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Beginner’s Guide to Learning Italian: Expert Tips from a Teacher
1. Determine Your Learning Style To learn a foreign language efficiently, it's important to understand your learning style. Are you a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Knowing this information can help you identify the best way to absorb information. Think...
PLIDA B1: The Structure.
What's the PLIDA Exam? The P.L.I.D.A (Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri) is an Italian exam created by the Italian Ministry of Education to test language proficiency at different levels in Italian. It’s intended for people who don’t live or study Italian...
Expressing Positive Emotions in Italian
Italians have a reputation for being emotional and sentimental, and this is entirely right. No need to say, we like to express positive and (negative) emotions with friends and family, and we do it often. Have you ever wondered what the most common ways to say in...
B1 Cils Cittadinanza: How to Prepare for the Speaking Part
This article aims to dispel any doubts and help you succeed in the speaking part of the Cils B1 Citizenship test. As you are aware, the Citizenship exam also includes reading, listening, grammar, and writing sections; however, many students find the speaking...
The Preposition ‘Da’: How to Use It
Most of the time, the Italian preposition "da" means "from," but it can also mean "since/for," "to," "at," and other things. Yes, it sounds difficult because prepositions in English and Italian do not have a binary correspondence. That is why, in my classes, I always...
Italian Comparatives: using ‘che’ or ‘di’
What's a 'comparative' in Italian? The Italian comparatives express how to say more then, less than, the same as. We call this comparativo di maggioranza: La casa di Maria è più grande di quella di Lucia - Maria's house is bigger than Lucia's ...
Dovere, avere bisogno, servire, bisogna: The Difference
In this post, I want to discuss the differences between three Italian verbs that are often confused. Each of them expresses a need in English. However, they are used in different contexts and are not interchangeable. What’s the difference between dovere,...
49 Italian Words and Phrases for Cooking
The kitchen in Italy is, without any doubts, the most favorite room in an Italian household. Having a big, bright and fully-equipped kitchen is the dream of every one of us! Why so? The kitchen for Italians is not just a place where you get some food ready and run...
CILS Due B2 Exam: The Structure
The CILS Due B2 is an official language exam issued by the University for Foreigners in Siena, Italy, to prove to the Italian government, an Italian university institution, or an employer in Italy a B2 (upper-intermediate) level of competence in the Italian...
Mi manca? Mi manchi? A Guide to the Use of ‘Mancare’
If you want to say “I miss” in Italian, you should say “mi manca” and not “manco”. Why so? What does the "mi" in front stand for? Understanding the use of 'mancare' in Italian The mi is an indirect pronoun and it’s used because mancare doesn’t follow a regular...