Introducing yourself · Italian grammar A1

Contents · A1

The first sentences of a conversation are learnt as set phrases: Ciao, mi chiamo Marco, e tu?, Di dove sei?, Come stai? They rest on the personal pronouns, on the verb chiamarsi and on the choice between the familiar tu and the polite Lei.

Personal pronouns: io, tu, lui, lei; me, te#

Formation

The subject pronouns are io (I), tu (you, one person, familiar), lui (he), lei (she), noi (we), voi (you, several people) and loro (they). After a preposition, the stressed form of the pronoun is used: me, te, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro. Only me and te differ from the subject pronouns.

Person	Subject pronoun	Stressed form	Example
1st singular	io	me	con me
2nd singular	tu	te	per te
3rd singular	lui, lei	lui, lei	con lui, per lei
1st plural	noi	noi	con noi
2nd plural	voi	voi	per voi
3rd plural	loro	loro	con loro

Use

The ending of the verb shows the person, so the subject pronoun is usually left out: Sono di Roma means “I am from Rome”, Abitiamo a Napoli “We live in Naples”. The pronoun is expressed to contrast two people or to stress one of them: Io sono di Roma, e tu? It is also expressed after anche (“too”) and neanche (“not… either”): anche io (“me too”), neanche lui (“nor does he”). The stressed form is used after a preposition (con me, per te, da lui) and, with a, to stress the person who likes something with piacere: A me piace il tè, a lui piace il caffè.

Io lavoro a Milano, lei lavora a Torino.I work in Milan, and she works in Turin.
Siamo amici.We are friends.
Vieni al cinema con me?Are you coming to the cinema with me?
Domani cucino io per te.Tomorrow I’m the one cooking for you.
Mangiamo con loro stasera.We are eating with them this evening.

Difference from English

In English, a statement always has a subject: “am from Rome” is not a sentence. In Italian, Siamo di Napoli is the normal form; Noi siamo di Napoli is not wrong, but the pronoun adds a stress, like “we are from Naples”. A pronoun put in every sentence makes the Italian sound heavy and insistent. Italian has no everyday pronoun for “it”: È tardi is “It is late”, Piove “It is raining”. English “me” has two equivalents: me after a preposition (con me, “with me”), but io as a subject, including where English says “me”: “Me too” is Anche io, and “It’s me” is Sono io.

Common mistakes

~~Lui è italiano? Sì, lui è di Milano. Lui lavora a Roma.~~ → Lui è italiano? Sì, è di Milano. Lavora a Roma.Once the person is known, the verb alone is enough; the pronoun is kept for a contrast.
~~Sono stanco. — Anche me.~~ → Sono stanco. — Anche io.After anche, the subject pronoun io is used.
~~Vieni al mare con io?~~ → Vieni al mare con me?After a preposition, the stressed form is used.

→ See also: To like: mi piace, mi piacciono (A1)

Practise

“Introducing yourself: ciao, essere, mi chiamo”, To be: io sono, tu sei, lui / lei è “Introducing yourself: ciao, essere, mi chiamo”, To be in the plural: noi siamo, voi siete, loro sono “Piacere: mi piace, mi piacciono”, Stressed pronouns: a me, anche a me

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To be called: mi chiamo, ti chiami, si chiama#

Formation

Chiamarsi (“to be called”) is a reflexive verb: it is conjugated with a reflexive pronoun placed before the verb. In the present: mi chiamo, ti chiami, si chiama, ci chiamiamo, vi chiamate, si chiamano. In the negative, non is placed before the reflexive pronoun: non mi chiamo.

presente
	chiamarsi
io	mi chiamo
tu	ti chiami
lui/lei	si chiama
noi	ci chiamiamo
voi	vi chiamate
loro	si chiamano

Use

At A1, chiamarsi is used mainly to introduce oneself, in the three persons of the singular: Come ti chiami? — Mi chiamo Paolo. A person addressed politely is asked Come si chiama? Where English says “My name is Elena” or “I am called Elena”, Italian says, word for word, “I call myself Elena”; the question is formed with come (“how”): “What’s your name?” is Come ti chiami?, and Qual è il tuo nome? is correct but much less usual. The other reflexive verbs follow the same pattern: mi alzo, ti alzi, si alza.

Ciao, mi chiamo Elena, e tu?Hi, my name is Elena. What’s yours?
Il mio gatto si chiama Leo.My cat is called Leo.
Buonasera, signore, come si chiama Lei?Good evening, sir. What is your name?

Common mistakes

~~Io chiamo Marco.~~ → Mi chiamo Marco.Chiamarsi is reflexive: without the reflexive pronoun, io chiamo means “I call”.
~~Mi non chiamo Luca.~~ → Non mi chiamo Luca.Non comes before the reflexive pronoun.

Practise

“Introducing yourself: ciao, essere, mi chiamo”, First exchanges: ciao, mi chiamo, di dove sei “Introducing yourself: ciao, essere, mi chiamo”, To be: io sono, tu sei, lui / lei è

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The polite form: Lei#

Formation

One person is addressed politely with the pronoun Lei and the verb in the third person singular, the form used with lui and lei: Lei è…?, Come si chiama?, Dove abita? In writing, the polite Lei often takes a capital letter. Like the other subject pronouns, it is often left out: Signora, è di Firenze?

Use

Tu is used with a friend, a child or a relative, and among young people; Lei is used with an adult one does not know, or one addresses as signore or signora. Before a surname, signore becomes signor: signor Bianchi. The person addressed with Lei answers in the first person: È medico? — Sì, sono medico. Scusi (“excuse me”) is said to a person addressed with Lei, scusa to a person addressed with tu. With piacere, the polite pronoun is Le: Le piace Roma? Several people, whether addressed as tu or as Lei one by one, are addressed with voi and the second person plural.

Buongiorno, signora, Lei è la madre di Luca?Good morning. Are you Luca’s mother?
Signor Neri, dove abita?Where do you live, Mr Neri?
Scusi, ha un minuto?Excuse me, have you got a minute?
Ragazzi, siete pronti?Are you ready, everyone?

Difference from English

English has one “you” for every situation; Italian has three: tu for one person addressed familiarly, Lei for one person addressed politely, voi for several people. The choice is made before the first word, because it changes the verb: “Where do you live?” is Dove abiti? to a friend, Dove abita? to a stranger and Dove abitate? to a group. Lei is the same word as lei (“she”), and its verb is the verb of “she”: Lei è italiana? means “Are you Italian?” said to a woman, or “Is she Italian?”; the situation makes the difference clear. Using tu with a stranger, a shop assistant or an older person can sound rude.

Common mistakes

~~Signora, sei di Roma?~~ → Signora, è di Roma?A person addressed as signora is addressed with Lei and the third person singular.
~~Signora, siete di Roma?~~ → Signora, è di Roma?Voi is used for several people; one person addressed politely takes the third person singular.
~~Signore Rossi, come sta?~~ → Signor Rossi, come sta?Before a surname, signore becomes signor.

In short

Point	Form	Example
subject pronouns	io, tu, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro, usually left out	Sono di Roma.
pronoun expressed	contrast, stress, after anche	Io sì, lui no.
stressed forms	me, te, lui, lei, noi, voi, loro after a preposition	con me, per te
chiamarsi	reflexive pronoun + verb	mi chiamo, ti chiami, si chiama
polite form	Lei + third person singular	Lei è francese?
several people	voi + second person plural	Siete pronti?

Practise

“Introducing yourself: ciao, essere, mi chiamo”, Polite address: Lei è, come si chiama

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