indiebird

How on earth was I supposed to know it was Piemontese!!??!! I just assumed it was buon + di (like at the end of lunedí per esempio!!!) They use it in a lot of shops I go into here and they know I'm not Piemontese!!

You get ciao cos you do look so young!

Lorna at Vicenza

Bon dì is used here as well.

I once noticed that the chemist had written on the medicine packet "prendere 3 volte al dì "

Not very good if you don't know that di means giorno.

37100

I think you'll find that that (the chemist) comes from the Latin for giorno -die-, but don't hold me to that. Bondì is used by everyone in Turin. You sometimes here it here, but rarely and it's more of a buondì.

indiebird

Can someone explain the word 'ci' to me. I know that sometimes it is a pronoun when you say something like 'Ci Vediamo' which is translated as 'We will see each other (or ourselves)' and I always assumed it mean't 'there' in phrases like: 'Ci sono' or 'C'é' but what does it mean in other situations like 'Ci metti il treno?' I really was hoping someone could give me a way of thinking about it so I know when to use it when speaking myself! Also what about 'ne'

duffer

No, they use ciao because they know you're stanieri.

Lorna at Vicenza

Ci is mainly used in one of two ways and subsitutes repeating words:

As a place meaning "there"
Non ci vado ... I'm not going there

La strada è stretta. Non ci passo.
The road is narrow - I can't get through there.

As a kind of personal pronoun meaning "us" "we"

Darci il tuo numero di telefono. Give us your phone number.
Ci piace l'Italia. We like Italy.

Sorry but you'll have to wait until after lunch for the rest.

indiebird

and???

indiebird

Thanks Lorna, might need to wait for me to get my head round it til after lunch too!!

Lorna at Vicenza

NE .... there are a few ways to use this.

I'll see if I can explain this properly.

1. Used instead of saying there, from there, from that place, to that place

Have you been to the shop? Yes but I forgot something, ne torno subito. (I'm going back there) to that place.

Paul was in Rome ma (ne) è partito dopo 2 ore. Paul was in Rome but he left (there) after 2 hours.

2. Used with people to mean, about him, about her, about them, of them, of her etc.

Maria loves Bob, ne parla sempre. Maria loves Bob, she always talks about him.
(same as saying - Maria ama Bob, parla sempre di lui.)

I have always been honest with Chiara ma ne ricevo solo critiche. I have always been honest with Chiara but I only get criticism from her.
(same as saying - Sono stata sempre onesto con Chirara ma ricevo solo critiche da lei.)


3. Used instead of, about this thing, about that thing, about those things.

If I get you a bike devi averne cura. If I get you a bike you must take care of it.

Ho visto il film, ne sono rimasta triste. I saw the film, I was sad about it. That thing (the film) made me sad.

Lorna at Vicenza

I forgot to say that it also means 'some of' in this sense,


Quanti libri hai? Danne qualcuno a me.
How many books have you got. Give some of them to me.

And a lot of in this sense ......

Di soldi, ne hanno molti. Money, thave a lot of it.

Tipi come te, ne conosco tanti. Folks like you, know lots of them.


Much easier to use the simple way of saying things like this and leave out the NE.

Quanti libri hai? Dai qualcuno a me.
Loro hanno molti soldi.
Conosco tante persone come te.

indiebird

Well obviously i do leave it out and the 'ci' a lot of the time too, but I have noticed, especially amongst the Romanians, that they use these little words a lot and I get totally lost but I do know that their italian sounds much more authentic than mine which must sound like stupid person italian!!

Lorna at Vicenza

It's used in a lot of expressions which is also where you might have heard it a lot.


Farne ciò che vuoi. Do with it what you will.

Non parlarne più. Don't talk/speak of it anymore.

Vattene! Get lost! (from here).

Non andartene - don't leave - don't go (from here)

Non ne posso più. I can't stand it/this - can't take it - anymore.

indiebird

Need to remember this one!! Thanks so much Lorna for your help (forgot to say this in my earlier post )

Lorna at Vicenza

You're very welcome.

Non ne posso più is a very good expression to learn as it can be used all over the place - even when talking about the weather.

Non ne posso più di questa pioggia / questo freddo / questo caldo etc.

You could also start a letter to the headmistress with NON NE POSSO PIU' ! but it wouldn't be a very diplomatic subject title.

indiebird

I was thinking that myself