Smettere and fermare are often confused by Italian learners because they translate “to stop”. However, they are not the same. Let’s see how to use both with some example sentences.
Smettere in Italian: How to use it
Smettere is an intransitive verb that means “to stop” or “to cease”.
Smettere
To stop, to cease
Because it’s an intransitive verb, it can’t be followed by a direct object. You will only ever see it used with infinitive verbs to translate the English expression “to stop doing something”.
However, to translate a sentence like “he stops laughing”, you will need a preposition between smettere and the verb that describes the activity you want to stop. In our case, the preposition di.
For example, you can say…
Paola smette di ridere.
Paola stops laughing.
Other examples:
Mio zio vorrebbe smettere di fumare.
My uncle would like to stop smoking.
Mio nonno non ha mai smesso di lavorare.
My grandfather has never stopped working.
Il bambino smise di camminare.
The child stopped walking.
A very popular expression is smettila, which means “stop it” in Italian.
Smettila, mi fai male!
Stop it, you’re hurting me!
Fermare in Italian: How to use it
Fermare can be either a transitive or an intransitive verb. It translates as “to prevent something or oneself from moving”.
Fermare
To stop
When fermare is used as a transitive verb, it simply precedes the object that is being stopped. It means that there’s something that stops something else. It’s a physical act.
For example, you can say…
Il turista ferma il taxi con un cenno della mano.
The tourist stops the taxi with a wave of his hand.
Qualcuno fermi quel cane!
Somebody stop that dog!
Giuseppe ferma l’auto e soccorre il pedone.
Joseph stops the car and rescues the pedestrian.
When fermare is used as an intransitive verb, meaning “to stop one’s movement”, it is always used in its reflexive form, fermarsi. Intransitive verbs are never used with a direct object.
Fermarsi
To stop one’s movement
For example, you can say…
La macchina si fermò sul ciglio della strada.
The car stopped at the side of the road.
Mi sono fermato al supermercato a comprare un po’ di caramelle.
I stopped at the supermarket to buy some candy.
L’uomo si ferma e ascolta.
The man stops and listens.
If you were to say l’uomo ferma, you would create a partial sentence in which the direct object is missing. Be careful!
L’uomo ferma… la macchina, la trottola, il motore.
The man stops… the car, the spinning top, the engine.
Smettere and fermare: Let’s recap
The main difference between smettere and fermare in Italian is the following:
| Smettere | Is an intransitive verb (I stop) |
| Fermare | Is a transitive verb (I stop the ball) + a reflexive verb (fermarsi) |
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