In one of this week's videos, we find two words in contexts that could use a bit of explaining.
We're watching the first segment of a new episode of L'Eredità (the inheritance). To start off the show, there's the usual banter between the host and the contestants with some introductions. It just so happens that one of the contestants has a last name prone to getting joked about.
Buonasera. -Massimiliano Scarafoni.
Good afternoon. -Massimiliano Scarafoni.
Caption 51, L'Eredità - Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1
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The name looks innocent enough, but scarafone (also scarrafone, scaraffone, scardafone,scordofone) is another word for scarafaggio (cockroach). There's an expression in Italian, and you will see this on the WordReference page for scarafaggio: ogni scarafaggio sembra belloa sua madre (every cockroach is beautiful to its mother). There are other ways to interpret this, from "a face only a mother could love" to "even a homely child is beautiful to his mother."
Pino Daniele, a famous Neapolitan singer-songwriter made this phrase famous in one of his songs. He used the Neapolitan variant, scarrafone, which is also the title: 'O Scarrafone, so when someone has a last name like that, it's almost impossible not to think of Pino Daniele's song if you've ever heard it. You can listen to the song here. There is no actual video, just the album cover, but the text in Italian is there, too.
Another word that is good to be able to recognize in a special context is culo. It is an informal word for buttocks, but Italians (informally only, prego!) use it to mean "luck."
Tirato a indovinare! Il solito culo!
Took a guess! The usual butt [luck]!
Caption 6, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 2
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But on TV, for example, such words might not be not acceptable, so the contestant's brother says il fattore C and everyone knows what he is talking about. The host then explains jokingly that "C" stands for culturale (cultural) not culo.
Be', e speriamo che il fattore ci [culo = fortuna] l'aiuta [aiuti] tanto.
Well, let's hope that the “C Factor” [butt = luck] helps her out greatly.
Captions 37-38, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3 - Part 1
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A common comment about someone with good fortune is:
Che culo!
What luck!
It can also be used sarcastically to mean "bad luck."
This lesson is based on the premise that you basically know how to form the plural of nouns. To help you get caught up, very generally, if a noun ends in "o," it's usually masculine and the plural usually will end in "i." If it ends in "e," the plural will also likely end in "i", and if a singular noun ends in "a," (usually feminine), the plural will most likely end in "e." To learn more, check out Daniela's lessons about plurals here and here.
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. In two different videos this week, we find unconventional plurals, one of which is well worth knowing, and one that you likely won't run into every day.
In one video, Arianna goes to Lucca. She learns that Lucca still has its ancient walls: le mura. The singular is il muro (the wall).
Le mura hanno tutto un percorso sopra che puoi fare,
The walls have a path on top that you can go on,
Caption 63, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca - Part 1
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To help you remember the name for "wall," in Italian, think of a mural, which is a piece of art, like a painting or enlarged photograph, right on a wall. Or think of "intramural" — within the walls of a school or institution.
Anna and Marika are busy in the kitchen dealing with fish, and more specifically, anchovies. They are pretty small fish, so taking out the guts is a tedious job they gladly leave to the fish vendor.
You might be familiar with the adjective interiore (inside, internal, interior) but there is a noun, le interiora, which means "the guts," "the entrails," or "the internal organs," and is always in the plural: interiora.
Le alici dovranno essere, ehm... senza testa e eviscerate. Quindi bisogna togliere le interiora.
The anchovies should be, ehm... without their heads and gutted. Therefore, one needs to remove the entrails.
Captions 13-15, L'Italia a tavola - Involtini di alici - Part 1
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And let's not forget some other unconventional plurals that work pretty much the same way:
un uovo, due uova (one egg, two eggs)
Prendiamo una forchetta e iniziamo a sbattere le uova...
We take a fork and begin beating the eggs...
Caption 13, Adriano - Pasta alla carbonara - Part 2
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un braccio, due braccia (one arm, two arms)
Ma com'è? E com'è? C'ha due gambe, due braccia, due occhi, come deve essere?
But what's she like? And what's she like? She has two legs, two arms, two eyes. What should she be like?
Captions 13-14, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 4
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un miglio, due miglia (one mile, two miles)
La Mille Miglia è la corsa più bella del mondo!
The "Mille Miglia" [one thousand miles] is the greatest race in the world!
Caption 33, La Mille Miglia - del passato per vivere quella di oggi - Part 3
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un migliaio di, poche migliaia di (about a thousand, a few thousand)
Il debito era di poche migliaia di euro.
The debt was of a few thousand euros.
Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero - Part 14
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un paio, due paia (a pair, two pairs)
Ma quattro paia di scarpe vanno bene lo stesso.
But four pairs of shoes are fine, too.
Caption 52, Psicovip - I Visitatori - Ep 14
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This list is not complete, but we'll look at other such nouns in a future lesson.
Lots of adjectives in Italian correspond to adjectives in English and vice versa, but sometimes an adjective form doesn't really exist in one language or the other, and a different form is used. One such form uses a (which is usually a preposition meaning "to" or "at") plus a noun. In this case, we might say this a stands for "in the manner of" or "with." It can be part of the answer to questions such as "What's it like?" "What kind is it?"
One example of this came up in this week's episode of La Ladra. It occurred in a rather banal exchange between Gina and her husband. He couldn't find his striped socks.
In English, we can say something is striped or it has stripes. In Italian, it's a bit different. We often use a.
Come dove stanno i calzini a righe?
What do you mean where are the striped socks?
Caption 3, La Ladra - Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda
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Potrebbe anche essere una tovaglia a quadretti bianchi e rossi,
It could also be a red and white checked tablecloth,
oppure bianchi e gialli o a grosse righe.
or else, white and yellow or with wide stripes.
Captions 6-7, Come preparare con creatività - una tavola per la campagna
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In Italy, quaderni a quadretti (notebooks with grids or graph paper) are very popular. But in the U.S., unless you are using a grid for a specific purpose, like math or a making a chart, most notebooks are a righe (lined). There doesn't even seem to be a standard translation for a quadretti regarding paper. However, we asked readers to write in what they would call un quaderno a quadretti in English.
Update: Most of the people who have written in say that in English, they would call a quaderno a quadretti a "graph paper notebook." One person provided this interesting link.
Additional notes: Along with notebooks, we have notepads. The official word for this in Italian is taccuino but the more commonly-used term is a corruption of English: bloc-notes or even the pseudo-English block-notes. Make sure you pronounce the final e and s all'italiano! Let's remember that in Italian the adjective usually comes after the noun, and so notes is the kind of blocco (notebook or notepad for taking notes). A blocco is a group of similar items, so we use blocco or, when it's small, blocchetto for paper, for checks: blocchetto di assegni (checkbook).
In this lesson, we have talked about adjective equivalents. But there are adverb equivalents that use a, too, and we'll look at them in a future lesson.
This brings us to another word used in this week's segment of L'Eredità, the quiz show: giallo (yellow).
Ritenne che la maggior parte dei pendolari aveva una grande passione per i racconti gialli.
She found that the majority of commuters had a great passion for yellow [detective] stories.
Captions 36-37, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2
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Here, although the color yellow does play an important role, un giallo is something specific: a crime, mystery or detective story. Note: The moderator of the quiz show uses giallo as an adjective: i racconti gialli (the detective stories) and it is common to say un romanzo giallo (a detective novel), to specify the format, but giallo as a noun encompasses any format and is widely used and understood by Italians.
But what's this "yellow" business?
Here's the story. (click here for the extended Italian version).
In 1929, Mondadori, a major Italian publishing house, came out with a series of detective novels. They were tascabili (in paperback, literally "pocket-sized") and had a distinguishing yellow cover. They were called I libri gialli della Mondadori (Mondadori's Yellow Books). In 1946, the name of these books changed to I gialli Mondadori. The name giallo caught on, and has been used ever since to indicate a detective, crime, or police mystery, and can be applied to books, comic books (as in Diabolik mentioned on the quiz show), movies, or even news events. Giallo with this meaning has become a word everyone should know, especially if you like to read. And it can't be guessed at if you don't know the story. But now you know the story, too.
You may have heard of an American television series from the eighties and nineties called Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury. This series, dubbed into Italian, became extremely popular (and stilll is) as La Signora in Giallo (The Lady in Yellow). This play on words should make sense to you now!
Read this article (in Italian) for more information about the Italian version of the show, and, why not? Find it for streaming in Italian, just for fun.
Italian has a wonderful word for "commuter." It comes from the back and forth movement of a pendulum, and is, you guessed it: pendolare.
Pendolare è quella persona che prende il treno. -Prende il treno tutti i giorni.
A commuter is a person who takes the train. -He takes the train every day.
Caption 23, Serena - presenta Martina
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Ritenne che la maggior parte dei pendolari aveva una grande passione per i racconti gialli.
She found that the majority of commuters had a great passion for detective stories.
