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Italian grammar
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{{Short description|Grammar of the Italian language}} {{Italian language|state=expanded}} '''Italian grammar''' is the body of rules describing the properties of the [[Italian language]]. Italian words can be divided into the following [[lexical categories]]: articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. ==Articles== Italian articles vary according to definiteness ([[Article (grammar)#Definite article|definite]], [[Article (grammar)#Indefinite article|indefinite]], and [[Article (grammar)#Partitive article|partitive]]), [[Grammatical number|number]], [[Grammatical gender|gender]], and the initial sound of the subsequent word. Partitive articles compound the preposition ''[[wikt:di#Italian|di]]'' with the corresponding definite article, to express uncertain quantity. In the plural, they typically translate into English as 'few'; in the singular, typically as 'some'. {| class="wikitable" border="1" |+Definite article !Gender !Number !Article !Usage |- |rowspan=5|Masculine |rowspan=3|Singular |''[[wikt:il#Italian|'''il''']]'' |Standard masculine singular definite article, used in all cases other than those detailed below.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4104&ctg_id=45 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''Guida alla scelta dell'articolo'' |access-date=2009-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720031147/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4104&ctg_id=45 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Foreign words beginning with {{angbr|w}}, pronounced {{IPA|/w/}} or {{IPA|/v/}}, take ''il'' and not ''lo'': ''il West'' {{IPA|/ˈwɛst/}} (referring to the [[American Old West]]), ''il whisky'' {{IPA|/ˈwiski/}}, ''il Watt'' {{IPA|/ˈvat/}}, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=6600&ctg_id=45 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''Articolo davanti a parole straniere inizianti per w e sw'' |access-date=2009-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720031225/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=6600&ctg_id=45 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |- |''[[wikt:lo#Italian|'''lo''']]'' |Used before words with certain initial sounds: * before {{angbr|s}} pronounced as {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, or {{IPA|/ʃ/}} followed by another consonant ("[[wikt:impure s|impure s]]", Italian: ''S (esse) complicata'', ''S impura'', or ''S preconsonantica'') * before [[Gemination|self-geminating consonants]]:<ref>Self-geminating consonants are always long between vowels.</ref> {{angbr|z}}, pronounced as {{IPA|/ts/}} or {{IPA|/dz/}}; {{angbr|gn}}; {{angbr|gli}}; {{angbr|sci}} (or {{angbr|sh}} or {{angbr|ch}} in loan words, e.g. ''lo chef'') pronounced as {{IPA|/ʃ/}} * before complex consonant clusters {{angbr|ps}}, pronounced as {{IPA|/ps/}} or {{IPA|/ss/}}; {{angbr|pn}} as {{IPA|/pn/}} or {{IPA|/nn/}}; {{angbr|x}} as {{IPA|/ks/}} or {{IPA|/ss/}}, {{angbr|mn}} as {{IPA|/mn/}} or {{IPA|/nn/}}, etc., mostly foreign words * before {{angbr|y}} or {{angbr|i}} pronounced as semivowel {{IPA|/j/}}, (e.g. foreign words such as ''lo yoghurt'', and local words and scientific or geographical names such as ''lo iodio'') |- |''[[wikt:l'#Italian|'''l<nowiki>'</nowiki>''']]'' |Used before words that begin with a vowel (''[[wikt:amico#Italian|'''l''''amico]]'') or {{angbr|uo}} {{IPA|/wɔ/}} (''[[wikt:uomo#Italian|'''l''''uomo]]''). |- |rowspan=2|Plural |''[[wikt:i#Italian|'''i''']]'' |Standard masculine plural definite article, used for plurals that take ''il'' in the singular: '''''i''' cani'' (plural of ''il [[wikt:cane#Italian|cane]]''). |- |''[[wikt:gli#Italian|'''gli''']]'' |Corresponds to ''lo'' and ''l<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' in the singular: * before vowels, pronounced /ʎ/ * before the consonants listed for ''lo'', pronounced /ʎi/ ''Il [[wikt:dio#Italian|dio]]'' ('the god') has the irregular plural ''gli [[wikt:dei#Italian|dei]]'' ('the gods'). |- |rowspan=3|Feminine |rowspan=2|Singular |''[[wikt:la#Italian|'''la''']]'' |Standard form of the feminine singular definite article, used before consonants and before {{angbr|i}} when pronounced as semivowel {{IPA|/j/}}, e.g. ''la [[wikt:iarda#Italian|iarda]]''. |- |''[[wikt:l'#Italian|'''l<nowiki>'</nowiki>''']]'' |As with ''l<nowiki>'</nowiki>'', used before any word that begins with a vowel, not including {{angbr|i}} when pronounced as the semivowel {{IPA|/j/}}. |- |Plural |''[[wikt:le#Italian|'''le''']]'' |Standard form of the feminine plural definite article, never elided. |} {| class="wikitable" border="1" |+Indefinite article !Gender !Article !Usage |- |rowspan=2|Masculine |''[[wikt:un#Italian|'''un''']]'' |Standard masculine singular indefinite article, used before vowels and simple consonants. |- |''[[wikt:uno#Italian|'''uno''']]'' |Used instead of ''un'' before "impure s", self-geminating consonants, and complex consonant clusters, following the same rules as ''lo'' vs. ''il'' above, for example: ''uno [[wikt:studente#Italian|studente]]''. |- |rowspan=2|Feminine |''[[wikt:una#Italian|'''una''']]'' |Standard feminine singular indefinite article. |- |''[[wikt:un'#Italian|'''un<nowiki>'</nowiki>''']]'' |Used before any word that starts with a vowel, not including {{angbr|i}} when used as semivowel {{IPA|/j/}}. |} {| class="wikitable" border="1" |+Partitive article !Gender !Number !Article !Contraction of |- |rowspan=5|Masculine |rowspan=3|Singular |''[[wikt:del#Italian|'''del''']]'' |''di'' + ''il'' |- |''[[wikt:dell'#Italian|'''dell<nowiki>'</nowiki>''']]'' |''di'' + ''l''' |- |''[[wikt:dello#Italian|'''dello''']]'' |''di'' + ''lo'' |- |rowspan=2|Plural |''[[wikt:dei#Italian|'''dei''']]'' |''di'' + ''i'' |- |''[[wikt:degli#Italian|'''degli''']]'' |''di'' + ''gli'' |- |rowspan=3|Feminine |rowspan=2|Singular |''[[wikt:della#Italian|'''della''']]'' |''di'' + ''la'' |- |''[[wikt:dell'#Italian|'''dell<nowiki>'</nowiki>''']]'' |''di'' + ''l''' |- |Plural |''[[wikt:delle#Italian|'''delle''']]'' |''di'' + ''le'' |} ==Inflection of nouns and adjectives== Nouns have [[grammatical gender|gender]] (masculine, feminine or, in many instances, both) and inflect in [[grammatical number|number]] (singular and plural). When a noun refers to people or animals with natural gender, grammatical gender typically corresponds. The gender each noun is written in is not arbitrary: because most nouns have a masculine ''and'' a feminine form, the form the given noun is written in could change the entire structure of the sentence. As in most other Romance languages, the historical neuter has merged with the masculine. A subgroup of these deriving from Latin's second declension are considered feminine in the plural. Subclauses and infinitives are masculine. Adjectives inflect for gender and number in patterns broadly similar to nouns. {| class="wikitable" border="1" |+General noun and adjectival endings by number and gender !Gender !Singular !Plural !Example |- |Masculine |''-o'' |''-i'' |'''''il''' cappell'''o''' ner'''o''', '''i''' cappell'''i''' ner'''i''''' ('the black hat(s)') |- |Feminine |''-a'' |''-e'' |'''''la''' bell'''a''' macchin'''a''', '''le''' bell'''e''' macchin'''e''''' ('the beautiful car(s)') |- |Masculine and feminine |''-e'' |''-i'' |'''''il/la''' comandant'''e''' intelligent'''e''', '''i/le''' comandant'''i''' intelligent'''i''''' ('the smart commander(s)') |- |Mixed (historically neuter) |''-o'' |''-a'' |'''''il''' lenzuol'''o''' legger'''o''', '''le''' lenzuol'''a''' legger'''e''''' ('the light bed sheet(s)') |- |Masculine |''-a'' |''-i'' |'''''l''''atlet'''a''' entusiast'''a''', '''gli''' atlet'''i''' entusiast'''i''''' ('the enthusiastic athlete(s)') |- |Feminine |''-ie'' |''-ie'' |'''''la''' spec'''ie''' estint'''a''', '''le''' spec'''ie''' estint'''e''''' ('the extinct species') |- |All nouns ending with a stressed vowel |rowspan="2" colspan="2" | singular = plural |'''''la''' citt'''à''', '''le''' citt'''à''''' ('the city(-ies)') |- |Non-integrated [[loanword]]s |'''''il/la''' manager trendy, '''i/le''' manager trendy'' ('the trendy manager(s)') |} In the last two examples, only the article carries information about gender and number. Most masculine words that end in ''-io'' pronounced as {{ipa|/jo/}} drop the ''-o'' and thus end in ''-i'' in the plural: ''vecch'''io''''' / ''vecch'''i''''' ('old'), ''funzionar'''io''''' / ''funzionar'''i''''' ('functionary(-ies)'), ''esemp'''io''''' / ''esemp'''i''''' ('example(s)'), etc. The Italian [[hard and soft C]] and [[hard and soft G|G]] phenomenon leads to certain peculiarities in spelling and pronunciation: * Words in ''-cio'' and ''-gio'' form plurals in ''-ci'' and ''-gi'', e.g. ''ba'''cio''''' / ''ba'''ci''''' ('kiss(es)') * Words in ''-cia'' and ''-gia'' have been a point of contention. According to a commonly employed rule,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=7875&ctg_id=45 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''Sul plurale dei nomi in -cia e -gia e su una scelta d'autore'' |access-date=2009-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720031241/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=7875&ctg_id=45 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> they: ** form plurals in ''-ce'' and ''-ge'' if the final letter before the suffix is a consonant: ''fran'''gia''''', ''fran'''ge''''' ('fringe(s)'); ''fac'''cia''''', ''fac'''ce''''' ('face(s)'). ** form plurals in ''-cie'' and ''-gie'' if the final letter before the suffix is a vowel: ''cami'''cia''''', ''cami'''cie''''' ('shirt(s)'); ''cilie'''gia''''', ''cilie'''gie''''' ('cherry'/'cherries'). Note that the presence of an ''i'' in the plural ending has no impact on the pronunciation in this case.<ref>[http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=3943&ctg_id=44 Accademia della Crusca, ''Plurali difficili'']. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217044724/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=3943&ctg_id=44|date=2012-02-17}}.</ref> ** when the ''i'' is stressed, it always remains in plural: ''farma'''cia''''' / ''farma'''cie''''' ('chemist's shop(s)'), ''nevral'''gia''''' / ''nevral'''gie''''' ('neuralgia(s)'). * Words in ''-co'' and ''-go'' behave irregularly: for some words the plural form causes the hard consonant to become soft, and for others the consonant remains hard. "The grammarians are skeptical of any attempt at giving a ruling about this area."