i LI BRARY OF CONGRE SS. 5 ^ 
 
 J [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.) 
 
 ♦united states Of AMERICA ♦. 
 
 f ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ .^.A.>4i 
 
 C 1 10^^ S 
 
GRAMMAR 
 
 OF 
 
 THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE 
 
 on, 
 
 M A PLAIN AND COiMPENDIOUS INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO > 
 
 THE STUDY OF ITALIAN. 
 
 BY 
 
 / 
 
 JAIMES PAUL COBBETT. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED TOR THE AUTHOR, AND PUBLISHED AT 183, FLEET-STREET. 
 
 I 
 
 -- isao. 
 
<^c ^^^^ 
 
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 LONDON : 
 
 HtlNTED BY MILLS, JOWETT, AND MILLS, 
 DOLT'COVRT, FLLET-STREET 
 

 DEDICATION. 
 
 Q 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ TO WILLIAM COBBETT, ESQUIRE. 
 
 MY DRAR FATHER J 
 
 Give me leave to dedicate to you the following little Work, 
 
 if not as a sufficient return for all I have learned from you, by 
 
 way of acknowledgment, at least, that it was you who inspired 
 
 me to the undertaking; an acknowledgment which cannot be 
 
 received by you with pleasure greater than that with which I 
 
 ought to make it, seeing that it was you who enabled me to render 
 
 what I offer to your notice so far worthy of that notice as it is, 
 
 that I am making you a gift^ which should be accompanied by 
 
 thanks from the giver, and asking your patronage for something 
 
 which is, as it were, your own. 
 
 If I had not read that Book, throughout which I have the 
 
 honour of being addressed by you, it is not only unlikely that 
 
 I should ever have thought of entering on the task which you here 
 
 see completed, but I might, very possibly, now be in the same 
 
 situation as those " many men** who, as mentioned in your 
 
 English Grammar, " have been at Latin-Schools for years, 
 
 and who, at last, cannot write six sentences in English correctly,** ^ 
 
 To know that the three last of Grammars to be rivalled were 
 
 vmtten by you ; to see you become so famous as the author of 
 
 tJiem; to find myself, by their means, already known by name in 
 
 every quarter of the civilized world : if tins be no t enough to give 
 
 a2 
 
17 DEDICATION. 
 
 Vie confidence of success in a path of literature in which you have 
 gained so much fame, it may, surely, in some manner account for 
 viy having ventured on the step to which I am invoking your pro- 
 tection, a step lihich my natural ambition to imitate you has 
 emboldened me to take. For me thus to celebrate your praise 
 will hardly be thought ostentatious ; to refrain from so doing 
 would, on the contrary, be only affectation, since I cannot help 
 knowing that such praise is universally admitted to be your due ; 
 and though, for myself, I can claim no merit further than that of 
 having endeavoured to follow your cheering example, it wouUl be 
 to oppose the dictates of my regard for you, and to refuse utters 
 ance to thoughts the most agreeable that can occur to me, if I 
 were, upon this occasion, not to express some of that pride which 
 vuist be felt by the sqn of one by whom such an example has 
 been set. 
 
 That yon may long live to enjoy that great reputation which 
 your talents and your never-ceasing application have obtained for 
 you, and wfiich will cause the children of future ages to learn to 
 associate your name with every sentiment of veneration, is, I have 
 the happiness to be assured, the hope entertained, and the prayer 
 offered up, 'by thousands ; while, to participate in that hope, and 
 most fervently to join in that prayer , are the strongest of all the 
 motives that animate the heart of 
 
 My dear Father, 
 
 Your affectionate Son, 
 
 JAMES PAUL COBBETT. 
 
 Kensington, April \7, 1830, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 As it may be considered, that evei*y one vvho writes a 
 book should be prepared to give some reason beyond 
 that of the common ambition to be read, for his seeking 
 the attention which is the end of its being published, / 
 will simply say, that I have found those books that I have 
 met with, relating to the same subject as my own, either 
 deficient in their contents, or so injudicious as to the 
 choice of matter, and so confused in' its arrangement, 
 as, in a great measure, to retard the pursuit which the 
 makers of them intended to accelerate. Those which 
 are deficient, are very much so, while those of the other 
 class show more learning in the writers than they are 
 calculated to impart to the readers 3 they are more volu- 
 minous than luminous ', they are abundant in matter, but 
 not clear in manner. Seeing this, therefore, and having 
 failed, in many cases, to obtain the information which I 
 expected to find in Italian Grammars, and naturally sup- 
 posing that others must be subject to the same disap- 
 pointment as myself, I have written this Grammar in the 
 hope that it may give those who are beginning to study 
 Italian the assistance they stand in need of towards ac- 
 quiring a tolerable acquaintance with the rudiments of 
 that language. How far I have accomplished my object, 
 it will be for my readers to judge. Of one thing, however, 
 they may be assured, which is, that if the information 
 
 a 3 
 
iri PREFACE. 
 
 required by them is not to be found in the source I offer, 
 the source really containing that information has never yet 
 been opened. I have not, I am aware, noticed every thinff 
 that it might be useful to notice. Jiut I have had a double 
 object in view — to say all that was essentially necessary, 
 and, at the same time, to put what I had to say within 
 the smallest possible compass; in attempting to do which 
 I have, I trust, made my work such as to fulfil the 
 promise of its title. 
 
 The first Italian Grammar, at all worthy of being so 
 called, that was used in England, was that of Vene- 
 RONi originally written in French, and upwards of a 
 century ago. Of this Grammar there have been, from 
 time to time, many different translations into our lan- 
 guage ; and Zotti's French-Italian Grammar is nothing 
 more than the last edition of Venerom. Since the first 
 appearance of Veneroni, the Italian Grammars that 
 have been published, both in French and in English, are 
 almost innumerable. It seems to have been a main 
 endeavour with each subsequent Grammarian to expose 
 and condemn the particular errors of his nearest prede- 
 cessor. Thus, among the writers in French, Peretti 
 attacks Venerom, Biagioli attacks Peretti, and 
 Barberi, again, attacks Biagioli. Venerom, who has 
 the merit of having led the way^ is criticised by those 
 who have followed him in a manner the most unceremo- 
 nious : not one of them acknowledges what he takes 
 from Venerom ; while they all make common cause of 
 complaint that he has not given enough to borrow from. 
 The Italian Grammars of Toriano and Altieri are, I 
 believe, the first that were published originally in our 
 language. Latterly came the English " Lectures" of 
 
PREFACE. V^ 
 
 SiGNOR Galhjnani, wlio, and whose Editor, Dr. Mon- 
 Tucci, have composed a work to teach us Italian (" vnth 
 ease and facility" and ^^ without the help of any master'^) 
 which, though it shows research in its compilers, insures 
 infinite perplexity to its readers. My experience of 
 grammars in general is such, that I look for negative 
 more than for positive merit in them. If asked which I 
 consider the hest Italian Grammar, my answer would be : 
 " The shortest is the best ; for, the one that has the 
 " least to say about the matter will do the least towards 
 " making you abandon the study altogether." The little 
 French works of Polidori and Vergani are the best of 
 their kind. These do not, to be sure, guide you far ; 
 but they are useful as far as they go, and do not lead 
 you into darkness by unsatisfactory explanations. 
 
 I have written rather as a learner than as a professor. 
 I do not pretend to have made neiu discoveries, to have 
 found out what other grammarians did not know before. 
 But the thorough understanding of the matter, and the 
 making it equally well understood by others, are two dif- 
 ferent things ; and the latter of these is a thing in which 
 I, as a learner, have found every grammarian deficient. 
 It is not of any particular work that I complain y I find 
 one great fault in them all : it is the want of clearness, the 
 want of reasons and explanations. In this consists the 
 only fault that I need point out in any one ; but from 
 this, important as it is, there is not one that is free. 
 Where there is such a multiplicity of points to be no- 
 ticed, the arrangement of the several matters is a thing of 
 the greatest importance ; and to this I have paid parti- 
 cular attention. 1 have taken care to introduce no grants 
 matical term, without, at the same time, explaining the 
 
Fill r RET ACE. 
 
 meaning of it. I have, I believe, passed over hardly any 
 of those difliculties to which a learner is sure to be sub- 
 ject. Where pri7ici})le is concerned, I have studied to give 
 the clearest possible explanation ; and in those cases where 
 the difference between the two languages consists in mere 
 matters of practice, for which it would be difficult to 
 account by any reasoning, I have forewarned the learner 
 of what he niav have to meet with : to know what our 
 difficulties are, and where they lie, is partly to overcome 
 them. 
 
 Although I am not, as will be perceived, a compiler, 
 or collector of materials from books already written, I 
 do not, at the same time, wish to be regarded as having 
 received no assistance from those who have preceded me. 
 There is no grammar, perhaps, to which I am not indebted 
 for something. There are two works which I think it but 
 justice ])articularly to name. The first is that of Signor 
 Galignani: the Lectures of this gentleman are abstruse; 
 but they have, nevertheless, a vast deal of good matter in 
 them. The other is the large French work of Signor 
 Barberf, called " Grammaire desGrammaires Italiennes," 
 In this grammar there is an use of neiu names, which, in 
 my o])inion, tends rather to confusion than otherwise. 
 But I have learned a great deal from Signor Barberi ; 
 he is a very able grammarian ; and his performance, which 
 is most elaborate, does him the highest credit. 
 
 It will be perceived that I have given no Exercises in 
 this work. The proper use of Exercises, is, to put the 
 learner's memory of rules and principles to the proof. 
 But it too frequently happens that the exercise is per- 
 formed without the reasons for its correctness or incor- 
 rectness ever being understood by the person that has 
 
rilEFACE. IX 
 
 performed it: the pupil does the exercise^ and the teacher 
 looks over and corrects it; and, badly as it may be done, 
 the pupil cannot help thinking that, when he has " done his 
 exercise,'' he has learned all that part of the grammar to 
 which it relates, though, as is commonly the case, he does 
 not really know one word about the matter. Exercises 
 may, therefore, if not properly used, not only be of no 
 benefit, but rather tend to injury. There are some. I 
 know, that think the whole subject is best taught by the 
 means of exercises. This is a most pernicious notion ; 
 and the system founded on it is worthy of none but the 
 teachers of parrots. If exercises are nothing more than 
 putting the language into practice, then every word you 
 read, and every word you write or say, is, in fact, an exeV" 
 cise. But if they mean, as a part of the grammar, some- 
 thing by which to show that you understand the 7'ules 
 and principles you have been reading about, these rules 
 and principles should be first thoroughly comprehended, 
 or the materials for making the exercise may just as well 
 not have been in your book. In the title-page of a French- 
 man's grammar I once read the following motto, taken 
 from Quintilian : Iter hr eve est per exemflvm, longum 
 per pR^cEP'i'A ; By example, the way is short, by 'precept 
 long. I found that the contents of the book were just what 
 might be expected to come after such a motto, and that 
 the author of it had taken the words of his authority in 
 at least their largest sense. It was a book consisting, 
 almost entirely, of examples and exercises. Such a work 
 should not be called a Grammar. However, while I think 
 that exercises do not properly form any part of a Gram- 
 mar, I am far from thinking that they are of no use. I 
 am of opinion, that if they be well selected, and made 
 
7L PREFACE. 
 
 Strictly to apply to the rules, they may he of much assist- 
 ance. And I propose, therefore, in addition to the abun- 
 dance of examples tliat I have already given, to publish 
 a little hook of Exkrcises, which, as they will refer to its 
 different chapters or paragraphs, will form a proper 
 appendix to this Grammar. 
 
 In conclusion, I will say a few words in the way 
 of advice to the reader. I will take it for granted, 
 that he does not expect to gain a knowledge of a 
 language without studying its (jrammur. The science 
 of grammar is, it is true, one not very easy to be clearly 
 expounded ; and the far greater part of those who call 
 themselves grammarians have presented the matter to our 
 understandings in a shape that is any thing but inviting. 
 Grammars have been found so difficult to understand, 
 and have been the means of disgusting so many with the 
 pursuit, that learners have become quite captivated with 
 the invention of modern teachers who pretend to have 
 found out a method of teaching languages, the prin- 
 cipal recommendation of whicli is that no f/rammar is to 
 be used ! This invention is nothing but a mischievous 
 deceit ; it is a mere mockery of learning. The truth is, 
 that if we do not have recourse to such books as require 
 some of the labour of thought, and teach us to under- 
 stand by the means of our reason, we must learn as mere 
 babies do ; and if we learn any thing, our knowledge can 
 be the result of long habit only, and it must be purchased 
 at an enormous expense of time. Now, it is to render 
 unnecessary this long habit, it is to save this enormous 
 expense of time, that the grammar is intended. The 
 right use of the grammar, of a book really deserving 
 that title, is to teach us, in one day, that which would, 
 
PREPACE. XI 
 
 without It, require years. It is, therefore, to the grammar 
 that the student must give his attention. If he make 
 himself perfectly master, or nearly so, of this, the rest of 
 his path will he all smooth, and he will meet with nothing 
 beyond to check his progress for a moment ; while, on 
 the contrary, if this be neglected, not only will he be 
 unable to use the words of his new language correctly, huts 
 he must be constantly liable to misunderstand the meaning 
 of them as used by others. Next in importance to the 
 well understanding of the rules and principles contained 
 in the grammar, comes all that part of the study which 
 may be called exercise ; that is_, the reading of Italian 
 books, or the translating of the one language into the other. 
 As a book for beginners to read, or to translate from Ita- 
 lian into English, there is one that I think it useful to 
 mention; it is the Comedies of Goldoni, the style of which 
 is at once .easy and abounding in such expressions as are 
 peculiar to the beautiful language in which they are writ- 
 ten. In making translations, the Italian should be first 
 copied on one side of the paper, the English to be written 
 on the other. Not a single phrase or word ought to be 
 passed by, without the learner being satisfied that he 
 knows the real meaning of it, and that he has put that 
 meaning into his translation ; there is nothing, the gram- 
 'mar itself alone excepted, of so much benefit as this rigid 
 translating. It obliges us to be scrupulous in searching 
 for the true sense of the words, prevents us from being too 
 much in a hurry to decide as to the meaning, and, when 
 once clearly understood, plants it firmly in the memory. 
 One single page of translation thus made, will do more 
 than fifty pages of hasty reading ; no one that has not 
 
Jin 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 tried it can have any idea of its usefulness ; and I may 
 venture to say, that all those who shall follow my advice 
 in this respect, will acknowledge, from experience, that 
 I have not given it without good reason. 
 
 JAMES P. COBBETT. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The references in this Table of Contents are made to paragraphs and 
 not to pages ; and, it will be .observed, thut each Chapter is referred to 
 under the number of the paragraph with which such Cliapter begins. 
 
 Chapter. Paragraph. 
 
 I, Of Grammar in general ; of its Branches ; and of the 
 
 diiFerent Parts of Speech 1 
 
 11. Of Orthography ^... 4 
 
 IIL Of Prosody ..., 8 
 
 The Accents ..,, , , , 9 
 
 The Mark of Elision 13 
 
 IV. Of Etymology in General 17 
 
 V. Etymology of Articles 18 
 
 VI. Etymology of Nouns ". 21 
 
 The Gender of Nonns 22 
 
 The Number of Nouns 28 
 
 The Article as employed with the Nouns 29 
 
 VII. Etymology of Pronouns S5 
 
 Personal Pronouns S6 
 
 Possessire Pronouns 43 
 
 Relative Pronouns ^. ib. 
 
 Demonstrative Pronouns 44 
 
 Interrogative Pronouns 45 
 
 Indeterminate Pronouns 46 
 
 VIII. Etymology of Adjectives 47 
 
 The Gender of Adjectives 48 
 
 The Number of Adjectives 49 
 
 Adjectives of Number and Numerical Order 51 
 
 The Degrees of Adjectives 53 
 
 IX, Of Augmentatives and Diminutives .t ,.,».*»....... .. 55 
 
Xiv CONTENTS, 
 
 Chapter. Para^apfi. 
 IX. Etymology of Verbs 66 
 
 The Regtilarity or Irregtilarity of Ver'bs 59 
 
 Conjugations of the two Auxiliary Verbs (see pages 
 
 from 80 to 83). 
 
 The Three Conjugations of Regular Verbs (see 
 
 pages from 81 to 90). 
 
 List of the Irregular Verbs 6i 
 
 Verbs Defective 66 
 
 Observations relating to the Conjugations C8 
 
 X. Etymology of Adverbs 69 
 
 XI. Etymology of Prepositions 70 
 
 XII. Etymology of Conjunctions 71 
 
 XIII. Etymology of Interjections 72 
 
 XIV. Of Increase and Diminution in ^ords 73 
 
 Increase in Words 74 
 
 Diminution in Words , ... 75 
 
 XV. Of Syntax in General 85 
 
 XVI. Syntax of Articles 86 
 
 Of the Definite Article 87 
 
 Of the Indefinite Article 104 
 
 XVII. Syntax of Nouns 112 
 
 XVIII. Syntax of Pronouns 116 
 
 Of Personal Pronouns 117 
 
 Conj unctive Pronouns 127 
 
 Of Possessive Pronouns 129 
 
 Of Relative Pronouns 148 
 
 Of Demonstrative Pronouns 151 
 
 Of Interrogative Pronouns 1 52 
 
 Of Indeterminate Pronouns 153 
 
 XIX. Syntax of Adjectives 157 
 
 Agreement of the Adjective with the Noun. ib. 
 
 Of Comparison 159 
 
 Of the words si, cosi, come, tanto, cotanto, quanta, 
 
 altrettanto, alquanto, molto, troppo, poco 178 
 
 Of the placing of the Adjective 180 
 
 XX, Syntax of Verbs 181 
 
 l9t. Of the Mod ........•.£«........ 1B3 
 
CONTENTS. Xr 
 
 Chapter. Paragraph. 
 2d. Of the Time 220 
 
 3d, Of the Number -and Person 231 
 
 4th. Of the Participle 243 
 
 The Active Participle , , 244 
 
 The Passive Participle ^ 252 
 
 5th. Of the Sort of the Verb 256 
 
 Of the use otAvere and Essere as Auxiliaries 269 
 
 Of Case, and of the Governing of Cases 277 
 
 Syntax of Negatives 290 
 
 Syntax of Adverbs, Prepositions, and Conjunctions 302 
 
 1st. Of Adverbs 303 
 
 2d, Of Prepositions 307 
 
 Sd. Of Conjunctions 317 
 
 XXV. Of the Words called Expletives 319 
 
 XXVI. Of Collocation 324 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 In page 20, line 16, for two g^s have read one g has, '^ 
 
 In page 31, line 4, for merely read namely. 
 
 In page 39, line 32, for milla read mila* 
 
 In page 45, line 2, for il angelo, it elmo, &c. read lo angelo, lo elmo, &c. 
 
 In page 49, line 12, for or, te^ or ti, read a te, or tu 
 
 In page 55, line 27, for havcd used read have used, " 
 
^.V EXPLANATORY LIST 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ABBREVIATED NAMES OF Al TIIORS AND THEIR \VORKS, 
 QUOTED JN THE FOLLOWING GRAMMAR. 
 
 Alp. T. Alfieri, Tragedia. jG.ViL. S. 
 
 V. , Viu. Mac.C. 
 
 Ari. O. F. Aiiosto, Orlando Furioso. D. 
 
 Ban. N. Baiidello, Novella. P. 
 
 Bec.D.cP. Boccaria, Delittie Pene. R. 
 
 S. , Dello Stile. S. 
 
 Ben. L. Bentivoglio, Lettere. 
 
 Boc. D. Boccaccio, Decamerone. Maf. M. 
 
 F. • jFiameta. Met. O. 
 
 A. ,AHieto. MuB, A. 
 
 Boj. O. I. Bojardo, Orlando Innamorato. W- Vil. S 
 
 Car. E. Caro, Eneide, Nov. Ant. 
 
 Cas. A. P. Casti, Animali Parlanti. Pan. G. F. 
 D. Cas. G. Delia Casa, Galateo. 
 
 Dan. In. Dante, Inrerno. Pet. C. 
 
 Par. ,Paradiso. S. 
 
 PtB. jPurgatorio. T. 
 
 Dav. S. Davila, Storia., Pol. S. 
 
 Fio. N. Fiorentino, NoTella. Red. B. T. 
 
 Gal. L. Galilei, Lettera. Sac. N. 
 
 GiA. S. Giannone, Storia. ' R, 
 
 GoL. C. Goldoni, Coramedia. Soa. N. 
 
 G.Goz.N. Gasparo Gozzi, Novella. Tas. G. L. 
 Gba. P. F. Guarini, Pastor Fido. 
 Qui. S. Gai«ciardinj, Storia. A. 
 
 N 
 
 Giovanni YiUani, Storia. 
 Macchiavelli, Commedia. 
 
 , Discorsi. 
 
 , Ptincipe. 
 
 , Rime. 
 
 • , Storie Fioren- 
 
 tine. 
 MaflTei, Merope. 
 Metastasio, OperA. 
 Maratori, Annali. 
 Matteo Villani, Storia. 
 Novel le Antiche. 
 Paodolfini, Governo delta 
 
 Famiglia. 
 Petrarca, Canzone. 
 
 , Sonetto. 
 
 , Trionfi. 
 
 Poliziano, Stanze. 
 Redi, Bacco in Totcana. 
 Francesco Sachelti, Novella 
 
 , Rime. 
 
 Soare, Novella. 
 Tasso, Gerasalemme Libe* 
 rata. 
 
 . Aminta. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Of Grammar in general; of its Branches ; and of the different 
 
 Parts of Speech. 
 
 1 . GRAMMAR has been defined as " a Science which teaches 
 " us how to make use of words in a proper manner.'* 
 
 2. In Grammar there are four Branches, or Divisions ; 
 namely. Orthography, Prosody, Etymology, and Syntax. 
 These terms come, originally, from the Greek ; and we, in our 
 language get them immediately from the Latin, in which 
 they are called Orthographia, Prosodia, Etymologia, and 
 Syntaxis. The peculiar nature of each of these Branches will 
 be described further on, under the title by which each Branch 
 will be distinguished from the rest. 
 
 3. Words, or, as the grammarians term them, the Parts of 
 Speech, are commonly arranged in nine separate classes, and, 
 so arranged, are named as follows ; 
 
 In English. 
 
 Article, 
 
 Noun, 
 
 Pronoun, 
 
 Adjective, 
 
 Verb, 
 
 Adverb, 
 
 Preposition, 
 
 Conjunction, 
 
 Interjection. 
 
 In Italian. 
 
 Articolo, 
 
 Nome, 
 
 Pronome, 
 
 Addiettivo, 
 
 Verbo, 
 
 Avverbio, 
 
 Preposizione, 
 
 Congiunzione. 
 
 Interjezione . 
 
 B 
 
2 DEFINITION OP THn [Chap. 
 
 Definition of the Parts of Speech. 
 
 ARTICLES. — The words in our language that come under 
 this denomination are, the, a, and an; and there are no more. 
 The reason for which this sort of word is called Article^ it 
 would, perhaps, be difficult to give very clearly. We get the 
 term from the Latin, in which language it has just as great a 
 variety of significations as it has in English. In Latin this 
 sort of word i^ called articulus, which means, in the most ge- 
 neral and literal sense of the term, s. small body, or a small part 
 or member of a body ; because it is what is called a diminutive 
 of the Latin word artus, which means a body or a part or 
 member of a body. Thus we say, an article in a newspaper, 
 meaning an individual minute matter in a newspaper, or a 
 small part of it as a collective mass ; and an article of faith, 
 meaning one of the things we believe in, or a part of the whole 
 substance of our behef. In the same sense we use the word 
 articulate, when we say a word is articulated ; for to articulate 
 means to pronounce distinctly every syllable of a word, or all 
 the minute parts which are contained in a word. To say that 
 these words are called articles because they are small, would be 
 but a very insufficient reason ; for there are many words of 
 other Parts of Speech quite as small. But we may say, that 
 they are thus called because they are parts, or little parts, of 
 other words, since it is only when they are employed imme- 
 diately before some noun that articles can have any sense. 
 Neither of the words the, a, and an, can mean any thing of 
 themselves alone; they must have something else immediately 
 affixed to them, or they can convey no sense. Thus, the 
 man, a tree, an hour : here the articles may be said to be a 
 part of the words man, tree, hour, inasmuch as it is absolutely 
 necessary that they should be joined to nouns in this manner 
 for them to be made use of at all. There are, properly 
 speaking, but two Articles in our language ; for we know that, 
 in sense, the an is the same as the a, and that a is made to be- 
 come an before certain words merely for the sake of sound. 
 In Italian it is just the same, to a certain degree : in that lan- 
 guage the sense of an article must always be the same as that 
 of one or the other of our words the, a, an. But we shall see. 
 
I.] PARTS OP SPEECH. 3 
 
 further on, that in their articles the Italians express something 
 in addition to what we do in ours, and that, in order to do this, 
 their articles have to undergo a variety of changes in the 
 spelling, of which changes there is nothing in our words of 
 this class, except the one change of a to an, 
 
 NOUNS. — The word Noun (from the Latin, in which it is 
 called nomen) means name. So nouns are the names of things, 
 of all things, whether corporeal or merely ideal; as, man, 
 tree, house, earth, sky, fire ; these are all Nouns : also, virtue, 
 vice, truth, policy, wisdom, thought, misery, distress, are all 
 Nouns. Nouns are of two species; namely. Nouns Proper, 
 and Nouns Common : Nouns Proper are those names which are 
 appropriated to individuals, as the names of persons and places, 
 such as John, Thomas, London, Paris, and the like. Nouns 
 Common are those which represent the one general kind to 
 which many individuals may belong ; such as man, town. 
 
 PRONOUNS. — This word is composed of the two Latin 
 words pro and nom^n, which mean /or and womw ; from which we 
 understand that pronouns are words which stand for, or in the 
 place of, nouns. So, when we say, ''where is Thomas" ? and 
 it is answered, " £fe is gone" ; here the Pronoun ''he" stands 
 for, or in t lie place of, the noun Thomas. " The trees are very 
 strong, and they are making shoots ": here the "they" stands 
 for the noun trees. *' The wheat is very fine, and it is fit to 
 cut " : here the ** it " stands for the noun wheat. For, what 
 is meaned in the sentences, is, Thomas is gone, the trees are 
 making shoots, the wheat is fit to cut. 
 
 ADJECTIVES. — The word Adjective is derived from one 
 or other of the Latin verbs adjicio, to add to, or adjungo, to 
 join to. In Latin it is called ce^Vc^ivM?^, or adjunctivum, the 
 former meaning something having the power to add to, and the 
 latter, something having the power to join to. The difiference 
 between the sense of the two terms is but little, as far as we 
 have here to do with them ; and, in English, we might with 
 equal propriety call this Part of Speech an Adjective or an 
 Adjunctive ; for its power is, as the Latin words, from one or 
 
 B 2 
 
4 DEFINITION OP THE [Chap. 
 
 the other of which it is derived, import, that of adding or 
 joining pomcthinp to nouns and pronoun? : and what it is in- 
 tended to add or join, is, the expression of some quality belong- 
 ing to, or something that chorac^rizcs , the person or thing 
 wliich is represented by the noun or pronoun. Thus : 
 young man, tall tree, white house, clear sky, real virtue, bad 
 pohcy, s;reat misery, he is rich, she is leandsomc, we are jwr ; 
 where we see that the Adjectives, young, tall, white, clear, 
 real, bad, great, rich, handsome, poor, express some qualities 
 or characteristics of the persons or things which are 
 racaned to be understood by the nouus and pronouns, man, 
 free, house, sky, &c. The generahty of grammarians rank 
 both Nouns and Adjectives under one common head, calling 
 them all Nouns. And then they distinguish the two 
 in this way : those which I have described as nouns, that 
 i?, the names of things, they call Substantive Nouns; those 
 which I have described as Adjectives, they call Adjective 
 Novns. Substantive Nouns are so called from the Latin word 
 sttbstantivus, which, as a grammatical term, means something ' 
 which may stand alone or by itself, or which depends only on itself. 
 So when I say, " This is a tree," the word tree expresses, in itself, 
 and wants no other word added to it to express, the thing the 
 existence of which I am describing; and if I say, "This is a 
 tall tree," I only add the expression of something further, 
 without that additional expression being at all necessary to 
 make sense of the sentence. But it is not so with the Adjec- 
 tive ; fpr therje is no way in which I could use this word tall, for 
 example, without at the same time employing, oi leaving to 
 be understood, some noim or pronoun. These have been called 
 Adjective Nouns, because they must be added or joined to 
 Substantive Nouns ; yet that is by no means a reason why 
 thev should be ranked under the head of nouns or names, since 
 they can, in fact, when standing alone, be the name of nothing. 
 However, it is not of much consequence by what nam£ we call 
 them, so that we understand their use. 
 
 VERBS. — Verbs express all the diflferent movements or actions 
 of creatures or things. To walk, to speak, to grow, to sink, to 
 rise, to work, and the like. In the words here instanced there is 
 
I.] PARTS OP SPEECH. 5 
 
 the expression of sofne movement either visible or understood. 
 To love, to hate, to think, to grieve, to consider, to remember, to 
 understand, to esteem, here the action is not so perceptible ; 
 yet these all denote some movement in the mind. But to be, 
 to sit, to lie, to live, to rest, to stand, to subsist, to .^f^ay,' to rc- 
 main, to reside, to dwell: none of these, nor some others that 
 might be added, express or imply any action or movement 
 whatever, either bodily or mental. Verbs, then, are employed 
 to express, not only the actions and movements, but also all 
 the states and manners of being, of creatures and things. To 
 loalk expresses an action which may be evident to the senses ; 
 to love expresses an action of the mind; to be expresses existence 
 in the most general sense ; and to lie, to stand, to stai/, and such 
 like, express diiFerent states or manners of being. — We derive the 
 name of Vei^b from the Latin, in which it is called verbmn, 
 which means, literally translated, word. Grammarians have 
 been at a loss for some term that should comprise, within itself, 
 sufficient meaning to express the peculiar nature of this most 
 important Part of Speech; and they have considered it to ' 
 deserve the appellation of word emphatically, and, as the French 
 say, par excellence. And fully deserving it is of this its striking 
 title ; for, the Verb is the very soul of a sentence ; we can 
 utter nothing, we can iise no phrase, no single word, to have a 
 complete meaning, without, at the same time, employing some 
 Verb, or, without there being the sense of some Verb left to be 
 understood. We cannot possibly use any word, or words, to 
 have any meaning, without intending our speech to express 
 the doing of something, or the being of something in some 
 sort of way : some act, or some state of existence, either 
 bodily or mental. The bare little Interjection, Eh ?, for in- 
 stance, when we use it in an interrogative way : this little word 
 means something, it is not used without being intended to con- 
 vey some sense ; and yet we frequently use it without using 
 any other wofd along with it. What we mean to be understood by 
 this little word, is, " What do you say ?" " What is it ?" or 
 some such sense. When we*use the Interjections Ah ! Alas ! 
 Poh ! these, though each be used unconnected v/ith any other 
 word, have, each of them, a meaning ; but, not without the 
 ^ense of some other word or words being, at the same time,. 
 
G DEFINITION OF THK [Chap. 
 
 understood. Ah ! gives us to understand that there exists sur- 
 prise, or some other sudden emotion, in the mind : Alas ! is 
 tantamount to saying " I am sad," or " I grieve," or something 
 of that sort : Pah ! means the same as " I have a contempt for 
 you", " You talk nonsense", or some other scornful or deriding 
 expression like these. If you ask me, " Is he gone," and I answer 
 by merely saying " Ves " here I leave a verb to be understood ; 
 for, what I mean is, "He is gone." Such is the grammatical 
 omnipresence of the Vei'b ! And we shall see, when we come to 
 the Syntax of Verbs, that, to become well acqiiainted with the 
 functions of this Part of Speech, as it is employed with the 
 other Parts of Speech in sentences, is to conquer the far 
 grater part of the difficulties that we find in the study of 
 Grammar. 
 
 ADVERBS. — Adverbs (from the Latin, Adverhium) are so 
 called, because thev are words added to verbs ; and thev are in- 
 tended to express some modification, or some accidental pecu- 
 liarity, in the sense of verbs, in the different instances in which 
 the verbs are used. So, when I say " There is only one man 
 here who knows him" ; the employment of the adverb only, in 
 this instance, modifies the sense of the verb, by restricting it to 
 the one, the single man ; for, otherwise, if the adverb had not 
 been employed, the sentence, "There is one man here who 
 knows him," would not have anv thino: in it which would con- 
 fine the knowledge to the one alone. " This is indeed an honest 
 man" : here is, in this word, indeed, which is an Adverb, some- 
 thing that the use of the verb without it could not express. 
 "I do not think Thomas is gone": here the force of the 
 Adverb not is such, that the omission of it would make the sen- 
 tence convey a sense directly opposite to that which is intended. 
 " He will arrive soon " : here we are not only told that he will 
 arrive, but the Adverb of time gives us the additional informa- 
 tion that the arrival is to take place in a short time. It is not, 
 however, verbs, merely, to which these words are added, or 
 that they are intended to modify the sense of; for they are, 
 perhaps, as often added to adjectives as to verbs. He writes a 
 very good hand " : here the use of the Adverb very is to ex- 
 press the degree of goodness in the hand-wTiting, and modifies 
 
I:] PARTS OP SPEECH. 7 
 
 the sense of the adjective good, and not that of the verb to 
 write. — ^There are several classes of Adverbs; oi time, of place, 
 o{ manner, &c. These will be noticed particularly, and enumerat- 
 ed, when we come to the Etymology of this Part of Speech. 
 
 PREPOSITIONS.— This class of words are thus called from 
 their being placed immediately before nouns or pronouns . In Latin 
 this Part of Speech is called prcepositio, which is a compound of 
 the two words prcE, before, ondpositio, a position or situation. But 
 in this term Preposition there is, as in those apphed to some of 
 the other Parts of Speech, not much to enlighten us. For, if 
 these words are called Prepositions because they are placed before 
 nouns or pronouns, why should not Articles, which are placed 
 
 ' in the same situation, have the same appellation? Nevertheless, 
 their nature is not inexplicable, however ill calculated their 
 name may be to explain it. Prepositions are words which are 
 made use of to express the relations or bearings which things 
 represented by nouns and pronouns have as to one another, 
 or, the situations in which things represented by nouns and 
 pronouns exist with respect to one another. Now, when 
 I say **The man is walking to your housb"; here the 
 Preposition to expresses the precise situation, the manner of 
 being, of the man in reference to the house, and defines a spe- 
 cies of relation which the one has to the other. Leave out 
 the Preposition to, in the above sentence, and we may put in 
 its place any one of many other Prepositions, as, in, into, from, 
 
 « before, behind, without, against, about, through : by each of which 
 the sense of this sentence would be made different, and yet it 
 would be a complete sense with either. — The proper use of these 
 little words is of great importance. There is a great deal of 
 difference between the manner in which they are employed in 
 foreign languages and that in which we employ them ; and this 
 we shall have to notice more particularly when we come to the 
 Svntax. 
 
 CONJUNCTIONS.— In Latin this Part of Speech is called 
 conjunctio, which means a joining together, or a bond or knot : 
 the name comes from the verb conjungo, which means to Join 
 
8 DEFINITION or THE [Chap. 
 
 or couple with, to associate with ; con having tlie same meaning as 
 our preposition with, and jungo, which is a verb of itself, that 
 of our verb to join. Wlien we say, '* I am going, and so are 
 " you," *' He is learned but not wise," " The plants cannot 
 " grow, for it is too cold," " I do not like him, because he i? 
 *• dishonest" : here it is evident that the office of these Conjunc- 
 tions and, but, for, because, is that of Joining or connecting with 
 one another the two members of each of the sentences, " lam 
 going — so are you," &c. In some instances, as in all of the 
 above examples, it is optional to use the Conjunction, or to 
 leave it to be understood. But in other instances the sense of 
 the whole sentence would be incomplete without it. For ex- 
 ample ; " You will see him if you go," " It may be learned, 
 notwithstanding it is difficult." In these, and many other in- 
 stances that might be given, we are obliged to use the Con- 
 junction, or the sense t)f the one member of the sentence, 
 which is dependent upon that of the other, cannot be at all 
 understood. — Here it may be observed, that Conjunctions, like 
 Adverbs and Prepositions, consist not ^Iways of one single 
 word, but are very frequently compounds of two or three different 
 words, which are either all joined together so as to form one word 
 in spelling, or all contribute, though not joined in one word, to 
 convey a single idea. So it is in the compound Conjunction, 
 notwithstanding, where we recognize, joined in one, three words 
 that belong, in their indi\'idual capacit}% each to a different 
 Part of Speech ; not being an Adverb, with a Preposition, 
 standing a part of a Verb. " I will tell them of it, in case they 
 come : " here the two separate words, in and case, the former 
 a Preposition, the latter a Noun, have, as here employed, just 
 the same sense as the Conjunction if. It is thus also with 
 t"he Adverbs ; as, evermore, whensoever, and, by and by, at last, 
 at furthest, &c. So also, with the Prepositions ; as, within, 
 without, throughout, and, in front of, a top of, opposite to, over 
 against, &c. — There is one thing more that it is necessary to take 
 notice of with regard to these three Parts of Speech, Adverbs, 
 Prepositions, and Conjunctions ; namely, the circulnstance of 
 the same words belonging, according to the manner in which 
 they are employed, to more than one of, or to 'all of, these 
 Parts of Speech. . For example, when I say "The tree stands 
 
I.] PARTS OP SPEECH. 9- 
 
 before the house," meaning opposite to the house, the word 
 before is a Preposition, signifying the peculiarity of place or 
 local situation; and when I say " He came ip/bre I entered," mean- 
 ing, sooner than I entered, the same word is an Adverb of time. 
 " I will not go, ivithout you go too ; " h.QYe witJioui is a Conjunc- 
 tion. " The horse is without the stable," meaning on the outside 
 of : here it is a Preposition. " He walks without in the open 
 air "; here it is an Adverb descriptive of a local peculiarity in the 
 walking. Tliis changing in the sense of the word according to 
 the way in which it is employed, is not, however, confined to 
 these three Parts of Speech. The word round, for example, 
 belongs to no less than five Parts of Speech. When we say a 
 thing is round, meaning circular, it is an Adjective : when we say, 
 a round, meaning a revolution or rotation, it is a Noun; when v» e 
 say to roMMc? a thing, meaning to make it circular in form, it is a 
 Verb ; when we say, he looks round and round to find them, 
 meaning in a circular direction, it is an Adv^erb; when we say, 
 he walks round the house, meaning circularly about, it is a Pre- 
 position. Tliere is no difficulty in discovering when the word 
 is a Noun, an Adjective, or a Verb, in such cases ; but, when 
 the word is of one of the three classes. Adverb, Preposition, 
 or Conjunction, we are at a loss, sometimes, to decide to which 
 of them it belonsrs. 
 
 i? 
 
 INTERJECTIONS.— These are so called, from the Latin 
 Verb interjicio, which means to throw or jjlace between or among ; 
 and in Latin they are called Interjectio, me-^ning a word thrown 
 or placed between or among other words. There are so few of 
 them in any language, and we aU know the use of them so well, 
 that .to say any thing further in definition of them would be 
 useless. They might, perhaps, with more propriety, be called 
 exclamations ; for they are nothing more. Oh ! Alas .' Poh ! 
 Ah ! Pshaw-! La ! Ha ! Eh ! Heigh ! He ! Heigho ! : these, 
 and a few others that we have, are what are called Inter- 
 Jectiotis. 
 
 B 5 
 
10 or ORTHOORAPHr. 
 
 CHAPTi:il II. 
 
 0/ Orthography. 
 
 4. Under this head it will not be necessary to say much. 
 Orthography relates merely to spcUing, and is that Branch 
 of Grammar which teaches us what letters we are to employ in 
 the forming of words. We learn the Orthography of our native 
 tongue from spelling-books, which are very necessary for those 
 who have learned to speak a langiaage and to understand its 
 sounds before they know any thing about reading or writing it. 
 But here we can have but little to do with Orthography, as a 
 branch of Grammar to be studied. Tliere is one thing, how- 
 ever, relating to spelling, which, in speaking of the Italian lan- 
 guage, it will be proper to notice, and in noticing that I shall 
 quit the subject. Tliere is a great difference between the mode of 
 spelling to be found in ancient authors, and that in modem 
 ones, and a great difference, in this respect, between writings 
 in prose and writings in verse, both ancient and modern. For 
 example, we find in ancient prose writers the word virtil, 
 virtue, spelled virtude and virtute ; the word stato, been, suto. 
 Tliese I mention only as some out of hundreds of instances that 
 could be given : to go further into the matter would merely tend 
 to delay the beginnev, and to treat of it at large would require 
 a large volume on this Branch of grammar alone. Tlie words 
 virtude and virtute, like others of similar spelling, are now- 
 discarded as obsolete, by persons in conversation, and by mo- 
 dern prose writers ; and yet poets of the present day are li- 
 censed in using them. In some cases, again, words which 
 •used, of old, to be employed by the poets, have been discarded 
 by the poets of latter ages, being considered as inelegant. For 
 example, the words madre, a mother, opera, a work, mosso, 
 moved, fcce, he did, ho, I have, ha, he has, ebbe, he had, avro, 
 I shall have, sono, they are; these words may be found in 
 ancient authors written mdtre, ovra, muto, ftnne, haggio. 
 
Chap.] OP orvYHOGRAPHT, 11 
 
 have, Mhbe, haraggio, cnno. These ancient forms of spelling 
 would not only not be adopted in prose now-a-days, but 
 would be rejected even by the poets. But, though modern 
 taste in Orthography has, in some degree, altered the spelling of 
 even the poets, it is still not the same thing to be able to read 
 modern Italian prose and to be able to read modern Italian 
 verse ; for the poets have great license allowed them in changing 
 the spelling of words. Here we find much difference between 
 the Itahan and the French. A person who can perfectly un- 
 derstand any French prose- writer, may understand, quite as 
 well, any French writer in verse, as far as relates merely to the 
 construction of letters, or speUing. There is, certainly, some 
 license allowed to the French poets, as there is to poets 
 in all languages ; but, in the French, this does not affect the 
 Orthography : in the Orthography of his language a French 
 poet can never deviate from his spelling-book ; and, if he would 
 imitate the strains of Virgil or Horace, his spelling must still 
 be the same as if he were writing in prose about the ploughing 
 and sowing of land, or about any one of the most ordinary 
 matters of life. The great reputation that the Italian has for 
 its softness has induced many of those who are not acquainted 
 with it to suppose, that it must have much monotony of sound, 
 and that, as far as sound goes, it is rather a weak language. It 
 is supposed that every word in Italian must terminate in a 
 vowel, and, as every final letter must be distinctly pronounced, 
 that the -language has more of softness in it than is compatible 
 with strength. But this is not the case ; for, even in prose and 
 conversation, there are great numbers of words wherein the 
 final vowel may, with propriety, be omitted; the infinitives 
 of verbs without exception, and, in many cases, other parts of 
 the verbs, besides a great number of nouns, pronouns, ad- 
 jectives, and other Parts of Speech. As, for example, forir, 
 to blossom ; fioriscon, they blossom ; Jior, a flower ; lor, their ; 
 piacevol, pleasant; heuy well: these words, spelled in full, 
 would be fiorirey fioriscono, jiore, loro, piacevole, bene. Yet they 
 might, in prose as well as poetry, be written without 
 the final vowel, and might be pronounced so in conversa- 
 tion. But I shall, further on (see paragraph 173), devote a 
 
12 OF riiosoDV. [Chap 
 
 whole chapter to this, matter, and show what words are capa- 
 ble of retrenchment in this way, and what not. 
 
 Thr Alphabet. 
 
 5. ITie Italian Alphabet consists of the following twenty-two 
 letters. 
 
 A a, ah, M m, <mmny. 
 
 B b. Ice. N II, innay. 
 
 C c, dice. .0 o, 0. 
 
 D d, dee. P p, pee. 
 
 E e, ay. Q q, coo. 
 
 F f, iff ay. R r, (rray. 
 
 G g", jee. S s, tssay. 
 
 Hh, dckah. T t, tee. 
 
 I i, e. U u, 00. 
 
 J j, e. V V, voo. 
 
 L 1, cUay. Z z, dsaitah. 
 
 G. Our letters k, w, x, y, are not made use of by the Itali- 
 ans, excepting where they have to spell some foreign pro})er 
 name, or some word foreign to their own language. 
 
 7. A, E, I, J, o, u, are Vowels, and the rest are Consonantfr. 
 As to mute letters, as we call them, or letters which are not 
 sounded in pronunciation, the H is the only letter of this kind 
 with the Italians ; and it is so only when it is employed at the 
 beginning of a word. But of this letter I shall speak further on, 
 in what relates to Prosody. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of Prosody. 
 
 8. Prosody is that part of grammar which relates to pronun- 
 ciation ; and it teaches us two things, namely, what sound we 
 are to give to letters, either as they stand singly, or as they are 
 joined in syllables and words, and on what part of a word we 
 are, in pronouncing it, to lay most emphasis, or stress of the 
 voice. For instance, in the w^ords paleo, a top, and palio, a 
 prike : Italian Prosody would teach us, in the first place, that. 
 
III.] OF PROSODY. 13 
 
 to pronounce singly the letters j), a, I, e, i, o, of which these 
 two words are composed, they must have sounds given them 
 Hke pee, ah, ellay^ ay, e, o ; where we see, that the /> and the 
 are to be pronounced just the same as those letters are in our 
 own alphabet ; that the a is to be pronounced as it used to be 
 of old in England ; but that the /, e, and i, are very different 
 in this respect from the same letters in our language. Then, 
 on what part of the word are we to lay the emphasis ? We 
 learn to know this, in our own language, by having been ac- 
 customed, from our infancy, to practice the matter, and to hear 
 others constantly pronouncing words properly ; we know that we 
 must, for example, pronounce the word compliment, laying the 
 emphasis on the first syllable, and the word compliance, laying 
 it on the second syllable ; that it must be compliment, and compli - 
 ance, and not compliment and compliance. We have words in 
 English, of very different meaning, spelled precisely in one way ; 
 as, record, which is sometimes a verb, meaning to register a 
 thing ; and sometimes a noun, meaning a register in which a 
 thing is recorded : the word desert is sometimes a verb, mean- 
 ing to abandon ; and sometimes a noun, meaning a wilderness 
 or wild country. Yet habit tells us, that if we have to use these 
 words in their capacity of verbs, we must pronounce them record 
 and desert ; and if in their other capicity, record and desert. 
 In the same manner, we say to entrance, meaning to put in a 
 trance; and entrance, meaning the medium of going into, or the 
 act of going into, a place. So, with the Italians, the word 
 balia, for example, sometimes means a nurse, and sometimes 
 power or authority : in the former case, the emphasis is laid on 
 the first syllable, and the word is pronounced hdlia ; in the 
 latter case it is pronounced halia. Then, ancora means an 
 anchor, and awcora^'means again or also. The word paleo is pro- 
 nounced paleo ; the word palio, pdlio ; and, in innumerable in- 
 stances, similar to these that I have cited, it is impossible for an 
 English person to be able to place the emphasis on the right 
 syllable of a word, without either having heard Italians speak 
 a good deal, or having read a good deal of their language. 
 
 9. There are two accents, and one mark, employed in the 
 Italian language, as guides for pronunciation, which I must 
 here notice. The accents are, the grave accent ( ^ ) ai;d the 
 
I 
 
 14 OF rRosoDT. [Cha)>. 
 
 acute accent ('). These accents are employed to show what 
 i^ound wc are to give to letters, which I shall speak of more 
 fully presently, and on what syllable we are to lay that emphasis 
 of which I have already sj)okcn. I would advise those who are 
 only beginning to read Italian, to read no book throughout 
 which accents are not constantly employed ; for they are not 
 always employed where they might be. There are cer- 
 tain cases in which the accents must always be employed, in 
 order to distinguish two words of different meaning which are 
 written in one way ; but it is not so in all cases. In the 
 tollowing monosyllables, where we see words of different mean- 
 ings spelled with just the same letters, they should be invaria- 
 bly used. 
 
 e, and. 
 d(7, from, by. 
 di, of. 
 
 si, himself, herself, itself, them- 
 la, the, her. [selves. 
 
 //, the, them, 
 we, us, of it. 
 te, thee. 
 
 10. In the above instances, the difference of meaning in- 
 tended by the word is shown simply by there being an accent 
 in the one case and no accent in the other. In other instances, 
 like the following, the difference is shown by the placing of the 
 accent on a different letter in the word. It will be perceived 
 that pie has no accent at all on any letter when it is used in the 
 second sense ; but that word which is placed in contradistinc- 
 tion in the first sense always has, so that there never can be 
 any mistake. 
 
 coin, yonder. cola, a cullender. 
 
 gid, already, now. gla, he, she, or it, went. 
 
 die, he gave. dte, a poetical word for daij. 
 
 pit (forpicde), a foot. pie, (adjective, fem. plu.) pious. x 
 
 lu), a wren. lui, him. 
 
 balia, power. bulia, a nurse. 
 
 b6cio, a kiss. bacio, a shaded spot. 
 
 tneta, a half. meta, a boundary. 
 
 perb, therefore. pero, a pear-tree. 
 
 cos), thus. cosi, ridiculous things. 
 
 ^, 
 
 he, she. 
 
 or it. 
 
 is. 
 
 da. 
 
 he, she. 
 
 or it, 
 
 gives. 
 
 d). 
 
 a day. 
 
 
 
 k}. 
 
 yies, so. 
 
 
 
 Id, 
 
 there. 
 
 \ 
 
 
 Ih 
 
 thither. 
 
 
 
 n^. 
 
 nor, nei 
 
 ther. 
 
 
 tc\ 
 
 tea. 
 
 
 
III.] OF PROSODY. 15 
 
 1 1 . A great deal has been said by some grammarians on the 
 »ubject of accent and emphasis in pronunciation, and, generally, 
 I think, to the exclusion of other subjects which are of more 
 consequence, and which may be treated of with more profit to 
 the beginner. I will, however, just warn the reader, that 
 there are a vast number of words, whiqh no grammarian 
 thinks of enumerating in full, spelled in one way and yet of 
 very different meanings. Such, for example, are the following : 
 
 acc'etta (verb active) he accepts, accctta (noun) a hatchet. 
 
 or (participle passive) accepted. 
 
 ammkzza (verb active) he, she, or it, ammezza (verb neuter) it becomes 
 
 cuts in two. ripe. 
 
 collktto (participle passive) collected. coUctto (noun) a little hili. 
 il'gge (verb active) he, she, or it, reads. U^e (noun) law. 
 
 mtzzo (noun and adjective) half.' mezzo (adjective) ripe. 
 
 ptsca (noun) a peach. pcsca (noun) the pursuit of fishing. 
 
 pesco (noun) a peach-tree. 'pdsco (verb neuter) I fish. 
 
 bdtte (noun) toads. bdtte (noun) a wine-cask. 
 
 cblto (participle pjissive) collected. c6lto (adjective) cultivated. 
 
 fdsse (noun) graves, or ditches. J'6sse (verb neuter) he, she, or it, 
 
 init;ht be. 
 
 indbtto (adjective) unlearned. indUto (participle passive) alleged, or 
 
 induced. 
 
 tbrta (adjective) twisted. . tdrta (noun) a tart. 
 
 pbsta (noun) a post. -pSsta (participle passive) put. 
 
 tryrre (verb active) to take away. tdrre (noun) a tower. 
 
 vblto (adjective) turned. vdlto (noun) a countenance. 
 
 sbiw (noun) a sound. s6no (verb neuter) I am, they are^ 
 
 tumo (noun) a volume. t6mo (noun) a fall. 
 
 vblgo (verb actiA'e) I turn. volgo (noun) the common people. 
 
 rimbrso (noun) remorse. r2Wi(5rjo (participle passive) bitten again. 
 
 mhrte (noun) death. m6rte (adjective plural) dead. 
 
 12. I might give hundreds of examples in addition to 
 these; but to ^do so would be to make a little dictionary, 
 and would be to devote much more, room to this particular 
 matter than is due to it, considering the space within which I 
 propose to bring my work. The accent, in all of the above 
 examples, is either on an e or an o. It is on these tvv^o 
 letters that the grave and acute accents are most commonly 
 employed ; and to learn how to give a proper sound to these 
 two letters throughout the language is, perhaps, tlie most impor- 
 tant thing in the pronunciation of Italian. The reader will ob- 
 serve that the different meanings of these words of synonimous 
 
IG OF PBOSODT. X v[Chap. 
 
 spelling are distinguished, not by the accent being placed on ;i 
 <liffercnt syllabic in the word, but by tlie accent being in the one 
 case grave and in the other acute. What variety of sound 
 these accents are intended to dictate I shall explain a little 
 further on, where I sliall show the difference between e open and 
 e close, oj>en and o close. Tliroughout this work, I make use 
 of the acute accent*(') just to show on what ])art of a word the 
 emphasis lie?. Employing it in this way, I do not intend it as 
 a mark to distinguish one sound horn another, except where the 
 difference of sounds is particularly treated of ; but merely as a 
 sign to show on what syllable of a word we are to lay the 
 emphasis. We have now to speak of the mark of Elision. 
 
 13. The mark of elision ( ' ), more commonly called the apos- 
 trophe, is intended to cut off a letter at the beginning of a word, 
 or a letter, or letters, at the end of a word. This mark be- 
 longs, perhaps, more i)roperly to Orthogruphy tJian to Prosody ; 
 but, as it has a power in pronunciation, I have thought it best 
 to mention it along with the accents, under one head. The 
 common use of the apostrophe is to prevent the coming together 
 of two vowels, one at ^he end of a word and the other at the 
 beginning of a word following. In prose it is used merely 
 foi the sake of harmony ; in poetry it is particularly useful with 
 the Italians, both as relates to harmony and to measure. The 
 vowel cut off is, in most instances, that at the end of a word, 
 and especially in prose; but in poetry it is very frequently cut 
 off at the beginning of a word. The following are examples: 
 
 i^tumii' io vedo dal ciel Bcpnder /' 
 
 [Aurora, 
 Con la fronte di rosa, e co* crin d' oro. 
 
 Pet. C. 
 
 Verso una Talle ove il Circasso er'ito. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Che dibb' io far ; che mi consigli ? 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Ai^co, or t' am' io, rd or V onoro, 
 A'trtii' h.ii codtuiui variati, &c. 
 
 Pkt. C. 
 
 QufsV a la terra destinata a noi. I This is the land destined to us. 
 
 Car. E. I 
 
 Ivi sorpo ««' altr' Ida, onde nomata 
 Ka t' Ida nostra, ontf ha seme e radicc 
 Nostro legnaggio, &c. 
 
 Cab. E. 
 
 Sojt' opni gente in tntti i ae- 
 
 Wheu I see Aurora descend from the 
 heavens, with her rosy countena^>re 
 and gulden Lair. 
 
 Towards a valley where the Circasaian 
 was gone. 
 
 ^^hat should I do ; what dost thou ?.d- 
 Tise me ? 
 
 Friend, now I love tbee, and now I 
 honour thee, because thou hast 
 changed thy manners. 
 
 There rise? another Ida, whence our Ida 
 is named, whence our race has its 
 seed and root. 
 
 Over every nation in all ages they 
 shall rule. 
 
 Dcnuineranno, &c. [coli 
 
 Car. £. | 
 
 Ben presso al decim* anno. I Very near the tenth year 
 
 Car. E. 
 
I 
 III.] or PROSODY. 17 
 
 14. Here we see the apostrophe used to cut off vowels at the 
 end of words. The words quand\ V , co\ d\ er' debV , t\ am , 
 perch' , quest' , un , altr' V , ond* , sow,' decim', would, if spelled 
 out to the end, be quando, la, coi, di, era, debbo, amo, perche, 
 questa, una, altra, la, onde, sovra, decimo. In the Examples 
 I am about to give we shall see the apqstrophe both at the 
 beginning and at the end of words : 
 
 E 'ncantro a le rostre armi a I' anne f And against your arms he excites to 
 Gli eterni dci, &c. [incita aims the eternal gods. 
 
 Cab. E. I 
 
 Ivi 4 quel nostro viro, e dolce sole 
 Ch' adorna» e'njiora la tua riva manca 
 
 Pet. S 
 
 There is that lively and fair «tiQ of 
 ours, which adorns and embellishes 
 with flowers thy left bank. 
 
 Colui ch* a te ne' nvia. I He who sends us to thee. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Vi sente d' un ruscello il roco pianto, 
 E'^ sospirar dell' aura infra le Ironde, 
 E di musico cigno il flebil canto, 
 E'/ usignuol che plora e gli risponde. 
 
 Tas. G. L. 
 
 Com' perde agcTolraente in uu mattino 
 Quel che 'n molV aimi a gran pena s' 
 
 [acquista. 
 Pet. C. 
 
 There he hears the hoarse murmur of 
 a rivulet, and the sighing of the 
 gale among the trees, and the dole- 
 ful note of the musical swan, and 
 
 the nightingale that wails and re- 
 sponds t o him. 
 
 How it loses in one morning [that 
 which in many years is acquired 
 with great trouble. 
 
 15. In these latter examples we see the V , ch' , d' , dell', corn, 
 molt', s', as further instances of the vowel cut off at the end of 
 words ; and these, without the apostrophe, would be written 
 /«, che, di, della, come, molti, si : while the 'ncontro, 'nfiora, 
 'nvia, 7, 7, 'n, are examples of the vowel cut off at the begin- 
 ing of words ; and these, to spell them in ftdl, would be incontro, 
 infiora, invia, il, il, in. 
 
 Sounds of Letters. 
 
 16. An able grammarian has remarked, and really without 
 much exaggeration, that it is as difficult for a writer to describe 
 the pronunciation of words in writing, as it is for a painter to 
 represent a sound in colours. Pronunciation is purely a prac- 
 tical matter, and must, to be well learned, be communicated 
 by the tongue of the teacher to the ear of the learner. But 
 as there is hardly any thing that can be called troublesome or 
 difficult to learn in the pronunciation of Italian, I will follow 
 the example of others in this respect, and endeavour to give my 
 reader some notion how the letters, as united with one 
 another in syllables, are to be pronounced.. But I must warn 
 
18 .OF PROSODY. [Chap. 
 
 the reader, that, to give him inptructions upon this part of the 
 subject, to such an extent as could ensure him any thing 
 hke perfection, a great deal more must be said than the purposed 
 limits of my work will permit. , 
 
 A. 
 
 This letter is pronounced broad, as we pronounce the Inter- 
 jection Ah ! It is sometimes pronounced long, sometimes short, 
 as in English ; but it does not change its sound, as it does 
 with us. When we pronounce it long, it is like ay, as in male, 
 tale; when short, like ah, as in marry, carry. In Italian it 
 must always be like ah ; and the only difference is, that when 
 there is an emphasis to be laid on this letter, we are to dwell 
 somewhat longer on the letter, and to give it more fullness of 
 sound : as, for example, in the word platano, a plane-tree : where 
 the first a is to be sounded long, and the latter a short. 
 
 B. 
 
 This letter is pronounced in two different ways by the Italians: 
 either hee, like our b in Enghsh, or hay, like the same letter in 
 French. 
 
 c. 
 
 This letter is pronounced chee, like the chea in cheat. Some 
 Italians pronounce it chay, hke the cha in change. 
 
 Rule 1 . — When c comes before either of the vowels e and i, 
 it is pronounced soft, the same as ch in the word choose; as, 
 ctlebre, celebrated, citta, a city, which' are to be pronounced 
 chelehre, chittd. 
 
 Rule 2. — Also when c is double before e or i, it must be soft ; 
 as, uccello, a bird, uccidere, to kill ; which jnust be pronounced 
 ucchello, ucchidere. 
 
 Rule 3. — c before the vowels a, o, u, must be pronounced hard, 
 like c in the word card, or as our k would be ; as, capo, a 
 head, cosa, a thing, cuoco, a cook ; which are pronounced kapo, 
 kosa, kuoko. 
 
 Rule 4. — When c is joined with h , and they come imme- 
 diately before e or i, the c is then hard; as, cheto, quiet, chiave, 
 a key ; which are pronounced keto, kiuve. 
 
III.] OP PROSODY. 19 
 
 Rule 5. — When c is double before h, or before either of the 
 vowels a, o, u, it must be hard; ViS v^cehio, an old man, vacca, 
 a cow, tabdcco, tobacco, accusa, an accusation ; which must be 
 pronounced veckio, vacka, tabacko, ackusa. 
 
 The people of Tuscany, wlio are said to speak the best Italian, 
 pronounce this letter in a manner strikingly incorrect and ugly. 
 Before the vowels e and i, they pronounce c Hke sh : for in- 
 stance, cinque cento, five hundred, they would pronounce, shinque 
 shento. Then, before a, o, and n, they give c the sound of 
 h aspirated; so they would pronounce the words caj)0, cosa, cuoco, 
 as if they were spelled hapo, hosa, huoho. 
 
 D. 
 
 This letter, like ours, is pronounced dee. Some Italians give 
 it the sound of day, like that of the same letter in French. 
 
 E. 
 
 This letter is pronounced ay, just as we pronounce the letter 
 a in English. The e has two different sounds in Italian when 
 ioined with other letters. In one case it is called e open, in the 
 other e close. It is very important to know when it is to be 
 sounded in the one way, and when in the other. I have already 
 given some examples, in speaking of the two accents, of words 
 written in one way that have different meanings, which mean- 
 ings can be distinguished in speaking only by the different 
 manner of sounding the e, or, in writing, by the accent being 
 grave or acute. The grave accent is the sign of its being open, 
 the acute accent of its being close. The following examples, 
 which are from the list I have already given, will show the 
 difference : 
 
 E open. E close. 
 
 Legge, he, or she, reads. Legge, law. 
 
 Pesca, a peach. , Pesca, the pursuit of fishing. 
 
 In the former instances, that is, where the grave accent is 
 used, and where the e is open, it is to be sounded ay, like our 
 a in bane, pane. In the latter instances, where the acute accent 
 
!20 OF PROSODY. [Chap. 
 
 is uecd, and where the e is close, it must be f?ounded the same 
 as our € in den, fell, tell, &c. 
 
 F. 
 
 Tliis letter is pronounced cffay. 
 
 G. 
 
 This letter, which, like our g, is pronounced ^>e (and by some 
 Italians tljoy), has, when joined with other letters, two distinct 
 sounds, the one hard and the other soft, just as it has in 
 English. 
 
 Rule 1 . — g is always hard before the vowels a, o, u, before h, 
 and before r, and sometimes before I. It is hard before these 
 vowels, as in gaUina, a hen, goito, a cup, gusto, taste ; like our 
 g in gall, gold, gull. It is hard before the consonants h, r, and /, 
 as in ghirlanda, a garland, grido, a cry, glorioso, glorious; like 
 our g in gherkin, grain, glorious. 
 
 Rule 2. — g before either e or i is soft ; as in gclo, frost, 
 giglio; a lily; which must be pronounced jaylo, jeelio. When 
 the g is double before e or i, the two (7's have a sound like dg, 
 the same as the two gr's have in our word allege ; as in Ugge, 
 law, Icggere, to read, piggio, worse, 6ggi, to-day ; which are 
 pronounced ledge, ledgere,pedgio, odgi. I have before observed, 
 that g before / is sometimes hard ; but it is not always so, and 
 the sound of the g soft, in Italian^i contributes greatly to the ge- 
 neral softness of the language. 
 
 Rule 3. — In the syllables gla, gle, glo, glu, g is hard, as in 
 our words glade, glebe, glory, glum : but. 
 
 Rule 4. — If / be followed by /, and g immediately precede 
 thoee two letters, the g is soft ; as in figlio, son, foglio, leaf, 
 meglio, better, moglie, wife, padiglione, pavilion ; which words 
 must be pronounced somewhat the same as if the g were 
 omitted and another / put in its place : fillio, follio, mellio, 
 rnollie, padiUione. There are some very few exceptions to this 
 rule ; as, in the words negligere, to neglect, and the rest of the 
 parts of that verb, in negligcnza, negligence, Auglia, a name 
 for England, anglic6no, anglican, auglicismo, anglicism, an- 
 glico, English, in aU which words the gli is to have just the same 
 sound as the same syllable has in our word negligence. 
 
III.] OP PROSODY. 21 
 
 Rule. 5. — g before n is soft, and has such a sound as it would 
 be difficult to describe by a comi3arison with any thing in our 
 language. See the table of syllables further on, gl, &c. gn, &c. 
 The sound of the^ in such cases might be easily taught to a French- 
 man in WTiting ; but it is not easy, indeed it is impossible, to 
 teach it, by that means, to an EngUshman ; for it is seldom, if 
 ever, that we find the g having, in our language, a similar sound. 
 The gn in feign, deign, are, in their sound, something like those 
 letters in the Italian ; but, after all, this, like the proper sound 
 oigli, can be well taught only by word of mouth. 
 
 H. 
 
 24. This letter is pronounced ackah. It is, as I have before 
 said, the only mute letter in the Italian alphabet. At the 
 beginning of a word it is never sounded any more than if it 
 had no place there at all ; and the only reason for employing it 
 in that situation is to distinguish some words from others in 
 writing. The following are the only instances in which it is so 
 employed now-a-days, in which instances it has not the least 
 sound given to it: 
 
 ho, I have. , o, or. 
 
 hai, thou hast. ai, to the. 
 
 ha, he has. a, to. 
 
 hanno, they have. anno, a year. 
 
 hamo, a fish-hook, amo, I love. , 
 
 25. Even here the h is omitted by some writers, though 
 such omission has been condemned. It is employed at the 
 end of words in only a few instances, namely, in the Inter- 
 jections, a&, ah, ah, deh, alas, eh, eh, oh, oh. — It was formerly 
 the fashion, as may be seen in reading old editions of books in 
 Italian, to employ the h, very frequently, at the beginning of a 
 word which would otherwise begin with a vowel ; as in ora 
 an hour, onore, honour, ebbero, they had, onestci, honesty, &c. 
 which, in old style, were written hora, honore, hebbero, hohestd, 
 — ^The most important use of the h is where that letter is im- 
 mediately preoeeded by c or g, in which cases, as has been ex- 
 plained in speaking of those two letters, the h causes the c or g 
 to be sounded hard, while, if the h were omitted, they would 
 have, to be sounded soft. In such cases the h is of great force 
 
22 OP PROSODY. [Cliap. 
 
 in distinguishing words: for instance, chino, a slope, cketo, 
 quiet, vtgghio, I awake, vccchia, old, would, if written or 
 pronounced cino, ccto, vcggio,icccia, s'lipiihy aplumb, a whale, 
 I see, a vetth. 
 
 I. 
 
 This letter is pronounced like our letter e, as the double e in 
 the word hee. 
 
 Rule 1. — ^When i comes between the consonants c, g, gl, sc, 
 and the vowels a, o, or u, the use of it serves only to make the 
 pronunciation more soft, and the t is not so distinctly sounded 
 as it is in general ; as, in ciascUho, every one, maggiore, greater, 
 moglie, a wife, scivpato, wasted ; which words are pronoimced 
 as if the cias, gio, glie, sciu, had, in each of them, only one 
 syllable, and as if the ia, io, ie, iu, were diphthongs. 
 
 Rule 2. — When i is immediately followed bv another ^'Dwel, 
 it generally forms, along with that vowel, a diphthong, and the 
 two together are pronounced short; as in piaga, a wound, 
 mx4le, honey, fiore, a flower, fiume, a river. Sometimes, 
 though not very often, the i is, in such cases, divided from the 
 other vowel, and the two vowels are both sounded quite dis- 
 tinctly ; as in halm, power, die, a day, hacio, a shaded spot, 
 chiunque, whoever, apologia, an apology, melodia, a melody; in 
 which words the lia, die, cio, chiun, gia, dia, are to be sounded 
 as being of themselves, or belonging to, two distinct syllables : 
 ha-lt-a, di-e, ba-ci-o, chi-urt'que, apolo-g^i-a, melo-di-a. 
 
 This letter has just the same sound in Itahan as the i. 
 Some have asserted that it is, at times, a consonant in the 
 Italian language, as it always is in Enghsh ; but this 
 assertion has, very properly, been condemned by others. 
 There can be no use in Ccdling it a consonant as relates to the 
 Italian ; for its sound is always precisely the same as that of 
 the i. Its use, however, is not unnecessary. It is employed, 
 most commonly, at the ends of nouns in the plural number ; and 
 that employment of it, which I shall have to speak of in the 
 Etymology of Nouns, is reasonable enough ; for it stands, in 
 such cases, in the stead of a double i, and is to be pronounced 
 as if it were a double i. Besides this, modem orthography has 
 
III.] OF PROSODY. 23 
 
 introduced this letter, in the place of the i, at the beginning of 
 all words where the letter following is a vowel, and between other 
 letters in some words ; at the beginnings of 1 words, as in jam- 
 bico, iambic, jw, yesterday, j'ota, iota, jurisdiziSne, jurisdiction ; 
 between other letters in words, as in rasojo, a razor, librujo, a 
 bookseller, scoUjOy a scholar, noja, vexation. But the sounds, 
 in these instances, must still be just the same as if the words 
 were written iambico, ieri, iota, iurisdizione, ani rasoio, librdio, 
 scoldio, noia. — In some cases this letter has been introduced in 
 place of the r, to soften the pronunciation of words ; as in 
 accidjo, steal, dandjo, money, Febrdjo, February, scoldjOj a 
 scholar, not d jo, a notary, which were otherwise written accidro, 
 dandro, Febrdro, scoldro, notdro. 
 
 It has been a disputed point with grammarians, whether the 
 j ought or ought not to be used, in some cases, instead of the 
 i. Galignani tells us that wq/a, vexation, cuojo, leather, librdjo, 
 a bookseller, jeri, yesterday, juridico, lawful, are corruptions ; 
 and that these words should be spelled noia, cuoio, librdio, ieri, 
 iuridico. But practice seems to favour the^', in such cases. In 
 modern dictionaries the words io, I, and ionico, ionic, are, 
 generally, the only ones to be found where the second letter in 
 the word is a vowel, and where i, and not j, precedes that 
 vowel. And as to the employment of ^ between two vowels in 
 the body of a word, this use of it seems to be reasonable 
 enough ; for it gives us to vmderstand that they and the vowel 
 following it are not be sounded together as a diphthong, as the /, 
 when joined to a vowel, almost always is. In speaking of the 
 i, we have seen the examples pidga, miele, &c : and there the 
 accent falls distincly on the vowel next to the i, and the i is 
 sounded quite short along with the a, e, &c., and the two letters 
 form a diphthong. And then we have seen the examples, 
 which are exceptions to the general sound of the i, in the words 
 balm, die, bacio, &c. ; but then here must always be an accent 
 placed over the i, which is not the case with j as employed 
 between vowels in a word. When we find words with these 
 combinations of letters in them, aja, oje, ujo, or any such, 
 where the j comes between two vowels, we shall generally see 
 that there is an emphasis on the first vowel, that rrhich precedes 
 the j, as there is in noja, cuojo, librdjo ; and, yet, the j, in such 
 
24 OP PROSODY. [Chaf(. 
 
 cases, must not join with the \owc\yfhlch follows it in a diph- 
 thong, a? the i docs with the vowel mpiaga, miilc, &c. ; but the 
 three vowels must all be somewhat distinctly sounded : nu-j-a, 
 cuo-j'O, libra-j-o ; or, perhaps, the j should rather be sounded 
 with the first vowel than with the last : noj-a, cuoj-o, lihraj-o. 
 Sometimes the emphasis is on the vowel which follows the j ; 
 and, in such cases, the employment of the j shows that the 
 former vowel and the i are not to be a diphthong, but are both 
 to be pronounced, in some degree, distinctly from each other ; 
 as in the words ghiajoso, gravelly, and ghiandajone, a great 
 magpie, where we see the accent on the latter vowel ; while the 
 words ghiaja, gravel, and ghiandaja, a magpie, have the accent 
 on tlie former vowel. — I leave it to the critics to decide which 
 is the best to employ in such cases, the i or the^'. Such is the 
 fact, however, in practice, that 7 is used to denote that there is 
 not a diphthong, and that i must always form a diphthong, when 
 in -conjunction with a vowel, except in a few cases, as in the 
 examples before given. 
 
 This Letter is pronounced ^llai/, 
 
 M. 
 
 This letter is pronounced emmay. 
 
 N. 
 
 This letter is pronounced Innay. 
 
 o. 
 
 This letter is pronounced just as our is in English. The 
 0, like the e, is subject to two varieties of sound, the open and 
 the close. The grave accent is the sign of its being open, 
 the acute accent of its being close. I will here repeat, as with 
 the e, some of the words which have been before given as ex- 
 amples of the grave and acute accents : 
 
 O open. O close. 
 
 pbsta, a post. posta, placed. 
 
 torre, to take away. torre, a tower. 
 
 vhlgo, I turn. volgo, the common people. 
 
 sono, a sound. sono, I am, thev are. 
 
 vblto, turned. volto, a countenance. 
 
III.] OF PROSODY. 25 
 
 In the former instances, that is, where the grave accent is 
 used, the o is sounded more distinctly, and open; as in our 
 words bone, tone, prone : in the latter instances the o is sounded 
 less distinctly, and close; as in our' words ponder, torture, 
 mortal. 
 
 p. 
 
 This letter is pronounced j9ee, like our /> in English. Some 
 Italians give it the sound of pay, as the French do. 
 
 Q. 
 
 This letter is pronounced coo, like the coo in cool. It is 
 never employed in Italian but before an u, and when the u is 
 followed by an i, the ui is always a diphthong, and the qui is 
 sounded short, as being only one syllable ; as qui, here, quietare 
 to quiet, quivi, there ; where the qui is to have the same em- 
 phasis given it as we should give to qwi, and is not to be pro- 
 nounced cooi. 
 
 R. 
 
 This letter is pronounced erray. There is a peculiar rough- 
 ness given to the sound of it by the Italians, as by the French, 
 particularly when the r is double, and this is to be learned 
 only by ear. When the r is double, both r's are distinctly 
 sounded ; as in guerra, war, terra, earth. We have no sound 
 for the r, in our language, similar to that which the Itahans 
 give it : even the erray, which is put here as the combination 
 of letters most apt to teach the sound of the r, as it stands 
 alone, will not be sufficient, without hearing an Italian pro- 
 nounce the letter. ^ / 
 
 s. 
 
 This letter is pronounced essay. The 5 has two different 
 sounds in Italian, as in English : the one is called hissing, the 
 other is like the sound of our z. The s hissing is sounded 
 like the s in our words singer, distance ; the s like z is sounded 
 as our « m pleasing, easy. 
 
 Rule 1 . — It is always hissing when it comes immediately 
 before either of the consonants c, f, p, q, t -, as in seudo, 
 shield, sfera, sphere, specchio, mirror, squallore, paleness,. 
 stagiSne, season. 
 
 c 
 
26 OF i'Rosoor. [Chap. 
 
 Rule 2. — s is hissing l)efore the vowels a, e, i, o, u ; as in 
 s/iie, salt ; scdia, chair ; sicuro, safe ; solo, alone ; subito, imme- 
 diately. 
 
 Ridco. — 5 is hissing wherever it is double; as in mcsse, 
 harvest, sasso, stone. 
 
 Rule 4. — 5 is hissing at the terminations of adjectives in 
 oso, osa, osi, ose, singular and plural, masculine and feminine ; 
 as in glorioso, (/loriusa, gloriusi, gloriuse, glorious ; ritroso, 
 ritrosn, ritrusi, ritrose, shy. 
 
 Rule 5. — s is sometimes hissing, and sometimes like z when 
 between two vowels in Nouns ; as in r'tao, laugh, casa, house, 
 pustty rest, where it is hissing ; and in spusa, spouse ; rosa, 
 rose ; prusa, prose ; paradiso, paradise ; where it is like z in 
 English. When 5 is to have the one, and when the other sound, 
 in these cases, is to be learned only by practice. 
 
 Rule 6. — s is like z before all the other consonants not men- 
 tioned above, namely, b, d, g, I, m, n, r ; for it never immedi- 
 ately precedes an A or a z in Italian : as in the words sbaglio, 
 mistake, sdegno, scorn ; sgannare, to undeceive ; shale, disloyal ; 
 smontare, to descend ; snello, nimble ; sradkare, to root up. Here 
 the words must be pronounced as if they were written zbaglio, 
 zdegno, zgannare, &c. 
 
 Rule 7. — 5 is hke z in all words derived from the Latin in 
 which 5 in the Italian fills the place of x in the Latin word ; 
 as in esamindre, to examine, escmpio, example, esort/ire, to 
 exhort; wliich, in Latin, are written examinare, exemplum, 
 exhortare. Pronoimce, ezaminare, &c. 
 
 Rule 8. — s is like z when it is preceded by the vowel «; as 
 
 in muslire, to muse ; accusa, accusation ; causa, cause ; 
 
 which are pronounced, muzare, acciiza, cauza. The word 
 
 fuso, spindle, is an exception to this rule, and the 5 here 
 
 must be hissing. 
 
 Rule 9. — 5 is like z in adjectives ending in ese, esi, as in cor- 
 tcse, corttsi, courteous ; palese, palest, publick. 
 
 Rule 10. — ^Vhen 5 comes immediately before c, and the c 
 is immediately followed by e or i, the sc are sounded precisely 
 like sh in English; as in sa'gliere, to choose, scidcco, foolish; 
 which must be pronounced shegliere, shiocco. 
 
III.] OP PROSODY. 27 
 
 T. 
 
 This letter is pronounced as in English, tee. By some it is 
 pronounced tai/, as it is in French. 
 
 u. 
 
 This letter is pronounced oo, like the double o in the word 
 bloom. 
 
 V. • , 
 
 This letter is pronounced voo. 
 
 z. 
 
 This letter is pronounced dsaitah. Some pronounce it is 
 like the ts at the end of the word ivits. It has two different 
 sounds in Italian, as joined with other letters, like the 5. It is 
 sometimes sounded like ts, in which case it may be called hiss- 
 ing ; at other times like ds and then it maybe said to be rough. 
 When it is hissing, its sound is like that of ^5 in bits, hits, wits . 
 when rough, its sound is Uke that of ds in hounds, Windsor ^ 
 So the words prezzo price, and saviezza, wisdom, in which 
 the z is hissing, must be pronomiced hke pretso, savietsa ; and 
 the words zio, uncle, zelo, zeal, in which the z is rough, 
 must be pronounced as dsio, dselo, or dzio, dzelo would be in 
 English. 
 
 Rule 1. — z is hissing in all nouns ending in anza, and 
 enza ; as in danza, dance ; accoglimza, entertainment. 
 
 Rule 2. — z is hissing where the diphthongs ia, ie, io, come 
 immediately after it ; as in amicizia, friendship, fac^zie, merry 
 sa3dngs, rivoluzidne, revolution. 
 
 Rule 3. — z is generally hissing when it is double between 
 two vowels; as in bellezza, beauty, carezza, caress, pozzo, 
 well : but in a great many such cases the z is sounded in the 
 other way; as in mezzo, half, where the double z must be 
 rough. It would take up a good deal of room to show all the 
 instances of z hissing smdz rough. The double z and the single z 
 may each, in different cases, be pronounced both hissing and 
 rough ; as, rozzo, rude, garz6ne, boy ; and dolcezza, mildness, 
 vizio, vice : in the two former of these examples the z, both 
 double and single, must be hissing; while, in the two latter, thev 
 must both be rough. — In the old fashion of spelling Italian, the 
 
 c 2 
 
88 OF PRORonr. [Cliap. 
 
 / used to be employed in hundreds of cases where the single z 
 is always employed at the present day, wliich may be seen by 
 taking up any Italian book of an old edition. Tlie / was em- 
 ployed, most commonly, before the diphthongs ia, ie, io ; as 
 in amicizia, facezie, rivoluzione, which used formerly to be 
 written am'uitin, faretie, r'wohitione. Also in many words c 
 used to be employed where we now generally find the z ; as 
 in the words bencfizio, benefit, giudizio, judgment, vffizio, 
 office, which used to be written henrficio, g'nidicio, ufficio. 
 
 There is one general observation to be made with respect to 
 all the consonants, b, c, d, f, g, I, m, n, p, r, s, t, namely, 
 that whenever these letters are doubled, both the letters 
 should be somewhat distinctly pronounced in the Italian. In 
 some cases the pronouncing of each of the two letters distinctly 
 is of the greatest consequence, as in the case of the 1st person 
 plural of the future time of the Indicative mood, and in the 1 st 
 person plural of what is called the Conditional mood, in verbs ; 
 the difiereuce between which two inflexions of the verbs is 
 marked by there being, in the first mood, one m, and, in the 
 second, two ms. As for example, parlernno, we shall speak, 
 parlenmmo, we should speak: /emermo, we shall fear, temercmmo, 
 we should fear : fininmo, w^e shall finish, finiranmo, we should 
 finish. Here it is important, in pronunciation, to give a 
 distinct sound to each of the double letters, or there can be 
 nothing to distinguish the two inflexions of the verb when we 
 use the one or the other. We must pronounce, parlercm-mo , 
 temerlm-mo, finir cm-mo. 
 
 Sounds of Syllables. 
 
 17. The following table exhibits the combinations of letters 
 the sounds of which are the least easy to leani. They should be 
 read over by the learner to some one who can teach the proper 
 pronunciation. There is no sort of afl[inity of sound in our lan- 
 guage, by which a person could weU be taught to give a right 
 sound to the gl and the gn of the Italians, though there is 
 hardly any difliculty in learning how to do so by ear. 
 
III.] OP PROSODY. 29 
 
 A TABLE, 
 TO TEACH THE PRONUNCIATION 
 
 OF 
 
 CERTAIN COMBINATIONS OF LETTERS. 
 
 As relates to C 
 
 C soft : ce, ci, cia, cie, cio, ciu ; — pronounce like clmy, cJiee, cheeah, ckeeay, 
 clieeo, cheeu. 
 
 C soft after s : see, sci,scia, scie, scio, schc j — pronounce like shay, shee, sheea/i, 
 sheeay, sheeo, sheeu. 
 
 C hard before h : che, chi, sche, schi ; — pronounce like hay, kee, skay, skee. 
 
 C hard after j .- sea, sco, scu ; — pronounce like ska, sko, skoo. 
 
 As relates to G. 
 
 G soft : ge, gi, gia, gio, giji.y— pronounce like jay,jee,jeeah, jeeo, jeetc. 
 
 G hard before h : ghe, ghi, sghe, sghi ;— pronounce gay, ghee, sgay, sghee. 
 
 G hard before o and u : go, gua, gue, gui ; — pronounce go, gooah, gooay, gooee. 
 
 G before li : gll, gUa, glie, glio, gliu, gliuo ;— pronounce the gl as we pronounce 
 those letters in the foreign word seraglio. ^ 
 
 G before n : gna, gnc, gni, gno, gnu, gnuo j — pronounce the gn as we pronounce 
 those letters in the words/elgn, deign. 
 
 As relates to Q. 
 
 Q always preceding u : qua, que, qui, quo ; — pronoxmce eooah, cooay, quee, 
 qnoh. 
 
 As relates to the double R. 
 
 Arra, erre, orri, urro, orru ; — ^pronounce roughly ar-ra, er re, or-ri, ur-ro, 
 or-ru. 
 
 As relates to S. 
 
 S hissing : sa, se, si, so, su ; — pronoimce like sah, say, see, so, soo. 
 
 S like z : eso, ese, osa, oso, isa, iso '; — pronounce like ayzo, ayzay, ozah, ozo, 
 izah, izo, ^ j 
 
 I 
 
 As relates to Z. 
 
 Z single, hissing : i (aza, eze, ezi, izo, ozu ; 1 pronounce at sah, etsay^ etsi, 
 
 Z double, hissing : j \azza, ezze, ezzi, izzo, ozzu ; i it so, otsoo. 
 
 Z single, rough :\ (aza, eze, ezi, izo, ozu ; ipronounce adsah, edsay, edsee, 
 
 Z double, rough:/ Xazza, ezze, ezzi, izzo, ozzu ji idso, odsoo. 
 
30 ETYMOLOGY IN GENERAL. [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of Etymology in General. 
 
 17. Etymology, as a branch of Grammar, teaches us the 
 origin of words, or how words are related to, or derived from, 
 one another. Thus, the words finishes, finishing, finished, are 
 all derivatives of, or are related to, the Infinitive of the verb to 
 finish. Him and his are derived from he; them from they : 
 the Adjective beautiful is derived from the noun beauty, and the 
 Adverb beautifully, again, from the Adjective beautiful. All 
 the labour that is required as to this branch of Grammar, con- 
 sists in the mere getting of icords by heart. Tliere are, in par- 
 ticular, to be learned, the changes in the spelling of Articles, 
 Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, and Verbs. We shall see, that 
 the comparatively great number that there are of these changes 
 makes a striking difference between our language and the 
 Italian. For example : 
 
 io ebbi, I had noi avtmmo, we had 
 
 tu avcsti, thou hadst voi avtste, you had 
 egli ibbe, he had ^glino ebbero, they had 
 
 Here, where we have but one change in the verb to have, the 
 Italians have no less than six. 
 
v.] 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 31 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Etymology of Articles. 
 
 18. In our language there are but two words that are Ar- 
 ticles ; namely, the, which is called the Definite Article, and a 
 or an, which is called the Indefinite Article. In ItaUan there 
 are three words which answer the purpose of our the ; merely, 
 il, lo, and la ; and one to answer the pm*pose of our a or an ; 
 namely, un. Our articles, we know, never undergo any 
 change of form excepting the one change to which a or an is 
 subject ; but in Italian, the Articles do. The definite Articles 
 must always change their fonn to distinguish the masculine 
 and feminine gender, and the singular and plural number ; 
 and they are, also, subject to change, when joined with Prepo- 
 sitions, as we shaU immediately see. The Indefinite Article 
 changes its form to distinguish gender, though it, like our a or 
 an, is always in the singular number. I shall have to speak of 
 Articles again in the next chapter, as they are so immediately 
 connected with Nouns that the Etymology of the two Parts of 
 Speech cannot be weU ti^eated of separately. I will here just 
 show all the changes to which the Articles are liable. 
 
 Masculme Article IL, the. 
 
 Singular. 
 II, or 7, the 
 Del, of the 
 Al, to, or at, the 
 Dal, from the 
 Nel, in the 
 Col, with the 
 Pel, for the 
 ^ulj on the 
 
 Plural . 
 I or li. the 
 Dei or De\ of the 
 Ai or A\ to, or at, the 
 Dai or Da', from the 
 Nei or Ne\ in the 
 Coi or Co', with the 
 Pei or Pe\ for the 
 Sui or Su, on thQ 
 
32 
 
 KTYMOLOOY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Masculine Article LO, the. 
 
 Singular. 
 Lo, the 
 Dello, of the 
 Alio, to, or at, the 
 DallOj from the 
 Nello, in the 
 Collo, with the 
 Pello, for the 
 Sullo, on the 
 
 Plural. 
 Gliy the 
 Degli, of the 
 Aglif to, or at, the 
 Dagli, from the 
 Negli, in the 
 Cofjf//, with the 
 Pcgli, for the 
 Sugli, on the 
 
 Feminine Article LA, the. 
 
 Singular. 
 La, the 
 Delia, of the 
 yi//ff, to, or at, the 
 Dalla, from the 
 Nella, in the 
 Co//ff, with the 
 Pel la, for the 
 
 Plural. 
 Le, the 
 
 Delle, of the 
 -ri//e, to, or at, the 
 Dalle, from the 
 Nelle, in the 
 Co//e, with the 
 Pelle, for the 
 Sulle, on the 
 
 Sulla, on the 
 
 Indefinite Article UN,^ a-a«. 
 
 Masculine^ Feminine. 
 
 un, or M/zo, a-an | un , or w«a, a-an 
 
 19. The il or 7, and i or //, the /o and gli, the /a and le^ 
 would never change their form, from beginning to eUd, but that 
 the prepositions di, of, a, to, da, from, ne, in, con, with, ^er, 
 for, su, on, are joined to them. These seven are the only 
 prepositions that can be joined in this manner to the iVrticles ; 
 and even this is, in a great measure, a modem st}le of writing ; 
 for formerly the whole of these prepositions used to be written 
 separately from the Articles ; and then it was de il, a il, da il, &c. 
 de i, a i, da i, &c. de lo, a lo, da lo, &c. de gli, a gli, da gli, &c. 
 de la, a la, da la, &c. de le, a le, da le, &c. The preposition di 
 has been spelled de, when before the Article, as being more 
 harmonious : the double Vs also, as in dello, alio, della, alia, 
 delle, alle, &c. instead of de lo, a lo, de la, a la, de le, a le, &c. 
 
v.] OF ARTICLES. 33 
 
 these double I's are intended to join more perfectly, and to 
 hamionize, in pronunciation, the prepositions with the 
 Articles. 
 
 20. The Indefinite Article un means, literally, one. The 
 Italians, like the French, have no word precisely like our a or 
 an in their language. Instead of saying a horse, an hour, they 
 say one horse, one hour ; not intending, in such cases, that 
 the Article should have the sense of a numerical adjective, 
 which it has in other instances, but just the same sense as 
 the English a or an has in the examples above. Of the change 
 of form in the un, as well as of that in the other Articles, 
 I sliall be better able to treat in the next Chapter. 
 
S4 
 
 ETVMOLOGV 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Etymology of Nnnns. 
 
 21. In the Et^Tiiolopn^ of Nouns there are two things to be 
 considereu ; namely, Gender, and Number. Tlicre is another 
 matter called Case, wliich, also, it is customary to consider 
 under this head. Nouns and Pronouns are said to be sub- 
 ject to Case, and this Case is a matter of the greatest im- 
 ])ortance to" us as a part of our study in learning any foreign 
 language. But this matter cannot be properly explained in 
 few words ; and, therefore, I have thouglit it best in order to 
 avoid repetition, to devote a separate Chapter to the subject of 
 Case, under the head " Of Cases, and of the Governing of Cases ;" 
 for v/hich see Paragraph 277. 
 
 22. GENDER. In the Italian language every noun is 
 either of the. Masculine or of the Feminine gender. All the 
 Nouns in Italian terminate in one or other of the vowels, 
 a, e, i, 0, u : there is hardly an exception. 
 
 Nouns eliding in A. 
 
 23. It is a general rule that Nouns ending in a are feminine. 
 Tliose in the following list are exceptions to this rule, and the 
 list contains the greater part of the exceptions. 
 
 anarrramma, an anagram 
 an/itcma, an anathema 
 apotcgiiia, an apothegm 
 apostima, an iniposthume 
 as.sidma, an axiom 
 clima, a climate 
 diadi'ma, a diadem 
 (fiaframma, a diaphragm 
 dilemma, a dilemma 
 diploma, a diploma 
 d6<;ma, a dogma 
 dn'imma, a dramnia 
 emhUma, an emblem 
 cnimma, an enigma 
 epigrdmma, an epigram 
 /a7it<isma, a spectre 
 
 flimma, phlegm 
 idiima, an idiom 
 piancta, a planet 
 pocma, a poem 
 prisma, a prism 
 problana, a problem 
 programma, a programme 
 scisma, a schism 
 sistima, a system 
 so/A, a sofa 
 soflsma, a sophism 
 stcmma, armories 
 stratagcmma, a stratagem 
 Uijfetfi, taffpty 
 tima, a theme 
 teorana, a theorem 
 
Vl.ji OF NOUNS^ 35 
 
 When, in Italian, the proper name of a man, or any noun 
 expressive of a man's quaUty, condition in Hfe, or occupation, 
 ends in «, the noun is, of course, masculine : as, Andrea , 
 Andrew; papa, pope; monarca, monarch; legista, lawyer; 
 prof eta, prophet; poeta, poet; duca, duke; arciduca, arch- 
 duke ; patriarca, patriarch ; scriba, scribe ; boja, hangman ; 
 idiota, idiot ; ipocrita, hypocrite, apostata, apostate ; artista, 
 artist; copista, copyist; eremiia, hermit; geometra, geometri- 
 cian; moralista, moralist; oculista, oculist; sofista, sophist. 
 
 Nouns ending in E. 
 
 24. The far greater part of the nouns end in a, e, or o ,• those 
 in i and u are, comparatively, very few in number. A great 
 part of them, however, end in e ; and in this termination the 
 gender is a much more irregular matter than in a or o. 
 
 Rule 1. Nouns ending in le, me, ore, one, enie, onte, are m.as- 
 culine, with nctt many exceptions. \ 
 
 Rule 2. Nouns ending in iore are all masculine. 
 
 Rule 3. Nouns ending in ione with a 2 or an 5 immediately 
 preceding the i, are almost all feminine ; as /wiidwe/ fiction; 
 delusione, delusion. 
 
 25. These rules may be useful ; but it would be loss of 
 time for the learner to study any thing more in the way of 
 rulo as to the gender of nouns ending in e ; for, nouns of this 
 termination are very irregular in respect to gender, and it is by 
 practice only that a perfect knowledge of their genders can 
 be obtained. 
 
 Nouns ending in I. 
 
 26. There are but few nouns ending in i. The following 
 are pretty nearly the whole of them. I have put an m or an / 
 against each noun, to mark the masculine or feminine 
 gender. 
 
 analisi, f. an analysis Giovedi, m. Thursday 
 
 antitesi, f. an antithesis infilacappi, m. a bodkin 
 
 ball, m. a bailif Lunedl, m. Monday 
 
 barbagiunni, m. an owl Martedl, m- Tuesday 
 
 cavadenti, m. a dentist Mercoledl, m. Wednesday 
 cflf;a5<rttcci, m. a worm to draw a charge metamdrfosl, f. a metauiorphosis 
 
 crimisi, m. crimson metrSpoll, f. a metropolis 
 
 crisi, f. a crisis . meztodl, m noon, cr mid-day 
 
 dl, in. a day parqfrusi, f. a paraphrase 
 
36 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 riiocisl, f. a diocroe V"^^> ™* »°d ^- *° equal 
 
 iclissi, f. an rclipnc slndtrixi, i. ri-morae 
 
 rttu.ll, f. an cxtncy tnf^lUiranloni, m. a ruffian 
 
 in/asi, {■ an eniphasU test, f. a thesiit 
 
 Ccnrsi, f. Gvuisia I'fwcrrfi, m. Friday 
 
 Nouns endhuj in O. 
 
 Rule. — All nouns common, ending in o, are mascaline,with 
 
 the exception only of mano, hand, which is feminine. Tlie 
 
 proper names of women, as Saffo, Sapho, are, of course, 
 
 feminine. 
 
 Nouns ending in U. 
 
 27. Tlie nouns ending in u are very few in number. Most 
 of them are written with an accent on the final w, as a sign of 
 their being words contracted. 
 
 f^ioteiitii, f. youtli, contracted from cintenti'itir or c:iorentute 
 
 virtu, f. virtue, from rirtude or lirtide 
 
 *erti/u, f. servitude, . . . from servitude or servitute 
 .vr/i.'«rf7H, f. slavery, . . . from schfavitude or schiavitute 
 gru, f. a cr.ine. 
 
 The nouns in u are mostly feminine. There are some proper 
 names of persons and places, however, of the other gender ; as, 
 Gesu, Jesus, Peru, Peru, Esav, Esau. 
 
 28. NUMBER. — Rule 1. All nouns ending in a in the sin- 
 gular number, that are of the masculine gender, make their 
 ])lurals in i; as, pocta, poet, pocti, -poets ; pocma', poem, polfni, 
 poems ; diadima, diadem, diadtmi, diadems. 
 
 Rule 2. Those nouns that end in ta, with an accent on the 
 final a, make no change in their plural ; as cittu, cit\', cittri, 
 cities. There are not a great many of these, and they are all, 
 like the nouns ending in u accented, contracted from what they 
 formerly were in their spelling : as in the following examples : 
 
 cittd, a city, contracted from citt&de, or ciftdte 
 equitii, equity, .... from eqiiitdde or cquitdfe 
 fedeltii, fidelity, . . . from fcdeltdde or fedeltdte 
 prosperifd, prosperity, . from protpcritude or prosper! tdte 
 avversitd, adversity, . . from avversitdde or avversitdte 
 
 rrrifd, truth, from veritude or vcrifufe 
 
 tttilifd utility, .... from titilitude or utilifute 
 fe'icitu, felicity, . . . from frlicitdde or felicitate 
 uniforntifa, uniformity, . from u^ifortAitdde or unJ/onniti'ite 
 proffigalittj ,j>rodi^z.Uty , . from prodfgalitude or irod'.^nri- I'r 
 bontt), goodness, . . . from bonfdde or bout ate 
 estroniitd, extremity, . fron; fsfremildde or estrc»iiluie 
 (tit, Hge, from ttdde or etiite 
 
VI.] OP NOUNS. 37 
 
 Rule 3. — Nouns feminine in a, when the a is immediately 
 preceded by a consonant, change the a into e in the plural ; as, 
 la donna, the woman, le donne, the women ; la rosa, the rose, 
 le rose, the roses; la pidnta, the plant, le pidnte, the plants. 
 
 Rule 4. — Nouns ending in ca and ga require, in the plural, 
 an h immediately following the c and g ; as. la formica, the 
 ant, le formicUe, the ants; la pidga, the wound, le pidghe, 
 the wounds. 
 
 Rule 5, — Nouns ending in cia and gia, when there is 
 an accent on the i, make their plurals by changing the final a 
 into e ; as la bugia, the lie, le hugic, the lies ; V elegia, the 
 elegy, V elegie, the elegies. But, if there be no accent on the 
 i, and the ia be pronounced short, as a diphthong, which is 
 most frequently the case, then the ia must be omitted, and the 
 plural is formed by an e ; as, la gudncia, the cheek, le gudnce. 
 the cheeks; lafrdngia, the fringe, le f range ^ the fringes. 
 
 Rule 6. — In Nouns that end in ccia, or ggia, the coming 
 together of the double c or double g invariably causes the ia to 
 be a diphthong, and, in such cases, the ia is always changed to a 
 simple e in the plural ; as, la treccia, the tress, le trecce, the 
 tresses; la pidggia, the hill, le pidgge, the hills. 
 
 Nouns ending in E. 
 
 Rule 1 . — All nouns ending in e, when the e is not imme- 
 diately preceded by an i, form their plurals in i ; as, il padre, 
 the father, i padri, the fathers. 
 
 Rule 2. — All nouns ending in ie have the same termination 
 in both numbers ; as, la specie, the kind, le specie, the kinds; la 
 progenie, the progeny, le progenie, the progenies ; Veffigie, the 
 effigy, le effigie, the effigies ; la superficie, the surperfice, le super- 
 ficie, the superfices ; la barbdrie, the barbarity, le barbdrie, the 
 barbarities. 
 
 Nouns ending in I. 
 
 Rule. — All nouns ending in i in the singular, like those in td, 
 tu, and ie, make , no change in the plural ; as, il barbagidnni, 
 the owl, i barbagidnni, the owls ; la metropoli, the metropolis, 
 le metropoli, the metropolises. 
 
 Nouns ending in O. 
 liule i . — AH nouns ending in o, where the o is immediately 
 
38 KTYMOLOOY [Chap. 
 
 preceded by any consonant except c or g, or by any vowels ex- 
 cept I, form their j)lurala by frimply clianging the o into i ; a?, 
 i7 g/iiadoy the sword, ighiadi, the swords; fing/inno, the deceit, 
 gring/inni, the deceits; il pah'o, the top, ipalei^ the tops. 
 
 So far the termination of nouns in o is a very easy matter ; 
 but, in nouns in co and go there is some difficulty. Gramma- 
 rians in general confess, and Buommattei, who wrote to teach 
 Italians the grammar of their own language, says, that practice 
 alone can teach us how, in all cases, rightly to form the plurals 
 of nouns in co and ^ro. Sometimes these nouns make their plurals 
 with an h immediately following the c or g ; as, mdnico, 
 handle, makes, in the plural, mdnichi, and dbbllgo, obliga- 
 tion, makes obblighi. While other nouns, of the same termi- 
 nations in the singular, have no h at the ending of the plural ; 
 as, amho, friend, am'ici, friends, icologOy theologian, teulogi, 
 theologians. And this variety, in the forming of the plural, 
 is of great consequence ; since, as may be seen from what has 
 been said respecting the pronounciation of the letters c and g, 
 the use or omission of the h in such cases makes the c or ^ 
 hard or soft. 
 
 Rule 2. — all nouns ending in co and go, that are of no more 
 than two syllables, form their plurals in chi and ghi ; as, fcOj fig, 
 fichif figs ; pago, payment, y^ff^Ai, payments ; fuoco, ^e^/uuchi, 
 fires ; luogo, place, luoghi, places. Tlie nouns porco, pig, and 
 Greco, Grecian, are exceptions to this rule, and make, in the 
 plural, porci and Greet. In some cases the h may be either em- 
 ployed or not, at the discretion of the writer or speaker ; as, 
 dialogo, dialogue, may be, in its plural, either dialogic or di- 
 dloghi; astrolocjo, astrologer, may be either astrologi or as- 
 trdloghi. 
 
 Rule 3. — All nouns ending in jo drop the o to fomi the plural ; 
 as, scoldjoy scholar, scoldj, scholars ; librdjo, bookseller ; Ubrdj, 
 booksellers. 
 
 Rule 4. — Nouns ending in io form their plurals by simply 
 dropping the final o and leaving the i, or by dropping the io and 
 taking a J in its place, or by dropping the final o and adding 
 another t. 
 
 Rule 5. — Sometimes the io is pronounced short, as being a 
 diphthong, and then the noun makes its plural in i ,- as, hacio^ 
 
VI.] OP NOUNS. 39 
 
 kisSy bdci, kisses; ruggio, rB.y, raggi, reiys; strdzio, torment, 
 strazi, torments. 
 
 Rule 6. — Sometimes the i and theo are both distinctly sound- 
 ed, and not as a diphthong ; and the plural, in that case, must 
 be in 7; 2iS, giiidicio, 'judgment, giudicj , judgments; principio^ 
 principle, prbic'ipj, principles ; benefizio, benefit, benefizj, be- 
 nefits ; tcmpio, temple, t^mpj, temples. 
 
 Rule 7 . — When the i which precedes the final o has an accent 
 On it, the plural is formed by a double i as, zio, uncle, ziif 
 uncles ; cicafio, chit-chat, cicala, chit-chats ; no, rivulet, rii, 
 rivulets ; des'io, desire, desa, desires ; and the two is are to be 
 distinctly pronounced, laying an em.phasis on the first i. 
 
 Rule 8. — When the final o is immediately preceded by ch, or 
 by gl, the plural is always formed by simply dropping the o ; 
 the io, in such cases, is always sounded as a diphthong; as in 
 occhio, eye, Scchi, eyes ; figlio, son, figli, sons ; v(^cchio, old 
 man, vecchi, old men ; scoglio, shelf, scogli, shelves. 
 
 Nouns ending in U. 
 
 It has before been observed, that there are but few nouns of 
 this termination. They never change their endings to form the 
 plural ; as, la virtil, the virtue, le virtu ; the virtues; lagru, the 
 crane, le gi'ii, the cranes. — ^Vhen nouns in til, and those, also, in 
 ta, are written in the old fashion at full length, then they follow 
 the common rule as to nouns in e in the forming of their plu- 
 rals. For example gioventii, youth, if written gioventude, or 
 gioventute, would become, in the plural, gioventudi or gioventuti ; 
 and cittcl, a city, if written cittdde, or cittdte, would become, in 
 the plural, cittddi or cittdti ; and so forth with other nouns of 
 the same character. 
 
 Exceptions to the foregoing Rules. 
 
 The word moglie, wife, makes- mop'/?, in the plural number; 
 mille, thousand, makes milla; hue, ox, makes bu6i; ubmo, 
 inan, makes uomini ; Dio, God, makes Dei • centindjo, hun- 
 dred, makes centindja ; miglidjo, thousand, makes miglidja ; 
 moggio, a measure, makes muggia ; stdjo, bushel, makes stdja ^ 
 pdjo, pair, makes pdja ; uovo, e^^, makes uova ; rise, laugh, 
 makes risa. — All the above, fKom centinajo to rise, are 
 
40 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 masculine in their singular number and feminine in their 
 plural. 
 
 There arc some few monosyllables, and words that have ac- 
 cents on their final vowels, that never change their terminations 
 to make the plural; as, i7 re, the king, i re, the kings ; il pit, 
 the foot, i pic, the feet; ilfalhf the bonfire, i/alby the bonfires. 
 
 0/ Nouns Hetei'oclite. 
 Tlicrc are a good many nouns, in Italian, that are called by 
 grammarians hcteroclite, which means that they are variable or 
 irregular in their endings. Some have two terminations in the 
 singular number ; others have as many as three terminations. 
 
 Nouns of two Terminations. 
 
 ala, or ale, a wing consiglicre, or consiglicro, a counsellor 
 
 arciirc, or arclero, an archer forestiere, or forcstitro, a stranger 
 
 urma, or iirmc, a weapon fridn, or f rude, a fraud 
 
 iir pa, or arpe, a. h&TTp , J'r6fta, or J'r6f to, a. crowd 
 
 banchiire, or banchiiro, a banker ipdcrita, or ipdcrlto, a hypocrite 
 
 campanclla, or campaiullo, a little bell lampnda, or lurnparfc, a lamp 
 
 cavallCrc, or caialiiro, a horseman iiurr/iicre, or nocchiro, a pilot 
 
 chi6stra, or vhidstro, a cloister laiida, or laiide, praise 
 
 cdnsole, or c6nsolo, a consul jtrigionicre, or prigionii.ro, a prisoner 
 
 Nouns of three Terminations. 
 
 barbicre, barbicri, or barbie.ro, a barber 
 destricre, destriiri, or destricro, a steed 
 gru, firite, or grua, a crane 
 mestiire, mcsticri, or mcstiiro, a business 
 mulatticre, niulattiiri, or mulatticro, a muleteer 
 sdrice, sdrcio, or s6rco, a mouse 
 
 In their genders and numbers these all follow the rules before 
 given. Cflw/7rt«^//ff, for instance, is feminine, and campanello mas- 
 culine ; frotta is feminine, and frotto piasculine. The singu- 
 lar and plural numbers, in these nouns, are apt to be confound- 
 ed with each other at times : ale, for instance, is the plural of 
 ala, and is also sometimes used in the singular number, when, 
 to make its plural, it must be ali. The same may be said of 
 arpa, and arpe, arma and arme,fr6da B.udfrode, Idmpada and 
 Idmpade, lauda and laiide. 
 
 Nouns in O that have a double termination in the jjlural. 
 There are some nouns, though not many, ahvays teiminating 
 in in the singular, which may make their plurals either in i 
 or in a. When the plural is in i, it follows the general rule, 
 
VL] 
 
 OF NOUNS. 
 
 41 
 
 and the noun is of the masculine gender; but, when it is in a 
 the noun changes its gender, and becomes feminine. There 
 are some few of these, which have two terminations in the 
 feminine plural, and maybe written either with an « or an e for 
 their final letter ; as the noun frutto, fruit, which may make, 
 in the plural, /tm?^?, as its masculine termination, ^cnAfrutta or 
 fimtte, as its feminine termination. The following are a large 
 part of these nouns of the double termination in the plural. 
 
 Singular Masculine. 
 
 Plural Masculine. Plural Feminine. 
 
 an'ello, a ring, aiiclli anclla 
 
 braccia, an arm, hracci braccia 
 
 budello, an intestine, budclli bitdella ^ 
 
 calcdgno, a talon, calcagni calcugna 
 
 ciirro, a cart, carri cdrra 
 
 castcllo, a castle, castelli castclla 
 
 cervcllo, the brain, cervelli cervella 
 
 coUHlo, a knife, coltcUi coltellif 
 
 clglio, an eyebrow, cigli ciglia 
 
 cbrno, a horn, c6rni cbrna 
 
 dito, a finger, diti dita 
 
 fcito, destiny, fdti fata 
 
 filo, a thread, Jili fila 
 
 fondamento, a foundation, fondamcnti fondamtnta 
 
 frutto, fruit, -. friitti . frittta, or frutte 
 
 fuso, a spindle, fusi fusa 
 
 gindcchio, a knee, gin6cclii . . 
 
 grido, a cry, gridi. . . . 
 
 Idbbro, a lip, Idbbri . . . 
 
 letizudlo , a. coYetlidi, lenzubli . . 
 
 litto, a bed, Utti . . . . 
 
 mulino, a miU, tnulmi . . . 
 
 niemhro, a member, , mcmbri . . 
 
 Jiiiiro, a wall, •. m-uri . . . . 
 
 osso, a bone, 6ssi . . . . 
 
 p6mo, an apple, p6?7ii .^ . . . 
 
 peccuto, a sin, peccati . . 
 
 succo, a bag, sdcchi . . . 
 
 strido, a cry, stridi , . . 
 
 piigno, a fist, pi/gni . . . 
 
 vestimento, dress, vestimenti 
 
 ginScchia 
 
 grida 
 
 Icibbra 
 
 lenzu6la 
 
 litta 
 . vmlina 
 
 membra 
 
 mura 
 
 6ssa . 
 
 p6ma 
 
 pec cat a 
 , sdcca 
 
 strida 
 
 piigna 
 
 vestlmtnfa 
 
 Some of these, it must be observed, differ in their meanins: 
 according to their variation in termination. Fila, as a plural, 
 is the plural of filo, a thread; hut fili is more properly the plu- 
 ral oifila, a file. In speaking figuratively oi fruits, the termi- 
 nation in i should always be used; as i frutti delV Industrial 
 the fruits of industry; but, otherwise, frutta or frutte should 
 be preferred ; andfrvtta may b^ used, also, in the singular: 
 
42 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Wc may say mcmhri or membra in speaking of the parts of 
 a natural bodv, Huch as those of the human bodv or of an animal : 
 but, if we use the word figuratively, as in speaking of the 
 members of a society of persons, then memhri should always be 
 used. Miira should only be used in speaking of the walls or 
 fortifications of a town : thus Aristo says, " Far cavamenti e 
 riparar Ic mura," to make intrenchments and to repair the 
 walls. — Corni is the plural of cornu, meaning a musical horn ; 
 but, in any other sense, the plural of corno should be coma. 
 There are a great many nouns that have a sort of adjective 
 meaning, and express the occupation, condition, or character of 
 persons, and the application of which is common to both sexes; 
 as, magOf a conjurer ; amico, a friend. In English such nouns 
 do not commonly change their termination to show the dif- 
 ference of sex, though they do so sometimes. In Itahan they 
 generally do, particularly if the singular end in o or in tore. 
 Those which terminate in o have a double termination for both 
 numbers, to express the difference of gender ; those in tore have 
 two terminations in the singular number, but only one in the 
 plural. In English we can change songster to songstress ; and 
 in many other like cases we can change the ending of such 
 nouns to distinguish the sexes ; but we could not alter the 
 words conjurer, friend, nor the generality of such nouns. But 
 the Italians can ; and they say, mago, a male conjurer, magi, 
 male conjurers, maga, a female conjurer, magjie, female conju- 
 rers; and so forth. I will here give some examples. 
 
