Level 3: Avere

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For basic notions of the Italian language, continue with the next episode of Giulia, Giacomo and their friends (‘A1: Love’) and Pasta alla Caprese (‘A2: Italian Cuisine’). Then go onto Level 4.

Download the audio files from www.4elisa.com to your mobile devices and listen while reading the text and checking the English translation. Remember, there is no shame in listening to the audio 10, 20 or even 50 times!

For a more thorough knowledge of the Italian language, please continue with section B, ‘Action Words’, section C, ‘Words’, section D, ‘Rules’, etc. In Level 3, you will encounter the most important and most difficult part of this manual: avere, the #1 word of the Italian language. You will observe how action words explode into dozens of pieces and start to understand how to appreciate the puzzle.

These twenty pages are particularly hard. Don’t despair. We don’t expect you to remember every detail of what you see here, but we offer you the privilege of discovering the full potential of one single Italian action word in a single day! It is a rough initiation, but like all initiation rites, you have to do it only once!

As always, make extensive use of the audio files. Listen to them until you hear and distinguish every single word.

A1: Love (3)

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Giulia meets Sara, one of her best friends. They discuss the breakup with Giacomo.

Sara: Come stai? Ti senti meglio?	S.: How are you? Do you feel better?
Giulia: Si, mi sento molto meglio. Finalmente l’ho lasciato. Ma non dormo bene, non mangio e non riesco a concentrarmi per gli esami. Lo odio!	J.: Yes, I feel much better. I finally left him. But I’m not sleeping well, I’m not eating and I can’t manage to concentrate on the exams. I hate him!
Sara: Pazienza, Giulia, passerà. E soprattutto, non devi sentirti in colpa. È lui che ha sbagliato.	S.: Patience, Julia, that will stop (soon). And above all, you should not feel guilty. It’s he who was wrong.
Giulia: Certo, ma sei sicura che quella storia con Valeria va avanti da settimane?	J.: Yes, but are you sure that that relationship with Valeria has been going on for weeks?
Sara: Così mi hanno detto. E li ho visti anche mentre uscivano dal corso di farmacologia dieci minuti prima della fine…	S.: That’s what I was told. And I saw them also coming out of pharmacology class ten minutes before the end…
Giulia: Uffa, mi sento come in un frullatore. Ho la testa nel pallone.	J.: Ugh, I feel like I’m in a blender. Completely confused.
Sara: Non pensare più a lui. Chi non ti ama non ti merita. Sei così carina. Troverai presto un altro compagno…	S.: Don’t think of him anymore. He who doesn’t love you, doesn’t deserve you. You’re so pretty. You’ll find another boyfriend quickly…

Words

come stai?	how are you?
sentirsi	to feel
meglio	better
molto	much; very
finalmente	finally, in the end
dormire	to sleep
bene	well
mangiare	to eat
riuscire	to manage; to succeed
concentrarsi	to concentrate
l’esame (m.)	exam
odiare	to hate
la pazienza	patience
passare	to pass; to stop
soprattutto	above all
non devi	you must not
sentirsi in colpa	to feel guilty
è lui che	it’s him who
sbagliare	to be wrong, mistaken
certo	certainly
essere sicuro	to be sure
andare avanti	to continue
da settimane	for weeks
così	so
mi hanno detto	they told me
li ho visti	I saw them
mentre	while
uscire	to go/come out
il corso	class
farmacologia	pharmacology
dieci	10
il minuto	minute
come	like; how
il frullatore	blender
il pallone	ball
la testa	head
avere la testa nel pallone	to be confused
non pensare più	don’t think anymore
chi	who
amare	to love
meritare	to deserve
carino/-a	pretty
trovare	to find
presto	soon, quickly
altro/-a	other
il compagno	boyfriend

A2: Italian Cuisine (3)

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Slow Speed

Pasta alla Caprese is another classics. Be careful to choose tasty ingredients, in particular tomatoes, basil and olive oil.

Per 4 persone: 400 g di pasta corta (farfalle, fusilli, mezze penne ecc.). Condimento: 4 pomodori, 200 g di mozzarella, 15 piccole foglie di basilico, 100 ml di olio d’oliva, sale, un pizzico di origano (opzionale).	For 4 people: 400 g short pasta (farfalle, fusilli, mezze penne, etc.). Dressing: 4 tomatoes, 200 g of mozzarella, 15 small basil leaves, 100 ml of olive oil, salt, a pinch of oregano (optional).
Tagliare a dadini (1-2 cm) i pomodori e la mozzarella e metterli in un recipiente alto. Aggiungere olio, sale, basilico tagliato a mano (e eventualmente l’origano).	Dice (1-2 cm) tomatoes and mozzarella and place them in a tall container. Add oil, salt, basil torn by hand (and the oregano as you wish).
Cuocere la pasta (vedi Level 1). Una volta scolata, metterla immediatamente nel recipiente del condimento e mescolare energicamente con due cucchiai di legno.	Cook pasta (see Level 1). Once drained, put it immediately into the bowl of the sauce and stir vigorously with two wooden spoons.
Variazioni dello chef: aggiungere 200 g di tonno bollito e schiacciato con la forchetta e 3 cucchiai di pesto alla genovese.	Chef’s variations: add 200 g of tuna boiled and crushed with a fork and 3 tablespoons of pesto.

