Italian All-in-One For Dummies (140 page)

mentire
(
to lie
)

coprire
(
to cover
)

Moving Past the Present Tense

You can “get by” in a language by sticking to the present tense. With it, you can discuss what's actually happening:
Ora i bambini dormono
(
Right now, the kids are sleeping
). You can describe a permanent or continuing situation:
La mamma lavora senza sosta
(
Mom works without stopping
). To express something that's a given, you can say
Il ristorante chiude il mercoledì
(
The restaurant closes on Wednesdays
).

You can even discuss the future, so long as it's the not-too-distant future and what you're talking about is a sure thing:

Questa settimana lavoro ogni giorno.
(
This week I'm working every day.
)

Domani preparo il pollo.
(
Tomorrow, I'm fixing the chicken.
)

Ci vediamo domani.
(
We'll see each other tomorrow.
)
(
See you tomorrow.
)

Finally, you use the present after the preposition
da
(
from; since; by
) to express the English present progressive tense:

Abito qui da dieci anni.
(
I've been living here for ten years.
)

Marco studia l'inglese dal 2000.
(
Marco has been studying English since 2000.
)

Some conversational clues tell you that you can use the present tense, such as the following common words and phrases:

a mezzogiorno
(
at noon,
or at any other specific time)

ogni giorno
(
every day
)

oggi
(
today
)

domani
(
tomorrow
)

stasera
(
this evening
)

mai
(
never
)

mai più
(
never again
)

sempre
(
always
)

il lunedì, il martedì . . .
(
Mondays, Tuesdays,
and so on)