One thing that strikes most British or American visitors to Italy is how in forma (well-toned) the Italians are. Whether this is down to the famous Mediterranean diet or the fact that most Italians put in several hours at la palestra (the gym) each week is unclear, but if you walk the streets of Milan [...]
The impersonal ‘you’ is used in English when not directly referring to the person or people in front of you, but people in general - eg ‘How do you get to the centre?’ or ‘You buy bread at the baker’s’.
In Italian ‘you’ express this idea using the pronoun ’si’ and the third person singular form [...]
Il giorno di San Valentino (Valentine’s Day), like pretty much everywhere else, is having a roaring success in Italy. The romantic (and, some would say, cheesy) nature of Italians makes for big business at this time of the year. Although people tend not to keep their identity a secret, bigliettini (cards) are popular along with [...]
Italians are just as mad about oroscopi (horoscopes) as everyone else. Here are the segni zodiacali (star signs) in Italian:
I giorni della merla (literally, the days of the blackbird) refer to the last three days of January (29th - 31st) which are said to be i piu freddi (the coldest) of l’inverno (the winter).
This expression comes complete with una legenda, passed down from nonni (grandparents) to nipotini (grandkids), explaining both why these days are [...]
I giorni della settimana (the days of the week) consist of lunedì (Monday), martedì (Tuesday), mercoledì (Wednesday), giovedì (Thursday) and venerdì (Friday).
Where do these names derive from? lunedì is from la luna (moon), martedì from il pianeta Marte (the planet Mars), mercoledì from Mercurio (Mercury), giovedì from Giove (Jupiter), and venerdìfrom Venere (Venus). The suffix [...]
Here are some basic verbs and examples on how to use them in a simple sentence:
Click here for grammar rules
The Italian winter sales are in full swing at the moment. Now is the time to pick up a nice designer number at half the usual price. Here is a dialogue to help you with the negotiating:
Can I help you?
No thanks, I’m just looking.
Ok, let me know if you need anything.
…….
Excuse me, do you have [...]
Here is a simple recipe for risotto alla zucca (pumpkin risotto). Serves two as a main course, four as a starter:
Ingredienti:
500 ml brodo vegetale
1/2 cipolla
200g riso arborio
150g zucca a cubi
50g burro
50g parmeggiano
100 ml vino bianco
sale e pepe quanto basta
Preparazione:
Per prima cosa mettete a cuocere la zucca nel brodo vegetale per circa 10 minuti da quando [...]
‘Can’ seems a very simple word in English, but it actually has a number of different meanings which are expressed differently in Italian:
Permission:
use the verb potere
posso aprire la finestra? (can I open the window?)
lei non puo’ venire (she can’t come)
loro possono arrivare alle 8 (they can arrive at 8pm)
Ability
use the verb sapere (to [...]
