Archive for 'Vocabulary'
The Foundlings Posted by Geoff on Feb 3, 2017
How did you get on with our article I Trovatelli? As you will have discovered, it makes extensive use of il passato remoto (the historical past), a tense which is far more common in written, than spoken Italian. Here’s my English translation: I Trovatelli: la storia di come abbiamo trovato ognuno dei nostri gatti. The…
I Trovatelli Posted by Serena on Feb 1, 2017
Here’s a chance for you to test your Italian comprehension … without a safety net! Don’t worry though, we’ll publish the full translation at the end of the week. Tip: you may find it useful to refer to the following articles: Il Passato Remoto–part 1 and Il Passato remoto–part 2 I Trovatelli: la storia di…
E Allora? Posted by Geoff on Sep 22, 2016
Here’s another small collection of words and phrases that we use all the time in Italy, but which are often overlooked in Italian classes or text books. Learning how and where to use them will make your spoken Italian sound much more natural. Allora is such a habitual word that it sometimes seems impossible to…
Buying Clothes in Italy – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Apr 13, 2016
Shopping for clothes, like any other category of activity, has its own specific vocabulary. How do you ask for the right shoe size, or say that the jacket sleeves are too short? What size waist are those jeans, and is that shirt going to fit your neck? Here is some key vocabulary to help you…
A Huge Italian Bonfire – Part 2 Posted by Geoff on Jan 21, 2016
Previously in A Huge Italian Bonfire: Geoff and Serena are waiting on the bridge for the Falò di San Nicolò to be lit when … … all’improvviso, succede una cosa completamente inaspettata … suddenly, something completely unexpected happens … … out of the blackness behind the crowd looms a mysterious tubular object illuminated by a…
A Huge Italian Bonfire – Part 1 Posted by Geoff on Jan 20, 2016
Here’s an opportunity for you to practice your colloquial conversational vocabulary. A typical Geoff and Serena dialogue (with the arguments edited out of course!) Serena: Stasera c’è il falò di San Nicolò a Pontremoli, lo sapevi? Serena: did you know that this evening in Pontremoli there’s the falò of San Nicolò? Geoff: che cavolo è…
Carmela’s Cat Posted by Geoff on Nov 26, 2015
Previous Chapters in Carmela’s Story Carmela’s Story Chapter 1 Carmela’s Story Chapter 2 Carmela’s Story Chapter 3 Carmela’s Story Chapter 4 Bianchina first appeared one cold November morning. Carmela opened the shutters of her living room window letting in the slanting autumn sunlight and found the kitten stretched across the window sill next to the geraniums…