Riccardo
5 “consigli” for learning Italian
Learning Italian requires hard work and some necessary mistakes. Follow 5 simple tips, or “consigli” as we call them in Italian, for keeping yourself motivated and ready to learn more.
I’ve been teaching Italian for quite a long time, beginners to advanced students connected online from all over the world. Some beginners give up and stop studying after some time, while others improve rapidly and overcome initial challenges. Some advanced learners get stuck in front of complicate grammatical structures whilst others don’t care much and enjoy a long and happy relationship with the Italian language. How can you manage your expectations and learn Italian with the right attitude?
1. You won’t speak perfectly and that’s ok
You can live with that, I know how it feels. I am not a native English speaker, I’ve been studying it for a long time, every day a couple of hours, and I still make tons of mistakes. That’s fine, because the number of errors I make decreases year by year and I’m happy with that. Some of my students speak good Italian but are overconcerned with perfection. If you focus on the accent, you lose fluency. If you focus on grammar you don’t sound natural. The biggest mistake you could make is to stop speaking after a mistake. Fix the main ones and move on. Nobody is perfect.
2. Find a native Italian friend on Skype
If you are lucky, you have some Italian friends living close to you, willing to speak with you and help you to learn the language. Unfortunately, chances are that you live in a place where Italians are just a few and there are no occasions to practice. The good news is that plenty of Italians want to learn English and are eager to speak online. With Skype, people can “meet” easily and exchanging a foreign language is now possible for free. A Skype friend is not a professional teacher, so you will still need the help and guidance of a native teacher, but a “regular dose” of spoken Italian will help you tremendously.
3. Learn Italian following your interests
Let’s face it. Some Italian language lessons are boring or difficult to digest. Some teachers find it easier to follow a textbook and give you homework instead of asking what your interests are. Studying Italian as a foreign language is not like studying English. People usually study it for passion, not because it’s necessary. Do you like Italian arts, opera, lifestyle, cars, football, men, women, food? Don’t be shy. Once you learned the basics, ask your teacher to fix some lessons for you based on your interests. Learning Italian will be more fun and engaging. If your teacher says no, just change teacher!
4. Come to Italy for a language course if you have a chance
I’m sure you want to enjoy “la dolce vita” in Italia, after a year of hard work in your country. Please, consider seriously the idea of joining an Italian language course in one of our beautiful cities. School is great at any age! There are many places where you can spend a holiday while studying Italian, with foreign students having your same passion. If you are a beginner, perhaps an intensive course at school will help you to digest the basics pretty rapidly. If you are an intermediate/advanced learner, home-stay will help you to learn daily spoken Italian from your host family. Remember though, don’t hang out too much with other foreign students. You will speak English and defeat the purpose.
5. Read, read and read again!
Listening to a song or watching a movie in Italian, possibly every day, are all great and entertaining exercises. Youtube will help you to get used to Italian sounds and learn quickly. However, my best students are the ones who read regularly newspapers, magazines or simple Italian books. Listening and watching are passive exercises but reading will force you to process and remember much better what you study. Leggere è la cosa migliore!
Whatever your reason for studying Italian is, please remember that you are the only one responsible for your success or failure. Follow your passion, cultivate your motivation and don’t give up, non mollare!
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Italian verb piacere and a bunch of pronouns – PODCAST
- ThestructureinEnglishis”AlikesB”
- ThestructureinItalianis”ToA,Bispleasing”
…where”toA” isanindirectpronounand”B”istherealsubject.
- tome->ame ->MI
- toyou ->ate ->TI
- tohim ->alui ->GLI
- toher ->alei ->LE
- tous ->anoi ->CI
- toyou ->avoi ->VI
- tothem ->aloro ->GLI
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Mipiaccionogli spaghetti=(glispaghettipiaccionoame)
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Mipiace nuotare
Therearesomeotherimportantverbshavingthesamestructureofpiacere,notably:
interessare (tobeofinterest,tocareof), servire (toneed),sembrare (toseem),succedere (tohappen).Let’sseesomeexamplesandlistentothepodcast:
- interessare (tobe ofinterest,tocareof)
I’mveryinterestedinarts
I’mnotinterestedinyourtrouble
- servire (toneed)
Ineedyourhelp
Ineedmyglassesforreading
- sembrare (toseem,tolooklike)
ItseemstomethatClaudioisabitabsent
Youhairlookstooshort
- succedere (tohappen)
Ihappenquiteoftentomissthetrain
You’vebeeninalotoftroublelately
Alastnoteimportantnote.IfweusetheverbANDAREinthesamewayweusePIACERE,wecanbuildsimple andhandysentencesforsayingthat”I’minthemoodfor…”Forexample:
Mivaunbelgelato
Tivadivenireconme?
