Let's try something a bit different this week. In a previous lesson, we went back to the basics on the verb mancare, that tricky verb that means to lack, to miss. Review the lesson if you need to.
Let's try translating some everyday phrases you might hear or want to say in Italian. You'll find the answers at the bottom of the page, but try not to cheat unless you need to. The important thing here is to get the idea, not to necessarily be precise about all the words. Use mancare in your Italian translation, and just get the gist of things when translating from Italian to English.
1) There's no salt!
2) It's ten to eight. (time)
3) Mancano ancora delle persone — the meeting is about to start.
4) Mi manca l'aria.
5) Manco dall'America da quattro anni.
6) I missed my flight [this one might be tricky].
7) Siamo quasi arrivati... we're almost there.
8) Manca solo Paolo. Lo aspettiamo?
In the following example, the same structure we talked about in this lesson presents itself in the sentence about style and groove. Manca il tuo stile. So something is lacking — his groove, something is missing. Manca.
But if we look further on, where it says: Ci manchi, it's basically the same thing, but it's more personal so we add the indirect personal pronoun ci (or any other one). So actually, the Italian is consistent in this. It's English that doesn't match the Italian. When it gets personal, we translate it with the action verb "to miss." Ci manchi could be translated literally as, "You are missing from our lives." You're missing and I feel it. Manchi dalla mia vita. Manchi a me. Mi manchi. I miss you.
La musica ti vuole.
Music wants you.
Manca il tuo groove, manca il tuo stile.
Your groove is missing, your style is missing.
Io ti voglio. -Ci manchi, ci manchi tantissimo.
I want you. -We miss you, we miss you so much.
Incredibile. Dove, dove, dove sei finito?
Incredible. Where, where, where have you gone to?
Captions 66-69, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 23
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So let's add a couple more items to our list of sentences to look at:
8) I haven't seen my parents in years. I miss them.
9) Ti manco? (I am away from home on a business trip and wonder if my wife feels my absence, so I ask her this question).
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Here are some possible answers. Let us know if this helps in understanding how to talk about things that are missing, absent, or lacking, and also about getting personal and missing someone, feeling someone's absence (in which case we use indirect personal pronouns like mi, ci, ti, etc.) Please see this lesson, too, for more explanations and examples.
1) There's no salt! Manca il sale.
2) It's ten to eight. (time) Mancano dieci minuti alle otto.
3) Mancano ancora delle persone. (the meeting is about to start). Some people are still missing.
4) Mi manca l'aria. I can't breathe.
5) Manco dall'America da quattro anni. I haven't been back to the States for four years.
6) I missed my flight (this one might be tricky). Ho mancato il volo.
7) Siamo quasi arrivati... we're almost there. Manca poco.
8) I haven't seen my parents in years. I miss them. Mi mancano. Mi mancano i miei genitori.
9) Ti manco? (I am away from home on a business trip and wonder if my wife feels my absence, so I ask this question). Do you miss me?
There's a common Italian pronominal verb you'll be glad to have in your toolbox. It's used a lot in conversation, as an expression, but understanding how it works can be a little tricky. But first...
Pronominale (pronominal) means “relating to or playing the part of a pronoun.” In Italian, un verbo pronominale (a pronominal verb) is one that has a special meaning when used together with one or two particular pronominal particelle (particles). Particelle or particles are those tiny, usually, 2-letter pronouns we find in Italian, such as ci, ne, ne, la.
Let's unpack this pronominal verb. In the infinitive, it's farcela.
The verb contained in this pronominal verb is fare = to make, to do.
Alessia può farcela da sola.
Alessia can manage on her own.
Caption 57, La Ladra Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti - Part 5
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Usually in a pronominal verb, one of the pronouns is an indirect pronoun, In this case, it's ce. Ce means the same thing as ci, (to it/him/her," "at it/him/her," "about it.") but when there is a direct object with it, ci changes to ce! As we have mentioned in previous lessons, the particle ci can be combined with a second pronoun particle, such as -la or -ne, but in that case, it becomes ce. Therefore we have, -cela, -cene; NOT -cila, -cine.
To make things even more complicated, ci, and consequently, ce, can mean any number of things. The basic thing to remember is that ci or ce usually represents a preposition + complement. Learn more about ci.
The second pronoun in the expression farcela is la. This is a direct object pronoun meaning "it." It's always used in the feminine — we could say la stands for la cosa, a feminine noun.
In the previous example, farcela stands on its own to mean "to manage." It's also possible to add another verb, so as to mean, "to manage to do something."
Ehm, pensa di farcela a recuperare le chiavi della mia auto?
Uh, do you think you can manage to retrieve the keys of my car?
Caption 35, Psicovip Il tombino - Ep 2
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In both of our previous examples, the conjugated verb (potere = to be able to, pensare = to think) precedes the pronominal verb, resulting in the pronominal verb being in the infinitive.
Posso farcela (I can manage it).
Penso di farcela (I think I can manage it).
Learning the infinitive is a good starting point, as it's fairly straightforward. Use the common verbs in their conjugated forms to "push" the pronominal verb over into the infinitive.
Farcela is the infinitive of the pronominal verb, and as we have seen above, sometimes it can stay that way. More often than not, however, it is conjugated, so it's a good idea to have a few expressions memorized and ready to use. As you can see from the following example, it can be used when you're falling behind.
Piano, piano, piano. Piano, cagnozzo! Non ce la faccio, mi fai cadere.
Slow down, slow down, slow down. Slow down, dear little dog! I can't keep up, you'll make me fall.
Captions 1-2, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 1
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Eh, basta, croce. Non ce la faccio più.
Uh, that's it, forget it. I can't go on.
Caption 17, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 6
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Some other common conjugations:
Ce la fai? (Can you manage it?)
Non ce la fa. (He/she can't manage it, He/she can't make it).
Ce la faremo? (Are we going to make it?)
Ce l'ho fatta! (I did it, I made it).
If we want to add another verb, we use the preposition a (to) before the (second) verb, which will be in the infinitive (arrivare, mangiare, finire). Here are a few examples:
Ce la faremo ad arrivare in tempo? (Are we going to manage to arrive in time?/Are we going to make it in time?)
Ce la fai a mangiare tutto? (Can you manage to eat it all?)
Ce l'ha fatta a finire il progetto? (Did he/she manage to finish the project?)
As you can see, this kind of sentence usually starts with ce la, unless it's in the negative, in which we start with non followed by ce la + the conjugated verb fare.
A few things to keep in mind:
1) Fare is a verb that takes avere (not essere) in perfect tenses. In perfect tenses, the particle la will become l' because it will be attached to the conjugated form of avere, which will have a vowel sound at the beginning (even though written with an h: ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno). So when you just hear it, you might not perceive it. Lookking at Italian captions or doing Scribe can help with this.
2) One more tricky thing to remember when using perfect tenses:
You might be tempted to say ce l'ho fatto. But that would be wrong. Why? It's about verb-object agreement.
The rule is that when the object pronoun comes before the verb (in this case, la before ho), then the past participle of the verb will agree with the object (la), not the subject (in this case io [I]).
So it has to be Ce l'ho fatta.
It is complicated, so be patient with yourself. Even those of us who have been living in Italy for years still have doubts sometimes, when conjugating these pesky pronominal verbs. Over time, the grammar will start making a little more sense to you and you will say, "Ah ha!" Finalmente, ce l'ho fatta a capire! (I finally managed to understand). Or, simply, Finalmente, ce l'ho fatta!
In most languages, there are situations in which two different sets of rules can apply. Sometimes it's because there are simply two valid ways of saying something. For instance, in English we can say:
There is none.
There isn't any.
They both mean the same thing and they are both correct. How to choose?
In Italian, a case in point is when we have a modal verb, a verb in the infinitive, and a pronoun. I can attach the pronoun to the verb or I can separate it and change the word order. It's a matter of personal choice.
Vado a cercarlo.
Lo vado a cercare.
Non posso farlo.
No lo posso fare.
Some rules change over time because the rule gets broken so many times that it becomes acceptable to break it. One example of this in English is using "who" instead of "whom" when it's an object. In some cases we still use it, and it is absolutely correct, but in general conversation, people might look at you strangely or think you are a snob. We still use it when we have a preposition before it, as in business letters, for instance: "To whom it may concern."
In a recent episode of Provaci ancora prof!, there's another use that has become less common in everyday speech, but is nevertheless correct. This brand of agreement is what we call facoltativo (optional). The conversation between Renzo and Camilla seems like the perfect opportunity to shine a light on it.
Lo sai? -Lo so, ti ho vista.
You know? -I know. I saw you.
-Mi hai vista? -Sì, ti ho vista.
-You saw me? -Yes, I saw you.
Ero venuto lì per cercarti e ti ho vista.
