When I see my Romagnoli in-laws they’ll often proudly present me with plastic bag of frozen piadine and crescioni, a traditional local food made for them by the widow who lives downstairs. Don’t know what my father-in-law does for her, but she’s certainly very grateful. As am I. Piadine and Crescioni are not the sort […]
Archives for November 2013
Three for the price of two
No, I’m not talking about the -30% offer on e-books in our shop (not this time, at least.) But about this useful exercise on compound words in Italian. ‘asciugare’ (to dry) + ‘mano’ (hand) = l’asciugamano (towel) See? Three words for the price of two!
Perfect your Italian prepositions
For those of you in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving! (For those of you in Australia, G’day!) May I suggest we give thanks that we’re not pupils at an Italian elementary school? Why? ‘Cos the poor kids get regularly blasted with Italian grammar, that’s why. I didn’t know what a preposition was until (shortly after) I became […]
Easy Italian verbs, harder Italian expressions
Venire, andare, fare, prendere, parlare… To come, to go, to do, to take, to speak. Takes me back a bit, to circa 1997, when I’d fallen in love with an Italian girl and started out memorizing verbs, shuffling flash cards on my London bus ride home from work each evening. And dreaming of a new […]
“Sex change” words in Italian
That got your attention, didn’t it? But seriously, check out these “gender-bender” Italian words, which can be both masculine and feminine, but with different meanings. Reading through the list, I realise how many of these I regularly get wrong myself. Sometimes then ending is different, which helps: il collo (neck) but la colla (glue) Other times, […]
Mica difficult
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably on the OnlineItalianClub.com mailing list, or someone you know is. You may also be a member of our club, though the two things are not the same. (It’s possible to sign up to receive articles from me by e-mail, but not join our club, and vice versa). It’s […]
Is your “cultural knowledge” letting you down?
You’re visiting Italy, or perhaps watching Italian TV or reading a news website. There’s a picture of a masked demonstrator waving a “No TAV!” placard. Know what it’s all about? If not, it’s not your knowledge of Italian that’s at fault…. Is your “cultural knowledge” letting you down? It’s quite likely. Unless you live in […]
Insidious cultural differences that can trip you up
15 years in Italy and I’m beginning to understand why Italians make me furious at times. And why my Italian wife thinks I’m a boor. Say “Ciao” to the man, darling! We’re sitting at the reception desk of a language school in Italy, chatting with the pre-schoolers arriving for their English courses. Some kids are […]
Dinner invitation for tonight
Hungry? Free tonight? Read this. (Shortest article I ever wrote.)
The Zen of learning Italian
Many of us would love to speak and understand Italian better, but may never manage it. Studying is difficult, not being able to express ourselves is frustrating. As we understand the size of the task, our motivation flags. Life’s other priorities undermine us. The Zen of Learning Italian
