Ciao a tutti!

Two weeks ago, continuing with phrases from our episode of Il Commissario Manara on Yabla, I told you what great shape I found you in.

Ti trovo proprio in forma!
I find you really in good shape!

Adesso, dato che sei in gran forma, I want to tell you just how great that new outfit looks on you.

Luca’s sister continues giving him clues that she’s sneaking up behind him. This time she really gives herself away by telling him how great his leather jacket looks on him. She says:

Anche questo giubbotto in pelle, bello, ma ti sta proprio, proprio bene.
Even this leather jacket, nice, but it looks really, really good on you.

More literally she’s saying:

Ti sta proprio bene.
It suits you very well.

Here are some more examples:

Ti stanno bene i miei vestiti.
My clothes look good on you.

L’ho sempre detto che le strisce ti stanno bene.
I’ve always said that you look good in stripes.

A proposito, ti sta bene quella maglietta.
By the way, that t-shirt really suits you.

Un vestito rosso le sta bene indosso.
A red dress looks good on her.

Ti sta bene quel colore.
That color looks good on you.

Questi pantaloncini non mi stanno molto bene, vero?
These shorts don’t suit me very well, do they?

Mi piacciono queste scarpe. Mi stanno bene.
I like these shoes. They look good on me.

Of course, you can also use it in the past tense:

Il vestito che indossavi non ti stava bene.
The dress you were wearing didn’t look good on you.

So how can you start using this phrase today? Are you going shopping with a friend? Tell her how great that new shirt looks on her:

Ti sta proprio bene!
It really suits you!

Take a look at yourself in the mirror and remark to yourself on what you’re wearing.

Questo giubbotto mi sta proprio bene. Dovrei comprarmene un altro.
This jacket suits me very well. I should buy myself another one.

Or maybe you’re trying on shoes and you decide you don’t like them.

Non mi stanno molto bene.
They don’t look good on me.

Now what do you do if those shoes look good but they don’t FIT?? In that case, you use andare. But, we’ll study that in another post! Best to stick to one context at a time.

Alla prossima!

If you feel your Italian is good enough to watch without Italian (or English) subtitles, this episode of Il Commissario Manara is also available for free from RAI. You will need to fast forward to exactly 48 minutes for the start of Un morto di troppo.

Ciao a tutti!

Sarà.

What does it mean? Sarà?

Literally, sarà, as a future tense of essere (to be), means it will be.

But Italians often use the future tense to mean probably. And so it is in this scene from Il Commissario Manara on Yabla, when Luca’s sister asks him:

Sarà l’amore?
Could it be love?

Here are some more examples:

Che ore saranno?
What time must it be?

In base alla posizione del sole, saranno le undici.
Based on the position of the sun, it must be 11 O’clock.

Non vedo Giacomo da molto tempo. Dove sarà?
I haven’t seen Jim in a long time. Where could he be?

Sarà a casa.
He’s probably at home.

Of course, you don’t have to just use essere. The future tense of other verbs can serve the same purpose.

Dov’è Gina? Ieri è rimasta sveglia fino a tardi. Dormirà.
Where’s Gina? Yesterday she stayed up late. She’s probably sleeping.

Dove sono i ragazzi? Hanno un esame domani. Studieranno.
Where are the boys? They have a test tomorrow. They’re probably studying.

Me ne andrò presto dalla festa. Ho tanto da fare domani.
I’ll probably leave early from the party. I have a lot to do tomorrow.

But rather than complicate things, for now, just get that hang of using the future tense of essere to mean probability. How?

When you’re wondering what time it is, ask yourself out loud:

Che ore saranno?

Then answer yourself.

Saranno le due perché ho appena sentito il rintocco dell’orologio.
It must be two o’clock because I just heard the clock chime.

Or if the doorbell rings, ask yourself:

Chi sarà?
Who could it be?

Answer yourself.

Sarà il postino.
It’s probably the mailman.

How do you know when the future is the future and when it’s probability? Context of course! As you probably know by now, the Italian language relies heavily on context.

How many ways can you use essere to express a probability? How about avere? Post your answers to our Facebook page.

And that’s what to study this week. Alla prossima!

If you feel your Italian is good enough to watch without Italian (or English) subtitles, this episode of Il Commissario Manara is also available for free from RAI. You will need to fast forward to exactly 48 minutes for the start of Un morto di troppo.

