We have looked at the subjunctive mood (il congiuntivo) and how the conjunction che (that, which) triggers it on so many occasions.
But other conjunctions trigger the subjunctive, as well. Subordinating conjunctions (including che) are used to connect a dependent or subordinate clause (one that can't stand alone) to a main clause in different ways. They're called congiunzioni subordinanti in Italian and are categorized into groups such as concessive (of concession), temporali (of time), causali (of cause), finali (of purpose), etc.
We will go through them one by one over the course of multiple lessons and provide examples from Yabla videos. Knowing the names of the various conjunction types is not the important thing, but recognizing their meaning and being able to use them when needed or desired will enhance your speaking and writing. As you learn more Italian, you will begin recognizing them and incorporating them into your speech and understanding. These conjunctions play a role in instructions, rules, and regulations, so it's a good idea to be familiar with them.
Some are more common than others, and you will hear them again and again in Yabla videos, as well as in everyday speech. Practicing them in Speak, Scribe, and Revo will reinforce your command of them and help them feel natural. To see more examples, do a search of your chosen conjunction on the "videos" page and they will be listed. Open the transcript if you need more context or complete sentences.
In this lesson, we will deal with some common conjunctions of concession. In English, these are words like "despite," "notwithstanding," "although," "even though," etc. In Italian, they are: benché, sebbene, malgrado che, nonostante, anche se (which doesn't necessarily take the subjunctive depending on the context).
Here's an explanation of what this kind of conjunction is about, in Italian and in English.
Le congiunzioni concessive introducono un ostacolo che non impedisce l'azione principale.
Concessive conjunctions introduce an obstacle that doesn't impede the principal action.
As we will see, some of the conjunctions we encounter already contain the conjunction che. And we can guess that at one time, they were separate words: bene che or se bene. Two of the conjunctions of concession contain the adverb bene (well). With benché, it's at the beginning, whereas with sebbene, it's in second place. Bene (well, good) is generally a positive or reinforcing word. That can help us understand that even though there is an obstacle in the subordinate clause, it doesn't prevent the main clause from being true.
You might be wondering if benché and sebbene are interchangeable. They are indeed. And they both take the subjunctive. In the first example below, the verb in the subjunctive mood is avere (to have), and in the second example, it's essere (to be).
benché (even though, although)
Ho fatto il matto anch'io, benché avessi quindici anni nel quarantacinque,
I went crazy too, even though I was fifteen years old in nineteen forty-five,
Captions 58-59, Vera e Giuliano Montaldo - Part 4
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Ma prima nessuno, nessuno aveva visto questa meraviglia, neanche gli uomini preistorici perché, sebbene siano state trovate delle tracce, eh, di, della loro presenza in altri punti, in questi ambienti assolutamente no.
But before that, no one, no one had seen this wonder, not even prehistoric men because, although traces have been found, uh, of, of their presence in other spots, in these chambers, absolutely not.
Captions 5-9, Meraviglie S2EP1 - Part 7
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A way to express the same idea informally, and without needing the subjunctive, is with anche se (even if).
Ci sono certe realtà che vanno raccontate, anche se fa male.
There are certain realities that need to be told, even if it hurts.
Captions 24-25, Liberi tutti EP7 Quanto vale una pera al Milanetto? - Part 6
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nonostante (despite, despite the fact that, notwithstanding)
A dodici anni ha composto la sua prima opera e nonostante fosse un genio, i suoi l'hanno obbligato a studiare da avvocato,
At the age of twelve, he composed his first work and even though he was a genius, his parents forced him to study to be a lawyer,
Captions 7-9, La compagnia del cigno S2 EP 2 - Part 7
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The handy thing about nonostante is that it can be followed by either a verb in the subjunctive mood or by a noun! It works similarly to "despite" in English. When followed by a noun, nonostante works like a preposition.
Pochi sono venuti a trovarlo, nonostante tutto il bene che ha fatto.
Few came to visit him, despite all the good he did.
Captions 8-9, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP6 Dalla parte degli ultimi - Part 15
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malgrado (despite, in spite of)
Ecco le campane, oggi è domenica, e malgrado sia un giorno di festa, la città, ehm, si muove in questo momento, forse perché molti son' tornati dalle vacanze.
There go the bells, today is Sunday, and even though it is a non-work day, the city, uhm, is stirring right now, perhaps because many have come back from their holidays.
Captions 16-19, Rosalba al parco della donna gatto - Part 1
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Malgrado can also be followed by a noun.
