The plural noun paletti came up in a recent video on Yabla, leading to thoughts about palo and pala (paletti is the plural diminutive of palo). They have similarities that can truly confound. Let's go through these words, one by one, to make sense of them. 

Un palo is a pole, post, or mast. It's a masculine noun. 

Però mi ricordo soltanto che era piccola e scura, perché quando è uscita dal garage, ha urtato contro un motorino che era legato a un palo.

But I just remember that it was small and dark, because when it left the garage, it hit a scooter that was locked to a post.

Captions 19-21, Provaci ancora prof! S2EP2 Una mina vagante - Part 21

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 It's also used to mean "goal post."

Quando un giocatore fa gol, si può dire anche "rete!". Ma se sbaglia e prende un palo, si dice solo "palo".

When a player scores, you can also say "Net!" But if the player makes a mistake and hits a goal post, you just say "goal post."

Captions 19-22, Marika spiega Gli sport

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One more figurative meaning of un palo is "a lookout."

Gina è rimasta fuori in macchina a fare il palo. Se vede movimenti sospetti, ci avverte subito.

Gina stayed out in the car to act as the lookout. If she sees any suspicious movements, she'll warn us right away.

Captions 12-13, La Ladra EP. 6 - Nero di rabbia - Part 11

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When un palo is small, it's un paletto. So if you are building fences, such as to keep chickens and foxes out of your vegetable garden, you might use the small size of this item: un paletto. We're using the word literally. And we often find the plural used, so it's good to remember i paletti. 

Si coltiva su una trama di paletti di legno e fil di ferro,

It is grown on a framework made up of wooden stakes and wire,

Caption 26, Pomodori Vulcanici Pomodori del Vesuvio - Part 4

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But paletti is used figuratively quite often when referring to restrictions, obstacles, or boundaries in human interaction and endeavors. 

Era dico, perché oggi ci sono molti più paletti per chiunque vada negli Stati Uniti. -Sì. Ah no, per chi va negli Stati Uniti,

It was, I say, because, today there are many more restrictions for anyone going to the United States. -Yes. Oh no, for those who go to the United States,

Captions 40-43, Professioni e mestieri La chef Sandra Stefani - Part 3

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In a new relationship, or when raising children, you might put up some boundaries... mettere dei paletti. 

Una pala, on the other hand, can be a shovel, a blade, or even an altarpiece! It's a feminine noun. 

La preparazione del terreno per la semina, il contadino la fa con una vanga, che è una specie di pala ma fatta apposta per il terreno, fatta a punta per entrare bene nella terra.

The preparing of the ground for sowing, the farmer does with a spade, which is a kind of shovel but made especially for the ground, made with a point to enter nicely into the earth.

Captions 24-28, La campagna toscana Il contadino - Part 2

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From the RAI biopic about the famous early Baroque painter, Caravaggio:

Presto potrete ammirare la sua pala d'altare nella chiesa del Gesù.

Soon you will be able to admire his altarpiece in the Church of Jesus.

Caption 63, Caravaggio EP1 - Part 16

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Wind turbines are found on tall cement poles, which could be thought of as pali, but the proper term for the tall, vertical part of the structure is la torre (the tower). Pala, in this case, actually refers to the blade of the turbine. It would be correct to say la turbina eolica to mean "the wind turbine," but the everyday term is la pala eolica or le pale eoliche (in the plural) to refer to the entire structure. There are usually more than one, so we've included the plural. 

È il rumore di una pala eolica, me lo sono ricordato, si trova vicino a una stalla abbandonata.

It's the sound of a wind turbine. I remembered it, it's near an abandoned barn.

Captions 13-15, Il Commissario Manara S2EP12 - La donna senza volto - Part 10

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Another confusing moment for la pala is when it is included in the common pairing: pail and shovel. We hear "pail" and it sounds kind of like pala, but la pala is the shovel! The pail is il secchio. When it's about kids at the beach, it's la paletta e secchiello. 

The diminutive of pala, paletta, can be a number of things: a dustpan, a small shovel, a fly swatter, a scoop, a spatula, a trowel, a paddle...

Per pulire il pavimento, userò una scopa e una paletta.

To clean the floor, I'll use a broom and a dustpan.

