Milanese, graduated in Italian literature a long time ago, I began teaching Italian online in Japan back in 2003. I usually spend winter in Tokyo and go back to Italy when the cherry blossoms shed their petals. I do not use social media.
We are sure that even if you speak some Italian there are some names of body parts – parti del corpo – you don’t know. We’ll focus on vocabulary and pronunciation. Listen to the audio files and solve the final quiz.
Ok, get ready to listen and repeat the words. We are going to dissect and study the human body just like my esteemed fellow countryman Leonardo da Vinci did some time ago. Well… in less detail.
La testa – The head
As opposed to English, i capelli is a countable noun. So il capello is a single hair. Il sopracciglio belongs to a particular family of Italian nouns, along with other nouns of body parts. The singular is masculine, plural is feminine le sopracciglia ending in -a. This is because in Latin they were neutral words and in Italian (we have no neutral) singular and plural took different genders. At the bottom of the page you will find a recap.
Il torso – the torso (easy!)
In this case the singular word il seno stands generally for both breasts. It is also possible to say i seni, less used. I bet you want to know how we say “ass” instead of the most polite sedere. There you go: culo.
Gli arti – Limbs
sc-shortcode-cleaner-clean-content-end–>
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the name of the fingers. From thumb to pinky the are: pollice, indice, medio, anulare, mignolo. In Italian il dito, singular is masculine, the plural le dita is feminine. Other nouns with irregular plurals are: sopracciglio, ciglio, braccio, ginocchio, labbro. Try to say the plural following the same rule, LE DITA —-> LE —–A.
A useful tip, hoping you won’t need it. If you feel pain somewhere and need to explain it to an Italian doctor, say:
Pesto alla genovese is a very versatile dressing for your pasta, sandwiches and main dishes, fish and meat. Learn how to prepare it with simple ingredients.
I have four big vases full of basilico, so I decided to prepare some simple pesto alla genovese before it blossoms and leaves get hard. Pesto isone of my favourite dishes of the summer.
Some background information. Pesto alla genovese, in Italian simply pesto (in Ligurian language pestu) is a typical condiment originally from Liguria, northern Italy, the region of the famous Cinque Terre, and its capital Genova. There was something similar our ancestors the Romans called moretum but of course they did not have any pasta back then. The basic ingredients of pesto alla genovese are basil (Ocimum basilicum) or, better, the Genovese Basil (in Ligurian language baxeicò). The second key ingredient is pine nuts, then we have Ligurian sweet garlic, Parmesan cheese (or Sardinian pecorino) and Ligurian olive oil.
I already know Ligurians will complain against a simple Milanese like me for spoiling their recipe, but they will understand that normal people around the world can’t find regular ingredients used in their famous sauce. So…
I used:
100 grams of fresh basil from my garden
50 grams of tender Sicilian almonds (sorry I didn’t have pine nuts in my cupboard)
4 tbs of grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic
a glass of Italian Olio Extra Vergine di oliva 30 cl
salt
The word pesto comes from the verb pestare, to crush, because pesto is traditionally produced with a mortar made of marble and wooden pestle. I have a simple hand blender, built in 2012. No history or romantic tradition here! Nowadays, it is used more than the mortar. Don’t tell the Ligurians, they might say it’s not true.
I grind all the ingredients separately and mix them together in a later stage. So, first I ground the almonds pretty thin, making sure they didn’t turn into a powder. Then grated the parmigiano. Whole garlic is heavy on your stomach, so it’s better to take the core out. The critical step is mixing the olive oil with the basil and the garlic. Add the basil in two or three times. I usually click just a few seconds on the hand blender, let it cool down and start again. You don’t want to heat the ingredients. I like it when basil leaves are not completely turned into a paste. Then finally add the ground almonds, the ground parmigiano, stir and taste it for adjusting salt. Check the texture. If your pesto is too solid, add olive oil.
