The adjective comodo (comfortable) is easy to find in the dictionary, and is easy to understand, too, in a normal context.
Che dici, sarà comodo questo letto per la tedesca con la puzza sotto il naso?
What do you say? Will this bed be comfortable for the snobbish German lady?
Captions 12-13, Sposami EP 3 - Part 5
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Quindi non dimenticatevi di indossare delle scarpe comode, un abbigliamento comodo per potervi godere questo spettacolo meraviglioso.
So don't forget to wear comfortable shoes, comfortable clothing, to be able to enjoy this marvelous show.
Captions 45-46, Marika spiega Expo 2015 - Part 2
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As you can see, comodo ends in "O." So when using it to describe a noun, you have to pay attention to both the gender and the number of the noun it's describing. There are 4 possibilities: o, a, i, and e. Here are some examples.
Questo vestito è comodo (this dress is comfortable).
Questa gonna è comoda (this skirt is comfortable).
Questi pantaloni sono comodi (these pants are comfortable).
Queste scarpe sono comode (these shoes are comfortable).
❇️
Ma perché le donne devono aver un abito così scomodo?
But why do women have to have such uncomfortable clothing?
Caption 52, L'Oriana film - Part 23
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❇️
Try doing the same exercises as above (with comodo) with scomodo. It works the same way! Make sure and say your sentences out loud, if possible.
Up until now, we have talked about things that are or aren't comfortable. We can use the verb essere (to be). But when it comes to how we are feeling, such as sitting in an armchair, we use comodo and scomodo with the verb stare, also translated as "to be." We're talking about our state of being. Let's assume a woman is talking. She might say:
Su questa sedia, sto un po' scomoda. Manca un cuscino (I'm kind of uncomfortable on this chair. There's no cushion).
Su quell'altra, sto piuttosto comoda, invece (but on that other one, I am pretty comfortable).
❇️ Food for thought:
What if a guy were talking?
What if a couple were talking together about how they feel sleeping on the ground?
What if you were asking someone if they are comfortable, when it's clear they are not comfortable?
Stare is also used with comodo in another situation. Sometimes comodo specifically implies remaining seated, as in the command:
Stai comodo (don't bother getting up).
When you get comfortable, the verb is mettersi (to put oneself). We use the reflexive form of mettere (to put) as if to say, "Put yourself" into a comfortable position or state.
Quando torno a casa, la prima cosa che faccio è mettermi comodo.
When I get back home, the first thing I do is to get comfortable.
Caption 39, Adriano Giornata
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If I invite you to my place, and you are just standing in the entranceway, I might say:
Mettiti comodo (relax, make yourself at home, take off your shoes if you want, have a seat).
There are other contexts in which comodo is used in Italian, and these might be a bit harder to grasp. Comodo can mean "convenient," as in an easy answer, as in over-simplifying.
Ho cambiato idea, me ne ero dimenticato, non gliel'ho detto?
I changed my mind, I had forgotten, didn't I tell you?
Troppo comodo, Manara.
Too convenient, Manara.
Ormai le sue dimissioni saranno già protocollate.
At this point, your resignation will have been registered.
Captions 33-35, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste
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And to talk about inconveniencing someone, the verb is scomodare.
Non ti voglio scomodare (I don't want to inconvenience you).
A common expression is fare comodo (to be or to come in useful, handy, or to be convenient). So in Italian, the verb is fare, while in English it's "to be" or "to come in."
Here's an example that's close to home for Yabla users:
Fa molto comodo avere i sottotitoli in due lingue, no?
Having subtitles in two languages is very handy, isn't it?
Having subtitles in two languages comes in very handy, doesn't it?
The following example is in the past conditional. They wished they'd had a beach umbrella.
Che caldo!
It's so hot!
Certo, un ombrellone nelle ore centrali del giorno avrebbe fatto veramente comodo.
Of course, an umbrella for the middle of the day would have come in really handy.
Captions 1-2, Una gita - al lago - Part 3
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In a future lesson, we'll talk about comodo as a noun.
