Saturday 21 May 2011

How to say "stop"!

To stop typically can be translated as smettere and fermare. There are of course other possible translations, but I'll concentrate on these two, which are the most common and also the most commonly mixed up. As it is impossible to single out a rule that categorically says when you should use one or the other, the best thing to do is provide some examples of usage, which will show that smettere tends to be used in a more generic and abstract manner than fermare:

Smettere

Devi smettere di fumare
You must stop smoking

Mi stai dando fastidio, smettila! (smettila here is a generic request to stop doing something)
You are annoying me, stop it!

Ha appena smesso di piovere
It has just stopped raining

Smetto di fare questo lavoro se non mi danno un aumento
I’ll stop doing this job if they don’t give me a rise

Fermare

Ferma la macchina, voglio scendere
Stop the car, I want to get out

Ferma la registrazione
Stop the recording

Fermarsi (reflexive)

Fermati, mi stai facendo male
Stop it, you are hurting myself (I’m asking you to physically stop what you are doing)

Fermatevi a dormire a casa nostra
Stop to sleep at our house (we can put you up for the night)

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