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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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.
When traveling, it's good to have a handle on the words we might need when getting around a new place. But depending on where we are and who we are talking with, we might hear different names for the same thing.
The word for "train" is easy. It's il treno.
Where do we catch or meet a train? Alla stazione. That's a good cognate, too. So already these two words, il treno and la stazione are essential to have in your toolkit.
One important question you might want to ask is: Dov'è la stazione (where is the train station)? Or you can keep it even simpler:
Allora, dico: "scusi, per la stazione?" Semplicissimo.
So, I say, "Excuse me, for the station?" Very simple.
Caption 18, Corso di italiano con Daniela Chiedere informazioni - Part 1
Play Caption
We don't always need to speak in full sentences, and when we do try, we can easily stumble. You can even just say: La stazione?
When we're talking about the railroad in general, however, we usually say la ferrovia. The rails are made of iron, and ferro means "iron." Via is "way" or "road," so it makes sense.
Il ponte della ferrovia,
The railroad bridge,
Caption 45, Rosalba al parco della donna gatto - Part 1
Play Caption
Ferrovia isn't too hard to pronounce, but when we turn it into an adjective, it's a bit trickier.
...e la ricevuta di un biglietto ferroviario di sola andata Bologna-Roma.
...and the receipt for a train ticket, one way, Bologna to Rome.
Captions 16-17, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 6
Play Caption
There are 3 different terms people use when they refer to a bus. The easiest one is autobus, as it contains the word "bus" we recognize.
L'autobus often refers to local transportation within a city, but it's also used generally, especially by young people.
Da qui partono gli autobus, tra l'altro, per gli aeroporti di Pisa e di Firenze...
From here, the buses leave for the Pisa and Florence airports, among other places...
Caption 47, In giro per l'Italia Firenze - Part 3
Play Caption
La corriera is a term that's a bit outdated (and it was used for stagecoaches in earlier times), but if you are talking to someone of a certain age, or if you are in a remote village, corriera is a term they might use.
Mi scusi, la corriera per Milano?
Excuse me, the bus for Milan?
Caption 31, Il Commissario Manara S1EP12 - Le verità nascoste - Part 9
Play Caption
Attenzione! Let's also mention that both la corriera (the bus) and il corriere (the courier) have the same origins. In earlier times, a stagecoach would carry passengers but also letters and packages. Nowadays, la corriera carries passengers and il corriere carries packages. We can detect the verb correre in the term, which hints at speed.
Usually, with la stazione, it is pretty clear you are talking about the train station, but if you are asking for the bus station, you will want to specify that. Il pullman, is a word you'll likely recognize from English.
È arrivata zia, è alla stazione dei pullman.
My aunt has arrived. She's at the bus station.
Caption 48, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 11
Play Caption
Note that la corriera is feminine and il pullman is masculine. Often, these two terms indicate buses that go long distances, from city to city (like Greyhound in the U.S).
When there is a proper bus station, you can buy your biglietto (ticket) at la biglietteria, but more and more, there are self-service machines where you can pay in cash or by credit card. In some places, however, you have to buy your ticket at the bar or dal tabaccaio (at the tobacconist's).
Some cities have had trams since the 19th century. In some cities, they were once in vogue, then went out of vogue, but are coming back. Whoever is interested in an overview of the tramways in Italy can consult this Wikipedia article. It's called il tram in Italian (so that's easy!). It runs on rails and is (now) electric.
Bene, una volta arrivati a Napoli, prendete il tram che vi porta al porto.
Good, once you've arrived in Naples, you'll get a tram that will take you to the harbor.
Caption 28, Marika spiega I veicoli
Play Caption
Other cities have a kind of bus that's powered electrically, from above. It's called il filobus (the trolley bus). Il filo is the word for "the wire".
************************
Here are the words we discussed in this lesson. In a future lesson, we'll dive deeper into travel vocabulary, as this list is only partial.
l'autobus (the city bus)
la corriera (the bus, the coach)
il corriere (the courier)
il pullman (the bus, the long-distance bus)
il treno (the train)
la ferrovia (the railroad)
il biglietto (the ticket)
la stazione (the station)
il filobus (the trolley bus)
.
Spanish
French
German
Chinese
English
English 
Español
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
