Instead of using adjectives to talk about size, Italian has the device of altering the noun itself, thus producing a new word. Different endings are added onto the root word. Let's look at how this works with some nouns with feminine endings.
An example of this is pentola. Una pentola is a pot. It's already pretty big, big enough for cooking pasta. Un pentolone is an even bigger pot for if you're cooking lots of pasta or canning tomatoes, as in the second example below. We could also say una pentola grande, (a big pot) but sometimes it's easier to say pentolone. So, when you hear a word that ends in -one, it's likely a large version of something that comes in various sizes.
Ci serve, naturalmente, anche qualcosa per cuocere la pasta. Una pentola, un'altra pentola per la pasta,
We also need, naturally, something for cooking the pasta. A pot, another pot for the pasta,
Captions 79-81, L'Italia a tavola Tonnarelli cacio e pepe - Part 1
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Here, a woman is describing how to make tomato sauce to can. She's going to make a big batch.
Alcuni, eh, lo fanno appassire un po' dentro i pentoloni sul fuoco...
Some, uh, cook them down a bit in big pots on the burner...
Caption 28, Giovanna spiega La passata di pomodori
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When the item in discussion is the smalller version, the ending -ino is typical:
E per farlo, prendiamo un pentolino come questo e ci mettiamo un pochino di olio extravergine di oliva.
And to do that we take a saucepan like this and we put a little extra virgin olive oil in it.
Captions 18-19, Marika spiega La Parmigiana di melanzane - Part 1
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Una capanna is a shack, shed, or hut. It's a feminine noun.
...oppure costruivamo una capanna con delle sedie e delle coperte
...or else we'd build a hut out of chairs and bed covers
Caption 8, Anna e Marika ricordi di infanzia
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Un capannone can either be called a "shed," even though it's big, a "hangar," or, in the case of a mechanic's workplace, a "garage." It will have a different name in English depending on its use. It may or may not have 4 walls. It may or may not be makeshift.
...che segnalava la presenza di auto truccate in un capannone al Quadraro e trac. Va be', allora vogliamo brindare?
...that reported the presence of souped-up cars in a hangar in Quadraro, and boom. OK, so do we want to make a toast?
Captions 35-37, La Ladra EP. 8 - Il momento giusto - Part 14
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If the shack or hut is tiny, as it would be for a hunter's blind, then il capannino is the word of choice. There might be room for just one person.
Although una macchina can be any kind of machine, it's also the word for car. The more official Italian word is automobile, just like in English. The stress goes on the second O, however.
Infatti, quando ho compiuto venti anni, mi ha regalato una macchina nuova.
In fact, when I turned twenty, she got me a new car.
Captions 31-32, Adriano Nonna
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Ci porta Giampi, che lui c'ha un macchinone.
Giampi will take us. He has a big car.
Caption 53, Sposami EP 3 - Part 7
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Sometimes the resulting word can retain the gender of the original word, as in the case of macchina.
E sotto c'era un altro cartellino bianco con disegnato su un camioncino con un gancettino che si porta via una macchinina.
And below it was another little white sign picturing a little truck with a little hook on it, which is towing a little car away.
Captions 89-91, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola - Part 1
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As you listen to more videos, you will start noticing the endings -one and -ino. Look for the noun within the noun and you'll often be able to figure out what a word means.
An adverb modifies, or describes, a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. But in Italian (as in other languages), we sometimes mix and match. Sometimes we use an adjective like an adverb and vice versa. Let's look at a few of the common adjectives that fall into this category.
One of these cases is the adjective leggero (light, lightweight). It might be more correct to say Guarda come vola in modo leggero, (look how she is flying, as light as a feather). Or we could consider leggera (lightweight) as modifying the noun, in this case, una farfalle (a butterfly).
Guarda come vola leggera.
See how weightlessly it's flying.
Caption 19, Gatto Mirò EP 10 Piantiamo un albero
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Another is forte. It's basically an adjective, as in the following example.
Orfeo era... aveva un carattere forte.
Orfeo was... He had a strong personality.
Caption 35, Il Commissario Manara S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 4
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But forte is used quite often as an adverb, especially after a verb. In the following example, it's translated as "great," also primarily an adjective, but we use it as an adverb, too.
Sto andando forte, eh?
I'm doing great, right?
Caption 24, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 12
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Fortemente exists as an adverb and is used in some contexts, especially before the adjective it happens to be modifying.
Io non le ho prese. -Non lo so, ma sei fortemente indiziata! -Ma!
I didn't take them. -I don't know, but you're a very strong suspect [strongly suspected]. -Well!
Caption 62, Il Commissario Manara S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 4
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But it's very common to use the forte when it comes to modifying verbs. Fortemente would sound wrong.
Dai papà, alza la testa e fai resistenza mentre io ti spingo giù, ispirando forte.
Come on Daddy, lift your head and press while I push you down, inhaling deeply.
Captions 18-19, Provaci ancora prof! S2E3 Dietro la porta - Part 22
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Like forte, veloce is often used in place of the adverb velocemente.
Dixi l'aveva soprannominata saetta, perché andava veloce come un fulmine.
Dixi nicknamed it "Saetta" (lightning bolt), because it went fast like lightning.
Captions 8-9, Dixiland In bicicletta
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E perché, vado troppo veloce?
And why? Am I going too fast?
Caption 56, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 3
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Oh cowboy, se tu cambi obiettivo così velocemente, la selvaggina scappa!
Oh, cowboy, if you change your target so quickly, the game gets away!