Captions 36-37, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 2
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Pendolare is originally a verb having to do with the movement of a pendulum, or pendolo, but it is now commonly used to mean "commuter." Italy is a long, narrow penisola (peninsula) with mountains in the middle. Many people live in one place but work in another. Rather than actually moving, they become pendolari (commuters). Being a pendolare is tough, and often complicated, so if you listen to the news, you'll hear the word pendolare often. A pendolare may travel by car (in macchina), by bike (in bici) by bus (in pullman), by train (in treno), or by plane (in aereo). Note the preposition in ! But generally, when we think of pendolari, we imagine them on trains. Nowadays, people have phones (cellulari), laptops (portatili), or tablets (tablet) to occupy them while traveling by train, but it wasn't always so. People used to read libri (books), riviste (magazines), or giornali (newspapers). A certain kind of book was particularly popular. Il giallo. See the lesson about it!
This week, Anna and Marika finish explaining how to make pesto, the delicious Ligurian pasta specialty.
In part 1, they talked about why pesto is called pesto.
Pesto vuol dire che è stato pestato.
"Pesto" means that it has been crushed.
Caption 68, L'Italia a tavola - Il pesto genovese
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The cooks also use two other verbs that have to do with breaking something down into smaller pieces. Let's look at each of these three words to see when we use them, and what the differences are among them.
Let's start with the word that gives its name to the dish. Pestare is the verb: to crush, to mash, to pound. We carry out this action when tenderizing meat, or when stepping on someone's toes.
Oh, scusami, t'ho pestato il piede.
Oh, sorry, I stepped on your foot.
Pestare is the action someone or something carries out in order to crush something. Except for when it's someone's toes, we might think of a repeated action, such as in making pesto the old-fashioned way. Just keep pounding to break the material down little by little.
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A relative of pestare is calpestare (to tromp on, to trample, to step on), specific to using one's feet. You might see a sign that says:
Non calpestare l'erba
Do not walk on the grass.
In some cities, you really have to look where you put your feet
E... camminando camminando, ciak! Che cosa ti vado a calpestare? Un escremento canino! Bleah! -Una cacca bella fresca fumante!
And... walking along, splat! What do I go and step on? Canine excrement! Yuck! -Nice fresh steaming poop!
Captions 31-34, Francesca e Marika - Gestualità
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Here we might think of the action more than the recipient of the action.
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Schiacciare also means to crush, to smash, or to mash, and here we can visualize the thing we are crushing being crushed.
The classic example is lo sciaccianoce. The nutcracker. One rather violent move, and the thing is cracked or crushed.
You crush a clove of garlic. Lo schiacci. It's less rewarding when it's your finger being crushed.
Mi sono schiacciato il dito nella porta. Aia!
I smashed my finger in the door. Ouch!
Think of something being flattened by a heavy weight.
We can also use schiacciare when pressing a button on a machine.
Schiaccia il bottone rosso per fermarlo (press down on the red button to stop it).
Schiacciare is used figuratively, too.
Allora, signora, suo marito ha una personalità dominante che schiaccia la sua da anni.
So, ma'am, your husband has a dominating personality which has been crushing yours for years.
Captions 4-5, Stai lontana da me - Rai Cinema
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Lastly, we have frantumare. Here, we can visualize a mirror breaking and shattering into pieces or frantumi (fragments, smithereens).
In making olive oil, grindstones crush the olives with their pits.
L'oliva viene frantumata intera.
The olive gets crushed whole.
Caption 23, L'olio extravergine di oliva - Il frantoio
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Anna and Marika use all three of these verbs in their videos about pesto, so check them out! As you replicate the recipe, try using them yourself!
Ora sto pestando questi pinoli (now I am pounding these pine nuts).
Devo fare attenzione a non pestare anche le dita (I have to be careful not to pound my fingers, as well).
Forse sono sufficientemente frantumati (maybe they're fragmented enough).
Se faccio cadere il piatto per terra, si frantumerà! È di porcellana (if I drop this plate on the floor, it will break into pieces. It's porcelain).
L'aglio lo posso schiacciare con un batticarne (I can smash the garlic with a meat mallet).
Devo stare attento a non schiacciarmi le dita (I have to be careful not to crush my fingers).
In a recent segment of La Ladra, Eva and Dante are in the kitchen of the restaurant. Dante is trying to win Eva's affections by cooking irresistible dishes. He makes a reference to the famous star-crossed lovers, Paolo and Francesca, mentioned in the Fifth Canto of Dante's Inferno. In it, Francesca recounts that she and Paolo had been reading in the Arthurian legends about Lancelot and Guinevere and how they had fallen in love as if under a spell, helped along by Galehaut, or Gallehaud, and called Galeotto in Italian. The spell seemed to affect Paolo and Francesca, too, and they fell in love immediately, as if struck by the book itself.
