{"id":157,"date":"2009-07-12T03:53:23","date_gmt":"2009-07-12T07:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=157"},"modified":"2015-07-13T09:39:22","modified_gmt":"2015-07-13T07:39:22","slug":"esprimiti-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/esprimiti-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Esprimiti! part 1."},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning another language always has its ups and downs, and it\u2019s quite normal to pass through phases in which you feel that you\u2019re making progress, followed by times where you feel that you\u2019re not getting anywhere. This partly depends on the level of interaction that you have with native speakers of the language that you are learning. For example, someone who is just beginning to learn Italian will probably feel a real sense of ‘Wow, I\u2019m speaking Italian!\u2019 they may think to themselves, and then one of the \u2018natives\u2019 in the bar, or on the bus starts chatting to them in Italian and they realize that non capiscono un cavolo di niente!<\/strong> (they don\u2019t understand a single \u2018cabbage\u2019 thing!). Oh well, back to the drawing board, as they say.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a certain point in your learning you will probably feel that, although you can communicate on a basic level by asking questions and saying a bit about yourself etc., you are not really able to esprimerti <\/strong>(express yourself), and this can be the source of a lot of frustration. When I say \u2018express yourself\u2019, what I\u2019m talking about is the ability to communicate your likes and dislikes, passions and preferences, beyond simply saying mi piace<\/strong> or non mi piace<\/strong>. I will assume that you have a working knowledge of the use of piacere<\/strong>, if not you should read my article <\/span>A different point of view<\/strong><\/span><\/a> as I don\u2019t intend to cover it here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with preferire<\/strong> = to prefer: this is fairly straightforward as it works pretty much in the same way as its English counterpart, e.g.:<\/span><\/p>\n

Io preferisco quel quadro li\u2019 a sinistra, tu quale preferisci?<\/strong> (I prefer that painting on the left, what about you, which one do you prefer?)<\/span><\/p>\n

Il cr\u00e8me caramel e\u2019 il mio dolce preferito<\/strong> (Cr\u00e8me caramel is my preferred dessert). N.B. you could also use favorito\/a<\/strong>, just remember to change the ending in either case according to the gender of the subject, i.e. il mio dolce preferito \/ favorito<\/strong> (my favorite dessert), la mia macchina preferita \/ favorita<\/strong> (my favorite car)<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are \u2018keen on\u2019, or are \u2018an enthusiast\u2019 about something you can use the expression \u2018essere entusiasta per\u2019<\/strong>. The important thing to remember here is that the ending only changes in the plural, not the singular, i.e. entusiasta<\/strong>\u00a0 = masc. or fem. singular, entusiasti<\/strong> = masc. plural, entusiaste<\/strong> = fem. plural. Let\u2019s see some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

Giovanni e\u2019 entusiasta per le moto<\/strong> (Giovanni is keen on motorbikes)<\/span><\/p>\n

Loro sono entusiasti\u00a0per il\u00a0giardinaggio<\/strong> (they are gardening enthusiasts)<\/span><\/p>\n

You can also use \u2018essere entusiata di\u2019<\/strong> to mean \u2018very pleased\u2019, or \u2018delighted\u2019 about something, for example: <\/span><\/p>\n

Sono entusiasta della mia nuova macchina fotografica<\/strong> (I\u2019m really pleased\/delighted with my new camera)<\/span><\/p>\n

Siamo entusiasti della nostra nuova casa<\/strong> (we are delighted with our new house)<\/span><\/p>\n

Alternately you can use \u2018essere contento\/a\/i\/e\u2019<\/strong>, e.g.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sono molto contenta di vederti<\/strong> (I\u2019m really pleased to see you)<\/span><\/p>\n

Giorgio e\u2019\u00a0contento che ha smesso di piovere<\/strong> (Georgio is\u00a0pleased that it has\u00a0stopped raining)<\/span><\/p>\n

If your feelings about something are a little bit stronger, then you can use \u2018essere appassionato\/a\/i\/e di\u2019<\/strong> which means to be a \u2018lover\u2019 or a \u2018fan\u2019 of something. In this case the ending changes in both the singular and plural forms for masculine and feminine. Here are some examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

Luigi e\u2019 appassionato di musica classica<\/strong> (Luigi is a classical music lover)<\/span><\/p>\n

Fernada e\u2019 appassionata della musica di Corelli<\/strong> (Fernanda is a fan of Corelli\u2019s music)<\/span><\/p>\n

Loro sono tutti e due appassionati del calcio<\/strong> (they are both football fans)<\/span><\/p>\n

Another common expression in the same vein is \u2018andare matto per\u2019<\/strong> (to be mad about), e.g.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lino va matto per i funghi<\/strong> (Lino is mad about funghi)<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Pia\u00a0va\u00a0matta per l\u2019equitazione <\/strong>(Maria Pia is\u00a0mad about horse riding)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final expression for part one of this article is \u2018essere affezionato\/a\/i\/e a\u2019<\/strong> meaning \u2018to be fond of\u2019, \u2018to feel affection for\u2019, or \u2018to have an attachment to\u2019 an object, or animal etc.. Here are a\u00a0couple of\u00a0examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

Sono molto affezionata al mio gatto<\/strong> (I\u2019m very fond of my cat)<\/span><\/p>\n

Marco e\u2019 molto affezionato alla sua vecchia Cinquecento<\/strong> (Marco is very attached to his old Cinquecento)<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Alla prossima <\/strong>(until next time)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learning another language always has its ups and downs, and it\u2019s quite normal to pass through phases in which you feel that you\u2019re making progress, followed by times where you feel that you\u2019re not getting anywhere. This partly depends on the level of interaction that you have with native speakers of the language that you…<\/p>\n

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