Advanced Italian AND BEYOND

This video is for those who wish to speak Italian naturally. In other words, this is an Italian language lesson aimed at those amazing people who understand Italian and would like to improve their level.

In this lesson I'm gonna explain 7 phrases that aren't usually taught in Italian courses. These phrases and idioms are very, very elegant and will definitely help you make a great impression.

If you use these phrasal expressions, your friends and Italian instructors will be surely impressed. Impressed in a good way.

Why do I say that? Because these phrases are typically used only by native speakers. Therefore, if someone who is not a native speaker of Italian uses these phrasal expressions, they will definitely demonstrate great skills.

If you truly want to speak Italian fluently, please consider subscribing to my channel and turning on notifications, because on this channel I regularly upload lessons aimed at those people who want to go from intermediate level to advanced level Italian.

Anyways, let's move on to the seven expressions I wanted to discuss.

For each of these expressions I'm gonna start off with practical examples. Then I'm gonna explain in detail how and when to use each phrase, because at the end of the day the goal of this video is not to inform you about the existence of certain Italian expressions, set phrases, idiomatic phrases, but rather to explain how to use them.

By watching this video, you will learn to use these 7 phrases like a pro!

Then buckle up your seatbelt and prepare to fly to the realm of advanced Italian language!

Round 1

Alright. The first phrase I wanted to discuss is: "Lascia il tempo che trova". Or: "Lasciano il tempo che trovano".

There are two alternative versions: a third-person-singular version, which is "lascia il tempo che trova" and a third-person-plural version, which is "lasciano il tempo che trovano".

In theory, you might also hear similar phrases with the imperfetto tense, but I'd say that this phrase is almost always used with the indicative present tense.

But let's do 3 examples!

Motivational speeches won't get you anywhere.

Another example could be: Words make no difference. What really matters are facts.

Another example could be: In video-tutorials for learning Italian they often give pieces of advice that make no difference at all.

What does it mean that some things "lasciano il tempo che trovano"?

It means that they don't change the situation, they are useless, they are ineffective, they serve no purpose.

So the sentence "I discorsi motivazionali lasciano il tempo che trovano" can be understood like this: motivational speeches serve no purpose, motivational speeches won't change the situation, motivational speeches are useless or ineffective.

Similarly, if someone says "Le parole lasciano il tempo che trovano", they mean that words won't have any effect on the situation. What counts is facts, words are useless. That is, to put it differently, words count up to a point: one can say whatever they want, but what really matters are facts, that is, what someone does, not what they say.

Next, I considered this example sentence: "In molti video per imparare l'italiano vengono dati dei consigli che lasciano il tempo che trovano".

What does this sentence mean? Such pieces of advice are useless or in any case won't change the situation.

In Italian we can say "sono inutili" or we can say "non servono a niente".

Well, I'll also give you a third-person-singular example: "Quello che le dico lascia il tempo che trova".

What does it mean? That this individual essentially ignores what I tell them. For instance, I tell them not to do something, and they keep doing that.

Before I move to the next phrase, I wanted to say that this phrase is a fixed or set phrase; that is, you can't really change anything. You can only change its subject.

Secondly, I wanted to point out that the origin of this phrase is very, very interesting. I have read many theories on the Internet, and in my opinion the most plausible theory is the following one.

Sometimes it happens that a strong wind starts blowing, right? and many people may start to think that such wind, precisely because it is strong, precisely because you can feel it, will change the weather.

And so if it's sunny, and a strong wind start blowing, one might think that such wind will change the weather.

In actual fact, more often than not, the wind doesn't affect the weather, that is: it's sunny, a strong wind starts blowing, then then wind stops blowing, but it's still sunny. So the wind hasn't changed the weather.

Alright. Let's move to the second phrase!

Round 2

The second idiomatic expression I wanted to discuss is: "rimanere con un pugno di mosche".

I'll give you some examples straight away! "She worked a lot, but she was left empty-handed".

Another example could be: "After much effort, I was left empty-handed".

Or: We were sure that this project would be successful, but we were left empty-handed.

What does "rimanere con un pugno di mosche" mean? It means gaining little or nothing, obtaining disappointing results. That is, in other words: someone assumed that they would get specific results, but they didn't, and thus are disappointed.

For instance, one of my examples was: "Ha lavorato tantissimo ma è rimasta con un pugno di mosche".

What does it mean? That this individual worked a lot, but in the end they gained little, they got disappointing results.

This idiom is slightly more flexible, meaning that you can modify the verb, but the part "con un pugno di mosche" remains unchanged. That is, if you change this part, people won't understand you.

For instance, if you say "Sono rimasto con tante mosche", Italian native speakers won't probably understand you, you should always say "con un pugno di mosche".

