We recently talked about the preposition in: what it means and how to use it. While we don't always use an article with the noun following it, we often do. And when we do use in with a definite article, we combine the preposition and the article to form what we call una preposizione articolata (an "articled" preposition).
Basically, the n, instead of being at the end of the preposition in, gets moved to the beginning of the word and is followed by an e. After that, the ending will change according to the gender and number of the definite article, as well as whether the word following it starts with a vowel.
Here's the list:
(in + il) nel
(in + lo) nello
(in + l') nell'
(in + la) nella
(in + i) nei
(in + le) nelle
Nel frattempo, riempiamo una pentola d'acqua.
In the meantime, we'll fill a pot with water.
Caption 21, L'Italia a tavola - Penne alla Toma Piemontese
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We say nel because it's il frattempo. But here's a tip. Actually, we rarely say il frattempo. Most of the time you will find the noun frattempo together with the preposition nel. It's curious because the noun frattempo already comes from another preposition fra (between) and the noun tempo (time). In English we can say "in the meantime" or "meanwhile," which mean almost the same thing. But we need to translate both of these as nel frattempo or, alternatively, nel mentre, which means the same thing.
Questo è fondamentale quando ci si trova
This is fundamental when you find yourself,
appunto nello studio di doppiaggio
in fact, in the dubbing studio
a dover affrontare un, un testo oppure un personaggio.
and need to deal with a script or a character.
Captions 16-17, Arianna e Marika - Il lavoro di doppiatrice
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We say nello because we say lo studio (the studio). So here, you have to pay attention to the first letter of the word following the preposition. It will start with an S plus a consonant, or a Z, and sometimes Y.
Quanti libri hai nello zaino?
How many books do you have in your backpack?
Caption 9, Marika spiega - La particella NE
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Oppure nello yogurt, la mela sciolta diciam'...
Or else in some yogurt, an apple dissolved, let's say...
ridotta a polpa nello yogurt, sempre sul viso, è idratante.
reduced to a pulp in some yogurt, again on the face, is moisturising.
Caption 22, Enea - Mela Part 2
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Il tasto "play" e "pause"
The "play" and "pause" button
si trova esattamente nello stesso punto del pannello di controllo.
is located in exactly the same spot on the control panel.
Captions 15-16, Italian Intro - Serena
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We use l' when the first letter of the word following the article starts with a vowel. We double the L and add an apostrophe.
Nell'ultimo ventennio,
In the last twenty years,
i coronavirus si sono imposti all'attenzione del mondo
coronaviruses have caught the attention of the entire world
in tre momenti precisi.
in three precise moments.
Captions 27-29, COVID-19 - Domande frequenti
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Allora, può intagliare così,
So, they can make an incision like this,
può intagliare un pomodoro così,
they can cut a notch in a tomato like so,
mettere una pentola d'acqua a bollire
put up a pot of water to boil,
e tenere i pomodori
and keep the tomatoes
nell'acqua bollente per dieci minuti.
in the boiling water for ten minutes.
Captions 10-14, L'Italia a tavola - La pappa al pomodoro
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È da circa otto minuti che i nostri spaghetti
It's been about eight minutes that our spaghetti
stanno cuocendo nella pentola.
has been cooking in the pot.
Caption 38, Adriano - Spaghetti pomodoro e aglio
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E due luoghi sacri si trovano proprio nei punti più alti della città.
And two sacred places are found right at the highest points of the city.
Caption 12, Meraviglie - EP. 1 - Part 10
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Leonardo, molto spesso, nelle sue opere,
Leonardo, very often in his works,
faceva le figure centrali
made the central figures
quasi fossero delle piramidi
almost as if they were pyramids
e poi i dodici apostoli sono suddivisi in gruppi di tre.
and then, the twelve apostles are divided into groups of three.
Captions 10-13, Meraviglie - EP. 3 - Part 12
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Olivetti è sempre riuscito nelle cose che ha intrapreso.
