A grammar of the Italian language
>J ^- , f ■ '4 ^ .r 1 - <^.-'- '*■." ^' "S'- /'•f * .':^V '• a-fC. • - , • ■ "' ft •*^V 4* .^^J'",- /. '-ft .- --"* ,,-,'• '■ ' < ■' ■ , *'/ '"'•'.' ■^ T ,4 V *.*■.' • < '■* ■ ■' v"' -■/. r ■*: -♦■-•v * ■ ^f..- •;'' ■■ !-■ .•' , ,:•'.?.. .- ' "' * ,■;■'.". 4 l?>- 4 . a ■' *■ ' " ' 1 » ^ ,* .'--• . t « ' •'''.' A'*"' ♦."^f ■ :.' 1 .-> '■ .'-*'; ,4t .'•'•'* \ N. W^ o-/ / GRAMMAR OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE COMPILED BY THE KET DON Ai^BOSCHI. ♦» FOURTH HmVIOIV* FLORENCE AT THE author' s Casino dei Nobili, a/itf AT BlOLiivi's LIBRART Archibusieri St. AT PIALE's library Piazza di Spagna. A Key to this Grammar is also published. AT DETKEN S LIBRARY Portico di S. Francesco di Paola. 1850. 7-, ^ ! Florence. — Printed by Felix Le Monnicr. a TO TBE RIGHT HON. LORD FARNHAM &C. kc. &LC. -■>&-o~ — The grateful remembrance of your generous patron- age imposes on me the pleasing duty of offering for your perusal this new edition of my Italian grammar, and en- courages me to hope the improvements therein may not be unworthy of your notice. Should it be honoured with your Lordship's kind approbation, 1 shall regard it as a pledge of the success that has attended my former efforts. 1 have the honour to be Your Lordship's Most Obedient Humble Servant Don AIMTONIO BOSCHI. ¥\oYt\\ce. M.axc)\ \, \§^0. TO THE Every one about to publish a book, is accustomed to commence with a preface, in which he chiefly re- commends it , if not for its originality , at least for its order and clearness, in preference to other works of the same kind. Should I do so? It would be contrary to my opinion. Whatever may be the merits of my book, I leave them to the decision of those for whose use I have written it. To recommend it would be of no avail, if it had no merit; and on the contrary a pompous preface would not add to the value of the work. I beg to assure my English Readers that, whatever judgment they may pass upon my treatise, my only aim has been to assist them in overcoming the difficulties of one of the richest and most copious languages, the lan- guage of poetry and song ; and also to endeavour to facilitate its acquisition at the least expense of time and labour. An impartial Public will judge whether I have attained my end or not. In the mean time I feel assured that my motive in writing this work will be approved of, and my intention at least will be considered laudable. This alone is suffi- cient for me, and therefore 1 feel amply rewarded for my time and trouble. ITALIAN ALPHABET AKD i?]a.®snisr(saivaa©sr< Exampl. Meanings A as heard in Father, Balh Mam Hand. B » Bell, Bit Bello Beautiful. C (1) )) Chain, Church Cena Supper. D )) Dare, Din DesUno Fate E is open and close. Open )) Let, Fair Pesca Peach, Close » Pain, Feint Legge Law. F )) Effeminate Infermo Sick. G(2) )) Gem, Gin Genie People. H(3) I )) See, Me Vino Wine. (1) C before a, o, u or a consonant sounds like Ihe k in Jiin: as, caio, dear J colore, colour; aira, carej Crista ^ Christ. Before e and i il retakes its primitive sound of ck. "VVlien it is preceded by s and followed jjy e or i, it sounds like sh in dish: as, pesce, a Gsh^ ambascia, shortness of breath. But when followed by a, o, u or a consonant, it retakes the sound of h: as, esca, baitj nascoj I am born; scitre, an ax; ascrivo, I ascribe. (2) G before the vowels a^ Oj u or a consonant is pronounced as in English in the same combination of letters: as, gamhaj a leg; golaj throat; gusto J laste; gloria j glory. Before e and i it retakes the usual sound of g in gem. (3) jffhas no sound in the Italian language. It is found before four persons of the present Indicative of the Verb Avere^liO have, viz. ho^ I have; liaij thou hast; ha_, he has; liannOj they have, which serves only to make them pronounced with a grave accent. In the InLerjeclions ah! oh I eh } it gives llic vowel a protracted sound. "When il is placed between the c-Cj c-ij or g-Cj g-i it has a hard sound, as in bardwj boats; pochij few; piaghcj wounds; prcghij prayers. Esasnpl< Meaning* J as y is heard \ in Yell Aiuto Assistance. L » Elephant Ellesponto Hellespont. M » Emblem Eminenle Eminent. N » Entry Enlrare To enter. 0 is open - and close. Open » Blot, Stop Sodo Solid. Close » Stone, Note Tomba A tomb. P » Pedlar Perire To perish. Q before wa » Quadrant Quadro A picture. before ue, ui. )) Quell, Quill Quello That. R » Erect Erg ere To erect. S » Essence Essere To be. T » Tell Nalio Native. U )) Fool Fune A rope. V » Vain Velo A veil. z » Chintz Zelo Zeal. LESSON I. FARTS OF SFEECH. The parts of speech are eight, viz. Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Participle, declinable; Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection, indeclinable. A Noun is the name of whatsoever thing or being we discourse of. Nouns are divided into Nouns substantive and Nouns adjective. KOUNS SUBSTANTIVE. Are of two sorts, proper and common. The former are the names of persons and places: as, Guglielmo, William; Inghilterra, England. The latter are the names of kinds or species: as, uomo, man; animale, animal. 