Heather Broster
The word for elbow in Italian is gomito (masculine). It derives from the Latin term cubitus. Like many other parts of the body, gomito has a masculine and feminine plural form despite being a masculine noun. The masculine plural i gomiti is widely accepted as the standard form whereas the feminine plural le gomita is …
Purtroppo, which is the word for unfortunately in Italian, is an adverb that derives from the union of two words: pure (which indicates something extra) and troppo (too much / too many). When joined, pure loses the final e. Originally, purtroppo had the meaning of pure se è troppo (even if it is too much) …
As human beings, we have the natural tendency to talk about what we want in conversation with friends and family, be it food, drink, sleep, company or something more profound. In Italian, the infinitive verb for to want is volere and when expressing a personal desire in the first person, it can be conjugated in …
If someone inconveniences you or unintentionally causes you offence, a handy phrase you can use to reassure or comfort him or her is Non fa niente, which is one way of saying It doesn’t matter in Italian. It is made up of the following components: Non (negation) + fa (third person of fare ‘to do/make‘) …
One of the most common ways to say exhausted in Italian is sfinito. It is the past participle of the verb sfinire (to exhaust or to wear out), which is the combination of the prefix s- and the verb finire (to finish). Because it is an adjective, the end changes depending on the gender and/or …
A very useful Italian adverb is quasi which generally translates as almost or nearly in English. This word, as well as the English combining form quasi-, both derive from the Latin word of the same spelling meaning almost or as if. It can modify nouns, adjectives and other adverbs. For example: So quasi tutto su …