Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Conversational Italian for Travelers books
Ciao a tutti! For March 2020 and for the rest of the year, I have decided to change the name of my series, “Your Italian Travel Tips,” to “Our Italy.” In this series, I will share bloggers’ experiences of Italy, a country whose culture has captivated the world for thousands of years. I think now is the time to share these memories, knowing that one day we will all be able to return, inspired anew by the Italian people and their country.
Today I am happy to share a guest blog written by my friends Ilene and Gary from Our Italian Journey.
Ilene and Gary are a retired couple from the United States who, after a “journey” that started in 2015, became dual American-Italian citizens in 2019. They have been traveling to and blogging about their experiences in Italy since 2010. Read on for their post La Traviata by Verdi — A Spectacular Evening, from their visit to Verona in 2019.
Ilene and Gary experienced their first Opera, La Traviata, in Verona’s outdoor amphitheater. Reading the account of the special evening Ilene and Gary shared together brought back fond memories for me, as La Traviata is also the first opera I ever attended. I was only in the 4th grade, and the entire 4th grade of my public school, about 80 children, was bused into New York City to the Metropolitan Opera House and treated to a weekday matinee.
The Metropolitan Opera House was the most stunning building I had ever entered, with red velvet on the floors, gold leaf on the walls, and a large, starburst-shaped crystal chandelier hanging down to greet us as we passed into the grand foyer. There were thousands of children there from neighboring schools. The excitement in the air was palpable. The singing, and the period sets and costumes were unforgettable. Even though we were young, and most of us did not understand Italian, we sat still and our eyes were fixed on what was happening on the stage. I have been an fan of Italian opera ever since and will never forget this first experience.
Reading about Ilene and Gary’s spectacular evening during their first viewing of La Traviata made me realize that I need to put this type of opera experience on my bucket list for when I can return to Italy. And I hope that those of you who are not opera buffs — as Ilene and Gary were not when they experienced La Traviata in Verona — will think of Opera as something you might enjoy as well.
Below is just one of the fantastic images Ilene and Gary share on Our Italian Journey from this evening. Also included in the blog is short recording of the most famous aria of this opera, “Brindisi” (The Drinking Song).
Cast of La Traviata performing onstage at the Arena in Verona, Italy. Photo courtesy of “Our Italian Journey” 2019.
Please leave a comment about your first or your most memorable opera.
Where were you? How did the experience make you feel? I’d love to hear from you!
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And… Ilene and Gary have graciously included a copy of my pocket travel book, “Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” on their website, under the section “My favorite Travel Tools.” Now you can order my book directly from their site!
Grazie mille, Ilene and Gary for including me on your blog and for your kind words about my book: “Author Kathryn Occhipinti has become a friend through social media. She sent us this book to get our thoughts about it. We love it. It is a great little book – packed with just the right information. A must as a traveling companion in Italy.”
Here is the link to Ilene and Gary’s blog from “Our Italian Journey.”
Buon divertimento!
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2020? Let’s continue to work on this resolution!
As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.
If we learn how to incorporate“commonly used phrases” in the past tense into our conversations, we will be able to talk about our daily lives just as we do in our native language! For instance, if we want to tell our family and friends what has happened during our day, we will need to master the Italian passato prossimo past tense. The conjugation of the passato prossimo is fairly straightforward. The tricky part is how to choose between the helping verbs avere or essere.
This post is the 30th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE
Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian
use the past tense
passato prossimo
See below for how this works.
As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?
The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference booksJust the Verbsand Just the Grammar
The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained atLearn Travel Italian.com.
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Italian Past Tense:
Passato Prossimo
Every Italian student starts by speaking only in the present tense — that is, about what is happening in the “here and now.” But what if we want to refer back to an event that has happened in the recent past, such as this morning, yesterday, or last year? Well, then, will have to learn how to form the passato prossimo past tense!
The passato prossimo translates into English as the present perfect tenseand the simple past tense;in effect, when we learn this one type of past tense in Italian, we can substitute it for two types of past tenses in English! To avoid confusion, we will always use the Italian name, the passato prossimo, for this tense.
To get started speaking in the passato prossimopast tense, we must first learn how to form a past participle. Regular past participles in Italian can be recognized by their endings, and will have either –ato, -uto, or -ito endings for infinitive verbs with the endings -are, -ere, and -ire endings respectively. Many common Italian past participles are irregular, though, and will need to be memorized.
Once we have our past participle, we have to decide if we should use the helping verb avere(to have)or essere(to be). English is not much help in this regard, because English always uses the past tense verb “have” as the helping verb with a past participle. For instance, in English we say: ” I bought/I have bought” or “I went/I have gone.” For Italian, avere can be considered the “default” helping verb, although essere is essential as well.
Essere is needed for verbs that describe directional movement,such as coming and going from a particular place, as we touched upon briefly in our last blog, “Going and Returning.” Essere is also used with verbs that describe the “passage through time” that occurs with living: birth, growing up, and death, or any other change in life. Reflexive verbs and the verb that means “to like,” piacere, always take essereas the helping verb.
Let’s summarize:
When to use Essere+ Past Participle for the Passato Prossimo Past Tense
1. Verbs of directional motion
2. Birth and growing up
3. Verbs that describe change
4. Reflexive verbs
5. Piacere (to like)
When to use Avere+ Past Participle for the Passato Prossimo Past Tense
All verb types except those listed under the list for essere
Passato Prossimo with avere…
Below is an excerpt from a conversation between two women, Anna and Francesca, who meet for coffee at a cafe and are talking about what has happened earlier that morning. Francesca went shopping that morning with another friend, Caterina. To describe this activity in the recent past, Francesca uses the helping verb avere(to have) and the past participle comprato(bought) to form the passato prossimo form of the past tense.
You will notice from this dialogue that it takes two Italian words to express what we usually say with one word in English! We could express the same idea in English with two verbs, but usually default to the one-word, simple past tense.
