In English you have the beautiful word time that has many different meanings. Unfortunately in Italian, we have several words that translate time. Let’s try to understand how to use them! Ciao a tutti and welcome to a new article. Many of my students always struggle with the word time . We’ve got tempo, volta, ora... how are we supposed to choose if in English only one word exists? No worries, we’ll understand this today. I will give you some useful example in context so that you can understand the proper word each time! Would you like to receive every Sunday, directly in your inbox, useful and interesting material to study Italian? Then subscribe to the newsletter here! Subscribe to the newsletter 💌 Time as the idea, the concept of time When we are using the word time to refer to the concept of time, then the proper word to use is tempo . Let’s look at a couple of examples! Il tempo vola quando ci si diverte → Time flies when one has fun. Mi dispiace, non ho tempo di chiamarti → I am sorry, I don’t have time to call you. Time intended as “duration” When we’re using the word time to ask how much time it is going to take you to do something, then, again, the correct word to use is tempo . For example: Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a casa tua? → How much time/how long does it take to get to your house? Per quanto tempo sarai in vacanza? → For how long will you be on vacation? Time as a specific hour Be careful with this! When time does not refer to a duration but rather a specific time (e.g. what time is it? / What time are we going to meet?), then the correct word to use is ora . For example: Che ore sono? → What time is it? A che ora ci incontriamo? → What time are we going to meet? A che ora inizia il film? → What time does the movie start? Time as a (special) occasion You just got home and it’s been a rough day. You want to relax and enjoy a nice bottle of Italian red wine. Then you might say: it’s time to open a bottle of wine! How would we translate this in Italian? We need to use the word ora again! For example: È ora di aprire una bottiglia di vino → It’s time to open a bottle of wine! È ora di andare → It’s time to go. Time as instances This might be easier, but some students tend to get this wrong sometimes. When you are referring to time as instances the correct word to use is volta or its plural volte . For example: Quante volte alla settimana vai in palestra? → How many times a week do you go to the gym? Vado una volta a settimana → I go once (one time) a week. Sono stato in Italia due volte → I went to Italy twice (two times). Time as an instant When the word time refers to a specific instant , moment in time, then the correct word to use is momento . For example: Dov’era lui in quel moment? → Where was he at that time? Questo non è un buon momento → This is not a good time. Time as “era”, historic period This is pretty straightforward, when time refers to a specific “era”, the correct words to use are either epoca or periodo . For example: Gli anni Sessanta sono stati un periodo interessante in America → The sixties were an interesting time in America. Wait... what about the expression “com’è il tempo?”. In this case tempo means weather , don’t forget that! È ora di fare un esercizio! It's time to do an exercise! Try your best and let me know how it goes! I hope this article helped! How did you do? I am sure you did well and if you have any questions, just send me a message in the contact section of my website! A presto, Teacher Stefano

Molti studenti mi chiedono: devo usare MI o ME? Qual è la forma corretta? Lo scopriamo nell’articolo di oggi! Ciao a tutti e benvenuti in un nuovo articolo. Oggi parliamo di un argomento di grammatica italiana molto importante, i pronomi tonici! Prima di iniziare con la lezione di oggi, dobbiamo fare una piccola ripetizione dei pronomi oggetto diretto e indiretto così puoi capire al 100% come funzionano i pronomi tonici. Pronomi oggetto diretto Iniziamo con i pronomi oggetto diretto che sostituiscono, appunto, un oggetto diretto nella frase, quindi l’oggetto della nostra azione che non è mai preceduto da nessuna preposizione. Infatti se io ho la frase: Stefano legge un libro → in questo caso un libro è un oggetto diretto, perché è l’oggetto della nostra azione e come vedi non è preceduto da nessuna preposizione (come di, a, da, in etc). Stefano reads a book. Per questo motivo possiamo scegliere un oggetto diretto. Vediamo quali sono: Mi Ti Lo/La Ci Vi Li/Le Benissimo! In questo caso libro è maschile e singolare ed è terza persona, perciò sceglieremo lo, quindi diremo: Stefano lo legge. Stefano reads it. Pronomi oggetto indiretto Adesso vediamo i pronomi oggetto indiretto che sostituiscono un oggetto indiretto, quindi di solito la persona a cui è diretta l’azione. Gli oggetti indiretti sono sempre introdotti dalla preposizione A. Vediamo un esempio: Ho mandato una mail a Gaia → in questo caso Gaia è la persona che “riceve” l’azione, la persona a cui è diretta l’azione e come puoi notare è introdotta dalla preposizione A, quindi è un oggetto indiretto. I sent an e-mail to Gaia. Quindi possiamo scegliere un pronome oggetto indiretto che sono: Mi Ti Gli/Le Ci Vi Gli (loro) Dato che Gaia è femminile e singolare ed è terza persona, possiamo scegliere il pronome le e dire: Le ho mandato una mail. I sent her an e-mail. Quindi come puoi vedere i pronomi oggetto diretto e indiretto sono uguali tranne che per le terze persone singolari e plurali. Ma se un pronome oggetto diretto sostituisce l’oggetto della frase che non ha nessuna preposizione (come un libro), mentre un pronome oggetto indiretto sostituisce l’oggetto indiretto della frase che ha la preposizione a (come a Gaia) cosa facciamo per tutte quelle parole che sono introdotte dalle altre preposizioni, come con, in, di? Ed ecco che entrano in gioco i pronomi tonici. Do you want to be updated with everything I do and receive interesting contents? Subscribe to the newsletter here. I pronomi tonici Prima di tutto vediamo quali sono i pronomi tonici in italiano: Me Te Lui/Lei Noi Voi Loro Sì! Sono uguali ai pronomi personali, ai pronomi soggetto, tranne che per le prime due persone dove abbiamo me e te. E quindi come possiamo usare i pronomi tonici? Vediamo alcuni esempi: Vuoi uscire con Luca stasera? Do you want to go out with Luca tonight? - No, non voglio uscire con lui. No, I don't want to go out with him. Vuoi uscire con me stasera? Do you want to go out with me tonight? - No, non voglio uscire con te. No, I don't want to go out with you. Non mi fido di te! I don't trust you! Ho bisogno di voi. I need you guys! Devi avere fiducia