FORMAL /INFORMAL APPROACH
In Italy, you should have a formal approach with people you don’t know or with whom you are not well acquainted (a teacher, a professor, an elderly person…), and an informal approach with friends and relatives.
To express the formal approach we change from “tu” to “Lei” and everything else changes consequently (e.g the verb and possessive adjective or pronoun change to the third person).
(Tu) hai domande? (Do you have questions? Informal)
(Lei) ha domande? (Do you have questions? Formal)
Il libro è tuo. (The book is yours. Informal)
Il libro è Suo. (The book is yours. Formal)
If we use the formal approach with a man, we still use the feminine pronoun “Lei” (She) but we keep adjectives and past participle in the masculine form:
Tu sei contento? (Lit. Are you happy? Informal)
Lei è contento? (Lit. Are you happy? Formal)
Tu sei stato in ufficio? (Lit. Have you been to the office? Informal)
Lei è stato in ufficio? (Lit. Have you been to the office? Formal)
In the plural form the formal approach is expressed with “Loro”:
Cosa desiderate? (What do you wish? Informal)
Cosa desiderano? (What do you wish? Formal)
LA NARRAZIONE
There are many ways to “narrate” or tell a fact that happened in the past. Oftentimes the choice of “how to narrate” depends on the style of those who narrate or on the emphasis that they want to give to certain aspects of the tale.
In general we can say that the imperfetto “describes” the moment in the past, or the situation we were, when something happened. It “sets-up” the action (quando ero giovane… = when I was young…)
The passato prossimo expresses a well defined action – begun and completed in the past (…sono andato a Parigi = …I went to Paris.)
Mentre andavo in ufficio, ho incontrato il mio amico.
(While I was going to the office I met my friend.)
Quando avevo dieci anni, ho visitato Roma.
(When I was ten years old, I visited to Rome.)
Abitavo a Parigi e allora ho iniziato a studiare pittura.
(I was living in Paris and so I started to study painting.)
Gli ospiti andavano via e quindi anche io ho salutato e sono andato via.
(The guests were leaving, therefore I said goodbye and left.)
The trapassato prossimo expresses an action that happened prior to the one expressed by another past tense.
Stamattina, dopo che avevo messo la camicia pulita, mi è caduto il caffè addosso.
(This morning, after I wore a clean shirt, I spilled the coffee on it).
Il passato remoto (remote-past tense) is rarely used in conversation and is widely used in writing for historical or literary narrations.
For example, in spoken language Italians generally prefer to use the passato prossimo rather than the passato remoto. They prefer to say, “Da bambino una volta sono andato a Parigi” (when I was a child once I have been to Paris) instead of “da bambino una volta andai a Parigi” (when I was a child once I went to Paris).
The use of the passato remoto depends on how much emphasis is given to the remoteness or “historicity” of the action. In some regions of Italy, however (especially in Tuscany or in the south) the passato remoto is more commonly used or sometimes even preferred to the passato prossimo.
IMPORTANT: for consistency, if you begin to narrate using the passato remoto you have to continue with the passato remoto: Da bambino, una volta andai a Parigi; poi non ebbi più occasione di fare un viaggio (As a child, once I went to Paris; then I no longer had a chance to travel).
If you start narrating using the passato prossimo, you have to continue with the passato prossimo: Da bambino, una volta sono andato a Parigi; poi non ho avuto più occasione di fare un viaggio (As a child, once I have been to Paris; then I have no longer had a chance to travel).
The imperfetto may accompany the passato prossimo or the passato remoto:
Da bambino viaggiavo sempre con i miei genitori. Una volta andai a Parigi con loro e visitammo il Louvre, poi non ebbi più occasione di viaggiare (As a child I used to travel with my parents. Once I went to Paris with them and we visited the Louvre; then I no longer had a chance to travel).
Da bambino viaggiavo sempre con i miei genitori. Una volta sono andato a Parigi con loro e abbiamo visitato il Louvre, poi non ho avuto più occasione di viaggiare (As a child I used to travel with my parents. Once I have been to Paris with them and we have visited the Louvre; then I have no longer had a chance to travel).
Please note: the translation of the Italian past tenses into English is not easy nor it can be expressed literally, as in English the use of the past tenses is different.
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION: condizionale di dovere/volere/potere + infinito
“Dovere, volere, potere” are called “verbi servili”, (verb that ‘serve’ – modal verbs) because they are followed by an infinitive.
They can also be used alone (especially “volere” e.g. “voglio una torta” = I want a cake) but, as modal verbs, they are used with another verb in the infinitive tense (e.g. “voglio viaggiare” = I want to travel). The verb “sapere” is also a modal verb.
In this special construction, when they are used in the conditional form, they can be confusing for English speaking students because they do not have a literal translation. Check the following examples:
Oggi io potrei andare al cinema ma tu non puoi. (I could go to the movies but you cannot.)
