Do you know how to use Italian Definite Articles correctly? Learn how to do just that with me today and practice with a little quiz at the end of the article. In English you have THE, in Italian, we have: IL, LO, LA, I, GLI, LE, L'. Do you know how to choose the correct one? Well, it's very easy. In Italian we choose the correct definite article based on three things: gender and number of the word, and the first few letters of the word itself. 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. Masculine definite articles IL = masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant (il libro, il mare, il ristorante) LO = masculine singular nouns starting with s+consonant and z ( lo zaino, lo studente, lo spagnolo) . These are the most common ones but we would also use LO with words starting with ps, pn, gn, x and y . However, words starting with these letters are less common. L’ = masculine singular words starting with a vowel (l’amico, l’asino) I = masculine plural nouns starting with a consonant (i libri, i ristoranti) GLI = masculine plural nouns starting with a vowel or s+consonant, z and all the other letters we’ve seen with LO (gli zaini, gli srtudenti, gli amici) 2. Feminine definite articles LA = feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant (la scuola, la palestra) L’ = feminine singular nouns starting with a vowel (l’amica) LE = all plural feminine nouns (le scuole, le palestre, le amiche) 3. Final quiz If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to send me a message in the contact section of my website. 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! A presto, Stefano

Today we're talking again about the pronoun CI. We'll see some more advanced uses of the particle CI in Italian and how to use it correctly. Ciao! In today's article, we will be talking again about the pronoun CI. Before reading this article make sure to read the first one on the basic uses of CI . 1. Ci vuole/Ci vogliono The verb volerci is used to say it takes, usually referring to time. You will use ci vuole if the amount of time is singular and ci vogliono if plural. For example: Ci vuole un'ora per arrivare a Roma → It takes one hour to get to Rome. Ci vogliono venti minuti per arrivare a casa mia → It takes twenty minutes to get to my house Quanto tempo ci vuole? → How long does it take? Ci vuole molto tempo → It takes a lot of time. 2. Metterci The problem with the verb volerci is that it's very general and impersonal, therefore you can conjugate it only in the third person form singular or plural. What if you want to say that it takes you or a specific person a certain amount of time to do something or to get somewhere? In that case, you will have to use the verb metterci , that is personal! So you conjugate the verb mettere as a normal verb and then add ci in front of it. Adding CI is very important! If you forget CI, then you're just saying to put . Here's the conjugation: Ci metto Ci metti Ci mette Ci mettiamo Ci mettete Ci mettono Let's look at a few examples: Ci metto 20 minuti per venire a casa tua → It takes me 20 minutes to come to your house. Ci vogliono 2 ore in macchina per andare a Firenze, ma io ci metto solo 1 ora con il treno ad alta velocità → It takes 2 hours to go to Florence by car, but it takes me only 1 hour with the high-speed train. 3. Ci di proprietà It is used in colloquial Italian to emphasize the fact of you having or not having something. For example: Hai un fazzoletto? → Do you have a tissue? No, non ce l’ho → No, I don't have it. Hai portato le chiavi? → Did you bring the keys? Sì, ce le ho in tasca → Yes, I have them in my pocket. In this case, CI becomes CE because we’ve got a pronoun ( direct object pronoun ) and when CI is found before another pronoun then you change it to CE. These are called double object pronouns and I've never talked about them on my website or my YouTube channel , so if you're interested in a video on this topic, let me know! 4. CI + NE Sometimes you might need both CI and NE in one sentence. For example: Quante opere ci sono alla Pinacoteca di Brera? → How many artworks are there at Pinacoteca di Brera? Ce ne sono oltre 200 → There are over 200. In this case, you are saying there are (ci sono) which I explained in the previous article. CI becomes CE in front of another pronoun NE. That’s why we say CE NE SONO . Therefore, NE is replacing artworks, but unfortunately, I can't use a normal direct object pronoun as I am talking about a quantity (200). I hope you enjoyed this article and learned a lot from it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a message in the contact section of my website. A presto, Stefano