<ref name="serianni">{{cite book |last=Serianni |first=Luca |title=Italiano |publisher=Garzanti |year=1997 |isbn=88-11-50470-8 |pages=131–134}}</ref> There are, however, certain rules of thumb: ** plurals are formed with ''-chi'' and ''-ghi'' if the last letter before the suffix is a consonant or a stressed vowel: ''fun'''go''''' / ''fun'''ghi''''' ('mushroom(s)'), ''stec'''co''''' / ''stec'''chi''''' ('stick(s)'), ''ma'''go''''' / ''ma'''ghi''''' ('magician(s)'), ''fuo'''co''''' / ''fuo'''chi''''' ('fire(s)') ** plurals are formed with ''-ci'' and ''-gi'' if the last letter before the suffix is an unstressed vowel: ''comi'''co''''' / ''comi'''ci''''' ('comedian(s)'), ''medi'''co''''' / ''medi'''ci''''' ('physician(s)') ** in words ending with ''-logo'' suffix, the plural is usually<ref name=serianni/> in ''-gi'' when ''-logo'' means 'expert' or 'student', corresponding to English ''-logist'' (e.g. ''archeo'''logo''''' / ''archeo'''logi''''', 'archaeologist(s)'), while it is in ''-ghi'' when it means 'speech' or 'reasoning', corresponding often to English ''-logue/-log'' (e.g. ''cata'''logo''''' / ''cata'''loghi''''', 'catalogue(s)'). ** there are exceptions such as ''ami'''co''''' / ''ami'''ci''''' ('friend(s)'), ''gre'''co''''' / ''gre'''ci''''' ('Greek(s)'), ''vali'''co''''' / ''vali'''chi''''' ('mountain pass(es)'), ''cari'''co''''' / ''cari'''chi''''' ('cargo(s)'). * Words in ''-ca'' and ''-ga'' form plurals in ''-che'' and ''-ghe'', e.g. ''ami'''ca''''' / ''ami'''che''''' ('female friend(s)') ==Nouns== Most nouns are derived from Latin. Many of these are themselves borrowed from Greek (e.g. ''poeta'' below). Although Italian nouns do not inflect for case, they are derived from a mixture of the Latin nominative and accusative cases: {| class="wikitable" border="1" |+Derivation of noun inflections |- ![[Latin declension]] (nominative/accusative) !Italian singular/plural !Masculine !Feminine |- |1st (-a, -ae / -am, -ās) || ''-a, -e''|||| ''amic'''a''' / amich'''e''''' 'female friend(s)' |- |1st & 2nd (-a, -i / -, -)<ref>This class emerged in 13th Century Old Italian. Presumably the plural ending changed to -i because these nouns were masculine. See ''Dynamics of Morphological Productivity'' by Francesco Gardani, p. 427.</ref>||''-a, -i''||''poet'''a''' / poet'''i''''' 'poet(s)'||''al'''a'''/al'''i''''' 'wing(s)' |- |2nd (-us, -ī / -um, -ōs) || ''-o, -i'' || ''amic'''o''' / amic'''i''''' 'friend(s)' || |- |3rd (-is, -ēs / -em, -ēs) || ''-e, -i'' || ''can'''e''' / can'''i''''' 'dog(s)' || ''paret'''e''' / paret'''i''''' 'wall(s)' |- |4th (-us, -ūs / -um, -ūs) || ''-o, -i'' || ''pass'''o''' / pass'''i''''' 'step(s)' || ''man'''o''' / man'''i''''' 'hand(s)' |- |5th (-ēs, -ēs / -em, -ēs) || ''-e, -i'' || || ''fed'''e''' / fed'''i''''' 'faith(s)' |} Nouns ending in any letter other than ''-a'', ''-e'' or ''-o'', as well as nouns ending in a stressed vowel, are normally invariable in the plural. Thus: * ''la gru'' / ''le gru'' ('the crane(s)', from Latin ''grūs / grūes'') * ''la città'' / ''le città'' ('the city(ies)', contracted form of archaic ''cittade, cittadi'', from Latin ''cīvitātem, cīvitātēs'') * ''il caffè'' / ''i caffè'' ('the coffee(s)') * ''il film'' / ''i film'' ('the film(s)') There are certain words (derived from Latin second-declension neuter nouns) that are masculine in the singular and feminine or masculine in the plural. Examples include: * ''il braccio'' / ''le braccia'' or ''i bracci'' ('the arm(s)') * ''l'uovo'' / ''le uova'' ('the egg(s)') * ''il ginocchio'' / ''le ginocchia'' or ''i ginocchi'' ('the knee(s)') * ''il sopracciglio'' / ''le sopracciglia'' or ''i sopraccigli'' ('the eyebrow(s)') These nouns' endings derive regularly from the Latin neuter endings of the second declension (sg. ''-um'' / pl. ''-a''), but there are some from the third declension as well: e.g. ''il gregge / le greggi'' ('flock(s)', but ''i greggi'' works, too); the tradition of calling them "irregular" or "mobile gender" (''genere mobile'') would come from the paradigm that there are so few nouns of this type that the existence of neuter can be considered vestigial (compared to [[Romanian language|Romanian]], which has many more nouns of the masculine singular–feminine plural type, and as such are usually classified as a separate neuter gender). The choice of plural is sometimes left to the user, while in some cases there are differences of meaning:<ref>[http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/it/lingua-italiana/consulenza-linguistica/domande-risposte/plurali-doppi Accademia della Crusca, ''Plurali doppi'']</ref> * Sometimes, for body parts, the feminine/neuter plural denotes the literal meaning while the masculine one denotes a figurative meaning: ''il braccio'' ('the arm') / ''le braccia'' ('the arms') / ''i bracci'' ('the isthmuses', 'the inlets'); ''il corno'' ('the horn') / ''le corna'' ('the horns' of an animal) / ''i corni'' ('the horns' as musical instruments) * Sometimes, especially in poetic and old-fashioned Italian, the masculine plural acts as a [[count noun]], while the neuter/feminine plural acts as a [[mass noun]]: ''il cervello'' ('the brain') / ''due cervelli'' ('two brains') / ''le cervella'' ('the cerebral matter'); ''l'anello'' ('the ring') / ''due anelli'' ('two rings') / ''le anella'' ('ringlets'); furthermore, ''il dito'' ('the finger') / ''le dita'' ('the fingers') and also ''due dita'' ('two fingers') / but ''i diti indici'' ('the index fingers') Most noun stems are derived from the accusative: Latin ''socer/socerum'' begets Italian ''suocero'', and Latin ''pēs/pēdem'' begets Italian ''piede''. There are a few exceptions, however, such as ''uomo'' from Latin ''homo/hominem'' and ''moglie'' from Latin ''mulier/mulierem''. Neuter third-declension nouns may bequeath Italian nouns either from the nominative/accusative case (e.g. ''capo'' from ''caput'', ''cuore'' from ''cor'') or from the oblique case used for other cases and for the plural (e.g. ''latte'' from ''lac, lact-'', ''giure'' from ''ius, iur-''). ===Irregular plurals=== There are a few genuine irregular plurals in Italian (''[[:it:plurali irregolari|plurali irregolari]]''). Most of these were introduced in Vulgar Latin, but some derive from irregular Latin plurals. Examples include: *{{lang|it|uomo / uomini}} ('man'/'men'; Latin {{lang|la|homo / homines }}) *{{lang|it|il dio / gli dei}} ('god(s)'; note also the irregularity in the article: ''gli'' instead of ''i'') *{{lang|it|bue / buoi}} ('ox(en)'; Latin {{lang|la|bovem / boves}}) *{{lang|it|tempio / templi}} ('temple(s)'; the plural retains the ''l'' from Vulgar Latin {{lang|la|templi}}<ref>In Classical Latin, the word is neuter: ''templum / templa''. However, in Vulgar Latin the neuter gender gradually eroded as more and more words migrated to the other genders. The earliest evidence for a masculine version of ''templum'' in Vulgar Latin comes from the Late Latin [[Codex Bezae]] (circa 400) where we read [https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-NN-00002-00041/664 'quiaegodestruamhunctemplum'] where in the Vulgata we read 'Ego dissolvam templum hoc' (''Evangelium secundum Marcum'' 14.58). The nominative singular is unattested, but judging from other attested neuter nouns turned masculine, it would presumably have been [[Asterisk#Historical linguistics|*]]''templus''. See ''An Introduction to Vulgar Latin'' by Charles Hall Grandgent, p. 145, and ''Itala und Vulgata'' by Hermann Rönsch, p. 266.</ref> in order to distinguish it from {{lang|la|tempi}}, the plural of {{lang|la|tempo}}; the ''l'' is lost in the singular) ===Alteration=== In Italian, altered nouns are nouns with particular shades of meaning. They are divided into [[diminutive]]s, ''vezzeggiativi'' (diminutives with kindness and sympathy nuance), [[augmentative]]s and [[Pejorative suffix|pejorative]]s. {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! ! Suffix ! colspan="2" | Example |- ! rowspan="7" | ''diminutivi'' <br /> ([[diminutive]]) | ''-ino'' | tavolo (''table'') | tavol'''ino''' (''small table'') |- | ''-etto'' | libro (''book'') | libr'''etto''' |- | ''-atto'' | cerbia (''deer'') | cerbi'''atto''' (''fawn'') |- | ''-ello'' | bambino (''child'') | bambin'''ello''' (''small child'') |- | ''-icello'' | monte (''mountain'') | mont'''icello''' |- | ''-icciolo'' | porto (''port'') | port'''icciolo''' |- | ''-acchio'' | orso (''bear'') | ors'''acchio''' |- ! rowspan="5" | ''vezzeggiativi'' <br /> ([[terms of endearment]]) | ''-uccio'' | cavallo (''horse'') | cavall'''uccio''' |- | ''-acchiotto'' | orso (''bear'') | ors'''acchiotto''' |- | ''-iciattolo'' | fiume (''river'') | fium'''iciattolo''' |- | ''-olo'' | figlio (''son'') | figli'''olo''' (also ''figliuolo'') |- | ''-otto'' | cucciolo (''puppy'') | cucciol'''otto''' |- ! rowspan="2" | ''accrescitivi'' <br /> ([[augmentative]]) | ''-one'' | libro (''book'') | libr'''one''' (''big book'') |- | ''-accione'' | uomo (''man'') | om'''accione''' |- ! rowspan="6" | ''dispregiativi'' <br /> ([[pejorative suffix|pejorative]]) | ''-accio'' | libro (''book'') | libr'''accio''' (''bad book'') |- | ''-astro'' | medico (''medic'') | medic'''astro''' (''quack doctor'') |- | ''-ucolo'' | poeta (''poet'') | poet'''ucolo''' |- |- | ''-onzolo'' | medico (''medic'') | medic'''onzolo''' |- | ''-uncolo'' | uomo (''man'') | om'''uncolo''' (''insignificant man'') |- | ''-otto'' | contadino (''farmer'') | contadin'''otto''' (''peasant'') |- |} Many other alterations can be built, sometimes with more than one suffix: for example, ''libro'' ('book') can become ''libretto'' (diminutive), ''libricino'' (double diminutive), ''libercolo'' (diminutive + pejorative), ''libraccio'' (pejorative), ''libraccione'' (pejorative + augmentative). ''Uomo'' ('man'), coming from Latin ''homo'', becomes ''om-'' in altered forms: ''omino''/''ometto'' (diminutive), ''omone'' (augmentative), ''omaccio'' (pejorative), ''omaccione'' (augmentative + pejorative). ==Adjectives== In Italian, an adjective can be placed before or after the noun. The [[markedness|unmarked]] placement for most adjectives (e.g. colours, nationalities) is after the noun,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4299&ctg_id=45 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''Sulla posizione dell'aggettivo qualificativo in italiano'' |access-date=2009-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720031420/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4299&ctg_id=45 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but this is reversed for a few common classes of adjective—those denoting beauty, age, goodness, and size are placed ''before'' the noun in the unmarked case, and after the noun for emphasis. Placing the adjective after the noun can alter its meaning or indicate [[restrictiveness]] of reference. If a noun has many adjectives, usually no more than one will be before the noun.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008|reason="un nuovo grande edificio"}} *''un libro rosso'' = a red book (the unmarked case) *''un rosso libro'' = a book that is red (the marked case; it is especially important to the intended meaning that the book is ''red'', as opposed to some other color) *''un buon uomo'' = a good man (the unmarked case) *''un uomo buono'' = a man who is good (the marked case; it is especially important to the intended meaning that he is good, the adjective is emphasized) Adjectives are inflected for gender and number: {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- !Gender !Grammatical number !Case 1 !Case 2 |- |rowspan=2|Masculine |Singular | -o | -e |- |Plural | -i | -i |- |rowspan=2|Feminine |Singular | -a | -e |- |Plural | -e | -i |} ===Degrees of comparison=== Italian has three [[degrees of comparison]]: [[comparative]], relative [[superlative]] and absolute superlative.