In this week’s video, Marika shows us around her bedroom. The most important piece of furniture is il letto matrimoniale (“marriage” bed, double bed).
Two children sharing a room might have twin beds, or bunk beds. Marika talks about these here. But traditionally, the parents sleep together in one big bed. Italians take this quite seriously, and call a double bed (more like a queen-size bed) un letto matrimoniale (a bed for a married couple). The bedroom containing such a bed will likewise be called una camera matrimoniale. The actual size of the bed is open to question, but it’s clearly meant for two people who sleep in close quarters.
In many Italian hotels, and in some homes as well, two identical single beds are placed next to each other with a mattress cover that covers both of them, and it’s made up like a double bed or letto matrimoniale. The resulting bed will be rather large, like a queen-size. This is handy if the two sleepers have different needs, and it’s also handy for turning the mattresses for airing, or for changing from the winter side (stuffed with wool) to the summer side (stuffed with cotton). Some people feel two single mattresses are more versatile. Others prefer the comfort of one big mattress.
In a hotel, una camera singola might have a smaller single bed than you might expect. It’s not like in American motels where all the beds are queen-size!
When buying sheets, mattresses, or bed frames, the term matrimoniale may be used, but since there are different-sized “double” beds, we also find the term piazza, which is the space designed for one occupant. A bed is single when it is una piazza (one place). There’s also the intermediate size una piazza e mezza or una piazza e mezzo (room for one and a half occupants), also called alla francese (French-style). You might have this kind of bed if you don’t have space for a bigger one, or if you like something a bit bigger than a single bed. It can be likened to an old-fashioned double bed in America. It can also be a typical size for a divano letto (a sofa bed). Due piazze is about as big as you’ll find in a bed.
Sofas are also measured with piazze. They’re usually three or two: Tre piazze or due piazze. Yes, this is the same word as for the piazza in the center of a town or city.
Many homes have an extra guest bed, which may also fold up, to be placed out of sight. This is typically called una brandina (a folding bed, cot). The term, along with its unaltered version branda, is used to indicate a camp bed, or the kind of rudimentary bed used in the army or for camping.
A casual way to say you’re going to bed is:
Vado in branda.
I’m sacking out/I’m hitting the hay.
More properly, we say andare a letto or andare a dormire:
Adesso tu te ne vai a letto, ci fai sopra una bella dormita.
Now you go off to bed. Have a good sleep on it.
Caption 36, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena
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Italian also uses andare a dormire to say “to go to bed”:
Vai.
Go on.
Ehi, giovano',
Hey, young man,
dai, basta con 'sta televisione.
come on, that's enough with this TV.
Vai a dormire che è tardi, ia'!
Go to bed, because it's late, right?
Captions 14-16, L'oro di Scampia - film - Part 3
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Andare a dormire can also mean “to go to sleep” in general, whether in a bed, an armchair, a sofa, or anywhere.
Alle quattro e mezza io andavo a dormire un'ora.
At four thirty I'd go to sleep for an hour.
Caption 20, L'arte della cucina - I Luoghi del Mondo
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But usually, “going to sleep” as in “falling asleep” is expressed with the verb addormentarsi (to go to sleep, to fall asleep). A is one prefix used to cause an action to take place, as in:
addensare (to cause to be dense, to thicken)
addolcire (to sweeten)
Without the reflexive, addormentare is transitive, and may be used, for example, if you’re trying to get a baby to go to sleep, or if someone is put to sleep with an anaesthetic.
Just for fun:
Quando ho sonno, vado in branda. Però, riesco a dormire solo in un letto grande, in unletto matrimoniale. Un letto ad una piazza mi è proprio troppo stretto. Anche un letto ad una piazza e mezza è troppo stretto. Non riesco proprio ad addormentarmi. Se vado a dormire troppo presto, mi sveglio all’una di notte, e allora sì, che non miriaddormento più. Quando mi capita così, il giorno dopo, devo andare a dormire una mezz’ora per recuperare un po’ di sonno. In quel caso uso una brandina che tengo nell’armadio per queste esigenze.
When I’m sleepy, I go to bed. However, I can sleep only in a big bed, in a queen-size bed. A single bed is really too narrow for me. Even a double bed is too narrow. I just can’t get to sleep. If I go to bed too early, I wake up at one in the morning, and then, for sure I don’t fall back to sleep. When that happens to me, the following day I have to go sleep for a half an hour to catch up on my sleep. In that case, I use a folding cot I store in the closet, for when I need it.
