lingua Archives - Page 23 of 28

Italian course for beginners: modal verbs, DOVERE

TodaywearegoingtohaveacloselookatDOVERE,:”Haveto”,”Needto”,”Must”.Listen tothepodcast. Alongwith”fare”,“essere”and”avere”,modalverbsarethepillarsoftheItalianlanguage:DOVERE,POTERE,VOLERE,SAPERE.AllItalianmodalverbsshareanimportantrule withEnglishmodalverbs.Theydescribethefunctionof asecondverbandmakeitstrongerinasentence. Theverbdoveresupportsotherverbs:andare,parlare,dire. Doveremeansmust,haveto, beobligedto,besupposedto,havegotto,oughtto,needto.InalltheseEnglishtranslations,verbssupportaninfinitiveverb,andsodoesdovereinItalian.Thegrammarruleis: DOVERE+ARE/ERE/IRE(infinito) Theconjugationis: IODEVO TUDEVI LUI/LEIDEVE NOIDOBBIAMO VOIDOVETE LORODEVONO IfyouaskItalianspeakerstotranslate dovere inEnglish,theywouldsay mustorhaveto.Iwouldsay”must”istoostrongand”haveto”quiteclose. Itdependsalotonthecontext.SoI believeit’stimetogiveyousomeexamplestopracticeonandrepeat.Listentothepodcast. Devoandareadesso,ètardi Imustgonow,it’slate Devidirequalcosa? Haveyougotsomethingtosay? Stefanodevestudiaredipiù Stefanoneedstostudymore Nondobbiamodimenticare Wemustnot forget Dovetesapereche… Youhavetoknowthat… Gliitalianidevonoimpararel’inglese! ItaliansmustlearnEnglish! Thisisthesimplestconjugation ofdovere,thepresenteindicativo,andit’senoughfor beginners.Inthenextposts,WearegoingtohaveacloselookatotherItalianmodalverbs.

Fare una cazzata, combinarla grossa

Fareunacazzata meansmakingamistakeinItalianslang.Therearemorefunwordstosaythat.Listentotheaudio Badwordsarepartofourlanguageandyoushouldknowsomeofthem.Youwillfindafew inthispost,buttheyareharmlessandprettycommon. Then,itisyourdecisiontousethemornot.IjustwanttoteachyousomeusefulItalianeverydaylanguage.Ifyoudon’tlikesoftbadwords,stopreadinghere. Todaywetalkabout”makingmistakesandsayingthatinItalian”.Youcanuse differentcommonsentences,dependingonthepersonyouaretalkingto.Forexample,fareunacazzata,averysoftbadword,isnotreallyrecommendedifyouareconfessing yourmisfortunesto aperfectstranger.Youcanuseapronominalverb andsay,L’hocombinatagrossa!,andgive anaturaltouchtoyourspokenItalian. Let’slistentosomeexamples Hofattounacazzata Thewordcazzatacouldmean:”nobigdeal”,nontipreoccupareèunacazzata; “Bullshit”, Mariodicesolocazzate; butalso”bigmistake”,likeintheexampleabove.Cazzataisa softbadword,verycommon,sosoonerorlateryouwillhearthatinItaly.Ifyouareanintermediate(andabove)learnerandhaveItalianfriends,cazzatawillbecomepartofyourvocabulary. TheSicilianword minchiataisidentical inmeaning,commoninthewholecountry butitsoundsmuchmorevulgar,atleasttome. L’hocombinatagrossa Literally”Ihaveputtogetherabigone”,bigtrouble,abigthing,unacosagrossa,hencethefemininedeclination.YoucouldsayL’hofattagrossa.Weliketousethetheverbcombinareinsteadofsimplyfare fordescribingmistakes. Combinareunguaio, causingalotoftrouble,iscommontoo.Hocombinatounguaio! Chemacello! Whatamess!Macello literallymeansslaughterhouse.Bloodyandmessy… Hofattouncasino Casinoisanotherofthoseflexiblewordsyoucanusetodescribe”amess”.Theoriginal meaningis “brothel”butnobodythinksaboutthatwhenwesaycasino.Itmeans”mess”butalso”loudnoise”.Wecanusecasinotosay “alot”:mipiaceuncasino Ilikeitalot!Morevulgarbutalsomoreeffective,is bordello. Nowpeopleknowthatwearetalkingaboutabrothel!YoungItaliansuseitveryfrequently.Chebordello! Whatamess!PleasenotethatCasino,forgambling,inItalianisCasinò.WeusetheFrenchword. Chepasticcio! Soundslikepasta!IfyougotoVeneziaandaskforpasitccio,thewaiterwillgetyouasortoflasagnawithmanyingredients.Thereareplentyof localItaliandishescalledpasticcioandthey areallpreparedwithallsortsof different ingredients,sometimesleftovers,togetherwithsomeeggsorcheesetoformanewdish.Pasticcioisthereforesomethinguneven,messy,andcanmean”trouble”,somethingdifficulttosolve.IfyouwanttoavoidbadorstrongwordsorwanttoteachyourkidssomethingfuninItalian,thisisoneisforyou. Thanksforreadingandlistening.Allaprossima!

