Ripasso di grammatica elementare

I. Aggettivi dimostrativi

A demonstrative adjective indicates a person or thing near to or at a distance from the speaker (either literally or figuratively). A demonstrative adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun to which it refers.

A. Questo

1. Questo is a demonstrative adjective that indicates a person, thing, or concept near to the speaker and the listener. Proximity can also be conceptual; for instance, it can refer to a topic the speaker has already been discussing. Notice that the single form elides before a noun beginning with a vowel.

Feminine forms

Questa musica č perfetta per il matrimonio. Quest'aria č la mia preferita. Queste nozze sono state pianificate tre anni fa.

Masculine forms

Quest'abito della sposa č elegantissimo. Questo proverbio č caratteristico. Questi documenti sono necessari per il matrimonio in comune.

2. Use of the adverb qui or qua following the demonstrative adjective questo reinforces the notion of proximity.
Questo disco qui č mio.
This record here is mine.

3. Questo can also express a mildly derogatory or exclamatory meaning.
Questi ragazzi! Non sanno lavorare!
These kids! They don't know how to work!

4. Questo can also be used as a pronoun to refer to something already said or done. In the masculine singular form, it can serve the function of a neutral pronoun meaning questa cosa, this thing. Used as a pronoun, there is no abbreviated form.
Volevo comunicarti questo.
I wanted to tell you this.

Esercizio 1: Aggettivi dimostrativi

B. Quello

1. Quello is a demonstrative adjective that indicates a person, thing, or concept at a distance from the speaker and the listener. Distance can also be conceptual. The forms of quello follow the same rules as the definite article.

		Singular	Plural
Masculine	beginning with a consonant	quel sistema	quei sistemi
	beginning with s + consonant, gn, ps, or z	quello sposo	quegli sposi
	beginning with a vowel	quell'uomo	quegli uomini
Feminine	beginning with a consonant	quella casalinga	quelle casalinghe
	beginning with a vowel	quell'attrice	quelle attrici

2. Use of the adverb lė or lā following the demonstrative adjective quello reinforces the notion of distance.
Quel libro lė č mio.
That book there is mine.

Quello lė č mio.
That one there is mine.

3. Quello can also be used as a pronoun to refer to something already said or done. Used as a pronoun, it has only four forms: quello/a/i/e.

Lavora troppo. Pensa solo a quello!
He works too much. He only thinks about that!

4. In the masculine singular form, quello can serve the function of a neutral pronoun meaning quella cosa, that thing.

5. Quello can also be a derogatory exclamation.
Quei ragazzi! Non hanno rispetto per nessuno.
Those kids! They don't have respect for anyone.

Esercizio 2: Aggettivi e pronomi dimostrativi

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II. Aggettivi

A. Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. An adjective ending in -o has four forms.

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	lo scrittore famoso	gli scrittori famosi
Feminine	la scrittrice famosa	le scrittrice famose

B. An adjective ending in -e has two forms, singular and plural.

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	il matrimonio tradizionale	i matrimoni tradizionali
Feminine	la sposa elegante	le spose eleganti

C. In Italian, a descriptive adjective usually follows the noun it modifies.
un ristorante economico            an inexpensive restaurant
un albergo elegante                   an elegant hotel

Certain descriptive adjectives usually precede the nouns they modify. Common adjectives of this type are:

altro	other, another	giovane	young
bello	beautiful, handsome, fine	grande	big, large, great
bravo	good, talented, capable	nuovo	new
brutto	ugly, unpleasant	piccolo	small
buono	good	stesso	same
caro*	dear	vecchio	old
cattivo	bad, evil	vero	true

*When caro follows a noun, it means expensive.

La bella Paola si sposa nella vecchia chiesa in centro. Č la stessa chiesa in cui si
sono sposati i suoi genitori.
Beautiful Paola is getting married in the old church downtown. It's the same
church where her parents were married.

Esercizio 1: Gli aggettivi

Ripasso di Capitolo 3

Esercizio 1: Preposizioni semplici
Esercizio 2: Preposizioni semplici e articolate
Esercizio 3: Trapassato prossimo v. passato prossimo