Archive for September, 2014
Lucky Number Seven – Part 3: Amber’s Antics Posted by Geoff on Sep 29, 2014
With photos by Geoff & Serena English text by Geoff with translation by Serena Those of you who follow our blog will have read about the latest addition to our household, little Amber: Part 1 – Lost and Found and Part 2 – Mittens for Kittens. The first two posts were written in Italian with…
What Did They Just Say? Posted by Geoff on Sep 25, 2014
It always seems a bit ironic to me that students of Italian put so much effort into learning their grammar, with all its convoluted rules and exceptions, only to be confronted with what appears to be a totally different language when they finally set foot in Italy. In fact, there is a vast difference between…
Speak Italian Like a Boss! Posted by Geoff on Sep 24, 2014
No, this isn’t another one of those silly blogs promising you that you’ll be speaking Italian fluently in two weeks. It’s simply a few tips, based on personal experience, that may help you to communicate more effectively when you’re in Italy. Let’s look at three important aspects of confidence building: 1. Attitude Have you ever…
Lucky Number Seven – Part 2: Mittens for Kittens Posted by Serena on Sep 23, 2014
“Ahia che male!” Ho le mani tutte rovinate, specialmente la sinistra, perché quando è l’ora della pappa il micino ci si aggrappa disperatamente con le sue unghiette affilatissime e comincia a far la pasta con le zampine anteriori. “Dar da mangiare a questo gattino sta diventando sempre più doloroso, qui bisogna trovare una soluzione. Ecco!…
Te Ne Vai Posted by Geoff on Sep 18, 2014
Ne is one of those famous tricky little words that is guaranteed to frustrate any student of Italian. A few years ago we wrote THIS BLOG on the subject, and I strongly advise anyone who is having problems with the use of ne to read it through thoroughly. Today though, I’m going to follow Mary…
Are You Paying Attention? Posted by Geoff on Sep 17, 2014
Are you paying attention, and if so, how much are you paying? Here in Italy, we don’t pay attention, we lend attention (prestiamo attenzione). This leads me onto the interesting topic of lending and borrowing. Interesting, because in Italian we use one verb for both actions: prestare. Let’s have a look at how it works…
The Story of Lucky Number Seven – Part 1: Lost and Found Posted by Serena on Sep 16, 2014
Mercoledì scorso, nel pomeriggio, ero seduta in cucina a rammendare le calze di Geoff quando ho sentito uno strano suono, una specie di squittio. Ho alzato la testa e ho visto Geoff scendere le scale con qualcosa in mano. Last Wednesday afternoon I was sitting in the kitchen mending Geoff’s socks when I heard a…