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When you get to an intermediate level of Italian, you should start making conversation with native Italian speakers.

When you inevitably do this, it’s likely that you’ll want to tell a story.

Humans are made of stories.

We want to talk about our children, our lives, where we live, our favorite moments, what we’re nostalgic about.

But when you’re still learning Italian, telling a captivating story can be…oh…difficult.

We have so many bright, big, bold words in English for emphasizing what we mean and our range of expression has been developed over years and years.

But in Italian, we don’t always have that luxury. We feel at a loss to express what we really mean and that can often hold us back from expressing anything at all.

So, to remedy that, and to help you tell a captivating story full of what you really mean, here are 20 phrases to use.

20 Frasi per raccontare una storia

1.) Voglio raccontarti un fatto incredibile che mi è successa…- I am going to tell you an incredible event that happened to me…

— Voglio raccontarti un fatto incredibile che mi è successo quando sono stato/a in Italia l’anno scorso. – I am going to tell you about an incredible event that happened when I was in Italy last year.

— Voglio raccontarti una cosa stupenda che mi è successa la settimana scorsa. – I want to tell you about a magnificent event that happened last week.

2.) Senti quello che mi è successo! – Listen to what happened to me!

3.) È meglio iniziare dal principio. – It’s good to start at the beginning.

4.) Quand’ero piccolo/a – When I was little

— Quand’ero piccolo/a, non mi piaceva mangiare dolci. Strano, vero? – When I was little I didn’t like to eat sweets. Weird, right?

— Quand’ero piccolo/a, andavamo in campagna ogni anno. – When I was little, we went to the countryside every year.

5.) Al tempo stesso – At the same time

— Al tempo stesso sapevo che lei non mi credeva. – At the same I knew that she didn’t believe me.

— Al tempo stesso mi ha detto che mi amava. Ovviamente non era la verità. – At the same time he told me that he loved me. Obviously it wasn’t the truth.

6.) E non è finita! – And that’s not all

7.) Lui è un tipo che… – He’s the type that…

— Lui è un tipo che ha bisogno di tante donne per acquisire sicurezza. – He’s the kind of guy that needs a lot of women for building his confidence.

— Lui è un tipo che punta alle stelle. – He’s the type of guy that’s ambitious.

8.) Lei è una donna che… – She’s a woman that

— Lei è una donna che gode delle attenzioni altrui. – She’s a woman that enjoys (others) attention.

— Lei è una donna che sta sempre simpatica agli altri. – She’s a woman that is always kind to others.

9.) Adesso arriva il meglio. – Now here’s the best part

10.) Adesso arriva il peggio. – Now here’s the worst part

11.) Ero… – I was

— Ero così nervoso/a! – I was so, so nervous!

— Ero così contento/a! – I was so, so happy!

12.) È stato/a… – It was…

— È stato fantastico! – It was great!

— È stato orribile! – It was horrible!

— È stato un disastro! – It was a disaster!

13.) Vero? – Right?

14.) Allora… – Then, So

15.) Comunque – However

16.) Infatti – In fact

17.) Però – But

18.) All’improvviso – Suddenly

19.) Infine – At the end

Oh and a funny one for gossiping:

20.) Non so che (cosa) ci trovi in lei. – I don’t know what he sees in her.

20.) Non so (che) cosa ci trovi in lui. – I don’t know what she sees in him.

How can you practice using these?

Tell yourself and others stories!

Ask yourself questions like:

— Che cosa ho fatto oggi? – What did I do today?

— Che stavo facendo la notte scorsa? – What was I doing last night?

— Ho mai incontrato qualcuno che mi ha cambiato la vita? – Have I ever met someone who has changed my life?

— Chi era la mia prima cotta? – Who was my first crush?

Any other phrases you want to know for telling stories? Ask me in the comments below!

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