Aggettivi di personalità… Come sei tu?

La personalità… Come sei tu? Describing your personality… 

In this lesson:
VOCAB: Adjectives of Personality 
GRAMMAR: Masculine vs. Feminine Adjectives 
GRAMMAR: The verb "ESSERE - to be" 
CULTURE: Gender & Addressing a group

Adjectives of Personality

Come sei tu?

Word for word, this is "How are you?", but because it uses the verb "essere" (sei) [and not "stare" as in Come stai?] it is not asking your current state or mood, but rather, generally, how are you... as in What do you look like?, or What is your personality like?

This time, we're going to focus on the personality aspect of this question and look at some possible answers.

No matter what your personality type (or your gender) the answer could start with:

Sono una persona …

I am a …… person.

"Persona" is a feminine noun, no matter if the person is male or a female, so the adjective describing it will be in the feminine as well.

Try browsing some of the possible answers and see which, if any, you recognize. Write down a few, or as many as you like, that apply to you:

Now that you've browsed, use the definitions below to look up any of the terms that you don't know or are unsure about and edit or add to your own personal list as necessary:

AGGETTIVI DI PERSONALITÀ*

*again, all the adjectives are in the feminine, because "persona" is a feminine noun
—also, masculine forms get enough attention as far as I'm concerned! 
(See the Cultural Note at the bottom of this post!)

allegra

cheerful

amichevole

friendly

ansiosa

anxious

arguta

sharp/witty

arrogante

arrogant

assennata

sensible/level-headed

audace

audacious/bold

calma

calm

cattiva

mean/bad

codarda

cowardly

compiacente

obliging/eager to please

comprensiva

understanding

coraggiosa

courageous

decisa

decisive

diligente

diligent

disobbediente

disobedient

disonesta

dishonest

dispettosa

mischievous

distaccata

detached

divertente

fun

dolce

sweet

educata

well-mannered

elegante

refined/graceful

emotiva

emotional

estroversa

extroverted

felice

happy

forte

strong

fredda

cold

gelosa

jealous

generosa

generous

gentile

kind

impacciata

clumsy

impaziente

impatient

impulsiva

impulsive

infelice

unhappy

intelligente

intelligent

introversa

introverted

lunatica

moody

maleducata

rude/ill-mannered

mite

mild-mannered/gentle

modesta

modest

noiosa

boring

obbediente

obedient

onesta

honest

ottimista
(invariable)

optimistic

ottusa

obtuse/dumb

paziente

patient

permalosa

sensitive/touchy

pessimista

(invariable)
pessimistic

pigra

lazy

premurosa

caring/thoughtful

presuntuosa

presumptuous

prudente

prudent/cautious

ribelle

rebellious

sbadata

scatterbrained/careless

scettica

skeptical

scherzosa

joking/playful

scontrosa

surly

scortese

impolite/unkind

sensibile

sensitive

seria

serious

sgarbata

rude

snob 
(invariable)

snobbish

spigliata

self-assured

spregiudicata

unscrupulous/unprejudiced

tetra

gloomy/glum

timida

shy

vanitosa

vain

Looking at your list of adjectives, practice saying them aloud and in full sentences. Starting with the formula from above:

Sono una persona …

…emotiva e permalosa.

...onesta e pigra.

(Just for examples!)

Masculine vs. Feminine Adjectives

Just as in English, it is possible to say 'I am' and then launch into the adjectives without saying 'a person.' In Italian, however, this means that you will have to be aware of your gender, as well as the gender of your adjectives. If you're female, then you can use all of the adjectives in the form given above. If you're male, however, you will have to switch your adjectives to the masculine form. 

In most cases, if the adjective ends in "a", you change the ending to an "o", as in:

Sono …

…tetra e lunatica. (female)

…tetro e lunatico. (male)

In most cases, if the adjective ends in "e", it remains the same for male and female.

Sono …

…sensibile e scortese. (male or female)

The verb "Essere - to be"

In the above examples, we see the question in the "tu" or "you" (informal) form: 

Come sei tu?

And the answer in the "io" or "I form":

Sono una persona...

It is, of course, possible to talk about the personalities of other people as well. For this, you will need to know the other forms of the verb ESSERE:

So, following this chart, we could say..

(io) Sono… comprensiva.

(tu) Sei… comprensiva.
(lui) È… comprensivo.
(lei) È… comprensiva.
(Lei) È… comprensivo/a.