in me! You need to have faith in me! Capito? Quindi usiamo i pronomi tonici principalmente quando abbiamo una preposizione, come CON, DI o IN! Possiamo usare solo i pronomi tonici perché gli altri pronomi non possono avere una preposizione davanti. Ma attenzione, vediamo quest’esempio: Ho pensato a te tutta la notte! → in questo caso a te è un pronome oggetto indiretto perché abbiamo la preposizione a. Infatti potrei riscrivere la frase e dire “ti ho pensato tutta la notte”. Entrambe le frasi sono ovviamente corrette, ma usare a te, quindi il pronome tonico con la preposizione a, enfatizza il concetto! Però usare ti è comunque corretto perché possiamo dire che la preposizione a è già inclusa all’interno di TI, capito? I thought about you all night! Io però ti consiglio di usare i pronomi che già conosci (oggetto diretto e indiretto) quando puoi, mentre usare i tonici quando hai una preposizione come con, in, o di. Poi la differenza la vedrai solo con me e te, perché negli altri casi userai i pronomi tonici che sono uguali ai pronomi soggetto (di lui, di noi, con voi). Adesso è più chiaro quando usare mi e quando usare me? Non è così difficile, ma se hai domande, non esitare a mandarmi un messaggio nella contact section del mio sito. Un abbraccio dall’Italia, Teacher Stefano

You are an English speaker trying to learn Italian? I am pretty sure you get these verbs in Italian wrong or at least some of them! Let’s find out in today’s article! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! Ciao a tutti and welcome to this new article. Today we are going to talk about some verbs English speakers usually get wrong. This is because they work in a completely different way in English, therefore you get them wrong in Italian. But no worries, once you will understand the mistake you are making, I am pretty sure you will get these verbs right all the time! Today we are going to talk about the verbs cercare , aspettare , guardare , and ascoltare . You might think these verbs are pretty easy and they are! Their conjugation is standard, they are not irregular, except “cercare” that adds an H in its conjugation (for example tu cercHi), but other than that they are not that hard! The problem is that in English you would always use a preposition with them! For example: I am looking for my phone. I am waiting for my wife. Look at the sky! Do you like listening to music? How would we translate these sentences in Italian? Why don’t you give it a try? Cercare Let’s try to analyze each one of those sentences. Let’s start with the first one: I am looking for my phone. First of all, here we need to use the verb cercare . Although, in English you say “to look for” in Italian this verb does not require a preposition. So, we are just going to say: Sto cercando il mio telefono. And not “sto cercando PER il mio telefono”, we don’t need that! Unfortunately, cercare does not only mean “to look for” but also “to try” when followed by another verb. For example: I am trying to call you → Sto cercando di chiamarti In this case, we would use the preposition DI, but only with another verb in the infinitive. When we are using “cercare” as “to look for” then no preposition is needed. For example: Sto cercando un abito da sera → I am looking for an evening dress Che cerchi? → What are you looking for? Aspettare Now, let’s move on to the following verb: aspettare . The logic here is exactly the same: Sto aspettando mia moglie → I am waiting for my wife. Sto aspettando i miei amici → I am waiting for my friends. Stai aspettando qualcosa? → Are you waiting for something? Guardare The verb guardare is a little trickier. This is because it has several meanings. For instance: Guarda il cielo! → Look at the sky! From this sentence, we understand that when the verb “guardare” means “to look” or better “to look at” then no preposition is needed. However, we could also use the verb “guardare” to say “to watch”. For example: Sto guardando la TV → I am watching TV Puoi guardare i bambini? → Can you watch the kids. In this case, it is pretty obvious that “guardare” and “to watch” work in the same way, but don’t forget that “guardare” does not require a preposition in Italian whatsoever. Ascoltare The last verb of today is “ascoltare” and again the logic is exactly the same! Ti piace ascoltare la musica → Do you like listening to music? Ascolto il professore quando parla → I listen to the professor when he speaks Keep these rules in mind! They will be very helpful! If you have any questions, you can send me a message in the contact section of my website. Un abbraccio dall’Italia, Teacher Stefano Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

Although there are many verbs you need to know in Italian to speak it fluently, here you will find a list of 10 essential verbs you absolutely need to learn if you’re starting to learn Italian. Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! Ciao a tutti and welcome to this new article. In today’s post we will look at 10 very important verbs you need to learn if you’re starting to learn Italian. We will go over their conjugation in the present and also look at some useful sentences to better understand the meaning of these verbs. Unfortunately, most of these verbs are irregular. This is because the more a verb is used in a language the higher the chance that verb is going to be irregular. I am not kidding, this happens all the time, it’s an actual pattern! Now let’s start with some verbs! Andare (to go) Let’s look at the conjugation of this verb in the present. Io vado Tu vai Lui/Lei va Noi andiamo Voi andate Loro vanno Andare means to go . Let’s use it in one sentence. Vado in palestra due volte alla settimana. I go to the gym twice a week. Dove vai? Where are you going? Remember that “andare” is used when the movement happens far away from the people talking. That’s why I say “Vado a Roma”, because Roma is far both for me and you! If you were in Roma I would say... Venire Io vengo Tu vieni Lui/Lei viene Noi veniamo Voi venite Loro vengono As I was saying before, I would say “Vengo a Roma” because the movement is towards you and you are in Rome. But If I am in Milan and I ask you when you’re coming to Milan I would say: Quando vieni a Milano? When are you coming to Milan? That’s because I am in Milan! This verb is also extremely important in the expression: Da dove vieni? - Vengo dall’Italia. Where do come you from? I come from Italy. Fare (to do, to make) Fare is one of the most versatile verbs in Italian, it’s used with so many words and also found in many expressions. Let’s look at its conjugation: Io faccio Tu fai Lui/Lei fa Noi