Last week we looked at avere [to have]. This week we are going to look at essere [to be]:
You may remember that we don鈥檛 usually need to use the subject pronouns in Italian as it is the verb form that tells us who is doing the action. So you鈥檒l probably be wondering how we know whether the speaker means 鈥淚鈥 or 鈥渢hey鈥 with this verb, as the forms are identical. The answer is鈥. from the context!
To say 鈥渢here is鈥 you use 肠鈥櫭.
To say 鈥渢here are鈥 you use ci sono.
[Do you remember how to pronounce the c after i ? It鈥檚 a 鈥渃h鈥 sound.]
We often use parts of essere in exclamations, with quanto or come, like this:
Come sei bella! / How beautiful you are!
Quanto 猫 difficile quest鈥 esercizio! / How difficult this exercise is!
See if you can complete these sentences using parts of essere:
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Mamma, dove ____ ?
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______ in cucina!
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颁鈥 ___ una lettera per te!
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Ragazzi, _____ pronti? [Use the voi form]
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Si, ______ pronti! [Use the noi form]
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Dove ______ Maria e Carlo?
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_______ nel giardino.
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Maria, quanto ____ elegante!
We cannot use parts of essere to translate the present continuous in English, eg., 鈥渓avoro鈥 translates both 鈥淚 am working鈥 and 鈥淚 work鈥.
We do not use the verb essere to ask about someone鈥檚 health or to reply. We鈥檒l tell you about that next week.
And now enjoy this:
Come 猫 bello far l鈥檃more quando 猫 sera [How beautiful it is to make love when it鈥檚 evening]
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