5 GENDERg. There are only two genders in Italian; masculine and feminine. It is very difficult for the grammarian to lay down precise rules for determining the genders of nouns in Italian. The following general rules will be found sufficient. The final vow el determines the genders of nouns. Nouns in a are of the feminine gender: as, scatola, a box. Except names, vocations and titles of men: as, Andrea, Andrew; poeta, a poet; Duca, a Duke, and some nouns derived from the Greek: as, Anagy-amma Analema Assioma CUma Diadema Dilemma Diploma Dogma Emblema Enigma Epigramma Fanl'isma Anagram. Anathema. Axiom. Climate. Diadem. Dilemma. Diploma. Dogma. Emblem. Enigma. Epigram. Phantom. Jdioma Pianela Poema Problema Proclama Programma Scisma Sislema Sofisma Slemma Slrallagemma Tema Idiom. Planet. Poem. Problem. Proclamation. Prospectus. Schism. System. Sophism. Coat of arms. Stratagem. Theme. Some few nouns vary their gender as they vary their meanings. Dramma. Tema. .. Marstine. Drama, is masculine. Dram-weighl, is feminine. Theme, is masculine. Fear, is feminine. Cuticle of a wound, is feminine. Brink, or margin, is masculine. ^ , \ Innkeeper, is masculine. / Army, is feminir Army, is feminine. - 6 - The names of cities, towns, and provinces ending in a are feminine: as, Roma, Rome; Siena. Sienna, etc. If they have any other termination, they are of both genders: as, // brillante Parigi, or la brillante Parigi, Deh'ghtful Paris — 11 bel Firenze, or la bella Firenze, Fair Florence. All names of empires, kingdoms, provinces and rivers are feminine, when Ihey terminate in a: as, La Russia, Russia; la Lomhardia, Lombardy; la Germania, Ger- many etc. and masculine, if they end in any other vowel: as, // Portogallo, Portugal; il Tamigi, the Tha- mes; il Piemonte, Piedmont etc. Nouns in e are some masculine and some feminine. Nouns in me are masculine: as, costume^ custom: except fame, hunger; speme, hope. Nouns in re are masculine: as, timore, fear: except febbre, fever; coUre, coverlet; polvere, dust; scure, ax; iorre, tower, which are feminine. Also arbore, tree; aere, air; folgore, thunderbolt; /epre, hare; cenere, ashes; car- cere, prison, which are common to both genders. Nouns in nte are masculine: as, monte, mountain; except mente, the mind; corrente, current; sorgente, source; gente, people (feminine); fronte, forehead; fonle, fountain, (common.) Fine, end; tram, a beam, are common. Nouns in i are feminine: as, metropoli, metropolis; except barbagianni, owl; brindisi, toast (in drinking); Tamigi, Thames; dl, day, and its compounds; eclissi, eclipse; and numerals ending in i: as, died, ten; quin- dici, fifteen etc. Genesi, genesis, is of both genders. Nouns in o are masculine, except mano, a hand, and names and titles of women : as, Saffo, Sapho. Names of trees end mostlv in o of the masculine gender, whilst the fruit ends in a of the feminine: as, pero^ the pear-tree; /?er«, the pear. The following nouns however mean the tree and the fruit: \iz. fico, porno, arancio, cedro, the fig, the apple, the orange, the cedar. Noce, the walnut-tree is masculine; noce, a walnut is feminine. Nouns in u are feminine: as, gioventu, youth; except Peru. NUSSBER. Nouns tiave two numbers : the singular and the plu- ral. The singular speaks of one object: as, padre, father; the plural of more than one: as, padri, fathers. The general rules for the formation of the plural are the following. All nouns masculine in a change the a into i: as, poeta, a poet; poeti, poets; profeta, a prophet; profeii, prophets. All nouns feminine in a form their plural in e: as, regina, queen; regine, queens; foresta, a forest; foresle, forests. Nouns ending in ca and ga, of whatsoever gender, require an h in the plural before the final vowel: as, monctrcflf, monarch; monarchi, monarchs; lega,Si league; leghe, leagues. Nouns in cia and gia, without accent on the i, change the ia into e: as, minaccia, threat; minacce, threats; spiaggia, shore; spiagge, shores. When the i is accented they follow the general rules: as, magia, incantation; magie, incantations. All nouns ending in e and a, of whatsoever gender, form their plurals in i: as, principe, prince; principi,. princes; lezione, lesson; lezioni, lessons; cavallo, horse; cavalli, horses; mano, hand; mani, hands — Those in ic have no variation in their j)lurals : as, specie, species; — 8 — requie, rest; superficie, surface; barbarie, cruelty; pro- genie, progeny; serie, series; effigie, eflSgy. Nouns ending in ajo and ojo form their plural either by suppressing the final o, or in ai and oi: as, calamojo, inkstand; calamaj or calamai, inkstands; vassojo, salver; vassoj or vassoi, salvers. Vomo, man; moglie, wife; bue, an ox; mille, thousand, make uomini, mogli, buoi, mila. Nouns in io long, make ii: as, mormono, murmur; mormorii^ murmurs. In io short, they make ii or j: as, • tempio, temple; tempii or tempj, temples. D/o, God, makes Dei, Gods, but in poetry Dii is also used for the plural. Nouns ending in cio, chio, gio, glio; form their plural by suppressing the final o; as, cacio, cheese; caci, cheeses; ciliegio, cherry-tree; ciliegi, cherry-trees; occhio, eye; ocelli, eyes; figlio, son; figli, sons. Nouns in co and go, of two syllables, make their plu- rals in chi and ghi: as, luogo, place; luoghi, places; fico, fig; fichi, figs; except porco, pig; greco, greek, which make porci, greci. When they consist of more than two syllables, and when the co and go are immediately pre- ceded by a vowel, they take no h: as, amico, friend; amici, friends. The following, however, are exceptions, admitting the h in the formation of their plural. Anlico ancient. Dialog 0 dialogue. Aprico sunny. Dimenlico forgetful. Beccajico becafico. Fondaco warehouse. Carico load. Impiego employment Cadaco perishable. Inlrigo intrigue. Casligu punishment. Manico handle. Calalogo catalogue. Ohbligo obligation. — 9 — Opaco opaque. Ripiego expedient. Parroco curate. Sacrilego sacrilegious Presago predicter. Salvalico wild. Prodigo prodigal. Scarico unloading. Prologo prologue. Traffico