Further Practice:
Can you describe the beds and bedrooms in your house? Can you talk about your sleeping habits, and those of your family?
The Italian word for “to want” is volere. See Daniela’s lesson about volere and other modal verbs.
Ma insomma, adesso, tu che cosa vuoi veramente?
Well, all things considered, now, you, what do you really want?
Caption 27, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena
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But it’s not always as easy as just conjugating the verb, like in the above example. English speakers actively want things, or want to do things, but Italians, more often than not, use the noun form voglia (desire) with avere (to have) as the action. We often translate aver voglia as “to have the desire,” or “to feel like”.
Se non ho più voglia mi fermo.
If I don't feel like it anymore, I stop.
Caption 8, Gianni si racconta - L'olivo e i rovi
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When we want to be polite, we use the conditional of volere, just like the English “I would like” rather than “I want.”
Vorrei parlare con il commissario.
I’d like to speak with the commissioner.
But when we’re done with being polite, and want to be more insistent, we forget about the conditional and go with the indicative. Imagine someone raising their voice a bit.
Voglio parlare col commissario. -Il commissario è di servizio.
I want to talk to the Commissioner. -The Commissioner is busy.
-Voglio parlare con il commissario!
-I want to speak to the Commissioner!
Captions 43-44, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP7 - Sogni di Vetro
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We can also use the conditional with the noun form voglia, but the conditional is applied to the active verb, in this case, avere (to have). This is not a polite form like in the example with vorrei above. It’s true conditional. In the following example, I know very well no one is going to let me sleep for twelve hours, but it sure would be nice! Translating it with “love” instead of “like” gets the idea across.
Avrei voglia di dormire dodici ore.
I’d love to sleep for twelve hours.
Another common way volere is used in Italian is as the equivalent of “to take” or “to need” in English. Note that in this case ci means “for it,” not “us,” as you might be led to believe!
Allora, per le bruschette ci vuole: il pane.
So, for the "bruschettas" we need: bread.
Caption 7, Anna e Marika - La mozzarella di bufala - La produzione e i tagli
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In a previous lesson we used metterci to talk about how long something takes. We can use volere in a similar way. While with metterci, we can be personal:
Io ci metto cinque minuti.
It takes me five minutes.
With volere, it’s impersonal and refers to anyone.
Ci vuole tanto tempo per attraversare Milano in macchina.
It takes a lot of time to get across Milan by car.
This kind of sentence also works in the conditional:
Ci vorrebbero tre ore per attraversare Milano in macchina!
It would take three hours to get across Milan by car!
Sometimes problems add up and finally you might say, “That’s all we need” or “that’s all we needed.” That’s when it’s time for non ci voleva (that's not what was needed).
Un tubo in bagno che perde,
A leaky pipe in the bathroom,
proprio non ci voleva.
that's really not what was needed [the last thing I needed].
Caption 31, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP3 - Rapsodia in Blu
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And just for fun:
Il turno di notte ancora! Non ci voleva. I have to go to work, ma non ci ho voglia! Avrei voglia di andare in città a fare quello che voglio. Se vuoi, puoi venire con me. C’è un bel film che vorrei vedere, peccato che ci vuole troppo tempo per arrivarci in tempo. Ci vorrebbe un ora buona!
The night shift again! That’s the last thing I needed. I have to go to work but I don’t feel like it. I’d love to go to the city and do what I want. If you want, you can come with me. There’s a great film that I would like to see; too bad it takes too long to get there in time. It would take a good hour!
To get the basics about why and how we use modal verbs in Italian, and how they are conjugated, see Daniela's video lesson about modal verbs. The modal verbs are: dovere (to have to, must), potere (to be able to, can), and volere (to want to, would).
Italian modal verbs have some similarities with English modal verbs, because they are used together with verbs in the infinitive, but there are differences, too. In English, for example, we can use "to be able to," which does get conjugated, or "can," which doesn't get conjugated. Italian modal verbs are conjugated and are irregular, so as Daniela says, you just have to learn them. These verbs are used so often that you're bound to learn the principle conjugations just by listening. Here's a quick conjugation chart for the present tense, plus a few tips.
