lingua Archives - Page 23 of 28

“Non ho fatto niente!” Italian double negatives. Audio.

YesterdayIwatchedamoviewithJasonStathamanditmademethinkaboutItaliandoublenegatives.IsItalyacountryinneedofgoodgrammar? ThemovieiscalledCHAOS,Jasonisabadcopandhe’sextortingaconfession.Youcanseethescreenshots here: Girl: Ididn’tdonothing! Jason: It’sIdidn’tdoanything.”Didn’tdonothing”isadoublenegative,infersthepositive.Thegrammarinthiscountryisterrible. Thisfilm isnotamasterpiece,butthe linewasbrilliant. Ithoughtaboutthestructureofthesentence”Ididn’tdonothing”,wronginEnglishbutrightinItalian(nonhofattoniente),andaboutallthestudentswho pointedthatoutduringmylessons.Isn’tthatadoublenegative?WhyItaliansusesentenceslike”nonc’ènessuno”and”nonhomangiatoniente”? Theassumptionthatadoublenegationautomatically”infersthepositive”belongstomathematicsandlogic,nottolanguage.”Ididn’tsayIdon’tloveyou”doesn’tmean”IsaidIloveyou”. ButthequestionhereiswhyinItalianweusetheredundantNONinthesamesentencewithNESSUNO,MAI,NIENTE,NULLA(nobody,never,nothing),which alreadyarenegations.TheanswerisbecauseinvulgarLatin,becomingmodernItalian,wealreadyhaddoublenegatives asnegativesentences. Theansweristherefore”because”. Ifyouareparticularlyfastidiousaboutgrammar,wecanliquidatethemattersayingthattheadverbNONis”pleonastic”.Forsimplepeoplelikeme,itmeansthatNONinsentenceslikenonhofattonienteisjustanadditiontoreinforcethenegation.Becarefulthough.Itdoesn’tmeanyoucansayhofattoniente tosayIdidnothing. WemustaddNONtobuildacorrectsentenceinItalian. Someexamples.Trytotranslatethefollowingsentences: Hofame.Nonhomangiatoniente. Lucaècadutomanonsièfattoniente. Hotelefonatoacasamanonharispostonessuno Nonavetemaimangiatoilsushi? Nonsentonulla,alzailvolumedellativùperfavore. Senonstudimai,nonimparerainiente. Thelastone isadouble-doublenegative,butit’sperfectlycorrect.Thankgod,Jason,grammarinthiscountryisjustfine. IhopethisshortlessonaboutItaliandoublenegativeswashelpful.Apresto!

Some common Italian verbs English speakers mistake

There are some Italian verbs English speakers often mistake when they start learning Italian. Most of my students learned them right and so should you. Let’s fix this together! Don’t worry, you will get there soon. It’s just a matter of time and you won’t make the following mistakes anymore. 1. “To know”, Sapere VS Conoscere … Read more ≫

What they don’t teach you #4: Figurati, figuariamoci, che figura! PODCAST

IfyouopenyourItaliandictionaryandchecktheverbs“figurarsi”and“fareunafigura”youwillseetheybothhavedifferentmeanings.LearnhowweusethosewordsinconversationalItalian.ListentothePodcast. Recently,astudentaskedmethedifferencebetween“figurati”“figuriamoci”,and“fareunafigura”,allverycommonexpressions.Perhapsyouheardtheidiom “chefigura!”.Let’s”figure”outwhattheymean. *SpecialthankstoMariko,ourJapanesefriend,forrecordingpartofthispodcast. FiguratiandFiguriamoci. Tiringrazioperiltuoaiuto. Figurati!Nonc’èdiche. It’spronouncedfigùratianditliterallymeans“imaginethat,picturethat”.Ifyoureadorhearitaftera”grazie”,itsimplymeans“youareverywelcome,don’tmentionit”.AnotherinterestingwaytosayyouarewelcomeinItalianisnonc’èdiche,literally,there’snothingtobe(thankful)about.Butagain,justlikewelcomeinEnglish,whenwesaythatwedon’tthinkabouttheactual,literalmeaning.It’sjustaninteriezione,anautomaticanswer. Laringrazioperilsuoaiuto Sifiguri! Thisisthepoliteversionoftheinformalthankyou-welcomeformulaabove.YouaregoingtochangeFiguratiinSifiguriwhenyousayyou“arewelcome”toastranger,usingtheformalLei. Mariotihatelefonato? Figurati!(Figuriamoci!) That’syetanothermeaningoffiguratiandfiguriamoci.OfcourseMariodidn’tcallme,“youcanpicturethat”,weknowhowheis,figurati!Inthiscase,itwillalwaysmean“ofcoursenot,don’tevenmentionthat”,youknowtheanswer. WecanusethepluralFiguriamoci(noi-we)withthesamemeaning,butwithanimpersonaltone.Figuriamociseilcapomidaràunaumento,mybosswillnevergivemeasalaryincrease,wealreadyknowthat,don’twe? Asubstantial differencebetweenFiguratiandFiguriamociisthatwedon’tusuallysaythelattertomean“youarewelcome”. Nonmipiacemoltoilpesce,figuriamociquellocrudo. Idon’tlikefishthatmuch,letalonewhenraw.FiguratiandFiguriamocicanalsoreinforceapreviousstatement,likeinEnglish“letalone…”.Anotherexample:Nonhotempoperleggereilgiornale,figuriamociunlibro! ComealsolitoStefanononsièricordatodelnostroanniversario,figurati. Stefanoforgotaboutouranniversary,“tellmeaboutit!”That’sexactlywhatFiguratiorFiguriamocimeaninthiscase.Firenzeinestateèpienadituristicomealsolito,figuriamoci!TellmesomethingIdon’tknow. Ifyouhaveachance,trytousefiguratiandfiguriamoci.YourspokenItalianwillsoundmorenatural.Next,wearegoingtoexplain”fareunafigura” Fareunabrutta/bellafigura Chefigura! That’skindoftoughtotranslateinEnglish.Ifwegofor“tomakeabadimpression”wemaythinkof someone whodidn’timpresspositivelyotherpeople,forsomereason. Chefigura!isdifferent,itreferstoanembarrassingevent,asingleepisode.Mentreparlavoavevolacernieraaperta,chefigura!whenIwastalkingtheflyofmypantswasopen,Chefigura!InItalian,weadd thesuffix–acciato giveanegativemeaningtoalmosteveryword.Chefiguraccia!whatanembarrassment! Che(brutta)figura! Theoppositeisfareunabellafigura.Inthiscasewecansafelytranslateitin“tomakeagoodimpression”,notnecessarilyrelatedtoasingleevent.

