A Reference Grammar of Modern Italian

Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Table of Contents......Page 6
Abbreviations and symbols......Page 24
Glossary of key terms......Page 26
1 Introduction......Page 36
 2.2 The letters c, (q), g, h, i, u......Page 39
 2.3 The letters e and o......Page 42
 2.4 The letters s and z......Page 44
 2.6 Lengthening of consonants at the beginning of words: rafforzamento (fono)sintattico......Page 45
 2.8 Optional removal of final unstressed vowels: aver fatto vs. avere fatto, etc.......Page 48
 2.9 Primary stress......Page 49
 2.11 Secondary stress: ‘regular’ and ‘autonomous’......Page 52
 2.12 Written accents......Page 53
 2.14 Hyphens and syllabification......Page 54
 2.16 Names of letters of the alphabet......Page 55
 3.1 Three general principles for plural formation......Page 56
 3.3 Exceptions to the general principles: nouns and adjectives with irregular plural endings......Page 58
 3.4 Nouns in masculine singular -o, and feminine plural -a......Page 60
 3.5 Other nouns which differ in gender between singular and plural......Page 63
 3.6 Irregularities in the plural root: porco – porci, amico – amici, dio – dei, uomo – uomini, etc.......Page 64
 3.7 Forming the plural of compound nouns: il capogruppo – i capigruppo, etc.......Page 66
 3.8 Number mismatches between languages: English plurals for Italian singulars, and vice versa......Page 68
 3.9 Three principles for predicting the gender of nouns......Page 69
 3.11 Nouns which contradict the general principles for gender (feminine gender for males; masculine gender for females; masculines in -a; feminines in -o)......Page 70
 3.12 Other clues to the gender of nouns (endings and suffixes)......Page 73
 3.13 Gender of compound nouns......Page 74
 3.15 Gender of parts of speech other than nouns......Page 75
 3.16 Gender of names of cities, cars, rivers, valleys and wines......Page 76
 3.17 Other meaning differences associated with gender (trees vs. fruits; size)......Page 77
 3.19 Sex: ways of expressing ‘male’ and ‘female’ in nouns denoting living beings......Page 78
 3.20 Apparent anomalies of gender where a noun is understood but not expressed......Page 80
 3.22 Gender and adjectives......Page 81
 3.23 Agreement patterns with nouns of different gender: Aveva le mani e i piedi legati ‘His hands and feet were bound’......Page 82
 3.25 The position of the adjective......Page 83
 3.26 Adjectives are next to the noun they modify......Page 87
 3.27 The order of adjectives in combination: molti bei libri ‘many fine books’, tavole rotonde verniciate or tavole rotonde e verniciate ‘round painted tables’, etc.......Page 88
 3.28 The forms of preposed adjectives bello, buono, grande (and santo)......Page 89
 3.29 The position of specificational adjectives: diverse idee (vs. idee diverse), etc.......Page 90
 3.31 The type Trovo questo libro interessante ‘I find this book interesting’ (vs. Trovo interessante questo libro)......Page 92
 3.32 The ‘present participle’......Page 93
 3.33 The type ‘I’m a slow eater’ Sono uno che mangia lentamente, etc.......Page 95
 4.1 The forms of the definite and indefinite articles......Page 96
 4.2 Combinations of preposition + definite article......Page 98
 4.4 The definite article with nouns having ‘generic’, ‘universal’ reference: Il vino fa male alla salute ‘Wine is bad for your health’, etc.......Page 99
 4.5 The article with names of body parts and other ‘inherent attributes’......Page 100
 4.6 The article with names of places, countries and islands......Page 101
 4.8 The article with names of persons......Page 103
 4.9 The article with names of languages......Page 104
 4.11 The type Faccio il falegname = ‘I’m a carpenter’: the construction fare + definite article + noun......Page 105
 4.13 Italian quello, questo = English ‘the’......Page 106
 4.14 Omission of the article in appositive and predicative constructions: the type È studente ‘He’s a student’......Page 107