There are other verbs like sapere (when it means "to be able to") that are also considered to be modal.
Non lo so spiegare.
I can't explain it [I don't know how to explain it].
When in the regular present tense, using modal verbs is mostly trouble free, as long as you've learned the irregular conjugation. The easy part (handy for when you're not sure of the conjugation of another verb) is that the other verb is going to be in the infinitive!
Note that both volere (to want) and dovere (to owe) have uses that aren't modal. All three modal verbs are also nouns, so, occhio al contesto (keep an eye on the context)!
Let's look at some practical examples. Look for an infinitive verb in the vicinity of the modal verb, to put the modal picture together.
Zia, che cosa devo fare?
Aunt, what should I do?
Caption 25, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena
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Alex vuole imparare il tedesco.
Alex wants to learn German.
Caption 22, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Domande
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Alle mie spalle, potete vedere la statua del Cristo di Maratea.
Behind me you can see the statue of Christ of Maratea.
Caption 1, Antonio - Maratea, Il Cristo Redentore
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Let's remember that the verb in the infinitive might actually be missing from the sentence itself, but it can easily be imagined, just like in English.
Non posso!
I can't!
One very common way modal verbs are used is with the impersonal. See these lessons about the impersonal, which uses the third person, as in the example below.
Si può aggiungere il caffè, si possono aggiungere tanti ingredienti.
One can add coffee, one can add many ingredients.
Caption 10, Andromeda - in - Storia del gelato
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So far we've been looking at the present tense. A bit further along the line, we'll get into modal verbs with compound tenses, which is a bit more complex. Hope to see you then!
In a previous lesson we discussed not being able to stand someone, using the verb vedere (to see):
Non lo posso vedere!
I can’t stand him!
In an episode of Il Commissario Manara, we hear another verb employed to express a similar sentiment: sopportare (to bear, to put up with, to tolerate). Lara is talking about her situation with Luca. She may be saying she can’t stand him, or that she can’t stand it (the situation).
Non lo sopporto!
I can't bear it/ I can't stand him!
Caption 34, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP6 - Reazione a Catena
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Another way to say this would be:
E’ insopportabile!
It’s unbearable/He's unbearable!
Another verb that is useful in this context is reggere (to hold, to hold up, to bear). Reggere, too, may be used when you can’t stand or bear someone or something.
Non lo reggo!
I can’t bear him!
I can’t bear it!
You may recall reading about retto as a noun in a completely different context in another lesson, but in the following example, retto is the participle of reggere.
Rodolfo non ha retto il peso della mia malattia.
Rodolfo couldn't bear the burden of my illness.
Caption 3, Anna presenta - La Bohème di Puccini
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It can mean physically holding something, as in:
Mi reggi questa borsa un attimo?
Could you hold this bag for me a moment?
Or holding onto, as in:
L'alcol, l'alcol, non lo regge, -Mh. Eh...
The alcohol, alcohol, he can't hold his, -Hm. Yeah...
si vede che... -Che, tu lo reggi?
it turns out that... -Because, you can hold yours?
Captions 48-49, Il Commissario Manara - S1EP4 - Le Lettere Di Leopardi
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Reggere is often used when talking about how sturdy something is.
Questa scala è un po’ marcia. Reggerà?
This ladder is a bit rotten. Will it hold up?
Sopportare and reggere are useful words in all kinds of contexts. Have a look at the online dictionary of your choice to get an even better grasp of them.
Just for fun:
Questo tetto non reggerà per molto. L’ho detto a mio marito, ma lui non sopporta l’idea di dover spendere soldi. Il suo atteggiamento lo trovo insopportabile, e non lo reggo proprio quando si comporta così. Vedremo per quanto ancora reggerà il tetto, e per quanto tempo ancora io potrò sopportare mio marito! Quasi quasi, se mi reggi questa scala, andrò io a dare un'occhiata al tetto!
This roof won’t hold up for long. I told my husband this, but he can’t stand the idea of having to spend money. His attitude I find to be intolerable, and I can’t stand him when he behaves that way. We’ll see how much longer the roof will hold, and for how long I’ll be able to stand my husband! On second thought, if you hold this ladder for me, I'll go and have a look at the roof myself.
Think about things you (and people you know) can or cannot put up with, and use sopportare and reggere to talk about it!
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