All posts by Kathryn Occhipinti

About Kathryn Occhipinti

Dr. Kathryn Occhipinti is a radiologist of Italian-American descent who has been leading Italian language groups in the Peoria and Chicago areas for about 10 years. During that time, she founded Stella Lucente, LLC, a publishing company focused on instructional language books designed to make learning a second language easy and enjoyable for the adult audience. Using her experiences as a teacher and frequent traveler to Italy, she wrote the "Conversational Italian for Travelers" series of books, which follow the character Caterina on her travels through Italy, while at the same time introducing the fundamentals of the Italian language. The associated website www.learntravelitalian.com, provides free interactive dialogues recorded by native Italian speakers, cultural notes, and Italian recipes to make learning the language really come alive. Everything one needs to know to travel to Italy is in this series of books! View all posts by Kathryn Occhipinti →

Braciole: Italian Beef Rolls in Sauce for Sunday Dinner

Braciole: Italian Beef Rolls in Sauce for Sunday Dinner

Braciole: It’s what’s for Sunday dinner!

Braciole: Italian Beef Rolls in Sauce for Sunday Dinner

Italian beef rolls— involtini di carne, also known as braciole, bracioli, or bruciuluni(in Palermo Sicilian dialect)—are a favorite southern Italian treat that are often served for the Sunday family dinner. What I enjoy most about this dish is that there are so many different variations, and every family that makes braciole has its own special traditional recipe. I’ve found that a little bit of breadcrumbs and prosciutto make for the most flavorful braciole. My family hides a whole hard-boiled egg in the center for a surprise when the braciole is cut open. Other families chop the egg in half or into smaller pieces, and some families do not use egg at all!

By the way, I am not sure of the origin of the word bracioleused here in America, but in Italy, braciolarefers to a cut of pork (usually grilled), and this dish can be made with pork cutlets. My friend Peter Palazzolo from the Speak Sicilian! Facebook group mentioned to me that long ago this rolled-up meat was cooked with grape vine twigs cured like coal, or bracia. But, I think my friend and Italian teacher Maria Vanessa Colapinto (blog: Eleganza per Me) , is correct with her idea that the real origin of this word comes from the Italian for the old-type grill that the rolled up meat for this dish was cooked on. This grill is still in use today and is called a “brace.”Meat cooked in this way is “all’abrace,”or “on the grill.”

A Note about Italian Tomato Sauce

When I was growing up, I always knew it was Sunday from the wonderful fragrance of the pot of homemade tomato sauce cooking on the stove top that would slowly permeate every corner of our house. If we couldn’t wait for the sauce to finish cooking, a slice of Italian bread dipped in the sauce would serve to keep our appetites at bay until mom or grandma deemed it was finally perfect.

Southern Italian tomato sauce is cooked at least an hour or so and usually longer when other meats are added to flavor the sauce. Every Italian family has its own special sauce that has been passed down for generations. I am including here the basic tomato sauce recipe from my family that I use to cook the braciole.

Most Italians use only a little basil in their tomato sauce and sometimes some parsley, and I have included both herbs in the tomato sauce recipe below. The Italian motto seems to be “the less the better” when it comes to tomato sauce, although the ingredients used must be high quality. Oregano is a herb not generally found in tomato sauce in Italy, although legend has it that American soldiers brought oregano home after World War II, and it seems like the American families here have adopted this additional herb for their sauce in many parts of the country.

Also, if good tomatoes or good tomato puree is used (with less acid), it is not necessary to add sugar to tomato sauce, but in some parts of America, a sweeter sauce is preferred. Growing up as I did in New York, we liked the Contadina brand of tomato products.

There are as many variations as there are families in Italy and America, so make the pot of sauce your family has come to love, and enjoy a special Sunday together!

Buon appetito! —Kathryn Occhipinti

Braciole in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Southern Italian Tomato Sauce

1 medium onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 can (28 oz.) Contadina brand tomato puree or chopped tomatoes
1 can Contadina brand tomato paste
1/4 cup dried parsley or chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 Tablespoon dried basil or 2 Tablespoons torn fresh basil
1 Tablespoon of salt or to taste
Optional meat: ground beef, Italian sausage, braciole

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onions and garlic with a wooden spoon until softened.

Add the tomato puree, tomato paste, parsley, and basil to the same pot.

Add 2 cups of water.

Cover, bring the sauce to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer on medium-low heat with the lid partially covering the pot, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for at least 1 hour, so the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

Cook for at least 1 hour; at least 1.5 hours if adding meat to the sauce. (Brown any meat in a separate skillet before adding it.)

Add additional water if the sauce becomes too thick, or cook for additional time with the lid of the pot off if the sauce becomes too thin.

Prepare the Braciole Beef Cutlets

Any thin, flat cut of beef stew meat can be used, such as top round. If you can, ask your butcher to cut the meat against the grain to make the thin cutlet slices, so that the meat will cook properly in the sauce and virtually melt in your mouth when it is done. At Caputo’s grocery stores in Chicago, the meat is nicely marbled and labeled “braggiola steak,” an Americanization of the original word, no doubt.

Tenderize Braciole Steak — Braciole meat ready to tenderize

One package with four braciole cutlets, about 1.5 pounds for four people.

Lay the cutlets of meat out on a cutting board. Trim them to approximately the same rectangular size. Tenderize and flatten slightly with a meat mallet. Don’t omit this step, or your meat cutlet will be too small and stiff to roll properly!

Fill, Assemble, and Cook the Braciole –
For 4 Braciole, divide ingredients below evenly on each cutlet

4 hard boiled eggs, whole or halved (small eggs work best for whole)
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, stems removed, chopped coarsely
1 small onion, sliced thinly lengthwise
1/4 cup Provolone cheese or other sharp hard cheese
(Pecorino-Romano, Asiago), coarsely grated
1/2 cup breadcrumbs browned in olive oil
(flavor olive oil first with a finely chopped clove of garlic in the oil)
(Progresso brand Italian breadcrumbs or make your own!)
4 slices of Prosciutto (optional)

Other additions/substitutions: caciocavallo cheese, pancetta, ham, salami, mushrooms

Salt and pepper the cutlet. Place the egg and other ingredients desired onto the beef cutlet. (If you cannot find bracioleslices large enough in your grocery, you can overlap two pieces and they will cook together nicely after they are tied up, or use meat mallet to enlarge.)

Layer the ingredients as follows for each cutlet: optional slice of prosciutto, breadcrumbs, cheese, cup parsley, onion and and egg

Roll up the braciole — Braciole rolled and tied

The braciole cutlet is rolled over the egg, with ends tucked in as you roll, and then tied with butchers twine. The ends also can be sealed with toothpicks. For more layers, roll along the short end; less layers, roll along the long end.

To see step-by-step pictures of the methods for rolling a braciola, go to Stella Lucente Pinterest .

Braciole and Tomato Sauce — **Braciole**browning in a pan and a freshly made pot of tomato sauce

Brown each assembled braciolain a little olive oil in a frying pan. Turn so they brown nicely on all sides.

Have sauce slowly boiling on the stove top. Gently lower the bracioleinto the sauce.

Lower heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through. Do not overcook, or the meat will become dry.

While bracioleare cooking in the sauce, set a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil and cook spaghetti or another pasta of your choice. Time the pasta so that it is hot and ready to be sauced when the bracioleare done.

Remove the meat string or toothpicks before serving the braciole!

Serve with your favorite pasta and extra sauce on the side. Pasta used for the picture in this blog is Mafaldine 81 from Divella, made in Italy.

—Adapted from the cooking classes given by the Italian-American Society of Peoria, with special thanks to Rose M. Occhipinti

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.

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

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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Visit learntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy! Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC

Braciole: Italian Beef Rolls for Sunday Dinner

Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!

Italian Subjunctive (Part 1) : Speak Italian!

The Italian subjunctive mood is easy to conjugate, but tricky to use!

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the Italian language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you use the Italian subjunctive mood in the correct situations? To express complex feelings in Italian correctly, it is important to use the Italian subjunctive mood. Using the subjunctive mood is difficult for English speakers, as we only rarely use this tense in English, and this is something that I am always working on! The blogs in the “Speak Italian”blog series willfocus on how to conjugate and use the Italian subjunctive mood, or “il congiuntivo.”

Let’s take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian by using the subjunctive mood. In this segment, we will discuss the phrases that take the subjunctive mood and the how to conjugate the subjunctive mood for avere, essere and stare in the present tense . Finally, we will learn about the verb chiedersi, which means “to wonder.” Example sentences will follow !

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood

In each blog in the “Speak Italian” series about the Italian subjunctive mood ( “il congiuntivo”), we will first present phrases that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Then, we will review how to conjugate the Italian subjunctive mood.

Finally, we will present common phrases used in daily life that take the Italian subjunctive mood.

Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian and try out the subjunctive mood in your next Italian conversation!

Enjoy the first blog in this series, “Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Some of 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 instructors Simona Giuggioli and Maria Vanessa Colapinto.

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

Introducing… Phrases That Take the Italian Subjunctive Mood

Italian has a subjunctive mood that is used to express beliefs, thoughts,or hopes with the verbs credere, pensare,and sperare.

The subjunctive mood is also said to “open up” a conversation to discussion about a particular topic by expressing doubt, uncertainty, desire, or a feeling.

The subjunctive mood is also used to express an expectation regarding the subject of the main clause.

Certain phrases are commonly used to start a sentence in order to introduce the subjunctive mood, and these initial phrases will be in the indicative tense (the “usual” present or past tense). The subjunctive mood is also used with the conditional tense, but this will be the topic of later blogs. These initial phrases imply uncertainty and trigger the subjunctive mood in the phrase to follow.

These groups are listed below:

Groups 1-6: “Noun Clauses”

Phrases that use the verbs credere (to believe), pensare (to think),and sperare (to hope). These verbs use the pattern: [verb + di+ infinitive verb ] to describe the beliefs, thoughts, or hopes that one has. When the subject in the introductory phrase is not the same as the subject in the subjunctive clause that follows, the pattern changes to: [verb+ che+ subjunctive verb ].*
Impersonal constructions that begin with, “It is…”such as, “È possibile che…”
Phrases that express a doubt, such as, “I don’t know…”or “Non so che…”
Phrases that express suspicion, such as, ” I suspect that…”or “Sospetto che…”
Phrases that express uncertainty, such as, “It seems to me…”or “Mi sembra che…”and ” To wonder if…” or “Chiedersi se… “
Impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che,such as, “Basta che…” “It is enough that,”or “Si dice che…” “They say that…

In Italian, the introductory phrases listed above are usually followed by a “linking word,” which in turn introduces the phrase that follows. This “linking word” is also known as a conjunction, and is the word che. In this situation, chemeans that. The clause that follows our introductory phrase will then describe what the uncertainty is about.

Note that the simple present or past tenses can also be used after the introductory phrases listed below, rather than the subjunctive mood, if you are speaking about a fact or something you believe to be true. This use will make perfect sense to the Italian listener, even when the subjective mood is otherwise commonly used.

To follow is a (long) list of phrases that can be used to introduce the subjunctive mood, with example from the present tense in the first two columns and the past tense in the last two columns. Notice that the imperfettoform of the past tense is given in our table for brevity, but the passato prossimoform of the past tense can also be used, depending on the situation. Use of the past tense forms will be the topic of later blogs.

Phrases That Take the Subjunctive Mood

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 1 and 2		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 1 and 2
Credo che	I believe that	Credevo che	I believed that
Penso che	I think that	Pensavo che	I thought that
Spero che	I hope that	Speravo che	I hoped that

È possibile che	It is possible that	Era possibile che	It was possible that
È probablile che	It is probable that	Era probabile che	It was probable that

È bene che	It is fine/good that	Era bene che	It was fine/good that
Sarebbe bene che	It would be good that	Sarebbe stato bene che	It would have been good that
È giusto che	It is right that	Era giusto che	It was right that
È meglio che	It is better that	Era meglio che	It was better that

È incredible che	It is incredible that	Era incredibile che	It was incredible that
È un peccato che	It is a shame that	Era un peccato che	It was a shame that
È una vergogna che	It is a disgrace that	Era una vergogna che	It was a disgrace that
È normale che	It is normal that	Era normale che	It was normal that

Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 3, 4, 5 and 6		Past Tense Subjunctive Phrase Groups 3, 4, 5 and 6
Non so che	I don’t know that	Non sapevo che	I didn’t know that
Non so dove	I don’t know where	Non sapevo dove	I didn’t know where
Non sono sicuro che	I am not sure that	Non ero sicuro che	I wasn’t sure that
Non ho idea che	I have no idea that	Non avevo idea che	I had no idea that
Non mi aspetto che	I couldn’t wait that	Non mi aspettavo che	I couldn’t wait that
Non c’è nulla che	There is nothing that	Non c’era nulla che	There was nothing that

Mi pare che	It seems to me	Mi pareva che	It seemed to me
Mi sembra che	It seems to me	Mi sembrava che	It seemed to me
Può darsi che	Perhaps
Ho l’impressione che	I have the impression that	Avevo l’impresione che	I had the impression that
Suppongo che	I suppose that	Supponevo che	I supposed that
Immagino che	I imagine that	Immaginavo che	I imagined that
Sospetto che	I suspect that	Sospettavo che	I suspected that
Dubito che	I doubt that	Dubitavo che	I doubted that
Sono convinto che	I am convinced that	Ero convinto che	I was convinced that
A meno che	Unless
Conviene che	It is best that	Conveniva che	It was best that
Basta che	It is enough that	Bastava che	It was enough that
Malgrado che	In spite of that
Si dice che	It is said that	Si diceva che	It was said that
Dicono che	They say that	Dicevano che	They said that
Bisogna che	It’s necessary that	Bisognavo che	It was necessary that

*When the speaker in the introductory phrase will carry out the action in the phrase to follow, Italian will use the following construction to link the phrases for credere, pensare,and sperare : di+ infinitive verb. Example: Penso di andare a Roma domani. = I think I will go to Rome tomorrow. (Use pensare a when thinking ABOUT something or someone.)

