‘Specificational’ adjectives define a subset of the entities indicated by the noun, but do not assert any property of the noun. ‘Specificational’ adjectives comprise quantifiers such as poco ‘not much’, molto ‘much’, tanto ‘so much’, troppo ‘too much’, tutto ‘all’, certi ‘some’, ‘an indeterminate number’ and ‘identifiers’ such as altro6‘other’, stesso ‘same’, (un) certo ‘a certain’, ordinal numerals (12.8, 9), such as primo, secondo. These regularly precede the noun and its other modifying adjectives:
Ho molti bellissimi cani. ‘I have many lovely dogs.’
Sono diplomata maestra d’asilo, ma pur ‘I’m qualified as a nursery school avendo bussato a tante porte nessuno mi teacher, but although I’ve knocked on so
ha dato un lavoro. many doors nobody has given me a job.’
Le mani le sono diventate robuste per il ‘Her hands have become sturdy through
tanto impastare. so much kneading.’
La signora Anna Maria è una bella donna ‘Mrs AM is a beautiful woman with red dai capelli rossi e dai molti gioielli. hair and many jewels.’
i pochi ma giustamente famosi documenti ‘the few but rightly famous Romanian rumeni del Cinquecento documents of the 16th century’
Abbiamo molte bellissime cose da ‘We have many very lovely things to tell
raccontarvi. you.’
Furono scoperti certi curiosi oggetti, di cui ‘Certain curious objects were nessuno riusciva a spiegarsi l’uso. discovered, whose use nobody could
figure out.’
A number of adjectives have a ‘quantifier’ function in addition to their basic meaning. As quantifiers, they always precede the noun (cf. also 9.8 for the indefinite quantifiers); as ‘ordinary adjectives’ they may either precede or follow
5This is not always true in place names, for example Santo Pietro Belvedere.
6Exceptionally, one may encounter altro after the noun, with the sense of ‘different, alternative’: una cultura altra ‘a different culture’.
Specificational adjectives 55
the noun (but usually follow it). Such quantifier adjectives – some of which only have this function in the plural – are: diversi, vari (‘a number of’, ‘several’),7 numerosi (‘many’, ‘numerous’), certo ‘(a) certain’, ‘unspecified’, leggero (‘slight’), vecchio (‘old’, ‘of long standing’ – a kind of ‘temporal’ quantifier), nuovo (‘some more’, ‘further’), unico (‘sole’, ‘only one’), semplice (‘no more than’, ‘just, mere’):
Non tutti i miei amici sono giovani. Ho sì ‘Not all my friends are young. I do have un amico vecchio che però conosco da solo an old friend, but I’ve only known him
qualche mese. for a few months.’
È un vecchio amico che conosco da ‘He’s an old friend [a friend of long
sessantacinque anni. standing] whom I’ve known for 65
years.’
Ha trovato dei libri nuovi. ‘He’s found some new [e.g., newly published] books.’
Ha trovato dei nuovi libri. ‘He’s found more/further books.’
Io sono un falegname semplice. ‘I’m a simple [unsophisticated]
carpenter.’
Io sono un semplice falegname. ‘I’m a simple carpenter/just a carpenter/no more than a carpenter.’
C’è una valigia leggera. ‘There’s a light suitcase.’
C’è una leggera differenza. ‘There’s a slight difference.’
Ci vivono numerose famiglie. ‘Numerous/many families live there.’
Ci vivono famiglie numerose. ‘Large families [families with many members] live there.’
Si tratta di una proposta unica. ‘It represents a unique proposal.’
Si tratta di una unica proposta. ‘It represents just one/a single/a sole proposal.’
Note also the distinction between unico figlio, unica figlia and figlio unico, figlia unica:
Sono figlia unica. ‘I’m an only child.’
