Enhanced Beginner's Italian Level 1 - Lesson # 4
Definite Articles, this, that, these, those and family members
After this class you should;be able to select and use the correct Italian definite article (the) based on gender and number.
identify and use the correct form of this, that, these and those in Italian based on gender and number.
know 15 different family members titles in Italian.
GrammarLearning to work with Singular and Plural Italian nounsMaking singular nouns pluralTo make a singular noun ending in “o” plural, change the “o” to “i”. Here is an example;Bambino (little boy) to Bambini (little boys) Special note: when the “o” is preceded by an “i” you just drop the “o” and do not add a second “i”. Here is an example; Negozio (store) Negozi (stores) To make a singular noun ending in “a” plural, change the “a” to “e”. Here is an example; Bambina (little girl) to Bambine (little girls) Special note: when the “a” is preceded by an “c” or “g” you must add an “h” before the “e” in order to maintain the hard “c” or “g” sound. Here is an example; Amica (friend) Amiche (friends) To make a singular noun ending in “e” plural, change the “e” to “i”. Here is an example; Dottore (doctor) to Dottori (doctors) Nouns ending with an accented vowel or a consonant are invariable and do not change. Example; il sport (the sport) i sport (the sports) & la città (the city) le città (the cities) Learning a little bit about Italian definite articlesThis is by no means an all encompassing lesson on definite articles in Italian. It is a good basis from which to start however. At the bottom of this page you will find resources which are available where you can learn more on this subject.In their book "Complete Italian Grammar" Marcel Danesi says the following about definite articles; "...are 'function words' which mark nouns as specific ..., that is referring to something in particular... A function word is a form that has grammatical meaning or value." In laymen's terms, the definite article in English is "the" and makes a noun a specific noun or nouns (for example - a boy {general term} vs the boy {a specific boy} . In Italian there are 7 ways to write or say "The". The following is a list of those seven ways with the rules dictating when each is used;
Learning a little bit about this, that, these and those in ItalianAt the bottom of this page you will find resources which are available where you can learn more on this subject.In Italian there are 3 ways to write or say "This" and 2 ways to write or say "These". The following is a list of those five ways with the rules dictating when each is used:
In Italian there are 4 ways to write or say "That" and 3 ways to write or say "Those". The following is a list of those seven ways with the rules dictating when each is used;
When used with nouns as in the examples above, the words questi, quello, questo, etc are "Demonstrative Adjectives" because they point to an object or person mentioned in the sentence thus modifying it by specifying that object or person. These can also be used as "Demonstrative Pronouns". This happens when they take the place of the "Demonstrative Phrase" created by the use of the adjective. Example;
Thus, it starts with; 1. What plates are you talking about? (plates being the noun in question) 2. I am talking about those plates. (those being a demonstrative adjective) 3. I am talking about those. (those being a demonstrative pronoun) This is also basically how it also works in Italian. When used as a pronoun the demonstratives still retain the gender and number properties that they would have had as an adjective. Example; Che cosa hai bisogno? Ho bisogno di questi bicchieri. Hai bisogno di quei? Sì, ho bisogno di questi. | ||||||||||||||
 Printable Homework |
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 Basic Exercise on Quello, etc Basic Exercise on Questo, etc Advanced Exercise on definite articles
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Printable Vocabulary Printable large flash cards (English Side) Printable large flash cards (Italian Side) Printable small flash cards (English Side) Printable small flash cards (Italian Side)
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 Downloadable Podcast
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basic online exercise Exercise (Italian to English) Exercise (English to Italian) |
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 printable crossword
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Comprehension
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Printable Video Dialog
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Gender, Definite Article and Demonstrative Relationship Chart Printable Practice Sheets 1 Printable Practice Sheets 2 |
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printable crossword
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Useful Italian question; Che ... ? Cosa ... ? Che cosa ... ? What ... ? |
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Class DialogUsing only the vocabulary we have learned so far, learn how to say everything below in Italian (except what is in " "), print out and bring the printable form of this dialog and be prepared to say the dialog below for one of the person's in class.Person #1 – Hi _________, Person #2 – Hi __________, how are you? Person #1 – Not too bad. And you? How are you? Person #2 - I am excellent, thank you. What is that? Person #1 – How do you say “photo” in Italian? Person #2 – You say “foto”. Person #1 – This is a photo of an Italian family. Person #2 – Is this “tua” family? Person #1 – What does “tua” mean? Person #2– Tua or tuo means your and mia or mio means my. Person #1 – Thank you. Person #2– You are welcome. Person #1 – Yes, this is my family. That is my father and that is my mother. Person #2 – Do you have brothers? Person #1 – I have sisters but I do not have brothers. Person #2– Are these the sisters? Person #1 – No, those are the aunts, those are the uncles and those are the sisters. Person #2– ok, bye Person #1 - bye printable class dialog
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You can learn more about definite articles, this, that, these and those on these pages of the following books.
13 - 17, 133 - 135 of the book "English Grammar for Students of Italian" by Sergio Adorni and Karen Primorac, copyright 1995.
25 - 26 and 150 - 151 (page #'s may vary as I have an older edition) of "Ciao" by Carla Federici & Carla Larese Riga, copyright 1986.
29 - 38 and 79 - 84 of the book "Complete Italian Grammar" by Marcel Dansesi, copyright 1976.
29 - 41 and 74 - 77 of the book "Italian Grammar Drills" by Paola Nanni-Tate, copyright 2007.
101 - 104 of the book "Italian Pronouns & Prepositions" by Daniela Gobetti, copyright 2006.
If you do not own these books, don't worry, it is not mandatory that you do unless you were instructed to buy them at the beginning of the class. However, they can be very useful in a lot of ways and if you would like to know more about these books and where to buy them, simply go to our online bookstore or quicker yet, just click on the appropriate book below.
Did you know? - A bit of Italian Trivia
“Europe's first modern banks appeared in Genoa in the 12th century. The first recorded public bond (1150) and the earliest known foreign exchange contract (1156) are both from Genoa. The world's oldest bank still in business is the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, operating since 1472." -Source - eupedia.com
http://www.eupedia.com/italy/trivia.shtml
Have you heard? - Some good Italian Music
Now if you prefer something that puts a little Latin dance in your step then you have to hear this next song by Laura Pausini. If this doesn't have you doing the Salsa then you really should check your pulse. Laura is an Italian Pop phenomenon. She is a huge hit all over Europe, South and Central America. Not all of her music is Latin dance music (but I would have to say it is all of good quality) and she articulates well which is a plus for the language student. Enough chat, turn up the volume, put on your dancing shoes and enjoy!|
great songs are available on ---> |
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