Learn more about these stories here (in English). Following are the original lines from Dante.
Galeotto fu 'l libro e chi lo scrisse:
quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante».
The book and whoever wrote it was the matchmaker [what did it]:
That day, we read no further in it.
So, Galeotto is considered to be a sort of matchmaker, an intermediary in love matters, a cupid-type figure, we might say, but not necessarily a person or god.
To add to the mix, galeotto, with a lower case "g" is often used as an adjective, whose ending changes according to the gender of the noun it's modifying.
Here's a definition of galeotto from an Italian dictionary (De Mauro):
1 (aggettivo), che favorisce, incoraggia l’amore fra due persone: motivo galeotto, canzonegaleotta
(adjective), favoring, encouraging love between two people).
2 (aggettivo, sostantivo maschile), intermediario d’amore (adjective, masculine noun), matchmaker, intermediary in love matters)
So when something is described with the adjective galeotto, it has the quality of being an amorous catalyst or agent, causing two people to fall in love.
Galeotto can describe a song, a kiss, a dance, some poetry, an action, and in the case of our chef, Dante, food, or at least, that's the way he sees it.
Hai presente il quinto canto dell'Inferno dove Paolo e Francesca vengono fatalmente attratti dalla galeotta lettura di un libro?
You know the fifth canto in the “Inferno,” where Paolo and Francesca are fatally attracted through the romance-inducing reading of a book?
Ecco, qui non c'è un libro galeotto, ma... un'alchimia di sapori, un amore e una passione per la cucina.
Well, here there is no love-potion of a book, but... an alchemy of tastes, a love and passion for cooking.
Captions 20-24, La Ladra Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda
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There have been plenty of discussions about the adjective galeotto on language forums and it's almost impossible to find an English adjective that fits the bill. So we thought it was worth discussing what this word is all about.
Have you ever fallen in love and blamed it on the le stelle (the stars), la luna (the moon), una canzone (a song), una situazione (a situation), una parola (a word), un film (a movie)? That's what galeotto is about.
È stata la luna galeotta.
It was the romantic moon [that made us fall in love].
Attenzione, the noun galeotto also means "galley slave" and has come to mean "jailbird" or "inmate."
In this lesson, we’ll talk about a curious use of the noun imbarazzo (embarrassment). But first let’s look at another word associated with embarrassment: the noun la vergogna and the verb vergognarsi (to be ashamed, to be embarrassed). Here, you need context to help decide if someone is ashamed or embarrassed because they're closely tied.
Valeria, eri disperata, non è colpa tua.
Valeria, you were desperate. It's not your fault.
Però mi vergogno molto.
But I'm very ashamed.
Captions 6-7, La Ladra - Ep. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 8
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In the following example, the meaning is more of embarrassment. Note that the speaker is using the subjunctive.
Suo padre alleva pecore. È normale che se ne vergogni un po', no?
Her father raises sheep. It's normal for her to be a bit embarrassed about it, right?
Captions 69-70, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 2
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Italian often uses the noun form imbarazzo (embarrassment) with the preposition in (in) when expressing embarrassment, as in the following example.
Te ne sei andata come se avessi visto il diavolo.
You took off as if you'd seen the devil.
Scusami, non so che cosa mi è preso, forse mi sono sentita in imbarazzo.
Sorry, I don't know what came over me, maybe I felt embarrassed.
Captions 27-28, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde - Part 12
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In this week’s segment of La Ladra, Dante and Eva’s son are looking at bicycles, to replace Eva’s old bike, which Dante inadvertently wrecked. The bike store proprietor says:
Ecco, non c'è che l'imbarazzo della scelta.
Here we are. Just an embarrassment of riches to choose from.
Caption 37, La Ladra - Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 1
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The above translation uses an English idiom, which comes from an 18th-century French play. “Embarras” in French means “embarrassment” or “confusion.” We could also say that the choice is overwhelming or almost embarrassing, because every item is worthy of being chosen.
L’imbarazzo della scelta is a great expression to be familiar with because it’s used quite often when someone is a presented with a vast choice of great things to choose from, for example: What Italian city would you like to visit? C'è solo l'imbarazzo della scelta. The problem is choosing one!
A very popular idiomatic, one-word expression comes up several times in a recent Yabla video. The proprietor of a beach club in Marsala uses insomma as filler, to mean "in other words," "basically," "I mean," "you know," "in short," "all in all." Sometimes, as in the example, there is no ideal translation. Insomma is one of those words you have to hear many times in different contexts with different inflections, and soon enough, you'll be using it, too.
