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Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Italian Past Tenses

One of the most frequent problems English speakers have when studying Italian is choosing between Passato Prossimo vs Imperfetto.

Passato Prossimo and Imperfetto are Italian Past Tenses used to talk about something that happened in the past, but they have different uses and purposes. Passato prossimo is made by the verb avere or essere in the present tense plus the past participle and it is used to indicate past events that happened once, but still have effects on the present. Imperfetto is formed dropping the -re of the infinitive and adding -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano and it is used to talk about past habits or repetitive actions that are no longer happening.

As you can see it is not very difficult to understand. In this article, we will focus on the main differences existing between these two tenses and when to use them in the right context. In particular we will see:

One time vs Habit
Description of the conditions and states
Duration of the past actions
Parallel Actions
Interrupted Actions
Storytelling
Time Expressions

But, first, let’s quickly refresh the forms of these two tenses:

Passato Prossimo

Passato prossimo is made by the verb avere or essere in the present tense plus the past participle. You obtain the past participle by changing the final endings of the infinitive form, in this way:

-are → -ato,

-ere → -uto,

-ire → -ito.

Remember that when you use the auxiliary essere, you need to change the final endings according to the subject.

Examples:

Ho mangiato una torta buonissima.
I ate a very good cake.

Siamo andati in palestra.
We went to the gym.

Imperfetto

Imperfetto is easy in its formation. You drop -re of the infinitive and simply add -vo, -vi, -va, -vamo, -vate, -vano.

Examples:

Da piccola mangiavo tante caramelle.
When I was little, I used to eat a lot of candy.

Non dormiva mai quando la bambina piangeva.
She never slept when the baby cried.

Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Common Uses

In order to understand the main differences between the Passato Prossimo and the Imperfetto, I’m going to show you some of the most common uses of the two tenses in everyday life, compared to each other and explained through various examples.

Before proceeding, I also suggest you some useful books you can use to repeat Italian Grammar and Italian Tenses:

1. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – One time vs habit

We use the Imperfetto to talk about past habits or repetitive actions that are no longer happening. On the contrary, the Passato Prossimo is required when you want to indicate past events that happened once, but still have effects on the present. Look at the following examples.

Examples:

Imperfetto	Passato Prossimo
Da bambina andavo in piscina due volte a settimana. When I was a child, I used to go to the swimming pool twice a week.	La scorsa settimana sono andata in piscina. Last week I went to the swimming pool.
Dopo ogni viaggio gli portava sempre un souvenir. After each trip he always used to bring him a gift.	Antonio mi ha portato un souvenir dal Canada. Antonio brought me a gift from Canada.
Mangiava tanto perché si annoiava. He was eating a lot because he was getting bored.	L’altro giorno ha mangiato tanto e si è sentito male. The other day he ate a lot and he got sick.

As you can see, it’s not very complicated! Let’s see other examples:

Mio padre mi portava con sé in ufficio ogni volta che poteva. My father used to take me with him to his office every time he could.	Ieri mattina mio padre mi ha portato con sé in ufficio. Yesterday morning my father took me with him to his office.
Da piccolo io e i miei parenti ci riunivamo a Natale. When I was young, my relatives and I used to meet on Christmas.	Un anno fa io e i miei parenti ci siamo riuniti a Natale. One year ago my relatives and I met on Christmas.
A volte tornava dalla Sicilia con un vassoio di cannoli. Sometimes, he used to come back from Sicily with a tray of cannoli.	Il mese scorso è tornato dalla Sicilia con un vassoio di cannoli. Last month he came back from Sicily with a tray of cannoli.

2. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Description of conditions and states

Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto - Italian Past Tenses

Also, we need to look at the typology of the description you provide when speaking about past conditions and states. Specifically, we employ the Imperfetto to describe the weather and physical or emotional states in the past. On the contrary, we apply the Passato Prossimo to point out physical and mental changes happened in a specific moment in the past, as events.

Examples:

Imperfetto	Passato Prossimo
Era una giornata fredda e nuvolosa. It was a cold and cloudy day.	Oggi ha piovuto e non sono potuto andare al parco. Today it rained so I didn’t manage to go to the park.
Dopo la caduta sentiva dolore alla caviglia. After falling down, he felt pain in his ankle.	Ha sentito dolore quando si è fatto male alla caviglia. He was in pain when he hurt his ankle.
Mi innervosiva il suo atteggiamento sfacciato. His brush attitude made me nervous.	Mi ha davvero innervosito il suo modo di fare. His way of acting really made me nervous.

3. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Duration of past actions

In the third place, we focus on the duration of past actions . According to this principle, we resort to the Imperfetto when we relate to past actions or events whose start and end are basically unclear. Otherwise, we need the Passato Prossimo in case of past facts that started and ended at a specific point in time.

Examples:

Imperfetto	Passato Prossimo
Andava in Europa, più precisamente in Portogallo. He was flying to Europe, more precisely to Portugal.	Sei anni fa sono andato in Europa, più precisamente in Portogallo. Six years ago, I flew to Europe, more precisely to Portugal.
Beveva con gli amici in un locale vicino la stazione. He was drinking with his friends in a pub next to the station.	Ieri sera è andato a bere con gli amici. Yesterday evening he went out for a drink with his friends.
Il fratello di Andrea veniva a trovarmi ogni volta che poteva. Andrea’s brother used to come to visit me every time he could.	L’altro ieri mi è venuto a trovare il fratello di Andrea. The day before yesterday, Andrea’s brother came to visit me.

4. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Parallel Actions

Generally, we use the Imperfetto to mention concurrent events, meaning facts that happened in the same moment or period of time in the past.

Instead, we apply the Passato Prossimo in case of actions in succession whose duration or moment of occurance in the past are not so relevant.

Examples:

Imperfetto	Passato Prossimo
Mentre pranzava, mio madre guardava “Un posto al sole”. While having lunch, my mother was watching “Un posto al sole”.	Mia madre ha pranzato e poi ha guardato “Un posto al sole”. My mother had lunch and then watched “Un posto al sole”.
All’università studiava e lavorava in un ristorante per pagarsi gli studi. When she was at university, she used to study and work in a restaurant to pay her istruction.	Dopo l’università, si è laureata e in seguito ha trovato lavoro in uno studio medico. After university, she graduated and later found a job in a doctor’s office.
Lidia ascoltava “Resta in ascolto” di Laura Pausini, mentre pelava le patate. Lidia was listening to “Resta in ascolto” by Laura Pausini, while peeling potatoes.	Lidia ha pelato prima le patate e poi dopo ha ascoltato “Resta in ascolto” di Laura Pausini. Firstly, Lidia peeled potatoes; after that she listened to “Resta in ascolto” by Laura Pausini.

5. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Interrupted actions

There are some occasions where we require both the Imperfetto and the Passato Prossimo in a sentence built in the past. For this reason, we make reference to actions interrupted by others, namely reporting what we were doing when something occurred and interrupted what we were doing. In this specific case, you can find the presence of quando (when) and mentre (while).

Examples:

Facevamo i compiti quando improvvisamente sono ritornati i nostri genitori.
We were doing our homework when suddenly our parents came back home.

Mentre mi preparavo per la scuola, mi ha chiamato Paolo.
While I was getting ready for school, Paolo called me.

Quando Maria viveva in Spagna, ha visitato sia Barcellona sia Madrid.
When Maria lived in Spain, she visited both Barcelona and Madrid.

6. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Storytelling

Finally, we find the last difference regarding the act of reporting something in a consequential way. Actually, you are asked to employ the Imperfetto to give information about the background, like the location or the context where the event takes place. On the contrary, you make use of Passato Prossimo to let the story proceed onwards.

Examples:

Imperfetto	Passato Prossimo
I bambini facevano il bagno in piscina e i genitori prendevano il sole. Kids were taking a swim in the pool, while their parents were sunbathing.	Stamattina in spiaggia i bambini hanno fatto il bagno in piscina e i genitori hanno preso il sole. This morning kids have taken a swim in the pool, while their parents have sunbathed.
Continuamente mi diceva che gli avrebbe parlato di quella faccenda quanto prima. He was continually telling me he would talk to him about that matter as soon as possible.	Mi ha detto che gli avrebbe parlato di quella faccenda quanto prima. He told me he would talk to him about that matter as soon as possible.
Nel bosco di solito si imbatteva in cerbiatti e conigli. In the woods he usually used to bump into fawns and rabbits.	Andando nel bosco, si è imbattuto in cerbiatti e conigli. Going into the woods, he bumped into fawns and rabbits.

7. Passato Prossimo Vs Imperfetto – Time expressions

Another way to distinguish cases where the Imperfetto is employed from situations where the Passato Prossimo is applied is by looking at time expressions. These ones are normally used to give more information about the type of action existing in the sentence in order to provide help when you are asked to choose between the two tenses.

Time expressions used with the Imperfetto

da piccolo / giovane (when I was a child / young )

sempre (always)

tutti i giorni / ogni giorno (every day)

mentre (while)

spesso (often)

continuamente (continually)

a volte (sometimes)

normalmente (normally)

solitamente (usually)

ogni volta che (every time that)

ogni tanto (once in a while)

Time expressions used with the Passato Prossimo

ieri (yesterday)

ieri mattina / ieri pomeriggio / ieri sera (yesterday morning) / (yesterday afternoon) / (last night)

l’altro ieri (the day before yesterday)

due giorni fa (two days ago)

una settimana fa (one week ago)

mercoledì scorso (last Wednesday)

un anno fa (one year ago)

Il mese scorso (last month)

l’anno scorso (last year)

un’ora fa / alcuni giorni fa (one hour ago) / (some days ago)

Examples:

Imperfetto	Passato Prossimo
Da piccolo giocava a scacchi con gli amici della chiesa. When he was a child, he used to play chess with his friends from the church.	L’anno scorso ha giocato a scacchi con gli amici della parrocchia. Last year he played chess with his friends from the church.
Normalmente usciva nel weekend, non in settimana. He normally used to go out on the weekend, not during the week.	Mercoledì scorso è uscito nel weekend, non in settimana. Last Wednesday he went out on the weekend, not during the week.
Tutti i giorni le regalava un cioccolatino per dimostrarle il suo affetto. Every day he used to give her a chocolate as a present to prove that he was fond of her.	Alcuni giorni fa le ha regalato un cioccolatino per dimostrarle il suo affetto. Some days ago he gave her a chocolate as a present to prove that he was fond of her.

Wrapping Up

After reading this article until the end, you should be able to understand when to use the Imperfetto or the Passato Prossimo according to the cases and tricks mentioned above. What you are suggested to do first is to look for time expressions in the Italian sentence you are about to translate. These indicators make you understand which tense is required in that specific context or situation.

Second, you can analyse the type of event that occured in the past, mostly focusing on the certainty or uncertainty related to the time of action.

Now that you have this further information, start speaking about events in the past in Italian and do not forget to make the best choice!

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

June 7, 2021/by Lucia

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

How do you say what in Italian?

An important step to take when studying Italian is learning how to say what in italian.

Depending upon the context What in Italian can be translated into che, che cosa, cosa, quale, quali, qual, quello che, ciò che, la cosa che.

Let’s go over each use of what in Italian, so that you can be sure which one to say.

Question Words

First, we need to talk about question words, normally employed at the beginning of a question.

Among these ones, we find what, which can be translated in different ways, as you can see in the following examples.

Che cosa è successo? Non mi ha dato spiegazioni.
What happened? He didn’t give me any explanations.

Cosa devo comprare? Latte, uova e poi?
What am I supposed to buy? Milk, eggs and then?

Che ci hai messo in questa torta? Per caso la cannella?
What did you put in this cake? Cinnamon, I guess?

Before proceeding, if you want to repeat Italian Grammar, here there are useful books I suggest you to read:

Che cosa

Che cosa is the longest form to say what in Italian. It is chiefly employed all over Italy and is more common in formal contexts.

Apparently, it seems to be a more emphatic expression since we are insisting on the thing in question by literally saying “what thing”.

It can only be followed by a verb, and not by a noun.

Examples:

Che cosa stanno aspettando?
What are they waiting for?

Che cos’è tutta questa confusione? Smettetela, ragazzi!
What’s all this mess? Guys, stop it!

A che cosa stai lavorando in questo periodo? Posso saperlo?
What are you working on in this period? May I ask?

Cosa

Together with che, cosa is the shortest version of che cosa and it literally means thing.

It’ used all over Italy, especially up North and in Sardinia, one of the wonderful Italian islands.

