he's doing his best

nel punto in cui il sentiero si divide — at the point where the path divides

a quel punto mi sono arreso — at that point I gave up

arrivare al punto di fare — to go so far as to do

in punto di morte — at death's door, at one's last gasp

a che punto siamo? — where are we?

a che punto sei arrivato col lavoro? — how far have you got with the work?

fino a che punto...? — to what extent...?

non lo credevo stupido fino a questo punto — I didn't think he was that stupid

al punto che — to the extent that

a un certo punto — at one point

essere a buon punto (nel fare) — to be partway through (doing)

un punto fondamentale di un testo — a basic point in a text

punto per punto — point by point

venire al punto — to get (straight) to the point

le città sono indicate sulla cartina da un punto — towns are marked on the map by a dot

un punto luminoso in lontananza — a point of light in the distance

un punto all'orizzonte — a speck on the horizon

segnare, perdere -i — to score, lose points

contare i -i — to keep (the) score

vincere ai -i — to win on points

due -i — colon

punto di ebollizione, congelamento, fusione — boiling, freezing, melting point

aumentare di 2 -i (percentuali) — to rise by 2 points

dare un punto a qcs. — to stitch up sth., to put a stitch in sth

mi hanno dato sei -i (di sutura) — I had six stitches

mezzogiorno in punto — high noon

essere a punto — to be in order

era bardato di tutto punto — he was rigged out in his best clothes

punto (e) a capo — full stop, new paragraph

punto di contatto — point of contact

punto (a) croce — cross-stitch

punto erba — stem stitch

punto di forza — strong point, strength

punto interrogativo — question mark, interrogation mark

punto di non ritorno — point of no return

punto d'onore — point of honour

punto panoramico — viewpoint

tornare al punto di partenza — to come full circle, to go back to square one

punto di ritrovo — meeting-place

punto di rottura — breaking point

punto (di) vendita — outlet, point of sale, sales point

punto e virgola — semicolon

punto di vista — point of view

da un punto di vista economico — from an economic point of view

dare dei -i a qcn. — to knock spots off sb.

di punto in bianco — point-blank, out of the blue, all of a sudden

abbiamo molti -i in comune — we have a lot in common

fare il punto della situazione — to take stock of the situation

non mi dispiace punto — I don't mind at all

sto meglio — I feel better

gioca meglio di lui — she plays better than he does

è cambiato in meglio — he has changed for the better, he has improved

meglio non passare per quella strada — it's better not to take that road

i meglio allenati — the best trained

sono le ragazze meglio vestite della scuola — they are the best dressed girls in the school

meglio che mai — better than ever

meglio tardi che mai — better late than never

meglio poco che niente — half a loaf is better than no bread

faresti meglio ad andartene — you had better leave

andare di bene in meglio; andare sempre meglio — to get better and better

questa casa è meglio dell'altra — this house is better than the other one

è meglio che tu te ne vada — you'd better leave, it would be better for you to go

è molto meglio così — it's much better like this

ha trovato di meglio da fare — he's found something better to do

alla meglio — as best one can

alla bell'e meglio — somehow or other

al meglio delle proprie possibilità — as best one can, to the best of one's ability

è il meglio che io possa fare — it's the best I can do

fare del proprio meglio — to do one's best

le cose si sono messe per il meglio — things turned out for the best

essere al meglio della forma — to be in top form

avere la meglio — to come off best

aver la meglio su qn — to get the better of sb

è meglio giocare che guardare — playing is better than watching

farebbe meglio a venire — he'd better come

sarebbe meglio andare — it would be better to go

qualcosa di meglio — something better

c'è di meglio — it's nothing special

non troverai di meglio — it's the best you'll get

non chiedo di meglio che restare qui — I'm perfectly happy staying here

non c'è niente di meglio che... — there's nothing better than

il meglio che ci sia — the best there is

è il meglio che ho — it's the best I've got

fare del proprio meglio — to do one's best

va tutto per il meglio — everything's fine

dare il meglio di sé — to be at one's best

funzionava meglio prima — it worked better before

essere meglio che niente — to be better than nothing

prima è, meglio è — the sooner, the better

così va meglio! — that's better!