************************************************

Finally, a word of caution:

DO NOT USE THE SUBJUNCTIVE WITH THE FOLLOWING THREE PHRASES!

Forse = Perhaps

Per me = For me

Secondo me= According to me

The above may seem like exceptions to the rule, but perhaps… because these phrases already express doubt or your personal opinion… in the Italian way of thinking, it would be redundant to use these phrases along with the subjunctive!

Speak Italian: The Present Tense Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

How to Conjugate Italian Verbs “Essere,” “Avere,” and “Stare” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

Here are the present tense subjunctive forms for the Italian auxiliary verbs avereand essere,and also the irregular verb stare,which are often used in the subjunctive mood in written and spoken Italian. Che is included in parentheses in the subject pronoun column as a reminder that these verb forms are typically introduced with the conjunction che. Also, make sure to include the subject pronoun in your sentence after chefor clarity, since the singular forms are identical.

Practice the subjunctive verbs out loud by saying che , the subject pronoun and then the correct verb form that follows!

Avere – to have – Subjunctive Mood

( che) io	ab bia	I have
(che) tu	ab bia	you (familiar) have
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	ab bia	you (polite) have she/he has

(che) noi	ab b i amo	we have
(che) voi	ab b i ate	you all have
(che) loro	ab biano	they have

Essere – to be – Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	si a	I am
(che) tu	si a	you (familiar) are
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	si a	you (polite) are he/he is

(che) noi	si a mo	we are
(che) voi	si a te	you all are
(che) loro	si ano	they are

Stare – to stay (to be) – Subjunctive Mood

(che) io	sti a	I stay (am)
(che) tu	sti a	you (familiar) stay (are)
(che) Lei (che) lei/lui	sti a	you (polite) stay (are) she/he stays (is)

(che) noi	sti am o	we stay (are)
(che) voi	sti a te	you all stay (are)
(che) loro	sti ano	they stay (are)

Speak Italian: How to Use the Italian Subjunctive Mood (Part 1)

Example Phrases Using “Stare” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

To follow are some examples of when the Italian subjunctive mood in the present tense might be used in conversation during daily life. Notice that the English translation is the same for the present tense examples and the Italian subjunctive examples used in the sentences below.

We will start with sentences using stare (to stay/to be) in the subjunctive mood because this verb comes up very commonly in this modern life, when not a day seems to go by without an email being sent and received! The old formalities of opening and closing a letter have returned! After the greeting in an email, especially if there has not been recent communication, it is customary to mention a hope that all is well with friends and family. Here is a case for the subjunctive!

Present Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Tu stai bene.	You (familiar) are well.	Spero che tu stia bene.	I hope that you (familiar) are well.
Lei sta bene.	You (polite) are well. She is well.	Spero che lei stia bene.	I hope that you (polite) are well. I hope that she is well.
Lui sta bene.	He is well.	Spero che lui stia bene.	I hope that he is well.
La famiglia sta bene.	The family is well.	Spero che la tua famiglia* stia bene.	I hope that the family is* well.
Tutti stanno bene.	Everyone/body is well.	Spero che tutti stiano bene.	I hope that everyone/everybody is well.

*Famiglia = familyand is a collective noun and takes the third person singular.

Example Phrases Using “Avere” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

We often close an email with a hope as well—for a nice weekend, for instance, or that we will see the person we have contacted sometime soon. In this case, the phrases we most commonly use will need to use avere (to have) in the subjunctive mood.

Present Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Buona settimana!	Have a good week!	Spero che tu abbia una buona settimana.	I hope that you have a good week!
Buon fine settimana!	Have a good weekend!	Spero che tu abbia un buon fine settimana.	I hope that you have a good weekend!
Buona giornata. Buona serata.	Have a good day. Have a good evening.	Spero che tu abbia una buona giornata/buona serata.	I hope that you have a good day/evening.

Example Phrases Using “Essere” in the Present Tense Subjunctive Mood

The verb essere (to be)is commonly used when describing someone’s characteristics to someone else. But what if we are not sure that someone possesses a certain characteristic, or we would like someone to possess a characteristic we fear they may not have? Then we must use the subjunctive mood in our sentence! Here are a few examples. How many more can you think of?

Present Tense Phrase		Present Tense Subjunctive Phrase
Lei è bella.	She is beautiful.	Mi sembra che lei sia bella.	She seems beautiful to me. (It seems to me that she is beautiful.)
L’insegnante è simpatico.	The teacher is nice.	Spero che l’insegnante sia simpatico.	I hope that the teacher is nice.
Dio è in cielo.	God is in heaven.	Credo che Dio sia in cielo.	I believe that God is in heaven.
L’attrice è brava in quel film.	The actress is great in that film.	Penso che l’attrice sia brava in quel film.	I think that the actress is great in that film.
Lui è fortunato.	He is fortunate.	Spero che lui sia fortunato.	I hope that he is fortunate.
Lei è contenta.	She is happy.	Mi pare che lei sia contenta.	She seems happy to me. (It seems to me that she is happy.)
Loro sono bravi cantanti.	They are wonderful singers.	Può darsi che loro siano bravi cantanti.	Perhaps they are wonderful singers.
Lui è un bravo studente.	He is a good student.	Dubito che lui sia un bravo studente.	I doubt that he is a good student.
Lei è sposata.	She is marrried.	È probabile che lei sia sposata.	She is probably married. (It is probable that she is married.)
Loro sono ricchi.	They are rich.	È possibile che loro siano ricchi.	It is possible that they are rich.

How to Use the Verb “To Wonder”
“Chiedersi ”

********************

The verb chiedersi, from Rule 4, is worthy of special mention. Chiedersiis the verb Italians use to describe the idea of “wondering” if something might happen.

“Mi chiedo…”literally means, “I ask myself,”which translates into “I wonder.”This verb is often followed by the Italian word for “if” to make the sentence, “Mi chiedo se…” or, “I wonder if…” Given that this phrase ends in the word “if,” at first glance it may seem to fall into the category of improbable hypothetical phrases, which need a special conjugation (to be discussed in blogs to follow). But, cheidersi in its present tense form actually takes the present subjunctive mood, just as the other phrases in Rule 4 that we have learned about.

So, you already know how to use this verb and can easily wonder about things that might be!

Below is an example of how to use the verb chiedersi. We will revisit chiedersi again as we continue to learn about the subjunctive mood in blogs to come!

Mi chiedo se lui sia un attore bravo in quel film.
I wonder if he is a great actor in that film.

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Italian Subjunctive (Part 1): Speak Italian!

Drive Italy! When in Rome, Drive as the Romans Do!

April 11, 2016 Italian Travel and Cultural Notes Conversational Italian for Travelers books , Conversational Italian series of books , drive a car in italy , drive in Rome , drive italy , drive like the Romans , Driving in Itally , driving in Italy , Follow Caterina in Italy , Free Italian dialogues , How to drive in Italy , Italian dialogues , Italian highway rules , Italian roads and signs , Italian Travel , Italian travel planning , Renting a car in Italy , Street signs in Italy , travel Italy , travel planning Kathryn Occhipinti

Drive Italy! When in Rome, Drive as the Romans Do!

Drive Italy! Follow Caterina and get

tips on driving a carin Italy from the

Conversational Italian series of books!

The Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook begins each chapter with a dialogue from a story about the character Caterina, an American girl who travels to Italy to visit her relatives. As the story continues from one chapter to the next, we learn Italian, and about Italy, in an engaging way through Caterina’s experiences.

Drive Italy! When in Rome, Drive as the Romans Do!

After Caterina’s plane lands in Italy in the first chapter of the book, she takes a taxi to the main train station in Milan, where her cousin Pietro meets her. She is lucky to have a relative who can drive her in Italy to her final destination in Milan. For those travelers who choose to rent a car in Italy and then must drive themselves, I have included tips to follow in the “Cultural Note: Drive Italy!” section in Chapter 6, which has been adapted for this blog.

To listen to the dialogue from Chapter 6, when Caterina meets her cousin and he takes her on a (fictional) drive in Italy through Milan, go to the interactive dialogues on our website at learntravelitalian.com/interactive.html .
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Cultural Note: Drive Italy! When in Rome, Drive as the Romans Do!

Drive Italy! Cars and buses along the Coloseum in Rome — Drive Italy: Cars, buses, and motorcycles driving by the Colosseum in Rome

The Italian railway system is the most efficient way to travel throughout Italy, especially for the tourist with limited time to spend. But for those for whom driving the autostradain a Ferrari has always been a dream (see www.red-travel.com ), or for those who have enough time to spend to really get to know the countryside ( www.italylogue.com/agriturismo ), here are a few tips about what it is like to drive in Italy.

To rent a car and legally drive in Italy, some additional paperwork will need to be completed. Before leaving, call AAA to obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP), which is an official translation of a U.S. driver’s license. Both the IDP and your driver’s license should be presented at the time of rental, along with proof of insurance.

Once out in your new vehicle, keep in mind that seat belts must be worn at all times, and when driving on highways, headlights must often be kept on during the day and at night (posted signs say, “in autostrada anabbaglianti sempre accessi”). Speed limits vary according to the type of road in Italy. For the autostrada, maximum speed is 130–140 km/h, and the left lane is used for passing only, whereas through traffic uses the right lanes. Beware of drivers who try to cheat this rule by straddling the lanes. It is not advised to copy this technique!

Maximum speed on the main highways is 110 km/h and in the towns 50 km/h. Maximum speeds automatically decrease 10–20 km/h in rain and fog. The signs denoting maximum speed are round, with a red perimeter and black numbers in the center. If the speed limit temporarily decreases, such as when passing through a town, a new speed limit sign will be posted. When the restriction ends, the same sign will reappear with a diagonal slash through it.

When driving into a town, a sign with the town’s name will appear; when leaving, the same sign with a diagonal slash through the town’s name will be posted. Stop signs are the same shape and color as in the United States, and they even say the word “stop” in English. However, Italian drivers treat them as flashing yellow—if they can, drivers often keep going!

Keep in mind that (technically) there is no “right on red” in Italy. Also, beware of the upside-down triangle with a red perimeter, the dare la precedenzasign, which is found before intersections or roundabouts—you must give way to all other vehicles. A round sign with a red perimeter and white center means that the area is restricted to vehicles, and a similar sign with a white bar means no entry. A complete list of signs can be found online at www.slowtravel-italy.com .

And finally, a word about parking. Parking signs are blue, and paid parking spaces are outlined in blue. Find the parking machine nearby, pay with cash or credit for the allotted number of hours, and put the ticket on your dashboard (as in many U.S. cities today). White spaces are usually free parking, but the disco orario, a small cardboard clock, needs to be placed on your dashboard and set to the time you arrived at the space—ora di arrivo. The posted sign will tell you how long you may remain. In some cities, however, the white lines may be reserved for residents, so beware. Also, do not park in front of driveways, where you may see a passo carrabilesign; block any type of side street; or double park, despite what you may see the Italians do!

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Learn Conversational Italian.

Drive Italy! When in Rome, Drive as the Romans Do!

Easter Cheesecake Recipe: Traditional Sicilian Sweet Farro Wheat Pie

March 21, 2016 Italian and Italian-American Recipes Easter desserts , Easter desserts from Italy , Easter desserts from Sicily , Free Italian recipe , Free recipe , Italian cakes , Italian cheesecakes , Italian Desserts , Italian Easter desserts , Italian Food , Sicilian desserts , Sicilian Easter desserts , Stella Lucente Kathryn Occhipinti

Easter Cheesecake Recipe: Traditional Sicilian Sweet Farro Wheat Pie

A traditional Easter cheesecake recipe—enjoyed by generations of Sicilians here in America!

Easter Cheesecake Recipe: Traditional Sicilian Sweet Farro Wheat Pie

Italian Easter traditions are unique to each region of the country and have been lovingly handed down within families through the generations. Ricotta cheesecake, a version of which was first served by the Romans centuries ago, has come to play a part in the Easter celebration in Sicily as well.

