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Italian indefinite adjectives and pronouns: A “quasi” complete guide.

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AGGETTIVI E PRONOMI INDEFINITI

Italian indefinite adjectives and pronouns describe somebody, something, nothing, etc…

It’s a big family of words. Some can be both adjectives and pronouns, others are just adjectives or pronouns.

  • In Toscana ci sono molte bellissime città.
  • Ci sono delle bellissime città in Italia. Molte sono in Toscana

In the first sentence, molte is an adjective: it describes the noun città. In the second sentence, molte takes the place of città, so it is a pronoun. According to their function, we can label these words and create groups. 

Please, feel free to correct my English 🙄.

INDEFINITE UNITS

 

  • NESSUNO

 

  • Non c’è nessuno. Literally “There isn’t nobody”, is correct in Italian.
  • Non lo farei per nessun motivo – i wouldn’t do that for any reason
  • Nessuna delle mie amiche – none of my friends (female)
  • Non ce n’è per nessuno – It’s over for everyone (idiom)
  • Nessuna pietà – no mercy
  • Nessun altro lo ha fatto – nobody else did that
  • Nessuno mi può giudicare – nobody can judge me (a famous old song)

Please note how nessuno (and the other adjectives ending in -uno) follows the same rules of indefinite articles – un uno una —> nessun, nessuno, nessuna.

  • CIASCUNO

 

Each and everyone.

  • Ciascuno fa quello che vuole – everyone does what is right in his/her own eyes
  • Un po’ per ciascuno – a little for each one
  • A ciascuno il suo – each to his own
  • Ciascuno di noi  vuole vincere- each one of us wants to win

Same pattern. un uno una —> ciascun, ciascuno, ciascuna.

  • OGNI

 

Ogni, is a quite versatile adjective. It could mean every, each, all or any.

  • a ogni costo – at all costs
  • a ogni età – at any age
  • a ogni modo – besides, somehow, anyway
  • ogni mezz’ora – every thirty minutes
  • da ogni parte – from everywhere
  • di ogni genere – of any kind
  • in ogni caso – in any case
  • in ogni direzione – in all directions
  • in ogni luogo – everywhere
  • ogni altra cosa – everything else
  • ogni tanto – once in a while
  • QUALUNQUE & QUALSIASI

Qualunque and Qualsiasi, are interchangable.

  • in qualsiasi momento – at any time
  • gente qualunque – ordinary people
  • in qualunque caso – in any event, anyway
  • in qualunque modo – at any rate besides, anyhow, anyway
  • uno qualunque – any person
  • in qualsiasi occasione – in every occasion, always
  • uomo qualunque – an ordinary man
  • qualsiasi cosa – anything

INDEFINITE PLURAL

 

  • ALCUNO

It is the affirmative version of Nessuno. We can avoid the double negative explained above using Alcuno. Mind, in spoken Italian Nessuno is prefered. The plural Alcuni and Alcune may be used to indicate an indefinite but small number of people or things.

  • Non ho visto alcuna macchina parcheggiata qui davanti.
  • Non c’era alcun gatto in cortile.
  • Ho invitato alcuni amici alla mia festa.
  • CERTO

Certo It can be translated as certain. The plural Certi and Certe have the same function of Alcuni and Alcune. 

  • Certe volte vorrei cambiare città.
  • Ti presenterò certi amici.
  • Volevo parlarti di una certa cosa.
  • Ho una certa sensazione.

Please note that Certo is an Aggettivo indefinito only written before the noun, otherwise it’s a simple attributive.

  • Domani concluderò un certo affare – Tomorrow i will cut a certain deal.
  • Domani concluderò un affare certo – Tomorrow I will cut a sure deal.
  • QUALCHE

Qualche, means “a certain number” ( a few, some, a little) and certain. Qualche and cosa together form the pronoun qualcosa, something.

  • Ho qualche amico in America
  • Hai qualche cosa in frigorifero?
  • Andiamo da qualche parte?
  • Ce la faremo in qualche modo

INDEFINITE QUANTITY

 

  • MOLTO

Molto describes large quantities, uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns. In English: much, many and a lot of…

  • C’è molto traffico in città.
  • Hai speso molti soldi oggi
  • Compreremo molta carne per il barbecue
  • Molte mie amiche non vogliono sposarsi
  • Molti non dicono ciò che pensano veramente.
  • TROPPO

Troppo and troppa describe quantity in excess: too much. Troppi and troppe describe countable nouns: too many.

