The more Italian you learn, the more you start noticing the little words. Often these are little words that could be used in English but are frequently omitted. We'll be looking at several of them, but let's start with the conjunction che. It is, indeed, a conjunction, but it can also be a pronoun or even an adjective in some cases. Most of the time it will mean "that" or "which," but it can also correspond to the relative pronoun "that" or "who." It can also mean "what?".

Che: Optional in English

In Italian, we can't omit che, but in English, we can omit its equivalent, sometimes.

Mi dispiace che m'hanno bocciato.

I'm sorry they flunked me.

Caption 22, Ma che ci faccio qui! - Un film di Francesco Amato

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The translation could have been:

I'm sorry that they flunked me.

1) There is a little error in the previous example. Maybe you can see why he flunked! What should he have said? (It's an error that lots of people make every day, so don't worry if you don't see it.)

Ma come faccio a entrare nella divisa che m'hai dato? Eh?

So how am I supposed to fit into the uniform you gave me? Huh?

Caption 38, La Ladra - EP.11 - Un esame importante

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So how am I supposed to fit into the uniform that you gave me? Huh?

While this second translation isn't wrong, we don't need the "that." 

2) What if the speaker were talking to more than one person. What might she have said?

Here's another example:

Supponiamo che stiamo preparando una pasta alla carbonara

Let's assume we're preparing some pasta alla carbonara

per quattro persone, quindi ci serviranno trecento grammi di pancetta,

for four people, so we'll need three hundred grams of bacon,

cinquecento grammi di pasta.

five hundred grams of pasta.

Captions 1-3, Adriano - Pasta alla carbonara

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We could have translated it like this: 

Let's assume that we're preparing some pasta alla carbonara for four people, so we'll need three hundred grams of bacon, five hundred grams of pasta.

Typical contexts

Typically, one of the cases where Italian uses the conjunction che and English does not is when using the verb "to know." Let's look at some examples.

Lo sai che abbiamo bisogno di te. -Sta sbattuta, Elisa.

You know we need you. -She's in bad shape, Elisa.

Caption 33, Chi m'ha visto - film

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It would be just as correct to say:

You know that we need you. -She's in bad shape, Elisa.

We just tend not to.

Here's an example in the imperfetto (simple past):

Sapevi che ti stavamo cercando.

You knew we were looking for you.

Caption 41, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia

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It could have been translated as:

You knew that we were looking for you.

Another typical but "hypothetical" context

We have to keep in mind that in many cases, the conjunction che takes the subjunctive. This happens primarily with verbs that indicate uncertainty. This may be new for you, in which case, go ahead and check out the several lessons Yabla offers about the subjunctive.

So if instead of using the verb sapere (to know) which indicates certainty, we use the verb pensare (to think), we are in another grammatical sphere, or we could say, "mood." The congiuntivo (subjunctive mood).

Io... io penso che Karin sia andata via apposta.

I... I think that Karin went away on purpose.

Caption 43, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 19

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In this case, the translator did use "that" in English, but she could have chosen not to (which might have been more natural):

I... I think Karin went away on purpose.

3) What if you were to use the verb sapere in the above sentence?

4) What if the person were named Alfredo instead of Karin? Use both sapere and pensare.

Che meaning "who" or "whom"

When che means "who" or "whom," we are probably talking about a (relative) pronoun, not a conjunction. For our purposes, it doesn't really matter. What we do need to keep in mind is that, while we also have the pronoun chi meaning "who" or "whom" (with a preposition), when it's a relative pronoun, it's che. 

Sì, al TG della sera hanno parlato di quel ragazzo che hanno ucciso.

Yes. On the evening news they talked about that boy they killed.

Assomiglia molto a uno che viene spesso...

He really looks like someone who often comes...

Captions 39-40, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 10

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This is a bit tricky because in the example above, it would be a little bit awkward to fit in "whom" or "who." But it's interesting that we need the che in Italian to make the sentence make sense.

Yes. On the evening news they talked about that boy whom they killed. He really looks like someone who often comes...

Of course, a lot of Americans use "that" instead of "who" or "whom." It would still be awkward. It should be mentioned that in the previous example, "the boy" is the object, and that's when the che is omitted in English. But when it's the subject, we do need it.

Be', scusa se... se non t'abbiamo avvertito prima, ma

Well, sorry if... if we didn't let you know beforehand, but

c'è Valeria che deve dirti una cosa.

here's Valeria who has to tell you something.

Captions 37-38, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 10

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Of course, the purpose of Yabla translations is to help you make sense of the Italian you hear and read. Sometimes taking a look at how our own language works can help, too. And when we are translating from English to Italian, we need to call on words we are omitting, so it can get tricky.

Hopefully, this lesson has helped you to be just a bit more aware of the word che. It's a word that means plenty of things, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. And if you have some particular questions about che, please let us know and we'll try to shed some light on them. newlsetter@yabla.com

Quiz solutions

1) Mi dispiace che mi abbiano bocciato.

This may be open to question because the kid knows they flunked him, but some would argue that the subjunctive should have been used.

2) Lo sapete che abbiamo bisogno di voi. -Sta sbattuta, Elisa.

3) Io... io so che Karin è andata via apposta.

4) Io... io penso che Alfredo sia andato via apposta.

4b) Io... io so che Alfredo è andato via apposta.

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."

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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, and in this case, functions as a pronoun. 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)?

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