{{Clarify|reason=below are mentioned or indicated: 1) più alto di te [comparative]; 2) alto come te [comparative]; 3) troppo bueno [absolute comparative]; 4) più alto fra gli uomini [relative superlative]; 5) intelligentissimo [absolute superlative]; 6) molto sporco [absolute superlative]; 7) assai sporco [absolute superlative]; this looks like two comparatives plus one absolute comparative plus one relative superlative plus three absolute superlatives – so seven degrees of comparison – to me; so both the count and the terms here differ from the text below|date=September 2020}} The comparative and relative superlative are formed with ''più'' ('more', 'most'); for instance: * ''sono '''più alto''' di te'' ("I am taller than you") * ''sono '''il più alto''' fra gli uomini'' ("I am the tallest of men") Vice versa when expressing inferiority, ''meno'' ('less, fewer') is used; for instance: * ''sono''' il meno forte''' del campionato'' ("I am the least strong of the championship") * ''tu sei '''meno alto''' di me ''("You are less tall than me") Another comparative form is made with the word ''come'' ('as', 'like'); for instance: * ''sono alto come te'' ("I am as tall as you") The ''absolute comparative'' is formed by placing ''troppo'' ('too') before the adjective; for instance: * ''sei troppo buono'' ("you are too good"). The ''absolute superlative'', derived from the Latin synthetic superlative in ''-issimus'', is formed by adding ''-issimo'' to an adjective: ''intelligente'' ('intelligent'), ''intelligent'''issimo''''' ('very intelligent'); ''sporco'' ('dirty') ''sporch'''issimo''''' ('very dirty'). If the two letters before the last vowel are ''pr'' or ''br'' (e.g. ''aspro'', ''celebre''), the ''r'' is removed and ''-errimo'' is the suffix used (''asp'''errimo''''', ''celeb'''errimo''''') ('very sour', 'very famous'). Another way to form the ''absolute superlative'' is to place either ''molto'' or ''assai'' ('very') before the adjective. For instance ''sporchissimo'' and ''molto sporco'' ('very dirty') are the same, although the form ending in ''issimo'' is usually perceived as more emphatic; that is, ''sporchissimo'' is dirtier than ''molto sporco''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}} Some adjectives have irregular comparatives (although with regularly-formed variants also in common use), such as * ''buono'' ('good'), ''migliore'' / ''più buono'' ('better' or 'best'), ''ottimo'' / ''buonissimo'' ('very good') * ''cattivo'' ('bad'), ''peggiore'' / ''più cattivo'' ('worse' or 'worst'), ''pessimo'' / ''cattivissimo'' ('very bad') * ''grande'' ('big'), ''maggiore'' / ''più grande'' ('bigger'), ''massimo'' / ''grandissimo'' ('very big') * ''piccolo'' ('small'), ''minore'' / ''più piccolo'' ('smaller'), ''minimo'' / ''piccolissimo'' ('very small') ===Possessive adjectives=== With the exception of 3rd person plural ''loro'' ('their'), possessive adjectives, like articles, must agree with the gender and number of the noun they modify. Hence, ''mio zio'' ('my uncle'), but ''mia zia'' ('my aunt'). So depending on what is being modified, the possessive adjectives are: {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- !rowspan=2|Person !colspan=2|Masculine !colspan=2|Feminine |- !Singular !Plural !Singular !Plural |- |1st sing. || mio || miei || mia || mie |- |2nd sing. || tuo || tuoi || tua || tue |- |3rd sing. || suo || suoi ||sua || sue |- |1st pl. || nostro || nostri ||nostra ||nostre |- |2nd pl. || vostro || vostri || vostra || vostre |- |3rd pl. || colspan="4"| loro |} In most cases the possessive adjective is used with an article, usually the [[definite article]]: {| |- |''Ho perso '''la mia''' penna.'' || ("I have lost my pen.") |- |''Mi piace '''il mio''' lavoro.'' || ("I like my job.") |- |''Hanno rubato '''la mia''' automobile!'' || ("They have stolen my car!") |} And sometimes with the [[indefinite article]]: {| |- |'''''Un mio''' amico mi ha detto che...'' || ("A friend of mine told me that...") |- |''Ho visto '''una sua''' foto.'' || ("I have seen a photograph of him/her.") |- |''Luca è '''un mio''' amico.'' || ("Luke is a friend of mine.") |} The only exception is when the possessive refers to an individual family member (unless the family member is described or characterised in some way): {| |- |''Laura è '''mia''' sorella'' || ("Laura is my sister.") |- |''Ieri ho visto '''mia''' sorella Diana'' || ("I saw my sister Diana yesterday.") |- |''Questa penna è di '''mia''' zia.'' || ("This pen is my aunt's.") |} ''Mamma'' and ''papà'' (or ''babbo'', in central Italy; 'mother' and 'father'), however, are usually used with the article. For emphasis, however, possessive adjectives are sometimes placed after the noun. This is usually after words such as ''colpa'' ('fault', 'sin'); ''casa'' ('house', 'home'); ''merito'' ('merit'); ''piacere'' ('pleasure'); or in [[vocative expression]]s. {| |- |''È colpa '''sua'''.'' || ("It is his/her fault.") |- |''Oh dio '''mio'''!'' || ("Oh, my god!") |- |''Arrivederci, amico '''mio'''!'' || ("Goodbye, my friend!") |- |''Vorresti andare a casa '''mia'''?'' || ("Would you like to come over to my house?") |} If the antecedent of a third person possessive (being used as an object) is the subject of the sentence, ''proprio'' can be used instead of ''suo'',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=7689&ctg_id=45 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''Impiego di Proprio e Suo''|access-date=2009-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720031553/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=7689&ctg_id=45 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> although the usage of ''proprio'' is declining in spoken language:{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} {| |- |''Marco e Maria hanno discusso di filosofia. Marco ha scelto il '''proprio''' punto di vista.'' || ("Marco and Maria discussed philosophy. Marco took '''his own''' point of view.") |- |''Marco e Maria hanno discusso di filosofia. Marco ha scelto il '''suo''' punto di vista.'' || ("Marco and Maria discussed philosophy. Marco took '''his/her''' point of view.") |} The first sentence is unambiguous and states that Marco took his own point of view, whereas the second sentence is ambiguous because it may mean that Marco took either his own or Maria's point of view. ===Demonstrative adjectives=== Italian originally had three degrees of [[demonstrative]] adjectives: ''questo'' (for items near or related to the first person speaker: 'this'), ''quello'' (for items near or related to an eventual third person: 'that'), and ''codesto'' (for items near or related to an eventual second person). The usage has undergone a simplification, including the meaning of ''codesto'' in ''quello'', and only [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan]] speakers still use ''codesto''. Its use is very rare in modern language, and the word has acquired a rather pejorative connotation. ==Pronouns== Italian features a sizeable set of pronouns. [[Personal pronoun]]s are inflected for person, number, case, and, in the third person, gender. Literary subject pronouns also have a distinction between animate (''egli'', ''ella'') and inanimate (''esso'', ''essa'') [[Antecedent (grammar)|antecedent]]s, although this is lost in colloquial usage, where ''lui'', ''lei'', and ''loro'' are the most used forms for animate subjects, while no specific pronoun is employed for inanimate subjects (if needed, demonstrative pronouns such as ''questo'' or ''quello'' may be used). There is also the uninflected pronoun ''ciò'', which is only used with abstract antecedents. Personal pronouns are normally [[null subject language|omitted in the subject]], as the conjugation is usually enough to determine the grammatical person. They are used when some emphasis is needed, e.g. ''sono italiano'' ('I am Italian') vs. ''io sono italiano'' ('''I'' [specifically, as opposed to others] am Italian'). The words ''ci'', ''vi'' and ''ne'' act both as personal pronouns (respectively instrumental and genitive case) and clitic [[pro-form]]s for "there" (''ci'' and ''vi'', with identical meaning—as in '''''c''''è'', '''''ci''' sono'', '''''v''''è'', '''''vi''' sono'', '''''ci''' vengo'', etc.) and "from there" (''ne—''as in: ''è entrato in casa alle 10:00 e '''ne''' è uscito alle 11:00''). {| class="wikitable" |+ [[Personal pronoun]]s |- | colspan="3" rowspan="2" style="border: none;" | ! rowspan="2" | [[Nominative]] ! colspan="2" | [[Genitive]] ! colspan="3" | [[Dative]] ! colspan="2" | [[Accusative]] ! colspan="3" | [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]] |- ! ''Clitic form''{{efn|name=elision|Often elided to ''m{{'}}'', ''t{{'}}'', ''l{{'}}'', ''c{{'}}'', etc. (except ''loro'') before vowels (especially ''i'') and ''h'' in colloquial speech, especially in central and southern Italy, and less often in written language. The extent to which individual pronouns are elided varies, ranging from virtually always (''lo'' and ''la'') to rarely (''ne'').}} ! ''Stressed form'' ! ''Clitic form I.''{{efn|name=elision}}{{efn|Alone, as in '''''Ti''' do un libro'', and sometimes with other clitic pronouns (see below)}} ! ''Clitic form II.''{{efn|Sometimes before other clitic pronouns (see below), as in '''''Te''' lo do''}} ! ''Stressed form'' ! ''Clitic form''{{efn|name=elision}}{{efn|When unstressed accusative pronouns are used in compound tenses, the final vowel of the past participle must agree in gender and number with the accusative pronoun. For example, ''Hai comprato '''i cocomeri''' e '''le mele'''?'' ("Did you buy the watermelons and the apples?") – '''''Li''' [i cocomeri] ho comprat'''i''' ma non '''le''' [le mele] ho comprat'''e''''' ("I bought '''them''' [the former] but I did not buy '''them''' [the latter]"). This also happens when the [[underlying representation|underlying]] pronoun is made opaque by elision: ''l'ho svegliat'''o''''' ("I woke ''him'' up"), versus ''L'ho svegliat'''a''''' ("I woke ''her'' up").}} ! ''Stressed form''{{efn|The stressed form of the accusative also acts as the [[Object (grammar)|prepositional object]].}} ! ''Clitic form I.''{{efn|name=elision}}{{efn|Alone, as in '''''Ci''' chiacchiero volentieri'' ("I am happy to chat '''with him/her'''"), and sometimes with other clitic pronouns (see below)}} ! ''Clitic form II.''{{efn|Sometimes before other clitic pronouns (see below), as in:<br />''– Vedresti Carla con una gonna lunga e un cappello?<br />– Sì, '''ce''' la vedrei.''}} ! ''Stressed form'' |- ! rowspan="5" | sg. ! colspan="2" | 1st | io | — | di me | mi | me | a me | mi | me | — | — | con me |- ! colspan="2" | 2nd | tu{{efn|name=inf|Informal (see below)}} | — | di te | ti | te | a te | ti | te | — | — | con te |- ! rowspan="3" | 3rd ! m. | egli, esso,{{efn|name=esso_essa_essi_esse_impersonal|Although traditionally impersonal, ''essa'' is occasionally seen used as a personal pronoun, which is never the case with ''esso''; the plurals ''essi'' and ''esse'' are more frequently used as personal pronouns than their singular counterparts as they commonly supplant the personal plural pronouns ''elli'' and ''elle'' in contemporary usage.}} ''lui''{{efn|name=lui_lei_loro_nominative|Previously only accusative, today ''lui'', ''lei'' and ''loro'' are also accepted as nominative.}} | rowspan="3" | ne | di lui, di esso | gli | rowspan="2" | glie-{{efn|name=glie_one_word|Combines with the following pronoun to form one word; compare '''''Glie'''ne sono grato'' with '''''Te ne''' sono grato''. Only possible with ''lo, la, li, le,'' and ''ne'' (see below) to form ''glielo, gliela, glieli, gliele,'' and ''gliene''.}} | a lui, a esso | lo | lui, esso | rowspan="3" | ci | rowspan="3" | ce | con lui, con esso |- ! f. | ella,{{efn|name=formal|''Lei'', ''Loro'', ''Essi'', ''Esse'' and traditionally ''Ella'' and ''Elle'' (spelled this way) are also used as formal second-person pronouns (see below).}} essa,{{efn|name=esso_essa_essi_esse_impersonal|}} ''lei''{{efn|name=lui_lei_loro_nominative}}{{efn|name=formal|}} | di lei, di essa | le | a lei, a essa | la | lei, essa | con lei, con essa |- ! refl. | — | di sé | si | se | a sé | si | sé | con sé |- ! rowspan="5" | pl. ! colspan="2" | 1st | noi | — | di noi | ci | ce | a noi | ci | noi | — | — | con noi |- ! colspan="2" | 2nd | voi{{efn|name=inf}} | — | di voi | vi | ve | a voi | vi | voi | — | — | con voi |- ! rowspan="3" | 3rd ! m. | elli,{{Efn|The plural forms of ''egli'' and ''ella'' are generally considered archaic, owing to: common supplantation by ''essi'' and ''esse'' respectively; and the rarity of even the singular pronouns in vernacular usage.