Marika shows us what materials she uses in her small home office. Whether you work or go to school, these terms will come in handy.

The noun biancheria (linens) comes from bianco, the Italian word for "white." Marika tells us why that is, and takes us around the house to look at the different kinds we use.

Greeting people is the first thing we do when we meet up with someone, so it's important to know how to do it right, especially when you don't know the person. Marika shows us how.

The word cosa (thing) in Italian is an extremely useful word, especially when you don't know the real word for something. Marika tells us about how it's used in Italian everyday conversation.

The word cosa (thing, something, what) is used a great deal in Italian. In speech, it's especially used in questions to mean "what." Marika explains how this works.

Come is an important question word that means "how," but it also fulfills plenty of other roles. Marika spells out the ways...

In this second part, you will master using come (how) in questions and exclamations.

Quando (when) is an important question word. It can be used as either an adverb or a conjunction.

Here is some more about the very useful adverb and conjunction quando (when). It's comforting to know that quando is usually translated with "when," but there are a few exceptions, and above all, there are some new expressions to learn.

Daniela and Marika show us the basics of making conversation between 2 people who know each other as well as between strangers, or people of different ages.

Marika and Daniela continue their conversation about making conversation in Italian. They even talk a little bit about baby talk, Italian style, including the vezzeggiativo (affectionate) form of adjectives.

Marika shares some of her childhood with us, specifically, her experience of having a puppy grow up beside her as part of the family. Now she has children of her own, and wants to give them that same special experience.

Adopting a dog means going through several steps. Marika describes what she and her family went through in attempting to realize their dream of having a puppy.

What accessories do we need when we take a kitten into the family? Some are just for kittens themselves, and others are for us humans. Marika makes introductions.

Marika shows us a series of items that make it easier to have cats in the house. In order to discourage the cats from destroying the furniture, rugs, and curtains, there are some handy remedies.

Adopting an animal is a serious undertaking! Marika is fully aware of that fact and in this final segment, she gets down to the nitty-gritty of keeping cats at home.

It's time to learn the names of the planets in Italian. Marika talks about our Solar System. Great for beginners!

This is a great video for beginners, especially beginners who like to go to the beach. Here are the words you need to know.

Here's how to plan a birthday party in Italian. In this case, it's for a piglet turning eight.

Here are some simple words you need to know if you want to travel in Italy, and walk, cycle, or drive around a town or city. For example, what's the difference between a piazza and a piazzale?

Do you know how to say "plumber" in Italian? Marika gives us a rundown of the most common professions in Italy and how to say them in Italian.

Knowing the rules of the road is very important, and if you plan to drive in Italy, you'll find this video useful. Knowing the rules of the road is essential for driving safely.

Marika explains the difference between dottore and medico and helps us understand all the different kinds of doctors. Great for beginners.

Let's learn the names of common insects in Italian. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Get to know some of Italy's favorite sports. You probably already know the absolute favorite...

Marika talks about going to the movies in Italy. Don't worry. Italians like popcorn, too.

Marika tells us about parks and what we find there, and also what we can do there.

With the term pronto soccorso, what's usually meant is the emergency room of a hospital. Marika takes us through who to call if you have an accident, and how an emergency room works in Italy.

When you rent out a house to someone or rent a house from someone, it's important to know who's who. Marika explains how it works.

No one likes paying bills, ma vanno pagate (but they have to be paid). Marika goes over some of the most common utilities and special taxes you have to pay if you live in Italy.

If you don't check your meters and tell the electric and gas companies how much you have consumed, they make an estimate. Sometimes this means you get a nasty surprise at the end of the year, when they work things out, and figure out how much you owe in order to square accounts. This is called il conguaglio.

Marika gets us on track with the words and expressions we need for talking about math. You might hate math, as many do, but it is handy to have the vocabulary at your fingertips!

We all know how to add and subtract, but talking about it in Italian is another thing. Marika helps us make sense of it and talks about the fractions and percentages we often find in the news and surveys.

