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"Vicino" vs "vicino a"

I always knew that the adverb "vicino" was followed by "a" - "vicino a casa". Now I have seen in a book "vicino Volterra". Is this correct? Perhaps both are correct?
Catherine
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How to interpret the expression "sì che"?

Laëtitia sì che è una commerciante in gamba. How does this phrasing compare to simply saying: Laëtitia è una commerciante in gamba. I wonder if "sì che" is added to place an emphasis: {literally}: Laëtitia (is yes the one! who) is a smart…
6
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Verbs that do not have some conjugation forms

In Russian there is a verb "победить" (vincere) which doesn't have future singular 1st person form. It is impossible to say "io vincerò (in questo gioco, in questa partita)" in Russian using this verb. Are there any verbs in Italian which do not…
Russo Turisto
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Che differenza tra "Di dove sei" e "Da dove vieni"?

Although both seek for the same question: Where do you come from? I like to know the precise context of these two question phrases in Italian. Also where we use "Di" and "Da" specifically? Thank you
6
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Difference between trapassato prossimo and passato prossimo

What changes when I use trapassato or passato prossimo in the following phrases: "Io ti avevo avvisato/ho avvisato, ma tu..." and: "- Ti ricordi la Melegatti? - Sì, ha avuto un bambino un paio di anni fa. - Infatti. La maternità l'aveva/ha…
Maria WJ
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Could you explain the expression "quanti ne abbiamo oggi"?

In an Italian book for beginners, I've seen that, to ask "What day is today?" in Italian, you may say "Quanti ne abbiamo oggi?". This seems an odd question to me since it looks as if we were asking "How many do we have today?". Could you please…
april
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6
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What is a "utenza fissa"?

While filling out an address form, I came across the field "Utenza fissa". I checked dictionaries and online translators. The result was not very satisfying: I found the following meanings for "Utenza fissa": Fixed user Fixed utility and…
Penguin9
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6
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3 answers

Phonetic transcription dictionary

Where can I find an Italian phonetic transcription dictionary like CMUDict is for US English? CMUSphinx says that they have Italian pronunciation dictionary, but I cannot find it for download anywhere. If there is no such a thing, from which…
user3956
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Origin of “fiorume” and its semantic relationship with “fiore”

Treccani says that fiorume derives form fiore, but I am intrigued by the semantic relationship between the two words, namely what sense of fiore may have originated fiorume. I’ve looked up fiorume in two dictionaries: fiorume s. m. [der. di fiore].…
Jacinto
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What is the difference between "familiare" and "parente"?

There must be a difference between "familiare" and "parente", since they are both used in the extract below, but what is it? Can "familiare" be used as "acquaintance"? La famiglia italiana è un ufficio di collocamento per i figli: un connazionale…
Vic
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Pronunciation of words ending in consonant in Senese Italian

The term Senese Italian refers to the Italian language as spoken in and close to Siena, Tuscany. When a word ends in consonant, Senese Italian speakers tend to geminate said consonant and to follow it with a schwa. Thus we have for eng. bar sen.it.…
eslukas
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Cosa significa il detto popolare 'Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca'?

Qualcuno mi potrebbe spiegare che cosa significa il seguente detto popolare: Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca?
gfleck
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6
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What does "farà molta strada" mean?

I was reading comments on YouTube about the song Odio le favole, and I did not understand what is meant by the phrase "farà molta strada". For context, the full comment: Siamo felici che la canzone e il video vi piaccia; ci abbiamo lavorato molto…
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Come posso dire a una persona "take your time" in italiano?

Come posso dire a una persona "take your time" oppure "make yourself at home" in italiano? Grazie.
gfleck
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6
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How and why did avere get the 'h' in some present tense forms?

Why do the ho, hai, ha, hanno forms of the present tense conjugation of avere begin with 'h'? In researching the issue, I have seen that many think that the 'h' is employed to differentiate from the other words one could confuse: o (conjunction,…
gbutters
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