All Questions

I'm in a group chat with some Italian people and they always say "uao". I already search a lot on Google but wasn't able to find anything about it. Does someone can tell me what that means?

In "Bastardi senza gloria" di Quentin Tarantino, vi è una scena in cui il tenente Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) ed i suoi commando si travestono da operatori di una troupe cinematografica italiana ed ...

Nel racconto L'andata di Beppe Fenoglio ho letto:       Negus senza guardarlo gli disse: – Piantala, Bimbo, d’avercela con Morgan. Se gli sto sotto io, puoi stargli sotto anche tu....

In trying to exactly capture the meaning of the following passage, I struggle to choose the correct words and have doubts remaining: E se io fossi vago (il che non è), di introdurre in Italia il ...

Do Italians say "la cattedrale di Milano" or "il duomo di Milano?" Or both? How are these two different?

Why does Italian use Lei (feminine third-person singular) instead of lui (masculine third-person singular) in formal speech, irrespective of the sex of the addressee?

Ciao! sto sistemando delle sbobine di clinica chirurgica. Vorrei sapere se la punteggiatura è corretta in questo paragrafo.

I know that "birra alla spina" means "draught beer" (beer served from cask/keg), but I have recently heard the term "profumi alla spina" and I was not able to find out exactly what it means. Are they ...

I have heard the following two sentences in a discussion between a wife and a husband about the husband's addiction to smoking, in a TV series: – Non ce la fai proprio a smettere, vero? (= You ...

I heard the following question in a TV series: Non ce la fai proprio a smettere, vero? Context: A couple is discussing in the morning about the odd behavior of the husband. During the discussion, ...

Sto scrivendo una recensione per uno spettacolo teatrale, che fu messo in scena 3 settimane fa. Mi è venuto un dubbio su quale tempo verbale usare, passato remoto o passato prossimo? Ad esempio, si ...

Ho bisogno di allenarmi per risolvere dubbi sui periodi lunghi.

(1) questo rapporto fa sì che la mediana sia sui 19-21mm oppure (2) questo rapporto fa sì che la mediana è sui 19-21mm. Grazie a chiunque risponderà

Ho sentito pronunciare da una conoscente la frase: L'altro giorno ero al lavoro e mi hanno fatto veramente partire una placca! Alla mia richiesta di spiegazioni sull'espressione "partire una ...

I heard the following dialogue in a TV series: Woman: Proverò a sentirlo, ma purtroppo non so dove sia. Gangster: Io invece credo di sì. Context: The dialogue is about a priest who is missing. The ...

I have heard the following sentence in a TV series: Tanto è uguale. Context: A grandmother is telling her grandson how things will be different after his soon-to-be wedding. The grandson does not ...

I have heard the following line in a TV series: Di tempo ormai ce n'è poco The translation in the English subtitle was "Time is running out". Is there any difference in meaning between it and "il ...

Which word is better in Italian in the context "Smart Cleaning"? If both are ok, may we use "Pulizia astuta"? Thank you in advance, Tanya

In many germanic languages you change the word order if you want it to be a question. Statement: You are tired. Question: Are you tired? If I put “Are” at the beginning it becomes a question. Sei ...

What does "cannelloni" mean? "Canne" means reeds, I think. It seems to be a compound of two words or an adjective added to the word.

I've read inconsistent information when it comes to prepositions in the context of seasons. From what I remember, one typically uses 'in' together with seasons. For example, I think the following is ...

Nel romanzo Vita di Melania G. Mazzucco ho letto:       Mentre contemplava quel trombone, con il desiderio struggente di portarlo alla bocca e manovrare la coulisse – almeno un’altra ...

I'm a beginner in Italian so the question is somewhat basic. I previously thought that there were two possible word orders for question sentences: 1) When person asking makes an assumption about ...

I don't understand the meaning of 'ci' when a person say: "Che ci fai qui?". It seems redundant the use of 'ci' and then the use of 'qui'.

Is there any difference in meaning between the two following sentences? Are "quando ero X" and "da X" both usual when they express a past time period? Quando ero un bambino, piangevo molto. Da ...

