ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

When I first started learning Italian, I always got the words for alarm confused. Below are some helpful tips for keeping the various words and expressions straight. Learning to use them properly will make you sound more like a native speaker:

• l’allarme (m.): This word can mean alert, warning or the more literal siren – such as what you might hear from a fire truck or an ambulance. Can also mean alarm when referring to one’s burglar alarm. You will often hear this word in news reports and new stories when alarming news is brought to the attention of viewers.

• dare l’allarme: to give/to raise the alarm; to warn; you’ll often see the expression lanciare l’allarme

  E le associazioni dei coltivatori lanciano già l’allarme siccità.
  And the association of farmers are already sounding the drought warning.

• sounare l’allarme: to sound the alarm

• l’allarme rosso: red alert

• il falso allarme: false alarm
• mettere in allarme: to alarm

  Le notizie mi hanno messo in allarme.
  The news alarmed me.

• la sveglia: This is the Italian word for alarm clock.
• puntare la sveglia (per): to set the alarm (for + certain time)

  Hai puntato la sveglia per le 7?
  Did you set the alarm for 7?

• suonare: to go off (when referring to your alarm clock)

  La sveglia ha suonato alle 5 di mattina.
  The alarm clock went off at 5 AM.

In celebration of the tetanus vaccination I received this weekend, I wanted to know how to say the word ‘shot’ in Italian. Of course, the word ‘shot’ in English can have several connotations, so I thought a lesson on highlighting the differences might be in order:

• l’iniezione (f.): this refers to an injection, or a ‘shot’, that one would receive at the doctor’s office or hospital

  Il cane del vicino mi ha morso, e poi sono andato dal medico per un’iniezione.
  The neighbor’s dog bit me, and then I went to the doctor for a shot.

• il colpo: refers to a shot from a gun

  Ho sentito due colpi e poi silenzio.
  I heard two shots and then silence.
  

• il colpo: can also refer to a shot in sports, too

  ‘Bel colpo!’ ha gridato l’allenatore.
  ‘Great shot!’ the trainer shouted.

• la congettura: referring to a guess or a conjecture

  La sua congettura era sbagliata. Il maggiordomo era innocente.
  Her shot was wrong. The butler was innocent.

• la foto: referring to a photo

  Le foto di mio fratello sono nella rivista, National Geographic.
  My brother’s shots are in the magazine, National Geographic.

• il sorso: refers to a shot of liquor

  un sorso di vodka
  un sorso di whiskey

• la probabilità: refers to a shot that one might experience in a game of chance

  È una probabilità su due che il mio cavallo vince!
  It’s a 2 to 1 shot that my horse wins.

• la ripresa: a cinematic shot, a kind of shot relating to the movies and cinema

  Le riprese di Roma erano bellissime e hanno descritto in maniera appropriata i caratteri dei personaggi.
  The shots of Rome were beautiful and described appropriately the nature of the characters..

The English word, window, is highly versatile. In Italian, one must be careful because there are different words depending upon the kind of window you’re talking out. See the uses below: