Alesha Allen
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Alesha is an Oxford University graduate of Italian who lived and worked in Rome as a language teacher and PR consultant. Back in the UK, she now runs Alesha’s Italian Masterclass: group Italian courses and private lessons at Italian cafes and restaurants in London and Surrey. You can contact her at italianmasterclass@hotmail.com or through Facebook. Her website is www.italianmasterclass.co.uk.
Articles by Alesha Allen
Fri, 07/19/2019 - 03:51
Imagine being on a bus in Italy and someone kindly offers to help you with your suitcase. You don’t need their help though, so you want to tell them:…
Thu, 07/11/2019 - 00:04
One of my students recently asked me the difference between ‘lasciare’ and ‘uscire’ as when she looked them up in the dictionary, they both said ‘to l…
Thu, 07/04/2019 - 11:53
We only have one way to say ‘you’ in English. Italian has both a formal you ‘Lei’ and an informal you: ‘tu’. Which one should you use when? This is a…
Tue, 07/02/2019 - 06:30
It’s most definitely summer somewhere in Italy! Italians can look stylish all year round, but have you ever wondered whether there are any customs or…
Thu, 06/20/2019 - 12:02
Body parts may not come up much in general Italian conversation, but they’re important to know. Besides a visit to the pharmacy or doctor’s, you’ll fi…
Thu, 06/13/2019 - 10:38
In this language lesson we are going to learn how to say ‘some’ or ‘any’ in Italian. Imagine you’re sitting in a beautiful rooftop bar in Italy, and y…
Tue, 06/11/2019 - 03:37
The next verb in my ongoing irregular present tense verb series is the verb ‘dire’. This verb often means ‘to say’, but it can also mean ‘to tell’’. A…
Thu, 05/30/2019 - 12:11
Whatever your level of Italian, it’s happened to all of us. You’re having a conversation and you’re doing really well ... and then you’re lost and you…
Fri, 05/24/2019 - 02:30
It is most certainly spring time in Italy.
The temperature is mild, the flowers are in bloom and there’s lots of fresh fruit and vegetables at the mar…
Fri, 05/17/2019 - 02:09
I recently wrote a language piece on how to say ‘a lot’ in Italian, today we are going to look at the opposite - how to say ‘a little’, ‘a bit’ and ‘a…
Fri, 05/10/2019 - 03:11
As part of my irregular present tense verb series, today we are going to look at a very common irregular present tense verb - ‘bere’ - which means ‘to…
Fri, 05/03/2019 - 04:07
Idioms are sayings or expressions that often can’t be translated literally. They’re widely used in spoken Italian so a great way to express yourself a…
Thu, 04/25/2019 - 04:20
You may have heard the word ‘Pasquetta’ in Italian which literally means ‘little Easter’. This is known in English as Easter Monday. It is a day Itali…
Fri, 04/19/2019 - 02:00
In Italian there are a variety of ways to say ‘a lot’ and ‘many’. How would you say, for example, ‘there are a lot of beautiful churches in Italy’ or…
Thu, 04/11/2019 - 04:24
How would you say ‘I can’ in Italian?
For example, ‘I can speak Italian’, or ‘I can find the square’, or ‘I can do my homework’. Maybe your answer wou…
Fri, 04/05/2019 - 00:47
Mastering your numbers in Italian is an important skill. How else can you specify how many scoops of ‘gelato’ (ice cream) you would like, or ask what…
Fri, 03/29/2019 - 05:51
Introduction
Today’s language lesson is about how to use the passive form in Italian. There are two forms of verbs: passive and active. An active ve…
Fri, 03/22/2019 - 04:56
When you first start learning Italian you will often learn the verb ‘volere’. This verb means ‘to want’. A verb is a doing word, a word which expresse…
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 14:32
There are a group of verbs in Italian called modal verbs. They are also known as helper verbs, as they help another verb, explaining intention, possib…
Fri, 03/08/2019 - 04:47
Verbs
Here is the next piece in my series covering common irregular present tense verbs. Today we’ll look at the verb ‘dare’. This can often be tran…