Sixth Lesson
Lezione Sesta

AUXILIARY VERB TO BE
VERBO AUSILIARE ESSERE (ESsere)

Presente Indicativo (io) sono (tu) sei (lei) è *(egli-ella-lui-lei) è (noi) siamo (voi) siete *(essi-esse-loro) sono (loro) sono

Simple Present (I am) (informal) (you are) (formal) (you are) (he-she-it is) (we are) (informal) (you are) (they are) (formal plural) (you are)

• In Italian there are only two auxiliaries: To be (ESsere) and to have (avere).
• In Italian personal subjet pronouns are omited unless you emphasize them; examples: sono italiano (I am Italian), sei molto bella (you (informal) are very beautiful), è una signora molto alta (she is a very tall lady), è proprio gentile con noi (you (formal) are so kind to us). But if you emphasize them: io sono italiano, ma tu sei francese (I am Italian, but you (informal) are French), io sono brutto, ma lei è carina (I am ugly, but you (formal) are pretty.
• Io is not capitalized, unless it is at the beginning of a sentence.
• Tu is informal (familiar and friendly) and its plural is voi: example: tu bambino sei buono e voi bambini siete cattivi (your child is good and your children are bad).
• Voi, with the verb in plural but eventhough addressed to a single person, is generally used in commercial correspondence; example: voi signor X (o signori X) siete molto esperto in automobili (autoMObili) stranieri (You Mr. X (or Mrs) are an expert in foreign cars).
• Egli, ella, essi, esse are generally used only for the declination of verbs
• Lui, lei and loro (plural) when emphasizing the person or persons spoken about; examples: lui è americano, lei è inglese (he is American, she is English), loro sono qui (they are here).

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