Just as in English, Italian has a great many compound nouns. Marika explains the different types. A proposito, this time she greets us a new way, saying buondì. It's simply another way of saying buongiorno. Dì is another way of saying giorno (day). Diurno is its relative adjective, meaning "daytime."

There are lots of ways to form compound nouns, and lots of different ways to form their plurals. Marika fills us in.

To form the opposite of a word in Italian, there are different kinds of prefixes. Marika explains how they work.

Marika explains how to form adjectives from nouns, by using various suffixes.

It's a very Italian thing to alter a word to make it mean something bigger, smaller, or worse. You just need to know the right suffix to add to the word. Marika shows you how.

Marika introduces us to an area where Italian and English have some important differences: reflexive and reciprocal verbs. For extra help, see: Reflections on the Reflexive and Ci Gets Around: Part 1

Can you answer the question, cosa stai facendo (What are you doing)? If not, take a look at this video where Marika explains the presente progressivo (present continuous tense).

The third person "impersonal" has mostly gone out of fashion in English, but in Italian it's used all the time. Although in English it's common to use "you" or the passive voice, we've used the impersonal "one" here, in order to understand better how it works.

Marika gives us an overview on how to use direct object pronouns, which take the place of direct objects when the object has already been referred to. Here's an example of this in English:
"Do you know the answer [direct object noun]?" "Yes I know it [direct object pronoun]."

Using the prepositions "to" and "at" in Italian can be tricky, because there's one Italian word for both: a. Marika gives us some tips.

Marika explains when to use the prepositions: in (to), da (from), di (of, from), and per (for, to, by). There's no need to learn them all at once!

Marika shows us the rules about using direct object pronouns. Don't be discouraged if you don't absorb it all at once. It takes plenty of practice, and plenty of trial and error. See first part: Marika spiega - Pronomi diretti

Marika shows us the entryway of her apartment, from the intercom to the coat rack.

Marika shows us her children's cozy bedroom. You may notice that there is an emphasis on drawing and coloring. Italian students are graded on their drawings.

We continue getting acquainted with Marika's apartment. This time she shows us the hall with its furnishings.