Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! How to Use the Preposition “Da” in Italian

Colorful homes on a block in Burano with a garden and a park bench out front

November 1, 2022April 6, 2023 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 1 Comment

Kathryn for learntravelitalian.com — Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Learn Travel Italian.com

Have you been trying to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

I will try to help you with this goal by posting a new blog every month in the series “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” With these blogs, I discuss how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

To speak fluently in another language, it is important to know how to introduce an object, or to describe direction, location or time. We do this naturally in our own language with prepositions — short words like of, to, at/in/from, and by. All languages use prepositions but the choice of preposition in a given situation will differ from one language to another. This is the case for English and Italian; English and Italian often use prepositions in a different way. Also, in some situations Italian sentence structure may require a preposition where English does not!

Let’s continue our series about Italian prepositions with the essential Italian preposition “da.” The Italian preposition “da” can be translated into the English prepositions “from” and “by.” Da serves as an essential link between Italian nouns, is used in Italian phrases that describe time in a complex way, and is also integral to many common expressions. If we learn how to use the Italian preposition “da,” we will truly sound like a native Italian!

This post is the 62nd in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases”
in Italian use

the preposition “da”

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar *

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

*This material adapted from the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

****************************************

Use “Da” to Say
Where You are From

One of the most frequent questions asked during polite conversation is, “Where are you from?” We learned how to use the preposition di to ask and answer this question in an earlier blog in this series, “How to Express ‘Di’ in Italian.” You will remember that phrases with the preposition di are used to inquire about one’s place of birth, with the understanding that this place is often the same town the person is still living in. The examples from our previous blog:

Di dov’è Lei?	Where are you (polite) from?
Di dove sei?	Where are you (familiar) from?
Sono di Chicago.	(I) am from Chicago.

The second way to ask, “Where are you from?” in Italian uses the preposition da and the formula below:

Da + dove + venire

from + where + to come

The phrase created with the preposition da uses the action verb venire and may come up in conversation when someone is visiting or has moved to a new place. The reply will most often use the io form of venire, which is vengo (I come) and da (from), followed by a city, town, region/state, or country. Once again, the question may be asked politely or in a familiar way.

Da dove viene?	Where are you (polite) from?
Da dove vieni?	Where are you (familiar) from?
Vengo da Chicago.	(I) am from Chicago.

Remember that when speaking of a region, state, or country, the Italian definite article (il, lo, la, l’, gli. le) must be used. The preposition da is then combined with the definite article to make dal, dallo, dalla, dall’, dagli or dalle, which all mean “from the.” (Note: not all definite articles and combinations have been listed here, and the rules for combining the Italian definite articles are beyond the scope of this blog, but can be found in Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Grammnar” book.) For now, just look up and remember the correct way to describe the region, state, or country in which you are living.

If you are from the United States of America, the most common reply when conversing in Italian is even easier — “Sono americano!” for males. Of course, following the usual gender rules, females will have to say, “Sono americana.” Another possible reply, “Vengo dall’America,” is grammatically correct but probably sounds a bit awkward to the Italian ear. “Vengo dagli Stati Uniti,” would be considered a better choice if one wants to precisely state their origin in North America rather than South America.

Those of Italian descent may want to mention their family’s origin in Italy and therefore that they are “italo-americano(a).” This comment can be prefaced with the sentence, “La mia famiglia viene dall’Italia,” in this case conjugating venire according to the third person singular used for the collective noun famiglia.

Some examples:

Sono americano. Sono americana.	(I) am American. (male speaker) (I) am American. (female speaker)
Sono italo-americano. Sono italo-americana. La mia famiglia viene dall’Italia.	(I) am Italian-American. (male speaker) (I) am Italian-American. (female speaker) My family comes from (originates in) Italy.
Vengo dagli Stati Uniti.	(I) come from the United States.
Vengo dall’Illinois.	(I) come from Illinois.
Vengo dalla California.	(I) come from California.
Vengo dal New Jersey.	(I) come from New Jersey.
Vengo dalle (isole dell’) Hawaii.	(I) come from (the islands of) Hawaii.

By the way, have you noticed that nationalities are not capitalized in Italian, although the names of countries are?

Use “Da” or “A” to Describe
Visiting an Office or Home

We have just seen that the verb venire requires the preposition da to describe where an individual “comes from,” or lives, in the first section of this blog. This idea can be expanded to include people one visits during daily life.

Da is also used to describe going to visit a person if that person is associated with a particular place. For instance, the dentist, doctor, and lawyer are professionals who hold consultations in an office. Therefore, the verb andare is followed by [da + definite article + professional].

Odio andare dal dentista!
I hate going to the dentist!

Domani devo andare dal dottore.
Tomorrow I have to go to the doctor.

Vado dall’avvocato spesso per discutere sui problemi del mio divorzio.
I go to the lawyer often to discuss the problems of my divorce.

Two examples regarding one’s home:

To work from home is “lavorare da casa.”
To “drop in for a minute/few minutes” is “passare un attimo da casa.”

A causa di COVID, io devo lavorare da casa questa settimana.
Due to COVID, I have to work from home this morning.

Domani, passo un attmo da casa.
Tomorrow, I (will) drop in for a few minutes.

However, when someone is to be visited in their home, use a casa. This construction also works for family, friends or acquaintances you plan to visit at their home. Remember that “to go to visit a person” is “andare a trovare una persona” and “to come to visit a person” is “venire a trovare una persona.” Visitare is only used when one visits a place. See below for how this works:

Oggi, vado a trovare mia mamma a casa sua.
Today, I will go to visit my mother at her house.

Pietro, posso andare a trovarti a casa tua?
Peter, can I visit you at your house?

Certo! Puoi venire a trovarmi a casa mia Domenica!
Certainly! You can come to visit me at my house Sunday.

Expressing Purpose with “Da”

In Italian, unlike in English, two nouns cannot be linked together in a phrase without a preposition to clarify their relationship. Take the English word “sunglasses,” for instance. The noun “sun” in this case acts as an adjective that modifies the noun “glasses.” In English, we think nothing of stringing nouns together to create new words that give a descriptive name to a particular entity. But in Italian, this is never the case. When one noun is used as an adjective to describe the purpose of another, the two nouns must be linked by the preposition da. It makes sense, then, that the Italian translation of the English sunglasses is occhiali da sole!

Listed below are a few Italian noun combinations that are used to give a descriptive name to things like common household items, rooms in a home, clothing, and clocks. This construction is also used frequently in Italian to describe different types of tickets or cards, beach items, and items that have to do with sports. Most of the items listed below, but not all, use da to connect two nouns, as will be discussed below. The original noun has been listed along with its modifications for some of the items. Some of these descriptive names are written as one word in English, while others are written as two separate words. How many more examples can you think of?

spazzolino da denti	toothbrush
crema da barbara	shaving cream

piatto	plate
piattino da dessert	dessert plate

bicchiere	glass for drinking
bicchiere da vino	wine glass
bicciere per l’acqua	water glass

cucchiaio	spoon
cucchiaio da minestra	soup spoon
cucchiaio da caffè	coffee spoon

fork	forchetta
forchetta da tavola	dinner fork
forchettone per insalata	salad fork
forchetta da dolce	dessert fork

coltello	knife
coltello da tavola	dinner knife
coltello da scalco	carving knife

camera da letto	bedroom
sala da pranzo	dining room

vestito	dress
vestito da sera	evening dress
vestito da sposa	wedding dress

camicia	shirt
camicia da notte	nightgown
camicia da uomo	man’s shirt

orologio	watch
orologio da polso	wrist watch
orologio a pendolo	grandfather clock

scarpe	shoes
scarpe da ginnastica scarpe da corsa	sneakers running shoes
scarpa da neve	snow shoes
scarponi da trekking	hiking boots
scarponi da sci	ski boots
tuta da sci	ski suit

biglietto	ticket/note/paper money
biglietto da visita	business card
biglietto di auguri di compleanno	birthday card

carta d’imbarco	boarding pass (plane)
carta d’identità	identification card
carta di credtio/debito	credit/debit card
carte da gioco	playing cards

occhiali da sole	sunglasses
costume da bagno	bathing suit
telo da spiaggia	beach towel
ombrellone da spiaggia	beach umbrella

barca a vela	sail boat

giacca da sci	ski jacket
pantaloni da sci	ski pants
bastoncini da sci	ski poles

campo	field
campo da calcio/ tennis/golf/basket	soccer field/ tennis/golf basketball field
pallone da calcio	soccer ball
pallone da rugby	soccer/rugby ball
racchetta da tennis	tennis racket
mazza da golf	golf club
mazza da baseball	baseball bat

Macchina da corsa	race car
Pista da corsa	race track
Cavallo da corsa	race horse

Did you notice the use of prepositions other than da to link nouns in the list above? The Italian name for a dessert fork is forchettone per insalata and for a water glass is a bicchiere per l’acqua. In these two cases, the Italian preposition per, which means for, is used to create a name that describes the purpose of these items.

In the previous blog, “How to Express ‘Di’ in Italian,” we discussed briefly how to use di with camicia di seta and castello di sabbia. It was noted that some of Italian noun combinations must be linked with di if the descriptive term represents what the main item is made of. We have several additional examples for when di is used to link a descriptive noun with another noun in the lists above.

The Italian name for grandfather clock, orologio a pendolo, is a name that describes the means by which the clock functions. The pendulum swings in order to keep time. Therefore, the preposition a is used to link pendolo to orologio, since Italian uses the preposition a to describe what makes something run. And a sailboat is a “boat that runs on the wind” — barca a vela. Remember from our blog in this series “Italian Preposition ‘A’ or ‘In’? that the preposition a is used to describe how other, more common items function, such as by battery, by solar energy, etc.

To summarize…

Italian is a very precise language,
and the Italian use of prepositions
is a paramount example of this precision!

Use the Italian “Da”
in Reference to Time

When Italians reference a point in time, several prepositions may be used, including da, which in this case means “from” or “since.”

In a previous blog in this series, “How to Use ‘Di’ in Italian, we discussed that the preposition di is used to refer to the general time of day with the phrases di mattina, di pomeriggio, di sera, and di notte.

We also mentioned in the same blog that both di and in are used to refer to the seasons: d’estate, d’inverno, in primavera, in autunno.

The Italian prepositions a and in also have a role to play when describing units of time, which was discussed in another blog in this series, “Italian Preposition ‘A’ or ‘In’?” . When referring to the month a particular event takes place, either a or in can be used. The Italian a or in replaces te English in. Also, the preposition a is used to refer to a precise time with the formula [alle + time] which corresponds to the English [at +time].

In contrast to the prepositions di and a,
which are linked to a distinct period of time,

da is used to make generalizations about time
as it relates to one’s life experiences.

Da is a more difficult Italian preposition for the English speaker to learn how to use than di or a because its meaning of “from” or “since” makes reference to a period of time that started in the past and continues in the present. Although the idea behind these phrases is “from or “since,” the English translation most commonly uses the preposition “for” to start these phrases. But the real difficulty comes in the choice of verbs; the Italian choice is to link da with present tense verbs for a period of time that refers back to the past and does not translate directly into English!

Let’s go through this Italian way of thinking step by step…

Phrases that use da in reference to a period of time can be non-specific, such as, “da anni” (for years), “da molti anni” (for many years), or mention an exact period of time, such as “da uno, due, tre… settimane, mese, anni… etc.” These phrases translate into English as “for many years,” or “for one, two, three weeks months, years, etc.,” although in Italian they really mean, “Since/From many years ago and continuing into the present…”

[Da + period of time] can begin an Italian sentence, or be placed in the middle or the end, along with the phrase that describes what has been happening during this time. Since the action linked to these phrases is considered ongoing, Italian uses the present tense for all phrases in the sentence. English, instead uses the continuous past tense for the phrase that describes the beginning of the action that extends into the present and the present tense for the main action.

In the examples below, the phrase with da has been underlined, the present tense verbs are green, and the past tense verbs are brown. Notice how sperare is linked to another verb with di and riuscire with a, as discussed in previous blogs.

Studio l’italiano da tanti anni , ma non riesco a capire i film italiani molto bene.
I have been studying Italian for many years, but I can’t understand Italian films very well.
[Note: Verb tenses in Italian and English differ.]

Da tre settimane non fumo e spero di riuscire a smettere completamente.
I haven’t been smoking for three weeks and I hope to be able to stop completely.
[Note: Verb tenses in Italian and English differ.]

If you need a refresher on how to use any of these prepositions in reference to time, you can also review our Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook or the “Just the Verbs” and “Just the Grammar” reference books.

Use the Italian “da quanto”
in Reference to Time

The adjective “quanto,” which means “how much” or “how many” is commonly used to refer to a period of time, and is always preceded by da, as in the formula;

Da + quanto + tempo

for + how much + time

The formula [da + quanto + tempo] can be used to ask a question about “how much time” an activity has been taking. Or, the noun tempo (time) can be replaced with a unit of time, such as days, months, or years. As in the preceding section, use of da in this formula implies that the action has started in the past and is still going on in the present. Therefore, whenever a question is asked regarding “how much time” with “da quanto tempo,” Italian uses a present tense verb for all phrases in the sentence. English, instead, uses the continuous past tense.

See examples below from a dialogue taken from the Conversational Italian for Travelers story, “Caterina Travels to Italy” and note the different ways Italian and English express this idea of time.

Elena asks:
Da quanto tempo stai viaggiando in Italia?
For how much time (how long) have you been traveling in Italy?
[Note: Verb tenses in Italian and English differ.]

Caterina replies:
Sto viaggiando in Italia da un mese.
I have been traveling in Italy for a month.
[Note: Verb tenses in Italian and English differ.]

The same rules described above for “da quanto tempo” apply to the phrase “da quando,” which means, “since when.” To answer the question “Since when?” for “Since… ” use [da + the specific date] and remember to combine da with the definite article il when stating the date.

Example: In order to say the date in Italian, one must say, “Il sedici agosto.” Therefore, the translation for, “since the 16th of August” is “dal sedici agosto.” Again, from the dialogue from “Caterina Travels to Italy”:

Elena asks:
Da quando sei a Stresa?
Since when have you been staying in Stresa?
[Note: Verb tenses in Italian and English differ.]

Caterina replies:
Sono a Stresa dal sedici agosto.
I have been staying in Stresa since August 16th.
[Note: Verb tenses in Italian and English differ.]

Use the Italian preposition “Per”
for a Completed Action

In contrast to the use of the preposition da in reference to time, the use of the preposition per is straightforward. Per means for and is used with the passato prossimo form of the past tense to describe a past action that has been completed. The description of time may be general, such as “for many years,” or specific, the same as with da. The past tense verbs are again brown in the examples below.

Ho vissuto per molti anni a Roma.
I lived for many years in Rome.

Ieri ho lavorato in casa per tre ore.
Yesterday, I worked at home for three hours.

Use the Italian Prepositions “Per, Fra, Tra”
for Future Events

Per can replace the English preposition by when describing a task that must be completed in the future.

Marco, dobbiamo finire questo progetto per domani!
Mark, we must finish this project by tomorrow!

To describe other actions that will take place in the future, Italian uses either fra or tra. These two prepositions are interchangeable, although native Italian speakers may intuitively favor one preposition over the other to keep the language flowing smoothly. The English translation will be the preposition in. Remember that the present tense often substitutes for the near future in Italian, so the future tense is not a requirement when using fra or tra.

Il treno parte fra cinque minuti.
The train will leave/leaves in 5 minutes.

Andrò in Italia fra un mese.
I will go to Italy in one month.

General Uses for “Da”

1. Use the preposition da to express an attribute of a person, to say he or she is acting in a certain way or like a character.

In some cases, the preposition da substitutes for a longer introductory phrase. For instance, the common phrase “da giovane” means, “as a child,” and it is understood to mean that general period of time “when I was young.” This also works for other Italian descriptors of the phrases of life, such as da bambino(a), da ragazzo(a), da piccolo(a) or da adulto(a), da grande (grown up).

To say someone is “acting like…” use da. A common characteristic combined with da is stupido, as in “da stupido” for when one is “acting like a stupid person.”

If a man is living well, he is living as “da gran signore,” or like royalty or like God or da re, like a king.

If one dresses like a particular character in a fable, book or movie, or is pretending to be a professional, they can be referred to with da, such as da Pinocchio, da Cenerentola (Cinderella), da cowboy, or da dottore.

Another personal attribute connected with da is matti, for crazy, as in the exclamation, “Roba da matti!” which loosely translated means, “Stuff for crazy people!” and refers to a crazy or unbelievable situation.

“Da morire” when used alone or in a sentence describing someone or something is an expression that describes a feeling of extreme liking, similar to the English expression, “It’s to die for!” Or, this expression can be used to take a negative feeling to the extreme, as in, “Sono annioato(a) da morire!” for “I am bored to death!”

