This lesson is simply a crossword puzzle in Italian, especially for you, inspired by the Yabla video: In cucina con Arianna - la panzanella - Part 1. The puzzle will be easier if you have watched the video, but it's not essential.
Divertitevi! Have fun!
Buongiorno. Oggi siamo in Toscana.
Hello. Today we're in Tuscany.
Su questo tavolo potete vedere tanti e coloratissimi ingredienti
On this table, you can see lots of very colorful ingredients
e voi vi chiederete "per fare cosa?"
and you must be asking yourself, "to do what?"
Per, ehm, preparare una buonissima ricetta della tradizione toscana.
To, uh, make a really good recipe from the Tuscan tradition.
Captions 1-4, In cucina con Arianna - la panzanella
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Here is a link to the solutions.
Here you will find the answers to La Panzanella crossword puzzle:
Here are the answers:
Across:
4) per togliere il sapore forte della cipolla, la si mette nell'acqua
9) il contrario di "facile": difficile
10) in nessun momento: mai
11) in un paese straniero: all'estero
12) con piacere: volentieri
14) ovunque: dappertutto
15) il sapore di questa verdura è forte: cipolla
Down:
1) fare una domanda: chiedere
2) una parola toscana per "radici": barbe
3) la regione da dove viene la panzanella: toscana
5) un altro modo di dire "veramente": addirittura
6) non fresco quando si parla di pane raffermo
7) un verbo che vuol dire "avere il gusto", e anche "avere conoscenza di": sapere
8) un modo per tagliare il pane: a fette
13) la panzanella si fa con il pane
We look forward to your feedback! Troppo facile? Troppo difficile? Funziona bene?
A presto!
There's a wonderful word that is a bit tricky to say, because there is a double "d," then a single "r", then a double "t" and then a single "r". Whew! But it's worth the trouble (and worth practicing). Addirittura. It means several things and is simply a great word to have handy, for instance, when expressing astonishment:
Addirittura?
Really?
Caption 34, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 22
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The man saying this, if speaking English, might have said, "Seriously?"
It can mean, "as a matter of fact":
E mi sembrava addirittura che i toscani lavorassero troppo poco.
And as a matter of fact, it seemed to me that Tuscans worked too little.
Caption 42, Gianni si racconta - Chi sono
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We can often translate addirittura with a simple "even."
E questa sera mi ha addirittura raggiunta in studio la mamma del povero Martino.
And this evening, poor Martino's mom even came to the studio to join me.
Caption 43, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 18
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A less word-for-word translation might have been:
Poor Martino's mom came all the way to the studio to join me.
But it's a strong word and "even" doesn't always do it justice.
It can mean "as far afield as," "as much as," "as little as," "to the point that," "downright," and more.
Sembri la Befana. Eh! Addirittura!
You look like a witch. Hey! That bad?
Captions 8-9, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro
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Ce ne sono due grandi internazionali
There are two large international ones
eh... a Pisa e Firenze, ma addirittura altri sette piccoli aeroporti.
uh... in Pisa and Florence, but in fact there are seven other small airports.
Captions 69-70, L'Italia a tavola - Interrogazione sulla Toscana
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As you might have figured out, addirittura can have to do with extreme measures or something exceptional. It can be useful when complaining or when justifying something you did:
L'ho controllato addirittura tre volte (I went so far as to check it three times).
Tip: Go to the videos page and do a search of addirittura. You will get dozens of examples where addirittura is a stand-alone expression and others that will be part of a sentence. To get even more context plus the English translation, go to "Transcripts" and do the same kind of search with command-F. The word will be highlighted. Reading the sentence out loud will give you plenty of practice.
In this week's episode of La Ladra, there's a curious adjective (in the form of a past participle). Eva and Dante are discussing the popularity of their dishes, a ginger risotto and seafood couscous.
The adjective is gettonatissimo, the superlative form of gettonato. It comes from the verb gettonare. But let's backtrack a moment and talk about the noun the verb comes from: il gettone.
Depending on your age, and if you have travelled to Italy, you may or may not have heard of a gettone, the special token people would use, back in the day, to make phone calls in a bar or cabina telefonica (phone booth). It was a coin with a groove on either side.
In addition to using gettoni for making phone calls, people used them for playing songs on the juke box. It was common to go to the bar to make phone calls, and there would often be a little booth where you could use the phone in private. In the same bar where you might make a phone call, there might also be a jukebox.
So if lots of people put a gettone in the juke box for a particular song, we could say that song is gettonata. These days, gettoni are used at laundromats, for supermarket carts, and at carwashes, but little else. The term gettonato has remained, however, to describe something as popular, something that people choose over other things.
Stasera sei tu in vantaggio, i tuoi piatti sono gettonatissimi.
Tonight you're ahead. Your dishes are hugely popular.
Caption 2, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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If we backtrack even further from the noun gettone, we find the verb gettare (to throw, to cast). If you have learned how to say "to throw" in Italian, you have most likely learned buttare. It is a synonym for gettare in many cases, and is a more informal word in general, when it means the physical act of throwing. But gettare is used in specific situations such as the one in the example below.
Ammetto che è la prima volta in vita mia che ho voglia di
I admit that it's the first time in my life that I have the desire to
mettere radici in un posto. -Ahi ahi ahi.
put down roots in a place. -Uh oh.
Hai deciso di gettare l'ancora? Ebbene sì, lo ammetto.
Have you decided to drop anchor? Well, yes, I admit it.
Captions 24-27, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro
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As we have seen, verbs and nouns may be used to form new words. One modern-day example of this is in the description of a single-use item or something disposable.