Moreover, it can be found in Italian world-famous novels and literary works, too.

Same as for che cosa, it can only be followed by a verb.

Examples:

Non mi hai detto cosa ti piacerebbe fare nel tuo giorno libero.
You haven’t told me what you would like to do on your day off.

Cosa vuoi mangiare a cena? Spaghetti o crocchette di pollo?
What do you want to eat for dinner? Spaghetti or chicken nuggets?

Cosa dovrei organizzare? Una festa o un pranzo tra amici?
What should I organise? A party or a lunch with close friends?

Che

Che is the other shortened form of che cosa. It’s clearly more colloquial and widely spread in cities of central and southern Italy like Rome, Napoli and Palermo. Unlike cosa and che cosa, che can be followed by both verbs or nouns.

Examples:

Che ingredienti ti servono per preparare la pastiera napoletana?
What ingredients do you need to bake Neapolitan pastiera?

Ma che sta dicendo? Non capisco mai niente quando parla!
What is she saying? I never understand anything when she talks!

Che stai cercando? Senti, qui non c’è niente!
What are you looking for? Look, there’s nothing here!

Quale

Quale basically stands for which in English, even if what is equally valid. You are required to use it in front of singular nouns.

Examples:

Quale giacca indosserai stasera? Quella elegante o casual?
What / Which jacket are you going to wear this evening? The elegant or casual one?

Di quale argomento ci vorrebbe parlare?
What / Which topic would you like to speak about?

Non so quale reazione potrebbe avere se venisse a saperlo.
I don’t know what / which reaction she could have if she found it out!

Quali

On the contrary, quali must be employed when you are referring to plural nouns.

Examples:

Quali attività sono previste oggi?
What / Which activities are planned today?

Quali maglioni potrei comprare a prezzo scontato?
What / which sweaters could I buy at a discounted price?

Allora quali sono i tuoi progetti per il futuro?
So, what / which are your plans for the future?

Qual è

Quale loses the final ending –e and lacks of apostrophe when followed by the third person singular of essere in the present tense of indicative mood.

Examples:

Qual è il numero di cellulare di Jacob?
What’s Jacob’s mobile number?

Qual è l’indirizzo di casa di Chiara e Melinda?
What is Chiara and Melinda’s home address?

Qual è il tuo romanzo preferito?
What is your favourite novel?

Quello che / ciò che

While quello che is more common in the spoken language, ciò che is definitively more polished and largely employed in the written language.

Examples:

Prendete quello che volete! Non fate complimenti!
Take what you want! Don’t stand on ceremony!

Quello che mi sorprende è la sua totale mancanza di empatia.
What surprises me is her total lack of empathy.

Fa’ ciò che ritieni più giusto per te. Non ti giudicherò.
Do what you think is best for you. I won’t judge you.

La cosa che

Literally “the thing that”, la cosa che has the same meaning of quello che and ciò che. Also this statement is principally applied in everyday language.

Examples:

La cosa che odio di più nella vita è la slealtà.
What I hate most in life is disloyalty.

Fare sport è la cosa che amo di più.
Playing sports is what I love the most.

La cosa che mi ha fatto innamorare di te è stato il tuo sguardo.
What made me fall in love with you was your smile.

Come?

When you don’t understand what someone is saying, you can utilize Scusa? (Excuse me?) when talking to friends or relatives, while Scusi? (Excuse me?) or Come, scusi? (Sorry, what?) when referring to strangers. Come usually means how, but it’s employed in this situation as well.

Examples:

Vuoi che ce ne andiamo? – Scusa?
Do you want us to leave? – What?

Signore, a che ora parte il treno per Milano? – Scusi?
Sir, what time does the train to Milan leave? – Excuse me?

Signora Rossi, ha bisogno di una mano con la spesa? – Come, scusi?
Do you need any help with your groceries, Mrs Rossi? – Sorry, what?

What in Italian – Main uses

So, we introduced the main translations of what in Italian. Now, let’s take a closer look.

What in Italian can be applied both as an interrogative adjective and pronoun and in combination with prepositions.

The first option belongs to the category of the so-called interrogatives. These ones, used in a sentence to introduce a question, can be adjectives in case they are followed by a noun, or pronouns when they replace a noun instead.

What as an Interrogative Adjective

When it is followed by a noun, what in Italian acts as an interrogative adjective. In this case, you can just employ che or quale / quali. According to their use, che is mainly applied when making reference to

something general without specification, while quale relates to limited options.

Examples:

Che materie ti piacevano quando andavi a scuola?
What subjects did you like when you used to go to school?

Che libri leggi di solito quando sei in vacanza?
What books do you usually read when you are on holiday?

Secondo te, quali pantaloni devo comprare? Quelli blu o rossi?
In your opinion, which pants should I buy? Blue or red ones?

As you may have noticed, in the first and second sentence reference wasn’t made to the type of books reading on holiday. On the contrary, in the third statement there has been mention of the features (specifically the colour) of pants to be bought.

What as an Interrogative Pronoun

In presence of a verb, what in Italian is classified as an interrogative pronoun. In this case, it translates all the expressions we have encountered so far.

Examples:

Che cosa vuoi da me? Non ho fatto niente!
What do you want from me? I haven’t done anything!

Ma che ti è venuto in mente? Sei davvero folle, lo sai?
What were you thinking? You are truly insane, you know that?

Ecco delle arance e delle pere. Quali preferisci?
Here are some oranges and pears. Which ones do you prefer?

What with prepositions

In case of sentences built with phrasal verbs, prepositions must be put before what in Italian, not at the end of the statement as in English.

Look at the following examples, focusing on the differences between Italian and English:

Italian	English
Con cosa giocano bambini?	What are the kids playing with?
A cosa ti riferisci?	What are you referring to?
Di cosa vorresti parlare?	What would you like to talk about?

What in Italian – Everyday expressions

Differently from the other solutions mentioned before, che occurs in lots of informal statements in Italian. Since these ones are widely used in the spoken language, they are considered as idioms.

Then let’s have a look at these everyday questions:

Italian	English
Che succede?	What’s going on?
Che vuoi fare?	What do you want to do?
Che mi racconti?	What’s up?
Che ci fai qui?	What are you doing here?
Che ne pensi?	What do you think about it?

If you want to learn even more effectively, do it through music, listening to songs like this:

Now that you have all the tools to use what in your daily conversations, first try to practice and then tell your Italian friends che cosa hai imparato!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

May 15, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

Che in Italian – what does che mean?

After pizza and pasta, che in Italian is the most frequently used word. But unlike pasta and pizza, che has many different uses and meanings.

Che in Italian can be a relative pronoun, an interrogative adjective and pronoun, an indefinite adjective and pronoun, a conjunction, an adverb and more. You can translate it as that, who , and can be used as interrogative adjective and pronoun.

Let’s go over each use of che in Italian:

Che as a relative pronoun

The most common use of che in italian is as a relative pronoun. And for those who don’t know grammar like the back of their hand, I will explain simply what is a relative pronoun.

What is a relative pronoun?

Relative pronouns link two sentences, with a common element, together. Relative pronouns also refer to the nouns already mentioned in the sentence. In English these are that, which, who, whom and whose.

Example:

I like the dog that does tricks.

Che as that

Che in italian is the most used relative pronoun.

La ragazza che mi piace si chiama Anna.
The girl that I like is called Anna.

Il ragazzo che mi piace si chiama Marco.
The boy that I like is called Marco.

Be careful: in Italian you can’t omit che like you do in English.

Take a look at the following example:

Il libro che sto leggendo è interessante.
The book I’m reading is interesting

Che as who

I already mentioned that relative pronouns connect two sentences. Che in italian can be both subject and object in the sentences.

Let’s see:

Marco è un mio cugino che vive negli USA.
Marco is my cousin who lives in the USA.

In this sentence, che refers to the subject in the sentence which is Marco.

La ragazza che hai conosciuto ieri è mia sorella.
The girl who you met yesterday is my sister.

In this example, che refers to the object in the sentence which is la ragazza.

before moving on, if you want to learn more about Italian Grammar, here there are useful books I suggest you to read:

il che in italian

But what about il che ? You must have seen it many times in texts in italian.

Let’s take a look at this example:

Hai fatto un buon esame, il che è una conferma del tuo impegno.
You have done well on the exam, which is a confirmation of your commitment.

The relative pronoun che with the definite article il refers to the whole previous sentence.

Voglio smettere di bere, il che non è facile.
I want to stop drinking, which is not easy.

Il che doesn’t refer to the subject, which is io, neither to the object, which is smettere di bere. It refers to the whole sentence, to the fact that this person wants to stop drinking.

Che as an interrogative adjective and pronoun

Che in italian can also be used as an interrogative adjective and pronoun. Don’t let this complex term frighten you! Have you ever heard an Italian ask:

Che vuoi da me?
What do you want from me?

Ma che cavolo dici?
What the heck are you talking about?

If you have, great! You already know what interrogative adjectives and pronouns are.

Let me clarify:

What is an interrogative adjective/pronoun?

The interrogatives are elements used in a sentence to introduce a question. They can be adjectives when they are followed by a noun. They can also be pronouns when they substitute a noun. Che can be both of them.

Let’s see some examples:

Che as an interrogative adjective

When followed by a noun che in Italian asks for more information about that noun.

Che telefono hai?
What phone do you have?

Che musica preferisci?
What is your favorite music?

Che libro stai leggendo?
What book are you reading?

The interrogative che can be used with a preposition but in that case the preposition must be put before the interrogative.

In che città vivi?
What city do you live in?

Di che libro stai parlando?
What book are you talking about?

Con che programma posso modificare la foto?
What program can I use to edit a photo?

Che as interrogative pronoun

When che is used to replace a pronoun it’s used as an interrogative pronoun. It is also used to ask for information about something.

Che vuoi?
What do you want?

Che succede?
What’s going on?

Che aspetti?
What are you waiting for?

Also in this case a preposition can be used before the interrogative pronoun che.

Con che cosa scrivi?
What do you write with?

Di che parlate?
What are you talking about?

Che as an Indefinite adjective and pronoun

Che in italian can be used as an indefinite adjective and pronoun. It describes an undefined quantity or quality.

Let’s see some examples:

Questo biscotto ha un che di piccante.
This cookie has a bit of a spicy flavor to it.

Non riesco a vedere un gran che.
I can’t see much.

Diciamo che hai un certo non so che, quando sei nervosa.
Let’s say you have a certain level of something when you’re nervous.

Che as a Conjunction

As long as you progress in italian, your vocabulary will expand. With a big quantity of words in your head you will spontaneously start to use more complex structure. Then you’ll use words to link sentences together, called conjunctions, words like and, or, but, that . With them your conversation will sound more fluent.

Let’s see some examples:

Che can link an objective clause to an independent clause (or main clause):

Dice che hai ragione tu
He says that you are right.

Che can introduce a subjective clause and here we may use the indicative or the subjunctive depending on the level of certainty we have:

È ora che tu la smetta
It’s time for you to stop

Here below you will find more uses of che as a conjunction.

Comparative

Che in Italian can be used for comparative, when a comparison is made between two elements that refer to the same subject:

È meglio uscire che starsene in casa
It’s better to go out than stay inside

Che can also be used as a consecutive conjunction:

Sono così stanco che non posso seguirti
I’m so tired that I can’t follow you

Limitation

Che in Italian can introduce limitation and in italian che, in this case, is always followed by subjunctive:

Che io sappia, non esiste
As far as I know, it doesn’t exist.

Time

Che is used as a time conjunction, it can be replaced with quando or in cui:

Il giorno che siamo partiti pioveva
It was raining on the day when we left.

Wishes and commands

Che in Italian is used to introduce wishes and commands:

Spera che non dica niente
hope that she won’t say anything

Exception

Che can have a connotation of exception:

Non ci resta altro che piangere
Nothing left but to cry

Whether

Che in Italian can have a disjunctive connotation and can be translated in English as whether/or

Che lo faccia o meno, è irrelevante.
Whether it does or not is irrelevant.

Che as a Causal conjunction

Another very important use of che in italian is as a causal conjunction. Causal conjunctions are used to explain how things work or why things happen.

Take this as example:

I didn’t have breakfast today, so I am really hungry now! – In this example SO is a causal conjunction.

Che in Italian originates a list of causal conjunctions, meaning “because/ since/ due to the fact that“:

poiché
giacché
dacché
visto che
dato che

Examples:

Dato che non avevamo più cibo, ho fatto la spesa.
Since we were out of food, I went to the grocery store.

