Cranford — Page 10
He must have been upwards of sixty at the time of the first visit I paid to Cranford after I had left it as a residence.
Doveva avere più di sessant'anni al momento della prima visita che feci a Cranford dopo averlo lasciato come residenza.
But he had a wiry, well-trained, elastic figure, a stiff military throw-back of his head, and a springing step, which made him appear much younger than he was.
Ma aveva una figura asciutta, ben allenata ed elastica, un rigido portamento militare della testa e un passo vivace, che lo facevano apparire molto più giovane di quanto fosse.
His eldest daughter looked almost as old as himself, and betrayed the fact that his real was more than his apparent age.
La sua figlia maggiore sembrava quasi della sua stessa età, e tradiva il fatto che la sua età reale era superiore a quella apparente.
Miss Brown must have been forty; she had a sickly, pained, careworn expression on her face, and looked as if the gaiety of youth had long faded out of sight.
La signorina Brown doveva avere quarant'anni; aveva un'espressione malata, sofferente e affaticata sul viso, e sembrava come se la gaiezza della giovinezza fosse svanita da tempo.
Even when young she must have been plain and hard-featured.
Anche da giovane doveva essere stata insignificante e dai lineamenti duri.
Miss Jessie Brown was ten years younger than her sister, and twenty shades prettier.
La signorina Jessie Brown era dieci anni più giovane di sua sorella, e molto più graziosa.
Her face was round and dimpled.
Il suo viso era rotondo e con le fossette.
Miss Jenkyns once said, in a passion against Captain Brown (the cause of which I will tell you presently), "that she thought it was time for Miss Jessie to leave off her dimples, and not always to be trying to look like a child."
La signorina Jenkyns disse una volta, in un momento di collera contro il Capitano Brown (la cui causa vi spiegherò a breve), «che pensava fosse ora che la signorina Jessie smettesse di mostrare le sue fossette, e di cercare sempre di sembrare una bambina».
It was true there was something childlike in her face; and there will be, I think, till she dies, though she should live to a hundred.
Era vero che c'era qualcosa di infantile nel suo viso; e ci sarà, credo, fino alla sua morte, anche se dovesse vivere fino a cent'anni.
Her eyes were large blue wondering eyes, looking straight at you; her nose was unformed and snub, and her lips were red and dewy; she wore her hair, too, in little rows of curls, which heightened this appearance.
I suoi occhi erano grandi, azzurri e meravigliati, che ti fissavano direttamente; il suo naso era indefinito e camuso, e le sue labbra erano rosse e fresche; portava anche i capelli in piccole file di riccioli, il che accentuava questo aspetto.
Vocabulary
- Doveva
- He/she had to; third person singular of dovere
- avere
- To have; common auxiliary and main verb
- più
- More; used for comparisons and quantities
- di
- Of, from; very common Italian preposition
- sessant'anni
- Sixty years; age expression using sessanta and anni
- al
- At the, to the; contraction of a and il
- momento
- Moment, time; a specific point in time
- della
- Of the; feminine contraction of di and la
- prima
- First; feminine ordinal adjective or adverb
- visita
- Visit; a trip to see someone or somewhere
- che
- That, which, who; versatile conjunction and pronoun
- feci
- I did, I made; first person past of fare
- a
- To, at; basic Italian preposition of location
- dopo
- After, afterwards; indicates temporal sequence
- averlo
- Having it/him; infinitive avere with pronoun lo
- lasciato
- Left, abandoned; past participle of lasciare
- come
- As, like, how; conjunction and adverb of manner
- residenza
- Residence, home; place where one officially lives
- Ma
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or opposition
- aveva
- He/she had; third person imperfect of avere
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- figura
- Figure, physique; a person's body shape or form
- asciutta
- Lean, dry; describing a slim, spare body type
- ben
- Well; adverb modifying adjectives or past participles
- allenata
- Trained, fit; describing a well-conditioned physique
- ed
- And; variant of e used before vowels
- elastica
- Elastic, agile; describing flexible and nimble movement
- un
- A, an; masculine indefinite article
- rigido
- Rigid, stiff; describing inflexible or upright posture
- portamento
- Bearing, posture; the way one carries themselves
- militare
- Military; relating to the armed forces or soldiers
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the human body
- e
- And; basic Italian coordinating conjunction
- passo
- Step, pace; the manner or speed of walking
- vivace
- Lively, vivacious; describing energetic and spirited movement
- lo
- Him, it; masculine direct object pronoun
- facevano
- They made, caused; third person plural imperfect of fare
- apparire
- To appear, seem; to give a certain impression
- molto
- Very, much; intensifying adverb or adjective
- giovane
- Young; describing a person of relatively few years
- quanto
- How much, as; used in comparisons and questions
- fosse
- Was; third person imperfect subjunctive of essere
- La
- The; feminine definite article
- sua
- His, her; feminine possessive adjective
- figlia
- Daughter; a female child in relation to parents
- maggiore
- Older, greater; comparative adjective indicating seniority
- sembrava
- Seemed, appeared; third person imperfect of sembrare
- quasi
- Almost, nearly; adverb indicating approximation
- stessa
- Same; feminine adjective indicating identity or sameness
- età
- Age; the number of years a person has lived
- tradiva
- Betrayed, revealed; third person imperfect of tradire
