# I have been trying



## Billy5077

Salve Tutti,

How would one conjugate the sentence, I have been trying?  Im having difficulty using avere in combination with trying while still indicating that the act of trying had not yet been completed.  Also what would the term for this conjugation be?


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## shamblesuk

'I have been' is different in Italian from English. It sounds like something that has been completed, but naturally it is still in progress.

'I have been living here...' would be 'Vivo qui' in Italian (I am living here still). So, I think you can just use 'Provo' or 'Cerco' for your request.

I've heard Italians before say 'I live in England since 5 years' as the literal translation in Italian is just that - 'Vivo in inghilterra da cinque anni'

Happy to be corrected as that's the only way I'll learn from my mistakes.

Lee


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## morpho

Hello,

I would translate "I have been trying..." to one of two ways:

1. If you mention a period of time in the sentence, use *cerco di.... da*. Example: I have been trying to study for two hours - *Cerco di studiare da due ore.*

2. Without any period of time mentioned: *sono stato cercando*, maybe: Example: Did you do it? -No, but I have been trying to. *L'hai fatto? -No, ma sono stato cercando di farlo.*

The verb is referred to as the _present perfect progressive_.

Just my humble attempt at this one -- I can'[t say with any authority that what I've written is what a native would say.


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## Willi

morpho said:
			
		

> 2. Without any period of time mentioned: *sono stato cercando*, maybe: Example: Did you do it? -No, but I have been trying to. *L'hai fatto? -No, ma sono stato cercando di farlo.  *


 
I'm sorry but this sentence is wrong. It should be *sto cercando di farlo*.
e.g. *Hai telefonato al medico? - No, sto cercando di farlo da due ore  *


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## moodywop

morpho said:
			
		

> I would translate "I have been trying..." to one of two ways:
> 
> 1. If you mention a period of time in the sentence, use *cerco di.... da*. Example: I have been trying to study for two hours - *Cerco di studiare da due ore. *
> 
> 2. Without any period of time mentioned: *sono stato cercando*, maybe: Example: Did you do it? -No, but I have been trying to. *L'hai fatto? -No, ma sono stato cercando di farlo. *
> 
> The verb is referred to as the _present perfect progressive_.
> .


 
The present perfect(and past perfect) progressive(or continuous) is one tense we do not have in Italian(another one being the passive form of the present continuous).

So in your example 2. one would have to say something like _è da un po' che sto cercando di farlo._

In cases where you are, for instance, telling somebody off, e.g. O_h no, you've been rummaging through my drawers again_ you can either use the present perfect simple(_hai di nuovo frugato nei miei cassetti) _or say _sei stato di nuovo a frugare nei miei cassetti. _The latter probably better conveys the nuance of the English example.

_EDIT: Willi, I've just seen your post. Why does your cat keep looking down on mine? _


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## morpho

Fair enough -- like I said, I wasn't sure about that one. Thanks for the corrections!


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## Willi

moodywop said:
			
		

> _EDIT: Willi, I've just seen your post. Why does your cat keep looking down on mine? _


 
Eh eh eh 


To morpho: you're welcome


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## Billy5077

Grazi tutti per la informazione e riposte veloce


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## TimLA

This is very interesting. I would have guessed "cercando" to be "looking for", but this is a nice addition to my vocabulary.

It there any role for "tentavo"?

tim


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## Billy5077

At first, I also thought tentare or provare would be a better choice for "Try" however, "Cercare di" I believe is better defined in english as "seeking to"  e.g. I seek to learn italian.  This forum is great because as an english speaker, I would not know that native italians use cercare di as the more common way to say try.  Please correct me if im mistaken.


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## Willi

TimLA said:
			
		

> It there any role for "tentavo"?
> 
> tim


 
What do you want to know exactly? Wether you can use the verb "tentare" or the imperfetto?


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## shamblesuk

'Tentando' is the gerund and can, depending on the context, be used to mean try (more as in to 'attempt to')

'Tentavo' is the imperfect 1st person tense.


