At The Clothing Store in Italy Posted by Serena on Feb 10, 2016 in Italian Language
The setting: un negozio di abbigliamento in una città italiana (a clothing store in an Italian town)
The caracters: una coppia e la commessa (a couple and the shop assistant)
Moglie: “Guarda, ci sono i saldi, perché non ne approfitti per comprarti un bel giaccone per l’inverno”
Wife: “Look, the sales are on, why don’t you make the most of it and buy yourself a nice winter coat”
Marito: “Cosa c’è che non va col mio giaccone?”
Husband: “What’s wrong with my coat?”
“Cosa c’è che non va col mio giaccone?”
Moglie, guardando disgustata il giaccone del marito: “Ce l’hai da 9 anni, è scolorito, ha i polsi lisi … vuoi che continui?”
Wife, giving her husband’s coat a disgusted look: “You’ve had it for 9 years, it’s faded, the cuffs are threadbare … do you want me to carry on?”
Marito, con un sospiro di rassegnazione: “Va bene, va bene, entriamo”
Husband, giving a sigh of resignation: “Ok, ok, let’s go in”
Commessa: “Buongiorno, desiderate?”
Shop assistant: “Good morning, can I help you?”
Moglie: “Vorremmo vedere un giaccone per mio marito”
Wife: “We’d like to see a winter coat for my husband”
Commessa: “Che taglia?”
Shop assistant: “What size?”
Moglie: “Elle”
Wife: “L”
Commessa: “Nella large abbiamo questo bel modello di cashmere molto caldo, con doppia abbottonatura, cerniera e alamari, come vanno di moda ora”
Shop assistant: “In large we have this beautiful style made of very warm cashmere, with double fastening, zip and toggles, which is fashionable at the moment”
Moglie: “Com’è morbido! Su, provalo”
Wife: “It’s so soft! Come on, try it on”
Marito, riluttante: “Hm, è troppo elegante per me, proprio non mi ci vedo. Preferisco qualcosa di più sportivo e meno impegnativo”
Husband, reluctantly: “Hmm, it’s too smart for me, I can’t see myself in at all. I’d prefer something more sporty and less demanding”
Commessa: “Vuole provare questo piumino? E’ molto in fashion quest’anno, specialmente in blu”
Shop assistant: “Would you like to try this padded jacket? It’s very fashionable this year, especially in blue”
Moglie: “Ah sì, questo è proprio il tuo stile”
Wife: “Oh yes, this is exactly your style”
Il marito lo prova. Moglie: “Come ti va?”
The husband tries it on. Wife: “How does it fit?”
Marito, non molto convinto: “E’ un po’ piccolo”
Husband, not very convinced: “It’s a bit small”
Commessa: “Quest’anno vanno di moda così, aderenti e appena sotto la vita”
Shop assistant: “That’s this year’s fashion, tight fitting and just below the waist”
Marito: “Ma io me lo sento che tira sulle spalle e le maniche sono troppo corte. Avete una ics-elle?”
Husband: “But I feel that it’s tight on my shoulders and the sleeves are too short. Do you have an XL?”
La commessa porta una XL. Il cliente lo prova ed esclama: “Ecco, sì, questo mi va proprio a pennello, mi piace!”
The shop assistant brings an XL. The customer tries it on and exclaims: “Yes, this fits me perfectly, I like it!”
Moglie: “Sono contenta! Quanto viene?”
Wife: “I’m pleased! How much is it?”
Commessa: “230 euro. E’ un’ottima occasione”
Shop assistant: “230 euros. It’s a real bargain”
Marito: “Duecentotrenta euro? Alla faccia dei saldi!”
Husband: “Two hundred and thirty euros? So much for the sales!”
Moglie: “Te lo regalo io, amore, per San Valentino, ti sta proprio bene!”
Wife: “I’ll but it for you for Saint Valentine’s my dear, it really suits you!”
The shop assistant dabs at her eyes with a hanky, moved by the romantic scene …
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Comments:
Elaine:
Mi sembra che i vestiti siano molto più costosi in Italia che nel Regno Unito!
Serena:
@Elaine Mm, non farei affidamento sui prezzi che uso io nei miei post, mi piace esagerare 🙂
Saluti da Serena
MADELINE PARELLA:
Love it. Grazie
Elliana:
So dissappointed you changed your format. You had the best Italian blog. What happened?
Geoff:
@Elliana How have we changed our format? Please explain.
Bill Auge:
Is it common to use the English word large for the size rather than using grande?
Serena:
@Bill Auge Ciao Bill! We either use the number system, e.g. taglia 44, taglia 50, etc. or the international system S-M-L. We don’t use grande or piccola for sizes.
Saluti a te e a Victoria da Geoff e Serena
Kate:
Hi. I’m glad to read that Geoff got a new coat. Could you explain the difference between “col” and “con” which are both translated to “with”? Thanks.
Serena:
@Kate Salve Kate!
“con” (with) is una preposizione semplice, meaning that it’s not combined with the definite article.
“col” (literally: with the) is una preposizione articolata, meaning that it’s combined with the definite article ‘il’.
See this posts: https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/preposizioni-articolate-part-1/
and https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/preposizioni-articolate-part-2/
Saluti da Serena
JOSEPH:
I WAS THERE!
Grant:
Hi
my apologies but this is a bit off topic but I wasn’t sure where to put my question. So, in the following sentence:
E allora vieni avanti, disse la voce di Tadeus, ormai la casa la conosci.
what is the function of “la” before conosci? It looks like a direct object pronoun that refers to “la casa” but why is it needed?
Perhaps you have already covered this but I’ve been unable to locate it.
Thanks for your site – it’s great!
Serena:
@Grant Salve Grant! Non ti devi scusare.
In Italian, when we put the direct object at the beginning of the sentence before the verb, we ‘recall’ it (if I may say so) with the appropriate direct object pronoun! I know it sounds a bit crazy, ma facciamo così, ripetiamo il complemento oggetto!
Here are a couple of examples:
“I giornali li compri tu?” instead of “Compri tu i giornali?”
“Il caffè lo bevo senza zucchero” instead of “Bevo il caffè senza zucchero”
Saluti da Serena
Grant:
Salve Serena!
grazie per la tua risposta rapida, era molto utile. Vedo questa costruzione spesso e adesso io capito – finalmente!
Saluti da Grant
african queen:
Intresting…thanks for helping with the language