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Corso di italiano con Daniela
Beginner
199 Videos

Daniela teaches Italian in a classroom, complete with blackboard, chalk, eraser, and students. Her lessons are very popular and people love her spontaneity and teaching style. She addresses grammatical topics one by one, geared to both beginning and intermediate level students.

75 Episodes
Videos
Showing 1-199 of 199 Totaling 12 hours 7 minutes

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Salutare - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela teaches us the Italian way to say hello and goodbye, to both our friends and to people we don't know.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Salutare - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

Italy

Daniela explains when to use the different forms of greetings in Italian: "buongiorno," "buonasera," "buonanotte," and "salve."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Chiedere "Come va?"

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

Italy

When two people meet, it's important to ask them how they are. Daniela explains the different ways to ask, and also how to answer.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Primi incontri - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

What do you say when you meet someone for the first time? Daniela discusses introductions.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Primi incontri - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Join Daniela's class where we learn more about how to greet people in Italian.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Essere e avere - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

In this lesson, Daniela talks about the two most important verbs in Italian: essere (to be) and avere (to have).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Essere e avere - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about the conjugation of the verb "to have," and gives us some important information about pronunciation.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articolo indefinito

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

When we speak of an unspecified quantity of food items, objects, etc. we use the indefinite or partitive article, which changes according to the gender of the noun in question (singular: del, della, dello, and plural: dei, delle, degli). In the second part of the lesson, you'll notice that Italian uses the equivalent of "of" or "of it" where English doesn't. Feel free to absorb the first part of this lesson before tackling the second part.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - I negozi

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela talks about verbs having to do with shops, and whether they close at lunchtime or not.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi "aprire" e "chiudere"

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

Italy

With her students, Daniela shows us how to conjugate the verbs aprire (to open) and chiudere (to close).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Orari di apertura - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela and her pupils compare the opening hours of shops in their country to those in Italy where, traditionally, the midday break has always had particular importance. Over the past ten years, tradition has gradually given way to convenience, and the rules governing opening hours have become less and less strict.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Orari di apertura - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela finishes explaining about the opening hours of shops, comparing those of Italy with those of Germany.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il verbo rimanere

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shows her class how to use the verb, rimanere(to remain, to stay) and she also conjugates this partly regular, partly irregular verb.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Orari di apertura e sistema scolastico

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela discusses with her class the opening hours of stores in different regions of Italy as well as Germany. They go on to talk about the differences in school systems between the two countries.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Le sagre

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

What's one of the first things you think of when talking about Italy? Food! Daniela tells us about the sagre (festivals) having to do with every kind of food imaginable.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articoli singolari maschili - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela tells her students about the masculine singular definite article in its three forms, "Il, L' and Lo."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articoli singolari maschili - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

There's still more to know about the masculine singular definite article. After IL and L with an apostrophe, there's a third kind, LO. Daniela explains two simple rules to follow.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articolo femminile singolare

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

If the masculine article seemed a bit complicated, rest easy. The feminine singular definite article is much simpler. Daniela will explain.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articoli maschili plurale - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela has already taught us the singular definite articles in Italian. Today she starts teaching us the masculine plural definite articles.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articoli maschili plurale - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

What are the rules for the masculine plural articles? Daniela explains them to her class, and to us!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articolo femminile plurale

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela explains how easy it is to form the plurals of feminine nouns, even if you don't know their meaning.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Articoli ed eccezioni

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

If you know the rules regarding masculine and feminine articles, word endings, and plurals in Italian, you'll get it right most of the time. But there are some important exceptions which Daniela addresses in this lesson. They just have to get memorized!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Le parole: bello, buono e bene - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

It can be challenging for non-native Italian speakers to really understand the difference between these three common words: bello (beautiful, nice, pretty), buono (good) and bene (well, fine). In this first part of three, Daniela explains the difference between bello and buono.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Le parole: bello, buono e bene - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela goes into more detail about the difference between bello (beautiful) and buono (good) and clears up any doubts you may have.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Le parole: bello, buono e bene - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

This lesson is about bene (well, fine). An important difference between bene and bello (beautiful) and buono (good) is that it's an adverb, and therefore doesn't have to agree with nouns. It always stays the same.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Preposizioni in e a

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela teaches us the difference between two questions: "Where are you from?" and "Where do you live?" She goes on to explain that, depending on whether we're talking about cities and towns, or countries, regions, and continents, the preposition in the response will change. Don't miss this important lesson!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Tu o Lei?

