IS HE WORTH IT?

Image: Jacoplane
Wikimedia Commons

At the weekend the football player Gareth Bale was sold to Real Madrid for around €100 million. Do you think he is worth it?

To be worth it = to merit the value given; valere

The expression can also mean that an action is justified;  valere la pena.
In this case it is often used with the -ing form:

"The free concert in the park finishes at 11 pm. It's already 10.30 so it's not worth going."

We sometimes use the word worth to indicate a person's wealth:

"He is worth £3 million" = "He has £3 million."

"How much is it worth?" = "What is its value?"

Someone or something can be worth their weight in gold = extremely valuable or useful.

"I love cooking and my mum's recipes [ricette] are worth their weight in gold."
"He helped me with my homework and I got top marks. He's worth his weight in gold."

The expression for what it's worth is used to indicate that what the person is going to say may not be useful:

"This is what I think, for what it's worth."

Finally, do you know this proverb?

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  The equivalent in Italian is, "Meglio un uovo oggi che una gallina domani."