Words

il pomodoro	tomato
la mozzarella	mozzarella
piccolo/-a	small
la foglia	leave
il basilico	basil
il sale	salt
un pizzico di	a pinch of
l’origano	oregano
tagliare	to cut
tagliare a dadini	to dice
il recipiente	container
alto/-a	tall, high
possibilmente	possibly
tagliato a mano	torn by hand
eventualmente	optionally
una volta	once
mescolare	to stir
energicamente	vigorously
il tonno	tuna
schiacciare	to crush
la forchetta	fork
il pesto alla genovese	pesto sauce

B1. Action Words

{AUDIO}

	Infinito	avere
	Participio passato	avuto
	Gerundio presente	avendo
	Imperativo	abbi \| abbia \| abbiamo \| abbiate \| abbiano

	Presente	Imperfetto
io	ho	avevo
tu	hai	avevi
lui/lei	ha	aveva

noi	abbiamo	avevamo
voi	avete	avevate
loro	hanno	avevano

	Futuro semplice	Condizionale pres.	Passato remoto
io	avrò	avrei	ebbi
tu	avrai	avresti	avesti
lui/lei	avrà	avrebbe	ebbe

noi	avremo	avremmo	avemmo
voi	avrete	avreste	aveste
loro	avranno	avrebbero	ebbero

	Congiuntivo presente	Congiuntivo imperfetto
che io	abbia	avessi
che tu	abbia	avessi
che lui/lei	abbia	avesse

che noi	abbiamo	avessimo
che voi	abbiate	aveste
che loro	abbiano	avessero

In the coming levels, you will see many of these colourful tables. The ‘standard mode’ of action words is the so-called indicativo which expresses facts of life that really happened, are happening right now or will be happening in the future; as the indicativo is the default mode, we don’t specify it and say simply presente and imperfetto. The indicativo is also called mood. Other moods are 1) the condizionale (conditional), 2) the congiuntivo (subjunctive), and 3) the imperativo (imperative). In addition, there are also three indefinite moods which do not indicate the person: infinito (infinitive), participio (participle) and gerundio (gerund). Does that sound confusing? If it does, forget it if you like! Just remember that there is a congiuntivo which Italians use to express doubts, thoughts, wishes, beliefs, and worries. The congiuntivo will later cause you a bit of a headache; we might have something to alleviate your pain.

audio
Of the 42 words presented in the table above, 24 of them we first saw in Level 1:

Presente

ho-hai-ha | abbiamo-avete-hanno

I, you have, he or she has | we, you, they have

Imperfetto

avevo-avevi-aveva | avevamo-avevate–avevano

I, you, he or she had | we, you, they had

I, you, he or she used to have | we, you, they used to have

Futuro

avrò-avrai-avrà | avremo-avrete-avranno

I, you, he or she will have | we, you, they will have

Condizionale presente

avrei-avresti-avrebbe | avremmo-avreste-avrebbero

I, you, he or she would have | we, you, they would have

Dimensions of time

Before continuing our exploration of avere, let’s briefly return to the dimensions of time. Remember Level 0: When talking about your life, you frequently use the present, the past and the future: I have (presente), I had (imperfetto), I will have (futuro).

Less frequently, you will also say I had had (trapassato prossimo past perfect) to express something that happened before ‘I had’; or I will have had (futuro anteriore future perfect) to talk about something that will happen before an even more distant future.

Please note that 1) I had has two equivalents in Italian, the passato prossimo (‘ho fatto’) and the imperfetto (‘avevo’); 2) passato remoto simple past is another (yes, a third!) way to say I had; and, finally, 3) trapassato remoto preterite perfect is another way to say I had had. That gives you 8 tenses (new tenses shown in blue):

However, life isn’t carved in stone, but variable and subject to conditions – for example, when you say I would have (condizionale presente present conditional) or I would have had (condizionale passato past conditional). Now you have 10 tenses (new tenses again shown in blue):

Finally, Italian has a particular way to express emotion, doubt, personal feelings, suggestions, etc. As Italians love to be precise, they add another four so-called conjunctive tenses to fully express themselves. That puts the tense count at a staggering 14 (new tenses shown in blue). Yes, Italian – like French, Spanish and Portuguese – is capable of exploding a simple I have to a total of 14 different flavours!