- il
- The; masculine definite article
- fatto
- Fact; something known to be true or real
- reale
- Real, actual; describing something truly existing
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- superiore
- Superior, higher; greater in degree or amount
- quella
- That; feminine demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- apparente
- Apparent, seeming; what appears on the surface
- signorina
- Miss; respectful title for an unmarried woman
- doveva
- Had to, must have; third person imperfect of dovere
- quarant'anni
- Forty years; age expression using quaranta and anni
- un'espressione
- An expression; the look conveyed on someone's face
- malata
- Sick, ill; describing someone in poor health
- sofferente
- Suffering; experiencing pain or distress
- affaticata
- Tired, fatigued; worn out from effort or hardship
- sul
- On the; masculine contraction of su and il
- viso
- Face; the front part of the human head
- se
- As if, if; conjunction introducing conditional clauses
- gaiezza
- Gaiety, cheerfulness; a lively and happy quality
- giovinezza
- Youth; the period of being young and vigorous
- svanita
- Vanished, faded; past participle of svanire
- da
- From, since, by; versatile Italian preposition
- tempo
- Time; the general passage or duration of time
- Anche
- Also, even; additive adverb for inclusion
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary and main verb
- stata
- Been; feminine past participle of essere
- insignificante
- Insignificant, plain; lacking notable features or importance
- dai
- From the; plural contraction of da and i
- lineamenti
- Features, lineaments; the distinct lines of a face
- duri
- Hard, harsh; describing coarse or severe facial features
- dieci
- Ten; the number ten
- anni
- Years; plural of anno, used to express age
- sorella
- Sister; a female sibling
- graziosa
- Pretty, graceful; describing an attractive pleasant appearance
- suo
- His, her; masculine possessive adjective
- rotondo
- Round; circular or full in shape
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article
- fossette
- Dimples; small indentations in the cheeks when smiling
- disse
- Said; third person singular past tense of dire
- volta
- Time, occasion; used to express a specific instance
- in
- In, into; basic Italian preposition of location
- collera
- Anger, wrath; a strong feeling of displeasure
- contro
- Against; preposition indicating opposition or conflict
- Capitano
- Captain; military rank or title for a commanding officer
- cui
- Whose, whom; relative pronoun used with prepositions
- causa
- Cause, reason; what brings about an event
- vi
- You, there; indirect pronoun or place adverb
- spiegherò
- I will explain; first person future of spiegare
- breve
- Brief, short; of short duration or length
- pensava
- Thought, believed; third person imperfect of pensare
- ora
- Now; at the present moment in time
- smettesse
- Would stop; third person imperfect subjunctive of smettere
- mostrare
- To show, display; to make something visible to others
- sue
- Her, his; feminine plural possessive adjective
- cercare
- To look for, try; to seek or attempt something
- sempre
- Always; at all times without exception
- sembrare
- To seem, appear; to give a certain impression
- bambina
- Little girl, child; a young female child
- Era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- vero
- True, real; corresponding to fact or reality
- c'era
- There was; contraction of ci and era
- qualcosa
- Something; an unspecified thing or matter
- infantile
- Childlike, infantile; resembling or relating to childhood
- nel
- In the; masculine contraction of in and il
- ci
- There, us; reflexive or locative particle
- sarà
- Will be; third person singular future of essere
- credo
- I believe; first person present of credere
- fino
- Until, up to; indicating a limit in time
- alla
- To the, at the; feminine contraction of a and la
- morte
- Death; the end of life
- anche
- Even, also; additive or emphatic particle
- dovesse
- Should, had to; third person imperfect subjunctive of dovere
- vivere
- To live; to be alive or to dwell somewhere
- cent'anni
- A hundred years; age expression using cento and anni
- I
- The; masculine plural definite article
- suoi
- His, her; masculine plural possessive adjective
- occhi
- Eyes; the organs of sight, plural of occhio
- grandi
- Large, big; plural adjective describing size
- azzurri
- Blue, azure; plural adjective describing sky-blue color
- meravigliati
- Astonished, wide with wonder; expressing amazement or surprise
- ti
- You; second person singular direct or indirect pronoun
- fissavano
- Stared, fixed upon; third person plural imperfect of fissare
- direttamente
- Directly; in a straight or undeviated manner
- naso
- Nose; the facial organ used for smelling
- indefinito
- Indefinite, vague; lacking clear definition or shape
- camuso
- Snub-nosed, flat; describing a short upturned nose
- labbra
- Lips; the fleshy edges of the mouth, plural
- rosse
- Red; feminine plural adjective describing color
- fresche
- Fresh; feminine plural adjective meaning cool and fresh
- portava
- Wore, carried; third person imperfect of portare
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article
- capelli
- Hair; strands growing on the human head
- piccole
- Small, little; feminine plural adjective of size
- file
- Rows, lines; plural of fila indicating ordered arrangement
- riccioli
- Curls; small spiral coils of hair
- accentuava
- Accentuated, emphasized; third person imperfect of accentuare
- questo
- This; masculine demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- aspetto
- Appearance, look; the way someone or something looks
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