Struggling with Italian Prepositions of time? In today's article, we are going to look at the difference between the preposition DA and the preposition PER. In today's article, we are going to talk about two Italian prepositions (DA and PER) that are used for many purposes, and one of them is to express time. They are a bit tricky but I am sure this article will help you understand which one to use. 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. Preposition DA This preposition is used when the action has started in the past but hasn’t finished yet, it’s still ongoing in the present. This is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make in Italian! Let me show you some examples: Studio italiano da 17 anni → I’ve been studying Italian for 17 years. Here, we can see two big differences between Italian and English: In Italian, we’re just using the present “studio”, whereas in English we’re using a past progressive. And using the present makes total sense because I’m still studying Italian. In English you use "for" but in Italian we use " da " not "per". This action started in the past, specifically 17 years ago, but it’s still ongoing because I am still studying Italian. Other examples are: Vivo in Italia da 10 anni → I’ve been living in Italy for 10 years. Gioco a calcio da quando ero piccolo → I’ve played soccer since I was a child. 2. Preposition PER The preposition " per" is used to talk about an action that started in the past but has finished or will start in the future and will finish. Or a limited action, whatsoever. Corro per un’ora e poi faccio una doccia → I’ll go for a run for one hour and then I’ll take a shower . Here I know that I am going out now to run for one hour, so this action eventually starts now and will finish in one hour. Vado in vacanza a Roma per due settimane → I am going on vacation to Rome for two weeks. I know that this action is limited because it’s supposed to last two weeks only. Now let's look at two sentences to compare the use of DA vs the use of PER. Ho studiato italiano per 17 anni. In this case, I am saying that I studied Italian for 17 years, but now I don’t study it anymore. I don't know exactly when I started or when I stopped, but I do know that this action is finished and lasted 17 years. Studio italiano da 17 anni. With DA, I am saying that I started 17 years ago and this action is still ongoing now. Furthermore, I am using the present with the preposition DA, whereas with PER I am using the past as the action is 100% in the past. Ok guys! We are done for today’s article! Did you like it? We will also need to talk about the prepositions IN and TRA , which are very confusing, especially for English speakers. If you want me to do an article on this topic let me know and I’ll do it as soon as I can. 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, 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!

These two adjectives are very common in Italian, so you definitely need to understand how to use them and I hope this article will help! In today's article, we are going to talk about two Italian adjectives: BUONO and BELLO. These two are probably the most common adjectives in Italian and we use them all the time but do you really know how to choose the correct one? 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. BELLO These are the categories you would use bello in: Appearance : used to describe something or someone for their look. Marco è un bel ragazzo → Marco is a good-looking, handsome guy. Chiara è una bella ragazza → Chiara is a beautiful girl. Tutti gli italiani sono belli → All the Italians are good-looking/beautiful. Questa casa è molto bella → This house is very beautiful. Something that is well-done, well organized : Questo corso di italiano è molto bello → This Italian course is well-done, it works. Questa puntata è molto bella → this episode is good, it’s interesting or well-done (not necessary referred to the look of it). Size : something that is big, abundant: E’ una bella lista della spesa → It’s a big, long, conspicuous shopping list. To emphasize an idea : Questo è un bel problema → This is a pretty big problem. 2. BUONO Kindness : Francesca è buona → Francesca is kind. E’ importante fare una buona azione al mese → It’s important to do a good deed a month. I miei amici sono sempre buoni con me → My friends are always nice to me. To express that someone is good at what they do or what they are supposed to do: E’ un buon medico → He is a good doctor (he is good at doing his job). Quel ristorante è molto buono → That restaurant is very good. To say that something is useful or works for something else : Questo sciroppo è buono per la tosse → This syrup is good for treating a cough. Il mio nuovo cellulare è buono per fare le foto → My new cell phone is good for taking pictures. Something that is good to the taste or smell (food, drinks) Le tue lasagne sono molto buone → Your lasagne are very good. Il vino pugliese è buono → Pugliese wine is good. 3. Forms of BELLO and BUONO The adjectives buono and bello behave differently based on their position in the sentence : if positioned after the noun they refer to, they behave as normal four-ending adjectives ( bello/bella/belli/belle and buono/buona/buoni/buone ). If put before the noun they refer to, they behave a bit differently. Let's start with bello . Look at the chart below: Be + il = bel Be + lo = bello Be + la = bella Be + i = bei Be + gli = begli Be + le = belle Be + l’ = bell’ As you can see, what’s going on here is pretty obvious. You attach the definite article to the root of the adjective according to the chart above ( this doesn’t mean you don’t put the article before the adjective. That’s not a real article you are attaching. It’s just a particular ending so similar to definite articles that I call it “article ending” ). Let’s look at a few examples: Il ragazzo —> il ragazzo bello —> il bel ragazzo Gli alberi —> gli alberi belli —> i begli alberi La bambina —> la bambina bella —> la bella bambina As you can see, you can choose the position of the adjective. If you put it after the noun, you treat "bello" as a normal adjective, but if you put it before you'll have to choose the right form based on the definite article you would use. This is what you do : ⁃ Choose the right article for the word ⁃ Position "bello" after the noun treating it as normal adjective ⁃ Or position "bello" before the noun and change the ending according to the article you would’ve used. A lot of my students ask me if there is a difference between the position of the adjective. There’s practically none. Though I do understand the struggle of saying “begli” instead of “belli”, that’s why I often recommend my students to put the adjective after the noun. It’s much easier, and correct anyway. Now let's talk about buono . Basically, it works like the previous adjective, but instead of using definite articles as endings, it uses indefinite articles ( un, uno, una, un ). Again the use of "buono" depends on its position. If positioned after the noun it refers to, it has four regular endings ( buono/buona/buoni/buone ), exactly like the adjective "bello". Otherwise, it follows the following rules: Un amico —> un buon amico Un mattino —> un buon mattino Uno zaino —> un buono zaino Uno specchio —> un buono specchio Un’amica —> una buon’amica Una chiesa —> una buona chiesa In the plural you have only buoni and buone : Delle amiche —> le buone amiche Degli amici —> i buoni amici 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, 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!

Using PIACERE in Italian is always confusing but it gets even more confusing when using it to express the idea of you liking someone. Read this article to understand the logic behind this tricky Italian verb! I am sure you know that “I like” is “Mi piace”, but do you know how to use PIACERE with people? “I like Italy” is “Mi piace l’Italia”, but what about “I like you”, “She likes me”, “We like you”, “They like us”. Well, it might seem a bit confusing at first, but I am going to walk you through the logic behind this verb so that you will know how to use it in conversation! 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! Before reading this article, make sure you've read my previous blog post on the verb PIACERE . By knowing the basics of this verb, it will be easier for you to understand how these rules work. Remember that the verb PIACERE works the other way around in Italian. We don’t say “I like something” but “ something is pleasing to me ”. Therefore we will have to figure out a way to say that “someone is pleasing to me/you/her” and so on? How do we do that? First of all, you need to know indirect object pronouns: Mi → to me Ti → to you Gli → to him Le → to her Ci → to us Vi → to you guys Gli/Loro → to them You can also review direct and indirect object pronouns with this blog post . Second, we need to conjugate the verb piacere in all its forms: (io) piaccio (tu) piaci (lui/lei) piace (noi) piacciamo (voi) piacete (loro) piacciono IMPORTANT: (io) piaccio does NOT mean I like ! Keep this in mind! You know that I like is “mi piace”. Once we’ve reviewed indirect object pronouns and the conjugation of the verb piacere let’s take a simple English sentence and let’s try to translate it: I like you We are not actually saying I like you but we’re saying you are pleasing to me , right? So what you’ll have to do is translate this bit by bit. Follow these easy steps: Start from the end of the sentence and translate the indirect object pronoun to me . If you look at the chart above, you should know that to me is mi . Keep this one in mind. Now we want to say you are pleasing to me , so we need to look for the YOU form of the verb piacere that is going to be piaci . Let's write down the whole thing Mi piaci = I like you! Done! As you can see, it's not that hard, it just needs some getting used to! Let's take a look at these other examples: We like you → You are pleasing to us → Ci piaci You like us → We are pleasing to you → Ti piacciamo They like me → I am pleasing to them → Gli piaccio We like her → She is pleasing to us → Ci piace She likes you (p.) → You (p.) are pleasing to her → Le piacete I hope that makes sense! If you have any questions about this topic, send me a message in the contact section of my website or on Instagram ! A presto, 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!

