http://my.lifeinitaly.com/ Discuss Italian culture, Italian culture history, Italian food culture and Italian culture customs. We at Life in Italy, are a friendly bunch of people who love Italian culture and Italian customs. Share your favorite Italian food and Italian culture. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:48:21 GMT vBulletin 30 http://my.lifeinitaly.com/images/styles/italy/misc/rss.jpg http://my.lifeinitaly.com/ http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f10/affettati-misti-7049.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:22:14 GMT Image: http://z.about.com/d/italianfood/1/5/T/y/affet.jpg In Italy many meals are started with one or more *antipasti (appetizers in English)*. ...

In Italy many meals are started with one or more antipasti (appetizers in English). One such antipasto is called an Affettati Misti. An Affettati Misti is simply a plate of mixed cold cuts. In Italian, the verb affettare means to slice and the word misti means mixed. An example might be a platter that contains the following:

Mortadella (a type of pork sausage)


Prosciutto (an air dried and cured ham)


Capocollo (The neck and shoulder of the pig)


sopressata (dried cured salami)


Bresaola (air dried beef)


Now I am not sure if Bresaola would be served with the other four choices above but you get the idea! :) Perhaps Enzo or Zidanie or Paolo could help out here. ]]> Food and Wine : Buon appetito Giacomo http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f10/affettati-misti-7049.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/conditional-tense-7048.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:18:18 GMT The conditional tense is used in order to express events that *would* happen under certain conditions. For example: If I was rich, I *would buy * a... The conditional tense is used in order to express events that would happen under certain conditions. For example: If I was rich, I would buy a mansion.

Any Italian verb that is conjugated in the conditional tense is translated back into English with the word "would" and in some more rare cases "could"

In order to conjugate a verb in the conditional tense, you always start with your infinitive. Remember that infinitives end in "are" "ere" and "ire". For a quick lesson on infinitives go here: http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/what-infinitive-7046.html

The next thing I have to do is to drop the final "e" from the infinitive.

The third thing I do is to add the appropriate ending depending on what the subject of the sentence is.

Here are the subjects in Italian with their English meanings and their matching endings for the conditional tense. The endings are in parethesis.

Io = I (ei)
Tu = singular you (esti)
Lui = he (ebbe)
Lei = she (ebbe)
Noi = we (emmo)
Voi = plural you (este)
Loro = they (ebbero)

OK, now let's look at the infinitive "parlare" = to speak.

Let's say I want to write We would speak in Italian.

1. Obtain your infinitive to speak which is "parlare"

2. Cut off the final "e" of parlare. parlare -----> parlar

3. Now, because our verb ends in "are" we must change the last two letters "ar" to "er" parlar ----> parler Note that you don't have to make this change with "ere" and "ire" verbs.

4. Now find the subject "we" (Noi in Italian) on the chart. The ending that matches up with "noi" is "emmo"

5. Now put it together parler + emmo = parleremmo = we would speak
__________________________________________________ _______

Remember though that there are some verbs in Italian in the conditional tense that have irregular stems. In other words, you can't simply start from the infinitive and then cut off the final "e" because these verbs have their own special stem. Note that the endings for these irregular verbs do not change! You still use the same endings as found in the chart above.

IRREGULAR CONDITIONAL TENSE STEMS

andare (to go) andr-

avere (to have) avr-

cadere (to fall) cadr-

dovere (to have to) dovr-

potere (to be able to) potr-

sapere (to know) sapr-

vedere (to see) vedr-

vivere (to live) vivr-

Let's try one: I would go

1. The verb to go is "andare" find its stem....them stem is andr

2. now find the subject "I" or "Io" in Italian on the chart. Its conditional ending is "ei"

3. Now put the two bold words together andr + ei = Andrei = I would go ]]> Italiano Giacomo http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/conditional-tense-7048.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f82/ciao-tutti-7047.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:55:50 GMT Come state! Non nono Italiano, ma la mia findanzata è di Milano! My fiancé is a native Italian, born, raised and currently living in Milan,... Come state!

Non nono Italiano, ma la mia findanzata è di Milano! My fiancé is a native Italian, born, raised and currently living in Milan, Italy. We are 6,000 miles away from each other, but very much in love.

I had been studying Italian before meeting my bride, but falling in love her had deepened my love of the culture.