Visto che ti comporti così negativamente, io agirò positivamente!
Since you are acting so negatively, I will act positively!

Scusa, avrei dovuto chiederti il permesso, poiché è casa tua.
Sorry, I should have asked your permission since it’s your house.

Che can also be used alone and still have causal connotation.

Look at these examples:

Scappiamo che crolla!
Let’s run away because it is crumbling!

Dobbiamo andare, che è tardi.
We must leave, because it’s late.

Devo mangiare, che ho fame.
I have to eat, because I’m hungry.

Che as an adverb

I’m sure you already know that Italians are very energetic people. They love to express their feelings, whether their emotions are negative or positive. Therefore in the Italian language, you can find a lot of exclamations.

Mamma mia! – You have heard it a thousand times.

Exclamations are a very important part of the Italian language. They’ll give emphasis to the message you want to convey. When you learn the right way to use exclamations you will sound more local and you’ll be able to express all the shades of your feelings.

Che in exclamations

If you’ve ever been in Italy, you must have heard Ma che bello! on the streets.

Che in italian is often used with a noun, or with an adjective and can be translated in English as What a … !

Let’s see some examples:

If you have a beautiful day, you are happy about it and you want to emphasize that you can say:

Che bella giornata!
What a beautiful day!

In the same way, if you were hoping it would be a nice day but the weather is bad, you could say:

Che brutto tempo!
What awful weather!

It can be followed only by noun:

Che peccato!
What a pity!

Che disordine!
What a mess!

Che avventura!
What an adventure!

Maybe the most common use of che as an exclamation is when is followed by an adjective:

Che bello!
How beautiful!

Che carino!
How nice!

Che brutto!
How awful!

Che buono!
How delicious!

The list goes on and on. It’s very common in Italian to use che this way. Start using it right away and your italian would sound more natural. If you like to learn through music, listen to this song:

As you can see che has a lot of uses! With this information in your mind, you will start to recognize and use che in the right way. Che bella lingua, isn’t it?

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

May 10, 2021/by Lucia

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

Venire Conjugation – use venire in Italian

Venire Conjugation is surely one of the first one you should know if you want to learn Italian verbs (and verbs that express movement)

Together with fare and andare conjugations, Venire Conjugation is one of the most important in Italian language. Venire is an irregular verb of the third conjugation. Being a verb of movement, we generally apply it in the meaning of heading to, hailing from, descending from, occurring and arising. Venire principally translates the English verb to come.

Examples:

Vieni o no? Il treno sta per partire.
Are you coming or not? The train is about to leave.

Joseph non ci sarà oggi. Gli è venuta la febbre.
Joseph won’t be here today. He got sick.

As you can notice, different ways to translate venire exist in English, mostly looking at the context where it is used.

Venire Conjugation – Presente

Firstly, it is important to say that the verb venire has an irregular conjugation, hence you need to learn it by heart.

Let’s find out how to conjugate it in the Presente, tense employed to talk about habits or actions that are happening right now:

Io vengo

Tu vieni

Lui / Lei viene

Noi veniamo

Voi venite

Loro vengono

Examples:

Viene anche tua figlia a cena?
Is your daughter coming for dinner, too?

Non venite? Vi stanno aspettando tutti!
Don’t you come? They’re all waiting for you!

Venire Conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Io sono venuto/a

Tu sei venuto/a

Lui / Lei è venuto/a

Noi siamo venuti/e

Voi siete venuti/e

Loro sono venuti/e

You build sentences in the Passato Prossimo, when you make reference to actions that happened in the recent past. Considered as a verb of movement, venire always requires the auxiliary to be. Moreover, the past participle venuto must agree in gender and number.

Examples:

È venuta da sola perché suo marito è a lavoro.
She came alone because her husband is at work.

Non sono venuti in vacanza con noi quest’anno perché abbiamo litigato.

They didn’t come with us on holiday because we had an argument.

Venire Conjugation – Imperfetto

Io venivo

Tu venivi

Lui / Lei veniva

Noi venivamo

Voi venivate

Loro venivano

You resort to Italian Imperfetto when your intention is to speak about past habits or actions in progress in the past.

Examples:

Quando ero piccolo, zio Gerry veniva sempre a trovarci a Houston.
When I was a child, uncle Gerry always used to come to visit us in Houston.

Mentre venivo qui, ho sentito che Joe ha perso il lavoro.
While I was coming here, I heard Joe lost his job.

Venire Conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Io ero venuto/a

Tu eri venuto/a

Lui / Lei era venuto/a

Noi eravamo venuti/e

Voi eravate venuti/e

Loro erano venuti/e

Trapassato Prossimo is primarily required in case you want to report an action that occured before another one in the past. To form it, you need the simple past of essere, along with the past participle of venire.

Examples:

Ma non eri venuto per darci una mano? Non stai facendo nulla!
Hadn’t you come to help us? You’re not doing anything!

Erano venute per dirci che non avrebbero partecipato alla raccolta fondi.
They had come to tell us they wouldn’t participate in the fundraising.

Venire Conjugation – Passato Remoto

One of the less used tenses in Italian is Passato Remoto. Despite the fact that its formation is quite tricky, it is generally employed when referring to events that happened a long time ago.

Io venni

Tu venisti

Lui / Lei venne

Noi venimmo

Voi veniste

Loro vennero

Examples:

Dopo aver mangiato tanto, mi venne un forte mal di pancia.
After eating a lot, I got a strong stomach ache.

Mi vennero dei dubbi in merito a quello che Elena mi raccontò.
I had some doubts about what Elena told me.

Venire Conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Io fui venuto/a

Tu fosti venuto/a

Lui / Lei fu venuto/a

Noi fummo venuti/e

Voi foste venuti/e

Loro furono venuti/e

Italian Trapassato Remoto has almost disappeared in the spoken language, while in the written language it basically occurs in documentaries, literature and novels. Being a compound tense, it is formed by the auxiliary conjugated in the Passato Remoto and the past participle of venire.

Examples:

Dopo che furono venuti a casa mia, decisero di rimanere a pranzo.
After they had come to my place, they decided to stay for lunch.

Dopo che fu venuta al locale, ci disse che se ne sarebbe andata dopo un pò.
After she had come to the club, she told us that she would leave after a while.

Venire Conjugation – Futuro Semplice

You are suggested to apply Italian Futuro in case you want to talk about facts that have yet to happen (Futuro Semplice) or an event that will be finished before another one takes place (Futuro Anteriore).

Io verrò

Tu verrai

Lui / Lei verrà

Noi verremo

Voi verrete

Loro verranno

Examples:

A che ora verranno Jasmine e le sue figlie questa sera?
What time are Jasmine and her daughters coming this evening?

Verrà il giorno in cui mi ringrazierai per quello che ho fatto per te.
There will come a day when you thank me for what I’ve done for you.

Venire Conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Io sarò venuto/a

Tu sarai venuto/a

Lui / Lei sarà venuto/a

Noi saremo venuti/e

Voi sarete venuti/e

Loro saranno venuti/e

Examples:

Saranno già venuti? Non siamo ancora pronti!
Will they have come? We are not ready yet!

Sarà venuto qui per chiedergli altri soldi? Mi auguro di no.
Will he have come here to ask him for other money? I hope not.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Unfortunately, Italian Congiuntivo is considered as a vanishing mood because its use is less and less frequent in everyday language.

Anyway, its main feature is the conjunction che preceding the conjugated verb. Furthermore, the simple and compound tenses of Congiuntivo can be translated with the tenses of present and past simple.

Che io venga

Che tu venga

Che lui / lei venga

Che noi veniamo

Che voi veniate

Che loro vengano

Examples:

La mamma vuole che veniamo anche noi in gita.
Mum wants us to go on the trip, too.

Temo che vengano solo per perdere tempo e non lavorare.
I fear that they just come to waste their time so as not to work.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Che io sia venuto/a

Che tu sia venuto/a

Che lui / lei sia venuto/a

Che noi siamo venuti/e

Che voi siate venuti/e

Che loro siano venuti/e

Examples:

Spero che sia venuta per porre rimedio ai suoi problemi.
I hope she came to find a solution to her problems.

Nonostante siano venuti per aiutarla, non li ha ancora perdonati.
Although they came to help her, she still hasn’t forgiven them.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Che io venissi

Che tu venissi

Che lui / lei venisse

Che noi venissimo

Che voi veniste

Che loro venissero

Examples:

Mi farebbe molto piacere se venissi anche tu con me in Inghilterra.
I would be very pleased if you came with me to England, too.

Credevo che Michael venisse dal Canada. Invece viene dagli Stati Uniti.
I thought Michael came from Canada. On the contrary, he comes from USA.

Venire Conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Che io fossi venuto/a

Che tu fossi venuto/a

Che lui / lei fosse venuto/a

Che noi fossimo venuti/e

Che voi foste venuti/e

Che loro fossero venuti/e

Examples:

Pensavo che Rachel fosse venuta per scusarsi.
I thought Rachel had come to apologize.

Vorrei che fossero venute al cinema con noi.
I wish they had come with us to the cinema.

Venire Conjugation – Condizionale Presente

You make use of Italian Condizionale in case you need to express wishes, intentions, hypotheses and polite requests.

Io verrei

Tu verresti

Lui / Lei verrebbe

Noi verremmo

Voi verreste

Loro verrebbero

Examples:

Verresti al concerto dei Maroon 5 insieme a me?
Would you come with me to the Maroon 5 show?

Se avessero tempo verrebbero con noi in montagna.
If they had time, they would come with us to the mountains.

Venire Conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Io sarei venuto/a

Tu saresti venuto/a

Lui / Lei sarebbe venuto/a

Noi saremmo venuti/e

Voi sareste venuti/e

Loro sarebbero venuti/e

Examples:

I miei genitori mi hanno detto che sarebbero venuti a trovarmi presto.
My parents told me they would come to visit me soon.

Nessuno ci ha avvisato che sareste venuti con i vostri amici.
No one told me you were coming with your friends.

Venire Conjugation – Imperativo

Imperativo is the tense of orders, instructions, suggestions and advice. Being an irregular verb, venire has its own forms, too.

Vieni (tu)

Venga (lui/lei)

Veniamo (noi)

Venite (voi)

Vengano (loro)

Examples:

Vieni qui subito! Devo parlarti.
Come here immediately! I need to talk to you.

Venite con me! Vi faccio fare un giro della casa.
Come with me! I’ll show you around.

Venire Conjugation – Infinito

Present tense	Past tense
venire	essere venuto / venuta / venuti / venute

Examples:

Venire a patti con uomo del genere potrebbe essere rischioso.
Reaching an agreement with a man like that might be risky.

Sono davvero contento di essere venuto con voi in Francia.
I’m really glad to have come with you to France.

Venire Conjugation – Participio

Present tense	Past tense
veniente	venuto / venuta / venuti / venute

Examples:

Sono rimasti svegli tutta la notte per vedere l’alba del giorno veniente.
They stayed up all night to see the dawn of the coming day.

Tutti stavano aspettando la sua venuta.
Everybody was awaiting her coming.

Note that the present and the past tense of Italian Participio can be mainly found as nouns or adjectives in literary texts, therefore their use is relatively restricted to specific circumstances.

Venire Conjugation – Gerundio

As for the Congiuntivo, Gerundio is another tense Italians don’t really apply very often, too. Anyway, you can find it in sentences in the present progressive.

Present tense	Past tense
venendo	essendo venuto / venuta / venuti / venute

Examples:

Venendo dalla campagna è abituato a stare a contatto con la natura.
Coming from the countryside, he is used to being in contact with nature.

Essendo venuti in ritardo, non hanno trovato un posto dove sedersi.
Having come late, they didn’t find a place to sit.

At the end of this article, you should be able to conjugate and use venire properly.

Allora, quando vieni in Italia?

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

May 8, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

Fare in italian – 50 Common Uses

At the very beginning of your learning journey you will surely use the verb fare in Italian.

Fare in Italian is an irregular verb of the first conjugation. It translates to do, to make and a lot of other English verbs and expressions according to the context: you can use fare to talk about work, hobbies, weather, math calculations, and so on. Some common expressions with fare are fare un giro, fare la doccia, fare sport or fare pace. Other Common Sayings with fare are “chi la fa l’aspetti”, “chi fa per sè fa per tre” or “tutto fa brodo”, and so on.

As you will see in this article, fare in Italian is so versatile that you could have a full conversation just by using this one verb!

