The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1

Vocabulary

Prima

PREEma — Before; indicates precedence in time or order

che

keh — That, which, or who; common conjunction and pronoun

gli

lyee — Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'him/them'

dèi

DEHee — Gods; plural of 'dio', divine beings

crearono

kreh-AHrono — They created; past tense of 'creare'

Avessero

ahVESSero — They had; past subjunctive of 'avere'

visto

VEEsto — Seen; past participle of 'vedere'

passare

passSAHreh — To pass; to go by or move through

il

eel — The; masculine singular definite article

loro

LOHro — Their or they; third person plural pronoun

sorgere

SORjereh — To rise; the rising, especially of the sun

del

del — Of the; masculine singular contraction of 'di il'

sole

SOHleh — Sun; the star at the center of our solar system

Cavallo

kaVALlo — Horse; a large domesticated four-legged animal

Bianco

BYANko — White; the color white or fair-colored

della

DELla — Of the; feminine singular contraction of 'di la'

Valle

VALleh — Valley; a low area between hills or mountains

Fu

foo — Was; third person singular past tense of 'essere'

tagliato

talYAHto — Cut; past participle of 'tagliare', to cut

fuori

FWORee — Outside or out; away from the inside

dall'

dal — From the; contraction of 'da' and 'la/lo'

erba

ERba — Grass or herb; green ground-covering plant

bevuto

beVOOto — Drunk; past participle of 'bere', to drink

all'

al — At the; contraction of 'a' and 'la/lo'

alba

ALba — Dawn; the early morning light at sunrise

a

ah — At, to, or in; common Italian preposition

sazietà

satsyeTA — Satiety; the state of being fully satisfied

Era

EHra — Was; third person singular imperfect of 'essere'

sulla

SULla — On the; feminine singular contraction of 'su la'

collina

kolLEEna — Hill; a raised landform smaller than a mountain

Età

eTA — Age; a period of time or era in history

oltre

OLtreh — Beyond or over; past a limit or boundary

terra

TERra — Earth, land, or ground; solid surface or soil

britannica

briTANnika — British; relating to Britain or its people

su

soo — On, above, or upon; common Italian preposition

trascorsi

trasKORsee — Passed or elapsed; referring to time gone by

Vi

vee — There or you; adverb of place or pronoun

era

EHra — There was; imperfect of 'essere' indicating existence

pace

PAHcheh — Peace; absence of conflict or war

e

eh — And; basic coordinating conjunction

guerra

GWERra — War; armed conflict between groups or nations

nelle

NELleh — In the; feminine plural contraction of 'in le'

colline

kolLEEneh — Hills; plural of 'collina', raised landforms

occidentali

occhidentAHlee — Western; relating to or situated in the west

osservava

osserVAHva — Was observing; imperfect tense of 'osservare'

Poiché

poiKEH — Because or since; introduces a reason or cause

conosceva

konoSHEHva — Knew; imperfect tense of 'conoscere', to know

l'

l — The; elided form of 'la' or 'lo' before vowels

Inghilterra

ingilTERra — England; the country in the south of Britain

Quando

KWANdo — When; temporal conjunction or interrogative adverb

non

non — Not; basic negation word in Italian

c'

ch — There (as in c'era); elided form of 'ci'

nessuno

nesSOOno — Nobody or no one; indefinite negative pronoun

la

la — The; feminine singular definite article

conoscesse

konoSHESSeh — Knew; imperfect subjunctive of 'conoscere'

Vide

VEEdeh — Saw; third person singular past of 'vedere'

primo

PREEmo — First; ordinal number indicating the first position

remo

REHmo — Oar; a paddle used to row a boat

spezzarsi

spetTSARsee — To break apart; to snap or shatter reflexively

o

oh — Or; disjunctive conjunction presenting alternatives

piegarsi

pyeGARsee — To bend; to curve or flex reflexively

cielo

CHEHlo — Sky or heaven; the expanse above the earth

cadere

kaHDEHreh — To fall; to drop down from a higher position

mondo

MONdo — World; the earth or human existence broadly

finire

fiNEEreh — To finish or end; to come to a conclusion

Dio

DEEo — God; the supreme divine being

quanto

KWANto — How much or how many; quantity interrogative

tempo

TEMpo — Time or weather; a duration or meteorological state

fa

fa — Ago; used with time expressions to mean 'ago'