I have a new blog where I document our year until our marriage and the ups and downs of our merging cultures. If interested in keeping track, please feel free to visit!

http://web.me.com/gregoryearls

A presto! ]]> Welcome! Start Posting here here finalorbit http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f82/ciao-tutti-7047.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/what-infinitive-7046.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:48:40 GMT In many of my posts, I use the word *infinitive* so I wish to define it a bit better. When a verb is in its infinitive form, we do not know who... In many of my posts, I use the word infinitive so I wish to define it a bit better.

When a verb is in its infinitive form, we do not know who is performing the action. In English infinitives are preceded by the word "to". Some examples are: to run, to dance, to swim, to think etc. With all of the verbs I just listed, you don't know who is performing the action because there is no subject.

Now In Italian, infinitives are not preceded by "to". Rather, they end in either "are" "ere" or "ire". Some examples are: parlare = to speak vedere = to see and uscire = to go out.

If you have read any of my previous posts on grammar, you will see that in order to write any sentence in Italian, you must start out with the infinitive of the verb and go from there. With some verb tenses such as the present tense, you must cut off the last three letters of the infinitive and then add special endings in order to make a sentence. With other tenses such as the future tense, you only cut off the final "e" of the infinitive and then add the special endings. Once you cut off the letters and then add the special endings, the verb is no longer an infinitive but is now said to be conjugated.

Infinitive: to speak (we do NOT know who is performing the action of speaking)

Conjugated: I speak, you speak, he speaks, we speak, they speak. (Now we know who is speaking)

Infinitive: to run (We don't know who is running)

Conjugated: I will run, you will run, he will run, they will run, we will run (Now we know who will run)

Do you see the difference?

Let's try it in Italian:

parlare = to speak. The verb is in the infinitive form since it ends in "are". We don't know who is speaking

Now I am going to cut off the "are" and add special endings. parlare -------> parl

parlo = I speak
parli = you speak
parliamo = we speak
parlano = they speak

As you continue to study Italian, you will see that the different tenses (present, past, future, etc.) all have a different set of special endings that need to be memorized. In any event the infinitive is where it all starts and it is very important to memorize as many infinitives in Italian as you can. They are the key to the entire language because you have to start there before you can even think of writing a sentence!

Here is a link that will lead you to 1001 Italian infinitives. http://italian.about.com/library/verb/blverbindex.htm Please note that some of the infinitives that you see will end in "SI". That means that the verb is reflexive. For a lesson on reflexive verbs go here: http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/reflex...lian-6956.html Now if you're a complete beginner, then you may want to skip reflexive verbs for now and ignore the infinives that end in "SI" ]]> Italiano Giacomo http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/what-infinitive-7046.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/future-tense-7044.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:23:25 GMT The future tense is used in order to express events that *will* happen in the future. Any Italian verb that is conjugated in the future tense is... The future tense is used in order to express events that will happen in the future. Any Italian verb that is conjugated in the future tense is translated back into English with the word "will"

In order to conjugate a verb in the future tense, you always start with your infinitive. Remember that infinitives end in "are" "ere" and "ire". For a quick lesson on infinitives go here: http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/what-infinitive-7046.html

The next thing I have to do is to drop the final "e" from the infinitive.

The third thing I do is to add the appropriate ending depending on what the subject of the sentence is.

Here are the subjects in Italian with their English meanings and their matching endings for the future tense. The endings are in parethesis.

Io = I (ò)
Tu = singular you (ai)
Lui = he (à)
Lei = she (à)
Noi = we (emo)
Voi = plural you (ete)
Loro = they (anno)

OK, now let's take a look at the infinitive parlare = to speak.

Let's say I want to write We will speak in Italian.

Obtain your infinitive to speak which is "parlare"

Cut off the final "e" of parlare. parlare -----> parlar

Because the verb parlare ends in "are" we must change the last two letters "ar" to "er" parlar ------> parler

Now find the subject "we" in English. It's equivalent in Italian is "Noi". The ending we use for "noi" is emo

Now take parler + emo and make it one word parleremo = they will speak

__________________________________________________ _______

Remember though that there are some verbs in Italian in the future tense that have irregular stems. In other words, you can't simply start from the infinitive and then cut off the final "e" because these verbs have their own special stem. Note that the endings for these irregular verbs do not change! You still use the same endings as found in the chart above.