Caption 35, Il Commissario Manara S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 6
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Piano is the opposite of both forte and veloce. There is no specific adverbial version, but it can be used both as an adjective and an adverb. Piano has different meanings, so it's not always clear, even from the context, which meaning it has.
Ciao. -A presto. Vai piano.
Bye. -See you soon. Go slowly.
Captions 48-49, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 6
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Luca, non senza autorizzazione! -Shh. Parla piano.
Luca, not without authorization! -Shh, speak softly.
Captions 46-47, Il Commissario Manara S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde - Part 12
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Let's keep in mind that adjectives used as adjectives need to agree with the nouns they modify, but when they are used as adverbs, they stay just the way they are. In the following example, forte is used as an adjective to describe i sentimenti (the feelings).
Spero solo che anche i suoi sentimenti siano altrettanto forti.
I only hope that his feelings are as strong as yours.
Caption 12, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 11
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Lo spada è uno dei pesci più veloci esistenti,
Swordfish is one of the fastest fish in existence.
Caption 10, Linea Blu Sicilia - Part 3
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Some cases don't seem to fit the pattern. In this final example, veloce seems to be used as an adverb, but its plural ending agrees with the plural noun like an adjective.
Poi dice che sono gli etiopi che corrono veloci, eh.
Then they say that the Ethiopians are the ones who run fast, huh.
Caption 42, Sposami EP 6 - Part 4
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banner PLACEHOLDER
We talked about making either/or choices in a previous lesson, but in this lesson, we'll talk about when we want to be inclusive. When we use "both" in English, we are talking about 2 things, not more. There are various ways to express this in Italian and we've discussed one of these ways, using tutti (all). Read the lesson here. Here are two more ways, which are perhaps easier to use.
Entrambi is both an adjective and a pronoun, depending on how you use it.
Avevamo entrambi la febbre e i bambini da accudire.
We both had fevers and kids to take care of.
Captions 20-21, COVID-19 2) I sintomi
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When the nouns are feminine, we use the feminine ending: entrambe.
Per fortuna, avevo entrambe le cose nella mia cassetta degli attrezzi.
Luckily, I had both things in my toolbox.
Caption 13, Marika spiega Gli attrezzi
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This way of saying "both" is considered literary, but people do use it. Think of ambidextrous and you'll get it!
Hanno ambedue smesso, quindi devo superare questo record ed è... sono in caccia del mio sesto mondiale.
They've both quit, so I have to break this record and it's... well, I am chasing my sixth World Cup.
Captions 49-50, Valentina Vezzali Video Intervista
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Just like entrambi, ambedue can be used as both an adjective and a pronoun. The advantage of this word is that it doesn't change. It's invariable. The only thing you have to remember is that when you use it as an adjective, you need a definite article after it and before the (plural) noun, as in the example below.
Ecco, questa, questa arma, ehm... rimane e fa ambedue, ambedue le funzioni, sia... è riconosciuta a livello di Esercito Italiano,
So, this, this force, uh... is still in force and carries out both, both [the] functions, whether... it's recognized on the level of the Italian Army
Captions 35-37, Nicola Agliastro Le Forze dell'Ordine in Italia
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There's more to say about choices, but we'll save it for another lesson. Meanwhile, as you go about your day, try thinking of ways to practice using entrambi and ambedue to mean "both." There are so many choices!
A Yabla subscriber has asked us to shed some light on the difference between noioso and annoiato. They are both adjectives and can be used to describe a person. There are some intricacies involved with these words, which we'll get to, but let's start out with the noun: la noia.
Che noia!
What a bore!
Caption 9, Acqua in bocca - Un amico per Pippo
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What is tricky about this noun (and its related adjectives) is that it can indeed imply boredom, but it can also mean "the bother" or "the nuisance." In fact, in the previous example, we don't know the context, but the meaning could also have been "what a nuisance," or "what a pain." The noun noia rarely refers to a person him- or herself, as "bore" would in English.
The following example is from Tuscany where noia is used a great deal to mean "bother." And it's often used with the verb dare (to give) — dare noia (to be a bother, to be annoying, to be in the way).
Erano alberi che davano noia e basta,
They were trees that were a bother and nothing more,
Caption 30, Gianni si racconta - L'olivo e i rovi
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So che noia can mean "what boredom" or "what a pain!" And dare noia can be interpreted as bothering, or being a bother, or being in the way.
We also have the verb annoiare that does remind one of the verb "to annoy." Indeed, that is one of the meanings and comes from the Latin "inodiare" — avere in odio (to have hateful feelings for).
Mi disturba, mi annoia,
You're bothering me, you're annoying me,
Caption 11, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sul Piemonte
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But it is much more common for this verb to be used in its reflexive form annoiarsi. In this case it's always about being bored or possibly fed up.
Io non mi annoio mai quando sto con lui, mai.
I never get bored when I am with him, ever.
Caption 34, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita
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We've seen that noia isn't just about boredom, so likewise, noioso can mean boring, but not necessarily. Let's look at some examples of the different nuances.
Noioso can describe a person who is not very interesting, a dull person:
Abbiamo solamente avuto un piccolo flirt.
We just had a little fling.
Genere depresso e noioso, capisci?
Depressed and boring type, you understand?
Captions 9-10, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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It can also describe a movie, for example:
Il film era noioso, purtroppo (the movie was boring, unfortunately).
Here's a perfect example of something that is not boring. It's annoying. And in fact, the N and O sounds can hint at that.
