Various - First Italian Readings

faceva egli a dire, he went on to say .

faceva finta… inteso, pretended not to notice them .

non siete stato, you have not been .

pigliasse, subjunctive used after Sebbene.

col fare il morto, by playing dead .

Eccoti.Pronouns are joined to the interjection ecco, just as to a verb; tiintimates the interest of the hearer in what is going on.

dal Re(French chez le roi ), to the king's palace . Da has a variety of meanings in the following selections, such as from , by , for , to or at the house of , suited to , as .

entrato che fu, as soon as he had entered .

gran, for grande .

Di' al tuo, Say to your . The forms of the second person singular are used in addressing inferiors; also in speaking to children, intimate friends, and near relatives.

della caccia del suo padrone, of his master's killing .

doveva recarsi, was to go .

avrebbe potuto, perfect of the conditional used where the simple tense would be expected.

con quanta… gola, with all his might .

corressero, subjunctive used after verb of commanding.

faceva spiccare… persona, set off his good looks .

fini fini, repetition for emphasis; occurs frequently in Italian in case of adjectives or adverbs.

fosse, subjunctive used in indirect question; in l. 2 of next page, used after a superlative.

sarebbe parso, it would have seemed ; parere conjugated with essere .

per dirne una, for example .

dal vedersi… leone, at seeing a lion before his eyes .

Di lì a poco, After a little .

come sarebbe a dire, in other words .

Vostra maestà sia la benvenuta, Welcome to your majesty .

di, than .

dovevano; compare note 15.

da non potersi dire, beyond words .

del suo, as her own .

Culincenereand Cenerentolaare both from cenere, ashes ; the former with a depreciative prefix.

che tornassero… viso, which might the best become them .

ci sarebbe proprio da ridere, it would be a fit subject for laughter .

tutt'intera la santa giornata, the whole blessed day .

più lontano che potè, as far as she could .

che cosa avesse, what was the matter with her .

Vorrei, I should like .

non sapendo… miglia, not having the faintest idea .

che, introduces the question.

che non entrava… contentezza, beside herself with joy .

per quanto vecchio, old as he was .

per farla ballare, that is, as his partner in the dance .

nè punto nè poco, at all .

In quella che, While .

non capiva… gioja; compare note 11.

Dev'esser, She must be .

Dio mio! Dear me! — altrein the next clause simply adds emphasis.

di lì a pochi giorni; compare I., note 25.

non, expletive, not to be translated.

per farsi vedere, in order to show off , make a show .

di discorso in discorso, from one thing to another .

un fracasso d'inferno, a deafening clatter .

Solferino e San Martino, villages of Lombardy, in northern part of Italy. The battle in question occurred on June 24.

Saluzzo, town of Piedmont, in northwestern part of Italy.— andava; note force of tense: was moving .

Bella cosa! That's a small matter!

Saran, They must be . Future used to express probability.

L'hanno proprio con me! They are really after me!

dubiti, vuole, third person instead of second in addressing a superior; also the usual form in polite conversation.

ad un punto, at the same time .

pigliare, with passive sense, to be taken away .

stato percorso, that had been passed over .

dalla.Notice the recurrence of da on this page and the next, and compare I., note 10.

in due non ci si sta, there isn't room for two under it .

Nemmen per sogno, Not at all, By no means .

d'averla passata liscia, to have got off so easily .

colle buone, with fair words .

a più non posso, with all their might .