As promised, here are the solutions to our quiz Blame It On The Cat! Well done everyone who had a go. Smokey’s errors are numbered and highlighted in red, with the corrections and explanations given below. I’d particularly like to thank the brave readers who posted their answers in the comments section. Now let’s have a look at the text and find out exactly where Smokey went wrong. As you will see, some of his mistakes are quite amusing:

Paolo and Francesca live in a beautiful house in the countryside
Paolo e Francesca abitano in una bellissima casa in (1) campana.

They really like animals: they have three cats, two females and a male, and four chicken that produce lovely eggs for them
A loro (2) piace tantissimo gli animali: hanno tre (3) gatte, due femmine e un maschio, e quattro (4) galli che gli producono delle belle (5) uove.

In front of the house there’s a large terrace with large vases full of geraniums all around, and a pergola to give shade in the summer.
Davanti alla casa (6) ce un’ampia terrazza con tutt’intorno dei bei (7) vassoi pieni di gerani, e con una pergola per fare ombra d’estate.

From the terrace there’s a lovely view of the medieval bridge, under which flows the river Terchio.
Dalla terrazza (8) che una bella vista del ponte medievale, sotto cui scorre il fiume Terchio.

In its clear waters you can see water snakes, frogs, and large fish.
Nelle sue acque limpide si possono vedere bisce d’acqua, (9) ragni e (10) grosse pesche.

To the rear of the house there’s a peaceful garden with many flowers and trees.
Sul dietro della casa c’è un giardino tranquillo con (11) molto fiori e alberi.

Francesca really likes gardening, and when the weather is good you’ll always find her out in the garden.
A Francesca piace tanto il giardinaggio e quando fa (12) buon tempo la si trova sempre (13) fiori in giardino.

Paolo, on the other hand, likes carpentry and spends a lot of time in his workshop building furniture for the house, which at this stage is a bit overfull.
A Paolo invece piace (14) essere il falegname e passa molto tempo nella sua (15) officina a costruire (16) immobili per la casa che ormai è un po’ (17) strapieno.

A passion that they both have in common is going for bike rides, and at least twice a week they climb on the saddle and go for a nice excursion in the surrounding countryside.
Una passione che hanno (18) nel comune tutti e due è quella di andare in bici, e almeno due (19) volti la settimana montano in (20) cella e fanno un bel (21) girino nella campagna d’intorno.

When they get home in the evening, Paolo and Francesca like to sit out on the terrace under the pergola with a cool glass of prosecco, and enjoy the sunset, lulled by birdsong and the murmuring of the river.
La sera, quando tornano a casa, (22) Paolo e Francesca piacciono sedersi fuori in terrazza sotto la pergola con un bicchiere di (23) prosciutto fresco a godersi il tramonto, (24) inculati dal cinguettare degli uccelli e dal mormorio del fiume.

Corrections:

(1) campana (bell) correction: campagna (countryside)

(2) piace correction: piacciono (plural), a loro piacciono gli animali (the animals please them)

(3) gatte (female cats) correction: gatti (masculine plural) is used for a mixed male/female group

(4) galli (cockerels) correction: galline (hens, do I really need to explain?)

(5) uove correction: uova is the correct, but oddly irregular plural of uovo (egg)

(6) ce correction: c’è (an abbreviation of ci = ‘there’ and è = ‘is’)

(7) vassoi (trays) correction: vasi (vases)

(8) che (that/which) correction: c’è (‘there is’)

(9) ragni (spiders) correction: rane (frogs)

(10) grosse pesche (big peaches) correction: grossi pesci (big fish)

(11) molto fiori e alberi (very flowers and trees) correction: molti fiori e alberi (a lot of/many flowers and trees)

(12) buon tempo (good time) correction: bel tempo (lovely weather)

(13) fiori in giardino (flowers in the garden) correction: fuori in giardino (out in the garden)

(14) essere il falegname (to be the carpenter) correction: fare il falegname (to do the carpenter). In Italian, we use essere when we talk about having a trade or profession, e.g. sono insegnante (I am a teacher), lui è dottore (he is a doctor). However, when we talk about something that we like doing as a hobby, such as carpentry for example, we use fare: mi piace fare il falegname (literally: I like doing the carpenter)

(15) officina correction: laboratorio (lab/workshop). Officina is used for a mechanics workshop or garage

(16) immobili (buildings) correction: mobili (furniture)

(17) strapieno (overfull, masculine) correction: strapiena (overfull, feminine, as it refers to la casa)

(18) nel comune (in the council offices) correction: in comune (in common)

(19) due volti la settimana (two faces a week) correction: due volte la settimana (twice a week). N.B. both la settimana and alla settimana are correct.

(20) cella (prison cell)  correction: sella (saddle)

(21) girino (tadpole) correction: giro/giretto (trip/excursion)

(22) Paolo e Francesca piacciono (plural) correction: A Paolo e Francesca piace sedersi fuori in terrazza (it pleases Paolo and Francesca to sit out on the terrace)

(23) prosciutto (ham) correction: prosecco (a type of white sparkling wine)

(24) inculati (buggered) correction: cullati (lulled)

As usual, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to leave a comment.