Eh, povero Dixi, il singhiozzo è noioso
Oh, poor Dixi, the hiccups are bothersome
Caption 15, Dixiland - Il singhiozzo
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Annoiato can be used as the past participle of annoiare, or more often, as we mentioned above, the past participle of the reflexive verb annoiarsi. In this case, it means "to get or to be bored."
Oppure: "No, non andrò alla festa di Marcello.
Or: "No, I won't go to Marcello's party.
Ci sono già stato l'anno scorso e mi sono annoiato".
I already went to it last year and I got bored."
Captions 48-49, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne
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But as often occurs, past participles are also used as adjectives. With annoiato, this can describe one's state of being.
Ciao. Sei annoiato o annoiata
Hi. Are you bored (m) or bored (f)
e ti vuoi divertire e rilassare?
and you want to have a good time and relax?
Captions 3-4, Marika spiega - Il cinema
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Let's try using all these forms in a silly, made-up dialogue.
Lei: Sembri annoiato, è così? (You seem bored. Are you?)
Lui: No, ho solo sonno (No, I'm just sleepy.) E inoltre, come posso annoiarmi ad ascoltare i tuoi racconti per l'ennesima volta? (And besides, how can I get bored listening to you tell your stories for the umteenth time?)
Lei: Beh, so che posso essere un po' noiosa a volte, scusami (Well, I know I can be a bit boring at times, sorry.) Allora smetto di darti noia, e me ne vado (I'll stop bothering you, then, and I'll leave.)
Lui: No, aspetta, se vai via mi annoierò davvero (If you leave, I will get bored for real.) E tra l'altro, ho dei lavori noiosissimi da fare e non ne ho nessuna voglia (And besides, I have some really tedious jobs to do and I have no desire to do them.)
Lei: OK, so che sono noiosa, ma non sarebbe meglio fare quei lavori dato che siano anche urgenti (OK, I know I am being a pain, but wouldn't it be better to do those jobs, given that they're urgent?)
Lui: OK, ora sei noiosa davvero. Mi sono ampiamente annoiato con questa storia (OK, now you are really being boring/irritating. I'm pretty sick of this thing), quindi forse è meglio se te ne vai... (so maybe it's better if you do leave.)
OK, ciao. Non ti voglio annoiare con un'altra delle mie storie noiose. (OK, bye. I don't want to bore you with another of my boring stories.)
In English, we have the pronoun "one" and the number "one." They both refer to something single but do not mean exactly the same thing. We have a similar phenomenon in Italian, but it goes a step further. This lesson will explore the word uno in various contexts, and since this will take us to the subject of "indefinite articles," we'll take the opportunity to look at those, too!
Uno (one) can be the number "one":
Adesso proveremo noi insieme un passo base di Tango.
Now, together, we'll try out the basic steps of the Tango.
Uno, due, tre.
One, two, three.
Captions 38-39, Adriano - balla il Tango Argentino
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We can use uno as an adjective when we are talking about "how many?" One.
Ho trovato solo uno stivale. L'altro l'ho perso (I found only one boot. I lost the other one).
Uno is an indefinite article, "a", used only when followed by a Z or by an S + a consonant:*
Uno scontrino, perché?
"Uno scontrino." Why?
Perché la parola inizia per s più consonante.
Because the word starts with "s" plus a consonant.
Captions 55-56, Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo
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Uno scolapasta.
A colander.
Caption 27, Adriano - Pasta alla carbonara
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When the masculine word following the article begins with a vowel or single consonant (excluding Z) it's un.
Quello che è successo è un segnale.
What happened is a sign.
Caption 9, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 21
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This is the most common masculine indefinite article and as we mentioned above, it remains the same even when it comes before a vowel (no apostrophe).
Stiamo cercando un aviatore americano.
We're looking for an American pilot.
Caption 6, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 5
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When this article comes before a feminine noun (or the adjective that describes it), it's una.
Hai una bellissima voce.
You have a very beautiful voice.
Caption 9, Adriano - Fiaba
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If the feminine indefinite article una comes before a word that starts with a vowel, it becomes un' so as not to break the flow.
Magari sarà per un'altra volta.
Perhaps, another time.
Caption 7, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 12
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Here, instead of saying give me una borsa (a bag), Eva just says give me one of them.
Dai, dammene una. -No, no, so' [romanesco: sono] abituata.
Come on, give me one of them. -No, no, I'm used to it.
Caption 6, La Ladra Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 5
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Attenzione! In order to speak correctly, you have to know the gender of the noun you are replacing!
But uno can also mean the pronoun "someone."
Allora, innanzitutto, quando uno studia a uni'... a una università,
So, first of all, when someone studies at a uni... at a university,
eh, per esempio in Italia, eh, a Firenze...
uh, for example, in Italy, uh, in Florence...
Captions 17-18, Arianna e Marika - Il Progetto Erasmus
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Uno quando ha un talento, lo deve coltivare.
When someone has talent, he has to cultivate it.
Caption 73, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 12
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Generally speaking, the masculine form is used to mean "someone," however, if you want to specify that that someone is a female, then una can serve the same purpose.
For English speakers, getting the article right in Italian can be confusing, especially since in many cases, you have to know the gender of the noun you are using the article with and that can be daunting, too!
When translating, we often have to think twice. Does uno/un/una mean "one" or "a"? Since it's the same word in Italian, it's not always clear!
Doing the Scribe exercises at the end of the videos you watch can be a great way to learn how to use the articles — You ask yourself, "When do I use the apostrophe? And when not?" You'll make plenty of mistakes, but little by little it will sink in.
