Beginner Italian by Andrea: September 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012

Avere

Arno River, Florence, Italy:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/11/27/20/28/florence-1066307_960_720.jpg

Avere (to have)

Avere looks like this when conjugated in the present tense:

Io ho
Tu hai
Lui ha
Lei ha
Noi abbiamo
Voi avete
Loro hanno

* Don't forget that the "H" is silent in Italian! Don't say "Ho," say "Oh"; don't say "Ha," say "ah" etc.

This verb translates directly into "to have" when we are talking about ownership/ family relations...

Ho una macchina rossa. (I have a red car)
Lei ha due figli. (She has two children.)

However, when we get into idiomatic uses, it's often quite different than English.

For example, don't try to use "avere" with expressions such as...

Have dinner, have fun, have a good time, have lunch, have a party, etc.

In addition, lots of italian expressions use "avere" where we would use the verb "to be"...

Two examples are:

Ho freddo (I "am" cold)
Ho 20 anni (I "am" 20 years old)

For more of these common "avere" expressions, check out this Quizlet page...

http://quizlet.com/_8ha87

And here is a YouTube video that runs through the pronunciation of the forms of this verb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bI4og_1JUU

And, if you are feeling a little retro, here is a video of Connie Francis singing at the annual San Remo music festival way back in 1965. It's called "Ho Bisogno di Vederti"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtJml27G9Q&playnext=1&list=PL74D859676CB55412&feature=results_video

Ciao!

Friday, September 21, 2012

The Italian Alphabet and Pronunciation

Duomo (Cathedral), Santa Maria Dei Fiori, Florence:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2018/01/07/22/04/architecture-3068402_960_720.jpg

The Italian alphabet and pronunciation.

The alphabet is a useful place to start when learning any language.

And you'll want to be able to spell your name and address in Italian when making wonderful travel reservations, won't you?

Here is a link that lets you hear the names and sounds of each letter:

http://www.cyberitalian.com/en/html/alphabet.html

And here are two useful videos that focus on the Italian alphabet:

Click here to view YouTube Video 1

Click here to view YouTube Video 2

This YouTube video addresses the phonetic system of the Italian alphabet:

Click here to view YouTube phonetics Video

SOME GOOD NEWS: Fortunately, the phonetic system is very straight-forward (unlike in English!), and each letter has essentially one sound.

Essere and Stare

Island of Lipari, Sicily:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/06/03/15/01/lipari-1433566_960_720.jpg

In Italian, there are two verbs that translate into the English "to be."

STARE:

In beginner Italian, the most common use of STARE is when asking or reposnding to the question "How are you?"

Conjugation:

Io sto
Tu stai
Lui/Lei sta
Noi stiamo
Voi state
Loro stanno

Useful Expressions...

Come sta? (How are you- formal)
Sto bene, grazie. E Lei? (I'm fine thanks, and you? formal)

Come stai? (How are you- informal)
Sto bene, grazie. E tu? (I'm fine thanks. And you?- informal)

ESSERE:

This verb is used more often in beginner Italian, to speak of where you are from, nationality, name, professions and with various descriptive adjectives and emotional states.

Conjugation:

Io sono
Tu sei
Lui/Lei è
Noi siamo
Voi siete
Loro sono

Here are several useful useful practice exercises for ESSERE:

1) http://www.iluss.it/free_iluss/beginner_free/essere_b/index.htm
2) http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare312a.htm
3) http://web.uvic.ca/hispanital/italian/italian100/verbi/essere1.htm
4) http://web.uvic.ca/hispanital/italian/italian100/verbi/avere2.htm
5) http://web.uvic.ca/hispanital/italian/italian100/verbi/essere3.htm

And here is a Quizlet page I made to practice with some basic questions, presonal pronouns, and the verb "essere":

http://quizlet.com/_8fg2u

Just for fun- here is a song by popular Italian singer/songwriter Eros Ramazzotti (it's called "Tu Sei")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7yX0MQOcvc

A presto!

Greetings

Mt Etna, Sicily:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/11/26/20/55/etna-2979915_960_720.jpg

Benvenuti!

When you arrive in Italy...or to Italian class... it might be useful to have a few common greetings in your toolbox. Just in case you want to, well, talk to someone... !

To practice greetings, I like these three useful youtube videos (by Travelinguist).

Level 1 is slowest, and gives ample time to both hear the pronunciation and repeat. It says the word in Italian several times, leaves time to repeat, and shows you the word in print.

Level 2 is quicker and says and prints the English followed by the Italian (once). You must do your repeating a little more quickly.

Level 3 says and prints the English, but only says the Italian (you will not see the word in print). Try working your way through the three over time!

Level 1 Greetings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QurMuJmKtlU
Level 2 Greetings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcYO8gReECA
Level 3 Greetings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmf3xrwUnwA

To go along with the greeting theme, here is a song called "Bella Ciao"-- although you'll see from it's history that it is anything but cheerful and carefree as the title implies.

Here is the artist Milva (one of the three most popular female singers in 1960s Italy- and still to be seen on stage and TV programs today) singing this song with its original lyrics on RAIUNO in 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejQJxCpHBB8&noredirect=1

And, if you care to read along, here is a link to the lyrics that go along with the song:

http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Bella_ciao_(mondine)

And, if you are super curiosi, here is the Wikipedia page that tells the story of this WWII era anti-fascist partisan song, along with an alternate version of the lyrics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_ciao

Buone studie!