In our dialogue, avere is conjugated to reflect the speaker; the ending for the past participle comprato remains the same, no matter who is the speaker. The two Italian past tense verbs have been underlined so they are easier to recognize. The Italian pronouns have been left out of the Italian sentences as usual, so these are put into parentheses in English. In most cases, there can be two translations in English. Since the less commonly used English translation usually more closely matches the Italian way of thinking, this secondary English translation is given in gray letters within parentheses.
If you would like to listen to the entire dialogue, recorded with two native Italian speakers, just click on the link from the website www.learntravelitalian: At the Coffee Shop.
Before we start to use the passato prossimo with the helping verb essere, we must first remember that in this situation the ending of the past participle must change to match the gender and number of the speaker. This follows our usual “matching subject, verb and predicate” rule for the verb essere.
As a review of this rule with essere and the passato prossimo, below are some simple examples using the verb andare (to go).The masculine names and endings are given in brown, and the feminine names and endings in red.
For masculine and feminine singular, to talk about who has gone somewhere:
Pietro è andato.
Peter has gone.
Caterina è andata.
Kathy has gone
For a group of men or a group of men and women, the masculine plural i ending applies
Pietro e Michele sono andati.
Peter and Michael have gone.
Pietroe Caterina sono andati.
Peter and Kathy have gone.
If the group contains only women, the feminine plural e ending is used.
Caterina e Francesca sono andate.
Kathy and Frances have gone.
Also, remember that the past participle for essereis irregular, and isstato.
The past participle for avere is regular, and is avuto.
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Below is an example dialogue using both avere and essere as the helping verbs. Caterina and Elena are two travelers who are staying at the same hotel for the Italian holiday Ferragosto. They have just met each other on the beach.
The Italian passato prossimo past tense verbs have been underlined in our dialogue, so they are easier to recognize in the sentence examples below. The pronouns have been left out of the Italian sentences as usual, so these are put into parenthesis in English, and the less commonly used English translation is given in gray lettering with parentheses.
One of the lines in our dialogue uses the imperfettopast tense, which will be the topic of the next blog in this series. The imperfetto verb has not been underlined. Can you find it in the dialogue?
If you would like to listen to the entire dialogue, recorded with two native Italian speakers, just click on the link from the website www.learntravelitalian: On the Beach at Last.
There are some Italian verbs of motion that intuitively would seem to take essere as the helping verb in the passato prossimo past tense. And yet… these verbs of motion instead take avere as their helping verb!
Camminare and ballare are two verbs of movement that take the helping verb avere, rather than essere.
This may seem a bit curious, although one could say that dancing is movement without any set direction; spinning and turning are common, of course, and there is no set beginning or end to a dance, except in a performance.
Why does camminare takeavere, and not essere? Maybe because it is sometimes used with the meaning of “to stroll,” which implies a leisurely walk without any set direction? Or maybe that is just the way it is, and there is no real explanation!
Take home lesson: to use essere as the helping verb, the main verb must be a verb that takes us from one place to another; in short, a verb of directional motion! Otherwise, we must useavere.
Below is a list of non-directional verbsof motion that take avere:
camminare
to walk /to proceed /to function
ballare
to dance
passeggiare
to stroll /to walk
nuotare
to swim
sciare
to ski
pattinare (sul ghiaccio)
to ice skate
pattinare (a rotelle)
to roller skate
fare windsurf
to windsurf
And, what about correre,you ask, the verb that means “to run” in Italian? Predictably, correre will take essere if one has run toward a destination. Also, in order to say “to quickly go” in a figurative way in Italian,use essere + correre + appena.The past participle for correre iscorso(a).
Lui è corso a casa sua.
He ran to his house.
“Sono corsa appena mi hai chiamato.”
“I came as soon as you called me.”
If one has simply “run around” without a destination, correre will take avere. Also, use the helping verb avere to describe that you have actually run during a sport activity.
Lui ha corso.
He ran.
Ho corso 20 km oggi.
I ran 20 km today.
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For a final exercise in the passato prossimo past tense, let’s imagine some activities that may take place during a typical day, and describe them in the past tense.
There are four situations in which we will need to use the passato prossimo past tense:
Activities that occurred once, or a specific number of times in the past will use the passato prossimo past tense in Italian.
Activities that were performed within a specific time period, such as an hour, a morning, a day, or a year, will also use the passato prossimo.
A state of being that occurred in a specific time frame will use the passato prossimo.
A state of having something during a specific period of time will use the passato prossimo.
You will notice a common thread in the reasoning behind when to use the passato prossimo: use the passato prossimo for a specific, time-limited activity.
Below are the example sentences from daily life. As an exercise, match each sentence below with one of the explanations given above for why the passato prossimo should be used.
Also, notice when essere is chosen as the helping verb and how the ending of the past participle changes with essereto match the gender and number of the subject. All past tense verbs have been underlined. Buona fortuna! Good luck!
Un giorno nella vita di Roberto: A day in the life of Robert:
Stamattina, mi sono svelgiato presto.
This morning, I woke up early. (masculine)
Ho preparato la prima colazione per mia sorella minore.
I made breakfast for my little sister.
Mia sorella è andata a scuola.
My sister went to school.
Ho letto il giornale.
I read the paper.
Alle nove di mattina, sono andato a lavorare.
At 9:00 in the morning, I went to work.
Sono dovuto andare a lavorare per ogni giorno questa settimana.
I had to go work every day this week.
Mi sono sentito molto stanco tutto il giorno oggi.
I felt very tired all day today.
Dopo le feste, ho avuto molto lavoro da fare.
After the holidays, I had a lot of work to do.
Mi sono piaciuti molto gli spaghetti per cena stasera!
I really liked the spaghetti for dinner tonight!
