We learn Italian step by step | Impariamo l'italiano piano piano

Epizode

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  Le piccole parole - Episodio 5 - Parte 1A | La preposizione IN - Sempre dentro qualcosa 16.08.2026 21min

  Send me a text In Episode 5, we turn our attention to IN, another of Italian’s piccole parole that seems to turn up everywhere. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In Part 1A, we explore some of its most common uses: IN with countries and regions, rooms and enclosed spaces, time expressions, and means of transport. Why do we say in Italia, in cucina and in treno? And why is it a piedi but also in piedi? Along the way, Paolo is rummaging around in the garage, Antonio hel...
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  👀Le piccole parole - Episodio 4 - Parte 2 | DA: The Italian Preposition that does everything - Free Preview 09.08.2026 15min

  Send me a text Carlo can fix almost anything. But when Matteo and his grandfather bring an old transistor radio to the repair stall, something unexpected happens. For once, Carlo doesn’t know what to do. Someone else does. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In this free preview of Le piccole parole – Episodio 4 – Parte 2: Quando DA fa tutto, we return to the mercatino with comprehension questions, listen again to the scene, and go through the answers together. And one ...
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  Le piccole parole - Episodio 4 - Parte 1B | DA: the word that remembers everything 02.08.2026 30min

  Send me a text Paolo is in the kitchen. Something smells wonderful. He doesn't know it yet, but he's just given us three perfect examples of the most important use of da in this episode. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In Part 1B we go further with the preposition da. Into duration, passive constructions, fixed expressions, and the verbs that reach for da when they need what comes next. We also look at why Italian stays in the present tense where English would...
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  Le piccole parole - Episodio 4 - Parte 1A | Italian Preposition DA Explained | Learn When to Use DA in Italian 24.07.2026 11min

  Send me a text Episode 4 – Preposition DA – Part 1A Most learners first meet da when talking about where someone comes from. But that's only the beginning. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In this episode, we explore three of the most common uses of da. You'll learn how it marks the source of a letter, a message or a journey, how it tells us where movement begins, and why Italians say vado da Marco or sono dal dottore without ever mentioning the word "place." As alwa...
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  👀Le piccole parole - Episodio 3 – Part 2 - Preposition A - PREVIEW - Beyond Destinations 18.07.2026 14min

  Send me a text In this short preview, we revisit what happened at the repair stall in our continuing story at the summer market before moving on to a few more uses of the Italian preposition a. You'll hear a short recap of the story, answer some comprehension questions, and discover what to listen for in the full episode. In the complete subscriber episode, you'll learn: more common destinations that use a the difference between places and institutions another family of ...
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  Le piccole parole - Episodio 3 - Part 1B - Preposition A in Action 12.07.2026 34min

  Send me a text In Part 1B of our exploration of the Italian preposition a, it's time to put everything into practice. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- We'll discover how a combines with definite articles to form al, allo, alla, all', ai, agli, and alle, and we'll meet a family of common verbs that naturally take a, including provare a, riuscire a, cominciare a, continuare a, and imparare a. Then, at last, we arrive at the neighbourhood summer market. As Carlo, Sara, ...
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  Le piccole parole - Episodio 3 - Part 1A - The Many Jobs of A 05.07.2026 13min

  Send me a text In the first part of our exploration of the Italian preposition a, we begin to uncover one of the most common and versatile little words in the Italian language. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- We'll see how a points the way to cities, introduces the recipient of an action, appears in common time expressions, and forms part of dozens of everyday fixed expressions you'll hear from your very first Italian lesson. Along the way, we'll revisit indirect ob...
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  👀 Le piccole parole - Episodio 2 - Part 3 - PREVIEW Quando di trova casa 24.06.2026 6min

  Send me a text In this preview of Le piccole parole – Episodio 2 – Part 3, we return to our exploration of one of the hardest-working little words in Italian: di. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In the full version we explore di in comparisons, time expressions, adjectives that naturally take di, and a final collection of common verbs and fixed expressions you'll hear every day in Italian. Along the way, we'll also answer an important question: when does Italian use...
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  👀 Le piccole parole - Episodio 2 - Part 2 - PREVIEW - Di: del, dello, and the secret life of 'some' 21.06.2026 6min

  Send me a text You thought di was finished? Not quite. In this preview of Di – Part 2, Antonio develops a new hobby: cataloguing every di he can find in Paolo's grandmother's recipe box. Along the way, we stumble across one of the most surprising features of Italian grammar: sometimes del, della, and dei don't mean of the at all. This preview includes the opening section of the lesson and our first encounter with the partitive. In the full episode, available to supporters, we explore: a...
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  Le piccole parole – Epi 2 – Part 1 - Di: The Italian Preposition That's Everywhere 14.06.2026 34min

  Send me a text What does di really mean? Most learners know it as "of," but di does far more than that. In this episode of Le piccole parole, we explore how di expresses relationships, origin, topic, material, quantity, common expressions, and more. Along the way, Antonio discovers that di is hiding everywhere, including in one of Nonna's old recipe cards. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- Support the show to continue with Di – Part Two, where we'll explore articulate...
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  Episode 32 - Behind the Scenes of an Italian Piano Piano Meetup 10.06.2026 19min

