lingua

Italian idioms and food – Audio

Christmas,ilNatale,isallaboutfamily,eatingandchattingtogetherwithfamilyandfriends. Italianslovetoeat andtheItalianlanguageispackedwithproverbsandidiomsrelatedtofood.LearnthemostfamousoneslistentotheaudioandsurpriseyourfriendswithsomefunnyItaliansentences. Alcontadinonondevifarsaperequantoèbuonoilformaggioconlepere   Don’ttellthefarmerhowgoodischeesewithpears.Don’ttellpeoplehowgoodareyourideas,someonewilltakeadvantageofit. Atavolanons’invecchia   Youdon’tgetoldatthetable.Initially,thisproverbmeantthatwhoeatstoomuch,diesyoung.Nowadays,themeaningistotallydifferent.Enjoyinggoodtimeatthetablekeepsyouyoung. Bacco,tabaccoeVenere,riduconol’uomoincenere   Bacco(Romangodofwine),tabaccoandVenus(women)turnmenintoashes.Liveabalancedlife. Bisognamangiarepervivere,nonviverepermangiare   Eatforliving,don’tliveforeating.Don’tmesswithfood,it’sdangerous.ThissentencedatesbacktoCicero,thefamousRomanlawyerandphilosopher. Chimangiadasolosistrozzainsolitudine   Whoeatsalonedieschockingalone.Don’tbegreedy. …comeilcaciosuimaccheroni   …likecheeseonpasta.Somethinghappensattherighttimeandaddsvaluetoasituation. Chic’hailpanenonc’haidenti,chic’haidentinonc’hailpane   Thosewhohavebreaddon’thaveteeth,thosewhohaveteethdon’thavebread.Sometimesgoodopportunitiescometopeopleunabletohandlethem. Chilaseranoncena,tuttalanottesidimena   Whodoesn’teatintheevening,can’tsleepatnight. Chinonbeveincompagniaoèladroofalaspia   Whodoesn’tdrinksociallyisathieforaspy.Distrustpeoplewhodrinkalone. C’entracomeicavoliamerenda   It’sappropriatelikeeatingcabbageatteatime.So,it’snotappropriate. Dopoiconfetti,siscopronoidifetti   Afterthewedding,couplesfindoutflaws.ConfettiinItalianaretypicalweddingcandieswithalmond.WhatpeoplecallconfettiinEnglish,inItalianarecoriandoli.Learnmoreabout falsefriends,wordswiththesameoriginbutdifferentmeaninginItalianandEnglish.   E’megliounuovooggicheunagallinadomani   Betteraneggtodaythanahentomorrow.Don’twasteopportunitiesforemptypromises. Èinutilepiangeresullatteversato   Don’tcryoverspiltmilk.SameasinEnglish. Finisce tuttoataralluccievino   Itallendswithtarallucci(Italiansavorybiscuits)andwine.Acomplicateddisputeissolvedfriendly. Gallinavecchiafabuonbrodo   Oldhenmakesgoodstock.Experiencepaysoff. Glizuccherininonsonofattiperisomari   Don’tgivesugartodonkeys.Don’twasteenergyandresourceswithpeoplewhocan’tappreciateit. Ilvinoècomel’amore,scaldalatestaeilcuore   Wineislikelove,warmsupheadandheart. Ilvinoèillattedeivecchi   … Read more ≫

Congiuntivo presente: the Italian present subjunctive.

The Italian present subjunctive (il congiuntivo presente) is used to express, uncertainty, needs, doubts, and emotions.   At the beginning of your Italian classes, you probably learned the verbs of the indicativo mood. We can simplify and say that the indicativo is the mood of reality; the congiuntivo is the mood of possibility, uncertainty and … Read more ≫

Italian indefinite adjectives and pronouns: A “quasi” complete guide.

Italian indefinite adjectives and pronouns describe somebody, something, nothing, etc… It’s a big family of words. Some can be both adjectives and pronouns, others are just adjectives or pronouns. In Toscana ci sono molte bellissime città. Ci sono delle bellissime città in Italia. Molte sono in Toscana In the first sentence, molte is an adjective: … Read more ≫

Essere and Stare, two similar Italian verbs.

Essere and Stare are very important Italian verbs. It’s easy to get lost, since sometimes they both mean “to be” This is a very basic explanation on the difference between essere and stare, two very important Italian verbs. if you want to know more, please book a Zoom class at the bottom of this page, il … Read more ≫

Le parole sdrucciole – the stress on Italian words.

The stress on Italian words can be on different syllables. Let’s learn different scenarios and rules. Accento piano. (plain stress) The vast majority of Italian words has the stress on the penultimate syllable, hence the musical cadence of our language. If you have doubts on a word and need to guess, that’s the easiest way … Read more ≫

Periodo ipotetico – Italian conditional sentences – QUIZ

Italian conditional sentences are the so called “periodo ipotetico”. There are three types of conditional sentences: realtà, possibilità and irrealtà. Solve the quiz Se avessi tempo, andrei in vacanza. Here’s the plain grammar. The periodo ipotetico is the combination of two sentences: a subordinate clause expressing a possibility and a main clause expressing the outcome. The conjunction … Read more ≫

“Chi” and “Che”. Time to shed some light. QUIZ

Chi and Che are very important, at times confusing, Italian words. Solve the quiz at the bottom of the blog In my last quiz about relative pronouns, I wrote the following sentence: Non so chi sia la persona che ha telefonato oggi. Translating Italian into English makes things more complicated. I repeated the quiz with my intermediate and advanced students … Read more ≫

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