Of course, there are many, many more activities that can happen in a single day than what we have listed here. You may want to keep a short diary to practice using the passato prossimo;every night before going to bed, write one or two sentences to describe important events that have happened during the day. Soon it will be second nature know when and how to use the two verbs in the passato prossimo past tense!
Remember how to talk about the past using the passato prossimo and I guarantee
you will use this Italian past tense every day!
Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Verbs”
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Conversational Italian for Travelers books
Ciao a tutti! For my February edition of “Your Italian Travel Tips,” I am happy to share a guest blog written by my friend Martine Bertin-Peterson from Goût et Voyage Taste and Travel.
I recently discovered, and fell in love with Martine’s website and the culinary tours she offers in France and Italy. Read on to learn a bit about Martine and her tour company Goût et Voyage Taste and Travel. Then, read Martine’s guest blog with the beautiful photos she has provided and take a short virtual tour of the towns in Umbria through her eyes. I’m sure after reading her blog you’ll want to visit to Umbria yourself and see all the wonders this unique Italian region has to offer!
And… Martine has graciously included a copy of my pocket travel book, Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” as a part of the package for the guests on her next culinary tour of Umbria. I’m so happy to have provided a small contribution to her tour group!
Here is how Martine describes her passion for France and Italy:
Goût et Voyage was founded by Martine Bertin-Peterson to bring together her lifetime passions of travel, cooking and culture.
Creating unforgettable memories, Martine serves as the escort for all Goût et Voyage culinary travel adventures. The signature program, “Taste of Provence” is also offered in Italy, “Taste of Umbria & Tuscany.”
Martine’s background and experience are as wide-ranging as her interests. She has decades of culinary experience gained through formal and informal cooking courses in the United States, France and Italy. Born in France and fluent in 5 languages, Martine has traveled to more than 50 countries across 5 continents. She has escorted travel groups throughout Europe and Latin America over the past 30+ years.
A Taste of Umbria
by Martine Bertin-Peterson
Umbria, the “green heart” of Italy, is Tuscany’s quieter, less touristy neighbor. Avoid the traffic and hustle and bustle of Tuscany and spend time in Umbria’s charming medieval hill towns, visit its cultural sites and its taste its regional specialties.
Charming table set for lunch “al fresco” in Umbria
Assisi, the home of St. Francis and a UNESCO World Heritage site is perhaps Umbria’s most famous- and busy- town. The Upper Church of the magnificent Basilica tells the story of St. Francis’ life through 28 frescoes by the renowned 13th century artist, Giotto. The equally impressive transept was painted by Giotto’s master, Cimabue. I am not usually a fan of recorded “guides” but it is worth a few euros to grab the ear sets at the front of the church and listen to the history and description of these well preserved works of art and devotion.
Not far from Assisi is Perugia, the capital of Umbria. Skip the lower town with its urban sprawl and head to the historic center where you’ll find a variety of museums and architectural sites. Perugia is a bustling university town with lovely shops and cafes, and of course, the Perugina chocolate factory, just outside of town (open for tours daily). I prefer to visit Perugia at the end of the day, when the centuries old ritual of the “passegiata” takes place. Snag a seat at an outdoor cafe, order a Aperol spritz and watch as all of Perugia takes its pre-dinner stroll.
Visit Spoleto, home of the annual music festival, Festival of 2 Worlds in June and July to catch world-class opera, dance and orchestral artists. Gubbio, Umbria’s oldest village is also worth a visit. Its Roman theater, mausoleum and palaces and towers offer glimpses into daily life of the distant past.
Courtyard in the town of Spello, Umbria
Take a break from these better known towns and head to Spello, home of the Infiorata Flower Carpet Festival, (https://www.infiorataspello.it/) If you are lucky to visit Spello during the festival (June 13-14, 2020) you’ll witness stunning floral “carpets” throughout the town in celebration of the feast of Corpus Domini. Even if you can’t make the Infiorata, the homes and shops in Spello are decorated with colorful flowers all Spring and Summer.
Ceramics from Umbria
Deruta, the ceramic capital of Italy, is definitely worth a visit if you are interested in Italian crafts. Many of the ceramic shops invite visitors to watch as their artisans create dishes, platters and wall hangings in traditional patterns and shapes. These pieces make thoughtful gifts for friends and family. Custom pieces, like my lemon wall hangings, were designed by Ceramiche Artistiche Gialletti Giulio, upon request and were safely shipped to my home.
Cheese and meats typical of Umbria
To take advantage of all this sightseeing, you’ll need to fortify yourself with the region’s specialty foods. Pork and pork products – ham, sausage and all manner of “salume” reign supreme. Pair these with the local sheep’s milk cheese (pecorino) and a hunk of the oven-baked, unsalted bread, typical of Umbria. You’ll want to accompany your meal with an Umbrian wine, Sagrantino di Montefalco or a Grechetto from Assisi.
Many of the local wineries are small and family-owned. For a modest fee, you can have a tour of the vineyards and cellars, followed by a guided tasting of several wines accompanied by nibbles of salami, bruschetta, cheese and olive oil. A listing of these wineries may be found here: http://www.stradadelsagrantino.it/en/wineries/montefalco.php
It’s easy to say, “I love you!” in a romantic way in Italian. When you are with your special someone this Valentines Day, just remember two little Italian words: “Ti amo!” But, of course, there is so much more to love and romance than just saying a few special words!
For Valentine’s Day this year, I’ve reprinted some of the phrases from my “Making Friends” section this blog. In the Conversational Italian for Travelers book, I’ve included some typical Italian phrases to use if you’ve decided to stay awhile in Italy and want to approach someone to get to know them better. Or maybe you know an Italian or Italian-American here in the states, and both of you realize how romantic the Italian language can be! In this slim Italian phrase book are some tongue-in-cheek, humorous phrases, some phrases one might say in return if they are interested… and other phrases one might say in return if they are not! We will stick to the positive phrases for this blog for Valentines Day.