I have heard the following dialogue between a politician and a gangster in a TV series: G: Lei è un vero rappresentante del popolo. P: Esatto. Solo che non rappresento quelli come lei. G: Dice? Penso ...

I have heard the following sentence in a TV series: Ce li hai gli occhi? The intended meaning is "Can't you see it?" (a rhetorical question). I know that "ce" and "li" are respectively, an ...

Nel romanzo Vita di Melania G. Mazzucco ho letto: Vita, che si sente avvampare, sempre piú a disagio, risponde che sul conto di Merluzzo sono sempre circolate molte leggende, che era un ladro, una ...

This question is a direct consequence of the recent discussions that have pervaded the SE community. While it is well known that English has the singular "they" option (plus some more experimental ...

I have heard the following sentence in an Italian TV series: Sono 'sti cazzo de Adami che hanno il minimo alto. The speaker is a gangster and he is talking about one of his men, which was beaten ...

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: Oggi ricordiamo le vittime degli eserciti. This sentence seems ambiguous to me. May this possibly refer to the victims in ...

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: Ci sono i parlamenti che decidono nella democrazia. Is this an usual phrasing? What does it mean? The (almost) literal ...

In English, "to believe" can be used in two constructions: to believe (transitive): to think that somebody is telling the true. Ex: I believe the witness. to think that something is true. I believe ...

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: Ti offrii la mia mano in amicizia. (= I offered you my hand in friendship) I suspect that this may be an incorrect literal ...

I am a little confused with the translations of "finally" to Italian presented in https://www.wordreference.com/enit/finally because it groups together two expressions which seem completely unrelated ...

Is the 3rd person singular of the "passato remoto" tense of "portare" (lui portò) pronounced [por'tɔ] ? It should be, but I (maybe incorrectly) hear [por'to] in Google Translate (I used the text "lui ...

I have read the following sentence: Per mesi stette dietro al mio nemico. What could "stare dietro" mean here? "to keep an eye on somebody", "to follow", something else ? I have read http://www....

What is the difference of meaning between the following sentences? Non l'ho visto prima che tu aprissi la porta. Non l'avevo visto prima che tu aprissi la porta. I am familiar with the different ...

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: Era ora che lui si decidesse. Why is the subjunctive used here?

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: Noi pensavamo che il posto si trovasse sul mare. Does that mean that the place is on the sea (eg a petroleum extraction ...

AFAIK "What do you think you were doing" could be expressed using either infinitive (more usual) or subjunctive forms in Italian. Would those be: Che cosa credi di stare facendo ? Cosa credi che ...

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: L'agricoltura è l'economia del paese (= Agriculture is the economy of the country) Is the Italian sentence meaningful? The ...

I have read the following sentence in an Italian language learning tool: L'ho trovato a lavorare nel giardino. (= I found him working in the garden) Does this mean that I found him while I was ...

Word Reference says that "avvertire" can mean "to advise", but the meaning in the corresponding example provided by WR dictionary (La maestra ha avvertito mia madre dei miei pessimi voti) is different:...

"Lasciare" è verbo transitivo, quindi tipicamente "A lascia B". Ma è anche riflessivo reciproco: "A e B si lasciano". Ma si può esprimere quest'ultima frase dal punto di vista del solo B? Usando un ...

Should Sto be used when there is adverb in the sentences eg I am doing well and should Sono be used when there is an adjective eg I am creative? Am I getting it right or wrong?

What is the difference between "io sto bene" & "io sono bene" (or maybe just "sono bene")? And should a beginner like me start with saying "sono" for "I am" in my sentences, i.e., when making up ...

Why is there "Il" in "Il mio tesoro intanto"? Isn't "Il" just definite a article and thus not needed?

Nel romanzo Vita di Melania G. Mazzucco ho letto:       Geremia non riusciva a credere alle falorchie che circolavano nel quartiere. Che la ragazza di Diamante, che Vita cosí ...

I have seen "tanti/tante" translated as "many" and "so many". How can I decide when they mean the former or the latter? Examples: Ci sono tanti temporali. (= There are so many thunderstorms) In ...