Torto vs. Tolto

One of the things that would always trip me up (and sometimes still does!) was the similar spelling of torto and tolto.  Both are past participles of diffferent verbs:

• torto = past participle of torcere (to twist, wring out)
• tolto = past participle of togliere (to take off, take away, remove, lift)

Torto can also be used as an adjective meaning "wrong", in the sense of "everything is so twisted around that it's not right".  (Note, the strong correspondence between adjectives and past participles, we'll visit that in a future blog entry.)

Torto is used with avere to express "being wrong".  In other words, it's not that you are wrong, but that you have the wrong.  So for example, you can have the following constructions in the various tenses:

• ho torto (passato prossimo: I was wrong)
• avevo torto (imperfect: I was being wrong, I used to be wrong)
• avevo avuto torto (trapassato: I had been wrong)
• ebbi torto (passato remoto: I was wrong a loooooooooooooong time ago)
• etc.

This is similar to the other idiomatic expressions with avere: ho caldo (I'm hot), ho freddo (I'm cold), ho sonno (I'm sleepy), ho fame (I'm hungry), etc.

The opposite of ho torto is ho ragione (I'm right).   For example, a recent blog article was entitled Feltri ha ragione, Berlusconi ha torto (Feltri is right, Berlusconi is wrong).

Similarly, we can conjugate togliere.  Although in this case ho tolto etc. does not have any special idiomatic meaning, it is just the normal way of making the past tense.

• ho tolto (passato prossimo: I removed)
• avevo tolto (imperfect: I was removing, I used to remove)
• avevo avuto tolto (trapassato: I had removed)
• ebbi tolto (passato remoto: I removed a loooooooooooooong time ago)
• etc.

One last thing.  Togliere can form a reflexive verb togliersi, which means to take something away (from oneself).   As with all reflexive verbs, the past tenses are formed with essere rather than avere.

• mi sono tolto (passato prossimo: I took ___ away)
• mi ero tolto (imperfect: I was taking away, I used to take ___ away)
• mi ero stato tolto (trapassato: I had taken ___ away)
• mi fui tolto (passato remoto: I took ___ away a  loooooooooooooong time ago)
• etc.

Benvenuto!

Benvenuto al mio nuovo blog "Italian in Plain English"!  I hope you will find it informative and entertaining.


What I hope to do in this blog is to provide my own unique way of looking at the structure of Italian grammar to explain it as simply as possible...while having a lot of fun along the way!  I'll use various internet references (e.g audio/video clips from popular Italian songs and TV shows, links to Italian newspapers, etc.) to demonstrate various aspects of Italian grammar in action.  You won't find any boring textbook explanations here!

I'd like to make "Italian in Plain English" a useful supplementary resource for those of you who are currently taking (or considering taking) an Italian language course.  I don't intend to have it become a full-blown Italian-language course in and of itself, as there are plenty of places which offer Italian language instruction nowadays (and you can even use one of the many computer programs such as Rosetta Stone, Berlitz, Transparent Language, etc. if you can't find a course in your area).  I've found that there really is no substitute for the interactive practice and individual attention that you receive in a course setting.  Short of actually living in Italy for an extended period of time (which is not an option for most of us!), I feel that taking a course is the best way to learn Italian.

That being said, there is always room for another Italian language reference.  I myself have benefited from looking at a several Italian-language websites, newspapers, books, cheat-sheets, etc, while studying the language.  Each  resource gave me a slightly different take on the Italian grammar and usage.  As they say, "The more the merrier", and in this spirit, "Italian in Plain English" was born.:-)

A little about me: I am not an Italian teacher, but rather a longtime student of the language.  After putting my language studies on the back burner for a while, I started taking Italian courses again a couple of years ago.  I also regularly attend several Italian conversation groups so that I can continually practice my speaking.  Therefore, when you read "Italian in Plain English" you will get a view of Italian grammar from the student's point of view...rather than from the teacher's.  I hope that this approach will serve you well in your studies.

A presto!