The Italian Subjunctive – 5. Pluperfect Tense Posted by Geoff on Jun 19, 2017
This is the final article in our series about the subjunctive. Today we’ll be studying il congiuntivo trapassato (the pluperfect subjunctive). Constructing the congiuntivo trapassato The congiuntivo trapassato is used when talking about the past to refer to things that had happened, e.g. ‘I had gone’, ‘you had finished’ etc. In order to construct the…
Caldo Africano Posted by Geoff on Jun 16, 2017
Admit it, dear readers, we do spoil you a bit with our instant translations. And I’d hate for you to fall into bad habits. Sooner or later you’re going to have to fly solo. Here’s a simple account of how we spent yesterday afternoon … in Italian … WITHOUT a translation! Of course, we’re not…
Gli Odori Dell’Estate Posted by Geoff on Jun 14, 2017
It’s hot, we leave the windows ajar day and night to keep the house fresh. Gli odori dell’estate (the smells of summer) flow into the house … Profumo = Scent Just outside the kitchen door is a tall bushy gelsomino (jasmin). It gives off un profumo inebriante (an inebriating scent), especially in the evening. Il…
Chi E’ Pazzo? Posted by Geoff on Jun 12, 2017
How do we define what is ‘normal’, or decide who is sane and who crazy? We live in a world full of stark contradictions, of atrocities committed in the name of lofty ideals. We try to dig at the truth but find our judgement obfuscated by the smoke and mirrors of “alternative facts”. Caparezza is…
Una Risata Per Zio Luciano Posted by Serena on Jun 9, 2017
Last Thursday, our lovely Zio Luciano passed away at the age of 85. Luciano had lived a very interesting life working for the Italian Consulate in various parts of the world including Benghazi, Zurich and Berlin before retiring to La Spezia. He loved a good chat, and was knowledgeable on many subjects, particularly history. We…
At The Greengrocer’s In Italy Posted by Serena on Jun 7, 2017
Today we are going to do some shopping at il fruttivendolo (the greengrocer’s). I hope you find the vocabulary useful. Buona lettura! Giovanna (una donna solare, chiacchierona e scherzosa): “Chi servo?” Giovanna (a radiant, chatty and humorous lady): “Who’s next?” Serena: “Tocca a me! Allora … mi serve un chilo di patate” Serena: “It’s my…
The Italian Subjunctive – 4. Imperfect Tense Posted by Geoff on Jun 5, 2017
Let’s continue our series of articles on the subjunctive form with an in depth look at il congiuntivo imperfetto (the imperfect subjunctive). Constructing the congiuntivo imperfetto To construct the congiuntivo imperfetto of regular verbs we modify the ending of the infinitive in the following way: verbs ending in –are, e.g. parlare (to speak): io parlassi…