Sorting out the parts of speech in a new language can be tricky. You don't necessarily need to be able to memorize what part of speech a given word is, but it's handy to be able to figure it out. Native speakers just know, but learners need some cues sometimes. We're going to discuss the word fidanzato/a because it crops up as a past participle, adjective, or noun, and it can be challenging to figure out which it is. We'll try to make some sense out of it. 

We have talked about the fine line between adjectives and nouns in another lesson, but it's a topic that comes up frequently, so we'll explore it again from another angle. 

The caption that sparked this discussion is from the popular crime drama Imma Tataranni. Imma, the deputy prosecutor, is interviewing the parents of a girl who had been murdered. 

Era fidanzata?

Did she have a boyfriend?

[Was she engaged/attached?]

Caption 17, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 4

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Our translation caused some confusion because it's neither parallel nor word-for-word. But it opened up a discussion about adjectives and nouns, and how to tell the difference. It also opened up a discussion about what words to use when referring to relationships. But we'll talk about that in another lesson. Let's look at what questions to ask to find out whether a word is a past participle, adjective, or noun.

Is there an article?

The word fidanzata ends in a so it is likely feminine. The masculine would be fidanzato. Adjective or noun? There is no article in this example, so the best guess is "adjective." If it were a noun (something that is possible), it would likely have an article and possibly an adjective or possessive adjective before it. 

Ci vorrebbe una bella fidanzata.

You need a nice girlfriend.

Caption 75, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 2 - Part 17

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What verb is used before it?

And we can look at the verb. Italian's two main verbs, essere (to be) and avere (to have) are used as auxiliaries, but not exclusively. Avere is also a transitive verb meaning "to have," where as essere is not. Here is an example from another crime-show interview about a murder. This time the detective used the verb avere (to have), which makes things much simpler. We assume from the context that it's about a guy, but it could also be "Did she have a girlfriend?".

Aveva una fidanzata?

Did he have a girlfriend?

Caption 45, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP4 Gelo - Part 7

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But here, we see the verb essere (and no article) so we can tell that fidanzata is an adjective.

Io vado, ciao. -Allora, questa amica mia è fidanzata da otto anni

I'm going, bye. -So this friend of mine, she's been engaged for eight years

Captions 75-76, Stai lontana da me Rai Cinema - Part 2

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 Here, too, there is no article.

Devo dirti una cosa, Teresa. -Dimmi. -Io sono fidanzato, Teresa.

I have to tell you something, Teresa. -Tell me. -I'm engaged, Teresa.

Captions 42-44, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 19

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Here's how it works in the plural. 

Per un po' siamo anche stati fidanzati.

We were also boyfriend and girlfriend for a while.

For a while, we were even engaged.

Caption 10, La Ladra EP. 11 - Un esame importante - Part 2

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Reflexive structure?

When we talk about the process of getting engaged, then fidanzata/o is no longer an adjective. It's the past participle of the verb fidanzare (to get engaged). We use the reflexive particle si (oneself) and the auxiliary verb essere (to be).

Mi sono fidanzata. Evviva! -Che bello, la nonna si è fidanzata!

I got engaged. Yay! -How nice that Grandma has gotten [herself] engaged!

Captions 30-31, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 17

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We hope we've cleared up some doubts about fidanzato/a and given you some tips for determining whether a word is a past participle, adjective, or noun.

Let's check out this great Italian two-word adverb: a malapena. We rarely, if ever, see malapena without its preposition, so we can almost think of it as one word. Let's look at some examples in context to absorb its meaning, and then we'll unpack it.

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In this first example, Imma, the deputy public prosecutor of the city of Matera, is at a dinner party at the home of one of her colleagues, the last place she wanted to be, and in fact, some of the other guests are making disparaging remarks about her. 

Pensare che parlava a malapena l'italiano e mò [lucano: ora] è diventata pure PM [Pubblico Ministero].

Just think that she barely spoke Italian and now she has even become a public prosecutor.

Captions 55-56, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP2 Come piante fra sassi - Part 10

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In this wonderful film for TV, based on a true story about teaching adults how to read and write on TV, Antonio argues with the school principal criticizing his teaching methods. He defends himself by asking her why his methods work, while hers clearly don't. 

Mi sa spiegare perché a malapena sanno leggere e scrivere?