Olivetti has always succeeded in the things he has undertaken.
Caption 46, Adriano Olivetti - La forza di un sogno Ep.2
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In future lessons, we will talk about other preposizioni articolate that follow these same principles.
See this lesson about di (of):
See this lesson about in (to, in, at).
One of the most basic things we need to know as we venture into the world of speaking Italian is how to ask about a word we don't understand.
There are a couple of ways to do this.
One way is to use a verb we can easily understand, even though we don't use its English equivalent the same way, or very often in conversation. The Italian is significare. It kind of looks like "signify." Of course, in English, we would sooner use the adjective "significant" or the adverb "significantly."
Cosa significa (what does it mean)?
"Pilazza" in italiano significa "vasca di pietra" o "lavatoio";
"Pilazza," in Italian, means "stone tub" or "washhouse."
è il posto in cui, anticamente,
It's the place where, in earlier times,
venivano i cittadini di Mazara del Vallo a fare il bucato.
the citizens of Mazara del Vallo would come to do the laundry.
Captions 15-17, In giro per l'Italia - Mazara Del Vallo - Sicilia
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And if we want the noun form, it's il significato (the meaning, the significance).
Questo è un ottimo esercizio per ripassare alcune parole del video e il loro significato.
This is a good exercise for reviewing some words from the video and their meaning.
Caption 49, Italian Intro - Serena
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We can ask: Qual è il significato (what's the meaning)?
The more common way to ask what something means is a bit more complex at first: We need 2 verbs to say it, but it's easy to say, and once you master it you will be all set.
The first verb is volere (to want). This is a very useful but tricky verb, as it is actually two verbs in one: It's a stand-alone transitive verb, as in:
Voglio una macchina nuova (I want a new car).
We can also translate it as "to desire."
Volere is also a modal verb, basically meaning "to want to." The main thing to know about a modal verb is that it's followed by a verb in the infinitive, or rather it goes together with a verb in the infinitive, and can't stand alone. Just like some verbs in English, such as "to get," volere has meanings that go beyond "to want to." And just like "to get" in English, volere can pair up with other verbs to take on a new meaning.
In the case of asking what something means, we add a second verb, in the infinitive: dire (to say).
You know how in English we always say, "I mean..."? Well, Italians do this too, but they say, Voglio dire... (I mean to say, I mean).
Bene, forse è ancora in tempo.
Good, maybe there's still time for you.
Prima che distrugga anche la sua famiglia, voglio dire.
Before he destroys your family as well, I mean.
Captions 10-11, La Ladra - Ep. 2 - Viva le spose
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The difference between "I mean to say" and "I mean" is minimal, right? If we take this one step further and put it into the third person singular, it's vuole dire, which commonly gets shortened to vuol dire. And there we have it. It means "it means."
Of course, it could also mean "he means" or "she means," but more often than not it means "it means."
Uso il termometro
I use the thermometer
e misuro la mia temperatura.
and I measure my temperature.
Se è superiore a trentasette e mezzo, vuol dire che ho la febbre.
And if it's above thirty-seven and a half (centigrade), it means that I have a fever.
Captions 25-27, Marika spiega - Il raffreddore
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Marika could also have said, Significa che ho la febbre (it means I have a fever).
Here's one way to ask what a word means:
Nell'ottocentocinquanta, i Saraceni gli diedero il nome di Rabat.
In eight hundred fifty, the Saracens gave it the name of Rabat.
Cioè, sai pure l'arabo ora?
So, do you even know Arabic now?
E che vuol dire Rabat? -Borgo.
And what does Rabat mean? -Village.
Captions 8-10, Basilicata Turistica - Non me ne voglio andare
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The answer is: Rabat vuol dire "borgo". "Rabat" means "village."
So when asking what a word means, we can either use cosa (what) or just che (what), which is a bit more colloquial.
