Daniela explains how adverbs tanto and quanto are always used together in comparisons. Likewise, così and come are always paired together. “Billy is as tall as Tom” would be an equivalent construction in English. She also focuses on adjectives that have 2 comparative forms like buono (good), cattivo (bad, nasty), and grande (big).

Christmas greetings from Italy by way of a Christmas poem by Alda Merini.

Daniela continues with examples of how tanto and quanto are used together in comparisons, as well as the pairing of così and come. She also provides examples involving quantities, where the word sets are not interchangeable.

Marika and Anna show us the steps involved in creating this hearty dish from the Piedmont Region.

When two like things are compared, as in the sentence "You are as old as I am," it's called a comparison of equality. Daniela explains how this works in Italian.

Ready for a new recipe? We're in Piedmont, and this recipe is definitely not low-calorie. But it's perfect for those cold winter days in the mountains.

Daniela talks more about when to use che (that, than) or di (of, than) as comparative words.

The teacher has a different look today, as she quizzes Anna about the Piedmont region of Italy. Anna tries to get on the good side of her irritable maestra.

In this lesson we start looking at the comparative forms of adjectives. Unlike English, where we have a dedicated comparative and superlative form, Italian makes use of adverbs più "more" or meno "less" and the prepositions or conjunctions di (of, than) or che (than, that) in addition to the adjective itself. Daniela shows us how this works.

Marika and Anna take us through the steps of this recipe, which could be served as either an appetizer or a second course. Anna also provides some information on oily fish and how to tell sardines from anchovies.

Marika and Anna get ready to make Anchovy Roll-Ups. They provide an ingredient list and the equipment necessary to make this Marchigian specialty.

We're going to school to learn about The Marches, the only Italian region to have a plural name! Let's find out if Anna has studied this time! Let's see how mean her maestra is today, too.

Daniela explains three situations in which the remote past may be used and gives us examples of each situation. But don't worry, this tense is not mandatory and Daniela suggests the passato prossimo (present perfect) as a valid alternative. Note: The passato prossimo is constructed like the English present perfect tense (with a helping verb and past participle), but is used more like the English past simple.

Daniela explains how to conjugate the remote past of the verbs avere (to have) and prendere (to take).

Marika and Anna go through the list of ingredients needed to make a Ligurian specialty — pasta with pesto sauce.