Let’s review its conjugation and discover more than 50 ways you can use fare in Italian.

Conjugation of fare in Italian

First of all, you better see the conjugation of fare in Italian, which is irregular, therefore you need to learn it by heart.

Let’s see how to conjugate it in the present tense:

Io faccio

Tu fai

Lui / Lei fa

Noi facciamo

Voi fate

Loro fanno

You can take a look at the full conjugation here.

If you need to repeat Italian Verbs, here there are some useful books for you:

Most common uses of fare in Italian

Here below you find the most common uses of fare in Italian with some examples.

1. Work

You can use fare in Italian to talk about your job.

Example:

Cosa fai nella vita? Faccio la cameriera.
What is your job? I’m a waitress.

2. Hobbies

Fare in Italian can also be employed to talk about your hobbies and interests.

Example:

Cosa fai nel tempo libero? Di solito faccio lunghe passeggiate.
What do you do in your free time? I usually go for long walks.

3. Weather

You can apply the third person of fare in Italian, “fa”, followed by an adjective to describe the weather.

Examples:

Oggi fa caldo!
Today is hot!

Il meteo dice che domani fa freddo.
The weather forecast says that tomorrow will be cold.

4. Math calculations

To convey the result of a math calculation you need to use fare in Italian.

Example:

Tutti sanno che due più due fa quattro.
Everybody knows that two plus two is four.

5. To make

Very often you can resort to fare in Italian the same way as make in English.

Examples:

Ho fatto un tavolo di legno.
I made a wooden table.

Queste scarpe sono state fatte in Italia.
These shoes were made in Italy.

6. To bake

When you “create something with your hands” you need to use fare in Italian.

Example:

La mamma fa i biscotti e io faccio il pane.
Mom bakes cookies and I bake bread.

7. To act as …

Followed by the preposition “da”, fare in Italian means “to act as” or “serve as”.

Examples:

L’ombrellone fa da riparo per il sole.
The sun umbrella acts as a shelter from the sun.

Alfonso ci farà da cicerone.
Alfonso will act as a guide / he will be our guide.

Everyday Expressions with fare in Italian

Moreover, a really important thing to remember is that the verb fare in Italian occurs in lots of idiomatic expressions and sayings.

You can apply some of the following idiomatic expressions in your everyday life.

8. Fare colazione – to have breakfast

You make reference to the verb fare in Italian instead of to have in this statement.

Example:

Faccio colazione alle 8:00.
I have breakfast at 8:00.

9. Fare la doccia – to take a shower

In many expressions the verb to take is translated into fare in Italian.

Example:

Fai la doccia la sera o la mattina?
Do you take a shower in the evening or in the morning?

10. Fare un bagno – to take a bath/ bathe, to swim

Examples:

Stasera faccio un bagno rilassante.
Tonight I’ll take a relaxing bath.

Andiamo a fare un bagno al mare.
Let’s go for a swim in the sea.

11. Fare una passeggiata – To take a walk

You can also use fare due passi with the same meaning, literally to make two steps.

Examples:

Facciamo due passi.
Let’s take a walk.

Non voglio fare una passeggiata.
I don’t want to take a walk.

12. Fare un giro – To go for a stroll / a ride

Examples:

Joe va a fare un giro in macchina.
Joe goes for a ride.

I ragazzi fanno un giro in piazza.
The guys go for a stroll in the piazza.

13. Fare un pisolino – to take a nap

For this statement you can either use schiacciare or fare in Italian.

Example:

Molti italiani fanno / schiacciano un pisolino dopo pranzo.
Many Italians take a nap after lunch.

Note that schiacciare is less popular than fare in everyday conversations.

14. Fare due chiacchiere – to have a chat

You can say parlare or chiacchierare also with this statement using the verb fare in Italian.

Example:

Vieni qua e facciamo due chiacchiere.
Come here and let’s have a chat.

15. Fare una pausa – to take a break

Example:

Gli impiegati fanno una pausa solo per il pranzo.
Employees take a break only for lunch.

16. Fare un viaggio – to travel / take a trip

Example:

Non vedo l’ora di fare un viaggio.
I can’t wait to take a trip.

17. Fare una foto – to take a photo

Fare in Italian is also employed for taking pictures.

Example:

La ragazza fa tante foto.
The girl takes many pictures.

18. Fare il biglietto – to buy a ticket

Exactly, in this expression Italians prefer to apply fare instead of comprare (to buy).

Example:

Hai fatto il biglietto per il treno?
Did you buy the train ticket?

19. Fare una domanda – to ask a question

Verbs like domandare or chiedere (to ask) are not required if there is the word domanda (question) after. Also in this case you need fare in Italian.

Example:

Posso farti una domanda?
Can I ask you a question?

20. Fare la fila/ la coda – to wait in line

Example:

Non mi piace fare la fila.
I don’t like to wait in line.

21. Fare sport / ginnastica – to do sports / to exercise

Examples:

Mio figlio non fa sport.
My son doesn’t do sports.

Fate ginnastica tutti i giorni?
Do you exercise every day?

22. Fare un brindisi – to make a toast

You can either look at this expression with fare in Italian or brindare.

Example:

A Capodanno si fa un brindisi.
On New Year’s Eve people make a toast.

23. Fare una telefonata/ una chiamata – to make a call

Example:

Vorrei fare una telefonata / chiamata a Ciro.
I would like to call Ciro.

In addition to this statement with fare in Italian, we also have the verb chiamare with a direct object or telefonare with an indirect object.

Example:

Chiama Jay / Telefona a Jay e digli di venire qui.
Call Jay and tell him to come here.

24. Fare pace – to make up

Actually, this idiom with fare in Italian literally means to make peace.

Example:

Mi dispiace tanto, facciamo pace?
I am so sorry, can we make up?

25. Fare la spesa – to go grocery shopping

Example:

Io e mio marito facciamo la spesa la domenica.
My husband and I go grocery shopping on Sundays.

26. Fare le spese / shopping – to go shopping

Unlike the previous idiom, when Italians go shopping for clothes or other items, they usually say fare le spese or fare shopping.

Example:

Le mie amiche fanno shopping al centro commerciale.
My friends go shopping at the mall.

27. Fare presto / tardi – to be quick / late

In these two statements, instead of the verb essere (to be) you must apply fare in Italian

Examples:

Faccio presto, non ti preoccupare!
I’ll be quick, don’t worry!

Sbrigati o farai tardi!
Hurry up or you will be late!

28. Fare finta – to pretend

Example:

Non fare finta che non ti interessi.
Don’t pretend you don’t care.

29. Fare un regalo – to give a present

Fare in Italian can also replace regalare (to gift or to give as a gift) when followed bythe statement un regalo.

Example:

Gli hai fatto un regalo per il compleanno?
Did you give him a present for his birthday?

30. fare il possibile/di tutto – to do everything possible

Example:

Ho fatto di tutto per convincerlo, ma non ci sono riuscito.
I did everything possible to convince him, but I failed.

31. fare amicizia – to make friends

Example:

Non è molto brava a fare amicizia, vero?
She is not very good at making friends, is she?

32. fare casino / confusione – to make noise / create confusion

Examples:

Chi è che sta facendo casino? I bambini?
Who is making noise? Kids?

La smettete di fare confusione, per favore?
Would you stop creating confusion, please?

Remember that fare casino is generally used in colloquial language, while fare confusione in more formal contexts.

33. fare il pieno – to fill up the gas tank

Example:

Domani mi serve la macchina. Hai fatto il pieno?
Tomorrow I need the car. Did you fill up the gas tank?

34. fare attenzione – to pay attention

If you want to tell someone to be careful, you must employ fare in Italian, not pagare (to pay).

Example:

Certe volte dovresti fare attenzione a quello che dici!
Sometimes you should pay attention to what you say!

An alternative to fare attenzione is prestare attenzione, more formal but also effective.

Example:

Potrebbe cortesemente prestare attenzione quando parlo?
Could you please pay attention when I’m talking?

35. fare festa – to take a day off / to celebrate

According to the context, you employ this expression with fare in Italian when you want to say you are going to take a day off from work / school or you are going to celebrate.

Examples:

Non sei andato a scuola? Ho fatto festa.
Haven’t you gone to school? I’ve taken a day off.

Che dici? Facciamo festa il Primo Maggio?
What do you think? Shall we celebrate on May 1st?

36. Fare una festa – to throw a party

Example:

Facciamo una festa questa sera. Sarai dei nostri?
We are throwing a party this evening. Will you join us?

37. fare del proprio meglio – to do one’s best

Example:

Ha fatta davvero del suo meglio per superare tutti gli esami.
He truly did his best to pass all his exams.

38. fare alla romana – to split the check

This expression is very interesting because it refers to the local custom of people living in Rome to split the check equally according to the number of dining companions.

Example:

Ecco il conto. Facciamo alla romana?
Here is the check. Shall we split it?

39. fare da sé – to do something on your own

This statement has the same meaning of the expression fare da solo. However, this last one is much more common than the first one.

Example:

Non chiede mai aiuto. Fa sempre tutto da sé.
She never asks for help. She always does everything on her own.

40. fare il bravo/ la brava – be nice

This other statement including fare in Italian is mostly used when talking to children.

Example:

Fai il bravo / la brava quando mamma non c’è, ok?
Be nice when mom isn’t here, ok?

41. fare fatica – to struggle

Example:

Faccio fatica a credergli.
I struggle believing him

42. fare male / fare bene – act wrongly or rightly

Examples:

Vuole lasciare la scuola? Fa male.
Is he going to quit school? He’s acting wrongly.

Continueranno con lo sciopero. Fanno bene.
They’re going to keep striking. They’re acting rightly.

Remember not to confuse fare male in the meaning of act wrongly with fare male in the meaning of to hurt.

Example:

Come va la gamba oggi? Fa male.
How’s your leg today? It hurts.

43. fare schifo / senso – to be gross

Examples:

Mi fai schifo!
You disgust me!

Quest’ananas sulla pizza fa senso.
This pineapple on the pizza is gross.

Remember to apply these two statements with fare in Italian sparingly in order not to appear rude and impolite.

44. fare in tempo – to do something on time

Example:

Non so se farò in tempo per la festa.
I don’t know if I will make it on time for the party.

45. fare piacere – to please / make someone glad

Example:

Mi fa piacere se vieni.
I’ll be glad if you come.

46. fare colpo – to impress

Example:

Mi sa che hai fatto colpo.
I think you impressed them.

47. fare a meno – to do without something

Example:

Non posso fare a meno del caffè.
I can’t do without coffee

48. fare bella / brutta figura – to make a good / bad impression

Examples:

Lo studente fa una brutta figura se non sa niente.
The student looks bad if he doesn’t know anything.

Voglio comprare dei fiori per fare bella figura.
I want to buy some flowers to make a good impression

Note that you can replace the noun figura with the word impressione, always using fare in Italian.

Example:

Mi ha fatto davvero una buona impressione la tua nuova fidanzata.
Your new girlfriend really made a good impression on me.

49. Fare impressione – to shock

Example:

Luca mi fa impressione quando mi guarda fisso negli occhi.
Luca shocks / scares me when he stares at me.

50. Fare + infinito – Let / Make / Get + infinitive

Finally, fare in Italian,followed by an infinitive, translates the English expressions to make, to get and to let + infinitive.

Examples:

Riescono sempre a farla sorridere.
They always manage to make her smile.

Ieri mattina John ha fatto riparare la macchina.
Yesterday morning John got the car fixed.

Fammi sapere se hai bisogno di un passaggio fino all’aeroporto.
Let me know if you need a lift to the airport.

Common sayings with fare in Italian

Now let’s see some sayings with the verb fare in Italian:

Italian	English
Chi la fa l’aspetti.	What comes around goes around.
Chi fa per sé fa per tre.	If you want something done well, do it yourself.
Tutto fa brodo.	Every little bit helps.
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare.	It is easier said than done.
Non fare agli altri ciò che non vorresti fosse fatto a te.	Treat others as you want to be treated.
Fare di ogni erba un fascio.	To tar everyone with the same brush.
Fare buon viso a cattivo gioco	To play along with someone’s bad intent.

Expressions with the verb Farsi

Fare in italian can be reflexive as well. Here are some expressions with the reflexive form farsi:

Italian	English
farsi la barba	to shave
farsi coraggio	to hearten oneself / to give oneself courage
farsi in quattro	to bend over backwards
farsi vivo	to get in touch
farsi bello	to primp
farsi valere	to assert oneself
farsi capire	to make oneself understood
farsi gli affari propri	to mind one’s business
farsi male	to hurt oneself

Examples:

Mi sono fatto coraggio e alla fine gliel’ho detto.
I gave myself courage and finally I told it to him.