|name=elli_elle_archaic}} essi,{{efn|name=esso_essa_essi_esse_impersonal|}}{{efn|name=formal}} ''loro''{{efn|name=lui_lei_loro_nominative}} | rowspan="3" | ne | di loro, di essi{{efn|name=esse-essi|When a distinction is made between ''egli'' / ''ella'' (animate) and ''esso''/''a'' (inanimate), in the '''nominative''' case ''essi''/''e'' is usually the plural of both the animate and the inanimate pronouns. However, in the '''accusative''', as well as the '''object of prepositions''' (as in ''di lui'' / ''di lei'', ''di esso''/''a''), ''essi/e'' can be used only for inanimate nouns, while ''loro'' must be used for animate nouns instead.}} | rowspan="2" colspan="2" align="center" | loro{{efn|name=dative_loro|Not used like most clitics, simply follows the verb as with normal nouns. Compare '''''Gli''' dico'' (3rd person m. sg., clitic form I.) with ''Dico '''loro''''' (3rd person m. and f. pl.) and '''''Glie'''ne do due'' (3rd person m. and f. sg., clitic form II.) with ''Ne do '''loro''' due'' (3rd person m. and f. pl.).}}{{efn|name=glidat|In spoken Italian, ''gli'' ("to him") and ''glie-'' ("to him/her") are often used as the plural ("to them") instead of classical ''loro''. So: ''Conosci Luca: '''gli''' ho sempre detto di stare lontano dalle cattive compagnie'' ("You know Luca: I have always told ''him'' to stay away from bad companies") and: ''Conosci Luca e Gino: '''gli''' ho sempre detto...'' ("...I have always told ''them''...") instead of ''... ho sempre detto '''loro''' di stare...''. It also works in the feminine: ''Conosci Lucia e Gina: '''gli''' ho sempre detto...'' instead of the more classical ''... ho detto '''loro'''...''. However, classical ''loro'' is normally never replaced with ''gli''/''glie-'' in written language.}} | a loro, a essi{{efn|name=esse-essi}} | li | loro, essi{{efn|name=esse-essi}} | rowspan="3" | ci | rowspan="3" | ce | con loro, con essi{{efn|name=esse-essi}} |- ! f. | elle,{{Efn||name=elli_elle_archaic}}{{efn|name=formal|}} esse,{{efn|name=esso_essa_essi_esse_impersonal|}}{{efn|name=formal}} ''loro''{{efn|name=lui_lei_loro_nominative}}{{efn|name=formal|}} | di loro, di esse{{efn|name=esse-essi}} | a loro, a esse{{efn|name=esse-essi}} | le | loro, esse{{efn|name=esse-essi}} | con loro, con esse{{efn|name=esse-essi}} |- ! refl. | — | di sé | si | se | a sé | si | sé | con sé |} {| class="wikitable" |+ [[Possessive|Possessive pronouns]] |- | colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="border: none;" | ! colspan="2" | Singular ! colspan="2" | Plural |- ! ''Masculine'' ! ''Feminine'' ! ''Masculine'' ! ''Feminine'' |- ! rowspan="3" | ''sg.'' ! ''1st'' | mio | mia | miei | mie |- ! ''2nd'' | tuo | tua | tuoi | tue |- ! ''3rd'' | suo | sua | suoi | sue |- ! rowspan="3" | ''pl.'' ! ''1st'' | nostro | nostra | nostri | nostre |- ! ''2nd'' | vostro | vostra | vostri | vostre |- ! ''3rd'' | colspan="4" align="center" | loro |} {| class="wikitable" |+ [[Relative pronoun]]s{{efn|''Che'' and ''cui'' can always be replaced with the pro-form ''il quale'' / ''la quale'' (gendered), which is always stressed.}} |- | rowspan="2" | ! [[Nominative]]/<br>[[Accusative]] ! colspan="2" | [[Genitive]] ! colspan="2" | [[Dative]] ! [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]] |- ! ''Clitic form''{{efn|name=clitic_relative_pronouns|Differently from personal pronouns, clitic forms of relative pronouns do not rely on the verb for their accent, but might use the accent of any other [[part of speech]] instead. Compare '''''ne''' ho studiato a fondo le parti più rilevanti'' ("I have studied the most relevant parts '''of it''' in depth"), where ''ne'' (personal pronoun, genitive) must rely on the verb ''ho'' for its accent, with ''le '''cui''' parti più rilevanti ho studiato a fondo'' ("'''whose''' most relevant parts I have studied in depth"), where ''cui'' (relative pronoun, genitive) relies on the noun ''parti'' for its accent.}} ! ''Clitic form''{{efn|name=clitic_relative_pronouns}} ! ''Stressed form'' ! ''Clitic form''{{efn|name=clitic_relative_pronouns}} ! ''Stressed form'' ! ''Stressed form'' |- ! sg./pl. | che | cui{{efn|Always positioned between the article and the noun, as in ''Ieri lì sedeva un uomo il '''cui''' sguardo rivelava una certa malinconia.'' ("Yesterday a man was sitting there, '''whose''' look revealed some sort of melancholia"), or ''Fu un virtuosissimo violinista, la '''cui''' fama ancora riecheggia tra le sale da concerto.'' ("He was a virtuoso violinist, '''whose''' fame still echoes among concert halls.")}}{{efn|name=cui_prepositional_object|''Cui'' (by itself) also acts as the [[Object (grammar)|prepositional object]] (as in ''per '''cui'''''). Note that as the prepositional object ''cui'' is always stressed.}} | di cui | cui{{efn|Example: ''L'unica persona '''cui''' confessai tutti i miei segreti adesso mi odia.'' ("The only person '''to whom''' I confessed all my secrets now hates me.")}}{{efn|name=cui_prepositional_object}} | a cui | con cui |} {| class="wikitable" |+ Local case [[pro-form]]s |- ! colspan="3" | [[Locative case|Locative]], [[Lative case|Lative]]{{efn|As in '''''c''''è'', '''''vi''' sono'' ("'''There''' is/are), '''''Ce''' l'ha messo'' ("He/she put it '''there'''), etc.}} ! colspan="2" | [[Ablative case|Ablative]]{{efn|As in '''''Ne''' sono uscito alle...'' ("I left '''(from) there''' at...")}} |- ! ''Clitic form I.''{{efn|name=elision}} ! ''Clitic form II.'' ! ''Stressed form'' ! ''Clitic form''{{efn|name=elision}} ! ''Stressed form'' |- | ci, vi | ce, ve | qui, qua / lì, là | ne | da qui, da qua / da lì, da là |} Notes: {{notelist}} ===Clitic pronouns=== Although objects come after the verb as a rule, this is often not the case with a class of unstressed [[clitic]] [[pro-form]]s. Clitic pronouns are replaced with the stressed form for emphatic reasons. A somewhat similar situation is represented by the [[dative shift]] in English [[ditransitive verb]]s. Compare, for example, (emphasis in italic) "John gave a book '''''to her'''''" with "John gave '''her''' ''a book''". In Italian these two different emphases map respectively to "John diede un libro '''''a lei'''''" (stressed form) and "John '''''le''''' diede ''un libro''" (clitic form). Compared to English, Italian presents a richer set of [[Grammatical case|cases]]. Clitic pronouns generally come before the verb, but in certain types of constructions, such as ''lo devo fare'', they can also appear as [[enclitic]]s (attached to the verb itself)—in this case, ''devo farlo''. In the [[infinitive]], [[gerund]] and, except with third-person courtesy forms, [[imperative mood]]s clitic pronouns must ''always'' be compound to the suffix as enclitics<ref>This was not always the case, however. It is not rare indeed to find in [[opera]] [[libretto]]s the clitic before the imperative, as in ''Ti ferma!'' (which in standard Italian means 'He/She/It stops you!') instead of the standard ''Fermati!'' (which means 'Stop yourself!'). However this usage today is completely non-standard and modern listeners might have difficulties with it when approaching old texts.</ref> (as in ''confessalo!'' [2p. sg.]/''confessiamolo!'' [1p. pl.]/''confessatelo!'' [2p. pl.], ''ricordandolo'' and ''mangiarlo''). {| class="wikitable" |+ Examples of clitic pronouns |- | ! Italian ! English |- ! [[Genitive]] | ''Non vedo Francesca, ma '''ne''' vedo la bicicletta.'' | I don't see Francesca, but I see her bike (the bike '''of her'''). |- ! [[Dative]] | '''''Gli''' parlai per un'ora intera''. | I spoke '''to him''' for a whole hour. |- ! [[Accusative]] | '''''La''' vedo''. | I see '''her'''. |- ! [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]] | ''Sì! Lo conosco! Una volta '''ci''' giocai a pallacanestro!'' | Yes! I know him! Long ago I played basketball '''with him'''! |} Other examples: {| |- | ''accusative'' |''Davide '''la''' lascia in ufficio.'' || (David leaves '''it''' in the office.) |- | rowspan="2" | ''dative'' + ''accusative'' + nominative<!--"me" pronounced /ˌme/ as if it was written "mé"--> |''Davide ''me'' '''la''' lascia.'' || (David leaves ''me'' '''it'''.) |- |''Davide '''te''' ''ne'' lascia una.'' || (David leaves '''(to) you''' one ''of them''.) |- | rowspan="2" | ''accusative'' + nominative + ''dative''<!--"me" pronounced /ˈmɛ/ as if it was written "mè"--> |''Davide ''la'' lascia '''a me'''.'' || (David leaves ''it'' '''to me'''.) |- |''Davide '''ne''' lascia una ''a te''.'' || (David leaves one '''of them''' ''(to) you''.) |- | (subjunctive +) infinitive + ''dative'' + ''accusative'' |''Davide potrebbe lasciar'''glie'''''ne'' una.'' || (David might leave one ''of them'' '''to him'''/'''her'''/'''it'''.) |- | ''dative'' + ''accusative'' + subjunctive (+ infinitive) | ''Davide '''glie'''''ne'' potrebbe lasciare una.'' || (David might leave one ''of them'' '''to him'''/'''her'''/'''it'''.) |} (Compare with the similar use of objective pronouns and pro-forms in [[french grammar|French]] and [[Catalan personal pronouns#Weak pronouns|Catalan]].) Finally, in the imperative mood, the objective pronouns come once again ''after'' the verb, but this time as a suffix: {| |- | imperative + ''accusative'' |"''Lascia'''la''' in ufficio!''" || ("Leave '''it''' in the office!") |- | imperative + ''dative'' + ''accusative'' |"''Lascia''me'''''la'''!''" || ("Leave '''it''' ''to me''!"/"Leave ''me'' '''it'''!") |- | (conditional +) infinitive + ''dative'' |"''Davide potrebbe lasciar'''la''' in ufficio.''" || (David might leave '''it''' in the office.) |- | negative imperative<!--"non" + present (active) infinitive = second-person singular negative (present) imperative--> + ''dative'' + ''accusative'' |"''Non lasciar''glie'''''la'''!''" || ("Do not leave '''it''' ''to''/''for him''/''her''/''it''/''them''!") |- | imperative + ''dative'' + ''accusative'' |"''Davide dovrebbe lasciar''glie'''''la'''.''" || ("David should leave '''it''' ''to''/''for him''/''her''/''it''/''them''.") |} * Stressed forms of all four non-subject cases are used when emphasized (e.g. ''uccidi '''me''', non '''lui''''' ("kill '''me''', not '''him'''"), ''dallo '''a lei''''' ("give it to ''her''"), ''lo farò '''con lui''''' ("I'll do it with ''that''"), etc.). * In colloquial speech, form I. of the dative (''mi, ti, gli, le, si, ci, vi'') is often associated with the emphasized form of the dative (''a me, a te, a lui, a lei, a sé, a noi, a voi, a loro'') in such a way: ''a me mi danno un libro'' ("they give me a book"), ''a loro gli hanno venduto una casa'' ("they sold them a house"). Although widely used, this redundant usage is considered non-standard. ====Combinations of clitics==== In Italian it is possible to append more than one clitic to a single verb. In normal usage, two is the usual limit, although clusters of three can occasionally arise for some speakers,<ref>Lepschy, Giulio and Anna Laura Lepschy. 1998. The Italian Language Today. New York: New Amsterdam Books. p. 214.</ref> especially with impersonal constructs (e.g. '''''Ce la si''' sente'' = "One feels up to it", or ''Nessuno ha ancora visto l'ultimo film di Woody Allen, quindi '''ce lo si''' vede tutti insieme!'' = "Nobody has watched the last Woody Allen movie yet, so we have to watch it together!"). Any two cases can be used together, except for accusative + genitive, and word order is strictly determined according to one of the following two patterns:<ref>Lepschy, Giulio and Anna Laura Lepschy. 1998. The Italian Language Today. New York: New Amsterdam Books. p. 212.