ESSERE
AND
AVERE
These are the tables of the same subjunctive tenses discussed in the previous two paragraphs. Take your time to learn them, since they will be required for the two compound tenses which will be discussed in the following paragraph.
Besides being auxiliary verbs, though, they may be also used alone, according to the same rules explained in paragraphs 9.1 and 9.2.
~ ESSERE ~
CONGIUNTIVO PASSATO (perfect subjunctive)
singular plural
1st (che io) sia stato
(che io) sia stata (that) I have been
(che noi) siamo stati
(che noi) siamo state (that) we have been 2nd (che tu) sia stato
(che tu) sia stata (that) you have been (sing.)
(che voi) siate stati
(che voi) siate state (that) you have been (pl.) 3rd (che egli) sia stato
(che ella) sia stata (that) he/she has been
(che) essi siano stati
(che esse) siano state (that) they have been CONGIUNTIVO TRAPASSATO
(pluperfect subjunctive)
singular plural
1st (che io) fossi stato
(che io) fossi stata (that) I had been
(che) noi fossimo stati
(che noi) fossimo state (that) we had been 2nd (che tu) fossi stato
(che tu) fossi stata (that) you had been (sing.)
(che) voi foste stati
(che voi) foste state (that) you had been (pl.) 3rd (che egli) fosse stato
(che ella) fosse stata (that) he/she had been
(che essi) fossero stati
(che esse) fossero state (that) they had been
~ AVERE ~
CONGIUNTIVO PASSATO (perfect subjunctive)
singular plural
1st (che io) abbia avuto (that) I have been (che noi) abbiamo avuto (that) we have been 2nd (che tu) abbia avuto (that) you have been (s.) (che voi) abbiate avuto (that) you have been (p.) 3rd (che egli / ella) abbia avuto (that) he/she has been (che essi / esse) abbiano avuto (that) they have been
CONGIUNTIVO TRAPASSATO (pluperfect subjunctive)
singular plural
1st (che io) avessi avuto (that) I had been (che noi) avessimo avuto (that) we had been 2nd (che tu) avessi avuto (that) you had been (s.) (che voi) aveste avuto (that) you had been (p.) 3rd (che egli / ella) avesse avuto (that) he/she had been (che essi / esse) avessero avuto (that) they had been
Subjunctive uses the same rules as indicative tenses:
• transitive verbs use auxiliary avere, most intransitive ones use essere;
• when the auxiliary verb is essere, past participles are gender- and number-sentive. EXAMPLES
. . . verb comprare = to buy (transitive, using auxiliary avere)
non sappiamo chi abbia comprato il giornale = we don't know who bougth the newspaper (literally:
...who has bought the newspaper)
non sapevamo chi avesse comprato il giornale = we didn't know who had bought the newspaper se tu avessi comprato il giornale... = if you had bought the newspaper... (or had you bought the
newspaper...)
. . . verb partire = to leave (intransitive, using auxiliary essere)
credi che Paolo e Marco siano partiti? = do you think that Paul and Mark have left? credevi che Paolo e Marco fossero partiti? = did you think that Paul and Mark had left? se Paolo e Marco fossero partiti... = if Paul and Mark had left...
. . . verb rìdere = to laugh (intransitive, though using auxiliary avere) pensa che abbiano riso = he/she thinks that they laughed
pensava che avessero riso = he/she thought that they had laughed se avessero riso... = if they had laughed... (or had they laughed...)
10.1
DIMINUTIVE
Some suffixes can be used with nouns, to indicate that they are small, large or bad.
They are all gender- and number-sensitive, so they have to match the noun's own gender and number. This page will discuss diminutive.
Some inflections indicate that the noun is generically small, in most cases referring to its actual size, but sometimes having a more metaphoric sense (i.e. "cute", "refined", etc).
The two most common diminutive suffixes are -ino / -ina and -etto / -etta. uccello = bird
uccellino = little bird uccelletto = little bird strada = road
stradina = small or narrow road stradetta = small or narrow road ragazzi = boys
ragazzini = small boys, children ragazzetti = small boys, children palle = balls
palline = small balls pallette = small balls
Some nouns, among which the above-mentioned examples, may use both inflections. Other nouns, though, usually follow only one of the two. The other form would either sound very unusual, or even wrong, because it may have a bad sound, or sometimes it may have a different meaning.
gatto = cat
gattino = small cat, kitten
(never "gattetto", which would sound horrible) muro = wall
muretto = small or low wall
(the form "murino" is an adjective referring to mice!) borsa = bag
borsetta = small bag, lady's bag (the form "borsina" is very unusual) pezzo = piece
pezzetto = small piece ("pezzino" is very unusual)
If you are in doubt, the inflection ...etto is the most common of the two, and with few exceptions it may be used even in those cases where ...ino is preferred.
There is also a third suffix for diminutive, -ello / -ella, used with a fewer number of words. albero = tree
alberello = small tree asino = donkey
porzione (feminine) = portion porzioncina = small portion
Usually, words which take -ello may not take -ino or -etto as an alternative.
