at home a scuola = at school siamo a letto = we are in bed tu vivi a Roma = you live in Rome When this preposition is between two verbs (the first one usually indicating movement, the second one always in infinitive tense), it indicates the goal of an action, thus translating English to (or sometimes and): corsi a portare le buone notizie a Paolo = I ran to carry the good news to Paolo tornano a restituire i libri = they come back to return the books scenderò a cercare il cane = I shall go down and look for the dog (or ...to look for the dog) Preposition a is also used with the verb giocare (to play), which in Italian is intransitive, and is therefore followed by this preposition which in English is not required: giocare a carte = to play cards giocare a tennis = to play tennis giocare a biliardo = to play billiards

DA

The main use is that of English from or since or as of, indicating an origin (either in time or in space, or a person): da Parigi a Vienna = from Paris to Vienna da qui a lì = from here to there da padre a figlio = from father to son da ieri = since yesterday da lunedì 25 marzo il negozio chiuderà presto = as of monday, March 25th, the shop will close early riceverai una lettera da Francesco = you will receive a letter from Frances When followed by a verb (always infinitive!), it has the meaning of English "has to be..." or "needs to be..." or "can be...": il pacco è da spedire = the parcel has to be sent or the parcel is to be sent l'indirizzo è da verificare = the address has to be checked or the address needs to be checked il sistema è da cambiare = the system needs to be changed

IN

It basically corresponds to the English preposition in or into: in certi casi = in certain cases entrò in dieci negozi = he/she entered [into] ten shops ho dieci monete in tasca = I have ten coins in my pocket Sometimes it corresponds to English by: arrivarono in automobile = they arrived by car un giro in bicicletta = a ride by bicycle traverseremo il fiume in barca = we will cross the river by boat etc. etc. Another common Italian use for preposition in is to describe the quantity of people in groups or parties, when only the number is stated: siamo in sette = we are seven tirano la fune in cinque = they are five [people] to pull the rope Preposition in is also the most commonly used with seasons of the year (the other preposition mentioned above, di, is an alternative) in estate = in summer in autunno = in autumn in primavera = in spring

CON

It translates the English with, and is very similar in use: ho comprato il libro con pochi soldi = I bought the book with little money il bambino era con un adulto = the child was with an adult scrivo con una penna = I write with a pen etc. It is also often used as an alternative to in when indicating transport, but in this case it is followed by an article (either definite or indefinite): torno con il treno = I come back by train (literally "with the train") the same sentence could be expressed by using in: torno in treno = I come back by train

PER

It can translate English for, to, by, or even as, according to the different use. ho un biglietto per il teatro = I have a ticket for the theatre il pacco è per la signora = the parcel is for the lady una medicina per il dolore = a medicine for [the] pain (note the use of an article in Italian) dipingeva per puro divertimento = he/she painted for pure pleasure lavoravano per i soldi = they worked for the money tornammo per vedere un amico = they came back to see a friend per favore = please (literally: "as a favour") il treno per Roma = the train [going] to Rome teneva il bambino per la mano = he/she held the child by the hand

SU

The most common meanings are on and over. l'aereo vola su Firenze = the plane flies over Florence It can also mean about when indicating a topic: un libro su Roma = a book about Rome Since in most cases this preposition is followed by an article, it will be discussed more throughoutly in the following paragraph.

TRA & FRA

Both prepositions translate the English between and among, and any of the two may be used, according to one's own choice. l'insegnante è fra fra gli alunni = the teacher is among the pupils (it could also have been ...è tra gli alunni) l'albero fra le due case è alto = the tree between the two houses is tall (it could also have been l'albero tra le due case...) The same prepositions also translate the English in when speaking of a time length in the future: l'autobus passerà fra due ore = the bus will pass in two hours time (it could also have been ...passerà tra due ore) fra due mesi tornerò a Napoli = in two months time I will return to Naples (it could also have been tra due mesi...)

.2 COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS

i-5-3.htmli -5-3.html

Due to phonetic reasons, simple prepositions di, a, da, in, su, followed by an article bind to it, thus creating a compound preposition. Most of these changes concern both spoken and written language.

DI

with singular articles:

DI + LO = DELLO

DI + IL = DEL

DI + L' = DELL'

DI + LA = DELLA

with plural articles:

DI + I = DEI

DI + GLI = DEGLI

DI + LE = DELLE

il traffico della città = the city's traffic (literally: the traffic of the city) i rami dell'albero = the branches of the tree (or the tree's branches) i bagagli dei turisti = the tourists' luggage notice that the Italian word for luggage, bagagli, is plural

A

with singular articles:

A + LO = ALLO

A + IL = AL

A + L' = ALL'

A + LA = ALLA

with plural articles:

A + I = AI

A + GLI = AGLI

A + LE = ALLE

regaleranno un libro all'insegnante = they will give a book to the teacher porta l'automobile al garage = he/she takes the car to the garage chiederò agli amici di restare = I will ask the friends to stay notice that the verb chiedere = to ask needs preposition a (to) before the person whom the request is addressed to: only the object is introduced without a preposition.

DA

with singular articles:

DA + LO = DALLO

DA + IL = DAL

DA + L' = DALL'

DA + LA = DALLA

with plural articles:

DA + I = DAI

DA + GLI = DAGLI

DA + LE = DALLE

viaggerò dal nord al sud del paese = I will travel from the north to the south of the country l'evoluzione delle specie, dalla scimmia all'uomo = the evolution of species, from ape to man notice that many nouns expressing general categories (species, ape, man, etc.) in Italian require an article, therefore compound prepositions have to be used.

IN

with singular articles:

IN + LO = NELLO

IN + IL = NEL

IN + L' = NELL'

IN + LA = NELLA

with plural articles:

IN + I = NEI

IN + GLI = NEGLI

IN + LE = NELLE

il vino è nella bottiglia = the wine is in the bottle appesero i vestiti negli armadi = they hung the clothes into the wardrobes

SU

Unlike other prepositions, con might link to the following article, but especially in recent times the two words are left separate.

with singular articles:

SU + LO = SULLO

SU + IL = SUL

SU + L' = SULL'

SU + LA = SULLA

with plural articles:

SU + I = SUI

SU + GLI = SUGLI

SU + LE = SULLE

la casa sulla montagna = the house on the mountain il vento soffiava sopra i tetti degli edifici = the wind blowed over the roofs of the buildings

All other prepositions (con, per, tra, fra) do not bind to the article, and remain separate:

il regalo è per la signora = the gift is for the lady l'accordo con gli avversari = the agreement with the opponents il nido dell'uccello è fra i rami dell'albero = the bird's nest is among the tree's branches

Only preposition con is sometimes used in the compound form, but only in spoken language; many of its combinations have become almost obsolete in written language, and the unbound form (con + article) is now preferred in texts. Since these changes are merely phonetic, spoken language may use either of the two forms.

with singular articles:

CON + LO = COLLO

CON + IL = COL

CON + L' = COLL'

CON + LA = COLLA

with plural articles:

CON + I = COI

CON + GLI = COGLI

CON + LE = COLLE