I am sure you’ve heard of the pronoun NE in Italian many times but do you know how to use it? And what’s the difference between NE and normal direct object pronouns? We’ll go over all of this in today's lesson! Ne is a pronoun and that means that it replaces things in sentences. Ne has multiple uses but in today’s lesson, we will focus on its main uses. Then, in the future, we will cover more advanced uses of this pronoun. 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. PARTITIVO Before we start diving into ne , I need to make sure you know what partitivo is. Partitivo is a specific part of the sentence introduced by a preposition or two adjectives to convey the idea of part of something (that’s why partitivo) or a quantity not specified in number . Let me give you some examples: Voglio del caffè = I want some coffee (a part of it not all of it) I want some delle mele = I bought some apples (quantity not specified in number) I can also say: Voglio alcune mele/ qualche mel a When the partitivo is singular (so we’re talking about a part of something) we will use: DI + definite article + a singular noun When you are referring to a quantity not specified in number you can use DI + definite article + a plural noun Alcuni/e (masculine and feminine) + a plural noun Qualche + a singular noun. Sometimes qualche + a singular noun confuses students because why would you use a singular noun to refer to multiple things? And you’re right, it’s confusing! But think about the word every in English. You would say every day but you mean multiple days! Qualche is the same thing! You use a singular noun, but the real meaning behind it is plural. Just to do a quick recap: Delle mele → some apples Alcune mele → some apples Qualche mela → some apples You’re saying exactly the same thing! 2. HOW TO USE NE Now that we know what partitivo is, we can move on to ne . This is because ne replaces a noun in the partitive sense (introduced by di + article, alcuni/e, qualche ) or a noun introduced by a number or an expression of quantity (poco, molto, tanto, chilo, litro). We need to see some examples: Hai molti vestiti ? Sì, ne ho molti! → Do you have many clothes? Yes, I have many (of them). Quante fette di pane vuoi? Ne voglio tre, grazie → How many slices of bread do you want? I want three (of them), thanks! Hai molti amici ? No, ne ho pochi! → Do you have many friends? No, I have few (of them) Vuoi dei cioccolatini ? Sì, ne voglio due, grazie! → Do you want some chocolate? Yes, I want two, thanks! One thing you can notice here, and this is very important, is that you can’t use NE alone in the sentence. If we go back to the first example you can’t say just ne ho , you need to add how many, so molti . Or tre , quattro , un chilo , pochi . Ne does not work alone in a sentence, therefore you need to add the quantity! One of the hardest things about NE is understanding its difference with direct object pronouns . If you don't know what direct object pronouns are, you can have a look at this article . For example, if I say: Compri le mele? And I want to say that I buy them, there’s no need to use NE because I am not expressing a quantity so I will say: Sì, le compro . But If I ask Quante mele compri , the person I am talking to is expecting a number (or quantity) from me in the answer so I a going to say: Ne compro 3, molte, un chilo , whatever! Just don't forget to add the quantity! ATTENZIONE : Just remember that when you’re using NE in a sentence with passato prossimo the past participle changes according to the gender and number of the object you replace: Hai mangiato la pizza ? Sì, ne ho mangiat e due! (of pizze) Quanti libri hai letto quest’estate? Ne ho letti tre! (of libri) If you have any questions about this topic, send me a message in the contact section of my website or on Instagram ! A presto, 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!

