Saturday 19 October 2013
La settimana scorsa - for Hedwigthewhite
For Hedwigthewhite!
Al principio della settimana scorsa, ho fatto le solite cose per una studentessa di 15 anni. Ma, al fino della settimana, non sono la ragazza stessa.
Lunedi.
Al primo intervallo, la mia amicia Teresa è venuta cercare Camilla e me.
“Andiamo, Natalia, Camilla,” ha dicuta, tutto eccicato. “Ho trovato uno posto dove possiamo vedere il scavo – dalla fenestra in fondo dalla biblioteca.”
I archeologi scavano nel un angolo nel campo da gioco. Tutti vogliono vedere, e nessun possono!
Abbiamo salite lescale e siamo entrate nella biblioteca. Dalle fenestra, potevamo il scavo. I archeologi avevano scavato un buco grando.
Ho avuto il fiato mozzato. Nel buco, ho veduto i muri, le fenestre, i marciapiede, dorsi...tutti hanno costruito della pietra dora.
“Wow!” ho sussurato.
“E noioso,” ha dicuta Camilla.
Teresa ha fatto un cenno col capo. “Veniamo. Poco o nulla di vedere.”
Poco o nulla di vedere? Ho guardato Tessa e poi ho dato un’occhiata al scavo. E non ho veduto i muri, le fenestre, i dorsi – tutti hanno scomparito. Ho seguito Camilla e Teresa della biblioteca, e sono scenduta le scale, avevo le idee confuse.
Lunedi notte, ho sognato di muri e dorsi, hanno costruito della pietra dorata. Nel mio sogno, ho ascoltato una musica leggera.
Martedi.
Nella lezione dell’arte, quando dovrei fare la calligrafia, ho disegnato un dorso aggraziato, e per il dorso, un paesaggio foschiato.
“Molto bene, Natalia, ma...” ho dicuto Signora Rossi. Ho arrosito.
Mercoledi.
Mella lezione della fisica, pensavo del scavo. Davvero, ho veduto i muri, i marciapiedi della pietra dorata?
Signor Alonzo mi ha ringhiato, “Alla fina dei conti, Natalia, io preferirei che tu lavorebbe. Ma, d’altra parte...”
Non amo Signor Alonzo.
Giovedi.
Ho sognato ancora di una citta della pietra dorata. E la musica era piu forte.
Venerdi.
Nella mia lezione del flauto, mi trovarsi suonare uno motive. Il motive del mio sogno.
“Gli mi piace,” ha dicuto Signor Brunelli, sorpreso. “Hai usato il metodo Dorian. Molto interessante!”
Sabato.
Io ho dovuto sapere la verita. Propro quella notte, sono uscita della casa, sola. Ho molti fratelli (troppi fratelli, ho dicuto, qualche volte), ma sono uscita sola. Non era molto tardi.
Sono arrivata al scavo. Gli archeologi sono andati alle loro case. Nel chiaro di luna, il scavo era solamente un buco grando. E poi...
L’aria ha luccicato. La musica ha comminciata. Ed i muri, con le fenestre, i dorsi...tutti hanno apparito davanti i miei occhiali. Ed un voce ho domandata:
“Per quel giusto lei è venuto qui?”
E attiravo per il dorso davanti me.
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First of all: how long have you been studying Italian? because this is very good! There are a few things like correspondancies of female or plural words or verbs but that's very tricky! I'll write the whole thing here again and explain stuff ^_^ (cool, I've never done that before but I like it :D)
ReplyDeleteI've been studying Italian for 2 hours a week last year - we started with Ciao! Mi chiamo...The course runs from October to May. My French is reasonably good though, and there's quite a lot of similarities between the two languages, so that helps a lot. Thanks very much for the help! :D I had this laid out a bit better - I forgeot to put in the html code for all the line breaks and things - oops!
ReplyDeletedon't worry ;) but it's great if you already know French! It helps, although a few rules are different.... I'm posting it right now!!! I have to use different comment boxes though otherwise it doesn't allow me to post...