Fortunately, 7 of the 14 time tenses are so-called ‘compound tenses’ which recycle words you already know; however, you’ll still need to memorize the remaining 7 “six-packs” = 42 words. If you memorize them now the benefits will be doubled: first, you’ll fully master avere, the most important Italian word; second, the 42-word knowledge of avere will help you manage all other Italian action words. Mastering Level 3 is like climbing Mount Everest – after Level 3 everything else will feel like a gentle Italian downhill passeggiata slope.

Level 3, section B, is divided into 4 parts:

1. Part 1 presents just 7 words – the first person singular (I have, I had, I will have, etc.) of the 7 simple tenses.

2. The easy Part 2 combines these 7 words with the past participles loved, hoped, studied, knew, believed, understood and slept, to build the 7 compound tenses.

3. Part 3 presents complete sextets of the 7 simple tenses.

4. The easy Part 4 concludes with the sextets of the 7 compound tenses.

Examples from everyday life will show you how to use the words. Listen to the audio tracks until you know the sentences by heart.

Words

audio
The examples shown below use the following words presented in Level 2. Please take a second quick look.

poco	little
poco da fare	little to do
Natale	Christmas
sicuramente	certainly
nuovo	new
molto	much
un’idea	an idea

può darsi	maybe
per lei	for her
brutto	ugly; bad
avere un brutto carattere	to be bad-tempered
amare	to love
sperare	to hope
studiare	to study

sapere	to know
credere	to believe
capire	to understand
dormire	to sleep
piccolo	small
una macchina	a car
un ragazzo	a boy, young man

simpatico	nice, pleasant
una ragazza	a girl, young woman
giovane	young
grande	big
una casa	a house
un lavoro	a job
prestigioso	prestigious

ancora	still
i nonni	grandparents
una borsa di studio	a scholarship
un mestiere	a profession
immenso	huge
un successo	a success
un figlio	a son

una figlia	a daughter
solo	only
una vacanza	a vacation
breve	short
il capo	a boss
interessante	interesting
un successone	a huge success

un problema	a problem
meglio	better
proprio	here: really, exactly
una sfiga (colloquial)	bad luck
le palle (vulgar)	balls

audio

1. I have, I had, I will have, et al.

Let’s start with your own person, the first person singular.

1.1 Presente

Presente

(io)

have

Present

1.2 Imperfetto

Imperfetto

(io)

avevo

I
I

had
used to have

Imperfect

The difference between avevo I had, I used to have and ho avuto I (have) had is a fundamental one:

avevo (imperfetto) expresses habits, states of mind, environmental descriptions and how people and the world were in the past;

ho avuto (passato prossimo) refers to an action which has been completed in the past.

Think of a theater. While avevo may describe the various elements of a theater stage set, ho avuto would describe a sudden action occuring on the stage. If you are French, Spanish or Portuguese, the difference between avevo and ho avuto is immediately clear to you (French: j’avais vs. j’ai eu; Spanish: yo tenia vs. tuve; Portuguese: eu tinha vs. tive); if not, you’ll need time to understand and digest it. We’ll talk about it in further detail in Level 8.

Avevo un gatto e due cani.	I had a cat and two dogs.
Avevo sempre sete.	I was always thirsty.

1.3 Futuro

Futuro semplice

(io)

avrò

will have

Future

Avrò poco da fare.	I will have little to do.
A Natale, avrò sicuramente un nuovo tablet.	At Christmas, I’ll certainly get a new tablet.

1.4 Condizionale Presente

Condizionale presente

(io)

avrei

would have

Present conditional

Avrei molto da dire.	I would have much to say.
Avrei un’idea…	I would have (I have) an idea…

1.5 Congiuntivo presente

Back to the present. When expressing emotion, doubt, personal feelings, suggestions, etc., the Italian language uses the subjunctive tense. As you will see, the congiuntivo presente usually translates into the present tense (I have) and the congiuntivo imperfetto into the imperfect tense (I had).

The present subjunctive congiuntivo presente:

Congiuntivo presente

che io

abbia

that I

have

Present
subjunctive

Here are some expressions that command the use of the congiuntivo. You will find more about the fascinating congiuntivo in Level 9.

Ho l’impressione che…		I have the impression that…
Avrei preferito che…		I would have preferred that…
Speravo che…		I hoped that…
Non sapevo che…		I didn’t know that…
Mi dispiace che…		I am sorry that…
È importante \| necessario \| incredibile \| possibile \| impossibile \| naturale \| probabile \| difficile che…		It is important \| necessary \| incredible \| possible \| impossible \| natural \| probable \| difficult that…
Può darsi che…		Maybe…

Può darsi che io abbia tempo per lei.	Maybe I have time for her.
Può darsi che io abbia un brutto carattere.	Maybe I have a bad temper.

