VERBS – THE MOODS

VERBS – THE MOODS

•    Il modo indicativo

The modo indicativo, indicative mood, is used to talk about a real, true action, to describe the word, to discuss about situations. The action or the fact are presented as sure.
    
The indicative has eight tenses, four simple and four compounded.

- Il presente

The present is used:
• To express an action or a statement verified or existing in the very same moment of the speech.  Oggi vado in università. (Today I’m going to università.) Marco è molto stanco. (Marco is very tired.)
• To express a costume:
Ogni lunedì andiamo in piscina. (Every Monday we go to the swimming pool.)
D’estate vanno in vacanza al mare. (In summer they go on holyday at the seaside.)
• To express a general truth:
La terra è un pianeta. (Earth is a planet.) D’inverno fa freddo. (Winters are cold.)

- L’imperfetto

The imperfect is used:
• To express a past action lasted for long;
Parlava da ore. He talked for hours.
• To express a costume in the past:
Si fermava a scrivere al parco. He usually wrote in the park.
• In descriptions:
La spiaggia era deserta, c’erano solo qua e là dei gabbiani. The beach was desert, there were only some seagulls hither and thither

- Il passato prossimo

The compound perfect is used:
• To express an action that took place in a recent past:
Settimana scorsa sono andato a Berlino. (Last week I went to Berlin.)
• To express the present effects of a past action:
Ho imparato il francese nel 2010. (I learnt French in 2010.)

- Il passato remoto

The simple perfect is used:
• To express an action concluded far away in the past.
Vissi per tre anni a Roma. (I lived in Rome for three years.) La guerra finì nel 1945. (War ended in 1945.)

- Il trapassato prossimo e il trapassato remoto

The pluperfect and the past anterior:
• They must always be linked to other verbs to express actions happened in the past, before other different actions.
Avevo già letto i tutti i suoi libri, quando lo incontrai alla conferenza. (I had already read all his books when I met him at the conference.)
Quando ebbe finito, se ne andò. (When he had finished, he went away.)

- Il futuro semplice

The future is used:
• To express a future action, that will take place in a moment in a time subsequent to the time when you speak:
Tra un mese sarò promosso. (Within a month I’ll be upgraded.)

    
- Il futuro anteriore

The future perfect is used:
• The future perfect is used to indicate facts or actions that will take place in the future (in relation to the moment when we are speaking or writing), but before facts or actions that will happen even later.
Quando sarò arrivata a casa, farò una bella doccia.( When I got home, I'll take a shower).

•    Il modo congiuntivo

The subjunctive mood, modo congiuntivo, is mainly used to express something that is uncertain, subjective or a possible hypothesis.
In particular, it’s used:

• After verbs expressing
hope: Spero che Giovanni prenda un bel voto all’esame. (I hope Giovanni will take a good mark at the exam.)
doubt, uncertainty: Non credo che mi voglia vedere di nuovo. (I don’t think he would see me again.)
wish: Vorrei che tu fossi qui. (I wish you were here.)
fear: Temo che arrivi un temporale. ( I fear it’s going to rain.)

• After these expressions
è necessario: È necessario che il capo prenda provvedimenti. (It’s necessary to the boss to take some actions.)
è importante: È importante che i miei genitori stiano tranquilli. (It’s important to my parents to stay calm.)
è meglio: È meglio che se ne vada. (It’s better for him to go away.)
sembra: Sembra che tu sia molto felice oggi. (You seem really happy today.)

• After sentences indicating
feelings: Mi spiace che partano. (I’m sorry about their leaving.) Sono felice che tu sia qui. (I’m happy you are here.)

Subjunctive has four tenses, two simple and two compunded.

•    Il modo condizionale

The conditional mood, condizionale, is used:
• to express a possibility: Potrebbe venire al cinema con noi. (He should to the cinema with us).
• to express a wish: Vorrei tanto andare a Venezia.(I’d really like to go to Venice.)
• to ask something: Vorrei un caffè, per favore. (I’d like a coffee, please.)
• to give an advice: Dovresti impegnarti di più. (You should apply more yourself.)
• to make proposals: Potreste andare a sentire quel concerto. (You should go to that concert.)• to express a fact, an action or an event which can/will take place only at certain conditions: Se avessi più voglia, mi iscriverei in palestra. (If I had more will, I would go to the gym.)
• to express an unrealized wish or an action that didn’t happen: Avrebbero potuto dirlo prima. (They could have told it before.) Avrei voluto davvero venire alla tua festa, ma non ce l’ho fatta. (I really had wished to come to your party but I didn’t succeed.)

The conditional has two tenses, one simple and one compounded.

•    Il modo imperativo

The imperative, imperativo, is used to express
• an order: Chiudi la porta! (Shut the door.)
• an invitation: State in silenzio, per favore. (Be silent, please.)
• a piece of advice: Fai piano! (Easy does it.)
• a ban: Non urlate! (Don’t shut!)

The imperative has only one tense, the present, and two persons: the second singular, tu, and the second plural, voi.
 

•    Il modo infinito

The infinitive, infinito, is the basic form of the verb. It expresses the concept of the action, without determination of time and persons. Verbs used in the infinitive generally depend on another verb.

It has two tenses, the present and the past.

 It’s used to indicate
• an exclamation: Correre, scattare! (Let’s run! Let’s spring!)
• a doubt: Cosa portare? (What to bring?)
• an order: Non fare rumore! (Don’t be noisy!)
• a ban: Non fumare. (Don’t smoke.)
• a description: Ecco arrivare i primi alunni. (Here are coming the first schoolboy.)
• a purpose: Dormire per essere riposato. (To sleep to be rested.)
• a cause: Ho ottenuto quel voto per aver studiato tanto. (You got that mark after studing a lot.)

•    Il modo participio

The participle, participio, is a particular mood: it possesses the both characteristics of a verb and of an adjective. Actually, like a verb it has the conjugation, two tenses and the number; like an adjective it has gender and number.

It has two tenses: the present and the past.

• The present participle isn’t much used as a verb; it’s used especially as a noun or an adjective: insegnante (teacher), cantante (singer), sognante (dreaming).
• The past participle can be used alone to express, in a subordinate sentence, an action happened before the one expressed in the principal sentence: Seduti al tavolo, ordinarono il pranzo. (They sat at a table and ordered the lunch.)
• The past participle can be used as a noun or an adjective: profumato (perfuse), bollito (boiled), tagliato (cut).
• The past participle, combined with essere and avere auxiliaries, is used in the formation of all the coumpound tenses: sono arrivati (they arrived), hanno dormito (they splept), erano seduti (they sat).
Attention: when the auxiliary is essere, the past participle agreed in number and gender with the subject; when the auxiliary is avere, the participle is invariable.

•    Il modo gerundio

The gerund, gerundio, is used in connection with another verb on which it is closely dependent. It’s used to express relationship of:
• cause: Avendo mangiato troppo, le è venuto mal di stomaco. (Because of eating too much, she has stomache.)
• manner: Leggendo ha imparato un sacco di cose. (Reading I learnt many things.)
• time: Andando al lavoro, ho visto Marco. (Going to work I saw Marco.)
• means: Va a scuola usando la bicicletta. (He goes to school by bike.)

Moreove, it can indicate an action happened:
• at the same time of another one: Parlando, mi sono dimenticata quello che dovevo fare. (Talking, I forgot what to do.)
• before another one: Avendo parlato a Chiara, aveva preso accordi. (Having talked with Chiara, she already made arrangements.)

 

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