 Sing. Masc. Plur. Masc. Sing. Fern. 
 
 tnago . . . 
 amico . . . 
 vicckio . . 
 ricco . . . 
 nemico . . 
 fanciiillo . 
 pdvcro . . 
 vagabdndo . 
 scimnnitillo 
 ctigino . . 
 compugno . 
 mcndico 
 
 . magi . . 
 . am id 
 . vicchi . . 
 . ricchi . . 
 . nemici 
 . fanciiilli . . 
 . poveri . . 
 . vagahindl 
 . scimunitcUi 
 . cugini . , 
 . compdgni . 
 . mcndici 
 
 inaga . . . 
 
 arnica . . . 
 
 vccchia . . 
 
 ricca . . . 
 
 7ieinica . . 
 fancii'illa 
 
 p6vera . . 
 
 vagabunda . 
 scimunitclla 
 
 cugina . . 
 
 compagn'a , 
 
 mendica . . 
 
 Plur. Fern. 
 
 maghe, a conjuror 
 aniichc, a friend 
 vtcchie, an old person 
 ricche, a rich person 
 ?icmiche, an enemy 
 fanciulle, a young person 
 p6vere, a poor person 
 vagaMnde, a vagabond 
 scimuniCclle, a simpleton 
 engine, a cousin 
 compagne, a companion 
 mendiche, a mendicant 
 
 But the greater part of the nouns of this description are those 
 in tore, in which the feminine is expressed by changing the 
 
VI.] OF NOUNS. 43 
 
 masculine ore into rice. These all make their plurals in i, both 
 masculine and feminine; as, benefattdre, benefactor, bene- 
 fattdri, benefactors; and benefattrice, benefactress, benefat- 
 tricif benefactresses : so that it will not be necessary to put the 
 plural number in giving the following examples. 
 
 Masculine. Feminine. 
 
 adducit&re addttcitrice, a leader 
 
 ballatdre ballatrice, a dancer 
 
 cantathre cantatrice, a singer 
 
 depredatore depredatrice, a depredator 
 
 esecutore esecutrice, an execntor, or executrix 
 
 f'llatbre filatrlce, a spixmer i 
 
 gridatore gridatrice, a bawler 
 
 incantat6re incantatrice, an enchanter, or enchantress 
 
 lusingatSre lusingatrtce, a flatterer 
 
 malfattire malfattrice, an offender 
 
 narratore narratrice, a narrator 
 
 occupatSre occupatrice, an usurper 
 
 poi'tatSre portatrice, a bearer 
 
 quistionatSre .... quistionatrice, a quarreller 
 
 redatbre redatrice, an heir, or heiress 
 
 soggiogatore sjoggiogatrice, a conqueror 
 
 turbatbre ...... turbatrice, a disturber 
 
 uditbre ....... uditrice, a hearer 
 
 vincitbre vincitrice, a victor, or victress 
 
 zelatbre zelatrice, a zealot 
 
 We see, by these examples, that the Italians can much more 
 frequently alter the termination of the noun to express the 
 sex than we can in English. This change in the termination 
 of nouns in tore in the Italian is not, however, always to -be 
 made ; for there are a good many such nouns that never admit 
 of the change at all, though the greater part of them do 
 admit of it. 
 
 There are some nouns which change the masculine terrr 'na- 
 tion into essa to form the feminine. Such are the following. 
 
 Masculine Sitigular. Fe7ninine Singular. Masc. and Fern, plurals. 
 
 barbne, a baron barontssa, a baroness barbni, baronesse 
 
 cbnte, a count coyittssa, a countess conti, contisse 
 
 duca, a duke duchtssa, a duchess duci, duchesse 
 
 arctduca, an archduke arciduchcssa, an3irch.6.\xch.ess arciduci, archiducJUsse 
 
 poeta, a poet poetessa, a poetess poeti, poetcsse 
 
 principe, a prince principessa, a princess principi, principisse 
 
 prof eta, a prophet . . ..profetessa, a prophetess . . ..profcii, profctesse 
 
44 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Of the Articles as employed with the Nouns. 
 
 Masculine Definite Article il, the. 
 29. Tlie article il is employed before all nouns of the mascu- 
 line gender that begin with a consonant, except when the con- 
 sonant is an 5 that is immediately followed by another conso- 
 nant. It would be equally proper to say il libra, the book, and 
 il sole, the sun ; but not to say il studio, the study, or il sp{cchio, 
 the looking glass. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Nominative, il libra, the book 
 Possessive, del libro, of the book 
 Dative. af lihro, to the book 
 
 Objective. il lihri, the book 
 Ablative. dul libro, from the book 
 
 nel lihro, in tfce book 
 col lihro, with the book 
 
 pel libro, for the book 
 
 sttl libro, on the book 
 
 Plurnl. 
 
 Nominative, i llbri, the books 
 Possessive, del or de' libri, of the books 
 Dative. ai or a' lihri, to the books 
 
 Ohjettive. i libri, the books 
 Ablative. dai or da' libri, from the 
 books 
 nei or ne' lihri, in the books. 
 eoi or co* libri, with the 
 books 
 
 jiei or pe^ 
 
 books 
 stil or sh' 
 
 books 
 
 libri, for the 
 libri, on the 
 
 30. Here I have put Nominative, Possessive, Dative^ Objective, 
 and Ablative y against the article and noun. These are the 
 names of the Cases^ and are placed here only for the sake of 
 form ; for, as before mentioned, the subject of Case will be spo- 
 ken of in a separate Chapter. (See paragraph 277). — In old au- 
 thors we read //, delli, alii, dalli, instead of the above f, dei, ai, 
 dai ; but these forms are not now^ in use. — After the prepositi- 
 ons fra and trOy between or among, the plural article i is 
 frequently omitted, and is left to be understood by the pre- 
 position fra or tra having an apostrophe over the final letter ; 
 as fra' libri, or tra libri, between or among the books; instead 
 of fra i libri, tra i libri. 
 
 Masculine Definite Article lo, the. 
 
 31. The article lo is employed before all nouns masculine 
 that begin vsith 5 immediately followed by a consonant, 
 and also before all nouns masculine that bejrin with a vowel- 
 WTien the noun, begins with a vowel the o of lo is re- 
 
 renched ; and we must say f dngeloy the angel ; Vtlmo, the 
 
VI.] 
 
 OP NOUNS. 
 
 45 
 
 helmet; Vimperatdre, tbe emperor; Ton6re, the honour ; Vu6mo, 
 \ the man ; and not il angelo, il clmo, &c. But, in the case of 
 nouns beginning in i, we often find the lo written in full, and 
 the i that is the first letter of the noun is dropped ; so Vimperat6re 
 might be written lomperatore, and Vingannat6re might be 
 / written longannat6re ; and so forth. — Formerly lo was fre- 
 quently employed before nouns beginning with other consonants 
 besides the 5 ; but this is not the prabtice now-a-days. Dante, 
 for instance, has written " lo mdndo," the world, and " lo 
 cielo," heaven ; but modern writers never do this. — This 
 article is sometimes employed before nouns beginning with 
 a 2 ; as, lo zio, the uncle ; but there is no rule here, either 
 for or against the practice, and it seems to be a matter of 
 taste, in such cases, whether to use the lo or the il. 
 
 Lo, before 5 with a consonant. 
 
 Si}ig>clar. 
 Nom. lo studio, the study 
 Poss. dello studio, of the study 
 Dat'. alio studio, to the study 
 ObJ. lo studio, the study 
 Abl. dallo studio, from the study 
 nello stzidio, in the study 
 collo studio, with the study 
 pello studio, for the study 
 sullo studio, en the study 
 
 Plural. 
 No-m. gli sticdj, the studies 
 Poss. degli studj, of the studies 
 Dat. agli studj, to the studies 
 Ohj. gli studj, the studies 
 Abl. dagli studj, from the s'.udies 
 negli stiidj, in the studies 
 cogli studj, with the studies 
 pegli studj, for the studies 
 sugli studj, on the studies 
 
 Lo, before a Noun masculine beginning with a vowel. 
 
 Singular. 
 Nom. I'angelo, the angel 
 Poss. delVangelo, of the angel 
 Dat, all'dngelo, to the angel 
 Obj. I'angelo, tbe angel 
 Abl. dalVungelo, from the angel 
 nell'dngelo, in the angel 
 coll'angelo, with the angel 
 pell'ungelo, for the angel 
 sulVungelo, on the angel 
 
 Plural. 
 Nom. gli ungeli, the angels 
 Poss. degli dngeli, of the angels 
 Dat. agli dngeli, to the angels 
 Obj. gli dngeli, the angels 
 Abl. dagli d7igeli, from the angels 
 negli dngeli, in the angels 
 cogli dngeli, with the angels 
 pegli dngeli, for the angels 
 sugli dngeli, on the angels 
 
 23. Before nouns beginning with an i, the plural article gli, 
 degli, agli, dagli, negli, cogli, pegli, sugli, drop their final i; as 
 in gVimperatdri, the emperors, degV imperatdri, of the emperors, 
 agVimperatori to the emperors, dagV imperatdri, from the emper- 
 ors,&c. — Gli must be employed before the plural of the noun God : 
 it must not be il dio, the god, i dei, the gods, but ildio, the 
 god, gli,dei, the gods. 
 
46 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 Feminine Definite Article la, the. 
 
 33. Tlie article la is employed^)eforc all noun^ of the femi- 
 nine gender. When a noun feminine begins with cither of the 
 vowels, a, e, i, o, w, the a of /a must be retrenched in the singu- 
 lar number; as, Vajiima the soul, delVanima, of the soul, &c. 
 Veconomia, the economy, dell' economm, of the economy, &c. 
 Vimpcratr'ice, the empress, delVimperatncey of the empress, &c. 
 Vonda, the wave, delfonda, of the wave, &c. ; Vudi^nza, tlie 
 audience, deirudicnza, of the audience, &c. But it is somewhat 
 a point unsettled whether this should be the case in the plural. 
 Some grammarians tell us that we should write Vanime^ the 
 souls, delfanime, of the spuls, &c.; Vimperatrici, the empresses, 
 deirimperatr'ici, of the empresses, &c. ; instead of le anime, 
 dellc anime ; le imperatnei, delle imperatrici. The generality of 
 grammarians say that the article, here, should be spelled in 
 full ; and though it may be ver}' fequently found written other- 
 wise, still, in prose at all events, we shall most commonly see 
 it \M-itten in full. — When the article la comes before a noun 
 which begins with the vowel e, the e in the plural article 
 le must be omitted, to prevent the harshness that would be oc- 
 casioned by the coming together of the two e's : as in Vemintnza, 
 the eminence, which, in the plural, must be Veinincnze ; and 
 televazi6ne, the elevatioii, which must be Velevazioni. But, 
 obsen'^e, if the noun be one of those which do not change their 
 terminations from the singular to express their plural, then the 
 e of the plural article must be preserved, in order to distinguish 
 the plural from the singular number : as in feffigie, the effigy, 
 le eff'ig'ie, the effigies ; Vestremitd, the extremity, le estremitd, 
 the extremities ; Venfusi, the emphasis, le enfdsi, the emphasises ; 
 tetUy the age, leeta, the ages; Veclissi, the eclipse, le eclissi, 
 the eclipses. The Editor of Galignanis grammar has laid it 
 down, that, if there be an adjective employed with any of 
 such nouns as these in the plural, we may then use the / with 
 an apostrophe ; because, as he observes, the termination of the 
 adjective is sufficient to inform us of the number of the noun. 
 So that, if we use Vet a matura, the ripe age, we may say, 
 in the plural, Veta mature y as well as le eta mature. 
 
VI.] 
 
 OP NOUNS. 
 
 47 
 
 La, before a noun 
 
 Singular. 
 Norn, la casa, the house 
 Pass, della casa, of the house 
 Dot. alia casa, to the house 
 Obj. la casa, the house 
 Abl. dalla casa, from the house 
 nella casa, in the house 
 colla casa, with the house 
 pella casa, for the house 
 sulla casa, on the house 
 
 beginning with a consonant. 
 
 Plural. 
 'Norm, le case, the houses 
 Pass, delle case, of the houses 
 Dat. alle case, to the houses 
 le case, the houses 
 dalle case, from the houses 
 nelle case, in the houses 
 colle case, with the houses 
 pelle case, for the houses 
 sulle case, on the houses 
 
 ObJ. 
 Abl. 
 
 La, before a noun beginning- with a vowel. 
 
 Singular. 
 Noni. Vunhna, the soul 
 Poss. dell'anhna, of the soul 
 Dat. dlViDiUna, to the soul 
 Obj. Vuu'ima, the soul 
 Abl. dall'anima, from the soul 
 nell'anima, in the soul 
 coll'un'ima, with the sou) 
 pell'nnlma, for the soul 
 sulVunima, on the soul 
 
 o 
 
 Plural, 
 Nom. la, or I', anime,'the souls 
 Poss. delle, or delP, unime, of the souls 
 Dat. alle, or all', unime, to the souls 
 ObJ. le, or I', unime, the souls 
 Abl. dalle, or dull', d7ilme, from the souls 
 iiclle, or «e/^', unime, in the souls 
 co^^c, or coll', unime, with the souls 
 pelle, or pcW, itnirne, for the souls 
 sulle, or 52f /r, dnime, on the souls 
 
 La, before a noun beginning with a vowel and of only one 
 
 termination. 
 
 Singular. 
 Nam. I'eqlissi, the eclipse 
 Poss. dell'eclissi, of the eclipse 
 Dat. all'eclissi, to. the eclipse 
 ObJ. I'eclissi, the eclipse 
 Abl. dalVecllssi, from the eclipse 
 nell'eclissi, in the eclipse 
 colVeclissi, with the eclipse 
 pell'eclissi, for the eclipse 
 .siiWeclissi, on the eclipse 
 
 Plural. 
 Nom,. le eclissi, the eclipses 
 Poss. delle eclissi, of the eclipses 
 Dat. alle eclissi, to the eclipses 
 ObJ. le eclissi, the eclipses 
 Abl. dalle eclissi, from the eclipses 
 nelle eclissi, in the eclipses 
 colle eclissi, with the eclipses 
 pelle eclissi, for the eclipses 
 sulle eclissi, on the eclipses 
 
 34. I have already observed, in speaking of the Etymology of 
 Articles, that the Indefinite Article un has four varieties of 
 spelling. Before a noun masculine, whether the noun begin 
 with a consonant or with a vowel, the article is written un ,- as, 
 un libro, a book ; un cingelo, an angel ; but, if the noun begin 
 with an s, and the 5 be immediately followed by another con- 
 sonant, then we must employ uno; as, uno studio, a study, una 
 specchio, a looking glass. Before a noun of the feminine gender 
 that begins with a consonant, una is employed ; as, una sedia, a 
 chair ; una donna, a woman. If the feminine noun begin with a 
 vowel, then it will require un with an apostrophe, as, unanima 
 a soul ; unonda^ a wave. 
 
4S ETYMOLOGT [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 « 
 
 Etymology of Pronouns. 
 
 35. The Pronouns will be divided into six classes ; namely, 
 Personal Pronouns, Possessive Pronouns, Relative Pronouns, 
 Demonstrative Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, and Indetermi- 
 nate Pronouns. 
 
 36. " PERSONAL PRONOUNS are those which take the 
 *' place of nouns. This office is, indeed, performed by all pro- 
 " nouns ; and hence comes their name. But, the other pro- 
 *' nouns do not supply the place of nouns in the same way, 
 ** and in a manner so complete. There are three Persons : for 
 '* instance, / am wTitting to you about him. You see, then, 
 ** that the pronoun wliich represents the person that speaks is 
 ** in the frst person ; that which stands in place of the name 
 *' of the person spoken to, is in the second person ; and that 
 " which stands in the place of the name of the person spoken 
 '* of, is in the third person. This circumstance of person is a 
 " matter to be strictly attended to : because, as you will by- 
 " and-by see, the verbs vary their endings to correspond with 
 ^' the person of the pronoun."* — In the Etymology of these 
 Pronouns, we have to consider the subjects of Gender and Num- 
 ber, besides that of Person. The 1st person io, /, makes noi 
 in the plural; the 2d person tu, thou, makes voi in the plural; 
 and the 3d person egli, he, or ella, she, makes ^glino or ^lleno 
 in the plural. The 1st and the 2d persons make no difference 
 in the spelling to denote gender ; but the 3d does, both in the 
 singular and in the plural number, as will be seen. 
 
 * Cobbett's French Gram5iar, paragraph 89. 
 
VI.] 
 
 OP PRONOUNS. 
 
 49 
 
 1st Person, singular and plural, of both genders. 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 Nam. I, io 
 Poss. of me, di me 
 Dat. to me, a me, or mi 
 Obj. me, me, or mi 
 Abl. from me, da me 
 
 Nom. we, noi 
 
 Poss. of us, di noi 
 
 Dat. to us, a noi, or ci, or w<f 
 
 Obj. us, woi, or c?, or ne 
 
 Abl. from us, da noi 
 
 2d Person, singular and plural, of both genders. 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 Nom. thou, tu Nom. you, voi 
 
 Poss. of thee, c?2 te 
 Dat. to thee, a, te, or ?2 
 06/. thee, te or fz 
 ^6/. from thee, da te 
 
 Poss. of you, di voi 
 Dat. to you, a voi, or vi 
 Obj. you, i;oz, or vi 
 Abl. from you, c?a voz 
 
 3d Person, singular and plural, of the Masculine gender. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Nom. he, egli, or ei 
 Poss. of him, di lui 
 Dat. to him, a lui, or ^^z 
 Obj. him, Zmz, 27, or lo 
 Abl. from him, £?a lui 
 
 Plural. 
 iVoTW. they, eijr/mo 
 Poss. of them, c?? /oro 
 Dat. to them, a /oro, or loro 
 Obj. them, loro, li, or gli 
 - -46/. from them, da loro 
 
 3d Person, singular and plural, of the Feminine gender. 
 
 . Singular. 
 
 Nom. she,"ella 
 Poss. of her, di lei 
 Dat. to her, a lei, or le 
 Obj. her, Zez, or la 
 Abl. from her, c?a lei 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Nom. they, ^//ewo 
 Poss. of them, c?i /oro 
 Dat. to them, a loro, or /oro 
 06/. them, loro or Ze 
 ^6/. from them, da loro 
 
 These two third persons, he and ^Ae, may be expressed, also^ 
 in another way, as follows : ' 
 
50 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 3d Person, singular and plural, of the Masculine gender. 
 SiKOULAR. Plural. 
 
 Nom. he, esso 
 
 Poss. of him, di esse 
 
 Dat. to him, a (sso 
 
 Ohj. him, esso 
 
 A hi. from liira, da esso 
 
 Nom. they, essi, 
 Poss. of them, di essi 
 Dat. to them, a essi 
 Ohj. them, essi 
 Abl. from them, da essi 
 
 3d Person, singular and plural, of the Feminine gender. 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 Nom. she, essa 
 Poss. of her, di essa 
 Dat. to her, a essa 
 Ohj. her, essa 
 Abl. from her, da essa 
 
 Nom. they, esse 
 Poss. of them, di esse 
 Dat. to them, a esse 
 Ohj. them, esse 
 Abl. from them, da esse 
 
 37. These pronouns, esso, essa, essi, esse, may be used 
 whether in speaking- of persons or things ; but egli, eglino, 
 ella, ^lleno, &c., belong, more properly, to persons than 
 to things. In Italian, however, there cannot be made that 
 same distinction between persons and things which we make, 
 in English, by the emplo\inent of the word it. Our pronoun 
 it can be applied to something of the neuter gender only, 
 which [render is not knoWn in the Italian. In Italian we 
 must use a ^e or a she in speaking of every thing, whether it 
 be animate or inanimate, person or thing. We, in English, 
 do, to be sure, in speaking of animals, frequently distinguish 
 the sex by the use of the pronouns he or she ; but in every case 
 of that kind it would be perfectly proper to use the it, if it 
 were not our object to make such distinction ; and, in speaking 
 of inanimate things we always should do so, although some- 
 times even here we use a pronoun of the masculine or feminine 
 gender. We call a horse he, a mare she, and a ship we call 
 she : in the tw^o former instances the use of the pronouns he and 
 she is necessary to distinguish the male from the female ; but, 
 in the latter, it is a mere matter of caprice of sailors ; and is, 
 indeed, nothing more than a \'ulgarism. 
 
VI.] ' OP PRONOUNS. ^ 51 
 
 38. As respects the use of these pronouns, it is necessary to 
 notice the following observations : 
 
 is^.T^Instead of io, I, the poets frequently make use of i' ; as, 
 Torna, Amarilli, che presa i sono, come back Amarillis, 
 for / am taken: Gua. P. F. /' non piang^va, / 
 wept not: Dan. In. 
 
 2d.— ^Instead of ei, he, the poets frequently use e ; as, Ed e' 
 si stava in se tutto raccolto, and he remained quite 
 wrapped up in himself: Pet. S. 
 
 3d. — Instead of not, we or us, and voi, ye or you, the poets 
 have, for the sake of rhyme, used nui and vui ; as, II 
 cavalier ch'era con nui, the knight who was with us: 
 Ari. O. F. — E gridolor, dove venite vui, and he cried out 
 to them, where do ye come: Ari. O. F. 
 
 4th. — Instead of eglino, they, some use egli ; as, Perche 
 egli stanno £|J tutto con la volontk di quelli cittadini, &c. ' 
 because they remain entirely at the will of those citizens : 
 Mac. p. 
 
 5th. — Also, instead of the plural eglino, ei or e have been 
 used ; as, E tre di gli chiamo poich' e' fur morti, and 
 for three days I called to them after they were dead : 
 Dan. In. 
 
 6th. — And instead of egli, the singular, and eglino, the plu- 
 ral, many old authors use ello and elli ; as, E che tu 
 abbia tutta la rendita del monasterio, ed ello abbia quella 
 del mulino, and that thou mayest have all the revenue of 
 the monastery, and he that of the mill: Sac. N. — E 
 veggio ben, quant' elli a schivo m'hanno, and I see plainly 
 how much they dislike me : Pet. S. — Piangevan elli, they 
 wept : Dan. In. 
 
 7th. — Elli has, also, by some of the poets, been used in the 
 
 ' singular number, instead of egli, he ,- and now and then we 
 find 4llino used instead of eglino, the plural they. 
 
 8th. — Instead of elleno, the plural feminine they, old au- 
 thors very frequently use elle • as, Ed elle si levdro im- 
 mantenente, and they (the ladies) arose immediately : 
 Ari. O. F. — Mostrarono (le armi mercenarie) quello ch' 
 elle furono, they (the mercenary arms) showed what they 
 were: Mac. P. 
 
 •d2 
 
52 KTYMOLOOY [Chap. 
 
 9th. — Ella is, in old authors and in pome parts of Italy at 
 this day, very frc(niCTitly written and pronounced la; as. 
 La qual cosa era si difficile, che la fu ciig-ione della rovina 
 di molti ; which thing was so difficult, that it was a cause 
 of the ruin of many : Mac. P. 
 
 10th. — And, consistently with this, those who write la in- 
 stead of ellttj write, also, le instead of /lleno or elle ; as, La 
 capione di questo fe, che le non hanno altro amore, &c. the 
 cause of this is, that they (mercenary arms) have no other 
 attachment, &c. Mac. P. 
 
 39. The pronouns oneself, himself, herself, and themselves, 
 are all expressed, in Italian, by the little word si, which is em- 
 l)loyed in all the Cases, excepting only the Nominative. 
 
 Pronoun si, oneself, SfC. Singular and Plural. 
 
 Poxft. nf onoself, himself, herself, or theraselves, di .te 
 
 Dfit. to oneself, himself, herself, or themselves, a se, or si 
 
 (lf)J. oneself, himself, herself, or themselves, se, or si 
 
 Abl. from oneself, himself, herself, or themselves, da se 
 
 Tliis little pronoun si is a word of great importance, and one 
 in constant use. The manner in which it is employed, and the 
 circumstance of its having no Nominative Case, will be explain- 
 ed further on, in Syntax, (see Paragraph 119.) 
 
 40. The word self or selves is expressed, also, in another 
 
 way ; namely, by stesso, and by medesimo ; which are made to 
 
 change their termination to express Gender and Number : 
 
 stesso, stessa, self, masculine and feminine singular; stessi, 
 
 slesse, selves, masculine and feminine plural ; medesimo, 
 
 medesime, self, masculine and feminine singular ; medesimi, 
 
 medesime, selves, masculine and feminine plural. These, to 
 
 express self, or selves, m.ust have, along with them, one of the 
 
 other personal pronouns, but they do not take two pronouns, first 
 
 the personal pronoun, and then the possessive pronoun, as our 
 
 words self And selves do. The Italians say io stesso, I self tu 
 
 stesso, thou self, egli stesso, or ella stessa, he, or she, self, 8fc. and 
 
 not I myself, thou IhyselJ, he, or she, herself, &c. Thus, they say, 
 
 io stesso vi dire), / myself wiW tell you; and not io mio stesso vi 
 
 dir6. Tliese words, stesso and medesimo, are, it must be observed, 
 
 employed also as adjectives, in the sense of our word same,- 
 
VI.] OF PRONOUNS. 53 
 
 as, lo stesso giomo, the same day; la stessa cosa, the same 
 thing ; gli stessi giorni, the same days ; le stesse cose, the 
 same things; or, il medesimo giorno, the same day; la me- 
 desima cosa, the same thing; i medesimi giorni, the same days ; 
 le medesime cose, the same things. 
 
 It is often optional, to use either the word se or si alone, 
 in any of the Cases except the Nominative, to express our 
 oneself, himself, herself, themselves, or to use stesso or medesimo 
 in addition to it. As : n^ si accorse con questa delibcrazione 
 che faceva se debole. Mac. P. Nor did he perceive that by 
 this plan he rendered himself weak. It might have been, 
 faceva se stesso, or, faceva se mtdesiino, with equal propriety. 
 
 41. Along with the preposition con, with, the pronouns me, 
 me, te, thee, and se, oneself, himself, herself, themselves, are 
 often joined ; and then the ?i of con is retrenched. The 
 Italian writers put meco, with me, teco, with thee, seco, with 
 oneself, himself, herself, or themselves ; instead of con me, con 
 ie, con se. As, for example : egli e meco, he is with me ; noi 
 eravamo teco, we were with thee ; ei lo portava seco, he carried 
 it with him, or himself. And the words stesso and medesimo 
 may be joined to the meco, teco, seco ; as, meco stesso, or 
 medesimo, with me myself; teco, stesso, or medesimo, vv^ith thee 
 thyself; seco stesso, or medesimo, with hiBa himself, &;c. Be- 
 sides the CO, which, of itself, means the same as with, the 
 Italians frequently use the word con : as, con meco, with me ; 
 con teco with thee ; con seco, with himself, &c. 
 
 Some of the poets haved used nosco, and vosco, instead of 
 ton noi, with us, and con voi, with you ; as : 
 
 quinci mi tolga Hence let your pity take me, and con- 
 La pieta vostra, e vosco m' adducete. duct me with you. 
 
 Car. E. I 
 
 42. There is one thing more to be observed, as respects these 
 personal pronouns ; and that is the use of esso joined in one word 
 with the preposition di, the i of di being dropped. When so 
 used, esso, essa, essi, esse, mean the same as the person 
 himself or the person herself, the persons themselves. Thus 
 the Italians say, questo b desso, this is he himself, questa e 
 dessa, this is she herself, questi, or queste, sono dessi, or desse, 
 these are they themselves : 
 
.54 
 
 ETTMOLOGT 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Tu Don parli, so' dessa, o non nc' de^sa ? 
 
 GOA. P. F. 
 
 Thou spoakrnt not ; art thou ihc, or 
 art thou not ahe 1 (or she htrsetf.) 
 
 It would seem that, in tjiis case, there is an ellipsis, that 
 there are some words left to be understood ; and that what is 
 meaned by desso, dessa, dessi, dcsse, is, la persona di esso, the 
 person of him, la persona di essa, the person of her, le persons 
 di essi, or di esse, the persons of them. 
 
 43. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS. These are so called, be- 
 cause they are used to express possession ; as my, thy, his, herg", 
 their J which all attribute possession of some kind to the persons 
 or things to which they are applied. In these Pronouns, also, 
 we have to consider, Per.?o«, Gender, and Xi/mhcr. Tlie Gender 
 and Number are very different in the Italian from what they 
 are in Enghsh. We make no difference in the 1st or 2d Per- 
 sons of cur possessive pronouns to express either gender or 
 number ; but we do so in the 3d Person ; and then we make 
 the gender and number to agree with the person who is spoken 
 of as the possessor. We say, his hat, her bonnet, its situation, 
 their house ; and, in the plural, the j-ronoun still remains cbe 
 the same : though the termination of the noun, or name of the 
 thing possessed, changes to express number, that of the pronoun 
 does not, but continues the same; as, his hats, her honnets, its situ- 
 ations, their houses. Now, the ItaUans make the possessive 
 pronoun to agree, both in gender and in number, not with the 
 possessor, but with \h.Q thing possessed ; and that throughout, 
 from beginning to end. 
 
 Masculine Singular. Masculine Plural. 
 
 my, mio 
 
 thy, tuo 
 
 his, her, or its, suo 
 
 our, nostro 
 
 your, vostro 
 
 their, loro, or suo 
 
 my, miei 
 
 thy, tu6i 
 
 his, her, or its, su6i 
 
 our, nostri 
 
 your, vostri 
 
 their, loro, or suoi 
 
vi.] of pronouns. 
 
 Feminine Singular. Feminine Plural. 
 
 55 
 
 my, mia 
 
 thv, tua 
 
 his, her, or its, sua 
 
 our, nostra 
 
 your, vostra 
 
 their, loro, or sua 
 
 my, mte 
 
 thy, tue 
 
 his, her, or its, sue 
 
 our, nostre 
 
 your, vostre 
 
 their, /oro, or swe 
 
 Thus, we must say, suo padre, Ms father, suo padre, her 
 father, suo padre, its father ; and sua madre, his mother, sua 
 madre, her mother, stia madre, its mother ; sue case, his 
 houses, sue case, her houses, sue case, its houses: and so on, 
 always maldng the possessive pronoun agree in gender and 
 number with the thing spoken of as possessed, and not with the 
 person spoken of as the possessor. The pronoun their 
 may be expressed, either by loro, which answers for both 
 genders and both numbers, or by sua, suoi, for the singular 
 and plural masculine, and sua, sue, for the singular and 
 pliu*al feminine. Loro never changes its termination ; so 
 we may say, for the mascuhne, either loro padre, their 
 father, or suo padie ; loro padri, their fathers, or sudi padri : 
 and, for the feminine, either loro casa, .their house, or sua 
 
 casa ; loro case, their houses, or sue case. The Pronouns 
 
 tuoi and suoi, are, for the sake of rhyme, sometimes spelled tui 
 and sui just as noi and voi (as mentioned under Paragraph 
 38) are sometimes spelled md and vui: 
 
 Se basta a' falli sui 
 Per difesa portar I'eseTupio d'altrui. 
 
 Met. 0. 
 
 Deh ! uon espor I'o^getto 
 
 Dei dolci aifetti tui. Met., 0. 
 
 If it is enoxtgh for his uiisdeeds to bring 
 the example of others. 
 
 Ah! do not expose the object of thy 
 dear affections. 
 
 43. RELATIVE PRONOUNS. These are called relative, 
 because they relate, or refer, to something that has gone 
 before in the sentence ; as, the man who is here, the horse 
 which I saw, the tree that was cut down. Here the who, which, 
 and that, relate, or carryback, to theruan, the horse and the tree. 
 These. three are all the pronouns of this class that we have in 
 our language: in Italian there are, che or cui, who, that, 
 which ; guale,^ who, that, which ; and onde, of which, by which > 
 
56 
 
 BTYMOLOGY 
 
 [Cliap. 
 
 with which, or whcrc])y. Che and mi arc regarded as being 
 nearly the same word, as far as sense goes; only cui can 
 never be used in the Nominative Case, though it may be so in 
 all the others. These make no change to denote cither gender 
 or number. 
 
 Chk and Cui, singular nnd plural, masculine ond feminine. 
 
 ]Vom. r/ic, who, that, or which 
 
 Pass, di che, or di cui, of whom, or which 
 
 Dat. a che, or a cut, or cui, to whom or which ' 
 
 Obj. rhc, or cui, whom, that, or which 
 
 Abl. da che, or da cui, frora whom, or which 
 
 Quale changes its termination to denote number ; and, to de- 
 note gender, takes the Definite Article before it ; as follows : 
 
 Singula n Mascvmne. 
 
 Xom. il quale, who, that, or which 
 Pass, del quale, of whom, or which 
 Uat. al quale, to whom, or which 
 Obj. il quale, whom, that, or which 
 Abl. dal quale, from whom, or which 
 
 Singular Feminine. 
 
 Nom. la quale, who, that, or which 
 Poss. della quale, of whom, or which 
 Dat. alia quale, to whom, or which 
 Obj. la quale, whom, that, or which 
 Abl. dalla quale, from whom,or which 
 
 Plural Mascul^e. 
 
 \om. i quali, who, that, or which ' 
 Poss. dei qitali, of whom, or which 
 J)at. ai quali, to whom, or whicli 
 Ohj. i quali, whom, that, or which 
 Abl. dai quali, from whom, or which 
 
 Plural Feminine. 
 
 Nom. le quali, who, that, or which 
 Poss. delle quali, of whom, or which 
 Dat. alle quali, to whom, or which 
 Ohj. le quali, whom, that, or which 
 Abl. dalle quali, fToviwhoia,OT which 
 
 Onde is a word which includes, within itself, the preposition 
 and the pronoun ; and it has the same sense as that of del quale 
 or delta quale, dei quali or delle quali, of which, di che or di cui, 
 of which ; or of rfa^ quale or dalla quale, dai quali or dalle quali, 
 da che or da cui, from, or by which, or of col quale, &c. con che, 
 con cui, with, or by which, or oi pel quale, &c. per cui, by, or 
 through which ; as in these examples : 
 
 Quei sospiri, oiid' io nudriva il core. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 1 begli occhi <md' io fui percosso. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 la speme, 
 
 Ed ogni laccio onde' 1 mio cor i avvinto. 
 
 Pf.T. C. 
 
 Per qnella via onde era venuto sen' 
 usct della chieaa. Boo. D. 
 
 Those sighs, with, or on, which 1 fed 
 my heart. 
 
 The heautiful eyes by, or with, which 
 I was struck. 
 
 Hope, and every hond tcith, or by which, 
 my heart is tied. 
 
 By that way by, or through, which he 
 had come, he went awny out of the 
 church. 
 
VI.] 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 57 
 
 The word onde has, also, other significations; it sometimes 
 means the same as whence or from where ; as, onde vei\ite voi ? 
 whence do yoM come? It means, also, wherewith or where- 
 withal; as, ho molti debiti, e non ho onde possa soddisfarli, I 
 have many debts, and I have not wherewithal to pay them. 
 
 44. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS are so called be- 
 cause they are used to point out, or identify with precision, the 
 persons or things which they represent ; and in English they 
 are, this, these, that, those. In the Italian language these pro- 
 nouns are much more numerous than they are in the Englij^li. 
 
 QuESTO, this. 
 
 Masculine Singular. 
 
 Nom. questo, this 
 Poss. di questo, of this 
 Dat. a questo, to this 
 Obj. questo, this 
 Abl. da questo, from this 
 
 Masculine Plukai, 
 
 Nom. questi, these 
 Poss. di questi, of these 
 Dat. a questi, to these 
 Obj. questi, these 
 Abl. da questi, from these 
 
 Feminine Singular. 
 
 Nom. qiiesta, this 
 Poss. di questa, of this 
 Dat. a questa, to this 
 Obj. questa, this 
 Abl. da questa, from this 
 
 Feminine Plural 
 
 Nom. queste, these 
 Poss. di queste, of these 
 Dat. a queste, to these 
 Obj. queste, these 
 Abl. da queste, from these 
 
 QuELLo, that. 
 
 Masculine Singular. 
 
 Nom. quello, that 
 Poss. di quello, of that 
 Dat. a quello, to that 
 Obj. quello, that 
 Abl. da quello, from that 
 
 Masculine Plural 
 
 Nom. quelli, those 
 Poss. di quelli, of those 
 Dat. a quelli, to these 
 Obj. quelli, those 
 Abl. da quelli, from those 
 
 Feminine Singular. 
 
 Nom. quella, that 
 Poss. di quella, of that 
 Dat. a quella, of that 
 Obj. quella, that 
 Abl. da quella, from that 
 
 Feminine Plural. 
 
 Nom. quelle, those 
 Poss. di quelle, of those 
 Dat. a quelle, to those 
 Obj. quelle, those 
 Abl. da quelle, fioru those 
 
 D 5 
 
58 fiTYMCLOGY [Chap. 
 
 Cosm, he, or thin man ; Costei, she, or this woman. 
 
 MascitUiic Singular. 
 
 .\'om. costui, he, or this man 
 
 Posx. di rostui, of liini, or thiH man 
 
 Dat. a rostui, to him, or thin man 
 
 Ohj. rosliii, liini, or this mati 
 
 Ahl. da lostai, from him, or thU man 
 
 Feminine Singular. 
 
 Nom. cnxtel, she, or this woman 
 Poss. d\ costei, of her, or this woman 
 Dat, a costti, to her, or this woman 
 OhJ. costei, she, or this woman 
 Ahl. da costei, from her, or this woman 
 
 CosTORO, thei/, or these men, or these women. 
 
 Masculine and Feminine Plural. 
 
 A'ow. costoro, they, or these men, or these women 
 Pass, di costoro, of them, or these men, or these women 
 Dat. a costoro, to them, or tliese men, or these women 
 Obj. costoro, they, or these me«, or these women 
 Alil. da costoro, from tlicm, or these men, or these women 
 
 CoLui, he, or tluit man; Colei, she, or that woman. 
 
 Masculine Singular, 
 
 Nom. colui, he, or that man 
 
 Pass, di colui, of him, or that man 
 
 Dat. a colui, to him, or that man 
 
 Obj, colui, him, or that man 
 
 Abl. da colui, from him, or that man 
 
 Feminine Singular. 
 
 \om. colei, she, or that woman 
 
 Poss. di colei, of her, or that woman -» 
 
 Dat. a colei, to her, or that woman ^ 
 
 Obj. col< /, her, or that woman 
 
 Abi. da culei, from her, or that woman 
 
 CoLORO, they, or these men, or these women. 
 Masculine and Feminine Plural. 
 
 Nom, eoloro, they, or those men, or those women 
 Poss, di eoloro, of them, or those men, or those women 
 Dat, a eoloro, to them, or those men, or those women 
 Obj. eoloro, they, or those men, or those women 
 Abl. da eoloro, from them, or thoie men, or those worn, i 
 
VII.] OP PRONOUNS. 59 
 
 Besides these, tliere are, cotesto, cotesta, that, masculine and 
 feminine singular, and cotesti, coteste, those, masculine and 
 feminine plural ; codesto, codesta, that, masculine and feminine 
 singular, and codesti, codeste, those, masculine and feminine plu- 
 ral ; coiestui, cotestei, he and she, or that person, masculine 
 and feminine singular, and cotestoro, they, or those persons, 
 masculine and feminine plural. The word quello, that, is fre- 
 quently written quel ; and, instead of quello, quelli, that, those, 
 the Italians often use quegli for the singular quello, and qnegli 
 quel, or que' for the plural quelli. The plural questi, also, may 
 be used as of the singular number. 
 
 These pronouns, which represent the person or thing as being 
 at a distance, and have the sense of that person or tiling, those 
 persons or things, differ as regards the degree of distance they 
 express, or local situation of the thing spoken of. Thus, while 
 ,questo, questa, questi, queste, costul, costei, cosloro, all represent 
 the person or thing as being near the speaker, and cotesto, co- 
 testa, cotesti, coteste, cotestui, cotestei, cotestoro, all represent 
 the person or thing as being nearer to the person spoken to ; 
 quello or quel, quella, quelli, quelle, quegli, quel, colui, colei, 
 • coloro, give us to understand that the person or thing spoken 
 of is somewhat at a distance from both the speaker and the 
 person spoken to. 
 
 The pronoun cib means the same as that or this ; and it never 
 changes to denote either gender or number, but is always used 
 in a neuter sense, and in the singular number : cib mi piace, 
 that, or this, pleases me; nondite cio, do not say that, or this; 
 here the sense of do is pretty nearly the 'same as that of questo, 
 this : questo mi piace, this pleases me, non dite questo, do not 
 say this; only that, while questo always means this, cio is 
 generally taken in the sense of that. With the relative pronoun 
 che, we may use either cib, or quello : cib che, that which, or, 
 quello, or quel che, that which. When, in our language, we use 
 the word what, instead of that ivhich, or the thing which, we 
 may translate it, in Italian, T^y either cib che, or quel che ; as, 
 you know what I told you, meaning, the thing which I told you, 
 voi sapete cib che, or quel che vi dissi. 
 
 Questi and guegli, in the masculine singular, are very com- 
 monly used to express he, or this man, and he, or that man ,- as :. 
 
CO ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 Quciti or Maconc adorn, cfu Christiano : Tas. G. L. He, or this 
 man now adores Maliomct, and was a Cliristian. Qiiegli abl)iso^na 
 di poco, clic poco desidcra : 15oc. D. He or that man wants little, 
 who desires little. And also obser\'e, that qnesti and quegli, or 
 quest i and qurllo, are to be employed to express this man and 
 that man, or this owe and that one, when we mean the former oxxA 
 the latter ; as, questi vienedi Londra, e quegli di Parigi, this one 
 comes from London, and that one from Paris, 
 
 The poets have written esto, esia, esti, este, instead of questo, 
 quesia, qnesti, queste. So wc read in Dante, esti tormenti, 
 these torments ; se vuoi campar d'esto luogo selvag-g'io, if thou 
 wilt escape from this desert place ; chi" h esta donna, who is this 
 lady ? And, before the words mane, or mattfna, morning, sera, 
 evening, and notte, night, it has always been, and is, the prac- 
 tice to say stamane or stamattinn, this morning, stasera, this 
 evening, stanotte, this night, or to-night; instead of quesia 
 mattina, quesia sera, quesia notte. 
 
 Instead of colui and colei, we read, in many old writers, lui 
 and lei ; as : la voglia che lui e lei hanno, &c. Mac. C. The 
 desire which he and she (or that man and that woman) have. 
 Lui h ricco, lui ha bclla donna : Mac. C. he is rich, he has a 
 handsome wife. Cercando lei ch'era loro Diva : Ari. O. F. 
 Seeking her who was their goddess. Marco solo visse e mon 
 onoratissimo, perchb lui succed^ all imperio, &c. Mac. P. 
 Marcus only lived and died honourably, because he succeeded 
 to the empire, &c. 
 
 I have translated costui, costei, colui, colei, costoro, coloro, by 
 he, or this man, she, or tliis woman, he, or that man, she, or that 
 woman, they, or these men, or these uamen, they, or those men, 
 or those women : but these pronouns, it must be observed, do 
 not always apply merely to persons, but they apply also to things^ 
 whether animate or inanimate, as do the other pronouns, 
 cotesto, codesio, cotestui, &c. 
 
 45. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. These are so called 
 because they are used in asking questions. They are, che, what, 
 quale, who, which, or what, and chi, who. The two former we 
 have had to notice before, and quale and chi belong, also, to 
 the next class of Pronouns that we shall have to notice. Tlie 
 mentioning of these pronouns under this head is little more 
 
VIL] 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 61 
 
 than a matter of form. Che, as an interrogative, always means 
 what ; as, che volete ? what do you want ? che uomo ^ costui ? 
 what man is this ? Quale is thus used : quale siete voi ? who, 
 or what are you ? quale strada bisogna tenere ? which, or what 
 road must we go ? And chi, as an interrogative pronoun, has 
 always the sense of who or whom ; as, chi e questa donna ? who 
 is this lady ? a chi avete parlato ? to whom have you spoken ? 
 
 46. INDETERMINATE PRONOUNS. These are so called, 
 because, compared with the other pronouns, they detennine less 
 distinctly, do not so far identify the person or thing to which 
 they are applied. The following is a list of them. Some of 
 them wiU require a particular notice in syntax : for which see 
 paragraph 152. 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Fern . 
 
 Masc. 
 
 Plural. 
 ' Fern. 
 
 no one, 
 no ones, 
 or none, 
 
 nothing, 
 
 such one, 
 or ones 
 
 }{ 
 
 all, every \ 
 one, or body j 
 
 nesstato 
 nissurto 
 veruno 
 nh'oio . 
 nulla . 
 
 niente 
 
 talano 
 tale . 
 
 tiitto , 
 
 nessuna 
 nissuna 
 veriina . 
 nluna .- 
 idilla . 
 
 taliina 
 tale . 
 
 some one 
 or ones 
 
 ■} 
 
 tutta 
 
 alcuna 
 qualcuna 
 
 ralcuno . 
 qualciino 
 \ qualchediino qualcheduna 
 {^qicale 
 
 one,or a per- 
 son 
 
 the one, or 
 the ones 
 
 the other 
 the others 
 
 another, 
 others 
 
 every one 
 
 few 
 
 many 
 
 } 
 } 
 
 r] 
 
 uno 
 
 Vuno 
 
 Valtro 
 
 1 ^un altro 
 J I altri, or < 
 
 quale 
 
 una 
 
 I' una 
 
 Valtra 
 
 un^ ultra 
 
 or altriti 
 
 ogniina 
 
 nessum 
 /lissiini 
 veriini 
 niuni . 
 nulli . 
 
 taluni 
 titli .- 
 
 . tutti . . 
 
 alcuni . . 
 qualcujii . 
 qualcheduni 
 qudli . . .. 
 
 gli uni 
 
 gli altri 
 
 nessune 
 
 nitsune 
 
 verune 
 
 nii'jne 
 
 nidle 
 
 . talune 
 , tali 
 
 tutte 
 
 alciine 
 qualcUne 
 qualcheduna 
 qudli 
 
 le une 
 
 le altre 
 
 Mtri, or altrid 
 
 pSchi . . . 
 milti . . 
 
 pSche 
 tndltf 
 
62 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 any onf, 
 who, orscnic 
 people 
 
 whoever, 
 
 whosoever, 
 
 wbomaoever 
 
 or 
 whicbevcr 
 
 each, or 
 every one 
 
 Singular. 
 Masc. 
 
 chl 
 
 chirhcsla, 
 
 c/iicchessia 
 
 rhiiinque 
 
 qiialiniche 
 
 quiiliinque 
 
 Hciasci'nio . 
 ciiischeduno 
 cad u no . . 
 
 whate 
 whatsoe 
 
 or 
 whichever 
 
 vcr, ^ 
 oevcr, ' 
 
 both 
 
 qunli'uiche 
 qiiabinque 
 (jiKiLsliiglia 
 qualsi.isla 
 qual che 
 che chc 
 
 " {imbo 
 dmbe 
 umbi 
 ambcdiio 
 J ambedue 
 ambedui 
 amendue 
 amenduni, 
 tiitti e due 
 
 Fern. 
 
 cutxciina 
 
 liasclttduna 
 
 cadiina 
 
 yMasc. and Fern. 
 
 J 
 , . tiUte e du£. Fern. 
 
VIII.] OP ADJECTIVES. 03 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Etymology of Adjectives. 
 
 47 . What we have to learn in the Etymology of this part of 
 speech, is,_ first, the change of form to which it is liable in 
 order to express gender and number ; and, then, the way in 
 
 - which the degrees of Adjectives are expressed, which degrees 
 are, as in English, three in number, namely, the Positive, the 
 Comparative, and the Superlative. 
 
 48. GENDER. Tliis is a very simple matter. All Adjec- 
 tives in Italian terminate in one or other of the vowels o and e; 
 with a very few exceptions. 
 
 Rule 1 . — The Adjectives ending in a change their termination 
 to a to express the feminine gender ; as, I'uomo vecchio, the 
 old man, la donna vecchia, the old woman. 
 
 Rule 2. — The Adjectives ending in e are the same in both 
 genders, and undergo no change to distinguish the masculine 
 from the feminine ; as I'uomo laud^vole, the praiseworthy 
 man, la donna laudevole, the praiseworthy woman. 
 
 49. NUMBER. The Number, also, is very simple, and is 
 agi'eeable to the rules relating to nouns. 
 
 Rule 1. — All Adjectives ending in o have four terminations ; 
 two for the singular and two for the plural : the singular is in 
 Oj for the masculine, and in a, for the feminine ; the plural is in 
 i, for the masculine, and in e, for the feminine ; as, Tuomo 
 ricco, the rich man ; la donna ricca, the rich woman ; gli 
 uomini ricchi, the rich men; le donne ricche, the rich women. 
 
 Rule 2. — AU Adjectives ending in e have two terminations'; 
 one for the singular and one for the plural : the singular in e, 
 for both masculine and feminine, and the plural in i, for both 
 masculine and feminine ; as, I'uomo laudevole, the praise- 
 
G4 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 worthy man ; la donna Inndnole, the praiseworthy woman ; 
 gli uomini laudivoli, the praise worthy men; ledonne/«i/(/<^o/i, 
 the praiseworthy women. 
 
 50. Tliough Adjectives are, as respects their terminations, 
 almost the same as nouns, it must he observed that, whenever 
 the Adjective ends in ia for the singular feminine, it must always 
 make ie for the plural feminine. Thus, vecchio, old, which makes 
 vecchio, for the ma^-culine singular, vecchi, for the mascuhne 
 plural, and vecchia for the feminine singular, must make 
 vecchic for the feminine plural, and not vecche. So malvagio, 
 wicked, must be mo/i-agio, malua^i, malvagia, malvagie ; and 
 not malvage, in the feminine plural. xVt Paragraph 28. I have 
 observ'ed, that the nouns ending in ia in the singular, generally 
 change ia to e in the forming of their plurals : but, with Ad- 
 jectives in ia it is never the e alone, but always ie, in the 
 plural. 
 
 The plural Adjectives sundry, divers, several, are expressed by 
 parecchi, for the masculine, and by parecchie for the feminine 
 gender; as parecchi uomini, several men; parecchie donne, 
 several women. The Adjective qualche, some or any, never 
 changes its termination to denote gender or number, and 
 it can be used only with nouns in the singular nnmher. The Ad- 
 jective ogni, every or each, does, also, always remain the same 
 in both genders : as, ogni uomo, every man ; ogni donna, every 
 woman. And assai, many, much, or a good many, never changes 
 to denote either gender or number ; as, assai vino, much 
 wine, assai uomini, many men, assai felicita, much happiness, 
 assai volte, many times. The words /jaW, equal, alike, or even, 
 and dispari, unequal, unlike, or uneven, have only the one ter- 
 mination in i, though they are applied both in the singular and 
 plural number, as well as in both genders ; as pari numero, 
 equal number, pari numeri, equal numbers, pari eta, equal age, 
 pari etk, equal ages; dispari ' nxmvero , unequal number, dispari 
 numeri, unequal numbers, dispari et^, unequal age, dispari etk 
 unequal ages. 
 
 51 . The Adjectives of Number, and those of Numerical Order, 
 are as in the two following lists. Of those of the former list, it 
 is only uno that makes any change in its termination to denote 
 gender ; it must be, uno stato, one state, and una casa, one 
 
VIII.] 
 
 OF ADJECTIVES. 
 
 65 
 
 house, the first noun being- of the masculine, the latter of the 
 feminine gender. To express one by one, two by two, the 
 Italians say, uno, aduno, and due a due ; or, ad uno ad uno,'a due 
 a due; and, uno must, in this case, always agree in gender, by 
 its termination, with the person or thing that it relates to ; as, 
 Vid'io cascar li tre ad uno ad uno, 1 saw the three (my sons) 
 fall one by one : Dan. In. Narro tutte le mie fatiche ad una 
 ad una, I relate aU my troubles one by one; Pet. S. None 
 of the others in this first list make any change to express 
 gender. The Adjectives of the second list, are subject to all 
 the variations of other adjectives ending in o. So we must 
 say, il primo giomo, the first day; i primi giorni, the first 
 days ; la prima volta, the first time, le prime volte, the first 
 times ; and so on, with secondo, terzo, &c. 
 
 Adjectives 
 
 1 uno, una, or un, un' 
 
 2 due, dui, duo, or duoi 
 
 3 tre 
 
 4 quattro 
 
 5 cinque 
 
 6 sei ^ 
 
 7 sette 
 
 8 otto 
 
 9 nove 
 
 10 dieci 
 
 11 undici 
 
 12 dodici 
 
 13 tredici 
 
 14 quattdrdici 
 
 15 quindici 
 
 16 sedici 
 
 17 diciassette 
 
 18 diciotto 
 
 19 dicianndve 
 
 20 venti 
 
 21 vent' uno 
 
 22 venti -due 
 
 of Number, 
 
 23 venti -tre 
 
 24 venti -quattro 
 
 25 venti- cinque 
 
 26 venti-sei 
 
 27 venti-sette 
 
 28 vent' otto* 
 
 29 venti-nove 
 
 30 trenta 
 
 3 1 trent' uno " 
 
 40 quaranta 
 
 41 Quarant' uno 
 
 50 cinquanta 
 
 51 cinquant' uno 
 
 60 sessanta 
 
 61 sessant' uno 
 70 settanta 
 
 80 ottanta 
 90 novanta 
 
 100 cento 
 
 101 cent' uno 
 
 102 cento-due 
 200 dugento 
 
66 
 
 KTYMOLOOY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 300 trecento 
 
 400 qujittroccnto 
 
 500 cinquccento 
 
 600 sciccnto 
 
 700 Fcttecento 
 
 800 ottocento 
 
 900 novecento 
 
 1,000 mille 
 
 2,000 due mila 
 3,000 tre mila 
 4,000 quattro mila 
 5,000 cinque mila 
 1,000,000 un milione, or 
 mig-lione 
 
 2,000,000, due milioni, qr 
 miglioni, &c. &c. 
 
 Adjectives of Numerical Order. 
 
 1st primo 
 
 23d ventesimo terzo 
 
 2d sec()ndo 
 
 24th ventesimo quarto 
 
 3d terzo 
 
 25th ventesimo quinto 
 
 4th quarto 
 
 26th ventesimo sesto 
 
 5 th quinto 
 
 27th ventesimo settimo 
 
 6th sesto 
 
 28th ventesimo ottavo 
 
 7th settimo 
 
 29th ventesimo nono 
 
 8th ottavo 
 
 30th trentesimo 
 
 9th nono 
 
 40th quarantesimo _ 
 
 10th decimo 
 
 50th cinquantesimo 
 
 11th undecimo 
 
 60th sessantesimo 
 
 12th duodecimo 
 
 70th settantesimo ' 
 
 13th tredecesimo 
 
 80th ottantesimo 
 
 14th decimoquarto 
 
 90th novantesimo 
 
 15th decimcquinto 
 
 190th centesimo 
 
 16th decimosesto 
 
 200th dugentesimo 
 
 17 th decimosettimo 
 
 300th trecentesimo 
 
 18th decimottavo 
 
 400th quattrocentesimo 
 
 19th decimonono 
 
 500th cinquecentesimo 
 
 20th ventesimo 
 
 600th secentesimo, 
 
 21st ventesimo primo 
 
 1,000th millesimo, &c. &c. 
 
 2 2d ventesimo secondo 
 
 
 52. Besides these there 
 
 are a few words, expressing 
 
 number, which are generally considered as Adjectives, but 
 which are rather Nouns than Adjectives : as un pajo, or un 
 para, a couple, or pair, una dozzina, a dozen, una mezza doz:^nu, 
 half a dozen, una ventina, a score, una decina, half a score, due 
 
VIII.] OF ADJECTIVES. G7 
 
 4ecine, two half scores, una quarantina, two scores, una 
 ' trentina, the number of thirty, un centinajo, the number of a 
 i hundred, un migriajo, the number of a thousand ; and a few 
 
 others such like. 
 
 I 
 
 I f 
 
 Of the Degrees of Adjectives. 
 
 53. The Adjective is said to be in the Positive degree, when 
 it expresses a quality or characteristic of the person or thing 
 that it is applied to, without having reference to any other 
 person or thing ; and thus it is distinguished from the other 
 two degrees, in both of which the Adjective represents the 
 person or thing that it is applied to as being compared with or 
 as exceeding, in some way, some other person or thing. The 
 word positive, as a grammatical term, means independent or 
 subsisting of itself. Thus, when I say, Thomas is wise, the Ad- 
 jective wise is in the Positive degree, ^ and has no reference to 
 any other person than Thomas : wherf I say, Thomas is wiset 
 than William, the Adjective is in the Coynparative degree, be- 
 cause, as is obvious, it represents one person as being compared 
 with another : when I say, Thomas is the wisest, the Adjective 
 is in the Superlative degree. 
 
 54. While our Adjectives never change, as the Adjectives 
 in Italian do, to express gender or number, they do, as we all 
 know, change their ending to express the degrees. So, while the 
 word wise, for example, serves in both genders and numbers, 
 to express the positive degree, it changes to wiser and wisest to 
 express the other degrees. Now, the Adjectives in Italian, 
 while they must change to express gender and number, never 
 do, excepting in a very few instances, make any change in 
 their endings to express degree. W^e have two ways of speak- 
 ing; we say wiser, or more wise, to express amplification in 
 comparison, and wisest or most wise, to express the Adjective 
 idea in the superlative; and, to express comparative diminution, 
 we say less wise, and the like. But the Italians have not, ex- 
 cepting in the following Adjectives, any thing like the English 
 terminations in er and est in their language. Tlie Italian even 
 here, indeed, is quite different from the English ; for the words 
 migliore, &c,, that express the comparative and superlative 
 
ti8 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 degrees, arc altogether different words from those in the Poai- 
 tive degree. 
 
 Po 
 
 8ITIVE. 
 
 biidno, good 
 cattlvo, bnd 
 j)lrrolo, Hniall 
 gr until , great 
 
 CompaMtive. 
 
 mifi,lii/r€, better 
 pcggUre, worse 
 min6re, mnaller 
 inai;gi6ri\ greater 
 
 Superlative. 
 
 il mifiliirc, the best 
 
 il peggiirv, the worst 
 
 il mhidre, or tnt-notiw, the smallest 
 
 il maggidre, the greatest 
 
 Now, the general rule in the Italian, excepting the above in- 
 stances, is, that, in order to express the comparative degree, 
 we must use the word pin, more, which is an Adverb, and 
 which, along with some others that will be mentioned in Syntax, 
 serves to express comparison ; and that, to express the super- 
 lative degree, we must use the definite article and the word 
 piu : so we must say, in the comparative, egli ^ piU valoroso, 
 he is more brave, or braver ; ella ^ pin bella, she is more hand- 
 some, or handsomer ; gli uomini sono piu valorosi, the men are 
 more brave, or braver ; le donne sono piu belle, the women are 
 more handsome, or handsomer : and, in the superlative, egli e il 
 piu valorso, he is the most brave, or bravest; ella b la piu bella, she 
 is the most handsome, or handsomest ; questi uomini sono i piu 
 valorosi, these men are the most brave, or bravest ; queste donne 
 sono le piit belle, these women are the most handsome, or hand- 
 somest. Observe, that we may also say, piu cattivo, worse, 
 piu piccolo, smaller, and pih grande, greater, in the comparative 
 degree, as well as piggiore, minore, maggiore ; and we may say 
 il piii cattivo, the worst, and il piil piccolo, the smallest, in the 
 superlative degree. But, to say piii buono, more good, or il 
 pill buono, the most good, is not correct.- The word meglio, 
 means better, and the word peggio means worse ; but these 
 words are used as Adverbs, and not as Adjectives, and never 
 change their terminations to express either gender or number. 
 
 In order to express the sense of our word very, as we use it 
 with Adjectives, the Adjectives in Italian have a separate sort 
 
VIII.] OF ADJECTIVES. 69 
 
 of termination, and this is derived from the Latin. In forming 
 this termination, the Adjective drops its final vowel, and takes 
 issimo in its place ; thus, dotto, learned, makes dottissimo, to 
 express very learned; piacevole, pleasant, makes piacevolissimo, 
 to express very pleasant. In these Adjectives expressing the 
 sense of very, the variations of termination to express gender 
 and number must be just according to the rules before given. 
 The following are examples : 
 
 Singular. Plural. 
 
 Masc. bello, handsome, bellisslmo, bellissimi, l handsome 
 
 Fern, hella, handsome, bellissima, belllssime, ] 
 
 Masc. brutto, ■a.^ly, bruttissimo,bruttissimi, i j 
 
 Fern, brutta, ugly, bruttissima, bruttissime, j 
 
 Masc. grande, great, gra7idissimo, grandissimi, \ ereat 
 
 Fern, grande, great, grandissima,grandissime, j 
 
 ^ Masc.felice,\i2iP^y, felicisshno, felicissimi, ^^^^ ^ 
 Fern, felice, happy, felicissima, felicissime, 1 
 
 WHien the Adjectives end in co or go, the termination to ex- 
 press the very must have an h in place of the final o ; as, bianco, 
 white, which must be hianchissimo , very white, and lungo, long, 
 which must be lunghissimo, very long. The Adjectives integro, 
 -just, salubre, healthful, celehre celebrated, make their termina- 
 tion of this kind in eri'imo : integerrimo, very just, saluberrimo 
 very healthful, celeberrimo, very celebrated. The words ve7'y 
 good are expressed by ottimo or buonissimo, very bad hy pessimo , 
 very great by massimo, and very little by minimo or piccoUssimo . 
 It is not necessary for the Adjective to take this form in order 
 to express the superlative degree ; for the same idea is ex- 
 pressed, also, by the Adjective in its original form accompained 
 by the Adverb molto, which means much or very ; as il cavallo 
 ^ molto bello, the horse is very handsome ; la casa ^ molto bianca, 
 the house is very white ; instead of, bellissimo, bianchissimo. 
 
7C BTTMOLOGV [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of Augmentatives axd Dtminutites. 
 
 55. There are a great number of words, belonging to the 
 classes of Nouns and A.djectives, which come under one or the 
 other of the above denominations. Such words are called 
 Augmentatives and Diminutives, because, when nouns, they 
 generally represent the person or thing as being extraordinarily 
 large or small in size, and, when Adjectives, they generally 
 represent the quality or characteristic of the person or thing 
 as existing in a greater or a smaller degree. Thus, of 
 cappeUo, a hat, are formed cappeltone or cappelluccio, a great 
 big hat, and cappellitto or cappelUiccio, a little tiny hat ; and of 
 scmplice, simple, is formed semplicttto, simple to a mean or 
 fooHsh degree : of sdegnoso, disdainful, is formed sdegnosctto, 
 somewhat disdainful, or disdainful in a slight degree. — 
 Barretti, from whose Dictionar}" I have taken the greater 
 part of the following examples, observes that " the general 
 " rule to distinguish the various significations of Augmenta- 
 " tives is, the terminations in one and ona indicate bigness and 
 " stoutness; in otto and occio, indicate a compact and ?iot dis- 
 ' ' pleasing bigness. Those in accio and azzo, indicate bigness 
 " as well as wickedness and contempt. In ame, they increase 
 'f- indefinitely the number. Diminutives in ino, etto, ello, and 
 " uccio, denote endearment as well as sviallness ; in uzzo, atto, 
 " iccio, icchio, dtiola, ipola, lipola, nolo, onzola, anzuulo, indicate 
 "despicable pettiness; yet all these rules have exceptions 
 " which nothing but good reading can teach." The same author 
 also says, that few Augmentatives and Diminutives are 
 admitted in solemn st}le, and that the language would suffer 
 no great loss if such words were entirely superseded : the latter 
 of which observations is not, I think, by any means in good 
 taste ; for, though some of these words are merely ridiculous. 
 
VIII.] 
 
 OF AUGMENTATIVES AND DIMINUTIVES. 
 
 71 
 
 and many no other than vulgar sorts of expression; nevertheless, 
 a great many of them are of much force, and their use often 
 gives a singular grace to the Italian language. Examples : 
 
 Of Nouns Argumentative and Dimunitive. 
 
 Formed 
 
 from u6mo, a 
 man 
 
 omuccio, a tall and clumsy man 
 omacci6ne, a Tery bulky and clumsy man 
 uomijidccio', a very clumsy, worthless fellow 
 umaccino, a little active, or impertinent, fellow 
 omicciudlo, a puny little fellow 
 omicciattolo, a despicable little chap 
 
 from d6nna, a 
 . woman 
 
 dontiSne, a stout, or masculine, woman 
 donndccia, an impudent wench 
 donncttu, a puny, or insignificant, woman 
 donnicciuola, a little contemptible woman 
 donniclna, a pretty little woman 
 
 casbne, a very large house 
 casuccia, a large, ill-contrived house 
 casolaruccia, a large house falling into decay 
 from casa, a I casotta, a snug house 
 
 house < castlla, a little, poor house 
 
 casuzza, a poor, small, contemptible house 
 
 castna, a very small house 
 
 casellina,-^ 
 
 from lepre, a> 
 hare 
 
 from aequo, 
 water 
 
 from Itipo, a 
 wolf 
 
 from libra, a 
 book 
 
 from gente, 
 people, or 
 folks 
 
 leprdccia, a very old hare 
 leprone, a young fat hare 
 leprettina,^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ 
 leprottina>' 
 
 {acqudccia, bad water, or a large shower 
 acqiietta, a small stream 
 acquertlla, a very small stream 
 
 {lupoiie, a large wolf 
 lupdccio, a large, fierce wolf 
 lupacchino, a wolf's whelp 
 
 Ubrdne, a large book 
 libretto J a little book 
 
 libriccino, -.a-very little boot 
 libricciudlo, J 
 
 gentdccia, despicable people 
 
 gentdglia, a rabble, mob 
 
 gentagUuccia, wretches, fit for any thing that is bad 
 
 gentucciuccia, very despicable people 
 
72 
 
 BTVMOLOOV 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 from Hii'diro, n 
 
 phyMi<"iau 
 
 from tlotturc, a 
 doctor 
 
 from bt'iclo, a 
 
 from principc, 
 a prince 
 
 f mrdhonzolo, n ptmy, do»p>cabIc physician 
 I iiu ilicastro, ;i ({ii/ick, 
 
 ]• (iottoricrhio, a younp, pert, and little doctor 
 
 I baciizzo, a cordial, smacking kisa 
 
 {prhtcipdio, a little, ( 
 principinm, a little, 
 
 prhtcipdio, a little, or yonng, prince 
 
 or young, princess 
 
 from pivcro, 
 pbvera, a poor • 
 person. 
 
 from v6ccliio, 
 vccchia, an 
 old person 
 
 from, strada, a 
 street 
 
 from porta, a 
 door 
 
 from JiU.tofo, a 
 philosopher 
 
 from fanch'tllo 
 a child 
 
 frova fe/nmine, 
 a woman 
 
 from gidvane, a 
 young man 
 or woman 
 
 from mnno, a 
 hand 
 
 from naso, a 
 nose 
 
 poverino, i 
 
 j;orprt/<o,!a poor, good, honest man 
 
 pnvcrvllo\j 
 
 poverina, '\ 
 
 poverctt(i,^^dt. poor, Rood, honest woman 
 
 poverilla,} 
 
 vecchino, ^ 
 
 vecchutto, va poor, good old man 
 
 vrcrh'nrcllo, ) 
 
 vecchlna, 
 
 I Cecil i 
 
 vccch 
 
 ina, ■\ 
 Htfa, K 
 ierdla,} 
 
 a poor, good old woman 
 
 j- straddne, a great street 
 I portdne, a great door 
 
 \ filosofastro, a smattering philosopher 
 
 cfanciuWno, ] ^ little child 
 I Janciullctta, i 
 
 cfemminctta, U Uttle woman 
 l Jemminclla, ' 
 
 ■ giovinitto, '\ 
 giovaiidtto, >a little youth 
 giovincello, j 
 
 gwvinaia U little lass 
 giovmcclla, ) 
 
 /""""■""'•la pretty little hand 
 I manina,} 
 
 \ na.Kone, a great nose 
 
 Of Adjectives Augmentative and Diminutive. 
 
 Formed : 
 from ribaldo, frihald6ne, gnrossly iniquitous 
 iniquitous ^ribaldillo, petty in iniquity for want of brains 
 
VIIL] 
 
 AUGMENTATIVES AND DIMINUTIVES. 
 
 73 
 
 from abhruci- 
 jLto, burned 
 
 {abbruciaticciOy singed, or superficially burned 
 abbruciacchidto, a little bumedt^bere or tbere 
 
 Xgiovinino, very young 
 
 .piccoUno, . ji^jg 
 
 Ipzcctolino,} 
 
 from sordo, deaf sorddstro, deafish, or a little deaf -, 
 
 jstracchiccio, a little tired 
 (gialUtto, 
 
 from giSvine, 
 young 
 
 from piccolo, 
 little 
 
 from stracco, 
 tired 
 
 from giallo, 
 yellow 
 
 from bianco, 
 white 
 
 (gialletto, '\ 
 \gialUno, > 
 ^sialUiccio.J 
 
 a little yellow, or yellowish 
 
 ^gialli'iccio, 
 
 ibianchitto, 
 bianciiccio 
 \altitto, 
 
 ianchttto, ^ 
 \bianchino, la little white, or whitish 
 iancUccio,} 
 
 from altOy high {alterillo^^ ^^^^ high,"or highish 
 
 Xamariccio, a little bitter, or bitterish 
 
 (Tossiccion ^ ut^g yg^^ ^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 irossigno,^ 
 
 \*M^cr6(5»c, very proud ; 
 
 {gross6cc^On^^^^^^ stout or fat 
 ^grossdtto, i 
 
 from amaro, 
 bitter 
 
 from rosso, red 
 
 from superbo, 
 proud 
 
 from grosso, 
 stout, or fat 
 
 from bello, 
 beautiftil 
 
 from grande, 
 tall, or big> 
 
 rbelUne, very beautiful 
 \bellinot beautiful with prettiness 
 
 granddccio, disproportionably big, or tall 
 
 granditto, "J 
 
 granddtto, >a little tall, big, or stout 
 
 grandicillo,} 
 
 E 
 
74 ETTMOLOoy [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Etymology of Verbs, 
 
 56. There are eight things to be considered in the Verb ; 
 namely : the Conjugation ; the Mode ; the Time ; the Number ; 
 the Person ; the Participle ; the Sort of the Verb, or, as some 
 call it, the Gender ; and the Government. — ^What we have to 
 attend to, in the Etymology of this Part of Speech, is the 
 Conjugation. For all other matters relating to the Verb, see 
 Paragraph 181. 
 
 57 . The word conjugation means an uniting or a joining to- 
 gether. It is derived from the Latin words con^ with or to- 
 gether, and jugum, a yoke ; and, in Latin, the verb conjugo, 
 from which comes our verb to conjugate, means, to unite, or 
 join together, or, more literally, to yoke together. This word, 
 then, as a grammatical term, means, to join together, or to 
 connect all mider one view, and in their proper order, the 
 various changes in form of a verb. The same term might be 
 employed, also, in speaking of Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjec- 
 tives ; since all these Parts of Speech are subject to a change 
 in their endings : but the changes of these are sufficiently dis- 
 tinguished by the terms gender, number, and case. It will be 
 seen, in a minute, how important a thing it is to attend to the 
 conjugation of the verbs in Itahan ; because, in that language, 
 
IX.] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 75 
 
 as is the case in most foreign languages, the changes are so 
 much more numerous than they are in our verbs. Thus, in 
 our verb to love, for example, there are but these four varia- 
 tions, love, loves, loving, loved ^ while in Italian, amdre, to love, 
 changes to dmo, ami, dma, amidmo, amdte, dmano, amdva, amdi, 
 amerb, amerS, amdssi, amdndo, amdto, &c. 
 
 58. There are THREE CONJUGATIONS of verbs in the 
 Italian language. And the verbs are said to belong to the first, 
 to the second, or to the third conjugation, according as they 
 end in the Infinitive Mode, which they all do in one or other 
 of these ways, in are, in ere, or in ire. 
 
 nn. 1 4. n • *• fAMARE, PaRLARE, ANDARE, 
 
 The 1st Conjugation : as,< . , ' , ,' ^ ' 
 
 '' ° t ' l^to love. to speak. to go. 
 
 I 
 
 Th 2H r ' t'on* as /Credere, Vendere, Leggere, 
 ^ ° * ' \to believe. to sell. to read. 
 
 ^ The 3d Conjugation : as, j^f^T^f ' S^^^^'«^' '^^'^^^ 
 
 *" ° ' (_ to feel. to serve. to come. 
 
 f 
 
 In pronouncing the Infinitives, the accent is, in the first 
 conjugation, always on the a which precedes the final re, as in 
 the above examples ; and in the third conjugation, the accent 
 is always on the i which precedes the final re, as in the above 
 examples; but, in the second conjugation, the accent is al- 
 ways on the last syllable but one that precedes the final re, as 
 in the above examples. To this latter rule, however, the fol- 
 lowing twenty-two verbs are exceptions ; and these verbs have 
 the accent on the e which precedes the final re. 
 
 avere, to have 
 cadere, to fall 
 caUre, to care 
 cap^re, to hold 
 dol&e, to pain 
 dov4re, to owe 
 giac^re, to lie down 
 god&e, to rejoice 
 
 potere, to be able 
 riman^re, to remain 
 sap^re, to know 
 sed^re, to sit 
 solere, to be accustomed 
 tac&e, to be silent 
 tenere, to hold 
 tem&e, to fear 
 
 E 2 
 
7C 
 
 ETYMOLOGV 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 jiarhc, to ap])car 
 piacircy to ])lease 
 persuacU're, to pcrs«uadc 
 
 vaUre, to be worth 
 vMere, to see 
 voUre, to be willing 
 
 Those verbs which are compounds of nny of the above twenty- 
 two, are pronounced in the same way; as : 
 
 • accad&c, to haj)pen 
 antivedtre, to foresee 
 appartre, to appear 
 compiac&e, to comply with 
 csnten^e, to contain 
 decadh-e, to decline 
 dispartre, to disappear 
 dispiacere, to displease 
 dissuadtre, to dissuade 
 disvoU're, to be unwilling 
 equivalire, to beof equal worth 
 mantenire, to maintain 
 otten&e, to obtiiin 
 
 pretaUre, to prevail 
 posscdf're, to possess 
 presedere, to preside 
 riavtre, to Jiave again 
 ricadere, to fall again 
 risapere, to know by report 
 risedere, to reside 
 ritenere, to retain 
 rived&e, to see again 
 rivok're, to wish again 
 soggiacere, to succomb 
 sostentre, to sustain 
 travzdtre, to see double 
 
 59. A verb is said to be regular or irregular in its conjuga- 
 tion. It is regular, when it corresponds, throughout all its 
 changes, with other verbs which are considered as models of 
 one or other of the conjugations ; it is irregular, when it does 
 not entirely correspond with, but differs from, those which 
 are the models. Tlius, if we consider amdre, to love, as a model 
 of the first conjugation, we find parldre, to speak, perfectly 
 regular, because it agrees with amdre in making all its endings 
 the same as those of the model : it is io dmo, I love, tu dmi, 
 thou lovest, egli unui, he loves ; and io pdrlo, I speak, tupdrli, 
 thou speakest, egli pdrla, he speaks ; and so on throughout the 
 changes of the model and of the verb that agrees with it. The 
 same with credere, to beheve, taking that as a model of the 
 second conjugation, and vendere, to sell as a verb agreeing with 
 it ; and the same with sentire, t'. feel, taking that as a model 
 
IX.] OP VEtiiBS. ' 77 
 
 of the third conjugation, and servire, to serve, as a verb agree- 
 ing with it. But, if we take anddre, to go, leggere, to read, 
 venire, to come, we shall find that these are instances of verbs 
 irregular, and that they, in more or less of their changes, differ 
 from amdre, credere, and sentire. For example, anddre, in the 
 Present Time of its Indicative mode, makes io vddo or vo, I go, 
 ttt vdi, thou goest, egli va, he goes ; and not io dndo, tu dndi, 
 egli dnda, which would make it agree with amdre : in the same 
 way Uggere, in the Past Perfect of its Indicative Mode, makes 
 io lessi, I read ; and not io leggei, which would make it agree 
 with credere : in the same way venire, in the Past Perfect of 
 its Indicative Mode, makes io v^ni, I came ; and not io venii, 
 which would make it agree with sentire. 
 
 60. Thus we see, first, what it is to conjugate verbs ; and, 
 secondly, in what consists the regularity or irregularity of verbs. 
 The only thing that remains to be done, in the third place, is, 
 to give an example of a regular verb of each conjugation, with 
 all its changes, from beginning to end ; and to give, besides, 
 some examples of the irregular verbs of each conjugation, 
 showing how these latter differ in their changes from the re- 
 gular verbs. 
 
 61. There are many matters, in treating of which thoroughly, 
 it is impossible to be at once clear and concise; and the irregularity 
 in the forms of Italian verbs is one of such matters. There are 
 a great many irregularities and niceties of variation to be atten- 
 ded to : there are the ancient manners of spelling ; there are the 
 manners of spelling peculiar to the poets ; there are^ also, some 
 manners of spelling which are considered as erroneous, or 
 merely vulgar. I should wish what I have to say on the Etymo- 
 logy of Verbs to be both clear and concise ; and, therefore, I shall 
 not undertake to give any explanations as to such variations as 
 are called ancient, poetical, or vulgar. For those who wish to 
 learn the matter superficially, to study the contents of the pre- 
 sent Chapter will be even more than sufficient ; and for those 
 whose object it may be to have a perfect knowledge of all that 
 belongs to the irregularities and variations of the verbs, the 
 best thing I can do is to recommend the use of a book called 
 
I 
 
 78^ STYMOLocy [Chap. 
 
 " Diz'ionario Cr'Uico de verbi Italiani " (a Critical Dictionary 
 of the Italian verbs), in which will be found noticed all the 
 changes of every kind that Italian verbs can be subject to, and 
 which has, at the end, an alphabetical list of all the irregular 
 verbs in the lang-uage. This work, which is by Professor Ma.8- 
 TROFiM, is the most complete thing of its kind that I have 
 met with. By recommending this book to the learner, I think 
 that I shall be rendering him more service than I should be 
 by attempting to treat at length of a subject, which, to have 
 full justice done it, necessarily requires a great deal more 
 room than can be devoted to it in a merely elementary work 
 like my own. 
 
 62. I now proceed to give examples of the three Regular 
 Conjugations ; and I shall take, as models, the three verbs be- 
 fore mentioned, in Paragraphs 58 and 59, amdre, credere, and 
 sentire. But I shall, before conjugating these three, give the 
 conjugations of the verbs av&e, to have, and hsere, to be* 
 These, though both irregular, are, by most grammarians, given 
 as the first two to be learned ; because, they are what arc 
 called auxiliary verbs ; and they are so called, from the pe- 
 culiar office they have as assistants in forming the compound 
 times of other verbs. Thus, io ho amdto, I have loved, 20 sono 
 amdto, I am loved : here the ho, I have, and the sono, I am, serve 
 as auxiliaries or assistants to the verb amdre. These two 
 verbs, as relates to their auxiliary capacity, will require strict 
 attention when we come to Syntax. (See Paragraph 269.) 
 The ten following pages will contain the conjugations, at 
 full length, of these five verbs; that is, first, the two auxilia- 
 ries autre and essere, and, then, the three models of the regu- 
 lar verbs, amdre, credere, and sentire. On the one page (that 
 to the left) will be placed all the changes in its simple form 
 that the verb is subject to : and on the opposite page will be 
 shown all the changes that the verb can undergo as compound- 
 ed with the auxiliary, and the variety of termination to which 
 the Participles are liable. The page following these ten pages 
 of conjugations will contain a Table, which wiU exhibit, in one 
 view, the simple forms of all the three regular conjugations 
 as compared with one another. 
 
IX.] OP VERBS. 79 
 
 63. It will be perceived, that the compounds of the verb tssere 
 are found by the assistance of tssere itself, and not, in accor* 
 dance with our language, by that of avere. So that, while 
 wer say, / have been, I had been, &c. the Italians say, literally, 
 / am been, I was been, &c. 
 
80 
 
 ETTMOLOOT 
 
 rChap. 
 
 CONJUGATION OF THE AUXILIARY A VERE. 
 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Avire || To fa etc. 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 
 io ho 
 tu hui 
 egli ha 
 
 I hare 
 tliou hast 
 he faaB 
 
 noi ahbidmo 
 mi avitr 
 iglino hdnno 
 
 we have 
 yoii have 
 they have 
 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 
 io aviva 
 tu avivi 
 egli aviva 
 
 I had 
 
 thou hadst 
 he had 
 
 noi avevdmo 
 voi avevdte 
 - iglino avivano 
 
 we had 
 
 you had 
 they had 
 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 
 io ibbi 
 tu ovist I 
 egli ibbe 
 
 I had 
 thou hadst 
 he had 
 
 noi avimmo 
 Toi aviste 
 iglino ibbero 
 
 we had 
 you had 
 they had 
 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 
 io avrb 
 tu avrii 
 egli avrd 
 
 I shall hare 
 thou shalt have 
 he shall liave 
 
 noi avrcmo 
 tot aircte 
 cglino avrdnno 
 
 we shall have 
 you sJiall have 
 they shall have 
 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 
 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 
 io dbbia 
 
 tu dbbi, or ubbia 
 
 egli dbbia 
 
 I may have 
 
 thou mayest have 
 
 he may have 
 
 noi abbidmo 
 voi abbidte 
 iglino dbbiano 
 
 we may have 
 you may have 
 they may have 
 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 
 io arissi 
 tu avessi 
 egli avcsse 
 
 I might have 
 thou mightest have 
 he caight have 
 
 noi aressimo 
 voi aviste 
 iglino avissero 
 
 we might have 
 you might have 
 they might have 
 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 
 io avrti 
 tu avrcsti 
 egli avribbe 
 
 I should have 
 thou shouldest have 
 he should have 
 
 noi avremmo 
 voi avriste 
 iglino avribbere 
 
 we should have 
 you should have 
 they should have 
 
 
 IMPERATIVE MODE. 
 
 
 
 
 abbidmo 
 
 abbidte 
 
 dbbiano 
 
 let us have 
 
 have 
 
 let them have 
 
 dbbi 
 ubbia 
 
 have 
 
 let him have 
 
 PARTICIP 
 
 LES ACTIVE. PARTICIPLE 
 
 PASSIVE. 
 
 avindo "\, 
 avinte J" 
 
 aviog 
 
 1 aviito 1 
 
 had 
 
IX.] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 81 
 
 COMPOUNDS OF THE AUXILIARY A VERB. 
 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Avdre avltto \\ To have had. 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 io ho avuto 
 tu hai avuto 
 egli ha av^to 
 
 io avcva aviito 
 tu avtvi aouto 
 ■fgli avcva avuto 
 
 io ebbi avMo 
 tu avtsti avuto 
 egli ebbe avuto 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 I have had 
 thou hast had 
 he has had 
 
 noi abbiamo aviito 
 vol avtte avuto 
 csUno hknno avUto 
 
 we have had 
 you have had 
 they have had 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 I had had 
 tliou badst had 
 he had had 
 
 noi avevdmo avuto ;, we had had 
 vol avevate aviito you had had 
 cglino'avivanoavuto they had had 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 I had had 
 thou hadst had 
 he had had 
 
 noi^avcnimo avi'ito 
 vol aveste avuto 
 cglino cbbero avuto 
 
 we had had 
 you had had 
 they had had 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 io avrb aviito 
 tu avrai aviito 
 euli avrct avuto 
 
 I shall have had 
 thou shalt have had 
 he shall have had 
 
 noi avrcmo aviito 
 voi avrtte avUto 
 cglinoavrduiio aviito 
 
 we shall have i.ad 
 you shall have had 
 they shall have had 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 Present Time. 
 
 io iibbia aviito 
 tudbbi aviito 
 egli abbia aviito 
 
 I may have had 
 thou mayest have had 
 he may have had 
 
 not abbiamo aviito 
 voi abbidte aviito 
 eglinodbbiano aviito 
 
 we may have had 
 you may have had 
 they may have had 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 io avissi avuto 
 tu dvessi aviito - 
 egli avtsse ai^Uto 
 
 I might have had 
 thou raightest have had 
 he might have had 
 
 noi avessimo aviito 
 voi aveste aviito 
 eglino avessero aviito 
 
 we might have had 
 you might have had 
 they might have had 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 io avrci avuto 
 tu avresti aviito 
 egli avribbe aviito 
 
 I should have had 
 thou shouldest have had 
 he sheuld have had 
 
 noi avremmo aviito 
 voiavreste aviito 
 eglino avrtbbero aviito 
 
 we should have had 
 you should have had 
 they should have had 
 
 COMPOUND OF THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE PARTICIPLES. 
 
 avendo aviito 
 
 The Participle ending in nte has two 
 terminations : 
 
 Sing, avinte , , . 
 Plu. avrnti } having 
 
 having had 
 
 The Participle Passive has four ter- 
 minations : 
 
 Masc. Fern. 
 
 Sing, avuto, aviita, ■. , , 
 Plu. aviiti, aviite, ^ *^ 
 
 £ 5 
 
82» BTYMOLOOY [Chap. 
 
 CONJUGATION OF THE AUXILIARY ESSERE, 
 
 
 INflNITlVK INIODE. 
 
 
 
 ISssere II To be 
 
 
 . 
 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 
 to s6no 
 tu xci 
 fgtie 
 
 I am 
 thou art 
 he is 
 
 1 
 
 tioi sidmo 
 vol sicte 
 eglino sono 
 
 we are 
 you are 
 they are 
 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 1 
 
 to tra 
 tu tri 
 tgli ira 
 
 I was 
 thou wast 
 he was 
 
 noi eravumo 
 voi era rate 
 eglino crano 
 
 we were 
 you were 
 they were 
 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 
 io/iii' 
 tu fdsti 
 eglifu 
 
 I was 
 thou wast 
 he was 
 
 noifkmmo 
 voi f6ste 
 iglinofurono^ 
 
 we were 
 
 you were 
 they were 
 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 
 io sarb 
 tu saral 
 tgli sard 
 
 I shall be 
 thou sh.ilt be 
 he shall be 
 
 noi .tarcmo 
 roi saritc 
 eglino sarunno 
 
 we shall be 
 you shall be 
 they shall be 
 
 »o sia 
 
 tu sii, or sia 
 
 (gli sia 
 
 io fSssi 
 tu fdssi 
 egli fhsse 
 
 io sarii 
 
 tu saretti 
 egli saribbe 
 
 sn, or sia 
 sia 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 Present Time. 
 
 I may be 
 thou mayest be 
 he may be 
 
 ttoi siamo 
 voi sii'ite 
 Eglino slano 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 I might be 
 thou mightest be 
 he might be 
 
 noi fdssimo 
 voi fdste 
 eglino fdssero 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 I should be 
 thou shouldst be 
 he should be 
 
 noi saremmo 
 voi sarcstc 
 
 we may be 
 you may be 
 they may be 
 
 we might be 
 you might be 
 they might be 
 
 we should be 
 yon should be 
 
 eglino saribbero y they should be 
 IMPERATIVE MODE. 
 
 be 
 
 let him be 
 
 siamo 
 
 sidte 
 
 siano 
 
 let ns be 
 
 be 
 
 let them be 
 
 PARTICIPLES ACTIVE. 
 
 essindo\ 
 
 essente 
 
 Ibeing 
 
 PARTICIPLE PASSIVE. 
 stdto I been 
 
IXJ 
 
 GP VERBS. 
 
 83 
 
 COMPOUNDS OF THE AUXILIARY ESSERE. 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Essere stlito \\ To have been 
 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 io sSno stkto 
 tu sti stato 
 egli k stkto 
 
 io Ira stkto 
 tu iri stkto 
 egli era stkto 
 
 iofiii stkto 
 tufhsti stkto 
 eglifu stkto 
 
 io sarb stkto 
 tu sarki stkto 
 egli sard, stkto 
 
 io sia stkto 
 tu sii stkto 
 egli sia stkto 
 
 iofSssi stkto 
 tufSssi stkto 
 egli fdsse stato 
 
 io sarei stkto 
 tu saresti stkto 
 egli sarebbe stato 
 
 I have been 
 thou hast been 
 he has been 
 
 noi sikmo stkti 
 voi siete stkti 
 eglino sono stkti 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 I had been 
 thou hadst been 
 he had been 
 
 noi eravkmo stkti 
 voi eravkte stkti 
 6glino erano stkti 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 I had been 
 thou hadst been 
 he had been 
 
 noi fummo stkti 
 voifdste stkti 
 eglino fiirono stkti 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 I shall have been 
 thou shalt have been 
 he shall have been 
 
 noi saremo stkti 
 voi sarete stkti 
 eglino sarknno stkti 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 I may have been 
 thou mayest have been 
 he may have been 
 
 noi siamo stkti 
 voi sikte stkti 
 ^eglino siano stati 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 I might have bean 
 
 thou inightest have been 
 
 he might have been 
 
 noifSssimo stkti 
 voifoste stkti 
 eglino fdssero stkti 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 we have been 
 you have been 
 they have been 
 
 we had been 
 you had been 
 they had been 
 
 we had been 
 you had been 
 they had been 
 
 I we shall have been 
 you shall have been 
 jthey shall have been 
 
 we may have been 
 you may have been 
 they may have been 
 
 we might have been 
 you might have been 
 titiey might have been 
 
 11 should have been 
 (thou shouldest have been 
 
 he should have been 
 
 noi sardmmo stati I we should have been 
 voi sareste stkti you should have been 
 
 eglino sarebbero stkti (they should have been 
 
 COMPOUND OF THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE PARTICIPLES. 
 
 essendo stkto \\ having been 
 
 The Participle ending in 7ite has two 
 terminations : 
 
 Sing. essente-t.-„„ 
 Flu. essaitir^'''^ 
 
 The Participle Passive has four 
 terminations: 
 
 Masc. Fern. 
 Sing, stkto stuta\,„^ 
 Plu. stati state i^^^ 
 
84 
 
 ETYMOLOOT 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST CONJUGATION. 
 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Am&re || To lore. 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 
 Preicnt Time. 
 
 
 io umo 
 tu ami 
 egli dma 
 
 Hove 
 ihou lovcst 
 he loves 
 
 noi amidmo 
 voi amittf 
 iglino amano 
 
 we love 
 you love 
 they love 
 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 
 io amura 
 tu anuivi 
 egli amdva 
 
 I loved 
 thou lovedst 
 he loved 
 
 noi amavdmo 
 vni nrnavute 
 iglino amiLvano 
 
 we loved 
 yon loved 
 they loved 
 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 
 io amui 
 tu aminti 
 egli ami) 
 
 I loved 
 thou lovedst 
 he loved 
 
 noi amammo 
 voi amd.stc 
 i-glino amitrono 
 
 we loved 
 you loved 
 they loved 
 
 
 FiUuT 
 
 e Time. 
 
 
 io amcrb 
 tu amerdi 
 egli amerd 
 
 I shall love 
 thou shall love 
 he shall love 
 
 noi amerimo 
 vol amcrite 
 iglino amerunno 
 
 we shall love 
 you' shall love 
 they shall love 
 
 
 SUBJUNCI 
 
 IVE MODE. 
 
 
 
 Preset 
 
 It Time. 
 
 
 io ami 
 tu ami 
 egli ami 
 
 I may love 
 thoumayest love 
 he may love 
 
 noi am ill mo 
 voi amiute 
 iglino amino 
 
 we may love 
 you may love- 
 they may love 
 
 ' 
 
 Past 
 
 Time. 
 
 
 io a/iUissi 
 tu amassi 
 egli amdsse 
 
 I might love 
 
 thou mightest love 
 
 he might love 
 
 noi amiissimo 
 voi am/t.ste 
 1 iglino amdssero 
 
 we might love 
 you might lov«? 
 they might love 
 
 
 CONDITIO] 
 
 VAL MODE. 
 
 V 
 
 io amerci 
 tu anuristi 
 cgli ameribbe 
 
 I should love 
 thou shooldest love 
 he should love 
 
 noi amerimmo 
 voi amere-ite 
 iglino ameribbero 
 
 we should love 
 you should love 
 they should love 
 
 
 IMPERAT 
 
 rVE MODE. 
 
 
 
 
 amidmo 
 
 anu'ite 
 
 amino 
 
 let us love 
 
 d>n/i 
 ami 
 
 love 
 
 let him love 
 
 love 
 
 let them Jove 
 
 PARTIC 
 
 :iPLES ACTIVE. 
 
 PARTICIPLE P 
 
 ASSIVE. 
 
 ama 
 awdi 
 
 :;;}i^z 
 
 1 amdto 1 lov( 
 
 :d 
 
IX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 85 
 
 COMPOUNDS OF THE VERB AMARE. 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Avire amuto || To have loved 
 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 Present Time. 
 
 to ho amhto 
 tu hdi amuto 
 egli ha amdto 
 
 I have loved 
 thou hast loved 
 he has loved 
 
 noi abbidmo amato 
 vol avete amato 
 eglifio hdiino amdto 
 
 we have loved 
 you have loved 
 they have loved 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 io aviva amdto 
 tu avevi amdto 
 egli av&va amdto 
 
 I had loved 
 thou hadst loved 
 he had loved 
 
 noi avevdmo amdto 
 voi avevdte amdto 
 eglino avevano amdto 
 
 we had loved 
 you had loved 
 they had loved 
 
 io 6bbi amdto 
 tu avcsti amdto 
 egli ebbe amdto 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 II had loved 
 Ithou hadst loved 
 I he had loved 
 
 noi avcmmo amdto 
 vol aveste amdto 
 eglino ebbero amuto 
 
 we had loved 
 you had loved 
 they had loved 
 
 io avrb amdto 
 tu avrdi amdto 
 egli avrd amato 
 
 Picture Time. 
 
 I shall have loved 
 thou shalt have loved 
 he shall have loved 
 
 noi avremo amdto 
 voi avrcte amdto 
 dglino avrdniio amuto 
 
 [we shall have loved 
 
 you shall have loved 
 
 j they shall have loved 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 Present Time, 
 
 io dbbia amdto 
 tu dbbi amdto 
 egli dbbia amuto 
 
 I may have loved 
 
 thou mayest have loved 
 
 he may have loved 
 
 noi abbidmo amdto 
 voi abbidte amdto 
 eglino dbbiano amuto 
 
 we may have loved 
 you may have loved 
 they may have lo\ed 
 
 io avessi amuto 
 tu avessi amuto 
 egli avesse amdto 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 I might have loved 
 
 thou mightest have loved 
 he might have loved 
 
 noi avtssimo amdto 
 voi aveste amdto 
 egli7io avessero amdto 
 
 we might have loved 
 youmighthave loved 
 theymighthaveloved 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 . to avrei amdto 
 tu avresti amdto 
 egli avrebbe amdto 
 
 I should have loved 
 thou shoiildest have loved 
 he should have loved 
 
 noi avrimmo amdto 
 voi avreste amdto 
 eglino avrebbero amdto 
 
 we shouldhave loved 
 you should have loved 
 they shoiild have loved 
 
 COMPOUND OF THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE PARTICIPLES. 
 
 avcndo amdto \\ having loved 
 
 The Participle ending in 7ite has two 
 
 terminations : 
 
 I 
 
 Sling. amdnteX i^-^„ 
 Plu. amdiiti)^''^"'^ 
 
 The Participle Passive has tour 
 terminations : 
 
 ]\fasc. Fern. 
 Sing, amdto, amdta, \, , 
 Pill, amuti, amdte, J ^ 
 
86 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 EXAMPLE OF THE SECOND CONJUGATION. 
 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 Crldere ii To believe. 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 io crido 
 tu credi 
 €gll cride 
 
 io ere diva 
 tu credevi 
 egli credeva 
 
 io credei 
 tu credtstl 
 egli credi, 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 I belicvo 
 thou belicvest 
 he believes 
 
 noi credUimo 
 voi credcte 
 cgllno cridono 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 I believed 
 thou belicvedst 
 he believed 
 
 noi credev/imo 
 voi'crcdevt'itc 
 iglino credcvano 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 I believed 
 thou believedst 
 he believed 
 
 noi creddmtno 
 voi crediste 
 iglino credirono 
 
 we believe 
 you believe 
 they believe 
 
 we believed 
 you believed 
 they believed 
 
 we believed 
 you believed 
 they believed 
 
 to erederh 
 tu crederai 
 egli crederd, 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 I shall believe 
 thou shalt believe 
 he shall believe 
 
 noi credertmo 
 voi credercte 
 cgllno crederdnno 
 
 we shall believe 
 you shall believe 
 they shall believe 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 io creda 
 tu creda 
 egli creda 
 
 io credcssi 
 tu credissi 
 egli credcsse 
 
 io'crederei 
 tu crederesti 
 egli crederebbe 
 
 credi 
 creda 
 
 I may believe 
 
 thou mayest believe 
 
 he may believe 
 
 noi crediamo 
 voi crediate 
 eglino crcdano 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 I might believe 
 thou mightest believe 
 he might believe 
 
 noi credesximo 
 voi credeste 
 eglino credcssero 
 
 CONDITIOXAL MODE. 
 
 I should believe 
 thou shotildst believe 
 he should believe 
 
 noi crederimmo 
 voi credereste 
 iglino crederibbero 
 
 IMPERATIVE MODE. 
 
 believe 
 
 let him believe 
 
 crediumo 
 
 credete 
 
 credano 
 
 we may believe 
 you may believe 
 they may believe 
 
 we might believe 
 you might believe 
 they might believe 
 
 we should believe 
 you should believe 
 they should believf 
 
 let U8 believe 
 
 believe 
 
 let them believe 
 
 PARTICIPLES ACTIVE. 
 
 credcndo }beUeving 
 credent e •» " 
 
 PARTICIPLE PASSRT.. 
 
 crediito \ believed 
 
■X.] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 COMPOUNDS OF THE VERB CREDERE. 
 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Avire crediito \\ to have believed 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 87 
 
 jio ho crediito , 
 •■■ ': 'it crediito 
 Ita creduto 
 
 •cva crediito 
 ill evi crediito 
 i t;gii aveva crediito 
 
 iocbbi crediito 
 tuavisti creduto 
 egW cbbe crediito 
 
 iotvrb creduto 
 t» avrdi crediito 
 efli avrct crediito 
 
 b cibbia creduto 
 tu ubhi crediito 
 tgli iibbia crediito 
 
 i 
 
 ioaiiss^i crediito 
 tt aiissi crediito 
 fgii avcsse crediito 
 
 I have believed 
 thou hast believed 
 he has believed 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 noi abbiamo crediito 
 vol avite crediito 
 eglino hdnno creduto 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 I had believed 
 thou hadst believed 
 he had believed 
 
 noi avevdmo creduto 
 voi avevdte creduto 
 eglino avivano crediito 
 
 Past Perfect Time, 
 
 I had believed 
 thou hadst believed 
 he had believed 
 
 noi avemmo creduto 
 voi avtste creduto 
 Eglino tbbero crediito 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 I sliall have believed 
 thou shalt have believed 
 he shall have believed 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 Present Time. 
 
 I may have believed 
 
 thou mayest have believed 
 
 he may have believed 
 
 noi abbiiimo creduto 
 voi abbiiite crediito 
 eglino abbiano crediito 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 I might have believed 
 
 thou mightest have believed 
 he might have believed 
 
 noi avessimo crediito 
 voi aveste crediito 
 tglino avessero crediito 
 
 noi avremo creduto 
 voi avrete crediito 
 eglino avrdnno crediito 
 
 we have believed 
 
 you have believed 
 
 1 they have believed 
 
 we had believed 
 you had believed 
 they had believed 
 
 we had believed 
 you had believed 
 they had believed 
 
 we shall have believed 
 you shall have believed 
 they shall have believed 
 
 we may have believed 
 you may have believed 
 they may have believed 
 
 we might have believed 
 you might have believed 
 they might have believed 
 
 '^ avrei crediito 
 * u avre'sti crediito 
 egli avrebbe creduto 
 
 t 
 
 I should have believed 
 thou shouldst have believed 
 he should have believed 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 noi avrintmo crediito 
 voi avrcste crediito 
 eglino avrebbero crediito 
 
 we should have believed 
 you should have believed 
 theyshould have believe d 
 
 . COMPOUND OF THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE PARTICIPLES. 
 
 avendo crediito \\ having believed 
 
 i The Participle ending in nte, has two ter- The Participle Passive has four ter- 
 ' mmations • minations : 
 
 Sing, credente 
 
 mne. creaenie >, ,• . 
 Plu. credcnti }behevmg 
 
 Masc. ^ Fern. 
 Sing, crediito,' crediita, Kpij^pj 
 Plu. crediiti, credute, J '^eueveo 
 
88 
 
 KTYMOLOOY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 EXAMPLE OF THE THIRD CONJUGATION. 
 
 io slnto 
 tu scnti 
 egli scnte 
 
 io sentlva 
 tu scntlvl 
 egli sentlva 
 
 io scfttli 
 tu sentisti 
 egli sentl 
 
 io scntirb 
 tu scntiriti 
 egli scntird 
 
 scnti 
 scnta 
 
 io scnta 
 tu scnta 
 egli scnta 
 
 io scntissi 
 tu setttissi 
 egli sentisse 
 
 io sentirci 
 tu sentirc^fi 
 egli sentirebbe 
 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Senlire || To feel. 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 I U'c\ 
 
 tliou feclest 
 he feela 
 
 nol xentidmo 
 vol .sentlte 
 tglino scntono 
 
 Past Itnperfeet Time. 
 
 I felt noi sentivdmo 
 
 thou feltest ^ voi sentiiute 
 
 he felt eglino sentlvano 
 
 Past Pei/ect Time. 
 
 I felt noi sentfmmo 
 
 thou feltest voi sentiste 
 
 he felt eglino sentlrono 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 I shall feel 
 thou Shalt feel 
 he shall feel 
 
 noi sentir^tno 
 voi smtirtte 
 \ iglin4) scntiriinno 
 
 SUBJUNCITVE MODE. 
 Present Time. 
 
 1 may feel 
 thou mayest feel 
 he may feel 
 
 noi sentiamo 
 loi sentiate 
 eglino scntano 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 I might feel 
 thou mightest feel 
 he might feel 
 
 7ioi sentlssimo 
 voi sentiste 
 eglino sentissero 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 I should feel 
 thou shouldst feel 
 he should feel 
 
 noi scntiramno 
 voi sentiresfc 
 eglino sentlrcbbero 
 
 IMPERATIVE MODE. 
 
 feel 
 
 let him feel 
 
 sentiumo 
 sentlte 
 sin t a no 
 
 we feel 
 you feel 
 they feel 
 
 we felt 
 
 you felt 
 they felt 
 
 we felt 
 you felt 
 they felt 
 
 we shall feel 
 you shall feel 
 they shall feel 
 
 we may feel 
 you may feel 
 they may feol 
 
 we might feel 
 you might feel 
 they might feel 
 
 we should feel 
 you should feel 
 they shooltl feel 
 
 let us feel 
 
 feel 
 
 let them feel 
 
 PARTICIPLES ACTIVE. 
 
 sentendo\ , ,. 
 sentcnteV''''^^ 
 
 PARTICIPLE PASSIVE. 
 
 sentito | felt 
 
IX.] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 89 
 
 COMPOUNDS OP THE VERB SENTIRE, 
 INFINITIVE MODE. 
 
 Avere sentito l| to have felt 
 INDICATIVE MODE. 
 
 to ho sentito 
 tu hai sentito 
 egli ha sentito 
 
 io aveva sentito 
 tu avtvi sentito 
 egli aveva sentito 
 
 io ibbi sentito 
 tu avesti sentito 
 egli ebbe sentito 
 
 io avrh sentito' 
 tu avrdi sentito 
 egli avrct sentito 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 I have felt 
 thou hast felt 
 he has felt 
 
 noi abbiamo sentito 
 voi avcte sentito 
 tglino hiinno sentito 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 I had felt 
 thou hadst felt 
 he had felt 
 
 noi avevamo sentito 
 voi avevate sentito 
 iglino avcvano sentito 
 
 Past Perfect Time. 
 
 I had felt 
 thou hadst felt 
 he had felt 
 
 noi avcmmo sentito 
 voi aveste sentito 
 tglino ebbero sentito 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 I shall have felt 
 thou shalt have felt 
 he shall have felt 
 
 noi avrimo sentito 
 voi avrtte sentito 
 eglino avranno sentito 
 
 we have felt 
 you have felt 
 they have felt 
 
 we had felt 
 you had felt 
 they had felt 
 
 we had felt 
 you had felt 
 they had felt 
 
 we shall have felt 
 you shall have felt 
 they shall have felt 
 
 io abbia sentito 
 tu (tbbi sentito 
 egli abbia sentito 
 
 SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 I may have felt 
 
 thou mayest have felt 
 
 he may have felt 
 
 noi abbiutno sentito 
 voi abbiate sentito 
 eglino ubbiano sentito 
 
 we may have felt 
 you may have felt 
 they may have felt 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 io avessi sentito 
 tu avessi sentito 
 egli avesse sentito 
 
 io avrei sentito 
 tu avresti sentito 
 egli avrcbbe sentito 
 
 1 1 might have felt 
 
 thou mightest have felt 
 [he might have felt 
 
 not avessimo sentito 
 voi avtste sentito 
 eglino avessero sentito 
 
 CONDITIONAL MODE. 
 
 I should have felt 
 
 thou ^houldest have felt 
 he should have felt 
 
 noi avremmo sentito 
 voi avriste sentito 
 egli?io avrebbero sentitq 
 
 we might have felt 
 you might have felt 
 they might have felt 
 
 we should have felt 
 you should have felt 
 they should have felt 
 
 COMPOUND OF THE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE PARTICIPLES, 
 
 avendo sentito H having felt 
 
 The Participle ending in nte has two 
 terminations : 
 
 Sing. sententeXf^-.-^ 
 Plu, sententii^^^^'^S 
 
 The Participle Passive has four 
 terminations : 
 
 Masc. Fern- 
 Sing, sentito, sentlta\^^,. 
 Plu. sentiti, sentltei * " 
 
90 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 A TABLE, OR COMPARATIVE VIEW, 
 
 OF THE THREE CONJUGATIONS OF ITALIAN VERBS. 
 
 examples: 
 
 Amdre, to love ; Cr(jdere, to believe ; Sentire, to feel. 
 
 Indicative Mode. 
 
 Present Time. 
 
 lit. Am — o, 
 3d. Cred— 0, 
 Sd. Sent— 0, 
 
 i; 
 
 a, I&mo, 
 e, Umo, 
 e, i&mo, 
 
 Past Imperfect Time. 
 
 Ate, 
 «te, 
 Ite, 
 
 •BO 
 
 ODO 
 
 ono 
 
 1st. Am — iva, 
 2d. Cred— 6vm, 
 3d. Sent— in. 
 
 ivi, 
 
 • 
 
 Ava, avimo, 
 <vB, evamo, 
 ivB, iT&mo, 
 
 Pfli/ Perfect Time. 
 
 arite, 
 evite, 
 
 iT&tC, 
 
 &Tano 
 
 <VBDO 
 (▼BDO 
 
 Ist. Am — 4i, 
 2d. Cred-^il, 
 3d. Sent- U, 
 
 <aH, 
 titl, 
 
 0, ammo, 
 i, <mmo, 
 
 1, imme. 
 
 Future Time. 
 
 *.te, 
 <fte, 
 i«te, 
 
 irono 
 £rono ■ 
 irono 
 
 Itt. Am — erft, 
 2d, Cred— erft, 
 3d. Sent— lr6, 
 
 er&i, 
 
 er&i, 
 irii, 
 
 eri, er^mo, 
 eri, er^mo, 
 ir^, irc^mo, 
 
 er^te, 
 er^te, 
 irete. 
 
 erinno 
 eraono 
 iranno 
 
 Subjunctive Mode. 
 Present Time. 
 
 1st. Am —I, 
 2d. Cred- a, 
 3d. Sent— a, 
 
 •f 
 
 i, i&mo, 
 s, iimo, 
 a, Iimo, 
 
 Past Time. 
 
 iite, 
 iite, 
 Utc, 
 
 ino 
 •no 
 ano 
 
 1st. Am — ilisl, 
 2d. Cred- cbsI, 
 8d. Sent— issi, 
 
 itsl, 
 
 &sse, issimo, 
 esse, essimo 
 isse, (ssimo, 
 
 Conditional Mode. 
 
 «.te, 
 «ate, 
 iite, 
 
 issero 
 ^ssero 
 fssero 
 
 l$t. Am— erfl, 
 2d. Cred-erel, 
 3d. Sent-irei, 
 
 cr^sti, 
 er^sti, 
 ir^ti, 
 
 erebbe, er^romo, 
 er^bbe, er^mmo, 
 ircbbe, ir^mmo, 
 
 Imperative Mode. 
 
 erfste, 
 er^ste, 
 ir^te, 
 
 erebbero 
 erftbero 
 Irftbero 
 
 1st. Am — .. 
 2d. Cred—.. 
 3d. Sent— . . 
 
 •» 
 
 i: 
 
 4, iimo, 
 •, iamo, 
 a, iimo, 
 
 ite, 
 «te, 
 Ite, 
 
 lw> 
 
 •no 
 
 •DO 
 
 Participles Active. 
 
 1st. Am— &ndo, 
 Sd. Cred— end 
 ad. Sent— €ndo 
 
 
 f Am — Snte. 
 
 or, < Cred— ente. 
 
 (Sent— ^nte. 
 
 Participle Passive. 
 
 1st. Am— ito. 
 2d. Cred— tSto. 
 Sd. Sent— (to. 
 
IX.J OP VERBS. 91 
 
 64. The following is a List of the Irregular Verbs. The List 
 does not contain the whole of them ; but, very much according 
 to these examples all the irregular verbs are conjugated. I have 
 arranged them in a manner which, it appears to me, need give 
 rise to no misunderstanding. In order not to take up a great 
 deal of room unnecessarily, I have made figures supply the 
 place of vwrds, in the giving of names to the different Modes 
 and Times. The meaning of the figures is as follows : 
 
 <• 
 
 1 means the Present Time of the Indicative Mode 
 
 t 
 
 2 Past Imperfect Time of the same 
 
 3 Past Perfect Time op the same 
 
 4 Future Time of the same 
 
 5 Present Time op the Subjunctive Mode 
 
 6 Past Time of the same 
 
 7 Conditional Mode 
 
 8 Imperative Mode 
 
 9 Participle Active 
 
 10 Participle Passive 
 
 I need hardly observe, that it was quite unnecessary for me 
 to give any of the compounds in the irregular verbs ; because 
 these are always the same, in all verbs, being always formed by 
 the Participle Passive and one or other of the auxiliary verbs 
 Avere and Essere. — I have, with all the verbs that are conju- 
 gated to any extent, inserted the Participle Active (No. 9.), as 
 the insertion of this required no additional room. It was not 
 absolutely necessary, however, to do this ; for there is very 
 seldom any variation in this part of the verb : it always ends 
 either in ando or endo ; the former termination being common 
 to all verbs of the 1st, and the latter to all verbs both of the 
 2d and 3d conjugations. 
 
 \ 
 
92 
 
 KTYMOLOCr 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 AN ALPHABETICAL LIST 
 OF THE IRREGULAR VERBS. 
 
 Verbs of the 1st Conjugation, in are. 
 
