50 ITALIAN COFFEE BREAKS

BONUS PACK

COFFEE BREAK LANGUAGES

 First published by Teach Yourself in 2022
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www.teachyourself.com
 TI VA UN CAFFÈ?

Ciao! Ti va un caffè? Fancy a coffee? 50 Italian Coffee Breaks is

designed to make it easy for you to learn just a little bit of
Italian every single time you take a Coffee Break.

This bonus pack contains exclusive activities to accompany

you during five extra Coffee Breaks. The activities included
will take around 5, 10 or 15 minutes to complete and this will
be indicated next to each one, so that you can choose an
activity according to how long you have to spend on your
Italian today.

We hope that you enjoy these extra Coffee Breaks and that
you are ready to start learning. If so, iniziamo!

1
 CHECKLIST

5 minutes
❏ Mini Grammar Challenge - page 3
❏ Idiomatically Speaking - page 8

10 minutes
❏ Famous Italian Speakers - page 12
❏ Translation Challenge - page 17

15 minutes
❏ Vocabulary Consolidation - page 24

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 1

GLI AVVERBI
MINI GRAMMAR CHALLENGE

Our focus for this grammar activity is adverbs. Read the short
explanation below before completing the exercise that
follows. By the end of these five minutes, you will know how
to form and use many different adverbs in Italian. Metti-
amoci al lavoro!

Just as adjectives describe nouns, adverbs describe verbs,

meaning that they give information about where, when or
how an action is carried out. It is easy to recognise adverbs in
Italian because most of them end with the suffix -mente.
They are usually placed after the verb and you don’t have to
worry about agreements because adverbs always remain in
the same form.

Some common adverbs can be formed from adjectives. To

form an adverb from an adjective ending in -o in its mascu-
line singular form, change the -o to -a and then add the suffix

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-mente. For example:

lento > lenta > lentamente (“slowly”)

allegro > allegra > allegramente (“happily”)

For adjectives ending in -e, simply add -mente. For example:

veloce > velocemente (“quickly”)

intelligente > intelligentemente (“cleverly”)

For adjectives ending in -le or -re, drop the final -e before

adding -mente:

facile > facilmente (“easily”)

particolare > particolarmente (“particularly”)

EXERCISE

Facciamo un po’ di pratica adesso! Fill in the gaps in the

sentences below by forming an adverb from the adjective
given in brackets in its masculine singular form.

1. Come si pronuncia
✎______________________________________ [corretto]
questa parola?
2. Per fare un acquisto online, devi
✎______________________________________ [semplice]
cliccare questo tasto.
3. Michela e Antonio fanno sport
✎______________________________________ [regolare].

4
 4. Cammina più
✎______________________________________ [veloce],
altrimenti perdiamo l’autobus!
5. Siamo arrivati a casa
✎______________________________________ [finale].
6. La mia insegnante di italiano parla molto
✎______________________________________ [chiaro].
7. Puoi guidare ✎______________________________________
[lento]? Ho un po’ di nausea.
8. ✎______________________________________ [onesto]
questo discorso non mi interessa.
9. Se piove possiamo
✎______________________________________ [tranquillo]
restare a casa e guardare un film.
10. La risposta di Giuseppe è
✎______________________________________
[fondamentale] sbagliata.

Once you’ve completed the exercise, turn the page to check

your answers.

5
 ANSWERS
MINI GRAMMAR CHALLENGE

1. correttamente. TRANSLATION : How is this word

pronounced correctly?
2. semplicemente. TRANSLATION : To make an online
purchase, you simply have to click this button.
3. regolarmente. TRANSLATION : Michela and Antonio
exercise regularly.
4. velocemente. TRANSLATION : Walk faster, otherwise
we’ll miss the bus!
5. finalmente. TRANSLATION : At long last we have arrived
home.
6. chiaramente. TRANSLATION : My Italian teacher speaks
very clearly.
7. lentamente. TRANSLATION : Can you drive slowly? I feel
a little nauseous.
8. Onestamente. TRANSLATION : Honestly, this
conversation doesn’t interest me.
9. tranquillamente. TRANSLATION : If it’s raining, we can
easily stay at home and watch a movie.

