{"id":8226,"date":"2015-01-05T11:46:35","date_gmt":"2015-01-05T11:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=8226"},"modified":"2015-01-05T20:03:31","modified_gmt":"2015-01-05T20:03:31","slug":"past-present-and-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/past-present-and-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Past, Present and Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here we are at the beginning of a new year, and isn\u2019t it funny how saying something like \u201cI haven\u2019t seen my friend Fabio since last year\u201d makes it seem like a distant event, when in reality I saw him less than a week ago? Past, present and future, now seems like a good time to take a look at some of the expressions that we use in Italian when discussing each of these three periods of time.<\/p>\n

Passato = Past:<\/strong><\/u><\/font> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"034\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ravenna: Mosaic. Photo by Geoff<\/strong><\/em><\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

l\u2019anno scorso<\/font> abbiamo scritto 142 articoli per il blog<\/strong> = last year we wrote 142 articles for the blog<\/p>\n

lo scorso giugno<\/font> siamo andati a Ravenna<\/strong> = last June we went to Ravenna<\/p>\n

l\u2019estate passata<\/font> volevamo andare in Sicilia, ma non ce l\u2019abbiamo fatta<\/strong> = last summer we wanted to go to Sicily, but we didn\u2019t manage<\/p>\n

ad ottobre abbiamo finalmente conosciuto Bill e Victoria<\/strong> = in October we finally met Bill and Victoria<\/p>\n

due settimane fa ho incontrato un\u2019amica che non vedevo da tanto tempo<\/strong> = two weeks ago I met a friend whom I hadn\u2019t seen for a long time<\/p>\n

l\u2019altro giorno siamo stati a pranzo da Maddalena e Fabio<\/strong> = the other day we had lunch at Maddalena and Fabio\u2019s<\/p>\n

questa notte sono stata svegliata da Gigia la gatta<\/strong> = last night I was woken up by Gigia the cat<\/p>\n

Presente = Present:<\/strong><\/u><\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"409\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Photo: \u2018una bella giornata di sole\u2019<\/strong> by Claudio Angella<\/font><\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

oggi \u00e8 una bella giornata di sole<\/strong> = today is a beautiful sunny day<\/p>\n

in questo momento sto scrivendo un articolo per il blog<\/strong> = at the moment I\u2019m writing an article for the blog<\/p>\n

attualmente <\/font>Geoff \u00e8 impegnato a scopare il pavimento <\/strong>= at the moment Geoff is busy brushing the floor<\/p>\n

ora non ho tempo di chiacchierare al telefono perch\u00e9 sto cucinando<\/strong> = I don\u2019t have time to chat on the telephone now because I\u2019m cooking<\/p>\n

in questo periodo di solito fa molto freddo<\/strong> = usually it\u2019s very cold during this period<\/p>\n

adesso vado al supermercato<\/strong> = I\u2019m going to the supermarket now<\/p>\n

ormai \u00e8 troppo tardi per telefonargli<\/strong> = it\u2019s too late to phone him now<\/p>\n

Futuro = Future:<\/strong><\/u><\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"epifania\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Image CC<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

oggi pomeriggio vado alla posta a pagare la tassa dell\u2019immondizia<\/strong> = this afternoon I\u2019m going to the post office to pay the rubbish collection tax<\/p>\n

domani \u00e8 l\u2019Epifania, che tutte le feste porta via<\/strong> = tomorrow will be the Epiphany, the end of all the (Christmas\/New Year\u2019s) holidays<\/p>\n

fra qualche giorno andremo a trovare zio Luciano a La Spezia<\/strong> = in a few days we are going to visit uncle Luciano in La Spezia<\/p>\n

quest\u2019altro<\/font> sabato voglio andare al mercato<\/strong> = next Saturday I want to go to the market<\/p>\n

a febbraio ho una visita dal dentista<\/strong> = in February I have an appointment with the dentist<\/p>\n

la prossima primavera faremo un viaggio in Sicilia<\/strong> = next spring we\u2019ll take a trip to Sicily<\/p>\n

NOTES<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

Past:<\/strong><\/font> we can say either lo scorso anno<\/strong><\/font>, l\u2019anno scorso<\/strong><\/font> or l\u2019anno passato<\/font><\/strong>, all three are interchangeable. N.B. the endings of scorso\/scorsa<\/strong> and passato\/passata<\/strong> change gender accordingly. e.g.: la scorsa settimana<\/strong> (fem.)<\/em>, lo scorso autunno<\/strong> (masc.).<\/em> <\/p>\n

Present:<\/font><\/strong> attualmente<\/font> <\/strong>is one of our so called \u2018false friends\u2019 in that it sounds like it should mean actually<\/em> whereas it (actually)<\/em> means at present\/right now. <\/p>\n

Future:<\/font><\/strong> quest\u2019altro<\/font><\/strong> (literally: this other)<\/em> is a commonly used version of il prossimo<\/strong>\/la prossima<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Here we are at the beginning of a new year, and isn\u2019t it funny how saying something like \u201cI haven\u2019t seen my friend Fabio since last year\u201d makes it seem like a distant event, when in reality I saw him less than a week ago? Past, present and future, now seems like a good time…<\/p>\n

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