 And&rcy to go 
 
 ^•^'^''°' Ivai, 
 or vo, J ' 
 
 2. andava, andavi, 
 
 3. andki, and^sti, 
 
 4. andro, andrai, 
 
 5. vada, v&da, 
 
 6. andassi, andassi, 
 
 7. andrei, andresti, 
 
 8. , va, 
 
 9. andando 
 10. andato 
 
 va, 
 
 andiCimo, 
 
 andate, 
 
 vanno 
 
 andava, 
 
 aDdaramo, 
 
 andaviite, 
 
 and^vaao 
 
 andd, 
 
 andammo. 
 
 andaste, 
 
 andarono 
 
 andri. 
 
 and re mo. 
 
 andr^'te. 
 
 andranno 
 
 vada. 
 
 andiaino, 
 
 andiate, 
 
 vadano 
 
 andasse, 
 
 andassimo, 
 
 andaste, 
 
 and^ssero 
 
 andrebbe 
 
 , andrenimo, 
 
 andreste, 
 
 andrcbbero 
 
 vddaj 
 
 andiamo, 
 
 anddte. 
 
 vadano 
 
 Dare, to give. 
 
 1. do, 
 
 2. dava, 
 
 3. di6d 
 
 dai, d^, 
 
 davi, dava, 
 
 .,,. ^ fdiede, 
 
 4. daro, 
 
 5. dia, 
 
 6. d^ssi, 
 
 7. darei, 
 
 8. , 
 
 9. dando 
 10. dato 
 
 (_ or di^ 
 darai, dara, 
 
 dia, dia, 
 
 dessi, desse, 
 
 I 
 
 diamo, date, danno 
 davamo, davate, davano 
 
 f diedero or 
 
 dtmmo, dcste, 
 
 \dettero 
 
 dare mo, 
 diamo, 
 
 darete, daranno 
 
 diate. 
 
 f diano or 
 
 \ dieno 
 dessimo, deste, d6ssero 
 daresti, darebbe, daremmo, dar6ste, dar6bbero 
 da, dia, diamo, date, diano 
 
 F&rtf to make, or do. 
 
 1. fo, or \ e • 
 
 faccio, j ^'' 
 
 2. faceva, 
 
 3. feci, 
 
 4. far6, 
 
 5. faccia, 
 
 6. fac^ssi, 
 
 7. far6i, 
 
 8- , 
 
 9. facendo 
 10. fatto 
 
 facevi, 
 
 fac^sti, 
 
 farai, 
 
 faccia, 
 
 facessi, 
 
 faresti, 
 
 fa. 
 
 fa, 
 
 faceva, 
 
 fece, 
 
 fari, 
 
 faccia, 
 
 facesse, 
 
 farebbe, 
 
 faccia. 
 
 facciamo f^te, 
 
 facevamo, 
 
 fac^mmo, 
 
 faremo, 
 
 facciamo, 
 
 facessimo, 
 
 far6mmo, 
 
 facciamo, 
 
 facevate, 
 
 faceste, 
 
 f arete, 
 
 facciate, 
 
 faceste, 
 
 fareste, 
 
 facciate, 
 
 fanno 
 
 facevano 
 
 fecero 
 
 faranno 
 
 facciano 
 
 facesse ro 
 
 farebbero 
 
 facciano 
 
IX.] 
 
 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 
 93 
 
 Stare^ 
 
 to stay, 
 
 remain, or 
 
 Stand 
 
 
 
 
 ]. 
 
 sto, 
 
 stai, 
 
 sta, 
 
 stiamo, 
 
 state. 
 
 stanno 
 
 2. 
 
 stava, 
 
 stavi, 
 
 stava, 
 
 stavarao, 
 
 stavate. 
 
 stavano 
 
 3. 
 
 st^tti, 
 
 stesti, 
 
 st^tte. 
 
 stemmo. 
 
 steste, 
 
 stettero 
 
 4. 
 
 stard, 
 
 starai, 
 
 stara, 
 
 star^mo, 
 
 starete, 
 
 staranno 
 
 5. 
 
 stia, 
 
 stia, 
 
 stia, 
 
 stiamo, 
 
 stiate 
 
 stfano 
 
 6. 
 
 ste&si, 
 
 stessi, 
 
 stesse, 
 
 stessimo, 
 
 steste, < 
 
 stessero, or 
 stessono 
 
 7. 
 
 starei, 
 
 staresti, 
 
 starebbe, 
 
 staremmo, 
 
 stareste. 
 
 fstarebbero 
 ■j or star^b- 
 ' bono 
 
 8. 
 
 i 
 
 sta, 
 
 stia, or\ 
 st^a j" 
 
 stiamo, 
 
 state. 
 
 Jslieno, or 
 \ steano 
 
 9. 
 
 stando 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. 
 
 stato* 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 ' 
 
 
 N. B. The above four are the "only verbs irregular of the 1st Conju- 
 gation. — The verb riddre^ to give again, has its inflections just like 
 _those of' dare ; but the verbs circondare^ to surround, and rido7iddre, to 
 redound, are quite regular, like amdre. 
 
 Verbs of the ^d Conjugation, in ere short, 
 
 Acce7id€re, to set on fire 
 
 3. accesi, accendesti, accese, accenderamo, accendeste, accesero 
 
 9. accend^ndo ; 10. acceso 
 Accingersi, or Accignersi, to prepare oneself, (the same as cingere) 
 Accogliere, or Accdrre, to make welcome, (the same as cogliere) 
 Accorgere, to perceive 
 
 3. accorsi, accorgesti, accurse, accorgemmo, accorgeste, accorsero 
 
 9. accorgendo ; 10. accorto 
 Accdrrere, to hasten, or run to, (the same as cdrrere) 
 Accrescere, to increase, (the same as crescere) 
 Adducere, ox Addt'crre, to bring 
 
 1. adduco, adduci, adduce, adduciamo, adducete, adducono 
 
 2. adduceva, adducevi, adduceva, adducevamo, adducevate,adducevano 
 
 3. addussi, adducesti, addusse, adduceramo, adduc^ste, addussero 
 
 4. addurro, addurrai, addurra, adduremo, addurete, adduranno 
 
 5. adduca, adduca, adduca, adduciamo, adduciate, adducano 
 
 6. adducessi, adducessi, adducesse, adduc^ssimo, adduc^ste, adducessero 
 
 7. addurrei, adurresti, addurrebbe,addurremmo, addurreste, addurrebbero 
 
 8. , adduci, adduca, adduciamo, adducete, adducano 
 
 9. adducendo 
 10. addutto 
 
 * Observe, here, that the Participle Passive of stare is the same as that of issere, to 
 be. — The verb contrastare, to resist, and other verbs derived from stare, are regular, 
 ike amare. 
 
94 KTVMOLooY [Chap. 
 
 Affigcre^ to fix, (tlic same as prefiggere) 
 Affiigcre, to afflict ' 
 
 3. aOli'ssi, affligt'-sti, afflissc, affligemmo, aiHig^ste, afflissero 
 
 9. affligendo; 10. afflitto 
 Aggiiingerey or Aggii'ignere, to add to, (the same a& giungere) 
 Aliiidere, to allude, (the same as delndere) 
 Amm^ttcre, to admit, (the saokc as metl^re) 
 Anciderey to kill,' (the same as recidcre) 
 Antepdrre to prefer, (the same as porre) 
 Appindercy to hang 
 
 3. app^si, appendesti, app6se, appendemmo, appcnd^ste, appesero 
 
 9. appendendo ; 10. appeso 
 Appdre, to put on, (the same as purre) 
 Appraidere, to learn, (the same as pr^ndere) 
 
 Ardere, to bum 
 
 3. arsi, ardesti, arse, ardemmo, ard^ste, arsero ' 
 
 9. ardendo ; 10. ^rso 
 Arrendersi, to give oneself up, (the same as r^ndere) 
 Arridere, to smile, (the same as ridere) 
 Asc^ndere, to ascend, (the same as sv^ndere) 
 Ascondere, to hide 
 
 3. ascusi, ascondesti, ascuse, ascondemmo, ascondeste, asc6&ero 
 
 0. ascondendo ; 10. asc6so, or ascosto 
 Ascrivere, to ascribe, (the same as scrivere) 
 Aspdrgere, to besprinkle, (the same as spirgere) 
 Assistere, to assist 
 
 10. assistito 
 Assolvere, to absolve 
 
 3. assulsi, assolv^sti, assulse, assolv^mmo, assolveste, as56l5ero 
 
 9. assolvendo ; 10. assoluto, or ass61to 
 Assorbere, to absorb 
 
 10. ass6rto 
 Assumerc, to undertake 
 
 3. assiinsi, asumesti, assunse, assumemmo, assum^ste, ass6nsero 
 
 9. assumendo. 10. assuuto 
 A^tihgere, to rub clean, (the same as te'rgere) 
 Astr&rre, or Astraerey to abstract, (the same as trarre) 
 Astringere, or Astrignere, to constrain, (the same as stritigere) 
 Ati^ndere, to attend, (the same as teyidere) 
 Attingercy or Attigtiere, to come at, (the same as tt'ngere) 
 Attdrcere, to twist, (the same as torcere) 
 Attrarre, or Attrdere, to attract (the same as trarre) 
 Awincere, to tie, (the same as viticere) 
 Avvdlgers, to wrap, or wind up, (the same as vdlgere) ' 
 
IX.] OP VERBS. 95 
 
 BdtterCf to beat 
 
 3. batti, battestij batte, batt6mmo, batteste, batjberono 
 9. battendo ; 10. battuto 
 
 ChidderCi to ask < 
 
 1. chiedo, chiedi, chiede, chiediamo, chiedete, chi^dono, 
 
 chieggo, ") 
 or chieggio J 
 
 3. chi^si, chiedesti, chi6se, cbied^mmo, Chied6ste, chi^sero 
 
 9. chiedendo ; 10. chiesto 
 Chiudere, to shut 
 
 3. chi6si, chiudesti, chiCise, chiudemmo, chiudeste, chi6sero 
 
 9. chiudendo ; 10. chiuso 
 Cingere, or CignerCy to gird 
 
 3. cfnsi, cingesti, cinse, cing^mmo, cingeste, cinsero 
 
 9. cingendo ; 10. cinto 
 Circoncidere, to circumcise, (the same as recidere) 
 Circonscrivere, to circumscribe, (the same as scrivere) 
 Cdcere, to cook, (the same as cuvcere) 
 Cogliere, or corre, to gather, (the same as scidgliere) 
 Commettere, to commit, (the same as metiere) 
 Commuovere, to more, (the same as muovere) 
 Compiangere, to lament, or condole, (the same as pidngere) 
 Comporre, to compose, (the same as porre) 
 Comprendere, to comprehend, (the same as prdndere) 
 Comprimei'e, to press, (the same as opprimere) 
 Compromdttere, to compromise, (the same as mettere) 
 Covipungere, or Compugnere,to afflict, (the same as pungere) 
 Conchiudere^ to conclude, (the same as chiudere) 
 Coneludere, to conclude, (the same as deludere) 
 Co/icorrere, to run together, (the same as correre) 
 Concuocere, to concoct, (the same as cuocere) 
 
 Condesc^ndere, or Condiscendere, to condescend, (the same as scdndere) 
 Condurre, or Conducere, to conduct, (the same as addurre) 
 Configgere, to fasten together, (the same as fzggere) 
 Confondere, to confound, (the same diSfdndere) 
 Congiungere, or Congiugnere^ (the same as giugnere) 
 Co7in^ttere, to connect 
 
 3. conuessi, connett^sti, connesse, connettemmo, connetteste 
 connessero 
 
 9. connettendo ; 10. connesso 
 Conoscere, to know 
 
 3. con6bbi, conoscesti, conobbe, conoscemmo, conosc6ste, co- 
 n6bbero 
 
 9. conoscendo ; 10. conosciuto 
 Conquidere, to conquer, (the same as recidere) 
 
96 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 Comistere, to consist, (the same as axsislere) 
 
 Vonspirg^re^ or Cospirgerey to strew, (the same as tpirgere) 
 
 Oonsumerc, to consume, (the same as assumere) 
 
 Contendere, to contend, Cthe same as tendh-e) 
 
 Contdrcere, to twist, (the same as turcere) 
 
 Contrap/irre, or Cuntrapdnerc, to oppose, (the same as p6rre) 
 
 Contrnrre, or Cotitrdrrr, to contract, (the same as trdrre) 
 
 Couvincerc, to convince, (the same as vincere) 
 
 Cdrre, to gatljer, (the same as cdgliere) 
 
 Corr^gcre, to correct, (the same as r^ggere) ^ 
 
 Cdrrere, to run 
 
 3. cursi, corr^sti, c6rse, corremmo, corrcstc, c<jrsero 
 
 9. correndo ; 10. curso 
 Corrispdndere, to correspond, (the same as rispundere) 
 Corrodere, to corrode, (the same as rudere') 
 Corrdmpere, to corrupt, (the same as rumpere') 
 Cospdrgerc, to strew, (the same as spdrgere) 
 Cospirgcre, to strew, (the same as sp^rgerc^ 
 Costringcre, or Costrign^re, to constrain, (the same as stringeri) 
 Criscere, to grow 
 
 3. crebbi, crcscesti, crcbbe, crescemmo, cresceste, crebbcro 
 
 9. crescendo ; 10. cresciuto 
 Crocifiggere^ to crucify 
 
 3. crocifissi, crocifiggesti, crocifisse, crocifigg<?mmo, crocifiggeste, 
 crocifissero 
 
 9. crocifiggendo ; 10. crociflsso 
 Cudcere, to cook 
 
 3. c6ssi, cuocesti, cosse, Cocemmo, cuoceste, c6aBero 
 
 9. cocendo ; 10. cotto 
 
 Dectdere, to decide, (the same as recidere) 
 Decr^scere, to decrease, (the same as crc'scere^ 
 Dedurre, to deduce, (the same as adducere) 
 Deludere, to delude 
 
 3. delusi, deludesti, deluse, deludemmo, deludeste, delusero 
 
 9. delud^ndo ; 10. deluso 
 Depdrre, to depose, (the same as pdrre") 
 Deprimercy to depress, (the same as opprimere) 
 Deridere, to deride, (the same as ridere) 
 Descrivere, to describe, (the same as scrivere) 
 Desistere, to desist, (the same as assistere^ 
 Delrdrre, to detract, (the same as trdrre') 
 Di/^ndere, to defend 
 
 3. dif^si, difeadt'sti, difese, difendemmo, difendeste, difesero 
 
 9. difendendo ; 10. difeso 
 Di^dndere, to pour out, (the same Ji&fdndere') 
 
IX.] OP VERBS. 97 
 
 Dini^tiere, to discontinue, (the same as mdttere) 
 
 Dipttiffere, or Dipignei'e^ (the same as pingere) 
 
 Dirigerey to direct, (the same as erigere) 
 
 Disappre'nderey to unlearn, (the same &s prendere) 
 
 Discdndere, to descend, (the same as scdndere) 
 
 Disci6rrey or Disciogliere, to untie, (the same as sciSrre) 
 
 Discdrrere, to discourse, (the same as correre) 
 
 Discutere, to discuss . [cussero 
 
 3. discdssi, discut^sti, discusse, discutemmo, discuteste, dis- 
 
 9. discutendo ; lO.disctisso 
 Disgimigere, or Disgiugnere, to disjoin, (the same as gimigere) 
 ZHsm^ttere, to dismiss, (the same as mittere) 
 Dis7n6vere, or Dismudvere^ (the same as mdvere) 
 Disperdere, to disperse, or throw away [perderono 
 
 3. disperdei, disperdesti, disperde, disperdemmo, disperdeste, dis- 
 
 9. disperdendo ; 10. disperduto 
 Dispdrgere, to disperse [persero 
 
 3. dispersi, disperg^sti, disperse, disperg^mmo, dispergeste, dis- 
 
 9. disperdendo ; 10. disperso 
 Disporre, to dispose, (the same as p6rre) 
 Disiendere, to distend, (the same as stdndere) 
 Z)istz?9guere, to distinguish, (the same as estinguere) 
 DistSgliere^ or Distorre, to dissuade, (the same as tdgliere) 
 Distr&rre, or Distraere, to distract, (the same as tr&Tre) 
 Distruggere, to destroy, (the same as siruggere) 
 
 Disvdilere, Divdllere^ or disvdrre, to draw, or pull off, (the same as svelkre) 
 Dividere, to divide, (the same as recidere) 
 
 ElSggere, to elect, (the same as Uggere) 
 Elidere, to contract, (the same as rdcidere) 
 Eludere, to elude, (the same as deludere) 
 Ergere, to erect 
 
 3. ersi, ergesti, ^rse, ergemmo, ergeste, ersero 
 
 9. ergendo, ; 10. erto 
 Erigere, to raise up 
 
 3. eressi, erigesti, er^sse, erig^mmo, erigeste, er^ssero 
 
 9- erig^ndo; 10. eretto 
 Escludere, to exclude, (the same as deludere'), 
 Esigere, to exact 
 
 10. esatto 
 
 Efisterey to exist, (the same as asststere^ 
 Espdllere, to expel 
 
 3. espulsi, espellesti, espdlse, espellemmo, espell6ste, esptilsero 
 
 9. espellendo ; 10. espulso 
 Espdrre, to expose, (the same as pdrre) 
 
^8 BTYMOLocr [Chap. 
 
 Eiprimcre, to express, (llic same as opprimire) 
 Esse'rf, to be, (see this vcrb'conjupated at f«ll, In page 82. 
 EiUnderey to extend, (the same as tdndere) 
 Estt'nguere, to extinguish 
 
 3. est'insi, esling(iosti, cst'inse, estincruemmo, estinjrueste, estmsero 
 
 9. estingu^ndo ; 10. estiuto 
 Estrrirre, to extract, (the same as trArre) 
 
 Findcre, to cleave 
 
 .3. fendei, fendesti, fende, fendemmo, fcndeste, fenderono 
 
 9. fend^ndo ; 10, fend (ilo, or fesso 
 Figgercy to fix, (the same as ajfliggercj 
 Fhigerc, to feign, (the same as pingcre) 
 Fdndcre, to melt or pour 
 
 3. f(isi, fondesti, fCise, fonderamo, fond6ste, fusero 
 
 9. fond<:-ndo ; 10. fuse 
 Frammettere, to put between, (the same as m^ttere) 
 Frdngere, to break 
 
 3. fransi, frangOsti, franse, frangemrao, frangeste, fransero 
 
 frangendo ; 10. fr.4nto 
 Frappdrre, to put between, (the same as porre) 
 Friggere, to fry, (the same a.s ajfliggere) 
 
 Genuji^ticre^ to go on one's knees [genuflessero 
 
 3. genuflessi, genufletttsti, genuflesse,gcnufiettemmo, genuflctteste, 
 
 9. geuuiiettendo ; 10. gcnufiesso 
 Giiengere, or Giugnere, to an'ive 
 
 3. giuDsi, giungesti, giiinse, giungemmo, giungeste, gi6nscro 
 
 9. giungendo ; 10. giCinto 
 
 Illiidere, to deceive, (the same as dcludere) 
 
 Imm^rgere, to dip, (the same as mergere) 
 
 Impellere, to impel, (the same as cspellere) 
 
 Impdrre, to impose, or ordain, (the same as porre) 
 
 Jmprimere, to print, (the same as opprimere) 
 
 Inchiudere, to shut up, (the same as ckiudere) 
 
 Incideie^ to cut, or engrave, (the same as recidere) 
 
 Includcrey to include, (the same as deliidere) 
 
 Incoi-rercy to incur, (the same as cdrrere) 
 
 Jncrescere, to grow tired, (the same as a-c'scere) 
 
 Indurrc, or I?idi'(cere, to induce, (the same as addurre) 
 
 Jiifingere^Oi Infignere, to feign, (the same fts fiytgere) 
 
 Infdndere, to infuse, (the same asfondere) 
 
 /»frdn(/ere, to break, (the same ^% frnngere) 
 
 Jnframmitlere, or Inirammettere. to put between, (the same as mdUere) 
 
 Jngiungtre, or Ingiifgnere, to enjoiti, (the same as giungere) 
 
IX.] OF VERBS. 99 
 
 Liscrtvere, to inscribe, (the same asscrt'vere) 
 hisistere, to insist, (the same as assistere) 
 Insorgere, to rise up, (the same as surgerc) 
 Int^ndere, to hear, (the same as t^ndere) 
 Interrndttere, to discontinue, (the same as mettere) 
 Interporre, or hiirapdrre, to interpose, (the same as p6rre) 
 Inte.rr6mpere, to interrupt, (the same as rompere) 
 Intingere^ or Intignere, to dip, (the same as tingere) 
 Jntraprendere, to undertake, (the same as preiidere) 
 Litridere, to dilute, (the same as redder e) 
 Introdurre, to introduce, (the same as addurre) 
 Intrometterey to interpose, (the same as mittere^ 
 Intruder e^ to intrude ' 
 
 3. intrusi, intrud^sti, intruse, intrudemmo, intrudeste, intrusero • 
 
 9. intrudendo ; 10. intruso 
 InvaderCy to invade, (the same as persuadere') 
 
 Ledere, to oflFend 
 
 3. lesi, ledesti, lese, ledemmo, led^ste, lesero 
 
 9. ledendo ; 10. leso ' 
 
 Leggere, to read 
 
 3. lessi, leggesti, lesse, leggemmo, leggeste, lessero 
 
 9. leggendo ; 10. letto 
 
 Manomettere, to manumit, (the same as mettere) 
 Mergere, to plunge 
 
 3. mersi, mergesti, merse, mergemmo, mergeste^ mersero 
 '9. mergendo ; 10. merso 
 M^scere, to mingle 
 
 10. mesciuto 
 Mettere, to put 
 
 3. misi, mettesti, mise, mettemmo, metteste, misero 
 
 9. raettehdo ; 10. messo 
 Mdrdere, to bite 
 
 3. mursi, mordesti, morse, mordemmo, mordeste, m6rsero 
 
 9. mordendo ; 10. morso 
 Movere, to move 
 
 3. m6ssi, movesti, m6sse, movemmo, moveste, m6ssero 
 
 9. movendo ; 10. mosso 
 Mungere, or 3Iitgnere, to milk 
 
 3. munsi, mungesti, mdnse, mungemmo, mungfeste, munsero 
 
 9. mungendo ; 10. muHto 
 Nascere, to be born 
 
 3. nacqui, nac^sti, ndcque, nascemmo, naceste, nacquevo 
 
 9. nascendo ; 10. nato 
 
 f2 
 
100 
 
 ETTMOLOOT 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 yascnitdere, to hide, (the Bame as a$cCndere) 
 NegUgeret to neglect 
 
 3. neglessi, neglig^sti, negl6sse, negligfemmo, neglig6ste,negl68S€ro 
 
 9. negligeodo ; 10, neglctto 
 Nuocerey or Nucerc^ to hurt 
 
 3. n<'>cqui, nocZ-sti, n6cque, nocemmo, noc^ste, nocquero 
 
 y. noctndo ; 10. nociuto 
 
 OJfcndere, to offeud 
 
 "i. offtsi, offendesti, offt-se, offendemmOj''offendestc, offi^sero 
 9. offendendo ; 10. ofleso 
 'Ommc'tterey to omit, (the same as m^ttere) 
 Opporre^ to oppose, (the same asporre) 
 Opprimere, to oppress 
 
 3. oppress!, opprinjesti, oppresse, opprim^mmo, opprim&ste, 
 
 oppressero 
 9. opprimendo ; 10. oppress© 
 
 P(isccrp, to feed 
 
 3. pascei, pascesti, pasce, pasccmmo, pasc^te, pasc&rono 
 
 9. pasceudo ; 10. pasci6to 
 Percurrercy to run over, (the same as cdrrere) 
 Percnitterey to strike [c6ssero 
 
 3. percossi, percotesti, perc6sse, percotemmo, percoteste, per- 
 
 9. percotendo ; 10. pcrc6sso 
 Ptrdere, to lose 
 
 3. perd^i, perdesti, perd^, perdemmo, perdeste, perd^roDo 
 
 9. perdendo ; 10. perd6to, or perso 
 Pcrmdttere, to permit, (the ^ /le as m^ttere) 
 Ptrsiaterey to persist, (the same as assfstere) 
 Fidngere, to weep, (the same bs frdngere) 
 Pingfrsy or Pigiifre, to paint 
 
 3. p'lnsi, pingesti, p'lnse, pingemmo, pingfeste, pinsero 
 
 9. pingendo ; 10. pmto 
 P6rgert, to present 
 
 3. porsi, porg^sti, p6rse, porg^mmo, porg^ste, p6rsero 
 9. porg^ndo ; 10. porlo 
 Pdrre, or Ponere, to put 
 1. p6ngo, p')ni, pone. 
 
 2. poneva, 
 
 3. p<isi, 
 
 4. porro, 
 
 5. p<Snga, 
 
 ponen, ponera, 
 poneeti, p<3se, 
 porrai, porri, 
 p6Dga, p6nga, 
 
 ponghiimo pon&te, p<5ngono 
 
 ponevamo, ponevkte, ponevano 
 
 pon^mmo, poneste, p6sero 
 
 porremo, porrete, porranno 
 
 poniamo, poniate, p6agano 
 
 or or 
 
 ponghiamo, ponghikte. 
 
IX.] OF VERBS. 101 
 
 6. ponessi, ponessi, pon^sse, ponessimo, poneste, 'ponessero 
 
 7. porr^i, .. porresti, porrebbe, porr^mmo, porreste, porr6bbero 
 
 8. — — — , p<Sni, p<inga, ponikmo, ponete, p6ngano 
 
 or 
 pongbioimo, 
 
 9. ponendo ; 10. p<Ssto 
 
 Posporrcy to think less of, (the same as p6rre) 
 
 Precidcrey to cut oflF, (the same as recidere) 
 
 Precorrere, to fore-run, (the same as cdrrere) 
 
 Prefiggercy to fix, or limit [fi'ssero 
 
 3. prefis.si, prefiggesti, prefisse, prefiggemmo, prefiggeste, pre- 
 
 % prefiggendo ; 10. prefisso 
 Premetterey to prefer, (the same as mdttere) 
 Pr&ndere, to take 
 
 3. presi, prendesti, prfese, prend^mmo, prend^ste, presero 
 
 9. prendendo ; 10. preso 
 Preporre, to prefer, (the same as p6rre) 
 Presce'glierej to choose, (the same as sc^gliere) 
 Prescrivere, to prescribe, (the same as scrivere) 
 Presumercy to presume, (the same as assumere) 
 Preiendere, to pretend, (the same as tdndere) 
 Pretermditere, to omit, (the same as mettere) 
 Produrrcy or Producerey to produce, (the same as addurre) 
 Prof under Cy to dissipate, (the same asfdndere) 
 Promettere, to promise, (the same as mettere) 
 Promovere, or Promuovere, to promote, (the same as movere^ 
 ProporrSy or Propdnere, to propose, (the same as porre) 
 Prordmperey to break forth, (the same as rompere^ 
 Proscioglierey or Proscidrrcy to untie, (the same as scidgliere') 
 ProscriverCy to proscribe, (the same as scrivei-e) 
 Prostindere, to prostrate, (the same as tendere) 
 Proteggere, to protect [tessero 
 
 3. protessi, proteggesti, protesse, protegg^mmo, proteggeste, pro- 
 
 9. protegg^ndo ; 10. protetto 
 Protrarrcy or Protrdere, to prolong, (the same as trarre) 
 Putigere, or Pugnere, to prick 
 
 3. punsi, pungesti, punse, pungSmmo, pungeste, punsero 
 I 9. pung^ndo j 10. p6nto 
 
 Rabbattercy to beat down, (the same as battere), 
 
 Raccendere, to light again, (the same as accdndeie") 
 
 Racckiudere, to shut up, (the same as chii'tdere) 
 
 Raccdglierey or Raecorre, to gather together, (the same as cSgliere) 
 
102 ETYMOLOGY. [Chap. 
 
 Rnderf, to share 
 
 3. r.isi, radt'-sti, rase, rademmo, rad^ste, rascro 
 
 y. radi'-ndo ; lU. raso 
 li'iggiiingvrc, or liaggtugnere, to rejoin, (the same as gittngcre) 
 Fiawolgere, to fold, or wind up, (the same as vo/gere) 
 /iiassihnere, or Riassumere, to reassume, (the same as aisumere) 
 HcciderCf to cut 
 
 3. rccisi, rccidesti, recisc, recidctnmo, recideste, rcctscro 
 
 9. recidtndo; 10. reef so 
 Redimcre^ to redeem 
 
 3. red6nsr, ri'dimesti, rCdensc, rcdimi'mrao, redimeste, redenscro 
 
 9. redimendo ; 10. redeato 
 Rtggere, to rule 
 
 3.ressi, regg^sti, resse, reggemmo, reggestc, r(?ssero 
 
 9. reggendo ; 10. retto 
 * Rtfnderc, to render 
 
 3. resi, rendcsti, r6se, rendemmo, rendeste, r^sero 
 
 9. reddendo ; reso 
 Rfprimere, to repress, (the same as opprimere) 
 Rescrivercy or Riscrivere^ to write again, (the same as scriverc) 
 Resistere, to resist, (the same as asspiere) 
 
 Respmgere, or Resptgnere^ to drive back, (the same as spingere) 
 Restringcre, or Resfr/gjiere, to restrain, (the same as stringerc) 
 Riacc^ndere, to light again, (the same as nccdndere) 
 Riardere, to burn again, (the same as ardere) 
 Richi^dere, to ask, or require, (the same as chi^dere) 
 Richiudere, to shut up, (the same as chiudere) 
 Ridngere, to surround, (the same as c?tigerc) 
 Ric'gliere, or Ricorre, to gather tegether. (the same as cogliere) 
 Ricomporre^ to compose again, (the same as porre) 
 Ricondurre^ to conduct back, (the same as condurre) 
 Ricongiiaigerey to rejoin, (the same as giungere) 
 
 Riconoscere, to recognize (the same as conoscere) I 
 
 Ricorrere, to have recourse to, (the same as correre) 
 Ricorreggere, to correct again, (the same as rc'ggere) 
 Ricrcscercy to increase, (the same as cr^scere) 
 Ricuocere, to cook again, (the same as cu6cerc) 
 Ridere, to laugh 
 
 3. risi, ridesti, rise, ridemmo, rid^ste, rfsero 
 
 9. ridendo ; 10. riso 
 Ridurrcy to reduce, (the same as addurre) 
 Rifo/iderey to melt, or cast anew, (the same as/ondere) 
 Rifrnngere, or Rifragnere, to reflect, or refract, (the same as frangere) - 
 Ri/n'ggere, to frj- anew, (the same as friggere) 
 
 • This verb i8 sometimes conjugated as a regular verb, like credere ; and 
 then it would make, in the past perfect, rendti, rendlsti, SfC. 
 
IX.} OF VERBS. 103 
 
 Rigiungere, or Rigiugnere, to rejoin, (the same as giutigere) 
 Rile'ggere, to read anew, (the same as le'ggere) 
 RelucerCy to shine 
 
 3. rilussi, rilucesti, ril(isse, riluc^mmo, viluceste, rilussero" 
 
 9. rilucendo ; \Q. (no participle passive) 
 Rime'tterey to replace, (the same as m^ttere) 
 jftiniordere, to bite again, (the same as mvrdere') 
 Rimovercy or Rimiwvere, to remove, (the same as m6vere^ 
 Rinuscere, to be born anew, (the same as ndscere^ 
 Rinchiudere, to shut in, (the same as cMudere) 
 Rinarescerey to displease, (the same as crdscere) 
 Rinvolgere^ to envelope, (the same as volgere) 
 Ripuscere, to feed again, (the same as pdscei'e) 
 Ripercic6teTe, to strike anew, (the same as percuotere) 
 Riporrcy to replace, (the same as porre) 
 RiprcnderCy to retake, (the same as pr^ndere') 
 RiprodurrCy to reproduce, (the same as prodiirre) 
 Riprometterey to promise anew, (the same as mettere') 
 Riscrtvere, to write anew, (the same as scrwere) ' 
 Riscuote)-e, to demand, (the same as scuotei'e) 
 Risolvere, to resolve, (the same as ass6lvere) 
 Risdrgere, to rise again, (the same as sdrgere) 
 
 Risospingere, or Risospignercy to drive back again, (the same as spirigere) 
 Risptngere, or Risp?g7iere, to drive back again, (the same as spingere^ 
 Risponderey to reply 
 
 3. risp6si, rispondesti, risp6se, rispondemmo, rispond^sti, rispusero 
 
 9. rispondendo ; 10. risposto 
 Ristriiigerey or Ristrignere, to restrain, (the same as stringere) 
 Rittngere, or Ritignerey to die again, (the same as tingere) 
 Ritdgliere, or Ritdrre, to retake, (the same as tdgliere') 
 Ritdrcerey to retort, (the same as tdrcere) 
 Ritrdrre, to withdraw, (the same as trdrre) 
 Rivtvere, to revive, (the same as vivere') 
 Riodlgercy to turn back, (the same as volgere') 
 Rdderey to gnaw . 
 
 3. rusi, rodesti, r6se, rodemrao, rodeste, rosero 
 
 9. rodendo j 10. ruso 
 Rdmpere, to break 
 
 3. ruppi, rompesti, ruppe, rompemmo, rorapeste, ruppero 
 
 9. rompendo ; 10. r6tto 
 
 Sce'gliere, or sctfrre, to choose 
 
 1. scelgo, scegli, sceglie, scegliamo, scegliete, ecelgono ' ■ 
 
 2. sceglieva, &c. 
 
 3. scelsi, scegliesti, scelse, scegliemmo, sceglieste, scelsero 
 
 4. sceglierd, &c. 
 
104 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 5. sci'Iga, scplga, scelga, sccgliamo, scegli.ite, 8c6Igano 
 
 6. 8cegli6ssi, &c. 
 
 7. Bceglierti, &c. 
 
 8. 8c6gli, Bc^'lga, scegliAmo, sccglu-te, sc^Igano 
 
 y. BCcglirndo ; 10. scclto 
 Sci'ntlere, to descend 
 
 3. scesi, 8cend('3te, scesc, scendemmo, scendtstc, scesero 
 9. sccndeodo; 10. sc^so 
 
 Schii'uUrc, to open, (the same as chiuderc) 
 Scii'tgliere, or Sci^rre, to untie 
 
 1. sciolgo, sciogli, 8ci6glie, sciogliamo, sciogli^te, sci61gono 
 
 2. scioglieva, Ac. 
 
 A. sciolsi, sciogliestCj sciolse, scioglifemmo, sciogli^stc, 8ci6Isero 
 
 4. sciogliero, &c. 
 
 5 sciulga, sciolga, sciulga, sciogliamo, sciogliate, 8ci61gano 
 
 6. sciogliessi, &c. 
 
 7. scioglier^i, &c. 
 
 8. • sci('>gli, sci61ga, sciogli&mo, sciogliete, sci61gano 
 
 9. sciogliendo ; 10. sci61to 
 Sconie'ltere, to bet, (the same as m^ttere) 
 Scomporre, to derange, (the same as p6rre) 
 ScoiifiggerCy to conquer, (the same as afliggcre) 
 Scontdrcerey to wrest, (the same as torcere) 
 Sconvolgere, to overturn, (the same as v/lgere) 
 Srorgere, to perceive, (the same as accurgcre) 
 Scrivere, to write 
 
 3. scrissi, scrivesti, scrisse, scriv^mmo, scrivfeste, scrissero 
 9. scrivendo ; 10. scritto 
 
 Scuotere, to shake ofF, (the same as percuotere) 
 
 Sedurre, to seduce, (the same as addurre) 
 
 S/iuingere, or Smugnere, to drain, (the same as mungerc^ 
 
 Saiuovercy to remove, (the same as movere^ 
 
 Socchiudere, to half shut, (the same as chiudfre) 
 
 Soccorrere, to succour, (the same as currere) 
 
 Soggitingere, or Soggi/ignerey to add to, (the same as giungere) 
 
 Suintit^rgerey to sink, (the same as mergere) 
 
 S'tmmettere, to submit, (the same as mcttere) * 
 
 SoppurrCy to subdue, (the same as /pJrre) 
 
 !>Qpraggii'mgerey or Sopraggiugnerey to supervene, (the same as giungere) 
 
 Stprapporre, to put over, (the same as porre) 
 
 Soprascrtvercy to superscribe, (the same as scrt'vere) 
 
 SopraviverCy to survive, (the same as vivere) 
 
 Sopprrnure, to suppress, (the fame as opprtmere) 
 
 Soprintinderey to superintend, (the same as intcfndere) 
 
 Sdrgere, to rise 
 
 3. sorsi, sorgesti, surse, sorg^mmo, sorgeste, Sorsero 
 
 9. Borgendo ; 10. ?6rto 
 
IX.] OP VERBS. 105 
 
 Sorpreniere, to surprise, (thesame as pre'nderi) 
 Sorr^ggere, to sustain, (the same as rdggere) 
 Sorridere^ to smile, (the same as ridere) \ 
 
 Soscnverey to subscribe, (the same as scriveie) 
 
 Sosp^dere^ to suspend [pesero 
 
 3. sospesi, sospendesti, sospese, sospendemmo, sospendeste, sos- 
 9. sospendfendo ; 10. sospeso 
 Sospingere, or Sospignere, to push, (the same as spingere) 
 Sotiintendere, to sub-understand, (the same as t^ndere) 
 Sottom^ttere, or Somm^ttere, to submit, (the same as metlere) 
 Sottapdrre, to put under, (the same as p6rre) 
 Sotioscnvere, to subscribe, (the same as scnvere) 
 Sottrdrre, to subtract, (the same as trdrre) 
 Sovraggiungere^ to come upon, (the same as gvingere) 
 Spdrffere, to spread 
 
 3. sparsi, spargtsti, sparse, sparg^mmo, sparg^ste, sparsero 
 9. spargendo; 10. sparto 
 Sp^gnere, or Spdngercy to extinguish 
 
 3. spensi, spegnfesti, spense, spegnfemmo, spegneste, spensero 
 9. spegnendo j 10. spento 
 Spendere^ to spend 
 
 3. spesi, spendeati, spese, spendemmo, spendeste, spescro 
 9. spendendo ; 10. speso 
 Sp^gere, to disperse 
 
 3. spersi, spergesti, sperse, sperg^mmo, spergeste, spersero 
 9. spergendo ; 10. sperso 
 Spingeref or spignere, to push 
 
 3. spinsi, spingesti, spinse, sping^mmo, spingeste, spinsero 
 9. spingendo j 10. spinto 
 Sporgere, to project, (the same as porgere) , 
 
 Stindere^ to stretch, (the same as tdndere) 
 Stdrcere, to wrest, (the same as tdrcere) 
 Straccocere, to overcook, (the same as cocere) 
 Stravolgere, to twist round, (the same as volgere) 
 
 Stringere, or Strigneref to bind \ 
 
 3^ strinsi, stringesti, strinse, stringemmo, striugeste, strinsero 
 9. stringendo ; 10. stretto 
 Struggere, to dissolve 
 
 3. strtissi, struggesti, strusse, struggemmo, struggeste, strussero 
 9. struggendo ; 10. strutto 
 Subdimdere, to subdivide, (the same as reczdere) 
 Sveller€j or Sv^rrcy to tear up 
 
 3. 8v61si, svellesti, svelse, svellfemmo, svelleste, sv^sero 
 9. svellendo; 10. sv^Ho 
 Svolgtre^ to turn away, (th« same as volgere) 
 
 F 5 . 
 
lOO •fmoLooT [Chap. 
 
 SupporrCf to suppose, (the same as p'/tre) 
 SutsUtere, to subsist, (the some as tutiatere) 
 
 T^futUrc, to extend 
 
 3. t^si, tcndi^sti, t6sc, tend<jmmo, tendi-ste, t^t>ero 
 
 9. teudendo ; 10. t<::so 
 T&rgere, to wipe 
 
 3. U^rsi, tergesti, t<5rsc, tcrgemmo, terg<'Ste, U^rsero 
 Tingcrc, or Tlgnere, to dye, or colour, (the same, as pingere) 
 TogUrre, or T6rrt, to take, (the «ame as scidgUere) 
 Torcere, to wrest 
 
 3. t6rsi, torcdsti, t6rse, torc<'mino, torc^ste, Uirsero 
 
 9. torc(''ndo ; 10. t6rto 
 Tradurre, to translate, (the same as addurre) 
 Trafiggerc, to pierce, (the same as ajfiiggere) 
 Tramcttere^ to put between, (the same as mitlete) 
 Trurre, or Traere, or Trahere, to draw 
 
 '. '■ 'S,"' } {^'^'\ '-. {'TS'} "^'^' '^^-^^°''° ■ 
 
 2. tra^va, &c. 
 
 3. trassi, tra^sti, trasse, tra^mmo, tra^ste, trassero 
 
 4. trarro, &c. 
 
 5. tragga, tragga, tragga, trajamo, tragghiate, traggano 
 
 6. tra^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. trarr^i, &c. 
 
 8. , trai, or traggi, tragga, trajamo, tra^te, traggano 
 
 9. tra^ndo ; 10. tratto 
 
 Trascdglicre, or Trascerre, to choose, (the same as scigliere) 
 Trascdndere, to surpass, (the same as sccndere) 
 Trascorrere^ to go beyond, (the same as correre) 
 Trascrtvere, to transcribe, (the same as scrivere) 
 Trasfundcre^ to transfuse, (the same z.?, fondere) 
 Trasmittere, to transmit, (the same as mittere) 
 Trasporrey to transpose, (the same as porre) 
 Iravolgere, to turn upside down, (the same as volgere) 
 
 Uccidere, to kill, (the same as recidere) 
 
 UngerCf or L'gnere, to anoint, (the same as pungere) 
 
 Filip^ndere, to despise, (the same as sosp^ndere) 
 Fincere, to conquer 
 
 3. vinsi, vinc^sti, vinse, vinc^mmo, viac^ste, vinsero, 
 
 9. rinc^ndo ; 10. vinto 
 Fiver e, to live 
 
 3. vissi, viv^sti, visse, vir^mmo, vir^ste, vissero 
 
 4. vi^To^ rivrai, &c. 
 
IX.] OP VERBS. 107 
 
 7. vivr^i, vivr^sti, &c. 
 9. viv^ndo ; 10. vissuto 
 VdlgerCy to turn 
 
 3. v61si, volg^sti, v61se, volg^mmo, volg^ste, v6l8ero 
 9. volg^ndo; 10. v61to 
 
 Verbs of the 2c? Conjugation, in ere long. 
 
 65. I have said> in paragraph 58, that it is only in the 
 twenty-two verbs which I have there given a list of, that the 
 final ere is long. In the following list of verbs in ere long there 
 are more than twenty-two ; but, let it be observed, that of all 
 these here given, which are not merely repetitions of those in 
 the list under paragi-aph 58, every one is formed from one 
 or other of the twenty -two in thai list. The verb B^e, to 
 drink, having only two syllables, is an exception ; and this 
 is only a contraction of B^vere, which is a regular verb of the 
 2d Conjugation in ere short. 
 
 Antiveddre, to foresee, (the same as vedere) 
 Assede're, to be sitting 
 
 3. assisi, assed^sti, assise, assed^m mo, assed^ste, assisero 
 
 9. assed^ndo ; 10. assiso 
 Asten^re, to abstain, (the same as tenere) [ 
 Attendre, to attain, (the same as tenere) 
 Avveddrsi, to perceive, (the same as vedere') 
 Ave're, to have (see this verb conjugated at full, page 80.) 
 
 Bdrey or Bdvere, to drink , 
 
 1. b^o, b^i, b^e, beidmo, be^te, b^ono 
 
 2. be^va, &c. 
 
 3. b^vvi, be^sti, b^vve, be^mmo, be^ste, b^vverq 
 
 4. bero, &c. 
 
 5. b^a, b^a, b^a, beiamo, bei&te, b^ano 
 
 6. beessi, &c. 
 
 7. berei, &c. 
 
 8. ■-, b^i, b^a, beidmo, be^te, b^ano 
 
 9. bev^ndo j 10. bevuto 
 
 Cadire, to fall 
 
 3. caddi, cad^sti, cadd^ cad^mmo, cad^ste, c&ddero 
 
 9. cad^ndo ; 10. caduto 
 Compiace're, to comply with, (the same as piacdre) 
 Condolerej to condole, (the same as doldre) 
 Conien6'ej to contain, (the same as tenure) 
 
108 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 DecatUrcy to decline, (the same as cad^e) 
 Jhspiar^re, to displease, (the same as piaare) 
 fJissuath'rey to dinsuade, (the same as pertuad^e) 
 iJoldre, or JJoUrsi, to grieve 
 
 1. d61go, } 
 
 or >-duuli, duole, dogllamo, dol^-te, dulgono 
 d6g\\o J 
 
 2. doleva, &c. 
 
 3. d61hi, doiesti, d61se, dogrKjmmo, dogU<!'Ste> dolsero 
 
 4. dorrd, &c. 
 
 5. duuli, d61ga, d61ga, dogliamo, dogIi4te, dolgano 
 
 6. dol(jssi, &c. 
 
 7. dorr^, &c. 
 
 8. , du61i, d(Sl2rR, dogU4mo, delete, dcf'lgano 
 
 9. doltndo i 10. doluto 
 Uovdre, to owe 
 
 d{'hhn, 
 
 ddbbi,^ rddbbe, 
 ^vi, [} deve, 
 r (\ or 
 i J (^dee, de* 
 
 /^ d<^bbono, 
 "debbiAmo, "^ V d^vono, 
 
 Idobbi/imo. ldovdte,/^*^'5T'*"°» 
 dov^mo J 
 
 '"^ deooo, 
 or 
 deooo 
 
 2. dov^va, &C. 
 
 3. dov^tti, dov^sti, dov^tte, dov^mmo, dov^ste, 
 
 4. dovro, &c 
 
 rd^bba,1 
 
 5. d^bba, d^bba, \ or > 
 
 ioj 
 
 f d 
 
 ld<-ggi( 
 
 dobbidmo, dobbi^te, 
 
 dovettero 
 debhano 
 
 r 
 
 lu- 
 
 or 
 
 g^ano 
 
 6. dov^ssi, &.C. 
 
 7. dovr^i, &c. 
 
 I or *' li or ' I dobbidrao, dobbi4te,-J ^^^^o» 
 (d^vi, J Id^va, J J ,,:^_ 
 
 ^debbano, 
 d^vano, 
 
 or 
 d^ggiano 
 
 9. dov^ndo; 10. dov6to ^ 
 
 EquivaUrey to equal in worth, (the same as vulere) 
 Giacdre^ to lie down, (tlie same as tncerc) 
 Intertejiere, to entertain, (the same as tenure) 
 Manienere, to maintain, (the same as Uncre) 
 Ottertere, to obtain, (the same as ten^e) 
 
 Pa*ire^ to appear 
 
 1. p4jo, piri, pire, pajdmo, par^te, pdjono 
 
 2. par^va, &c. 
 
rpuo, ^ ^ 
 
 1. p6sso, puol, < or V possidmo, pot^te,, < 
 
 IX.] OP VERBS. 109 
 
 3. pArvi, par^sti, pdrve, par^mruo, par^ste, parvero 
 
 4. parrd, &c. i 
 
 5. pAja, pAja, P^ja, pajAiuo, pajite, pdjano 
 
 6. par^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. parrel, &c. 
 
 8. pari, pdria, paridmo, par^te, pdjano 
 
 9 par^ndo ; 10. pdrso, or paruto 
 Pe7'suad^re, to persuade [siidsero 
 
 3. persudsl, persuad^sti, persndse, persuad^mmo, persuad^ste, per- 
 
 9. persuad^ndo j 10. persudso 
 Piacdre, to please, (the same as tac^re) 
 Possedere, to possess, (the same as sed^re) 
 Pot ere, to be able 
 
 p6ssoDo 
 
 . „. . r__ , ^ , , or 
 
 Cpu<5te 3 ^ pdnno 
 
 2. pot^va, &c. 
 
 3. pot^i, pot^ste, potfe, pot^mrao, pot^ste, pot^rono 
 
 4. potr6, &c. 
 
 f p6ssa,1 
 
 5. p<5ssa, < or >p6ssa, possiAmo, possiate, possano 
 
 (^p6ssi J 
 
 6. pot^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. potr^i, &C. I? 
 
 8. {No Imperative Mode.") 
 
 9. pot^ndo ; 10. potuto 
 Preseddre, to preside, (the same as sede're) 
 Prevalerej to prevail, (the same as vale're) 
 Prevedere, to foresee, (the same as veddre) 
 Provved^e, to provide, (the same as vedere) 
 
 Rattenere, to arrest, (the same as tenure) 
 Raweddrsi, to be reformed, (the same as veddre) 
 Riavere, to have again, (the same as the Auxiliary avdre) 
 Ricaddre, to fall again, (the same as cad^re) 
 Rimatidre, to remain 
 
 1. rimdngo, rimdni, rimdne, rimaniamo, riman^te, rimdngono 
 
 2. riman^va, &c. 
 
 3. rimdsi, riman^sti, rimdse, riman^mmo, riman^te, rimdsero 
 
 4. rimarrq, &c 
 
 5. rimdnga, rimdoga; riminga, rimanidmo, rimangfaidte, rimangano 
 
 6. riman^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. rimarr^i, &c. < 
 
 8. '■■'■ ■ rimdni, rimdnga, rimaoidmo, rimaudte, rimdngano 
 
 9. riman^ndo ; 10. rimdsto, or rimd&o 
 Risap&ey to know, (the game as aapcre) 
 
110 
 
 KTYMOLOOT 
 
 liiscdAre, to reside, (the Rarae as sed/re) 
 Riten^e, to withhold, (the same as tenure) 
 Jiivcd<fre, to sec again, (the same as vcdt'rr) 
 RivoU'rr, to wish again, (the same as voldre) 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Sapc're, to know 
 
 1. so, 
 
 2. sap(:va, &c 
 
 s4i. 
 
 sa, 
 
 !sap«:8ii,^ tsepp< 
 or W or 
 sdpi 3 (siipc 
 
 i 
 
 3. s<?ppi 
 
 4. sapro, &c. 
 
 fsAppia, ^ 
 
 5. sdppia, < or V sappia, 
 
 (siippi, 3 
 
 6. sap^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. saprdi, &c. 
 
 8. sdppi, sdppia, 
 
 9. sap^ndo ; 10. sapvito 
 
 Scad(^re, to decay, (the same as cadcre') 
 Sed^re, to sit 
 
 1. or > siddi, 
 8i<5do 3 
 
 2. sed^va, &c. 
 
 3. sed^i, &c. 
 
 4. sedero, &c. 
 
 5. s^gga, s^gga, 
 
 6. sed^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. seder^i, &c. 
 siedi, fsi^da, ) 
 
 8. ] or \ 
 
 Ui^-gga3 
 
 sappiHino, 
 sap^mmo, 
 
 sappiAmo, 
 
 sap(^'te, 
 sapeste, 
 
 snnno 
 
 scpp^ro 
 
 sappiiimo, 
 
 sappi4te, sAppiano 
 
 sappidte, siippiano 
 
 si^de, sedicimo, sedete, 
 
 fs^-ggono, 
 isi^dono 
 
 s^gga, sedidmo sedidte, seggano 
 
 sedidmo, sedete, 
 
 Jsiedano, 
 or 
 seggano 
 
 9. seddndo ; 10. seduto 
 Soggiacdrc, to be subject to, (the same as giacere) 
 Soprassed^re, to supersede, (the same as seder t) 
 Sosten^rcy to sustain, (the same as tenure) 
 Spiacdre^ to displease, (the same as piacere) 
 Sprotvedih-e, not to provide for, (the same as vede're) 
 
 taccidmo, tac^te tacciono 
 
 Tacere, to be silent 
 
 1. tdccio, tAcJ, t4ce, 
 
 2. tac^va, &c. 
 
 3. tdcqui, tac^sti, tAcquc, tacemrao, tac^ste, tAcquero 
 4. . tacero, &c. 
 
 5. tAccia, tdccia, tdccia, taccidmo, taccidte, tdcciano 
 
 6. tac^ssi, &c. ' > . • ♦ 
 
IX.] 
 
 7. tacer^i, &c. 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 8. 
 
 tacci, tdccia, taccidino, ^ tac^te, tacciano 
 
 9. tacendo ; 10. tacidto 
 Tendre, to hold 
 
 1. tengo, ti^ni, ti^ne, 
 
 2. ten^va, &c. 
 
 3. t^nni, ten^sti, t^nne, 
 
 4. terro, &c. 
 
 5. t^nga, t^nga, t^nga, 
 
 6. ten^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. terr^i, &c. 
 
 rtenghiimo, 
 < or 
 (teni^mo 
 
 1 
 
 ten^te, tdngouo 
 
 ten^mmo, ten^ste, t^nnero 
 
 f tenghidmo. ■\ ' 
 
 J-teni^te, tengano 
 
 < or 
 
 'tenidm 
 
 tenidmo J 
 
 8 
 
 or (• ■) «^ ' ten^te, t^nga 
 9. ten^ndo ; 10. tenuto 
 
 
 tenidmo 3 
 
 no 
 
 Trattenere, to entertain, (the same as tenere) 
 Travedere, to see double, (the same as vede're) 
 
 Valdre, to be worth 
 
 1. vdlgo, 1 
 
 or > vdli, vdle, vagliamo, 
 v%lio ) 
 
 2. raMva, &c. 
 
 3. vilsi, val^sti, vdlse, val^mmo, 
 
 4. varro, &c. 
 
 5. vdglia, vdglia, vdglia, vaglidmo, 
 
 6. val^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. varr^i, &c. 
 
 8. , v^li, vdglia, vaglidmo, 
 
 val^te, vdgliouo 
 
 val^ste, vAlsero 
 vaglidte, vdgliano 
 
 yal^te, 
 
 vdgnano 
 
 vedete, vedono 
 
 9. val^ndo ; 10. valuto, or valsuto 
 Vedere, to see 
 
 v^do, T 
 
 1. or > v^di, v^de, vedidmo, 
 
 2. ved^va, &c, 
 
 3. vidi, ved^sti, vide, ved^mmo, I v.ed^ste, videro. 
 
 4. vedro, &c. 
 
 v^da, ^ fv^da, vr v^da, ;j r vedidrao, t rvedidte, l fveddno, , 
 
 5. oi- W or >< or >< or >< or ?<i or 
 v^gga) (v^gga ) (v^gga 3 (veggidmoJ (veggidteJ (v^ggano 
 
 6. ved^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. vedr^ij &c. 
 
112 ETTMOLooT [Chap. 
 
 v^di 1 fv^da, j r vcdiAmo, j rvedano 
 
 8. *^ I J "^ (1 "'^ ( ved^te, } or 
 
 ve' J 'v<;gga) t veggiAmoJ (r^ggano 
 
 9. vedc'tado, or vegg<!'ado; 10. veduto, or visto 
 VoUrCy to be willing 
 
 voglio,^ fvu61i,^ rvu61e,i rvogHArao,^ 
 
 vo' J 'vu6i 3 (ruo' 3 (vol6mo 3 
 2. vol<iva, &c. 
 .3. v611i, vol^sti, v611e, vol(5mmo, voleste, vullero 
 
 4. voni, &c. 
 
 5. Toglia, v6glia, voglia, vogHAmo, vogli^te, v6gliano 
 
 6. vol(5s3i, &c. 
 
 7. vorr^i, &c. 
 
 9. vol^ndo ; 10. voldto, or ^volsuto 
 
 Verbs of the Sd Conjugation, in irk. 
 
 ^holire^ to abolish 
 
 1. aboHsco, abolisci, abolisce, abolidino, abolite, aboliBCODO 
 
 2. aboliva, &c. 
 
 3. abolii, &c 
 
 4. aboliri, &c. 
 
 5. abolisca, abolisca, aboUsca, abolidmo, abolidte, aboliscano 
 
 6. abolissi, &c 
 
 7. abolir^i, &c. 
 
 8. ' abolisci, abolisca, aboliamo, abolite, aboliscano 
 
 9. abol^ndo ; 10. abolito 
 
 Abornrcy or Abborrire, to abhor, (this verb may be conjugated as 
 
 a regular verb, like sentire ; or as an irregular, like abolire) 
 Apparire, to appear, (the same as abolire, excepting in 
 
 apparli, "] rappirirono, 
 
 3. or >apparisti, appdrve, apparlmmo, appariste, ' or 
 appdrvi J (appdrvero ^ 
 
 9. appar^ndo ; 10. apparito, or appdrso 
 Sprite, to open 
 
 aprii,^ Capri, "^ Taprlrono, 
 
 ,3. ^ f aprlsti, < or >apiimmo, aprlste, < or 
 
 ap^rsi]) (apdreej (^ap^rsero 
 
 9. spr^ndo ; 10. ap^rto 
 
 Assalire, to assault, (the same as salire) 
 
 Assorbirey to absorb : the same as abolire, excepting^ 
 
 10. assorbito, or as86rto 
 Awentre, to arrive, (the same as ventre) 
 
 Avi^ertirey to advertise, (the same as abolire : or it may be regular, like 
 sentire) 
 
IX.] " OP VERBS. 
 
 Benedircy to bless, (the same as dire) 
 
 Circonvenirey to circumvene, (the same as aentre') 
 Compartre, to appear, (the same as apparire) 
 Construire, or Costruire, to construe, (the same as instruire) 
 CorUraddire^ to contradict, (the same as dire) 
 CoHtravvemre, to contravene, (the same as ventre) 
 Convenire, to suit, or be proper, (the same as venire) 
 Coprire, to cover, (the same as aprire) 
 Cucircy to sew 
 
 1. ciicio, cuci, cuce, cucidmo, cucile, 
 
 3. cucii, &c. 
 
 5. cucia, cucia, cucia, cucidmo, cucidte, 
 
 9. cuc^ndo; 10. cuci to ^ 
 
 DirCy to say 
 
 1. dico, diei, dice, 
 
 2. dic^va, &c. 
 
 3. dissi, dic^sti, disse, 
 , 4. diro, &c. 
 
 5. dica, dica, dica, 
 
 6. dic^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. dir^i, &c. 
 
 8. di', dica. 
 
 113 
 
 cuciono 
 
 cuciano 
 
 dicidmo, dite, dicono 
 dic^mmo, dic^ste, dissero 
 diciamo, diciate, dicano 
 
 diciamo, dite, dicano 
 
 9. dic^ndo ; 10. d^tto 
 
 Discoprire, to discover, (the same as Aprire) 
 Disconvenire, to be unfit, (the same as venire^ 
 Discucire, to unsew, (the same as aicire) 
 Disdire, to unsay, (the same as dire) 
 Divenire, to become, (the same as venire) 
 
 empidrao, emplte, empiono 
 
 empiamo, empidte, ^mpiano 
 
 Empire, to fill 
 
 1. ^mpio, ^mpi, ^mpie, 
 
 2. empi^va, &c. 
 
 3. empii, &c. 
 
 4. empiero, &c. 
 
 5. empia, ^mpia, ^mpia, 
 
 6. empi^ssi, &c. 
 
 7. empi^rei, &c. 
 
 8. ^mpi, ^mpia, empidmo, emplte, ^mpiano 
 
 9. empi^ndo ; 10. empito 
 Escire, to go out, (th^ same as uscire) 
 
 Jnghiottirey to swallow, (the same as aholire : or it may be regular, like 
 sentire) 
 
114 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 Iiistrnirc, to invStruct : the same as ubolirc, excepting in 
 .'i. insln'issi, instruisti, instruMC, instruimtno, instrulstc, instnissero 
 9. iDStriiindo ; 10. instruito, or instrutto 
 
 Interdire, to interdict, (the same as dire) , 
 
 Intrrventre, to intervene, (the same as venire) 
 
 Maledire, to curse, (the same as dire") 
 
 Morirc, to die 
 
 niuojo,^ f muorc,^ rmuoj.irao,^ r muojono, 
 
 1. or .-muori, < or |..' nr V inoritc, ■] or 
 niuro 3 'm6re ) 'moriAmo J (Tn('»rono 
 
 2. moriva, &c. 
 
 3. morii, &c. 
 
 4. morri, Sec. 
 
 5. mu6ja, muoja, rauuja, muojamo, niuoj.'ite, mu6jano 
 
 6. morissi, &c 
 
 7. niorr^'i, or morir<5i, &C. ' 
 
 imiuri,^ f mu6ja ^ fmuoj/imo,^ r mn^jano 
 
 8. or >< or Y\ ''^ ( morlte, -| ot 
 
 muri J ' mora ) (moriaino ) (m6rano 
 
 9. morendo i 10. m6rto 
 
 Nutrircy to nourish, (the same as abolire : or it may be regular, Hke 
 seiitire) 
 
 Offrircy to offer, (the same as nprire) 
 
 Pervenire^ to arrive, or to attain, (the same as venire') 
 Predire, to predicty (the same as dire) 
 Preve^nire, to prevent, (the same as venire) 
 
 Riapparire, to reappear, (the same as apparirc) 
 JUaprire, to reopen, (the same as aprire) 
 Ribenedirc, to bless anew, (the same as dire) 
 Ricoprirc, to cover anew, (the same as coprire) 
 Ridire, to say anew, (the same as dire) 
 Riescire, to go out again, (the same as riuscire) 
 RiTivenire, to find again, (the same as ve?nre) 
 Risalire, to go up again, (the same as snlire) 
 Risovventrey to remember, (the same as venire) 
 Rivcnirey to return, (the same as venire) 
 Riuscire f to succeed, (the same as uscire) 
 
 Saltre, or Saglire, to go up 
 
 1. s41go, sdli sdle, salghidmo, salite, silgono 
 
 2. saliva, &c. 
 
IX,] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 115 ' 
 
 salii,-) 
 
 '"or > 
 
 sdlsi J 
 
 3. ''or V sal^sti, 
 sdlsi J 
 
 4. sagliero, &c. 
 
 5. sdlga, sdlga, 
 
 6. sagliessi, &c. 
 
 7. saglier^i, &C. 
 
 8. sdli, 
 
 It' ) 
 
 (.sAlseJ 
 
 sallste, < 
 
 (,silsero 
 
 salirono 
 or 
 
 sallmmo, 
 s^lga, salgliidmo, salghidte, sillgano 
 
 sdlga, salghidmo, salite, salgano 
 
 9. sal^ndo ; 10. sallto 
 
 Scomparire, to dissappear, (the same as appartre) 
 Sconvemre^ to be unfit, (the same as venire) 
 Scoprircy to discover, (the same as coprire') 
 Scucire, to unsew, (the same as cucire^ 
 Seppelire, to bury : the same as abolire, excepting in 
 
 10. seppellito, or sepolto 
 
 Soffrire, or Sofferire, to suffer, (the same as aprire^ 
 Sopravvenh'e, to supervene, (the same as venire) 
 Sovvenire, to relieve, (the same as venire) 
 Sovvenirsi, to remember, (the same as venire^ 
 Svenire, to faint, (the same as venire) 
 
 udidmo, udite, 
 
 Udire, to hear 
 
 
 
 1. 6do, 
 
 6di, 
 
 6de,. 
 
 2. udiva, &c. 
 
 
 
 3. udii, &c. 
 
 - 
 
 
 4. udiro, 6cc. 
 
 
 
 5. 6da, 
 
 6 da. 
 
 6da, 
 
 6. udissi, &c. 
 
 
 
 7. udir6i, &.^,. 
 
 
 
 8. 
 
 6di, 
 
 6da, 
 
 <5dono 
 
 9. udendo ; 10. udito 
 Venire, to come 
 
 i. v^ngo, vi^ni, vi^ne. 
 
 udidmo, 
 
 udidmo, 
 
 udidte, 
 udite. 
 
 (5dano 
 
 ddauo 
 
 {venidmo, ") 
 or >venite, 
 
 venghidmo j 
 
 2. veniva, &c. 
 
 3. v^nni, venisti, vdnne, ven^mmo, veniste, 
 
 4. verro, &c. \ 
 
 v^ngono 
 
 v^nnero 
 
 5. v^nga, v^nga, venga, 
 
 6. venissi, &c. 
 
 7. verr^i, &c. 
 
 [venidmo, 
 
 or ^ venghidte, v^ngano 
 
 veughidmo 
 
 vi^ni, v^nga. 
 
 9. vendndo ; 10. ven6to 
 
 { 
 
 venidmo, ") 
 
 or 
 venghiamo 
 
 / 
 
 venite, vdngano 
 
116 
 
 KTYMOLOGT 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Vsvire^ or Escire, to go out 
 
 1. <55Co, 6ic\, ^8Ce, 
 
 2. tuciva, &c. 
 
 3. uscii, 6lc 
 
 4. usciro, &c. ^ 
 
 5. ^a, (^-scai ^sca, 
 
 6. UHcissi, &lC. 
 
 7. uacirei, &c. 
 
 8. dsci, ^'sca, 
 
 9. usc<*mlo J 10. uscito 
 
 usciAmo, 
 
 usci^mo, 
 uscidmo, 
 
 uscite, 
 
 ^scono 
 
 U8ci4te, ^scano 
 uscite, ^scano 
 
 Verbs Defective. 
 
 66. There are a few verbs which are called Defective, be- 
 cause they are wanting in some Modes or Times. They are 
 Gire, or Ire ,• Sol6-€ ; Cal^e ; Lec&e or Lic^re ; Olire; Rid- 
 dere, Reddire, or Redire ; Alger e ; Arrogere-, and Cciggere. 
 
 Gire, or Jre, to go 
 1. 
 
 : 2. glva,-) 
 or V 
 jva, J 
 
 .3. gii, 
 
 4. gir6, 
 
 givi, 
 
 [gisti, 
 
 (isti 3 
 
 girdi, 
 
 g'» 
 gira, 
 
 .5. 
 
 6. gissi, 
 ; 7. girei, &c. 
 
 gissi, glsse, 
 
 8. 
 
 9. g^ndo J 10. gito, or ito 
 SolSrcj to be wont, or accustomed 
 
 ue- 
 
 TgiAmo, 
 (_gimo J (,ite 
 
 givimo, giv 
 
 .'4te, I 
 
 givano 
 
 or 
 ivano 
 
 gimmo, giste, girono 
 
 igir^mo,^ f gir^te,^ rgirdnno 
 . "'' o '"■ o *"■■ 
 iK'mo J I ir6te J (irAnno 
 
 giamo, giate, 
 gissimo, gisie, 
 
 fgite,") 
 Lite J 
 
 glssero 
 
 fsu61i,^ fsuole,^ rsogliamo,^ r 
 
 1. soglio, )<"■('')'"'(') *"■ ^sol^te, < 
 'suogli) (sole J 'solidmo J ( 
 
 CSOglu^DO 
 
 or 
 3<51iono 
 
 2. solera, &lC. 
 
IX.] 
 
 OF VBRBS. 
 
 117 
 
 rs6gii, 1 
 
 5. s6glia, \ <"" f 
 
 6. sol^ssi, &c 
 
 9. sol^ndo ; 10. soli to 
 
 s6glia, sogliimo soglidte, sdgliano 
 
 Caldre, to care for, (au impersonal verb : see Paragraphs 260 and 268.) 
 
 LecSre, or Lic^re, to be lawful, or proper, (an impersonal verb : see 
 Paragraphs 260 and 268.) ^ 
 
 Olire, to smell well 
 
 1. oliscOj 61i, ■ . 
 
 2. ollva, olivi, olira, 
 
 Rie'dcrey Reddtre, or Redtre, to return 
 1. ri^do, riddi, ri^de, — 
 5. ■ ri^da — 
 
 olivano 
 
 ri^dono 
 ri^dano 
 
 Algere^ to be cold 
 
 1. 
 
 3. disi, 
 
 Arrogere, to add to 
 1. 
 
 Alge, 
 ilse, 
 
 arr6ge. 
 
 3. arr6si, &c. 
 
 9. arrog^ndo j 10. arroto 
 
 Caggere, to fall 
 
 1. caggio, cAggi, ckg^e^ 
 
 jcaggidrao, 
 
 fcdggi 
 < or 
 (caggi 
 
 iggiao 
 or > 
 
 afftri J 
 
 cdggiono 
 
 cdggia, caggidmo, caggidte, cdggiano 
 
 5. cdggia, 
 
 9. cagg^udo 
 
 67. Give or Ire is only a poetical verb : its meaning is just 
 the same as that of Anddre, to go. Olire is a verb little in 
 use, and only poetical. Riedere is only poetical, and means the 
 same as Ritorndre, to return . Algere, is only poetical, and 
 means the same as Geldre, to freeze. Arrdgere is only 
 poetical. Cdggere, and its inflections, seem to be nothing more 
 than variations of the verb Cad&e, to fall ; and they are not 
 now in common use. 
 
 68. In addition to the foregoing conjugations of verbs, and 
 what has been said of them, I beg the reader's attention to the 
 following Observations. 
 
lis ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 l.-^Thcre is one thing to be observed, which relates equally 
 to all vcr])s, whether regular or irregular, namely, a dou- 
 ble termination that there is a the 1st Person Singular of 
 the Past Imperfect Time of the Indicative Mode. The 
 Italians say amuva or amdvo, I loved ; credt'-va or cred^o, 
 I believed ; scntwa or sentivo, I felt ; av{va or av6vo, I 
 had ; ^ra or cro, I was ; and so on with aU verbs. The 
 termination in a is the most strictly proper : that in o, 
 more familiar. In writing, the Italians do, therefore, use 
 amdva, credha, sentiva, avtta, &a, &c. ; while, in conversa- 
 tion, they generally pronounce this part of the verb, 
 amdvo, credevo, sentivo, avevo, f-ro, &c. 
 
 2. — There are some verbs which are subject to a contrac- 
 tion in their Infinitive Modes, as we may see by referring 
 to the foregoing List. We see, for example, addurre, instead 
 of add u cere ; appdrre, mstead of appdnere ; /orre, instead 
 of tdgliere ; trdrre, instead of trdere, or trdhere; pdrre, 
 instead of pdnere ; produrre, instead of producere ; sv^e, 
 instead oi svcllere ; corre, instead of co^ //ere ; &c. 
 . — Others, again, wliich have ng in the last syllable but 
 one in the Infinitive, may turn the ng to gn ; as in 
 attignere, instead of attingere ; mugnere, instead of mungere; 
 pugnere, instead of piingere ; re^pignere, instead of res- 
 pingere ; smugnere, instead of smiingere ; ugnere, instead 
 of linger e ; &c. 
 
 4. — In some Infinitives which have wo in them, the n may 
 be omitted ; as in mdvere, instead of mudvere • promduere, 
 instead of pi'omudvere ; rimdvere, instead of rimudvere ; 
 &c. 
 
 5. — WTien prepositions are afl5xed to the Infinitives of verbs, 
 the prepositions are sometimes contracted; as in somrndt- 
 tire, instead of sottomeftere : costniire, instead of con- 
 st niire : wherein we use a contraction of the prepositions 
 sOtto, under, and con, with. 
 
 6. — ^The parts of the verb which are the most commonly 
 subject to irregularity, are, the Infinitive Mode (as the -four 
 last foregoing Observations show) the Present Time of the 
 Indicative Mode, the Past Perfect Time of the Indicative 
 
XL] OT VERBS. 119 
 
 Mode, tlie Future Time of the Indicative Mode, the Present 
 Time of the Subjunctive Mode, the Imperative Mode, and 
 the Participle Passive. Some verbs are irregular in all of 
 these Modes and Times ; but others are irregular in only 
 a part of them. When a verb is irregular in the Present 
 of the Indicative, it is also irregular in the Present of the 
 Suhjunciive, and in the Imperative. 
 
 7. — We find an h introduced, in some verbs, in a part of 
 their changes. Tlie h is employed in verbs, the 1st person 
 singular of the Present of the Indicative of which ends 
 in CO or go. The h, so employed, is intended to preserve 
 the hardness in the sound of the c or g. Thus, in the 
 verbs giuocdre, to sport, and porre, to put, which, in the 
 above said 1st person, make giu6co and p6ngo, we und 
 giuochidmo, we sport, and ponghidmo, we put. The c and 
 g here, if they were to stand immediately before the i's, 
 would have to be sounded soft, contrary to the proper pro- 
 nunciation. This is not the case, however, with the verbs 
 ending in isco, which are mentioned in Observation 15. 
 
 8. — In the 2d ■aiid 3d Conjugations, the Present of the 
 Subjunctive may always be formed by changing the o of the 
 Present of the Indicative to a : thus credere, to believe, 
 makes credo, I believe, and creda, I may believe ; sentire, 
 
 ' to feel, makes sento, I feel, and senta, I may feel. The 
 verbs avere, essere, and sapere, which make ubbia, sia, and 
 sdppia, in the Present of the Indicative, are exceptions to 
 this rule. 
 
 9. — In the 2d Conjugation there is an instance in which 
 the regular verbs are subject to a variety of termination 
 in common with the irregular verbs. In the 1st and 3d 
 Persons Singular, and the 3d Person Plural, of the Past 
 Perfect Time of the Indicative, the terminations mav be 
 either 4i, e, ^rono, or ette, ette, ettero : thus credere, to 
 believe, may make, in the Past Perfect, either credei, crede, 
 crederono, or, credetti, cred^tte, credettero. It is, however, 
 only a part of the verbs of the 2d Conjugation that have 
 this double termination. The following are some of those 
 which have it. ■ • 
 
ISO 
 
 KTYMOLOOY 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Infi.vitivm. 1st Pkrsons Sinoolar. 
 
 asxdlvere, to ftbuolre, makes assoUil, or assolritti 
 
 cidere, to yield, li,ciT . . itti 
 
 precidnre, to precede, . . . . f'i, or . . Ittl 
 
 potcre, to be ablo, /i, or . . itti 
 
 svccidere, to succeed, . . • . ii, or . . 6tti 
 
 frimere, to be angry, «f*, or . . itti 
 
 goilere, to enjoy, ^/, or . . itti 
 
 j/crdcrc, to lose ^i, or . . iiti 
 
 primere, to press, ^i, or . . itti 
 
 rtndere, to render, . . . . ^/, or . . ctt% 
 
 riccvere, to receive, ^i, or . . tJti 
 
 vindcre, to sell, ei, or . . 6iti 
 
 10. — The followmg is a repetition of the list before given 
 (see paragraph 58) of the 22 verbs of the 2d Conjuga- 
 tion in ERE long. Here may be seen how the Present 
 and Past Perfect Times of the Indicative, and the Partici- 
 ples Passive, of all these terminate. The figures stand 
 for the same as they have done in the List of Irregular 
 Verbs. 
 
 Infinitives. 
 
 avire^ to have, 
 cadere, to fall, 
 calire, to care for, 
 dovtre, to owe, 
 caper e, to hold, 
 doUre, to grieve, 
 giacerc, to lis down, 
 godire, to enjoy, 
 
 partre, to seem 
 
 piaccre, to please, 
 persuadtre, to persuade, 
 potire, to be able, 
 
 rlmKijUre, to remain, 
 
 sapire, to know, 
 sedire, to sit, 
 soUre, to be accustomed, 
 tacire, to be silent, 
 tenere, to hold, 
 temdre, to fear, 
 txiUrc, to be worth, 
 
 redire, to see, 
 
 voUre, to be willing. 
 
 , ho, ihhi, 
 
 cudo, cdddl, 
 
 (see paragraph 66). 
 
 d^io, dovei, 
 
 (obsolete, now spelt capire ; of 
 
 No. 1. No. 3. No. 10. 
 
 ainjto 
 cadiito 
 
 doviito 
 £he 3d Conjugation). 
 doluto 
 giacruto 
 goduto 
 f parso, at 
 \ pariito 
 piaciuto 
 perxudso 
 potitto 
 
 {rimasto, or 
 rimAso 
 
 Maputo 
 
 seduto 
 
 s6lito 
 
 taciuto 
 
 teniitQ 
 
 temuto 
 
 valuta 
 
 veduto 
 
 voluto 
 
 ddglio, 
 giuccU), 
 gddo, 
 
 Pajo, 
 
 pi/tccio, 
 
 qjersuadOf 
 
 p6sso, 
 
 rimdngo, 
 
 so, 
 
 sido, 
 
 s6glio, 
 
 t^iccio, 
 
 terigo, 
 
 timo. 
 
 dUsi, 
 
 giacqui, 
 
 godii, 
 
 pArvi, 
 
 pidrqui, 
 
 persudsi, 
 
 potii, 
 
 rim/tsi^ 
 
 sippi^ 
 sedei, 
 
 tdcqui, 
 
 tinni, 
 
 temii. 
 
 vdglio,OTvalgo vdlslf 
 vido, veggo, I . ,, 
 liggio, ] '^'^*' 
 
 vdglio, vilUf 
 
IX.] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 121 
 
 1 1 . — The following examples will give some idea of how 
 the irregular verbs in ere short, of the 2d Conjugation, 
 do, according to the endings of the Infinitive commonly 
 form the Present and Past Perfect Times of the Indicative, 
 and their Participles Passive. 
 
 Infinitives, 
 
 Ending in cere ; as, vincere, to conquer, which makes 
 
 in dere ; as, (irdere, to bum, 
 
 in gere ; as, pi&ngere, to weep, 
 
 in gliere j as, cSgliere, to gather, 
 
 I in lerej as, svillere, to root up, 
 in mere ; as, imprimere, to print, 
 in nere ; as, pdnere, to put, . 
 in ndere ; as, prendere, to take, 
 - in pere ; as, rSmpere, to break, 
 in rere ; as, cirrere, to run, 
 in tere j as, mettere, to put, 
 
 in verej as, scrivere, to write, 
 
 No. 1. No. 3. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 vmco. 
 
 vtnsi, 
 
 vinto 
 
 . ardo. 
 
 arsi, 
 
 arso 
 
 . piango, 
 
 piansi. 
 
 plant 
 
 colgo, 
 
 colsi. 
 
 colto 
 
 . svello. 
 
 svelsi. 
 
 svelto 
 
 imprimo, 
 
 impressi, 
 
 impress 
 
 pongo. 
 
 post. 
 
 posto 
 
 prendo. 
 
 presi. 
 
 preso 
 
 rompo. 
 
 ruppi. 
 
 rotto 
 
 corro. 
 
 corsi. 
 
 corso 
 
 metto, 
 
 misi. 
 
 messo 
 
 scrivo. 
 
 scrissi. 
 
 scritto 
 
 12. — Some of the irregular verbs, of the second Conjuga- 
 tion, ending in si in the Past Perfect, have the s double^ 
 as in the above examples of scrissi, and impressi. The 
 following are the greater part of them. 
 
 Infinitives. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 addurre, to allege, makes adduce. 
 
 addussi, 
 
 addotto 
 
 affiggere, to affix, . . . 
 
 . ajiggo, 
 
 affissi, 
 
 affisso 
 
 ascrivere, to ascribe. 
 
 . ascrivoj 
 
 ascrissi, 
 
 ascritto 
 
 attrdre, to attract, . . 
 
 . . attraggo, 
 
 attrassi. 
 
 attratto 
 
 commdvere, to move, . . 
 
 . commovo. 
 
 commossi. 
 
 commosso 
 
 eondurre, to conduct. 
 
 . conduco, 
 
 condussi. 
 
 condotto 
 
 contrdrre, to contract. 
 
 . . contraggo 
 
 , contrassi. 
 
 contratto 
 
 correggere, to correct, , 
 
 . correggo, 
 
 corressi, 
 
 corretto 
 
 cuScere, to cook, . . 
 
 . . cuoco, 
 
 cossi. 
 
 cotto 
 
 dirigere, to direct. 
 
 . . dirigo. 
 
 diressi, 
 
 diretto 
 
 distrdrre, to take off, 
 
 . distraggo. 
 
 distrassi. 
 
 distratto 
 
 distruggere, to destroy, 
 
 . distruggo. 
 
 distrussi. 
 
 distrutto 
 
 eleggere, to elect, . . . 
 
 . eleggo. 
 
 elessi. 
 
 eletto 
 
 erigere, to erect, . . 
 
 . . erigo. 
 
 eressi, 
 
 eretto 
 
 esprlmere, to express. 
 
 . . esprimo, 
 
 espressi. 
 
 espresso 
 
 Jigger e, to thrust in, . . 
 
 • J^ggo, 
 
 fissi. 
 
 fitto 
 
 introdurre, to introduce, 
 
 . introduco. 
 
 introdtissii 
 
 introdotto 
 
 imprimere, to print, . . 
 
 . imprimo. 
 
 impressi. 
 
 impresso 
 
 inddrre, to induce, . . 
 
 . indiico, 
 
 indussi, 
 
 indotto 
 
 leggere, to read, . . . 
 
 • leggo. 
 
 lessi. 
 
 letto 
 
 muivere, to move, . . 
 
 . . movo. 
 
 mossi, 
 
 mosso 
 
 negUgere, to neglect, . 
 
 . . negligo. 
 
 neglessi, 
 
 negletto 
 
 opprimere, to oppress. 
 
 . . opprimo, 
 
 oppressi, 
 
 oppressd 
 
 percu6tere, to strike, . 
 
 . . percuoto, 
 
 a 
 
 percossij 
 
 percosso 
 
122 
 
 
 ETYMOLOGY 
 
 
 
 Infinitiv»9. 
 
 l»iO. 1. 
 
 No 3. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 yrodiirrc, to produce, 
 
 . . produce. 
 
 frodtissl, 
 
 prodotto 
 
 jirinii/^rtrf, to promote, 
 
 . . yromoip, 
 
 promnssi. 
 
 prnmoxso 
 
 prutcgfurr, to protect, 
 
 • • Vrotfggo, 
 
 protcxsi, 
 
 protctto 
 
 rijigere, to rule, . . 
 
 ' • '■f/r^o. 
 
 ressi, 
 
 ri'tto 
 
 ridiirre, to reduce, . 
 
 . . riduco, 
 
 ridussi, 
 
 ridotlo 
 
 riflitterc, to reflect, . 
 
 . . riftttto. 
 
 rljlessl. 
 
 rijlrs.to 
 
 riliirerr, to shine, . . 
 
 . . riluco. 
 
 rilussi. 
 
 (wanting) 
 
 rimlvcre, to remove, . 
 
 . . rlinovo, 
 
 rimo.txi. 
 
 rimosso 
 
 rtsriiitcre, to redeem, 
 
 . . rlxcuoto. 
 
 rUcotsi, 
 
 "•Iscoxso 
 
 scrireri, to write, . . 
 
 . . scrito. 
 
 scrissi. 
 
 scritto 
 
 xcudtere, to shake. 
 
 . . scuoto. 
 
 scossi, 
 
 scnxso 
 
 xe(ifirre,tn seduce, . . 
 
 . . seduco, 
 
 sedussi. 
 
 sedotto 
 
 soppriwtre, to suppress 
 
 , . sopprimo. 
 
 soppressi. 
 
 soppres.10 
 
 xtritggere, to destroy, . 
 
 . • struggo. 
 
 strussi. 
 
 strutto 
 
 sincuierc, to succeed, 
 
 . . succedo, 
 
 successi. 
 
 siicrexso 
 
 truditrre, to translate, 
 
 . . traduco. 
 
 tradussi, 
 
 trad otto 
 
 trajiggere, to transfix, 
 
 • . trafggo. 
 
 trajissi. 
 
 trajitto 
 
 triirre, to draw, . . . 
 
 . . traggo, 
 
 trassi, 
 
 tratto 
 
 viverc, to live, . . . . 
 
 . . vivo. 
 
 vissi, 
 
 visxuto 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 13. — It is useful, as a general rule, to know, that the 1st per- 
 son singular of the Past Perfect, Indicative, in the 2d 
 Conjugation, does, whenever the verb is irregular, always 
 end in i ; that the 3d person singular of the verb so 
 ending is formed by dropping the i and putting an e in 
 its place ; and that the 3d person plural in the same Tinae 
 and Mode is formed by adding ro to the 3d person sin- 
 gular : as, cdddi, I fell, cddde, he fell, cdddero, they fell ; 
 Itssi, I read, Icsse, he read, lesser o, they read.— ^The other 
 terminations in the Past Perfect Time are always regular, 
 namely, those of the 2d singular, and the 1st and 2d 
 plural ; so cadere and leggere make, in the Past Perfect, 
 cadesti, thou didst fall, cad^mmo,-we fell, cadeste, you fellj 
 and leggf'sti, thou readest, Uggemmo, we read, legghte, you 
 read. Tliese three Persons may always be formed in this 
 way, both in regular and irregular verbs ; change the 
 final re of the infinitive to stiy and you have the 2d person 
 singular ; as in the above examples of cadere, and Uggere, 
 which becoine cadesti, leggcsti ; change the final i of the 
 2d Person Singular to e, and you have the 2d Person 
 Plural ; as in the above cadeste, legghte ; change the 
 final re of the Infinintive to mmo, and you have the 1st 
 person plural ; as in the above cademmo, l^gemmo. 
 
IX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 123 
 
 14. — Of the verbs of the 3d Conjugation, the following 
 eight are more irregular than the rest ; their conjugation 
 should be well attended to, because they happen to be 
 verbs of great use : they are, aprire, to open ; coprire to 
 cover ; dire, to say ; morire, to die ; salire, to go up ; udire, 
 to hear ; venire, to come ; uscire, to go out. 
 
 15. — The principal thing to be observed, as regards the irre- 
 gularity of verbs of the 3d Conjugation, is, that a large 
 part of those verbs have isc preceding the final letter in 
 some of their changes. Thus, ardire, to dare, makes 
 ar disco, I dare ; and not drdo : ar disci, thou darest ; and 
 not drdi, &c. It is in the Present of the indicative, in 
 the Present of the Subjunctive, and in the Imperative, 
 that this irregularity takes place ; but never in any of the 
 other Times and Modes. Look back at the list of irregu- 
 lars in ire, and you will see aholire as an example. — There 
 are not many verbs of this conjugation that are completely 
 regular, in consequence of so many of them having the 
 abovementioned isc. The following are the greater part 
 of the perfectly regular verbs of the 3d Conjugation. Ail 
 these are to be conjugated in just the same manner as 
 Sentire, 
 
 acconsentire, to assent to 
 hollire, to boil 
 compartlre, to divide 
 consentire, to consent 
 convertirc, to convert ^ 
 dipartire, to part 
 dissentirc, to dissent 
 divertire, to divert 
 divestire, to divest 
 dormire, to .sleep 
 fuggire, to flee 
 investlre, to invest 
 mentire, to ]ie 
 partire, to depart 
 pentire, to repent 
 persegulre, to persecute 
 pervertlre, to pervert 
 presentire, to foresee 
 
 proseguire, to prosecute 
 ribollire, to boil again 
 rifuggire, to take refuge 
 ripartire, to divide 
 , ripentire, to repent 
 risentire, to awaken 
 rivestlre, to dress again 
 seguire, to follow 
 servire, to serve 
 sfuggire, to flee from 
 smentire, to give the lie 
 sobbollire, to boil slowly 
 sort ire, to elect 
 sovvertire, to subvert 
 svestire, to undress 
 travestire, to disguise 
 vestivG, to dress 
 
 16. — In Ga%«fl«i's Grammar the verb given as a model of re- 
 gular verbs of this 3d Conjugation is one of those that have 
 
 G 2 
 
124 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 have the isc. And I do not kaow but Galignani is right 
 in considering these verbs as regulars, since, ad he ob- 
 serves, there are, in the 3d Conjugation, as many as 
 twenty verbs having terminations with the 25c for every one 
 not having such terminations. In considering those verbs, 
 therefore, which have the isc, and which have no further 
 variation, (as abohre, for example) we may call them re- 
 gular or irregular as we please : regular, in as much as 
 they may all be conjugated just like abohre ; or irregu- 
 lar, as they diff^^r from such as are in the foregoing list 
 of thirty five, supposing those thirty five, and what few 
 more there may be like them, to be the only perfectly re- 
 gular verbs of the 3d Conjugation. 
 
 17. — Tlie verbs of the 3d Conjugation, almost all, make their 
 1st Person Singular of the Past Perfect of the Indicative 
 inii; as, seppelUre, to bury, makes seppellM, I buried. 
 But this double i, in these cases, is, by some, rejected, and 
 ay is put in its place; as, seppellj, 1 buried; use;, I went 
 out, instead of uscii. 
 
 18. — There are some of the verbs of the 3d Conjugation 
 which may be conjugated either with the isc, or without it : 
 that is to say, either hke abolire, or like sentire. Such 
 are the following. 
 
 Infinitives. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 abbelltre, to embelliah, makes 
 
 abbellisco. 
 
 or 
 
 abbello 
 
 aborrire, to abhor, 
 
 aborrisco. 
 
 or 
 
 aborro 
 
 mnnohilire, to enable, . . . 
 
 annohilisco. 
 
 or 
 
 annobilo 
 
 apparire, to appear, . . . . 
 
 apparlsco. 
 
 or 
 
 apparo 
 
 arrosslre, to blush, . . . . 
 
 arrossisco. 
 
 or 
 
 arrosso 
 
 avvertlre, to warn, . . . . 
 
 avvertisco. 
 
 or 
 
 aiverto 
 
 colorire, to colour, . . . . 
 
 colorisco. 
 
 or 
 
 coloro 
 
 indurire, to become hard, . . 
 
 indurisco, 
 
 or 
 
 induro 
 
 nutrire, to nourish 
 
 . nut risen, 
 
 or 
 
 nutro 
 
 offer ire, to offer, 
 
 offerisco, 
 
 or 
 
 offcro 
 
 proftrire, to proffer, . . . . 
 
 pro/crisco. 
 
 or 
 
 profero 
 
 soffrire, to suffer, . . . . , 
 
 . soffrisco. 
 
 or 
 
 soffro 
 
 19. — Some of the verbs in ire have, as may be seen in the 
 hst of irregulars, a variation in the Past Perfect, and some 
 are irregular in the Participle Passive ; as in the fol- 
 lowing. 
 
IX.] 
 
 OP VERBS. 
 
 125 
 
 Infinitives. No. 1. ' No. 3. 
 
 r apparisco, 'i 
 
 apparire, to appear, makes < or > apparsi, 
 
 V. apparo 3 
 
 aprii, ■) 
 
 aprire, to open, 
 
 . appavi 
 aproj 
 
 { 
 
 apersi'' 
 
 comparire, to appear before, . comparisco, comparsi, 
 
 r coprii, -j 
 coprire, to cover, copro, < or > 
 
 I. coper. li 3 
 
 , rofferisco, » r offerii,-^ 
 
 offerire, to offer, , . . . .^ or W or > 
 
 instruire, to instruct, 
 proferire, to proffer, . 
 
 . . instruisco, instrussi, 
 
 ^proferisco,~\ 
 . J or > proferii, 
 
 \ iprofero ) 
 
 c soffrisco,' 
 soffrire, to suffer, ... < or 
 
 ■} 
 
 soffrii, 
 
 soffro 
 seppellire, to bury, ..... seppelUsco, seppellii, 
 
 No. 10. 
 apparso 
 
 aperto 
 
 comparso 
 
 coperto 
 
 offerto 
 instrutto 
 proferto 
 
 sofferto 
 
 C seppellito, 
 •{ or 
 
 ^seppolto 
 
 20. — There are some verbs which belong, each, |to more 
 than one Conjugation. Some have the termination of 
 their Infinitive either in are or in ire, while others 
 have it either in ere or ire. Those having the double 
 termination in are or ire are the most numerous. Ac- 
 cording to their termination, in are, ere, or ire', they be- 
 long to one or the other of the Conjugations. Thus? 
 Abbelldre is of the 1st, Abhellire of the 3d, Ass6rbere 
 of the 2d, Assorbire of the 3d Conjugation, and so forth. 
 
 '■'\ 
 
 abbelldre 
 
 or tto adorn 
 abbellire 
 color dre, 
 
 or J-to colour 
 colorire 
 inacerbdre, 
 
 or (.to grow sour 
 
 inacerbire 
 impazzdre 
 
 or J- to grow mad 
 ijnpazzire 
 indurdreA 
 
 indurire , ) 
 
 Verbs in are or ire ; as, 
 
 inanimdre. 
 
 
 impalliddre,! 
 
 or ^to encourage 
 
 inanimire) 
 falldre,] 
 
 or ^to offend, or err 
 falllre, 
 imbrundre,' 
 
 or >to make brown 
 
 imbrunire. 
 
 or ^to grow pale 
 
 r 
 
 iinpallidire, 
 raffindrey^ 
 
 or >to refine 
 
 raffiniref 3 
 
12G KTYMOLOGV [Chap. 
 
 Verbs in ere or ire ; as, 
 
 'axsurbcre,^ /rimcre,^ 
 
 or / to abflorb or J-to be angry 
 
 ui.fdrbiref* fremtre,} 
 
 divirU'w,^ sovvirterc, 1 
 
 or >to divert or ["to subvert 
 
 dlvcrtire,} sovvertlrc, J 
 
 21 . — One more Observation, relating to the Participles Passive. 
 Tlie Participles Active are subject to hardly any irregularity : 
 they are, always, for the 1st Conjugation, in undo and 
 ante ; and, for the 2d and 3d Conjugations, always in 
 ' endo and ente. But, the Participles Passive are subject to 
 a good deal of irregularity. First, observe, that all those 
 of the 1st Conjugation are regular, whether they be of 
 verbs regular or irregular, and all end in ato ^ as, amdto, 
 loved, parldto, spoken, anddto, gone. Secondly, all the 
 regular verbs of the 2d Conjugation must have their 
 Participles in lito ; as, creduto, believed; venduto, sold. 
 When they are not thus regular, they do always end in 
 so or to ; but, then, the syllable preceding the so or to is 
 very various. The following are examples. 
 
 Pahticiples Passive, 
 
 Ending in unto ; as pidngere, to weep, which makes pidnto, wept 
 in drso ; as spurgere, to spread, .... spdrso, spread 
 
 in dxo ; as rimancre, to remain, rimuso, remained 
 
 in dto ; as ndscere, to be bom, ndtOy bom 
 
 in ilto ; as sctgliere, to choose, scilto, chosen 
 
 in into ; as spegnere, to extinguish, . . • spcnto, extinguished 
 in irso ; as dispirgere, to disperse, .... dispcrso, dispersed 
 
 in iso : as di/endere, to defend, difiso, defended 
 
 in esso ; as mittcrc, to put, m^sso, put 
 
 in isto ; as chitdcre, to ask, chicstu, asked 
 
 in into; as cingere, to gird, clnto, girded 
 
 in {so ; as dlvidcre, to diyide, d'lviso, divided 
 
 in itto ; as affllggerc, to afflict, ' ajiitto, afflicted 
 
 in iiito i as accriscere, to increase, . . . accr^.vc7Mto, increased 
 
 in lilto ; as cogliere, to gather, c6lto, gathered 
 
 in 6rso ; as correre, to run, c6rso, run 
 
 in 6rto ; as acc&rgere, to perceive, .... accdrto, perceived 
 
 in 6so ; as vascdndere, to hide, nasc6so, hidden 
 
 in 6sto ; as p6rre, to put, p6sto, put 
 
 in 6tto ; as cudcerc, to cook, cdtto, cooked 
 
 in unto; &s giugnere, to join, ...... giunto, joined 
 
 in vso ; HB chii'idere, to shut, tAiM.fO, shut 
 
 in I'ttto ; as struggere, to destroy, .... striitto, destroyed 
 
IX.] ' OF VERBS. 127 
 
 All these examples above, except that of riman&e, dire of 
 verbs in ERE short : the Participles Passive of the twenty-two 
 verbs in ERE long have already been given under Observation 
 10. — The Participles Passive of the verbs of the 3d Conjuga- 
 tion in ire all end in ito, as in sentire, servire, &c., excepting a 
 very few, like these which follow, in which we find an irre- 
 gularity. 
 
 (aj>parso,-\ 
 <apparito,j 
 
 apparire, to appear, maies'j or > appeared 
 
 ^apparito,) 
 aprire, to open, aperto, opened 
 
 icomparso,^ 
 or > appeared before 
 
 comparito,) 
 
 coprire, to cover, coperto, covered 
 
 dire, to say, detto, said 
 
 instruire, to instruct, .... instmtto, instructed 
 
 tnorire, to die, morto, -[)ed 
 
 cproferio, ■\ 
 proferire, to proffer, . . - .< or vproffered 
 
 Lproferito,) 
 
 isepolto, "i 
 or >buried 
 seppeUito, 3 
 sofferto, 
 soffrire, to smSct, -J or J> suffered 
 
 [sofferito,} 
 10. venire, to come, venuto, come 
 
 I must observe, that, in addition to these irregularities, there 
 are a good many of the Participles Passive of verbs of the 1 st 
 Conjugation which are very frequently contracted in their spell- 
 ing. Such are the following ; and these it is necessary to at- 
 tend to ; for, they frequently give rise to misunderstanding, from 
 the circumstance of their being, when in the contracted form, 
 generally the same words in spelling as the 1st person singular 
 of the Present of the Indicative. Thus acconcio, the contraction 
 of acconcidto, means / arrange, as well as arranged ; and so on 
 with the greater part of the rest. 
 
 accoiiciato, arranged, may be contracted to accdncio 
 
 adornuto, adorned, ad&rno 
 
 asciugdto, wiped, asciutto 
 
 (ivexzato, accustomed, .... - avvezzo 
 
 caricdto, loaded, cdrico 
 
 cercuto, sought, , » . cc.rco 
 
128 KTYMOLOGT [Chap. 
 
 comprt'ito, bought, may be contracted to cfrntpro 
 
 conciuto, mended, concio 
 
 cass/tto, caocellcd, cusso 
 
 crcspitto, curled, or frizzed crcspo 
 
 dcstato, awakened, di.sto 
 
 fernu'ito, stopped, Jirmo 
 
 goufliito, Hwelled, , . . . . gitnfio 
 
 gmixtuto, spoiled, gitasto 
 
 ingomhcrutoA Ciiigdmbcro, 
 
 or > encumbered, , < or 
 
 ingonthr/ito, ) lingOmOro 
 
 lucerato, torn l/tcero 
 
 libeHito, liberated, libera 
 
 tnacrruto, subdued, or weakened, .... macero 
 
 manifcstuto, manifested, manifesto 
 
 mozzuto, cut off, mizzo v 
 
 nettato, cleaned, nitto 
 
 pagato, payed pi^go 
 
 pestdto, beaten, or pounded, p&sto 
 
 privfifo, deprived, prtvo 
 
 scenUito, diminished, scimo 
 
 sconcUito, deranged, scdncio 
 
 seccato, dried, stcco 
 
 sgomberuto,^ (sgimbero, 
 
 or /disencumbered, \ or 
 
 sgombrato, J Isgdmbro 
 
 stancato, tired, .'itdnco 
 
 toccata, touched, t6cco 
 
 troncitto, cut, trinco 
 
 toltuto, turned vilto 
 
 vuotuto, emptied, vu6to 
 
 scaric/tto, disburdened, scdrico 
 
 scamputo, escaped, ^cumpo 
 
 saziato, satisfied, suzio 
 
 satviito, saved, salvo 
 
 sporcuto, dirtied, sp6rco 
 
 scalzuto, iinshod, scdlzo 
 
 straccuto, fatigued, strucco 
 
 1 
 
X.] OF ADVERBS. 129 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Etymology of Adverbs. 
 
 69. The Etymology of this Part of Speech is a matter re- 
 quiring but little study. Adverbs are subject to nothing of 
 what is called declension or conjugation. They undergo no va- 
 riations in their endings, in Italian, any more than words of 
 the same Part of Speech do in English. I shall have little 
 more to do than just to give a Kst of the most important of 
 them. Adverbs are divided into different classes ; some gram- 
 marians make more classes of them, some less. The classing 
 of them is, to a certain extent, a matter of choice or taste; and 
 they may be classed, in all languages, in one and the same 
 way. The only Adverbs that I shall consider as belonging to 
 distinct classes will be those of Time, of Place, and of Man- 
 ner. See what is said of Adverbs under Paragraph 3, as re- 
 spects their being sometimes compound. It will be observed,, 
 by some pf the following examples, that the two languages are 
 just alike in this respect. 
 
 Adverbs of Time.. 
 
 6ra, or or, now, sometimes 
 
 or or<Xy presently 
 
 d^ ora in ora, every hour 
 
 ad ora ad ora, from hour to hour, continually 
 
 adesso, now 
 
 ultimam^te, lately 
 
 G 5l 
 
130 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 nvovavK'nte, "^ , 
 S- newly 
 
 dijresco, ) 
 poco/a, not Ioiilc since 
 guari, a good while since v 
 
 ifa indi innanzi, henceforth 
 (ilf avvenire, for the future 
 /ra poco, shortly 
 sempre, always 
 mniy never, ever 
 giommdi, never, ever 
 per sempre, for ever 
 
 spesso, often ' • 
 
 di rado, seldom 
 suhito, immediately 
 altre volte, formerly 
 gih, already, or formerly 
 ad oqni momtnto, at everv moment 
 ogni giorno, every day 
 giornalm^nte, daily 
 frattdnto, in the mean time 
 di gia, already 
 fosto, soon 
 
 fosto che, or tostocche, as soon as 
 subito che, as soon as 
 non si tosto, hardly 
 qnando, when 
 dappui, since 
 dappoicK^, after 
 appaia, "^ 
 
 or Vhardly 
 
 appenach^, J 
 oggi, to day 
 jeri, yesterday 
 avantieri, ^ 
 
 or > the day before yesterday 
 
 jer Vdltro, ) 
 jersera, last night 
 jemiattina, yesterday morning 
 domdni, to-morrow 
 
X.] OP ADVERBS. 131 
 
 domaitina, to-morrow morning 
 
 posdomdni, the day after to-morrow 
 
 cmcora, yet 
 
 di notte, in the night-time 
 
 di gidrno, in the day-time 
 
 tardi, late 
 
 di bu6n ora, betimes 
 
 di hu6n mattmo, early 
 
 allorch^, when 
 
 alldra, then 
 
 di nuovo, again 
 
 teste, just now ^ 
 
 presto, quickly 
 
 poi, then 
 
 poiche, when, since, after 
 
 dipdi, since 
 
 di qua a poco, a little time 
 
 dopo, ^ 
 
 or > after 
 dopo che, 7 
 prima, 
 
 or 
 
 r* before 
 
 prima che, 
 avanti 
 
 or 
 avanti che-, 
 innanzi, 
 
 or 
 innanzi che, 
 anzif, -^ 
 
 or > before, rather 
 
 anzi che J 
 mentre, '\ 
 
 or Whilst 
 
 'mentreche,J 
 
 poscia, "^ 
 
 or >after, since, since that 
 
 poscia che, J 
 
i- 
 
 132 ETYMOLOOT [Chap- 
 
 di fjunndo in quando, 
 
 or Vfrom time to time 
 
 di tempo in tempo, 
 dove, or ove, when 
 fino, until 
 fin adcsso, 
 
 or /* 'till now 
 
 finora, 
 
 infino, until, as long as 
 finoattanto^ "\ 
 
 infinoattanto, f , .„ ., , 
 
 •^ > till, until that 
 
 or L * 
 
 infinoattantoche J 
 
 Adverbs of Place. 
 
 dove, or ove, where 
 donde, or ondc, whence 
 verso dove, whither 
 fin dove, how far 
 quivi, there 
 qua, -\ 
 
 or Chere, thither 
 qui, J 
 cosfl, ^ 
 
 or Mhere, thither 
 costii, 3 
 giii, down 
 dietro, behind 
 eniro, -* 
 
 or ^within 
 
 dentro, J 
 fudri, without 
 Id, 
 
 there 
 
 Id, ^ 
 
 or J>i 
 
 n S 
 
 per tutto, every where 
 su, up 
 
 c/i 5o^^o, underneath 
 di sopra, above 
 
XJ OP ADVERBS. 133 
 
 vicino, near ^ 
 
 . ovunque, everywhere, or wherever 
 di qui, or quinci, hence 
 di li, or di Id, thence ^ 
 
 di cosfi, or di costmci, thence 
 quindi, or indi, thence 
 d' altronde, from another place 
 di lontdno, from afar 
 d'apprtsso, from hard by 
 quinci su, from above 
 quinc^ntro, from here within 
 di qua, this way 
 di la, that way 
 Jin qua, to this place 
 fin let, to that place 
 fin costa, ^ 
 
 or > as far as that 
 
 fin cola, y 
 cola, there 
 
 lassu, above, or up there 
 laggiu, below, or down there 
 costaggiu, there below , 
 
 costassu, there above 
 verso qua, towards this place 
 verso la, towards that place 
 
 Adverbs of Manner. 
 
 There are a great many words belonging to this class of 
 Adverbs. Tliey are called Adverbs of Manner, because they 
 express the manners in which acts are done, or in which things 
 exist. Thus, when I say, he Xdi\k& foolishly , she sings beauti- 
 fully, \hQ dog lies quietly ', the ^idYerhs foolishly , beautifully, and 
 quietly, serve to express the different manners of the acts of 
 talking and singing and the manner of the state of lying. Some 
 of these adverbs are called, also, Adverbs of Degree, when 
 they serve to modify the sense of an Adjective ; as when I 
 say, this wine is tolerably good ; which means the same as, 
 thrs wine is good in a tolerable degree* These Adverbs 
 
134 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 are formed, in Italian, as they are in English, from Adjectives. 
 In English, we form the Adverb by adding ly to the Adjective, 
 aa ill the foregoing exum])le9 of foolishly, beautifully, and 
 (/wi<?//y, which are formed from the Adjectives /oo/is/i, beaut ful, 
 and quiet. It is very much the same thing with the Italians, 
 who form the Adverb by adding mente to the Adjective, ac- 
 cording to the following rules. 
 
 1 . — When the Adjective is one of those which end in o 
 for the masculine singular, then the Adverb is formed by 
 adding mente to the Adjective in its feminine termina- 
 tion ; thus, from the Adjective rado, rare, the feminine 
 singular of which is rada, comes the ^dverb radam^te, 
 rarely. The following are examples : 
 
 Adjectiyes. Adverbs. 
 
 amorbso, amorous 
 JrcttoUso, hasty 
 printo, ready 
 temerdirio, heedless 
 giu^to, jxiflt 
 infinito, icfmite 
 eccessivo, excessive 
 dotto, learned 
 
 amorosamcnte, amourouBly 
 /rettolosamente, hastily 
 prontaminte, readily 
 tcmcrariamcnte, heedlessly 
 giustamcnte, justly 
 infinitamente, infinitely 
 eccesiliamhite, excessively 
 dottaminte, learnedly 
 
 2. — When the Adjective ends, in the singidar, in e, the 
 Adverb is generally formed by adding mente to this ter- 
 mination of the Adjective ; as in the following ex- 
 amples : 
 
 ArJECTIV£S. 
 
 cttstante, constant 
 repcnte, sudden 
 dolce, sweet 
 cortise, courteous 
 
 Adverbs. 
 
 costatitemente , constantly 
 repentemcnte, suddenly 
 dolceminte, sweetly 
 corteseminte , courteously 
 
 3. — When the Adjective ends, in the singular, in le, the 
 Adverb is formed by adding mente to the Adjective; 
 dropping, at the same time, the final e of the Adjective. 
 The following are examples : 
 
 Adjectives. 
 
 convenevole, convenient 
 piacivole, pleasant 
 ridivole, ridiculotiB 
 amorivole, kind 
 
 Adverbs. 
 
 contenevolmlnte, conveniently 
 piacevolmente, pleasantly 
 ridevolnUnte, ridiculoasly 
 amorevolminte, kindly 
 
x.i 
 
 OF ADVERBS. 
 
 135 
 
 4. — Under paragraph 54 I have noticed the termination 
 which Adjectives have in issimo, which they make in 
 order to express the sense of our word very. It is the 
 same with these Adverbs of Manner and Degree. They 
 are formed according to the 1st of the above three 
 rules ; that is, they take the feminine termination of the 
 Adjective in issimo, with the mente added to it. The 
 following are examples : 
 
 Adjectives. 
 
 ''ricco, rich 
 
 ricchissimo, very rich 
 Jelice, happy 
 
 felicissimo, very happy 
 
 Adverbs. 
 
 riccaminte, richly 
 
 ricchissimamcnte, very richly 
 j'elicemcnte, happily 
 fellcissimamtntey very happily 
 
 The Adverbs will need hardly any further notice. Besides 
 what I have already given, however, I will add a list of some 
 of those most commonly used. I shall not take up room by 
 inserting many of the great number which are formed from 
 the Adjectives, terminating in mente, because I have just given 
 rules for the manner of forming these, which rules may be 
 very easily comprehended. Some might consider that the Ad- 
 verbs in the following list should be divided into different 
 classes ; and there are words here inserted which would not, 
 perhaps, by some persons, be considered as Adverbs at all. 
 The far greater part of them are, however, purely Adverbs ; 
 and I leave the classifying of them to the discretion of the 
 reader. 
 
 / 
 
 •y C •- 
 
 quanta, how much 
 
 tanto, so much 
 
 troppo, too much 
 
 molto, much, very 
 
 piU, more 
 
 me piit, much more 
 
 meno, less 
 
 vie m£no, much less 
 
 davantdggiOy more 
 
 assdi pill, a good deal, much more 
 
 alpiii, at the most 
 
I 
 
 136 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. ' 
 
 I 
 
 alm6io, at the least 
 
 niente (iff at to, not at all * 
 
 altrettdnto, as much 1 
 
 quasi, almost, as it were \ 
 
 qfdtto, quite i 
 
 del tutto, entirely j 
 
 una volta, once \ 
 
 due volte, twice '' 
 
 tre volte, three times ' j 
 
 tante volte, so many times, so often ! 
 molte volte, many times, often 
 
 quante volte, how many times, how often i 
 
 primieramente, in the first place, first ^ 
 
 secondariamente, in the second place, secondly 
 
 in terzo luogo, in the third place, thirdly J 
 
 soi^ra tutto, above i 
 
 alpostutto, altogether ^ ^ 
 
 in giro, by turns ^ 
 
 in drdine, in order, orderly I 
 
 in fine, ^ !j 
 
 or r in fine, at last I 
 
 alia fine, j ' 
 
 insieme, together { 
 
 certo, -\ , j 
 
 or Vcertainly | 
 
 dicerto, J 
 veramente, "j 
 da vero. 
 
 in vero, 
 nel vero, 
 
 or 
 in verity, J 
 a U, in faith ^ 
 siciiro, -^ 
 
 or > certainly 
 
 aZ sicuro, J 
 
 )> truly, in truth 
 
X.] OP ADVERBS. 137 
 
 al fermo, ") ,, 
 
 -' . L assuredly 
 
 per fermo, J 
 
 bene, well 
 
 si bene, 
 
 or J> yes indeed 
 si V V, 
 si, 
 
 ' 1 • 
 or >yes 
 
 77. SI J 
 
 mai SI, 
 
 non, not 
 
 no, no 
 
 per nulla, . 
 