Making mistakes is one of the most important things while learning a new language. Only by making mistakes you can improve your language skills and get better. However, some mistakes are more common than others so why not fix them right away? In today’s article, we are going to look at some common mistakes English speakers make in Italian. I will talk about English speakers specifically only because most of my students come from English-speaking countries and because I speak English fluently but maybe these mistakes also apply to other languages. If that’s the case, let me know! 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. Misgendering nouns Using a feminine article with masculine words is very common but I want to talk about two words in particular: problema and paese . Problema is a weird one because it ends in -a but it’s actually masculine. Let me tell you that this exception actually applies to several -ma ending words like tema (essay, topic) . Since problema is masculine you are going to say IL PROBLEMA . Then we’ve got the word paese (country) . Honestly, -e ending words are the worst because they could be either masculine or feminine and you can’t really know. You can find some tipis to understand the gender of nouns in this article . Anyway, one of the most misgendered words in Italian is, in fact, paese . It’s not LA PAESE, but IL PAESE (country) as PAESE is masculine. 2. PER instead of DA Another very common mistake is the use of the preposition PER instead of DA to express how long you have been doing something (for). Let’s say you started studying Italian 4 months ago, so you’ve been studying Italian FOR four months. Well, that FOR in Italian does not translate PER, but actually DA . And also, and that’s actually good news for you, you don’t need to use any past tense but the present will do just fine, and that makes sense because the action is still ongoing in the present as you started studying 4 months ago but you still do now. So we would say: studio italiano da 4 mesi . Not per! P.S. Here's an article on DA vs PER . 3. Mi piace VS Mi piacciono Remember that the verb ‘like’ works in a completely different way in Italian compared to English. I’ve made two videos on this topic ( here and here ): one to say that you like things and the other one you like people. Just to do a quick recap, remember that if you want to say that you like something you’re going to say mi piace if the thing you like is singular and mi piacciono if the thing you like is plural. So: Mi piace la pasta Mi piacciono le lasagne 4. Makes sense? How would you say makes sense in Italian? Well, for sure you’re not going to say fa senso . That’s because: Fa senso : it’s gross (for example when looking at a gory scene in a movie) Ha senso : it makes sense 5. Frustrato This word is too strong in Italian. If you’re frustrated because you can’t speak Italian very well yet, don’t say sono frustrato/frustrata but say sono triste , sono un po' arrabbiato instead. Frustrato is too strong, and when we say frustrato we generally apply that to describe a person for their life-style (very very general and extremely negative) rather than frustrated for a specific reason. It’s too strong, tend to avoid it. 6. È bene Do not use è bene . Bene can't be used with the verb essere (except in one specific case that we are not going to cover today) because it’s an adverb . Bene means well . So many times my students watch my videos and then they say that è bene or era bene . Would you say that in English this video is well? No. So try to say è bello , è interessante . Ok, we are done with today’s lesson, I hope you liked it! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me in the contact section of my website. 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!

