Whenthesunissohotandstrongthatbreaksstones.It’snotunusualtohearthisidiominsummertime,frompeopleorevenonTV.
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
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 how to”) are the main Italian modal verbs.
Remember that conjugations made of just two letters (e.g. Lui va, Lei fa etc) don’t need any accent mark like Lui và, Lei fà. The only exception is Lui/Lei dà.
Personal pronouns are in order: IO – TU – LUI/LEI – NOI – VOI – LORO.
Please complete the quiz below and check your score.
The following are “must learn” irregular verbs, you should memorise them as a beginner.
There are some more irregular verbs in the quiz. Please read the sentences carefully and repeat the exercise if necessary.
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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 title of “bello”.
Let’s see more in detail what this word means and how we can use it correctly.
In English, adjectives come before a noun. In Italian we usually put them after.
Some adjectives however, can be put before or after a noun, changing the value of the noun itself.
In the first case, we express an objective fact. Di Caprio is a great actor. In the second example, we want to express a point of view, the value of Di Caprio as an actor according to the opinion of the speaker.
Since bravissimo is a superlative, the position of the adjective here does not change much the intensity or the perspective of the speaker.
A better example would be:
In the first case, we say that Mario is al old friend, in the second Mario is an old person and he’s a friend. So, the first case is an example of a qualitative use of the adjective vecchio, it’s about my friendship with Mario.
There’s a more extensive explanation on another blog about the position of adjectives in Italian sentences. Have a look.
The adjective bello belongs to this second category. We can put it before or after the noun.
If we put it after the noun, it acts as a normal aggettivo, changing as singular or plural, masculine or feminine. We express an objective situation:
However, if we put bello before the noun, it changes quite radically and instead of agreeing with number and gender, it follows the rules of definite articles IL – LO – LA – I – GLI – LE – L’.
We get as a result:
We don’t simply say that an object is beautiful. We want to give an opinion, a subjective point of view.
Using correctly the Italian adjective “bello” will help you to speak naturally and, why not, to get along with Italian people.
Try the quiz. Alla prossima.
LOADING QUIZ…
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 to master these two lesson points. Please have a look at the posts linked above and solve the attached quizzes before getting familiar with today’s quick lesson.
We are now going to focus on the imperfetto and the four main Italian modal verbs, the “verbi servili” dovere, potere, volere and sapere. We chose this particular topic because the verbi servili are extremely important and their conjugation is irregular in most tenses and moods, not in the imperfetto.
Let’s see the conjugations and listen to the podcast for learning the correct pronunciation. Pay particular attention on the stress of the Loro pronoun.
We hope this fast lesson and podcast were useful. Please share and comment, feel free to ask questions.
Weirdosareeverywhere,includingItaly.ButhowcanyoudescribeapersonhavingastrangeorunusualattitudeinItalian? Itseemsthatwhenitcomestostrangeorunusualpeople,allthelanguagesagreeonstereotypesandcommonexpressions.
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WehopeyoucouldusesomeofthesesentencestointeractproperlywithanativeItalianspeaker.Ofcoursewewouldlovetoteachyoumore.Pleasevisitourhomepage,youcanbookafreetrialItalianlessononSkype(tm).Thanksforlistening,civediamo!
Cycling in Italian cities is not really safe, too many cars and stone-paved roads. However, spending a nice holiday immersed in the beautiful countryside, cycling in Italian Alps, lakes, sweet hills and natural parks is simply fantastic. The following words and sentences may come in useful in case you choose to pack your bike or rent one for your Italian holiday.
We hope you will have a chance to go cycling in Italy and enjoy the beautiful Italian countryside riding a bike. Feel free to comment and ask questions. If you need to brush up your Italian, please book a free Skype trial lesson, live and online with a native teacher. Ciao!
Quick Italian lesson: try to translate into your language the following examples:
Exactly like “out of the blue”.
What do I know? – How am I supposed to know about it?
Caught red handed.
It’s a small world! We can also say. Quanto è piccolo il mondo. How small the world is.
What a surprise!
Look what the cat dragged in. Lit. Who is not dead shows up again.
I almost died!
For real?
I can’t believe it!
Seriously!
Thanks for reading. Now you can express surprise in Italian! Please share, ask questions, put your translations in the comments or on Facebook. Please visit our facebook page for more. Ciao!