Some examples:

Da giovane, ho vissuto in campagna.
When I was young, I lived in the countryside.

Non comportarti da stupido!
Don’t act like an idiot!

Per lo spettacolo, Maria si veste da Cenerentola.
For the show, Mary is dressed as Cinderella.

Ti è piaciuto quel film? Si, da morire!
Did you like that film? Yes, It was to die for!

2. To describe the cause of an action or feeling. Some common examples might include why you are tired, hot, cold, or nervous. Da translates into from and [da + definite article] translates into “from the.”

Sono stanco morto dal lavoro.
I am dead tired from work.

Ho sudato dal caldo inferno durante tutto agosto.
I sweated from the infernal heat during all of August.

Sono nervosa dal pensiero che forse tu non tornerai mai.
I am nervous from the thought that maybe you will not ever return.

But be careful to use the preposition di to connect one verb to another to express feelings that are related to an action — not da! The many phrases that take di as the connecting preposition were discussed in the first blog in this series. The idea in the first example above can also be stated as follows:

Sono stanco morto di lavorare questa settimana.
I am dead tired from working this week.

3. To describe the distance from one place to another, use da, which translates as from.
To describe distance in general or numerical terms, or when giving the directions from a compass, use the preposition a. The preposition a is used in English when describing distance in general terms, but not before a number or for directions from a compass (north, south, east, west, etc.)

L’ufficio postatale è a pochi isolati da casa mia.
The post office is a few blocks from my house.

La scuola si trova a cinque chilometri da Roma centrale.
The school is five kilometers from central Rome.

Canada è a nord degli Stati Uniti.
Canada is north of the United States.

Common Expressions with “Da”

Other important phrases that refer to time:

da allora	since then
da allora in poi	from then on from that time thenceforth
da ora in poi	from now on
da quel momento da quel momento in poi	since that moment from that moment on
da qui in poi	from here on henceforth
da domani	starting tomorrow
da subito	starting now immediately
da sempre	always
da un pezzo	since a while ago for a while now

2. Phrases that begin with “C’è… da” for “There is…”

C’è poco da dire.	There’s not much to say about it.
C’è poco da fare.	There’s not much one can do about it.
C’è poco da stare allegri.	There’s little to rejoice about.

3. Miscellaneous phrases with da:

da niente	of little or no importance
da quattro soldi	cheap
da zero	from scratch
da favola	like a fairy tale
da sogno	like a dream/very nice/wonderful
vacanza da sogno	dream vacation
da incubo	nightmarish/very unpleasant
dare da mangiare	to feed
dare da mangiare al cane	to feed the dog
tempo da ladri	bad weather
tempo da lupi	bad weather
da solo/ da sola	to be all alone, by yourself
va da sé	it goes without saying
vita da cane	a dog’s life

Remember how to use
the Italian preposition “da” in conversation
and I guarantee you will use the Italian “da” every day!

Conversational Italian for Travelers books are shown side by side, standing up with "Just the Verbs" on the left and "Just the Grammar" on the right — Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Grammar” and “Just the Verbs” books: Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

The cover of Conversational Italian for Travelers "Just the Important Phrases" book is viewed on a smartphone — Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” book downloaded onto a cell phone from www.learntravelitalian.com

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! Let’s Combine the Imperfetto and Passato Prossimo

September 7, 2022July 17, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

Why not set a goal to learn Italian, starting today, for the year 2022? I will try to help you with this goal by posting a new blog every month in the series “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” With these blogs, I discuss how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

If we learn how to combine “commonly used phrases” with the imperfetto and the passato prossimo, we will be able to speak about events in the recent past, just as we do in our native language!

In our most recent blog, Speaking About the Past: Imperfetto or Passato Prossimo? we discussed in detail adverbs and phrases of frequency used to signal when to use the imperfetto and when to use the passato prossimo. At the end of the previous blog is a short summary of how to combine the imperfetto and the passato prossimo in a two phrase sentence using the adverbs mentre and quando. This blog will build on the previous information we have learned about the imperfetto and the passato prossimo and demonstrate a step-by-step process that can be used to create compound sentences with two or more phrases that contain both past tenses.

This post is the 60th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian

signal the intent of the speaker to use both

the imperfetto and the passato prossimo.

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

*The imperfetto is not only used with the passato prossimo. In fact, the imperfetto is the only past tense form that can be used in combination with every other Italian past tense — whether speaking about the recent past or the remote past.

************************************************

Choosing an Italian Past Tense

Let’s start our blog about how to combine the imperfetto and the passato prossimo by reviewing some general rules of Italian grammar. We learned in our last blog, on this topic, that the circumstances surrounding the event will determine which Italian past tense to use. Luckily, imbedded in many Italian sentences about past events are certain words and phrases that will indicate whether the imperfetto or the passato prossimo is needed. The intent of the speaker will be signaled by these phrases, which will then trigger use of the correct Italian past tense.

To describe a past event in a complex way — in Italian as well as in our native language — we must create a compound sentence. Compound sentences contain more than one phrase separated by commas or conjunctions, such as: and, while, when, but, or. In Italian, to create a compound sentence about a recent past event, we will have to decide which verb tense to use — the imperfetto or passato prossimo.

Of course, when speaking about an event of interest that happened in the recent past, a compound sentence can be created using only the imperfetto or only the passato prossimo, as noted in our last blog. Our focus in this blog will be on the situations that require both the imperfetto and the passato prossimo.

Combine the Imperfetto and Passato Prossimo
with Mentre and Quando

One of the most common reasons to combine the imperfetto and the passato prossimo is to give background information for an action under discussion. In this case, the imperfetto is the past tense of choice to describe the setting and the completed action is relayed with the passato prossimo.

What Italian words or phrases can I use to introduce the setting for a past event?

As every actor knows, the setting is defined as the time and place in which an action occurs. Since the imperfetto is used to describe the setting for a past event in Italian, expressions of time in the past are important triggers for the imperfetto.

Some common expressions of past time are given in the tables below using ieri (yesterday),scorso(a) (last), and the preposition da (for). (Note: There are, of course, other meanings for the preposition da. Also, these expressions can also be used with the passato prossimo, but generally additional, more specific information is required, as discussed in our last blog.)

Expressions of Time in the Past with Ieri

stamattina	this morning
ieri	yesterday
l’altro ieri	the day before yesterday
ieri mattina ieri pomeriggio ieri sera	yesterday morning yesterday afternoon yesterday evening

Expressions of Time in the Past with Scorso

scorso(a)	last
la notte scorsa	last night
la settimana scorsa	last week
il mese scorso	last month
l’anno scorso	last year

lunedì scorso	last Monday
martedì scorso	last Tuesday
mercoledì scorso	last Wednesday
giovedì scorso	last Thursday
venerdì scorso	last Friday
sabato scorso	last Saturday
domenica scorsa	last Sunday

Use of “da…” in Italian

da tempo	for some time
da un’ora da due ore ecc.	for one hour for two hours etc.
da un mese da due mesi ecc.	for one month for two months etc.
da un anno da due anni ecc.	for one year for two years etc.

The description of the place in which an action occurred can include general interior or exterior surroundings, the weather, or even a prior event. Luckily, language students generally learn the vocabulary to describe various locations early on in their studies, which is also an important first step to learn about any culture. The larger cities and regions in Italy are important to commit to memory. Some common local places where events may take place include at home, at school, at work, or in one of the many shops in the piazza!

How else can I start a phrase to talk about the setting of a past event with the imperfetto?

Mentre, which means “while” in Italian, is a specific sign that a setting or background action is to be relayed in a phrase. Mentre is not required in compound sentences that use both the imperfetto and passato prossimo, but when used it is very helpful. This is because mentre is only used with the imperfetto!

How can use of the imperfetto affect the meaning of a descriptive phrase in Italian?

It is also important to remember that the imperfetto can be translated into English in three ways: the simple past tense, “used to,” or “was/were-ing.” The translation “used to” refers to a habitual action in the the past that is no longer being done. The translation “was/were-ing” is used to describe an action that started in the past but may or may not have been completed.

Just as the Italian present tense can be translated as “I go” or “I am going,” in the past tense, the imperfetto can be translated as, “I went” or “I was going.” For emphasis, one could use stare in both situations to create a compound verb with sto andando (I am going) or stavo andando (I was going). But it is so much easier and so much more common in Italian to use both the simple present tense or the imperfetto past tense without creating a compound verb!

Once I know the setting, about mentre, and about how to relay information using the imperfetto, am I ready to create a compound sentence about the past in Italian?

With all of this in mind… the easiest way to create a compound sentence about the past in Italian is…

Start the first phrase with mentre and give the setting with a verb in the impefetto. Or, just refer to the general time, the weather, or to an action without giving a specific time frame. Note: the descriptive phrase with the imperfetto is often, but not always, the first phrase.

There are, of course, innumerable examples of introductory phrases one can create. Four examples are given below to get us started, with the imperfetto verb underlined.

Mentre leggevo il giornale stamattina… While I was reading the newspaper this morning…
Mentre visitavo Firenze l’anno scorso… While I was visiting Florence last year…
Lunedì scorso, pioveva… Last Monday, it was raining…
Da due anni abitavo con mia zia… For two years I lived with my aunt…

Now, let’s add a phrase with a completed action to each example above. The passato prossimo is required for this second phrase. See the previous blog on this topic for a short list of Italian verbs that are often used to describe completed actions.

If mentre is not used in the introductory phrase, use quando (when) with the phrase in the passato prossimo. However, quando is not a specific trigger for the passato prossimo phrase, as quando can be used with either the imperfetto or the passato prossimo phrase. The completed action is often, but not always, the second phrase.

Let’s complete the first two examples that start with mentre. The passato prossimo verb used in the completed phrase is in green.

1. Mentre leggevo il giornale stamatina, la cameriera è arrivato.
While I was reading the newspaper this morning, the maid arrived.
2. Mentre visitavo Firenze l’anno scorso, ho incontrato Maria per caso al Ristorante Paoli.
While I was visiting Florence last year, I happened to meet Maria at Ristorante Paoli.

Below is our third example that omits mentre in the imperfetto phrase. Notice how quando is used in the passato prossimo phrase that completes the sentence.

3. Lunedì scorso, pioveva quando sono andato a trovare mia mamma.
Last Monday, it was raining when I went to visit my mother.

An alternate rendition of the same phrase that uses quando with the imperfetto phrase:

Quando pioveva lunedì scorso, sono andato a trovare mia mamma.
When it was raining last Monday, I went to visit my mother.

Our final example in a completed sentence:

4. Da due anni, abitavo con mia zia quando ho trovato un appartamento perfecto per me.
For two years, I was living with my aunt when I found an apartment perfect for me.

This last example implies the speaker has not yet moved into her new apartment. Remember from our last blog on this topic that if those two years had been completed and the speaker was already in the new apartment, we would need to use the preposition per with the passato prossimo! The introductory phrases would read: “Per due anni, ho abitato con mia zia…” In short, the imperfetto was chosen to give the circumstances of the situation, so the speaker does not have to give the details of where he or she is currently living; this extra information is included with the use of the imperfetto!

Can I put the imperfetto phrase second and the passato prossimo phrase first in a compound sentence?

All four of the example sentences given above work with the phrases reversed. We have already done this with the third example. The first example sentence is reprinted here. Try the rest on your own if you like!

Mentre leggevo il giornale stamatina, la cameriera è arrivato.
While I was reading the newspaper this morning, the maid arrived.

-or-

La cameriera è arrivato mentre leggevo il giornale stamattina.
The maid arrived while I was reading the newspaper this morning.

How do I create a compound sentence about the past in Italian using three phrases?

Of course, it is possible in Italian to create a compound sentence in the past tense with more than two phrases, as the case in English (and most every other language). For Italian, just continue to follow the Italian grammar we have learned for the imperfetto and passato prossimo for each phrase in your sentence!

Remember that the imperfetto is also used to describe a state of being and it is common to describe how one feels about a situation that has occurred in the past. In fact, if the speaker has chosen to use the imperfetto in combination with the passato prossimo, this implies that the past event still affects their emotions or their life in some way. So in some cases, a sentence may start with the imperfetto, the second phrase use the passato prossimo, and the third phrase again use the imperfetto!

In short, any combination of phrases that use the imperfetto and passato prossimo is possible,
as long as the verb in each phrase follows the rules for each.

The circumstances surrounding each event and intent of the speaker
will determine which rules apply.

Let’s provide even more detail about the past situation in our original four examples above by adding a second completed or a description of how the speaker felt at the time.

1. Mentre leggevo il giornale stamatina, la cameriera è arrivato e ha pulito tutta la casa.
While I was reading the newspaper this morning, the maid arrived and cleaned the entire house.

2. Mentre visitavo Firenze l’anno scorso, ho incontrato Maria per caso al Ristorante Paoli ma non abbiamo avuto tempo per cenare insieme.
While I was visiting Florence last year, I happened to meet Maria at Ristorante Paoli but we didn’t have time to dine together.

3. Lunedì scorso, pioveva quando sono andato a trovare mia mamma e mi sono bagnata molto!
Last Monday, it was raining when I went to visit my mother and I got very wet!

4. Da due anni, abitavo con mia zia quando ho trovato un appartamento perfecto per me e dopo ero molto contento.
For two years, I was living with my aunt when I found an apartment perfect for me and afterwards I felt very happy.

In summary:

Mentre is only used with the imperfetto phrase!

Quando can be used with either the imperfetto or the passato prossimo phrase.

When creating a compound sentence in Italian,
simply remember the rules for the imperfetto and the passato prossimo.

Combine Imperfetto and Passato Prossimo
with Perché and Poiché

Another important reason to combine the imperfetto and the passato prossimo is to describe the cause behind a past event. In this case, the element mentioned in the imperfetto phrase (the cause) is the reason behind the action/result (the effect) given in the passato prossimo phrase. This makes intrinsic sense, since the imperfetto is used for descriptive purposes and the passato prossimo is used to relate a completed event.

Cause/effect phrases that combine the imperfetto and passato prossimo often start with the effect in the first phrase (with the passato prossimo) and then give the cause behind the past event in the second phrase (with the imperfetto). The two phrases are usually linked with the conjunction perché, In this case, perché means because/since/so that.

However, an Italian sentence can also start with the cause for a completed event (effect) that will be mentioned in a second phrase. In this case the most common conjunction to use is poiché, which is translated as “considering that” or “because/since.” Even when poiché is translated as because/since, the meaning underlying poiché is “considering that” — the issue has been taken into consideration prior to the response.

Although, to the outsider, this change in conjunctions to describe cause and effect may seem minor, it actually originates with an important rule of Italian grammar that determines how to use perché. Perché is used to start a sentence when one wants to ask the reason why. Perché also means because when linking phrases. Perhaps to avoid confusion between these two definitions, perché can only be used at the beginning of a sentence with the meaning of because in direct answer to a question that starts with perché (why) or come mai (how come). In this case, the subject of the sentence is understood, and to repeat it would be unnecessary; this understanding effectively “bumps” perché from its usual role as a conjunction between to phrases to the beginning of the sentence!

An example of how perché can change its meaning with simple question/answer sentences:

Perché sei andato a Roma?
Why did you go to Rome?

(Sono andato a Roma) Perché avevo un meeting lì.
(I went to Rome) Because I had a meeting there.

In short, other Italian conjunctions besides perché are required to start a sentence with a causation phrase, including when one combines the imperfetto and the passato prossimo. Poiché (considering that/seeing as how/because/since) is the most common conjunction used in conversation. Other options include: “per quale regione” (for that reason/because), and in a more formal situation or writing: siccome (given that/seeing as how/because), dato che (seeing as/since), visto che (given that/considering that/seeing that), dal momento che (seeing as/since).

Now that we know some basic rules about Italian conjunctions used to describe causation, let’s finally combine the imperfetto and the passato prossimo to talk about the past. In the examples below, the cause behind a past event with the imperfetto is given in blue, the conjunction is in red, and the effect/completed event given in the passato prossimo is green. Notice how the imperfetto and the passato prossimo verbs (which are underlined) are linked to the cause and effect phrases.

Example 1:

Sono rimasto a casa ieri perché avevo la febbre alta.
I remained at home yesterday because I had a high fever.

-or-

Poiché avevo la febbre alta, sono rimasto a casa ieri.
Because I had a high fever, I remained at home yesterday.

Example 2:

Maria ha comprato quel vestito nero ieri perché era in saldo.
Maria bought that dress because it was on sale.

-or-

Poiché era in saldo, Maria ha comprato quel vestito nero ieri.
Because it was on sale. Maria bought that dress yesterday.