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

It's important in speaking Italian, to address people using the right form of "you." Tu (you) is for people you know, and Lei (you) is for people you don't know, or people you address with respect. Daniela explains how to use these forms.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Domande

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

When you're getting to know someone, you ask them their name and where they're from. Join Daniela's class as her students ask their first questions in Italian.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi che finiscono in "ere"

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela takes us through the conjugation of verbs ending in "ere," and explains how easy it can be if we remember some simple rules.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Mi piace

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

It's important to know how to talk about what you like and what you don't like. Daniela explains how in this lesson, and if you remember that when you like something, it pleases you, you'll get it!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Ti piace

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shows us how to ask people if they like something. And don't forget: the thing you like is the subject of the sentence and will govern the conjugation of the verb "piacere."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Piacere - Coniugazione

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela teaches us how to talk about liking something in each of the persons, using the verb piacere (to please, to be pleasing). Don't miss this very important lesson! And don't forget that spaghetti is the plural of spaghetto. Spago means string, so spaghetti are little strands of string! Italians will use the plural when talking about spaghetti.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'aperitivo

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela talks about the latest trend regarding l'aperitivo (cocktails) in Italy. To learn more about some of the items she mentions, click! spritz, aperol, prosecco.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi in "infinitivo"

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela teaches us something very important! When you have two verbs in the infinitive, one after another, they get connected by the preposition "a" (to). Most of the time one of those verbs is andare (to go). She gives us some examples.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Avverbi di tempo

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

What are the words we use in Italian to talk about regular actions? Daniela takes you through them.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi che finiscono in are - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela explains some very important rules about conjugating verbs. There are three types of endings. "are," "ire," and "ere."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi che finiscono in are - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela finishes taking us through the conjugation of verbs ending in -are like mangiare (to eat).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela does a quick review of definite articles in Italian, and goes on to introduce the indefinite articles.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela helps us understand how the feminine singular indefinite article works. Not to be missed!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - l'articolo indeterminativo - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

In the previous two segments, both the masculine and feminine indefinite articles were introduced. In this segment, Daniela has her students supply the correct indefinite article for a series of nouns.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi che finiscono in ire - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela makes it easy to learn how to conjugate verbs ending in "ire," such as dormire (to sleep).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi che finiscono in ire - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela finishes showing us how to conjugate verbs that end in "ire," like "finire." Get the whole story!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

This is the beginning of a very important series of lessons because possessive pronouns or adjectives work a little differently in Italian. You need to add an article before the possessive pronoun. Daniela will explain it all.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela continues with the possessive adjective, and gives examples of the masculine and feminine singular. Remember that, unlike English, Italian puts an article before the possessive adjective.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

After having covered the possessive adjectives in the masculine and feminine singular, Daniela goes on to explain how the masculine plural works.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela continues to address the very sticky subject of possessive adjectives, and explains some very important rules. Little by little, you'll get it.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela explains a very important exception to the rule about possessive adjectives. Don't miss out!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela has already explained about leaving out the article when talking about one's family members, but attenzione! This only holds for the singular. She explains how things work in the plural.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi Possessivi - Part 7

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela has her students do some exercises to make sure they've understood the use of articles with possessive adjectives. You'll see that being part of family or not makes quite a difference, as does being just one or more than one!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi positivi e neutri - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

The important theme for today is "adjectives." In this first part, Daniela will teach you about "positive" adjectives. Find out what she means by that!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi positivi e neutri - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela continues explaining how to use adjectives in Italian. This time she focuses on so-called neutral adjectives.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi positivi e neutri - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

To conclude this three-part lesson on positive and neutral adjectives, Daniela talks about neutral adjectives in the plural.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - I colori - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela teaches us the colors and how to use them as adjectives. There are three different categories, so pay close attention!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - I colori - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

