Introducing Obstacles: Solo che
When making plans or describing a situation—like taking an animal into foster care (lo stallo)—you often need to introduce a catch, a limitation, or an everyday obstacle. In conversational Italian, you can use the restrictive connector solo che (except that / the only thing is).
Unlike some connectors that require the subjunctive mood, solo che is followed by the standard indicative mood. Just state your main idea, add a comma, and follow up with solo che to introduce your limitation.
| We want to offer foster care, except that we have little space. | Vogliamo offrire uno stallo, solo che abbiamo poco spazio. |
| Foster care is easy, the only thing is that adoption is difficult. | Lo stallo è facile, solo che l'adozione è difficile. |
Fostering Challenges
Fostering a puppy (il cucciolo) or stray often comes with behavioral hurdles. You can use solo che to contrast an animal's good nature with problematic habits, such as barking (abbaiare), scratching (graffiare), or biting (mordere).
| I know all the puppies, except that this one always ends up barking. | Conosco tutti i cuccioli, solo che questo finisce per abbaiare sempre. |
| We know the dog, the only thing is that sometimes he bites and scratches. | Conosciamo il cane, solo che a volte morde e graffia. |
You can also use this connector to weigh the logistics of fostering, such as the need to train (addestrare) the animals, the overall cost (il costo), or dealing with the inevitable fur (il pelo).
| We want to help, except that the cost is high and the fur is everywhere. | Vogliamo aiutare, solo che il costo è alto e il pelo è ovunque. |
| I have the puppy in foster care, except that he sheds too much hair. | Ho il cucciolo in stallo, solo che perde troppo pelo. |