It's time to check the eggplant in the oven. And what about the slices that were a bit too sottili (thin)? Will they have burned? Note that English mostly uses eggplant as a collective noun (in the singular) but Italian, unless referring specifically to a single eggplant, uses the plural le melanzane when referring to eggplant in general, and to the slices themselves.

Marika prepares the eggplant slices by baking them in the oven—a much lighter way of preparing the eggplant layers than the traditional frying method.

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!

Melanzane alla Parmigiana, or La parmigiana di melanzane (Eggplant Parmesan) is a classic recipe from the Campania region. Marika shows us how to make it, one step at a time.

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.

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).

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

Marika shares her impressions and her bubbling enthusiasm for the Expo 2015 held in Milan until the October thirty-first of this year. We hope you get the chance to go!

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

2015 is an exciting year for Italy, because this year's Expo is in Milan. Marika was lucky enough to go, and she's eager to share her experience with you. But first she gives you a little background on how the Expo got started as a phenomenon.

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

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

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."

Marika tells us more about suffixes, and this time explains how to form nouns from adjectives. There's homework to do, too!