Sono l’unica figlia della signora Tozzi. ‘I’m Mrs T’s only daughter.’ (She has sons, but I’m the only daughter.) As for vari and diversi, the meaning ‘of different kinds’ is possible either preceding or following the noun, but the sense ‘various’, ‘a number of’ is only possible when vari precedes:
Ha dei coltelli diversi. ‘He has different knives/other sorts of knives.’
Ha diversi coltelli. ‘He has a number of knives.’
poter ammirare i toni vari ed armonizzanti ‘to be able to admire the varied
delle due diverse porpore e la marezzatura harmonizing shades of the two different delle pesantissime sete purples and the moiré effect of the very
heavy silks’
Vendono delle camicie di colori vari/vari ‘They sell shirts of varied colours.’
colori.
Vendono delle camicie di vari colori. ‘They sell shirts in a number of colours.’
7Note that when plural diversi, vari, numerosi and certi with ‘quantifier’ function precede the noun, they cannot be used with a ‘partitive’ article (see 4.20): one can say diverse case
‘several houses’ or delle case ‘some houses’, but not *delle diverse case, etc.
3.30 The type la povera donna (vs. la donna povera)
The adjective povero can mean either ‘poor’, ‘deserving of sympathy’, ‘pitiable’, or ‘impecunious’. In the former sense it precedes the noun:
La mia povera sorella ha perso marito e ‘My poor sister lost her husband and her figlia nel giro di sei mesi. daughter within six months.’
È inutile chiedere soldi alla mia sorella ‘It’s pointless to ask my poor sister for povera; andiamo da mio fratello, che lui è money; let’s go to my brother; he’s rich.’
ricco.
Note that povero can also refer to someone who has died:
La mia povera madre amava molto la ‘My poor mother did like the
campagna. countryside.’
Grande precedes when the sense is ‘moral greatness’, ‘admirability’: È un grand’uomo ‘He’s a great man’ vs. È un uomo grande ‘He’s a big man.’ Grande also precedes agent nouns when it serves to intensify the noun (cf., ‘He’s a great walker = He walks a lot’ – see also 3.33 below):
È un grande camminatore. ‘He’s a great walker.’
Sono dei grandi esploratori. ‘They’re great explorers./They like to explore a lot.’
Era un gran bugiardo. ‘He was a big liar.’
Of course Sono dei grandi esploratori could also mean ‘They are distinguished, famous, admired explorers’.
Alto in the sense of ‘important’, ‘high placed’ precedes the noun:
Mi riferivo a quell’alto funzionario del ‘I meant that high-ranking civil Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione. servant in the Ministry of Education.’
Mi riferivo a quel funzionario alto del ‘I meant that tall civil servant in the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione. Ministry of Education.’
3.31 The type Trovo questo libro interessante ‘I find this book interesting’ (vs. Trovo interessante questo libro)
Just as in English it is possible to say ‘I find/think/consider this book interest-ing’ for ‘I find/think/consider that this book is interestinterest-ing’, so one can say in Italian Trovo/Considero/Credo questo libro interessante. It is equally possible to say Trovo/Considero/Credo interessante questo libro. However, the order Trovo interes-sante questo libro is particularly likely to be used if the speaker/writer wants to avoid ambiguity with Trovo questo libro interessante ‘I find this interesting book.’
Note that in a structure such as Trovo interessante questo libro the adjective (inter-essante) is usually the most stressed element in the sentence with the following noun phrase (questo libro) being noticeably less emphatically stressed.8
A similar principle of ordering holds for sentences such as Lascio la porta aperta
‘I leave the door open’ or ‘I leave the open door’, and Lascio aperta la porta ‘I leave the door open’, the latter being available to avoid the possible interpretation ‘I leave the open door’.
8This goes against a general principle that the most emphatically stressed constituent in an Italian sentence tends to be the final one.
The type Trovo questo libro interessante 57
3.32 The ‘present participle’
Italian has a number of adjectives which were, originally, derived from verbs and often remain close in meaning to the verb from which they came. In form these
‘present participles’ are usually identical to the gerund (see 14.17), except that while the gerund ends in -do the ‘present participle’ ends in -te (plural -ti):
Gerund ‘Present participle’
occupando occupante
parlando parlante
volendo volente
richiedere richiedente
etc.
