Ciao a tutti! – Hiya all!

This is the last part about Italian modal verbs. But first let’s refresh our memory. We know 3 modal verbs (verbi modali) and theirs forms:

• potere – can (posso, puoi, può, possiamo, potete, possono)
• volere – want (voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo, volete, vogliono)
• dovere – must/have to (devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo, dovete, devono)

Today we’ll talk about fourth modal verb (or modal helper) – sapere (know/know how/can). Typical usage – we know and can do something well:

• I can drive a car (I know how to)
• I know how to cook

See, looks somehow similar to potere examples. But sapere and potere are different. Later we’ll see that. Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! – Hello everybody!

We continue our Italian studies. From lessons 7 (potere) and lesson 8 (volere) we know, that there are 4 modal verbs in Italian (3 + 1 helper verb):

1. potere – can
2. volere – want
3. dovere – have to/must
4. sapere – to know

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! Sono Taras – Hi everybody, I’m Taras.

È voi? – And you?

Okay, as we know already, there are 3 modal verbs + 1 semi-modal helper in Italian:

1. potere – can
2. volere – want
3. dovere – have to
4. sapere – to know

Volere (want) – modal irregular verb

• io voglio – I want ([v'olio] – see, no ‘g’ in transcription!)
• tu vuoi – you want
• lei/lui vuole – she/he wants
• noi vogliamo – we want
• voi volete – you want (plural)
• loro vogliono – they want

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! – Hello all!

Last time we tried to learn 10 new verbs and all theirs forms. And, I know, it’s a lot of words, and it’s difficult. Happily, there’s a trick how to build sentences in Italian easily – sentences with modal verbs (Verbi Modali).

There are 3 modal verbs in Italian + 1 semi-modal helper:

1. potere – can
2. volere – want
3. dovere – have to (obligation)
4. sapere – to know (semi-modal)

Continue reading →

Buongiorno!

Here you’ll find all verbs from Lesson 6 – answers for the homework. Reference tables only.

Lavorare (to work, verb of 1st type)

• io lavoro – I work
• tu lavori – you work (singular)
• lui/lei lavora – he/she works
• noi lavoriamo – we work
• voi lavorate – you work
• loro lavorano – they work

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! Sono Taras. È voi? – Hello everyone, I’m Taras. And you?

As we know from previous lesson 5, there are 3 type of verbs in Italian: ending on -are, -ere and -ire. Like parlare (to speak), scrivere (to write) and aprire (to open). Today we gonna learn how to transform the third type of verbs, ending on -ire.

Our today’s examples: partire (to leave), dormire (to sleep), aprire (to open).

Partire – to leave

• io parto – I leave
• tu parti – you leave (singular)
• lui/lei parte – he/she leaves
• noi partiamo – we leave
• voi partite – you leave (plural)
• loro partono – they leave

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! Sono professore d’Italiano :) He-he, I’m kidding.

As we know, verbs in italian change their’s form in conjunction with different pronouns. We already know how to change the verbs ending on -are: parlare, studiare, amare. But, not all italian verbs end on -are!

There are 3 types of verbs in Italian:

1. ending on -are (parlare – to speak, studiare – to study, amare – to love)
2. -ere (scrivere – to write, vivere – lo live, prendere – to take)
3. -ire (partire – to leave, dormire – to sleep, aprire – to open)
4. +irregular special cases. But they also end on -are, -ere and -ire.

Each type has it’s own transformation rules. And this is something that we need to remember.

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! Sono Taras. È voi? – Greetings all! I’m Taras. And you?

• Oggi noi parliamo Italiano – Today we speak Italian
• Oggi parliamo Italiano – Today we speak Italian

As usual we skipped noi (we) pronoun. By the parliamo ending the actor is clear – we. See Lesson 3 for the forms of parlare (to speak) verb.

We learned stress rules, and we gonna add some spelling today. And we’ll pick up few new words – name of different languages in Italian.

Lingue – Languages

• Portoghese
• Inglese

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! Sono Taras.

• Chi sono? – Who am I?
• Chi sei? – Who are you?
• Chi è? – Who’s that/there?

Note: Chi pronounces as [ki]. Ch before vowel sounds as [k]. C before vowel sounds as [ch]

Okay, as we know from Lesson 1, Italian verbs are used in different forms for different pronouns. Happily there are only 3 types of verbs (we skip special cases for now) – ending on -are, -ere and -ire.

Verbs ending on -ARE. Parlare – 1st type verb

Today we gonna learn the conjunction rules for the first type of the verbs. First example will be parlare – to speak verb:

Continue reading →

Ciao a tutti! Hi everybody!

Last time we learned pronouns and essere (to be) verb. Let’s try to make statements, questions and answers with them.

Skip pronouns!

In English we generally need both pronoun + verb in a sentence:

• I am Joe, You are Bill, She is Carol, They are Mary, Ann and Jack.

In Italian (Italiano), pronouns are often skipped. Of course, you can say:

• Io sono Joe, Tu sei Bill, Lei è Carol, Loro sono Mary, Ann è Jack.

But, as a rule, you just use verbs – by the form of a verb it’s clear who are you talking about:

• Sono Pepe – I am Pepe

Continue reading →