Struggling with Italian Prepositions of time? In today's article, we are going to look at the differences between the preposition IN and the preposition TRA. In today's article, we are going to talk about two Italian prepositions (IN and TRA) that are used for many purposes, and one of them is to express time. They are a bit tricky but I am sure this article will help you understand which one to use. 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. Preposition TRA Before talking about the use of TRA for time, let's repass really quickly its other main meanings: Between : il ristorante è tra la banca e le poste → the restaurant is between the bank and the postal office Among : tra tutti i dipendenti, tu sei il più bravo → among all employees, you are the best one Now, let's talk about the uses of TRA when it comes to time. The preposition TRA is used in terms of time to convey the idea of IN in English. This is the reason why it might be a bit confusing. TRA is used to talk about an event that will happen in a very specific and defined amount of time. Let's see a few examples to better understand: Partirò per l'Italia tra 2 mesi → I am leaving for Italy in two months (very specific, 2 months from now) Esco di casa tra 10 minuti → I am leaving the house in 10 minutes. Arrivo tra 2 secondi → I am coming in 2 seconds, I will be there in 2 seconds Tra 10 anni voglio essere un dottore → I want to be a doctor in 10 years. 2. Preposition IN The preposition IN , on the contrary, is used to talk about an action that took place or will take place in the future and we know exactly how long it took or it is going to take to perform that action. Ho letto il romanzo in 2 mesi → I 've read the novel in two months = it took me two months to read the novel Scriverò il libro in 1 anno → I will write the book in a year = It will take me a year to write the book. 3. IN vs TRA Finirò il progetto in una settimana VS Finirò il progetto tra una settimana In the first sentence, I am saying that it's going to take me a week to finish the project, no matter when I start. I could start now or in two years, the amount of time required to finish the project will still be one week. In the second sentence, I am saying that starting from now, a week from now the project will be finished. P.S. Many students ask me what the difference between TRA and FRA is. Well, they are exactly the same . Sometimes we choose one preposition over the other for phonetic reasons. Tra tre mesi might be a bit hard to pronounce as we have the TR sound twice. So, we might want to say fra tre mesi instead. Honestly though, I find myself saying tra tre mesi all the time and it does not sound weird to me at all, so no big deal! 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, 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 buono or bene ? Which one should you use? Many students struggle in understanding the difference between BUONO and BENE because these two words both translate good (kind of). However, these two words are very different and are used in different situations, very different situations, and using one over the other might make your sentence sound weird. Let's see how to choose the correct one. 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! Let's start off by saying that BUONO is an adjective and BENE is an adverb . That means that BUONO is used to describe a thing, a person, so basically a noun. BENE instead is used to describe the way you do something, therefore a verb, an action. Keep this in mind: BUONO with NOUNS BENE with VERBS There's only one big exception to this rule and that is ESSERE (to be) that is the only verb in Italian that actually takes BUONO. And that makes sense because you would use ESSERE to describe things. For example, "pizza is good", la pizza è buona . It makes sense to use BUONO with ESSERE, but again it's the only verb you can use BUONO with. And guess what, if you can use BUONO with ESSERE that means you can't use BENE with ESSERE, never ever. Let's look at some examples with buono : La pasta al sugo è buona → Pasta with tomato sauce is good Gianni e Luca sono buoni → Gianni and Luca are good (kind) Ho bevuto un buon vino in Veneto → I drank a good wine in Veneto As you can see I am using BUONO to describe things. Specifically, BUONO is used to describe food and beverages or to say that someone is nice. I actually wrote an article on BUONO vs BELLO that you can read here . So BUONO means GOOD. Now let's try to make some examples with BENE: Come stai? Sto bene, grazie! → How are you? I am good, thanks! Of course, I am going to use BENE with this one and even though in English you're used to saying I am good , you know deep down that you should be saying I am well. I am good is totally acceptable now and it's not wrong at all, but you know that it should be I am well . Well, that's why in Italian we say Sto bene because we're using BENE as an adverb (well). Io parlo bene l'Italiano → I speak Italian well. Mia sorella non sa leggere bene ancora → My sister doesn't know how to read well yet. Ho mangiato bene al ristorante → I ate well at the restaurant. As you can see BENE can be used with all verbs! The big problem comes when people use BENE with the verb essere . For example, if you like this video and you want to say that it's good, how would you say this? Questo video è bene? NOPE, it doesn't work. Because you wouldn't say in English that this video is well , so try to say questo è un buon video , un video bello , un video utile , not bene . Com'è stata la vacanza? How was your vacation? È stata bene! → WRONG! You wouldn't say that the vacation was well but was good ! So you can say: è stata bella, divertente OR you can use BENE with a verb and say: è andata bene → it went well. Now you can use bene because you're using it with a verb ( andare ) and not essere ! I hope these examples helped! 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, 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!

