Formality in Italian
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How to be formal in italian. In italian you can be formal at many different levels. Formality shows up
- Mostly in the grammatical form of the verb and pronouns
- In appellative
- In the kind of language you use
Contents |
Grammatic
There are _no_ special conjugations nor special pronouns in italian apart those two following facts, discussed in detail later:
- Sometimes pronouns are written with capitals.
- Pronouns, participles and adjectives need not (and normally don't) agree in gender and number one another.
Singular and plural are dealt separately, since there are no evident parallelism between the two forms.
Singular
In singular there are two ways of expressing formality,
- with 3rd singular _feminine_ person
- with 2nd plural person.
Adjective and participle takes number and gender with the real subject.
The pronoun in the 3rd singular feminine is normally Lei, even if in a very formal contest Ella could be used, so:
- Nominative is Lei or Ella
- Direct Object is La or Lei following the normal rules.
- Undirect Object is Le, a Lei, ad Ella
- with prepositions is Lei or Ella.
Notice that the subject pronouns are mostly omitted, as happens with normal pronouns.
If the form is the 3rd sing, orders are given using the subjunctive (as any imperative in the 3rd persons)
Some example, 3rd singular:
- I('ll) call you tomorrow
- La chiamo domani.
- You are very handsome/beautiful
- Lei è molto bello. (with a man, adjective in masculine)
- Lei è molto bella. (with a woman, adjective in feminine)
- Where have you gone last summer?
- Dove è andato l'estate scorsa? (with a man, participle in masculine)
- Dove è andata l'estate scorsa? (with a woman, participle in feminine)
- Give me that book
- Mi dia quel libro (subjunctive)
In very formal or commercial writing, pronouns are written in capital letter, and sometimes Ella is used as subject, but remember that in normal writings you should avoid it (for example, if you write a letter to the parents of an italian friend).
- The goods we sent you and which you will have examined
- La merce che Le abbiamo inviato e che Ella avrà esaminato...
An old use is to put the adjectives and the participles in their feminine use. Do not use it.
The same examples, but using the 2nd plural way:
- I('ll) call you tomorrow
- Vi chiamo domani.
- You are very handsome
- Voi siete molto bello. (with a man, adjective in masculine, but singular)
- Voi siete molto bella. (with a woman, adjective in feminine, with singular)
- Where have you gone last summer?
- Dove siete andato l'estate scorsa? (participle in masculine)
- Dove siete andata l'estate scorsa? (participle in feminine)
- Give me that book
- Datemi quel libro
In the same way, in very formal or commercial writing, pronouns are written in capital letteri.
- The goods we sent you and which you will have examined
- La merce che Vi abbiamo inviato e che avrete esaminato...
Use of it
The difference between those two forms are mostly regional, in center-south was more common the "Voi", in the north "Lei", but I think someone (Dando) could tell something more.
- "Voi" was also used till 40 or 50 years ago by sons with their
parents, or between spouses.
- With God it is common to use the 2nd singular (God, help me: Dio, aiutami), but
you can also use the 2nd plural ("Dio, aiutatemi")
The 3rd singular is never used.
- in Comics is normally used 2nd plural, but some also 3rd singular.
Older people use the 2nd singular with younger people, while younger
use formal with older.
People under 40 or such use the 2nd singular when between friends and friends or friends. If you are invited to a party you are supposed to use the 2nd singular with people in it.
In shops you can use the 2nd singular if the person is young and your age. If s/he is older or even younger than you, you should use the formal pronouns.
Between collegues informal "tu" is used.
In a professional situation formal form are used. But sometimes you can turn to informal very soon.
Plural
In plural you can use both the 2nd plural (voi), not grammatically differentiating with unformal 2nd plural (but words could be different) or use the 3rd plural.
The first form is the most used at all, but in formal, commercial or old use the 3rd plural is still heard or read, expecially in restaurants.
- What do you want for dinner?
- Che cosa desiderate per cena?
- Che cosa desiderano per cena? or more common
- Che cosa desiderano i signori per cena?
Notice that the formal person in 3rd plural can be humorous, so avoid it unless you are told to do otherwise.
Greetings
(more to come) Greeting are quite complex, since sometimes you use formal greetings also in informal situation. -Buona notte,for example, is very common between friends when parting in the late evening. -Buona serata -Buon giorno: Buongiorno is used between friends when you see them in the morning for the first time, expecially in case you've slept in the same place.
-See you, goodbye goodbye can be translated -Ciao (informal) -Arrivederci (both formal and informal) -Arrivederla (quite formal) -ArrivederLa (very formal) in speech the last two are equal.
And... the panacea! If you don't know what to say, just say 'salve'...
In writings, you can use -Ciao (with friends) -Cordiali saluti (formal) (more to come)
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