We've gotten to the third category of colors, where they behave like positive adjectives. Attenzione! These colors have four different possible endings.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - I colori - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this final video on colors as adjectives, Daniela's students practice using all three types (static, positive and neutral) in sentences. As you'll see, it can be tough putting all the pieces together, but little by little, you'll get it!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi riflessivi - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela works on reflexive verbs, the verbs distinguished by their si ending. The si lets us know that the action involves the self. For clarity, the English translation is also given in a reflexive form, to aid in the understanding, even though English doesn't use it.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi riflessivi - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela shows us how to conjugate reflexive verbs. It's not really any different than conjugating normal verbs, so don't worry!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbi modali

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Modal verbs in Italian are potere (to be able to) volere (to want to) and dovere (to have to). Daniela explains how they work!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Passato prossimo - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela takes us through the steps to construct the passato prossimo (present perfect) of verbs. Attenzione! Even though it looks similar to the English present perfect tense, the passato prossimo is used for actions completed at a specific time in the past, so in many cases it corresponds to the simple past in English, not the present perfect!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Passato prossimo - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela teaches us about conjugating one of the past tenses, the passato prossimo, for action verbs.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Passato prossimo - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela has her students practice conjugating a verb of movement in the passato prossimo (present perfect). There are plenty of details to watch out for: plural or singular, masculine or feminine, "to be" or "to have" as helping verbs.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Chiedere informazioni - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela teaches us the essential verbs and phrases for asking directions in Italy.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Chiedere informazioni - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela goes over the very important words and phrases that help you to understand directions and navigate around Italy. She covers verbs such as "to cross," and adjectives such as "opposite," and "behind," as well as the simple and articulated prepositions used with place names.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi oggetto diretto - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

You won't want to miss this lesson, where Daniela introduces direct object pronouns, as in: I buy the book - I buy it.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi oggetto diretto - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela concludes this very important lesson about direct object pronouns. This time she explains about the feminine singular, and the plurals of both genders: Did you eat the apples? Yes, I ate them.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il futuro - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

The first of Daniela's four segments on the future tense. She explains when it's used and how the present tense is sometimes used in its place.

For more on using the future tense for probability, see this lesson.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il futuro - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela's lesson on future tense verbs ending in: -are, -ere, and -ire.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il futuro - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela moves on to some naughty irregular verbs that are also very common, verbs such as andare (to go) and avere (to have).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il futuro - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela covers irregular verbs in this last segment on the future tense. The rolling of the "r" and accented "ò" make the verb endings fun to pronounce.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this first of three segments on the infinitive, Daniela covers conjugated verbs followed directly by verbs in the infinitive, without the use of prepositions.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela continues with more conjugated verbs that are immediately followed by verbs in the infinitive. The lesson covers the very commonly used verbs: piacere (to like), desiderare (to want), and occorrere (to need).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about combining verbs in the infinitive with conjugated verbs where no preposition is needed in between them. She also talks about using the conjugated verb "to be" followed by an adjective plus a verb in the infinitive, again, with no need for a preposition in the middle. For more on this, with examples, see this lesson.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito + preposizione DI - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about verbs that require the preposition di (to) before another verb in the infinitive.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito + preposizione DI - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela covers the verbs: ricordare (to remember), dimenticare (to forget), decidere (to decide), and dubitare (to doubt), showing how the preposition "di" is placed between conjugated and infinitive verbs.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + Verbo all'infinito + preposizione DI - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Pregare (to beg, to ask) and sapere (to know) are the last two verbs on Daniela's list of verbs that take the preposition di (of) and a verb in the infinitive.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + verbo all'infinito + preposizione A - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela and her class work on conjugated verbs followed by infinitive verbs that require the preposition a [to] between them.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Verbo + verbo all'infinito + preposizione A - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about more verbs that take the preposition a (to, in) when followed by a verb in the infinitive: provare (to try), riuscire (to succeed), and abituarsi (to get accustomed).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Stare + per + infinito

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela's lessons involves the often paired words, sta per, followed by a verb in the infinitive, as in "it's about to rain."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this first segment on the conditional mood, Daniela shows us how to conjugate -are verbs, focusing on parlare [to speak].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela works on present conditional tense verbs that end in are. She uses the verbs parlare [to speak] and mangiare [to eat] as examples in this form that best translates to would in English.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela discusses the irregular conjugation of the conditional tense for these verbs: dovere, potere, sapere, vedere, and avere.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela's fourth segment on the present conditional tense covers the important, and irregular, verbs: dovere, potere, sapere, vedere, & avere.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela continues with conditional verbs. This time she focuses on the key verbs: essere [to be], avere [to have], stare [to stay], rimanere [to remain], and dare [to give].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In today's lesson on the conditional tense, Daniela covers the verbs: tenere [to keep], venire [to come], and sentire [to feel], among others. Modal verbs, as in volere [to want, would like] in the conditional are also discussed.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il condizionale - Part 7