I went there to look for you, and I saw you.
Captions 5-7, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco
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We're talking about the transitive verb vedere, which takes the auxiliary verb avere. The sentences are in the passato prossimo, thus we use the past participle of vedere. If we look at a conjugation chart, we will see that visto is the past participle, not vista! Vista is nowhere to be seen.
If you click on "play caption," you will hear that Renzo (the husband) is talking to his wife Camilla and then she answers. So what's the story with vista?
There's a rule that if the verb is in the passato prossimo, the past participle can agree in gender and number with the direct object pronoun. Read more about this (in Italian).
So Renzo says Ti ho vista. Camilla is the direct object of vedere. If the roles were reversed, Camilla would say: T'ho visto because the pronoun would correspond to a male, her husband. This doesn't apply only to people. The pronoun might refer to a thing, but all nouns have gender in Italian.
A few more examples:
Ho visto le ragazze – Le ho viste = I have seen the girls – I have seen them
Ho sentito gli spari – Li ho sentiti = I have heard the shots – I have heard them
We should mention that Camilla is a professoressa of Italian and often plays sophisticated word games with her husband, so it makes sense for them to use correct Italian, and in fact, they sometimes get competitive about it. But normal people in everyday life often do not always make this choice and it's optional, so don't worry about it too much, but you might hear it. Still, it's nice to recognize it, right? And when you use it, you will feel proud and in the know.
In the same conversation, Renzo talks about seeing Camilla with Gaetano, the chief of police.
Non negare, vi ho visti.
Don't deny it, I saw you.
Caption 11, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco
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He could have said Vi ho visto, just as he could have said T'ho visto in the previous example.
As you watch Yabla videos, you will undoubtedly come across more examples of this construction. Feel free to point them out in the comments section.
Devo dire la verità, che io adoro la panzanella
I have to tell you the truth. I love panzanella
e sono una toscana DOC [di origine controllata],
and I'm a DOC [true] Tuscan,
ma non l'ho mai fatta!
but I have never made it.
Captions 12-14, In cucina con Arianna - la panzanella
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And another example, with another verb, from the same cooking video with Arianna:
L'ho sempre mangiata molto volentieri,
I have always really enjoyed eating it [I have always eaten it willingly]...
Caption 15, In cucina con Arianna - la panzanella
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There are some verbs that are hard to use in Italian because they work differently from in English in terms of subjects and objects (who does what to whom?).
We have talked about piacere (to like) where things are really turned around. See the lesson: I like it - Mi piace. Another verb that can cause a whole lot of confusion in a similar way is mancare. There is already a lesson about this verb, a verb that is used in various ways. But right now, let's look at the verb when we use it to say something like "I miss you," or "Do you miss me?" It is very tricky because it often involves pronouns, and we all know that distinguishing between subject and object pronouns isn't always so easy.
In an episode of La Ladra, Lorenzo and Dante are talking about the fact that Dante misses Eva and Eva misses Dante.
Nel senso che anche [a] te manca mia madre?
Because you miss my mother, as well?
Mi sa che manchi anche a lei, eh.
I think she misses you, too, huh.
Captions 10-11, La Ladra - Ep.12 - Come ai vecchi tempi
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In English "to miss" is a transitive verb, and the definition we are talking about here is not even the first one. In WordReference, it is number 6!
to regret the absence or loss of:
[~ + object] I miss you all dreadfully.
[~ + verb-ing] He missed watching the African sunsets.
In Italian, we have to think of things a bit differently. The definition of mancare is "to be lacking in" or "to be missing." So we're close.
But in Italian, the verb mancare has to agree with the person who is being missed. Weird, right?
So if I am feeling your absence, I miss you. You are missing from my life.
Expressed in Italian,
Sento la tua mancanza. Mi manchi. (I feel your absence. You are missing from my life right now!)
Let's look at some practical examples. Keep in mind that in this context, mancare is intransitive, so we need a preposition before the person who is feeling the absence. When we use the name of a person, we need to add the preposition a (to), but the tricky thing is that when we're using pronouns, the preposition is often included in the indirect pronoun. Mi = a me (to me), Ti = a te (to you).
Giovanni sente molto la mancanza di Anna. Lei sta studiando all'estero (Giovanni feels the absence of Anna. She is studying abroad). (She is missing from his life.)
A Giovanni manca Anna. Gli manca (Giovanni misses Anna. He misses her [he feels her absence]).
Gli stands for a lui (to him).
Non ti vedo da una vita. Mi manchi. (I haven't seen you in a long time. I miss you). (You are missing from my life)
Mi manca andare in ufficio tutti it giorni (I miss going to the office every day). (It's missing from my life.)
Now here, in the next example, who is being missed is in the plural: Parents. So the verb mancare is in the plural, too.
I miei genitori stanno a Roma. Io sto a Bologna. Mi mancano i miei genitori (My parents live in Rome. I live in Bologna. I miss my parents). (They are missing from my life.)
Ti mancano i tuoi genitori? So che stanno a New York (Do you miss your parents? I know they live in New York). (Are they missng from your life?)
You have to turn your mind around a bit to nail this, but with time and practice, you'll get it. And it's not something you want to get wrong.
Here are some Yabla video examples of people using mancare when they miss someone or something.
In this example, a woman is talking to her ex-husband about her new partner. She still misses her ex-husband and is telling him so.
A volte con Carlo è difficile,
Sometimes, Carlo is difficult,
ma non riesco a lasciarlo.
but I can't manage to leave him.
Anche se a volte mi manchi da morire.
Even if sometimes I miss you to death [like crazy].
Captions 6-8, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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To be clearer, she could have said, Anche se a volte tu mi manchi da morire.
In this example, Manara is trying to get used to living in Tuscany, as opposed to Milan.
Qui da Lei sto benissimo, eh. -Ah, ah.
At your place, I'm really fine, you know. -Ah, ah.
-Però mi manca la città, il traffico, il rumore, capisci?
-But I miss the city, the traffic, the noise, you understand?
Captions 38-39, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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Here's an example where someone is being interviewed. The question is formal, but the answer is very colloquial.
Capisco. Quindi adesso il suo amico Le manca?
I understand. So, now you miss your friend?
-E cazzo se mi manca, sì, sì.
-Sure as shit, I miss him, yes, yes.
Captions 39-40, Chi m'ha visto - film
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Here's an example where you really need to turn your mind around. Gli manco. I am missing from his (Luca's) life. He misses me.
Con Luca tutto bene?
Everything all right with Luca?
-Non vede l'ora di tornare. Gli manco.
-He can't wait to come back. He misses me.
Captions 33-34, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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When we go into the passato prossimo (present perfect tense structure), it's important to remember that in this context, we need the auxiliary verb essere (to be), not avere (to have).
Amore, quanto mi sei mancato!
Love, I've missed you so much!
-Sono tornato, ma non è cambiato niente.
-I'm back, but nothing has changed.
Captions 49-50, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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1) In this case, Eva is talking to her son, but what if she had been talking to her daughter?
2/3) Can you turn the first part into a question? You are asking the person if they missed you. Are you a male or a female? The ending of the past participle will change accordingly.
Think about all the people you miss, the people you can't get together with. A single person? An animal? A city? A country? Mancare will be in the third person singular. If it's parents, friends, animals, then it will be in the third person plural.
If you are writing to a couple, your parents, then you will want to conjugate mancare in the second person plural (mancate).
If someone misses you, then you are the one who gets conjugated. You are missing from someone's life.
There are other ways to use the verb mancare, as you'll see if you look it up or do a Yabla search, but in this lesson, we wanted to isolate a particular situation. It's the trickiest one.
If you have trouble, let us know and we'll help. You'll want to get this right.
Extra credit:
1) Amore, quanto mi sei mancata! -Sono tornata, ma non è cambiato niente.
2) Amore, [quanto] ti sono mancato?
3) Amore, [quanto] ti sono mancata?
When someone is having a hard time, we often try to be supportive. Or we can give someone some support. That's how we say it in English, but Italians say it a bit differently. They use more words.
In Italian, we are supportive by staying close to someone, we are by their side. We're there for them.
So in the following exchange between Ugo and Nora, he is actually accusing her of not having been there for him, not having been supportive.
Non mi sei stata molto vicina in quel periodo, lo sai?
You weren't really by my side in that period, you know that?
Caption 19, Sposami - EP 2
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A less literal translation would be:
You weren't very supportive [of me] during that period, you know that?
or
You didn't give me much support during that period, you know that?
or
You weren't really there for me during that period, you know that?
A little further on in the dialogue, there is a play on words because Nora goes on to accuse Ugo of having had the American woman (the one he was having an affair with) literally by his side — in bed!
E invece l'americana ti è stata vicina?
But the American was by your side?