The recipe given below is for a Sicilian Easter cheesecake—actually a “ricotta pie,” made with a sweet Italian pie crust and sweet ricotta and farro wheat filling. It has been passed down through the years within my father’s family from the town of Ragusa in Sicily. If you would like to see how the lattice pie crust top is assembled, visit the Stella Lucente Italian Pinterest site.

Farro wheat is one of the oldest forms of natural wheat grown in southern Italy and has been enjoyed by Italians for centuries. This whole-wheat grain is added to the ricotta filling as a symbol of renewal, along with dried fruit left over from winter stores and traditional Sicilian flavorings, in order to create a rich texture and a perfectly balanced sweet citrus and cinnamon flavor. Try it this Easter for a taste of Italian tradition! —Kathryn Occhipinti

Easter Cheesecake Recipe
Traditional Sicilian Sweet Farro Wheat Pie

Ingredients

Pasta Frolla (Sweet Pastry)
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ cup butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp grated lemon zest

Farro Wheat* Preparation
½ cup whole farro wheat (about 1¼ cup cooked)
¼ cup hot milk
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp candied orange
1 Tbsp minced dried apricot
1 Tbsp minced dried prune

Ricotta Filling
¾ lb. whole milk ricotta cheese
¾ cup sugar
3 egg yolks, beaten
dash of cinnamon
grated rind of 1 lemon (yellow part only, not white pith)
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange juice or orange blossom water
2 egg whites, whipped until stiff with a pinch of cream of tartar

Procedure

Prepare the wheat

Cook the wheat according to the package directions; drain the water.

Add the scalded milk, salt, and sugar and boil an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add the orange peel and dried fruit, mix, and set aside to cool.

Prepare the pasta frolla

Sift the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl.

Cut in butter with a fork and fingertips until the size of small peas.

Stir in egg yolks one at a time, mixing gently with a fork.

Gather the crumbly pieces of dough, adding a little milk if necessary to moisten.

Turn out on a floured board and press together with a soft, gentle kneading motion with the palm of the hand until a dough forms.

Form two discs, one slightly larger than the other, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the filling

Mix together all the filling ingredients except the egg whites.

Fold in the prepared wheat and then the whipped egg whites.

Assemble the pie

Roll out the larger disc of dough for the bottom crust and lay it in a 9” springform pan.

Prick the bottom with a fork. Add the prepared filling and refrigerate.

Roll out the top crust and cut it into strips using a knife or pasta wheel, and use the strips to make a lattice crust on a pizza plate or other flat board (see Stella Lucente Pinterest for step-by-step pictures).

Slide the lattice crust onto the top of the pie and crimp the edges.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° for about 40–50 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned. Cool in oven.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar when cool if desired. Refrigerate until serving.

*Whole farro can now be found in many specialty stores and on the Internet. Rustichella D’Abruzzo brand “whole farro cereal grain” was used in the recipe.

—Kathryn Occhipinti: Adapted from the cooking classes given by the Italian-American Society of Peoria

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YouTube videos to learn Italian are available from © Stella Lucente, LLC.
Learn Conversational Italian.

Easter Cheesecake Recipe: Traditional Sicilian Sweet Farro Wheat Pie

Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

March 14, 2016 Let's Learn Italian! About Italian , About Italian language , amare , amore , Conversational Italian , How to say I love you in Italian , How to use reflexive italian verbs , How to use volere , Italian conversation , Italian Language , Italian Love , Italian reflexive verbs , Italian Story about Love , learn Italian , Learn Italian language , Love in Italian , Love story , Mancare , Once upon a time in Italian , Say I love you in Italian , Speak Italian , Stella Lucente , Story about love , Voglio bene , Volere Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

Everything you need to know to talk about love… in Italian!

Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

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 talk about all the things that are nearest and dearest to your heart in Italian? Can you speak Italian the way you would speak in your native language, with complex and varied sentences? This is more difficult than it may seem at first, and it’s something that I am always working on! This series will focus on the situations that have come up most frequently in my everyday conversations with Italian instructors and friends. The “Speak Italian” blog series willfocus 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 how to use possessive adjectives in Italian, phrases for storytelling, reciprocal reflexive verbs, and the special ways to say we love and miss someone using the Italian verbs volere and mancare !

Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

In the “Speak Italian” 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 third topic in this series, “Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!”
—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 language instructor Simona Giuggioli.

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 !

I had five brothers and sisters—two brothers and three sisters. I was the oldest in the family, and when I was 12 years old, I had to leave school. I had to help my mother take care of my sisters and my brothers. Before I went to bed, every night I said to my mother, “Do you love me?” And my mother replied, “I love you very much!”

Avevo cinque fratelli — due fratelli e tre sorelle. Ero la più grande nella famiglia e quando avevo dodici anni ho dovuto lasciare la scuola. Ho dovuto aiutare mia mamma a prendersi cura delle mie sorelle e dei miei fratelli . Prima di andare a letto , ogni notte dicevo a mia mamma, “ Mi vuoi bene ?” E mia madre diceva, “ Ti voglio molto bene !”

And at Ragusa, there was also a boy named Peter who was 2 years older than me. Peter grew up on the same street as my family. When he became older, Peter was tall and handsome, a good person, and was very nice to me. I loved him. I became his girlfriend, but in secret.

Ed a Ragusa c’era anche un ragazzo che si chiamava Pietro che aveva due anni più di me. Pietro è cresciuto nella stessa strada della mia famiglia. Da grande, Pietro è diventato alto e bello, bravo , ed era molto simpatico con me. L’amavo . Sono diventata la sua ragazza, ma in segreto.

Peter’s father, Paul, was also a good person and decided to make a better life for his family and go to America. In 1916, when Peter was 16 years old, Paul brought the family to America. There was a lot of work for Paul, who was a bricklayer and helped to build many buildings that are still well known in New York today. Peter’s father made a lot of money, and the family was very well off.

Il padre di Pietro, Paolo, era anche una persona perbene e ha deciso di migliorare la vita della sua famiglia e di andare in America. Nel millenovecentosedici, quando Pietro aveva sedici anni, Paolo ha portato la famiglia in America. C’era molto lavoro per Paolo, chi era un muratore e ha aiutato a costruire tanti palazzi ancora ben conosciuti a New York oggi. Il padre di Pietro ha fatto tanti soldi e la famiglia stava molto bene .

Peter also worked every day and learned his father’s trade. But Peter was not happy. He wrote me in many letters that New York was ugly. He missed his beautiful Sicily. He missed me! In Sicily, I missed Peter!

Anche Pietro lavorava ogni giorno e imparava il mestiere da suo padre. Ma, Pietro non era contento. Lui mi ha scritto in tante lettere che New York era brutta. A lui mancava la sua bella Sicilia. Anche, io gli mancavo ! Mentre in Sicilia, mi mancava Pietro !

This continued for many years.

Continuava cosi per tanti anni.

Finally, Peter wrote a letter to my father and asked him to take me to America to get married (marry me).

Finalmente, Pietro ha scritto una lettera a mio padre e l’ha c hiesto di portarmi in America per sposarmi.

At first, my father had said, “Absolutely not!”

Al inizio, mio padre ha detto, “Assolutamente no!”

But I wanted to go to America and marry Peter. I loved Peter very much. Every day, I cried. I did not eat anything. My mother said to my father, “How sad Maria is! You must take her to America!”

Ma volevo andare in America e sposarmi con Pietro. L’amavo tanto . Ogni giorno, piangevo. Non mangiavo niente. Mia madre ha detto a mio padre, “Come triste è Maria! Devi portarla in America!”

And finally, he did it!

E finalmente, lui l’ho fatto!

Peter and I were married, and we had three children: two boys and one girl. We moved to a small town north of New York City, where there are mountains and it is very pretty.

Pietro ed io ci siamo sposati e abbiamo avuto tre figli : due figli maschi e una figla femmina . Abbiamo traslocati a un piccolo paese a nord di New York, dove ci sono le montagne ed è molto bello.

Today, I feel very fortunate and happy because I have my three great loves: my new country, my husband, and my family!

Oggi, mi sento molto fortunata e contena perché ho i miei tre grandi amori: il mio paese nuovo, mio marito, e la mia famiglia!

Speak Italian: Grammar You Will Need to Know…

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Use Italian Possessive Adjectives to Describe Things

The definite article ( il, la, i, or le) must be added before the possessive adjective when we describe the things that we possess . In this case, both the definite article and the possessive adjective will match the gender and number of the noun that is being modified. Remember, in Italian, we do not think about who is doing the possessing, but about what is being possessed!

Singular		Plural
il mio/ la mia	my	i miei/ le mie
il tuo/ la tua	your (familiar) singular	i tuoi/ le tue
il *suo/** la sua*	*your (polite) singular his, her, its**	i *suoi/** le sue*

il nostro/ la nostra	our	i nostri/ le nostre
il vostro/l a vostra	your (familiar) plural	i vostri/ le vostre
il loro/ la loro	their	i *loro/** le loro*

*For “polite your ,” simply capitalize, as in, “il Suo amico”or “la Sua amica.”

It should be noted that the definite article can be omitted if the speaker wants to emphasize ownership of a particular thing when using the verb essere. If someone wants to stress his ownership of a car, for instance, he would simply say, “È mia”for “(It) is mine,”and omit the definite article laand the word macchina. In English, we use mineinstead of my, oursinstead of our, and yoursinstead of yourafter the verb “to be” in a similar way. This is called the stressed form of the possessive adjective.

Also, the expression “a casa mia,”with the possessive adjective placed alone, after the noun, is idiomatic and means “at/to my house.”The other possessive forms can be used as well with this phrase, as in “a casa tua” (at your house)or “a casa sua” (at his/her house). And it can always be “colpa mia,”or “my fault.”

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Use Italian Possessive Adjectives with Family Members

When speaking of only one family member , do not use the definite article!

mio cugino = my cousin

When speaking of more than one family member, the definite article must be used.

i miei cugini = my cousins

If using an adjective to describe family members , the definite article must be used.

“Caterina è la mia cara cugina.” = “Kathy is my dear cousin.”

Singular and Plural Possessive Adjectives for Family

mio/mia	my	i miei/ le mie
tuo/tua	your (familiar) singular	i tuoi/ le tue
suo/sua	your (polite) singular/his/her/its	i suoi/ le sue

nostro/nostra	our	i nostri/ le nostre
vostro/vostra	your (familiar) plural	i vostri/ le vostre
il loro/ la loro	their	i loro/ le loro

La Mia Famiglia Femminile/ Female Members of My Family

mia madr e	my mother
(la) mia mamm a	my mom
mia sorell a	my sister(s)	le mie sorell e
mia nonn a	my grandmother(s)	le mie nonn e
mia zi a	my aunt(s)	le mie zi e
mia figli a	my daughter(s)	le mie figli e
mia cugin a	my female cousin(s)	le mie cugin e

La Mia Famiglia Maschile/ Male Members of My Family

mio padr e	my father
(il) mio papà	my dad
mio fratell o	my brother(s)	i miei fratell i
mio nonn o	my grandfather(s)	i miei nonn i
mio zi o	my uncle(s)	i miei zi i
mio figli o	my son(s)	i miei figl i
mio cugin o	my cousin(s)	i miei cugin i

Always use il mio fidanzatoor la mia fidanzatafor a boyfriend/fiancéor girlfriend/fiancée who are not yet part of the family! This also applies to la mia ex moglieand il mio ex marito, my ex-wifeand my ex-husband.

If a pet, or animale domestico, such as a cat or a dog, is a part of your family, use the definite article when referring to them. So, my cator my dogwould be il mio gatoor il mio cane. The endings of the nouns that refer to animals do not need to be changed to match their gender. But, if it is important to emphasize that you have a male or a female animal, see below:

il gato	il mio gato	the cat	my cat (any gender or a male cat)
il mio gato	il mio gato maschio	the male cat	my male cat
la mia gata	la mia gata femmina	the female cat	my female cat

il cane	il mio cane	the dog	my dog (any gender or a male dog)
il mio cane	il mio cane maschio	the male dog	my male dog
la mia cagna	la mia cagna femmina	the female dog	my female dog

When speaking in Italian of two family members or objects of the same gender and number, link them with the word “and,”which is “e”in Italian. The possessive pronoun does not need to be repeated. That said, the tendency in Italian is to repeat the possessive pronoun anyway.

The possessive pronoun must be used for each person/thing linked with the word “and” when the gender or number of the person/thing differs .

Note that in English, it is not necessary to repeat the word “my,” although “my” can be repeated to emphasize that one is speaking of two different types of groups.

mio fratello e cugino or mio fratello e mio cugino	my brother and cousin

mio fratello e mia sorella	my brother and sister
mio fratello e i miei cugini	my brother and my cousins

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Talk about Siblings and Children

When talking about siblingsin Italian, the idea is expressed with the Italian plural word fratelli. This masculine plural noun refers to a group of all male siblings and to a group of both male and female siblings. Therefore, the number of brothers and sisters must be specified in the next sentence—and all endings changed into either masculine or feminine.

Remember to use un fratellofor one male sibling and una sorellafor one female sibling.