E questo è quello che possiamo offrire qua, insomma, a Marsala, a Via Torre Lupa.
And this is what we can offer here, in other words, in Marsala on Via Torre Lupa.
Caption 19, Sicilia - Marsala - Casa vacanze Torre Lupa
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We have already talked about insomma and its different meanings in two other lessons, so check them out. Making insomma part of sentences will come with time because it has so many connotations, but let's briefly talk about one more way to use insomma by itself as an exclamation. It's often preceded by ma (but) to express indignation, impatience, or exasperation. Your tone of voice tells it all.
Ma insomma, vuoi smettere di rompere?
Hey, would you stop bugging me?
Like many one-word expressions, insomma is made up of two words: the preposition in (in) and the noun somma (sum, total, summary). Its meaning has evolved over time.
Practice:
When things don't go as well as expected and someone asks you: come'è andato (how did it go)?, you can say insomma to say "so-so, not great".
Do a Yabla search of insomma to see plenty of examples of this versatile filler word.
Get exasperated at your cat or dog and use insomma! or ma insomma!
When we look at a video about a place, the speaker often uses the verb trovare in its reflexive form trovarsi. Using trovarsi in this fashion might be hard to wrap our minds around, so let’s back up to the normal verb for a moment. Trovare means “to find” and is transitive, meaning it can take a direct object.
Per suo marito ha trovato una cintura marrone.
For her husband she found a brown belt.
Caption 39, Corso di italiano con Daniela - I colori - Part 3
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We can use the verb with ourself as an object much as we do in English:
Io non sono affatto sicuro di me, e non mi sono mai trovato in una situazione come questa, va bene?
I'm not sure of myself at all, and I've never found myself in a situation like this, all right?
Captions 9-10, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP11 - Beato tra le donne - Part 4
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If Luca Manara spoke English, he’d probably say “I’ve never been in a situation like this before, OK?” He would have simply used the verb “to be.” But Italians often use trovarsi, so it’s a good verb to understand. Of course, if you do use the verb essere, people will understand you anyway menomale (luckily)!
But then it gets a bit more peculiar. Here is Arianna telling us where she is: where she finds herself. She wasn’t lost; she’s just giving us her location.
Eccomi. Qui mi trovo vicino alla stazione Santa Maria Novella, in Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
Here I am. Here I am near the Santa Maria Novella Train Station in Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
Captions 25-26, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze - Part 3
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Instead of just saying: sono vicino alla stazione (I am near the station), she is referring to her geographical or physical position in that moment with trovarsi. It’s a little more specific than simply using the verb essere (to be).
In the previous example, trovarsi refers to a person, but trovarsi can also refer to an object, a place. English gets specific in a similar way by using “to be located,” “to be situated.”
When Marika plays the professoressa (teacher), she uses trovarsi to interrogate poor Anna. She just wants to know where Sardinia is.
Dove si trova questa regione?
Where is this region situated?
Caption 21, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sulla Sardegna
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Il porto di Maratea è un porto turistico. Si trova vicino alle isole Eolie, alla Sicilia, a Capri, all'i... a Sorrento.
The port of Maratea is a tourist seaport. It's situated near the Aeolian Islands, Sicily, Capri, the... Sorrento.
Captions 23-24, Antonio - Maratea, il porto
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It’s also very common to use trovarsi to describe feelings or conditions. This is a bit tricky.
Abito in campagna, e senza macchina, mi trovo in difficoltà.
I live in the country, and without a car, it's hard. I have trouble.
Non mi trovo bene con questo telefonino.
I don’t like this phone. I don’t feel comfortable with this phone.
Ma per ora mi trovo bene qua, vediamo.
Well, for now, I'm happy here, we'll see.
Caption 97, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo - Part 2
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Ah, a proposito, come ti trovi da Ada?
Ah, by the way, how do you like it over at Ada's?
Caption 90, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo - Part 4
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Trovarsi can also be used reciprocally.
Ci troviamo da Letizia alle otto.
Let’s meet up [with each other] at Letizia’s place at eight.
For more on reflexive and reciprocal verbs, see Marika's lesson about reflexive and reciprocal verbs, and the written lesson Understanding the Reciprocal Reflexive Form.
The more you watch and listen to Italian, either on Yabla or in real life, the more you will notice trovarsi in all of its shadings. It’s a very popular verb!
Come ti trovi con Yabla (how are you managing with Yabla)? Facelo sapere (let us know) at newsletter@yabla.com.
If you want to talk about hindsight in Italian, you can't really use your intuition.
