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.

Viviana Varese, winner of the 2011 Gambero Rosso Prize "Best emerging young chef", shows us how to make a tartare of Fassone (Piemontese beef) – an elegant and very tasty dish!

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.