Table of Contents
Preface xiii
I Verbs-Forms and Uses
1 The Present Tense of Regular Verbs 3
An Introduction to Conjugation 3
First-Conjugation Verbs 5
Second-Conjugation Verbs 12
Third-Conjugation Verbs: Group I 17
Third-Conjugation Verbs: Group II 19
Uses of the Present Tense 21
2 The Present Tense of Irregular Verbs 24
Essere and avere 24
Andare and fare 25
Dovere, potere, and volere 27
Venire and tenere 29
Uscire and morire 30
Dare and stare 32
Bere, condurre, and dire 34
Rimanere, salire, spegnere, and valere 34
Sapere 37
Expressions with Irregular Verbs 37
Two Obsolete Verbs 42
3 The Passato Prossimo 44
Formation of the Past Participle 44
Auxiliaries with the Passato Prossimo 50
Uses of the Passato Prossimo 55
4 The Imperfect Tense; The Imperfect Tense vs. the Passato Prossimo 60
Formation of the Imperfect Tense 60
Basic Uses of the Imperfect Tense 63
The Imperfect Contrasted with the Passato Prossimo 65
Special Uses of the Imperfect Tense 68
5 The Future and Conditional Tenses 70
Formation of the Future Tense 70
Basic Uses of the Future Tense 74
The Future of Conjecture and Probability 75
Other Uses of the Future Tense 77
Formation of the Conditional Tense 78
Uses of the Conditional Tense 81
6 The Imperative 84
The Informal Imperative 84
The Formal Imperative 89
The noi Imperative 92
Irregular Imperatives 93
7 Reflexive Verbs 95
The Conjugation of Reflexive Verbs 95
Transitive Verbs vs. Reflexive Verbs 98
The Infinitive of Reflexive Verbs 100
The Passato Prossimo of Reflexive Verbs 102
The Passato Prossimo with dovere, potere, and volere and Reflexive Verbs 105
Reciprocal Reflexive Verbs 106
The Imperative of Reflexive Verbs 107
Reflexive Verbs: Special Cases 109
8 Other Compound Tenses 110
The Pluperfect (Past Perfect) Tense 110
The Future Perfect Tense 113
The Conditional Perfect Tense 116
Sequence of Tenses in Indirect Discourse 117
9 The Passato Remoto and Trapassato Remoto 119
Formation of the Passato Remoto 119
Use of the Passato Remoto 124
Formation of the Trapassato Remoto 126
Use of the Trapassato Remoto 126
10 Participles 128
The Past Participle 128
The Gerund 130
11 The Passive Voice 136
Formation of the Passive Voice 136
Other Constructions with Passive Meaning 140
12 The Infinitive 144
The Functions of the Infinitive 144
II Nouns and Their Modifiers; Pronouns
13 Nouns and Articles 161
Nouns and Definite and indefinite Articles 161
The Plural of Nouns 164
The Partitive Article 169
The Gender of Nouns 171
Uses of the Articles 174
Prepositions Combined with the Definite Article 176
14 Adjectives 178
Agreement of Adjectives 178
Position of Adjectives 182
Irregular Adjectives 184
Comparison of Adjectives, Adverbs, Nouns, and Verbs 186
Intensifying Adjectives and Absolute Superlatives 190
Expressions with Comparative Structures 193
Adjective + Preposition + Infinitive 194
15 Object Pronouns 196
Direct Object Pronouns 196
Indirect Object Pronouns 200
The Pronouns ci and vi 204
The Pronoun ne 206
Double Object Pronouns 208
Summary of the Placement of Object Pronouns 213
Stressed Pronouns 214
16 Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns 217
Possession 217
Possessive Adjectives 217
Possessive Pronouns 222
Demonstrative Adjectives 224
Demonstrative Pronouns 226
III Other Elements of the Sentence
17 Numbers; Time; Dates 231
Cardinal Numbers 231
Ordinal Numbers 234
Idioms and Expressions with Numbers 235
Expressing Centuries 237
Telling Time 238
Days of the Week and Months of the Year 241
The Date 242
18 Adverbs 246
Adverbs of Manner 246
Adverbs Not Derived from Adjectives 247
Position of Adverbs 248
Adverbs of Time 249
Adverbs of Place 251
Adverbial Expressions 253
Adverbs in -oni 256
19 Interrogative Sentences 258
Question Formation 258
More on Question Words 261
Exclamations 265
20 Negative and Indefinite Words 267
Negative Words and Sentences 267
Indefinite Words and Sentences 272
Idiomatic Uses of Negative and Indefinite Words 275
21 Prepositions 280
The Preposition a 281
The Preposition di 284
The Preposition da 288
The Preposition in 291
The Preposition con 294
The Preposition su 296
The Preposition sotto 297
The Prepositions fra and tra 298
The Preposition per 298
Other Prepositions 301
IV The Complex Sentence and Other Aspects of Usage
22 Relative Pronouns and Relative Clauses 307
The Relative Pronoun che 307
The Relative Pronoun cui 309
The Relative Pronouns il quale, la quale, i quali, le quali 310
Relative Pronouns Expressing "Whose," "Where," and "When" 312
Relative Pronouns Without Antecedents 314
23 The Present Subjunctive 316
Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions 316
The Subjunctive 316
Uses of the Present Subjunctive in Noun Clauses 323
24 The Subjunctive in Adjective and Adverb Clauses 334
Adjective Clauses 334
Adverb Clauses 337
25 The Imperfect Subjunctive 342
Formation of the Imperfect Subjunctive 342
Uses of the Imperfect Subjunctive in Subordinate Clauses 343
Conditional Sentences: Part 1 346
26 Compound Subjunctive Tenses 350
Formation of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 350
Uses of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 350
Formation of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 352
Uses of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 353
Conditional Sentences: Part 2 353
27 Word Formation 356
Prefixes 356
Suffixes 361
Example Prefixes and Suffixes: Regola as a Root 364
Compound Words 364
28 Potential Pitfalls 366
How to Say "to Know": sapere and conoscere 366
How to Say "to Leave": parti re, lasciare, uscire, and andarsene 369
How to Say "to Be": essere and stare 371
How to Say "to Like" and "to Miss": piacere and man care 374
Answer Key 379
Index 425
