Ascoltiamo

When learning any language, it's a good idea to listen to it as much as possible.

Greek Theater, Taormina, Sicily:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/05/06/04/21/theatre-2288889_960_720.jpg

Will that alone make you fluent? Nope. But it can't hurt!

Auditory exposure to a language can help you:

• Pick up the sounds of the language
• Begin to decipher words and patterns of speech

And Italiano is such a bella language, it's undeniably fun to listen to.

If you are fortunati enough to live in a place that broadcasts Italian radio or television programs, good for you! Why not tune in right before bed, while making dinner, while driving in the car?

If you have a smart phone, check out the free app "Radio Italy Live." Broadcast from NYC, it includes a nice range of modern Italian music as well as news and ads in spoken Italian.

For other Italian streaming stations, check out this page: http://tunein.com/radio/Italian-Music-g348/
Or this one (a huge list of options) http://www.listenlive.eu/italy.html

For sites, the BBC offers a sit for online learning, including listening activities and links to radio, etc.:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/

Lots of other listening options here at About.com:

•  http://italian.about.com/od/audio/tp/listen-to-spoken-italian.htm

Or at One World:

• http://www.oneworlditaliano.com/english/italian/reading-and-listening-exercises-in-italian.htm

Or check out Italian TV broadcasts here http://www.rai.it/

And here, you can find a selection of free poscasts to listen to while on the treadmill:

• http://www.learnitalianpod.com/

And, of course, you can find LOTS of things to listen to on YouTube- such as this instuctional type of material, but also movie bits, ads, and just people behaving, well, as people do on YouTube.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wHp58iaf8

Ready for even more? Check out this site to listen to literature read by actors. WAY down at the bottom of the page, click on "ARCHIVIO AUDIO GRATUITO" for free selections.

• http://www.ilnarratore.com/index.php

Mangiamo!

Food, food, food: an important part of Italian tradition and culture, from a family meal at midday to an evening out with friends at a local pizzeria; you must have some food-related vocabulary.

First, you need to know where to buy things.

• Click here for a quizlet page to help you learn these.

Street cafe in Rome:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/01/10/02/44/rome-1968149_960_720.jpg

And then, of course, you'll want to be able to order when you go out to eat.

• Click here for a quizlet page to help with this (with pictures!)
• Another quizlet page for food vocabulary (also with pictures)
• More food vocabulary

• And check out this video "Mangiando" an Italian program that explores typical "street food"

And of course, you just might want to cook some of those yummy things when you get home!

How great would it be to real recipes right in Italian?

• Click here for a quizlet page of good recipe vocabulary.

I love cooking shows!! If you do, too, check out these:

• Italian home cooking on Youtube
• Traditional Italian recipes (OK, it's dubbed into English, but GREAT traditional recipes!)
• Cooking Magazine La Cucina Italiana has a YouTube Channel, too! (In Italian)

Buon appetito!

Andiamo Alla Stazione

Milan Train Station:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/11/08/10/57/train-1807911_960_720.jpg

When in Rome...well.... enjoy it, and then hop on a train for your next wonderful Italian destination!

While travelling, you might need some vocabulary.

Check out this quizlet page for some of the more useful words:

• Train Station Vocabulary

If you are ready for your trip, here is a link to the Rail Europe website to read about train travel in Italia and even book your tickets:

• http://www.raileurope.com/europe-travel-guide/italy/index.html

This site, called "The Man in Seat 61"  is a great resource, with lots of tips and information to get your through the process of buying tickets, travel tips, etc:

• Train Travel in Italy: the Beginner's Guide

And here's a train travel Q and A page by Rick Steves:

• Rick Steves' Europe, Italy by Train

And an article in The Florence Newspaper with some more tips and information:

• Navigating the Trains in Italy

Rather have a video tutorial?
This is a good one- very clear and thorough, by woltersworld on YouTube. Includes vocabulary, expressions, tips, etc.:

• Train Travel in Italy

Or check out this one from Unabellavista on YouTube

• How to use the trains in Italy

If you want a sneak peek of an Italian train station, check out this slightly strange YouTube video of Milan's station:

• Milano Centrale

Songs? Yup. Ma certo! There are lots...

• Here is Stazione Nord by Fabio Concato.
• If you want to read along, here are the lyrics.
• There is also La Stazione by Renato Zero.
• Find the lyrics here.
• Also, take a listen to La Stazione di Zima be Roberto Vecchioni.
• Check out the lyrics here.
• One more, from 1995. Gianluca Grignani's Destinazione Paradiso. I think this is the orinal music video, too.
• Here is the same song, sung by Laura Pausini- and this one has the lyrics to read along with.

Buon viaggio!

Regular -ARE Verbs

Pompeii:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/06/05/20/15/pompeii-2375135_960_720.jpg

There are four types of regular verbs in Italian, and they each have a specific pattern of conjugation.