Reflexive verbs can be kind of tricky, however, do you know how to use them in the past? We are going to learn just this in today's video! You probably know how reflexive verbs work and if you don't, feel free to read this article that I wrote some time ago. In today's video, we are going to talk about reflexive verbs in the past. 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. Quick recap of reflexive verbs in Italian Reflexive verbs are used when the action is performed by the subject on themselves or they are used to change the meaning of a verb. For example, "lavarsi" means "washing onself". But when you use the verb "sentirsi" you are just changing the meaning of the verb from sentire (to hear) to sentirsi (to feel). To form reflexive verbs you need to use a reflexive pronoun before the verb ( mi lavo, ti lavi, si lava... ) 2. Reflexive verbs in the past To form the past with reflexive verbs you have two options: either imperfetto or passato prossimo . Imperfetto is very easy: mi divertivo . With passato prossimo , remember that reflexive verbs always take essere as auxiliary verb, all the time, no exception! For this reason, you'll need to change the past participle according to the subject you have. For example, let's conjugate the verb divertirsi (to have fun) in passato prossimo : Io mi sono divertito/a Tu ti sei divertito/a Lui si è divertito Lei si è divertita Noi ci siamo divertiti/e Voi vi siete divertiti/e Loro si sono divertiti/e 3. Reflexive verbs in the past with a modal verb What about using a reflexive verb in the past with a modal verb ? Remember that modal verbs are dovere, potere, and volere and they always take an infinitive. For example, let's say you want to say something like " we had to wake up early this morning ", here you have two options! You are going to use the modal verb "have to/must", dovere , in passato prossimo and the infinitive of the verb "to wake up", svegliarsi . Since here you have an infinitive, you can place the reflexive pronoun either before the modal verb or attached to the infinitive of the verb "to wake up", svegliarsi . If you put the pronoun before the modal verb all is normal: Ci siamo dovuti svegliare (you use essere because dovere is being used with a verb taking essere and you change the past participle. Here it can be either dovuti or dovute ). Don't forget to add back the -e at the infinitive svegliare . If you put it after you have to change the auxiliary verb: Abbiamo dovuto svegliarci : in this case you attach -ci at the end of svegliare by dropping the final -e and you use avere , therefore there is no need to change the past participle. Both of them are correct, however, my advice is to use the one with essere. Other examples might be: Mi sono potuto divertire dopo l'esame/Ho potuto divertirmi dopo l'esame (I could have fun after the exam) Ti sei potuta riposare ieri?/Hai potuto riposarti ieri ? (Could you rest yesterday?) 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, 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!

Today we will look at some more mistakes English speakers make in Italian. If you missed Part 1, check it out here ! 1. GUIDARE with places In Italian, we don't drive places. We do not drive home, we don't drive to Rome, we just go there or eventually we go there by car. I hear many students say phrases like "abbiamo guidato a Roma" or "sto guidando a casa". Unfortunately, these sentences are wrong. We could say: Siamo andati in macchina a Roma → We drove to Rome. Sto tornando a casa in macchina → I am driving home. If you say "Abbiamo guidato a Roma" it means that you're just driving around in Rome and if you say "Sto guidando a casa" it literally means that you are driving your car inside your house! We don't drive people either, but we take them places by car or "Accompagnare in macchina" them. For example: Porto mia sorella in stazione in macchina → I take my sister to the station by car. Accompagno il mio ragazzo a casa in macchina → I take my boyfriend home by car. 2. IN vs TRA Another very common mistake is using the preposition of time IN instead of TRA. I actually wrote an article on this topic that you can read here . The preposition TRA basically translates IN in English that's why it is a bit confusing. Let's look at two sentences using TRA and then IN: Finirò il progetto tra un mese : here you are saying that you will be done with the project in a month, so a month from now, the project will be over. We are talking about a defined and very specific moment in the future. Finirò il progetto in un mese : here you are saying that it will take you a month to finish the project, no matter when you start. IN is used to tell people how long it takes to do something in the future, present or past! 3. Possessive adjectives and articles You finally learned that possessive adjectives like "il mio", "il tuo" etc, require a definite article in Italian. Just remember that the definite article is NOT required when you have a possessive adjective preceding the name of a family member when it's singular and not modified. Let's look at this summary: All possessive adjectives take a definite article (according to the object that