6.3 To assign an existing 'irregular' word to a 'rule'.
6.4 To change an existing 'regular' word and treat it as 'irregular'.
6.5 Changing the assignment of a noun from one 'rule' to a different 'rule'.
6.6 Adding duplicate entries.
6.1 What words have to be treated as 'irregular'?
The method described in chapter 4 is successful for words that form the plural in one of the ways for which a 'rule' is provided. It's also successful if you merely want to change the translation of an existing word.
However, there are some Italian nouns that don't fit any of the 'rules' provided in the module, and you need a different method if you want to add a new word of this kind, or to change the plural of an existing word like this. There are three types of words that need special treatment -
• Irregular nouns. Examples include 'uomo', 'moglie', and 'bue'.
• Nouns that have two possible forms of the plural. Examples include 'camicia', 'stomaco', and 'tempio'.
• Some compound nouns that form the plural by changing a letter or letters in the middle of the word instead of at the end, or as well as at the end. Examples include 'capostazione', stationmaster (plural capistazione), and 'cassaforte', safe (plural casseforti).
For the sake of brevity we refer to these types of nouns as 'irregular' in this manual. This doesn't mean that they are all grammatically irregular (the compound nouns have their own regular ways of forming the plural). It means only that the module doesn't have a built-in rule to fit them, and therefore they are 'irregular' as far as the program is concerned.
If you want to practise changing or adding some 'irregular' words, it might be wise to start by making a backup copy of the database (and its keys file). An alternative is to make a separate small database containing only a few words. You can use it just for practising on, and discard it afterwards. To make a separate small database containing only some of the words from the whole module, create a 'group' with the words you want (there may already be a group that is suitable). In the Entering Words window, choose 'Groups' in the pop-up menu called 'Show'. In the pop-up menu immediately below, choose the group you want to use. Below the scroll-list there is a button called 'Create Sub-DB'. Click this button. You'll get a dialog box inviting you to type a name for the new 'sub-database'. Give it a name, choose a place to store it, and click Save. Two new files will be created: the sub-database itself, and an associated 'keys' file. The sub-database will contain only the words from the group you chose. Double-click the icon of the new sub-database to open it.
If your screen is large enough, keep the Browse window open, and position it so that you can see the existing singular and plural forms of the words (see 'Positioning the Browse window' in Chapter 4.6).
6.2 Editing an existing 'irregular' word.
In the Entering Words window, select an existing 'irregular' word that you'd like to change. For practice, we recommend that you select 'tempio' and look at the existing entries for this word.
You'll notice that some of the settings in the Entering Words window have changed. The pop-up menus for 'defects' and 'rules' have disappeared, and the checkbox called 'Regular?' is unchecked.
In the column of six panels at the right of the window, there are entries in two panels (not just one as in the case of a 'regular' word). The entries in the panels show the whole of the singular and plural forms, including the definite articles, and the singular and plural endings. For 'tempio' the second panel shows two forms of the plural.
Let's say you have found a spelling mistake in the singular or plural form, and you want to correct it. Click in the panel that contains the mistake, and edit the entry. Then click the Add/Change button near the bottom of the Entering Words window (or press ‚åòR on the keyboard). The change will be entered into the module. It will also be displayed in the Browse window.
The Entering Window will normally be cleared ready for you to add or change another word. If you want the same word to remain displayed in the Entering Words window, pull down the DB menu, choose Preferences, uncheck 'Clean Window on Add Word' and click OK. The next time you make a change, the window won't be cleared. This makes it easier to re-edit the change if you don't like the result. When you want to clean the window you'll need to click the 'New' button in the bottom row of the Entering Words window.
Now let's say you want to delete the second plural form that is given for 'tempio'. If 'tempio' is not displayed, select it again. Then click in the panel that contains the two plural forms, and delete the second plural using standard editing techniques. Also delete the second definite article, and the comma-space that separated the two different plurals. The revised entry for the word is still irregular, so you should leave the 'Regular?' checkbox unchecked. Click the Add/Change button near the bottom of the Entering Words window (or press ‚åòR), and the change will be entered into the module. In the Browse window, the Comments box for 'tempio' may contain information that no longer applies, so this may be a good time to revise the comments.
Assigning an existing word to a 'rule', or to a different 'rule'.
You might want to assign a word to a rule if, for example, you have deleted one of two possible plurals. For example 'tempio' has the plural forms 'templi' and tempii'. The first plural 'templi' is irregular, but the second plural 'tempii' fits the rule 'masc.io/ii.c'. If you delete the first plural, you may want to assign 'tempio' to the rule that fits the plural form you have kept.
