For years, the use of expressions like “but but” And “I like it” it has been labeled as absolutely incorrect and to be avoided, synonymous with a neglected or poorly cared for language. Yet, according to the Accademia della Crusca, these expressions, which often arouse laughter or automatic corrections, are instead correct, if placed in the right context. Let’s understand when they can be used and how.
Because you can say “I like it”
The use of “I like it” is often the target of criticism because it is considered a pleonasmthat is, a useless repetition. The widespread idea is that it is redundant to say “to me” That “me“, since both indicate the same subject. However, the Academy emphasizes that the use of “to me me” is neither incorrect nor a simple meaningless repetition, but serves to underline and reinforce the subject. Examples of this construction are common especially in spoken language. Let’s take the sentence as an example
“I like ice cream”
which could be criticized for its redundancy. In reality, repetition highlights personal taste, marking forcefully who is the subject of the statement. This type of formula is widespread in many varieties of regional Italian and in colloquial use. La Crusca explains that redundancy does not impoverish the meaning of the sentence, but on the contrary can enrich it pragmatic nuancessuch as the desire to emphasize one’s opinion or preference.
Why it is not incorrect to say “but but”
Another frequent target of linguistic corrections is the use of “but but“, often considered an error, because “but” And “though” are both conjunctions adversative. The common belief is that using them together is equivalent touseless repetition. Even in this case, the Academy surprises us, explaining that “but however” is not only not incorrect, but has also been used by some of the greatest authors of Italian literature. Characters of the caliber of Dante And Alessandro Manzoni they employed this double conjunction in their works.
Those who defend this construction often recall the authority of Dante Alighieri, who uses it in Canto XXII ofHell. In the bedlam of the bartermen, the damned cast into the boiling pitch, we find the emblematic scene in which the devils Calcabrina and Alichino fight and fall into the pitch, becoming trapped there. The Supreme writes:
“But but to get up was nothing,
yes their wings were entangled.”
In this case, “but however” serves to emphasize the impossibility of the devils freeing themselves from the pitch. The construction serves to create dramatic tension, intensifying the contrast between the desire to recover and the inability to do so.
Moving on to Alessandro Manzoniwe find an interesting example in Chapter XXXIII de The Betrothed. After the plague, Renzo searches for Lucia and, passing through his hometown, is hosted by a friend. In this scene, the friend tells him:
“These are bad things,” said his friend, accompanying Renzo into a room that the contagion had made uninhabited; “things that you would never have thought you would see; things that will take away your joy for the rest of your life; but however, It’s a relief to talk about it among friends.”
Here Manzoni uses the expression within a informal dialogue between friends, a conversation without concern for form. The “but but” serves in this case to make the speech more alive and authentic, simulating everyday language. In fact, Manzoni is known for this ability to imitate popular speech in his dialogues. Support the use of “but however” with a quote from Manzoni, rather than telling us “it is a strengthener much used in literature”, reminds us that it is atypical expression of colloquial languagewhich imitates the spontaneous speech of ordinary people by adding a strengthening nuance: the combination of the two conjunctions not only introduces a contrast, but makes it more marked. It is useful in sentences where you want to emphasize contradiction or opposition.
For these reasons, the use of “but but” And “I like it“cannot be simply dismissed as a mistake; they have a stylistic function very specific in certain contexts. Today’s use could be perceived more as a repetition, the result of speech rather than formal writing. But theCrusca Academy teaches us that language evolves and is modeled on the communicative needs of speakers, and that what seems redundant at first sight can have an important function in giving emphasis or clarity to the message.
