We've talked recently about comparatives of equality, and so it makes sense to talk about yet another kind of comparative. We're not really comparing two or more items, but rather giving one item a very high vote. BANNER PLACEHOLDERIn English we use words or prefixes such as "super," "very," "extra," "maximum," "mega."
There is a super easy way to make adjectives into absolute superlatives in Italian.
Daniela explains how this works:
There are certain adjectives we use quite frequently in this form to express an absolute superlative.
One is bello (beautiful, nice):
Another is piccolo (small):
Still another is nuovo (new):
There are lots of others, and you will, little by little, start noticing them as you listen to spoken Italian, where they occur most frequently. BANNER PLACEHOLDERPractice: Here's a head start.
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We have seen that comparatives work a bit differently in Italian as compared to English. Read more here. For most adjectives and adverbs in Italian, there is no specific comparative form. We use the adverbs più (more) or meno (less) to form the comparative. Notable exceptions are buono (good) and bene (well), which have their own comparative forms. We have discussed them here.
But things get tricky when we compare things that are equal. For the most part, in English, we use the same adverb or conjunction "as" in both parts of the comparison.
You are as tall as I am. We are both the same height.
In Italian, there are basically two pairs of words that are sometimes interchangeable and sometimes not. Tanto (lots, as much) pairs with quanto (how much), and così (like, so) pairs with come (how, as).
Il comparativo di uguaglianza si forma facendo precedere l'aggettivo dall'avverbio "tanto", o "così", seguito dall'aggettivo, più "come" o "quanto".
The comparative of equality is formed by placing the adverb "tanto" [as much] or "cosi" [like, as], followed by the adjective, plus "as" or "as much."
Captions 23-28, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 3
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And sometimes we can omit one of the two words in a pair. Tutto sommato (all in all), it can be a bit confusing.
Here are some examples of complete sentences from Yabla that feature comparatives of equality, so you can become more familiar with them.
Insomma, i ponti sono tanto frequentati quanto sconosciuti ai romani di oggi.
In other words, the bridges are as traveled as they are unknown to the Romans of today.
Caption 44, I Love Roma - guida della città - Part 8
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Ed è stata tanto colpa nostra quanto colpa sua.
And it was as much our fault as his fault.
Caption 55, Italiano commerciale - Difficoltà con colleghi e contratti - Part 3
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The following example uses che, another ingredient of comparatives, as described by Daniela, but here, it's used incorrectly. This just goes to show that comparatives of equality can be tricky for Italians, too.
Disarmonie e contrasti sono ingredienti indispensabili tanto della vita che della cucina.
Disharmonies and contrasts are indispensable ingredients, as much in life as in cuisine.
Caption 18, L'arte della cucina - La Prima Identitá - Part 10
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Here is what the speaker should have said.
Disarmonie e contrasti sono ingredienti indispensabili tanto nella vita quanto nella cucina.
Disharmonies and contrasts are indispensable ingredients, in life as well as in the kitchen.
This next example compares two comparatives on equal terms (more=more). Can you wrap your head around it
Quanto più l'impasto è duro, tanto meglio viene la pasta.
The stiffer the dough, the better the pasta will be.
Caption 45, Marino - La maccaronara
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In the following example, Adriano is using così come to compare the adjective intenso (intense) on an equal basis between one day and other days.
Spero che anche voi possiate avere delle giornate così intense come questa.
I hope that you too can have days that are as intense as this one.
Caption 56, Adriano - Giornata
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We often find così and come together in a sentence and it can often be translated as "just as" or "just like."
Al verso è docile e al contro è duro, così come la vita.
Along the grain it's soft and against the grain it's hard, just like life.
Captions 11-12, Claudio Capotondi - Scultore - Part 1
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Here are examples of the two types of pairings, along with versions where the first adverb is omitted, as described by Daniela.
Non conosco nessuno così bravo come te.
I don't know anyone as smart as you.
Non conosco nessuno bravo come te.
I don't know anyone smart like you.
Non conosco nessuno tanto bravo quanto te.
I don't know anyone as smart as you.
Non conosco nessuno bravo quanto te.
I don't know anyone as smart as you.
Practice:
Try looking around your home and comparing things.
Questa stanza è più grande di quella (this room is bigger than that one).
Quella stanza è meno grande di questa (That room is smaller than this one).
Questo tavolo è tanto grande quanto quel tavolo lì (this table is as big as that one there).
Questo tavolo è grande quanto quello lì (this table is as big as that one there).
La mia poltrona è tanto comoda quanto la tua (my armchair is as comfortable as yours).
La mia poltrona è comoda quanto la tua (my armchair is as comfortable as yours).
Start simple and get comfortable. Hint: In comparisons of equality, it's more common to omit the first adverb than to include it, at least in everyday speech. Whew!
There's a great expression in Italian to describe being between two things: A cavallo, or rather, essere a cavallo di or tra/fra (to straddle) meaning con un piede da una parte euno dall'altra (with one foot on one side and the other on the other side).
Di solito, questo stato influenzale, quindi il raffreddore o l'influenza, si prende nel periodo che è a cavallo di due stagioni in particolare.