 4.16 Omission of the article in lists and conjoined expressions......Page 108
 4.18 Omission of the article after prepositions: the type in ufficio ‘at the office’......Page 109
 4.19 The articles frequently absent in proverbial expressions......Page 110
 4.20 The ‘partitive’ type Voglio del vino, Porto dei fiori with di + article + noun and the ‘zero article’ type Voglio vino, Porto fiori......Page 111
 4.22 The indefinite article......Page 114
 5.1 Forms of the demonstrative adjectives and pronouns: questo (and sto), quello, etc.......Page 116
 5.2 Meaning of questo vs. quello......Page 117
 5.4 The demonstratives questo and quello as personal pronouns......Page 118
 5.6 The type quelli del municipio = ‘the town hall people’......Page 119
 5.8 The type La situazione è sempre quella ‘The situation is still the same’......Page 120
 5.10 ‘Verbless’ uses of questo......Page 121
 5.12 The demonstrative pronoun costui (and colui), etc.......Page 122
 5.14 ‘Text-internal’ demonstratives: suddetto ‘above mentioned’, etc.......Page 123
 5.15 Demonstratives of place: qua, là, etc.......Page 124
 5.18 What is the difference between stesso and reflexives?......Page 125
 5.19 Stesso not equivalent to English ‘-self’, where ‘-self’ means ‘as far as X is concerned’ or ‘on his/her/its own’......Page 126
 5.20 The difference between stesso and uguale......Page 127
 6.1 The differences between stressed and clitic (‘unstressed’) pronouns......Page 128
 6.2 Forms of the clitics: mi, ti, gli, etc., vs. me, te, glie, etc.; elision; avoidance of repetition......Page 130
 6.3 Position of clitics in relation to their verb......Page 133
 6.4 Position of clitics in relation to constructions comprising more than one verb: L’ho lavato, Lo devo lavare, Devo lavarlo, etc.......Page 134
 6.6 Order of combinations of clitics......Page 135
 6.7 The ‘semi-clitic’ loro: Do loro il libro vs. Gli do il libro ‘I give them the book’......Page 137
 6.9 Idioms with feminine la......Page 138
 6.10 ‘Locative’ ci and vi ‘(t)here’......Page 139
 6.12 The types c’è ‘there is’, ci vuole ‘is necessary’, ci ha ‘he has’......Page 140
 6.13 The functions of ne and restrictions on its use......Page 141
 6.15 The reflexive clitic as an inherent part of some intransitive verbs: the type alzarsi ‘to get up’......Page 145
 6.18 The non-standard type A me mi piace......Page 148
 6.20 Uses of the ‘oblique’ forms......Page 149
 6.22 Position of io combined with other subject pronouns: io e lui and lui e io = ‘he and I’......Page 150
 6.26 Egli, esso, ella, essa, essi, esse vs. lui, lei, loro......Page 151
 6.27 ‘Reciprocal’ pronouns: ‘They look at each other’ Si guardano (l’un l’altro)......Page 153
  6.28 Tra sé, tra di loro; fra me e me ‘to himself’, ‘amongst themselves’; ‘to myself’......Page 154
 6.29 Indefinite personal si: Oggi si va al ristorante più spesso che in passato ‘Today people go to the restaurant more often than in the past’......Page 155
 6.30 The differences between indefinite personal si and passive si......Page 156
 6.31 Three peculiarities of indefinite personal si in combination with other clitic pronouns: the types Si vuole farlo ‘One wants to do it’, Ci si lava ‘One washes oneself’, and Lo si prepara ‘One prepares it’......Page 158
 6.32 Indefinite personal si, the auxiliary verb, and agreement of the past participle: Si è viaggiato ‘One has travelled’ vs. Si è partiti ‘One has left’......Page 159
 6.33 Plural predicates of verbs with indefinite personal si: Si è allegri ‘One is cheerful’ (or where si is implicit: È meglio viaggiare armati ‘It’s better to travel armed’)......Page 160
 6.34 Other indefinite personal forms: second person forms, and third person plural forms and uno......Page 162
 6.36 Si as first person plural ‘we’: the type Si va ‘We go’......Page 163
 6.38 ‘All of ’ + pronoun: the type ‘They gave it to all of us’ Ce l’hanno dato a tutti......Page 164
