HADENOUGHPIZZA

good as... but to be honest I get people on the phone at work asking me '' possiamo darci del tu ?'' so maybe I sound 18 c too....

Lorna at Vicenza

It's still common everyday practice to use Lei instead of Tu for people you don't know and older people and be respectful - it's not common anymore to use Voi for that though.

I was supposed to use Lei in my office with clients and suppliers and I could do it but sometimes slipped up and I couldn't be arsed to concentrate on the right verb ending all the time and I'd end up saying things like :

"Va bene Signor Rossi, lei avrà il prodotto fra due giorni e lei paga a fine mese però tu mi devi chiamare domani per la conferma."

I got around it by saying "oh sorry, I'm English. We haven't had tu and lei since Shakespeare and I'm not very good at this. Do you mind awfully if I give you 'tu' instead of 'lei'? Everybody except one person said "yes no problem."

It used to piss my boss off that I was using ciao and tu with people that he'd been using buongiorno and lei with for 10 years !!!

MarkRD

Yes, oft very confusing and hard to know what you should be using, but it's comforting that Italians are often in difficulty too.

It's always nice when younger people use the 'tu' though cos it means they consider you young too!

37100

Even after living with me and my slip-ups all these years, my OH would never dream of using tu with someone he doesn't know. In fact, when a shop assistant greets him with a ciao, he's be know do inquire, 'did we go to school together.' No problem for me, I usually get greeted in German.

We have friends who, after more than 30yrs of marriage, still use Lei with in-laws. And Voi, for one couple is still very much in use along with passato remoto for most, but very the recent of events.

MarkRD

Yes, Lei with in-laws is very common, although I've always used 'tu' with mine .. but they probably didn't mind cos i was (am) a straniero .. The other son in law gives the Lei to MIL but then she gives the Lei back too!

My FIL used to give the Voi to his MIL . .bu then that was left over from ye olden dayes.

A lot depends on personality. I said it's nice to get the 'tu' off young people but not if they're being cheeky or insolent! Same goes for your coetanei really .. you sort of expect the Lei but if they use the tu then it means there's some kind of bond, which you may or may not like!
On the other hand if they give the Lei they're being stuffy and unfriendly!

I sort of like the Lei used with Christian name...

.. but when I've got my laurea I want to be called Dottore and get the Lei !

linseed oil

getting back to the loro thingy ill probly get shot down in flames but how would you say those people over there in modern italian and ithought voi was you not them verr confused of abruzzo

Lorna at Vicenza

Voi is you plural in today's Italian.

Those people over there :

quelle persone di là
la gente di là
quella gente là
le persone laggiù

We have this-that-these and those. So do Italians but of course their words change depending on the feminine, masculine, singular and plural.

ononno

j'ho capit' j'ho capit'

jonwel

Why not just say "quelli lì"?

linseed oil

why not just say loro , as its alive and well in abruzzo , i went to the local market today and eve dropped as i do and loro was bieng used as it always is and allso voi in the meaning of you singler funny old lingo italian

37100

Need help with this phrase please. 'L 'incidenza degli ordinamenti nazionali nella definizione della laicità europea'. Thanks.

chrismcdonnell

Something about the effect of national laws on the definition of European secularism (had to google translate that word, not one I've come across!) Wish I could be more help, I'm not well versed in these things

chrismcdonnell

Also, does anyone have any good resources to share for the passato remoto?

I'm finding it a bit difficult to keep track of all the irregularities, and it's driving me a bit mental!

MarkRD

It's used very rarely AROUND THESE PARTS (!) so you won't need it much...but as for the irregular verbs you'll just have to learn them by heart ..

You'll have to learn all the regular endings too!

chrismcdonnell

Right, time to hit the conjugation tables