If you want more lessons about using articles, let us know at newsletter@yabla.com.
*Here are some of the video lessons that might be helpful for learning about using indefinite articles (called articoli indeterminativi).
Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 1
Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 2
Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 3
One of the hardest things to do in a new language is to construct a sentence. Understanding is one thing, but putting words together can be such a challenge.
The good news is that sometimes you don't have to say much to get your idea across. Let's look at some ways to comment on things without actually constructing a sentence. Using che, we can either complain about something: che caldo (how hot it is), or we can be making a compliment: che buono (this is so good).
The magic word is che (that, what, which). We then add the appropriate adjective.
Che bello! Ciao! -Che bello!
How nice! Bye! -How nice!
Captions 75-76, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde
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Ehm, guardate che carino.
Uh, look how pretty.
Caption 23, Professioni e mestieri - Belle Arti -Tecniche di decorazione
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The speaker could have just said, che carino!
Oddio che freddo!
Oh my God it's freezing!
Caption 59, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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We could use the same formula to talk about the heat or the humidity. Actually some of these words can be used as nouns or adjectives.
Che caldo! (How hot it is!)
Che umido (How humid it is)
Sometimes we can add a noun instead of an adjective:
Che facciamo? Il telefono... Anche il mio. -Che sfiga!
What can we do? The telephone... Mine too. -What a bummer!
Captions 37-39, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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E che cavolo!
Hey what the hell?
Caption 22, La Ladra - Ep. 6 - Nero di rabbia
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Che sole (what [bright] sun)!
Che tramonto (what a sunset)!
Che cena (what a [great] dinner)
Che umidità (what humidity)!
Che afa (how muggy it is)!
Che giornata (what a day)!
In some cases, we don't even need to use che.
Strano, perché Eva mi ha detto che è laureata.
Strange, because Eva told me she had a degree.
Caption 50, La Ladra - Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti
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This sentence could have been:
Che strano. Eva mi ha detto che è laureato.
How strange. Eva told me she had a degree.
When we are at the extremes of the adjective spectrum, in other words, when using adjectives in their comparative or superlative form we don't use che, because we are already, in effect, making something superlative, with che. If we want to use the superlative, it's better to go for the adjective all by itself.
We wouldn't say che bellissimo. We would just say bellissimo (very beautiful)!
Che bello says pretty much the same thing.
There are lots of way to talk about things, but it's nice to have an easy, minimalist way, especially if we are beginners, or just having trouble finding the words. Che is a word that is also used with the subjunctive, and therefore might instill a bit of anxiety in learners, but it can also be our friend.
In the movie Chi m'ha visto being currently offered on Yabla, a curious adjective has cropped up in a newspaper headline: musicista precario. It's used to describe Martino, the guitarist, and it happens that he was quite upset when he read it.
Musicista precario a me?
An occasional musician? Me?
Caption 35, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 12
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Chitarrista. Precario.
Guitarist. A temp.
Caption 2, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 13
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Let's delve into this adjective for a moment. The English cognate for precario is "precarious," but it has a specific meaning to Italians in the modern-day world.
Primarily, precario is used to describe someone who doesn't have tenure, doesn't have a permanent job. For instance, many public school teachers in Italy find themselves in the position of being precario, and the word is also often used as a noun: un precario. Someone in this position can also be described as un supplente, a substitute teacher, even though they have been teaching in the same school for years. At the end of the school year, un supplente is let go, and has no guarantee of being re-hired for another year. These "substitute" teachers don't get paid during the summer months, but they have to be ready to start work (or not) from one day to the next, come September — definitely a precarious work situation!
Precario may also be used to describe a temporary worker or temporary job.
Poi però... con questa crisi ho perso l'ultimo lavoro precario.
Then, however... with this crisis, I lost my last temporary job.
Caption 25, La Ladra - Ep. 1 - Le cose cambiano
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In Martino's case, the headline implies that he doesn't have a steady band he plays with on a regular basis. He has no guaranteed work and plays concerts only occasionally. In fact, he is just about unemployed.
Precario can also mean the same as "precarious" in other situations, such as walking a tightrope.
While we are on the subject of precariousness, there is another curious word that means much the same thing (but not in the context of job security): in bilico. Essere in bilico is "to teeter," "to be in a precarious equilibrium." It's also used to mean "undecided."
Ero in bilico tra l'essere vittima, essere giudice
I was teetering between being a victim and being a judge
Caption 50, Måneskin - Torna a casa
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Ma sotto questa tua corazza lo so
But underneath this armor of yours I know
C'è una ragazza che sta lì in bilico
There's a girl who is there on the verge of falling
Captions 24-25, Max Gazzè - Ti Sembra Normale
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Il talento è un dono enorme. Il talento è... è un dovere morale coltivarlo.
Talent is an enormous gift. Talent is... it's a moral duty to cultivate it.
Captions 75-76, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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Piazza del Popolo è una piazza molto importante di Roma.
Piazza del Popolo is a very important square of Rome.
Caption 1, Anna presenta - Piazza del Popolo
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...e che invece adesso è una delle parti più eleganti,
...and which now though, is one of the most elegant,
più signorili della capitale, dove ci sono le case più belle.
most exclusive parts of the capital, where there are the most beautiful houses.
Captions 4-5, Anna presenta - il ghetto ebraico e piazza mattei
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In italiano abbiamo due tipi di aggettivi:
In Italian, we have two kinds of adjectives.
noi li chiamiamo aggettivi positivi e aggettivi neutri.
We call them positive adjectives and neutral adjectives.