Perhaps the most common, at least for beginners, are those that end in -ARE.

We looked at the verb lavorare, "to work," in my last post on professions. To review, let's try another one: GUARDARE (to look at/to watch)

To conjugate a regular "ARE" verb, first remove the "ARE" from the end of the verb:

Then, conjugate as follows:

• I watch: io guàrdo (add o)
• You watch (singular, informal): tu guàrdi (add i)
• He watches: lui guàrda (add a)
• She watches (or you watch- singular, formal): lei guàrda (add a)
• We watch: noi guardiàmo (add iamo)
• You watch (plural): voi guardàte (add ate)
• They watch: loro guàrdano (add ano)

For a video lesson on this conjugation, check out this YouTube video (very thorough and clear...almost painfully so! But definitely worth watching if you are an auditory learner)

• ARE Conjugation Video

For a list of some other common -ARE verbs, click here:

• Common ARE Verb List

Here are a few good quizlet pages to practice some of the common are verbs (meaning only)

• Quizlet Practice 1
• Quizlet Practice 2

And here are some to practice actual conjugations (excellent practice!)

• Quizlet Practice 4
• Quizlet Practice 5

Once you have studied these like crazy and feel that you know them pretty well, here are a few games you can play to quiz yourself:

• ARE Verbs Practice 5
• ARE Verbs Practice 6
• ARE Verbs Practice 7

And, of course, here are some songs with regular -are verbs!

• Here is Domenico Modugno singing Volare on Italian TV in 1958 (also called Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu)  Mondugno, Volare
• Here is the same song performed in 2006 at the San Remo music festival by modern Italian pop stars Laura Pausini and Eros Ramazzotti  Pausini/Ramazzotti, Volare
• Lyrics: Lyrics, Volare (for partially English versions, search for the song sung by Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra)

• In this one, listen for the verb essere ("tu sei") parlare, guardare, camminare, diventare, vergnognare, and lots of others. This is a singer named Noemi that performed on Italy's "X Factor": Albachiara, Noemi
• Lyrics : Albachiara, Lyrics

• And one by Toto Cotugno, Lascatemi Cantare Cotugno, Lascatami Cantar (lyrics on the video)

• And a slightly sappy love song by Luca Barbarossa at San Remo in 1992, Portami a Ballare
• Barbarossa, Potrami a Ballare
• Lyrics: Portami a Ballare, Lyrics

Ciao ciao!

Le Professioni

Vieste, Puglia, Italy:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/02/22/10/52/italy-1215212_960_720.jpg

Like it or not, most of us end up talking about our jobs sooner or later while engaged in small talk.  To make sure you can participate...and understand if your dinnermate is an archaeologist, a banker or a circus clown... here is some vocabulary that you might find useful.

First, the verb "to work" is a regular -ARE verb. So here is the conjugation:

LAVORARE (to work)

• Io lavorO (I work)
• Tu lavorI (You work- singular, informal)
• Lui/Lei lavorA (He/she works); you work- singular, formal)
• Noi lavorIAMO (We work)
• Voi lavorATE (You work- plural)
• Loro lavorANO (They work)

We can use this verb to tell someone where or where we work:

• (Io) lavoro oggi.
• (Lei) lavora al' ufficio postale.
• (Noi) lavoriamo a Roma.

When stating our profession or occupation, we could use use the verb to be (essere, see earlier blog post for conjugation) or to do (fare- we'll conjugate that one in a later post).

• Sono professoressa d'italiano.
• Siamo studenti.
• Lei è una dentista.

Here are three good lists of occupations from Quizlet with every job from receptionist to firefighters to, yes, clowns. (I love this site because they provide audio to help with pronunciation AND games you can play to quiz yourself)

• http://quizlet.com/9768736/le-professioni-flash-cards/
• http://quizlet.com/1793726/le-professioni-1-20-flash-cards/
• http://quizlet.com/1793777/le-professioni-21-40-flash-cards/

And here is a short profession matching game to play:

• http://parliamoitaliano.altervista.org/mestieri/

For a challenge (get your Google translate ready to read the clues!), here is a crossword to try (you have to click on the little numbers to read the clues)

• http://parliamoitaliano.altervista.org/cruciverba-le-professioni/

If you prefer a video lesson, check out this one on YouTube.  Very straight-forward with pictures, time to repeat, etc. It has a good immersion-type feel to it. And a jazzy little background sound (and check out the grinning office dude with the ear-spacer things...!)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGqBK6hpOxY&feature=related

And this YouTube video is of a young Italian lady teaching some job vocabulary. She speaks English with a lovely accent!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chjc3Fzt3W4&feature=related

And, of course, we have to have a few work-related songs:

Here's one called Professore by Renato Zero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF7pZT7E1Zk
lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/professore_lyrics_renato_zero.html

And the most important job ever, here's Mamma by Claudio Villa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrRIAWpIza8
lyrics: http://www.lyricsreg.com/lyrics/claudio+villa/Mamma/

Same song, performed by Andrea Boccelli a Roma in the Colloseum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyKrPR7oneo&feature=related

This one's catchy- L'operaio della Fiat (la 1100) by Rino Gaetano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH9obEgDyT0&feature=related
lyrics:  http://www.lyricsmania.com/loperaio_della_fiat_la_1100_lyrics_rino_gaetano.html


Buon lavoro!

