LESSONS IN ITALIAN. 



I rudente che dotto, h i* 



. .it than bar, 



Vostro zin ha pm talento che 

 gruzia, your aunt has mor* talent 

 than arucfl. 



I 



, so at, are employed in a com- 



Eravumo afflitti qnatito esto, ice 

 were .< in id- h <yrieved at he, 



Ella ha spirito quanto ua madro, 

 she has as much wit a* her 

 mother. 



E meglio Urdi che nmi, it is better 

 /KIM never. 



Ifuadagna, he 



<j'ciul.< in",f tii'di he aiu'n*. 

 lo sorivo piii che non parlo, I 

 mull il in I speak. 



:10. When a much as 



, tli.'y niii-t In- n-n.liTV'l 



Ho quauto danaro di'i<l'-r . / 



/ us 1 desire. 



riooo quanto uo fratello, 

 he i* as rich a* his brother. 

 Siuiiio iuganuati quauto voi, we ore 

 deceived as much a* you. 



SUPERLATIVES. 



Rule 31. The relative or absolute superlatives are placed 

 cither before or after their substantives : 



1 1 piu bella donna d' In- 



gliilterra, she is the finest woman 



in >.'n ;tuml. 

 Vostro umilissimo servitore, your 



most humble servant. 

 leri era uu tempo fruddissimo, 



yesterday was very cold weather. 



Ebenchi, potessino far lo guerre 

 piii luughe, and though they could 

 carry on the longest war*. 



Egli .' 11 piu dotto precettore di 

 Cambrigge, he it the most (earned 

 instructor in Cambridge. 



Nol detto anno 1328, si commen- 

 cio, e fu due uuni seguenti 

 gtundo caro di grano, in Fi- 

 renze, che di soldi 17 lo stnjo, il 

 detto anno raise soldi 38, in (he 

 same year, 1328, and the tiro fol- 

 lowing years, there teas such a 

 scarcity of com, that a bushel, U'hich 

 before was sold for 17 pence, was 

 the same year sold for 38. 



NUMERALS. 



THE CARDINAL NUMBERS. 



Eule 32. The cardinal numbers are placed either before or 

 after their substantives ; as illustrated in the accompanying 

 examples : 

 U prauzo ci e costato cinque 



frauchi per uno, our dinner has 



cost us five francs each. 

 Eifli tfiuugera in Parigi fra quin- 



dici giorni, he will arrive in Paris 



in aforlni'jht. 

 E questo castello posto propinquo 



a Firouze ad otto miglia, and 



this castle stands eight miles from 



Florence. 

 Cappelli ventuno, calzo trentuna, 



twenty-one hats, thirty-one stocfc- 



ings. 



THE ORDINAL NUMBERS. 



Rule 33. The ordinal numbers are placed before their nouns, 



and agree with them in gender and number, and take an 



article : 



II quarto volume, th fourth ' II yentesimo sospiro, the twentieth 

 volume. sigh. 



L' ottavo meraviglia del mondo, II decimoquarto secolo, the four- 

 th* eighth wonder of the world. tecnth century. 



II settiuio augelo, the seventh any el, \ 



Rule 34. The ordinal numbers employed for quotations are 

 generally put after their nouns, without an article, as in these 

 examples : 



Storia d' Italia, libro settimo, the 



History of Italy, book the seventh. 

 Giomata nona, novella ottava, the 



Xiiit/t Day, novel the eighth. 

 Storia d' America, epoca quinta, 



the History of America, fifth 



epoch. 



Rule 35. The ordinal numbers are used without an article in 

 speaking of emperors, kings, popes, and other dignitaries ; as in 

 the following examples : 



L' iinparador Carlo quiuto era 

 sovrano delle Spagne, the em- 

 peror Charles the Fifth was sove- 

 reign of Spain. 



FerdiuanJo quarto, re di Napoli, 



Nuova gratnroatica Italiana, capo 



decimo, a .NY T Italian Grammar, 



chapter the tenth. 

 II nano di una principessa, lettera 



seconda, the Dicarf of a Princess, 



letter the second. 



.Ferdinand the fourth, feinj of 

 Naples. 



Vita di Carlo duodecimo, Lift of 



Charles the Tvelflh. 

 La cattivita del pontefice Pio 



sesto, the captivity of the pmitijT, 



Piu* the Sixth. 

 II secolo di Luigi decimoquarto, 



the age of Louis the Fourteenth. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 



Rule 3G. When the personal pronouns to, tu, noi, voi, are 

 the subjects of a discourse, they may be left out ; but egli, ella, 

 egliiio, elleno, csso, essa, cssi, esse, must be expressed, in order 

 to distinguish the gender ; as 



Maogio ana perclce, / cm ea.'.-jj e. Non raglooereto aaai, you win 



partridge. untr reason. 



