The imperfect tense is one of several past tenses in Italian. It can be tricky to use correctly because it doesn't always match up with one specific tense in English. Depending on the context, it is translated differently. Michela uses a timeline to help you understand.

Michela shows us how and when imperfect verbs are used to describe actions, people, weather, and time.

Michela shows us how to conjugate verbs in the imperfetto (imperfect past tense). She covers -are verbs and -ere verbs. It's easy once you get the idea.

In the last part of this miniseries, Michela works on verbs ending in ire with her class. She also spends time on the all-important irregular verb essere (to be).

Daniela teaches us the Italian way to say hello and goodbye, to both our friends and to people we don't know.

Daniela explains when to use the different forms of greetings in Italian: "buongiorno," "buonasera," "buonanotte," and "salve."

When two people meet, it's important to ask them how they are. Daniela explains the different ways to ask, and also how to answer.

What do you say when you meet someone for the first time? Daniela discusses introductions.

Join Daniela's class where we learn more about how to greet people in Italian.

In this lesson, Daniela talks about the two most important verbs in Italian: essere (to be) and avere (to have).

Daniela talks about the conjugation of the verb "to have," and gives us some important information about pronunciation.

When we speak of an unspecified quantity of food items, objects, etc. we use the indefinite or partitive article, which changes according to the gender of the noun in question (singular: del, della, dello, and plural: dei, delle, degli). In the second part of the lesson, you'll notice that Italian uses the equivalent of "of" or "of it" where English doesn't. Feel free to absorb the first part of this lesson before tackling the second part.

Daniela talks about verbs having to do with shops, and whether they close at lunchtime or not.

With her students, Daniela shows us how to conjugate the verbs aprire (to open) and chiudere (to close).

Daniela and her pupils compare the opening hours of shops in their country to those in Italy where, traditionally, the midday break has always had particular importance. Over the past ten years, tradition has gradually given way to convenience, and the rules governing opening hours have become less and less strict.