244 Answered Questions for the topic Italian

03/29/19

Why the single particle glielo?
One can write:*glielo* porto, *gliene* riferisco, *gliela* scaldo, ...but not:*lelo* porto, *mene* incolse, *tela* scaldo, ...Why *gli* is different in this respect? Where does this difference... more
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03/29/19

All I got was this lousy t-shirt-type slogan in Italian?
My partner has gone back to Italy to visit family for christmas - I'm flying out in a few days, and she asked me to buy for her sister a t-shirt that says "My sister goes to [university/city name]... more
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Italian Grammar Proverbs

03/29/19

What is wrong in the sentence "Servi si nasce, noi lo nacquimo"?
Why is it wrong to write 'Servi si nasce, noi lo nacquimo'?
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03/29/19

Mi/ti/ecc. garba si usa spesso come sinonimo di "mi/ti/ecc. piace"?
Di recente mi sono imbattuto nella frase "[questa cosa] mi garba di più". Era la prima volta che vedevo il verbo "garbare"; sembra significare su per giù lo stesso che "piacere". Questo verbo si... more
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03/29/19

Translating Italian prepositions in poetry?
In terms of vocabulary, may the word 'per', as in canto 1 of the Inferno, be translated into the English phrase 'by means of'?Here's the excerpt in question:> Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita... more
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03/29/19

Which one is correct: "ti raccomando" vs "mi raccomando"?
I know that both `"ti raccomando"` and `"mi raccomando"` are used with the sense of `"I recommend you"`, but to me, coming from outside, the use of the "mi" form seems illogical and should be... more
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03/29/19

Modal Verbs and Changes in Meaning?
I found a useful chart in Kinder & Saviani's 'Using Italian' reference book. It outlined different uses of modal verbs (dovere, potere, and volere) in different tenses and their impact on... more
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03/28/19

In italiano, quando si usa il presente e quando il gerundio?
In English it is very common to use the present-conjugation of 'to be' plus the ing-gerund form of the verb to describe an action in progress.Ex: "I am talking to Tom".Would both of the following... more
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03/28/19

Use of the indefinite article in Italian vs. English?
In English, we would say:> I am a boy.> We are boys.using the indefinite article in the singular case.Is this the case with Italian as well? In other words, would you translate the above... more
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03/28/19

Used to and "be used to" in Italian?
How could I translate *"used to"* and *"be used to"* in Italian to make my Italian friends understand the difference in meaning? For example, how... more
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03/28/19

How to see the difference between superlative and comparative?
Let's say we want to translate the sentence: "That is the most expensive house". Is it right to translate this to: "Quella è la casa più cara"? How can I see the difference in Italian between 'the... more
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03/28/19

Pluralization of Latin words?
Is the pluralization of Latin words accepted or even correct, unlike the pluralization of those coming from other languages?For example, "_sono stato in due bars_" would sound odd in Italian, but... more
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03/28/19

How can I translate these conditional sentences?
- If I weren't going on my business trip next week, I would have accepted that new assignment at work.(I'm wondering especially about how to translate "weren't going", because in English we're... more
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03/28/19

What is the rule for adjective order?
Some adjectives seem to change meaning depending on the position (before of after the noun), e.g.> un bambino piccolo - *a young child*> un piccolo bambino - *a small child*Other simply don't... more
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03/27/19

How can I say "How are you?" in Italian?
In English, it is usual to ask "How are you?" as a salutation. How can I say a similar thing in Italian?
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Italian Translation

03/27/19

Come posso dire a una persona "take your time" in italiano?
Come posso dire a una persona "take your time" oppure "make yourself at home" in italiano?Grazie.
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Italian Grammar Plural

03/27/19

Plural of compound names?
In Italian, like in many other languages, many words are obtained by putting two other words toghether (noun, adjectives, verbs). For example, "capostazione" (stationmaster) is the person who is... more
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Italian Grammar

03/27/19

Why do Italians respond to 'grazie' with 'di niente'?
Why do Italians respond to 'grazie' with 'di niente'?
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Italian Grammar

03/27/19

Grammatical analysis of the construction "Se l'è mangiato il cane"?
My/The dog ate it is a common joke response in English for what a student can give as an excuse when he didn't do his homework. I found the following phrase while looking for the equivalent in... more
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03/27/19

C'è with multiple conjoined nouns?
I came across this piece of lyrics from a song called "Laura non c'è", and could not decipher it:> Non vorrei che tu fossi un'emergenza > Ma tra bene ed amore c'è > Solo Laura e la mia... more
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Italian Verbs

03/27/19

How and why did avere get the 'h' in some present tense forms?
Why do the *ho, hai, ha, hanno* forms of the present tense conjugation of *avere* begin with 'h'?In researching the issue, I have seen that many think that the 'h' is employed to differentiate from... more
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03/27/19

Preposition "a" or "al"?
I know all the rules about how to form the articulated prepositions in Italian, so I don't have to understand how to construct them, but rather I have a doubt on when to use the simple and when to... more
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03/27/19

Using a comma before 'ma'?
English uses a comma before _but_ if, and only if, it introduces an independent sentence. Is it the same in Italian?> - Essere sinceri è importante ma non troppo.> - Andrei in vacanza il... more
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03/27/19

What is the difference between albergo and hotel?
Since I'm not a native Italian speaker, I don't exactly know what the difference between *hotel* and *albergo* is. Would you mind telling me the difference, please?
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03/26/19

How do we say "right back at you"?
When someone is wishing us something, how do we say "right back at you"?Is "lo stesso vale per te" the right and only response?
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