{"id":1155,"date":"2011-11-16T15:40:37","date_gmt":"2011-11-16T15:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=1155"},"modified":"2011-11-16T15:42:10","modified_gmt":"2011-11-16T15:42:10","slug":"tu-and-leipart-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/tu-and-leipart-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Tu and Lei – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Tu and Lei – Part 1<\/font><\/a> we looked at the changes that take place when we address people using either the informal tu<\/strong> or the formal Lei<\/strong>. Today we\u2019ll look at the differences between tu<\/strong> and Lei<\/strong> when we give polite orders such as \u2018take the next road on the left\u2019 or \u2018take a seat\u2019. Have a look at the following examples in which the informal is highlighted in red<\/font> and the formal in blue<\/font>:<\/p>\n

Prendi<\/font> la prossima strada a sinistra <\/strong>= Take the next road on the left<\/p>\n

Prenda<\/font> la prossima strada a sinistra <\/strong>= Take the next road on the left<\/p>\n

Siediti<\/font> = <\/strong>Take a seat<\/p>\n

Si sieda<\/font> <\/strong>= Take a seat<\/p>\n

As you can see from the above examples, two main grammatical changes take place: 1. the verb<\/u>, in this case prendere<\/strong> (to take), changes from the informal imperative mode<\/u> prendi<\/strong><\/font> (<\/font>second person singular)<\/font><\/font><\/font> to the formal subjunctive mode<\/u> prenda<\/strong><\/font> (<\/font>third person singular),<\/font><\/font><\/font> and 2. the personal pronoun<\/u>, ti <\/strong><\/font>(to you) <\/font>in the informal form changes to si<\/font> <\/strong><\/font>(to you) in the formal form. Notice that the personal pronoun goes at the end of the imperative verb in the informal siediti<\/strong><\/font><\/font>, but before the subjunctive verb in the formal si sieda<\/strong><\/font><\/font>.<\/font><\/p>\n

Finally, when we tell somebody not to do<\/u> something in the informal form we use \u2018non\u2019 <\/strong>followed by the infinitive (in the example below \u2018preoccupare\u2019<\/strong>). The formal <\/strong>form, however, follows the same rule as when we tell someone to do<\/u> something, e.g.:<\/p>\n

Non <\/font>ti <\/font>preoccupare<\/font> <\/strong>= don\u2019t worry<\/p>\n

Non <\/font>si preoccupi<\/font> <\/strong>= don\u2019t worry<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s look at some common requests and orders which illustrate the difference between using the tu<\/strong><\/font> and using the lei<\/font><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Informal<\/em><\/td>\nFormal<\/em><\/td>\nTranslation<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scusa<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nScusi<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nExcuse me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Entra<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nEntri<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nCome in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accomodati<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nSi accomodi<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nMake yourself comfortable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Serviti<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nSi serva<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nHelp yourself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vattene!<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nSe ne vada!<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nGo away!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aspetta<\/font> un attimo<\/strong><\/td>\nAspetti<\/font> un attimo<\/strong><\/td>\nWait a moment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fai<\/font> come se fossi<\/font> a casa tua<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nFaccia<\/font> come se fosse<\/font> a casa sua<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nMake yourself at home<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vieni<\/font> alle sei<\/strong><\/td>\nVenga<\/font> alle sei<\/strong><\/td>\nCome at six o\u2019clock<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Non mi aspettare<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nNon mi aspetti<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nDon\u2019t wait for me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vai<\/font> sempre diritto<\/strong><\/td>\nVada<\/font> sempre diritto<\/strong><\/td>\nKeep going straight on<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gira<\/font> a destra<\/strong><\/td>\nGiri <\/font>a destra<\/strong><\/td>\nTurn right<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Attraversa<\/font> la piazza<\/strong><\/td>\nAttraversi<\/font> la piazza<\/strong><\/td>\nCross the square<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Salutami tua<\/font> moglie<\/strong><\/td>\nMi saluti sua<\/font> moglie<\/strong><\/td>\nGive my regards to your wife<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scendi<\/font> alla stazione di Roma Trastevere<\/strong><\/td>\nScenda<\/font> alla stazione di Roma Trastevere<\/strong><\/td>\nGet off at Roma Trastevere station<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ascoltami<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nMi ascolti<\/font><\/strong><\/td>\nListen to me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Tu and Lei – Part 1 we looked at the changes that take place when we address people using either the informal tu or the formal Lei. Today we\u2019ll look at the differences between tu and Lei when we give polite orders such as \u2018take the next road on the left\u2019 or \u2018take a…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[59022,59028],"class_list":["post-1155","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-italian-formal-and-informal-ways-of-addressing-people","tag-italian-polite-ordsers"],"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