fine

FEEneh — End; the conclusion or termination of something

molto

MOLto — Very or much; indicates a large quantity or degree

tutti

TOOTtee — All or everyone; refers to the totality of people

noi

noy — We or us; first person plural pronoun

abitiamo

abiTYAHmo — We live; first person plural of 'abitare'

oggi

OJjee — Today; the current day

Come

KOHmeh — Like or as; comparison or manner conjunction

figli

FEElyee — Children or sons; plural of 'figlio'

di

dee — Of or from; very common Italian preposition

una

OOna — A or an; feminine indefinite article

qualche

KWALkeh — Some or a few; indefinite adjective indicating quantity

seconda

seKONda — Second; ordinal number, feminine form

nascita

NAshita — Birth; the moment of being born

uno

OOno — One or a; masculine indefinite article or numeral

strano

STRAHno — Strange or odd; unusual or unfamiliar

popolo

POPolo — People or nation; a group sharing common identity

lasciato

laSHAHto — Left behind; past participle of 'lasciare'

Dopo

DOHpo — After or afterward; indicates something following

un

oon — A or an; masculine indefinite article

giorno

JORno — Day; a 24-hour period of time

giudizio

juDEEtsyo — Judgment; discernment or a verdict rendered

i

ee — The; masculine plural definite article

confini

konFEEnee — Borders or boundaries; lines separating territories

divennero

diVENnero — Became; third person plural past of 'diventare'

liberi

LEEberee — Free; unrestrained, at liberty, plural form

Roma

ROHma — Rome; the capital city of Italy

in

een — In or into; basic Italian preposition of location

mare

MAHreh — Sea; a large body of salt water

schiavi

SKYAHvee — Slaves; people owned and forced to work

annegò

anneGO — Drowned; past tense of 'annegare', to drown

nel

nel — In the; masculine singular contraction of 'in il'

Cesare

CHEHzareh — Caesar; Roman title or the historical Julius Caesar

cadde

KADdeh — Fell; third person singular past of 'cadere'

dal

dal — From the; masculine singular contraction of 'da il'

chiunque

kyOONkweh — Whoever or anyone; indefinite relative pronoun

ascoltasse

askolTASSeh — Listened; imperfect subjunctive of 'ascoltare'

bene

BEHneh — Well or good; adverb indicating quality or health

Poteva

poTEHva — Could; imperfect tense of 'potere', to be able

solo

SOHlo — Only or alone; by oneself or exclusively

udire

ooDEEreh — To hear; a formal or literary verb for hearing

precipitare

precipiTAHreh — To plunge or rush headlong; to fall rapidly

Delle

DELleh — Of the; feminine plural contraction of 'di le'

nazioni

natTSYOnee — Nations; plural of 'nazione', sovereign countries

notte

NOTteh — Night; the dark period between sunset and sunrise

avanzarono

avanTSAHrono — They advanced; past tense of 'avanzare'

marciare

marCHAHreh — To march; to walk in a military or steady manner

Al

al — At the or to the; masculine singular contraction

torce

TORcheh — Torches; plural of 'torcia', handheld fire lights

lampioni

lamPYOnee — Street lamps; tall outdoor lighting fixtures

le

leh — The; feminine plural definite article

strade

STRAHdeh — Streets or roads; paths for travel in a city

conducono

konDOOkono — They lead; third person plural present of 'condurre'

Erano

EHrano — They were; third person plural imperfect of 'essere'

volti

VOLtee — Faces; plural of 'volto', a person's face

si

see — Reflexive pronoun; oneself or each other

muovevano

mwoVEHvano — They were moving; imperfect of 'muoversi'

come

KOHmeh — Like or as; used for comparisons

schiuma

SKYOOma — Foam or froth; bubbling mass on liquid surface

sogno

SONyo — Dream; images or visions experienced during sleep