Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Speak Italian: Everything you need to know to introduce yourself… in Italian!
Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!
But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you introduce yourself and talk about yourself in Italian? Can you speak Italian the way you would speak in your native language, with complex and varied sentences? This is more difficult that it may seem at first, and it’s something that I am always working on!
This series will focus on the situations that come have come up most frequently in my everyday conversations with Italian instructors and friends. The “Speak Italian” blog series will focus on the type of sentence structure and vocabulary we all need to remember to be more fluent when we speak Italian!
To take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian, we must know many things; in this segment, we will discuss the grammar of complex sentences, prepositions, topic-related grammar, and present and past tense verbs!
Speak Italian: All About… Me!
In the “Speak Italian” blog series, a short essay or dialogue in Italian will be presented about a commonly used topic of conversation. Then, we will review the Italian grammar that is necessary to talk about the particular topic in detail. And finally, the same material will be presented in Italian and English, with blanks for the reader to fill in with descriptions from his or her own life!
Remember these examples about yourself as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian in your next conversation!
Enjoy the first topic in this series, “Speak Italian: All About…Me!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti
This material is adapted from our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers © 2012 by Stella Lucente, LLC, found on www.learntravelitalian.com. Special thanks to Italian instructor Simona Giuggioli.
Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Here is a short description of my origins, family, and work. Note some names/places have been changed to protect privacy. The essay is meant to be an example piece for others, rather than a complete biography.
While reading my history, think about yourself and what you would like other people to know about you. Read the grammar section if you like. Then, use the blank spaces in the form that follows to fill in the Italian for your own life!
Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Mi chiamo Caterina Occhipinti.
Io sono italo-americana.
Sono (una) madre e (una) scrittrice.
- Dove sono nata e ho vissuto.*
Where was born and have lived:
La mia famiglia viene dall’Italia. Sono venuti in America nel 1916.
My family is from (lit. comes from) Italy. They came to America in 1916.
Vengo dalgli Stati Uniti. Abito in America. Sono di Brooklyn.
I am from the United States. I live in America. I am from Brooklyn.
Sono nata a Brooklyn, a Long Island, vicino a New York City. Ora, abito a Chicago.
I was born in Brooklyn, on Long Island, near to New York City. Now, I live in Chicago.
Ho anche vissuto* a Boston, in California, e in Florida.
I have also lived in Boston, in California, and in Florida.
*In the past, “ho vissuto” was commonly used in Italy and can still be heard today to describe where one has lived. It is now felt by some Italian linguists that the helping verb essere should be used to express this idea – in other words, that “sono vissuto(a)” is more correct. However, please keep in mind that language is a “living thing” and often the line between right and wrong depends mostly on what people actually say every day. Even among linguists which form to use is controversial!
- La mia educazione:
My education:
Mi sono trasferita da New York a Boston per l’università.
I moved from New York to Boston for college.
Ero una studentessa all’Università di Boston.
I was a student at Boston University.
Ho frequentato l’Università di Boston per un programma speciale per gli studenti di medicina.
I went to Boston University for a special program for medical students.
Ho ricevuto una laurea in “medical science” ed inglese dall’Università di Boston.
I received a degree in “medical science” and in English from Boston University.
Ho frequentato la scuola di medicina all’Univeristà di Boston per due anni ed anche a Mount Sinai a New York.
I went to medical school at Boston University for two years and also at Mount Sinai in New York.
Ho ricevuto una laurea in medicina dal Mount Sinai a New York nel 1987.
I received a degree in medicine from Mount Sinai in New York in 1987.
- I miei figli:
My children:
Sono la madre di due figli, Maria e Giovanni.
I am the mother of two children, Mary and John.
Maria ha diciannove anni e Giovanni ha quattordici anni.
Mary is 19 years old and John is 14 years old.
Maria studia affari all’università di Urbana in Illinois e Giovanni studia alla scuola superiore a Peoria in Illinois.
