Words
| Compare aveva, era and piallava (background/ongoing action) with capitò, prese and sentì (completed narrative events). Retell the chapter using both roles. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Appena ebbe visto quel pezzo di legno, si rallegrò: after he had seen it, he became pleased. Ebbe + past participle is trapassato remoto, common in literary temporal clauses. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Non so come andasse; Che sia ... che abbia imparato ...?; per sentire se ... si lamentasse. Notice the speaker's uncertainty rather than assuming every se requires a subjunctive. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Di dove sarà uscita questa vocina? means Where can this little voice have come from? Sarà + participle expresses a supposition about a completed event. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Servirmene = servire + mi + ne, to make use of it. Dandosi, grattandosi and rammaricandosi attach si to a gerund. Me la son figurata refers back to the feminine vocina. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Non mi picchiar tanto forte! means Don't hit me so hard! Picchiar is a shortened picchiare. The attached form non picchiarmi is also possible. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Disse ridendo e grattandosi la parrucca: he spoke while laughing and scratching his wig. Keep the implied subject aligned with the person doing the main action. | Grammar | Not rated | ||
| Perchè → perché; colla/cogli → con la/con gli; son → sono; picchiar → picchiare; si messe → si mise; trasfigurito → modern trasfigurato. The source preserves its historical forms. | Usage | Not rated |