

Writing Formal or Informal Emails for your Italian Citizenship Exam
Writing a Formal or Informal Email for your Italian Citizenship Exam If you’re preparing for your Italian Citizenship exam, you know that one of the writing prompts for the writing portion includes writing a formal or informal email. First and foremost, it’s important to determine the appropriate register for your email because Italian distinguishes between […]
L’Ingrediente Segreto (intermedio)
Free bite-sized short stories for beginners and intermediate Italian learners L’Ingrediente Segreto [download here] – March 2023

When to Use “Essere” in the Passato Prossimo
Which Verbs Use “Essere” in the Passato Prossimo Italian has many compound tenses (verbs which are made up of two entities: auxiliaries + past participles). One of the most common compound tenses is the passato prossimo (the Italian equivalent of the past simple).The auxiliaries used in compound tenses are either the verb avere or essere. For […]

The Numbers in Italian
The Italian Numbers: A Guide for Beginners My English teacher at university was an Irish woman who had lived in Italy for over a decade. One day, she admitted to us that numbers were still a pain for her. Having learned several languages myself, I know firsthand how difficult it is to master numbers in […]

The Passive Voice in Italian
The Passive Voice in Italian The passive form in Italian (or English) is used when we want to focus on the object of the action, rather than the agent who carries out the action. For example: Serena teaches the class [active form, focus on the agent = Serena] The class is taught by Serena [passive […]