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela continues with the conditional, showing how it's used to express a desire, provide advice, or express possibility.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Approfondimento Verbi Modali - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela recaps the modal verbs: potere [can], volere [want], and dovere [must], which are placed immediately before infinitive verbs. Modal verbs are also known as auxiliary verbs or helping verbs.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Approfondimento Verbi Modali - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela covers three modal or auxiliary verbs that are followed by nouns and not by the usual infinitive verbs. The verbs are: voglio [want], potere [can], and dovere [must].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela focuses on the present subjunctive and provides tips on how to recognize the subjunctive tense.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela continues her lesson on the present subjunctive, using the verbs parlare [to speak], vedere [to see], and partire [to leave].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela homes in on the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb essere [to be].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela covers the present subjunctive for the following verbs: avere [to have], andare [to go], fare [to do], and bere [to drink],

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela covers the present subjunctive of these three verbs: rimanere [to remain, to stay], venire [to come], and dire [to say].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela provides a list of verbs that always come before the subjunctive mood verbs. We'll see, however, that English doesn't follow the same rules.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 7

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela provides a nice long list of the so-called perception verbs and expressions that always precede the present subjunctive.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 8

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela highlights two verbs that do not call for the present subjunctive—the verbs vedere [to see] and sentire [to sense, to hear, to feel].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 9

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela continues with verbs that require the present subjunctive, calling attention to the all-important verb sperare [to hope].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 10

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela focuses on verbs and expressions that express uncertainty or doubt, and require the use of the subjunctive.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 11

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about a special case scenario in which a verb in the infinitive may replace the subjunctive form in the subordinate clause. Learning this rule can make using certain verbs easier. She goes on to talk about impersonal forms of verbs where we need the subjunctive. This scenario is quite different from English, so we need to pay close attention.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 12

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela works on the expressions where the verb essere [to be] is followed the subjunctive in the subordinate clause. The expressions include: È una fortuna [It's a bit of luck] and È un peccato [It's a shame].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 13

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

The previous lesson ended with the verb essere (to be) plus adjectives. Now, Daniela goes on to tell us about the verb essere plus adverbs and then teaches us about a great shortcut for avoiding the subjunctive when using the word basta [it's enough, just]. Normally, basta signals the need for the subjunctive, but Daniela offers up some examples where the infinitive verb works best.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 14

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

There are some special conjunctions that take the subjunctive and then che (that). There are several of them but they're quite similar to one another. Little by little, as you hear them used, they'll become part of your vocabulary.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 15

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela goes over words or expressions that trigger the use of the subjunctive, including affinché (so that), a meno che (unless), and senza che (without).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 16

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela covers comparative sentences that require the use of the subjunctive.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il congiuntivo - Part 17

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela wraps up the lessons on the subjunctive with some sentences that begin with che (that), calling for the subjunctive. She also discusses some cases in which we can either use the subjunctive mood or the future tense.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Concetto di "bisogno" - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela, in the first part of a two-part series, shows us how to express need in a personal way with the noun bisogno [need].

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Concetto di "bisogno" - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy Neapolitan