</ref> <ol><li>When third-person non-reflexive accusative or genitive clitics are used, form II. of the other clitic is used, which always precedes it. Thus:</li> {| class="wikitable" style="width:14em" |- ! align="center" | 1 || 2 || 3 |- | me, te, glie-, se, ce, ve || lo, la, li, le || ne si{{efn|1=Impersonal ''si''; used to form quasi-passive constructions and essentially the same case as the pronoun that precedes it: ''Lo si vede spesso'' = "You/we/one see(s) him a lot" ({{literally}} more like "He is seen a lot"). ''Se'' is used with ''ne'' instead, however: ''Se ne parla'' = "You talk about it". Cannot be used with stressed form of other clitics; used with unstressed form otherwise (see below).}} |} {{notelist}} For example: *''Ve lo dico già da ora: io non verrò!'' = "I already told you [pl.] (said it to you): I'm not coming!" (dative + accusative) *''Ce li ha già dati'' = "He/she/you already gave them to us" (dative + accusative) *''Ecco l'uomo di cui mi innamorai! Te ne ho portato la foto!'' = "Here's the man I fell in love with! I brought you the picture (of him)!" (dative + genitive) *''Vedresti Carla con una gonna lunga e un cappello? – Sì, ce la vedrei'' = "Could you imagine Carla with a long skirt and a hat? – Yes, I could imagine her with that" (instrumental + accusative) *''Riuscirai a trasportare abbastanza mele con quel piccolo furgoncino? – Uomo di poca fede! Ce ne trasporterò quintali!'' = "Will you be able to transport enough apples with such a small van? – Man of little faith! I'll transport quintals of them (with it)!" (instrumental + genitive) <li>Otherwise, form I. is used for both clitics:</li> {| class="wikitable" style="width:14em" |- ! align="center" | 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 |- | mi || gli, le || vi || ti || ci || si{{efn|Reflexive or impersonal}} |} {{notelist}} Thus: *''Mi ti mostro senza veli'' = "I'm showing myself without veils to you" (accusative + dative) *''Ti si fece incontro'' = "He/she approached you (moved himself/herself to you)" (dative + accusative) *''[G]li ti darò nelle mani, perché in pezzi ti faccia come tu meriti''<ref>{{cite book|last=Giraldi |first=Giovanni Battista |author-link=Giovanni Battista Giraldi |date=1565 |title=Gli Ecatommiti |trans-title=The Moor of Venice |publisher=Tipografia Borghi & Compagni |page=1840 |publication-date=1833}}</ref> = "I will deliver you to him, so that he will tear you to pieces as you deserve" (dative + accusative) *''Marco ha vinto! Che farà con tutti quei soldi? – Ci si pagherà l'Università'' = "Marco won! What's he going to do with all that money? – He'll use it to pay for college (pay for college for himself with it)" (instrumental + dative) *''Metti via quella pistola! Ti ci ammazzi!'' = "Put away that pistol! You'll use it to kill yourself (kill yourself with it)!" (accusative + instrumental) </ol> ====Apocopated forms==== Clitic forms (except ''cui'') before a verbal form beginning with a vowel (except when they are compound to the suffix) can be apocopated; apocopations are more common before verbal forms ''è'', ''ho'', ''hai'', ''ha'', ''hanno'', ''abbia'', and ''abbiano'' of verbs ''essere'' and ''avere'', than when they are before verbal forms of other verbs, which are more rare, also apocopations of ''che'' are rare, while apocopation of ''cui'' is avoided due to phonetic ambiguities with words such as ''qua'' (homophone to ''cu'ha''). Apocopation is not mandatory. ''Ci'' is graphically apocopated only in front of "e" and "i" (as in ''c'è'' and ''c'inserisco''), but the "i" is graphically kept in front of other vowels (as in ''mi ci addentro''), although in all cases it is pronounced /t͡ʃ/ (without the "i"); similarly ''gli'' is graphically apocopated only in front of "i" (as in ''gl'impongo'') but not in front of other vowels (''gli è dato sapere''), although in all cases the "i" is never pronounced. The apocopated form of ''che'' is always pronounced /k/, even when otherwise common phonetic rules switch their pronunciations.<ref>(with ''ho'', ''hai'', ''ha'', ''hanno'', and verbal forms beginning with "a", "o" or "u")</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ Examples of apocopated forms |- ! clitic form ! ''è''{{efn|"(he/she/it/one) is"}} ! ''ho''{{efn|"(I) have"}} ! ''hai''{{efn|"(you [sg.]) have"}} ! ''ha''{{efn|"(he/she/it/one) has"}} ! ''abbiamo''{{efn|"(we) have"}} ! ''avete''{{efn|"(you [pl.]) have}} ! ''hanno''{{efn|"(they) have"}} |- | mi | '''m''''è | '''m''''ho{{efn|name=reflexive|apocopated of reflexive pronouns with verbal forms of verb ''avere'' (''ho'', ''hai'', ...) are rarely used.}} | '''m''''hai | '''m''''ha | — | '''m''''avete | '''m''''hanno |- | ti | '''t''''è | '''t''''ho | '''t''''hai{{efn|name=reflexive}} | '''t''''ha | '''t''''abbiamo | — | '''t''''hanno |- | gli | '''gli''' è | '''gli''' ho | '''gli''' hai | '''gli''' ha | '''gli''' abbiamo | '''gli''' avete | '''gli''' hanno |- | gliela/gliele/glieli/glielo | '''gliel''''è | '''gliel''''ho | '''gliel''''hai | '''gliel''''ha | '''gliel''''abbiamo | '''gliel''''avete | '''gliel''''hanno |- | la/le/li/lo | '''l''''è | '''l''''ho | '''l''''hai | '''l''''ha | '''l''''abbiamo | '''l''''avete | '''l''''hanno |- | si | '''s''''è | — | — | '''s''''ha | — | — | '''s''''hanno |- | ci | '''c''''è | '''ci''' ho | '''ci''' hai | '''ci''' ha | '''ci''' abbiamo | '''ci''' avete | '''ci''' hanno |- | vi | '''v''''è | '''v''''ho | '''v''''hai | '''v''''ha | '''v''''abbiamo | '''v''''avete | '''v''''hanno |- | che | '''ch''''è | '''ch''''ho | '''ch''''hai | '''ch''''ha | '''ch''''abbiamo | '''ch''''avete | '''ch''''hanno |} {{notelist}} ===T–V distinction=== Italian makes use of the [[T–V distinction]] in second-person address. The second-person nominative pronoun is ''tu'' for informal use, and for formal use, the third-person form ''Lei'' (and historically ''Ella'') has been used since the Renaissance.<ref name="serianni" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Birattari |first=Massimo |title=Italiano: Corso di Sopravvivenza |publisher=TEA |year=2015 |isbn=88-50-23822-3 |pages=131–134}}</ref> It is used like ''Sie'' in German, ''usted'' in Spanish, and ''vous'' in French. ''Lei'' was originally an object form of ''ella'', which in turn referred to an [[honorific]] of the feminine gender such as ''la magnificenza tua/vostra'' ('Your Magnificence') or ''Vossignoria'' ('Your Lordship'),<ref>Maiden, Martin, M.Mair Parry. 1997. The dialects of Italy. p. 113.</ref> and by analogy, ''Loro'' came to be used as the formal plural. Previously, and in some Italian regions today (e.g. Campania), ''voi'' was used as the formal singular, like French ''vous''. The pronouns ''lei'' (third-person singular), ''Lei'' (formal second-person singular), ''loro'' (third-person plural), and ''Loro'' (formal second-person plural) are pronounced the same but written as shown, and formal ''Lei'' and ''Loro'' take third-person conjugations. Formal ''Lei'' is invariable for gender (always feminine), but adjectives that modify it are not: one would say to a man '''''La''' conosco'' ('I know you') but ''Lei è alt'''o''''' ('You are tall'). Formal ''Loro'' is variable for gender: '''''Li''' conosco'' ('I know you [masc. pl.]') vs. '''''Le''' conosco'' ('I know you [fem. pl.]'), etc. The formal plural is very rarely used in modern Italian; the unmarked form is widely used instead.<ref>[http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/it/lingua-italiana/consulenza-linguistica/domande-risposte/pronomi-cortesia Accademia della Crusca, ''Sui pronomi di cortesia'']</ref> For example: ''Gino, Lei è un bravo ingegnere. Marco, Lei è un bravo architetto. Insieme, voi sarete una gran bella squadra.'' ("Gino, you are a good engineer. Marco, you are a good architect. Together, you will make a very good team."). ==Verbs== {{Main|Italian conjugation}} Based on the ending of their ''infiniti presenti'' (''-are'', ''-ere'', or ''-ire''), all Italian verbs can be assigned to three distinct conjugation patterns. Exceptions are found: ''fare'', 'to do/make' (from Latin ''fācere''),{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} and ''dire'', 'to say' (from Latin ''dīcere''),{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} were originally 2nd conjugation verbs that reduced the unstressed vowel in the infinitive (and consequentially in the future and conditional, whose stem derives from the infinitive), but still follow the 2nd conjugation for all the other tenses; this behaviour is similarly featured in the verbs ending in ''-trarre'', ''-porre'' and ''-durre'', derived respectively from the Latin ''trahere''{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} ('to drag'), ''pōnere''{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} ('to put'), and ''dūcere''{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} ('to lead').<ref>[[#berloco-2018|Berloco 2018]]</ref> Just like many other [[Grammatical aspect#Romance languages|Romance languages]], Italian verbs express distinct verbal aspects by means of [[Analytic language|analytic]] structures such as periphrases, rather than [[Synthetic language|synthetic]] ones; the only aspectual distinction between two synthetic forms is the one between the ''imperfetto'' ([[Habitual aspect|habitual]] past tense) and the ''passato remoto'' ([[Perfective aspect|perfective]] past tense), although the latter is usually replaced in spoken language by the ''passato prossimo''. ===Tenses=== ====Simple tenses==== {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Tense ! Italian name ! Example ! English equivalent |- ! colspan="4" | Indicative Mood |- | Present || ''indicativo presente'' || ''faccio'' || I do<br/>I am doing<ref group="verbs" name="prog">While Italian features a series of periphrastic progressive tenses grammatically distinct from the unmarked forms, the present and past continuous are used less frequently than in English, and can generally be replaced with the respective simple forms. This cannot necessarily apply to all other progressive tenses.</ref> |- | Imperfect || ''indicativo imperfetto'' || ''facevo'' || I used to do<br>I was doing<ref group="verbs" name="prog"/> |- | Preterite<ref group="verbs">In northern Italy and in Sardinia, the preterite is usually perceived as formal, and in informal or everyday language is usually replaced by the present perfect (''ho fatto''); it is however regularly used in southern Italy, and also commonly found in both older and more recent literature.</ref>|| ''passato remoto'' || ''feci'' || I did |- | Future || ''futuro semplice''|| ''farò'' || I will do |- ! colspan="4" | Conditional mood |- | Present || ''condizionale presente''|| ''farei'' || I would do |- ! colspan="4" | Subjunctive mood |- | Present || ''congiuntivo presente''|| ''(che) io faccia'' || (that) I do |- | Imperfect || ''congiuntivo imperfetto''|| ''(che) io facessi'' || (that) I did/do |- ! colspan="4" | Imperative mood |- | Present || ''imperativo'' || ''fa'!'' || (you) do! |- |} ====Compound tenses==== [[Grammatical aspect|Aspects]] other than the habitual and the imperfective, such as the perfective, the progressive and the prospective, are rendered in Italian by a series of periphrastic structures that may or may not be perceived as different tenses by different speakers. Note the difference between: *Perfect aspect: ''io ho fatto'' ("I have done") *Progressive aspect: ''io sto facendo'' ("I'm doing") *Prospective aspect: ''io sto per fare'' ("I'm about to do") {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Tense ! Italian name ! Example ! English equivalent |- ! colspan="4" | Indicative Mood |- | Present perfect|| ''passato prossimo'' || ''ho fatto'' || I have done<br>I did |- | Recent pluperfect || ''trapassato prossimo'' || ''avevo fatto'' || I had done<ref group="verbs" name="trap">The ''trapassato prossimo'' (recent pluperfect) and the more uncommon ''trapassato remoto'' (remote pluperfect), while separate tenses in Italian, translate the same English tense, the past perfect; the difference in usage between the two mirrors the one between the present perfect and the preterite.