When the noun's singular inflection is ...e (which may be either masculine or feminine), the suffix behaves as if the noun ended with ...o (for masculine) or ...a (for feminine):
rete (feminine) = net retina = small or thin net dolore (masculine) = pain doloretto = slight pain lume (masculine) = lamp lumetto = small lamp chiave (feminine) = key chiavetta = small key
It is very important to match the noun's gender, because in some cases the other gender has a completely different meaning:
casa (feminine) = house
casetta (or casina) = little house
...BUT
casino = brothel (slang)
So gender can really make a big difference!!
For this reason, in forming diminutives the original noun's gender should always remain unchanged: pezzo (masculine) = piece, fragment
pezza (feminine) = cloth, fabric, rag ...therefore
pezzetto = small piece
pezzetta = small piece of cloth
For some nouns, diminutive forms are not made by simply adding the two suffixes, but require a lengthening of the noun's root (additional parts are shown in lighter blue).
cuore (masculine) = heart cuoricino = small heart
(the form "cuorino" does not exist) cane (masculine) = dog
cagnolino = little dog
(the form "canino" is the adjective referring to a dog, or the name of the canine tooth) porzione (feminine) = portion
porzioncina = small portion vento = wind
venticello = slight wind, breeze
There is no fixed rule for lengthening the root of the noun, when this is required, but in many cases (see previous examples) -ic- is added before the ordinary suffix.
Some nouns are actual diminutives, although they are considered as individual words because of their meaning, in which a different idea than that of "small size" may be expressed. In this case, their gender does not necessarily match.
gallo (masculine) = rooster
gallina (feminine) = chicken (i.e. "small rooster") spazzola (feminine) = brush
spazzolino (masculine) = tooth-brush (i.e. "small brush") pane = bread
panino = sandwich (i.e. "small bread") carro (masculine) = chariot
carrello (masculine) = trolley carretto (masculine) = cart
Students should be well aware of the fact that some nouns end with ...ino, ...etto, and similar inflections, without being diminutives at all. For many of these "false diminutive nouns", other words phonetically corresponding to their non-diminutive form may exist, but they often have a different gender, and their meaning is usually completely different:
pulce (feminine) = flea pulcino (masculine) = chick canto (masculine) = song, singing cantina (feminine) = cellar desto, desta = awake (adjective) destino (masculine) = destiny, fate casta (feminine) = social rank castello (masculine) = castle pasto (masculine) = meal pastello (masculine) = crayon
For several words such as the ones above (especially with -ello) a non-diminutive form does not even exist: pisello = pea
("piso" does not exist) cancello = gate
("cancio" does not exist) catino = tub
("cato" does not exist) giardino = garden ("giardo" does not exist)
All these nouns can be misleading, so care should be taken not to misunderstand them.
However, these words too may take a real diminutive suffix, thus appearing as "double diminutives": cancello = gate
cancelletto = small gate catino = tub
catinella (notice the change of gender) = small tub gallina = hen
gallinella = small hen
Very few nouns allow a real "double diminutive": pezzo = piece
pezzetto = small piece
boccia = flask, decanter boccetta = small bottle or flask boccettina = tiny bottle, vial
There is another diminutive suffix, -uccio / -uccia, which is used with a limited number of nouns, because rather than "small" it usually carries a meaning of "humble, poor, cheap", especially when -ino, -etto, or - ello can be also used with the same word.
vestito = dress
vestituccio = humble, cheap dress in contrast with vestitino = small, cute dress
cavallo = horse
cavalluccio = toy horse, hobby-horse in contrast with cavallino = young, cute horse
bottega = shop, workshop
botteguccia = humble, small shop
This suffix does not often occur in spoken language now, but it may still be found in written texts.
For an even more limited number of words, a further diminutive suffix is -uolo / -uola, which has become rather obsolete, since in most cases the common ones already discussed may be used, and are now preferred in common speech:
chiesa = church
chiesuola = small church (obsolete, but sometimes found in written texts) chiesetta = (same as above, currently used)
laccio = boot-lace, bind
lacciuolo = small lace, or metaphorically a limitation (obsolete) laccetto = (same as above, currently used)
donna = church
donnicciuola = trivial woman, or sissy (referred to a male person) donnetta = (same as above, now more common than the previous form)
synopsis of diminutive suffixes
masculine singular feminine singular masculine plural feminine plural
-ino -ina -ini -ine
-etto -etta -etti -ette
-ello -ella -elli -elle
less common suffixes
-uccio -uccia -ucci -ucce
10.2
AUGMENTATIVE
Augmentative indicates that the noun is large, big, great, etc., more often in the sense of "large size", but sometimes with the meaning of "important" too.
