Buondì.
We’ve finished the ten mini-lessons based on nouns, so now I have some verbs for you, starting with one of the most common verbs of all, andare.
This is a nice little exercise, even if you know the verb well, as there are some useful idiomatic expressions.
But if you’re just beginning with Italian, do it anyway, and while you’re working on it, note the way that the subject pronoun is often not bothered with.
That’s typical.
In Italian a verb conjugates (which means ‘changes’) according to who the subject is.
The verb ‘to go’ conjugates like this: I vado, You vai, She va, We andiamo, You andate, They vanno.
Take away the subject pronoun and, assuming you understand how the verb conjugates, you still know WHO is going: vado, vai, va, andiamo, andate, vanno.
‘I love you’ in Italian would simply be ‘love you’, because the Italian word for ‘love’ changes to show that it’s me doing it.
You COULD say ‘I love you’, using the subject pronoun, but it would sound as if you were emphasising: It’s me that loves you, not him.
Why bother with a subject pronoun if it’s already implicit in the form of the verb?
Look for examples in today’s lesson.
Also, check out the way that, in the Italian originals, the present tense is always used.
But note how, when we translate it, we have to choose whether we intend a general meaning (I go) or a specific meaning (I am going).
That’s two things to remember, then.
1.) Italians tend not to bother with subject pronouns, and 2.) the difference between a simple and a progressive tense is likely to be lost on them.
Oh, and one more thing I noticed from the exercise?
Watch out for the word ‘matrimonio’, which can mean ‘wedding’ (un matrimonio da favola = a fairytale wedding) but also marriage, as in ‘they have a good marriage’.
Today’s free lesson is here.
Other recent ones are here.
And you’ll find much, much more on the club website, all completely free and with no registration or password required to access them.
Buono studio, allora!
Final Reminder – get ‘La Via Francigena’ for just £5.99!
Sales of our newest easy reader ebook La Via Francigena ‘vanno a gonfie vele‘.
If you don’t know what the part in italics means, then scroll back up and click on today’s free lesson, which includes the expression and a translation.
Several people have said that they ‘vanno pazzo per il trekking, e anche per l’italiano‘, which makes this ebook ideal for them.
If you didn’t get that reference either, then ditto: check out today’s new material, which includes the expression and it’s meaning in English.
The author, Roberto Gamberini, recounts his adventures walking the famous pilgrim route, from Lucca down to Rome.
This ebook is C2-level (very advanced) so do download the free sample chapter (.pdf) and decide whether it’s suitable for your current level, BEFORE you buy it.
If it’s not too hard (go you!), then don’t forget that until Sunday night you can get the complete ebook for just £5.99, rather than the usual easy-reader price of £7.99, which is a 25% saving!
If it IS too difficult, or the audio is too fast, then use the Catalog page to select something more suited to your current level from our online shop.
There are a hundred or so titles, which cover the whole spectrum of levels, from the very easiest beginner material to ‘almost authentic’ texts.
And virtually all of our ebooks have a FREE SAMPLE CHAPTER, which means you can ‘try before you buy’ and thus check the format and level of the material.
A lunedì!
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