Learn Italian: Quel ragazzino stuzzica sempre il gatto, è snervante. - That boy is always teasing the cat, it's nerve-wracking.

Quel ragazzino stuzzica sempre il gatto, è snervante.

That boy is always teasing the cat, it's nerve-wracking.

Breakdown of Quel ragazzino stuzzica sempre il gatto, è snervante.

Questions & Answers about Quel ragazzino stuzzica sempre il gatto, è snervante.

Since this lesson is about verbs of cessation, how would we tell this boy to "stop it" using words like smetterla?

You would use the imperative form. For example, smettila!, finiscila!, or piantala! The pronoun la in these verbs stands in for the annoying action you want to stop. If you want to explicitly name the action, add di plus the infinitive: smettila di stuzzicare il gatto!

Why does the sentence use quel ragazzino instead of quello ragazzino?

When used as an adjective before a noun, quello changes its ending based on the noun's first letters, exactly like definite articles. Because ragazzino takes the article il, quello drops the "o" and becomes quel. You only use the full quello before words that take lo, like zaino or specchio.

The word snervante seems related to nerves. How is it formed?

Spot on! It is the present participle of the verb snervare (to unnerve or exhaust). This verb combines the prefix s- (often used for removal, undoing, or moving away from) with nervo (nerve). So, an annoying situation that drains your nerves is snervante.

Could I use prendere in giro instead of stuzzicare here?