Vola, vola, vola sulla bicicletta
Fly, fly, fly on the bicycle
Contro la cultura del consumo "usa e getta"
Against the culture of "disposable" consumption
Captions 40-41, Radici nel Cemento - La Bicicletta
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You will see usa e getta crop up in ads for and labels on dustcloths, latex gloves, contact lenses, etc. From two verbs: usare (to use) and gettare (to throw), a compound adjective was born: usa e getta (use and throw/single-use).
Do you know how to use the word tutto, or the plurals tutti and tutte? You may have heard the term "tutti frutti" that has made its way into English, as seen in this dictionary entry. It usually describes a variety of flavors. Literally it means "all fruits."
Tutto basically means "all" and can be used both as a pronoun and as an adjective. What's tricky is that depending on what it represents, it will change its ending according to number and gender.
Dici la stessa cosa tutte le volte (you say the same thing every time).
Ci manchi tanto, a tutti noi (we miss you alot, all of us do).
Così fan tutte (that's what they all [feminine] do). [This is the title of a Mozart opera.]
Abbiamo caricato tutte le bici in macchina (we've loaded all the bikes in the car).
Ho messo tutti i piatti nella lavastoviglie (I put all the plates in the dishwasher).
Note that after tutto, tutti, or tutte, we use the article of the noun if there is a noun.
Let's look at some of the words we can tack onto tutto/tutti/tutte to add clarity.
First, let's look at tutto quanto, tutti quanti and tutte quante.
In the example below, Alberto Angela is talking about a fact, a situation, so he uses the singular, and likewise, quanto becomes singular. Tutto quanto: "the sum of this," "all that there is."
Tutto quanto risale all'Alto Medioevo, cioè a un'epoca,
All of this dates back to the early Middle Ages, that is, to an era,
eh, in cui Longobardi e Bizantini si scontrarono.
uh, in which the Lombards and the Byzantines were in conflict.
Captions 16-17, Meraviglie - Ep. 1 - Part 10
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Let's say we are buying tomatoes. We want all the tomatoes in the crate. Pomodoro is a masculine noun. Pomodori is the plural. So we need the plural masculine tutti as a pronoun.
To make sure we get the point across that we really want all those tomatoes, we add quanti to say, not just "all" but "all of them," "all that there are," "every last one."
Here's a little dialog that could occur at the market:
Vorrei qualche pomodoro (I'd like some tomatoes).
Quanti ne vuoi? (how many [of them] would you like)?
Fammi pensare... li prenderò tutti quanti (let me think... I'll take all of them).
If you don't add "quanti" it still means basically the same thing, but quanti sends it home. If the vendor is not sure you really want all of them, he might ask, to confirm, tutti quanti? (the whole lot)?
In English we have to distinguish between "everything" and "everybody." In Italian, we use the same word — tutto/tutti/tutte for things and people, but we need to pay attention to number and gender.
In the following example, tutti happens to refer to persons, not things, but what stands out is the use of quanti after tutti. As in the previous example, it's a way of emphasizing that you really mean "all":
Non fare il piccione. Ovunque sei andato,
Don't be a pigeon. Wherever you went,
è il momento di tornare. -Oh, stanno tutti quanti qua.
it's time to come back. -Hey. Everyone is here [they are all here].
Captions 49-50, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 20
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When we're talking about two things or persons in English, we often use "both." In Italian, we still use tutti but we qualify it. If we are talking generically the default is masculine — tutti e due (both), but if the nouns or people are feminine, then it's tutte e due (both).
Quale disegno ti piace? (which design do you like)?
Tutti e due (both of them).
Quale felpa metto in valigia, quella beige o quella blu scuro? (Which sweatshirt should I put in my suitcase? The beige one or the dark blue one)?
Ci le metto tutte e due, in fin dei conti, ce spazio a sufficienza (I'll put both of them in, anyway there is enough room).
When we're talking about just two things, we can also say entrambi or entrambe (both). When using tutti e, we can tack on any quantity we want.
Quale risposta delle cinque è corretta? (which of the five answers are correct)?
Tutte e cinque sono giuste (all five of them are right).
Avete capito tutto quanto? (have you understood all of this)?
Strappare (to tear, to yank, to rip) is an interesting Italian verb, with a useful, related noun uno strappo (the act of ripping up) that goes hand in hand with it.
Sembrerebbe un tuo capello.
It seems like one of your hairs.
Va be', dai, strappami il capello, forza. Strappa 'sto capello.
OK, come on, pull out a hair, come on. Yank this strand out.
Dai, ai!
Come on, ow!
Captions 37-40, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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The previous example is literal and you can easily visualize the act. The following example could be literal, but not necessarily. It describes a somewhat violent act, but this grandfather might be speaking figuratively.
Insomma, mi hanno strappato via la mia nipotina dalle braccia.
In short, they tore my little granddaughter from my arms.
Caption 84, Un medico in famiglia - S1 EP1 - Casa nuova
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Even when we're talking about hair, strappare can be used figuratively.
Guarda, mi strappo i capelli da, proprio...
Look, I'm really tearing my hair out from, right...
Caption 24, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 1
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In this week's segment of La Ladra, there is a wonderful Italian expression with the noun strappo.
Ma sono vegetariano.
But I am a vegetarian.
Ma non fai mai uno strappo alla regola?
But don't you ever make an exception to the rule?
Qualche volta.
Sometimes.
E... allora potresti venire nel mio ristorante, naturalmente saresti mio ospite.
And... so you could come to my restaurant, you'll be my guest, naturally.
Con piacere.
With pleasure.
Captions 61-64, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto
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Did you hear the percussive T, the well-articulated R, and the double, percussive P? It's a fun word to say. Remember that in Italian a double P sounds different from a single P. To hear the difference, go back to the examples about hair. There's a double P in strappare, or strappo, but there is a single P in capello or capelli. Tricky!
