Coffee Break Italian Advanced

Welcome back to Coffee Break Italian Season 3! In this episode we continue our journey through the conditional. Following on from the previous episode where we introduced this new mood and explained its functions; we are now focusing on the conditional perfect. We hear this grammar point in context during a conversation between husband and wife watching the news at dinner time. Take note of some u...

Welcome to another episode of Coffee Break Italian Season 3! This time we’re introducing a new type of verb: the conditional mood. Join Mark and Francesca as they explain how and when to use the conditional in order to be more polite; to give advice; and to say that something would happen or occur if circumstances were different. We then hear the conditional in context during a conversation betwee...

In this episode of Coffee Break Italian, Mark and Francesca introduce a new grammar point: the very useful  si impersonale  or “impersonal  si ”. We learn how the word  si  can be used as a generic subject in order to avoid specific reference to a person or group of people. We also learn how to form this impersonal structure with different tenses, provided t...

We're back with another episode of Coffee Break Italian! This time, Mark and Francesca are looking at the formal imperative and its negative and irregular form. We see this grammar point in context with a dialogue between a Scottish tourist and a local who provides directions to the Museum of Modern Art. Listen out for some useful vocabulary in this episode including the words: cartina ,...

In this week's lesson of Coffee Break Italian Season 3 we're looking at the following forms of the imperative: tu and voi forms; the negative imperative; irregular forms; and the imperative with pronouns. We also hear a dialogue between two colleagues, Carlo and Michela, who are back to work after their Christmas holidays. If you'd like to take advantage of bonus materials, lesson notes and a tran...

We have reached Lesson 10 of Coffee Break Italian Season 3! In this review lesson we look at all of the pronouns covered in Lessons 1 -9: subject pronouns, reflexive pronouns, direct and indirect object pronouns and combined pronouns. We also hear from Silvia, a young girl who has written a journal entry all about a boy in her class, Tommaso, whom she likes. Some interesting phrases to listen...

In this lesson, Coffee Break Italian hosts, Mark and Francesca, introduce the last remaining category of personal pronouns to be discussed in this series: disjunctive pronouns. We then listen to a dialogue centred around the use of disjunctive pronouns. In the previous episodes, direct, indirect and combined pronouns were looked at quite extensively and you can refer to Episode 8 if you wish to ha...

Welcome back to Coffee Break Italian Season 3! In this lesson, Mark and Francesca bring together direct and indirect object pronouns, and discuss what happens when both pronouns are used in one sentence at the same time. Before looking at this new grammar point, we remind ourselves what direct and indirect objects are and then listen to a dialogue centred around the use of combined pronouns. If yo...

Throughout this lesson of Coffee Break Italian, Mark and Francesca teach us about indirect object pronouns and we follow a dialogue of three friends discussing what present to get for two of their friends’ birthdays. Listen out for some useful vocabulary including the words: cravatta  and indimenticabile . If you'd like to take advantage of bonus materials, lesson notes and a translation chal...

We're back with a brand new Coffee Break Italian lesson! Join Mark and Francesca as they continue discussing the topic of adjectives. While the focus of Lesson 5 was on comparative adjectives, this time we are learning about superlative adjectives, both in their relative and absolute forms. We also hear a dialogue between two friends which features relative comparatives and absolute comparatives....

The latest lesson from Coffee Break Italian Season 3 is all about comparative adjectives. Join Mark and Francesca to learn about regular and irregular comparatives and the use of che and di when introducing comparisons. We also hear some useful phrases including all’ultimo minut o and spendere un occhio della testa. If you'd like to take advantage of bonus materials, lesson notes and a translation...

Mark and Francesca are talking about the  futuro anteriore  (future perfect) in Lesson 4 from Coffee Break Italian Season 3. We also revise all of the adjectives covered in the season so far and hear a dialogue following on from what we heard in Lesson 3. If you'd like to take advantage of bonus materials, lesson notes and a translation challenge, you can access the full Coffee Break Ita...

Join hosts Mark and Francesca in Lesson 3 of Coffee Break Italian Season 3 as they discuss the simple future. We talk about the structure of the tense and how it is formed and used in Italian. We also hear a dialogue between a father and daughter who are discussing aspects about their lives in the near future. Be sure to listen carefully for several verbs in the future tense! If you'd like to take...

Welcome to another episode from Season 3 of Coffee Break Italian! This time, Mark and Francesca discuss direct object pronouns with compound tenses and the use of agreements with the past participle. We also hear a dialogue in which three friends, Mirko, Diego, and Daniela discuss the details of a party they are organising. If you'd like to take advantage of bonus materials, lesson notes and a tra...

In this first episode of Coffee Break Italian Season 3, Francesca and Mark explain how Direct Object Pronouns work with simple verbs in the present tense. You'll hear an explanation of the grammar point, then listen to a dialogue in which John, a Scottish student of Italian, is in Siena to improve his language skills. He has a chat with his teacher of Italian about his language learning experience...