Food, and eating and drinking are very important to all of us. But how to talk about this in Italian? There are different ways, but one of the basic things to know is that being hungry and thirsty are most commonly expressed using the verb avere (to have) plus the noun la fame (the hunger) or the noun la sete (the thirst). We've provided the articles to know the gender, but the article is not used in this formula.
Io però ho fame.
But I'm hungry.
Caption 88, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1 EP6 Buio - Part 9
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Ho sete.
I'm thirsty.
Caption 52, La linea verticale EP 5 - Part 4
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But in the next example, the article is used. Note that who is hungry is identified by an indirect object pronoun — mi or a me (to me) in this case.
M'è passata la fame.
I've lost my appetite [to me, the hunger has passed]
Caption 59, Com'è umano lui Film - Part 14
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Peppi', t'aspetto fuori, che m'è passata la sete a me.
Peppi', I'll wait outside, since I'm not thirsty anymore [to me the thirst has passed].
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So, instead of asking, "How hungry are you?" the question can become, "How much hunger do you have?"
C'avete fame? -Sì, altroché. Ma quanta? -Tanta.
Are you hungry? -Yes, absolutely. But how [hungry]? -Very.
Captions 25-26, Provaci ancora prof! S3 EP2 Doppio imprevisto - Part 21
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Sometimes, we might want to use an adjective, especially when we're very hungry. We can say affamato.
Tutto sommato retaggio di un'Italia che, fino a pochi decenni prima, era un'Italia tutto sommato affamata.
All in all, a heritage of an Italy, which until a few decades earlier, was a hungry Italy, all in all.
Captions 62-63, L'arte della cucina L'Epoca delle Piccole Rivoluzioni - Part 11
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We can also say, when we feel "desperate," Sto morendo di fame (I'm dying of hunger).
And to remove hunger, in other words, to feed someone, we can use the prefix S:
Diceva che non avevano abbastanza soldi, non potevano permettersi un'altra bocca da sfamare.
He would say that they didn't have enough money. They couldn't afford another mouth to feed.
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We can also "give someone something to eat," dare da mangiare.
Devo dare da mangiare a mia figlia.
I have to feed my daughter.
Caption 15, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep. 1 - Part 11
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Maybe this lesson has made you affamato. We hope that you can sfamarti. Thanks for reading. You can write to us a [email protected].
In Italia abbiamo molte forze dell'ordine, cioè molte specialità.
In Italy we have many law enforcement branches, that is, many specialties.
Caption 1, Nicola Agliastro Le Forze dell'Ordine in Italia
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For more about law enforcement branches in Italy, see: Cops: Carabinieri, Vigili, or Poliziotti?
In the first example, we're on the street and a uniformed police officer arrives on the scene. He is addressed as agente. Agente, non ho potuto evitarla, mi si è buttata sotto.
Officer, I couldn't avoid her. She threw herself underneath me.
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In the unlikely case we know the officer's name, we can add that.
Agente Cuomo, dimmi.
Agent Cuomo, what is it?
Caption 13, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP3 Vicini - Part 2
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The police have arrived at the home of a witness or suspect. They are in plain clothes and clearly investigators.
Ispettore, ve lo giuro, io non avrei mai fatto del male a Teresa.
Detective, I swear it, I would never have hurt Teresa.
Caption 22, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP3 Vicini - Part 19
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Here, we are at the police station. The person in charge is sitting at a desk, not in uniform. Whatever his actual title, commissario works in addressing him or her.
Signora, risponda alla domanda, era quello il ragazzo? Sì, commissario, era lui.
Ma'am, answer the question, was this the boy? Yes, Inspector, it was him.
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Higher up in rank than a commissario is the questore. Usually, he or she has contact with people within the office, not people who come in for questioning or people on the street. He may be addressed with signor or signora before his title. In this example, an inspector or police chief is speaking to his superior.
Signor questore, abbiamo già una pista.
Mister Commissioner, we already have a lead.
Caption 37, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1EP5 Misericordia - Part 4
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I carabinieri are the military police force. If you are driving they can signal you to pull over to check your vehicle or documents. You can tell by the dark color of their vehicles, and by the insignia on their hats that they are different from i vigili (the local [traffic] policemen) or i poliziotti (policemen, state troopers).
Senza offesa, maresciallo, lo sa come vanno certe cose.
No offense officer, you know how some things go.
Caption 25, Chi m'ha visto film - Part 25
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In a nutshell:
Il commissario is in charge of a police station or specific department. To address them: Signor commissario, signora commissario. What about commissaria? It does exist and is "correct," but is not used very often.
Un ispettore is involved in investigations or management. -To address them: Ispettore, ispettore + name
Un agente is a general uniformed officer, but might also not be in uniform. To address them: Agente, agente + name
Un maresciallo is an officer of i carabinieri (the military police). To address them: Maresciallo, maresciallo + name
Note that in Italian, these titles are not capitalized. In English, they are. The polite form should always be used in addressing law enforcement officers. See: Being Polite with Dare del Lei, What's the Story on Voi in the Singular?, Getting Someone’s Attention in Italian: Ascoltare and Sentire
What forms of address shall we look at next? Write to us at [email protected].
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