An example in our last blog on this topic also combines the imperfetto and the passato prossimo in a sentence to describe causation, although this fact was not mentioned in the blog. Below is the scenario again, with the second sentence that begins with “subito dopo” serving as the cause/effect example.

Notice in the cause/effect example below that the passato prossimo is used in phrases both before and after the imperfetto phrase. In this example, we have combined three phrases that describe the past in one sentence!

The words “subito dopo” emphasize the short duration of the action in the first phrase. In the second phrase. the imperfetto sets up the action for the third phrase; the cause is listed first with poiché. Of course, act of opening a door described in the third phrase is normally an event of short duration and so uses the passato prossimo.

Maria si è arrabbiata con Marco ed è andata a casa.
Mary became angry with Mark and Mary went home.

Subito dopo, Marco è andato a casa di Maria e poiché bussava alla porta
continuamente, Maria ha aperto.
Shortly after, Mark went to Mary’s house and seeing as how he was knocking on the door continuously, Maria opened it.

Remember how combine imperfetto and the passato prossimo
and I guarantee
you will use these Italian past tenses every day!

Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Verbs”

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – Let’s talk about… Making reservations in Italian

June 1, 2022March 31, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD for Conversational Italian for Travelers books

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

I hope you are on your way to meet this goal! I will try to help you by posting a new blog every month in the series “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” With these blogs, I describe how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

As of this writing, it is easier to travel to Europe than it has been for the last two years. But of course, even if travel becomes restricted again, it is never to early to start to learn Italian travel phrases. In fact, the earlier the better! So for this blog I focus on Italian phrases for making reservations at a restaurant or hotel in Italy.

Prior to beginning the lesson for this blog, I acknowledge that in the larger cities of Italy it is not usually necessary to make reservations completely in Italian; the Italian staff usually speak basic English and often the languages of their European neighbors, French, Spanish or German. Also, of course, most times reservations can now be made over the internet on one’s computer or smart phone, without any human interaction at all! But I’ve found that a few phrases in Italian are always warmly welcomed by Italian servers and hotel receptionists, even in the larger cities, and can serve to put the traveler at ease in their new surroundings. In the smaller Italian towns, basic Italian expressions can still be essential when relating one’s needs in family-run restaurants and hotels.

In short, if we learn the few phrases needed when making reservations in Italian, we will feel more comfortable during our stay in the “bel paese.”

This post is the 57th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE.

Many “commonly used phrases”
describe

making reservations in Italian

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

**************************************

Let’s Talk About… Making Reservations in Italian

La prenotazione means “the reservation.” The Italian verbs prenotare and riservare translate into English as: “to make/book a reservation.” The use of these Italian verbs varies with the situation.

Most commonly, when asking to make a reservation at a restaurant or a hotel, Italians use the noun prenotazione with the verb fare and “make a reservation,” which is “fare una prenotazione.”

It is customary to start a request with either vorrei (I would like) or desidero (I desire/want/wish). Notice that vorrei is the conditional form of volere (to want). It is also possible to use the first person present tense form volgio (I want) but vorrei is considered more polite and is the preferred conjugation to use. The phrase “ho bisogno di” for “I need” is yet another way to introduce any request made in Italian.

Some example sentences to get us started making a reservation:

Vorrei fare una prenotazione.	I would like to make a reservation.
Desidero fare una prenotazione.	I desire/want/wish to make a reservation.
Ho bisogno di fare una prenotazione.	I need to make a reservation.

Once we have stated our desire to make a reservation, three important pieces of information will need to be relayed to the receptionist: the number of people, the date and the time.

Generally, the receptionist will ask: “Per quante persone?” “For how many people?”

For a restaurant reservation, it will be important to state how many adults (adulti) as well as how many children (bambini) will be dining. A simple answer for a family of two adults and two children would be: “Due adulti e due bambini.” The receptionist may ask if a child seat (una sedia speciale) is needed. A table will be chosen next to other families dining in the restaurant; this ensures that adults who are without children and want a more intimate dinner will not be disturbed.

An interesting note about children and Italian culture: a child is considered a bambino or bambina (baby/ child) in Italy until about 14, when he or she can then be called a ragazzo or ragazza (young man/young woman). The appellation ragazzo(a) lasts into the 20s. The usual Italian masculine and feminine endings need to be applied to these nouns; the “o” ending signifies a male child and the “a” ending a female child. For the plural, the usual “i” ending is used for a group of all males or a mixed group and “e” for an all female group.

Remember also that the Italian number “one” changes when modifying a noun. So a family may have un bambino or una bambina.

To make a reservation in an Italian restaurant, it is not necessary to differentiate the bambini from the ragazzi. But Italian hotels do differentiate between children of different ages when booking a room. Most Italian hotels have a room rate that will vary depending on the number of adults who occupy the room. Families traveling with children between the ages of 12-14 (and even up to16 years of age) may be able to receive a family discount (uno sconto famiglia).

In short, it is helpful to memorize the correct Italian for the children in your family when making reservations at a restaurant and hotel to be comfortable and to be sure you are not overpaying for accommodations!

Some variations on the simple conversation we have created so far:

Vorrei fare una prenotazione.	I would like to make a reservation.
Per quante persone?	For how many people?
Un‘adulto/Due adulti	One adult/Two adults
Un bambino/Una bambina Un ragazzo/ Una ragazza	One baby or young child (male/female) One young man/ One young woman
Due bambini/ Due bambine	Two children (group of males or males+females/ group of all females)
Due ragazzi/ Due ragazze	Two boys or [1 boy + 1 girl]/ Two girls

By the way, if you need to cancel a reservation, use the same sentence structure as when you have made the reservation. However, use the verb annullare, and say, “Vorrei annullare una prenotazione,” for “I would like to cancel a reservation.”

Or, if a reservation needs to be changed, use the verb cambiare, as in, “Vorrei cambiare una prenotazione.”

Stating the date in Italian:

To state the date and time of a reservation, we will need to know how to say numbers in Italian up to 31 (assuming reservation is in the present year). If you still need to learn how to count in Italian, purchase my Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook or download the PDF for tips on how to remember Italian numbers into the billions.

Below is the sentence structure needed to state the date.

definite article + number + di +month

This is actually a lot easier than it may look! Below are a few examples. You will notice that in English we say, “January second,” for “January 2,” while in Italian the phrasing and word order reads: “the two of January.”

The exception to the above rule is the first day of the month. In this case, the word primo, which means first, must always be used, instead of uno (one).

When writing the date, remember the order of the day and the month are reversed in Italy (as in Europe): dd/mm/yyyy. The days of the week and the months of the year are not capitalized in Italian.

Oggi è il due di gennaio.	Today is January 2.
Domani è il tre di gennaio.	Tomorrow is January 3.
Dopodomani è il quattro di gennaio.	The day after tomorrow is January 4.
Oggi è il primo di agosto.	Today is August 1.

Finally, in everyday conversation, to say, “On Mondays…” referring to something that happens every Monday, just use the definite article il (the) at the beginning of the sentence for all the masculine weekdays ending in ì and la for the feminine Sunday (domenica).

Il lunedì vado al lavoro. / La domenica vado in chiesa.
On Mondays, I go to work. / On Sundays, I go to church.

Stating the time when making a reservation in Italian:

Expressions used to tell time in Italian are given below up to 12 o’clock. For a more detailed explanation of the Italian sentence structure used when telling time, purchase my Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook or download the PDF. Note: there is no “o’clock” in Italian. Simply state the hour “it is” for one o’clock or the number of hours “there are” from two o’clock onward. You will need to learn Italian numbers up to 24 to understand the time tables for Italian trains, buses and airlines, which are given in “military time” with the 24 hour clock. Italian museums and theaters also operate based on the 24 hour clock.

È l’una. (It is) one. (1 o’clock)

Sono le due. (They are) two. (2 o’clock)

Sono le tre. (They are) three. (3 o’clock)

Sono le quattro. (They are) four. (4 o’clock)

Sono le cinque. (They are) five. (5 o’clock)

Sono le sei. (They are) six. (6 o’clock)

Sono le sette. (They are) seven. (7 o’clock)

Sono le otto. (They are) eight. (8 o’clock)

Sono le nove. (They are) nine. (9 o’clock)

Sono le dieci. (They are) ten. (10 o’clock)

Sono le undici. (They are) eleven. (11 o’clock)

Sono le dodici. (They are) twelve. (12 o’clock)

One can emphasize the time of day, such as morning, afternoon, evening, or night, by adding the following expressions after the numerical time: di mattina, di pomeriggio, di sera, or di notte, as below.

1,00 (AM) È l’una di mattina. It is one in the morning.

1,00 (PM) È l’una di pomeriggio. It is one in the afternoon.

6,00 (PM) Sono le sei di sera. It is six in the evening.

10,00 (PM) Sono le dieci di notte. It is ten at night.

When the receptionist at a restaurant asks what hour you wish to dine, the question will usually be phrased as such:
A che ora…? (At) what time…?

The response to the question will also use the word at, which will be attached to the definite article (the). Use (l’) for one o’clock and (le) for all other hours to agree with the number of hours in the answer.

A mezzogiorno At noon

A mezzanotte At midnight

All’una. At one o’clock.

Alle sette. At seven o’clock.

All’una e cinque. At 1:05 AM.

Alle sette e mezzo. At 7:30 AM.

Making a Reservation in Italian: Restaurants and Hotels

Now that we know an introductory sentence and how to tell the receptionist at a restaurant or hotel the date and time of our appointment, we can summarize this information in the short conversation below:

Vorrei fare una prenotazione.	I would like to make a reservation.
Per quante persone?	For how many people?
Quattro. Due adulti e due bambini.	Four. Two adults and two children.
Data e ora/orario?	Date and time?
Ristorante: Il cinque di giugno alle otto di sera.	Restaurant: July 5th at 8 PM.
Hotel: Dal cinque al sette di giugno.	Hotel: From the 5th through the 7^th of June.

Restaurants in Italy normally open for dinner at 7 PM and most Italians go out to eat at 8 PM or later. After making a reservation, when one enters the restaurant, all the information the receptionist needs to know can be conveyed in two easy lines:

Buona sera.
Good evening.

Abbiamo una prenotazione per quattro persone alle otto di sera.
We have a reservation for four people for 8 PM.

In colloquial Italian, it is also considered correct to say:
Abbiamo una prenotazione per quattro persone per le otto di sera.
We have a reservation for four people for 8 PM.

For just one person, the following is fine:
Ho una prenotazione alle otto/ per le otto.
I have a reservation for 8 PM

Additional requests may need to be made for hotel reservations. When asking a question of the receptionist, use the “you all” form of avere, which is avete, since you are asking the representative of the hotel if they have what you need. The receptionist will answer in the noi form, and mention “we have” or “we don’t have” what you are requesting.

Example:

Avete una camera singola?
Do you all have a room with a single bed?

Mi dispiace, non abbiamo una camera singola disponibile.
I’m sorry, we don’t have a room with a single bed available.

Siamo al completo/ tutti prenotati stasera.
We are full/completely booked tonight.

Below is a list of vocabulary that includes the type of Italian hotel (l’albergo) you may want to choose and the type of room (la stanza) you may need. A few hotel amenities one might ask about when making a reservation are also included.

Almost all hotels in Italy provide breakfast for their guests gratis (free), so it is not usually necessary to ask if la prima colazione (breakfast) is included in the fee for the room. However, it can be helpful to check the internet for images of the dining room and the food served (along with the types of rooms available) prior to making reservations at a hotel. Italian hotels offer a wide range of morning meals — from a simple continental breakfast of coffee, juice and a pastry, to a large buffet with specialty breads and pastries, eggs, cereal, yogurt, lunch meat and cheeses to choose from.

And just in case things are not quite what you expected during your stay at an Italian hotel, you can always ask for l’albergatore or l’albergatrice (hotel manager, masculine and feminine). If you need help choosing where to make dinner reservations, call la reception (reception/front desk) or visit il concierge (the concierge).

l’albergo	hotel
la pensione il bed and breakfast	boarding house bed and breakfast
l’ostello (della gioventù)	youth hostel
il pernottamento	overnight stay
la pensione completa	room and board (includes three meals a day)
la mezza pensione	room, breakfast, and one meal (half board)

la camera/la stanza	room
la camera singola	room with a single bed
la camera matrimoniale	room with a double bed
le camere adiacenti	adjacent rooms
il letto	bed
il letto supplementare	additional bed
la culla	crib

servizio in camera	room service
la piscina	swimming pool
la sauna	sauna
la vasca idromassaggio	Jacuzzi*
il campo da golf	golf course
il campo da tennis	tennis court

*Italian-American history: Jacuzzi Brothers was a company founded in 1915 by seven Italian-American brothers with the surname Jacuzzi, whose family origins were in Casarsa della Delizia in Northern Italy. They initially developed propellers for the military and experimented with the manufacture of aircraft. In 1956, the company developed a pump that could be submerged under water to provide hydrotherapy. Candido Jacuzzi, third generation in the family, invented the whirlpool bath using the company’s hydrotherapy pump to treat his young son’s rheumatoid arthritis. The Jacuzzi tubs we know today were trademarked in 1968.

Making a Reservation in Italian: Train or Theater

Remember that reservations for the train or theater in Italy are made using the military, or 24 hour clock. Once you have made a reservation, here are a few tips on how to proceed when arriving at your destination:

When boarding a train or entering a theater with a ticket that has a reserved seat, one would have “un biglietto con la prenotazione” or “a ticket with the reservation.”

To say you are checking your seat, use the phrase, “Controllo il biglietto con la prenotazione,” for “I am checking the ticket with the reservation.”

However, the actual seat on a train or theater is referred to as “reserved” as in, “Il posto è riservato.” The seat or room has been booked, and no one else can use it. If someone else has made a prenotazione before you, your request might be denied due to un posto riservato.

Remember to use the verbs cambiare and annullare to change or cancel a reservation, as mentioned in the very first section!

Remember that making reservations in Italian
can enhance your experience every day while visiting Italy!

For “All the Italian you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy,” click on the links below to purchase my Conversational Italian for Travelers books – Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – The many uses of the Italian verb “Mettere”

April 5, 2022April 24, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

Have you set a goal to learn Italian? I will try to help you by posting a new blog every month in the series “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” In these blogs, I discuss how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

For instance, many Italian verbs have a similar use to those in English, which simplifies translation from one language to the other. However, often the meaning of an Italian verb will vary from the usual English connotation. And in many situations, the same verb can have several different meanings in both languages, depending on the context. Mettere (along with its reflexive form mettersi) is one of those verbs that is used in many ways in Italian and is important to “put to” good use if you want to speak like an Italian.

As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.

If we learn how to incorporate “commonly used phrases” when use the Italian verb mettere, we will be able to communicate just as we do in our native language!

This post is the 55th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian
use the verb

Mettere

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Let’s Talk About…

The Many Uses of the Italian Verb

Mettere

The Italian verb mettere and its reflexive counterpart mettersi are used in many colloquial expressions in Italy today. It is important to “put in” the time to learn how to use mettere, both literally and figuratively, if one wants to speak Italian like a native!

The Italian verb mettere is most often translated into English as “to put” or “to place.” It can be used in a simple way, to describe moving an object from one place to another.

Mettere is commonly used with the prepositions a, da, in and su in many Italian expressions that have the connotation of “putting” or “placing” something or someone in a place or situation. One commonly heard expression is, “Metti su l’acqua!” for “Put on the water!” which, of course refers to boiling a pot of water in preparation for making pasta! The Internet also provides another opportunity to use mettere su.

Mettersi a and mettere in are used to relay that an individual is “going to” initiate an action — such as starting to cook dinner or starting a car. Mettersi a can also be used in the impersonal third person to describe an act of nature starting up on its own. Finally, use mettere in to describe the emotional state or situations you have been “put into.”

Italian uses mettersi to describe the act of getting dressed. In English, we combine the verb “put” with the preposition “on” to make “put on” with reference to clothing. The preposition “on” does not have any other purpose than to change the meaning of the verb “put,” in the same way that the reflexive form of an Italian verb is used to modify or even change that verb’s original meaning. Messo, the past participle of mettere, is important to describe what one was wearing in the past. Several examples of how to use mettere and mettersi to describe getting dressed will be given in the next section. For additional information on this topic, visit a previous blog in this series: How We Dress in Italian.

Mettere can be used in the figurative sense, meaning, “I suppose” or “I presume.” Mettere can also be used figuratively to ask how something “looks.” If you are more sure of yourself, use ammetere and admit/confirm whatever is under discussion at the moment.

Use the pronominal verb phrase “mettercela tutta” as an informal way to describe that you’ve “put in” the most effort you can/are doing your best, or to encourage another to “give it their all.”