</ref> |- | Remote pluperfect || ''trapassato remoto'' || ''ebbi fatto'' || I had done<ref group="verbs" name="trap"/> |- | Future perfect || ''futuro anteriore''|| ''avrò fatto'' || I will have done<br/>I may have done |- | |- | Present continuous || ''presente progressivo''|| ''sto facendo'' || I am doing<ref group="verbs" name="prog"/> |- | Past continuous || ''passato progressivo''|| ''stavo facendo'' || I was doing<ref group="verbs" name="prog"/> |- | Future continuous || ''futuro progressivo''|| ''starò facendo'' || I will be doing<br/>I may be doing |- ! colspan="4" | Conditional mood |- | Preterite || ''condizionale passato''|| ''avrei fatto'' || I would have done |- | |- | Present continuous || ''condizionale progressivo''|| ''starei facendo'' || I would be doing |- ! colspan="4" | Subjunctive mood |- | Preterite || ''congiuntivo passato''|| ''(che) io abbia fatto'' || (that) I have done |- | Pluperfect || ''congiuntivo trapassato''|| ''(che) io avessi fatto'' || (that) I had done |- | |- | Present continuous || ''congiuntivo presente progressivo''|| ''(che) io stia facendo'' || (that) I be doing |- | Imperfect continuous || ''congiuntivo imperfetto progressivo''|| ''(che) io stessi facendo'' || (that) I were doing |- |} ====Impersonal forms==== {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Tense ! Italian name ! Example ! English equivalent |- ! colspan="4" | Infinitives |- | Present || ''infinito presente'' || ''fare'' || to do |- | Past || ''infinito passato'' || ''aver fatto'' || to have done |- ! colspan="4" | Gerunds |- | Present || ''gerundio presente'' || ''facendo'' || doing |- | Past || ''gerundio passato''|| ''avendo fatto'' || having done |- ! colspan="4" | Participles |- | Present || ''participio presente''|| ''facente'' || doing |- | Past || ''participio passato''|| ''fatto'' || done |- |} ;Notes {{reflist|group="verbs"|2}} ===Compound tense auxiliary verbs=== In Italian, [[Perfect (grammar)#Perfect constructions with auxiliaries|compound tenses expressing perfect aspect]] are formed with either auxiliary verb ''[[wikt:avere#Italian|avere]]'' ('to have') {{Cite web |url=https://www.lingua-italiana.it/en/verbi-italiani-en/avere.html |title=Conjugation of the verb avere |publisher=(Lingua-Italiana.IT)}} for [[transitive verb]]s and some [[intransitive verb]]s and with ''[[wikt:essere#Italian|essere]]'' ('to be') {{Cite web |url=https://www.lingua-italiana.it/en/verbi-italiani-en/essere.html |title=Conjugation of the verb essere |publisher=(Lingua-Italiana.IT)}} for the remaining intransitive verbs, plus the past participle. [[Continuous and progressive aspects|Progressive aspect]] is rendered by verb ''[[wikt:stare#Italian|stare]]'' plus the gerund. The [[prospective aspect]] is formed with ''stare'' plus the preposition ''[[wikt:stare#Italian|per]]'' and the infinitive. The [[passive voice]] of transitive verbs is formed with ''[[wikt:essere#Italian|essere]]'' in the perfective and prospective aspects, with ''[[wikt:venire#Italian|venire]]'' in the progressive or habitual aspect, and with either ''essere'' or ''venire'' in the perfective aspects: * ''Il cancello è stato appena aperto.'' ("The gate has just been opened.") * ''Il cancello sta per essere aperto'' ("The gate is about to be opened.") * ''Il cancello sta venendo aperto in questo momento.'' ("The gate is being opened right now.") * ''Il cancello viene aperto ogni giorno.'' ("The gate is opened every day.") * ''Il cancello fu/venne aperto in fretta.'' ("The gate was quickly opened.") For the perfect tenses of intransitive verbs a reliable rule cannot be given, although a useful rule of thumb is that if a verb's past participle can take on [[Adjective|adjectival]] value, ''essere'' is used, otherwise ''avere''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=5060&ctg_id=44 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''La scelta degli ausiliari'' |access-date=2009-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530183706/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=5060&ctg_id=44 |archive-date=2009-05-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4125&ctg_id=44 |title=Accademia della Crusca, ''Ausiliare con i verbi intransitivi'' |access-date=2009-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720031759/http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4125&ctg_id=44 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Also, [[reflexive verb]]s and [[unaccusative verb]]s use ''essere'' (typically non-agentive verbs of motion and change of state, i.e. involuntary actions such as ''[[wikt:cadere#Italian|cadere]]'' ('to fall') or ''[[wikt:morire#Italian|morire]]'' ('to die')).{{Citation needed|date=June 2008|reason="Crusca article gives a different interpretation, saying that verbs that can be used as adjectives too go with essere – also, see 'andare' as a counterexample"}} The distinction between the two auxiliary verbs is important for the correct formation of the compound tenses and is essential to the [[agreement (linguistics)|agreement]] of the past participle. Some verbs, such as ''[[wikt:vivere#Italian|vivere]]'' ('to live'), may use both: ''Io ho vissuto'' ('I have lived') can alternatively be expressed as, ''Io sono vissuto''. ===Past participle=== The past participle is used in Italian as both an adjective and to form many of the compound tenses of the language. There are regular endings for the past participle, based on the conjugation class ([[#Non-finite forms|see below]]). There are, however, many irregular forms as not all verbs follow the pattern, particularly the -ere verbs. Some of the more common irregular past participles include: ''essere'' ('to be') → ''stato'' (same for ''stare''); ''fare'' ('to do', 'to make') → ''fatto''; ''dire'' ('to say, to tell') → ''detto''; ''aprire'' ('to open') → ''aperto''; ''chiedere'' ('to ask') → ''chiesto''; ''chiudere'' ('to close') → ''chiuso''; ''leggere'' ('to read') → ''letto''; ''mettere'' ('to put') → ''messo''; ''perdere'' ('to lose') → ''perso''; ''prendere'' ('to take', 'to get') → ''preso''; ''rispondere'' ('to answer') → ''risposto''; ''scrivere'' ('to write') → ''scritto''; ''vedere'' ('to see') → ''visto''. For the intransitive verbs taking ''essere'', the past participle always agrees with the subject—that is, it follows the usual adjective agreement rules: ''egli è partito; ella è partita''. This is also true for [[reflexive verb]]s, the impersonal ''si'' construction (which requires any adjectives that refer to it to be in the masculine plural: ''Si è sempre stanch'''i''' alla fine della giornata'' – One is always tired at the end of the day), and the passive voice, which also use ''essere'' (''Queste mele sono state comprat'''e''' da loro'' – These apples have been bought by them, against ''Essi hanno comprat'''o''' queste mele'' – They bought these apples).<ref name=":0" /> The past participle when used with ''avere'' never changes to agree with the subject. It ''must'' agree with ''the object'', although, in sentences where this is expressed by a third person clitic pronoun (e.g. ''Hai mangiato la mela? – Sì, '''l<nowiki>'</nowiki>'''ho mangiat'''a''''' (Have you eaten the apple? – Yes, I have eaten it)). When the object is expressed by a first or second person clitic pronoun instead, the agreement is optional: ''Maria! Ti ha chiamat'''o''' / chiamat'''a''' Giovanni? – No, non mi ha chiamat'''o''' / chiamat'''a''''' (Maria! Has Giovanni called you? – No, he has not). In all the other cases where the object is not expressed by a clitic pronoun, the agreement with the object is obsolescent in modern Italian (but still correct): ''La storia che avete raccontat'''a''''' (obsolete) ''/ raccontat'''o''' non mi convince'' (The story you told does not convince me); or compare [[Alessandro Manzoni|Manzoni]]'s ''Lucia aveva avut'''e''' due buone ragioni''<ref>[[Alessandro Manzoni]], ''[[The Betrothed (Manzoni novel)|The Betrothed]]'' (1827)</ref> with the more modern ''Lucia aveva avut'''o''' due buone ragioni'' (Lucia had had two good reasons). ===Tense relationship in subordinate sentences=== Italian inherits ''consecutio temporum'', a grammar rule from Latin that governs the relationship between the tenses in principal and subordinate clauses. ''Consecutio temporum'' has very rigid rules. These rules require the subjunctive tense in order to express contemporaneity, posteriority and anteriority in relation with the principal clause. * To express contemporaneity when the principal clause is in a simple tense (future, present, or simple past), the subordinate clause uses the present subjunctive, to express ''contemporaneity in the present''. ** ''Penso che Davide '''sia''' intelligente.'' I think David is smart. * When the principal clause has a past imperfect or perfect, the subordinate clause uses the imperfect subjunctive, expressing ''contemporaneity in the past''. ** ''Pensavo che Davide '''fosse''' intelligente''. I thought David was smart. * To express anteriority when the principal clause is in a simple tense (future, or present or passato prossimo) the subordinate clause uses the past subjunctive. ** ''Penso che Davide '''sia stato''' intelligente.'' I think David has been smart. * To express anteriority when the principal clause has a past imperfect or perfect, the subjunctive has to be pluperfect. ** ''Pensavo che Davide '''fosse stato''' intelligente.'' I thought David had been smart. * To express posteriority the subordinate clause uses the future tense in the indicative mood, not the subjunctive, because the subjunctive has no future tense. ** ''Penso che Davide '''sarà''' intelligente.'' I think David will be smart. * To express posteriority with respect to a past event, the subordinate clause uses the past conditional, whereas in other European languages (such as French, English, and Spanish) the present conditional is used. ** ''Pensavo che Davide '''sarebbe stato''' intelligente.'' I thought that David would have been smart. ===Regular conjugation=== The infinitive of first conjugation verbs ends in ''-are,'' that of second conjugation verbs in ''-ere,'' and that of third conjugation verbs in ''-ire.'' In the following examples for different [[Grammatical mood|moods]], the first conjugation verb is ''parlare'' ('to talk/speak'), the second conjugation verb is ''temere'' ('to fear') and the third conjugation verb is ''partire'' ('to leave/depart'). ====Indicative mood==== {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Present''' ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Preterite''' ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Imperfect''' ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Simple future''' |- ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. |- ! io | parlo | temo | parto | parlai | temetti; temei | partii | parlavo | temevo | partivo | parlerò | temerò | partirò |- ! tu | parli | temi | parti | parlasti | temesti | partisti | parlavi | temevi | partivi | parlerai | temerai | partirai |- ! egli, ella, esso/essa | parla | teme | parte | parlò | temette; temé | partì | parlava | temeva | partiva | parlerà | temerà | partirà |- ! noi | parliamo | temiamo | partiamo | parlammo | tememmo | partimmo | parlavamo | temevamo | partivamo | parleremo | temeremo | partiremo |- ! voi | parlate | temete | partite | parlaste | temeste | partiste | parlavate | temevate | partivate | parlerete | temerete | partirete |- ! essi/esse | parlano | temono | partono | parlarono | temettero; temerono | partirono | parlavano | temevano | partivano | parleranno | temeranno | partiranno |- | | colspan="3" | <small>'''Recent past''' = present of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> | colspan="3" | <small>'''Remote pluperfect''' = preterite of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> | colspan="3" | <small>'''Recent pluperfect''' = imperfect of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> | colspan="3" | <small>'''Future perfect''' = simple future of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> |} Many third conjugation verbs insert an infix ''-sc-'' between the stem and the endings in the first, second, and third persons singular and third person plural of the present indicative and subjunctive, e.g. ''capire'' > ''capisco, capisci, capisce, capiamo, capite, capiscono'' (indicative) and ''capisca, capisca, capisca, capiamo, capiate, capiscano'' (subjunctive). This subgroup of third conjugation verbs is usually referred to as ''incoativi'', because in Latin the original function of the suffix -sc- was to denote [[inchoative verb]]s, but this meaning is totally lost in modern Italian, where the suffix mostly serves a euphonic function.