Small talk with coworkers: Chatting about the weekend on Monday morning

💬 No word for "on" is needed before days: sabato alone means "on Saturday". Adding il makes it a habit: il sabato "on Saturdays".

💬 Weather verbs need no "it" in Italian: piove "it's raining", ha piovuto "it rained".

💬 tutto matches what follows: tutta la settimana "all week", tutti i giorni "every day".

💬 Add che for more sympathy: che peccato! "what a shame!".

💬 fatto is the past form of fare "to do", and it doesn't follow the usual -ato pattern. Answer with the same shape: ho fatto una passeggiata "I went for a walk".

🇮🇹 Bouncing the question back is expected on a Monday morning. Answering and not asking in return can come across as uninterested.

💬 After niente or qualcosa "something", a describing word needs di: qualcosa di bello "something nice".

💬 pranzo is also "I have lunch", from pranzare.

💬 This dai is a different word from the dai meaning "at the place of". It comes from dare "to give" and works like "come on", whether you're urging someone or saying "no way!".

💬 da + a person means "at their place", like French chez: da Marco "at Marco's". Here it merges with i into dai.

🇮🇹 Sunday lunch with parents is a strong Italian ritual, even for adults with their own families. Colleagues will nod knowingly, since it often means a long, heavy meal.

💬 della is di + la merged. Italian puts the describing noun after: pranzo della domenica, literally "lunch of the Sunday".

🇮🇹 Calling it classico nods to the shared joke: several courses at mum's table that run well into the afternoon.

💬 troppo means "too much", not just "a lot". That's tanto or molto.

💬 stanca is the feminine form, so a woman is speaking. A man says sono ancora stanco.

🇮🇹 un caffè in Italy means an espresso by default. Order un americano if you want a long cup.

💬 ci vuole means "it takes" or "you need", and becomes ci vogliono for more than one thing: ci vogliono due ore "it takes two hours".

🇮🇹 Offering a colleague a coffee at the bar is everyday office courtesy, and the favour is usually returned another day. Splitting a single espresso bill would seem odd.

💬 gentile means "kind", not "gentle". It's the same for men and women: sei gentile to anyone you address as tu.

💬 It's informal. With someone you address formally, say si figuri.

💬 Italian says in ufficio, not "to the office", for both going and being there. Same with in banca "to/at the bank" and in palestra "to/at the gym".