Let's talk about adverbs we can use to add a qualifier to an adjective. We can say someone is gentile (nice). But we can qualify that with an adverb such as molto (very), poco (not very), abbastanza (rather, enough), and others.
Molto (very) and poco (not very) go hand in hand. They can be either adjectives or adverbs. When they're adjectives, we change the ending according to what they modify. But when they're used as adverbs, they are invariable.
Molto is perhaps the one we hear most often. In our first example, molto becomes molti to agree with negozi (the plural of negozio). This is because it is functioning as an adjective. For more on this topic, see Daniela's lessons.
A qui [sic], a Mondello ci sono molti negozi.
Here in Mondello there are many shops:
Caption 18, Adriano - a Mondello
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In the next example, however, molto is an adverb modifying forte (strong). As an adverb, the ending doesn't ever change. And in English, the meaning changes to "very."
In estate qui il sole è molto forte.
In summer, the sun here is very strong.
Caption 40, Adriano - Le stagioni dell'anno
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Poco works the same way as molto and can be used as an adjective or an adverb. Here, poche agrees with ore (the plural of ora).
Poche ore fa, non più di tre.
Just a few hours ago, no more than three.
Caption 43, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP2 - L'addio di Lara
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But here, it's an adverb modifying chiaro (clear).
C'è sicuramente qualcosa di poco chiaro là sotto.
There is for sure something not very clear underneath it all.
Caption 40, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone - EP1 I Bastardi - Part 15
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Molto and poco are opposites, more or less, but we have some "in-between" words, too.
Abbastanza is interesting because it comes from the verb bastare (to suffice). So the most logical translation for abbastanza might be "sufficiently" — to the degree of being sufficient, or "enough," which in English comes after the adjective it modifies. In everyday speech, however, we often equate abbastanza with "rather," "fairly," or in colloquial speech, "pretty."
Era abbastanza timida, abbastanza riservata.
She was rather shy, rather reserved.
Caption 2, Illuminate - Rita Levi Montalcini
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Certo, Lojacono mi sembra uno abbastanza sveglio,
Of course, Lojacono seems quite smart to me,
ma per quanto riguarda il resto della squadra,
but regarding the rest of the team,
Lei è messo male, io lo so.
you are in bad shape, I know.
Captions 36-38, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone - EP1 I Bastardi - Part 9
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A synonym for abbastanza is piuttosto, usually translated as "rather." It's on the positive end of the scale but not at the top. When you say abbastanza, you might be saying something is lacking, that something is just sufficient, especially when coupled with a positive adjective such as buono (good) bene, (good, well) or bello (beautiful, nice).
Come ti senti?
How do you feel?
Abbastanza bene. -Ce la fai?
Pretty good. -Can you manage?
Captions 72-73, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia
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But with piuttosto, it's usually positive relative to what it's modifying and serves to reinforce the positive aspect of something without actually going to the point of saying molto (very). So it's generally (but not always) higher on the scale than abbastanza.
Anche se, su certi argomenti, se la cava piuttosto bene devo dire.
Even though, on some subjects, she manages rather well, I must say.
Caption 52, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero
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So of course it can also modify a negative adjective, and reinforces its characteristic, as in this example:
La gestione all'interno della casa
The running of the household
è stata piuttosto complicata, i primi giorni,
was quite complicated, the first days,
Captions 2-3, COVID-19 - 3) La quarantena
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Nella memory card ce n'erano anche altre, piuttosto sfocate.
On the memory card there were others too, and rather blurry.
Caption 9, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP4 - Miss Maremma
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This adverb is similar to piuttosto, but is often another way of saying molto (much, very). But it can also be just a short step lower than molto, depending on the context and the region the speaker is from.
Ma in realtà, pensate, dopo praticamente sette secoli e più,
But actually, just think: After practically seven-plus centuries,
questi colori si sono leggermente sbiaditi. Sono assai meno brillanti.
these colors have faded somewhat. They are much less brilliant.
