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

Ora, the word for "now" can be combined with a number of other words to means something that has to do with time, but that indicates more precisely when a period begins or ends.

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 looks at the various contexts for using the adverb ora (now) and its synonyms and variants.

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

Marika explains some of the idiomatic expressions used in the TV series, Commissario Manara. These expressions are ones Italians use every day in dealing with other people, so you won't want to miss this.

Some idiomatic expressions need some explanation and Marika is here to do just that, this time using examples from the popular TV series, Commissario Manara. You'll be speaking Italian like a native in no time.

In English, the difference between "until" and "as long as" is quite distinct, but in Italian, it's a little blurry because the presence of the negative word non (not) might change the meaning of a phrase or it might not. When the meaning is not altered by its presence, the word, in this case non (not), is "pleonastic." We're talking about finché and finche non.

A student asked Daniela to explain the difference between finché and the adverb fino. In fact, these words are tricky for English speakers to grasp. We're talking about "until" and "as long as," and in questions, "how far" and "how long."

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.

Daniela gives us some more examples of gerunds used in subordinate clauses. Asking ourselves what questions the gerund answers can help us understand its role in a sentence.

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.

In this segment, Daniela talks about the gerund. As you will see, in Italian, the gerund is often used by itself, whereas in English we need an extra word before it — a conjunction or preposition. We are on more familiar ground when Daniela talks about using a gerund with the verb stare (to be) to form what we call the present continuous or present progressive.

In Italian, there's not only a past participle, as in English, there is also a present participle. Many nouns and adjectives we use every day come from this tense, as well as from the past participle.

Daniela explains what are called "indefinite modes." They are indefinite because they don't refer directly to a person or object. They commonly occur in a subordinate clause, and we need the context of the main clause to give us that information. There are three forms: the infinitive, the past participle, and the gerund.