Caption 25, Sposami - EP 2
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Sometimes the meaning is literal, so we need to be aware of the context. It can also be a mix of being physically nearby and being there for someone, being supportive.
Now that we have looked at the meaning, we can look at how to use the expression. The formula is stare (to be, to stay) + vicino (close) + a (to) + qualcuno (someone). When we use pronouns, they can get attached to the verb, as in the following example.
Here are a few more examples:
Adriano sta male e io voglio stargli vicino.
Adriano is ill and I want to be near him.
Caption 2, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 11
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The translation is pretty clear, but, depending on the intention of the speaker, it could also be:
Adriano is ill and I want to be there for him.
Note that since there is a modal verb, in this case, volere (to want to), the verb stare will be in the infinitive and volere will be conjugated.
1) What about a version where the verb stare is separated from the pronoun?
2) What if it were Adriana, not Adriano?
3) What if you were talking directly to the person who is ill?
In the following example, the staying close is more physical, since Paola asks Adriano to hold her close, but she is also asking Adriano to be there for her, to give her some support because the entire conversation is about her problems and the fact that she feels alone. She uses the second person informal imperative of stare with the personal (indirect object) pronoun attached to it.
Senti, facciamo così, dormiamoci sopra.
Listen. Let's do this. We'll sleep on it.
Poi domani mattina sarai più lucida.
Then tomorrow morning, you will be more clear-headed.
-Tu stammi vicino, però. Stringimi.
-You stay close to me, though. Hold me tight.
Captions 32-35, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 14
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4) As an exercise, what if Paola were using the polite form of address?
Attenzione: Let's avoid the temptation to use the suspiciously similar sopportare in this case, because it means "to bear," "to tolerate."
Ma non ce la facevo più a sopportare i suoi deliri.
But I couldn't bear to tolerate her ravings anymore.
Caption 63, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste
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We hope this little lesson will help you understand the discussion Nora and Ugo have about their past in Sposami. And let's hope they can make up and move on!
1) Adriano sta male e gli voglio stare vicino.
2) Adriana sta male e io voglio starle vicino.
3) Tu stai male e io voglio starti vicino.
3b) Tu stai male e ti voglio stare vicino.
4) Mi stia vicino, però. Mi stringa.
Rispondere, with its English cognate "to respond" seems like it would be a very easy verb to use, and sometimes it is, indeed, easy. The verb rispondere translates as both "to respond" (its cognate) and "to answer" (a verb English inherited from the Old Norse "andsvar").
As with many verbs, by using a modal verb, we can keep the main verb in the infinitive, thereby avoiding the need to remember how to conjugate it.
Senti... Posso parlare con Luca?
Listen... Can I speak with Luca?
No, Luca non può rispondere, ha avuto un problema.
No, Luca can't answer, he had a problem.
Captions 49-50, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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If we don't include an object in the sentence, there are no complications. In the following example, we could also have translated rispondere with "to respond."
Va bene, allora seguo anch'io la normale procedura
All right, then I will also follow normal procedure
e prima di rispondere chiamo il mio avvocato.
and before I answer, I'll call my lawyer.
Captions 25-26, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP8 - Fuori servizio
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1) What if the speaker used the conjunction che (after prima) as an alternate way to say the same thing?
Once we start involving an object in our sentence (such as "the question"), we have to keep in mind that rispondere is an intransitive verb (meaning it doesn't take a direct object), so if I want to say, "I answer the question" in Italian, I have to use a preposition after the verb followed by an indirect object (in this case, la domanda (the question). Think: "I respond to the question."
Rispondo alla domanda (I answer the question/I respond to the question).
Se la sente di rispondere a qualche domanda? -Sì.
Do you feel you can answer a few questions? -Yes.
Caption 38, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi
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2) Can you ask this same question to someone you are on familiar terms with?
Non ha risposto alla mia domanda. Che cosa vuole?
You haven't answered my question. What do you want?
Caption 40, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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3) Can you say the same thing informally?
In English, "to respond" is intransitive and "to answer" is transitive, so we use them two different ways and we rarely have to think about it. We might think of using "to respond" in more formal situations.
I can respond to your letter or I can answer your letter.
But when we are translating from English to Italian, we have to remember that we need a preposition after rispondere.
We can also use rispondere where the indirect object is a person, perhaps expressed with a personal pronoun, as in the following example. In this case, we use "to answer" in our translation. "To respond" wouldn't work.
Toscani, per favore rispondimi. È importante, dai.
Toscani, please answer me. It's important. Come on.
Caption 56, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata
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Memorizing rispondimi is a good idea. You never know when someone is going to faint and it's also handy to have when arguing with someone. Above all, remember that mi stands for a me (to me) so we do have a preposition (in this case a [to]).
4) How would you say the same thing to a person you don't know very well? And for the record, you wouldn't say dai. Can you think of an alternative?
In the following clip, we have an indirect object pronoun in the Italian, but none in the English. These days, we might say "I didn't pick up," "I didn't answer the phone," I didn't answer your call," "I didn't return your call." But we probably wouldn't say "I didn't answer you" unless it were an email or a letter. In this context, we think of answering the phone, not the person.
Sì, lo so, mi hai chiamato cento volte, però io non ti ho risposto
Yes, I know, you called me a hundred times, but I didn't answer
perché ho avuto un sacco di cose da fare, Teresa.
because I had a bunch of things to do, Teresa.
Captions 23-24, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo
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5) The above clip is very informal, between brother and sister, but he could have said he hadn't answered the phone. How could he have phrased it?
There are plenty of instances in which Italians insert an indirect object pronoun, where in English, none is called for. It's just something to be aware of.
We hope this lesson has provided some clarity about using the verb rispondere. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to write to us at [email protected]
1) Va bene, allora seguo anch'io la normale procedura e prima che risponda, chiamo il mio avvocato.
1b) Va bene, allora seguo anch'io la normale procedura e prima che risponda io, chiamo il mio avvocato.
2) Te la senti di rispondere a qualche domanda? -Sì.
3) Non hai risposto alla mia domanda. Che cosa vuoi?
4) Agente Toscani, mi risponda, per favore. È importante, la prego.
5) Sì, lo so, mi hai chiamato cento volte, però io non ho risposto al telefono/alla tua chiamata perché ho avuto un sacco di cose da fare, Teresa.
We talked about the important verb sapere (to know) in a previous lesson. You might have also figured out that even though sapere means "to know," in English, "to know" isn't always translated into Italian with sapere. It can also be translated as conoscere (to know, to be familiar with, to meet for the first time). We have a lesson about that, too.
Another nuance of the verb sapere is that it often means "to know how." In this case, just as "to know how," in English, is followed by a verb in the infinitive (such as in "to know how to do something"), sapere, when it means "to know how" is also followed by a verb in the infinitive. We can see an example of this in the following clip.
Ma come, l'hai inventata tu la Lettera Ventidue
But how come? You invented the Lettera Twenty-two
e non la sai usare?
and you don't know how to use it?
Caption 38, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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But there is another similar way to translate this sense of sapere. And that is with "can" or "to be able to." Just as with "can," sometimes it's about being capable of doing something (as in the previous example), and sometimes it is about being able to or kind enough to do something (as in this next example).
Mi scusi, buon uomo.
Pardon me, my good man.
Mi sa dire l'ora, per favore?
Can you tell me the time, please?
-Le cinque e trentacinque.
-Five thirty-five.
-Ma è sicuro?
-But are you sure?
E trentasei mo, eh!
-[And] thirty-six now, huh!
-Ah!
-Ah!
Grazie, eh! -Prego.
Thanks, huh! -You're welcome.
Captions 1-7, Barzellette - L'asino che dà l'ora
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Literally, this might have been translated as: "Do you know how to tell me the time?" But that's not really what he means. Of course, the guy on the scooter could have said something else, such as:
Sa che ore sono (Do you know what time it is)?
but that isn't actually asking for the person to share the information. He also could have said:
Mi può dire che ore sono (can you tell me what time it is)?
Mi può dire l'ora per favore (can you tell me the time, please)?
Che ore sono, per favore (what time is it, please)?
Può dirmi che ore sono (can you tell me what time it is)?
So we can use the verb potere (to be able to), but using sapere to mean "can" in certain contexts, especially with verbs such as dire (to say) indicare (to indicate), consigliare (to recommend), is a very typical way to ask if someone can do something. It is ever so slightly round-about and gives an impression of informal politeness. We might say it's a cross between "Can you?" and "Do you know how?"
1) Can you ask the above questions using the informal form of address?
2) How about transforming these sentences by replacing potere with sapere?
-2a) Mi puoi dire come raggiungere la stazione (can you tell me how to get to the station)?
-2b) Non poteva dirmi l'ora perché non aveva l'orologio (she couldn't tell me what time it was because she didn't have her watch on).