<ref name=serianni/> ====Subjunctive mood==== The [[Subjunctive mood#Italian|Italian subjunctive mood]] is used to indicate cases of desire, express doubt, make impersonal emotional statements, and to talk about impending events. {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Present''' ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Imperfect''' |- ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. |- ! io | parli | tema | parta | parlassi | temessi | partissi |- ! tu | parli | tema | parta | parlassi | temessi | partissi |- ! egli, ella, esso/essa | parli | tema | parta | parlasse | temesse | partisse |- ! noi | parliamo | temiamo | partiamo | parlassimo | temessimo | partissimo |- ! voi | parliate | temiate | partiate | parlaste | temeste | partiste |- ! essi/esse |parlino |temano |partano |parlassero |temessero |partissero |- | | colspan="3" | <small>'''Past''' = present of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> | colspan="3" | <small>'''Past perfect''' = imperfect of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> |} *Third conjugation verbs, such as ''capire'', mentioned above insert ''-isc-'' in the first, second, and third persons singular and third person plural of the present. *Compound forms (''past'' and ''past perfect'') are made by adding the past participle (e.g. ''parlato'') to the corresponding auxiliary form (as ''abbia'') in the present and imperfect. ====Conditional mood==== {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="3" | '''Present''' |- ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. |- ! io | parlerei | temerei | partirei |- ! tu | parleresti | temeresti | partiresti |- ! egli, ella, esso/essa | parlerebbe | temerebbe | partirebbe |- ! noi | parleremmo | temeremmo | partiremmo |- ! voi | parlereste | temereste | partireste |- ! essi/esse | parlerebbero | temerebbero | partirebbero |- | | colspan="3" | <small>'''Past''' = conditional of ''avere''/''essere'' + past participle</small> |} As the table shows, verbs each take their own root from their class of verb: ''-are'' becomes -''er''-, -''ere'' becomes -''er''-, and -''ire'' becomes -''ir''-, the same roots as used in the future indicative tense. All verbs add the same ending to this root. Some verbs do not follow this pattern, but take irregular roots, these include: Andare ('to go') ~ Andr-, Avere ('to have') ~ Avr-, Bere ('to drink') ~ Berr-, Dare ('to give') ~ Dar-, Dovere ('to have to') ~ Dovr-, Essere ('to be') ~ Sar-, Fare ('to make/do') ~ Far-, Godere ('to enjoy') ~ Godr-, Potere ('to be able to') ~ Potr-, Rimanere ('to remain') ~ Rimarr-, Sapere ('to know') ~ Sapr-, Sedere ('to sit') ~ Sedr-, Stare ('to be/feel') ~ Star-, Tenere ('to hold') ~ Terr-, Vedere ('to see') ~ Vedr-, Venire ('to come') ~ Verr-, Vivere ('to live') ~ Vivr-, Volere ('to want') ~ Vorr- etc. The Italian conditional mood is a mood that refers to an ''action'' that is possible or probable, but is dependent upon a '''condition'''. Example: {| | ''Io andrei in spiaggia, ma fa troppo freddo.'' || ("I ''would'' go to the beach, '''but''' it is too cold.") |} It can be used in two tenses, the present, by conjugation of the appropriate verb, or the past, using the auxiliary conjugated in the conditional, with the past participle of the appropriate noun: {| | ''Mangerei un sacco adesso, se non stessi cercando di fare colpo su queste ragazze.'' || ("I would eat a lot now, if I were not trying to impress these girls.") |- | ''Sarei andato in città, se avessi saputo che ci andavano loro.'' || ("I would have gone to the city, if I had known that they were going.") |} Many Italian speakers often use the imperfect instead of the conditional and subjunctive. Prescriptivists usually view this as incorrect, but it is frequent in colloquial speech and tolerated in all but high registers and in most writing:<ref>{{cite book|last=Fornaciari|first=Raffaello | title=Sintassi italiana |url=https://archive.org/details/sintassiitaliana00forn| place=[[Florence]] | year=1881}} See an excerpt at {{cite web | title=Grammatica italiana – L'imperfetto nelle frasi condizionali | url=http://www.mauriziopistone.it/testi/discussioni/gramm06_imperfetto.html | access-date=2007-10-08}}</ref> {| | ''Se lo sapevo, andavo alla spiaggia'' || ("If I had known it, I would have gone to the beach.") |- | ''Se Lucia non faceva quel segno, la risposta sarebbe probabilmente stata diversa.''<ref>[[Alessandro Manzoni]], ''[[The Betrothed (Manzoni novel)|I promessi sposi]]'', chapter 3</ref> || ("If Lucia had not made that sign, the answer would probably have been different.") |} The conditional can also be used in Italian to express "could", with the conjugated forms of ''potere'' ('to be able to'), "should", with the conjugated forms of ''dovere'' ('to have to'), or "would like", with the conjugated forms of ''volere'' ('want'): {| | ''[Lui] potrebbe leggere un libro.'' || ("He could read a book.") |- | ''[Loro] dovrebbero andare a letto.'' || ("They should go to bed.") |- | ''Vorrei un bicchiere d'acqua, per favore.'' || ("I would like a glass of water, please.") |} ====Imperative mood==== {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" ! ! 1st Conj. ! 2nd Conj. ! 3rd Conj. |- ! (tu) | parla! | temi! | parti! |- ! (Ella) | parli! | tema! | parta! |- ! (noi) | parliamo! | temiamo! | partiamo! |- ! (voi) | parlate! | temete! | partite! |- ! (Essi/Esse) | parlino! | temano! | partano! |} Verbs such as ''capire'' insert ''-isc-'' in all except the ''noi'' and ''voi'' forms. Technically, the only real imperative forms are the second-person singular and plural, with the other persons being borrowed from the present subjunctive. ====Non-finite forms==== * '''Infinitive''': present: -are, -ere, -ire; past: avere/essere + past participle * '''Gerund''': present: -ando, -endo, -endo; past: avendo/essendo + past participle * '''Participle''': present: -ante -ente -ente; past: -ato, -uto (although verbs of the second conjugation almost always have a contracted desinence, e.g. ''cuocere'' ('to cook') ''cotto'' ('cooked')), -ito ===Irregular verbs=== While the majority of Italian verbs are regular, many of the most commonly used are [[irregular verb|irregular]]. In particular, the [[auxiliary verb]]s ''essere'', ''stare'' and ''avere'', and the common [[modal verb]]s ''dovere'' (expressing necessity or obligation), ''potere'' (expressing permission and to a lesser degree ability), ''sapere'' (expressing ability) and ''volere'' (expressing willingness) are all irregular. The only irregular verbs of the first conjugation are ''dare'' ('to give'), which follows the same pattern as ''stare'', and ''andare'' ('to go'), which features [[Suppletion|suppletive]] forms in the present of the indicative, subjunctive and imperative from the Latin verb ''VADERE''. While apparently a 1st conjugation verb, ''fare'' is actually a highly irregular verb of the second conjugation. Even the third conjugation features a small handful of irregular verbs, such as ''morire'' ('to die'), whose present is ''muoio, muori, muore, moriamo, morite, muoiono'' (indicative) and ''muoia, muoia, muoia, moriamo, moriate, muoiano'' (subjunctive). The second conjugation combines the second and third conjugation of Latin; since the verbs belonging to the third conjugation were athematic, and they behaved less regularly than the ones belonging to the other conjugations (compare ''AMĀRE'' > ''AMAVI, AMATVS'', first conjugation, and ''LEGĚRE'' > ''LEGI, LECTVS'', third conjugation), the second conjugation Italian features many irregularities that trace back to the original paradigms of the Latin verbs: ''amare'' > ''amai, amato'' (first conjugation, regular), but ''leggere'' > ''lessi, letto'' (second conjugation, irregular). {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''essere'' (to be; auxiliary) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | sono | ero | fui | sarò | sia | fossi | sarei |- ! tu | sei | eri | fosti | sarai | sia | fossi | saresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | è | era | fu | sarà | sia | fosse | sarebbe |- ! noi | siamo | eravamo | fummo | saremo | siamo | fossimo | saremmo |- ! voi | siete | eravate | foste | sarete | siate | foste | sareste |- ! loro, essi/esse | sono | erano | furono | saranno | siano | fossero | sarebbero |} {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''stare'' (to stay; auxiliary) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | sto | stavo | stetti | starò | stia | stessi | starei |- ! tu | stai | stavi | stesti | starai | stia | stessi | staresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | sta | stava | stette | starà | stia | stesse | starebbe |- ! noi | stiamo | stavamo | stemmo | staremo | stiamo | stessimo | staremmo |- ! voi | state | stavate | steste | starete | stiate | steste | stareste |- ! loro, essi/esse | stanno | stavano | stettero | staranno | stiano | stessero | starebbero |} {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''avere'' (to have; auxiliary) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | ho | avevo | ebbi | avrò | abbia | avessi | avrei |- ! tu | hai | avevi | avesti | avrai | abbia | avessi | avresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | ha | aveva | ebbe | avrà | abbia | avesse | avrebbe |- ! noi | abbiamo | avevamo | avemmo | avremo | abbiamo | avessimo | avremmo |- ! voi | avete | avevate | aveste | avrete | abbiate | aveste | avreste |- ! loro, essi/esse | hanno | avevano | ebbero | avranno | abbiano | avessero | avrebbero |} {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''dovere'' (to have to, must, should; modal) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | devo/debbo | dovevo | dovetti | dovrò | debba | dovessi | dovrei |- ! tu | devi | dovevi | dovesti | dovrai | debba | dovessi | dovresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | deve | doveva | dovette | dovrà | debba | dovesse | dovrebbe |- ! noi | dobbiamo | dovevamo | dovemmo | dovremo | dobbiamo | dovessimo | dovremmo |- ! voi | dovete | dovevate | doveste | dovrete | dobbiate | doveste | dovreste |- ! loro, essi/esse | devono/debbono | dovevano | dovettero | dovranno | debbano | dovessero | dovrebbero |} {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''potere'' (to be able to, can, could; modal) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | posso | potevo | potei | potrò | possa | potessi | potrei |- ! tu | puoi | potevi | potesti | potrai | possa | potessi | potresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | può | poteva | poté | potrà | possa | potesse | potrebbe |- ! noi | possiamo | potevamo | potemmo | potremo | possiamo | potessimo | potremmo |- ! voi | potete | potevate | poteste | potrete | possiate | poteste | potreste |- ! loro, essi/esse | possono | potevano | poterono | potranno | possano | potessero | potrebbero |} {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''volere'' (to want, will, would; modal) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | voglio | volevo | volli | vorrò | voglia | volessi | vorrei |- ! tu | vuoi | volevi | volesti | vorrai | voglia | volessi | vorresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | vuole | voleva | volle | vorrà | voglia | volesse | vorrebbe |- ! noi | vogliamo | volevamo | volemmo | vorremo | vogliamo | volessimo | vorremmo |- ! voi | volete | volevate | voleste | vorrete | vogliate | voleste | vorreste |- ! loro, essi/esse | vogliono | volevano | vollero | vorranno | vogliano | volessero | vorrebbero |} {| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" border="1" |+ ''sapere'' (to be able to, can; modal<ref name="sapere-modal">The verb ''sapere'' has two distinctive meanings depending whether it is used as a modal verb (i.e. accompanying another infinitive) or not. As a modal verb it means 'can, being able to', as in ''so suonare il violino'' ('I can play the violin'), while as a normal verb it means 'to know', as in ''so cosa significhi'' ('I know what that means').