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 [...]
‘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 [...]
Here are some common mobili (furniture) that you can see in Italian houses:
The Italian New Year period is called Capodanno, literally ‘head of the year’. It is celebrated in much the same way as the rest of the world, although there are a number of quaint traditions to follow.
The night of the 31st usually kicks off with the cenone (big feast) where you can load up on [...]
One of the first things a visitor to Italy notices is that Italians look very slim and fit. This could be attributed to the mediterranean diet eaten here but it’s also because exercise is very important and most people like to practicare uno sport (do a sport). The most popular, as in other countries, is [...]
Where English uses a universal verb ‘to be’, Italian has two verbs: essere and stare. It also uses the verb avere (have) in some cases.
Essere is used as a main verb to express simple ideas such as ‘the grass is green’- ‘L’erba รจ verde’ or ‘I’m Italian’ - sono italiano.
It is also used as an [...]
