Study time! Part 1
I'm set to start Dante Global's A2 class on Friday, and I'm embarrassed to share that, in the month between the A1 and A2 classes, I basically haven't practiced.
Now, the time is great to start cracking away at the 240 review items waiting for me in Babbel. I'll work through them below, explaining the concepts, so I can refresh myself.
How do you say, in Italian?
I would like a two-room apartment in a central location
I guessed: Vorrei un doppia appartamento in centro (oof)
The real answer: Vorrei un bilocale in posizione centrale.
A bit of rust confusion here. "Doppia appartamento" isn't really a thing, as far as I know.
A "camera doppia" is a two-room hotel room, but the word "bilocale" is what we're looking for here, which specifically refers to a two-room apartment.
I read the ads every day
Badly guessed: Leggero gli ____ tutto di giorni
The real answer: Leggo tutti i giorni gli annunci.
I missed the conjugation on leggere:
Present Tense (Presente)
- Io leggo – I read
- Tu leggi – You read
- Lui/Lei legge – He/She reads
- Noi leggiamo – We read
- Voi leggete – You all read
- Loro leggono – They read
Past Tense (Passato Prossimo)
- Io ho letto – I read/have read
- Tu hai letto – You read/have read
- Lui/Lei ha letto – He/She read/has read
- Noi abbiamo letto – We read/have read
- Voi avete letto – You all read/have read
- Loro hanno letto – They read/have read
Then, every day is "tutti i giorni."
We don't like dark rooms
Guessed: Non piaccono camerini _____-i
The real answer: Non ci piacciono le stanze buie.
A few things here:
- For "piacere", we need to include an object to show who or what the object pleases: Mi piace, non ci piaccono, etc.
- Camerini again refers to hotel rooms, and here we want to use the word "stanze"
- Then, let's remember the vocab word "buie" for dark or gloomy:
- Buie - Dark, gloomy
- Luminose - Bright, well-lit
Filippo gets himself up early and rarely has breakfast
Guessed: Filippo ci svelia molto presto e raramente fare colazione
The real answer: Filippo si alza presto e fa colazione raramente.
"Si alza" is the third-person singular form of the verb "alzarsi", which means "to get up" or "to rise." It is a reflexive verb in Italian, so it includes the reflexive pronoun "si", indicating that the action is performed by the subject on themselves. When used in the context of waking up, it implies getting up from bed after waking.
Breaking It Down:
- Alzare – to raise or lift.
- Alzarsi – to get oneself up (reflexive).
Then, of course, the correct conjugation of fare here is "fa"
- Io faccio - I make
- Tu fai - You make
- Lui, lei, Lei fa - He, she or You make
- Noi facciamo - We make
- Voi fate - You make
- Loro fanno - They make
I do exercise
Guessed: Faccio ginnastica.
The real answer: Faccio ginnastica.
Finally! Got one 😄
My parents are only half Italian
Guessed: I miei genitori sono solo Italiani una meta.
The real answer: I miei genitori sono italiani solo a meta.
Close!
- No need to capitalize italiani here.
- "A metà" vs. "una metà": In Italian, "a metà" means "half" in the sense of partially or halfway, which is more natural when describing someone's heritage or identity. "Una metà" would imply "one half" of a divisible object or quantity, which doesn’t fit as smoothly in this context.
- Word Order: In Italian, "solo" (only) generally follows "italiani" in this phrase to keep the flow smooth and emphasize that they’re only partially Italian.
Two jars of tomato passata
Guessed: Due barattoli di passata di pomodoro
The real answer: Due barattoli di passata di pomodoro
Yay! 😎
Really?! You're getting married?
Guessed: Davvero? Voi vi _______
The real answer: Davvero? Vi sposate?
Another reflexive verb here that doesn't require the subject pronoun. The verb to remember here is sposare, which is to marry.
- Io sposo – I marry
- Tu sposi – You marry
- Lui/Lei sposa – He/She marries
- Noi sposiamo – We marry
- Voi sposate – You all marry
- Loro sposano – They marry
I always drink a glass of water first thing
Guessed: Sempre bevo un bel bichierre d'acqua molto presto.
The real answer: Bevo sempre un bicchiere d'acqua prima cosa.
Close again.
- Word Order: In Italian, adverbs like "sempre" (always) typically come directly after the verb. So, instead of "Sempre bevo," you’d say "Bevo sempre" for a more natural flow.
- "Prima cosa" vs. "molto presto": While molto presto means "very early," the phrase "prima cosa" (literally "first thing") is used to indicate something done as the first action in the day or a sequence.
- Spelling: I made a small spelling error in "bicchiere" (glass).
We'll buy a liter of oil and two kilos of aubergines
Guessed: Compriamo un litro d'olio e due chili di melanzane
The real answer: Compriamo un litro d'olio e due chili di melanzane.
Boom! 🍆
The living room
Guessed: Dunno
The real answer: Il soggiorno
The bathroom
Guessed: Il bagno
The real answer: Il bagno
The entrance hall
Guessed: Dunno
The real answer: L'ingresso
Duh, that's pretty intuitive
The bedroom
Guessed: Il camerino
The real answer: La camera da letto
Remember this specifically - it has to mention the bed, letto.
The medicine
Guessed: La medicina
The real answer: La medicina
I came back yesterday evening
Guessed: Ho retornate ieri sera
The real answer: Sono tornato ieri sera
A few things here:
- I gotta memorize these past participles. The PP of tornare in this case is tornato for masculine singular.
- Because the verb implies movement, it uses essere rather than avere.
I left on Friday
Guessed: Sono uscito a venerdi
The real answer: Sono partito venerdi
Another close-y that would sound awkward to a real Italian speaker.
- Verb Choice: "Partire" is generally used for "leaving" in the sense of departing or setting off on a journey, while "uscire" means "to go out" or "to exit," typically for shorter, more casual outings (like going out for the evening).
- Preposition: Unlike in English, Italian doesn’t need a preposition before days of the week. So, "venerdì" stands alone, without "a."
OK that's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow with more.