You should obtain a half pint of pesto. I usually eat some the same evening and freeze the remainder. You can freeze it in ice cube molds. If you keep in in your fridge, make sure there is always a film of oil on the surface, protecting the content form air. When you cook your pasta, before adding the sauce, mix pesto alla genovese with some spoons of cooking water and make it soft. I cooked it with a typical Ligurian pasta called trofie.
Penny-pinching Ligurians (believe me, they are…) add potatoes and French beans (in Italian fagiolini or cornetti) to spare some more expensive pasta. I have to say the combination of those two ingredients is superb, so try it!
You can use your pesto alla genovese for dressing a sandwich with mozzarella and tomato, or with your fish or white meat. Try it in your potato salad or on your toasted bruschetta with tomato. If you like simple pasta with tomato, add some pesto and double cream (panna da cucina in Italian), you will get a very delicate sauce, called “le 3 P” (3 P’s –> Pesto Panna Pomodoro). I like to add a couple of spoonfuls of pesto alla genovese to my minestrone, in summertime as well as in winter. Please try it at home!
This lovely little castle in the middle of the countryside near Padua, is a little time machine, where people can eat medieval food, learn how stuff was done without electricity, watch a battle which took place 800 years ago and see the castle set on fire.
Built on the banks of the unpredictable river Bacchiglione, in the countryside of Veneto, the Castello di San Martino della Vaneza is perhaps the most important symbol of the desperate and futile effort of the people or Padua, just at the beginning of the renaissance period, to keep their freedom against the emerging superpower of Venezia. The year 1372, the Carrarafamily lead the last succesful defense of Padua against the army of the Serenissima. Their freedom though didn’t last long. When the battle took place, the castle was at least 400 years old, probably older.
Every year people living around the sweet Colli Euganei, in the Padua countryside, gather in the area of the castle the last weekend of July to revive the event. The fairy-tail forest around the castello looks like it was 800 years ago, with people in ancient costumes baking bread in stone ovens, soldiers in armours preparing for the battle, women cooking traditional food and brewers serving beer or wine.
At the exclusive supper inside the castle, open to 50 people only (I was lucky enough to be invited ;)) were served medieval traditional dishes and entertainment. It was a great chance to see and taste what rich people ate back then. Poor people, well… they did not eat at all.
After the hearty meal, everyone gather in front of the dry bed of the Bacchiglione river, a fantastic natural amphitheatre in front of the castle, and watch the battle. The show is great, there are about 150 modern professional soldiers belonging to clubs of people crazy for medieval fights (I didn’t know there were so many!). They come all over the Veneto region, some from Lombardia, Toscana, Emilia and Umbria, and fight with real weapons! It was impressive to observe the horses, incredibly brave and beautiful animals, the only ones probably thinking the battle was real. Then after the end of battle, the Castello is “set on fire”, to remember the severe damages it had during the battle. If you happen to be in Venezia in July, the event is worth an afternoon/evening outside the city, just one hour driving.
The Italian periodo ipotetico, is used to express a hypothetical situation and its consequences
This is a very basic introduction to the Italian Periodo ipotetico.Please have a look at the congiuntivo and condizionale if you are not familiar with those grammar points.
The concept of periodo ipotetico issimilar to the English conditional sentences. The main clause, called apodosi, (you don’t need to remember that) describes the consequences of the possible action in the dependent clause, called protasi (another word you can happily forget about).
Se piove (premise), —> non andiamo in spiaggia (consequence).
That’s the simplest type of periodo ipotetico.
If the weather will be bad, we won’t go to the beach. We use the indicativo, because we are sure about the situation / outcome scenario.
There are three different types of Italian Conditional Sentences
Realtà
If the outcome, given the circumstances, is REAL we talk about periodo ipotetico della realtà.
Se mangi solo verdura, dimagrisci.
Se avrai sonno mentre guidi, fermati.
Se hai bevuto troppo, ti accompagnerò a casa.
All the sentences begin with Se, (if).
We can swap main and subordinate clauses and obtain the same result: Fermati se avrai sonno mentre guidi.