1.6 Congiuntivo imperfetto

And this is the congiuntivo imperfetto imperfect subjunctive:

Congiuntivo imperfetto

che io

avessi

that I

had

Imperfect
subjunctive

Può darsi che io non avessi tempo per lei.		Maybe I didn’t have time for her.
Può darsi che io avessi un brutto carattere.		Maybe I had a bad temper.

1.7 Passato remoto

Finally, to express a remote past, Italian uses the passato remoto simple past. In most parts of Italy it isn’t used in colloquial language and you’ll find it mostly in prose.

Passato remoto

(io)

ebbi

had

Simple past

Ebbi molto tempo.

I had much time.

1.8 Summary

1	Presente	(io)	ho	I	have	Present
2	Imperfetto	(io)	avevo	I	had, used to have	Imperfect
3	Futuro semplice	(io)	avrò	I	will have	Future
4	Condizionale presente	(io)	avrei	I	would have	Present conditional
5	Congiuntivo presente	che io	abbia	that I	have	Present subjunctive
6	Congiuntivo imperfetto	cho io	avessi	that I	had	Imperfect subjunctive
7	Passato remoto	(io)	ebbi	I	had	Simple past

2. Compound tenses

Now comes the easy second part: take the elements shown above (ho | avevo | avrò | avrei | abbia | avessi | ebbi) and combine them with a past participle to form the so-called compound tenses. Remember: action words of the first group end in –are and form the past participle with –ato; those of the second group end in
–ere and form the past participle with –uto; and those of the third group end in –ire and form the past participle with –ito.
audio

	Infinitive		Past participle
1	amare	to love	amato	loved
	sperare	to hope	sperato	hoped
	studiare	to study	studiato	studied

2	sapere	to know	saputo	knew
	credere	to believe	creduto	believed

3	capire	to understand	capito	understood
	dormire	to sleep	dormito	slept

· the perfect, passato prossimo

· the past perfect, trapassato prossimo

· the future perfect, futuro anteriore

· the past conditional, condizionale passato

· the past subjunctive, congiuntivo passato

· the past perfect subjunctive, congiuntivo trapassato

· and the preterite perfect, trapassato remoto

Frightening names for even more frightening tenses? Yes indeed! 7 frightening names as easy to learn as the names of 7 prehistoric birds.

1	Passato prossimo	(io)	ho amato	I	loved	Perfect
2	Trapassato prossimo	(io)	avevo sperato	I	had hoped	Past perfect
3	Futuro anteriore	(io)	avrò studiato	I	will have studied	Future perfect
4	Condizionale passato	(io)	avrei saputo	I	would have known	Past conditional
5	Congiuntivo passato	che io	abbia creduto	that I	believed	Past subjunctive
6	Congiuntivo trapassato	che io	avessi capito	that I	had understood	Past perfect subjunctive
7	Trapassato remoto	(io)	ebbi dormito	I	had slept	Preterite perfect

3. Simple tense sextets

1. Presente

(io)	ho	I	have
(tu)	hai	you	have
(lui/lei)	ha	he/she	has

(noi)	abbiamo	we	have
(voi)	avete	you	have
(loro)	hanno	they	have

2. Imperfetto

The imperfetto endings for avere are
evo, -evi, -eva | -evamo, -evate, –evano.

(io)	avevo	I	had
(tu)	avevi	you	had
(lui/lei)	aveva	he/she	had

(noi)	avevamo	we	had
(voi)	avevate	you	had
(loro)	avevano	they	had

Just imagine a few things you or your friends had in the past:

Avevo una piccola macchina.	I had a small car.
Avevi un ragazzo simpatico.	You had a nice boyfriend.
Aveva una ragazza giovane.	He/She had a young girlfriend.

Avevamo una grande casa.	We had a big house.
Avevate un lavoro prestigioso.	You had a prestigious job.
Avevano ancora i nonni.	They had still their grandparents.

You will later see that the imperfetto endings are very similar for all action words. For avere which is a Group 2 word and ends in –ere the endings are -evo, -evi, -eva | -evamo, -evate, –evano. Here are the endings for Group 1 and Group 3 action words:

Group 1, -are: –avo, –avi, –ava | –avamo, –avate, –avano

Group 2, -ere: –evo, –evi, –eva | –evamo, –evate, –evano

Group 3, -ire: –ivo, –ivi, –iva | –ivamo, -ivate, –ivano

3. Futuro

Good news again! The endings of the futuro are regular for all action words: -ò, -ai, -à | -emo, -ete, -anno. All you need to know is the future stem for where to attach the endings. For avere, the future stem is irregular: avr-.

