Lbfbeginnersbook grammar

LA BELLA FIGURA – EXPERIENCE ITALIAN CULTURE Lesson Material – Level 1 Absolute Beginners

Grammar Lesson When you learn a foreign language it is important to look at every word in three ways: 1. Meaning; 2. Class; 3. Use.

1.

2.

Associate each new word with its English equivalent.

school = scuola

Some idioms (combination of words which take on a special meaning) cannot be translated word-­‐for-­‐word into another language. Instead, they will correspond to a different expression.

I’m twenty it is not Io sono (I am)+ venti (twenty ) but (Io) ho venti anni (I have twenty years).

The words of a language are grouped into categories called parts of the speech (article, noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction). Each part of the speech follows its own rules. To translate an English word into another language, you have to know to which category that word belongs, choose a correct equivalent in the other language, and use it correctly. Dictionaries will tell you the category of a word, which is marked in italics after its entry, and will give you examples of usage.

small =piccolo, piccola, piccoli, piccole while in English the adjectives are invariable, in Italian they change marking the gender, masculine-­‐feminine, and the number, singular-­‐plural. One English adjective may be conveyed by four different forms in Italian.

3. Each word has a specific function in a sentence (subject, direct object, indirect object…). Determining the function of a word will help you to find the correct equivalent in another language.

I don’t know him = Non lo conosco The English him is here a direct object, this function is conveyed by the direct pronoun lo in Italian.

Have you told him? = Glielo hai detto?

The English him is here and indirect object and its function is conveyed by a different Italian pronoun, glielo.

When learning another language, it is important to learn how to recognize both the part of the speech and the function of each word within a sentence; in some languages -­‐ i.e. Italian – the form of many words is determined by the relationship to other words on the sentence.

The skirt is red/The skirts are red -­‐ La gonna è rossa -­‐ Le gonne sono rosse In English, when you replace the word skirt with skirts, you only need to change the verb form: is -­‐are. In Italian you need to change also the article form, la-­‐le, and the adjective form, rossa-­‐rosse.

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LA BELLA FIGURA – EXPERIENCE ITALIAN CULTURE Lesson Material – Level 1 Absolute Beginners

PARTS OF SPEECH

o NOUN This is a word which can be the name of a person (boy, Mike..), a thing (house, car, …), a place (city, Rome..), an animal (cat, horse, Bambi..), an idea (truth, democracy, freedom..), an event or activity (marriage, Christmas..).

Nouns can name something concrete, which can be touched, seen, smelled, heard or tasted (house, music..), or something abstract, which cannot be perceived through the senses (democracy..).

They can be proper (Luke, Christmas ) or common (friend, holiday…). Nouns have a number (they can be singular or plural), and they have a grammatical gender (neutral, masculine or feminine), which may vary from language to language (i.e. the majority of English nouns are classed as neutral, while all Italian nouns are classed as either masculine or feminine).

In a sentence, nouns can have a variety of functions (subject, object..).

o ARTICLE This is a word placed before a noun which indicates whether the noun points to an unspecified person, idea, thing, event, animal or place or to a particular one. In the first case, the article is indefinite

I saw a boy = Ho visto un ragazzo I had a cold = Ho preso un raffreddore That is a great idea! = E` una fantastica idea!

In the second case the article is definite

The boy I saw was Luke = ll ragazzo che ho visto era Luke The cold I had was bad = Il raffreddore che ho preso è stato davvero brutto!

The idea you had yesterday is great! = L’idea che hai avuto ieri è fantastica!

o ADJECTIVE This is a word that modify (tells information about..) a noun or a pronoun. As a result the adjective modifies the word it refers to. According to their function adjectives may be: Descriptive (an interesting book = un libro interessante), possessive (my book = il mio libro), Interrogative (what book? = quale libro?), Demonstrative (that book = quel libro).

o PRONOUN Adjectives are called pronouns when they replace the noun they also modify. There can be object pronouns (She saw him = lei lo ha visto), demonstrative pronouns (She saw that one = lei ha visto quello), interrogative pronouns (This is a nice office. Who works here? = è un bell’ ufficio. Chi ci lavora?), possessive pronouns (I forgot my umbrella. Can I borrow yours? = ho dimenticato il mio ombrello. Posso prendere il tuo?) and relative pronouns (This is the movie that I saw yesterday = questo è il film che ho visto ieri).

o VERB This is a word that indicates physical activity (to speak, to go, to walk), mental activity (to think, to love…) or a condition (to be, to have, to happen..). These are the most important words in a sentence as you need one of them to write a complete sentence, which expresses a complete thought. The function of many words in a sentence depends on their relationship to the verb (subject, object, indirect object..).

A verb may have different forms. The one which corresponds to the verb’s name, that is the dictionary from of a verb, is called infinitive (to be, to have, to eat… = essere, avere, mangiare…). However, when we talk we rarely use the infinitive form of a verb: most of time we select a specific conjugated form. In fact, verbs are normally conjugated, that is they change their forms to reflect the subject, the tense or the mood (I do, he does, I did = io faccio, lui fa, io feci/ho fatto are different conjugated forms of the verb to do).

Tense: the time of the action -­‐ present, past or future (I am, I was, I will be = io sono, io ero/fui, io sarò).

Mood: the speaker’s attitude toward what he is saying-­‐ indicative, imperative, subjunctive, conditional ( I like, I would like, let’s go! = mi piace, mi piacerebbe, Andiamo!).