Mary studies business at the University of Urbana in Illinois and John studies at middle school in Peoria in Illinois.
- Il mio lavoro—instruttrice e scrittrice:
My work – instructor and writer
Sono un’istruttrice d’italiano.
I am an Italian language instructor.
Ero l’insegnante d’italiano per l’Italian-American Society of Peoria (la Società Italo-Americana di Peoria). Ed ora insegno anche l’italiano nella zona di Chicago.
I was the Italian teacher for the Italian-American Society of Peoria. And now I also teach Italian in the Chicago area.
Insegno l’italiano agli americani che vogliono viaggiare in Italia. Offro lezioni di gruppo e lezioni private.
I teach the Italian language to Americans that want to travel to Italy. I offer group lessons and private lessons.
Ho scritto un libro che si chiama Conversational Italian for Travelers. Questo libro è un libro di testo e ha quattrocentosessantasei pagine!
I have written a book called Conversational Italian for Travelers. This book is a textbook and has 466 pages!
Ho anche scritto un libro di esercizi, intitolato Audio Dialogue Practice Book. Gli esercizi sono per gli studenti principanti (Vol. 1) ed anche per gli studenti intermedi (Vol 2).
I have also written a book of exercises entitled Audio Dialogue Practice Book. The exercises are for beginning students (Vol. 1) and also for intermediate students (Volume 2).
Gli studenti principanti dovrebbero usare Vol. 1 e gli studenti intermedi dovrebbero usare Vol. 2 dell’Audio Dialogue Practice Book.
The beginning students should use Vol. 1 and the intermediate students should use Vol.2 of the ’Audio Dialogue Practice Books.
Dal mio libro di testo, ho scritto tre brevi libri, si chiamano Just the Grammar, Just the Verbs, e Just the Important Phrases.
From my textbook, I have written three short books called Just the Grammar, Just the Verbs, e Just the Important Phrases.
- Il mio lavoro—medico:
My work – physician:
Sono (un) medico. Sono (una) radiologa.
I am a physician. I am a radiologist.
Mi occupo di medicina. Mi occupo di radiologia.
My work is medicine. My work is radiology.
Faccio medicina. Faccio radiologia.
I practice medicine. I practice radiology.
Inoltre io leggo/interpreto gli esami di MRI (risonanza magnetica) per una società che si trova in California. La società in California mi manda gli esami di MRI da interpretare via computer.
Furthermore, I read/interpret MRI exams for a company from California. The company in California sends me the MRI exams for interpretation on my computer.
Speak Italian: Grammar You Will Need to Know…
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
How to Make Complex Sentences with “and” and “at” in Italian
(1) The English word “and” is the letter “e” in Italian.
When speaking in Italian, and linking one phrase to another using e, if the first word of the second phrase begins with the letter e as well, add the letter d to the Italian “and” to make “ed.”
(2) This rule is also used for the Italian word “a,” which means “to.”
If the word that follows the Italian a also begins with the letter a, add the letter d to the Italian word for “to” make “ad.”
(3) It is optional to use this rule if the Italian words e or a come before Italian words that begin with other vowels (i.e., vowels that are not identical to the Italian words for “and” or “to”).
That said, the letter d is commonly added to e or a before words that begin with any vowel in the next phrase.
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Grammar Rules for Anche, Sempre, and Inoltre
- Use of anche (also) and sempre (always):
(1) Present tense: anche and sempre follow the verb.
(2) Past tense imperfetto: anche and sempre follow the imperfetto verb.
(3) Past tense passato prossimo: anche and sempre can follow the compound verb of the passato prossimo.
Example: Ho detto anche che la ragazza era bella.
(4) Option with the passato prossimo or any other compound verb tense:
anche and sempre can go between avere/essere and the past participle.
Example: Ho anche detto che la ragazza era bella.
