Thank you for this helpful video! I appreciate the exercise; it helps secure the lesson for me. Your illustrated House of Essere is much appreciated as well!
While this was a useful introduction to the use of essere as the auxiliary verb in the present participle, I think it would have been more helpful to discuss the basic rules for when to use avere or essere. Rather than relying on flash cards to record the correct auxiliary verbs and then memorize them, I have always found it extremely useful to remember that transitive verbs (verbs that can take a direct object or can perform action upon something) always use avere. Intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs, and the passive voice use essere and basically function as adjectives. For example, siamo arrivati (we have arrived) or sono arrivato/arrivata (I have arrived) are essentially describing your state as “being arrived”, thus you decline for gender and number. Yes, there are some exceptions with intransitive verbs that use avere (ridere, camminare) and some that can go either way depending on how they’re used, but you become familiar with them through usage. To be honest, I don’t think the House of Essere is helpful to most native English speakers since the explanation of “things you do with your whole body” doesn’t really clarify the issue. It probably causes more confusion than anything. I think sticking with the idea of “Can the verb take a direct object?” or “Can the verb perform action upon something?” is the best starting point for English speakers trying to understand which auxiliary to use.
![[ESSERE Conjugation Italian] Learn 5 BASIC Tenses of Italian verb TO BE | Italian Verb Conjugation](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ek4EA__eBu0/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for this helpful video! I appreciate the exercise; it helps secure the lesson for me. Your illustrated House of Essere is much appreciated as well!
While this was a useful introduction to the use of essere as the auxiliary verb in the present participle, I think it would have been more helpful to discuss the basic rules for when to use avere or essere. Rather than relying on flash cards to record the correct auxiliary verbs and then memorize them, I have always found it extremely useful to remember that transitive verbs (verbs that can take a direct object or can perform action upon something) always use avere. Intransitive verbs, reflexive verbs, and the passive voice use essere and basically function as adjectives. For example, siamo arrivati (we have arrived) or sono arrivato/arrivata (I have arrived) are essentially describing your state as “being arrived”, thus you decline for gender and number.
Yes, there are some exceptions with intransitive verbs that use avere (ridere, camminare) and some that can go either way depending on how they’re used, but you become familiar with them through usage.
To be honest, I don’t think the House of Essere is helpful to most native English speakers since the explanation of “things you do with your whole body” doesn’t really clarify the issue. It probably causes more confusion than anything.
I think sticking with the idea of “Can the verb take a direct object?” or “Can the verb perform action upon something?” is the best starting point for English speakers trying to understand which auxiliary to use.