5 “consigli” for learning Italian

Learning Italian requires hard work and some necessary mistakes. Follow 5 simple tips, or “consigli” as we call them in Italian, for keeping yourself motivated and ready to learn more. 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 … Read more ≫

What they don’t teach you #3 – “Il sole” the sun – PODCAST

Thisisthethirdpostabout Italianidioms younormallywon’tlearnatschool.Todaywetalkabout”ilsole”,thesun.Listentothepodcast. Unfortunately,Summer2014hereinItaly hasn’tbeen verysunny,butmycountry is”opaesedosole“thecountryofthesun.Forthisreason,therearemanyItalianidiomsrelatedtothesunandtheeffectsithasonourdailylife.Asusual,Iwon’ttranslatetheexamplesandthepodcast.Trytodoityourself. Cominciamo? ilsolebaciaibrutti… …perchéibellilibacianotutti.Apparently,thesunkissesuglypeoplebecausetheprettyonesget alreadyplentyofkisses.Somepeoplesay”ilsolebaciaibelli”,meaningthatgettingtannedmakesyoubeautiful.Insummertime,”inestate”,everyonelooks moreattractive.Howaboutyou? ilsolebaciaibruttiperchéibellilibacianotutti allalucedelsole Doingsomething”allalucedelsole”,underthesunlight,meanstobetransparent,togetthingsdoneaboveboard.Thisidiomisusedif wetalkaboutbusinessbut alsowhensomeone expressesopenlyideasor opinions. vogliochetuttosifacciaallalucedelsole …comenevealsole Melt likesnowunderthesun.Weuseittodescribesomethingdisappearingveryswiftly:wealth,doubts,secrets,feelingsandsoon. labugiadiStefanosièscioltacomenevealsole dovenonbatteilsole Thisoneisquitefunny.Italiansusethisidiominsteadof sayingdirectlythenameof somebodyparts.Yes,rightthere,where thesunlightisofflimits. vorreidargliuncalciopropriolì,dovenonbatteilsole! unsolechespaccalepietre Whenthesunissohotandstrongthatbreaksstones.It’snotunusualtohearthisidiominsummertime,frompeopleorevenonTV. Ogginonescodicasa.C’èunsolechespaccalepietre nientedinuovosottoilsole ThisoneisavailablealsoinEnglish.Nothingnewunderthesun.ItcomesfromtheBible, Ecclesiastes. Justasidenote:itisamazingtoseehowLatinandItalianlookalike: Nihilnovisubsole, or Nihilsubsolenovum istheLatinversionoftheidiom. Stannotuttibenecomealsolito.Nientedinuovosottoilsole. bellocomeilsole Beautifulandshinylikethesun.InItalianwealsosay”unapersonasolare”literally”asunnyperson”whensomeoneishappyandpositive.Theoppositeislunatico, butbecareful,thisisatypicalfalsefriend.LunaticoinItalianmeansmoodyandnotLunatic. Mariaèdavverounaragazzasplendida.èbellacomeilsole! Sperochequestopodcastsiastatodivertente.Sevuoi,puoiaggiungereuncommento. We’llbebacksoonwithothernewidioms.Subscribetoournewsletterformore. Apresto!

