WTI Magazine #38    2014 July, 9
Author : Manuela Bianchi for learnitalygroup.com      Translation by:

Speak as you eat!
When it comes to Italy the thought always goes to art, culture, history, folklore ... the different beauties of our country are so many that a conversation about them could last for hours and hours. Yet there is an art that normally gets the upper hand over the others. The thought of those who have traveled through Italy, after wandering among a thousand beautiful memories, focuses almost always on something that is part of us and of our daily lives. What am I talking about? Obviously our food, flavors and cuisine.

It maybe seem a stereotype, but cooking is an Italian art that deserves all our special attention. I am not proposing an Italian cooking class, nor a recipe (We the Italians magazine have another very successful column about that!). I just would like to emphasize that we in Italy commonly use idioms related to the world of cooking. Let us analyze some of the most common.

There is an Italian saying that goes "parla come mangi" (speak as you eat), that you use when you want to invite someone to speak in clear and simple manner, without using complicated words and complex sentences, especially in situations where it is not necessary. When a person is in a state of ambiguity, uncertainty, has little personality and is unable to take a position, it is said that he/she is "nè carne nè pesce" (neither fish nor meat): for example, you can say it about a young man/woman who still hasn't found what he or she wants to do with his/her life.

If someone tries to find fault in one thing or situation that seems perfect, is said that he/she is looking at "il pelo nell'uovo" (the hair in the egg"); if a person is very thin it can be said that is "un'acciuga" (an anchovy), while if another person very much loves to eat, it is called "una buona forchetta" (a good fork). You could also advise someone not to "mettere troppa carne sul fuoco" (put too much meat on the embers), which means not to engage in too many activities at the same time, because in a metaphorical sense if you put too much meat to roast, the positive outcome is not guaranteed.

If you want to say that someone is foolish, unintelligent, or lacks of common sense, you can say that he/she has "poco sale in zucca" (little salt in his/her pumpkin - which in this case would be his/her head). And if someone tells you that "tutto fa brodo" (anything goes in a broth), do not take it literally! We Italians can eat a lot, but not everything! That person just wanted to tell you that every little thing can be helpful to achieve a goal. At last, among many other examples, to cheer and say that things do not always go as one would like, we can go straight to dessert and say that "non sempre le ciambelle escono col buco" (donuts not always come out with a whole).

If I had studied I would have known the rule!
Here we are again, dealing with the Italian grammar. Among the most common mistakes, there is one we found among the students of our Learn Italy headquarters in Verona, and we can solve it with a short and simple rule. I'm talking about the concordance of verbal tenses in hypothetical period, generally consisting of "se" (if) followed by the sentence expressing the condition, and then one expressing the consequence. The hypothetical sentences can be expressed in an implicitly and explicitly, but this time we will discuss only the latter.

As a first step, it is important to remember that the sentence that introduces the consequence is closely related to the previous one, governed by "se" (if), that we will call the main clause. But up to now no novelty: it's the same in English!

You just have to remember the right correlation between verbal tenses. In general, if the phrase introduced by "se" (if) expresses a real condition, we will use the indicative; if it expresses an unreal or just a possible condition, we will use the subjunctive. The choice of which verbal tense is used in the main clause will determine the choice on which verbal tense to use in the second proposition.

In summary: 1) "SE" + INDICATIVE + INDICATIVE OR IMPERATIVE. Example: "se ti sbrighi arriveremo in tempo" (if you hurry we will arrive on time); or "se fai tardi chiamami" (if you are late, call me). 2) "SE" + IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE + SENTENCE IN PRESENT CONDITIONAL. Example: "se ti sbrigassi arriveremmo in tempo" (if you would hurry, we would arrive in time). 3) "SE" + PAST PERFETC SUBJUNTIVE + PAST CONDITIONAL. Example: "se ti
fossi sbrigato saremmo arrivati in tempo" (if you would have hurried, we would have arrived in time).

It's easy! Just remember that in the main clause "se" (if) is never followed by conditional. The rest is just exercise and a little attention. No excuses: if you would have read these lines, you wouldn't have been wrong!

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