Lesson 8: Sicilian verbs
Your ads will be inserted here by
Easy Plugin for AdSense.
Please go to the plugin admin page to
Paste your ad code OR
Suppress this ad slot.
Verbs: Auxiliary
The auxiliary verbs are two:
Avìri To have
Èssiri To be
They are called auxiliary because they help the main verb:
Aiu manciàtu I have eaten
Sugnu sudàtu I am sweating
In Sicilian this form, which is called present perfect, is not much used, instead the preterite is used in most cases.
The verbs are organized in conjugation and the conjugations are organized in modes and tenses. The most commonly used are the Indicative Mode, the Imperative Mode, the Subjunctive, the Gerundive, the Participle, and the Infinite. The Conditional is also used but not as much.
In Sicilian it is not necessary to have the personal pronoun before the verb, because the ending of the verb, or the contest of the sentence, determines the number of the person, singular or plural, to which it is referred.
As an auxiliary the verb avìri (to have) is mostly used.
Indicative Mode of the Verbs to Have and to Be Tenses
Present
(Iu) Aiu I have sugnu I am
(tu) Ài you have s§ you are
(iddu, idda) Àvi he, she, it has è he, she, it is
(nui) Avèmu we have semu we are
(vui) Avìti you have siti you are
(iddi) Ànnu they have sunnu they are
Iu aiu na soru I have a sister
Iddu è malàtu He is sick
Imperfect
avia I had
era I was
avèvi you had eri you were
avia he, she, it had era he, she. It was
avìamu we had èramu we were
avìavu you had èravu you were
avìanu they had èranu they were
tu avèvi tanti cucìni iddi èranu assittàti
You had many cousins They were siting
Present Perfect
Aiu avùtu I have had aiu statu I have been
Vui avìti avùtu dui cani Iu aiu statu â casa
You have had two dogs I have been at the house
Preterite
Iddu appi li sordi He had the money
Nui fomu a mmari We were at the sea
Appi I had fui
Avìsti you had fusti
Appi he,she,it had fu
Àpimu we had fomu
Avìstivu you had fùstivu
Àppiru they had foru
Past Perfect
Avia avùtu I had had
avia statu I had been
Iu avia avùtu na biciclètta Iu avia statu fora
I had had a bicycle I had been outside
Subjunctive Mode: Tenses present
Aiu I (may) have sia I (may) be
Ài you (may) have si’ you (may) be
Àvi he, she, it (may) has sia he (may) be
Avèmu we (may) have siamu we (may) be
Avìti you (may) have siati you (may) be
Ànnu they (may) have sianu they (may) be
The Sicilian uses the present subjunctive as the present indicative.
Iddu cridi ca iu aiu na gatta
Iddi pènsanu ca iu sugnu stùpitu
He believes tha I have a cat
They think that I am (may be) a fool
Imperfect
Avìssi I had, might have
fussi I was, might be
Avìssi you had, might have
fussi you were, might be
Avìssi he,she, it had, might have
fussi he, she, it was, might be
Avìssimu we had, might have
fùssimu we were, might be
Avìssivu you had, might have
fùssivu you were, might be
avìssiru they hadmight have
fùssiru they were, might be
Iu pinsàva chi iddu avìssi un frati
Iddu cridèva ca fùssimu nsèmmula
I thouht that he had a brother
He believed that we were together
Past Perfect
Avìssi avùtu I had had, might have had
avìssi statu I had been, might have been
Your ads will be inserted here by
Easy Plugin for AdSense.
Please go to the plugin admin page to
Paste your ad code OR
Suppress this ad slot.
Iddi vulèvanu chi avìssi avùtu na casa
Iu spiràva ca iddu avìssi statu n Sicìlia
The wanted that I might have had a house
I hoped that he might have been in Sicily
Conditional Mode: Present
Avirrìa I would have
sarrìa (fòra) I would be
Avirrìssi yoiu
sarìssi you
Avirrìssi he, she, it
sarrìa (fòra) he, she, it
Avirrìamu we
sarrìamu (fòramu) we
Avirrìavu you
sarrìavu (fòravu) you
Avirrìanu they
sarrìanu (fòranu) they
Avirrìa a travagghiari Chisti sarrìanu boni
I would have to work These would be good
Avirrìa parràtu cu Cicciu, ma avia già partùtu.
I would have spoken to Frank, but he had already left.
Sarrìa arrivàto doppu ma vinni a cùrriri.
I would have arrived later but a came running.
Past
Avirrìa avùtu I would have had
avirrìa statu I would have been
A st’ura avirrìa avùtu tri cani
Ci avirrìa statu dumàni â sô casa
By now I would have had three dogs
I would have been at his house tomorrow
Imperative Mode
With this mode the Sicilian uses the subjunctive:
Ài a manciàri You have to eat
Stai bonu Be good
Avìti a partìri You have to leave
Stati cueti Be quiet
The negative imperative in Sicilian of the second singular person is formed by the infininitive:
Un avìri prèscia Do not be in a hurry
Un èssiri testa dura Do not be a hard head
Infinitive
Avìri to have Èssiri to be
Avìri figghi Èssiri pòviri
To have children To be poor
Passatu
Avìri avùtu To have had
Èssiri statu To have been
Aviri avùtu furtùna To have had luck
Èssiri statu malàtu To have been sick
Participle: Past
Avùtu had statu been
L’aiu avùtu sempri I have had it always
Iddu à statu carzaràtu He has been in jail
Gerund: Present
Avènnu having essènnu being
Avènnu sordi si campa mègghiu
Essènnu sulu spennu picca
By having money one can live better
By being alone I spend less
Past
Avènnu avùtu having had
essènnu statu having been
Avennu avùtu sempri la matri ora mi sentu sulu
Essennu statu malàtu, sugnu siccu
Having always had a mother, now I felt lonely
Having been sick, I am thin
Sicilian espressions with the verb avìri (to have)
Aiu pitìttu I am hungry
ài siti You are thirsty
avìti sonnu You are sleepy
ànnu prèscia They are in a hurry
avèmu deci anni l’unu We are ten years old each
Iddu àvi pitìttu e iu aiu siti He is hungry and I am thirsty
Iddi ànnu sonnu e nui avèmu prèscia
They are sleepy and we are in a hurry
Mê frati avi cinc’anni e iu nn’aiu novi
My brother is five years old and I am nine
Loading ...
