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Italian Animalistic Expressions Posted by Serena on Jul 26, 2017
It all started a couple of weeks ago when we were walking through the beautiful Tudor Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. From out of nowhere, un pavone (a peacock) graciously strolled into the deserted courtyard. It was like being taken back in time to a magical fairytale kingdom. As the peacock moved around, proudly dragging his…
I Meet A Childhood Hero Posted by Serena on Jul 21, 2017
On our first day back in Pontremoli, after a week away in England, I had the unexpected pleasure of shaking hands with a hero from my youth … Siamo appena tornati da una settimana in Inghilterra, una settimana molto intensa e stressante per motivi familiari. E’ un piacere gironzolare tranquillamente per Pontremoli e incontrare tanti…
Transitive And Intransitive Verbs – A Quiz Posted by Serena on Jul 14, 2017
A short while ago we published an article about Transitive And Intransitive Verbs. Here’s a quiz in which you have to choose which auxiliary verb to use, essere or avere, when transposing a sentence from the present tense into the present perfect (passato prossimo). How to complete the quiz: Below, you’ll find a series of…
Come Svuotare La Casa Posted by Serena on Jul 3, 2017
Come svuotare in due settimane un appartamento di cinque stanze pieno di mobili, libri e cianfrusaglie? Questo è quello che abbiamo dovuto fare Geoff ed io in questi ultimi giorni. Ai primi di giugno abbiamo spostato mia mamma in una casa famiglia. Il posto è molto bello, fuori in campagna ma a soli cinque minuti…
Non Uccidete Il Mare Posted by Serena on Jun 28, 2017
Last week marked the start of gli Esami di Maturità (the A levels/final exams) for thousands of young Italians. The first exam consisted of writing an essay based on one of seven possible materie (subjects): literature, art, technology-science, history, history-politics, sociology-economics, and general. The students had six hours to complete their task, a break being…
Italian Subjunctive Quiz – The Solutions Posted by Serena on Jun 23, 2017
Allora … com’è andata? Here are the answers to our Italian Subjunctive Quiz. Let’s find out how you got on … 1. Present Tense, Regular Verbs Verb = telefonare: Lucia vuole che le telefoni dopo le cinque = Lucia wants you to phone her after five o’clock Verb = finire: Speriamo che la festa finisca…
Italian Subjunctive Quiz Posted by Serena on Jun 21, 2017
To round off our series on the congiuntivo here’s a quiz. Don’t get disheartened, the Italian subjunctive is very difficult. In fact, many Italians don’t even know how to use it! Each section below corresponds to one of our 5 blogs on the subjunctive. Clicking on the section title will take you to the appropriate…