Tutto fumo e niente arrosto

Non mettere troppa carne al fuoco
Lit. Don't put too much meat over the fire
Fig. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Non e ne carne ne pesce.
Lit. It is neither meat nor fish.
Fig. "neither fish nor fowl"

Non mi importa un cavolo
Lit. It doesn't matter a cabbage
Fig. I don't give a damn

Maria e proprio a la fruta
Lit. Maria is really at the fruit.
Fig. Maria is at her wits end

Sta andando tutto liscio come l'olio
Lit. It is going as smooth like oil.
Fig. It went like clockwork

Non state gli fermo come un baccalà
Lit. Don't just stand there like a dried cod.
Fig. Don't stand there like an idiot.

Il tuo arrivo e stato come il cacio sui maccheroni
Lit. Your arrival has been like cheese on macaroni
Fig. You came just in time

Piero e un pezzo de pane
Lit. Piero is a piece of bread.
Fig. Piero is very kind.

Gianni e un salame
Lit. Gianni is a salami
Fig. Gianni is dull.

Lorenzo e una testa di rapa
Lit. Lorenzo is a head of turnip
Fig. Lorenzo is an idiot

Sono rimasto come un pesce lesso
Lit. I was left there like a boiled fish
Fig. I was left gobsmacked

Che pizza che sei
Lit, What a pizza you are.
Fig. How boring you are.

Quel film e un polpettone
Lit. The film was a  meat loaf
Fig. The film is a bit of everything, but nothing in the end.

Vai te farte frigire
Lit. Go and fry yourself.
fig. Get Lost

Hai combinato un bella frittata
Lit. You have made yourself a nice omelette.
Fig You made a big mess

Tutto fa brodo
Lit. Everything makes broth
Fig. Every little helps

Tutto fumo e niente arrosto
Lit. All smoke and no roast
Fig All smoke and no fire

Te lo detto in tutto le salsi
Lit. I have told you all the sauces
Fig. I've told you in every possible way.

Taken from: http://www.learnitalianpod.com/2009/06/14/19-say-it-with-food-upper-intermediate/

REFLEXIVE VERBS

In italian, actions which are carried out upon oneself are called reflexive. That is "I call myself" (Chiamarsi (1st, 1) => Mi Chiamo) or "He washes himself" (Lavarsi (3rd, 1) => Si Lava).

In the diagram above, the 1st person (I) is the top of the triangle, the 2nd person (YOU) is to the left, and 3rd (HE) to the right. Plural forms (WE/YE/THEY) are outside the triangle.

The top triangle represents verbs ending in ARSI, the middle triangle represents ERSI verbs, and the bottom, IRSI.

The inner triangle represents:
1st,1 = Myself
2nd,1 = Yourself
3rd,1 = Himself
1st,2 = Ourselves
2nd,2 = Yourselves
3rd,2 = Themselves

Patterns:

• The 1st singular form of ARSI, ERSI and IRSI is always MI +O
• The 2nd singular form of ARSI, ERSI and IRSI is always TI +A
• The 3rd singular form of ERSI and IRSI is always SI + E
• The 1st plural form of ARSI, ERSI and IRSI is always CI + AMO
• The 2nd plural form of ARSI, ERSI and IRSI is always VI {TE} >
• The 3rd plural form of ERSI and IRSI is always SI + ONO

To Have (AVERE)

"To Have" in italian has six forms, 1st, 2nd and 3rd person (Me, You, Him/her) and the plural form of the 1st 2nd 3rd person (We, Ye , They)

As per the diagram, plural forms are outside the triangle.

AVERE (1st 1)= HO
AVERE (2nd 1) = HAI
AVERE (3rd 1) = HA
AVERE (1st >1) = ABBIAMO
AVERE (2nd >1) = AVETE
AVERE (3rd >1) = HANNO

To be (Essere)

"To Be" in italian has six forms, 1st, 2nd and 3rd person (Me, You, Him/her) and the plural form of the 1st 2nd 3rd person (We, Ye , They)

As per the diagram, plural forms are outside the triangle.

