Italian word of the day: Cercare (search/try)

Today we’ll take a closer look at an Italian verb with a double meaning: “Look for” and”Go try it.” it comes from the late Latin term caremeaning “to go around,” which in turn is derived from the word Abouttranslated as “around”.

But before we unpack its two main definitions, it's worth noting that Look for is an -ARE verb, and its present tense conjugation is as follows:

The first definition that most learners encounter early in their studies is “Look for,” “Look for,” or”seek”. It can be used for both tangible pursuits such as books, personal or job opportunities, and abstract pursuits for concepts such as fame, wealth, or happiness.

By extension, it can also mean “Go check it out“Something, such as a word in a dictionary or a name in a phone book.

A common proverb in Italian is Those who seek find This is equivalent to the English proverb He who seeks will find.

The second definition, “try,” often surprises learners, especially those who have recently become familiar with verbs try and tryboth of which traditionally mean “try”.

when”try” is the original intention, Look for followed by a preposition of and an infinitive verb.Many English learners find themselves tempted to use A replace ofsince arrive usually translated as A, but this is incorrect. For example:

• try to do something = try to do something
• try to read text = try to read text
• try to sleep = try to sleep

Notice Look for It cannot be followed directly by a noun. If your English phrase involves “try” + noun, you need to use a different verb in the translation. For example, ”try cake” It can be expressed as try the cakeand”try a game“As try a game.

sometimes, Look for It can also mean “ask (for someone),” whether by phone or in person.For example, when someone asks Has anyone looked for me? (literally)Has anyone looked for me?”), they were asking if they had received any calls.

and paired with a preposition andcan also mean “request (something),”like ask someone for money (ask someone for money).

Anyone working or looking for a house in Italy must have come across this phrase wanted (singular) and looking for each other (plural) written in classified ads. Both words translate to “want” or “seek” in English. For example:

• Find an apartment / Find an apartment = “Want an apartment”
• Skilled Pizza Chef Needed / Skilled Pizza Chef Needed =”Skilled Pizza Chef Needed”

We must not forget pronoun verbs look for itComposed by a Look for + and + thismeaning is”request it /Deserves something”. Like all pronoun verbs, the addition of a pronoun completely changes the meaning of the word.

Anyway, here are some common Italian idioms that include Look for:

Heather Broster is a graduate with honors in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, fluent in English and Italian, as well as varying degrees of fluency in Japanese, Welsh and French. Originally from Toronto, Heather has lived in several countries, notably Italy for six years. Her main research areas are language acquisition, education and bilingual teaching.