There is a tradition in Italian grammars for listing ‘present participles’ as part of the conjugation of the verb, alongside the gerund, the infinitive and so forth.
But this is misleading, because:
● By no means all verbs have ‘present participles’ (whereas all verbs have, for example, gerunds and infinitives): e.g., essere, dare, sapere lack a present participle. ‘Present participles’ only exist for verbs which indicate properties or states; thus comprendente corresponds to comprendere only in the sense ‘com-prise’, ‘be composed of’ (un opuscolo comprendente tre sezioni ‘a little work comprising three sections’) but not comprendere in the sense ‘understand’, ‘grasp’.
● There are several adjectives which have the appearance of ‘present participles’, and were, historically, derived from verbs, but correspond to no verb in modern Italian. For example: arcaicizzante ‘archaizing’ (but also arcaizzante corresponding to arcaizzare); carente ‘lacking’; chiaroveggente
‘clairvoyant’; eloquente ‘eloquent’; impudente ‘impudent’; insufficiente
‘insufficient’; nolente ‘not wanting’ (effectively limited to the expression volente o nolente ‘willy nilly’); presente ‘present’; prudente ‘prudent’ (vs. prudere
‘itch’); urgente ‘urgent’ (urgere exists but is, in contrast, very rare), etc.
● ‘Present participles’ in fact have no particular connection with present time or the present tense (any more than an ordinary adjective like rosso is connected with any particular time or tense).
● There are frequently idiosyncratic and unpredictable differences of meaning between ‘present participles’ and the verbs to which they are related: arrogare
‘arrogate’ vs. arrogante ‘arrogant’; costare ‘cost’ vs. costante ‘constant’; dolere
‘ache’, ‘cause pain’ vs. dolente ‘grieving’, ‘unhappy’, ‘hurt’; potere ‘be able’ vs.
potente ‘powerful’ (also possente), etc.
● There are frequently idiosyncratic and unpredictable differences of form between ‘present participles’ and the verbs to which they are related: puzzo-lente ‘stinking’ vs. puzzare; appariscente ‘prominent’, ‘standing out’ vs. apparire (but also apparente ‘apparent’, ‘seeming’); abbiente ‘wealthy’ vs. avere (but also avente ‘having’); empiente ‘filling’ vs. empire; adempiente ‘fulfilling’ vs. adempire.
The best approach is to observe that adjectives in -nte may very well be derived from verbs and often, but not always, have a meaning close to English verbal adjectives in -ing:
Sono stati sessantanove i colpi partiti, nella ‘Sixty-nine shots were fired, on the sconvolgente mattinata del primo marzo. dreadful/upsetting morning of 1 March.’
Il capo dello Stato ha avvertito che se ‘The head of state has warned that if the l’Ulivo uscirà vincente dalle prossime Olive Tree emerges victorious from the elezioni, l’incarico per la formazione del forthcoming elections, the job of nuovo governo dovrà essere affidato al forming the new government will have leader di quello schieramento. to be entrusted to the leader of that
grouping.’
Ho invitato tutti i colleghi appartenenti al ‘I invited all my colleagues
club ‘Gatto rosso’. belonging/who belonged to the “Red
Cat” club.’
La vista di quel cadavere era impressionante. ‘The sight of that corpse was striking.’
Un padre e una figlia eccoli lì: lui biondo, ‘There they are, a father and daughter:
bello, sorridente, lei goffa, lentigginosa, he fair, handsome, smiling, she gauche,
spaventata. freckled, frightened.’
‘Present participles’ are very frequently employed as nouns:
Questo esercizio è riservato ai principianti. ‘This exercise is reserved for beginners.’
Sono un rappresentante della Lloyd ‘I am a representative of LA.’
Adriatica.
