We can detect the cognate "to move" in the verb muovere. In English, "to move" can be either transitive or intransitive.
We can move a piece of furniture from one place to another, or we can be the ones to move on our own. In Italian, however, muovere is basically transitive, in its natural, non-reflexive form.
Per me la cosa più bella è recitare e muovere i pupi.
For me the best thing is reciting and moving the marionettes.
Caption 56, Dottor Pitrè e le sue storie - Part 11
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Non riesco a muovere la gamba (I can't move my leg)!
When it's intransitive, it is primarily used in its reflexive form.
Il nostro uomo sta per muoversi.
Our man is about to move.
Caption 23, Provaci ancora prof! S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita - Part 23
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In addition to merely moving around in space, muoversi is used a lot to mean "to get going," "to get moving" (also figuratively), or "to get some exercise."
Ti vuoi muovere? -Arrivo!
You want to get moving? -I'm coming!
Caption 25, Provaci ancora prof! S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale - Part 11
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Non ti muovere o sparo!
Don't move or I'll shoot!
Caption 28, Un Figlio a tutti i costi film - Part 6
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Lui ha detto: "Io da qui non mi muovo."
He said, "I am not budging from here."
Caption 10, Fuori era primavera Viaggio nell'Italia del lockdown - Part 14
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The verb muovere has an irregular conjugation, and the past participle is used quite often as an adjective.
When the sea is rough, it's il mare mosso.
Non lo vedo più. -Perché il mare è un po' mosso.
I can't see him anymore. -Because the sea is a bit rough.
Caption 50, PIMPA S3 EP12 L'amica Onda
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When your hair is a bit wavy or not combed neatly, we use the past participle mossi. Let's remember that, in Italian, we use the plural capelli, even though in English, hair is a collective noun.
Aveva dei capelli mossi (she/he had wavy hair).
When you want someone to hurry up, you can say, muoviti (hurry up, get moving)!
Oh, cammina, muoviti. -Aspetta.
Hey, get going, move it. -Wait up.
Caption 11, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 14
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There is a noun form that comes from the past participle, and that is la mossa (the move). When you make the right move, fai la mossa giusta.
When you need to get a move on, it's darsi una mossa (literally, to give oneself a move).
Allora ragazzi, bisogna che ci diamo una mossa.
So, guys, we need to get a move on.
Caption 20, Concorso internazionale di cortometraggio A corto di idee - Part 1
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Datti una mossa, dai (get a move on, come on)!
Of course in English, we use the verb "to move" when we go to live in a different apartment or house. You may be wondering how to say that in Italian. Transitive or intransitive? None of the above!
The verb is traslocare, or, much more common, fare trasloco. Think of it as "translocation!" or "translocate," a cross between "transfer" and "relocate."
It’s always handy to know what you are sitting on, so here are some of the basics.
A seat for a single person may be una sedia (a chair). It has four legs, a seat, and a back.
"Per favore, sollevami sulla sedia e fammi sedere accanto a te."
"Please, lift me onto the chair and let me sit next to you."
Caption 1, Ti racconto una fiaba - Il Principe Ranocchio
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The noun la sedia comes from the verb sedere (to sit). The following example is from a movie scene that’s a take-off on the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, so the Italian is archaic, and some of the words are truncated or modified. The reflexive form of sedere — sedersi — the form generally used to mean “to sit,” is omitted here, and the normal verb sedere is used.
Siedi piuttosto e non avere fretta.
Sit down instead and don't be in a hurry.
Caption 9, Totò e Lia Zoppelli - Romeo e Giulietta
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And here we have another seat for one person: lo sgabello (the stool). Lo sgabello can be low or high, made of wood or another material. It can be used to sit on or to stand on, to reach a high cupboard for example.
Ma dove seder degg'io, se qui sgabel non v'è?
But where do I sit down, when there is no stool here?
Caption 10, Totò e Lia Zoppelli - Romeo e Giulietta
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These days, pianists usually use uno sgabello regolabile (a piano stool that can be raised or lowered), but traditionally, and in homes, the piano has una panca per pianoforte (a piano bench) made of wood to match the piano. As opposed to a sgabello, una panca per pianoforte can fit two people nicely.
Whether we know the definition of a word or not, logic would tell us that panchina is a small panca, because there is a diminutive suffix: ino/ina. In this case, however, we can throw logic out the window because size doesn’t play a role. In fact, panca and panchina basically mean the same thing — a (wooden) seat, often backless, for two or more people — but they’re used in different situations.
In church, we talk about le panche, the pews. Traditionally, these pews would have been backless, but in modern times, church pews usually have backs to them. In some regions, people use the word banco for a church pew.
La panca is usually found indoors, and is generally made of wood. It seats several people around a table. This kind of panca doesn’t usually have a back to it, and is thought of as being rustic.
Una panca can be found in a gym, for doing crunches and weights.
La panca can used to seat people at a performance, usually in a makeshift theater. This may be indoors or outdoors.
"Ah, questa parola non l'hai scandita bene, picchì [perché]
"Ah, you didn't articulate this word well, because
l'ultimo spettatore del, dell'ultima panca
the last spectator on the, on the last bench
ava a sentiri bonu chiddu ca' dici [deve sentire bene quello che dici]".
has to hear what you're saying clearly."
Captions 49-51, Dottor Pitrè - e le sue storie
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If we go out of doors, we start talking about la panchina.
A "park bench," whether it has a back to it or not, is una panchina. The diminutive suffix -ina has become part of the word, so as mentioned above, size doesn’t matter.
In sports, an inactive player sitting in the dugout or on the sidelines is in panchina.
Un panchetto or una panchetta, on the other hand, is a low stool, often, more elegant than a sgabello, and usually used to rest one’s feet upon. Using the masculine or feminine form depends on the region.
In Part Two, we’ll talk about more comfortable places to sit.
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