If two or more substantives to which the adjective relates be of different gender, the adjective is put in the plural masculine. Ex. mio fratello e mia sorella sono generosi, my brother and sister are generous.

The adverbs quanto, how much; molto, much, or a great deal of; tanto, so much; troppo, too much; poco, little, become adjectives in Italian, and agree in gender and number with the substantives which they precede. Ex. Quanto tempo? how much time? Quanta distanza? how far, or what distance? Quanti soldati? how many soldiers? Quante carrozze? how many carriages? Molto piacere, much, or a great deal of pleasure; molta pena, much, or a great deal of trouble; molti uomini,, a great many men; molte donne, a great many women; tanto danaro, so much money; tanti libri, so many books; troppo studio, too much study; troppi nemici, too many enemies; poco spirito, little wit; pochi amici, few friends.

What, a particle of admiration, signifying what a number of, is likewise rendered by quanto, quanti, quanta, quante. Ex. quante carrozze s'incontrano nelle strade di Parigi! what a quantity of carriages one meets in the streets of Paris!

The words enough, many, more, less, are rendered in Italian by abbastanza, assai, più, meno. Ex. abbastanza danaro, enough money; assai donne, many women; più uomini, more men; meno fanciulli, less children. Observe, that the words abbastanza, assai, più, meno are always indeclinable.

If, after more and less, there is an adjective of number preceded by the comparative particle than, that word is rendered in Italian by the preposition di. Ex. più di due anni, more than two years; in meno di tre minuti, in less than three minutes.

More and less, signifying a greater or less degree, may be expressed by maggiore and minore, instead of the adverbs più and meno. Ex. con maggior facilità, with more or greater facility; con minor pericolo, with less danger.

A little is rendered by un poco di, as un poco di pane, a little bread; un poco di carne, a little meat; a little more, a little less, are likewise expressed by un

poco più di, un poco meno di.

Ex. un poco più di coraggio, a little more courage; un poco meno di timidezza, a little less timidity.

Place of Adjectives.

Adjectives in Italian may generally be placed both before and after their substantives. Ex. una memoria eterna, or un' eterna memoria, an eternal remembrance. No precise rule can be given, as the place of the adjective is in some instances determined by euphony. The elegance of the language on this point must be acquired by the reading of the best authors. However, in prose and in the familiar style, the following adjectives are always placed after their substantives.

1. The verbial adjectives, formed by the present and past participle. Ex. un paese ridente, a smiling country; il paradiso perduto di Milton, the Paradise Lost of Milton.

2. The nominal adjectives, which qualify by the figure, colour, taste, and odour. Ex. una camera ovale, an oval room; un corpetto bianco, a white waistcoat; un colore verde, a green colour; vino amaro, bitter wine; una pianta aromatica, an aromatic plant.

3. Those which express some physical quality. Ex. un uomo zoppo, a lame man.

4. Adjectives which particularise elements. Ex. un' aria umida, a damp air; acqua calda, hot water; terra secca, dry earth.

5. Those derived from the name of a nation. Ex. un poeta Italiano, an Italian poet; la lingua Inglese, the English language, &c.

EXERCISE VI.

1. An upright, learned, and disinterested judge; a handsome, young, virtuous, and complaisant woman; and a discreet, sincere, and obliging friend, are scarce; but they are precious trea

VOCABULARY.

1. A judge, un giudice; upright, learned, and disinterested, integro, dotto, disinteressato; a woman, una donna; handsome, bello; young, giovane; virtuous virtuoso; complaisant, com piacente; and a friend, e un amico; discreet, sincere, and

sures which exist, and which | obliging, discreto, sincero, may be found.

baseness and so much grandeur, so many virtues and so many vices!

7. He who knows how to renounce ambition, extricates himself in a moment from many troubles, from many anxieties, and sometimes from many crimes.

8. A philosopher of Greece, being asked under what gorernment men could live with greater security, and less danger, answered, "Under that where virtue finds many friends, and where vice finds few partisans, or has none at all.

can you unite, come potete unire; baseness, bassezza; grandeur, grandezza; virtue, virtù; vice, vizio.

7. He who knows how to renounce, chi sa rinunziare a; ambition, ambizione, f.; extricates himself in a moment, si libera in un momento; from, da; trouble, pena; anxiety, vigilia; sometimes, qualche volta; crime, delitto.

8. A philosopher, un filosofo; Greece, Grecia ; being asked, interrogato; under what government, sotto qual governo; man, uomo; could live with, potevano vivere con; security, sicurezza; danger, pericolo; answered, rispose; under that in which, sotto quello in cui; virtue, virtù; finds, trova; friend, amico; where, ove; vice, vizio; partisan, seguace; or has none at all, o non ne ha alcuno.

LESSON VII.

The

OF AUGMENTATIVES AND DIMINUTIVES. SUBSTANTIVES, and adjectives employed as substantives, may become augmentatives and diminutives. augmentatives ending in one, convey an idea of greatness or bigness: Braccio, arm; braccione, a great or large arm; donna, a woman; donnone, a great or stout woman; casa, a house; casone, a great house.*

The augmentatives ending in otto and otta, express an idea of vigour and force; Giovane, young; giova

When one wishes to express a relative idea, or to distingnish by opposition a large thing from a small one, we must not use the termination one, but the word gran; Ex. Datemi il mio gran cappello e riponete i piccolo; give me my large hat, and put away the small one.

notto, a vigorous young man; giovanotta, a robust young woman; vecchio, old; vecchiotto, a robust old man; toro a bull; torotto, a stout bull.

The augmentatives ending in accio, accia, and azzo, mark an idea of contempt; corpo, body, corpaccio, a great ugly body; popolo, people, popolaccio, or popolazzo, vulgar people.

The diminutives in ino, ina, etto, etta, ello, ella, erello, erella, icello, icella, mark a certain grace or gentility, as fanciullo, a child, fanciullino, a pretty little child; fiore, flower, fiorellino, small flower; cane, a dog, cagnolino, pretty little dog; carro, a cart, carretto, a little cart, fiume, a river, fiumicello, a little river; pianta, a plant, pianticella, a little plant; vecchio, an old man, vecchierello, a little old man; vento, wind, venterello, a gentle wind or zephyr.

The diminutives in uccio, upola, aglia, ame, icciatto, icciuola, mark a degree of contempt; uomo, man, omúccio, an ugly little man; casa, a house, casúpola, an ugly little house; soldato, a soldier, soldataglia, a troop of bad soldiers; gente, people, gentame, a rabble; uomo, man, omicciátto, an ugly little man; donna, a woman, donnicciuóla, an ugly little woman. Every time when, to form the diminutives, we substitute, at the last vowel, words ending in co, go, ca, ga; the terminations which begin by e or i, such as ino, etto, ello, ina, etta, ella, etc. we must add an h after the c or the g; as fresca, fresh, freschetta, a little fresh; largo, large, larghetto, larghetta, rather large, &c.

Observe, that many nouns feminine in a, which explain inanimate things; as la tavola, the table; la camera, the chamber, &c. become masculine in the diminutive, and make il tavolino, the little table; il camerino, the little chamber, &c.

as

We sometimes find diminutives of diminutives: uccellettino, from uccelletto, little bird; cosettina, from cosetta, a little thing, and likewise double augmentatives, as ladronaccio, from ladrone, a great thief; corpaccione, from corpaccio, an ugly body.*

Some works in otto are diminutives, as salotto, a small room; mer. lotto, a young blackbird.