Gelo e Fuoco Posted by Serena on Feb 28, 2018
Quando da bambina vidi il film ‘Dottor Zivago’, la scena che mi fece più impressione è quella in cui Zivago e Lara passano la notte in una casa isolata, in mezzo alla bufera di neve, coi lupi che ululano fuori. Quella notte non riuscii a dormire e rimasi sveglia, con la coperta tirata sugli occhi…
Qualche Problema Posted by Geoff on Feb 26, 2018
Indefinite adjectives are used to indicate an undefined number or quality of things or persons. They’re mostly straightforward, but there’s an important exception that can easily trip you up. Probably the most frequently used aggettivo indefinito (indefinite adjective) is qualche, which means ‘some’, ‘any’, or ‘a few’. The confusing thing about qualche is that although…
Il Vento Posted by Serena on Feb 22, 2018
Outside there’s a strong wind howling and whirling the snow around. According to the news, this wind comes from Siberia and is called ‘burian’. They say that it will bring even colder temperatures in the next few days. Inspired by the weather, I searched the Internet for a poem describing the wind, and finally found…
Non Voglio Alzarmi! Posted by Geoff on Feb 19, 2018
Getting out of one’s nice cosy bed can be tough sometimes, especially in the middle of the winter when you’re lying there listening to the wind’s icy fingers grabbing at the roof tiles and whipping the branches around … Sto così bene qui a letto, devo davvero alzarmi? = I’m really comfortable here in bed…
Italian False Friends Posted by Geoff on Feb 16, 2018
The English language contains many Latin words, and once you learn to recognise them it will be a great help in terms of building up your Italian vocabulary … … but not always … and that’s where false friends come in. False friends, often referred to as false cognates, are words that sound very similar…
Tanto Tanto Amore Posted by Serena on Feb 14, 2018
Today is Saint Valentine’s Day, and as usual I’ve been trying to find a romantic poem or song for you … Now, as Italy is a very romantic country, you’d think that this would be really easy. But not so. Why? Because almost all romantic Italian songs and poems seem to be written for a…
Making Comparisons – An Exercise Posted by Geoff on Feb 13, 2018
Last week I published a blog called Making Comparisons In Italian in which we looked at the use of di and che in conjunction with più or meno. Here’s an exercise that will give you an opportunity to put that knowledge into practice. Firstly though, we’re going to see how we describe things that are in…