Speak Italian like a native when you use the Italian verb “Passare” !
In this blog, “Use ‘Passare’ to Speak Italian Like a Native, “ we will focus on how and when to use the Italian verb passare during daily conversation. This is the start of a new series, and I will try to post an in-depth analysis of a different Italian verb every few months.
The heart of any language is its verbs. Too often, language teachers focus on verb conjugation drills and provide a few example sentences, assuming that the student then has the tools he or she needs to communicate. Although many Italian verbs have similar meanings to those in English, and it is sometimes easy to transition between English and Italian during conversation, other times the use of an Italian verb will vary from its English counterpart. I believe that to speak fluently in any language it is important to have an in-depth understanding of how each verb is used in real life situations.
In which situation will one verb commonly be chosen over another? How will the point one is making change depending on the verb chosen? How will the meaning of the chosen verb change with use of the reflexive counterpart of the verb? This information must be studied and understood so it can be easily accessible when it comes time to have a conversation. Since this information is not commonly found in text books, I have decided to make it the focus of a blog series.
“Passare,” the Italian verb that means “to pass by” is one of those verbs that is important to “get to know” if one wants to use it correctly.
Enjoy the first topic in this series: Use”Passare”to Speak Italian Like a Native. —Kathryn Occhipinti
Special thanks to Italian instructor Maria Vanessa Colapinto.
Parts of this blog have been reposted from Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day! – “The Many Uses for “Passare” from Conversational Italian! a blog by the same author. Check out this blog as well if you are interested in phrases to use every day!
Speak Italian Like a Native:
Italian Verb Passare
The Italian verb passare means “to pass,” as in “to pass through,” “pass by,”“pass time,”or “spend time.” This verb is used in many ways in Italian! We use the verb “to pass” or “passed” less often in informal English, often defaulting to more general English verbs like, “get/gone,” put” or “spend/spent” when we really mean “pass or passed.” But in Italian, it is important to be more specific and use the verb passare if you want to sound like a native when describing situations that have come to pass!
1. Use passare when you will “pick up” or “spend time with” someone
Use the Italian verb passare when you want to “pass by” and “pick someone up.” Passare is used in the important everyday expression “passare a prendere,” which means “to pick (someone) up (by car).”
In the same way, use the verb passareto describe “dropping into see” someone or “dropping in to visit” someone with the phrases, “passare a far visita” and “passare a trovare.” The latter phrase is similar to, but not identical in meaning to “andare a trovare,”which you may recall means “to go to visit” someone.
If you are inviting someone to visit you informally, but in an business setting, simply use passare with “in ufficio.”This phrase may be useful if you do not have a specific time you need to see someone on a particular day.
Another common informal phrase is “passare un attimo da casa,” which means, “to drop by the house for a bit.”Use this phrase to invite a friend over for an informal get-together or quick meeting at your house. If you use the verb passarein conversation, this will signal both your familiarity with both the person you are visiting, and with the Italian language!
Passerò/Passo a prenderti alle otto.”
I will (pass by and) pick you up at 8 AM.”
Side note: if you want to ask someone to “pick you up” from a particular place, venire is used with prendere:
“Può venire alla stazione a prendermi?”
“Can you (polite) come to the station and get me?”
And a few more examples:
Domani, passo a far visita a mia zia Anna.
Tomorrow, I will drop in to see my Aunt Ann.
Domenica, passo a trovare la mia amica del cuore Maria.
On Sunday, I will drop in to visit my dear friend Maria.
Per favore, passi in ufficio domani mattina, alle otto o dopo.
Please drop in to my office tomorrow morning, at 8 AM or later. (polite)
La settimana prossima, passeremo un attimo da casa mia.
Next week, let’s drop by my house for a bit.
2. Use passare to mention somebody “passing by.”
If a person has recently “passed by,” someone else or “passed by”/ “gone through” a place, whether walking or driving, we must use essere as our past tense helping verb. Notice that this differs from English, and the English translation uses the verb “to have” instead.
“Ma quando Giovanni è passato davanti a me, l’ho riconosciuto.”
“But when John passed by in front of me, I recognized him.”
Michele non in piazza ancora. È passato!
Michael is not in the piazza anymore. He has passed by!
3. Use passare when making references about time
Use the verb passare to talk about time “passing by” in Italian, just as we do in English. Time “passes by” all by itself, and is the subject of the sentence, so we must use essere(to be) as our past tense helping verb.
“Quanto tempo è passato!” ha detto Maria quando lei ha incontrato una vecchia amica* per strada.
“How much time has gone by!” Mary said when she met an old friend on the street.
*una vecchia amica = an old (longtime) friend; una amica vecchia= a friend that is old in years
If we want to talk about how we were doing something “to pass the time,” in the recent past, or if we have “spent time at” a certain location, we must use the verb passare with avere as our helping verb for the past tense.
To mention that you have “passed the night together with someone,” and imply a close relationship with that person, use the phrase, “passare una serata insieme.”
To express the wish that someone “passes time well”over the holidays, use the verb passare with avere for the helping verb. (Notice the use of the subjunctive tense for avere with the verb sperare(to wish) in the example sentence.)
Ieri, ho passato tutto il pomeriggio a casa di Giulia.
Yesterday, I stayed at Julia’s house all afternoon.
Ieri sera, io e Michele abbiamo passato la serata insieme.
Last night, Michael and I spent the night together.
“Passa un buon Natale a Chicago!”
“Have (spend) a nice Christmas in Chicago!”
“Spero che la famiglia abbia passato un buon Natale!”
