116 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



I. REMARKS ON THE INDEFINITE MOOD. 



1. This is the most irregular of the Italian verbs, and, like the 

 Latin verb esse, from which it ia derived, it appears originally to 

 have been formed from the fragments of several other verbs, for 

 S'j-no, d-ra, fui, are words taken from quite different roots. It 

 has, moreover, many other forms used in poetry or in popular 

 dialects. Generally speaking, the Italian verbs have, more than 

 those of any other language, su'jh a variety of forms for one and 

 the same person, that not unf requently four or more forms are 

 found to express it, which either were used in former times and 

 are now obsolete, or which are still used by the people of several 

 provinces of Italy, or having formerly passed into the language 

 of books, even now exclusively belong to poetry or to prose, or 

 are common to both ; and principally on this account, their 

 meanings, their goodness or faultiness ought to be known. By 

 the great exertions of modern grammarians the vast variety of 

 these forms has been much reduced, the obsolete have been 

 altogether banished, the poetical separated from those of prose, 

 and both from the vulgar ones ; and thus a greater regularity 

 and correctness has been introduced into modern Italian writings 

 with regard to verbs, and a better choice. The best authority 

 on Italian verbs is " Marco Mastrofini Teoria e prospetto ossia 

 Dizionario Critico de' Verbi Italiani, Roma," 1814, two vols. 



2. This mood, which either does not at all express the person 

 and number of a verb, or not with the explicit clearness of the 

 other parts of a verb, comprehends the infinitive (in-fi-ni-t(-vo), 

 the participle, and the gerund. 



3. The Present Gerund, a peculiar form of the Italian verb, 

 taken from the Latin, is wanting in the English, and must bo 

 periphrased by means of the particles while, whilst, since, when, 

 after, as, because, etc. Sometimes, not always, its use coincides 

 with that of the English participle. 



II. EEMARKS ON THE INDICATIVE MOOD. 



1. The pronoun "one" is not of frequent use in English, while 

 si is of the most extensive application, and has, strictly speak- 

 ing, according to the sense of the phrase, the following meanings : 

 people, they, we, you, a person or man, one. We have inserted 

 an example of its use in the present and imperfect tenses, to 

 enable the reader to apply it to other tenses at pleasure. 



2. Sd-mo for siamo, se-te or sid-te for siete, and 6n-no for sono 

 (they are), are forms of the Florentine popular dialect ; but 

 though sometimes found in Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio, are 

 out of use in good conversation and in writings. 



3. The imperfect tense is commonly called pas-sd-to im-per-fSt- 

 to, or pas-sd-to pen-den-te. The following sentence will show 

 its use : Mi-o fra-tSl-lo giun-se nel-lo stds-so tSm-po che {-o gli 

 scri-vd-va, my brother came at the same time when I was writing 

 to him. The word scriveva (was writing) is the imperfect, while 

 yiunse (came) is a different form of the preterite, which we shall 

 call the indeterminate preterite. As a further illustration, tho 

 two following sentences may serve: M' a-spet-td-va-no dl-la 

 p6r-ta qudn-do ar-ri-vd-i, they were waiting for me at the door 

 when I arrived ; do ac-cdd-de men-tre i-o std-va, in cam-pd-gna, 

 this happened while I was staying in the country. 



4. E-rd-mo for eravamo, and e-ri for eravate, are frequent 

 forms of the Florentine dialect, and not a few persons even take 

 it to be affected, in familiar conversation, to say eravamo. Eri for 

 eravate is also in use in familiar writing, but it must be avoided 

 as an erroneous provincialism in the language of books. Some 

 pronounce 6-ra-mo instead of e-rd-mo. 



5. The indeterminate preterite tense denotes a past totally 

 elapsed, i.e., an event, as well as the period of its occurrence, 

 that are in no connection whatever with the present time or the 

 time of the narration. It is called indeterminate preterite, 

 because the time elapsed may be a day, a year, a century, or 

 any period of time, provided what was done yesterday or 

 centuries ago is out of all connection with the present. It is, 

 alternately with the imperfect, the tense most frequent in nar- 

 rations, and, strictly speaking, wanting in English. 



6. Fos-si-mo or fussimo, for fummo, is a mode of the Eoman 

 popular dialect, by which the first person plural of the subjunc- 

 tive of the imperfect is substituted for the same person plural of 

 the indicative of the indeterminate preterite, a mistake to which 

 the lower classes of Rome are liable with regard to all verbs. 



7. Fusti and/usie, for fosti and foste, are frequent in ancient 

 writers, but now quite out of use. 



8. Furno, forfurono, is a mode of the Florentine popular dia- 



lect ; but furo and fur, also for furono, are good poetical forms, 

 as well as fue for fu. 



