In this lesson, we'll take a look at a noun, a cognate in fact, that easy as it is to guess, can also create confusion sometimes, because it means a couple of different things. In English we distinguish among history, story, experience, and love affair. Italian relies on this one noun, la storia, to tell plenty of different stories!
We mention, for those interested, that in literature, we might also find istoria as a version of the word, and that la storia comes from the Greek "istoria" and the Latin "historia."
But let's talk about how people use la storia practically, in conversation. It's hard to get through a day without using this word in one way or another.
In the following example, it's clear we're talking about history.
Nella storia si sono usate le diverse chiavi per fare in modo
Historically, different clefs were used to make it so
che tutte le note si trovassero il più possibile dentro al pentagramma.
that all the notes would be, as much as possible, inside the staff.
Captions 18-19, A scuola di musica - con Alessio
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1) Can you say the same thing turning storia into an adverb, as in the translation?
Here, too, it's clear. It's also clear because storia is used with no article, and it's singular.
Io quando sono in questi posti pieni di storia,
When I'm in these places so full of history,
faccio dei pensieri profondi.
I have profound thoughts.
Captions 2-3, Amiche - Filosofie
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2) What if Anna (the speaker) was just talking about one specific place? What would she say?
Sometimes it's hard to know whether we're talking about history or stories, but it doesn't always matter. A translator has to make a choice, but the learner, reader, or listener doesn't. We're talking about past events, and if they are true, then we could also say, "history."
Voglio raccontarvi qualcosa di me,
I want to tell you something about myself,
della mia vita, della mia storia.
about my life, about my story.
Captions 13-14, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno
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When it comes to romance, there are different ways to talk about a relationship. The most common way, and this doesn't really have an equivalent in English, is with the noun storia. Of course we can say "love story" in English, (and we can say storia d'amore in Italian) but we don't so much these days, and it is usually an important relationship in one's life. In fact, translators can have a hard time finding the right word for translating storia. The following clip is from the story of an opera, so an old-fashioned word like "romance" seemed appropriate.
Abbiamo riso, abbiamo parlato.
We laughed, we talked.
Ci siamo ricordati tutti i momenti belli della nostra storia.
We remembered all the beautiful moments of our romance.
Captions 16-17, Anna presenta - La Bohème di Puccini
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Ho avuto anch'io una storia con una collega.
I also had a relationship with a colleague.
Caption 51, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso
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In the previous example, we might have said "affair" instead of relationship, or possibly "fling." But not knowing the details, it's hard to know what the appropriate word might be.
In the next example, however, Luca Manara calls the relationship una relazione, another common term for a romantic relationship, close in meaning to storia, but una storia is often short-term with a beginning and an end, whereas una relazione can give the idea of something ongoing. But as we can see, here the two terms seem to be fairly equivalent.
Prima le bugie sul tuo trasferimento qua,
First, the lies about your getting transferred here,
poi sulla tua relazione con Raimondi.
then about your relationship with Raimondi.
-La mia storia con Fabrizio non ti riguarda.
-My relationship with Fabrizio doesn't concern you.
Captions 15-17, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP8 - Fuori servizio
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When a relationship is short or not very serious, we can use a suffix to modify the word storia.
Una storiella con un vigile urbano.
A fling with a traffic cop.
Caption 9, La Ladra - Ep. 3 - L'oro dello squalo
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We can also use storiella or even storia to mean "fib" or "lie."
We can always count on the Luca Manara TV series to give us great examples of everyday conversation. Something to memorize is what you see in boldface below: Cos'è questa storia?
Allora, Manara, che cos'è questa storia del contadino fratello del Conte?
So, Manara, what's this story about the farmer-brother of the Count's?
Caption 15, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP2 - Vendemmia tardiva
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When you say it by itself, you can think: "What's going on?" "What is this?"
Storia can often just be translated with "thing." It's a word we use to cover a lot of ground: storia in Italian and "thing" in English.
Che c'hai?
What's the matter with you?