Avvertì l’ispettore Henry, suo conoscente, ‘He told inspector H, an acquaintance of che la raggiungesse immediatamente. his, to get to it immediately.’
Ti sono così fedele, che se il Signore volesse ‘I am so faithful to you that if the Lord togliermi al mondo dei viventi e portarmi wanted to remove me from the world of via, continuerei a esserlo anche dal Cielo. the living and take me away, I would
still be even from Heaven.’
Many, indeed, are principally used as nouns: dirigente ‘manager’, credente
‘(religious) believer’, governante ‘governess’, scrivente ‘writer’ (e.g., lo scrivente vi supplica ‘the writer/the undersigned begs you’; compare with lo scrittore
‘[professional] writer’, ‘author’), tenente ‘lieutenant’, etc.
There are two respects in which some ‘present participles’ (often used as nouns) remain vestigially verb-like. Namely, that they may sometimes take an object, and that clitic pronouns (but not usually third person direct object clitics – see 6.2) may be attached to them:
Una Madonna di Andrea del Sarto ‘A Madonna by AS seemed astonished sembrava stupita di trovarsi contornata to be surrounded by coloured
da litografie colorate rappresentanti santi lithographs representing third order
di terz’ordine. saints.’
Sono stati riletti i documenti riferentisi al ‘The documents referring to the project
progetto. have been reread.’
Immaginavo una serie di esplosioni, ‘I imagined a series of explosions, succedentisi nel tempo. following each other through time.’
la ricompensa spettante ad ognuno ‘the recompense due to everyone’
le ricompense spettantici ‘the recompenses due to us’
un quadro raffigurante la Firenze di Dante ‘a picture representing D’s Florence’
The use of direct objects and clitics with certain present participles used as nouns (see above) is largely restricted to elevated, formal registers:
In quanto presidente la commissione, ‘In my capacity as president of the
dichiaro . . . committee [i.e., the ‘one who presides
over’], I declare . . .’
Gli aventi diritto alla tessera dovranno fare ‘Those who have the right to a card richiesta presso . . . must apply to . . . .’
i componenti della commissione ‘the members of the commission’
ginnastica tonificante i muscoli della schiena ‘gymnastics which tones up the back muscles’
The ‘present participle’ 59
Note also prospiciente ‘looking on to’, which ‘takes a direct object’ even though there is no corresponding verb:
i balconi prospicienti il giardino ‘the balconies overlooking the garden’
Some ‘present participles’ (stante ‘standing’, ‘being given’, vivente ‘being alive’, regnante ‘reigning’, consenziente ‘agreeing’, permettente ‘permitting’, volente
‘willing’) may be used ‘absolutely’, in the sense ‘if’, ‘when’, ‘while’ + ‘verb’, as follows:
Stante questa legge, hanno dovuto ‘This law being the case/With this law
acconsentire. as it stood, they had to agree.’
Dio volente, ritornerà la pace. ‘God willing, peace will return.’
Vivente l’autore, sembrava impossibile ‘With the author alive, it seemed negli anni 50 che un simile testo potesse impossible in the 50s that such a text
venire stampato. could get printed.’
etc.
3.33 The type ‘I’m a slow eater’ Sono uno che mangia lentamente, etc.
In English it is often possible to convert the structure ‘verb + adverb of manner’, such as ‘I eat slowly’, into ‘adjective + agent noun’, such as ‘I am a slow eater’.
Such conversions are also sometimes encountered in Italian, but they cannot be made nearly so readily as in English: Italians seem to find Sono un lettore lento
‘I’m a slow reader’ fairly acceptable, but apparently much less so Sono un mangiatore lento in the sense ‘I’m a slow eater’. Sono un mangiatore lento would tend to be interpreted as ‘I am an eater who is slow’, and need not indicate that I am slow specifically at eating. The commonest and most reliable way of changing the verb + adverb structure into a noun is to say, literally, ‘I am (some)one who eats slowly’, Sono (qualc)uno che mangia lentamente, etc.