Caption 13, Marika spiega Le pulizie di primavera - Part 1

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In this next example, la paletta represents a sign on a stick.  

Signori, siamo pronti per votare, siamo pronti per votare. Tutti pronti con le palette.

[Ladies and] Gentlemen, we're ready to vote, we're ready to vote. Everyone ready with their signs.

Captions 56-57, Fellini Racconta Un Autoritratto Ritrovato - Part 17

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And this same name is given to the "paddle" the police or carabinieri use to wave a car down on the side of the road. 

Just for fun:

Quando Marco era bambino, passava le estati al mare con la sua famiglia. Sulla spiaggia giocava per ore con la pala e il secchio, costruendo castelli di sabbia. A volte perdeva la sua paletta, e allora ne chiedeva un’altra ai genitori.

When Marco was a child, he spent his summers at the beach with his family. On the beach, he played for hours with a pail and shovel, building sandcastles. Sometimes he lost his little shovel, and then he would ask his parents for another one.

Un giorno, tornando a casa, vide per la prima volta delle pale eoliche sulle colline. Gli sembravano enormi girandole che giravano lentamente nel vento, molto diverse dalla sua piccola paletta da spiaggia.

One day, on the way home, he saw wind turbines on the hills for the first time. They looked like enormous pinwheels turning slowly in the wind, very different from his small beach shovel.

Anni dopo, Marco comprò una casa in campagna. Per sistemare il giardino, usò una grande pala per piantare alcuni pali di legno e costruire una recinzione. Aggiunse anche dei paletti per segnare il sentiero tra gli alberi.

Years later, Marco bought a house in the country. To do some work on the garden, he used a large shovel to put in some wooden posts and build a fence. He also added some small stakes to mark the path among the trees.

Nel lavoro, però, Marco doveva anche “mettere dei paletti”: doveva essere chiaro con i colleghi e stabilire dei limiti. “Qui bisogna mettere dei paletti,” diceva spesso, “altrimenti non potremo lavorare bene insieme.”

At work, however, Marco also had to “set boundaries”: He had to be clear with his colleagues and establish limits. “We need to set some boundaries here,” he often said, “otherwise we won't be able to work well together.”

Così, tra pale, palette, pali e paletti, impariamo che piccole differenze nelle parole possono cambiare molto il significato.

Thus, from shovels to signs, to posts and boundaries, we learn that small differences in words can significantly change their meaning.

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Thanks for reading. Still confused about palo, pali, pala, pale, paletto, paletti, paletta, and palette? Write to us at [email protected]. 

We often wonder: When do we use il congiuntivo (the subjunctive) in Italian?

For curiosity's sake, let's have a look at where the subjunctive came from. 

The word "subjunctive," as used to denote a grammatical mood, derives directly from the Latin "modus subjunctivus." This, in turn, is a translation from the original Greek term "hypotaktike enklisis" (subordinated mood/mode). In Greek, the subjunctive is almost exclusively used in subordinate clauses (hence the "sub" in subjunctive).

We talk about the subjunctive mood, but "mood" was a variant coming from the original Latin word "modus" (mode), meaning "way" or "manner" (among other things). One way to look at the subjunctive is as a way of using verbs in a subordinate clause. 

The earliest known usage of the term "subjunctive" in English dates from the 16th century. Nowadays, this mood or mode is used only sporadically in English. But in Italian, as a language based on Latin, it is used quite a bit. Of course, given that language is in continual evolution, nowadays, people dispense with the subjunctive some of the time, especially in informal speech, as you will discover in watching Yabla videos. Not everyone uses correct grammar all the time. 

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The sentences below are fairly simple, where the main clause is not much more than just a pronoun (included in the conjugation of the verb) and a verb. And instead of an object, we have a new (subordinate) clause beginning with che (that) or with other conjunctions.

Here's a little expression that is fun to use. It's often used with irony, and among friends. It uses the past tense of the verb essere (to be) and the adverb ora (now) or the noun l'ora (the time, the hour). 

Era ora. If we unpack it, we can see we have the imperfetto (simple past tense) of the verb essere (to be). And then we have ora. It means "hour" or "time" if we put an article in front of it, but it is also an adverb, meaning "now." In the case of the expression, there is no article and so it's not exactly clear which part of speech is meant. It doesn't really matter, because it's an expression that never changes.

