bitful

Mi hanno clonato il Bancomat
My debit card has been cloned
Literally: 'To-me (they) have cloned the cash/debit card'.

Just my luck. Three days before going on holidays I notice that someone has just been using my debit card to withdraw over 900 pounds in Pakistan. Nationwide had already put a stop to the card even before I called them to block it, because five cash withdrawals in Lahore within a few hours, interspersed with transactions done in London at the very same time did look a bit suspicious to them.

However, I will not receive a new card before I leave, which means that I will not be able to withdraw cash in Australia (Nationwide's debit card is absolutely ace and lets you take cash out from your current account abroad with no charge whatsoever).

Qualcuno in Pakistan sta spendendo i miei soldi
Someone in Pakistan is spending my money
Literally: 'Someone in Pakistan is-in-the-process-of spending the my moneys'.

If you want to find out more

• 'Bancomat' is a generic name for a cash card that doubles up as a debit card. I guess it should be called 'la carta Bancomat' (= 'the Bancomat card') but nobody does. Depending on the context, 'Bancomat' can also mean a cash point (ATM), as in 'Vado al Bancomat' (= 'I am going to the cash point'). I guess in this case it should be called 'lo sportello Bancomat' (= 'the bancomat counter') but nobody does.
• Very often, when in English you use the 'verb + -ing' form, in Italian you use a simple 'verb' form. 'I am going to Australia on Friday' = 'Vado in Australia venerdì' (have I mentioned it lately at all?). However, if you want to stress the fact that something is happening this very moment, you can use the 'stare + verb + ing' form. For example, if you call someone at dinner time you can ask 'Stai mangiando?' = 'Are you eating?'.
• Money is plural in Italian. So if you want to translate 'Money is important but not essential' in Italian you would say 'I soldi sono importanti ma non essenziali'. Yeah, right.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 9:25 pm and last modified on February 20th, 2008 at 9:23 pm, and is filed under italian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.