(io)	avrò	I will	have
(tu)	avrai	you will	have
(lui/lei)	avrà	he will /she will	have

(noi)	avremo	we will	have
(voi)	avrete	you will	have
(loro)	avranno	they will	have

Imagine a few things you or your friends will have in the future.

Avrò una borsa di studio.	I’ll have a scholarship.
Avrai un mestiere interessante.	You’ll have an interesting profession.
Avrà un immenso successo.	He/She’ll have a huge success.

Avremo un figlio e una figlia.	We’ll have a son and a daughter.
Avrete solo una vacanza breve.	You’ll have only a short vacation.
Avranno un nuovo capo.	They’ll have a new boss.

4. Condizionale presente

Whenever the future is uncertain, we use the condizionale. The endings of the condizionale, too, are the same for all action words: -ei, -esti, -ebbe | -emmo, -este, –ebbero. Again, attach them to the future stem avr-.

(io)	avrei	I would	have
(tu)	avresti	you would	have
(lui/lei)	avrebbe	he would /she would	have

(noi)	avremmo	we would	have
(voi)	avreste	you would	have
(loro)	avrebbero	they would	have

‘If this or that happened, then…’
…avrei una borsa di studio.	…I’d have a scholarship.
…avresti un mestiere interessante.	…you’d have an interesting job.
…avrebbe un immenso successo.	…he/she’d have a huge hit.

…avremmo un figlio e una figlia.	…we’d have a son and a daughter.
…avreste solo una vacanza breve.	…you’d have only a short vacation.
…avrebbero un nuovo capo.	…they’d have a new boss.

5. Congiuntivo presente

When expressing emotion, doubt, personal feelings, suggestions, uncertainty and possibility (see Details in Level 9), we have to use the Italian congiuntivo. The present subjunctive can be translated in English either by the present or the future tense.

che io	abbia	that I	have
che tu	abbia	that you	have
che lui/lei	abbia	that he/she	has

che (noi)	abbiamo	we	have
che (voi)	abbiate	you	have
che (loro)	abbiano	they	have

As you see, abbia is the same for the three singular forms. As a consequence, you need to specify who is the subject of the sentence: io, tu or lui/lei:

Può darsi… / Spero…	It’s possible… / I hope
… che io abbia tempo.	… that I’ll have time.
… che tu abbia un successone.	… that you’ll have a huge hit.
… che lui/lei abbia un problema.	… that he/she’ll have a problem.

… che abbiamo meglio da fare.	… that we have something better to do.
… che abbiate proprio una grande sfiga.	… that you’ll have really a great misfortune.
… che abbiano le palle per farlo.	… that they’ll have the balls to do it.

6. Congiuntivo imperfetto

The imperfect subjunctive is usually translated by the imperfect tense.

che io	avessi	that I	had
che tu	avessi	that you	had
che (lui/lei)	avesse	that he/she	had

che (noi)	avessimo	that we	had
che (voi)	aveste	that you	had
che (loro)	avessero	that they	had

As avessi is the same for the two first singular forms, you will specify who is the subject of the sentence, io or tu:

Era improbabile…	It was improbable…
…che io avessi tempo.	… that I had time.
… che tu avessi un successone.	… that you had a huge success.
… che avesse un problema maggiore.	… that he/she had a major problem.

… che avessimo meglio da fare.	… that we had something better to do.
… che aveste proprio una grande sfiga.	… that you had really a great misfortune.
… che avessero le palle per farlo.	… that they had the balls to do it.

7. Passato remoto

The passato remoto simple past is used to recount historical events or actions in the distant past. In conversational Italian, it is not used in Northern and Central Italy.

(io)	ebbi	I	had
(tu)	avesti	you	had
(lui/lei)	ebbe	he/she	had

(noi)	avemmo	we	had
(voi)	aveste	you	had
(loro)	ebbero	they	had

4. Compound tense sextets

We come to the final part of our action verb odyssey, the compound tenses. Please make sure and become comfortable with the following three today:

Passato prossimo (I, you he/she, etc. loved):
ho amato – hai amato – ha amato |
abbiamo amato – avete amato – hanno amato

Trapassato prossimo (I, you he/she, etc. had hoped):
avevo sperato – avevi sperato – aveva sperato |
avevamo sperato – avevate sperato – avevano sperato

Condizionale passato (I, you, he/she, etc. would have known):
avrei saputo – avresti saputo – avrebbe saputo |
avremmo saputo – avreste saputo – avrebbero saputo