Captions 23-24, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi positivi e neutri
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An example of a positive adjective is caro (expensive).
An example of a neutral adjective is grande (big).
È un tipico teatro diciamo shakespeariano, con il palco rotondo al centro.
It's a typical, let's say, Shakespearean theatre, with a round stage in the center.
Caption 18, Anna presenta - Villa Borghese
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La spiaggia è molto pulita.
The beach is very clean.
Caption 19, In giro per l'Italia - Pisa e dintorni
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Ci siamo ricordati tutti i momenti belli della nostra storia.
We remembered all the beautiful moments of our romance.
Caption 17, Anna presenta - La Bohème di Puccini
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Si aggiustano le scarpe rotte, se ne creano nuove su misura.
They repair broken shoes; they custom make new ones.
Caption 5, Marika spiega - Il nome dei negozi
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Use the dictionary if you're not sure how to form the plural of a noun.
Write to us if you have questions!
Stay tuned for the next part of this lesson about adjectives, when will discuss aggettivi neutri (neutral adjectives), or those adjectives that end in "e" and do not change according to gender: they only change according to singular and plural. Thus, they have only 2 possible endings.
Let’s talk about adverbs. While adjectives describe nouns, adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Many adverbs are closely connected to adjectives, especially those that answer the question, come (how). In fact, there are a good number of adverbs that can be easily formed if we are familiar with the adjectives. And just remember, while adjectives can have different endings according to number and gender, adverbs stay the same!
Let's look at how to use adjectives to form Italian adverbs with the suffix -mente. Using -mente is similar to using "-ly" in English, in cases such as "nice — nicely," "loud —loudly," and "forceful — forcefully."
Of course, there are many exceptions, but here are some common and useful Italian adverbs that will be easy to remember since they are formed by adding -mente to the root form of the adjective.
In order to build Italian adverbs with -mente, you just have to follow this very simple formula:
Feminine form of the adjective + mente
For example, if we want to form an adverb with the adjective ultimo (last), we just need to take the feminine form of that adjective (ultima) and add the suffix -mente, like this:
ultima (last) + mente = ultimamente (lastly, lately)
chiaro (clear) + mente = chiaramente (clearly)
L'ho detto chiaramente ai suoi collaboratori, prima di prendere qualsiasi iniziativa...
I told your colleagues very clearly: before taking any initiative at all...
Caption 19, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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Let’s look at some more examples:
Vero (true) + mente = veramente (truly, really)
Le dimensioni sono veramente compatte. -Sì, sì.
The dimensions are really compact. -Yes, yes.
Caption 29, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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Onesto (honest): onesta + mente = onestamente (honestly)
Giacomo, onestamente non ci aspettavamo questa cosa.
Giacomo, honestly, we didn't expect this thing.
Caption 53, Questione di Karma - Rai Cinema
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More adverbs like these:
Lento (slow) + mente = lentamente (slowly)
Stupido (stupid) + mente = stupidamente (stupidly)
Ironico (ironic) + mente = ironicamente (ironically)
Serio (serious) + mente = seriamente (seriously)
Raro (rare) + mente = raramente (rarely)
You might have noticed that all these adjectives ended in o. This means they have both a masculine and feminine ending, and apart from lento, they also happen to be similar to their English equivalents. Some adjectives, however, end in e, and therefore have the same ending in both the masculine and feminine. When this is the case, the adverb will simply add -mente to the adjective without changing it.
Let's take the adjective semplice (simple).
Semplice (simple) + mente = semplicemente (simply)
If, on the other hand, the adjective ends in -le or -re, we drop the final vowel e before adding the suffix -mente:
Here are some very common and essential adverbs in this category.
Speciale (special) - e: special + mente = specialmente (especially)
Gentile (kind) -e: gentil + mente = gentilmente (kindly)
Normale (normal) -e: normal + mente = normalmente (normally)
Practice:
Can you turn these common and useful Italian adjectives into adverbs, keeping in mind the three ways we talked about in this lesson?
probabile (probable)
tranquillo (calm)
felice (happy)
fortunato (lucky)
sicuro (sure)
musicale (musical)
forte (strong)
rapido (fast, rapid)
veloce (fast)
cortese (courteous)
coraggioso (courageous)
scientifico (scientific)
possibile (possible)
comodo (comfortable)
maggiore (greater)
ulteriore (additional)
You'll find the solutions here.
Thanks for reading!
Don't forget to send your questions and topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
A presto!
Here are the adverbs easily formed from adjectives.
probabile (probable) probabilmente (probably)
La vittima è, molto probabilmente, un barbone.
The victim is, most probably, a homeless man.
Caption 14, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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tranquillo (calm, without worries) tranquillamente (calmly, easily)
felice (happy) felicemente (happily)
fortunato (lucky) fortunatamente (luckily, fortunately)
sicuro (sure) sicuramente (surely, of course)
musicale (musical) musicalmente (musically)
forte (strong) fortemente (strongly)
rapido (fast, rapid) rapidamente (rapidly)
veloce (fast) velocemente (rapidly)
cortese (courteous) cortesemente (politely, corteously)
coraggioso (courageous) coraggiosamente (courageously)
scientifico (scientific) scientificamente (scientifically)
possibile (possible) possibilmente (possibly)
comodo (comfortable, convenient) comodamente (comfortably, conveniently)
maggiore (greater) maggiormente (to a greater degree)
Queste erano le cose che maggiormente si ricordavano.
These were the things people remembered most.