chi meglio di lui potrebbe fare la parte? — who better to play the part?

parlare l'inglese meglio dello spagnolo — to speak English better than Spanish

un po', molto meglio — a little, a lot better

la materia in cui riesco meglio è storia — I'm best at history

ancora meglio — even better

di bene in meglio, sempre meglio — better and better

tanto meglio! — all the better! so much the better!

tanto meglio per lui! — much the better for him!

si sente un po' meglio? — is he feeling any better?

sempre meglio che camminare — it beats walking

telefonagli, o meglio vacci di persona — phone him, or better still go there yourself

la persona meglio vestita — the best dressed person

è qui che si mangia meglio — this is the best place to eat

comportarsi al meglio — to be on one's best behaviour

fare qcs. alla bell'e meglio — to do sth. in a botched way

Befehl, Verpflichtung, Plan was soll ich/er tun? — what shall or should I/should he do?

kannst du mir helfen? – klar, was soll ich tun? — can you help me? – of course, what shall I do?

soll ich Ihnen helfen? — can I help you?

soll ich dir mal sagen, wie...? — shall or will I tell you how...?

soll ich (gehen/singen)? – ja, du sollst (gehen/singen) — shall I (go/sing)? – yes, do

du weißt, dass du das nicht tun sollst — you know that you're not supposed to do that

er weiß nicht, was er tun soll — he doesn't know what to do

sie sagte ihm, er solle draußen warten — she told him (that he was) to wait outside

er wurde wütend, weil er draußen warten sollte — he was livid that he had to wait outside

sie sagte mir, was ich tun sollte/was ich alles tun soll — she told me what to do or what I should do/everything I should do

was ich (nicht) alles tun/wissen soll! — the things I'm meant or supposed to do/know!

es soll nicht wieder vorkommen — it won't happen again

er soll reinkommen — tell him to come in

der soll nur kommen! — just let him come!

und da soll man nicht böse werden/nicht lachen! — and then they expect you/me etc not to get cross/not to laugh

niemand soll sagen, dass... — let no-one say that...

ich soll Ihnen sagen, dass... — I've been asked to tell you that...

ich soll dir schöne Grüße von Renate bestellen — Renate asked me to give you her best wishes

so soll es sein — that's how it should be

das Haus soll nächste Woche gestrichen werden —

das Gebäude soll ein Museum werden — the building is (meant) to become a museum

konjunktivisch was sollte ich/er deiner Meinung nach tun? — what do you think I/he should do or ought to do?

das hättest du sehen sollen! — you should have seen it!

er hätte (gehen/singen) sollen — he should have (gone/sung)

du solltest lieber etwas früher kommen/zu Hause bleiben — it would be better if you came early/stayed at home

konditional sollte das passieren,... — if that should happen..., should that happen...

sollte ich unrecht haben, tut es mir leid — I'm sorry if I am wrong

er soll heute kommen — he should come today, he is supposed or meant to come today

sie soll krank/verheiratet sein — apparently she's ill/married

er soll angeblich sehr reich sein — he's supposed to be very rich

Xanthippe soll zänkisch gewesen sein — Xanthippe is supposed to have been quarrelsome

das soll gar nicht so einfach sein — they say it's not that easy

was soll das heißen? — what's that supposed to mean?

wer soll das sein? — who is that supposed or meant to be?

= können, mögen gut, Sie sollen recht haben! — all right, have it your own way (inf), all right, whatever you say

mir soll es gleich sein — it's all the same to me

so etwas soll es geben — these things happen

man sollte glauben, dass... — you would think that...

sollte das möglich sein? — is that possible?

in Prophezeihung geh er sollte sie nie wiedersehen — he was never to see her again

es hat nicht sollen sein — it wasn't to be

Jahre sollten vergehen, bevor... — years were to pass before...

es sollte nicht lange dauern, bis... — it was not to be long until...

was soll das? — what's all this?

was soll ich dort? — what would I do there?

das sollst/solltest du nicht — you shouldn't do that

das hast du nicht gesollt — you shouldn't have done that