Nonmivannoletuebugie
Conversational Italian: Mica and Manco
Mica and Manco: Popular Colloquial Words in Spoken Italian
Mica and Manco are widely used expressions in spoken Italian, often characterized as colloquial. However, their usage is rarely emphasized in academic settings or textbooks. These words are considered “too conversational” and may pose challenges when attempting to provide a comprehensive explanation. In this discussion, we will explore their meanings and usage in a simplified manner.
MICA
The term “mica” originates from the Latin word for “breadcrumb.” Its Latin root is still evident in some other Italian words. For instance, in Milan, the typical bread roll is known as “michetta,” meaning “little crumb.” While the original meaning of “mica” has faded, the modern Italian word for breadcrumb is “briciola.”
In conversational Italian, “mica” roughly translates to “not even a breadcrumb,” comparable to the English expressions “not one bit” or “not at all.” It is used to intensify the negation of a statement. Consider the following examples:
- Mica male! – Not bad at all!
- Mica tanto – Not really.
- Mica “pizza e fichi” – Not “pizza with figs” (something extraordinary).
- Non ho mica capito – I didn’t understand, not one bit.
- Non sarà mica successo qualcosa? – I hope nothing (at all) happened.
- Hai mica una sigaretta? – Do you happen to have a cigarette?
- Marco non mi piace mica tanto – I don’t like Marco that much.
- Non sono mica scemo – I’m not a fool, not at all.
- Non ho mica fretta – I’m not really in a hurry
- Io mica ci vado al concerto – I’m not going to the concert (not a chance).
“Mica” can’t be easily translated in English, as it includes the notion of “not as you think”, “not as it seems”, “not as you said” etc. For example:
- Gigi, prendi l’ombrello!
- Mica piove…
You asked Gigi to take the umbrella because you thought it was raining, but Gigi is telling you you it’s not, “at all”.
MANCO
“Manco” is a simpler alternative to the word “neanche” (not even) and is commonly used in conversation. While it is not recognized as a standard Italian word in academic literature, it finds frequent usage among Italian speakers. Consider the following examples:
- Manco a dirlo… – Needless to say…
- Manco a farlo apposta… – when something happens by coincidence
- Manco fosse il capo – (He behaves) as if he were the boss.
- Non sa manco cosa fare – He doesn’t even know what to do.
- Sono in ritardo, non ho manco fatto colazione – I’m late, I even haven’t had breakfast.
- Manco li cani! – (Sicilian) Not even dogs (would pay attention to them).
While “mica” and “manco” have distinct meanings, they are discussed together due to their widespread use across the country. “Mica” is more commonly used in northern Italy, whereas “manco” has roots in southern dialects, particularly Sicilian. However, both words are familiar to Italians and contribute to the richness and diversity of spoken Italian.
Thanks for reading – Grazie per avere studiato con me
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Common Italian irregular verbs – Presente Indicativo
Learn some frequently used Italian irregular verbs – simple present. Enjoy the quiz!
As a beginner, you should learn the present tense of some important Italian irregular verbs. If your level is intermediate or advanced, a second look will help you to remember some basics.
The verbs of our choice are:
Before we start:
Dovere, potere, volere and sapere (as “to know how to”) are the main Italian modal verbs.
It’s always beneficial to mention that conjugations made of just two words (e.g. Lui va, Lei fa etc) don’t need any accent mark like Lui và, Lei fà. The only exception is Lui/Lei dà.
Personal pronouns are in order: IO – TU – LUI/LEI – NOI – VOI – LORO.
- faccio
- fai
- fa
- facciamo
- fate
- fanno
- sto
- stai
- sta
- stiamo
- state
- stanno
- so
- sai
- sa
- sappiamo
- sapete
- sanno
- vado
- vai
- va
- andiamo
- andate
- vanno
- vengo
- vieni
- viene
- veniamo
- venite
- vengono
- devo
- devi
- deve
- dobbiamo
- dovete
- devono
- posso
- puoi
- può
- possiamo
- potete
- possono
- voglio
- vuoi
- vuole
- vogliamo
- volete
- vogliono
Thanks for listening and reading the post. Please complete the quiz below and check your score.
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Bel or Bello? A special Italian adjective
The adjective “bello” is one of the most known Italian words. It follows a special rule, which you should learn and remember if you want to speak correctly
Foreigners make fun of Italians saying “Ciao bello!” or “Ciao Bella!”. I think it’s funny and also a good stereotype. We are friendly and everyone deserves the title of “bello”.
Let’s see more in detail what this word means and how we can use it correctly.
In English, adjectives come before a noun. In Italian we usually put them after.
- Ho una penna rossa and not Ho una
rossapenna. We can’t put rossa before penna.
Some adjectives however, can be put before or after a noun, changing the value of the noun itself.
- Leonardo Di Caprio è un attore bravissimo.
