Archive for the year 2012
Tales of La Gioconda–Part 1 Posted by Geoff on Apr 20, 2012
It’s probably the world’s most famous painting, millions of us have been to visit it in the Louvre, and just about everyone will have seen it reproduced as a print, postcard, chocolate box lid, tea cosy, etc. ad infinitum. But how many of us have found ourselves standing amongst the constant crowd of pilgrims that…
Caratteri Somatici–Le Soluzioni Posted by Serena on Apr 18, 2012
Well done everyone who had a go at my caratteri somatici quiz, either we’ve got some very clever readers, or I made the questions too easy. I suspect it’s the former! O.K., here are the solutions, with a bit of interesting information about each one. Il naso: 1. Ogni volta che dice una bugia, il…
Caratteri Somatici – Un Quiz Posted by Serena on Apr 15, 2012
Here’s a fun little quiz based on facial features. Try to complete it in Italian, but if you find it too difficult the English translation is below. Please post your answers in the comments section, even if you can’t get all of them. Il naso: 1. Ogni volta che dice una bugia, il suo naso…
Cosa Devo Indossare? Posted by Geoff on Apr 13, 2012
È primavera, il periodo in cui il tempo fa dei brutti scherzi, sbalzi di temperatura, ed acquazzoni che ci confondono e ci fanno chiedere: “cosa devo indossare oggi?” It’s spring, the period in which the weather plays nasty tricks on us, leaps in temperature, and rain showers that confuse us and make us ask ourselves…
Verbi di Movimento – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Apr 11, 2012
In Part 1 of this post I looked at which verbs of movement use the auxiliary essere and which use avere to form the passato prossimo. In Part 2 we’ll be looking at movement verbs that can use either essere or avere in the passato prossimo. Most of these verbs use essere when followed by…
L’Elemento Umano Posted by Geoff on Apr 9, 2012
We’ve made you work hard with our recent blogs, so I think it’s time for a change of strategy. I’ve always found that one the the most effective ways to absorb la lingua italiana is by listening to music. Here’s a lesson in the use of the si impersonale (see this blog: Si Impersonale -Part…
Cura Ricostituente di Primavera Posted by Serena on Apr 6, 2012
È primavera, e le galline si sono rimesse a deporre le uova. Abitando in un piccolo paese, molte famiglie intorno a noi hanno il pollaio e così, in questo periodo dell’anno, capita spesso che qualcuno ci regali delle uova fresche. Pertanto mi è tornato in mente una cosa che mi raccontava mia madre: da bambina…