I Numeri

Numbers are just about as useful as letters, really, when you begin to tackle a language (or try to get around abroad). From phone numbers to street addresses, a person's age to dates and times, we're going to need to know our numbers!

Venezia: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/07/03/13/52/venise-2467743_960_720.jpg

Learn the numbers 1-10 with Consuelo, a lovely Italian woman. A nice, clear lesson, complete with music and cultural tips!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLK985faHQ

You can keep learning with her (numbers 10-100- same music!) here:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjw6PSC9x9o&feature=fvwrel

And here is a great list to study (with pronunciation clues) from an Italian Riviera travel site. Perfect for any of you that like to daydream while studying...!

• http://www.my-cinque-terre.com/italian-numbers.htm

Here is a similar list from About.com, if you happen to find all of those lovely photos and articles about Cinque Terre a bit too distracting...

• http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare134a.htm

If all that hasn't made it stick for you, then this little song is pretty much guaranteed to get numbers 1-10 solidly stuck in your brain!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6eX74hrueI&feature=related

And, of course, there are some quizlet flashcard games to study numbers 1-20 (with audio pronunciation):

• http://quizlet.com/560986/italian-numbers-1-20-flash-cards/

For more practice, I particularly like this page from Italiano Online, which offers 4 great number activities (matching, listening activities, etc.)

• http://www.iluss.it/free_iluss/beginner_free/numeri2/index.htm

Here is a little quiz to check your progress:

• http://iteslj.org/v/i/ck-numbers.html

And, finally, once you feel like you know them well, you can challenge yourself with this one:

• http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=practice-with-numbers-in-italian

Of course, I can't finish a blogpost without some songs, so here are a few that mention numbers!

1) 20 Parole by Mina (cool performance art to go along with it!)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4TtvoWZDI
• lyrics: http://www.angolotesti.it/M/testi_canzoni_mina_1491/testo_canzone_20_parole_131252.html

2) LOTS of numbers in I Cento Passi by the Modena City Ramblers (with lyrics)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgGX1LeyWM

3) Dieci Ragazze by late Italian superstar Lucio Battisti (1969)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_NBCS1u_zs
• lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/dieci_ragazze_lyrics_admal.html

4) Cinque Giorni by singer/songwriter Michele Zarrillo- 1994 (with lyrics)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpZR35z-i0

5) 21 Modi per Dirti Ti Amo, Antonello Venditti (with lyrics)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBDoMps0u9A

6) And the adorable 50 Speciale by Italian boy-group LunaPop...a song about a young man's love of his Vespa scooter...

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq_PRcRjfNU
• lyrics: http://www.lyrics007.com/Lunapop%20Lyrics/50%20Special%20Lyrics.html

A presto!

Avere

Arno River, Florence, Italy:
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/11/27/20/28/florence-1066307_960_720.jpg

Avere (to have)

Avere looks like this when conjugated in the present tense:

Io ho
Tu hai
Lui ha
Lei ha
Noi abbiamo
Voi avete
Loro hanno

* Don't forget that the "H" is silent in Italian! Don't say "Ho," say "Oh"; don't say "Ha," say "ah" etc.

This verb translates directly into "to have" when we are talking about ownership/ family relations...

• Ho una macchina rossa. (I have a red car)
• Lei ha due figli. (She has two children.)

However, when we get into idiomatic uses, it's often quite different than English.

For example, don't try to use "avere" with expressions such as...

• Have dinner, have fun, have a good time, have lunch, have a party, etc.

In addition, lots of italian expressions use "avere" where we would use the verb "to be"...


Two examples are:

• Ho freddo (I "am" cold)
• Ho 20 anni (I "am" 20 years old)

For more of these common "avere" expressions, check out this Quizlet page...

http://quizlet.com/_8ha87

And here is a YouTube video that runs through the pronunciation of the forms of this verb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bI4og_1JUU

And, if you are feeling a little retro, here is a video of Connie Francis singing at the annual San Remo music festival way back in 1965. It's called "Ho Bisogno di Vederti"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtJml27G9Q&playnext=1&list=PL74D859676CB55412&feature=results_video


Ciao!