 ■on no account 
 
 :■,}■ 
 
 per ni^nte, 
 
 mica, ne mica, or non mica, 
 
 or > not indeed 
 
 miga, ne miga, or non miga, ^ 
 in conto alcuno, in no wise 
 forse, ^ 
 
 or > perhaps 
 
 forse che, 5 
 
 per avventura, by chance 
 cosi, thus, as 
 
 come, so, when, as - . 
 
 siccdme, so, as 
 in che modo, in what manner 
 piilttosto, rather 
 piU presto, sooner 
 in^glio, better 
 anzi, rather 
 a guisa,~\ 
 
 or VHke 
 a modo, J 
 ecco, behold 
 ^cco qui, see here 
 ^cco It, see there 
 assdi, very 
 
 pur assdi, very much 
 smisuratam4nte, beyond measure 
 fuor di misura, out of measure 
 
\^ ETTMOLOOY [Chap. 
 
 solo, 
 
 or V only, 
 
 solamentc, J 
 
 art 
 lie, •\ 
 
 . r 
 
 da parte, a part 
 particolarmtnte, 
 
 or J^in particular, particularly 
 
 in particol^re, 
 app()sta, -V 
 
 a bello studio, Von purpose, purposely 
 a hella posta, J 
 a disegno, designedly 
 alia stordita, rashly 
 infretta, hastily 
 appena, '\ * 
 
 or Miardly, not quite 
 
 a mala pena,J 
 a contra v6glia, ^ 
 
 or > against one's will 
 
 mal volentieri, j 
 in un subito, ^ 
 
 or >of a sudden 
 
 subitam^te, y 
 poco a poco, little by little 
 passo a passo, step by step 
 bel bello, softly, gently 
 adagio, gently 
 
 inginocchidne, upon one's knees 
 tent6ne, '\ 
 
 or rgroping 
 
 brancol6ne,J 
 carpone, upon all fours 
 a pie, a foot 
 male, ill 
 p^ggio, worse 
 
XI.] -, OP PREPOSITIONS. 139 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Etymology of Prepositions. 
 
 70. These, like the Adverbs, are subject to no change in 
 their endings. They are, however, and some of them espe- 
 cially, words of great importance, as respects the manner of 
 using them along with other words. What I have to do here 
 is, merely, to give a list of the Prepositions most commonly 
 in use. 
 
 di, of 
 
 a, to, or at 
 
 da, from, or by 
 
 in, in 
 
 7ie, in 
 
 con, with 
 
 per, for 
 
 su, on, upon, or over 
 
 These are the prepositions which may be joined in one 
 word, with articles, as we have seen under Paragraph 29. 
 The word ne, when written with a grave accent (ne) is a Conjunc- 
 tion, and means nor or neither. In its capacity of preposition, it 
 must be observed, ne is not used now-a- days unless it be joined 
 with the article ; and the word in is employed -when no article 
 immmediately foUows. Thus, to express " in this house," we 
 must say, in questa ca^a ; and not, ne questa casa ; and, to ex- 
 press " in the house," we must say, nella casa. In this latter 
 case, it would not do to place the in before the article, and to 
 say, IN la casa; though such mode of expression is not un- 
 common in old authors. In the following list I have placed , 
 
1.40 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 several prepositions which take, immediately after them, one 
 or other of the prepositions di and a. Tlie three prepositions 
 di, a, and da, are called Signs of the Cases, and, as such, will 
 need particular attention. See the remarks on Case, Paragraph 
 277, and Syntax of Prepositions, Para^aph 307. 
 
 avanti, before 
 
 infra, 
 
 intra, 
 
 fra, ^within, between 
 
 or 
 
 tra, 
 
 circa, towards, or about 
 
 contra, or contra di, ^ . ^ 
 . ,. J-a^amst 
 contro, or contro di, j 
 
 dopo, or dopo di, after, behind 
 
 intorno a, \ 
 
 intorno di, f j -u 4. 
 
 \ around, about 
 
 d* intorno, J 
 dietro di,'\ 
 
 or > behind 
 di^fro a, } 
 entro, or entro a, 
 dentro, or dentro 
 verso, -\ 
 
 or J^towards 
 
 verso di, J 
 senza, without 
 fudri di, ^ 
 
 or > outside of, without 
 
 difu6ri, j 
 
 alldto di, ") , • J r 
 
 , , J. > along side oi 
 accanto di, J ° 
 
 rimpetto a, or di, ^ opposite to, 
 
 or > or 
 
 dirimpeito a, or di, ) over against 
 
 ' 1 inside of, within 
 a, J 
 
XL] 
 
 OF PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 141 
 
 \ 
 
 near to, 
 
 or 
 hard by 
 
 sino, or msino a, \ 
 fino, or injino a, / as far as, 
 
 or V or 
 
 sin, or insin a, i up to 
 Jin, or injin a, J 
 appresso di, -v 
 
 or >near to 
 
 appresso a, J 
 victno, 
 vicmo di, 
 
 or 
 vicmo a ; 
 presso, 
 presso di, 
 
 or 
 presso a, 
 sotto, 
 
 sottodi, f under, beneath 
 
 or i 
 sotto a, J 
 sopra, 
 sopra di, 
 
 or 
 sopra a, 
 lungo, 
 lungo di, 
 
 or 
 lungo a, 
 oltre di, ^ 
 
 or V, besides 
 oltre a, } 
 
 di Id, di, on the other side of 
 di qiid. di, on this side ©f 
 
 1 
 
 •upon, above 
 
 ' along 
 
142 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Etymology of Conjunctions. 
 
 71. Here, again, we have to do with words which, Uke the 
 Adverbs and Prepositions, never undergo any variation in 
 their endings. The words of neither of these Parts of Speech 
 are vers' numerous ; and all we have to do, in their Etymology, 
 is to get the meanings of them by heart. When we come to 
 the Syntax, we shall find, however, that Conjunctions, like 
 Adverbs and Prepositions, will need very strict attention. 
 '^The following list contains the greater part of the Italian Con- 
 junctions. 
 
 e, ed, or et, and 
 
 0, or od, either 
 
 11^, orned, nor, neither 
 
 nemmcnOy -s 
 
 neppure. Lor. not even 
 
 neunche, i 
 
 nemdnco, 
 , che, that 
 
 . , ,. Valso, still, yet 
 ancora, or eziandio, } 
 
 ovvtro, -N 
 
 oppure, \ or 
 
 ossia, J 
 
 pare, yet, indeed, however 
 
 tampdco, neither 
 
 ''Zf- ) although 
 sebbene, ) 
 
XII.] 
 
 OF CONJUNCTIONS. 
 
 143 
 
 ma, but 
 ' mondvm6no, ") 
 nulladim^o, |i^evertheless 
 
 intanto, meanwhile, yet, however 
 
 perb, therefore 
 
 tuttavia, ") 
 
 tutta volta, P^ ^^^ ^^^^^'' however 
 
 se, if 
 
 se mdi, if ever 
 
 con patto che, -» 
 
 a condizidne c/je, /"P^^ condition that 
 
 purehe, providing that 
 
 a meno che, unless, except 
 
 perch"^, 
 
 perocch^, 
 
 perciocch'^ )> because, in order that 
 
 a caiisa che, 
 
 diinque, *) 
 
 J >then, therefore 
 
 adimque, j 
 
 percib, ^ 
 
 onde, V therefore 
 
 la6nde, j 
 
 per la qual cdsa, therefore 
 
 per consegumza, by consequence, accordingly 
 
 accib, "\ 
 
 acciocche, f 
 
 ^^u^ r^ order that, to the end that 
 
 ajfine, L 
 
 a_ffinche, J 
 
 di maniSra che, so that 
 
 del resto, as for the rest 
 
 ora, or oro, now 
 
 poich^, } . 
 
 (•since, 
 le, ) 
 
 as 
 
 posciache 
 
 in gidsa che, } 
 
 in maniera che, ) 
 
 se non, saving, except 
 
 tanto che 
 
 mentre che 
 
 so as, in such a wav 
 
 
144 ETYMOLOGY [Chap. 
 
 tnbiunte che,) 
 si ben Che, i«° *^^* 
 forse che, perhaps 
 
 eccfjtto che, } 
 
 , ^except, unless 
 se noil che, ) * 
 
 secondochr, according as 
 
 oltrechc, besides that 
 
 siccctme, -v 
 
 come, \ as 
 
 comech'^, ) 
 
 nosostante che, notwithstanding 
 
 conciosiacosacchP, that being the case, providing 
 
 caso che, in case that 
 
 guando,} . 
 
 , cii, m case 
 
 dove, 3 ' 
 
 sbiche, ) . . . 
 
 „. , . >m order that 
 ajfinche, 3 
 
 comunque, however 
 
 senzach^, unless, without 
 
 finoatantoche, as long as 
 
 per tema che, for fear 
 
 clato che, ) , . , i ^ 
 
 , Vsuppose that, ^ranted that 
 »~ sopposto che,) ^^ ° 
 
XIII.] 
 
 OF INTERJECTIONS. 
 
 145 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Etymology of Interjections. 
 
 72. The nature of these words has been explained under 
 Paragraph 3. I mention Interjections here, again, only for 
 the sake of form. There are very few of them in any lan- 
 guage ; and their use is purely a matter of practice. The In- 
 terjections, in Italian, are the following, with, perhaps, a few 
 more in addition to these. 
 
 ha ! ha ! 
 
 orsii ! come ! 
 
 o/o! 
 
 oh! oh! 
 
 old. ! heigh ! 
 
 via, via ! pshaw ! 
 
 ahi ! alas ! 
 oinie ! 
 oime lasso ! 
 oibb ! fie ! 
 eh! eh! 
 deh ! alas ! 
 
 I 
 
 alas! 
 
l-^G OP IKCRBABE AND [Chap. 
 
 CHA'PTER XIV. 
 
 Of Increase and Diminution in Words. 
 
 73. Mavy "worde, in Itnlian, are subject 'to mi increase or 
 diminution in the number of their letters, which some .gramma- 
 rians call increment and retrenchment. In paragraph 4, I have 
 noticed the circumstance of diminution in words ; and to this 
 a large portion of the words throughout the language are sub- 
 ject. We will first notice those which are capable of increase. 
 These are not so numerous. 
 
 74. INCREASE IN WORDS.— The preposition a, to. is 
 very commonly increased to ad, when it stands immediately 
 before a word beginning with a vowel. So with the preposi- 
 tion suy upon, which may be increased to sur. So with the 
 conjimctions e, end, o, or, or either, and ne, nor, or neither, 
 which may be increased to ed, od, and ned -, and, in old au- 
 thors, we sometimes find the conjunction e written et. The 
 words se, if, and che, that, were formerly sometimes written 
 sed and ched ; but these two latter forms are very old, and 
 quite out of use. The use of ned, instead of n^, is, also, out 
 of fashion now-a-days. Tliese increasings in words arise for 
 just the same reason as that for which we, in English, some- 
 times use an instead of a ; that is, for the sake of harmony. 
 It is only when the abovementioned little words come just be- 
 
XIV.] DIMINUTION IN WORDS. 147 
 
 fore another %ord beginning with a vowel, that they are thus 
 subject to take a consonant at their ends. For example, it is 
 more harmonious to say, parlo ad un u6mo, I speak to a man ; 
 suR Vila s^dia, upon a chair ; than, parlo a un n6mo ; su una 
 sMia ; just as, in English, it sounds better to say an untoward 
 ev^i, than to say A untoward event. Besides the above in- 
 stiihcefe o'f increase at the ends, tTiere is one manner of increase 
 af the beginnings, of words ; namely, that of prefixing an i to 
 words which begin with an 5 having a consonant immediately 
 after it, in cases where the preceding word terminates with a 
 consonant. For example, instead of saying con studio, with 
 study, the Italians may say, con istudio ; instead of i7i scdmhio, 
 in exchange, in iscdmbio ; and so forth. The word stesso, same 
 or self, is often spelled istesso ; as, l'istesso giorno, the same 
 day; instead of lo stesso giorno ; l' istessa cosa, the same 
 thing; instead of la stessa cosa. There is, as Signor Bar- 
 BERi observes, no strict rule for this ; and the i may, in such 
 cases, be either used or not, as taste may dictate. Personal 
 Pronouns are sometimes joined to verbs, so as to make one 
 word of two, (see Syntax Paragraph 42) ; and, when this is 
 the case, there is an increase of one letter at the junction of 
 the two words, if the verb have an accent on its final vowel, or 
 be a monosyllable : as, io vedrollo, I shall see him (instead of 
 io vedrb lo, or io lo vedrb) ,- where we see an additional / be- 
 tween the vedrb and the lo. In many of the Adverbs or 
 Conjunctions, also, there may be an increase of one letter, 
 where two words are joined in one : as, vieppiii, much more; 
 acciocche, in order that ; perciocche, because ; instead of vie 
 pill, accib che, percib che. 
 
 75. DIMINUTION IN WORDS.— Let it be observed 
 that, in speaking, here, of diminution or retrenchment in words, 
 I mean, particularly, that shortening to which words are sub- 
 ject independently of the Apostrophe. The use of the Apos- 
 trophe has been already noticed at Paragraph 13. Here I 
 have to show how words may be curtailed without using any 
 mark of elision at aU. The curtailing of words in their end- 
 ings is a thing of constant occurence, in Italian. It is not 
 only allowed to the poets, but to all writers, and to people in 
 
 XT O 
 
148 
 
 OP INCREASE AND 
 
 « 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 common conversation ; and it is, as must be evident, at once a 
 great advantage in point of strength, and a great beauty in the 
 language. 
 
 76. It is a general rule, that all words ending in le, lo, mo, 
 ne, no, re, or ro, may be shortened by the omitting of their final 
 vowel. If the /, m, n, or r, which precedes the final vowel, 
 be double y then, generally speaking, the retrenchment is not 
 allowable. The far greater part of the words which may be 
 curtailed in their endings are, Nouns, Adjectives, and some 
 parts of the Verbs. The following are a few examples of the 
 Nouns and Adjectives. 
 
 Nouns and Adjectives in le and lo. 
 
 abitudle, habitual, may be written ahitual 
 
 amdbile, amiable. 
 
 amdbil 
 
 ciUo, heaven, .... 
 
 ciil 
 
 crudcle, cruel, .... 
 
 crudil 
 
 fiicxle, easy, .... 
 
 facil 
 
 gaitile, genteel. 
 
 ginta 
 
 guanriale, a pillow . 
 
 guancifil 
 
 inviolabile, InTiolable, 
 
 invioldhil 
 
 laudevole, laudable, . 
 
 laudciol 
 
 tnele, honey, .... 
 
 mel 
 
 tnonile, a necklace, . 
 
 monil 
 
 naturdle, natural. 
 
 tiaturdl 
 
 onorivole, honourable, 
 
 onorcvol 
 
 paras6le, a parasol, . 
 
 jiaras6l 
 
 •pilo, the skin, . 
 
 pel 
 
 regale, royal, 
 
 regdl 
 
 sale, salt, 
 
 sal 
 
 s6le, the sun, . . 
 
 s6l 
 
 s6lo, alone 
 
 s6l 
 
 stde, a style, 
 
 stU 
 
 venule, xcTaal, 
 
 vendl 
 
 Nouns and Adjectives in ne and no. 
 
 abolizibne, abobtion, may be written, abolizidn 
 
 bine, well, or good, .... ben 
 
 bitino, good, budn 
 
 crlne, the hair of the head, '. . crin 
 
 dem6ne, a demon, . . . dcmdn 
 
 emendaziSne, amendment, . . emcndaziSn 
 
 falcdne, a hawk, .... falcon 
 
 garzdne, a boy garzdn 
 
 injinzidne, a fiction, . . . injinzidn 
 
 lancidne, a great lance, . . lancidn 
 
 mdno, a hand, .... man 
 
 numine, a deity, . . . numin 
 
XIV.] 
 
 DIMINUTION IN WORDS. 
 
 149 
 
 drdine, an order, '. 
 
 6rdin 
 
 pane, bread, .... 
 
 , pun 
 
 pellcgrtno, foreign. 
 
 pellegrln 
 
 quadrhne, a large picture . 
 
 quadrdn 
 
 ragidne, a reason, . 
 
 ragiSn 
 
 ribdldSne, grossly wicked . 
 
 ribaldin 
 
 Saracino, Saracin, 
 
 Saracin 
 
 Toscano, Tuscan, . 
 
 Toscdn 
 
 torcidne, distortion. 
 
 torciin 
 
 venhio poison. 
 
 venen 
 
 visi6iie, a vision, . 
 
 visiSn 
 
 vordgine, a whirlpool, . 
 
 vordgin 
 
 Kapp6ne, a mattock. 
 
 zdpp6n 
 
 Nouns and Adjectives in re and ro. 
 
 am6re, love, may be written, amdr 
 benefatt6re, a benefactor . - ^"^nefatthr 
 cudre, a heart, . • • • <^u6r 
 cavalierc, a noTSeman . . cavalier 
 dolhre, grief, .... doUr 
 edificat6re, a builder . . . edificatdr 
 folgSre, a thunderbolt, . . folghr 
 guerrliro, a warrior, . . . guerriir 
 imperatdre, an emperor, . . imperator 
 leggiiro, light, .... leggier 
 maggidre, greater, . . . maggidr 
 mdre, a sea, . . . . mdr 
 mietitdre, a harvestman, . . mietitSr 
 misero, miserable, . . . miser 
 narrlitore, a narrator, . . narratSr 
 oratbre, an orator, . ... oratdr 
 peggidre, worse, . . . peggidr 
 
 pensii.ro, a thought, . . . pensier 
 piacere, pleasure, . . . piacer 
 quartiere, a quarter, . . . quartier 
 recatbre, a bringer, . . . recutSr 
 sapere, knowledge, . . . saper 
 sentiiro, a path, . , . sentiir 
 
 siitiro, a satyr, .... sdtir 
 sopbre, sleep, .... sopbr 
 timbre, fear, . ' . . . timbr 
 
 vincitbre, a conqueror, . . vincitbr 
 zappatbre, a digger, . . . zappatbr 
 
 77. The inflections of the Verbs that may be diminished 
 are, for the most part, the same as what will be found in 
 the following examples. The following examples are different 
 changes of the verb amdre, to love. In order to kno<^ to 
 what Mode, Time, or Person, these belong, look back at the 
 conjugation of amdre, in page . We may judge, by the 
 following, of what almost all the verbs are subject to. 
 
150 OP INCREASE AND [Cfagp. 
 
 amt'irc, to love, ni*y be written amdr 
 
 mnl/imn, wo love, 
 
 . am lam 
 
 
 iiinuno, they love, 
 
 . ft f nan 
 
 
 amavUmo, wo loved, . 
 
 . am/tvam 
 
 
 tim/itano, they loved, 
 
 . am/ivan 
 
 
 fitnurono, tht-y lo\cd, 
 
 . amaron, anUiro, 
 
 or am^'ir 
 
 amcrimo, we flball love, . 
 
 . amerim 
 
 
 fimcrunno, they shall love. 
 
 . ameran 
 
 
 amUinw, we may love, 
 
 . amium 
 
 
 amino, they may love. 
 
 . itmin 
 
 
 atn/i.fscro, they might love. 
 
 . am&sxer 
 
 
 amerhnmo, wc should love, 
 
 . amercm 
 
 
 ameribbero, they Bhotildlore, 
 
 . ameribber 
 
 
 am'iamo, let iia love. 
 
 . amium 
 
 . 
 
 amino, let them love. 
 
 . amin 
 
 
 rlCTt ^^ ^s *^ ^^ observed, that the greater part of the 
 inflections of the Tf^^B that may be shortened are, as in 
 the above examples of the veTl? amdre, those ending in mo 
 and no. Of the 3d Person plural in the r-^t ferfect of the 
 Indicative we see that we may either omit only the final o, or 
 the no, or the one, according to the above example of amdrono, 
 which may be diminished to amaron, to amdro, or to amdr. 
 We see, that where the m or n preceding the final c is double, 
 the latter m or n may be omitted along with the final o ; as in 
 the above examples, am«rdnno, and amer^mmoy which may be 
 shortened co amerdn, and amer^. The verbs anddre, dare, 
 faTBy stare, and av&e, have a double n before the final o in the 
 3d Person plural of the Present of the Indicative : vdnno, they 
 go, ddnno, they give, /anno, they make or do, stdnno, they 
 stand, hdiino, they have ; and these may all be shortened to 
 van, dan, fan, stan, han. We see, that there are two inflec- 
 tions ending in ro, in which the final o may be omitted ; accord- 
 ing to the above examples, amdssero and ameribbero, which 
 may become amdsser and amerebber. — In all the Infinitives of 
 Verbs the final e may, as observed in Paragraph 4, be omitted : 
 for example, we may say amdr, crcder, scntir, av6r, esser, in- 
 stead of amdre, credere, sentire, avere, essere ■ and when the 3d 
 Person plural of the Past Perfect of the Indicative is so far 
 diminished as to end in r, as when amdrono is spelled amdr, it 
 is common to put an apostrophe over the r, in order to distin- 
 guish this inflection of the verb from the Infinitive : thus, 
 while the infinitive amdre, for example, may be spelled amdr, 
 it is best to spell amar, when intended in the sense of amdrono. 
 
Xiyj] DIMINUTION IN WORDS. 151 
 
 amdr\ These shortenings of the 3d Person plural in the 
 Past Perfect are^ however, seldom met with, except in 
 poetry. 
 
 78. I have said> in paragraph 7 G, that when the I, m, n, or 
 r, is double, the final vowel is not, generally, to be omitted. 
 In many words, however, which end in llo, the final lo may 
 be omitted;- as in uccello, bird, cappelio, h^t,/rat€llo, brother, 
 andlOi ring, agn^Ilo, lamb, fanciullo^ child; which may be 
 spelled uccel, capp4l,frat4l, anil, agnil, fcmciul* Buommattbi 
 tells us, that in the words cor a7/o, coral, cristdllo, crystdl, bdllOf 
 dance, fdllo, fault, and snello, nimble, the final lo should not, 
 according to practice, be omitted. The word valle, a valley, 
 may become val. The words bella, beautiful, and quello, that, 
 may be spelled ^e/ and quel, excepting when they are followed 
 by a word beginning with an s having a consonant immediately 
 after it ; for, then, the final lo must always be preserved.-*- 
 The plurals of b^llo, beautiful, qtiello, that, fraUllo, brother, 
 cap4llo, the hair of one's head, and aug^llo, bird, are frequently 
 spelled b4i, quel, fraUi, cap4i, augii, instead of billi,.quelli, 
 
 fmUllit cap4lU, augSllL Observe, too, that b4llo and quello, 
 when in the plural, are spelled b^gli and quegli, instead of belli 
 B.nd qu4Ili, or b4i and quS, in cases where the noun to which 
 they are prefixed begins either with a vowel or with an s hav- 
 ing a consonant immediately after it : as, b4gli occhi, beautiful 
 eyes, b4gli sp4cchi, beautiful mirrors, gu4gli udmini, those men, 
 qu4gli sperim^nti, those experiments. 
 
 The cases in which words ending in mmo or nno may be 
 shortened occur frequently in the verbs ; as in the abovemen- 
 tioned instances of amerdnno, ameremmo, vdnno, ddnno, fdnno, 
 stdnno, hdnno. 
 
 The only cases in which words having an r doubU before 
 the final vowel can be shortened, are, those of the Infinitives 
 of verbs ending in rre, of which there are but few ; and, when 
 these are shortened, the latter r, as well as the final vowel, is 
 omitted. For example, the Infinitives porre, to put, trarre, 
 to draw, condurre, to conduct, torrc, to take away: these 
 may be spelled par, trar, condur, tor. 
 
 79. The word imo, a, or one, may, as before observed (see 
 paragraph 34), be spelled un ; and all the numerical Adjectives 
 
152 OF INCREA8K AND [Chap. 
 
 composed of una may drop the final vowel ; ai=i vent'uno, twenty- 
 one, trenV uno, thirty-one, which may be spelled vent'un, trent' 
 nn. In the pronouns, also, which are composed of uno, the 
 final o may be omitted : as in alcuno, some one ; nessilno, niuno, 
 or veritno, no one ; ciascuno, each, or every one ; ogniino, every 
 one ; which may be spelled alciin, niun, verun, ciasciin, ogndn. 
 But in uno, and these compounds of it, the final o must not 
 be omitted when the following word begins with an s that has 
 a consonant immediately after it. 
 
 80. In words ending with the vowal a no shortening is ad- 
 mitted, excepting in the case of the word ora, now, which may 
 be spelled or. Words composed of ora may also drop the final 
 a always ; as, allora, then, talora, sometimes, qualora, whenever, 
 oynora, always, ancora, yet, alcundra, sometimes ; which may 
 be spelled, allur, tal6r, qualdr, ogndr, anc6r, alcunor. The 
 word su6ra, sister or nun, may, also, be spelled suor ; as, 
 suor Anna, sister Anna. 
 
 81. It is a rule, that the final o in the 1st Person singular 
 of the Present of the Indicative Mode is never to be omitted. 
 Tasso has written, " Amico hai vinto, io ti perdos, perdona," 
 friend, thou hast conquered, I forgive thee, forgive thou. Here 
 is perdon, instead of perddno, a libert)" that has been con- 
 demned by all the grammarians that have noticed it. This 
 liberty has, however, very seldom been taken. The only in- 
 stance in which the o may be omitted in the abovementioned 
 1st Person is that in the verb to be, wherein sdno, 1 am, may 
 be, and is very commonly, spelled son ,- as, also, the same 
 word w^hen it stands for they are, in the 3d Person plural. I 
 am speaking, here, of the shortening which may take place 
 withoit the use of the Apostrophe ; for, by using that 
 mark,' the final o in the abovementioned 1st Person is very 
 often omitted, and with perfect proprietv' ; as in these exam- 
 ples of Petrarch : 
 
 Non perch* io non m' avvegg' io, &c. | Not because I do not perceive. 
 
 Clie dcbh' io far ? &c. | What ought 1 to do ? 
 
 Amico, or t' am' io, &c. | Friend, now I love thee. 
 
 Ni poss' io indovindr, &c. | Nor can I coujecture. 
 
 in which we see avveggo, dehho, amo, and posso, contracted to 
 avvegg', debb', am', poss'. 
 
XIV.] DIMINUTION IN WORDS. 153 
 
 82. The word /ra7e, which means brother or friar, and is- 
 generally used in the latter sense, may be shortened to fra ; 
 SLSf/ra Pietro, friar Peter; instead oifrdte Pi^tro. The word 
 santo, saint, may be spelled sanf or san : sunt' before a name 
 beginning with a vowel, san before a name beginning with a 
 consonant; as, Sant' Antonio, Saint Anthony, San Giovanni, 
 Saint John. Tlie adjective grande is spelled gran, when it 
 comes before a word beginning with a consonant ; as, gran cane, 
 great dog ; instead of grande cdne. When the following word 
 begins with a vowel, the e only is omitted, and an apostrophe 
 is placed over the d ; as, grand' u6mo, great man. The word 
 Signore, Sir, Master, Mr., Lord, or Gentleman, frequently 
 drops the final e, particularly when followed by a pronoun, or 
 by the proper name or title of dignity of the person to whom 
 it is applied ; as, il Signor mio, my lord, or master ; Signor 
 Tomaso, Mr. Thomas ; il Signor Arcivhcovo, the Lord Arch- 
 bishop. The word verso, towards, is sometimes spelled ver. 
 The plural of the word quale may be spelled quai, instead of 
 quali. The word u6mo, man, may be spelled u6m ; but this is 
 the only instance, excepting the inflections of verbs, in which 
 words ending in mo may drop the final o. 
 
 ■83. It now and then occurs, particularly in the writings of 
 the poets, that one or more letters are omitted when two 
 words are joined together ; as, fostu, wast thou, instead of 
 fosti tu, 
 
 84. Under paragraph 13, I have given examples of th.e Apos- 
 trophe, as used to denote the curtailing of words both at the 
 beginnings and at the ends of them. It would be almost use- 
 less to take up much room here, by giving further examples of 
 the employment of the Apostrophe. There are a few instances, 
 however, which I will mention, in which words may be made 
 to drop several of their letters by the employment of this 
 mark. Vo' stands for v6glio, I will ; vuo for vuole, he will : 
 me' for m^glio, better ; ve' for vMi, sll ; te' for timi, hold ; to' 
 for tdgli, take ; ma' for mdli, evils ; he' for hH or belli, the 
 plural of bello, beautiful ; que' for quel or quelli, the plural of 
 quello, that; frate iorfratei or /rate Hi, the plural of frai^llo, 
 brother ; qua for qudi or qudli, the plural of quale, which ; po' 
 for poco, a little ; ta for tdi or tali, the plural of tale, such 
 
 H 5 
 
154 OF INCREABE AND DIMINUTION IN WORDS. [Chap. 
 
 cota' for cotdi or cotdli, the plural of cotdle, such ; fe' for fede, 
 faith; m' for cut, whom or which; c' or ch' for che, who, 
 which, or whom. The Apostrophe is a most powerful agent 
 with the Italian poets. They seem, and particularly the older 
 writers, to have done with their language, as far as the use of 
 this mark could affect it, pretty nearly whatever they pleased. 
 Dantk and Petrarch use the Apostrophe at every turn. 
 
XV.] OF SYNTAX IN- GENERAL. 155, 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Of Syntax in General. 
 
 85. The term Syntax is a compound of two Greek words, 
 which mean the same as our two words with, and method or 
 order ; and Syntax, accordingly, is that part of grammar which 
 relates to the employment of words in sentences, that is, it 
 teaches us how to use words properly in conjunction with one 
 another. Syntax is sometimes called Construction, meaning the 
 puttnig of ivords together. In Syntax there are two main points 
 to be attended to ; they are called Concord or Agreement, and 
 Government. The Verb must agree, in Nimiber and in Person, 
 with the Noun or Pronoun : the Adjective must agree, in Gen- 
 der and in Number, with the Noun or Pronoun : Conjunctions 
 govern the Modes of Verbs ; and Verbs, again, govern the 
 Cases of Nouns and Pronouns. Then, the rules of Syntax 
 tell us, in many cases, when a word should be used, and when 
 it should be omitted, besides the mere changes in form that the 
 Parts of Speech should undergo in what relates to Agreement 
 and Government. I have endeavoured to consider the four 
 Branches of Grammar as much separately from each other as 
 possible. In my Etymology there is, to be sure, something of 
 what properly belongs to Syntax : such are the rules for the 
 agreement between Articles and Nouns, at Paragraph 29. Bat, 
 this was a matter, the consideration of which could not so well be 
 deferred. Syntax is by far the most important Branch, and the 
 one which requu'es the most attention of the learner. The 
 other Branches, Orthography, Prosody, and Etymology, do each 
 of them, and especially the latter, require a good deal of at- 
 tention ; but, these three, all put together, are of nothing hke 
 go much importance as Syntax alone. 
 
166 SYNTAX [Chap 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Syntax of Articles. 
 
 86. By looking- back to Paragraph 18, the reader will see 
 that there are in Italian, as in English, two sorts of Articles ; 
 iiamely, the Definite Article and the Indefinite Article ; the 
 former being expressed, in Italian, by one of the words il, lo, la, 
 and the latter by one of the words uno, un, una, un\ In the 
 Et}Tiiology of Nouns, Paragraph 29, I have shown all the 
 changes in form that the Definite Article undergoes to express 
 gender and number, and how it is joined with prepositions, 
 and I have given rules for when we are to use il, lo, or la ; and, 
 as relates to the indefinite article, when we are to use uno or un, una 
 or un. In the Svntax of this part of speech we have to con- 
 sider, in comparing the two languages, when the article mayor 
 must be employed in sentences, and when it may or must no t 
 be so employed. And, first, 
 
 0/ the Definite Article. 
 
 87. The Definite Article is generally used in Italian in cases 
 where it is used in English; but, in a great many cases where 
 we, in English, cannot employ it, the Italians must do so ; so 
 that this part of speech is of more consequence, or, at least, of 
 
XVI.] OP ARTICLES. 157 
 
 more frequent use, in the Italian, than it is in our language. 
 The Italians say, datemi il vino che avete jwrtato, give me the 
 wine that you have brought ; dove e il cavallo che hanno com- 
 prato ? where is the horse that they have bought ? Here the 
 Italian and the EngUsh are exactly alike. The Definite Arti- 
 cle is equally necessary in both languages, to define, or deter- 
 mine the particular wine, that is, the wine that has been brought, 
 and the particular horse, that is, the horse that hasbeen bought. 
 But the two languages do not, as respects this Part of Speech, 
 continue in such perfect unison with each other throughout, as 
 we shall see immediately. 
 
 88. Generally speaking the Definite Article is not employed, 
 in Italian, any more than it is in English, before the proper 
 names of persons. It is so used, however, in some cases, 
 where the name is that of some celebrated author ; and the 
 Italians would say ; ho letto il Petrarca, I have read Petrarch ; 
 le opere del Petrarca^ the works of Petrarch ; il Tasso mi 
 place molto, Tasso pleases me much ; la poesia del Tasso, the 
 poetry of Tasso ; il Boccaccio k un autore molto stimato, Boc- 
 caccio is an author much esteemed ; le novelle del Boccaccio 
 sono piene di spirito, the novels of Boccaccio are full of wit. 
 Tasso, speaking of Correggio the painter, says, "Del Cor- 
 reggio lo stil piiro e sovrano," the pure and majestic style of 
 Correggio. This use of the Article is not very common, and 
 w^e find it used only before the names of some ver}^ celebrated 
 persons. We find the Article thus employed before the names 
 of women more frequently than before those of men ; writers 
 often put the Article before the names of their female charac- 
 ters or heroines. We read, for instance, in Boccaccio's Deca- 
 merone. La Fiammetta, Fiammetta, La Lauretta, Lauretta. 
 What is meaned in these cases is, most likely, il po4ta Pe- 
 trarca, the poet Petrarch, il potta Tasso, the poet Tasso, 27 no- 
 vellatore Boccaccio, tlie novelist Boccaccio, z7 pittor Correggio, 
 the painter Correggio, la donna Fiammetta, the lady Fiam- 
 metta ; and so forth. . 
 
 89. When an Adjective is added to the proper name of a 
 person, either before the name or after it, to express some- 
 thing on account of which the person is iiiglily distinguished, 
 then, as in English, the Article is employed with the Adjective. 
 
158 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 This is the case, also, with the proper names of some places; 
 ae in the following examples : 
 
 il Sommo Giovo 
 Alfredo il Grande 
 Lucrezia la Caxta 
 Elena la Bella 
 la Dotta Atcne 
 Venczia la Ricca 
 
 the High Jove 
 Alfred the Great 
 Lucretia the Chaste 
 Helen the Fair 
 the learned Athens 
 Venice the Rich 
 
 90. With the Adjectives of Numerical Order the article is, 
 in general, employed in the same manner as it is in Eng- 
 lish; as : 
 
 io Bono il prima 
 egli era il secdndo 
 questa i la terza volta 
 
 1 am the first 
 he was the second 
 this is the third time 
 
 But if any of these Adjectives immediately follow a proper 
 name, as in the case of the names of kings, princes, popes, 
 &c., then the Article, which we use in English, must be 
 omitted in Italian ; as : 
 
 Georgio Tcno 
 Carlo Primo 
 Luigi Decimo ottavo 
 Leo Decimo 
 
 George the Third 
 Charles the First 
 Louis the Eighteenth 
 Leo the Tenth 
 
 91. When a proper name comes after the titles of king, 
 queen, prince, Mister, Mistress, the Itahans use the article; 
 as: 
 
 il Re Giorgio 
 la Regina Elisabetta 
 il principe Enrico 
 il Signor Brown 
 la Signora White 
 
 King George 
 Queen Elizabeth 
 Prince Henry 
 Mr. Brown 
 Mrs. White 
 
 The title of Pope may either take the Article before it, or not ; 
 and the Itahans say. Papa Leo, Pope Leo, or il Papa Leo. — 
 Though I have said, that the titles king, queen, Bndprince, require 
 the Article before them, as in the above examples, these titles do 
 not so require it in Itahan, any more than in English, when 
 followed by the names of the country governed by the king, 
 queen, or princt} as: 
 
XVI.] 
 
 OF ARTICLES. 
 
 159 
 
 Laigi, re di Prancia 
 
 Elisabetta, reg/wrt d' lughiltena 
 
 Leopoldo, princfpe di Bo^fiaia 
 
 Louis, king of Francd 
 Elizabeth, queen of England 
 Leopold, prince of Bohemia 
 
 And sometimes, even when the country is not mentioned, 
 the article is omitted. So Ariosto says. Re Carlo Magno, 
 king Charlemagne, Re Mandricardo, king Mandricard, Re 
 Pipino, king Pipin ; instead of il Re Carlo, il Re Mandricardo, 
 il Re Pipino. But the omission of the article, in such casds,' 
 is a liberty which only the poets take. Some other words of 
 title, also, have, in Italian, contrary to our language, the 
 Article before them; as, Cardinale, Cardinal, Arciv^scffvt), 
 Archbishop. Thus we must say, il Cardinale Bentivoglio, C^- 
 dinal Bentivoglio, and not Cardinale Bentivoglio. Wheft We 
 are addressing ourselves to persons, and give them the titk Of 
 Signore, or Signora, then the article is omitted : as, dove dridnt^t 
 Signor Brown ? where are you going, Mr. Brown ? eoMe state, 
 Signora White ? how do you do, Mrs. "White ? 
 
 92. The names of the four quarters of the globe require the 
 Article before them : /' Europa, Europe ; V Asia, Asia ; f 
 Africa, Africa ; V America, America. Some names of coun- 
 tries , provinces, Hvers, tovms, and mountains, require the Article, 
 and some do not. The Article is seldom used with the names 
 of towns. It would be impossible to give any -rule as to 
 when the article is, and when it is not, to be used, before 
 these proper names of countries, provinces, &c. It seems 
 to be merely a matter of custom, independent of all grafii- 
 matical rules, and to be learned only by practice. Tire 
 Itahans say, la Francia, France, I' Italia, Italy, la ToseaiM, 
 Tuscany, il Parnasso, Parnassus, il Sinai, Sinai. lii oiir fe^* 
 guage the article is seldom used before the names of coulitties 
 and provinces. Then, while we should not say, the P'ari^sife 
 and the Sinai, we should say, with the Italians, le Alpi, the 
 Alps, le Pirenei, the Pyrennees, gli Apennini, the Apennine^^ 
 We agree with the Italians, again, as to the names of rivers : 
 as, il Tamigi, the Thames, il Tevere, the Tiber, V Arno, the 
 Amo. It would seem that, in using the Article, Ss iii tfeS'Sfe 
 examples, there is always something left to be und6f ^f'tfd^ : 
 thus, when we say the Thames, we ineail the fivef "whicl^ i§ 
 
160 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 called Thames ; and it is quite as reasonable for the Italians to 
 say la Toscana, il Parnasso, &c., meaning, according to the 
 same way of explaining it, la provincia che si chiama Toscana, 
 il montc che si chiama Varnasso ; the province which is 
 called Tuscany, the mountain which is called Parmussus ; and 
 80 on. 
 
 93. It must be observed, that it is in the Nominative Case, 
 especially, that the Article is allowed before proper names of 
 the kind just mentioned ; and that, though it has originally 
 b.een but a matter of caprice, and is now a matter of custom, 
 to use or to omit the article before the noun in the Nomina- 
 tive, yet, when the noun is in other cases, and is preceded by 
 prepositions, there is something of rule to guide us. Thus, 
 in the following examples, the article is used along with pre- 
 positions : 
 
 Le rive dell* Amo. 
 La gloria r/ell' Inghilterra. 
 Le citia rfc/r Italia. 
 La liberta rcstituita alia FraDcia. 
 Le guerre che sono seguitc ncll' 
 America. 
 
 The banks of the Amo. 
 The glory of England. 
 The towns of Italy. 
 The liberty restored to France. 
 The wars that have occurred in 
 America. 
 
 Then, again, the prepositions without the article : 
 
 II val d' Amo. 
 I cavalli d' Inghilterra. 
 Venire d' Italia. 
 Andare in Francia. 
 Stare in America. 
 
 The vale of Amo. 
 The horses of England. 
 To come from Italy. 
 To go to France. 
 To stay in America. 
 
 The rule seems to be this : that, whenever we use the pro- 
 per name adjectively, as something by which to characterize or 
 distinguish something else ; or, as relates to countries in parti- 
 cular, whenever we are speaking of going to, coming from, 
 passing bj/, or dwelling in, a country ; in all such cases, the 
 Article is to be omitted. In the case of the proper name 
 Amo, wherein we, as weU as the Italians, use the Article, we 
 see that, in English, there is just the same distinction made as 
 in Italian : the banks of the Arno, the vale of Arno. In 
 the first instance, the Arno is mentioned as having the banks 
 belonging to it; in the second, as being merely a name which 
 characterizes or distinguishes a vale. The first we may am- 
 plify thus, le rive che sono la propri'etcL delV Arno, the banks 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 161 
 
 which are the property of the Arno ; and the second in this 
 way, la valle alia quale si del ilnome d' Arno, the vale to which is 
 given the name of Arno. So with the examples, la gloria. 
 deir Ingliilterra, i cavalli d' Inghilterra. In the first of these, 
 the noun Inghilterra is not used merely adjectively to describe 
 the kind of the glory : we mean, the glory which belongs to, 
 or which is the property of, England; while, in the latter ex- 
 ample, the noun is used only in an Adjective sense ; and we 
 mean, by cavalli d' Inghilterra, horses of English breed, or the 
 same as if we were to use the Adjective itself, cavalli Inglesi, 
 English horses. Then, there are the examples, le cittd dell' 
 Italia, la libertci restituita alla Francia, le guerre che sono se- 
 guite nell' America, which are contrasted with the other 
 three, venire d' Italia, anddre in Francia, stare in Ame- 
 rica. Now, we must observe, that, in such cases as 
 these, the article is always used along with the prepo- 
 sition, if, before the preposition, there be words expressing 
 something which affects in some way or othtjr, or which has 
 reference to, the whole extent of the ccuntry. In sueak- 
 ing here of the cities, the liberty, the wars, we mean through- 
 out, or in reference to the whole country of Italy, France, 
 America. But, if we speak of the country merely as a 
 place to go to, to come from, to pass through, to dwell 
 in, then no article is used, the country being regarded in 
 a more confined sense, that is, as being rather a spot 
 in, or a part of the universe than as a ivhole of itself. 
 The only grammar in which I find this matter at all ex- 
 plained, is the French work of Signor Barberi. But the ex- 
 planation he gives us is by no means satisfactory, though it is 
 correct as far as it goes. He neglects, particularly, to notice 
 the distinction that there is to be made in using the preposition 
 di, with or without the article, as in the foregoing examples ©f 
 dell' Arno, delV Inghilterra, d' Arno, d' Inghilterra. And, in 
 further illustration of this point, I may notice, here, that the 
 foregoing example," the towns of Italy," might be, in Italian, 
 either le citta dell' Italia, or le citta d' Italia. In the latter 
 manner, the preposition being used without the article, the 
 Italia would have a sense merely adjective, like that of Inghil- 
 terra, in the example, I cavalli d' Inghilterra ; that is, the citta 
 
1«2 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 d* Italia would mean the same as cittil Ital'ume, Italian towns. 
 But this matter, the use of the names of countries, &c. ad- 
 jectively, is one which I shall have to notice again particularly. 
 See Paragraph 100. As, however, we have here to do with 
 Articles, I will give a few more examples of the article used 
 or omitted before the names of countries. Observe the 
 following : 
 
 Fanno oggid) una deplorabile 
 fude Ic piagbe dclla Francia, &c. 
 
 Bbn. L. 
 
 To this day the wounds of France give 
 a deplorable proof. 
 
 Quasi a vista del canal d' Inphilterra. I Almost in sight of the channel of Eng- 
 
 BsN. L. land. 
 
 Qnesto Giugno di Francia non S quasi 
 altro che un' Aprile d' Italia. 
 
 Ben. L. 
 
 This June of France is hardly any 
 more than an April of Italy. 
 
 Era r Agostlno di Francia. Ben. L. | He waa the Augustine of France. 
 Non ndiri pi^ lo strepito dell' armi He will no longer hear the din of the 
 
 d' Europa. Ben. L 
 
 arms of Europe. 
 
 Ayerlo a Teder succedere nn giomo ] To have to see him one day succeed to 
 alia corona d' Inghilterra. Ben. L. | the crown of England. 
 
 Gran torto fareste alia Francia, ed dlV I Great injury would you do to France. 
 Italia. pr-.-Ti --,.. 
 
 .».^.^* u« 
 
 I and to Italy. 
 
 Cedano tutti gli altri paesi alia I Let aU other countriej5 cede to France. 
 Francia, &c. Bbn. L. | 
 
 Una pace la pii desiderable per /a I A peace, the most desirable for France. 
 Francia. Ben. L. | 
 
 Mi dispiacque di non ritomar in Italia I 1 was sorry not to return to Italy by 
 per Francia. Ben. L. I France. 
 
 These examples are perfectly consonant with the rule I have 
 laid down. As relates to the article omitted when the prepo- 
 sition di is used, the examples above make good what I have 
 said before. In the examples, del Canal d' Inghilterra, Giugno 
 DI Francia, Aprile d' Italia, V Agostino di Francia, dell' armi 
 d' Europa, alia corona d' Inghilterra ; here the names of Ing- 
 hilterra, Francia, Italia, and Europa, are used in an Adjective 
 sense, characterizing the canal, Giugno, Aprile, Agostino, armi, 
 corona ; and, properly to translate the phrases, it should be, of 
 the English Channel, French June, Italian April, the French 
 Augustin, of the European arms, to the English crown. 
 
 94. In using names common to the whole kinds of things, 
 in a general sense, the article, which we do not use in 
 such cases in English, must be employed in Itahan, For 
 example: 
 
XYW 
 
 OP AI^TJCLIS. 
 
 IC3 
 
 II vino si vende a gran pr^zzo^ 
 Le api colgono il mele daijiori. 
 
 Wine, sell?) at a great price. 
 Bees gather honey from flowers. 
 
 In these examples there is no particular wine, bees, honey, 
 flowers, intended to be pointed oyt ; and it would not convey 
 ovir meaning so distinctly in English, nor, indeed, could it be 
 correct, to say, the wine sell& at a great price, the bees gathqr 
 the honey from the flowers, unless we intended to express a 
 sense of identity, or to particularize, in some way, the wine, 
 b§es, honey, flowers. Let us take another example ; 
 
 Le aj/i c61go^o i^ mele dal sugo dei 
 , flori. 
 
 Bees gatkei honey froia, tite juice. <ff 
 flowers. 
 
 Now here the article is necessary before the aoito Juic^y in 
 English as well as in Italian; because, we mean. j9«r^k?w/a*^ 
 to describe the juice as being that which is of flowers. We 
 might ^^^' vath the Italians, according to the examples given 
 in Paragraph 87, the wine that you have broiight, il vim ehe 
 avete jportato J the horse that they have bought, ii, cavallo eke 
 haraiO eOuipratG. But, then, in such instances, it is. meancd to 
 particularize the thing spoken of ; for, here, the wine is men* 
 tioned as that wine which you have brought, and the horse as 
 that horse which they have bought. Tlie following is a strik- 
 ing example of the extent to which the article may be em- 
 ployed in Itahan : 
 
 Lascia, lascia le lagrime e i sospiri, 
 S* acquista far della taa dovina vuoi. 
 
 Gda. p. F. 
 
 Leave off, leave off tears and sighs, if 
 thou wishest to obtain thy mistress. 
 
 Here, if the article were employed in English, it would 
 quite alter the sense. "Leave of^ the tears and the sighs," 
 would mean some particular tears and sighs ; while, in Italian, 
 tears and sighs are spoken of in this example in a general sense, 
 as signs of lamentation. 
 
 95. In speaking of things of which there is but one, or a 
 sinsrle collection of the kind, in existence, we sometimes use 
 the article, and the Italians do ^o in all cases. Thus : la terra, 
 the earth, il mare, the sea, il sole, the sun, la luna, the moon, 
 le stelle, the stars, il mondo, the world, V universo, the universe, 
 il vento, the wind, /' orizzonte, the horizon ; here we see the 
 
1G4 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 English and the Italian are alike. But the Italians say, also, 
 la natura, nature, // cirlo, heaven, il paradiso, paradise, /' in- 
 ferno, hell. Tlie names of the elements ; those of metals, and 
 of the 6^\^iiTQn\. productions of the earth, which it would be un- 
 necessary to enumerate in full, here ; these require the article 
 in Italian, while, in English, they do not so generally. The 
 Italians say, il/uoco, fire, /' acqua^ water, /' oro, gold, V ar- 
 g^nto, silver, /' orzo, barley, la s^gala, lye, il grano, wheat, la 
 pastura,Y>Sisture, il pusto, food, il lumpo or tV balffno, lightning, 
 il tudno, thunder, la pidggia, rain, la irugidda, dew, la pdlvere, 
 dust. We, in Enghsh, can say : the wheat, barley, and rye, 
 are fine ; meaning, particularly, the wheat, &c., of this 
 year ; and we say, also ; the dew falls in the evening ; the 
 dust is disagreeable ; meaning dew and dust in general ; 
 though we could not say, the water is useful to man, the silver 
 is a bright metal, meaning, water and silver in general. 
 These are niceties of difference, and merelv matters of 
 practice ; and the main difference between the two languages, 
 ijp; such cases, is, that while we, in some instances, may either 
 use or omit the Article, the Italians must always use it ; un- 
 less, indeed, it be omitted in the way of license with the poets. 
 When prepositions are used before the nouns terra, mare, cielo, 
 paradiso, inferno, particularly the prepositions di, a, in, and 
 per, the article is frequently omitted in Italian. The Ita- 
 lians say, esser in cielo, to be in heaven, esser jn paradiso, 
 to be in paradise, esser in inferno, to be in hell, venir di d^lo, 
 to come from heaven, andare per mare e per terra, to go by 
 sea and by land, mettere a mare, to put to sea, un vidggio per 
 mare, a voyage by sea, &;c. Such omissions of the articles are 
 all similar to those which I have mentioned in Paragraph 193, 
 as relating to the names of countries, provinces, &c. 
 
 96. We frequently make use of the article before a name 
 which is descriptive of a whole class or kind of persons or 
 things : the Italians do the same ; as, 
 
 The reaper cuts the com. 
 
 The ploughman ^orks the land. 
 
 TTie beech is a spacious tree. 
 
 The rose is a very beautiful flower- 
 
 The dog is faithful to his master. 
 
 II mietitire sega il grano. 
 L' aratort lavora la terra. 
 II fdggio e un dlbero spaziiSso. 
 La rosa e un fiore bellissimo. 
 II cane e fedele al suo ma«istro. 
 
 The horse is a strong animal. I II cavallo «i un animal forte. 
 
 But we cannot, in English, employ the article in the 
 
XVI.] 
 
 OP ARTICLES. 
 
 165 
 
 plural number, in such cases, without entirely changing the 
 sense of the phrase. To say, the reapers cut the corn, the 
 ploughmen work the land, &;c., would, unless we mean to speak 
 of some particular individual reapers, ploughmen, &c., be not 
 strictly good English. Yet the force of custom here is such, 
 that we may say, the corn, the land, as in the two first of the 
 above examples, although we be speaking only of com and land 
 in general, and not of some particular com or land ; and, we 
 might say, in the plural, the reapers cut the com, the ploughmen 
 work the land, having reference to the whole of the individuals 
 of the classes of persons so called, and not to some particular 
 individuals. We cannot, however, foUow this up, throughout 
 our language ; and it would not do to say, the horses are strong 
 animals, speaking of the whole race of those animals in general. 
 The main difference to be observed here, again, is, that while 
 it is sometimes optional with us, in such cases, to use or to 
 omit the article, in ItaHan it is a strict mle that the article 
 must be used. 
 
 Reapers cut the com. 
 Ploughmen work the land. 
 Beeches are spacious trees. 
 Roses are very beautiful flowers. 
 Dogs are faithful to their masters. 
 Horses are strong animals. 
 
 / mietit&ri s^gano il grano. 
 Gli aratdrl lavorano la terra. 
 Ifaggi sono dlberi spaziosi. 
 Le rose sono fiori bellissimi. 
 / cani sono fedeli ai lor maestri. 
 / cavalli sono animili forti. 
 
 The article, in the plural, is here indispensible in Italian : to 
 say, mietitor segano il grdno, &c., would be even a greater 
 outrage to ItaHan grammar than it would be to the Enghsh 
 to say, the horses are strong animals. In the very first words 
 of Boccaccio's Proem to his Decamerone, we find an example 
 very much to the point : 
 
 Umana cosa i aver compassione It is a humane thing (or, a thing 
 
 degli afflitti. natural to man) to have compassion for 
 the afflicted. 
 
 Here the Adjective, affiitti, stands for afflicted persons in 
 general; and this use of the Adjective, in the plural number, is 
 as common in the ItaHan as in our own language. So we may 
 say, in both languages, i virtuosi, the virtuous, gl' ingordt, the 
 rapacious, i caitivi, the wicked, and so forth ; meaning in both 
 languages, virtnovis persons, or men, in general, rapacious j3«-- 
 
1 (56 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 sSHs, or inc7i, in geiiiernl, wicked persons, or men, in general; 
 that is to say, the xrhoJe class of the persons, or men, which are 
 of either description. When the whole class is thus expressed 
 by an Adjective, we roust invariably use the article in both 
 languages ; but, when the whole class is expressed by the 
 Noun descriptive of it, irithout the Adjective, then in English, 
 we need not employ the Article ; as is seen in the examples of 
 reapers ixnd ploughmen. Then, again, the Noun and the Adjec- 
 tive are, sometimes, in similar cases, employed in both 
 languages ; for, we may say, taking the example of Boccaccio 
 again, to have compassion for afflicted men. But here, as re- 
 lates to the Article, the two languages disagree ; for here the 
 Italians must employ the Article, while we cannot do so : 
 Boccaccio might have said, aver compassione degU uomini 
 afflitti, that is, literally, to have compassion for the afflicted 
 vien. But we could not say this, unless we had some par- 
 ticular men in our eye. 
 
 97. The Italians have the Article before the nouns man and 
 woman y both in the singular and plural numbers, not only in 
 speaking of particular individuals, but also when they use 
 these nouns in the general sense of mankind and womankind ; as : 
 
 Man is a rational animal. 
 H'oman wa« created after mAn. 
 Men arc ambitions. 
 Women are fair. 
 
 Z/' uomo ^ tin animal ragion^vole. 
 JLa donna fu cre^ta dopo 1* uomo. 
 Gil itomini sono ambizi6si. 
 Le donne sorio belle. 
 
 .'.■■■;.*, r,\ 
 
 S^8. Before tlbe names of the various attributes of mankind, 
 siich as virtue, vice, life, death ; and before the names of arts 
 and scieiiceSf and before the names signif\'ing the professions, 
 employments, or orders of persons, the Italian requires the 
 Article : la virHl, virtue, il vizio, vice, la vita, life, la morte, 
 death, la temperanza, temperance, la sincerity, sincerity, V odio, 
 hatred, la curiositk, curiosity, la verity, truth, V errore, error, 
 V industria, indu^tr}^ la saviezza, wisdom, la generositii, 
 generosity, i? coraggio, courage, V arte, art, la sintdssi, syntax, 
 la grammdtica, graminar, T arimmetica, arithmetick, la 
 teblogla, theology, il negozio, trade, la giierra, war ; i preti, 
 priests, gli a^^bcdti, lawyers, i grammatici, grammarians, 
 i solddti, i^oldiers, i politici, politicians; and so forth. The 
 
• 
 
 XVL] OF ARTICLES. PS? 
 
 poets take the liberty of omitting the article in many cases 
 where it would generally be indispensible in prose or con- 
 versation. For example : 
 
 Sta liberalitd straccidta ^ rotta. 
 
 Mac. R. 
 
 Liberality remains ruined and de- 
 feated. 
 
 Oxio e neces^sitd — us^ra efra-ide. I Sloth and want— usury and fraud. 
 
 Mac. R. , 
 
 Potinza, onor, riccMzza, e'sanit&.te, 
 Servitil, inf&mia,morbo, e povertdte. 
 
 Mac. R. 
 
 S' io miro il tuo bel viso, 
 Ambre 4 un paradise, &c. 
 
 GcA. P. F. 
 
 Riguarda Attune, dove ingratitiido 
 Pose il BUD nido, &c. 
 
 Mac. E.' 
 
 Power, honour, riches, and health, 
 slavery, infamy, disease, and poverty. 
 
 If I look at thy beautiful face, love is a 
 
 paradise. 
 
 Look at Athens, where ingratitude 
 made its nest. 
 
 Here, the article should, strictly speaking, be employed, in 
 Italian, with the nouns liberalitd,, ozio^ necessith, Msiira, fraude, 
 potenza, onor, ricchezza, sanitate, serviiu, infdmia, morbo, 
 povertdte, amdre, ingratitudo. When, however, we 'are as- 
 cribing the possession of virtues or vices, or characteristic 
 qualities to persons or things, we must omit the article, in 
 Italian. ThuS;, we must not say, ella ha la prud4nza, she has 
 prudence ; egli ha la pazi^nza, he has patience ; but, ella ha 
 prndSnza, egli ha pazienza. 
 
 .Before the nouns cold, heat, hunger, thirsty the article is 
 used : ilfreddo, cold, or the cold, il caldo, heat, or the heat, 
 la fame, hunger, la sete, thirst. And in speaking of being cold, 
 ho% hungry, thirsty, the Italians use the verb to have, omitting 
 the article: aver freddo, to have cold; aver caldo, to have 
 heat ; aver fame, to have hunger ; aver sete, to have thirst. 
 And here I may notice that, in speaking of cold or heat as 
 respects the weather, they use the verb to make, omitting the 
 article: fa freddo, it makes cold; fa caldo, it makes hot. 
 
 99. In order to express an indefinite quantity of a thing, or 
 an indefinite number of things, the ItaUans make use of the 
 article with the preposition di. The article, and the pre- 
 position joined with it, in this case, are employed to express 
 nothing more or less than what we mean by the word some. 
 In many instances, it is optional with us to use the word some. 
 
168 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 or to omit it. Tims, we say, give me bread, or, give me 
 some bread ; give me booh, or, give me sojne books, so the Ita- 
 lians say, datcmi patie, give me bread, or, datemi del pane, 
 give me some bread ; datcmi libri, give me books, or datemi 
 (lei libri, give me some books. That is, literally del pane, of 
 the bread, del libri, of the books. In Dante's Infierno, the 
 Count Ugolint) is made to say, 
 
 i mici figliui^li, 
 
 Ch' cran con meco, c domandar del 
 
 pane. 
 
 . . . my sons, who were with me, and 
 asked for some bread. 
 
 Whenever we wish to express the sense of the word some, then 
 we must use the article with the preposition. Tlie articles 
 joined with the preposition di, are, as we have seen under 
 Paragraph 1 8, dell, dello, della, in the singular number ; and, 
 dei, or, d', degli, delle, in the plural. But, if we do not wish 
 to express any thing at all, in reference to quantity or number, 
 then the article is to be omitted. So, we must say, 
 
 V6glio deW acqua. 
 Volute del vino T 
 Non v6glio acqua. 
 Non volete lino ? 
 
 I wish for some water. 
 Do you wish for some nine f 
 I do not wish for water. 
 Do not you wish for wine ? 
 
 The use of the Definite Article here is, let it be remarked, quite 
 different from that in which it has the force oi particularizing 
 the thing to which it relates. Wlien I say, datemi del pane, 
 give me some bread, I mean no particular bread : when I say 
 datemi dei libri, I am alluding to no particular books. But I 
 mean, in these instances, an indeterminate quantity or number 
 of the whole kind of thing or things spoken of. Now, in 
 speaking of bread and books, in general, without at all alluding 
 to quantity or number, the Italians would say. 
 
 II pane ^ un alimcnto sano. 
 ^ / libri soao necessarj agli studiosi- 
 
 Bread is a wholesome food. 
 Books are necessary to the studious. 
 
 And, then, speaking of an indeterminate quantity or number of 
 the same things, it appears equally reasonable to use the arti- 
 cle. Reasonable, however, it does not appear to us to use the 
 Article in either case. But, it seems to me, that in using 
 the Article here, there is something left to be understood. 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 16^ 
 
 and that such phrases are elliptical ; and that, when we say, 
 for example, il pane e un 'alimento sano, what is meant is, la 
 cosa che si chiamapane, the thi?ig which is called head ; and, 
 according to the same manner of explanation, datemi del 
 pane, means, if the words were amplified to the full sen»e that 
 is intended, datemi una quantity, or una porzioney della 
 COSA che si chiama pane, give me a quantity, or a portion, 
 of the thing which is called bread. 
 
 To express some, as relates to quantity, meaning a little of, 
 the Italians generally use the words un tanthio di, or un poco 
 di ; and, as regards number, they frequently use the plural ad- 
 jectives alcuni, alcunc, or qualcheduni, qualchedune, which 
 mean some, or some few. These latter words are, also, some- 
 times indeterminate pronouns, as noticed in the list under 
 Paragraph 46. Thus, we may say, using the article with the 
 preposition di: - 
 
 Datemi del pane, 
 
 Ho dei cavilli, 
 
 Ho ricevuto delle lettere, 
 
 Ci soiio dcgii uomini in questa casa, 
 
 Give me some bread. 
 
 I have some horses. 
 
 I have received some letters. 
 
 There are some men in this house. 
 
 Or, we may express the same sense in the other way : 
 
 Datemi un poco, or un tantino 
 
 di pane, 
 Ho alcinii cavfilli, 
 Ho ricevuto alcune lettere, 
 Ci sono qualchcdiuii u6mini in 
 
 questa casa, 
 
 Give me a little bread. 
 
 I have sonie horses. 
 
 1 liave received some letters. 
 
 There are some men in this honse. 
 
 We see, that after the words un poco, or un tantino, the Ita- 
 lians use di, of; while we do not do this, in general, after 
 our words a little. With the nouns quantifa, porzione, 
 soprabbonddnza, and other nouns signifying quantity 'in an 
 indeterminate sense, the two languages are alike, and the 
 preposition, without the article, is employed : as. 
 
 una quantita di panno, 
 
 unaporzi6ne di vino, 
 
 una soprabbonddnza difrutto, 
 
 a quantity of cloth. 
 
 a portion of 7vine. 
 
 a superabundance of fruit. 
 
 Also, when we make use of nouns which serve to define the 
 quantity, measure, number, or weight of things, the two 
 languages are alike, and no article is employed; as, 
 
 I 
 
170 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 StOjO di nrano, 
 Bri'cio di pnnno, 
 Ala di tMa, 
 Fotrlietia «/i cino, 
 Lfibiirn d\ }ianr, 
 Dicchier d' acrptii, 
 JMiglinjo 'Vvomiiti, 
 
 liushel of corn. 
 ^ fird of chit h. 
 i-ll of Hum. 
 I'lnl of nine. 
 I'oniid of hrrad. 
 (iliiss ofn-titt^. 
 'J Iifjusand of mm. 
 
 To those who have learned French, it may not he useless 
 to observe, that there is a good deal of diirercnce between 
 the French and the ItQ.lian^ as relates to the use of 
 this definite article with the preposition diy of, in the sense 
 of some, when speaking of quantity indefinitely. Wliile the 
 Italians, like us, may either omit or employ the article, accord- 
 ing as they mean to express the some, or not, the French 
 cannot make this distinction. We say, give nie bread, or, give 
 me some bread; the Italians, also, say, daf.etni pane, or, 
 datcmi dej. pane; but the French cannot here omit the article: 
 they must say, donnez-moi du pai?i, meaning, give mc bread, 
 and, donnez-moi du pain, meaning, give me some bread ; and 
 not donnez-moi pain, in either case. 
 
 Again, in speaking of number indefinitely, v>c may say in 
 Italian, the same as in our own language, ho veduto cavalli 
 ncl prato, I have seen horses in the meadow; or, ho veduto 
 DEI cavalli ncl prato, I have seen some horses in the mcadovr. 
 But the French is incapable of making this distinction; and, 
 in that language, the phrases, I have seen horseSy &c., and 
 I have seen some horses, &c., must both be translated by, j'ai 
 vu DES chevaux dans le prt. There is, however, as I have 
 before observed, another way of expressing some, as relates to 
 indefinite number ; and this holds good in French as well as in 
 Italian ; for, while the Italians may say, alcuni cavalli, some, 
 or some few, horses, the French may say, quelques chevaux, 
 some, or some few, horses; instead of dei cavalli, and des 
 chevaux. We see, therefore, that the French are driven to 
 the use of the adjective plural quelques, while the Italians 
 can clearly express our word some, meaning an indejinite 
 number, either by the preposition di with the article ; or, by 
 the adjectives alcuni, qualcheduni, which are equivalent to 
 the quelques of the French. 
 
 When there is an adjective attached to the noun, and we 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 171 
 
 wish to express sorrie, in speaking of number, tlicn we may 
 either use the article, with the preposition cli, or the preposition 
 ■alone : as, 
 
 EgVi ha di biioni libr'i, -j 
 
 or, [• He has some good books. 
 
 E^Vi ha dti buoni Ubri, J 
 
 In the two following examples we see, in the one case, the 
 preposition without the article, and, in the other, the article 
 and preposition hoth : 
 
 lo ho di belli giojcUi. Boc. T). | I have some beautiful jewels. 
 
 Fattocoglier de' pm be'' frutli, e </<?' 
 piii 6e'/?ori, clie v' erano", &c. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Havirif^ caused to be gathered some 
 of tlie liiiest fruits and some of tlie 
 finest flowers that were there. 
 
 In both instances we here see the preposition, with or without 
 the article, used in the sense of our word some. In the first of 
 these it was optional with the Vv'riter to use the article or not, 
 according to the foregoing example di buoni libri, or, dei 
 buoni libri; and it might_, with propriety, have been, lo ho 
 dei or de' belli giojelli, as well as, lo ho di belli giojelli. 
 But, in tlie latter instance the article vras indispensable ; 
 because, the fruits and fiowers are particularized, as being 
 those which were in a place that Boccaccio was writing about ; 
 and the two languages are alike, both here requiring the definite 
 article : de"* jpiit be" frutti, &c che v crano, some of the finest 
 fruits, &c. that were there. 
 
 There are cases, as relates to indefinite number, in which 
 we, in English, should not use the some at all, and yet in 
 Italian, as in French, the sense of that word would be expressed. 
 This happens,, generally, after verbs signifying a making, caus- 
 ing, or giving rise to in some way: as. 
 
 La curiosita ha sovente prodotto de' I Curiosity has often produced sad 
 tristi cffvtti, I effects. 
 
 Here we should not say, as they do in Italian, curiosity has 
 often produced some sad effects. Yet, we might say, your 
 curiosity has produced sad effecis, or, your curiosity has pro- 
 duced some sad effects. And observe, that, in our language, 
 this is not a mere variety of expression without any difierence 
 
 i2 
 
172 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 in sense; for, the some does, by implication, though not 
 expressly, particularize the effects; vhile the omiflsion of it 
 leaves the effects to be understood in a sense perfectly general 
 and indefinite. In using the some, here, we do mean to allude 
 to Sonne particular effects, although the very effects be not 
 actually pointed out; but not so when the some h omitted; 
 for, there not only are no particular effects expressed, but 
 none are even implied. Your curiosity has produced sad 
 effects : in this there is nothing either to express, or to leave 
 to be understood, that we allude to any particular effects; but, 
 •when we sny, your curiosity has produced some sad effects; 
 in this case, though we do not express, or actually point out, 
 what or Ahich the effects are, we do mean it to be understood, 
 by implication, that there are particular effects to which we 
 allude. So, in our example, curiosity has often produced sad 
 effects, not only are the words general and indefinite as to the 
 effects, but the idea is so also, and clearly so, for the often 
 here shows that we mean effects at no particular time. Leave 
 out the often, and say, curiosity has produced some sad effects: 
 here the sense is, clearly, exactly similar to that which we 
 should intend in the example, your curiosity has produced S07ne 
 sad effects. This, then, is the difference between the two lan- 
 guages in such cases, that, while we can, by using or not using 
 tVie some, make this nice distinction in our meaning, the Italians 
 cannot do so, but they must use both the preposition and the 
 article before the noun, whether they mean to express the sense 
 of our word some, or not. 
 
 In the syntax of adjectives I shall again have to notice the 
 manner of translating our word some ; and, also, how our word 
 any is expressed by the Italians. And then, too, there will 
 have to be noticed some other words expressive of quantity or 
 number indefinitely. This would not properly come under the 
 hea.d of Articles ; therefore see Paragraph 179. 
 
 100. Before quitting this definite article, I must once more 
 notice a manner of using prepositions before nouns, omitting 
 the article ; before such nouns, T mean, as generally have the 
 article when the thing, or whole kind of the thing, is spoken of 
 in 2l general sense. Under Paragraph 192 I have noticed how 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 173 
 
 the names of countries, &c., when used adjectively, or as 
 something by which to characterize or distinguish something 
 else, may be used with the preposition di, the article being 
 omitted. And, here, I have again to notice the same sort of 
 thing, as relates to various other sorts of nouns. Under Para- 
 graph 95 I have given the examples of, la terra, the earth, 
 il mare, the sea, il vento, the wind, il fuoco, fire, Vacqua, 
 water, Voro, gold, Vargcnto, silver, Vorzo, barley; wherein we 
 see that the article must be used in Italian, but not in English, 
 excepting with the nouns earth, sea, and wind, which require 
 the article in both languages. Let us take some examples of 
 these nouns with the article omitted. 
 
 tin verme di terra, 
 
 un porto di mare, 
 
 un pesce di mare, 
 
 un mulino da vento, or, a vento, 
 
 una paletta da fuoco, 
 
 ■nn mulino rf' acqua, or, a acquu, 
 
 un anello d' oro, 
 
 una coppa d' oro, 
 
 Tina miniera d'argento, 
 
 un cucchiajo d'argetito, 
 
 pan d' orzo, 
 
 acqua d'orzo, 
 
 an earth-worm. 
 a sea-port, 
 a sea-tish. 
 a wind-miil. 
 a fire-shovel, 
 a water mill, 
 a gold-ring. 
 a gold-cup. 
 a silver-mine, 
 a silver-spoon, 
 barlej'- bread, 
 barley-water. 
 
 It is very important to observe the use of such phrases : they 
 a^e sure to puzzle us, if we do not know the rule according 
 to which the article is here omitted. For, whv should we not 
 say, un verme della terra, un pesce del mare, &c., and so em- 
 ploy the article as well as the preposition, since, when we are 
 speaking of the earth, the sea, Jire, water, &c,, in a general 
 sense, we must say, in Italian, la terra, il mare, il fuoco, 
 Z'acqua, &c.? It is easy to perceive, that ail these nouns, given 
 in the above examples, namely, terra, mare, fuoco, acqua^ oro, 
 argento, orzo, are all here used in an adjective sense, and 
 that they serve merely to characterize, or merely to express 
 some peculiarity of the kind, or nature, of the things having 
 the different names,of verme, porto, pesce, paletta, mulino, 
 anello, coppa, miniera, cucchiajo, pane, acqua. The rule, 
 then, is, that, when the one noun is used merely in an adjective 
 sense in relation to the other noun, as in the above examples, 
 the preposition alone is to be employed ; but, if it be not used 
 
174 SYNTAX [Chap, 
 
 in that sense mcrthjy tljcn we must employ tlie article as well 
 as tlie prrjjosition. We ought not to say, ilfrcmito di marCf 
 the rap;ii)g of die sea; alia ripa Di acqua, at the water's side ; 
 but, il Jrcmilo i^kl ynarCy alia ripa dy.li' acqua ; because, 
 the nouns mare and acqua are not used here adjectively in 
 relation to ilie other nouns frimito and r^^a. Again, we 
 should say : il marmo I una pietra solida, marble is a solid 
 stone ; la soUditu di:l marmo, the solidity of marble ; here we 
 should u>>e the aiticle in both instances, for the reason before 
 given; yet, we should not say, U7ia statva del marmo, a 
 §tatue of marble, but, una atatua di marmo ; that is, using 
 the noun viarmo adjectively, a marble statue. 
 
 101. When two or more nouns come iumiediately together 
 in a sentence, and the verb which precedes or follows the nouns 
 relates to both or all of them, a^d tlie first noun has the article 
 before it ; in such case, the article must be repeated before 
 each of the nouns : as, 
 
 The wine, bread, oil, and sugar, I II vino, il pane, V olio, e lo suc- 
 which .... I cheroy clie .... 
 
 I bave bonplit some nine, bread, I lo ho cnmprato rff/ii7io,6'c/ /yanf, 
 oil, auJ sugar, I dcW olio, e ddlo ziicchero. 
 
 Also, whenever, in English, there are two or more nouns, and 
 they have a covjunctioii between them, and they are distin- 
 guished by the first noun having the article before it, we must, 
 in Italian, repeat the article before each noun: as, 
 
 The favours AND kindnesses that I f/avori F. le yrazie chc ho lice- 
 
 I have received from you, 1 vuti da voi. 
 
 Which have yoa seen, Ike man or i Quale avete veduto, /' M<lmo o la 
 nomnu ? | donna * 
 
 I ha^ seen neither the man nor I Non ho veduto ne I' u6mo ne la 
 
 iroman, ' I donna. 
 
 We might here, in our language, repeat the ihe and the some, 
 and say, the wine, and the bread, &c., some wine and some 
 bread, &c., the favours and the kindnesses, &c., the man 
 or the woman 1 neither the man nor the woman-, but, while 
 this is, in a great measure, a matter of choice with us, it is 
 a general rule v.ith the Italians, that, in such cases, the article 
 must be repeated. 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 175 
 
 When there is more than one adjective preceding a noun, 
 and the adjectives both or all relate to the same noun, no 
 article is required before the second adjective in the Italian, 
 any more than in our own language : as, 
 
 Lc numcrose e belle province I The numerous and beautiful pro- 
 
 dell' Italia, I vjiices of Italy, 
 
 102. Before the words morninrj y evening, day, night, and 
 the names of the different days of the week, we frequently 
 find the definite article employed alone in Italian, where, in 
 our language, we should require a preposition, or a preposition 
 along with the article: as, 
 
 Monta a cavallo /a jnaff/nc, l He rides on horseback in the 
 
 I viornivg. 
 
 Vo all' 6pera la sera, | I go to the opera in the evening. 
 
 Vegliano la nolle, e d6rmono 27 I Tliey sit up «i nf^rAi and sleep ire 
 
 giorno, I the daij. 
 
 Va in chiesa la Domcniea, \ He goes to church of a Sunday. 
 
 Vn giornalc che comparisce il I A newspaper that comes out o« a 
 Lunedi, I Monday. 
 
 In speaking of the twenty-four hours of the day, the Italians 
 call twelve o'clock mezzo giorno (mid-day), and one o'clock 
 un' or a (one hour) ; and, with the other hours, they use the 
 definite article, and say, le due, le tre, le quattro, le cinqUe, 
 le sei, le sette, le otto, le nove, le died, V undid ; two o'clock, 
 three o'clock, &c.,or, literall}^, the two, the three, cLnd so forth. 
 
 103. The definite article will again have to be mentioned, 
 as respects the employment of it in lieu of the j:)ossessive prO" 
 Qioun, and the placing of it before the infinitives of verbs. 
 See Paragraphs 146 and 244. 
 
 Of the Indefnite Article. 
 
 104. As the definite article is, according to what we have 
 seen, much more frequently brought into use in Italian than 
 it is in English, so this indefinite article is of much less 
 frequent use with the Italians than it is Vvith us. By referring 
 to the etymology of articles. Paragraph 18, it will be seen 
 that the English indefinite a or an is expressed, in Italian, by 
 the word uno, v^hich changes to un, una, un\ We have 
 already seen, that uno, un, una, or uri , are employed to 
 
1'^ SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 express two very tliflerent ideas: that, in the one case, they 
 JTiay all be articles, and, in the other, all numerical adjectives. 
 Let us take some examples of the uno, un, una, un\ as em- 
 ployed in both ways. 
 
 I.fi donna hn uno sp^rrhio, 
 
 £lln non lin die uno tp^cchio, 
 
 V era un urtmo, 
 
 Non v' era clu- fin iiAmo, 
 
 V' ^ una donna nell.i ca«a, 
 
 Vna delle donne c rella casa, 
 
 lo vidi un' accadtmin, 
 
 Ho vediito rm' accademia almrio, 
 
 The ln<!y has a lonkinr-(;la«s. 
 She has but one looking-glass. 
 There w n« n man. 
 There was hut one man. 
 There is « lady in the hoose. 
 One of the ladies in in the house. 
 I .<iaw oM academy. 
 I have seen one academy, at least. 
 
 Here we see that our article a or an, and our numerical 
 adjective one, are both expressed, in Italian, by one or other 
 of the four words, ?f7zo, un, una, un ; and that one word, in 
 fact, though subject to four varieties of form in spelling, serves 
 both for the article and the adjective. 
 
 105. It is an important thing, as regards this indefinite 
 article, to know to what extent the use of it may be dispensed 
 with in Italian. In many cases it may be left out, where we 
 could not omit it, in English, and this omission occurs in con- 
 versation, as well as in prose-writing and poetry ; though, to 
 be sure, the poets do here, as in every other instance, take the 
 greatest liberties. The Italians say, for example, 
 
 lo non ho mai coBosciiito uomo 
 pid gentroso, 
 
 Veramente ella i btlla donna, 
 
 I have never known a man more 
 generous. 
 
 Truly she is a handsome lady. 
 
 These, literally translated, are, I have never known ma7i more 
 generous, truly she is handsome lady. Our ear tells us 
 that, in the first of these, the article might be omitted in our 
 language ; but the reason of this is, that, in that example, we 
 should, in omitting the article, mean the word any,^ny man, 
 to be understood, and not tiie article «; and we may, in our 
 language, and we frequently do, use such phrases as this. But, 
 in the second example, it would not do for us to omit the 
 article, and say, she is handsome lady ; for,^we mean a, and 
 not any handsome lady. The article is, in Italian, generally 
 omitted, when there is an adjective, or some word expres- 
 sive of an adjective meaning, attached to the noun ; as is the 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 177 
 
 case with the examples uonio generoso and bella donna, 
 and as in the following examples : 
 
 Vmana cosa e aver compassione degli | It is a humane thing to Lave compas 
 alBitti, &c. Boc. 1). I sipn for the aHlicted. 
 
 Tt mp est OS o furor non fu mai 1* ira, 
 
 lu magndninio petto, &c. 
 
 GuA. p. F. 
 
 Anger never was a tempestuous rage 
 iu a magnanimous breast. 
 
 Maraviglidsa cosa parve a tutH. j It appeared a surprising thing to 
 
 Boc. D. I all. 
 
 Giungemmo iu prato di fresca verdura. J We arrired ia a meadow of fresh 
 
 Dan. Ix. i verdure. 
 
 Spesso del cor segno fallace e 1' opra. I The deed is often a false sign of the 
 
 Gh, V. P. F. I heart, 
 
 Non gia de' boschi abilatrice senibra. I Not indeed of the woods does she seem 
 
 Tas. G. L. I an inhabitant. 
 
 Che con imptira man toccar non lice 
 Cosa sacra agli dei. 
 
 GuA. p. F. 
 
 For with an impure hand it is not 
 lawful to touch a thing sacred to 
 the gods. 
 
 But, it does not always require that there should be something 
 of an adjective kind for the article to be omitted. For, the 
 poets do pretty nearly what they like as to the use or omission 
 of the indefinite article. 
 
 Sgorga dal fianco dell' alpestremasso I From the side of the wild rock flows 
 Fon<e, che&c. Cas. A. P. I a/ountaiw, which, &c. 
 
 E siccome sae/<a, che nel segno I And like an arrow that strikes in the 
 
 Percuote, &c. Tas. A. 1 mark. 
 
 Dicovi ch' ^ Zerbin, di re figliuolo. I I tell you that it is Zerbin, the son. of 
 
 Ari. O. F. I a king. 
 
 In these two examples there is no word at all of an adjective 
 meaning having relation to the nouns Jonte, saetta, re ; and yet 
 the article is omitted. The omission of the indefinite article, 
 in cases where it would, strictly speaking, be required, is by 
 no means uncommon in our language: I have given the fore- 
 going examples just to show that the Italians enjoy this license 
 to a much greater extent than we do. To point out e.ery 
 instance of difference, in respect to this matter, between the 
 two languages, would be an almost endless work. It is, after 
 all, much more a matter of taste than any thing else. I have 
 thought it useful, however, to give a few examples here, as a 
 
 . 1 5 
 
J78 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Cliap. 
 
 hint to the learner of what he may expect to meet with in 
 Italian writing. 
 
 lOG. In our language, we employ the indefinite article, 
 a or an, before a noun in the singular number, when the verb 
 io be is used as applicable to the noun, and the noun is used 
 to represent the profession, rank, state, country, or any 
 distinctive mark of a person 3 but, in Italian, the article is, in 
 such cases, omitted : as, \ 
 
 He is n poet, 
 'J'his raiin is a physician, 
 He is a fjmtlemun, 
 S!ic was a pniims, 
 I arn an Kn'jlishynan, 
 Yuu are an Jiuliun, 
 
 Erjli 6 poila. 
 Quest' uomo i:niidico. 
 Trli i; gentilu6mn. 
 Ella ixiprivrijcxaa. 
 Io hono Iiii/lcsf. 
 Voi siete Italidno. 
 
 And we must not say, cgli c un poeta, quest' uomo e un medico, 
 &c. But, when there is any thing having relation adjectively 
 to the noun, then the article is, almost always, expressed in 
 Italian : as, 
 
 wn poeta di grand' ingenio, 
 
 iin )nef.'(fo»csperto, 
 
 un penlihio.no til gran condizione, 
 
 Tin luUiano dotlo, 
 
 a poet of great ^'enias. 
 a ."-kilfiil physician, 
 a sentlenian ofhii(h estate, 
 a learned Italian. 
 
 Again, whenever there comes, immediately after the noun, 
 another noun, or another noun and an adjective, the second 
 noun or noun and adjective being employed to characterize, or 
 distinguish in some way, the person represented by the noun 
 coming before ; then the article, which must be employed in 
 our language, is omitted in the Italian: as, 
 
 Tassn, a poet of Italy, 
 Boccaccio, a witty writer, 
 Kpaminnadas, a famous general, 
 Henry, a son of Tiiomas, 
 
 Tasso, preta d' Italia, 
 lioccaccio, scrittor spiritoso. 
 Jilpamiiionda, famoso ^cnerale. 
 Eitrico, tiglio di Tomaso. 
 
 When, however, the noun is in any other case than that of the 
 nominativn, the article must be employed in Italian, as well 
 as in English : as. 
 
 The works of « poet, 
 
 1 spoV.e to an Italian pliyfician, 
 
 We saw a gentleman, 
 
 Tlie book was given to me by an 
 
 Englishman, 
 
 Le opere d' un poeta. 
 Jo parlai ad un ni6dicoItaliano. 
 Noi vedetnmo un trentihiomo. 
 II libro mi lu dato da wi Inglcsc. 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 179 
 
 It may be asked, here, wliy the article must be employed in 
 Italian, while, in the example in Paragraph 105, namely> 
 io non lio mai conosciiito u6 mo piu. generoso. we see the article 
 may be omitted, although the noun uomo is placed iu the 
 objective case by the verb conuscerc, to know. The reason 
 is this, that, in that example, there is no particular man even 
 supposed, while, in the foregoing four examples, it is clear that 
 Iwe have in our eye some particular poet^ Italian physiciany 
 fjentleman, JEnglishman. For, while it is not the business of the 
 indefinite article absolutely to particularize, as the definitive 
 article does; yet, like the word some, as mentioned under 
 Paragraph 98, it may imply that we are alluding to a 
 particular person, though it do not express w^ho the person is. 
 But the truth is, after all, that principle is not all-prevailing 
 as respects the manner of using or omitting this indefinite 
 article : there can be hardly any satisfactory reason given 
 why it is not customary to say, Boccaccio, uno scrittor spiritoso, 
 as well as, io parlo ad un medico Italiano. In both cases, we 
 are alluding to a particular person ; and the grammar of the 
 whole of the two phrases is perfectly similar, excepting that, 
 in one case the noun is in the nominative, and, in the other, 
 the noun is not so. i 
 
 107. We, in English, employ the indefinite article before the 
 words hundred and thousand; but the Italians do not: as, 
 
 A hundred crowns, 1 Cfttito scudi. 
 
 A thousand cio'Xns, I MiWe scudi. 
 
 Before the w'ords ceiito and mille the article can never be used. 
 In En^iish, the words hundred and thousand are, properly, 
 nouns of midtitude ,- but in Italian they are adjectives. The 
 y^!0\d. centinujo, which means a hundred, and migliajo, W'hich 
 means a thousand, take the article, as also does the word 
 millione, which means a million-, but after these, Avhich are, 
 like the English hundred and thousand, nouns of multitude, 
 there requires the preposition di, of, in Italian, which we, in 
 this instance, seldom employ : as, 
 
 A hundred (or a hundred of) ciown?, 
 A thousand (or a thousand of ) crowns, 
 A mUlion (of a million of] croAiis, 
 
 Uncentin/ijo di scudi. 
 Un m'hjliajiydi sciuii. 
 Un milliOne. di scudi. 
 
180 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 108. In lliose cases wljere we use the article a or an before 
 a noun, iiumedialely after the word whal^ in the way of eic/a- 
 matiOHy tlie article must be omitted in Italian: as, 
 
 Whtt a man .' 
 
 What a horsf is this I 
 
 ^\hat an uurx/jtitrd thing is this I 
 
 Che uimo t 
 
 Chf cavallo ^quesfo' 
 
 Clic cusa improviiia c quetta ! 
 
 109. Our indefinite article is frequently used before a 
 noun after the words so and such. The Italians use the 
 article too in this way ; but the situation of it in the sentence 
 is not the same as it would be in English, the article, in such 
 cases, always standing immediately before the words which 
 represent our so or such ; as, iin tal uomo, such a man ; un tal 
 eflfetto, such an effect ; un tanto piacere, so great a pleasure ; 
 un cos} grand' uomo, so great a man. We may, however, give 
 such phrases another turn, and then the order of the words 
 would be the same in both languages; as, u?i uomo cos) grande, 
 a man so great, &c. Italian writers frequently omit the article 
 altogether in phrases similar to these. See the following 
 examples : 
 
 Se io avessi cosl bella cotta come I If I had such a handsome gown as 
 ella, &c. Nov. Ant. 1 she. 
 
 Siamaladetto chi fnMegge pose, &c. i Cursed be he who imposed such a 
 
 Aiu. O. F. j law. 
 
 Che giova a me aver si caio ainante ? i What avails it to me to have so dear a 
 
 Gii.\. P. F. I lover? 
 
 110. Before nouns expressive of weight, measure, or tale, 
 we, in English, use either the definite or the indefinite article; 
 but here the Italians use the definite article only: as. 
 
 Grapes are sold at two shillings L' uva si vende a dae scellini la 
 
 the {or a) pound, | hbbra. 
 
 He sells wheat at ten shillings (Ae { Eeli vende i! grano a dieci scel- 
 
 [^OX a) bushel, ' \\\\'\ lo slajo. 
 
 We bsy cloth at four crowns the j Compriamo il panno a qaattro 
 (or u) yord, I scudi il braccio. 
 
 111. It must be evident that it has not been without reason 
 that I have occupied so much room in speaking of this part 
 of speech, the article. Articles are but little words, and they 
 are few io number. But, the employment of them occurs 
 
XVI.] OF ARTICLES. 181 
 
 constantly ; and there is, as I think I have pretty well shown, 
 a great difference between the manner of using them in our 
 language, and that in which they are used in the Italian ; and 
 this, more particularly, as respects the definite article. I 
 have endeavoured to let nothing pass unnoticed, as far as 
 •principle was concerned ; and I have, at the same time, 
 noticed the main differences between the English and the 
 Italian which consist merely in practice. 
 
183 SYNTAX . ' [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Syxtax of Nouns, 
 
 » 
 
 112. As to tliis part of Italian grammar, as a separate part, 
 there will not be much to command the student's attention. 
 The main thin^ for him to attend to here, will be the agree- 
 ment between the article and the noun; and this, though 
 strictly belonging to Syntax, I have, in order to make the 
 matter clear as I went on, been obliged to explain in the 
 Etymology of Nouns. The article must always agree with 
 the noun in gender and number-, and, besides, nouns do, 
 according to their spelling, require the article to be spelled 
 sometimes in one way and sometimes in another way. It 
 would be quite needless to go fully into all these matters agarin 
 here ; therefore, see what has already been said under Para- 
 graph 29. 
 
 113. In English, we commonly put an s, with an apostrophe 
 over it, at the end of a noun in the possessive case, instead 
 of using the preposition of; and, when the noun is in the 
 plural number, we put the apostrophe alone : as, Richard's 
 hat, the horse's bridle, the woman s gown, the riders horses ; 
 instead of, the hat of Richard, the bridle of the horse, the 
 gown of the woman, the horses of the riders. Now, in 
 Italian, the preposition must, in such cases, always be em- 
 ployed, as it is in the four latter of these phrases, in English. 
 The Italians have but the one mode of expressing the posses- 
 sive case with the noun: it must always be, il cappello di 
 Ricciardo, the hat of PJchard, la briglia del cavullo, the 
 bridle o/ the horse, la gunn'a della donna, the gown of the 
 woman^ i cavulli dei cavalcatorij the horses o/ the riders; 
 
XVII.] OP NOL^s. 183 
 
 and so forth. I am here speaking, observe, of what relates 
 merely to the use of the noun itself ; for, in eases where the 
 possessive pronoun is employed, it is quite another matter.- 
 In speaking of Richard^ for example, we say, his hat, as well 
 as, Richard's hat, or, the hat of Richard ; and the Italians 
 use the possessive pronoun in just the same way. For the 
 syntax of the possessive pronoun, see Paragraph 129. To 
 the cases I mean, as I have before said, to devote a separate . 
 chapter: see Paragraph 277. I have here spoken of the 
 possessive case, merely for the sake of mentioning this dif- 
 ference b'etween the two languages. There is one thing 
 more, as relates to the noun in the possessive case, an 
 idiom that I should notice here ; and it is this, . that the 
 Italians sometimes omit the di after the word casa, house, 
 when the noun casa comes immediately before some noun 
 representing the person to whom the Jioiise belongs : Casa 
 White, Casa Brown; instead of, Casa di IVhite, Casa di 
 Brown, the house, of White, the house of Brown. The fol- 
 lowing are examples : 
 
 Ell' lia mandato la fante a casa la 1 She has sent her servant to the house 
 madre. Mac. C. I of her mother. 
 
 Ella, sua arnica, in casa il medico 1 She, his friend, had brought him into 
 menato I' avea. Boc. D. 1 the house of the doctor. 
 
 That is, a casa la madre, instead of, a casa della madre ; in 
 casa il medico, instead of, in casa del medico. 
 
 1 14. One of the great advantages that our language has, 
 compared with others, consists in its power of making 
 those compound nouns which I had occasion to notice in the 
 Syntax of Articles, under Paragraph 99. We have great 
 numbers of such nouns in our language, and we form them of 
 two nouns, either both joined in one, or having a hyphen be- 
 tween them : as, schoolmaster, wherein we may join tu-o nouns 
 together without the hyphen, and hay-loft^ wherein the hyphen 
 is required. There is no such thing as this iu the Italian 
 language. When we look in the Dictionary for these compound 
 nouns of ours, we find them translated, in Italian, by a single 
 noun and an adjective, or, by two separate nouns, with a pre- 
 
184 
 
 STNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 position to express the relation of the one to the other. The 
 following are some examples, in addition to those given in 
 Paragraph 99. 
 
 a waterman, 
 a water-fall, 
 a nater-/onl, 
 a STtordsmarty 
 a nint-merchant, 
 a tchoolmaster, 
 a nind-mill, 
 a nater-pot, 
 a nine-Jlniik, 
 a snuff-boT, 
 a nine-ctUar. 
 
 on barcajuolo. 
 una caicdt*. 
 un ucciHo acqiidtico. 
 un n^mo di spada. 
 un mfrcunfr <fi oino. 
 un mai^tro di scuola. 
 un mnlinn a lento. 
 an caso da arry>ia. 
 un/Jasfo da r;;io. 
 una5ra(o/a da tubdcco. 
 ana rantfna da vino. 
 
 There will, as I have before observed, be some explanation 
 required as relates to the use of the different prepositions rfe, a, 
 and c?a, in cases similar to the above. But this is a matter 
 belonging to the Syntax of Prepositions ; therefore see Para- 
 graph 307. 
 
 115. There are in the Italian, as in our language, some few 
 nouns, which are called nouns of multitude : as, il popolo, 
 the people, U7ia gente^ a people or nation, il popoMzzo^ the 
 mob, la canaglia, the low or vulgar, la plebe, the common 
 people, 2i7ia banda^ a band, una compagn'ia, a company ; and 
 such-like. These are called nou7is of multitude^ because, 
 though employed in the singular number, they signify a multi- 
 tude, or a greater number than one, of the persons or things to 
 which they relate, in a collective sense. 
 
XVIII.] or PRONOUNS. 185 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Syntax of Pronouns. 
 
 116. In the Etymology of this part of speech, (see Para- 
 graph 35,) I have divided the pronouns into six classes ; 
 calling them personal, possessive, relative, demonstrative, 
 interrogative, and indeterminate. And now, having to con- 
 sider the syntax of each of these classes, we will take them 
 in the same order as that in which they stand under the head 
 of Etymology. 
 
 Of Personal Pronouns. 
 
 117. One of the most striking differences between the Italian 
 language and our own, consists in the use or omission, at 
 choice, of the personal pronoun. When a personal pronoun 
 is the nominative of a verb, it is not always necessary, in 
 Italian, as it is in English, to express the pronoun at all. It 
 may, generally speaking, be either used or omitted, at the 
 option of the writer or speaker. In the three examples of the 
 conjugations of regular verbs, and in the conjugations of the 
 verbs avere and essere, I have, (see Paragraph 63,) through- 
 out all the modes and times, employed the personal pronouns, 
 in order that the learner, in getting the conjugations of each 
 verb by heart, might, at the same time, get these pronouns 
 fixed in his memory. But, though the Italians say, io amo, 
 / love, tu ami, thou lovest, egli or ella ama, he or she loves, 
 noi amiamo, we love, voi amate, you love, eglino or elleno 
 amano, they love ; and so on, throughout every mode and 
 time of all verbs ; yet, if they please, they may omit the pro- 
 noun ; they may say, amo, ami, ama, amidmo, amate. 
 
ISC 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 /imano, &:c.. ; in doing which the sense of the prououn would 
 be as inucli understood by them, as if the pronoun itself were 
 expressed. It is very necessary that we, in English, should 
 never omit the pronoun ; for the variety in termination through- 
 out the modes and times of our verbs is so little, that, if 
 the j>ronoun v.ere omitted, we should not always under- 
 stand whether the verb were in the Jirsty the sccondy or the 
 third person, or whether it were in the simjular or the plural 
 number. The use of the pronoun is absolutely necessary, in our 
 language, to distinguish tiie person and the number ,- and it is 
 not so necessary, in Italian, on account of the many changes in 
 termination that the Italian verbs undergo. 
 
 118. The most important matter to be attended to, as regards 
 these pronouns, is the Case, I shall take the three persons ; 
 first, in the singular, and then in the plural number , and 
 compare them with the English, and endeavour to show how 
 these pronouns are employed in Italian, going through all the 
 Cases in the same order as that in wliich they were placed 
 under the head of Etymology. — In speaking of the cases here, 
 I do not intend to show when the pronouns ought to be in one 
 Case and when in another. That is a matter of what is called 
 government, which, as I have before observed, I think it best 
 to treat of in a separate chapter ; for which see Paragraph 
 211 . Here we shall have only to see how the pronoun has to 
 be spelled according to the Case in which it is, and not un- 
 der what circumstances it ought to be in any one or other 
 Case. 
 
 Singular Number. 
 
 Nominative Case; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons: io, I, fu, 
 thou, egli, he, ella, she. — In the nominative case the mat- 
 ter is equally simple in both languages. There is nothing here 
 to puzzle us, after we have once got the pronouns by heart. 
 Examples : 
 
 Jo sono 1' uonio che . 
 Th sci r uumo che . 
 Egli e 1' u6mo Che . 
 EUa e la donoa che , 
 
 / am the man wlio . . . 
 Thvu art the man who 
 He is the man who . . 
 Slie is the woman who , 
 
XVIII.] oi' piioxouNS. 187" 
 
 There is one idiom belonging to these personal pronouns in 
 the nominative Case, that it will be necessary to notice here. 
 In English, we constantly make use of tlie verb to be imper- 
 sonally, that is, with the word it, when we employ the pronoun 
 in the nominative, in order to identity or distinguish a person or 
 thing. We say, for example, it is I who say, it is thou who 
 say est, and so forth. Now, the Italians cannot use the verb 
 to be, in such instances, impersonally ; but they make the 
 verb accord with the person to which it relates : as, 
 
 It is I who say, 
 It is thou who sayest, 
 It is he who says, 
 It is she who says. 
 It is lie who say, 
 It is you who say, 
 It is they who say. 
 
 Sono io che dico. 
 
 Sei tu che dici. 
 
 £ eyli che dice. 
 
 Eella che dice. 
 
 Siuino noi che diciamo. 
 
 Sicte voi che dite. 
 
 Sono egliKo, or elleno che dicono. 
 
 Here, the Italian verb to be is placed before the pronoun ; and 
 the phrases literally translated, are, / am I who say, tJwu art 
 thou who sayest, he is he who says, &c. It is the same as 
 this throughout all the modes and times of the verb : io fui 
 che dissi, it v.as I who said, io saro che diro, it will be I who 
 will say, &c. I have here given examples of the plural number, 
 along with the singular, in order not to have to mention this 
 matter again, when we come to the pronouns in the plural 
 number. One notice of it will be sufficient. 
 
 Possessive Case ; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons : di me, of me, 
 di te, of thee, di lui, of him, di lei, of her. — In the possessive 
 Case these pronouns are as easy a matter as they are in the 
 nominative : 
 
 Ta parli di jji", 
 Io parlorfi te, 
 E<;li parJa di luiy^ 
 Ella parla di lei, 
 
 Then speakest of me. 
 I speak. ()/ thee. 
 He speaks of hint. 
 She speaks of her. 
 
 Thus it must always be, when the preposition di, of, which 
 is the sign of the possessive Case, comes immediately before 
 the pronouns me, thee, him, her, in Italian. So they say, 
 questo e il capptllo di 3IE, this is the hat of 7ne ; questo e il 
 cavdllo DI TE, this is the horse of thee ; questi sono i cant di 
 Lui, these are the dogs of him ; questi so?io i libri di lei. 
 
188 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 these are the books of her. Not that this sort of phrases is, in 
 Italian, any more than in English, the only one, by wliich the 
 possession of a thing may be attributed ; for we may say in 
 Italian, as in English, this is inij hat, this is his hat, &c.; but 
 this is a matter that belongs to the possessive proiwuus, pro- 
 perly so called, of which we shall see in Paragraph 129. 
 
 Dative Case; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons: a me or mi, to 
 me, a te or ti, to thee, a lui or [jli, to him, a lei or le, to 
 her. — The nominative and possessive Cases are, as we have 
 seen, plain enough ; but this Case is quite another thing, and 
 some attention is necessary to understand it well. In the 
 nominative, we have seen that / is represented by io, thou 
 by tu, he by egli, she by ella ; then, again, in the possessive, 
 of me is represented by di me, of thee by di te, of him by di 
 lui, of her by di lei. In those two Cases, there is but the one 
 word in each person, to answer to the one word in English, 
 But here, in the dative, we see two different words answering 
 for each single word of ours : for our me, me and mi, for our 
 thee, te and ti, for our hi77i, lui and gli, and for our her, Zeiand 
 le. Now, to explain the use of these pronouns in the dative 
 Case, observe that, whenever the preposition a, to, which is 
 the sign of the dative Case, is made use of, then we must era- 
 ploy me, te, lui, lei ; and when we want to express the dative 
 without using the preposition, then we must employ 77U, ti, gli, 
 le. Examples: 
 
 Egli dd il cappello o me, 
 Io do il cappello a te, 
 Egli da il cavallo a lui, 
 Ella da il libro a lei. 
 
 He gives the hat to me. 
 I give the bat to thee. 
 He gives the horse to him. 
 She gives the book to her. 
 
 In these examples, the English and the Italian are similar ; the 
 preposition a, to, is employed in both languages. Now, if we 
 leave out the preposition in such phrases, in English, we still 
 preserve the sa?ne pronouns, namely, me, thee, him, her. But, 
 not so in Italian: if, in Italian, the preposition be omitted, 
 then there must be altogether different words to express our 
 me, thee, him, her. Examples : 
 
XVIII.] OF PRONOUNS. 189 
 
 Egli mi dAil capp^llo, 
 lo ti do il cappello, 
 E^li yli da il cavillo, 
 Ella le da il libro, 
 
 He gives me the hat. 
 I give thee the hat. 
 He gives liivi the horse. 
 She gives her the book- 
 
 Here, in these latter examples, we see that the situation of the 
 pronoun in the sentence is very different from what it is in 
 English. We now come to the fourth, namely, the objective 
 Case. 
 
 Objective Case ; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons : me or mi, me ; 
 (e or ti, thee ; lui or il or lo, him ; lei or la^ her. — It will be 
 observed, here, that some of these pronouns are the same words 
 as those which are used as articles ; namely, /o, il, and la. I 
 need only say, that, though they are the same words as the ar- 
 ticles, as regards their spelling, they are, here, quite different in 
 their meaning : in the one case, the lo^ il, and la, all represent 
 our word the • but here, in their capacity of pronouns, they 
 mean the same as our him and her. And, in order not to have 
 to mention this same thing again, I beg the reader to observe 
 that it is thus, also, with other pronouns that we shall presently- 
 come to, as, also, with some others that we have already had to 
 notice, namely, gli, le, and li ; which, like lo, il, and la, have 
 all the double capacity of article and pronoun. — In the dative 
 Case we have seen that there are, in Italian, two pronouns 
 answering to each one of ours. Here, in the objective, it is 
 the same again j and, to represent our pronoun hirrij in the 
 objective, we see that there are no less than three different 
 words in the Italian. Examples : 
 
 Egli ama me, 
 
 or 
 Egli mi ama, 
 
 } 
 
 He loves me. 
 
 lo arao te, 
 
 or 
 lo ti amo, 
 
 } 
 
 I love thee. 
 
 lo vidi lui. 
 
 "J 
 
 
 or 
 lo il yidi, 
 
 } 
 
 I saw Aim; 
 
 lo/osfascio, 
 
 1 
 
 1 unbind him. 
 
 lo vidi lei. 
 
 ■) 
 
 
 or 
 lo la Yidi, 
 
 } 
 
 I saw her. 
 

 Dan. In. 
 
 lo il vidi jeri. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 lo lo servirb fermanv'nle. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 190 SYNTAX [Cliap, 
 
 Here wc sec, that mi has the same meaning as me, ti thf; same 
 as te, la the same as lei ; and then there are two words having 
 the same meaning, as ltd, namely, il and lo. The use of il or 
 loj here, is not a matter of indifference; and, tlierefore, it will 
 retjuire some explanation. There has been a good deal of 
 dispute amongst grammarians as regards this matter. It has 
 been said, that, whenever the pronoun Aim, in Italian, comes 
 before the verb of wjiich it is the object, then we must use il. 
 J3ut this is not the case. Certain it is that il, if used at all, 
 ought to come before the verb ; but we may also use lo, placing 
 that pronoun in the same situation. Examples : 
 
 Jif(i tu il consent!, Amore. l Nor dost thou permit it, Love. 
 
 Tas. G. L. I 
 
 ....pensando clieiZfessi per vnijlia, &c. I Thinking that I did ?< through incli- 
 
 I natioa. 
 
 I I saw him yesterday. 
 
 I I will serve Aim steadfastly. 
 
 Here wc see il before the verb, used for it ; il before the verb, 
 used for liim ; and then we see lo before the verb, used for him 
 again ; so that the rule, that we are never to put lo before the 
 vert, is wrong, according to the practice of writers, whatever it 
 may be as regards modern taste. But it is not, as I have before 
 observed, a mere matter of choice, whether to use the il or the 
 lo. In the three examples just given, it was at the option of 
 the writers to use either il or lo in either of the four instances ; 
 but, if there be a verb, which begins with an s, and the s be 
 immediately followed by a consonant, then we must invariably 
 use lo, and not il. This is a matter of eai\ The same, it will 
 be remembered, is the case with il and lo when those two words 
 are used as articles, as mentioned in Paragraph 31. In the 
 example that I^have given, lo lo sfdscio, I unbind him ; here is 
 an illustration of it; an^d here it w^ould not do to say, lo il 
 sfdscio, on account of the sf with which the verb begins. 
 According to this rule are these examples : 
 
 Ella lo sprezza. Sec. Tas. G. L. | She despises kim. 
 
 Chi lo scrixse ? &c. Dan. In. | Who wrote it » 
 
 Ablative Case; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons: dame,{roin me, 
 da te, from thee, da lui, from him, da lei, from her. Here, as 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 OF PUONOUNS. 
 
 191 
 
 in the nominative -and possessive Cases, the matter is a very 
 simple one. The preposition da, which, as a sign of the ahla- 
 tive Case, means /row?., must always be used with the pronoun 
 in the ablative, and the pronoun, which always requires the 
 preposition before it, never changes its own form. Examples : 
 
 Tu r liai riceviito da me, 
 lo 1' ho riceviito da te, 
 Egli r ha ricevuto dii In'., 
 Ella r ha ricevuto da hi, 
 
 Thou hast received it from me. 
 I have received hfronithee. 
 He has received itj'rom him. 
 She has received it/rom her. 
 
 Plural Number. 
 
 Nominative Case ; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons: noi, we, voi, 
 you, cglino or tlleno, they. — This is as simple as is the nomina- 
 tive in the singular number; only that, the Italians have two 
 words in the third person, to express our word they. In the 
 third person singular, we, like the Italians, have two words in 
 order to distinguish the gender : w^e say he and she, and the 
 Italians say egli and ella. But they go farther in making this 
 distinction than we; and, while we have only the one word 
 they to express the third person plural, they have eglino for the ^ 
 masculine gender, and clleno for the feminine. Examples: 
 
 Noi siaino gli uomini che . 
 Voi siete gli uomini che . . 
 Eglino sono gli u6raiai che 
 Elleno sono le donne che . 
 
 We are the men who . . . 
 You are the men who . ., . 
 They are the men who . . 
 Thejj are the women who 
 
 Possessive Case ; 1st, Id, and 3d persons : di noi, of us," 
 di voi, of you, di loro, of them. — In this case, as in the three 
 next to come, the pronoun loro answers to both the masculine 
 and feminine genders. Examples: 
 
 Voi parlate di noi, 
 
 Noi parliamo di voi, 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno, parlano di loro, 
 
 Yon speak of us. 
 We speak of you. 
 They speak of them. 
 
 So we must say, to repeat the same examples that I gave under 
 the possessive Case in the singular number: questi sono i cappelli 
 di noi, these are the hats of us, qu6sti sono i cavalli di voi, 
 these are the horses of you, questi sono i cani di loro, these are 
 the dogs of them (speaking of men), questi sono i libri di loro, 
 these are the books of them (speaking of luomen). 
 
192 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 Dative Cask ; Ist, 2d, and 3d persons : a not, or ci, or ne^ 
 to us, a vol, or vi, to you, a loro, or loro, to them. We will 
 take the same examples as those given to illustrate the dative 
 singular. » 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno danno i cap- 
 pelli a not, 
 
 Noi (lidmo i capp^Ui a voi, 
 
 £gIino, or Elleno danno i capp611t 
 a lorOf 
 
 They gire the bat> to us. 
 
 We gire the hats to you. 
 They give the hats to them. 
 
 And if, as I said in speaking of the singular number, we omit 
 the preposition, the foregoing phrases must be expressed as 
 follows : 
 
 EgUno, or Elleno ci danno i capp611i, <v 
 
 or > They give us the hats. 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno Me danno icappfcJli, J 
 
 Noi vi diimo i cappilli, | We give j/ou the hats.1 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno danno loro i cappelli, | They give them the hats- 
 
 Objective Case; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons: noi, ci or ne, 
 us, voi or vi, you, loro, li or gli, them (niasculine) , loro, or le, 
 them {feminine). Examples : 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno imano noi, 
 
 Noi amidmo voi, 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno amano loro. 
 
 They love vs. 
 We love you. ' 
 They love them. 
 
 Then, again, we may say,'using the other pronouns, ci, t^e, vi, 
 li, gli, le: , 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno ci dmano, 
 
 or \ They love us. 
 
 } 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno ne dmano, 
 
 Noi vi amiamo, | We love you. 
 
 Eglino, vr Elleno li v^dono, I They see them. \ ^^^^^ 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno (^/i dmano, I They love fAem. ) 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno le dmano, | They love them. fem. 
 
 Here, obser\'e, loro stands for them, in both the masculine and 
 feminine gender. Then, there is something to be said about li 
 and gli, which are of the masculine gender only. I have already 
 shown the difference between il and lo,] in the objective Case 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 193 
 
 singular ; and there is a similar difference to be noticed here 
 between li and gli. In the feminine we see that we may 
 
 w use either loro or le ; and, in the masculine, either lorOf 
 li, OT gli. Li must be used when the pronoun comes before a 
 verb that begins with a consonant, as in the above example 
 of li vedono, they see them: gli must be used when the 
 pronoun comes before a verb that begins w'ith a vowel, as in 
 the above example of gli dmano, they love them ; and, also, 
 
 ^ when the pronoun comes before a verb that begins with an s 
 immediately followed by a consonant ; as, gli sfdsciano, they 
 unbind them. — We see that, in the objective, our us may be 
 translated by either of the words noi, ci, or ne, the same as in 
 the dative, Ne will require a separate notice; (See Para- 
 graph 124.) Let us now take some examples of the one 
 remaining case, in the plural, namely, the 
 
 Ablative Case; 1st, 2d, and 3d persons: da noi, from 
 us, da voi, from you, da loro, from thgm. — Here there is but 
 the single pronoun for each of the three persons, as in the sin- 
 gular number. Examples : 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno ricevono da 
 
 noi, 
 Noi riceviamo da voi, 
 Eglino, or Elleno ricevono da. 
 
 loro J 
 
 They receive /?-om ns. 
 
 We receive/;- (MB you. 
 Tltey receive /ro?K them. 
 
 119. The next thing to be noticed is the pronoun si, which 
 is mentioned in Etymology, Paragraph 39, and v/hich serves 
 to represent all our words oneself, himself, herself, themselves. 
 This word is, as we have seen in Paragraph 39, spelled se, in 
 the possessive and ablative, and either se or si in the dative and 
 objective Cases. Examples : 
 
 To speak of oneself. 
 He speaks of himself. 
 She speaks of herself . 
 They speak of themselves. 
 
 Possessive. 
 
 
 Parlare di se, 
 
 
 Egli parla di se, 
 
 
 Ella parla di se, 
 
 
 Eglino. or Elleno 
 
 
 parlano di se, 
 
 Dative. 
 
 
 
 Dare a se. 
 
 
 or 
 
 
 Davsi, 
 
 } 
 
 K 
 
 To give to oneself. 
 
