Understanding Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs are verbs which cannot have a direct object. If you add a direct object to an intransitive verb then you get a sentence which doesn’t make any sense.

Let’s try to use the expression let’s do things a lot today in many ways.

Proviamo a usare l’espressione facciamo molte cose oggi in molti modi.

I will give everyone a list of verbs and we will make as many sentences and ideas as we can.

Let’s go, where and why   Intransitive movement of self andare irregular

We go to the cafe to drink a cup of coffee with our friends

andiamo al bar a bere una tazza di caffe con i nostri amici.

We take the last bus to the city to see the fireworks prendere note the shift from a to i

Prendiamo l’ultimo autobus per la citta questa sera per videre i fuochi d’artificio.

take the last bus!

prendi l’ultimo autobus!

let’s sit down where and why  Reflexive hence Intransitive

lets sit down on this seat today.

sediamoci su questo posto oggi

Lets sit down on this couch and watch the football.

Sediamoci su questo divano e guardiamo il calcio.

Let’s hit, where and why transitive

let’s hit the ball very hard!

colpiamo la palla molto forte

i told him hit the ball very hard!

gli ho detto di colpire la palla molto forte!

Buy a newspaper to read today comprare

compra un giornale da leggere oggi

We go to the shop to buy a newspaper to read

andiamo in negozio per compare un giornale da leggere.

let’s eat what and how

eat your supper

mangia la tua cena

give me your name or tell me your name?

Dimmi il tuo nome. Tell me your name is the right way to say this in Italian.

Though one could say Dammi il tuo nome it is wrong hence not used.

Here the verb Dicere is used, it means to say or to tell-

Sensodione

The attack, when it came, was unexpected, high level and no holds barred.

As the saying goes, no plan survives the first contact with the enemy.

Hosie was in bathhouse, in the pool, in the fast lane and in good spirits.  Savannah was walking briskly in her white, golden clasped high heels, wheeling the communication trolley when the glass doors at the end of the atrium exploded inwards shredding the palm trees and cyclid pots protecting the entrance. Matt the security guard at the eastern entranced  was knocked to the ground, blood flowing from his face and nose into the pool waters as he lay limp and drowning.  Savannah screamed and collapsed on her knees hol ing her right shoulder.
Hosie hit the red duress alarm on the pool side and grabbed a speargun from the recess flipping on to his side to watch the door. Three men burst through the shattered door glass, wearing goggles, masks and holding  laser  light .394 Glocksheims. Hosie let the first spear loose ripping through the air and lodging in the upper chest base of the neck, Pivoting his aim he took out the second man through the right eye, dived as bullets cut up the water towards him from the third.

His thoughts went back to the plan, to Ritchie’s paranoia and concern re his reflexes. Your’e getting old mate, nearly 25, Why bother with the risk?.He smiled. Ritchie was the dork, the true computer geek bought to life. he could no more fire a gun straight than ride a skateboard.

Infection occurs when skin comes in contact with contaminated freshwater in which certain types of snails that carry the parasite are living. Freshwater becomes contaminated by schistosome eggs when infected people urinate or defecate in the water. The eggs hatch, and if the appropriate species of snails are present in the water, the parasites infect, develop and multiply inside the snails. The parasite leaves the snail and enters the water where it can survive for about 48 hours. Larval schistosomes (cercariae) can penetrate the skin of persons who come in contact with contaminated freshwater, typically when wading, swimming, bathing, or washing. Over several weeks, the parasites migrate through host tissue and develop into adult worms inside the blood vessels of the body. Once mature, the worms mate and females produce eggs. Some of these eggs travel to the bladder or intestine and are passed into the urine or stool.

Symptoms of schistosomiasis are caused not by the worms themselves but by the body’s reaction to the eggs. Eggs shed by the adult worms that do not pass out of the body can become lodged in the intestine or bladder, causing inflammation or scarring. Children who are repeatedly infected can develop anemia, malnutrition, and learning difficulties. After years of infection, the parasite can also damage the liver, intestine, spleen, lungs, and bladder.
Common Symptoms

Most people have no symptoms when they are first infected. However, within days after becoming infected, they may develop a rash or itchy skin. Within 1-2 months of infection, symptoms may develop including fever, chills, cough, and muscle aches.
Chronic schistosomiasis

Without treatment, schistosomiasis can persist for years. Signs and symptoms of chronic schistosomiasis include: abdominal pain, enlarged liver, blood in the stool or blood in the urine, and problems passing urine. Chronic infection can also lead to increased risk of liver fibrosis or bladder cancer.
Epidemiology & Risk Factors

Schistosomiasis is an important cause of disease in many parts of the world, most commonly in places with poor sanitation. School-age children who live in these areas are often most at risk because they tend to spend time swimming or bathing in water containing infectious cercariae.
If you live in, or travel to, areas where schistosomiasis is found and are exposed to contaminated freshwater, you are at risk.