facciamo Voi fate Loro fanno The main meaning of fare is to do or to make. For example: Che fai? What are you doing? Che fai domani? What are you doing tomorrow? Faccio una torta. I am making a cake. Potere (can) Potere is one of the three modal verbs in Italian. Let’s look at the conjugation: Io posso Tu puoi Lui/lei può Noi possiamo Voi potete Loro possono Technically potere means can , however it’s actual meaning is more than that. We usually use this verb to describe permission or external circumstances. If you want to know more about this topic you can watch this video here . Let’s look at a few examples: Posso avere un bicchiere d’acqua. (permission) Can I have a glass of water? Non posso uscire oggi. I can't go out today. Scusami, puoi ripetere? (Permission) Excuse me, can you repeat? Riuscire (to be able to) Riuscire is one of those underused verbs in Italian by students but I don’t really understand why as “riuscire” is one of the most used verbs by Italians. It’s conjugation is a little tricky but it’s pretty much the same as the verb uscire only with “ri” in front of it. Io riesco Tu riesci Lui/lei riesce Noi riusciamo Voi riuscite Loro riescono Opposite to “potere”, “riuscire” more refers to the physical or mental ability to do or not do something. For example: Riesci a guidare stasera? Can you drive tonight? Non riesco a venire alla festa. I can't come to the party. Again, if you’re interested in a more detailed video about this topic, please visit this link . Sapere (to know) Sapere is also extremely used in Italian. Let’s look at the conjugation. Io so Tu sai Lui/Lei sa Noi sappiamo Voi sapete Loro sanno Sapere has two different meanings: To know a fact. To know how to do something. Let’s look at a few examples: Sai che a ora apre il ristorante? Do you know what time the restaurant opens? Sai nuotare? - No, non so nuotare! Can you swim? - No, I can't swim! Dovere (to have to, must) You can’t not know this verb! Io devo Tu devi Lui/Lei deve Noi dobbiamo Voi dovete Loro devono Dovere means “to have to” or “must”. Let’s look at a few examples: Devo partire alle 9:00. I have to leave at 9:00. Quando devi tornare a casa? When do you have to go home? Volere I am sure you know this verb in its conditional form but let’s go over its present first! Io voglio Tu vuoi Lui/lei vuole Noi vogliamo Voi volete Loro vogliono For example: Voglio mangiare una pizza. I want to eat a pizza. Vorrei la carbonara, grazie. I would like a carbonara, please. I am sure you knew "vorrei" already that simply means “I would like”. It’s the conditional form and it’s used for making requests especially when we want to be more polite. Stare Io sto Tu stai Lui/Lei sta Noi stiamo Voi state Loro stanno Although “stare” means “to stay” its main use is in the expression “Come stai?” that means “How are you?”. You would respond to that saying “Sto bene” for example. Remembering the conjugation will help you ask everyone how they are! For example: Come sta tua nonna? How is your grandmother? Come stanno i bambini? How are the kids? Come state, ragazzi? How are you, guys? Chiamarsi (to be called) Now, I’ve got a reflexive verbs for you! Io mi chiamo Tu ti chiami Lui/Lei si chiama Noi ci chiamiamo Voi vi chiamate Loro si chiamano This verb is used to ask someone’s name! For example: Ciao! Come ti chiami? - Mi chiamo Stefano. Hi! What's your name? - My name is Stefano. Come si chiama tua madre? - Mia madre si chiama Felicia. What's your mother's name? - My mother's name is Felicia. I hope you liked this article! If you have any questions don't hesitate to send me a message in the contact section of my website. A presto, Teacher Stefano Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

2022 just begun and that means only one thing: New Year's resolutions! And of course, improving your Italian language skills must be one them! Let's find out some useful tips to improve your Italian! Hello everyone and welcome to a new article. Today I'm going to give you 5 practical tips that you can start using today to improve in my beautiful language, Italian. Actually, these tips apply to the study of any foreign language, but I will speak in particular about Italian because it is the language I teach. Let's get started! 1. Create a routine 🗓 When we start a new activity, such as learning a language or going to the gym, the most important thing is consistency . We cannot expect great results if we are not consistent in what we do. To be consistent, the best thing to do that also makes the process easier is creating a routine . In fact, we humans love habits and it is habits that stimulate us to do what we want to do. So choose a routine to follow! I will now tell you the routine that I recommend to my students and that I also use personally to study the language I am learning right now, Brazilian Portuguese. Obviously the routine will vary from level to level but this is a general routine: Study every single day of the week with a day off. I study on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for 30 minutes. Tuesdays and Thursdays for 1 hour. Saturday is variable because I review what I studied during the week. Organize your studying well. Every Sunday I choose what I want to study the upcoming week and I also carefully choose the material: YouTube videos, private lessons, book chapters. Then I add the study to my calendar so I can't say "no". I try to be as disciplined as possible and follow my routine as much as I can. 2. Stay motivated 💪🏻 The second piece of advice is to never lose motivation . It can be difficult, because studying a language is extremely frustrating, I understand that. But at the same time, in order not to lose motivation I advise you to think about the future. Grab a piece of paper and write: 'when I will know Italian well I will be able to'... what could you do? Maybe talking to your Italian grandparents or your Italian relatives, feeling closer to your roots, going on vacation to Italy and feeling part of our culture, understanding an Italian movie you have always seen with subtitles, etc. By writing your motivations on a piece of paper you will be more aware of what you are doing and whenever you feel unmotivated you can read it to give you a boost. Trust me, it works! 