Daniela continues her lesson on necessity or need, providing examples with an impersonal subject. In English the impersonal can be expressed with "one" in the third person: "one needs," or by using the passive voice:"Something needs to be done." And in informal speech, we might use "you" or "we.": "you need to..."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela discusses the imperfect tense for verbs ending in -are, -ere, and -ire.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela concentrates on the modal verbs essere [to be] and avere [to have] in the imperfect tense.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela discusses how the imperfect is used to describe actions in the past that are happening contemporaneously.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - L'imperfetto - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shows us how to conjugate the imperfect tense of the following irregular verbs: dire (to say), fare (to make, to do), bere (to drink), condurre (to drive), and porre (to pose). She gives us a helpful tip for remembering how.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il passato remoto - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela starts her four-part series on the passato remoto [remote or absolute past] verb tense. This tense is broadly used in the south of Italy, and infrequently in the north.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il passato remoto - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela discusses the verbs finire [to finish] and essere [to be] in the remote past tense.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il passato remoto - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela explains how to conjugate the remote past of the verbs avere (to have) and prendere (to take).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Il passato remoto - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela explains three situations in which the remote past may be used and gives us examples of each situation. But don't worry, this tense is not mandatory and Daniela suggests the passato prossimo (present perfect) as a valid alternative. Note: The passato prossimo is constructed like the English present perfect tense (with a helping verb and past participle), but is used more like the English past simple.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this lesson we start looking at the comparative forms of adjectives. Unlike English, where we have a dedicated comparative and superlative form, Italian makes use of adverbs più "more" or meno "less" and the prepositions or conjunctions di (of, than) or che (than, that) in addition to the adjective itself. Daniela shows us how this works.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks more about when to use che (that, than) or di (of, than) as comparative words.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

When two like things are compared, as in the sentence "You are as old as I am," it's called a comparison of equality. Daniela explains how this works in Italian.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela continues with examples of how tanto and quanto are used together in comparisons, as well as the pairing of così and come. She also provides examples involving quantities, where the word sets are not interchangeable.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela explains how adverbs tanto and quanto are always used together in comparisons. Likewise, così and come are always paired together. “Billy is as tall as Tom” would be an equivalent construction in English. She also focuses on adjectives that have 2 comparative forms like buono (good), cattivo (bad, nasty), and grande (big).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Comparativo - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela explains how some adverbs, depending on how they are used, will be regular or irregular in the comparative form.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Superlativo assoluto - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela delves into the absolute superlative for adjectives, and covers the wonderfully fun ending, -issimo.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Superlativo assoluto - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela illustrates other ways of forming the absolute superlative for adjectives in Italian. These include repeating an adjective twice, the placement of a prefix before an adjective, and a list of words, such as "exceedingly," used in conjunction with an adjective.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Superlativo assoluto - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela discusses how journalists and the mass media often tack on -issimo to nouns and adverbial expressions, something which is not strictly correct but is prevalent nonetheless.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Superlativo relativo

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

With the relative superlative, we compare one element with an entire group, as for example, "She is the most beautiful of all." In English we distinguish between "more" and "most," but in Italian, the presence of the article before the noun or before the comparative word is what makes the difference.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi relativi - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Relative pronouns — such as "who," "that," and "which" — connect a main clause to a subordinate clause, which in this case, is a relative clause. Here, relative pronouns function as pronouns and conjunctions at the same time. In Italian, some relative pronouns vary according to gender and number, and others don't. Daniela guides us through.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi relativi - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shows us how to use the relative pronoun che. In English this can be translated as either "that," "which," or "who," depending on various English grammatical factors.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi relativi - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela introduces the relative pronoun "which." It's handy to know because it doesn't change according to gender or number.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi relativi - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela introduces relative pronouns il quale, la quale, i quali and le quali (that, who, which) that are a bit tricky to use because they have to agree with the gender and number of the nouns they refer to. We need them when, otherwise, the sentence would be ambiguous.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi relativi - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

These relative pronouns can be very tricky for English speakers. Daniela gives us some good reasons (with examples) to prefer the more difficult, but more specific il quale, la quale, i quali and le quali, which can all mean "that, "which," "who," or "whom," depending on the context.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi relativi - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

To finish up about relative pronouns, Daniela illustrates how we can use the adverb dove (where) to replace the relative pronoun in cui or nel quale, both of which mean "in which."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Forma negativa - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela explains how to turn a positive statement into a negative one, and how to form a negative question and its negative answer. The magic word is non (not).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Forma negativa - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In the last lesson we learned to place non (not) before the verb in a negative sentence, but when there are other words involved, it gets a bit more complicated, especially when we have object pronouns in the mix.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Forma negativa - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