Strappare (to tear, to rip, to yank) is very close to rompere (to break) or even spezzare (to break, to snap, to split). So fare uno strappo alle regole, means "to break a rule," "to make an exception."
Another expression with the same noun — strappo — is dare uno strappo (to give [someone] a lift).
Ti do uno strappo a casa?
Shall I give you a lift home?
Caption 51, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP9 - Morte in paradiso
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The more conventional word would be un passaggio. Read more about passaggio here.
Practice:
Here are some situations in which you might want to use the verb strappare or the noun strappo:
You want someone to tear off a page from their notebook or pad. Mi strappi una pagina? (Would you tear off a page for me?)
You want someone to give you a lift home. Mi dai uno strappo? (Will you give me a lift?)
You hardly ever eat ice cream, but today, you'll make an exception. Faccio uno strappo alla regola. Mangerò un gelato! (I'll make an exception. I'm going to have ice cream!)
You are very frustrated with listening to someone complain. Quando comincia con certi discorsi mi viene voglia di strapparmi i capelli. (When he/she starts up with that story, I get the urge to tear my hair out.)
Try fitting in these new words to your Italian practice. Send in your suggestions and we'll correct them or comment on them.
People love to talk about their pets. So being able to talk about pets and animals can be a great way to start a conversation with someone as you travel around Italy on your next trip. Let's look at some words you might want to have handy.
Un cane! Un cane!
A dog! A dog!
Si dice sempre che il cane è il migliore amico dell'uomo ed è veramente così.
They always say that a dog is man's best friend, and that's really the way it is.
Captions 33-34, Animali domestici - Oscar
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The title of the previous video example is Animali Domestici. This is how Italians say "pets." It's easy to figure out, as animale is a cognate of animal, and the adjective domestico is very much like "domestic." A domestic flight is within the homeland, and a domestic helper helps out in the home. Domestico comes from the Latin "domesticus" from "domus" meaning "home."
Animale can be both a noun or, as in the following example, an adjective. This is true in English, too, where nouns can often be used as adjectives. Occhio alla posizione (watch out for its position). In Italian, the adjective follows the noun, whereas in English the adjective precedes the noun.
Le corna, lo sappiamo tutti, fanno parte del mondo animale.
Horns, we all know, are part of the animal world.
Ce le hanno i cervi, i tori, le alci.
Deer, bulls, moose have them.
Captions 52-53, Marika commenta -La Ladra - Espressioni idiomatiche
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In one of this week's many videos, we hear about a dog that gets rescued. Andromeda is clearly un amante degli animali (an animal lover)
Per chi mi conosce qui su Yabla,
For those who know me here on Yabla,
sono un amante degli animali
I'm an animal lover
e infatti troverete altri due video* dei miei gatti.
and in fact, you will find two other videos* of my cats.
Captions 2-4, Andromeda - La storia di Ulisse
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*See them here
Andromeda refers to the canile, in this case, "dog pound," where Ulisse was destined to live unless he was rescued. But canile has some different meanings. In the next example, Anna is actually describing a spot in Rome where cats are given food and shelter.
È un canile per gatti.
It's a dog kennel for cats.
Caption 6, Anna presenta - Largo Argentina e "Il Gattile"
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A person who raises hunting dogs, for example, will also have un canile. But it simply indicates kennel, or place where dogs are kept, often in large numbers. It's not necessarily a derogatory term, although it can be.
Ma io non lo sapevo che il canile era [fosse] così schifoso.
But I didn't know that the dog pound was so disgusting.
Caption 8, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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If you have a dog at home, he might sleep outside. In this case, his shelter is called la cuccia. It's where he can lie down.
Per esempio, io so che il mio c'... [sic], il mio cane chiederebbe
For example, I know that my do'... my dog would ask
di avere una cuccia doppia con patio.
to have a double dog house with a patio.
Captions 59-60, Marika e Daniela - Il verbo chiedere
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If you do encounter a stray dog, he might stop bothering you if you give him the command: A cuccia (go lie down)!
A cuccia, tu!
Lie down, you!
Caption 41, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo
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Animal-rights activists are called animalisti in Italian.
Solo per... Ma avete visto quanti animali ci vanno per fare una pelliccia?
Just to... But have you seen how many animals it takes to make a fur coat?
Caption 6, Animalisti Italiani - Parla Romina Power
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If you would like to know more about how to talk about animals in Italian, send us your questions! newsletter@yabla.com
Here are the solutions to the exercise in the lesson. The task was to change sentences with bisogno to ones with servire or the contrary, adding personal pronouns where necessary or desirable. In some cases, you can even use the verb bisognare (adding a verb). If you have an answer that you think is right, but isn't present here, write to us at newsletter@yabla.com. We'll get back to you.
Meanwhile, here's another example of when to use the verb servire. Here, it's in the conditional.
Allora... che ti metti per uscire? -Stasera?
So... what are you wearing to go out? -Tonight?
Possiamo andare a fare shopping!
We can go and do some shopping!
OK, a me... servirebbe un paio di scarpe, un paio di ballerine.
OK, I... could use a pair of shoes, a pair of ballerinas.
Captions 41-43, Serena - vita da universitari
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Per questa ricetta, ho bisogno di tre uova (For this recipe, I need three eggs).
Per questa ricetta, servono tre uova.
Per questa ricetta, mi servono tre uova.
Di che cosa hai bisogno (What do you need)?
Che cosa ti serve?
Ti serve qualcosa?
Non c'è bisogno di prendere l'autobus, il posto è a due passi a piedi (No need to take the bus. The place is well within walking distance).
Non serve prendere l'autobus. Il posto è a due passi a piedi.