DeleteI need to post it in parts otherwise it doesn't allow posting....so here it is:
ReplyDeleteAll'inizio della settimana scorsa (you can also use "principio", people will understand anyway, but we don't really say it in such a sentence. It's more used in sentences related to chemistry, or physics or in the other sense as "principle" not "beginning". In current Italian "beginning" is almost always "inizio") ho fatto le solite cose per una studentessa di 15 anni. Ma, alla fine (that's because "fine", meaning "the end" is feminine, so you need to say "la fine" and therefore "alla fine" - there could be cases where "fine" means something like "scope" and than it's masculine and you say "il fine" and "al fine", but it's not this case) della settimana, non sono la stessa ragazza (in this case the adjective goes before the noun. I think that's what happens with "stesso" when it means "the same". While if you want to emphasize its meaning it goes after the noun like if you say "il progetto stesso" meaning "exactly that very project", but you use this kind of expression only, like, in scientific talks or writing and the like). Lunedì (weekdays ending by i have an accent so it's ì). Al primo intervallo, la mia amica Teresa è venuta a cercare (how to explain this... if you want to translate "came looking for me", you have to put an "a" between the 2 verbs...like "she came TO look for me") Camilla e me (you can also say me e Camilla, I think this is more "spoken style" while yours is more "written style"). “Andiamo, Natalia, Camilla,” ha detto (generally you don't agree the past participle when the auxiliary is "avere"), tutto eccitato (with T). “Ho trovato un posto (mmm now, that's difficult to explain why you say "un posto" instead of "uno posto". "un posto" means "a place" while "uno posto" should mean "number one place" but we don't say that, with "posto" we always say "un". I think there's some pronunciation rule there but you should ask to your teacher because I probably learnt it at elementary school and totally forgot it :D)
dove possiamo vedere lo scavo (that's why Italian is tricky! "scavo" is masculine but instead of using "il" as per the rule, we use "lo"! :D I think that's because the word begins with "s" and for S words you always use lo/la instead of il/la. Then, but that's advanced, when you mean archeological excavations you generally say "gli scavi" at plural, unless you have previously talked about one specific site "lo scavo".. I know...it's very complicated :D but I just write everything, then you see what you need the most!) – dalla finestra (with I) in fondo alla (it's "alla", which means "of", not "dalla" which means "from") biblioteca.” Gli archeologi (again, "gli" instead of "i". Same rule as for S words works for words starting with a vowel. I think the rule is actually for vowels words and then applies to S words as well :D) scavano in un angolo ("in un angolo" means "in a corner", while "nell'angolo" means "in THE corner") del campo ("nel campo" means "in the field", and technically it can be correct, but for some reason when you write that they excavate in a corner, you have to say that the corner is "OF a field" not "in the field". So it's "del campo". Oh, and in this case it's just "campo", because "campo da gioco" is like the soccer field). Tutti vogliono vedere, e nessuno può! (because "nessuno" is conjugated with 3rd person singular, like it was "he", not "they". In this case it would be great to write "nessuno riesce" always meaning "nobody can" but more in the sense of "nobody is able to" or "nobody manages to", or even better, but that's very advanced! "nessuno ci riesce", where "ci" means..uh..no direct translation here but it's a particle referring to the thing you're talking about. Like "nobody manages to do it". "ci" means "to do it". But that's very advanced so if it's too much confusing at the moment just ignore it :D)