  • Ho bevuto troppo vino.
  • Ci sono troppi criminali.
  • C’è troppa carne al fuoco.
  • Hai detto troppe bugie.
  • TANTO

Tanto/i/a/e  are pretty much like Molto/i/a/e

  • C’è tanto traffico in città.
  • Ci vuole tanta pazienza per imparare l’italiano
  • Luigi non ha tanti amici
  • Jane ha comprato tante scarpe a Milano
  • Tanti pensano che quella notizia non sia vera.
  • PARECCHIO

Parecchio  means “quite a lot / many”

  • Ieri c’era parecchio vento.
  • La macchina nuova mi è costata parecchi soldi
  • Ci vuole parecchia pazienza con te!
  • Sono stato in Giappone parecchie volte
  • POCO

Poco means a little, few.

  • Ho poco tempo.
  • Carlo ha poca voglia di studiare
  • Ho guadagnato pochi soldi
  • Paolo è una persona di poche parole
  • TUTTO

Tutto is equivalent to all, every, entire, whole

  • Ho letto tutto il libro velocemente
  • Maria ha passato tutta la vita a Roma
  • Ho finito tutti i soldi
  • Tutte le mie amiche hanno un marito
  • ALTRO

Literally other, it also means remaining, more, different

  • Vorrei un altro lavoro.
  • C’è ancora dell’altra birra?
  • Dove sono andati gli altri?
  • Mi servono delle altre scarpe.

ONLY AS PRONOUNS…

 

  • QUALCOSA

Qualcosa means something and anything. As mentioned above, it is the result of the union of qualche and cosa

  • Hai detto qualcosa?
  • Vorrei qualcosa da mangiare
  • Per favore, lascia qualcosa anche a me!
  • Qualcosa non ha funzionato
  • QUALCUNO

Means someone or anyone, it’s the opposite of nessuno.

  • Qualcuno ha bussato alla porta
  • Ho chiamato qualcuno per riparare la macchina
  • Viene qualcun altro alla festa? No, nessuno.
  • Hai delle sigarette? Sì, me ne è rimasta qualcuna.
  • CHIUNQUE

Chiunque means whoever, anybody.

  • Chiunque può fare il tuo lavoro
  • Non era difficile: chiunque avrebbe capito.
  • Non do confidenza a chiunque. 
  • Chiunque sia, la pagherà!
  • NULLA – NIENTE

Nulla and niente mean nothing.

  • Non ho visto niente. Literally, I didn’t see nothing. (SEE “NESSUNO”)
  • Non c’è niente di nuovo.
  • Stefano non conta niente. (he is worthless)
  • Scusa ma non posso farci nulla. (there’s nothing I can do)

Thanks for reading this long list, I really appreciate it. Hopefully it will help you to use the aggettivi and pronomi indefiniti correctly.

Please solve te quiz and check your score.

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Essere and Stare, two similar Italian verbs.

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essere and stare

Essere and Stare are very important Italian verbs. It’s easy to get lost, since sometimes they both mean “to be”

This is a very basic explanation on the difference between essere and stare, two very important Italian verbs. if you want to know more, please book a Zoom class at the bottom of this page,

il verbo STARE

–presenteimperfetto
iostostavo
tustaistavi
lui / leistastava
noistiamostavamo
voistatestavate
lorostannostavano

The use of two important Italian verbs, essere and stare, can generate some confusion with English speakers.

To be and to stay roughly correspond to essere and stare, but in some cases they do not. You probably learned in your first Italian class that “How are you?” is “Come stai (tu)?”.

  • Sto bene / Sto male.
  • Sono stanco / Sono felice.

We use adverbs with stare (bene, male) and adjectives with essere (stanco, felice) for expressing a physical or mental condition. Stare in this case is very close to essere.

Stare as to be in a place

  • Il cane sta fuori. – The dog stays outside.
  • Il cane è fuori. – The dog is outside.

In the first sentence I say that the dog is usually outside, so it needs to stay out; in the second, the dog is outside now. Stare indicates “being” in a place for an amount of time, while essere is just now.