traffic. Pudico chaste. Ubriaco drunk. Bammarico sorrow. When they are preceded by another consonant they make their plurals in chi and ghi: as, bifolco, ploughman; bifolchi, ploughmen; albergo, inn; albet^ghi, inns. Some may be written indifferently with or without h in their plural: as, astrologo, astrologer; astrologi or astrologhi, astrologers; analogo, analogous; analogic or analoghi; Dialogo, dialogue; dialogi or dialoghi, dialogues; mendico, mendicant; mendici, or mendichi, mendicants. Some words have two terminations in the singular: as, cavalier e or cavalier o, a knight; barbiere or barbiero, a barber; straniere or straniero, a stranger-, sentiere or sentiero, a path. The following is a list of those nouns in o which form their plural in a, and are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural. Cenlinaio a hundred a thousand mile a measure for corn bushel Migliaio Miglio Moggio Slaio Paio Uovo pair egg cenlinaia hundreds. migliaia thousands. miglia miles. moggia slaia bushels. paia pairs. uova eggs. Others also in o form their plurals both in * and a, the former are masculine, and the latter feminine. Anello ring anelU and anella. Braccio arm bracci » hraccia. — 10 — Budello bowel budelli and budella. Calcagno heel calcagni » calcagna. Carro carl carri )) carra. Caslello castle caslelli )) caslella. Ciglio eyebrow cigli )) ciglia. Cor no horn corni » coma. Dilo finger dili » dila. Filo thread fili » fila. Fondamento foundation fondamenti » fondamenta FruUo fruit frulli » frulla. Fuso spindle fust )) fusa. Geslo deed gesii » gesla. Ginocchio knee ginocchi » ginocchia. Grido cry gridi )) grida. Lahhro lip lahbri )) labbra. Lenzuolo sheet lenzuoli » lenzuola. Membro limb membri )) membra. Muro wall muri » mura. Osso bone ossi )) ossa. Quadrello dart quadrelli )) quadrella. Riso laugh risi » visa. Sacco bag sacchi » sacca. Vestigia vestige vesLigi )) vestigia. Veslimenlo raiment vcslimenli » veslimenta. t Monosyllables remain unchanged in the plural; as, gru, a crane; re, a king, likewise all nouns accented on the last vowel: as, tribii, tribe; castitd, chastity, and all nouns in i: as, ecUssi, ecclipse; tesi, a theme. Some nouns are used only in the plural: as, annalij annals: calzoni, trowsers; esequie, funeral rites; fasti, deeds; forbid ^ scissors; lari, lares; nozze^ wedding; ro~ striy beaks; spezie^ drugs; vanni, (poet, for ali) wings. 11 — LESSON II. ABTICLE. The article is a word placed before a noun to show how far its signification extends. DBFXHZTE ARTICLE. The definite article the is expressed by il, lo, la^ which are declined as follows. i Nominative il lo la The. ^ \ Genitive del dello della Of the. I, < Dative al alio alia To the. ^ I Accusative il lo la The. I Ablative dal dallo dalla From the. Nominative 1 gli le The. ^ . Genitive dei or de' degli delle Of the. s { Dative ai or a' agli alle To the. Accusative i gli le The. Ablative dai or da' dagli dalle From the. II is placed before a masculine- noun beginning with a simple consonant; as, II padre, The father; I padri, The fathers — // maestro, The master; / maestri, The masters. ' Lo is prefixed 1. To nouns of the masculine gender beginning with an s united with another consonant, 4—-" which is called in Italian 5 impura: as, Lo studio. The study; Gli studii, The studies — '2. To nouns beginning with a z: as, Lo zio, The uncle; Gli zii, The uncles — 3. To nouns beginning with a vowel, in which case it suffers an elision of the o in the singular, but never ^ — 12 in the plural, except before an i: as, V amove, The love; Gli amori, The loves — Vidolo, The idol; Gl*idoli, The idols. Dei, Gods is an exception and takes gli in the plu- ral: as, Gti Dei, degli Dei, etc. La is prefixed to feminine nouns: as, La Stella, The star. This article is contracted or not in the singular before a vowel, but always before an a, and in the plu- ral before an e only: as. La industria or V induslria. The industry— X'amica, The friend; Ze amiche, The friends — L'epoche, The epochs. The prepositions Con, With — In, In — Per, For — Su, Upon, when followed by the article, are joined in the following way. Wilh the is express- ed by. In the. For the. On the. If wilh the article II Sing* Plur> Col Color Co' Nel Nei or Ne' Pel Pei or Pe' Sul SuiorSu' If wilh the article Lo ?Iur. Cogli Singa Collo or Con lo Con gli Nello Negli Per lo Per gli Sullo Sugli // with the article La Singe Flur* CoUa CoUe or Con la Con le Nella Nelle Per la Per le Sulla Sulle With the book, Col libro — With the noise, Collo slre- pilo — Wilh the box, Colla scatola. In the field, Nel campo — In the study, Nello studio — In the room, Nella camera. For the favour. Pel favore — For the mistake, Per lo sba- glio — For the glory. Per la gloria. On the carpet, Sul lappeto— On the rock, Sallo scoglio — On the table, Sulla tavola. 