Nessuno & Niente (How to say any, anyone and anything in Italian)
Nessuno & Niente (How to say any, anyone and anything in Italian) Nessuno/Nessuna/Nessun = (not…any) Nessuno can be used both as an indefinite adjective and as a pronoun . As an adjective, nessuno comes before a noun and is the translation of “any” in negative sentences in English. For example: Non ho nessun dubbio – […]
The verb riuscire (and how it is different from potere)
The verb riuscire (and how it is different from potere) In my experience as an Italian language teacher, students often struggle with the verb riuscire because of its widespread use in informal Italian. The reason is that the Italian verbs potere and riuscire are both frequently used in English with “can” and so, it’s hard […]
The Future Tense in Italian (and why is it different from English)
The Future Tense in Italian (and why is it different from English?) The most important thing to remember when learning the future in Italian is that it is used less in Italian than in English. In fact, Italian has a tendency (which comes from Latin) to use the present simple to talk about the near […]
Verbs with the prepositions DI and A
Verbs with the prepositions DI and A Certain verbs in Italian can sometimes be found in conjunction with the prepositions di or a. For example, iniziare a fare qualcosa or finire di fare qualcosa (in English, to start doing something or to finish doing something) Because these Italian prepositions do not appear in the English […]
Ci vuole vs Ci metto: the difference between VOLERCI and METTERCI
Ci vuole vs. Ci metto: The Difference between VOLERCI and METTERCI When we want to say how long something will take, we often use the Italian expressions ci vuole or ci metto. However, the fact that they can’t be used interchangeably often leads my students to confusion. So, what exactly is the difference between ci vuole […]
Don’t learn harder, learn SMARTER
Don’t learn harder, learn SMARTER There are two types of people: bad finishers and good finishers. Most of us are good starters when it comes to learning a foreign language and terrible finishers. WHY? It is not a lack of talent. It is not a lack of time. It is not a lack of strategy. […]