Some words are very similar between Italian and English, and are often cognates, but sometimes there is a letter that seems to be missing and so if we follow our instincts, we might very well get it wrong. Let's look at some of the words that look like they are missing an N, or at least, if we follow our instincts, we might add it by mistake.
There is an example of this tricky phenomenon in a recent episode of Provaci ancora prof. In fact, little Livietta is still learning and she gets it wrong, so her father corrects her. He clearly understood what she was trying to say, but the word she used actually meant "to inspire."
Dai papà, alza la testa e fai resistenza
Come on Daddy, lift your head and press
mentre io ti spingo giù, ispirando forte.
while I push you down, inspiring deeply.
-Inspirando, con la enne, inspirando, ecco.
-Inhaling with an N, inhaling, that's it.
Captions 18-20, Provaci ancora prof! - S2E3 - Dietro la porta
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It's easy to get mixed up. In English the verb is "to inspire," but in Italian, it's ispirare. No N! To complicate matters, the verb inspirare does exist, as we see in the clip, but it means "to breathe in," "to inhale."
Another word that sounds like the English word — almost — is istruzione (instruction, education). There's no N in the Italian word.
È arrivata oggi dal Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione.
It came today from the Ministry of Public Education.
Caption 23, Non è mai troppo tardi - EP 2
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This one is easy to understand, as it sounds kind of like "instant " but there's no N.
oppure qualcosa di sgradevole
or something unpleasant
da cui stiamo scappando all'ultimo istante.
from which we escape at the last moment.
Captions 38-39, Marika spiega - Espressioni con i capelli
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Or we have the adjective istantaneo. Plenty of N's there, but not at the beginning between the I and the S.
È un effetto chimico istantaneo, temporaneo,
It's an instant chemical effect, temporary.
Caption 24, Andromeda - Marmellata anti spreco
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Però il mio istinto mi dice che non è così.
But my instinct tells me that's not how it is.
Caption 13, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso
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Let's not forget the adjective form istintivo (instinctive) and the adverb istintivamente (instinctively).
Yet another one, not exactly the same word as in English, but close enough, is iscriversi (to register). We might expect there to be an N (inscriversi), but that would be wrong. Also, if we think of the word "inscription" we get a closer match. Your name is "inscribed" in the register.
Olga ha deciso di iscriversi all'università
Olga has decided to enroll at the university
Caption 64, Provaci ancora prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale
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"Registration" or "enrollment" can be called l'iscrizione.
Dopo la morte della mi' moglie, avrei dovuto metterlo in un istituto.
After the death of my wife, I should have put him in an institution.
Caption 52, Marika commenta - L'ispettore Manara - Espressioni toscane
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Note that istituto can mean either "institute" or "institution." Also, istituzione exists, as well as adjectives such as istituzionale.
There may be other words we haven't covered here. Feel free to write to us with suggestions, and we will add them to this lesson.
Here's another word, sent in by a Yabla subscriber.
Poi settemila di materiale edile:
Then seven thousand in construction materials,
vernici, cemento, tegole... -Voleva costruire una casa, no?
paints, cement, roof tiles... -He wanted to build a house, right?
Captions 13-14, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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We also have the noun form costruzione.
Questa è una delle più importanti chiese della zona di Pisa,
This is one of the most important churches of the Pisa area,
la cui prima costruzione risale al decimo [sic: nono] secolo.
whose first construction dates to the tenth century [sic: ninth].
Captions 7-8, In giro per l'Italia - Pisa e dintorni
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Lo Stato Italiano ha una costituzione,
The Italian State has a constitution,
Caption 17, Nicola Agliastro - Le Forze dell'Ordine in Italia
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The verb costituire (to constitute) also exists:
Ma anche delle ville che potessero
But also villas that could
costituire un vero e proprio rifugio...
constitute a real refuge...
Captions 16-17, Meraviglie - EP. 5 - Part 13
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As soon as we start thinking of words that have unexpected spellings and pronunciations, we think of words that start with E.
One common one that comes to mind is, of course, espresso, where we want to use an X instead of an S. In fact, there are numerous words like this one, so in a future lesson, we'll take a look at those.
In a recent video, Marika talks about avverbi di tempo (time adverbs). Some of these are pretty straightforward, but some have multiple meanings, depending on the context. We have already looked at some of the tricky ones in previous lessons: ancora (yet, still, again) and sempre (always, still).
The title of a TV series offered on Yabla is Provaci Ancora Prof. (“Try Again, Professor,” or “Play it Again, Professor”). In this case, ancora clearly means “again,” but as we can see in the following example, it can also mean “still.”
Camilla è ancora in casa?
Is Camilla still home?
Caption 52, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale - Part 1
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And when used with the negative non, ancora means “yet.” In English we usually say “not yet,” and this is true in Italian as well
Sicura? -Be', ho compiuto quarant'anni,
Are you sure? -Well, I've reached forty years,
ma non sono ancora del tutto rimbecillita.
but I'm not yet totally senile.
Caption 57, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale - Part 7
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Ancora can also mean “even” as an adverb modifying another adverb.
Uno si stanca ancora prima di cominciare a...
You get tired even before you begin to...
Caption 4, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E1 - Il regalo di Babbo Natale - Part 4
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When sempre means “always,” it’s pretty easy. But sempre also means “still,” which is a bit less familiar.
Sei sempre qua?
Are you still here?
And we might feel even more challenged, because we can also use ancora to mean the same thing.
Sei ancora qua?
Are you still here?
We use sempre when in English we would say “more and more” as an adverb. Semprereplaces the first “more.” To harmonize with the Italian, we could say “ever more.”
Sì, però, volendo si può anche fare la cena a lume
Yes, but if you want to, you can also have dinner
di candela sul Tevere.
by candlelight on the Tiber.
Mh, sempre più romantico.
Hm, ever more romantic/more and more romantic.
Captions 56-57, Anna e Marika - Il fiume Tevere
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Another “time” adverb that can get a bit tricky is mai (never, ever).
It’s basically straightforward, but we need to remember that although English does not allow double negatives, Italian does allow them. So we will usually see non together with mai to mean “never.” It may be helpful to remember that in English we have “never” or “not ever.” They mean the same thing.
Io, in vita mia, non l'avevo mai vista la pizza bianca
Me, in my life, I'd never seen white pizza
e neanche sapevo cosa fosse.
and I didn't even know what it was.
Captions 14-15, Anna e Marika - Pizza al taglio romana
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In questions, where in English we would use “ever,” we still use mai in Italian, but we don’t use the negation non.
Hai mai viaggiato in aereo?
Have you ever traveled by plane?
In the response, if negative, we use mai to mean “never” or “not ever.”
Non ho mai viaggiato in aereo.
I have never/I haven’t ever traveled by plane.
Mai is used in some modi di dire, so take a look at these lessons about them.
Are there particular Italian adverbs of time that confuse you? Let us know, and we’ll see what we can do to help.
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