13 The prepositions Di, A, Da correspond with the English prepositions Of, 2o, From. EXAMPIiES. Di Londra A Londra Da Londra Of London To London From London Before a vowel cf/ suffers an elision : as, D^ Andrea J Of Andrew — A be- comes ad: as, Ad Andrea, To An- drew, and da remains to distinguish the Ablative from Ihe Genitive : as , Da Andrea, From Andrew. The deflnite article in Italian is employed both in a general and individual sense: as, I Re sono di raro felici, Kings are seldom happy — Ecco V uomo che tanto vi piacef Here is the man whom you like so much. When, however, we ascribe the possession of virtues or vices or characteristic qualities to particular persons or things, we must omit the article: as, John has cour- age, but not discretion, Giovanni ha coraggio, ma non discrezione. Names of countries, empires, kingdoms, provinces, rivers etc. taken in their full extent, require the definite article: as, Egli ha scorso Y Italia, la Francia e V In- ghilterra, He travelled over Italy, France and England. But when a personal title precedes, the simple prepo- sition is used: as. La regina d' Inghillerra, The Queen o/" England — II Granduca di Toscana, The Grand Duke of Tuscany. The definite article is suppressed before names of persons, of towns, and also of countries not taken in their full extent: as, Ecco ^n^omo, Here is Anthony — Andremo oggi a Firenze, We will go to-day to Florence — Egli viene d' Italia di Francia e d^ Inghilierra, He comes from Italy, France, and England — Ella nacque 2 ^■ _ 14 — in Ger mania, She was born in Germany. But when an adjective or the words Signore, Mr. Signora, Mrs. Si- gnorina, Miss, intervene, the definite article is expressed: as, Ecco il Signor Antonio, Here is Mr. Anthony — Andremo oggi alia bella Firenze, We will go to-day to fair Florence — Ho veduto la Signorina Wells , I have seen Miss Wells — // voslro amico nacque nella florida Spagna, Your friend was born in flourishing Spain. It is prefixed to family names: as, II Petrarca, Pe- trarch— II Tasso, Tasso etc. and to personal titles fol- lowed by proper names: as. La iJe^ma Yittoria, Queen Victoria — II generate Wellington, General "Wellington. But when the proper name precedes the title, and is followed by the country, the article is omitted: as, Victoria Queen of England, Vittoria Regina d' Inghil- terra. The definite article is sometimes placed between the noun and adjective, as may be often seen in Boc- caccio: as, Ginevra la hella. The beautiful Gine- vra etc. It is also placed before an adjective used substantive- ly: as, II grande. The great — II sublime , The sublime — U utile, The useful etc. The Infinitives of Verbs used instead of nouns are preceded by the masculine article : as, II mangiare. To / eat — Lo studiare. To study — Uascoltare, To listen: Ex. \ Essa vedendo che il pregare non le valeva, ricorse al mi- \ nacciare. Seeing that her entreaties -were of no avail, she ) had recourse to threats. The same rule applies to adverbs instead of nouns : as, // dove, il come, il quando, il si, il no, il mai, il i per che (The) where, (the) how, (the) when, (the) yes, / (the) no, (the) never, (the) why. 15 - EXAMPLES. 10 sarei conlento di sapere il I should be glad to know quando. when. 11 perche vi dirb. I will tell you why. Ella era cerla del si. She was sure of a yes. We Italians make use of the definite article before the words morning, evening, day, night, and before the different days of the week, whilst the English make use of a preposition : as , They sit up at night and sleep in the day, Vegliano la notte e dormono il giorno — Gali- gnani's Messenger is not published on a Sunday, II Messaggero del Galignani non si pubblica la Domenica. When there are several nouns of different genders and numbers, each one must have its separate article : as, II padre ed i figli, The father and sons — Collo studio e coUa fatica, With study and fatigue. If they are of the same gender and number, it is sufficient to use the ar- ticle before the first noun, although more elegant to repeat it: as, Le valli, le colline, e \e pianure instead of Le valli, colline e pianure, Vallies, mountains and plains. When a word is composed of two nouns, one of which is used adjectively denoting use, the first in Eng- lish is placed the last in Italian, governed by da: as, A bed-room, Una camera da letto — A wine-bottle, Unu hottiglia da vino. When they are used to express matter, quality or country, they employ di: as, A gold-ring, Vn anello d' oro — Madeira-wine, Vino di Madera. When they describe a thing according lo lis form or shape, they take a: as, A cylinder-watch, Vn oriuolo a cilindro. The definite article is usually suppressed when the sense of a noun conveys an absolute unlimited meaning: as, Onore e virtu debbono essere la guida de* generosi, I — 16 ~ Honour and virtue ought to be the guides of the gen- erous. This, however, is not to be followed as a gen- eral rule. The placed before a noun in apposition is suppress- ed in Italian: as, Mr. Macalister the son in law of Mrs. Fleming, II signor Macalister genero della signora Fleming, PARTITIVE ARTICLE. Del, dello , della: del, degli, delle, Some, any, mean a portion of a thing: as, Datemi delV acqu a, Give me some water — Volete della carta ? Do you want any paper? — Prendete dei fagioUni e del manzo, Take some beans and some beef. When some stands substantively for some people, or is employed adjectively, it must be expressed by alcuno, alcuna: alcuni, alcune. As some [people) say. Come alcuni dioono. After some heavy sighs she Dopo alcun caldo sospiro ella said. disse. Peter brought me some things. Pielro mi porto alcune cose. INDEFINITE ARTICLE. The indefinite article uno, un, una, un\ a or an, is used in the following way. Uno before a noun masculine beginning with an 5 impura or a z: as, Uno specchio, A looking-glass — Uno zelo, A zeal. Un before a noun of the same gender beginning with — 17 — a vowel or a simple consonant: as, Un amico, A friend — Un castello, A castle. Una before a noun feminine beginning with a con- sonant: as, Una sorella, A sister. Vn' with an apostrophe before a noun of the same gender beginning v»^ilh a vowel : as , Un' arnica , A friend. The masculine indefinite article una or un is found before Infinitives taken substantively, in the same man- ner as we employ the definite article: as, Un mormorar di frondi, A murmur of leaves — Uno strepitar d' ar- mati, A noise of armed men. The English make use of a or an before nouns of measure and weight, but we use the definite article il, lo, la: as. He sells wine for two pauls a bottle, Egli vende il vino due paoli la bottiglia — I have bought corn for six pauls a bushel. Ho comprato il grano a sei paoli lo staio. When speaking of time, a or an is expressed in Ital- ian either by per, or by the definite article il , lo, la: as, So much a week, Tanto per settimana, or Tanto la settimana. The indefinite article is suppressed in Italian. 