Ciao a tutti!

Last week volevo farvi una sorpresa. Siete stati sorpresi? Allora, this week I want to tell you what good shape you’re in!

Ti trovo proprio in forma!
You’re in great shape!

essere in forma
to be in good shape (to be fit)

Here we’re continuing with our episode of Il Commissario Manara, on Yabla. In this scene, Luca’s sister, Teresa, tells him this on the phone while she’s sneaking up behind him. She says:

Ma lo sai che ti trovo proprio in forma?
But you know, I’m finding you in good shape?

By the way, this isn’t Luca’s first clue che la sua sorella sta combinando qualcosa…

in forma
in shape

Here are some more examples using in forma.

È così che si rimane in forma.
That’s the way one stays in shape.

Non sono così in forma come sembra.
I’m not in as good shape as I seem.

È in forma, tu sei in forma, siamo tutti in forma.
He’s in shape, you’re in shape, we’re all in shape.

Signor Lord, ti vedo in forma.
Mr. Lord, you’re looking fit.

And suppose you want to get in shape? To do that in Italian requires mettersi, a reflexive verb that means to put oneself – so – mettersi in forma – to put oneself into shape, that is, to get in shape!

mettersi in forma
to get in shape

Mi metto in forma per la festa.
I’m getting in shape for the party.

Questi ragazzi vogliono mettersi in forma.
Those boys want to get into shape.

Davvero, Ted, mettiti in forma.
Really, Ted, shape up.

And if you once were in shape and you need to get back into shape here’s how:

rimettersi in forma
to get back into shape (to get in shape again)

Stai cercando di rimetterti in forma.
You’re trying to get back in shape.

But the best way to start using this phrase? Tell someone what great shape they’re in!

Ma, ti trovo proprio in forma!

And that’s what to study this week. Alla prossima!

If you feel your Italian is good enough to watch without Italian (or English) subtitles, this episode of Il Commissario Manara is also available for free from RAI. You will need to fast forward to exactly 48 minutes for the start of Un morto di troppo.

Ciao a tutti!

Last week stavamo combinando qualcosa. Now it’s time for a new phrase e voglio farvi una sorpresa!

I mean, well… that’s the phrase.

fare una sorpresa (a qualcuno)
to surprise (someone)

Now, in English, we don’t talk like this – we don’t say I want to do a surprise to you. But that’s what makes this phrase a good example of why, when you’re learning a new language, it’s best to think in entire phrases rather than in discrete parts of speech, like verbs, nouns, and pronouns.

Here are some examples of this phrase in action from Reverso:

Volevo fare una sorpresa ai bambini.
I wanted to surprise the kids.

Vorrei fare una sorpresa a Doug per il compleanno.
I would like to surprise Doug for his birthday.

Note that in our episode of Il Commissario Manara, Teresa tells her brother Luca:

Volevo farti una sorpresa.
I wanted to surprise you.

The pronoun ti, which in this instance means to you, is tacked onto the end of fare. Other examples including the pronoun might look like these:

Ho pensato di farvi una sorpresa.
I thought about surprising you (plural).

Perché mi piacerebbe farle una sorpresa.
Because I’d like to surprise her.

Pensavo che magari le sarebbe piaciuto fargli una sorpresa.
I was thinking that maybe she would like to surprise him.

Voglio andare a trovare i ragazzi e fare loro una sorpresa.
I want to go visit the kids and surprise them.

Of course, we can also say things like this:

Entriamo un attimo… facciamo loro una sorpresa?
Shall we go in a minute… surprise them?

No… le farò una sorpresa, sarà meglio.
No… I’ll surprise her, it’ll be better.

Solo che… le faccio una sorpresa.
It’s just that… I’m surprising her.

Lara fa una sorpresa a Luca dopo una lunga assenza dalla sua vita.
Lara surprises Luca after a long absence from his life.

Is there someone you want to surprise? Now you can tell them!
C’è qualcuno a cui volete fare una sorpresa? Adesso potete dirglielo!

Di certo non sarà ancora una sorpresa, eh? 😜

If you feel your Italian is good enough to watch without Italian (or English) subtitles, this episode of Il Commissario Manara is also available for free from RAI. You will need to fast forward to exactly 48 minutes for the start of Un morto di troppo.