Just to be clear, "un pugno" refers to the amount one can hold in their hand. So "un pugno di mosche" means a handful of flies, a few flies.

I don't know if you know the word "pugno". Basically, "il pugno" is a closed hand. This word can be used both to refer to hitting, for example "tirare un pugno", and to an amount, i.e. the amount you can hold in your hand.

And a phrase that you may not know is "un pugno di riso". What does "pugno di riso" mean? It's the amount of rice you can hold in your hand. That is, instead of saying "100 g di riso", you can say "un pugno di riso".

But let's go to the third idiomatic expression!

Round 3

The third idiomatic phrase is: "Non farebbe male a una mosca". For instance: Luigi wouldn't hurt a fly. Or: Marco wouldn't hurt a fly.

Again, this is a set phrase, so you can't change anything. You can't change the tense, you can't change the noun. You should say "non farebbe male a una mosca".

The only thing you can change is the subject, for example: Marco non farebbe male a una mosca, Luca non farebbe male a una mosca and so on.

Another example could be: "No, in my opinion he didn't do that. He wouldn't harm a fly".

This phrase is used to refer to to a good-natured individual, a good-hearted and harmless individual. That is, someone who doesn't harm others.

But let's go to the fourth idiom!

Round 4

The fourth idiomatic phrase is also related to flies, and the fourth idiomatic phrase is a set phrase with 2 versions.

The first one is "non si sente volare una mosca" and the second one is "non si sentiva volare una mosca". So we have a present indicative version and an imperfetto version.

Anyways, again: this is a fixed phrase, you can't change anything.

But let's do some examples!

In the wintertime, this building is empty. You could hear a pin drop.

Or: Yesterday in the library you could have heard a pin drop.

What do these sentences mean? They essentially mean that there is (or was) complete silence. You couldn't hear, or have heard, any sound.

I don't know if you know the Italian phrase "c'è un silenzio di tomba", or the imperfetto tense version "c'era un silenzio di tomba". Well: "non si sente volare una mosca" and "c'è un silenzio di tomba" are similar expressions.

But let's move to the fifth set phrase!

Round 5

The fifth fixed phrase I wanted to discuss is: "e chi più ne ha più ne metta". Let's do some examples right off the bat!

In that store they sell all kinds of things: pots, shoes, towels, toys, carton boxes, cutlery, clothes, bulb lights, dog food - you name it!

Another example could be: In that pub they offer an amazing happy-hour. You can really find everything: small pizzas, small focaccia, pretzels, toasts, sandwiches, cold cuts, cheese, meat, shrimps and so on and so forth.

What does "e chi più ne ha più ne metta" mean? It essentially means eccetera eccetera (etc.), it's like saying "and so on", "you name it". This set phrase conveys the idea of wide variety and great amount.

You can list a number of things, and then say "eccetera eccetera", or alternatively you can say "e chi più ne ha più ne metta".

Like I said, this is a fixed phrase, you should use it as it is.

Please pay attention to NE: the phrase is "chi più ne ha più ne metta", it's not "chi più ne ha più metta". Many non-native speakers studying Italian make this mistake and say: "chi più ne ha più metta". The issue is that this set phrase should be quoted unchanged.

But let's go to the sixth set phrase!

Round 6

The sixth phrase is "di tutto e di più". For instance: My wife went to the grocery store and bought everything under the sun.

Another example could be: I have stomach ache, I didn't digest properly. Yesterday evening I ate everything under the sun.

So, as you can see, the meaning of this phrase is similar to that of "e chi più ne ha più ne metta", that is, it gives the idea of great amount and/or wide variety.

The difference is that the phrase "e chi più ne ha più ne metta" is used at the end of a list, that is, first you list a number of things, and then you say "e chi più ne ha più ne metta".

By contrast, "di tutto e di più" is used to avoid listing specific things.

But let's go the seventh and final set phrase!

Final round

The last idiom I wanted to discuss is "in men che non si dica".

Let's do an example straight away!

I assumed that movie were long, but it finished in no time at all.

What does it mean? It ended almost immediately, it was a very short movie.

Another example could be: The plumber fixed the sink in a very short time. He was finished in no time.

What does it mean? He completed the task very quickly. "In men che non si dica" conveys the idea that something is performed lightning-fast, something ends in no time.

So basically "in men che non si dica" is an elegant way of saying "in un attimo".

For instance, if I say "È arrivato in men che non si dica", I mean that they arrived immediately, after a very short time.

In the comments below pleae let me know if you already knew these expressions. Like I said, these phrases aren't typically taught in Italian language courses.

If you didn't know them, please let me know what is your favourite expression.

On this channel I have published tons of videos about Italian idiomatic expressions and set phrases.

I have created a playlist where I grouped all such videos. Here you can find a card to it. If your goal is to speak Italian naturally, you might wanna check it out!

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