3. Practice conversation 🗣 I'll never stop saying it, speaking is the best way to learn a language. Of course, grammar, writing and reading are also very important, but speaking is essential. How can we improve our speaking skills? Here are some tips: Talk to a relative or friend if available. Find a language partner on apps such as HelloTalk or Tandem . Find a teacher or tutor on the Italki platform . Italki is the leading platform for learning foreign languages. There are hundreds of teachers of Italian and other languages and you can book 1-to-1 lessons with teachers. Prices are very variable so you can find a teacher for every budget. I have been teaching on Italki for six years and I really love this platform. A few days ago my friend and colleague Gaia also started teaching! Click here to sign up for italki and through this link you can get $10 off after your first lesson. Be constantly exposed to the language 🎧 Exposure to a language is key to improving quickly. The more you are exposed, the faster you will improve. I think the best way to be exposed to the Italian language is with podcasts. In fact, you can listen to a podcast while doing other activities. Also, podcasts generally have a very high quality so you can listen carefully to the words being said. I have to recommend my podcast, the Teacher Stefano Show , but there are many others of course! Book a trip to Italy ✈️ What is the best way to be inspired to learn Italian? Coming to Italy ! So what are you waiting for? Book now your trip to Italy! Now you'll know exactly how much time you have to improve your Italian and start this wonderful adventure! I hope you have enjoyed these tips! If you want to add some tips or ask me questions, send me a message in the contact section . Un abbraccio dall’Italia, Teacher Stefano

Do you know any Italian Christmas desserts? Surely you've already heard of panettone and pandoro, but in today's article I'm going to tell you about many other regional Italian desserts. Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! Today I'm going to talk to you about traditional Christmas desserts, because in Italy we don’t really have a traditional savory dish that is eaten at Christmas, there are several depending on the region! Let's start right away with a typical dessert from my region, Puglia! Cartellate These are cartellate, a very good Christmas dessert from Puglia. They are rose-shaped and have very ancient origins and their recipe is handed down from family to family. They are made of a particular dough and then fried. Traditionally they are served with vin cotto, a condiment obtained by cooking the must of the precious Apulian grapes. Vin cotto has a very peculiar taste and for this reason not everyone likes it. In fact, cartellate can also be served with honey. Struffoli Here are struffoli, a very famous Christmas dessert from Campania. Struffoli are soft fried balls, caramelized with honey and topped with confetti. They are a real treat! They are usually placed on a plate and given the shape of your choice: pyramid, doughnut, Christmas tree, star... and finally decorated with candied fruit of your choice! Panforte Panforte is a Christmas dessert typical of Tuscany. Its origin is very old, in fact the first evidence dates back to the year one thousand. Originally it was a kind of focaccia made with honey and took the name of pan mielato. Afterwards, fruit was added, but because of the hot weather it fermented; for this reason the dessert took on a more sour and sweet taste and the name was changed to panforte (Forte = strong). In order to avoid the fermentation of fresh fruit the ingredients changed and it began to be prepared only in the coldest days, so it became a typical Christmas dessert. Ricciarelli Ricciarelli are soft marzipan cookies typical of Tuscany. This recipe is inspired by the traditional Ricciarelli of Siena, made with almonds, sugar and egg whites. After 12 hours of rest and after adding and mixing all the ingredients, the dough is transformed into cookies with the typical "grain of rice" shape. Finally they are sprinkled with powdered sugar and are usually eaten with a fortified wine, such as vin santo. They are really delicious! Torrone Torrone is a typical Christmas dessert and it is eaten all over Italy. It has different origins, there is torrone from Cremona, a soft torrone or also the typical torrone from Campania, which can be harder or softer like the one from Cremona. It is usually made of egg whites, honey, sugar and almonds, but there are many variations! Panettone Panettone, together with Pandoro, is one of the most famous typical Italian desserts. There are many stories about the origin of this delicious dessert, but the most famous one tells that panettone was created at the court of Ludovico il Moro, lord of Milan in the 15th century. It was Christmas Eve when, during dinner, the cook of the family burnt a cake. In order to make up for this situation Toni, a servant who worked in the kitchen, decided to use a loaf of yeast he had kept aside for Christmas. He worked it adding flour, eggs, raisins, candied fruit and sugar, obtaining a particularly leavened and soft dough. This cake was very appreciated and so it was called "pan di Toni", with time the name became "panettone". What is certain is that panettone is a typical Christmas dessert of Lombard origin, appreciated all over Italy. Pandoro Pandoro is the undisputed symbol of Christmas together with panettone. As for its "rival" also for this delight there is no certain evidence about its origins. According to many people the first traces of pandoro date back to 1500 in the period of Venetian Republic. The only certainty is that pandoro was born in Verona. It was on October 14, 1884 when the pastry chef Domenico Melegatti obtained the patent for a Christmas dessert. In order to make his recipe, pastry chef Melegatti took inspiration from the traditional desserts of Verona. According to a legend, the pastry chef, after having taken the dessert out of the oven, was so fascinated by its golden color that he decided to call it "Pan d'oro" (Golden bread), hence the term "Pandoro" which we all know very well today. You know that every year at Christmas in the homes of many Italians there are always those who prefer the Pandoro and those who prefer the Panettone, in fact there are real discussions! And have you ever tasted one of these typical Italian sweets? What are the typical desserts of your country instead? I hope you enjoyed this article on Italian Christmas desserts! If you have any questions you can contact me in the contact section of my site. Un abbraccio, Teacher Stefano Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