In this first type of conditional sentences, we can use the indicativo mood, presente, passato and futuro, sometimes in combination with the imperativo (2nd example). The action is going to happen for sure or it is likely to happen given the right circumstances.
The “formula” for this first periodo ipotetico is
Se + indicativo presente / futuro (dependent) + indicativo or imperativo (main).
Possibilità
If the premise is not realistic at the moment, the outcome will be more vaguely possible. We talk about periodo ipotetico della possibilità.
Se avessi dei soldi, comprerei una bella casa.
Se vendessi la mia macchina userei l’autobus.
Se potessi, ti presterei dei soldi.
If I had the money, I’d buy a nice house. It means that I don’t have money, however…
The “formula” for this second periodo ipotetico is
→ se + congiuntivo imperfetto (dependent) + condizionale presente (main)
Please note that the 2 tenses are not interchangeable, I cant’s use the condizionale in the dependent clause or the congiuntivo in the main clause
Se potrei ti presterei dei soldi
Se potessi ti prestassi dei soldi
They are both wrong.
Impossibilità (or Irrealtà)
If the action, given the circumstances is impossible or not realistic, we talk about periodo ipotetico dell’irrealtà. The premise is in the past and did not happen, the outcome is pure speculation.
Se non avessi mangiato quattro pizze, adesso non avrei il mal di pancia.
Se fossi andato all’università, adesso forse avrei un bel lavoro.
Se mi fossi svegliato in tempo, non sarei arrivato in ritardo.
All the events causing the condition in the main clause are in the past. The whole period is a representation of an alternative past, so it’s not real. We can’t change the past. But, what if…
The “formula” for this periodo ipotetico is
→ se + congiuntivo trapassato (dependent) + condizionale presente (main) – Examples 1 & 2
The hypothetical action in the past could have had consequences on the present.
→ se + congiuntivo trapassato (dependent) + condizionale passato (main) – Example 3
The hypothetical action in the past could have had consequences on the past.
In spoken Italian, there is a tendency to simplify the periodo ipotetico della impossibilità using the imperfetto.
Se mi fossi svegliato in tempo, non sarei arrivato in ritardo. → Se mi svegliavo in tempo non arrivavo in ritardo.
This is quite common in informal spoken Italian and it is acceptable. Of course, many teachers are against this simplification but, as a matter of fact, Italians use it a lot and it’s already encoded in textbooks. I’m totally fine with that.
Again, this is a simplification. Book a free trial class if you want learn more.
Please solve the quiz.
Time limit: 0
Quiz-summary
0 of 2 questions completed
Questions:
1
2
Information
LOADING QUIZ...
You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.
Quiz is loading...
You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.
You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:
Results
Time has elapsed
Your score is 0 out of 0 points, (0)
Average score
Your score
Categories
Not categorized0%
1
2
Answered
Review
Question 1 of 2
1. Question
Seleziona le frasi sbagliate
Correct
Le frasi sbagliate dovrebbero essere:
Se avessi studiato di più, parleresti meglio l'italiano
Se il mio capo mi chiedesse di lavorare il sabato, accetterei.
Se l'autobus passasse più vicino a casa mia, lo prenderei ogni mattina.
✅ Check your answers
↓↓↓
Incorrect
Le frasi sbagliate dovrebbero essere:
Se avessi studiato di più, parleresti meglio l'italiano
Se il mio capo mi chiedesse di lavorare il sabato, accetterei.
Se l'autobus passasse più vicino a casa mia, lo prenderei ogni mattina.
✅ Check your answers
↓↓↓
Question 2 of 2
2. Question
Seleziona solo le frasi corrette.
Correct
Se fossi ricco, comprerei una casa al mare.
Se Giulia non avesse paura dell'aereo, visiterebbe New York.
✅ Check your answers
↓↓↓
Incorrect
Se fossi ricco, comprerei una casa al mare.
Se Giulia non avesse paura dell'aereo, visiterebbe New York.
