Is it true that Italian is the easiest Romance language?

italian   Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:28 pm GMT
ITALIAN GRAMMAR

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Subjunctive

The Subjunctive mood expresses doubt, uncertainty, hope, fear, possibility, opinions, etc. and is used much more frequently in Italian. It is mainly used in dependent clauses (sentences introduced by a conjunction that do not have a complete meaning) that are introduced by che.

The "congiuntivo" is also required with particular expressions such as:

Impersonal forms » è necessario che, bisogna che, è importante che... tu venga al cinema - it's necessary that, it's important that... you come to the movie
Comparative clauses » è il film più interessante che abbia visto - it is the most interesting movie that I saw
Sentences introduced by » affinché - perché (so that), tranne che (a part that), a meno che (unless), sebbene - malgrado - nonostante (altough), purché - a patto che (provided that), come se (as if)
Sentences introduced by the adjectives or pronouns » qualsiasi - qualunque (any), chiunque (whoever), dovunque (anywhere)
Sentences introduced by the adjectives or pronouns » niente che - nulla che (nothing that), nessuno che (nobody that), l'unico/a che - il solo/a che (the only one that)
Italian subjunctive has four forms. The two first ones (Present and Imperfect Subjunctive) are simple tenses, with their own inflections:

» Present Subjunctive (Congiuntivo presente)

» Imperfect Subjunctive (Congiuntivo Imperfetto)

And the last compound tenses (congiuntivo passato and congiuntivo trapassato) are made in the same way as the indicative ones (auxiliary verb + past participle of the main verb), though the two auxiliaries essere and avere use subjunctive inflections.

» Perfect (Past) Subjunctive (Congiuntivo Passato)

» Pluperfect (Congiuntivo trapassato
blanc   Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:32 pm GMT
Ivan Gundulić   Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:54 pm GMT
take a look   Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:00 pm GMT
Tuscuny the nicest place ever!

http://www.tuscany-photo.com/
latino   Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:25 pm GMT
Italian is the most annoying language in the world
Guest   Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:33 pm GMT
So are the Italian latino or not?.
Joao   Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:00 pm GMT
Italian, thank you.

It's pretty much like in Portuguese or Spanish. It's a truly Romance thing. Interesting that Italian also have those different forms of the past tense, something like the "perfect", "imperfect" or "more-than-perfect".

What about case endings? It seems there isn't, no?
Li   Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:19 pm GMT
What does this mean: Vaffanculo, pupazzo cornuto!

I think the first word is a swear, but I can't find the last two in the dictionary.
Guest   Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:27 pm GMT
Cornuto means cornudo, but I don't know about "pupazzo". it sounds like "sucker" or something like that.
moine   Fri Sep 18, 2009 6:57 am GMT
pupazzo means "monigote, mun'eco" in Spanish and "puppet, yes-man" in English but Pupazzo cornuto is not Standard Italian I have never heard that expression.
Italian   Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:43 am GMT
"Cornuto" means that your woman is a bitch. Letterally "you have the horns"!
Cornuto   Fri Sep 18, 2009 2:48 pm GMT
John   Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:36 pm GMT
As a student of Italian, I find the placement of emphasis the most difficult aspect of the language. "Use the dictionary," you might suggest. Very good idea, but the dictionary will not tell me which syllable is stressed in a conjugated verb. For example, I have no way of knowing which syllable is emphasized in the third person plural (present tense) of "desiderano," as in "Gli amici desiderano fare un viaggio in Italia." In a shorter verb, I realize that the first syllable is stressed, as in "PAR-la-no." Is the pre-penultimate syllable emphasized in all verbs, just as in "CAN-ta-no" and "PAR-la-no," or must I learn each one separately? In the verb above, is it "de-SI-de-rano" or "de-si-DE-ra-no"?
userphone   Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:39 pm GMT
that's easy....you must be deaf if you don't hear that...
Hispano   Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:43 pm GMT
French is the easiest one.
Although people have the impression that it's hard because of its spelling and pronunciation, which is not that hard once you know the rules.
Grammatically French is definitely the easiest one.