1. After the verbs To be , To become, with a noun expressing the country , profession or dignity: as. He is an Irishman, Egli e Jrlandese — You will be a lawyer, Voi sarele avvocato — You will become a minister of Stale, Biverrete Minis tro di Slato. 2. With a noun of the same kind after the verbs, To make, create, appoint, elect, choose, declare, 'proclaim, whatever may be the Nominative of that verb: as. The king made him a General, lire lofece Generale — They elected him a member of Parliament, Lo elessero mem- bro del Parlamento. - 18 - 3. Before a noun in apposition: as, Lord F. a friend of the people, Lord F. amico del popolo. 4. Before a title of a book: as. An English Grammar, Grammatica Inglese. 5. After the pronoun which in English expresses admiration: as, What a fine picture ! Che bel quadro ! MavVs used- '\\\ \\\i "ExtTdse-s.. — Indicates that the word is alike in Italian and English. rz Indicates that the English word under which it is placed, is not expressed in Italian. ( ) English words between parentheses are to be' translated by those placed underneath. The numbers placed over different words in English, show how the words are to be transposed in Italian. When two words in the same phrase are marked wilh the same number, they are to be expressed by one wordj as, I was very much afraid — Temeva molHssimo. QaaaQcisa i»^'^ Ignorance is the mother of error, wonder and prejudi- e ces of every kind— Henry the 8th. King of England was ogni Enrico = ollavo fu (1) The pupil must put the nouns in iheir right genders and numbers, as the singular masculine only is given. — 19 — a cruel despot — I left Mrs. Williams in France , and from despola lasciai — di 2 13 thence she will soon sail for America — The father, mother, Id fard vela — sisters, uncles, aunts and several olher relations were there parecchi aliri parenle erano Id — I perceived in her virtue, but not patience — Miss Lyte s cor si lei — always takes coffee in the morning and tea at night — Lord prende te — B. the son of the Marquis of Hastings was here ( this — Marchese — era qui 2 1 morning); perhaps the Queen (will make) him a privy slamane fard to counsellor, but I do not know when — What a beautiful = non so ' hclla 2 1 morning ! — Mr. Croser brought me a snuff-box and some — porlo mi lahacco 5 4 silver-spoons from London — It is always better to speak cucchiaio = parlare little than to speak too much — (Here is) the horse which che troppo Ecco cui Mr. Rogers has just brought from Paris — Dante pleases — ha lesle condoUo — 2 3 1 Miss Hoppner very much , she starts to-morrow for gay {Dal.) — assai parte allegro Naples. Is she an Irish Lady? No, she is an English Lady — Italy is the land of the fine arts — Mr. Hindley goes to Ire- tcrra belle va in 2 1 land four or five times a year — Peter gives him seven volta dd gli 20 — 2 1 pauls a day — He sells this lace at half a guinea an ell questa trina mezzo ghinea auna — The lily is the emblem of candour , innocence and purity. giglio simholo LESSON III. ADS SC T I V £. A noun adjective requires to be joined with the substantive of which it shows the nature or the quality, and it agrees with it in gender and number. Adjectives end either in o or e. Those in o change the 0 into a for the feminine: as, Uomo savio, A wise man — Bonna savia, A wise woman. Those in e are of both genders: as, Uomo prudente, A prudent man — Donna prudente^ A prudent woman — In the plural they follow the rules of nouns substantive. No precise rules can be given to determine the si- tuation of the adjective, whether it should be placed before or after the substantive. The study of the Classics is the only means by which accuracy can be obtained on this point. We,-liowever, generally place all adjectives after the substantives, which express colour, shape, tasle, and those used in speaking of the state of the air or weather. Green velvet Velluto verde. A round table Tavola rotonda. A sweet orange Un' arancia dolce. A damp climate Un clima umido. — 21 Particular attention therefore must be given to the position of some adjectives, as if not, their meaning would be totally different. Un galanC uomo Un uomo galante Un gentil uomo Un uomo gentile Un pover uomo Un uomo povero Una cerla cosa Una cosa cerla means An honest man. » A gallant. » A Gentleman. )) A man of genteel manners. » An insignificant man. w A man in distress. » A certain affair. » A sure thing. When an adjective has reference to several substan- tives of the same gender, and is detached from them by a verb, it must be put in the plural and agree with them in gender : as, // re ed il pastor e sono eguali dopo la morte , The- king and the shepherd are equal after death. If however the adjective relates to several substan- tives of different genders, it is always put in the mascu- line gender and in the plural: as, 1 fratelli, e le sorelle furono gioiosi alVarrivo dello zio, The brothers and sisters were overjoyed at the arrival of the uncle. But