Usually, this flu-like state, that is, a cold or the flu is caught in the period that straddles two seasons in particular:
Captions 7-8, Marika spiega - Il raffreddore
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The expression is often used figuratively when referring to historical dates: a cavallo di due secoli —negli anni finali di un secolo e iniziali del successivo (straddling two centuries: in the last years of one century and the first years of the following one).
We also use a cavallo to mean touching on two or three places.
Maratea si trova al sud d'Italia, eh... a cavallo di tre regioni:
Maratea is located in the south of Italy, uh... straddling three regions:
Caption 35, Antonio - Maratea, la carne e il pesce
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But without the proposition di (of) or fra/tra (between), a cavallo means something else entirely.
Essere a cavallo can mean "to be golden, in good shape." In other words, we're riding horses rather than having to walk, and that's a good achievement.
Ora lo facciamo analizzare e se corrisponde a quello trovato sul mio cuscino, siamo a cavallo.
Now we'll have it analyzed and if it corresponds to the one found on my pillow, we'll be in the saddle [all set].
Captions 11-13, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 10
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Firmi, ed è fatta. Ah, allora siamo a cavallo, vedi?
Sign, and it's done. Ah, so we're on horseback [we're on our way, we're in good shape], you see?
Captions 42-43, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 12
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Of course, there is the literal meaning as well: andare a cavallo (to go horseback riding).
E a cavallo ci si arriva?
And can you get there on horseback?
Caption 63, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sulla Puglia
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Let's look at a few idiomatic expressions people tend to use when holidays are approaching. They're useful at other times of the year, too.
The title of this lesson is ci siamo (we are there). It literally means "we are there," or "we are here," but often means "this is the moment we've all been waiting for" or "we have succeeded." It can also mean "this is the moment we were dreading!"
Ecco qua, ci siamo quasi.
Here we go, we're almost there.
Caption 73, Anna e Marika - Hostaria Antica Roma
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And when we use it in the negative, non ci siamo, it can mean, "this is not a good thing." It's a synonym for non va bene (this is not OK).
No, no, non ci siamo.
No, no, we're not getting anywhere.
Caption 91, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sulla Sardegna
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Natale è alle porte [Christmas is at the doors] (Christmas is just around the corner).
Siamo sotto Natale. Sotto usually means "under/underneath/below," but in this case, it means during, or we could construe it to mean under the influence of the holidays.
Sotto le feste, i negozi fanno orari straordinari (around/during the holidays, shops keep extended hours).
In Italy, le feste non finiscono più (the holidays never end).
Christmas starts on the 24th of December with la vigilia (Christmas Eve) and lasts until la Befana (Epiphany). Only after that do kids go back to school and things get back to normal.
The 26th of December is Santo Stefano, (Saint Stephen's Day), a perfect time for visiting relatives you didn't see on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Traditionally, shops are closed, but oggi giorno (these days), anything goes.
And if there is a weekend in the middle of the festivities, there's il ponte (a four or five-day weekend, literally, "the bridge").
Quando una festa viene il giovedì, spesso si fa il ponte (when there's a holiday on Thursday, we often take Friday off for a long weekend).
The adjective comodo (comfortable) is easy to find in the dictionary, and is easy to understand, too, in a normal context.
Che dici, sarà comodo questo letto per la tedesca con la puzza sotto il naso?
What do you say? Will this bed be comfortable for the snobbish German lady?
Captions 12-13, Sposami EP 3 - Part 5
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Quindi non dimenticatevi di indossare delle scarpe comode, un abbigliamento comodo per potervi godere questo spettacolo meraviglioso.
So don't forget to wear comfortable shoes, comfortable clothing, to be able to enjoy this marvelous show.
Captions 45-46, Marika spiega Expo 2015 - Part 2
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As you can see, comodo ends in "O." So when using it to describe a noun, you have to pay attention to both the gender and the number of the noun it's describing. There are 4 possibilities: o, a, i, and e. Here are some examples.
Questo vestito è comodo (this dress is comfortable).
Questa gonna è comoda (this skirt is comfortable).
Questi pantaloni sono comodi (these pants are comfortable).
Queste scarpe sono comode (these shoes are comfortable).
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Ma perché le donne devono aver un abito così scomodo?
But why do women have to have such uncomfortable clothing?
Caption 52, L'Oriana film - Part 23
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Try doing the same exercises as above (with comodo) with scomodo. It works the same way! Make sure and say your sentences out loud, if possible.
Up until now, we have talked about things that are or aren't comfortable. We can use the verb essere (to be). But when it comes to how we are feeling, such as sitting in an armchair, we use comodo and scomodo with the verb stare, also translated as "to be." We're talking about our state of being. Let's assume a woman is talking. She might say:
Su questa sedia, sto un po' scomoda. Manca un cuscino (I'm kind of uncomfortable on this chair. There's no cushion).
Su quell'altra, sto piuttosto comoda, invece (but on that other one, I am pretty comfortable).
❇️ Food for thought:
What if a guy were talking?
What if a couple were talking together about how they feel sleeping on the ground?