Quando si subisce un’ingiustizia, bisogna sempre farsi valere.
When you suffer injustice, you always need to assert yourself.

Penso che di tanto in tanto dovresti farti gli affari tuoi.
I think you should mind your business from time to time.

As you can see, there are many and many ways to use fare in Italian. Make sure you remember the most common uses of fare and start using these expressions and sayings with Italians!

By: Lucia Aiello

Lucia Aiello is one of the co-founders of LearnItalianGo. Born and raised in Italy, she is a passionate Italian teacher and language enthusiast.

May 3, 2021/by Lucia

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

Dovere Conjugation – use Dovere in Italian

Together with the verb potere and volere, Dovere Conjugation is one of the most important ones of the Italian language.

The verb dovere is an helping verbs and it is generally accompanied by a verb in the infinitive tense. As a servile verb, dovere can be translated as have to / must and it means to be obliged to do something, (even due to a law or moral norm or due to mandatory circumstances). As a transitive verb, dovere means To be required to give or return something. Dovere can be also used as noun and it means duty or obligation.

Examples:

Sta piovendo? Devo prendere l’ombrello?
Is it raining? Do I need to take my umbrella?

A scuola tutti gli studenti devono indossare l’uniforme.
Students must wear the uniform at school.

As you can see, different verbs to translate dovere exist in English, whose use is primarily linked to the context.

Dovere Conjugation – Presente

First of all, you should know that dovere follows the conjugation of Italian irregular verbs, hence you need to learn it by heart.

Here is its conjugation In the Presente:

Io devo / debbo

Tu devi

Lui/Lei deve

Noi dobbiamo

Voi dovete

Loro devono / debbono

Note that you can find two different forms in the first person singular and in the third person plural. The second one is quite unusual and less used.

Examples:

Devi fare attenzione quando attraversi la strada, capito?
You must pay attention when you cross the street, understand?

Sapete dov’è Michelle? Dobbiamo parlare urgentemente con lei!
Do you know where Michelle is? We need to talk to her urgently!

If you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

Dovere Conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Io ho dovuto	Io sono dovuto/a
Tu hai dovuto	Tu sei dovuto/a
Lui/Lei ha dovuto	Lui/Lei è dovuto/a
Noi abbiamo dovuto	Noi siamo dovuti/e
Voi avete dovuto	Voi siete dovuti/e
Loro hanno dovuto	Loro sono dovuti/e

In the Passato Prossimo the verb dovere usually takes the auxiliary avere, especially with transitive verbs requiring direct object pronouns.

On the contrary essere is used in presence of reflexive verbs and verbs of motion.

Remember that this general rule must be applied to all compound tenses of Italian grammar (Trapassato Remoto, Congiuntivo Trapassato, Condizionale Passato and so on.)

Examples:

Ha dovuto zittirlo per poter parlare. Ti rendi conto?
She had to silence him to talk. Can you believe it?

Purtroppo sono dovuti andar via prima del previsto.
Unfortunately, they had to leave earlier than expected.

Dovere Conjugation – Imperfetto

Io dovevo

Tu dovevi

Lui/Lei doveva

Noi dovevamo

Voi dovevate

Loro dovevano

Italian Imperfetto is commonly employed to speak about actions or habits in progress in the past.

Examples:

Non dovevate dirgli nulla. Non erano questi i patti!
You weren’t supposed to tell him anything. That wasn’t the deal!

Marc doveva scoprire cosa stava succedendo a tutti i costi.
Marc needed to find out what was happening at any cost.

Dovere Conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Io avevo dovuto	Io ero dovuto/a
Tu avevi dovuto	Tu eri dovuto/a
Lui/Lei aveva dovuto	Lui/Lei era dovuto/a
Noi avevamo dovuto	Noi eravamo dovuti/e
Voi avevate dovuto	Voi eravate dovuti/e
Loro avevano dovuto	Loro erano dovuti/e

Trapassato Prossimo refers to an action that occurred before another event in the past. To form it, you have to look at the simple past of avere or essere and the past participle of dovere.

Examples:

Avevano dovuto accostare perché la macchina era in panne.
They were forced to pull over because their car broke down.

Mi ero dovuto fermare a causa della pioggia intensa.
I was obliged to stop due to heavy rain.

Dovere Conjugation – Passato Remoto

Italian Passato Remoto basically occurs in literature, novels and history books. On the contrary, it is considered quite obsolete in everyday conversations. Beyond that, you apply it when you want to mention facts that happened a long time ago.

Io dovetti / dovei

Tu dovesti

Lui/Lei dovette /dové

Noi dovemmo

Voi doveste

Loro dovettero / doverono

As you may have noticed, the alternatives dovei, dové and doverono are present respectively in the first and third person singular and in the third person plural. These forms are relatively old-fashioned and less frequent.

Examples:

Dovette insistere molto per ottenere ciò che desiderava.
She had to insist a lot in order to get what she wanted.

A malincuore dovettero rinunciare al viaggio in Islanda.
Unfortunately, they had to give up travelling to Iceland.

Dovere Conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Io ebbi dovuto	Io fui dovuto/a
Tu avesti dovuto	Tu fosti dovuto/a
Lui/Lei ebbe dovuto	Lui/Lei fu dovuto/a
Noi avemmo dovuto	Noi fummo dovuti/e
Voi aveste dovuto	Voi foste dovuti/e
Loro ebbero dovuto	Loro furono dovuti/e

As for the Trapassato Prossimo, you are able to create sentences with Trapassato Remoto by referring to the past tense of auxiliary verbs and the past participle of dovere.

Examples:

Dopo che ebbe dovuto dimostrare la sua innocenza, venne assolto.
After he had needed to prove his innocence, he was acquitted.

Dopo che foste dovuti andare a prenderlo, lo accompagnaste anche a casa.
After you had been compelled to go get him, you also drove him home.

Dovere Conjugation – Futuro Semplice

Italian Futuro is required when your intention is to talk about events that have yet to happen (Futuro semplice) or a situation that will be finished before another one takes place (Futuro Anteriore).

Io dovrò

Tu dovrai

Lui/Lei dovrà

Noi dovremo

Voi dovrete

Loro dovranno

Examples:

Se vuole il mio aiuto, dovrà impegnarsi seriamente.
If she wants my help, she will have to make a serious commitment.

Dovrai dimostrare che non c’entri nulla con quello che è successo.
You will need to prove you had nothing to do with what happened.

Dovere Conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Io avrò dovuto	Io sarò dovuto/a
Tu avrai dovuto	Tu sarai dovuto/a
Lui/Lei avrà dovuto	Lui/Lei sarà dovuto/a
Noi avremo dovuto	Noi saremo dovuti/e
Voi avrete dovuto	Voi sarete dovuti/e
Loro avranno dovuto	Loro saranno dovuti/e

Examples:

Se Carla non ha soldi, avrà dovuto pagare il suo fidanzato.
If Carla has no money, her boyfriend must have paid for everything.

Avranno dovuto aspettare ore prima di essere visitati.
They must have waited for hours before seeing a doctor.

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Probably, Congiuntivo is one of the less appreciated tenses in Italian grammar. Despite that, it is widespread in the written language while usually replaced with some tenses of the indicative mood in the spoken language. Anyway, its main feature is the conjunction che coming first the conjugated verb. In order to form the compound tenses of Congiuntivo, you need to refer to the tenses of the present and past simple.

Che io debba

Che tu debba

Che lui/lei debba

Che noi dobbiamo

Che voi dobbiate

Che loro debbano

Examples:

Credo che tu debba riflettere su quello che hai fatto.
I believe you better think about what you have done.

Pensa davvero che dobbiate chiedergli scusa?
Does he really think you should apologize to him?

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Che io abbia dovuto	Che io sia dovuto/a
Che tu abbia dovuto	Che tu sia dovuto/a
Che lui/lei abbia dovuto	Che lui/lei sia dovuto/a
Che noi abbiamo dovuto	Che noi siamo dovuti/e
Che voi abbiate dovuto	Che voi siate dovuti/e
Che loro abbiano dovuto	Che loro siano dovuti/e

Examples:

Sono contento che Lucy non abbia dovuto pagare la multa.
I’m glad Lucy didn’t have to pay the fine.

Suppongo che siano dovuti partire molto presto stamattina.
I presume they had to leave very early this morning.

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Che io dovessi

Che tu dovessi

Che lui/lei dovesse

Che noi dovessimo

Che voi doveste

Che loro dovessero

Examples:

Se dovesse passare in ufficio, ditegli che non ci sono!
If he had to come by the office, tell him I’m not here!

Credevo che dovessimo incontrarci con i nostri amici oggi.
I thought we were supposed to meet our friends today.

Dovere Conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Che io avessi dovuto	Che io fossi dovuto/a
Che tu avessi dovuto	Che tu fossi dovuto/a
Che lui/lei avesse dovuto	Che lui/lei fosse dovuto/a
Che noi avessimo dovuto	Che noi fossimo dovuti/e
Che voi aveste dovuto	Che voi foste dovuti/e
Che loro avessero dovuto	Che loro fossero dovuti/e

Examples:

Se avessi dovuto prendere una decisione, chi avresti scelto?
If you had needed to make a decision, who would you have chosen?

Vorrei non foste dovute intervenire per risolvere la situazione.
I wish you hadn’t been compelled to intervene to sort it out.

Dovere Conjugation – Condizionale Presente

You resort to Italian Condizionale when you want to express polite requests, intentions, wishes or hypotheses. Its equivalent form can be both should and ought to in English.

Io dovrei

Tu dovresti

Lui/lei dovrebbe

Noi dovremmo

Voi dovreste

Loro dovrebbero

Examples:

Dovresti studiare di più, se vuoi superare tutti gli esami.
You ought to study more, if you want to pass all your exams.

Dovrebbe essere più gentile con chi gli vuole bene.
He should be kinder to those who care about him.

Dovere Conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Io avrei dovuto	Io sarei dovuto/a
Tu avresti dovuto	Tu saresti dovuto/a
Lui/Lei avrebbe dovuto	Lui/Lei sarebbe dovuto/a
Noi avremmo dovuto	Noi saremmo dovuti/e
Voi avreste dovuto	Voi sareste dovuti/e
Loro avrebbero dovuto	Loro sarebbero dovuti/e

Examples:

Tutti sbagliano! Avresti dovuto darle una seconda possibilità.
Everyone makes mistakes! You should have given her a second chance!

Sareste dovuti tornare prima delle 23. È mezzanotte!
You were supposed to come back before 11 pm. It’s midnight!

Dovere Conjugation – Infinito

Present tense	Past tense
dovere	aver dovuto esser dovuto / dovuta / dovuti / dovute

Examples:

Solitamente si dice che il dovere viene prima del piacere.
They usually say that duty comes before pleasure.

Dopo essersi dovuto licenziare, ha deciso di trasferirsi a Parigi.
After he was obliged to quit, he decided to move to Paris.

A thing to remember is that the present tense of Italian Infinito translates the noun duty in English.

Dovere Conjugation – Participio

Present tense	Past tense
–	dovuto / dovuta / dovuti / dovute

Examples:

Senza la dovuta documentazione, non è possibile ottenere il rimborso.
Without the proper paperwork, you cannot get a refund.

Potresti citarlo in giudizio e farti pagare il dovuto.
You could sue him and make him pay what he should.

As you can notice, the present tense of Italian Participio does not exist while the past tense is normally employed as an adjective or a noun.

Dovere Conjugation – Gerundio

Much more common in the written language, Italian Gerundio principally occurs in sentences built in the present progressive.

Present tense	Past tense
dovendo	avendo dovuto essendo dovuto / dovuta / dovuti / dovute

Examples:

Dovendo lavorare da casa oggi, ti lascio la macchina se ti serve.
Having to work from home today, I’ll leave you the car if you need.

Essendosi dovuto alzare presto, ha dormito solo per poche ore.
Having been forced to get up early, he just slept for a few hours.

Different meanings of Dovere in Italian

To Owe

In case dovere means “to be in debt to”, “need to give” or “to be thankful to”, it is followed by a noun and translated with the verb “owe” in English.

Examples:

Grazie per l’aiuto! Ti devo un favore!
Thanks for helping! I owe you a favor!

Dì a tua sorella che mi deve ancora 200 dollari.
Tell your sister she still owes me 200 dollars.