Che bisogno c'era di essere così cattivo (Why did you need to be so mean)?
A che cosa serviva essere così cattivo?
Servirà un ombrello, visto il cielo (Judging from the sky, an umbrella will be necessary).
Avremo bisogno di un ombrello, visto il cielo.
Avrai bisogno di un ombrello, visto il cielo.
Ci sarà bisogno di un ombrello, visto il cielo.
Bisogna prendere l'ombrello, visto il cielo.
Serve un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico (We need another place at the table, because a friend of mine is coming).
Abbiamo bisogno di un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico.
C'è bisogno di un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico.
Bisogna aggiungere un posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico.
A recent user comment prompted this lesson about servire when it's used to express need. The Italian approach to expressing need bears some explaining. In fact, we have already addressed this before.
One way to express need is with the noun il bisogno (the need) and the odd verb bisognare only ever used in the third person singular impersonal. See this previous lesson. We can also use the verb servire (to be necessary, to be useful, to be used). In fact, we have already had a look at this interesting verb in this lesson. Take a look at these two lessons to get up to speed. In the present lesson, we will talk some more about how to use servire. It can be tricky!
There has been some discussion about a caption in a recent Yabla video. It's the story of Adriano Olivetti —Yes, that Olivetti: the typewriter guy. This is a fictionalized RAI production, starring Luca Zingaretti, famous as Commissario Montalbano in the well-known Italian TV series of the same name.
Here's the Italian sentence:
Serviranno dei fondi.
Here's our original translation:
We'll need funds.
A learner wrote in to say the translation should be "They will need funds."
Indeed, serviranno appears in its third person plural form. So, of course, you would think it should be "they."
This comment reminds us that the verb servire doesn't really have a counterpart in English, not one that works the same way, at any rate.
Yabla translators have since modified the translation to be less conversational, but easier to grasp. As a matter of fact, the verb servire is often best translated with the passive voice. As freshly modified, it is easier to see that the third person plural (future tense) serviranno comes from "the funds."
Serviranno dei fondi.
Funds will be needed.
Caption 63, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2
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Indeed, Adriano could have said, ci serviranno dei fondi, making it personal, but he didn't (although we can infer it) and that's why it was particularly confusing.
In the following example, the indirect object ci (for us, to us) is present, so it's a bit easier to understand. Serviranno, the third person plural of servire, refers to the utensili (the utensils) listed: lemon squeezer, knife, etc.
Per quanto riguarda gli utensili, ci serviranno, dunque,
In regard to utensils, we will need, accordingly,
uno spremiagrumi per i limoni, un coltello per tagliare i limoni.
a lemon squeezer for the lemons, a knife to cut the lemons.
Captions 40-44, L'Italia a tavola - Involtini di alici
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In English, especially in speech, we often use "to need" in an active way, as a transitive verb. "I need something." You may have discovered that there is no Italian verb we can use the same way. When we use servire, the thing we need is the subject and we use an indirect object with it. In the following example, Martino is asking himself what he needs to camp out in an old farmhouse. "What is necessary for me to take with me?"
Che mi può servire?
What do I need?
Caption 30, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 9
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To make things more complicated, servire also means "to be used." In this case, servire is used with the preposition a (to, for). We may ask the question:
A che cosa serve (what is it used for, what is it for)?
Serve a [insert verb in the infinitive or a noun] (it's used for, it's for [insert a gerund or a noun]).
Ecco a cosa serve il brodo vegetale.
That's what the vegetable broth is for.
Caption 95, L'Italia a tavola - La pappa al pomodoro
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The following example shows how needing, being useful, or being used are so close that Italians use the same word.
Una fabbrica che funziona, in una società che non funziona, non serve a niente.
A factory that works in a society that doesn't work is useless.
Caption 26, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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We can translate non serve a niente in a couple of additional ways:
Who needs a factory that works, if the society it is part of doesn't work?
A factory that works in a society that doesn't work is of no use to anyone.
A factory that works in a society that doesn't work serves no purpose.
Note: Servire can also mean "to serve" as in serving someone at the table, or at the counter in a post office, supermarket or any other place. But that's much less complicated and not what this lesson was about.
PRACTICE
We hope we have been successful in clarifying the verb servire, at least in part. We'll leave you with a few exercises that may further clarify the verb as you do them.
Change these sentences with bisogno or bisogna to one with servire or the contrary. Add personal pronouns where necessary or desirable.
Per questa ricetta, ho bisogno di tre uova (For this recipe, I need three eggs).
Di che cosa hai bisogno (What do you need)?
Non c'è bisogno di prendere l'autobus, il posto è a due passi a piedi (No need to take the bus. The place is well within walking distance).
Che bisogno c'era di essere così cattivo (Why did you need to be so mean)?
Servirà un ombrello, visto il cielo (Judging from the sky, an umbrella will be necessary).
Serve un altro posto a tavola, perché viene un mio amico (We need another place at the table, because a friend of mine is coming).
Have fun. You'll find some possible solutions here. If you think your solution is correct, but isn't present among the possible solutions, let us know at newsletter@yabla.com.
The adjective "free" in English means several things, so when you're wondering how to translate it, you may have to stop and think. So let's have a look at some of the different ways to say "free" in Italian.
The first way we translate the adjective "free" is with libero. Think of the word "liberty" as meaning "freedom," and you'll be all set.
Nel tempo libero mi piace uscire con i miei amici.
In my free time, I like to go out with my friends.
Caption 38, Erica - si presenta
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One occasion in which you'll need this word is when looking for a seat on a train. You can simply ask, while using a gesture:
È libero (Is it free)?
È libero questo posto/quel posto (Is this/that seat free)?
Tip: Learn to use questo and quello in this week's lesson with Daniela!