Caption 48, L'arte della cucina - L'Epoca delle Piccole Rivoluzioni
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ulteriore (additional) ulteriormente (further)
Be', non voglio disturbarLa ulteriormente.
Well, I don't want to disturb you any further.
Caption 9, Trailer ufficiale - Benvenuti al sud
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How did you do? If you had trouble, let us know at newsletter@yabla.com
A presto!
Daniela has concluded her lessons on the comparative and the superlative. Let's take a moment and review the series because, coming from English, we might want to put the lessons together in a different way, in a different order.
As we have seen, the comparative and superlative work a bit differently than in English. In English we have two ways of the comparative and superlative of an adjective: by changing the adjective itself (as in "big," "bigger," "biggest") or by adding "more" or "less" before the adjective, as with the adjective "beautiful." But in Italian, comparatives and superlatives are formed using più (more) or meno (less) plus the adjective. Attenzione! The adjective buono is an exception to this. Learn more here.
In the first lesson, Daniela explains the comparativo di maggioranza (majority), which corresponds to “more” plus the adjective in English. If it's meno (less), we call it comparativo di minoranza (minority).
Even though we don't use these terms in English, they are fairly self-explanatory. In English, after the comparative adjective, we use the conjunction "than" before the second part of the comparison: This book is bigger than that one.
But in Italian, there are two different conjunctions we use when comparing things: di (than, of) or che (than). This is a big deal and somewhat tricky. Daniela starts explaining it in the first video and continues explaining here and here.
Daniela then explains all about comparing things that are equal: comparativo di uguaglianza. We discuss this further here. This is tricky in any language, and Italian is no exception. Daniela begins talking about it here and continues here, here and here.
Daniela dedicates three segments to the absolute superlative. There is no comparison with anything; it's absolute. We discuss this further here.
So if you are interested in getting the scoop on how to say "the best of all," then go straight to this lesson, where Daniela shows us how this — the regular old superlative — works in Italian. It's called the superlativo relativo, since this superlative is relative to a group of elements. As she explains...
"È l'amico più generoso di tutti". Sto paragonando la qualità dell'essere generoso del mio amico all'essere generoso di tutti.
"He is the most generous friend of all." I am comparing the quality of being generous of my friend, to the generosity of all.
Caption 24, Corso di italiano con Daniela: Superlativo relativo
The superlativo relativo corresponds, roughly, to the superlative in English, in respect to the comparative, as when we add "-est" to an adjective: nice, nicer, nicest.
In Italian, we still use the modifiers più (more) and meno (less) but with the addition of the definite article before it, it becomes "the most" or "the least."
Let's take the adjective bello whose English equivalent "beautiful" needs "more" or "less" to make it comparative.
Margherita è bella (Margaret is beautiful). [positivo]
Margherita è più bella di Barbara (she is more beautiful than Barbara). [comparativo di maggioranza]
Margherita è la piu bella di tutte le quattro sorelle. She is the most beautiful of all four sisters. [superlativo relativo di maggioranza]Margherita è intelligente (Margherita is intelligent). [positivo]
Margherita è meno intelligente di Barbara (Margherita is less intelligent than Barbara). [comparativo di minoranza]
Elisabetta è la meno intelligente di tutte le sorelle (Elisabetta is the least intelligent of all the sisters). [superlativo comparativo di minoranza]
We hope this helps you make sense of the comparative and superlative in Italian.
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We've talked recently about comparatives of equality, and so it makes sense to talk about yet another kind of comparative. We're not really comparing two or more items, but rather giving one item a very high vote. BANNER PLACEHOLDERIn English we use words or prefixes such as "super," "very," "extra," "maximum," "mega."
There is a super easy way to make adjectives into absolute superlatives in Italian.
Daniela explains how this works:
There are certain adjectives we use quite frequently in this form to express an absolute superlative.
One is bello (beautiful, nice):
Another is piccolo (small):
Still another is nuovo (new):
There are lots of others, and you will, little by little, start noticing them as you listen to spoken Italian, where they occur most frequently. BANNER PLACEHOLDERPractice: Here's a head start.
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In our last lesson, there was mention of the Italian comparative adjective migliore (better). This brought up an excellent question on the part of one of our readers. What's the difference between migliore and meglio? They both mean "better." When should we use meglio instead of migliore?
It's a great question, because the answer is not so simple. On a very basic level, migliore is an adjective and is the comparative of buono (good). It is also, with the addition of an article, the superlative of buono (good), as in the following example.
La moto è il mezzo migliore per superare il traffico.
The motorbike is the best means of transportation for getting past the traffic.
Caption 27, Adriano - Giornata
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Migliore stays the same in both the masculine and the feminine.
Io voglio solo una vita migliore di questa.
I just want a better life than this.
Caption 70, L'oro di Scampia - film - Part 5
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La mia migliore amica.
My best [girl]friend.
Caption 53, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 7
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But in the plural it's always migliori, for both the masculine and the feminine.
Ed è uno dei vini migliori della Basilicata, è chiamato Aglianico.
And it's one of the best wines of Basilicata, it's called Aglianico.
Caption 2, Milena - al supermercato
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No, veramente le cose migliori le abbiamo fatte insieme, no?
No, actually the best things are the ones we've done together, right?
Caption 47, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP11 - Beato tra le donne - Part 7
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Migliore and its plural form migliori can also be nouns, just like in English.
Sei il/la migliore!
You're the best!
Migliore is either an adjective or a noun — never an adverb.
Meglio, on the other hand, is basically an adverb, so it makes sense for it to be the comparative of bene (well). Meglio often means in modo migliore (in a better way).