(noi) Siamo… comprensivi.*

(voi) Siete… comprensivi.*
(loro) Sono… comprensivi.*

Tutto il mondo è comprensivo!

The whole world is understanding!

*Notice how the adjective ending changed?  That's because noi, voi, and loro are PLURAL forms and so require also PLURAL adjectives. Not sure about pluralization rules?  Check out: Pluralization

For additional practice, think of people in your life and use the adjectives above to describe them.

—Com'è tua madre?
—Mia madre è…

—Com'è il tuo amico?
—Il mio amico è…

—Come sono i tuoi professori?
—I miei professori sono… 

Hai capito? (Got it?)  

"Like" Via Optimae on Facebook and share your own personality descriptions!

Ciao! Mi chiamo Alex e sono una persona 
cattiva e dispettosa

 (o forse solo scherzosa!)

or maybe just a jokester!

Come sei tu?

Buono studio!

CULTURE: Gender & Addressing a group
In general, you use masculine forms to address men and feminine forms to address women, but what if you're addressing a mixed group?  Well, in that case, the masculine form wins out. Even if there are three hundred women and just one man— the grammar books say that you should use the masculine.

I watched a television series recently in which they played with this idea.  The boss of a women's magazine frequently addresses her employees using feminine forms, much to the dismay of the lone male employee.   He cites grammar rules as justification for why she should use masculine forms, but this only drives her character to use the feminine with more gusto.  This shows how changing gender roles can affect longstanding linguistic rules—or at least how those rules can be used as fodder for comedy in a television series! {I'm on the lookout for the clip and will post it if I find it— From what I remember, it's pretty funny!}

Potrebbero interessarti…

ITALIAN: Beginners Series:

  (1) How Italian verbs work, (Intro to verbs & grammar terms)

  (2) Italian present tense: -ARE verbs

  (3) Italian present tense: -ERE verbs

  (4) Italian present tense: -IRE verbs

  (5) La negazione - Negation

  (6) Ogni quanto? Quante volte? (Describing 'how often'/ how many times)
  (7) C'è & Ci sono  (There is | There are)

ITALIAN: The Basics Series:
  (1) Indefinite Articles (How to say "A/AN" in Italian
  (2) Definite Articles (singular)
  (3) Pluralization
  (4) Definite Articles (plural)
  (5) The Partitive Article

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Fiume di Luna | Moon River

Frasi celebri — Colazione da Tiffany  |
Famous quotes in translation — Breakfast at Tiffany's


I've always been interested in how films are translated from one language to another, especially the iconic and often highly idiomatic lines that are quoted and used in conversation time and again. Thanks to Halloween (and my need for a costume)— Breakfast at Tiffany's has been on my mind.  I wondered, what does Italian Holly Golightly—the main character played by Audrey Hepburn— call the rats and super rats that she frequently dates?  The answer:  

verme (il)

worm, maggot, despicable person
(in Breakfast at Tiffany's— rat)

superverme (il)

an especially despicable person

(in Breakfast at Tiffany's— super rat)

Pensavo che fosse un verme.

I thought he was just a rat,

Invece è un super verme, ecco.

but he was a super rat all along.

Un super verme, sotto spoglie di verme. 

 A super rat in rat's clothing.

sotto spoglie di ____

in _____'s  clothing

~

In some cases, the lines must be changed dramatically and in others, the translation offers a simple glimpse into a new vocabulary word or the grammatical differences between English and Italian.  Take a look at some of the lines— including the classic theme song Moon River by Henry Mancini— and see if you can understand first without looking at the original English.  Then compare the two and see if you can glean any new words, expressions, or grammatical structures.  

Original: Moon River, wider than a mile.  I'm crossing you in style… some day.

Fiume di Luna

Moon River

più ampio di un miglio

Wider than a mile

Ti attraverserò con stile, un giorno

I'm crossin' you in style, some day

Vecchio creatore di sogni

Old dream maker

Tu spezzacuori

You heartbreaker

Ovunque tu andrai io seguirò il tuo corso

Wherever you're goin' I'm goin' your way

Due vagabondi in giro a vedere il mondo

Two drifters off to see the world

C'è così tanto mondo, da vedere

There's such a lot of world, to see

Entrambi cerchiamo la fine dello stesso arcobaleno

We're after the same rainbow's end

Che ci aspetta dietro la curva

Waitin' round the bend

Il mio migliore amico

My huckleberry friend

Fiume di Luna, ed io.