Do you know the opposite of libero in this case?
Questo posto è occupato (This seat is occupied).
No, è occupato (No, it's occupied).
We also use libero to talk about ourselves. In this case the person in question is a girl or a woman.
Sei libera venderdì sera (Are you free Friday night)?
Si, sono libera (Yes, I'm free).
Mi dispiace, sono occupata (Sorry, I'm busy).
An adjective that's close to "free" in this sense is "available." It translates as disponibile. If you look at the context in the following example, both libero and free would also work. Disponibile is a handy, very useful word to know, as it is extremely common in everyday conversation.
L'unico tavolo sotto la cassa sei riuscito a trovarlo tu!
You succeeded in getting the only table right under the loudspeaker!
-Per favore, per favore!
-Please, please!
Ho prenotato, l'unico disponibile era questo. Che vuoi da me?
I reserved, the only one available was this one. What do you want from me?
Captions 12-14, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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A completely different meaning of "free" is that of not costing anything. There are two closely related ways to say this in Italian:
Gratis and gratuito. They are interchangeable. Gratis comes directly from the Latin, meaning "grace," "favor."
Ma se fosse per me, lo sport dovrebbe essere gratis per tutti.
But if it were up to me, sports should be free for everyone.
Ma la palestra costa.
But the gym costs money.
Captions 41-42, L'oro di Scampia - film - Part 3
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Gratuito is Italian, and is a common choice when it comes after to the noun it modifies, as in the following example.
Ma oggi c'è il Wi-Fi gratuito dappertutto,
But today there's free wi-fi everywhere,
per cui è un posto che si può assolutamente vivere quotidianamente
so it's a place one can absolutely experience on a daily basis,
anche nel ventesimo secolo, anzi ventunesimo.
even in the twentieth, or rather twenty-first century.
Captions 22-24, Anna e Marika - Villa Torlonia - Casino Nobile
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Fun fact: gratuito can be pronounced correctly with the accent on either the u or the i. You'll probably find more people who place the accent on the u, but it's not wrong the other way.
Another important translation of "free," when it means something you don't pay for, is omaggio.
The cognate of omaggio, as a noun, is "homage," and in fact omaggio is also used to mean "homage." But it is also used to mean a free sample, or free gift. The shopkeeper is paying you homage by giving you a gift!
Dimenticavo che mi hanno portato quattro biglietti omaggio per dei massaggi, interessa?
I almost forgot: Someone brought me four free coupons for some massages. Interested?
Caption 36, La Ladra - Ep. 6 - Nero di rabbia
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Omaggio can be used as an adjective (that doesn't change with gender and number) as in the previous example.
Otherwise, omaggio is a noun that means "complimentary gift."
When you get a free gift at the checkout counter, a shopkeeper or cashier might simply say un omaggio.
Lastly, "free" can be translated as senza (without), as in "gluten-free" or "sugar-free."
Questi biscotti sono senza zucchero, senza glutine e senza grassi.
This cookies are sugar-free, gluten-free, and fat-free.
See you in the next lesson! Alla prossima!
Italians have a reputation for being concerned with drafts, chills, sudden changes of temperature, etc. This translates to parents often being very protective of their kids when it comes to wearing the appropriate clothing for a given situation.
There's a little song featured on Yabla all about this struggle between parents and their children on this subject.
Che senza canottiera
That with no undershirt
Poi mi prendo il raffreddore
I will catch a cold later
Captions 17-18, Zecchino d'Oro - Metti la canottiera
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Note the verb used to catch or get a cold is prendere (to take). It's often used reflexively, prendersi Another verb that is often used for getting sick, is beccare as in the following example.
Ah, buongiorno. Scusate se starnutisco,
Ah, good morning. Sorry if I'm sneezing,
ma, purtroppo, mi sono beccata l'influenza.
but, unfortunately, I've caught the flu.
L'influenza è un bruttissimo raffreddore,
The flu is a really awful cold,
anzi, un po' più di un raffreddore perché ti prende tutto il corpo
rather, a bit more than a cold because it affects your whole body,
e senti i brividi e ti senti debole, ti senti stanca.
and you feel shivers, and you feel weak, you feel tired.
Captions 1-5, Marika spiega - Il raffreddore
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Marika could have said: Mi sono presa un brutto raffreddore (I caught a bad cold).
When a cold is really bad (as described above by Marika) and you have to stay home from work or school, it's often called l'influenza, even though it might or might not technically be the flu as we understand it.
Note also that l'influenza also means "the influence" and has a verb form influenzare (to influence).
Non credo che la Francia abbia influenzato in modo determinante la mia cucina.
I don't believe that France influenced my cooking in a decisive way.
Caption 13, L'arte della cucina - I Luoghi del Mondo
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We use the verb beccare to talk about insect bites, too. In this case it isn't reflexive. The mosquito is doing the biting.
M'ha beccato una zanzara.
A mosquito bit me.
When we don't have a full-blown cold, but suspect we're about to because we got a chill, we might say:
Ho preso freddo.
(I got a chill).
The verb is still prendere (to take, to get).
Prendere freddo is often the reason given for catching a cold. Things Italians watch out for to avoid this are uno spiffero or corrente (a draft), climatizzatori (air conditioners), ventilatori (fans), and especially not covering up or taking a shower after working up a sweat.
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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How do we refer to punctuation or use punctuation terms when speaking Italian?
When we start a new paragraph, we say punto e a capo (period, new paragraph). This can happen if we are dictating.
Punto is how we say "full stop" or "period" in Italian.
Capo means "head," and so we are at the head of a new paragraph.
But we also use punto e a capo and similar terms metaphorically in everyday speech. Here's a lesson about that!
