{"id":2667,"date":"2012-11-23T15:05:07","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T15:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2012-11-23T15:05:08","modified_gmt":"2012-11-23T15:05:08","slug":"non-c-nessuno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/non-c-nessuno\/","title":{"rendered":"Non c’è nessuno"},"content":{"rendered":"

Non<\/strong>, meaning \u2018not\u2019, or its abbreviation n\u2019t<\/u>, e.g. didn\u2019t<\/u>, won\u2019t<\/u>, can\u2019t<\/u>, etc. is a negative adverb used to negate or change the meaning of the verb, adverb, adjective or pronoun which it precedes. For example:<\/p>\n

non vengo alla festa<\/strong> = I won\u2019t come to the party, or, I\u2019m not coming to the party<\/p>\n

come stai? Non molto bene <\/strong>= how are you? Not very well<\/p>\n

\u00e8 stato un lavoro non facile<\/strong>, i.e. \u00e8 stato un lavoro difficile <\/strong>= it wasn\u2019t an easy job, i.e. it was a difficult job<\/p>\n

non tutti sanno che \u2026 <\/strong>= not everyone knows that \u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is also commonly used in rhetorical questions which require a positive answers:<\/p>\n

non aveva detto che partiva stasera?<\/strong> = didn\u2019t he say he was leaving this evening?<\/p>\n

non pensi che sia meglio rinviarlo?<\/strong> = don\u2019t you think it would be better to postpone it?<\/p>\n

mi domando se non sia meglio partire prima<\/strong> = I wonder if it wouldn\u2019t be better to leave earlier<\/p>\n

questo gelato \u00e8 ottimo, non \u00e8 vero?<\/strong> = this ice cream is excellent, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, in Italian it\u2019s also common to find the adverb non<\/strong> used superfluously, without an actual negative meaning. Let\u2019s look at some cases of this so called pleonastic non<\/strong><\/font>:<\/p>\n

1. After finch\u00e9<\/strong> or fino a quando<\/strong> (until):<\/font><\/p>\n

dobbiamo restare qui finch\u00e9 non<\/font> arriva Giovanni<\/strong> = we must stay here until Giovanni arrives<\/p>\n

non ci ho creduto fino a quando non<\/font> l\u2019ho visto coi miei occhi<\/strong> = I didn\u2019t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. In comparisons, when the second part is introduce by the expression \u2018di quanto\u2019:<\/strong><\/font> <\/p>\n

Giorgio si \u00e8 comportato meglio di quanto tu non<\/font> creda<\/strong> = Giorgio behaved better than you think<\/p>\n

l\u2019esame di storia era pi\u00f9 difficile di quanto non <\/font>mi aspettassi <\/strong>= the History test was more difficult than I expected<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. After the expressions \u2018c\u2019\u00e8 mancato poco che\u2019<\/strong> and \u2018per poco\u2019,<\/strong> meaning \u2018almost\u2019 or \u2018nearly\u2019:<\/font><\/p>\n

c\u2019\u00e8 mancato poco che non<\/font> cadessi<\/strong> = I nearly fell<\/p>\n

per poco non<\/font> perdevamo il treno<\/strong> = we almost missed the train<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. After the expression \u2018a meno che\u2019<\/strong> (unless):<\/font><\/p>\n

dovr\u00f2 rinunciare alla gita di domani, a meno che Giovanni non <\/font>mi sostituisca<\/strong> = I\u2019ll have to give up tomorrow\u2019s trip, unless Giovanni will cover for me<\/p>\n

facciamo in questo modo, a meno che tu non<\/font> abbia un\u2019altra idea<\/strong> = let\u2019s do it like this, unless you have another idea<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Double negation:<\/font><\/p>\n

we use the adverb non<\/strong> when the verb precedes the negative pronouns nessuno\/a<\/strong> (nobody\/none\/anybody), and niente<\/strong> (nothing\/anything), e.g.<\/p>\n

non<\/font> c\u2019\u00e8 nessuno in casa<\/strong> = nobody is at home<\/p>\n

non<\/font> abbiamo visto nessuno<\/strong> = we didn\u2019t see anybody<\/p>\n

non<\/font> c\u2019\u00e8 niente di pi\u00f9 importante della salute<\/strong> = nothing is more important than health<\/p>\n

non<\/font> ho sentito niente<\/strong> = I didn\u2019t hear anything<\/p>\n

non<\/font> lo sa nesssuno<\/strong> = nobody knows<\/p>\n

non<\/font> ha superato l\u2019esame nessuna di voi <\/strong>= none of you passed the test<\/p>\n

however, if the negative pronoun nessuno\/a<\/strong> or niente<\/strong> precedes the verb,we do not<\/u> use non<\/strong>, e.g.<\/p>\n

nessuno \u00e8 in casa<\/strong> = nobody is at home<\/p>\n

niente \u00e8 pi\u00f9 importante della salute<\/strong> = nothing is more important than health<\/p>\n

nessuno lo sa<\/strong> = nobody knows<\/p>\n

nessuna di voi ha superato il test<\/strong> = none of you passed the test<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Non, meaning \u2018not\u2019, or its abbreviation n\u2019t, e.g. didn\u2019t, won\u2019t, can\u2019t, etc. is a negative adverb used to negate or change the meaning of the verb, adverb, adjective or pronoun which it precedes. For example: non vengo alla festa = I won\u2019t come to the party, or, I\u2019m not coming to the party come stai?…<\/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":[229203,229204,229205],"class_list":["post-2667","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-how-to-use-non-in-italian","tag-italian-negative-adverb-non","tag-italian-pleonastic-non"],"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