We have talked about pronominal verbs before, but pronominal verbs are tricky, so we've come back to them once again.
For more about pronominal verbs, check out this lesson.
This time, let's look at a pronominal verb people use all the time: farcela. It's about succeeding, managing, being able, making it — or not.
One tricky thing about pronominal verbs is that when they are conjugated, you have to find the parts. These verbs are more recognizable when they're in the infinitive as in the following example.
Non so se potrò farcela senza di lei.
I don't know if I can manage without her.
Caption 46, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 25
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If we take farcela apart, we get the verb fare (to do, to make); we get ce. Let's keep in mind that ce means the same thing as ci, but when we have a direct object in addition to the indirect object pronoun ci, then ci turns into ce! Very tricky! Then we have la. La stands for "it" and is a direct object pronoun.
Let's also remember that when you say (in English), "I made it," you can mean you baked the cake, and in this case "to make" is transitive, or you can mean you succeeded in doing something, you managed, you were able. The verb "to succeed" is intransitive — we need a preposition after it. This may help in understanding farcela.
Be', in qualche modo ce l'abbiamo fatta e questo ci ha rafforzati.
Well, somehow we did it and this made us stronger.
Captions 60-61, COVID-19 3) La quarantena
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Finalmente ce l'hai fatta a farti sospendere dal servizio.
Finally, you managed to get yourself suspended from service.
Caption 30, Il Commissario Manara S2EP8 - Fuori servizio - Part 10
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A pronominal verb gets separated into its parts when it's conjugated. Often we find the indirect object pronoun first (ce). Then we have the direct object pronoun (la). We have the conjugated verb, which, in this case, is in the passato prossimo tense. It uses the helping verb avere (to have) and the past participle of the verb fare (to do, to make). If the pronominal verb were to occur in the present tense, then fare would be the conjugated verb.
Eh, basta, croce. Non ce la faccio più.
Uh, that's it, forget it. I can't manage any longer.
Caption 17, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 6
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Non ce la faccio, mi fai cadere.
I can't keep up, you'll make me fall.
Caption 2, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 1
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Farcela is very handy when you can't succeed in something (as well as when you can!). It might be getting to a party, or it might be running an errand. It might be running a race.
One way to say you can't make it (to a party, an appointment, etc) is simply:
Non ce la faccio, mi dispiace (I can't make it, I'm sorry).
Non ce la faccio a venire (I can't make it, I'm sorry).
T'ho detto che ce l'avrei fatta, va be', nie' [niente].
I told you I would have made it, OK, I didn't.
Caption 24, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 6
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"Non ce l'ho fatta ad arrivare fino a casa con tutta quella neve".
"I wasn't able to get all the way home with all this snow."
Captions 39-40, Corso di italiano con Daniela Fino a e Finché - Part 1
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There's a common Italian pronominal verb you'll be glad to have in your toolbox. It's used a lot in conversation, as an expression, but understanding how it works can be a little tricky. But first...
Pronominale (pronominal) means “relating to or playing the part of a pronoun.” In Italian, un verbo pronominale (a pronominal verb) is one that has a special meaning when used together with one or two particular pronominal particelle (particles). Particelle or particles are those tiny, usually, 2-letter pronouns we find in Italian, such as ci, ne, ne, la.
Let's unpack this pronominal verb. In the infinitive, it's farcela.
The verb contained in this pronominal verb is fare = to make, to do.
Alessia può farcela da sola.
Alessia can manage on her own.
Caption 57, La Ladra Ep. 5 - Chi la fa l'aspetti - Part 5
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Usually in a pronominal verb, one of the pronouns is an indirect pronoun, In this case, it's ce. Ce means the same thing as ci, (to it/him/her," "at it/him/her," "about it.") but when there is a direct object with it, ci changes to ce! As we have mentioned in previous lessons, the particle ci can be combined with a second pronoun particle, such as -la or -ne, but in that case, it becomes ce. Therefore we have, -cela, -cene; NOT -cila, -cine.
To make things even more complicated, ci, and consequently, ce, can mean any number of things. The basic thing to remember is that ci or ce usually represents a preposition + complement. Learn more about ci.
The second pronoun in the expression farcela is la. This is a direct object pronoun meaning "it." It's always used in the feminine — we could say la stands for la cosa, a feminine noun.
In the previous example, farcela stands on its own to mean "to manage." It's also possible to add another verb, so as to mean, "to manage to do something."
