Pronomi Combinati – Part 2 Posted by Serena on Feb 8, 2013
In Part 1 of this blog we looked at the ways in which personal pronouns are combined together when they precede a verb. Today I’m going to look at how and when to use the combined pronouns after a verb. All the following cases have two main changes in common: 1. the fact that the…
Pronomi Combinati–Part 1 Posted by Serena on Feb 4, 2013
Personal pronouns are always a confusing subject to master for students of Italian, so today I’m going to look at the combined personal pronouns using practical examples. The combined pronouns normally precede the verb in the following order: first comes the unstressed form of the indirect personal pronouns (mi, ti, gli, ci, vi), or the…
The Language of Coffee Posted by Geoff on Feb 1, 2013
Today, our guest blogger Ambra Sancin is going to tell us a bit about what il caffè means to her as an Italian who has grown up in Australia. But first, a quick bio: Ambra is a Sydney-based arts project manager in the cultural/not-for-profit sector and specialise in communications, marketing and producing public programs for…
Cimento Invernale 2013 Posted by Serena on Jan 29, 2013
This blog is based on various newspaper articles about a winter challenge that took place recently in Milan. Therefore the writing style is very journalistic. Geoff has done his best to translate it into a comprehensible English. Puntuale nell’ultima domenica di gennaio ha avuto luogo la quinta riedizione del Cimento Invernale, una gara di nuoto…
La Macchina, Un Vocabolario Posted by Geoff on Jan 25, 2013
So, you’re traveling in Italy and you’ve got a problem with la tua macchina but your car vocabulary consists of la macchina (the car), le ruote (the wheels) and lo sterzo (the steering wheel). How do you go about telling the mechanic that there’s a strange noise coming from the left rear passenger seat, that…
I Simboli Politici Posted by Serena on Jan 22, 2013
Last week was the deadline for the political parties to “patent” their symbols (comprising their slogan and logo) for the next political elections, which will be held on the 24th and 25th of February. Well, this year we have reached the new high record figure of 184 symbols to choose from! Here in Italy anybody…
Il Gatto Inverno di Gianni Rodari Posted by Serena on Jan 18, 2013
Today is a real winter’s day up here in our little village in the mountains: a lot of crispy white snow, limpid blue sky, and icicles dangling from the drain pipes. Gigia, one of our six cats, has been having fun exploring the fluffy white carpet that has covered our patio, and seems very excited…