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How to Say ‘They gave me the green light.’ in Italian

Mi hanno dato il via libera.

mee AHN-noh DAH-toh eel VEE-ah LEE-beh-rah

[mee AHN-noh DAH-toh eel VEE-ah LEE-beh-rah]

Phrase Breakdown

Mi hanno dato

mee AHN-noh DAH-toh

They gave me

Passato prossimo of 'dare'. The 'h' is silent: 'mee AN-no DAH-to'.

Example

Mi hanno dato un regalo.

They gave me a present.

Words in this phrase

[mee]

to me

Indirect object pronoun meaning to me; used to express personal reaction.

Example

Nella frase Mi fa piacere, Mi indica la persona che prova la sensazione.

In the phrase 'Mi fa piacere,' 'Mi' indicates the person feeling the emotion.

hanno

[AHN-noh]

they have

Third person plural of 'avere'.

Example

Hanno una casa grande.

They have a big house.

dato

[DAH-toh]

given

Past participle of 'dare', meaning 'to give'.

Example

Ho dato un regalo a mia sorella.

I have given a gift to my sister.

il via libera.

eel VEE-ah LEE-beh-rah

the green light.

Idiom meaning permission to go ahead. Stress on 'LEE' in 'libera'.

Example

Aspetto il via libera.

I'm waiting for the green light.

Words in this phrase

[eel]

the

Masculine singular definite article used before a masculine singular noun.

Example

Nella frase Il tempo personale, Il introduce il concetto di tempo privato.

In the phrase 'Il tempo personale,' 'Il' introduces the concept of private time.

via

[VEE-ah]

go (signal)

'Il via' is the start signal; 'via libera' = green light.

Example

Il capo ha dato il via.

The boss gave the go.

libera

[LEE-beh-rah]

free

Feminine of 'libero', free or clear.

Example

La strada è libera.

The road is clear.

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