Fare (to make) is a verb for getting things done. It’s about as universal in Italian as “get” (or “have”) is in English and frequently means about the same thing.
Here, fare really does mean “to make”:
Eccolo. Questo è il vino che faccio con mio nonno.
Here it is. This is the wine I make with my grandfather.
Captions 7-8, Escursione - Un picnic in campagna
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Fare used simply, as in the above example, indicates you are doing the work. If, instead of doing something yourself, you have it done by someone else, you’ll generally use fare plus the verb in the infinitive:
Se vuole, La faccio accompagnare da uno dei miei ragazzi.
If you'd like, I'll have one of my guys accompany you.
Caption 19, Una gita - al lago
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When you need to borrow something, fare loans itself to you because there’s no single word in Italian that means “to borrow.” You need to “get something lent to you,” so you use the verb prestare (to lend) but you turn it around using fare, plus, depending on whom you are talking about, the appropriate reflexive personal pronoun.
La mia dolce Ninetta riceve anche la visita di Pippo,
My sweet Ninetta also gets a visit from Pippo,
un altro servitore di Casa Vingradito,
another servant from the Vingradito home,
e riesce a farsi prestare da Pippo alcune monete.
and is able to borrow a few coins from Pippo.
Captions 11-13, Anna e Marika - in La Gazza Ladra
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The same idea holds for showing something to someone: you need to “make them see it.”
Adesso vi farò vedere alcuni piatti di semplice realizzazione
Now I'm going to show you some dishes that are simple to make
Caption 3, Ricette dolci - Crème brûlée alla banana
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Fare can also be intended as “get,” “have,” or “let,” depending on the context. Here, fare is used in a command:
Fammi uscire! Ehi, fammi uscire!
Let me out! Hey, let me out!
Captions 52-53, Acqua in bocca - Mp3 Marino
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There’s lots more to say about fare, but for now, when you tune into Yabla, try to start noticing how people talk about getting things done using this catch-all word. To get more acquainted with fare, have a look here and here.
Learning suggestion:
Think about some things you would like to get done (or have already had done). Here are some ideas to work with. Try turning them into questions or changing the person, tense, subject, object, or verb, or you can make up your own sentences from scratch.
Faccio sempre pulire la casa da professionisti.
I always have the house cleaned by professionals.
Facciamo riparare la nostra macchina dal meccanico in paese.
We get our car repaired by the mechanic in town.
Mi sono fatta fare un tatuaggio.
I got a tattoo. (This is a woman speaking. A man would say, Mi sono fatto fare un tatuaggio.)
Vorrei farmi fare un vestito da una sarta.
I’d like to get a dress made for me by a seamstress.
Non mi lavo i capelli da sola. Li faccio lavare dalla parrucchiera.
I don’t wash my own hair. I get it washed at the hairdresser’s.
Ti voglio fare conoscere un amico.
I want to introduce you to a friend.
Voglio farti conoscere un amico.
I want to introduce you to a friend.
Mi fai vedere le tue foto?
Will you show me your pictures?
Joining a language forum such as WordReference can be helpful for getting feedback on your attempts.
Sounding like a native speaker is quite a challenge. Magari (maybe) is a word that can help your spoken Italian become more natural—almost like magic!
Think of all the ways you say “maybe” in English:
may or might (potrei, potresti, potrebbe, which is the present conditional of the verb potere [to be able to])
perhaps (forse)
could be (può darsi, possibilmente)
possibly (forse, può darsi)
Magari can work for all these meanings. As an adverb, magari basically means “maybe,” as in this telephone exchange between Lara, Lara’s aunt, and Commissioner Manara. He is calling to see how Lara is, and mentions he might (magari) stop in later. Lara’s aunt is thrilled—but Lara, not so much. She grabs the phone and tells him so. Ho detto magari (I said maybe), he protests:
No, volevo solamente sapere come sta.
No, I was just wondering how she is.
Magari passo a farle visita più tardi.
Maybe I'll drop by to visit her later.
Captions 35-36, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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Eh sì, certo... -No, no, dammi il telefono!
Oh yes, sure... -No, no, give me the phone!
Non ci pensare neanche.
Don't even think of it.
-Ho detto magari.
-I said maybe.
Captions 39-41, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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But in the following example, the waiter at the lakeside restaurant has suggested to a woman that, given the very hot sun, she might like to jump in the water. Her reply, Magari! in a phrase all by itself, said with a certain emphasis, expresses a wish that something were true. She’d love to dive in, but doesn’t know how to swim. (“I’d love to, but...” or, on a more colloquial level, “Yeah, right! I don’t even know how to swim!” or ”If only [I knew how to swim]!”)
Un tuffo?
A dive?
Magari! Peccato che non so nuotare.
I wish! Too bad I don't know how to swim.
Captions 12-13, Una gita - al lago - Part 3
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Magari is a word that can temper something you say and you can add it just about anywhere in a sentence. In Amiche - Anna e Marika raccontano..., we are at the close of a conversation between Marika and Anna, talking about their lives. Instead of just saying, ora facciamo i saluti (now let’s say goodbye), or allora ciao (well, goodbye), Marika softens it with magari, turning it into a suggestion rather than a statement or an order.
Bene.
Good.
-Ora facciamo i saluti magari. -Mmh.
-Now maybe we should say goodbye. -Mm.
Captions 41-42, Amiche - Anna e Marika raccontano...
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Learning tip:
Magari is a word that slips off the tongue with ease, and Italians use it often in conversation. As you try talking to yourself in Italian (a great exercise!), experiment with using it when in English you would say, “Maybe I’ll...” “I just might...” “Yeah, right!” “Yeah, if only it were true,” or “I think I will...”
It also works in the negative: magari, no (better not, maybe not, I wouldn’t).
Sometimes magari just adds a little something to the phrase; other times it is essential. To see more examples of how it is used in conversation, you can do a search of the Yabla videos: Click here and you'll see all instances magari highlighted. You can then go and watch the videos to get a more complete picture.
Mi raccomando (I implore you) is an expression you will most often hear in commands: parent to child, between friends, from boss to employee. It’s mainly used to reinforce a request or a command, and indicates a certain degree of importance or urgency as well as trust.
In an episode of Acqua in bocca - Pippo e la pappa, the father says to his kids as he walks out the door:
Mi raccomando, qualcuno di voi dia da mangiare ai pesci.
Make sure one of you feeds the fish.
Caption 9, Acqua in bocca - Pippo e la pappa
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When I say mi raccomando I'm calling attention to what I'm about to say, or to what I’ve just said, and I mean, “Listen carefully to what I'm telling you to do, and make sure you do it, because it’s important!” I'm entrusting you with something, a task or an object. I'm counting on you.
So how do you fit mi raccomando into a sentence? It’s easy, and quite common in speech, to consider it as a separate phrase, or a tag:
Non arrivare in ritardo, mi raccomando.
Don’t come late. I’m counting on you.
Mi raccomando, non rompere quel vaso.
Be careful; don’t break that vase.
Sometimes it’s used just by itself as a warning or an exhortation to pay attention, to be careful. Someone’s youngster is going off to camp, or going out with friends for the first time. After giving him a hug, his parent might say, Mi raccomando... (Take care and don’t get into trouble...) while giving him a meaningful look.
But what does the word raccomandare actually mean? Your first instinct tells you it means “to recommend.” That’s not completely wrong, but it’s not completely right, either. In fact, that definition is probably the one used least often! There are various somewhat related meanings, but the most useful and commonly heard form is the reflexive form used in the first person: mi raccomando (I implore you). Here are some other uses:
Se sente caldo, Le consiglio di fare un tuffo.
If you're hot, I recommend diving in.
Caption 11, Una gita - al lago
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Learning Tip:
Practice adding mi raccomando to commands, either at the beginning or the end. You will want it to correspond to “I’m counting on you,” “I really mean it,” “Be careful!” “Pay attention!”
Mi racommando! Don’t forget to visit Yabla Italian today.
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