The Prince — Page 12

Vocabulary

conclude

to finish or bring something to an end

così

so, thus, in this way

la

the (feminine singular definite article)

sua

his, her, its (feminine possessive adjective)

lettera

a written message sent to someone

a

to, at (basic preposition of direction or location)

E

and (conjunction connecting clauses or words)

quanto

how much, as much as

questa

this (feminine singular demonstrative pronoun)

piccola

small, little (feminine adjective)

cosa

thing, object, matter

il

the (masculine singular definite article)

suo

his, her, its (masculine possessive adjective)

libro

a written and published work, book

quando

when (temporal conjunction or adverb)

sarà

will be (third person singular future of essere)

stata

been (past participle of essere, feminine)

letta

read (past participle of leggere, feminine)

si

reflexive or impersonal pronoun, oneself

vedrà

will see (third person singular future of vedere)

che

that, which, who (conjunction or relative pronoun)

durante

during, throughout a period of time

i

the (masculine plural definite article)

quindici

fifteen (the number 15)

anni

years (plural of anno)

ho

I have (first person singular of avere)

dedicato

dedicated, devoted time or effort to something

allo

to the (preposition a + masculine singular lo)

studio

study, the act of learning or researching

dell'

of the (preposition di + elided article)

arte

art, skill, craft or technique

di

of, from (basic Italian preposition)

governo

government, the ruling body of a state

non

not (basic negation adverb)

né

nor, neither (negative conjunction)

dormito

slept (past participle of dormire)

oziato

idled, spent time lazily doing nothing

e

and (basic coordinating conjunction)

gli

the (masculine plural article) or to him

uomini

men, male human beings (plural of uomo)

dovrebbero

should, ought to (third person plural conditional of dovere)

sempre

always, at all times

desiderare

to desire, wish for, or want something

essere

to be (fundamental Italian auxiliary verb)

serviti

served, assisted (past participle, masculine plural)

da

by, from (preposition of agent or origin)

chi

who, whoever (relative or interrogative pronoun)

ha

has (third person singular present of avere)

maturato

matured, developed through experience over time

esperienza

experience, knowledge gained through practice

spese

expenses, costs; or spent (past tense of spendere)

degli

of the (preposition di + masculine plural article)

altri

others, other people (masculine plural)

della

of the (preposition di + feminine singular article)

mia

my (feminine singular possessive adjective)

lealtà

loyalty, faithfulness to a person or cause

nessuno

no one, nobody, not anyone

potrebbe

could, might (third person singular conditional of potere)

dubitare

to doubt, question the truth of something

perché

because, why (conjunction or interrogative)

avendo

having (gerund of avere)

mantenuto

maintained, kept, preserved (past participle of mantenere)

fede

faith, trust, loyalty or religious belief

potrei

I could (first person singular conditional of potere)

ora

now, at this moment in time

imparare

to learn, acquire new knowledge or skills

tradirla

to betray it or her (tradire + direct object)

poiché

since, because, given that (causal conjunction)

colui

he who, that man (demonstrative pronoun)

è

is (third person singular present of essere)

stato

been or state (past participle of essere)

fedele

faithful, loyal, true to someone or something

onesto

honest, upright, morally straightforward person

come

as, like, how (conjunction or adverb)

lo

him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)

sono

I am or they are (present tense of essere)

io

I (first person singular subject pronoun)

può

can, is able to (third person singular of potere)

cambiare

to change, alter or transform something

natura

nature, innate character or the natural world

povertà

poverty, the state of being very poor

testimone

witness, someone who observes an event

onestà

honesty, integrity, quality of being truthful

Prima

before, first (adverb or adjective of time)

avesse

had (third person singular imperfect subjunctive of avere)

finito

finished, completed (past participle of finire)

aveva

had (third person singular imperfect of avere)

già

already, previously (temporal adverb)

iniziato

begun, started (past participle of iniziare)

Discorso

discourse, speech or formal written discussion

sulla

on the (preposition su + feminine singular article)

Decade

decade, a set of ten books or years

dovrebbe

should, ought to (third person singular conditional)

letto

read or bed (past participle of leggere)

parallelamente

in parallel, simultaneously alongside something else

Questi

these (masculine plural demonstrative pronoun)

diversi

various, several, different (masculine plural adjective)

lavori

works, jobs, tasks (plural of lavoro)

minori

minor, lesser, smaller in importance or size

impegnarono

engaged, kept busy (third person plural past of impegnare)

fino

until, up to (preposition of limit or extent)

all'

to the (preposition a + elided article)

anno

year (singular unit of time)

accettò

accepted, agreed to take something (past tense)

un

a, an (masculine singular indefinite article)

piccolo

small, little (masculine singular adjective)

incarico

assignment, task, official role or commission

per

for, in order to (preposition of purpose)

occuparsi

to deal with, take care of something

affari

affairs, business matters, dealings

alcuni

some, a few (masculine plural indefinite adjective)

mercanti

merchants, traders who buy and sell goods

fiorentini

Florentines, people from or relating to Florence

Nel

in the (preposition in + masculine singular article)

governanti

rulers, those who govern or hold power

concessero

granted, conceded (third person plural past of concedere)

alcune

some, a few (feminine plural indefinite adjective)

concessioni

concessions, grants of rights or privileges

politiche

political (feminine plural adjective) or policies

ai

to the (preposition a + masculine plural article)

suoi

his, her, its (masculine plural possessive adjective)

cittadini

citizens, inhabitants of a city or state

insieme

together, at the same time or place

ad

to, at (variant of a before vowels)

fu

was (third person singular past of essere)

consultato

consulted, asked for advice or opinion

riguardo

regarding, with respect to something

una

a, an (feminine singular indefinite article)

nuova

new (feminine singular adjective)

costituzione

constitution, fundamental law of a state

in

in, into (basic Italian preposition of location)

base

base, basis, foundation of something

alla

to the (preposition a + feminine singular article)

quale

which, what (relative or interrogative pronoun)

Gran

great, grand (shortened adjective before nouns)

Consiglio

council, governing assembly or advisory body

doveva

had to, was supposed to (imperfect of dovere)

ripristinato

restored, reinstated to a former condition

ma

but (adversative coordinating conjunction)

con

with (basic Italian preposition of accompaniment)

pretesto

pretext, false reason used to justify action

o

or (disjunctive coordinating conjunction)

altro

other, another, else (masculine singular adjective)

essa

she, it (feminine third person singular pronoun)

promulgata

promulgated, officially proclaimed or enacted