We all struggle with lots of things in different ways. In Italian, there's a combination of two words we commonly use for this: fare fatica. Literally, it's "to make effort or exertion." It can mean "to make an effort," but "to struggle" is closer to the idea. Lots of times you make an effort because you are trying hard, and that's when we can use impegnarsi (to make an effort). It's easy to get confused.

Let's look at some examples from Yabla videos of fare fatica. In our first example, the meaning is literal. The speaker has Covid-19!

Faccio fatica ad alzarmi dal letto.

I have a hard time getting out of bed.

Caption 15, Fuori era primavera Viaggio nell'Italia del lockdown - Part 4

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The meaning can be mental, too.  

Fai anche fatica a trovare anche [sic] lavoro.

You also struggle to find work, too.

Caption 17, Benvenuti in Galera Bollate, Milano - Part 17

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When you are trying to understand someone, but you fail or almost, you can say.

Faccio fatica a capire il tuo inglese. Parliamo italiano (I'm having a hard time understanding your English. Let's speak Italian).

When you exert yourself, you can also use the verb faticare (to toil, to labor).

So you could also say,

Fatico a capire il tuo inglese (I struggle to understand your English). 

Il bisnonno credo che lavorasse sulle navi ospedale, durante la guerra, e loro avevano un orto a Procida per cui campavano delle cose dell'orto e hanno faticato sempre a mettere insieme il pranzo.

I think her great-grandfather worked on hospital ships, during the war, and they had a vegetable garden in Procida so they lived on things from the vegetable garden and they always struggled to pull lunch together.

Captions 7-10, Vera e Giuliano Montaldo - Part 5

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When you are just trying hard or working hard, then the reflexive verb impegnarsi works well.

Hai visto che quando ti impegni le cose le sai fare?

You see that when you make an effort, you are able to do things?

Caption 10, Sposami EP 2 - Part 17

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Impegnarsi can also mean to commit, such as when you promise to do something. 

La ditta Soleri si era impegnata a comprarlo, per almeno cinque anni.

The Soleri company had committed to buying it, for at least five years.

Caption 15, Il Commissario Manara S2EP6 - Sotto tiro - Part 3

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When we use impegno as a noun, it can mean a commitment, as something you have committed to doing, or it can mean you have a prior commitment, such as an appointment or errand. 

No, domani avrei un impegno.

No, tomorrow, I have a commitment.

Caption 54, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 6

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As in any language, there are different ways to say the same thing, or something similar. Keep your eyes and ears open so you can expand your vocabulary, and choose just the right word when the time comes. 

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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.