Great Expectations — Page 1
My sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, was more than twenty years older than I, and had established a great reputation with herself and the neighbours because she had brought me up "by hand."
Mia sorella, la signora Joe Gargery, aveva più di vent'anni più di me, e si era guadagnata una grande reputazione presso se stessa e i vicini perché mi aveva allevato «a mano».
Having at that time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me, I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand.
Dovendo a quel tempo scoprire da solo cosa significasse quell'espressione, e sapendo che lei aveva una mano dura e pesante, e che era solita posarla su suo marito tanto quanto su di me, supposi che Joe Gargery ed io fossimo stati entrambi allevati a mano.
She was not a good-looking woman, my sister; and I had a general impression that she must have made Joe Gargery marry her by hand.
Non era una bella donna, mia sorella; e avevo la vaga impressione che dovesse aver costretto Joe Gargery a sposarla a mano.
Joe was a fair man, with curls of flaxen hair on each side of his smooth face, and with eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have somehow got mixed with their own whites.
Joe era un uomo di carnagione chiara, con riccioli di capelli color lino su entrambi i lati del suo viso liscio, e con occhi di un azzurro così indeciso che sembravano essersi in qualche modo mescolati con il bianco degli occhi stessi.
He was a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow,—a sort of Hercules in strength, and also in weakness.
Era un uomo mite, di buon carattere, dal temperamento dolce, accomodante, un po' sciocco, un caro omone, — una sorta di Ercole nella forza, e anche nella debolezza.
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap.
Mia sorella, la signora Joe, con i capelli e gli occhi neri, aveva una tale persistente rossezza della pelle che a volte mi chiedevo se fosse possibile che si lavasse con una grattugia da noce moscata invece del sapone.
She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.
Era alta e ossuta, e portava quasi sempre un grembiule grezzo, allacciato dietro alla sua figura con due asole, e con un pettorale quadrato e impenetrabile sul davanti, che era tutto infilzato di spilli e aghi.
Vocabulary
- Mia
- Possessive adjective meaning 'my' (feminine singular)
- sorella
- Female sibling; sister
- la
- Definite article or pronoun, feminine singular: 'the' or 'her'
- signora
- Polite title for a woman; Mrs. or madam
- aveva
- Third person singular past tense of 'avere': had
- più
- More; used in comparisons or to indicate greater quantity
- di
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'than,' or 'from'
- vent'anni
- Twenty years; refers to an age of twenty
- me
- First person singular pronoun used after prepositions: me
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- si
- Reflexive or impersonal pronoun: oneself, himself, herself
- era
- Third person singular imperfect of 'essere': was
- guadagnata
- Past participle of 'guadagnare': earned or gained
- una
- Indefinite article, feminine singular: a, an
- grande
- Adjective meaning large, great, or important
- reputazione
- The regard in which someone is generally held; reputation
- presso
- Preposition meaning 'among,' 'near,' or 'in the eyes of'
- se
- Reflexive pronoun or conjunction meaning 'herself' or 'if'
- stessa
- Herself; intensive or reflexive adjective, feminine form
- i
- Definite article, masculine plural: the
- vicini
- People living nearby; neighbors
- perché
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'because' or 'why'
- mi
- First person singular object pronoun: me, to me
- allevato
- Past participle of 'allevare': raised or brought up
- a
- Preposition meaning 'at,' 'to,' or 'by hand'
- mano
- The hand; also used in expressions like 'by hand'
- Dovendo
- Gerund of 'dovere': having to, being obliged to
- quel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (masculine singular)
- tempo
- Time; a period or moment in time
- scoprire
- To discover, find out, or uncover something
- da
- Preposition meaning 'from,' 'by,' or 'since'
- solo
- Alone, by oneself, or only
- cosa
- Thing; also used as 'what' in questions
- significasse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'significare': meant, signified
- quell'espressione
- That expression; a particular phrase or manner of speaking
- sapendo
- Gerund of 'sapere': knowing, being aware of
- che
- Conjunction or pronoun: that, which, who, what
- lei
- Third person singular feminine pronoun: she, her
- dura
- Hard, tough, or harsh; feminine adjective from 'duro'
- pesante
- Heavy in weight or burdensome; adjective
- solita
- Accustomed, usual; feminine form of 'solito'
- posarla
- To place or lay it down; infinitive with pronoun attached
- su
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'upon,' or 'over'
- suo
- Possessive adjective: his, her, its (masculine singular)
- marito
- A woman's spouse; husband
- tanto
- So much, as much; adverb of degree or quantity
- quanto
- As much as, how much; used in comparisons
- supposi
- First person singular past of 'supporre': I supposed
- ed
- Variant of 'e' (and) used before vowels
- io
- First person singular subject pronoun: I
- fossimo
- First person plural imperfect subjunctive of 'essere': we were
- stati
- Past participle plural of 'essere': been (masculine plural)
- entrambi
- Both; referring to two people or things together
- allevati