  Send me a text Meetup event links: Vancouver Chapter / European Chapter Have you ever finished a podcast episode and thought: "Now what?" In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of the Italian Piano Piano meetups and show you exactly what happens during one of our weekly sessions. You'll meet Antonio, the custom tutor I've been developing alongside the podcast, and you'll hear how meetup participants use guided prompts, questions, and discussion to practise the same grammar concepts we...
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  Le piccole parole - Epi 1 - Una mini-serie sulle preposizioni italiane 06.06.2026 9min

  Send me a text Have you ever learned that di means "of", a means "to", and con means "with" ... only to discover that real Italian doesn't seem to follow those simple rules? Welcome to Le piccole parole, a new mini-series dedicated to one of the most challenging aspects of Italian: prepositions. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In this introductory episode, Maira and Antonio explore why these tiny words cause so many problems for intermediate learners. Along the way,...
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  Episode 31 - Tra le righe – Capitolo 3 completo - Solo italiano 30.05.2026 15min

  Send me a text Tra le righe – Capitolo 3 completo (Solo in italiano) In the previous episode, we listened to the complete bilingual version of Chapter 3 of Le Pagine del Passato. Now it's time to hear it again, this time entirely in Italian. No English. No interruptions. Just the story. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- From the first clue hidden inside Nonna Maria's book… to the abandoned library… to the mysterious message waiting tra le righe - this is your chance...
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  Episode 30 - Tra le righe – Capitolo 3 completo - Italiano e inglese 23.05.2026 31min

  Send me a text In this special episode, we bring together the entire Chapter 3 of Le Pagine del Passato in one complete bilingual listening experience. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- Over the past several episodes, you've followed Mariella piece by piece - through the first mysterious clue hidden inside a book, along the path to the abandoned library on the hill, past the red staircase, the warrior's gate, and the scribe's chamber full of memories. And finally, to ...
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  Episode 29 - Vivendo e imparando – Everyday Expressions with the Gerundio 16.05.2026 22min

  Send me a text Episode 29 closes out the gerundio topic with one more journey through Chapter 3, Part 4 of Le Pagine del Passato; first in Italian only, then together in English and Italian. --> Link to Post for Study Guide and Transcript for this episode <-- After the story, we look at a lighter side of the gerundio: the everyday expressions that show up in natural speech long before most learners realize what they are. Vivendo e imparando. Sto solo scherzando. Prendendola a ridere. We...
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  Episode 28 - Fidati del tuo istinto - Il gerundio composto 09.05.2026 26min

  Send me a text In Episode 28 of Impariamo l’italiano piano piano, we finally arrive at the compound gerundio. You’ll learn how forms like avendo trovato, essendosi girata, and pur avendo letto are formed, when they are used, and how they differ from the simple gerundio. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- In this episode, we cover: how to form the compound gerundio with avendo and essendoagreement with reflexive and motion verbspronouns with the compound gerundiopur + c...
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  👀 Bonus Episode 17 Preview - Hidden Objects, Strange Paths, and Quiet Clues 02.05.2026 5min

  Send me a text In this preview of Bonus Episode 17, we step into an outdoor market and begin exploring the vocabulary from the final part of Chapter 3 of Le Pagine del Passato. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- You’ll hear new words introduced through a short contextual scene, where objects like an anello, a medaglione, and a braccialetto begin to take on a little more meaning. In the full episode, we continue with three more vocabulary categories: Movement & Acti...
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  Episode 27 - From “Myself” to “Each Other” | Reciprocal Verbs in Italian 25.04.2026 28min

  Send me a text In this episode of Impariamo l’italiano piano piano, we complete one of our biggest grammar topics yet: reflexive verbs. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- This time, we explore some of the final missing pieces: ✔ reciprocal verbs (ci vediamo, si salutano, ci scriviamo) ✔ how to tell the difference between reflexive and reciprocal verbs ✔ reflexive and reciprocal verbs in the imperfetto ✔ reciprocal verbs in the passato prossimo ✔ how these structure...
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  Episode 26 - Se lo vs Glielo & Back to the Story 18.04.2026 26min

  Send me a text In this episode, we return to Le Pagine del Passato — Chapter 3, Part 3: Collegamenti. Last time, you heard this chapter in Italian only. This time, we work through it together — with both Italian and English — so you can follow the story step by step and deepen your understanding. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- Before we begin, we take a moment to clarify a question that came up after the last episode: 👉 What’s the difference between se lo and...
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  Episode 25 - The Gerund and Reflexive Verbs: Putting It All Together 11.04.2026 32min

  Send me a text In this episode, we take another important step forward… piano piano. --> Link to Post for Transcript for this episode <-- We bring together two key ideas you’ve already started to explore: reflexive verbs and the gerundio. You’ll learn: how reflexive verbs work in the passato prossimo (and why they always use essere) how to form and use the reflexive gerund (svegliandosi, vestendosi…) what changes when the gerund stands alone how re...