ReplyDeleteAbbiamo salito le scale (again, it's "salito" and not "salite" because when the auxiliary is "avere" you don't agree the past participle, so although "scale" is feminine plural, "salito" stays like that. While, if you have "essere" as auxiliary, like if you want to say "the girl got into the car" -> "la ragazza è salita in macchina", you see that you agree the past participle with the noun, so you say "salita" instead of "salito" because "ragazza" is feminine...yeah I know, complicated! :D) e siamo entrate nella biblioteca. Dalle finestra potevamo vedere lo scavo (or, gli scavi). Gli archeologi avevano scavato un buco grande (with E). Ho avuto il fiato mozzato (wow that's a great expression! we usually say "mi si è mozzato il fiato", literally something like "breath got cut to me" instead of "I got my breath cut" that's "ho avuto il fiato mozzato". But anyway, it means the same thing and it's a wonderful expression to write!). Nel buco, ho visto (unluckily, as maaaaany many other verbs, "vedere" is irregular so the past participle is not "veduto" as per the rule, but it's "visto"...sorry :P) i muri, le finestre, i marciapiedi (it's "i marciapiedi" if it's plural or "il marciapiede" if it's singular...choose the one you prefer:) ), gli archi (I really don't know why your dictionary translated "archway" with "dorso"...I think it was used in the past or something)...tutti costruiti con pietra dorata. (you mean golden stone right? So it's "dorata" because it agrees with "pietra" which is feminine... and "tutti costruiti con" means "everything built in (golden stone)". Is that what you meant? "tutti hanno costruito della pietra" means "everybody built of the stone" so I thought you meant the other way...unless you meant "everybody was building it with golden stones" which would be "tutti costruivano con pietre dorate"). “Wow!” ho sussurrato. (with 2 R. lovely choice of verb ^_^) “E noioso,” ha detto (same as above) Camilla.
ReplyDeleteTeresa ha fatto un cenno col capo. “Veniamo. Poco o nulla di vedere.” Poco o nulla di vedere? Ho guardato Tessa e poi ho dato un’occhiata allo scavo. (it's "allo" instead of "al" because it's the Vowels&S words rule mentioned above) E non ho visto (same as above) i muri, le finestre, gli archi – tutti sono scomparsi. ("scomparire" is a verb of 3rd type conjugation so the past participle of "scomparire" is not "scomparito" but "scomparso" and you use "essere" as auxiliary. Like "are disappeared" instead of "have disappeared"...I think it's very hard to learn to choose between essere and avere...) Ho seguito Camilla e Teresa fuori dalla biblioteca (did you mean something like: I followed C and T out of the library? in this case it's "fuori dalla" => "out of the"), e ho sceso le scale,(verb "scendere" uses "avere" as auxiliary and therefore there's no agreement with the noun in the past participle) avevo le idee confuse. Lunedì notte ho sognato di muri e archi, costruiti in pietra dorata. (it means "I dreamt of walls and archways built in golden stone". That's what you meant right? because otherwise "hanno costruito della pietra dorata" means "they built the/of the golden stone".And even if you meant that "other people built", using "costruiti" is a smart way to say that as well :) ) Nel mio sogno, ho ascoltato una musica leggera. Martedì. Nella lezione di arte, (we say "di arte" because as well as "art class" it's kind of indefinite. While if you say "lezione dell'arte" you should specify which art you are studying) quando dovrei fare la calligrafia, ho disegnato un arco aggraziato, e per l'arco, un paesaggio foschiato. (mmm I don't know what you meant by "foschiato". There is "foschia" which is means "haze or mist" but if you meant "misty", there's no direct translation with the word "foschia" you would say "nebbioso" if it implies some kind of fog, in fact it's the direct translation of "foggy". Or, "sfocato" or "indistinto" if that landscape didn't have a precise shape and was a bit blurred. Or "confuso" meaning "confused". If you want to use the word "foschia" which I think is very appropriate here, as there's no direct adjective for it you can say "un paesaggio con una leggera foschia" (a landscape with a light haze/mist) or "un paesaggio immerso nella foschia" (a landscape immersed into haze/mist). I think this last one would fit the best!)
