Unit 111 Guidebook: discuss abstract concepts
KEY PHRASES
Discuss abstract concepts
Fumare è una cattiva abitudine.
Smoking is a bad habit.
Smoking is a bad habit.
La sensazione è la stessa.
The feeling is the same.
The feeling is the same.
La salute è più importante della ricchezza.
Health is more important than wealth.
Health is more important than wealth.
Il fallimento è la madre del successo.
Failure is the mother of success.
Failure is the mother of success.
La dignità non si può comprare.
Dignity cannot be bought.
Dignity cannot be bought.
TIP
Hai sentito il rumore?
If you see an Italian word that ends in ‑ore, like rumore, you can be pretty sure it’s a masculine noun. Keep also in mind that ‑e words usually end in ‑i in plural.
Hai sentito il rumore?
Did you hear the noise?
Did you hear the noise?
Non ho questo timore.
I do not have this fear.
I do not have this fear.
And don’t forget that rumore means noise, not rumor!
Ho sentito un rumore in cucina.
I heard a noise in the kitchen.
I heard a noise in the kitchen.
TIP
Italian sounds
In Italian, gli has a very special sound. It almost sounds like lyee or like ll in the word tortilla, but stronger.
gli
gli, glielo (as in tortilla, but stronger)
And when gli is not at the beginning of a word, it sounds even stronger!
aglio
aglio, maglione, voglio (as in tortilla, but much stronger)
This only happens before i! Anywhere else, gl sounds just like it does in English, like in inglese or globale.
TIP
È un'abitudine qui
You'll notice that in Italian many words used for talking about abstract concepts end in ‑ine. These nouns are usually feminine.
Fumare è una cattiva abitudine.
Smoking is a bad habit.
Smoking is a bad habit.
Guardava l'immagine.
He was looking at the image.
He was looking at the image.
Mio zio è di origine italiana.
My uncle is of Italian origin.
My uncle is of Italian origin.
Like most ‑e words, the plural forms of these nouns end in ‑i.
Questo libro ha molte immagini.
This book has many pictures.
This book has many pictures.