Essere (1st,1) = Sono

Essere (2nd,1) = Sei

Essere (3rd,1) = E

Essere (1st, >1) = Siamo

Essere (2nd, >1) = Siete

Essere (3rd, >1) = Sono

Adjectives

Adjectives in Italian must adopt the gender of the word they are describing, unless they end in "e", in which case they are basically Masculine (Pluralize with I)

Uno Signora magra (F1)

Un Signore magro (M1)

Un Uomo giovane (M1)

Like nouns:

(F1 => F>1) = (-a => -e) "EVA"

(M1 => M>1) = (-o => -i) "IGOR"

Words ending in -co or -go

(M1 => M>1) = (-co => -chi) - i.e. Polacco => Polachi

Words ending in -ca or -ga

(F1 => F>1) = (-ca => -che) - i.e. Austriaca => Austriache

Some exceptions:

Austriaco (M1 => M>1) Austriaci

Greco(M1 => M>1) Greci

Belga(M1 => M>1) Belgi

The, A and Some

"Articles" or the words for "The" and "A" can be written in 9 different ways in italian.

The word "A" takes three forms, Un Tavolo, (M1), Una Borsa (F1), but Uno Zaino (M+S1)

This introduces the concept of "S Impure (M+S)"

S Impure (M+S) means any word beginning with:

• S followed by a consonant
• Z, Ps, Gn, Pn
• Or a Vowel * - although in this case, the last 'o' is abbreviated.

The words for "The" take a further 6 forms:

La Ragazza (F1), Il Ragazzo (M1), I Libri (M>1), Le Scarpe (F>1), Lo zaino (M+S 1), Gli Stivali (M+S >1)

Once again, note that if the article ends with "a or o", and the noun starts in "a or o", then the last vowel of the article is abbreviated, for example Lo ombrello becomes L'ombrello (M+S 1)

There is no concept of F+S, an S impure word is treated like any other if feminine.

i.e. L'onda (F1), Le Onde (F>1)

The word "Some"

The word some us expressed by prefixing the article with "De"

M>1 = Dei (De + i)

M+S>1 = Degli (De + gli)

F>1 = Delle (De + le) * with an extra 'L'

Example:

Dei Libri (M>1)

Degli alberi (M+S>1)

Delle case (F>1)

Igor and Eva

Every noun in italian is Masculine, Feminine, Singluar or Plural, how I remember this is

IGOR

EVA

Where IGOR is Masculine, and EVA is feminine, the first letter is plural, and the third letter is singular

Albero = (M1) - Masculine singular

Bottiglia = (F1) -Feminine singular

Tavoli = (M>1) - Masculine Plural

Penne = (F>1) - Feminine plural

Now... the exceptions

A. Words ending in "E" in Singular

Tip: A word ending in "E" will always pluralize with -I even though the gender can be M or F.

A.1. Ending in -ORE, -ONE, -ALE, -ILE ARE M1

A.2. Studente, Bicchiere, Nome ARE M1

A.3. Ending in -IONE, -ICE, -AVE ARE F1

B. Words that do not change when pluralized

B.1. Radio, Moto, Foto, Auto (F1),

B.2. Foreign words

B.3. Ending in -ta or -t u

C. Words which take on an extra letter when pluralized

C.1. Words ending in Consonant + -cia or -gia (F1) loose last i when pluralized

C.2. Words ending in -co or -go (M1) add extra h when pluralized

(With the exception of Amico and Greco which pluralize M>1)

C.3 Words ending in -ca or -ga (F1) add extra h when pluralized

D. And Just some Randomness ...

D.1. Problema, Programma, Sistema, Poeta, are M1 despite ending in A

D.2. Professions pluralize depending on the gender of the person(s).

-ISTA => (M>1) -ISTI or (F>1) -ISTE

D.3. Dito, Ginocchio, Labbro change from M1 to F>1 when pluralized.