Archive for 'Grammar'
Finché, o finché non? Posted by Serena on Jun 30, 2010
Finché is a tricky little word that can create a few problems for the student of Italian due to the fact that it changes meaning depending on whether or not it is followed by ‘non’. Let’s have a look: Finché means ‘per tutto il tempo che’ (for all the time that), and it is normally…
Fidarsi – part 3 Posted by Serena on Jun 21, 2010
Fidarsi – ‘to trust’, is an intransitive reflexive verb, in other words a reflexive verb that is followed by a preposition. When we want to say that we trust someone or something we use the preposition ‘di’, hence ‘fidarsi di qualcuno/qualcosa’. Here are some examples of how to use it: Present: mi fido di te…
Take a Seat – part 2 Posted by Serena on Jun 2, 2010
In part one of this blog I listed a few of the different kinds of things on which one sits. Part two will deal with how we ask or tell people to take a seat. 1. Sedersi – to sit oneself down: The reflexive verb sedersi is the most literal translation of ‘to take a…
Ce La Fai? Posted by Serena on Apr 23, 2010
Farcela is a very commonly used idiomatic expression which means ‘to manage’ [to do something], or ‘to succeed’. It is composed of the verb fare (to make/to do) and the pronouns ‘ce’ and ‘la’. It can be used on its own, e.g. ce la fai? (can you manage?), or it can be followed by the…
Bureaucratic Italian part 2, I tuoi Doveri Posted by Serena on Apr 14, 2010
In the first part of this blog I explored some of the bureaucratic language found in a ‘health and safety at work’ leaflet. If you’ve studied that blog you will all be familiar with ‘I Tuoi Diritti’ (Your Rights), but, of course, as an employee you also have ‘I Tuoi Doveri’ (Your Duties). Let’s find…
Bureaucratic Italian part 1, Conosci i tuoi Diritti? Posted by Serena on Apr 11, 2010
Every now and then I write a blog about ‘colloquial Italian’, explaining everyday language and expressions that you don’t normally find in grammar books and language classes. At the other end of the spectrum we have ‘bureaucratic Italian’, and although it won’t help you much if you want to fare due chiacchiere (have a chat)…
Che Stanchezza! part 1. Posted by Serena on Apr 1, 2010
Now that the winter is drawing to a close (teniamo le dita incrociate -let’s keep our fingers crossed) all the plants are coming out of hibernation and are having a competition to see who can grow the fastest. So far l’erbaccia (the weeds) appear to be winning, in fact some of them are managing to…