It's a very Italian thing to alter a word to make it mean something bigger, smaller, or worse. You just need to know the right suffix to add to the word. Marika shows you how.

2015 is an exciting year for Italy, because this year's Expo is in Milan. Marika was lucky enough to go, and she's eager to share her experience with you. But first she gives you a little background on how the Expo got started as a phenomenon.

Marika shares her impressions and her bubbling enthusiasm for the Expo 2015 held in Milan until the October thirty-first of this year. We hope you get the chance to go!

Marika introduces us to an area where Italian and English have some important differences: reflexive and reciprocal verbs. For extra help, see: Reflections on the Reflexive and Ci Gets Around: Part 1

Can you answer the question, cosa stai facendo (What are you doing)? If not, take a look at this video where Marika explains the presente progressivo (present continuous tense).

The third person "impersonal" has mostly gone out of fashion in English, but in Italian it's used all the time. Although in English it's common to use "you" or the passive voice, we've used the impersonal "one" here, in order to understand better how it works.

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]."

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

Marika shows us the entryway of her apartment, from the intercom to the coat rack.