Log inSign up

Un tale ha cercato di smentire il pettegolezzo.

Un tale ha cercato di smentire il pettegolezzo.
A certain guy tried to deny the gossip.
From Lesson 305:Indefinite adjectives and pronouns (tale)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Un tale ha cercato di smentire il pettegolezzo.

Why does un tale translate to 'a certain guy' here, rather than 'such a'?
When used with an indefinite article (un or una) and standing alone without a noun, tale acts as an indefinite pronoun meaning 'a certain person', 'some guy', or 'so-and-so'. If it were acting as an adjective meaning 'such a', it would need to modify a noun, as in un tale uomo (such a man).
Why do we need the preposition di in ha cercato di smentire?
While the verb cercare on its own means 'to look for', when you use it to mean 'to try to do something', it requires the preposition di before the infinitive verb that follows. So, 'to try to deny' becomes cercare di smentire.
What is the difference between smentire and negare?
While both can translate to 'deny', negare is a general denial of a fact or action. Smentire is more specific: it means to debunk, refute, or officially declare a statement or rumor to be false. It is the perfect verb to pair with il pettegolezzo (the gossip).
In English, 'gossip' is an uncountable noun. How does it work in Italian?
In Italian, pettegolezzo is a regular countable noun. While in English you have to say 'a piece of gossip' or 'some gossip', in Italian you can simply say un pettegolezzo for a single rumor, and i pettegolezzi for multiple rumors.

Learn Un tale ha cercato di smentire il pettegolezzo and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →