In the last lesson we looked at the Präteritum, the past tense form which is commonly used with verbs such as sein, haben and so on. In this lesson, we’ll be taking the Präteritum a little further and learn how to talk about what we wanted to do and what we were able to do in the past, using können and wollen.
Month: October 2017
Supporting the Polyglot Conference
This weekend Mark is in Reykjavík, Iceland, representing Radio Lingua as one of the official sponsors of the Polyglot Conference. This annual event brings together language enthusiasts from around the world, and features a series of presentations and workshops on language-learning, learning resources and polyglottery, the ability to speak multiple languages.
Here at Radio Lingua we’re delighted to be sponsoring the event. We’re looking forward to meeting language learners from around the world – and hopefully some of the Coffee Break community – in Iceland, and discovering this amazing part of the world. Follow Coffee Break Languages on Instagram for more updates live from Reykjavík, and to keep in touch with the team.
CBI 2.18 | A che ora sono arrivati?
So far we’ve been learning how to talk in the past by using the Perfect Tense with avere. In this lesson we’ll be learning about a specific group of verbs which use essere in the Perfect Tense. There’s something in particular we need to remember about these verbs, and all will become clear once you’ve listened to this lesson.
CBG 2.18 | Wie alt warst du, als du ein Handy gekauft hast?
This episode of Coffee Break German introduces the verbs sein and haben and how they are used in the past. In fact, these verbs use a different tense, the Präteritum, or “imperfect” as it is often referred to in English. You’ll learn to conjugate the imperfect of sein and haben and how to use it in a variety of situations.
CBI 2.17 | Abbiamo visto tutto!
In this episode of Coffee Break Italian, we’re continuing to learn about the Perfect Tense, this time focusing on verbs which have irregular past participles. You’ll learn to form past participles for irregular verbs and you’ll also learn about the groupings of irregular verbs which form their past participles in similar ways.
Listen to the episode
The audio lesson is free, as are all the main audio lessons of Coffee Break Italian. Use the audio player to listen to the lesson, or subscribe in iTunes to receive this lesson and all future lessons automatically. If you can’t see the player below, click here to access the lesson.
Accessing the Premium Version
The premium version of Coffee Break Italian provides additional materials which will help you move forward more effectively with your Italian studies.
The premium version includes the following elements:
- video flashcards: listen to each lesson and see the words and phrases covered in the lesson displayed on the screen of your computer, phone or tablet (mp4 format);
- bonus audio materials: use our review lessons to practise the language covered in the main lesson, and to pick up some useful bonus vocabulary (mp3 format);
- comprehensive lesson notes: study the language of each lesson in greater detail and access additional information about the Italian language (pdf format).
The members’ version can be accessed on the Coffee Break Academy.
Subscribe links
Subscribe in iTunes | RSS Feed | Purchase members’ audio and transcripts
CBG 2.17 | Ich habe die Hausaufgaben nicht gemacht, weil der Hund sie gefressen hat
In this episode we’re focusing on the use of weil with the Perfect Tense and you’ll be learning to give excuses as to why you arrived late and why you haven’t done your homework!