Italian PHRASES 03 - BASIC CONVERSATION

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carla1604 Sunday 29th of May 2005 11:12:47 PM
Italian PHRASES 03 - [b]Italian PHRASES 03[/b]
Format used:
[b]English phrase
Italian phrase
Informal phrase
Formal phrase[/b]

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[color=red]BASIC CONVERSATION[/color]
CONVERSAZIONE DI BASE

How are you doing?
[b]Come stai?
Come sta? [/b]

I'm doing great!
[b]Sto benissimo! [/b]

I'm fine
[b]Sto bene[/b]

I'm alright
[b]Sto abbastanza bene[/b]

I'm not so well
[b]Non sto tanto bene – Sto così così[/b]

How old are you?
[b]Quanti anni hai?
Quanti anni ha? [/b]

I'm ... years old
[b]Ho … anni[/b]

I don't know
[b]Non lo so[/b]

I don't like that
[b]Non mi piace[/b]

I'm ready
[b]Sono pronto (said by a man)
Sono pronta (said by a woman) [/b]

Let's go!
[b]Andiamo! [/b]

I'm sorry
[b]Mi dispiace[/b]

Zack Monday 30th of May 2005 08:37:43 AM
- When you say "sto bene", why wouldn't you say "sono bene" instead. I thought that sono could be used as "I am." Is it only when one is saying something like "Sono dall'America"?

carla1604 Tuesday 31st of May 2005 05:34:00 AM
- Hi Zack, :)
"Sto bene" and "sto male" are idiomatic expressions. I don't know why we use stare instead of essere. "Sono bene" or "sono male" would sound odd. :D

You are right, "sono" = "I am". Usually, when introducing oneself or talking about oneself, "sono" is mostly used.

Here are some other expressions with "sono":
sono americano - I'm from America
sono uno studente - I'm a student
sono alto 1.75 m - I'm 1.75 mt tall
sono felice - I'm happy
sono triste - I'm sad
sono in ritardo - I'm late
sono in orario - I'm on time

Carla
;)

Phlame64 Tuesday 31st of May 2005 03:32:52 PM
Stare - Essere (To stay, to be) - Yes they're ideomatic expressions and STARE is used a lot in expressions where you may expect ESSERE. So "stare bene" would mean "to be well" and "stare male" --> "to be ill".

Verb "STARE":

io sto
tu stai
lui sta
lei sta
noi stiamo
voi state
loro stanno

We use "Come stai?" instead of "Come sei?" to ask "How are you?" to a person. ^^

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Zack	Monday 30th of May 2005 08:37:43 AM
- When you say "sto bene", why wouldn't you say "sono bene" instead. I thought that sono could be used as "I am." Is it only when one is saying something like "Sono dall'America"?

Phlame64	Tuesday 31st of May 2005 03:32:52 PM
Stare - Essere (To stay, to be) - Yes they're ideomatic expressions and STARE is used a lot in expressions where you may expect ESSERE. So "stare bene" would mean "to be well" and "stare male" --> "to be ill". Verb "STARE": io sto tu stai lui sta lei sta noi stiamo voi state loro stanno We use "Come stai?" instead of "Come sei?" to ask "How are you?" to a person. ^^