Italian verb piacere and a bunch of pronouns – PODCAST

“Mipiace”iswhatyoucanreadontheItalianfacebook”like”button,butitdoesn’ttranslateintoastraight”Ilikeit”.LearntheItalianverbpiacere andothersimilarverbs.Listentothepodcast. Mipiace,isoneofthefirstthingsyoulearninItalian.Andasithappensveryoften,whenyoustarttolearnaforeignlanguage,youjustmemorizesentencesbefore gettingintodetailsandstructures.Nowit’stimetohaveasecondlook.Let’sthinkaboutthissimplesentence: Mipiaceilgelato=(Ilgelatopiaceame) NativeEnglishspeakerstranslateitinto”Ilikeice-cream”,andthemeaningisjustright.Butifyoureaditcarefully,theItaliansentenceisactually”ice-creamispleasingtome”,whereGelato isinfactthesubject,andnot Mi,whichinsteadisanindirectpronoun. ThestructureinEnglishis”AlikesB” ThestructureinItalianis”ToA,Bispleasing” …where”toA” isanindirectpronounand”B”istherealsubject. Difficult?No,justdifferent.Let’sfirstdefinealltheItalianindirectpronouns: tome->ame ->MI toyou ->ate ->TI tohim ->alui ->GLI toher ->alei ->LE tous ->anoi ->CI toyou ->avoi ->VI tothem ->aloro ->GLI InItalian,conjugationschangewiththesubject.ItbecomesmoreclearthatBistherealsubjectwithpluralnouns.SoifIsay”Ilikespaghetti”, piacere changesbecausethesubjectspaghetti(loro-they)isplural: Mipiaccionogli spaghetti=(glispaghettipiaccionoame) WeusetheItalianverbpiacere verymuchincombinationwithinfinitiveverbs,whenwelikeanaction, exactly as youdoinEnglishwiththegerund.Ifiwanttosay “Ilikeswimming“inItalian… Mipiace nuotare Swimmingispleasingtome.IfIwanttosaythatswimming”ispleasingtoyou”Igo”tipiacenuotare”,ispleasingtohim”glipiacenuotare”,ispleasingtous,”cipiacenuotare”andsoon.Ifyouthoughtthatthelatterperhapsshouldbe”cipiacciononuotare”or”cipiacciamonuotare”(I’mprettysureyouhaveconsideredthoseoptions…)becausenoi-us isplural,gobacktothebeginningofthispostandreaditagain… Therearesomeotherimportantverbshavingthesamestructureofpiacere,notably: interessare (tobeofinterest,tocareof), servire (toneed),sembrare (toseem),succedere (tohappen).Let’sseesomeexamplesandlistentothepodcast: interessare (tobe ofinterest,tocareof) Miinteressamoltol’arte I’mveryinterestedinarts Nonmiinteressanoituoiproblemi I’mnotinterestedinyourtrouble servire (toneed) Miserveiltuoaiuto Ineedyourhelp Perleggere,miservonoimieiocchiali Ineedmyglassesforreading sembrare (toseem,tolooklike) Claudiomisembraunpo’distratto ItseemstomethatClaudioisabitabsent Ituoicapellimisembranotroppocorti Youhairlookstooshort succedere (tohappen) Mi succedespessodiperdereiltreno Ihappenquiteoftentomissthetrain Ultimamentetisuccedonounsaccodiguai You’vebeeninalotoftroublelately Alastnoteimportantnote.IfweusetheverbANDAREinthesamewayweusePIACERE,wecanbuildsimple andhandysentencesforsayingthat”I’minthemoodfor…”Forexample: Mivadiandarealcinema Mivaunbelgelato Tivadivenireconme? Nonmivannoletuebugie Sometimesit’srathercomplicatedtotranslatedaccuratelysentenceswiththeItalianverbpiacere &co.JusttrytousethemdirectlyinItalian,keepinginmindwhatyoureadabove.Thanksforreading.Allaprossima!

Conversational Italian: Mica and Manco

Mica and Manco: Popular Colloquial Words in Spoken Italian 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 … Read more ≫

Common Italian irregular verbs – Presente Indicativo

Listen and solve the quiz – Italian irregular verbs – 40 sentences As a beginner, you should learn the present tense of some important Italian irregular verbs. If your level is intermediate or advanced, a second look will help you to remember some basics. Before we start: Dovere, potere, volere and sapere (as “to know … Read more ≫

Bel or Bello? A special Italian adjective

The adjective “bello” is one of the most known Italian words. It follows a special rule, which you should learn and remember if you want to speak correctly Foreigners make fun of Italians saying “Ciao bello!” or “Ciao Bella!”. I think it’s funny and also a good stereotype. We are friendly and everyone deserves the … Read more ≫

Italian Imperfetto tense, modal verbs – PODCAST

Let’s have a look at the Italian imperfetto tense of the modal verbs dovere, potere, volere and sapere. Listen to the podcast. We already introduced the Italian imperfetto tense and the difference with the passato prossimo tense, both belonging to the indicativo mood (realis mood). If you want to progress from the beginner-level to the intermediate-level, you need … Read more ≫