Moon River, and me.

~

He's all right! Aren't you, cat? Poor cat! Poor slob! Poor slob without a name!

  ~

Se io trovassi un posto a questo mondo che mi facesse sentire come da Tiffany, comprerei i mobili e darei al gatto un nome.

If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name.

da ______

at _______'s place/house

da PensieriParole <http://www.pensieriparole.it/film/c/colazione-da-tiffany-(1961)/citazione-57612?f=w:502>

~

Original: It's useful being top banana in the shock department.

balordo(a) (il/la)

fool, imbecile, buffoon

 ~

Ti ci vorrebbero almeno quattro secondi per andare di qui alla porta: te ne do due.
It should take you exactly four seconds to cross from here to that door. I'll give you two.

volerci

to take/require (as in time to do something)

 ~

Well, I've got a wonderful idea. We'll spend the day doing things we've never done before. We'll take turns. First, something you've never done, then me. 'Course I can't think of anything I've never done.

~

Niente male se ti piacciono gli uomini bruni, belli e appassionati, con l'aria da nababbi e troppi denti.

He's all right, I suppose. If you like dark, handsome, rich-looking men with passionate natures and too many teeth.

nababbo (un)

lit. Nabob (historically— an Indian ruler)

fig. somebody who's very wealthy, influential or powerful

~

There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion.

ribalta (la)

front/center stage

~

I'll never let anybody put me in a cage.

Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.

All photos: Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961 © Paramount Pictures
(Italian quotes added by Alex for Via Optimae)

What do you think?  Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!

Buono studio!

~

Vedi anche….(See also)

 "Alla tua salute, bambina"— Casablanca quotes in translation

(Also includes tips on how to watch movies to improve language)

A scuola | At school 01

How many of the above school-related vocabulary words do you recognize?  Try testing yourself first, then check out the English translations and useful phrases below. For example, do you know how to say "I passed my exam"?… 

Also, see if you can decipher the meaning of the quotes interspersed among the definitions below—

a scuola (at school)

NOUNS  |  NOMI

l'alfabeto
alphabet

l'aula
classroom

gli appunti
notes

il banco
student's desk

la calcolatrice
calculator

la campanella
school bell

la cattedra
teacher's desk

la classe
class*

Whereas in English we say "go to class" to refer to an individual session of class, Italian uses lesson or "lezione" <-Click to jump to example

la colla
glue

i compiti
homework

(in the singular "il compito"— homework assignment)
~

La differenza tra la scuola e la vita? A scuola, si insegna una lezione e poi si da un compito. Nella vita, si da un compito che vi insegna una lezione. (Tom Bodett)

~
l'esame
test

l'esercizio
exercise

il foglio di carta
sheet of paper

le forbici
scissors

il gessetto
chalk

la gomma
eraser

l'insegnante
teacher 
(both male & female)
~

La nostra insegnante parla sempre al suo amico immaginario chiamato classe. (Anonimo)

~
la lavagna
chalkboard

la lettura
reading

la lezione
lesson/lecture

il libro
book

la matematica
mathematics

la materia
subject

Quale materia ti piace di più?
Which subject do you like best?

La mia materia preferita è la storia.
My favorite subject is history.

la pagella
report card

il pastello
crayon

la penna
pen

il quaderno
notebook

il righello
ruler

la scrittura
writing

lo studente
student (male)

la studentessa
student (female)

lo zaino

backpack

VERBS  |  VERBI

imparare
to learn

insegnare
to teach

leggere
to read

scrivere
to write

studiare

to study

PHRASES  |  FRASI

andare a lezione (di)

to go to class

Vado a lezione di geometria.

I go/I am going to geometry class.

~

to pass a test

Ho superato l'esame di matematica!

I passed the math test!

~

to fail, flunk

Sono stato bocciato all'esame di ieri. (male speaker)

Sono stata bocciata all'esame di ieri. (female speaker)

I failed yesterday's test.

~

essere bravo in

to be good at

Sono bravo in matematica. (male speaker)

Sono brava in matematica. (female speaker)

I am good at math.

~

essere scarso in

to be bad at

Sono scarso in ortografia. (male speaker)
Sono scarsa in ortografia. (female speaker)
I am bad at spelling.

There are a lot of words and phrases that could be added to this category… can you name a few?  Comment below!

Buono studio!

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