Cosa vuol dire (what does it mean)?
Che vuol dire (what does it mean)?
If you are absolutely desperate, just say: Vuol dire... (that means...)? You'll get the message across.
Some learners like to know why we say what we say. It helps them remember. Others do better just memorizing how to say something and not worrying about the "why." Whatever works is the right way for you. We all learn in different ways, for sure. And if you need to know more, just ask. We at Yabla are pretty passionate about language and are happy to share the passion. This lesson, as a matter of fact, came about because a learner had trouble grasping why we use the verb "to want" when talking about the meaning of something. We hope that this has helped discover the underlying connection.
Ciao!
There's a movie on Yabla about a musician who wants to make it as a singer, but is not succeeding.
His agent tells him to take a break from performing, and to soften the blow, says that although Martino's music making is all right, he doesn’t have the presence necessary for performing on stage.
Here's what the agent says:
Sì, la musica ancora ancora sta, ma è la faccia, "the face" [inglese: la faccia]. È questa...
Yes, your playing is maybe all right, but it's the face, the face. It's this..
Caption 36, Chi m'ha visto - film
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A reader has written in asking if the double instance of the adverb ancora was a mistake or not. It’s a good question, and we’ll try to answer it.
We have learned from Daniela's lessons about comparatives and superlatives that, in addition to using più or the suffix -issimo to form the superlative of adjectives and some adverbs, we can also simply repeat the word twice. So we have bellissimo or bello bello. They mean the same thing, although the double adjective or adverb is used primarily in spoken Italian. Read this lesson about it!
So, we have this word ancora. It’s already the source of a little confusion because it means different things in different contexts.
We've looked at this before and there's a lesson about the different meanings of ancora.
Let’s give the word a quick review here.
In the following example, ancora means "even."
Così puoi capirmi ancora meglio.
That way, you can understand me even better.
Caption 27, Italian Intro - Serena
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And In this example, ancora means "still". "Still" and "even" can often be interchangeable, as in these two examples.
E ancora oggi siamo molto amiche.
And still today we're very close friends.
Caption 39, Erica e Martina - La nostra amicizia
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È ancora vivo.
He’s still alive.
If we put it in the negative, non ancora means "not yet."
Non è ancora morto.
He's not dead yet.
In the example that follows, ancora means “more.”
Ne vuoi ancora? -Eh?
Do you want some more of it? -Huh?
Caption 32, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP10 - Un morto di troppo
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And ancora can also mean simply, “again.”
Va be', comunque io ti ringrazio ancora per i biglietti,
OK, in any case, I thank you again for the tickets,
Caption 67, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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So this adverb has different meanings that are somewhat related. They have to do with time or quantity and can mean “still,” “again,” “yet” with non (not), “more,” or “even.”
But in this movie, it’s repeated twice, and here, it has a particular, colloquial meaning. It means we are on the borderline of something. Ancora ancora means we're at the limit. We're on the line, even though we haven't stepped over it. Something can pass.
So Martino’s agent is saying, “Your playing is good enough,” and might even be implying “it’s passable.” Here, it’s followed by ma (but), so it's clear that something else isn't passable. "Your playing is passable, but your face isn’t."
There are other adverbs that lend themselves being doubled for effect:
Poco poco to mean just a tiny bit.
Piano piano to mean really soft, really slow.
Appena appena to mean faintly, barely.
Sometimes the doubling takes on a special meaning that has evolved over time, as in the case with ancora ancora.
Quasi quasi is another adverb like this. Literally, it means almost almost, but that makes little sense. For more on quasi quasi, see this lesson about it. Here's an example to give you the basic idea. Let's say I've been debating in my mind whether to have another helping, but then decide and say:
Quasi quasi, ne prendo ancora.
I might just have some more.
If you're not yet a subscriber but seriously thinking about it, you could say,
Quasi quasi mi iscrivo a Yabla.
I might just sign up for Yabla.
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