Ho due fratelli.	I have two siblings (brothers and sisters or just brothers).
Ho un fratello e una sorella.	I have one brother and one sister.

Remember to use fratellifor a group of brothers and sorellefor a group of sisters.

Ho cinque fratelli.	I have five siblings (brothers and sisters or just brothers).
Ho due fratelli e tre sorelle.	I have two brothers and three sisters.

When talking about one’s own or someone else’s childrenin Italian, the idea is expressed with the Italian plural word figli(which otherwise means sons). This masculine word refers to a group of all male children and to a group of both male and female children. It then becomes necessary to use additional nouns to categorize the children as male or female in the next sentence, and all endings must be changed into either masculine or feminine.

Remember to use uno figlio maschiofor one male child and una figlia femminafor one female child.

Ho due figli.	I have two children./I have two boys and girls.
Ho un figlio maschio e una figlia femmina.	I have one boy and one girl.

Remember to use figli maschifor a group of male children and figlie femminefor a group of female children.

Ho cinque figli.	I have five children./I have five boys and girls.
Ho due figli maschi e tre figlie femmine.	I have two brothers and three sisters.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

When to use “Che” to Connect Phrases in Italian

“Che” has many meanings in Italian,and is used in many ways. This little word will come up often in spoken and written Italian. The first and probably most important meaning that is found in most every dictionary, though, is the conjunctive “that.” While in English, many times we leave out the word “that” when linking two phrases together to make a complex sentence, in Italian this word can almost never be omitted.

A couple of important examples were underlined in are dialogue to make this point and are reprinted here. Learning how and when to incorporate “che” into an Italian sentence will take one a long way to becoming fluent in Italian, so listen closely for this word!

To link the phrase “this is what” to a second phrase.

E questo è quello che mi ha detto:
And this is what (that) she said to me:

2. To mention something or someone and then give its actual name.

Mi piaceva molto il mio paese che si chiama Ragusa.
( Italian: I loved my town very much that is called Ragusa.)
I loved my town Ragusa very much.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

When to use “Che” to Connect Phrases in Italian

“Che” has many meanings in Italian,and is used in many ways. Below are two more uses for the Italian word che,with two different meanings.

Cheis also commonly used as an interrogative expression meaning, “What?” “Che?” “Che cosa?”and “Cosa?”all mean “What?”in Italian, and are used interchangeably. Two of the most commonly spoken phrases where cheis used this way are below:

Che succede?	What’s happening?
Che è successo?	What happened?

And by now you have no doubt heard the exclamation, “Che bello!”which means, “How beautiful!”or “How wonderful!”from anyone who has seen the rolling hills of the Italian countryside or a famous work of Italian art or architecture. Additional examples are listed below. In short, chewhen used in an exclamation of this type takes on the meaning of how. Of course, “Com’è bello?”means “How beautiful is it?”since the word comeis the most often used to mean how in most other situations.

Che bello!	How beautiful!	How wonderful!
Che brutta (figura)!	How ugly!	How terrible!
Che fortuna!	How lucky!	What good fortune!

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Say “I Love You” in Italian

“Ti voglio bene”is an idiomatic expression in Italian, which translates roughly as, “I wish you well,”or better, “I care for you.” It originates from the verb volersi, which takes on a different meaning than the verb volere. The meaning of this verb is not easily translated into English, but is used often in Italy for many different situations.

“Ti voglio bene”is an old expression that is still used for platonic forms of caring and loving among family members and close friends in Italy today. The expression can be used between a boyfriend and a girlfriend and is also used between a husband and a wife. Watch some older Italian movies, and you will hear this expression often!

Mi voui bene?	Do you care for/about me?
Ti voglio bene.	I care for/about you.

The verb amare, which means “to love,”is reserved for romantic love—that one true love held between fiancée and fiancé, wife and husband.

Mi ami?	Do you love me?
Ti amo.	I love you.
Ti amo per sempre.	I will always love you.

Finally, some phrases for when you have fallen out of love:

Non ti voglio più bene.	I don’t like/care for you anymore.
Non ti amo più.	I don’t love you anymore.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Common Phrases to Begin a Story Paragraph

Da giovane…	When I was young…
Da grande…	When I grew up…
Quando ero più vecchio(a)…	When I was older…

Nel 1928…	In 1928…
C’era una volta… Una volta c’era…	Once upon a time… In the past there was… / Once there was…
Allora…	In those days…

Per prima cosa…	For the first thing…
Dapprima…	Initially…
Prima…/Poi…	First…/Then…
Prima o poi…	Sooner or later…

Fin dall’inizio…

From the beginning…

Da ora in poi…

From now on…

Da allora in poi…

From then on…
From that moment on…

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Verbs That Take the Preposition “A”

Some Italian verbs need to be followed by the Italian word “a,”which in this case means “to,”before the addition of an infinitive verb to make a complete sentence. This may seem a little redundant at first, because in English, a verb in its infinitive form already includes the word “to.” To the Italian speaker, though, it is natural to insert the word a after the verbs on the list that follows—the phrases just sound correct this way.

Two important phrases to remember that use this rule are “andare a trovare” (“to go to visit”)and “venire a trovare” (“to come to visit”), which are used when visiting a person . The noun visitarecan be used when you want to speak about a place you are visiting .

Don’t memorize this list, but instead try to listen for the “a”when these phrases come up in conversation, and soon it will become natural for you, also, to say these phrases correctly.

aiutare	to help	Aiuto mia mamma a … cucinare la cena.
andare	to go	Vado a … trovare mio cugino Pietro in Italia.
cominciare	to start	Comincio a … cucinare la cena.
divertirsi	to enjoy oneself	Mi divertito a … suonare il violino.
imparare	to learn	Tutti imparano a … parlare italiano.
insegnare	to teach	Lei insegna a … parlare la lingua francese.
invitare	to invite	Lui l’invita a … mangiare al ristorante.
mandare	to send	Io mando Pietro a … prendere una pizza.
prepararsi	to get ready	Mi preparo a … viaggiare in Italia.
venire	to come	Caterina viene a … trovare i suoi cugini.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Reciprocal Reflexive Verbs, Including Sposarsi

Reciprocal reflexive verbs are used in the special situation when two people perform the same action together; this will make both people the subject of the action. Therefore, the reciprocal reflexive verbs are conjugated in their plural form, using the plural subject and reflexive pronouns: (noi) ci, (voi) vi, or (loro) si. For conversation, the noiand loroforms will be the most important to remember. To express this type of situation in English, we simply add the phrase “each other,”after the verb.

Here is how this verb form works: for instance, everyone knows that “Ci vediamo”means “We (will) see each other.” So if the speaker is involved in the action with someone else— we are doing the action—use the noiverb conjugation and put ciin front of the verb.

Another common phrase is “Si abbracciano e si baciano,”which means “They hug and kiss each other.” If two people are being talked about— they are doing the action—use the loroverb conjugation and put siin front of the verb.

A quick word about sposarsi. It is one of those reflexive verbs that translates as “to get” married. We talked about these “to get” verbs in the last blog in this series. So if a person wants to say, “I want to get married”in Italian, this would be “(Io) voglio sposarmi.”

As we know, the subject pronouns are almost always omitted in conversation, and this applies to reciprocal reflexive verbs as well—hence the parentheses in the examples that follow!

Io e Francesca ci vogliamo bene.	Frances and I care for each other very much.
(Noi) Ci sposiamo oggi.	We (will) marry each other today.
(Noi) Ci scriviamo ogni giorno.	We write each other every day.
(Noi) Ci vediamo al teatro.	We (will) see each other at the theater.
(Noi) Ci vogliamo bene.	We love each other very much.

Caterina e Zia Rosa si salutano.	Kathy and Aunt Rose greet each other .
Michele e Francesca si volgiono bene.	Michael and Frances care for each other very much.
(Loro) si vogliono bene.	(They) care for each other very much.
(Loro) Si incontrano.	They meet each other .
(Loro) Si telefonano ogni giorno .	They telephone each other every day.

Listed below are verbs that commonly use the reciprocal reflexive form:

abbracciarsi	to hug each other
aiutarsi	to help each other
amarsi	to love each other
baciarsi	to kiss each other
chiamarsi	to call each other
conoscersi	to get to know each other
fidanzarsi	to become engaged
guardarsi	to look at each other
incontrarsi	to meet each other (planned meeting)
odiarsi	to hate each other
parlarsi	to speak to each other
salutarsi	to greet each other
scriversi	to write each other
sposarsi	to marry each other
telefonarsi	to call each other
trovarsi	to meet each other
vedersi	to see each other

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Passato Prossimo Verbs That Take Essere

Here is a list of the most common action verbs that take esserewhen forming the passato prossimo, which is the verb form used to describe going from one place to another or “passing through” life—growing/living/dying. The infinitive form is in the first column, and the corresponding past participle is listed in the third column; notice that some past participles will be regular and others irregular.

It should also be noted that all reflexive verbs , as well as piacere, take essere.

accadere	to happen	accaduto(a)(i,e)	happened
andare	to go	andato(a)(i,e)	went
arrivare	to arrive	arrivato(a)(i,e)	arrived
cadere	to fall	caduto(a)(i,e)	fell
cambiare	to change	cambiato(a)(i,e)	changed
cominciare+	to begin	cominciato(a)(i,e)	began
diventare	to become	diventato(a)(i,e)	became
entrare	to enter	entrato(a)(i,e)	entered
finire+	to finish	finito(a)(i,e)	finished
iniziare+	to begin	iniziato(a)(i,e)	began
morire	to die	morto(a)(i,e)	dead
nascere	to be born	nato(a)(i,e)	born
partire	to leave	partito(a)(i,e)	left
passare*	to pass through	passato(a)(i,e)	past
piacere	to be pleasing to	piaciuto(a)(i,e)	pleased
restare	to remain	restato(a)(i,e)	remained
rompere	to break	rotto(a)(i,e)	broken
salire*	to go up	salito(a)(i,e)	went up
scendere*	to do down	sceso(a)(i,e)	went down
succedere	to happen	successo(a)(i,e)	happened
uscire	to go out	uscito(a)(i,e)	went out
venire	to come	venuto(a)(i,e)	came

+Some verbs, such as cominciare, finire, and iniziare, take avere except when the subject is a thing, rather than a person. So as we have learned in Chapter 11 of Conversational Italian for Travelers , “Io ho finito il libro,” “Tu hai finito il libro,”and “Lei/lui ha finito il libro,” but “Il film è finito,”for “The film is finished.” Notice that in the last example, the verb itself completes the sentence and refers back to the subject. ( Finireis categorized as transitive in all of the examples except the last, when it is intransitive, but don’t worry about these terms!)

*Some verbs, such as passare, scendere, and saliretake averewhen used with a direct object, as in “Io ho sceso le scale”for “I have gone down the stairs.” Otherwise, they use essere: “Lui è sceso”for “He has gotten off.”

Grammar Point: Reflexive Verbs with the Passato Prossimo

All reflexive verbs form the passato prossimowith essere. Simply put the reflexive pronoun before essereand follow esserewith the past participle as usual. Remember to change the ending of the past participle to reflect the gender of the person doing the action. See the example below with divertirsi (to enjoy oneself). With all the good times a visitor to Italy can expect, divertirsiis an essential verb to know in several different tenses!

Notice that the translation in English uses the verb to have, while Italian uses to be. So remember to think in Italian in this case!

Essersi divertito/To Have Enjoyed Oneself

io	mi sono	diver ti to(a)	I have enjoyed myself. I enjoyed myself.
tu	ti sei	divertito(a)	You (familiar) have enjoyed yourself. You (familiar) enjoyed yourself.
Lei/lei/lui	si è	divertito(a)	You (polite)/she/he have/has enjoyed herself/himself. You (polite)/she/he enjoyed herself/himself.

noi	ci siamo	divertit i(e)	We have enjoyed ourselves. We enjoyed ourselves.
voi	vi siete	divertit i(e)	You all have enjoyed yourselves. You all enjoyed yourselves.
loro	si sono	divertit i(e)	They have enjoyed themselves. They enjoyed themselves.

Grammar Point: Modal Verbs with Essereand the Passato Prossimo

We have seen how to use the modal verbs dovere, potere, and volereif the passato prossimois formed with avere. The sequence to use is the same with essere; essereis conjugated to reflect the speaker, the past participle of the modal verb is added, and then the infinitive of the verb finishes the verb phrase.

There is one catch, though. Remember that we must change the past participle of the verbs that follow essereto reflect the gender of the speaker. In this case, the past participle is formed from the modal verb, so the ending of the modal verb must change !

Pietr o è volut o partire alle sei stasera.
Peter wanted to leave at 6 tonight.

Caterin a è dovut a andare a fare la spesa ieri.
Kathy had to go grocery shopping yesterday.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

When to Use the Passato Prossimo versus the Imperfetto

Here is a table to clarify the differences of the uses of the passato prossimoand the imperfettopast tense verb forms. Both will describe actions or events that have taken place in the past. The circumstances that surround each event determine the form to use. When narrating a story, use the imperfetto.