As a side note, quite relevant, in Central and Southern Italy, stare is used quite frequently in sentences where we should use essere. People often say:

  • Federico adesso sta a Firenze (instead of è a Firenze).
  • Mia madre sta parecchio arrabbiata (instead of è arrabbiata).
  • Ci sta un una macchina davanti a casa (instead of c’è).

Stare in a progressive sentence

A rather confusing difference between English and Italian is in the construction of the progressive form:

“I am doing…” VS  “(Io) Sto facendo…”.  To be (essere) in English, to stay, stare in Italian.

  • Mario sta studiando.
  • Mario stava studiando quando l’ho chiamato.

Of course we can build progressive sentences with other tenses.

Once you learn the rule, it’s quite easy to remember it.

Finally, a very important and quite overlooked oddity of the Italian language. The past participles of essere and stare (been and stayed) are the same: “stato”.

Io sono stato can mean both “I have been” and “I have stayed” (or I was and I stayed).

All the reasons above can explain why essere and stare are so connected, similar and at first confusing. Apparently the big part of the confusion comes from the use of stare. Let’s look at a few examples.

Stare for expressing behavior

  • Sto sempre sveglio di notte. – I am always awake at night.
  • I bambini non stanno mai zitti. – Children are never silent.

Stare as imperativo

  • Stai zitta! – Be silent!
  • State attenti alla lezione. – Stay focused during the the class.

Stare for expressing feelings

  • I miei genitori stanno bene. – My parents are fine.
  • Tua madre sta in ansia per te. – Your mother is worried for you.

Stare in a place for an amount of time

  • Sono a casa. (I’m home now)
  • Sto a casa. (I stay home, I won’t go out)

In Southern Italy, people would say “sto a casa” to indicate “I’m home now” instead of “sono a casa”. So you don’t have to worry, Italians are confused too.

Grazie per avere letto questo articolo. Se avete domande, fatemi sapere. Alla prossima.

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Il discorso indiretto, Italian indirect speech: a simple guide.

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Italian indirect speech

If you want to report what someone says or thinks, you have two options: the direct or indirect speech.

  • Mario ha detto: “voglio andare a Roma”. – Mario said: “I want to go to Rome”.

  • Mario ha detto che voleva andare a Roma – Mario said he wanted to go to Rome.

In the first case – discorso diretto – the speaker quotes exactly what Mario said, without filters.

In the second case – discorso indiretto – the speaker reports what Mario said, changing all the references of time and context according to his point of view. “Mario ha detto…” places the action in the past. Therefore, the presente indicativo, becomes imperfetto in the indirect speech and the subjects moves from IO to LUI. Let’s see how the sequence of tenses changes,

The sequence of tenses

If we quote an event happening in the present, we can use the presente indicativo, “Mario dice”, and keep everything in the presente: “Mario dice che vuole andare a Roma”.

In most cases however, we quote what people said in the past. Mario ha detto…

Let’s see how the sequence of tenses change.

Italian indirect speech

Again, the subject changes from the discorso diretto to the indiretto according to the point of view of the speaker. In this case, IO -> LUI, except for the last example TU -> IMPERSONALE because of the imperativo. In the first case, we can describe different scenarios depending on the action “voglio andare a Roma”. If Mario still wants to do that, we can say that “Mario ha detto che vuole andare a Roma”.

You can play around with different tenses and see how they change in the Italian indirect speech.

The point of view can  also modify the place in space from which the action is observed, the ownership of objects and so on. Let’s take for example the sentences:

  • Mario ha detto: “vengo lì a Roma, a casa tua domani”.

Assuming that Mario said that to me, I can report what he said as follows:

  • Mario ha detto che veniva (or sarebbe venuto) qui a Roma, a casa mia il giorno dopo.

My perspective changes whatever Mario said. Even the time reference domani changes into il giorno dopo, the day after. Remember to change all the relevant elements in the new context of the Italian indirect speech.

Grazie per avere letto questo post, se ci sono domande fatemi sapere. Ciao.

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Le parole sdrucciole – the stress on Italian words.

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stress on italian words

The stress on Italian words can be on different syllables. Let’s learn different scenarios and rules.

