One word leads to another. Since some of Yabla's videos have included scenes of construction, the topic of scaffolding has come up from time to time, even though it's certainly not a topic you run into every day. But there is a false cognate we may run into whenever we go to a supermercato (supermarket) or grande magazzino (department store), so a closer look might be merited.
One word for "scaffolding" is il ponteggio or, more often, i ponteggi. We can detect the noun il ponte (the bridge) in the word, and can easily imagine the wooden planks as "bridges" from one set of poles to the next.
Ha ceduto un ponteggio.
Some scaffolding collapsed.
Caption 35, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 3
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Impalcatura is often used in the singular, as a generic term, but can also be used in the plural. Here, we might detect the noun il palco, which can mean "the stage" (as in a theater) or "the platform." L'impalcatura is a series of platforms on top of each other.
È caduto da un'impalcatura del cantiere.
He fell from a scaffold at the construction site.
Caption 9, La Ladra EP. 7 - Il piccolo ladro - Part 3
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No, Spartacus, non credo che gli faccia piacere avere un ricevimento in mezzo a impalcature e betoniere.
No, Spartacus, I don't think he is happy to have a reception in the middle of scaffolding and cement mixers.
Captions 66-67, Sposami EP 4 - Part 24
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"Platform" has a cognate, too: la piattaforma (the platform, the board).
La parte centrale del Colosseo, dove accadeva tutto, era una piattaforma lignea che veniva, eh, riempita di sabbia,
The central part of the Colosseum, where everything took place, was a wooden platform that was, uh, filled with sand,
Captions 25-27, Marika e Daniela Colosseo, interno - Part 1
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But, when we find the word scaffale in Italian, it doesn't mean "scaffolding." It is, instead, the kind of shelving you find in a store, supermarket, or department store.
Se andate a fare la spesa in un supermercato italiano, vi troverete davanti allo scaffale del riso indecisi sul tipo di riso da comprare,
If you go grocery shopping in an Italian supermarket, you'll find yourselves facing the rice shelf, uncertain about the type of rice to buy,
Captions 1-3, L'Italia a tavola Risotto alla milanese - Part 2
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It's used a lot in the plural as a general term: gli scaffali.
Se voi mangiaste meno, il supermercato sarebbe sicuramente più pieno e io non troverei gli scaffali vuoti. -Esagerata, eh!
If you ate less, the supermarket would surely be fuller and I wouldn't find the shelves empty. -Over the top, huh!
Captions 44-45, Daniela e Francesca Il verbo mangiare
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We can also use the noun lo scaffale in a house. If the shelves are for books, we'll usually say, una libreria.
False friend alert: Una libreria is also a bookshop! A library, on the other hand, is una biblioteca. If you have a dedicated room or lots of shelves for books, you can talk about una biblioteca in your house, too.
When we are speaking generically, we can use scaffale. Marika talks about lo scaffale, because, as she mentions, it contains all kinds of things.
A fianco alla televisione, ho un mobile. Questo mobile si chiama scaffale. Io lo uso per conservare tantissimi oggetti.
Alongside the television, I have a piece of furniture. This piece of furniture is called a shelving unit. I use it to store many objects.
Captions 26-28, Marika spiega Il salone
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If this web of words has brought you more confusion than anything else, just stick with learning gli scaffali. That's where you will find food and products at the supermarket, and eating is essential.
When we want to talk about going or being upstairs or downstairs, we're not going to find a direct translation in Italian. We have to use other words.
We start out with the words sopra and sotto, which basically mean "above" and "below," respectively. We insert the preposition di (of, from) before either one.
No, vado di sopra a prendere la borsa e le chiavi e scendo giù subito.
No, I'm going upstairs to get my bag and the keys, and I'll be right down.
Caption 88, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3EP3 - Il tarlo del sospetto - Part 1
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If you are upstairs and want to go downstairs, you could just as well say,
Vado di sotto a prendere la borsa...
I'm going downstairs to get my bag...
When we are talking about the other room, or another room, or "over there," then we use the same little preposition di (of, from), but we use là (there) instead of above or below.
Vado di là (I'm going in the other room, I'm going over there).
Pietro è di là (Pietro is in the other room).
Using the above formula to talk about "upstairs," "downstairs," or "in the other room," is one way to express this. You might also hear simply su and giù.
È su (he/she is upstairs), sta su (he/she is upstairs).
Vado su, vengo giù (I'm going up, I'm coming down).
If we imagine an apartment building where you have to go downstairs to go out of the building, it's easier to imagine the Italian use of sotto casa (right in front of the house). I may have a little market right near my house. It's sotto casa. It implies "very close by" or "in front of."
Fortunatamente ci hanno messo un bidone sotto casa.
Fortunately, they put a garbage can in front of the house.
Caption 25, COVID-19 6) La guarigione
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Sono sotto casa tua. Scendi un attimo?
I'm in front of your house. Will you come down a moment?