A comma, on the other hand, is una virgola. While a comma works somewhat similarly between English and Italian, there is an important peculiarity to note, as we see in the following example. Instead of a decimal point, Italian employs the virgola (comma). If we look at it numerically, it's like this: English: 5.2 km, Italian: 5,2 km.
Con i suoi cinque virgola due chilometri quadrati,
With its five point two square kilometers,
Alicudi è una delle più piccole isole delle Eolie.
Alicudi is one of the smallest islands of the Aeolians.
Captions 9-10, Linea Blu - Le Eolie
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By the same token, Italian employs the comma in currency: $5.50, but €5,50.
In English we use a comma in writing "one thousand": $1,000.00, but in Italian, a point or period is used. €1.000,00.
It can also be omitted. 1000,00.
Virgolette, on the other hand are little commas, and when we turn them upside down, they become quotation marks, or inverted commas.
So, in conversation, we might make air quotes if people can see us talking, but in Italian it's common to say tra virgolette (in quotes, or literally, "between quotation marks"). We can translate this with "quote unquote," or we can sometimes say "so-called" (cosìdetto).
...cioè delle costruzioni, tra virgolette temporanee.
...in other words, quote unquote temporary buildings.
Caption 38, Meraviglie - EP.2 - Part 12
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E perché poi erano facili da smontare, tra virgolette.
Uh, because they were in any case easy to quote unquote dismantle.
Caption 45, Meraviglie - EP.2 - Part 12
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Versace è nata da un ritorno alla tradizione, tra virgolette.
Versace was created as a, quote unquote, return to tradition.
Caption 13, That's Italy - Episode 2
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One more important thing about virgolette: In American English, most punctuation marks go inside quotation marks, but in Italian, they go on the outside. If you pay attention to the captions in Yabla videos, you will see this regularly.
Thanks for reading and a presto!
Let's talk about emotions.
Le emozioni are "the emotions." That's a true cognate, but the Italian adjective emozionato doesn't have a true cognate.
Let's say you have to talk in front of the class, you have to play a solo in the next student concert, or you're receiving an award. What's the feeling you have?
In English, we would probably use the adjective "nervous." But the adjective we naturally think of in Italian, nervoso, is more about being irritable, in a bad mood. When you are nervous about doing something new, difficult, exciting, the Italian adjective we're looking for is emozionato.
So emozionato can have a somewhat negative connotation in the sense that you try not to let your emotions get the better of you, yet your voice trembles, you get butterflies in your stomach...
"Nervous" is the closest we can get in this sense. It's when your emotions get the better of you in a negative way.
Ho messo il mio vestito migliore per l'occasione
I put on my best outfit for the occasion
e sono in anticipo di un paio di minuti,
and I'm a couple of minutes early,
tanto per essere sicura. Sono molto emozionata.
just to be sure. I'm very nervous.
Captions 2-5, Italiano commerciale - Colloquio di lavoro
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The funny thing is that emozionato also means "excited," in other words, a positive emotion. It's not always crystal clear what someone means when they use emozionato, as in the previous example, where Arianna might have been more excited than nervous. We can only guess from the context. In the following example, Adriano may be both nervous and excited, since the baptism of his baby boy is about to take place in a very special chapel in Palermo.
Con tutti i nostri parenti, festeggeremo questo giorno importante
With all our relatives, we'll celebrate this important day
nella Cappella Palatina di Palermo. Io sono molto emozionato.
in the Palatine Chapel of Palermo. I'm very excited.
Captions 21-23, Adriano - Battesimo di Philip
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Nervoso, on the other hand, often has to do with "stress," an English word that has become ubiquitous in Italian, too.
Stressato. Nervoso.
Stressed. Irritable.
Caption 17, Marika spiega - Le emozioni
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When someone is nervoso, you tiptoe around so they don't snap at you. You don't want to get on their nerves. In fact, Italians use il nervoso as a noun to mean "nerves," as in:
Mi fa venire il nervoso.
He gets on my nerves.
He irritates me.
For more about emotions, see this video.
Many of those who subscribe to Yabla Italian have enjoyed the TV series Commissario Manara. In the first season, Luca Manara had a romantic relationship with Lara, a fellow police investigator. It just so happened that she had an aunt who was very kind and sociable, and would often contribute in her special way to solving a case, along with her dog, Brigadiere. The character was Zia Caterina.
Valeria Valeri, the actress who played Zia Caterina, passed away at the ripe old age of 97, and so we remember her here.
As a matter of fact, Commissario Manara was one of her last TV performances.
Zia Caterina was a character along the lines of Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote. Caterina was always wearing outlandish earrings, funny straw hats and always had a smile on her face. She had a dog that was a good investigator too.
Speaking of Murder She Wrote, did you know the Italian version of Murder She Wrote was called La Signora in Giallo? Read about the special meaning of giallo in Italian.
In Italian, there’s a tradition of calling someone Zia (aunt) or Zio (uncle) without their name attached.
Solo tu potevi salvarci zia...
Only you could have saved us, Aunt...
Caption 6, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP5 - Il Raggio Verde
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Note that Italians don't capitalize affectionate names like zia, zio, signora.
Let's now take the opportunity of Valeri's passing to talk about how Italians talk about death. It's never easy, and it's not a happy subject, but sometimes knowing how to talk about death can save you from saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Here is what the headlines have been saying about Valeria Valeri's death.
Purtroppo è venuta a mancare Valeria Valeri.
Sadly, Valeria Valeri has come to be missing.
It’s an elegant and indirect way to say someone has died, and the verb mancare is often used in this sense.
We also use mancare to miss someone, but this verb works in a completely different way from the English verb "to miss." More about that here.