Ehm, pensa di farcela a recuperare le chiavi della mia auto?
Uh, do you think you can manage to retrieve the keys of my car?
Caption 35, Psicovip Il tombino - Ep 2
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In both of our previous examples, the conjugated verb (potere = to be able to, pensare = to think) precedes the pronominal verb, resulting in the pronominal verb being in the infinitive.
Posso farcela (I can manage it).
Penso di farcela (I think I can manage it).
Learning the infinitive is a good starting point, as it's fairly straightforward. Use the common verbs in their conjugated forms to "push" the pronominal verb over into the infinitive.
Farcela is the infinitive of the pronominal verb, and as we have seen above, sometimes it can stay that way. More often than not, however, it is conjugated, so it's a good idea to have a few expressions memorized and ready to use. As you can see from the following example, it can be used when you're falling behind.
Piano, piano, piano. Piano, cagnozzo! Non ce la faccio, mi fai cadere.
Slow down, slow down, slow down. Slow down, dear little dog! I can't keep up, you'll make me fall.
Captions 1-2, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 1
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Eh, basta, croce. Non ce la faccio più.
Uh, that's it, forget it. I can't go on.
Caption 17, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 6
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Some other common conjugations:
Ce la fai? (Can you manage it?)
Non ce la fa. (He/she can't manage it, He/she can't make it).
Ce la faremo? (Are we going to make it?)
Ce l'ho fatta! (I did it, I made it).
If we want to add another verb, we use the preposition a (to) before the (second) verb, which will be in the infinitive (arrivare, mangiare, finire). Here are a few examples:
Ce la faremo ad arrivare in tempo? (Are we going to manage to arrive in time?/Are we going to make it in time?)
Ce la fai a mangiare tutto? (Can you manage to eat it all?)
Ce l'ha fatta a finire il progetto? (Did he/she manage to finish the project?)
As you can see, this kind of sentence usually starts with ce la, unless it's in the negative, in which we start with non followed by ce la + the conjugated verb fare.
A few things to keep in mind:
1) Fare is a verb that takes avere (not essere) in perfect tenses. In perfect tenses, the particle la will become l' because it will be attached to the conjugated form of avere, which will have a vowel sound at the beginning (even though written with an h: ho, hai, ha, abbiamo, avete, hanno). So when you just hear it, you might not perceive it. Lookking at Italian captions or doing Scribe can help with this.
2) One more tricky thing to remember when using perfect tenses:
You might be tempted to say ce l'ho fatto. But that would be wrong. Why? It's about verb-object agreement.
The rule is that when the object pronoun comes before the verb (in this case, la before ho), then the past participle of the verb will agree with the object (la), not the subject (in this case io [I]).
So it has to be Ce l'ho fatta.
It is complicated, so be patient with yourself. Even those of us who have been living in Italy for years still have doubts sometimes, when conjugating these pesky pronominal verbs. Over time, the grammar will start making a little more sense to you and you will say, "Ah ha!" Finalmente, ce l'ho fatta a capire! (I finally managed to understand). Or, simply, Finalmente, ce l'ho fatta!
These days, even in Italy, you name your child however you choose. But at one time, in this historically Roman Catholic country, the names of saints were among the most popular ones. As a result, many children had the same name. By far the most popular names were Giuseppe (Joseph), Giovanni (John), Pietro, Piero (Peter), Paolo (Paul), Filiippo (Phillip), Marco (Mark), Matteo (Matthew), Domenico (Dominick), Antonio (Anthony), Leonardo (Leonard), Francesco (Francis), Maria (Mary), Giovanna (Jean, Joan), Paola (Paula), Anna (Anne), Elisabetta (Elisabeth), Simona (Simona), among others.
Note: You will find some little quiz questions throughout the lesson. Although each question refers to the video example preceding it, you might need information from further on in the lesson to answer it properly. So it would be wise read the entire lesson before trying to answer the quiz questions.
We have seen in many Yabla videos that family and friends will use just the first syllable or two of the name, to make it easier and quicker to say, primarily when speaking directly to the person. The person's name is actually Martino. These are not nicknames, they're abbreviations.
Che stai facendo, Marti'?
What are you doing, Marti'?
Caption 50, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 6
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1) If, instead of abbreviating your friend's name, you wanted to give it an affectionate touch, what could you call Martino and what would you say?
