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.

Francesca and her travelling companion have just gotten a flat tire. Learn the steps for changing a tire along with Francesca.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The popular TV series Commissioner Manara takes place in Tuscany, so in this video, Marika explains some of the peculiarities of Tuscan speech. She also gives some important tips about using articles when referring to family members.

Daniela discusses how journalists and the mass media often tack on -issimo to nouns and adverbial expressions, something which is not strictly correct but is prevalent nonetheless.

Daniela explains how some adverbs, depending on how they are used, will be regular or irregular in the comparative form.

Anna and Marika form the Calabrian ricotta balls and cook them in tomato sauce. The ricotta balls can also be fried and served without sauce.