Can someone (fluent Italian!) correct this for me...(few sentences)?

Question

Per il mio lavoro d'estate io ho fatto del volontariato al rifugio degli animali. Al rifugio degli animali io ho pulito i cani ed i gatti (I know I should use reflexive lavarsi, correct?...been 3 months since Italian so how would I use it?). Inoltre, ho nutrito gli animali abusato. Il mio direttore era molto felice. E' una esperienza buona.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Per il mio lavoro d'estate [formally correct, but "Come lavoro estivo" is more fluent] io [the subject is better understood, here] ho fatto del volontariato al rifugio degli animali. Al rifugio degli animali [instead of a point, put a comma and says "dove" ("where"), so you don't have to repeat "il rifugio degli animali"]  io [same like above :)] ho pulito i cani ed i gatti (I know I should use reflexive lavarsi, [reflexive form is used when one wash oneself] correct?...been 3 months since Italian so how would I use it?) [if you washed them, better saying "lavare", since the verb "pulire" may also imply more... intimate cleaning :), so "ho lavato i cani e i gatti"]. Inoltre, ho nutrito ["dato da mangiare" is colloquial; "nutrire" is formal like "to nourish"] gli animali abusato [abusato means "abused"...]. Il mio direttore [if you mean your boss, then "capo" is better; "direttore" usually fits more a bureaucratic work] era molto felice ["contento" would be a little better when meaning "satisfied of somebody actions/work]. E' una esperienza buona [E' stata una bella esperienza; "è" is present tense, while "bella" means "good" other than "beautiful" in a lot of circumstances, like this one (remember "La bella vita", for instance)].

Edit:

>Hypothetically, what if I wanted to use lavarsi, haha...my >teacher would prob prefer it

Actually you *can't* use the reflexive form, here... as said, you can (and must) use it only when you wash yourself (or the cats and dogs were washing themselves).

Answer 2

Per il mio lavoro estivo, ho fatto del volontariato al rifugio degli animali. Al rifugio degli animali ho lavato i cani ed i gatti (I know I should use reflexive lavarsi, correct?...been 3 months since Italian so how would I use it?). Inoltre, ho nutrito gli animali abusati. Il mio direttore era molto felice. E' stat una buona esperienza.



It's a very good piece of writing, especially since you've been studying italian for only 3 months =)

Answer 3

You wouldn't need reflexive here, actually. You can get away with "ho lavato i cani." Reflexive "lavarsi" is when people wash themselves ("mi sono lavata," "si sono lavato," etc).

I would also replace "era molto felice" with "è stato molto felice," since that particular day you had in mind, he was happy (not in a continual state of happiness the whole time you worked). And I would say "È stata una esperienza buona," since it was a good thing you did in the past. Those verbs, they're tricky. :)

Other than that, I see no errors! You might be able to put in a few pronouns here and there, instead of repeating yourself (like "al rifiugio degli animali" can turn into "là," which means "there"). But grammatically, it's a very correct paragraph.

Answer 4

This is the correct text:

"Come lavoro estivo, ho fatto del volontariato presso il rifugio degli animali, dove ho lavato cani e gatti ed ho dato da mangiare agli animali abusati. Il mio direttore è stato molto felice. E' stata una bella esperienza"

This is in perfect Italian, but your text was quite good too.

Suggests:

- lavoro d'estate: better "lavoro estivo"

- in English you say "my summer job", but we don't use the possessive adjective so frequently

- "al rifugio" is correct, but it's better "presso il rifugio"

- don't repeat "al rifugio degli animali", the text sounds better if you put the 3 sentences together

- pulire is "to clean", but it's better to use verb "lavare". Pulire is usually without water and soap

- lavarsi = to wash yourself: I wash my car= lavo la mia macchina; I wash myself=mi lavo. Remember: when you conjugate reflexive verb, you must use pronoun+verb

- you are talking about cats and dogs in general, do you don't have to use the articles

- abusato=abused... is the correct word? Anyway, animali is plural, so the adjective is abusatI

- we don't say: un'esperienza buona. You can say: "una bella esperienza" or "un'esperienza utile" (utile=useful)

I hope my answer can help you