A theoretical and practical Italian grammar - National Library of ...

18 ON THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE.
40, Before nouns of measure, weight, number, and time, the
Italians use the definite article instead of the indefinite, as in
English. Ex.
Questa seta è bellissima, elianto
Vavete pagata il braccio?
L'anno passato il pane costava tre
soldi la libbra,
Oli aranci in Sicilia costano poco
più di un soldo la dozzina,
Abbiamo lezione di canto tre volte
la settimana,
This silk is very fine, how much
have you paid for it a yard ?
Last year, bread cost threepence a
pound.
In Sicily, oranges cost little more
than a penny a dozen.
We take singing lessons three times
a week.
41. No indefinite article is used in Italian before hundred,
cento, and thousand, mille. Ex.
Gli alberi del parco furono piantati
più di cento anni fa,
Mille anni avanti Vera Cristiana,
Ho venduto il mio cavallo cento lire,
EXERCISE VII.
The trees in the park were planted
more than a hundred years ago.
A thousand years before the Christian
era.
I have sold my horse for a hundi-ed
pounds.
Gulnare, a name rendered famous by Byron, means
Gulnara (38) i^eso famoso (16) significa
the flower of the pomegranate.—A true friend is an inestimable
fiore m. melagrana i. (Zl) vero amico m.. Hnestimabile
treasure.— She has an uncle a banker, and a brother an
Hesoro m. (37) do (38) banchiere m.
officer.— We go to visit our friends three times a
ufficiale m. aneliamo (9) visitare nostri amici tre volte (40)
year.—
(It has been remarked), that when a European people
anno m. Fu osservato ^Europeo Spopolo m
intend to found a colony in a foreign land, if they are
prende a fondare colonia {. '^straniero '^paesem.. se
Spaniards (they build) a convent, if Italians (they erect) a
Spagnuoli fabbricano convento m. Italiani edificarlo
church, if Dutch (they construct) an Exchange, if English
chiesa f. Olandesi costruiscono Borsa f. Inglesi
(they raise) a fortress, and if they are French (they open) a
piantano fortezzai.
* Francesi innalzano