(5) Anche and sempre belong before a person’s name if you are starting a sentence with their name or a pronoun (she = lei, he = lui).
Example: Anche Franco viene al cinema stasera.
- Use of inoltre (also, furthermore, moreover):
When starting a sentence, begin with inoltre for emphasis.
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Grammar Rules for the Prepositions a (to) and in (in) Regarding Cities, Regions/States, Islands, and Countries
When Americans travel, we travel to a place: to Italy, to Rome, to the northeast. Italians travel directly in (in) a country, region, or large island, but to (a) a city, town, or small island. (In Italian, the word for in is the same as in English… in!) For instance, one may live in America, but a Chicago. By convention, the definite article (the) (il, la, gli, or l’) is used to refer to countries, except when talking about traveling directly into them!
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
How to Describe where You Are from
There are two ways to ask/tell where someone is from in Italian:
di + dove + essere | from + where + to be | Da + dove + venire | from + where + to come |
In Italian, when the verb to be (essere) is used, the idea of from is expressed with di, as in, “From where are you?” In proper English, of course, we would say, “Where are you from?” The answer in Italian will also use di and will usually be followed by the town of one’s birth. Notice that the subject pronoun io (I) is usually left out of the answer, as it is understood from the ending of the verb.
Di dov’è Lei? | Where are you (pol.) from? |
Di dove sei? | Where are you (fam.) from? |
Sono di Chicago. | (I) am from Chicago. |
The action verb venire is usually used in conversation when someone is visiting or has moved to a new place. When replying to a question that uses this phrase, use the io form of venire, which is vengo and da for from, followed by a city, town, region/state, or country. Also, remember that when speaking of a region, state, or country, the definite article (il, lo, la, l’, gli) must be used. The preposition da is then combined with the definite article to make dal, dallo, dall’, dalla, or dagli, which means “from the.” For now, don’t worry about these rules. Just look up and remember the correct way to say where you are living in case you are asked!
Da dove viene?/Da dove vieni? | Where do you come from? (pol.)/(fam.) |
Vengo dall’America. | (I) come from America./I am from America. |
Vengo dagli Stati Uniti. | (I) come from the United States. |
Vengo dall’Illinois. | (I) come from Illinois. |
Vengo dalla California. | (I) come from California. |
Vengo dal New Jersey. | (I) come from New Jersey. |
Vengo da Chicago. | (I) come from Chicago. |
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Your Nationality
To explain where we are from, we must use adjectives that identify our country of origin. For men, adjectives of nationality end in –o and change to an –i in the plural, and for women, these same adjectives end in –a and change to –e in the plural. So, a man from Italy is italiano, but a woman is italiana.
Adjectives of nationality that have only one form for both men and women usually end in –ese.
What to do if the adjective describing nationality ends in an –e? Well, use the same –e ending for both men and women, and for the plural, change the letter –e to an –i.
Adjectives of nationality always follow the noun and are not capitalized. Or you can just state your nationality directly after the verb sono to make the sentence “I am…”
Da dove viene?/Da dove vieni? | Where do you come from? (pol.)/(fam.) |
Vengo dall’America. | (I) come from America./I am from America. |
Vengo dagli Stati Uniti. | (I) come from the United States. |
Sono americano(a). | (I) am American. |
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
How to State Your Age in Italian
Perhaps the most commonly asked question of someone is how old they are. In English, we say, “How old are you?” using the verb to be, as a statement of fact. But Italians look at this question as the number of years accumulated during a lifetime (and maybe the wisdom accumulated during these years?), so they use the verb to have, avere. The question in Italian is, “Quanti anni hai?” or literally, “How many years do you have?” This is not really an idiomatic expression, but just another way of looking at things.
