La Nostra Lingua

How do I say, “I am going shopping in Italian?”  Well, that depends on the type of shopping to be done!  The different Italian phrases that describe the act of “going shopping” are listed in the tables below.  Notice that all Italian shopping phrases use the verb fare, which means “to do” or “to make.” Grocery Shopping fare la spesa to do the grocery shopping to do some grocery shopping (the grocery shopping = la spesa) (groceries =  la spesa / i generi alimentari)   General Shopping fare spese to do the shopping (clothes, shoes, or other personal items) fare …

At one time or another, we are all looking for something — a person we’d like to meet, a place we’d like to visit, or something we need.  In all these situations, we can use the verb cercare, which means “to look for.”  But it is possible to extract many other shades of meaning from this simple verb. Cercare can also mean “to ask for” or “to ask about” someone. We can add the phrase “di fare” to cercare when “trying to do” something.  The connection between the verb cercare and the idea of “trying” is probably derived from the …

General Italian Pronunciation Although Italian is a phonetic language, with words that are easily sounded out by the letter, the correct syllable to stress often remains an enigma. The main reason for this is the lack of accents in written Italian. In the few cases where the very last syllable of an Italian word is stressed, the vowel at the end of the word will be given a grave (`) accent, as in città (city) or caffè (coffee).  The commonly used adverb, perché (why), takes an acute accent.  Otherwise, accents are infrequently used in Italian and pronunciation is learned by …

As discussed in a previous blog, “Italian Language Friends,” many Italian words are similar to English. This is because most words used today in modern Italian, and many words in English, have their roots in the Latin language spoken long ago by the Romans.*   In linguistic terms, words in two different languages that have a common origin and a similar meaning are called “cognates.” In general, when two words are cognates, the stem of each word will provide a clue to the actual meaning. The ending of each word in both languages will also follow a common pattern. Memorizing …

The Italian verb  chiudere  is often used to describe physically closing a thing, most often a door or a window, and can be translated as “to close” or “to shut.” When the reference is to fastening a lock, the translation changes, and is “to lock,” or “to bolt.” When a shop physically “closes” or “shuts its doors” and stops offering services for the day, this act can be described with chiudere. As far as other physical endeavors go, chiudere is often used when an English speaker would describe “turning off” or “shutting off” an appliance or an electrical switch. Stretching the …

With the month of February comes a renewed focus on the lasting love that leads to marriage.  And the happiness this love brings leads to a desire to share the story of one’s special relationship with family and friends.  Of course, every relationship has its ups and downs, and telling a real-life love story with a happy-ever-after ending makes for a truly special conversation. The Italian language uses reflexive verbs to express the intricacies of a romantic relationship.  This can be a bit difficult for English speakers, who usually express these ideas without reflexive verbs.  But if we remember that …

The Italian preposition per means for in English, and in most cases the use of these prepositions is straightforward in both languages. The difficulty lies in the nuances of expressing time in Italian, which can lead to per being replaced by another preposition in some situations.  In Italian, a simple preposition can change the meaning of an entire sentence! Use the Italian prepositions “Per”  vs. “Da” to say “For” 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 …

Since the early 1980s, Italian Christmas movies, or “Cinepanettone,” have been an integral part of the Italian culture. These movies are intended to be lighthearted, romantic comedies, which take place at ski resorts or other exotic locations frequented by wealthy Italians during Christmas week.*  Hence, the moniker coined for this frivolous genre combines the Italian abbreviation for “film,” “cine,” with the beloved Northern Italian Christmas sweet bread, “panettone.”* The comedy of every  Cinepanettone movie has its roots in Italian stereotypes. The vacation set-up is used to caricature and poke fun at Italian families from different walks of life, who meet …

Even beginning Italian students tend to notice how similar many Italian words are to English. This is because most words used today in modern Italian, and many words in English, have their roots in the Latin language spoken long ago by the Romans.*   In linguistic terms, words in two different languages that have a common origin and a similar meaning are called “cognates.”  Given the close relationship between languages that cognates foster, these words can be thought of as “true friends.” This is good news for English speakers learning Italian as a second language; recognizing these words can greatly …

Say “Some” in Italian with “Qualche” and “Alcuni” To speak fluently in another language, it is important to know how to describe a group of things in a general way. When describing a part of a whole, or an undetermined number of things, we are using the partitive. This idea is rendered in English with the words “some” or “any,” as in “some of the” or “any of the.” Let’s continue to talk about the ways Italians say, “some” by focusing on how to use the adjectives qualche and alcuni in essential, every day phrases to describe a group of …