Passato Prossimo Imperfetto

Past action that took place once.	Past action that was habitual; done several times.
Stamattina ho telefonato a mia mamma. This morning I called my mother.	Telefonavo a mia mamma ogni mattina. I used to call my mother every day.

Past action that was performed a specific number of times.	Past action that took place over an extended period of time.
Sono andata dal medico per tre giorni di fila. I went to the doctor for 3 days in a row.	Andavo dal medico raramente quando ero giovane. I went to the doctor rarely when I was young.

Past action that was performed within a definite time period.	Past action that was performed within an indefinite time period, without a specific beginning and ending mentioned.
L’anno scorso è andato a scuola. Last year he went to school.	Da giovane, andava volentieri a scuola. When he was young, he used to go to school gladly.

Past states of being/having of a person or a thing in a specific time frame.	Past states of being/having of a person or a thing ( essereor avereused alone).
Ieri ho avuto fame tutto il giorno. Yesterday I had hunger all day long. (English: I was hungry.) Caterina è stata molto felice il giorno del suo compleanno. Kathy was very happy on her birthday.	Io avevo fame. I used to have/had hunger. (English: I used to be/was hungry.) Caterina era felice. Kathy used to be/was happy.

In a compound sentence that involves two actions performed in the past, the completed action (usually given second) uses the passato prossimo. In a compound sentence that involves two actions performed in the past, the setting, or the ongoing situation (usually given first), uses the imperfetto.

Mentre nostro figlio dormiva, abbiamo guidato per molte ore.

While our son was sleeping, we drove for many hours.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Conjugate and Use Mancare

The verb mancarehas many meanings: to miss/to lose/to lack/to be lacking/to omit/to fail. Mancareis used to convey the idea of “to misssomeone” very commonly in conversational Italian, so it is important to learn the conjugation and sentence structure for this verb.

To start off, you should know that the sentence structure used for mancareis the same as for the verb piacere(see the second blog in this series). In English, we say the subject of the sentence misses someone using the direct object (example: I miss John), whereas in Italian, this phrase is turned around and the subject is the person who is being missed .

The sentence structure in Italian can use the disjunctive pronoun.

example “I miss John”: John is missing to me . = Giovanni manca a me .

But more often, the Italian sentence uses the indirect object pronoun placed before the verb.

example “I miss John”: (John) to me is missing. = (Giovanni) Mi manca.

To make matters more confusing to the English speaker, the subject of the sentence—which can be somebody’s name, a subject pronoun, a place, or even an object—can be left out entirely as long as it is known from the context, as we see above.

But, in most cases the subject is then added to the end of the sentence for clarification.

example: “I miss John”: To me is missing John. = Mi manca Giovanni.

Think about this a bit and then read the present tense conjugation below. Notice that the tuand noiforms are irregular. These are marked with an asterisk.

Mancare /To Be Missing (To)

io	man co	I am missing (to…)
tu	man chi*	you (fam.) are missing (to…)
Lei lei/lui	man ca	you (polite) are missing (to…) she/he/it is missing (to…)

noi	man chi amo*	we are missing (to…)
voi	man ca te	you all are missing (to…)
loro	man cano	they are missing (to…)

The past tense of mancareis regular in the passato prossimoand takes essere. The passato prossimo form is often used. Consider the phrase “I missed you!” This implies that a definite period of absence has passed, and now the individuals are able to finally talk about their feelings. This is the past tense form for mancarethat is most commonly used during conversation.

See below for the passato prossimoconjugation of mancare:

sono sei, è, with mancato(a)
siamo, siete sonowith mancati(e)

The imperfettoform of mancareis regular as well, and is used most often for narration, as in our example story. In this case, the reference is to a nonspecific amount of time that people missed each other in the past.

See below for the imperfettoconjugation of mancare:

mancavo, mancavi, mancava
mancavamo, mancavate, mancavano

The sentences below give some common examples of how to use the verb mancare, first in present tense and then in past tense, with the passato prossimo. For easier understanding, the subject pronouns are included in parentheses, but remember that they are most often left out of the sentence, unless needed for clarification.

(Tu) Mi manchi.	You are missing to me.	I miss you.
(Lei/Lui) Mi manca.	She/he is missing to me.	I miss her/him.

(Io) Ti manco?	(Am I) missing to you?	(Do you) miss me?
(Lei/Lui) Ti manca?	(Is she/he) missing to you?	(Do you) miss her/him?

(Io) Gli manco.	I am missing to him.	He misses me.
(Io) Le manco.	I am missing to her.	She misses me.
(Tu) Gli manchi.	You are missing to him.	He misses you.
(Tu) Le manchi.	You are missing to her.	She misses you.
Gli manca (Maria) .	Maria is missing to him.	He misses Maria.
Le manca (Maria) .	Maria is missing to her.	She misses Maria.
Gli manca (Paolo).	Paul is missing to him.	He misses Paul.
Le manca (Paolo).	Paul is missing to her.	She misses Paul.

**********************************************************************************

(Tu) Mi sei mancato(a).	You were missed to me.	I missed you.
(Lei/Lui) Mi è mancato(a).	She/he was missed to me.	I missed her/him.

(Io) Ti sono mancto(a)?	(Was I) missed to you?	(Did you) miss me?
(Lei/Lui) Ti è mancato(a)?	(Was she/he) missed to her/him?	(Did you) miss her/him?

(Io) Gli sono mancato(a).	I was missed to him.	He missed me.
(Io) Le sono mancato(a).	I was missed to her.	She missed me.
(Tu ) Gli sei mancato(a).	You were missed to him.	He missed you.
(Tu) Le sei mancato(a).	You were missed to her.	She missed you.
Gli è mancata (Maria) .	Maria was missed to him.	He missed Maria.
Le è mancata (Maria) .	Maria was missed to her.	She missed Maria.
Gli è mancato (Paolo).	Paul was missed to him.	He missed Paul.
Le è mancato (Paolo) .	Paul was missed to her.	She missed Paul.

Speak Italian: A Story about… YOUR Great Loves!

Everyone has a story to tell about themselves. What would you like others to know about what you find important in life? What are your great loves? Fill in the blanks in the Italian sentences in the exercise below, using examples from your own life.

Speak Italian: A Story about… Your Great Loves!

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 ann i , ho chiestodi 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 of 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 ________________________________________________________________.

Quando ero, ho vissutoe mi piaceva molto il mio paese che si chiama È __

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Ogni giorno potevo vedere ed era molto bello! Mi piaceva molto !

Avevo fratelli— fratelli e sorelle. Ero nella famiglia e quando avevo dodici anni .

Ho dovuto aiutare . Prima di andare a letto , ogni notte dicevo a mia mamma, “ Mi vuoli bene ?” E mia madre diceva, “ Ti voglio molto bene !”

Ed a Ragusa c’era anche un ragazzo(a) che si chiamava che aveva anni più di me. è cresciuto nella stessa strada della mia famiglia.

Da grande, è diventato(a) , ed era molto simpatico con me. L’amavo(a) . Sono diventata(o) la sua ragazza(o), ma in segreto.

Il padre di , Paolo, era anche una persona per bene e ha deciso di migliorare la vita della sua famiglia e di andare in America. Nel , quando aveva anni, Paolo ha portato la famiglia in America. C’era molto lavoro per Paolo, chi era e ha aiutato a . Il padre di ha fatto tanti soldi e la famiglia stava molto bene .

Anche lavorava ogni giorno e imparava il mestiere da suo padre. Ma, non era contento. Lui(Lei) mi ha scritto in tante lettere che era brutta. A lui(lei) mancava la sua bella Sicilia.

Anche, io gli(le) mancavo ! Mentre in , mi mancava !

This continued for many years.

Continuava cosi per tanti anni.

Finally, Peter wrote a letter to my father and asked him to take me to America to get married (marry me).

Finalmente, ha scritto una lettera a e
l’ha chiesto di portarmi in America per sposarmi.

At first, my father had said, “Absolutely not!”

Al inizio, ____________________________________________________________________________________________.

But I wanted to go to America and marry Peter. I loved Peter very much. Every day, I cried. I did not eat anything. My mother said to my father, “How sad Maria is! You must take her to America!”

Ma volevo andare in America e sposarmi con . L’amavo tanto .

Ogni giorno, .
Mia madre ha detto a mio padre, “Come triste è !

Devi portarla(lo) in America!”

And finally, he did it!

E finalmente, lui l’ho fatto!

Peter and I were married, and we had three children—two boys and one girl. We moved to a small town north of New York City, where there are mountains and it is very pretty.

ed io ci siamo sposati e abbiamo avuto figli — figli maschi e figla femmina . Abbiamo traslocati a , dove ci sono
ed è molto bello.

Today, I feel very fortunate and happy because I have my three great loves: my new country, my husband, and my family!

Oggi, mi sento molto fortunata e contena perché ho i miei tre grandi amori:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________.

-Kathryn Occhipinti

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Learn Conversational Italian.

Speak Italian – A Story About… Love!

High-Speed Italian Trains Freccia and Italo for Travel in Italy

February 29, 2016 Conversational Italian for Travelers Book Reviews , Italian Travel and Cultural Notes Buy Italian train tickets , Conversational Italian for Travelers books , Follow Caterina in Italy , Freccia Train , Frecciabianca , Frecciargento , Frecciarossa , High speed Italian train cities , High speed Italian trains , How to buy highspeed train tickets , How to take highspeed Italian trains , Italian train , Italian train connections , Italian Train travel , italiarail , Italo Train , Italy train travel , Milan , Milan trains , Milan transportation , Rome , Rome trains , Rome transportation , Stella Lucente , Travel in Italy , Trenitalia , Venice Kathryn Occhipinti

High-Speed Italian Trains Freccia and Italo for Travel in Italy

Follow Caterina in the
Conversational Italian for Travelers series of books!

The Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook begins each chapter with a dialogue from a story about the character Caterina, an American girl who travels to Italy to visit her relatives. As the story continues from one chapter to the next, we learn Italian, and about Italy, in an engaging way through Caterina’s experiences.

High-Speed Italian Trains Freccia and Italo for Travel in Italy

One of the first things Caterina must do after her plane lands in Italy is find her way on the Italian railway system. To listen to dialogues from Chapters 4 and 5 about Caterina’s encounters as she buys a ticket and boards a train in Italy, go to the interactive dialogues on our website at learntravelitalian.com/interactive.html .

For more images and links to the high-speed Italian train system, visit our Pinterest Site, Stella Lucente Italian .

The Cultural Note below, also from the textbook, describes the exciting new high-speed Italian trains of the Freccia and Italorailway systems that have streamlined travel between the major cities in Italy.
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Cultural Note: Freccia and Italo Railway Systems for Travel in Italy

The future of train travel is here in Italy today, under the old Trenitalia Ferrovie dello Statorailway system, to which has been added a new network traveled by a fleet of beautiful, high-speed Italian trains—the Freccia (arrow)trains. The high-speed Italian trains for the railway line Frecciarossa (red arrow) link the major cities of Naples, Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin, and Venice and travel up to 175 miles per hour across the country. It is now possible to travel from Milan or Venice to Rome on these high-speed Italian trains in about 3 hours. This Italian network is linked to major European cities outside of Italy as well and can be an efficient way to extend travel plans to neighboring countries, with restaurant cars and sleeper cars available for longer journeys. These cars are also equipped with WiFi for a small fee. The Frecciargento (silver arrow)and Frecciabianca (white arrow)trains are part of this new family of high-speed Italian trains and link smaller cities and towns. For a slightly higher fee, they provide a more comfortable ride than the older local trains and make fewer stops. Ask about the availability of these high-speed Italian trains when purchasing a ticket at the station. Or go to the official Trenitalia site, www.trenitalia.com , and click on one of the three silver tabs in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage for the high-speed Italian Frecciatrain of your choice.

High speed Italian train Italo — Self-service machine to purchase tickets to ride on an Italo railway high-speed Italian train

Italois a privately owned company that also offers high-speed Italian passenger train service. Italooffers a club membership for frequent travelers, with private waiting rooms at the train stations and special cars with reclining leather seats, personal TVs, WiFi, and meal service. Look for the bright red automatic ticket machines, or purchase tickets at the Italo ticket offices in the train station. For more information on the Italo family of high-speed Italian trains or to purchase tickets online, use the Italo website at www.italotreno.it .

Read all about this new high-speed Italian train network and learn about traveling throughout Italy on the different classes of trains offered by Trenitaliaand Italoon the website The man in Seat 61 at www.seat61.com . Click on the link for Italy and search for “A beginner’s guide to train travel in Italy” to see pictures of each type of train and learn more about the accommodations that are offered.

All of the high-speed Italian trains require a reservation (prenotazione), and the ticket issued will have an assigned car (carrozza)and seat (posto)for each passenger. Look for the car number on the side of the train, or ask the conductor, who will come out of the office to the platform when the train enters the station before departure for the next stop. Tickets for the high-speed Italian trains, as well as local trains, can be purchased online in most cases, starting 60 days before departure, and in some cases, up to 90 days. These online tickets may be discounted up to 60% off the price paid at the train station, depending on how far in advance they are purchased. Beware, though—the timetables change in mid-June and mid-December each year, so be sure to check them again before departing if you have bought tickets in advance. An alternative site, all in English, is www.raileurope.com . And remember, along with your ticket, you will need a valid personal ID to travel between European cities. Or, if you choose ticketless travel (within Italy only), you will need the registration number.