Oggi io vorrei andare al cinema ma tu non vuoi. (I would like to go to the movies but you do not want.)
Oggi io dovrei studiare, ma invece andrò al cinema! (I should study but instead I will go to the movies.)
They can be used also in the past conditional:
Io avrei potuto diventare una persona importante! (I could have become an important person!)
Io avrei voluto diventare una persona importante! (I would have liked to become an important person!)
Io avrei dovuto studiare per diventare una persona importante! (I should have studied in order to become an important person!)
IMPERSONAL CONSTRUCTION
When the subject of a sentence is generic and not specified (people, one, they…) the Italian language uses the impersonal construction.
It is formed with “si” plus the third singular person of the verb:
In Italia si cena alle otto (in Italy people have dinner at 8)
Qui non si fuma (no smoking here)
Si deve studiare per ottenere la laurea (one has to study to obtain one’s degree)
When the verb is reflexive the particle “ci” precedes “si”:
Per andare ad una festa ci si veste bene (to go to a party, people get well dressed)
Quando il treno ritarda ci si innervosisce (when the train is late, one becomes nervous)
If an adjective follows the verb, the adjective is in the plural masculine form:
Quando si è stanchi, ci si sente nervosi (when one is tired, one feels nervous)
A tavola si mangia seduti (at the table, one eats sitting)
Note: There is a costruction which is similar to the impersonal construction but is slightly different; it is called “passive si” construction.
The impersonal construction requires the third singular person of the verb:
in questo ristorante si mangia bene (people eat well in this restaurant)
The “passive si” construction requires the third singular or plural person of the verb according to the number of the object:
in questo ristorante si mangia la pizza (people eat pizza in this restaurant or pizza is eaten in this restaurant) In this case “pizza” is singular and the verb is singular.
in questo ristorante si mangiano pesce e patatine (in this restaurant people eat fish and chips or fish and chips are eaten in this restaurant) In this case “pesce e patatine” is plural and the verb is plural.
To recognize the difference between the impersonal construction and “si passivante”, it may help you to know that in the passive construction you switch the subject.
The meaning of the sentence is the same but the construction is different.
Example
ACTIVE SENTENCE (THE SUBJECT IS PEOPLE): la gente mangia pizza in questo ristorante = people eat pizza in this restaurant
PASSIVE SENTENCE (THE SUBJECT IS PIZZA): la pizza è cotta bene in questo ristorante = pizza is well cooked in this restaurant
SI PASSIVANTE: in questo ristorante si mangia la pizza = in this restaurant one eats pizza
ATTIVA: la gente mangia pesce e patatine in questo ristorante = people eat fish and chips in this restaurant
PASSIVA: il pesce e le patatine sono preparati molto bene in questo ristorante = fish and chips are prepared very well in this restaurant
SI PASSIVANTE: in questo ristorante si mangiano pesce e patatine = in this restaurant one eats fish and chips
In the impersonal construction (e.g. “qui non si fuma”) you cannot switch the subject.
RECIPROCAL CONSTRUCTION
The particle “ci” (for “we”), “vi” (for “you” plural) and “si” (for “they”) are used to form the “reciprocal construction”:
Telefoniamoci domani (let’s call each other tomorrow)
Loro non si parlano (they don’t talk to each other)
Scrivetevi! (write to each other!)
NOTE In a reciprocal construction, compound tenses require the verb “essere”:
Non si sono più sentiti (they haven’t talked to each other anymore)
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION: “stare per” + infinito
This construction is formed with “stare per + infinitive”:
Sto per partire (I’m about to leave)
Loro stanno per uscire (they are about to go out)
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION: “stare” + gerundio
This construction is formed with “stare + gerundio”:
Sto mangiando (I’m eating)
Stai studiando? (are you studying?)
HYPOTHETICAL CONSTRUCTION (conditional clauses)
In Italian there are three forms of conditional clauses:
1) “Realtà” (reality) = expresses an action that will happen or it is very likely to happen. It uses the “Indicativo” or “Imperativo”:
- Se piove, prendo l’ombrello. (If it rains, I’ll get the umbrella)
- Se piove, prendi l’ombrello! (If it rains, get the umbrella!)
2) “Possibilità” (possibility) = expresses an action that might happen. It uses the “Congiuntivo imperfetto” and the “Condizionale presente” or “Imperativo”:
- Se piovesse, prenderei l’ombrello. (If it rained, I would get the umbrella)
- Se piovesse, prendi l’ombrello! (In case it rains: get the umbrella!) 3) “Impossibilità o irrealtà” (irreality) = expresses an action that cannot happen or could have happened but did not. Depending on the time the hypothesis refers to, it uses the “Congiuntivo trapassato” and the “Condizionale presente” or “Condizionale passato”:
- Se avessi avuto l’ombrello l’avrei usato. (If I had had an umbrella, I would have used it.)
- Se avessi usato l’ombrello ora non avrei il raffreddore! (If I had used the umbrella now I would not have a cold!)
