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.

Daniela talks about explicit and implicit causal subordinate clauses.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

There are plenty of Italians living in Germany. Cettina from Sicily interviews Alfonso, also from Sicily, as it turns out. Here are some easy questions and answers for when you meet someone for the first time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.