Have fun visiting the Trenitalia and Italowebsites!

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High-Speed Italian Trains Freccia and Italo for Travel in Italy

Italian Recipe: Lentil Soup (Zuppa di Lenticchie)

February 15, 2016 Italian and Italian-American Recipes How to make Italian lentil soup , How to make Italian soup , How to make lentil soup , Italian Lentil soup , Italian Recipes , Italian Soup , La Piana pasta , lenticchie , Lentil soup , lentils , noodle soup , Pasta and Soup , ravioli , ravioli soup , Soup Recipe , soup with noodles , Soup with Pasta , Stella Lucente , Zuppa Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian Recipe: Lentil Soup (Zuppa di Lenticchie)

Nothing like a bowl of hot Italian soup for a cold winter’s day!

Italian Recipe: Lentil Soup (Zuppa di Lenticchie)

Lentils are loved by Italians and make a wonderful, hot, nourishing soup for everyone! Try this recipe, and I think you will agree, even if you’ve never eaten lentils before. Any kind of miniature pasta can be used in this soup. My mother usually breaks regular spaghetti into shorter pieces for her version, although miniature ravioli are fun if you can find them in your local grocery store. For a vegetarian dish, dried ravioli with squash filling, which are pictured in this blog, are a wonderful complement to the lentils. —Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion (chopped finely)
2 carrots (chopped finely)
1 stick of celery (chopped finely)
1 package (12 oz.) dried lentils (sorted and rinsed once but not soaked)
1 tsp crushed, dried sage
1 bay leaf
optional: meat stock or broth*
1 can (14.5 oz.) chopped tomatoes
about 6 oz. capellini pasta or dried miniature squash ravioli**

Use a large, wide-bottom pot to make this soup.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and then add the chopped onion, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring, until both have softened a bit.

Add the lentils and cook the vegetables a bit longer, stirring, but do not let the onions brown. (This initial cooking of the lentils is said to harden the skin, so they will not become too mushy. If you like more mushy lentils, skip the sauté and just add the lentils after the rest of the vegetables have become soft . This will also decrease the overall cooking time.)

Add enough water (or meat stock if you have it and do not want a vegetarian dish) to cover the vegetables—about 6–8 cups—the dried sage, and the bay leaf.

Cover and bring to a boil; uncover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.

After the vegetables have cooked a bit, taste the soup. See how much the lentils have softened, and if they are still hard, cook longer. If they are about soft enough for your liking, proceed as follows:

Add about 1 Tablespoon of salt (to taste; less can be used) and an additional 2–4 cups of water for the pasta that you will soon be adding. Cover and bring soup back to a rolling boil.

When the soup is at a rolling boil, add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato juice from the can and the pasta. Traditional pasta for this dish is capellini pasta, cut into short pieces, as shown in the video. Any small pasta will do, though, such as ditalini pasta or even miniature ravioli or tortellini. Dried, miniature ravioli with squash filling were used for this blog.

Cook until the pasta is “al dente” or “to the tooth.”

Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving!

Enjoy with crusty Italian bread on a cold winter’s day!

*Italian “meat stock or broth” is often composed of whatever bones and small pieces of meat are left over from the night before—chicken and pork bones can be combined, for instance, or just one or the other used. When I make this soup for my family, it is usually with pork chop bones and meat left over from Monday night’s dinner. This gives the soup a nice added complexity.

**The dried ravioli used for the dish pictured was the “La Piana” brand imported from Italy, “ravioli with squash filling,” which also adds a nice bit of flavor to the dish. Here are some links to help you find this pasta in the United States: Italian Foods Corporation , La Piana Italian foods Facebook page , Pennsylvania Macaroni Food Company .

*How to Chop Vegetables
Carrots:Cut lengthwise to half, and then lengthwise again to get quarters. Line them up side by side and then cut crosswise from the tips to the base of the carrot to get small, even pieces that look like quarters of a circle.
Celery:Cut lengthwise through each celery stalk as many times as needed to give pieces the same thickness as the carrot pieces. (You will need more lengthwise cuts at the thicker part of the celery near the base.) Then cut crosswise from the tip to the base to get small, rectangular pieces of celery about the same size as the carrot pieces.
Onions: Cut lengthwise through the onion. Turn one of the halves flat side down. Holding the onion together with one hand, cut lengthwise along the green lines through the onion, except for the root holding the onion together at the base. Turn and cut horizontally, from the side away from the stem toward the stem. Just before reaching the stem, flip the onion flat again and make the final cuts. Discard the piece that contains the stem.

—Adapted from the cooking classes given by the Italian-American Society of Peoria,
Kathryn Occhipinti

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Learn Conversational Italian.

Italian Recipe: Lentil Soup (Zuppa di Lenticchie)

Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!

January 26, 2016 Let's Learn Italian! Describe it in Italian , Describe your day in Italian , How to conjugate piacere , How to conjugate reflexive verbs in Italian , How to say I like in Italian , How to say it takes time , How to tell time in Italian , How to use Italian verb piacere , How to use Italian verb volere , How to use piacere , How to use reflexive italian verbs , How to use volere , I like it in Italian , Italian , Italian Language , Italian learning , Italian preposition da , Italian preposition per , Italian Prepositions , Italian verbs , Italian word da , Italian word per , learn Italian , piacere , reflexive verbs , Stella Lucente , Telling time in Italian Kathryn Occhipinti

Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!

Speak Italian: Everything

you need to know …

to describe your day in Italian!

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 describe your daily routine 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 than it may seem at first, and it’s something that I am always working on!

This series will focus on the situations that 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 how to use reflexive verbs, how to use irregular verbs to say what we like, and how to describe the passage of time.

Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!

Remember these examples about yourself as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian in your next conversation!

Enjoy the second topic in this series, “Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!”
—Kathryn Occhipinti

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.

On some days, I can put on makeup (for men: shave ) quickly.
Qualche giorno, però, mi posso truccare (per gli uomini: mi faccio la barba) rapidamente.

All of this usually takes me until 8:00 and then I must take the children to school.
Per fare tutto, mi ci vuole fino alle otto e poi devo portare i miei figli a scuola.

After I have dropped off the children at school, I take the train into the city to work. Dopo avere portato i miei figli a scuola, prendo il treno per la città per andare a lavorare.

The train is very reliable, and it takes only 30 minutes to reach the city.
Il treno è molto affidabile e ci vogliono solamente trenta minuti per arrivare in città.

On the way, I read the newspaper. Durante il viaggio, leggo il giornale.

By 3 PM, I take the train back home. Per le quindici, prendo il treno e torno a casa.

At 4 PM, I pick up the children from school and take them home. Alle quattro di pomeriggio, io vado a prendere i miei figli dalla scuola e li porto a casa.

When I come home in the evening, I take off my coat and shoes and get changed into jeans or athletic wear to be more comfortable.
Quando torno a casa di sera, mi tolgo il cappotto e le scarpe e mi metto i jeans o la tuta (indumento da ginnastica) per stare più comoda.

I make dinner for my children during the workweek, but on the weekend, we usually go out to eat for dinner. Preparo la cena per i miei figli durante la settimana lavorativa, ma il fine settimana di solito ceniamo fuori.

Later, I try to relax .
Più tardi, provo a riposarmi .

I get undressed and put on my pajamas.
Mi svesto e mi metto il pigiama.

I watch the news on the television and fall asleep at 11:30 at night.
Guardo le notizie alla televisione e mi addormento alle undici e mezzo di notte.

I start this same routine all over again the next morning! Comincio di nuovo questa routine la mattina dopo!

Speak Italian: Grammar You Will Need to Know…

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Use of Prepositions: “Da,” “Di,” and “A”

Many Italian verbs are followed by prepositions, those “little words” that link one phrase to another for descriptive purposes; improper use of prepositions is a common issue for all non-native speakers, because one must tap into the “way of thinking” of each language to use prepositions correctly. It is often the prepositions that give away the fact that one has had to study to learn a language—no matter how well one speaks otherwise.

Learning when to use which preposition in Italian can be challenging, and often, the “rules” of preposition use do not make sense and just need to be memorized.

Daand diare two common Italian prepositions. “Da”usually means “from,”and “di”usually means “of,”although “di”is often used in situations where in English we would use “from.”

The Italian verb “uscire,”which means “to go out,”or “to leave”is usually followed by da+ definite article (il, lo, la,etc. ), but when referring to the act of leaving one’s house (casa), usciretakes the preposition di without the definite article. You might want to remember this detail by thinking of the alternate meaning of the word “casa,”which is the very personal “home,”and that when speaking in Italian about one’s family and home in other situations, a definite article is not necessary. Also, notice from the last example below that the verb andare (to go)is always followed by the preposition “a,”for “to,”without the definite article.

1. Prepositions for Uscire

da+ definite article
di(with reference to casa)

2. Preposition for Andare– a

Examples of use:

Io esco dal ristorante.

I go out to the restaurant to eat.

Io esco di casa.

I go out of the house./I leave the house.

Io vado a casa mia.

I go to my house.

Mi trucco sempre quando esco di casa e specialmente quando vado a lavorare .

I always wear makeup when I leave the house and especially when I go to work .

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Use of Preposition: “Per”

The preposition “per” is used in Italian to express intent and purpose and will be used to start phrases that will then describe what you are going to do. The English translation will usually be “for” but can also be “to.” When referring to time, “per” takes the place of “by” in English. The combination “stare per” means “to be about to.”

Per prima cosa , mi faccio la doccia.
The first thing I do is take a shower.

Per fare tutto …
To do all this …

Per le quidici…
By 3 PM…

La mia routine di mattina per prepararmi per il lavoro include…
My morning routine to get ready for work includes…

Io sto per studiare l’italiano stasera.
I am about to study Italian tonight.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Tell Time

On any given day, the time we need to do things frequently comes up. We often have to ask specifically what time our transportation will be leaving or what time an event will be starting. Here are some examples of questions you may need to ask. Remember, there is no insertion of the word “does” in Italian when asking a question, the way we do in English.

A che ora…?	(At) what time (does)…?

A che ora arriva l’aeroplano?	At what time (does) the airplane arrive?
	(lit. At what hour arrives the airplane?)
A che ora parte il treno?	At what time (does) the train leave?
*A che ora comincia il viaggio?**	At what time (does) the trip start?
*A che ora inizia il film?**	At what time (does) the film begin?
A che ora finisce il film?	At what time (does) the movie end?
A che ora apre il museo?	At what time (does) the museum open?
A che ora chiude il museo?	At what time (does) the museum close?

*Cominciareand iniziareare interchangeable in Italian.

The answers to the above questions will also use the word “at,”which is the word “a”in Italian. We can mention our special times of day if they apply, such as “a mezzogiorno”or “a mezzanotte.” Otherwise, the word awill be combined with the definite article (the) (l’or le). The Italian definite article l’is combined with ato make all’before the word unafor the phrase “all’una,”which means “at one.” For all numbers greater than one, use awith the definite article leto make “alle” (alle due – ventiquattro) (at two through 24).

A mezzogiorno.	At noon.
A mezzanotte.	At midnight.
All’una.	At one o’clock.
Alle sette.	At seven o’clock.
All’una e cinque.	At 1:05 AM .
Alle sette e mezzo.	At 7:30 AM .

If desired, to emphasize the time of day, as in morning, afternoon, evening, or night, you can add the following expressions after stating the numerical time: “di mattina, di pomeriggio, di sera,or di notte.”

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Common Reflexive Verbs

Here is a list of regular direct reflexive verbs that includes all three conjugations. Reflexive forms are extremely important for conversation because they often involve activities and emotions that we encounter every day. Note that many of these verbs are not reflexive in English.

accomodarsi	to make oneself comfortable	preoccuparsi	to worry/get worried
accorgersi	to realize	reprendersi	to get better/to recover
addormentarsi	to fall asleep	rilassarsi	to relax oneself
alzarsi	to get up	riposarsi	to rest
annoiarsi	to be/become bored	sbagliarsi	to be wrong
arrabbiarsi	to become angry	sbrigarsi	to hurry up
asciugarsi	to dry oneself	scusarsi	to excuse oneself
bagnarsi	to get wet/to take a bath	spogliarsi	to get undressed
dirigersi	to go over to/head over	sposarsi	to get married
divertirsi (a)	to enjoy oneself/play with	svegliarsi	to wake up
fermarsi	to stop oneself	svestirsi	to get undressed
innamorarsi	to fall in love	togliersi	to take off
mettersi	to put on (clothes)	truccarsi	to put on make-up
laurearsi	to get a university degree	vergognarsi	to be ashamed
muoversi	to move oneself	vestirsi	to get dressed/to wear
pettinarsi	to comb one’s hair

Also, many of the verbs that describe what we do every day, which are translated as “to get…” in English are reflexive in Italian. Let’s take these commonly used verbs that mean “to get” out of the list above:

alzarsi	to get up
annoiarsi	to get bored
arrabbiarsi	to get angry
bagnarsi	to get wet / take a bath
laurearsi	to get a university degree / to graduate
mettersi	to put on clothing / to get (oneself) in trouble
preoccuparsi	to get worried / to worry
reprendersi	to get better / to recover
spogliarsi	to get undressed
sposarsi	to get married
vestirsi/svestirsi	to get dressed/to get undressed

Ho deciso di sposarmi.	I have decided to get married.

