Italian Grammar!!

Is anyone at a decent level that could help me, I've started Italian from beginners at uni, and my vocabulary isn't bad, but my prepositions need alot of work! :woo:

Reply 1

Aelred

2

Which prepositions in particular? There aren't that many (at least not compared to adjectives/verbs etc.)

Reply 2

Lizia

2

What sort of help do you need?

Reply 3

MarkDiable

OP

I have no problem with -are -ere -ire verbs (yet)

I struggle with the prepositions AND the i / gli for plurals!

di, da, in, su & per

Reply 4

Aelred

2

Well I think those will simply come with more practice; I could recommend Collins Easy Learning Italian Grammar as a book that explains the grammar comprehensively but also clearly, with plenty of examples.

Gli is used where the plural noun that follows begins with a vowel, or with s plus another consonant, or with z, or with y:

gli strumenti
gli aeroporti
gli spaghetti
gli zaini
gli yogurt

Reply 5

CatatonicStupor

15

Since your I vs Gli problem seems to have been answered in the simplest way possible, I'll see if I can help out with the use of prepositions (I'm going to assume you just don't know anything about them, so expect an essay).

There are a number of propositions in Italian, so, judging from your post I'm going to assume you just mean that you're stuck with the simple prepositions, or "le preposizioni articolate". These are: a, di, da, in, con, su, per, tra and fra.

There are only a few simple rules you'll have to memorise:
If a verb is preceded by a preposition, the verb is put in the infinitive.
EG: Voglio imparare a parlare l'italiano, ma per imparare devo studiare di più.

If a preposition precedes a pronoun, you do it like this:
EG: Questo regalo è per me? [so, you can use me, te, lui, lei, noi, voi, or loro]

If a preposition precedes an article, you contract it
(I suggest learning all the contractions, which makes life easier. You can probably find a list of these online, or your lecturer should have told you about this. The only prepositions that don't contract are per, and tra/fra. Con can be contracted to col, colla etc, but it sounds better if you just leave it as con il and con la etc.)

Here are a few general rules for each pronoun:

Di - indicates possession. "La mamma di Mary non è molto brava." "Il cane di John è nero"

Da - indicates origin "Il treno arriva da Londra" or "Questo lettera viene dall'Italia"
indicates duration for actions that commence in the past but carry on in the present "Studio francese da due mesi" (this second one is called the "prospettiva" - you can use it in any tense, obviously, so long as the action continues - "John suona la chitarra da due ore quando Mary entra" -0 John played the guitar for two hours, then Mary came in, but he kept on playing. Because it's still ongoing, the verb is in the present.)

Con - method "Scrivo con la penna"
companionship "Vado al cinema con la mia fidanzata"

Per - finality (or objective) "Compro un biglietto per andare in Italia" "Lavoro per i soldi"
destination - "Il treno per Venezia è in ritardo"
(This can also be used in 'prospettiva' to show an action has finished. "John ha suonato la chitarra per due ore quando Mary entra" - John played; Mary came in; John stopped.

Tra/Fra - position "La mia casa è tra il bar e la farmacia"
time (for future actions) "Arrivo tra cinque minuti"

Once you learn those rules, there is very little else to learn about prepositions as a beginner. I'd recommend getting a copy of Upgrade Your Italian by Clelia Boscolo (your Uni library might have a copy).
Once you get used to Italian and reading it (probably in Year 2 sometime), you can try looking for a copy of L'Italiano Più Corretto by Marco Mastrogiacomo which at that point will just iron out tiny mistakes that even naturalised Italians make.

In bocca al lupo, col tuo ripasso e coi tuoi studi.

Reply 6

MarkDiable

OP

Thank you to all :smile:

And I've saved the examples and catanicstupors post :smile:

Graziee

Italian Grammar!!

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