194 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Egli (Id a set 
 
 or 
 Fgli 51 (fa, 
 
 T.Uti Ah a $e, 
 or 
 
 £Klino, or Ellenn 
 danno a se, 
 or 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno 
 si danno, 
 
 Objective. 
 
 Vcdtre i<?, 
 
 or 
 Vedirsi, 
 
 Egli vede sf, 
 
 or 
 Egli si vede, 
 
 Ella vede se, 
 
 or 
 Ella si vede, 
 
 Eglijio, or Elleno 
 vedono 56, 
 or 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno 
 si vedono, 
 
 Ablative. 
 
 RicC'vereda se, 
 
 Egli ric6ve da se, 
 
 Ella ricere da se, 
 
 Eglino, or Elleno ric^vono da se, 
 
 I He gives to himttlf. 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 } 
 
 1 
 
 She gives to herself. 
 
 They give to themselves. 
 
 To see oneself. 
 He sees himself. 
 She sees herself 
 
 They see Ihemstlves. 
 
 ► To receive /rom oneself. 
 He receives/roffl himself. 
 She receives /rom herself. 
 They receive /rom themselves. 
 
 The word si or se is, also, sometimes employed in the sense of 
 one another 01 each other : as, 
 
 Senza aver cn6re di palesirsi 
 I'amore cbe si portavano, &c. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Se tali f6ssero tctti i doni che gl- 
 comini si fanno, &c. 
 
 D. Ca. G. 
 
 Withont havin? conrasre lo make 
 known to one another the love 
 that they bore each other. 
 
 If such were all the gifts which 
 men make one another. 
 
 120. As to the pronouns esso, essa, essi, esse ; stesso, siessay 
 stessif stesse ; and medcshno, medcsima, 7nedtsimi,7nedesime ; 
 as these never change their form to denote case, it would be 
 superfluous to notice them here again at length. Sufficient has 
 
XVIIL] OF PRONOUNS. W5 
 
 been said of them rn their Etymology, for which see Para- 
 graphs 37, 40, and 41. 
 
 121. But it will be necessary to refer to some of the fore- 
 going pronouns, for there are yet some things to be explained as 
 regards them. And, first, it will be observed, that the word noi 
 answers to both of our words we and ?<5 ; and, also, the word 
 voi answers to both our words ye and you. The word ye is, 
 now-a-days, old-fashioned in our language ; though, strictly 
 speaking, it ought to be used in the nominative Case. Observe, 
 also, that the pronouns mi, me, ti^ thee, lo, him, la, her, ci, us, 
 ne, us, vi, you, si, oneself, himself, &c,, may all, when imme- 
 diately followed by a verb beginning with a vowel, drop their 
 final vowel and take the apostrophe. The pronoun ci, how- 
 ever, admits of this abbreviation only when the verb coming 
 after it begins with an i. The pronoun loro is very commonly 
 written and pronounced lor. Exam-pies : 
 
 Voi ??^' in£;aiiiiate, 
 lo V inganno, 
 Jo I' amo, 
 lo V amo, 
 Tu c' inganni, 
 EllaTi'abbaglia, 
 Es^li u' inganna, 
 Eglino s' ingaanano, 
 lo lor di^di, 
 
 You deceive me. 
 
 I deceive ikee. 
 
 I love kirn. 
 
 I love her. 
 
 Tliou deceivest us. 
 
 She dazzles us. 
 
 He deceives you. 
 
 They deceive themselves., 
 
 I gave to them. 
 
 The pronouns mi, ti^ lo, and la, also, are, at times, abbreviated 
 in the same way, when they come before the words ho, I have ; 
 hai, thou hast; ha, he, she, or it has ; hanno, they have : as, 
 
 lo V ho detto, 
 Tu m? hai detto, 
 Ella V ha veduto, 
 Eglino V hanno veduto, 
 
 I have told thee. 
 Thou hast told me. 
 She has seen him. 
 They have seen her. 
 
 I explained, in speaking of the objective Case singular, thfe 
 diflference between lo and il, as used in the sense oi him; and 
 here we see that lo may be employed, in the objective Case, 
 before a verb beginning with a vowel; but it must, then,, 
 always drop the o, as in the above example. La here drops 
 the a also, as lo does the o ; but the plural of la, namely, le, 
 must never be abbreviated in this way : for, though we may say, 
 V amo, meaning, I love him, and V amo, meaning, I love her, 
 
 k2 
 
196 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 we cannot say Z' amo, meaning, I love them, in the plural 
 feminine ; but we must say, le amo, preserving the e of le, for 
 fear of confounding the singular with tiie plural. 
 
 122. We have seen that, in several instances, the Italians 
 have two or more of these personal pronouns, in one and the 
 same number, case, and person, to answer to only one pronoun 
 in our language. In the dative Case^ singular, there are, 
 
 a me or m\y for onr to me or me. 
 
 a te or ti, for our to thee or thee, 
 
 a lui or p/i, for oar to him or him. 
 
 a lei or le, for our to her or Ittr. 
 
 In the objective Case, singular, there are, 
 
 me or mi, for our me. 
 
 te or ti, for onr thee, 
 
 /t(i, il or lo, for our Aim. 
 
 lei or la, for our Aw. 
 
 Then, again, in the dative Case, plural, 
 
 a not, ci or ne, for our to vs or vs. 
 a voi, or ti, for oar to you or j/ou. 
 
 Aiid in the oljective Case, plural, there are, 
 
 no?, ci or ne, for oar us. 
 
 voi, or li, for our sret4. 
 
 /oro, ii, or gli, for our fAcm {Masculine). 
 
 lore, or fc, for our them {Feminine). 
 
 And, as relates to the pronoun sz, we find, in the dative Case, 
 a se, or si, for our to oneself, himself, &c. ; in the objective 
 Case, se, or si, for our oneself &c. 
 
 The question is, then, what difference is there between saying, 
 in the dative singular, a me, a te, a lui, a lei, and mi, ti, gli, 
 le • in the objective singular, 7ne, te, lui, lei, and mi, ti, il or 
 lo, le ; in the dative plural, a noi, a voi, and ci or ne, vi - in 
 the objective plural, noi, voi, loro, and ci or ne, vi, li or gli, 
 le ; in the dative, a se, and si; in the objective, se, and sit 
 JSoTV, either manner of expression will do in Italian. We 
 may say, Egli da il cappello a me, he gives the hat to me, or, 
 Egli mi da il cappello, he gives j?ie the hat ; and so forth, with 
 all the rest of the pronouns just before mentioned. Observe, 
 
XVIII.] OF PRONOUNS. 197 
 
 at the same time, that if, in Italian, we ase any preposition 
 B before the pronoun, whether it be dija, or da, which are called 
 the signs of the possessive, dative, and ablative Cases, or any 
 other preposition ; in every case where the preposition is so used, 
 we must employ W2e, te, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro, se ; and never 
 mi, ti, gli, le, il, lo, ci, ne, vi, li, gli, si: the examples I have 
 given in both numbers, and throughout all the Cases, will be a 
 sufficient illustration of this. But, to return to the question of 
 the difference before mentioned, we must mind that, though 
 the Italians may use which they please of the two ways of 
 expression : 
 
 Egli da il capp^llo a me, t He gives the hat to mc, 
 
 or, I or, 
 
 Egli mi da il cappcllo, I He gives me the hat. 
 
 lo do il cappeilo o fe, | 1 give the hsit to thee, 
 
 or, I or, 
 
 lo ti do il cappello, I I give thee the hat. 
 
 Ta dai il cavdllo a lui, | Thou givest the horse to him. 
 
 or, ^ I or, 
 
 Tu gli dai il cavallo, I Thou givest him the horse, 
 
 Tu dai il libro o lei, i Thou givest the book to her. 
 
 or, I or, 
 
 Tu le dai il libra, 1 Thou givest her the book. 
 
 Although, when they do not wish to lay any particular em- 
 phasis on the pronouns me, thee, him, her, in their language, 
 the Italians may use whichever of these forms they please ; yet 
 when there is any emphasis intended, they use me^ te, lui, lei, 
 and not mi, ti, gli, le. In saying, in our language, he gives 
 the hat to me, and, he gives me the hat ; we may, in using 
 either of these, by the means of laying an emphasis on the 
 word me, express the meaning that it is to oneself in parti- 
 cular, or not to some one else, that the hat is given. The 
 English have, here, but the one pronoun, me, whether the 
 preposition be used or not ; and our emphasis must consist in 
 the mere stress of the voice. But the Italians make the 
 distinction by the means of the difference in the word itself, 
 and not by the mere manner of uttering it. 
 
 He gives the hat to me, i Egli da il cappello a me, 
 
 or, J or, 
 
 He gives me the Im'-j I Egli mi da il capp611o. 
 
198 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 The niennincj here, in lx)th languages, may be just the 
 same, in cither of the two forms. In Italian, as in Eng- 
 lish, either plira.-e may be used to signify the simple fact 
 that the hat is given to ?(5. Yet, mind, if we wish to ex- 
 press the idea of exclusion, if we mean to say " the hat 
 is ghwn to mf. in partiatlar, and not to somebody or any 
 body else" ; then, in Italian, our mere stress of voice, in- 
 dependent of the form of words, is not sufficient: we must 
 say, Egli da il cappello a me, and not, Egli mi da ii cappello. 
 The " J"-[/li Wii da il cappello*' would be insufficient to 
 express the idea of cxclvsion or distinction, whatever emphasis 
 the speaker or writer might lay on the " mi." ' I need not 
 take up room in giving examples with the other pronouns; for 
 precisely the same principle applies to show the difference 
 between the use of a te and te, a lui and gli, a lei and le ; 
 and, in the dative plural, it is just the same with a noi and 
 ci or 716 J a voi and vi. It is also just the same in the objective 
 Case, in both numbers: in the singjdar, wherein we see me 
 contrasted with mi, to with ti, lui with il and loy lei with la ; 
 and in the plural, wherein we see noi contrasted with ci and 
 ne, voi with vi, loro with li and gli (masculine), lota with le 
 (feminine). Here, in the objective, we must, if we intend, as^ 
 before said, emphatically to particularize the person or per- 
 sons represented by the pronoun, or to express the idea of 
 exclusion of others, we must employ me, te, lui, lei, noi, voif 
 loro; and not ?ni, ti, il or lo, la, ci or we, vi, li or gli, le. 
 These observations apply, equally, to the pronoun si, as to 
 which we see, in the dative, se contrasted with si; and, in 
 the objective, se with si again. Tlie following examples will 
 serve to illustrate the principle above explained : 
 
 Me scelse amor, te la fortuna, &c. j Love chose me, fortune thee. 
 
 Tas. G. L. 
 
 or come 
 
 CoBosci me, cb' io te nun conosca ? 
 
 Pot. T. 
 
 Now liow (lost thou know me; fori 
 do not know thee? 
 
 Io amo molto piu lui che egli non ama me. i I love him much more than be loves 
 
 Boc. D. I me. 
 
 Ch'aniefa,nona?fi,concessaIaface, &c. J Forti me, not to Aer, was graated^the 
 
 Ta8. a. I torch. 
 
XVIIL] OF PRONOUNS. 199 
 
 I 
 
 Non la perder6ddn(lola a te. I I sball not lose her in giving her to 
 
 Boo. D. I thee. 
 
 Lascia la cura a me, dicea Gradasso. I Leave the car*: to me, said Gradasso. 
 
 Aiu. o.r. I 
 
 Quest' e la terra destinata onoi. | This is the land destined tows, 
 
 Car.E. 
 
 II cavaliere ha offeso voi, che mi 
 siete pill cara di me medesinio. 
 
 GOL. C. 
 
 Ne si accorse che faceva se d6bole, 
 toglieudosi gli amici. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 The gentleman has offended yov, who 
 ^re more dear to me than myself. 
 
 Nor did he perceive that he made 
 /HW)st(/weak, by depriving himself 
 of his friends. 
 
 In these examples, it is clear that the pronouns we, te, lui, lei, 
 noi, voi, and se, are either used in a sense of exclusion as to 
 any other than those particular persons which they represent, 
 or, are so employed as to mean that those persons which they 
 represent are spoken of with some degree, more or less, of 
 emphasis. Grammarians have not noticed that this distinc- 
 tion exists, also, as relates to the pronoun loro, compared with 
 other pronouns having the same signification ; yet it is certain 
 that, in the objective plural, there is the same difference to be 
 observed between loro, and li or gli (masculine), and loro, and 
 Ze (feminine). For example : lo vidi Zwi quando voi vedesti 
 Joro, I saw him when you saw them ; lo amo lui, ma non 
 amo loro, I love him, but I do not love them: here, the distri- 
 butive and emphatic meanings that are intended would not 
 be at all expressed by saying, lo il, or lo, vidi quando voi li 
 vedesti; lo Tamo, ma, non gli amo. Here the gli and li, in 
 the sense of them, would be quite as insufficient to the sense 
 in the plural, as the il, lo, and V would be in the singular. In 
 the dative plural, there is but the one pronoun, for both genders, 
 as in English, whether with the preposition or not ; namely, 
 a loro or loro, to them or them. Yet here, also, the same 
 nicety of distinction is observable. For example : date questo 
 libro a noi, I'altro a loro, give this book to us, the other to 
 them. Here, though there is but the one word loro for the 
 dative, either with or without the preposition, and though it 
 might do, here, to omit the preposition before loro; yet, the 
 distributive idea, as respects the them, would be much more 
 clearly expressed, in the Italian, as in our language, by saying 
 
200 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 a loro, to them, than by saving loro, them. — Whenever two 
 of these personal pronouns, in the dative or objective Case, 
 have one of the conjunctions e and o, or, or either, or lie, nor, 
 or neither, between them ; tlien we must employ me, te, lui, 
 lei, not, voi, loro, sc ; and not the other pronouns before 
 mentioned as contrasted with these : as, 
 
 E^H diede questo a mr c a te, 
 
 Noi amianio lui e /ci, 
 
 Egli diede questo o a me, o a te, 
 
 'iio'\ aruidino o lux o hi, 
 
 Egli non dicde questo ni a me n6 a te, 
 
 Noi non amiainu ne lui, n^ lei. 
 
 He i;ave this to me and to thee. 
 
 We love him and her. 
 
 He gave this either to me or to thee. 
 
 We love either him or her. 
 
 He gave thisneillier to me. nor to thee. 
 
 "VVe love neither him nor her. 
 
 And so on with the other pronouns, in the dative and objective 
 Cases, 7202, voi, loro, se. 
 
 123. By some of the foregoing examples it will have been 
 observed, that the Italians, unlike us, frequently put the pro- 
 noun before the verb which relates to it. The situation of me, 
 te, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro, se, is commonly after the verb ; 
 though this is only a general rule, with many exceptions, as 
 practice and reading will teach. The pronouns mi, ti, gli, ley 
 il, lo, ci, ne, vi, li ; these come always before the verb, 
 except sometimes when they are used as conjunctive pronouns, 
 which have yet to be spoken of. (See Paragraph 127.) 
 
 124. The pronouns ne, ci, and vi, have other significations 
 besides those in which I have used them in the foregoing 
 examples. I must observe, as relates to ne, that this pronoun, 
 when used in the sense ,of our us, is not one of ordinary use ; 
 it is rather a poetical word, or one properly used only in what 
 is called elevated style. Our word us, therefore, would, in 
 familiar style, be more properly translated by ci than by 7ie. 
 Ne has all the meanings of, of it, of them, for it, from, by, 
 or with it or them ; and it means, very frequently, the same as 
 our words off and away. The follovving are examples of its 
 various uses : 
 
 Ci5 ctenedAl'industria o la fortuna, 
 
 So A. N. 
 
 That which industry or fortune gives 
 
 MS. 
 
 Ne conobbe, n' accuse. 
 
 Cab. E. | He knew us, he welcomed us. 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 OF PRON^OUNS. 
 
 201 
 
 Perche crudo destino 
 
 Ne disunisci tu, s'amor ne stringe ? 
 
 Guar. P.P. 
 
 colui ch' a te ne 'nvia. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Dolce amico, non dubitarne. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 H p6polo andb ad incontiarli, ne uc- 
 cise alcuni, &c. M UR. A. 
 
 I' cielo ha voluto ricorapensarte«<?. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Ne vesthono la meti di panni bian- 
 chi. Mac.D. 
 
 Fa abbassdto il regno de' Macedoni ; 
 funne caccidto Antioco. 
 
 Mac. P. 
 
 Che volete che io ne faccia ? 
 
 GoL. C. 
 
 Allorch^ il vizio comincia a prender 
 potere, e che il cuore n' ^ gia cor- 
 rotto. SoA. N. 
 
 Ed il re ne menb seco detti stdticbi. 
 
 f 10. N. 
 
 I 
 
 Why, cruel destiny, dost thou separate 
 ws, if love unites nsf 
 
 He who sends us to thee, 
 
 Sweetfriend, do not doubt o/i^ 
 
 The people went to meet them, killed 
 some of them. 
 
 Heaven has been willing to recom- 
 pense ihee for it. 
 
 They dressed the half of them with 
 white clothes. 
 
 The kingdom of the Macedonians was 
 debased; Antiochus was driven 
 from it. 
 
 What do you wish that I should do 
 with it ? 
 
 When vice begins to assyme power, 
 and when the heart is already cor- 
 rupted by (or with) it. 
 
 And the king took of (or an-ai/) with 
 him the said hostages. 
 
 a and vi are very commonly used as adverbs, in the sense of 
 our words here and there. Ci means here, or in this place ; 
 aiid vij there, or in that place : as, 
 
 Costoro mi ci fanno entrare per in- 
 gannarmi. Boc. D. 
 
 Io dird che vi ci Sbbia fatto venire 
 per denari. Boc. D. 
 
 Nella sua camera il mise, e dentro il 
 vi serr5. Boc. D. 
 
 E quella citta, crescendori la virtCi, 
 cresceva in potenza. Mac. S. 
 
 These people make me come in here 
 to deceive me. 
 
 I v/ill say that I have made you come 
 Aere for money. 
 
 She put him into her room, and locked 
 him in there. 
 
 And that city, virtue increasing there, 
 increased in power. 
 
 Though ci means both us and here^ and vi both you and 
 there^ two cz's, or two vis^ the one in the adverbial sense, and 
 the other as a pronoun, must never come immediately together. 
 We must not say, Voi ci ci mandaste , you sent tis here ; nor, 
 Noi vi vi mandammo, we sent you there. The coming toge- 
 ther of the two ci's or vV& would offend the ear. And, there- 
 fore, the Italians prefer that the two adverbs should, in such 
 
 k5 
 
202 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 caccs, exchange meanin'^s, and that ci should stand for there, 
 and vi fur here ; and they would say, voi vi ci nianduste, noi 
 ci vi mandamnio. The words ci and vi, as pronouns, some- 
 times mean to yon, to him, to her, to it, to this, to that, to 
 them, in the sense of as relates to, or with respect to, you, 
 him, &c. SioNoii Bauueui gives these examples of ci thus 
 used : 
 
 PensMte a me ? I Did you think of me ? 
 
 Si, ci ho pensDto, I Yes, I have thought of you. 
 
 Pensertle n qutsto ? J Will yon think of this ? 
 
 Ci peuserb, ' I will think o/ it. 
 
 Literally translated, these are, to me, to you, to this, to if. 
 The vi is very frequently used in the sense of to it, where we 
 also should use the dative Case : as, 
 
 La iiecessita lu constriuse a consent- I Necessity constrained him to consent . 
 iruj. SoA.N. I to it. 
 
 L' arJuita MV impresa. e V a\-ver- 
 si6ne che t' ebbe sempre il re, &c. 
 
 GiA. S. 
 
 The dilficulty of the entTprise, and 
 the aversion that the king always 
 Lad to it. 
 
 Ci and vi will again have to be noticed, in the Syntax of 
 impersonal verbs, for which see Paragraph 268. 
 
 125. In the Etymology of personal pronouns, Paragraph 38, 
 I have made some observations, which are numbered from 
 1 to 10, as to the employment of some words, other than those 
 which I have here been speaking of, as personal pronouns; 
 and 1 there noticed, also, various ways of spelling some of the 
 pronouns to which tha«foregoing Paragraphs of Syntax relate. 
 I must here call the reader's attention to some further observa- 
 tions, relative to certain irregularities in the use of some pro- 
 nouns. These irregularities consist in some pronouns being 
 used in Cases to which, according to grammatical arrange- 
 ment, they do not strictly belong. ' 
 1st. Lui and lei may, as we have seen, be employed in the 
 dative, in the sense of to him, to her, using, always, the 
 preposition a before them. If we were to omit the preposi- 
 tion, then, as before said, we must not use hii and lei; but 
 gli and le. In old authors, however, this rule is not ob- 
 served in every instance, as may be seen in these examples: 
 
I 
 
 XVIIT.] OF PRONOUNS. 203 
 
 Mft per dar lui esperienza pieua, &c. J But to give him full experience. 
 
 Dan. Inf. 
 
 Ond* io risposi iei. Dan.Pur. | Therefore I replied /o Aer, 
 
 ra'inganni. I I think, said 
 Dan. Inf. I ceivest me 
 
 lo credo, diss' io Zui, che tu ra'inganni. I I think, said I to him, that thou de- 
 
 2d. Lui and lei are used after the word come or siccome, 
 when that word is intended to have the meaning of our 
 word like. As : 
 
 Costoro, che erano, siccome Zui, ma- | Those, who were, like him, raali- 
 liziosi, &c. Boc. D. | cious. 
 
 Io vorrei che voi fussi ingannate come J I would wish that you were deceived 
 lei. Mac. C. | like her. 
 
 The same may be said of the pronouns me, te, and loro. 
 But, if the come or siccome be not intended, as in the two 
 examples given, in the sense of our words like to, to express 
 similitude or resemblance between persons or things, and 
 if it mean the same as our word as ; then we must employ 
 the pronouns in the nominative Case. As; 
 
 Trovaadosi egli in Pavigi in povero t Finding himself in Paris in a poor 
 - stato, come egli il piii del tempo condition, as he lived the greater 
 
 diraorava, &c. Boc. D. I part of the time. 
 
 Se io avessi cosi bella cotta come 
 ella, sarei altresi sguardata come 
 ella. Nov. Ant. 
 
 If I had as fine a gown as she, I should 
 be as much stared at as she. 
 
 3d. In apostrophizing, or speaking of oneself or of another 
 in an exclamatory way, the pronoun representing the person 
 who is the subject of the exclamation, must, in Italian, be in 
 the objective Case, and not in the nominative : we must 
 say. Oh felice me! Oh happy ??ie / Oh felice lui! Oh 
 happy he ! and so on, with the other pronouns, te, lei, noi, 
 voi, loro. In our language me is the only pronoun that, 
 in this case, we can use in the objective Case ; for, while 
 we say, happy me! we cannot say, happy him! happy 
 her ! &c. ; but happy he I happy she ! 
 
 4th. Me, ie, lui, lei, and loro, are, also, sometimes used in 
 another instance in which they seem clearly to have a ?zo- 
 minative signification ; namely, when the verb essere, to, 
 be, comes between two pronouns, the verb essere being 
 
204 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 used to express the person represented by the one pronoun, 
 as being the same as tliat represented by the other. As, 
 Credendo ch* io fossi tc, mi ha con un bastone tulto rotto; 
 thinking tl)at / was thou (or, mistaking ?He for thee), he 
 has bruised me all over with a stick. Boc. D. 
 5th. The pronoun gli is employed in the dative plural, in the 
 sense of loro, to them, in the masculine gender. As : 
 
 Tutto i1 patse, che il SoJdnno gli I All the country, wMch tke Sultan had 
 
 avea renduto. G. Vil. S. 
 
 I Florentini non si mossono, bencliii 
 grave <7/i fosse roltrogglo de' Pisani. 
 
 M. Viu S. 
 
 restored lo ihem (the Saracens). 
 
 The Florentines did not bestir them- 
 selves, oltllolt^h the affront of the 
 Pisans was gnevous to thtm. 
 
 The pronoun U, also, may sometimes be found used in the 
 same sense. 
 Cth. Gli or li may be found in some authors, in the feminine 
 gender, singular number, meaning to her. As: 
 
 Ci6non ^ra avenuto per coiTotta inten- 
 zione della Rcgina, ma per forzadi 
 mr'ie che yli erano state fatte. 
 
 M. ViL. S. 
 
 That had not happened throu;;h wicked 
 intentions of the Queen, but by the 
 force of witchcrafts that had been 
 practiced on her. 
 
 7th. Li is sometimes used instead of r/li, in the dative sin- 
 gular, masculine, meaning to him. As : 
 
 Apparve per visione aRubertOjd'cen- J He appeared by a vision to Rabert, 
 doZ», &c. G. ViL. S. I saying to him. 
 
 Domr idol/t poi se via c'era, &c. I He «'iea asked him if there was a 
 
 Ari. O. F. I w ay. 
 
 8th. Gli or li, as used in the sense of to them, in the femi- 
 nine gender, are sometimes met with in old authors ; but 
 such use is condemned as bad in grammar. 
 
 9th. The pronoun ella, she, is sometimes used by the poets in 
 other Cases than the nominative. Auiosxo has, memoria 
 d'e//a, memory of Ac?'; instead of, memoria di lei. Then, 
 again, elle, which, as I have said in the obsen'ation under 
 Paragraph 38, stands for tlleno, in the nominative, is 
 sometimes used by the poets in other Cases. Daxte has, 
 con ELLE, with them ; instead of, C07i loro. 
 
 10th, One thing should be well observed, as respects the 
 pronouns lui, lei, and loro. These pronouns ought never, 
 
XVIII.] ' OF PRONOUNS. 205 
 
 strictly speaking, to be used in the nominative Case : they 
 should be used in the sense of /im, her, them; and not in 
 that of he, she, they. In modern Italian writing this rule 
 is observed, and our he, she, they, are expressed by egli, ella, 
 eglino, or tlle?io, or by the other pronouns, esso, essa, essi, or 
 esse. But the writers of former times did not observe this 
 rule; neither do the Italians of the present day, as far as 
 respects conversation. We shall find lui, lei, loro, em- 
 ployed in the nominacive in most writers of an early date ; 
 and such is the force of h abit, that it would seem ! ike affecta- 
 tion to use egli, cUa, eglino, or elleno, in common conversa- 
 tion in Italy. Lui, lei, loro, may therefore, as far as relates 
 to speaking, he used in the sense of our he, her, they, 
 11th. In the Syntax of adjectives, there will be another dif- 
 ference between the languages to point out, as respects the 
 use of the pronoun. 
 
 126. There remains one thing more to notice respecting the 
 personal pronouns, which is, their use in the capacity of 
 
 Conjunctive Pronouns. 
 
 127. Personal pronouns only are those which are called 
 conjunctive ■ and they a'e so called because they are liable to 
 be joined together, either with one another, or with some of 
 the inflexions of the verbs. In some of the examples I have 
 already given,, there are instances of this conjunctive capacity 
 of the personal pronouns. Those properly called conjunctive 
 are the following: 7ni, ti,Jo, la, gli, le, li, ci, vi, si, ne. The 
 Italians call them affissi, on account of their being frequently 
 affixed, or joined, to one another or to other words. 
 
 128. To explain the whole of the practice as relates to these 
 pronouns, when conjunctive, would require much room. It is 
 a matter that cannot, in every case, be reduced to rule, and 
 principle has very little to do with it. What I shall omit to 
 notice, will consist of nothing more than certain points in prac- 
 tice, which may be easily learned by strict attention in the 
 course of reading Italian books. To understand the meaning 
 of these pronouns as respects their Cases, is the main object to 
 have in view in studying them. Without understanding that, 
 
206 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 the pronouns, wlien joined with one another or with otlier 
 words, might causo great puzzling. But, if we once well under- 
 stand tlie Cases, the various manners oHoining together pronouns 
 and other words can very seldom make us hesitate as to the 
 meaning intrnded Mark the following observations. 
 
 1st. These jironouns are not always, when considered as con- 
 ju7ictive, joined to one another, or to other words, in such a 
 way as to form only one word of two or more words : the pro- 
 nouns vii, ti, sif ciy vi, often come two of them immediately 
 next to each other without being joined in one word. As: 
 
 Tn mi li present!, 
 lo mi ti pr«9ento, 
 E^li ti •"•« presenta. 
 Noi ci vi prebeiitianio, 
 Voi vi ci prenentitp, 
 Egli ci si presen'n, 
 JEgli f« si presentn, 
 Eglino ci si pre^entano, 
 Ei;lin(i vi .vi preseataiio, 
 lo mi vi present©, 
 Egli mi si presenta, 
 Tu ci ti prespnti, 
 Egli ci li presents, 
 
 Thou presentcst thyself to me. 
 I present myself to thee. 
 He presents himself to thee. 
 Vt't present onrseltes to you. 
 You present yourselves lo us. 
 He presents himself to us. 
 He presents himsdf to you. 
 They present themselves to us. 
 They present themselves •to you. 
 1 present myself to you. 
 He presents himself to me. 
 Thou presenteot thyself to us. 
 He presents us to you. 
 
 We see, here, that the placing of the words is very different ia 
 the one language from what it is in the other : iu mi ti jpresenti, 
 is, literally, thou thyself to me prcsentest ; and so on, with the 
 rest. \Vith respect to the order in which these pronouns 
 should stand, it is obsen'ed byBEMBO, that ti ought not to 
 stand before mi, neither should si stand before mi, ti, ci, or vi: 
 so that we must not say ti ini, but 7ui ti; not si mi, si ti, si ci, 
 si vi, but 7ni si, ti si, ci si, vi si. It must be borne in mind, 
 always, that the words ci and vi are adverbs, as well as prO' 
 7WUJIS : 
 
 Egli CI si presenta, j He present*; himself hkhk. 
 
 Egli VI si presenta, I He presents himself th^re. 
 
 Taking the ci and vi here in their sense as pronouns, the ci se, 
 vi si, would mean himself to us, himself to you, as we have 
 seen in the foregoing examples. 
 
 2d. The inflections of the verbs to which the pronouns are 
 most commonly joined, are, the infinitive mode, the imperative 
 mode, and the participle present. As; 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 207 
 
 Atnnrnjf, 
 
 Fiirlar/i, 
 
 Ingaimarci, 
 
 Vederii, 
 
 Vindicar.'ii, 
 
 Aniai7o, 
 
 Parlar(;/j, 
 
 Ingannar/a, 
 
 Parlarie, 
 
 Veder/e, 
 
 Vendicarh', 
 
 Pailarue, 
 
 Amatemi, 
 
 Parlatef/h", 
 
 Vedete/o, 
 
 IngannateZi, 
 
 Aniandonii, 
 
 Parlaiido<i, 
 
 Ingannandocf, 
 
 VedendoDi, 
 
 Vindicandosi, 
 
 Amdiido/a, 
 
 Parlando<//i, 
 
 Incanndiido/a, 
 
 Parlaado/e, 
 
 VedendoZc, 
 
 VendicdndoZi, 
 
 Parlandowe, 
 
 To love me. , 
 
 'I'o speak ^o t/ife. » 
 
 To deceive us. 
 
 To sec you. 
 
 To vindicate oneself, himself, &c. 
 
 To love /urn. 
 
 To speak to him. 
 
 To deceive htr. 
 
 To speak to her. 
 
 To bee </teHi (lem.) 
 
 To viKdicate them (masc.) 
 
 To speak of it, of him, &c. 
 
 Love me. 
 
 Speak to him. 
 
 See him. 
 
 Deceive them. 
 
 Loving vie. 
 
 Speaking <o thee. 
 
 Deceiving us. 
 
 Seeing you. 
 
 Vindicating oneself, himself, &c. 
 
 Loving him. 
 
 Speaking to him. 
 
 Deceiving her. 
 
 Speaking to her. 
 
 Seeing ihem (fem.) 
 
 Vindicating them (masc.) 
 
 Speaking of it, of him, &c. 
 
 When the pronoun is affixed to a verb in the infinitive mode, 
 the final e of the infinitive must always be dropped : thus, we 
 must say, amarmi, parlartiy &c. as in the foregoing examples; 
 and not, amaremi, parlareti. — x'Vlthough it is generally with 
 the infinitive and imperative modes, and the participle present, 
 that the pronouns are thus joined, there is no such thing as a 
 rule as to what inflections of the verb do and what do not admit 
 of the pronoun being joined to them. The poets join the pro-, 
 noun to any inflection of the verb they please ; and all that need 
 be said to the learner is, that in prose-writing the liberty of 
 thus using the pronoun is very much restricted, compared to 
 what it is in poetry. 
 
 3d. Whenever mi, tiy ci, vi, si, are followed hy the pronouns 
 lo, la, gli, le, li, ne • then the formei; must change their final 
 i into e, and be spelled me, te, ce, ve, se : as, 
 
 Ta me lo mandi, 
 lo te la piomelto, 
 Egli segli presenta, 
 Voi ce lo presentate. 
 
 TIiou sendest him to me. 
 I promise her to thee. 
 He presents himself to him. 
 You present him to us. 
 
208 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Jo r^/edar^, 
 Vol tilt li dorcle, 
 Ella ce ne parib, 
 lo re ne parlerb, 
 
 I will give thfm lo you (fem.) 
 You owe Ihtm to me (masc.) 
 She ipoke to us of it. 
 I will speak to you of it. 
 
 Here we see that the pronouns me and /o, te and /a, &c., are 
 not joined together so as to form one icord^ though they stand 
 immediately next to each other. But, if these pronouns were 
 to come aft2r a verb, they should be joined together; the 
 first of them must be joined to the verb, and the three words, 
 the verb aid the two pronouns, muat be all joined in one: 
 
 as. 
 
 MandatfRif/o, 
 
 lo non vo' dir/e/a, 
 
 Ei uon Toleva presentarsej/i, 
 
 Mandaiidoce/o, 
 
 JDandoreif, 
 
 Datewf/j, 
 
 Vol doTcte parlarcfnf, 
 
 Potete asbicurnnenf, 
 
 Send him to me. 
 
 I will not Rive her to thee. 
 
 lie would not present himtelfto him. 
 
 Sending him to vs. 
 
 Giving them to you (fern.) 
 
 Give them to me (masc.) 
 
 You ought to speak (o us of it. 
 
 You may assure yourtelf o/it. 
 
 Ce and re, when used as adverbs, are subject to the same 
 rule: as, 
 
 lo ce lo menai, 
 
 Voi re la menaste, 
 
 lo non poteva ritenerce/o, 
 
 Toi non potete ritenC-rve/a, 
 
 I hd him here. 
 
 You led her there. 
 
 I conld not keep Aim here. 
 
 You canuotkeep her there. 
 
 4th. The e of ne, and the o of lo, are frequently dropped, 
 when one of the other pronouns comes before ne or lo, the two 
 pronouns being joined together: men, ten, sen, cen, ven, met, 
 tel, sel, eel, vel, instead of, mcne, tcne, sene, cene, vene, mtlo, 
 ttlo, selo, celo, velo ; as in the following examples : 
 
 Rispose 11 buon n6mo, io vel dird. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Ma se sua guida il fa, sel fa signore. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 The good man replied,! will tell it to 
 you. 
 
 But if she makes Lim ber guide, she 
 makes him a master to herself. 
 
 The pronoun lo is thus frequently curtailed when joined to the 
 participle present, without there being any other pronoun pre- 
 ceding it : as, 
 
 Avendoi prima ammacstrato e insfriitto. 
 
 Abi.O. F. 
 
 Having first taught atd instructed 
 Attn. 
 
 And lo is frequently joined to the negative non, not ; and then 
 the final n of the 7ion is omitted, and also the o of lo ; as, io 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 209 
 
 nol vidi, I did not see him; instead of, io non lo vidi. When 
 lo, abbreviated in this way, comes immediately before a verb, 
 beginning with an h or with a vowely the abbreviated lo takes 
 an apostrophe over it ; as, io veV ho detto, I have told it you ; 
 io ceV ho condotto, I have conducted Jdm here; io ^e^avrei 
 portato, I would have brought it to thee. 
 
 5th. The pronoun gli, in its capacity of conjunctive pronoun, 
 is used in the sense of to her, as well as that of to him ; and 
 when gli is joined to any one of the pronouns lo, la Ze, li, ne, 
 which is frequently the case, then, for the sake of harmony, the 
 gli is spelled glie : as. 
 
 Jo glielo diedi, 
 
 Diteglielo, 
 
 Voi gliela mandaste, 
 
 MundHegtielo, 
 
 Hoi gliele mandammo, 
 
 M&ndkrgliele, 
 
 Voi glieli deste, 
 
 Dandoglieli, 
 
 Eglino glicne p^rlano, 
 
 Pai]^tegliene, 
 
 I gave it to him, or to her. 
 Give it to him, or to her. 
 You sent her to him, or to her. 
 Send her to him, or to her. 
 We sent them to him, or to Aer. 
 To send them to him, or to her. 
 You gave them to him, or to her. 
 Giving them to him, or to her. 
 They speak to him, or to her, of it. 
 Speak to him, or to her, of it. 
 
 We sometimes see the gli, in such cases, separate from the 
 other pronoun, and without the intermediate e ; as, gli lo 
 instead oi glielo, gli la instead of gliela, &c. j but this is not 
 common. The lo and ne are, also, subject to contraction ; as, 
 gliel diede, instead of, glielo diede; glien parlano, instead of 
 ^gliene parlano. And if, as mentioned in the last observa- 
 tion, the I or ??, joined to the glie, come immediately before a 
 verb that begins with an h, or with a vowel, then there must 
 be an apostrophe over the I ot n ; as ; 
 
 Io gliel' ho detto, 
 
 Io glien' aveva parlato, 
 
 1 
 
 I have told it to him. 
 I had spoken to him of it. 
 
 6th. It not unfrequently happens, that the pronoun ne 
 comes immediately after two other of the pronouns 7ni, ii, ci, 
 vi, si; and, in such case, the one that comes next to the ne 
 must terminate in e, and the first pronoun in i; as : 
 
 Io mi te ne scuso, 
 Egli uiseneduole, 
 
 I excuse myself to thee for it. 
 He complains to you of it. 
 
 7th, The pronouns mi, ti, ci, vi, si, lo, la, le, li, ne, are 
 sometimes written with their consonants doubled, mmi, tti, cci, 
 
210 
 
 SYKTA Y 
 
 [Cbap. 
 
 vvi, ssi, Ihf lla, ilc, lit, nne. This happens in three ways. 
 First, when any one of these arc joined to the end of an inflec- 
 tion of a vcrh that consists of but one syllable ; as, dimmi 
 qucsto, tell 7ne this; hofti vedi'ito, 1 have seen thee ; hacci 
 condotto, he has conducted iis ; hart'i condotto, he has con- 
 ducted you ; fassi maestro, he makes himself master ; hnnne 
 un poco, I have a little nf it; da//o a lui, give it to him; 
 ho//a veduto, I have seen her; ha//c condotte, he has con- 
 ducted them; daZ/i a me, give them to me. Thus we see the 
 pronouns mi, Zo,,and ne, spelled ?nmi, llo, luie, in the fallowing 
 examples: 
 
 Via, Pamela, i&mmi la mano. 
 
 Gor,. C. 
 
 Quale ^ la cagibne della tua palli- 
 d^zza ? di//*ui ; &c. Boc. F. 
 
 Dinne, Ergasto genlile, &c. 
 
 Gha. p. F. 
 
 Fu abhass.ito il re^no de' Macedoni 
 (iinne racciato Antioco. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 1 
 
 Come, Pamela, give me tby band. 
 
 What is the cause of tby paleness ? 
 Tell it to 03. 
 
 Tell us, gentle Ergaato. 
 
 The kinj^dom of the Macedonians 
 was debased, Antiochos was drirea 
 from it. 
 
 Secondly, this is the case, whenever any of these pronouns are 
 joined to the end of such inflections of the verbs as have an 
 accent upon their ilnal vowel. The accent, we know, is on 
 the third person singular of the past perfect of the indicative 
 mode, and on the first and third persons singular of the future 
 of the indicative mode. So we may say : avicUo, he loved, 
 him, instead of Vamo ; amerollo, I shall love him, instead of 
 Vamerb ; amcrallo, he Avill love him, instead of Vamera ; and 
 so on with the other pronouns, ?ni, ii^ ci, vi, sz, /a, Ze, li, ne. 
 But, the joining of the pronoun to these inflections of the verb 
 is, it must be observed, more a poetical license than a thing 
 of common practice. In the following examples, where we 
 see miy lo, and si, spelled in this way, it is only for the sake 
 of measure or rhyme: 
 
 Mandommi il fratel luio. 
 
 £ dirnZZo aaco a voi. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 Am. O. F. 
 
 Lo ricoaobbe tosto che miro2Zo. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 She sent me my brother. 
 
 And I will tell it to you also. 
 
 He knew him as soon as he saw him. 
 
XVIII.] OF PRONOUNS. 211 
 
 E, come pote meglio, presto armol/o. I And, as well as he could, he quickly 
 
 Ani.O. F. I armed him. 
 
 ed io seguUlo. Tas.G. h- | And I followed liim. 
 
 Dal mar shingossi. Ari. O. F. | IJe removed Aimse// from tke sea. 
 
 Here the more 'regular order would have been, mi mandb; lo 
 diTo, lo miro, r armo, lo segui, si slungo. — The poets some- 
 times use me, te, ce, ve, se, for the sake of rhyme, in cases 
 where, strictly speaking^ mi, fi, ci, vi, si, should be used : as. 
 
 Or vedi, se tu puoi 1' elmo Icvarmf. j Now see if thou canst take the helmet 
 
 Ari. O. F. I from vie. 
 
 Ariosto wrote levarme, to make this line rhyme with another 
 ending in arme. — Sometimes, again, for the sake of rhyme, 
 the poets leave out the final r of the infinitive of the verb, when 
 a pronoun is joined to the end of it. Thus, Ariosto has 
 provallo instead oi provarlo : 
 
 avreitestimoni da /^j-oruZZo. ( I should have witnesses fit to prove 
 
 Ari. O. F. j it. 
 
 Of Possessive Pronouns* 
 
 129. The Italians generally employ the definite article 
 before the possessive pronoun. They do not say, simply, as we 
 and the French do, mio libro, my book, tuo cavallo^ thy horse, 
 suoi cani, Ms dogs ; but, il mio libro^ il tuo cavallo, i subi 
 cani; which, literally translated, would be, the my hocik, the 
 thy horse, the his dogs. So, they say : questo e il mio campo, 
 this is 7ny field ; la raccolta del mio campo, the crop of my 
 field ; io vo al mio campo, I go to my field ; voi vedete il mio 
 campo, you see my field ; egli viene dal mio campo, he comes 
 
 from, my field : that is, literally, the my field, of the my field, 
 to- the my field, the my field, /rom tJie my field. Thus it must 
 be, all through the piece, with the pronouns mio, ttoo, suo, 
 nostro, vostro, loro ; the article and the pronoun always both 
 agreeing in gender and mimber with the noun to which they 
 are attached. 
 
 130. I have not, in the Etymology of possessive pronouns 
 (see Paragraph 43), introduced the article before the pronoun, 
 at h\]. But the Italians generally do use the article in this way. 
 The following are examples of the article and pronoun, in both. 
 Genders and Numbers, and in all the Cases-: 
 
212 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 ^Iasculine Gejcdeu. 
 Sinyulai', 
 
 Nom. // niio amicn, 
 Po(&« Drl into ainicoi 
 Dat. A I mio amico, 
 Ol)j. // into nmico, 
 Abl. Dal mio atnico, 
 
 Mij frifnd. 
 0/ mij friend. 
 Tc mi/ friend. 
 Aly ftiend. 
 From my friend. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 Nom. / miei atnici, 
 
 Poss. Z^^i or Z>e' mJtt amici, 
 
 Dat. Ai or A' miii amici, 
 
 Obj. / miii amici, 
 
 Abl. Dai or Da^ mici amici, 
 
 M'j friends, 
 0/ my friends. 
 To my friends. 
 RJy friends. 
 From my friends. 
 
 Feminine Gender. 
 Singular, 
 
 JJom. La mia casa, 
 Poss. Dtlld mia casa, 
 Dat. Alia mia casa, 
 Obj. La mia casa, 
 Abl. JDalla mia casaj 
 
 Kom. Le mie case, 
 Poss. Delle mie case, 
 Dat. Alle mie case, 
 Obj. Le mie case, 
 Abl. Dalle mie case, 
 
 My house. 
 0/ my house. 
 To my home. 
 My house. 
 From my iioflse. 
 
 Plural, 
 
 My booses. 
 Of my houses. 
 To my houses. 
 M'j houses. 
 From »iy houses. 
 
 And SO on, with tuo, thy, 5M0,his,her, or its, nostrOy our, vostro, 
 your, lorOy their; as, il tuo amico, thy friend, i tubi amici, 
 thy friends ; la tua casa, thy house, le tue case, thy houses ; 
 il suo amico, his, her, or its friend, i subi amici, his, her, or its 
 friends ; la sua casa, his, her, or its house, le sue case, his, her, 
 or its houses; il nosiro amico, our friend, i nostri amici, our 
 friends; la nostra casa, our house, le nostre case, our houses; 
 il vostro amico, your friend, i vostri amici, your friends ; la 
 vostra casa, your house, le vostre case, your houses ; il loro 
 amico, their friend, i loro amici, their friends; la loro. casa, 
 their house, le loro case, their houses, 
 
 131. Here above we see that loro, which, in its capacity of 
 personal pronoun, means they or them, as we have before seen, 
 is also a possessive pronoun, meaning the same as our their 
 
XVIII.] OF 'pronouns. 213 
 
 Lor Of it will be observed, never changes its form to denote 
 gender or number, while mio^ tuo, sua, nostro, and vostro, 
 do so. In order to express our their, the Italians use either 
 loro, or the same word which stands for our his, her, or its, 
 namely, silo ; and when suo is employed in the sense of lore, 
 it changes its form to express gender and number, just the same 
 as it does when used for the third person singular, his, her, or 
 its. ,But, I must remark, here, that loro is more properly 
 employed in the third person plural, than suo ; in some 
 instances suo is preferred for the sake of harmony, as with the 
 poets. But we shall see loro much more commonly employed 
 in the sense of their, than S7W. To use suo, upon all occasions, 
 would, besides, make the sense doubtful, as suo may relate to 
 the singular as well as to the plural number of the person to 
 whom possession is attributed. Soave, indeed, says that it is 
 bad granwiar to use suo, sua, subi, sue, when the person to 
 whom the possession is attributed is in the plural number: 
 thus, he says, we should say, I genitori debbono amare 
 i loro figli, parents ought to love their children; and not 
 i subi figli. 
 
 132. The article may be placed either before the pronou.i, 
 as in the foregoing examples, or the article and pronoun may be 
 separated by the noun's coming between them : thus, I may say, 
 il mio amico, my friend, or, V amico rp,io ; i mici amici, my 
 friends, or, gli amici miei; la mia casa, my house, or, la casa 
 mia ; le mie case, my houses, or, le case mie : and so on with 
 the other pronouns tuo, suo,nostro, vostro, loro. 
 
 When the article comes, in such cases, immediately before 
 the noun, it must, of course, be made to agree with the noun, 
 according to the rules given under the head of Etymology. So, 
 while I say, il mio amico, I must not say, il amico mio, but 
 V amico mio, and while I say, i miei amici, I must not say, 
 i amici miei, but gli amici mi6i. 
 
 133. I have said that the custom of employing the article 
 with the possessive pronoun is general: the article is not, how- 
 ever, always so employed, as we shall see. To a certain ex- 
 tent, the use or omission of the article may be required on 
 grounds of principle ; but, according to practice, there are many 
 
214 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 capos, in wliicli it may l)e either used or not, and in which it 
 is difficult to give any fixed rule. Observe the following 
 examples; in them we find a difference, and that difference 
 may bo accounted for in prmctple : 
 
 Qn*"!.!! «i i/ niio signorc. Bor. D. | This is my master. 
 
 Qu&ndo lia txio cotuc c nostro si^nore. i When he shall he thy (toaster) as he 
 
 I'kt. T. I is our master. 
 
 r 
 
 The distinction to be observed here is rather a nice one; 'yet 
 there is a distinction. In these examples we see ilmio signore 
 contrasted with tuo and nostro si(jnore. It seems that, when 
 the article is used with the possessive pronoun, there are always 
 some words to be understood besides what are expressed. It 
 would seem that, in saying, questi ti il mio signore, what is 
 meancd is, questi e V uomOy. or la persona, che b mio signore, 
 this man is the man, or the person, who is my master. Now, 
 the difference of sense intended between usine: and not usinsr 
 the article is this, that, in saying, questi e il mio signore, there 
 is some degree of exclusion of the idea that we have any other 
 master than that of which one is speaking. The same dis- 
 tinction is made in English, when, for example, we say, he 
 was my master, or, he was a master of mine: in the first of 
 these we intend no idea of there being any more than one 
 master; but, in the second, the idea of there being more than 
 the one may be understood, or not, according to circumstances. 
 Somewhat analagous to this of the English is the sense in 
 Italian when the article is or is not used. In the example, 
 questi e il mio signore : here the master spoken of is mentioned, 
 or, at least, is understood by implication, as being peculiarly 
 or properly the master of the person speaking; although the 
 idea of exclusion of other masters is not expressed. Then, 
 again, in the example, quando fia tuo come e nostro signore, 
 that is, when he shall be master of thee, or, shall have the 
 'power of a master over thee, &c. : Petrarch did not mean, 
 here, to attribute the title of master to one person exclusively , 
 or to suppose it as properly belonging to the person of whom 
 he was speaking. He merely intended to express the power or 
 influence of a master ^ without anticipating the possession of 
 
XVIII.] OF PRONOUNS. 215 
 
 that power or influence as exclusively or properly to belong to 
 the person spoken of. Observe these further examples : 
 
 Ma perchd tu se* mio amico, io la ti I But because thou art my friend, 1 will 
 inseguero. Boc. D. I tcacli it to thee, 
 
 Mostrando ch' ella fosse a casa di I Pretendinij that she was at the house 
 suiii pareuti. Boc. D. I of A tr relations. 
 
 I 
 
 Cim6ne, cosi detto, e alquanti nobili 
 gi6Tani richiesti che sitoi amici 
 erano, &c. Boc. D. 
 
 Cimone having thus said, and having 
 requested some young nobles who 
 were his friends. 
 
 Io vi voglio dire ciocchi il vostro [ I wish to tell you what yonr friend 
 amico mi fece stamdne. Boc. D, I did to me this morning. 
 
 The three first of these four examples correspond with each 
 other. The first of them we may compare with the last_, as we 
 have done the two examples before given. The mio amico 
 means the same as a friend of mine or one of my friends ; 
 while the il vostro amico means, /' uomo, or, la persona ch' e 
 vostro amico, the man, or the person who is your friend. 
 Signor Barberi, who is the only grammarian in whose work 
 I have seen this point properly noticed, says, " Suppose that a 
 *' servant has several masters : in seeing one of those masters, 
 *' ought he to say, questi e il mio padronel No, certainly; 
 " because, in expressing himself thus, he would give it to 
 ** be understood that the person he means is the only mas- 
 " ter that he has: he should say, therefore, questi c mio 
 " padrone'' 
 
 134. The article is not, generally, employed when the pro- 
 noun relates to nouns of quality or kindred. The Italians 
 say, sua maesta, his or her majesty ; vostra excellenza, your 
 excellency; swa altezza, /izs or Aer highness ; and, mz'o padre, 
 my father, tua madre, thy mother, suo fratello, his or her 
 brother, sua sorella, his or her sister. The same with fglioj 
 sou, figlia, daughter, zio, uncle, zia^ aunt, marito, husband, 
 moglie, wife, cugino or cugina, cousin, cogndto, brother-in- 
 law, cognata, sister-in-law. But this rule is by no means a 
 strict one. We frequently meet with exceptions to it in prac- 
 tice. Where the pronoun comes after the noun, let it be what 
 noun it may, whether expressive of quality or relationship of 
 zny kind, then the article must be employed : we may say, mio 
 
216 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 fratcllo, or, il fratello mio, my brother; viio padre, or, il padre 
 mio, my father. 
 
 135. When a diminutive is used, as a noun expressive of 
 kindred, then the article is generally employed : as, il mio fra- 
 telh'no, my little brother, la tua soreliina, thy little sister. 
 
 136. In using any of the nouns that express quality or 
 kindred in the plural number, the article is almost always 
 used : as, le vostre maesta, your majesties ; le vostre altezze, 
 your highnesses ; i miei fratelli, my brothers; h /ue sorelle, 
 thy sisters. 
 
 137. When there is an adjective attached to a noun of 
 kindred^ the article is almost always employed : as, la mia 
 cara madre, my dear mother; iu which case, we may either 
 put the article before the pronoun, and then the adjective 
 before the noun, as in this example; or, we may turn the 
 phrase, putting first the article, and then the adjective, with the 
 pronoun following before the noun : as, la cara mia madre. 
 We may also turn it in another way, and say, la madre mia 
 cara. The former, however, is the most comn.on manner. 
 
 138. Whenever the pronoun loro is employed with a noun 
 of kindred, whether relating to the singular or plural number, 
 the article must always be employed : as, le loro maesta, their 
 majesties, il loro padre, their father, la loro madre, their 
 mother, il loro fratello, their brother, &c. 
 
 139. Vergani tells us, that if, instead of parfre, madrCf 
 marito, moglie, fratcllo, sorclla, we make use of gemtSre, 
 genitrlce, sposo, sposa, consurte, germ/ino, germdna, which 
 are words of the same meaning, we must then employ the 
 article. This is a general rule; but there are exceptions to it 
 to be met with in practice. 
 
 140. When we use the possessive pronoun in addressing our- 
 selves to persons or things, the article is never to be employee*. 
 So we must not say, come state, il mio amico ? How do you 
 do, my friend? Oh, i mici fratelli, che fate ? Oh, my brothers, 
 what are you doing ? but, come state, mio amico? Oh, miei 
 fratelli, che fate ? and so forth. 
 
 141. It is a very common practice with the Italians to make 
 use of the personal pronouns lui, him, and lei, her, in the 
 
XVIIL] or PRONOUNS. 217 
 
 possessive Case, in place of using the possessive pronouns suOf 
 suay suoiy sue : as, vedo il frat^llo di lui, I see the brother of 
 hintf instead of, vedo suo fratello, I see his brother ; vedo 
 i frat^Ui di lui, I see the brothers of him, instead of, vedo i suoi 
 frat611i, I see his brothers ; vedo la sor^lla di lei, I see the 
 sister of her, instead of, vedo sua sorella, I see her sister ; 
 vedo le sor^lle di lei, I see the sisters of her, instead of, vedo 
 le sue sorelle, I see her sisters. And sometimes, though not 
 so commonly, di me, di te, di noi, di voi, di loro, are used 
 instead of the possessive pronouns mio, miti, mia, mie, tuo, 
 tuSi, tua, tue, &c. As relates to the use of lui and lei in the 
 possessive Case, instead of suo, suoi, sua, sue, Soave says, 
 ** We must take notice, that when the thing belongs to the 
 ** nominative, or subject of our discourse, we must always use 
 " suo, suoi, sua, sue : as, Cdsare ama suo figlio teneram^nte, 
 *' Cesar loves his son tenderly. But when there might be 
 " ambiguity in using suo, we must use di lui : as, Tito ama 
 *' C^sare e il figlio di lui, Titus loves Cesar, and the son of 
 " him ; and not, ama Cesare e suo figlio, because this might 
 *' mean that Titus loved his own son, not that of Cesar,** 
 The same observation may be applied to lei. The preposition 
 and pronoun di lui, of him, and di lei, of her, are sometimes 
 placed between the article and the noun : as, il di lui figlio, 
 la di lei figlia; which, literally translated, are, the of him son, 
 the of her daughter ; instead of il figlio di lui, the, son of him, 
 la figlia di lei, the daughter of her, 
 
 142. The Italians have no separate pronouns to represent our 
 mine, thine, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs. With the exception 
 of the pronoun his, which does not vary in its form here, we 
 have two sets of pronouns to express possession : namely, these 
 just mentioned, and those ^V which we have before been speak- 
 ing. But the Italians have but the one set of possessive pro- 
 nouns, mio, tuo, suo, &c. In making use of mio, tuo, suo, &c. 
 to express our mine, thine, his, &c., they do not use the article 
 at all ; as : 
 
 Questo carallo d mio, , This horse is mine. 
 
 Quelln casa d tua, I That house is thine. 
 
 Qsesti libri »ono tuoi, | ' These books are his. 
 
2i8 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 And so forth witli the other pronouns, itostro, vostro, loro. 
 But, it is only when the verb to be is employed in tliis way, to 
 point out or demonstrate, with our pronouns mine, thine^ &c. 
 that the Italians can translate such phrases without the article. 
 For example, it* I say, I have some wine in my cellar, but thou 
 hast none in thhie : I must translate this by, lo ho del vino 
 nellamia cantina, ma tu non ne hai nella tua ; and not in iuUy 
 without the article. 
 
 143. To express the phrases, a friend of mine, tivo friends 
 of mine, and so forth, the Italians say : 
 
 Vn mio amico, 
 Due mici amici, 
 Alcuni m'lii amici, 
 Alqnanti mici amici, 
 Piit mici amici, 
 Molti mUi amici, 
 
 A friend 0/ mine. 
 Two frieodi! of mine. 
 Some friends 0/ mine. 
 Some fen friends of mine. 
 More frienrls of mine. 
 Many friends of mine. 
 
 We may turn such phrases in another way, in both languages, 
 and say, using the article in the Italian : 
 
 One of my friends, 
 Tno of my friends, 
 Some of my friends, 
 Some few of my friends, 
 More of my friends, 
 Many of my friends, 
 
 Uno dei miii amici. 
 Due dei miei amici. 
 Alctmi dei mtii amici. 
 Alquanti dei miei amici. 
 Piu dti mici amici. 
 Molti dti miti amici. 
 
 And so on it would be, in translating our other pronouns, thine^ 
 his^ hers, &c. 
 
 When we use mine, thine, &c. after the preposition of, and 
 a noun preceding has one of the demonstrative pronouns thit, 
 that, those, before it ; in such case, the Italians express them- 
 gelves as follows : 
 
 This hat 0/ mine, 
 Tliat house of thine. 
 These clothes of his. 
 Those friends of yours, 
 
 Quest mio cappt-IIo. 
 ' Quella ttta casa. 
 Questi su6i p6nni. 
 Qnei vostri amici. 
 
 And our words every, no, certain, when employed in such 
 cases, are expressed as follows : 
 
 Every friend of mine, 
 Aohat of yours, 
 Certain friends 0/ his, 
 
 Ogni mio amico. 
 Niuno vostro cappello. 
 Ctrti sn6i amici. 
 
XVIII.] OF PRONOUNS. 219 
 
 144, The pronouns mio, tuo, suo, nostro, vostro, loro, used 
 with the article, have sometimes the meaning of my property, 
 goods, or, substance, thy property, goods, or substance, &c. ; 
 as: 
 
 Spendo ilmio in metter tdvola, ed in 
 onorSre i miei coKcittadini. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 I spend my wealth in keeping open 
 table, and in treating my fellow- 
 citizens. 
 
 Vedi a cui io do inangiire il mio. i See to whom I give my substance to 
 
 Boc.D. I eat. 
 
 And these pronouns in the plural, with the article, i miei, 
 iiuSi, isuoi, &c., are frequently used in the sense of oae's 
 companions, soldiers, relations, or countrymen • as: 
 
 L'oifese fatte a' subi nelle sjuerre di I Theinjuries done to ftis/^eo/^Ze in the 
 Guascogna, &c. Fio. N. I wars of Gasgony. 
 
 Uscirono dalla citta con molti de' j They wfent out of the city with many 
 suLi. Dav. S, I of their soldiers. 
 
 Con tutti i sudi entro in cammino. i He entered on his journey with all his 
 
 Boc. D. 1 people. 
 
 Mentre ragi6na a'siioi, &c. j While she speaks to her warriors. 
 
 Tas.G.L. I 
 
 Ccsi da' su6i tiadito mori ManfreHi. i Thus betrayed by his soldiers Man- 
 
 GiA. S. 'I freddied. 
 
 J 45. It very frequently occurs, in Italian, that the possessive 
 pronoun is altogether left out, and the definite article alone 
 stands to represent the idea of possession. This is sometimes 
 the case in our language ; but, comparatively speaking, very 
 seldom. We say, for example, he received a blow on ths 
 head, he has a defect in the eye, he pulled him by the sleeve, 
 I took him by the hand, the house is weak in the roof: mean- 
 ing, his head, his eye, his sleeve, his hand, its roof. But we 
 cannot, in our language, take much liberty in this way ; while, 
 in Italian, the liberty is almost unbounded. The Italians say : 
 
 Egli ha perduto la vista, 
 Io lo feci colla mano, 
 L' uomo i giunto colla moglie, 
 Elladisse alia figlia, 
 
 He has lost the sight. 
 
 I did it with the hand. 
 
 The man is arrived with the wife. 
 
 She said to the daughter. 
 
 Instead of, la sua vista, his sight, colla mia mano, with my 
 hand, con sua moglie, with his wife, a sua figlia, to her 
 daughter. Observe the following examples : 
 
 l2 
 
220 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Tancredi uccide 1' anante drlla 
 flglin61a. Boc. D. 
 
 Bono tutti tuAi ; U ofTprlncono il snn- 
 fue, la roba, la TJta, ed i flgli- 
 
 Mac. v. 
 
 Cke farli tu, s'clla il dice o' fratelli ? 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 il giuvane udendo le parolr drlla ma- 
 drc, &c. Boc. D. 
 
 Perchi fiorTiepiii belli hai nrl viso. 
 
 Tas. a. 
 
 i rende Tcnerabile ai soggetti. 
 
 Tas.G.L. 
 
 1 
 
 7'nncrcd kills the lover of hit daugh- 
 ter. 
 
 They are all thine (at thy disposal); 
 they off'«T thee their blood, their 
 property, their lire.^, and thtir chil- 
 dren. 
 
 What wilt thou do if she tell it to her 
 brothers ? 
 
 The youth bearing the words of hit 
 mother. 
 
 Because thou hast mnch more beauti- 
 ful flowers in thy face. 
 
 He renders himself venerable to Ai* 
 subjects. 
 
 146. There is one thing, in the employing' of the article 
 without the pronoun, -which is often very puzzling to the 
 learner ; and it is this, that, while the possessive pronoun is 
 omitted, the personal pronoun representing the person to whom 
 possession is attributed, is introduced ; and the personal pro- 
 noun, thus used, is always in the dative Case. In the follow- 
 ing examples we see the article used instead of the possessive 
 pronoun, and the personal pronouns 7?ii, ti, gli, le, si, ci, vi, 
 all in the dative : 
 
 Ambo le roani per dolor mi morsi. 
 
 Dan. In. 
 
 Gaddo tni si gett6 disteso a' piedi. 
 
 Dan. In, 
 
 II nome che nel cor mi scrisse amore. I 
 
 Pbt. S. I 
 
 Hosentito delle cose, che jn'hanno inon- I 
 dato t/ cuore di giiibilo. Gol. C. I 
 
 Se ti sento favellare, io ti ta^lierb il I 
 collo. Mac. C. I 
 
 « Cli sonavano ntgli orecchi gli stru- 
 men^i. G. Goz. N. 
 
 Labella donna che cotinto amava, 
 Novellamente gli c dal cor partita. 
 
 Ari.O.F. 
 
 ■i con le sue man h man le sciolse. 
 
 Tab. a. 
 
 Ma come Silvia in liberty le mani 
 5iTide,3cc. Tas. A. 
 
 I bit both my hands for grief. 
 
 Gaddo threw himself stretched at my 
 
 feet. 
 
 The name which lore wrote in my 
 heart. 
 
 I have heard things which have filled 
 my heart with joy. 
 
 If I hear thee speak, I will cut thjf 
 throat. 
 
 The instruments sounded in his ears. 
 
 The fair lady whom he so much loved, 
 is all at once banished from his 
 heart 
 
 With his hands he tintied her hands. 
 
 But when Sylvia saw her hands ia 
 liberty. 
 
XVIII.l 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 221 
 
 Squarciosst i panni, e«t percosse ilviso. I She tore her clothes, and stnick her 
 
 Ari. O. F. I face. 
 
 '—— ei trassc gli 6cchi ad alto un grido. | A cry attracted our eyes on high. 
 
 Tas. a. 
 
 LascUte che io vi baci /« mano. 
 
 GoL.C. 
 
 Permit that I kiss your baud. 
 
 These are to be observed, in this place, as instances in which 
 the Italians employ the article, and omit the possessive pronoun. 
 The employment, here, of the personal pronoun in the dative 
 Case is a matter to be considered in another part of Syntax. 
 (See Paragraph 289.) 
 
 147. Our word own, which is a noun, meaning what one 
 owns or what belongs to one, is expressed by the adjective 
 prSpiOj or proprio. Thus, the Italians say, mia propia figli- 
 uola, my own daughter, di sua propria testa, of his own head, 
 il tuo propio libro, thy owjihook. And this word is often used 
 with the article and without the possessive pronoun : as, 
 
 Assai ed uomini e donne abbandona- 
 rono la propria citta, le pruprie 
 case. Boc. D. 
 
 Many, both men and women, aban- 
 doned their own city, their orvn 
 houses. 
 
 Of Relative Pronouns, 
 
 148. For the Etymology of these, see Paragraph 43. It 
 w^ill here be necessary to do hardly any more than show the 
 various meanings of the words che and quale. I have already 
 noticed, in Etymology, the different ways of employing the 
 pronoun onde. We will now see how the two relatives che 
 and quale are employed. 
 
 Che, with a grave accent on the e, is sometimes used as an 
 abbreviation of the word percht, why ; as, che non andate? 
 why do you not go? che non 'parlatel why do you not 
 speak ? CJie is used, also, in the sense of our word what, in 
 exclamations ; as, che bella donna! what a handsome lady ! 
 Sometimes it is used in the sense oiperche, for, or because ; as, 
 Epero comdndami, cii' io desidero servirti, and therefore com- 
 mand me,ybr I desire to serve thee : Fio, N. Che means the 
 same as our word than, when employed to express comparison ; 
 2.8, egli e pii ricco che savio, he is more rich than wise, 
 Che is employed in the sense of that, as a conjunction; as. 
 
222 SYNTAX [Chap, 
 
 voi mi dicesfe cue avevate un cavnllo, you told me that 
 30U had a liorse. Che sometimes stands for as ; as, un rjiornoy 
 CHE veniva a visitarci, one daj, as he was coming to visit us. 
 Che is sometimes used in the sense of our word butj when but, 
 in English, has tlie same sense as 0)ihj ; as, efjli non ha ciiE 
 vn cavatlo, he has but one horse. The word che, when im- 
 mediately preceded by the negative non, very frequently an- 
 swers the purjx)se of our compound conjunctions much more 
 and jiiuch less : as, 
 
 E' dnv' ella comanda 
 Lbbidiace anco il ciei non che]a, terra. 
 
 GuA- P. F. 
 
 An'! wlicn sherommanJs, even heaven 
 obeys, much more \bt earlb. 
 
 Sjjero trovar pieta, non <?Ae perdono. I I hope to find pity, mucA more pardon. 
 
 Pet. So!*. I 
 
 ♦ IJn volnme non basterebbe, 7inn che I A Tolutne wonld not be enough, murA 
 
 una letlera. i3s.N. L. I /eo a letter. 
 
 Quale is sometimes used in the sense of such as, or like ; as, 
 quesio uomo ii divcnuto quale sciocco, this man is got to be 
 like a fool : Questo c quale voi lo volcte, this is such as 
 you wish it. Quale is used in the sense of some, in speaking 
 
 of either persons or things : as, 
 
 * ] 
 
 Quo? se n' andA in conta'.o, e fjual I Some went into the country, and *om< 
 qui, e qttal \L Dec. D. I here, and sotTte there. 
 
 £ quall3isc\b ferito, e quale ucciso. I And $ome he left wounded, and c om« 
 
 Aiii. O. f . I dead. 
 
 It sometimes has reference to the quality or nature of a thing ; 
 as, 71071 sapctc quale e il dolor ch^ io seiito, you do not know 
 what grief I feel : literally, you do not know what is tfik grief, 
 or, of what nature is the grief, 1 feel. Quale is used, also, in 
 an exclamatory way, in the sense of our word tvhat ; as, qual 
 upmo ! What a man! qual pazzo set tu! What a fool 
 thou art .' 
 
 Quale, in its capacity of relative pronoun, always re- 
 quires the article with it. Thus we must say, /' noma il 
 quale, the man who ; git uomini 1 quali, the men who; la 
 donna la quale, the woman who; le donne le quali, the 
 women who ; and not /' uomo quale, gli uomini quali, &c. 
 Che and quale are, as relatives, very nearly the same in their 
 
XVIII.^ OF PRONOUNS. 223 
 
 employment. But cuz dift'ers from them in this, that cui can 
 never be used in the nominative Case ; and that, while, in the 
 objective Casey we may apply either che or cui indifferently in 
 speaking of both persons and things, we must, in the othar 
 Cases, use cui, if we be speaking of persons; and, if we be 
 speaking of things not rational, we may use either che or cui. 
 In the nominative, we may say, V uomo cue corre, the 
 man who, or that, runs, and, il cavallo che corre, the 
 horse which, or that, runs ; and, in the objective we may 
 say, r uomo che, or cui ho veduto, the man whom, or 
 that, I have seen; and il cavallo che, or cui ho veduto, 
 the horse which, or that, I have seen. But, in the posseS" 
 sive, dative, and ablative Cases, we must not apply di che^ 
 a che, da che, to persons ; but, rather, di cui, a cui, da cui. 
 They are both equally applicable to things merely ; but, in 
 speaking of persons, the former is proper. So we must say, 
 V uomo di cui, the man oiwhom-, V uomo a cui, the man to 
 whom; V uomo da cui, the man from whom; &c. And, in 
 speaking of a horse, we may either say, il cavallo di che, or 
 di CUI, the horse of which ; il cavallo a che, or a cui, the 
 horse to which ; il cavallo da che, or da cui, the horse from 
 which. Che has sometimes the article employed with it, like 
 quale : il che, del che, al che, meaning the same as, il quale^ 
 del quale, &c. 
 
 149. The Italians have no word precisely like our whose. 
 Whose is sometimes used in a sort of half relative and half 
 possessive sense; as, tlie man whose horse I saw : here whose 
 does the office of a relative pronoun, and, at the same time, 
 ascribes possession. Then, again, we use it interrogatively 
 with the sense of possession ; as, whose horse is this? Here 
 we mean, the man, the horse of whom; ofwhomisihis horse? 
 The adding in this way, ofse to our ivho, in order to markpos- 
 session, is a thing similar to that mentioned in the Syntax of 
 Nouns, that is, the putting of an s with an apostrophe at the 
 end of a poun to mark its being in the possessive Case. To 
 express our whose in the relative sense, the Italians would 
 use di cui, of whom, and, to express the interrogative sense, 
 they would use di chi, of whom : as, 
 
224 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 Una donna, di cui la virtu i ctlebrc,' I A Imly ti hott virtue ii celebrated. 
 JJi chi t quMto libro 'f I Whose it this book ? 
 
 150. It frequently happens that the prepositions di and a, 
 the signs of the possessive and dative Cases, are omitted before 
 the relative cuij though the sense of them is intended to be 
 understood : as, 
 
 Amore, la cui Datura ^ tale, &c. I Love, theaatureo/it'AtcAia sacb. 
 
 Boc. D. I 
 
 Voi, cut fortunabaposto il freno, &c. • You, to nhotn fortune bas placed the 
 
 Pet. C. I bridle. 
 
 Here what is meaned is, la natura di cui, a cui fortuna ha 
 posto. Sometimes the words di cui have the article placed 
 before them : il di cui, la di cui, i di cui, le di cui. The 
 meaning of these, literally, is, the of whom, or, the of which. 
 Per example, we may express the sense of the foregoing ex- 
 ample of Boccaccio in three difi'erent ways: 
 
 Amore, la cui natura h tale, 
 
 °'^' I Love, the nature of nhieh (or 
 
 Amore, la di cui natura d tale, ^ 
 
 '» 
 
 or, 
 Amore, la natura di cut i tale, 
 
 I Love, the nature of nhieh 
 ( nhote nature) is sucb. 
 
 Then, again, there is a fourth manner of expressing the same; 
 namely, with the relative quale with the article before it: 
 Amore, la natura del quale e tale. — The form of expression with 
 the article before the dt cui is, by some, considered not good. 
 SoAVE tells us that such phrases as " la di cui natura," the na- 
 ture of which or ofiuhom, or whose nature, ** il di cui valore," 
 the bravery of which, or of whom, or whose bravery, zire not 
 to be used, and that they are vicious in grammar. 
 
 Of Demonstrative Pronouns. 
 
 151. In the Etymolog}' of these pronouns {Paragraph 44), 
 I have explained, in a great measure, the manner in which 
 they are used in Italian. It will not, I think, be necessary to 
 add any thing to what I have said under the head of Ety- 
 mology. 
 
XVIIL] ' OF PRONOUNS. 225 
 
 Of Interrogative Pronouns. 
 
 152. See the Etymology of these pronouns (Paragraph 45), 
 with some explanations as to their employment ; and see, also, 
 Paragraph 149. The interrogative chi will again have to be 
 noticed, both as an indeterminate pronoun, and as having a 
 relative signification; for which see Paragraph 157. With 
 these references I may quit this head. There is but very little 
 to require explanation in the interrogatives. 
 
 Of Indeterminate Pronouns, 
 
 153. At Paragraph 46, beneath which there is a list of the 
 indeterminate pronouns, I have referred to Syntax for explana- 
 tion relative to some of these. The only pronouns of this class 
 that it is necessary to take particular notice of are, unOy V una, 
 /' WTza, gli uni, le une, Valtro, V altra, gli altriy le altre, altri, 
 altrui, and chi. 
 
 154. Uno and una^ besides the meaning which they have as 
 numerical adjectives, sometimes stand indefinitely in the sense 
 of a person, just as our word one does in English : as. 
 
 Egli e quasi impossihile chewno possa 
 stare un anno ozioso. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 It is almost impossible tliat one should 
 be able to remain a year idle. 
 
 155. L' uno, r una, represent our the one, 2ind gli uni, le 
 une, our the ones ; in the same way, Z' altro, V altra, repre- 
 sent our the other, and gli altri, le altre, our the others. As 
 in the following examples : 
 
 SalTcak I'onore delV una, senza ini- 
 tire la passioue deW altro. 
 
 GoL. C. 
 
 I will save the honour of the one^ 
 without irritating the passion oithc 
 other. 
 
 Perfida Z'wnfl, e Z'(i7f ro ^ tradi tore. | The one is perfidious, and tht other 
 
 Ari. O. F. I a traitor. 
 
 Altro and altri are sometimes used in repetition, both in the 
 singular number; the first, in the sense of one thing and an- 
 other thing, the latter^ in that oi one person and another per ^ 
 son- as: 
 
 AltiQ ^ pavUr di morte, aUro e morire. i It is one thing to talk of death, ani$th(r 
 
 Maf. M. I to die, 
 
 l5 
 
226 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Cliap. 
 
 AUri cadr, altri fu?i;f, alli i s'nppiatln. 
 
 Ari.O. F. 
 
 One M\%, another fleet, another souhXt 
 down. 
 
 1.36. 'Hie word uLtrni has the same meaning as altri; and, 
 like hUriy may be employed in both the singular and plural 
 numbers. But altri is used in no otlier Case than the nominal 
 tive, while altrui is used in all the Cases, tlie nominative ex- 
 cepted. In the possessive and dative Cases, it is, observe, very 
 customary to omit the })repositions dt and a, the signs of those 
 Cases, before the pronoun altrui. The word altrui conveys 
 the possessive and dative sense, of itself, without t!ie preposi- 
 tion ; as may be seen by the following examples : 
 
 Dove Rujjgier viye in altrui balia. 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 De' fatti altrui sempre ccrcar novella, &c. 
 
 ' Am. O. F. 
 
 agli insnUi alh-iti. 
 
 Mkt. O. 
 
 colui 
 
 Che Ti (lit lorza sopra i cu6ri aiti ui. 
 
 Sac. R. 
 
 la mia tita, ch' i celatr. nitrvi. 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Chi ^ altrui sottoposto dee sapere, &c. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 — — non vo' (larla a te, ne altrui. 
 
 Ari.O F. 
 
 Where Ro;;er lives in the power of 
 another. 
 
 Alw:»yslo seek news of other people^s 
 doitii^s. 
 
 To the insults of others. 
 
 He who gives you power over the 
 hearts of others. 
 
 My life, which is bidden to others. 
 
 He who is subjected to others ought 
 to know. '^ 
 
 i I will not give her to thee, nor to 
 I anothtr. 
 
 157. The pronoun chi has the significations of he who, or 
 the person- who, any one, or any person who, some one, or 
 some person who ; and, as an interrogative, it means who, and 
 sometimes luhich when applied in speaking oi persons. When 
 the prepositions di, a, da, are used bfefore du, it means of him 
 who, to him luflo, or the person who, &c. Observe the.e ex- 
 amples : 
 
 Chi (t altrui sottop63to dee sapere, &c.' 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 cki bene impera 
 
 Si rende venerdbile ai soggetti. 
 
 Ta9. G. L. « 
 
 Chi va fuor del suo paese a veder il 
 mondo, &c. B&.\. L, 
 
 Sin maladctto ehi tal lecc^e pose, 
 E maladctto «/ji la pxio patire. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Herrho is subjected to others ought 
 to know. 
 
 ne nho covenn well renders himself 
 venerable to his subjects. 
 
 He who goes out of his country to see 
 the world. 
 
 Cursed be he mho imposed snrb a 
 law, and cur»ed he rvho can endure 
 it. 
 
XVIIL] 
 
 OF PRONOUNS. 
 
 227 
 
 N^ sari in Italia chi vi si opponga. 
 
 Gui. S. 
 
 Colui che ingdnna trovera sempre chi si 
 Jaseitri inganniie. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Beato e ben chi nasce a tal destino. 
 
 Pet. T. 
 
 Chi mi dari la voce e le parole 
 Conveuienti a si nobil sogg^tto? 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Chi di noi avr6bbe vantiggio? 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Nor will there be ar.y one in Italy 
 who will oppose himself to it. 
 
 He wlio deceiTes will always find 
 some one mho will allow himself to 
 be deceived. 
 
 Blessed indeed is he who is born to 
 such a destiny. 
 
 Who will give me voice and words lit 
 for such a noble theme ? 
 
 Which of us would have the advan- 
 tage ? 
 
 The employing of chi, in the sense of he w%o, or the person 
 who, is very similar to a manner we have of using our who 
 alone, having the sense of the personal pronoun he included 
 in it. Thus, Shakspeare has, ^' who steals my purse 
 steals trash," meaning, he who, or the person who steals my 
 purse. But the use of chi, in this manner, is of very frequent 
 occurrence in ItaHan, while, in our language, the who, thus 
 used, occurs but very seldom. Instead of using chi, in this 
 way, it is optional with the Italians to use_ the demonstrative 
 pronoun colui, that man, or that person, with the relative che 
 following it ; as : 
 
 Ma colui che arriva al priacipato con 11 
 favore popolare, &c. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 But he mho, or that person who, ar- 
 rives at the princely power with the 
 popular favour. 
 
 Here Macchiavelli might have said chi arriva, as well 
 as, COLUI cue arriva, . And, in the sixth. of the foregoing 
 examples, it might have been, chi ingdnna, as well as colui 
 CUE ingdnna » 
 
228 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SYNTAX OF AdJFXTIVES. 
 
 I 
 
 157. For the Etymology of this part of speech, see Para' 
 graph 47. In the Syntax of adjectives, we have three things, 
 principally, to consider: first, the agreement of the adjective, in 
 gendei' and number, with the noun ; secondly, the manner in 
 •which the Italians express comparison in en»ploying the adjec- 
 tive ; and, thirdly, the situation that adjectives occupy in sen- 
 tences, relatively to the other words among which they are 
 placed. We will first consider the gender and number. There 
 is no great diflSculty in this matter : the adjective agrees with 
 the noun, in gender and number, by having its termination tQ 
 correspond with that of the noun ; as : 
 
 Masculine. 
 
 o- ( I' riomo virtuoso, 
 
 Bittff- J 
 
 I The virtuous man. 
 
 r,, ( ffli udmitii virtu6si, 
 Plur. i-L. . 
 
 I The virtuous men. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 I 
 
 Femininb. 
 f T.a donna virluita, 
 i The virtuous woman. 
 
 Plur ^ '* donne virtuose, 
 
 I The virtuous women. 
 
 Thus it is with all adjectives that have ybz^r terminatiom; 
 that is, two for the masculine, and two for the feminine. But 
 there are, as we have seen in Etymologj^, a great many adjec- 
 tives that have only^ic'o terminations-, one for the masculine 
 and feminine singular, and one for the masculine and feminine 
 plural ; as : 
 
 Masculine. 
 
 „. ( I' uomo amabile, 
 
 I The amiable man. 
 
 _. ( Gli u6mini amubilif 
 \ The amiable men. 
 
 Sintj . 
 
 Plur. 
 
 Feminine. 
 ( In donna amabile, 
 \ The amiable woman. 
 
 ( le donne amabili, 
 \ The amiable women. 
 
XIX.] OF ADJECTIVES. 229 
 
 This is learned in an instant. But it sometimes occurg, 
 that there are two nouns, or more, which are different from 
 each other in their gender or number, or, different both in 
 gender and number, and that they come before an adjective 
 ■which relates to both, or to all of them. It is a general rule, 
 in such cases, that the masculine gender is to he preferred 
 to the feminine ; and, therefore, the adjective is, generally, 
 made to agree with the noun which is in the masculine 
 gender : as, 
 
 W\ofratcllo e mia sorella carissimi, | My verij dear brother and sister. 
 
 Thus it is, if the nouns represent things which may be distin- 
 guished as belonging to the one or the other gender by their 
 sex. But if the nouns represent things which have not sex to 
 distinguish them, then the adjective must be made to agree 
 with the noun which stands nearest to it : as. 
 
 La casa ed i palazzi altif 
 
 or, 
 I palazzi e la casa alia, 
 
 The high house and palaces. 
 
 or, 
 The high palaces and house. 
 
 In the first example, mio fratello e mia sorella carissimi, 
 there is, on account of the sex of the persons spoken of, more 
 choice allowed as to which noun, fratello or sorella^ should 
 stand first ; for, if sex be expressed by one of the nouns which 
 is in the masculine, then, whether that noun stand next to the 
 adjective or not, the adjective must be in the masculine gender. 
 But in this latter example, it would be much better to say, la 
 casa ed i palazzi aid, than to express it in the other way. 
 We are obliged, on' account of the sex of the masculine /"ra^e/Zo, 
 to say carissimij and not carissime -, and as, when nouns do 
 not represent things having sex, we must make the adjective 
 agree with the last of the nouns, and as the masculine is to be 
 preferred to the feminine gender, it is best always to put the 
 masculine next to the adjective. It would not sound well to 
 say, I palazzi e la casa alti, on account of the masculine ad- 
 jective in the plural coming immediately next to the feminine 
 noun in the singular. If both the nouns be in the plural, we 
 may put the feminine nearest the adjective, the adjective agree- 
 ing in gender with the noun in the masculine which has gone 
 before: as, 
 
 \ 
 
230 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 I paisi t le «itl6/am6si, \ The counttirs and rttitt famoua. 
 
 But, thoti2:h the adjective does, here, agree in number with the 
 noun cittUy it would be best to jmt the noun fafsi next the ad- 
 jective ; because, with the latter noun, the adjective would then 
 agice both in gender and nu?nbcr. It would sound much 
 better to say, le citU) cd i yaesifavwsi. 
 
 If there be any word or words coming between the last of the 
 nouns and the adjective, then the adjective must agree with the 
 masculine noun, whether that noun stand next to the adjective 
 or not ; as : 
 
 La casn ed i palazzi ess^ndo alti, 
 / J>alct:i e la casa che sono alti, 
 
 Tlir house and the palaces being 
 
 The palaces axiH the house which 
 are hiyh. 
 
 And this must be the case, also, when there are two or more nouns 
 all in the singular number, though differing in gender ; as: 
 
 II mcrilo c laforluna vanno rara- 
 
 mente uviti, 
 Quest' ulivo e questa vite sodo 
 
 ■ijellissimi, 
 
 Merit and fortune seldom go 
 
 united. 
 This olive-tree and this vine are 
 
 vary fine. 
 
 And not, II merito e la fortuna unitej quest' ulivo e questa vite 
 bellissimi. 
 
 158. When we make use of nouns of multitude, which, in 
 the singular number, represent a number of persons or things 
 collectively, we must, in Italian, put the adjective in the sin- 
 gular ; as : 
 
 nn popolo scontento, 
 una gente ajtitta, 
 una turba sfrtnitta. 
 
 a disc'^nted people, 
 an ajfiicted race, 
 au unbridled mob. 
 
 But in using the expressions il piu, most, la piu parte, the 
 most part, la maggior pai*te, the greater part, 2in buon numerOy 
 a good number, la meta, the half, una parte, a part, una gran 
 parte, a great part: in using these, with a plural noun follow- 
 ing them, the adjective which relates to the noun,, if there be 
 any, must be in the plural, and agree with the noun in gender; 
 as : 
 
 // pm di quest! u6mini sono af- | Most of these men are a£Bicted. 
 yiitti, I 
 
XIX.] 
 
 OF ADJECTIVES. 
 
 '231 
 
 Im piu parte degli u6mini sono 
 
 amhizidsi, 
 La matjgior parte di questi fichi 
 
 sono buSni, 
 Vn buon numero del p6polo erano 
 
 scontenti. 
 
 The most part of m«n are ambi- 
 tious. 
 
 Tlie greater part of theie figs are 
 good. 
 
 A good nnmber of the people iwere 
 discontented. 
 
 Yet these may, according to circumstances, be used in either 
 Avay, having the adjective in the singular or in the plwal. 
 When they are intended to express an indefinite part of a mcm- 
 her of persons or things, and the noun coming after is in the 
 plural, as in the above examples, then the adjective must agree 
 with the noun in its plural number and in the gender it expresses. 
 But the noun may sometimes be in the singular number; and, 
 in such case, the adjective must agree with the noun or not, 
 just according to the sense that is intended. For example : 
 
 La magtjior parte dell' esercito 
 
 riniasero morti, 
 Una parte di questo defldro e do- 
 
 vuta a ine. 
 
 The greater part of the army re- 
 mained dead. 
 
 A part of this money is due to 
 me. 
 
 In the first example, numbers is understood, though not ex- 
 pressed, by the word esercito ; and therefore the adjective is in 
 the plural : in the' second, the adjective agrees, in gender, with 
 the una 'parte itself, as a noun, and not with the dendro, to 
 which the una parte relates with a partitive signification'. 
 
 159. With respect to the comparison of adjectives, the thing 
 most important to attend to, is the way in which our word than 
 is expressed by the Italians. To translate our than, they have 
 two words, namely, the preposition di and the word che, which 
 latter is a relative pronoun, and which has_, besides, other capa- 
 cities than that of pronoun, as we have already seen in Para- 
 graph 148. 
 
 160. In Paragraph 54, I have said something about the 
 manner of forming the comparat-;ve and superlative degrees of 
 adjectives. It is in the comparative degree, and especially as 
 respects the way of expressing our than in making comparison, 
 that the two languages differ most. There are certain adverbs 
 made use of in expressing comparison, as was observed in Para- 
 graph 54. The adverbs most frequently used are, piu, more, 
 me7i,0y less, mcglioj better, and jpe^^zo, worse. Now, then,' let 
 
232 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 us see when v:e are to use di, and when c/te, in the sense of 
 our thaji. 
 
 In the first place, di is used before the personal pronouns ; 
 as: 
 
 Tn sei piCi ricco di me, 
 Jo sono piCi ricco di te, 
 ErU e ineno rirco di lei, 
 Ella i- ineno rirca di liii, 
 ^oi siimo pii^ ricchi di voi, 
 Voi siete piCi ricchi di not, 
 lo sono men ricco di loro, 
 
 Thou art more rich than I. 
 I am more rich than thou. 
 Hf is less rich than she. 
 She is less rich than he. 
 We are more rich than you. 
 You are more rich than we, 
 I am less rich than they. 
 
 161. Then, again, we must use di before the possessive pro- 
 nouns : 
 
 Quel cavallo t piu bello del tos- 
 
 tro, 
 I>a mia casa c meno alta della 
 
 tua, 
 
 I suoi scolari sono meno dotti dti 
 mici, 
 
 II mio giardino e piil grande del 
 vostro, 
 
 That horse is more handiome 
 
 than yours. 
 My house is less high than thine. 
 
 His scholars are less learned (Aan 
 
 mine. 
 My garden is more large than 
 
 yours. 
 
 162. Before nouns, also, with which the definite article is 
 employed, we must use di • as : 
 
 La chiesa e piO alta ddla casa, 
 11 ci61o e piCi grande della terra, 
 L' argento e meno prezioso dell' 
 
 OtOy 
 
 The church is more high than 
 
 the house. 
 The sky is more large than the 
 
 earth. 
 Silver is less precious than gold. 
 
 And di is used before nouns which are the proper names of 
 persons, places, &c. ; as : 
 
 GioYantii <i piii dotto di Tomaso, 
 Parigi e meno grande di Londra, 
 
 John is more learned fAanThoma*. 
 Paris is less large than London. 
 
 163. Di is used before the infinitive of a verb, where the 
 infinitive has' the article with it and is employed in the capacity 
 of a noun, like our participle active, which is an idiom noticed 
 particularly at Paragraph 248 ; as : 
 
 Lo scrivere ^ meno facile del 
 ^ pari ire, 
 
 E migliore il laTorare dtllo stare 
 in oziOf 
 
 Writing is less easy than speak- 
 ing. 
 
 Workin:;' is better than remaining 
 in idleneii. 
 
XIX.] 
 
 OF ADJECTITES, 
 
 233 
 
 164. Now, if we were to translate these examples literally, 
 they would be thus : thou art more rich of me, that horse is 
 more handsome q/ thine, the church is more high o/"the house, 
 John is more learned oy Thomas, writing is less easy q/* speak- 
 ing; and so on with the rest. But here is, in Italian, some- 
 thing left to be understood besides what is expressed. What is 
 meaned is : tu sei piu ricco a comparazioyie di me, quel cavallo 
 "h piu bello a comparazione del tuo, la chiesa e piu alta a com- 
 parazione della casa, Giovanni e piu dotto a comparazione di 
 Tomaso. That is, thou art more rich when compared with me, 
 that horse is more handsome whe7i compared with thine, &c. ; 
 or, as the Italians have it, literally, thou art more rich at com^ 
 parison o/me, &c. And here we see the reason why the 
 Italians do not use the personal pronoun in the nominative in 
 such cases, as we do, but say me, te, lui, lei, me, thee, him, 
 her, &c. instead oiio, tu, egli, ella, I, thou, he, she, &c. 
 
 We will now take some examples of the use of che, and, 
 afterwards, see the reason that is to guide us as to when we 
 should employ di and when die, 
 
 165. Che must be used between two verbs, when there is 
 comparison made between the different acts or states of being 
 described by the verbs ; as : 
 
 Ella parla piil chc non legge, 
 
 E meglio fare che dire, 
 
 Ella e piii bella che non pareva, 
 
 Meglio non far nulla che far male, 
 
 She talks more than she reads. 
 It is better to do than to say. 
 She is more handsome than she 
 
 appeared. 
 Better not do any thing than do 
 
 evil. 
 
 166. Che must be used in making comparison between two 
 adjectives, as to the degree in which the quality or character- 
 istic described by the one is possessed relatively to that which 
 is described by the other ; as : 
 
 Id sono piOl ricco che dotto, 
 Ella t pii bella che amabile, 
 
 Voi siete meno prudente che for- 
 
 tunato, 
 Meglio ozioso c/iemal impiegato, 
 
 I am more rich than learned. 
 
 She is more handsome than ami- 
 able. 
 
 You are less prudent than fortu- 
 nate. 
 
 Better idle <AaJi ill-employed. 
 
 167. Che must be used in comparison between two nouns, 
 
234 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 when the nouns hnve a sort of adjective capacity, and express 
 the catluifjs^ states in life^ or conditions, of people ; as: 
 
 £gli c miglior oratore che poeta, 
 £gli k piuttoato seno chr padrone, 
 
 He is a better oratoT than poet 
 
 He is r&lUer a servant fAan a master. 
 
 168. Che must be used when the comparison is made be- 
 tween two adverbs ; as : 
 
 Voi tiete pid felice adesso che 
 
 altre volte, 
 £gli paria peggio'oggi thejeri, 
 
 lo sto meglio qii i the altrove, 
 ^ meglio tardi che mai, 
 
 Yoa are more happy now than 
 formerly. 
 
 He speaks worse today than yes- 
 terday. 
 
 I am better here than elsewhere. 
 
 It is better late (Aan never 
 
 169. It is an easy thing to tell us in a few words, and with 
 a few rules, that we must sometimes use di and sometimes che. 
 But rules are sometimes very insufficient when unaccompanied 
 by reasons ; and the reasons that grammarians give us about 
 this matter are by no means satisfactory. The matter is clear 
 enough so far as this, that, when di is used, the phrase '' a 
 comparazione" is always left to be understood, and tliat the 
 sense of that phrase, or something similai* to it, being intended 
 by |he Italians, is the cause of their sometimes using dij in- 
 stead of che, which latter word is, observe, the proper repre- 
 sentative of our thaJi. It is, particularly, when the verb essere, 
 to be, is made use of, and when the repetition of that verb 
 does not take place, that di, instead of che, is employed. 
 When the di is used, it serves, in most cases, to form the com- 
 parison merely as to the bei7ig of the persons or things between 
 which the comparison is made. 
 
 PiCk scaltra certo se'tu di me. 
 
 GuA. P. F. 
 
 More canning, certainly, ert thoa 
 than I. 
 
 That is to say, a comparazione di me. And observe, now, 
 that if we were to repeat the verb to be here, we must use che 
 and not di, putting the pronoun, at the same time, in the nomi- 
 native Case : Piu scaltra certo se' tu che io non sono, more 
 cunning, certainly, art thou than I am. And so on, with the 
 examples before given : 
 
XIX.] 
 
 OF ADJECTIVES. 
 
 235 
 
 Tu sei pifi ricco cheio non sono, 
 lo sono pill ricco chelu non sei, 
 EgVx ^ meno ricco che ella non fc, 
 Ella e meno ricca che eyli non t, 
 Quel cavallo e piil bello che non 
 
 e 11 vostro, 
 La mia casa i meno alta che la 
 
 tua 7ion i. 
 La chiesa ^ piu alta che la casa^ 
 
 non tf 
 Giovanni ^ pid dotto c/ieTomaso 
 
 71071 k, 
 
 Lo scrivere h meno facile che non 
 b il parlare, ' 
 
 Thou art more rich thn7i I am. 
 
 I am more rich than thou art. 
 
 He is less rich than she is. 
 
 She is less ricli than he is. 
 
 Tl)at liorse is more handsome than 
 yours is. 
 
 My house is less high than yours 
 is. 
 
 The church is more high than the 
 house is. 
 
 Joliu is more learned than Tho- 
 mas is. 
 
 Writing is less easy than speak- 
 ing is. 
 
 And so on, with the rest of the examples that have been given 
 before, with these, under Paragraphs 160, 161, 162, and 163. 
 In these exannples there is the non, ?2o^, where we use no nega- 
 tive : this is a matter belonging to another part of Syntax (see 
 Paragraph 290). We see, then, that in .all cases in which di 
 can be used, we may, by amplification, use che instead of di^ if 
 w^e choose ; but, mind (for here is the distinction to be made), 
 we could not use the di, instead of the che, as in the following : 
 
 Ella parla pid di non lej^ge. 
 
 lo sono pill ricco di dotto. i 
 
 Egli ^ miglior oratore di poeta. 
 
 Voi siete piu felice adesso di altre volte. 
 
 And SO on, with the other examples given under Paragraphs 
 165, 166, 167, and 168. This would be bad. And why ? Be- 
 cause the phrase a cornparazione could not be left to be under- 
 stood here, without our intending to compare the persons 
 represented by the pronouns ella, io, egli, voi,, vjith the verb, 
 adjective, noun, and-c.dverb : it would be putting the ella in 
 comparison with the legge, the zo-with the dotto, the egli with 
 the padrone, and the voi with tlie altre volte. And, making 
 the comparison in this way, the meamng would be as follows ; 
 
 She speaks more than she reads speaks. 
 
 I am more rich than learned is. 
 
 He is a better orator than poet is. 
 
 You are more happy now than/o?mfrZ(/ is. 
 
 And this, we know, is not the meaning intended. The compa- 
 rison, in these instances, has nothing to do with the nominatives 
 ' ella, io, egli, voi, but is made between the two verbs, the two 
 
236 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 adjectives, the two nouns having an adjective meaning, and 
 the two adverbs ; between the parla and the Icgge, the ricco 
 and the dotto, the oratore and the pocta, the iidesso and the 
 allre voltrc. And we must observe, that, in order to employ 
 di will) propriety, there must always be two persons or two 
 things expressed as subjects of the verb, each of them being a 
 participator in that, whatever it be, about which the compa- 
 rison is made : 
 
 Tu sei piu rirro di me. ' 
 
 Qurl cavallo e piCl bello del vostrOm 
 La chicsa e piii alta della cast. 
 GiovanHi ^ pid dotto di Tomnso, 
 Lu scriveie t meno rtcile del parlare. 
 
 Here the employment of di is correct ; because here are, in 
 each example, as in each of the rest under Paragraphs 161, 
 162, 163, and 164, two persons or two things, both of which 
 are subjects of the verb to be, and each of which is mentioned 
 as participating, in a comparative degree, in what is expressed 
 by the adjectives. Here are the thou and the /, the that horse 
 and the yours, the church and the house, the John and the 
 Thomas, the act of writing and the act of speaking. Each 
 two are subjects of the verb to he, and each two participate, 
 as compared with one another, in what is expressed by the 
 ricco, bellOf alta, dotto, and facile. Take the following ex- 
 amples : 
 
 Affligge pid che non conforta. I She afflicts more than she comforts. 
 
 Pet, S. I 
 
 Vedi Sans6ne,viepiCl fortecA#> sivio. I See Sampson, more strong <Aan wise. 
 
 Pet. T. I 
 
 Allor temetti pi6 che mai la morte. | Then I feared death more than ever. 
 
 Dan. In. I 
 
 Here we could not use di, for the reason already given : here 
 are no two persons or two things compared with each other; 
 but the comparison is between the two verbs affligge and con- 
 forta, the two adjectives forte, and sdvio, the two adverbs 
 allor and Twaz.— We see, then, the reason why we may, in 
 some cases, use di, and why, in others, we must not use di, 
 but che. 
 
XIX.] or ADJECTIVES. 237 
 
 170. Observe, hoAvever, that, though we must always use che 
 when the comparison is not made between persons or things, 
 yet, the rules given in Paragraphs 161, 162, 163, and 164, as to 
 the use of di instead of che, are by no means rigid rules. So 
 that we may say, either, 
 
 Quel cavallo ^ pii bello del vostro, or, che il vostro. 
 
 La ehi6sa i piOl alta delta casa, or, che la casa. 
 
 Lo scrivere ^ meno ficile del parldre, or, che il parlire. 
 
 Observe the following examples : 
 
 E migliore il suo iddio che il too. I His god is better than thine. 
 
 Nov. Ant. I 
 
 lo sono piCl contento che il reo ti- I I am more happy than the wicked 
 rdnno. Soa. N. I tyrant. 
 
 Luceyftn gli occhi suUi pit! che\a stella. j Her eyes shined more than the star. 
 
 Dan. In. I 
 
 M' i piCl caro ilmorirc^e'lviversenza. I Dying is more agreeable to me than 
 
 Pet. C. I living without. 
 
 In these four examples the use of che is perfectly correct; and 
 yet di might have been used with equal propriety. 
 
 With proper names, also, like those mentioned in Paragraph 
 162, we may use either di or che: 
 
 Giovinni d piCl dotto di, or che Tomaso. ' 
 Parigi i meno grande di, or, che Londia. 
 
 171. If the comparison be made between different persons 
 or things, and the verb employed be any other than the verb 
 to be ; in such case, it is a matter in doubt with some gram- 
 marians, whether our than should be translated by di or by 
 che. For example : 
 
 Giovanni studia piii di, or che 
 
 Tomaso. 
 II mio cavallo va meglio del, or 
 
 che il vostro, 
 II palazzo mi place meno della, 
 
 or che la casa, 
 Londra pare piCl grande di, or che 
 
 P*rigi, 
 
 John studies more than Thomai. 
 My horse goes better than yours. 
 
 The palace pleases me less than 
 
 the house. 
 London appears more large than 
 
 Paris. 
 
 Some are of opinion that the che is to be preferred in such 
 cases. The ehe would, certainly, be the most common in 
 
238 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 practice ; olhrrwiKC, I sec no difference here between di and 
 che, which are both equally good as far as principle k con- 
 cerned. 
 
 172. With the "numerical adjectives our than is generally 
 translated by di • as : 
 
 Ho piOi <li due cnvalli, 
 Avete meno rfi qiiattro, 
 h pii^ d' UD anno, 
 Sono piCi delle tre, 
 
 I Imvp more than two honei. 
 Yoii have less than four. 
 It is niore than one year ago. 
 It is more than three (o'clock). 
 
 Nevertheless, practice admits the use of che in such cases as 
 these, although di is considered as more proper. 
 
 173. To express our than whafy the Italians use the demon- 
 strative pronoun quello or quel, that, along with the preposition 
 di followed by the relative pronoun che, which 3 as : 
 
 "Voi siete meno ricco rft qutl che 
 eravite, 
 
 10 sono piCi felice di quel che 
 pen<ite, 
 
 11 cavallo vale piii di quel che 
 dite, 
 
 You are less rich than nhat yoa 
 
 were. 
 I am more happy than rvhat^on 
 
 think. 
 The horse is worth more than 
 
 nhat yoQ say. 
 
 That is, literally, a comparaziune di quel che eravate, com- 
 pared with that which you were, &c. 
 
 174. What has been said as respects the personal and pos- 
 sessive pronouns applies, equally, to the making of comparison 
 when we use any of the other pronouns, questo, quello, colui, 
 niuno, uno, altro tutto, &c., or any other of the many pro- 
 nouns, which it would be useless to enumerate here in full. 
 
 175. The words majlio, better, and pcggio, worse, are some- 
 times considered as adjectives. They are subject, however, to 
 no change in their endings to express gender or number ,• and, 
 properly speaking they are never joined to a noun as adjec- 
 tives ; but they are, rather, adverbs descriptive of goodness or 
 badness in manner ; as : 
 
 Voi leggfcte meglio di me, 
 Id legqo pfggio di voi, 
 
 You read better than I- 
 I read norse than yoa. 
 
 But, to express the sense of our better and worse as adjectives, 
 the Italians have migliore and peggiore ; and these, also, 
 mean best and wont, in the superlative degree, as well as 
 
XIX.] OF ADJECTIVES. 239 
 
 better and tvorse, in the comparative. Observe that, though 
 migliore and peggiore include, within themselves, the sense of 
 piuj we must not, if we would say, more good and more hady 
 employ migliore and peggiore, but 'piil buono and pit), cat~ 
 tivo ; as : 
 
 He is more good than learned. 
 He is more bad than learned. 
 
 Egli e piu buono che dotto, 
 EgU ^ piti cattivo che doito, 
 
 And the same if we use meno, less. But, between two nouns or 
 pronouns, when we mean to express better and wgrse, we mu§t 
 use migliore and peggiore ; as : 
 
 Giovanni t migliore di Tomaso, 
 Voi siete peggiore di lui, 
 
 John h better than Thomas. 
 You are worse than he. f.. 
 
 The Italians use, also, the adjectives superiore, superior, inje- 
 riore, inferior, priore, prior, posteriure, posterior. But these 
 are formal words, and seldom used in a comparative sense. 
 
 176. In the observations made on the comparison of adjec- 
 tives I have, in order to explain in one place all the different 
 ways of expressing our than, had to speak of comparison other 
 than that made between adjectives "only. I thought it better 
 to do this than to divide the subject of comparison, and to have 
 other parts of the work to refer to on the same subject. 
 
 177. In order to increase or diminish, as it were, the degree 
 of coipparison, the Italians use the words molto, assdi, and 
 via or vie ; as, molto piu , much more, assdipiil, a great deal 
 moTByVia or vie piu, far more, and molto meno, much less, as- 
 sdi meno, a great deal less, via or vie meno, far less. Our not 
 more is expressed by non piu, and not less by 7ion tneno. 
 
 178. I have now to speak of certain words which are made 
 use of in expressing a sort of comparison, which grammarians 
 call equality. These words are, si or cosl, so, as ; come, as, 
 so ; tanto or cotanto, so, so much as ; quanto, as, as much 
 as; altrettdnto, as, as much as. Examples : 
 
 Voi si^te cosl ricco come io, 
 
 lo sono coal grande cojne tu, 
 
 Voi si6te cosi dotto come egli, 
 
 Egli non vi ama ta7ito qnunto se stesso, 
 
 Egli ^ altrettanto bu6no quanta \oi, 
 
 Eglino non erano sifelici come noi, 
 
 You are as rich as I. I 
 
 I am as tall as thou. 
 
 You are as learned as he. 
 
 He does not love you as much as himselC 
 
 He is as good as you. 
 
 They were not so hiippy as we. 
 
240 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Tlie s), cos) tantOj and altrettdnto, are frequently omitted ; 
 and tljen coyne^ or quanta ^ alone, serves to form the compa- 
 rison ; as : 
 
 II mio ^erro c fcdtle come il TOitro, 
 Lo de>idero quanto Toi, 
 lo I' anio eomt la mia vita, 
 lo sono dotto quanta voi, 
 Et;li t bu6no ^Ma»i/o voi, 
 Essa non 'jt hella quanta sua so- 
 rella, 
 
 My servant is a» faitlifal as yours. 
 1 desire it as much as you. 
 I love her as much as my life. 
 I am as learned as you. 
 He is as ^ood as you. 
 She is not so handsome as her 
 lister. 
 
 The word co?nc is used in the sense of our word hoio ; as ; 
 
 Chi pu6 dir come gravi e come ratte 
 Le spade son ? Tas.G. L. 
 
 Who can say how severe and how 
 quick the swords are ? 
 
 QuantOj with tanto or altrettanto following it, serves to ex- 
 press our in "proportion as and so ; as : 
 
 Quanto il primo eradolce altrettanto i In proportion as the first was gentle, 
 aspro era il secondo. Soa. N. | so the second was fierce. 
 
 And quanto pik, tanto piii, quanto meno, tanto mcno, serve 
 to represent our the morCy the less, or so much the more, so 
 much the less ; as : 
 
 E 9t/a»i<o son piii ricchi e pid potenti, i And the more they are rich and 
 Tanto piii in lor discortesia si rede. | powerful, the more one sees of on- 
 
 IMac.R. j kindness in them. 
 
 Quanto si mostramfn, tanto ^ piu bello. i The less it shows itself, so mu«b the 
 
 Tas. G. L. I more beautifulis it. 
 
 The tanto, coming after quanto, in such cases, is sometimes 
 dropped, and the piii or jneiio remains alone ; as: 
 
 E 9van<o piii si 8forza,/>iji s'afTanna. i And the more he exerts himself, the 
 
 Ari. O. F. I more he torments himself. 
 
 179. The words tayito or cotanto, quanto, altrettanto, are 
 adverbs, when employed as in the foregoing examples ; but 
 they may also become adjectives. As adverbs, they express 
 degree or manner ; but, as adjectives, they are used with nouns 
 to express number or quantity ; and, when used as adjectives, 
 they are subject to vary their endings to agree, in number and 
 gender, with the noun to which they relate; as: 
 
XIX.] 
 
 OF ADJECTIVES. 
 
 241 
 
 Tnnto pane, 
 Tanta virti'l, 
 Tavti u6mlni, 
 Tnule donne, 
 Cotanta yarieti, 
 Quariti cavalli, 
 Quante case, 
 Altrettanti u6mini, 
 
 So much bread. 
 
 So much virtue. 
 
 So iiiuny men. 
 
 So many women. 
 
 So much variety. 
 
 How many, or, as many horses. 
 
 How many, or, as many houses. 
 
 As many men. 
 
 In this way, as adjectives, these words are subject to all the 
 changes ofother adjectives ending in O; so, according to the gen- 
 der and number of the noun to which they relate, they must all 
 have the changes of tanlo, tanta, tanti, tante ; cotanto, co- 
 tanta, cotantij cotante ; quanta, qua7ita, quanti, quante; 
 altrettanto, altrettanta, altrettanti^ altrettante. There are, 
 also, the words alquanto, somewhat ; molto, much ; and troppo, 
 too much ; poco, little : these words are also used both as adjec- 
 tives and as adverbs. As adverbs, they express degree, and 
 as adjectives, they express quantity or number: as adverbs, 
 they never change their termination in o ; but as adjectives, 
 they have, like the other words just before spoken of, all the 
 changes of other adjectives in o. For example : 
 
 Alquavto lontano, 
 Molto sorpreso, 
 Troppo ingaimdto, 
 Poco stimato, 
 
 Somewhat distant. 
 JVlucli surprised. 
 Too much deceived. 
 Little esteemed. 
 
 Here they are used adverbially ; but they are used as adjec- 
 tives in the following examples : 
 
 Alquanta bellezza, 
 AlquuHti uomini, 
 Alquante donne, 
 Molla fatica, 
 Molti signorj, 
 Molte case, 
 Troppa liberti, 
 Troppi palazzi, 
 Troppe volte, 
 Pochi lichi, 
 Poca speranza, 
 /•ocAe signore, 
 
 Some, or a litte beauty. 
 Some, or a few men 
 Some, or a few \vomen. 
 Much trouble. 
 Many gentlemen. 
 Many houses. 
 Too much liberty. 
 Too many palaces. 
 Too many times. 
 Few figs. 
 Little hope. 
 Few ladies. 
 
 180. The next and last thing to be considered is, the sitna- 
 t ion in which the adjective is to be placed. In this respect, 
 the Italian adjective differs a good deal from ours. The fol- 
 lowing rules will be useful; but some of them are only general 
 
 M 
 
242 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 rules; for in a great many instances, the adjective, in Italian, 
 may be placed either before or after the noun to which it 
 relates. 
 
 Ist. The numerical adjectives always come before the 
 noun 3 as: 
 
 linn Ktnto, | »n< stAte. 
 
 un a6iiio, | ori« man. 
 
 due fauciulli, ' two children. 
 
 2d. The adjectives of numerical order are placed before 
 
 the noun ; as : 
 
 I 
 
 il primo libro, I thejirst book. 
 
 il tecindo viip^io, I the second voyage. 
 
 la (frza persona, I the ( A ird person. 
 
 But there is an exception to this rule, when we are speaking 
 of distinguished people, such as king Sy queens, Sec; as : 
 
 Georftio SecondOf I Oeorce the Second. 
 
 Carlo Primo, I Charles the First. 
 
