Hi Paulina :)

Thats nice to know about global economy.

And you are absolutely right not to have matrimonial interest. Russian men suck :D

there are 3 types of regular verbs.here how the past tense is formed:

 

   -are             avere   +    verb stem+ato

   - ere            avere   +     verb stem+uto

   -ire             avere   +    verb stem+ito

 

ex: io ho amato - i loved

     tu hai prenduto - you took

     lui ha dormito - he slept

taken from

http://www.italianlanguageguide.com

<ul type="square"> <li>z-Z: This consonant has two pronunciations(*):</li> </ul> <blockquote dir="ltr">

Z is sometimes voiceless, like ts is bets, cats. Example:

</blockquote> <ul> <ul> <li><em>Pizza</em>  »  pizza.</li> <li><em>Negozio</em>  »  store.</li> <li><em>Marzo</em>  »  March.</li> <li><em>Venezia</em>  »  Venice.</li> <li><em>Grazie</em>  »  thank you.</li> <li><em>Dizionario</em>  »  dictionary.</li> </ul> </ul> <blockquote dir="ltr">

Z is sometimes voiced, like ds in beds. Examples:

</blockquote> <ul> <ul> <li><em>Zero</em>  »  zero.</li> <li><em>Zebra</em>  »  zebra.</li> <li><em>Pranzo</em>  »  lunch.</li> <li><em>Zelo</em>  »  zeal.</li> <li><em>Romanzo</em>  »  novel.</li> <li><em>Zanzara</em>  »  mosquito.</li> </ul> </ul> <blockquote dir="ltr">

<em>(*) In either case, its sound differs more distinctly from s than it does in English.</em>

</blockquote>

<blockquote dir="ltr">

S is sometimes (but always before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v) like the english s in easy, or the the English "z" in zoo. Examples:

</blockquote> <ul> <ul> <li><em>Rosa</em>  »  rose.</li> <li><em>Casa</em>  »  house.</li> <li><em>Tesoro</em>  »  treasure.</li> <li><em>Frase</em>  »  phrase.</li> <li><em>Sbaglio</em>  »  mistake.</li> <li><em>Esercizio</em>  »  exercise.</li> <li><em>Svelto</em>  »  quick.</li> <li><em>Musica</em>  »  music.</li> <li><em>Sgridare</em>  »  to scold.</li> <li><em>Sbadato</em>  »  careless.</li> </ul> </ul>

<ul type="square"> <li>s-S: This consonant has two pronunciations:</li> </ul> <blockquote dir="ltr">

S is sometimes strong and hissing like the English "s" in house, set, strip. Example:

</blockquote> <ul> <ul> <li><em>Soggiorno</em>  »  living room.</li> <li><em>Testa</em>  »  head.</li> <li><em>Stanza</em>  »  room.</li> <li><em>Festa</em>  »  party; holiday.</li> <li><em>Posta</em>  »  mail.</li> <li><em>Stufato</em>  »  stew.</li> <li><em>Pasta</em>  »  pasta; dough; pastry.</li> <li><em>Pista</em>  »  track.</li> </ul> </ul>

<ul type="square"> <li>r-R: This sound is always "rolled", like a Scottish "r" in Edinburgh, or a Spanish "r" in señor.You don’t pronounce the Italian r with your tongue in the back, as you do the English r; rather, you can obtain this sound making the tip of the tongue vibrate almost against the hard palate, next to the back of the upper teeth. It never sounds as an English r, nor as a French r. Examples:</li> </ul> <ul> <ul> <li><em>Ora</em>  »  now.</li> <li><em>Tenore</em>  »  tenor.</li> <li><em>Albergo</em>  »  hotel.</li> <li><em>Baritono</em>  »  baritone.</li> <li><em>Arte</em>  »  art.</li> <li><em>Orologio</em>  »  watch.</li> <li><em>Porta</em>  »  door.</li> <li><em>Sardina</em>  »  sardine.</li> </ul> </ul>