6
10. fondamentalmente. TRANSLATION : Giuseppe’s answer
is fundamentally incorrect.

7
 2

CONOSCERE COME LE PROPRIE

TASCHE
IDIOMATICALLY SPEAKING

In this activity we’re focusing on an interesting Italian idiom,

conoscere come le proprie tasche. This idiom literally trans-
lates as “to know (something or someone) like your own
pockets”, but a better translation in English is the expression
“to know (something) like the back of your hand” or “to know
(something or someone) inside out”. It means that you know
someone or something really well and can be used to refer to
people, places or topics. Let’s take a look at an example of this
idiom being used in context:

Io e Luca siamo amici dalla scuola elementare.

Lo conosco come le mie tasche.
Luca and I have been friends since primary school. I know
him very well.

8
Did you notice how the expression was personalised in the
example we’ve just seen? Just as in English we change the
expression “to know something like the back of your hand” to
“I know … like the back of my hand” or “she knows … like the
back of her hand”, in Italian we have to adapt le proprie
tasche using the relevant possessive adjective: le mie tasche,
le tue tasche, le sue tasche, le nostre tasche, le vostre
tasche, le loro tasche. Pay attention to this as you read the
next two examples:

Marta ha studiato storia all’università. La conosce

come le sue tasche.
Marta studied history at university. She knows it
inside out.

Abbiamo vissuto a Roma per quattro anni. La

conosciamo come le nostre tasche.
We lived in Rome for four years. We know it like the
back of our hands.

EXERCISE

È il tuo turno! Complete the following sentences, using the

expression conoscere come le proprie tasche. Remember to
use the correct possessive adjective for every context!

1. Gianluca vive a Torino da quando è nato.

✎____________________________________________________ .
2. Marta ha letto tutto sulla letteratura italiana.
✎____________________________________________________ .

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 3. Conosco Ambra da dieci anni.
✎____________________________________________________ .

Benissimo! When you’re ready, turn over to check your

answers.

10
 ANSWERS
IDIOMATICALLY SPEAKING

1. La conosce come le sue tasche.

TRANSLATION : Gianluca has lived in Turin since he was

born. He knows it like the back of his hand.

2. La conosce come le sue tasche.
TRANSLATION : Marta has read everything about Italian

literature. She knows it inside out.

3. La conosco come le mie tasche.
TRANSLATION : I have known Ambra for ten years. I know

her very well.

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 3

GIANNI RODARI
FAMOUS ITALIAN SPEAKERS

In this reading activity we’ll be learning about a famous

Italian writer, Gianni Rodari. Use the vocabulary list as
necessary to help you as you read through the text. Then,
answer the comprehension and language questions that
follow to test your understanding.

Nel 2020 in tutta Italia si celebrano i cent’anni dalla nascita

di un grande autore di libri per bambini: Gianni Rodari, un
vero e proprio punto di riferimento per generazioni di
studenti e insegnanti italiani. Infatti, grazie alle sue indi-
menticabili poesie, filastrocche e racconti, è riuscito a
trasmettere in maniera semplice concetti grammaticali e
linguistici di grande importanza. Moltissimi bambini ital-
iani hanno imparato almeno una delle sue filastrocche a
memoria! Ma ciò che c’è di speciale in questo scrittore – che
è stato anche maestro, giornalista e pedagogista – è la sua
capacità di affrontare con semplici parole temi molto deli-

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 cati come giustizia, uguaglianza, amore e rispetto. Proprio
per questo, nel 1970 si è aggiudicato l’ambito Premio Ander-
sen, un riconoscimento di grande livello per chi si occupa di
letteratura per l’infanzia. Se ancora non conoscete le sue
opere, vi consigliamo vivamente la loro lettura in italiano o
in una delle tante lingue in cui sono state tradotte.

