learnt here. Everything you learn in earlier chapters will be brought back up and reinforced in later chapters. You don’t need to do anything or make any effort to memorise words. The book has been organised in such a way that it will do that for you. Off you go now and have a rest, please!
Between Chapters Tip!
Stop while you’re still enjoying it!
Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that the key to his bodybuilding success was that he stopped his workout each day just before it started to get boring. On the few occasions he went past that point, he found it incredibly hard to return to the gym again the next day – and he loved working out.
As you will almost certainly recall, Tip 1 suggested that you should study every day – which you definitely should do if you can. But that doesn’t mean that you should overdo it. So, if you’re not really in the mood, just do five minutes. If you are in the mood though, don’t push yourself too hard. Stop before you get to the point where it doesn’t feel fun any longer. Best to leave yourself feeling hungry for more rather than bloated and fed up!
CHAPTER 3
I’m scared of flying, so I’m planning to take the Eurostar.
I’m scared of flying, so I’m planning to take the Eurostar.
| Person 1: | I’m planning to go back to Italy in May. |
| Person 2: | Really? |
| Person 1: | Yes, I feel like going back to Rome but I’m scared of flying, so I’m planning to take the Eurostar. |
The brief conversation above does not seem complicated in English and yet, even if you have studied Italian before, you might well find it impossible to know exactly where to begin in order to say all of this in Italian. By the end of this chapter, you will have learnt how to carry out both sides of this conversation, plus a great deal of other Italian words and expressions besides.
Let’s begin!
Again, what is “I have” in Italian?
Ho
(o)
And how would you say “I have visited”, “I visited”, “I did visit”?
Ho visitato
(o visit-art-oh)
“I have spent”, “I spent”, “I did spend”?
Ho passato
(o pass-art-oh)
“I have reserved”, “I reserved”, “I did reserve”?
Ho prenotato
(o pray-no-tart-oh)
“I have ordered”, “I ordered”, “I did order”?
Ho ordinato
(o or-din-art-oh)
“I have prepared”, “I prepared”, “I did prepare”?
Ho preparato
(o prep-are-art-oh)
“I have paid”, “I paid”, I did pay”?
Ho pagato
(o pag-art-oh)
“I have done”, “I did”, “I did do”?
Ho fatto
(o fat-oh)
So, you definitely know how to use “I have” in Italian to express a number of things in the past tense.
However, “I have” is not only useful for talking about things that have happened in the past. It also opens up a wide range of extremely useful expressions in Italian that allow you, for example, to talk about what you’re planning to do, feel like doing, or can’t stand doing. This is really useful everyday language that will help your Italian sound natural and colloquial.
Let’s start building towards using these expressions now.
To say “to reserve”, “to book” or, more literally, “to pre-note” in Italian, you can once again create this word out of the Italian word for “reservation” (literally “prenotation”).
So remind me, what was “reservation” (“prenotation”) in Italian?
prenotazione
(pray-no-tatz-ee-oh-nay)
Now, if you want to say “to reserve” or “to book”, you will once again cut the “azione” off the end of “prenotazione” but this time you’re going to replace it with “are” (pronounced “are-ray”).
So, do that now, cut the “azione” off the end of “prenotazione” and add “are” in its place. What do you get?
prenotare
(pray-no-tar-ray)
This means “to reserve” or “to book”.
Now, what is “a table” in Italian?
un tavolo
(oon tav-oh-loe)
So, how would you say “to reserve / to book a table”?
prenotare un tavolo
(pray-no-tar-ray oon tav-oh-loe)
And again, what is “I have” in Italian?
Ho
(o)
“Intention” in Italian is:
