Marika explains a great many things connected with the Italian language and culture. Geared towards beginners, the videos include Italian lessons, simple recipes, conversation, and lots more.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika gives us an overview on how to use direct object pronouns, which take the place of direct objects when the object has already been referred to. Here's an example of this in English:
"Do you know the answer [direct object noun]?" "Yes I know it [direct object pronoun]."
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Using the prepositions "to" and "at" in Italian can be tricky, because there's one Italian word for both: a. Marika gives us some tips.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika explains when to use the prepositions: in (to), da (from), di (of, from), and per (for, to, by). There's no need to learn them all at once!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika shows us the rules about using direct object pronouns. Don't be discouraged if you don't absorb it all at once. It takes plenty of practice, and plenty of trial and error. See first part: Marika spiega - Pronomi diretti
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Melanzane alla Parmigiana, or La parmigiana di melanzane (Eggplant Parmesan) is a classic recipe from the Campania region. Marika shows us how to make it, one step at a time.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika prepares the eggplant slices by baking them in the oven—a much lighter way of preparing the eggplant layers than the traditional frying method.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
It's time to check the eggplant in the oven. And what about the slices that were a bit too sottili (thin)? Will they have burned? Note that English mostly uses eggplant as a collective noun (in the singular) but Italian, unless referring specifically to a single eggplant, uses the plural le melanzane when referring to eggplant in general, and to the slices themselves.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
We've finally reached the last part of this recipe. Now you can make this dish yourself. Don't forget to pre-heat the oven to two hundred and twenty or two hundred and forty degrees (428-464°F). If you happen to have any leftover afterwards, you can safely freeze it. Buon appetito!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika shows us the entryway of her apartment, from the intercom to the coat rack.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika shows us her children's cozy bedroom. You may notice that there is an emphasis on drawing and coloring. Italian students are graded on their drawings.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
We continue getting acquainted with Marika's apartment. This time she shows us the hall with its furnishings.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
It's time for the grand tour of a very important room in Marika's apartment, the bathroom! You'll notice she gets a little mixed up between hot and cold water faucets! Don't worry--the position is the same in Italy as in other countries!
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika shows us her apartment's master bedroom.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika shows us around her kitchen, the heart of the household. We can bet it's her favorite room of all!
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika gives us a tour of her living room, where the family is entertained, and where she has lunch and dinner parties for guests.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
In many languages, animals are used to describe human characteristics, but not every language uses the same animal for the same characteristic! Marika shares with us the Italian point of view.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
There are plenty of idiomatic expressions connected with certain verbs. Marika tells us about expressions with dire (to say).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
The verb fare (to do, to make) is used in lots of expressions. Marika talks about some of the most common ones.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika has a nice group of Italian idiomatic expressions using the verb prendere (to take).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
By popular request, Marika has a great lesson on dividing words into syllables.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika has more tips on how to divide syllables and some fun practice words, too.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Several Yabla users asked about elisions and contractions, and how, when, and where they're used. This is Marika's first of three videos on this essential topic.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika tells us more about the use of elisions in Italian.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
In some cases using an elision is not grammatically correct. Marika explains some of these cases.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika's first of three lessons on truncation, where she compares elision to truncation. There are many useful examples, such as: mar, san, buon, ben, and signor.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika outlines exceptions to the rules governing truncation, and provides many useful examples.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
The final segment on truncation covers imperative mood verbs that take apostrophes, as well as expressions concerning maladies.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's opening segment on accents and accentuation in Italian.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika covers the grave and acute accents, providing examples of words that have entirely different meanings because of their accentuation.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's last segment on accents covers some fun homographs. She also provides advice on learning the correct pronunciation of words.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
What in English is called a tongue-twister, in Italian is a scioglilingua, or tongue loosener. The Trentine one, with the alliterated Ts, is the most successful in English translation.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika, in her lesson on the verb mettere (to put, to set) includes some commonly used expressions.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika provides more useful expressions that employ the verb mettere [to put]. Mettere a posto [to put in order, to tidy up] is one that is used on a daily basis.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika relates some expressions using the verb chiudere [to close, to shut]. A number of these are very close to English expressions.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika focuses on the verbs cavare and togliere, both of which mean to remove. She also provides some expressions for both verbs.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika shows us her balcony, highlighting its utilitarian and pleasure sides. Washing machines are often placed on balconies. This is because Rome's climate is mild and there is little danger of frozen pipes.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's lesson is on transitive verbs, or verbs that take direct objects, known as complemento oggetto in Italian.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's lesson is on intransitive verb and how to recognize them. She has some interesting things to say on southern Italian speech and the influence of Spanish.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's lesson is on the all important verb andare [to go]. She includes a number of common expressions using this irregular verb.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika starts off her 3-part series on particles, otherwise known as function words. In this segment, she mostly concentrates on the locative function of the particle ci.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's lesson concentrates on how the pronouns: mi [me], ti [you], vi [you, plural] are used in conjunction with the particle "ci."
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika covers with the pronominal particle ci, this time providing examples as to how it is used with the direct pronouns: lo, la, li, and le.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika discusses the particle "ne" and provides examples of how it is used as a partitive pronoun (some, none) among other uses.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's lesson involves the use of the particles ce and ne when they are side by side in a sentence.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Gliene is the double object pronoun that Marika focuses on in this segment.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika features the verb mancare [to miss] and provides numerous expressions using the verb.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's video on the flu also includes a lot of useful vocabulary on first aid kits.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika focuses on the verb venire [to come], providing lots of useful examples of how it is used, and also contrasting it with the verb andare [to go].
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika continues her lesson on the all-important verb venire [to come], providing many useful examples of its use.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika goes over the verbs andare [to go] and venire [to come], verbs that are often mistakenly interchanged. She also highlights the expression, va bene, which can indicate that things are going nicely or can be used to voice agreement.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika continues with her lesson on the crucial verbs, andare [to go] and venire [to come], and provides many useful examples.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Here's a summer recipe that uses simple but good ingredients.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika finishes explaining how to make a delicious pasta salad, so you'll be ready to give it a try in your own kitchen. Buon appetito!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika, in response to Yabla user requests, begins her 3-part lesson on those pesky little words (Me plus lo, la, li, le, and ne, together with Ti plus lo, la, li, le, and ne), otherwise known as combined pronouns or double pronouns.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika covers these super tricky combined pronouns: glielo, gliela, glieli, gliene, and gliele.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika wraps up her lessons on combined pronouns in which ci acts as a stand in for places.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika begins a five-part series on the five different types of adverbs in Italian. Location adverbs, which would be termed more “prepositions” in English, are the focus of this segment. In Italian, the difference between adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions is often blurry.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika discusses adverbs of time, including: subito [immediately], mai [never], and talvolta [sometimes].
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
It may come as a relief to see that Italian adverbs of manner are similar to English ones. But when Marika starts giving us some [very useful] idiomatic adverbial phrases using adjectives, it's slightly more complicated.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
How much is too much? Marika explains about quantity, and shares some common idioms about quantity and degree that can come in very handy.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Come is an important question word that means "how," but it also fulfills plenty of other roles. Marika spells out the ways...
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
In this second part, you will master using come (how) in questions and exclamations.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Quando (when) is an important question word. It can be used as either an adverb or a conjunction.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
It's time to learn the names of the planets in Italian. Marika talks about our Solar System. Great for beginners!
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
This is a great video for beginners, especially beginners who like to go to the beach. Here are the words you need to know.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Here's how to plan a birthday party in Italian. In this case, it's for a piglet turning eight.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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?
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika explains the difference between dottore and medico and helps us understand all the different kinds of doctors. Great for beginners.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Let's learn the names of common insects in Italian. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Get to know some of Italy's favorite sports. You probably already know the absolute favorite...
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika talks about going to the movies in Italy. Don't worry. Italians like popcorn, too.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
Marika tells us about parks and what we find there, and also what we can do there.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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."
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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?
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika tells us about the sense of hearing and touch in this final segment. Do you know what the largest sensory organ is?
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
This video lesson is about simple prepositions, especially di (of, from, about) and a (to, at).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
We look at a few more prepositions and see the contexts in which they are used.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika explains what partitive articles are all about and gives us some helpful examples.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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).
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
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."
Difficulty: Newbie
Italy
We look at the preposition in [in, to, at] and how it combines with the various definite articles.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika concentrates on the preposition su [on] in combination with various articles to form the very useful sul, sui, sugli, sulla, sulle and sull'.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika adds the preposition con (with) to the list of prepositions that combine with definite articles.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Ready for some more Italian words with various different meanings? Marika talks about albero, batteria, and dado.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Find out the various different meanings of these words: campo, squadra, and verso.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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."
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Omonimi (homonyms) look and sound the same but have different meanings, sometimes wildly different meanings!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
We learn in this segment that the verb tenere can mean not only "to hold," but also "to keep" or "to have."
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Are you ready for plenty of expressions using the verb vedere (to see)? Andiamo a vedere (let's go see)!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika's explanations together with examples from video clips make it easy and fun to learn new expressions using la testa (the head).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
There are various ways to talk about being obsessed, distracted, or crazy... Marika has some great examples from our favorite TV series.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Marika provides more useful expressions involving the head, many of which are also common in English.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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."
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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).
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika shares with us some very useful expressions using il naso (the nose) and the sense of smell, called l'olfatto in Italian.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
In this video, Marika explains plenty of expressions with the word bocca (mouth). Listen for the double C!
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
What is climate change? What are the elements that make up climate? Marika begins answering these questions.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Italians talk about the weather a lot, and in particular, the winds that come in from different directions. Marika gives us the rundown.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika talks about the difference between normal climactic events and extreme climactic events such as flooding, storms, and droughts.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika explains about the risks of global warming, fossil fuels, the greenhouse effect and what we can do to lessen the damage being caused.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
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.
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