  • Accento piano. (plain stress)

The vast majority of Italian words has the stress on the penultimate syllable, hence the musical cadence of our language. If you have doubts on a word and need to guess, that’s the easiest way to go. – e.g – Lavoro, Matita, Spaghetti, Vacanza…

  • Accento sdrucciolo. (third to last)

The stress is on the terzultima sillaba, third to last, and it’s not uncommon. There are rules helping us to identify this family of words. Please see below. – e.g. – Nuvola, Davide, Napoli, Gomito …

  • Accento tronco. (truncated stress)

The stress is on the last syllable. In this case, we have to write it. Some words are: città, perché, vanità, caffè…

In some rare cases, the stress can fall on the fourth or fifth to last syllable.

Le parole sdrucciole

The most confusing and consistent group of words after the parole piane is the parole sdrucciole, with the stress on the third to last syllable. We can identify some predictable patterns typical of the sdrucciole words.

  • Nouns and adjectives ending in -abile, -aceo, -evole, -ibile, -ilico, -ognolo, -oide, -esimo:

e.g. – mangiabile, violaceo, confortevole, impossibile, basilico, verdognolo, celluloide, undicesimo.

  • Words ending in -agine, -aggine, -edine, -igine, -iggine, -udine, -uggine:

e.g. voragine, stupidaggine, salsedine, origine, lentiggine, solitudine, ruggine.

  • Words or Greek origin ending in -cefalo, -crate, -gamo, -geno, -mane, -stato, -ttero:

e.g. macrocefalo, burocrate, poligamo, ansiogeno, megalomane, termostato, elicottero.

  • Words of Latin origin ending in -fero, -fugo,-pede, -voro:

e.g. calorifero, ignifugo, palmipede, carnivoro.

Experience will help you to understand and remember when the stress is not piano. If you have questions, get in touch with comments or email. Thanks for reading.

Periodo ipotetico – Italian conditional sentences – QUIZ

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Italian conditional sentences are the so called “periodo ipotetico”. There are three types of conditional sentences: realtà, possibilità and irrealtà. Solve the quiz

  • Se avessi tempo, andrei in vacanza.

Here’s the plain grammar. The periodo ipotetico is the combination of two sentences: a subordinate clause expressing a possibility and a main clause expressing the outcome. The conjunction “se” (if) will help you to build Italian conditional sentence (and English too…).

Andrei in vancanza makes perfect sense alone, so it’s the main clause. “Se avessi tempo…” needs the main clause to make sense, so it’s a subordinate clause. Depending on the degree of possibility of the subordinate clause, we can have three different types of “periodo ipotetico”.

Periodo ipotetico della realtà

When the subordinate clause is very likely to happen, we have a “Periodo ipotetico della realtà” or “di primo tipo – type 1”. We can use the familiar tenses of the indicativo for the subordinate (the possible event) and the indicativo or imperativo for the main clause (the outcome). Given the right condition, the outcome will be pretty much sure. In other words:

  • Se ho fame, mangio.

  • Se non ho soldi, non vado in vacanza.

  • Se mi ami, sposami!

  • Se comprerò una macchina nuova, butterò via quella vecchia.

  • Se avrò ancora il raffreddore, non andrò in ufficio.

Periodo ipotetico della possibilità

In this case, the subordinate clause is expressing an open possibility. The combination of tenses here is a congiuntivo imperfetto describing the condition, and the condizionale semplice describing the result. If the result is a suggestion or an order, we can use the imperativo.

  • Se Laura mi chiedesse di andare al cinema, accetterei.

  • Se potessi cambiare macchina, comprerei un’Alfa Romeo.

  • Se ti tagliassi i capelli, saresti più carina.

  • Se mi telefonasse Dario, digli di richiamare.

  • Nel caso tu arrivassi in ritardo, fammi sapere.

Periodo ipotetico della impossibilità

Or irrealtà. The condition expressed in the dependent clause is not possible, usually it’s in the past. The standard combination of tenses is the congiuntivo trapassato for the condition and the condizionale for describing the outcome: condizionale semplice if the impossible consequence is imagined in the present, condizionale composto if the consequence is in the past.

  • Se avessimo cambiato casa, avremmo pagato tanti soldi.

  • Se Luca avesse studiato di più, adesso avrebbe un ottimo lavoro.

  • Se i miei genitori non si fossero incontrati, io non esisterei.

  • Se da piccolo mi fossi allenato di più, sarei diventato un calciatore famoso.