You don't have to do it, but it's worth considering. If you assign the word to a 'rule', the name of the 'rule' will appear in the corner of the Browse window; the rule facilitates building groups with the feature called 'Rules Manager'; and if you export the database to a plain-text file the details for the word will be included in the plain-text file.
6.3 To assign an existing 'irregular' word to a 'rule'.
1. If your screen is large enough, position the Browse window so that you can see the details for the word.
2. Select the word in the Entering Words window.
3. Check the 'Regular?' checkbox.
4. If necessary, change the pop-up menu above the 'Regular?' checkbox from 'Verb' to 'Noun'.
5. If necessary, change the pop-up menu below the 'Regular?' checkbox to show the correct gender for the word.
6. Choose the appropriate rule in the 'Rule' pop-up menu. Remember to choose a rule ending in 'c' or 'v' or 'z' depending on what definite articles you want the program to use.
7. Type the word in the top panel of the six panels on the right, but omit the singular ending as shown in the middle part of the name of the rule.
For example, if you are changing 'archeologo' and you choose the rule 'masc.go/gi.v', type 'archeolo'. The program will add 'go' to make the singular and 'gi' to make the plural.
If you choose a rule with 'inv' in the middle ('inv' is for invariable nouns that don't change in the plural), you should type the whole of the word.
8. Click the Add/Change button (or press ‚åòR on the keyboard).
9. Examine the new entry in the Browse window and satisfy yourself that it is correct. Check the singular and plural forms. In the bottom line of the Browse window, check the entries for 'noun', for the gender, and for the rule-name.
10. If it isn't correct, try steps 2-9 again.
11. If necessary, edit any existing comments in the Comments box in the Browse window.
6.4 To change an existing 'regular' word and treat it as 'irregular'.
You might want to do this if you want to include an alternative plural for an existing word.
1. If your screen is large enough, position the Browse window so that you can see the entry for the word.
2. Select the word in the Entering Words window.
3. Uncheck the 'Regular?' checkbox. The two upper panels of the six panels at the right will fill with forms of the word that may be bizarre. The program is suggesting possible new forms that may be quite wrong. Don't let this worry you.
4. If necessary, change the pop-up menu above the 'Regular?' checkbox from 'Verb' to 'Noun'.
5. If necessary, change the pop-up menu below the 'Regular?' checkbox to show the correct gender for the word.
6. Don't do anything about choosing a 'rule'.
7. Type the correct forms in the two top panels at the right. In the first panel, type the whole singular form of the word, including the definite article. In the second panel, type the whole plural form, including the definite article. If there are two plural forms, type them both in the second panel. The two plurals should be separated by comma-space, and the second plural should have its own definite article. For example, in the first panel type 'l'archeologo' and in the second panel type 'gli archeologi, gli archeologhi'.
8. Click the Add/Change button (or press ‚åòR on the keyboard).
9. Examine the new entry in the Browse window and satisfy yourself that it is correct. Check the singular and plural forms. In the bottom line of the Browse window, check the entries for 'noun', and for the gender. No rule-name should be visible in the bottom right-hand corner.
10. If it isn't correct, try steps 2-9 again.
11. If necessary, edit any existing comments in the Comments box in the Browse window.
6.5 Changing the assignment of a noun from one 'rule' to a different 'rule'.
You might want to do this if you decide that a different rule would be more suitable.
1. If your screen is large enough, position the Browse window so that you can see the entry for the word.
2. Select the word in the Entering Words window.
3. Don't do anything to the 'Regular?' checkbox - leave it checked.
4. If necessary, change the pop-up menu above the 'Regular?' checkbox from 'Verb' to 'Noun'.
5. Make sure that the pop-up menu below the 'Regular?' checkbox shows the correct gender for the word. Change it if necessary.
6. Choose the appropriate rule. Remember to choose a rule ending in 'c' or 'v' or 'z' depending on what definite articles you want the program to use.
7. Look at the six panels at the right of the Entering Words window. The uppermost panel shows the part of the word that was suitable for use with the previous rule. You may need to edit it to make it suitable for the new rule. The entry that is needed is the whole of the singular form of the word, minus whatever singular ending is shown before the slash in the middle of the new rule-name.
For example if you are changing 'banco' and you choose the rule 'masc.co/chi.c', the top panel should show 'ban'. The program will add 'co' to make the singular and 'chi' to make the plural.
If you choose a rule with 'inv' in the middle ('inv' is for invariable nouns which don't change in the plural), the top panel should show the whole of the word, for example 'banco'.
