Heather Broster
The most literal translation for the verb spopolare in Italian is to depopulate. Formed from the prefix s- (which in this case denotes a removal or reversal) and the verb popolare (to populate), it is used when a group of people dies or moves away, reducing the population. Learn with our video L’epidemia ha spopolato …
Recently one of our readers asked us to write an article explaining the different uses for magari in Italian. Given that this is one of our all-time favourite words, we were more than happy to oblige! Magari = maybe / perhaps The translation for magari which learners find easiest to comprehend is maybe or perhaps. …
The best way to translate the phrase I don’t think so in Italian is, quite simply, Non penso which literally means I don’t think. The phrase is composed of two words: non is used to give a negative sense to a sentence, especially in front of a verb. It is the equivalent of not in …
Olio di oliva – or olive oil in English – is technically three words, but they appear together so often that we figured you’d let us off the hook, just this once! 😉 Olio is a masculine noun. To create the plural form, just get rid of the ending -o and you have oli, and …
The Italian word infatti is a useful conjunction whose purpose is to confirm, prove or justify a previous statement, much like the English terms in fact, as a matter of fact and indeed. Learn with our video Here is an example that shows how infatti can be used in a sentence. Non mi piace il …
Rompiscatole is what you would call a person who is a pain in the neck, nuisance or pest in Italian. It is made up of two components – the verb rompere (to break) and the plural noun scatole (boxes) – so literally it translates as box-breaker! Learn with our video It is important to note …