 7.3 The type Il medico di cui ti avevo parlato ‘The doctor who I talked to you about’......Page 165
 7.5 Il che: A relative referring to a whole clause......Page 166
 7.7 Che as generic, ‘all purpose’ relative form......Page 167
 7.9 Di cui = ‘including’, ‘mentioned’......Page 168
 7.12 Functions of relative il quale......Page 169
 7.14 Quale as relative adjective = ‘of such a kind as’......Page 170
 7.17 ‘He, she, those who ...’,‘anybody who ...’: masc. colui che, femin. colei che, pl. coloro che; quello che, quella che, quelli che; chi; Chi ... ‘if anybody ...’......Page 171
 7.18 ‘No matter who’, ‘whoever’, ‘no matter what’, ‘whatever’ chiunque, qualunque cosa, qualsiasi cosa......Page 172
 7.21 Italian clauses with relative pronouns equivalent to English verbs in ‘-ing’ (un progetto che offre molte possibilità = ‘a project offering many possibilities’)......Page 173
 7.23 The present participle as relative clause: le note riferentisi al suo caso = le note che si riferiscono al suo caso......Page 174
 7.25 The type un libro affascinante e che solleva molti problemi......Page 175
 7.27 ‘Infinitival relatives’: the types Cerco un libro da leggere ‘I’m looking for a book to read’; Non è un uomo da abbandonare i suoi amici ‘He’s not a man to abandon his friends’; Cercavo (un posto) dove mettere il libro ‘I was looking for somewhere to put the book’......Page 176
 8.2 Chi? ‘who?’......Page 178
 8.5 Quale? and che?......Page 179
 8.7 Dove? ‘where?’ and quando? ‘when?’......Page 180
 8.10 Interrogative niente ‘anything?’, nessuno ‘anybody?’......Page 181
 8.12 Structure of interrogative sentences......Page 182
 8.13 Interrogative se in exclamations......Page 183
 9.2 Qualcuno (more rarely qualcheduno) ‘somebody’, ‘someone’ (or ‘some ones’)......Page 184
 9.4 Qualcosa, qualche cosa, and other expressions meaning ‘something’......Page 185
 9.5 Qualcos’altro or altro ‘something else’, qualcun altro or altri ‘somebody else’, ‘another [person]’......Page 186
 9.8 Alcun, alcuno ‘some’, ‘a few’, ‘a certain number of’, ‘some (of them)’, ‘some people’......Page 187
 9.10 Da qualche parte ‘somewhere’; da un’altra parte or altrove ‘somewhere else’......Page 189
 9.11 Negative pronouns and adjectives: nessuno ‘nobody’, ‘(not) anybody’ and niente, nulla ‘nothing’, ‘(not) anything’, ‘(not) a thing’; nessun ‘no’, ‘not one’, ‘(not) any’ (adjective); niente ‘nothing’, ‘(not) a thing’......Page 190
 9.13 Distributive ciascuno, l’uno, cadauno ‘for each one’......Page 192
 10.2 Non-use of the possessive adjective: the type Ho perso l’orologio ‘I’ve lost my watch’......Page 193
 10.4 Forms of the possessive adjective......Page 194
 10.5 The ambiguity of suo and loro......Page 196
 10.6 Possessive adjective + nouns denoting close relatives: ‘my father’ = mio padre......Page 197
 10.7 Possessive pronouns: ‘It’s his’ = È il suo; ‘It’s Maria’s’ = È quello di Maria......Page 198
 10.10 What is the difference between ne and the possessive adjectives? Ammira la sua intelligenza vs. Ne ammira l’intelligenza......Page 199
 10.12 Altrui = ‘someone else’s’, ‘other people’s’......Page 200
 10.13 The ‘possessor’ expressed as indirect object: Morde la mano al professore ‘He bites the teacher’s hand’; Gli morde la mano ‘He bites his hand’......Page 201
 10.14 The types Mi lavo le mani = ‘I wash my hands’ and Chiude gli occhi = ‘He closes his eyes’......Page 203
 10.15 A special use of the indirect object with verbs of perception and acknowledgement: Gli sentivo la voce rauca ‘I could hear that his voice was hoarse’, etc.......Page 204
 11.1 Structure and syntax of prepositions: a(d), di, etc.; davanti alla scuola, verso di te, etc.......Page 205
 11.2 ‘Stranding’ of prepositions: A chi ti sei seduto accanto? ‘Who did you sit next to?’, etc.......Page 206
 11.3 Obligatory repetition of prepositions: Mando un libro a Paolo e a Giorgio ‘I send a book to Paolo and Giorgio’......Page 207