-2c) Non ti posso consigliare una buona pizzeria perché non sono di questa zona (I can't recommend a good pizzeria because I am not from around here).
1)
Sai dirmi l'ora (can you tell me the time)?
Sai che ore sono (do you know what time it is)?
Mi puoi dire che ore sono (can you tell me what time it is)?
Mi puoi dire l'ora per favore (can you tell me the time, please)?
Che ore sono, per favore (what time is it, please)?
Puoi dirmi che ore sono (can you tell me what time it is)?
2)
2a) Mi sai dire come raggiungere la stazione (can you tell me how to get to the station)?
2b) Non sapeva dirmi l'ora perché non aveva con se l'orologio (he/she couldn't tell me what time it was because she didn't have her watch on).
2bb) Non ha saputo dirmi l'ora perché non aveva con se l'orologio (he/she couldn't tell me what time it was because she didn't have her watch on).
2c) Non ti so consigliare una buona pizzeria perché non sono di questa zona (I can't recommend a good pizzeria because I am not from around here).
Let us know if you have any questions ([email protected]), and thanks for reading!
Here's a great expression Italians use all the time. We can figure out the meaning easily, but finding a specific English equivalent is not all that straightforward. The important thing is to understand what Italians are trying to get across when they say it, and to be able to use it ourselves in Italian when the situation calls for it.
When you know who you are dealing with and can predict an outcome based on how well you know that person or type of person, that's when you say:
Conosco i miei polli (I know my chickens).
E gli ha detto di farsi operare nella sua clinica privata.
And he told him to have the operation in his private clinic.
-E tu come lo sai?
-And how do you know?
-Perché conosco i miei polli.
-Because I know my chickens [I know who I'm dealing with].
Captions 24-25, La Ladra - EP.11 - Un esame importante
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Some attribute this expression to Saint Francis of Assisi, who was a great lover of animals and nature, so it seems it goes way back to the 13th century as well as being alive and well today.
Italians are known for setting up orti (vegetable gardens) and pollai (chicken coops or henhouses) whenever and wherever they have the opportunity. So chickens, in many cases, are part of everyday life. These days, this is a less frequent phenomenon, but in the past, during the war, for example, raising chickens and having a little vegetable garden was a question of survival.
Let's just mention that conoscere can have a few different nuances of meaning. Check out this lesson all about the verb conoscere. In the present case we are talking about knowing a person well, being familiar with their habits. It may be a friend who is always late, so you won't be surprised when they arrive with a 15 minute delay... It may be someone who never offers to pay, or always offers to pay. It may mean making an extra amount of pasta because you know your dinner guest is a good eater. It can be positive or negative, and can be said before someone does something, or as a justification afterwards.
Ci butto un etto di pasta in più perché
I'll throw in one hundred grams more pasta because
conosco i miei polli.
I know my chickens.
Gianni è una buona forchetta.
Gianni is a big eater.
1) If you were to say this after the fact, to explain why you made so much pasta, what could you say?
Even if we are talking about one person, as in the video clip included above, the plural is generally used — it's a fixed expression.
And this might be a good time to remember that we need the article before the possessive pronoun in Italian, but not in English. I miei polli. The singular would be il mio pollo.
You can also use the expression in reference to someone else knowing their chickens.
Conosci i tuoi polli, eh? (you know who you're dealing with, I guess).
2) Let's say someone is telling you that they would always make more pasta than usual for this particular guest. How would you modify the question?
As you go about your day, think of people you know and try predicting what they will say or do. As they prove you right, with a little chuckle, you can say to yourself, "Conosco i miei polli."
One more word about chickens. A chicken is young, and a hen is old. In English we can say "henhouse" or "chicken coop." In Italian, it's usually pollaio but naturally, the pollaio is full of both polli (chickens) and galline (hens).
Another expression using galline describes people who go to bed early:
Alle otto se ne vanno a casa e non escono più, come le galline.
At eight o'clock they go home and don't go out again, like hens.
Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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3) What if the person were talking about one other person, not a group of people? What might he say?
The translation we have provided here is literal, and therefore "hens," but in English we would sooner say "chickens" when we want to be generic. The only time you really need to know the difference between galline and polli is when buying them to eat. We want pollo for most dishes, but Italians love broth and it's common to use certain cuts of beef plus a piece of gallina or fowl to make il brodo (the broth).
There's another famous expression in Italian, often referring to a woman of a certain age who might be feeling old. It's a compliment of sorts.
Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo ([An] old hen makes good broth).
More about brodo (broth) in this lesson.
And let's not forget the male member of this group of animali da cortile (barnyard animals) : il gallo (the rooster).
Ho provato ad immaginare il classico finale
I tried to imagine the classic ending
dove lei lascia tutto e si trasferisce in campagna,
where she leaves everything and moves to the country,
perché ha scoperto quanto è bello farsi
because she discovered how wonderful it is to be
svegliare dal gallo.
woken up by the rooster.
Captions 5-7, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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1) C'ho buttato un etto di pasta in più perché conosco i miei polli. Gianni è una buona forchetta.
2) Conoscevi i tuoi polli, eh?
3) Alle otto se ne va a casa e non esce più, come le galline.
4) Sto provando ad immaginare il classico finale dove lei lascia tutto e si trasferisce in campagna, perché ha scoperto quanto è bello farsi svegliare dal gallo.
Provavo ad immaginare il classico finale dove lei lascia tutto e si trasferisce in campagna, perché ha scoperto quanto è bello farsi svegliare dal gallo.
Proverò ad immaginare il classico finale dove lei lascia tutto e si trasferisce in campagna, perché ha scoperto quanto è bello farsi svegliare dal gallo.
Stavo provando ad immaginare il classico finale dove lei lascia tutto e si trasferisce in campagna, perché ha scoperto quanto è bello farsi svegliare dal gallo.
Provo ad immaginare il classico finale dove lei lascia tutto e si trasferisce in campagna, perché ha scoperto quanto è bello farsi svegliare dal gallo.
In a recent segment of Sposami, there is talk of modeling wedding gowns. The verb used at one point is indossare. If we look closely, we might recognize the root word dosso, which in Dante's time, was a variant of the noun dorso, meaning "spine," or "back."
We can make the clothing connection with the English hyperbolic idiom "giving someone the shirt off one's back," referring to generosity. The noun dosso is no longer used to mean "back," exactly, but it means "bump," such as a bump in the road or a speed bump.
In a previous lesson we talked about the adverb addosso or di dosso (which brings images of someone on your back). So even though we don't use dosso to mean "back" anymore, it has been incorporated into other words and phrases that have become crystalised as standard.
In this lesson, we will look at the verb indossare and other verbs that have to do with putting clothes on. We talked about taking clothes off in this lesson!
Practice: At the end of some video examples, there's a little grammar question, giving you the chance to expand on the example itself. You'll find the answers at the bottom of the page. Don't worry if they give you trouble, as they are aimed at more advanced learners. It may be an opportunity to find out what you don't know and to ask us questions! We'll be glad to give you some answers. Make sure to read the full lesson before answering the questions, as they might refer to examples further down the page.
If we have to model an outfit, we have to wear it, but in this case, it's wearing something with the specific purpose of displaying it. Indossare is the best choice if we are looking for a verb.
E poi, se proprio servisse di indossare un abito,
And besides, if it were really necessary to model a dress,
posso farlo io. -No, tu no.
I can do it. -No, you can't.
Captions 32-33, Sposami - EP 2 - Part 3
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1) Nora starts her sentence in the subjunctive but finishes it in the indicative rather than the conditional (not really correct). What if she were to finish it in the conditional? What would she have said?
Regarding the video clip, the translation of indossare could also have been "to put on," or "to wear," but we thought it was important to make the distinction regarding the purpose: not putting something on to go and buy milk, but to put it on display. And let's remember that "to model" in this context can't be translated into Italian with modellare. That doesn't quite work (false friend).
When we talk about modeling a dress or outfit, it's sometimes done by a professional model. Although the term modella (usually in the feminine version) is used to mean "fashion model," the more "Italian" term is indossatrice. During the period of Italian fascism, foreign words were rooted out, including the commonly used French noun mannequin. By law, it had to be replaced by indossatrice.
If you haven't seen the documentary about the Italian Language and Italian Fascism (on Yabla), check it out. Ne vale la pena (it's worth the effort). There is mention of removing words like modella or the French "mannequin" from the language and using a more Italian word.
Parole straniere e borghesia sono mali da estirpare.
Foreign words and the bourgeoisie are evils to be rooted out.
[Mannequin - Indossatrice]
[Mannequin – indossatrice] (fashion model)
Captions 6-7, Me Ne Frego - Il Fascismo e la lingua italiana
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That said, the verb indossare is used all the time by Italians. It's transitive, so we can use the question word "what."