  • Se non mi avesse aiutato Luigi, a quest’ora il bagno sarebbe ancora da riparare.

Periodo ipotetico in spoken Italian

There’s a lazy but very common use of the imperfetto in spoken Italian, replacing the condizionale and congiuntivo in the third periodo ipotetico. Let’s take for example the sentence:

  • Se da piccolo mi fossi allenato di più, sarei diventato un calciatore famoso.

It can be converted into:

  • Se da piccolo mi allenavo di più diventavo un calciatore famoso.

Again, that’s sloppy grammar, wrong, but widely accepted in the spoken language, only in informal situations. You should learn the correct way first, and use this only as a conversational alternative. Anyway, I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so I’ll take the examples i created above an re-use them

  • Se cambiavamo casa, pagavamo tanti soldi.

  • Se Luca studiava di più, adesso aveva un ottimo lavoro.

  • Se i miei genitori non si incontravano, io non esistevo.

  • Se non mi aiutava Luigi, a quest’ora il bagno era ancora da riparare.

 

Thanks for reading. Please solve the quiz. Tutto in italiano.

 

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“Chi” and “Che”. Time to shed some light. QUIZ

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Chi and Che are very important, at times confusing, Italian words. Solve the quiz at the bottom of the blog

In my last quiz about relative pronouns, I wrote the following sentence:

  • Non so chi sia la persona che ha telefonato oggi.

Translating Italian into English makes things more complicated.

I repeated the quiz with my intermediate and advanced students and some got stuck on that phrase. Do chi and che both mean “who”?

As a native Italian speaker, I don’t have doubts. The sentence is correct. We can’t swap chi and che.

CHI

A very approximate translation could be “the one who”, “those who”.

1 – As demonstrative pronoun, indicates “the person who…” (as Colui/Colei che…)

  • Chi ha cucinato stasera è un ottimo cuoco. (as “he who / she who”)
  • C’è chi non mangia la carne. (as “those who”, singular in Italian)

2 – As indefinite, indicates “someone who…”

  • Conosco chi potrebbe aiutarti.

3 – As interrogative is simply Who (?)

  • Chi vuole un po’ di pane? (direct)
  • Non so chi ha telefonato. (indirect)

CHE

Che is an important relative pronoun, so I’m not going through the multiple functions of this word. However, there are cases when English speakers may confuse it with Chi. In other words, of the sentences…

  • Non conosco la persona che ha telefonato oggi.
  • Non conosco la persona chi ha telefonato oggi.

…the first one is right. It would be something like “I don’t know the person who called today”.

If we translate it  back into Italian, we would of course change who into Che (in detail, “il quale” or “la quale”), a  relative pronoun, which taken as a single word is closer to “that” rather than “who”.

Matching English and Italian, in this case, is problematic.

I hope the difference is now clear. If not, solve the quiz (only one question) and grab a complimentary Skype class. A presto!

 

 

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Quiz – Intermediate

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Quiz for beginners

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If you are on a mobile device, flip it horizontally. Enjoy.

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All the tenses of the Italian indicativo mood.

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indicativo

The tenses of the Italian Indicativo Mood “Indicate”, a Real Situation. Let’s describe and understand them with some examples.

We can simplify and say that the indicativo is the mood of reality; the congiuntivo is the mood of possibility, uncertainty, and opinion; the condizionale is the mood of possibility under a certain condition; the imperativo is the mood of command.

Other moods like the infinito, participio, and gerundio are “indefinite”, because they do not refer to any particular subjects or pronouns. The participio can be singular or plural, masculine or feminine, but only in accordance with other elements of a sentence. These three are “nominal” verbs, meaning that they can also be used as nouns or adjectives:

  • Viaggiare è meraviglioso.
  • Lo studente è stato bravissimo.
  • Claudio è laureando in lingue.

I will go deeper into details with other blogs.
Today we’ll just see the indicativo, which includes the most common and important set of rules regarding Italian verbs.

The Tenses of the Indicativo

The tenses of the indicativo can be semplici (simple) or composti (compound).

