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.
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS WITH FARE
fare i compiti
to do one's 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 one's 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
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. (It's always cold here.) In primavera fa sempre fresco. (In spring it's always cool.)
Besides idiomatic expressions, and expressions relating to the weather, the verb fare is used in a number of proverbs:
Fare e disfare è tutt'un lavorare. (It's all go, it's a hard life.) Chi la fa l'aspetti. (You will get as good as you gave.) Chi fa da sé fa per tre. (If you want something done, do it yourself.) Non fare agli altri ciò 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.)
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