Archive for December, 2009
Irregular Verbs in the Future Tense Posted by Serena on Dec 30, 2009
In my previous blog ‘I Propositi per l’anno Nuovo’ I explained the construction and use of the future tense. Today’s blog will cover some of the most important irregular verbs in this tense. The first group of irregular verbs omits the vowel at the beginning of the future tense suffix, hence –erò, -erai etc. becomes…
I Propositi per l’Anno Nuovo Posted by Serena on Dec 27, 2009
Il 2010 è vicino ed è tempo di pensare ai propositi per l’anno nuovo (2010 is near and it’s time to think about our resolutions for the new year). When we were children sitting around the table eating lunch on new year’s day, my mother used to ask me and my brothers: “Avete fatto i…
La Tradizione del Presepe Posted by Serena on Dec 24, 2009
A few days ago we were out walking in the nearby woods when we saw a man and his young daughter carrying baskets and searching through the undergrowth. Our first thoughts were: “What on earth are they looking for at this time of year? It’s too late for chestnuts or wild mushrooms”. Then Geoff noticed…
Indovinello Fotografico 3 + soluzione del numero due Posted by Serena on Dec 21, 2009
In my second indovinello fotografico (photo quiz), see Indovinello Fotografico 2 , I asked you to tell me what the connection was between the picture of a flower and la Torre di Pisa (the tower of Pisa). To answer this question you need to know that the flower is called a campanula, or bellflower, and that the leaning tower…
Indovinello Fotografico 2 Posted by Serena on Dec 18, 2009
Here is the second of my photo quizzes, quite a tricky one this time although the botanically inclined amongst you may have an advantage! The first photo shows a wildflower that is quite common where we live, I also used to see them growing wild in England. The second photo is of the famous Torre…
Indovinello Fotografico Posted by Serena on Dec 15, 2009
Here’s a seasonal photo quiz for you. By seasonal I don’t mean Christmas, we are fortunate enough to escape the pre-Christmas frenzy where we live! Here in the wintery hills of Lunigiana it’s business as usual for the contadini (peasant farmers), for there is still important work to be done on the land. Below are a couple of…
Verbs Followed by the Preposition ‘a’ Posted by Serena on Dec 12, 2009
In my previous article Che or Il Quale I promised you a list of common verbs that are normally followed by the preposition a (to). This preposition is used with the indirect object of verbs such as dare (to give), e.g. Laura ha dato un libro a Giorgio (Laura gave a book to Giorgio). It…