Areas where human schistosomiasis is found include:

Schistosoma mansoni
Distributed throughout Africa: There is risk of infection in freshwater in southern and sub-Saharan Africa–including the great lakes and rivers as well as smaller bodies of water. Transmission also occurs in the Nile River valley in Sudan and Egypt.
South America: Including Brazil, Suriname, and Venezuela.
S. haematobium
Distributed throughout Africa: There is risk of infection in freshwater in southern and sub-Saharan Africa–including the great lakes and rivers as well as smaller bodies of water. Transmission also occurs in the Nile River valley in Egypt and the Mahgreb region of North Africa.
Found in areas of the Middle East.
A recent focus of ongoing transmission has been identified in Corsica.
Diagnosis

Stool or urine samples can be examined microscopically for parasite eggs (stool for S. mansoni or S. japonicum eggs and urine for S. haematobium eggs). The eggs tend to be passed intermittently and in small amounts and may not be detected, so it may be necessary to perform a blood (serologic) test.
Safe and effective medication is available for treatment of both urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis. Praziquantel, a prescription medication, is taken for 1-2 days to treat infections caused by all schistosome species.

Page last reviewed: June 22, 2018
Content source: Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases
Schistosomiasis

Imperatives come in 3 flavours with 5 personal pronouns. The personal pronouns are
Tu/Lei which is you, singular, and Voi/Loro which is you, plural. Also Noi, which is we.
They all involve action in the present moment only, no past or future concerns.

The suggestion imperative is the first person plural, we, [Noi].
All other imperatives use the second person, you, singular or plural, polite or personal.
Tu/Voi are used in addressing members of the family, our group, close friends and children. Informal and personal.
Otherwise Lei and Loro are used with people in authority and strangers. Formal and polite.
The personal pronouns are important and silent [unspoken]. You need to know which ones you are using by practice.

The three Imperative forms are suggestions, ordinary imperatives and negative imperatives.
–
Suggestions.
These are made using the stem of the word with the plural present tense -iamo and an exclamation mark.
These use the personal pronoun we [Noi]  and are equivalent to the English “Let us do this [action]” or colloquially “Let’s”. They are very common, easy and useful.
Andiamo has two different special meanings.
The  Imperative suggestion [and order], Andiamo! let’s go!.
The ordinary meaning  andiamo, we go, or we are going and sometimes loosely we will go.
They are completely different meanings and all imperatives are pronounced with emphasis.
All have a hidden Noi in front of them.
Let’s try [proviamo!}, let’s learn [impariamo!] Italian at U3A. Let’s have [abbiamo!] a coffee afterwards and let’s have a good time [divertitiamoci].

Ordinary imperatives are a little tricky as there is a difference in using the formal form of you compared to the informal. We normally use the informal with a silent tu or voi.
Learn the informal first and use it all the time.
For tu we simply add -a to the stem of all are, iare verbs.
Add i to all the others.
Jump [salta] to it! Sell [vendi] this!
For voi we use the normal plural second person tense ending for all verbs.
Parlate!  Vendete!  Finiscite!

Transitive verbs  need an object e.g. vendilo/la[sell this] though sometimes it is implicit.  Intransitive verbs don’t.
Reflexive verbs are usually intransitive.

Negative Imperatives.
The negative imperative for tu only in all conjugations is formed by placing the word non before the infinitive.
Non parlare, don’t speak. Non dicere, don’t say. Non finire, don’t finish.
Voi simply uses non in front of the normal plural present tense e.g. non vendete.