Nicknames are a bit different, and can be longer than the given name, so it's not just an expedient. It's common to use nicknames, partly to distinguish one Giovanni from another, but also to distinguish the size and stature of the person or some other characteristic. For these, suffixes are commonly used.
If a boy or man named Paolo is a hefty guy, we might call him Paolone, using the accrescitivo (augmentative suffix). If he is kind of short or thin, or young, he might be called Paolino using the diminutivo ino/ina.
Invece la perfezione, caro Paolino, non esiste.
But perfection, dear Paolino, doesn't exist.
Caption 45, La Tempesta - film - Part 17
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2) Maybe I don't know this guy very well, so I am not about to use a nickname. What would I say?
There is even a street called via San Paolino in the historical city of Lucca, so nicknaming this way is a pretty old tradition!
Poi arrivi fino a Piazza San Michele,
Then you get to Piazza San Michele,
continua con Via San Paolino e finisce in Piazzale Verdi.
it continues with Via San Paolino, and it ends in Piazzale Verdi.
Quindi è una via unica che ovviamente cambia nome.
So it's one street, which obviously changes its name.
Captions 50-52, In giro per l'Italia - Lucca
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Sometimes a nickname sticks and becomes the name someone goes by for their entire life. Simonetta is a common nickname for Simona, but it might also be a person's given name. Whoever gave her the name or nickname used the diminutivo (diminutive) suffix etto/etta to name her.
E comunque mi chiamo Simonetta.
And anyway, my name is Simonetta.
-Grazie, Simonetta. Sei proprio un'artista.
-Thank you, Simonetta. You really are an artist.
Captions 22-23, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola
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3) Let's assume Simonetta is the name this woman has gone by her whole life, but I want to emphasize the fact that she is young and slender. We also need to assume I am on familiar terms with her. How could I thank her?
It's interesting to note that in Italian, people generally use the formula mi chiamo __________ (literally, "I call myself __________"), in conversation and introductions, rather than il mio nome è __________ (my name is __________). This gives them room to provide you with their nickname, not necessarily the name on their birth certificate.
In the following example from the story of Puccini's La Bohème, the main character introduces herself by using the nickname other people have given her, but she goes on to explain her real name.
Mi chiamano Mimì, ma il mio nome è Lucia.
They call me Mimi, but my name is Lucia.
Captions 1-2, Anna presenta - La Bohème di Puccini
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4) Let's say Mimì is saying that she calls herself Mimì, not that others call her that. What could she say?
5) How could we talk about her name, using a common formula?
And of course, in the mix of nicknames are what we call i nomi vezzeggiativi — affectionate names for people. These affectionate names can also involve words that aren't strictly names (such as tesoruccia), but we'll get to these in another lesson.
In Un medico in famiglia, we have the little girl, Annuccia. Her real or given name will undoubtedly be Anna. Sometimes lengthening a name gives it prominence, makes it more audible, or warms it up. In Annuccia's case, her family uses the vezzeggiativo or affectionate suffix uccio/uccia to form her nickname. Since everyone calls her Annuccia, there's a fine line between calling a name a nickname or just someone's name. It's only going to matter on her carta d'identità (ID card) or other official documents.
E questa è Annuccia, la mia sorellina più piccola.
And this is Annuccia, my littlest little sister.
Caption 34, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 1 - EP1 - Casa nuova
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In the popular Yabla series, Provaci Ancora Prof!, Camilla's young daughter, Livietta, was surely named Livia, but Livietta stuck. Who knows if they will keep calling her that when she grows up.
Pronto? -Mamma?
Hello. -Mom?
Senti, non è che potresti andare a prendere
Listen, you couldn't go to pick up
Livietta alla lezione di danza?
Livietta from her dance lesson, could you?
Captions 1-2, Provaci Ancora Prof! - S1E3 - Una piccola bestia ferita
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The name Giuseppe, a favorite, is interesting because, depending on the region, the nickname will be different. In Tuscany, the nickname for Giuseppe is Beppe.
Beppe! Guardami. Me.
Beppe [nickname for Giuseppe]! Look at me. Me.
Caption 35, Telecom Italia Mobile - Quando mamma chiama...Garibaldi risponde!
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We can take that nickname one step further and say Beppino, especially if the Beppe in question is not too tall.
