Who Won the Lottery? Posted by Serena on Jan 15, 2014
La sera del 6 gennaio, giorno dell’Epifania, è stato estratto il biglietto vincente della Lotteria Italia per il valore di 5 milioni di Euro! Il biglietto milionario era stato venduto in una tabaccheria di Lecco, in Lombardia. Siccome ho un amico, Giuseppe, che abita a Lecco, gli ho scritto su Facebook facendogli gli auguri per…
Shake Rattle and Roll, Italian Style Posted by Geoff on Jan 13, 2014
No, it’s not another song translation, simply a little blog inspired by our old FIAT Punto. Anyone who has ever owned a Punto, Panda, Uno etc. will know that, whilst generally reliable, they tend to develop their own individual voice which is composed of a range of unidentifiable squeaks, creaks, rattles, and so on. We…
The Living Dead or How to use the Present Participle in Italian Posted by Serena on Jan 9, 2014
Hands up who knows what the participio presente (present participle) is. What, no one? Well it’s not really that surprising, in fact the present participle is not even usually found in Italian language books for foreigners. The present participle is easily recognisable by its particular ending: –are verbs (such as tremare) change their ending to…
The Italian Mary Poppins Posted by Geoff on Jan 7, 2014
I was just seven years old when my mother took me and my sisters to see the classic film Mary Poppins in 1964. I remember that in those days you could stay in the cinema and watch the next viewing, and that’s exactly what we begged my mother to do. What patience she must have…
Lo Spazzacamino Posted by Geoff on Jan 2, 2014
È solo il secondo giorno del duemilaquattordici e ho già compiuto il mio buon proposito per l’anno nuovo! Sì, dopo diversi giorni con la casa piena di una nuvola di fumo ogni volta che accendevo il caminetto mi sono messo a fare lo spazzacamino. Il caminetto a legna è una bellissima cosa, molto accogliente quando…
Il Cenone di Capodanno Posted by Serena on Dec 30, 2013
For most Italians New Year wouldn’t be the same without il cotechino con le lenticchie (cotechino with lentils). According to popular folklore, eating this dish for either il Cenone di Capodanno (The Big New Year’s Eve Dinner) or on the First of January will bring good luck to the rest of the year. Il cotechino…
Apologies! Posted by Serena on Dec 26, 2013
When I lived in England I used to teach several classes a week of Italian and also Yoga classes for adults. The courses used to start in September with ten to fifteen students per class, but by mid November they were reduced to three to four students per class. This wasn’t due, as I thought…