Post
by Alessio » Tue 17 Sep 2013, 14:06
Floow = typo for "floor". >.<
Exercise 100% correct, apart from the question mark in the interrogative sentence (you forgot to put it).
Today, our topics will be the prospective aspect (even if we don't regard it as an aspect) and some other temporal constructions.
PROSPECTIVE ASPECT
In Italian, you can use a special construction to show that an action is going to happen immediately. In linguistics, this is called the prospective aspect. The Italians generally treat prospective sentences as phraseological sentences, thus you'll never hear someone else calling it a grammatical aspect; however, for the sake of clarity, we will call it like that.
To form a prospective sentence, take the verb stare, conjugate it properly, then add the preposition per and a verb in the infinite form.
Sto per mangiare. - I'm going to eat (in a few moments).
In the past (which must always be an imperfect past: the prospective aspect can't be used with compound tenses), a prospective sentence will get a different meaning: it will express that the subject nearly did something, but in the end they didn't succeed or they changed their mind.
Stavo per mangiare. - I nearly ate (but then I changed my mind/failed to do so).
In the future, it retains its prospective meaning, but it's used very rarely.
Quando starò per dormire, spegni la luce. - A few moments before I sleep/fall asleep (I don't think when I'll be going to sleep is acceptable in English, is it?), turn off the lights.
You can't use the prospective in any conditional sentence: remember that in those cases the indicative future replaces a non-existing subjunctive future, thus nothing else can be used in its place.
OTHER TEMPORAL SPECIFICATIONS - INIZIARE A, CONTINUARE A, FINIRE/SMETTERE DI
In Italian, there are many other ways to tell the duration of an action, either focusing on its continuation, or on the moment it started/ended. These three (actually, four) expressions can be translated as start, continue/keep and finish/end.
Iniziare a
First off, you should know that all of the verbs we will use today are regular; finire undergoes the so-called root dilatation (finisco, finisci, finisce, finiamo, finite, finiscono), and the others just follow the respective conjugation. Only "smettere", conjugating like "mettere", is irregular in the past participle (smesso).
Iniziare a means "to start". So:
Ho iniziato a fumare. - I started smoking.
Quando inizi ad andare in palestra? - Where are you starting going to the gym? (notice that here Italian uses the present - I don't know if I've mentioned it before, it is possible to substitute the future with the present for scheduled actions)
Inizierò domani. - I'll start tomorrow (... but the future is still acceptable).
Continuare a
It's not difficult to tell that "continuare" means "to continue" or "to keep" (as in "I kept talking"). Just watch out: the pronunciation is /konti'nwaːre/ and the 1sg form, continuo, is pronounced /kon'tiːnwo/, with the stress falling on the <i>.
Nonostante i ripetuti richiami, l'alunno Rossi continua a disturbare la lezione. - In spite of repeated warnings, the student Rossi keeps disturbing the lesson (typical... how do you call these? We call them demerit notes, they're what the teachers write on the gradebook when you don't behave as you should).
Non potevo fermarmi, perciò ho continuato a guidare. - I couldn't stop, so I continued to drive.
Finire/smettere di
These two have actually slightly different meanings. While finire di indicates that an action ended without telling further details, smettere di specifically means "to give up", as in "I gave up smoking"; thus, it involves a habit.
A giugno finirò di andare a scuola. - In June, I'll quit going to school (better, but not literal, translation: after June, I won't go to school anymore).
Mio padre ha smesso di fumare. - My father gave up smoking.
In the imperative form, their meanings change. Generally, when you're angry because someone is continuing to do something you wish they quit, you use smettere di.
Smetti di urlare! - Quit shouting!
You can also say "smettila" alone (I don't know what the hypothetical object would be, the feminine is strange here, but it's like that).
Smettila! - Quit!
If you use finire di, instead, the interlocutor will understand that he has to continue the current action until he's done (so it's practically the exact opposite, and can be translated quite literally with the English verb "to finish"). Example:
Finisci di mangiare prima di telefonare a Rachele. - Finish eating before telephoning Rachel.
That's all! Here are the usual exercises.
A. PROSPECTIVE ASPECT - Complete the sentences choosing the right tense and aspect (not all of these sentences require a prospective).
1. Corri! Quell'albero ________________ (cadere), ci resterai sotto! - Run! That tree is going to fall, you'll get trapped under it!
2. Non mi piacciono quelle nuvole. Penso che domani __________________ (piovere). - I don't like those clouds. I think it will rain tomorrow.
3. Non posso tardare, o _________________ (perdere) il pullman! - I can't be late, or I'll miss the bus!
4. Ho bevuto troppo alcool. Adesso non mi sento bene, ________________ (vomitare). - I drank too much alcohol. Now I'm not feeling good, I'm going to throw up.
5. Kimi Räikkönen _______________ (realizzare) il suo sogno: se vincerà, _______________ (essere) campione del mondo di Formula 1! - Kimi Räikkönen is going to realize his dream: if he wins, he'll be the Formula 1 World Champion! (just in case you didn't notice I'm a Ferrari fan...)
6. Resta ancora un po'! Mio marito __________________ (tornare) e vorrebbe vederti. - Stay a bit more! My husband will be back soon (notice that there is no word meaning "soon" in this sentence - hint?) and he'd like to see you.
B. OTHER TEMPORAL SPECIFICATIONS
Complete the sentences with the correct form of iniziare a, continuare a, finire di or smettere di.
1. Ieri ___________________ studiare tedesco. - Yesterday I started studying German.
2. Eravamo ancora a Massa quando ___________________ piovere. - We were still in Massa when it started raining.
3. Prima di giocare, ___________________ fare i compiti! - Before playing, finish doing your homework!
4. Gli hanno sparato, ma ha ________________ correre. - They shot him (IT: they shot at him), but he kept running.
5. _______________ bere. _______________ fumare. ______________ dire parolacce. Porca putt*na, m'è caduta la sigaretta nel whisky! - I quit drinking (alcohol). I quit smoking. I quit saying bad words. Holy sh*t, my cigarette fell in my whisky! (popular joke)
6. ___________________ colpire il nemico finché non muore. - Keep hitting the enemy until he dies.