I Piccoli Italiani 
(E Pee-COHL-lee ee-tah-lee-AH-nee, The Little Italians)

The club is open to anyone who would like to begin to learn the basics of 
the Italian language.  These lessons will very simple, hence the name "I 
Piccoli Italiani" (The Little Italians).  We will pick up the basics, as we 
would have as a if we were babies in the family.  The disadvantage is that
we really have no "master" or parents to listen to imitate, nor do we have 
them to make corrections.  The goal would be to become familiar with some 
basic Italian words, phrases and expressions, that we could carry out some 
limited communication.  The secondary goal would be to give us enough 
background to allow us to tackle a real live Italian course some day. 
HAVE FUN!


Lezione#3   Dov' 'e? 
(Doh-VEH, Where is it?)

NOTATE: We are introducing the concept of gender.  Italian words are either 
masculine or feminine.  Most femine words end in "a"; most masc. words 
end 
in "o".  The gender of words that end in "e" (which can be either) must be 
memorized.  "La" is the femine singular article; "il" is one of the 
masculine 
singular articles.  We have indicated the genders of the words. 

vocaboli nuovi

l'automobile (lah ah-toh-moh-BEE-leh, the car) Fem
la carta (lah CAR-tah, the paper) Fem
la casa (lah CAH-sah, the house) Fem
la chiave (lah k'YAH-veh, the key) Fem
la chiesa (lah k'YEH-sah the church) Fem
la banca (la BAHN-kah, the bank) Fem
il dottore (ell doht-TOH-rey, the doctor) Mas
il denaro (ell dee-NAH-roh, the money) Mas
la farmacia (lah fahr-mah-CEE-ah, the drugstore) Fem
il gabinetto (ell gah-bee-NEHT-toh, the toilet)
il libro (ell LEE-broh, the book) Mas
il museo (ell moo-CEE-oh, the museum) Mas
la penna (lah PEHN-nah, the pen) Fem
la porta (la POR-tah, the door) Fem
il quadro (ell KWAHD-roh, the picture) Mas
la sedia (lah SEDH-yah, the chair) Fem
la stanza (lah STAHN-sah, the room) Fem
la tavola (lah tah-VOH-lah, the table) Fem
il telefono (ell teh-leh-FOH-noh, the telephone) Mas
il treno (ell TREH-noh, the train) Mas
la via (lah VEE-ah, the street) Fem 

NOTATE: via is street as in Main Street (i.e. in the name of a street); 
another word for street is "la strada" (la STRAH-dah).


Conversazione semplice: Use this simple question and combine it with 
various words from this and other lessons and then answer the question.

1. (domande)  Dov' 'e? (la carta)
(Doh-VEH lah CAR-tah?, Where is the paper?)

(risposte)  La carta e' sulla tavola. 
(lah CAR-tah EH SUE-lah TAH-voh-lah, The paper is on the table.)

2. (domande)  Dov' 'e la penna?
(Doh-VEH lah PEHN-nah, Where is the pen?)

(risposte)  La penna e' sulla tavola.  
(lah PEHN-nah EH SUE-lah Tah-voh-lah, The pen is on the table.)

3. (domande)  Dov' 'e la banca? 
(Doh-VEH lah BAN-kah?, Where is the bank?)

(risposte)  La banca è qua. 
(Lah BAN-kah EH KWAH-ah?, The bank is here.)
  or
(risposte)  La banca e' qui vicino.
(Lah BAN-kah EH KWEE vee-CHEE-noh, The bank is next door.)

STUDENTI: Use the above to ask questions similar questions.  When you 
refer to things in your home or town, use both the English and Italian 
names.  Don't be afraid to go to a dictionary and look up words of common 
things around your house (window, closet, etc.)  One trip is to make flash
cards (3 x 5 cards) with the English word on one side and the Italian on the 
other.  Some people tape the Italian name to the object so it is always in 
front of them.  If possible get a partner.  Practice this for a few days.  Try 
to master one lesson per week.  This gives you a chance to really learn and 
use the lessons.