Finally, many Italian sayings incorporate mettere. Some of the most popular have been listed at the end of this blog.

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Let’s talk about how to conjugate mettere in the present, past, and future tenses before using it in some example sentences. Luckily, mettere is regular in all tenses except for the passato prossimo, due to its irregular past participle, which is messo.

Present tense: Mettere is a regular -ere verb in the present tense. The present tense conjugation is below.

io	metto
tu	metti
Lei/lei/lui	mette
noi	mettiamo
voi	mettete
loro	mettono

Past tense: When used in the passato prossimo to describe a single event, avere is the helping verb and the past participle is messo.

Mettere has a regular conjugation in the imperfetto past tense (mettevo, mettevi, metteve, mettevamo, mettevate, mettevano).

Future tense: mettere is regular in the future tense (metterò, metterai, metterà, metteremo, metterete, metteranno).

1. Use mettere to describe the simple act of moving an object from one place and “putting” or “placing” it in another place.

Mettere is commonly followed by a noun and then a preposition to describe the act of “putting” or “placing” an object somewhere in one’s household.
The singular familiar command form of mettere, which is metti is also important to remember when directing family or friends where to put an object.
The past participle messo is important when one has remembered (or is trying to remember) where they have put an object.
The direct object pronouns “them”(le) and “it”(lo) are red, so as not to confuse them with a verb ending.

Ho messo i piatti sulla tavola per la cena.

I put the plates on the table for dinner.

Brava! Ora, pian piano, metti i bicchieri di cristalleria vicino a i piatti!

Great! Now, carefully place the crystal wine glasses next to the plates!

Ho messo le chiavi nella mia borsa, ma ora non riesco a trovarle!

I put the keys in my purse, but now I can’t find them!

Mettilo di là, in stanza mia.

Put it over there, in my room.

2. Use mettere su to describe “putting” food “on” the stove, to “put on” something in figurative sense, or to “put up a post on” the Internet

Mettere with the preposition su is a commonly used expression in home cooking. For instance, when a family is ready for dinner, one can direct another to “put” a pot of water “on” the stove to boil. No other details are necessary, for every Italian knows that boiling, salted water is essential for making pasta! Specific foods one would like to encourage another to cook can also follow mettere su, and one can be asked more directly simply to make la pasta. Of note: with expressions of this type, the preposition su is not combined with the definite article.
Mettere su is used in common expressions to mean “to put on weight” or “to put (someone) on a pedestal,” just like in English.
Use mettere su in the figurative sense, as in to “put on a show” of something, or to “organize” or “create” an event.
To sound like a native Italian when speaking about the internet, use mettere su or mettere in rete instead of postare for “putting up” with the meaning of “posting” or “publishing on line. Along these lines, “mettere in coppia” means “to copy someone” on an email.

Sono arrivato! Metti su l’acqua!

I’m home! Put on the (pot of) water (to boil to make the pasta)!

Metti su la pasta! / Metti su la carne!

Start cooking the pasta! / Start cooking the meat!

Lui ha meso su pancia quest’anno.

He has put on belly fat this year!

Anna mette su un piedistallo il suo fidanzato Marco.

Ann puts her fiancé Mark on a pedastal.

Lui ha meso su uno spettacolo per tutti ieri sera con i suoi scherzi.

He put on a show for everyone last night with his jokes.

Marco ha messo su un bel viaggio per tutti.

Mark has organized a nice trip for everyone.

Metti su internet una foto del tuo viaggio!

Put up a photo of your trip on the Internet!
Post a photo of your trip on the Internet!

Lei ha messo su un blog su internet questa settimana.

She has put up/posted a blog on the internet this week.

3. Use mettersi a, mettersi in the third person, or mettere in moto to describe initiating an action

Mettersi a is used to tell someone you are “about to/starting to” do something, such as starting to cook dinner. The Italian phrase is [mettersi a + infinitive verb]. The English translation is [to be + going to] when mettersi is used in this way.
Mettersi a followed by an infinitive verb can also be used in the third person to describe an inanimate object or an act of nature starting up something by itself. There is a popular Italian saying, “Da Santa Lucia, il freddo si mette in via,” which means, “From Saint Lucia’s Day, the cold is on its way.” The two verbs that mean “to start,” cominciare and iniziare cannot be used in the third person this way. For a more detailed discussion on the topic of how to use impersonal reflexive verbs, visit a previous blog in this series Impersonal Statements and Reflexive Verbs.: “Come si dice?”
Mettere in moto is a commonly used expression to describe starting a car but can also be used figuratively with the meaning of “to embark on” or “set off on” a journey.

Sono arrivato! Ora mi metto a cucinare la cena.

I’m home! Now I am going to cook dinner.

Finalmente lui si mette a lavorare con noi stamattina.

Finally he is going to work with us this morning.

L’eruzione del vulcano si mette a fare la terza eruzione oggi.

The volcano starts the third eruption today.

L’acqua si mette ad alzarsi a Venezia a febbraio.

The water starts to rise in Venice in February.

Michele mette in moto la macchina.

Michael starts the car.

Dopo aver lasciato Anna, Michele mette in moto una vita nuova.

After leaving Ann, Michael sets off on a new life.

4. Use mettere in and mettere a/di to describe negative or positive emotional states or figurative positions you have been “put into.”

Mettere is often used figuratively. There are many expressions that describe the negative emotions and situations one can be “put into” by completing the phrase “mettere in…” An Italian can be put into a difficult position, doubt, embarrassment, ridicule, risk, danger, or even “to their knees” or “on the run”! On the other hand, to be saved is to be “mettere in salvo.” The phrase that means “to be quarantined” is “mettere in quarantena.”
Mettere a or mettere di, conversely, are used in many expressions that describe positive interactions, such as: putting someone at ease, putting things in order, being available to help out, and helping to reach an agreement. Mettere insieme means “to put together” but also “to bring together.” And remember to say, “Sono d’accordo!” for “I agree!” once you have come to an understanding with others!
When describing an event, “mettere in…” can simply mean “to put into play” (gioco) or “to put on a show” (mostra). “Mettere in vendita” means “to put up for sale.”
There are many other common Italian phrases that start with mettere! Listen for how Italians use this versatile verb and you will hear it often!

Mettere in…
	difficoltà	to put in a difficult position to hinder
	dubbio	to doubt
	imbarazzo	to embarrass to make someone uncomfortable
	ridicolo	to ridicule
	rischio	to put someone at risk to put in danger
	ginocchio	to bring someone to their knees
	fuga quarantena	to put someone on the run to put someone in quarantine

Mettere a…	proprio agio	to put somebody at ease
	posto	to put in order to clean up to put away
	disposizione	to make available
	servizio	to put at one’s disposition
Mettere d’… Sono d’…	accordo	to help reach an agreement I agree!

5. Use mettersi to describe the act of getting dressed

There are several Italian verbs that are used to convey the act of wearing clothing and getting dressed. Mettersi is an important verb to know in this regard. For more information on this topic, visit a previous blog in this series: How We Dress in Italian.

Mettersi can be used to convey three different types of English sentences: “I put on my dress,” “I put my dress on,” and “I put on the dress.” In general, Italian uses reflexive verbs to describe daily actions we all must perform to keep up “la bella figura.” English instead uses a [verb + preposition +possessive adjective] sentence structure. Although the last English example is correct, we most often default to using the first two examples, with the possessive “my.”

Although the sentence structure that describes getting dressed differs in Italian and English, in both cases there is a straightforward formula to follow. For Italian, the reflexive pronoun mi (myself) is placed before the conjugated form of mettersi and the article of clothing to be put on is then placed after the verb. The subject pronoun is omitted, as usual. So the final translation for “I put on my dress” is, “Mi metto il vestito.”

Just remember the simple phrase “mi metto” and replace il vestito with your chosen article of clothing and you will be able to describe getting dressed!

To describe action in the tu (you) form, just conjugate mettersi normally and then add the article of clothing, as in “ti metti.” For the lei/lui (she/he) form, use “si mette,” and so on.

(Io) Mi metto il vestito.	I put on my dress./I put my dress on./I put on the dress.
(Tu) Ti metti l’anello.	You put on your ring.
(Lei/Lui) Si mette le scarpe.	She/He puts on his shoes.

In order to describe what they have worn in the past, most Italians use mettersi and its irregular past participle messo.

Remember to use the helping verb essere for the passato prossimo with the reflexive verb mettersi. And, of course the last vowel of the past participle must agree in gender with the person wearing the clothing, since we are using essere as the helping verb (see the red vowels in the examples). The table below shows how this all works:

Marco si è messo un completo oggi.	Mark wore a suit today.
Maria si è messa una gonna oggi.	Maria wore a skirt today.

6. More figurative uses for mettersi and mettere

Mettersi can be used figuratively to ask how something “looks,” such as the weather or an interpersonal situation.
Mettere can be used in the figurative sense, meaning, “I suppose,” or “I presume” in a compound sentence with a subjunctive mood verb. In the examples below, abbia is the subjunctive for avere and sappia is the subjunctive for sapere (singular first, second, and third persons). These are two helpful verbs to remember, even if one is not versed in the subjunctive mood. If you are more sure of yourself, use ammetere and admit/confirm whatever is under discussion at the moment, also with the subjunctive mood.
Remember that the noi conjugation of a verb is also used in the imperative to mean “let’s.” (See the last example.)

Come si mette il tempo oggi?

How does the weather look today?

Come si mette la situazione con Clara?

How does the situation with Clara look?

Tu sai la situazione meglio di me. Quindi, ammetto che tu abbia ragione.

You know the situation better than me. Therefore, I admit/confirm that you are right.

Mettiamo che Marco sappia più di noi.

Let’s presume that Mark knows more than us.

7. Use the pronominal verb phrase “mettercela tutta” as an informal way to describe that you have “put in your best effort.”

Mettercela is a pronominal verb, recognized by the ce and la tacked on to the end of metter, which is just mettere without the last “e.” Conjugate this verb exactly as you would mettere, then add the pronominal particles ce and la, following the usual rules for pronouns.
The pronominal particles ce and la change the meaning of mettere. “Mettercela tutta” means “to put in your absolute best effort” or “to give it your all,” as in strength and determination, in order to achieve a goal.
The speaker can use the phrase “mettercerla tutta” in the present tense to describe an ongoing effort. “Ce la messo tutta…” means, “I am putting in my best effort.” This phrase is also commonly used in the past tense when the speaker wants to emphasize that the outcome wasn’t for lack of trying. In this case, the passato prossimo conjugation for this completed event is, “Ce l’ho messa…”
Mettercela tutta can be preceded by devo, which means “I must” for an even more forceful statement. In this case, there is no need to conjugate mettercela. Just leave it in the infinitive form, as usual for verbs that follow dovere.
Or, the speaker can encourage another to try as hard as they can and keep making their best effort. Use the familiar command form of mettere, which is metti, and attach ce and la to the end of the verb for “Metticerla tutta!” To stress the importance of the effort needed, precede metticela tutta with, “Dai!” for “C’mon!”
Notice another pronominal verb in our examples, farcela, which in this case means “to succeed.”
Follow these simple formulas for using mettercela to really speak like a native Italian!

Ce la metto tutta. Spero di farcela!

I putting in everything I have! I hope to succeed!

Devo mettercerla tutta questa settimana per trovare un cliente nuovo.

I must focus all my effort this week into finding a new client.

Ce l’ho messa tutta, ma non ho superato l’esame lo stesso!

I gave it my all but I failed (didn’t pass) the exam anyway!

Dai! Dobbiamo vincere questa partita. Metticela tutta!

C’mon! We have to win this match. Give it all you’ve got!

*To make sense of the construction “Ce l’ho messa,” we must remember that the l’ stands in for ” la” and therefore is feminine. La drops its “a” in the passato prossimo before ho, to make l’ho, which is easier to say. Then, this dropped “a” reappears as the new ending for the past participle! These rules are explained in detail in our Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Verbs” book.

8. Common Italian sayings that use mettere

Mettere i soldi in cassa = to make money (literally to put money in the cash register)

Mettere a pane e acqua = a harsh punishment (literally to give someone only bread and water)

Mettere i piedi in testa a = walk over/trample over somebody

Mettere il carro davanti ai buoi = put the cart in front of the horse

Mettere in piazza qualcosa = to be open about something/lay your cards on the table

Mettere in primo piano = make a priority of something/ emphasize/focus on

Mettere il becco in = to stick your nose in/interfere

Mettere bocca su tutto = always commenting on/have an opinion on everything

Mettere i puntini sulle “i” = dot your i’s/ be nitpicky

There are even more ways to use the Italian verb mettere than space in this blog!
Practice listening for the Italian phrases that use mettere and
try them out in your own Italian conversations!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! How to Use the Preposition “Di” in Italian

March 2, 2022August 29, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

Let’s start our new series on Italian prepositions with the essential Italian preposition “di.” If we learn how to use the Italian preposition “di,” which can be translated into the English prepositions “of, from,” and “by,” we will truly sound like a native Italian!

This post is the 54th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases”
in Italian use

the preposition “di”

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar *

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

*This material adapted from the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

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Use “Di” to Say
Where You are From

One of the most frequent questions asked during polite conversation is, “Where are you from?” This is expressed in Italian with the verb to be (essere) and di, which is translated in English to the preposition from in this situation. The Italian sentence structure is, “From where are you?”

di + dove + essere

from + where + to be

In proper English, of course, we would say, “Where are you from?” Although the Italian sentence sounds awkward in English, the rule in Italian is never to end a sentence with a preposition; in effect, the English sentence likely sounds awkward to Italians! The answer in Italian will also use di and is followed by the town of one’s birth. Notice that the subject pronoun io (I) is usually left out of the answer, as it is understood from the ending of the verb. For instance:

Di dov’è Lei?	Where are you (polite) from?
Di dove sei?	Where are you (familiar) from?
Sono di Chicago.	(I) am from Chicago.

Note: there is another way of asking where someone is from in Italian — the phrase, “Da dove viene?” This phrase uses the conjunction da with the verb venire, and is a more general reference to where one has been living in prior years. The answer is “Vengo da…” for “I am from…” This phrase will be discussed in more detail in a future blog about the preposition da.

Expressing Possession with “Di”

In Italian, the word di is used to expresses possession, and in this situation, di means of. To describe ownership of a car in Italian, for instance, one would use di to create the sentence: “Questa è la macchina di Pietro.”

We can translate the Italian way of thinking into English with the following sentence: “This is the car of Peter.” To the American ear, though, this sounds formal and too wordy. We have the option of expressing this thought with [apostrophe + the letter s] (‘s) tacked onto the name of the person doing the possessing. The English version of our example above would be, “This is Peter’s car.” In Italian, though, if we want to use someone’s name to describe possession, we have only the very first sentence structure: “Questa è la macchina di Pietro.”

General Uses for “Di”

1. In order to express authorship of a work, Italians use di, which in this case corresponds to the English word by. Also use di with the verb conoscere to describe “knowing someone by” their appearance or their name. Notice we may render these ideas a bit differently in English.

8 ½ è un film di Frederico Fellini.	8 ½ is a film by Fredrico Fellini.
Conosco Marco di vista, ma non ci siamo mai incontrati.	I know what Mark looks like, but we have not (ever) met.
Conosco Marco di nome, ma non ci siamo mai incontrati.	I know Mark’s name, but we have not (ever) met.

2. In order to express what something is composed of, Italians use di. In English, we say “made of,” and in Italian the past particle fatto can be used as an adjective to make the corresponding phrase “fatto(a,i,e) di.” However, in Italian the adjective fatto is optional and the entire meaning of the phrase is usually conveyed just with the preposition di. This is why it is so important to learn how to use Italian prepositions correctly. A short, simple preposition can change the meaning of an entire sentence!

Note: for all metals that are not gold (oro) and for the cloth velvet (velluto) use the preposition in instead of di. These exceptions are simply by convention.

Questa sedia fatta di legno è dura.	This chair made of wood is tough.
Ho comprato un camicia di seta oggi.	I bought a silk blouse today.
Mio marito mi ha regolato un’anello d’oro.	My husband bought me a ring made of gold.

—–but-—-

Questa è una scultura in bronzo.	This sculpture is made of bronze.
La vecchia poltrona è stata rivestita in velluto.	The old chair was restored with velvet cloth.

There are also many descriptive nouns in English that are composed of two nouns, one of which acts as an adjective to describe the other. Some of these descriptive noun/adjectives must be linked with di in Italian if the descriptive term represents what the main item is made of. For instance the two English words that represent one item from the example silk blouse given above is translated into Italian as camicia di seta. The single English word sandcastle is il castello di sabbia in Italian, or “the castle made of sand.” Descriptive nouns will be covered in more detail in a future blog about da.

