Italian Prepositions, Preposizioni in Italiano

Italian Prepositions, Preposizioni in Italiano Prepositions are invariable words that serve to link and connect parts of a sentence or clause: vado a casa di Maria; or to join two or more clauses: vado a casa di Maria per studiare. The example illustrates the funzione subordinante (subordinate function) of prepositions that introduce a complement of the verb, either of the noun or the entire sentence. In particular: the prepositional group a casa depends on the verb vado, of which it is a complement; the prepositional group di Maria depends on the noun casa, of which it is a complement; the prepositional group per studiare is the final implicit clause (corresponding to an ending clause: per studiare), which depends on the primary clause vado a casa di Maria. In the transition from the single clause vado a casa di Maria to the two-clause sentence vado a casa di Maria per studiare, a functional analogy can be defined between the preposizioni and congiunzioni subordinative. The first introduce an implicit subject (that is, with a verb in an indefinite mood): digli di tornare; the latter introduces an explicit subject (that is, with a verb in a definite mood): digli che torni. The statistically most frequent prepositions are: di (can be elided before another vowel, especially before an i: dimpeto, dItalia, dOriente, destate)a (the term ad is used, with la d eufonica, before another vowel, in particular before an a: ad Andrea, ad aspettare, ad esempio) Simple Prepositions The following prepositions are listed by frequency of use: da, , con, su, per, tra (fra). Di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra (fra) are called simple prepositions (preposizioni semplici); these prepositions (except tra and fra), when combined with a definite article, give rise to the so-called prepositional articles (preposizioni articolate). The high frequency of these prepositions corresponds to the variety of meanings they express, as well as the wide range of connections that can be made between the parts of the phrase. The specific value that a preposition such as di or a takes in diverse contexts is understood only in relation to the words with which the preposition is grouped, and changes according to the nature of them. In other words, the only way for a non-native Italian to understand how Italian prepositions are used is to practice and become familiar with the many different patterns. This multiplicity of functions at the semantic and syntactic level is manifested, in fact, with a particular emphasis in ambiguous contexts. Consider, for example, the preposition di. The prepositional phrase lamore del padre, depending on the context, can be labeled either a complemento di specificazione soggettiva or a complemento di specificazione oggettiva. The term is equivalent to either il padre ama qualcuno (the father loves someone) or qualcuno ama il padre (someone loves his father). Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Study Prepositions A historical example of ambiguity occurs in Dantes famous expression perdere il ben dellintelletto (Inferno, III, 18), which has become proverbial in the sense of lose the good that is the intellect, lose reasoning. Dante was referring instead to the souls of Hell, and intended ben dellintelletto in the sense of the good of their own intellect, that which is good for the intellect, that is, the contemplation of God, excluding the damned. A different interpretation of the prepositional article dell profoundly changes the overall meaning of the phrase.

How to Use Dialogues in Class

How to Use Dialogues in Class Its easy to get stuck in a rut when using dialogues in class, but these teaching tools are full of potential. Here are some activities that use dialogue beyond just rote reading and parroting.   Use Dialogues to Practice Stress and Intonation Dialogues can come in handy when working on stress and intonation. Students move beyond focusing on single phonemic pronunciation issues and concentrate instead on bringing the right intonation and stress to larger structures. Students can play with meaning through stress by creating dialogues that focus on stressing individual words to clarify meaning. Use dialogues that students are familiar with so that they can focus on pronunciation rather than vocabulary, new forms, etc.Introduce students to the concept of using stress and intonation to highlight content words while brushing over function words.Ask students to highlight their dialogues by marking the content words in each of their lines.Students practice the dialogues together focusing on improving their pronunciation through stress and intonation. Base Impromptu Skits on Dialogues One of my favorite uses of shorter language function dialogues (i.e. shopping, ordering in a restaurant, etc.) for lower levels is to extend the activity by first practicing dialogues, and then asking students to act out dialogues without any help. If you are practicing a number of dialogues, you can add an element of chance by having students pick their target situation out of a hat. Provide numerous short situational dialogues for a target linguistic function. For example, for shopping students can practice exchanges of trying on clothing, asking for help, asking for a different size, paying for items, asking for a friends advice, etc.Have students practice each situation multiple times.Write each situation on a small piece of paper.Students choose a situation randomly and act it out on the spot without any dialogue cues. Extend Dialogues to full Blown Productions Some situational dialogues just call out for full blown productional values. For example, when practicing modal verbs of deduction using a dialogue to make suppositions about what might have happened makes a perfect scenario for practice. Students can begin with a dialogue to get the gist of a scenario, and then let their imaginations take over. Introduce target structure in class. Good structures for longer skits include: conditional forms, reported speech, modal verbs of deduction, speculating about the future, imagining a different past (past modal verbs of deduction).Provide a dialogue with targeted structure as inspiration.Divide the class up into smaller groups, each in the group should have a role.Using the dialogue as a model, students should create their own longer multiple person skit.Students practice and then perform for the rest of the class. Paraphrase Dialogues Paraphrasing dialogues can help students focus on related structures. Begin slowly by asking students to substitute or paraphrase shorter forms. End with more extended dialogues. Provide short dialogues to students and ask them paraphrase shorter phrases. For example, if the dialogue asks for suggestions with a phrase such as Lets go out tonight, students should be able to come up with Why dont we go out tonight, How about going out for a night on the town, etc.Hand out a few different dialogues, ask students to read the dialogue and then create another dialogue on the fly without using the same exact words. Students can take a look at the original lines, but must use other words and phrases.Ask students to read a dialogue to another pair. This pair in turn attempts to repeat the dialogue through paraphrase. As a variation to this exercises for lower level classes, students can expand their use of a wider variety of vocabulary and expressions by using gap fill dialogues. Students still have the structure of the dialogues to hold on to, but must fill in the gaps for the dialogues to make sense.