Non ti metti nei guai.	Don’t get (put) yourself in trouble.
Mi sono messo nei guai.	I got (put) myself in trouble.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Conjugate Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs take a reflexive pronoun before the verb. They are conjugated in the usual way, by dropping the –are, –ere,and –ireverb endings and adding the regular endings for each type of verb to the stem that remains.

Infinitive Present	Reflexive Pronouns	–are	–ere	–ire	ire (isco)
io	mi	o	o	o	isc o
tu	ti	i	i	i	isc i
Lei/lei/lui	si	a	e	e	isc e

noi	ci	iamo	iamo	iamo	iamo
voi	vi	ate	ete	ite	ite
loro	si	ano	ono	ono	isc ono

When we use an infinitive reflexive verb in a sentence, the reflexive pronoun must come after the verb; the –siis dropped from the infinitive ending, and the reflexive pronoun is then added directly onto the stem at the end of the verb.

This is the same word order that we routinely use in English! This situation usually occurs in Italian when one of the helping verbs (dovere, potere,or volere) (to have to, to be able to,or to want)precedes a reflexive verb.

Voglio divertir mi .	(I) want to enjoy myself.

Volgio riposar mi .	(I) want to rest (myself).

Devo alzar mi .	(I) must get (myself) up.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Make Sentences with Reflexive Verbs

Here are some example sentences that use the regular verbs listed on the previous page. The Italian subject pronoun “io,” meaning “I”is included in the Italian examples, although, unlike the Iin English, iois almost always omitted with reflexive verbs (as in most general conversation). Parentheses have been used in the Italian sentences as a reminder of this fact. In the same way, parentheses are used in the English translation to indicate Italian reflexive pronouns that are not necessary in English.

Getting up in the morning:

(Io) Mi sveglio.	I wake up. (lit. I wake myself up.)
(Io) Mi alzo.	I get up. (lit. I get myself up.)
(Io) Mi alzo presto.	I get (myself) up early.
(Io) Mi alzo alle sei .	I get (myself) up at 6 AM .
(Io) Mi alzo tardi domani.	I (am going to) get (myself) up late tomorrow.

Getting ready to go out for the day:

(Io) Mi faccio il bagno.	I take a bath. (lit. I make myself the bath.)
(Io) Mi lavo.	I wash myself.
(Io) Mi asciugo.	I dry myself off.
(Io) Mi pettino.	I comb (myself) my hair.
(Io) Mi preparo per il lavoro.	I get (myself) ready for (the) work.
(Io) Mi vesto.	I get (myself) dressed.
(Io) Mi metto i vestiti.	I put on (myself) the clothes.
(Io) Mi trucco.	I put on my makeup.
(Io) Mi metto la giacca e le scarpe.	I put on (myself) the jacket and the shoes.
(Io) Mi sento molto bene!	I feel very well!
Vado al lavoro./Vado a lavorare.	I go to work.

At the end of the day:

Torno a casa.	I return home.
(Io) Mi tolgo la giacca.	I take off (myself) the jacket.
Preparo la cena per la famiglia.	I make the dinner for the family.
Alle nove (io) mi svesto.	At nine (I) get (myself) undressed.
(Io) Mi tolgo le scarpe.	(I) take off my shoes.
(Io) Mi metto il piajama e le ciabatte.	I put on (myself) the pajamas and slippers.
(Io) Mi rilasso.	I relax (myself).
(Io) Mi riposo.	I rest (myself).
(Io) Mi addormento.	I fall (myself) asleep.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Describe Getting Dressed
with the Reflexive Verbs Vestirsi and Mettersi

The Italian verb “vestirsi”carries the general meaning of “to get dressed.” To use this verb, just conjugate it as you would any other reflexive verb to make a simple sentence. Remember that in Italian, the subject pronoun is always left out of the sentence, so it is given in parentheses below.

(Io) Mi vesto.	I get dressed.
(Tu) Ti vesti.	You get dressed.
(Lei/Lui) Si veste.	She/He gets dressed.

When talking about putting on an article of clothing, such as a dressor suit (vestito),* for instance, Italian uses the reflexive verb “mettersi” (to put on oneself).

*A note: Don’t confuse the verb vestirewith the noun vestito,which means dressand also suit(pants and jacket or skirt and jacket). These words are similar but have different meanings! Also, it should be mentioned that the plural noun, vestiti,means clothing.(Other words for suitthat can be used for both sexes are abitoand completo.)

Here is how it works:

“Mettersi”can be used to convey the ideas of, “I put on the dress,” “I put on my dress,” and “I put my dress on.” The reflexive pronoun mi (myself)is placed before the conjugated form of mettersi, as usual, and the article of clothing to be put on is then placed after the verb. The subject pronoun is omitted. So the final sentence for “I put on the/my dress,”is, “Mi metto il vestito.”

Just remember the simple phrase “mi metto”and replace il vestitowith the article of clothing of your choice to describe your own action! To describe action in the tu (you)form, just conjugate mettersinormally and then add the article of clothing, as in “ti metti,”or in the lei/lui (she/he)form, use “si mette,”and so on.

(Io) Mi metto il vestito.	I put on the dress./I put the dress on./I put on my dress.
(Tu) Ti metti l’anello.	You put on the ring.
(Lei/lui) Si mette le scarpe.	She/he puts on shoes.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Describe Wearing Clothes
with the Verbs Portare, Mettersi, and Vestire

In order to say “ I am wearing…” or “ I take the size…” the verb portare, which is not reflexive, is usually used in the present tense. You no doubt remember that portare is also commonly used to mean “ to bring” or “ to carry.”

Porto il mio vestito preferito.	I am wearing my favorite dress.
Porto la (taglia) quarantotto.	I take size 48.

Portare can also be used to say “ I wore” in the past tense. But perhaps because portare is used so commonly with its other meaning of “ to bring” in the present tense, in order to describe what they have worn, most Italians prefer to revert to mettersi and use its (irregular) past participle messo. Remember to use the helping verb esserefor the passato prossimopast tense form with the reflexive verb mettersi. Here is how it works:

(Io) Mi sono messo un completo. (Io) Mi sono messa una gonna.	I wore a suit. I wore a skirt.
Ho portato una gonna.	I wore a skirt.

Another way to describe how someone was dressed is to use the imperfettopast tense of essere with the descriptive past participle vestito(a,i,e). This type of phrase can be used to make generalizations, as well as to refer to a specific article of clothing. When being specific, the preposition “con”is used in these phrases, as in the examples below.

Era vestito con un abito grigio.	He was dressed in a suit.
Era vestita con una gonna blu.	She was dressed in a blue skirt.
Eravamo vestiti tutto in rosso per la festa.	We were dressed all in red for the party.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Describe Wearing Clothes
with the Verb Indossare

The verb indossarealso means “to wear”and “to put on.” This verb can is used in exactly the same way as portareor mettersi. To the Italian ear, the verb indossare is said to have a more elegant sound than portareor mettersi,and perhaps this is why indossare is more common in written Italian than in conversation.

Just like the other two verbs that have the same meaning, indossaremust always be followed by the article of clothing that the person is wearing.

Caterina indossa un abito rosso.	Kathryn is wearing a red dress.
La signora indossava un cappotto molto elegante.	The lady was wearing a very elegant coat.

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Finally, when something fits perfectly on you or another, to really fit into Italian society, use the idiomatic expression “ calzare a pennello.” Calzature refers to shoes, or “footwear,” so this Italian saying is the equivalent of the English saying, “ It fits you like a glove” or “ It fits you to a T.”

Mi calza a pennello!	It fits me perfectly!
Ti calza a pennello!	It fits you perfectly!
Lo/la calza a pennello!	It fits him/her perfectly!

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Conjugate the Irregular Verb P iacere

The irregular verb piacereliterally means to like, as in “to be pleasing to.” It is the verb that Italians use when they want to express the idea that they like something. In English, when we say we like something, we mention two things: what thing is being liked and by whom. So in English, we would say, “ I like the car ,”and fulfill these two requirements with the subject pronoun “I” and the direct object “car.”

But in Italian, the indirect object is used instead of the direct object, to describe to whom the thing is liked or pleasing to. If we wanted to change up this same English phrase into the Italian way of thinking, we could say, “The car is pleasing to me .” You will hopefully find the mixed Italianized-English phrase “is pleasing to” to be very helpful to understand how piacerereally works!

The tricky thing about this type of phrase in Italian is that the conjugation of piacerewill have to agree with the number of things that are being liked.

So, if one thing is liked, or an infinitive verb follows, piaceis used.

If many things are liked, piaccionois used.

Italians then put the indirect object pronoun (mi, ti, Le, le, gli, ci, vi,or gli) before the verb, at the beginning of the sentence, to denote to whom the thing is pleasing to .

Piace— to be pleasing to: if one thing is liked/before infinitive verbs

Mi piace il vestito.	The dress is pleasing to me.	I like the dress.
Ti piace il vestito.	The dress is pleasing to you. (fam.)	You like the dress.
Le piace il vestito. Gli/le piace il vestito.	The dress is pleasing to you. (pol.) The dress is pleasing to him/her.	You like the dress. He/she likes the dress.

Ci piace il vestito.	The dress is pleasing to us.	We like the dress.
Vi piace il vestito.	The dress is pleasing to you all.	You all like the dress.
Gli piace il vestito.	The dress is pleasing to them.	They like the dress.

Piacciono— to be pleasing to: if more than one thing is liked

Mi piacciono i vestiti.	The dresses are pleasing to me.	I like the dresses.
Ti piacciono i vestiti.	The dresses are pleasing to you. (fam.)	You like the dresses.
Le piacciono i vestiti. Gli/le piacciono i vestiti.	The dresses are pleasing to you. (pol.) The dresses are pleasing to him/her.	You like the dresses. He/she likes the dresses.

Ci piacciono i vestiti.	The dresses are pleasing to us.	We like the dresses.
Vi piacciono i vestiti.	The dresses are pleasing to you all.	You all like the dresses.
Gli piacciono i vestiti.	The dresses are pleasing to them.	They like the dresses.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Conjugate Volerci for Phrases Describing Time

To describe the general passage of time that it takes to do something, an English speaker will often say, “It takes time.” Volerciis used to express this idea in Italian. Volerciis called a pronominal verb because the impersonal adverb “ci”is an integral part o this verb. Volerci takes on a different meaning from volere and is used to describe the time, effort or tools needed to accomplish something. For now, now we will only discuss its meaning regarding the time it takes to do something.

To follow is the method to translate the phrase “it takes time” into Italian using the verb volerci. First, it should be noted that the impersonal adverb “ci” is always used to begin the phrase. “Volere” is then conjugated to reflect the amount of time taken, in either the third person singular or plural . This is the similar to the way we conjugate the verb piacere, except with piacere the reference is to what we like, rather than to how much time something takes.

So when saying, “It takes time,”the word “time” is considered one segment of time, and the third person singular form of volere, which is “vuole,”is used.

If the time “it” takes is one minute, one hour, one month, or one year—that is, if the reference is to one time segment, use “vuole.”

If the time “it” takes is more than one of each time segment (plural), the third person plural form of volere, which is “vogliono,”is used.

Ci vuole tempo.	*	It takes time.

Ci vuole un minuto.	Ci vogliono due minuti.	It takes one minute/two minutes.
Ci vuole un’ora.	Ci vogliono due ore.	It takes one hour/two hours.
Ci vuole un giorno.	Ci vogliono due giorni.	It takes one day/two days.
Ci vuole un mese.	Ci vogliono due mesi.	It takes one month/two months.
Ci vuole un anno.	Ci vogliono due anni.	It takes one year/two years.

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Commonly used questions that refer to time begin with “how much,” such as, “How much time does it take?” These phrases always begin with “Quanto.” We remember that “quanto”always changes to match the gender and number of the noun it is placed before and modifies. Answer using the phrases in the table given in this section!

Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a Roma da Milano?
How much time does it take to get to Rome from Milan?

Quante ore ci vogliono per finire il tour?How many hours will it take to finish the tour?

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Other verbs that act like piacere, but will not be discussed here, include the following:

Dispiacere	to displease/to upset
Mancare	to be lacking/to miss
Occorrere	to require/to need
Servire	to need

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Use Volerci for Phrases Describing Time
with Reference to People

If we want to speak in a little more complicated manner (and why not?) we can use the verb volerci*to describe how much time it will take someone to do something. Remember to place the indirect object pronouns (mi, ti, le, gli, vi, gli) before ci vuole to refer to the “someone” we are talking about.