Irregular verbs break the rules and have to be learned by repeated use. They are the most important verbs the Italians use and have usually been shortened to help the language flow Some examples,
Andare to go vado, vai, va, andiamo, andete, vanno.
Dare ( sort of donare) to give, do, dai, da, diamo, date and danno.
Stare to stay,  sto, stai, sta,stiamo, state and stanno
Fare to do,  faccio,  fai, fa, fiamo, fate and fanno
–Dire (really (dicere) to say dico, dici, dica, diciamo, dicete and  dicono
Their imperative forms for tu are
Vai, Da, Sta, Fa,  Di, but in common use one can use vai/va, dai/a, Stai/sta and fai/fa interchangeably.

-Note,
Using the formal pronouns Lei and Loro is not done very often but it can come up in conversation and books.
There is a simple rule for Lei [the singular form of Tu].
You throw your books out the window and use the opposite of what we just said.
All the verbs that take -a now take -i and all the verbs that took -i now take –a.
For Loro [voi] the plural the same rule –ano becomes –ino and -ino or –eno becomes -ano.
Be aware as you will see examples occasionally but do not put any effort into it as once you get the informal verbs right, which is easy, the formal version will slowly fall into place without trying.
Study the informal!  Studia l’ínformale!

Irregular verbs are the best and the best ones are those starting with D.
Dare ( sort of donare) to give, do, dai, da, diamo, date and danno.
related non D irregular verbs are
Stare to stay, does sto, stai, stiamo, state and stanno
Fare to do goes faccio,  fai, fa, fiamo, fate and fanno
_
Dovere,  usually a verb must, have to, should,
goes devo, devi, deve, dobbiamo, dovete and devono. It is often confused with Dove (where) an adverb
-Dire (really (dicere) to say dico, dici, dica, diciamo, dicete and  dicono
–
Then comes their imperative forms
Da, Sta, Fa, deve, dica,
–
Imperatives come in 3 flavours and personal pronouns.
They all involve action in the present moment only, no past or future concerns.
The suggestion imperative is the plural we [noi].
All other imperatives only use the subject you, singular or plural, polite or personal.
Tu/Voi is used in addressing members of the family, peers, children, close friends, and animals. Otherwise Lei and  Loro are used.
The personal pronouns are very important but never used.You need to know which ones you are using.

The three Imperative forms are suggestions, negative imperatives and ordinary imperatives.
–
Suggestions.
These only use the personal pronoun we [Noi]  and are equivalent to the English “Let us” or colloquially “Let’s”. They are very easy and useful
Andiamo has two different special meanings.
An Imperative suggestion [and order], let’s go!.
The other meaning is the simple present tense andiamo, we go, or we are going and sometimes loosely we will go. All have a hidden Noi in front of them.
They are completely different meanings.
Let’s try [proviamo} some of the irregulars.
–
[Noi] diamo, lets give, stiamo, let’s stay, facciamo, let’s do,  diciamo, let’s say.

Negative Imperatives
Remember all imperatives other than suggestions are you singular or plural.
For suggestions just use non in front, non diamo lets not give.
But the negative imperative for tu in all conjugations is formed by placing the word non before the infinitive.
Non parlare, don’t speak. Non dicere, don’t say. Non finire, don’t finish.   very easy.
for voi use the plural form.  Non parlete.

Ordinary imperatives are a little tricky.

This is a talk on the science and subject of memory.

One definition of memory is the ability to restore a past thought or action or process..

There are different types of memory, Genetic, chemical, geological, physical, computer and brain are just some types.

[A digression Show two tabletops of 8 objects and tell a story about each of the objects on one table -test at end of meeting.][mobile phone, number on mobile phone 4 numerals, coin, 20 cents, toy car needing parking [colour]. pack of playing cards king of clubs on top, golf ball, battery [brand]
second, a list of names and numbers,
Third a list of our Councillors [gen knowledge]

Memory does not need a brain of the sort we are used to thinking of when we think of a brain. Human memory arises from the working of a brain which has evolved over 2 billion years. Memory for life forms arises out of necessity. It would be perfectly valid for a life form to exist which had no brain or programming but just rolled around eating up everything in sight and dying when it wandered into a bigger one or rolled off an edge.

Being self reproducing [memory by accident or design] is enhanced by having a routine ability to find resources for renewal and being able to avoid or overcome dangers. At a cellular level this meant adapting sensors for the environment. touch, taste hearing sight and smell.
Having ways to react through movement,  rolling sliding swimming propulsion; Disguise, Defence, cell walls spikes poison shells and means for attack teeth claws horns poison, electricity etc.

