Italian Noun Gender. Determining Masculine vs. Feminine
Nouns ending in ‘-o’ or ‘-a’ In Italian language, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives can be assigned one of two grammatical genders: masculine or feminine. The gender of a word is arbitrary and does not always have a logical connection to...
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...
Italian Partitive Articles (How to say “some” in Italian)
What is a partitive article? Partitive articles are an essential part of the Italian language and the easiest way to translate “some” in English. Unlike in English, they change their shape depending on the noun they precede because they are a combination...
Italian Passato Remoto
What is the Passato Remoto? The passato remoto (literally “remote past”) is a past tense in Italian used to describe actions that happened a long time ago and are completely over. Think: fairy tales, history books, legends, and stories about your great-grandparents....
Italian Past Conditional (Condizionale Passato)
What is the Past Conditional in Italian? In Italian, the Past Conditional (Condizionale Passato or Condizionale Composto) expresses what would have happened in the past but didn’t: it shows regret, missed opportunities, or unreal past...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.