A real task, and everything reviewed
No new grammar. One real thing done in Italian, and a look back over ninety days.
Colours live this week
10 of 10 in playA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Describes a noun.
Modifies a verb or an adjective.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Joins two parts of a sentence.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
Consolidation only. If a colour still surprises you this week, that is what the review deck is for.
Task one — read a menu
Read it aloud, line by line. Look for the orange nouns, which are the food, and the brown prepositions linking them together.
Menù del giorno
Antipasti
Insalata di pomodoritomato salad
Zuppa del giornosoup of the day
Primi
Pasta al pomodoropasta with tomato
Risotto ai funghimushroom risotto
Secondi
Pesce con verdurefish with vegetables
Dolci
Formaggicheeses
Torta di meleapple tart
Bevande
Caffè / Tècoffee / tea
Un bicchiere di vinoa glass of wine
Reading an Italian menu
Del is di + il, al is a + il, and ai is a + i — Italian merges its prepositions with the article the way French does with du and au. Note the course structure too: antipasti, then primi, which are pasta or risotto, then secondi, which are the meat or fish. A primo is not a starter, and ordering only a primo is entirely normal.
Task two — a friendly message
A template to adapt. Change the name and the plan and it is yours.
[Ciao] name,
sto molto bene.
Domani visito il museo.
E tu?
[A presto], name
Hi ___, I'm very well. Tomorrow I'm visiting the museum. And you? See you soon, ___
Task two, continued — booking by message
The second template. Swap the number, the day and the time.
[Buongiorno], vorrei prenotare un tavolo per due persone,
[stasera] alle venti. [Grazie].
Good day, I would like to book a table for two people, this evening at 8pm. Thank you.
Task three — booking a table, out loud
Practise both sides. Play the restaurant as well as yourself — hearing the question is half the skill.
You[Buongiorno], vorrei prenotare un tavolo per due persone.
RestaurantPer che ora?
YouAlle venti, [per favore].
Restaurant[Va bene]. [A stasera].
You[Grazie], [arrivederci].
— Good day, I'd like to book a table for two. — For what time? — At 8pm, please. — That's fine. See you this evening. — Thank you, goodbye.
Telling the time, and eating late
Alle venti — at twenty hundred. The 24-hour clock is standard for anything booked, and alle is a + le, agreeing with the feminine ore that is left unsaid. In conversation you would say alle otto di sera. Italian dinner starts around eight and many kitchens do not open before half past seven.
The three milestones, checked
Daily mini-tasks
After Day 90
Keep the reviews going. Items sitting at the 60 and 90-day intervals still have reviews due, and skipping them is how ninety days of work quietly evaporates. Then add one social session a week — a language exchange, a community class, a conversation partner. Italians are famously willing to let you try, and to correct you cheerfully while you do.
Listening this week
A restaurant or hotel scene — Easy Italian, or an Italian drama
YouTube or a streaming service
You now have the vocabulary to follow a good deal of it. Watch something you have already seen in English if that helps.
Milestone
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- 01Talk about your hobbies, your health and your opinions using piacere, adorare and the opinion frames.
- 02Follow the gist of a two-minute Italian clip using the three-step method.
- 03Deliver a five-minute monologue on the five-part scaffold, with discourse markers, without correcting yourself mid-sentence.
- 04Complete a real task in Italian — read a menu, write a message, or book a table.