Marika explains what partitive articles are all about and gives us some helpful examples.

After looking at simple prepositions, Marika talks about a special kind of preposition called una preposizione articolata. It just means that the preposition has a definite article attached to it. In this segment, she covers the ways the preposition di (of) combines with different articles to become a new complex preposition. For example, di + il = del.

We look at the preposition a combined with different definite articles. This preposizione articolata is used, for example, in talking about the time: alle otto (at eight o'clock); about a manner or style: alla francese (French-style), al dente (not too cooked).

In this video, the preposition we combine with a definite article is da. It can mean "from," but also "to" and "at." So, combined with the different definite articles, it's going to mean "from the," "to the," or "at the."

We look at the preposition in [in, to, at] and how it combines with the various definite articles.

Marika concentrates on the preposition su [on] in combination with various articles to form the very useful sul, sui, sugli, sulla, sulle and sull'.

Marika adds the preposition con (with) to the list of prepositions that combine with definite articles.

Marika talks about three words — piano, credenza, and tempo — that have something important in common. They all have multiple meanings, not just nuances, not just connotations. Technically, they are called polysemous or polysemic words.

Ready for some more Italian words with various different meanings? Marika talks about albero, batteria, and dado.

Find out the various different meanings of these words: campo, squadra, and verso.

Marika gives us a trick for how to know if del, della, or degli (all meaning "of the") are articulated prepositions or partitive articles. Sounds complicated, but isn't really. See her previous videos about these grammar topics: preposizioni articolate - articoli partitivi.

One tricky thing in lots of languages is when words sound the same but are written differently and have different meanings. In English, these are called, "homophones," part of the larger group, "homonyms."

Two words can sound the same because in one, there is an article beginning with L connected to the noun by way of an apostrophe (such as l'ago [the needle]) and in the other one, the first letter is L, such as lago [lake]. When we hear them, we distinguish them from the context, because otherwise, there is no way to know.

Omonimi (homonyms) look and sound the same but have different meanings, sometimes wildly different meanings!

As promised, Marika talks about the verb tenere (to keep, to hold), beginning with its conjugation. Let's keep in mind that Italian tenses don't always correspond to the English ones. For example, the passato prossimo is conjugated like the English present perfect tense, but is used differently in expressing events in time. The imperfetto is translated various ways in English. See this lesson about the imperfetto.