3. In order to relate that a topic is being talked about, or discussed/argued about, Italians use di to link certain verbs with the subject matter under discussion. The most common verbs used in this way are: parlare (to talk), discutere (to discuss) and trattarsi, (concerning or regarding).

For the verb parlare, the Italian preposition di is translated as “about” in English. When a verb follows parlare di or discutere di to complete the sentence, Italian simply adds an infinitive verb after di. English uses [about + gerund of the verb]. You remember, of course, that the gerund is the commonly used “-ing” form of a verb in English. Below are two examples using parlare and discutere.

Caterina parla di viaggiare, non di politica.	Kathy talks about traveling, not about politics.
Marco discute di politica troppo!	Mark discusses/talks about politics too much!

Trattarsi di is generally used in the third person as “Si tratta di…” to ask and answer the question “What is this regarding?” Parlare often starts a conversation of this type, when one person asks to speak to another about something, someone, or an action. Two example conversations are below; the first could take place between a boss and a worker, the second perhaps between two family members. To add a feeling of urgency or importance to the conversation, the examples start with “devo” for “I have to.” Notice again how the Italian preposition di is always placed at the beginning of a question, just like in the first section examples that ask where someone is from.

Devo parlarti.	I have to talk to you.
Di cosa si tratta?	What is this regarding?
Si tratta del tuo stipendio.	It is regarding your salary.

Devo parlarti di una cosa importante;	I must speak to you about something important;
…si tratta di Paolo.	…it’s concerning Paul.
…si tratta della mia macchina vecchia.	…it’s regarding my old car.
…si tratta di viaggiare in Italia insieme.	…it’s regarding traveling in Italy together.

To complete our discussion, note a change in use of the preposition di required in Italian that is not evident in English: when talking about a person or something by name, the Italian preposition su is used in the following construction: [su + definite article + noun]. The English translation “about” is the same.

Sto leggendo un bel libro su DaVinci. Ho guardato un bel film su DaVinci.	I am reading a good book about DaVinci. I watched a good film about Da Vinci.
Ho imparato molto sul Rinascimento all’Università.	I’ve learned a lot about the Renaissance at college.

4. The verb pensare has a special relationship with the preposition di. When saying, “I think so,” to agree with someone, or “I don’t think so,” to disagree, one might say pensare is being used as a verb of discussion, as in #3 above. In this situation, the conjugated form of pensare is followed by “di si” or “di no.”

Also use [pensare di+ infinitive verb] when thinking about an action you may want to carry out. But, use [pensare a +noun] when thinking about a person, place, or thing.

For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that [pensare che + subjunctive mood verb] is used to link to phrases with different subjects in a single sentence. However, use of the subjunctive mood is beyond the scope of this blog!

Penso di si.	I think so.
Penso di no.	I don’t think so.
Penso di viaggiare in Italia l’anno prossimo.	I am thinking about traveling to Italy next year.

—–but-—-

Penso a te, a Rosa, e alla vostra famiglia.	I am thinking about you, Rose, and your family.
Penso a Roma ogni giorno.	I think about Rome every day.
Penso a tutti i bei vestiti fatti a Roma.	I am thinking about all the beautiful dresses made in Rome.

5. To mention an acquaintance’s age in conversation, use di as part of a descriptive phrase about the individual before giving their age in years. The phrases “all’età di (at the age of) or “a girl/woman, boy/man, etc. of precede the age type of sentence. This sentence structure also works for the age of an inanimate object, such as a bottle of wine!

Lei è una signora di ottantadue anni.	She is a lady of 82 years.
Ho una bottaglia di vino rosso di 10 anni.	I have a ten-year-old bottle of red wine.

6. To say something happened “in” or “at” a particular time of day, use di before the Italian words for morning (mattina), afternoon (pomeriggio), evening (sera), or night (notte).

Ci vendiamo di mattina.	We’ll see each other in the morning.
Di pomeriggio, vado al lavoro.	In the afternoon, I go to work.
Io e mio marito ceniamo alle sei di sera.	My husband and I eat dinner at 6 in the evening.
“Buona notte!” dice mia figlia preciso alle undici di notte.	“Good night,” my daughter says at precisely 11 o’clock at night.

7. To say something happened “in” the summertime or wintertime, use di before the Italian words for summer (estate) and winter (inverno). Use the Italian preposition in for spring (primavera) and autumn (autunno). This is by convention.

D’estate, andiamo spesso alla spiaggia.	In the summer, we go to the beach often.
Andiamo in montagne a fare sci d’inverno.	We go to the mountains to ski in the winter.
In primavera, tutti i fiori fioriscono.	In springtime, all the flowers are in bloom.
In autunno, le foglie cadono dagli alberi.	In autumn, the leaves fall from the trees.

Common Expressions with “Di”
Avere and Essere

There are several Italian phrases used to express one’s feelings that require the preposition di to link the conjugated form of the verb avere with the infinitive form of the verb of action that will complete the sentence. In English, replacing the Italian preposition di with the translation of is variable. In some cases, the English infinitive verb will be used alone or the English expression may use a gerund instead of an infinitive verb. You must really learn to think in Italian to use these expressions! Some examples of how to use these phrases are given in the last column. How many more can you think of?

avere bisogno di	to have need of	Ho bisogno di… riposare.
		I need to rest.
avere paura di	to be afraid/have fear of	Ho paura di… guidare.
		I am afraid of driving/to drive.
avere voglia di	to feel like	Ho voglia di… mangiare una pizza.
		I feel like eating a pizza.

There are several expressions of feeling that use the verb essere and take the preposition di prior to adding an infinitive verb to complete a sentence. Again, in English, we do not always use an additional preposition for these phrases, aside from the word to that is already a part of the infinitive verb.

essere certo di	to be certain of	Sono certo di… ricordare il tuo nome.
		I am sure to remember your name.
essere sicuro di	to be certain of	Sono sicuro di… ricordare questo posto.
		I am sure to remember this place.
essere contento di	to be happy to	Sono conteno di… stare qui.
		I am happy to be here.
essere felice di	to be happy to	Sono felice di… incontrare mio cugino oggi.
		I am happy to meet my cousin today.
essere fortunato di	to be lucky to	Sono fortunato di… mangiare questa cena.
		I am so lucky to be eating this dinner.
essere libero di	to be free to	Sono libero di… viaggiare.
		I am free to travel.
essere stanco di	to be tired of	Sono stanco di… volare.
		I am tired of flying.

When to Use “Di”
to Link Italian Verbs

When we link two Italian verbs together in the present tense, the first verb, or helping verb, is conjugated and the second verb, or action verb, is left in the infinitive form. For instance, “Tomorrow, I have to go to work,” is a simple statement that can be translated as, “Domani, devo andare al lavoro.” “I have to” meaning, “I must,” is the first person present tense of dovere, which is devo. Andare means “to go.”

Other helping verbs, such as potere and volere work the same way in the present tense. In fact, using the polite first person of potere, which is può, followed by an infinitive verb, is a simple way to ask for what you need while traveling in Italy. Once you remember “Mi può…” no further conjugation is necessary using this method Just tack on the infinitive verb for what you need and finish the sentence!

Some examples that use [può + infinitive verb] useful for traveling are given below:

Mi può portare a Piazza Navona?	Could you take me to Piazza Navona?
Mi può parlare in englese?	Could you speak to me in English?
Mi può chiamare un tassì?	Could you call a taxi for me?

Although the traveler to Italy can get by with simple phrases, it is important to understand how to create a more complex sentence if one truly wants to be fluent in Italian. This is where the preposition di becomes important. There are some action verbs that need to be followed by the Italian preposition di before an infinitive verb is added to complete the sentence.

Most of the verbs that must use di prior to an infinitive verb describe speaking, thinking, or an activity that needs to be completed. We have already discussed parlare and pensare. Other actions, such as trying to (cercare di), finishing (finire di), and waiting (aspettare di) need the preposition di to join them to an additional verb of activity.

In the case of cercare, the meaning will change when di is used to link this verb to another. By itself, cercare means to look for, but cercare di means to try to. For the Italian speaker, it is natural to insert the preposition di after certain verbs; it just sounds correct when one has grown up with the Italian language. For the Italian student, listening to Italian will also be important. Listen for the word di when these phrases come up in Italian movies and songs and soon it will become natural to say these phrases correctly!

Accettare	to accept	Accetto di… lavorare duro perché è necessario.
		I accept working hard because it is necessary.
Aspettare	to wait	Aspetto di… ricevere un regalo dal mio fidanzato.
		I am waiting to receive a present from my fiancée.
Cercare di	to try to	Cerco di… studiare bene.
		I am trying to study well.
Credere	to believe	Credo di… avere ragione.
		I believe I am correct.
Decidere	to decide	Decido di… andare a visitare la mia amica mentre in giro.
		I decide to visit my friend while I am out and about.
Dimenticare	to forget	Non dimenticare di… prendere la medicina! (command)
		Don’t forget to take the medicine!
Dire	to say/tell	Dico di… no. Non sono d’accordo.
		I say no. I don’t agree.
Finire	to finish	Finisco di… lavorare per oggi alle sei di sera.
		I finish working every day at 6 PM.
Occuparsi di	to work at	Mi occupo di… medicina.
		I work as a doctor/nurse/in the medical field.
Ordinare	to order	La mamma ordina ai bambini di… studiare.
		The mother orders the children to study.
Pensare	to think	Penso di… si.
		I think so.
Pregare	to pray/beg	Prego di… andare in Italia l’anno prossimo.
		I pray to go to Italy next year.
Ricordare Ricordarsi	to remember	Ricordati di… prendere la medicina! (command)
		Remember to take the medicine!
Scegliere	to choose	Sceglo di... prendere un caffé con un biscotto ogni mattina.
		I choose to take coffee with an Italian cookie every day.
Scrivere	to write	Scrivo di… viaggiare.
		I write about traveling.
Smettere	to stop	Smetti di… bere il vino! (command)
		Stop drinking the wine!
Sperare	to hope	Spero di… trovare la strada giusta.
		I hope to find the right road.

Remember how to use the Italian preposition “di” in conversation
and I guarantee you will use the Italian “di” every day!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! Let’s Talk About… Dating in Italian

January 25, 2022March 31, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

Why not set a goal to learn Italian, starting today, for the year 2022? I will try to help you with this goal by posting a new blog every month in the series “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” With these blogs, I describe how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

February is the month we in America celebrate Valentines Day, a holiday that originated in Italy and is still popular there today, as described in last years’ February blog “How to Say… ‘I feel’ on Valentines Day with Sentirsi.” Since the Italian phrases that describe a romantic relationship are not usually listed in textbooks, I’ve focused on Italian novels and movies to learn how Italians talk about falling in love. Once I discover a phrase about dating or romance, I check with my native Italian friends and instructors for authenticity and to verify how the phrase is used today.

I’ve managed to piece together the following information about how Italians talk about dating and romantic relationships in this blog, some of which is reprinted from my blog for advanced students of Italian: Italian Subjunctive (Part 4): Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love. After reading this introductory blog, you may want to check out the dialogue I have created in Italian Hypothetical Phrases of Love, where these phrases are put to use!

If we learn a few phrases to describe dating in Italian, we will be able to talk to others about the person who has become the “special someone” in our life!

This post is the 53rd in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE.

Many “commonly used phrases”
in Italian describe

Dating in Italian

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

**************************************

Let’s Talk About… Dating in Italian

Today in America, we “date,” “go out on a date,” or refer to two people who are “dating,” from the first romantic encounter until they become married. After marriage, a couple can still go out on “date nights.” But be careful when translating American romantic experiences into Italian! The English verb “to date” as used in America today to refer to a romantic relationship does not have a literal translation in Italian.

Of course, “to court” a woman was common in past centuries, and the Italian language still reflects this. When a man tries to show he is interested in a woman, the phrase “fare la corte a…” is used from the verb corteggiare or “to court.” For instance, “Marco fa la corte a Maria,” is translated literally as “Mark is courting Maria,” with the connotation that he is “pursuing” her or trying to “win” her love.

The verb corteggiare can also be used figuratively, between any two adults, to describe when one is trying to cajole, flatter, or entice another, usually to “convince” them to do something. “Marco corteggia il proprietario alla festa perché vuole un aumento di stipendio.” “Mark flattered the owner at the party because he wanted an increase in his salary.”

There is a verb still in use in Italy today that refers to a man seducing, or “winning over,” a woman: “conquistare… ” such as, “Marco ha conquistato Maria.” If Maria lets herself be “won over” or “captivated” by Marco, she can use the phrase, “Mi lascio conquestare da Marco.”

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In today’s vernacular, if one wants to allude to the fact that they are dating, or “seeing” someone special in the Italian language, the following phrases can be used:

“Mi vedo con un ragazzo.” “Mi vedo con una ragazza.”	“I’m seeing a boy.” “I am seeing a girl.”
“Esco con un ragazzo.” “Esco con una ragazza.”	“I’m going out with a boy.” “I’m going out with a girl.”
“Il ragazzo con cui ho/avevo appuntamento/date.” “La ragazza con cui ho/avevo appuntamento/date.”	“The boy with whom I have/had an appointment/date.” “The boy with whom I have/had an appointment/date.”

It should be noted that ragazzo and ragazza also translate into boyfriend and girlfriend. To let another know you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, simply say, “Ho un ragazzo,” or “Ho una ragazza.”

Also, you’ll notice that from the above translations that the Italian noun appuntamento does double duty, since it corresponds to both appointment and date. In English, the word appointment is generally used to refer to a business meeting or a formal meeting in general, often between people who do not know each other well. The noun “date” can be used to describe a general meeting between friends, and is always used when one wants to imply a romantic interest.

Italian can be used to refer to regular romantic “get togethers” before marriage with the phrase “to go out with someone”—“uscire con qualcuno.” “Io esco con Marco ogni sabato sera,” means, “I go out with Mark every Saturday night,” and implies, “I go out on a (romantic) date with Mark every Friday night.”

The Italian verb “frequentarsi,” which means “to spend time with each other” can also be used to describe a special relationship. Frequentarsi can also be translated as “to see each other” or “to date each other” in the romantic sense or simply to “to hang out with” friends. The non reflexive form, frequentare, means “to frequent” or “to visit” a certain place.

Some examples of how to use the Italian verbs that describe a special relationship are listed in the table below. Remember that ci and si in these examples stand for “each other.” For a refresher on how to use reciprocal reflexive verbs, visit our blog in this series called Italian Reciprocal Reflexive Verbs.

Marco e io ci frenquentiamo.	Mark and I are spending time with each other. (romantically) Mark and I are seeing each other (romantically) Mark and I are dating each other.
Noi ci frequentiamo il sabato sera.	We are seeing each other/dating every Saturday night.

Marco e Maria si fequentano.	Mark and Maria are dating each other.
Loro si frequentano ogni venderdì sera.	Mark and Maria see each other/ going out on a date every Friday night.

Marco frequenta il Ristorante Paolo il sabato.	Mark frequents/goes to Ristorante Paolo on Saturday nights.
Marco si frequenta con i suoi amici in piazza quando non ha niente da fare.	Mark hangs out with his friends in the piazza when he doesn’t have anything to do.
Marco si fequenta con Maria spesso.	Mark often hangs out with Maria. (as friends)

Marco e i suoi amici frequentano il Ristorante Paolo.	Mark and his friends hang out at Ristorante Paolo.
Loro si frequentano ogni vender sera.	They see each other every Friday night. (as friends)

Finally, to express a close romantic relationship in Italian, we can use the word “rapporto.” Any relationship in general is considered a “relazione.” But be careful, as an “affair” outside of marriage is also a “relazione,” whereas “affari” refers to more general personal and business “affairs.”

*********************

Now that we have learned the Italian needed to talk about dating, let’s review how to say, “I love you” to that special someone on Valentines Day.

“Ti voglio bene” is an old Italian expression that is still used for both platonic and romantic love. The meaning of this phrase is not easily translated into English, but it is used often in Italy to express one’s feeling of closeness to another. This expression has its origin in the Italian phrasal verb “volere bene (a qualcuno).” “Ti voglio bene” can been translated as, “I care for you” or,”I wish you well,” but really, it is the way Italians tell others that they love them.

The expression “ti voglio bene” can be used between family members and friends, as well as a boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and a wife. Watch some older Italian movies, and you will hear this expression often!

Mi voui bene?	Do you care for/about me?
Ti voglio bene.	I care for/about you.

The verb amare, which means “to love” is reserved for romantic love — that one true love held between a couple who are dating, fiancée and fiancé, or wife and husband. Remember the simple expressions with amare in the table below to use with someone special this Valentines Day!

Mi ami?	Do you love me?
Ti amo.	I love you.
Ti amo per sempre.	I will always love you.

