French & Italian Comparative Tutorial III: Learn Two Languages Simultaneously

Verbs: Present & Past Tenses

In both languages, there are three types of verbs grouped according to the last letters of the infinitive. In French, there are -er, -re, and -ir verbs; while in Italian, there are -are, -ere, and -ire verbs. The following chart uses aimer/amare (to love); vendre/vendere (to sell); and finir/finire (to finish) as examples for all regular verbs in the present and imperfect tenses. (There is another simple past tense, the preterite, but it is rarely used in modern spoken French or Italian).

	French			Italian
	aimer	vendre	finir		amare	vendere	finire
Present Tense	aime	vends	finis		amo	vendo	finisco
	aimes	vends	finis		ami	vendi	finisci
	aime	vend	finit		ama	vende	finisce
	aimons	vendons	finissons		amiamo	vendiamo	finiamo
	aimez	vendez	finissez		amate	vendete	finite
	aiment	vendent	finissent		amano	vendono	finiscono

Imperfect Tense	aimais	vendais	finissais		amavo	vendevo	finivo
	aimais	vendais	finissais		amavi	vendevi	finivi
	aimait	vendait	finissait		amava	vendeva	finiva
	aimions	vendions	finissions		amavamo	vendevamo	finivamo
	aimiez	vendiez	finissiez		amavate	vendevate	finivate
	aimaient	vendaient	finissaient		amavano	vendevano	finivano

Not all French verbs that end in -ir or all Italian verbs that end in -ire use the above endings. Some -ir / -ire verbs have slightly different endings in the present tense. In French, verbs such as partir, dormir, sortir (to leave, to sleep, to go out) are conjugated thus: for the singular forms, take off the last three letters, and add -s, -s, -t; for the plural forms, take off the last two letters, and add -ons, -ez, -ent. For example, je pars, tu pars, il part, nous partons, vous partez, ils partent. In Italian, verbs such as partire, dormire, aprire (to leave, to sleep, to open) are conjugated without the -isc- before the regular endings. For example, parto, parti, parte, partiamo, partite, partono.

Regular Verbs

to like, love	aimer	amare	to sell	vendre	vendere
to sing	chanter	cantare	to wait for	attendre	aspettare
to look for	chercher	cercare	to listen	écouter	ascoltare
to begin	commencer	cominciare	to lose	perdre	perdere
to study	étudier	studiare	to answer	répondre (à)	rispondere (a)
to close	fermer	chiudere	to go down	descendre	scendere
to live	habiter	abitare	to live	vivre	vivere
to play	jouer	giocare	to understand	comprendre	capire
to eat	manger	mangiare	to finish	finir	finire
to show	montrer	mostrare	to choose	choisir	scegliere
to speak	parler	parlare	to punish	punir	punire
to think	penser	pensare	to fill	remplir	riempire
to work	travailler	lavorare	to obey	obéir (à)	ubbidire (a)
to find	trouver	trovare	to succeed	réussir	riuscire
to jump	sauter	saltare	to cure, heal	guérir	guarire

Spelling Changes in the Present Tense

There are a few spelling changes in regular verbs in the present tense. These changes are made to reflect the pronunciation of the conjugated verb.

In French, verbs that end in -ger will use -geons as the first person singular form (nous mangeons); while verbs that end in -cer will use -çons as the first person singular form (nous commençons). Verbs that end in -yer change the y to i in all forms except nous and vous (j'essaie, tu essaies, nous essayons). Some verbs add an accent grave to the letter e to all forms except nous and vous (j'achète, il achète, vous achetez). Some verbs double the consonant before the verb endings in all forms except nous and vous (tu appelle, elle appelle, vous appelez).

In Italian, verbs ending in -care and -gare add an h before the -i of the second person singular and first person plural forms (tu and noi). Verbs ending in -ciare and -giare do not add an extra -i before the tu and noi forms.

Irregular Imperfect Verbs

In French, there is only one verb in the imperfect that is irregular, être. It uses the stem ét- and the regular imperfect endings.