Caption 30, La Ladra EP. 7 - Il piccolo ladro - Part 3
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When we want to say, "down here," or "down there," then we can use qui sotto or qua sotto. They are interchangeable and can refer to either "here" or "there," depending on one's point of view.
E qua sotto c'è il fiume Tevere.
And down there is the river Tiber.
Caption 19, Anna e Marika Trattoria Al Biondo Tevere - Part 1
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Infatti, vedi le strutture che sono qui sotto, qui sotto a questo monumentale... -Sì.
In fact, do you see the constructions that are down here, below this monumental... -Yes.
Caption 44, Marika e Daniela Colosseo, interno - Part 1
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While sopra and sotto with di often refer to "upstairs" and "downstairs" as we have shown above, su and giù can also be used to indicate the direction of where someone or something is or where someone or something is going. They often go hand in hand with qui or qua (here) and là (there).
Qui and qua basically indicate something that is close to the person who is speaking. Su basically means "up" and giù basically means "down." If we want to refer to something far away in an upward or downward direction, we can say, lassù (up there) or laggiù (down there).
E tu che ci fai lassù?
What are you doing up there?
Caption 8, Dafne Film - Part 5
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E poi si vede in fondo, laggiù sull'Arno, il ponte più caratteristico di Firenze, uno dei simboli della città, che è il Ponte Vecchio.
And then you can see, down there, on the Arno, the most characteristic bridge of Florence, one of the symbols of the city, which is the Ponte Vecchio [the old bridge].
Captions 36-38, In giro per l'Italia Firenze - Part 4
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Sopra and sotto are also used to mean other things, also figuratively, and hopefully, they will come up by and by in videos and lessons. Meanwhile, you now have some ways to describe where you are going or where you are in a house, or what you can see from your house or what you'll find in front of your house. As you will have noticed, there are various ways to say the same thing. Let us know if you have questions! You can write to us at newsletter@yabla.com.
A subscriber has asked about the common but difficult-to-translate expression come mai.
For starters, let’s take it apart.
Come (how) is easy enough and mai (never, ever) is as well. So we would be inclined to translate come mai as “ how ever.” With a bit of moving the words around, we could come up with:
Come riuscirai mai a farlo?
How are you ever going to be able to do that?
But what we're examining in this lesson is the idiomatic expression come mai as a unit, because, yes, it can stand on its own or be inserted as is, into a question or certain kinds of statements.
It’s most easily translated as “how come?” “How come” is another way to say “why.” “How come” is actually short for “how did it come about that” and dates from the mid-1800s. We can also translate it as “how is it that...” So we could say that come mai is another way of saying perché when perché means “why.” You may ask: When does perché not mean “why?” See this lesson to find out!
Come mai often expresses surprise at things being different from what one expects, so it’s an expressive way of saying “why.” In certain contexts where there is intense surprise at someone’s actions or decisions, it can even be translated as “why on earth?”
Come mai non hai tolto la pentola dal fuoco?
Why on earth didn’t you take the pot off the burner?
But come mai can also be a less aggressive way to say perché in certain situations. After all, with come mai, you are interested in knowing the other person’s reasons for doing something. So it’s not a cold, indifferent question. You may also be giving someone the benefit of the doubt. As an example, let’s say that the other person is usually reliable, but this time they messed up. Come mai? You’re wondering about it.
The question, perché non mi hai chiamato? asked with a certain tone, can be almost accusatory or dry, but come mai non mi hai chiamato implies that I was really expecting you to have called me, and so you must have a good reason for not calling me.
Let’s look at some examples from Yabla videos.
Ma sai che anche io mi sento un po' stanca, chissà come mai.
But you know that I feel a little tired, too, who knows why?
Caption 27, Anna e Marika - Il verbo avere
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The speaker could easily have said the following, and meant pretty much the same thing:
Ma sai che anche io mi sento un po' stanca, chissà perché.
But come mai gives us the idea that she is truly wondering why she is tired. She shouldn’t be. She slept fine.
Io so perché si chiama arena.
I know why it's called an arena.
-Ah, è vero!
-Oh, that's right!
Come mai si chiama arena?
How come it's called an arena?
Captions 22-24, Marika e Daniela - Colosseo, interno
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In the above example, the speaker could easily have used perché. But come mai implies some real curiosity. It might indicate the wish to hear the long answer rather than the short one.
Let’s remember that perché can mean both “why” and “because.” Come mai, on the other hand, is mostly used in questions but also in some negative or questioning statements, such as:
Non so come mai arrivo sempre in ritardo.
I don’t know why I always come late.
Come mai never means “because.”
In the following example, Mimì of "La Bohème" is talking about a change in Alfredo’s behavior. Since she was jolted by this change, she uses come mai.
Era diventato geloso.
He had become jealous.
Non capivo come mai.
I couldn't understand why.
Captions 27-28, Anna presenta - La Bohème di Puccini
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Hopefully, you now know a bit more about using come mai. If you have more questions about this topic, let us know!
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