Would you like to learn some useful sentences to use at a restaurant in Italy to feel more part of our culture and impress the people you are traveling with? And would you like to learn more about our culture in restaurants? Then, read the article! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! Ciao a tutti and welcome to a new article. In today’s lesson, we will look at a few extremely useful sentences to use at a restaurant. Let’s start. How to book a restaurant Although now there are several apps to book your table at a restaurant, I still think the best way to do it is by calling. So how would you reserve a table? Let’s look at a few examples: Buongiorno, vorrei prenotare un tavolo per due persone stasera alle 21:00. Good morning, I would like to reserve a table for two people tonight at 9 pm. Buonasera, è possibile prenotare un tavolo per cinque domenica a pranzo? Good evening, it is possible to reserve a table for five on Sunday at lunch? Salve, vorrei fare una prenotazione per un tavolo domani a pranzo alle 13:00. È possibile avere un tavolo fuori? Hello, I would like to make a reservation for a table tomorrow at lunch at 1 pm. Is it possible to have a table outside? How to tell the staff about your reservation or a table Now, you go to the restaurant and you want to let the waiter know about your reservation. You could say: Buonasera, ho prenotato un tavolo per due a nome Stefano. Good evening, I booked a table for two for Stefano. What if you don’t have a reservation? You’ll need to tell the waiter how many people of you there are. The structure of this sentence in Italian is completely different. We say: Buonasera, siamo in due —> note the use of the preposition “in”. We would say “siamo in tre, quattro, dieci…” and so on! Good evening, there are two of us. Buonasera, avete un tavolo per due? Good evening, do you have a table for two? Ordering Now you’re seated and looking at the menu and ready to order. Let’s go through some useful sentences: Io prendo le tagliatelle al ragù, grazie. I will have tagliatelle al ragù, please. Vorrei il risotto allo zafferano. I would like saffron risotto. Quali verdure ci sono nella caponata? What vegetables are there in the caponata? Mi scusi, questo piatto è piccante? Excuse me, is this dish spicy? Da bere prendiamo una bottiglia di Primitivo. We will get a Primitivo wine bottle to drink. Scusi, può portarci un po’ di pane? Excuse me, can you bring us some bread? Asking for the check It’s time to leave the restaurant so you need to ask for the bill. It’s very important to know that in Italy waiters are not going to bring the bill to your table unless you specifically asked for it. If they do it without you asking, it’s very rude and if it happens to me I will make sure not go to that restaurant ever again! So, in order to ask the bill you could say: Scusi, ci può portare il conto, per favore? Excuse me, can we have the check, please? Now they will bring the bill to the table or ask you to pay at the register (that in Italian is called “cassa”). Here, you might express your payment preference and say: Pago in contanti. I will pay cash. Posso pagare con carta? Can I pay with the credit card? If you are American, most of your credit cards are not going to work in contactless mode, unless you pay with your phone. I think, and correct me if I am wrong, that in the United States you swipe your card to pay but that is not going to work in Italy. So you will have to insert your card. To specify that, you could say: Devo inserire la carta. I have to insert the car. I hope these sentences helped and let me know how your trip to Italy goes! If you have any questions about this topic, don't hesitate to send me a message in the contact section of my website. Un abbraccio dall'Italia, Teacher Stefano Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

Is it "posso suonare il pianoforte" or "so suonare il pianoforte" and is it "non posso guidare" or "non riesco a guidare". Let's talk about this in today's article! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! Ciao a tutti and welcome to a new blog post. In today's article, we are going to talk about the differences between these three verbs: potere , riuscire , and sapere . I've already talked about the verb " sapere " on my channel (check out the video here ). In that video, I compared the verb SAPERE to CONOSCERE and I would suggest you to watch that first before watching this video, I am sure it will help. Today we will focus on the differences between these three verbs, because trust me they are very different, especially sapere vs potere . When I talk about this in class with my students I usually start telling this: Io non posso guidare la macchina. Io non riesco a guidare la macchina. Io non so guidare la macchina. How are these three sentences different? Well, they can approximately all translate "I can't drive" but in order to understand how to use these verbs, we need to understand why "you can't drive". Let's start with potere : Io non posso guidare la macchina perché mia mamma non vuole. Io non posso guidare la macchina perché non ho la patente. In the first case, you can see that you can't drive because your mom doesn't want you to. Maybe you know how to drive, you have a license but your mom doesn't allow you to drive. So we use the verb " potere " when the ability to do or not to do something depends on somebody else's will or permission. But also, we would use the verb " potere " when the ability to do or not to do something depends on an external circumstance, for example, not having a license. It's not really up to you, maybe you know how to drive and your mom gives you permission, but if you don't have a license and don't want to break the law, there's really nothing you can do. Io non riesco a guidare perché ho troppo mal di testa. Io non riesco a guidare perché mi fa male la gamba. Here, you can see that we use the verb " riuscire " when the ability to do or not to do something depends on a physical or mental condition, like having a bad headache or have a sore leg. These two conditions prevent you from driving even though you could or you know how to. Io non so guidare perché non ho mai imparato. In this case, you can't drive because you never learned how to, so we're talking about a skill that you don't have yet. As you can see these verbs are very different! And now, I am going to ask you a question. Which one of these three sentences is the correct one? Non posso parlare bene l'italiano. Non riesco a parlare bene l'italiano. Non so parlare bene l'italiano. The first one is definitely wrong. Why? Well, because you don't need permission to speak Italian from anyone and I am sure there are no external circumstances you can't do anything about that is preventing you from speaking Italian. "Non riesco a parlare" works though! Let's say you're having a bad day, you're not concentrated and you're tired. " Riuscire " would work in this case