Italian Prepositions: In or A?
In or A? How to Use These Italian Prepositions One of the most common mistakes for Italian learners is choosing between the prepositions a and in. And that’s completely normal. Sometimes there are clear rules for when to use in and when to use a. But in many cases,...
Italian Impersonal Form
The impersonal form with “si” In Italian, we have a simple way to make a generalization or to make a sentence where the subject is not specified: the impersonal form. The impersonal form is made up by: si + any verb conjugated in the 3rd person singular....
Common expressions using ESSERE and AVERE
In Italian, the verbs essere and avere are certainly amongst the most popular ones. This is why they are widely used in many common Italian idiomatic expressions like the one following. Bear in mind that a certain number of recurring expressions use the...
Italian Prepositions: The Many Meanings of “Da”
If you’ve ever studied Italian, you’ve probably realized that prepositions are one of the trickiest parts of the language. That’s because English and Italian prepositions don’t match up perfectly: there’s no neat one-to-one correspondence. Take the preposition da, for...
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,...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.