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Note that in Italian, it's always in the past tense, the imperfetto to be precise. In English, on the other hand, we can say it in the past or the present, or we can leave the verb out altogether. To form this expression in English, we do add the word "about." "It's about time," or "It was about time," or just, "About time!"  We might also say, "High time." 

Era ora is a great expression and easy to use. There is always an imaginary exclamation point after it. When someone arrives late, it is something to say, but it's a veiled reprimand (meaning, "you're late!"), depending on one's tone and facial expression, so it should be used with care when directed at a person. It can also refer to a situation, such as a delayed train or delivery.

We have hunted through Yabla videos to find some examples you can watch and listen to.

Eccomi qua.

Here I am.

-Ce l'hai fatta. Era ora, Mirò!

-You did it. It was about time, Mirò!

Sono contenta che tu sia tornato giù.

I'm glad you came back down.

Captions 70-73, Gatto Mirò - EP6 Buon compleanno

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Ragazzi, ho portato le birre.

Guys, I've brought the beers.

-Era ora!

-It was about time!

Meno male che qualcuno ha pensato di portare da bere,

Good thing that someone thought of bringing something to drink,

sembrava la festa delle medie! -Ecco qua.

it seemed like a junior high school party. -Here you go.

Captions 9-12, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste

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Manara is very late for his dinner at Toscani's house. That's why Toscani says, when he opens the door:

Era ora, eh!

About time, huh!

Che è?

What is it?

Ma che stai a fa' [che fai]?

But what are you doing?

-Con permesso? Permesso?

-Allow me to come in, may I?

Captions 28-31, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP1 - Matrimonio con delitto

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Manara, being Manara, has grabbed the wine off the table, gone back to the door, and come in a second time (saying Permesso), pretending he has brought the bottle. 

Here, the police went through all the bags of the bus passengers and it took a while.

Questo è l'ultimo e l'ispezione dei bagagli è finita.

This is the last one, and the inspection of the luggage is complete.

-I ragazzi hanno avuto le loro borse?

-Do the guys all have their bags?

-Tutti andati pure. Prego.

-They've all gone, too. Please.

-Era ora anche, eh.

-It was about time, too, huh.

Captions 47-50, Il Commissario Manara - S2EP9 - L'amica ritrovata

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Eva goes to see her favorite counterfeiter after a long absence.

La ladra più bella del mondo!

The most beautiful thief in the world!

Era ora che te [ti] facevi rivede [rivedere].

It was high time you reappeared.

Sono passati tanti anni!

Many years have passed!

Captions 48-50, La Ladra - EP. 1 - Le cose cambiano

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A friend chastising another for not going out enough.

Che c'è che non va?

What's wrong?

Niente, una storia con un uomo

Nothing, a relationship with a man

che rischia di diventare importante.

that's in danger of becoming important.

-Be', era ora, no?

-Well, it was about time, wasn't it?

Captions 45-47, La Ladra - EP. 8 - Il momento giusto

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A relationship had been hampered by some psychological problems.

Fine dell'Edipo. -Era ora.

My Oedipus complex is over. -About time.

Caption 9, La Ladra - EP. 12 - Come ai vecchi tempi

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Camilla's car has a hard time starting. When the motor finally turns over, era ora (it was about time)!

Forza, dai, dai, dai, ci siamo, ci siamo.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, we're there, we're there.

-Sì, ci siamo. -Ma quanno 'a cambi qua stufa [romanesco: ma quando lo cambi quel rudere]?

-Yes, we made it. -But when are you going to trade in that jalopy?

-Fatto, ecco.

-Done, there we go.

-Era ora. -Sei stato fortissimo.

-About time. -You were great.

Captions 27-30, Provaci ancora prof! - S2EP1 - La finestra sulla scuola

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Era ora is a way of saying "finally!" And sometimes both expressions can be used together.

Be', hanno fatto la pace.

Well, they made up.

Era ora, finalmente.

It was about time, finally.

Captions 68-69, Provaci ancora prof! - S2EP2 Una mina vagante

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Although Era ora works fine on its own, and that is the scope of this lesson, it can also be part of a sentence and will generally be followed by che, in which case we need the subjunctive.

Era ora che mi telefonassi (it was about time you called me).