Voice: the relation between the subject and the action of the verb-­‐active, passive

I ate an apple – An apple was eaten by me = Ho mangiato una mela – una mela è stata mangiata da me

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LA BELLA FIGURA – EXPERIENCE ITALIAN CULTURE Lesson Material – Level 1 Absolute Beginners

Auxiliary verb: a verb used to form tenses of another verb -­‐ i.e. the verb to have in these examples:

I have been to school = sono andato a scuola She has got a headache = lei ha mal di testa I would have done… = io avrei fatto…

Participle: a verb form often used with an auxiliary to form a specific tense (i.e. the forms been, got and done in these examples I have been to school = Sono andato a scuola She has got a headache = Lei ha mal di testa I would have done… = io avrei fatto…

Transitive or Intransitive: a transitive verb can take a direct object. This means that it makes sense to ask the question what? after the verb

I’ve eaten-­‐ what?-­‐ an apple = ho mangiato – cosa? – una mela

Intransitive verbs cannot take a direct object, as a result it does not make sense to ask the question what? after them

I went to school = sono andato a scuola

o ADVERB This is a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb

she speaks well = lei parla bene these shoes are too big = queste scarpe sono troppo grandi she speaks very well =lei sa parlare molto bene).

o PREPOSITION This is a word that shows the relationship of one word (verb, noun or pronoun) to another word in the sentence. The noun or pronoun following the preposition is called the object of the preposition. The preposition and its object form a prepositional phrase.

She went to the cinema = lei è andata al cinema to/al = preposition; the cinema/(il) cinema = object of the preposition; to the cinema/al cinema = prepositional phrase).

o CONJUCTION This is a word that links words or group of words. Conjunctions may be coordinating or subordinating. The coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases and clauses that are equal. The main ones are:

and, but, or, nor , for, yet = e, ma, o/oppure, nemmeno, per, (non) ancora

Are you coming or not? = Vieni o no?

The subordinating conjunctions join a dependent clause (a subordinate clause) to a main clause. The main ones are: before, after, since, although, if, because, unless, so that, while, that, when = prima, dopo, da, nonostante, se, perchè, a meno che, in modo che, mentre, che, quando

If It does not rain, I will go for a walk = Se non piove andrò a fare una passeggiata

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LA BELLA FIGURA – EXPERIENCE ITALIAN CULTURE Lesson Material – Level 1 Absolute Beginners

FUCTIONS

o SUBJECT The subject of a clause is the one (person or thing) who does/performs the action of the verb. To find the subject of a clause, look for the verb first, then ask who? or what? Before the verb. The answer will be the subject.

The girls are doing their homework = Le ragazze stanno facendo i compiti Who is doing? The girls

The subject of a verb is generally a noun, or a subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they.. = io, tu, egli, ella, esso, noi, voi, essi).

o OBJECT Every sentence has at least a subject (a noun or pronoun) and a verb. In addition to them a sentence may contain other nouns or pronouns. These ones may be directly related to the action of the verb or they may be related to a preposition, and they receive the action of the verb. These other nouns or pronouns are called objects. There are three kinds of object: direct object, indirect object and object of a preposition.

Direct objects: this is a noun or pronoun which receives the action of the verb directly, without the need of a preposition. Direct objects answers the question whom? or what? asked after the verb.

I’m eating an apple = (Io) sto mangiando una mela The girl will write a letter = La ragazza scriverà una lettera

Indirect object: this is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb through the prepositions to or for.

Indirect objects answer the questions to whom?/for whom? or to what?/for what? asked after the verb.

I gave a letter to my sister = Ho consegnato una lettera a mia sorella

Object of a preposition: this is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb through a preposition other than to or for. They answer the question whom? what? asked after the preposition.

She went to the cinema with her sister = (Lei) è andata al cinema con sua sorella

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LA BELLA FIGURA – EXPERIENCE ITALIAN CULTURE Lesson Material – Level 1 Absolute Beginners

Exercises

Circle the nouns in the following sentences. Then underline the subject of the sentence.

1. The children were playing in the garden.

2. Monday is the longest day of the week.

3. The city of Rome is the capital of Italy.

4. The boss of the company was well known for his understanding and kindness.

Spot the odd verb (it may be because of its form, tense, transitive/intransitive status, or voice) 1. to come – been-­‐ to go – to arrive – to leave – to take – to get 2. gone – done – been – took – taken – eaten – made – driven 3. I was – She forgot – We came – They went – She does – You made – It seemed 4. I have been – I have had – She has done – We have – They have got – I have taken 5. It is eaten – It was done – It is done – It will be eaten – It will do – It was eaten 6. To make – To run – To get – To like – To have – To eat – To take 7. To come – To go – To arrive – To see – To die – To stay – To sleep

Circle the adjectives in red, the adverbs in blue and the pronouns in black.

1. Which book do you want? That one!

2. I have just returned from an amazing holiday in South-­‐East Asia.

3. Are you really sure you want to go?

4. These books are mine; the ones on the black desk are yours.

5. I think my sister has lost my umbrella.

6. The children were not feeling very well.

Circle the prepositions. Which prepositional phrases constitute an indirect object?

1. Last summer, I often went to the beach with my sister.

2. Let’s go for a walk!

3. I would like a glass of water.

4. While I was driving on the highway, I saw a kangaroo in a field beside the road.

5. I bought a present for my friend.

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