</ref>) |- ! rowspan="2" | ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="4" | Indicative ! style="text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Subjunctive ! style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" | Conditional |- ! Present ! Imperfect ! Preterite ! Future ! Present ! Imperfect |- ! io | so | sapevo | seppi | saprò | sappia | sapessi | saprei |- ! tu | sai | sapevi | sapesti | saprai | sappia | sapessi | sapresti |- ! lui, lei, esso/essa | sa | sapeva | seppe | saprà | sappia | sapesse | saprebbe |- ! noi | sappiamo | sapevamo | sapemmo | sapremo | sappiamo | sapessimo | sapremmo |- ! voi | sapete | sapevate | sapeste | saprete | sappiate | sapeste | sapreste |- ! loro, essi/esse | sanno | sapevano | seppero | sapranno | sappiano | sapessero | saprebbero |} ==Adverbs== An adjective can be made into a modal adverb by adding ''-mente'' (from Latin ''mente'', ablative of ''mens'' ('mind'), feminine noun) to the ending of the feminine singular form of the adjective. E.g. ''lenta'', 'slow' (feminine), becomes ''lentamente'', 'slowly'. Adjectives ending in ''-re'' or ''-le'' lose their ''e'' before adding ''-mente'' (''facile'', 'easy', becomes ''facilmente'', 'easily'; ''particolare'', 'particular', becomes ''particolarmente'', 'particularly'). These adverbs can also be derived from the [[#Degrees of comparison|absolute superlative]] form of adjectives, e.g. ''lentissimamente'' ('very slowly'), ''facilissimamente'' ('very easily'). There is also a plethora of temporal, local, modal and interrogative adverbs, mostly derived from Latin, e.g. ''quando'' ('when'), ''dove'' ('where'), ''come'' ('how'), ''perché'' ('why/because'), ''mai'' ('never'), ''sempre'' ('always'), etc. ==Prepositions== Italian has a [[closed class]] of basic prepositions, to which a number of [[adverb]]s can be added that also double as prepositions, e.g.: ''sopra il tavolo'' ('upon the table'), ''prima di adesso'' ('before now'). In modern Italian the prepositions ''tra'' and ''fra'' are interchangeable, and often chosen on the basis of [[euphony]]: ''tra fratelli'' ('among brothers') vs. ''fra i tralicci'' ('between the power pylons'). In modern Italian, all the basic prepositions except ''tra'', ''fra'', ''con'', and ''per'' have to be combined with an article placed next to them. Of these, ''con'' and ''per'' have optional combining forms: ''col'', ''collo'', ''colla'', ''coll<nowiki>'</nowiki>'', ''coi'', ''cogli'', ''colle''; ''pel'', ''pello'', ''pella'', ''pell<nowiki>'</nowiki>'', ''pei'', ''pegli'', ''pelle''; except for ''col'' and ''coi'', which are occasionally used, but are archaic and very rare. Prepositions normally require the article before the following noun in a similar way as the English language does. However [[Latin]]'s lack of articles influenced several cases of prepositions used without article in Italian (e.g. ''a capo'', ''da capo'', ''di colpo'', ''in bicicletta'', ''per strada''). The preposition ''su'' becomes ''su di'' before a pronoun (e.g. ''su di te''). Some speakers also use ''su di'' before a word beginning in ''u'' for [[euphonic]] reasons (e.g. ''su di un cavallo''), but this is regarded as incorrect by grammarians. Historically the variant form ''sur'' was used before the letter ''u''; however, this form fell into disuse during the nineteenth century. {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! colspan="9" | Mandatory contractions |- ! rowspan="2" | Italian ! rowspan="2" | English ! colspan="7" | Preposition + article |- !il !lo !la !l' !i !gli !le |- | '''di''' | of, from | del |dello |della |dell' |dei |degli |delle |- | '''a''' | to, at | al |allo |alla |all' |ai |agli |alle |- | '''da''' | from, by, since | dal |dallo |dalla |dall' |dai |dagli |dalle |- | '''in''' | in | nel |nello |nella |nell' |nei |negli |nelle |- | '''su''' | on, about | sul |sullo |sulla |sull' |sui |sugli |sulle |} {| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! colspan="9" | Optional contractions |- ! rowspan="2" | Italian ! rowspan="2" | English ! colspan="7" | Preposition + article |- !il !lo !la !l' !i !gli !le |- | '''con''' | with | col |collo |colla |coll' |coi |cogli |colle |- | '''per''' | for, through | pel |pello |pella |pell' |pei |pegli |pelle |- | '''tra''' | between, among | tral |trallo |tralla |trall' |trai |tragli |tralle |- | '''fra''' | between, among | fral |frallo |fralla |frall' |frai |fragli |fralle |} ==Syntax== Italian is an [[subject–verb–object|SVO]] language. Nevertheless, the SVO sequence is sometimes replaced by one of the other arrangements (SOV, VSO, OVS, etc.), especially for reasons of emphasis and, in literature, for reasons of style and metre: Italian has relatively free word order. The subject is usually [[null subject language|omitted when it is a pronoun]]—distinctive verb conjugations make it redundant. Subject pronouns are considered emphatic when used at all. Questions are formed by a rising intonation at the end of the sentence (in written form, a question mark). There is usually no other special marker, although [[wh-movement]] does usually occur. In general, intonation and context are important to recognize questions from affirmative statements. {| |- |''Davide è arrivato in ufficio.'' || ("David has arrived at the office.") |- |''Davide è arrivato in ufficio?'' || ("Talking about David… did he arrive at the office?" or "Davide has arrived at the office? Really?" – depending on the intonation) |- |''Perché Davide è arrivato in ufficio?'' || ("Why has David arrived at the office?") |- |''Perché Davide è arrivato in ufficio.'' || ("Because David has arrived at the office.") |- |''È arrivato Davide in ufficio.'' || ("It was '''David''' who arrived at the office" or "David '''arrived''' at the office" – depending on the intonation) |- |''È arrivato Davide in ufficio?'' || ("Has David arrived at the office?") |- |''È arrivato in ufficio.'' || ("He has arrived at the office.") |- |''(Lui) è arrivato in ufficio.'' || ("'''He''' has arrived at the office.") |- |''Chi è arrivato in ufficio?'' || ("Who has arrived at the office?") |} In general, adjectives come after the noun they modify, adverbs after the verb. But: as with [[french grammar|French]], adjectives coming before the noun indicate essential quality of the noun. Demonstratives (e.g. ''questo'', 'this', ''quello'', 'that') come before the noun, and a few particular adjectives (e.g. ''bello'') may be inflected like demonstratives and placed before the noun. ==Disputed points in Italian grammar== Among sometimes proscribed Italian forms are: * The usage of an indicative form where a subjunctive one is traditional; for instance: ''credo che Giorgio ieri fosse a casa'' ("I believe that yesterday George was at home") is considered proper, while ''credo che Giorgio ieri era a casa'' may not be; ''se Maria fosse stata a casa, le avrei telefonato'' ("if Mary had been at home, I would have telephoned her") is preferred, ''se Maria era a casa le telefonavo'' is often proscribed, despite being found in classic Italian writers. * The use of the object forms (''lui'', ''lei'', ''loro'' and ''Lei'') of third person pronouns instead of the subject forms (''egli'', ''ella'', ''essi'', and ''Ella''), which are employed in formal language. * ''Ma però'', despite being widespread in spoken language, is proscribed in formal usage because it is redundant (''ma'' and ''però'' are synonyms). ==Italian grammar books== The first Italian grammar was printed by [[Giovanni Francesco Fortunio]] in 1516 with the title ''[[Regole grammaticali della volgar lingua]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRumIF1TLVkC&q=Giovan+Francesco+Fortunio&pg=PA221 |title=Las lenguas románicas estándar: (historia de su formación y de su uso) |author=Michael Metzeltin |publisher=Academia Llingua Asturiana |year=2004 |place=Uviéu, Asturias |isbn=84-8168-356-6 |page=221 }}</ref> Ever since, several Italian and foreign scholars have published works devoted to its description. Among others may be mentioned the famous ''[[Grammatica storica della lingua italiana e dei suoi dialetti]]'' written by the [[philologist]] [[Gerhard Rohlfs]], published at the end of the 1960s. Among the most modern publications are those by [[Luca Serianni]], in collaboration with [[Alberto Castelvecchi]], ''[[Grammatica italiana. Suoni, forme, costrutti]]'' (Utet, Turin, 1998); and by [[Lorenzo Renzi]], [[Giampaolo Salvi]] and [[Anna Cardinaletti]], ''[[Grande grammatica italiana di consultazione]]'' (third vol., Bologna, Il Mulino, 1988–1995). The most complete and accurate grammar in English is ''A Reference Grammar of Modern Italian'' by [[Martin Maiden]] and [[Cecilia Robustelli]] (McGraw-Hill, Chicago, 2000; second ed. Routledge, New York, 2013). ==Bibliography== * {{Cite book |language=it |first=Luca |last=Serianni |title=Italiano. Grammatica, sintassi, dubbi |location=Milan |publisher=Garzanti |year=2000 |ref=serianni-2000 |isbn=8811504880}} * {{Cite book |language=en |title=The Big Book of Italian Verbs: 900 Fully Conjugated Verbs in All Tenses. With IPA Transcription, 2nd Edition |first=Fabrizio |last=Berloco |publisher=Lengu |isbn=978-8894034813 |year=2018 |ref=berloco-2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DYynDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 }} ==Notes and references== {{Reflist}} ==External links== <!-- WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A COLLECTION OF LINKS --> <!-- If you think that your link might be useful, instead of placing it here, put it on this article's discussion page first. Links that have not been verified WILL BE DELETED --> * [http://www.moltobeneitalian.com/conjugation_trainer Verb Conjugation Trainer from Molto Bene Italian] * [http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it Accademia della Crusca] {{Romance grammars}} {{Language grammars}} [[Category:Italian grammar| ]]
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