Al momento della scomparsa,
When she went missing,
indossava un paio di jeans chiari,
she was wearing a pair of light colored jeans,
delle scarpe da ginnastica anonime...
unbranded sneakers...
Captions 37-38, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 7
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2) How would you say this using the adjective vestito?
The basic verb for getting dressed is vestire (to dress), used in the reflexive, vestirsi. In other words, it's not a transitive verb. Here the question is come (how) rather than cosa (what).
Eh, scusate, commissario, ma come ci dobbiamo vestire? -Eh, infatti.
Uh, sorry Commissioner, but how should we dress? -Yeah, exactly.
Il tema della festa è anni ottanta, quindi regolatevi.
The theme of the party is the eighties, so act accordingly.
Captions 39-40, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma
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The question word in our example is come (how), which we commonly answer with an adverb or adverbial phrase. We can't follow it with a noun, as with indossare. Sometimes we choose one word over the other depending on how we want to construct the phrase, or what we want to include or exclude.
3). But what if he had used the question word "what?" How could he have posed the question?
The verb vestire is often transformed into the adjective vestito. In this case, the person is already dressed.
Mamma è morta sei mesi fa
Mom died six months ago
e papà aveva organizzato una messa in suffragio.
and Dad had organized an intercession mass.
Ecco perché era vestito così elegante.
That's why he was dressed so elegantly.
Captions 20-22, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP2 - L'addio di Lara
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4) Maybe we could modify the second sentence in the example above — to say something similar — using the verb indossare. You will have to come up with a direct object noun to make it work.
Let's keep in mind that vestito is also a noun meaning "dress" or, for a man, "suit."
Just as in English, Italian uses the verb mettere (to put). But whereas in English, we say "to put on," Italian uses the reflexive form mettersi (to put on [oneself]).
Tu che cosa ti metti? Io avevo pensato di mettermi il vestito rosso.
What are you going to wear? I thought of wearing my red dress.
Caption 34, Anna e Marika - Il verbo pensare
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In this last example, the question is che cosa (what [thing]?). So we will need a noun as an answer. The formula is reflexive verb mettersi + noun.
5) We can do 2 exercises with this example.
a) Use the transitive verb indossare in the question and in the answer. In this case it is a learning exercise, but an unlikely real-life option!
b) Ask the question with come. You can still use mettersi or indossare in the answer, or you can come up with something using the same verb as in the question. In this case you'll need to be creative.
We'll often hear someone giving this order to someone else.
Dai, forza, vestiti.
Come on, get dressed.
Caption 21, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP12 - La donna senza volto
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6) If you were giving this command to a bunch of kids, what would you say? Tip: Don't worry that dai is singular. it's an expression that stays in the singular.
But attenzione. As you can hear in the example, in the previous example in the imperative, the stress is on the first syllable. It looks exactly like the plural of the noun vestito, (dress, suit) as in the following example, but sounds different. When used in the plural, i vestiti means "clothes."
Eh, andate a cercare i vestiti per la festa. Forza, via, via.
Yeah, go find some clothes for the party. Go on, get going, get going.
Caption 42, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma
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Once you have dressed, you are wearing something. We can use indossare, of course, but we can also use the verb portare (to carry).
7) Let's say you are asking this question, not to a friend, but to your boss, or to your Italian mother in law, with whom you are on formal terms. What would you say?
Secondo me dovresti portare la gonna più spesso
In my opinion, you should wear a skirt more often.
perché ti sta molto bene.
It looks very good on you.
Caption 25, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde
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8) What's another way to say the same thing? There's more than one!
We've talked about different verbs we can use to talk about getting dressed and wearing clothes: vestire (used reflexively) indossare (transitive), mettersi un vestito (reflexive with a direct object), portare (transitive). Find out more about clothing in this video from Marika. Adriano also talks about clothes to wear in the different seasons.
Now to some solutions for the quiz questions scattered throughout the lesson:
1) E poi, se proprio servisse di indossare un abito, potrei farlo io. -No, tu no.
2) Al momento della scomparsa, era vestita con un paio di jeans chiari, delle scarpe da ginnastica anonime...
3) Eh, scusate, commissario, ma cosa ci dobbiamo mettere?
4) Ecco perché indossava un vestito così elegante.
5a) Tu che cosa indossi/indosserai? Io avevo pensato di indossare il vestito rosso.
5b) Come ti vesti? Io avevo pensato di vestirmi di rosso.
Io avevo pensato di vestirmi con il vestito rosso.
Io avevo pensato di mettermi il vestito rosso.
6) Dai, forza, vestitevi!
7) Secondo me dovrebbe portare la gonna più spesso perché le sta molto bene.
8) Secondo me dovrebbe indossare la gonna più spesso perché le sta molto bene.
Secondo me dovrebbe mettersi la gonna più spesso perché le sta molto bene.
Afterword: When we use the reflexive verb vestirsi, it's tricky because we can't use a direct object after it as we can with mettersi. We need the conjuction con (with) after it, or an adverbial phrase, which answers the question come (how).
One such phrase that comes to mind is: Vestirsi a cipolla (to dress in layers).
Quando vado in montagna, mi vesto sempre a cipolla (I always dress in layers [literally, "onion-style") when I go mountain climbing).
Send your questions or comments to [email protected] and thanks for reading!
In a previous lesson, we talked about the popular pronominal verb cavarsela (to get by), and the verb it comes from, cavare (to extract, to get something out of something). Consider the noun il cavatappi. It's a corkscrew for extracting the cork from a bottle.
We also have scavare (to excavate, to dig, to dig up). The s- prefix often gives an opposite meaning to a word. In this case, we are extracting the soil or rock by digging.
Il primo passo consiste nel scavare una cavità nella pietra, nella roccia.
The first step consists of digging a cavity in the stone, in the rock.
Caption 6, Meraviglie - EP. 2 - Part 13
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Naturally, there are other words related to cavare that can be easily understood:
una cavità (a cavity)
concavo (concave)
la cava (the mine, the quarry)
You might be asking yourself: What about the English word "cave?" There are a few choices.
Allora, questa casa, questo ambiente, in realtà è per il settanta percento
So, actually, seventy percent of this house, this space,
costituito da una grotta.
consists of a cave.
Captions 8-9, Meraviglie - EP. 1 - Part 12
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la caverna (the cave, the cavern)
la grotta (the cave, the grotto)
la spelonca (the cave)
Have any of you ever gone spelunking?
But we also have ricavare as a common verb. Sometimes this ri- prefix means "again," just as "re-" in English can mean that, as in rifare (to re-do).
Sometimes this prefix does double duty and may or may not mean "to do something again," if we consider verbs like tornare - ritornare (to return), suonare - risuonare (to sound, to resound), chiedere - richiedere (to ask - to request). There are subtleties.
Ricavare can mean a couple of things. It might be helpful to think of "carving out," as in making a cave. Often ricavare is used when you are carving out material to make something new, especially if we think of the second meaning of ricavare: "to obtain." The following example gives us an image of what ricavare can mean in a concrete sense. Surely a lot of rocky material was extracted (cavato, scavato) to build the amphitheater.
Fra gli edifici per lo spettacolo,
Among the buildings for events,
l'anfiteatro ricavato nelle pendici est della Collina di San Pietro
the amphitheater built into the eastern slopes of the Hill of Saint Peter,
occupava un'area a sud della città.
occupied an area south of the city.
Captions 41-43, Itinerari Della Bellezza - Abruzzo
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One meaning of ricavare is "to obtain," as in making a profit: The past participle is often used as a noun: il ricavato.
L'avrei costretto a dividere il ricavato con me.
I would have forced him to share the proceeds with me.
Caption 39, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP10 -La verità nascosta
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Current context:
It's easy to envision a situation in which you have to work from home. But you might have to carve out a space in your small apartment. Ricavare is a great verb for this, and it can be used figuratively, too, as you can see in the final example.
Devo ricavare uno spazio in questo apartamento per lavorare tranquillo (I need to carve out some space in this apartment to work in peace).
Ho ricavato una stanza in più, trasformando questo locale di sgombro (I built an additional room by transforming this storeroom).
Mia sorella è riuscita a ricavare un po' di tempo la sera per fare yoga (My sister managed to carve out some time in the evening to do yoga).
Carving out and obtaining something "new."
It seems like there's no end to the uses of the little particle ci. We've done several lessons on it, and here we are again.
As we have seen in previous lessons, ci can mean various things and often has to do with reflexive and reciprocal verbs. It can also be an indirect pronoun that incorporates its preposition within it, and it can be attached to a verb or detached from it. Whew!
This time, we are talking about a pronominal verb — the kind of verb that has pronouns and particles connected to it that change the meaning of the verb. In this case, the particle is ci.
