Emotions and feelings
Emozioni e sentimenti
- Express your basic emotions.
- Describe the emotions of others.
- The present perfect with essere
- The present perfect with avere
Learn to express emotions and feelings in Italian using the passato prossimo with essere and avere. Key words include felice (happy), arrabbiato (angry), and sorpreso (surprised). Practice describing how you and others felt in past situations.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (12) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Divide the following words into two categories: positive emotions and negative emotions, to clearly associate their meaning.
Emozioni positive
Emozioni negative
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Triste
Sad
2
Sentire
To feel
3
Felice
Happy
4
Tranquillo
Calm
5
Ridere
To laugh
Esercizio 5: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- What is the emotion in each picture? (What is the emotion in each picture? )
- Ask the person next to you how they feel. (Ask the person next to you how they feel.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Il ragazzo nella prima foto è felice. The boy in the first picture is happy. |
|
La ragazza si sente stanca. The girl feels tired. |
|
Lei è molto arrabbiata. She is very angry. |
|
Come ti senti? How are you feeling? |
|
Sono calmo e felice. I am calm and happy. |
|
Sono un po' stanco. I am a bit tired. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Ieri sera __________ sentito una musica bellissima al concerto.
(Last night __________ heard beautiful music at the concert.)2. Dopo la festa, __________ arrivati molti amici a casa mia.
(After the party, __________ arrived many friends at my house.)3. Il mio collega __________ parlato della riunione con molta calma.
(My colleague __________ spoken about the meeting very calmly.)4. Tu __________ stato nervoso durante la presentazione?
(You __________ nervous during the presentation?)Exercise 8: A day full of emotions
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Sentire - To feel
Passato prossimo
- Io ho sentito
- Tu hai sentito
- Lui/lei ha sentito
- Noi abbiamo sentito
- Voi avete sentito
- Loro hanno sentito
Ridere - To laugh
Passato prossimo
- Io ho riso
- Tu hai riso
- Lui/lei ha riso
- Noi abbiamo riso
- Voi avete riso
- Loro hanno riso
Arrivare - To arrive
Passato prossimo con essere
- Io sono arrivato/a
- Tu sei arrivato/a
- Lui/lei è arrivato/a
- Noi siamo arrivati/e
- Voi siete arrivati/e
- Loro sono arrivati/e
Parlare - To talk
Passato prossimo
- Io ho parlato
- Tu hai parlato
- Lui/lei ha parlato
- Noi abbiamo parlato
- Voi avete parlato
- Loro hanno parlato
Stare - To be
Passato prossimo con essere
- Io sono stato/a
- Tu sei stato/a
- Lui/lei è stato/a
- Noi siamo stati/e
- Voi siete stati/e
- Loro sono stati/e
Exercise 9: Il passato prossimo con essere
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The present perfect with essere
Show translation Show answerssiamo usciti, siamo arrivati, sono arrivati, è arrivata, è andata, è andato, sei uscito, sono partiti
Exercise 10: Il passato prossimo con avere
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The present perfect with avere
Show translation Show answershai sentito, ho fatto, abbiamo mangiato, avete parlato, ha parlato, ha compiuto, ha cucinato, abbiamo sentito
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Ridere to laugh Share Copied!
Passato prossimo
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) ho riso | I laughed |
| (tu) hai riso | You have laughed |
| (lui/lei) ha riso | he/she laughed |
| (noi) abbiamo riso | We laughed |
| (voi) avete riso | You have laughed |
| (loro) hanno riso | they laughed |
Sentire to feel Share Copied!
Passato prossimo
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) ho sentito | I felt |
| (tu) hai sentito | You have felt |
| (lui/lei) ha sentito | He/she has felt |
| (noi) abbiamo sentito | we felt |
| (voi) avete sentito | You have felt |
| (loro) hanno sentito | they have felt |
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Lesson Overview: Emotions and Feelings in Italian
This lesson focuses on expressing emotions and feelings using the passato prossimo (present perfect) tense in Italian, particularly combining verbs with essere and avere. It introduces vocabulary related to positive and negative emotions and provides practical examples and dialogues to help learners describe experiences and emotional states in everyday contexts.
Key Grammar Point: Passato Prossimo with Essere and Avere
The passato prossimo is used to talk about actions or events completed in the past. Some verbs in Italian take essere as the auxiliary verb, especially verbs of movement or change of state, while others take avere. For example:
- Essere: Sono arrivato tardi e sono stato un po' nervoso. (I arrived late and was a bit nervous.)
- Avere: Ho fatto una torta e mi sono innamorato della cucina italiana. (I made a cake and fell in love with Italian cooking.)
Useful Emotion Vocabulary
The vocabulary is divided into positive and negative categories to help learners recognize and use words intuitively.
- Positive Emotions: felice (happy), innamorato (in love), ridere (to laugh), tranquillo (calm), sorpreso (surprised)
- Negative Emotions: arrabbiato (angry), annoiato (bored), triste (sad)
Examples of Expressing Feelings
Here are some useful phrases you can practice:
- Sono arrivato a casa molto felice. (I arrived home very happy.)
- Hai sentito un rumore che ti ha spaventato? (Did you hear a noise that scared you?)
- Lei è stata triste perché ha perso il treno. (She was sad because she missed the train.)
Dialogues for Practice
Interactive dialogues encourage learners to describe and ask about emotions in real-life situations, such as after meetings, watching films, or talking about friends’ feelings. Practicing these supports conversational skills and emotional expression.
Comparison Between English and Italian Expressions
English speakers may find it useful to note that Italian often uses essere as the auxiliary verb with many verbs that describe movement or changes in state, which differs from English where a single auxiliary
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