Also, I am including in this blog a few new phrases I have just learned from the You Tube Italian personality Anna on the channel Your Italian Circle. Her video, “How to talk about LOVE in Italian – AMORE in ITALIANO” mentions how to use the verb of romantic love, amore,and the other important phrase for one’s love of family and friends, “Ti voglio bene.” I’ve covered these topics last year in my blog: “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day — How to say, ‘I love you!’ in Italian.” Click on the link to my if you like, and then listen to Anna’s clear Italian to practice saying these phrases yourself at the end of this blog.
After reading this blog, please reply and mention your favorite romantic Italian phrase. I’d love to hear from you! Or join our Conversational Italian! group discussion on Facebook.
The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference booksJust the Verbsand Just the Grammar
The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained atLearn Travel Italian.com.
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“Making Friends” in Italian*
So, now you are in Italy, and have decided to stay for awhile. You may meet someone you want to get to know better. What to say to them to “break the ice”? Or, maybe you are just trying to enjoy a coffee, and someone introduces themselves. What to say if you are interested? Here are some well-known pick-up lines translated into Italian (some just for fun and others more serious), and some replies – if you are interested – or not!
Let’s get to know one another:
Scusa…
Excuse me…(familiar)
Credo che ci siamo già visiti prima?
Haven’t we seen(already met) each other before?
…da qualche parte?
…around here?
Penso di conoscerti già.
I think that I’ve met you before.
Hai degli occhi molto belli!
You have beautiful eyes.
Tu hai il viso della Madonna.
You have a beautiful face.
(lit. the face of Mother Mary)
Che cosa fai…
What are you doing…
…per il resto della tua vita?
…for the rest of your life?
Or, a little less flowery:
È libero questo posto?
Is this seat free?
Ti dispiace se mi siedo qui?
Would you mind if I sit here?
Posso sedermi con te?
May I sit with you?
Ti piace questo posto?
Do you like this place?
Ti stai divertendo?
Are you enjoying yourself?
Con chi sei?
Who are you with?
Sono da sola(o).
I am alone. (female/male)
Sono con un’amica/un amico.
I am with a friend.(female friend/male friend)
Sto aspettando qualcuno.
I am waiting for someone.
Sei sposata(o)?
Are you married? (to female/male)
Sei single?**
Are you single?
Sei divorziata(o)?
Are you divorced? (to female/male)
Cosa prendi?
What are you having?
Posso offrirti qualcosa da bere?
May I offer (to) you something to drink?
Vuoi qualcosa da bere?
Do you want something to drink?
Vuoi qualcosa da mangiare?
Do you want something to eat?
Vuoi fare una passeggiata?
Do you want to go for a walk?
**Although the English word single is commonly used in Italian conversation, the Italian words for single are nubile for a woman and celibe for a man, and these words are used on official Italian forms.
Let’s get together… (This is a good time to memorize those Italian prepositions!)
Perché non ci vediamo? Let’s get together.
(lit. Why don’t we get together/see each other?)
Posso avere il tuo…May I have your….
numero di telefono? telephone number?
indirizzo email?***email address?
Hai tempo domani? Do you have time tomorrow?
Posso rivederti domani? May I see you again tomorrow?
Sei libera(o) domani, Are you free(to female/male)tomorrow,
domani sera, tomorrow night,
la settimana prossima? next week?
Vuoi andare al ristorante? Do you want to go to a restaurant?
al bar? a (coffee) bar?
al caffé? a cafe?
in pizzeria? a pizzeria?
Posso invitarla/ti a cena? May I invite you (pol.)/(fam.) to dinner?
Ti piacerebbe/Vuoi… Would you like to/Do you want to…
andare in piazza? go to the piazza?
andare al cinema? go to the movies?
andare al concerto?go to the concert?
andare allo spettacolo ? go to the show (performance)?
According to Anna from the You Tube Channel Your Italian Circle, a familiar way an Italian might ask someone out is with the phrase “Ti va.” The use of this expression probably derives from the familiar slang phrase, “Come va?”“How’s it going?” and the answer, “Va bene,” for “It’s going well.” The extension of these simple Italian phrases of greeting into other facets of life is a good example of how language is always changing and evolving into something new!
So, to ask someone you know if you can get them something, just use:
Ti va + noun (thing) = Do you want…
Expanding on one of our examples above:
Ti va qualcosa da bere?
Do you want something to drink?
Ti va un appertivo?
Do you want a cocktail?
Ti va un caffè?
Do you want a coffee?
To ask someone if they want to do something, just use:
Ti va + di + verb (action) = Do you want to…
Expanding on one of our examples above:
Vuoi andare al ristorante?
Do you want to go to a restaurant?
Ti va di andare al ristorante?
Do you want to go to the restaurant?
Ti va di andare al cinema?
Do you want to go to the movies?
And if the answer to any of the questions above is… yes!
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2020? Now is the time to get started working on this resolution!
As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.
If we learn how to incorporate“commonly used phrases” about where we are going in Italian, we will be able to talk about our daily lives just as we do in our native language! We will need to master how to use the Italian verb andare and the Italian verb venire for when we return home, but there are other important verbs of “going” and “coming home” that are commonly used in Italy as well.
This post is the 29th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE
Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian
are used to talk about “going” and “coming home”
with the verbs andare, venire, arrivare, tornare, rientrare
See below for how this works.
As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?
The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference booksJust the Verbsand Just the Grammar
The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained atLearn Travel Italian.com.
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Where we are going… in Italian
Andare, Venire, Arrivare, Tornare, Rientrare
On any given day, the most commonly talked about activity is where one is going. We make plans, we go, we return, we talk about our activities along the way, and then we talk about where we went once again at the end of the day!
To talk about where one has to go on a certain day seems easy at first. We learn about the Italian verb “to go,” which is andare, in every beginning course in Italian. The Italian verb andare is a bit tricky to use, though, so let’s go through a few pointers.
