Tips, tricks, and deep dives into how Italian works for English speakers.
When to use CITTÀ, PAESE and VILLAGGIO David asks: “What’s the difference between CITTÀ, PAESE, VILLAGGIO?“ Let’s start with CITTÀ CITTÀ simply means CITY and we are going to use this word ANY time we are talking about a city.In Italy, the definition of a city is any location with more than 50,000 inhabitants, but […]
How can we translate UNTIL NOW in italian? Arwa asks: “How do I say UNTIL NOW in Italian? Also find out to say SO FAR!” This one’s pretty simple! There are mainly three ways to say “UNTIL NOW” in Italian. Well, four, but one is just too long! FINORA FINO ADESSO FINO AD ORA and […]
When do I use BENE vs BUONO? Phil asks: “When do I use BENE and when do I use BUONO? Or… how can I get this right?“ Getting confused between BENE and BUONO? You shouldn’t! 😉 BENE means WELL, while BUONO means GOOD. That is, BENE/WELL are adverbs, while BUONO/GOOD are adjectives. If you know […]
The correct way to structure a sentence in Italian Jun asks: “How do I structure sentences in Italian?“ Let’s start from this assumption… The first thing we want to address here is the fact that you are better off not worrying too much about the sentence structure in Italian and go with the general idea […]
The many meanings of CI Juha from Sydney, Australia asks: “What are the many meanings of CI“? What is this “CI” I see everywhere? One of the most recurring and obscure words in Italian for students of Italian is “CI“. “CI” is a “particle“, that is, it’s a little word that we use to create […]
How to use the Italian Subjunctive? Juha from Sydney, Australia asks: “What is this SIA I often see in sentences“? The Italian Subjunctive (CONGIUNTIVO) is a verbal “mood” that is used in many situations in Italian, mostly in subordinate clauses and after certain expressions. Most verbal tenses you already know (presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto, futuro […]
Different ways to say REALLY in Italian Lee from the UK asks how can use the word “VERAMENTE”? VERAMENTE means “really” in statements…Whenever “REALLY” can be replaced with “VERY” or “TRULY” in statements, then in Italian we tend to use the words VERAMENTE. ▷ SOME EXAMPLES: MI PIACE VERAMENTE TANTOI like it (really) a lot!I […]
When we can use È or C’È? Ken from the Unites States asks what is the difference between “È and C’È“ È is the third person singular of the ESSERE (to be). It basically means “IS” (and it covers all meanings such as “he is“, “she is“, and “it is“).We use it any time with […]
How to say TOMORROW or TONIGHT in Italian Marie from the UK asks if there are other similar expressions to “STASERA” (tonight) and “DOMATTINA” (tomorrow morning) STASERA means “tonight” or “this evening“, and we’ll use this word whenever we need to talk about these times of the day. .…CAREFUL…. There is a substantial cultural difference […]
How to Compare Things Italian Genevieve from Perth, Australia, asks how to say “than” in italian as in “Sam is taller than Joe” or “He is more handsome than (he is) smart“? When making comparisons in Italian, the second term of comparison can be introduced by either on these two words: DI (is used when […]
Different ways to translate “AS SOON AS POSSIBLE” in Italian Genevieve from Perth, Australia, asks how to say “as soon as possible” in italian as in “reply as soon as possible” or “the boss wants the report a.s.a.p.“? There’s a couple of pretty straightforward ways to say “as soon as possible“: AL PIÙ PRESTO IL […]
Differents ways to say “JUST” in italian Daniel from Hong Kong asks how to say “JUST” in Italian as in “I’m just going to the shops” or “I just wanna give you a hug”? Depending on the meaning we are looking for, we can translate the English “JUST “ in mainly two ways: only things […]