Quanti anni hai? | How old are you? (lit. How many years do you have?) |
After this question is asked of you, the response will also use the verb avere, and you will respond:
Io ho anni. | I have years. |
There are a couple of rules that are necessary to make conversation flow more easily in Italian:
- The tens (20, 30, 40, etc.) drop their last vowel before the word anni. In this case, the expression would be:
Io ho vent’anni. | I have 20 years. |
Io ho trent’anni. | I have 30 years. |
Io ho quarant’anni. | I have 40 years. |
- All numbers that end in uno (21, 31, 41, etc.) drop the final –o before a noun that starts with a vowel. So, if you are 21, 31, or 41 years old, your reply would be as follows:
Io ho ventun’anni. | I have 21 years. |
Io ho trentun’anni. | I have 31 years. |
Io ho quarantun’anni. | I have 41 years. |
No need to remember all these rules—just look up and commit to memory your age and the ages of your immediate family members for now!
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Present Tense Verbs
Endings for Regular –are, –ere, –ire, and –ire (isco)* Verbs
Drop the –are, -ere, and -ire endings from the Italian infinitive verb and add the endings below for the present tense. Reflexive verbs drop their –arsi, ersi, and -irsi endings and then are conjugated in the same way. Always add the corresponding reflexive pronoun before each conjugated form of a reflexive verb.
Infinitive Present |
Reflexive
Pronouns |
–are | –ere | –ire | ire (isco)
*capire *finire *preferire |
io | mi | o | o | o | isco |
tu | ti | i | i | i | isci |
Lei/lei/lui | si | a | e | e | isce |
noi | ci | iamo | iamo | iamo | iamo |
voi | vi | ate | ete | ite | ite |
loro | si | ano | ono | ono | iscono |
*Common –ire (isco) verbs are listed—there are many others!
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Present Tense Verbs
Conjugated Forms of Auxiliary Verbs Essere and Avere
Auxiliary
Verbs |
Essere
(to be) |
Avere
(to have) |
||
io | sono | I am | ho | I have |
tu | sei | you (fam.) are | hai | you (fam.) have |
Lei/lei/lui | è | you (pol.) are
he is/she is |
ha | you (pol.) have
he has/she has |
noi | siamo | we are | abbiamo | we have |
voi | siete | you all are | avete | you all have |
loro | sono | they are | hanno | they have |
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Past Tense: Passato Prossimo
Auxiliary
Verbs |
Essere
(to be) |
Essere
Passato Prossimo |
Avere
(to have) |
Avere
Passato Prossimo |
io | sono | +stato(a) | ho | +avuto |
tu | sei | +stato(a) | hai | +avuto |
Lei/lei/lui | è | +stato(a) | ha | +avuto |
noi | siamo | +stati(e) | abbiamo | +avuto |
voi | siete | +stati(e) | avete | +avuto |
loro | sono | +stati(e) | hanno | +avuto |
Past Tense
Passato Prossimo |
Avere
(to have) |
–are
past participle |
–ere
past participle |
–ire
past participle |
io | ho | +ato | +uto | +ito |
tu | hai | +ato | +uto | +ito |
Lei/lei/lui | ha | +ato | +uto | +ito |
noi | abbiamo | +ato | +uto | +ito |
voi | avete | +ato | +uto | +ito |
loro | hanno | +ato | +uto | +ito |
Past Tense
Passato Prossimo |
Essere
(to be) |
–are
past participle |
–ere
past participle |
–ire
past participle |
io | sono | +ato(a) | +uto(a) | +ito(a) |
tu | sei | +ato(a) | +uto(a) | +ito(a) |
Lei/lei/lui | è | +ato(a) | +uto(a) | +ito(a) |
noi | siamo | +ati(e) | +uti(e) | +iti(e) |
voi | siete | +ati(e) | +uti(e) | +iti(e) |
loro | sono | +ati(e) | +uti(e) | +iti(e) |
Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…
Past Tense: Imperfetto
Drop the –re ending from the Italian infinitive verb and add the endings below for the imperfetto past tense. Reflexive verbs drop their –rsi, ending and then are conjugated in the same way. Remember to always add the corresponding reflexive pronoun before each conjugated form of a reflexive verb.