Captions 26-27, Meraviglie - EP. 4 - Part 4
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Another qualifying adverb is parecchio (a great deal). It's used a lot as an adjective, but works fine as an adverb, too. See this lesson.
Quindi, quando sarà finito, sicuramente mi riposerò,
So, when it's all done, I'll take a break, for sure,
perché sto parecchio stressata.
because I am totally stressed out.
Captions 50-51, Fuori era primavera - Viaggio nell'Italia del lockdown
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See this video for some explanations in Italian about qualifying adverbs, now that we've given you some pointers in English.
People have their personal favorites when it comes to adverb qualifiers. So keep your eyes and ears open. Listen for the variable endings when these qualifiers are adjectives, and the invariable ending when they're adverbs. This takes patience and experience. But little by little, you will put two and two together.
This list isn't set in stone, as these adverbs can be used differently by different people, but it can help give you an idea.
- •molto, parecchio
- •assai
- •piuttosto
- •abbastanza
- •poco
- •per niente (at all) — We didn't discuss this here but you will find it mentioned in other lessons if you do a search of niente.
We have talked about pronominal verbs before, but pronominal verbs are tricky, so we've come back to them once again.
For more about pronominal verbs, check out this lesson.
This time, let's look at a pronominal verb people use all the time: farcela. It's about succeeding, managing, being able, making it — or not.
One tricky thing about pronominal verbs is that when they are conjugated, you have to find the parts. These verbs are more recognizable when they're in the infinitive as in the following example.
Non so se potrò farcela senza di lei.
I don't know if I can manage without her.
Caption 46, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 25
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If we take farcela apart, we get the verb fare (to do, to make); we get ce. Let's keep in mind that ce means the same thing as ci, but when we have a direct object in addition to the indirect object pronoun ci, then ci turns into ce! Very tricky! Then we have la. La stands for "it" and is a direct object pronoun.
Let's also remember that when you say (in English), "I made it," you can mean you baked the cake, and in this case "to make" is transitive, or you can mean you succeeded in doing something, you managed, you were able. The verb "to succeed" is intransitive — we need a preposition after it. This may help in understanding farcela.
Be', in qualche modo ce l'abbiamo fatta e questo ci ha rafforzati.
Well, somehow we did it and this made us stronger.
Captions 60-61, COVID-19 3) La quarantena
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Finalmente ce l'hai fatta a farti sospendere dal servizio.
Finally, you managed to get yourself suspended from service.
Caption 30, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 10
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A pronominal verb gets separated into its parts when it's conjugated. Often we find the indirect object pronoun first (ce). Then we have the direct object pronoun (la). We have the conjugated verb, which, in this case, is in the passato prossimo tense. It uses the helping verb avere (to have) and the past participle of the verb fare (to do, to make). If the pronominal verb were to occur in the present tense, then fare would be the conjugated verb.
Eh, basta, croce. Non ce la faccio più.
Uh, that's it, forget it. I can't manage any longer.
Caption 17, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 6
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Non ce la faccio, mi fai cadere.
I can't keep up, you'll make me fall.
Caption 2, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 1
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Farcela is very handy when you can't succeed in something (as well as when you can!). It might be getting to a party, or it might be running an errand. It might be running a race.
One way to say you can't make it (to a party, an appointment, etc) is simply:
Non ce la faccio, mi dispiace (I can't make it, I'm sorry).
Non ce la faccio a venire (I can't make it, I'm sorry).
T'ho detto che ce l'avrei fatta, va be', nie' [niente].
I told you I would have made it, OK, I didn't.
Caption 24, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 6
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"Non ce l'ho fatta ad arrivare fino a casa con tutta quella neve".
"I wasn't able to get all the way home with all this snow."
Captions 39-40, Corso di italiano con Daniela Fino a e Finché - Part 1
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The word for "to follow" in Italian is seguire. It's a transitive verb most of the time, but not all the time. In many cases, it works just like English. It's used for following instructions:
Quindi, ho cominciato a seguire le istruzioni
So, I started following the instructions
e, e nell'arco di un'oretta, ho montato la cassettiera.
and in just about an hour, I assembled the chest of drawers.