What if you were asking someone if they are comfortable, when it's clear they are not comfortable?
Stare is also used with comodo in another situation. Sometimes comodo specifically implies remaining seated, as in the command:
Stai comodo (don't bother getting up).
When you get comfortable, the verb is mettersi (to put oneself). We use the reflexive form of mettere (to put) as if to say, "Put yourself" into a comfortable position or state.
Quando torno a casa, la prima cosa che faccio è mettermi comodo.
When I get back home, the first thing I do is to get comfortable.
Caption 39, Adriano Giornata
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If I invite you to my place, and you are just standing in the entranceway, I might say:
Mettiti comodo (relax, make yourself at home, take off your shoes if you want, have a seat).
There are other contexts in which comodo is used in Italian, and these might be a bit harder to grasp. Comodo can mean "convenient," as in an easy answer, as in over-simplifying.
Ho cambiato idea, me ne ero dimenticato, non gliel'ho detto?
I changed my mind, I had forgotten, didn't I tell you?
Troppo comodo, Manara.
Too convenient, Manara.
Ormai le sue dimissioni saranno già protocollate.
At this point, your resignation will have been registered.
Captions 33-35, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste
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And to talk about inconveniencing someone, the verb is scomodare.
Non ti voglio scomodare (I don't want to inconvenience you).
A common expression is fare comodo (to be or to come in useful, handy, or to be convenient). So in Italian, the verb is fare, while in English it's "to be" or "to come in."
Here's an example that's close to home for Yabla users:
Fa molto comodo avere i sottotitoli in due lingue, no?
Having subtitles in two languages is very handy, isn't it?
Having subtitles in two languages comes in very handy, doesn't it?
The following example is in the past conditional. They wished they'd had a beach umbrella.
Che caldo!
It's so hot!
Certo, un ombrellone nelle ore centrali del giorno avrebbe fatto veramente comodo.
Of course, an umbrella for the middle of the day would have come in really handy.
Captions 1-2, Una gita - al lago - Part 3
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In a future lesson, we'll talk about comodo as a noun.
Provare is a verb that has so many meanings and nuances that it merits some attention. In one episode of La Ladra, it has a special meaning that is important to be aware of, especially for those who are thinking about dating.
But first, let's go to the basic meanings of this verb. Provare is one of several synonyms meaning "to try." See this lesson about this meaning of provare.
Ora ci provo. Vediamo se ci riesco.
I'm going to try now. Let's see if I succeed.
Captions 50-51, Francesca neve - Part 3
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This exact same construction takes on a different meaning when we're talking about people being sentimentally interested in one another. Every language has different terms that come into general use when talking about relationships, like "going out," "dating," "going steady" in English, and in Italian, stare insieme (to be together, to be a couple, to go steady).
But before that happens, there is usually an approach. We used to call this courting. These days it can be in person, by text, by phone or in person. It can start with a flirtation. But one person has to approach the other. He or she has to try to get the other person's attention. Because there isn't a true equivalent in Italian, flirtare (to flirt) has become a verb we find in the dictionary.
But generally, this stage of the game, the approach, especialy when it's not very subtle, is described in Italian with provarci.
So if I want to say, "That guy was flirting with me!" I might say: Ci stava provando con me!
It can also mean something a bit more sexual, as someone trying to seduce someone.
Literally, it means "to try it" as in our first example, but ci, as we know from previous lessons, means many things, and it can mean "to or with something or someone."
Ci vengo anch'io. I'll come with you [there].
In this week's episode of La Ladra, Barbara, an employee, is interested in her boss and she doesn't want any interference, and so she gives Alessia, her co-worker, a rough time and accuses her of flirting with him. In reality, poor, shy Alessia has no such intentions, and is quite shocked to be accused of anything of the sort. In this specific context, provarci means to try to get the sentimental attentions of someone (often by flirting).
Alessia:
Ma questo non significa che io...
But that doesn't mean that I...
Barbara:
Ho visto come lo guardi, sai?
I've seen how you look at him, you know.
Ma tu, con Aldo, non ci devi neppure provare.
But you with Aldo, you mustn't even try to get his attention.
Alessia:
Io? Ma sei matta?
Me? But are you nuts?Captions 20-23, La Ladra - Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti - Part 4
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On a general level, however, provarci just means "to try it," as in our first example. In English we leave out any object: we just say "I tried." In Italian, there is usually ci as a general, even neutral, object. It is often shortened to a "ch" sound in a contraction. C'ho provato (I tried). Provaci is an informal command: "Give it a try!"
The Italian title for an old Woody Allen film is Provaci ancora, Sam.
How do Italians talk about email? Even in English we don't all use the same spelling. Some people write it as one word; some use a hyphen. We also use email as a verb in English, too: "I'll email you." Language doesn't stay the same. It evolves.
In Italian, too, "email" as a word, and as a concept, receives different treatment from different people. Be that as it may, the official name for email is la posta elettronica. It makes sense: the electronic mail.
And if you say la posta elettronica, you won't be wrong. But la posta elettronica actually stands for email in general, or even the inbox itself. One single email is more like unmessaggio di posta elettronica.