because we're talking about a mental state. Finally, "non so parlare" is perfect. Why? Well, because you're still learning so sometimes you can't speak very well but you'll get better. So again we are talking about skills. Just note that the difference between " potere " and " riuscire " sometimes is very subtle. For example, let's say you went to the dentist and got one of your teeth removed. You can't talk because your mouth hurts so bad. So, in that case, would it be: Non posso parlare. Non riesco a parlare. Well, both of them would work. We can see your swollen mouth as something out of your control, there's nothing you can't do, so it's definitely an external circumstance. But at the same time, you can't talk because of a physical condition, you can't properly move your mouth and tongue so " riuscire " would work as well. But, although, the line between potere and riuscire is subtle , the line between potere and sapere is HUGE! So don't get them mixed up. If you have any questions about this topic, don't hesitate to send me a message in the contact section of my website. Un abbraccio dall'Italia, Teacher Stefano Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

Choosing between Sapere and Conoscere can be kind of tricky. But no worries, in today's article you will finally understand which one to use and why! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! Sapere and conoscere always get my students confused, especially English-speaking students. This is because these two verbs are apparently very similar, however they are used in completely different situations. I have to admit that sometimes, their difference is not that obvious, but let's try to understand how they work! Let's start off by saying that both of these verbs mean "to know"... kind of! They do have other meanings, but for sure this is the most common one, and probably the one you know/have been taught! Let's start with sapere : Sapere This verb is irregular, so before we look at its uses, let's conjugate it together in the present: Io so Tu sai Lui/Lei sa Noi sappiamo Voi sapete Loro sanno This verb is used for two things: To describe someone's ability to do something Knowledge or knowing a fact Let's look at a few examples for each of these categories: Io so nuotare → I can swim. In this case, I could translate "so" with "can" or "I am able to", "I know how to". I am using "sapere" because I am talking about a skill, an ability, and most importantely something I have learned. Sai suonare uno strumento? → Do you know how to/Can you play an instrument? Sai a che ora abbiamo prenotato in pizzeria stasera? → Do you know what time we have the reservation at the pizzeria tonight? Sai quando è nato Dante Alighieri? → Do you know when Dante Alighieri was born? Sapete a che ora è andata via mia sorella? → Do you know what time my sister left? Ho saputo che tu e Matteo vi siete lasciati. Mi dispiace molto. → I heard that you and Matteo broke up. I am very sorry. Non sapevamo che saresti venuto anche tu! Avremmo cucinato più pasta. → We didn't know you were coming too. We would have cooked more pasta. As you can see here we use the verb sapere as we are talking or asking about facts. We tend to use the verb sapere in these cases because the knowledge of these facts do not usually require previous studying. We call it passive knowledge, as you didn't really have to do much to know these things. Conoscere , as we will see in a second, is used when we have something called practical knowledge . Conoscere This verb is regular, however let’s conjugate it anyway in the present, just to make sure! Io conosco Tu conosci Lui/Lei conosce Noi conosciamo Voi conoscete Loro conoscono The verb conoscere is used when: We meet someone for the first time We know a PLACE or a PERSON We know something we have studied for Let's look at a few examples: Posso conoscere i tuoi genitori? → Here I am asking if I can meet your parents (for the first time) as I haven't met them before. This use of conoscere cannot be confused with sapere . Conosci Luca? → Do you know Luca? Here I am asking you if you know a person, therefore we use conoscere . Conosci Roma? Sì, molto bene perché ci abito da tre anni! → Do you know Rome? Yes, very well because I've been living there for three years. We use conoscere , because we are talking about knowing a place. Conosci bene la grammatica italiana? → Do you know Italian grammar well? In order to know well Italian grammar, you have to study. Therefore, we are talking about a practical knowledge, rather than a passive knowledge. The use of conoscere in this case is recommended. Mia madre conosce bene l'inglese perché ha vissuto due anni in Australia → my mom knows English well because she has lived for two years in Australia. To wrap it up, the use of conoscere and sapere when it comes to ability (sapere), people and places (conoscere) and meeting someone for the first time (conoscere) is pretty straightforward. When we are talking about facts or knowledge the line becomes blurred. I have to admit that the passive/practical knowledge thing does not always work perfectly. For example: Sai le regole del gioco? → Do you know the rules of the game? Conosci le regole del gioco? → Do you know the rules of the game? Honestly, both of them works for me. Maybe it's more passive because you've played this game before and just learned the rules without actually studying them, so sapere seems like a good fit. At the same time, conoscere looks good too, because maybe you've read the instructions. So, in this case, using one or the other is pretty much the same! If you have any questions about this topic, don't hesitate to send me a message in the contact section of my website. A presto, Teacher Stefano Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

