Making It Happen

Fare (to make) is a verb for getting things done. It’s about as universal in Italian as “get” (or “have”) is in English and frequently means about the same thing.

Here, fare really does mean “to make”:

Eccolo. Questo è il vino che faccio con mio nonno.

Here it is. This is the wine I make with my grandfather.

Captions 7-8, Escursione - Un picnic in campagna
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Fare used simply, as in the above example, indicates you are doing the work. If, instead of doing something yourself, you have it done by someone else, you’ll generally use fare plus the verb in the infinitive:

Se vuole, La faccio accompagnare da uno dei miei ragazzi.

If you'd like, I'll have one of my guys accompany you.

Caption 19, Una gita - al lago
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When you need to borrow something, fare loans itself to you because there’s no single word in Italian that means “to borrow.” You need to “get something lent to you,” so you use the verb prestare (to lend) but you turn it around using fare, plus, depending on whom you are talking about, the appropriate reflexive personal pronoun.

La mia dolce Ninetta riceve anche la visita di Pippo,

My sweet Ninetta also gets a visit from Pippo,

un altro servitore di Casa Vingradito,

another servant from the Vingradito home,

e riesce a farsi prestare da Pippo alcune monete.

and is able to borrow a few coins from Pippo.

Captions 11-13, Anna e Marika - in La Gazza Ladra
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The same idea holds for showing something to someone: you need to “make them see it.”

Adesso vi farò vedere alcuni piatti di semplice realizzazione

Now I'm going to show you some dishes that are simple to make

Caption 3, Ricette dolci - Crème brûlée alla banana
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Fare can also be intended as “get,” “have,” or “let,” depending on the context. Here, fare is used in a command:

Fammi uscire! Ehi, fammi uscire!

Let me out! Hey, let me out!

Captions 52-53, Acqua in bocca - Mp3 Marino
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There’s lots more to say about fare, but for now, when you tune into Yabla, try to start noticing how people talk about getting things done using this catch-all word. To get more acquainted with fare, have a look here and here.

Learning suggestion:

Think about some things you would like to get done (or have already had done). Here are some ideas to work with. Try turning them into questions or changing the person, tense, subject, object, or verb, or you can make up your own sentences from scratch.

Faccio sempre pulire la casa da professionisti.

I always have the house cleaned by professionals.

Facciamo riparare la nostra macchina dal meccanico in paese.

We get our car repaired by the mechanic in town.

Mi sono fatta fare un tatuaggio.

I got a tattoo. (This is a woman speaking. A man would say, Mi sono fatto fare un tatuaggio.)

Vorrei farmi fare un vestito da una sarta.

I’d like to get a dress made for me by a seamstress.

Non mi lavo i capelli da sola. Li faccio lavare dalla parrucchiera.

I don’t wash my own hair. I get it washed at the hairdresser’s.

Ti voglio fare conoscere un amico.

I want to introduce you to a friend.

Voglio farti conoscere un amico.

I want to introduce you to a friend.

Mi fai vedere le tue foto?

Will you show me your pictures?