être
étais	étions
étais	étiez
était	étaient

In Italian, the stem of essere becomes er- for io, tu, lui/lei and loro, and it does not take the v, while the stem for noi and voi is era- and it does take the v. The stems for bere, dire and fare are derived from the old Latin infinitives, and are beve-, dice-, and face-. They also take the regular endings of the imperfect.

essere		bere		dire		fare
ero	eravamo	bevevo	bevevamo	dicevo	dicevamo	facevo	facevamo
eri	eravate	bevevi	bevevate	dicevi	dicevate	facevi	facevate
era	erano	beveva	bevevano	diceva	dicevano	faceva	facevano

Pronominal Verbs

Pronominal verbs are conjugated like regular verbs, but have an extra pronoun before them that agrees with the subject of the verb. Most of these verbs indicate a reflexive action - that reflects back on the subject. You can translate the pronouns as myself, yourself, etc. but we rarely use these words in English. Some other verbs indicate a reciprocal action, translated by each other in English.

myself	me	mi
yourself	te	ti
himself/herself/itself	se	si
ourselves	nous	ci
yourselves	vous	vi
themselves	se	si

Reflexive verbs

to break (arm, leg, etc.)	se casser	rompersi	to fall asleep	s'endormir	addormentarsi
to hurry	se dépêcher	sbrigarsi	to get dressed	s'habiller	vestirsi
to relax	se détendre	rilassarsi	to get married	se marier	sposarsi
to rest	se reposer	riposarsi	to get up	se lever	alzarsi
to get along	s'entendre avec	intendersi con	to have a good time	s'amuser	divertirsi
to train/practice	s'entraîner	allenarsi	to remember to	se souvenir de	ricordarsi di
to be interested in	s'intéresser à	interessarsi di	to shave (the face)	se raser	farsi la barba
to be bored	s'ennuyer	annoiarsi	to stop (oneself)	s'arrêter	fermarsi
to be called	s'appeler	chiamarsi	to wake up	se réveiller	svegliarsi
to complain about	se plaindre	lamentarsi di	to wash up	se laver	lavarsi

Notice in French that the reflexive pronoun precedes the infinitive, whereas in Italian, it is connected to the end of the infinitive.

When conjugating verbs, the reflexive pronoun is always placed before the conjugated verb in both languages. However, in sentences where the pronominal verb remains in the infinitive, the reflexive pronoun must agree with the subject of the main verb in the sentence.

Nous nous levons à 8h chaque matin. / Ci alziamo alla 8 ogni mattina. We get up at 8 am every morning.
Il s'appelle Michael. / Si chiama Michael. He's called Michael.
Vous allez vous amuser ce soir. / Andate a divertirvi stasera. You're going to have fun tonight.

Etre sur le point de / Stare per + infinitive

If you want to express to be about to do something, French uses être sur le point de + infinitive and Italian uses stare per + infinitive. You can use these expressions in the present and imperfect, just as in English.

J'étais sur le point de réussir. / Stavo per riuscire. I was about to succeed.
On est sur le point de manger. / Stiamo per mangiare. We're about to eat.
Vous êtes sur le point de finir. / State per finire. You are about to finish.

Etre en train de / Stare + gerund

To translate that an action is currently happening (the progressive form in English: be + gerund), French uses the phrase être en train de + infinitive, while Italian uses stare + gerund. Remember that être and stare can be conjugated in other tenses besides the present or imperfect. To form the gerund in Italian, just replace the verb endings: -are becomes -ando, -ere becomes -endo, and -ire also becomes -endo. There are three irregular forms: fare - facendo, dire - dicendo, bere - bevendo.

Je suis en train de lire. / Sto leggendo. I am reading. / I'm busy reading. / I'm in the middle of reading.
Il était en train de parler. / Stava parlando. He was talking.
Elles sont en train de partir. / Stanno partendo. They are leaving.

On / Si

To translate you, we, they, the people (in general, abstract terms), French uses on + 3rd person singular conjugation whereas Italian uses si + 3rd person conjugation (which agrees with the subject for number). However, on in French is a regular subject pronoun while si is not in Italian. It is actually a reflexive pronoun normally used with pronominal verbs. But this should not cause many problems as you rarely use the subject pronouns in Italian anyway. The subject for the Italian expression is placed after the verb and the verb agrees with it - singular or plural.