ReplyDelete“Molto bene, Natalia, ma...” ha detto la signora Rossi. (it's "ha detto" because it's "she said" not "I said". And for some reason, we use "the" if we're talking of something that we know or which is definite. So it's "la signora Rossi") Sono arrossita. (good verb!! But it goes with "essere" and therefore agrees with the noun, which, being feminine make it be "arrossitA"). Mercoledì. Nella (with N) lezione di fisica (same thing as for "art class" above. Not "della" but "di"), pensavo allo scavo. (because in Italian you say "think to the excavation site" and not "think of the excavation site" as in English). Davvero ho visto (same as above) i muri, i marciapiedi di pietra dorata? (it's "di" and not "della" because "golden stone" is rather indefinite, unless you're speaking about one particular piece of golden stone) Il signor Alonzo (same as above) mi ha ringhiato, (I know what you mean but "ringhiare" is generally used for animals. Sometimes you can also use it for people, yes, but generally "growl" for people is translated more with, like, "brontolare" which means speaking grumpily. So the sentence would be: "il signor Alonzo ha brontolato" (with this verb you don't use "mi"). “Alla fine (with E) dei conti, (or you could use "In fin dei conti" but it's advanced nuances of the language) Natalia, io preferirei che tu lavorassi. (ooh, that's very hard! it's hypotetic sentences, I never got them in any languages, really XD anyway, "lavorerebbe" is conditional like "preferirei", while "lavorassi" is subjunctive. You'll learn this kind of sentences but a tip is: when you have "che" or "se"+verb, it's generally a subjunctive ;) ) Ma, d’altra parte...” Non amo Signor Alonzo. (you can say this, or more often you would say "non mi piace il signor Alonzo" meaning "I don't like". Otherwise "non amo" means "I don't love", but generally we use the word "love" when you are in love with someone :D of course, it could be used in other situations also, like when you want to say you really really like something, or to exaggerate the fact that you like something, but generally it's for things. For people (unless it's the case that you're in love or not with someone) we use "mi piace" and "non mi piace"). Giovedì. Ho sognato ancora di una città (it goes with an accent, so "à". You can say "ho sognato di una città", it's fancy, but generally you would say "ho sognato una città". "di" is partitive in this case and, unlike French, Italians don't use it too much, I'd say never in the spoken style :D) di pietra dorata ("di" instead of "della" as above).
ReplyDeleteE la musica era più (with an accent on the u) forte. Venerdì. Nella mia lezione di flauto (same as for arts and physics. It's flute lesson generally speaking, not specifically referring to one particular piece of flute), mi sono trovata a suonare ("I found myself playing" it's the reflexive verbs, I don't know if you did them already...you can't say "trovarsi" because it's the infinitive reflexive form like "to find oneself". If you already wrote "mi" you must conjugate, so "trovarsi-to find oneself" becomes "(mi) sono trovata - I found myself") un motivo. (with O. And "un" instead of "uno" is as explained above). Il motivo del mio sogno. “mi piace,”("gli" means "the (plural)" or "to him" so in this case you don't need it. "I like it" it's only "mi piace", you don't need to specify what "it" is, it's implied already. Or, you could say, "questo mi piace" that would be "I like this") ha detto (as above) il signor Brunelli, sorpreso. “Hai usato il metodo Dorian. Molto interessante!” Sabato. Io ho dovuto sapere la verità. (with "à"). Proprio (with I) quella notte, sono uscita dalla casa, (or also "di casa", it's generally more used, because you already know that it's your house and don't need to specify it further with "dalla-from the". Like in English "from home" and not "from the home". But you would say "from the house" if it's someone else's house you're talking about. In Italian we don't have two words as for house and home. We just have casa. If it's yours, you don't use the determinative article because you already know which house you're talking about. At least that's what I can guess from the rule :D) sola. Ho molti fratelli (troppi fratelli, ho detto, (as above) qualche volta ("qualche volta" is "sometime". "a volte" is "some times". Here both are fine.), ma sono uscita sola. Non era molto tardi.