Malgrado l'ora tarda, giovani dai quindici ai vent'anni hanno invaso la stazione Centrale
Despite the late hour, young people from fifteen to twenty years old invaded the Central Station
Captions 5-6, Guido Crepax Cercando Valentina - Part 3
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Malgrado and nonostante are pretty much interchangeable, but nonostante is more common, and malgrado can seem negative (from the presence of mal = evil), as well as being a bit more formal. These two concessive conjunctions are quite interesting, and we'll delve deeper into them in a future lesson.
Thanks for reading. We hope gathering conjunctions together can help you make sense of them. See also Daniela's video lessons about il congiuntivo and this one about subordinating conjunctions.
Write to us at [email protected] or leave a comment on the "videos" page.
In this lesson, we will talk about words that stem from the root word, quadro. For more about the word quadro itself, please see this lesson, where we discuss various meanings of the word. For the purposes here, let's think of un quadro as a picture, or a painting. We can imagine it as being framed and hanging on the wall.
Cristina ci ha detto che qualche suo quadro era riuscito a venderlo.
Cristina told us that you were able to sell a few of his paintings.
Caption 25, Il Commissario Manara S2EP10 -La verità nascosta - Part 5
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A frame is often square or rectangular, and in fact, quadro is another word for square. In a camera, we see a square (or frame) around the subject we want in the shot.
In concrete terms, l'inquadratura is the act or result of framing something in a camera, telescope, binoculars, or some such appliance. The verb form is inquadrare. You want to make it so your subject is in a certain position within the frame you see in your viewfinder or live-view screen. In other words, in the shot.
Qua si vede un'anfora, un'urna cineraria per l'esattezza, quasi intatta. Riesci a inquadrarla? -Sì.
Here you can see an amphora, a cinerary urn to be precise, almost intact. Are you able to get it in the shot? -Yes.
Captions 21-22, Anna e Marika Hostaria Antica Roma - Part 4
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In photographic terms, the kind of shot is often described in Italian with the noun piano (plane) or campo (field of view). But for the subject we focus on, or that we want in the frame, we use inquadrare.
Primi piani, totali, campi medi, tutto con il quaranta, semplicemente allontanandosi o avvicinandosi al soggetto o a... alla cosa da inquadrare.
Close ups, long shots, medium shots, all with the forty [mm], simply by going further away or by getting closer to the subject or to the... the thing to capture in the frame.
Captions 5-7, Fratelli Taviani La passione e l'utopia - Part 11
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Io La guardo sempre alla TV, ma dal vivo sembra più alto. -Be', dipende molto dall'inquadratura. Spesso un'angolazione può dare l'impressione...
I always watch you on TV, but in person you seem taller. -Well, it depends a lot on the framing. Often a camera angle can give an impression...
Captions 53-55, PsicoVip Gli occhiali - Ep 24
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But we can also use the verb inquadrare figuratively. "We get the picture."
Tanto ho capito, io il tipo l'ho inquadrato. Non mi fido.
Anyway I understand, I have that guy figured out. I don't trust him.
Caption 38, Il Commissario Manara S1EP1 - Un delitto perfetto - Part 8
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There are various ways of translating inquadrare in the following example, but we don't know exactly what she was thinking, so we opted for "to categorize."
Inquadrava i suoi corteggiatori come amici, quindi li invitava tutti insieme. Si odiavano tra di loro,
She categorized her suitors as friends, so she would invite them all together. They hated one another,
Captions 5-6, Vera e Giuliano Montaldo - Part 4
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E noi abbiamo inquadrato lì la porta...
And we focused on the door there...
Caption 18, Fratelli Taviani La passione e l'utopia - Part 1
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Inquadrare isn't actually focusing, in the technical sense of getting your subject in focus, or sharp, but you are focusing on something important in the shot, so sometimes it's synonymous with focusing. Usually, you want the subject in your frame to be in focus. When we are technically focusing on a part of the shot, we use the focus ring or use autofocus and we "put the image into focus": mettere a fuoco. Once the image is sharp, è a fuoco (it's in focus).
Just as inquadrare can be figurative, so can mettere a fuoco.
Poi, c'ho una nuova idea in testa, così, ma ancora... ancora un pochino confusa, che spero di mettere a fuoco abbastanza presto.
Then, I have a new idea in mind, like, but still... still a bit confused, which I hope to bring into focus fairly soon.
Captions 48-49, Fellini Racconta Un Autoritratto Ritrovato - Part 7
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Fare il punto della situazione, invece, vuol dire mettere a fuoco gli aspetti principali di quella situazione, mentre fare il quadro della situazione, invece, significa descrivere quella situazione in modo molto dettagliato.
To make the point [to sum up] of the situation, instead means to put into focus the principal aspects of that situation, whereas "to make the picture" of a situation, instead, means to describe that situation in a very detailed way.
Captions 61-64, Marika spiega Il verbo fare
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