To express negation, the adverb non (not) can precede not only nouns, but verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, and adverbs, as well. Daniela shows us how.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Forma negativa - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Double negatives are, in fact, allowed in Italian. And Daniela shows us how there can be multiple negations in one phrase. In English, where double negatives are not allowed, we have extra words to get around this rule. We use, for example, "it's not anything" or" not ever," instead of the incorrect "not nothing" or "not never." But it's important to be able to manage all these negatives in perfect tenses where we have a conjugated auxiliary verb and a past participle, and that is what Daniela explains in this lesson.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Forma negativa - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela concludes this lesson about double negatives explaining that in some cases, when using double negatives with compound verbs — in other words, auxiliary verbs with past participles — there are some exceptions to be aware of.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela lays out the basics of direct and indirect object pronouns combined together. The indirect object undergoes a transformation when together with a direct pronoun.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shares a table of compound pronouns and their position in a sentence when they have to do with verbs in the indicative, subjunctive and conditional.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shows us more examples of combining direct and indirect object pronouns, and goes on to give us some examples in the subjunctive and conditional moods, which work the same way.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

There are two ways to position the combined pronoun in relation to the verb in some cases, and Daniela shows us how it's done. She gives examples of this with the infinitive, the imperative and the gerund.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela sums up about compound pronouns and explains what a partitive pronoun is. An example of a partitive pronoun is the particle ne (of it, of them).

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela focuses on the partitive ne when joined to combined pronouns in the third person singular, masculine or feminine. In this case, the indirect pronoun aspect stays the same in both the masculine and feminine, singular and plural.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Pronomi combinati - Part 7

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this last segment, Daniela focuses on when the past participle of a verb in the present perfect has to agree (in number and gender) with the direct object pronoun when using compound pronouns. It's a bit tricky.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi e pronomi dimostrativi - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela explains how to use the demonstrative adjectives questo and quello [this and that]. She also tells us about a third demonstrative adjective that, these days, is used only in Tuscany: codesto.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi e pronomi dimostrativi - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Demonstrative adjectives can also be used as demonstrative pronouns. Daniela explains how that works, and also discusses how to use an apostrophe when the noun following the demonstrative adjective starts with a vowel.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi e pronomi dimostrativi - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

To finish up about demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, Daniela gives us some more examples and a summary.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela introduces the topic of indefinite adjectives and starts with quantitative adjectives (think: some, several, etc.). In Italian, not only do we need to think about singular and plural, but also masculine and feminine, just as with other adjectives, so put on your seat belts!

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about some very common indefinite adjectives, the equivalents of "much," "many," "little," and "few." An important detail to keep in mind is that some of the words she talks about can be either adjectives or adverbs depending on the context. Adjectives (the subject of this video) have variable endings but adverbs don't.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela shows us some additional indefinite adjectives that have to do with quantity. When used as adjectives, they need to agree, in gender and number, with the nouns they describe. Some of these words can also be used as adverbs, and in this case, they don't change.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Listen carefully to this lesson because the rules for these indefinite adjectives are a little quirky. These are about totality — all or nothing — and work differently from English, especially when they're in the negative. We're talking about tutto, nessuno, and alcuno.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this lesson, Daniela discusses indefinite adjectives that refer to units or multiples. We're talking about adjectives such as "each," every," and "certain." Some have variable endings and others do not.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Here are three more indefinite adjectives. The third one altro (another, next, last, different) is very common and can mean several things, so context is key.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Aggettivi indefiniti - Part 7

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Here is the last group of indefinite adjectives: qualunque, qualsiasi, and qualsivoglia (whichever, any). Luckily for us, they are generally interchangeable and invariable.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

It's time to talk about particelle (particles). These short, two or three-letter words, such as ci and ne have many functions as well as meanings, and can even represent an indirect object pronoun plus its preposition. Particles can be freestanding or attached to a verb, depending on how the verb is conjugated (or not). Let's see how they work.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Ci is such a tiny word, but it has a lot of power. It can replace a direct object pronoun or an indirect pronoun + preposition, and means other things as well. You won't want to miss this lesson.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

We learn even more about the particle ci. This short word can stand for a preposition (such as "on," "about," "with," or "to") + an indirect object.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about an unusual but common way we use the particle ci. In this segment she discusses volerci (to need, to take) and metterci (to employ, to put in). In English we use "it takes" and "it takes me/you/us/him/her/them" with an impersonal "it," so translating might very well create more problems than it solves. To help you understand how these particular verbs work, we have attempted, where possible, to use alternate translations to illustrate the grammatical structure of the sentences Daniela uses as examples.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne - Part 5

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela gives us some more examples of how the particle ci is used. Lots of times it's superfluous and could technically be omitted but hardly ever is.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Particella Ci e Ne - Part 6