Verb
Endings |
Past Tense
Imperfetto |
io | vo |
tu | vi |
Lei/lei/lui | va |
noi | vamo |
voi | vate |
loro | vano |
The auxiliary verb avere is regular but essere is irregular in the imperfetto past tense.
Auxiliary Verb
Avere |
Past Tense
Imperfetto (used to have) |
io | avevo |
tu | avevi |
Lei/lei/lui | aveva |
noi | avevamo |
voi | avevate |
loro | avevano |
Auxiliary Verb
Essere |
Past Tense
Imperfetto (used to be) |
io | ero |
tu | eri |
Lei/lei/lui | era |
noi | eravamo |
voi | eravate |
loro | erano |
Speak Italian: All About… YOU!
Everyone has a story to tell about themselves. What would you like others to know about you and your family? Fill in the blanks in the Italian sentences in the exercise below, using examples from your own life.
Mi chiamo (name) ________________________________.
Io sono (nationality) _______________________________.
Sono (parent/occupation) __________________________.
******************************
- Dove sono nato(a) e ho vissuto:
La mia famiglia viene da (country of origin with definite article l, ll’, or lla)
_____________________________________________________.
(Loro) Sono venuti in America nel (year family came to America) _________.
(Io)Sono di (town/city of birth) _____________________________________________________.
Vengo da (country of birth with definite article l, ll’, gli or lla ) _____________________________________________________.
Abito in (country where you live) _____________________________________.
Sono nato(a) a (town/city of birth) ________________________________________________________________.
vicino a (nearest large city) _________________________________________.
Ora, vivo a (city currently living in)____________________________________.
Ho anche vissuto/Sono anche vissuto(a)** a (other town/city you have lived in)_____________________________________________.
in (other state/region you have lived in)_____________________________________________.
**Choose the past tense form you feel most comfortable with, as which form to use is controversial, as mentioned in the first section of this blog.
******************************
- Il mio/La mia educazione:
Ho ricevuto un diploma dalla scuola superiore (name of high school) ________________________________________________________________.
Ho ricevuto la mia certificazione di (name of trade) _______________________________________________.
Mi sono trasferito(a) da (town/city) _____________________ a (town/city) _____________________________
per (college/university/work, marriage, etc.) ____________________________________________________________.
Ero uno studente/una studentessa all’Università di (town/city) _______________________________________________________.
Ho frequentato l’Università di (town/city) ________________________________________________________________
per (major)_______________________________________________________.
Ho ricevuto una laurea in (university degree) ________________________________________________________________
dall’Università di (name of university/town/city)________________________
nel (year)_____________________________.
Ho frequentato la scuola di (higher education/professional school)__________________________________________________________
al (university name)________________________________________________
per (number of years attended)____________________ anni
ed anche a (any other school attended) _______________________________________________________________.
Ho ricevuto una laurea in (profession)_______________________________
dal (professional school)___________________________________________
nel (year)_______________________________.
******************************
- I miei figli:
Sono la madre/il padre di (number of children)________ figli: (names of children):________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
(Name of child)_______________________ ha (age of child) _____anni/mesi
(un anno/ un mese)
e (names and ages of additional children) _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
(Name of child in college) __________________ studia (college major) _______________________________________.
all’università di (name of college)____________________________________
in (U.S. state/region) ______________________.
e (name of child in high school) _______________________________________
studia alla scuola superiore
a (city)__________________________________
in (U.S. state/region)________________________________________________.
(Name of child in grammar school) ____________________ studia alla scuola elementare.
******************************
- Il mio lavoro
Sono (job description/profession)*_____________________________________.
*Remember that the indefinite article (un, uno, una, un’) is optional when describing a profession/what it is that you do!
******************************
- Tell a little bit about what you have done and what you do in Italian!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.
“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
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Speak Italian: All About… Me!