Come si esprimono le ipotesi in italiano? Lo scopriamo insieme in questo nuovo articolo! Quando parliamo esprimiamo costantemente delle ipotesi, quindi è molto importante capire come farlo! Può sembrare complicato, ma in realtà, imparando alcune regole base, vedrete che è molto semplice. In italiano esistono tre tipi diversi di modi per esprimere un'ipotesi. Queste strutture vengono chiamate periodi ipotetici. Abbiamo: Il periodo ipotetico della realtà Il periodo ipotetico della possibilità Il periodo ipotetico dell'irrealtà I periodi ipotetici sono normalmente costruiti da due parti: una parte che introduce la nostra ipotesi introdotta da SE, e poi una seconda parte che invece spiega cosa succederebbe se si verifica la nostra condizione, quindi una sorta di conseguenza. Di solito, iniziamo la nostra frase con SE e poi mettiamo la conseguenza. Però, come sapete, la lingua italiana è molto flessibile, quindi non è sempre necessario rispettare questo ordine. Nell'articolo di oggi ci concentriamo sul periodo ipotetico della realtà e della possibilità. Periodo ipotetico della realtà Usiamo questo periodo ipotetico quando la nostra ipotesi si basa su un fatto reale, che può accadere facilmente se soddisfiamo una condizione. Vediamo subito un esempio: Se ordiniamo una pizza, io prendo una margherita. In questo caso la nostra ipotesi rappresentata dal SE ci dice che nell'ipotesi di prendere una pizza, la conseguenza di questa azione sarà che io prendo una margherita. Questo è un periodo ipotetico della realtà perché la nostra ipotesi è presentata come un fatto reale. Se ordiniamo la pizza, cosa reale, io sicuramente prendo una margherita. Il periodo ipotetico della realtà è il più facile da formare perché si possono usare principalmente due tempi, il presente e il futuro in queste combinazioni: Presente + presente (come nell'esempio precedente) Presente + futuro Futuro + futuro Vediamo altri esempi: Se stasera vai a cena fuori, vengo anche io. If you're going out to dinner tonight, I'll come along. Se mi sento meglio più tardi, domani partirò. If I feel better later, I'll leave tomorrow. Se potrò aiutarti, lo farò volentieri. If I can help you, I will gladly do so. Nell'italiano colloquiale, forse abbiamo una leggera preferenze a usare la coppia presente + presente, ma non è una regola perché tutte le forme vanno bene! Un'altra possibile struttura del periodo ipotetico della realtà usa il presente e l'imperativo ed è molto comune, anche nella lingua parlata. Vediamo alcuni esempi: Se hai fame, mangia! If you're hungry, eat! Se vuoi divertirti, vieni con noi! If you want to have fun, come join us! Se avete voglia di guardare un film, guardiamolo insieme a casa mia! (Nota la posizione del pronome oggetto diretto lo alla fine dell'imperativo) If you feel like watching a movie, let's watch it together at my house! Periodo ipotetico della possibilità Questo periodo ipotetico, invece, si usa quando l'ipotesi viene presentata come possibile. Possibile però non significa che l'ipotesi è sempre realmente realizzabile, attenzione! Io la presento come qualcosa di teoricamente possibile, ma in realtà la conseguenza, potrebbe avvenire come non potrebbe avvenire. Nel caso del periodo ipotetico della realtà, se avviene l'ipotesi, la conseguenza si realizzerà sicuramente. Il periodo ipotetico della possibilità è più rigido dal punto di vista grammaticale e si forma SEMPRE con: Se + congiuntivo imperfetto + condizionale presente Se non sai come usare il congiuntivo, ho già fatto due articoli che puoi trovare qui e qui. Puoi anche cercare la coniugazione di un verbo su word reference. Seleziona Italian: conjugations e scrivi l'infinto del verbo (ad esempio mangiare, dormire...) e così avrai tutta la coniugazione. Vediamo alcuni esempi: Se avessi i soldi, ti comprerei una bella macchina. (ma non ho i soldi quindi non posso comprarti una macchina) If I had the money, I would buy you a nice car. Se fossi un animale, sarei una volpe (ma non sono un animale e mai potrò esserlo) If I were an animal, I would be a fox. Se venissi a casa mia stasera, potremmo ordinare una pizza. (non è una cosa sicura, la conseguenza potrebbe avverarsi solo se tu vieni a casa mia, ed è una cosa possibile in questo caso) If you were to come at my house tonight, we would order a pizza. Se mi chiedesse scusa, lo perdonerei. If he apologized, I would forgive him Tutto chiaro? Se avete delle domande potete contattarmi nella sezione contact del mio sito. Un abbraccio! A presto, Teacher Stefano

Ciao! Have you found yourself struggling in pronouncing the C and G correctly in Italian? Well, I get it. Italian pronunciation is not that hard but these two sounds can be tricky sometimes. In today’s article, we will see how the C and G are pronounced in Italian and we will also see some useful examples. The C and the G can be pronounced in two different ways: they might have a soft sound /t∫/ or a hard sound /k/. The soft sound is the same as the "ch" sound in English, such as chair or check for the C, and the "g" sound in the word gym or the "j" sound in the word job for the G. The hard sound is the same as the "c" sound in call for the C, and the "g" sound in go for the G. The question is: when do we pronounce the C or the G with a soft sound, and when do we pronounce them as a hard sound? It's very easy! You'll need to pay attention to the vowel that follows the C or G, because, based on that, you will be able to make the right choice. 1. SOFT SOUND The C and the G are pronounced as a soft sound ( chair and gym ) when they are followed by these two vowels: E and I . Let's take a look at a few examples: Ciao (hi) Baci (kisses) Cielo (sky) Cena (dinner) Cento (hundred) Giorno (day) Giallo (yellow) Gioco (toy, game) Gesto (gesture) Gemello (twin) Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! 2. HARD SOUND The C and the G are pronounced as a hard sound ( call and go ) when they are followed by all the other vowels: A , O , and U . Let's go through some examples: Poco (few) Caffè (coffee) Caro (dear, expensive) Guerra (war) Gusto (taste, flavor) 3. THE H There’s also something else you need to remember about the Cs and the Gs in Italian: the H . The H is normally silent in Italian. We find it in front of words of foreign origin, such as hotel, but also in a very important verb in Italian: avere (to have). For example, "I have" is “io ho” and "they have" is “ loro hanno”. The ‘h’ is silent. But, when the H is found right after the C or the G, then it makes the sound hard . Remember that the combinations CH or GH are only found before an E or I , because with the other vowels the sound would be hard already. Some examples are: Che (what) Chi (who) Pochi (few) Perché (why, because) Paghiamo (we pay) P.S . Remember that double C or double G do not affect the sound of these two letter. For instance, if you take the word "ecco" (it means "here" in some situations like "eccomi", "here I am"), you are pronouncing the C as a hard sound because of the O not because of the double C. Same applies to the word "gocce" (= drops like "gocce d'acqua", "water drops"). In this case you pronounce it as soft sound because of the E . I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope it helped. I also made a YouTube video on this topic that you can find on my channel (link channel subscribe). Maybe watching the video will help even more, because I will be pronouncing these sounds myself. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!