The first thing to know about the verb andare is that it has an irregular conjugation in the present tense for every speaker except noi and voi.So each form of this verb needs to be memorized. I’ve reprinted the conjugation of andare below. Try to say each verb conjugation aloud and listen to how it sounds. The syllables that should be emphasized are underlined in order to help with pronunciation.
********* Andare – To Go Present Tense*********
io
vado
I go
tu
vai
you(familiar)go
Lei
lei/lui
va
you (polite) go
she/he goes
noi
andiamo
we go
voi
andate
you all go
loro
vanno
they go
After we learn how to conjugate the verb andare in the present tense, some attention should be paid to the meaning of the conjugated forms of this verb. Io vado, for instance, can be translated into English as: “I go,” “I do go,” and for the near future, “I am going,” or “I am going to go.” Remember, though, that the subject pronoun “io”will be left out of the sentence in usual Italian conversation. In effect, the simple, one word sentence, “Vado,” when spoken will let someone know the speakers intent to leave, and encompass all the translations given above!
There is a way to say, “I am going,” in Italian if you want to emphasize that you are leaving right at the very moment in which you are speaking: “Sto andando.” But, unlike English speakers, who always seem to use the -ing form of the verb — going, coming, arriving, returning, etc… — in Italian the -ing form of any verb (technically the present progressive tense with the gerund) is less commonly used than the simple present tense. Again, a simple, “Vado,” will usually suffice to let someone know you are going somewhere right now.
Another way to say, “I am going!” that will emphasize your intention to go somewhere is to put the Italian subject pronounio after the verb vado.“Vado io,” means something like: “I will go,” with the emphasis on the “I.” This sentence structure implies that everyone else nearby can sit back and relax, as the person speaking will go to take care of whatever needs to be done. Maybe the doorbell has just rung and the family is gathered in the living room to watch a movie. The person who decides to get up and answer the door may say, “Vado io,” to signal their intent to take care of things. This verb/subject pronoun inversion works with other Italian verbs as well to signal intent, and in particular is used with “Prendo io,” for “I will take it,” when offering to carry a bag or suitcase for someone. There is also the common expression, “Ci penso io,” which has the meaning, “I’ll take care of it,”* and implies, “You can count on me.”
Finally, if you are going away from a place where you are with other people, and want to signify your intent to leave, use the Italian verb andarsene,and say, “Me ne vado.” This line can be translated simply as, “I’m leaving (this place),” or more strongly as, “I am getting out of here!” You will impress your friends with this phrase even without knowing all the details of this complex verb!
Let’s also take a look at the third person plural form of andare, which isandiamo. Without going through the conjugations for the Italian command verb forms, it should be noted that “Andiamo!” when said with emphasis or written with an exclamation point means, “Let’s go!”
Let’s summarize the important forms of the verb andare in a table:
andare
to go
Vado.
I go, I do go, I am going.(near future)
Me ne vado.
Sto andando.
I am leaving (this place). I am getting out of here!
I am going (right now).
Vado io.
I am going(to take care of it).
Ci penso io.*
I’ll take care of it.
Andiamo!
Let’s go!
*Of course, “Io penso” means “I think.”
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Once we have learned to conjugate the Italian verb andare, and how to signal intent or encourage others to join us using this verb, are we ready to talk about where we are going to? Not quite yet…
Because the Italian verb andare must be linked to the place with are going or to another verb with the word “a,” which in this case can be translated as “to.” There is a fairly long list of verbs that follow this rule. In this blog, we will also discuss one additional Italian verb that follows this rule, the verb venire, which means “to come.”Venire is another irregular verb in the present tense, except for the noiand voiforms, and the conjugation for venire is given in the table below. Try to say each verb conjugation aloud and listen to how it sounds. The stressed syllables have been underlined to help with pronunciation.
********* Venire – To Come Present Tense *********
io
vengo
I come
tu
vieni
you(familiar)come
Lei
lei/lui
viene
you (polite)come
she/he comes
noi
veniamo
we come
voi
venite
you all come
loro
vengono
they come
Two important phrases to remember that use the “rule of the linking a” are“andare a trovare”(“to go to visit”) and “venire a trovare”(“to come to visit”). These phrases are used when visiting a person. The verb visitare(to visit) can be used when you want to speak about a place you are visiting.
Try to listen for the “linking a” when these phrases come up in conversation, and soon it will become natural for you, also, to say these phrases correctly.
Let’s see how our two verbs, andare and venire, can be used in a typical conversation at the breakfast table between a mother and her daughter or son.
Mothers commonly ask their family during breakfast:
Dove vai oggi?
Where will you go today?
Some answers family members may give:
Vado a scuola alle otto.
I am going to school at 8 AM.
Vado al lavoro.
I am going to work.
Vado a lavorare.
I am going to work.
Vado a trovare nonna a casa sua.
I am going to visit Grandma at her house.
Vado a trovarla.
I am going to visit her.
Or, a mother may want to remind her family that today Grandma or other relatives of the family are coming to visit them by saying:
Oggi, nonna vieni a trovarci.
Today, nonna comes to visit us.
Oggi, i cugini vengono a trovarci.
Today, the cousins come to visit us.
You will notice in the examples above that the direct object pronouns laand ciare given in red, as they are attached to the end of the infinitive verb trovare. If you need to review indirect object pronouns, see Chapter 16 of Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Grammar Book.“There are many more instances of relatives and friends that we may want to go to visit or who may come to visit us at home. How many more can you think of?
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Of course, once we have left the house to “go somewhere” we will want to express that we will return. Others may also greet us on our return. Several other Italian verbs that can be used in this situation are: arrivare, tornare, and rientrare.