Can you explain to me why they can barely read and write?

Captions 62-63, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 5

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In La tempesta, a comedy set in the Venetian city of Treviso, Paolo, a photographer, knocks at the door of his new neighbor (a woman), wanting a favor. She doesn't want to open the door.

No, io a malapena ti conosco. No. -Va bene, allora facciamo le presentazioni:

No. I hardly know you. No. -All right, then let's introduce ourselves.

Captions 50-51, La Tempesta film - Part 1

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In the next example, the context is a bit different, as we are talking about the number of bottles of wine a new winery has produced.  

Cavour impiega almeno una quindicina di anni per riuscire a produrre le prime bottiglie. Sono a malapena cento.

Cavour takes at least fifteen years to succeed in producing the first bottles. There were barely a hundred of them.

Captions 38-40, Meraviglie EP. 5 - Part 2

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If we look up a malapena in the dictionary, we find some synonyms: a stento, a fatica, con fatica. But if we do a little more digging, we see it also means appena. If we look for the etymology, we find that malapena is malo (an adjective meaning "bad" or an adverb meaning "badly") plus pena. While la pena is a noun meaning "suffering," a malapena likely comes from appena, from the Latin "ad paene," meaning "almost." In addition, the verb penare means "to struggle." One translation of a malapena is "with difficulty." The evolution of a word, as we have seen on many occasions, is not a straight line!

So we could say a malapena means "almost" but in the negative sense, in other words, "barely."  We can use it when we have gone further than "almost," but just by a hair. You made it, but you almost didn't make it! And it took an effort, a struggle, to make it by that small margin. 

So if we take our video examples, one by one, we could give these alternative (though inelegant) translations:

"She almost didn't speak Italian." "She struggled to speak Italian."

"They almost don't know how to read and write." "They struggle to read and write."

"I almost don't know you."

"There were almost less than a hundred bottles." "It was a struggle to reach one hundred bottles." 

We could use appena in place of a malapena in our video examples (see above):

Pensare che parlava appena l'italiano...

Mi sa spiegare perché sanno appena leggere e scrivere?

No, io ti conosco appena.

Sono appena cento [bottiglie].

Using a malapena instead of appena gives the idea more weight, more effort to reach a limit. With mal as a sort of prefix (meaning malo), there is also a hint of a negative connotation.

In a previous lesson, we looked at the adverb appena in a different context to mean "as soon as" and "just as."  But we also use appena to mean "a small amount." Almost nothing! 

In the following example, we can keep to the "almost" meaning by thinking that they almost didn't know each other!

Lui e lei si sono appena conosciuti, ma già si amano.

He and she just met, but they already love each other.

Captions 6-7, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 19

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Appena in tempo, translated as "just in time," could also be interpreted as "almost late."

"Basta!" -Appena in tempo.

"Stop!" -Just in time.

Caption 33, Dixiland Coppa di cioccolato

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Here is an example of appena used just like a malapena.

Lo conoscevo proprio appena, perché vivo in Italia da un anno e...

I barely knew him, because I've been living in Italy for a year, and...

Caption 8, Il Commissario Manara S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro - Part 3

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I almost didn't know him, because...

To round out this lesson about a malapena and appena, let's just add that when you are talking about something very, very slight, it's common to repeat the adverb appena.

Qui ci sono ancora le tracce del colore originario che si riescono appena appena a vedere.

Here, there are still traces of the original color which one can just barely see.

Captions 13-14, In giro per l'Italia Asciano - S. Giuliano Terme: Villa Bosniascki - Part 2

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For sure, appena is used more often than a malapena, but now we see where they cross paths. Do a Yabla search of appena on the videos page and you will see scores of examples. See if you can single out the nuances of meaning. 

Have questions or comments? Write to us. We love to hear from you!

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Most folks know that when someone plays a solo, he or she is the main player, also called the soloist. Sometimes a musician plays alone (this is a hint).

Solo is an Italian word

You may or may not have realized that solo is an Italian word, 100%.  Let's take a look at how it's used in Italian. Because when someone plays a solo in the middle of a song, strangely enough, it's called something else entirely: un assolo (a solo).

Sì. -In un... -Io sono, sono un tenore leggero.

Yes. -In a... -I'm a, I'm a light tenor.