Lascia passare i mesi dell’inverno e d’estate pensiamo alle vacanze.
Let the winter months pass and in the summer we will think about vacation.
4. Use passare when talking on the telephone
Use the verb passareto ask someone to “put through” another person talking on the telephone to you. This situation is encountered most often at work, of course, when trying to reach an individual important enough to have a secretary to screen calls. The first example given below is therefore in the polite tense. Now-a-days many individuals have cell phones, so it is less common, but still possible, to call a land-line at home and have a family member answer, so the same question may also be useful in the familiar tense.
When describing the act of passing the phone to someone in the past tense, use the helping verb avere(to have).
I’ve put Michael through to you. (Italian “a te” not frequently used.)
Ti ho passato Michele!
I’ve put Michael through to you!
Te l’ho passato!
I’ve put him through to you!
5. Use the reflexive passarsi to exchange things with someone
Finally, the reflexive verb, passarsi, has a slightly different meaning from the non-reflexive form that we have been discussing above. The reflexive verb passarsimeans “to exchange” something and is used in the same way as the verb scambiarsi. Both verbs take essere in the past tense, of course, because they are reflexive!
“Allora, ci siamo passati i numeri di telefono per tenerci in contatto d’ora in poi.”
“Anyway, we exchanged telephone numbers and will stay in contact from now on.”
Remember how to use the Italian verbpassare in conversation and I guarantee you will use this verb every day!
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the Conversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area. “Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC
TheConversational Italian for Travelers textbook begins each chapter with a dialogue from a story about the character Caterina, an American girl who travels to Italy to visit her relatives. As the story continues from one chapter to the next, we learn Italian, and about Italy, in an engaging way through Caterina’s experiences.
After Caterina settles into the routine of daily life with her family in Italy, her sister-in-law, Francesca, decides that they should go shopping. Although Francesca has grocery shopping in mind, Caterina would rather shop Italian at the many beautiful, fashionable shops that line the streets of Milan! To listen to this dialogue from Chapter 10 about Caterina and Francesca’s afternoon spent shopping in Milan, go to the interactive dialogues on our website at Learn Travel Italian Audio Dialogues. The Cultural Note below, also from the textbook, gives some important information about Italian sizes, for YOUR next shopping spree in Italy. Buon divertimento! —Kathryn Occhipinti
Shop window in Rome advertising an up to 50% discount in July
When visiting Italy, one encounters wonderful shops that sell everything imaginable. In most cities, beautiful, stylish clothing made by well-known designers hangs in the shop windows of the grand boulevards and larger piazzas. Think Via Monte Napoleone in Milan or the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. Now that the fall season is upon us, the cooler weather will bring with it the exciting new Italian fashions of the season.
But maybe even more important for the shopper is what happens at the end of the fashion season in Italy. Usually in late June and July, corresponding to the height of the tourist season, it seems like almost all Italian fashion is on sale! Many clothing stores offer steep discounts, usually up to 50% throughout most of the store. Look for the signs in the shop windows that say “saldi” for sale or “sconto” for discount. Late summer is a shopper’s paradise in Italy for those who love fashion!
But one must be prepared to shop Italian. Sizes in Italy are different from those in the United States and from those in other European countries. How does one know what size clothing to bring to the dressing room? Also, when talking about Italian style, it should be mentioned that there are still dedicated craftsmen who make high-quality leather goods. There is such a dazzling variety of shoes in the shop windows that it is always tempting to buy a pair to bring home. But what size to tell the shopkeeper to get?
The tables that follow list European and Italian sizes and how they (roughly) correspond to the sizes in the United States.
Please note that this is only a general guide, and it is best to always try on any item of clothing before making a purchase!
Women’s Dress Sizes
General U.S. Size
American
European
Italian
Extra Small
2
32
36
Small
4
34
38
Small
6
36
40
Medium
8
38
42
Medium
10
40
44
Large
12
42
46
Large
14
44
48
Extra Large
16
46
50
Women’s Blouse and Sweater Sizes
General U.S. Size
American
European
Italian
Extra Small
32
34
40
Small
34
36
42
Small
36
38
44
Medium
38
40
46
Large
40
42
48
Large
42
44
50
Extra Large
44
46
52
Women’s and Men’s Shoe Sizes*
American Shoe Sizes (inches)
5 ½
6
6 ½
7
7 ½
8
8 ½
9
9 ½
10
10 ½
European/Italian Women’s Shoe Sizes
35 ½
36
36 ½
37
37 ½
38
38 ½
39
European/Italian Men’s Shoe Sizes
37
37 ½
38
38 ½
39
40
41
41 ½
42
42 ½
43
*Hint: Subtract 30 from European shoe sizes to get the equivalent of the American size for women’s shoe sizes 5 to 9.
********************************************
For men’s clothing, Italian sizes and European sizes have an identical numbering system, although the fit of the clothing that corresponds to this numbering system is only loosely standardized. As usual, trying on clothing before purchasing is the best policy!
Men’s Shirt and Pant Sizes**
General U.S. Size
American
European
Italian
General Italian Size
2X Extra Small
32
42
42
Small
Extra Small
34
44
44
Medium
Small
36
46
46
Large
Medium
38
48
48
Extra Large
Large
40
50
50
2X Extra Large
Extra Large
42
52
52
3X Extra Large
**Hint: Just subtract 10 from the European shirt and pant sizes to get the American sizes.
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the Conversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area. “Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC
Speak Italian like a native when you use the Italian verb “Passare” !