Arrivare means “to arrive” and sounds very formal to the English speaker’s ears. We almost never say, “I have arrived.” But arrivare and its first person conjugation arrivo, which means “I arrive” are commonly used in conversational Italian today when one wants to describe that he/she will soon “get to” somewhere. And, as also mentioned in our last blog, “Let’s email in Italian,”arrivare and arrivo are used to talk about whether an email message has “arrived” into one’s inbox.
To come back home is to “rientrare a casa.” To wish someone, “Welcome back!”simply use the past participle of the verb tornare, which means “to return,” and a shortened from of bene, for “Ben tornato!”
Some examples of how arrivo, arrivare, tornare, and rientrare can be used are given in the table below:
Sono in arrivo!
I am coming!
Arrivo!
I am coming!
Controlla la mail in arrivo!
Check the email in your inbox.
Lo/La arriva!
He/She/It is coming!
Loro arrivano.
They are here. / They have arrived.
Allora, arrivano!
Ecco che arrivano!
Here they come now!
Here they come now!
Quando io rientro a casa, lo chiamo.
When I get home, I will call him.
Ben tornato! Ben tornata!
Ben tornati! Ben tornate!
At the end of the day, after we have left our home and then returned, we will likely want to update our family on our activities. Now we will need to use the verbs andare and venire in the past tense!
For a one time event that has happened during the day, the Italian passato prossimoform of the past tense will be the tense to choose. And for the verbs of direction andare and venire, we will need to use esserein the present tense as the helping verb with the past participles andato(a,i,e) and venuto(a,i,e).
Remember that with the passato prossimo form of the past tense, the past participles have endings that change to match the gender and number of the speaker, as notated above in parentheses after the masculine “o” endings used for andato and venuto.If you need a refresher on the passato prossimo,this information is clearly explained in simple language in Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Verbs,” Chapters 11 and 12.
Let’s try out how to use andareand venire in the past tense with two very common sentences we almost always say at the end of the day: I/we went… and I/we came… See the table below for these examples.
Io sono andato(a) alla scuola.
I went to school. (masc. / fem. singular)
Noi siamo andati(e) a lavorare.
We went to work. (masc. / fem. plural)
Io sono venuto(a) a casa
alle sei di sera.
I came home at 6 PM. (masc. / fem. singular)
Noi siamo venuti(e) a casa
alle sei di sera.
We came home at 6 PM. (masc. / fem. plural)
There are many, many more, examples of where we all go each day, and how and when we come home, of course! How many more can you think of? To become more familiar with the past tense, try keeping a journal. Take a few moments each day to write a sentence or two about where you went and what you did.
Remember how to talk about where you are going in Italian and I guarantee you will use these phrases every day!
Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Verbs”
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Conversational Italian for Travelers books
As an independently published author, I am pleased to announce that I have become a member of “The Independent Author Network of writers” for 2020.
IAN is a partner member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and has been helping to promote independent authors since 2010 by providing support through their website and social media accounts.
This is why, as you may have noticed, there is now a link to my “Independent Author Network” IAN page you can find by scrolling down on the right sidebar of my blog.
Visit my IAN author page for all the links to my websites and social media, nicely set out on one page for easy access!
Also, my IAN author page features a cover photo for each of my books. Just click on the image and “look inside” each of my books to see the table of contents and read the first chapter of each. If you like what you see, there are also links to purchase the books on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
I should mention that readers of my IAN author page site may be surprised to see that last year I published a second pocket travel book, Conversational French for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases.”The concept and style of this book is identical to my popular lightweight and compact Conversational Italian for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases.” I owe a huge “merci beaucoup” to Nada Sneige Fuleihan for providing the French translation and collaborating with me to adapt my original Italian book into French. After a “trial run” by myself when I visited France in 2018, I am happy with the results and I believe this book will be just as useful to French travelers as my Italian book has been for Italian travelers.
Of course, the restaurant section in my Conversational French for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases”book had to be changed from the original Italia version, and many wonderful French dishes are now listed in place of the Italian. For this, I have to give my utmost thanks to the well-known chef and restaurateur in Chicago, Chef Dominique Tougne, the current owner of the French restaurant Bistro Chez Moi in Chicago, where I have had the pleasure to enjoy many authentic and delicious French meals.
I have also set up a new website for this French book, under my publishing company’s name, Stella Lucente. Check out my Stella Lucente.com website for more information on all things French! I enjoy posting French language tips and information about French culture and current events from a wide variety of sources on my Stella Lucente French Facebook page.
This year I have started “almost a phrase a day” tweets from Monday to Friday from my new book on @travelfrench1, with the same phrase tweeted simultaneously in Italian on my Twitter @travelitalian1. I follow many other interesting bloggers, magazines, and news media outlets that post about France and Italy on Twitter and retweet their articles on my sites. Check out my Twitter feeds when you check in to Twitter for up-to-date news and information about your favorite places to visit!
If you are planning a trip to France this year, I hope you will check out my social media sites and consider my new French pocket travel book as a guide.
Conversational French for Travelers “Just the Important Phrases” pocket travel book is now available! YOUR traveling companion in France! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to France are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Finally, if anyone is curious about how I came to write my books and what I have planned for the future, you can visit my IAN Author review on the IAN Occhipinti review. Grazie mille! Mille mercis!
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, for Conversational Italian for Travelers books
Ciao a tutti! For January I would like to share a blog from Popsicle Society written by Ribana, a native of Romania who shares with us her love of travel in Italy through her writing.
About once a month, I have been re-blogging a post about lesser-known sites or places to visit in Italy under the title “Your Italian Travel Tips.”
Ribana recently traveled to a lesser-known, but strikingly scenic region in the northeastern-most tip of Italy, Trentino-Alto-Adige. Tentino-Alto-Adige is made up of many small towns nestled in valleys that are carpeted in lush greenery, at the base of tall hills lined with forests of deep green, perfectly proportioned, stately fir trees, which create a picture-perfect Christmas setting year-round. The Italian Dolomite Alps rise even higher in the background, their jagged peaks tipped with snow. When snowfall blankets both hills and valleys, thousands of tourists visit every winter season to enjoy winter sports.
