15
votes
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Use of the indefinite article in Italian vs. English
The rules are significantly different, which is why Italians speaking in English often get their articles wrong. Good news for you: the other way round is much easier.
As a thumb rule, if you have an ...
- 2,673
14
votes
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Can native Italian speakers read The Divine Comedy?
Yes Italian speakers can read the Comedy. It usually requires some notes here and there, both due to the archaic language and to the historical references ( many people are likely to be unfamiliar ...
- 12.1k
12
votes
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"Chiunque altro" oppure "qualunque altro"?
Intanto, "qualunque altro" da solo non si potrebbe dire, perché "qualunque" è un aggettivo e non un pronome, a differenza di "chiunque".
In questo caso, poi, si sta confrontando quella ricerca con ...
- 36.4k
12
votes
How do Italians make a statement a question?
How do Italians then ask questions? By adding a question mark in texts and changing the pitch in speech?
That's exactly how you do it, for questions implying a yes/no answer.
- 36.4k
11
votes
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What's the point of using "stare" in the passive voice?
Your book is not very clear. It should have said that the passive voice in Italian consists of a form of essere plus the past participle of the main verb. In the car example, the main verb is riparare ...
- 2,673
11
votes
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"Used to" and "be used to" in Italian
As Gio says in his answer the locution to be used to can be translated as essere solito, or (in my opinion more commonly) using the adverbial locution di solito followed by the verb at the presente ...
- 12.1k
11
votes
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Can I write the dates in Italian like "1º del Giugno e 12 del Luglio"?
There are several problems with the sentence. First of all, the verb sperare needs a di in front of another verb. Second, with countries one uses in not a.
More to the point of the question, the usage ...
- 12.1k
10
votes
Why do Italian road signs use the infinitive tense and not the imperative?
Another reason is related to the fact that the Italian imperative must be conjugated.
For example,
Turn off the lights
might be translated, using the imperative, as:
Spegni la luce (informal, 2nd ...
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10
votes
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Grammatical analysis of the construction "Se l'è mangiato il cane"
Both of your Italian sentences are correct: the first one makes use of a so-called “intensive” use of the verb.
First of all, assume the sentences are in the present tense. In this case we would have,...
- 36.4k
10
votes
Accepted
"Qual'è" o "Qual è"?
Come riportato nella risposta al quesito sull’Accademia della Crusca, la forma corretta è qual è:
Esatta grafia di qual è L'esatta grafia di qual è non prevede
l'apostrofo in quanto si tratta di un'...
- 20.3k
10
votes
"Mi sono fatto" - Intransitive?
This is not an intransitive verb. This is a form of reflexive voice. Italian verbs can be conjugated in three voices: active, passive and reflexive.
You can recognize the reflexive voice from the ...
- 12.1k
9
votes
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I've been told that the passato remoto is going extinct and is now rarely used in northern Italy. What do people use instead?
I wouldn't say that the passato remoto is going extinct, but it is certainly true that in northern Italy it is rarely used.
Actually in northern Italy we tend to always use the passato prossimo, even ...
- 2,293
9
votes
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The use of "ciò" in a sentence
It is a masculine pronoun, only singular, and it indicates or replaces the noun of a thing, generally referred as a verb or a phrase, it can be both subject and complement.
It has neutral value and ...
- 20.3k
9
votes
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Pensare che vs Pensare di
As VIVIT site from Accademia della Crusca explains, we use the construction pensare che + subjunctive, credere che + subjunctive, ritenere che + subjunctive, etc. when the subject of the principal ...
- 38.6k
9
votes
Why is there "Il" in "Il mio tesoro intanto"?
Italian, unlike French, English or German, does not treat the possessive adjectives as determiners. They are ordinary adjectives and so are normally prefaced by the article when appropriate.
In ...
- 12.1k
8
votes
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Can "voi" be used instead of "lei"?
Nowadays, the polite pronoun used in Italian is lei, even though in some regions is still used voi, especially in the southern Italy.
It could also be that the conversation involved more than one ...
- 3,856
8
votes
Can native Italian speakers read The Divine Comedy?
I'm interested to know how hard it is for native Italian speakers to read The Divine Comedy in Dante's original language
Reading and understanding each word is relatively easy, not much less than a ...
- 2,188
8
votes
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Il verbo 'pensare' senza l'uso del congiuntivo
“Doveva avere dieci o undici anni quando sua madre era scomparsa” è un discorso diretto. Il verbo “pensò” è in un inciso per non appesantire la frase; si tratta di una tecnica molto frequente nella ...
- 17.9k
8
votes
Is this verb in subjunctive?
The subjunctive is thorny topic: even extremely well-educated people use it incorrectly from time to time. However don't panic. By remembering a few rules you can get as good as most native speakers. ...
- 12.1k
8
votes
Why is it okay to say "Sono in cucina"?
In the sentence "Sono nel negozio" the word "nel" is an Italian composed preposition, nel = in + il.
So, "Sono nel negozio" works like "Sono in negozio" and &...
- 530
8
votes
Accepted
Meaning of the expression "... a fare, se"
I'd analyze the phrase “a fare” as a proposizione finale (telic subordinate). So the last sentence should mean the same as
Con quale fine mi scrivi, se non stiamo insieme?
which is much more formal ...
- 17.9k
7
votes
Come si chiamano strutture come 'li li', 'se se' e strutture simili?
Nei due esempi si trovano vicino due monosillabi di suono simile/uguale non per una ragione grammaticale o sintattica che li unisce, ma per la stessa casualità che fa stare vicine di posto in treno ...
- 3,866
7
votes
Accepted
Si può dire "mangiare melone"?
Sì, si può certamente dire.
Mangiare un melone significa che lo si consuma tutto intero. Per esempio
Ci mangiamo un melone?
sarebbe la forma corretta per proporre a una o più persone di mangiarlo....
- 17.9k
7
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "stare per infinitive" vs future tense?
The first sentence indicates an action that will happen in the nearest future, while the second one doesn't necessarily imply that the action will take place after a short lapse of time.
Just to ...
- 485
7
votes
Ancora è una locuzione aggettivale?
Intanto, quando si parla di “locuzioni aggettivali” (o avverbiali etc.) ci si riferisce specificamente a sequenze di due o più parole che svolgano complessivamente la funzione di un aggettivo (o ...
- 36.4k
7
votes
In comune o comune possono alternarsi?
Abbiamo dei sogni in comune vuol dire che condividiamo dei sogni, io ho un sogno che è lo stesso che hai tu.
Abbiamo sogni comuni vuol dire che abbiamo sogni che è statisticamente molto facile che ...
- 20.3k
7
votes
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Non abbiamo... "tutta la notte" vs "la tutta notte" vs "la notte tutta"?
The adjective tutto has a rather peculiar role in the Italian language in that it usually precedes the article relative to the modified noun.
From the Treccani dictionary
1. a. Come agg., riferito ...
- 17.9k
7
votes
Accepted
What does "bella ciao" mean literally?
The second one, definitely. Bye, beautiful.
I would translate A beautiful goodbye as Un bel saluto or Un bell'addio (masculine --- I'm not sure why, but in practice these kinds of salutations and ...
- 3,241
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