The five senses. We know what they are in English, but let's learn them in Italian. First, though, Marika will talk about the noun senso (sense), itself, which has some meanings beyond its cognate "sense."

In this second part, we look at the sense of sight, the sense of smell, and the sense of taste. What are the receptor organs connected to these senses?

Marika tells us about the sense of hearing and touch in this final segment. Do you know what the largest sensory organ is?

This video lesson is about simple prepositions, especially di (of, from, about) and a (to, at).

We continue with simple prepositions, starting off with da (from). But da can also mean "to" or "at," so you won't want to miss this. Marika also explains when to use in or a regarding cities, countries, etc.

We look at a few more prepositions and see the contexts in which they are used.

Articoli partitivi, or partitive articles look like articoli articolati because they are formed with a preposition plus an article. But their function is different. Most of the time they are a way to say “some.” This lesson is about how to form them, and in future lessons, we will learn how to use them.

Marika explains what partitive articles are all about and gives us some helpful examples.

After looking at simple prepositions, Marika talks about a special kind of preposition called una preposizione articolata. It just means that the preposition has a definite article attached to it. In this segment, she covers the ways the preposition di (of) combines with different articles to become a new complex preposition. For example, di + il = del.

We look at the preposition a combined with different definite articles. This preposizione articolata is used, for example, in talking about the time: alle otto (at eight o'clock); about a manner or style: alla francese (French-style), al dente (not too cooked).

In this video, the preposition we combine with a definite article is da. It can mean "from," but also "to" and "at." So, combined with the different definite articles, it's going to mean "from the," "to the," or "at the."

We look at the preposition in [in, to, at] and how it combines with the various definite articles.

Marika concentrates on the preposition su [on] in combination with various articles to form the very useful sul, sui, sugli, sulla, sulle and sull'.

Marika adds the preposition con (with) to the list of prepositions that combine with definite articles.

Marika talks about three words — piano, credenza, and tempo — that have something important in common. They all have multiple meanings, not just nuances, not just connotations. Technically, they are called polysemous or polysemic words.

Ready for some more Italian words with various different meanings? Marika talks about albero, batteria, and dado.

Find out the various different meanings of these words: campo, squadra, and verso.

Marika gives us a trick for how to know if del, della, or degli (all meaning "of the") are articulated prepositions or partitive articles. Sounds complicated, but isn't really. See her previous videos about these grammar topics: preposizioni articolate - articoli partitivi.

One tricky thing in lots of languages is when words sound the same but are written differently and have different meanings. In English, these are called, "homophones," part of the larger group, "homonyms."

Two words can sound the same because in one, there is an article beginning with L connected to the noun by way of an apostrophe (such as l'ago [the needle]) and in the other one, the first letter is L, such as lago [lake]. When we hear them, we distinguish them from the context, because otherwise, there is no way to know.

Omonimi (homonyms) look and sound the same but have different meanings, sometimes wildly different meanings!

As promised, Marika talks about the verb tenere (to keep, to hold), beginning with its conjugation. Let's keep in mind that Italian tenses don't always correspond to the English ones. For example, the passato prossimo is conjugated like the English present perfect tense, but is used differently in expressing events in time. The imperfetto is translated various ways in English. See this lesson about the imperfetto.

We learn in this segment that the verb tenere can mean not only "to hold," but also "to keep" or "to have."

Here's the last segment about the verb tenere where Marika provides several expressions using the verb. In some cases, we can use "to keep" and "to hold" when translating, but not always.

We take a deep dive into the common and very useful verb vedere (to see). First of all, we look at how it is conjugated. Then we go on to its meaning, as well as some expressions.

Are you ready for plenty of expressions using the verb vedere (to see)? Andiamo a vedere (let's go see)!

Here are some more expressions featuring the verb vedere (to see). For non-native speakers, a few of them might be a little tricky to understand, but others might be very useful to learn and use.