Captions 14-15, Marika spiega - Gli attrezzi
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1,2) What if 2 people are trying to put together this chest of drawers. How could the sentence change? (more than one possibility)
When Italians take a course in something, they "follow it."
Allora, innanzitutto, quando si ha la passione del doppiaggio
So, first of all, when one has a passion for dubbing,
o del... della narrazione, è importante seguire un corso:
or for... for narration, it's important to take a course:
Captions 10-11, Arianna e Marika - Il lavoro di doppiatrice
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Alternatively, they do a course with fare.
Certo, ho fatto il corso su internet.
Of course, I've taken the online course.
Vuol vedere l'attestato?
Would you like to see the certification?
Caption 59, Psicovip - Buon Natale Minivip Ep 26
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Seguire is used for following someone, literally.
Ciao. Oggi ti mostro alcune direzioni.
Hi. Today I'm going to show you some directions [prepositions of place and direction].
Seguimi.
Follow me.
Captions 1-2, Marika spiega - Direzioni
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3) What if you are asking someone you don't know to follow you?
This can also be figurative when following what someone is saying.
Mi segui?
Do you follow me?
4) What if you are asking someone you don't know if they follow what you are saying?
You have seen the expression, "Follow us on facebook" which is a figurative way to say you check in on that person or organization, you see what they are up to. Fellini was talking about his audience, his fans, in the following clip.
Siamo sempre seguiti da una platea di romani così molto...
We're always followed by an audience of Romans, so very...
che ci segue con molto affetto e simpatia...
who follow us, with a lot of affection and warmth...
specialmente stasera,
especially this evening,
Captions 3-4, Fellini Racconta - Un Autoritratto Ritrovato
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But there is another way Italians use the verb seguire.
It's somewhat akin to the way fans follow a star, or a trend, but it's a little different. Because rather than "following the leader or the trend," it's the leader, teacher, therapist, or doctor who is checking in on you, treating you, in the case of a doctor or health worker. This way of using seguire is used a whole lot in teacher-pupil relationships, or doctor-patient relationships and the like, and has to do with following a pupil or patient's progress, or simply giving them support, or attention, treatment, or checking in to see how things are going. In some instances, we might say, seguire is "to give guidance on a continuing basis."
We have an example of this use in a new video this week.
It's part of the story about a couple who had to go through quarantine because of Covid-19.
È un metodo attraverso il quale
It's a method whereby
non congestionano i, gli ospedali,
they don't overcrowd the, the hospitals,
per i casi meno gravi,
for the less serious cases,
e ti seguono telefonicamente.
and they attend to you over the phone.
Captions 25-28, COVID-19 - 3) La quarantena
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When we use seguire this way, it basically means someone is there for you in a professional way. We all know what it feels like to have a teacher or doctor who seems like they don't really care about you. They don't seem invested.
Non ti seguono.
They don't check in on you.
But it can also simply mean "to treat," as in giving a treatment.
Sì, sì, ho parlato anche col professore che lo segue. -OK.
Yes, yes. I even spoke with the professor who is treating him. -OK.
Caption 43, Questione di Karma - Rai Cinema
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5) What if there is a team of doctors who treat the patient in question?
If you watch Yabla videos, you will see the verb seguire a lot, in all sorts of conjugations and nuances of meanng. Sometimes it's translated as "to follow," but not always.
Let us know if you a translation you don't understand, and we'll try to help out.
"Extra credit"
1) Quindi, abbiamo cominciato a seguire le istruzioni e, e nell'arco di un'oretta, abbiamo montato la cassettiera.
2) Quindi, hanno cominciato a seguire le istruzioni e, e nell'arco di un'oretta, hanno montato la cassettiera.
3) Salve. Oggi le mostro alcune direzioni. Mi segua.
4) Mi segue?
5) Sì, sì, ho parlato anche coi professori che lo seguono. -OK.
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