ReplyDeleteSono arrivata allo scavo.(S words rule). Gli archeologi erano tornati alle loro case.(you can keep "andati" but in this case, since they went back home, you would say "tornati". Besides, you would use the past perfect because they had gone back home before Natalia went to the excavation site. But since you're practising the present perfect I don't think you're supposed to know the past perfect as well so you can leave it as "sono andati" ;) ). Nel chiaro di luna, lo scavo era solamente un buco grande. E poi... L’aria ha luccicato. La musica è cominciata. ("cominciare" requires "essere" as auxiliary) Ed i muri, con le finestre, gli archi...tutti sono apparsi (as above) davanti ai miei occhiali. ("occhiali" means "eyeglasses". If you meant "eyes" it was "davanti ai miei occhi". Oh, and it's "davanti ai", because it's "in front OF the eyes of mine". Otherwise it would be like "in front THE eyes of mine" but we need the OF to make it work. ) Ed un voce ha domandato: (because it's the voice who asked, not you who asked the voice) “Per quel giusto lei è venuto qui?” (mmm I don't understand here... did you mean: "it's for this that you came, right?"? in this case it would be: "è per questo che sei venuta qui, vero?" or "è per questo che lei è venuta qui, vero?" if you are talking with the courtesy form. But being a 15 years old schoolgirl it's okay to use "tu sei" instead of "lei è".) E attiravo per l'arco (it's "l'arco" instead of "lo arco" because you can't have two vowels close "lO Arco". So the first one goes and you have "l'arco") davanti me. (I don't understand what do you mean by "attiravo per l'arco". It means "I drew through/for the archway". Did you meant "I was drawn to the archway"? in this case it's: "E sono stata attirata dall'arco davanti a me")
ReplyDeleteHere it is! It's a beautiful story!!! I'm glad you can make your homework a great fun by writing stories that you like!!! I wrote a lot of stuff because I wanted to teach you everything I could, but I realise lots of stuff are for advanced learners, so don't worry about them all!!! I don't know which level you're in and I've never taught Italian before so I just explained everything...but if you keep it then when you do the advanced stuff in class you'll have already heard of it ;) I hope it was helpful! tell me if you need anything else! I'm happy to help :) and it's fun because I get to think of rules of my own language that I never think about :D :D it's like refreshing elementary school classes :D :D besides, my English teacher at high school created this kind of stories for us to translate into English and they had all kind of rules inside! They were tough but that's how I learnt it :) have a lovely Sunday!!!!!!!
This is fantastically helpful! Thank you so much for all the time and effort you've put into it! I really appreciate all the details - some of them don't make sense yet, but they will later, and it's so useful to look at things many times over. And some of them I can apply from my understanding of French, so although English doesn't work like that, I can learn the Italian rules from French, and that's a much easier way. The question she gets asked at the end is "By what right do you come here?" - i.e., how come you think you're entitled to enter this place? There was going to be a bit explaining that, but I ran out of time and energy to add any more! Next time we get a free writing assessment, I might carry on! I shall change all the mistakes like "lo scavo" that I should have known, and the vocabulary ones like "l'arco" and the past participles, and then do two copies - one that's really well-written, thanks to you, and that I can learn from, and one that's more my current standard so that it's a fair reflection of what I can do (more or less!). Huuuuuge thanks again for all this time and effort!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, it was no big deal, I was happy to do it ^_^ and I'm glad it helped! I know lots of stuff are kind of advanced but if you keep it, you'll see at some point you'll understand ;) so, the question at the end then would be: "che diritto credi di avere per essere qui?" (what right do you think you have to be here) or turning it a bit "chi ti ha dato il permesso di stare qui" (who allowed you to stay here). The last one would be more used, but probably the first one is more what you mean. oh, hey, you can also say "che diritto credi di avere, per stare qui?" (what right do you think you have, to stay here?), so, choose the one you prefer :) Let me know if you carry on with the story ;)
DeleteI will let you know! It all depends on the type of homework we're set - sometimes, it's quite prescriptive - but if I have a chance to go on with it, I will, as it's fun to do!
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