No, niente, 'sta [questa] storia di Lara che è nervosa per il matrimonio...
No, nothing. This thing with Lara who's anxious about the wedding...
Captions 2-3, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto
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You will likely have noticed that questa is often shortened to 'sta.
Another expression to memorize, and this is used in English too, so it should be pretty straightforward.
Ne mangiasse almeno una di queste mele,
If he would only eat at least one of these apples,
tutti i giorni la stessa storia.
every day, it's the same story.
Captions 4-5, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP9 - Morte in paradiso
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È sempre la stessa storia (It's always the same old story)!
Let's not forget that storia can just mean story as in telling a story, a fairy-tale, a fable, or reading a bed-time story.
La morale di questa storia ci dice che l'unione fa la forza.
The moral of this story tells us that unity is what gives strength [united we stand, divided we fall].
Caption 33, Adriano - Fiaba - Part 1
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As usual, there is more to this story than we have mentioned in this lesson. As Gualtiero Marchesi said at the end of his episodes about gastronomia (gourmet cooking and food in general):
Ah, ma questa è un'altra storia.
Ah, but that's another story.
Quella della prossima puntata.
The one in the next episode.
Captions 43-44, L'arte della cucina - Terre d'Acqua
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So stay tuned!
1) Storicamente si sono usate le diverse chiavi per fare in modo che tutte le note si trovassero il più possibile dentro al pentagramma.
2) Io quando sono in questo posto pieno di storia, faccio dei pensieri profondi.
We looked at the noun torto in a previous lesson. We can say hai torto (you're wrong). But what about when you're right? Being right uses the noun ragione, but let's first take a closer look at this versatile noun and related forms.
In Italian, la ragione is a partial true cognate. When used to mean "the reason," it makes sense to us because it's a true cognate:
E c'è una ragione molto precisa.
And there is a very precise reason.
Caption 21, Meraviglie - EP. 2 - Part 2
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We also have a verb form: ragionare (to reason, to think, to reflect):
Cerchiamo di ragionare con calma.
Let's try to think about this calmly.
Caption 28, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP1 - Casa nuova
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We have an adjective, too: ragionevole (reasonable):
Siccome mi sembra anche una persona piuttosto ragionevole,
Since you also seem like a rather reasonable person,
io spero non ci saranno problemi, ecco.
I hope there won't be any problems, that's it.
Captions 55-56, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film
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But we also use the noun ragione (without the article) together with the verb avere (to have) to mean "to be right."
avere ragione (to be right) -- literally, it would be "to have right."
In Italian, aver ragione has come to mean "to be right." And people use this expression countless times every day, so it's great to have it in your toolbox. The verb you need to conjugate is avere (to have), which is probably one of the first verbs to learn in Italian. Here's the conjugation chart for avere. But you don't need an article for ragione in this case, so it couldn't get much easier than that. Abbiamo ragione (are we right)?
Avevi ragione tu. Gabriele s'era messo nei guai.
You were right. Gabriele got into trouble.
Gare di cross illegali.
Illegal dirt bike racing.
Captions 18-19, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto - Part 8
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Il cliente ha sempre ragione?
The customer is always right?
Caption 70, La Ladra - Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda - Part 2
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Sono stufa delle tue promesse.
I'm sick of your promises.
Sono anni che aspetto che lasci tua moglie...
I've been waiting for you to leave your wife for years...
-Hai ragione. -e io non...
-You're right. -and I won't...
Hai ragione, hai ragione. Va bene.
You're right, you're right. All right.
Captions 68-71, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata - Part 5
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"To prove someone right" can be dare ragione,
Non ti interessa il parere di nessuno.
You're not interested in anyone's opinion.
-Ma poi i risultati mi danno ragione.
-But afterwards, the results prove me right.
Captions 21-22, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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But we can also use dare ragione when we admit or agree that someone else is right. It's just an additional nuance to saying "you're right."
Su questo, ti dò ragione.
About that, I agree you're right.