If you learn to talk about dating in Italian
and how to use the verb amare
you will really have learned to think in Italian!

Buona Festa del San Valentino!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! Impersonal Statements and Reflexive Verbs: “Come si dice…?”

January 5, 2022March 31, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 6 Comments

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently in 2022?

Now that 2022 is upon us, why not set a goal to learn Italian, starting today, for the year 2022? I will try to help you with this goal by posting blogs that describe how Italians use their language on a daily basis and in so doing help you to “think in Italian.”

For instance, did you know that Italians still use impersonal constructions? By “impersonal constructions” I mean sentences that describe what “one” is doing, in order to make a general statement.

A common example of an Italian impersonal construction is the phrase, “Come si dice…” This simple Italian phrase is used by every Italian student at one point or another when asking for help with their vocabulary. The literal translation of “Come si dice…?” is, “How does one say…” In spoken English, this construction is only rarely used today, and usually in formal situations. Instead, to generalize, English speakers often use the collective “you” — directed both at no one in particular and at everyone at the same time! Especially in an informal conversation, “Come si dice…” would be translated as, “How do you say…?” But in Italian, when one generalizes, he or she cannot replace the “si” for “one” with “tu” for “you” the way we do in English.

If we learn how to use impersonal phrases in Italian, with Italian reflexive verbs, we will be able to ask general questions, give directions, and even express how mechanical objects work!

This post is the 52nd in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases”
in Italian are Impersonal Statements
that describe general interactions
and use

Italian Reflexive Verbs

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

************************************************

Italian Reflexive Verbs

Knowing how to use Italian reflexive verbs is extremely important for conversation, since Italian reflexive verbs often describe activities and emotions that are encountered every day. Reflexive verbs are recognized by the –si ending of their infinitive form. Let’s review a bit about reflexive verbs before going on to discuss how they are used to make impersonal statements.

Direct reflexive verbs, as their name suggests, are used when an action refers back directly to the speaker in the subject of the sentence. For example, if one wants to describe the everyday act of falling asleep in Italian, they must use the reflexive verb addormentarsi. Italian reflexive verbs are also used to express the English concept of “to get,” as we’ve seen in a prior Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day blog. When one “gets mad,” they must express this concept in Italian with the verb arrabbiarsi. Consider also the every day activity of “getting dressed,” with mettersi, which was the focus of another blog in this series, How We Dress in Italian.

All Italian students are introduced to a direct reflexive verb of the –arsi type at the very beginning of their studies, when they learn how to introduce themselves with the reflexive verb that means “to be named,” which is chiamarsi. There are, of course, also reflexive verbs of the –ersi and –irsi types as well, such as mettersi (to put on clothes/to get dressed) and divertirsi (to enjoy oneself).

The necessary component of all reflexive verbs is the reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, etc.), which is what actually corresponds to and refers directly back to the subject.

To review, the reflexive pronouns are:

mi – myself
ti – yourself (familiar)
si – yourself (pol.)/ herself, himself, itself, oneself

ci – ourselves
vi – yourselves (familiar)
si – themselves

To conjugate a reflexive verb, start with the subject pronoun and follow with the corresponding reflexive pronoun. However, remember that for conversational Italian the subject pronoun is usually left out of the sentence and is only sometimes included for emphasis.

Our first table below starts us on our way to the complete conjugation of a reflexive verb by pairing each subject pronoun with its corresponding reflexive pronoun:

io	mi	I	myself
tu	ti	you (familiar)	yourself
Lei lei/lui	si	you (polite) she/he	yourself herself, himself, itself, oneself

noi	ci	we	ourselves
voi	vi	you all	yourselves
loro	si	they	yourselves (polite) themselves

All we need to do now is to add our verb to create the action! Notice that the English translation adds the reflexive pronoun after the verb, while in Italian the reflexive pronoun comes before the verb (except for familiar commands). This may take a little time to get used to!

Let’s conjugate divertirsi — to have fun / enjoy oneself — as an example:

io	mi	diverto	I enjoy myself
tu	ti	diverti	you (familiar) enjoy yourself
Lei lei/lui	si	diverte	you (polite) enjoy yourself she/he enjoys herself, himself

noi	ci	divertiamo	we enjoy ourselves
voi	vi	divertite	you all enjoy yourselves
loro	si	divertono	they enjoy themselves

How to Make Impersonal Statements
Italian Reflexive Pronouns

Generalizations in the third person, called impersonal statements, are used sparingly in English but are common in Italian. An Italian impersonal statement is created by using the reflexive pronoun si, along with a verb in the singular or plural third person (either the lei/lui or the loro form).

As noted from the conjugation tables from the first section…

when the reflexive pronoun si is used in the singular third person, the reference is to a single, unnamed person, and the subject can be translated as “one.”
when the reflexive pronoun si is used in the plural third person, the reference is to a group of unnamed people and the subject can be translated as “they.”

In both situations, the speaker is referring in general to someone,
without a individual or group of people in mind.
It makes sense, then, that these statements are called “impersonal statements.”

A common example of an Italian impersonal statement is the phrase, “Come si dice…” This simple Italian phrase is used by every Italian student at one point or another when asking for help with their vocabulary. The literal translation of “Come si dice…?” is, “How does one say…” This construction is only rarely used in spoken English today, and usually in formal situations. Instead, when an English speaker wants to generalize, he or she often uses the collective “you” — directed both at no one in particular and at everyone at the same time! Especially in an informal conversation, “Come si dice…” would be translated into English as, “How do you say…?” But in Italian, when one generalizes, he or she cannot replace the “si” for “one” with “tu” for “you” the way we do in English.

Some generalizations that come up frequently in Italian conversation are listed below. The direct Italian translation is given first, with the English phrase more commonly used to express the same idea in the following translation. You may want to remember the first example when asking for help with your Italian!

Come si dice…?	How (does) one say…? How do you say…?
Come si dicono…?	How (do) they say… How (do) you all say...

In Italia, si parla italiano.	In Italy, one speaks Italian. In Italy, Italian is spoken.
In America, si parlano molte lingue.	In America, they speak many languages. In America, many languages are spoken.

Si può fare?	Can one do it? Can it be done? Can you do it?
Si sa che…	One knows that… You know that…
Non si sa mai!	One never knows! You never know!

Impersonal statements can also be used to describe a rule and are often found in Italian sayings or proverbs.

Si deve obbedire alla legge.	One must obey the law. You have to obey the law.
Non si paga per parcheggiare la domenica.	One doesn’t pay for parking on Sundays. You don’t pay for parking on Sundays.

Qualche volta, uno si trova a un bivio della propria vita.	Sometimes, one finds himself at a crossroads of his life.
Vivendo s’impara.	One learns by living.

Use Italian impersonal statements when giving directions, such as when talking a friend through a recipe for a favorite dish. For instance, to describe how to make your family’s Italian tomato sauce, use the common verbs aggiungere (to add) and mettere (to put) in the third person singular with the reflexive pronoun “si” to describe how “one” cooks. For examples, see the first table below. In English, of course, we default to “you” when giving directions to someone in conversation, and this is reflected in the translation. To follow are a few pointers about how to cook pasta to go with that delicious pot of tomato sauce!

Prima, si taglia a pezzi una cipolla e uno spicchio d’aglio.	First, one chops an onion and a clove of garlic into small pieces. First, you chop…
Poi, si mette la verdura in pentola con l’olio di oliva.	Then, one puts the vegetables in a pot with olive oil. Then, you put…
Li si cuoce, si mescola bene, fino a quando tutti e due sono morbidi.	One cooks them, sautéing well, until both are soft. You cook them…
Si aggiunge la passata di pomodoro, l’acqua, e il basilico.	One adds tomato puree, water, and basil. You add…
Si agguinge un po’ di sale e pepe.	One adds a little bit of salt and pepper. You add…
Si cuoce la salsa per almeno un’ora, e si mescola bene.	One cooks the sauce for at least one hour, stirring well. You cook the sauce… and you mix…

Per la pasta perfetta, si deve seguire questo metodo:	For the perfect pasta, one must follow this method: For the perfect pasta, you must…
Si mette una pentola grande con tanta acqua sui fornelli.	One puts a large pot with lots of water on the stovetop. You put…
Si copre e si riscalda l’aqua fino a bollire.	One covers it and heats up the water until it is boiling. You cover it… you bring the water to boil…
Si aggiunge una manciata di sale, si ricopre la pentola, e si riscalda l’aqua fino a fare bollire di nuovo.	One adds a handful (lots) of salt, one covers the pot, and brings the water to boil again. You add… you recover the pot… and you bring the water to boil…
Quando l’acqua sta bollendo, scoperchiare la pentola e aggiungere la pasta. Si deve mescolare bene a questo punto.	When the water is boiling, uncover the pot and add the pasta. One must mix well at this point. You must mix well…
Si fa bollire la pasta secondo le istruzioni nella scatola della pasta.	One must boil the pasta according to the directions on the pasta box. You must boil the pasta…
Quando la pasta è al dente, scolare l’acqua e aggiungere la salsa!	When the pasta is “al dente,” drain the water and add the sauce!

How to Describe Movement with
Italian Reflexive Verbs

When an inanimate object does something automatically, this idea is rendered in Italian using the third person of a reflexive verb. In many situations, Italian uses a reflexive verb to describe movement when English relays the same idea by combining the verb with a preposition, such as “on” or “up.” Note that in English, the preposition is added only to change the meaning of the verb. In the same way, Italian uses a reflexive verb, with its reflexive pronoun, to change the meaning of a verb.

Let’s take a simple, everyday situation at home for our first example: “Ann turns on the light.” The verb that means “turn on” in Italian is accendere and the Italian translation is, “Anna accende la luce.” However, electric lights can be programmed to turn on automatically. In English, I can say, “The automatic light turns itself on when I enter the room.” Although the preposition “on” is required in English, the reflexive pronoun “itself” is optional. To convey the same idea, it is mandatory in Italian to use the reflexive verb accendersi: “La luce automatica si accende quando entro la stanza.”

In short, English sometimes uses a third person reflexive verb to describe an automatic action but often does not, instead relying on the addition of a preposition. Italian is more consistent, with a reflexive counterpart to most verbs of action that refer to mechanical movement.

Another simple action that requires a reflexive verb in Italian and a verb + preposition combination in English is that of “rising up” or “going up.” The verb alzare means “to raise” or “to lift” something. “I lifted the box onto the table,” is a simple sentence that translates as, “Ho alzato la scatola sul tavolo.” But if a person “gets up” in the morning, the action becomes reflexive and the verb alzarsi is needed. Similarly, a bird or an inanimate object such as a kite can “rise up” or “go up” into the sky and the verb alzarsi once again comes into play.

Below are some examples of how Italians use reflexive verbs to describe movement of inanimate objects. Notice exceptions to what we have just discussed: the verb cominciare (to start) and cadere (to fall) are not reflexive when speaking about an inanimate object. However, mettersi a followed by an infinitive verb can be used in the third person to describe an inanimate object or an act of nature starting to do something by itself. Also, the verb smettere (to stop) is not used in a reflexive way, although fermare, which also means to stop, does have a reflexive counterpart: the verb fermarsi.

La luce automatica si accende quando entro la stanza.	The automatic light turns (itself) on when I enter the room.
Le luci della casa si accendono ogni sera.	The house lights turn (themselves) on every night.
Le luci della casa si spengono ogni sera.	The house lights turn (themselves) off every morning.

L’acensore si apre.	The elevator opens.
L’acensore si chiude.	The elevator shuts.

Il treno comincia l’itinerario.

Il treno si mette ad andare velocemente.

The train starts its route.

The train starts to go fast.

Il treno si ferma automaticamente.

The train stops automatically.

Il gabbiano si alza e vola via.	The sea gull rises up and flies away.
L’aquilone si alza nelle nuvole.	The kite rises into the clouds.
Le foglie cadono per terra ogni autunno.	The leaves fall to the ground every autumn.

How to Describe Nature and Life with
Italian Reflexive Verbs

We all know the forces of nature well, as they act every day to create the environment in which we live. Since nature is an inanimate being, the actions of the weather are often given with reflexive verbs in Italian. Listen closely to the Italian news and you will hear about how a volcano in Sicily finally stopped erupting, or how the sea has begun to rise in the Venetian lagoon — all described in the third person with Italian reflexive verbs!

For the common phrases that describe what weather “it” is making, such as, “Fa caldo oggi” (“It is hot today”) or “Fa freddo oggi” (“It is cold today”), Italians use fare in the third person without an indirect object pronoun. But to say, “It is getting late,” or “It is getting dark,” we use the reflexive farsi for the phrases, “Si fa tarde” or “Si fa buio.” (For more of these common phrases, visit our blog in this series, “Lets talk about… the weather in Italian!”)

In the same way, it is often necessary to use Italian reflexive verbs when speaking about abstract forces that can “act” on our lives. Life itself is often spoken of as “moving” slowly or quickly. However, there is no reflexive verb for passare, so time can be seen as “passing by” without the addition of a reflexive pronoun. (For more ways to use passare, visit our blog in this series, “The Many Uses of Passare.” )

In short, to understand the nuances of how to use reflexive verbs to describe actions of the weather or make generalizations about life, it is helpful to listen to native Italians as much as possible. In this way, it will eventually become natural to use Italian verbs the way Italians do!

The examples discussed above are listed below.

L’eruzione del vulcano in Sicilia si è fermato.	The eruption of the volcano in Sicily has stopped.
L’acqua a Venezia si è alzata due metri e si sta alzando ancora!	The water in Venice has risen 2 meters and is still rising!
Fa caldo oggi. / Fa freddo oggi.	It is warm today. / It is cold today
Si fa tarde. / Si fa buio.	It’s getting late. / It is getting dark.

Nella campagna, la vita si muove lentamente.	In the country, life moves slowly.
Il tempo passa lentamente quando si aspetta.	Time passes slowly for one who waits (when one is waiting for something.)

Listen carefully to Italians when they speak
and I guarantee you will hear
Italian impersonal statements and Italian reflexive verbs
every day!

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – Let’s Talk About… An Italian Christmas Celebration

Photo of two Conversational Italian for Travelers books downloaded on smart phones with smiling snow man next to the books.

December 7, 2021March 24, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ 3 Comments

Buon Natale a tutti voi!

Christmastime is a magical time in Italy. The colorful decorations and holiday lights that adorn every Italian town bring with them a feeling of celebration that inspires children and adults alike. Italians of Jewish faith celebrate Chanukah in December as well, with glowing candles that bring their own special beauty to the December evenings. Chanukah was celebrated earlier this month, and if you’d like to learn more about how Chanukah is celebrated in Italy, please visit the blog “Our Italy — Celebrating Chanukah in Italy.

But what really makes the December holidays special,
both in Italy and around the world? For most, it is the gathering of family and friends.

For 2021, my hope is that all people who celebrate the Christmas holiday (le vacanze di Natale) or another holiday of their faith this December, can gather with their loved ones. As of this writing, there is a good possibility that the new normal will continue to expand to include Christmas parties (le feste di Natale) and gatherings for Chanukah dinners, instead of online meetings where people are together, yet distant. Extended families and friends should be able to celebrate the joy of being in each others’ presence and even have the opportunity to introduce new friends to old ones during the holidays for 2021.

This post is the 51st in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE.

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian

are used during the
Christmas Holiday Season

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

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Christmas in Italy

There are several important holidays that Italians celebrate during the Christmas season (periodo di Natale), which begins on December 8th with L’Immacolata and ends on January 6th with L’Epifania. The feast of Santa Lucia on December 13th is also an important holiday in northern Italy and this saint day is celebrated with candles, special pastries, and presents for children who have been good during the year.

Young girl with ring of candles on her head celebrating Santa Lucia Day — Young girl celebrating Santa Lucia Day

See the table below for a list of the important celebrations that take place in Italy during the Christmas season and some common phrases that Italians use to wish each other “happy holidays.” We first encountered these phrases in our blog What I wish… for the holidays!

L’Immacolata	Feast of the Immaculate Conception: Catholic holiday that celebrates mother Mary.
Vigilia di Natale Natale	Christmas Eve Christmas
Buon Natale! Buone Feste!	Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Auguri di buon Natale!	Best wishes for a merry Christmas!
Tanti Auguri! / Auguri!	Best wishes!
Il biglietto di auguri Natalizi Regalo di Natale	Christmas greeting card Christmas gift

L’ultimo dell’anno	New Year’s Eve
La notte di San Silvestro	December 31st is the feast day of San Silvestro for the Catholic church.
Capodanno	New Year’s Day
Buon anno nuovo! Buon anno!	Happy New Year! (used most often)
Felice anno nuovo!	Happy New Year!
L’Epifania	Epiphany: Catholic holiday that celebrates when “Wise Men” visited the baby Jesus. In Italy, gifts are exchanged on this day. Italian tradition holds that a friendly witch, La Befana, brings gifts to children on this day, although Santa Claus is also celebrated.

