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How Do I Translate This? English Words That You Can Use In Italian Too

11/17/2022

In this post you'll find some English words that are commonly used in the Italian language
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

A very common question I get from my students is: “How do you say this in Italian?”.

They want to know what the Italian equivalent of certain English words is and they seem quite surprised when sometimes I tell them that we don’t have an Italian equivalent so we just use the English word. And they are even more surprised when I tell them that sometimes we prefer to use the English word even if the corresponding Italian word exists!

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[Italian Grammar] Andarsene, Farcela, Cavarsela: How To Use Pronominal Verbs in Italian

10/20/2022

Andarsene, farcela, cavarsela are all pronominal verbs and they are very tricky. In this article, you'll learn how to use pronominal verbs in Italian
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Here comes another post about Italian grammar, aren’t you happy?

Actually, the posts about grammar are some of the most loved ones on the blog, so I thought it might be interesting to write a new one about a very tricky topic: pronominal verbs!

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Filed Under: Italian language 2 Comments

[Italian Books] The Passenger: Rome

10/06/2022

If you want to read a book about Rome that tells you how life in the city really is, this one is the title for you
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

What I have chosen as the topic for today’s post is probably one of the most honest books about Rome I have read recently. 

Actually, it is not exactly a book because of its very unique format but it can absolutely be read as a non-fiction book about Rome and about what it really means to live in the city.

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Filed Under: Italian language 6 Comments

Improve Your Italian with a Speaking Challenge: Pausa Caffè is Back!

09/22/2022

Pausa Caffè is a challenge that helps you practice and improve your Italian in a super easy and fun way

Autumn is here, it is time to cozy up and get back to your Italian practice. 

If you have been taking a break during the summer months, a speaking challenge is a perfect way to get back on track and start working on your Italian again.

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Using Songs To Practice Italian: Five Songs To Study Verbs

09/08/2022

Songs are a great tool for language learning. Here you'll find five songs to practice Italian verbs
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I know I am saying something really obvious but music is a great tool to practice a foreign language.

I have always loved music a lot and this has been really helpful to practice and improve my English. Over the years, I have consumed hours and hours of English music, which has helped me memorize thousands of English words and phrases.

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Filed Under: Italian language 4 Comments

[Italian Grammar] Prendere and Portare: What is The Difference Between These Two Verbs??

08/04/2022

The use of prendere and portare can be a little tricky. In this post, I help you figure out how to use this two verbs in Italian
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

The use of prendere and portare can be really tricky.

These two verbs are frequently translated as ‘to take’ in English and this makes students really confused when they need to use them. With this post, I want to try and see if I can help you figure out how to distinguish these two verbs.

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Filed Under: Italian language 2 Comments

Un giro in Vespa: My Newsletter in Italian Has Arrived!

06/09/2022

My newsletter in Italian has finally arrived. It is a bi-monthly newsletter focused on the Italian language and culture.

I have been regularly sending a newsletter for quite a while now.

In fact, I checked my Mailchimp account before writing this post and saw that my very first newsletter was sent in 2015, on March 16th precisely. This means seven years of writing and sending email messages almost every week (the last one I sent was number 332, can you imagine?).

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[Italian Grammar] Uscire, Lasciare or Partire? How To Say To Leave in Italian

05/12/2022

Uscire, lasciare or partire? How to say to leave in Italian? In this post, you'll find some explanation on how to choose the right verb
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

English speakers always have a hard time when they need to say ‘to leave’ in Italian.

In fact, English has just one verb to express that concept, while Italian has at least three different verbs: uscire, lasciare, and partire. I have seen my students struggle a bit with that and I thought it could be useful to write a post about this aspect of the Italian language.

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[Italian Vocabulary] 10 Words That You Can Only Hear in Liguria

04/28/2022

In this post, you will find ten quintessentially Ligurian words, words that can be heard only in that region
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I was 19 the first time I realized that some of the words I was using every day were quite unique. 

It was my first day at college and I was unpacking my suitcase when I asked my roommate “Scusami, dov’è la rumenta?”. She gave me a weird look and she told me she had no idea what I was talking about.

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[Italian Grammar] Verbs That Can Have Both Auxiliaries

03/03/2022

Did you know that some verbs can take essere and avere? In this post, I tell you more about Italian verbs that have both auxiliaries!
Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Did you know that some Italian verbs can use both essere and avere as auxiliaries?

This is something that drives my students crazy and so I thought it could be another interesting topic for a blog post. As I always do for this type of post, I have also created a downloadable pdf file for you to keep for future reference.

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Ciao!

My name is Cinzia and Italy is the place I call home.

Books feed my soul, music fills my days and travelling makes my life richer. I am a day dreamer, tireless walker and believer in the power of little things.

I’ve created Instantly Italy to take you to Italy with me and explore together this crazy but “oh so lovely” country. Read More…

Latest from the blog

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante has just been made into a Netflix series and it is amazing!

[Italian Books] The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

In this post you'll find some English words that are commonly used in the Italian language

How Do I Translate This? English Words That You Can Use In Italian Too

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