 11.5 The multivalent preposition di......Page 208
 11.6 Location ‘at’ or ‘in’: in, a, dentro......Page 209
 11.7 ‘Between’, ‘among’ = fra or tra......Page 210
 11.12 ‘Under’, ‘over’/’above’, ‘around’, ‘on’, ‘beyond’, ‘in the middle of’, etc.: sotto, sopra, intorno a, su, al di là di, in mezzo a, etc.......Page 211
 11.13 Motion ‘to’, ‘towards’: a, da, verso, in, fino a, etc.......Page 212
 11.15 Motion ‘from’, ‘source’ (place, time or state from which; origin): da, di, dentro......Page 213
 11.18 ‘Recipient’ or ‘beneficiary’ (including the ‘indirect object’ of verbs): a, per......Page 214
 11.21 Cause, aim, purpose: a causa di, per via di, grazie a, per, etc.......Page 215
 11.22 Agency, means: da, da parte di, di, tramite, mediante......Page 216
 11.25 Manner, style, decoration: a......Page 217
 11.27 ‘On behalf of’ dalla parte di......Page 218
 11.28 Da with complements of characteristic (‘typical of’, ‘characteristic of’, ‘associated with’, ‘characterized by’), or purpose (‘intended for’, ‘to be -ed’)......Page 219
 11.32 Time prepositions: duration per, durante; ‘since’ da; ‘for as long as’ finché/fino a che; ‘in’ in, tra; ‘within’, ‘by’ entro; ‘before’ prima di; ‘after’ dopo......Page 220
 12.1 The cardinal numerals......Page 223
 12.3 General properties of the cardinals......Page 224
 12.4 Uno and numerals ending in -uno......Page 225
 12.6 ‘Both’, ‘all three’, ‘all ten’, etc.; ‘another three’, etc.......Page 226
 12.8 Ordinal numerals......Page 227
 12.9 Special ordinals: undecimo, decimottavo, etc.......Page 228
 12.10 Collective and approximative numerals: ‘about twenty’, ‘scores’, ‘hundreds’, etc.......Page 229
 12.12 Multiplicatives: ‘double’, ‘triple’, etc.......Page 230
 12.13 Percentages and other fractions......Page 231
 12.15 Groups and sets: ‘There are three of them’, etc.......Page 232
 12.17 Dimensions and measurements......Page 233
 12.18 Telephone numbers......Page 234
 13.1 Adverbs in -mente......Page 235
 13.2 Adverbs may be identical to masculine singular adjectives: parlare chiaro, etc.......Page 236
 13.3 ‘Lexical adverbs’: forms not predictable from the corresponding adjective (bene, male, etc.) or independent of adjectives (abbastanza, sempre, etc.)......Page 237
 13.5 Phrasal (especially prepositional) adverbs......Page 238
 13.6 Other ways of forming adverbial expressions......Page 240
 13.8 Meaning and function of adverbs......Page 241
 13.11 Adverbs follow verbs......Page 242
 13.12 Sentence adverbial expressions......Page 244
 13.13 Adverbial uses of adjectives......Page 245
 13.15 Phrasal verbs with adverbs of place: andare via ‘to go away’, venire fuori ‘to come out’, etc.......Page 246
 13.16 Time adverbs......Page 247
 13.17 Position and function of negative adverbs and adverbial phrases: mai ‘never’; mica ‘(certainly) not’ (colloquial); neanche, nemmeno, neppure ‘(not) even’ (also ‘and nor’, ‘and not’)......Page 250
 14.2 Conjugations......Page 254
 14.3 Major irregular verbs......Page 257
 14.4 How to deduce the conjugation of other irregular verbs from their infinitives......Page 275
 14.5 ‘Mixed’ conjugation verbs: compiere and verbs in -fare......Page 277
 14.6 The desinences of the present tense......Page 278
 14.7 The present tense root (vowel alternations; ‘mobile diphthongs’; verbs in -gere, -cere, -scere, -gliere, etc.)......Page 280
 14.8 Regular imperatives......Page 281
 14.9 Special imperative forms......Page 283
 14.10 Future and conditional......Page 284
 14.11 Imperfect tense forms......Page 286
 14.12 Forms of the passato remoto......Page 287
 14.13 Verbs that lack a passato remoto......Page 290
 14.15 The past participle of second conjugation verbs......Page 291
 14.17 The gerund......Page 293
 14.18 Agreement of the verb with its subject: La gente canta ‘People sing’; Io e Giulio andavamo a scuola ‘Giulio and I went to school’; Tu ed io lo faremo ‘You and I will do it’......Page 294
 14.19 Analytic verb forms: ‘auxiliary avere or essere + past participle’......Page 295