En France, on boit beaucoup de café. / In Francia, si beve molto caffè. In France, they drink a lot of coffee. / In France, a lot of coffee is drunk.
En Italie, on mange beaucoup de glaces. / In Italia, si mangiano molti gelati. In Italy, they eat a lot of ice cream. / In Italy, a lot of ice cream is eaten.

French uses this same construction (reflexive pronoun + 3rd person conjugation) for the impersonal form and as a subsitute for the passive mood. For example, in the French Le pain s'achète à la boulangerie the verb is constructed the same as in the Italian Al panificio si compra il pane. It's just the word order that is slightly different. Both sentences mean Bread is bought at the bakery, but the French construction is not used as often because active expressions with on are more common: On achète le pain à la boulangerie.

Plaire / Piacere

Because the verbs aimer and amare means to like and to love, it would be better to use the verbs plaire and piacere when talking about things that you like. The construction of these verbs can be confusing though because the word order is different from English. In French, the word order is subject + indirect pronoun + plaire. In Italian, the word order is indirect pronoun + piacere + subject. You can think of these verbs as meaning to please rather than to like. Note that the verbs are only conjugated for third person singular and plural, because they agree with the subjects, and not the indirect pronouns.

Le football me plaît.	Mi piace il calcio.	I like soccer.
Le ski te plaît.	Ti piace lo sci.	You like skiing.
Les pommes lui plaisent.	Gli / Le piacciono le mele.	He / she likes apples.
Le sport nous plaît.	Ci piace lo sport.	We like sports.
Les films vous plaisent.	Vi piacciono i film.	You like films.
La natation leur plaît.	A loro piace il nuoto.	They like swimming.

Verbs: Imperative

The imperative is the command form of the verb. The subject (you) is implied and doesn't need to be expressed. You can also use the we form of verbs to express Let's... The imperative conjugations are very similar to the present tense conjugations in both languages.

Imperatives in French are slightly easier to form. The you singular form is identical to the tu conjugations, except -er verbs drop the -s. The you singular formal / you plural and we forms are identical to the vous and nous conjugations. To form the negative of an imperative, just place ne before the verb and pas after. For pronominal verbs, the affirmative imperative is formed connecting the reflexive pronoun to the verb with a hyphen (te becomes toi in imperatives). To form the negative pronominal imperative, the reflexive pronoun is once again placed before the verb and ne is placed before the pronoun and verb, and pas is placed after the verb.

Reste là. Stay there.
Finis ton travail. Finish your work.
Ecoutez le professeur. Listen to the teacher.
Commençons. Let's begin.
Ne fume pas. Don't smoke.
Ne parlez pas. Don't speak.
Dépêche-toi. Hurry.
Ne vous levez pas. Don't get up.

Italian imperatives are not quite as similar to the present tense conjugations. The you singular form is -a for -are verbs and -i for -ere/-ire verbs. The you singular formal (the Lei form) is the opposite: -i for -are verbs and -a for -ere/-ire verbs. The you plural and we forms are identical to the voi and noi conjugations (just as in French). To make a command negative, just add non before the verb; except for you singular imperatives, where you use non + the infinitive. Pronominal verbs form the imperative by placing the reflexive pronoun after the verb, and they are written together as one word. Negative imperatives for pronominal verbs just add non before the verb; except for you singular pronominal verbs, which use non + the infinitive. However, the reflexive pronoun attached to this infinitive must still agree with the subject, so it will be -ti and not -si.

Resta lì. Stay there.
Finisci il tuo lavoro. Finish your work.
Ascoltate il professore. Listen to the teacher.
Cominciamo. Let's begin.
Non fumare. Don't smoke.
Non parlate. Don't speak.
Sbrigati. Hurry.
Non alzatevi. Don't get up.

	French Irregular Imperatives			Italian Irregular Imperatives
	être	avoir	savoir		andare	venire	fare	dare	dire	essere	avere	stare
you singular	sois	aie	sache		va'	vieni	fa'	da'	di'	sii	abbi	sta'
you sing. formal	soyez	ayez	sachez		vada	venga	faccia	dia	dica	sia	abbia	stia
you plural	soyez	ayez	sachez		andate	venite	fate	date	dite	siate	abbiate	state
Let's…	soyons	ayons	sachons		andiamo	veniamo	facciamo	diamo	diciamo	siamo	abbiamo	stiamo

In Italian, dare is to give and dire is to tell.