8. Click the Add/Change button (or press ‚åòR on the keyboard).
9. Examine the new entry in the Browse window to check that it is correct. Check the singular and plural forms; in the bottom line of the Browse window, check the entries for 'noun', for the gender, and for the rule-name.
10. If it isn't correct, try steps 2-9 again.
11. If necessary, edit any existing comments in the Comments box in the Browse window.
Under certain circumstances, you may get a message saying that you need to enter the Infinitive/Nominative form of the word. You should click OK. Back in the Entering Words window, don't type anything in the 'Word' panel unless you want to make an entirely new entry. If you want to preserve the existing translation and comments, reselect the word in the scroll-list and then continue with the changes.
6.6 Adding duplicate entries.
Sometimes there are two versions of one word and you may want to make two entries for it. The module already contains a good many such pairs, for example 'la collega, le colleghe', female colleague, and 'il collega, i colleghi', male colleague; and 'il braccio, i bracci', support, and 'il braccio, le braccia', arm.
The program won't allow you to enter two identical singular forms. To persuade it to accept both forms, something has to be added to distinguish the two forms. In any case, the user needs to know which form of the word is being presented in inflection exercises.
Therefore we have adopted the convention of adding something in round brackets to the singular form. For example collega (fem), collega (masc), braccio (m/m), braccio (m/f).
When you add words like this to the module, or change existing entries, it's important that anything you add to the normal singular form should be enclosed in round brackets, and that there should be one space between the end of the word and the opening bracket. If you do it this way, the program will ignore the round brackets and their contents in E->F translation exercises. If the addition is made in some other way, the program will sometimes treat the addition as being part of the word itself.
If one form of the word is already included in the module without anything extra to distinguish it, and you want to add a second version of the same word, you have to use a roundabout method. You can't just add the duplicate entry, because the program won't allow you to have two words that are exactly the same. Nor will it allow you to change what appears in the scroll-lists for the existing entry. There are two methods you can use:
• You can delete the existing word altogether (select it in the Entering Words window and click the Remove button). Then you can add the two forms of the word separately, including the additions in brackets to make them different from each other. You'll need to treat them both as being entirely new words, and you'll have to re-enter the translations and the comments.
• You can get the program to do half the work for you. Let's say the module already contains 'autista' with nothing after it in brackets. This is probably the masculine form of the word, and means a male driver. Let's say you want to convert this entry to 'autista (masc)' to allow you to add the feminine version 'autista (fem)'. Here's how you can do it.
1.1 In the Entering Words window, select the existing entry for the word.
1.2 In the panel near the top of the Entering Words window (the panel called 'Word' or 'Word in DB'), if it's the masculine version, edit the existing entry by adding a space and (masc).
1.3 Click the Add/Change button. The program will add a new word to the module. It will be the same as the existing entry, including the rule, the translation, and the comments. The only difference is that the new entry has (masc) after the word.
2.1 In the Entering Words window, select the existing entry for the original word.
2.2 In the panel near the top of the Entering Words window (the panel called 'Word' or 'Word in DB'), edit the original entry by adding a space and (fem).
2.3 Make the necessary changes in other parts of the Entering Words window (change the pop-up menu from Masculine to Feminine, choose a suitable rule for the new version, edit the translation).
2.4 Click the Add/Change button. The program will add a new word to the module. All being well, it will have the same comments as the original word, but otherwise it will contain the changes you want.
3.1 You should now have three entries for 'autista' or whatever word you are adding. Locate them in the Browse window. If necessary close the Browse window and reopen it to give it a chance to reorganise itself. Examine the three entries. You are going to delete the original entry, so don't worry about the details shown for this. Check the two new entries. Are the entries in the scroll-list correct? Did you use the right rules? Are the plurals correct? Are the definite articles correct? Are the entries for gender correct in the bottom line of the Browse window? If the form of the word shown in the scroll-list is wrong, you'll need to remove this form of the word (select it in the Entering Words window and click the Remove button) and start again at 1.1 or 2.1. If any of the other details shown for a new entry are wrong, you can alter them (select the word in the Entering Words window, make the necessary changes and click the Add/Change button).
3.2 If necessary, edit the comments in the Comments boxes for the two new entries.
3.3 When you are satisfied with the two new entries, delete the original entry (select it in the Entering Words window and click the Remove button).
The manual is continued in Chapter 7, which contains a list of all the 'rules' used in Italian Nouns 1.1, with an example for each rule. It also lists the words that do not belong to any rule. To open Chapter 7, press ‚åò7 or pull down the Contents menu on the manual's menu bar and choose the next chapter.