 14.20 Which auxiliary: avere or essere? Auxiliary selection in transitive, reflexive and intransitive verbs......Page 296
 14.21 Ho voluto partire or Sono voluto partire? Selection of auxiliaries with modal verbs (volere, sapere, potere, dovere) and aspectual verbs (cominciare a, continuare a, finire di) followed by an infinitive, and related phenomena of clitic placement and word-order......Page 304
 14.23 Agreement of the past participle with object pronouns......Page 306
 14.24 A special case of past participle agreement: the type I ragazzi se le sono prese......Page 308
 14.26 The infinitive in causative structures......Page 309
 14.27 The subject and object of the infinitive in causatives: Faccio cantare Gianni ‘I make G sing’, and Faccio cantare la canzone a Gianni ‘I make G sing the song’; and Faccio cantare la canzone da Gianni ‘I have the song sung by Gianni’......Page 310
 14.28 The use of da instead of a to express the subject in causatives: Faccio cantare la canzone da Gianni ‘I have the song sung by G’......Page 312
 14.29 Causatives with lasciare......Page 313
 14.30 Reflexive verbs and causatives......Page 314
 14.31 The passive......Page 315
 14.33 Only direct objects can be passivized in Italian: why a passive of the type ‘The student was promised a book’ is impossible in Italian (and other ways in which one might say it)......Page 316
 14.34 The passive auxiliaries essere, andare and venire......Page 317
 14.36 Third person verbs with reflexive si as passives: the type Si riparano ombrelli ‘Umbrellas are repaired’......Page 320
 15.2 The future-in-the-past and the (past) conditional: ‘She said he would come’ = Disse che sarebbe venuto......Page 323
 15.3 Future after quando ‘when’, finché (non) ‘until’, (non) appena ‘as soon as’, dopo che ‘after’, una /ogni volta che ‘once’, subito che ‘immediately’, mentre ‘while’......Page 324
 15.5 The ‘conjectural’ use of future tense forms: Saranno le otto ‘It must be 8’, ‘It’s probably 8’, etc.......Page 325
 15.6 The ‘historic future’......Page 326
 15.8 Stare per + infinitive = ‘to be about to ...’......Page 327
 15.10 Present and imperfect tenses after da (Canta/Cantava da tre ore ‘He has/had sung for three hours’)......Page 328
 15.11 The use of the pluperfect (trapassato prossimo) and the trapassato remoto......Page 330
 15.12 Imperfect vs. passato remoto and passato prossimo......Page 332
 15.13 The ‘narrative imperfect’: uses of the imperfect where the passato remoto/prossimo would be expected......Page 335
 15.16 The passato remoto vs. the passato prossimo......Page 336
 15.17 The ‘progressive’: Sta leggendo, Va leggendo, Viene leggendo ‘She’s reading’......Page 339
 15.18 The type stare a fare ‘to be doing’, ‘to be engaged in doing’, trovarsi a fare ‘to find oneself doing’, etc.......Page 341
 15.20 Meaning of the gerund......Page 342
 15.21 Syntax of the gerund: why Vidi il ragazzo uscendo dalla chiesa does NOT mean ‘I saw the boy as he left the church’, etc.......Page 345
 15.22 ‘Clausal’ uses of the past participle: the types Arrivati andarono a mangiare ‘Having arrived they went to eat’, Conclusa l’inchiesta, andarono a mangiare ‘Having concluded the inquiry they went to eat’ and Fattolo andarono a mangiare ‘Having done it they went to eat’......Page 346
 15.23 The type Ti credevo già partita = Credevo che fossi già partita......Page 347
 15.24 The infinitive as noun: the type Il partire è sempre triste ‘Leaving is always sad’......Page 348
 15.26 Contexts selecting the subjunctive......Page 350
 15.27 English structures equivalent to the Italian subjunctive......Page 351
 15.28 The subjunctive as ‘notion’/’idea’: in subordinate clauses introduced by expressions of wanting, requiring, intending, ordering, fearing, permitting, preventing, hoping, etc.......Page 352
 15.29 The subjunctive after conjunctions expressing purpose, intention......Page 354