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## Willi

Anyway you can say *sto tentando di farlo*. It's OK but *cercare* is more commonly used (although *tentare* is not rare at all)


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## Jana337

Please also visit this thread. Some posts dealing with cercare/tentare/provare were moved there.

Jana


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## CristinaBurke

I've been a surgeon longer than you've been breathing.

Ciao, come tradurreste questa frase?
Sono stato un chirurgo più a lungo di quando tu stia respirando.

Ho questi dubbi : in questo contesto il chirurgo lavora ancora, non si è ritirato in pensione, inoltre se "have been" si traduce come "sono stato-sei stato ecc..." non posso tradurre come "stia"...perchè "stia" è tempo presente...?


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## moodywop

CristinaBurke said:
			
		

> I've been a surgeon longer than you've been breathing.
> 
> Ciao, come tradurreste questa frase?
> Sono stato un chirurgo più a lungo di quando tu stia respirando.


 
Forse _faccio il chirurgo da prima che tu nascessi, non eri neanche nata e già lavoravo come chirurgo, non eri neanche nata quando ho cominciato a fare il chirurgo_


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## CristinaBurke

Grazie Moodywop, "non eri neanche nata e già lavoravo come chirurgo" mi piace molto.


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## Sonogina

I am not sure which tense I should be using to say I have been trying... Am I correct in saying "Sto provando" or is that simply I am trying?

What I am trying to say is "I have been trying to write, but it is very time consumming or it takes a lot of time."

Sto provando scrivere ma ho bisogno di molto tempo.

Grazie, 
Gina


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## Paulfromitaly

Sonogina said:


> I am not sure which tense I should be using to say I have been trying... Am I correct in saying "Sto provando" or is that simply I am trying?
> 
> What I am trying to say is "I have been trying to write, but it is very time consumming or it takes a lot of time."
> 
> (è da un pò che) Sto provando *a* scrivere, ma ho bisogno di molto tempo.
> 
> Grazie,
> Gina


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## Sonogina

è da un pò che - What does this mean?


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## diddue

Sonogina said:


> I am not sure which tense I should be using to say I have been trying... Am I correct in saying "Sto provando" or is that simply I am trying?
> 
> What I am trying to say is "I have been trying to write, but it is very time consumming or it takes a lot of time."
> 
> Sto provando *a* scrivere ma ho bisogno di molto tempo.
> 
> Grazie,
> Gina



Oppure
Sto provando a scrivere, ma ci metto un sacco di tempo ( informale)


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## luke_77

Sonogina said:


> è da un pò che - What does this mean?


 
It's a lot of time I don't drive my car..


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## Paulfromitaly

Sonogina said:


> è da un pò che - What does this mean?



Seen as we don't have the past perfect progressive in Italian, you can add _è da un pò che_ (it's been a while) to distinguish between :

I'm trying = sto provando

I've been trying = _ho provato da un pò_ or _è da un pò che sto provando._


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## Paulfromitaly

luke_77 said:


> It's a lot of time I don't drive my car..



It's a lot of time since = è da molto tempo.

It's a while since = è da un pò.


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## Alxmrphi

So it would be "I tried it's been a while" or "I tried a while" ?


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## [ITA]Shank

Hi Sonogina, I'm not really sure, but I think the right translation of "I have been trying" is "stavo provando", but for what you wanted to write is better to use the form that Paul suggested to you.


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## Bookmom

Sonogina said:


> è da un pò che - What does this mean?


 
A few things, including: 

It's been a while since..as in - e' da un po' che non ti fai sentire .. It's been a while since I've heard from you.

It's been happening for a while..as in - E' da un po' che fa questo rumore la lavatrice.  The washing machine has been making this noise for some time now.


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## Alxmrphi

Bookmom, could you please give another example? possibly easier please, so I can see how this works, the more times I see it in different ways the easier I will find to understand it.


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## Parergon

Sonogina said:


> I am not sure which tense I should be using to say I have been trying... Am I correct in saying "Sto provando" or is that simply I am trying?
> 
> What I am trying to say is "I have been trying to write, but it is very time consumming or it takes a lot of time."




Consuming or consumming?
I thought it was 'consuming'...


