113 Answered Questions for the topic verbs

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
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

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
Follows • 2
Expert Answers •1

03/28/19

Can you switch verb tenses when beginning a new sentence?
Tony had just **grabbed** another bottle of whiskey when it happened. **Dropping** it, he **reached** out and grabbed the closest thing to him, narrowly avoiding falling to the ground. Like going... more
Follows • 2
Expert Answers •1

03/27/19

て versus combining-form for joining clauses?
Is there a difference between these two sentences > 昨日はビールを飲んでパイを食べました。 > > 昨日はビールを飲みパイを食べました。 More generally, when should I choose one form over the other? Thanks.
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

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
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1
Verbs Italian

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
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/27/19

non-concatenative morphology in written arabic?
How could you explain or analyze these written Arabic from the non-concatenative morphology point of view? These verbs are derived from nouns.bakkala (to buckle)bukla (buckle)tilifu:n... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/26/19

can we omit verbs when speaking casually?
I've heard that we can usually omit nouns and stuff like that, but can we actually omit verbs or must they still be there? Example sentence: アイツ帰るなり、すぐに部屋にな～ **Edit** Can we omit verbs in the... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2
Verbs Italian

03/25/19

Dropping the last letter of a verb in some cases?
I have been listening to some Italian songs lately and I have noticed a fact that I don't know if it's a rule or it's done only in the spoken language of the song to improve the flow of the... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/25/19

Can "si passivante" be constructed with null subject in certain contexts?
Consider the following exchange in which si passivante appears:> A scuola, si leggono i libri?Surely a grammatical answer would be> Sì, si leggono i libri.If I wanted to not mention "i libri"... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/21/19

Are there any differences between "I believe" vs "I think" vs "I reckon"?
These are the three most common ways to say "I think." (At least, I believe so. I mean, I think so. Um...)Are there any subtle differences between them? Are there situations where one of the three... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/21/19

How do you conjugate reciprocal verbs when the subject is a collective singular noun?
When conjugating reciprocal verbs like **baciarsi** and **abbracciarsi** when the subject is a collective singular noun. Do you use a reflexive pronoun or leave it out?Reciprocal verbs have a sense... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/20/19

Concatenate vs. "merge" vs. "join" in scientific text?
I wonder what the difference is between *concatenate*, *merge* and *join* from the lexical point of view. These words are often used in scientific or programming text. It seems to me that... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/19/19

What's the difference between "cominciare" and "iniziare"?
Recently, an Italian friend of mine corrected my sentence, "Sono a dieta, **l'ho cominciata** tre giorni fa", like this: "Sono a dieta, **ho iniziato la dieta** tre giorni fa." Is there any... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/19/19

Does the volitional form of a verb mean both "let's" and "I want to"?
I was taught ages ago that the volitional form of a verb means "let's" do something. For example, if you take `行{い}く` and change it to `行{い}こう`, you get "let's go". However, I feel like I can use... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/19/19

Usage of ～じゃん (～じゃない)?
I'd like to know if I can put ～じゃん at the end of every adjective, if there are any exceptions to that usage, and if it's different from ～じゃない. **Adj (na) + じゃん** > 便利じゃん > 便利だったじゃん >... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/19/19

Meaning of "Lars kam sich unendlich verlassen vor"?
I'm reading *Kleiner Eisbär, wohin fährst du?* von Hans de Beer but I'm puzzled by this sentence:> Lars kam sich unendlich verlassen vor.If *verlassen* is a reflexive verb as the word *sich*... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/19/19

adire in indicative present?
I'm searching for conjugation of verb "adire" and found different results on different placeshttp://www.verbix.com/webverbix/Italian/adire.htmlHere I found it isio adotu adilui adenoi ... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/16/19

What is the meaning of "sappiatemi" in the sentence "Ora leggete e sappiatemi poi dire se la cosa vi sembri possibile"?
The author Piero Bargellini wrote in 1943 the article: "Chi è Pinocchio?"In the last line he wrote:> Ora leggete e **sappiatemi** poi dire se la cosa vi sembri possibile.I know that... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/16/19

How to use "used to use"?
Is it correct to say something like this? "I used to use the knife to open things like cans."
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/15/19

Difference between "I have got" and "I have gotten"?
I see these two expressions are used almost identically in different contexts. Is there a difference between *I have got* and *I have gotten*?
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •1

03/15/19

Why put the verb before the subject?
The opening sentence to *The Hobbit* by J.R.R. Tolkien reads, In a hole in the ground there lived [verb] a hobbit [subject]. I wonder if there are accepted stylistic purposes for such a structure.... more
Follows • 2
Expert Answers •2

03/15/19

Non fermarti mai?
I'm just starting out learning Italian, so I do not know too much about it just yet. Onto the problem... In a few songs I've heard the phrase "non fermarti mai", which supposedly means "do not ever... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •3
Verbs Italian

03/15/19

Is 'si dispiace' ever an acceptable form of the verb dispiacere?
Reading the following excerpt for a book entitled *L'arte di annacarsi*, I noticed the use of 'si dispiace':> I siciliani toccano. Ti toccano un braccio mentre cercano di capire di cosa hai... more
Follows • 1
Expert Answers •2

03/14/19

Correct usage of the verb "divertirsi"?
I was talking to my Italian professoressa and we were basically discussing how our long weekend went. Being an Italian class, she expected me to describe the whole endeavor in Italiano. However,... more
Follows • 2
Expert Answers •2

Still looking for help? Get the right answer, fast.

Ask a question for free

Get a free answer to a quick problem.
Most questions answered within 4 hours.

OR

Find an Online Tutor Now

Choose an expert and meet online. No packages or subscriptions, pay only for the time you need.