Of the APOSTROPHE. T ,

HE Apostrophe is expressed in this wise (') that a Vowel is cut off or left out for the more quick pronunciation. It is generally put after articles ending in a Vowel, the next word beginning with another Vowel, or the letter b; as, l'animo, l'usanza, l'honore.

Note. The į of the article il is apostroph’d, or cut off after words ending with a Vowel, and not the Vowel of that word ; as,

Ditemi 'l vostro nome, for ditemi il vostro nome,

tell me your name. Tutto 'l mondo sì, for tutto il mondo sà, every

body knows. The pronoun che is abbreviated before words beginning with the letter h, in this wise ; viz. che havete, read c' havete.

Mi, ti, ci, si, vi, di, da, ne, are apostroph'd before Vowels, or the letter h; as,

M'intendi ? do you understand me? for mi

intendi. T'intendo, I do understand you, for ti intendo.

S'intende, it is understood,' for si intende, &c. Note. The following Examples will explain the nature of these abbreviations or contractions more fully to the learner.

Al, for, a il, to the.
Ai, a', for, alli, to the.
Bei, be', for, belli, fair, beautiful.
Bell
' amante, for, bello amante, a fair lover.

Ch',

Ch', for, che, that, or which.
Coi, co', for, con li cr con gli, with the.
Colla, for, conla, with the.
Colle, for, conle, with the.
D', for di, of.
Del, for di il, of the.
De', dei, for delli or degli, of the, pl.
Ei, e', for egli, he, or, it.
E’l, for & il, and it, and the.
Fra', for, fra li, among the.
Fé, for fece, he did, or, made.
Fè, for fede, faith.
Foss' lo, for, foffi Io, were I.
Gľ, for, gli, the.
Huomin' da bene, for huomini da bene, honest men.
Huómin' ingrati, for huomini ingrati, ungrateful

men.

Lo’mperatore, for, lo Imperatore, the Emperor.
Lo’nventore, for, lo inventore, the inventor.
Madonna, for, mía donna, my woman.
Madonna, the Virgin Mary,
Me' for meglio, better.
Me'l, for a me il, to meet it.
Mie', for miei, mine.
Molt' anni, for molti anni, many years.
Nel, for, in li, in the.
Ne'l, for, ne il, nor the, or, for it.
Nol, for, non il, not the.
Nollo, for, non lo, not the.
Pel, for, per il, or per lo, or the, or through the.
Pel, for, per lo, idem.
Puo, for puoi, thou canst.
Quai, for quali, which.
Quei, for quelli, those.
Cuand il, for quando il, when the.

Sant,

Sant' Antonio, for Santo Antonio.
Suo', for fuoi, his.
Se', for sei, thou art.
Se'í, for, a feil, to himself it, or, if it.
Su’l, for, sopra il, upon the.
Tra', for tra li, among the.
Tel, for a te il, to thee, it.
Tuo', for tuoi, thine.
Tu'l, for tu il, thou it.
Tra'l, for, tra il, betwixt the.

Of the ACCENTS.

T

note the syllables to be pronounced long or fhort, as in other languages.

The one Grave [\] the other Acute '] expressed each by these opposite marks.

Nouns ending in tà in Italian, which are generally derived from tas in the Latin, have a Grave Accent; as, purità, castità, maestà, &c. And note, the plural of these words do not change, but end in tà also ; except visita, which is not accented, and makes its plural visite.

Nouns derived from the Latin in us, and end in Italian in u, have a Grave Accent; as, virtus, la virtù, le virtù, &c.

The Grave Accent is put to the end of verbs of the first and third person of the Future Tense ; as, canterò I shall fing, canterà he will fing. It is also used on Verbs of one syllable, ending in o and a, and other words, as may be seen by the fol

lowing,

lowing, which are always expressed by a Grave Accent.

Amə, I love.te de ore

Ne, neither, or nor. Ciò, that.

No, not. Costi, there.

ò, or. Coftà, thither.

Oibo, fie. Dà, he giveth.

Perchè ? because, why, Dò, I give.

or wherefore. Dì, a day:

Perciò, wherefore. è, is.

Però, therefore, yet. A Europa, Europe. Più, more. Eufráte, Euphrates. Piè, a foot, or feet. Få, he doth, or makes. Podestà, a Governor. Fo, I do, or make. Può, he can, or is aFù, hath been.

ble. Frà, betwixt, also a

Quà, hither. contract, or abbrevi- ' Qui, here. ation, of Frate a Re, a King, or Kings. Fryer.

Stà, he stands, dwells, Già, formerly, or now. Gies, Jesus.

Sto, I stand, or am, or Grù, a crane.

dwell.
Gill, down, below. Sà, he knows.
Hà, he hath.

Si, himself,
Ho, I have.
Honestà, honesty.

So, I know.
Horsù, come away.
Fuggiro, they fled, for Tè, thee.
fuggirono.

Trà, betwixt.
Là, ihere, thither. Trè, three.
Lì, there, or here. To, for togli, take thou,
Mà, but.

also mark, or obMo, presently.

serve,

or is.

Sì, yes.

Su, up.

1ù, thou.
Và, he goeth.
Vò, I go.

Vie,
Vià,

more : pro

nounced in one found.

Note, 1. When the Pronoun is put after the Verb, no Accent is used ; as, farollo, for lo farò I Thall do it; moftrommi, for mi mostrò he will shew

me.

2. When the first person of the Definite Tense ends with two Vowels, the third person of the same tense is accented, but not otherwise ; as, amo he loved, credê he believed, the first persons of which are amai, credei. For this reason, vinke, prese, are not accented, making in the first person vinsi, prefi.

The Acute Accent is ufed on the last syllable but one of words ending in ia and io; as, pazzia folly, profezia prophecy, desío desire, &c. And also on words that have a double signification ; as, tenére to hold, is by the Accent distinguished from tenere tender; ancora still, from ancora an anchor.

Note. This Rule is attended with so many uncertainties, that it is difficult to give certain Examples for the Reader's instruction ; Practice in reading, and a good Master, will be the best guide.

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