Learn the conjugation of the verb FARE in Italian and a handful list of Italian expressions with this verb! Every language has at least one verb that is used all the time and means a bunch of different things. Italian is no different! The verb FARE is used a lot in everyday conversations and it has several meanings. Plus, the verb FARE can be found in many common Italian expressions. Let’s understand how to conjugate it, what it means, and all the expressions that contain the verb FARE in it! The first thing that you need to know about this verb is that, unfortunately, it is an irregular verb. Its conjugation is different from that of regular verbs. However, it’s not that hard! Let’s see how FARE is conjugated in the present tense! Io faccio - I do Tu fai - You do Lui/Lei fa - He/she does Noi facciamo - We do Voi fate - You guys do Loro fanno - They do Pay attention to the pronunciation of this verb. For the forms io and noi , you have a soft C sound. So, the pronunciation would be FACCIO ( fa-ch-eeo ) and FACCIAMO ( fa-ch-ee-amo ). Many students get confused with this because they assume that since you have a double c , then the sound is hard (k). The c is actually pronounced as a soft sound ( ch like ciao ) because the vowel following the two C s is an “i”. If you’re struggling with the pronunciation of the C and the G in Italian you can check out this article: How to pronounce the C and the G in Italian correctly . Now that we know how FARE is conjugated in the present, let’s try to understand what it means. FARE has two main meanings: to do and to make . Let’s see a few examples: Faccio una torta → I make a cake Facciamo un caffè! → Let’s make a coffee! In this sentence, we are using the "noi" form of the imperative that in English translates as “let’s”. Che fai stasera? → What are you doing tonight? As you can see in this example, we are using the present tense ( fai ) to translate the English progressive form ( doing ). This is very common in Italian when we are talking about an imminent or planned future. In this case, the action of you doing something tonight will happen in an imminent future and I am also assuming you have something planned. That’s why the present is used in Italian! However, FARE can be used in many different expressions that you should learn as they are very common in conversational Italian. The list is very long but I am going to give you the most important and used ones! Let’s get started! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me! 1. Fare la doccia To shower Faccio la doccia tutte le mattine prima di andare a lavoro → I take a shower every morning before I go to work. Here, the reflexive version of the verb is also very common, as we are both the subject and object of the action. It’s very common to hear something like "Mi faccio la doccia tutte le mattine" . 2. Fare colazione To have breakfast Facciamo colazione alle 8 di mattina → We have breakfast at 8 in the morning. In this case, fare means to actually “have breakfast”, to “eat it”! If you want to say that you’re making breakfast, then, I would use the verb preparare : preparo la colazione ( I am making breakfast ). Some students then think that fare might be used also for pranzo ( lunch ) and cena ( dinner ). Unfortunately, it’s not like that. This is because we have two verbs in Italian for “to have lunch” and “dinner” that are pranzare e cenare respectively. Pranzo a casa dei miei nonni → I have lunch at my grandparents’ house Ceniamo a casa tua stasera → We have dinner at your house tonight However sometimes we just use the verb mangiare when we’re referring to having lunch or dinner. 3. Fare una domanda To ask a question Fatemi una domanda se non capite → Ask me a question if you don’t understand Note the position of the pronoun mi with the verb fare : fate mi! → (you guys) ask me! The reason why we put the pronoun there, attached to the end of the verb, is because we are using an imperative. 4. Fare una foto T o take a picture We don’t take pictures, we make them! I turisti fanno le foto al colosseo → Tourists take pictures of the colosseum Puoi farci una foto? → Can you take a picture of us ? 5. Fare una passeggiata To go for a walk Gli italiani amano fare una passeggiata nel centro della città → Italians love to go for a walk in the city center P.S. You could also use the expression “ fare un giro” . 6. Fare la spesa To buy the groceries/to go food shopping Vado a fare la spesa per la cena del mio compleanno → I am going grocery shopping for my birthday’s dinner Note that fare la spesa is used only for food shopping ! If you are buying anything else, you could just say “ fare shopping ”. Yes! We do use the word shopping in Italian, a lot actually! For example, you could say something like: "Devo fare shopping , il mio armadio e’ vuoto!" ( I need to go shopping, my wardrobe/closet is empty! ) 7. Fare un viaggio To go on a trip, to travel Non vedo l’ora di fare un viaggio ! → I can’t wait to go on a trip ! Here we have two beautiful Italian expressions: non vedo l’ora and fare un viaggio . "Non vedo l’ora" literally translates I don’t see the time , but it actually means something very different. It means that you can’t wait , you are looking forward to doing something and you’re very excited about it! In this case, you can’t wait to fare un viaggio , go on a trip! 8. Fare attenzione To pay attention Gli studenti devono fare attenzione mentre il professore parla → Students must pay attention while the professor is talking Another way to say the same expression, that is very common as well, is "stare attento" . We could rephrase the sentence above and say: "Gli studenti devono stare attenti mentre il professore parla". Of course, don't forget to change the adjective "attento" according to the gender and number of the subject (attent-o/a/i/e). Perfetto! We are done for today’s article. I hope you liked it! Make sure to check out my YouTube Channel ( click here ) to learn more about the Italian language and culture. If you have any questions about this topic you can send me an email at hello@teacherstefano.com or contact me on Facebook and Instagram @teacherstefano. Ciao! Do you want to take your Italian to the next level? Check out my Online Italian course for beginners "Be Italiano" and start learning today to become a real Italiano, like me!