English uses the verb "to see," "to look back." Italian uses the noun senno (wisdom, good judgment, common sense) a not-so-common word outside of expressions such as the present one. It also uses poi, which as an adverb means "then" or "after" and as a noun means "the future," or "the hereafter." So we're talking about wisdom after the fact.
Consider this dialog between Dante and Eva from a recent episode of La Ladra.
Ma ragiona. Che cosa potevo fare, eh?
But just think. What could I have done, huh?
Sceglierti meglio la fidanzata.
Choose a better girlfriend.
È facile parlare col senno del poi, ma io non avevo...
It's easy to speak [judge] with hindsight, but I hadn't...
Captions 22-25, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 10
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There's a proverb:
Del senno di poi son piene le fosse
Graves are full of hindsight.
Hindsight has 20/20 vision.
Note that the Italian expression uses the preposition con (with) plus the article il (the): col = con il. Col senno di/del poi (with the wisdom of what happens afterward). In English, we usually say "in retrospect," and "in hindsight," or "with [the benefit of] hindsight."
Col senno del poi is an expression we hear often in Italian, but it's just quirky enough that it's hard to guess its intuitively. Senno is a noun we rarely hear. That's why this lesson happened. Now you know!
Italian uses two similar words to talk about the soul or the spirit: animo (soul) and anima (soul, spirit). They basically mean the same thing, but if you look at the dictionary entries, each word has further translations that are more specific.
They may be interchangeable in certain cases, but there are expressions that always use one or the other, such as stato d'animo. (We'll look at expressions with anima in another lesson.)
...e attraversando i pensieri, gli stati d'animo.
...and going over one's thoughts, one's states of mind.
Captions 20-21, Federica Reale - Io e la mia Pupezza
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Stato d'animo does mean "state of mind" but it also means "mood" — where you're at psychologically or emotionally — or "frame of mind." We're talking about the non-physical aspects of how one is feeling.Non ho lo stato d'animo per iniziare un progetto nuovo.
Non sono nello stato d'animo per iniziare un progetto nuovo.
I'm not in the right frame of mind to start a new project.
I'm not in the mood to start on a new project.
Being in the mood is important to be able to communicate, so stato d'animo is a good phrasal noun to have in your vocabulary.
Anima and animo are so similar that we might not notice the difference. That's why this lesson happened. Now you know!
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Regolare, which sounds very much like "regular" is both a verb (to regulate, to adjust) and an adjective (normal, standard, regular, legitimate).
In questo corridoio io ho anche il condizionatore dell'aria calda e fredda, che mi aiuta un po' a regolare la temperatura.
In this corridor, I also have a hot and cold air conditioner, which helps me to regulate the temperature a bit.
Captions 28-29, Marika spiega - Il corridoio
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As an adjective, regolare comes up a lot when talking about verbs and conjugations.
Come vedete, il verbo è regolare nella formazione della desinenza,
As you can see, the verb is regular in the formation of its ending,
Caption 14, Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 2
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Note that we also have the noun la regola (the rule), and often the adjective regolare refers to following the rules or the law, such as in the following example. Note also that the opposite of regolare is irregolare, just as "irregular" is the opposite of "regular."
Ma per eliminare l'immigrazione irregolare e clandestina bisogna favorire quella regolare.
but to eliminate illegal and clandestine immigration, we need to favor the legitimate kind,
Caption 23, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie - Part 14
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As a verb, it can also be used reflexively: regolarsi, and that's how it's used in this week's episode of Commissario Manara. Manara is asking his team to adapt to the theme of the party: the eighties. He might also have meant, "Figure it out," or "Control yourselves."
Il tema della festa è anni ottanta, quindi regolatevi.
The theme of the party is the eighties, so act accordingly.
Caption 40, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma - Part 11
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This reflexive form is used a lot when discussing how to behave, how to react to a particular situation.
Mi regolo (I adjust my schedule, my opinion, or my actions [according to something]).
When used in the negative, it usually means I can't or won't control myself. I'm not careful, not disciplined.
Quando mangio al ristorante, non mi regolo (when I go out to eat, I don't watch what I eat).
This isn't all there is to the common verb/adjective regolare. We will try to address additional subtleties as they come up in future videos. Meanwhile, if you have questions about how to translate "regular" or any other English words you're having trouble finding the Italian equivalent of, please let us know, and ci regoleremo (we'll figure out how to help you).
Sometimes learning just one verb can open up a world of related words we can figure out without having to look for the exact word in English. The verb correre (to run, to rush, to flow, to race, to cycle on a racing bike) is one such word. It comes from the Latin "currere." Looking at the conjugation chart, on the left-hand side, you will see other words that contain the root verb correre. They conjugate the same way.