9. The determinate preterite mostly coincides with the English 

 perfect, expressing a past as connected with the present time, 

 which may be an hour, a year, a century, or any period of the 

 longest or shortest duration ; as, ho ve-du-to la re-gi-na, I have 

 seen the queen (i.e., just now, or a short time ago) ; vi-di la re- 

 gi-na, I saw the queen (i.e., yesterday, or at any period not con- 

 nected with the present) ; qud-sta mat-ti-na so-no std-to al Va- 

 ti-cd-no, I have been this morning at the Vatican ; je-ri fui al 

 Va-ti-cd-no, I was at the Vatican yesterday; in qud-sto s&-co-lo 

 le scien-ze si so-no di mol-to per-fe-xio-nd-te, the sciences have 

 been much perfectionated in this century. 



10. The indeterminate pluperfect is generally used to denote a 

 past anterior to a determinate preterite (tempo passato pros- 

 simo) ; as, i-o a-ve-va fi-ni-to il la-vo-ro, qudn-do e ve nu-to Lu-ca, 

 I had finished the work, when Luke came ; i-o a-ve-va ce-nd-to, 

 qudn-do voi sie-te en-trd-to, I had taken supper when you 

 entered. 



11. The determinate pluperfect is used to denote a past ante- 

 rior to an indeterminate preterite (tempo passato remoto) that 

 expresses some act or event closely following it. It is for the 

 most part preceded by the conjunctions poi-che, when, since; do- 

 po-che, after ; su-bi-to-che, as soon as ; ap-pd-na, scarcely, just, 

 no sooner ; qudn-do, when, etc. : as, su-bi-to che eb-bi scrit-to la 

 let-te-ra, par-ti-i, as soon as I had written the letter I departed ; 

 lo in-con-trd-i qudn-do fu u-sci-lo del-le cdr-ce-ri, I met him just 

 when he had left the prison ; do-po ch' 6b-bi ve-du-to il re, mi ri- 

 ti-rd-i, after having seen the king I retired ; ap-pd-na fum-mo 

 en-trd-ti nel bo-sco, che tre Id-dri ci as-sa-U-ro-no, we had no 

 sooner entered the thicket than three robbers attacked us. 

 This tense is wanting in English, as well as the indeterminate 

 preterite (tempo passato remoto), without which its sense ia 

 never complete. 



12. In the singular the first person of the future of all Italian 

 verbs has the open sound of o ; thus, <3 : as, a-me-rb, I shall 

 love ; te-me-ro, I shall fear ; dor-mi-ro, I shall sleep ; fa-rd, I 

 shall do ; a-vrd, I shall have, etc., pronounced a-me-rd, te-me-r6, 

 dor-mi-ro, fa-rd, a-vrd, etc. This person, moreover, has the 

 grave accent on o in all Italian verbs. Old poets appear to 

 have been no friends of accented terminations, and often said 

 sa-ro-e for sard, and sa-rd-e for sard. 



13. This person also of the future in the singular in all Italian 

 verbs must have the grave accent above the a. 



14. In all Italian verbs the termination emo, whenever it is the 

 first person plural, must be pronounced with a close e; thus, 

 d-mo : as, par-le-rd-mo, we shall speak ; fa-re-mo, we shall do, etc. 



15. In all Italian verbs any persons terminating ineiemust be 

 pronounced with a close e; thus, 6-te : as, fa-rd-te, you will do ; 

 di-rd-te, you will say, etc. ; only sete, for sie-te, is pronounced 

 se"-tc. 



16. Fi-e-no, also fi-a-no, for sa-rdn-no ; and/f-a, also/f-e, for 

 sa-rd, are, for the most part, used in poetry. 



17. The conditional present may likewise be called the sub- 

 junctive of the future, and the conditional past the subjunc- 

 tive of the future past. With regard to both conditionals, it 

 must be clearly understood, that they never express the con- 

 dition or proviso itself ; but that which is stipulated or made 

 conditional, i.e., the result of a condition. The condition itself 

 can only be expressed by the subjunctive of the imperfect 

 (tempo passato di presente), or of the pluperfect (tempo tra- 

 passato), generally preceded by se (if). These two subjunctives 

 in their use must strictly correspond with the two conditionals, 

 i.e., the subjunctive of the imperfect goes with the conditional 

 present, and the subjunctive of the pluperfect with the con- 

 ditional past ; as, se i-o stes-so non v' an-dds-si, non ot-te-re-i 

 md-i niSn-te, if I did not go there myself, I should not obtain 

 anything ; se i-o stes-so non vi fos-si an-dd-to, non a-me-i mid-i 

 ot-tc-nu-to niSn-te, if I had not gone there myself, I should not 

 have obtained anything. 



18. The termination rei of all verbs has an open e, thus, rt-i; 

 as, a-me-re-i, I should love ; cre-de-rd-i, I should believe ; sen-ti- 

 re-i, I should feel, etc. 



19. Saria is a popular rather than literary form of the first 

 person singular of this tense, though common in old poetry. 



20. The terminations res-ti, rdm-mo, res-te of this tense are, in 

 point of pronunciation, alike in all verbs. Sa-ri-a-mo, for sa- 

 rdm-mo, is poetical. Sa-res-si-ino, for sa-rem-mo, is a frequent 