in the absence of a verb, it agrees with the last substantive: as, // tempo e la stagione grata, The agreeable time and season. Q^QaQ33Q 2. (I) An ingenuous candour, an amiable simplicity and a ingenuo (1) The pupil must put the adjectives in their right genders and numbers, as the singular masculine only is given. — 22 — lively artlessness are the charms of youth — The attention vivace naturalezza sono incanlo gioventu of a mere gallant is often preferred to that of an honest mero sovenle preferila a quella man - Miss Drummond and the Misses Reynolds were always — — furono attentive to the instructions of the master — The boots and allenlo slivale 2 1 4 shoes of John are not well cleaned — This is the proper Scarpa Giovanni puliLo queslo opporluno i time and place — Ignorance and self-love are equally pre- ora amor propria del pari 2 1 sumptuous — A just judge, learned and disinterested, and a giudice dolto disinter essato beautiful woman, young, virtuous and amiable are rare — rare Mrs. Douglas bought a red cloth for the square table — Here — compro lappelo quadralo one breathes a wholesome air— The prints and the pictures si respira slampa in that drawing-room are beautiful — Uprightness and piety quel saloUo onesld pieid are much esteemed even by ( wicked men ) — The love of assai slimalo anche {Ahl.) scelleralo [PL] life and the fear of death are natural to men. iimore LESSON IV. COMPABATXVBS AND SUP E at AT IVES. As adjectives express the quality of substantives, we may either increase or diminish their qualities in differ- — 23 - ent ways, hence arise the degrees of comparison; the positive, comparative and superlative. The positive denotes the quality of the thing abso- lutely: as, Ricco, Rich. The comparative increases, lessens or equalizes the quality, hence three sorts of comparison; viz. of supe- riority, inferiority and equality.. The comparative of superiority is formed in Itahan by the adverb pm, more, before the adjective: as, Piic ricco, Richer or more rich. That oi inferiority by the adverb meno, less: as, Meno ricco, Less rich. The comparatives better and worse are rendered in Italian by migliore, belter, if used adjectively, and me- glio, better, if adverbially, and in the same manner peggiore and peggio, worse. Than is espressed. 1. By dely dello, delta: del, degli, delle. 2. By di. 3. By die, f, When two persons or things are compared with respect to some property which they both possess, but in different degrees, than is expressed by del, dello etc. or di. \ By del, dello etc. when the comparative is followed by a noun or pronoun which takes the definite article (1). E X A M P li E S. La rosa e piu hella della viola. The rose is more beautiful than the violet. I (1) The possessive and some indefinite pronouns admit generally of the de6nile article. — 24 — La primavera e piu piacevole Spring is pleasanter Ihan au- deWaulunno. tumn. Esse meritano meno compas- They are less deserving of sione delle altre. pity than the others. Pief ro e meno modeslo del vo- Peter is less modest than your slro amico. friend. 11 parlare e meno' facile dello Speaking is less easy than scrivere. writing. By di, when a noun or pronoun which does not take the definite article follows. Egli e meglio disciplinaio di He is better disciplined than Giovanni. John. Noi siamo slali piu infelici di We have been more unhappy voi. Ihan you. By che, when the comparison is between two sub- stantives or two adjectives; between two verbs in the Infinitive Mood, or two adverbs referring to the same subject, and when it precedes a noun governed by a preposition. Es:Ampi.ES. Egli ha piu prudenza che co- He has more prudence than raggio. courage. Voi siele piu gaio che savio. You are more merry than wise. E meglio andarsene che reslar It is better to go away than qui. to remain here. Pielro si comporlo piu corag- Peter behaved more cour- giosamente che prudenle- ageously than prudently. menle. Antonio ebbe piu forluna in Anthony had more luck in Londra che a Parigi. London than in Paris. ~ 23 — NB. When than is followed bv a verb not in the InOnitive Mood, it is rendered by che non: as, They i have less money than you think, Essi hanno meno da-\ naro che non credete. ^ In the comparative of equality the English adverbs As as So as ^ i Tanto Quanlo T3 s -3 Cost Come As much as So much as As many as \ ^ ' ^^^^ So many as £ I Quanlo a We think it is more elegant to use quanta alone. E;XAraPL.ES. Z-a delicalezza del guslo e un Delicacy of taste is a gift of dono della nalura raro nature as rare as true ge- quanto il vero genio. nius. Egli non ha cavalli quanto il He has not as many horses voslro amico. as your friend. Essi lavorano quanto voi. They work as much as you. Much placed before a comparative is expressed by moUo, assai, vie, or via: as. That picture is much finer than this. Quel quadro e assai piii hello ^ or molto pm hello di questo. The article used with comparatives in English, is omitted in Itahan: as, The more difficult a thing is, the more honourable it is, Piu una cosa e difficile, piu essa e onorevole. SUPERLATIVE. The superlative increases or lessens the quality in the greatest degree. It is absolute and relative. The for- mer is not compared with any object, the latter is. 3 1 — 26 — The superlatiye absolute is made by changing the last vowel of the positive into issimo, and rarely by placing the adverbs molto, assai before the positive: as, Onesto, Honest; Onestissimo, Very honest. The duplication of the positive sometimes has the force of the superlative: as, Buono buono, Very good — Bravo bravo, Very