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An Italian Holiday Party Conversation

When at a holiday party where Italian is spoken,
one will surely encounter the introductory phrases and polite responses below.

Introductions:

The most common Italian introduction at a gathering is a familiar phrase — a phrase used when a person introduces one of their friends to another. For example, let’s assume Pietro and Caterina are friends. Pietro wants to introduce Caterina to another of his friends, Paolo. He will do this with the simple sentence, “Caterina, ti presento il mio amico Paolo.” Pietro uses the informal “ti” since he is already friends with Caterina, the person to whom he is speaking.

In a more formal situation, Pietro may want to introduce someone he does not know well to one of his friends. In this case, if Pietro is addressing either a woman or a man, he will need to use “Le” (“polite you” indirect object pronoun). To stay in the polite mode of conversation, Pietro will likely introduce one guest to another using their last names with a polite title, such as il Signor (Mr.), la Signora (Mrs.), or la Signorina (Miss).

Keep in mind that in English we do not use the same sentence structure as in Italian, so the English translation of these phrases will not follow the Italian word for word. We may start out with “Let me” or “I would like to” and then add “introduce you to…” Also, in an informal situation, English speakers in America tend to omit the “Let me introduce you to” altogether! Instead, an English speaker might just say something like, “Kathy, meet my friend Paul.”

Several options to use when making an introduction are listed below. Remember to use the direct article before the title for a formal introduction!

Caterina, ti presento il mio amico Paolo.	Kathy, let me introduce you to my friend Paul. Kathy, meet my friend Paul.
Signor Rossi, Le presento il Signor Manzini.	Mr. Rossi, let me introduce you to Mr. Manzini.
Signora Rossi, Le presento il Signor Manzini.	Mrs. Rossi, let me introduce you to Mr. Manzini.
Signorina Rossi, Le presento il Signor Manzini.	Miss Rossi, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Manzini.

Responses:

At first glance at the table below, the responses to an Italian introduction may seem a bit complicated, because they have several variations. The most important key to understanding which of these variations to choose is the formality of the situation.

In the initial phrases in this table, “Piacere di conoscerla“ and “Piacere di conoscerti,“ the difference between the two phrases will depend on whether one is speaking in the polite (pol.) or the familiar (fam.). The polite phrases are given first in our example list, as it is the norm in Italy to use the polite form with a new acquaintance. The familiar form of this phrase is often be used between younger people, who tend to be less formal, and may also be appropriate among older adults of the same age or social status. If you need a refresher on when to use polite and formal Italian phrases, please refer to our blog Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – Getting from polite to familiar with “Dare del tu.”

The other reason there are so many variations to learn when introductions are made is the Italian use of masculine and feminine nouns and adjectives. Every Italian student learns early on that nouns and adjectives must agree in gender and number.* At first, it may not be obvious that one is using an adjective at the beginning of the sentence, “Lieto(a) di conoscerla/ti,” since these phrases are used so often in Italy that the subject and verb of the sentence, “I am…” have been left out! The full sentence, “I am delighted to meet you,” though, makes it clear that the verb essere (to be) is in use, and of course the ending for the adjective lieto(a) for delighted must reflect back to the gender of the speaker to make sense.

The easiest thing for the Italian student to do, of course, is to pick out the phrase that corresponds to their own situation and memorize the endings. But these phrases provide a good opportunity to learn how to change Italian endings quickly and easily and can provide a pattern for more complicated sentences. For the examples below, the nouns, adverbs, and prepositions are black, the verbs are green, the polite/familiar pronouns red, masculine adjectives blue, and feminine adjectives brown.

Piacere di conoscerla. Piacere di conoscerti.	Pleased to meet you (pol.). Please to meet you (fam.).
Piacere mio.	The pleasure is mine.
Lieto di conoscerla. Lieta di conoscerla. Lieto di conoscerti. Lieta di conoscerti.	Delighted (masc. speaker) to meet you (pol.). Delighted (fem. speaker) to meet you (pol.). Delighted (masc. speaker) to meet you (fam.). Delighted (fem. speaker) to meet you (fam.).
Molto lieto! Molto lieta!	Delighted! (masc. speaker) Delighted! (fem. speaker)
Sono molto contento di vederla. Sono molto contenta di vederla. Sono molto contento di vederti. Sono molto contenta di vederti.	(I) am very happy (masc. speaker) to see you (pol.). (I) am very happy (fem. speaker) to see you (pol.). (I) am very happy (masc. speaker) to see you (fam.). (I) am very happy (fem. speaker) to see you (pol.).
Sono felice di rivederla. Sono felice di rivederti.	(I) am happy to see you (pol.) again. (I) am happy to see you (fam.) again.

*Italian nouns are assigned a gender, either masculine or feminine. Italian adjectives, which modify nouns, will change their endings to match the noun modified. In general, Italian nouns will end in -o if masculine and -a if feminine. A noun that ends in -e can be either masculine or feminine. There are, of course, many exceptions to these rules!

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Below is an excerpt from the Conversational Italian for Travelers story found on the website www.learntravelitalian.com. This short dialogue will allow us to put together all we have discussed about what to say when introducing and meeting others at an Italian holiday party. In this dialogue, Pietro introduces his cousin Caterina to his friends Luigi and Paolo. This simple conversation uses phrases that are repeated over and over again at Italian gatherings of every type.

At the end of the dialogue printed here is a common transition phrase that takes Caterina into the familiar form with Pietro’s friends, “Diamoci del tu, per favore!” We have discussed this phrase and others used to make the transition from a polite to a formal situation in a previous blog, “Getting from Polite to Familiar in Italian with ‘Dare del tu!'” With this simple line, a friendly conversation can truly begin! To listen to the remainder this conversation in its entirety, just click on the link It’s a Party!

Pietro:	Caterina, ti presento il mio amico Paolo.
	Kathy, (I) introduce to you (fam.) my friend Paul.

Caterina:	Piacere di conoscerla.
	(It is a) pleasure to meet you (fam.).
	(Caterina uses the polite form for a person she has just met, even though Paolo is Pietro’s friend.)

Pietro:	E questo è il mio amico Luigi.
	And this is my friend Louis.

Caterina:	Piacere.
	(It is) a pleasure.

Luigi:	Piacere mio. Io sono professore dell’italiano, come Pietro.
	Paolo è un medico.
	(The) pleasure is mine. I am (an) Italian professor, like Peter.
	Paul is a physician.

Caterina:	Molto interessante.
	Very interesting.

Paolo:	Io sono di Novara, una città vicino a Milano.
	Diamoci del tu, per favore!
	I am from Novara, a town near to Milan.
	Let’s use the familiar form of you with each other, please!
	(Paolo officially asks if he can use the familiar, or “tu” form with Caterina.)

Caterina:	Va bene. Volentieri!
	O.K. Gladly!

Warm wishes for a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year
filled with treasured time
together with family and friends!

Auguri a tutti voi!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! — The many uses of the Italian verb “Tenere”

November 2, 2021March 24, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2021?

Many Italian verbs have a similar use to those in English, which simplifies translation from one language to the other. However, many times the meaning of an Italian verb will vary from the usual English connotation. And in many situations, the same verb can have several different meanings in both languages, depending on the context. Tenere (along with its reflexive form tenersi, and the pronominal verb tenerci) is one of those verbs that is used in many ways in Italian and is important to “keep in mind” if one wants to use it correctly.

As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.

If we learn how to incorporate “commonly used phrases” when use the Italian verb tenere, we will be able to communicate just as we do in our native language!

This post is the 50th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases” in conversation
use the Italian verb
tenere.
See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

************************************************

Let’s Talk About…

The Many Uses of the Italian Verb

Tenere

The Italian verb tenere has a wide range of meanings and its use lends a bit of sophistication to one’s Italian. It is important to “keep in mind” the nuances of the verb tenere to create sentences as we would in our native language.

The Italian verb tenere is most often translated into English as “to hold” or “to keep.” It can be used in a simple way, to describe holding an object or holding another’s hand. As in English, the verb tenere can also mean “to hold,” with reference to capacity, as in how many objects or people can occupy or be contained in a certain space or place. The word “hold” in English can also take on the connotation of “to support” something (as a column holds up a roof) or someone (as a fan supports his team). So it is with tenere, which can mean “to support.”

Tenere is an important verb to use when dining at an Italian restaurant to tell someone to “keep the change.”

When the verb tenere is combined with the phrase “conto di,” it takes on different shades of meaning. [Tenere + conto di] is used to describe the concepts of keeping something in mind, keeping track of something, or being aware of something. The phrase can also have the connotation of considering or taking to heart important issues.

Combining the verb tenere with “conto che,” as in [tenere + conto che], adds yet another nuance to the original ideas of “to keep” or “to hold,” and is used to convey the idea of to consider. [Tenere in conto + noun] means to consider something.

Tenersi, the reflexive form of tenere, is also often used in the important everyday phrase “keep/stay in contact” and is a nice way to end a conversation or an email with a friend. Tenersi is often used when giving another instructions to hang/hold onto something or abide by/follow certain rules and regulations. If your emotions get the best of you and you can’t keep from laughing or crying, then use [tenersi + da] to get this point across!

There are many common Italian expressions that combine tenere with the preposition “a.” A few of these expressions will be listed in example sentences below.

When the verb tenere is combined with the preposition “a” and an adverb or adjective, as in [tenere +a +molto] the meaning changes once again. [Tenere + a] means to care about someone or something. You might think of using tenere in this way as being similar to the English phrase “to hold someone dear.” Consider also that the adjective tenero(a) is used to describe the following characteristics: tender, sensitive, or warm. For full emphasis, the pronominal verb tenerci followed by “a” [tenerci + a] can be used to stress the importance of something. A description of pronominal verbs and their uses is beyond the scope of this blog, but rest assured, if you add the pronoun “ci” before “tengo a,” you are telling someone that something is important to you!

Finally, in some important Italian phrases, tenere can be used interchangeably with the verb avere, and take on the meaning of “to have.”* Using tenere in this manner is a subtle way to emphasize that you are “keeping” or “holding close” the thing that you have.

Let’s talk about how to conjugate tenere in the present, past, and future tenses before using it in some example sentences.

Present tense: tenere is an irregular -ere verb in the present tense, since it has an irregular stem in all forms but the noi and voi forms. The present tense conjugation is below. The irregular stem is in brown:

io	tengo
tu	tieni
Lei,lei,lui	tiene
noi	teniamo
voi	tenete
loro	tengono

Past tense: When used in the passato prossimo to describe a single event, avere is the helping verb and the past participle is tenuto.

Tenere is regular in the imperfetto past tense (tenevo, tenevi, teneva, tenevamo, tenevate, tenevano).

Future tense: Tenere is irregular in the future tense due to it’s irregular stem.

io	terrò
tu	terrai
Lei,lei,lui	terrà
noi	terremo
voi	terrete
loro	terranno

1. Use tenere to describe the simple act of holding something or holding someone’s hand.

Tenere can also be used to refer to the capacity of something, or “how much” a certain thing or a place can hold.
Tenere can mean “to support” something or somebody.

Tieni stretto questo biglietto; tienilo in mano; non lasciarlo!

Hold this ticket tightly; hold it in your hand; don’t lose it!

Mi piace tenere la mano del mio fidanzato quando camminiamo in piazza.

I like to hold my fiance’s hand when we take a walk in the piazza.

L’Allianz Stadium a Torino tiene 41,507 spettatori.*

The Allianz Stadium in Turin holds 41,507 spectators.

Ho raccolto tutti i fiori che posso tenere in una mano!

I have collected all the flowers that I can hold in one hand!

Vengo da Turino. Tengo per la Juve / Tifo per la Juve. **

I am from Turin. I support/root for the Juventus soccer team.

Le mure sono molto vecchie. Grazie di Dio le colanne tiene il tetto!

The walls are very old. Thank goodness the columns support the roof!

* Regarding the use of tenere with the meaning of “to have/to own/to possess”: the verb tenere is used mostly in the south of Italy, while in the north they would simply use the verb avere (example: Lo stadio ha 41,507 spettatori.).

**Regarding the use of tenere to describe support for a sports team: “tengo per” is used in the south of Italy. “Tifo per” is used in the north.

2. Use tenere to mean “to keep” — the simple act of keeping something in a place.

In a restaurant, a common phrase spoken by the customer to the waiter in both English and Italian is, “Keep the change!” In Italian, the polite command (subjunctive) form of tenere is used for this phrase, often with the addition of the Italian word “pure“ which serves to encourage the server to keep the tip. Use of the subjunctive is beyond the scope of this blog. Just memorize this simple phrase, which should come up often!

Tengo gli attrezzi per cucinare di là.

I keep the cooking utensils over there.

Tenga pure il resto!

Keep the change, please!

3. Use [tenere + conto di] with the figurative meanings listed below.

to keep something in mind
- [tenere a mente] also means “to keep something in mind”
to keep track of something
to consider (See also #4, listed below)
- [tenere in conto + noun] and [tenere conto che] also mean “to consider”
- “non tenere in sufficiente considerazione a…” means
  “not to give sufficient consideration to…“
to take to heart

Ho dovuto tenere conto di tutte le regole che tu mi hai detto al lavoro.

I have to keep in mind all the rules you told me at work.

Tieni conto dei clienti e dagli quello che vogliono!

Keep track of the clients and give them what they want!

Terrò conto del fatto che il gruppo ha lavorato molto quando gli darò gli incentivi.

I will consider that the group has worked hard when I give them the bonuses.

Mi raccomando, tieni conto di quello che io ho detto!

I insist/demand/ (that you) take to heart what I have said!

Ho tenuto conto di tutto che tu hai detto. E sono d’accordo!

I’ve considered all that you have said. And I agree!

4. Use [tenere + conto che] or [tenere in conto + noun]

for “to consider.”

“non tenere in sufficiente considerazione a…” means
“not to give sufficient consideration to…“
[tenere conto di] can also mean “to consider” (See #3).

Devo tenere conto che ci sono molte opinioni in questo gruppo prima di prendere una decisione.

I have to consider that there are many opinions in this group before making a decision.

Devo tenere in conto anche le altre regole.

I must also consider the other rules.

5. Use the reflexive verb tenersi to ask someone to “keep/stay” in touch or give a command to “follow/abide by” a rule.

Other translations of tenersi include “hang onto” and “hold onto”.
[Tenersi + da] can also be used to express the phrase “to keep from…” doing something, such as laughing or crying. In this case, tenere is often combined with the verb riuscire, which means “to manage to,” and further emphasizes the effort one has put into trying to “keep from” doing something. To learn more about how to use the verb riuscire, visit another blog in this series: “The Many Uses of the Italian Verb “Ruscire.”

Teniamoci in contatto!

Let’s keep in touch (with each other)!

Ragazzi, tenetevi al regolamento o non vincerete la partita!

Boys, follow the rules or you all will not win the game!

Tieniti il tuo cappello; è molto ventoso oggi!

Hang onto your hat; it’s very windy today!

Tieniti alla ringhiera bambini!

Hold onto the handrail, children!

Questo film è molto triste. Non riesco a tenermi dal piangere.

This film is very sad. I can’t manage to keep from crying.

Quello attore era molto divertente. Non riuscivo a tenermi dal ridere.

That actor was very funny. I couldn’t keep from laughing.

6. Common Italian phrases with [tenere + a]

Tenere a bada = Tieni a bada i tuoi animali domestici.

To keep under control = Keep your pets under control.

Tenere a cavezza = Marco tiene a cavezza i suoi figli.

To keep someone under one’s thumb =Mark keeps his children under his thumb.

Tenere a freno = La famiglia di Anna tiene a freno tutte le ragazze.

To keep a tight rein on = Ann’s family keeps a tight rein on all the girls.
To hold back

Tenere a battesimo = Anna teneva a battesimo la sua nipote.

To sponsor a child at baptism = Ann sponsored her niece at the baptism.
To be a godfather or godmother Ann became her niece’s godmother.

Tenere a distanza = Maria tiene a distanza da Marco perché non le piace.

To keep at a distance = Maria stays away from Mark because she doesn’t like him.

Tenere a balia = Marco teneva a balia questo lavoro
perché lui è pagato a ore.

To drag out = Mark dragged out this job
To take longer than necessary because he was paid by the hour.

Tenere a pane e acqua =Marco tiene a pane e acqua Maria oggi.

To punish somebody =Marco punished Maria today.
(lit. to keep somebody on bread and water)

Tenere a pigione = Caterina tiene a pigione la sua casa in campagna ai suoi cugini.

