Learn Italian: A furia di mentire, ha incrinato la nostra amicizia, il che mi dispiace. - From lying so much, he damaged our friendship, which displeases me.

Word

A furia di mentire, ha incrinato la nostra amicizia, il che mi dispiace.

Meaning

From lying so much, he damaged our friendship, which displeases me.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Italian

Lesson

Causal repetition (a forza di, a furia di)

Breakdown of A furia di mentire, ha incrinato la nostra amicizia, il che mi dispiace.

her/it (direct object)

Questions & Answers about A furia di mentire, ha incrinato la nostra amicizia, il che mi dispiace.

How does a furia di work in this sentence, and could I use a forza di instead?

It expresses a cause that happens through intense repetition. It translates roughly to 'by dint of' or 'from doing [something] so much.' In this grammatical structure (followed by an infinitive verb like mentire), a furia di and a forza di are completely interchangeable.

Is incrinato the standard word for 'damaged'?

Incrinare literally means 'to crack' or 'to chip' (like a glass or a plate). At this level, you will frequently see it used metaphorically to mean damaging, straining, or fracturing abstract things like relationships, friendships, and trust.

Why use il che instead of just che for 'which'?

You use il che (or sometimes la qual cosa) when 'which' refers back to an entire preceding clause, action, or concept, rather than a single noun. Here, il che refers to the whole situation of him damaging the friendship, not to the friendship itself.

Why is it mi dispiace here instead of a regular conjugation like 'io dispiaccio'?

Dispiacere follows the exact same pattern as piacere. The subject of the verb is the entire preceding situation (il che), which 'is displeasing to me' (mi).