PRESENTE

The Italian presente can express actions happening now:

  • Mangio la pasta a pranzo – I eat it now.

but also a recurring action:

  • Mangio la pasta a pranzo – I usually have it for lunch.

an action in the future:

  • Domani vado al cinema – instead of the proper “domani andrò al cinema”.

as presente storico, a particular way to describe past actions as if they were happening now:

  • Roma nasce nel 753 Avanti Cristo – instead of “Roma nacque…” with the passato remoto.

describing an absolute situation or atemporale:

  • L’Italia è una Repubblica fondata sul lavoro.

IMPERFETTO

The Italian imperfetto can describe actions or situations in the past.

It can be recurring or intermittent:

  • Laura studiava otto ore al giorno.

Usual:

  • L’autobus passava per via Dante.

It can describe a situation:

  • Mio nonno aveva una barba molto lunga.

… an ongoing event in history:

  • L’esercito di Barbarossa si avvicinava alla città di Milano.

… a desire or an order in the present:

  • Volevo un cappuccino e un cornetto al cioccolato. (instead of Voglio… or the conditional Vorrei…).

The imperfetto is a very flexible tense. Here you can find some more informal uses of the imperfetto.

PASSATO REMOTO vs PASSATO PROSSIMO

The use of the Italian passato remoto is very much debated in Italy. The definition of remoto, far in the past, implies that the action is far enough in the past and has nothing to do with the present. It’s a simple, perfect tense, structured like the English simple past. But, how far in the past? Last year? Last week? There isn’t any precise rule.

  • L’anno scorso andai in vacanza in Sicilia. – I went to Sicily.

As a matter of fact, the passato pro ssimo is replacing the passato remoto, even when the sentence says that the past event has “a step in the present”. See the sentences below:

  • L’anno scorso sono andato in vacanza in Sicilia. – I went to Sicily.

No connections with the present. But also…

  • Sono appena tornato dalla Sicilia. – I’ve just got back from Sicily. Now.

The structure looks very much like the English present perfect, and sometimes the passato prossimo works exactly like it.

In Southern Italy, the passato remoto is still very common, even when we describe something close to the present. In Northern Italy, the passato remoto is pretty much disregarded, we do not use it. In the media, the use of the passato remoto is declining in favor of the prossimo, particularly on TV.

TRAPASSATO PROSSIMO & REMOTO

If you want to describe a past event that happened before another past event, you need the trapassato. There are two types of trapassato: prossimo and remoto.

The trapassato prossimo is the imperfetto of essere or avere and a past participle.

  • Non ero mai stato in Sicilia prima di quest’anno.
  • Ho comprato i pantaloni che avevo visto al mercato.

The point in time in the past can be a sentence or simply a moment.

  • La settimana scorsa non avevo ancora finito le vacanze.

Or it can be omitted altogether, assuming that the moment is now or another known period.

  • Avevo già visto questo film (before now).

It doesn’t matter if we express the past point in time with the passato prossimo, imperfetto, or passato remoto. We can use the trapassato prossimo.

The trapassato remoto is extremely rare and it works with the passato remoto. It is the passato remoto of essere or avere and a participle.

  • Dopo che ebbi finito di lavorare, me ne tornai a casa.

FUTURO SEMPLICE & ANTERIORE

The futuro semplice is a simple tense. We obviously use it for expressing a future event but also something else.

  • Domani lavorerò dalle 9 alle 5 di pomeriggio.

If you are not a beginner, you probably know that we can use the presente for expressing a future event. This convenient workaround discourages some students from studying the futuro semplice. Who cares if I can use the present instead, right? Wrong. Italians use the futuro or the presente, so you need to know the futuro if you want to understand what people say.

The futuro semplice is useful for expressing doubts or to take a guess.

  • Dove sarà Luigi? (right now!)
  • Una Ferrari costerà 100 mila euro. A Ferrari may cost …

The futuro anteriore is a quite interesting tense. It’s a compound tense, the futuro of essere or avere and a participle. We use it for indicating a complete action in the future.

  • L’anno prossimo, la mia casa nuova sarà completata.

My house will be completed next year. Easy enough. With the futuro anteriore a speaker can express a guess, just like the futuro semplice, with a substantial and bizarre difference. A guess with the futuro semplice is in the present. A Ferrari could cost that much, now. With the futuro anteriore, the action is complete, so in this particular case it works as a past tense:

  • Quanto sarà costata quella Ferrari?

The speaker is wondering how much it costed.

I hope this recap will be useful for organizing your studies. Please feel free to ask questions and try the quiz. Alla prossima

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