per favore smettila
In Italian, "please stop" can be expressed as per favore smettila.
These phrases are used to request that someone stop performing an action that is annoying or unpleasant. If you want to specify the action that should stop, you must follow smettila with the preposition di and the infinitive form of a verb, such as smettila di parlare (stop talking).
Which one should you use?
The choice of phrase depends on whom you are addressing and how many people are involved. You should use smettetela if you are asking a group of people to stop. In terms of politeness, per favore, smetta is a polite and straightforward way to address someone formally, whereas per favore, smetti is the informal counterpart.
How does it change in a sentence?
When addressing a group, use smettetela instead of smettila. To express the command to a single person in a formal setting, use the form smetta instead of smettila.
Did you know?
- While smettila is common for actions, if you want someone to stop moving physically, Italians often prefer the verb fermati.
- Using the formal smetta can sometimes be perceived as cold or distancing rather than just polite, signaling that the speaker is withdrawing their friendliness from the other person.
- If someone is talking incessantly, an Italian might say smettila while making a gesture of waving their hand away from their face to physically signal the stop.
Examples in context
- Per favore smettila di urlare.Please stop screaming.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use per favore smettila when followed by an action.Tatoeba #10611796 by Bethanielle, translation #6381210 by OsoHombre
- Per favore smettila con questo rumore.Please stop with this noise.
- Per favore smettila di darmi fastidio.Please stop bothering me.
Example conversation
Matteo is trying to study while Martina plays loud music.
- MatteoMartina, non riesco a studiare.Martina, I can't study.
- MartinaMa è solo un po' di musica!But it's just a bit of music!
- MatteoPer favore smettila, mi distrai troppo.Please stop, you're distracting me too much.
- MartinaVa bene, scusa, abbasso il volume.Okay, sorry, I'll turn the volume down.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
