Italian Present Tense
What’s the present indicative tense in Italian? The Italian present tense is used to describe what is happening now or to talk about a general truth (e.g. gli Italiani parlano italiano). It’s also used to say how long you’ve been doing...
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...
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...
Ce l’ho: What does it mean?
Everybody agrees that the pronoun ci is, probably, one of the most mysterious words in Italian, and thus, I thought it would be great to dive, in this post, into the use of ci when used in conjugation with the verb avere: this is a very peculiar and common use of “ci”...
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 a...About
Ciao! I'm Serena, and I'm the creator of Smart Italian Learning. I am the head teacher of a small language school. We offer online, in-person and video courses for Italian learners, with a focus on adult English native speakers. Our courses are based on our passion for teaching and our experience as long-term adult language learners. You can meet us online, or in person in Rome.