From reading Ribana’s blog, Discovering Our World: Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, one can tell that she is truly enchanted by this region. Ribana’s panoramic photographs of each major city in the region are accompanied by a description the city’s historical importance and cultural highlights. At the end of the blog are mouthwatering images of the regions’ cuisine. Ribana’s blog has inspired me to put this charming region on my bucket list of “must see” places in Italy during the winter months. Read on and see what winter-time fun awaits you in this along this northernmost border of the boot of Italy.
Ribana writes:
“There is a region, in Italy, located precisely on the border with Austria and Switzerland, among the best known for the beauty of its mountains, but not only. Trentino Alto Adige is also nature, summer and winter sports, hiking and trekking, art and culture, the mountain massifs, with their glaciers that seem to sparkle in the sun, dominate this region.
Trentino is a real paradise for those who practice winter sports! Most of the Trentino landscape is dominated by the Dolomites, which constitute a unique environment recognized by UNESCO as a Natural Heritage Site.
There are 800 kilometers of slopes and also numerous snow parks, ski areas more suitable for families with specialized instructors and snow kindergartens.
Winter is great for winter sports lovers, although in some localities, such as the Marmolada, Stelvio and Tonale, it is possible to ski even in the summer months.
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Do you want to speak Italian more easily and confidently by the end of 2020? Well, the new year is upon us and it is time to make some resolutions! Maybe you’ve decided that this is the year to take that dream trip to Italy you’ve been thinking about for some time.
Learning Italian will help to make contacts with family and friends in Italy, and learning about how to send an email in Italian may prove valuable with personal contacts as well as with making reservations at hotels and other sites of interest.
As I’ve said before, I believe that “commonly used phrases” are the key for how we can all build fluency in any language in a short time.
If we learn how to incorporate“commonly used phrases” when we talk about email and we send an email, we will be able to communicate just as we do in our native language!
This post is the 28th in a series of Italian phrases we have been trying out in our Conversational Italian! Facebook group. If you’d like to read the earlier posts in the series, “Italian Phrases We Use EVERY Day!” just click HERE
Many “commonly used phrases” in Italian
are used to talk about, send and receive email.
See below for how this works.
As we all master these phrases, so will you. Try my method and let me know how it works. What sentences will you create with these phrases?
The basics of the Italian language are introduced in the Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook and reference booksJust the Verbsand Just the Grammar
The rights to purchase the Conversational Italian for Travelers books in PDF format on two electronic devices can also be obtained atLearn Travel Italian.com.
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Let’s Talk About… Email in Italian
Talking about the concept of email in Italian is tricky. For one thing, the word “email” is an English abbreviation for “electronic mail,” and this abbreviation is not easily translated into Italian. For another thing, the way English speakers and Italians talk about email has evolved with each technological advancement in communication, and will probably continue to change in the future. We may find that the terms we use in this blog today have been abandoned for different terms tomorrow!
But, let’s try anyway to talk about email the way Italians do — at least for now and hopefully into the 2020’s!
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When talking about how an Italian views the concept of email, the first and most basic question to answer is, of course,
“How does one translate the word “email” into Italian? “
The Collins English to Italian dictionary translation of email is simple and makes sense for both Italian and English: la posta elettronica,which translates as, “the electronic mail.”
A single email message would be un messaggio di posta elettronica.
A person’s email address would be l‘indirizzo di posta elettronica.
Unfortunately, although these official Italian phrases make perfect logical sense, they are a bit too long for common, every day use. Since Italians, in general, easily accept useful foreign words into their language, it is not surprising that a quick look at the online dictionary Wordreference.com yields multiple permutations of English and Italian to translate the word “email.”
It should be noted here that the word “email” remains feminine when translated into Italian in all its various forms, since “la posta”or “the mail” is feminine in Italian.
Here are the different ways we can talk about email according to the online dictionary Wordreference.com.
la posta elettronica, la e-mail, l’email
il messaggio di posta elettronica, il messaggio email
l’indirizzo di posta elettronica, l’indirizzo e-mail
It is apparent from the above phrases that Italians have, over time, shortened their correct but very long descriptive phrase la posta elettronica to the shorter phrase l’email. This combination of Italian and English makes grammatical sense in Italian because the original word for “mail” in Italian is feminine and also because the Italian language generally eliminates the last vowel of the definite article la if the noun that comes after it begins with a vowel. L’email is commonly seen in written form on websites.
But, although l’email is correct grammatically, most Italians simply say “la mail.”
This difference in the official written form and the spoken form of the Italian word for “email” may originate from the difference in pronunciation between the English and the Italian letter “e.” In English, the letter “e” can be pronounced with a long “ee” sound, as in “week” or short “eh” sound, as in “bed.” But there is no long “ee” sound associated with the Italian letter “e,” and this may lead to confusion for an Italian when attempting to say the word “email” with the correct English pronunciation. So, it is more simple in spoken Italian just to leave off the “e” in email, and say “mail.”
In the same way, note that a single email can be referred to in Italian as both the grammatically correct “un’email” and “una mail.”
Below is a summary of the Italian phrases to describe email in Italian. The most common conversational Italian ways to say “email” are listed in the first column in bold letters.
la mail l’email
la posta elettronica
email in general
una mail / la mail un’email
un messaggio di posta elettronica
a single email
l’indirizzo mail l’indirizzo e-mail
l’indirizzo di posta elettronica
the email address
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Now let’s talk about what to say if an Italian asks for your email address and you would like to reply in Italian.
The question: “Qual’è l’indirizzo mail?” is used for the English, “What is your email address?”