Still, more and more frequently, Italians use English words when talking about computers and the internet.
Since saying la posta elettronica every time can get old pretty quickly, the English term emailhas been adopted by many Italians. It's certainly quicker to say than la posta elettronica or unmessaggio di posta elettronica. But there's a basic problem. La posta is a feminine noun, so it makes sense for email to be feminine, too. So it might become la email. But how to pronounce the "E"?
Vowels:
Many Italians don't fully realize that we Americans pronounce the "E" in "email" like the letter "E." We say email, e-book, ezine, e-commerce, etc. In Italian, an "E" is pronounced more like the "A" in make.
Italians learn to pronounce just about every letter they see. There are rules. But when they come upon foreign words, they can have a hard time imagining a pronunciation different from what think it should be by following the rules. As in most languages, people invent a version of a foreign word that sounds good or right to them.
And regarding the word "mail," an average Italian who doesn't know English would pronounce the "mai" in "mail" as something more akin to "my." So it's actually a very difficult word to pronounce.
To pronounce email in a similar way to English, an Italian would write something like ìmeil. Pretty weird, right?
Accent:
In English, we put the accent on the "E," and when the word came into being, there was a hyphen so it was easier to figure this out, but Italians don't necessarily realize that it's the letter "E" as an abbreviation for "electronic." They just read it as they see it and the accent ends up on "mail."
So we get la email or worse, una email, with two vowels juxtaposed: "A" followed by "E," neither of which is accented. It's awkward.
So lots of people just shorten email to mail.
Ti mando una mail.
I'll send you an email.
In the latest episode of La Ladra, someone is sending some files via email. But what they say is via mail. It has become very common to say it this way.
Allora, io Le mando via mail tutti i dati della villa.
So, I will send you all the information about the villa by email.
Caption 52, La Ladra - Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti - Part 3
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In the following example, la mail refers to a single email.
L'hai mandata la mail al commercialista?
Did you send the email to the accountant?
Caption 30, Marika spiega - Pettegolezzi in ufficio con Anna
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In the following example, what's meant is the email account.
Se per te privacy è entrar nella mia mail e scrivere a Marco al posto mio...
If privacy for you means going into my email account and writing to Marco in my place...
Caption 55, Stai lontana da me - Rai Cinema - Part 11
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Sometimes you need to provide your email address.
Certo. Qual è l'indirizzo mail?
Sure thing. What's your email address?
Caption 68, Italiano commerciale - Cominciare un nuovo lavoro - Part 2
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Italians have found a darling way to name the @: the "at" sign. They call it a chiocciola (a snail).
Sì, certo. È Arianna chiocciola Phones and More punto it.
Yes, of course. It's Arianna at Phones and More dot it.
Caption 69, Italiano commerciale - Cominciare un nuovo lavoro - Part 2
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Can you provide your email address in Italian? If you can't remember how to say the names of the letters, check out Marika's video. If you have trouble making yourself understood, check out this handy telephone alphabet. Remember that punto (point, period, full stop, dot) is what you say for the dot in "dot com." In Italy, some email addresses end in "com," but many end in it for Italy. Sometimes it gets spelled "I-T" but sometimes it gets pronounced as a word, as in the previous example.
Italians use English words more and more frequently, but they might differ from the original in meaning and in pronunciation, so they might be the hardest words to understand when an Italian is using them in the middle of an Italian sentence.
In our last lesson, there was mention of the Italian comparative adjective migliore (better). This brought up an excellent question on the part of one of our readers. What's the difference between migliore and meglio? They both mean "better." When should we use meglio instead of migliore?
It's a great question, because the answer is not so simple. On a very basic level, migliore is an adjective and is the comparative of buono (good). It is also, with the addition of an article, the superlative of buono (good), as in the following example.
La moto è il mezzo migliore per superare il traffico.
The motorbike is the best means of transportation for getting past the traffic.
Caption 27, Adriano - Giornata
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Migliore stays the same in both the masculine and the feminine.
Io voglio solo una vita migliore di questa.
I just want a better life than this.
Caption 70, L'oro di Scampia - film - Part 5
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La mia migliore amica.
My best [girl]friend.
Caption 53, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 7
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But in the plural it's always migliori, for both the masculine and the feminine.
Ed è uno dei vini migliori della Basilicata, è chiamato Aglianico.
And it's one of the best wines of Basilicata, it's called Aglianico.
Caption 2, Milena - al supermercato
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No, veramente le cose migliori le abbiamo fatte insieme, no?
No, actually the best things are the ones we've done together, right?
Caption 47, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP11 - Beato tra le donne - Part 7
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Migliore and its plural form migliori can also be nouns, just like in English.
Sei il/la migliore!
You're the best!
Migliore is either an adjective or a noun — never an adverb.
Meglio, on the other hand, is basically an adverb, so it makes sense for it to be the comparative of bene (well). Meglio often means in modo migliore (in a better way).
Facciamo un esempio così capite meglio.
We'll provide an example, that way you'll understand better.
