{"id":11316,"date":"2016-03-30T17:27:21","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T15:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=11316"},"modified":"2016-03-30T17:27:21","modified_gmt":"2016-03-30T15:27:21","slug":"now-its-my-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/now-its-my-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"Now It\u2019s My Turn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week Serena wrote a vocabulary blog about her cold, which it seemed that I\u2019d escaped. But unfortunately, adesso tocca a me<\/strong> (now it\u2019s my turn) \u2026 sniff sniff …<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Morto<\/a><\/p>\n

Well, if Serena can make a blog out of a common cold so can I! But I\u2019m not going to whine about how bad I feel, I\u2019m a big boy, and big boys don\u2019t cry \u2026. boo hoo hoo (blows nose loudly, scaring the cats in the process).
\nNow, let’s have a look at that idiomatic expression that I used above: tocca a me<\/strong>, what\u2019s that all about?<\/p>\n

The verb toccare<\/strong> normally means \u2018to touch\u2019, and for the most part its usage is very close to its English equivalent. But it does have a few idiomatic meanings, the most common of which is probably toccare a qualcuno<\/strong>, meaning \u2018to be somebody\u2019s turn\u2019. You\u2019ll often hear it, for example, when you\u2019re in a group of people who are waiting to be served:<\/p>\n

Shop assistant: A chi tocca?<\/strong> (whose turn is it?), customer: tocca a me<\/strong> (it\u2019s my turn), or tocca a quel signore l\u00ec<\/strong> (it\u2019s that gentleman\u2019s turn).
\nOr perhaps at the bar with some friends: oggi tocca a me pagare, va bene?<\/strong> (today it\u2019s my turn to pay, okay?), or, questa volta tocca a Luca pagare<\/strong> (this time it’s Luca’s turn to pay).<\/p>\n

Toccare<\/strong> a<\/strong> can also mean \u2018to be obliged\/constrained to do something\u2019:<\/strong><\/p>\n

L\u2019inquilino se n’\u00e8 andato dall’appartamento, e ha lasciato un bel casino. Adesso mi tocca sistemare tutto prima di poterlo affittare di nuovo!<\/strong> (the lodger has moved out of the apartment, and he\u2019s left a real mess. Now I\u2019m obliged to sort it all out before I can rent it again!).
\nSiccome il figlio non ha pagato la multa \u00e8 toccato a sua mamma andare in comune e pensarci lei.<\/strong> (As the son didn\u2019t pay the fine his mum was obliged to go to the council and sort it out herself).<\/p>\n

\"battute-squallide\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There is another everyday situation in which the expression toccare<\/strong> is frequently heard: Le conte<\/strong>. These are the traditional counting rhymes used by children all over the world in order to decide whose turn it is to be \u2018the one\u2019, or to be ‘out’ before beginning a game.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a nice introduction to le conte<\/strong> in Italian:<\/p>\n

Le conte sono filastrocche comunemente usate dai bambini per scegliere o escludere chi deve fare qualcosa in un gioco di gruppo. E poi non invecchiano mai, i bambini che le mantengono vive, le adattano, le trasformano, le stravolgono, ne inventano di nuove e le condividono. Le conte sono caratterizzate dal ritmo dato dalle parole ripetute, dalle rime e dagli accenti poetici. Il ritmo delle conte si pu\u00f2 individuare meglio se, mentre le recitiamo, ci aiutiamo con il battito delle mani. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026 and an example:<\/p>\n

Olio, pepe, sale, per condire l’insalata<\/strong>
\n insalata non ce n’\u00e8,<\/strong>
\n a star fuori tocca a te<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Oil, pepper, salt, to dress the salad
\nthere\u2019s no salad
\nit\u2019s your turn to be out<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tomorrow I\u2019ll publish some more charming examples of conte<\/strong>, then you\u2019ll be able to play together with all your little Italian friends in the park! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

A presto<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Last week Serena wrote a vocabulary blog about her cold, which it seemed that I\u2019d escaped. But unfortunately, adesso tocca a me (now it\u2019s my turn) \u2026 sniff sniff … Well, if Serena can make a blog out of a common cold so can I! But I\u2019m not going to whine about how bad I…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":11325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[229248,386012,386014,386013],"class_list":["post-11316","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-italian-childrens-rhymes","tag-le-conte","tag-the-italian-verb-toccare","tag-tocca-a-me"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t