# Pay attention



## the_dumb_writer

Hello. Maybe I shouldn't be on this forum, since I don't know any Italian. I have three years of high school Spanish, but they don't have Italian at my school. Anyway, despite that I was stupid enough to create a character in my story who's from Italy. She speaks fluent English, but also says some things in her native language sometimes. I'm hoping to have the chance to take Italian in college, but I'd also like not to leave blanks in my story for that long. 
Anyway - how would one give the command 'pay attention' to someone whom she thinks is an idiot, and younger than her? Thanks very much, and I'll leave if I really shouldn't be here.


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## lsp

You're in the right place!

More context, please. It could be "stai attento/a" (gender specific), "stammi a sentire" or even "dammi retta."

What's the situation. Is it said because the other person is distracted and not following closely, or because he/she doesn't heed the older character's words in general?


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## the_dumb_writer

Thanks for replying.
Okay: Uh, Rocky (the younger idiot) has just asked a question that had been answered before he asked it, and Marco (the Italian girl) starts yelling at him. Does that help? Thanks again.


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## lsp

the_dumb_writer said:
			
		

> Thanks for replying.
> Okay: Uh, Rocky (the younger idiot) has just asked a question that had been answered before he asked it, and Marco (the Italian girl) starts yelling at him. Does that help? Thanks again.


Maybe "Ascolta!" which is "Listen!" and "Stai attento" for "Pay attention."
You have a girl named Marco? That's unusual...


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## the_dumb_writer

Thank you. And yes, I know. Her name is Marco Giovanni Viscardi - I just liked the sound of it for some reason - and she claims that her parents are idiots.


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## Pink Martini

Marco and Giovanni because "two is meglio che one"??? 
It's funny for a girl to have not only one, but two male names...


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## Silvia

If you want your female character to be Italian and not Italian American:
 give this person a credible name
 replace the command with a complaint

If you can copy and paste what she says it's better.


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## bejosc

Qual'e' la differenza tra "fai attenzione" e "stai attenzione"?


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## lsp

bejosc, stai attenzione is wrong. It should be stai attento/a (literally "be attentive").


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## sweet_jane

"Stai attento" and "fai attenzione" also mean "watch out", "be careful", don't they?


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## Elisa68

In my opinion_ stai attento_ is a synonym for _stai all'erta, (look out?) while fai attenzione _means _pay attention._

I hope the following examples will clarify a bit:

_Fai attenzione a quello che dici: potresti offendere qualcuno_
_Quando entri in autostrada fai attenzione al cartello che indica lo svincolo._

_Stai attento in classe quando l'insegnante spiega la lezione._
_Stai attento a quel cane, ha già morso un passante._


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## Ranocchietta

Elisa68 said:
			
		

> In my opinion_ stai attento_ is a synonym for _stai all'erta, (look out?) while fai attenzione _means _pay attention._
> 
> I hope the following examples will clarify a bit:
> 
> _Fai attenzione a quello che dici: potresti offendere qualcuno_
> _Quando entri in autostrada fai attenzione al cartello che indica lo svincolo._
> 
> _Stai attento in classe quando l'insegnante spiega la lezione._
> _Stai attento a quel cane, ha già morso un passante._


 
I like your explaination, but the blue sentence does not respect the rule (should be "fa' attenzione"). Anyway I think most people wuoldn't notice the difference between "sta' attento" e "fa' attenzione".
Please note that all these examples are with imperative verbs, so the correct form is "sta'" and "fa'".


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## sweet_jane

Elisa68 said:
			
		

> In my opinion_ stai attento_ is a synonym for _stai all'erta, (look out?) while fai attenzione _means _pay attention._
> 
> I hope the following examples will clarify a bit:
> 
> _Fai attenzione a quello che dici: potresti offendere qualcuno_
> _Quando entri in autostrada fai attenzione al cartello che indica lo svincolo._
> 
> _Stai attento in classe quando l'insegnante spiega la lezione._
> _Stai attento a quel cane, ha già morso un passante._


 
So I can't say "Fai attenzione! Il gradino è rotto!"? I remember my Sicilian boyfriend saying things like that all the time 

Edit: Thanks, ranocchietta. So "fai" is wrong? Why "fa'"? I'm confused. My grammar book says you can use _fai _or _fa', stai _or _sta'  _in the imperative. It was written by a professor at the university of Pisa


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## Ranocchietta

sweet_jane said:
			
		

> So I can't say "Fai attenzione! Il gradino è rotto!"? I remember my Sicilian boyfriend saying things like that all the time
> 
> Edit: Thanks, ranocchietta. So "fai" is wrong? Why "fa'"? I'm confused


I don't remember the exact grammar rule, but with some short verbs (fare, stare, dare) the imperative form loses the last letter, replaced by an apostrophe, to distinguish it from the indicative present tense:
fai= you do
fa'= do it!
stai= you stay
sta'= stay!
With the verb "dare" pay attention to:
dà (written with the accent to distinguish it from "da" preposition)= she/he gives
dai= you give
da'= give!

EDIT:
Another example:
vai/va'
so maybe the rule applies to short verbal forms ending with -ai



			
				sweet_jane said:
			
		

> So I can't say "Fai attenzione! Il gradino è rotto!"? I remember my Sicilian boyfriend saying things like that all the time
> 
> Edit: Thanks, ranocchietta. So "fai" is wrong? Why "fa'"? I'm confused. My grammar book says you can use _fai _or _fa', stai _or _sta' _in the imperative. It was written by a professor at the university of Pisa


 
For sure they are both used in common speaken language. But I remember my Italian teacher getting angry when you forgot to put the apostrophe for the imperative form... 
I don't know what to say, if you found on a grammar book that both forms are correct, it has to be this way.

EDIT: on this link http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it/faq/faq_risp.php?id=4319&ctg_id=44 l'Accademia della Crusca (the maximum authority for Italian language) says both forms are correct and adds another example which doesn't end with -ai:
di' (elision from "dici").

I hope I haven't bothered all of you with this off-topic discussion.


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## moodywop

sweet_jane said:
			
		

> So "fai" is wrong? Why "fa'"? I'm confused. My grammar book says you can use _fai _or _fa', stai _or _sta' _in the imperative. It was written by a professor at the university of Pisa





			
				Ranocchietta said:
			
		

> For sure they are both used in common speaken language. But I remember my Italian teacher getting angry when you forgot to put the apostrophe for the imperative form...


 
Ranocchietta

If you look at some recent threads in Solo Italiano you will see that many forms traditionally regarded as incorrect by teachers are actually perfectly correct(and listed as such in the _Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia _and on the Accademia della Crusca site).
In the case, for example, of _se stesso _v _sé stesso _the latter form, which I see Italian teachers correcting every day at school, is *actually the one recommended by the DOP and by La Crusca!*

As Broca's Area put it (in this thread)



> sono i classici "errori" che le maestre ci invitavano a evitare, ovvero delle norme elaborate dalla tradizione dell'educazione scolastica che non trovano avallo nell'uso della lingua dalle sue origini fino ad oggi (né nelle attestazioni della letteratura più alta né nei registri meno sorvegliati).


 
Unfortunately some foreros (I'm not referring to you ) seem to find a single schoolteacher's opinion worthier of respect than the unanimous opinion of our greatest scholars (Migliorini, Tagliavini, Fiorelli, Devoto ecc) and keep correcting fellow Italians for writing _sé stesso._

As for _fai/fa', stai/sta' _ecc:

The DOP lists both forms as correct

So does Garzanti

Lepschy writes:

The apostrophe *may *be used in the imperatives _da', fa', sta', va'_

On the other hand if I can't persuade fellow teachers how can I persuade fellow foreros?

EDIT: Don't worry, Ranocchietta. One of our ever vigilant mods usually move the relevant posts to a new thread when a new usage issue is brought up


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## chickio

the_dumb_writer said:
			
		

> Thank you. And yes, I know. Her name is Marco Giovanni Viscardi - I just liked the sound of it for some reason - and she claims that her parents are idiots.