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela gives us plenty of examples of how to use ne and ci, those tricky little particles that mean so many different things and which can be quite a challenge for English speakers.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Piacere - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela tackles a verb that is tricky for English speakers: piacere (to delight, to please). Although when someone says mi piace, he or she is, in essence, saying "I like [it/him/her/them]," the verb piacere doesn't strictly mean "to like." Since, as you will see, this verb works so differently than "to like," we have used the verb "to delight" as a translation in some cases, not for its exact meaning, but in order to match the construction with that of piacere.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Piacere - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Sometimes the subject of a sentence can be a verb in the infinitive or an entire clause. Let's see how the verb piacere works in these cases, in both simple and perfect tenses.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Piacere - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

There are two ways to use an indirect object pronoun with the verb piacere (to please, to be pleasing, to like). Daniela shows us how they work.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Piacere - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

The concept of liking and loving is nuanced in a particular way in Italian. Really grasping it takes time, practice, and experience, but this lesson should help to avoid embarrassing mistakes and misunderstandings when talking about relationships in Italian.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Modi Indefiniti - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela explains what are called "indefinite modes." They are indefinite because they don't refer directly to a person or object. They commonly occur in a subordinate clause, and we need the context of the main clause to give us that information. There are three forms: the infinitive, the past participle, and the gerund.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Modi Indefiniti - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

In Italian, there's not only a past participle, as in English, there is also a present participle. Many nouns and adjectives we use every day come from this tense, as well as from the past participle.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Modi Indefiniti - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

In this segment, Daniela talks about the gerund. As you will see, in Italian, the gerund is often used by itself, whereas in English we need an extra word before it — a conjunction or preposition. We are on more familiar ground when Daniela talks about using a gerund with the verb stare (to be) to form what we call the present continuous or present progressive.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Modi Indefiniti - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela gives us some more examples of gerunds used in subordinate clauses. Asking ourselves what questions the gerund answers can help us understand its role in a sentence.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Fino a e Finché - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

A student asked Daniela to explain the difference between finché and the adverb fino. In fact, these words are tricky for English speakers to grasp. We're talking about "until" and "as long as," and in questions, "how far" and "how long."

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Fino a e Finché - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

Italy

In English, the difference between "until" and "as long as" is quite distinct, but in Italian, it's a little blurry because the presence of the negative word non (not) might change the meaning of a phrase or it might not. When the meaning is not altered by its presence, the word, in this case non (not), is "pleonastic." We're talking about finché and finche non.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Ora - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela looks at the various contexts for using the adverb ora (now) and its synonyms and variants.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Ora - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Ora, the word for "now" can be combined with a number of other words to means something that has to do with time, but that indicates more precisely when a period begins or ends.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Infatti - In effetti - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

What's the difference between infatti and in effetti? It's easy to confuse them, and as a matter of fact, we often translate both with "in fact" or "actually." Daniela explains the difference and gives us a long list of synonyms you may also hear Italians use.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Infatti - In effetti - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

When do we use infatti and when do we use in effetti? It mostly comes down to the quantity of doubt involved.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Infatti - In effetti - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela gives us some examples to compare infatti (in fact) and in effetti (in effect, actually). She also assures us that infatti is never really wrong.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Infatti - In effetti - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela uses the lesson's final segment to highlight the differences between infatti [in fact, indeed] and in effetti [in fact, in effect, effectively]. She also draws distinctions between the expression in effetti and the word effetto.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Ormai

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Ormai (already, by now, at this point, by this time) is a wonderful word Italians use all the time. However, its definition isn't always easy to pin down. Daniela tells us about three nuances of the word and gives us a host of examples.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Magari

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

This wonderful word may be one of the first ones you learn while traveling in Italy. It's incredibly useful as a one-word answer and in many cases, very easy to use. Daniela explains everything we need to know. See also this lesson in English about magari.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Affatto

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Just as infatti (in fact) has become one word made up of in and fatti, so also has affatti (totally) succumbed to the same fate. But here, there's a catch. It can have two opposing meanings, so you have to be careful. Daniela explains.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Lettera informale - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