We present the 7 compound tenses with the action words

amare/amato to love/loved

sperare/sperato to hope/hoped

studiare/studiato to study/studied

sapere/saputo to know/known

credere/creduto to believe/believed

capire/capito to understand/understood

dormire/dormito to sleep/slept

audio

1. Passato prossimo

(io)	ho amato	I	loved
(tu)	hai amato	you	loved
(lui/lei)	ha amato	he/she	loved

(noi)	abbiamo amato	we	loved
(voi)	avete amato	you	loved
(loro)	hanno amato	they	loved

2. Trapassato prossimo

(io)	avevo sperato	I	had hoped
(tu)	avevi sperato	you	had hoped
(lui/lei)	aveva sperato	he/she	had hoped

(noi)	avevamo sperato	we	had hoped
(voi)	avevate sperato	you	had hoped
(loro)	avevano sperato	they	had hoped

3. Futuro anteriore

(io)	avrò studiato	I will	have studied
(tu)	avrai studiato	you will	have studied
(lui/lei)	avrà studiato	he/she will	have studied

(noi)	avremo studiato	we will	have studied
(voi)	avrete studiato	you will	have studied
(loro)	avranno studiato	they will	have studied

4. Condizionale passato

(io)	avrei saputo	I would	have known
(tu)	avresti saputo	you would	have known
(lui/lei)	avrebbe saputo	he/she would	have known

(noi)	avremmo saputo	we would	have known
(voi)	avreste saputo	you would	have known
(loro)	avrebbero saputo	they would	have known

5. Congiuntivo passato

che io	abbia creduto	that I	believed
che tu	abbia creduto	that you	believed
che lui/lei	abbia creduto	that he/she	believed

che (noi)	abbiamo creduto	that we	believed
che (voi)	abbiate creduto	that you	believed
che (loro)	abbiano creduto	that they	believed

6. Congiuntivo trapassato

che io	avessi capito	that I	had understood
che tu	avessi capito	that you	had understood
che (lui/lei)	avesse capito	that he/she	had understood

che (noi)	avessimo capito	that we	had understood
che (voi)	aveste capito	that you	had understood
che (loro)	avessero capito	that they	had understood

7. Trapassato remoto

(io)	ebbi dormito	I	had slept
(tu)	avesti dormito	you	had slept
(lui/lei)	ebbe dormito	he/she	had slept

(noi)	avemmo dormito	we	had slept
(voi)	aveste dormito	you	had slept
(loro)	ebbero dormito	they	had slept

5. Summary

You have climbed the Italian Mount Everest! Congratulations! Only later will you fully appreciate what you have accomplished today: conquering the fundamentals of one Italian action word. This was the hard core of Italian grammar – in comparison, every other aspect of grammar will appear clean and transparent.

In a few moments, Elisa will take you to the beach but before that see how volere and potere work, check a few question words and take a quick glance at important words you’ll discover in Level 4.

B2. Action Words

Volere + potere

{AUDIO} Today’s irregular action words are volere to want and potere to be able to, can.

	volere to want I want, etc.	potere to be able to, can I can/am able to, etc.
io	voglio	posso	I
tu	vuoi	puoi	you
lui/lei	vuole	può	he/she

noi	vogliamo	possiamo	we
voi	volete	potete	you
loro	vogliono	possono	they

C. Words

Question words

audio

chi?	who?
cosa?	what?
dove?	where?
da dove?	from where?
perché?	why?
come?	how?
quando?	when?

Examples
Chi sei?		Who are you?
Cosa vuoi?		What do you want?
Dove siete andati?		Where did you go?
Da dove venite?		Where are you coming from?
Perché mi hai baciato?		Why did you kiss me?
Come hai fatto questo?		How did you do that?
Quando ci vediamo?		When will we see each other (again)?

Preview of Level 4

{AUDIO} In Level 4, you will find the following words. Please take a first peek at them.

contento/-a	glad
stare con	to stay with
curioso/-a	curious
conoscere	to know
dispiaciuto/-a	disappointed
andare in vacanza	to go on vacation
pensare	to think

sposare	to marry
dolce	sweet
terribilmente	terribly
la squadra	team
eccellente	excellent
l’aiuto	help
fantastico	fantastic

bambino	baby boy
bambina	baby girl
mio	my
tuo	your
suo	his/her
questo	this
quello	that

andare	to go
il medico	the doctor
la mattina	the morning
prima	before
il professore	professor
l’esame (m.)	exam
male	badly, wrongly

l’anno	year
la laurea	graduation
fuori	outside
andare fuori di testa	to lose one’s mind
direttamente	directly
il cinema	cinema
tornare	to go/come back

a mezzogiorno	at noon
la casa	house
tornare a casa	to come back home
arrivare	to arrive
festeggiare	to celebrate
il matrimonio	wedding
tornare in tempo	to come back in time

partire	to leave
subito	right away
qualcuno	someone
firmare	to sign
il contratto	contract
immaginare	to imagine
supporre	to suppose

può darsi che	it’s possible that
ingenuo/-a	naïve
in anticipo	in advance
strano/-a	weird
offensivo/-a	offensive, insulting
tutti i giorni	every day
la relazione	relationship
dovere	must, to have to
la persona adatta	the right person
premiare	to honour
sapere	to know

D. Rules

Numbers, time

audio
Now count until 12 and indicate the hour.