E fai anche dei duetti... -Sì, a volte duetti buffi,

And you also do duets... -Yes, sometimes comic opera duets,

a volte, invece, dei, degli assoli. -Ecco! Ah, no.

sometimes, on the other hand, some, some solos. -There! Ah, no.

Posso sentire prima un assolo e poi, magari, vedo, facciamo un duetto.

Can I first hear a solo, and then, maybe let's see, we'll do a duet.

Captions 101-104, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 1

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Solo has to do with being alone. It can mean "on one's own."

Ulisse era un cane anziano, un cane solo.

Ulisse was an old dog, a lone dog.

Caption 12, Andromeda - La storia di Ulisse

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Solo is often preceded by the preposition da (by), making it function sort of like an adverb, answering the question "how," or "in what way,"  in which case we can translate it with "by oneself," "on one's own," "by itself," or "alone."

Guarda che al cinema ci posso pure andare da sola.

Look, I can perfectly well go to the movies by myself.

Caption 49, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 19

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Guardi, sta arrivando Olivetti.

Look, here comes Olivetti.

Pensava di venire qui con tanti dei suoi

He thought he'd come here with many of his own,

e invece è da solo.

and instead, he's by himself.

Captions 59-60, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 21

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Vuoi un antidolorifico? Ce l'ho.

Do you want a painkiller? I have some.

-No, no, no. Preferisco che mi passi da solo.

-No, no, no. I prefer for it to go away on its own.

-Come vuoi.

-As you like.

Captions 38-40, La Ladra - Ep. 7 - Il piccolo ladro

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Io, la mia strada, me la sono fatta da solo.

I, I've paved my own way [I did it all on my own].

Caption 43, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 9

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"Solo" da solo

But solo is not always preceded by da.

Io... lo... lo conoscevo poco, però,

I... I... I didn't know him very well

nonostante tutte le donne che si vantava di avere,

but despite all the women he bragged about having,

a me sembrava un uomo molto solo.

he seemed like a very lonely man to me.

Captions 40-41, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP5 - Mondo sommerso

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In this case, it means "lonely." It's not always clear if someone is lonely or alone. But if we ad da — da solo, then it is clear it means "alone," not "lonely." We can also say "to feel alone" or "to feel lonely." Sentirsi solo.

Solo also means "only"

Solo can be an adjective meaning "only" — which rhymes with "lonely," and in Italian it's the same word.

Non è il solo motivo per cui mi oppongo.

It's not the only reason I object.

Caption 41, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 1

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Vedi, Alessio, quando mio padre venne qui e fondò questa fabbrica,

You see, Alessio, when my father came here and founded this plant,

qui intorno c'erano solo campi di grano.

there were only wheat fields around here.

Captions 17-18, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 13

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Cioè, penso solo al fatto che tu non ci sia più, Martino.

I mean, I can only think about the fact that you're no longer here, Martino.

Caption 3, Chi m'ha visto - film

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In English, we often say "just" to mean the same thing.

Magari! Ma quanto mi costa? Adesso spara la cifra.

If only! But how much will it cost me? Now he'll name the price.

-Io non voglio parlare di danaro, io voglio solo aiutarla.

-I don't want to talk about money. I just want to help you.

Captions 37-38, La Ladra - Ep. 4 - Una magica bionda

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Typical expressions with solo

It's typical for someone to say, è solo che... (it's just that...) to minimize something, or to say "but."

Eh, è solo che ho bisogno di un prestito.

Huh, it's just that I need a loan.

Caption 10, La Ladra - Ep. 1 - Le cose cambiano

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Another context in which we hear solo is when we want to say, "And that's not all!"

E non solo. Nella salina Moranella,

And not only that [and that's not all]. In the Moranella salt pan,

un momento magico, veramente, è la raccolta del fior di sale.

a magical moment, really, is the harvesting of "fleur de sel."

Captions 52-53, La rotta delle spezie di Franco Calafatti - Il sale

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When you need to keep someone waiting for a moment, or you are passing the phone to someone else, you can say:

Un momento solo (just a moment).

Un instante solo (just a moment). 

We hope this lesson has given you some insight into the very common and important word solo. Don't forget that you can do a search of this word (and any other one) and see all the contexts right there on the video page. Look at where solo falls in the sentence and read the sentence to yourself. Get a feel for this word.