A 97 anni, dopo una vita spesa in palcoscenico, si è spenta ieri a Roma Valeria Valeri, una grande attrice e una grande voce del teatro italiano ...
At ninety-seven years, after a life on the stage, Valeria Valeri died in Rome. She was a great actress and one of the great voices of Italian theater.
Si è spenta.
Spegnere means "to turn off."
Her light went out.
She stopped living.
È morta Valeria Valeri.
Valeria Valeri died.
Valeria Valeri is dead.
Morire is the classical, literal word for “to die.”
Let’s not forget that morto/morta can be either the past participle, as in "she has died," or it can be an adjective, as in "she is dead." More about that here.
One more way to say someone died is to say they are gone, or they have gone. They have taken their leave.
Valeria Valeri se ne andata.
Valeria Valeri has left. Valeria Valeri is gone.
Ci mancherà.
We will miss her.
Most will agree that Zia Caterina was a great addition to the cast of Manara, and that knowing she is gone for good is a little sad, although she lived to be almost a hundred!
Thanks for reading!
Don't forget to send your questions and topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
A presto!
Did you watch last Wednesday's episode of Commissario Manara? You might have noticed that there's an excellent example of a pronominal verb.
Review pronominal verbs here.
Ce l'hai ancora con me.
You're still mad at me.
E perché mai dovrei avercela con te, scusa? Sono in vacanza.
And why on earth should I be mad at you, pardon me? I'm on vacation.
Captions 6-7, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP8 - Fuori servizio
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There are plenty of pronominal verbs Italians use constantly, and avercela is one that has a few different nuanced meanings. The verb avere (to have) combines with the direct object la (it) and the indirect object ci which can mean so many things, such as "to it/him/, for it/him/us" and it still doesn't make sense to an English ear, but it can mean to get angry, to feel resentment and more.
The meaning can be aggressive, as in "to have it in for someone." Avercela con qualcuno (to have it in for someone) happens to fit fairly well into a grammatically reasonable English translation, but avercela can also have a milder connotation, as in the example above, "to be mad at someone." And in this case, grammar pretty much goes out the window.
When you sense that something is not right with a friend, that they are not their usual talkative self, you wonder if you had done or said something wrong. This is the time to ask:
Ce l'hai con me? (Are you mad at me?)
Using the pronominal verb avercela, it becomes very personal and often implies resentment or placing blame. The feeling of anger or resentment has to be directed at someone, even oneself.
Non ce l'ho con te. So che non era colpa tua. Ce l'ho con me stesso.
I'm not blaming you. I'm not holding it against you. I know it wasn't your fault. I have only myself to blame. I'm mad at myself.
There's a more official word for feeling resentful, too, risentire, but as you see from the dictionary, this verb has several meanings, so it isn't used all that often in everyday conversation. When you're mad, you want to be clear!
Let's look at the classic word for getting or being angry: fare arrabbiare (to make someone angry, to anger), arrabbiarsi (to get angry), arrabbiato (angry, mad), la rabbia (the anger).
If a parent, teacher, or boss is angry with a child, student, employee who did something wrong, then the word arrabbiarsi is the more suitable and direct term. It doesn't normally make sense to be actually resentful in these cases. In the following example, a colleague is talking to her co-worker about the boss.
Alleluia! -Guarda che questa volta l'hai fatta grossa. Era veramente arrabbiato.
Halleluja! -Look. This time you really blew it, big time. He was really mad.
Captions 20-21, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP7 - Alta società
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Closely related to avercela con qualcuno is prendersela, another pronominal verb! We've discussed this here, and as you will see, in some cases, both avercela and prendersela are used in similar situations.
But prendersela contains the verb prendere (to take). It might be helpful to think of "taking something badly."
Non te la prendere (don't feel bad, don't take this badly).
Unlikle avercela, which is directed towards someone, prendersela is reflexive, with se (oneself), as in prendersi (to take for oneself)— You're more on the receiving end of an emotion, which you then transfer to someone else.
Me la sono presa con Giuseppe (I took it out on Giuseppe, [but I shouldn't have]. I lost it).
One last expression bears mentioning. Arrabbiare is the correct word to use for getting angry, but lots of people just say it as in the following example. We are replacing the more vulgar term with the polite version: incavolarsi (to get angry), fare incavolare (to get someone angry).
E questo l'ha fatto incazzare tantissimo.
And this made him extremely angry.
Caption 21, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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Now you have various ways to get angry in Italian, but we hope you won't need to resort to them too often.
There's a movie on Yabla about a musician who wants to make it as a singer, but is not succeeding.
His agent tells him to take a break from performing, and to soften the blow, says that although Martino's music making is all right, he doesn’t have the presence necessary for performing on stage.
Here's what the agent says:
Sì, la musica ancora ancora sta, ma è la faccia, "the face" [inglese: la faccia]. È questa...
Yes, your playing is maybe all right, but it's the face, the face. It's this..
Caption 36, Chi m'ha visto - film
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A reader has written in asking if the double instance of the adverb ancora was a mistake or not. It’s a good question, and we’ll try to answer it.
We have learned from Daniela's lessons about comparatives and superlatives that, in addition to using più or the suffix -issimo to form the superlative of adjectives and some adverbs, we can also simply repeat the word twice. So we have bellissimo or bello bello. They mean the same thing, although the double adjective or adverb is used primarily in spoken Italian. Read this lesson about it!
So, we have this word ancora. It’s already the source of a little confusion because it means different things in different contexts.
We've looked at this before and there's a lesson about the different meanings of ancora.
Let’s give the word a quick review here.
In the following example, ancora means "even."
Così puoi capirmi ancora meglio.
That way, you can understand me even better.
Caption 27, Italian Intro - Serena
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And In this example, ancora means "still". "Still" and "even" can often be interchangeable, as in these two examples.
