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The Metric System: Distance, Volume, and Weight by Ronald Glenn Wrigley

Italy uses the metric system for measuring. Metric units and their American-system equivalents appear in the following tables.

Table 5-7

Distance

Non-metric to Metric

Metric to Non-metric

1 inch = 25.4 millimeters

1 millimeter = 0.0394 inches

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters

1 centimeter = 0.3937 inches

1 foot = 0.3048 meters

1 meter = 3.281 feet

1 yard = 0.9144 meters

1 meter = 1.094 yards

1 mile = 1.609 kilometers

1 kilometer = 0.6214 miles

Table 5-8

Volume

Non-metric to Metric

Metric to Non-metric

1 pint = 0.5682 liters

1 liter = 1.76 pints

1 U.S. pint = 0.47311 liter

1 liter = 2.114 U.S. pints

1 U.S. gallon = 3.785 liters

1 liter = 0.26 U.S. gallons

Table 5-9

Weights

Non-metric to Metric

Metric to Non-metric

1 ounce = 28.35 grams

1 gram = 0.03527 ounces

1 pound = 453.6 grams

1 gram = 0.002205 pounds

1 pound = 0.4536 kilograms

1 kilogram = 2.205 pounds

1 ton = 1016.05 kilograms

1 kilogram = 0.0009842 tons

un litro di benzina

a liter of gas

mezzo kilo di pasta

a half a kilogram of pasta

cento grammi di farina

100 grams of flour
The Days of the Week</h2> <p>The Italian calendar begins with Monday and ends with the weekend days of Saturday and Sunday. Days of the week, months of the year, and names of seasons are not capitalized in Italian unless, of course, they are at the beginning of the sentence. The singular definite article is used before the day of the week to express a habitual action. <B>Il lunedù</B> means on Mondays or every Monday, and <B>la domenica</B> means on Sundays or every Sunday. Repeat each day of the week after the narrator to practice your pronunciation.</p> <p></p> <p><B>DAYS OF THE WEEK</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>Monday</p></td> <td><p><B>lunedù</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Tuesday</p></td> <td><p><B>martedù</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Wednesday</p></td> <td><p><B>mercoledù</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Thursday</p></td> <td><p><B>giovedù</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Friday</p></td> <td><p><B>venerdù</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Saturday</p></td> <td><p><B>sabato</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Sunday</p></td> <td><p><B>domenica</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <div class="npsb"> <p></p> <p>You may notice that the months <B>settembre</B>, <B>ottobre</B>, <B>novembre</B>, and <B>dicembre</B> look similar to the words for seven (<B>sette</B>), eight (<B>otto</B>), nine (<B>nove</B>), and ten (<B>dieci</B>). This interesting phenomenon has its roots in the Roman calendar, which began in March; September, October, November, and December were the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months of the Roman year.</p> </div> <title>Months</h2> <p>You'll notice some similarities between the English names for months and the Italian names for months. Repeat each month after the narrator to practice your pronunciation.</p> <p> </p> <p><B>MONTHS OF THE YEAR</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>January</p></td> <td><p><B>gennaio</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>February</p></td> <td><p><B>febbraio</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>March</p></td> <td><p><B>marzo</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>April</p></td> <td><p><B>aprile</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>May</p></td> <td><p><B>maggio</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>June</p></td> <td><p><B>giugno</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>July</p></td> <td><p><B>luglio</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>August</p></td> <td><p><B>agosto</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>September</p></td> <td><p><B>settembre</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>October</p></td> <td><p><B>ottobre</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>November</p></td> <td><p><B>novembre</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>December</p></td> <td><p><B>dicembre</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p>Here's a useful rhyme to remember how many days are in each month:</p> <p><B>Trenta giorni ha novembre</B></p> <p><B>con aprile, giugno, e settembre,</B></p> <p><B>di ventotto ce n'è uno,</B></p> <p><B>tutti gli altri ne hanno trentuno.</B></p> <title>Dates</h2> <p>In English, when we want to express the date we use ordinal numbers — February 21st, March 13th, October 25th, etc. In Italian it is important to keep in mind that only the first day of the month is expressed with an ordinal number (<B>il primo luglio =</B> July 1); the rest of the months use the cardinal numbers and are preceded by the definite article.</p> <p><B>il 13 (tredici) marzo, 2007 (duemilasette)</B></p> <p><B>il 21 (ventun) febbraio, 1975 (millenovecentosettantacinque)</B></p> <p><B>il 25 (venticinque) ottobre, 1968 (millenovecentosessantotto)</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>milleottocento</B></p></td> <td><p><B>1800</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>millenovecento</B></p></td> <td><p><B>1900</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>millenovecentosettantacinque</B></p></td> <td><p><B>1975</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>millenovecento ottanta</B></p></td> <td><p><B>1980</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>duemila</B></p></td> <td><p><B>2000</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p></p> <p>Repeat each of the following useful expressions after it is read by the narrator to practice your pronunciation.</p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>Che giorno è oggi?</B></p></td> <td><p><B>What day is it today?</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Oggi è martedù, 13 marzo.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Today is Tuesday, March 13.</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?</B></p></td> <td><p><B>What's today's date?</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>Ne abbiamo dodici.</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Today is the twelfth.</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Holidays in Italy</h2> <p>One thing to remember if you visit Italy: Check the calendar. Not only are there holidays that are part of the government calendar, but many towns and cities celebrate saints' days and local festivals. The tourist board should have this information available, but the following are the country's official national holidays. On these dates, everything shuts down — including museums, public buildings, and many retail shops.</p> <p><B>Table 5-10</B></p> <p><B>National Holidays in Italy</B></p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <h2> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>January 1</p></td> <td><p><B>Capodanno</B></p></td> <td><p>New Year's Day</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>January 6</p></td> <td><p><B>Epifania</B></p></td> <td><p>Feast of the Epiphany</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Easter Monday</p></td> <td><p><B>Pasquetta</B></p></td> <td><p>Little Easter</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>April 25</p></td> <td><p><B>Festa della Resistenza</B></p></td> <td><p>Liberation Day</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>May 1</p></td> <td><p><B>Festa dei Lavoratori</B></p></td> <td><p>Labor Day</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>August 15</p></td> <td><p><B>Ferragosto</B></p></td> <td><p>Feast of the Assumption</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>November 1</p></td> <td><p><B>Ognissanti</B></p></td> <td><p>All Saints' Day</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>December 8</p></td> <td><p><B>Immacolata Concezione</B></p></td> <td><p>Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>December 25</p></td> <td><p><B>Natale</B></p></td> <td><p>Christmas</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>December 26</p></td> <td><p><B>Festa di Santo Stefano</B></p></td> <td><p>St. Stephen's Day</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <title>Seasons</h2> <p>If you are talking about more general periods of time, it is helpful to know the names of the seasons.</p> <table width="100%" frame="all"> <tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><B>spring</B></p></td> <td><p><B>la primavera</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>summer</B></p></td> <td><p><B>l'estate</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>autumn</B></p></td> <td><p><B>l'autunno</B></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><B>winter</B></p></td> <td><p><B>l'inverno</B></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/learning-italian/numbers-time-dates-and-seasons/che-ora-che-ore-sono-telling-time-in-italian.htm" title="Che ora è? 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