Che ore sono?	What time is it?
uno, una	1	È l’una.
due	2	It is one o’clock
tre	3
quattro	4	Sono le due.
cinque	5	It is two o’clock
sei	6
sette	7	Sono le tre e mezza.
otto	8	It is half past three.
nove	9
dieci	10	Sono le cinque meno un quarto.
undici	11	It is a quarter to five (five minus a quarter).
dodici	12	It is a quarter to five (five minus a quarter).

How would you say, It’s four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten o’clock? Right: Sono le quattro, le cinque, le sei, le sette, le otto, le nove, le dieci. Excellent!

And how would you say at two, at three, at four, at five o’clock? Just combine the magic word alle and a number: alle due, alle tre, alle quattro, alle cinque. No need to add o’clock. Magnifico!

E. Dialogue

Normal Speed

Slow Speed

In spiaggia	On the beach
– Andiamo al mare domani?	– Shall we go to the beach tomorrow?
– Si, però non rimaniamo in città. Andiamo a Chia, l’acqua è più pulita e la spiaggia è meno affollata.	– Yes, but let’s not stay in town. Let’s go to Chia, the water is cleaner and the beach is less crowded.
– Allora facciamo un picnic?	– So shall we have a picnic?
– Certamente! Però questa volta ci organizzeremo meglio. Ti ricordi la settimana scorsa? Abbiamo dimenticato la metà delle cose, pure la crema solare.	– Of course! But this time we will organise ourselves better. Do you remember last week? We forgot half the things, even the sunscreen!
– E siamo tornati rossi come gamberi. Mai più! Andare al mare senza crema solare è un suicidio. Questa volta metteremo la crema anche prima della partenza. Ci vogliono almeno 20 minuti prima che agisca.	– And we got back home red as shrimps. Never again! Going to the beach without sunscreen is suicide. This time we’ll also put the sunscreen on before leaving. It takes at least 20 minutes before acting.
– Dai, facciamo una lista: ombrellone, sdraie, asciugamani…	– Come on, make a list: parasol, beach chairs, towels…
– E soprattutto pinne e maschera! Il mare a Chia è pieno di pesciolini.	– And above all, fins and mask! The sea at Chia is full of fish.
– Per il picnic propongo panini con pomodoro, insalata e maionese. Se passiamo al supermercato prima di arrivare in spiaggia, prenderemo anche qualche fetta di prosciutto e un pezzo di formaggio.	– For the picnic, I suggest sandwiches with tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise. If we go to the supermarket before the beach, we can also pick up a few slices of ham and a piece of cheese.
– E tanta acqua! Sarà una giornata calda.	– And lots of water! It’ll be a hot day.
[Gli amici arrivano in spiaggia.]	[The friends arrive at the beach.]
– Guarda che splendore, sembrano i Caraibi! Che bei colori, ragazzi!	– Look, what a beauty, it seems like the Caribbean! What beautiful colours, guys!
– Siamo stati fortunati. È una giornata eccezionale.	– We have been lucky. It’s an exceptional day.
– Mettiamo l’ombrellone davanti all’isolotto. Per favore, metti subito le borse con il cibo all’ombra.	– Let’s put the parasol in front of the island. Please put the bags with the food in the shade right away.
– Che piacere! L’acqua è caldissima! Via, tutti in acqua! Ci tuffiamo! Ci facciamo gli schizzi! Facciamo le capriole in acqua! Chi arriva prima all’isolotto, vince.	– What a pleasure! The water is very hot! Let’s go, everyone in! Let’s dive! Let’s make splashes! Let’s do flips in the water! Whoever reaches the island first wins.

