the whys and (the) wherefores

non so perché — I don't know why

perché no? — why not?

perché non vuoi andarci? — why don't you want to go?

perché l'hai fatto? — why did you do it?

spiegami perché l'hai fatto — tell me why you did it

vorrei sapere perché non te ne vai — I'd like to know why you don't leave

te lo do perché tu lo legga — I'm giving it to you so you can read it

ho telefonato perché non si preoccupassero — I phoned so that they wouldn't worry

(consecutivo: cosicché) l'ostacolo era troppo alto perché si potesse scavalcarlo — the obstacle was too high to climb over

non c'è un vero perché — there's no real reason for it

vorrei sapere il perché di un simile atteggiamento da parte sua — I'd like to know the reason for his attitude

i perché sono tanti — there are many reasons for it

voglio sapere il perché e il percome — I want to know the whys and wherefores

perché mai? — why on earth?

perché no? — why not?

perché ridi? — why are you laughing?

dimmi perché — tell me why

mi domando perché — I wonder why

faccio questo lavoro perché mi piace — I do this job because I like it

"perché non mi hai telefonato?" - "perché no!" — "why haven't you phoned me?" - "because I haven't, that's why!"

insistere perché qcn. faccia — to insist on sb. doing

ti faccio una piantina perché tu non ti perda — I'll draw you a map so (that) you won't get lost

l'acqua è troppo fredda perché si possa fare il bagno — the water is too cold to have a swim

è troppo tardi perché tu possa correre ai ripari — it's too late for you to take measures now

il perché e il percome — the whys and (the) wherefores

senza un perché — without a reason

non posso rispondere a tutti i perché — I cannot go into all the whys and wherefores

il perché e il percome — the whys and (the) wherefores

bianco come la neve — (as) white as snow

veste come suo padre — he dresses like his father

a scuola come a casa — both at school and at home, at school as well as at home

ci vuole uno come lui — we need somebody like him

è come parlare al muro — it's like talking to the wall

come glielo dico? — how will I tell him?

non so come dirglielo — I don't know how to tell him

(il modo in cui) mi piace come scrive — I like the way he writes, I like his style of writing

ecco come è successo — this is how it happened

attento a come parli! — mind your tongue!

(quanto) come è brutto! — how ugly he (o it) is!

come mi dispiace! — I'm terribly sorry!

A come Ancona — A for Andrew

(in quale modo) mi scrisse come si era rotto un braccio — he wrote to tell me about how he had broken an arm

mi ha spiegato come l'ha conosciuto — he told me how he met him

dovevi vedere come lo picchiava — you should have seen the way he was hitting him

sai come sia sensibile — you know how sensitive he is

si comporta come ha sempre fatto — he behaves as he has always done

è meglio/peggio di come mi aspettavo — it is better/worse than I expected

come arrivò si mise a lavorare — as soon as he arrived he set to work, no sooner had he arrived than he set to work

come se n'è andato, tutti sono scoppiati a ridere — as soon as he left, everyone burst out laughing

come (se) — as if, as though

il come e il perché — the whys and the wherefores

come stai? — how are you?

come ti chiami? — what's your name?

come si scrive? — how do you spell it?

sapere come fare — to know how to do

com'è John? — what is John like?

com'è la casa? — what does the house look like?

come? — excuse me? pardon? sorry?

come hai detto? — what did you say?

come sei gentile! — how kind of you!

come sei cresciuto! — haven't you grown! how you've grown!

come ci siamo divertiti! — what a great time we had!

(ma) come! — what!

come no! — of course! sure!

come la maggior parte delle persone — like most people

in una situazione come questa — in such a situation

un cappello come quello — a hat like that one

fai come me — do as I do

ha fatto come gli ho detto — he did it the way I told him

(fai) come vuoi — do as you like

come avevamo deciso — as we had agreed

come sempre — as ever, the same as always

come al solito — as usual

come segue — as follows

ecco come è successo — it happened like this, this is what happened

per come la vedo io — as I see it

nero come il carbone — as black as coal

è intelligente come te — he is as intelligent as you

trattare qcn. come un bambino — to treat sb. like a child

è più facile di come pensavo — it's easier than I thought

di giorno come di notte — by day as well as by night

tanto qui come all'estero — both here and abroad

in un paese come l'Italia — in a country like Italy

lavorare come insegnante — to work as a teacher

presentarsi come candidato — to stand as a candidate

cosa c'è come dessert? — what's for dessert?

come potete vedere — as you can see

T come Tom — T for Tom

avaro com'è, non ti darà nulla — he's so mean, he won't give you anything

come da istruzioni — as requested, as per your instructions

come da programma — according to schedule

rispettala come fosse tua madre — respect her as though she were your mother

mi guardò come per dire "te l'avevo detto" — he looked at me as if to say "I told you so"

si comporta come se fosse a casa sua — he acts like he owns the place

si sono comportati come se niente fosse — they behaved as if nothing had happened

come si è fatto buio sono tornato a casa — as it went dark I came back home

come giro le spalle — as soon as my back is turned

mi ha detto come l'ha trovato — he told me how he had found it

il come e il perché di qcs. — the how and the why of sth

come non detto — forget it, never mind

come minimo — at the very least

bianco come la neve — (as) white as snow

veste come suo padre — he dresses like his father

a scuola come a casa — both at school and at home, at school as well as at home

ci vuole uno come lui — we need somebody like him

è come parlare al muro — it's like talking to the wall

come glielo dico? — how will I tell him?

non so come dirglielo — I don't know how to tell him

(il modo in cui) mi piace come scrive — I like the way he writes, I like his style of writing

ecco come è successo — this is how it happened

attento a come parli! — mind your tongue!

(quanto) come è brutto! — how ugly he (o it) is!

come mi dispiace! — I'm terribly sorry!

A come Ancona — A for Andrew

(in quale modo) mi scrisse come si era rotto un braccio — he wrote to tell me about how he had broken an arm

mi ha spiegato come l'ha conosciuto — he told me how he met him

dovevi vedere come lo picchiava — you should have seen the way he was hitting him

sai come sia sensibile — you know how sensitive he is

si comporta come ha sempre fatto — he behaves as he has always done

è meglio/peggio di come mi aspettavo — it is better/worse than I expected

come arrivò si mise a lavorare — as soon as he arrived he set to work, no sooner had he arrived than he set to work

come se n'è andato, tutti sono scoppiati a ridere — as soon as he left, everyone burst out laughing

come (se) — as if, as though

il come e il perché — the whys and the wherefores

non so perché — I don't know why

perché no? — why not?

perché non vuoi andarci? — why don't you want to go?

perché l'hai fatto? — why did you do it?

spiegami perché l'hai fatto — tell me why you did it

vorrei sapere perché non te ne vai — I'd like to know why you don't leave

te lo do perché tu lo legga — I'm giving it to you so you can read it

ho telefonato perché non si preoccupassero — I phoned so that they wouldn't worry

(consecutivo: cosicché) l'ostacolo era troppo alto perché si potesse scavalcarlo — the obstacle was too high to climb over

non c'è un vero perché — there's no real reason for it

vorrei sapere il perché di un simile atteggiamento da parte sua — I'd like to know the reason for his attitude

i perché sono tanti — there are many reasons for it

voglio sapere il perché e il percome — I want to know the whys and wherefores

il perché e il percome — the whys and wherefores

il perché e il percome — the whys and wherefores