 15.31 The subjunctive in an apparent main clause: the types Venga domani, Magari venisse domani, etc.......Page 355
 15.32 The type L’idea che non lo sappia è assurda or Che non lo sappia è assurdo......Page 356
 15.33 The subjunctive in relative clauses: Cercava uno studente che sapesse il giapponese ‘He was looking for a student who knew Japanese’, etc.......Page 357
 15.35 The set phrase Che io sappia ‘As far as I know’......Page 358
 15.37 The subjunctive in relative clauses after superlatives and other ‘exclusive’ structures: Era la più bella/la prima città che avesse mai visto ‘It was the most beautiful/the first city he had ever seen’......Page 359
 15.38 The subjunctive (vs. indicative) after adjective + che. The types È ridicolo che lo dica and Che lo dica è ridicolo......Page 360
 15.40 The subjunctive after expressions of ‘belief/opinion/mental impression/seeming/doubting that ...’: Credo che venga; la convinzione che debbano essere fatti; Mi pare che sia vero; l’opinione che possa esistere’; Dubito che sia vero, etc.......Page 362
 15.41 The subjunctive after expressions of ‘mental reaction’: Temo che venga; la paura che possa soffrire; Sono contento che l’abbia fatto, etc.......Page 364
 15.42 The subjunctive in contexts where the main clause ‘does not assert as a fact’: Non dice che sia vero; Nega che sia vero; Sono uscita senza che mi vedessero; Non che mi abbiano visto, etc.......Page 365
 15.43 The subjunctive after expressions that imply that factual reality is ‘immaterial’: Benché sia un ladro, lo ammiro ‘Although he’s a thief, I admire him’; Che venga o no, non lo aspetterò ‘Whether he’s coming or not, I won’t wait for him’, etc. The type per bello che fosse ... ‘however beautiful it was ...’......Page 366
 15.44 The subjunctive after ‘noun + che’: è una vergogna che, il fatto che, etc.......Page 367
 15.45 The subjunctive in indirect questions: the type Non so se siano qua, Chiedeva chi fosse, etc.......Page 368
 15.46 The subjunctive after time conjunctions: quando, prima che, finché, etc.......Page 369
 15.48 Tense and the subjunctive: Voglio che venga; Vorrei che venisse; Volevo che venisse, etc.......Page 370
 15.49 Equivalents of English ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘shall’, ‘should’......Page 371
 15.50 Equivalents of ‘must’, ‘must have’; ‘should’, ‘should have’; ‘ought to’, ‘ought to have’, etc.......Page 372
 15.51 Equivalents of ‘can’/’could’, ‘may’/’might’......Page 373
 15.53 The tense ambiguity of ‘could’ and ‘might’......Page 374
 15.54 Different functions of ‘might have’, ‘could have’ and ‘may have’, ‘can have’......Page 375
 15.56 ‘Can’ in verbs of perception, understanding, finding: Non lo vedo ‘I can’t see it’......Page 376
 15.57 ‘Can’ = ‘succeed in’, ‘manage to’......Page 377
 16.1 Forming the comparative and superlative of adjectives and adverbs: ‘more’, ‘most’ = più, ‘less’, ‘least’ = meno......Page 378
 16.2 Special forms of comparatives and superlatives: migliore, meglio ‘better’/’best’, peggiore, peggio ‘worse’/’worst’, etc.......Page 379
 16.6 How to say ‘I had better ...’, etc.......Page 380
 16.7 ‘Than’ in comparatives: the comparators che and di before nouns, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions......Page 381
 16.8 Comparatives where the second element is a verb phrase (1): ‘New York is bigger than I thought’ = New York è più grande di quanto pensassi, etc.......Page 383
 16.11 ‘Rather than’ = più che (non) or piuttosto che (non)......Page 384
 16.15 Adjectives with the ‘elative’ ending -issimo: ‘very’, ‘extremely’, ‘highly’, ‘most’ ...; and pessimo ‘very bad’, ottimo ‘very good’, minimo ‘minimal’, ‘very small’; massimo ‘maximum’......Page 385
 16.17 Nouns with -issimo: la finalissima, etc.......Page 387
 16.18 Comparisons of equality (‘as ... as’; ‘as much ... as’; ‘as many ... as’)......Page 388
 16.21 ‘More and more .../less and less ...’ = sempre più/meno .........Page 389
