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.