We are going to study how combining Italian direct and indirect pronouns will simplify the Italian language and complicate your life as a student
–
lo
la
li
le
ne
mi
me lo
me la
me li
me le
me ne
ti
te lo
te la
te li
te le
te ne
gli
glielo
gliela
glieli
gliele
gliene
le
gliele
gliela
glielo
gliele
gliene
ci
ce lo
ce la
ce li
ce le
ce ne
vi
ve lo
ve la
ve li
ve le
ve ne
gli (a loro)
glielo
gliela
glieli
gliele
gliene
si
se lo
se la
se li
se le
se ne
Let’s imagine a dialogue between two young friends. Mario wants to know if Luigi’s father can lend them his car.
Mario: “Hai chiesto a tuo padre se ci presta la sua macchina?” Did you ask your father if he will lend (to) us his car?
Luigi: “Glielo ho chiesto ma non ce la dà” I asked (it to) him, but won’t give it to us.
Luigi’s answer has all the elements for describing how Italian direct and indirect pronouns can be combined together and avoid redundant elements in a discussion. Let’s analyse what Luigi says.
I asked (it to) him GLIELO —> GLI + LO = GLI means A LUI, to his father; LO stands for asking your father the question
CE LA ➜ CE means A NOI , to us and LA takes place of “la macchina”, it, the car.
Looking at the grid, we can observe some changes:
MI TI SI CI and VI
when combined with direct pronouns become
ME TE SE CE and VE
Mi dai le forbici? ➜ ME LE dai? Can you give me the scissors? Can you give them to me?
Ti presento una mia amica ➜ TE LA presento – Let me introduce her to you
Giulia si lava la faccia ➜ SE LA lava – Giulia washes it (the face) herself (reflexive SI)
La mamma ci ha detto di tornare a casa ➜ CE LO ha detto – She said it to us
Vi do dei biscotti ➜ VE LI do – I give them to you
An important note about GLI: it merges with direct pronouns forming complex compound pronouns.
Oggi compro a Maria delle scarpe nuove ➜ GLIELE compro – I buy them (feminine) to her
Please remember that Italian direct and indirect pronouns, with indicativo, congiuntivo and condizionale tenses come always BEFORE the verb and are separate:
Te lo dico io. Se non te lo dicessi io, te lo direbbe qualcun altro.
We already can see how Italian direct and indirect pronouns match with infinito, imperativo and gerundio. They always come after the verb and merge with it. The same happens when pronouns are combined together.
Non posso tenervelo segreto, devo dirvelo – I cant keep it secret to you. I have to say it to you
Mario, devi dare 10 euro a Carlo. Daglieli
Non sapevo cosa fare. Parlandotene, mi sono tolto un peso
Now we can see some real examples and practice. I am going to put together some sentences with different tenses and moods. They are only in Italian. Make an effort and try to understand them.
Ci presteresti la tua macchina? Ce la presteresti?
Mia sorella mi ha regalato una cravatta. Me l’ha regalata.
Ci scambieremo i regali a Natale. Ce li scambieremo.
Da bambino, mia madre non mi dava mai la coca cola. Non me la dava mai.
Mio fratello si è comprato una macchina nuova. Se l’è comprata.
Mi fai assaggiare un po’ di risotto? Me ne fai assaggiare un po’?
Luca mi aveva detto di non ascoltarti. Me l’aveva detto.
Vi dico di non arrivare in ritardo. Ve lo dico.
Puoi mandare due pacchi a noi? Ce li puoi mandare?
Please note: when a verb begins with a vowel or a H, LO and LA turn into L’.
Giulia si è tolta il maglione. = Se l‘è tolto.
Mia sorella mi ha cucinato il pesce. = Me l’ha cucinato.
Please remember that Italians use pronouns very often and learning them correctly will help you to speak fluently. Please take some time for completing the quiz.
This is a “freemium” quiz. Log in or subscribe at no cost.
Get new free Italian language quizzes and your results in your inbox.
If you are on a mobile device, flip it horizontally.