If you're not sure how to write a letter to your new Italian friend, Daniela is here to help. She tells us the parts of a letter and some options for the greeting and the salutation.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Lettera informale - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Even informal letters have a certain form. The words we choose to open and close the letter set the tone. Daniela gives us some examples of how to open and close a friendly letter.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Lettera formale - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Knowing how to write a formal letter is very important, especially if we are looking for a job, making a complaint, or even just trying to get some information. Daniela shows us how.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Lettera formale - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

As you shall see, Italian has a range of salutations at the beginning of formal or business letters, where various adjectives are used in place of "dear." Not only that! They also have curious abbreviations to be familiar with.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Lettera formale - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

What do we call the people we are writing to if they are professionals? Daniela gives us some answers. And she gives us some practical examples about how to actually begin writing the body of the letter.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - Lettera formale - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela gives us various examples of how to close a formal letter as well as the complimentary closing that precedes the signature. As you will see, these are quite different from the ones in English letters. We then recap the parts of a formal letter.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - La forma passiva - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Are you ready for the passive voice? In many ways, the Italian passive works as it does in English. If we have a subject, a transitive verb and a direct object, we can form either an active phrase or a passive one. But there are some rules, and Daniela sets out to explain them.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - La forma passiva - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

After summing up about the passive voice, Daniela goes on to talk about some other related constructions. It's important to remember that the passive is formed with transitive verbs only. But when we don't have a named subject or agent, we have a few other ways to make a sentence passive-like. One way uses the famous particella (particle) si. Si is used for so many things in Italian that it is bound to create confusion for learners, even advanced learners. Don't worry, part 3 of the lesson will explain further. Another way uses the verb andare (to go) to indicate something that must be done. Here too, the stress is on the action, not the subject or agent.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - La forma passiva - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Although the si passivante (passivizing si) is a kind of si impersonale, it has some very specific differences. Daniela explains them and provides some examples.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 2) Proposizioni subordinate causali - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

In a sentence, the main clause can stand on its own, but there can also be a subordinate or dependent clause. Today's lesson addresses the causal subordinate clause, which gives the reason for the action in the main clause. Conjunctions such as perché (because) dato che (given that) are used to join the two clauses.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 2) Proposizioni subordinate causali - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela talks about explicit and implicit causal subordinate clauses.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 1) Proposizioni subordinate temporali

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Another kind of subordinate clause is the temporal subordinate. One way we introduce it is with conjunctions having to do with time, such as "while," "when," and "as long as." There are other ways to form a temporal subordinate clause, and Daniela explains them.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 3) Proposizioni subordinate finali - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

There is a certain kind of subordinate clause, called a "clause of purpose," that basically answers the question, "to what end?" Italian has a number of conjunctions that can be translated as "so that," and they take the subjunctive in most cases. So this kind of subordinate clause can be tricky.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 3) Proposizioni subordinate finali - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Don't be scared off by fancy names of clauses and parts of speech. Daniela is just showing us different ways of saying the same thing, but sometimes one way is clearer than the other, especially when the subject changes from main to subordinate clause.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 4) Proposizioni subordinate concessive - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Italian has an amazingly long list of conjunctions or locutions that mean "although," "despite," and similar words. Daniela explains what a concession subordinate clause is and gives us several examples.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 4) Proposizioni subordinate concessive - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela explains further about constructing explicit subordinate clauses and gives some examples to clarify.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 4) Proposizioni subordinate concessive - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

To conclude the lesson on concessive subordinate clauses, we look at those constructed using the past participle of a verb or the gerund and introductory locations such as benché (though) and pure (despite), among others.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 6) Proposizioni subordinate relative - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela talks about two kinds of relative subordinate clauses — restrictive and explanatory — and how we punctuate them differently.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 6) Proposizioni subordinate relative - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

Daniela explains the relative pronouns used in forming a relative subordinate clause. She starts out with the explicit kind.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 6) Proposizioni subordinate relative - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

Italy

In this lesson, we look at implicit relative subordinate clauses, and how they are introduced. One of their main characteristics is that they use the infinitive of a verb, rather than a conjugated one.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 5) Proposizioni subordinate comparative - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

Daniela tells us about comparatives used in subordinate clauses. There are three kinds: majority, minority, and equality.

Corso di italiano con Daniela - 5) Proposizioni subordinate comparative - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

Italy

In this part of the lesson about subordinate clauses, Daniela talks about analogies or hypothetical situations. The English equivalent would be when we say, "as if..."

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