Verbs: Present Perfect / Past Perfect Tenses

The perfect tenses in French and Italian are formed with to have or to be as auxiliary verbs and a past participle. (In English, to have is always the auxiliary verb.) To have or to be are in the present tense for the present perfect, and in the imperfect tense for the past perfect. The majority of verbs will use to have as the auxiliary verb; however, all prononimal/reflexive verbs in both languages use to be as the auxiliary. To form the past participle of a verb, use the following endings:

	French	Italian
-er / -are	-é	-ato
-ir / -ire	-i	-ito
-re / -ere	-u	-uto

Verbs using to have (avoir/avere) as an auxiliary
Verbs that can take a direct object use to have as an auxiliary. Word order is simply present/imperfect form of have + past participle. In the negative, word order becomes ne + present/imperfect of have + pas + past participle for French, and non + present/imperfect of have + past participle for Italian. There is no agreement with the past participle in gender or number unless there is a preceding direct object. Follow the same rules for agreement as you do with nouns and adjectives: add -e for feminine and -s for plural in French; change -o to -a for feminine, -o to -i for masculine plural, and -o to -e for feminine plural in Italian.

	French	Italian	English
Positive	Tu as mangé la pomme.	Hai mangiato la mela.	You ate the apple.
Negative	Tu n'as pas mangé la pomme.	Non hai mangiato la mela.	You didn't eat the apple.
Preceding Direct Object	Tu ne l'as pas mangée.	Non la hai mangiata.	You didn't eat it.

Verbs using to be (être/essere) as an auxiliary
Verbs that cannot take a direct object (i.e. intransitive verbs), as well as all pronominal verbs, generally use to be as an auxiliary. Word order is present/imperfect form of be + past participle for intransitive verbs and reflexive pronoun + present/imperfect form of be + past participle for prononimal verbs. In the negative, word order becomes ne + reflexive pronoun + present/imperfect of be + pas + past participle for French, and non + reflexive pronoun + present/imperfect of be + past participle for Italian. The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject for all verbs using to be as an auxiliary.

	French	Italian	English
Positive	Elle est allée à la poste.	E andata alla posta.	She went to the post office.
Negative	Elle n'est pas allée à la poste.	Non è andata alla posta.	She didn't go to the post office.
Positive Pronominal	Nous nous sommes lavé(e)s.	Ci siamo lavati/e.	We washed ourselves.
Negative Pronominal	Nous ne nous sommes pas lavé(e)s.	Non ci siamo lavati/e.	We didn't wash ourselves.

The verbs that require to be (être) as an auxiliary in French are: aller-to go, sortir-to go out, venir-to come, mourir-to die, arriver-to arrive, partir-to leave, devenir-to become, monter-to go up, entrer-to enter, tomber-to fall, revenir-to come back, rester-to stay, rentrer-to return home, retourner-to return, naître-to be born, passer-to go by (pass), descendre-to go down. Only a few of these verbs have irregular past participles: venir-venu, devenir-devenu, revenir-revenu, mourir-mort, and naître-né. And five of these verbs (monter, descendre, sortir, rentrer, and passer) can sometimes be conjugated with avoir if they are followed by a direct object.

Some verbs that require to be (essere) as an auxiliary in Italian are: arrivare-to arrive, andare-to go, uscire-to go out, entrare-to enter, costare-to cost, venire-to come, essere-to be, partire-to leave, stare-to stay/be, sparire-to disappear, tornare-to come back, nascere-to be born, morire-to die. Five of these verbs have irregular past participles: venire-venuto, essere-stato, stare-stato, nascere-nato, and morire-morto.

Note that avoir and être both use avoir as an auxiliary in French, but that avere uses avere and essere uses essere as an auxiliary in Italian! And remember that the past participle agrees with a preceding direct object when the auxiliary is to have; but the past participle agrees with the subject when the auxiliary is to be.

Venir de / Appena

To express that something has just happened, use a form of venir + de + infinitive in French, and a form of the correct auxiliary verb + appena + past participle in Italian.

