In many languages, animals are used to describe human characteristics, but not every language uses the same animal for the same characteristic! Marika shares with us the Italian point of view.

There are plenty of idiomatic expressions connected with certain verbs. Marika tells us about expressions with dire (to say).

The verb fare (to do, to make) is used in lots of expressions. Marika talks about some of the most common ones.

Marika has a nice group of Italian idiomatic expressions using the verb prendere (to take).

By popular request, Marika has a great lesson on dividing words into syllables.

Marika has more tips on how to divide syllables and some fun practice words, too.

Several Yabla users asked about elisions and contractions, and how, when, and where they're used. This is Marika's first of three videos on this essential topic.

Marika tells us more about the use of elisions in Italian.

In some cases using an elision is not grammatically correct. Marika explains some of these cases.

Marika's first of three lessons on truncation, where she compares elision to truncation. There are many useful examples, such as: mar, san, buon, ben, and signor.

Marika outlines exceptions to the rules governing truncation, and provides many useful examples.

The final segment on truncation covers imperative mood verbs that take apostrophes, as well as expressions concerning maladies.

Marika's opening segment on accents and accentuation in Italian.

Marika covers the grave and acute accents, providing examples of words that have entirely different meanings because of their accentuation.

Marika's last segment on accents covers some fun homographs. She also provides advice on learning the correct pronunciation of words.