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

 Play Caption

 

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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

 

 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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

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

 Play Caption

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.

You may be familiar with the adjective gentile. We use it when we are talking about someone who is nice, kind, and courteous.

Il povero anatroccolo si accovacciò tra le canne

The poor duckling crouched down among the reeds

e tremava per il freddo.

and trembled because of the cold.

Fortunatamente, passò un contadino gentile

Fortunately, a kind farmer passed by

e se lo portò con sé

and he brought him along with him,

a casa nel suo fienile.

to the hay barn of his house.

Captions 58-62, Ti racconto una fiaba - Il brutto anatroccolo

 Play Caption

1) How about telling this part of the story in the present tense?

The cognate for gentile is "gentle," but "gentle" only corresponds sometimes, not often. In fact, "gentle" often corresponds to delicato.

Seguì un bussare delicato alla porta.

It was followed by a gentle knock at the door.

Caption 38, Ti racconto una fiaba - Il Principe Ranocchio

 Play Caption

There's a brand of bleach called Ace Gentile because it is less harsh than normal bleach, but most of the time, gentile is more about kind and courteous.

Carino vs gentile

You might describe the bank director, your neighbor, the cashier at the grocery store, your doctor, a policeman who wants to give you a ticket but doesn't, etc... with gentile. The more informal version of this is carino.

Eh sì. -Eh sì. Comunque Luca è stato molto carino, eh,

Oh yes. -Oh yes. However Luca was very kind, no,

ad accompagnare suo figlio Fabio all'istituto.

to accompany his son Fabio to the institute.

Captions 26-27, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto

 Play Caption

Carino can also refer to someone or something's physical appearance:

Però, all'epoca era simpatico e pure carino.

But at the time he was nice, and cute, too.

Caption 9, La Ladra - EP.11 - Un esame importante

 Play Caption

2) Here, a gal is talking about a guy. What if it were a guy talking about a gal?

Courtesy and intimacy

But we also use gentile as a description of courtesy in certain expressions, often written, and that's what we're going to talk about here.

If you get a letter from your phone company about their change in fees, or some special promotion, it may start out with, 

Gentile cliente (dear customer)

In English, we use "dear" almost universally for the beginning of a letter, except for informal emails where we will often just write "Hi" and then the name. The equivalent of "dear" is caro, care, cari, or care, and it may be used in many situations, where it can either be warm or cool, depending on the relationship. 

There's a famous movie from 1993 called Caro diario (Dear Diary) with Nanni Moretti. Check out the trailer here!

In an informal letter, caro can be used, and, as a matter of fact, it can be used without any name at all. In this case, it's often used in its superlative form (superlativo assoluto) carissimo, carissima, etc. 

To some, caro implies a certain intimacy or acquaintanceship, so in a less personal kind of letter, caro is often replaced by gentile, which is both polite and generic. It's a good choice when you are in doubt as to what choice to make.

Formal letters

If you are writing a formal letter, you will likely use signor or signora and the last name, or sometimes even the first name of the person you are addressing, or no name at all.

So, a letter could begin with one of the following:

Gentile signora

Gentile signorina

Gentile signora Rossi

Gentile signorina Rossi

Gentile signora Adriana (sometimes we don't feel informal enough to use someone's first name without the signora because of an age difference, for example).

Gentile signor Rossi

Gentili signori (this includes men and women, much like "dear sirs").

We have looked at one way to start a letter, but there are others, so check out Daniela's lessons about writing both informal and formal letters.

Solutions to "Extra credit," as one reader called it...

1) Il povero anatroccolo si accovacia tra le canne e trema per il freddo. Fortunatamente, passa un contadino gentile e se lo porta con sé a casa nel suo fienile.

2) Però, all'epoca era simpatica e pure carina.