Question 1

Since this lesson is about emphatic exclamations, how would I rewrite this sentence to exclaim 'How fussy these officials are becoming!' using the pleonastic che?

Accepted Answer

You could say Che pignoli che diventano questi funzionari! The first che translates to 'how', while the second che is the pleonastic (grammatically unnecessary) one that native speakers frequently add in spoken Italian to reinforce the emotion of the exclamation.

Question 2

Why is 'increasingly' translated as sempre più instead of a single adverb?

Accepted Answer

Italian doesn't have a common, single-word equivalent for 'increasingly'. Instead, it uses the phrase sempre più (literally 'always more') to express 'more and more' or an increasing trend over time. For a decreasing trend, you would use sempre meno.

Question 3

Does pignoli carry a negative connotation here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, pignolo generally has a negative feel. It describes someone who is 'fussy', 'nitpicky', or 'pedantic', focusing excessively on minor rules or details—which fits perfectly when complaining about bureaucratic funzionari (officials).

Question 4

The English translation says 'are becoming'. Why does the Italian use the simple present diventano instead of stanno diventando?

Accepted Answer

While you absolutely can use the present continuous stanno diventando here, Italian is much more flexible than English with its simple present tense. The simple present (diventano) is frequently used for ongoing trends and changing states, especially when paired with a progressive phrase like sempre più.

Questi funzionari diventano sempre più pignoli.

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