Italian Lessons: Speak Italian! All About… Series
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: Everything you need to know … to converse in Italian!
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!
But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you introduce yourself and talk about yourself in Italian? Can you speak Italian the way you would speak in your native language, with complex and varied sentences? This is more difficult that it may seem at first, and it’s something that I am always working on!
This ” Speak Italian: All about…” series will focus on the situations that come have come up most frequently in my everyday conversations with Italian instructors and friends. The “Speak Italian” blog series will focus on the type of sentence structure and vocabulary we all need to remember to be more fluent when we speak Italian!
To take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian, we must know many things; in this segment, we will discuss the grammar of complex sentences, prepositions, topic-related grammar, and present and past tense verbs!
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: All About… Me!
In the “Speak Italian: All about…” blog series, a short essay or dialogue in Italian will be presented about a commonly used topic of conversation. Then, we will review the Italian grammar that is necessary to talk about the particular topic in detail. And finally, the same material will be presented in Italian and English, with blanks for the reader to fill in with descriptions from his or her own life!
Remember these examples about yourself as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian in your next conversation!
Enjoy the first topic in this series, “Speak Italian: All About…Me!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti
This material is adapted from our textbook, Conversational Italian for Travelers © 2012 by Stella Lucente, LLC, found on www.learntravelitalian.com. Special thanks to Italian instructor Simona Giuggioli.
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Here is a short description of my origins, family, and work. Note some names/places have been changed to protect privacy. The essay is meant to be an example piece for others, rather than a complete biography.
While reading my history, think about yourself and what you would like other people to know about you. Read the grammar section if you like. Then, use the blank spaces in the form that follows to fill in the Italian for your own life!
Speak Italian: All About… Me!
Mi chiamo Caterina Occhipinti.
Io sono italo-americana.
Sono (una) madre e (una) scrittrice.
- Dove sono nata e ho vissuto.*
Where was born and have lived:
La mia famiglia viene dall’Italia.
My family is from (lit. comes from) Italy.
Vengo dalgli Stati Uniti. Abito in America. Sono di Brooklyn.
I am from the United States. I live in America. I am from Brooklyn.
Sono nata a Brooklyn, a Long Island, vicino a New York City. Ora, vivo a Chicago.
I was born in Brooklyn, on Long Island, near to New York City. Now, I live in Chicago.
Ho anche vissuto* a Boston, in California, e in Florida.
I have also lived in Boston, in California, and in Florida.
*In the past, “ho vissuto” was commonly used in Italy and can still be heard today to describe where one has lived. It is now felt by some Italian linguists that the helping verb essere should be used to express this idea – that is that “sono vissuto(a)” is more correct. However, please keep in mind that language is a “living thing” and often the line between right and wrong depends mostly on what people actually say every day. Even among linguists which form is controversial!
Read more of the blog “All about… Me”
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!
Here is a short description of what I do every day. The reflexive verbs used in Italian for daily activities (many of which often translate as “to get” in English) have been underlined.
Also underlined are the verbs for “to like” (“to be pleasing to”) and “it takes time,” because they follow a different pattern of conjugation than regular Italian verbs.
Do you have a schedule that you follow every day? What do you like to eat for breakfast? Where do you go? After reading my daily routine, use the blank spaces in the form that follows to fill in the Italian for your daily routine!
Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!
On the days that I have to work, I get up at 7 in the morning.
I giorni che devo lavorare, mi alzo alle sette di mattina.
My cell phone rings at 6:15 and I wake up, but I do not get up until 7!
Il mio telefonino suona alle sei e quindici e mi sveglio ma non mi alzo fino alle sette!
The first thing I do is take a shower.
Per prima cosa, mi faccio la doccia.
Then, I like to eat something for breakfast, so I make a cup of coffee and also have some bread or an Italian cookie.
Allora, mi piace mangiare qualcosa per la prima colazione, cosi faccio un caffè ed anche mangio del pane o un biscotto.
If I am not in a hurry, sometimes I will have a fried egg, toast, and orange juice instead.
Se non ho fretta, qualche volta, invece, mangio un uovo fritto, il pane tostato e bevo un bicchiere di succo di arancio.
My morning routine to get ready for work includes the usual things: I brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed, and brush my hair.
La mia routine di mattina per prepararmi per il lavoro include le solite cose: mi lavo i denti, mi lavo la faccia, mi vesto, e mi pettino.
I always wear makeup (for men: shave) when I go out of the house and especially to work.
Mi trucco sempre (per gli uomini: mi faccio la barba) quando esco di casa e specialmente quando vado a lavorare.
But it is not easy and it takes time, usually about 20 minutes.
Ma non è facile e ci vuole tempo, normalmente quasi venti minuti.
Read more of the blog “All about… What I am Doing!”
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!
In every life, we experience many types of love—country, family, and of course, one’s own true love. So it is important to learn the special Italian phrases to speak about what we love. I’ve adapted the story of one of my grandmothers, who emigrated from Italy in the 1920s, into a short essay about her struggles in Italy and in America, and the love that she was able to find in her life. Of course, this material has been adapted to be a learning tool, and this essay is not meant to be a complete biography.
While reading about my grandmother’s three great loves—her countries, her family, and her husband—think about yourself and what you truly love. Read the grammar section if you like. Then, use the blank spaces in the form that follows to fill in the Italian for your own life!
Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!
When I was young, when I was about 7 years old, I asked my grandmother to tell me her story. And this is what she said to me:
Da bambina, quando avevo cerca sette anni, ho chiesto a mia nonna di raccontarmi la sua storia.
E questo è quello che mi ha detto:
My story is a story of many great loves. When I was young, I lived in Sicily, and I loved my town Ragusa very much. Ragusa is on top of a big mountain but is also near the sea. Every day I could see the sunrise and the sunset over the south of Sicily, and it was very beautiful! I loved Sicily very much!
La mia storia è una storia di tanti grandi amori. Quando ero giovane, ho vissuto in Sicilia e mi piaceva molto il mio paese che si chiama Ragusa. Ragusa è sopra una grande montagna ma è anche vicino al mare. Ogni giorno potevo vedere l’alba e il tramonto sopra il sud della Sicilia ed era molto bello! Mi piaceva molto la Sicilia!
Read more of the blog “A story about… love”
Italian Lessons: Speak Italian! All About… Series
Italian Lessons to Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
In the dialogue to follow, we listen in on a telephone call between two good Italian friends who are sharing thoughts about a famous Italian movie. The movie is about a love story that takes place during World War II. Common idiomatic expressions used when talking with a friend, vocabulary related to the movies, and phrases about love have been underlined.
Listening to foreign films is a wonderful way to learn another language. The movie described contains short sentences spoken in clear Italian and is a good place to start to build a vocabulary about relationships and love. Spoiler alert: The only real violence is at the very end of the movie, although the movie title is Violent Summer.
Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
Una sera, il telefono di Maria ha squillato. Era Francesca, la migliore amica di Maria.
One evening, Maria’s telephone rang. It was Francesca, Maria’s best friend.
“Maria! Sono io! Come stai? Puoi parlare per un attimo?”
“Maria! It’s me! How are you? Can you talk for a bit?”
“Ma, certo Maria. Che è successo?”
“But of course, Maria. What happened?”
“Niente. Voglio solamente fare due chiacchere.”
“Nothing. I just want us to chat for a bit.”
“Dimmi.”
“Tell me!”
Read more of the blog “Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love”
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of the
Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.
“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”
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Italian Lessons: Speak Italian! All About… Series