URLLesson Introduction
Some people are naturally curious. Not a bad thing, until you remember that curiosity killed the cat (or so they say). Today`s podcast features a dialogue between a very curious Italian and her friend who is trying to stop her from pressing what could be only be deemed "the doomsday button." Learn some valuable language with us as we discuss asking basic questions and giving basic commands.
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sonobono says
July 21, 2008
Ciao, Catherine e Marco;
I'm curious about the use of the word "ma"; I know it translates literally as "but", but I've noticed it is often used just to be used, as in the first line of this lesson; is it just a throwaway?
grazie, Al
marcod says
July 21, 2008
MA can be conjunction or interjection:
1. conj. BUT
2. inter. indicates surprise, uncertainty or doubt.
anna8 says
July 21, 2008
Ciao Marco e Catherine,
I don't quite get what is happening with the grammar in fermo/ferma. If it's an imperative, how can it have a gender? And if it's not an imperative, ma cos'è?
catherinem says
July 21, 2008
Anna8,
Good question. Ferma would be the verb fermare in the imperative, but that's not how it's used in this dialogue. Here it's (stai) ferma, so it's an adjective and not a verb. If I were talking to a man, I'd say (stai) fermo. The verb stare (tu stai) is implied.
For example, when a little boy is getting his hair cut, his parents would normally say:
(Stai) fermo! Keep still/stay put!
If I were talking about a girl, it would be:
(Stai) ferma! Keep still/stay put!
anna8 says
July 21, 2008
Thank you, Catherine, for an excellent and clear (not to mention incredibly prompt!) answer. That makes perfect sense.
missworldtraveler says
July 22, 2008
This lesson would have been hilarious had they not met their tragic end.
Another great lesson!
sonobono says
July 22, 2008
Ciao e grazie a tutti! Al
hellocelo says
July 23, 2008
Questo
Hello, are the plural masculine / feminine of questo : questo/ questi + questa / queste ?
Great concept for learning italian
marcod says
July 23, 2008
@hellocelo
you got it right!
questo ragazzo / questi ragazzi
questa ragazza / queste ragazze
hellocelo says
July 23, 2008
Gracie mille marco
kylep says
July 23, 2008
Hi. Thanks for the great lesson, but I'm afraid that I'm rewarding it with a pretty basic question. Cosa and che cosa are both listed as "what". Is there a general rule for when to use each?
Thanks,
Kyle
jillstewart7 says
July 25, 2008
Ciao a tutti,
Cos'e questo/a? is only for singular things?
How do I ask about plurals? Cosa sono questi/e?
Grazie.
marcod says
July 25, 2008
@kylep: cosa, che cosa and che all mean "what" and there is no semantic difference. for example I can say:
Cosa dici?
Che cosa dici
Che dici?
The only slight difference is that using only che alone sounds more colloquial and che cosa is more used when asking for a definition (che cos'è la sintassi?).
As I said these difference are really small and not very strict and the 3 words are almost always interchangeable.
@jill: correct! good job! brava!!