Italian Direct and Indirect Pronouns
Pronomi combinati
Quiz
👇🏻
This is a “freemium” Italian language blog and quiz
CI and NE are two common Italian particles. Versatile, very important and sometimes confusing
Italians love to use pronouns, sometimes combined together, sometimes merged with verbs. It’s convenient for us, as the Italian language is greatly simplified by the use of pronouns.
For students, however, it can be rather confusing. “Ci and “Ne” are usually studied together as examples of flexible, useful “pronominal particles”, particelle pronominali and particelle avverbiali. We’ll call them pronouns and adverbs to make it simple.
This is a very basic post introducing CI and NE and their use in spoken Italian.
(continues …)
This is a “freemium” quiz. Log in or subscribe at no cost.
Get new free Italian language quizzes and your results in your inbox.
If you are on a mobile device, flip it horizontally.
CI and NE – two particular Italian words
Quiz
👩🏻🏫
This is a “freemium” Italian language blog and quiz
He’s like parsley! That’s what Italians say of someone or something you see everywhere, like parsley on Italian dishes. Intercalari and interiezioni are elements of the Italian spoken language that people sprinkle all over, to emphasize what they want to say.
Just like parsley, intercalari and interiezioni are really everywhere in the Italian spoken language. But, again, just like parsley, when there are too many, they can spoil the taste of our beautiful language.
Intercalari are fragments, specific words used outside the canonical structure of a sentence. They can give an elegant pace to a speech but they also could be be very annoying, a sort of linguistic nervous tic.
Allora, appunto, insomma, diciamo, dai, vabè (a Milano), vabbè (a Roma), vabbuò (a Napoli), così, ecco, cioè, è vero, non so, come dire, voglio dire, ti dico, per così dire, diciamo, vedi, guarda, senti, praticamente, tipo, un attimino and many others, are classic intercalari.
Some of them are used as ice-breakers to start a sentence (allora, dunque, senti, guarda, vedi, praticamente …) others as a sort of request, a confirmation that you are listening to what I’m saying… (cioè, allora, no?, niente, proprio, capito) to which you are supposed to nod, like when someone in English says ” you know” every 10 words.
Here below, a fragment of an Italian cult comedy movie called “Un sacco bello”: a debate between a desperate father, a hippie son with his girlfriend living in a community in Tuscany, and a priest. They have a strong Roman accent and speak quite fast. Don’t worry, just listen.
Try to count the cioè, allora, proprio, no? niente, and others you may catch.
That was quite extreme, but some people use intercalari a bit too much.
Finally the interiezioni are a sort of intercalari, but usually shorter expressions of different emotions. Depending on the intonation and intensity, the same sound can have different meanings, followed by a question mark or an exclamation. I can’t include all the feelings here but I will write some emotions in Italian. Google them and find their meaning.
Articoli partitivi are used to indicate a part, a number out of a total. Some…
This is a very short and simple article for beginners. I’m going to introduce a simple way for you to indicate a quantity, pretty much equivalent the English “some”.
The Italian articoli partitivi are obtained by adding the preposition di (of) to the articoli determinativi:
di + …
il —> del
lo —> dello
la —> della
i —> dei
gli —> degli
le —> delle
l’ —> dell’
Il vino: vorrei del vino
Lo zucchero: ho comprato dello zucchero
La carne: mangerei della carne
I fiori: le ho regalato dei fiori
Gliamici: ho invitato degli amici
Le uova: Vai a comprare delle uova
L’aglio: Aggiungi dell’aglio al sugo
Singular Articoli Partitivi are used in combination with uncountable nouns, in Italian nomi di massa), words such as: foods – acqua, vino, formaggio, verdura, carne – etc ; materials: legno, carta etc.
In spoken Italian, instead of using the articoli partitivi, often times we can use “un po’ di”, literally “a little of” (quantity).
So for example, instead of saying, “ho mangiato dei cioccolatini” I can simply say “ho mangiato un po’ di cioccolatini”.
Here’s a simple quiz for you. Please answer anche check your score against the average.
Alla prossima
Time limit: 0
Quiz-summary
0 of 1 questions completed
Questions:
1
Information
LOADING QUIZ...