With the pronominal verb volerci, we're talking about the amount of something that's necessary to carry something out — time, money, courage, ingredients, attitudes, etc. In the following example, pazienza (patience) is the substance and molto (a lot) is how much you need of it. One way we can translate volerci is "to be necessary," "to be needed," "to be required." Of course, in everyday conversation, we often use "it takes" or "you need," in English, to express this idea.
Ci vuole molta pazienza
You need a lot of patience [a lot of patience is necessary].
It takes a lot of patience.
A lot of patience is required.
Caption 25, Professioni e mestieri - Belle Arti -Tecniche di decorazione
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One very important feature of this particular pronominal verb is that it is always in the third person and can be either singular or plural. If we are talking about "patience" as in the previous example, it's singular. If we're talking about ore (hours), as in the following example, it's plural.
Quante ore ci vogliono per andare da Roma a Milano?
How many hours does it take to go from Rome to Milan?
How many hours are necessary to go from Rome to Milan?
Caption 17, Marika spiega - La particella NE
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We can use it in the negative:
Non ci vuole l'articolo in singolare. In plurale ritorno a volere l'articolo.
You don't need the article in the singular. In the plural I go back to needing the article.
The article is not necessary in the singular.
Captions 20-21, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi
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If in translating volerci, we use the passive voice, we can match it up as far as singular and plural go, and it might make better sense to us.
I pinoli, che sono davvero speciali
The pine nuts, which are really special,
e ci vogliono i pinoli italiani, ovviamente.
and Italian pine nuts are required, obvously.
Captions 50-51, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese
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Although volerci is always in the third person, we often translate it into English with the first or second person: "I/we need" or "you need."
Volerci is very popular in the expression:
Non ci voleva (it would have been better if that hadn't happened, I really didn't need that, that's all I needed).
That's what you say when, say, one bad thing happens after another.
Volerci can also be used as an expression of relief when something good happens. It's like saying, "That's just what the doctor ordered."
A Dixieland ci si diverte con poco e nulla
At Dixieland one has fun with next to nothing
e un numero di magica magia
and a number with magical magic
era proprio quel che ci voleva
was exactly what was needed
per chiudere in bellezza la festa.
to conclude the party nicely.
Captions 30-33, Dixieland - La magia di Tribo
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Another fun way to use volerci is when you want to say, "How hard can it be?"
Che ci vuole (how hard can it be)?
Le mucche muggiscono. -Embè?
The cows are mooing. -So what?
Vanno munte.
They have to be milked.
Ahi. -Scusa, scusa, scusa, scusa.
Ow! -Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
-Sei sicura?
Are you sure?
-E sì, che ci vuole?
-Yeah, how hard could it be?
L'avrò visto mille volte su National Geographic.
I must have seen it a thousand times on National Geographic.
Captions 37-42, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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We hope you have a bit more insight into this supremely common and useful pronominal verb (verb+pronoun+preposition all in one).
If you found this lesson helpful, you might very well say, Ci voleva! (that's exactly what I needed!).
We must also mention that not every time you see volerci (conjugated or in the infinitive) will it mean what we have set out to describe in this lesson. Since, at the outset, we mentioned that ci has a way of working its way into so many kinds of verbs and phrases, context is key. Little by little you will start distinguishing, but it will take time and practice. Watching Yabla videos will give you tons of examples so you can start sorting out the meanings. And don't forget: When you have a doubt, write it in the comments. Someone will get back to you within a few days. If you have a question or doubt, chances are, someone else will have the same one!
In a coming lesson, we will discuss a similar but unique pronominal verb metterci. Get a head start by watching Daniela's video lesson about both of these pronominal verbs.
Some words are easy in Italian and some others are a little more complicated. Here's a verb we use a lot but that is kind of tricky to use: accorgersi (to notice, to realize).
Let's take it apart to make some sense of it. Hint: It is reflexive, and while some verbs can be both normal and reflexive, this one is always reflexive.
In a recent episode of La Ladra, a guy wants his car taroccata (rigged) (we talked about the verb taroccare in this lesson). The mechanic tells the guy that he won't even notice he's going 300 kilometers per hour {186 mph}. Usually, we notice something, so very often, since accorgersi is reflexive, we have both a direct and an indirect object pronoun in the sentence. When that occurs, we have to deal with those pesky particles that can attach themselves to the verb in different ways. For more on this, have a look at these lessons.
In the following example, we can see that the verb is conjugated in the second person singular (the mechanic is talking to his customer).
Co' [romanesco: con] questa c'arivi [ci arrivi] a trecento che manco te n'accorgi.
With this one, you don't even notice it when you get to three hundred.
Caption 35, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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The infinitive form has the impersonal si connected to the verb — accorgersi, but when conjugated, the reflexive verb accorgersi gets separated into two parts — the root of the verb (accorgere) and the person onto whom it reflects, in this case, te (to you). Then there is an n which is a contraction of ne (of it, to it). In order to understand better how accorgersi works, we might translate it as "to become aware of." Here, there is the preposition "of."
By the time to get to three hundred [kilometers an hour], you will not even be aware of it.
"Of it" is represented by ne (in this case contracted into n').
In the following example, however, we have the past tense. In Italian, it's the passato prossimno formed with the auxiliary verb essere (to be) and the past participle, accorto. When you conjugate reflexive verbs in the past tense, you must use essere as your auxiliary verb.
Gira e gira, ai vertici dell'Olivetti,
At the end of the day, in the upper echelons of Olivetti,
non c'è spazio che per uno di famiglia.
there's no room for anyone but a family member.
Lo so, me ne sono accorto. -Ecco.
I know, I noticed that. -That's it.
Captions 44-46, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2
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Me is the indirect pronoun (to me)
Ne is another indirect pronoun (of it, about it)
Accorto is the past participle of accorgere.
Let's look at an example without this particle ne. Here, it's not necessary because we have nulla (nothing) as an indirect object preceded by the preposition di. We have the auxiliary verb essere. The reflexive particle si is contracted and refers to the third person singular reflexive pronoun.
Guardi, non s'era accorto di nulla.
Look, he hadn't noticed a thing.
Caption 73, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP2 - L'addio di Lara
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You made it this far, good for you! If the verb accorgersi is too difficult for you at this stage of the game, you can also use the verb notare, a nice, simple, transitive verb.
Durante il viaggio avete notato qualcosa di strano?
During the trip, did you notice anything strange?
Pensateci bene, ah.
Think about it carefully, huh.
Captions 30-31, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata
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To say the same thing with accorgersi, it would take a few more words:
Vi siete accorti di qualcosa di strano?
Qualcuno si è accorto di qualcosa di strano?
Did you notice anything strange?
Did anyone notice anything strange?
For even more about reflexive verbs, with charts. Here's a great resource.
If you do a search on Yabla with accorgere, you won't find much, nor will you find much with accorgersi. But if you search the past participle accorto (masculine), accorta (feminine), or accorti (plural), you will find numerous examples. Now that we have taken the verb and its particles apart, you can start getting a feel for this useful, but complex verb. Hopefully, picking out the verb and its accessories and then repeating them will be helpful to you.
Attenzione: There will also be some constructions we haven't covered here, such as in the following example. Suffice it to say that it involves the third person impersonal pronoun si with a reflexive verb in the passato prossimo (present perfect) tense. It's pretty advanced and a lot to absorb, and so we'll confront this in a future lesson.
Quando si è sistemata la piazza nel millenovecentonovantuno, ci si è accorti che il palombaro, cioè questa grande cisterna, era colmo fino all'orlo.
When the piazza was renovated in nineteen ninety-one, they noticed that the "palombaro", that is, this large cistern, was full to the brim.
We've been looking at conjugated verbs followed by verbs in the infinitive. Some can be connected directly as we saw in Part 1, some are connected with the preposition a, as we saw in Part 2, and others are connected with the preposition di, which we will look at in this lesson.
Let's start with an example.
Ti ho portato il millefoglie.
I brought you a millefeuille.
Mentre lo mangi, io finisco di prepararmi
While you're eating it, I'll finish getting ready
e poi usciamo, eh?
and then we'll leave, huh?
Captions 18-20, La Ladra - Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti
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Finisco is the conjugated verb (finire) and preparare is in the infinitive. We have the formula: conjugated verb + di + verb in the infinitive. Attenzione: The verb preparare is attached to the personal pronoun mi (myself) because in this case, the verb prepararsi is reflexive and means "to get [oneself] ready."
One important verb we use with the preposition di is decidere (to decide).
