Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Marika talks about how one can contract coronavirus, the symptoms, and the guidelines to avoid getting infected.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Everyone is talking about coronavirus. Marika addresses frequently asked questions about this recent, ongoing phenomenon.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: Beginner
Italy
Nobody in the class volunteers to talk about the Molise region, but by chance, Anna gets called on. And we get to learn all about this small region.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: 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.
Difficulty: 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.
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
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.
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.
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