- Leonardo Di Caprio è un bravissimo attore.
In the first case, we express an objective fact. Di Caprio is a great actor. In the second example, we want to express a point of view, the value of Di Caprio as an actor according to the opinion of the speaker.
Since bravissimo is a superlative, the position of the adjective here does not change much the intensity or the perspective of the speaker.
A better example would be:
- Mario è un vecchio amico.
- Mario è un amico vecchio.
In the first case, we say that Mario is al old friend, in the second Mario is an old person and he’s a friend. So, the first case is an example of a qualitative use of the adjective vecchio, it’s about my friendship with Mario.
There’s a more extensive explanation on another blog about the position of adjectives in Italian sentences. Have a look.
The adjective bello belongs to this second category. We can put it before or after the noun.
If we put it after the noun, it acts as a normal aggettivo, changing as singular or plural, masculine or feminine. We express an objective situation:
- Il bambino è bello – sm
- La bambina è bella – sf
- I bambini sono belli – pm
- Le bambine sono belle – pf
However, if we put bello before the noun, it changes quite radically and instead of agreeing with number and gender, it follows the rules of definite articles IL – LO – LA – I – GLI – LE – L’.
- il ragazzo
- lo zaino
- la macchina
- i regali
- gli anni
- le colline
- l’albero
We get as a result:
- Mario è un bel ragazzo.
- Hai un bello zaino.
- La Ferrari è una bella macchina.
- Ho ricevuto dei bei regali.
- Ho passato dei begli anni all’università.
- In Toscana ci sono delle belle colline.
- Davanti a casa mia c’è un bell’albero.
We don’t simply say that an object is beautiful. We want to give an opinion, a subjective point of view.
Using correctly the Italian adjective “bello” will help you to speak naturally and, why not, to get along with Italian people.
Try the quiz. Alla prossima.
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Italian Imperfetto tense, modal verbs – PODCAST
Let’s have a look at the Italian imperfetto tense of the modal verbs dovere, potere, volere and sapere. Listen to the podcast.
We already introduced the Italian imperfetto tense and the difference with the passato prossimo tense, both belonging to the indicativo mood (realis mood). If you want to progress from the beginner-level to the intermediate-level, you need to master these two lesson points. Please have a look at the posts linked above and solve the attached quizzes before getting familiar with today’s quick lesson.
We are now going to focus on the imperfetto and the four main Italian modal verbs, the “verbi servili” dovere, potere, volere and sapere. We chose this particular topic because the verbi servili are extremely important and their conjugation is irregular in most tenses and moods, not in the imperfetto.
Let’s see the conjugations and listen to the podcast for learning the correct pronunciation. Pay particular attention on the stress of the Loro pronoun.
We hope this fast lesson and podcast were useful. Please share and comment, feel free to ask questions.
Are you a “quaquaraquà”? Strange Italian people – PODCAST
Weirdosareeverywhere,includingItaly.ButhowcanyoudescribeapersonhavingastrangeorunusualattitudeinItalian? Itseemsthatwhenitcomestostrangeorunusualpeople,allthelanguagesagreeonstereotypesandcommonexpressions.
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Fuoriditesta-Outofyourmind
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Mattocomeuncavallo-Crazylikeahorse
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Viveresuunaltropianeta-Belivingonanotherplanet
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Testardocomeunmulo- Beasstubbornasamule
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Unbuonoanulla-Agoodfornothing
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Unquaquaraquà- A squealer
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Cervellodigallina-Hen’sbrain
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Glimancaunvenerdì-HemissesaFriday(he’snot100%)
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Averelatestatralenuvole- Headintheclouds
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Loscemodelvillaggio-Everybody’sfool
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Interrompere qualcuno – Interrupt someone, PODCAST
WehopeyoucouldusesomeofthesesentencestointeractproperlywithanativeItalianspeaker.Ofcoursewewouldlovetoteachyoumore.Pleasevisitourhomepage,youcanbookafreetrialItalianlessononSkype(tm).Thanksforlistening,civediamo!
Andare in bicicletta – Cycling in Italian
Spending a nice holiday cycling in Italy is a wonderful experience. Learn basic words related to cycling and bicycles. “Andare in bicicletta” means cycling in Italian.
Cycling in Italian cities is not really safe, too many cars and stone-paved roads. However, spending a nice holiday immersed in the beautiful countryside, cycling in Italian Alps, lakes, sweet hills and natural parks is simply fantastic. The following words and sentences may come in useful in case you choose to pack your bike or rent one for your Italian holiday.
PAROLE – WORDS
VERBS AND SENTENCES
We hope you will have a chance to go cycling in Italy and enjoy the beautiful Italian countryside riding a bike. Feel free to comment and ask questions. If you need to brush up your Italian, please book a free Skype trial lesson, live and online with a native teacher. Ciao!