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Italian word of the day: 'Ancora'

The Local Italy
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Italian word of the day: 'Ancora'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Haven't picked up this Italian word yet? It's one you'll need again and again.

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If you ever plan to talk about time, occurrence, recurrence or quantity in Italian, ancora is a word you need to know. It unites several fundamental concepts, all in one simple little term.

Let's start with what's thought to be ancora's original meaning: 'until now', or as we're more likely to put it, 'still'.

Silvia è ancora in ufficio.
Silvia is still at the office.

Sei ancora innamorato di lui?
Are you still in love with him?

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That's when you're saying that something is still going on. But here's where Italian is actually easier than English: if we want to say that something still isn't happening, we usually switch to 'yet'. In Italian, you just keep on using ancora.

La lettera non è ancora arrivata.
The letter hasn't arrived yet.

– Siete pronti, ragazzi?
– Non ancora!

– Are you ready, guys?
– Not yet!

Now for a different sense: ancora also means 'again'.

Provaci ancora.
Try it again.

Sono venuto ancora a cercarti, ma tu non c'eri.
I came looking for you again, but you weren't there.

Grazie ancora!
Thanks again!

From there it's not so big a leap to another of ancora's meanings: 'more' or 'another'. Think of it as a sign that you're getting second helpings, whether that's an action recurring or a thing you're receiving more of.

Prendi ancora un biscotto.
Have another biscuit.

– Vuoi ancora zucchero?
– Grazie, ancora un po'.

– Would you like some more sugar?
– Thanks, just a little more. 

Aspettiamo ancora una mezz'ora.
Let's wait another half an hour.

With us so far? There's just one more main meaning you need to know about: ancora can also be 'even (more/less)', when you're making some kind of comparison or talking about a change in quantity or intensity.

Sei diventato ancora più bello.
You've become even more handsome.

Oggi fa ancora più freddo.
It's even colder today.

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Questo film è ancora peggio di quello precedente.
This film is even worse than the one before.

We'll leave you with a homonym that's not nearly so useful, but mildly interesting nonetheless: don't confuse ancora (adverb) with un'ancora (noun), which is an anchor, or with un'ancora di salvezza (literally, 'safety anchor' – the one you use after everything else has failed), which is a metaphor for a lifeline or last hope.

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