Plus a way to combine the the two.
Senses and action linked by thought. Thought requiring memory to work most effectively.

It might be possible to have such mechanisms without memory. Many actions of life forms still use processes which overcome the vagaries of chance, consider baby turtles, coral spores and pollen for instance. Millions of life forms but only a few able to survive.

But having a memory of the previous interaction helps both future hunting/harvesting and avoiding dangers. Memory originated at a cellular level. The cells lay down rules for action from their RNA/DNA  and enforce them through a value adding system.

This is either pleasure or pain. The underlying drive is need, necessity, food and safety and reproduction. This is enhanced by a system of sub needs. avoidance of pain, inquisitiveness fear anger  which at our level manifest as emotions.And emotions provide the motivation for thoughts and actions. Memories affect our emotions which in turn drive us to think .

Returning to memory. It is the ability to recall past events thoughts and emotions plus to do   tasks, both repetitive like breathing and eating. Having memories is consciously or unconsciously using the brain to rerun thoughts through the brain. Hence one can have both real and virtual memories and even memories that are imaginary.

Memory

From what we have said several things drive the ability of a person to use their memory and in trying to use it effectively. One of course is the size and the other the ability of the “chip” Having a large register is impressive, It shows a good correlation between awareness, attentiveness and storage and recall. But more important is how the brain uses the memory and in this regard some people are born with sharper state of the market working components. Hence they can recall  and think better than other people. Most of us fall in the normal range. We can all read write and recall with moderate ease. This ability does reduce as we get older and marked failings in some people leads to Demerntia.

Memory training.

This is very simple. We all have areas in which our recall is not as good as it could be. Names of people. Car keys and wallets for men, mobile phones and purses for women. [sexist] The whereabouts of food items in the kitchen and fridge. Where the bills are, the clothes are and lastly the password combinations.

To improve one’s memory you really have to  want to improve it enough to take the steps to do so. Just like losing weight. Developing the desire or need to do it.
Next is application. actively improving the memory. It can be done without desire but is much weaker in that case. Here is where concentration comes in. Being more alert.

At two steps. One in recognising an alert situation, e.g.  being introduced to new people and learning their names.

People who do not remember names do so for a variety of reasons. Shyness, Diffidence, not wanting to really expand their contact horizon, fear of embarrassment, sight and hearing problems. In fact they actively work unconsciously at forgetting names. How else to explain that their memory works extremely well elsewhere? This blindness or amaurosis needs work at both the psychological level and at the physical level.

Making it a pleasure great, new people to meet. Then using standard memory tips. Focusing, Listening carefully to their names, repeating their names back to them at the time of introduction and on leaving. Looking at them for distinguishing signs. Shoes, glasses, hair colour, cut and age for instance. If possible [in this day of mobile phones writing it down and send a message to yourself.]

Putting the person into a story line to yourselves with something unusual particular to their names . And, if you have the spare time, recalling and repeating the names.
Will it work? With lots of practice and a desire to make it work.

That is the simple answer to developing memory.

Needing to do it
Wanting to do it
Recognising situations
Focusing and concentration,
Hearing and Observing
Repetition
Association
Recall.
Writing it down.

Now writing it down can be difficult  so an advanced memory technique is to write it down in your brain,, Tied in to association techniques. I have done one of these for our Italian classes, No one is currently using it but that might change after this talk. This technique is not unique and anyone who is very interested can do further reading of a young man called Oddjob Bjorn.

You have to imagine a place you already know and can easily recall. For most this would be the family home or childhood home, others the office, others for the shoppers amongst us the city of Shepparton and its shops, houses or churches pubs and streets.

You put the first person introduced into the first room in your house. You make up a story with some aspect of their name.

Smith, A bulky navvy working at a fiery forge greets his long lost Brother/sister, John who has morphed into a replica of long John Silver with hook for hand , parrot on shoulder and eye patch. He takes your next introductee, Sue Jones into the next room where a whale [Jonah] is floating in the bath tub with the little figure in the whales mouth is yelling. I want a lawyer, I want to sue. etc

Note the more ridiculous the image, the better it will stick especially if you make some stock ones up yourself. When you make these images add the details to the character. Red socks? Have the pirate with one red sock pulled down.Long black hair a vest coat of the same colour as Mr Smith’s shirt.

