What do you like doing in your free time? In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Francesca asks the question, cosa fai nel tempo libero? (informal) or cosa fa nel tempo libero? (formal). You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn how to talk about what you do in your free
In this Coffee Break Italian special, join Francesca and Mark as they travel to Francesca’s village of Pettinengo in the Piemonte hills. The video features segments in Italian and English, and we’ve provided subtitles in both Italian and English for you. You’ll meet Francesca’s family – and her dog – and get to know the
In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, we’re talking about sports. Francesca asks the question qual è il tuo sport preferito?, “what is your favourite sport”, and you can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to introduce yourself in Italian. In the first part of the video, watch the
To ask “which languages do you speak?” in Italian you can say quali lingue parli?, or in a more formal situation, quali lingue parla? In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Francesca asks this question to interviewees in the streets of Milan. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn
To ask “what do you do for a living?” in Italian you can say che lavoro fai?, or in a more formal situation, che lavoro fa? In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Francesca asks this questions to interviewees in the streets of Milan. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help
To ask “do you have brothers and sisters?” in Italian you can say hai fratelli?, or in a more formal situation, ha fratelli? You may also want to ask someone “do you have children?”. This would be hai figli? or more formally ha figli?. In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Francesca asks these
In this episode Francesca’s question is “Quand’è il tuo compleanno?” – “When is your birthday?”. Using the answers you’ll learn to say when your birthday is in Italian. Here are the words and phrases you’ll need: When is your birthday? – Quand’è il tuo compleanno? (informal) When is your birthday? – Quand’è il suo compleanno?
In Italian when you talk about ages you don’t say “I am 21 years old”: instead you say “I have 21 years”. Equally, when you ask the question “how old are you?” or “what age are you”, you actually ask “how many years do you have”. Here are the phrases you’ll need: I’m (21) years
In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Francesca asks the question, dove abiti (informal) or dove abita (formal). You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to say where you’re from in Italian. In the first part of the video, watch the interviews without subtitles and try to understand. In the
In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Franceca asks the question, di dove sei? (informal) or di dov’è? (formal) to passers-by in the streets of Milan. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to say where you’re from in Italian. In the first part of the video, watch the
To ask “how are you?” in Italian you can say come stai?, or in a more formal situation, come sta? In this episode of Coffee Break Italian To Go, Francesca asks this question to passers-by in the streets of Milan. You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to introduce yourself in
Welcome to our new series, Coffee Break Italian To Go! If you’ve been working through the lessons of Season 1 or Season 2 of our podcast or online course, then you’re ready to “take your Italian on the road”, and you can do exactly that with the help of Francesca. In our first series, Francesca
Often described as “the other Italian national pastime” (in addition to il calcio, football) cycling is huge in Italy. In this final episode of this season of the Coffee Break Italian Magazine, we take a closer look at the sport which is one of the most practised and watched in the country. In response to
By the time you’ve listened to this episode you’ll have l’acquolina in bocca – your mouth will be watering! Francesca shares a recipe for the rice dish panissa which involves beans, onion, Italian sausage and Arborio rice, and there’s a question from listener Donna who is confused about the difference between the verbs potere and
In this episode of the Coffee Break Magazine we’re heading to the north of Italy to the town of Ivrea, known for its peculiar way of celebrating Carnevale. Our listener’s question in this episode comes from Zack and concerns the tricky word mica which seems to pepper the conversation of native speakers, but is difficult
… e tanta voglia di futuro. The city of Matera in the Basilicata region of Italy celebrates an incredibly rich heritage, with the word famous Sassi, cave dwellings carved into the mountainside, and looks to the future with the redevelopment of these caves into museums and hotels. In 2019, together with the Bulgarian city of
It’s time for a new episode of the Coffee Break Italian Magazine and in this episode Francesca and Mark talk about their summer breaks and where they travelled to. The text for this episode focuses on the traditional Italian dance, la Tarantella, and there’s an interesting question from listener Gianna on the difference between restare
We’re heading to the kitchen for this episode and learning about the popular pasta dish, le orecchiette. Mark and Francesca also discuss their recent trip to Milan and Stresa to film some content for the forthcoming Coffee Break Italian To Go video series. There’s also an explanation of how to translate “some” into Italian, based
In this episode Francesca and Mark discuss one of Italy’s most famous authors, Italo Calvino. Calvino’s work can be read on many levels, and as a result of the type of language used, his books are very accessible for learners of Italian. In our Q&A segment, Francesca explains the difference between stare and essere.
In episode 3 of the Coffee Break Italian Magazine we’re heading to the north of Italy to find out more about the Walser Community. In addition we’ll be looking at the best way to move from using Lei to using tu when you’re getting to know someone.
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