Anita, per migliorare il suo livello di italiano,
Anita, in order to improve her level of Italian
ha deciso di trascorrere le sue vacanze estive in Italia,
decided to spend her summer vacations in Italy,
dove ha la possibilità di comunicare, conversare
where she has the possibility of communicating, conversing
con i miei amici, i miei familiari, i miei parenti
with my friends, my family, my relatives,
e di conoscere più a fondo la vera cultura italiana
and to get a deeper understanding of the true Italian culture
e la vera cultura della Sicilia, la regione da cui io provengo.
and the true culture of Sicily, the region I come from.
Captions 36-41, Adriano - Adriano e Anita
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There are plenty of important and useful verbs that take the preposition di before the infinitive, and you can find a list here, but here are a few more examples from Yabla videos:
Oppure: chiudo l'ombrello, perché ha smesso di piovere.
Or else, “I close the umbrella because it has stopped raining.”
Caption 7, Marika spiega - Il verbo chiudere
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Let's remember that although cercare basically means "to look for," "to seek," it also means "to try" or, we could say, "to seek to." We use the preposition di in this case.
Quando vai in paese, cerca di scoprire qualcosa di interessante.
When you go into town try to find out something interesting.
Caption 62, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP7 - Alta società
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Another great verb is credere, which basically means "to believe," but when it's used in conjunction with a verb in the infinitive, we often translate it with "to think," as in:
Ferma! Sta ferma! Dove credi di andare?
Stop! Stand still! Where do you think you're going?
Captions 46-47, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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In fact, you could say the exact same thing with the verb pensare, which also takes the preposition di before an infinitive.
Dove pensi di andare?
Sperare is another great verb that works the same way, and to close, we'll say:
Speriamo di vedervi presto su Yabla (we hope to see you soon on Yabla)!
If you're not signed up to receive our weekly newsletter announcing new videos and new lessons, you can do that here.
When we talk about verbs, we distinguish between conjugated verbs and verbs in the infinitive. In Italian, verbs in the infinitive are easily recognizable most of the time because they end in either -are, -ire, or -ere. Exceptions occur when verbs in the infinitive are combined with particelle (particles), when they are reflexive, or when they are truncated. Then, admittedly, they may be harder to recognize.
In this lesson, we are talking about the specific case of when we want to use a conjugated verb followed by a verb in the infinitive. How do we connect them?
In part 1, we talked about combining a conjugated verb with an infinitive where no preposition is necessary. This typically occurs with the modal verbs potere (to be able to), volere (to want to) e sapere (to know how to, to be able to). Here's an example that can be useful if you are traveling in Italy.
Posso andare in bagno?
May I use (go to) the bathroom?
But there are also other, non-modal verbs where we don't need a preposition. See Daniela's series for examples.
Lascia fare a me!
Let me do it!
In other cases, we need a preposition between the conjugated verb and the verb in the infinitive.
If we want to say the same thing we did above with a different verb, we might need a preposition, as in this example:
Permettimi di aiutarti.
Let me help you (allow me to help you).
There are two main prepositions we will use to connect a conjugated verb to a verb in the infinitive: di and a. Roughly, di corresponds to "of" or "from," while a corresponds to "to" or "at." These translations are not much help, though. One general rule (with many exceptions) is that verbs of movement use a to connect with a verb in the infinitive. The bottom line is, however, that you basically just have to learn these combinations little by little, by reading, by listening, and (sigh) by being corrected.
In some cases, the same verb will change its meaning slightly by the use of one preposition or the other.
Non penserai mica di andare via senza salutare!
You're not thinking of leaving without saying goodbye, are you?
Ci penso io a comprare i biglietti.
I'll take care of buying the tickets.
In this lesson, we'll look at some important verbs that need the preposition a.
Here's the formula:
verbo coniugato + preposizione "a" + verbo all’ infinito (conjugated verb + the preposition a [to, at] + verb in the infinitive)
aiutare (to help)
Per esempio, io ho un amico
For example, I have a friend
e lo aiuto a fare qualcosa dove lui ha difficoltà,
and I help him in doing something he has difficulty with,
lo aiuto a riparare la bicicletta, lo accompagno in aeroporto...
I help him repair his bicycle, I take him to the airport...
Captions 28-30, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Approfondimento Verbi Modali
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cominciare (to begin)
Comincia a fare il nido il povero cucù
The poor cuckoo starts making his nest
Caption 8, Filastrocca - Il canto del cucù
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continuare (to continue, to keep on)
E si continua a pestare.
And you keep on crushing.
Caption 53, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese
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riuscire (to manage, to succeed, to be able)
Così riesco a seguire meglio la faccia
That way, I manage to follow the face better,
eh... e le labbra di chi sta parlando.
uh... and the lips of whoever is speaking.
Captions 41-42, Professioni e mestieri - il doppiaggio
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insegnare (to teach)
Oggi, ti insegno a cucinare la parmigiana di melanzane.
Today, I'm going to teach you to cook eggplant Parmesan.
Caption 2, Marika spiega - La Parmigiana di melanzane
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andare (to go)
Sì, lo diciamo a tutti e dopo andiamo a ballare.
Yes, we'll tell everyone, and afterwards we'll go dancing.
Andiamo anche a ballare.
We'll go dancing, too.
Captions 11-12, Serena - vita da universitari
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We've talked about several verbs that take the preposition a before a verb in the infinitive. Why not try forming sentences, either by improvising ad alta voce (out loud) or by writing them down? Take one of these verbs (in any conjugations you can think of) and then find a verb in the infinitive that makes sense.
Here are a couple of examples to get you started:
Mi insegneresti a ballare il tango (would you teach me to dance the tango)?
Non riesco a chiudere questa cerniera (I can't close this zipper).
To find charts about verbs and prepositions, here is an excellent reference.
Go to Part 3 where we talk about verbs that take the preposition di.
In this week's episode of La Ladra, there's a curious adjective (in the form of a past participle). Eva and Dante are discussing the popularity of their dishes, a ginger risotto and seafood couscous.
The adjective is gettonatissimo, the superlative form of gettonato. It comes from the verb gettonare. But let's backtrack a moment and talk about the noun the verb comes from: il gettone.
Depending on your age, and if you have travelled to Italy, you may or may not have heard of a gettone, the special token people would use, back in the day, to make phone calls in a bar or cabina telefonica (phone booth). It was a coin with a groove on either side.
In addition to using gettoni for making phone calls, people used them for playing songs on the juke box. It was common to go to the bar to make phone calls, and there would often be a little booth where you could use the phone in private. In the same bar where you might make a phone call, there might also be a jukebox.
So if lots of people put a gettone in the juke box for a particular song, we could say that song is gettonata. These days, gettoni are used at laundromats, for supermarket carts, and at carwashes, but little else. The term gettonato has remained, however, to describe something as popular, something that people choose over other things.
Stasera sei tu in vantaggio, i tuoi piatti sono gettonatissimi.
Tonight you're ahead. Your dishes are hugely popular.
Caption 2, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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If we backtrack even further from the noun gettone, we find the verb gettare (to throw, to cast). If you have learned how to say "to throw" in Italian, you have most likely learned buttare. It is a synonym for gettare in many cases, and is a more informal word in general, when it means the physical act of throwing. But gettare is used in specific situations such as the one in the example below.
Ammetto che è la prima volta in vita mia che ho voglia di
I admit that it's the first time in my life that I have the desire to
mettere radici in un posto. -Ahi ahi ahi.
put down roots in a place. -Uh oh.
Hai deciso di gettare l'ancora? Ebbene sì, lo ammetto.
Have you decided to drop anchor? Well, yes, I admit it.
Captions 24-27, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro
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As we have seen, verbs and nouns may be used to form new words. One modern-day example of this is in the description of a single-use item or something disposable.
Vola, vola, vola sulla bicicletta
Fly, fly, fly on the bicycle
Contro la cultura del consumo "usa e getta"
Against the culture of "disposable" consumption
Captions 40-41, Radici nel Cemento - La Bicicletta
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You will see usa e getta crop up in ads for and labels on dustcloths, latex gloves, contact lenses, etc. From two verbs: usare (to use) and gettare (to throw), a compound adjective was born: usa e getta (use and throw/single-use).
Here are the solutions to the exercise in the lesson. The task was to change sentences with bisogno to ones with servire or the contrary, adding personal pronouns where necessary or desirable. In some cases, you can even use the verb bisognare (adding a verb). If you have an answer that you think is right, but isn't present here, write to us at [email protected]. We'll get back to you.
Meanwhile, here's another example of when to use the verb servire. Here, it's in the conditional.
Allora... che ti metti per uscire? -Stasera?
So... what are you wearing to go out? -Tonight?
Possiamo andare a fare shopping!
We can go and do some shopping!
OK, a me... servirebbe un paio di scarpe, un paio di ballerine.
OK, I... could use a pair of shoes, a pair of ballerinas.
Captions 41-43, Serena - vita da universitari
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Per questa ricetta, ho bisogno di tre uova (For this recipe, I need three eggs).