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## Alxmrphi

Consuming is correct.


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## ladybird

I'm a bit confused. I understand about "da" meaning "since" in this instance, so the sentence basically says "I have been trying for a while".
This suggests to me that I have been trying and I'm still trying to do whatever..and it still ok to use the passato prossimo?

I thought that the passato prossimo was used to describe a completed action..I need more coffee..and an explanation please!


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## luke_77

ladybird said:


> I'm a bit confused. I understand about "da" meaning "since" in this instance, so the sentence basically says "I have been trying for a while".
> This suggests to me that I have been trying and I'm still trying to do whatever..and it still ok to use the passato prossimo?
> 
> I thought that the passato prossimo was used to describe a completed action..I need more coffee..and an explanation please!


 
Il passato remoto (past tense) sottolinea un'azione che si è conclusa. E' come in inglese, anche se spesso noi italiani sbagliamo ed utlizziamo il passato prossimo al posto del passato remoto..   ...tipico nel nord italia.


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## Bookmom

Alex_Murphy said:


> Bookmom, could you please give another example? possibly easier please, so I can see how this works, the more times I see it in different ways the easier I will find to understand it.


  Sure Alex,  I'll try ...

E' da un po' che non mangio la pizza.

I haven't had pizza for a while.

E' da un po' che non guardo la televisione, sto sempre studiando!

I haven't watched tv in a while, I'm always studying!

E' da un po' che mi fa male la gamba, dovrei andare dal dottore.

My leg has been bothering me for a while, I should go to the doctor.

Easier?


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## ladybird

Paulfromitaly said:


> Seen as we don't have the past perfect progressive in Italian, you can add _è da un pò che_ (it's been a while) to distinguish between :
> 
> I'm trying = sto provando
> 
> I've been trying = _ho provato da un pò_ or _è da un pò che sto provando._


 
I think I understood your post Luke but this is what's causing the confusion for me, the use of the passato prossimo to describe an action that is still taking place..


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## Paulfromitaly

Paulfromitaly said:


> Seen as we don't have the past perfect progressive in Italian, you can add _è da un pò che_ (it's been a while) to distinguish between :
> 
> I'm trying = sto provando
> 
> I've been trying = _ho provato da un pò_ or _è da un pò che sto provando._





ladybird said:


> I think I understood your post Luke but this is what's causing the confusion for me, the use of the passato prossimo to describe an action that is still taking place..



Forget about the first example if you find it misleading and just say:* è da un pò che sto provando*.


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## Snowman75

Paulfromitaly said:


> _ho provato da un pò_ or _è da un pò che sto provando._


Are these equally valid?

*è da un po' che ho provato*
*sto provando da un po'*

?


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## Paulfromitaly

Snowman75 said:


> Are these equally valid?
> 
> *è da un po' che ho provato* (a bit misleading...)
> *sto provando da un po'*
> 
> ?


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## Alxmrphi

Paul do you prefer "da un po' " at the end of the verb, or Bookmom's way, of starting with "È da un po' che.." ?


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## Paulfromitaly

_E' da un po' che non guardo la televisione, sto sempre studiando!_  perfect, I couldn't tell you're not Italian if you say it this way;

_ Non guardo la televisione da un pò, sto sempre studiando!_ correct, but not altogether natural to my ears, I'd suspect you're a foreigner..


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## luke_77

Anyway guys I've been taught this tense is called  "duration form" or present perfect continous, and it is used whenever an action started in the past, keep going on today. Example: I've been living here since I was a child. That's the example teachers provide italian students to make them understand the way to use this tense..

Luke


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## Sonogina

And how exactly would you translate the example you gave into italian?


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## luke_77

Sonogina said:


> And how exactly would you translate the example you gave into italian?


 
Literally you would get: Sto vivendo qui da quando ero bambino. But we italian use to say: Vivo qui da quando ero bambino. That's the difference in italian spoken. If you translated it literally, I'd sense you're not italian. 

You gotta use it as it is, no way to catch the undertone. Or better, you should live here in Italy. That's the same for the italians when trying to speak as an american native would do.

Hope this helps.
Luke


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