Avere bisogno

You are suggested to utilize dovere meaning avere bisogno, when you make reference to an interior need rather than an obligation.

Examples:

Sono davvero stanco! Devo stendermi un po’!
I’m truly tired! I need to lie down!

Prima di metterci in viaggio, dobbiamo riposare qualche ora.
Before we hit the road, we need to rest for a few hours.

After receiving all the necessary information about the verb dovere, you should be able to use it properly and conjugate it in all tenses.

Now it’s your time to say what you must or must not do in Italian!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

May 1, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

How to say yes in Italian

No and yes in Italian are likely to be the first expressions you will learn. Here you can also learn how to say no in Italian, but in this article we will see how to say yes in Italian:

How to say yes in Italian?

As a general rule, to say yes in Italian we use the word sì, often accompanied by grazie (thanks) to answer a question positively. It is really important to put an accent on the “i” of sì in order to write it properly. Also, this helps distinguish it from other words, like the reflexive pronoun si. Beyond sì, several alternatives to yes in Italian exist, depending on the context, on the person you are talking to or just on a personal choice. We can translate yes with certo or certamente (surely), assolutamente (absolutely), senz’altro (of course), senza dubbio (without a doubt ), and a lot of other expressions that are very common in Italy.

Let’s give a look at all ways we can say yes in Italian!

Certo / Certamente

Certo and certamente are the most common alternatives to say yes in Italian. You can apply one of them to affirm you are going to help someone do something for sure.

Example:

Mamma, potresti aiutarmi con i compiti di francese più tardi? – Certo! / Certamente!
Mum, could you help me please with my French homework later? – Sure! / Surely!

Here there are some useful books for you:

Assolutamente

In case you wish to express certainty or totally agree with what people are telling you, you may want to use the term “assolutamente” , which is more than yes in Italian.

Example:

Che ne pensi della proposta di James? Sei d’accordo, Lisa? – Assolutamente!
What do you think about James’ proposal? Do you agree, Lisa? – Absolutely!

Senz’altro / Ma certo

These two statements to say yes in Italian are largely employed in formal contexts, especially in public places (restaurants, pubs, clubs) when you receive a polite answer after asking for something.

Example:

Scusi, posso avere anche io un calice di vino? – Senz’altro! / Ma certo!
Excuse me, may I have a glass of wine, too? – Of course!

Senza dubbio / Senza ombra di dubbio

When you are convinced that something will happen, you better utilize “senza dubbio” or “senza ombra di dubbio”. Literally “without a doubt” and “without any shadow of doubt”.

Example:

Secondo me, tante persone parteciperanno alla manifestazione. – Senza dubbio! / Senza ombra di dubbio!
In my opinion, a lot of people will participate in the demonstration. – No doubt! / No question!

Sicuro / Sicuramente

Other valid alternatives to say yes in Italian are “sicuro” or “sicuramente”, mainly employed when there is no doubt about the fact that you will achieve what they asked you to do.

Example:

Kate, passerai a trovarmi dopo cena? – Sicuro! / Sicuramente!
Kate, will you come over after dinner? – Sure! / Surely!

Per forza

You can use this statement when you reply to a question you take for granted, referring to something you actually need or necessarily have to do.

Example:

Mary, ti serve la macchina ora? – Per forza! Sto facendo tardi!
Mary, do you need the car right now? – Of course! I’m late!

Note that this alternative to yes in Italian can be also perceived in a negative way. It’s almost like saying “Obviously, what for a question is this?” . For this reason, it is better to apply it exclusively when speaking to someone close to you.

Ovvio / Ovviamente

These two expressions to say yes in Italian are very useful in case you have to confirm something evident and widely clear you are completely sure of.

Example:

Prima di andare in discoteca, mangiamo qualcosa? – Ovvio! / Ovviamente!
Before going to the disco, can we have something to eat? – Obviously!

Chiaramente

You are suggested to apply “chiaramente” in case you are convinced someone is telling you something seemingly obvious. Despite that, you also think you should give more information when answering in order to be more precise.

Example:

Se non mangio pane e pasta fino a domenica, potrei perdere abbastanza peso in soli dieci giorni. – Chiaramente! Ricorda però di non bere alcolici!
If I don’t eat bread and pasta until Sunday, I’ll be able to lose enough weight within ten days. – Clearly! Just remember not to drink alcohol!

Naturalmente

In case of absolute and unquestionable truths leading to predictable consequences, the most suitable way to reply is by using “naturalmente” as an answer.

Example:

Se mangi troppi cioccolatini, rischi un bel mal di pancia. – Naturalmente!
If you eat too many chocolates, you might have a stomach ache. – Naturally!

GIUSTO / VERO

“Giusto” and “vero” are mostly used in place of yes in Italian when you realise someone is reminding you of something important like a deadline, a scheduled activity or a particular occurence.

Example:

Ricorda che entro sabato bisogna pagare la bolletta della luce. – Giusto! / Vero!
emember that the electricity bill must be paid by Saturday. – Right!

Esatto / Esattamente

These two statements convey the idea that you essentially agree with what has been said to you. In order to prove it, you need to resort to one of these terms.

Example:

Ti devo ancora 5 dollari, giusto? – Esatto! / Esattamente!
Do I still owe you 5 dollars, right? – Exactly!

Precisamente

“Precisamente” is the appropriate answer to give when you realize the person you are talking to shares your same opinions or has perfectly understood what you meant.

Example:

Dunque, se studio quattro ore al giorno per le prossime due settimane, riuscirò sicuramente a superare gli esami a fine mese. – Precisamente!
So, if I study four hours a day for the next couple weeks, I’ll manage to pass my exams at the end of the month. – Precisely!

Proprio così

Another expression to say yes in Italian is “proprio così”, basically employed when you want to verify you easily understood what they told you.

Example:

Ha detto davvero che si sarebbe licenziato la prossima settimana? – Proprio così!
Did he really say he would quit next week? – That’s right!

Ok

Nowadays, “ok” is one of the most well-known and used words in Italian. Primarily belonging to English lexicon, this term can be found in everyday conversations, TV shows and even in speeches by politicians.

Example:

Ti va una birra dopo il lavoro? – Ok
How about a beer after work? – Ok

Remember that it is quite unusual to apply “ok” when talking to a stranger or a professor. For this reason, its use is principally restricted to informal situations.

D’accordo / Va bene

When your intention is to accept what they are offering you or simply do what they asked you, “d’accordo” or “va bene” are the best alternatives to yes in Italian.

Example:

Passo a prenderti prima di andare da Jane? – D’accordo! / Va bene!
Will I pick you up before going to Jane’s? – All right!

Also in this case, the use of these two expressions is mostly recommended in informal situations. Anyway, you are free to employ them in formal contexts, too.

When yes in Italian has other meanings

On some peculiar occasions, the word sì can replace other words or even express feelings and sensations. Let’s go see when this happens!

Pronto

When Italians answer the intercom or the telephone, they sometimes say “sì?” instead of “pronto?”.

Example:

(squilla il telefono) Sì? – Buongiorno, sono Antonio. Posso parlare con Carlo, per favore?
(telephone rings) – Hello? – Good morning! This is Antonio! Can I speak to Carlo, please?

Evvai / Evviva

The word sì followed by an exclamation mark can express joy, excitement and satisfaction for something that happened to you. It is mainly used in place of some interjections like Evvai! or Evviva! (Hurray!).

Example:

Sì!! Ho appena vinto 50 dollari!
Yeees! I just won 50 dollars!

Conclusion

By now you should be able to use and recognize the different ways to say yes in Italian.

According to the person you are chatting with, some expressions occur in formal circumstances (such as senz’altro, ma certo), while others basically exist in informal situations (such as ok, va bene, d’accordo).

Also in this case, you are supposed to pay attention when applying one of these expressions because they may sometimes be perceived negatively or even as a sign of bad manners. An example is the statement per forza: if improperly used, it might spark unpleasantness and rudeness.

For this reason you better see when and how to use them in advance!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

April 24, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

How to say no in Italian?

Sometimes, it’s quite hard to say no, even in italian. After studying how to say yes in Italian, you can learn how to say no:

How to say no in Italian?

Generally, to say no in Italian you just need to say “no” followed by the word “grazie” (thank you) to answer a question negatively, but politely. Anyway, there are several alternatives to no in Italian, whose use is mainly related to the person you are talking to. You can for example use expressions like non credo / non penso, ne dubito, non è possibile, magari, macché or neanche per sogno! No can also be used to say yes in expressions like come no (for sure) or used in question tags.

Let’s go see them!

formal and informal Ways to say no in Italian

Non credo / Non penso

These two statements to say no in Italian are chiefly used to express doubts, hesitation about a certain situation or what is going to happen.

Example:

Sai per caso se la ferramenta è ancora aperta a quest’ora? – Non credo / Non penso.
Do you know if the hardware store is still open this late? – I don’t believe so / I don’t think so.

Ne dubito / Ne dubito proprio

Instead of resorting to no in Italian, you can employ one of these expressions when you want to convey uncertainty or you have the feeling that something is to happen or did not happen.

Example:

Pensi che verrà dopo quello che è successo? – Ne dubito! / Ne dubito proprio!
Do you think she’ll come after what happened? – I doubt it! / I really doubt it!

Mi sa di no

When you are not sure of something and fear the answer could be negative, you should utilize “mi sa di no”.

Example:

Sai se Luca è già andato a fare la spesa? – Mi sa di no!
Do you know if Luca went grocery shopping? – I don’t think so!

Temo di no

When using this statement to say no Italian, you are communicating to be sorry for something done you are not to blame for.

Example:

Hai ricevuto l’e-mail che ti ho inviato domenica? – Temo di no!
Did you receive the email I sent you on Saturday? – I’m afraid not!

Non è possibile

In this case you are conveying surprise, anger or disappointment for something that happened to you or others.

Example:

Sapevi che Steven si è sposato con Carol la scorsa settimana? – Non è possibile! Mi stai prendendo in giro?
Did you know Steven got married to Carol last week? – No way! Are you kidding me?

Magari

This term is generally employed in place of no in Italian when you want to express hope, wish for something that will or did not happen.

Example:

Hai comprato delle scarpe nuove? – Magari! Non ho un euro in tasca!
Have you bought any new shoes? – I wish! I don’t even have a euro to spend!

No in Italian – Formal expressions

Vorrei, ma non posso

In this case, your intention is to accept what they are offering you but you politely decline because you don’t want to “take advantage” of the current situation.

Example:

Vorresti rimanere a cena con noi? – Vorrei, ma non posso!
Would you like to stay for dinner with us? – I would like to, but I cannot.

Sarà per la prossima volta

In order not to appear rude, you make use of polite manners to refuse something they are offering you, postponing it the next time you will see each other again.

Example:

Che ne dici di andare al cinema stasera? – Non riesco. Sarà per la prossima volta!
What about going to the cinema tonight? – I can’t. Maybe some other time!

La ringrazio, ma devo rifiutare

Extremely polite, this expression can be addressed to a person you don’t know very well, probably older than you. In this case you are saying to be grateful for what they are offering you but you are “forced” to decline the offer on this occasion due to specific reasons.

Example:

Le andrebbe una partita a carte? – La ringrazio, ma devo rifiutare. Mi aspettano a casa.
Would you like to play cards? – I thank you, but I must say no. I’m expected at home.

Grazie, è come se avessi accettato

It is an extremely polite alternative to say no in Italian used when you kindly say no in Italian to something that has been offered to you from a person you barely know.

Example:

Vuoi una tazza di caffè? – Grazie, è come se avessi accettato!
Would you like a cup of coffee? – Thanks, pretend I had accepted!

No in Italian – Informal expressions

Macché

Considered as one of the most well-known expressions to say no in Italian, you can apply it to communicate a strong sense of disappointment.

Example:

Hai finito di studiare? – Macché, non ho neanche iniziato!
Have you finished studying? – As if! I haven’t even started!

In some cases, macché can be followed by a noun or a verb, especially when you are excluding or rejecting the possibility of doing something.

Examples:

Andiamo in montagna quest’estate? – Macché montagna! Andiamo ai Caraibi!
Shall we go to the mountains this summer? – Forget the mountains! Let’s go to the Caribbean!

Ti va di andare a bere qualcosa? – Macché bere! Muoio di fame!
Do you want to go get a drink? Forget drinking! I’m starving!

Neanche per sogno / Neanche per idea

You should apply one of these two alternatives to say no in Italian when you are firmly convinced not to perform a task you were suggested to accomplish.

Example:

Potresti comprare tu i regali di Natale al posto mio? – Neanche per sogno! / Neanche per idea!
Could you buy Christmas presents in my place? – In your dreams! / Not a chance!

Non ci penso proprio

Also in this case your aim is to mention the fact that you are not considering what they commanded you to do at all.

Example:

Ti va di andare a correre più tardi? – Non ci penso proprio!
Would you like to go jogging later? – Don’t even think about it!

Non mi va

When you use “non mi va” to say no in Italian, you just want to state that you dislike what they suggested you to do or don’t feel like doing anything at the moment.

Example:

Che ne dici se facciamo una torta? – Non mi va!
What about baking a pie? – I don’t feel like it!

Scordatelo

This way to say no in Italian might be quite harsh to hear because it conveys the idea that you will ever consider the possibility of helping someone do something, without even thinking about it.

Example:

Mi aiuteresti con i compiti di matematica più tardi? – Scordatelo!
Would you help me with math homework later? – Forget it!

Remember to employ it sparingly so as not to appear unkind, even if you are talking to a friend!

Proprio no / Certo che no

You can apply one of these expressions when asserting you are extremely sure not to do something previously requested.

Example:

Non avrai intenzione di rinunciare alle ferie retribuite, vero? – Proprio no! / Certo che no!
Are you not going to give up the right to paid leave, aren’t you? – Definitely not! / Of course not!

Ma quando mai

Another way to say no in Italian is by replying with this expression when someone tries “to accuse” you of something you haven’t done.

Example:

Eri tu che cenavi ieri sera con Dominique? – Ma quando mai!
Was it you who was having dinner with Dominique last night? – Since when?

Non se ne parla proprio / Per carità

These expressions could be useful to you when you definitely reject the idea of doing something for someone for different reasons.

Example:

Dovresti convincere Paul a vendere la sua casa. – Non se ne parla proprio! / Per carità!
You should persuade Paul to sell his house. – That’s off the table! / For pity’s sake!

No in Italian – When “no” means “yes”

In certain circumstances, basically when you retort to someone, the term no might mean yes, as in the expressions Come no and those related to question tags.

Come no

This is a very common Italian expression you generally resort to when you want to confirm something in a decisive way.

Example:

Nonostante gli errori, sono stati molto bravi, vero? – Come no!
Despite the mistakes, they have been very successful, haven’t they? – For sure!

Question tags

Primarily belonging to the English grammar, question tags can be translated in Italian in different ways; one of these is by adding the word no accompanied by a question mark to the end of your statement.

Example:

Dovrebbe prendere le pillole una volta al giorno, no?
He should take his pills once a day, shouldn’t he?

Conclusion

As you may have noticed, there are many ways to say no in Italian when talking to a close friend or a stranger. Some of these are relatively common in everyday conversations, while others are mostly unusual or limited to a specific context of use. Beyond that, you should remember these expressions must be employed with restraint because they might often be perceived negatively or even hurt someone (like “Scordatelo!”, “Neanche per sogno!”).

Therefore, pay attention to when and how using them!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

April 17, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma

Italian Grammar, Italian Vocabulary

Volere Conjugation – How to use Volere in Italian

Volere Conjugation is considered as an essential and useful verb that can be found in most Italian daily conversations.

What does Volere means?

The Italian verb volere is mainly used to express will, expectation, intention, demand and wish. Volere means that you want to reach a goal, to achieve something or to complete an action; It also means to be eager to do something (and in this case you can also use the expression avere voglia+infinitive) or for someone else to do something. Being a modal verb, it is generally followed by an infinitive verb.

Here there are some examples:

Vuoi una tazza di tè o di caffè?
Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?

Giulia e Marta vogliono andare a Roma questo weekend.
Giulia and Marta want to go to Rome this weekend.

As you may have noticed, volere principally translates the English verb to want.

Before continuing with the explanation, if you want to practice Italian Grammar and tenses here is a list of useful books for you:

Volere conjugation – Presente

Firstly, it is really important to say that volere does not follow the general rules of Italian regular verbs. For this reason, you are suggested to learn its conjugation in all tenses by heart. Let’s find out how to conjugate it in the Presente:

Io voglio

Tu vuoi

Lui/Lei vuole

Noi vogliamo

Voi volete

Loro vogliono

As you can see, the consonant g occurs in the verb root in the first person singular and plural and the third person plural.

Examples:

Cosa vuoi? Un pezzo di torta o un gelato?
What do you want? A piece of cake or an ice-cream?

Non prendertela! Sai che la mamma vuole solo il nostro bene.
Don’t be upset! You know mum just wants what is best for us.

Volere conjugation – Passato Prossimo

Io ho voluto	Io sono voluto/a
Tu hai voluto	Tu sei voluto/a
Lui/Lei ha voluto	Lui/Lei è voluto/a
Noi abbiamo voluto	Noi siamo voluti/e
Voi avete voluto	Voi siete voluti/e
Loro hanno voluto	Loro sono voluti/e

In the Passato Prossimo, the verb volere can take both essere and avere. The choice of the right auxiliary depends on the type of verb you are using in the sentence. In case of transitive verbs which basically require a direct object, you will utilize avere. On the contrary, essere occurs when verbs of motion or reflexive verbs exist in the sentence.

Examples:

Ieri non ha voluto mangiare nulla perché stava male.
Yesterday he didn’t want to eat anything because he was sick.

Non si è voluta intromettere per non sembrare troppo invadente.
She didn’t want to get involved so as not to appear too invasive.

Volere conjugation – Imperfetto

Io volevo

Tu volevi

Lui/Lei voleva

Noi volevamo

Voi volevate

Loro volevano

You are asked to build sentences in the Imperfetto, when you want to talk about actions or habits in progress in the past.

Examples:

Volevano cenare con noi perché ci trovavano molto simpatici.
They wanted to have dinner with us because they found us pleasant.

Perché volevi incontrarla? Non l’hai vista di recente?
Why did you want to meet her? Didn’t you see her recently?

Volere conjugation – Trapassato Prossimo

Io avevo voluto	Io ero voluto/a
Tu avevi voluto	Tu eri voluto/a
Lui/Lei aveva voluto	Lui/Lei era voluto/a
Noi avevamo voluto	Noi eravamo voluti/e
Voi avevate voluto	Voi eravate voluti/e
Loro avevano voluto	Loro erano voluti/e

To form the Trapassato Prossimo, you just need to know the simple past of essere and avere and the past participle of the verb volere.

Examples:

Michael e Carl avevano voluto saperne di più di questa storia.
Michael and Carl had wanted to know more about this story.

Erano voluti uscire comunque nonostante la pioggia insistente.
They had wished to go out despite persistent rain anyway.

Volere conjugation – Passato Remoto

Io volli

Tu volesti

Lui/Lei volle

Noi volemmo

Voi voleste

Loro vollero

Passato Remoto is one of the less appreciated tenses in Italian because its formation is particularly tricky. Beyond that, it is chiefly employed to report facts that happened a long time ago.

Examples:

Mark non volle l’aiuto di nessuno, eccetto quello di suo padre.
Mark didn’t want anybody’s help, except his father’s.

Non vollero fargli del male, ma solo spaventarlo un pò.
They didn’t mean to hurt him, just scare him a little bit.

Volere conjugation – Trapassato Remoto

Io ebbi voluto	Io fui voluto/a
Tu avesti voluto	Tu fosti voluto/a
Lui/Lei ebbe voluto	Lui/Lei fu voluto/a
Noi avemmo voluto	Noi fummo voluti/e
Voi aveste voluto	Voi foste voluti/e
Loro ebbero voluto	Loro furono voluti/e

As for the Trapassato Prossimo, you can create sentences in the Trapassato Remoto by referring to the past tense of auxiliary verbs and the past participle of volere.

Examples:

Dopo che non ebbe voluto partire con loro, cambiò idea.
After he hadn’t wanted to leave with them, he changed his mind.

Dopo che vi foste volute sposare, vi trasferiste a Chicago.
After you had wanted to get married, you moved to Chicago.

Volere conjugation – Futuro Semplice

Italian Futuro is required when you want to mention events that have yet to happen (Futuro Semplice) or make reference to a future situation occurring before another one (Futuro Anteriore).

Io vorrò

Tu vorrai

Lui/Lei vorrà

Noi vorremo

Voi vorrete

Loro vorranno

Examples:

Dopo quello che le hai fatto, non penso vorrà rivederti.
After what you did to her, I don’t think she’ll want to see you again.

Vorrà sicuramente sapere cosa ci è successo la scorsa estate.
I’m sure he will want to know what happened to us last summer.

Volere conjugation – Futuro Anteriore

Io avrò voluto	Io sarò voluto/a
Tu avrai voluto	Tu sarai voluto/a
Lui/Lei avrà voluto	Lui/Lei sarà voluto/a
Noi avremo voluto	Noi saremo voluti/e
Voi avrete voluto	Voi sarete voluti/e
Loro avranno voluto	Loro saranno voluti/e

Examples:

Avranno voluto sicuramente mangiare dopo il viaggio a Boston.
They surely will have wanted to eat after their trip to Boston.

Immagino saranno volute rimanere ancora un pò qui con noi.
I guess they will have wanted to stay a little longer here with us.

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Presente

Che io voglia

Che tu voglia

Che lui/lei voglia

Che noi vogliamo

Che voi vogliate

Che loro vogliano

Congiuntivo is quite unpopular among Italians. It is often replaced with some tenses of the indicative mood. Despite that, its main feature is the conjunction che preceding the conjugated verb.

In order to translate the Congiuntivo Presente, Congiuntivo Passato, Congiuntivo Imperfetto and Congiuntivo Trapassato, you need to look at the tenses of present and past simple.

Examples:

Perché Helene pensa che Luke voglia rompere con lei?
Why does Helen think Luke wants to break up with her?

Non credo che vogliano svegliarsi presto la domenica mattina.
I don’t really believe they want to get up early on Sunday morning.

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Passato

Che io abbia voluto	Che io sia voluto/a
Che tu abbia voluto	Che tu sia voluto/a
Che lui/lei abbia voluto	Che lui/lei sia voluto/a
Che noi abbiamo voluto	Che noi siamo voluti/e
Che voi abbiate voluto	Che voi siate voluti/e
Che loro abbiano voluto	Che loro siano voluti/e

Examples:

Credi che Jack abbia voluto allontanarsi da me di proposito?
Do you think Jack wanted to get away from me on purpose?

Nonostante si sia voluta riposare, non è riuscita a dormire.
Although she wanted to rest, she couldn’t sleep.

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Imperfetto

Che io volessi

Che tu volessi

Che lui/lei volesse

Che noi volessimo

Che voi voleste

Che loro volessero

Examples:

Pensavo che voleste dargli un’altra possibilità.

I thought you wanted to give him another chance.

Elizabeth sperava volessi andare a fare una passeggiata con lei.

Elizabeth hoped I wanted to go out for a walk with her.

Volere conjugation – Congiuntivo Trapassato

Che io avessi voluto	Che io fossi voluto/a
Che tu avessi voluto	Che tu fossi voluto/a
Che lui/lei avesse voluto	Che lui/lei fosse voluto/a
Che noi avessimo voluto	Che noi fossimo voluti/e
Che voi aveste voluto	Che voi foste voluti/e
Che loro avessero voluto	Che loro fossero voluti/e

Examples:

Se avessi voluto il vostro aiuto, mi sarei rivolto a voi.
If I had wanted your help, I would have spoken to you.

Magari ti ci fossero volute due ore per riparare la lavastoviglie!
I wish it took you two hours to fix the dishwasher.

Volere conjugation – Condizionale Presente

Italian Condizionale is the tense of polite requests and wishes.

Its equivalent form is the expression would like to in English.

Io vorrei

Tu vorresti

Lui/Lei vorrebbe

Noi vorremmo

Voi vorreste

Loro vorrebbero

Examples:

Vorrei un pezzo di crostata e una coca cola light, per favore!
I’d like a piece of pie and a diet coke, please!

Vorrebbero andare a prendere loro Derrek alla stazione domani.
They would like to pick Derrek up from the central station tomorrow.

Volere conjugation – Condizionale Passato

Io avrei voluto	Io sarei voluto/a
Tu avresti voluto	Tu saresti voluto/a
Lui avrebbe voluto	Lui sarebbe voluto/a
Noi avremmo voluto	Noi saremmo voluti/e
Voi avreste voluto	Voi sareste voluti/e
Loro avrebbero voluto	Loro sarebbero voluti/e

Examples:

Avresti voluto del vino rosso, se ne avessero avuto?
Would you have liked some red wine, if they had had some?

