NOTES
(by DuoItalian)
Ecco means “here is”, “here are”, “there is”, “there are”, and sometimes even “look”. It is used to indicate or point out something or someone directly. It is invariable so it doesn’t change to accommodate gender or number.
- Ecco la tua giacca. (Here is your jacket.)
- Ecco i bambini! (Here are the kids!)
- Ecco mio fratello! (There is my brother!)
- Ecco la sua borsa! (There is her purse!)
- Ecco, una farfalla! (Look, a butterfly!)
The use of ecco as opposed to c’è or ci sono can be confusing to a beginner, but will prove easier with practice and/or immersion.
Ben is placed BEFORE the modified verb sentences like è ben cotto (it is well cooked), ben detto! (well said!), or è arrivato ben prima di mezzogiorno (he arrived well before noon).
Bene is more often used in every day conversation and is placed AFTER the modified verb.
- Sto bene, grazie! (I’m well, thank you.)
- Cucino molto bene. (I cook very well.)
- Non conosco bene Maria. (I don’t know Maria well.)
Here are some examples in which the two are interchanged as a result of positioning:
- Ben fatto! (Well done!) | Fatto bene. (Done well.)
- Ben vestito. (Well dressed.) | Vestito bene. (Dressed well.)
- Ben piazzato. (Well placed.) | Piazzato bene. (Placed well.)
TIPS: It is unclear why uguale (equal) is included here, as it is an adjective and was covered in a previous lesson. The exercises are treating it similarly to stesso (same), which would be a better fit.
Keeping in mind that the Italian neanche translates to “neither”, you will often come across the phrase neanch’io which means “me neither” or “neither am I”.
You might sometimes see perciò (therefore) used as an alternative to quindi.
VOCABULARY
(from Duolingo)
| certamente | certainly |
| immediatamente | immediately |
| naturalmente | naturally |
| addirittura | even |
| esattamente | exactly |
| semplicemente | simply |
| facilmente | easily |
| praticamente | practically |
| chiaramente | clearly |
| neppure | not even |
| recentemente | recently |
| solamente | only |
| specialmente | especially |
| effettivamente | actually |
| estremamente | extremely |
| generalmente | generally |
| perfettamente | perfectly |
| fortemente | strongly |
| totalmente | totally |
| normalmente | normally |
| talmente | so |
| ugualmente | equally |
| necessariamente | necessarily |
| lentamente | slowly |
| sinceramente | sincerely |
| raramente | rarely |
| fortunatamente | luckily |
| essenzialmente | essentially |
| dappertutto | everywhere |
| oltretutto | moreover |
| frequentemente | frequently |
| possibilmente | possibly |
| neanche | neither |
| via | away |
| nemmeno | not even |
| gravemente | seriously |
| invece | instead |
| ben | well |
| uguale | equal |
| eppure | and yet |
| ecco | here |
| quindi | therefore |
| infatti | in fact |
| probabilmente | probably |
| direttamente | directly |
| velocemente | quickly |
| magari | perhaps |
| sicuramente | certainly |
| finalmente | finally |
| particolarmente | particularly |
| altrimenti | otherwise |
| anzi | on the contrary |
| chissà | who knows |
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