You will find out in this video that there are really a lot of expressions using la lingua (the tongue). The tongue can be lunga (long), sciolta (loose), biforcuta (forked) and more. We use the tongue when we speak, so lots of these expressions involve speaking.

In Italy, August is the warmest month, and most Italians try to go on vacation for at least part of the month. The most important vacation day is August 15th, called Ferragosto.

People often wonder where the name ferragosto comes from, as well as the holiday itself. Marika fills us in with its fascinating history and evolution.

Marika describes some situations, asks a related question, and provides us with various ways to answer in the affirmative. 18 ways to say sì (yes).

Just as there are many ways of saying "Yes" without saying sì, there are plenty of ways of saying "No" without saying no. Check them all out!

Italian, like English, uses body parts in lots of expressions. Marika gives us some examples of expressions using the word capello or its plural capelli. Let's keep in mind that in English "hair" isn't usually countable, but in Italian it is!

Do you know all the expressions associated with hair? Marika explains some and gives us plenty of examples. Keep in mind that in Italian, i capelli is the plural, and hair is countable.

There are a great many expressions with la testa (the head) as the protagonist. Marika, gives us a first round of explanations and examples, many of them from Yabla videos.

Marika's explanations together with examples from video clips make it easy and fun to learn new expressions using la testa (the head).

There are various ways to talk about being obsessed, distracted, or crazy... Marika has some great examples from our favorite TV series.

Marika provides more useful expressions involving the head, many of which are also common in English.

Italians scratch their heads when they are perplexed, just like English speakers do. It's grattarsi la testa. In this segment, Marika explains this and other expressions having to do with the head. Sometimes "testa" can be translated as "head" and other times, as "mind."

In this last part, Marika provides some expressions to use when you're frustrated or when you forget what you were about to say. They all use la testa (the head) as the featured body part.

When you have plenty of confidence or trust someone, you might keep your eyes closed and do something "ad occhi chiusi" (with your eyes closed), but make sure to keep them open while watching this video about expressions featureing l'occhio (the eye).

Marika gives us plenty of examples of expressions using l'occhio (the eye) in this final segment. We see and hear them in context by way of clips from Yabla videos.

Marika shares with us some very useful expressions using il naso (the nose) and the sense of smell, called l'olfatto in Italian.

If you have ever wondered what conjugation (first -are, second -ere, or third -ire) verbs that end in -arre, -orre, or -urre belong, you will find the answer in this video!

There are a lot of Italian expressions using la bocca (the mouth) in a literal or figurative way. Marika tells us about some of them

In this video, Marika explains plenty of expressions with the word bocca (mouth). Listen for the double C!

There are quite a few expressions having to do with the ear and Marika gives us plenty of examples. Let's keep in mind that the plural of orecchio is orecchie, in other words, a masculine singular noun with a feminine plural. But in some places, people use the masculine plural orecchi.

What is climate change? What are the elements that make up climate? Marika begins answering these questions.

Italians talk about the weather a lot, and in particular, the winds that come in from different directions. Marika gives us the rundown.

Marika talks about the difference between normal climactic events and extreme climactic events such as flooding, storms, and droughts.

Marika explains about the risks of global warming, fossil fuels, the greenhouse effect and what we can do to lessen the damage being caused.

Italia's peninsula is surrounded by water on three sides, so the topic of the sea creeps into the conversation easily. Marika explains some expressions inspired by the sea and the nautical world.

When you pull your oars back in the boat, you stop rowing and sometimes this means you are giving up. Italians have an expression for this: Tirare i remi in barca. Marika explains this and other expressions using nautical terms.

Here are some more expressions having to do with seafaring. In general, they are used figuratively, in a similar way to how they're used in English.

Marika discusses two final expressions linked to the nautical world. One of the two is more of an Italian proverb, and a very important one.

Marika explains some super common expressions Italians use all the time. After watching the video, try using them to describe a situation in your life.

Marika finishes up with two more expressions related to seafaring. The first one is very similar in meaning to an expression Marika mentioned in an earlier video. Perhaps you will recognize it.