You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.
Quiz is loading...
You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.
You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:
Results
Time has elapsed
Your score is 0 out of 0 points, (0)
Average score
Your score
Categories
Not categorized0%
1
Answered
Review
Question 1 of 1
1. Question
Articoli Partitivi
del, dello, della, dell', dei, degli, delle ---> SOME
Ho visto (degli) animali bellissimi in Africa.
Andiamo al cinema con (degli) amici.
Aggiungi (del) sale all'acqua.
Ci vuole (della) pazienza per scrivere (delle) frasi sensate.
Ci sono (delle) opportunità di lavoro a Roma.
Hanno dimostrato (dell')entusiasmo per lo studio.
Mancano (delle) posate sul tavolo.
Ti servono (dei) Soldi per fare la spesa?
In classe ci sono (degli) studenti molto capaci.
Devo ammettere che hai (dello) stile.
Correct
Controlla le risposte giuste e finisci il quiz.
↓↓↓
Incorrect
Controlla le risposte giuste e finisci il quiz.
The avverbio, derived from the Latin “ad verbum”, next to the verb, is an invariable part of speech that is positioned alongside the verb to provide specific meaning. Similar to how adjectives modify nouns, the traditional function of adverbs is to add information to the verb and specify the meaning. This analogy becomes evident here:
La macchina di Mario è veloce. (aggettivo)
Mario guida velocemente. (avverbio)
We use Italian adverbs to add meaning to verbs, adjectives or other parts of a sentence.
According to their structure, we can talk about:
Avverbi semplici: these adverbs are “primitive”, not generated from other words. Mai, forse, bene, male. etc.
Avverbi composti: resulting from combination of words. Da+per+tutto = dappertutto (every + where = everywhere).
Avverbi derivati: coming form other words, usually adjectives, with the addition of the suffix – mente (in English -ly). Chiaro (clear) -> chiaramente (clearly).
The avverbi derivati are commonly formed by adding the suffix -mente to the feminine singular form of the adjective.
For example: lento —> lenta + mente (slowly), rapidamente (quickly), certamente (certainly) etcetera.
If the adjective ends in -le or -re, the -e is dropped before attaching -mente, as observed in the adverbs:
This is a very basic post about the Italian Gerund. If your level is intermediate to advanced, you may want to have a look at this post in Italian.
Also, today we are NOT going through the progressive use of the gerundio (to be doing something or stare + gerundio) which is a particular structure of the Italian gerund.
Ok, we can start.
The gerundio has two tenses: semplice (simple) and composto (compound).
Gerundio Semplice (Presente)
—-ARE
—-ERE
—-IRE
ANDANDO
BEVENDO
DORMENDO
The Gerundio semplice is a simple tense, without conjugations, it does not change and can be applied to all the personal pronouns expressed by the main clause. There is a relevant difference between the English gerund and the Italian gerundio, so be careful.
Gerundio, together with Infinito and Participio, is a mood, a form of a verb that we use for building a so called “frase subordinata implicita”:
Subordinata: the gerundio is always in a dependent clause, near to a main clause. It can’t live by itself, it does not make complete sense when used alone;
Implicita: the Italian gerundio has no conjugations, no subject. It just refers to the situation and subject described in the main clause.
The most common use of the gerundio is defined as temporale, describing simultaneous or consecutive events.
Mangio guardando la televisione.
Mangerete guardando la televisione.
Mangiavamo guardando la televisione.
The gerundio acts together with the main clause. It can be set in the present, in the future or in the past and it takes the subject of the main clause. The GerundioSemplice is often called Gerundio Presente, but this label can be misleading, since the gerundio just refers to the main clause. It’s not a present tense.
The gerundio semplice helps to extend the meaning of a stronger independent sentence (main clause) following four distinct functions (five including the above mentioned gerundio temporale):
1. Gerundio modale: it desctibes HOW something is achieved in the main clause. For example:
Luigi studia l’inglese guardando i film in tivù.
Stefano legge un libro mettendo gli occhiali.
