1. Pronominal verbs mean “related to a pronoun”, in fact, the Italian pronominal verbs are a combination of a basic verb and one or two pronouns, for instance, the verb andarsene is a combination of andare+se+ne. 2. The pronouns are joined onto the infinitive of the verb and slightly or entirely change the original meaning of […]
A few days ago I asked on my Facebook Page a simple question: what the biggest struggle when learning Italian was, and I was not surprised to read that many answered “the Italian pronouns” What is a pronoun? A pronoun is a word like you, her, him, them, that we use to see who is affected […]
What are the reflexive verbs (i verbi riflessivi)? There two types of Italian reflexive verbs: Proper reflexive verbs Reflexive verbs where the subject and the object are the same or where the action is carried out by the same person that receives it. Divertirsi → to have fun Svegliarsi → to get up Rilassarsi → […]
Have you ever hesitated when saying in Italian the sentences “I leave home/ I leave work“? If you have ever taken an Italian language course to learn how to speak Italian, there is a good chance, that yes, you had. Tell me why! Because the verb to leave has not a straightforward translation in Italian […]
This week I want to unravel the mystery in the usage of three different Italian verbs which have a similar translation into English, and because of this are, sometimes, tricky to use. I am talking about the verbs dovere – avere bisogno di – servire. They all express a need. Nevertheless, they can’t be used […]
How many Italian words starting with Q do you know? Probably not so many. This is why I drew a short list of three tricky “Q” words to be familiar with if you want to boost up your Italian vocabulary. Qualsiasi/qualunque First and foremost, qualsiasi and qualunque are indefinite adjectives that have the same meaning, […]