To have as tenants =Kathy is renting her house in the country to her cousins.
To rent

Tenere aggiornata = Marco tiene aggiornato Maria sulle notizie ogni giorno.

To keep somebody updated =Marco keeps Maria updated on the news every day.
To keep somebody posted/in the loop about something

Tenere all’oscuro di = Marco teneva all’oscuro Anna dalla notizia.

To keep somebody in the dark about something =Mark kept Ann in the dark about the news.

Tenere alto il morale = Marco ha tenuto alto il morale della sua squadra anche
se stavano perdendo

To lift up someone’s spirits = Mark lifted up the spirits of his team even when they were losing.

Tenere alta la bandiera = Teniamo alta la bandiera della nostra città.

To honor your homeland or city = We honor/bring honor to our city.
(lit. to hang the flag high)

7. Use [tenere + a + adverb/adjective] or [tenerci + a] to describe caring about something very much

Remember another way to talk about platonic love and caring among family members and friends is to use the verb volerci, with the phrase, “Ti voglio bene.” For a review of the many ways to express one’s feelings of love, visit our blog in this series: “How to Talk About Relationships and Love in Italian.”
[Tenerci + a] can also be used in an introductory phrase when the speaker wants to emphasize the importance of what they will talk about or what they have done. Therefore, this phrase is often followed by the verb dire or fare.

La mamma tiene molto ai suoi bambini.

The mother cares very much for her children.

La mamma ci tiene a loro.

The mother cares very much for them.

Ci tieni a me?

Do you care about me?

Si! Ci tengo a te!

Yes! I care about you!

Ci tengo a dire che studiare la cultura è l’unico modo di capire un altra lingua.

It’s important to me to say that studying the culture is the only way to understand another language.

Ci tengo a fare la cosa giusta.

It’s important to me to do the right thing.

8. Use the tenere in place of avere for certain expressions.

Avere famiglia / tenere famiglia = Ho/Tengo una famiglia con tre figli a Roma.

To have a family =I have a family with three children in Rome.

Avere sotto il braccio / tenere sotto il bracchio =Ho/Tengo il pane sotto il braccio e cammino a casa.

To carry underarm =I carry the bread underarm and walk home.

Avere in serbo / tenere in serbo =Ho/Tengo una speciale bottiglia di vino per te.

To set something aside =I have set aside a special bottle of wine for you.

Avere in serbo / Tenere in serbo =Ho/Tengo una sorpresa per te!

To have something in store for someone (figurative) =I have a surpise for you!

Remember how to use the Italian verbs tenere, tenersi, and tenerci in conversation
and I guarantee you will use these verbs every day!

Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – Let’s talk about… Soccer in Italian!

October 5, 2021March 24, 2022 ~ stellalucentellc ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2021?

Why not try to learn a few words about a sport that is an integral part of Italian society? Of course I am referring to soccer, or calcio as the Italians call the popular sport, derived from the verb calciare, which means “to kick.”

After Italy’s thrilling victory at the UEFA EURO 2020 this past July, I decided to revisit a couple of blogs I’ve written about Italians and their passion for soccer. I’ll expand on these blogs today to give a brief history of the sport, talk about Italy’s most popular soccer team and the Italian victories at the FIFA and UEFA competitions, all while focusing on basic Italian words and phrases about the game.

As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.

If we learn how to incorporate “commonly used phrases” when we talk about soccer in Italian, we will be able to communicate just as we do in our native language!

Were you able to watch EURO 2020 this past summer? Was it your first introduction to Italian soccer or were you already a lifelong fan? If you are in a soccer league here in the United States or just like to watch soccer at home, knowing a few Italian words and phrases will certainly add to the excitement of being involved in this truly Italian sport!

This post is the 49th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE

Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian

are used to talk about
Italian Football, or Calcio.

See below for how this works.

As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?

Please reply. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.

The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference books Just the Verbs and Just the Grammar

found on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com.

The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained at Learn Travel Italian.com.

************************************************

Let’s Talk About…

Soccer in Italian

Italy’s thrilling victory over England at the UEFA EURO 2020 soccer championship this past July sparked a week-long, country-wide celebration. Why not try to learn a few words about a sport that is an Italian passion? Calcio, as the Italians call this popular sport, is derived from the verb calciare, which means “to kick.” If you are in a soccer league here in the US or just like to watch soccer at home, knowing a few Italian words and phrases will certainly add to the excitement of being involved in this Italian passion!

Soccer — a brief history of the game

The basic idea behind soccer — a game of skill that involves kicking a ball — is said to date back as far as 2500 B.C., as a form of the game we know today was played by the Greeks, Egyptians and Chinese. The Roman game of Harpastum and the ancient Greek game of Episkyros were ball games that involved two teams kicking a ball but also allowed the use of hands or sticks, similar to today’s rugby.

According to the blog “The Origin, History, and Invention of Soccer”:

“The most relevant of these ancient games to our modern day “Association Football” is the Chinese game of Tsu’Chu (Tsu-Chu or Cuju, meaning “kicking the ball”). Records of the game began during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) and it may have been a training exercise for soldiers.

Tsu’Chu involved kicking a small leather ball into a net strung between two bamboo poles. The use of hands was not permitted, but a player could use his feet and other parts of his body. The main difference between Tsu’Chu and soccer was the height of the goal, which hung about 30 feet from the ground.

From the introduction of Tsu’Chu onwards, soccer-like games spread throughout the world. Many cultures had activities that centered on the use of their feet, including Japan’s Kemari, which is still played today. The Native Americans had Pahsaherman, the Indigenous Australians played Marn Grook, and the Moari’s had Ki-o-rahi, to name a few.”

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“Soccer began to evolve in modern Europe from the medieval period onwards. Various forms of what is now known as “folk football” were played (in England). The codification of soccer began in the public schools of Britain at the beginning of the 19th century. The word soccer was derived from an abbreviation from the word association. The -er suffix was popular slang at the Rugby School and Oxford University and used for all sorts of nouns the young men shortened. The association came from the formation of the Football Association (FA) on October 26, 1863.

Over the years, more clubs joined the FA until the number reached 128 by 1887. (England) finally had a nearly uniform rule structure in place.

Italian Soccer Victories

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) was formed in Paris in 1904 with seven members. This included Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Germany announced its intention to join the same day.

In 1930, the first-ever FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay. There were 41 members of FIFA at the time and it has remained the pinnacle of the soccer world ever since. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.”

Statistics about Italian Soccer Victories from “Wikipedia: Italy at the FIFA World Cup”:

Italy is one of the most successful national teams in the history of the FIFA World Cup,
having won four titles (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), just one fewer than Brazil.

The UEFA, or the Union of European Football Associations dates back to 1927, when the French Football Federation’s administrator Henri Delaunay first proposed a pan-European football tournament. The UEFA Champions League is an annual club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations and holds annual competitions.

Statistics about Italian Soccer Victories from “Sports Adda”:

Prior to their championship win of the EURO 200 in 2021,
the Italy national football team had reached the European Championship final in 1968, 2000 and 2012.
And Italy’s (last) title win in the UEFA Euros came in 1968,
when the Blues had beaten Yugoslavia over two matches (in Rome).

What do Italians call the different games of foot ball played around the world?

Football (UK)	il calcio
Soccer (US)	il calcio
To play soccer	giocare a calcio
To enjoy playing soccer	divertirsi giocando a calcio

Football (AU)	football australiano
Football (US)	il football americano
College football ( US)	il football universiatrio
Rugby	la palla ovale

Juventus – the most well-known soccer team in Italy

Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy — Allianz Arena in Turin, Italy. Home of the Juventus soccer team.

From a previous Conversational Italian! blog entitled “Italian Soccer, anyone?”

Juventus was founded in 1897 by a group of male students from an elite school in the city of Turin, the Liceo Classico Massimo d’Azeglio. The Latin word for “youth” is “iuvenis,” and is where the name of this team comes from. For years, I wondered why the letter “J” starts the name of this famous Italian team when “J” doesn’t exist in the Italian language. It turns out that the name was translated from Latin into the dialect spoken in the Piedmont region of northern Italy at the time, which does use the letter “J.”

Over the years, the Juventus team has been called by many nicknames. Perhaps the most famous is “Vecchia Signora,” which means “Old Lady” in Italian. I’ve heard many explanations for this, but the most plausible seems to be that it is a reference to the history and greatness of the team — the team is like royalty over in Italy, and signora means both “Mrs.” and “royal lady.” Of course, this name can also be taken ironically because the team includes young men.

Juventus, the most successful Italian soccer team of all time, plays in the top Italian football league, which is the Serie A League. The winner of this league is awarded the Scudetto (“little shield” or “coat of arms” of the Italian tricolors worn on the uniform the next season) and the title Campioni d’Italia (Champions of Italy), along with a trophy called the Coppa Campioni d’Italia. In the 2016–2017 season, Juventus made history with their sixth consecutive Scudetto. They went on to play in the European Champions Cup but did not win a European title that season.

The Italian Soccer Team and Soccer Match

Juventus Soccer players — Juventus soccer players at Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy

For those who are new to the game of soccer, below is some Italian vocabulary and an explanation of the basic rules.

A soccer tournament is called un torneo di calcio. A soccer commentator is called un critico di calcio or un/un’ opinionista di calcio.

A soccer match, or partita di calcio, is played by two teams. Each soccer team, or soccer club, is called una squadra di calcio.

When playing a soccer game, 11 players can be on the field at any one time, one of whom is a goalkeeper. A soccer match lasts 90 minutes. There is a halftime break, called l’intervallo, after 45 minutes. If the score is tied, the game may go into overtime — as happened just this summer at the exciting conclusion of the EURO 2020.

The object of soccer is for a player to get the ball into the other team’s goal by using
any part of the body except the player’s hands and arms — and then only while he is
located in his own penalty area.

The referee, or l’arbitro, is in charge of the soccer game. The calls the referee makes may be a bit confusing to the new soccer fan. Some penalties are more severe than others. Yellow and red cards are given to players who violate certain basic rules. This will determine the type of penalty imposed for a given infraction. For further explanation of these rules, I suggest the blog “The 17 Basic Rules of Soccer.”

A typical soccer field, or campo da calcio, from “The 17 Basic Rules of Soccer”:

The art of the game:

la palla / il pallone calciare	soccer ball to kick
calcio d’inizio calcio d’angolo calcio di rigore calcio di punizione deviare la palla	kick off corner kick penalty kick free kick deflect the ball
la rete gol fare gol segnare marcare	net used for the goal the goal to make a goal/to score to score to score
l’allenatore	soccer coach
il giocatore	soccer player
il calciatore	soccer player
il portiere	goal keeper/goalie
l’arbitro	referee/umpire
la gara	competition
il fallo di mano	foul for using one’s hands
il fallo di reazione	retaliatory foul
il fallo da ultimo uomo	last man foul
il fallo a gamba tesa	studs-up tackle
la scorrettezza	foul play/rudeness
scorretto(a)	improper/rude
l’insulto	insult
il cartellino giallo	yellow “caution” card is given for improper play, hand foul, or unsportsmanlike or rude behavior
l’espulsione	expulsion from a soccer game occurs if a player receives two yellow cards
il cartellino rosso	red “expulsion” card occurs for a serious foul using violence, a retaliatory foul, a last man foul, insults, or when two yellow cards have been received

The Italian Soccer Fan

The Italian phrases that describe an Italian soccer fan echo the passion that they feel for the sport: appasionato di calcio, fanatico del calcio, and fan del calcio/tifoso di calcio.

A popular exhortation to encourage a team to score is “Rete!” “Score!” / “Into the net!”

When at a Juventus soccer game, the popular chant is Forza Azzuri!, which is a reference to the team’s blue uniforms. The word forza literally means strength but is also used in this case as an exhortation, to mean , “Come on!” The Italians also wear blue uniforms during international competition, so this chant is appropriate at FIFA and European matches as well. (By the way, Italians do not chant “Forza Italia!” as this phrase has been usurped by an Italian political party, which took the name “Forza Italia” when led by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.)

Another popular chant includes the name of a team player:

Solo noi, solo noi, (name of player) ce l’abbiamo solo noi!
Only us, only us, (name of player) only we have him!

Have fun playing soccer!

For anyone inspired to play soccer by Italy’s recent win at the EURO 2020, below are a few Italian terms to urge on your teammates!

I’ve got him!	Mio! Quello è mio!
One on one	uno contro uno

I’m marking that man (I have him)	Ce l’ho!
Try to avoid the marking of an opponent	Smarcati! /Liberati!

Go on wing	Vai sulla fasica! / Allargati!
Pass the ball to the wingman right/left	apri a destra/sinestra

From one side of the field to the other	da porta a porta
Pass it through the defenders!	In mezzo!

Corner!	Calcio d’angolo
Leave it!	Lasciala!

If you are a fan of Italian soccer, leave a comment about your favorite Italian team
or the most exciting game you’ve watched.
I’d love to hear from you!

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Use “Da” to SayWhere You are From

Use “Da” or “A” to DescribeVisiting an Office or Home

Expressing Purpose with “Da”

Use the Italian “Da” in Reference to Time

Use the Italian “da quanto” in Reference to Time

Use the Italian preposition “Per” for a Completed Action

Use the Italian Prepositions “Per, Fra, Tra”for Future Events

General Uses for “Da”

Common Expressions with “Da”

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Choosing an Italian Past Tense

Combine the Imperfetto and Passato Prossimowith Mentre and Quando

Combine Imperfetto and Passato Prossimowith Perché and Poiché

Remember how combine imperfetto and the passato prossimoand I guaranteeyou will use these Italian past tenses every day!

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Let’s Talk About… Making Reservations in Italian

Stating the date in Italian:

Stating the time when making a reservation in Italian:

Making a Reservation in Italian: Restaurants and Hotels

Making a Reservation in Italian: Train or Theater

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Let’s Talk About…

The Many Uses of the Italian Verb

Mettere

1. Use mettere to describe the simple act of moving an object from one place and “putting” or “placing” it in another place.

2. Use mettere su to describe “putting” food “on” the stove, to “put on” something in figurative sense, or to “put up a post on” the Internet

3. Use mettersi a, mettersi in the third person, or mettere in moto to describe initiating an action

4. Use mettere in and mettere a/di to describe negative or positive emotional states or figurative positions you have been “put into.”

5. Use mettersi to describe the act of getting dressed

6. More figurative uses for mettersi and mettere

7. Use the pronominal verb phrase “mettercela tutta” as an informal way to describe that you have “put in your best effort.”

8. Common Italian sayings that use mettere

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Use “Di” to SayWhere You are From

Expressing Possession with “Di”

General Uses for “Di”

Common Expressions with “Di”Avere and Essere

When to Use “Di”to Link Italian Verbs

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Let’s Talk About… Dating in Italian

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Italian Reflexive Verbs

How to Make Impersonal Statements Italian Reflexive Pronouns

How to Describe Movement with Italian Reflexive Verbs

How to Describe Nature and Life with Italian Reflexive Verbs

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Christmas in Italy

An Italian Holiday Party Conversation

Introductions:

Responses:

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Let’s Talk About…

The Many Uses of the Italian Verb

Tenere

1. Use tenere to describe the simple act of holding something or holding someone’s hand.

2. Use tenere to mean “to keep” — the simple act of keeping something in a place.

3. Use [tenere + conto di] with the figurative meanings listed below.

4. Use [tenere + conto che] or [tenere in conto + noun]

for “to consider.”

5. Use the reflexive verb tenersi to ask someone to “keep/stay” in touch or give a command to “follow/abide by” a rule.

6. Common Italian phrases with [tenere + a]

7. Use [tenere + a + adverb/adjective] or [tenerci + a] to describe caring about something very much

8. Use the tenere in place of avere for certain expressions.

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Let’s Talk About…

Soccer in Italian

Soccer — a brief history of the game

Italian Soccer Victories

Use “Da” to Say
Where You are From

Use “Da” or “A” to Describe
Visiting an Office or Home

Use the Italian “Da”
in Reference to Time

Use the Italian “da quanto”
in Reference to Time

Use the Italian preposition “Per”
for a Completed Action

Use the Italian Prepositions “Per, Fra, Tra”
for Future Events

Combine the Imperfetto and Passato Prossimo
with Mentre and Quando

Combine Imperfetto and Passato Prossimo
with Perché and Poiché

Remember how combine imperfetto and the passato prossimo
and I guarantee
you will use these Italian past tenses every day!

Use “Di” to Say
Where You are From

Common Expressions with “Di”
Avere and Essere

When to Use “Di”
to Link Italian Verbs

How to Make Impersonal Statements
Italian Reflexive Pronouns

How to Describe Movement with
Italian Reflexive Verbs

How to Describe Nature and Life with
Italian Reflexive Verbs