Caption 7, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Approfondimento Verbi Modali - Part 1
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But meglio has a gray area, too, and is much more flexible than migliore. Unlike migliore, which is either an adjective or a noun, meglio, in addition to being an adverb, is often also used colloquially as an adjective or in some contexts as a noun. It's also used in a huge number of expressions.
Note that the verb migliorare exists, too, to mean "to improve," to "get better."
Se posso migliorare, perché non farlo?
If I can improve, why not do so?
Caption 4, L'arte della cucina - L'Epoca delle Piccole Rivoluzioni - Part 13
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Il mio italiano è molto migliorato.
My Italian has gotten much better.
We'll focus on meglio next week, but in the meantime, why not compare things with migliorein your home or workplace?
Think about food, movies, books, the time of day/year for doing something.
Per esempio:
In questo bar, fanno il miglior caffè della città.
In this bar, they make the best coffee in the city.Il mio italiano scritto è migliore di qualche anno fa.
My written Italian is better than a few years ago.Non ero la migliore della classe quando andavo a scuola.
I wasn't the best in the class when I went to school.Qual è la stagione migliore per visitare la Sicilia?
What's the best month for visiting Sicily?
In one of this week's videos, we find two words in contexts that could use a bit of explaining.
We're watching the first segment of a new episode of L'Eredità (the inheritance). To start off the show, there's the usual banter between the host and the contestants with some introductions. It just so happens that one of the contestants has a last name prone to getting joked about.
Buonasera. -Massimiliano Scarafoni.
Good afternoon. -Massimiliano Scarafoni.
Caption 51, L'Eredità - Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1
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The name looks innocent enough, but scarafone (also scarrafone, scaraffone, scardafone,scordofone) is another word for scarafaggio (cockroach). There's an expression in Italian, and you will see this on the WordReference page for scarafaggio: ogni scarafaggio sembra belloa sua madre (every cockroach is beautiful to its mother). There are other ways to interpret this, from "a face only a mother could love" to "even a homely child is beautiful to his mother."
Pino Daniele, a famous Neapolitan singer-songwriter made this phrase famous in one of his songs. He used the Neapolitan variant, scarrafone, which is also the title: 'O Scarrafone, so when someone has a last name like that, it's almost impossible not to think of Pino Daniele's song if you've ever heard it. You can listen to the song here. There is no actual video, just the album cover, but the text in Italian is there, too.
Another word that is good to be able to recognize in a special context is culo. It is an informal word for buttocks, but Italians (informally only, prego!) use it to mean "luck."
Tirato a indovinare! Il solito culo!
Took a guess! The usual butt [luck]!
Caption 6, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 2
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But on TV, for example, such words might not be not acceptable, so the contestant's brother says il fattore C and everyone knows what he is talking about. The host then explains jokingly that "C" stands for culturale (cultural) not culo.
Be', e speriamo che il fattore ci [culo = fortuna] l'aiuta [aiuti] tanto.
Well, let's hope that the “C Factor” [butt = luck] helps her out greatly.
Captions 37-38, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1
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A common comment about someone with good fortune is:
Che culo!
What luck!
It can also be used sarcastically to mean "bad luck."
Daniela is back with some more Italian lessons, classroom-style. This time she will be teaching us how to compare things. And the good news is that apart from a few exceptions like buono (good), migliore (better), il/la migliore (the best), you won't have to learn the comparative forms of an adjective. Basically, you just have to use the adverb più (more) or meno (less).
Sometimes this corresponds to the English, because in English, not all adjectives have a comparative form.
"Arrivederci" [quando vado via] è una forma di saluto più elegante, formale.
"Arrivederci" [when I leave] is a more elegant, formal form of saying "goodbye."
Caption 27, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Salutare - Part 1
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But in many cases, there is a specific comparative form in English.
In the following example, a recipe is being described.
Si può personalizzare: più piccante, meno piccante.
You can personalize: sharper or milder.
Caption 38, L'Italia a tavola - Il frico friulano - Part 1
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So, if you are translating, you have to find the "right" word in English. But as you become more familiar with Italian, you will start thinking in Italian, and the English equivalent won't really come into play.
One tricky thing is that you have to take into account whether you are comparing things or actions. The preposition you use, di (than) as opposed to che (than), will change accordingly.
Lucca è una città più piccola di Firenze (Lucca is a smaller city than Florence). Lucca è meno grande di Firenze (Lucca is smaller than Florence).
A Lucca, è più comodo girare in bici che girare in macchina (in Lucca, it's easier to get around by bike, than to get around by car).
Practice:
Watch Daniela's video, first of all. Then go around your house, or wherever you happen to be, and compare things.
Questo libro è più grande di quel libro (this book is bigger than that book).
Gain confidence in comparing things using di (than). Then move on to comparing actions. It's a little trickier, with che (than).
Comprare online sarà più veloce che andare al negozio (purchasing online will be quicker than going to the store).
This lesson is based on the premise that you basically know how to form the plural of nouns. To help you get caught up, very generally, if a noun ends in "o," it's usually masculine and the plural usually will end in "i." If it ends in "e," the plural will also likely end in "i", and if a singular noun ends in "a," (usually feminine), the plural will most likely end in "e." To learn more, check out Daniela's lessons about plurals here and here.