Parlidaciooco,fhou*pak<*tlt^a F.gli aOetto troppa indiffmasa, 



fool. he affieted too iw* iiuli/ertnc.. 



BpendeTamo awai, eij>nd>d ; Elleno oonpicroao U voto, OK* 



much. performed the M>. 



EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE THE POSITION OF PEE8OSAL 

 PBONOUN8. 



Pcnaato a me, think of me. 



1'ciua per to, think for thysel/. 



E uialcontcnto di c, he i* not 



satisfied with himself. 

 Andate con lui, go with him. 

 Parlate a lei or ad eua, sjeok to 



her. 



Rgli parla di noi, he tpeakt of us. 

 Cii> dipende da voi, that depends 



upon you. 



Voi insetftiato loro, you teach them, 

 lo lo redo, I see it. 

 Tu la couosci, thou fcnoirest her. 

 Voi 1' amate, you love her. 

 lo le aspetto, I axpect them. 

 Voi ne rideretc, you will lotiyh at 



if. 



lo glielo diro, I will tell it to him. 

 Voi gliela daroto, you will give it to 



her. 

 lo glieli mandero, I shall send them 



to him. 

 Voi glicne comprerete, you shall 



buy some for him. 



ITALIAN FORMS OF ADDRESSING PERSONS. 



The Italians, in speaking or writing to persons of both sexea, 

 whom they wish to treat with great respect, make use of the 

 title Vossignoria,* or Vostra Signoria, your lordship or ladyship. 

 As this flattering title is in the third person of the feminine 

 gender, it requires the vero in the third person, and agrees with 

 the adjective or past participle. 



To avoid the repetition, or better to avoid the word vottig- 

 noria, the Italians make use of ella, as it is seen in the 

 following illustration : 



Singular (for both Genders). 



Nom. Vossignoria, V. S., or ella, you (Sir or Jfodam). 



Gen. Di vossi^noria, V. S., or di lei, of you. 



Daf. A vossiguoria, V. S., or a lei or le, to you. 



Ace. Vossignoria, V. S., or lei or la, you. 



Abl. Da vossignoria, V. S., or da lei, from you. 



Tu me lo dai, Oiou girett U to nu. 



lo te la do, / y>t it to tint. 



EgU M 11 fara dara, ht wOl JUMM 



them giren to Mm. 

 Dommdagli, <uk him. 

 Divertiamoci, let us amM ottr- 



teltMt. 



Domandmteglielo. ask it o/ MM. 

 Non glielo domandate, do not ask 



it of him. 

 Non me ne date, do not jite me 



some. 



Non lo facciamo, Ut us not do it/ 

 Cio mi piace, that pUases me. 

 Dio ti rede, God see* you. 

 Egli si lusinga, he /otters himself. 

 lo Ti amo, / love you. 

 Respondetemi, answer nu. 

 Prometto loro, I promise them. 

 Ne parlero loro, I will speak to 



tfcem about it. 



Dateue loro, give them tome. 

 Eccomi, her* I am. 



Plural. 



Nom. 



Gen. 



Dat. 



Ace. 



Abl. 



MASCULINE. 



Lor signori ; 

 Di lor signori ; 

 A lor signori ; 

 Lor signori ; 

 Da lor siguori ; 



FEMIXIXE. 



Lor signore, you. 



Di lor signore, of you. 



A lor signore, to you. 



Lor signore, you, 



Da lor signore, from you. 



MASCULINE AND FEMININE. 



Nom. Le signorie loro, or elleno, you. 



Gen. Delle signorie loro, or di loro, of you. 



Dat. Alle siguorie loro, or a loro, to you. 



.dec. Le signorie loro, or loro, le, you. 



.rtbl. Dalle signorie loro, or da loro, from you. 



EXAMPLES. 



Ella mi disse che era soddisfat.ta, 

 you told me that you were satis- 

 fied. 



Come sta V. S. or ella ? how do 

 you do, Sir, or Madam f 



lo riugrazio V. S. or lei, or io la 

 riugrazio, I thank you, Sir, or 

 Madam. 



Come stanno le V. S., 01- lor sig- 

 nori, or elleuo ? how do you do, 

 gentlemen, or ladies .' 



Sono lor signori stat : in cam- 



pagna P hure you been in the 



country, gentlemen/ 

 Dove e il suo fratello, or dore e il 



fratello di V. S. T when* is your 



brother, Sir, or Madam .' 

 Ho veduto le sue servile, I *aw 



your sisters, Sir, or Madam. 

 Hanno le voetro siftnorie rioerato 



il loro deuuro? hare yowro*MMd 



your money, ocnUemen, or Iadi*f 



Masters speaking to their servants, or other persons of the 

 lower orders ; parents to their children ; husbands to their 

 wives ; brothers, sisters, cousins, intimate friends, to each 

 other all make use of the second person singular. Poets, and 

 people in a passion, do not fail to employ it. 



Thu word is seldom used in polite society. 



