Verborama!

Cari studenti, here are the verbs from Capitolo 1-8 of Avanti! Do you recognize all of them? Can you conjugate all of them in presente, the progressivo and the passato prossimo? If not, you'll want to work on them for the final exam!

abbracciarsi
alzarsi
amare
amarsi
andare (a letto/a teatro/al cinema/a trovare un amico)
andare (in aereo / in bicicletta / in macchina / in moto / in treno)
andare (in bagno / in camera / in cucina / in salotto / in banca / in centri / in chiesa / in piazza / in ufficio)
andare a piedi
andare di moda
annoiarsi
apparecchiare (la tavola)
aprire
arrabbiarsi
arrivare
ascoltare
aspettare
avere (caldo, freddo, sete, fame)
baciarsi
ballare
bere
capire
cercare
cercare
chiudere
compiere gli anni
conoscere
cucinare
dare
dimenticare
dipingere
dire
divertirsi
dormire
dovere
entrare
essere
fare (colazione/le ore piccole/shopping/sport/una domanda/una foto/una passeggiata/uno spuntino/yoga/il bucato/un giro in bici, in moto, in macchina)
fare bella figura
fare il tifo per
farsi gli anni
farsi gli auguri
farsi la barba
festeggiare
finire
frequentare
giocare (a calcio/a carte/a golf/a tennis)
guardare
incontrarsi
indossare
iniziare
innamorarsi
lasciarsi
lavare
lavarsi (i denti / i capelli)
lavorare
leggere
mangiare
mettersi
mettersi insieme
morire
nascere
nuotare (in piscina)
odiare
offrire
pagare
parlare
partire
perdere
portare
potere
praticare
preferire
prendere (l'autobus/un caffè/l'aereo/lezioni di.../il sole)
provare
pulire
rientrare
rimanere
rispondere
rompere
salutarsi
sapere
sbagliarsi
scegliere
sciare
scrivere
sentirsi
separarsi
servire
spiegare
sposarsi
stare
stare
studiare
suonare
svegliarsi
tornare
truccarsi
uscire
vedere
venire
vestirsi
viaggiare
vincere
visitare
volere
volersi bene

Some tips for using the prepositions "in" and "a"

"A" and "in" are, like most Italian prepositions, best learned idiomatically. They often cannot be translated into English. For example, in Italian, you say "andare in bicicletta", whereas in English you'd say to go ON or BY bike. Or, in another example, you say in Italian "andare a piedi" when in English you'd say to go ON or BY foot. That said, there are a few general rules that can help you remember when to use which preposition:

1) Use the simple preposition "in" when you are talking about general locations (especially indoor locations): preferisco studiare in biblioteca, balliamo in discoteca, diamo un esame in classe. An important exception to this is the word "casa", which takes the preposition "a": studio a casa, torniamo a casa dopo la lezione, etc.

2) use the simple preposition "in" with the names of continents (in Africa, in Europa), countries (in Italia, in America), regions (in Toscana, in New England) and large islands (in Sicilia).

3) use the simple preposition "in" when you are talking about mechanical means of transportation: andare in macchina, viaggiare in treno, andare in motorino, etc.

4) use the simple preposition "a" when you are talking about non mechanical means of transportation: andare a cavallo, andare a piedi

5) use the simple preposition "a" with the names of cities and small islands: abito a Waterville, facciamo le vacanze a Capri.

Italian Tutors

Please note that Alessandro Marignani, our Italian language assistant this year, is happy to help you with questions regarding compositions, quizzes, homework, etc. He holds regular office hours throughout the week, and can be reached at amarigna@colby.edu and/or ext. 4667. We also have Italian Studies minors who are offering their services for tutoring. The College covers the cost of this, which means you pay nothing. So take advantage and contact them if you feel that you could use a little extra help with your Italian. I will update the list of names below as we add tutors.

1) Angela Martinelli, '08: ammartin@colby.edu, ext. 6926 (campus).
2) Ermira Murati, '11: emurati@colby.edu, ext. 6542 (campus).
3) Philip Mason, '08: pbmason@colby.edu, tel. (603) 252-5550 (cell).
4) Khoa Nguyen, '11: ktnguyen@colby.edu, ext. 6669 (campus)

When to use "molto" vs. "molto/i/a/e"

Salve, studenti! I've copied a blog comment from one of your classmates, below, that will provide you with a handy tip about when to use the invariable form of "molto" vs. the forms with endings that change to reflect the number and gender of the nouns they accompany. Buoni studi!

At the request of Professor Cooper, I have developed a simple way to help us remember when the word "molto" is used as either an adjective or an adverb and how to determine when "molto" needs to be in agreement with the word it is modifying.

When "molto" is used as an adverb, that is to say it can be translated in English as "very," it DOES NOT change its ending so that it is in agreement with the word it is describing.

When "molto" is used as an adjective, that is to say it can be translated into English as "many" or "a lot of," its ending MUST agree with the word it is modifying. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you can add the suffix "-issimo/a/i/e" to the word being described and the word still translates as "a lot of ____" or "many ____," then "molto" is being used an adjective.

So, to put it frankly:

Molto=Very=adverb; agreement unnecessary.

Molto=Many or A Lot Of=Adjective, agreement necessary.

Grading Scales

Quiz (15 pts)
A range = 13.5-15
B range = 12-13
C range = 10.5-11.5
D range = 9-10
F range = 8.5 and below

Italian Table

Colby offers language tables for all of the major languages offered at the College. The Italian Table takes place in the private dining room in Roberts Dining Hall on Monday evenings, between 6-7 p.m., and is run by Alessandro, our visiting language assistant from Italy. Grab a bite to eat and join him for some conversation in Italian!

Butternut Squash Risotto

Want to impress your friends and family this fall with your newfound knowledge of Italian and Italian culture? Whip up a batch of risotto alla zucca, one of my personal favorites. While many Americans associate Italian cooking with pasta, the truth is that rice is the dietary staple in the northern regions of the country (it is grown in large quantities throughout the Po river valley).

Risotto alla zucca

1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 large garlic clove, sliced thin
1 1/4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh gingerroot
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup Arborio or long-grain rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Garnish: chopped fresh chives and Parmesan curls shaved with a vegetable peeler from a 1/4-pound piece of Parmesan at room temperature

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Halve squash lengthwise and discard seeds. Peel one half and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Put remaining half, cut side down, in an oiled shallow baking pan with diced squash and season with salt and pepper. Bake squash in middle of oven, stirring diced squash occasionally, until tender and browned lightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Holding halved squash in a kitchen towel, scoop out flesh and chop coarse.

In a saucepan bring broth and water to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.

In another saucepan cook onion, garlic, and gingerroot in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Stir in rice and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Stir in 1/4 cup broth and cook, stirring constantly, and keeping at a simmer throughout, until absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until about half of broth has been added. Stir in diced and choppe