If we visualize movement in a direction, we can see the connection with so many words. Here are a few.
Related nouns:
il corriere (the courier, the shipping company)
la corriera (the bus).
Related adjectives (from the present participle):
corrente as in acqua corrente (running/flowing water)
corrente as in mese corrente (current month)
corrente as in essere al corrente (to be well-informed, to know about)
A noun related to corrente the adjective:
la corrente (the electricity, the electrical current)
A noun from corso, the past participle of correre:
corso (course)
With the noun corso, we have a true cognate: a course of study, a golf course. But if you connect the noun corso with its root verb correre, and again think of movement in a direction, either concretely or figuratively, then some words and expressions suddenly become easier to grasp and assimilate.
Lavori in corso (work in progress)
Nel corso del discorso (during the speech)
Getting back to the verb correre itself, check out this lesson to find out when you use essereor avere as an auxiliary verb with it.
Correre is an intransitive verb. This means it can't have a direct object.
Ah! Mi è venuta in mente quella volta che correvamo in bici e siamo caduti insieme!
Ah, I just remembered [it came to my mind] that time we were cycling and we fell down together!
Captions 44-45, Marika spiega - Il verbo venire - Part 2
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Ho corso due ore. Sono stanca morta.
I ran for two hours. I'm exhausted.
But when we need a transitive verb, that is, a verb with a direct object, then we turn to percorrere (to follow, to go down, to travel along).
Sembra un paese addormentato nella pianura, è difficile incontrarlo. Devi percorrere strade e acque silenziose e solitarie.
It seems like a sleeping village on the plains, it's difficult to come upon it. You have to follow silent and solitary roads and water ways.
Captions 29-30, L'arte della cucina - Terre d'Acqua - Part 3
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This verb has a noun form, too: il percorso (the path, the route, the itinerary, the journey).
Ma tutto il mio percorso creativo parte fondamentalmente da una scultura.
But my entire creative journey essentially started out from one sculpture.
Captions 8-9, Claudio Capotondi - Scultore - Part 2
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We'll look more closely percorrere and percorso next month, as well as other related words. Hopefully, you will be able to build your vocabulary using your intuition as well as your flashcards.
In the expression un po’, po’ is short for poco (small quantity). Poco is a very common word that can be an adjective, adverb, noun, or pronoun, and, depending on the context, can correspond to different degrees of quantity.
This week on Yabla, we take a first look at the city of Florence. Arianna has a map to help her figure out how to get around. As she thinks out loud, she uses a common phrase:
Vediamo un po' come possiamo raggiungere il centro della città.
Let's have a look at how we can reach the center of the city.
Caption 7, In giro per l'Italia - Firenze - Part 1
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Another way to translate vediamo un po’ is simply “let’s see.” It is extremely common for Italians to add un po’ to a verb, just to round off the expression:
Sentite un po' il congiuntivo imperfetto e trapassato:
Have a listen to the simple past and past perfect subjunctive:
Caption 27, Anna e Marika - Il verbo essere - Part 4
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Allora ci dice un po' quali sono frutta e verdura tipiche romane?
So could you tell us a little which fruits and vegetables are typically Roman?
Caption 37, Anna e Marika - Fruttivendolo
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In the example above, the addition of un po’ doesn’t really add any meaning to the phrase, but it rounds it out. We might also translate it as:
So could you just tell us what fruits and vegetables are typically Roman?
Sometimes un po’ can mean “pretty much” or “just about.” It loses its actual diminutive significance.
Al nord abbiamo precipitazioni e burrasche, un po' dappertutto.
In the north we have rain and storms, just about everywhere.
Caption 59, Anna e Marika - in TG Yabla Italia e Meteo - Part 9
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It can be used to give a vague kind of answer:
Sì. Un po' e un po'.
Yes, in a way, yes, in a way, no [a little bit and a little bit].
Caption 15, Amiche - Filosofie
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Ironically, we can also use un po’ to mean a lot, when we insert the adjective bello (nice, beautiful): un bel po’ (a good amount, a good number, plenty).
Non deve essere troppo salata, non... insomma ci sono un bel po' di cose da sapere legate alla mozzarella.
It shouldn't be too salty, not... in other words, there are plenty of things to know in connection with mozzarella.
Captions 37-38, Anna e Marika - La mozzarella di bufala - La produzione e i tagli - Part 1
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Un po’ has come to mean so many different amounts, and can also simply mean “some.”
Mi dai un po’ di pane?
