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Primavera Posted by Geoff on Apr 11, 2016
The transition from winter to spring always brings with it a touch of nostalgia. The return of sounds, colours, and odours simultaneously awakens desires for the future and memories of the past. These sensations are often heightened to an almost unbearable level when you live in a place, as do I, far from that of…
For Better or For Worse Posted by Geoff on Apr 5, 2016
Parli bene l’italiano! (You speak Italian well!) You won’t get far in any conversation without needing to use the words good, bad, well, badly, better or worse. Now here’s one of those topics that in theory should be simple but in practice can turn out to be quite confusing. Let’s try and break it all…
Historic Italian Monuments For Sale! Posted by Geoff on Apr 1, 2016
Da il Corriere del Tirreno di oggi: Buco dell’ASL National Health Services Financial Crisis Regione Toscana in crisi costretta a chiudere vitali servizi sanitari e di emergenza se non verranno generati fondi Tuscan Region forced to close vital health and emergency services if no funds generated Dopo mesi di sofferti dibattiti è stato deciso di…
Le Conte Italiane Posted by Geoff on Mar 31, 2016
As promised in yesterday’s blog, here is a small collection of conte (counting games) that I’ve selected from many many examples. Most of these conte contain the idiomatic expression toccare a qualcuno (to be somebody’s turn). For an explanation of le conte see here. I’ve also included translations for the two baffling barzellette (jokes) from…
Now It’s My Turn Posted by Geoff on Mar 30, 2016
Last week Serena wrote a vocabulary blog about her cold, which it seemed that I’d escaped. But unfortunately, adesso tocca a me (now it’s my turn) … sniff sniff … Well, if Serena can make a blog out of a common cold so can I! But I’m not going to whine about how bad I…
Does It Suit Me – Does It Fit Me? Posted by Geoff on Mar 21, 2016
Here’s a little point of grammar that can easily trip up the unwary: In Italian, when we talk about things fitting, we usually use the form starci (from the verb stare = to be/stay/remain and ci = there). Let’s take a look at some examples: Mi puoi mettere questa valigia in bagagliaio? – Purtroppo non…
Idiomatic Expressions With The Italian Verb Fare – Part 2 Posted by Geoff on Mar 16, 2016
Well, I did warn you that there are a lot of idiomatic expression with the verb fare! If you missed part 1 of this post you can find it HERE. 1. idiomatic weather expressions with fare: fare caldo/freddo = to be hot/cold: oggi fa proprio freddo! = it’s really cold today! fare bel/brutto/cattivo tempo =…