Chapter 20 -- Speaking indirectly
We can speak directly about things, that is from a personal point of view. For example, “I really enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.” or “I like spicy food.” It is also acceptable to speak indirectly For example, “The study of language fascinates me.” The indirect speech style is the preferred style in Italian, and they use it frequently. In fact, some verbs are used exclusively with indirect speech, and have limited forms as a result.
Some examples follow.
annoiare, to bore molestare, to bother, annoy
aggraziare, to be pleasing mancare, to be lacking, short, missing
bastare, to be enough of something occorrere, to occur
chiedere, to charge (a fee) parere, to seem, appear
disgustare, to disgust piacere, to please
dispiacere, to displease risultare, to result, to turn out
disturbare, to disturb scordare, to forget
dolore, to be painful sembrare, to seem
frustrare, to frustrate servire, to serve, need, be useful
importare, to be important toccare, to touch, to play an instrument
interessare, to interest urgere, to be urgent
irritare, to irritate
Some examples of usage follow.
This movie bores me. Questa pellịcola mi annoia.
That is enough for us today. Ci basta per oggi.
How much do they charge? Quanto si chiede?
I have a sore throat. La gola mi duole.
I like Italian food. Mi piace cucina italiana.
It is not important to me. Non mi importa.
Soccer doesn’t interest me. Il calcio non mi interessa.
It seems obvious to me. Mi pare ovvio.