Words

la spiaggia	beach
in spiaggia	at the beach
andiamo	we go; let’s go
il mare	sea
domani	tomorrow
si	yes
però	but
rimaniamo	we stay; let’s stay
la città	city, town
non rimaniamo in città	let’s not stay in the city
Chia	beach in South Sardinia
l’acqua	water
pulito/-a	clean
più pulito/-a	cleaner
affollato/-a	crowded
meno affollato, -a	less crowded
allora	in that case; then
facciamo	we do/make; let’s do/make
il picnic	picnic
certamente	certainly
questa volta	this time
organizzare	to organise, arrange
ci organizzeremo	we’ll organise ourselves
meglio	better
ricordarsi	to remember
ti ricordi?	do you remember?
la settimana	week
scorso/-a	past, last
dimenticare	to forget
la metà	half
la cosa	thing
la metà delle cose	half of the things (we needed)
pure	also; even
la crema solare	sunscreen
tornare	to return, go back (home)
rosso/-a	red
come	like; how?
mai più!	never again!
senza	without
il suicidio	suicide
questa volta	this time
mettere	to put (on), place, lay
anche	also, too
prima	before
prima della partenza	before departure
ci vogliono	it takes
almeno	at least
il minuto	minute
prima	before
agire	to act, have an effect
prima che agisca	before it has an effect
dai!	come on!
la lista	list
l’ombrellone (m.)	parasol
la sdraia	beach chair
l’asciugamano	towel
e	and
soprattutto	above all
la pinna	flipper
la maschera	mask
il mare	sea
a	at
pieno/-a di	full of
il pesce	fish
il pesciolino	small fish
per	for
proporre	to propose, suggest
propongo	I propose
il panino	sandwich
con	with
il pomodoro	tomato
l’insalata	salad
la maionese	mayonnaise
se	if
passare	to pass; to go
il supermercato	supermarket
prima di arrivare	before arriving
prenderemo	we’ll take, pick up
qualche	a few
la fetta	slice
il prosciutto	ham
un pezzo di	a piece of
il formaggio	cheese
tanto/-a	here: a lot of
sarà	it will be
la giornata	day
caldo/-a	hot
l’amico, pl: gli amici	friend
arrivare	to arrive
guarda!	look!
lo splendore	beauty, brightness
che splendore!	what a beauty!
sembrare	to seem, look like
I Caraibi	the Caribbean
bello/-a	beautiful
il colore	colour
che bei colori!	what beautiful colours
ragazzi!	guys!
siamo stati	we have been, we were
fortunato/-a	lucky, fortunate
è	he/she/it is
eccezionale	exceptional, outstanding
mettiamo	we put; let’s put
davanti a	in front of
l’isolotto	small island
per favore	please
metti!	put!
subito	immediately, right away
la borsa	bag
il cibo	food
l’ombra	shadow
mettere all’ombra	to put in the shade
che piacere!	what a pleasure!
caldissimo/-a	very hot
via!	go! come on!
tutti	everyone
tuffarsi	to dive
ci tuffiamo	we dive; let’s dive
lo schizzo	splash of water; sketch
la capriola	flip
chi arriva prima	whoever reaches first
vince	he/she wins

F. Results & Preview

You have done it! Can you say

– ho-hai-ha | abbiamo-avete-hanno

– avevo-avevi-aveva | avevamo-avevate-avevano

– avrò-avrai-avrà | avremo-avrete-avranno

– avrei-avresti-avrebbe | avremmo-avreste-avrebbero

– che io abbia-tu abbia-lui/lei abbia | che abbiamo-abbiate-abbiano

– che io avessi-tu avessi-avesse | che avessimo-aveste-avessero

– ebbi-avesti-ebbe | avemmo-aveste-ebbero

and combine these words with any of the past participles

– amato loved

– sperato hoped

– studiato studied

– saputo known

– creduto believed

– capito understood

– dormito slept

{AUDIO}

	Infinito	avere
	Participio passato	avuto
	Gerundio presente	avendo
	Imperativo	abbi \| abbia \| abbiamo \| abbiate \| abbiano

	Presente	Passato prossimo	Imperfetto
io	ho	ho avuto	avevo
tu	hai	hai avuto	avevi
lui/lei	ha	ha avuto	aveva

noi	abbiamo	abbiamo avuto	avevamo
voi	avete	avete avuto	avevate
loro	hanno	hanno avuto	avevano

	Futuro semplice	Condizionale pres.	Passato remoto
io	avrò	avrei	ebbi
tu	avrai	avresti	avesti
lui/lei	avrà	avrebbe	ebbe

noi	avremo	avremmo	avemmo
voi	avrete	avreste	aveste
loro	avranno	avrebbero	ebbero

	Congiuntivo presente	Congiuntivo imperfetto
che io	abbia	avessi
che tu	abbia	avessi
che lui/lei	abbia	avesse

che noi	abbiamo	avessimo
che voi	abbiate	aveste
che loro	abbiano	avessero

And did you enjoy going to the beach with Elisa? And are you becoming familiar with the table above that 1) summarizes the 7 simple tenses and 2) includes the passato prossimo as an example for the 7 compound tenses?

Well, then you have been promoted to Level 4!

* * *

In Level 4, you will explore and expand the #2 Italian word, essere. The procedure is pretty much the same as in Level 3, so there will be no surprises. However, in one aspect, essere is different from avere: it wants to know if you are a girl or a boy.