is owned) If you have a singular family member do NOT use article → mia sorella, tuo padre, nostra zia If the family mamber name is plural, use the article → le mie sorelle, le nostre zie If the name is altered (e.g. adds a suffix), the article comes back → il mio fratellino 4. Excited? Eccitato? Now let's talk about a very awkward mistake you don't want to be making. In English, you use the word excited a lot and personally I use it too when I speak English. Make sure not to translate this word with ECCITATO . This is because ECCITATO in Italian means something a little different, more sexual! It means sexually aroused, horny. So for sure you don't want to use this while saying how excited you are for your next trip to Italy! What could you use instead? Contento or felice → happy Emozionato → this is the actual translation but I find myself saying contento or felice more! Non vedo l’ora! → I am looking forward to it, I can't wait 5. The big 4 And now let's end this article with another mistake that is very very common and is about 4 verbs that I call "the big 4": I am talking about the verbs Ascoltare → to listen to Cercare → to look for Guardare → to look at, to watch Aspettare → to wait for The reason why these verbs are very important is that in English they always take a preposition but in Italian they don't! The fact they don't take a preposition not only changes the way you use them but also tells you that you will have to use a direct object pronoun with them and use the verb avere in passato prossimo . This is because they are transitive verbs . If you don't know what that means, no worries, it can get pretty practical! Just remember these three things: NO PREPOSITION VERB AVERE IN PASSATO PROSSIMO USE A DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN WITH THEM Let's look at a few examples Mi piace ascoltare la musica in macchina → I like listening to music. Sto cercando un jeans chiaro, mi può aiutare? → I am looking for light colored jeans. Ho aspettato i miei amici per 2 ore! → I've waited for my friends for 2 hours! I hope you liked this article and found it useful! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message in the contact section of my website. Also, make sure to read the first part of this article here ! A presto, Teacher Stefano

Do you know what complex prepositions or preposizioni articolate are? If you don't, then this article is for you! 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! Many of you asked me to talk about complex prepositions or preposizioni articolate in Italian and in today's article, we will see just that. Complex prepositions might seem intimidating at first, but no worries, as you practice, they will become the most natural thing in the world. All my students are scared at first when they learn prepositions but then they start using them and realize how natural they are! Let's start! Prepositions are little words used in Italian and English (and other languages) to convey different ideas (time, place, purpose, etc...) in a sentence. Prepositions can be simple or complex. Simple prepositions are: Di A Da In Con Su Per Tra/Fra Complex prepositions are the combination of a simple proposition with a definite article. Not all prepositions can be complexed with an article though! The only ones we can combine are: Di A Da In Su First, remember that the definite articles are: Il , lo, l' → masculine singular word Gli and i → masculine plural words La and l' → feminine singular words Le → femenine plural words If you don't remember how definite articles work, check out this blog post . So how do we combine definite articles with prepositions? It's very easy! You take the preposition and instead of adding the article itself, for phonetic reasons, you add these ending: l for il, llo for lo, ll' for l', gli for gli, i for i, lla for la, ll' for l' feminine and lle for le. Sometimes you will also need to change the preposition itself: Di → de In → ne Let's look at this useful table: Let's some examples: I go to university → Vado all' università I go to the doctor → Vado dal dottore I entered the shop → Sono entrato nel negozio I am on the terrace → Sono sulla terrazza These are my kids' toys → Questi sono i giochi dei miei figli Sometimes also CON can be complexed only with il and i: Il maestro è con i bambini → il maestro è coi bambini Vado a cena con il figlio di Rebecca → Vado a cena col figlio di rebecca You can choose to do this or not! It's really up to you and both of them work just fine! This rule of adding articles to prepositions is an actual pattern in the Italian language. We do the same thing with quello (that) and bello (beautiful). Take a look at this table: Some of you might also ask when we choose a simple preposition and when we choose a complex proposition. The rules behind this choice, are not related to prepositions themselves, but actually to definite articles' rules. So check out this video on my YouTube channel for more information on this! We are done with today's article! I hope you liked it! If you have any questions, send me a message in the contact section of my website. A presto, 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!