Beppino is typical in Tuscany, but further south, Peppe or Peppino would be used. In this case the diminutive probably has nothing to do with the size of the guy. In the following example, Peppino's nickname is used, but is then abbreviated by his friend, who's calling him.
Peppino? Peppi'!
Peppino? Peppi'!
Ao [Ehi]!
Hey!
Me [forza], muoviti.
Come on, get moving.
Scendi, Peppi'. Ti devo dire una cosa importante.
Come down, Peppi'. I have to tell you something important.
Scendi.
Come down.
Captions 40-43, Chi m'ha visto - film - Part 7
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Here is yet another nickname for Giuseppe, this time using an affectionate suffix on top of a nickname. In contrast to the above-mentioned Annuncia, the only name we have heard for the little girl in Medico in Famiglia, Peppuccio is probably a temporary (affectionate) nickname.
Ma'! -Peppuccio!
Mom! -Peppuccio [nickname of endearment for Giuseppe]!
Ho saputo che vai in Brasile,
I heard that you're going to Brazil,
ma che ci vai a fare, la rivoluzione?
but what are you going to do there, start a revolution?
Captions 4-5, Telecom Italia Mobile - Quando mamma chiama...Garibaldi risponde!
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Especially in the south, the nickname for Giuseppe can take a more roundabout route. We take Giuseppe and make it a diminutive: Giuseppino. Then we just use the end of it and call someone Pino.
Pino Daniele, the famous singer-songwriter has always gone by the name Pino.
Tu dimmi quando quando
You tell me when, when
Caption 9, Pino Daniele - Quando
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We do the same for the feminine version, so a woman named Pina was almost surely christened as Giuseppina.
Fun fact: Although the feminine version of Giuseppe does technically exist, and it would be Giuseppa, most of the time the feminine version is already a diminutive: Giuseppina.
Come si chiama questa nonna? -E allora...
What's this grandmother's name? -And so...
Come si chiama? -Giuseppina.
What's her name? -Giuseppina.
Nonna Giuseppina. -Detta Pina.
Grandma Giuseppina. -Nicknamed Pina.
Detta Pina. -Sì.
Nicknamed Pina. -Yes.
Captions 34-37, L'Eredità -Quiz TV - La sfida dei sei. Puntata 3
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Another version of this, including the abbreviated one:
Pinu', be'? Ti sei ricordato?
Pinu', well? Do you remember?
No.
No.
Pinuccio, stammi a sentire.
Pinuccio, listen to me.
Captions 30-32, Sei mai stata sulla luna? - film - Part 16
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We started out with Giuseppe, which can become Beppe, Beppino, Peppe, Peppino, or Pino.
6) If we wanted to use an affectionate form for Giuseppina, detta Pina, what could we call her?
Un soprannome in Italian is often a common noun turned into a name (which we'll discuss in another lesson). The nicknames we have been discussing here can be considered to be in the category of diminutives, augmentatives, or, as we mentioned, affectionate versions of names. But we can also use the formula as in the previous example. For example, we can say Giuseppe, detto Peppino (Giuseppe, called Peppino).
Here are some common Italian names with their common nicknames. The list is partial as there are countless others.
Luigi (Louis) commonly becomes Gigi.
Filippo (Phlllip) can become Pippo.
Lorenzo (Lawrence) becomes Renzo or Enzo.
Mi chiamo Enzo, ho bisogno di lavorare.
My name is Enzo. I need a job.
Caption 52, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep. 1
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Vincenzo (Vincent) might also become Enzo.
Leonardo (Leonard) might become Leo or Dino.
Francesco (Francis) could become Franco or Ciccio.
Alessandro (Alexander) becomes Sandro.
Domenico (Dominick) can become Mimmo.
Giovanni can become Gianni.
7) How do we get from Leonardo to Dino?
Sometimes babies are named because they are born on a saint's day, or another special feast day.
Annunziata might become Nunzia.
Natale might become Natalino.
Pasquale might become Pasqualino.
Here are some answers to the quiz questions above. There may be additional answers. If you have doubts, write to us!
1) Che stai facendo, Martinuccio?
2) Invece la perfezione, caro Paolo, non esiste.
3) Grazie, Simonettina. Sei proprio un'artista.
4) Mi chiamo Mimì, ma il mio vero nome è Lucia.
5) Si chiama Lucia, detta Mimì.
6) Pinuccia.
7) First we apply the diminutive suffix: Leonardino, then we take the last part and turn it into Dino.
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