We've talked about words that change when an "S" prefix is added, but let's take a closer look at this particular way of altering words. The resulting words are called parole alterate in Italian because the word also exists in its unaltered state, or at least it once did. 

While the addition of an S at the beginning of the word often negates it, or gives it an opposite meaning, it's not always the case. Sometimes it adds strength or some other quality, and sometimes it doesn't really change anything but is just a variant. We'll try to cover the common ways the S prefix changes words in this and subsequent lessons, but let's go back to the prefix itself: S.

You might be wondering where this S prefix comes from? An early source is "ex-" in Latin. Another is the Italian prefix dis-. 

Sometimes dis- and s- are both used interchangeably. For instance, some people use the verb disfare and some people say sfare. They both mean "to undo." Fare means "to make" or "to do." This is a case where the S confers a contrasting or negative meaning to the word. 

Era quella che faceva la coperta di giorno e la disfaceva la notte.

She [Penelope] was the one who made the cover during the day and took it apart during the night.

Captions 49-50, Sposami EP 4 - Part 22

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Another word like this is dispiacere. Some people say mi dispiace, but some say mi spiace. See the long list of examples of spiace here.  And here is the list of instances of dispiace in Yabla videos. They mean the same thing. And they are both alterations of the verb piacere (to please).

Mi spiace, sono in ritardo. -Va bene...

I'm sorry, I am late. -All right...

Caption 59, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 22

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Ti dispiace se parliamo dopo? -No, no, no.

Do you mind if we talk later? -No, no, no.

Caption 34, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 4

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The verb dispiacere has different nuances of meanings, which we have discussed in other lessons: How to say you're sorry in Italian and To mind or not to mind with dispiacere.

As a negation or the opposite of the root word, there are countless examples. Here is just one:

Certo che Luca è un ragazzo fortunato ad avere un'amica come te!

Luca sure is a lucky guy to have a friend like you!

Caption 23, Il Commissario Manara S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 8

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Poverino, proprio sfortunato.

Poor thing, really unlucky.

Caption 11, La Ladra EP. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 8

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The S prefix is used with verbs, adjectives, and nouns. But let's keep in mind that lots of words start with S naturally, at their root. 

 In the next lesson, we will trace a verb with an S prefix back to its origins to see how it evolved. 

In a Yabla video, Marika talks about parole alterate (modified words). Modifying existing words by adding suffixes or prefixes is a very Italian way of creating new words.

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Marika describes the different categories of altered nouns and what suffixes and prefixes go with them, and she gives you some tips on how they work. Instead of using a modifier in the form of an adjective, the noun itself gets changed. Here are some examples.

Pane (bread) in the form of a roll, with the addition of -ino, turns into un panino (a little bread). Panino has also become the word for sandwich, commonly made with a roll. 

Un piatto (a plate), when full to the brim with pasta, with the addition of the suffix -one, turns into un bel piattone di pasta (a nice big plate of pasta).

Una giornata normale (a normal day) turns into una giornataccia (a bad day), by using the pejorative suffix: -accio/-accia:

Ieri ho avuto davvero una giornataccia.

Yesterday I had a really terrible day.

Caption 45, Marika spiega - Le parole alterate

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There are also altered nouns or adjectives called vezzeggiativi, from vezzo (caress), which are used as terms of endearment. The most common suffixes are: -uccio and -otto. Adding this suffix bestows something special, tender, and possibly intimate to a word. A teddy-bear, for example, is called un orsacchiotto, from orso (bear). A term of endearment for a person you care about might be tesoruccio, from tesoro (treasure).

In this week's segment of the popular Commissioner Manara series, Lara is back from the hospital after risking her life to save a dog from a burning building. Luca is so concerned that he lets his guard down.

When Lara comes into the office, Luca looks at her and sees that she's pale. But he doesn't just use pallida (pale) to describe her, he adds a suffix of endearment. It's quite subtle, but it's clear he cares.

Però sei un po' palliduccia, ah.

However, you're a bit on the pale side, huh.