IRREGULAR FUTURE TENSE STEMS

andare (to go) andr-

avere (to have) avr-

cadere (to fall) cadr-

dovere (to have to) dovr-

potere (to be able to) potr-

sapere (to know) sapr-

vedere (to see) vedr-

vivere (to live) vivr-

Let's try one: You will live

The irregular stem is vivr

add your approriate ending for "You" ai

put it together vivr + ai vivrai = you will live ]]> Italiano Giacomo http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/future-tense-7044.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f18/modern-day-michaelangelo-mission-7043.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:31:50 GMT Last month I went to the Italian instituto of Culture in L.A. and listened to a talk on Venice, Italy arquitecture. While there I met this other... Last month I went to the Italian instituto of Culture in L.A. and listened to
a talk on Venice, Italy arquitecture. While there I met this other Italian architect. We became friends and he is now going to give a talk at my school. The talk will be in Italian and English.

Talk on Italian architecture Dec. 17th at Erwin adult school in La Puente, California


Gian(John)Rinaldi Modern day Michaelangelo

Italian Florentine architect Gian Rinaldi is on a mission to bring California architeture the respect in
Europe that California wines now have. He compares the two. If you remember back in 1976 a famous
Europen connoisseur of wines challenged the Americans to a blind tasting of wines to see which wines
were the best. What they found out was that California wines can compare with any in Europe. Now
Gian(John) Rinaldi wants to do the samething with California/US architecture to show the Europeans
that we also have fine architecture. Besides being an architect Gian is also somewhat know as a
modern day Michaelangelo. So if you missed the real Michaelangelo don't miss Gian Rinaldi's talk
on California architecture compared to European achitecture. ]]> Cultura: Culture Villa http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f18/modern-day-michaelangelo-mission-7043.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f40/fabulae-fedro-co-7042.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:47:27 GMT Ex Phaedri Fabulis Excerpta. Azione scenico- coreografica in latino sulle favole di Fedro per il 52° Certamen Vaticanum Domenica 29 Novembre,... Ex Phaedri Fabulis Excerpta. Azione scenico- coreografica in latino sulle favole di Fedro per il 52° Certamen Vaticanum
Domenica 29 Novembre, nell'Aula S. Pio X, in via della Conciliazione, 5 alle ore 16.30, avrà luogo lo spettacolo in lingua latina “Fabulae...Fedro & Co.” realizzato dall'associazione culturale Music Theatre International-M.Th.I.. La performance è inserita nell’ambito del 52° Certamen Vaticanum, il premio internazionale dedicato alla promozione della lingua e cultura latina, organizzato annualmente dalla Fondazione Latinas Vaticana, che dal 2000 affida alla M.Th.I. il compito di arricchire la cerimonia di premiazione con rappresentazioni sceniche in latino.
Interpreti dello spettacolo: Annalisa Biancofore la Ninfa, Maurizio Perugini Fedro, Gabriele Sisci il Pastore; danzatrici Elisa Giacobini il Corvo, Alice Maruelli l’Aquila, Siria Spaziani la Volpe; il flautista sfrontato Pierpaolo Eramo (flauto). Musiche di Valerio Bonome, coreografie di Stefania Toscano, costumi di Francesca Staccioli; mise-en-espace di Paola Sarcina.
Lo spettacolo è un viaggio nel mondo fantastico di alcune delle più celebri Favole di Fedro (il lupo e l’agnello, la volpe e l’uva, il cane e il lupo, l’aquila, la volpe e la cornacchia, ecc.) raccontate ed animate da tre attori che impersonano il poeta Fedro, una Ninfa e un Pastore, a cui si affiancano tre danzatrici che, attraverso danze e pantomime, danno vita ad alcuni degli animali protagonisti delle favole (la volpe, l’aquila e il corvo). Lo spettacolo, recitato interamente in latino, sarà accompagnato anche da immagini che, proiettate su grande schermo, illustreranno il racconto.
N.B. - La rappresentazione scenica sarà preceduta dai saluti del Presidente della Latinitas, Padre Antonio Salvi, da un intervento di Sua Em.za il Card. Giovanni Coppa dal titolo “il Sacerdozio nelle Opere di S. Ambrogio Vescovo” e dalla Cerimonia di Premiazione del Certamen. Al termine della manifestazione seguirà rinfresco.
Per informazioni: Music Theatre International – MthI
cell. 338.1515381 – press@mthi.it
home page ]]> Latium - Lazio Ilva http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f40/fabulae-fedro-co-7042.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f12/rapini-seeds-7041.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:30:39 GMT If anyone is interested in obtaining rapini seeds please contact me. I have found a catalog where I can get about 100 seeds for under $2. If anyone is interested in obtaining rapini seeds please contact me. I have found a catalog where I can get about 100 seeds for under $2. ]]> Giacomo http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f12/rapini-seeds-7041.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f7/looking-apartment-rome-7040.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:19:03 GMT Hello, I am looking for the same that many others on the internet seem to be looking for - a furnished, well located apartment in Rome with a rent... Hello,