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. In two different videos this week, we find unconventional plurals, one of which is well worth knowing, and one that you likely won't run into every day.
In one video, Arianna goes to Lucca. She learns that Lucca still has its ancient walls: le mura. The singular is il muro (the wall).
Le mura hanno tutto un percorso sopra che puoi fare,
The walls have a path on top that you can go on,
Caption 63, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca - Part 1
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To help you remember the name for "wall," in Italian, think of a mural, which is a piece of art, like a painting or enlarged photograph, right on a wall. Or think of "intramural" — within the walls of a school or institution.
Anna and Marika are busy in the kitchen dealing with fish, and more specifically, anchovies. They are pretty small fish, so taking out the guts is a tedious job they gladly leave to the fish vendor.
You might be familiar with the adjective interiore (inside, internal, interior) but there is a noun, le interiora, which means "the guts," "the entrails," or "the internal organs," and is always in the plural: interiora.
Le alici dovranno essere, ehm... senza testa e eviscerate. Quindi bisogna togliere le interiora.
The anchovies should be, ehm... without their heads and gutted. Therefore, one needs to remove the entrails.
Captions 13-15, L'Italia a tavola - Involtini di alici - Part 1
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And let's not forget some other unconventional plurals that work pretty much the same way:
un uovo, due uova (one egg, two eggs)
Prendiamo una forchetta e iniziamo a sbattere le uova...
We take a fork and begin beating the eggs...
Caption 13, Adriano - Pasta alla carbonara - Part 2
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un braccio, due braccia (one arm, two arms)
Ma com'è? E com'è? C'ha due gambe, due braccia, due occhi, come deve essere?
But what's she like? And what's she like? She has two legs, two arms, two eyes. What should she be like?
Captions 13-14, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 4
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un miglio, due miglia (one mile, two miles)
La Mille Miglia è la corsa più bella del mondo!
The "Mille Miglia" [one thousand miles] is the greatest race in the world!
Caption 33, La Mille Miglia - del passato per vivere quella di oggi - Part 3
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un migliaio di, poche migliaia di (about a thousand, a few thousand)
Il debito era di poche migliaia di euro.
The debt was of a few thousand euros.
Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 14
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un paio, due paia (a pair, two pairs)
Ma quattro paia di scarpe vanno bene lo stesso.
But four pairs of shoes are fine, too.
Caption 52, Psicovip - I Visitatori - Ep 14
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This list is not complete, but we'll look at other such nouns in a future lesson.
The verb investire has a cognate in English: "to invest." So if you are buying a house,stai investendo i tuoi soldi (you are investing your money).
E lui è così ricco, che pare che abbia investito i guadagni in lingotti d'oro.
And he is so rich that they say he invested his earnings in gold ingots.
Caption 21, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 2
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But there is another meaning of investire that is less easy to guess at: "to hit" (as in getting hit by a car), "to knock down," "to run over".
Però andiamo dove non puoi investire nessuno.
But let's go where you can't run anyone over.
Caption 47, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 7
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This is also the meaning in Yabla's most recent video about Firenze, where the camera operator finds herself in danger of being investita (run over). Even pedestrian areas like the Ponte Vecchio require staying alert for stray taxis or delivery trucks.
Non preoccupatevi, la nostra cameraman non è stata investita dalla macchina.
Don't worry, our cameraman wasn't hit by the car.
Caption 46, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze - Part 5
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Lots of adjectives in Italian correspond to adjectives in English and vice versa, but sometimes an adjective form doesn't really exist in one language or the other, and a different form is used. One such form uses a (which is usually a preposition meaning "to" or "at") plus a noun. In this case, we might say this a stands for "in the manner of" or "with." It can be part of the answer to questions such as "What's it like?" "What kind is it?"
One example of this came up in this week's episode of La Ladra. It occurred in a rather banal exchange between Gina and her husband. He couldn't find his striped socks.
In English, we can say something is striped or it has stripes. In Italian, it's a bit different. We often use a.
Come dove stanno i calzini a righe?
What do you mean where are the striped socks?
Caption 3, La Ladra - Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda
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Potrebbe anche essere una tovaglia a quadretti bianchi e rossi,
It could also be a red and white checked tablecloth,
oppure bianchi e gialli o a grosse righe.
or else, white and yellow or with wide stripes.
Captions 6-7, Come preparare con creatività - una tavola per la campagna
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In Italy, quaderni a quadretti (notebooks with grids or graph paper) are very popular. But in the U.S., unless you are using a grid for a specific purpose, like math or a making a chart, most notebooks are a righe (lined). There doesn't even seem to be a standard translation for a quadretti regarding paper. However, we asked readers to write in what they would call un quaderno a quadretti in English.
Update: Most of the people who have written in say that in English, they would call a quaderno a quadretti a "graph paper notebook." One person provided this interesting link.