Facciamo un esempio così capite meglio.
We'll provide an example, that way you'll understand better.
Caption 7, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Approfondimento Verbi Modali - Part 1
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But meglio has a gray area, too, and is much more flexible than migliore. Unlike migliore, which is either an adjective or a noun, meglio, in addition to being an adverb, is often also used colloquially as an adjective or in some contexts as a noun. It's also used in a huge number of expressions.
Note that the verb migliorare exists, too, to mean "to improve," to "get better."
Se posso migliorare, perché non farlo?
If I can improve, why not do so?
Caption 4, L'arte della cucina - L'Epoca delle Piccole Rivoluzioni - Part 13
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Il mio italiano è molto migliorato.
My Italian has gotten much better.
We'll focus on meglio next week, but in the meantime, why not compare things with migliorein your home or workplace?
Think about food, movies, books, the time of day/year for doing something.
Per esempio:
In questo bar, fanno il miglior caffè della città.
In this bar, they make the best coffee in the city.Il mio italiano scritto è migliore di qualche anno fa.
My written Italian is better than a few years ago.Non ero la migliore della classe quando andavo a scuola.
I wasn't the best in the class when I went to school.Qual è la stagione migliore per visitare la Sicilia?
What's the best month for visiting Sicily?
We have recently come to the end of the disturbing but fascinating documentary about Italian Fascism and the Italian language. We hope you enjoyed it and learned a thing or two about Italian history.
One important concept put forth in this final segment is that language is an equalizer, allowing us to express ourselves and understand others.
Uguale è chi sa esprimersi e intendere l'espressione altrui.
An equal is one who is able to express himself and understand how others express themselves.
Caption 9, Me Ne Frego - Il Fascismo e la lingua italiana - Part 15
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There’s a curious little word in that caption: altrui. It’s an odd word, not following the usual rules for adjectives. In earlier times, the three famous fourteenth-century Florentine "authors" of the Italian language (Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio) also used it as a pronoun to mean “others.” It was used with various prepositions: di (of), a (to), or con (with).
More commonly, altrui is used as a possessive adjective to mean “of others” or “belonging to others/someone else.” So we might say the preposition is built-in. And once you're in the know, it's also easy to use because it doesn’t change according to number or gender. To translate altrui into English, we would most likely use the possessive form with an apostrophe.
In the first episode of Commissario Manara, Toscani is looking at his new boss with a bit of envy. His wife calls him on it.
Toscani, non essere invidioso del posto altrui.
Toscani, don't be jealous of other people's positions.
Caption 39, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 8
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The meaning of altrui is also fairly easy to guess. In Italian, you can think of the noun or adjective altro-altra-altri (other/others) or think of “altruism” or “altruistic” and you’ll get it! Just remember you don’t need a preposition.
Further learning:
Check out these examples of sentences with altrui.
A user wrote in with a question about these two words. Is there a difference? Yes, there is: chiaro is an adjective, and chiaramente is an adverb. But that’s the simple answer.
Language is in constant flux, and chiaro has various meanings, just as “clear” in English does. And this adjective has come to take on the job of an adverb in certain contexts, as Marika mentions in her lesson on adverbs.
"Non fare troppi giri di parole, parla chiaro".
"Don't beat around the bush. Speak plainly."
Caption 29, Marika spiega - Gli avverbi di modo
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As a matter of fact, dictionaries list chiaro as both an adjective and adverb, but as an adverb, it's used only in certain circumstances, with certain verbs.
What’s the difference between parlare chiaro and parlare chiaramente?
Well, sometimes there isn’t much difference.
Del resto la relazione del mio collega di Milano parla chiaro.
Moreover, the report from my colleague in Milano is clear.
Caption 30, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto
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In the example above, the speaker could have used the adverbial form to mean the same thing.
Del resto la relazione del mio collega di Milano parla chiaramente.
Parlare chiaro has become an idiomatic expression — un modo di dire. It gets the message across very clearly. It implies not using flowery language, wasting words, or trying to be too polite. But parlare chiaramente can have more to do with enunciation, articulation, ormaking oneself understood. So, sometimes parlare chiaro and parlare chiaramente can coincide, but not necessarily.
Apart from this modo di dire, the adjective and adverb forms are used a bit differently in grammatical terms.
Since chiaro is an adjective, it normally describes or modifies a noun. To be correct, then, we often use è (it is).
È chiaro che non lo deve sapere nessuno perché il marito è gelosissimo.
It's clear that no one should know, because her husband is very jealous.
Caption 33, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde
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Chiaro may be used by itself with a question mark to ask, “Is that clear?”
E non sono tenuto a spiegarti niente, chiaro?
And I'm not obliged to explain anything to you, is that clear?
Caption 20, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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The adverb chiaramente, on the other hand, can stand alone before or after another clause or can be inserted just about anywhere in a sentence.
Natoli ha chiaramente bisogno di glutine, eh.
Natoli clearly needs gluten, huh.
Caption 33, La Tempesta - film - Part 5
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Using chiaro, Paolo could have said:
È chiaro che Natoli ha bisogno di glutine.
It’s clear that Natoli needs gluten.
But chiaro has a special in-between meaning when it’s used in place of an adverb with verbs such as parlare (to speak) and vedere (to see).
Finché non ci ho visto chiaro la tengo io.
Until I've seen things clearly I'm keeping it.
Caption 44, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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Although we have translated it with an adverb, we could also say:
Until I get a clear picture of things, I’m keeping it.
