The Strega Prize is one of the most important Italian literary awards. It all started in 1944 when Maria and Goffredo Bellonci decided to host a literary salon in their home in Rome. They invited artists, writers, intellectuals and soon they became known as the “Sunday friends” – Gli amici della domenica. Three years later …
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Italian connectives
As the word suggests, Italian connectives are words that link one part of text to another. They can convey contraposition, disagreement, doubt, and so on. Ex: Il volo è stato cancellato a causa della neve The flight was cancelled due to snow In the example above a causa di – due to, in English – …
Three funny games to play at home with your children
When you’re at home with your children and there’s a storm outside or when you’re forced to stay at home for coronavirus, you have to find some activities to do to fill the day. So, I’d like to suggest three funny games to play at home with your children. 1. Bowling The first of …
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Seven Italian proverbs
In Italian, as in every other language, there are proverbs for any occasion and about any topic. Many of these proverbs come with a rhyme, some others don’t. Today I’d like to focus on seven common Italian proverbs. 1. Rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera This old Italian proverb is actually very similar to …
Difference between apocope and apostrophe in Italian
When you start learning Italian sooner or later you’ll come across words such as un’ape, quest’anno, sta’ a vedere, etc. What do they have in common? A symbol. This symbol ’. Now, looking at the examples above you might be thinking that this symbol ’ has always the same function. But it actually doesn’t. Indeed, …
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Three effective habits language learners have
Sooner or later language learners develop some effective habits that help them improve their language skills. Successful language learners have usually two or more effective habits in common. I talked about some of them a few weeks ago in Three habits successful language learners have. Today I’d like to add three more effective habits language …
Improve your Italian – Mollami, cavolo!
There are many ways in which you can improve your Italian: by listening to podcasts or songs, by watching tv series or movies, by speaking to native speakers, etc. One of the things you’ll notice when you do one of the activities mentioned above to improve your Italian is that Italians use many words in …
Three habits successful language learners have
If you’re thinking that you’re not making any progress when learning Italian because you’re not good at languages, stop now because I can assure you that that’s just an excuse. The truth is that your success depends only on you. If you really want to improve your language skills, you can do it. Everyone can. …
Five interesting facts about Italy
Everyone knows Italy. It’s known all around the world for food, culture, its “crazy” citizens, and yes, even for its politicians and the mob. However, there might still be some things you don’t know about my country. So, today I’ve decided to write about five interesting facts about Italy you may not know. 1. Nation …
Four idioms with the Italian verb girare
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Italian verb girare, explaning some of the meanings it can have. Today, I’d like to focus again on the verb girare because in Italian there are many idiomatic expressions that require this verb. So, let’s learn some of them. 1. Far girare le scatole Far girare …
