How to Use the Italian Verb Piacere

How to Use the Italian Verb Piacere Indirect object verb subject. Not your usual sentence structure, but in the case of piacere (to please, to like) thats the way it works in Italian, and heres why: In English, you say that A likes B. In Italian, though, the same meaning is understood in different terms: B pleases A. Here are some examples: Agli italiani piace il calcio. (Italians like soccer. Literally: Soccer is pleasing to Italians.)Ai professori piace insegnare. (Professors like teaching. Literally: Teaching is pleasing to professors.)Mi piacciono le carote. (I like carrots. Literally: Carrots are pleasing to me.) Note that in these examples, piacere is conjugated to match the subject of the sentence; in the first example, agli italiani piace il calcio, piacere is conjugated in the third person singular form, to match with calcio (soccer) and not with agli italiani (all Italians). Other verbs that follow this construction of inversion and behave similarly to piacere are listed below. Verbs That Act Like Piacere bastare- to be sufficient, to sufficedispiacere- to displease, to upsetmancare- to be lacking, to missoccorrere- to require, to needservire- to serve, to be of use More on Italian Verbs When studying Italian verbs, though, avoid the temptation to make absolute comparisons to English. Although there are many similarities between the two languages, there are also many fundamental differences. In addition, there are always exceptions to the rule. So while taking an organized approach to Italian verbs is a terrific way to improve your Italian, think of it like ordering in an Italian restaurant: be prepared to order a different primo if your favorite dish isnt available. When learning Italian, students naturally tend to look for grammatical patterns. Studying Italian verbs in a programmatic fashion is a wise idea because its an efficient use of time, and Italian verbs are classified in a variety of ways. When studying Italian verbs, though, avoid the temptation to make absolute comparisons to English. Although there are many similarities between the two languages, there are also many fundamental differences. In addition, there are always exceptions to the rule. So while taking an organized approach to Italian verbs is a terrific way to improve your Italian, think of it like ordering in an Italian restaurant: be prepared to order a different primo if your favorite dish isnt available. There are three primary groups of Italian verbs, classified according to the ending of their infinitives: first conjugation (-are verbs), second conjugation (-ere verbs), and third conjugation (-ire verbs). Most Italian verbs belong to the first-conjugation group and follow a highly uniform pattern. Once you learn how to conjugate one -are verb, youve essentially learned hundreds of them. And what about those Italian verbs that dont end in -are? Second-conjugation (-ere) verbs account for approximately one-quarter of all Italian verbs. Although many have some sort of irregular structure, there are also many regular -ere verbs. The final group of Italian verbs is those that end in -ire. Workbook Exercises Questions | AnswersAdjectivesA. Complete the following with the correct form of the italicized verb. Mi ________________ dieci dollari. Puoi prestarmeli? (servire)Ti ________________ quel ragazzo? (piacere)Mi ________________ le forbice. (occorrere)________________ dopo dieci pagine per un saggio. (bastare)Quanti fogli vuoi? Me ne ________________ due. (occorrere)Ci ________________ il tuo aiuto. (servire)Ci ________________ molto che tu non sia potuto venire. (dispiacere)Ai Rossi ________________ molto la figlia. (mancare)Non mi ________________ il pesce. (piacere)Mi ________________ molto i miei genitori. (mancare) Other Resources for Learning Italian Italian Language Audio LabItalian Language Lessons for Beginners with AudioHow Not To Learn Italian

Jingle Bells in Spanish

Jingle Bells in Spanish Here are three Spanish-language Christmas songs that can be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells. None of them attempt to be a translation of the English song, although they all borrow the bell theme. Following each song is an English translation, and at the bottom of the page is a vocabulary guide for the boldfaced words. Cascabel Cascabel, cascabel,mà ºsica de amor.Dulces horas, gratas horas,Juventud en flor.Cascabel, cascabeltan sentimental.No ceces, oh cascabel,de repiquetear.adjective Translation of Cascabel Jingle bell, jingle bell,music of love.Sweet time, pleasant time,Youth in bloom.Jingle bell, jingle bellSo sentimental.Dont stop, oh jingle bell,the happy ringing. Navidad, Navidad Navidad, Navidad, hoy es Navidad.Con campanas este dà ­a hay que festejar.Navidad, Navidad, porque ya nacià ³ayer noche, Nochebuena, el nià ±ito Dios. Translation of Navidad, Navidad Christmas, Christmas, today is Christmas.It is necessary to celebrate this with bells.Christmas, Christmas, because just last nightthe little baby God was born. Cascabeles Caminando en trineo, cantando por los camposVolando por la nieve, radiantes de amorRepican las campanas, brillantes de alegrà ­aPaseando y cantando se alegra el corazà ³n,  ¡ay!Cascabeles, cascabeles, tra la la la la ¡Quà © alegrà ­a todo el dà ­a, que felicidad, ay!Cascabeles, cascabeles, tra la la la laQue alegrà ­a todo el dà ­a, que felicidad Translation of Cascabeles Traveling by sleigh, singing through the fieldsFlying through the snow, beaming with love,The bells ring, brilliant with joy.The heart is cheerful as it strolls along and sings. Whee!Jingle bells, jingle bells, tra-la-la-la-la.What joy all day, what happiness! Whee!Jingle bells, jingle bells, tra-la-la-la-la.What joy all day, what happiness! Whee! Translation Notes In this context, a cascabel typically refers to a small metallic ball with a piece of metal inside that is designed to make a ringing sound when the ball is shaken. Such a ball is often attached to the collar of a pet or the harness of a horse so its motion can be heard. A cascabel can also be a baby rattle or the rattler of a rattlesnake. Note how dulces (sweet) and gratas (pleasant or agreeable) are placed before the nouns they modify. This is commonly done with adjectives that have an emotional aspect. Thus dulce after a noun might refer to sweetness as a taste, while dulce in front may refer to a persons feelings about the noun. The suffix -tud is added to a slightly modified root word joven (meaning young) to turn the adjective into a noun, forming juventud.   Tan is closely related to tanto; both are used in making comparisons. Cesar is a cognate of to cease. Just as we would be more likely to use stop rather than cease in everyday speech, so would Spanish speakers more likely use parar or terminar. Note how this song uses the familiar second-person form ceses, speaking to the cascabel as if it were a person. This is an example of personification. Repiquetear usually refers to the lively ringing of bells, although it can also be used to the sound of drums or a repeated pounding on something. Navidad is the word for Christmas as a noun, while navideà ±o is the adjective form. Campana usually refers to a traditional bell or something that is in the shape of one. Hay que followed by an infinitive is a common way of saying that something needs to be done. Festejar usually means to celebrate, although celebrar is more common. Normally, the event being celebrated (este dà ­a) would be placed after festejar, as would be done in English. Presumably an atypical word order was used here for poetic purposes. Either và ­spera de Navidad or Nochebuena can be used to refer to Christmas Eve. Ya is a vaguely defined adverb used to add emphasis. The translation of ya is highly dependent on context. Ways of referring to last night in addition to ayer noche include anoche, ayer por la noche and la noche pasada. Nià ±ito is an example of a diminutive noun. The suffix -ito has been appended to nià ±o (boy) to make it refer to a baby boy. Dios is the word for God. As with the English god, the word is capitalized when it used as the name of a specific divine creature, especially the Judeo-Christian God. Campo usually means field. In the plural, as here, it can refer to an undeveloped rural area. Ay is a multipurpose exclamation that usually has a negative connotation such as ouch! Here it seems to be more of a simple shout of joy. Dà ­a , the word for day, is one of most common nouns ending in a that is masculine, breaking a common gender rule.