Here’s an exercise on ‘passato remoto’, which I admit to hardly knowing at all.
I scored 7/12 when I tested it – I’m sure you’ll do better!
So why do I hardly know this tense at all, even after seventeen years living in Italy?
It’s partly due to the fact I’m very lazy / busy trying to earn a living (depends who you talk to…)
But also because, except in certain areas in the south of Italy, the use of the passato remoto is largely restricted to written narratives such as novels.
Certainly, in Emilia-Romagna, where I live, it’s never heard.
So, if you read novels, you’ll see a lot of it.
If not, you can more or less ignore it.
Your call!
Click here to try today’s free exercise.
By the way, there are some general conjugation notes on passato remoto here.
And you can find conjugations of verbs in this tense in our excellent verb conjugator, which at last count had over 600 verbs!
The first on the list is abbaiare, which means ‘to bark’.
It sounds a little like ‘to bay’, doesn’t it?
Which should help you remember.
Io abbaiai – I barked, remotely, in the past.
Here’s a thought: you could use the verb conjugator to cheat on today’s exercise!
You’d definitely outscore me then.
Book of the Day
Many thanks to those of you who supported OnlineItalianClub.com with your purchase of Monday’s first ever ‘Book of the Day’, Il campo di papaveri.
If you enjoy it, or even if you don’t, please leave a review on our site to guide others… Click this link then scroll down to where you see the Description | Reviews tabs. Choose Reviews and look for Add a Review.
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OK, today’s ‘Book of the Day’, as a detective story, is one of my favorites!
We’re in Rome, it’s mid-summer, and the temperature outside is so high that sensible people stay at home with the shutters closed and the air-conditioning at maximum.
So a private detective is surprised to receive a phone call from the son of one of the city’s great families…
Will he agree to investigate the theft of a famous painting?
Un furto ad arte (the title is a pun – something like ‘a state of the art, art theft’), by Martina Landini, is another of our earliest Italian easy readers.
It’s also one of the longest, so you’ll be sure to get lots of value in terms of reading and listening practice!
On the cover the level says B1/B2 (intermediate / upper-intermediate) but, if you ask me, it’s quite manageable for anyone other than complete beginners (and well worth the effort!)
Still, you can decide for yourself by downloading the free sample chapter – click here (.pdf) and choose ‘save linked content as’ to download Chapter 1 to your computer.
As with Monday’s ‘Book of the Day’, Un furto ad arte is on offer at HALF PRICE for just 24/48 hours, depending on your time zone and when you read this.
So, for a big boost for your Italian, and a big saving, click here to buy your copy for just €4.99!