well. Adjectives in co and go requiring an h in the plural, take it also in the superlative: as, Lar^o, Broad ;Zar5'/i{5- simo, Very broad — Ricco, Rich; Ricchissimo , Very rich, Those in io change io into issimo: as, Savio, V/ise ; Savissimo, Very wise. The superlative relative is expressed by il piu, la pill etc.: as, 11 piu attivo , The most active — La piu bella, The handsomest. This superlative requires the Genitive after it: as, Maria e la piu amabile delle sorel- le, Mary is the most amiable of the sisters — Voi avete parlato col piic ricco uomo d' Jnghilterra, You have spoken with the richest man in England. Posilive. Comparative. Superlative-. Adjective! Adverb* Good buono migliore meglio ollimo, or buonissimo. Bad callivo peggiore peggio pessimo, or callivissimo. Small piccolo minor e meno minimo, or piccoUssimo. Great grande maggiore massimo, or grandissimo. Acrid acre acerrimo. Celebrated celebre celeherrimo. Salubrious salubre saluherrimo. Upright inlegro inlegerrimo Miserable misero miserrimo, or miserissimo. — 27 — Qa.QaQ(]3Q 3. It happens often that a man who has much wit and = accade che il quale abbia spirilo little experience is not so well received as a man who has t- bene ricevulo less wit, but who has the use of the world — She was a che uso mondo very bitter enemy of the very celebrated Miss Fleming — The acre nemica — 2 1 most able men are not always the most virtuous — You abile persona 5 12 will not see as much luxury in Berlin as in Vienna — The vedrele *^,____„. IM'^^o Berlino — love of our neighbour is as necessary in society for the hap- = prossimo necessario piness of life as in Christianity for eternal salvation — crislianesimo Mr. Hogg' s translation was worse than your' s, yet he ought — Iraduzione [adj.] luUavia dovrebbe to translate better than you: he is however much fonder of z=: (adv.) perb amanle play than study; he conceives more than he is able to do, gioco immagina capace di fare consequently the more he undertakes the less he succeeds per cons eguenza inlraprende riesce — The Po is the most considerable river in Italy — — ragguardevole Mr. Napier speaks French more easily than she does — It is as pai'la facilmenle lei = easy to do good as to do evil — In the month of January facile bene male ^ Gennaio the cold was most severe — • The style of Fenelon is very freddo rigido slile — — 28 - rich and harmonious — St. Peters at Rome is the most San Pielro magnificent and the most celebrated church in Europe. magnifico . chiesa LESSON V. CARDINAL AND OHDXNAL NUMBERS. Cardiual. 1 Uno, Una. 2 Due. 3 Tre. 4 Quattro. 5 Cinque. 6 Sei. 7 Sette. 8 Otto. 9 Nove. 10 Dieci. 11 Undici. 12 Dodici. 13 Tredici. 14 Quattordici. 15 Quindicj. 16 Sedici. 17 Diciasselte. 18 Diciotto. 19 Diciannove. 20 Venti. 21 Yentuuo. 22 Ventidue. 23 Ventitre. 24 Yentiquattro. Ordinal. 1st. Prirao. 2d. Secondo. 3d. Terzo. 4th. Quarto. Sth. Quinto. 6th. Seslo. 7th. Settimo. 8lh. Ottavo. 9th. Nono. 10th. Decimo. lllh. Undecimo, or decimo pri- mo. 12th. Duodecimo, or decimo se- condo. 13th. Decimo terzo, or tredice- simo. 14th. Decimo quarto, or quat- lordicesimo. 15lh. Decimo quinto, oi quindi- cesimo. 16lh. Decimo seslo, or sedice- simo. 17th. Decimo settimo, or dicias- settesimo. ~ 29 Cardinal. 25 Venticinque. 26 Ventisei. 27 Yentisette. 28 YentoUo. 29 Yenlinove. 30 Tienta. 40 Quaranta. 50 Cinquanta. 60 Sessanta. 70 Settanta. 80 Otlanta. 90 Novanta. 100 Cento. 200 Dugento, or Duecento. 300 Trecento. 400 Quattrocento. 1,000 Mille. 2,000 Due mila. 100,000 Cento mila. 1,000,000 Un milione. 2,000,000 Due milioni. Ordinal. 18lh. Decimo otlavo, or diciot- lesimo. 19th. Decimo nono, or dicianno- vesimo. 20th. Yentesimo, or vigesimo 21st. Yentesimo primo, or vige- simo primo. 30th. Trentesimo, or trigesimo. 40th. Quarantesimo, or quadra- gesimo. 50th. Cinquantesimo , or quin- quagesimo. 60th. Sessantesimo, or sessage- simo. 70th. Settantesimo, or settuagti- simo. 80th. Ottantesimo , or ottuagc- simo. 90th. Novantesimo , or nonage- simo. 100th, Centesimo. 1000th. Millesimo. Un paio Una decina Una dozzina Una ventina Una trentina Una quarantina Una cinquanlina Un cenlinaio Un migliaio A cenlinaia A migliaia Millanta GOLLSCTXVE. a pair. half a score. a dozen. a score. to the number of Ihiriy. lo the number of forty. half a hundred. to the number of a hundred. lo the number of a thousand. by hundreds. by thousands. thousands upon thousands. 30 — DISTRIBUTIVE. Ad uno ad uno one by one. A due a due two by two, and so on. Uno, una is subject to the same contraction when numeral, as it is when an article, but cannot be con- tracted at the end of a phrase : as, lo ne ho due, e voi ne avete uno, I have two and you have one. When uno and una are joined to a number, they require the following substantive to be in the singular : as , Ventun anno, Twenty-one years — Trentuna libbra, Thirty-one pounds. But if the article or the substantive is placed before the number, the plural is used: as, Vi mandero i ventuno scudi, I shall send you the twenty-one scudi — Vi mandero scudi ventuno , I shall send you twenty-one scudi. One or a before hundred or thousand , as also the conjunction and in the notation of years, are omitted in Italian: as, A hundred soldiers. Cento soldati — A thou- sand ships, Mille navi — In the year one thousand eight hundred and forty three — NeW anno mille ottocento quarantatre. The preposition m, followed in English by the date of the century, is rendered in Italian by nel [anno, year, being understood); but when the words morning, even- ing are preceded by the time of the day, in is expres- sed