My Italian word of the day: ma

La Parola del Giorno

I have set myself the challenge of translating ‘Storia di una Capinera’ by Giovanni Verga into English at the rate of a word a day.

Verga: Storia di una capinera (book cover)

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The next new word in the text is ‘ma‘.

My dictionary gives this as:

ma (cong.) = but, however

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Here is an example:

mi piacerebbe venire ma non posso

I would love to come but I can’t

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The story so far

Original text:

Storia di una capinera

Avevo visto una povera capinera chiusa in gabbia: era timide, triste, malaticcia ci guardava con occhio spaventato; si rifuggiava in un angolo della sua gabbia, e allorché udiva il canto allegro degli altri uccelletti che cinguettavano sul verde del prato o nell’azzurro del cielo, li seguiva con uno sguardo che avrebbe potuto dirsi pieno di lagrime. Ma

My translations:

Story of a blackcap

I had seen a poor blackcap locked in a cage: it was timid, sad, sickly it watched us with terrified eye; taking shelter in a corner of its cage, and when it heard the joyful song of the other small birds that were singing on the green of the meadow or in the blue of the sky, she followed them with a gaze that one would have been able to say to oneself, full of tears. But

a ‘worked on’ alternative:

I have seen a poor blackcap locked in a cage: shy, sad and sickly, cowering in a corner of her cage, she watched us with terrified eyes and on hearing the cheerful sound of the other small birds singing on the green of the meadow or in the blue of the sky, she followed it with an expression that one could be persuaded was full of tears. But

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Vocabulary:

The vocabulary has been moved to its own page.

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>>> * VOCABOLARIO * <<<

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