{"id":9600,"date":"2015-07-07T21:47:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T19:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=9600"},"modified":"2015-07-07T21:47:27","modified_gmt":"2015-07-07T19:47:27","slug":"in-che-condizioni-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/in-che-condizioni-e\/","title":{"rendered":"In Che Condizioni \u00c8?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re going to engage your Italian friends and acquaintances in conversation, the ability to liven up or clarify what you want to say is going to require a repertoire of useful descriptive adjectives.<\/p>\n

Let’s begin with a question: \u201cin che condizioni \u00e8?\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cwhat condition is it\/he\/she in?\u201d N.B. in Italian we use the plural: condizioni <\/u>= conditions<\/u><\/em>). Answering this question should provide an opportunity to build up our vocabulary. Let\u2019s have a go, beginning with simple generic answers and progressing from there:<\/p>\n

\u00e8 in buone condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in good condition
\n\u00e8 in buonissime condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in very good condition
\n\u00e8 in ottime condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in top condition<\/p>\n

\u00e8 in cattive condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in bad condition
\n\u00e8 in brutte condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in bad condition
\n\u00e8 in cattivissime condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in very bad condition
\n\u00e8 in pessime condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in very bad condition<\/p>\n

you can moderate this by adding abbastanza<\/strong> = quite<\/p>\n

\u00e8 in abbastanza buone condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in quite good condition
\n\u00e8 in abbastanza cattive condizioni<\/strong> = it\u2019s in quite bad condition
\n\u2026. etc.<\/p>\n

or you could say: non \u00e8 male<\/strong> = it\u2019s not bad<\/p>\n

\"Casa<\/a>

Casa Diroccata, by Domenico Bresolin (1813-1899). Museo d’Arte Moderna Ca’ Pesaro Venezia<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Now let\u2019s apply this to a particular object as part of an everyday conversation:<\/p>\n

tutto sommato, la vecchia macchinina \u00e8 in abbastanza buone condizioni<\/strong> = all in all, the old car is in quite good condition
\npurtroppo, l\u2019appartamento di mia zia \u00e8 in pessime condizioni, ci vogliono un sacco di soldi per metterlo apposto<\/strong> = unfortunately, my aunt’s apartment is in very bad condition, it would take a lot of money to sort it out.
\nrespira ancora, ma \u00e8 in brutte condizioni<\/strong> = he\u2019s still breathing, but he\u2019s in a bad way.<\/p>\n

Okay, let\u2019s develop this theme with some variations and object specific vocabulary:<\/p>\n

in che condizioni \u00e8 la casa?<\/strong> = what condition is the house in?
\n\u00e8 perfetta!<\/strong> = it\u2019s perfect!
\n\u00e8 un po\u2019 diroccata<\/strong> = it\u2019s a bit dilapidated
\n\u00e8 messa un po\u2019 male<\/strong> = it\u2019s in a bad state<\/p>\n

in che condizioni \u00e8 la macchina?<\/strong> = what condition is the car in?
\n\u00e8 nuova di zecca<\/strong> = it\u2019s brand new
\n\u00e8 abbastanza scassata<\/strong> = it\u2019s rather clapped out<\/p>\n

in che condizioni sono le piante di pomodoro?<\/strong> =what condition are the tomato plants in?
\nsono rigogliose<\/strong> = they\u2019re nice and healthy
\nsono tutte appassite<\/strong> = they\u2019re all wilted<\/p>\n

in che condizioni sono i pantaloni?<\/strong> = what condition are the trousers in?
\nsono molto stracciati<\/strong> = they\u2019re very ragged
\nsono strappati<\/strong> = they\u2019re ripped
\nsono sbiaditi<\/strong> = they\u2019re faded<\/p>\n

\"strappati\"<\/a>

sono strappati = they\u2019re ripped<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

A useful common expression when talking about the condition of something or someone is ‘ne ho visti\/e di meglio\/peggio’<\/strong> = I’ve seen better\/worse (of them)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

in che condizioni \u00e8 la moto di Giovanni?<\/strong> = what condition is Giovanni’s motorbike in?
\ninsomma, ne ho viste di peggio =<\/strong> well, I’ve seen worse (of them) N.B. la moto<\/strong> is feminine hence ne ho viste<\/strong> (feminine plural)<\/em><\/p>\n

in che condizioni sono i libri?<\/strong> = what condition are the books in?
\ndiciamo che ne ho visti di meglio<\/strong> = let\u2019s say I’ve seen better (of them)<\/em> N.B. i libri<\/strong> are masculine hence ne ho visti<\/strong> (masculine plural)<\/em><\/p>\n

Obviously we\u2019re only scratching the surface here, but I intend to expand upon this theme in upcoming articles \u2026 so stay tuned and prepare to amaze your friends with your wonderful descriptive Italian!<\/p>\n

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

If you\u2019re going to engage your Italian friends and acquaintances in conversation, the ability to liven up or clarify what you want to say is going to require a repertoire of useful descriptive adjectives. Let’s begin with a question: \u201cin che condizioni \u00e8?\u201d (\u201cwhat condition is it\/he\/she in?\u201d N.B. in Italian we use the plural…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":9608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[58887,385868],"class_list":["post-9600","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-italian-adjectives","tag-italian-descriptive-vocabulary"],"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