Italian All-in-One For Dummies (15 page)

All the days except
domenica
(doh-
meh
-nee-kah) (
Sunday
) are masculine. Using the definite article with the day names changes their meaning, a specific day to “every” one of those days. For example:

La domenica andavamo dalla nonna.
(lah doh-
meh
-nee-kah ahn-dah-
vah
-moh
dahl
-lah
nohn
-nah.) (
Every Sunday, we used to go to Grandmother's.
)

Il lunedì vado a scuola.
(eel looh-neh-
dee
vah
-doh ah
skwoh
-lah.) (
Every Monday, I go to school.
)

Il sabato non lavorano.
(eel
sah
-bah-toh nohn lah-
voh
-rah-noh.) (
They don't work on Saturdays.
)

Chiuso il mercoledì.
(
kyooh
-soh eel mehr-koh-leh-
dee.
) (
Closed Wednesdays.
)

Months and seasons of the year

Being able to express the day will get you only so far; you also need to know the months of the year, which are listed in
Table 2-4
. As with days of the week, the months aren't capitalized in Italian.

Table 2-4 Months of the Year

To remember which months have 31, 30, or 28 (sometimes 29) days, this children's rhyme can help:

Trenta giorni ha novembre, con aprile, giugno e settembre. Di ventotto ce n'è uno. Tutti gli altri ne han trentuno.
(
trehn
-tah
johr
-nee ah noh-
vehm
-breh kohn ah-
pree
-leh
jooh
-nyoh eh seht-
tehm
-breh. dee vehn-
toht
-toh cheh neh
ooh
-noh.
tooht
-tee lyee
ahl
-tree neh ahn trehn-
tooh
-noh.) (
Thirty days hath November, with April, June, and September. With twenty-eight days there is but one. All the others have thirty-one.
)

Half of the seasons in Italian are feminine, and the other half are masculine. And, like the days of the week and months of the year, they're not capitalized.

la primavera
(lah pree-mah-
veh
-rah) (
spring
)

l'estate
(leh-
stah
-teh) (
summer
)

l'autunno
(lou-
toohn
-noh) (
fall; autumn
)

l'inverno
(leen-
vehr
-noh) (
winter
)

To say
during the summer
or
winter
or whichever season, you say

in estate
(een eh-
stah
-teh) (
during/in the summer
)

in inverno
(een een-
vehr
-noh) (
during/in the winter
)

Specific dates

In Italian, you use cardinal numbers to express a specific date, except for the first day of the month. For example:

Oggi è il primo settembre.
(
ohj
-jee eh eel
pree
-moh seht-
tehm
-breh.) (
Today is September 1st.
)

Domani sarà il due.
(doh-
mah
-nee sah-
rah
eel
dooh
-eh.) (
Tomorrow is the 2nd.
)

Il mio compleanno è il quattro settembre.
(eel
mee
-oh kohm-pleh-
ahn
-noh eh eel
kwaht
-troh seht-
tehm
-breh.) (
My birthday is September 4th.
)

Loro si sposano l'otto giugno.
(
loh
-roh see
spoh
-sah-noh
loht
-toh
jooh
-nyoh.) (
They are getting married June 8th.
)

Here are a few more specifics on how to note dates in Italian:

The day and numbers always precede the name of the month.

Lunedì, 12 maggio, è il suo compleanno.
(looh-neh-
dee,
doh
-dee-chee
mahj
-joh, eh eel
sooh
-oh kohm-pleh-
ahn
-noh.) (
Monday, May 12th, is his birthday.
)