by delta: as. In 1843 at four in the evening, or in the morning, Nel mille ottocento quarantatre, alle quat- tro della sera, or delta mattina. Ordinal numbers are declinable and agree in gender and number with the substantive : as, Se verrete at ieatro mi troverete al prim' ordme , If you come to the theatre you will find me in the first tier — // suo ca- — 31 -> vallo vinse nella prima corsa, His horse won in the first race. In speaking of Kings, Princes etc. we suppress in Jtah'an the article placed in EngHsh before the ordinal number: as, George the fourth, Giorgio quarto. For the dale of the monlh we employ the ordinal number for the first day of the monlh, and the cardinal for the rest, wilh the masculine definite article il pre- fixed: as, 11 primo, The first — // due. The second — // tre, The third, and so on with cardinal numbers. The preposition on, employed in Enghsh before the date of the monlh, is suppressed in Italian, and the masculine article il alone used: as. On the first of July, or July the first, II primo di Lvglio. In mentioning the time of the day, we say — E V un^ ora. It is one o'clock — Sono le due, or due ore, It is two o'clock — Sono le quatlro, or quattr'ore, It is four o'clock. The first mode however is the best. The half is expressed both by mezzo and meta. The former is invariable after a noun, but agrees with it in gender when placed before. The ialter is employed when substantively used. EX AM PL, ES. He will go there at half past Egli vi andrd alle Ire e three. mezzo. Half a pound. • Una mezza lihbra. Half the world. La mela del mondo. Cut this pear in half. Tagliale quesla pera per melh. The quarter is expressed by quarto: as, I will be here at a quarter past five, Saro qui alle cinque ed un quarlo. — 32 — We say Fra mezz' ora. In half an hour. Le quattro meno un quarto. A quarter to four. Le set ed un quarto. A quarter past six. Ambo, Ambediie, both, indeclinable, and ambi, ambey declinable, admit of the article with substantives: as, AmbOy ambedue or ambi i cam, Both dogs — Ambo, am- bedue or ambe le mani, Both hands. We say Tutti e quattro. All four — Tutti e sei, All six, and so on, except before a vowel: as, Tutti otto and not Tutti e otto, All eight. Ago is expressed both by fa and sono: as. Two years ago, Due anni fa, or due anni sono. For a substantive singular, the Grst only is used: as, A year ago, Un anno fa — A week ago, Una settimana fa. We say Da oggi ad otto This day week. Da oggi a quindici This day fortnight. Da oggi a un mese This day month. Saturn makes his revolution in thirty years; Jupiter Salurno fa la sua Giovc in twelve; Mars in two; the Earth in one, or three hun- Marte Terra dred and sixty five days and seven hours ; Venus in two Venere hundred and twenty five days, and Mercury in three months; Mercurio the Moon, which is the satellite of the Earth (revolves round Luna la quale — gira intorno ad it) in twenty seven days, seven hours and forty three cssa — 33 — minutes ; but it does not overtake the Sun in less than minulo essa = giunge Sole twenty nine clays, twelve hours and forty five minutes — Leopold the first, Grand Duke of Tuscany, was a great Leopoldo 2 1 man — At what o' clock does the Opera begin? In half an che := ~ comincia hour ~ He died in London on the 14th. of last month — mori passato They gained the two first battles — Both Kings were crowned vinsero furono coronalo in the same year — He paid for that horse 31 guineas — pago = quel ghinca He Is certainly 41 — ( Bring me ) the twenty-one crowns conla anno Porlaiemi scudo which I lent you four months ago — Napoleon (was born) cui prestai m Napoleone nacque at Ajaccio on the 14th. of August 1769, and died at St. Helena in — Agoslo Elena on the Sth. of May 1821, and his remains were brought to Magglo le sue spoglia porlalo Paris, by the permission of the English, on the ISth. of col permesso October 1840. OUobre LESSON VI. variable: nouns. Arc of three kinds, Accrescitivi, auginentatives — Di minulivi, diminutives — Peggiorativi, vilifying nouns. - 34 A U 6 M E N T A T X V E S. ^ Are formed by changing the last vowel into one , and are always of the masculine gender: as, From libro, book: librone, a great or large book — From ca.^a, house: casone, a great or large house. If the quality should imply a slight increase of power or size by way of augmenting some thing in itself dimin- utive, in this case the adjectives end in otto, otta : ozzOf ozza; occio, occia, and such terminations add not only an idea of strength and vigour, but also of gracefulness: as, From giovine, young: giovinotto, a young man: giovinotia, a young girl— From bruno and bruna,hvovfn: brunozzo, a dark man: brunozza, a brunette — From bello and 6e//a, beautiful :6e//omo and belloccia,yfQ\\ made. DiraZNUTIVES. For the most part change the last vowel into ino, etto, ello: ina, etta, ella: as, From fanciuUo, a child: fanciuUino, a pretty dear little child — From fanciulla, a girl: fanciuUina, a young dear girl — From amore, affection: amoretio, slight attachment — From mano, hand: manina, a beautiful small hand. Those in ello, ella: etto, etla, convey a meaning not only of smallness, but also of affection and love, and some- times of contempt: as, From contadino, a country man: contadinello, a smart country fellow — From contadina, a country woman: contadinella, a pretty little country girl — From povero, poor man: poveretto and poverello, poor creature — From pazzo, a madman: pazzarello, mad-cap — From vecchio, an old man: vecchierello, good old man — From vecchia, old woman : vecchierella, poor old woman. 