Theconjugationis:
Themovieiscalled
Thelastone isadouble-doublenegative,butit’sperfectlycorrect.Thankgod,Jason,grammarinthiscountryisjustfine.
IhopethisshortlessonaboutItaliandoublenegativeswashelpful.Apresto!
Don’t worry, you will get there soon. It’s just a matter of time and you won’t make the following mistakes anymore.
It’s hard to sort Sapere and Conoscere since in English they both translate in “to know”. A classic rule of thumb is
Scusi, sa che ore sono?
Non so nuotare
Conosci Giorgio?
Conosco un ottimo ristorante a Milano
For some reason, Italian grammar books usually don’t include sapere as a modal verb with Potere, Dovere and Volere. It IS a modal verb (verbo servile) and a very important one too. Conoscere is not.
I once heard,”posso prendere una fotografia?” for Can I take a picture? It’s easy to translate take into prendere but it’s not always the case. In Italian we say “fare una fotografia”, make and not take. There are other “take” verbs you shouldn’t translate into “prendere”. Notably:
We already talked about the verb “piacere” , to like, and how Italian sentences are different compared to English. Mi piace doesn’t translate into a straight “I like it”. We can simplify the concept as follows
Let’s take for example:
If i say “mi piace il gelato” the subject is “il gelato”, not me, and “mi” (to me) is an indirect pronoun. “the ice cream is pleasing to me”.
I have to bear in mind that when I like “something plural”, e.g. shoes is the subject and I need conjugate the verb accordingly. “Mi piacciono le scarpe” and not “mi piace”. There are other verbs like “piacere”.
There are other verbs like piacere, and you will come across them eventually. Be prepared!
Sometimes, translating straight from English into Italian, and vice-versa, simply doesn’t work. Be careful when you do that with I know, I take and I like.
I hope this mini lesson was useful. Add your comments if you wish. Alla prossima!
I’ve been teaching Italian for quite a long time, beginners to advanced students connected online from all over the world. Some beginners give up and stop studying after some time, while others improve rapidly and overcome initial challenges. Some advanced learners get stuck in front of complicate grammatical structures whilst others don’t care much and enjoy a long and happy relationship with the Italian language. How can you manage your expectations and learn Italian with the right attitude?
You can live with that, I know how it feels. I am not a native English speaker, I’ve been studying it for a long time, every day a couple of hours, and I still make tons of mistakes. That’s fine, because the number of errors I make decreases year by year and I’m happy with that. Some of my students speak good Italian but are overconcerned with perfection. If you focus on the accent, you lose fluency. If you focus on grammar you don’t sound natural. The biggest mistake you could make is to stop speaking after a mistake. Fix the main ones and move on. Nobody is perfect.
If you are lucky, you have some Italian friends living close to you, willing to speak with you and help you to learn the language. Unfortunately, chances are that you live in a place where Italians are just a few and there are no occasions to practice. The good news is that plenty of Italians want to learn English and are eager to speak online. With Skype, people can “meet” easily and exchanging a foreign language is now possible for free. A Skype friend is not a professional teacher, so you will still need the help and guidance of a native teacher, but a “regular dose” of spoken Italian will help you tremendously.
Let’s face it. Some Italian language lessons are boring or difficult to digest. Some teachers find it easier to follow a textbook and give you homework instead of asking what your interests are. Studying Italian as a foreign language is not like studying English. People usually study it for passion, not because it’s necessary. Do you like Italian arts, opera, lifestyle, cars, football, men, women, food? Don’t be shy. Once you learned the basics, ask your teacher to fix some lessons for you based on your interests. Learning Italian will be more fun and engaging. If your teacher says no, just change teacher!
I’m sure you want to enjoy “la dolce vita” in Italia, after a year of hard work in your country. Please, consider seriously the idea of joining an Italian language course in one of our beautiful cities. School is great at any age! There are many places where you can spend a holiday while studying Italian, with foreign students having your same passion. If you are a beginner, perhaps an intensive course at school will help you to digest the basics pretty rapidly. If you are an intermediate/advanced learner, home-stay will help you to learn daily spoken Italian from your host family. Remember though, don’t hang out too much with other foreign students. You will speak English and defeat the purpose.
Listening to a song or watching a movie in Italian, possibly every day, are all great and entertaining exercises. Youtube will help you to get used to Italian sounds and learn quickly. However, my best students are the ones who read regularly newspapers, magazines or simple Italian books. Listening and watching are passive exercises but reading will force you to process and remember much better what you study. Leggere è la cosa migliore!
Whatever your reason for studying Italian is, please remember that you are the only one responsible for your success or failure. Follow your passion, cultivate your motivation and don’t give up, non mollare!
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Whenthesunissohotandstrongthatbreaksstones.It’snotunusualtohearthisidiominsummertime,frompeopleorevenonTV.
…where”toA” isanindirectpronounand”B”istherealsubject.
Therearesomeotherimportantverbshavingthesamestructureofpiacere,notably:
interessare (tobeofinterest,tocareof), servire (toneed),sembrare (toseem),succedere (tohappen).Let’sseesomeexamplesandlistentothepodcast:
Alastnoteimportantnote.IfweusetheverbANDAREinthesamewayweusePIACERE,wecanbuildsimple andhandysentencesforsayingthat”I’minthemoodfor…”Forexample:
Mivaunbelgelato
Tivadivenireconme?
Nonmivannoletuebugie
Mica and Manco are widely used expressions in spoken Italian, often characterized as colloquial. However, their usage is rarely emphasized in academic settings or textbooks. These words are considered “too conversational” and may pose challenges when attempting to provide a comprehensive explanation. In this discussion, we will explore their meanings and usage in a simplified manner.
The term “mica” originates from the Latin word for “breadcrumb.” Its Latin root is still evident in some other Italian words. For instance, in Milan, the typical bread roll is known as “michetta,” meaning “little crumb.” While the original meaning of “mica” has faded, the modern Italian word for breadcrumb is “briciola.”
In conversational Italian, “mica” roughly translates to “not even a breadcrumb,” comparable to the English expressions “not one bit” or “not at all.” It is used to intensify the negation of a statement. Consider the following examples:
“Mica” can’t be easily translated in English, as it includes the notion of “not as you think”, “not as it seems”, “not as you said” etc. For example:
You asked Gigi to take the umbrella because you thought it was raining, but Gigi is telling you you it’s not, “at all”.
“Manco” is a simpler alternative to the word “neanche” (not even) and is commonly used in conversation. While it is not recognized as a standard Italian word in academic literature, it finds frequent usage among Italian speakers. Consider the following examples:
While “mica” and “manco” have distinct meanings, they are discussed together due to their widespread use across the country. “Mica” is more commonly used in northern Italy, whereas “manco” has roots in southern dialects, particularly Sicilian. However, both words are familiar to Italians and contribute to the richness and diversity of spoken Italian.
Thanks for reading – Grazie per avere studiato con me