Caption 35, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena

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Speaking of suffixes and prefixes, let's have a quick look at a word used in another of this week's new videos. Massimo Montanari is talking about the art of cooking. He takes the verb padellare (to fry up something after it's already been cooked), from the noun padella (frying pan), then uses the prefix s to turn it into spadellare. It's a colloquial way of saying someone is managing the pots and pans on the stove.

La cucina, intesa non semplicemente come l'atto di spadellare, ma come...

Cooking, understood not simply as an act of working at the stove, but as...

il percorso complessivo che trasforma una ri' [sic]... una risorsa naturale.

an overall process that transforms a re'... a natural resource.

Captions 36-37, L'arte della cucina - La Prima Identitá

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Learn more about suffixes and prefixes in these Yabla videos:

Marika spiega: La formazione dei nomi - Part 1 
Marika spiega: La formazione dei nomi - Part 2 

Keep an eye out for the suffixes and prefixes in Yabla videos. Once you know the root word, you can expand your vocabulary in many cases, without having to learn new words, but by merely altering them!

We learned about saying we’re sorry using the verb dispiacere in the lesson How to say you're sorry in Italian. But that’s only one of its common uses. If we look closely at dispiacere we can detect two parts: the root piacere (to please) and the prefix dis-, indicating negation or the opposite (very much like “dis-” in English). In a sense, dispiacere (to displease) is the opposite of piacere (to please, to be pleasing), so when I say “I’m sorry,” I’m saying that something displeases me:

Mi dispiace ma il tiramisù è terminato.

I'm sorry but we've run out of tiramisù.

Caption 17, Passeggiando per Roma - per Roma

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Normally, dispiacere isn’t used as the opposite of piacere. See the lesson I like it - Mi piace, where liking and not liking are discussed. In order to say I don’t like something, I say non mi piace, but if I say mi dispiace, it means “I’m sorry,” at least most of the time.

Oddly enough, by negating the already negating verb dispiacere by saying non mi dispiace, it becomes a sort of via di mezzo (middle way) between liking something and not liking it. It’s as if to say non male (not bad) without the exclamation point.* Non mi dispiace can be the equivalent of “I like it enough” or “I don’t mind it.” In the end, it depends on the inflection and facial expression, as well as on the context. Tutto è relativo (it’s all relative)! Sometimes it serves to temper or soften a statement that might hurt someone’s feelings, as in the example at the end of this lesson.

*For more on saying “not bad” with an exclamation point, see the lesson Elegant and Not So Elegant Turns of Phrase.

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Dispiacere is also used when asking someone if they mind something. Usually, a positive answer is expected, especially when using the conditional as in the following example. As in English, the answer may or may not answer the actual question:

Ti dispiacerebbe aprire la porta? -Certo.
Would you mind opening the door? [Would it displease you to open the door?] -Sure.

In the example below, the answer is negative in meaning, but said in a positive statement.

Senta, Le dispiace se diamo un'occhiata in giro?

Listen, do you mind if we have a look around?

-Eh, mi dispiace sì!

-Eh, yes I do mind!

Captions 28-29, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva

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In a nutshell:

When dispiacere has to do with minding, the pronoun will generally represent the person being addressed, in the second person:

Ti dispiace? (Do you mind?)
Le dispiace? (Do you mind? [formal])
Vi dispiace? (Do you mind? [plural])

When dispiacere has to do with liking something somewhat, the person doing the liking will be indicated by the pronoun:

Non mi dispiace (I like it pretty much)
Non gli dispiace (He likes it OK)

Putting the pieces together, just for fun:

Mi dispiace dirtelo, ma non mi dispiace la pubblicità della concorrenza. Non ti dispiace se ti dico la verità, vero?
I’m sorry to tell you but I somewhat like the competition’s publicity. You don’t mind if I tell you the truth, do you?
Non mi piace quello che dici ma non mi dispiace se mi dici quello che pensi. Anzi...
I don’t like what you’re saying, but I don’t mind if you tell me what you think. On the contrary...

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Check your comprehension:

Make a search of the different conjugations of dispiacere in a Yabla search and choose what you think the closest meaning is in each case. There’s no translation right there, so you won’t get any hints except context, but you can check your results by watching the video.