Additional notes: Along with notebooks, we have notepads. The official word for this in Italian is taccuino but the more commonly-used term is a corruption of English: bloc-notes or even the pseudo-English block-notes. Make sure you pronounce the final e and s all'italiano! Let's remember that in Italian the adjective usually comes after the noun, and so notes is the kind of blocco (notebook or notepad for taking notes). A blocco is a group of similar items, so we use blocco or, when it's small, blocchetto for paper, for checks: blocchetto di assegni (checkbook).
In this lesson, we have talked about adjective equivalents. But there are adverb equivalents that use a, too, and we'll look at them in a future lesson.
This brings us to another word used in this week's segment of L'Eredità, the quiz show: giallo (yellow).
Ritenne che la maggior parte dei pendolari aveva una grande passione per i racconti gialli.
She found that the majority of commuters had a great passion for yellow [detective] stories.
Captions 36-37, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2
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Here, although the color yellow does play an important role, un giallo is something specific: a crime, mystery or detective story. Note: The moderator of the quiz show uses giallo as an adjective: i racconti gialli (the detective stories) and it is common to say un romanzo giallo (a detective novel), to specify the format, but giallo as a noun encompasses any format and is widely used and understood by Italians.
But what's this "yellow" business?
Here's the story. (click here for the extended Italian version).
In 1929, Mondadori, a major Italian publishing house, came out with a series of detective novels. They were tascabili (in paperback, literally "pocket-sized") and had a distinguishing yellow cover. They were called I libri gialli della Mondadori (Mondadori's Yellow Books). In 1946, the name of these books changed to I gialli Mondadori. The name giallo caught on, and has been used ever since to indicate a detective, crime, or police mystery, and can be applied to books, comic books (as in Diabolik mentioned on the quiz show), movies, or even news events. Giallo with this meaning has become a word everyone should know, especially if you like to read. And it can't be guessed at if you don't know the story. But now you know the story, too.
You may have heard of an American television series from the eighties and nineties called Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury. This series, dubbed into Italian, became extremely popular (and stilll is) as La Signora in Giallo (The Lady in Yellow). This play on words should make sense to you now!
Read this article (in Italian) for more information about the Italian version of the show, and, why not? Find it for streaming in Italian, just for fun.
Italian has a wonderful word for "commuter." It comes from the back and forth movement of a pendulum, and is, you guessed it: pendolare.
Pendolare è quella persona che prende il treno. -Prende il treno tutti i giorni.
A commuter is a person who takes the train. -He takes the train every day.
Caption 23, Serena - presenta Martina
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Ritenne che la maggior parte dei pendolari aveva una grande passione per i racconti gialli.
She found that the majority of commuters had a great passion for detective stories.
Captions 36-37, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2
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Pendolare is originally a verb having to do with the movement of a pendulum, or pendolo, but it is now commonly used to mean "commuter." Italy is a long, narrow penisola (peninsula) with mountains in the middle. Many people live in one place but work in another. Rather than actually moving, they become pendolari (commuters). Being a pendolare is tough, and often complicated, so if you listen to the news, you'll hear the word pendolare often. A pendolare may travel by car (in macchina), by bike (in bici) by bus (in pullman), by train (in treno), or by plane (in aereo). Note the preposition in ! But generally, when we think of pendolari, we imagine them on trains. Nowadays, people have phones (cellulari), laptops (portatili), or tablets (tablet) to occupy them while traveling by train, but it wasn't always so. People used to read libri (books), riviste (magazines), or giornali (newspapers). A certain kind of book was particularly popular. Il giallo. See the lesson about it!
This week, Anna and Marika finish explaining how to make pesto, the delicious Ligurian pasta specialty.
In part 1, they talked about why pesto is called pesto.
Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato.
"Pesto" means that it has been crushed.
Caption 68, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese
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The cooks also use two other verbs that have to do with breaking something down into smaller pieces. Let's look at each of these three words to see when we use them, and what the differences are among them.
Let's start with the word that gives its name to the dish. Pestare is the verb: to crush, to mash, to pound. We carry out this action when tenderizing meat, or when stepping on someone's toes.
Oh, scusami, t'ho pestato il piede.
Oh, sorry, I stepped on your foot.
Pestare is the action someone or something carries out in order to crush something. Except for when it's someone's toes, we might think of a repeated action, such as in making pesto the old-fashioned way. Just keep pounding to break the material down little by little.
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A relative of pestare is calpestare (to tromp on, to trample, to step on), specific to using one's feet. You might see a sign that says:
Non calpestare l'erba
Do not walk on the grass.
In some cities, you really have to look where you put your feet
E... camminando camminando, ciak! Che cosa ti vado a calpestare? Un escremento canino! Bleah! -Una cacca bella fresca fumante!
And... walking along, splat! What do I go and step on? Canine excrement! Yuck! -Nice fresh steaming poop!
Captions 31-34, Francesca e Marika - Gestualità
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Here we might think of the action more than the recipient of the action.
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Schiacciare also means to crush, to smash, or to mash, and here we can visualize the thing we are crushing being crushed.
The classic example is lo sciaccianoce. The nutcracker. One rather violent move, and the thing is cracked or crushed.