 
I agree with Silvia - otherwise it would be like having an American girl called Mark John Viscardi or are you trying to get across how stupid her parents are? How about Marcella Giovanna Viscardi?


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## Elisa68

Ranocchietta said:
			
		

> I like your explaination, but the blue sentence does not respect the rule (should be "fa' attenzione"). Anyway I think most people wuoldn't notice the difference between "sta' attento" e "fa' attenzione".
> Please note that all these examples are with imperative verbs, so the correct form is "sta'" and "fa'".


Ranocchietta, non ho mai parlato di regole ma solo di una mia opinione per semplificare. 

Per quanto riguarda la forma corretta dell'imperativo ho notato il tuo Edit e la spiegazione di Carlo. Comunque, per la cronaca, a me non era mai stato corretto prima.



			
				sweet_jane said:
			
		

> So I can't say "Fai attenzione! Il gradino è rotto!"? I remember my Sicilian boyfriend saying things like that all the time


Yes, you can. Apparently, my explanation was confusing.


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## ForzaMilan

It depends on who she is talking to. If she is talking to an adult that she doesn't know it would be Faccia attenzione, but if she was talking to a friend or someone younger than her it would be fai attenzione.


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## Arrabbiato

Ciao, Tutti-ma perche no "stia attenzione" ?  Questo e anche corretto, vero?


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## Necsus

Arrabbiato said:


> Ciao a tutti. Ma perché non "stia attenzione" ? (Anche questo è corretto) Si può dire anche così, vero?


Hi, Arrabbiato, welcome to the WRF!
No, you can say 'fare attenzione' or 'stare attento/a/i/e'.


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## sam1978

Arrabbiato said:


> Ciao, Tutti *(Ciao a tutti)*-ma perch*é* no_*n*_ "stia attenzione" ?  Questo *è* anche corretto, vero?


 _(better: E' corretto anche questo, giusto?)_


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## giacinta

Can't you say "Sta attento" and "Stia attento"???

Giacinta


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## Necsus

giacinta said:


> Can't you say "Sta*'* attento" and "Stia attento"???
> 
> Giacinta


Yes, why not?


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## sam1978

giacinta said:


> Can't you say "Sta attento" and "Stia attento"???
> 
> Giacinta



You can also say: "Presta(te) attenzione" or simple: "Attenzione!"


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## lilywhite

Arrabbiato said:


> Ciao, Tutti-ma perche no "stia attenzione" ? Questo e anche corretto, vero?


"stia attento" can be said to people we don't know very well (e.g. a passerby, a teacher...) . It's some kind of "watch out", formal.


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## Arrabbiato

Va bene-Il mio libro di italiano dice "Stia Attenzione!"  per l'inglese "watch out!"


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## Arrabbiato

Anche, per esempio, quando io sono a Venezia, in l' Italia Nord-Est, io sento "stia attenzione" di tanto a tanto.


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## Dr. X

Arrabbiato said:


> Va bene-Il mio libro di italiano dice "Stia Attenzione!"  per l'inglese "watch out!"


Il tuo libro sbaglia!  
Non esiste "Stia attenzione", puoi dire:
"Stia attento" (formale per chi non si conosce)
oppure
"Fai attenzione" (familiare e confidenziale)


Tornando al discorso precedente " Fa' " è un modo discorsivo, magari anche dialettale, mentre "Fai" è il modo di dire più corretto.


E poi Marco non è mai stato un nome da donna!


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## Arrabbiato

Cosa!  Il mio libro di italiano SBAGLIA??  Questo non E possibile!  (sorriso)

grazie a Lei, Dr. X, (ed a tutti gli altri), - beato me, posso fare una domanda, e immediatamente ricevere una risposta corretta nella lingua di Dante!

Devo PRESTARE l'attenzione!


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## Necsus

Arrabbiato said:


> Va bene-Il mio libro di italiano dice "Stia Attenzione!" per l'inglese "watch out!"


Then I suggest you changing it..!  In the polite form you can say "stia attento", or "faccia attenzione".


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