 3d. The following adjectives come, generally, after the 
 noun: buono, good, cattivo, ha.d, ^rande, great, pic- 
 colo, little, bello, handsome, brutto, ugly, povero, poor, 
 migliore^ better, peggiorCy worse, maggiore, greater, 
 ricco, rich. But these may all come after the noun, 
 when there is more than one adjective that relates to 
 the noun ; as : 
 
 an nf>no bu6no e generSso, i a good and generovs man. 
 
 un principe grande e magnifieo, \ a great and magnificent prince. 
 
 I 
 
 vna signora btlla e ricca, | a handsome and rich lady. 
 
 4th. Those adjectives that are derived from the names of 
 nations, always come after the noun ; as i 
 
 Tin gentilu6mo Italiano, | an Italian f^entleman. 
 
 unadama /rtf^/^sf, j an JE^n^/isA lady, 
 
 ■a' armata Spagnu6la, I a Spanish fleet. 
 
 5th. All adjectives that express colour, shape, taste^ and 
 those that express any physical peculiarity in persons or 
 things, come after the noun ; as : 
 
XIX.] 
 
 OF ADJECTIVES. 
 
 243 
 
 Vino rozzOf 
 an abito net'o, 
 un fiutto soporito, 
 nu fior bianco, 
 unatavola rotonda, 
 nno specchio ovale, 
 una pianla odorifrra, 
 nn uomo gobbo, 
 un uamo zoppo. 
 
 red wine. 
 
 a black coat. 
 
 a nell-flnvoured fruit. 
 
 a nhite flower. 
 
 a round table. 
 
 an oval looking-glass. 
 
 an odoriferous plant. 
 
 a hunchbacked man. 
 
 a lame man. 
 
 6th. Adjectives, descriptive of the elements, and those 
 used in speaking of the state of the air or weather, come 
 after the noun ; as : 
 
 tempo freddo, 
 un lu6go umidof 
 acqua bollentey 
 un' aria sana, 
 un fu6co urdente, 
 un clelo sereno, 
 
 cold weather. 
 a damp place. 
 hoilimj water, 
 a nholesome air. 
 a hot fire, 
 a cltar sky. 
 
 7th. The following adjectives almost always come after 
 the noun, namely, neutro, neuter, generale, general, 
 particolare, particufar, singolai'e, singular, intiero, 
 entire,, languido^ languid, virtuoso, virtuous, vizioso, 
 vicious, pigio, lazy, paurow, fearful, coraggioso, 
 courageous, consider ah He , considerable, importuno, 
 troublesome. 
 
 8th. Whenever a participle passive is employed in an ad- 
 jective sense, it must come after the noun ; as : 
 
 un u6mdben conosciuto, 
 una strada battiita, 
 
 a well-known man. 
 a beaten road. 
 
 9th. All the adjectives ending in' ante and ente come, 
 after the noun ; as : 
 
 un uomo ben parlunte, 
 un viso ridentef 
 
 a well-speaking man. 
 a laughing face. 
 
 10th. Adjectives, ending in ele and He, do, generally, 
 come after the noun ; as : 
 
 un u6mo crudele^ 
 un amico fedele, 
 un atto puerile, 
 
 a cruel man. 
 R/ai tliful friend . 
 a childish action. 
 
 But these may come before the noun in a good many 
 cases. 
 
 ' . M 2 
 
244 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 11 til. The noun, in Italian, is sometimes placed between 
 two adjectives j which is a thing that seldom occurs in 
 our language. The following examples are from Boc- 
 caccio: * 
 
 A pi6 d' una bellissima fontiia e I At the brink of a very beauli/ul 
 cMara, | and clear fountain. 
 
 Un u<Sino di icfllerata vila c di I A man of ruscally and corrupt 
 
 corolla, I life. 
 
 V\\ fiero\i6mo txxn forte, \ A rrsolute and courogeout man. 
 
 12th. The adjectives -when ending in issinio may come 
 either before or after the noun ; as : 
 
 an grandlssimojiiac^TC, •» 
 
 or, > a Tcry great pleasure. 
 
 un piacere grandlssimo, 
 
 una bellissima fontiiia, 
 ■^ or, \ a very beantiful fountain. 
 
 Tina font^iia belUssima, 
 
 } 
 
 Some of these must be considered as rules having many ex- 
 ceptions; and the exception, in most cases, depends on taste. 
 Writers frequently use the same adjective variously, sometimes 
 after, sometimes before the noun, making the variety more for 
 the sake of harmony than any thing else. 
 
i 
 
 XX.] OF VERBS. 245 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Syntax of Verbs. 
 
 181. In speaking of the Etymology of Verbs, at Paragraph 
 56, I noticed the different points that are to be considered as 
 relates to this part of speech: the Conjugation, the Mode, the 
 7'ime, the Number, the Person, the Participle, the Sort or 
 Gender, and the Government. 
 
 182. In Chapter IX (see Paragraph 5Q), I have explained 
 the matter of conjugation. In this present Chapter, we 
 shall consider, 1st, the mode, 2d, the time, 3d, the number 
 and the person, 4th, the participle, and, 5th, the sort or gen- 
 der. In Chapter XXI, we shall have to see something about 
 the employment of avere and essere as auxiliaries ; and in 
 Chapter XXII, I shall explain the matter oi government, 
 
 \st. Of the Mode. 
 
 183. The term mode, otherwise called mood, means simply 
 manner. The different modes of verbs, therefore, are nothing 
 more than the different manners, or luays, in which the verbs 
 are used. The chief difficulty that presents itself here is, that, 
 in a great many cases, we must use the verb in a different 
 mode in the one language from what it should be in the other, 
 although the idea intended to be expressed, in both languages, 
 be precisely the same. Then we have, in our language, certain 
 words called signs, which are employed in forming some parts 
 of our verbs. These signs are, shall, will, may, might, should, 
 wouldf were. To understand the right use of these, as used in 
 our language, is a very difficult thing for foreigners ; and it is 
 
246 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 fliflicult for lis, unless wc pay much attention to the matter, to 
 be able properly to express the sense tliat is intended by them 
 ■when v\e come to use a foreign language. There are some 
 other words, also, that arc used as signs, either of mode or of 
 time, in our language; namely, the words must, can, could, 
 on(jht, let. The sense intended by all these signs is, in Italian, 
 generally expressed, not by using any words along with the 
 verb having the same meaning as these signs of ours; but, by 
 the verb undergoing various changes in its spelling. We, in 
 a great many cases, preserve the one form of termination in the 
 verb, while, at the same time, we can, by using the signs, con- 
 vey th« different meanings that we intend. But, in Italian, the 
 sense must, in most cases, depend entirely on the manner in 
 which the verb itself terminates : and herein consists the diffi- 
 culty that we have to encounter. 
 
 184. We will now take the Infinitive, the Indicative, 
 the Subjunctive, the Conditional, and the Imperative 
 modes, and consider them in the same order as that in which 
 tliey stand in the conjugations. The injinitive mode repre- 
 sents the act or state of being, which it is intended to describe 
 in the most general sense, and has, as to time, person, or num." 
 be?', no sort of change to undergo. It is, therefore, properly 
 called injinitive, since there is no end or restriction to its us^, 
 ■whether we be speaking in a time present, past, or to come, of 
 the first, second, or third person, or of th« person in the singular 
 or plural number. Thus we say, in both languages. 
 
 Jo voijlio rAnTiiii?, 
 
 7'U Vrlcvi PARTlllE, 
 
 J-jjli vorru PARxiiiE, 
 Efjlxno vdgliono partire, 
 
 I wish to depart. 
 Thou didst wi^h to depart. 
 He will wish to depart. 
 They wish lo depart. 
 
 Here we see partire in Italian; and to depart in English, 
 the infinitive used in both languages throughout. Here are 
 the three times^ present, past, and future; the first, second, 
 and third persons ; and of both the singular and, plural num- 
 bers. Then, again, we may, in both languages, employ the 
 infinitive mode in a way, that makes it become a sort of 
 noun; as: 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 247 
 
 Parldre cos! non vi conviine, | To speak so dots not become you. 
 
 Impaidre questo noa sard diQ'icile, 1 To learn this will not be difllcalt. 
 
 Here tlie speaking and the learning are subjects of the verbs 
 to become and to be, and these infinitives are, in fact, used here 
 as nouns, representing the acts of going and of learning. Here 
 the two languages are very much the same. But there are 
 some cases in which the use of the infinitive is very different in 
 Italian from what it is in our language. The* first thing that 
 strikes our attention is, that while we are obliged to use the pre- 
 position to, in almost all cases, as a sign of the infinitive mode, 
 the Italians may use the infinitive without any such sign at all ; 
 or, if they do use the sign, they sometimes use diy sometimes a, 
 sometimes per, and sometimes da. To express our tOf thus 
 employed before tlie infinitive, they generally use di or ct; but 
 the other two prepositions are, also, sometimes employed. 
 
 When an infinitive comes after any of tha verbs volere, to be 
 willing ; sapere, to know ; fare, to do^ or make ; dovere, to be 
 owing ;- lascidre^ to leave, or allow ; potere, to be able ; bisog- 
 ndre, to be necessary or needful; bastdre, to be suflScient; 
 lecere, to be lawful ; parerCy to appear ; convenire, to be fit or 
 proper; piacere, to please; dispiacere, to displease; before 
 the infinitive of a verb coming after these, no preposition is 
 used ; as : . 
 
 lo vos^lio parldre, 
 Tu sai parldre, 
 L'ho fatto venire, 
 Egli dovrebbe anddre, 
 Lasciategli paydre. 
 Id non posse rimanere, 
 Bisogna partire, 
 Mi basta dire, 
 Ci e lecito venire, 
 Ti convien sperdre, 
 Vi piace venire, 
 Mi dibpiace parldre, 
 
 I am willing to speak. 
 Thou knowest how to speak. 
 I have made him come. 
 He ought to go. 
 Allow him to pay. 
 I cannot remain. 
 It is necessary to depart. 
 It is enough lor me to say. 
 It is allowed us to come. 
 It becomes thee to hope. 
 It pleases you to come. 
 It displeases me to speak. 
 
 After certain verbs and certain adjectives, the preposition di 
 is required ; as, sperdre, to hope ; comanddre, to command ; 
 permettere, to permit; desiderdre, to desire; pregdre, to 
 pray or entreat ; promettere, to promise ; impedirCf to prevent ; 
 persuadere, to persuade; dissuadere, to dissuade^ avertire, 
 
248 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 to give notice; temtre, to fear; tent/ire, to try; and ca/)<ice, 
 able; ccrtOf certain; contcntOj contented; risolutOj resolved. 
 Thus, the Italians say, 
 
 6prrn di vederir, 
 Vj cuindndo <l\ djrmi, 
 Gli ho promcsso ^'andare, 
 lo Rono cnp;ice di fare, 
 Si^tc routdnto di murire 7 
 
 1 lio|»e to nee yon. 
 
 I cuiiiriiund yuu to tell me. 
 
 I have promihcd him to go. 
 
 I am able to do. 
 
 Arc you content to die ? 
 
 Then, again, some verbs and adjectives require the preposition 
 a before the infinitive coming after them; as, avere, to have; 
 nndure^ to go ; cominciarc, to begin; co7)sigli/irc, to advise ; 
 impar/irey to learn ; sforz/ire, to force ; esortftrCy to exhort ; 
 prepaiiirsi, to prepare oneself; disporsiy to dispose oneself; 
 apparccchiursi, to make oneself ready ; risotvere^ to resolve ; 
 jfnitersi, to put oneself; occuparsi, to occupy oneself; and, 
 pronto, ready; dcdito, addicted; accostum^ito, accustomed; 
 atto, fit or adapted ; solilo, accustomed ; vichio, near. For 
 example : 
 
 Ella ha iuiparilto a rantire, 
 Ho una letttra a srrivcre, 
 Comincio ad int^ndere 1' Italiino, 
 Vj coiixiglio a non parlire, 
 Vi esorto ad aver pazienza, 
 lo sono pronto a jiarlire, 
 £gli i dcdito a giuocare, 
 
 She has learned to sing. 
 
 I have a letter to write. 
 
 1 betjin to nn<1ersland the Italian. 
 
 1 advise you not to speak. 
 
 1 oxhort you to have patience. 
 
 I am ready to depnrt. 
 
 He is addicted to play. 
 
 There are some instances in which the /o, in English, may be 
 expressed by either the di or the a of the Italians. This is the 
 case after the verbs consigliare, to advise ; esortdre, to exhort; 
 persnadcre, to persuade ; forzdrc, to force ; mancdre, to fail; 
 provdj-Cf to attempt ; precjdre, to pray, and some others. 
 
 The preposition per, tvlien used before the infinitive, in the 
 sense of our /o, means the same as our in order to. In this 
 sense, the Italians use the/?er, when they say, for example. 
 
 Vi-ngo/xT dlrvi, 
 
 Compridmo la farina per t&tt^ del 
 
 pane, 
 Ha fatto questoper compiacermi, 
 
 I come to tell yon. 
 
 We boy flour to make br«ad. 
 
 He has done this to please me. 
 
 That is, in order to tell you, in order to make bread, in order 
 to please me. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 249 
 
 The preposition da is placed before the infinitive in some 
 cases; and, when so used, serves to exTpiessJitness, p7'oprieti/j 
 or obligation oi some sort; as: 
 
 Queste non s6no c6se da dire, i These are not things to say, 
 
 Questo e un libro da 16ggere, I This is a book to read. 
 
 lo ho da parlarvi, ' 1 have to speak to you. 
 
 The different manners of employing the infinitive mode, in 
 Italian, are of great consequence. The infinitive is sometimes 
 used instead of the indicative, sometimes instead of the subjunc- 
 tive, sometimes instead of the imperative, sometimes instead of 
 the active participle, and also instead of the passive participle. 
 These manners of using the infinitive, I think it best to notice 
 under the separate heads of those parts of the verb, in the stead 
 of which the infinitive comes into use : therefore see Para' 
 graphs 185, 191, 210, 248, and 254. 
 
 185. We have next to consider the Indicative Mode; 
 and, in doing this, we must, at the same time, consider the 
 Subjunctive Mode, because it is only by the difference that 
 appears between these two . modes, when compared to one an- 
 other, that they are to be distinguished at all. The indicative 
 mode has little in it, in Italian, that is different from the indi- 
 cative in English ; yet we must, all along, have our attention 
 fixed on that mode, in order to see in what cases the Italians 
 differ from us, by using the subjunctive where we should use 
 the iyidicative. The various ways of using the former of these, 
 instead of the latter, as we should in English, is the great thing 
 to be attended to as relates to the subject of mode. The indi- 
 dicative mode is so called, because it indicates, declares, or 
 points out, the act or state of being spoken of: it indicates or 
 declares simply^ without giving us to understand that there 
 exists any matter of uncertainty or doubt, or any thing condi- 
 tional, on which the act or the state of being, described by the 
 verb, depends. We might say, that the subjunctive is indica- 
 tive^ inasmuch as the verb cannot be used at all without being 
 intended to indicate the doing of something, or the being of 
 something, in some sort of way. Yet, there is this difference, 
 that, while the indicative indicates or declares simply the doing 
 or the being of a thing, the subjunctive indicates, not simply, 
 
 M 5 
 
250 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 but with more or loss of dovht, uncertainty, or conditioHf or 
 with some sort o( dependence on 8<iine circumstance, either ex- 
 pressed or un(l( rstood. It is, therefore, called subjunctive, be- 
 cause it declares, not simply and independently, like the indi- 
 cative, but always with subordinacy, in such a way as shows 
 that tlie verb is, when in this mode, more or less restricted in 
 its indicative or declaratory power by something else. The 
 subjunctive mode is said to be governed by certain verbs, and 
 by certain conjunctions ; that is to say, after those certain verbs 
 and conjunctions, we must use the verb following in the sub- 
 junctive mode, and not in the indicative. We arc told that our 
 word subjunctive comes from the I-atin verb sufjungOj which 
 means to join or add under, or to bring under, or to place 
 under dominion or in siihjection. Accordingly, when the verb 
 is in the subjunctive mode, it may be said to be so because it 
 is, according to circumstances, in a condition of having some- 
 thing joined or added to it, or of being brought under, or placed 
 under the dominion or in subjection to something else. This, 
 as a general definition of the difference between these two 
 modes, will be sufficient. We shall presently see, by examples 
 to illustrate, how far the employment of these two modes is con- 
 sistent with this definition. I will here observe, before proceed- 
 " ing to compare the indicative with the subjunctive, that the 
 Italians, like us, frequently use the infinite instead of the indi- 
 cative. We say, for example, I know him to be a good man, 
 instead of, 1 know that he is a good man. Thus, in Italian: 
 
 Manifpstamente con6bbet'sser stnta I She clearly knew her dream to have 
 vera la sua visiune. Boc. D. 1 been true. 
 
 Vcgg6n Jo il re />o<er ci6 fare. I Seeing the king to be able to do 
 
 Fio, N. 1 that 
 
 Ella, credendo lui csser Gisippo, I She, believing him to be Gisippo, 
 
 risposc di si. Buc. D. I answered yes. 
 
 But sometimes the Italians make so free a use of the infinitive 
 in this way, that their infinitive must, in many cases, be trans- 
 lated by our indicative; as: 
 
 Vedendo i grandi non poter resis- 
 tere al popolo : il popolo anrora, 
 vedendo non potcr resistere ai 
 grandi, &c. Mac. P. 
 
 '1 he great seeing that they were not 
 able to resist the people : the 
 people, again, seeing that they 
 nere not able to resist the^^at. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 251 
 
 Here we could not say, like the Italians, the great seeing not to he 
 able, the people seeing not to be able^ I think it useful just to 
 point out this manner of using the infinitive: practice will show 
 to what extent it prevails. 
 
 186. Now, in proceeding to show the difference between the 
 indicative and the Subjunctive, I must remark, that I have fol- 
 lowed the example of some grammarians in admitting a separate 
 mode under the name of conditionaL When we have done 
 with the subjunctive, I shall speak of this conditional mode. 
 Many grammarians place the conditional and subjunctive under 
 one head, calling them both by the one name of subjunctive , 
 and considering what I have called the conditional as nothing 
 more than a modification of time in the subjunctive. But the 
 truth is, that there is no difference as to time to be distinguished 
 in the using of the one or the other of these changes of the verb, 
 and that what we have to attend to in the comparing of them, 
 is the manner in which we are, in using the subjunctive or the 
 conditional, to translate our signs sho2jld, would, and might. 
 No form Of arrangement in the conjugation can be suflScient to 
 make this matter clear without some explanation • therefore, I 
 have made two modes, the subjunctive and the conditional, 
 and these we shall compare with each other, after having first 
 spoken of the subjunctive as compared with the indicative. 
 
 187. The conjunctions that are said to ^vern the subjunc- 
 tive are the following. 
 
 AJinche, ^ In order tbat. 
 
 Accib che, i 
 
 Nonostdnte che. Notwithstanding. 
 
 Conciossiacdsa che. In case that. 
 
 Avanti che,^ 
 
 Prima che, > Before. 
 
 Anzi che, * 
 
 Ameno che. Except, less, 
 
 Bevcht, -J 
 
 Ancorchk, > Although. 
 
 Quantunque' 
 
 
 Nel caso che. In case that 
 
 Non che, Not that. 
 
 Dove, In case, if. 
 
 iiinche, •\ 
 
 Finchh, > Till such times m, Itntil, in order Ihat 
 
 Fino a tanto che, ^ 
 
252 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 Quaudo, If, in rnse, whenever. 
 
 Quandn che, Whenever, if, thoii^jh. 
 
 Con pattn iht, -j 
 
 A ronUiziiue che, J- Upon condition that, providing. 
 
 J'uTcht, * 
 
 Percht, In order that. 
 
 Senza che, Without, unless. 
 
 rrrtm,ache,. p^r fear that, lest. 
 
 J)i tema che, J 
 
 Ditto thf, Admitting that. 
 
 Sopfidsto che, ^ 
 
 Posto chf, '. Supposing, providing that, in case. 
 
 Posto il caso che, J 
 
 There are, perhaps, some others that, according to circum- 
 stances, govern the subjunctive. The following are conjunc- 
 tions that do not require the subjunctive, but are used before 
 the verb ia the indicative mode. 
 
 Poichi, When, since, seeing that, after. 
 
 Junto che, -J 
 
 Mentrc che, /■ As long as, whilst. 
 
 Finchi, -' 
 
 Di munitra che, ^ g^ ^^j^^^ 
 
 Talmente che, J 
 
 ■P*^^' 1 Therefore. 
 Adunque, 1 
 
 Pure, Yet, albeit, although, moreover. 
 
 Almlno, At least. 
 
 Ikondimcuo, -j 
 
 Nulladiwcno, ' Nevertheless. 
 
 Nientediinttio, ^ 
 
 luttiivta, y Neverthelessjvet, however, at all evenU. 
 
 Tuttuvdlta, ) 
 
 Contutiocib, 
 
 Contuttuche, 
 
 Cib iioti di mtno, ^ Nerertheless. 
 
 Cid nan per laiito, 
 
 Cib nonostunte, 
 
 Sebbcne,- 
 
 Although' 
 
 or > 
 
 Se bene, ' 
 
 Forse che, Perhaps. 
 
 Eccttto che, ^ £^^gpj ^jj^t, onless, saveth it. 
 
 Se non che, j 
 
 Percht, 
 
 Percioccht, 1 jj^^^^^^ 
 
 Impercioccht, t 
 
 A causa che. 
 
 Sec«ndo che, According as. 
 
 Jnoltre, -. 
 
 Oltre che, V Besides that. 
 
 Ottradichi, J 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 253 
 
 Sicc6me, -^ ^^^ ^^^.^^ ^^^^^^ 
 
 Comechk, J 
 
 Cioi, That is. 
 
 dot a dire, That is to say. 
 
 The verbs that govern the subjunctive are not many. They are 
 those which express some passion ^ desire, or a strong feeling 
 of some sort, such as, volere, to be willing ; desiderdre, to de- 
 sire ; comanddre , to command ; pregdre, to pray ; suppli- 
 care, to beseech ; richicdere, to require ; amdre, to like ; go» 
 dere, to be glad; permetfei^e, to permit; defenders, to forbid; 
 proibire, to prohibit ; esortdre, Xo exhort ; temtre, to fear ; 
 dubitdre, to doubt ; sospettdre, to suspect ; consentire, to 
 allow or consent; impedire, to prevent; aspettdre, to wait; 
 pretendere, to pretend ; comportdre, to suffer or allow ; per- 
 suadere, to persuade ; dissuadere, to dissuade ; and some few 
 others. 
 
 188. It will be perceived that the word che generally forms 
 the final part of those conjunctions which govern the subjunc- 
 tive mode. Sometimes the che is joined to the conjunction 
 preceding it ; sometimes it stands as a separate word. The 
 che, which means the same as our conjunction that, is re- 
 garded as the peculiar sign of the subjunctive mode ; and gram- 
 marians do, therefore, generally, in their conjugations of the 
 verbs, insert this little word throughout the subjunctive; as: 
 
 che io abbia, 
 die tu abbia, 
 che egli abbia, 
 
 that I may have. 
 thmt thou mayest have 
 that he may have. 
 
 I have omitted the che in the conjugations I have given (see 
 from page 82 to page 89) ; and for this reason simply, that the 
 insertion of the word, which was by no means necessary, 
 would have required so much room as to frustrate my plan of 
 exhibiting each whole conjugation on a single page. Observe, 
 that, though the che is called the sign of the subjunctive, and 
 though it does generally require to be used before that mode, 
 there are cases in which the subjunctive may be used unaccom- 
 panied by any such sign, as we shall presently see. 
 189. Let us first take some examples of the conjunctions. 
 
254 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap, 
 
 Afrinrh<> io/arrirf, 
 Aiirorchc io prnsi, 
 Nel rano rhr io/rircio, 
 J)i trma die io il dica, 
 ArriAclie io finrli, 
 Perrhi^ io /accio, 
 I'liirhi^ io pfitto, 
 l)i nianiera c)ie io/inccioj 
 Forie cJie io dico, 
 OUre ch« io parlo. 
 
 In order that I may do. 
 
 AI(h(iU)(h I may think. 
 
 In case I may do. 
 
 For ft-ar that I may xaij. 
 
 In order Ihnt 1 mat/ sprak. 
 
 Recaatte I do. 
 
 Se«ini; that I think. 
 
 80 that I do. 
 
 Perhnpn t iny. 
 
 Besides that I ipeak. 
 
 Here the two languages are very much the same. With the 
 first five conjunctions, both require the verb in the snhjunctivey 
 and, with the five latter, both require tiie verb in the indica- 
 tive. But it sometimes occurs to the contrary, as in the fol- 
 lowing examples : 
 
 Admittin;; that I did it. 
 Although I did it, 
 Not that I said to him, 
 Notwithstanding I sjiokt to her, 
 
 Dato che io Wfacisai. 
 Bench6 io il/rtccs«i. 
 Non che io pli dicissi. 
 Nonostante che io le parlasti. 
 
 These conjunctions, dato che^ benchc, non che, nonostdnte 
 che, like others given in the foregoing list, require the verb to 
 be in the subjunctive. We, in English, have frequently the 
 choice of putting the verb in either the one or the other mode: 
 I may say, for instance. 
 
 Admitting that 1 did it, 
 Although I did it j 
 
 OH, 
 
 Admitting that I might do it, 
 AUhough I might do it : 
 
 yet, if the verb be intended to relate strictly to something in a 
 time past, this manner of expression would be very formal in 
 English ; and, indeed, the might, as used here, would convey 
 the idea of the possibility of doing in a very general sense, as 
 to time, and these examples would mean, properly speaking. 
 
 Again, to say, 
 
 Admitting that I might do it, at any time. 
 Although I might do it, at any lime. 
 
 Not that I might say to him. 
 Notwithstanding I might speak to her. 
 
 The use of the sign might, in all these instances, is, certainly, 
 
XX.] or VERBS. 255 
 
 English ; but the might is not here necessary to our language, 
 as a sign of the subjunctive mode, and it is but a matter of 
 choice with us to put the verb thus in the subjunctive or not. 
 Tlie Italians, however, have not this power of choosing : they 
 could not say, 
 
 Dato clie loWfeci. 
 Benclie io W/tci. 
 Non che io gli dissi. 
 Nonostante che io le parldi. 
 
 The conjunctions here absolutely govern the verb, obliging it to 
 be in the subjunctive mode ; and in whatever way the verb, 
 in our language, were used iii translating these phrases, whe- 
 ther we were, according to our meaning, to put the verb in the 
 indicatire or the subjunctive, it must always be in the subjunc- 
 tive in Italian. We might translate the first of these, for 
 example, in four different ways: 
 
 j Admitting that I did it, 
 
 Dato che ioil/acesst, < A.lmitting that I m»>A< do it, 
 
 I Admitting that! should dn it, 
 V. Admitting tliat I were to do it. 
 
 And so on, in the same manner, with the other four phrases. 
 Here we see the Italian, io il facessi, translated by, I riirf it, 
 I might do it, I should do it, I were to do it. The first puts the 
 verb in the indicative ; the second and third, with the signs might 
 and shouldy put the verb in the subjunctive; and then comes 
 our word were, followed by the infinitive, to do ; so that, our did, 
 might do, should do, were to do, are, at once, all expressed, in 
 Italian, by the single word facessi. Further on, I shall have 
 to speak more particularly of these signs, and others, besides, 
 that are used with our verbs. In this place I have only to no- 
 tice the power that certain Italian conjunctions have of requir- 
 ing the verb to be in the one or the other mode, the indicative 
 or the subjunctive. Though the distinction, which is made 
 between these two modes, is, generally speaking, founded on 
 principle, it must, nevertheless, be confessed, that, in some 
 instances, the verb is required to be in the subjunctive, in 
 Italian, when there is no apparent reason for its being so. When 
 we say, 
 
256 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap, 
 
 For fear thnt I may say it, 
 In order that I may sprak, 
 
 Di tema che io lo diea. 
 Acciorhe io parli. 
 
 Here the verb is as reasonably roqiiirod to be in the subjunctive, 
 in Italian, as it is in our language, and, in both, the subjunc- 
 tive is required. Wc could not say, 
 
 . For fear that I ioy it, 
 
 In order that I speak, 
 
 without leaving to be understood our may, as a sign of the sub- 
 junctive mode: and the conjunctions fur fear that, in order 
 that, giving us to understand a something subjoined to the verb, 
 do, as our ear tells us, require the verb in the subjunctive. Just 
 the same is it with the Italian, wherein the conjunctions di 
 tema che and accib che answer to our ybr fear that and in 
 order that, and require the verbs to be dica and parli, in the 
 subjunctive, and not dice and parlo, in the indicative. But 
 there are some Italian conjunctions which, though they govern 
 <the subjunctive, do not, by analogy with our language, govern 
 that mode upon any principle at all. For example: 
 
 Forse che io pli dissi, 
 Oltre che io le parlui, 
 Non che io gli dictssi, 
 ^onostante che io \e parlassi, 
 
 Perhaps I said to him. 
 Besides that I spoke to her. 
 Not that I said to him. 
 Motwithstanding I spoke to her. 
 
 Here, after forse che, perhaps, and oltre che, besides, the 
 verb is in the indicative, in the Italian as well as in our lan- 
 guage ; but, the non che and nonostdnte che require the verb 
 in the subjunctive, in Italian, while we, in English, have it in 
 the indicative, Xhon^h. our conjunctions not that and notwith- 
 itandvig precisely correspond in their meaning with the noa 
 che and 7ionost(inte che of the Italians. This, then, will be 
 suflScient, as relates to the governiiig of the mode by conjunc- 
 tions. It would require many words to explain, if it were at 
 all capable of explanation, why, after oltre che, we must use 
 the indicative, and, after nonostdnte che, the subjunctive. 
 The thing to be attended to here is, to know which are the 
 conjunctions that do absolutely require the verb to be in the 
 subjunctive, and which do not. There are some conjunctions, 
 however, which, as relates to their governing of verbs, will re- 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS, 
 
 257 
 
 quire a particular notice. Observe, first, that our word although 
 or though is expressed, in Italian, by the different words seh^ 
 bene, or se bene,benchc,ancorchc, and quantunque. Incases 
 where we, in English, should employ the indicative after our 
 althoughy the Italians use sebbene or se bene ; as: 
 
 Sebben questi mirdcoli sono famili- 
 4ri alia Friincia ; &c. Ben L. 
 
 e questo dardo, 
 
 Se bene egli non ha ]^ puntad' oro, &c, 
 
 Tas. a. 
 
 Although these miracles are familiar 
 to France. 
 
 And this dart, though it has not the 
 point of gold. 
 
 Here the verbs to be and to have are in the indicative, because 
 the circumstances of being and having are both stated posi' 
 tively. But, when we should put the verb in the subjunctive 
 after our although or though, then the Italians use one of the 
 other words, benche, ancorch^, and quantunque ; as : 
 
 Beuch^ io sia felice non sono 
 
 ricco, 
 Ancorch^ egli fosse ricco, non era 
 
 prudente, 
 Quantunque vol lo credilite non 
 
 ^ vero, 
 
 Althou>^h I may be happy, I am 
 
 not rich. 
 Though lie might be rich, he was 
 
 not prudent. 
 Although you may believe it, it is 
 
 not true. ' 
 
 This is the general rule, as to the manner of translating our 
 word although or though. But, though sebbene or se bene 
 can never be used to govern the subjunctive mode, the other 
 three words are very frequently used in cases where we, in 
 English, must put the verb in the indicative ; as : 
 
 E bcnch^ 1* intento suo non fosse di 
 far graude la Chiesa, &c. 
 
 Mac. P. 
 
 E bench ^ surgcsse qudlche volta un 
 Papa animoso, come fu Sisto, &c. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 — ancorche/osse Orlando 
 
 Di sangue tiuto, &c . Ari. O. F. 
 
 Ancorcbft per mantenerlo/acrsse molte 
 costituzioni, &c. Mac. D. 
 
 Quantunque il simular sia le piii volte 
 
 Ripreso,ediadimalameuteindici, &c. 
 
 ^ Ari. O.F. 
 
 Quantunque ci6 che ragiona Pampi- 
 nea sia ottimamente detto, &c. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 And although his intention was not 
 to make the Church great. 
 
 And though there sometimes arose 
 a spirited Pope, as was Sixtus. 
 
 Although Orlando was stained with 
 blood. 
 
 Although to maintain it (the state) he 
 (Solon) made many constitutions. 
 
 Although dissimulating is most times 
 blamed, and gives indications of a 
 bad mind. 
 
 Although that which Pampinia relates 
 is very well said. 
 
258 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 The meaning, \n all these examples, is decidedly indicative ; 
 but, as the conjunctions benchdy ancorchd , and quantunquCj 
 govern the subjunctive, the verbs are all employed in that 
 form. There are, however, many instances of benche used 
 with the indicative. After ancorchd and quaniunque we 
 must never use the indicative. But, benche may be used 
 with the indicative, as well as with the subjunctive; as in 
 these examples : 
 
 Bench' area gli occbi di lagrime prujjni, 
 &c. Ari. O. F. 
 
 Benche le ration! che v' invitano tono 
 tauto cLiiru e potciili, &c. 
 
 Gui. S. 
 
 Bench^ la gcnte ci6 non sa, nc credt. 
 
 Pet.T. 
 
 AIthou;;h she had her eyes foil of 
 tears. 
 
 Althou!;h the rrasons which inTite 
 you are so clear aud powcilul. 
 
 Though the people neither knojv nor 
 btlieve that. 
 
 The word perchc sometimes means because^ and some- 
 times in order that ; and dove or ove, sometimes mesms whercj 
 and sometimes in case, or if. In the sense of because, and 
 where, these words stand with the indicative ; but, when 
 taken in the other acceptation, they require the subjunctive ; as: 
 
 Perch^ tu prepari V inimo ad aiutir- 
 mi dove il bisugno lo riccrc/u. 
 
 Mac. C. 
 
 E dove tu mi promilla sei grazie, io 
 U Tiro ascendere a questo on6re. 
 
 Fio. N. 
 
 In order that thoo maytnt prepare thy 
 mind to assist me in ca&e need may 
 require it. 
 
 And if thoo nilt promise me six fa- 
 Tour.x, I will make thee rise to this 
 honour. 
 
 The word quando, also, is sometimes used in the sense of 
 when, and sometimes in that of in case, whenever, if, or sup- 
 posi?i(j. When used in the latter sense, it requires the verb in 
 the subjunctive ; as: 
 
 Voile il patto, che quando ei restusse 
 vittorioso, Carlo gli fosse dalo per 
 prigioniero. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Perciocch^ anc6ra il bene, quando sia 
 sorercbio, spidce. D. Ca. G. 
 
 Quando vol voglidte, io tI porterb 
 gran parte della via a cavdllo. 
 
 Boc.D. 
 
 The compact required, that in case he 
 should remain -victorious, Charlea 
 should be given to him for a pri- 
 soner. 
 
 Because even wealth, whenever it it 
 excessive, displeases. 
 
 If youare nii/insr, I will take yea a 
 great part of the way on horseback. 
 
 £ quando queste opiDi6Bi fistero I And supposing these opiniMU were 
 false, &c. Mac. D. I fals«. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. ' 259 
 
 Some of the words that I have put in the foregoing lists of con- 
 junctions are, properly speaking, adverbs. Prima che, uvanti 
 che, ami che, before ; tanto che., mentre che,^nchc, until, or 
 as long as; quando, when ; dove, where ; these are all adverbs 
 of time, excepting dove^ which is an adverb of place. But it 
 is necessary to notice these words here, as they have to do with 
 government of mode. Quando and dove are subject, as we 
 have seen, to various meanings ; and, when they have the 
 power of governing verbs, they have the nature of conjunctions. 
 Prima che, avanti che^ and anzi che, govern the subjunctive : 
 as. 
 
 Prima die io fSssi veniito, 
 Avanti che cgli mi dicesse, 
 Anzi die ella av{sse linito, 
 
 Before I wax come. 
 Letoie lie told me. 
 Before she had finished. 
 
 Here the verb must be in the subjunctive. Nevertheless, we 
 must say, 
 
 Subito che io/«i venuto, 
 J)opo che egli mi disse^ 
 Poiche ella tbbe iinito, 
 
 As soon as I wax come. 
 After he told me. 
 When she had finished. 
 
 We must use fSssi, dicessi, avesse, in the three former in- 
 stances, and fuiy disse, ebbe, in the three latter ; yet, there is 
 nooiher reason for this, than thatprma cAe, avanti che, and 
 anzi chef govern the subjunctive, while the adverbs subito che, 
 dopo che, and poiche, like many others, do not require the sub- 
 junctive mode any more than our English words that correspond 
 with them. 
 
 190. We have next to consider the verbs, which have the 
 power of governing the subjunctive mode in other verbs. These, 
 as I before said, are such verbs as express some passion ^ desire, 
 or a strong feeling of some sort. But, since it is difficult, in 
 a few words, precisely to define the nature of those verbs vvhich 
 govern the subjunctive, we may say, that they are such verbs 
 as express some intent or inclination of the mind in one per- 
 son or thing, relative to some other person's or thing's doing 
 something, or being, in some way or other. For example : 
 
 lovoglio chetuparit, I l&mniillingiiisWhoM. may est speak, 
 
 Ta desideri cb' io sia ricco, , | Thou desirtsl that I may be rich. 
 
200 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 Here the verbs volcrc, to wish, or be willing, and dcsidcrnrCy 
 to desire, express the intent or inclination of the mind in the 
 one person, and the verbs parl/tre, to speak, and issere, to be, 
 which are governed by the two other verbs, describe the doing 
 and being with respect to which the intent or inclination ex- 
 pressed by the governing verbs exists. Thus, again, thfe 
 Italians say : 
 
 Comando die voi vevghtatf^ 
 Prp^o cJie io parlassi, 
 Siipplico die voi mi diciule, 
 Kichiese chf. fosse co'i'i, 
 PeriD^tto che voi andiate, 
 Oidino che noi seguitassimo^ 
 Bramai die ella venisse. 
 
 I command that yon matj eome. 
 H<" bfRi^ed that 1 mi'jht speak. 
 I entreat that you wioy (dl me. 
 He required that it ini'jhl be so. 
 I permit ttiat you vnay go. 
 He ordered that we might follow. 
 I u ished that she might come. 
 
 Some of these are barely translatable by our subjunctive mode, 
 a$ I have translated them above. To say, I command that you 
 MAY COME, is hardly as good English as it would be to say, 
 / command you to come. In many cases, it sounds equally 
 well, in our language, to use either tbe subjunctive, as above, 
 or the infinitive. / xuished that she might come, or, / 
 wished her to come, are both equally good English, as our 
 ear tells us; but, it would not do in Italian to say, bram6i ella 
 VENIRE. Nevertheless, we must observe, that there are certain 
 cases in which the Italians use the infinitive, though the pre- 
 ceding verb be one of those which govern the subjunctive. 
 Whenever the second verb expresses something relative to the 
 person, which is the subject of the^rs^ verb also, that is to say, 
 when there is but one person for the subject or nominative of 
 both verbs, then the second verb is put in the injinitive, just 
 as it is in English ; as: 
 
 Io vo(;\io parldre, i I am willing to speak. 
 
 Tu desideri d' andure, I Thou desirest to go. 
 
 EgVi godixa di restdre, I He was glad <o remain. 
 
 Here voglio and parldre have both io for their subject ; desi- 
 deri and andure have tu ; and godcva and reslare have egli. 
 But, if we give each verb a separate subject, then we must use 
 the subjunctive : 
 
 Jo voglio che egli parli, i I am willing that he may spenk. 
 
 Tu desideri che io vada, I Thou desirest that I may go. 
 
 Egli godcva che noi restusiimo, I He was glad that we n»i/;A(r«noin. 
 
XX.] 
 
 or VERBS. 
 
 261 
 
 Instead of saying, that he may speak, that I may go, that we 
 might remain, we should rather say, for him to speak, for 
 me to go, for us to remain. But the Italian knows nothing of 
 this sort of turn ; our for, thus used along with the infinitive 
 mode, cannot be turned literally into Italian ; but we must, in 
 such cases, have recourse to the che, putting the verb following 
 in the subjunctive. Then, again, there are some verbs, which 
 sometimes have the verb following in the subjunctive and some- 
 times in the infinitive. These verbs are, pregure, to beg or 
 pray; comandare, to command ; penwt/^ere, to permit; swp- 
 plicare, to beseech ; raccomanddrs, to recommend ; commet' 
 #ere, to enjoin or command; consig I idre, to ^.dvise; esorture^ 
 to exhort; persuadere, to persuade ; and perhaps a few others. 
 
 Vi pve£fo che and'iate, 
 
 Vi piego d ' auddre, 
 
 Vi comando che/accidte, 
 
 Vi comando (Wfdre, 
 
 Vi jievvaitto che parlidte, 
 
 Vi permetto d\ parldre, 
 
 Vi supplico che m' ascoltxdte, 
 
 Vi supplico d' ascoltdrmi, 
 
 I beg that yoa may go. 
 
 I beg yoH to yo. 
 
 I command that you may do, 
 
 I command you to do, 
 
 I permit that you inay speak. 
 
 I permit you to speak. 
 
 I entreat that you inay listen tome. 
 
 I entreat you to listen to me. 
 
 Here the pronoun, in the instances where the subjunctive is 
 "used, is not in the nominative Case, as our you is in the 
 English ; but, then, this is because the preposition a is to be 
 understood : vi prego che andiate, that is, prego a voi, I beg 
 to you ; and, to translate the phrase literally, to you I beg that 
 you may go. 
 
 191. There are some of the verbs, called Im personals 
 (see them particularly noticed at Paragraph 268), which 
 govern the subjunctive mode. These verbs are, bisogndrey 
 to be necessary or needful i convenire, to be proper, suitable, or 
 fit; occorere, to happen, to be needful, or necessary; bastdre, 
 to be sufficient; giovdre, to be pleasant, profitable, or of use. 
 These are sometimes used with the verb following in the infi- 
 nitive, as in English. For example : 
 
 Bisogna aver pazi^nza, 
 Conviene isser giiisto, 
 Gli acc6rse di parldre, 
 }iasta impurdre questo, 
 Chegiova/M^r^^n? 
 
 It is necessary to have patience. 
 It is proper to 6e just. 
 It happened to him to speak. 
 It is sufficient to learn this. 
 Of what use is it to fix * 
 
262 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 In these examples, the verbs avcre, essere, parlarey imparurCf 
 and fuggirVf have no noun or pronoun as their nominative. 
 AVhen this is the case, the verbs following bisogiidre, convenire, 
 occurrere, basture^ and rjiovdre, are not required to be io the 
 subjunctive ; but, if the case be otherwise, then the subjunctive 
 Diode must be employed ; as : 
 
 BisfSi^na ch' io dbbia pnzi^nza, 
 
 Convi^oe che tu sia f^iu.sto, 
 Non orcorreche egli mi parli, 
 
 Basta che noi im}>ariutno questo, 
 Non giuva die \o\fug<jiate, 
 
 It is necessary for me to have pa- 
 tience. 
 
 It is pioper for you to he just. 
 
 It is not necessary for him to 
 speak to me. 
 
 It i.vyunicie)«t for us to le.trn tliis. 
 
 It is of no use for you to flee. 
 
 We might, here, use the pronouns mij ti, gli, ci, vi ; putting 
 the second verb in the infinitive : as, 
 
 Mi bis6t>na aver pazicnza. 
 7't convienesser giiisto. 
 
 But then, here the pronouns are not the nominatives of avere 
 and esserc ; for what these mean is, literally, to havCspatiejice 
 is necessary to, or for me; to he just is proper to, or for ' 
 THEE. We must observe, therefore, that there must be some 
 noun or pronoun standing as a nominative to the verb follow- 
 ing these impersonals, in order for stfch following verb to be in 
 ' the subjunctive, 
 
 192. The verb partre, to appear, governs the subjunctive. 
 But this is only when partre is used impersonatly ; as : 
 
 Vi pare che Pamela Io sappia ? 
 
 GoL. C. 
 
 Sul lito un bosco era di querce ombr6se, 
 Dove oguor par cbe f ilomena /)>a{7>ia,&c. 
 
 Abi. O. F. 
 
 A te parch'ognicosaaddormentata sia. 
 
 GuA, p. F. 
 
 Non par^'va, che in Fir^nze alcuna 
 cagi6ae di scindalo/os^e rimdsa. 
 
 Mac. S. 
 
 Parevarai che ella fosse pi ill che la 
 neve biauca. Boc. D. 
 
 I 
 
 Does it appear to you that Pamela 
 knows it ? 
 
 On the shore \vas a wood of shady 
 oaks, where it appears that Philo- 
 mel always wails. 
 
 It appears to thee that every thing' it 
 in sleep. 
 
 It did not appear that there had re- 
 mained in Florence any cause of 
 scandal. 
 
 It appeared to me that she was more 
 white than anow. 
 
 The verb sembrare, to seem, or to appear, also governs the 
 subjunctive, when used, like partre in the above examples, im" 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 263 
 
 'personally. But, these verbs may have the verb following in 
 the infinitive mode, when they are not used impersonally ; as : 
 
 Mi pare che egli /accia, 
 Xgli mi pare cssrre viato, 
 Ali sembrava che fosse vinto, 
 
 Egli mi sembrava/<irf, 
 
 It appears to me that he dots. 
 He appears to me to he conquered. 
 It seemed to me that he mas con- 
 
 quered. 
 He seemed to me to do. 
 
 In the first and third example, far ere and sembrdre are used 
 impersonally, and, as we see, require the verb following to be 
 in the subjunctive ; but in the second and fourth examples, 
 these verbs have egli, he, for their nominative, and, like the 
 English, have the verb following in the infinitive mode. 
 
 193. It sometimes occurs that an adjective has the power 
 of requiring the verb to he in the subjunctive mode. This hap- 
 pens in such cases as those, in which we use our word it before 
 the verb to be, with the infinitive of a verb coming after : as, 
 it is right for me to speak, it is proper for you to go - and so 
 forth. Thus, in Italian : 
 
 E fdcile che egli scrtva, 
 E giusto che vol state mandito, 
 E possibile che noi andidmo, 
 £ difficile che ella parli, 
 Non e rogioaevole che voi/acci- 
 dte cosi, 
 
 It is easy for him to write. 
 It is just for you to be sent. 
 It is possible for us to go. 
 It is difficult for her to speak. 
 It is riot reftsooable for you to da 
 so. 
 
 If there be no noun or pronoun used as the nominative to 
 the verb coming after in such cases, then the Italians put that 
 verb in the infinitive, as we should in English ; as : 
 
 E ficile scrivere cosi, 
 
 I It is easy to write thus. 
 
 ' 194. The verbs domanddre, to ask or inquire; credere, to 
 think or believe ; sapere, to know, frequently govern the sub- 
 junctive of a verb following them ; and particularly the verb 
 domanddre ; as : 
 
 Piacendogli molto i modi del fanciullo, 
 domandb chi egli/osse. Bee D. 
 
 Domando la regina qual fosse la ca- 
 gi6ne del loro rom6re. Bqc. D. 
 
 Cominci6 piacerolmtnte a ragiondre, 
 e domandare chi fosse, donde ve- 
 nisse, e dove ariddsse, Boc. D« 
 
 The manners of tbechild pleasing him 
 muck, he asked who he was. 
 
 The queen asked what was the cause 
 of their noise. 
 
 He began to converse agreeably, and 
 to ask who he was, whence he came, 
 aod whither be was goinff. 
 
264 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 DoniADdo »A alcuno cohoseiiae quel i He inquired if any ooe knnv that 
 ribaldo. hoc. D. | rugue. 
 
 Chi crcd6te vol che io tia ? Gui,. C. | Who do you think that I am f 
 
 Quando i pasK'iri credian ch' io/oM* i Whrn the shepherds belicTed that I 
 Visto dal lupo, &c. [Halo I had bren seen by the wolf. 
 
 Tab. a. I 
 
 Non sapendo essi dore tXfotsfro. I They not knowing where they n'tre. 
 
 Boc. D. I 
 
 It is the uncertainty , or doubt, which is sometimes intended 
 to be expressed when these verbs are used, that causes them to 
 govern the subjunctive of the verb following; and this uncer- 
 tainty, or doubt, is much more commonly thus expressed by the 
 Italians than by us. We might say, He inquired if any one 
 WIGHT KNOW that rogue, "Who do you think I may be. 
 They not knowing where they might be; but, though we 
 do, at times, use the subjunctive, in this way, such a practice 
 is more common to the Italian than it is to our language. 
 Again, with the verbs vedtre, to see, and conoscere, to know: 
 
 lonon vedoperch«i ecli sia veniito, 
 lo vedo ben perche cgli t veniito, 
 lo non con6sco chi egli sia, 
 lo cond^co clii egli i. 
 
 I do not see why he is come. 
 I .-ee wf II why he is come, 
 1 do not know who he it. 
 I know wJio he it. 
 
 Here, in the first and third examples, the uncertainty or doubt 
 is obvious, and, consequently, the Italian verb is in the sub- 
 junctive ; while, in the second and fourth examples, the seeing 
 and the knowing are expressed positively and independently 
 of any thing like a dmibt. 
 
 195. The verbs temtre, to fear; sospeitdre or sospicure, to 
 suspect ; dubitdre, to doubt, always require the verb coming 
 after them to be in the subjunctive, if the word che precede 
 that verb ; as : 
 
 Temo che egli non sia felicc, 
 Diibito eh? ella non sia in casa, 
 Sospetto che voi non 1' abbiiite, 
 
 I fear he i* not happy. 
 
 I dnubt w hether she be a* fiome. 
 
 I suspect that yoa have it not. 
 
 196. The conjunction che is sometimes omitted in Italian, 
 by an ellipsis, after words governing the subjunctive mode. 
 This, however, does not frequently happen. Examples : 
 
 N^ Toglio sui ripatata pretnnzi6ne, I Nor do I wish it to be thoDgbt pre* 
 se, &c. Mac. P» 1 sumptioD, if . . . 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 265 
 
 Coslui 6 si 9ci6cco, che io ho paura | Tliis man is so foolish that I am 
 non 5rMns<as«eogni cosa. Mac. C. | alraid he might spoil cyeiy tiling. 
 
 Non ^ possibile o/>er j;io hene insiiine. j It is not possible for them to work 
 
 Mac. p. 1 well together. 
 
 Gnarddndosi semprenonMaiaHos* ac- I Taking care always that Maratto 
 coraesse della cagl6ne. Boc. D. I might not perceive the cause. 
 
 Acci6 ripardssi lo scandalo che io I In order that I m'ght remedy the 
 av6vadato a tutta 1' Italia. I scandal which I had given to all 
 
 GAt. L. I Italy. 
 
 Accio non coglicsse il frutto della sua t In order that he might not reap the 
 mala elezi6ue. Mac. P. | fruit of his bad choice, 
 
 Tem^ttero non questa cosa si risa- i They feared that this thing might be 
 pcsse. Boc. D. 1 known. 
 
 These, according to regular construction, should be, ne voglio 
 CHE sia ; CHE 71071 (juastcisse ; CHE opirino bene ; che Ma- 
 ratto non s'accorgesse; accio che ripardssi; accio cue 
 non cogliesse ; che questa cosa non si rieapesse. 
 
 197. The word che has, as we have seen in the etymology 
 and in the syntax of pronouns, various meanings. One of its 
 great uses is that of which we have just been speaking; niunely, 
 the use of it before, the verb in the subjunctive mode, Biit 
 che, as preceding the subjunctive, requires some further notice. 
 The subjunctive is used after che, when che comes after an 
 adjective in the superlative degree: as, 
 
 Questa signora d la piii bella donua | This lady is the most beautiful wo- 
 che io conosca, I , man that I know. 
 
 It would not do to say, 
 
 la pill bella donna che io conosco. 
 
 But, if we were to omit the che, or, if the superlative were 
 omitted without omitting the che, the verb should be in the 
 indicative : as, 
 
 lo conosco]a pile beila donsa, I 1 know ihe most beautiful wom^n. 
 
 La bella donna che io conosco, I The beautiful woman that I know. 
 
 In the first of these examples, the che does not relate to the 
 noun donna, nor does our that relate to the noun woman. 
 There is, here, something left to be understood in both lan- 
 guages. What is meaned is : questa signora e la piil bella 
 donna, paragonata a qualsivoglia altka donna, or, 
 
2G6 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 QUALSIVOGLIA ALTttA BELLA DOSV Af che io COnOSCa ; thlS 
 
 lady is the 7nost beautiful luoy/ian, compared to any 
 
 OTHEIl woman, or, A2iY OTHER BEAUTIFUL WOMAX, 
 
 that I know. This, or something like it, is what is here 
 intended ; and, here, the relative cAe, that, and the verb 
 conoscay know, have reference to the qualsivoylia altra donna, 
 or bclla donna t any other wonaan, or beautiful woman; and 
 not to the piii hella donnay most beautiful woman. The rela- 
 tive and the verb, the che and the conosca, may clearly be per- 
 ceived to refer to something understood, though not expressed, 
 besides the peii bella donna: and, if we explain it in this way, 
 there certainly is a reason for the verb's being put in the sub- 
 junctive, and not in the indicative, after the superlative degree 
 and the che following it: 
 
 Questa signora 6 la piii belladonna I This lady is the most beautiful w 
 che io couosca, I maa ihall may know. 
 
 That is to say, if we express, in full, what is meaned, 
 
 paragonata a qualsiioglia altra don- 1 compared to any other notnan, or 
 na, or hella donnn, che io conosca, \ beautiful Tvoman, that I ma'j know. 
 
 In using the verb to knoWy here, it is not our intention to 
 say, positively, that we do know any other woman, as com- 
 pared with whom the particular one we are speaking of is beau- 
 tiful in a superlative degree. 
 
 This, then, is what we have to observe, that, when the sub- 
 junctive is thus used after the adjective in the superlative 
 degree and the che following it, the che, and the verb caused 
 to be in the subjunctive, do not refer to the noun to which the 
 adjective belongs, but to some other thing, which, by ellipsis, 
 is left to be understood. If we look again at the other exam- 
 ples before given, 
 
 Io cenoscol& piu bella donna, 
 La bella donna che io conosco ; 
 
 in these we see the verb in the Indicative in both cases. In 
 the first, the superlative is employed ; but, then there is no che 
 to express that the superlative is employed relatively. In the 
 
XX.] 
 
 or VERBS. 
 
 267 
 
 second, there is no superlative, the adjective being in the posi- 
 tive degree, and the cJie used in this example relates to the 
 noun do7ina, which, as before explained, it would not do, if the 
 adjective were in the superlative degree. If we examine the 
 following examples, we shall see, that the use of the sub- 
 junctive, which appears in all of thejn, perfectly agrees with 
 what I have been saying. 
 
 Erail piii contento e gioval giovane 
 che Vitesse a que' giorni. 
 
 G. Goz. N. 
 
 He was the raost happy and jovial 
 youth that lived at those days. 
 
 Ed uno dei ^fii potent Jrim6dj che <i6- | And one of the most powerful rcme- 
 fcia unprincipe contro alle congiiire I dies that a prince has against con- 
 
 ^, noaesser odiato. Mac. P. I spiracles is, not to be hated. 
 
 Voi m' av6terenduta la piu infelice 
 donna che mai vitHse. Soa. Is. 
 
 Questa k la maggior ricreazione ch* 
 io dbbia. Bkn. L. 
 
 Ma questa mi pare la piu struna cosa 
 che mai si udlsse^ Mac. C. 
 
 Amor venule. 
 
 Amor servo dell' oro, e 11 maggior 
 Che produca la terra, &c. [mo^tro 
 
 Tas. a. 
 
 Perb la mi^Zor fort^zza chesia,enon 
 6sser odiato dal p6polo. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Zerbin facea lepiit mimii/ prove 
 Che mai/acesse di sua eta garzone. 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 Io non scno il piu pover6tto che sia 
 al mondo. C. Goz. L. 
 
 You have rendered me the most un- 
 happy woman that ever lived. 
 
 This is tlie greatest recreation that I 
 have. 
 
 But this appears to me the most 
 strange thing that one ever hiard. 
 
 Venal Love, Love the slave of gold, is 
 the greatest monster that the earth 
 produces. 
 
 Therefore, the best fortress that is, i& 
 not to be hated by the people. 
 
 Zerbin did the most miraculous deeds^ 
 that a youth of his age ever did. 
 
 I am not the most poor man that 
 there is in ihe world. 
 
 When the relative pronoun refers to a noun having a negative 
 before it, the verb following must be in the subjunctive : as. 
 
 Non conosco veruna donna che 
 
 sia piii bella di lei, 
 Non c' e uomo eke sia piCi sdrio 
 
 di lui, 
 
 I do not know any lady that i*- 
 more beautiiul tlian she. 
 
 There is not a man that is more 
 wise than he. 
 
 But, observe, if there w^ere no negative before the noun to 
 which the relative pronoun refers, the verb coming after the 
 relative would be in the indicative : 
 
 N 2 
 
268 SYNTAX. [Chap. 
 
 Conn^ro iinn <1ouna chf i piii 
 
 bclla di Ici, 
 C £ uii uoino cAe I piC) savio di 
 
 Jui, 
 
 I know A Ind) wlio u more beau- 
 tiful than ftlio 
 
 There is a man who u more wise 
 timn he. 
 
 Here we see the subjunctive in the first examples, and the indi- 
 cative in the latter, and the diflference is occasioned solely by 
 there being a negative in the one case, and no negative in the 
 other. Our word ayiy, we must observe, would always be either 
 expressed or understood in cases where the subjunctive is thus 
 used in Italian : I do not know ai y lady that is more beautiful 
 than she ; There is no man (that is, not ayiy man) that is more 
 wise than he. The person or thing, therefore, represented by 
 the noun that comes after the negative, is spoken of in a man- 
 ner less tending to identify y and in a sense less restricted^ 
 than when the noun is not preceded by the negative : I do not 
 know any lady (that is, any lady, be sh» whosoever she may) ; 
 I know a lady (that is, a lad)% whom I could point out). 
 Just the same with the other examples: There is not a man, 
 &c., There is a man. Sic. Here, then, we see something like 
 a reason for the employment of the su])junctive in the one case, 
 and the indicative in the other, when the Italians say, 
 
 I do not know any Indy that way be more beautiful than she, 
 1 know a lady who is more beautiful than she : 
 
 There is not a man that may be more wise than he, 
 There is a man who is more wise than he. 
 
 In the following examples, we see the negative requiring the 
 subjunctive after it, the relative pronouns che and quale coming 
 after tlie negative, just as is the case with the examples before 
 given : 
 
 *E non ci c- cosa che coDSJirmi se stessa I And there is nolbinc; that consumes 
 quanto la liberalita. Mac. P. i itself so much as libewility. 
 
 Offginuil non v' lia pcrsf'jna di senno | Now-a-days there is no person of 
 c\\eprisli piu alciina lede a terrori j sense that any longer gives faith to 
 
 ^ly^lti. SoA. N. I such terrors. 
 
 Is'on ci lia u<')mo, il qual non ami i There is not a man who loves not to 
 d'fcsserfelice. Soa.N. | be happy. 
 
 >"ii!no aTeva, die a lei strettamcnte 
 congiunto/('Sse di suPgue. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 She had no one that nas closely re- 
 lated to her by blood. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 269 
 
 It does not, however, require that there should be either an 
 adjective in the superlative degree, or a negative, before the cite 
 or the relative quale, in order for the verb following to be in the 
 subjunctive. For example: 
 
 Vo^lio sposdre una ragdzza che ,^ 
 
 e bella, I I wish to marry agiil whon'hai'.d- 
 
 Voglio sposare una ragdzza che \ some. 
 
 sia bella, 
 
 Diamoil denaro atl una persona ,^ 
 
 che ne sa il valore, ( Let us give the money to a person 
 
 Diamo il denaro ad una persona i who /cnovy*- the value of it. 
 
 che ne sdppia il valore, 
 
 Cerco un maestro che inscrjna ^ / 
 
 I'ltaliano, I I seek a master who teaches 
 
 Cerco un maestro che instgni | Italian. 
 
 I'ltaliano, ^ 
 
 Debbidmo onorare 1' uomo il 
 
 quale h virtuoso, | We ought to honour the man who 
 
 Debbidmo onordie 1' u6mo il ( is virtuous. 
 
 quale sia virtuoso, "^ 
 
 Here, where the verb is in the indicative, we are supposed to 
 be speaking of a particular girl, that we know is handsome, of 
 a particular person that we know does know the value, of a par- 
 ticular master that we know does teach, of a particular man 
 that we know is virtuous : here positive assertion or affirma' 
 tion, of the facts of the being handsome, the knowing the va- 
 lue, the teaching, and the being virtuous, is intended to be 
 made. But in using the subjunctive, no particidar individuals 
 are alluded to, at all : what is meaned here, with the subjunc- 
 tive, is, some girl who is handsome, some person who knows the 
 value, some master who teaches, any man who is virtuous ; 
 without intending it to be understood, that we are alluding to 
 individuals that we are acquainted with, and that we have it 
 in our power to point out or particularize. Therefore, the 
 Italians, when they do not speak of the person or thing, to 
 which the relative relates as being such as could be pointed out 
 or particularized, put the verb in the subjunctive, and make the 
 distinction thus : 
 
 I wish to marry a girl who is handsome : 
 I wish to marry a girl who mmj be handsome. 
 
270 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 I.et u» Rive the monry to a person who knon t the vnluc of it : 
 
 Let u« i^i»«' the money to n i)rrson who may knon the value of it. 
 
 I icek a tna-tler who ttachts Itaiinn : 
 
 J aeek a nin!>ter who may irach Italian. 
 
 We oiik^ht to hon«iur the man wlio ?.« vir'nong : 
 
 Me ouslit to honour llie ninn who mny be viituotis. 
 
 In Strict accordance with the prioc.ij)le here laid down are the 
 following examples: 
 
 Gli o/imini lidiino tneno risp6'to ad 
 oll'cndcrt uno che si fiiccia amdre, 
 che uno che si ficcia tem^re. 
 
 Mac.V. 
 
 Ad un principe che vojlin fare pran 
 c«se, c necessario impai die a ingan- 
 ndre. Mac. P. 
 
 Un potente, che con le arrae sue ti 
 ventfa adajulare edifcndere, &r. 
 
 Mac. D. 
 
 Avendo ad eleRCtere nn principe, non 
 andavano dictro al piil gagliirdo, 
 ma a quello che fosse piCl prud^iite 
 e pill giusto. Mac. D. 
 
 Un principe adiinqae che dbhia una 
 citta forte, e non si fuccia odidre, 
 non pub, &c. Mac. P. 
 
 Un principe, il qoa!e non sia sdvio 
 per se stesso, non pub esser con- 
 siglidto bene. Mac. P. 
 
 E i solddii amdvano il principe d' ani- 
 ino militarc, e cbe yc>sse insole.jte, 
 crudele, e rapace. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Mrn have less hesitation to ofTend 
 one who »;iflfcfj8 hiin«elf loved, than 
 one w ho makri biniK-lf feared. 
 
 To a prince who nishes to do great 
 things, it is necessary to learn to 
 deceive. 
 
 A powerful man, who comet with bis 
 arms to assist and defend the0< 
 
 Having to choose a prince, they dtd 
 not go after the most brave, but that 
 one who nas more prudent and 
 more just. 
 
 A prince, therefore, who has a pow-er- 
 ^ ful city, and dots not make hisa^lf 
 hated, cannot . . . 
 
 A prince who is not wise of himself^ 
 cannot be well advised. 
 
 And the soldiers liked the prince of 
 military disposition, and wlio nas 
 bold, cruel, and lapacious. 
 
 The verbs /(ire, voIerCy venire, and cssere^ are, as we see, all 
 here put in the subjunctive ; and this is because Macciiia- 
 VELLi was not alluding to some onCy some prince, some 
 •powerful man, in particular, but, to some or any one, some or 
 SLny prince, some or any powerful 7na?i, that might happen 
 to be in the cases the writer was supposing. 
 
 198. There are a few more instances in which the subjunc- 
 tive is used that I think it proper to notice. The pronoun 
 quale, when used in the sense of our ivhat, very frequently 
 governs the subjunctive. When used interrogatively, it may 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 271 
 
 govern either the indicative or the subjunctive, according to 
 circumstances. . • 
 
 Qual padre niai altretlanto si vide i What father did one ever see do so 
 fare per suo figlio ? Soa. N. | much for his son ? ^ 
 
 Here it requires the indicative. But if the use of quale, as an 
 interrogative, be attributed to another person than the one wlio 
 is speaking, or, if the question do not turn entirely on the 
 word quale itself, as it does in the above example, but on some 
 other word in the sentence, then the subjunctive must be used ; 
 as: 
 
 Ella chi^segli qual cagi6ne cola 11 i She asked him ivhat cause brovght 
 guidasse. Soa. N. [ Lim thither. 
 
 Chi dir potrebbe qualfSsse la desola- 
 2i6ne e il rammdrico della miSera 
 gidvane? Soa. N. 
 
 Who can say what nas the ruin and 
 the grief of the wretched young 
 woman ? 
 
 Here, the question, in the first example, is attributed to another 
 person than the writer himself, that is, to ella, she ; and, in the 
 second example, the question falls on the interrogative pronoun 
 cJii, and not on quale. If quale be used in speaking of some- 
 thing as to which our knowledge may be supposed to be quite 
 certain, then the verb coming after should be in the indicative ; 
 but, if the certainty of knowledge be not clearly understood, 
 and if the thing we are speaking of be in any degree question- 
 able , then we must use the subjunctive ; as : 
 
 Con rjital orgoglio il crudele, e con 
 qnal barbaric m' ha discaccidto I 
 
 Soa. N. 
 
 Incomincio a pensir qual mezzo tro- 
 var potesse a procacciarsi nuovo 
 danaro. Soa. N. 
 
 With nhat haughtiness, and with vhat 
 barbarity, the cruel one has driven 
 me away I 
 
 He began to consider ji-Aaf means he 
 could find to procure himself fresh 
 money. 
 
 Here the haughtiness and the barbarity, in the first example, 
 are spoken of as being certainly knovvn by the person who 
 speaks ; and, therefore, the verb is in the indicative : while, in 
 the second example, there is the he began to consider, and, as 
 this exprescion infers uncertainty/ as to the means, the verb is, 
 consequently, in the subjunctive. We must observe, however, 
 that it is not always easy to give a reason for the use of 
 
272 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Cliap. 
 
 the suhjunclive, in place of the indicative, after ^wa/e. For 
 example: 
 
 Qi:al friittn ri (ia,vrnuto dalle 1iin;;he 
 Do.stre diss^nzione, voi il vedctf . 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Niiino (tn mPKlio di vostra m.iesti 
 f/iial sia lu natuia lii niovimcnti ri- 
 Tili. Bi:n. L. 
 
 Yon see nhat benefit is derived to as 
 from our lon^ dissensions. 
 
 No one knows bettor tlian yonr ma- 
 jesty nhdl ii tli8 nature of civil 
 commotions. 
 
 Here the subjunctive is employed ; and }-et there appears to 
 be no uncertainty, cither expressed or understood, as to what 
 the heyiefit and the nature may be. Quale may require the 
 subjunctive also, when used in the sense of iv hie h ; as : 
 
 Voglio sapcre ^Mo/e ita la vostra [ I wish to know which it your 
 casa, t bouse. 
 
 Here there is doubt or uncertainty to be understood. But, if 
 •ertainty of knowledge be expressed, or, if quale be used 
 interrogatively, the verb should be in the indicative ; as : 
 
 lo so qualt i. la Tostra casa, 
 Quale c la vostra casa ? 
 
 I I know nhich it your house. 
 I Which is your house ? 
 
 199. The word quanta, how, how much, when used as an 
 adverb, meaning to what a degree, almost always governs the 
 subjunctive ; as : 
 
 Chi non sa quanta appartenga alia 
 dignitJ rostra il ricuperdilo : qv.an- 
 tn sia piel6so il liberdre que' po- 
 poli ? Gui.S. 
 
 La rea cosci6nza ben lo convinceva 
 quanlo egliait'ise meritito lamorte. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Who does not know how much the re>- 
 gaining of it I'tbe kingdom) becomes 
 your dignity : horv praiseworthy is 
 the liberating of those people ? 
 
 His wicked conscience convinced him 
 well hotv much he had deserved 
 death. 
 
 fiii'ino sa moglio di vostra maestd 1 No ore knows better than your ma- 
 quanlo sian peruizi6si. Ben. JU. I jesty horv pernicious thty are. 
 
 Giudicher^ facilmeote quanta io mi [ You will easily judge how much I ^ 
 cia raliegrato. Ben. L. [ have rejoiced. 
 
 200. When the demonstrative pronoun quello is used with a 
 relative pronoun coming after it, the verb must sometimes be in 
 the subjunctive. If we intend distinctly to point out some cer- 
 tain individual person or thing, then the indicative is used; as: 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 273 
 
 lo non conosco quel u6mo di cui 
 m' av6te pailato, 
 
 lo ho iuteso quel che egU djsse, 
 
 I do not know that man of whom 
 you have spoken to me. 
 
 1 have beard what he said. 
 
 But, if we use the demonstrative, not intending, at the same 
 time, that the relative should have reference to any particular 
 individual, then we must use the subjunctive ; as : 
 
 Chi d qitfllo, che non sappia quanto 
 sia inferiore d' autorita il re di 
 IS'apoli? Gui.S. 
 
 Dando loro lic^nza di fare quello che 
 piii/dsse a grado a ciascuno. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Who is Ae who knows notliow much 
 the king of Naples is inferior ia 
 authoi'ity ? 
 
 Giving them leave to do what nas 
 most agreeable to each. 
 
 201. The pronoun chi, which, as I have shown in Para' 
 graph 255, is sometimes an indeterminate pronoun, does, 
 sometimes, govern the subjunctive. It is frequently used in the 
 sense of cohii che, he who, or that person who, comprising in. 
 itself the sense of both colui and che ; and, in that case, it go- 
 verns the indicative ; as : 
 
 Chi va fuor del sno pa^se a verier il 
 mondo,&c. Ben. L. 
 
 . chi bene impcra 
 
 Si rende venerabile ai soggetti. 
 
 Tas. G. L. I 
 
 Chi schifa quello che ciascun altro 
 appetisce, mostra &c. D. Cas. G. 
 
 He who goes oat of his country to see 
 the world. 
 
 He who governs well renders himself 
 venerable to his subjects. 
 
 He who despises that which every 
 other one des>jes, shows . . . 
 
 But, if chi be employed, as it frequently is, in the sense of anjf 
 one who, or whosoever, then it governs the subjunctive ; asi 
 
 Se don Ivan gli antichi una corona 
 A chi suhusse a un cittadin la vita, &c. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 tsh sara Id Italia chi vi si opponga, 
 
 Gui. S. 
 
 If the ancients gave a crown to whom- 
 soever saved the life of a citizen. 
 
 Nor will there be any one in Italy u7io 
 will o/^/>ose himsejf to it. 
 
 202. Our pronouns whoever or whosoever, whatever or 
 whatsoever, whichever or whichsoever, and the adverb how- 
 ever, have, generally, the verb that follows them in the sub- 
 junctive ; and the Italian words which correspond to them do, 
 also, require the subjunctive : as, 
 
 Chiimque sia 11 vostro amico, 
 
 I Whoever your friend may be, 
 
 N 5 
 
274 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap, 
 
 ¥atb qoAlunque cosa mi coman- 
 diale, 
 
 Qualclie fiste la cngi/me della 
 saa partita, 
 
 Che clic 1' dbhia dctto, 
 
 Per quanto noi/ffsimorirchi, 
 
 Cotuunque Toi V albiute fatto, 
 
 I will do tthatcTCT you m»ijcom- 
 
 ntaiid inc. 
 
 WSiotever might be the caasc of 
 bis departare. 
 
 Whoever may hate said it. 
 
 However rich we might be. 
 
 However yon may have done iL 
 
 203. There is a sort of exclamations, expressive of strong 
 desire or wish ; such as, Oh, that I were as happy as he ! 
 Would to heaven that he were alive ! and such-like. The 
 Italians, in using such exclamations as these, always employ the 
 subjunctive; but they do not make use of the interjectiony in 
 this case, so frequently as we do ; generally, the interjection is 
 not used ; and, in many cases, the che is omitted, though, in 
 the same case, we should use our that. Examples : 
 
 Cos! raorto/(is»' io com' 6 ben vero ! 
 
 GuA. P. F. 
 
 Conlei/oss' io da cbe si parte il sole 1 
 
 1»ET. C. 
 
 Dio vvgtia che siaquello che io credo ! 
 
 Mac. C. 
 
 I 
 
 qni/i4«erteco insieme 
 
 TuUilituoi,ch'ione spegnesse ilsenie I 
 
 Abi.O.F. 
 
 Oh, that I were as dead as it is really 
 true ! 
 
 Oh. that I ntre with hrr from the 
 time that the sun departs! 
 
 Would to God that it may he what I 
 believe ! 
 
 Oh, that all thy kin nere here together 
 with thee, that I might extiognish 
 the race ! 
 
 204. Having given something like an explanation of the dif- 
 ference between the two languages, inasmuch as relates to the 
 Indicative and Subjunctive modes compared with one ano- 
 ther, I shall now proceed to the Conditional mode. I have 
 thought it necessary, as I before observed, to consider this as a 
 separate mode, and not as a part of the subjunctive. As to the 
 name ** conditional" it does not signify how far it be or be not 
 descriptive of the nature of this mode. It was necessary to 
 employ some name to distinguish it; and I have given it that 
 name by which it generally goes with grammarians. In consi- 
 dering this mode, Ave must again speak of the subjunctive, and, 
 indeed, of the indicative also. Let it be observed, that, when 
 the mode called the coJiditional is used, there must always be 
 understood the sense of one or the other of our words should 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 275 
 
 and would. The subjunctive mode expresses the sense of our 
 words 7nay and might ; but, it also expresses the sense of our 
 should, as well as the conditional mode ; and then the sub- 
 junctive, in Italian, expresses, also, the sense of the word were, 
 which we, in English, constantly use in our subjunctive. In 
 speaking of the subjunctive mode hitherto, I have avoided 
 the giving of examples wherein our words should and were 
 are used as sign's of the subjunctive. We shall now see how 
 the meaning of these signs of ours is to be expressed in Italian, 
 But, first of all, I must speak of the conjunction se, if. This 
 little word is of great importance : in using it, we must some- 
 times put the verb in the indicative, and sometimes in the 
 subjunctive. 
 
 20-5. When we use our word if, and we mean to state a 
 factj or to leave it to be understood, positive I i/,.2ind without any 
 sort of condition or dependence, then we always put the verb 
 in the indicative ; and so do the Italians. For example : 
 
 J/he Tvas rich, he was not happy, 
 Ifl had books, they were not mine, 
 
 Se egli era ricco, uon era felice. 
 Se io aveca. libri, non erano miei. 
 
 Here I mean it to be understood, positively, that he was rich, 
 that I did have books : the if here means, taking if for granted 
 that he was rich, taking it for granted that I had books ; or, 
 admitting that he was rich, &c. Macciiiavelli, in de- 
 scribing the appeal made by the people of Lucca to the Duke, 
 says that they added tears to their words, 
 
 Acciocchd, se l'6bbligo non lo muo- I In order that if his duty moved 
 I'ei^fl, lo rauov^sse la corapassione. I him not, compassion might more 
 
 S. 1 him. 
 
 It is meaned to be understood, here, for certain, and as an 
 admitted fact, that the Duke's duty did not move him. 
 Again : 
 
 ^o' 
 
 Perch^, se Roma non sortl la prima 
 fortuna, sorti la seconda ; perche, 
 i primi Ordini se furnno diffettivi, 
 nondimeno non diviarono, &e. 
 
 Mac. D. 
 
 Because, if Rome obtai}icd not the 
 highest fortune, she obtained the 
 next to it J because, if the higher 
 order mere faulty, they deviated 
 not . . . 
 
 E se i tumulti/iiroMO cagi6ne della . And ?/ the tumults were the cause 
 creazione de' Tribitni, meritano | of the creation of the Tribunes 
 
 somma laiide. M.\c. D. | they merit the highest praise. 
 
276 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Here the verbs express facts, which are understood as ad' 
 mittcd: it is taken for granted that Rome did not obtain 
 tlic highest fortune, that the higlier orders were fault]/, that 
 the tumults were the cause of what is staled. And we see 
 that the two languages are here precisely alike, both requiring 
 the indicative. 
 
 206. But, if we use the if in the following manner: if he 
 should be rich, if he were to be rich, or if he were rich, he 
 would not be happy; if I should have books, if I were to have 
 books, or if I had books, I would give them to you : in such 
 cases the if, in the Italian, always requires the subjunctive. 
 
 // he should be rich, he tvovld not be 
 
 Se cgli /osse licco, non tare 
 
 {ij he should be ncD, he tvouia noi oe 
 happy. 
 If he nere to be rich, he would not be 
 happy. 
 If he nere rich, he would not be 
 
 happy. 
 If i should have books, I would give 
 
 Se io av^si libri, li darci « \ 
 
 {II 1 snouia nmve oooks, i wouia give 
 th«m to yoa. 
 If I were to have books, I would givt 
 them to you. 
 If I had books, 1 would give them to 
 you. 
 
 Here the beiyig rick, and the haviyig books, are not at all 
 either stated, or left to be understood, as certai?i: they are 
 not facts admitted, but only supposed. In the same way we 
 see the subjunctive, with the se, in these examples: 
 
 Seloro si ritirdssero, come avrimmo 
 a segairli ? 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Se i nemici fossero in sn quel colle, 
 e noi ci troidssitno qui col nostra 
 cs6rcito, chi di noi avribbe van- 
 taifgio ? Mac. P. 
 
 Ma se tu sapcssi ogni cosa, to non le 
 ne maracigliaristi. Mac. C. 
 
 Se qi;estn luc'go aivsse fontane, sa- 
 rcbbe forse il piCl deli2iuso di 
 Trancia. Ben. L. 
 
 Se :o acissi cosi bella cotta come eV.a, 
 sarii alliesi sguarddta come ella. 
 
 ^'oT. Ant. 
 
 7/ they were to withdraw thfmselves, 
 how should we hare to follorv 
 them? 
 
 If our enemies were on that hill, and 
 we were tojind ourselves here with 
 our army, which of as would have 
 the advantage ? 
 
 But if tbon wtrt to know erery thing, 
 thou wouldest not be aistonished at it. 
 
 If this place had fountains, it would 
 be perhaps the most delightful one 
 in France. 
 
 1/ 1 had as fine a gown as she, I 
 should be as much staied at as 
 she. 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 277 
 
 E se jjli u6mini fossero tutti bii6ni, 
 queslo precttto non sarcbbe bu6no. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Che varr6bbe al Leone 
 
 La sua ferocitd, se uoq Vusdsse? 
 
 GuA. p. p. 
 
 Se io av6ssi questi deniri, io gli ti 
 presterci incoatau4nte. Boc. D. 
 
 And t/nien were all good, thii precept 
 would not be good. 
 
 What would his fierceness afatZ the 
 lion, if he were not to use it ? 
 
 7/ I had these monies, I would lend 
 them to thee immediately. 
 
 In these examples, we see riiirdssero, fossero, trovdssimo, 
 Sapessi, avesse, avessi, fossero, usdsse, avessi: all these are 
 in the subjunctive, coming after se, and depending on the 
 other verbs avremmo, avrtbbe, mar av ig liar esti, sarcbbe, 
 sarei, sarebbe, varebbe, presterci. All the latter verbs, au- 
 reriuno, avrcbbe, &c. are in the Conditional. And here we 
 see the reason for giving this mode the name of Conditional ; 
 because, the if, in such cases, means very neatly the same as 
 upon condition that, or in case, or supposing that: 
 
 A condizione che, nel caso che, or 
 posto che egli fosse ricco, non 
 sarcbbe felice, 
 
 A condiziSne <■/»€, nel caso che, or 
 posio che io avissi libri, li darei a 
 vol, 
 
 A co7idizione che, nel caso che, or 
 posto che gli u6inini fdssero tutti 
 bnoni, questo precetto non sarcbbe 
 buono, 
 
 Upon condition that, in case, or sup- 
 posing that he were rich, he would 
 not be happy. 
 
 Upon condition that, in case, or sup- 
 posing that I were to have books, 
 I would give them to you. 
 
 Upon condition that, in case, or sup- 
 posing that all men were Jjood, 
 this precept would not be good. 
 
 So, with the other examples just given : i7i case, or supposing 
 that, they ivere to withdraw themselves ; in case, or suppos- 
 ing that, our enemies were on that hill ; in case, or supposing 
 that, thou wert io know ; in case, or supposing that, this 
 place had fountains ; in case, or supposing that, 1 had as line 
 a gown ; in case, or supposing that, he were not to use it ; in 
 case, or supposifig that, I had these monies. 
 
 207. ZoTTi, in his edition of Veneroni's Grammar, gives 
 the following rule. *' Observe," he says, *' that though the 
 ** phrase may include the Conditional, if we be speaking of a 
 *' time past, we must in Italian, use the imperfect of the 
 " indicative (that is to say, the past imperfect time of the 
 " indicative) after the condition if. Examples : Zr'AVRir 
 
278 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 *' fatto BZ tu wie/ ciiiEDKVi : /cri se stavo bene, sarki 
 ** andato fndriy That is, to translate these examples literally : 
 I should have done it, if thou askcdst me ; yesterday, if I 
 iveis well, I should have gone out. And then Zotti gives us 
 this example from Maffei : E talc ancor vivui^i, se tu non 
 KRI, and thus I should yet live^ if thou wast not. Here are 
 the phrases, se tu mel ciiied^vi, be stavo, se tu non ert, 
 with the verbs in the indicative : instead of, se tic mcl Axissi 
 ciiiESTO, se fossi stato, se tit 710)1 FOssi, the verbs in the 
 subjunctive. In accordance with these examples of Zotti 
 are the followins: : 
 
 o 
 
 E se giumicva il fcrro 
 
 La 'vc la mano il dcstino, Nicandro 
 
 Oggi yivo non/ora. Gua. P. F. 
 
 Se egli s'fi^roniuva vii5orosain6nte, 
 avribbe rotta quella parte della 
 ca\alleria. Dav. S. 
 
 And if the dajjger had reached where 
 the hand aimed il, Nicandro would 
 not be alive to-day. 
 
 //he had put h\mse\( forward vigor- 
 ously, he nould have routed that 
 part of the cavalry. 
 
 Here we see the Conditionals, loouldbe, luould have routed ; yet 
 the verbs following the se are in the indicative, according to the 
 rule of Zotti: se giung^va ilferro, sf. egli s'affrontava ; 
 which, literally translated, are, if the dagger reached, if he 
 ful himself forward. Now, all this, we must observe, is, in 
 prijiciple, bad grammar. True it is, as we see by the quota- 
 tion made by Zotti, and by these examples that I have just 
 given, that the verb thus coming after se is sometimes employed 
 in the indicative. But this is only a liberty which is taken in 
 practice ; and Zotti's rule, which tells us we are here to use 
 the indicative, is not only not correct, but the examples he 
 gives to illustrate his rule are, strictly speaking, nothing more 
 than instances of violation of principle. In all such cases 
 the Subjunctive should be used^ and not the Indicative, to 
 be strictly correct. Zotti would have been right in telling 
 us that, to a certain extent, practice countenances the using 
 of the indicative here, instead of the subjunctive. But his 
 absolute rule is worse than good for nothing : he makes that 
 the rule which he should have made the exception : what he 
 lays down as the rule, is not what is required in grammar, 
 but only what is tolerated in practice. In the above examples, 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 279 
 
 therefore, it should have been: se fosse givsto ilferro, se 
 cgli si fosse aftrontato. Peretti givCvS us this example : 
 se foste venuto meco, avreste veduto il re; if yon 
 had come with me, you would have seen the king. Accord- 
 ing to ZoTTi, this should have been, se venivate meco, 
 avreste veduto il re, if yon came with me, you would 
 have seen the king; for, the coming is decidedly spoken of 
 here as belonging to a time past, Zotti's quotation, we 
 may observe, does not accord with his rule about time : E 
 tale ancor vivrki, se ^tu non eri, and thus I should yet 
 live if thou wast not. It ought not to be eri in Italian, any 
 more than it ought to be luast in English. What is meaned 
 is, " and thus, I should yet live if thou wert not," that is, ^' if 
 it were not for thy being :'' and here the being is not meaned 
 to be spoken of as in any particular time, at all. 
 
 Sc cosi non fosse, io non vi p«trei 
 presta>-e un grosso. Boc. D. 
 
 • il cammino, 
 
 ^5 
 
 Che libero saria se non fosse ella. 
 
 Am. O. F. 
 
 // it were not thus, I should not be 
 
 able to lend you a farthing. 
 
 The road, which 7vould be free if she 
 were not. 
 
 That is to say, if it were not to be thus, or, in case it ivere 
 not thus ; if she ivere not to be, or, if it were not for her 
 being. Macihavelli, speaking of ambition and avarice, 
 says, ' 
 
 se non fSsser quelle, 
 
 Sarcbbt assai felice il nostro state, 
 
 R. 
 
 //"those were not, our condition would 
 be happy enough. 
 
 That is, if those ivere not to be, or, if it were not for their 
 being. In these three examples the verbs fosse, fosse, Josser, 
 have clearly no reference to any particular time. The same 
 may be said of the eri in the example given by Zotti ; there,, 
 instead of eri, it should have been fossi, according to the 
 three examples I have just given, in which the subjunctive is 
 rightly used. But, let us take an example or two, in which 
 we can discover that the verb distinctly refers to something 
 in a time past. 
 
 Se voi m' avcssi parlato a Parigi io | If you had spoken to me at Paria I 
 saprci che consilgiarvi. Mac. C. I should know what to advise you. 
 
280 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 MoiM e R<'iiniilo non acrihhero poi- 
 ii'ilo fare ORMTVaie liiit^nmcnte le 
 Inro ronslituz'!6iii, tr JOitrrn tiali 
 disanujti. Ma c. I'. 
 
 Sar^be riu$e(ta riropr^jsa molto 
 lunga e niolto trnvni{li<jsa, se la 
 DPglig6nza dc' difi:n86ri non Vavt's^e 
 resa mollo facile &c. Dav. S. 
 
 Se i Fiortntini aiiasino notdto questo 
 testo, non acrcbbero aiulo con i 
 Franc^'ai, ni^ tanti danni, nd tantc 
 nnje. Mac.D. 
 
 O quanto mi sarcste piii earn, se data 
 non mi ti oit'sse il padr6ne I Ma 
 se a me dalo non Vavcase ii padrone, 
 non mi sarcbbe si caro. 
 
 GoL. C. 
 
 Moaeii and Romulos nould not kavt 
 bten able to cause their constitu- 
 tions to be observed, {f they knd 
 been disarmed. 
 
 The undertaking would hate becotnt 
 very long and tedious, if the negli- 
 gence of the defenders had not ren- 
 defed it very easy. 
 
 1/ the Florentines had ohsrrrfd this 
 text, tlicy nould not have had with 
 the French either so many losses or 
 80 many troubles. 
 
 O how much more dear thon nouldett 
 be to me if my master had not picen 
 thee to me I But «y my master had 
 not yiven it to me, it would not be 
 so dear to me. 
 
 In these five e.xamples the speaking, being, becoming, ob- 
 serving, and giving , are evidently spoken of with reference to 
 & past time; nevertheless, the verbs expressing these circum- 
 stances are all in the subjunctive, contrary to the rule given 
 by ZoTTi. The using of the subjunctive, and not of the in- 
 dicative, here, is what strict grammar requires. If we meet 
 with the use of the indicative in instances similar to the 
 examples that Zotti gives in support of his rule, we must 
 consider such use merely as a licence^ which, to whatever ex- 
 tent it may be allowed in practice, is not consistent with prin- 
 ciple. Not only is the indicative used, according to this license, 
 in place of the subjunctive, but we sometimes see it used in- 
 stead of the conditional. _ For example : 
 
 II traditcre era pert/ii^o, se i ravfllicri 
 riusciti non fdssero a salvarlo. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Sceser due altti, e ne seendia un drap- 
 
 [pello 
 Se i primi scesi VacCsser conccssn. 
 
 Ari O. F. 
 
 S'avi'ssc dalo all' 6pra gentile 
 Con la figiira voce ed intelletto, 
 Di 808 ^)ir raolti mi syombrdta il petto. 
 
 Put. S. 
 
 The traitor nould have been lost, if 
 the gentlemen had not succeeded in 
 saving him. 
 
 Two others descended, and a baud of 
 them would have descended if the 
 two first descended had allowed it 
 
 jyiie had yivrn to the beautiful work 
 voice as well as figure, and intellect, 
 he would have freed my breast of 
 many sighs. 
 
 Here we see, eraperduto, was lost, scendea, descended, sgom- 
 brdca, freed ; instead of, sarcbbe state perduto, would have 
 
XX.l 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 281 
 
 been lost, sarchhero sctsi, would have descended, avrcbhe 
 sgombi'iUo, would have freed. Yet heie, again, in opposition 
 to the rule of Zotti before mentioned, we see the subjunctive 
 used after se in the verbs riuscire, conccdere, and ddre. 
 
 Sometimes the indicative is employed, at one and the same 
 place, for both subjunctive and conditional : 
 
 Mulo restdva, mi cied'io, se quella 
 Nod gli rtnd6a Ja voce e la favella. 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 iS'era piu tardo, o poco piil lontano, 
 Jfon giiingca a tempo, e con factva 
 
 [efietto. 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Non poteva Teseo dimostrdre la sua 
 viitii, se noQ irovdva gli Ateni6si 
 dispersi. Mac. P. 
 
 He would have remained dumb, I 
 believe, if she had not restored to 
 him his voice and language. 
 
 If he had been later, or a little farther 
 off, he would not have arrived in 
 time, and would not have produced 
 effect. 
 
 Theseus would not have been able to 
 show his virtue, if he had not/ouiid 
 the Athenians disperoec". 
 
 Here we see, rendea, restored, era, was, trovdva, found; 
 these indicatives are used instead of the subjunctives avesse 
 rendufo, had rendered, Josse stdfo, had been, avesse trovdfOf 
 had found: then we see, restdva ^ lemdiined, giungea, arrived, 
 jfaceva, produced, poteva, was able ; these indicatives are used 
 instead of the conditionals sarebbe restdto, would have re- 
 mained, sarebbe giunto, would have arrived, avrtbbe faitOy 
 would have produced, avrebbe poticto, would have been able. 
 
 208. Having explained the different manners of using the 
 verb with the conjunction se, I must now take some particular 
 notice of our signs of the modes, would, should, were, might, 
 and may. There is, sometimes, but a small shade of differ- 
 ence, as to meaning, between the use of one of these signs and 
 the use of another; and, in some cases, we may use either the 
 one or the other of two of them to convey a single idea. It is 
 difficult to make any thing like rules to show people how the 
 various senses of these signs are to be conveyed in using the 
 Italian verbs, which have no such signs belonging to them. I 
 will, however, by the means of a few examples, endeavour to 
 make this matter tolerably well understood. We must, first of 
 all, take notice that, though, very frequently, there is something 
 of the uatare of a condition, expressed by the words se, if, a 
 condizione che, upon condition that, nel case che, in cdt.se, posto 
 
28-2 SYNTAX' [Chap. 
 
 che supposing, or some such conjunction, in those cases wherein 
 the mode called conditional is employed ; yet, this mode may 
 be used without there being any sort of condition either ex- 
 pressed or understood. We have already seen examples suffi- 
 cient of the condition expressed, and, therefore, I need give no 
 more such as respects this mode, any further than to show when 
 we are to en)ploy should, and when would, as signs of the con- 
 ditional. 
 
 ^ If I had book*, I mould give them to 
 
 I yon; 
 
 Se Id av6s«l libri, li darii a Toi, c or, 
 
 I in had hooks, I sAoiWd give them to 
 
 ^ you. 
 
 Then, again : 
 
 Se egli fosse ricco, non sarlbbe felice, | If he were rich, be n-ouW not be happy. 
 
 Here we have the conditions expressed : se to avcssi, se egli 
 fosse. And here we see, that, when our should and would 
 may be either of them employed in one and the same instance, 
 as expressing an inclination or disposition of the mind, on 
 some condition, the conditional mode, in Italian, expresses the 
 sense of both should and would; and, also, that when our 
 would is used, as expressing pro6a6i/«72/ or likelihood, on some 
 condition, then, also, the Italian conditional is used. Again, 
 if we use our should, intending to affirm the probability 
 merely, and not the inclination • then the conditional is used : 
 as, 
 
 ISe io fossi ricco, non sarci felice, | If I were rich, I should not be bnppy. 
 
 But the conditional has, besides that use of it which its name 
 describes, another use. This mode expresses a sort of future 
 time as to a past time. For example : 
 
 Jeri io mandai a dirgli che io v' an- i Yesterday I sent to tell liim that 
 
 drii stamattina, I I should (or nould) come this 
 
 \ 1 morning. 
 
 CI disse stascra che verebbe do- 
 mani, 
 
 He told us this eTening that h« 
 should (or nould) come to- 
 morrow. 
 
 That is: that it %vas my intention, at the time I sent to tell 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 283 
 
 him, to go there at a time Jut tire (namely, this morning) • that 
 it luas his intention, at the time he told us, to come at a time 
 future (namely, to-morrow). We express this intentional idea 
 by either of our signs should and would, as in the examples 
 just given ; and, in such cases as this, the Italian conditional 
 expresses the sense of the should or would. 
 
 209. So much for the conditional, and the meaning of our 
 words should and would as expressed by that mode. The 
 word should may, as I have before said, be expressed by the 
 subjunctive ', and it is generally expressed in that mode in 
 cases where it is used by us in the sense ol might, or in such 
 cases as those in which we may use the word were in its place. 
 As: 
 
 Gli facevano prima giurSie che non 
 ridirebbero cosa che vedcssino o 
 sentissino. 
 
 Mac. D. 
 
 Vollero stabilireakune leggi, le quali 
 /6ssero perpetae in ciasciia tempo. 
 
 Dav. S. 
 
 6e loro si ritirassero, come avr6mmo 
 a fare ? 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Diede oidine che il i€of6sse immaa- 
 tineiite anestato. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 They made them first swear that they 
 would not repeat any thing that they 
 should see or should hear {oimight 
 see or might hear). 
 
 They desired to establish some laws, 
 which should be (or might he) per- 
 petual and immutable at all times. 
 
 If they should (or were to) withdram 
 themselves, how should we have to 
 act? 
 
 He gave orders that the criminal 
 should (or might) be immediately 
 arrested. 
 
 But it is, after all, as I before said, extremely difficult to give 
 rules about this matter. In the conjugations of verbs, I have 
 put should only as the sign expressed by the conditional mode, 
 because there was not room to put would also, yet the condi- 
 tional does, as we have seen, express both our should and 
 would. Then, I hav^e, in the conjugations, put might only as 
 the sign of the subjunctive mode in the past time ; though the 
 subjunctive^ in Italian, may, as we have just seen, express our 
 signs should and were, as well as our might. As a sigh of the 
 subjunctive mode, in the present time, I have put the word may 
 throughout the conjugations ; yet. the present time of the sub- 
 junctive is not merely capable of representing the sense of this 
 sign. For example : 
 
284 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 ]o prr^o Dio che vi ilia lungae 1>n6na 
 vita. Sai:. N. 
 
 Comaniln die la sun nio^lic innnrcnte 
 sia ticcisa. Bof. D. 
 
 V^jtlio che ella mi mandi ana cioe- 
 cb^tta delia barba di Nicostr.itn. 
 
 Boi . I). 
 
 E non «• racion^vole che chi ^ arm jto 
 obbfdisca volcntieri n clii 6 disar- 
 mato. Mat. P. 
 
 Come se il richieilere clie nltri ubbi- 
 disca il tuo r<>nsii;lio pon c mni,'- 
 gi6re arroginzn, &c. D. Cas. 
 
 I prny Ool to pice yon a lonij and 
 
 i;ood li[c. 
 
 He commands that his innocent wife 
 niai/ he killed. 
 
 ] wi>h that tlie may srnd me ^-ould 
 send me, should send me, m, I wish 
 her to send me) a litlle tuft of the 
 bifird of Nicostrato. 
 
 And it is not reasonable that he who 
 is armed should volnniarily obey 
 him who is unarmed. 
 
 As if the rrrpiirinc: that another «Aou/d 
 J'nlluiv thy advice is j;ot greater ar- 
 rogance .... 
 
 Here the Italian verbs are all in the present time of the sub- 
 junctive mode ; but they do not merely express the sense of our 
 verb, as used with the sign may : we see dia representing our 
 infinitive mode to give ; sia representing our 7)iay be; mandi 
 representing all the different turns of may send, luould send, 
 should send, and to send ; and, lastly, obbedisca and ubbi- 
 disca, representing our should obey, should follow. These 
 examples may be of some use to the learner ; but nothing, with- 
 out a good deal of practice, can teach this matter thoroughly. 
 There are still some other words that we make use of as sig7i9 
 of the different modes ; but the may, might, should, would, 
 and were, are those which peculiarly belong to the subjunctive 
 and conditional modes, and I have, therefore, spoken of them 
 in this place. Of the other words that are tnade use of as signs, 
 I shall presently have to say something; but, first, there is one 
 mode remaining for our consideration; namely, the Impera- 
 tive. 
 
 210. Very little need be said respecting this mode. To de- 
 fine the nature of it would hardly be necessary. It is called 
 imperative, because there is, in the using of this mode, always 
 something of a command expressed. One main difference be- 
 tween the two languages here is, that which is occasioned by the 
 use of our word let. 
 
 ama, 
 
 ami, 
 
 amiamo, 
 
 atniile, 
 
 amino. 
 
 love, or, love thou. 
 let him, or her, love. 
 let as love, or, love we. 
 love, or, love you. 
 let them love. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 285 
 
 Here we see that the Italians may express the sense of our word 
 let, in this case, without using any other word in addition to 
 the verb itself; and, also, that they are not obliged to use the 
 pi'onouns, in this mode, any more than in any other mode of 
 the verb. They may, however, if they choose, use the pronoun, 
 and say. 
 
 ama tu, 
 
 ami egli, or, ella, 
 
 Mtnidmo noi, 
 
 amute voi, 
 
 amino cylino, or CUetio, 
 
 love thou, 
 love be, or, she. 
 love we. 
 love you, 
 love they. 
 
 In English, it is not customary to use the imperative in the 
 third persons singular and plural, without, at the same time, 
 employing the let as a sign of the mode : thus, while the 
 Italians may say, ami egli, or elia, dmino eg lino, or clhnCj 
 that is, love he, or she, Jove they- we should prefer saying 
 let hiniy or her love, let them love. For example: 
 
 Deh, ognidisc6idia sia oggimii termi- 
 Katafranoi. Soa. N. 
 
 Beva il sidro d' Inghiltena 
 Chi vnol gir presto sotterra. 
 
 Red. B. T. 
 
 Come, let every strife between us he 
 now ended. 
 
 Let him who wishes to be quickly 
 under ground drink English cider. 
 
 C^rfaMo tattiglialtri paesiallaFrancia. I Let&W other countries cede to France. 
 
 Ben. L. 1 
 
 That is, literally translated : come, be every strife between us 
 ended ; drink English cider he who wishes, &:c. ; cede all other 
 countries to France. It is, however, very often a matter of 
 option with us, to use the sign let or to omit it. All I have 
 to point out here is, that such sign is not at all used by 
 the Italians. But, we must observe, that though they can 
 express their imperative without the use of any thing like 
 our sign let; yet, if we were to use our word let, which, as 
 a verb of itself, signifies the same as to permit, er to allow ■ if 
 we were to use this word in the way of asking 'permission, or 
 desiring some to be allowed, in such cases, the Italians would 
 use their verb lascidre, which means to leave, to allow, or to 
 let. As: 
 
 Ldsciatem'x parlare, [ Let, or allow, me to speak, 
 
 Lascidtelo venire, | Let, or allow, him to come. 
 
286 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 There rrmains one tiling more t«) be noticed as respects the im- 
 perative mode ; and that is, the use of the infinitive in the 
 sense of the imperative. When tl>e Italians speak impera- 
 tively in the negative, that ig, to forbid the doing or being of a 
 thing, they then use the infinitive mode with the negative non 
 before it ; as : 
 
 Lisciami ; non mi toec&re. Boc. T). | Leave me, touch me not, 
 
 Ifon dubitur della fcde mia. Mac. C. | Doubt not of my fidelity. " 
 
 8e til non ▼u6i cbe io Rudsti le cose | If thoo dost not wish that I shoald 
 tue, non guasldr le mie. Sac. N. I mar thy afTairs, mar no( mine. 
 
 JVon mi/ar adirare. Gol. C. | Do not moArf me get io a passioa. 
 
 Non mi toccarf, ribaldo. Mac. C. ) Touch me not, r»g>»e. 
 
 Ci6 non temcr. Alf. T. | Fear not that. 
 
 The infinitive is to be used thus only when the person addressed 
 is of the singular nn7nber, there being expressed or left to be 
 understood the pronoun tUy thou: non AMARE,or, non amare 
 TU, love not, or, love not thou. If there be expressed or under- 
 stood the plural voiy you, we must not use the infinitive, but the 
 imperative : non a mate, or, 7ion am ate voi, love not, or, love 
 not you. SiGNOR Biagjoli says, that, when the infinitive is 
 thus used instead of the imperative, there is an ellipsis. He 
 says that such phrases as noti amare, 7ioJi par lure, &c., mean, 
 tu non dei amdrey thou shouldst not love, tu non dei parlarey 
 thou shouldst not speak. So, in the examples given above, the 
 IdsciaTni, non mi toccare, non dubitar della fede mia, 
 &c., these would mean, Idsciamiy non dei toccarmi, non 
 DEI DUBITAR della fede mia; and so on with the rest. 
 
 211. We have now gone through all the five modes, the m- 
 Jinitivey the iJidicalive, the subjunctivey the conditional, and 
 the imperative. I have already spoken of some of the words 
 called signs of the modes ; namely, may, might, should, would, 
 were, and let. But there remain yet some other words, that' 
 are also called signs, to be considered ; besides some manners 
 of using the verbs, which are peculiar to the Italian language, 
 and the notice of which will come, properly, under the head of 
 mode. The word let, as one of the signs, needs no further 
 notice. But the r?iay, .night, should, would, and were, will 
 
XX.] OP VERBS. '287 
 
 still require something more to be said about them ; and then 
 there is, in addition to these, a manner we have of using the 
 rerbs to do and to be; and, also, the signs shall, will, can, 
 could, ought, and must. 
 
 212. The verbs to do and to be are, we know, constantly 
 employed in our language along with other verbs. The Italian^ 
 have no such use of these verbs. For example : 
 
 I speak; I do speaJc, oi I am X j^ ^^^j^^ 
 speaking, J i 
 
 I spoke, I did speak, or I was 1 j^ parldva. 
 speaking, 3 
 
 Thus, we see, that while we may either use the words speak 
 and spoke alone, or those same words with do and did, or the 
 active participle speaking with am and ivas ; we see, that 
 while we have these various ways of expressing one idea, the 
 Italians have but the one wa}'-, and that their parlo and par^ 
 lava supply, at once, all our different modes of speak, do 
 speak, am speaking, and spoke, did speak, was speaking. 
 More examples need not be given to illustrate this matter. We 
 have only to observe, that, throughout the whole of the verb, ia 
 whatever mode or time it may be, the two languages differ in 
 just the same manner as in the two examples here given. One 
 thing more only need be said of these verbs to do and to be, as 
 used in the above manner; that is, the use of the verb to be 
 along with other verbs in the subjunctive mode. Our verb to 
 be, in the past time of its subjunctive, has but two changes, 
 were and wert. Of the were I have already spoken, as a 
 sign of the subjunctive when used with other verbs. Wert, as 
 applied to the second person singular, fulfils just the same 
 office as were, when applied to other persons, both singular and 
 plural. Let us take an example : 
 
 If I were to speak, 
 If thou wert to speak, 
 If he litre to speak, 
 If we n ere to speak. 
 If you were to speak. 
 If they mere to speak. 
 
 Se io parlkssi. 
 Se tu parlassi. 
 Se egli parlasse. 
 Se Boi parldssimo, 
 Se \oi parldste. 
 Se ^glino parldssero. 
 
 The were or wert, then, is the sign, by which we constantly 
 express the subjunctive mode of our verbs. We see, however, 
 
288 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 that the Italians know notliing of such sign : it would be per- 
 fect nonsense to say se io fossi parl^'^e, the literal transla- 
 tion of OUT if I WERE TO SPEAK. We ficc that, from the 
 want of a greater variety in the terminations of our verbs, we 
 are here driven to tl.r use of a part of the verb io be as a sign 
 of the subjunctive, wMlc the other verb, of which it expresses 
 the subjunctive sense, is in the infinitive : ivere or wert, the 
 subjunctive; ^o 5pea/r:, the infinitive. The Italian, on the con- 
 trary, has a separate change in termination, as in the foregoing 
 example, to express the subjunctive, and does not therefore re- 
 quire, like our language, any siyn of mode beyond the termi'^ 
 nation of the verb. If we use our verb in the compound of the 
 subjunctive, we see that it is very irregular, compared with the 
 Italian. For example : 
 
 Se io avcssi cost bella cotta come 
 ella, sarci altresi sjjaardaia come 
 ella. Nov. Ant. 
 
 If I had as fine a pown as slie, I 
 should be as much stared at as 
 she. 
 
 In this example, which is one of those before cited under 
 Paragraph 206, we, in English, might say, if I iij^a as fine a. 
 gown, or, if I were to have as fine a gown. Again: 
 
 Wa se tu sapcssi ogni cosa, tu non te i But if tliou didst know every thing, 
 Be maravigliaresti. Mac. C. | tliou wouldst not be astonished. 
 
 Here we might say, in English, but if thou didst know, or, 
 but if thou WERT to know. In Italian, however, there is 
 not this irregularity, and the subjunctive is, in that language, 
 more strictly observed. According to the rule given by Zotti, 
 as mentioned in Paragraph 207, we might say, in the former of 
 these two examples, se io aveva cosi bella cotta, which would 
 precisely correspond with our if T had as fine a goum ; and 
 this would, strictly speaking, be bad Italian, though, as I be« 
 fore observed, practice countenances such a mode of using the 
 verb in some instances. 
 
 213. Having disposed of the verb to do, as employed in the 
 manner just described, of the verb to be, as respects the use of 
 the were or wert, and of the verb to let, as a sign of the im- 
 perative mode, we come to the will, shall, can, could, ought, 
 and must • and here we must again speak of would dind should, 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 289 
 
 may and might. The will and shall are the signs of the 
 future time of the indicative mode. Throughout the conjuga- 
 tions I have put shall only; because, as I have before said ia 
 speaking of should and wouldy there was not room for the in- 
 sertion of both. The would, should, may, and might, have 
 already been pretty largely spoken of. The can, could, 
 ought, and must, have not, as yet, forced themselves on our 
 attention at all. But we must, now, take a review of all these 
 together. 
 
 214. There are three important verbs in the Italian language, 
 which, between them, have the power of expressing the sense 
 of all these signs. The verbs are, voUre, potcre, and dovere ; 
 and they express the sense of the signs as follows : 
 
 VOLEBE, 
 
 To be willing 
 
 > expresses the sense of 
 
 will, 
 shall, 
 would, 
 should. 
 
 POTERE, 
 
 To be able 
 
 ,} 
 
 '■ "DOVEBE, -i 
 
 To owe, J 
 
 expresses the sense of 
 
 expresses the sense of 
 
 may, 
 might, 
 can, 
 could. 
 
 ought, 
 
 should, 
 
 must. 
 
 We will take these three verbs, with those signs which are 
 placed opposite to each, in the order in which they stand in the 
 above table. 
 
 215. The verb Volere means the same as our to will oi to 
 be willing ; it means, also, to be inclined, to wish, or to de- 
 sire. It is very often used, in the infinitive, as a noun, repre- 
 senting our nouns will, inclination, or wish. The Italians say, 
 fiecondo il vostro volere, which, literally translated, means, 
 yOjccording to your to will, or according to your to be 
 WILLING, meaning, according to your will or inclination. 
 The sense intended to be conveyed by our signs will and shall 
 is, we know, very different in some cases from what it is in 
 others. This is a matter as to which all foreigners find great 
 difficulty ia our language ; and though we have, in learning 
 
 
 
290 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Italian, the advantage of having to do with a language that 
 has no such words as these signs to puzzle us ; nererthelese, 
 some attention must be here paid, or we shall be liable to 
 make flagrant mistakes. Our will and our shall are both ex- 
 pressed, in Italian, by the manner of ending in the verb. For 
 example: 
 
 He says that he will come to-morrow, 
 He says thathe shall come to-morrow, 
 
 He says that he will not come to- 
 morrow, 
 
 Be says that he shall not come to- 
 morrow. 
 
 
 ! 
 
 Dice che verrd domiui. 
 
 Dice che non verrA domini. 
 
 The tvill and shall have not, we know, even in such instances 
 as the above, precisely the same meaning. In a still greater 
 degree do they differ in many instances of another description* 
 Yet, we see, that the verb venire^ in the future time, answers, 
 in its manner of ending, for both our will and shall as prefixed 
 to the verb come : verra, will or shall come ; non verra, will 
 not or shall not come. Now, to give something like a rule as to 
 how the sense of this tvill and shall of ours is to be expressed 
 in Italian, observe, that when these signs are intended merely 
 to foretell or to intimate the coming to pass of something in 
 a future time^ then the meaning they convey is expressed in 
 Italian by the termination of the verb. But, if, when we use 
 ivill or shall, we intend to express any willingness or wish, or 
 any disposition or determination of the mind as to something 
 in a future time ; in such case, the Italians must have recourse 
 to soinethinix other than merelv the verb in its future time. 
 For example : 
 
 If you rc'xXl go, I mill go with you, 
 I shall not go, nor shall you go, 
 
 Se tolcle anddre, io andrb con roi. 
 lo non andrb, nd voglio cheToi andidte. 
 
 Every English person knows how much difference there is, in 
 such cases, between the will and the shall, and between the 
 one 2vill and the other will, the one shall and the other shall. 
 Here the if you will go means if you are willing to go; 
 the will, in this case, is clearly understood to express willing- 
 ness or inclination : while, on the contrary, the / will go does 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 291 
 
 not, necessarily, convey the same idea, but may be intended 
 merely to ybre/eZ/ or to intimate that the going is to take place. 
 To express the first will, therefore,, the Italians would use their 
 verb voltre: se volete anddre, that is, if you are willing to 
 go; and, to express the second will, they would simply put the 
 verb in the future time: io andro, that is, I will ^o, or, I 
 shall go; for, here, whether we were to use will or shall, 
 the meaning would be much the same, and either of the signs 
 would be expressed by the same form of the verb, andro. In the 
 second example, we see the shall used in a similar way. The 
 first shall, Avith the not, does not, of necessity, express unwill- 
 ingness to go, but may be understood merely to foretell or to 
 intimate, i\\2ii\\iQ going is not to take place; but the second 
 shall does, as we all know, necessarily imply that there is, in 
 the person who speaks, some willingness or determination in 
 the negative, as to the going of the person who is spoken to. 
 Io NON ANDRO, that is, I shall not go, or I loilL not go ; for, 
 here, again, as with the will in the other examples, the shall 
 or the will may be used indifferently: ne voglio che voi 
 AND I ATE, that is, nor am I williiig for you to go. We see, 
 in the two examples just given, that, in one instance, the will 
 or shall may be used indifferently : 
 
 If you will go, I will (or shall) go with you. 
 I shall (or will) not go, nor shall you go. 
 
 Here the will or shall, and shall or zuill, may both be ex- 
 pressed by the ending of the verb {andro) in Italian. It is very 
 nearly, if not quite, a matter of choice to use the one sign or 
 the other in such cases. Neither the one nor the other, as here 
 employed, necessarily implies any ivillingness, inclination, 
 or determination, about the going; and both may foretell, 
 merely, that the going is to take place, or is not to take place. 
 But, very different would it be, if we were to exchange the 
 other will and shall for each other, and to say, 
 
 If you shall go, I will go with you. 
 I shall not go, nor will you go. 
 
 This is enough, at once, to show the importance of rightly using 
 
 o2 
 
292 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 these signs of ours, and, also, what difficulty must arise to 
 foreigners in learning this part of our language. Here the 
 shall and willj that are put in italics, make the sense totally 
 different from what it would he if each were in the place of the 
 other. But, I may be told that, in the two examples I have 
 given : if you will go, I will go with you; I shall not go, nor 
 shall you go; I may be told, that the second will in the first, 
 and the Jirst shall in the second, of these examples, may, both 
 of them, be intended to convey the before-mentioned sense of 
 willingness or detennination. And this is true enough; 
 and, supposing the meaning to be such, then the Italian verb 
 cannot express the will or shall by its termination in either 
 case : 
 
 If you nill go, I will go with you, 
 I shall not go^ nor shall you go. 
 
 Se rolcle anddre, io Voglio anddre 
 coo voi. 
 
 Io non voglio andure, ne viglio che 
 voi andidte. 
 
 Here, then, is the Italian volcre, to be willing, employed to 
 convey the sense of both icills and both shalls ; that is, sup- 
 posing the English to mean, expressing willingness in both 
 cases in each example, if you are willing to go, I am willing 
 io go ; I am not tvilling to go, nor am I willing for you to go. 
 Let us take another example or two : 
 
 { Tt OH nill not coi 
 i, ( cause you hav( 
 
 Voi non vfrrite a visitarmi, perchd 
 
 m'av^teoffeso, { Yoh n-t72 not come to visit ne, be- 
 
 Voi non vnlete venire a visitarmi, \ cause you have ofieuded me. 
 
 perch^ m' av6te (iffeso, 
 
 The first of these two Italian modes merely foretells or inti?nates 
 that your coming is not to take place, for the given reason, 
 your having offended me; while the second not only foretells 
 or intimates that you are not coming, but states that, for the 
 reason given, you are unwilling, or not disposed, to come. 
 We see, then, that while our will and shall are sufficient both 
 to the mere foretelling of what is to come to pass, and to the 
 expressing of our willingness as to what may come to pass, it 
 is only as far as the foretelling goes, only as far as they ex- 
 press likelihood or unlikelihood, and serve to promise an 
 event either affirmatively or negatively, that the Italian verb 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 293 
 
 includes in itself, independently of any other verb, the force of 
 these signs. 
 
 216. Volcre represents our luould and should just in the 
 same manner as it does our ivill and shall ; as : 
 
 I have told you that I rvtmhl come, i Vi ho detto che io voleva venire. 
 
 I have told you thai I should come, [ Vi ho detto che io verrci. 
 
 Here the che io voleva venire means, that I 2uas willing to 
 come, and the che io verrei, that T luas likely, or should be 
 ' likely to come. Sometimes the should, as expressed by voUre, 
 has the sense of our ought or must ; as : 
 
 The olive-tree should not be {ought j L' ulivo nnn viiol 
 not to be, or JHMsf not be) cut, I 
 
 esser laqrliato. 
 
 That is, literally, the olive-tree luills not to be cut. Volere is 
 a verb of great importance, as are, also, potere and dovcre. 
 A good deal of practice, however, must be had, to make us 
 acquainted with the various manners of using it. It is very 
 commonly employed as governing the subjunctive mode, 
 expressing some sort of willingness^ ivish, desire, consent, 
 liking , ov permission ; as: ' ' 
 
 I am ivillivg for you to speak, 
 
 ' I 7vish you to speak, 
 
 I dfsjrc you to speak, , _ , , . ,. 
 
 T , . , . > Io vogho che voi parliate. 
 
 I cnyisent to your speaking, ( 
 
 1 like you to speak, 
 
 I permit you to speak, 
 
 Not, however, that there are no other verbs that may be em- 
 ployed to represent these of ours. There are hramure, to wish 
 desiderdre, to desire, comandurc, to command, consent'ire 
 or acconsentWe, to consent^ alnure, to like, permtttere, to 
 permit. Yet, such is the importance of voUre. that it fre- 
 quently fulfils the ollice of any one of these verbs, as in the 
 examplejust given. When we use our verb to have with ivill 
 or would, the Italians use volere alone ; as : 
 
 I rvill haveyou to know, 
 I will have it to be so. 
 You would have it so, 
 
 Observe, also, the following idioms 
 
 Io voglio che sappiate. 
 Io voglio che sia cosi. 
 Cosi voi Io volevdte. 
 
294 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 Id(Ho In tpglia, 
 Iddio non votftia, 
 Non na quel «i vnglia, 
 
 V'j voglio bene, 
 Che vuut (lir cid ? 
 Clie volcte? 
 
 God ^rant it. 
 
 God forMd. 
 
 He deed not kDOW hj« own mind, 
 
 or, wliat he wants. 
 1 lovp you, or, I \vi»h you well. 
 What does that in«nn ? 
 What do you want ? 
 
 217. The verb poriiiE is, in all respects, a perfect verb, 
 capable of being conjugated from beginning to end, like any 
 other verb. It expresses our to be able, a sort of verb, com- 
 pounded of the adjective able and the verb to be, and also, 
 our can and could, as well as may and might, when the two 
 latter are used in any way as denoting poit^er or ability. The 
 infinitive of potcre is constantly used as a noun, meaning 
 poiDcr : in mio potcre, in my power ; that is, literally, in my 
 to be able. 
 
 lo posso parlare, 
 lo poUva scrivere, 
 Iq potrb andire. 
 
 I can speak, or, I am able to 
 
 speak. 
 I could write, or, I mas able to 
 
 write, 
 I can go, or, I shall he able to go. 
 
 In this manner, pottre expresses the meaning of our to he 
 able, and our can and could, throughout all its modes and 
 times. 
 
 I know that you may come, I lo soche potcte venire, 
 
 I knew that you }night have come, j lo sapeva che Toi avrcite poUUo 
 
 » venire. 
 
 If it be our intention to express poiuer or ability by the may 
 or might, then, in Italian, we must employ some part of this 
 verb potcre, as in the above examples. The Italian of these is, 
 translated as literally as possible, I know that you are able to 
 come, I know that you woiild have been able to come. There 
 "is a manner that the Italians have of using the verb sapcre, 
 to know, in the sense of potcre. We use our verb to know ia 
 a manner very much the same. We say to know how to do 
 a thing, instead of to be able to do a thing. The Italians 
 differ so far from us, that they use the verb to know without 
 expressing our how; as: 
 
 Non avendo sapiito n^ difend^rsi n^ i Not having been able either to de- 
 
 fuggire, &c. Dav. S. | fend themselres, or to flee .. . 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 295 
 
 Non li saprd corriggere, u6 conos- 
 cere. Mac. P. 
 
 Non seppe frenire i transport! della 
 sua indignazione. Soa. N. 
 
 lo stesso saprb spiaoirri la via. 
 
 Soa. N. 
 
 I 
 
 He will not be able to govern tbejn, 
 or to know them. 
 
 He was not able to bridle the trana* 
 ports of his indignation. 
 
 I myself sAa// be able to smooth ths 
 way for you. 
 
 The meaning here is precisely the same as it would be in 
 English to say, not having known how either to defend, he 
 will not knoiv how to govern, he knew not how to bridle, I 
 shall know how to smooth, 
 
 218. The verb dove re is used, in the infinitive mode, as a 
 noun, just as are volere and potere : faro il mio dovere, I will 
 do my duty • that is, literally, I will do my to owe,- This verb, 
 in its principal acceptation, has the same meaning as our verb 
 to owe. It expresses owing ^ duty, and obligation, in various 
 ways. Our word ought, used with other verbs as a sign of 
 duty or obligation of some sort or other, seems to have its origin 
 in our verb to owe. Dovere expresses the sense of this ought, 
 and, also, of our must and our should, when those two are 
 employed in the same sense that ought is. 
 
 Vi dohbiiimo cento scellini, 
 
 Ogniino devt fare quel che pu6, 
 
 Che dobbiumo fare ? 
 
 Deve esser cosl, 
 
 Vol dovete esser piCi pradeate. 
 
 We owe you a hundred shillings. 
 
 Every one ought to do what he can* 
 
 What must we 4o? 
 
 It must be so. 
 
 You should be more prudent. 
 
 Dovere is frequently used in a sense signifying likelihood or 
 pj'obability, in which sense we sometimes use our should or 
 must. The Italians say, egli deve venire oggi, he should come 
 to-day; that is, he is likely, or is expected, to come to-day. 
 We frequently find the Italians using the infinitive of dovere 
 as in the following examples, in which it is used as expressing 
 this likelihood or probability: 
 
 Non facendo I'icqua alcuna vista 
 di dover ristare, &c. Boc. D. 
 
 Pens6 costui dovtr esser tale quale 
 la malvagita de* Borgognani il 
 richiedea. Bqc. D. 
 
 Fq giudicatodal Re rfoWr essere ec- 
 cellente ministro, &c. Dav. S. 
 
 I 
 
 The rain not showing any sign of 
 being likely to leave off. 
 
 He thoaght that this one must be 
 such as the wickedness of the 
 people of Burgundy required him. 
 
 He was judged by the king likely 
 to be an excellent minister. 
 
296 * SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 La re;;inaCateriiia,c)ic cliinrnmt-nte 
 conosct-va tnnta aniinu*itA dotire 
 iin f^inrno proilurre qualche Rian 
 male, Stc. JiAv. S. 
 
 Qaeen Catherine, who clrnrly knew 
 »o much animnsitj to be tikrlij 
 one day to produce some great 
 evil. 
 
 219. The verbs atr/'c, to have, stare, to stand, essere, to 
 be, fiire, to make or do, venire, to come, and anddre, to 
 go ; tliese verbs have, as used with other verbs, some peculiar 
 meanings, which it will be necessary here to notice. 
 
 Ave RE, immediately followed by one or other of the prepo- 
 sitions da or a, and the infinitive of another verb, serves to 
 express duty or oiliyation, in the same manner that our verb 
 to have does when we say we have to do a thing, or that we 
 must or ought to do it ; as : 
 
 Id ho da, or, a parlare, I T havf to speak. 
 
 Jo aiLia da, or, a parldre, ! I had to speak. 
 
 lo axiro da, or, a parlare, » I shall have to speak. 
 
 And so on, throughout the verb Avcre. 
 
 Stare, which is a very important verb in Italian, and has 
 various significations, meaning to stand, to rcmaijiy to abidcy 
 to consist, to diuell; this verb, being followed by the active 
 participle of another verb, has somewhat the meaning of our 
 verb to he as used with the active participle of other verbs; as: 
 
 lo sto scrivcndo, 
 lo stava scrivcndo, 
 Jo siarb scri\cndo, 
 
 I am writing. 
 I nas writing. 
 I shall be writing. 
 
 And so on, throughout the verb Stare. 
 
 We must not, however, from these examples, be induced to 
 suppose, that the English verb to be, as used with the parti- 
 ciple of another verb, is in all cases to be represented in this 
 way, in Italian. Stare, here, means, strictly speaking, nothing 
 more than to stand; and, as used in the above examples, 
 means, I stand writing, I stood writing, I shall stand writing. 
 We say, in English, I am running, I am walking; but, it 
 would be nonsense to say, in Italian, io sto correndo, io sto 
 comminando ; for, that would mean, I stand running, I stand 
 walking. This verb, as thus used, is intended to express per- 
 fect stillnesS) inasmuch as it supposes the actor as being in 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 297 
 
 one spot, and not moving from it, while acting. — Stare, when 
 followed by the preposition a and the infinitive of another verb, 
 has nearly the same meaning as in the foregoing examples 
 used with the participle ; as : 
 
 To sto a scrivere, 
 lo stdva a scrivere, 
 lo starb a scrivere, 
 
 I am writing. 
 
 I was writing. 
 
 I shall be writing. 
 
 And so on, througlK)ut the verb Stare. 
 
 When used with the preposition per and the infinitive of 
 
 another verb, stare has the same sense as our to be ahoutj 
 
 or to be ready to do, or to be upon the point of doing a 
 thing; as: 
 
 Jo sto per morire, 
 To stava per morire, 
 To starb per morire. 
 
 T am abotit to die. 
 I was about to die. 
 I shall be about to die. 
 
 And so on, throughout the verb Stare. 
 
 EssEiiE, when followed by the preposition per and the infi- 
 nitive of another verb, expresses oiir to be going to do a. 
 thing; as: 
 
 lo soyio per ridere, 
 lo era per ritiere, 
 lo sarb per ridere, 
 
 I am going \o laugh. 
 I was going to laugh. 
 I shall be going to laugh. 
 
 And SO on, throughout the verb Essere. 
 
 Fare, used as a reflected verb, when follow^ed by the pre- 
 position a and the infinitive of another verb, conveys the mean- 
 ing of our to set oneself to do, or to set about doing, a thing ;: 
 as: . 
 
 To mifo a leggere, 
 
 To mifaceva a lesfgere, 
 
 lo mi/arb a leggere, 
 
 I set about reading. 
 I did set about reading. 
 I shall set a6(m< readiuir. 
 
 And so on, throughout the verb Fare. 
 
 Fare, as used in the above manner, may mean, also, to" 
 approach, or io put oneself forward : as, io viifo a parlarvi, 
 I approach OY go forwa^'d to speak to you. 
 
 Venire and andaue are both used in those cases^ wherein 
 we use the verb to go or the verb to keepy with the active par- 
 
 o5 
 
298 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 ticiplc of another verb, signifying continuation in the doing of 
 a thing. We say, to go on walking, to go 07i speaking, or, 
 to keep on walking, to keep on speaking, meaning, to con- 
 tinue to tvalkf to continue to speak. The Italians have no 
 verb employed in this way, like our verb to keep. But their 
 and/ire is here used precisely as we use our to go • and, in the 
 •sense of our to keep or to go, they also use their venire, to 
 
 come. 
 
 Indarno gli tenne eWarappresentando 
 y insapeiabile avver6i6i>e che gli 
 portiva. Soa. N. 
 
 In vain she kept (or went) on repre- 
 senting to faim the insuperable ha> 
 tred that she bore him. 
 
 II tiorcheint.'ittbio rairf/ijn«pr6an(/o. I The flower that I continued to pre- 
 
 Ari.O. F. I srrf« for myself untouched. 
 
 VCngnnsi caricando di dcbiti ecce- I They keep {^or yo) on burdening Xhem- 
 denti. Soa. N. I selves with immense debti. 
 
 Qaesta (la noja) doviir.que and^va, I This (sorrow), wherever he went, 
 il veniva dapperlutto accompag- I kept (or went) on accompanying 
 
 nando. Soa. N. ' bim. 
 
 Here we see that the verb penire, along with the active parti- 
 ciple of another verb, may e.xpress our to keep on, to go on, 
 or to continue. If there be bodily yyiotion to be expressed in 
 using our to go in such cases as these, then the Italians use 
 andare ; m, if I mean by the phrase I go on speaking that I 
 am ivalking while I speak, or that I am actually moving on- 
 ward in any way at the same time that I speak, then I ought 
 to say, io vo parlando, and not io vengo parldndo. But, 
 though venire should not be used when actual motion is in- 
 tended to be expressed, but only to express the continuation of 
 the act or state of being described by the participle, the verb 
 andare msiy, nevertheless, be employed in either case, just as 
 our verb to go may be. I say may be, because very good 
 writers have used andare in both of these cases. I may say, 
 I go on speaking, supposing myself to be sitting still while 
 I speak, as well as, 1 go on speaking, supposing myself to be 
 walking while I speak. So, in Italian : 
 
 La giovane della sua sciagiira doKn- 
 dosi, ttitlo il di per Io salvatiro loco 
 »' andd avvolijcndo. Bot. D. 
 
 The youDg woman, grieving at her 
 misfortune, all that day went on 
 wandering throQ^b the wild place. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 299 
 
 La sperinza d'un impie^j^o, die ognor I The hope of an employment, which 
 par^va ricino, nel suo cordo^liu j always seemed at hand, continufd 
 V anddva racconsolundo^ SoA. N. ' to consolt h\m in hia AQUction. 
 
 The use of andare, in the first of these examples, is undoubt- 
 edly correct, because bodily movement is distinctly given to be 
 understood in the participle avvolgcndo, wandering. But the 
 Editor of Galignani*s Grammar, from which I take these 
 two examples, condemns Soave's " anddva racconsoldndOy* 
 there being, as he says, not the smallest shade of motion 
 intended to be expressed as to the impiegOy the employment. 
 It should, therefore, he says, have been il veniva racconsol' 
 dndOf and not Vanddva racconsoldndo. In Soave*s 6th and 
 16th novel, part 1, and 14th novel, part 2, we see andare used 
 in a similar way : 
 
 £I1aan</at<a ad ogniistantertrAi* I She went on, at every instant 
 amdndo suo figlio, I calling upon her son. 
 
 Una Toce flebile si ascoltava, che | A feeble voice was heard, that 
 and«uarj/>e<c'ndo, AhjSohepinI | tventonrepeating, Ah, Sohe^iinl 
 
 Gli esempi di generosity che d«- 1 The examples of generosity that 
 didmo narrando, iic. 1 v/e go on relating. 
 
 There is here no sort of bodily movement understood in the 
 persons calling upon and relating, any more than in the voice 
 repeating ; yet we see that the verb andare is employed, in 
 Italian, as well as the verb to go, in English. The Editor of 
 Galignani ridicules the anddva, used instead oi veniva, in 
 the foregoing example from Soave. But this is only cavilling, 
 I think. The truth is, that, unless some actual bodily move- 
 ment be intended to be expressed, it is hatjigurative language 
 to use either anddre or venire in such cases. I leave it, hovv- 
 ever, to critics more able than I am to say, whether the use of 
 anddre in both manners be correct Italian ; giving, at the same 
 time, the following examples, in which anddre is used in a 
 manner precisely like that which the Editor of Galignani 
 so much condemns in his criticism on Soave. 
 
 II re «sp6se 1' intento suo di trovar | The king made known liis intention 
 rimedio alle tmbolenze che andd- I of finding a remedy for the disturb- 
 «ano soigendo. Dav. S. * ances which uewi o« aji^jn^. 
 
 Ma anddrono tanto serpcndo qneste 
 opiniooi disseminate nella chiesa di 
 Dio, &c. ' Dav. S. 
 
 But these notions disseminated in the 
 church of God, nent creeping on so 
 much ... 
 
300 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap, 
 
 1/ iniiidiose pr.^tirhe rhe prr ordine 
 i\e\ le anduva Jaciiitlo AnKinio del 
 Prato, &c, Dav. S. 
 
 Chi va prnjfrrcndo e $etnin('indo il sno 
 consi^lio, &c. D. Cas. G. 
 
 Dell, perrliO vo le mie pifiRlie tocc/tndo? 
 I'erclicl' uvuto ben vo rimembraudo ? 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Quel Paladin, dicheti laivanlundo.kc. 
 
 Aiu.O. f. 
 
 The intidions ploU, which, by roin- 
 man'l of th'> king, Antonio del Pratu 
 nent on makiriff. 
 
 lie who fffies on ofTering and dittri' 
 butiiiff his advice, . • . 
 
 Ah, why do I go on touching my 
 wounds ? Why do I go on rtman' 
 hiTivg the happiness enjoyed ? 
 
 That Peer, of whom thou goett on 
 vapouring ... 
 
 The different acts here described by ^orrjcndo, serpCndo, 
 fachido, jjroffcrhido, semuiando, tocc/indo, rimembrando, 
 and vantdndoy are all meaned to be expressed as having con- 
 tinuation in them ; yet, there is certainly nothing like actual 
 onotion to be understood in the persons and things, which 
 are the nominatives of anddvano, anddrono, anddva, va, 
 vo, vai. 
 
 2c/. 0/ the Time. 
 
 220. There are three times; namely, the present, the pasty 
 and the future . In our present and past time we, in English, 
 use the verb to be and the verb to do as auxiliaries, and we use 
 the verb to be as an auxiliary in the future time; as: 
 
 I speak, 
 
 I am speaking, 
 
 or 
 I do speak. 
 
 1 spoke, ^ 
 
 I was speaking, 
 
 or 
 I did speak. 
 
 I shall speak, 
 
 or 
 I shall be speaking. 
 
 And so en, through other parts of the rerb to speak, or any 
 other verb. I have mentioned, in speaking of the Modes, 
 that the veils to be and to do are not thus used by the Ita- 
 lians ; and that they say, using only one woi:d to express the 
 meaning of the verb, io pjarlo, I s] eak, io parlaif I spoke, io 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 301 
 
 parlerhj I shall speak; and so on. The main thing that we 
 have to attend to, in considering the Time, is, the two different 
 ways of expressing the past time which the Italians have in 
 their language, and which we have not in ours. In speaking 
 of this matter, we will first take the indicative mode alone, 
 and then go to the subjunctive and conditional. 
 
 221. By referring to the conjugations of the verbs (Para- 
 graph 63), "we see that there are, in the indicative mode, two 
 ways of expressing past time with the verb in a simple form, 
 and three ways of expressing past time with the verb in a 
 coynpoimd form. First, let us consider the two ways with 
 the verb in the simple form. Our phrases, I had, I was, 
 I'lovedy and all such, may, in Italian, be expressed in tw^o 
 perfectly different manners : 
 
 I had. 
 
 i 
 
 aveva, 
 
 
 { 
 
 JO era 
 
 or 
 
 I was, 
 
 or 
 
 io cbbi. 
 
 
 10 Jui. 
 
 I loved, 
 
 C 
 
 10 amavuy 
 
 or 
 10 amai. 
 
 And so on, with all the verbs in the Italian language. When 
 the past time of the Italian verb is after the first manner, that 
 is, like aveva, era, amdva, it is said to be in the past imper- 
 fect time ; when it is after the second manner, that is, like 
 ebbi, fuif amdi, it is said to be in the past perfect time. As 
 relates to the two past times, the Italian language is much the 
 same as the French : there is nothing in either of these two 
 languages that so much puzzles us as to know, when to use one 
 of these forms of the verb and when the other; and there is no 
 particular as to which grammarians have given us so little 
 satisfactory explanation. We may find many very able works 
 on Italian grammar written by French grammarians, or written 
 in French by Italians ; but, such works are intended to teach 
 the Italian language to those who already know French, and 
 there is so little difference between the Italian and the French 
 in respect to the Times of the verb, that those grammarians 
 who have written in the French language have not thought 
 them a point of any consequence. So that, though we may, 
 in many particulars, learn a great deal of Italian grammar from 
 works upon that subject w^ritten in French, we must know, 
 
302 ^ SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 beforehand, something al>out the difference between the two 
 past times, or remain, for what such works would teach us, in 
 the same ignorance that we were in before reading thena. A» 
 to those grammarians who have written in our own language, 
 they have, indeed, done but very little to make this matter 
 clear. I have seen the work of but one author, that has mada 
 any thing like an attempt at explanation. In Signor Galig- 
 UANi's Lectures there is something said on the subject; but 
 though it would be unjust to say, that the observations there 
 made are of no use to us, it would be equally unjust to saj 
 that they are all that is required. 
 
 222. The two forms of the verb both equally apply to a time 
 that is past as to that in which we are speaking; they both 
 refer us to some circumstance which had place at a time gone 
 by : but, as respects the time to which they refer ^ that is, the 
 time at which the circumstance we are speaking of is supposed 
 to have occurred, the meaning of the one is very different from 
 that of the other. To make some general definition as to the 
 difference which generally distinguishes the one form of the 
 verb from the other, we may give this as the rule : that the 
 past imperfect time must be employed to express the idea of 
 some act, or some state of being, which occurred at a time past, 
 but which, at the time past at which it occurred, had duration 
 in it, and was not then concluded or brought to a termina^ 
 Hon • some act then continuing to be done^ or some state of 
 being then having more or less of permanency or lastingness 
 in it : and the past perfect time must be employed , when we 
 ■wish it to be understood that the act or state of being described 
 was limited in its duration, even as to the time past referred to, 
 that it Avas then, at that time, concluded or brought to a 
 termination. Let us see what G align an i says about this 
 matter. " Take particular notice, that the imperfect expresses 
 " an action which was doing, and which was not yet accom- 
 ** plished during the time of another past action. The perfect 
 " expresses an action which is, or ought to be, entirely past, 
 '' Example: if I say, io me ne andava da vostra sorella, 
 *' qnando io vi vidi, I was going to your sister, when I saw 
 **you; anddvay in this instance, is imperfect^ because it is 
 
XX.J OF VERBS. 303 
 
 " not known whether I really went to your sister or no ; but if 
 " I say, ANDAi ieri da vostra soi'clla, I went yesterday, to 
 " your sister ; in that case, it is perfect, because it is fully 
 *' understood that I went there. The imperfect likewise ex- 
 " presses an habitual action, or one often repeated in time 
 *' past, &c. lo ANDAVA quusi ogni sera a far visita alia, 
 '^ celebre Corilla, I went almost every evening to pay a visit 
 " to the famous Gorilla (that is to say, I used to go)." In 
 addition to this, he says : " It is a very mistaken, but prevalent 
 " notion, that the English has no imperfect tense {time) ; forJ 
 *' whenever they say, I was speaking, I was fearing, I was 
 ^^ finishing , &c. they convey precisely the same idea as the 
 " Italian tenses io parldva, io temcva, io finwa. The 
 ** English, therefore, want this tense only in the verb to have, 
 " and to he, and vary from the Italians in the use of it in some 
 ^* instances. Nevertheless, if learners could remember, that 
 " whenever the English use such com'pound tense, or that it 
 " could be possible to use it, the Italian imperfect must " 
 ^* be adopted, they might avoid a number of mistakes too fre- 
 *' quent among, the students of the Italian language." The 
 reason here given by Signor Galignani for the verb being 
 put in the imperfect, in the example io me ne andava, &c., 
 is but a poor reason. He says the verb is here put in the 
 imperfect " because it is not known whether I went or not.'* 
 Then, again, in the other example, andai ieri, &c., he says 
 the verb is here in the perfect, '' because it is fully under^ 
 stood that I went." To account, here, for the difference in the 
 verb, such reasons as these are very insufficient. It is not at 
 all the certainty or uncertainty as to whether the act of going 
 was or was not performed that causes the difference ; the act 
 of going is as much to be believed in, as having taken place, 
 in the one case as in the other. The difference in the verb is 
 occasioned merely because, in the first example, the act of 
 going is understood as not liaving been completed, as not 
 having been fully performed, fulfilled, or finished, at the 
 time past referred to, and it is meaned, that I was only in the 
 act of performing , that is, proceeding in the act of perform^ 
 ing, the going, when I saw you; and this, consequently, leaves 
 
304 
 
 SYNTAX. 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 it to be understood, that my going was not -perfectly performedy 
 OT finished, at that time. While, in the second example, the 
 going is simply stated as having been performed yesterday, 
 without there being any thing to give us to understand that, at 
 the past time referred to, the act of going was merely under- 
 going performance, that it was only being performed, and 
 that it was not fulfilled, completed, or finished. In SioxoR 
 Gai.ignani's first example there are two verbs; there is the 
 vidi, I saw, as well as the anddva, I was going. The vidi is 
 in the past perfect, like the and/ii in the second exan)ple, and 
 for the same reason : these two verbs both serve, as used here, to 
 describe acts performed and completed at a time past; while the 
 anddva, I was going, does, as before said, describe the act as 
 not being completed, or brought to any thing like a conclusion 
 at the time past alluded to. Upon this principle, the anddva in 
 the third example of Signor Galignani is in the imperfect: 
 lo anddva quasi agni giorno, I went almost every day ; that is, 
 as Galignani says, I used to go, meaning, it was my cuS' 
 torn, or habit, to go. The act is here described as having 
 continuance in it; it was usual, customary, or habitual, and 
 could not, therefore, be supposed as being completed, or as 
 having any conclusion, during the time past alluded to. Ol>- 
 serve the following example : 
 
 AU' 6mbra d'un l>el faggio Silria e Filli 
 Sedian un giorno, ed io con loro insicme, 
 Quando un'apeingegnosa, checogliendo 
 Sen yiva il niel per que' prati fioriti, 
 Alle guance di Fillide Tolando, 
 Le murse e le rhnorse avidatnente. 
 
 Tas, a. 
 
 Under the shade of a fine beech-tree 
 Silvia and Phillis sat one day, and 
 
 " I together with them, when a crafty 
 bee, wliich went collecting honey 
 through those flowery meads, flying 
 to the cheeks of Phillis, bit them, 
 and bit tiiem again greedily. 
 
 And then, again, that example which I have already given in 
 speaking of the Mode : 
 
 Se donuiaii gli antichi una cor6na 
 A chi salvisse n un cittadin la vita, &c. 
 
 Abi. O. F. 
 
 If the ancients gave a crown to whom- 
 soever saved the life of a citizen. , 
 
 Here the verbs sedcre , to sit, gire, to go about, and dondre, 
 to give, are in the imperfect ; while mordere, to bite, and 
 rirnordere, to bite again, are in the perfect. We might say. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 305 
 
 in these instances, Silvia and Phillis were sitting one day ; a 
 crafty bee, which was ffoiiig, or ivent on, collecting honey ; 
 the ancients used to give, or had the custom or habit of 
 giving. And here we see that the verbs in the imperfect are 
 used in a manner similar to the examples given by Signor 
 Galignani with the verb anddva. The sitting of the per- 
 sons under the shade, and the going collecting honey of the 
 bee, are not circumstances spoken of as being both begun and 
 concluded at any instant of the time referred to : these evidently 
 had continuation in them, and there is nothing to express any 
 thing like a limit to their duration. Again, the ancients gave^ 
 they used to give ; not that they gave only OTiCe, or at several 
 distinct periods; the giving was habitual, and could not, 
 therefore, be said to be an act that was, at any one time, com- 
 pleted ov finished. With the two other verbs, on the contrary, 
 we see the past perfect time necessarily employed : the act of 
 biting was once done, and accomplished, at two different 
 periods in the course of the time that the bee was going, w^as 
 continuing to go collecting honey, and that the persons were 
 sitting, were continuing to sit, under the shade. 
 
 Mentre I'esercito forntita diFrancia, I While the army re<2(r?iffZ from France, 
 lire co?iLoc(i un concilio, I the king caZ/ed a council. 
 
 Compnrdva Cicerone gli amici finti j Cicero compared false friends to swal- 
 alle roadini, j lows. 
 
 That is to say, while the army was returning ; Cicero used to 
 compare. If I were to mean, not that it was customary with 
 Cicero to make such a comparison, but that he made it, under- 
 stood upon some single or particular occasion, then I should 
 say, 
 
 Comparb Cicerone gli amici tinti alle rondini. 
 
 Again, if I were to mean, that, while the king luas calling a 
 council the army returned from France, then tornare would 
 be in the perfect, and convocdre in the imperfect time : 
 
 Mentre il re convocdva an concilio, I'esercito tomb di Francia. 
 
 223. Thus, then, we see, why it is that the one is called 
 the past imperfect, and the other the past perfect time. 
 
.'306 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 We fiee, also, to a certain extent, when it is that the past im- 
 perfect is required, and when it would not he right to use the 
 past perfect : namely, in all such cases as those in which we, 
 in English, can express the continuation or incompleteness in 
 what is described by the verb, by employing the past time of 
 our verb to be with the active participle of another verb, or by 
 employing our word usedy or some other word serving to denote 
 habit, custom, or frequency. So far as this, the matter is 
 tolerably well explained by Sic. nor Galignani and his 
 Editor. But, it is not in every case that we can, in comparing 
 the two languages, translate the meaning of the Italian imper- 
 fect by employing our verb to be as an assistant, or by employ- 
 ing our word used, or any word having the same sort of sense. 
 Take, for example, the verbs in the following passage, which 
 is the beginning of one of So aye's little novels. 
 
 Riccardo Macwill, fiiflio d'un ricco 
 mercatante di Dublino, all' avve- 
 nenza della pers6na, e ella sagaciU 
 dello spirito, unita nn cnor tenero 
 e compassionevole, chc ben piCi pre- 
 g^ToIi rendeva in lai gli altri doui 
 dell.i naturat Trovindosi egli per 
 coram^rcio in Algeri, vide un giornp 
 approddre un naviglio, su cai crano 
 due giovani donne che dirottaraente 
 piangcvano. Intenerito a tal vista, 
 si avcicinb a domaadarne contezza, 
 e udl che iraiio due giovani schiave 
 predate recentemcnte, e Ucondotte 
 a mercato. 
 
 Richard Macwill, son of a rich mer- 
 chant of Dublin, with the cotnelines* 
 of his person, and with the sagacity 
 of his mind, united a heart kind and 
 compassionate, which rendered in 
 him bis other natural gifLs of much 
 more worth. Being at Algiers, en- 
 gaged in commerce, he saw one day 
 come towards the shore a vessel, oa 
 board of which nere two young la- 
 dies, who wept violently. Moved at 
 such a sight, he approached to ask 
 some account of them, and he heard 
 that they were two young slaves re- 
 cently carried off, and brought there 
 for sale. 
 
 In this passage are eight verbs, all of which are in the past 
 time. Here are univa, rendeva, crano, pianyevano, eranOy 
 in the past imperfect; and, vide^ avvicinb, udl, in the past 
 perfect. Now, if we consider these verbs that are in the per- 
 fect, we see that they, like the vidi and andai in the two firgt 
 of Galignanj's examples before noticed, each describe ao 
 act in which no continuation or incompleteness is at all 
 necessarily understood : he saw the vessel come, approached 
 to ask some account, heard what the ladies were ; these are 
 all acts successively accomplished during the time past spoken 
 of, and in each of which there is something fairly brought to 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 307 
 
 pass. Then, we see the imperfect piangtvano, the ladies 
 wept; that is, as we should translate it, they were weepmg ; 
 they were going on weeping at the time the vessel approached. 
 This verb, then, as here used in the imperfect, corresponds 
 with SiGNOR Galignani's Io andavcij I luas going. But, 
 what shall we say to the univa? Here is the accomplishing 
 or perfecting of nothing expressed by this verb. We should 
 not say, here, he was uniting a kind heart, or, he used to 
 wiite, it was his custom^ or habit to unite a kind heart : yet, 
 the verb is here in the imperfect time ; and there is good reason 
 for its being so. The man's uniting comeliness of person and 
 sagacity of mind with a good heart, was not an act in him 
 that could be supposed to be finished or concluded, at the 
 past time referred. The verb immediately following, namely, 
 rendeva, this is also, as necessarily, in the imperfect. His 
 goodness of heart rendered his other gifts of more worth. His 
 uniting the one quality with the other, and the goodness of 
 his heart rendering his other gifts of more worth: these 
 were circumstances characteristic of the mans general life^ 
 and must, consequently, as such, have been of some du' 
 ration, 
 
 224. In the passage I have quoted, there is another verb, 
 namely, erano, which is there twice used. This verb^ the verb 
 esserey to be, is one of so much importance as respects the two 
 past times, that it will require a particular notice of itself. The 
 verb to be, like some other verbs, does not represent an act : it 
 represents only the existence of things. It seems, then, at first, 
 natural to suppose, that this verb must, in Italian, always be in 
 the imperfect time, seeing that a thing cannot have existence 
 without lasting or continuing to be for more or less of time. 
 
 225. We must observe, then, that, in speaking of the being 
 of persons or things, the verb is always in the imperfect, if we 
 be speaking, not of time past in general, but of some particular 
 time. There is a particular time alluded to in the erano in the 
 foregoing passage. The ladies were on board the vessel, tbey 
 were two young slaves, at the time the man perceived the vessel 
 approach. The first erano represents thesimple being of the ladies, 
 the second represents what they were • the same verb is expressive. 
 
308 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 in both cases, of something that must have had duration at the 
 time referred to. But, if we mean to speak of persons or things 
 as merely having formerly had existence, and we do not allude 
 to any particular time at all, the verb is put in the perfect ; 
 because, we then speak of the circumstance of beirig as some- 
 thing past as to the time in which we are relating it, without 
 expressing its presence at any particular time before the rela- 
 tion. For example: 
 
 Fn in Lunigiana, paete nrfn multodn 
 questo lontuao, un n]onast6rin, &c. 
 
 Bvc. D. 
 
 There nas in Lunigiana, a conntrj* not 
 very far from this, a nunastery. 
 
 Though the existence of the person or thing be expressed by the 
 verb in the perfect, the state of existence being supposed as 
 perfectly passed, as to the present time, and no particular time 
 past being referred to ; yet, if there be any circumstance spoken 
 of as appertaining to, or as serving to characterize in any way, 
 the person or thing during existence^ the verb representing that 
 circumstance may be in the imperfect • as: 
 
 Fu secondo che io gii intesi in Peru- i There was, as I oBce beard, a yoath 
 gia un giovane il cm nome era An- I in Perugia whose name nas An- 
 dreuccio di Pietro. Boc. D. I drenccio di Pietro. 
 
 Nella terra di Prato/«( giluno statuto, i' In the country of Prate th<»re nas 
 il quale senza niuna diblinzione t once a law, which, without any 
 
 comandaca, &c. Boc. D. 1 distinction, commanded . . . 
 
 In these examples, the existence of the monaster}', of the youth, 
 and of the law, are spoken of as circumstances having had 
 place formerly, but without any particular time being even 
 alluded to. But the existence of the youth's name, and what 
 the law commanded, were circumstances necessarily depending 
 on, and continuing during the existence of the youth and the 
 law ; and, as being regarded in that sense, the verbs expressing 
 those circumstances are put in the imperfect. There is, how- 
 ever, no absolute rule in such cases. The truth is, that the 
 Italians, in using the verb cssere, to express that somebody 
 or something did exist in an indefinite past time, sometimes 
 speak of the existence, as a circumstance simply past, as 
 to the present time and now entirely gone by, and at other 
 times they speak of it, as a circumstance at some former time, 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 309 
 
 hdving duration in it, though, as to the present time, it be en- 
 tirely gone by. 
 
 Era, lion e lango tempo passdto, im 
 Tedesco a Trivigi chiamdto Arrigo. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Fu gi;\ nella nostra citta un cavalliere 
 il cui nome/u Messer Tedaldo. 
 
 Boc. D 
 
 There was, not a long time ago, a 
 German at Trivigi called Arrigo. 
 
 There was formerly in our city a gen- 
 tleman whose name was Master 
 Tedaldo. 
 
 Here is era, in the one instance, and fu in the other, though 
 the idea intended to be expressed, is, as nearly as possible, the 
 same in both instances. In the latter example, the existence of 
 the man*s name, like that of the man himself, is expressed by 
 the verb in the perfect ; while, in the first examples of the 
 two before given, a circumstance, precisely similar, is expressed 
 b}'^ the imperfect: 
 
 f u un giovane il cui nome era .... 
 Fu gia un cavalliere 11 cui nome 
 
 There was a youth whose name 
 
 was .... 
 There was formerly a gentleman 
 
 whose name nas .... 
 
 One very important thing, as regards the verb to be in Italian 
 is, that when this verb is employed, in the past time, as an 
 auxiliary with the passive participle of an active verb, the 
 auxiliary must be in the past perfect. Speaking of a king, the 
 Italians would say, 
 
 Egli fu coronato, quando era auc6ra 
 /anciullo, 
 
 He was crowned, when, he was yet a 
 child. 
 
 Now, observe here, the king's being a child is a circumstance 
 that may have duration in it. It is a circumstance character- 
 istic of the king, it is a state of being in which he may con- 
 tinue for a time. But, the being crowned expresses only the 
 suffering of an act done to the king, and the verb to be is here 
 employed not to express the king's being in a crowned state, 
 but only his havhig the crowning done to him. But, if we 
 were to use the participle as an adjective, then the Italian 
 verb to be, as accompanying the corondto, would be in the im- 
 perfect : 
 
 He, wh«n he was yet a child, was a j 
 vrorvned king.. i 
 
 Egli, quando era anc6ra fanciuUo, er« 
 unre coronuto. 
 
310 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 In the following examples this principle is clearly illustrated : 
 
 lo era piCl innocrnte che lii non sei ; l I nas more irmocmt than thoa art; 
 par Tcdi a qual te'rminc J'ui eon- I yet m« to what an eod I wut 
 
 dvtto. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 brought. 
 
 Lucullo, qaando/ii mnrirfafo contra a i Lncollus, when be n'ns si^t against 
 Mitridatr, era al tutto inrsjtcrto I MitHri dates, roaa tntinly ignorant 
 
 dtflla guerra. Mac. D. I of war. 
 
 Arrestutijurono subitam^nte qnanti 
 crano n«lla casa. Soa. >. 
 
 Dopo la pubblicazi6ne dc* iniei Dii- i 
 
 \oghi, /ui chiamato a Roma. I 
 
 Gal. L. I 
 
 Nel tempo cbe i Francesi tli Cicilia t 
 
 J'urono caccidtif &c. Bot. D. [ 
 
 As many as nere in the house were 
 arrested immediately. 
 
 After the publication of my Dialo^es» 
 I yvai called to Rome. 
 
 At the time when the French nere 
 driven from Cicily. 
 
 Here we see era, era^ erano, the past imperfects, because they 
 are used in expressing what \v?iS characteristic of the persons* 
 or their state of beitifj merely. There are the adjectives inno- 
 cente and inesperto, with the two first, and tliere is the nella 
 casa, with the last. The one person's being innocent ^ the 
 other's beiiig ignorant, and the being of the people in the 
 house : here is something like states of being with duration in 
 them. But the being brought, the being sent, the being ar- 
 rested, the bei7ig called, the being driven ; in all these, the 
 verb t'ssere is used only to express the receipt of an act per- 
 formed and effected, and not to express any thing characteristic 
 of the persons spoken of, or any state of existence in which they 
 might continue to be. 
 
 226, It very frequently occurs, that the verb may be in the 
 past perfect time, although the act or state of being described 
 by the verb be, at the same time, expressed as having continua- 
 tion or duration in it ; as: 
 
 Filippo sosteune piil anni la tjuerra 
 contro a quelli, &c. Mac. Pb. 
 
 Fece uno stato, che durb piCl cbe otto- 
 cento anni. Mac. Dis. 
 
 Sttttero Rowa e Sparta molti stcoli 
 annate e libere. Mac. Ph. 
 
 Appresso Niima Pompilio regnb Tal- 
 lio Ostilio trentadac anni. 
 
 G. Vit. S. 
 
 Philip sustained war for many years 
 
 against those . . . 
 
 He (Licur^us) established a state 
 which lasted more than 800 yean. 
 
 Rome and Sparta remained many 
 ages armed and free. 
 
 After Noma Pompilius, TuUius Hos« 
 tilius reigned thirty- two years. 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 311 
 
 Here the many years, more than eight hundred years, many 
 ages J thirty -two years: these show that the circumstances ex- 
 pressed by the verbs must have had duration in them at a time 
 past* Bat these circumstances had all arisen, and had ceased 
 to continue, long before the time at which they were spoken of 
 by the writers above quoted. These writers were not referring to 
 a particular time during which these circumstances were in con- 
 tinuation. The sustaining, lasting, remaining, and reigning, 
 were things which were both begun and ended during a time 
 long before they were thus spoken of. 
 
 227. We have now to speak of the three compound times. 
 They are called compound, because they are made up of one or 
 other of the auxiliary verbs, to have and to he, and the passive 
 participle of another verb. The first is the compound of the 
 present time ; as: io ho amdto, I have loved, tu hai creduto, 
 thou hast believed, egli ha sentito, he has felt. Here is the 
 auxiliary avere, to have, in the present time, and the participles 
 passive of the verbs amdre, credere, and sentire. Here both 
 languages have but the one form. Yet the Italians require this 
 compound time to be employed, in some cases, where we do 
 not. We must, in Italian, always use the compound of the 
 present, instead of the past perfect time, whenever we speak of 
 a thing in any time which is only partly gone by, and in which 
 we yet are; as, when we say to-day, this morning, this week, 
 this month, this year, this age, this century. 
 
 I sa?D him to day, i U ho veduto ogg\. 
 
 I spoke to him this morning, | Gli ho parlaio stamattina. 
 
 And, not Io vidi oggi, ^\ parlai stamattina. We might say 
 either, I saw him, or, I have seen him, I spoke to him, or, I 
 have spoken to him. But, in Italian, the rule is, that, in such 
 cases, the compound must be used. Besides this, the Italians 
 frequently use the compound of the present, instead of the past 
 perfect, in cases in which we could not 3 as : 
 
 M# Be parlb jeri, 
 
 or, 
 Me ne ha pdrlato jiii, 
 
 )a»Jdjeri, - -^ 
 
 or, > He spoke to me of it yesterday. 
 
 ha pdrlatojiii, ^ 
 
 That is, he spoke to me, or, he has spoken to me, of it yester- 
 
312 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 day. Tlie latter of these is not, we know, customary with us. 
 But it is, however, very common in Italian. The following is a 
 striking example : 
 
 Passat il Rrnn a Spirn, ritta piCk no- 
 minJtaclie belln. Ji o passuto poi 
 il Danobio a Ulma. Ben. L. 
 
 I pas^rd the Uliine at Spira, a city 
 more faoMiis than beantiful. I then 
 hare passed the Danabe at Ulm. 
 
 We should put the verb only in the one form : I passed^ I then 
 passed. But the Italians frequently use the compound as in 
 the above example. 
 
 228. The two other compound times are, the compound of 
 the past imperfecta and the compound of the past perfect. 
 Here the two languages differ materially again. We see, by 
 looking at the conjugations of verbs, that, in using the auxilia- 
 ries avere, to have, and tssere^ to be, the Italians have two 
 ways of expressing the compound of the past : 
 
 
 L 
 
 10 avcva avuto. 
 
 I had had, 
 
 or, 
 
 
 io 6bbi avuto. 
 
 
 { 
 
 io ira stdlo. 
 
 I had been, 
 
 or, 
 
 
 io fui ttuto. 
 
 
 c 
 
 io cvcva ainato. 
 
 I had loved, 
 
 { 
 
 or, 
 io tbbi amulo. 
 
 These two forms of the verb must, both of them, always give as 
 to understand the occurrence of some one circumstance before 
 some other circumstance. When I say, I had had y I had been, 
 I had loved, I must mean that my having, being, loving, 
 occurred before something else occurred, whether that some- 
 thing else were the doing of an act, the being of a person or 
 thing in some way, or a mere point or period of time. Now^ 
 observe : that occurrence wViich is expressed by the compound 
 of the past, is sometimes the thing which it is the principal 
 intention, or main design, of the person speaking to men- 
 tion; and, at other times, that occurrence is intended to be 
 spoken of as a thing which, as to time, was merely inci- 
 dental to, and sen'ing merely to determine the date of, some 
 other occurrence. In Signor Galignani's conjugation of 
 the verb avcre he illustrates this point with the following 
 examples : 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 313 
 
 lo hviva atn'ito tempo d'esamindre 
 ogni co»a prima ch' egli arrivasse, 
 
 Tosto che io cbbi avuto la sua rispos- 
 ta, mi ritirdi, 
 
 l-had had time to obserre every thing 
 before he came. 
 
 As soon as I had had his reply, I r«- 
 tired. 
 
 Here we see our had had, which is used in both cases, re- 
 presented, in Italian, first by avcva avdto, the compound of 
 the past imperfect, and, then, by ebbi avuto, the compound 
 of the past perfect. But Galignani gives no sort of reason 
 why this is the case. In the first example, the having had 
 time to examine every thing is, evidently, the occurrence 
 which it is the principal intention to speak of, and the before 
 he arrived merely denotes the period of time^ at which the cir- 
 cumstance of having had time to examine every thing existed. 
 Then, in the other example, it is as evident, that the retiring 
 is the occurrence which it is the principal intention to speak of, 
 and the as soon as I had had his reply is a circumstance that 
 merely denotes the period of time at ,vhich it occurred to the 
 speaker to retire. Let us take Signor Galignani's two 
 other examples, which are given in his conjugation of the verb 
 
 essere : 
 
 Io era stato a comprar della carta 
 
 prima ch' egli arrivdsse, 
 Snbito che /ut stato a prender con- 
 
 gedo da lui, se ne parti, 
 
 1 had been to buy some paper before 
 he arrived. 
 
 As soon as I had been to take leave of 
 him, he set off. 
 
 Here the verbs are used in a way precisely similar to that in 
 which we see them in the two former examples. In the first of 
 these, the having been is the circumstance which it is our main 
 design to mention, and his arrival is the circumstance of se- 
 condary moment; again, in the second, his setting off is the 
 circumstance which it is our main design to mention, and the 
 having been only serves to denote the time when his setting 
 off took place. There isj to be sure, a good deal of nicely iu 
 this distinction; yet, the distinction is made by the Italians, 
 and it is necessary to observe it. Let it be considered, then, as 
 a rule, that, whenever the circumstance to be spoken of in the 
 compound of our English past time is one which it is our prin- 
 cipal object to mention, then, in all cases, we must employ the 
 compound of the livM-^n 'pastimperfect. If, on the contrary, 
 
314 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 we be fipcriking of two circumstances, and that one which is, in 
 our language, spoken of in the compound, be mentioned as 
 being merely incidental to, or serving to determine the time of 
 the occurrence of, another circumstance ; then, in Italian, we 
 must employ theconijwund of the past perfect. There are cer- 
 tain words which are employed to express time, and which, so 
 used, serve as luihs between two circumstances, and express the 
 relation, as to time, which the occurrence of the one has to that 
 of the other. These are adverbs of time, by some called 
 conjunctions. In Signor Galignani's examples, just given, 
 there are suhito che^ as soon as, and tosto die, ^as soon as ; in 
 addition to which there are the words poichc, when, or after ; 
 appena, hardly or scarcely; quando, when ; dappoi che, after; 
 dopo che, after ; no7i si tosto, no sooner ; si tosto come, as soon 
 as ; come, when, or as soon as, and che, which is sometimes 
 used in the sense of our when. And, observe, the compound 
 of the perfect is never used without, at the same time, one of 
 these words, which are signs of the dependence of one circum- 
 stance on another as to time, being used along with it. I will 
 here give a few examples, in which these words are used, and 
 in all of which we shall see that the compound of the perfect is 
 employed according to the rule just given. 
 
 Poicb^ I'ora del mangidre/u venuta, I When the time for eating lias come, 
 anddrono & SKd^re. Boc. D. I they uent to sit down. 
 
 Poiche cbbero il diginn rotto, comin- J After they had broken their fast, they 
 ciurono a cantare. Boc. D. I began to sing. 
 
 ^'on \i fui appena compurso, chela 
 corte mi destinb a quel carico. 
 
 Ben. L. 
 
 I had hardly appear edih^t, •when the 
 covxrl dfslintd me to that employ- 
 ment. 
 
 Costiii nnn si tosto veduta ebbe la I He had no sooner seen the canvass, 
 tela, che ticonokbe il val6re. I than he knew the value. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 I 
 
 DappoichO/« morte Otto III, li elet- j After Otho III had died, the electors 
 
 I6ri etissero Arrigo I. G. Vil. S. I elected Arrigo I. 
 
 Quando cbbe desindto, usci di casa. | When he had dined, h« ii7'»i( oat of 
 
 Sac. N. I doors. 
 
 II fanciOUo, come sentito I' ebbe ca- 
 dere, cosi corse a dirlo alia donna. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 The boy, as soon as he had heard him 
 fall, immediately ran to tell it to the 
 woman. 
 
 ConcAiiisoch' et6c"qnesto nel pensiero, j When he had settled this in bis Bind, 
 Koye arnacritrov^, &c. Abi. O.F. j he/ownd new arms ., . 
 
XX.] OP VERBS. 315 
 
 229. As to ^Q future time, there is but little difference be- 
 tween the two languages. There is one simple form, and one 
 compound form, in the verb ; and these two Italian forms 
 exactly correspond with ours. ' 
 
 lo farb, I 1 shall do. 
 
 lo avrb/attOf I \ shall have done. 
 
 In speaking of a future time, we frequently put one verb in 
 the/w^wre and another in the -present time. As, \ will tell 
 him if he comes, I shall speak when he is gone. The Italians, 
 in such cases, almost always put both verbs in the future : gli 
 dirb se verrd, I will tell him if he shall come ; lo parlerb 
 quando sard partito, I shall speak when he shall be gone. 
 When se, if; quando, when ; quanto, as long as or while, are 
 used thus, the two verbs are, almost always, both in the future 
 in Italian : 
 
 Ci verr6 volentierL se il padrone lo i I will come here •willingly i/ my mas- 
 accorderiL. . GOL. Com. | ter permits it 
 
 yQiiando ne sard il tempo, avviserotti. j When the time for it is, I will tell 
 
 Abi. O.F. I thee. 
 
 lo ho amato Guiscardo, e quanto vi- l I have lored Guiscardo, and while I 
 ver6 1'amer6. Boc. D. | /jdc I shall lore him. 
 
 That is, shall permit, shall he, shall live. However, it fre- 
 quently happens that se and quando, though relating to the 
 future time, have one of the verbs coming after in the present 
 time, as our ly* and when have in English : 
 
 Se ti sento favellire, io ti taglierb il I If 1 hear thee speak, I will cut thy 
 collo. Mac. C. j throat. 
 
 Se ta mi/at chiaro di quattro cose, io j //"thou ma/cesf me sure of four things, 
 ti perdoner6. Sac. N. | I will pardon thee. 
 
 N6 tomerb, se vincitornon <orwo. i Nor will I return, if I return not 
 
 T AS. G. L. I conqueror. 
 
 No, vi anderi quando torno. j No, she shall go thitlier when I return. 
 
 GOL. C. I ^ 
 
 Here is sento, fai, torno, torno, in the present time. They 
 should be, according to the rule generally observed by the Ita- 
 lians, sentiro , farai, tornero, tornero, in the future. 
 
 230. As to the times of the subjunctive and conditional 
 modes, it is somewhat difficult to fix any precise rules for them. 
 In speaking, of the modes, I have endeavoured to explaia the 
 
 p2 
 
31Q SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 different mannors of turning our signs may, might, should, 
 
 ^would, and were or wert, into Italian; and, in doing that, 
 
 something was necessarily said about the time of these inodea. 
 
 , We sec, in the conjugations, that there is a present time simple 
 
 and a past time sinjplc in the subjunctr\'e mode, and also, a 
 
 compound of the present and a compound of the past time. 
 
 , Now, we must observe, that when tlie verb that governs the 
 
 subjunctive is either in the present or in the future ; then, the 
 
 present time of the subjunctive must ))e used ; as : 
 
 lo desidtro che voi mi mandiate, 
 lo desideierb che Toi mi mandiult. 
 
 I deiire that you may send me. 
 
 I shall desire that you mmy send n)0. 
 
 Here the present of the subjunctive expresses, decidedly, a 
 future time} and it does, in fact, express both future 3.nd 
 present. 
 
 lor.on so sc egli jja ricco, no, I I do not know whether be 6e rich, 
 
 1 or not. 
 
 Here it is Jn the present. The verb expressive of desire hi 
 reference to the future, and the verb expressive of doubt has 
 reference to the present. Again, there is the compound of the 
 present, which refers to the past: 
 
 lo non credo che 1' ahbia falto I I do not think that he has done it 
 anc6ra, ' I yet. 
 
 If the verb governing be in any time other than the present or 
 the future, then the subjunctive must be in the past time, either 
 simple or compound as the meaning may dictate ; as : 
 
 lo temtva che cih avvenlsse, 
 lo ho temuto che ci6 avtrnisse, 
 
 lo temeva che cib fosse awenuto, 
 
 lo aieia (einutocbe cio atventsse, 
 
 I feared that that might happen. 
 . I hare feared that that might 
 
 happen, 
 I feared that that might have 
 
 happened. 
 1 had feared that tliat might 
 
 happen. ^ 
 
 As to the conditional; this mode always expresses our should 
 or would, and admits of as little explanation, as to its time, as 
 do our verbs when accompanied by those signs. There is one 
 simple form, and one compound, in this mode, just as there is 
 Avith our verbs Avhen they are joined with should or would. 
 
XX.] Of VERBS. 517 
 
 In speaking of the modes, I have said all that I deemed neces- 
 sary about this. There is, indeed, no difficulty in it. 
 
 Gli dissi die io verr6i, 
 
 Gli dissi che io sar6i venuto, 
 
 I told him that I should (or would) 
 
 come. 
 I told him th&il should (or would) 
 
 have corns. 
 
 So far it is pretty clear that the Italian verb, in both simple 
 and compound form, has reference to something past, and, like 
 our verb as employed with the should or ivould, seems to pro- 
 mise something that was to come after a time now past. But, 
 if we were to say, 
 
 What would you do if he should 
 
 come 
 
 'i 
 
 Che fardste yoi se cgli vtnisse ? J ^^""^ **««''^ Y"*^ '^^ '^ ^^ '^°"''* 
 
 1 come ? ^ 
 
 What should you do if he were to 
 
 come? 
 
 Here the conditional y*ares#e is expressed, in English, by either 
 would do or should do ; and, the subjunctive venisse, by 
 should come or weie to come. But here is no time in parti- 
 cular supposed, either in the fareste or in the venisse, any 
 more than there is in the English would do and should come, 
 should do and should come, should do and ivere to come. 
 There are, then, in fact, manners of using both of these modes, 
 the subjunctive and the conditional, which imply an uncer- 
 tainty as to any particular time at all, whether present, pastj 
 or future. 
 
 3c?. Of the Number and the Person. 
 
 331. A verb cannot be used without having a noun or pro- 
 noun, either expressed or understood, for its nominative, as it 
 is called 3 that is, the verb, as expressing some act or some 
 state of being or other, must always be understood as intended 
 to express that some person or thing acts, or that some person 
 or thing exists in some way or other. The verb must be in the 
 same number and person as the noun or pronoun which stands 
 for its nominative, and this agreement between the nominative 
 and the verb grsimmarians call concord* There are two num- 
 
319 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 bers, called the singular and the plural; and there are three 
 persons, called the 1st person, the 2d person, and the 3d 
 person: , 
 
 Singular. 
 
 Plural. 
 
 { 
 { 
 
 lit. /, 
 2d. Thou, 
 3d. Ury or ihe. 
 1ft. We, 
 2d. Youy 
 3d. They. 
 
 So far this matter is so simple, as relates to all languages, that 
 it would be needless to enter into further explanation. It is 
 necessary, however, to observe certain rules here, or we may 
 commit great errors in putting what we would say into Italian. 
 
 232. Observe, first, that the Italians do as we do in using 
 the second person plural of the verb, instead of the second 
 person singular. It has long been out of fashion for us to use 
 such expressions as, thou hast, I speak to thee, and such-like. 
 We, now-a-days, ssiy, you have^ I speak to ?/om, and so on, 
 though we be addressing a single person only. The Italians do 
 the same, saying, voi avcte, io parlo a voi, instead of, tu hai, 
 io parlo a te. It must be observed, however, that, in familiar 
 style, they address people with the thou and thee very com* 
 monly; much more commonly than we do in any part of our 
 country. In what is called elevated style, also, such as poetry, 
 the Italians alwaj's use the singular, just as we do. The use of 
 the plural instead of the singular, in common conversation, is 
 intended merely as a mark of respect. 
 
 233. Whenever two or more nouns or pronouns, whether they 
 be both in the singular, or both in the plural number, or of dif- 
 ferent numbers, come together as the nominatives of one verb, 
 the verb, in Italian, must always be in the plural number; as : 
 
 II cavillo e la vacca sono Del 
 
 prato, 
 I cavdlli e la vicca $ono nel 
 
 prato, 
 Tu ed io andrimo insieme, 
 To e noi andremo insieme, 
 
 The horse and the cow are in the 
 
 meadow. 
 The horses aad the cow are in 
 
 the meadow. 
 Thoa and I nill go together. 
 Thoa and we will go together. 
 
 Observe, here, that the first person is preferred to the second^ 
 and the second to the third. We must, therefore, say, 
 
XX.] OF VERBS, 319 
 
 Toi ed io siumo content!, I You and I are contented. 
 
 Pietro e voi si6le renuti, j Peter and you are come j 
 
 and not, voi ed io siiete, Pietro e voi sono. 
 
 234. The Italians frequently use the verb in the second per- 
 son singular along with the pronoun of the second person plural, 
 when they are addressing a single individual, particularly in 
 familiar or colloquial style ; and this occurs, generally speak- 
 ing, in the past imperfect time of the indicative mode : as, 
 ydi AMAVi, you loved, voi avevi, you had, instead of voi 
 AMAVATE, voi AVEVATE. The Same occurs sometimes in 
 the past time of the subjunctive, as in the following example, 
 where vve see avessi instead of avtste : 
 
 Se voi m' av6ssi parlatoa Paris;!, &c. I If you had spoken to me at Paris. ., 
 
 Mac. C. I 
 
 235. When the conjunction o, which represents both our or 
 and our either^ comes between two nouns or pronouns ; then, 
 in Italian, as in English, the verb is in the singular ; as : 
 
 O I'avarizia o la prodigalitd rejna I Either avarice or prodigality reigns 
 ne' ricchi, I amongst the rich. 
 
 I 
 
 But if there be several nouns or pronouns nominatives to the 
 same verb, and one or more of them be in the-plural; then the 
 verb must be in the plural ; as : 
 
 II principe, o i suoi siidditi, sar^?ino i The rince, or his Subjects, wiii be 
 temijti, I feared. 
 
 236. When the conjunction n^, which represents both our 
 nor and neither^ comes between two nouns or pronouns, no 
 matter whether they be in the singular or plural, the verb must 
 be in the plural ; as : " ^ 
 
 N6 il pericolo nh il timor ibbero forza I Neithe» danger nor fear had power to 
 amuorerlo, I move him. 
 
 N6l'uno7ifcl'altrov'andarowo, j Neither the one nor the o^her ivent 
 
 I there. 
 
 But, if the act or the state of being to be described by the 
 verb be such as can be performed or occupied by only one 
 individual, then the verb must be in the singular, although 
 
(320 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 several individuals be mentioned. As, if I were to speak of 
 two persons, one of whom should be intended as the king of a 
 country ; then, taking it for granted that but one king could 
 be at a time, I should say, 
 
 ^i Carlo ni Enrico *ar<i re, I Neither Charles nor Henry will be 
 
 I king. 
 
 And not sar/'mno : because the state of being king could be 
 occupied by only one of them. 
 
 237. In speaking of the Syntax of Adjectives, I have noticed 
 those words which are called nouns of multitude ^ or collective 
 nouns. I mentioned, also, the words il piii, most; la piil 
 2JartCy the most part ; la niar/gior parte, the greater part ; 
 un buon numero, a good number; la met(}, the half; una 
 parte, a part; una gran parte, a great part; ujia quantitd^ 
 a quantity ; un torzo, a third ; ?/n quarto, a fourth, &c. ; 
 these words are used with the verb following cither in the sin- 
 gular or in the plural, as such words may be in our language, 
 just according as they may be intended to express quantity 
 without reference to number, or as they precede a noun in the 
 plural. 
 
 238. With the nouns of multitude, such as a multitude, the 
 people, a crowd, the public, it is frequently optional with us 
 to put the verb in the singular or the plural. The Italians 
 always put the verb in the singular with these nouns; as: 
 
 X,a mo//i<;'/dinp si/^-'ministra tli qual- • The multitude mude itself a tool of 
 iinque dibegnassc, &c. Mac:. D. | wliomsoever designed. . . 
 
 // popolo andb ad incontrarlijne uccise i The people went to meet them, killed 
 alcuni, &c. Mub. A. | some of them. 
 
 11 pdpolo miniito si levb in arme. | The common people arose in arms, 
 
 Mac. S. I 
 
 Qnivi Ov' c tnnt&yente afflitta, &c. l There where there are so many peo- 
 
 Aur. O. F. I pie afflicted. 
 
 Povera e nuda vai, filosofia, 
 Uictlu turba al vil guadagno intesa. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Poor and naked thou poest, philoso. 
 phy, say the crowd intent on rile 
 gain. 
 
 There are, how- ever, examples to be found, in which the 
 Italians, in these cases, put the verb in the plural. In the 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. ' 321' 
 
 following one, there are the verb and the adjective in the plu- 
 ral : erano ignoranti, instead of, era ignorante : 
 
 Pot^te Tcdeve come il comune pSpolo i You may see how the common peopla 
 6ranti ignoranti, G. Vil. S. | were ignorant. 
 
 239. The preposition con, with, is sometimes used in such 
 a way as to have, apparently, the same sense as the conjunc- 
 tion e, and ; and, in such case, there being two nouns or 
 pronouns used with the verb, the verb is frequently put in the 
 plural; as: 
 
 D6po che Elvira collo sposo fiiron I After Elvira with her hnshand nera 
 parliti per I'Indie, &c. Soa. N. I gone to the Indies.. . 
 
 La reina, con I'altre donne, a caroler riijThe queen,wi<A the other ladies, fte^ar* 
 cominciArono. Boc. D. | to darice. 
 
 Then, again, in other similar cases, the verb is in the singular ; 
 as: 
 
 Sa Emanuele, coi duesuoi fidi, non si i If Emmanuel, with two of his con- 
 f6sse interpostoy i(,c. Soa. N. | fidants, A«d not interposed himself 
 
 Ed ei con essi riman sepolto fra le I And he with them remains buried 
 rovine. Soa. N. I amongst the ruins. 
 
 We express ourselves in both these ways, like the Italians : she 
 with her husband were gone, or, she with her husband was 
 gone. The question here is, whether the first noun or pro- 
 noun be or be not exclusively the nominative of the verb. 
 SiGNOR BiA&iOLi defends the putting of the verb and the 
 adjective in the plural, in such cases ; and Signor Barberi 
 condemns it. According to the opinion of the latter, the 
 furon partUi and the comincidrono, in the above examples, 
 should have been era partita and comincio • and I think 
 SiGNOR Barberi is right. 
 
 240. When one of the relative pronouns, che or quale, comes 
 between two nominatives, the latter nominative being in the 
 plural number, and the former in the singular, the verb follow- 
 ing is sometimes put in the singular, though its proper nomi- 
 native is the nominative that is in the plural ; as : 
 
 Cesare era uno di quelli che voUva 
 pervenire al principato di Roma. 
 
 Mac. P. 
 
 p5 
 
 Cesar was one ot those who wished to 
 arrive at the dominion of Rome, 
 
322 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 This is certainly bad grammar. It should have been, uno 
 di QUELLi che volevano pervenire ; because, the relative 
 che here relates to quclli and not to uno. Uno is in the 
 singular, and is the nominative of the verb essere • and quelli 
 is in the plural, and is the nominative of the verb voUre. 
 
 241. The main thing to be observed as relates to Persoiij 
 is, a manner which the Italians have of using the third "person 
 instead of the second. We, for the sake of politeness, have 
 substituted our you for our thouj in addressing a sin^^le in- 
 dividual. The Italians and the French have done the same ; 
 the former having substituted voi for <m, and the latter vous for tu. 
 But, in the language of the Italians, as in that of the Spaniards, 
 a still further sacrifice of ^ammar to politeness has been 
 made. The Italians, in addressing persons to whom they wish 
 to show particular respect, apply to them the title of Signoria. 
 This is a word of general use, and means the same as our lord-- 
 ship, ladyship, worship, or something of that sort, and is, as 
 generally employed, merely intended as an acknowledgment 
 of the respectability or gentility of the person addressed. The 
 Italians use the possessive pronoun with this word, saying, la 
 vostra Signoria, as we do in saying your lordship, your lady^ 
 ship, your worship. This title, joined along with the pro- 
 Doun, is abbreviated to Vosignoria, or Vossignoria ; and in 
 writing, the two letters V. S. are often employed to represent 
 the vostra and the signor'ia. In the plural, it becomes Le iig- 
 norie loro, or le loro signorie, that is, their lordships, their 
 worships, &c. Thus, the Italians say, 
 
 V 
 
 Come sta vosignoria? | How is your worship ? 
 
 Come stanno le signorie loro ? j How are your worships ? 
 
 That is, how are you, Sir, Madam, or Missi how are you, 
 gentlemen, or ladies'^. The titles of Signore, Sir or Mr., and 
 Signora, Madam or Mistress, are frequently used in the plural, 
 in place of the Signorie, and they are preceded by the pronoun 
 loro OT lor: lor Signori, you (meaning gentlemen); lor Sig- 
 wore, you (meaning ladies). The Signoria is a noun of the 
 feminine gender ; and in order to avoid the use of so long a 
 
XX.] OP VERBS. 323 
 
 word, or the repetition of it, the Italians bring in the personal pro- 
 noun of the feminine gender, and say, in addressing a person : 
 
 Spero che ella sta bene, 
 Ho parlato di lej, 
 Le parlero domani, 
 La vedo adosso, 
 
 I hope that you are well. 
 I have spoken of you, 
 [ will speak to you to-morrow. 
 I see you now. 
 
 That is, literally, I hope she is well, I have spoken of Aer, I 
 will speak to Aerv to-morrow, I see her now. And this too, 
 though the person spoken to be a man. The reason for era- 
 ploying the pronoun of the feminine gender is, that it is not voif 
 you, but the title vosignoriaj that is understood : 
 
 Spero che vosignorla sta bene. 
 Ho parlato di vosignoria. 
 Parlero a vosignoria donoani. 
 Vedo vosignoria adesso. 
 
 In such cases as these, then, the verb agrees with the pro- 
 noun, the pronoun being in the third person, though the person 
 addressed is in the second person. Observe the following ex- 
 amples : 
 
 La casa ov' ella nhitciva mi par tut- 
 tavia abildta da lei mtdesima. 
 J Ben. L. 
 
 The house where you dwelled ap- 
 pears to me always inhabited by 
 yourstlf. 
 
 lo ne la ringrazio infinitamente. i I thank you for it very much. 
 
 Ben. L. I 
 
 Se cio fosse vero, O quanta invidia le I If that were true, O how much envy 
 porterei! Ben. L. I 1 should bear j/ott.' . 
 
 That is, literally translated, where she dwelled ^ by herself, I 
 thank Aer, I should bear her envy, because, what is meaned 
 here is, la casa ove vosignoria abitdva-, and so on in the other 
 examples. 
 
 242. It sometimes occurs, that, in employing the relative fol- 
 lowing two nominatives, the verb is made to agree with the first, 
 when it should agree with the second nominative ; as^ in these 
 examples : 
 
 lo son colui che tenni ambo le chiave i / am Ac who held both the keys of the 
 Del cor di Federigo. i heart oLFredeiick. 
 
 Dan. In. I 
 
 Id son reram^nte coliii che queli I Jam really A e who hilled that maq 
 uomo uccisi stamane. Boc. D. I this morning. 
 
324 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 8i6t«> mi qufWn rfofina cbe %V\ dovitt i Are you that woman who ought to 
 venire a pailjre ? J3of, D. [ come to speak to him? 
 
 In the two first examples, the verbs t€7ii2i and iiccisi are in the 
 first person, when tliey should be in the third ; and, in the 
 latter example, the verb dovtte is in the second person, when 
 it should be in the third. These examples are, as to person^ 
 just similar to what the one given in Paragraph 240 is as to 
 number. These instances of bad grammar arise when, as is the 
 case in the above examples, there is only one person intended to 
 be spoken of, though there be two nominatives in the sentence. 
 It should have been, io son colui che tenner io son veramente 
 colui che uccisey siete voi quella donna che deve. It is when 
 the verb cssere^ to be, is used between two nominatives, as we see 
 it in the above examples, that this error is apt to be committed. 
 It is clear that the io and the voi are, here, nominatives of the 
 verb esserey to be, and that the colui and the quella donna are 
 the nominatives of the verbs tenere, to hold, uccidere, to kill, and 
 doverCy to owe. The relative che does not relate to the io and 
 the voiy but to the colui and the quella donna : consequently, 
 it should have been tenne, uccisey deve. 
 
 4th. Of the Participle, 
 
 243. There are, belonging to each verb in our language, two 
 participles as they are called. The participle, which is the 
 same sort of word, or very nearly so, in all languages, is thus 
 called, because it partakes of the different natures of several 
 parts of speech. It is, in its origin, a part of the verb ; but, as 
 employed in some cases, it has an adjective sense, and, at other 
 times, it is used as a 7ioun. In order to distinguish the one par- 
 ticiple from the other, the one is called the active participle, 
 and the other the passive participle. Thus, the word loving 
 is said to be the active participle of our verb to love, and the 
 word loved is said to be the passive participle of the same verb. 
 Some grammarians give the active participle the name of par- 
 ticiple present, and the passive participle that of participle 
 past. We will first see how the Italians express the sense of 
 our active participle, and, aftenvards, we will go to the passive 
 participle. 
 
XX.] OP VERBS. 325 
 
 244. We use our active participle in three ways ; first, as a 
 part of the verb, to describe the act or the state of being of a 
 person or thing; second, as an adjective^ to characterise a 
 person or thing in some way ; third, as a noun. For example : 
 
 1. Heisalwaysiaw^Ai«^. 
 
 2. He has a laughing face. 
 
 3. Laughing indicates mirth. 
 
 Thus it is with our participle, which ends always in ing. 
 Now, if we look back at the conjugations of verbs (page 80), 
 we shall see that the Italians have tivo participles which are 
 called a<:tive ; one ending in ndo, and another ending in nte. 
 Observe, then, that, in Italian, the 1st of the above examples 
 would be translated with the participle in ndo, the 2d by the 
 participle in nte, and the 3d by the infinitive of the verb along 
 with the definite article ; thus : 
 
 1. Stasemprerirfe'ndo. 
 
 2. Ha un viso ridente. 
 
 3. Jl rtdere indica TaUegria. 
 
 It is a rule, that the first of these manners, iu Italian, must not 
 be employed when, in English, there would be a preposition 
 before the participle. In such case, the Italians would use the 
 injinitive of the verb after the preposition ; as : 
 
 oflaughingr, 
 
 di ridere. 
 
 to laughing, 
 
 a ridere. 
 
 from laughing, 
 
 da ridere. 
 
 by laughing, 
 
 da ridere. 
 
 in laughing, 
 
 in ridere. 
 
 •with laughing, 
 
 C071 ridere. 
 
 for laughing, 
 
 per ridere. 
 
 without laughing, 
 
 senza ridtre 
 
 The only exception to this rule is, that the preposition in is 
 sometimes used along with the participle ending in ndo ; as : 
 
 Tremo in />fnsun(fo, chel' amor tili^Ie i I tremble in tAinArin^ that filial love 
 ibbia potiito condiirti, &c. j may haye led thee .... 
 
 SoA. N. I 
 
 Egli inparUndo quasi tutto avcaseco I He in depmrting had carried with him 
 portato. SoA. I^. I almost all. 
 
 Dove in passdndo le vcatigia ei pose, I Where in pdssin he left bis tracks. 
 
 ;ia ei pose. I 
 Tas. G. L. I 
 
326 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Here we see in pens^ndOj in partcndOj in passundo ; instead 
 of in pens6rey in part'ire^ in passive, which latter manner is 
 much more agreeable with the Italian language; and, thus, in 
 the following examples, we see in vedcre, in pensAre^ aspet- 
 tdrBy antivedcre, in domare^ in amdr, in seyuiry in lasciur : 
 
 Inrtnita fu 1' allegr^zza che srntii in 
 vedtre, &c. Ben. L. 
 
 Se i mispri mortal! fogsf r prad^nti 
 /n J/fnsarr, aspetture, antivedire 
 I vari casi, ice. Boj. O. I. 
 
 Prima si vnlse dell' armi loro in do- 
 mare i p6poli conviciai. Maci I). 
 
 Nft in Ofliar, nd in segulr la mia donna. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Ella non sente pena in lasciurml. 
 
 GoL. C. 
 
 Infinite was the joy that I felt in tet- 
 in§ . . . 
 
 If miserable mortals were prudent, in 
 constdering, anticipating, fortttt- 
 ing, the various accidents .... 
 
 First he availed himself of their arras 
 in subduing the neighbouring people. 
 
 Ts'either in loving, nor in following 
 
 my mistress. 
 
 She does not feel paia in leaving 
 me. 
 
 In using the participle ending in ing, we often l^ve to be un- 
 derstood one or other of the prepositions in and % ; as : using 
 hi}n well, you will gain his good will. This is constantly the 
 case in Italian also ; as in the following examples ; 
 
 Non la perderii dandola a te. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Vedesi molte Yolte come la umilti non 
 solamtnte non giova, ma nu6ce, 
 raassimam^nte usdndola con gli 
 u6mini insolenti. Mac. D. 
 
 Yincendo la frivola quistione, si perde 
 ass^i spesso il caro amico. 
 
 D. Cas. G. 
 
 J shall not lose her in giving her to 
 thee. 
 
 It is many times seen that humility 
 not only profits not, but injures, par- 
 ticularly by using it with insolent 
 men. 
 
 In getting the better of the frivq^ns 
 question, we very often lose the 
 valued friend. 
 
 There is nothing more that requires particular notice as respects 
 the participle ending in ndo ; excepting that, whenever we, in 
 English, could use the indicative or subjunctive mode, along 
 with our that, who, or which, instead of expressing our mean- 
 ing with the participle in i?ig, in all such cases, the Italians 
 prefer that manner which resembles the former of these two 
 manners of ours ; as : 
 
 I see a maa running, 
 
 or, 
 I see a maa nho runs. 
 
 1 
 
 Vedo an uomo che ccrre. 
 
XX.] OP VERBS. . 327 
 
 I hear a person speaking, •% 
 
 or, ? Odo nna persona cAtf/>arifl. 
 
 I hear a person that speaks, * 
 
 The dog barking is mine, 
 
 or, |> II cane che abbaja k mio. 
 
 The dog which barks is mine. 
 
 } " 
 
 245. And, observe, that the infinitive is almost always used 
 instead of the participle ending in ndo, after such verbs as 
 signify the different manners of "perception, such as udire, 
 to hear; vedere, to see; sentire, to feel; unless the che, or 
 some other relative pronoun, be, as in the above examples, 
 employed; as: 
 
 Ed ecco a se venir vede un battello. I And behold he sees a boat coming to 
 
 Ari. O. F. I him. 
 
 246. The active participle frequently stands before the noun 
 which is the nominative of the verb ; as : 
 
 Essendo il re andito alia ciccia, i The king being gone to the chase. 
 
 Combattcndo valorosamente i soldati, I The soldiers^^'A/inj' bravely. 
 
 247. There has been some dispute amongst grammarians as 
 to the name which should be given to the participle ending in 
 nte. In the following examples, we see it employed as an active 
 participle: 
 
 Or non e qaesta terra qudsi tina 
 grande nave portante u6mini ? &c. 
 
 G. ViL. S. 
 
 Ma che dirdi tu ancora delle sue forze 
 stendentisi negli animal i iriazio- 
 nali ? Boc. F. 
 
 Now is not this earth like a great ship 
 carrying men ? 
 
 But what wilt thou say of its powers 
 extending themselves to irrational 
 animals ? 
 
 This makes it decidedly an active participle. But it is not 
 now-a-days customary to employ this part of speech in this 
 way. The Italians would say, una grande nave che porta 
 uomini; sue forze stendcndosi. The words of this kind, 
 however, ending in nte, are all derived immediately from the 
 verb, and they serve to express the sense of our participle end- 
 ing in ing, when used as an adjective ; and, also, as nouns, to 
 express the same sense as our nouns, which end in er and have 
 their origin in the verb. For example : 
 
328 
 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 A Urinri man, 
 
 
 Un u6ino vivente, 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or, 
 
 A man who live$. 
 
 
 Un u6mocherirf. 
 
 A laughing face, 
 
 
 Un Tiso ridente, 
 
 or. 
 
 
 or. 
 
 A face tliat laughs, 
 
 
 Vn vise che ride. 
 
 A /ailing hou»e, 
 
 
 Unacasa cadinte. 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or, 
 
 A house that/fl//j, 
 
 
 Una casa che cade 
 
 A giver, 
 
 
 Un dante. 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or. 
 
 One wlio gives. 
 
 
 Uno che dd,. 
 
 A receiver, 
 
 
 Un ricevcnte, 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or, 
 Uno che ricive. 
 
 One who receives. 
 
 
 A believer. 
 
 
 Un credcnte. 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or, 
 
 One who believes, 
 
 
 Uno che crede. 
 
 A lover, 
 
 
 Un amdnte. 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or. 
 
 One who loves, 
 
 
 Uno che ama. 
 
 A learner. 
 
 
 Un imparunte, 
 
 or, 
 
 
 or, 
 
 One who learns, 
 
 
 Uno che impdra. 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 I need only observe, further, as relates to this participle as it is 
 called, ending in ntCj that it must always agree in number with 
 the person or thing to which it may relate, whether it be used 
 as participle, adjective, or noun ; as : 
 
 II Tiso ridente, 
 I visi ridenti, 
 Un amante. 
 Due amanti. 
 
 The laughing face. 
 The laughing faces. 
 A lover. 
 Two lovers. 
 
 248. Having considered the two participles; the one ending 
 in ndo, the other in Jite ; the first of which is always used in a 
 verbal capacity, and the second in the capacities of both adjeC' 
 tive 2itid noun, but very seldom in the way of veri ; we next 
 come to the third manner in which our participle in ing may be 
 expressed in Italian, that is, as we see it in the last of the three 
 examples numbered, by making use of the ivjinitive mode of 
 the verb and the definite article. Observe, then, that in all 
 cases where we use the participle ending in ing as a noun, the 
 Italians use the infimtive and the article. So, when we say, 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF V£RBS« 
 
 329 
 
 laughing indicates mirth, reading is useful, th^ Italians say, 
 the to laugh indicates mirth, the to read is useful: 
 
 Laughing indicates. mirth, 
 Reading is useful, 
 Writing will not be difficult to yon, 
 Lying is an abominable crime, 
 Eating too much injures the health, 
 
 II ridere indica 1' allegria. 
 
 II Icggere d utile. 
 
 Lo scrivere non vi sari difficile. 
 
 II mentire k un crimine abbomin^vole. 
 
 // man(;iure sovercbio nuoce alia salute. 
 
 Thus it must always be, when our participle in ing^ used as a 
 noun, represents the act of doing something or the state of 
 being in some way. But the Italians have, in many cases, a 
 peculiar sort of noun, which has its origin in the verb, and 
 which they employ, with the definite article, where our parti- 
 ciple would be used, to express the business, occupation, or 
 habit of doing something, or of being in some way ; as; 
 
 V 
 
 Reading is useful, 
 
 Lying js abominable, 
 
 { 
 
 Jl Icggere ^ utile, 
 
 or, 
 La lettura i iitile. 
 
 Jl mentire h abbominevole, 
 or 
 
 t La menzogna i abbominevolc. 
 
 Here, where the infinitives are used, it is meaned the act of 
 reading, the act of lying ; and, where the nouns are used, it is 
 meaned the occupation or pursuit of reading ^ the habit of 
 lying. In some cases, we have this choice of expression in 
 common with the Italians; as: ^ 
 
 Laughing indicates mirth, 
 
 or, 
 Laughter indicates mirth, 
 
 11 ridere iadica 1' allegria, 
 or, 
 riso indica 1' allegria. 
 
 249. The article, used before the infinitive of a verb, must 
 always be one or other of the masculine articles il and lo : IL 
 Itggere, reading ; lo scrivere, writing. As to when il should 
 be used and when lo, we have only to observe the rules given 
 under Paragraph 29, where the agreement between articles 
 and nouns is explained. 
 
 250. The two languages are frequently just alike, in their 
 requiring or not requiring the article; in Enghsh, before the 
 participle active, and, in Italian, before the infinitive mode ; 
 as: 
 
330 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 The riihif of the san, 
 The Mfttinp of llic snn, 
 The comitip of the cTcninfif, 
 
 Lo tipnntLr del sole. 
 // tramontar del sole, 
 II venir delta sera. 
 
 Observe, again, the following example, in which, in both lan- 
 guages, the article is used in the one instance and omitted in 
 the other : 
 
 La masserizia sti^ nr/bene adoperare 
 le cose oon meno che in conser- 
 varte. Pan. (i. F. 
 
 Economy consists in the well t 
 ployiuij of things not less than 
 pteserciiif them. 
 
 em- 
 m 
 
 251. The use of the infinitive as a noun with the article, is 
 an idiom of such constant use in Italian, and one that gives at 
 once so much strength and elegance to that language, that I 
 think it not unnecessary to take some further notice of it. We 
 have seen, in the etymology of nouns, at Paragraph 29, how 
 the article may be joined along with the prepositions di, a, da^ 
 in, coji, per, su, when standing before nouns. It is just the 
 same, then, with the infinitive, when used as a noun, as with 
 other nouns. I will here give some examples, in which we 
 shall see the infinitive always answering to our participle 
 ending in ing, sometimes being preceded by the article alone, 
 and sometimes with the article joined along with a prepo- 
 sition : 
 
 SefucolpatHascidr<i,ecco rammendo. 
 
 Gi)A. P. F. 
 
 Ciasciino ama la vittoria, e lo csser 
 Tinto 6dia. D. Ca5. G. 
 
 // veder molti pubbtici evenimenti, &c. 
 
 Ben. L. 
 
 II p6g!jio cbe possa aspettare un prin- 
 cipe dal popolo nemico, e V cistr 
 abbandondto da Itii. Mac. P. 
 
 Perchi avendo, nell' ingresso del suo 
 principito, differito V andare a 
 Roma, &c. Mac. "*. 
 
 L' antorita del comandare con la for- 
 ma delV ubbidire, &c. Ben. L. 
 
 Era tumultuario e confiiso il modo 
 del consulldre. Dav. S. 
 
 AlVintindere la sciagura ella fu vi- 
 yam^ute commossa. Soa. N. 
 
 If the leavirrf thee was a fault, here 
 is the atonement. 
 
 Every one loves Tictory, and hates 
 the btiuy ranquished. 
 
 The seeing many public erents. 
 
 The worst that a prince can expect 
 from a popular enemy, U the being 
 abandoned by him. 
 
 Becaas«t having, in the beginniag of 
 his reigo, deferred the going to 
 Rome, &c. 
 
 The authority of commanding with 
 the form of obeying. 
 
 The manner of consulting vr&s tu- 
 multuous and confused. 
 
 At hearing the disaster she was much 
 troubled. 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 331 
 
 lo rider6 al vedire la lor rdbbia. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Lontino dalV aver piik peQsi^ro, &c. 
 
 SoA.N. 
 
 un sasso 
 
 Che a\cvano 1' onde col picchiur fre- 
 Cavo. [quente 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 Neljiammefjgidr del fulg6r santo, &c. 
 
 Dan. Par. 
 
 I shall laugh at seeing their rage. 
 
 Ten from having any further thought 
 
 A rock which the wares had hollowed 
 out with frequent striking. 
 
 In the flaming of the holy thunder- 
 bolt, . . . 
 
 By these examples, it will be seen that the Italians use the 
 article in cases where we could not. Besides the use of the 
 infinitive with the definitive article alone, or that article when 
 joined to a preposition, the Italians use it also with the inde- 
 Jinite article, and also with the possessive pronoun, just as we 
 do our participle ending in ing ; as : 
 
 Cib non e altro che un piglidr cogni- 
 zi6ue di cose mute. Ben. L. 
 
 Un mormordr di flume chescende, &c. 
 
 Pbt. C. 
 
 Ma il suo scherzar h pi6no 
 
 Di peiiglio, &c. Tas. A. 
 
 Ma per dirti la cagi6ne 
 Delmio venir a te, &c. 
 
 GuA. P. F. 
 
 di che raerito son' io, 
 
 Che antiveggian profeti il venir mio? 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 Arendo gid compiiito la bella ninfa il 
 suo cantdre, kc. Boc. A.~ 
 
 That is no other than a taking notice 
 of inanimate things. 
 
 A murmuring of a river which de- 
 scends . . .M 
 
 But his playing is full of danger. 
 
 But to tell thee the reason of my 
 coming to thee . . . 
 
 Of what merit am I, that prophets 
 foresee my coming ? 
 
 The fair nymph having already finish- 
 ed Aer sin^in^r. 
 
 In using the demonstrative pronouns, also, we must translate 
 our participle by the Italian infinitive ; as : this speaking, 
 QUESTo j)ar/tfre ; that murmuring, quel mormordr e ; and so 
 on. In addition to the foregoing, I will give three more 
 examples : 
 
 Virtil contr' al fur6re 
 Prendera 1 ' drme, e fia ii combatter corto . 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Non era I' andiir suo cosa mortale. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Al fin parleri il mio morlre. 
 
 GoAtP.F. 
 
 Virtue agaiwstrage will take nparms, 
 and the fight will be short. 
 
 Her step was something more thau 
 mortal. 
 
 A.t last my death will speak. ^^ 
 
332 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 These examples uill serve to show to what an extent the 
 Italians use the infinitive as a noun. To translate these lite- 
 rally, they would be: the to Jiyht will be short ; her to go 
 was not a mortal thing ; mij to die will speak. 
 
 252. The passive PARTicirLE serves, in Italian, as it 
 does in our language, both as a part of the verb and as an 
 adjective. For example : 
 
 The man whom 1 Imvr deceived, 
 
 This is the deceived raan, 
 
 The Pope has excommunicated 
 
 Ihc heretic, 
 He was an e.rcommuiiicated heretic, 
 
 1/ n(')mo che ho inyannato. 
 Qiiesto d I' u6mo inr/antiato. 
 II Papa hn tcomunidto I'erittco. 
 
 Era un eretico $comunicalo. 
 
 The first inganndto and the first scomunicato are here em- 
 ployed as a part of the verb ; and the second ingann/ito and 
 the second scomunicdto have the capacity of adjectives. In 
 the first instance, the participles, along with the auxiliary verb 
 to have, describe the acts of deceiving and eicommunicating y 
 * of which acts the man and the heretic are the sufferers or 
 patients; and, inithe second instance, they describe, not any 
 acts, but the states of being deceived and being excommuni- 
 cated, which states of being are mentioned as circumstances 
 descriptive of, or characterizing, the man and the heretic. 
 It is easy to perceive that there is passiveness, the suffering 
 of something, or the having suffered it, understood in both 
 cases ; and it is quite clear that the inganndto and the scomu- 
 nicato are, in both cases, immediately derived from the verbs 
 inganndre and scomunicdre, just as the deceived and the 
 excommunicated D.re derived from our verbs to deceive and to 
 excommunicate. So far the matter is the same thing in the 
 one language as it is in the other. But the passive participle 
 is, in Italian, sometimes made to agree in gender and num- 
 ber with the noun, just as we have seen that adjectives are 
 made to agree with the noun. Sometimes the participle must 
 agree, and, at other times, it need not agree, with the noun, 
 in gender and number; and, to show when this agreement 
 is required, and when it is not required, is the object of 
 what will here be said respecting the passive participle. 
 There are, however, two Italian idioms as respects the use of 
 
XX.] OF VERBS, 333 
 
 the passive participle, in which there is a differing from our 
 language, and that, too, quite independently of any agreement 
 between the participle and the noun. And these two idioms I 
 must here point out. 
 
 253. The first is this : that the Italians frequently use the 
 passive participle alone, in cases Avhere we should be obliged to 
 employ along with it the active participle of one or other of the 
 auxiliary verbs; that is, the participle having or the participle 
 being ; for example : 
 
 Having said this, he began to write, 
 
 The \v«r being finished^ the soldiers 
 returned, 
 
 Detto qaesto, comincib a scriVere. 
 Finita la gaerra, i solddti ritorndrono. 
 
 That is, to translate the Italian literally : said this, he began 
 to write ; finished the war, the soldiers returned. This is a 
 thing that we can very seldom do in our language. The Ita- 
 lians have here a great advantage over us; for they can, jiist 
 as they please, either employ both the active and the passive 
 participle together in such cases, or, as in the above examples, 
 the passive participle alone: avendo detto questo, having 
 said this, or, detto (^wes^a, said this ; essendo finita la 
 guerra, the war being finished^ or, einita la guerra, finished 
 the war. We read in Milton's Paradise Lost: " this said^ 
 he formed thee, OAdam"; that is, having said this. But, 
 it is seldom that our language admits of such expressions. I 
 will give a few more examples, in which the avendo or essendo 
 is omitted : 
 
 Affncciatosi ad tina finestra il duca i The Duke of Argos, having presented 
 d'Argos, promise lovo, &c. Mur. A. \ himself at the window, told them. . . 
 
 Diquesto ai?ii/o avviso, il reFrisone,&c. I King Frisone having had adyice of 
 
 Ari. O. F. I this. 
 
 Intesa 1* ambasciita, resto alquanto I Having heard the message, he re- 
 sospeso. GiA, S. I mained somewhat irresolute. 
 
 E accompagmito lui insino alia porta I And having accompanied him as far 
 del mio pal agio, &c. Boc. F. I as the door of my pulace . . . 
 
 I Latini intcso questo, ed avendo 
 eosci^Qza di moltecose, &c. 
 
 Mac. D. 
 
 AUontandti in questa mani^ra dalla 
 corte il Coatest^bile ed il Duca di 
 Guisa, &c. Dav.S. 
 
 The Latins having heard this, and 
 having knowledge of many things. . 
 
 The Constable and the Duke of Guise 
 bting^ in this maosei' removed from 
 the court, » . , 
 
334 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Again, the Italians use the passive participle before the word 
 chcy that; the die, in such case, having the meaning of our 
 wheriy after, or as soon as. For example : 
 
 Inlfto (he n' «bbc il motivo, ei gli 
 parTC »i strano, &c, Soa. N. 
 
 Conrhiiito cA' ebbe qaesto nel pensi^ro, 
 No»« arme ritrovb, &c. Am. O. F. 
 
 Doma che fu la potcnza de' ■6bili, e 
 Jinita che la la gucrra con 1' Ar- 
 civcscdvo, &c. Dav. S. 
 
 Pemenuto che fu il re ai confioi della 
 
 Spapna, e consegnalo ch' ihhe ai 
 
 deputati la regina Isabella, &c. 
 
 Dav. S. 
 
 When he had heard the motive, it 
 appeared to him so strange, . . . 
 
 A* soon as he had settled this in his 
 mind, he found new arms, . . . 
 
 When the power of the nobles nas 
 overcome, and uheit the war with 
 the ArchbiMiop nasjinished, . . . 
 
 After the king nas arrived at the 
 confines of Spain, and after he had 
 entrusted the queen Isabella to the 
 deputies . . . 
 
 That is, literally : heard that he had, concluded that he had, 
 overcome that was the power, finished that was the war, 
 arrived that was the king, entrusted that he had. Instead of 
 this manner of expression, the sense might have been expressed, 
 in Italian just as in English, by using the active participles of 
 the verbs avtre, to have, and essere, to be ; that is, by saying, 
 avindo intcso, having heard, avcndo cochiuso, having con- 
 cluded, essendo doma, being overcome, essendo Jinito , being 
 finished, essendo pervenuto, being arrived, avendo consegnato, 
 having consigned. 
 
 254. The other idiom that I have to mention is, the use of 
 the infinitive of a verb actively, where we should use it pas- 
 sively ; that is, the Italians say, for example, to deceive, 
 where we should say, to be deceived. This, however, occurs. 
 with the verb only when it comes after certain other verbs, 
 which are very few in number; namely, the verbs ^are, to 
 make or cause ; lascidre, to let or allow ; vedtre, to see ; udire, 
 to hear; sentire, to feel or hear; and intcndere, to hear. 
 Examples : 
 
 Fatevi pagare, 
 
 Mi lascio ingannure, 
 
 Si vede privdrey 
 
 Vi ho ndito chiamare, 
 
 Mi sento/erfre, 
 
 L' hointeso nominhre, 
 
 Catise yourself to be paid. 
 I allow myself /o be deceived. 
 He sees himself deprived. 
 1 have heard yon called. 
 I feel myself nouncfed. 
 I have beard him named. 
 
 That is, to take the Italian literally, cause yourself to pay, 1 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 335 
 
 allow myself to deceive^ he sees himself to deprive, I have 
 heard you to call, I feel myself to wound, I have heard him to 
 navie ; and, in this sense such phrases may be taken, if it be so 
 meaned. But we must observe, that they may have a very 
 dififerent meaning ; a meaning which it is my object here to 
 point out. The idiom is to be explained in this way : we say, 
 cause yourself to be paid, and the Italians, to express the same 
 idea, say, cause yourself to pay ; but, then, they always ex- 
 press, or leave to be understood, the sense of some person or 
 thing ; and their cause yourself to pay, means, cause 
 SOMEBODY or SOMETHING TO PAY you. With the other 
 examples it is just the same : / allow some person or thing to 
 DECEIVE me, he sees some person or thing to deprive him, 
 I have heard some person or thing name you, I feel some 
 person or thing wound me, I have heard some person or 
 thing NAME him. Observe, that, when the infinitive is used 
 in this sense, after /are, lascidre, vedere, udire, sentire, and 
 intendere, the object of these verbs is the infinitive coming 
 after, and not the person or thing spoken of. When the Ita- 
 lians S2iy, fdtevi pagdre, meaning, cause yourself to be paid, 
 the meaning is, literally, cause to you or to yourself to pay ; 
 that is, cause to yourself the act of paying, the act being done 
 to you, or to yourself, and by some other person or thing. 
 Again : Mi lascio iriganndre, means, in one case, I allow to 
 myself \hQ act of deceiving, the act being done by me to some 
 one else, and may mean, in the other, I allow to myself, or to 
 me, the act of deceiving, the act being done by some other 
 person or thing to me. The following are examples of this 
 idiom. In all these examples we see the infinitive used after 
 the verbs fare, lascidre, vedere, udire, sentire, and inten^ 
 dere, upon the principle above explained. 
 
 Questi /ece /are la chiesa di Santo I This man caused <o 6c marfc the church 
 Dionisio in Francia. G.ViL. S. 1 of Saint Dionysius in France. 
 
 La niem6ria delle vitt6rie lo faciva 
 amdre da molti^ e temcr da quelli 
 che &c. Mac. S. 
 
 The memory of his vic^tories made 
 him loved by many, and feared by 
 those... 
 
 Egli accettb il papdto con moUa alle- { He accepted the papacy with much 
 £rezza, facendosi nomindre Cle- I joy, causi7ig himself to be ntuntd 
 meme Quinto. f lO. N. * Clemeat the Fifth. 
 
336 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Ritp6*F, fmtfh miturare, • se non t 
 cofi, &c. Sac. N. 
 
 Anirndb molto lo Btito di Roma, r feet 
 edificare trmpli, tec. G. Vii,. St. 
 
 E tutto »uo patriin6nio /ere vcnderr. 
 
 G. ViL. S, 
 
 II nome di tant« bellicAse nnzi^ne 
 comincib a /ursi •trepitosatneiite 
 xidire. Uav. S. 
 
 Dal re pre^ito fa di dire il nnine, 
 O di lasciuni al men veder sropcrto. 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 Liiiclati /irrfxadcrr, fig1ia6la mia. 
 
 Mac. C. 
 
 Se non si fu^se Unciato ingannare dft 
 Cesare B6r5ia, &c. Mac. P. 
 
 Coin! che ini^anna trover^ seropre chi 
 si lascierd ingannare. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 lo cbe s/oridr cosi mi t\ggio,8cc. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Qaelll cittadini che si viggono sprex- 
 xure, &c. Mac. D. 
 
 1 Lncchtsi, vrdendosi strfgnere, ri- 
 C(')r9cro al Duca. 
 
 Mac. S. 
 
 Per non udlr Rin^ldo nomindre. 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 par61e ingiari6se 
 
 S' 6don per tutto usar da quelle genti. 
 
 Mag. R. 
 
 Si aente chiamur da una fincstra. 
 
 ahi. o. r. 
 
 La tradita datna incomincib a sentlrti 
 ilrazidre da do)6ri acutiisimi. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Si sentl piingert dal desid^rio della 
 gl6ria. Soa. N. 
 
 In cento b6ccbe infest 
 Delia patria ckiamdrti 
 Padre, itc. 
 
 Mbt. O. 
 
 He replied, eaiii* it to he measured, 
 and if it is not so.. 
 
 He amended much the utate of Rome, 
 and caused temples to he builded. 
 
 And all his patrimony he caused to be 
 told. 
 
 The renown of 80 many warlike na- 
 tions began lo make itself loudly 
 heard. 
 
 He was entreated by the king to tell 
 bis name, or at all erents to allow 
 himself (u be seen ancoTered. 
 
 Allow thyself to he persuaded, my 
 daughter. 
 
 If he had not at'owed himself to be 
 deceived by Cesar Borgia. 
 
 He who deceives will always find 
 some one who will allow himself 
 to be deceived. 
 
 I who see myself thus constrained. 
 
 Those citizens who see themselrea 
 sliylittd. 
 
 The people of Lucco, seeing them* 
 selves pressed, Lad recourse to the 
 Duke. 
 
 In order not to hear Rinaldo named. 
 
 Abusive words are heard every«wher« 
 used by those people. 
 
 He hears himself called from a win- 
 dow. 
 
 The betrayed lady began to feel 
 herself tormented by moA acute 
 pains. 
 
 He felt himself urged by the desire of 
 glory. 
 
 In a hundred months I heard thee 
 called father of thy country. 
 
 There are some instances, io our own language, in which i 
 the infinitive may be employed instead of the participle. AVe 
 
XX.1 
 
 or VERBS. 
 
 337 
 
 say, for example, with the verb to hear : I have heard tell of 
 such a thing; I have heard say of him, instead of, I have 
 heard such a thing told of, I have heard it said of him. 
 Thus, with the verb udtre to hear, we see the two languages 
 perfectly agreeing in the following example, wherein, in the 
 English, we may say either heard speak or heard spoken. 
 
 Vdi ra^tonur* deir Abate di Clij[ni. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 He heard speak of the Abbot of 
 Cluny. 
 
 255. We have now to see when the passive participle is made 
 to agree with the noun, and when not. The termination of the 
 passive participle is, in its original form, that of o ; but, in order 
 to agree with the noun in gender and number, it is subject to 
 all the varieties of ending that an adjective ending in o would 
 be subject to ; that is, the original ending in o may be changed 
 to a, 2, or e. As : , 
 
 Un uorao scomunicdto, 
 JJna donna scomujticuta, 
 Gli uoraini scomunicdti, 
 Le doniie scomunicdte, 
 
 An excommunicated man. 
 An excommunicated woman. 
 The excommunicated men. 
 The excommunicated women. 
 
 Here we see the participle used in the mere capacity of 
 adjective, and, being so used, we see that it is liable to 
 change its ending, to agree with the noun in gender and in 
 number, in just the same way that any other adjective would 
 be. Let it be observed, that the passive participle must 
 always have along with it, either expressed or understood, .^ome 
 part of one or other of the auxiliary verbs avere, to have, or 
 essere, to be. In the above example, the un uomo scomuni- 
 cdto, means, un uomo che e stato scomunicato, a man who 
 HAS BEEN excommunicated, &c. It depends, in a great 
 measure, upon the using of the one or of the other of these 
 verbs, whether the participle is to agree with the noun or not. 
 We see, that the participle must always agree, in gender and 
 number, with the noun, whenever it is used, as in the above 
 examples, merely as an adjective. In addition, then, to that 
 rule, observe the following rules. 
 
 First. The participle changes its form, when it is used 
 with tssere, when the verb to which it belongs is a neuter 
 
33S 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 rerb; or ^hen it is a passive verb, whether reflective or 
 othen^isc ; as : 
 
 h'f uter Ve 
 
 V 1 
 
 L'uomo d venuto, 
 li luimini x(ino trnufi, 
 a donna ^ rrnufa, 
 
 Le donne sono v^nuff, 
 
 FaisiTe Verb 
 
 L'aomo ^ stimuto, 
 
 {Gli uomini sono stim^ti, 
 La donna ^sdmafa, 
 Le donne sono stimdtr, 
 
 L'aomo si ^ lodato, 
 
 Gli uumini si sono loddti, 
 
 ReflecHTeVerbX l^a donna si i loddta, 
 
 Le donne si sono lodute, 
 
 Tlie man is r om?. f 
 Tlie men are come. 
 The woman is rofH«. 
 The women are come. 
 
 The man is enteemed. 
 The men are esteemed. 
 The wnnionis esteemed. 
 The women are e%tetmei\ 
 
 The man has praised himseir. 
 
 The men have praised them- 
 selves. 
 
 The woman haspraue'd her- 
 self. 
 
 The women have praised 
 themselves. 
 
 Here are different sorts of verbs used : neuter, 'passive, and 
 rejiective. See these Eorts distinguished in Paragraphs 258, 
 259, and 2G1. Now, the above rule is invariable, as far as re- 
 lates to the neuter verb and the passive verb when net reflective. 
 But, when the verb is reflective, as in the above examples of 
 lodare, there are cases in which the participle may be un- 
 changeable in its termination. Zotti gives us these examples: 
 
 Qaesta donna si * proposta per mo- 
 dello a' su6i figli, 
 
 Questa donna si ^ proposto di mari- 
 tursi, 
 
 1 
 
 This lady has proposed herself as a 
 model to her children. 
 
 This lady has proptsed to herself to 
 marry. 
 
 Translate the examples literally, and they will be, this lady 
 IS PROPOSED HERSELF as a model to her children, this lady 
 IS PROPOSED TO HERSELF to marry. The distinction here 
 to be made is a singular nicety in the Italian language. If we 
 observe these well, we see that, in the first example, the verb 
 to propose has no other end or object than the lady herself; 
 and here the si means simply herself: the lady has proposed 
 herself as a model. But in the latter example, there is the to 
 marry, which is there the object of the verb. In this example, 
 the verb partakes, therefore, of the nature of two different sortJB 
 of verbs. It is simply an active verb, as far as relates to the 
 thing proposed, namely, to marry ; and it is reflective, inso- 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 339 
 
 much that the lady is, at once, the maker of the proposal and 
 the person to whom the proposal is made. The reason why 
 the participle does not agree with the noun donna in the latter 
 example as it does in the former, is, I think, very clear: in the* 
 former it is the lady herself who is proposed ,• in the latter 
 it is the act of marrying that is proposed. We see that the 
 herself and the model are one and the same thing ; while 
 the herself and the to marry are two separate things. 
 
 Second. When the verb avere to have, is employed as an 
 auxiliary, it is the general rule, that the participle is to un- 
 dergo no change to agree with the noun that is the object of 
 the verb ; as : 
 
 II ritomo della regina ha rallegruto i 
 ctiori di tutta la Francia.j Ben. L. 
 
 Avendo Cdilo scopirto V insidiose 
 praticht, &c. Dav. St. 
 
 Avendo acquislato \o re tntta la 
 Spugna, &c. Sac. N. 
 
 Ma consider^ndo Ciio, e gli altii, che 
 hanno acquistdlo t fondato regni, 
 &c. Mac. p. 
 
 Tfce return of the queen has rejoiced 
 the hearts of all France. 
 
 Charles having discovered the treach- 
 erous plots .... 
 
 The King having acquired all Spain. 
 
 But fonsidering Cirus, and the others, 
 who have acquired and founded 
 kingdoms . . , 
 
 And not, rallegrdti, scopirte, acquistdta, acquistdti, fonddti. 
 According to this rule, which is one in which almost all gram- 
 marians agree, we must say, ho sperato la pAce, I have 
 hoped for peace-, ho ricevuto le vostre lettere, I have 
 received your letters; and not, sperdta, ricevute. However, 
 though this is the rule, as laid down by grammarians, we find 
 instances of a contrary practice amongst the best writers. For 
 example : 
 
 La m^rte di Monsignof Vescoro ha 
 privcfta la chiesa d'un gran prelate. 
 
 Ben. L. 
 
 Avendo annoverdte mo\te delle buone 
 qualitd dello stile, &c. Bec. D. S. 
 
 Scipi6ne Africino avendo salvdta 
 iiowiadaAnnibalej &c. Pan.G.F. 
 
 Areva avuta la principale autoritd 
 nel governo. Dav. S. 
 
 The death of the Lord Bishop has de- 
 prived the church of a great pre- 
 late. 
 
 Having enumerated many of the good 
 quajities of style . . . 
 
 Scipio Africanus having saved Rom* 
 from Hannibal ... 
 
 He had had the principal authority ia 
 
 the government. 
 
 & 
 
340 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Ecro in (pi.intn mi«6ri»i 
 Tu lini precijiiti'iti 
 Que'daoiniscri amanti. 
 
 Gt A. p. F. 
 
 Behold into what misery thou haat 
 prfcijiilated thoie two wretched 
 lovers. 
 
 Third. If that which is the object of the verb come before 
 the verb, then the participle is generally made to agree with 
 the noun ; as : 
 
 Qudnti dl solitari 
 
 Ho cousumdli indarno ' 
 
 Ta3. a 
 
 M. I 
 
 How many solitary days have I cori' 
 sumrd in vain '. 
 
 Qannta virtu ho io ptrtrgnitata ed I How much virtue have I pertecuted 
 opprcsta ! SoA. N. [ and oppresstd .' 
 
 Fourth. It is a rule, that, when the relative pronoun 
 comes between the noun and the verb, the participle must 
 always agree with the noun; as : 
 
 II cappello che ho comprato, 
 La lettera che ho scritta, 
 I Ixbri che ho compruti, 
 Le donne cht ho vedute. 
 
 The hat rvhich 1 have bought. 
 The letter that I have tvritten. 
 The books that 1 have bought. 
 The women whom I have seen. 
 
 According to this rule are the following examples : 
 
 L' amicizia che co' re di Frdncia 
 hanno teniita. Gui. S. 
 
 Isabtlla, che voi avete finor teniita 
 in luogo di figlia, &c. Soa. N. 
 
 Gl' incotnodi che la chiesa Romana 
 avea ricetiiti da Federico. 
 
 GiA.S. 
 
 Tutti quelli, che tu hai offcsi in occu- 
 pdre quel regno. Mac. P. 
 
 The friendship that they have pre- 
 served with the kings of France. 
 
 Isabella, nhom you have till now kept 
 in the place of a daughter. 
 
 The vexations nhich the Roman 
 church had rcceiced from Frede- 
 rick. 
 
 All those rvhom thon hast offended ia 
 occupying that kingdom. 
 
 Fifth. The last rule may have exceptions to it, when the 
 participle precedes the auxiliary, a thing which occurs some- 
 times ; as : 
 
 La lettera che scritta av6te, 
 Le donne che veduto hdnno, 
 
 The letter which you have written. 
 The ladies w bom they have seen. 
 
