General Italian Pronunciation Although Italian is a phonetic language, with words that are easily sounded out by the letter, the correct syllable to stress often remains an enigma. The main reason for this is the lack of accents in written Italian. In the few cases where the very last syllable of an Italian word is stressed, the vowel at the end of the word will be given a grave (`) accent, as in città (city) or caffè (coffee).  The commonly used adverb, perché (why), takes an acute accent.  Otherwise, accents are infrequently used in Italian and pronunciation is learned by …

As discussed in a previous blog, “Italian Language Friends,” many Italian words are similar 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.” In general, when two words are cognates, the stem of each word will provide a clue to the actual meaning. The ending of each word in both languages will also follow a common pattern. Memorizing …

The Italian verb  chiudere  is often used to describe physically closing a thing, most often a door or a window, and can be translated as “to close” or “to shut.” When the reference is to fastening a lock, the translation changes, and is “to lock,” or “to bolt.” When a shop physically “closes” or “shuts its doors” and stops offering services for the day, this act can be described with chiudere. As far as other physical endeavors go, chiudere is often used when an English speaker would describe “turning off” or “shutting off” an appliance or an electrical switch. Stretching the …

With the month of February comes a renewed focus on the lasting love that leads to marriage.  And the happiness this love brings leads to a desire to share the story of one’s special relationship with family and friends.  Of course, every relationship has its ups and downs, and telling a real-life love story with a happy-ever-after ending makes for a truly special conversation. The Italian language uses reflexive verbs to express the intricacies of a romantic relationship.  This can be a bit difficult for English speakers, who usually express these ideas without reflexive verbs.  But if we remember that …

The Italian preposition per means for in English, and in most cases the use of these prepositions is straightforward in both languages. The difficulty lies in the nuances of expressing time in Italian, which can lead to per being replaced by another preposition in some situations.  In Italian, a simple preposition can change the meaning of an entire sentence! Use the Italian prepositions “Per”  vs. “Da” to say “For” Per means for and is used with the passato prossimo form of the past tense to describe a past action that has been completed. The description of time may be general, such …

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 …