Archive for 'Italian Language'
Treading Grapes Posted by Geoff on Aug 22, 2016
I recently asked my Italian friend and student of English, Stefano, to practice his English by writing about some of his childhood memories for me. I liked what Stefano wrote so much that I asked him to rewrite it in his mother tongue so that I could share it with you. Here are a few…
Expressing Your Needs In Italian – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Aug 19, 2016
In my previous post we looked at three ways of expressing necessity in Italian: occorrere, bisogna and bisogno. Today we’re going to continue the theme with three more common forms. servire = to need servire is only used in the third person singular (serve) and plural (servono). Examples: per fare il cemento serve la sabbia…
Expressing Your Needs In Italian – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Aug 17, 2016
A reader recently asked me if I could shed some light on the different forms that we use to express necessity. The best way to understand how we use these forms is by looking at practical examples. Allora, cominciamo! occorrere = to need the verb occorrere is only used in the third person, both singular…
Do More with the Italian Word of the Day Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 11, 2016
How many of you subscribe to our Italian Word of the Day? (If you’re not subscribed—don’t miss out!) How many of you open the email religiously, read and listen to the new word and phrase, then close the email and forget all about it? We’re not judging—you’re not the only one! That minute or two of…
At The Bar In Italy Posted by Serena on Aug 10, 2016
The bar is an essential institution in Italy. A meeting place, somewhere to pass the time of day, to top up your caffeine levels or the credit on your cellulare. At the bar you can read the provided daily paper, play lotto, buy cigarettes, fare la colazione (have breakfast), una merenda (a snack) or, in…
Francesco e la sua Fratella Posted by Serena on Jul 27, 2016
Frugando fra le vecchie fotografie ne ho ritrovata una di mio fratello più piccolo, Francesco, con la nostra cagnetta Queenie. La foto fu fatta a Bengasi, nella strada davanti a casa nostra. In questa foto Francesco doveva avere circa 3 o 4 anni, perché ha in mano il cestino che usava quando andava all’asilo. Rummaging…
Da Giovane Posted by Geoff on Jul 8, 2016
I always did hate writing my curriculum vitae! The idea of reducing my life down to one A4 page in order to convince someone that I was ‘the right candidate’ seemed so superficial. I’d look at the finished CV and ask myself: “Who is this person?” Well, the other day, Serena suggested that I write…