 16.22 Repetition (reduplication) of the adjective or adverb as an intensifier: the type rosso rosso ‘very very/really/ever so/ extremely red’......Page 390
 17.1 Basic organization of declarative sentences: Paolo mangia la carne ‘P eats the meat’, È arrivato Paolo ‘P has arrived’, etc.......Page 391
 17.2 Left-marked word order: Un caffè lo prenderei proprio volentieri! ‘A coffee I’d just love’, etc.......Page 394
 17.3 Cleft sentences: È stato Paolo a dirlo ‘It was Paul who said it’; È a Roma che andrei proprio volentieri! ‘It’s Rome I’d really like to go to!’......Page 397
 17.4 The ‘hanging theme’ (Il nostro professore, gli dobbiamo moltissimo ‘[As for] our teacher, we owe him a lot’)......Page 399
 17.7 Subordinate clauses: the subordination marker che. So che viene ‘I know that he’s coming’, etc.......Page 400
 17.8 Infinitives in subordinate clauses: Voglio partire ‘I want to leave’, Gli ordino di partire ‘I order him to leave’......Page 401
 17.9 Verbs taking the infinitive without a preposition: Devo farlo ‘I must do it’, etc.......Page 402
 17.10 Verbs which take di + infinitive in the subordinate clause, when the subject of main verb and subordinate verb are coreferential. The type Dice di essere stanco ‘He says he’s tired’ vs. Dice che sua sorella è stanca ‘He says that his sister’s tired’......Page 404
 17.11 Verbs of asking, permitting, ordering, forbidding, preventing with di + infinitive: the type Chiedo di entrare ‘I ask to come in’ vs. Chiedo che entri ‘I ask him to come in’......Page 407
 17.12 Verbs of stopping/ceasing some activity usually take di + infinitive: Smette di fumare ‘He stops smoking’, etc.......Page 409
 17.13 Verbs taking a + infinitive: the type Continua a fumare ‘He continues to smoke’, etc.......Page 410
 17.14 A special use of a + infinitive: the type e Mario a cantare ‘and then Mario started singing’......Page 413
 17.16 Purpose and consecutive clauses introduced by per and da + infinitive: the types L’ha fatto per avvertirti ‘He did it (in order) to warn you’, Bevve tanto da ubriacarsi ‘He drank so much that he got drunk’......Page 414
 17.17 Subordination with verbs of seeming and appearing: Sembra che cada, Sembra cadere, Gli sembra di cadere, etc.......Page 416
 17.20 Adjectives as subordinate clauses: the type ‘He made the document public’ Ha reso pubblico il documento and ‘He dyed the sheet red’ Ha tinto il lenzuolo di rosso, etc.......Page 417
 17.22 Adjectives taking di + infinitive in the subordinate clause......Page 419
 17.23 Adjectives taking a/in/per/da + infinitive......Page 421
 17.24 The type bello da vedere/a vedersi/a vedere ‘beautiful to see’, facile da dire/a dirsi/a dire ‘easy to say’......Page 424
 17.27 Forms of the infinitive in subordinate clauses: Credo di farlo vs. Credo di averlo fatto......Page 425
 17.28 Perceptual structures: the types Vedo Gianni scendere dal treno ‘I see G get off the train’, Sento Chiara chiamare Riccardo ‘I hear C call R’, Guardo aprire il regalo a Maria ‘I watch M open the parcel’, Sento criticare il professore ‘I hear the teacher criticized’, Sento Gianni a cantare ‘I hear G singing’, etc.......Page 426
 17.29 Perception verbs + finite structure: the ‘pseudo-relative’ type Vedo Gianni che gioca a tennis ‘I see G playing tennis’ (vs. Vedo che Gianni gioca a tennis ‘I see that G is playing tennis’)......Page 430
 17.31 The major types of ‘conditional’ sentences: Se viene lo vedrai ‘If he comes you’ll see him’, Se fosse venuto lo avresti visto ‘If he had come you would have seen him’, etc.......Page 432
 17.32 Come se ‘as if’......Page 434
 17.34 Se = ‘despite the fact that’, ‘even though’, ‘whenever’: the type Se lo vide, non me l’ha detto ‘If he saw him, he never told me’, etc.......Page 435
 17.37 The type a pensarci ‘if you think about it’......Page 436
 17.38 Conditional sentences using the imperative + e or o: the type Stai zitto o ti picchio ‘Shut up or I’ll hit you’......Page 437