Do a search of ragione on the videos page and you will get plenty of examples in various conjugations and contexts, where ragione might mean "right" and where it might mean "reason." It's a great way to get lots of different examples all at once. Try repeating some of them out loud.
And remember: The trickiest thing to remember is that the verb to use is avere (to have), not essere (to be).
We will close with a little expression that's also the title of this lesson:
a torto o a ragione (wrong or right), rimango della mia idea (I'm not changing my mind).
In English, we would start with "right," but you get the idea!
That's it for this lesson, and we hope that when someone else is right, you will be able to tell them so in Italian! If you have questions about this, just write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
"About" is a very common word in English. It is a preposition, but also an adjective and adverb. For now, we'll focus on the prepositional meaning "on the subject of" or "concerning." As in English, Italian provides a few different options. So let's take a look.
The first way: the preposition di (of/about).
If you think back to stories you have heard, even English uses “of” sometimes to mean “about.”
I will speak to you of love.
It may seem a bit antiquated, but it does exist. In Italian, it’s very common. In fact, Adriano speaks a very everyday kind of Italian, and normally uses the preposition di (about, of) to mean “about.”
Vi parlo della colazione, di una colazione italiana.
I'm going to talk to you about breakfast, about an Italian breakfast.
Caption 2, Adriano - fa colazione
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Oggi vi parlerò delle stagioni.
Today I'm going to talk to you about the seasons.
Caption 2, Adriano - Le stagioni dell'anno
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The second way: a (to, at).
The preposition a is used with the verb pensare (to think). We could also say “to reflect.” Then the preposition “on” could make sense. “To reflect on life.”
Sì, mi metto a pensare alla vita in generale. A...
Yes, I get to thinking about life in general. About...
a tutto.
about everything.
Captions 6-7, Amiche - Filosofie
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But the preposition di can also be used with the verb pensare.
Cosa pensi di questo vestito?
What do you think about/of this dress?
You might have run across the pronoun ne in videos and lessons about particelle (particles).
Cosa ne pensi?
What do you think about it?
The third way: su (on).
Allora Rossana, ti faccio qualche domanda sul tuo mestiere, insomma.
So Rossana, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your profession, in short.
Caption 54, Anna e Marika - Il pane
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The fourth way: a proposito.
In a recent Yabla video on business Italian, Arianna is settling into her new job, but already has a problem she needs to discuss with her boss. She uses a more formal, longer way to say “about.” It’s a bit more precise, and, well, businesslike, and gives the topic a bit more importance.
Sì, certo. Ho anche bisogno di parlarti
Yes, of course. I also need to talk to you
a proposito del nostro contatto della stampa estera.
about our foreign press contact.
Caption 11, Italiano commerciale - Difficoltà con colleghi e contratti
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In the above example, we might also translate a proposito as “regarding,” since it’s a moderately formal situation. In actual fact, these days, “regarding” would more likely be found in a letter than in a normal office conversation. The meaning is pretty much the same.
In the following example, too, a proposito could be translated as “regarding.” We would need some extra context to determine which would work better. If either Lara or Luca were talking to their boss, then “regarding” might be more appropriate.
A proposito del caso del cimitero...
Speaking of the cemetery case...
Regarding the cemetery case...
Caption 50, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo
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It all depends on who is talking to whom, and whether they want to be formal or informal, or if the question is a bit off the cuff, or planned out.
Note: One important, and very common way a proposito is used, is all by itself, without a specified object: A proposito... In this case, it can mean “speaking of which” or “by the way.” It’s a rather non-aggressive means of getting a word in edgewise, changing the subject, or bringing up a topic out of the blue.
Ne parliamo stasera, OK?
We'll talk about it tonight, OK?
-A proposito, hai comprato il vino?
-Speaking of which, did you buy wine?/By the way, did you buy wine?
Captions 29-30, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto
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Sometimes these different ways of saying "about" are interchangeable, and sometimes one works better than the other. Experience will help you determine the best one for any given situation. Keep your ears open!
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