Carla ha percorso dieci chilometri camminando.
2. Gerundio causale describes WHY, the cause of an action happening in the main clause. For example:
Avendo pochi soldi non ho comprato casa.
Essendo allergico ai funghi Sergio non ha mangiato il risotto.
Non amando il teatro, ho regalato i miei biglietti a Giovanna.
3. Gerundio ipotetico: it represents something that couldhappen and satisfy the result expressed by the main clause. For example:
Rinunciando alle vacanze potrei risparmiare dei soldi.
Arriveresti in ritardo perdendo questo treno.
Mangiando meno pane perderai peso.
4. Gerundio concessivo: it says despite what circumstances we have obtain the opposite result expressed in themain clause. For example:
Pur mangiando poco, Clara non dimagrisce.
Pur lavorando molto non riesco a risparmiare.
Pur essendo brutta, Giada piace a tanti uomini.
Please note that pur or pure in this case means “despite, although, even though…”.
Gerundio Composto (Passato)
—-ARE
—-ERE
—-IRE
ESSENDO ANDATO
AVENDO BEVUTO
AVENDO DORMITO
The Gerundio composto is a compound tense, with the gerundio of essere or avere = essendo or avendo and the participio passato (…ato, …uto, …ito) of a verb.
The gerundio composto describes pre-existing conditions when the main clause takes place. For example:
Avendo finito di mangiare, ho già cominciato a lavare i piatti.
Essendo tornato prima dal lavoro, andrò al supermercato.
This is the main use of the gerundio composto, defined asd Temporale. In both cases, the gerundio exists before the event described in the main clause.
As it happens with the gerundio semplice, we can define other four functions of gerundio composto. It’s worth having a second look.
1. Gerundio Modale
Luigi ha imparato l’inglese avendo guardato dei film in tivù.
Stefano ha finito di leggere il libro avendo indossato sempre gli occhiali.
Carla è arrivata fin qui avendo camminato.
In the modale type, the same concept can often be achieved using the gerundio semplice.
2. Gerundio Causale
Avendo avuto pochi soldi non ho comprato casa.
Essendo stato malato non ho potuto studiare.
Non avendo capitole tue istruzioni, non ho lavorato bene.
In this case, the cause is clearly set before the consequence.
3. Gerundio Ipotetico
Avendo letto i giornaliavrei conosciuto le notizie di ieri.
Avendo incontrato Luigi avrei potuto parlargli.
Avendo ascoltatoquella canzone ti avrei detto se mi piace o no.
This is a good substitute of the congiuntivo. Very handy.
4. Gerundio Concessivo
Pur avendo mangiato poco, Clara non è dimagrita.
Pur avendo lavorato molto non riesco a risparmiare.
Pur essendo stato povero, Mario ora è molto ricco.
Although, despite… = pur + gerundio
Lastly, but very important, the gerundio can merge with pronouns (direct, indirect, reflexive, ci & ne) in a single word:
Mangiando molto pane, sono ingrassato —> mangiandone molto…
Conoscendo Mario, non arriverà in orario —> conoscendolo…
More examples in the quiz!
So, why is the gerundio so important? Look at the sentences:
Arrivando in orario, avresti visto l’inizio del film.
Se fossi arrivata in orario, avresti visto l’inizio del film.
The first sentence with the Gerundio expresses the same concept of the second but it’s much easier. We avoid conjugations, the use of the same subject, the use of the congiuntivo. In the first one, the subject is implicit (implicito), in the second it is explicit (esplicito) and we need to change the verb and genders where needed.
The Gerund is a very useful tool that Italians use to simplify sentences. You should learn it and use it to achieve the same goal.
Thanks for reading. Please solve the quiz.
This is a “freemium” quiz. Log in or Subscribe at no cost.
Get new free Italian language quizzes and your results in your inbox.
If you are on a mobile device, flip it horizontally.
The Italian Gerundio
Basic Quiz
📚
This is a “freemium” Italian language blog and quiz
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Accept and keep browsing if you're ok with this. Acceptour policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
