Archive by Author
Serena e Geoff Fanno Una Chiacchierata Posted by Serena on Nov 10, 2014
A lot of readers have told us that they find our blogs dealing with everyday colloquial conversation really useful. So, without further ado, here’s another episode from the ‘fascinating’ lives of Serena and Geoff. Geoff: “Cosa pensavi di fare oggi?” Geoff: “What were you thinking of doing today?” Serena: “Mi sarebbe piaciuto fare una passeggiata…
Busy Busy Busy! Posted by Serena on Nov 6, 2014
Written by Serena with photos by Geoff Today’s post is written from the point of view of our two month old kitten Amber, and I’ve kept the language fairly simple (well she is only two months old!). Words and expressions highlighted in purple are explained in the Grammar and Vocabulary section at the end. Una…
The Fourth of November Posted by Serena on Nov 4, 2014
Quattro Novembre segna fine della Prima Guerra Mondiale in Italia (The Fourth of November marks the anniversary of the end of the First World War in Italy). When I was a child today used to be a national holiday and patriotic celebration of the greatness of our armed forces. All the barracks were open to…
Prendere: To Take? Posted by Serena on Oct 30, 2014
We all know that prendere means to take, as in prendiamo l’autobus o andiamo a piedi? (shall we take the bus or walk?), or prendi questa borsa (take this bag). However prendere is one of those verbs that can be used in many different situations. Let’s look at some of its most common uses: 1…
How to use the Past Conditional in Italian Posted by Serena on Oct 22, 2014
Last week we took a look at the present conditional, which, if you missed it, you can find HERE. Today we are going to look at il condizionale passato (the past conditional). Here are a couple of examples of how we conjugate it, firstly with the auxiliary verb essere (to be): Coniugazione del verbo essere…
How to use the Present Conditional in Italian Posted by Serena on Oct 16, 2014
While I was replying a reader’s question last week about the differences between the congiuntivo presente and the condizionale, I realised that although I’ve covered the use of the congiuntivo presente I’d never written an article specifically on the use of the condizionale (conditional). So I’m going to make amends, beginning today with il condizionale…
Rita’s Story Posted by Serena on Oct 15, 2014
A few days ago we received a fascinating e.mail from one of our long-time readers, Rita. The mail was written in the form of a very brief autobiography, and her story reminded me of my aunt Vicky, who, like so many Italians, was forced by circumstances to leave Italy and begin a new life abroad…