VOCABULARY
si celebrano < celebrare - (they) are celebrated < to celebrate
nascita (f ) - birth
punto (m) di riferimento - reference point
indimenticabile - unforgettable
filastrocche (f, pl) - nursery rhymes
racconti (m, pl) - short stories
maniera (f) - way
a memoria - by memory, by heart
pedagogista (m/f ) - educationalist
affrontare - to face, to deal with
temi (m, pl) - topics
uguaglianza (f ) - equality
proprio per questo - for this very reason
si è aggiudicato < aggiudicarsi - he won, he was awarded < to
win, to be awarded
ambito/a - coveted
riconoscimento (m) - acknowledgement
si occupa di < occuparsi di - (he / she) deals with < to
deal with
infanzia (f ) - childhood
opere (f, pl) - works
vi consigliamo < consigliare - we advise you < to advise, to
recommend
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vivamente - strongly
tradotto/a - translated

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions in English.

1. What was celebrated in Italy in 2020?

✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2. What did Rodari write?
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3. Apart from being a writer, what else did Rodari do?
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
4. What topics did he tackle?
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
5. What happened in 1970?
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

LANGUAGE QUESTIONS

1. What is the feminine form of the noun autore?

✎____________________________________________________
2. Of which words is the preposition alle composed?
✎____________________________________________________
3. What is the plural form of c’è?
✎____________________________________________________
14
 4. Which tense is being used in è stato?
✎____________________________________________________
5. What is the infinitive of the past participle tradotte?
✎____________________________________________________

Bel lavoro! Once you’re happy with your answers, turn the
page to check them.

15
 ANSWERS
FAMOUS ITALIAN SPEAKERS

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. The 100 th anniversary of Gianni Rodari’s birth.

2. Poems, nursery rhymes and short stories.
3. A teacher, a journalist and an educationalist.
4. Justice, equality, love and respect.
5. Rodari was awarded the Andersen Prize.

LANGUAGE QUESTIONS

1. autrice
2. the preposition a and the definite article le
3. ci sono
4. the perfect tense (passato prossimo)
5. tradurre (“to translate”)

16
 4

PROVA DI TRADUZIONE
TRANSLATION CHALLENGE

In this activity we have some sentences for you to translate

into Italian. Try translating them on your own first. Then, if
you need some help, you can turn the page to find a hint for
each sentence. In bocca al lupo!

1. Antonella loves eating out with her friends,

especially in spring and summer.
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2. Laura, you seemed nervous the other day. Are you
worried about your exams?
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
3. Physics was my favourite subject when I was in high
school, but I don’t remember a thing now.
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 ✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
4. If you want to improve your Italian, you have to
study and practise the language every day.
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
5. My grandparents have been living in the same house
for forty years now.
✎____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

HINTS

If you need some help, you may find the following hints
useful.

1. For number 1, remember that there is more than one

way to translate “to love” in Italian.
2. For number 2, you’ll need the adjective
preoccupato/a and the preposition per.
3. Use the imperfetto in the first part of number 3.
4. In number 4, you can translate “to practise” as fare
pratica con. Also pay attention to the translation of
“have to (do something)”.
5. You will only need the present tense in number 5.

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Ben fatto! Once you’re happy with your translations, turn the
page to find our suggested translations and explanations.

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 ANSWERS
TRANSLATION CHALLENGE

1. Antonella ama / adora mangiare fuori con i suoi amici / le

sue amiche, soprattutto in primavera e in estate / d’estate.

EXPLANATION :

When amare or adorare is used with another verb,

the second verb is always in the infinitive form. In
this case, the infinitive is mangiare.
The translation for “her friends” can be i suoi amici
or, if all her friends are female, le sue amiche. Notice
how the possessive adjective (suoi or sue) agrees
with the noun (amici or amiche), rather than with
the subject (Antonella).
When we talk about seasons in Italian, we usually
use the preposition in. However, the preposition di
can also be used with estate (“summer”) and inverno
(“winter”).

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2. Laura, sembravi nervosa l’altro giorno. Sei preoccupata per
i tuoi esami?

