Common Italian collocation
| Literally | There was once |
| IPA pronunciation | /ˈtʃɛːra ˈuːna ˈvɔlta/ |
| You do NOT say |
C’era una volta
Once upon a time
Why do we say c’era una volta?
C’era, which means there was, is the past version of c’è, meaning there is. For example, you can say:
C’era un piatto di pasta sul tavolo.
There was a plate of pasta on the table.
C’è troppo rumore qui. Andiamo via.
There is too much noise here. Let’s leave.
Since there was is singular, it’s important to note that when the object of the sentence is plural, c’era actually becomes c’erano (there were) and you have to say c’erano una volta, as in…
C’erano una volta due bambine che vivevano nella foresta.
Once upon a time there were two little girls living in the forest.
Una volta, due volte, tre volte…
Volta can be used to translate the English words once (“one time”) and twice (“two times”).
Be careful!
Time, as in “time is money”, is translated as tempo.
Potrai ascoltare la registrazione una volta sola.
You can only listen to the recording once.
Sono già andato al supermercato due volte stamattina.
I have been to the supermarket twice this morning.
C’era una volta una ragazza di nome Belle.
Once upon a time there was a girl named Belle.
Popular fairy tales titles in Italian
Here’s how to pronounce the titles of some popular fairy titles in Italian.
Cappuccetto Rosso
Little Red Riding Hood
(“Little red hood”)
Cenerentola
Cinderella
(cenere is “ash”)
Il gatto con gli stivali
Puss in Boots
(“The cat in boots”)
La principessa sul pisello
The Princess and the Pea
I tre porcellini
Three Little Pigs
La bella addormentata nel bosco
Sleeping Beauty in the Woods
Biancaneve e i sette nani
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Examples
C’era una volta un brutto anatroccolo.
Once upon a time there was an ugly duckling.
C’era una volta un lupo cattivo.
Once upon a time there was a big bad wolf.
C’era una volta una bimba che si chiamava Cappuccetto Rosso.
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Little Red Riding Hood.
C’erano una volta tre principesse e una matrigna.
Once upon a time there were three princesses and a stepmother.
More free Italian resources
You might want to keep learning Italian online with these free Italian resources:
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