Per questa ricetta, servono tre uova.
Per questa ricetta, mi servono tre uova.
Di che cosa hai bisogno (What do you need)?
Che cosa ti serve?
Ti serve qualcosa?
Non c'è bisogno di prendere l'autobus, il posto è a due passi a piedi (No need to take the bus. The place is well within walking distance).
Non serve prendere l'autobus. Il posto è a due passi a piedi.
Che bisogno c'era di essere così cattivo (Why did you need to be so mean)?
A che cosa serviva essere così cattivo?
Servirà un ombrello, visto il cielo (Judging from the sky, an umbrella will be necessary).
Avremo bisogno di un ombrello, visto il cielo.
Avrai bisogno di un ombrello, visto il cielo.
Ci sarà bisogno di un ombrello, visto il cielo.
Bisogna prendere l'ombrello, visto il cielo.
Serve un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico (We need another place at the table, because a friend of mine is coming).
Abbiamo bisogno di un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico.
C'è bisogno di un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico.
Bisogna aggiungere un posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico.
A recent user comment prompted this lesson about servire when it's used to express need. The Italian approach to expressing need bears some explaining. In fact, we have already addressed this before.
One way to express need is with the noun il bisogno (the need) and the odd verb bisognare only ever used in the third person singular impersonal. See this previous lesson. We can also use the verb servire (to be necessary, to be useful, to be used). In fact, we have already had a look at this interesting verb in this lesson. Take a look at these two lessons to get up to speed. In the present lesson, we will talk some more about how to use servire. It can be tricky!
There has been some discussion about a caption in a recent Yabla video. It's the story of Adriano Olivetti —Yes, that Olivetti: the typewriter guy. This is a fictionalized RAI production, starring Luca Zingaretti, famous as Commissario Montalbano in the well-known Italian TV series of the same name.
Here's the Italian sentence:
Serviranno dei fondi.
Here's our original translation:
We'll need funds.
A learner wrote in to say the translation should be "They will need funds."
Indeed, serviranno appears in its third person plural form. So, of course, you would think it should be "they."
This comment reminds us that the verb servire doesn't really have a counterpart in English, not one that works the same way, at any rate.
Yabla translators have since modified the translation to be less conversational, but easier to grasp. As a matter of fact, the verb servire is often best translated with the passive voice. As freshly modified, it is easier to see that the third person plural (future tense) serviranno comes from "the funds."
Serviranno dei fondi.
Funds will be needed.
Caption 63, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2
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Indeed, Adriano could have said, ci serviranno dei fondi, making it personal, but he didn't (although we can infer it) and that's why it was particularly confusing.
In the following example, the indirect object ci (for us, to us) is present, so it's a bit easier to understand. Serviranno, the third person plural of servire, refers to the utensili (the utensils) listed: lemon squeezer, knife, etc.
Per quanto riguarda gli utensili, ci serviranno, dunque,
In regard to utensils, we will need, accordingly,
uno spremiagrumi per i limoni, un coltello per tagliare i limoni.
a lemon squeezer for the lemons, a knife to cut the lemons.
Captions 40-44, L'Italia a tavola - Involtini di alici
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In English, especially in speech, we often use "to need" in an active way, as a transitive verb. "I need something." You may have discovered that there is no Italian verb we can use the same way. When we use servire, the thing we need is the subject and we use an indirect object with it. In the following example, Martino is asking himself what he needs to camp out in an old farmhouse. "What is necessary for me to take with me?"
Che mi può servire?
What do I need?
Caption 30, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 9
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To make things more complicated, servire also means "to be used." In this case, servire is used with the preposition a (to, for). We may ask the question:
A che cosa serve (what is it used for, what is it for)?
Serve a [insert verb in the infinitive or a noun] (it's used for, it's for [insert a gerund or a noun]).
Ecco a cosa serve il brodo vegetale.
That's what the vegetable broth is for.
Caption 95, L'Italia a tavola - La pappa al pomodoro
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The following example shows how needing, being useful, or being used are so close that Italians use the same word.
Una fabbrica che funziona, in una società che non funziona, non serve a niente.
A factory that works in a society that doesn't work is useless.
Caption 26, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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We can translate non serve a niente in a couple of additional ways:
Who needs a factory that works, if the society it is part of doesn't work?
A factory that works in a society that doesn't work is of no use to anyone.
A factory that works in a society that doesn't work serves no purpose.
Note: Servire can also mean "to serve" as in serving someone at the table, or at the counter in a post office, supermarket or any other place. But that's much less complicated and not what this lesson was about.
PRACTICE
We hope we have been successful in clarifying the verb servire, at least in part. We'll leave you with a few exercises that may further clarify the verb as you do them.
Change these sentences with bisogno or bisogna to one with servire or the contrary. Add personal pronouns where necessary or desirable.
Per questa ricetta, ho bisogno di tre uova (For this recipe, I need three eggs).
Di che cosa hai bisogno (What do you need)?
Non c'è bisogno di prendere l'autobus, il posto è a due passi a piedi (No need to take the bus. The place is well within walking distance).
Che bisogno c'era di essere così cattivo (Why did you need to be so mean)?
Servirà un ombrello, visto il cielo (Judging from the sky, an umbrella will be necessary).
Serve un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico (We need another place at the table, because a friend of mine is coming).
Have fun. You'll find some possible solutions here. If you think your solution is correct, but isn't present among the possible solutions, let us know at [email protected].
Did you watch last Wednesday's episode of Commissario Manara? You might have noticed that there's an excellent example of a pronominal verb.
Review pronominal verbs here.
Ce l'hai ancora con me.
You're still mad at me.
E perché mai dovrei avercela con te, scusa? Sono in vacanza.
And why on earth should I be mad at you, pardon me? I'm on vacation.
Captions 6-7, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP8 - Fuori servizio
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There are plenty of pronominal verbs Italians use constantly, and avercela is one that has a few different nuanced meanings. The verb avere (to have) combines with the direct object la (it) and the indirect object ci which can mean so many things, such as "to it/him/, for it/him/us" and it still doesn't make sense to an English ear, but it can mean to get angry, to feel resentment and more.
The meaning can be aggressive, as in "to have it in for someone." Avercela con qualcuno (to have it in for someone) happens to fit fairly well into a grammatically reasonable English translation, but avercela can also have a milder connotation, as in the example above, "to be mad at someone." And in this case, grammar pretty much goes out the window.
When you sense that something is not right with a friend, that they are not their usual talkative self, you wonder if you had done or said something wrong. This is the time to ask:
Ce l'hai con me? (are you mad at me?)
Using the pronominal verb avercela, it becomes very personal and often implies resentment or placing blame. The feeling of anger or resentment has to be directed at someone, even oneself.
Non ce l'ho con te. So che non era colpa tua. Ce l'ho con me stesso.
I'm not blaming you. I'm not holding it against you. I know it wasn't your fault. I have only myself to blame. I'm mad at myself.
There's a more official word for feeling resentful, too, risentire, but as you see from the dictionary, this verb has several meanings, so it isn't used all that often in everyday conversation. When you're mad, you want to be clear!
Let's look at the classic word for getting or being angry: fare arrabbiare (to make someone angry, to anger), arrabbiarsi (to get angry), arrabbiato (angry, mad), la rabbia (the anger).
If a parent, teacher, or boss is angry with a child, student, employee who did something wrong, then the word arrabbiarsi is the more suitable and direct term. It doesn't normally make sense to be actually resentful in these cases. In the following example, a colleague is talking to her co-worker about the boss.
Alleluia! -Guarda che questa volta l'hai fatta grossa. Era veramente arrabbiato.
Halleluja! -Look. This time you really blew it, big time. He was really mad.
Captions 20-21, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP7 - Alta società
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Closely related to avercela con qualcuno is prendersela, another pronominal verb! We've discussed this here, and as you will see, in some cases, both avercela and prendersela are used in similar situations.
But prendersela contains the verb prendere (to take). It might be helpful to think of "taking something badly."
Non te la prendere (don't feel bad, don't take this badly).
Unlike avercela, which is directed towards someone, prendersela is reflexive, with se (oneself), as in prendersi (to take for oneself)— You're more on the receiving end of an emotion, which you then transfer to someone else.
Me la sono presa con Giuseppe (I took it out on Giuseppe, [but I shouldn't have]. I lost it).
One last expression bears mentioning. Arrabbiare is the correct word to use for getting angry, but lots of people just say it as in the following example. We can replace the more vulgar term with the polite version: incavolarsi (to get angry), fare incavolare (to get someone angry).
E questo l'ha fatto incazzare tantissimo.
And this made him extremely angry.
Caption 21, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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Now, you have various ways to get angry in Italian, but we hope you won't need to resort to them too often.
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