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The Italy Made Easy Blog

Italian language tips, culture deep dives, and everything you need to fall in love with Italy.

ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to use the Particle / Pronoun NE (Part 4 of 4)

The Particle NE: How to Use it in Italian Make sure you watch and study Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 of Ask Manu Italiano before moving on to this episode. In the Lesson 3 you can find the practice exercise! If you want to clear up the final details on this topic, there is also […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to use the Particle / Pronoun NE (Part 3 of 4)

The Particle NE: How to Use it in Italian Make sure you watch and study Lesson 1  and Lesson 2 of Ask Manu Italiano before moving on to this episode. If you want to complete your study of these Italian grammar essentials, make sure not to miss the final part of the series. Once you’ve […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to use the Particle / Pronoun NE (Part 2 of 4)

The Particle NE: How to Use It in Italian We continue our journey to unveil all the secrets of this little grammatical monster we call NE. This is the second Episode of Ask Manu Italiano dedicated to this topic. Make sure you watch and study Lesson 1 of 4 before moving on to this episode. […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to use the Particle / Pronoun NE (Part 1 of 4)

The Particle NE: How to Use it in Italian Lesson 1 of 4 The particle NE is a complicated beast. In the next 4 episodes of Ask Manu Italiano we’ll try and demystify it and make some sense of it! You need to get good at this one! Generally speaking NE works just like any […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Difference between ESSERE and STARE

What is the difference between ESSERE and STARE? Sam asks: “When do I say SONO and when STO?“. What’s the difference between ESSERE (to stay) and STARE (to be) ? ESSERE (to be) – STARE (to stay) Confusion:DialectsSimilar Meanings STANDARD ITALIAN = ENGLISHI am..I stay..*exceptions apply! ▷ EXAMPLES Sono Manu“I am Manu”. Sono Italiano“I am […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to say WHAT in Italian

“COSA / CHE / QUALE”: How to Use Them in Italian? Joee asks: “How do I say WHAT in Italian? OR… when do I use CHE and when CHE COSA?“. What is the difference between CHE and CHE COSA ? In which cases are they used in Italian? ▷ WHAT + VERB (no noun) CHE […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to Avoid the FEAR OF SPEAKING Italian

How can I stop making mistakes by speaking Italian? Alan asks: “How do I avoid freezing & panicking when Italians approach me to speak?“. In this episode of Ask Manu Italiano I will give you 4 recommendations and 5 practical tips to avoid the fear of speaking italian. RECOMMENDATIONS: PRACTICAL TIPS

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Italian Verb Tenses

How to choose between PRESENTE, FUTURO, PASSATO PROSSIMO and IMPERFETTO Phil asks: ” How do I know which italian tense to use?“. The Present Tense: IL PRESENTE The Italian Present Tense is used to render the following scenarios: In all these cases we would simply say:IO PARLO ▷ SOME EXAMPLES PARLO ITALIANOI speak Italian / […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

When does the PAST PARTICIPLE agree in the PASSATO PROSSIMO?

Gender and Number in Passato Prossimo Ellie asks: ” When does the PAST PARTICIPLE agree with the direct object in the PASSATO PROSSIMO?“. First things first… The Italian Passato Prossimo looks just like the English Present Perfect (I have worked, I have seen, I have gone), but it translates both the English Simple Past (I […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

The difference between IMPERFETTO & PASSATO PROSSIMO

What is the difference between IMPERFETTO and PASSATO PROSSIMO? Sherrie asks: When do I use the IMPERFETTO over the PASSATO PROSSIMO or… what’s the difference between these two past tenses? Understanding when to use one over the other tense is tough and most students struggle with this. So you are not alone! The main reason […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

Speak Italian more Naturally

Is it possible to speak italian more naturally? Marie asks: “I heard this in Italian and I was a bit confused…or… shouldn’t they have been saying SONO OCCUPATA?“. Every native speaker has their own way of speaking. Some native speakers have strong accent, may use a lot of slang, or maybe combine words a lot. […]

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ITALIAN LANGUAGE

How to express LOVE in Italian

How to Say TO LOVE in Italian  Jim asks: ” How do we express LOVE in Italian? OR… How do I choose between AMARE and VOLERE BENE? “. For loving PEOPLE Here’s how we express love in Italian: ▷ SOME EXAMPLES SARA TI AMO, MI VUOI SPOSARE?Sara, I love you! Will you marry me? NON […]

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