Breakdown of Volevo i capelli corti e molto scalati.
e
and
molto
very
volere
to want
corto
short
il capello
the hair
scalato
layered (hair)
Questions & Answers about Volevo i capelli corti e molto scalati.
Why use the imperfect tense volevo instead of the present voglio or conditional vorrei?
This sentence uses the mitigating imperfect (imperfetto attenuativo). Italians often use the imperfect tense in places like shops or hair salons to soften a request, making it sound less demanding than voglio. It translates to something like 'I was hoping to get' or 'I would like'. While the conditional vorrei is also polite and correct, volevo is extremely common in spoken Italian for everyday requests.
Why is capelli plural when the English translation says 'hair' in the singular?
Why is it just i capelli and not i miei capelli for 'my hair'?
When talking about body parts where ownership is obvious from the context, Italian drops the possessive adjective (like miei) and simply uses the definite article (i). Since you are at the salon asking for a haircut for yourself, the possessive is unnecessary.
What does scalati mean, and why does it end in -i?
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