A new movie coming to Yabla is Fino a qui tutto bene. You might have read about it in the newsletter. The title is worth talking about, since it includes the preposition fino, which can cause confusion sometimes.
Fino is a preposition, basically meaning "up to" or until. It can be combined with other prepositions to mean a few other things, too. Check out Daniela's lessons about fino.
If you are filling a glass, you can say, fino a qui or fino a qua (up to here) indicating with your finger. But it can also be about time, as in the title of the movie.
Tutto bene is what we say or ask when we want to talk about everything being OK.
Tutto bene (Everything OK)?
Tutto bene (Everything's fine).
If you want to be polite, you can say, tutto bene, grazie.
Or, we can qualify our statement:
Fino a qui, tutto bene (So far, so good — up to this point, everything is fine).
You might be thinking about finché and finchè non, so we'll include them briefly.
There are a couple of lessons about these
Finché is a shortened version of fino a che, meaning "per tutto il tempo che..."
Although it's not always the case, we can usually translate finché as "as long as."
Per molto tempo l'ho custodita con cura, finché ho potuto.
For a long time I took care of it carefully, as long as I could.
Caption 46, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie
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We will often see finché followed by non: finché non.
This will be translated as "until."
Eravamo soci, finché non l'ho beccato a rubare.
We were partners, until I caught him stealing.
Caption 4, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena
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So fino a qui = up to a certain point (in time).
We can also say, finora — a shortened version of fino ad ora to mean the same thing. In fact, finora is specific to time.
If now is the time of arrival, it can also be the time of departure. So we can say:
D'ora in poi (From now on).
D'ora in avanti (From now on).
For more on this, see part 2 of Daniela's video lesson about ora (now).
As she mentions, we can also say, fin d'ora or fin da ora (starting now, already, from this moment).
Anzi, le sono grata fin da ora.
In fact, I'm grateful from this moment on.
Caption 52, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP8 - Morte di un buttero
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The person is basically saying he or she is already grateful. This is something you might say or hear when you are wondering when your insurance will be valid. -Starting right now. Fin d'ora.
We hope this lesson has given you some tools for talking within a timeline.
| fino a qui | finora | ora | fin da ora | fin d'ora | d'ora in poi | d'ora in avanti |
| up to this point | up to now | now | starting now | starting now | from now on | from now on |
Finché and finchè non are not relative to ora (now), but to a designated time.
Finché refers to the duration of time when something is true (as long as).
Finché non refers to the moment before something changes (until).
If it is sufficiently clear, non might be left out.
Most of us have dealt with custodians at one time or another. They’re the ones who take care of a place, like a school, church, or museum. And while custode is a good bet for the equivalent of any kind of “guardian,” there are other words that are more specific.
When referring to someone as a “custodian,” Italians often do use il custode, especially in the realm of museums and such places, and may even use custode to refer to the more prestigious role of “curator.” The curator of a museum is often called il direttore. In the following example, it’s impossible to know the professional level of the custode in question.
Il custode del museo mi mostra due carrozze
The curator of the museum shows me two carriages,
restaurate di recente...
recently restored...
Caption 27, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie - Part 1
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In referring to custodians, Italian also uses il guardiano (the guardian), or in schools, ilbidello or la bidella (the janitor) in addition to custode. In a Catholic church, on the other hand, a word similar to “sexton” or “sacristan” is used: il sagrestano or il sacrestano.
“Custody” in English often refers to divorce settlements. But when a parent is given custody of a child, then Italian employs l’affidamento, from the verb affidare (to entrust).
Suspects or criminals can be “taken into custody.” In this case, detenere is the verb meaning “to take into custody.” Once taken into custody they’re in detenzione. A prisoner is also known as un detenuto. “Detention” at school, after all, is a form of punishment, and “imprisons” the student after school hours.
So, we need only stretch our imagination very slightly to understand what custodire means.
In this week’s episode about Giuseppe Pitrè and Sicilian traditions, a couple of variations of custodire are used. Custodire is often used to refer to conserving or taking care of something. In Pitrè’s case, we’re talking about stories and traditions.
Il modo migliore di custodire la tradizione
The best way to preserve tradition
è quello di saperla adattare continuamente.
is to know how to adapt it, continually.
Caption 26, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie - Part 6
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Il dato positivo di Pitrè è che, in fondo,
The positive fact about Pitrè is that, deep down,
ama questo popolo a cui dà voce,
he loves this populace to which he gives a voice,
da cui raccoglie racconti, testimonianze
whose stories and remembrances he gathers,
e in qualche modo le vuole custodire,
and somehow he wants to conserve them,
le vuole salvaguardare.
he wants to safeguard them.
Captions 30-32, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie - Part 6
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The person who does the conserving can be called il custode (the custodian), as in the following example.
Ora, credo che Pitrè sia uno dei custodi della tradizione.
Now, I believe that Pitrè is one of the custodians of the tradition.
Caption 23, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie - Part 6
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We can talk about conserving physical objects, too. Custodire is a verb often used in conjunction with works of art in museums, castles, and churches.
Nell'Auditorium comunale di Norcia,
In the Municipal Auditorium of Norcia,
... è custodita, invece, la bellissima pala d'altare.
... is housed, instead, the very beautiful altarpiece.
Captions 12-14, Itinerari Della Bellezza - Umbria
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Someone who owns a musical instrument, or some other kind of precious or fragile object, will usually keep it in una custodia (a case).
Custodire and “custody,” with their various derivatives, stem from the Latin custos, meaning “the guard.” So it all makes a certain amount of sense, doesn’t it?
It’s interesting how a word in Latin or other ancient language evolves to mean different things in different languages. Finding the connections can be fun, all the time remembering that there may be a few false friends waiting around the corner.
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