EXPLANATION :

We can assume from the context that the speaker is

addressing Laura informally, which is why we are
using the tu form of the verbs sembrare and essere
and the possessive adjective tuoi.
We are using the imperfect tense (sembravi) because
we are describing her mood in the past (l’altro
giorno).
As we are addressing Laura, the adjectives (nervosa
and preoccupata) are in the feminine singular form.
Remember to include the definite article before a
possessive adjective (e.g. i tuoi). The article and the
possessive adjective must agree in gender and
number with the noun.

3. La fisica era la mia materia preferita quando ero al liceo,

ma ora non ricordo nulla / niente.

EXPLANATION :

In Italian, the names of school subjects are never

capitalised. However, the names of university
subjects can be.
In the first part of the sentence, we are using the
imperfect tense because we are talking about
preferences in the past.
Il liceo is a type of secondary school (scuola
superiore) in Italy which prepares students for higher
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 education. There are many different licei, which
allow students to qualify in specific academic areas,
for example: il liceo artistico (Fine Arts and History
of Art), il liceo classico (Humanities and Classics), il
liceo linguistico (Languages), il liceo musicale e
coreutico (Music, Dance and Performing Arts), il
liceo scientifico (Maths and Science), among others.
Note the use of the negation non with niente or
nulla. In Italian, we use double negatives with words
such as niente, nulla, nessuno and mai.

4. Se vuoi / volete / vuole migliorare il tuo / il vostro / il Suo

italiano, devi / dovete / deve studiare e fare pratica con la
lingua tutti i giorni / ogni giorno.

EXPLANATION :

It is possible to translate “you” either as a singular

(tu) or plural (voi) subject in Italian. There is also the
possibility of using the formal way of addressing
someone, Lei.
In this sentence we have two modal verbs: dovere
and volere. When these modal verbs are used with
another verb, the second verb is always in the
infinitive form, in this case migliorare, studiare and
fare.
You can translate “to practise the language” as fare
pratica con la lingua.
There are two possible translations for “every day”:
tutti i giorni and ogni giorno. Note that ogni is
always followed by a singular noun.

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5. I miei nonni vivono nella stessa casa da quarant’anni
ormai.

EXPLANATION :

When we talk about “grandparents”, we use i nonni

in Italian. This is because when we refer to a group
of people, we tend to use the masculine plural noun
for that category: for example, gli zii (“uncles and
aunts”), i figli (“sons and daughters”), i suoceri (“in-
laws”).
If you want to explain for how long you have been
doing something in Italian, you should use the
present tense followed by the preposition da.
Ormai means “by now” or “at this point”. In
sentences using the present + da construction, ormai
is usually used instead of ora or adesso.

23
 5

IL MONDO DEL LAVORO

VOCABULARY CONSOLIDATION

In this activity we’re going to get to know some vocabulary

related to il mondo del lavoro, “the world of work”. The list
below contains 20 words or phrases on this topic. Take a
couple of minutes to familiarise yourself with them, then
cover up the list with your hand or a piece of paper and try to
complete the exercises without looking at it. Iniziamo!

assumere - to hire, to take on

il colloquio - job interview
il congedo di maternità / paternità - maternity / paternity
leave
il contratto - contract
dare le dimissioni - to resign
il disoccupato / la disoccupata - someone who is
unemployed
fare carriera - to move up the career ladder

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fare domanda - to apply
fare il / la pendolare* - to commute
le ferie - paid holiday, time off
il giorno libero - day off
l’impiegato / l’impiegata - employee, office worker
il libero professionista / la libera professionista - someone
who is self-employed, freelancer
licenziare - to dismiss, to fire
il pensionamento - retirement
la riunione - meeting
la società - company
lo stipendio - salary
il tirocinio - internship
il/ la titolare - boss

*Note that pendolare is a noun. Whether it is used with the

masculine definite article (il pendolare) or the feminine defi-
nite article (la pendolare) will therefore depend on the
gender of the commuter: for example, Luigi fa il pendolare,
Luisa fa la pendolare.

