Italian Idioms and Sayings Using the Verb Fare

Italian Idioms and Sayings Using the Verb Fare If essere is the Swiss army knife of verbs, then fare is the all-in-one, handy-dandy kitchen appliance. The verb fare expresses the basic idea of doing or making, as in fare gli esercizi (to do the exercises) and fare il letto (to make the bed), but it is also used in many idioms. Note that the infinitive fare is frequently abbreviated to far before a consonant. For example, you may say far colazione, far male, far torto. Fare is also used in many expressions relating to the weather (note that in the following translations, it is an impersonal subject and does not have an equivalent in Italian): Che tempo fa? (How is the weather?)Fa bel tempo. (The weather is nice.)Fa cattivo tempo. (The weather is bad.)Ha fatto caldo. (It has been warm.)Qui fa sempre freddo. (Its always cold here.)In primavera fa sempre fresco. (In spring its always cool.) Besides idiomatic expressions, and expressions relating to the weather, the verb fare is used in a number of proverbs: Fare e disfare à ¨ tuttun lavorare. (Its all go, its a hard life.)Chi la fa laspetti. (You will get as good as you gave.)Chi fa da sà © fa per tre. (If you want something done, do it yourself.)Non fare agli altri cià ² che non vorresti fosse fatto a te. (Do as you would be done by.)Tutto fa brodo. (Every little bit helps.)Chi non sa fare, non sa comandare. (A bad worker is a bad master.) Idiomatic Expressions with Fare   fare i compiti to do ones homework fare il biglietto to purchase a ticket fare la fila / la coda stand on line / wait on line fare la spesa to go grocery shopping fare le spese to go shopping fare forca to play hooky fare vedere to show someone something fare una domanda to ask a question fare una fotografia to take a picture fare una passeggiata to take a walk fare colazione to have breakfast fare un viaggio to take a trip fare un capello in quattro to split hairs farsi la barba to shave farsi coraggio to take heart fare castelli in aria to daydream fare fingere to pretend, make believe fare male to be painful, to ache farsi in la to step to one side fare di tutto to do everything possible fare del proprio meglio to do ones best farsi degli amici to make friends fare alla romana to split the check fare il pieno to fill up the gas tank fare passare to let through