Some of us have been following Daniela’s lessons about the subjunctive. It can be tricky for English speakers to grasp because we use the subjunctive so rarely.
Italian gives us a rich variety of connecting words — words that connect the main clause in a sentence to a subordinate clause. Some of them are interchangeable and some are very unique. Some are used in formal situations and instructions, for the most part, like qualora (in the event that), and some are used in everyday speech. Sometimes there are ways to get around using these words if they don’t feel comfortable yet. On the other hand, they can be fun to learn, too.
As with other words we’ve looked at, many of these fancy conjunctions and adverbs are the result of two or more words having merged. Let’s take qualora. It’s made up of quale (which) and ora (hour). So it means “in whichever hour,” or “if at any time,” or something to that effect.
Daniela uses this example:
"Qualora non ci siano abbastanza partecipanti,
“In the event there aren't enough participants,
il corso non ci sarà".
the class won't take place.”
Captions 2-3, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo
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Note that siano is the third person plural subjunctive of essere (to be). The indicative would be sono.
But we could also say, in a simpler way, with se (if):
Se non ci sono abbastanza partecipanti, Il corso non ci sarà.
If there aren’t enough participants the course won’t happen.
Here’s another example.
E qualora si presentassero cattivi odori,
And if at any time a bad smell presents itself,
la soluzione migliore è l'aggiunta di foglie, cenere e lo stesso terriccio.
the best solution is adding leaves, ashes, and some soil itself.
Captions 35-36, Raccolta differenziata - Campagna di sensibilizzazione del Comune di Alliste (LE)
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We’re pretty direct in English, but if we wanted to get fancy, we could say,
“And in the event a bad smell should present itself...” and it would mean pretty much the same thing.
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Affinché is a wonderful conjunction. We can take this apart too, and we get a (“to” or “at”) fine (“scope,” “end”), and che (that). So, we’re talking about a result we are looking for. In informal speech, we might say, “in order for,” “so that.” But the Italian word really gives the specific idea of an objective or goal.
In the following example, we can see that Marika’s use of affinché points to the result she would like to have: a life that’s a marvelous dream.
E quindi dipende da te, fare le scelte giuste,
So it depends on you, to make the right choices,
impegnarti affinché la vita sia sempre un sogno meraviglioso.
to work hard so that your life is always a marvelous dream.
Captions 18-19, Amiche - Filosofie
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Attenzione! It’s easy to mix up affinché (in order that) with finché (as long as) and finché non (until), so check out this lesson, and check this lesson out, too. It discusses fine, a noun that means a few different things.
One of our subscribers has asked about the difference between il fine and la fine.
It’s an excellent question, and one many of us surely wonder about from time to time.
Both il fine and la fine refer to “the end,” more or less.
Italian has its origins in Latin. Finis is both masculine and feminine in Latin, depending on the meaning. These meanings have, for the most part, been carried over into Italian.
When referring to periods, ranges, and intervals of time, the masculine is used. A good example of this is il fine settimana. Here we’re not talking about “the end of the week,” by which we often mean Friday or Saturday, a specific moment in time, but rather “the weekend,” a period that lasts from, say, Friday afternoon until Sunday evening. That’s why Italian uses the masculine il fine settimana. It’s an interval of time. Of course, oggi come oggi (today, literally “today as today”), “weekend” has been adopted into Italian and lots of people just say buon weekend rather than buon fine settimana.
Questo è proprio un lungo weekend.
This is really a long weekend.
Un fine settimana lunghissimo.
A very long weekend.
Captions 33-34, Corso di italiano con Daniela - Orari di apertura e sistema scolastico
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One useful expression that uses the masculine form of fine is andare a buon fine (literally: to go to a good ending, to be successful).
Bene, la prenotazione è andata a buon fine.
Good, the reservation was successful.
Caption 24, Marika spiega - Fare lo spelling
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Another popular expression with the masculine form of fine is il lieto fine (the happy ending) when talking about stories. Note that the English translation, in this case, is “ending,” not “end.” When we are talking about the final phase of something, we generally use the masculine.
In genere, questi film romantici hanno un lieto fine.
In general, these romantic films have a happy ending.
Il fine can also correspond to the goal or the purpose. In this case, we use the masculine.
Al fine di permettere un'accelerazione del processo di compostaggio,
In order to enable the speeding up of the process of composting,
si cercherà di ridurre il materiale di grosse dimensioni
one will try to break down the larger pieces of material
da collocare nella compostiera.
to place in the composter.
Captions 25-26, Raccolta differenziata - Campagna di sensibilizzazione del Comune di Alliste (LE)
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In English, we also use this sense of fine meaning “goal” sometimes: “to what end?” meaning “for what purpose?” or, “the end justifies the means.”
When referring to the end or conclusion of something, or the moment in which something ends, then the feminine is used. With the exception of the above-mentioned cases, most of the time, fine is feminine: la fine. You’ll find a great many examples if you do a Yabla search.
Le fettine così sottili com'è successo a me,
The really thin little slices, like what happened to me,
faranno un po' una brutta fine.
will come to a bad end.
Captions 42-43, Marika spiega - La Parmigiana di melanzane
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In the Yabla search you will also see fine with no article at all. This is used when two nouns stand next to each other to express one idea, but are not attached, rather like fine settimana. In fact, many compound but detached words imitate “weekend” or fine settimana and are masculine, even when their actual meaning may also be interpreted as referring to completion, such as:
Fine corso (the end of a course, end of the line, as for a bus or train)
Fine anno (the last part of the year)
Fine stagione (end of season)
A fine pranzo and alla fine del pranzo are both correct. They mean almost the same thing (at the end of the midday meal), but fine pranzo, for all intents and purposes, is a compound word (or concept) whereas alla fine del pranzo uses prepositions and articles. They’re set up differently.
This detail can be handy, especially when you’re not sure whether to use la or il.
Quando ti devo pagare? -Fine mese.
When do I have to pay you? -End of month.
No need to say alla fine del mese (at the end of the month).
There is more to say about fine, especially since it has some ambiguities both as an adjective and as a preposition, so stay tuned!
There's a detto (saying) or proverbio (proverb) that reflects the fact that in May and June, plants grow at an amazing rate, and need to be kept under control.
Maggio e giugno, falce in pugno.
May and June, sickle in hand.
It's very Italian to have un pezzetto di terra (a little piece of land) on which to plant un orto (vegetable garden), not to be confused with un giardino (garden), which is ornamental, or can refer to the back or front yard. Many kinds of piante (plants) can also grow in vasi (pots) in terrazza (on the terrace).
L'erba (the grass) is what you mow. You can use a tagliaerba (lawnmower) if you have a pratino (little lawn), or a decespugliatore (brush cutter) when the terreno (terrain) is uneven, or even a falce (scythe) or falcetto (sickle) if you cut it by hand. However, if we use the plural, le erbe, then we're talking about herbs used in cooking. Erbe commestibili (edible greens) are what you gather in fields and woods; erbe medicinali (medicinal herbs) are used by erboristi (herbalists) to make medicines.
Quando Natale non è al bar a leggere il giornale o a prendere il caffè,
When Natale isn't at the bar reading the newspaper or having coffee,
va a fare le erbe selvatiche.
he goes to pick wild greens.
Captions 28-29, La campagna toscana - Il contadino
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In a Yabla video about composting as a way to recycle, three closely related words having to do with la terra (the earth) are used in three consecutive lines of text.
L'humus compost è un terriccio che ha la capacità di trattenere
Humus compost is a soil that has the capacity to retain
e liberare lentamente gli elementi nutritivi necessari alle piante,
and slowly set free nutritive elements necessary to plants,
e di assicurare la fertilità del terreno.
and to assure the fertility of the soil.
Il rifiuto umido può essere una risorsa per la nostra terra.
Wet garbage can be a resource for our land.
Captions 6-9, Raccolta differenziata - Campagna di sensibilizzazione del Comune di Alliste (LE)
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Here are the three different terms:
Terriccio (soil, potting soil). This usually implies rich soil or loam, suitable for growing plants.
Terra (earth, land, ground). This is a very general term and can refer to our planet, a piece of land, the ground, and more. In caption 7, terra leaves some room for interpretation.
Terreno (plot of land, ground, terrain, soil). This often refers to something you can measure, but is used generically as well.
When we talk about raccolta differenziata, as in the title of the above-mentioned video, we're talking about recycling. Raccolta (gathering, collection, picking up, harvest or harvesting) differenziata (differentiated) means that trash gets divided into categories such as carta e cartone (paper and cardboard), vetro e plastica (glass and plastic), umido (organic waste) and rifiuti indifferenziati (general rubbish). Every town has its own rules and collection methods concerning this. There are either big dumpsters for each kind of garbage, or small plastic containers for different material (glass, plastic, paper, organic, general) which each family manages, and puts out on the appropriate day of the week to get raccolto (picked up), door to door.
More videos on the subject of ecology:
L'unione fa la forza: Cooperativa La Quercia
Inno all'acqua: un bene prezioso da difendere
Enel intervista: Tiziano Ferro - Part 1
Enel intervista: Tiziano Ferro - Part 2
L'unione fa la forza - Ecovillaggio Habitat
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