It will be important in this situation to know that the English word “at” used for the symbol @ is referred to with the visually descriptive Italian term “chiocciola,” which literally means “little snail.” And the “dot” in the English “dot” com is called a “period” in Italian, with the word “punto.”
Italian email addresses often end in “it,” for Italy, and the abbreviation is usually pronounced as an Italian word. For email addresses that end in “com,” com is usually pronounced as a word, similar to English but with an Italian accent, of course!
The letters “it” and “com” may also be spelled out, using the Italian name for each letter. For the ending “it,” the Italian letters are pronounced “ee tee.” For the ending “com” the Italian letters are pronounced “chee oh èmme.”
Below is a sample email address that uses the name of this blog as a person’s first and last name, first written, then as it would be pronounced by an English speaker and an Italian speaker:
Conversationalitalian@aol.com
Conversational Italian “at” aol “dot” com
Conversational Italian “chiocciola” aol “punto”com
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Finally, how do we talk about sending and receiving an email?
Two verbs are commonly used to describe the acts of sending and receiving an email. The Italian verb mandare is probably the most common way to describe the act of sending an email, although the verbs inviareor spedire, older terms for “snail mail,” can also be used.
The verb mandare just means “to send,” though, and Italian will follow this verb with the clarification “via mail.” As noted above, other variations might include “via email” or “via la posta elettronica. “
When an Italian has received a message, he or she can use the verb ricevere, which means “to receive.” This event would, of course be in the past tense, as for example, “Ho ricevuto una mail.” “I have received an email.”
Remember that if you have received an email “about” something, the English word “about” is often expressed in Italian with the preposition “su.” The preposition suis then combined with the Italian definite article (il, la, lo, l’, i le, gli) before the noun that describes what the email will be about. The different combined forms are: sul, sulla, sulo, sull‘, sui, sulle, sugli. More detailed information about combining prepositions is found in the Conversational Italian for Travelers reference book Just the Grammar.
“Hai ricevuto una mail sulla prossima riunione?” translates as: “Have you received an email about the next meeting?”
Interestingly, if one person hears the notification sound that an email has “arrived” at another’s device, he or she may call out, “È arrivata una mail,” meaning, “An email has arrived.” Remember to use the feminine form of the past participle for arrivare,which is “arrivata“ for the email that has just arrived! In the same way, an English speaker would notify someone with the line: “You have a message.”
When one needs to check their email, the Italian verb controllare, which can mean to check, to control,orto verify, comes into play. One friend might say to another: “Controlla la tua mail!” for “Check your email!” Or, you may be advised: ” Controlla la mail in arrivo!” for “Check the email that is coming to you!”
Have you received an email about the next meeting?
È arrivata una mail.
An email has arrived.
You have an email.
Controlla la tua mail!
Controlla la mail in arrivo!
Check your email! (familiar command) Check the mail that is coming to you!
Remember how to talk about email in Italian and I guarantee you will use these phrases every day!
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Some background: When I traveled to Europe last year, I signed up for several of the WALKS tours. I was so impressed by the organization of the tours and the quality of the tour guides that I decided to become an affiliate advertiser.
This is why, as you may have noticed, there are two new images that mention WALKS of Italy on the sidebar of this blog.
One image provides a link to one of the WALKS tours, and will take you directly to their website, so you can check out the company yourself and, of course, purchase a the “Venice in a Day” tour.
The second, brightly colored image of a tourist map of Italy on my sidebar
Map of Italy with the most popular Italian tourist destinations
is directly above a link to a page I have created that lists the many other tours that WALKS of Italy offers in Venice, Rome, Florence, and Milan.
These links will also take you directly to the WALKS website, so if you find one you like you can make a purchase.
Just click on the link More WALKS of Italy Tours to be taken to this page and a whole world of tour ideas!
I do receive a small fee as an affiliate partner with WALKS, as mentioned on the page if you click one of the links on this blog. For this, I thank you all very much!
For anyone planning their trip to Italy in 2020, consider a WALKS of Italy tour. If you do choose to take a WALKS tour, please feel free to leave a comment about your experience on my More WALKS of Italy Tours page.
Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.
Kathryn Occhipinti, MD for Conversational Italian for Travelers books
Buone feste and Buon Natale a tutti!
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all!
Every year I love to cook an Italian fish dinner for Christmas Eve. Many Italian-American families present seven fishes for their dinner, but I just serve a variety of fish and create an antipasto, primo and secondo course.
I’ve already shared a simple method to make fried calamari, a family favorite, with my ConversationalItalian.French followers on Instagram. If you’d like to see how easy it is to fry up some calamari for a hot antipasto for your own Christmas Eve dinner, just click on the image below:
The full method for making fried calamari, along with my recipes for two other popular hot appitizers — stuffed calamari in tomato sauce and stuffed, baked fresh sardines —is being simultaneously posted on the Learn Italian! blog for my website, www.learntravelitalian.com, where all authentic Italian recipes for the home cook that I personally use are found. Below is an excerpt. Click on the link to print off the entire method and enjoy!
It is an Italian tradition to serve fish for Christmas Eve, in observance of the Catholic holiday. In some towns in Italy and in many Italian-American families, this tradition has turned into a feast that features fish and shellfish for antipasto, primo and secondo courses — fish is served fried, stuffed, with pasta, stewed, and baked. Some families serve seven different types of fish, although I’m not sure if anyone really knows where the number seven originated from.
Each year, I plan my “feast of the 7 fishes” with some tried and true dishes — my shrimp scampi, for instance, is always a big hit for the primo course and easy to make. Last year I had fun with the antipasto course, and cooked up Sicilian and Sardinian-style stuffed calamari and stuffed fresh sardines — which, by the way, do not smell or taste “fishy” at all if you buy them fresh. They were both a hit with young and old alike, so I present them here for your family to try. I’ve also included a simple method for fresh fried calamari, complete with an Instagram video, as a well-known and well-loved family starter to any Italian-American meal.
