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 Italian - More Negatives, The Italian National Anthem: Inno di Mameli, Stare, Present Participles |
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More Negatives
| non...mai |
never |
| non...più |
no longer, no more |
| non...niente |
nothing |
| non...nessuno |
nobody |
| non...neanche |
not even |
| non...nè...nè |
neither...nor |
Note: The non goes before the verb and the second part goes after. I have nothing. Non ho niente.
The Italian National Anthem: Inno di Mameli
by Goffredo Mameli
Fratelli d'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta,
Dell'elmo di Scipio s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la vitoria? Le porga la chioma,
Ché schiava di Roma Iddio la creò.
Stringiamci a coorte, siam pronti alla morte,
siam pronti alla morte, l'Italia chiamò. Sì!
Italian brothers, Italy has arisen,
Has put on the helmet of Scipio,
Where is victory?
Created by God
The slave of Rome,
She crowns you with glory.
Let us unite,
We are ready to die,
Italy calls.
Stare-to stay, be
| sto |
stiamo |
| stai |
state |
| sta |
stanno |
Stare means to be when used in progressive tense. If you use it with a present participle, it translates to something is happening, not something happens as with the present indicative.
Stare is also used in many health expressions, such as Come stai? How are you? Sto bene. I'm fine.
And stare per plus an infinitive means "to be about to" do something. Stavo per uscire. I was about to go out. Stiamo per mangiare. We're about to eat.
Present participles are formed by dropping the ending of the verb, and adding the following endings to the stem:
Present Participles
| -are |
-ando |
| -ere |
-endo |
| -ire |
-endo |
Conjugate stare and form the present participle, and you have a progressive action. Sto parlando italiano is I am speaking Italian. (As opposed to Parlo italiano I speak Italian.) There are only a few irregular present participles: fare-facendo (doing), dare-dando (giving), dire-dicendo (say/telling), and bere-bevendo (drinking).
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