Italian is often described as a beautiful language, and not only because of the way it sounds. Sometimes, the beauty of Italian lies in the way Italians choose their words. One of the best examples is the difference between bello, buono, and bravo. All three can sometimes be translated with the En

Most language learners think that mastering grammar is the key to becoming fluent. After all, if you know all the rules, you should be able to say, “I speak Italian!”, right? Well… not quite. Grammar is certainly important, but speaking a language naturally also means knowing the small words

Who knows whether it is because of our timeless nostalgia that we Italians have so many tenses when talking about the past, but the truth is that we experience it intensely. Indeed, when we have to recall past actions or events, we have many ways to do so. We use the Passato Prossimo (if you’re c

When learning Italian, most students are taught that the future tense (futuro semplice) is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future. And while that is certainly true, there is another use of the future tense that often surprises learners: expressing probability, uncertainty, or a g

If you have ever wondered why Italians say “lo chiamo” instead of “chiamo lui”, or why “gli telefono” instead of “lo telefono”, you are in the right place. Direct and indirect object pronouns are one of the most important (and often confusing) parts of Italian grammar. But there

Sometimes thinking about the past is not a simple thing. Imagine talking about it in Italian! Scary, isn't it? Just kidding. In case you were wondering, Italians juggle three main past tenses when talking about the past: the passato prossimo, the passato remoto, and the imperfetto. Let's forget ab

If you have ever wondered whether to say “da bambino ho mangiato” or “da bambino mangiavo”, you are not alone. Choosing between Passato Prossimo and Imperfetto is one of the biggest challenges for learners of Italian. Both tenses talk about the past, but they do very different jobs. In

If you have ever read a sentence like “La pizza è stata mangiata” and wondered why Italians suddenly sound more formal, congratulations, you have just met the passive voice (la forma passiva)! The passive voice exists in Italian just like in English, but it follows its own rules, and it is