Le train vient de partir. / Il treno è appena partito. The train just left.

House & Furniture

English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
alarm clock	le réveil	la sveglia	hook	le crochet	l'uncino
armchair	le fauteuil	la poltrona	house	la maison	la casa
ashtray	le cendrier	il portacenere	iron (flat)	le fer á repasser	il ferro da stiro
attic	le grenier	la soffitta	kerosene	le pétrole	il petrolio
balcony	le balcon	il balcone	key	la clef	la chiave
basement	le sous-sol	il sottosuolo	kitchen	la cuisine	la cucina
basket	la corbeille	la cesta	ladder	l'échelle (f)	la scala
bathroom	le bain	il bagno	lamp	la lampe	la lampada
bathtub	la baignoire	la vasca da bagno	lawn	la pelouse	il prato
batteries	la pile	le pile	light bulb	l'ampoule	la lampadina
bed	le lit	il letto	living room	le living	il soggiorno
bedroom	la chambre	la camera	lock	la serrure	la serratura
bell (door)	la sonnette	il campanello	mailbox	la boîte á lettres	la cassetta postale
blanket	la couverture	la coperta	matches	les allumettes	i fiammiferi
blinds	le store	la persiana	mattress	le matelas	il materasso
bookcase	le bibliothèque	la libreria	microwave oven	le four á micro-ondes	il forno microonde
box	la boître	la scatola	mirror	le miroir	lo specchio
broom	le balai	la scopa	oven	le four	il fornello
bucket	le seau	il secchio	pantry	le garde-manger	la dispensa
camcorder	la caméra	la telecamera	picture	le tableau	il quadro
camera	l'appareil-photo (m)	la macchina fotografica	pillow	l'oreiller (m)	il cuscino
candle	la bougie	la candela	pipe	la pipe	la pipa
carpet	le tapis	il tappeto	pipe (water)	le tuyau	il condotto
cassette	la cassette	la cassetta	poker	le tisonnier	l'attizzatoio
CD player	la lecteur de CD	il lettore CD	radio	le radio	la radio
ceiling	le plafond	il soffito	record	le disque	il disco
chair	la chaise	la sedia	refrigerator	le réfrigerateur	il frigorifero
chimney	la cheminée	il camino	roof	le toit	il tetto
cigar	le cigare	il sigaro	room	la pièce	la stanza
cigarette	la cigarette	la sigaretta	rug	le tapis	il tappeto
clock	la pendule	l'orologio	sheet	le drap	il lenzuolo
closet	le placard	l'armadio	shelf	l'étagère	lo scaffale
compact disc	le CD	il compact disc	shovel	la pelle	la pala
computer	l'ordinateur (m)	il computer	shower	la douche	la doccia
corner	le coin	l'angolo	sideboard	le buffet	la credenza
cupboard	l'armoire (f)	l'armadio	sink	l'évier	il lavandino
curtain	le rideau	la cortina / tenda	sink (bathroom)	le lavabo	il lavandino
cushion	le coussin	il cuscino	sitting room	le salon	il salotto
desk	le bureau	la scrivania	smoke	la fumée	il fumo
dining room	la salle á manger	la sala da pranzo	sofa	le canapé	il sofà
door	la porte	la porta	stairs	l'escalier (m)	la scala
drawer	le tiroir	il cassetto	steps	les marches	lo scalino
dresser	la commode	il comò	story	l'étage (m)	il piano
driveway	l'allée	il viale d'accesso	stove	le poêle	la stufa
DVD player	le lecteur de DVD	il lettore DVD	study	le cabinet de travail	lo studio
fence	le portail / clôture	lo steccato	switch	le commutateur	l'interruttore
film	la pellicule	il rullino	table	la table	la tavola
fire	le feu	il fuoco	tap (faucet)	le robinet	il rubinetto
flame	la flamme	la fiamma	telephone	le téléphone	il telefono
flashlight	la lampe de poche	la pila tascabile	television	la télévision	il televisore
flat	l'appartement (m)	l'appartamento	toaster	le grille-pain	il tostapane
floor	la plancher	il pavimento	toilet (WC)	le cabinet	il gabinetto
floor (levels)	l'étage (m)	il piano	towel	la serviette	la salvietta
flower	la fleur	il fiore	vacuum cleaner	l'aspirateur (m)	l'aspiratore (m)
freezer	la congélateur	il congelatore	vase	le vase	il vaso
front walk	la promenade	la passeggiata	VCR	la magnétoscope	il videoregistratore
furniture	les meubles (m)	i mobili	wall (house)	le mur	il muro
garage	le garage	il garage	wall (room)	la paroi	la parete
garden	le jardin	il giardino	window	la fenêtre	la finestra
ground floor	le rez-de-chaussée	il pianterreno	yard	le jardin	il giardino
hearth	la cheminée	il caminetto

