Pure
Pure is a very common word among Italian speakers.
It’s also a very interesting one because, like many other Italian words, it has different meanings depending on the context.
In the first place, pure is a synonym of anche (“also”). Pure and ancheare a bit like also and too.
Pure can also mean even.
You will also learn we use pure in a very specific case that has to do with politeness.
There are variants of pure like eppure, oppure and neppure.
But don’t worry about what they mean for now. We’ll go into more detail later on in this post.
Pure as anche and even
As we said, pure can mean also and even.
Let’s have a look at some examples:
Io vado in montagna, vieni pure tu?
I’m going to the mountain. Are you coming too?
Voglio comprare delle scarpe e pure degli stivali.
I want to buy sneakers and also boots.
Pure Serena ha finito di mangiare.
Serena finished eating too.
Vuole andare dappertutto. Vuole pure andare in India.
She wants to go everywhere. She even wants to go to India.
Credi pure che ti perdonerò?
Do you even think I’m going to forgive you?
Pure as go ahead!
In Italian, we like to give orders but this doesn’t make us less polite than English speakers. In fact, it’s ok to give orders without saying please in Italian.
Instead, we might say pure if we want to sound more friendly.
We use pure after an imperative (like “go!” or “eat!”) to make the order warmer and more polite.
In this specific case, it means something like “go ahead!”.
Have a look at the examples below:
Siediti pure.
Go ahead and sit down. = Please, have a seat.
Si accomodi pure.
Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. = Please, make yourself comfortable.
Dimmi pure! Che succede?
Go ahead and tell me! What happens? = Please, tell me! What happens?
Eppure, oppure, neppure
As we said, there are other words that have the word pure inside.
Here are their translations:
- Eppure: and yet, even though
- Oppure: a more emphatic way of saying “or”
- Neppure: not even, nor, neither, not… either
Let’s now have a look at some examples:
Non volevo venire eppure sono venuto.
I didn’t want to come and yet I’m here.
Vuoi la pizza oppure la pasta?
Do you want pizza or pasta?
Neppure io riesco a dormire.
I can not sleep either.
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