Nonostante la situazione, sarebbero comunque voluti andarci.
Despite the situation, they would have liked to go there anyway.

Volere conjugation – Infinito

Present tense	Past tense
volere	aver voluto esser voluto/ voluta / voluti / volute

Examples:

Un famoso proverbio dice: “Volere è potere!”
A famous proverb says: “Will is power!”

Aver voluto partecipare all’iniziativa è segno del mio impegno.
Having wanted to take part in this initiative is sign of my commitment.

Remember that the present tense of Infinito can be also used as a noun translating the word will in English.

Volere conjugation – Participio

Present tense	Past tense
volente	voluto / voluta / voluti / volute

Examples:

Volente o nolente, verrai con noi al matrimonio di Felicia.
Willing or unwilling, you will come to Felicia’s wedding with us.

Ci siamo sempre sentiti ben voluti in questa famiglia.
We always felt well accepted in this family.

As you may have noticed, the past tense of Italian Participio may sometimes turn into an adjective or a noun.

Volere conjugation – Gerundio

As for the subjunctive mood, Gerundio is another tense Italians don’t really use very often, too. Anyway, you can find it in sentences built in the present progressive.

Present tense	Past tense
volendo	avendo voluto essendo voluto / voluta / voluti / volute

Examples:

Volendo potresti lasciare le tue cose nel garage.
If you want, you could leave your things in the garage.

Essendosi voluti salutare, si sono dati appuntamento al bar.
Having wanted to say hello to each other, they met at the bar.

Volere conjugation – Different uses of Volere in Italian

Volere with Che

In order to express wish, you can employ volere with the conjunction che followed by subjunctive mood.

Example:

Voglio che tu sia più gentile con Veronica d’ora in avanti.
I want you to be kinder to Veronica from now on.

Volere with Pronouns

In case volere is used as a modal verb, Italian direct and indirect object pronouns and combined pronouns can go either before the verb or after the infinitive that volere is supporting. Remember that you are supposed to delete the final ending of the infinitive if you decide to postpone pronouns after it.

Example:

Mi vorresti aiutare / Vorresti aiutarmi con i compiti?
Would you help me with my homework?

Ci vuole, ci vogliono

The impersonal and pronominal verb volerci, used with essere, means “it takes, it necessitates”. You can only conjugate it in the third person singular and plural according to what you are referring to.

Example:

Ci vogliono quasi 2.000 euro per acquistare una lavatrice nuova.
It takes almost 2.000 euros to buy a new washing machine.

In some cases, you can employ this construction with reflexive pronouns if the necessity is personal rather than impersonal.

Example:

Le ci è voluto un anno intero per scrivere la tesi di laurea.
It took her a whole year to write her dissertation.

Volere dire

If accompanied by the verb dire, volere means “to mean” or “to say”

Examples:

Cosa vuol dire questa parola in tedesco?
What does this word in German mean?

Che vuoi dire?
What do you mean? / What are you saying?

Now that you are able to conjugate volere in all tenses, you can easily say which are your wishes and requests in Italian.

Therefore, tell your Italians friends what you want or don’t want to do!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

April 10, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma

Italian Vocabulary

Italian curse words – Swear in Italian

Like any other language, Italian has its own parolacce, curse words, too. Often accompanied by funny Italian gestures, they are used in many different situations, including everyday conversations, to communicate what you are feeling, to indicate times you are frustrated or generally to insult someone during a quarrel. However, young generations employ them to mock their friends, to express admiration towards other people and even to start a conversation.

Most Used Italian curse words

According to Vito Tartamella’s article, a famous Italian jounalist, the most used Italian curse words are cazzo (fuck!), Madonna (oh, mother!), stronzo (asshole!), coglione (idiot!) and merda (shit). Surprisingly, the less used curse word is vaffanculo (fuck off!).

Now it’s time to give a look at the following list showing the most common swear words Italians principally use when they are stuck in traffic, argue with each other or express their feelings according to the context.

Italian / English	Use
Cazzo! / Minchia! Fuck!	When your intention is to indicate surprise, anger, disappointment and, in some cases, appreciation
Testa di cazzo! / Testa di minchia! Dickhead! / Prick!	When you refer to an unkind, disagreeable and rude man or woman
Cazzone! / Minchione! Idiot!	When your desire is to report a jerk, stupid or lunkhead person
Cavolo! (Literally: cabbage) Holy crap!	When you express amazement, wonderment and, in certain circumstances, annoyance
Vaffanculo! Fuck off! / Fuck you!	When you invite somebody to stop doing something or to leave
Porca puttana! / Porca troia! / Porca miseria! Bloody hell! / Damn! / Dammit!	When you need to communicate anger, frustration and also pain
Merda! Shit!	When you wish to underline you are furious or something is going wrong
Figlio di puttana! Son of a bitch!	When you just want to insult someone or, in other cases, state that you are a smart and foxy guy
Stronzo! Asshole!	When you point out a bad, hateful and reprehensible person
Madonna! / Madonna santa! Oh, mother!	When you are surprised, happy, nervous or bothered
Che palle! What a pain in the ass!	When something bothers or bores you
Che figata! That’s awesome! / That’s cool!	When you see or do something pleasant, great and amazing
Morto di figa! Poonhound!	When you mention a man who really enjoys to ask women for sex in a compulsive way
Rincoglionito! / Rimbambito! Numbnuts!	When you identify a guy who is mainly fool, heedless and with his head in the clouds
Rompicoglioni! / Cagacazzo! Ball breaker! / Ballbuster!	When you describe a really irritating and troublesome person
Leccaculo! / Leccapiedi! / Lecchino! Ass licker! Kiss-ass!	When you speak of a man or a woman who pretends to appreciate someone’s deeds for personal gain
Coglione! Idiot!	When you are talking about an incompetent, dumb and naive person
Pezzo di merda! Piece of shit!	When you name an awful and wretched person
Cornuto! Cuckold!	When you refer to a man whose wife is cheating on him. Be careful when you use it!

Italian Curse Words in Context

Ma di che cazzo stai parlando? Io non c’entro niente con questa storia!

What the fuck are you talking about? I had nothing to do with that!

Merda! Ho dimenticato di nuovo le chiavi di casa da Katy e Steven!

Shit! I forgot my keys at Katy and Steven’s again!

Lo sai che Michael quest’estate ha fatto bungee jumping nel Grand Canyon? Che figata!

Do you know Michael went bungee jumping in the Grand Canyon this summer? That’s awesome!

Davvero hai speso 500 dollari in un fine settimana? Sei proprio un coglione!

Did you really spend 500 dollars on a weekend? You are such an idiot!

Pezzo di merda! Ho dovuto fare tutto da solo perché non c’eri in quel momento!

Piece of shit! I had to do it all by myself because you weren’t there in that moment!

3 reasons you should know Italian curse words

Before moving forward to more expressions, I want to show you three main reasons why you need to learn Italian curse words.

1. Swearing is good for your health

In her book “Swearing is Good for You: the Amazing Science of Bad Language”, British PhD scientist Emma Byrne refers to the latest research from prominent neuroscientists, psychologists and sociologists to prove that cursing is a good thing for your physical and mental wellness. That’s because it can help you reduce stress, better tolerate any type of pain and release vivid emotions that make you feel stronger. Furthermore, it boosts human sociality and team spirit, too.

Instead, some experts assert the act of cursing could be even considered a sign of verbal fluency and intelligence.

2. Italian curse words are used in everyday life

If you are in Italy and want to settle in more easily, then you better learn Italian curse words. Seen as Italians do not always make use of a formal language in their daily routine, it could help you know them for various reasons: not only to break the ice in a conversation, make some friends or catch something during small talks, but mainly to embrace the opportunity to find out other sides of Italian lifestyle.

Naturally, the use of curse words usually occurs when your Italian friend and you become closer after seeing each other on several occasions.

3. Curse words belong to Italian culture

If you just look at Italian songs , movies and even politics, you are already able to understand the critical role that curse words take on specific social contexts. Famous songs like “È venerdì, non mi rompete i coglioni” and “Bella stronza”, respectively by Italian singers Luciano Ligabue and Marco Masini, are clear examples proving that a significant occurrence of curse words in Italian language. Even Italian stand-up comedian and political activist Beppe Grillo, as well as art historian Vittorio Sgarbi, became very popular for their excessive usage of swear words after taking part in the most well-known Italian talk shows.

Most common expressions with Italian curse words

Beyond single bad words, there are also a lot of idioms related to curse words you might hear if you witness or get involved in a disagreement or a fight among Italians.

To make sure you clearly understand what is going on in case of an argument, probably you should check out the following expressions:

Italian / English	Meaning
Rompere i coglioni / Rompere il cazzo (Literally) to crack the balls / to crack the dick	Being really annoying
Dire cazzate / dire minchiate (Literally) to say bullshit	Saying stupid things
Andare a puttane (Literally) to go whoring	Something going bad or failing
Stare sui coglioni / stare sul cazzo (Literally) to stand on testicles / to stand on dick	Finding someone or something annoying
Girare i coglioni (Literally) testicles are turning around	Being angry, in a bad mood
Non capire un cazzo / non capire una sega / non capire un tubo (Literally) not to understand a dick / not to understand a saw / not to understand a pipe	Not understanding anything
Levarsi dai coglioni / levarsi dalle palle (Literally) to get out from the balls	Not getting in someone’s way
Averne le palle piene (Literally) to have the balls full of something	Not being able to take it anymore
Fare cagare (Literally) to make shit / to suck	Being lousy, incapable to do something
Avere culo (Literally) to have butt	Being lucky
Avere i coglioni / avere le palle (Literally) to have the balls	Being strong, determined and brave to do something

Italian Curse Words in Context

Ma perché stanno urlando quei tipi? Stanno davvero rompendo il cazzo!

Why are those guys yelling? They’re being really annoying!

Ti prego, oggi evita di parlarmi perché mi girano i coglioni di brutto!

Please, avoid talking to me because today I’m in a truly bad mood!

Stai zitto! Come al solito, non hai capito un cazzo di quello che ho detto!

Shut up! As usual, you didn’t understand anything of what I’ve said!

Sto facendo tardi! Anziché restare lì impalato, perché non ti levi dai coglioni?

I’m getting late! Instead of standing right there, why don’t you stop getting in my way?

Basta, questa situazione non mi piace per niente! Ne ho le palle piene!

That’s enough! I don’t really like this situation! I can’t take it anymore!

Using curse words in Italy

Italian curse words are widely known and used throughout the country without any particular distinction of age, generation and social class. Nevertheless, there is a huge difference from a geographical point of view linked with the type of swear words and the frequency of use.

Starting with typology of curse words, in some regions of North Italy like Veneto and Tuscany people are likely to mix profanities with ordinary swear words without causing much offense. During the years, this “particular” type of curse words turned into real filler words and stereotypes.

On the contrary, you will hardly ever hear Southern Italians using blasphemies since there is a strong religious faith to be respected.

While profanities are firmly disliked, other curse words are smoothly accepted. As regards the frequency of use, recent studies show that Northern Italians resort to curse words to a greater extent than Southern Italians.

The importance of Italian Curse Words

As we already mentioned above, Italians often use curse words on several occasions: when an intense conflict occurs, when they feel stressed out, impatient or furious, when they want to laugh at other people and even when they joke around with each other in a familiar context.

Learning Italian curse words basically gives you the possibility to know more about Italian culture and its “colourful” shades. Beyond that, you can have the chance to understand other “Italian-shaped ways” of approaching and talking during everyday life.

An important thing to remember is that you cannot always use curse words in Italian, especially in case you are not sure of the type of relationship you have with an Italian man or woman; for this reason, it is necessary to check this out in advance. Actually, in Italy it is quite unusual to listen to a guy you barely know expressing himself with swear words after a few times you saw each other. Obviously, things can be different according to the situation. Anyway, you’d better use Italian curse words sparingly and chiefly in very informal contexts.

Therefore, if scientists state that cursing is good for our health, don’t be afraid of cursing at someone from time to time when you are uptight or terribly vexed. But remember not to exaggerate!

By: Alfonso Di Somma

Born and raised in Italy, he is an Italian professional translator and a tireless traveler. His main passion? Foreign languages!

March 27, 2021/by Alfonso Di Somma