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Questions & Answers about È maleducato origliare!
Why isn't there a preposition like di or a before origliare?
In this structure (essere + adjective + infinitive), the infinitive phrase actually acts as the subject of the sentence. You can think of it as meaning 'Eavesdropping is rude.' When an infinitive is the subject like this, it connects directly to the adjective without needing a preposition.
Does maleducato mean someone had a bad school education?
No, it is a classic false friend! Maleducato comes from educazione, which in Italian refers to upbringing, politeness, and manners, not academics. It simply means 'rude' or 'ill-mannered.' If you want to say someone is poorly educated in terms of schooling, you would use poco istruito.
What is the root of the verb origliare?
It is derived from the word orecchio (ear). Origliare paints the physical picture of putting your ear to a door or wall to secretly listen to a conversation.
Since this lesson is about perception verbs, how could I use origliare in a pseudo-relative clause?
You could combine it with a perception verb like vedere or sorprendere (to catch/surprise). For example, you could say L'ho sorpreso che origliava (I caught him eavesdropping). This uses the object pronoun Lo, the connecting word che, and the imperfect tense origliava to vividly describe the ongoing action you witnessed.