Italian Practice

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The Verb Essere by Ronald Glenn Wrigley, M.A.

Essere (to be) is one of the most commonly used verbs in Italian. Learn this verb well — you will see it throughout this book! In the present tense, it is conjugated as follows:

<tgroup cols="4"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="25%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="25%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center"/> <colspec colname="col3" colnum="3" colwidth="25%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center"/> <colspec colname="col4" colnum="4" colwidth="25%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="center"/> <thead> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Singular</emphasis></p></td> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>Plural</emphasis></p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>io sono</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>I am</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>noi siamo</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>we are</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>tu sei</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>you (informal) are</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>voi siete</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>you (informal) are</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>lui è</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>he is</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>loro sono</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>they are</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>lei è</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>she is</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Lei è</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>you (formal) are</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Loro sono</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>you (formal) are</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p>It is common, but not required, to omit the subject pronoun in both spoken and written Italian. The subject pronoun can be added for emphasis:</p> <p><emphasis>Io sono intelligente.</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">I am intelligent.</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>Sono intelligente.</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">I am intelligent.</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>Essere</emphasis> can be used to indicate geographic origin when followed by the preposition <emphasis>di</emphasis> + a place name:</p> <p><emphasis>Siamo di Providence.</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">We are from Providence.</emphasis></p> <p>To find out where someone is from, ask the question, <emphasis>Di dove sei?</emphasis> (informal) or <emphasis>Di dov'è?</emphasis> (formal).</p> <p><emphasis>Essere</emphasis> can also be used to indicate possession when followed by the preposition <emphasis>di</emphasis> + a proper name, or a noun:</p> <p><emphasis>È la macchina del professore.</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">It's the professor's car.</emphasis></p> <p><emphasis>È di Marco.</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">It's Marco's.</emphasis></p> <p>To find out to whom something belongs, ask the question, <emphasis>Di chi è?</emphasis> (Whose is it?) or <emphasis>Di chi sono?</emphasis> (Whose are they?)</p> <p>A sentence can be made negative by placing the word <emphasis>non</emphasis> before the conjugated verb:</p> <p><emphasis>Gianni e Maria non sono di Roma.</emphasis> <emphasis role="Bolditalic">Gianni and Maria are not from Rome.</emphasis></p> <h2>Exercise 2: Massimo è di Quarrata</h2> <div class="npmo"> <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/italian-practice/track.jpg"> <div class="npcp"><p>TRACK 7</p></div> </div> <p>Listen to Track 7. Write the subjects you hear in the first space. In the second space, rewrite the sentence with each new subject and change the verb conjugation accordingly.</p> <ul> <li><p></p></li> <li><p></p></li> <li><p></p></li> <li><p></p></li> <li><p></p></li> </ul> <h2>Exercise 3: D'accordo! (Agreed!)</h2> <p>Read each sentence aloud. If you agree with the statement, move on to the next one. If you do not agree with it, rewrite it, making any necessary corrections.</p> <ul> <li><p><emphasis>Tom Cruise è un attore irlandese.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Roma è una città in Francia.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>L'italiano è una bella lingua.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Leonardo da Vinci è di Roma.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>La Ferrari è una macchina italiana.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> </ul> <h2>Exercise 4: Singular to Plural and Plural to Singular</h2> <p>Rewrite each of the following sentences, changing singular to plural and plural to singular.</p> <ul> <li><p><emphasis>Voi siete intelligenti.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Le ragazze italiane sono molto simpatiche.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Io sono molto sincero.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Le chiese italiane sono vecchie e belle.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Gli amici di Stefano sono alti e biondi.</emphasis></p> <p></p></li> </ul>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/subject-pronouns.htm" title="Subject Pronouns">Subject Pronouns</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/the-verb-avere.htm" title="The Verb Avere">The Verb Avere</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/the-verb-essere.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> The Verb Essere - Italian Practice </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/second-and-third-conjugation-verbs-and-adverbs/time-expressions.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Time Expressions - Italian Practice </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/appendix-d-answer-key/part-1-nouns-articles-and-adjectives.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Part 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href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/idiomatic-expressions.htm">Idiomatic Expressions</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/c-ci-sono-and-ecco.htm">C'è, Ci sono and Ecco!</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/com-and-come-sono.htm">Com'è? and Come sono?</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/uses-of-buono.htm">Uses of buono</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/uses-of-bello.htm">Uses of bello</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/numbers.htm">Numbers</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/quanto.htm">Quanto?</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/days-of-the-week.htm">Days of the Week</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/pronunciation-exercise-the-accented-final-vowel-2.htm">Pronunciation Exercise: The Accented Final Vowel</a></li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div id="adP">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,155,'1','ps',4);w('</div>')}</script> <div id="pg" class="pane"><div class="n3">Shopping</div><div class="cntnr"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-italian-practice-book-with-cd"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/italian-practice/Cover.jpg"></a><h4><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-italian-practice-book-with-cd">THE EVERYTHING ITALIAN PRACTICE BOOK</a></h4><p><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-italian-practice-book-with-cd">By Ronald Glenn Wrigley, M.A.</a></p><div id="fp"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-italian-practice-book-with-cd">Buy This Book</a></div></div></div> <div id="toc" class="pane"><div class="n3">Italian Practice Sections</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/top-ten-reasons-to-practice-your-italian/">Top 10 Reasons to Practice Your Italian</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/nouns-articles-and-adjectives/">Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/">Subject Pronouns, Avere and Essere</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/first-conjugation-verbs-prepositions-and-telling-time/">First Conjugation Verbs, Prepositions, and Telling Time</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/second-and-third-conjugation-verbs-and-adverbs/">Second and Third Conjugation Verbs and Adverbs</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/reflexive-and-reciprocal-verbs-possessives-and-the-present-progressive/">Reflexive and Reciprocal Verbs, Possessives, and the Present Progressive</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/indirect-and-direct-object-pronouns-demonstrative-adjectives/">Indirect and Direct Object Pronouns, Demonstrative Adjectives</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/the-impersonal-si-piacere-commands/">The Impersonal Si, Piacere, Commands</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/the-passato-prossimo-and-the-imperfetto/">The Passato Prossimo and the Imperfetto</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/the-future-tense-the-conditional-mood-and-the-subjunctive/">The Future Tense, the Conditional Mood, and the Subjunctive</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/the-final-exam/">The Final Exam</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/appendix-a-verb-tables/">Italian Verb Tables</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/appendix-d-answer-key/">Answer Key</a></li> </ul></div></div> <script type="text/javascript">zCi();validateForms();</script> <div id="abf" style="padding-right:0"><ol class="crumbtrail"><li class="home"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/">Home</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/">Italian Practice</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/italian-practice/subject-pronouns-avere-and-essere/">Subject Pronouns, Avere and Essere</a></li><li>The Verb Essere</li></ol></div> <div id="aboutinfo" 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