Unit 7
(Compiled for printing)

I. Past absolute of regular verbs

Study the formation of the past absolute (also called past definite) of the regular verbs.

I II III
parl ai vend ei (-etti)1 sent ii
parl asti vend esti sente isti
parl ò vend è (-ette)1 sent ì
parl ammo vend emmo sent immo
parl aste vend este sent iste
parl arono vend erono (-ettero)1 sent irono

The past absolute may be translated in two ways: parlai can be translated “I spoke” or “I did speak.” It is used to refer to single actions in the relatively distant past (cf. the Italian name for it: passato remoto).

NOTE: Except for the fact that each conjugation retains its characteristic vowel, the endings of the past absolute are the same for the three regular conjugations. The third person singular of verbs in the first conjugation (parlò) is the only exception.

1 Second-conjugation verbs in the past absolute are sometimes used with an old set of endings which occur only in the first and third persons singular and the third person plural.

VOCABULARY

argento
silver		 arricchire
to enrich		 cammino
way, road		 dappertutto
everywhere
eccellere
to excel		 *fa
ago (following time expression)		 fece
made (3d. sing. past abs., fare)		 fu
was (3d sing. past abs.,essere)
*mese (m.)
month		 *ramo
branch		 *sapere (m.)
knowledge		 scienziato
scientist
*scoperta
discovery		 *scorso
last, past		 spandersi
to spread

 

Last revised on January 30, 2017.

II. Past absolute of essere and avere

essere                                                         avere

fui ( I was)      fummo                   ebbi (I had)      avemmo

fosti              foste                       avesti              aveste

fu                 furono                     ebbe               ebbero

VOCABULARY A

 agiato
well-to-do		  *anche chi
whoever, anyone who		  *aver paura (di)
to fear, to be afraid of		  bei
beautiful (cf. bello, page)
 divennero
became (3d pl. past abs., divenire)		  figliare
to multiply (literally, to give birth)		  ingrandire
to grow (large)		  nascono
are born (3d pl. pres., nascere)
 *onde
therefore		  tenor
(=tenore, m.) di vita, standard of living		   *trenta
thirty

VOCABULARY B

arrivasse
arrived, reached (3d sing. impf. subj., arrivare)		  artefice (m.)
craftsman		  *capolavoro
masterpiece		  ci
us, to us
 esanime
lifeless (cf. anima)		  gareggiare
to rival		  *geniale
ingenious, clever		  *gusto
taste; gusto
 *in quanto
in that		  *magari
even		  *mentre
whereas, while		  oro
gold
 raggiunto
reached, attained (past part., raggiungere)		 reciso 
cut off (past part., recidere)		  saggio
essay		  saliera
saltcellar
si incontrino
are met, may be met (3d pl. pres. subj.,incontrare)		  sollevare
to lift, to raise		  *testa
head

 

 

Last revised on January 30, 2017.

III. Direct-object personal pronouns

Singular                                     Plural

mi    me                                      ci    us

ti    you (familiar)                          vi    you (familiar)

lo    him, it (m.)                             li    them (m.)

la    her, it (f.)                                 le    them (f.)

La    you (polite, m. and f.)             Li    you (polite, m.)

Le    you (polite, f.)

Last revised on July 19, 2016.

IV. Position of personal pronouns

Except in a few cases, the pronoun objects given above precede the verb.

Lo conosco. –“I know him.”

Ci chiamano. –“They are calling us.”

La conoscete? –“Do you know her?”

NOTE: When the verb begins with a vowel, the pronouns mi, ti, lo, and la (others less commonly) often drop their final vowel and take an apostrophe.

Egli t’ammira. –“He admires you.”

Essa m’ascolta. –“She listens to me.”

One of the exceptions to the rule stated under number 1 is that of the object of an infinitive. In that case the pronoun object follows the infinitive and is written as one word with it, after the final e of the infinitive is dropped. (This is identical to what happens with reflexive pronouns-cf. section XVI, page 31.)

Desidero (di) conoscerli. –“I wish to know (meet) them.”

Egli promette di farlo. –“He promises to do it.”

Vado al cinema per divertirmi. –“I go to the movies to have a good time.”

VOCABULARY A

Review the items you know, and learn the rest.

ascoltare
to listen (to)		 chiamare
to call		 chiamarsi
to be called		 comprare
to buy
conoscere
to know		 guardare
to look (at)		 mangiare
to eat		 mostrare
to show
trovare
to find

VOCABULARY B

 aderire (a)
to join		  affrontado

facing

  anziano
elderly		  *aprire
to open
 *a seconda di
according to		  attitudine
aptitude (cf. atteggiamento, attitude)		  carcere (m.)
prison		  compiere (also compire)
to fulfill
 deve
must (3d. sing. pres., dovere)		  devono
must (3d. pl. pres., dovere)		  *dunque
therefore		  impresa
undertaking
 incremento
betterment		  *mancare di
to lack		  *mille (pl., mila)
thousand		  *non..più
no more, no longer
peccato
sin		  *poi
then		  sacerdote (m.)
priest		  *scopo
aim to complete
 sessanta
sixty		  speditezza
quickness, promptness		 stabilire
to establish (cf. stabilizzare, tostabilize)		  *straniero
foreign
sviluppo
development		 ugualmente
equally

 

Last revised on January 30, 2017.