You crush a clove of garlic. Lo schiacci. It's less rewarding when it's your finger being crushed.
Mi sono schiacciato il dito nella porta. Aia!
I smashed my finger in the door. Ouch!
Think of something being flattened by a heavy weight.
We can also use schiacciare when pressing a button on a machine.
Schiaccia il bottone rosso per fermarlo (press down on the red button to stop it).
Schiacciare is used figuratively, too.
Allora, signora, suo marito ha una personalità dominante che schiaccia la sua da anni.
So, ma'am, your husband has a dominating personality which has been crushing yours for years.
Captions 4-5, Stai lontana da me - Rai Cinema
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Lastly, we have frantumare. Here, we can visualize a mirror breaking and shattering into pieces or frantumi (fragments, smithereens).
In making olive oil, grindstones crush the olives with their pits.
L'oliva viene frantumata intera.
The olive gets crushed whole.
Caption 23, L'olio extravergine di oliva - Il frantoio
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Anna and Marika use all three of these verbs in their videos about pesto, so check them out! As you replicate the recipe, try using them yourself!
Ora sto pestando questi pinoli (now I am pounding these pine nuts).
Devo fare attenzione a non pestare anche le dita (I have to be careful not to pound my fingers, as well).
Forse sono sufficientemente frantumati (maybe they're fragmented enough).
Se faccio cadere il piatto per terra, si frantumerà! È di porcellana (if I drop this plate on the floor, it will break into pieces. It's porcelain).
L'aglio lo posso schiacciare con un batticarne (I can smash the garlic with a meat mallet).
Devo stare attento a non schiacciarmi le dita (I have to be careful not to crush my fingers).
In English we use "do," "did" or other question words to form questions. This is hard for Italians learning English because in Italian, to ask a question, all you have to do is change your tone of voice.
Here's an example from last week's lesson. Marika is telling us something.
Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato.
Pesto means that it has been crushed.
Caption 68, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese
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But, with a little change of inflection, she could use the exact same words and ask a question.
Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato?
Does "pesto" mean that it has been crushed?
The voice is raised at the end of the phrase, or, the voice stays the same, but "no" (with a raised voice) gets added on to make it a question:
Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato, no?
"Pesto" means that it has been crushed, right?
"Pesto" means that it has been crushed, doesn't it?
With modal verbs, too, inflection is everything.
Posso offrirle uno "Spritz".
I can offer you a "Spritz".
Caption 10, Una pasticceria - al Lido di Venezia
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To turn this into a question, it remains the same in Italian. Only the inflection changes, and in writing it, we use a question mark rather than a period.
Posso offrirle uno "Spritz"?
Can I offer you a "Spritz?"
Try making statements into questions by changing your inflection, or adding "no?" at the end, to make it into a question. Pay special attention to how questions happen in videos with plenty of dialogue, such as La Ladra or Commissario Manara.
The passato remoto (remote past) tense in Italian may not be necessary to know in order to converse in the language, but we find it often enough in writing when the subject is history, so it's good to be familiar with it.
Daniela has recently finished talking about this tense in her Corso di Italiano, and in the final segment, she talks about when it is used.
Si usa, per esempie [sic], per esempio, per azioni che sono avvenute una sola volta nel passato.
You use it, for example, for actions that occurred once, in the past.
Captions 4-5, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il passato remoto
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In this week's video about Pisa, we see it in action. Arianna is talking about medieval times.
Già dall'inizio ebbe dei problemi, perché fu costruita su un terreno instabile e per questo pende.
From the start it had problems because it was built on unstable terrain and because of this, it leans.
Captions 18-19, In giro per l'Italia - Pisa e dintorni
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Another place we find the passato remoto being employed is in stories and fairy tales. In fact, reading fairy tales is an excellent way to gain familiarity with the passato remoto. The stories are usually repetitive and predictable with the verbs in the third person singular and plural.Yabla has quite a few animated fairy tales to choose from.
Quindi aprì la porta e il ranocchio saltellò dentro.
So she opened the door and the frog hopped in.
Caption 52, Ti racconto una fiaba - Il Principe Ranocchio
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Further practice:
To make friends with the passato remoto, pick out a fairy tale and watch the video, paying extra attention to the verbs. Then open the transcript, pick the printer-friendly version so you can just see the Italian, and then read the story out loud (in Italian), as if you were reading it to a child. You will, of course, see verbs in other tenses like the passato prossimo and theimperfetto, too. As in English, a mixture of tenses renders the story more fluid and more interesting.
If you're not sure which tense you are looking at, click on the word, even when you are in theprinter-friendly version, and a dictionary will pop up to help you. Some verbs occur only occasionally, and don't really need to be assimilated, but other verbs like avere (to have) essere (to be), andare (to go), venire (to come), guardare (to look), and vedere (to see) will occur more often, and you can start adding them to the verbs you recognize, even in thepassato remoto. Reading out loud will make the verbs start feeling right on the tongue.
Hopefully, when you watch the video again, the verbs in the passato remoto won't seem so strange anymore.
WordReference has conjugation charts for most verbs. Try keeping the tab open so you can get to it easily when you need it.