To Be or to Have? Part 2 Posted by Serena on Feb 17, 2014
As promised in Part 1 of this blog, today we’re going to look at some more verbs which use both essere and avere in the passato prossimo. Let’s dive straight in: 1. suonare = to play, to ring. This is a transitive verb, so it’s normally built with the verb avere: Giovanni ha suonato la…
A Romantic Italian Poem for St. Valentine’s Day Posted by Serena on Feb 14, 2014
Today is San Valentino, la Festa degli Innamorati (Saint Valentine’s day), and to celebrate it what better way than reading a beautiful love poem by Francesco Petrarca. Born in Arezzo (Tuscany) on the 20th of July 1304, from Florentine parents, Petrarca is considered one of the fathers of the Italian language, alongside Dante and Boccaccio…
A Prickly Encounter Posted by Serena on Feb 12, 2014
We live in the foothills of the Appennino Tosco Emiliano, an area full of an incredible variety of wildlife. Here the wild animals are really wild, and they don’t rely on humans for their survival like many of the animals which now live in parks and city suburbs. The wildlife around here prefers to avoid…
Meet Bruna, the mobile Tigelleria Posted by Geoff on Feb 10, 2014
“Purtroppo, in Italia, essere creativi non viene riconosciuto come un lavoro che ha una sua professionalità e un suo valore” (unfortunately, in Italy being creative isn’t recognised as a job with its own professionalism and value) explain Riccardo and Clara, creators of Bruna, the mobile tigelleria. Who are Riccardo, Clara and Bruna, and what on…
To Be or to Have? Posted by Serena on Feb 7, 2014
If you’re learning Italian, knowing when to use essere or avere when talking about the past in the present perfect (Passato prossimo) is always a challenge. Should I say “Giovanni è vissuto in Inghilterra dal 2002 al 2007” or “Giovanni ha vissuto in Inghilterra dal 2002 al 2007”? I remember once, when I was teaching…
The Curvy World Posted by Serena on Feb 6, 2014
Have you ever looked critically at a photo of yourself and felt like doing a little tweaking with Photoshop? I must admit that I have, but I’m not very clever with photo editing software. However, many people who spend a lot of their time under the spotlight go to great lengths to have the ‘perfect’…
Eclissi del Cuore Posted by Geoff on Feb 3, 2014
In 2013 a U.K. survey named this hit ‘The Most Popular Song to Sing in the Shower’. Perhaps it’s even you’re favourite shower song, at the very least you will have heard it wafting through the aisles at the supermarket. Click HERE to reveal its identity. So where’s the Italian connection? Enter L’Aura, the talented…