E ancora oggi siamo molto amiche.
And still today we're very close friends.
Caption 39, Erica e Martina - La nostra amicizia
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È ancora vivo.
He’s still alive.
If we put it in the negative, non ancora means "not yet."
Non è ancora morto.
He's not dead yet.
In the example that follows, ancora means “more.”
Ne vuoi ancora? -Eh?
Do you want some more of it? -Huh?
Caption 32, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo
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And ancora can also mean simply, “again.”
Va be', comunque io ti ringrazio ancora per i biglietti,
OK, in any case, I thank you again for the tickets,
Caption 67, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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So this adverb has different meanings that are somewhat related. They have to do with time or quantity and can mean “still,” “again,” “yet” with non (not), “more,” or “even.”
But in this movie, it’s repeated twice, and here, it has a particular, colloquial meaning. It means we are on the borderline of something. Ancora ancora means we're at the limit. We're on the line, even though we haven't stepped over it. Something can pass.
So Martino’s agent is saying, “Your playing is good enough,” and might even be implying “it’s passable.” Here, it’s followed by ma (but), so it's clear that something else isn't passable. "Your playing is passable, but your face isn’t."
There are other adverbs that lend themselves being doubled for effect:
Poco poco to mean just a tiny bit.
Piano piano to mean really soft, really slow.
Appena appena to mean faintly, barely.
Sometimes the doubling takes on a special meaning that has evolved over time, as in the case with ancora ancora.
Quasi quasi is another adverb like this. Literally, it means almost almost, but that makes little sense. For more on quasi quasi, see this lesson about it. Here's an example to give you the basic idea. Let's say I've been debating in my mind whether to have another helping, but then decide and say:
Quasi quasi, ne prendo ancora.
I might just have some more.
If you're not yet a subscriber but seriously thinking about it, you could say,
Quasi quasi mi iscrivo a Yabla.
I might just sign up for Yabla.
In a recent segment of Meraviglie, Alberto Angela uses a verb that looks familiar: sistemare. It must have something to do with "system," right?
The noun il sistema certainly exists, and is a true cognate of "the system" in English.
E allora con un ingegnoso sistema di raccolta delle acque,
And so with an ingenious system for collecting water,
riuscì a riempire ben sette cisterne che sono sparsi [sparse] per tutto il territorio.
he managed to fill a good seven cisterns that are scattered around the whole area.
Captions 36-37, In giro per l'Italia - Asciano - S. Giuliano Terme: Villa Bosniascki
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A detail to remember is that although it has a typically feminine ending, sistema is a masculine noun. In English, too, “system” has any number of connotations.
So the noun sistema is fairly straightforward, but English doesn't really have a corresponding verb to go with sistemare. Sistemare might even fall into the category of untranslatable Italian verbs, although it's an easy-to-figure-out untranslatable verb. Sistemare is a general, catch-all type of verb that can mean any number of things, depending on the context.
When Alberto Angela tells us the fascinating story of a huge underground cistern in the city of Matera, what does he mean by sistemare? Good question.
Quando si è sistemata la piazza nel millenovecentonovantuno…
When the piazza was renovated in nineteen twenty-one…
Caption 12, Meraviglie - Ep. 1 - Part 15
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We see from the translation that the piazza was renovated, and we get this from the context of the documentary itself. But sistemare could also have referred to it being "neatened up," "cleaned up," "put in order," "put to rights."
When you want to fix something up, make improvements, put things right, make minor repairs, put things in a certain place, make preparations, or even get your pet ready for the night, sistemare is a good verb.
In the following examples from Yabla videos, sistemare is used to mean "to work out," "to set up," and "to fix up."
Note that in the first example, the reflexive form sistemarsi is used.
Mi dispiace molto, Marika, e spero che tutto si sistemerà al più presto.
I'm really sorry, Marika. And I hope everything will work out as soon as possible.
Caption 41, Italiano commerciale - Difficoltà con colleghi e contratti
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Valter arrivava sempre prima per sistemare l'attrezzatura per gli allievi.
Valter always came early to set up the equipment for the students.
Caption 52, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso
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Adesso hai quest'impressione perché lo vedi così tutto in disordine,
Now you have that impression because you're seeing it all messy,
quando sarà sistemato vedrai...
when it's fixed up, you'll see...
Captions 35-36, Un medico in famiglia - S1 EP1 - Casa nuova
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One general way of thinking about the verb sistemare is with "to take care of".
You took care of an unpaid bill? L'hai sistemato. You took care of it.
Your plumber fixed that leaky faucet? L'ha sistemato. He took care of it. He fixed it.
You wrote a draft of an article? Lo devi ancora sistemare. You still have to fine-tune it.
We can also turn sistemare into a noun: una sistemata. In English, we might use a gerund for this, as in the first example below.
You don't really want to give your kitchen a thorough cleaning at the moment, but you want it to look nice. Ci dai una sistemata (you give it a neatening up).
You ask your hairdresser, Mi dai una sistemata ai capelli (Will you give me a little trim)?
With the noun sistemata, we often use the verb dare (to give), which can also be used reflexively.
Dopo il viaggio, mi sono data una sistemata prima di presentarmi agli suoceri (after the trip I freshened up before meeting my in-laws/I gave myself a freshening up).
Practice:
As you go through your day, as you take care of one problem after another, try using sistemare when you have succeeded, or when you haven't yet. Maybe you will even have fun taking care of these problems!
L'ho sistemato! Menomale. (I took care of that. Whew!)
Questo lo devo sistemare (I have to take care of this).
Ask someone else to help you take care of something — something that needs fixing, or a situation that needs resolving.
Me lo puoi sistemare (can you take care of this for me)?
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