There is only one augmentative inflection: -one / -ona (plurals -oni / -one). Notice how the masculine singular and the feminine plural are the same (-one). martello (hammer) ~ martellone (big hammer)
martelli (hammers) ~ martelloni (big hammers) piede (masculine, foot) ~ piedone (big foot) piedi (feet) ~ piedoni (big feet)
palazzo (building) ~ palazzone (tall, large building) palazzi (buildings) ~ palazzoni (tall, large buildings) ruota (wheel) ~ ruotona (large wheel)
ruote (wheels) ~ ruotone (large wheels) chiave (feminine, key) ~ chiavona (large key) chiavi (keys) ~ chiavone (large keys)
borsa (bag, handbag) ~ borsona (large bag) borse (bags, handbags) ~ borsone (large bags)
It is important to know the simple form of nouns (in particular whether they are masculine or feminine), otherwise it could be difficult to tell if a given augmentative is masculine singular or feminine plural. For instance, nasone and casone sound similar, although the former is singular (from naso, nose), and the latter is plural (from case, houses).
Obviously, when augmentative is used within a sentence, the article and often the verb too will help to tell both gender and number:
il nasone = the big book (singular, masculine)
le casone = the big houses (plural, feminine)
However, since augmentative gives the noun a meaning of "big, large, huge", etc., especially in common speech the great majority of feminine nouns changes gender when this suffix is appended.
For instance:
la faccia = the face (feminine)
...BUT
il faccione = the large face (masculine)
la pistola = the gun (feminine)
...BUT
il pistolone = the big gun (masculine)
la stanza = the room (feminine)
...BUT
lo stanzone = the big room (masculine)
la pietra = the stone (feminine)
...BUT
il pietrone = the big stone, the rock (masculine)
This is only apparently confusing: in fact, the opportunity of turning almost every plural augmentative into masculin gender, helps to avoid any risk of doubt whether the noun is masculine singular or feminine plural.
masculine singular, -one masculine plural, -oni
used as the standard augmentative
feminine singular, -ona feminine plural, -one only used in limited cases
In spoken language, feminine plural augmentative changes to masculine for a cultural reason, i.e. something big, huge, tall, etc. would sound "more masculine than feminine", especially when the large size gives the word a rougher, less delicate meaning.
However, feminine plural augmentative does exist. For this reason, some nouns may have both forms, although the feminine one is less used than the masculine.
la pietra = the stone (feminine)
la pietrona = the big stone (feminine)
il pietrone = the big stone (masculine, sounds rougher, heavier, etc.)
la finestra = the window (feminine)
la finestrona = the big window (feminine)
il finestrone = the huge window (masculine, sounds wider)
la donna = the woman (feminine)
la donnona = the tall / fat lady (feminine)
il donnone = the mighty / fat lady (masculine, sounds more stout and heavy)
la corda = the string, the rope (feminine)
la cordona = the thick rope (feminine)
il cordone = the thick / braided rope (masculine, sounds thicker)
la spada = the sword (feminine)
la spadona = the big sword (feminine)
lo spadone = the big sword (masculine, sounds longer and heavier)
Virtually, any feminine noun may be turned into masculine when using augmentative.
There are also several words which were born as augmentatives, but achieved their own individual meaning, such as:
la mela = the apple (feminine)
il melone = the melon (i.e. "big apple", masculine)
la porta = the door of a room (feminine)
il portone = the entrance, the door of a building (i.e. "large door", masculine)
la tromba = the trumpet (feminine)
il trombone = the trombone (i.e. "big trumpet", masculine)
la palla = the ball (feminine)
il pallone = the balloon, or the foot-ball (i.e. "big ball", masculine)
la copia = the copy
il copione = the (printed) script of a film, a play, etc.
Finally, there are several words which only resemble augmentatives, not having any relation with the noun they seem to derive from, or not having such form at all:
matto = the madman
mattone (masculine) = the brick canto = song, singing
cantone (masculine) = corner of a street pista = the race track, or trail
occasione (feminine) = occasion, opportunity canzone (feminine) = song
pressione (feminine) = pressure carbone (masculine) = coal stazione (feminine) = station situazione (feminine) = situation
These words may be regarded as "false augmentatives".
10.3
PEJORATIVE
Pejorative gives the noun a sense of "bad, nasty, ugly", etc.There is only one pejorative inflection: -accio / -accia (plurals -acci / -acce). tavolo (table) ~ tavolaccio (old, broken table)
errore (masculine, mistake) ~ erroraccio (bad mistake) libri (books) ~ libracci (cheap / evil books)
vita (life) ~ vitaccia (hard life)
bicicletta (bycicle) ~ biciclettaccia (cheap bycicle)
scarpe (feminine, shoes) ~ scarpacce (horrible / worn out shoes) roba (stuff, things) ~ robaccia (trivia / nasty stuff)
posti (places) ~ postacci (bad places)
momento (moment) ~ momentaccio (bad moment) tempo (weather) ~ tempaccio (bad weather)
A fewer number of nouns may use pejorative than the ones which may use diminutive or augmentative. Also in this case, beware of "false pejorative" words:
abbraccio = hug
impaccio = difficulty, straits traccia = trace, trail