Buildings & Materials

English	French	Italian	English	French	Italian
airport	l'aéroport	l'aeroporto	port	le port	il porto
bakery	la boulangerie	la panetteria	prison	la prison	la prigione
bank	le banc	la banca	restaurant	le restaurant	il ristorante
bar	le bar	il bar	road	le chemin / la route	il cammino / la via
barn	le grange	il granaio	school	l'école	la scuola
barracks	la caserne	la caserma	sidewalk	le trottoir	il marciapiede
bench	le banc	la panchina	square	la place	la piazza
bridge	le pont	il ponte	stable	l'écurie (f)	la stalla
bookstore	le librairie	la libreria	stadium	le stade	lo stadio
building	le bâtiment	l'edificio	stop sign	le stop	lo stop
butcher's	la boucherie	la macelleria	store	le magasin	il negozio
castle	le château	il castello	street	la rue	la strada
cathedral	la cathédrale	il duomo	suburb	la banlieue	il sobborgo
cemetery	le cimetière	il cimitero	theater	le théâtre	il teatro
church	l'église	la chiesa	tower	la tour	la torre
cinema	le cinéma	il cinema	town	la ville	la città
consulate	le consulat	il consolato	town hall	la mairie	il municipio
corner	le coin	l'angolo	traffic light	le feu de circulation	il semaforo
courtyard	la cour	il cortile	university	l'université	l'università (f)
crosswalk	le passage pour piétons	il passaggio pedonale	village	le village	il villaggio
dock	le bassin	il bacino	alloy	l'alliage (m)	la lega
dry cleaner's	le pressing	la tintoria	brass	le laiton	l'ottone (m)
embassy	l'ambassade (f)	l'ambasciata	brick	la brique	il mattone
factory	l'usine (f)	la fabbrica	cement	le ciment	il cemento
farm	la ferme	la fattoria	chalk	la craie	la creta
fire hydrant	la bouche à incendie	l'idrante	clay	l'argile (f)	l'argilla
fountain	la fontaine	la fontana	coal	le charbon	il carbone
garage	le garage	il garage	concrete	le béton	il calcestruzzo
grocery store	l'épicerie	la drogheria	copper	le cuivre	il rame
hospital	l'hôpital (m)	l'ospedale (m)	cork	le liège	il sughero
hotel	l'hotel	l'albergo (m)	glass	le verre	il vetro
house	la maison	la casa	gold	l'or (m)	l'oro
hut	la hutte	la capanna	iron	le fer	il ferro
inn	l'auberge (f)	l'osteria	lead	le plomb	il piombo
lane / alley	la ruelle	il vicolo	leather	le cuir	il cuoio
library	la bibliothèque	la biblioteca	lime	la chaux	la calce
market	le marché	il mercato	marble	le marbre	il marmo
ministry	le ministère	il ministero	mercury	le mercure	il mercurio
monument	le monument	il monumento	metal	le métal	il metallo
museum	le musée	il museo	rubber	le caoutchouc	la gomma
palace	le palais	il palazzo	silver	l'argent (m)	l'argento
path	le sentier	il sentiero	steel	l'acier (m)	l'acciaio
pavement	le trottoir	il marciapiede	stone	la pierre	la pietra
pharmacy	la pharmacie	la farmacia	tar	le goudron	il catrame
pier	la jetée	il molo	tin	l'étain (m)	lo stagno
police station	le commisariat	il commissariato	wood	le bois	il legno

Go on to French & Italian IV →