In a recent lesson, we talked about carri (carts). But most carts get around on wheels, so let's make that our next topic. The basic word for "wheel" is ruota, from the Latin "rota." As with other words with "uo," such as uomo (man), cuore (heart), and uovo (egg), Tuscans tend to omit the "u" when speaking, so the words become omo, core, and ovo. 

Ma scusa, tu la ruota di scorta non ce l'hai?

But excuse me, don't you have a spare tire?

Caption 37, La Ladra EP. 2 - Viva le spose - Part 11

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Interestingly, when talking about a spare tire, we use la ruota, the word for "wheel," but when talking about the tire as opposed to the wheel, the informal word is la gomma or, more properly, il pneumatico. 

Comunque, se non era per una gomma, io vi avrei raggiunti.

Anyway, if it hadn't been for a tire, I would have caught up with you.

Caption 13, Provaci ancora prof! S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco - Part 10

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Quanto volete guadagnare? E per cosa? Per mettere il fotovoltaico in campagna? Eh? Per comprare pneumatici dalle prestazioni più brillanti?

How much do you want to make on it? And for what? To put solar panels in the countryside? Huh? To buy better performing tires?

Captions 37-39, La linea verticale EP 6 - Part 1

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When the wheels are smaller, there are different variants. 

In the lesson aboutt il carro, the word for "wheelchair" was la carrozzella but it is also called una sedia a rotelle. 

Se io non stavo sulla sedia a rotelle, tu me lo davi lo stesso questo bacio? -No.

If I weren't in a wheelchair, you, would you still have given me that kiss? -No.

Captions 29-30, Sposami EP 2 - Part 20

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In this next example, we are talking about a little shopping cart to pull along. Its wheels are small. 

Puoi scegliere tra un cestino da tenere in mano e uno un po' più grande che è dotato di rotelle.

You can choose between a hand-held basket and one a little larger that's equipped with wheels.

Captions 32-33, Vocaboliamo Supermercato - Part 2

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Another context in which we use rotelle is rollerskating: il pattinaggio a rotelle.

While rotella is already a diminutive of ruota, we can go even smaller: 

Allora, metti la rotellina su due.

Well, put the dial on "two."

Caption 16, La Ladra EP. 3 - L'oro dello squalo - Part 11

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Note that the diminutives mostly derive from the Tuscan or Latin form: rota.

Let's not forget the important verb ruotare! It can mean either "to revolve" or "to rotate."

Tutta Firenze ruota intorno a questa piazza con il Duomo, con la cupola, con il campanile, progettato da Giotto nel Trecento.

All of Florence revolves around this square with the Duomo, with the dome, with the bell tower, designed by Giotto in the fourteenth century.

Captions 31-33, Meraviglie EP. 3 - Part 10

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If you ever have to drive or ride a bike in Italy, you will want to know about traffic circles: le rotatorie. In some regions, they use the word la rotonda. 

Lì svolti di nuovo a destra, fai una rotatoria -mmh. -continui sulla sinistra e troverai un supermarket.

There you turn right again, go around the traffic circle -hmm. -stay on the left, and you will see a supermarket.

Captions 37-39, Milena e Mattia L'incontro

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It might be helpful to think of the English words "rotate" and "rotation" when trying to come up with la ruota and ruotare.

Thanks for reading. If you see additional variants of ruota, let us know and we will add them to this lesson. Write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.

In most languages, there are situations in which two different sets of rules can apply. Sometimes it's because there are simply two valid ways of saying something. For instance, in English we can say:

There is none.

There isn't any.

They both mean the same thing and they are both correct. How to choose?

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Modal verb + infinitive + object pronoun(s)

In Italian, a case in point is when we have a modal verb, a verb in the infinitive, and a pronoun. I can attach the pronoun to the verb or I can separate it and change the word order. It's a matter of personal choice.

Vado a cercarlo.

Lo vado a cercare.

Non posso farlo.

No lo posso fare.

Evolution in speech over time

Some rules change over time because the rule gets broken so many times that it becomes acceptable to break it. One example of this in English is using "who" instead of "whom" when it's an object. In some cases we still use it, and it is absolutely correct, but in general conversation, people might look at you strangely or think you are a snob. We still use it when we have a preposition before it, as in business letters, for instance: "To whom it may concern."

In a recent episode of Provaci ancora prof!, there's another use that has become less common in everyday speech, but is nevertheless correct. This brand of agreement is what we call facoltativo (optional). The conversation between Renzo and Camilla seems like the perfect opportunity to shine a light on it.

Lo sai? -Lo so, ti ho vista.

You know? -I know. I saw you.

-Mi hai vista? -Sì, ti ho vista.

-You saw me? -Yes, I saw you.

Ero venuto lì per cercarti e ti ho vista.

I went there to look for you, and I saw you.

Captions 5-7, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco

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We're talking about the transitive verb vedere, which takes the auxiliary verb avere. The sentences are in the passato prossimo, thus we use the past participle of vedere. If we look at a conjugation chart, we will see that visto is the past participle, not vista! Vista is nowhere to be seen.

If you click on "play caption," you will hear that Renzo (the husband) is talking to his wife Camilla and then she answers. So what's the story with vista?

There's a rule that if the verb is in the passato prossimo, the past participle can agree in gender and number with the direct object pronoun. Read more about this (in Italian). 

So Renzo says Ti ho vista. Camilla is the direct object of vedere. If the roles were reversed, Camilla would say: T'ho visto because the pronoun would correspond to a male, her husband. This doesn't apply only to people. The pronoun might refer to a thing, but all nouns have gender in Italian.

A few more examples:

Ho visto le ragazze – Le ho viste = I have seen the girls – I have seen them
Ho sentito gli spari – Li ho sentiti = I have heard the shots – I have heard them

We should mention that Camilla is a professoressa of Italian and often plays sophisticated word games with her husband, so it makes sense for them to use correct Italian, and in fact, they sometimes get competitive about it. But normal people in everyday life often do not always make this choice and it's optional, so don't worry about it too much, but you might hear it. Still, it's nice to recognize it, right? And when you use it, you will feel proud and in the know.

In the same conversation, Renzo talks about seeing Camilla with Gaetano, the chief of police.

Non negare, vi ho visti.

Don't deny it, I saw you.

Caption 11, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E4 - La mia compagna di banco

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He could have said Vi ho visto, just as he could have said T'ho visto in the previous example.

As you watch Yabla videos, you will undoubtedly come across more examples of this construction. Feel free to point them out in the comments section.  

And another example, with another verb, from the same cooking video with Arianna:

L'ho sempre mangiata molto volentieri,

I have always really enjoyed eating it [I have always eaten it willingly]...

Caption 15, In cucina con Arianna - la panzanella

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