Cacchio, Vaffambagno, Cavolo! Italian soft swearing – PODCAST

Badwords, “Parolacce”are usedandabusedinItaly.Forthisreason,somepeopleprefermildexpressions,whichsoundlikebadwordsbutarenot.LearnItalian”non-swear”words withourpodcast. “Parolacce”areamongthefirstwordsforeignerslearnwhentheycometoItaly.Theyarefun,verycommonandmostimportant,theybreaktherulesofpolitecommunications,stuff theyteachyouatschool,sotheyareveryintriguing. ButifyouareheretolearnnewItalianbadwords,youwillprobablybe disappointed.Justgooglethemandyouwillfindplentyofresourcestofulfillyourcuriosity.I will teachyousomeItalian”pseudo-cursing”,euphemisms(eufemismi)likethe Englishdarn,freaking,shootetcthatItalianpeoplesayinsteadofnormalparolacce. Listentothepodcastandlearnsomemanners! Checacchiovuoi? InItalianthere’saCword,probablythemostused”parolaccia”.EvenifyouareabeginnerinItalian,youknowwhatI’mtalkingabout,sodon’tpretendyoudon’tknow!Therearecountlesswordstonameitandcacchioisanalmost”cleanversion” ofthose.”Checacchiovuoi”hasaboutthesamemeaningof”whattheheck doyouwant?”. Non hocapitouncavolo Itreplacesthesamebadwordasabove.Cavolo(lit.cabbage)isatotallyharmlessversionofcacchio,whichinstead retainsalittledose ofcursing.Itissolightthatchildrenactuallysaythat.Itisverycommon,soyoucansafelyuseitandgiveaninformaltouchtoyourItalianspeech. “Vaffambagno!”or”Vaiafartiungiro” Again,iosochetusai!IknowthatyouknowtheItalian”vaffa…”wordanditsmeaning.Ifyoudon’t,lookitupongoogle.Therootoftheword,vaffa…isactuallyquiteclean.It’sthecontractionofvaiafare lit”goanddo”,or”goandmake”.Vaffambagnomeans”goandtakeabath”.Itdoesn’tgetcleanerthan this…Vaiafartiungiro literallymeans”goandtakeawalk”,muchhealthierthangoand…dosomethingelse.Youcanreadanotherpost+podcastontheuseoftheverbfarsiinconversationalItalian. Accidenti,hopersolechiavi! Quiteunderstandable.Ilostmykeys!Thisisnotareplacementofanybadword,it’sjutsasoftexclamation.Simpleandelegant,notvulgar.Usit! Porcamiseria! Okay,theword”porca”(comingfromporco,pork)maynotbeveryelegant,butit’snotsodirtyeither.WeuseitalotinspokenItalian.Whatmakesitabadwordiswhatcomesafter”porco”or”porca”.Porcamiseria soundslike”Damnedmisery”.That’sthebasic,acceptablesoftcursingthatgoesalongwith”porca”.Inmostcases,Italianssayporca+verybadwords anditcanescalatequitedramaticallyintosomethingyouhaveneverheardinyourlife. Mannaggia! Verymild expression, absolutelyclean.It’sactuallycleanerthantheequivalentEnglishGosh!Thiswordcomes fromoldSouthernItaliandialects:”maln’aggia”,roughly”Mayyoubedamned”.Nowadaysnobodyisreallyawareof theoriginal meaningofthisinteriezione.WealsosayMannaggiaame(tome),ate(toyou),aluiandsoon… Cribbio! I’mabigfanofAmericanmoviesandIdon’tpaymuchattentionto profanities.TherearebadwordsonItalianTVtoo.Nonetheless,Ifellvery uneasy whenIhearthenameofJesus followedbyanumberofbadwords.SomeItaliansdoswearalotagainstgod,butmostpeopledon’t.Andyouwon’thearany”bestemmia”(blasphemy)onTV.Theclosestsafeword,whichhasalmostnothingtodowithCristo isCribbio, asortofholycow! Caspita! Orcaspiterina simplymeans wow!It’saCA…wordlikecavoloandcacchio,buttotallyinoffensive. Somestudentsassume thatItalianscursealotandit’scool,orentertaining,ifaforeignerdid too.It’soktoplacesomebadwordshereandthere,but Ithinkit’susefultoknoweuphemisms and usetherealdeal onlywhenyoureallyneedit… Thanksforlistening!Allaprossima.

“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 ≫