Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Dec 4, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, parlare a vanvera, which means:to speak without thinkingto talk trash/rubbish/nonsenseThis expression floated around the media recently, and you&#...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Dec 3, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, far deragliare, which means:to derailLiterally, this expression is used to describe trains which have "derailed" -- come off their tracks. Figura...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Dec 2, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, radere al suolo, which means:to levelto raze This expression can be used literally, such as when leveling a building or a structure, or it can be...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Dec 1, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, prevedibile, which means: predictableYou can see the adjective used in its context below: Giancarlo è un pessimo giocatore di scacchi. Le sue mosse son...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 30, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adverb, affatto, which means:in negative phrases: (not) in the least, (not) at allYou can see the expression used in its context below:Mamma mia, gli esami non era...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 29, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, parlare alle spalle, which means:to talk behind one's backYou can see the expression used in its context below:Il mio amico mi ha avvisato che...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 28, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, sincero, which means:sincerehonestYou can see the adjective used in its context below:Marco non è affatto sincero. Non dice mai quello che pensa e parl...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 27, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun, la gabbia, which means:cageThis noun can be used literally, to refer to a cage that you might keep a bird or an animal. Or it can be used figuratively, as i...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 26, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the buzzword and noun, il telelavoro, which means:telecommutingTo say that you are telecommuting, I've seen the verb, telelavorare, used quite often or the verb ex...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 25, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the expression, prendere tempo, which means:to stallto play a waiting gameThis is a very common Italian expression and is used to describe someone who is biding their ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 24, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is transitive verb, feisbuccare, which means:to facebookThis is a new word -- I've seen it in a book that I read recently, entitled Facebook : Tutti nel vortice by Ma...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 23, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective/noun, il guasto, which means:brokenbroken downor, as a noun:breakdownfailureSee the word used in its contexts below:Mi spiace, non so l'ora. Il mio o...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 22, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun, il clamore, which means:clamoroutcryYou can see the noun used in its context below:La notizia dell'arresto del politico americano ha suscitato un grande ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 21, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun, la lamentela, which means:complaintSee the word used in its context below:Sono davvero stanco di sentire le tue lamentele! Smettila di frignare! I am really...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 20, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun, la vittima, which means: victimThis word can have several meanings depending upon the context. First, it can be used literally, as in the victim of a crime....
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 19, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, fare da cicerone (a + qualcuno), which means: to show someone the sightsto show someone aroundIf you have friends in Italy, they might say to you ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 18, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adverbial expression, in su, which means:upupwardsRemember that in Italian, prepositions can sometimes be combined together or in phrases to form adverbial express...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 17, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the expression, avere la più pallida idea di, which means: to have the faintest ideaBe careful with this expression because it requires ne when it used on its own and...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 16, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the expression, di tanto in tanto, which means:from time to timeevery now and againThis expression popped up in some Italian newspapers which reported on a Daily Mail ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Knowing Rome - Nov 15, 2009, 2:53 pm
In the southwest corner of Rome entro le mura (within the walls), there stands the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and dozens and dozens of other countless sites and monuments that have stood the test of t...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 15, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun expression, il pugno nell'occhio, which means:eyesoreYou use this word to describe a building or structure which is unpleasant to look at or stands out po...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 14, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, scroccare, which means:to mooch something off someoneThe past participle of this verb is scroccato. Avere is used in compound tense. This verb is...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 12, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the intransitive verb, abdicare, which means:to abdicateEven though it is intransitive, it takes avere in compound tenses. The past participle is abdicato. You can se...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 11, 2009, 10:05 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the reflexive verb, lanciarsi, which means: to leapto jumpThis verb is making its way through the news and newspaper in Italy as they report on the failed jump of note...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 10, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, scatenare, which means:to triggerto provokeYou can see the word used in its context below -- this word has popped up recently in the news/media as...
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Keith P. posted an article on Italian Language Grammar and Usage - Nov 9, 2009, 8:30 pm
Il gerundio (semplice/simple or composto/compound) in Italian has more limited uses than its English counterpart. This is a good topic to study because it underlines the need for students to be (perh...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 9, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, perdere di forza, which means:to lose strengthThe past participle of perdere is perso. Avere is used in compound tenses. You'll see this verb...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 8, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del giorno is the noun phrase, la sospensione per pioggia, which means:rain delayYou can see the expression used in its context below:Marco: Annalisa, la partita di tennis non è al...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 7, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, melenso, which means: dopeyinaneYou can see the word used in its context below: Giovanna: Che melenso che è il nostro amico, Diego! Giovanna: How dop...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 6, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun, lo schermo sensibile al tatto, which means:touchscreenTouch screen are on almost everything these days -- computers, phones...where will it end? :) See the w...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 5, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the noun, il cerotto, which means: band-aidbandageplaster (British English)You can see the noun used in its context below: Giovannino ha messo un cerotto sul taglio do...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 4, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, vessare, which means:to oppressThe past participle is vessato. Avere is used in compound tenses. You can see the verb used in its context below:L...
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Keith P. posted an article on Italian Language Grammar and Usage - Nov 3, 2009, 2:30 pm
Perché is a conjunction that can have two functions in Italian grammar: un valore causale: this corresponds to the English, because, and is followed by the indicative Voglio dormire perché sono sta...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 3, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, scherzare, which means:to kidYou use the verb in this way when you want to show surprise at something someone has said, usually because you believ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Italian Language Grammar and Usage - Nov 2, 2009, 4:00 am
One of the most common "mistakes" that speakers of Italian make is confusing the usage of visitare and the verb expression, andare/venire a trovare qualcuno. Visitare means to visit but in specific ci...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Nov 1, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, fedifrago, which means:unfaithfulIt is used to describe a person who is disloyal to their lover/wife/husband, etc. See its context below:Marco è tornat...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 31, 2009, 10:59 am
Ciao a tutti! I started to write a blog post about the differences between la tavola and il tavolo, but today I found this great explanation online at Transparent Language's Italian Blog! Instead...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 31, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the intransitive verb, perdurare, which means: to last to persistEven though this verb is intransitive, avere is still used in compound tenses. Perdurato is the past ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 30, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, trapelato, which means:leaked (out)You'll often see this adjective, from the verb trapelare, to talk about news that has become news before it's...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 29, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, citofonare, which means: to buzz someoneto call someone on an entry phoneIl citofono is the entry phone or buzzers found outside most apartment bu...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 28, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the transitive verb, risarcire, which means: to compensateThis -ire verb is an -isc- verb, like preferire: risarcisco, risarcisci, risarcisce...risarciscono. The past...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 27, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the expression, È inconsueto che..., which means:It is unusual/uncommon that...This expression requires the subjunctive when the subject of the dependent clause (whic...
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Keith P. posted an article on Italian Language Grammar and Usage - Oct 26, 2009, 4:00 am
You might have encountered this little possessive adjective, altrui, and wondered what it means and how it is used. Altrui means of others (di altri), other people's..., or someone else's and...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 26, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, prendere un appuntamento, which means: to make an appointmentAlso, rispettare un appuntamento (to keep an appointment) and mancare un appuntament ...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 25, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the expression, dietro le quinte, which means:behind the scenes (of a film or movie set, etc. -- can also be used figuratively)backstage (of a theater production, a pl...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 24, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, arenato, which means:stuckstumpedIt doesn't mean "stuck" in the literal sense (like you stepped in glue or something sticky and can't move), but...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 23, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the adjective, ineludibile, which means: unavoidableinescapableYou can see the word used in its context below: "Purtroppo l'azienda non ha guadagnato abbastanza du...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 22, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the dramatic expression, crollare il mondo addosso, which means: The world is falling apartIf you want to say that your world is falling apart, you would say: Mi croll...
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Keith P. posted an article on Parola del Giorno - Oct 21, 2009, 4:00 am
Today's Parola del Giorno is the verb expression, essere contrario, which means: to be against somethingThis expression can be followed by a noun or an infinitive, but both must be preceeded by th...
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Keith P. posted an article on Italian Language Grammar and Usage - Oct 21, 2009, 4:00 am
Proprio is one of those words in Italian that is often misused, even by Italians. Proprio is an adverb that often means "really" (È proprio interessante!) but it can also be used as a possessive if ...
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