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Essere and Stare: The Difference.
Are essere and stare different? Are essere and stare different? Yes. While essere means 'to be,' stare means both 'to stay' and 'to be,' but it is mostly used to mean 'to stay' or 'remain.' So, we can generally say...
Lì and là? Qui and qua? The Difference.
Understanding Italian Location Words: Lì, Là, Qui, and Qua If you've ever felt confused about whether to use lì, là, qui, or qua when speaking Italian, this post is for you. Let's get straight to the point. Is there a significant difference?...
Italian Present Tense (Presente Indicativo): Complete Guide With Conjugations, Uses & Example
What's the present indicative tense in Italian? The Italian present tense (presente indicativo) has four main uses: To describe actions happening right now: Marco mangia una pizza. (Marco is eating a pizza.) To express general truths or habits: Gli...
Italian Adjectives & Expressions to talk about someone’s Personality
Describing someone's personality in one's native language is difficult enough, let alone in a language we don't know well. Adjectives are commonly used to describe someone's personality. I've created a list of some of the most basic Italian adjectives to...
7 ways to say you’re welcome in Italian
How many different ways do you know to say "you're welcome" in Italian? If you think prego is the most common, you might be surprised to learn that there are six other ways to say it. Check out the list below for more tips on how to be more pleasant and natural...
17 Common Italian Irregular Verbs and How to Learn Them
What's an irregular verb? An irregular verb in Italian is one that doesn't follow standard conjugation rules, like verbs ending in -are, -ere, or -ire in Italian. Every language has them, with examples like "to be," "can," or "may" in English, while Italian has even...
Conoscere vs. Sapere: The Difference and How to Use Them – Practice Exercises
What's the difference between "sapere" and "conoscere"? Although both "sapere" and "conoscere" translate to "to know" in English, in Italian they have distinct meanings and are rarely interchangeable. They refer to different types of knowledge....
Italian Imperfect Tense: A Simple Guide
What's the Imperfect tense in Italian? The imperfect (or imperfetto, in Italian) is a past tense. We mainly use the imperfect tense to talk about past actions that happened as a habit, to describe the context of past actions or events, and in a few other...
Bel, Quel, Buon (How to Use Them)
Bel or Bello? Quel or Quello? Everyone knows that quello means "that" and bello means "beautiful" or "nice." If you’ve been learning Italian for a while, you may have noticed that sometimes bello and quello appear in different...
Bene, Bravo, Bello and Buono: What’s the difference?
Bene One of the most common mistakes I hear from English native speakers when speaking Italian is misusing the word "bene." While it is often used to mean "good," this usage is incorrect. In fact, "good" only translates to "bene" in the phrase "sto bene," which means...