Since the early 1980s, Italian Christmas movies, or “Cinepanettone,” have been an integral part of the Italian culture. These movies are intended to be lighthearted, romantic comedies, which take place at ski resorts or other exotic locations frequented by wealthy Italians during Christmas week.*  Hence, the moniker coined for this frivolous genre combines the Italian abbreviation for “film,” “cine,” with the beloved Northern Italian Christmas sweet bread, “panettone.”* The comedy of every  Cinepanettone movie has its roots in Italian stereotypes. The vacation set-up is used to caricature and poke fun at Italian families from different walks of life, who meet …

Even beginning Italian students tend to notice how similar many Italian words are to English. This is because most words used today in modern Italian, and many words in English, have their roots in the Latin language spoken long ago by the Romans.*   In linguistic terms, words in two different languages that have a common origin and a similar meaning are called cognates.  Given the close relationship between languages that cognates foster, these words can be thought of as “true friends.” This is good news for English speakers learning Italian as a second language; recognizing these words can greatly …

Say “Some” in Italian with “Qualche” and “Alcuni” To speak fluently in another language, it is important to know how to describe a group of things in a general way. When describing a part of a whole, or an undetermined number of things, we are using the partitive. This idea is rendered in English with the words “some” or “any,” as in “some of the” or “any of the.” Let’s continue to talk about the ways Italians say, “some” by focusing on how to use the adjectives qualche and alcuni in essential, every day phrases to describe a group of …

The Modal Verb “Could” Meaning and Uses Three important modal verbs in English are “should,” “could” and “would.” In general, modal verbs, also called “helping verbs,” convey information about the verb that follows.  The focus in this blog will be the English modal verb “could,” although the general rules for all English modal verbs are the same. When discussing options that arise in the different stages of life — for instance, where to go to college, what profession to choose, where to raise a family — the modal verb “could” comes into play.  There are  usually several possibilities to consider …

It is tempting to think that all Italian words with an -are, -ere, or -ire ending are only verbs and lack any other function.  Piacere, for instance, is the Italian verb that means to like, and most students feel that they have mastered its use once they learn its tricky conjugation.  But piacere pops up in many common expressions as a noun as well, especially in polite phrases! How do we recognize when piacere is being used as a noun?  This is easy!  Like any other Italian noun, piacere will be preceded by a definite article (the Italian word for …

  Let’s Talk About…  Enjoying the Beach in Italy Whether your Italian vacation takes you to a stunning seaside resort or simply one of the many public beaches along the crystal clear Mediterranean sea, knowing Italian beach etiquette and some basic Italian phrases will allow for a day of relaxation and fun.  The  more Italian you know, the easier it will be to enjoy “la dolce vita” this summer! Which Italian region has the Best Beaches in Italy? A quick search of the approximately 7,600 miles of coastline along the Italian peninsula and its islands yields at least one beach …

The Modal Verb Phrase “Supposed to” Meaning and Uses In last January’s blog, we discussed how to use dovere to express the meaning behind the English modal verb “should” in Italian.  The focus of this blog will be the English modal verb phrase “supposed to,” which conveys a similar meaning to “should,” but has different overtones and is used in a slightly different way. In Italian, the verb dovere,  with its official translation of “must/to have to” will be recruited to express the meanings of “duty” and “obligation” that come into play with “supposed to.”  Of course, dovere will be conjugated …

“Che ore sono?” in Italian To ask about and tell the time in Italian, we will need to know several expressions and, of course, how to count in Italian.  Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, it will be important to know how to count to 60 in Italian!  A simple online search should provide this basic information. The question, “What time is it?” has both singular and plural forms in Italian: “Che ora è?” or “Che ore sono?”  which, literally mean, “What hour is (it)?”  and  “What hours are (they)?” To an English speaker, this may be a …

The Italian Verb Avere The Italian verb avere means to have, and, of course, is an essential Italian verb to know. Avere serves an important function alone and also as an “assistant,” or auxiliary verb, for  compound verbs. (A compound verb is created from two or more verbs.) In our last blog, we focused on the present tense of avere and gave the full present tense conjugation, noting that all forms are irregular except for the voi form. The present tense conjugation is listed again below.  The irregular forms are brown and the regular voi form is green.  The accented syllables …

The Italian Verb Avere The Italian verb avere means to have and, given this definition, is an essential Italian verb to know. Avere serves an important function alone and also as an “assistant,” or auxiliary verb, for compound verbs (created from two or more verbs). For now, we will focus on the present tense of avere. “I have, you have, he/she has,” will be used often when conversing in Italian, and all present tense forms of this verb should be memorized and readily available for use. Avere is an irregular verb in all present tense conjugations, except for the voi form; …