Practice:
Look for sentences with either chiaro or chiaramente and try switching them, making the necessary changes. Doing a search on the video tab will give you plenty of examples.
This week, Marika talks about adverbs. But she also talks about adjectives used as adverbs in idiomatic expressions. If we think about it, this happens in English, too, as we shall see.
One adjective she uses is sodo. It is very similar to solido, and indeed, they are pretty equivalent and have the same Latin origin: “solidus.”
Solido is a true cognate, and means “solid.”
Il composto è stato a riposare in frigo. Adesso è più solido
The dough has been resting in the fridge. Now it's stiffer
e così possiamo preparare le palline.
and that way we can prepare the little balls.
Captions 33-34, Dolcetti vegan - al cocco e cioccolato
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Sodo is just a bit different, and used primarily in different contexts. One of the most common uses for sodo is when talking about how long an egg is cooked. If it’s hard-boiled, it’s sodo. We can well visualize the shell coming off the egg, and its being solid enough to hold in your hand: sodo.
While we’re on the subject of eggs, here are some different ways of cooking eggs in Italian: Let’s remember that the noun uovo has an irregular plural. Un uovo (an egg), due uova (two eggs), delle uova (some eggs).
uova strapazzate (literally, “over-worked eggs,” scrambled eggs)
uovo affogato (literally, “drowned egg”) or in camicia (literally, “in its jacket,” poached egg)
uovo alla coque (literally, “egg in its shell," soft-boiled egg, often eaten in its shell in an egg cup)
uovo sodo (hard-boiled egg)
uovo al tegame, uovo al tegamino (fried egg)
all'occhio di bue (literally, “like an ox’s eye,” sunny-side up)
There is an Italian film by Paolo Virzì called Ovosodo. Ovo is Tuscan for uovo. Here is an English language description of the movie.
We also use sodo when referring to working hard. This is similar to English, where we have the adjective “hard” functioning like an adverb, modifying, or describing the verb lavorare (to work).
"Bisogna lavorare sodo per ottenere dei buoni risultati".
"You have to work hard to obtain good results."
Caption 31, Marika spiega - Gli avverbi di modo
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Sodo can also be used a bit like nocciolo (the kernel, the point, the heart of the matter). In this case, the adjective sodo is used as a noun, to mean something like “the serious stuff.” See this lesson about nocciolo.
Arriviamo al sodo (let’s get down to brass tacks, let’s get to the point).
Va subito al sodo. Non gira intorno (he gets right to the point. He doesn’t beat around the bush).
In a previous lesson, and in Daniela's video lesson, we talked about aggettivi positivi, meaning those adjectives that end in o and change their endings according to gender and number. An example of this kind of adjective is grosso (big).
Mio padre è un uomo grosso (my father is a big man).
La casa di mia zia è grossa (my aunt's house is big).
Questi due alberi sono grossi (these two trees are big).
Quelle melanzane sono grosse (those eggplants are big).
If you've gotten the hang of positive adjectives, you might instinctively put an e ending on the adjective when you're talking about a feminine noun in the plural.
Quelle donne sono belle (those women are beautiful).
The other kind of adjective, called an aggettivo neutro, ends in e. In the singular, it stays the same, ending in e regardless of whether the noun it modifies is masculine or feminine.
E... mi ha reso una donna forte, una donna indipendente, autonoma.
And... she made me a strong woman, an independent woman, free.
Caption 69, Essere... madre
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If we put this sentence in the masculine the adjective stays the same:
Mi ha reso un uomo forte...
She made me a strong man...
But what about the plural? The adjective forte (strong) already ends in e, so what do we do? The answer is that in the plural, regardless of whether it's masculine or feminine, the e changes to an i.
This is easy in a way—only two different endings to think about instead of four—but it's not always so easy to remember, and may come less naturally. In the following example, maniera (way, manner) is a feminine noun. The plural article le helps us discover that. We form the plural of the noun by changing the a to e, and since the singular adjective ends in e, we change it to i in the plural. So far so good.
Però, oh, con voi ci vogliono le maniere forti,
But, oh, with you strong measures are needed,
sennò non capite.
otherwise you don't get it.
Caption 15, Ma che ci faccio qui! - Un film di Francesco Amato
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Attenzione però (and here's where the adjectives misbehave), because a feminine noun may also end in e. In this case, the plural of the noun ends in i, and a neutral adjective will also end in i. If you don't happen to know the gender of corrente (current) in the following example, the plural noun and plural adjective may lead you to believe that it's masculine.
L'incontro tra i due mari produce infatti forti correnti.
The meeting of the two seas produces, in fact, strong currents.
Caption 31, Linea Blu - Sicilia - Part 2
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Fortunately, in the next example, the speaker uses the article!
In questo tratto di mare
In this stretch of sea,
numerosi infatti erano gli affondamenti nel passato,
there were numerous shipwrecks in the past,
a causa delle forti correnti che si scontrano con violenza.
because of the strong currents that collide violently.
Captions 35-36, Linea Blu - Sicilia - Part 5
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Here, we've learned from the feminine plural ending of delle (of the), that corrente is a feminine noun, but who knew?
One more reason to learn the article along with the noun!
See these Yabla videos for more about nouns: their genders and their plurals.
Corso di italiano con Daniela: Articoli maschili plurale
Corso di italiano con Daniela: Articolo femminile plurale
Corso di italiano con Daniela: Articoli ed eccezioniMarika spiega: Genere maschile
Marika spiega: Genere femminile
Marika spiega: Il plurale
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