1 room is adequate for

Me4dical,

We are born with a set number of brain cells although the brain does increase in size until bone growth stops this is bulk not number of cells., We lose up to 200,000 cells a day which on a backdrop of 86 billion brain cells is not that significant over 90 years  30,000 days   6,000,000,000 [The cells of the brain include neurons and supportive glial cells. There are more than 86 billion neurons in the brain, and a more or less equal number of other cells.]

A SANDSTORM BROUGHT NIGHTTIME INTO A CITY.
Una tempesta di sabbia ha portata la notte in citta.
I saw this story on La Republica and thought how this image has helped me learn the word for sand.
Ho visto questa storia in[su] La Republica e ho pensato come questa vista [immagine] ha aiutatomi  a imparare la parola per la sabbia.
Sand bucket   secchio di sabbia.
Sand shovel      pala di sabbia,  Sand Spade Vanga di sabbia.
Sand at the beach on Saturday   sabbia in spiaggia il sabato.
Sand castle    castello di sabbia
I built a sand castle  Ho costruito un castello di sabbia, probably Ho fatto is easier
Sandman  omino del sonno
onde che si infrangono sulle dune in spiaggia
Beach umbrella ombrellone da spiaggia

This is a follow up to a talk I gave on Italian a few years ago with a new take on asking questions and the responses one should give.

Questo è il seguito di un discorso che ho tenuto sull'italiano alcuni anni fa con una nuova interpretazione 
delle domande e delle risposte che dovresti dare.

Italian and English can both pose a question depending on the way one makes a statement.
Hence, "I am going home"?  or "vado a casa"? depends on intonation.
Italian differs from English from in that a sentence can be both a question and an answer at the same time,
but English allows you to change the order of the words to make it obvious a question is being asked 
by changing the order of the words.
Hence Am I going home, verb first, must be a question.

In both languages there are also words that make it obvious a question [domanda] is being asked
 and a response [risponsa] is needed.

In entrambe le lingue ci sono anche parole che rendono ovvia una domanda [domanda] viene chiesto
 e una risposta [risposta] è necessaria.

In Inglese queste parole sono come, quando, dove, cosa, chi e perché.

Come è il più interessante di questi in quanto richiede una spiegazione della domanda in termini 
quantitativi e qualitativi, quanto e quanti, quanto profondo, ampio, alto, largo e lungo.
 In altre parole è una domanda numerativa. Come è successo? Come è appena?

Dove è molto più facile, una posizione nel tempo e nello spazio.

 Chi è soggettivo e personale, applicato ad altre persone.
 Quello che è impersonale e più ampio, permette cause non personali.
Quando è una specifica temporale che si divide ulteriormente in passato, presente e futuro.
Perche è una riflessione sulla causalità.

Enough of the heavy stuff. Reading through the above several times and once before every Thursday morning 
will help you to focus on the main reasons for learning other languages. 
Firstly to communicate with other people on their terms,
 something English speaking people have been very poor at doing.
Secondly to understand our own language better. The rules of languages are universal 
even if the way the words are put together differ. 
English and Italian both share a common root in Latin and learning Italian
helps to understand and give deeper meaning to our own language.

 
Exercises and discussion for today.

Come? How How much? Quanto? 
How often? Quanto spesso?
Come mai, How come. 
Come appena, Come successo? How did it happen?
Dové? Where is it. Is it here or there?
Use la palla as the object.
Discuss how many different places can something be in?
Up, down, in, out, before, behind, inside, outside, here, there, over here, over there,
hiding, in plain sight, under, over and more.
All these words we use in English every day and are essential.
Chi? Who? Chi e o Chi Sono?
Che? What? often used as che cosa [what thing] o che cose  but sometimes
the word cosa/cose substitutes itself for what. 
Quando?  When?  now , in the past or in the future?
quando ora, nel passato o nel futuro?
Perche?, Why? Sometimes Come mai means the same thing.
Why is also the same word as because in Italian which is confusing
Quale? Which? offers a choice, una scelta or a selection between answers

Pick two of the seven basic questions, and use them in two sentences.
Then ask the question to each of the people on either side of you in the group.
You should also do your own answers to the questions.
All answers should include a rephrasing of the original question.