THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE IMPERFETTO AND PASSATO PROSSIMO
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE IMPERFETTO AND PASSATO PROSSIMO What’s the difference between the imperfetto and the passato prossimo? Both the imperfetto and passato prossimo are used to describe past situations. However, one is used when the action is finished, happens once, and has a time reference: the passato prossimo. The imperfetto, instead, as the name […]
HOW TO USE QUALSIASI / QUALUNQUE / CHIUNQUE
HOW TO USE QUALSIASI / QUALUNQUE / CHIUNQUE QUALSIASI (ANY) Qualsiasi is one of those words that can often lead to confusion. In this article you will learn how to use it properly when speaking Italian. Qualsiasi is an indefinite adjective, and it is invariable: it means that it is not modifiable, in fact […]
Indirect Object Pronouns
THE ITALIAN INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS Pronouns is one of the most challenging topics in Italian grammar. Having a solid knowledge of the Italian pronouns will help you speak better Italian and improve your Italian listening skills. You should know that Italians use pronouns all the time to avoid repeating things and be concise, typically in […]
Conoscere vs Sapere : how to use them
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “SAPERE” AND “CONOSCERE”? If you came across this page, it’s because you have been confused by using the Italian verbs sapere and conoscere. Fair enough! English (and other languages) use only one verb, the verb to know, to cover knowledge’s meaning in all possible forms. Italian uses two different verbs: […]
9 things about Italian pronominal verbs
9 THINGS ABOUT THE ITALIAN PRONOMINAL VERBS 1. Pronominal verbs mean “related to a pronoun” in fact, the Italian pronominal verbs are a combination of a basic verb and one or two pronouns, for instance, the verb andarsene is a combination of andare+se+ne. 2. The pronouns are joined onto the infinitive of the verb and slightly […]
HOW TO USE THE ITALIAN VERB METTERSI
Mettersi is an Italian verb that non-native speakers might find not so easy to use. However, it is widely used in conversational Italian and you might want to know how to use it. Before learning the meaning of this peculiar verb, let’s have a look at conjugation of the verb in presene and passato prossimo. […]
How to use dovere, avere bisogno and servire in Italian
DOVERE / AVERE BISOGNO DI / MI SERVE / BISOGNA This week I want to unravel the mystery in using three different Italian verbs that have a similar translation into English. Because of this, they are sometimes tricky to use. I am talking about the verbs dovere – avere bisogno di – servire. They all express […]
The Italian comparatives: using CHE or DI
The Italian comparatives: using “CHE” or “DI” The Italian comparative expresses how to say MORE THAN, LESS THAN, THE SAME AS. We call comparativo di maggioranza: La casa di Maria è più grande di quella di Lucia – Maria’s house is bigger than Lucia’s We call comparativo di minoranza: La casa di Lucia è meno grande di […]