Looking at the table below, you will notice that “a noi” is used to mean “ to us” before “ ci vuole.” In this case, the indirect object pronoun “ ci” for “ to us,” is not used. The word “ci”is already a part of volerci, and is always placed before the conjugated verb form. To avoid the repetition that would occur in the phrase “ci ci vuole tempo, ”Italians revert to “ a noi.”

Of course, we can always replace the word tempo in the examples below with a unit of time. Remember the rules we just learned: If one unit of time is referred to, use the verb vuole,as in the examples. If more than one unit of time is referred to, we need to use vogliono.

Mi ci vuole molto tempo.	It takes me time.
Ti ci vuole molto tempo.	It takes you time.
Le ci vuole molto tempo.	It takes her time.
Gli ci vuole molto tempo.	It takes him time.

A noi ci vuole molto tempo.	It takes us time.
Vi ci vuole molto tempo.	I takes you all time.
Gli ci vuole molto tempo.	It takes them time.

*Volerci is a pronomial verb and takes on a different meaning from volere,as described in the previous section.

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Quanto tempo ti ci vuole per arrivare a casa mia?
How much time does it take you to get to my house?

Quante ore ti ci vogliono per arrivare a casa mia?
How many hours will it take you to get to my house?

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If we want to use the past tense with volerciin a phrase regarding time, we need to use the past participle voluto,with essereas the helping verb to form the passato prossimo.

For a general statement about time in the past tense, as in the examples below, use the passato prossimoverb è voluto.

Of course, we can always replace the word tempo in the examples below with a unit of time. Remember the rules we just learned: If one unit of time is referred to in the past, use the verb è voluto,as in the examples. If more than one unit of time is referred to in the past, we need to use sono voluti(e).

To make these statements negative, just put “non”at the beginning of the sentence (with the exception of the “a noi”).

Below are some commonly used phrases that use volercito refer to time in the past tense:

Non mi … ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take me much time.
Non ti … ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take you much time.
Non le … ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take her much time.
Non gli … ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take him much time.
A noi non… ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take us much time.
Non vi … ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take you all much time.
Non gli …ci è voluto molto tempo.	It did not take them much time .

Speak Italian: All About… What YOU Are Doing!

Do you have a schedule that you follow every day? What do you like to eat for breakfast? Where do you go?

Fill in the blanks in the Italian sentence that follows each English sentence, using
the examples given previously, or instead describing what you actually do.

Watch out for those reflexive verbs—the verbs that often mean “I get,” and the phrases
that translate as “I like” and “it takes time.”

On the days that I am working, I get up at ___________________________________. I giorni che devo lavorare, ______________________________________________.

My cell phone rings at _________________ and I wake up, but I do not get up until 7! Il mio telefonino suona _________________e ___________________________,ma

_____________________________________fino_____________________________!

The first thing I do is take a shower. Per prima cosa, _______________________________________________________.

Then, I like to eat something for breakfast, so I make a cup of coffee and
have some bread or an Italian cookie.
Allora, ____________________________________qualcosa per la prima colazione,

cosi faccio_______________________________________________ed anche mangio

_____________________________________________________________________.

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, mangio ___________________________________

e bevo _________________________________________________________________.

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 ______________________________include le solite cose:

__________________________________________________________________________.

I always wear makeup (for men: shave) when I go out of the house and especially to work. ________________________________ quando esco di casa e specialmente quando vado a lavorare.

But it is not easy and takes time, usually about 20 minutes. Ma non è facile e ______________________, normalmente

_________________________________________________________________________.

On some days, I can put on makeup (or shave) quickly. Qualche giorno, però, __________________________________________ rapidamente.

All of this usually takes me until 8:00 and then I must take the children to school. Per fare tutto, ___________________ fino ___________________ed poi devo portare i miei figli a scuola.

After I have dropped off the children at school, I take the train into the city to work. Dopo aver portato i miei figli a scuola, ________________________________________
per andare a lavorare.

The train is very reliable, and it takes only 30 minutes to reach the city. Il treno è molto affidabile e _____________________ solamente ___________________ per arrivare in città.

On the way, I read the newspaper. Durante il viaggio, leggo il giornale.

By 3 PM, I take the train back home. _______________________________________________, prendo il treno e torno a casa.

At 4 PM, I pick up the children from school and take them home. _______________________, io vado a prendere i miei figli dalla scuola e li porto a casa.

When I come home in the evening, I take off my coat and shoes and get changed into jeans or athletic wear to be more comfortable. Quando torno a casa di sera, __________________________________________________________________________

e ________________________________________________________________________

per stare più comoda.

Then I try to relax .
Più tardi, .

I get undressed and put on my pajamas.

e il pigiama.

I watch the news on the television and fall asleep at 11:30 at night .
Guardo le notizie alla televisione e _.

I start this same routine all over again the next morning !
Comincio di nuovo questa routine !

******************************

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Speak Italian: All About… What I Am Doing!

Drive Italy! Renting Cars to Drive in Italy

January 18, 2016 Italian Travel and Cultural Notes Conversational Italian for Travelers books , Conversational Italian series of books , drive a Ferrari , driving in Italy , Ferrari , Follow Caterina in Italy , Free Italian dialogues , How to drive in Italy , How to rent a car , How to rent a car in Italy , Italian dialogues , Italian Travel , Italian travel planning , Italy , Italy car rentals , Italy driving , Italy travel , rent a Ferrari , Renting a car in Italy , renting cars in Italy , travel , travel planning Kathryn Occhipinti

Drive Italy! Renting Cars to Drive in Italy

Drive Italy! Follow Caterina and learn

how to rent a carin the

Conversational Italian series of books!

The Conversational Italian for Travelers textbook begins each chapter with a dialogue from a story about the character Caterina, an American girl who travels to Italy to visit her relatives. As the story continues from one chapter to the next, we learn Italian, and about Italy, in an engaging way through Caterina’s experiences.

Drive Italy! Renting Cars to Drive in Italy

After Caterina’s plane lands in Italy in the first chapter of the book, she takes a taxi to the main train station in Milan, where her cousin Pietro meets her. She is lucky to have a relative who can drive her in Italy to her final destination in Milan. For those who do not have a personal chauffeur to take them on a tour of Italy, or who just want to rent a Ferrari as part of their dream vacation, I have included in the book some tips on renting cars in the “Cultural Note: Drive Italy!” section in Chapter 6, which have been adapted for this blog.

Cultural Note: Drive Italy! Renting Cars to Drive in Italy

The Italian railway system is the most efficient way to travel throughout Italy, especially for the tourist with a limited period of time to spend. But for those for whom driving the autostradain a Ferrari has always been a dream (see www.red-travel.com ), or for those who have enough time to spend to really get to know the countryside ( www.italylogue.com/agriturismo ), here are a few tips about what is needed to rent a car and drive in Italy.

A quick search of the Internet for “rent a car in Italy” yields many companies that promise quick and easy deals. Auto Europe is not a car rental company, but a car broker that allows the traveler to book online, and it offers several additional services ( www.autoeurope.com ). Auto Europe is recommended by Slow Travel Italy, which can also be found on the Internet at http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/planning/ . Here are some of the benefits that Auto Europe can provide for the renter: competitive pricing, a list of what is included for the price, pickup and dropoff at different locations within Italy at no extra charge, and a 24/7 customer service line that will help the traveler handle any issues encountered on the road or with the local rental company. Note that commonly included fees when renting a car in Italy include taxes, a surcharge for picking up the car at the airport, and possibly a daily road tax. Insurance is necessary to drive in Italy and can significantly increase the price of the rental when obtained through the rental company, so it is worthwhile to check if you can get cheaper insurance through a credit card company.

Picking up a rental car at the airport can be difficult at peak travel times because of long lines, and during off-hours, when parts of the airport may be closed. In addition, many Italian hotels, especially if located centrally within a city, do not have parking available for their guests. There are tolls on most Italian freeways, and gas is expensive in Italy. It may be easier to take the train to your initial destination and pick up the car the next day or when you are leaving for the next city on your trip—again, public transportation in most cities is excellent. The city streets in Italy are narrow, so remember that a smaller car is probably better than a larger car, as long as luggage and family will fit!

Here is a checklist of things to find out before leaving the rental office: (1) whether the car takes unleaded gas (benzina)or diesel (gasolio), (2) how to put the car in reverse, (3) how to lock and unlock doors and windows, (4) whether a reflective vest and other equipment required by law in case of an accident have been provided (in the trunk), (5) whether a GPS or map of the town where you will be driving is available, and (6) whether you can get a parking disc for the car.

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Drive Italy! Renting Cars to Drive in Italy

Italian-American Style Shrimp Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

December 21, 2015 Italian and Italian-American Recipes Christmas dinners , Christmas Fish Dinners , Christmas pasta dishes , Christmas recipes , Feast of the 7 fishes , Fish Dinners , free Christmas recipes , Free Italian recipe , How to make Shrimp scampi , Italian Christmas dinner , Italian feast , Italian festa , Italian Fish , Italian fish dinner , Italian Food , Italian Recipe - Shrimp Scampi Style , Italian recipe free , Italian Recipes , Italian-American Fish , LInguine and Shrimp , Shrimp , Shrimp and linguine , Shrimp and Pasta , Special Christmas dinners , Stella Lucente , what is a scampi , What is shrimp scampi Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian-American Style Shrimp Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp with linguine: a family favorite for an Italian-American Christmas Eve fish dinner

It is amazing that a dish this simple can be so delicious. It is a real crowd-pleaser, loved by adults and children alike and perfect as the only dish or as one of several fish dishes (sometimes as many as seven!) served at an Italian-American Christmas Eve feast. “Scampi style” in America just means that shrimp are cooked in a light sauce of garlic, butter, and white wine to a delightful tenderness and flavor.

Italian-American Style Shrimp Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

The Italian name “scampi” is the plural of “scampo,” which means “safety, salvation, or escape,” and the verb “scampare,” which means “to escape.” Regarding this dish, the word “scampi” cleverly refers to the tail of a certain small lobster found in the North and Mediterranean Seas. The French name is “langoustine” and the Spanish name is “cigala.” This small lobster (to get technical, the true name is Nephrops norvegicus ) has meat in the tail section but not much in the claws. In the United Kingdom, “scampi”refers to the preparation of the whole tail of this lobster cooked in breadcrumbs, but tradition elsewhere renders “scampi” as a preparation of garlic, butter, and white wine. Try this easy-to-make dish this Christmas Eve and see for yourself how wonderful shrimp can taste!
—Kathryn Occhipinti

Italian-American Style Shrimp Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

1 pound of linguine, cooked (serves 4–6)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or yellow onions
6 plump cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt and pinch of white pepper to taste
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup dry Italian white wine (chill the rest of the bottle for dinner)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16–18), cleaned, shell peeled off, and de-veined*
Few sprigs of chopped parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon

First, start to cook the linguine, and let the pasta cook as the sauce is being made. If you are lucky, it will all come together at about the same time! A general method for cooking pasta is as follows: set a large pot of well-salted water on the stove to boil, and at the rolling boil, add the pasta; stir; cover the pot to bring back to a boil quickly; uncover, stir, and cook until pasta is “al dente” (slightly firm). Drain and keep warm if pasta is ready before sauce is finished.

Set a large skillet with high sides or your largest frying pan on a burner over low heat. Watch the pan very closely from start to finish so that the shallots, garlic, and butter do not turn brown. The “sauce” will come together very quickly.

Put the olive oil and shallots or onions and garlic into the skillet with the salt over medium heat and cook, stirring as needed, until they soften (do not let them brown).

Add the butter and let it melt slowly. Add the salt and white pepper. Cook until the onions and garlic are translucent (cooked through).

Add the white wine and raise heat to boil down the alcohol in the wine and thicken the “sauce.” Boil down until about 3/4 cup of wine is left.

Add the shrimp and cook briefly on each side (about 3–4 minutes) over medium heat, until they turn pink, turning and moving the shrimp in butter as needed. Do not overcook, or the shrimp will dry out and become rubbery.

Taste and adjust salt and additional white pepper as needed. If too much wine has boiled off by the time the shrimp have cooked, add some pasta water. If the sauce seems a bit watery, take the shrimp out and boil down a bit more.

Take pan off heat and add the chopped parsley and juice of 1/2 lemon. Mix to combine.

Enjoy over freshly cooked linguine. Because this is a delicate fish dish, no grated cheese topping is needed!

*To get the best flavor from the shrimp in this dish, it is best to buy the shrimp raw and clean them, although shrimp can be bought already cooked and just warmed through in a pinch. When cleaning the shrimp, the veins along the outer and inner curves of the shrimp should be removed by making a slight cut and pulling each vein out. I have a shrimp knife for this task that I found in a specialty food catalog long ago that looks like this: and makes the work quick and easy.

—Adapted from the cooking classes given by the Italian-American Society of Peoria,
Kathryn Occhipinti

Available on amazon.com and Learn Travel Italian.com

Italian-American Style Shrimp Recipe: Shrimp Scampi

About Kathryn Occhipinti

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