I am looking for the same that many others on the internet seem to be looking for - a furnished, well located apartment in Rome with a rent under 700 e / month. I am starting a one year job assignment in the city next week, and would be interested in starting the rental relation on 23.11. I have no pets nor do I smoke any cigarettes.

Please contact me via email as soon as possible if You have a home to offer for this desperate Finn. ]]> Affittasi: Long Term Rentals UMFC156 http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f7/looking-apartment-rome-7040.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f9/silver-7038.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:56:11 GMT hey everyone... i'm silverprincess, just got registered...

i just would like to ask... which is better for accessories...? gold or silver...?
i prefer silver coz aside from its "universaility"- like it just simply goes with almost everything, its a whole lot cheaper than gold... i'm talking about the practicality of it.. and its as fabulous as gold..
hmmm i think it looks a lot better with gemstones, dont you think..? gold is getting old this days.. its getting overrated lately.. ]]> silverprincess http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f9/silver-7038.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/can-you-help-translation-7037.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:49:51 GMT I am not looking for the vulgar or slang use but, the phrase "Blow Me" as in the wind blowing the sails of a sailboat... I want to name my sailboat "Blow Me" and from what I can tell it translates into "Colpo Me" which I do like the sound of...

Is this true? Or how would it be said...

Thanks for your help...

Lee ]]> Italiano lsorenson http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f55/can-you-help-translation-7037.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f2/best-part-italy-march-7036.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:39:04 GMT Since we had such a good time on our last short visit to Italy in September, we are planning to come back again for a longer stay, but unfortunately... Since we had such a good time on our last short visit to Italy in September, we are planning to come back again for a longer stay, but unfortunately we HAVE to travel in March (towards the End). I have done some temperature/weather research on line but have found nothing decisive. I would appreciate suggestions as to the most pleasant region - weather-wise - for that time of year. I'm thinking South-East perhaps?
Thanks. ]]> Italia: Tourism ursiglass http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f2/best-part-italy-march-7036.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f22/vatican-says-its-ok-believe-ufos-aliens-7035.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:53:42 GMT Vatican: It's OK to Believe in Aliens - Vatican Ufo - WKRG.com Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.
Mobile News Alabama News Pensacola Florida News - WKRG.com Mobile Weather News › News Stream › National News - Cached ]]> News Comments: Controversial Issues Villa http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f22/vatican-says-its-ok-believe-ufos-aliens-7035.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f78/santo-subito-7034.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:15:39 GMT VATICAN BODY APPROVES JOHN PAUL II'S BEATIFICATION!!

I know that many people on our forum don't care for the Catholic Church but the above headline makes me very happy! John Paul II was a great pope who did so much for the young people. I hope that Pope Bendecit approves his beatification! ]]> Offtopic lounge - Giacomo http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f78/santo-subito-7034.html http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f82/ciao-dal-texas-7033.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:29:39 GMT Ciao a tutti!!!!!!!!! Mi chiama Susannah, ho ventuno anni, e sono di Texas. I am a student at university of north texas majoring in advertising... Ciao a tutti!!!!!!!!!
Mi chiama Susannah, ho ventuno anni, e sono di Texas.
I am a student at university of north texas majoring in advertising and minoring in italian. I just started my minor so i am not anywhere near being a good speaker/writer but i am getting there!!! I am going to sicily this summer to study italian and i cant wait. My family is sicilan and i still have cugini (ha) there so hopfully i can meet them!
I am so happy i have found this community! when i speak in italian (and i will attempt most of the time) PLEASE correct me!!! :):):)
ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Susannah ]]> Welcome! Start Posting here here SicilianMauro http://my.lifeinitaly.com/f82/ciao-dal-texas-7033.html