 18.1 Simple negation with non......Page 438
 18.2 The types Vieni o no? ‘Are you coming or not?’, Studenti o no/non ‘Students or non-students’, etc.......Page 439
 18.3 The uses and position of the colloquial negator mica (and punto)......Page 440
 18.5 The type Nessuno viene vs. Non viene nessuno, etc. Negative pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions before the verb vs. negative pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions after the verb......Page 442
 18.6 ‘No longer’ non ... più......Page 443
 19.1 ‘And’ e......Page 445
 19.3 ‘Also’, ‘too’, ‘as well’, ‘even’ anche and pure......Page 446
 19.5 ‘Neither ... nor’ né ... né (neppure)......Page 447
 19.6 ‘Or’ o, oppure, ovvero, etc.......Page 448
 19.8 Adversative conjunctions: ma ‘but’, eppure ‘yet’, bensì ‘but’, invece ‘however’, nondimeno ‘none the less’, peraltro ‘however’, mentre ‘while’, piuttosto ‘rather’, sen(n)onché ‘except that’, tuttavia ‘however’, anzi ‘rather’, però ‘but’/ ‘however’......Page 449
 19.9 Declarative conjunctions: cioè, vale a dire, infatti, invero......Page 452
 19.10 Conclusive conjunctions: dunque, quindi, perciò, pertanto, per cui ‘therefore’; ebbene ‘so’; ora ‘now’; allora ‘then’; ecco che ‘and so’......Page 454
 19.11 Alternative expressions for se ‘if’: posto che, supponendo/supposto che, ammesso che, casomai, nel caso che/in cui, nell’eventualità che, qualora......Page 457
 19.12 Restrictive conditional conjunctions: purché ‘provided’, a condizione che, a patto che, ‘on condition that’, sempre che ‘always assuming’......Page 460
 19.13 Causal conjunctions: perché, poiché, giacché, siccome, in quanto, che, considerato/visto/dato/dal momento che, per il fatto/motivo/la ragione che, etc.......Page 461
 19.14 Purpose conjunctions: perché, acciocché, affinché (per or a + infinitive)......Page 463
 19.15 Consecutive per and salvo + infinitive ‘(only) to’: the type Ricevette il premio Nobel, per morire tre giorni dopo. ‘He received the Nobel prize, only to die three days later’.......Page 464
 19.16 Concessive conjunctions and phrases: benché, sebbene, ancorché, per quanto, quantunque, malgrado che, nonostante che, pur ‘although’, ‘despite the fact that’, seppure, anche se, ‘even if’, etc.......Page 465
 19.17 Result conjunctions and phrases: da + infinitive, così ... che, tanto ... che, di maniera (di modo) ... che, al punto, a tal punto ... che, talmente ... che + indicative......Page 466
 19.18 Time conjunctions: ‘when’ quando, ‘whenever’ ogni volta che, se, ‘while’, ‘as’ mentre, man mano che, ‘until’ finché/fino a che, ‘before’ prima che/di, ‘after’ dopo che/(di), ‘as soon as’ appena, subito che, ‘since’ da quando......Page 468
 19.19 Discourse markers......Page 469
 19.20 Interjections......Page 473
 20.1 Word derivation: compounds and conversion......Page 476
 20.2 Affixation: prefixes and suffixes......Page 477
 20.4 Evaluative suffixes......Page 480
 20.5 Verb suffixes......Page 484
 21.1 Telling the time......Page 485
 21.2 Periods of the day, days, months, seasons, years and centuries......Page 486
 21.3 Expressions of duration in -ata: giornata, serata, etc.......Page 488
 21.5 Ages......Page 489
 21.6 Expressions of frequency: ‘twice a day’, ‘every five minutes’, etc.......Page 490
 21.7 Time adjectives: ‘last’ scorso, ‘next’ prossimo, etc.; ‘the late ...’ il fu; ‘the then’ l’allora......Page 491
 22.2 Forms and syntax of pronouns and verb forms used in address......Page 493
 22.3 Uses of the address forms tu/Lei/voi/Ella......Page 495
 22.4 Singular voi......Page 497
 22.5 Voi and Loro as plural address forms......Page 498
 22.7 Salutations, titles and address forms: Ciao, bello! vs. Buonasera, signore......Page 499
23 Register differences in modern Italian grammar......Page 501
 23.1 Written and formal constructions......Page 502
 23.2 Spoken and informal constructions......Page 504
24 Bibliography and references......Page 506
Index......Page 508