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October Italian Grammar Quiz – The Solutions Posted by on Oct 28, 2016 in Uncategorized

Lazy astronauts up in your space station, and lazy submariners under the polar ice cap … where are your answers? Luckily some of our clever readers have had a go at this weeks quiz, which, if you haven’t yet seen it, you can find HERE. Now, let’s see how you got on.

1. Finché or finché non?

This is always a confusing topic. If you’re still getting muddled up I recommend this blog: Italian False Negatives

we can’t go out while it’s so hot = non possiamo uscire di casa finché fa così caldo
we can’t go out until it’s cooler = non possiamo uscire di casa finché non fa più fresco
he kept driving until it got dark = ha continuato a guidare finché non ha fatto buio
he kept driving while there was still light = ha continuato a guidare finché c’era luce
stay as long as you want = (tu) resta finché vuoi
stay until Marco arrives = resta finché non arriva Marco

2. Communicating

Can I speak to you about the meeting? = Posso parlarti della riunione?
I spoke with Giovanni about the meeting = Ho parlato a Giovanni della riunione
Giovanni told me that you wanted to see me = Giovanni mi ha detto che mi volevi vedere
If you see Giovanni tell him that the meeting is at eight o’clock = se vedi Giovanni digli che la riunione è alle otto
Laura told me that Giovanni isn’t well = Mi ha raccontato Laura che Giovanni non sta bene
In fact Giovanni phoned Laura yesterday evening = Infatti Giovanni ha telefonato a Laura ieri sera

3. Necessities

You have several options on this one, I’ve included the different variations in the answers below.

the gas bill must be paid today = oggi bisogna, occorre, è necessario pagare la bolletta del gas
we have to pay the gas bill today = oggi dobbiamo pagare la bolletta del gas
if you want to catch that train you have to leave right now = se vuoi prendere quel treno bisogna, occorre, è necessario partire subito
to build a wall you need bricks = per costruire un muro servono, ci vogliono, occorrono, sono necessari i mattoni
to make a cake you need flour = per fare un dolce serve, ci vuole, occorre, è necessaria la farina
to make cement you need sand and water = per fare il cemento servono, ci vogliono, occorrono, sono necessarie la sabbia e l’acqua

barza3

Mum … Can I watch the TV? Of course … but don’t turn it on!

A big thank you to all our readers who had a go, including those who were too shy to post their answers. Maybe next time?

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Comments:

  1. Phil:

    I am a contributor on the Word Reference Forum Italian-English message board and the use of “finché” and “finché non” has been discussed (http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/finch%C3%A9-purch%C3%A9-a-patto-che.47122/). Interestingly enough, they use exactly the opposite definition from yours! I noticed mine were 100% reversed and I used the WRF page noted above to figure out the answers.

    I wonder what the real answers are. 🙂

    Phil

    • Geoff:

      @Phil I’ve looked at that link Phil, and I can’t see where they use the opposite definition.
      However, I can see that there are a lot of errors in that discussion. These are not professionals, so beware.

      Trust me Phil, the correct translations are, as we have given here: https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/italian-false-negatives/
      finché non = until
      finché = while/as long as

      P.S. I’ve heard from my line manager, and they are looking into the formatting problem for comments.

      A presto, Geoff

      • Phil:

        @Geoff Geoff,

        Thanks for the reply. It is very confusing as you well know. I think the only solution is to retire to Italy and study the language for about 40 years!

        I appreciate your blogs and look forward to many more years of fun and excitement.

        Phil

        • Geoff:

          @Phil You’re very welcome Phil, non c’è di che! A presto, Geoff 🙂

  2. Ann:

    As one of your shyer (is that a word?) followers, thank you for the October Quiz. Very telling. Clearly must revise puzzling non-negatives and all those “necessaries”. Are they all interchangeable in those more impersonal situations?

  3. John:

    Well that was quite testing! I’m far too embarrassed to post my answers. Thanks very much for the excellent test.

  4. Rosalind:

    I would also love to have more clarification on the “necessaries”. Perhaps by laziness ( I don’t know) in French we tend to use “il faut” and in Corsican “ci vole / volenu”. So whenever it is a question of necessity/ obligation in Italian I tend to say “ci vuole / vogliono” . Is this wrong / lazy / acceptable at a pinch ?

    By the way, odd things happen when trying to type a comment to your blog especially regarding inverted commas, quotes and line breaks.

    • Geoff:

      @Rosalind “By the way, odd things happen when trying to type a comment to your blog especially regarding inverted commas, quotes and line breaks”
      I’ve reported this to my line manager Rosalind, and they’re looking into it.

    • Serena:

      @Rosalind Salve Rosalind!
      Have a look at this post and its links on the use of ci vuole.
      Saluti da Serena

  5. Rosalind:

    Grazie Serena,
    Il link non c’era ma ho trovato 2 articoli del mese d’Agosto che avevo mancato. Sono molto utili e adesso occorre impararli!


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