- Past participle plural of 'allevare': raised, brought up
- Non
- Negation adverb: not
- bella
- Beautiful, pretty; feminine singular adjective
- donna
- An adult female human being; woman
- avevo
- First person singular imperfect of 'avere': I had
- vaga
- Vague, faint, or wandering; feminine adjective
- impressione
- A feeling or sense about something; impression
- dovesse
- Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'dovere': had to
- aver
- Shortened infinitive of 'avere': to have
- costretto
- Past participle of 'costringere': forced, compelled
- sposarla
- To marry her; infinitive of 'sposare' with pronoun
- un
- Indefinite article, masculine singular: a, an
- uomo
- An adult male human being; man
- carnagione
- The natural color or tone of a person's skin
- chiara
- Clear, light, or fair; feminine adjective
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- riccioli
- Small curls of hair; plural noun
- capelli
- The hairs growing on a human head; hair
- color
- Color; used in compound expressions describing hue
- lino
- Flax or linen; also describes a pale blond color
- lati
- Sides; the lateral parts of something
- del
- Contraction of 'di' + 'il': of the
- viso
- The front part of the head; face
- liscio
- Smooth, sleek, or flat in texture
- occhi
- The organs of sight; eyes
- azzurro
- A shade of sky blue; azure
- così
- So, thus, in this way; adverb of manner
- indeciso
- Undecided, uncertain, or indefinite in character
- sembravano
- Third person plural imperfect of 'sembrare': they seemed
- essersi
- Reflexive infinitive of 'essere': to have found oneself
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'into,' or 'within'
- qualche
- Some, any; indefinite adjective used before singular nouns
- modo
- A way, manner, or method of doing something
- mescolati
- Past participle plural of 'mescolare': mixed, blended
- il
- Definite article, masculine singular: the
- bianco
- The color white; also an adjective meaning white
- degli
- Contraction of 'di' + 'gli': of the (masculine plural)
- stessi
- Themselves, the same ones; reflexive or intensive pronoun
- Era
- Third person singular imperfect of 'essere': was
- mite
- Mild, gentle, or meek in temperament
- buon
- Shortened form of 'buono': good (before consonants)
- carattere
- The set of qualities defining a person; character
- dal
- Contraction of 'da' + 'il': from the, by the
- temperamento
- A person's natural disposition or emotional nature
- dolce
- Sweet, gentle, or soft; adjective describing nature
- accomodante
- Easy-going, accommodating, willing to compromise
- po'
- Shortened form of 'poco': a little, somewhat
- sciocco
- Foolish, silly, or simple-minded; adjective
- caro
- Dear, beloved, or expensive; affectionate adjective
- omone
- Augmentative of 'uomo': a big, large man
- sorta
- A kind or sort of something; type
- nella
- Contraction of 'in' + 'la': in the (feminine singular)
- forza
- Physical strength or force; power
- anche
- Also, too, even; conjunction or adverb
- debolezza
- Lack of strength or power; weakness
- gli
- Definite article or indirect pronoun: the, to him
- neri
- Black; masculine plural adjective from 'nero'
- tale
- Such, such a; adjective indicating degree or kind
- persistente
- Continuing firmly or obstinately; persistent
- rossezza
- Redness; a red coloring of the skin
- della
- Contraction of 'di' + 'la': of the (feminine singular)
- pelle
- The outer covering of the human body; skin
- volte
- Times; instances or occasions of occurrence
- chiedevo
- First person singular imperfect of 'chiedere': I wondered, asked
- fosse
- Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of 'essere': were
- possibile
- Capable of happening or being done; possible
- lavasse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'lavare': washed, scrubbed
- grattugia
- A kitchen tool used to grate food; grater
- noce
- Walnut or nutmeg; a type of nut or spice
- moscata
- Adjective for nutmeg: 'noce moscata' means nutmeg
- invece
- Instead, rather; adverb indicating substitution
- sapone
- A cleansing agent used for washing; soap
- alta
- Tall, high; feminine singular adjective from 'alto'
- ossuta
- Bony, having prominent bones; feminine adjective
- portava
- Third person singular imperfect of 'portare': wore, carried
- quasi
- Almost, nearly; adverb of approximation
- sempre
- Always, at all times; adverb of frequency
- grembiule
- A protective garment worn over clothing; apron
- grezzo
- Rough, coarse, or unrefined in texture or manner
- allacciato
- Fastened, tied, or laced up; past participle of 'allacciare'
- dietro
- Behind, at the back of; preposition or adverb
- alla
- Contraction of 'a' + 'la': to the, at the
- sua
- Her, his, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- figura
- The shape or form of a person's body; figure
- due
- The number two; numeral adjective
- asole
- Buttonholes or loops used for fastening garments
- pettorale
- Relating to the chest; a chest panel or bib
- quadrato
- Square-shaped; adjective describing a square form
- impenetrabile
- Impossible to pass through or understand; impenetrable
- sul
- Contraction of 'su' + 'il': on the (masculine singular)
- davanti
- In front, at the front; adverb or preposition
- tutto
- All, everything, entire; adjective or pronoun
- infilzato
- Stuck through, skewered, or pierced; past participle
- spilli
- Small pointed fasteners used in sewing; pins
- aghi
- Slender tools used for sewing or knitting; needles
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