 That is, literally: the letter which written you have; the 
 ladies whom seen they have. The following example is of 
 this kind : ^ 
 
 Qaei dritti, ohe dato vi ba la natiira, 
 *« Soa.N. 
 
 Those rights^ wblch nature ;ha3 fxven 
 you. 
 
 i 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 341 
 
 Sixth. Whenever any one of the personal pronouns comes 
 before the verb avere, representing the person or thing which 
 is the object of the verb ; then the participle must agree witb 
 the noun represented by the pronoun in gender and number; 
 as: V 
 
 lo av6va una casa, e I' ho venduta, 
 Jo av6va due case, e le ho vendule. 
 
 I had a house, and I have sold it. 
 
 I had two houses, andlhaveso/cit/tem. 
 
 Voi avete dei cani : dove li avete corti' j You have some dogs : where have you 
 prati ? 1 bought thtm ? 
 
 The following examples agree with this rule, which has no 
 exceptions : 
 
 Viene, peiche i' bo inuifata a venire, i ' She comes, because I have iwujfed Aer 
 
 GoL. C. I to come. 
 
 Q,uesta e la prima voltache ie ho ^as- J This is the first time that I have 
 sate (le Alpi). Ben. L. I passed them (the Alps). 
 
 Seventh. If, in using a noun as the object of the verb, 
 there be the feminine indefinite article una before it, then the 
 participle may either agree with the noun as to gender, or not ; 
 as; 
 
 ?• Ho 
 *• Ho 
 
 Ho vedicta una casa, 
 I have seen a house, ^ or, 
 
 veduto una casa. 
 
 Eighth. We must observe that, when the verb is 2l neuter 
 verb, and one of those conjugated with avcre, and not with 
 essere, the participle must always remain unchangeable ; as : 
 
 Noi abbiamo pranzato, 
 Le donne hanno cammindto, 
 La donna ha cendto, 
 
 We have dined. 
 
 The ladies have walked. 
 
 The lady has supped. 
 
 Ninth. When the infinitive of a verb becomes the object 
 of the verb avere as joined with the participle, then the par- 
 ticiple is not to agree with any noun that may be in the sen- 
 tence ; as : 
 
 La donna che ho veduto partlre, I The woman whom I have seen depart, 
 
 Gli uomini che avete intcso parldre, 1 The men whom you have heard speak 
 
 This does not exactly accord with the Fourth rule given ; 
 because here is the relative che relating to the nouns donna 
 
342 
 
 SVSTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 and v6tni)ii, and yet the participle remains, contrary to the 
 examples under rule the Fourth, unchangeable in either case. 
 But, we here sec the infinitive of a verb coming after the 
 participle ; and this is the reason for the participle not chang- 
 ing. The act of departiiuj and the act of speaking are 
 here regarded as the objects of the seeing and the hearing ; 
 and, therefore, the participle, which is employed to express the 
 seeing and hearing^ does not agree with the nouns donna and 
 ubminiy but remains in its original form. 
 
 Tenth. When the active participle of avere is used with 
 the passive participle of another verb, the passive participle 
 may be made either to agree^ or not, with' the object of the 
 verb. As : 
 
 Havint; seen the woman, 
 
 Having called the men, 
 
 I 
 
 Avendo teduto_ la donna, 
 
 or 
 Avendo t'eduta la donna. 
 
 Avendo chiamato gli u6miDi, 
 
 or 
 Aveodo ckianuiti gli aomioL 
 
 Eleventh. If the active participle avendo be not ex- 
 pressed, but left to be understood, an idiom pointed out at 
 Paragraph 253, then, also, the participle may either agree 
 with the noun or remain unchangeable. In the first two of 
 the following examples the participle does not agree, and in the 
 four latter it does agree, with the noun, as will be seen : 
 
 II caTallere veduto la bellczza della 
 fanciiiila, la quale era rara, ..^c. 
 
 Mac. S. 
 
 Consiiieruto dunque tutte le cose di 
 Bopradiscorse, &c. ' Mac. P, 
 
 II governatore, chiamdte subito le 
 bande di gente d'arme, &c. 
 
 Dat.S. 
 
 Intesa V ambascidta, xesto alquaiito 
 sospeso. GiA. S. 
 
 II pittore, accctta la commissione, ra 
 a casa sua. G. Goz. N. 
 
 £ avuta il Cardinale la risposta, la 
 mostro al sao collegio. Fio.N. 
 
 The gentleman, having seen the 
 beauty of the girl, which was 
 rare . . . 
 
 Havinif considered, then, all the things 
 spoken of above, . . . 
 
 The govemor, having eaUed im- 
 mediately the bands of armed peo- 
 ple, . . . 
 
 Having heard the message, he remain- 
 ed somewlidt irresolute. 
 
 The painter, having received the com' 
 mission, goes to his house. 
 
 And the Cardinal having had the 
 reply, he showed it to his college. 
 
 T"'p»TTFT^. Whenever the active participle of the verb 
 
' XX.] OF VERBS. 343 
 
 essere is left to be understood, and, as' jn the examples just 
 given, the passive participle of another verb is used alone; 
 in all such cases the passive participle must agree with th© 
 noun; as: 
 
 Sparila la vxsi6ne, rimase si com- j The vis\»n being disappeared, he re- 
 puDto,che &c. G. ViL. S. I mained so repentant, that .. . 
 
 AUontanati in questa maniera dalla ■ The Cons<a6/e and the Z)«fee of Guise 
 corte il Contestubile e il Duca di j being removed in this way from the 
 Gaisa, itc. Day. S. j court, ... 
 
 5th, Of the Sort of the Verb. 
 
 256. Verbs are said to be of different Sorts, or,, as some 
 grammarians call it, of different Genders ; for sort and gender 
 are, as here applied, two words of synonymous meaning. There 
 are ybi^r sor^s of verbs; namely, Active Verbs, Passive Verbs, 
 Neuter Verbs, and Impersonal Verbs. These are the names 
 by which verbs are generally distinguished as to their sorts, 
 . 257. The verb is called Active when it describes an act 
 done by some one person or thing to some other person or thing. 
 Any verb, in short, which expresses an act^ when there is aa 
 object of any kind which is the receiver of the act, or to which 
 the act is done, is an active verb. Thus, to kill, to beat: 
 these are active verbs, because, in using them, we understand 
 that there must be some object, which object suffers the acts 
 of killing and beating. Suppose the verb to describe some- 
 thing merely of a moral kind, and in which there is no bodily 
 action, such as to love, to esteem ; these are equally active 
 verbs, nevertheless ; because, though the action here is only 
 mental, there is an act, and the act must have an object. 
 
 258. The verb is caWed Passive when it describes, not the 
 performing of the act by the person or thing who does it, but 
 the receiving or suffering of it by the person or thing to whom 
 the act is done. Thus, to be killed, to be beaten, to be loved, 
 to be esteemed : these verbs, as here employed, express that 
 passiveness, that suffering of an act, which has caused the 
 active verb, when thus used, to be called a passive verb. We 
 see, then, that every active verb may be a passive verb ; and 
 
344 SYVTAX [Chap. 
 
 that when the verb is such as is called passive, it is, in fact, 
 nothing more than an active verb employed along with the 
 verb to be, which verb to be expresses, as thus used, the cir- 
 cumstance of passiveness, the receiving or bearing of the act. 
 
 259. The verb is called A^c?(<cr whenever it is neither active 
 nor passive. Verbs that express merely the existence, state^ 
 or condition of things; all such are called /zeu/er. To be, to 
 sit, to remain, to live, to reside, to divell ; these are all neuter 
 verbs : they describe neither the doing nor the receiving of any 
 act. But, to^o, to come, to run, to creep, to walk, to jump: 
 by all of these there is decidedly action expressed. Yet, these 
 latter are, also, all neuter verbs ; because, though there is an 
 action expressed in each of them, that action is not done to, 
 nor received by, any person or thing ; there is nothing, as aa 
 object, to which the act passes over. There are some gram- 
 marians who call those neuter verbs only which express some- 
 thing in which there is no action, such as to be, to sit, to 
 remain, to live, and such like. They call those verbs whicb 
 do describe action, such as to go, to come, to run, in which the 
 act is entirely confined to the actor, active intransitive verbs ; 
 •while, such verbs as to kill, to beat, are called active -tran- 
 sitive verbs. They call both active : the one transitive, be- 
 cause the act passes over to, or has an effect on, an object 
 beyond the actor ; and the other intransitive, because the act 
 is confined to the actor and passes over to no other object. 
 
 260. Some verbs are called Impersonal. Such verbs are 
 defective as to some of their persons, they never being used in 
 any person excepting the third person singular. There are 
 some of the verbs called impersonal which must always be 
 used impersonally ; and there are others, again, which some- 
 times become impersonal, but which are not so at all times. 
 When the verb is called impersonal, it is so called because it 
 has, apparently, nothing belonging to it as a nominative ; that 
 is to say, there is an act described as done, or a state of being 
 as occupied, without there being any noun to represent the 
 person or thing which performs the act or which occupies the 
 state of being described. 
 
 261. The active verb is sometimes said to be a Reflective 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 345 
 
 verb. The verb is reflective ^ when the actor and the object 
 acted upon are both one and the same person or thing. Thus, 
 he kills himself, they beat themselves : these verbs, as here 
 used, would be called rejlective. The he and the they are 
 here the actors ; but the act performed does not affect any 
 object beyond the actors, but returns, as it were, or refiects. 
 Upon the actors themselves. A rejlective verb, then, is no- 
 thing more than an active verb, the act described by which 
 has the actor himself for its object. The reflective verb is some- 
 times said to be Reciprocal ; and that is the case whenever 
 there is an interchange, or reciprocity^ in the performance of 
 an act, between two or more persons or things. They kill 
 each other ; they heat one another : here the killing and 
 heating are alternately done by each to the other, by the one 
 to the other. The persons or things are, by turns, both the 
 actors and the receivers of the act ; and therefore it is that, 
 when the verb describes this sort of interchange or mutuality, 
 both in the performance and in the suffering of an act, it is 
 called a reciprocal verb. 
 
 262. These observations, as defining the different Sorts of 
 verbs, are just as applicable to the Italian language as they are 
 to ours. There are, however, some points that require parti- 
 cular notice, in comparing the two languages here. I shall 
 leave the verbs called impersonal to be spoken of last ; and 
 shall first consider the active, passive, and neuter verbs. 
 
 263. The verb simply active needs no explanation. Tomdso 
 BATTE il tamburo, Thomas heats the drum ; Enrico a ma 
 JEllena, Henry loves Ellen : the form of expression is here 
 the same in both languages. 
 
 264. In the case of the passive verb, the matter is equally 
 plain. Here we employ the passive participle of the active 
 verb, along with the verb to he as an auxiliary. The Italians 
 do just the same: il tamhuro b battuto da Tomaso, the 
 drum is heaten by Thomas; Ellena e amat'a da Enrico, 
 Ellen is loved by Henry. There is one thing, however, in the 
 use of the verb in its passive form, which makes the Italian 
 sometimes differ from our language ; namely, a manner which 
 the Italians have of using their verb venire, to come, along 
 
 o 5 
 
346 ~ sYKTAx [Chap. 
 
 with the passive j-articiple of an active verb, instead of using 
 the auxiliary Userc. Observe the following examples: 
 
 Sr non ti cliiima qtipsto pnese I'Ar- 
 cidia, vitn nomivulo atincno il ;;iar- 
 diiio della Fraucia. Ukn. L. 
 
 If this country in not called the Arca- 
 dia, it in, at least, namrd the gar- 
 den of France. 
 
 Guiflii-lmo IVII doniandara di che i William Tell asked what he mas 
 vetiisir accuiulo. Soa. N. I urcusfd of- 
 
 Tutto queslo reKuo, che venira rnp- 
 prettnUiln allora Ax bi fn'and* as- 
 bembl6a, flee. Ukn.L. 
 
 All thin kingdom which was then r«- 
 prrtmted by so great an assem- 
 bly .. . 
 
 Our verb to become is, sometimes, employed in a way very 
 similar to the venire of the Italians ; our to become in place 
 of our to be, the venire of the Italians in place of their 
 essere ; as : 
 
 Elvira ne tc;i»if (ory"u) a tempo arrrr- j Elvira became (or nos) informed of it 
 tita. Soa. N. | in time. 
 
 265. When the active verb becomes rejlcctivc, the Italians J 
 employ, in conjugating it, the pronouns vii, me, ti, thee, si, 1 
 him, her, or it, ca, us, vi, you, si, them. These pronouns, in 
 such cases, represent our myself , thyself, himself, herself or 
 itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. For example : 
 
 lo mi redo, 
 Tu /i vtdi, 
 Egli si rede, 
 Noi ci vediumo, 
 Voi vi vedcle, 
 Eglino si vcdono, 
 
 I see myself. 
 Tliou seesl lliyself. 
 He .sees bim!>elf. 
 We see ourselres. 
 Yon .see yourselTes. 
 TTiey see themselves. 
 
 That is, literally, I me see, thou thee seest, he him sees, we us 
 see, you you see, they the?n see. And so on it is, throughout 
 every mode of an active verb when it becomes a reflective one. 
 We, in English, use the word self or selves when the verb is 
 reflective ; and the Italians may use their stesso or medtsimo^ 
 which, as is mentioned at Paragraph 40, have the meaning 
 of our word self. They may say, lo vcdo me stesso, or io 
 vedo ME MEDESiMo, that is, / see me self ; and so on, with 
 the other persons, singular and plural. But, this is not neces- 
 sary ; and, indeed, it is not common to use the stesso or mede- 
 simo, unless it be in cases where we should lay an emphasis on 
 our word self or selves } as, I do not see you, / s^e my self: 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. ' 347 
 
 in this case, the Italians would say, non vedo voi, vedo me 
 
 STESSO, or ME MEDESIMO. 
 
 There is one very remarkable manner which the Italians 
 have of using the active verb reflective ; that is, when it is so 
 used along with the little word si. This word, which is noticed 
 in the Etymology of Pronouns, Paragraph 39, represents all 
 our pronouns oneself^ himself, herself, itself, themselves. 
 But it is constantly used, with the verb reflective, to express the 
 meaning which we intend, in English, when we use the pro- 
 nouns one, we, you, they, or people, meaning, by any one of 
 these, people or the world in general. For example ; 
 
 One ought not to do that, 
 
 TKc ou^ht not to rfo that. I ., . , ^ ., 
 
 You ought not to do that, C •' 
 
 PiopU ought not to do that, -^ 
 
 They say that we shall have war, 
 
 People say that we shall have war, ^ Si dice che avremo la gnerra. 
 
 /* is sAid that we shall have war, 
 
 We love our friends, 
 
 People love their friends, J- Si dmano gli amici. 
 
 One loves one's friends, 
 
 } 
 
 } 
 
 Ndw, if we translate the Italian literally, these Italian phrases 
 mean: that ought not to do itself, it says itself that 
 we shall have war, our friends love themselves. T|ie 
 verb, in these examples, is purely a reflective verb ; and, ob- 
 serve therefore, that the verb must, in such cases, always be in 
 the singular or plural number according to the number oi tho 
 noun with which the si is employed. Thus: 
 
 We praise yirtue, 
 
 One praises virtue, 
 
 T/tey praise viitae, ^ Si loda Isi viitii. 
 
 People praise virtue, 
 
 "Virlae is praised, 
 
 We praise virtues, 
 One /(raises virtues,; 
 
 7'hey praise virtues, ^ Si lodano le virtii. 
 People praise-vixixxis, 
 , Virtues are praised, 
 
 That is, literally: virtue praises itself, virtues praise them- 
 selves. We must observe, however, that though the Italian 
 
348 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 language has a great inclination to this manner of using the 
 verb reflective, the Italians are not always constrained to ex- 
 press themselves thus. Our words 7ve and thcy^ as used in 
 the above examples, may be turned into Italian by using ttte 
 verb in the first and third persons plural ; and, also, when our 
 Terb is passive, as in the above examples, it may be turned ia 
 the same way. As : 
 
 Atniiimo gVi amiri, 
 
 Dicono che avrcnio la puerra, 
 
 La virtu t loduta. 
 
 We love our friends. 
 
 Thetj saij that we ihall have war. 
 
 Virtue is praised. 
 
 Observe, also, that the pronoun uno may be used to represent 
 our o?ie as above employed ; as : 
 
 Uno d' nvv^zza facilm6nte alia 
 vita oziusa, 
 
 One easily accustoms oneself to 
 idle life. 
 
 The idiom of employing si with the verb reflective is of such 
 constant occurrence, and of so much importance, that I think 
 it may be useful here to give a few more examples. 
 
 Questa mi pare la piCi strana cosa che 
 mai 5t udlsse. Mac. C. 
 
 Oltre a questo non si pub con onestA 
 satisfare a' grandi. Mac. P. 
 
 Questa ingiiiria non si pottva telle- 
 rare. M.\c. S. 
 
 Con la fuga mal si compra una 
 Vita. Met. O. 
 
 I 
 
 E poi si drizza in ver 1' ar6na bianca 
 
 Ibione. 
 Ari.O. F. 
 
 Onde Ingbillcrra si nomb Albione 
 
 L' 6dio s' acquista cosi mediante le 
 ba6De upere, come le triste. 
 
 Mac. P. 
 
 lo desidero di sapere quel che si dird 
 di quest' upera in loglultcrra. 
 
 Ben. L. 
 
 Quel che nel cor si porta in ran sifugge. 
 
 GuA. p. F. 
 
 Venne questa materia a deliberursi 
 nel concilio. Mac. P. 
 
 Poich^ la vita del re si conCbbe esser 
 dubbiosa, &c. Da v. S. 
 
 This appears to me the most strange 
 thin:; that ever was heard. 
 
 Beyond this one cannot, honestly, sa- 
 tisfy the great. 
 
 This injury could not be tolerated. 
 
 A life is ill purchased with flight 
 
 And then he directs himself towards 
 the white .shore, whence England 
 nas named Albion. 
 
 We acquire hatred as much by means 
 of good deeds, as evil ones. 
 
 I wish to know what they mill say of 
 this work in England. 
 
 That which tie carry in the heart me 
 fiee in vain. 
 
 This matter came to be considtred in 
 the council. 
 
 When the life of the king was knovn 
 to be doubtful. 
 
XX.] 
 
 OP VEUBS. 
 
 349 
 
 Qaal padre maialtrett^ntosi vide fare 
 per suo figlio ? SoA. N. 
 
 Tatte le lejjgi chc si/anno in favore 
 della liberU, &c. Mac. D. 
 
 Non si p6sson imagiuare paesi piCl 
 am^ni di quest! . Ben. L. 
 
 Questi si dlcono prudighi, nimici del 
 loro ben proprio. Pan. G. F. 
 
 La potenzade' principi, die si dicc- 
 vano aver parte nella congiiira, &c. 
 
 Dav. S. 
 
 Le simn1azi6ni, che destraraente si 
 ttdoperdvano nella corte, &c. 
 
 Dav. S. 
 
 Fece edificare templi, ove si ador&s- 
 sero li loro Iddii. 
 
 G. ViL. S. 
 
 What father did one ever $ee do so 
 
 much for bis son ? 
 
 All the laws that are made in favour 
 of liberty. 
 
 One caytnot imagine countries more 
 pleasant than these. 
 
 These are called prodigals, enemies 
 ofiheir own good. 
 
 The power of the princes, who were 
 said to have part in the conspiracy. 
 
 The counterfeits, which were dexter- 
 ously employed in the court. 
 
 He caused temples to be built, 
 where their Gods might be wor- 
 shipped. 
 
 By these examples it will be seen what great use the Italians 
 make of the si with the verb reflective. If we translate the 
 above examples literally, the sense of the si along with the 
 verb will be as follows: heard itself, satisfy cannot itself, 
 could not tolerate itself, buys itself, named itself, acquires 
 itself, will say itself, carries itself fees itself to consider 
 itself knew itself, saw himself, make themselves, cannot 
 imagine themselves, call themselves, said themselves, em.- 
 ployed themselves, might worship themselves. 
 - 266. When the verb, in the reflective form, is used recipro" 
 cally, as it is called, it is conjugated with the pronouns cz, vi. 
 
 ^i , as : 
 
 We see one another, 
 You see one another, 
 They see one another, 
 
 Noi ci vedidmo. 
 Voi vi vedcte. 
 £glino St vcdono. 
 
 The ci, vi, si, serve, in such case, to represent our one another 
 or each other, as well as our ms, you, them. The Italians may, 
 however, express our one another or each other by their uno 
 and altro accompanied by the defnite. article, and say. 
 
 Noi ci vediimo l'u7i I' altro, 
 Voi vi vedete V un P altro. 
 Eglino si vcdono Vun V altro. 
 
 That is, literally: we us see the one the other ; you you see 
 
350 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 the one the other ; tli«y them see the one the other. Or they 
 may exjjress our one another or each other by such words as 
 scambicvulnuntc, mutually, reciprocaminte, reciprocally : ci 
 amianio scamkievolmknte, we love each other; and so 
 forth. 
 
 267. What we have particularly to notice as' respects the 
 neuter verb, is, that there are a great many verbs, in Italian, 
 which, thjtigh merely neuter iu their nature, are, nevertheless, 
 conjugated like active reflective verbs. There are many neuter 
 verbs which are not reflective at all; as: 
 
 andare, 
 
 to ^0. 
 
 venire, 
 
 to come. 
 
 caiuniinare, 
 
 to walk. 
 
 passegsjiare, 
 
 to walk. 
 
 Tias;ciare, 
 
 to travel. 
 
 gridire, 
 
 to cry out. 
 
 piansrere, 
 
 to weep. 
 
 dorm ire, 
 
 to sleep. 
 
 sedire, 
 
 to sit 
 
 pervcitire, 
 
 to arrive. 
 
 arrivare, 
 
 to arrive. 
 
 salire, 
 
 to ascend. 
 
 sc6ndere, 
 
 to descend. 
 
 iHorire, 
 
 to die. 
 
 nascere, 
 
 to 1)6 born. 
 
 vivere, 
 
 to live. 
 
 restire, 
 
 to stay. 
 
 riinanere, 
 
 to remain. 
 
 dimorire, 
 
 to dwell. 
 
 ritornare, 
 
 to return. 
 
 cadere, 
 
 to fall. 
 
 DSfire, 
 
 to ^0 oat. 
 
 pranzare, 
 
 to dine. 
 
 desinare, 
 
 to dine. 
 
 cenare. 
 
 to sup. 
 
 parlare, 
 
 to speak. 
 
 partre, 
 
 to appear. 
 
 These, like many others, are not reflective. So, we must say, 
 with these : 
 
 To vado. 
 
 I go. 
 
 Vol venite. 
 
 You come. 
 
 Ella camniina, 
 
 She walL» 
 
 Egli viaggia, 
 
 Hetraveb 
 
 And not, io mi vado, vol vi venite, ella si cammina, egli 
 81 vidgcjittf and go on. But, there are a vast number of neuter 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 351 
 
 verbs which must be conjugated in the reflective way. Such 
 verbs are always distinguished in the dictionary by the Uttle 
 pronoun si^ oneself, which is joined to the infinitive mode of 
 the verb, as a sign of the verb's being a neuter verb rejiective. 
 For example : 
 
 ricorddrsi, 
 
 to remember. 
 
 ritirarsi, 
 
 to retire. 
 
 rallesvarsi, 
 
 to be glad. 
 
 deliberarsi. 
 
 to reflect. 
 
 rammaricarsi, 
 
 to complain. 
 
 levarsi, 
 
 to arise. 
 
 maravigliarsi, 
 
 to be astonisbed 
 
 contiistarsi, 
 
 to be sad. 
 
 scordarsi. 
 
 to forget. 
 
 vergognarsi, 
 
 to be ashamed. 
 
 ingegnarsi, 
 
 toendeaTour. 
 
 cBiarsi, 
 
 to have care. 
 
 degnarsi, 
 
 to deign. 
 
 dimenticarsi, 
 
 to be nnmindfttl. 
 
 pentlrsi, 
 
 to be repentent. 
 
 These, like many others, are conjugated like an active verb 
 reflective ; as : 
 
 io mi ricordo, 
 tu ti ricSrdi, 
 egli si ricorda, 
 noi ci ricordidmo, 
 Toi vi ricorddte, 
 eglino si ricordano, 
 
 I remember. 
 Ihoii reraemberest. 
 he remembers, 
 we remember, 
 you remember, 
 they remember. 
 
 And so on, from the beginning to the end of every such verb, 
 throughout every mode and time. Observe, as a farther 
 illustration of this, the two verbs maritdrsi and sposdre, v^hich 
 are, in their origin, the same as our to marry and to espouse. 
 The former of these can be used in Italian only as a neuter 
 verb reflective, while the latter, is always an. active verb. If we 
 mean to say, he wishes to marry, that is, to get married, 
 we must translate it by, vuol maritarsi : if we mean to say, 
 lie wishes to marry that woman, we must then use the 
 active verb, ,and translate this by, vuol sposare quella 
 donna. 
 
 16^. We now come, lastly, to the impersonal \;*?rbs. There 
 are some of these that are alwanjs impersonal; that is to 
 say, that are never used but in the third person singular; 
 namely: 
 
362 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 ]ii<^Tere, 
 
 to rain. 
 
 (liluviarr, 
 
 to rain hard 
 
 ^r&ndindre, 
 
 to hail. 
 
 tuonare, 
 
 to thunder. 
 
 ghiaccidre, 
 
 to freeze. 
 
 dishiacciare, 
 
 to til aw. 
 
 nevicdre, 
 
 to snow. 
 
 balendre, 
 
 
 or, 
 
 ■ to lighten. 
 
 lampepijidre, 
 
 
 far caldo, 
 
 
 or 
 
 to be warm 
 
 essercnldo. 
 
 
 far frcddo, 
 
 
 or 
 
 to be cold. 
 
 esser freddo, 
 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 The above are, all of them, always used impersonally. Among 
 the following, also, there are some which are verj' seldom, if 
 ever, used in any other way than the impersonal ; 
 
 avvenire, ] 
 accadere, J 
 
 to happen. 
 
 convenire, 
 
 to be proper, or fit 
 
 bisopnare, 
 
 to be necessary, or necdfal. 
 
 bast a re, 
 
 to be sufTicient. 
 
 lec^re, 
 
 to be lawfal. 
 
 jmportare, 
 
 to signify, or to be of conseqaenee' 
 
 occ(3rrere, 
 
 to be needful, or to occur. 
 
 piacere. 
 
 to please. 
 
 dispiacere, 
 
 to di.*please. 
 
 rincrtscere, 
 
 to grieve. 
 
 parere, 
 
 to appear. 
 
 giovdre, 
 
 to be of use, or to please. 
 
 toco d re. 
 
 to touch. 
 
 fravare, 
 
 to grieve, or to trouble. 
 
 dolere, 
 
 to grieve, or to pain. 
 
 stare, 
 
 to stand, or to be. 
 
 fcssere. 
 
 to be. 
 
 Look back at Paragraph 260, where you will see explained 
 the nature of an impersonal verb. The verbs in the first of the 
 two foregoing lists are, as I before observed, always impersonal ; 
 that is to say, they are used only in the third person singular. 
 As, for example, taking pzouere, the first of them : 
 
 pi6ve, 
 
 piovcva, 
 
 piove, 
 
 piorer^, 
 
 ha piovOto, 
 
 avcvapiovuto. 
 
 it rains, 
 it was raining, 
 it rained, 
 it will rain, 
 it has rained. 
 it had r&iied. 
 
XX.] 
 
 OF TERU 
 
 S. 
 
 ebbe pioTuto, 
 
 
 it had rained. 
 
 avra piovuto, 
 
 
 it will liave rained. 
 
 pi6vu, 
 
 
 it may rain. 
 
 piov^ss^ 
 
 
 it might rain. 
 
 abbia piovuto, 
 
 
 it may have rained. 
 
 avesse piovuto, 
 
 
 it might have rained. 
 
 piovercbbc, 
 
 
 it should rain. 
 
 avrebbe pioTuto, 
 
 
 it should have rained 
 
 pTtiva, 
 
 
 let it rain. 
 
 piovendo, "(. 
 
 * ' 4 • 
 
 raining. 
 
 piovente, 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 piovuto, 
 
 1 
 
 rained. 
 
 353 
 
 And so on with the rest. In speaking of warm and cold wea- 
 ther, the Italians may use either of the verbs /are and esserer 
 YjJcaldo, it makes warm ; or, e caldo, it is warm : YA^freddo,. 
 it viakes cold ; or, e freddo, it is cold. Of the use of the 
 verbs in the second list, as impersonals, observe the following 
 examples : 
 
 Afui^nequalcbe voltache . . • 
 ' IW' accade di essere . . . 
 Conviene che parliamo, 
 Sisogna che egli mangi, 
 Basta che sia ricco, 
 Voi, a cui lece sperare, 
 JSon importa che venghiamo, 
 Gli occorre di venire, 
 Mi piace di vedervi. 
 Mi displace che sia cosi, 
 
 Mi riwcresce che sia ammalato, 
 Pare che slate ricco, 
 Che giova fuggire ? 
 Tocca a me di far questo, 
 Quanto mi grava che sia morto ! 
 
 Ti dii6le di esser . . . ? 
 
 Sta a me di andare, 
 
 E vero che non sono ricco, 
 
 1 It happens sometimes that . . . 
 It happens to me to be . . . 
 It is proper for us to speak. 
 It isnecessary that he eat. 
 It is sufficient that he be rich. 
 You to whom it is allowed to hope. 
 It is of no consequence that they comtv 
 It is necessary for him to come. 
 I like (itpZeases me) to see you. 
 I am sony (it displeases me) that it 
 
 is so. 
 It grieves me that he is ill. 
 It appears that you are rich. 
 0/what use is it to flee ? 
 It is for (it touches) me to do this. 
 How much it grieves me that he is 
 
 dead I 
 Does it ^rifte thee to be ... ? 
 It is for (it stands to) me to go. 
 It is true that I am not rich. 
 
 When the verb to be is used with the word there ; as^ there 
 is a man in the house, there are men in the house : in this 
 case, the Italians employ one or other of their adverbs ci, here, 
 VI, there, along with the verb essere • and the verb is conju- 
 gated thus: 
 
 or K 
 
 v'4, J 
 
 Singular. 
 
 there is. 
 
 PLURAt. 
 
 CI sono, 
 
 or 
 ri sono, 
 
 > there are. 
 
354 
 
 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 
 [Chaj 
 
 SlNOHLAR. 
 
 Pl-CRAL. 
 
 c'era, 
 or 
 
 } 
 
 there was. 
 
 c* ^rano, 
 or 
 
 1 
 J 
 
 there were. 
 
 T'era, 
 
 J 
 
 
 T* *rano, 
 
 
 cifu, 
 
 or 
 
 } 
 
 there was. 
 
 . ci fiirono, 
 or 
 
 1 
 J 
 
 there were. 
 
 Ti fu. 
 
 3 
 
 
 Ti fiiroBo, 
 
 
 ci sari, 
 or 
 
 
 there will be. 
 
 cisardnno, 
 or 
 
 
 there will be: 
 
 Ti sari, 
 
 
 Ti saranno, 
 
 
 ci lia, 
 or 
 
 } 
 
 ci siaao, 
 there may be. or 
 
 
 there may be. 
 
 Ti sia, 
 
 J 
 
 
 Ti siauo, 
 
 
 ci fosse, 
 
 or 
 Ti f6sse, 
 
 ] 
 
 there might be. 
 
 ci f(>ssero, 
 
 or 
 Ti fossero, 
 
 } 
 
 there might be. 
 
 ci sarebbe, 
 
 or 
 Ti sartbbe. 
 
 } 
 
 there should be. 
 
 ci sarebbero, 
 
 or 
 Ti sarebbero, 
 
 } 
 
 there should be* 
 
 ci sia, 
 or 
 
 ] 
 
 let there be. 
 
 ci sidno, 
 or 
 
 } 
 
 let there be. 
 
 Ti sia, 
 
 J 
 
 
 Ti sidao, 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 ^sserci, -i 
 or 
 
 • 
 there to be. 
 
 
 
 
 
 esservi, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 essindoci, 
 
 or 
 estindovi, ^ 
 
 there being. 
 
 
 
 
 
 isserci stito, 
 
 or 
 ^sserTi state, -^ 
 
 there to haTe been. 
 
 
 To understand rightly the nature of impersonal verbs, we 
 should consider the meaning of our little word it as used with 
 the impersonal verb ; and then there is our word there, which, 
 as we see in the foregoing conjugation, the Italians express by 
 their ci or vi. I must give something, in addition to the fore- 
 going examples, to show how our it and there are expressed in 
 Italian. But, before I do this, the true meaning of these two 
 words of ours should be explained. Observe, therefore, the 
 following;: — " The pronoun it^ though a personal pronouDj 
 
XX.] OF VERBS. 355 
 
 " does not always stand for, or, at least, appear to stand for, 
 *' any noun whatever; but is used in order to point out a state 
 *' of things, or the cavse of something produced. For in- 
 
 " stance : * Itfreezed hard last night, and it was so cold, that 
 " it was with great difficulty the travellers kept on their jour- 
 '* ney/ Now, luhat was it that freezed so hard ? Not the 
 ^'^ frost ; because frost is the effect, and not the cause of, freez- 
 *' iog. We cannot say, tlrat it was the weather that freezed ; 
 " because the freezing constituted in part the weather itself. 
 " No; the pronoun it stands, in this place, for state of things, 
 ** or circumstances ; and this sentence might be written thus : 
 " ' The freezing was so hard last night, and the cold was so 
 " severe, that the travellers found great difficulty in keeping 
 *' on their journey.* Let us take another example or two. 
 " * /Ms a frost this morning. It will rain to-night. It will 
 " be fine to-morrow.' That is to say, ' A state of things called 
 " frost exists this morning ; a state of things called rain will 
 " exist to-night ; and to-morrow a state of things called fine 
 " w;eather.' Another example : ^ It is delightful to see bro- 
 *' thers and sisters living in uninterrupted love to the end of 
 " their days.' That is to say, ' The state of things, which 
 ** exhibits brothers and sisters living in uninterrupted love to 
 " the end of their days, is delightful to see.' — In order further 
 " to illustrate this matter, 1 will make a remark or two upon 
 " the use of the word there. Example : ' There are many 
 *' men, who have been at Latin-schools for years, and who, at 
 ** last, cannot write six sentences in English correctly.* Now, 
 ** you know, the word there, in its usual sense, has reference 
 " to place ; yet it has no such reference here. The meaning 
 *' is : that * many men are in existence, who have been at 
 ** Latin-schools.' Again : * There never was any thing so 
 ''beautiful as that flower.' That is to say, ' Any thing so 
 *' beautilul as that flower ?tever existed, or never was in 
 " being.' " * — To express the sense of our it, when used imper- 
 sonally, it is not necessary to use any pronoun at all, in Ita- 
 lian ; as, for example : 
 
 * Cobbett's English Grammar, Paragraphs GO and 61. 
 
356 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Pinvfrtl Jim/ini matlina, 
 £ molto calilo <'it;tji, 
 Mi filter <li vttlirvi, 
 E vero che non sono ricco, 
 
 // nill rain to-morrow morninf. 
 It is very warm to-day. 
 // filensrs me to nee you. 
 /( is true that I am not rich* 
 
 Thus it is in the following examples: 
 
 Vfro t che ^\i spPAsi patUmcnti, e le 
 continue peraecuziuni, &c. 
 
 Macs. 
 
 A<^ tin principe b nrcessdrio avcre il 
 pupoloamico. Mac. P. 
 
 True it is that the freqnent parlis- 
 ments, and the continual prosecu- 
 tions . . . 
 
 To a prinre it in necessary to have his 
 people friendly. 
 
 But we may, if we choose, express the it, in Italian, as well as 
 in English, particularly with the verb cssere, to be ; and, then, 
 our it must be represented by the pronoun cgti or ei, which, as 
 we iiave already seen, means the same as our he ; as: 
 
 Egli e tempo che io ritorni, 
 Egli mi pidcedi vederri. 
 
 Observe, also, the following: 
 
 £gli b vero che Sofrunia 6 mia sposa-. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Ma perchi egli c difficile accozzarli 
 insieme, kc. Mac. P. 
 
 ^H ^come io dice— e^ii I la verity. 
 
 M.\c.C. 
 
 Se epli c meijlio esser amdto che te- 
 muto,&c. Mac. P. 
 
 It is time for me to return. 
 Jt pleases me to see yon. 
 
 // is true that Sofronia is my wife. 
 
 But as il is diflicult to bring them to 
 gether .... 
 
 It is&sl tell jou— it is the truth. 
 
 If it is better to be loved than 
 feared . . . 
 
 The egli, as thus employed, is sometimes contracted to gli by 
 the poets ; as : 
 
 Gli i ver ch' io non sono stata si infelice. 
 
 Abi. O. F. 
 
 Jt is true that I have not been so un- 
 fortunate. 
 
 As relates to the ci or vi, representing our there as used with 
 the verb to be, observe, in the first place, that, if we be speaking 
 in such a way as to be obliged to make some allusion to place 
 or locality, we must use ci in speaking of what is near, and 
 vi in speaking of what is distant. Thus, supposing ourselves 
 to be in London j we ought to say : 
 
 Ci sono molti in Londra che Io cre- 
 dono, 
 
 I 
 
 There are many in London who be- 
 lieve it. 
 
xxo 
 
 Vi sono moiti in Roma che lo cre- 
 dono, 
 
 or VERBS. 
 
 1 
 
 357 
 
 There are many in Rome who belicTe 
 it. 
 
 If we speak in such a way, that nothing in the way of place 
 can be siipposed to be alluded to, then we may use either ci or 
 vi with equal propriety ; as : . 
 
 There is no one 1 love more than 
 
 you, 
 There is nothing he likes so much as 
 
 hunting, 
 
 Non c'i (or tj' c) nessuno che ami 
 pi^ di voi. 
 
 Non c' k (or «'i) nulla che gli piac- 
 cia pill della caccia. 
 
 The ci or vi, in the sense of our there, is frequently omitted, 
 and left to be understood ; as : 
 
 Era in quel tempo in Tracia un cava- 
 liero, &c. Ari. O. F. 
 
 irano in quel tempo tie papi, Gre- 
 g6rio, Benedetto, e Giovanni, &c. 
 
 Mac. S. 
 
 There nas at that time a knight ia | 
 Thrace, .... 
 
 There were at that time three popes, 
 Gregory, Benedict, and John. 
 
 I cannot see how, properly speaking, the to be of the English, 
 any more than the tssere of the Italians, can here be called 
 impersonal, at all. I have considered them as such, in this 
 place, only because it is the custom with grammarians to do so. 
 The sense of our there, used as in the foregoing examples, and 
 the manner of expressing that word in Italian, are, it is true, 
 matters that need explanation -, but it is, in fact, rather to con- 
 fuse than to explain, when we call the verb to he, used with 
 the word there, an impersonal. When used with our it, it is 
 clearly impersonal : 
 
 E vero che non sono ricco, 
 
 Vi sono moUi in Roma che lo cr^- 
 dono. 
 
 It is true that T am not rich. 
 There are many in Rome who believe 
 it. 
 
 In the first of these examples, the essere in Italian, the to he 
 in English, is clearly an impersonal verb. But not so in the 
 second example : here the verb is not wanting in a nominative ; 
 the nominative, here, is expressed in botb languages, molti is 
 the nominative of sono, and many is the nominative of are» 
 However, the Italians have a way of expressing our there is, 
 there are, &c., in which the verb used is really impersonal. 
 They sometimes use the verb avirCj to have, in this case, in« 
 
.158 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 Btead of rsserc, to be; wliich manner much resembles the im- 
 personal il y a of the French. They use the verb avtVe, in 
 this way, either with or without the ci or vi. Observe the fol- 
 lowing examples : 
 
 £ tnppi, che in Veruna ible giA un 
 Ttscovo, &c, D. Cas. G. 
 
 E in (jBPxto tfiopo ibbe in Roma pi 6 
 diverse mutazi6iii. U. Vil. S. 
 
 Ogcimai lion i'/ia persona di senno, 
 che presti alciina ffde a terrori si- 
 fatti. So A N. 
 
 Non ci Aa-annio, il qual non ami 
 • d'e>s(rr felice. 8oa. N. 
 
 A tal racc6nto niuno v' ebbe che po- 
 tcsse freiiar le ligrinie. Soa. N. 
 
 And know, that in Verona there iroj 
 once a bishop . . . 
 
 And in thie time there were, in Rome, 
 many did'erent comoiotions. 
 
 At this day there is no person of 
 
 f^n^K who has faith in snch ter- 
 
 -rors. 
 
 I 
 
 There is no man that does not love 
 
 to be happy. 
 
 At such a tale there rvas no one who 
 could restrain their tears. 
 
 That is, literally, had once a bishop, had in Rotne, there has 
 no person, thei'e has no man, there had no one. The verb 
 avere, when thus employed, must always be in the singular 
 number, and must not agree in number with the noun, as esscre 
 always does, when used in the same capacity: 
 
 Ci ha, OR ti ha un uomo, 
 C t, OR v' i un unmo, 
 
 Ci ha, OR rj ha due uomini, "J^ 
 
 Ci sono, on vi sono due uomini, ) 
 
 There is a man. 
 
 There are two men. 
 
 The 2iumo and the uomini are here the nominatives of esserCf 
 and, therefore, cssere agrees with the noiin in number; which 
 shows that tssere is not, in fact, an impersonal in this case. 
 The same nouns are, wuth avere, not nominativeSy but, on the 
 contrary, they are in the objective case ; which proves that 
 avere^ as thus used, is an impersonal. This use of avere in- 
 stead oi fssere is not, now-a-days, very common; yet it is an 
 idiom not unfrequently met with in modern writers. The fol- 
 lowing example is worth observing in addition to the foregoing, 
 more especially as the words form the very first sentence of 
 Soave's excellent little grammar: 
 
 Se v' ha studio che ad ojni g^nere Hi 
 pers6ne si debbadir necessirio egli 
 t quello della propria lingua. 
 
 If there is a study which may be called 
 necessary to all classes of persons, 
 it is that of one's own language. 
 
XXL] OF VERBS. 359 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 Op the use of AVERE and l&SSERE as Auxiliaries. 
 
 269. It is of great importance to know the right use of these 
 two verbs, which are used, in Italian, as auxiliaries, or assist- 
 ant verbs, like our verbs to have and to Z>e. 
 
 270. We have seen, in the conjugation of the verb esscrCj 
 that that verb, in its compound times, has itself for its own 
 auxiliary. Thus, the Italians do not say with us, io ho state, 
 I have been, io aveva stato, I had been, io avrb stato, I shall 
 have been, &c. ; biit, io sono stato, I am been, io era stato, I 
 was been, io sarb stato. I shall h. o\3en, and so on. 
 
 271. Avere is en)ployed as auxiliary with all verbs that are 
 active zjidi not reflective ; as: 
 
 ii fete am dto la donna, i You have loved the lady. 
 
 Ho veduto I'uomo, I have seen the man. 
 
 Ha perduto ua cavallo, I He has lost a horse. 
 
 272. Then, again, essere is always employed to form the 
 compound time when the verb is used passively ; as : 
 
 La donna k amita, i The lady is loved. 
 
 L'uomo e vediito, ) The man is seen. 
 
 II cavallo k perduto, I The horse is lost. 
 
 273. There are some neuter verbs which, in Italian, are al- 
 ways conjugated with avere. Such are, pranzdre or desindrc, 
 to dine ; cendre, to sup ; griddre, to cry out; dormire, to sleep; 
 seder e, to sit; cdmmindrs, or passeggidre, to walk; viag" 
 gidre, to travel; pidngere, to weep; parldre, to speak; ridere, 
 to laugh; peccdre^ to sin; giuocdre, to play. Thus we must 
 say: 
 
360 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 tlo pran/ito, 
 //o (lesiaito, 
 JIa crnito, 
 Atrtr Kndato,' 
 Abhiiimo dormito, 
 Arite seduto, 
 }lo cnmminitn, 
 Hn passei;f;i^to, 
 IJai Tin^jKiito, 
 //a punto, 
 Abbtiimo parldto, 
 Avite riso, 
 Uunnn peccato, 
 Ho jiuocito, 
 
 I have dined. 
 I haTP dinad. 
 He hns supped. 
 You have cried out. 
 We have slept. 
 You liRve ititten, 
 I have walked. 
 I have walked. 
 Tfiou hast travelled. 
 He has wept. 
 We have »poken. 
 You have laughed. 
 They have sinned. 
 1 have played. 
 
 There are a few neuter verbs, in English, which we use with 
 either of the auxiliaries. We say, he lias gone, or, he is gone; 
 I have come, or, I am come ; they havp. arrived ; or, they are 
 arrived ; he has returned, or, he is returned. But the Italians 
 always conjugate these neuter verbs to gOy to come, to arrive, 
 to return, and some others, also, with tssere, and not with 
 as: 
 
 avere 
 
 lo sono andato, 
 Tu set veuiito, 
 Egli e perveniito, 
 Noi siumo arrivAli, 
 Vol sicle nati, 
 E^iino sono restatT, 
 lo «a tomato, 
 Tu eri entrato, 
 £;;li 6ra svanito, 
 Noi eravamo cadiiti, 
 Voi eravdte periti, 
 Ef^lino irano usciti, 
 lo sono parito, 
 Tu sri vissiito, 
 
 I huvf jfone. 
 Thou hast come. 
 He has arrived. 
 We have arrived. 
 You are born. 
 They have remained. 
 I had returned. 
 Thou hadst entered. 
 He had vanished. 
 We had fallen. 
 You had perished. 
 They had gone out. 
 I have appeared. 
 Thou hast lived. 
 
 issere, and not avcre, is always employed in forming the com- 
 pound times of the neuter verbs reflective ; as: 
 
 lo mi <ono ricorddto, 
 Tu ti set rilir.'ito, 
 Egli si i rallegrdto, 
 Noi ci siamo deliberdti, 
 Yoi vi siete rammariciti, 
 Eglino si $on» levati, 
 lo mi sono maravii^liato, 
 Tu ti set coDtristato, 
 Egli si i. pentito, 
 
 I have remembered. 
 Thou hast retired. 
 He has rejoiced. 
 We have reflected. 
 You have complained. 
 They have risen. 
 f have been astonished. 
 Thou hast bttn sad. 
 He has repented. 
 
 So, also, with the active verbs ; for they, when they are re- 
 Jlective, or what is called reciprocalf must be conjugated with 
 tssere, aud not with avtre ; as : 
 
XXI.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 361 
 
 To mi sono mostrato, 
 Tu ti sei vediito, 
 Noi ci sidino aniati, 
 Voi vi sicte lusingati, 
 
 I have showed myself. 
 TIiou hast seen thyself. 
 We have loved one another. 
 You have flattered one another. 
 
 In some few instances^, we may use either avere or essere ; as : 
 
 l I have done myself harm. 
 
 } 
 
 lo mi sono fatto male, 
 
 or 
 lo mi ho fatto male, 
 
 lo mi sono ferito, 
 
 or 
 lo mi'ho ferito, 
 
 I have wounded myself. 
 
 274. There is a distinction to be made as relates to the use 
 of avtre or essere, when the verb is one of those which may, 
 according to the sense in which it is employed, be either a verb 
 neuter or active. For example, the verbs fuggire, to flee; 
 satire J to ascend ; scendere, to descend ; passdre, to pass : 
 vivere, to live ; crescere, to increase ; as : 
 
 lo ho fuggjto i mi6i nemici, 
 
 lo sono fuggito da' miei nemici, 
 
 Tu hai salito il nionte, 
 
 Tu sei salito a piede, 
 
 £gli ha scesoil monte, 
 
 Egli e sceso solo, 
 
 lo ho passSto questa strada, 
 
 10 sono passato per questa strada, 
 Tu hai vissuto una -vita tribulata, 
 Tu sei vissuto contento, 
 
 Questo accidtnte ftocresciutoilraale, 
 
 11 male I cresciiito, 
 
 I have fled my enemies. 
 
 I have fled from my enemies. 
 
 Thou hast ascended the mountain. 
 
 Thou hast ascended on foot. 
 
 He has descended the mountain. 
 
 He has descended alone. 
 
 I have passed this street. 
 
 1 have passed hy this street. 
 
 Thou hast lived an unquiet life. 
 
 Thou hast lived happily. 
 
 This accident has increased the evil. 
 
 The evil haj increased. 
 
 We see by these examples, that, when the verb is used having 
 something as an object j that we must use avere, and that when 
 there is nothing described as an object of the act, then essere. 
 We see, in the above examples, that, where avere is used 
 there are objects which suffer or bear the acts of fleeing, as* 
 csnding, descending, passing, living, and increasing: the 
 enemies are Jled from, the mountain is ascended and de- 
 scended, the street is passed, the life is lived, the evil is zw- 
 creased, 
 
 ^15, Some of the neuter verbs which are conjugated in the 
 reflective way, are, also, sometimes, active verbs. As contris- 
 tdrsi, to grieve, dimenticdrsi, to forget, vergogndrsi, to be 
 ashamed, Thus: - 
 
36^ 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 lo mi snno molto contrint^lo, 
 L'ncridrntf mi An inoltorontristjito, 
 lo mi tono dimcnticdto di prenderc 
 
 ii libro, 
 lo ho liimf-nticdto il libro, 
 lo mi iono Tcrfi^o^ito, 
 lo V ho vcrgognd(o, 
 
 I have hwn mnch prleTed. 
 
 T)n- nrcident lin» grlv^ed me much. 
 
 I have forgotten to lake the book. 
 
 I have forgotten the book. 
 I have been ashamed. 
 I have ihamed him. 
 
 276. The verbs voUre, to be willing, potcre, to be able, and 
 sapcre, to know, are sometimes conjugated with avcre, and 
 sometimes with esstre. These-vcrbs are, now-a-days, almost 
 always conjugated with avcrc; but, formerly, there used to be 
 a distinction made, a distinction which some grammarians in- 
 sist on, at the present day ; namely, that whenever the verb 
 following volcre, potere^ or sapere, is one of those which are 
 themselves to be conjugated with cssere, then either of these 
 verbs going before it should be conjugated with cssere ; and, 
 "when the verb following is a verb which is itself conjugated 
 with avcrCf then either of these verbs, as preceding it, should 
 have avcre as its auxiliary; as: 
 
 lo sono voluto venire, 
 lo ho voliito parldre, 
 lo sono potiito venire, 
 lo ho potiita parlare, 
 lo sono sapiito venire, 
 lo Ao sapiito parldre. 
 
 I have wished to come. 
 I have wished to speak. 
 I have been able to come. 
 I have been able to speak. 
 1 have known bow to come. 
 I have known how to speak. 
 
 In using the compound form of the verb venire the Italians 
 would say, bono venuto, I a?n come ; and with parldre, in the 
 same form, they would say, no par Id to, I have spoken. 
 Therefore it is, that this distinction should, strictly speaking, 
 be observed, whenever the volcre, potcre, or sapere, precedes 
 the infinitive of the other verb. 
 
XXII.] or VERBS. 363 
 
 CHAPTER XXll. 
 
 Of Case, and of the Governing of Cases. 
 
 277. In the Etymology and Syntax of Nouns and Pronouns, 
 I have already noticed the subject of Case. Those who make 
 Italian grammars, use the term case, and speak of the different 
 caseSy as they are called, and of th^ governing of cases -, but 
 they do not tell us what case is, nor what are the natures of the 
 different cases they mention. I have devoted a separate part 
 of my work to the subject of Case, because I know that it is 
 one of great importance, one that needs a good deal of explana- 
 tion to make it well understood by the learner, and one that 
 few grammarians have taken any pains to throw light on. 
 There are some grammarians, and of those too whose works 
 are the most instructive, that would protest against the use of 
 all the terms, nominative, possessive, dative, objective, and 
 ablative. Signors Biagioli and Barberi explode the sub- 
 ject of Case altogether, by denying that there is any such thing- 
 in the Italian language. Some grammarians ^dmit there to be 
 three, some four, some^ve Cases; and others, again, discover 
 a sixth Case. Those who tell us that Case does not exist, only 
 avoid entirely, by that means, the performance of a principal 
 part of the task they have undertaken. Here is a something, 
 call it by whatever name we may, that requires to be taught. 
 I shall not pretend to teach this thing by a new system ; that 
 is to say, as far, at least, as mere names are concerned. The 
 Signors Biagioli and Barberi have invented the terms 
 d' extraction, d^ attribution, d'tloig?ieme?it, de tendance, de 
 depart. How much better these terms may be calculated to 
 elucidate the matter than those which they are intended to 
 
 r2 
 
364 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 supersede, I will leave it to the adopters of them to show, 
 I have adopted the old-fashioned names for the Cases, as my 
 reader will have seen at Paragraphs 29, 31, 33, 36, 39, 43, 
 and 44, of Etymology, and from Paragraphs 116 to 130 
 inclusive, in Syntax. But, while I have prefixed the words 
 nominative^ possessive, and the rest, to the nouns with the 
 articles and to the pronouns, I have not followed the example 
 of those grammarians who use hard words, and who, at the 
 same time, make no endeavour to show why such words are 
 used or what is their tneaniyig. There are some grammarians 
 who suppose that the Case of a noun or pronoun consists in the 
 mere manner in which the word is spelled. Thus it is that 
 BiAGiOLl and Barberi regard the matter, heing led away 
 by the Greek and Latin, in which the diflferent Cases are 
 expressed by the termination of the noun or pronoun ; and 
 hence those writers have asserted the absolute noa-existence of 
 the thing called Case in modern languages. 
 
 278. In most Italian grammars we find Jive Cases spoken 
 of; namely, the nominative, the possessive, the dative, the 
 objective, and the ablative. The possessive is sometimes 
 called genitive, and the objective is sometimes called accusa- 
 tive. In the Latin language, whence these terms are derived, 
 the noun and pronoun have to undergo changes in their spelling 
 in order to express their Case. There is no such thing in the Ita- 
 lian nouns, though there is in some of the pronouns, as we have 
 seen in the Syntax of Nouns and Pronouns. As to these nameSy 
 by which the different Cases are distinguished, they are names, 
 and nothing more. They are those which are commonly used, 
 and therefore I adopt them. It is the meanings of things, and 
 not the mere titles by which they are distinguished, that are the 
 objects of our inquiry. I have supposed there to he Jive Cases: 
 ajid the following is the way in which I would explain the 
 matter. 
 
 279. The term case comes from the Latin, in which lan- 
 guage it is called casus, which means, literally, a Jail j the 
 noun casus being derived from the verb cado, to fall. The 
 word casus has a variety of significations, but this is the origi- 
 nal one. It may mean an accident, a chance, a happening y 
 
XXII.] OF VERBS. 365 
 
 or a state of things. We find our language agreeing, here, 
 with the Latin, whence the term is derived. We say *' if that 
 should be the case,^* meaning, if that should happen, or, if that 
 should be the state of things. We say " the horse is in good 
 case," meaning, in good state or condition. There can be no 
 state or condition of any kind without that state or condition 
 having a happening or a coming to pass ; and so, in English, 
 we say that *' a thing falls out,'' that *' a saint's du.y falls on ' 
 such a day of the week," that " a misfortune befalls us ;" by 
 %, which we mean, that the thing happens, that the saint's day 
 happens, that the misfor^tune happens to us. The word case, 
 - then, as a term in grammar, means nothing more than the state 
 of, or whatever happens to, or befalls, the person or thing re- 
 presented by the noun or pronoun ; and thus the noun or pro- 
 noun, as the representative of the person or thing, is said to be- 
 in this case or in that case. 
 
 280. Verbs are said to govern Cases ; that is to say, to cause 
 a noun or pronoun to be in one Case or in another Case, ac- 
 cording to circumstances. There is one of the Cases, the 
 nominative, which i§ subject to no such government. 
 
 281. A noun or pronoun is said to be in the nominative 
 Case, when the person or thing represented by it is simply 
 named or spoken of as doing something, or as being in some 
 way; as, Tomaso scrive, Thomas writes; Eglie buon scrittore,- 
 he is a good writer. Here the noun and the pronoun are said 
 to be the subjects of the verbs to lorite and to be. But when 
 the noun or pronoun represents one person or thing as being the 
 object of some act done by another person or thing, then the 
 person or thing being that object is in the objective Case. The 
 verb is then said to govern the objective Case, because the per- 
 son or thing is by it made to become an object of the act. 
 
 282. The governing verb is said to govern directly or indi- 
 rectly. When it governs directly, the noun or pronoun is in 
 what is called the objective Case ; when it governs indirectly, 
 the noun or pronoun is in one or other of the three Cases called 
 the possessive, the dative, and the ablative, 
 
 283. When I say, lo vedo Tomaso, I see Thomas ; lo lo 
 vedo, or lo vedo lui, 1 see him ; here the noun and pronouns 
 
36G SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 TonmsOy lo, lui^ are the direct objects of the verb vedercy to 
 8ee ; and tiic noun or pronoun would Ijere be said to be in the 
 ohjcctiue Case. 
 
 284. But, there are the possessive, dative, and ablative 
 Cases. They are marked by the prepositions iii,of, a, to, and 
 T) Ay frotn, which are called the sigyis of these Cases. When 
 the noun or pronoun is in either of these Cases, it is said to be 
 subject to indirect (jovernment, as we shall see. 
 
 285. The possessive Case has been so called, because it is 
 used whenever- possessidJi is attributed to the person or thing 
 described by the noun or pronoun. For example: il cavallo 
 Di ToMASO, the horse of Thomas ; la casa di lui, the house 
 of him. Here the possession of a thing simply is expressed. 
 And hence it is that a noun or pronoun, when preceded by the 
 preposition di, is always said to be in the possessive Case. But, 
 observe, we may use di before a noun or pronoun when it is not 
 the possession of a thing that is intended to be expressed; as; 
 vi accuso DI FURTO, I accuse you of theft ; here it is not the 
 
 : noun theft which is the immediate object of the verb to accuse, 
 but the pronoun you ■ while the verb makes the noun theft 
 (its indirect object) to be in the possessive Case, that is to say, 
 to be preceded by the preposition di. 
 
 286. The dative Case, marked by the preposition a, to, is 
 so called from the Latin dativus, which means giving^ or apt 
 to give. The verb governs this Case when there is a giving f 
 directing, or communicating of any kind done to the person or 
 thing rej)resented by the noun or pronoun ; as: ho dato il libro 
 A ToMASo, I have given the book to Thomas; gli mandero il 
 denaro, I will send him the money. Here, it is the nouns libro 
 and denaro which are the immediate objects of the verbs dare 
 and mandare, and the noun and pronoun Tomaso, gli, are not 
 immediate, but indirect objects^ of the acts of giving and 
 sending. 
 
 287. The ablative Case is so called, from the Latin ablativus, 
 which means taking away, or apt to take away. It is marked 
 by the preposition da, from, as denoting division, separation, or 
 abstraction. Example: hanno separdto il marito dalla 
 woGLiE, they have separated the husband from the wife. Heie 
 
XXII.] 
 
 or VERBS. 
 
 367 
 
 marito, in the objectiv^e Case, is the immediate object of the 
 verb separdrCf and moglie^ in the ablative, is the indirect 
 object. 
 
 288. So far this matter of Case is plain enough. But there 
 are, as relates to the three Cases, Possessive, Dative, and 
 Ablative, some instances of remarkable dijfterence between the 
 Italian and the English, and the notice of these is the main 
 object of the present chapter. The Italians say, with us, 
 
 curarsi di, 
 pentirsi di, 
 amm^nire di, 
 impossessaisidi, 
 spoglidre di, 
 privare di, 
 lagiidrsi di, 
 rallegrarsi di, 
 gloriaii di, 
 
 to be mindful of. 
 
 to repent of. 
 
 to warn of. 
 
 to possess oneself of, 
 
 to dispossess of, 
 
 to deprive of. 
 
 to complain of, ' 
 
 to be glad of, 
 
 to boast of. 
 
 In all the above examples,, we see our of corresponding to the 
 Italian di. Here the verbs in the Italian govern the possessive 
 Case, and ours perfectly agree with them. But, mark the fol- 
 lowing, in which we see all the Italian verbs governing the 
 possessive Case, while, to translate the Italian di, we have the 
 prepositions, with, for, at, in, on. 
 
 innamorarsi di, 
 provvedere di, 
 fornire di, 
 abbondave di, 
 vestire di, 
 empire dJ, 
 contentarsi di, 
 biasimlre di, 
 dolersi di, 
 , , ridere di, 
 
 mancare di, 
 fidarsi di, 
 pdscere di, 
 
 •Then, as to the dative Case : 
 
 to fall in love with. 
 
 to provide with. 
 
 to furnish with. 
 
 to abound with, or in. 
 
 to dress with, or in. 
 
 to fill with. 
 
 to be contented wiiA. 
 
 to blame for, 
 
 to be sorry for* 
 
 to laugh at. 
 
 to be wanting in. 
 
 to have faith in. 
 
 to feed on. 
 
 dare a, 
 manddre a, 
 rispondere <t, 
 insegnare a, 
 r6ndere a, 
 somministrare a, 
 
 to give to, 
 to send to. 
 to reply to. 
 to teach to. 
 to render to. 
 to administer to. 
 
368 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Cliap. 
 
 nr^ire n, 
 jironultcre a, 
 c^dere a, 
 BggiuDgere a, 
 
 to deny to. 
 to promise to. 
 to rede to. 
 to add to. 
 
 Here the two languages agree. But they differ again in the 
 following, wlierein we see our vi, for, of, from^ with, all 
 having to answer to the Italian a : 
 
 credere a, 
 proTved^re a, 
 pensare a, 
 doinandirc a, 
 rirliitdere a, 
 rascondere a, 
 celare a, 
 rimproverire a, 
 
 to believe in. 
 to provide ybr. 
 to think of. 
 to inquire of. 
 to require of. 
 t" hide from. 
 to conceal from. 
 to reproach with. 
 
 Then, again, there are a good many verbs which, in our lan- 
 guage, govern the objective Case, and require no preposition 
 after them, but which govern the dative in the Italian. Such 
 are the following : 
 
 nn6cere a, 
 
 to hurt. 
 
 piacere a, 
 
 to please. 
 
 dispiac^re a, 
 
 to displease. 
 
 chitdere ti, 
 
 to ask. 
 
 soddisfare a, 
 
 to satisfy. 
 
 nbbidire a 
 
 to obey. 
 
 ordindre a. 
 
 to order. 
 
 riniinziire a, 
 
 to renounce. 
 
 resistere «, 
 
 to resist. 
 
 rimediire a, 
 
 to remedy. 
 
 contrastare a, 
 
 to withstand 
 
 iuvidiare a, 
 
 to envy. 
 
 perdoudre a, 
 
 to pardon. 
 
 Some few verbs may be used either governing the dative or the 
 objective ; as uhbidire and soddisfare : we may say, ubbidir- 
 gli, to obey to him, or ubbidirlo, to obey him; soddisfargli, 
 to satisfy to him, or, soddisfarlo, to satisfy him. 
 
 Verbs governing the ablative are, as before observed, fol- 
 lowed by the preposition da, from, as the sign of that case; as: 
 
 dividere da, 
 assrtlvere rfa, 
 derivare da, 
 cacciare da, 
 rimorere da, 
 sbandire da. 
 
 to divide yrom. 
 to absolve yVotn. 
 to derive from. 
 to drive /rom. 
 to remove from. 
 to banish from. 
 
XXII.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 369 
 
 But, there is one thing here which it is very important to notice ; 
 namely, the use of the dative in place of the ablative^ which 
 often occurs after certain verbs that signify different manners 
 of removing^ or taking away^ such as toglierey levdre^ invo- 
 IdrCy rapirc, rubdre, froddre^ imboldre, furdre. Observe 
 well the following examples : 
 
 miste le tenebre col foco 
 
 Toglxcan la vista a gli occhi, e '1 lume 
 
 \_aV antro. 
 Car. E. 
 
 Non avrebbero voliito torla a Francia 
 per darla a loro. 
 
 Mac. P. 
 
 E tolse loro dopo la vittoria la liberta. 
 
 Mac. p. 
 
 Percli^ Crerusalem non riavete, 
 Che tolto 6 stato o vol da' rinnegdti ? 
 
 Aki. O. F. 
 
 Cli fa tolta la sua donna poi. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 Qual il past6r a cui '1 fier lupo ha tolto 
 II pii^ bel toro del coniuto armento. 
 
 Pol. S. 
 
 • 
 
 E levdr quesla donn^ anco ti v6glio. 
 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 — levato ho 1' elmo al conte. 
 Ari. O.F. 
 
 The shadows, mixed with the fire, 
 took the Sight from my eyes, and 
 the light from the cave. 
 
 They would not have wished to take 
 it ( Lombard y) from Fiance to give 
 it to thera. 
 
 And after the victory he took their 
 liberty from them. 
 
 Why do you not recover Jerusalem, 
 which has been taken from you by 
 the renegades ? 
 
 His mistress was afterwards taken 
 from him. 
 
 Like the herdsman from whom the 
 cruel wolf has taken the Quest bull 
 of the horned drove. 
 
 And [ will also carry off this lady 
 from thee. 
 
 I have trnken the helmet from the 
 count. 
 
 iamiV inv6li. Gua.P.F. | T\\om sttaltst ihyseM from me. 
 
 Av^ndo i Saracini rapita a' Cristiani 
 la grande Orifidmma loro, &c. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 lo vt 1* ho iniquam^nte rapita. 
 
 SoA. N. 
 
 Fui, non so come, a me stesso rapito. 
 
 Tas. a. 
 
 un anello, 
 
 Che fu rubato in India a una regina. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 II pane, the tu frodavi ad un vecchio 
 Idnguido, &c. Soa.N. 
 
 Rispondcva che 1' area gli era stata 
 imbolitta. Boc. D. 
 
 Un suo vicino che gli aveva imboluto 
 le ciriege. fJov. Ant. 
 
 The Saracens having taken awa%j 
 from the Christians theirgreatgolden 
 standard. 
 
 1 have unjustly taken her arvay from 
 you. 
 
 I was, I know not ho^, ravished from 
 myself. 
 
 A ring, which was stolen in India 
 /rom a queen. 
 
 Thebread, which thou pilferedstfrom 
 a feeble old man. 
 
 He replied that the chest had been 
 stolen from him. 
 
 A neighbour of his who had stolen 
 the cherries from him. 
 
 r5 
 
'370 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 Sfu/tti, in''schin, ilnl petto il ticco 
 Ch'a le sleAbu UJuta, &c. [errdre 
 
 Poi.. S. 
 
 La sembitfnzadi lei cbeme a mr/ura. 
 
 For.. 8. 
 
 Drivr, wretch, from thy breast th« 
 blind error Mhich sttalt thee from 
 thy!.elf. 
 
 The likeness of her vrbo steals me 
 Jroin inyBClf. 
 
 This use «)f the dative in place of the ablative is an idiom of 
 great itnporta/ice. Our language knows nothing of it, and 
 the Italian has it from the Latin. In order to explain this 
 seeming inconsistency in the language, some grammarians say 
 that the a doeSy inj'act, in this instance, memi the same as the 
 DA. But, if we were to grant this, what are we to say to the 
 pronoun in the dative Case v:ilhout any 'preposition? In the 
 above examples we see the dative pronouns lorOy to them, gli, 
 to him, ti, to thee, mi, to me, ve, to you; ahd, supposing that 
 the a gli occhi, a V antro, a Francia, a voi, a cui, al conte, a' 
 Cristiani, a me stesso, a una regina, ad un vecchio, a te stesso, 
 a me ; supposing these to mean, from my eyes, from the cave, 
 from France, and so on; still, it can hardly be said that the 
 sense of our from is included in the pronouns loro, gli, ti, mi, 
 ve. The truth is, that the verbs in the above examples do 
 govern the dative, and not the ablative Case, and "that we are 
 not at all to understand the sense of our from as being in- 
 tended, much less expressed, but, on the contrary, that of our 
 to. There is a principle, however, on which this idiom is 
 founded ; and the rule is this, that, whenever a \'erb signifying 
 a taking away of removing from of any kind is used in a 
 manner denoting that there is any deprivation caused to the 
 person or thing from whom or from which the taking takes 
 place, or if the person or thing be in any way affected by the 
 taking away ; then the verb governs the dative ; because, it is 
 understood that there is something done to the person or thing 
 which is represented by the noun or pronoun. In the second 
 of the above examples, we see the verbs tugliere, to take away, 
 and dare, to give, both governing the very same case : torla a 
 Francia, to take it from France, per darla a loro, to give it 
 to them. It is meaned, that France is an object affected by 
 the taking away of Loniibardy ; and, therefore, the Italians 
 here say, to take it away to France, meaning, to do to France 
 
XXII.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 371 
 
 the act of taking Lombardy away. But we must take notice 
 (for here is a distinction to be made which explains the matter), 
 that, if we speak of a person or thing as being merely a quarter 
 or place from which the taking is performed, and not as an 
 object in any way affected by the taking, then the verb must 
 be followed by the preposition da ; as : 
 
 E tohe dalla imroonda e bassa plebe, 
 Ed esalti) all' imperio Massimino. 
 
 Ari.O.F. 
 
 Slegb la donna, e la levb dal lido. 
 
 Ari. O. F. 
 
 And he (God) took Maxirain from 
 the dirty low mob, and exalted him 
 to the empire. 
 
 He untied the lady, and took hexanay 
 from the shore. 
 
 Now, in all of the eighteen foregoing examples, there is clearly 
 an act, tending to deprive, expressed as being done to the 
 persons and things represented by the nouns and pronouns in 
 the dative Case. While, on the contrary, in these two latter 
 examples, it is equally clear that the same sort of idea is not 
 intended. Here it is not meaned, that the mob is deprived of 
 Maximin, or that it is in any way affected by the taking ex- 
 pressed : the mob is spoken of merely to mark the grade in 
 society whence Maximin was elevated. Again, the shore is 
 jnentioned merely as a 'place whence the lady was removed, 
 and not as something deprived of the lady, or in any way 
 affected by her removal. In short, it is not here given to be 
 understood that there is any thing done to the mob, or to the 
 shore. Let us take one more example : 
 
 I ladri hanno tolto 11 dandro aW* 
 avaro, 
 
 II danaro fu tolto dalla cassa del 
 avaro, 
 
 The thieves have taken the money 
 from the miser. 
 
 The money was taken from the coffer 
 of the miser. 
 
 The miser is an object suffering deprivation by the act of 
 taking the money, there is something done to the miser; and, 
 therefore, it is right to say all* avaro, and not dall' avaro. 
 The coffer, on the contrary, is not to be regarded as deprived 
 at all, but merely as a place whence the money was taken ; 
 and here, therefore, it should be dalla cassa, and not alia 
 cassa. SiGNOR Biagioli explains this matter in the follow- 
 ing words : " Pour bien apprecier ces differences, il faut 1* etude 
 *' reflechie des classiques, et un certain sentiment que donne 
 
372 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 " seule r habitude du travail et de la rfjicxion /" The work 
 of this grammarian is certainly a clever one. Yet, what docs 
 he here do for his readers, but recommend them to their own 
 studious reflection and labour: what do his words mean but 
 this, '* you must Jind it out for yotirsclves ?" He says that 
 "U'c must have a *' certain sentiment ;'' and this is to be the 
 fruit of our study, labour, and reflection. But if Sigkor 
 BiAGiOLi had himself already gathered this fruit, it was his 
 business to make his readers partake of it. Or, did he consider 
 the " sentiment^' to be one so refined as not to admit of com- 
 munication ? * 
 
 The sense of our preposition for, which, in many cases, is 
 nearly the same as that of our to, may be expressed in Italian 
 by the personal pronoun in the dative Case ; as in these 
 examples : 
 
 V<jlscro gundagnarst mezzo lo stnto I They wished to pain for themsehes 
 di Lombardia. Mac. P. I half ilie state of Lombardy. 
 
 289. There is one thing more to be observed respecting th/^i 
 matter of Case ; namely, the idiom which 1 have already noticed 
 
 * If we observe the French language, we find just tlie same principle 
 prevailing with the verbs enlever, fiter, emportcr, derober, urracher, and 
 fiuch-like. Go to the Latin, and that language puts the question beyond 
 dispute ; for, there the Case muat always be known by the, termination of 
 the noun or pronoun. Take the following examples. 
 
 Auxilio mihi opus fuerat et Consulis, et SonalCis : quorum alterum etiani ad perniciem 
 tucam erat a vobis consulibus conrertnm; alterum rft°)ntii{ic<r penitus rrrptum. 
 
 CICERO, Orat.inPiso. 
 
 ma<rt multis balatibus a^nuio 
 
 Martius a stabulis ropuit kipus. 
 
 VIRGIL, m*. Mb. ix.565. 
 
 Pugnet, et adrersns tendat Alcnelabi in hostel : 
 Lt rapiat Paridi, quam Paris anti siki. 
 
 OVID, Episl. xi. 73- 
 
 Neqae detractunx ci tum quidquam est. qui pi) st pose it nosci, qui siet : 
 Ipse rri^uitvi,iu digito quem habuit, cirgint abicus auDuluui, 
 
 TERENCE, Hec. Act. it. Sc. i. 57. 
 
 These verbs, eripere, rapere, detrahere, have all on ablative sense; 
 they signify a taking axvay of some sort : yet, the nouns and pronouns 
 BEiPUBLic^, MAiRi, Paridi, sibi, EI, viRCiNi; all thess are in the 
 dative Case, and properly so, for the reason above stated. 
 
XXII.] 
 
 OF VERBS. 
 
 373 
 
 at Paragraph 146, in speaking of possessive pronouns. It is 
 the use of the definite article along with the personal pronoun 
 in the dative Case, instead of the possessive pronoun ; as : 
 
 II daca ordin6 che gli fosse tagliata la 
 testa. Ban. N. 
 
 Se ti sento favellaie, io ti tagliero il 
 collo. M.\c. C, 
 
 Ambo le labbra per furor si morse. 
 
 Tas.G.L. 
 
 I 
 
 The duke ordered that hit head 
 should be cut off. 
 
 If I hear thee speak, I will cut thy 
 throat. 
 
 He bit both his lipn for rage. 
 
 That is, literally : that the head should be cut off to him ; I 
 will cut the throat to thee ; he bit both the lips to himself; 
 instead of, che fosse tagliata la sua testa, io tagliero il tuo 
 collo, ambo le sue labbra morse. Again, a noun in the pos- 
 sessive Case, in English, may, in the same manner, be in the 
 dative in Italian; as : ho salvato la vita a Tomaso, Hterally, 
 I have saved the life to Thomas ; instead of, ho salvato la 
 vita Di Tomaso, I have saved Thomas's life, or, the life of 
 Thomas. 
 
374 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Syntax of Negatives. 
 
 290. What we have particularly to observe as to the nega- 
 tive, is, that, in Italian, there must, in many cases, be a double 
 negative, where we should employ the negative singly. No- 
 thing but practice can teach this matter perfectly. Yet, it is 
 a matter of so much importance, that the learner ought to have 
 the benefit of whatever rules and explanations can be given. 
 
 291. Our principal negatives are the words wo, noty nor, 
 and neither. These negative words are called adverbs of 
 negation. The Italians express our no by no, our not by non, 
 our nor by ne, and our neither by ne. For example : 
 
 Do you speak? 
 ^0, 1 speak not. 
 
 Neither Thomas nor John will 
 go thither, 
 
 Parlate ? 
 2Vo, non parlo. 
 
 jSi. Toma»o n'c Giovdnni v' an- 
 draoDO. 
 
 The negative non always precedes the verb ; and, therefore, 
 while we may say, / speak ^ot, or, / do "SOt speak, the 
 Italians say, non parlo^ but not parlo non. 
 
 292. When our neither and nor are employed together to 
 express negation as to two different acts or states of being, the 
 neither must be expressed by non, and the nor by ne ; as: 
 
 I neither write nor read. 
 
 You neither were tior are happy. 
 
 l^on scrivo nh leggo. 
 
 Non eravate n'c siete felice. 
 
 Also, when our verb to be, or some verb expressing existence, 
 is followed by neither and nor, and there are two states or 
 manner of being both spoken of in a negative way, the ne must 
 
XXIIL] 
 
 OF NEGATIVES. 
 
 375 
 
 be employed before each of the words descriptive of the state 
 or manner of being ; as : 
 
 He is neithei- a miser nor a pro- 
 digal, 
 
 The horse is neither hamlsome 
 nor ugly, 
 
 I am neither well nor ill, 
 
 Egli ^on e ne avaro ne pr6digo; 
 II cavallo non ^ 7ib bello tic brutta. 
 Non sto nt bene ni male. 
 
 293. When the nd is made use of for our nor and neither 
 before two nouns or pronouns, and the nouns or pronouns are in 
 the nominative Case, the negative, in ItaHan, is single, as in 
 the example before given, ne Tomaso ne Giovanni v' an^ 
 drdnno. But if there be a verb preceding the first ne which 
 causes the nouns or pronouns to be in any Case but the nomina- 
 tive, then the Italian requires non in addition to ne ; as : 
 
 I see neither Thomas nor John, 
 You love neither the one nor the 
 
 other. 
 He will give it neither to me nor 
 
 to you, 
 
 Non vedo ne. Tomaso nc Giovanni. 
 Non amate nc V uno nt V altro. 
 
 Egli non lo dara nh a me nc a voi. 
 
 294. In many cases where avc should use our either and or, 
 the Italians use their ne, neither or nor, and not their o, either 
 or or ; as : 
 
 Without seeing either the one or 
 the other, 
 
 I do not think he is either fortu- 
 nate or prudent. 
 
 Senza veder n't V uno «c 1' altro. 
 
 Non credo che sia nh fortundto nc 
 prudente. 
 
 296, When we make use of the comparative degree, with 
 our word than, there being a verb expressed after the than, 
 the che, which represents our than, in Italian_, must be followed 
 by the negative non ; as : 
 
 He was more rich than you are. 
 They speak better than they write, 
 
 Again, in the following example : 
 
 Egli era pi\i ricco cAevoi non siete. 
 Parlano meglio che non scrivono. 
 
 Ha corabattuto meglio con la forza 
 de' consigli, che 7ion han fatto gli 
 altri con quella dell' armi. 
 
 Ben, L. 
 
 He has fought better with the force 
 of his counsel, f/i«n others have done 
 , with that of their arms. 
 
 296. In such cases as those in which our but is employed in 
 
376 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Chap. 
 
 a negative or excliiRivc sense, the Italians express themsleves 
 by the phrases non altro che, non se non, non che, non che 
 non ; as : 
 
 /S»n fa allro eke parlire, 
 „ , or 
 
 I 
 
 1 ]iovi» but one horse, 
 
 You have but to asL to obtain it. 
 
 Not a day passes buthe comes to 
 our house, 
 
 Non fa se non parlare. 
 A'on ho che un cavnllo. 
 Kon nv^te che a chi^dere per 
 
 ott^nerlo. 
 A'on passa i^iorno che non T^nga 
 
 a cosa Dostra. 
 
 297. Our ever and Jievcr are both expressed, in Italian, by 
 the words mai or (jiammai. Mai is more frequently used. than 
 giamnUii ; as: 
 
 Have you ft«r seen him ? | L'av6te mai vediito. 
 
 The dearest friend I ei'rr had. ( II pii^ caro amico che av^ssi mdi. 
 
 When used in the sense of never y the mdi or giammdi generally 
 requires non along with it, and the non may either precede or 
 come after the verb ; as : 
 
 { 
 
 Jion V ho Tediito mat, 
 I have never seen him, \ or, 
 
 Miii non 1' ho vediito. 
 
 Our never again, never more, or not any more, is expressed 
 by non mdi piil ; as : 
 
 You will never see him again, | Non lo ^edrtte mai piu, 
 
 Mdi has sometimes one of the adverbs no or s} joined with it ; 
 and, in that case, the mdi serves to add force to the negation 
 or affirmation expressed : maino, meaning, Tto^ at all, no 
 never, or by no means ; maisi, meaning, yes indeed, verily. 
 
 298. The Italian negative no, as contrasted with the affirm- 
 ative s), means, in one case, the same as both our not and no, 
 and that is, when it is used with the preposition di, after some 
 verb expressing assertion, belief, or assurance; as: dico di no, 
 credo di no, I say not or no, I believe not ; dico di si, credo 
 DI si, I say yes or so, I believe so. The Italians also use no, 
 in the sense of our not, after the words perche and forse : they 
 say, pcrchc no ? why not'^. and not perche non ? forse no, 
 
XXIII.] OF NEGATIVES. 377 
 
 perhaps not, and noiforse non. If, however, there be any 
 verb expressed with the perM or forsCj non must then be 
 used, and not no ; as : 
 
 -Perch^ non Y avete fatto ? 
 Torse non V av6te fatto. ~ 
 
 Why hare you not done it ? 
 Perhaps you have not done it. 
 
 Our adverbs hardly^ scarcely, followed by when or hut, 
 are represented by appena. . These adverbs of ours always 
 include in themselves a negative meaning ; but, in Italian, if 
 the appena stand after the verb to which it is added, it must 
 be preceded by non ; as : 
 
 Non vi fui appena coraparso che la 
 corte mi destiu6 a questo carico. 
 
 Ben.L. 
 
 I had hardly appeared there, when 
 the court destined me to this em- 
 ployment. 
 
 299, The pronouns nessuno, nissuno, neuno, niuno, nulla, 
 Dobody, no one, or none ; nulla, or niente, nothing ; veruno, 
 no one, nobody, any : all these include in themselves negation ; 
 yet, they are frequently accompanied by the negative non. It 
 is given as the rule byGALiGNANi, that these pronouns must 
 precede the verb to adopt them without the negative ; for, if 
 they be after the verb, the negative non should stand before 
 them 3 as : 
 
 Hessuno ha parlato meco, 
 Nonho parlato con nessiLcno, 
 
 No one has spoken with me, 
 I have spoken with^o one. 
 
 The latter of these examples would, literally translated, make 
 very bad English: / have not spoken with no one. And, 
 according to reason, the mode of expression is equally bad 
 Italian. It would seem more consistent with principle to use, 
 along with the negative, the word alcuno, which means some 
 one or some, any one or any. Practice, however, favours the 
 double negative ; and it is more common to say, non ho par- 
 lato con NESSUNO, than, non ho parlato con alcuno; 
 though the latter of these is, undoubtedly, perfectly good Ita- 
 lian. So we may say, either, 
 
 JEgli non ama 7iessuno di voi, -j 
 
 or, > He lores not any one of you. 
 
 Egli non ama alcuno di voi. 
 
378 
 
 Voi non avete nulla altra raf;i(Soe, 
 
 or, 
 Voi non avite alcana altra ragi6ne, 
 
 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 You hare not any other reason. 
 
 J 
 
 Nulla and niaitc have both tlie same meaning ; both repre- 
 senting our word nothing . With nulla ^ in the sense of no- 
 thing, when unaccompanied by any noun, there is understood 
 the word cosa : nulla cosa, no thing. These words, as 
 also vcrunOy are sometimes used in a negative sense, with the 
 non, and sometimes otherwise ; as : 
 
 Non voglio nicnte, 
 Volele ntentef 
 JVim ne so nulla, 
 Avete nulla a dirmi ? 
 
 Volete7iu//n« 
 Kon posse trovdr veruno, 
 Quest' Abn non ha virtu veruna, 
 So avete amorveruHo per me, 
 
 I vi&ni nothing. 
 
 Do you want nnything, or nothing. 
 
 I know nolhivfi of it. 
 
 Have you ani/thing, or notking, to 
 
 tell me ? 
 Do you want anything. 
 1 can find nobody. 
 This herb has no virtue. 
 If you have any love for me. 
 
 After the adverb senza, the Italians generally employ the nes- 
 sunOy nissu.no, &c. ; but, in this case, aZcw/io may be used; 
 as ; . 
 
 E regno senza av^reguena con niiino 
 
 vicino, &c. 
 
 G. ViL, S. 
 
 Senza usser mai da alcuno conos- 
 ciiito. ^Boc. D. 
 
 And he reiqned nilhout having war 
 with any neighbour. 
 
 I Without being ever known to any 
 I one. 
 
 300. One more observation, as relates to the negative non. 
 Those verbs which signify y<?ar, doubt, or suspicion, being fol- 
 lowed by che, have the negative non after jhem, or otherwise, 
 pretty much the same as in our language. Such are the verbs, 
 temCre, to ie^r ', ai^er paM7'a, to be afraid; dubitdre, to doubt 
 or fear ; sospettdre or sospicdre, to suspect. For example : 
 
 Terao che egli won venga, 
 Temo che egli venga, 
 Ho paura che non sia vero, 
 Ho paiira che sia veto, 
 
 I fear that he will not come. 
 I fear that be will come. 
 I am afraid that it is not true. 
 I am afraid that it is true. 
 
 :SiGNOii Peretti gives the following examples, showing the 
 difference, here, between the Italian and the French : 
 
 Je Grains qup cet enfant ne tombe 
 dans I'eau, 
 
 { 
 
 Temo che quel bambino cada 
 
 nell' acqua. 
 I fear that that child will fall in 
 
 the water. 
 
.xxiir.] 
 
 OF NEGATIVES. 
 
 379 
 
 Je ciains que mon fr^re w'obti- 
 eune pas cette charge, 
 
 Temo che mio fratcllo non otten- 
 
 J j;a (juella cdrica. 
 
 J I fear that my brotlier w 
 
 ill 7lQt 
 
 obtain that employment. 
 
 Though the Italian does, as in the above examples, agree with 
 the English, both differing from the French ; nevertheless, there 
 may be found examples in practice, in which the Italian agrees 
 with the French and differs from the English, the no7i being 
 used where we should not employ any negative ; as : 
 
 Essendo dunque seguita questa pace, 
 si temeva solo che il re Alfonso non 
 la turbdsse. Mac. §. 
 
 This peace having, then, taken place, 
 it was fe-.ired only that king Al- 
 phonso might disturb it. 
 
 But, in this example as in all of the like that may be given, the 
 employment of the negative is contrary to Italian grammar. 
 
 After such verbs as the above-mentioned,, the non is some- 
 times employed, the che being omitted ; as : 
 
 Forte tem6a non forse di questo alcun 
 s' accorgesse. Boc. D. 
 
 Temetlero now questa cosa si risa- 
 pesse. Boc. D. 
 
 Costui t si sciocco, che io ho paiira 
 non guastasse ogni cosa. Mac. C. 
 
 Dubitdvan forse non Ser Ciapelletto 
 gP ingannasse. Boc. D. 
 
 Comincio a sospicar non costui desso 
 fosse. Boc. D. 
 
 He feared much that some might dis- 
 cover this. 
 
 They feared that this thing might 
 come to be known. 
 
 That fellow is so foolish that I am 
 afraid he might ruin everything. 
 
 They were afraid that perhaps Mr. 
 Ciappeletto might deceive them. 
 
 He began to suspect that this person 
 was the same. 
 
 SiGNOR Barberi says that the employment of the 7^o?^, as 
 in the foregoing examples, is perfectly correct ; because there 
 is something left to be understood, which, if expressed, would 
 render the negative necessary. Thus, says he, the phrase, 
 temo NON venya mio padre, I fear my father may come, 
 means, temo, non volendo che mio padre venga, I fear, 
 not being willing for my father to come. In this way, we 
 may reconcile the Italian with our own language in the ex- 
 amples just given: forte temea, non volendo cue forse 
 di questo alcun s' accorgesse ; &c. 
 
 301. The negative nc, nor, may be found, in some ancient 
 
380 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 authors, employed in the sense of o, or, or in that of c, and ; 
 as: 
 
 Quanto di l^ij)arlai ni tcrissi. | How much I tailed and wrote of 
 
 Pkt. S. I her. 
 
 Grammarians, in general, consider the 72t\ as thus used, to have 
 the sense of o, while some say that it is used instead of e. The 
 question, however, is one of little importance 3 for this dubious 
 employment of the word occurs but rarely. 
 
 « 
 
XXIV.] OF ADVERBS, &C. 381 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Syn'TAX of Adverbs, Prepositions, and 
 Conjunctions. 
 
 302. A GREAT many of the words which belong to these 
 three parts of speech have been given in hsts, under the head 
 of" Etymology y for which see Paragraphs 69, 70, and 71. 
 Little can be said, as far as regards principle or rule, about the 
 Syntax of these words. Prepositions and conjunctions are sub- 
 ject to no change in their endings to make them accord with 
 other parts of speech; and adverbs are so subject in a few 
 cases only, and in such cases are, in fact to be looked upon, 
 not as adverhSj but as adjectives. The Syntax of these 
 three classes of words has, of necessity, been partly treated of 
 already : that of Adverbs, as relating to the comparison of ad- 
 jectives and the modes and times of vei^Js, for which see Para^ 
 graphs 157, 187, and 228 j that of Prepositions, as relating 
 to compound nouns, the modes of verbs, and the governing of 
 Cases, for which see Paragraphs 114, 184, 277 ; that of Con- 
 junctions, as jelating to the modes of verbs, for which see 
 Paragraph 187. The negatives, also, treated of in a separate 
 Chapter (see Paragraph 290), consist of adverbs and conjunc- 
 tions. A right use of these parts of speech is very important ; 
 they are words of great consequence in every language ; but, 
 the far greater part of the cases in which languages differ from 
 one another as respects these words, are cases of mere idiom, 
 or peculiar modes of expression, for which practice alone is 
 the authority, and in which principle has nothing to do. I 
 will not, therefore, so far assume the province of the maker of 
 a dictionary or vocabulary, as to undertake to point out all the 
 
382 SYNTAX [Cliap. 
 
 Tarious senses in uhicli adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions 
 are employed. At the same time, some few observations 
 will be necessary in this place ; and in making these, I shall 
 notice, as respects each part of speech, such instances of dif- 
 ference between the two languages as appear to me the most 
 remarkable. 
 
 \st. Of Adverbs. 
 
 303. In speaking of the comp^arison of adjectives (see Par- 
 agraph 157) I have already noticed the adverbs piit, more, 
 menOy less, vicglio, better, and peggio, worse. Under the 
 head of adjectives, also (see Paragraph 178), are noticed the 
 words SI or cos), so, as ; come, as, so ; and also the words, 
 
 moHo,mncM, verj', in a great deijree. 
 pocn, little, »u>t very, in a small deeree. 
 (juauto, how much, how, in what degree. 
 tanto, \ 
 
 or > 80 much, or so, in such a degree. 
 cotavto, J 
 
 ah^unnlo, some, in a certain depree. 
 altrettanto, as rouc'n, ns, in a like degree. 
 trojipo, too much, too, io too great a degree. 
 
 It should be well observed, that, in the former sense, these are 
 all adjectives, when used in which capacity they must agree 
 by their termination, in gender and number, with the noun or 
 pronoun to which they 'relate ; while, in the latter sense, they 
 are merely what are called adverbs of degree, and, as such, 
 never undergo any change. Molta fatica, much trouble, molte 
 fatiche, many troubles, mold uomini, many men, poca gene- 
 rosita, little generosity, poche donne. Jew women, pochi fiumi, 
 few rivers ; and so on with the rest, as adjectives. But, we 
 must not say, le cases ono molte alte, the houses are very high ; 
 ella b poca generosa, she is not very generous; but, molto 
 alte, poco generosa ; because, the molto and poco only serve 
 here to modify the sense of the adjectives, alte, generosa, and 
 ought not to be made to agree, either in gender or number, 
 with the case and ella. In some old writers, we see these ad- 
 verbs molto, poco, quanto, &c. made to agree, as if adjectives, 
 with the noun or pronoun ; but such language is both ungram- 
 matical and out of use. 
 
XXIV.J 
 
 OF ADVERBS. 
 
 383 
 
 304. In addition to the above, there are a few Italian ad- 
 Terbs which are sometinnes used adjectively, and, when so used, 
 are made to agree in their terminations with nouns and pro- 
 noims in gender and number. Such are the words, 
 
 caro, dear, or clearly. 
 
 rado, rare, or rarely. 
 
 mezzo, mid, or half. 
 
 spesso, frequent, or frequently. 
 
 presto, quick, or quickly. 
 
 subilo, immediate, or immediately. 
 
 alto, high, or highly. 
 basso, low, or lowly. 
 piano, smooth, or smoothly. 
 tQsto, quick, or quickly. 
 tarda, late. 
 dirilio, straight. 
 
 For example, to use these as adjectives: 
 
 Ella mi ^ molto cara, 
 
 E una cosa rada, 
 
 Un n6mo di mezza eta,' 
 
 Gli ho parlato spesse volte, 
 
 Una presta risoluzione,' 
 
 Una morte sitbitoy 
 
 Una voce alia, ' 
 
 Un u6mo di bassa n£scita, 
 
 Le tavole sono piane, 
 
 Una via tosta, 
 
 L' ora t tarda. 
 
 La strada e diritta, 
 
 Then, again, as adverbs : 
 
 Vi costeri caro, 
 Questo m' accade di rado, 
 Egli ^ mezzo briico, 
 L' ho vediito spesso, 
 Andatevi presto, ^ 
 Andro subito, 
 Parlate piano, 
 Veniamo tosto, 
 Siamo tornati tnrdo, 
 \a.6o diritto, acasa, 
 Vol cantdte alto, 
 Noi cantiamo basso, 
 
 She is very dear to me. 
 
 Jt is a rare thing. 
 
 A man of middle age. 
 
 I have spoken to him often times. 
 
 A quick resolution. 
 
 A sudden death. 
 
 A high voice. 
 
 A man of low birth. 
 
 The tables are smooth. 
 
 A 7iear way. 
 
 The hour is late. 
 
 The road is straight. 
 
 It will cost you dearly. 
 
 This ravfhj happens to me. 
 
 He is half tipsy. 
 
 I have seen him frequently. 
 
 Go there quickly. 
 
 I will go immediately. 
 
 Speak softly. 
 
 We come soon. 
 
 We returned late. 
 
 I am going straight home. 
 
 You sing high. 
 
 We sing low. 
 
 305. Besides these, there might be examples given of other 
 words which, like some of the above cited, are, properly speak- 
 ing, adjectives, but which are sometimes used as adverbs, and, 
 as such, always retain the original termination. Forte, strong, 
 is used in the sense of molto, much, instead of fortemente, 
 strongly ; as, temo forte, I fear much. The adjectives chiaro, 
 clear, dolce, sweet, schietto, free, sodo, firm, sommesso, sub- 
 missive, sanoy healthy, dpertOy open, giusto, just ; these are 
 
384 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 frequently used adverbially, instead of the adverbs, chiara- 
 mcnte, dolcemhitej sc/iictcunhite, sodamcnte, sommesiamvnte 
 sanamaitCj npertamcnle, giustamcnie. 
 
 The words vicinOj near, and loJitano, distant, may be con- 
 sidered both as adjectives ?nd as adverbs, and may, accordingly, 
 be either made to agree with the noun or pronoun in termina- 
 tion, or otherwise. As: la mia casa e vicina, or vicino, alia 
 vostra, my house is near yours ; le mie case sono lontane, or 
 lontano, dalle vostre, my houses are far from yours. 
 
 The word solo represents our word alone, as used in the 
 
 , sense of the adverbs solamente or sultanto, only. But solo is 
 
 always an adjective, and must always agree with the noun or 
 
 pronoun in gender and number; and, in Italian, this word 
 
 generally precedes the noun to which it relates ; as : 
 
 Ma sola uua paura mi molisla, &c. | But one fear alone troubles me. 
 
 Abi. U. F. 
 
 La sola morte ■pub metier fine a' miei | Death only can put an end to my 
 
 mali. SoA. N. I grievances. 
 
 Teme le so/« Zf^ji, e non gU u6mini. I He fears the laws only, and not men. 
 
 Bzc.D. B P. I ^ 
 
 306. The -orord ecco is one of great use in Italian. It is 
 worth noticing, if it be only to show the difficulty that there is 
 in bringing some words under any thing like classification. 
 Ecco means, originally, behold, from the Latin ecce. But it 
 very often includes the meaning of the verbs to see and to 
 look, though it is, of itself, a bare interjection : ecco qui ! look 
 here! ecco U! look there! When joined with the personal 
 pronouns mi, ti, lo, la, &c. it expresses the sense both of the 
 adverbs here and there, and of the verb to be : eccomij here 
 I am ; eccolo, there he is ; eccola, there she is. 
 
 2d. Of Prepositions. 
 DI. 
 
 307. This preposition is very commonly used in the sense of 
 da, from, in speaking of removal from a place ; as, partire di 
 Roma, to depart yrom Rome, venire di Londra, to come from 
 London, tornare di Parigi, to return/row Paris ; instead of da 
 
XXIV.] OF PREPOSITIONS. 385 
 
 Jloma, da Londra, da Pari^i. Some condemn this use oi di ; 
 but practice admits it. Observe, also, the following : 
 
 La Rola, e'l sonno, e I'oziose piume, 
 Uauno deZmondo ogni virtCi sbandita. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 quella 
 
 Che trae 1' uom dtl sepolcro e'n vitail 
 
 [serba. 
 Pfff. T. 
 
 Luxury, laziness, and the slothful bed, 
 have banished every virtue from 
 the world. 
 
 She who draws man from the tomb 
 and keeps him alive. 
 
 Cacciataavea il sole dtl cielo gia ogni [ The sun had already chased every star 
 Stella. ' Boc. D. I /row the heavens. 
 
 There are some grammarians who say that the use of di, in 
 such cases as these, is admissible ; others, again, hold it to be 
 ungrammatical, and say that it should be dal mondo, dal 
 sepolcro, dal cielo. A great number of examples similar to the 
 above might be cited, and those, too, from the best writers. 
 
 308. Di is sometimes prefixed to certain adjectives and 
 nouns, in which case the preposition and adjective or noun 
 combined have the force of an adverb ; as, di rado, di nuovOf 
 di certo, di siihito, di necessity, di nascosto, di leggiero ; 
 instead of radamente^ rarely; nuovamente, newly; certa- 
 mente, certainly ; subifamente, suddenly ; necessariamente, 
 necessarily ; nascostamente, secretly ; leggiermente, easily. 
 
 309. Di is often equivalent to our in and with-, as: abbon- 
 dante di ricchezze, abounding in riches; lucente <ii gemme, 
 glittering with gems ; piccolo di persona, small in person ; 
 coperto di frondi ; covered with leaves ; vi rassomigliano di 
 cbraggio, they resemble you in courage ; che faremo di questo 
 denaro ? what shall we do with this money ? 
 
 A. 
 
 310. With the verbs farej to make or cause, and lasciare, 
 to leave or allow, this preposition is often used as in the fol- 
 lowing examples : 
 
 Ne so gia dir se senta am6re ; so ben I Nor can I say if shefeel love ; 1 know 
 Ch' a molti il fa sentire. Gua. P. F. 1 well that she makes many feel it. 
 
 Lodito Dio, che fa god^re alia Fran- 
 ^ cia un re di tanto zelo e pieta. 
 
 Ben. L. 
 
 Blessed be God, who causes France 
 to possess a king of so much zeal 
 and pi«ty. 
 
386 
 
 SYNTAX 
 
 [Cliap. 
 
 Efe seniir gli iproni a Bri(;1iadoro. 
 
 Ari.(>. F. 
 
 Fatt\\ a cinsriin chc mi acciisn dire 
 quando e duve io gli tagliai labor»a. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Luca laiciuva al tutto governdre oc;ni 
 cosa a lui. Mac. 1>. 
 
 And he made Brigliadoro feel the 
 .•'I)urs. 
 
 Make each one who accuses me tell 
 you when and where I cut his 
 purse. 
 
 Lucn left every thing to be goremed 
 entirely by him. 
 
 Some grammarians tell us, that in such instances as these, the 
 a is used in tlie sense of da, by. But this is certainly errone- 
 ous. The a, as here used, has no other tiian its original mean- 
 ing, namely, the same as that of our to. Translate the sen- 
 tences literally, and they will be thus : she causes to many to 
 feel, "who causes to France to possess, he caused to Brigliadoro 
 to feel, cause to each one to tell you, huca left every thing io 
 him to govern. We sometimes find the a used in nearly the 
 same manner with the verbs vcdere, to see; udire, to hear; 
 and sentire, to feel or hear; as: 
 
 Vedcndosi gualdre o quegli. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Udtndo a molti commendare la Cris- 
 liana fede. Boc. D. 
 
 Scntirono alia donna dirgli villania. 
 
 Boc. D. 
 
 Seeing themselves watched by those 
 persons. 
 
 Hearing the Christian faith praised 
 by many. 
 
 They heard abuse said to him by the 
 woman. 
 
 Literally, in the Italian, to those persons, to many, to the 
 woman ; that is, meaning that these acts of seeing and hearing 
 have the persons, the many, and the woman, for their objects, 
 and that the senses of sight and hearing are directed towards^ 
 or applied in relation to, those objects. 
 
 DA. 
 
 311. Da, prefixed to the personal pronouns, me, te, lui, lei, 
 not, voi, lorOf means the same as to the house of, in speaking 
 of going to a person's house ; as : 
 
 Venite da me, 
 Vengo da tot, 
 Souo tornati da lui, 
 
 Come to my house. 
 
 I come to your house. 
 
 They are returned to bis bouse. 
 
 When, also, it is prefixed to a possessive pronoun, or to a noun, 
 da has the same meaning ; as : 
 
XXIV.] 
 
 OF PREPOSITIONS. 
 
 387 
 
 Vado da mio padre, 
 "Vengono dal loro amicoj 
 Vanno dnl conte. 
 
 I am going to my father's. 
 They come to their friend's. 
 They are going to the count's. 
 
 312. Ba, following the verb avere, to have, and coming 
 before the infinitive of another verb, expresses obligation or 
 necessity; as: 
 
 Ho da torn are, 
 Avete da rispondere, 
 Hanno da parldre, 
 Avevo molto da fare, 
 
 I must return. 
 You have got to reply. 
 They have got to speak. 
 I had much to io. 
 
 313. It expresses, also, ia m^iny cdises, siiffici€ncy,JitnesSj 
 2iad resemblance ^ as: 
 
 Abbiamo testimonio da provarlo. 
 
 Parole da ammolir un cor di sasso, 
 
 Ha un paldzzo da re, 
 Vestito da contadino, 
 Parla da galantuomo, 
 
 We have evidence sufficient to 
 
 prove it. 
 Words enough to soften the heart 
 
 of a stone. 
 He has a palace fit for a king. 
 Dressed like a countryman. 
 He speaks like a gentleman. 
 
 314. When two nouns are used together, as is the case with 
 •what we call compound nouns, or a noun and a verb, the one 
 intended to express, adjectively. some quality or capacity in the 
 other, the Italians use da ; as in these examples : 
 
 Scatola dn tobacco, 
 Fiasco da vino, 
 Sala da mangiare, 
 
 Snuff-box. 
 
 Wine-flask. 
 
 Dining-room. 
 
 315. Da has the sense of our word about , in speaking of 
 numbers; as: 
 
 Da venti, 
 
 Da cinque cento, 
 
 About twenfy. 
 About five hundred. 
 
 316, Da, prefixed to the pronouns me, te, se, &c. means 
 the same as of oneself or one's oiun accord ; as : 
 
 L'ho fatto da me, \ I have done it of my onn accord* 
 
 Da se cominci5 a dirme, | Of himself he begaa to tell me. 
 
 s2 
 
388 SYNTAX [Chap. 
 
 N 
 
 3d. Of Conjunctions. 
 • « 
 
 317. As NE has the sense both of our nor and neither ^ go 
 has o that of our or and cither • as : 
 
 Ai di lui ni: di lei molto mi fldo. I Neither in him nor in ber Lave I 
 
 Pet. S. I miicl) faith. 
 
 O con il favor del pi^polo, o rnn il I Either with the fnvonr of the people 
 lavor de' grandi. Mac. T. I or with the favour of the great. 
 
 The words ne and o are subject to be joined with certain 
 other words, the two words together forming a conjunction ; in 
 the followii)g manner : 
 
 '» 
 
 nt pure or neppure, I ^^ ^^^ „^j ^^,^^^ 
 
 7iC nnche, or nraurhef "^ 
 
 vi, maruo, or neindnco, 
 
 o sin, or ossia, "j 
 
 o vero, or orvdro, I or, or else. 
 
 opur€,OToppure, ^ 
 
 318. E, which represents our ajid, is often used in the sense 
 of both or as well ; as: 
 
 Prepardtevi dunque ed al viiggio, I Prepare yourself, then, both for the 
 
 Ed alia pugna, f a!la vitt6ria ancora. I journey, and for battle, and for Tic« 
 
 Tas. G. L. ' torj' also. 
 
XXV.] 
 
 OF EXPLETIVES. 
 
 389 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Of THE Words called Expletives. 
 
 319. These are thus called, from the Latin expleo, which 
 means, literally, to over -Jill -, so that an expletive is a word, 
 the using of which makes a sentence more full of words than 
 what is necessary. The most remarkable, by far, of the Ita- 
 lian Expletives, are the little pronouns, twz, ti, sif cz, vij ne. 
 For example : 
 
 lo medesimo nonso quel ch' io mi voglio. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Perche, ovanque i' mi sia, io sono Amore. 
 
 Tas, a. 
 
 Non so dir bene ancora, s' io mi sia in 
 Italia, iu Fiancia. Ben. L. 
 
 Am6r,che meco albuon tempo ti stavi, &c. 
 
 Pet. S. 
 
 Dal palagio s' usci, e fuggisf a casa sua, 
 
 Boc.D. 
 
 Tra queste ella si stava &c. 
 
 GuA. p. F. 
 
 Voinon sapete cio che vol vi dite. 
 
 Boc.D. 
 
 Hi questi esempi ne sono piene le is- 
 torie. Mac. P. 
 
 Di questa materia se ne potrebbero dare 
 infinite esempi. Mac. P. 
 
 I myself do not know what I (mej 
 want. 
 
 For, wherever I (me) may be, I am 
 Lore. 
 
 I cannot well say yet, whether I (me) 
 am yet iu Italy, or in France. 
 
 Thou, love, who wast (thee) with me 
 in prosperous times. 
 
 He went (himself) out of the palace, 
 
 and fled (himself) to his own house. 
 
 Amongst these she (herself) stood. 
 
 You do not know what you say (your- 
 self). 
 
 Of these examples histories are full 
 (of them). 
 
 Of this matter one might give infi- 
 nite examples (of it).. 
 
 Other personal pronouns, also, are sometimes unnecessarily 
 employed after a noun, when the noun of itself would be suffi- 
 cient ; as : 
 
 Questo meccanismn io I' ho o?ser- 
 Tato in tutte le miecomposizioni. 
 
 Alf. V. 
 
 This mechanism I have observed (itj 
 in all my compositions. 
 
390 SYKTAX [Chap: 
 
 320, The CO, joinrd to the pronouns me, tc, se, is an unne- 
 cessary' repetition of the preposition con : con nicvo, with me ; 
 con tcco, with thee; con scco, with him, or her; instead of, 
 con me, or mcco, &c. as in the following : 
 
 i miei figlia6li, ch' eran on | My sons, who were will) me. 
 
 jHcco, &c. Dan. In. 
 
 Spero avtr asiai di buon tempo con i I hope to have a pleasant time enough 
 teco. Hoc. D. I with thee. 
 
 £ con teco menu la sua bella donna. | And he took with him his handsome 
 
 Boc. D. I wi/e. 
 
 321. The pronoun esso, coming between the preposition con 
 and another personal pronoun, is an expletive ; as, con esso luiy 
 vith him ; instead of con esso, or, con lux, 
 
 322. The pronoun egli, when used impersonally in the 
 sense of our it, is said to be an expletive, since there is no 
 necessity to express the it ; as : egli e troppo vero, it is too 
 true; egli e un' ora, it is one o'clock; instead of, c troppo vero, 
 h un'ora, using the verb, simply, without any pronoun at all. 
 
 323. Besides the foregoing, there are certain other words 
 •which I generally find noticed in grammars as being expletives 
 namely : beiie, well ; hello, fine ; tutto, all, or quite ; mai, ever, 
 or never; ^zV/, already, exactly, or indeed; poz, then ; pure, 
 yet, however, or even ; mica, not, or not at all ; via, away. 
 For examples as to the various senses in which these words are 
 employed, we may look to the dictionary. It cannot be said 
 that these words are devoid of meaning, or that they are wnne- 
 cessarily employed, in any instance; they, like many similar 
 terms, in our language, always assist in conveying some sense 
 which would be incomplete without them ; and they ought not, 
 therefore, properly speaking, to be called expletives. 
 
XXVI.] or COLLOCATION. 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Of Collocation. 
 
 324. Collocation, as a term in Syntax, means the placing 
 of words in sentences, or the situation in which they stand 
 with regard to one another, merely as relates to locality or 
 place. In this respect, the Italian is often very different from 
 our language, as the reader cannot hut observe before he have 
 arrived at the present chapter. I notice this matter here, as 
 being one of those to which the learner will have to pay atten- 
 tion. But it is a thing that admits of hardly any explana* 
 tion ; for it is one independent of rules or principles. We saj', 
 / luill speak to you : the Italians say, vi palerb (that is, to 
 you I will speak). We say, / will send him to you : the 
 Italians say, ve lo mandero (that is, to you him I luill send). 
 The placing of the verb, in relation to its nominative, is the 
 instance in which the two languages differ mostly. Take the 
 following for examples : 
 \ 
 
 E fabbricata questa casa in un sito j This house is built in a lofty situa- 
 eminente. Ben. L. I tion. 
 
 Mostra Senofonte nella sua vita di 
 Ciio questa necessita dello ingan- 
 »are. Mac.D. 
 
 Cacciata uvea il sole del cielo gia ogni i The sun had already chased every star 
 ^^^''«- ^ Boc. D. I from the heavens. 
 
 Era tumultuario e confuso il modo del I The mode of consultation was tumult- 
 ccusultare. Dav. S. 1 uous and confused. 
 
 This, in Italian, is very much a matter of choice. We have 
 not such room for choosing in our language : to say, is built this 
 house, meaning, this house is built, would not do at all ; yet, 
 in Italian, either of these manners may be adopted. It is in 
 
 Zenophon shows in his life of Cyras 
 this necessity of deceiving. 
 
392 SYNTAX. 
 
 t 
 
 poctr}', more especially, tliat the Italian collocation differs from 
 that of our lan^^uage ; for, here, the Italian is sometimes as 
 crooked as the Latin language, 'vvhen com{)ared to our own. 
 Our poets have a considerable license allowed them as to col- 
 location, but nothing like the same which the Italians have. 
 
 Non riconofceri si <\'\ leggicro 
 Vcaere madre me, buo figlio Amore. 
 
 Tas. a . 
 
 Venus, my mother, will not so easily 
 recognise me, her son Love. 
 
 If we give these words the same order in the translation that 
 they have in the original, the sentence will be thus: nnt will 
 recognise so easily Venus mother me, her son Love. This is 
 always a source of some puzzling to the beginner ; but we 
 must consider, at the same time, that the language is all the 
 more powerful and harmonious in proportion as it admits of the 
 transposition of words, and, consequently, that it is so much 
 the better worth the labour which the study of it requires. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printea by Milli, Jowett, and Mills, Bolt-court, Fleet-street. 
 
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