Today’s Parola del Giorno is the reflexive verb, truccarsi, which means to put one’s makeup on. The past participle is truccato, and essere is used in compound tenses. See the verb used below in its context:
Anna: Come mai Mariella fa sempre tardi?
Anna: How come Mariella is always late?
Tiziana: Perché perde sempre un sacco di tempo a truccarsi, ecco perché! Manco fosse la volta della Cappella Sistina!
Tiziana: Because she always wastes a lot of time putting on her make up, that’s why! As if it were the Sistine Chapel ceiling!
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, fare la doccia, which means to take a shower. See the expression used below in its context:
Per guadagnare tempo di mattina, Giovanna fa la doccia prima di andare a letto.
In order to save time in the morning, Giovanna takes a shower being going to bed.
Today’s Parola del Giorno continues our daily action verbs with the expression, fare gargarismi, which means to gargle. See the verb used below in its context:
Ogni mattina il mio vicino mi sveglia! Quando fa gargarismi, è così rumoroso che si sente persino nella mia stanza! Oramai è lui la mia sveglia mattutina!
Every morning my neighbor wakes me up! When he gargles, he is so noisy that one hears it even in my room! Now he is my morning alarm clock!
Today’s Parola del Giorno is ideal for a Monday morning and is something that many of us do each night before going to bed: caricare la sveglia (per). It means to set the alarm for (a certain time). The past participle is caricato, and avere is used in compound tenses. See the expression used below in its context:
Il marito di Domenica, Antonio, gridò: “Domenica, carica la sveglia per le sei! Dobbiamo arrivare all’aeroporto alle 9 e sappiamo che sei una tartaruga di mattina!”
Domenica’s husband, Antonio, shouted: “Domenica, set the alarm for six! We have to get to the airport at 9, and we know that you are a turtle in the morning!”
For the next few weeks, we’re going to be focusing on azioni quotidiane or daily actions — things we do each day! Now, let’s learn how to say them in Italian. Many of them are reflexive, so it might be helpful to review the use of reflexive verbs. Today’s Parola del Giorno is the verb, abbottonarsi, which means to button (oneself) up. As with all reflexives, essere is used in compound tenses; the past participle is abbottonato. See the verb used below in its context:
Mamma mia…che freddo! Ragazzi, abbottonatevi i cappotti prima di uscire!
My goodness…how cold it is!! Kids, button up your coats before going out!
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun, la coincidenza, which can mean connection, such as the kind of connection you might make when catching a flight or a train. Take note of the following expression: fare coincidenza | to connect. See the noun used below in its context:
Diamine! Il volo è arrivato tardi e ho perso la mia coincidenza! Cosa faccio adesso?
Damn! The flight arrived late, and I missed my connection. What do I do now?
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, forare, which means to have a flat tire orto have a puncture. The past participle is forato. Avere is used in compound tenses. See the verb used below in its context:
Mentre andava in macchina a Firenze, Rebecca, la cui macchina è proprio un rottame, ha forato tre volte. Presa dalla disperazione ha chiamato il meccanico che è giunto sul posto dopo ben due ore!
While driving to Florence, Rebecca, whose car is just a wreck, had a puncture three times. Overcome with desperation, she called the mechanic who arrived on the scene after well over two hours!
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, chiudere in pareggio, which means to break even. The past participle is chiuso. Avere is used in compound tenses. See the expression used below in its context:
Purtroppo quando ho venduto la casa, non ho guadagnato nulla e hosolo chiuso in pareggio.
Unfortunately when I sold the house, I earned nothing and only broke even.
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, sintetizzare, which means to summarize or to sum up (when talking about chemistry, it can also mean to synthesize). The past participle is sintetizzato; avere is used in compound tenses. See the verb used below in its context:
Marcello si dilunga in un sacco di particolari quando racconta qualcosa. Dovrebbe imparare un po’ a sintetizzare.
Marcello dwells on tons of details when he tells something. He should learn to summarize a bit.
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun, la minigonna ascellare, which means very short miniskirt. See the noun used below in its context:
Sandra veste in modo molto provocante. Indossa sempre calze a rete e minigonne ascellari. E si lamenta pure che gli altri la guardano. Perché allora si veste così?
Sandra dress very provocatively. She always wears fishnet stockis and very short miniskirts. And she even complains that others are looking at her. Why then does she dress so?