Could you give me some bread?
So, if someone asks you if you speak Italian, you can answer un po’ but if you really want to say you don’t speak much at all, you might use the diminutive of an already “diminutive” word: un pochino. Or you might even diminish the amount further by saying pochissimo.
Practice - verbs in context:
Returning to this week’s video about Florence, here are the infinitive forms of the verbs Arianna uses in the first person plural (with noi/we). Can you recognize their conjugated forms in the video? Attenzione, some of them are used as auxiliaries/helping verbs attached to other verbs. You can use your ears to listen for the verbs while watching the video, or use your eyes with the transcript (you’ll find the pop-up link following the description of the video). Don’t forget, you can choose to see only Italian or Italian and English. A couple of these verbs are irregular, but super common. Why not take the opportunity to review the other conjugations of these verbs? Links are provided to a conjugation chart for each verb.
Essere (to be)
Vedere (to see)
Andare (to go)
Stare (to be/to continue to be)
Potere (to be able to/can)
Attraversare (to cross)
Chiamare (to call)
In this week's segment of La Ladra, Eva is pretty miffed at her son. He lied to her and probably did worse. So when he promises to do something right, she doesn't say thank you, because she expects nothing less. She uses an expression that is very handy and easy to use because it's always in the third person and can stand alone.
Ti prometto che vado a scuola in bici. OK?
I promise I'll go to school by bike. OK?
Sarà meglio.
You had better.
Captions 54-55, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 4
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To use this expression, we use the future tense. As we have already discussed in a previous lesson, the future doesn't always actually mean the future. In this particular case, it may be hard to pin down the correct tense, but the tone is clear. You better get in line. If you don't do as you've promised, you're going to be in big trouble.
Sarà is the third person singular of the verb essere (to be). For more about this verb and this tense, see these video lessons from Daniela.
As a stand-alone expression, sarà meglio (one/you had better) works in many situations, especially if you raise your eyebrows. But it can also be part of a more complicated sentence including the subjunctive.
È da solo? Buongiorno. No, in compagnia del mio telefonino.
Are you alone? Good morning. No, in the company of my cell phone.
Allora sarà meglio che Le parli prima che squilli.
So I had better talk to you before it rings.
It would be better for me to talk to you before it rings.
Captions 42-44, La Ladra - Ep. 1 - Le cose cambiano - Part 9
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An even shorter expression uses the verb essere (to be) in the third person singular future on its own, to mean, "that might very well be." You don't have to be miffed to use this expression, but you're probably somewhat skeptical.
Hai visto che non è come sembra, ma molto meglio?
Did you see that he is not like he seems, but much better?
Sarà, ma quella bionda che abbracciava nella Spider non sembrava un fornitore di tartufi.
That might very well be, but that blonde he was hugging in the Spider didn't look like a truffle dealer.
He might very well be, but that blonde he was hugging in the Spider didn't look like a truffle dealer.
Captions 41-43, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 3
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Practice:
As you go about your day, try experimenting with sarà meglio (you are the boss and you're not taking any flak) and sarà (you're listening but you are skeptical).
The original meaning of the noun tregua has to do with a “truce,” a “cease-fire” in battle. It can certainly be used with this same meaning to take a break in an argument, but in casual conversation, it is often used to mean a “let-up,” a “temporary break,” to reduce the pressure, and in this sense, it’s generally used without an article and often with the verb dare (to give): dare tregua (to let up, to give someone or something a break).
Ma no, niente, c'è qui un bastardo arrapato che non mi sta dando tregua.
But no, nothing, there's a horny bastard here who's not letting up.
Caption 84, Stai lontana da me - Rai Cinema - Part 8
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When someone is “on your case” or “on your back” about something, then you might say,
Dammi un po’ di tregua!
Give me a break, will you?
We can use it in talking about the weather.
Piove senza tregua.
It’s been raining relentlessly.
C'è maltempo senza tregua.
There's no let-up in the bad weather.
Someone's headache finally goes away (and may or may not come back) and they get a bit of relief.
Gli ha dato un po’ di tregua.
It left him in peace for a bit.
Episode 3 of La Ladra begins with a war-like situation. We can only hope that Eva will be able to help the couple that has gotten involved with some very bad people who are not about to go away.
They know the loan shark they are involved with will not let up, will not cut them any slack, will not give them any sort of break.
Quello non ci darà tregua.
He won't cut us any slack.
Caption 75, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 1
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You don't need dramatic situations such as the ones in La Ladra to use tregua, so have fun weaving dare tregua into your Italian practice conversations. It’s handy in both positive and negative terms.
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