EXERCISE 1 - TRANSLATE

Give the Italian translation for each of these words and

phrases.

1. to apply
✎____________________________________________________
2. company
✎____________________________________________________

25
 3. retirement
✎____________________________________________________
4. boss
✎____________________________________________________
5. to resign
✎____________________________________________________

EXERCISE 2 - MISSING LETTERS

Fill in the missing letters to form words from the list on the
topic of work.

1. __ o __ __ r a __ __ o
2. c __ __ l o __ u __ __
3. __ i r __ __ i __ i o
4. __ __ r __ e
5. l __ c __ __ __ i a __ e

EXERCISE 3 - DESCRIPTIONS

Identify the word or phrase being described in each of the

following definitions. Write your answers in Italian.

1. Un lavoratore che svolge un’attività lavorativa per

diversi clienti, a volte anche contemporaneamente.
✎____________________________________________________
2. Abbandonare la propria professione.
✎____________________________________________________
3. Il periodo di assenza dal lavoro che è dato a una
madre o a un padre dopo la nascita di un figlio.
✎____________________________________________________
26
 4. Un giorno in cui un lavoratore non deve andare al
lavoro.
✎____________________________________________________

EXERCISE 4 - FILL IN THE GAPS

Fill in each gap with the most appropriate word or phrase

from the vocabulary list. If you need a hand, refer back to the
list to help you. Attenzione! You will need to conjugate verbs
in the appropriate tense for some of the sentences.

1. Sto ancora cercando lavoro perché sono

✎______________________________________ .
2. La compagnia
✎______________________________________ solo persone
laureate in Economia.
3. Il mio ✎______________________________________
aumenta ogni anno del 10%.
4. Per diventare il capo di questa azienda, devi
✎______________________________________ .
5. ✎______________________________________ per quel
lavoro a Torino di cui mi avevi parlato?
6. La ✎______________________________________ di questo
pomeriggio è stata rimandata a domani.
7. A Letizia non piace
✎______________________________________ perché deve
alzarsi presto per prendere il treno.
8. Vi presento la nuova
✎______________________________________ dell’ufficio:
la signora Bianchi.

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Fantastico! When you’re ready, you can find the answers on
the next page.

28
 ANSWERS
VOCABULARY CONSOLIDATION

EXERCISE 1 - TRANSLATE

1. fare domanda
2. la società
3. il pensionamento
4. il / la titolare
5. dare le dimissioni

EXERCISE 2 - MISSING LETTERS

1. contratto (“contract”)
2. colloquio (“job interview”)
3. tirocinio (“internship”)
4. ferie (“time off”)
5. licenziare (“to fire”)

29
EXERCISE 3 - DESCRIPTIONS

1. il libero professionista / la libera professionista

(“freelancer”)
2. dare le dimissioni (“to resign”)
3. il congedo di maternità / paternità (“maternity /
paternity leave”)
4. il giorno libero (“day off”)

EXERCISE 4 - FILL IN THE GAPS

1. disoccupato/a. TRANSLATION : I am still looking for a job

because I am unemployed.
2. assume. TRANSLATION : The company only hires people
with a degree in Economics.
3. stipendio. TRANSLATION : My salary increases every
year by 10%.
4. fare carriera. TRANSLATION : In order to become the boss
of this company, you have to work your way up.
5. Hai fatto domanda. TRANSLATION : Did you apply for
that job in Turin you told me about?
6. riunione. TRANSLATION : This afternoon’s meeting has
been postponed until tomorrow.
7. fare la pendolare. TRANSLATION : Letizia doesn’t like
commuting because she has to get up early to catch the
train.
8. impiegata. TRANSLATION : Let me introduce to you all
the new employee of the office: Mrs Bianchi.

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 ALSO BY COFFEE BREAK LANGUAGES

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series also includes books in French, German and Spanish,
available both in paperback and as ebooks.
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À bientôt, bis bald and ¡hasta pronto!