Language Tips

Language

by Pat Eggleton | Tue, 06/15/2010 - 09:47

Words by Pat Eggleton“Prego” often causes confusion because it is used a lot. It can be used to mean “You’re welcome” or “Don’t mention it” after someone has…

Language

How to say "A"

by Pat Eggleton | Thu, 06/10/2010 - 11:24

// The rules for the indefinite article – “a” – are simpler than the ones for the definite article [“the”]. Masculine nouns: Most masculine nouns use un for…

Language

Confetti e Coriandoli

by ITALY | Tue, 06/08/2010 - 04:17

Confetti are not tiny dots of coloured paper but the sugar-coated almonds that Italians give you before weddings, Christenings and graduations. The verb…

Language

Italian False Friends

by ITALY | Tue, 06/01/2010 - 05:25

Here are some of those nasty words that can catch us out: Noioso doesn’t mean “noisy”. It means boring. Annoiato doesn’t mean “annoyed”. It means bored or…

Language

One spaghetti, two spaghetti

by ITALY | Wed, 05/26/2010 - 03:54

Spaghetti are plural in Italian and Italians are always very amused when English-speaking folk treat the word as a singular noun. If you want to say “the…

Language

How to say “the”

by Pat Eggleton | Tue, 05/25/2010 - 05:19

//There are some confusing rules for saying “the “ [the definite article] in Italian but they are not so bad if you learn a few at a time. You really need to…

Language

Ti Amo or TVB?

by ITALY | Tue, 05/18/2010 - 10:32

This is a tip for all you romantic souls out there. Have you ever seen the initials TVB carved on a tree or as part of a graffito in Italy? You may have seen…

Language

Asking how someone is

by Pat Eggleton | Thu, 05/13/2010 - 09:47

Last week we looked at the verb “essere” [to be ] but this is not the verb we usually use to ask about someone’s health or to respond. For this, we use the…

Language

The good news about plurals

by Pat Eggleton | Tue, 05/11/2010 - 10:21

Words by Pat Eggleton Plurals can be confusing in Italian, the good news is that some Italian words don’t change in the plural , eg: Words that end in…

Language

"S" as a prefix

by Pat Eggleton | Tue, 05/04/2010 - 09:36

Words by Pat EggletonSometimes, but not always, “S” at the beginning of an Italian verb can be an equivalent of English “un…” .Its addition can give a verb an…