We have spoken from time to time about how to say, "I can't wait" in Italian. It's an informal way of saying, "I am very much looking forward to something."  In Italian, it's Non vedo l'ora. For the record, Non vedo l'ora! translates, literally, as "I can't see the hour," (which makes no sense). We can use the expression just as it is, conjugating the verb vedere.

Vuoi assaggiare un poco di... -Certo. -arancello? -Non vedo l'ora.

Do you want to taste a bit of... -Of course. -arancello? -I can't wait.

Caption 51, Adriano L'arancello di Marina

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Ma se anche lui non vede l'ora!

But if even he can't wait!

Caption 70, Il Commissario Manara S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 3

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Although we can use the expression as is, we can also continue it, specifying what it is we can't wait for. Here's where it can get a bit more complex. There are basically 2 ways to continue the phrase.

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1) We use di plus the infinitive of the verb in question:

Non vedo l'ora di vederti (I can't wait to see you).

Non vedo l'ora di partire in vacanza (I can't wait to leave on vacation).

Ma invece adesso sono convintissima, motivata e non vedo l'ora di cominciare.

But now however I'm totally convinced, motivated and I can't wait to start.

Caption 4, Francesca alla guida - Part 2

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These sentences are all about you, in other words, something you are going to or want to do. It can also be about another person but the structure of the sentence remains the same: 

Pietro non vede l'ora di cominciare il corso di francese (Pietro can't wait to start the French course).

Maybe you can come up with some on your own. Try using: 

visitare Firenze (to visit Florence)

vederti (to see you)

finire questo libro (to finish this book)

cenare (to have dinner)

2) We use the conjunction che (that). With che, we start a new (subordinate) clause and here, we need the subjunctive form of the verb.

So let's say you are on the train, traveling from Milan to Venice. It may be fun to look out the window, but you really want to get to Venice!

You can say:

Non vedo l'ora di arrivare a Venezia (I can't wait to arrive  in Venice).

You can also refer to the train or to "us.":

Non vedo l'ora che questo treno arrivi a Venezia (I can't wait for this train to arrive in Venice).

Non vedo l'ora che arriviamo a Venezia (I can't wait for us to arrive in Venice)

Non vedo l'ora che finisca il viaggio (I can't wait for this trip to end).

From a translating standpoint, when you use "for" plus a verb in English in this expression, you will likely need che + the verb in the subjunctive (agreeing with noun, expressed or implied) in Italian.

Noi li amiamo tantissimo e non vediamo l'ora che un giorno possano  anche giocare.

We love them very much and we can't wait for the day when they can also play.

Captions 59-60, Andromeda La storia di Ulisse

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There are various things we can imagine a couple expecting a baby to say, as they try to wait patiently.

One of them can say:

Non vedo l'ora di veder nascere questo bambino (I can't wait to see this baby be born).

We've used di + the verb vedere. 

Or, one of them can say:

Non vediamo l'ora che nasca questo bambino (we can't wait for  this baby to be born).

Here, we have used che + the verb nascere, which refers to the baby (third person), and thus we need the subjunctive. 

And if they happen to be expecting twins?

Non vediamo l'ora che nascano questi bambini (we can't wait for these babies to be born).

So, as you can see, there are easy ways to use the expression Non vedo l'ora: by itself, or with di + infinitive. There is also the harder way, which entails knowing the subjunctive form of the verb you want to use. But as you become fluent in Italian, you will find that we tend to say the same things over and over again, so maybe you might want to learn the subjunctive forms of certain verbs you might need, such as cominciare (to begin), finire (to finish), chiamare (to call).

Tip: You can sidestep the subjunctive by forming 2 different sentences. 

Comincierà presto la lezione? Non vedo l'ora (is the lesson going to start soon? I can't wait). 

Meanwhile, keep an eye out for this expression in Yabla videos. See how people use it — by itself, with di + infinitive, or with che + subjunctive. 

Dare is an extremely common verb. It basically means "to give." But it also gets used as a sort of catch-all.

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Dai!

We've seen it many times in its informal, imperative form, all by itself:

Dai, dai, dai, dai che ti ho preparato una cosa buonissima che ti piace moltissimo.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, because I made you something very good, that you like a lot.

Caption 74, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 3

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As we see, it doesn't mean "to give" in this case. It means something like "come on." As "come on," it has plenty of nuances.

Dai is often used as a filler, as part of an innocuous and fairly positive comment, and can mean something as generic as "OK." Let's keep in mind that va be' also means "OK!" Va be' is short for vabene (all right).

Mi dispiace, Massimo, ma dobbiamo rimandare il pranzo. Va beh, dai, se devi andare... facciamo un'altra volta.

I'm sorry, Massimo, but we have to postpone our lunch. OK, then, if you have to go... we'll do it some other time.

Captions 65-66, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena - Part 2

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Dai is also used to express surprise and/or skepticism. In this case, it is often preceded by ma (but). We see this in last week's segment of Commissario Manara, when Luca figures out that Marta might be the target of a shooting. She feigns skepticism. 

E se per caso il bersaglio non fosse stata la Martini, ma fossi stata tu? Io? Ma dai!

And if by chance the target hadn't been Martini, but had been you? Me? Yeah, right!

Captions 5-7, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP6 - Sotto tiro - Part 13

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An all-purpose verb: dare

In English we use the verb  "to have" when giving commands: "Have a seat," "Have a drink," "Have a look." In Italian, though, the verb avere (to have) is rarely used in these situations. And there isn't just one Italian verb that is used, so it may be practical to learn some of these expressions one by one. 

We use the verb dare when asking someone to do something like check (dare una controllata), or have a look (dare un'occhiata).

Dai un'occhiata, dai un'occhiata...

Have a look around, have a look around...

Caption 43, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 1

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Literally:

Let's not forget the literal meaning of dare, which can easily end up in the informal imperative.

E che fai, non me lo dai un bacetto, Bubbù?

And what do you do, won't you give me a little kiss, Bubbù?

Caption 41, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo - Part 1

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Darsela a gambe

And to echo a recent lesson, and give another example of a verbo pronominale  (a phrasal verb using particelle or short pronoun-related particles) — this time with dare — we have darsela. We have the root verb dare (to give) plus se (to oneself, to themselves, to each other) and la (it). It's hard to come up with a generic translation, as it depends on the other words in the expression, but here are two different ones from Yabla videos. Maybe you can come up with other examples, and we will be glad to dare un'occhiata. The phrasal verb here is darsela a gambe (to beat it, or run away on one's legs).

È che è molto difficile trovare la donna giusta. Secondo me, se la trovi, te la dai a gambe.

It's that it's very difficult to find the right woman. In my opinion, if you find her, you'll high-tail it out of there.

Captions 29-30, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 9

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Here's a colorful example from this week's episode of La Ladra:

Aldo Piacentini e la, la, la Barbara Ricci, insomma, i presunti amanti,
che se le davano di santa ragione.

Aldo Piacentini and, uh, uh, uh Barbara Ricci, anyway, the presumed lovers,
who were really beating the crap out of each other.

Captions 45-46, La Ladra Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti - Part 14

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The meaning of se le davano isn't very obvious, so let's try taking it apart. Se is a reciprocal indirect pronoun, "to each other"; le is the plural generic direct object pronoun, "them"; and dare, in this case, can stand for "to deliver". In English it might not mean much, but for Italians the meaning is quite clear.

We could say they are giving each other black eyes, if we want to use the original meaning of dare.

Di santa ragione adds emphasis or strength, and might be translated as "the holy crap," "the hell," or "really."

In case you haven't gotten the chance, check out this lesson about verbi pronominali. 

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