Italian Vocabulary The Proper Way to Use the Four Bs

Italian Vocabulary The Proper Way to Use the Four B’s Brooke Neuman Are you  confused about how to properly use the Italian vocabulary words, buono, bello, bravo, and bene? Below, Italian teacher Giulio G. explains the right way to use the four bs Buono, bello, bravo, beneâ€"the so-called four b’sâ€"are very common words in the Italian language. Their exact usage, however, can be quite difficult for beginner Italian students to master. That’s because when translated to English these Italian vocabulary words all mean, “good.”  Below are some tips and tricks that I hope will be useful for all of you who might be struggling with these four Italian vocabulary words. Bene: First, it is extremely important to emphasize that the Italian vocabulary words buono, bravo, and bello are adjectives and bene is an adverb. This means that the actual meaning of bene is ‘well’ in English and it cannot be conjugated following the gender and the number of the noun it precedes. Regarding its usage, bene is always used after the verb, and its function is to express a positive judgment. See example below: Joseph parla bene l’Italiano. (Joseph speaks Italian well.) Joseph speaks Italian in an excellent way. So, bene modifies the verb by giving the listener (or the reader) more information related to that specific action. Buono: This adjective is used to express a positive judgment related to the quality of a person, an animal, or an object. Specifically, buono is referred to: Morality: Lui è un buon uomo. (Meaning Lui  has a good soul or a good heart) Quality: è un buon film.  (Meaning  that the movie is well-made) Taste: La torta è buona. (Meaning that the cake tastes good. It is important to know that this Italian vocabulary word can be used with animals, people, and things. Bravo: Whereas the Italian vocabulary word buono can be used with animals, people, and things, the adjective bravo can be used only with people or animals. Bravo is used to underline that someone is good at doing something or that he/she has very good manners. See examples below: Lei è un brava pittore. (She is good painter/ She is good at painting.) Lui è un bravo ragazzo. (He has very good manners). Bello: Like the two Italian vocabulary words above, bello is used to express a positive judgment; however, it is usually used to emphasize another characteristic of the noun. It expresses a positive judgment related to the formal, aesthetic aspect. For example, the phrase “Un bell’uomo” (A handsome man) doesn’t refer to his behavior and kindness, but just to his physical attributes. Essentially, it means that man is attractive. Additionally, bello also has the purpose of intensifying a concept. For example, in the sentence, “Mi mangio una bella torta,” (I eat a beautiful cake) the speaker wants to emphasize his desire toward  a specific sweet. In other words, he cannot wait to eat it. Overall, the differences of these words are very small and it can be difficult to always choose the correct word. While you’re learning Italian, it is very normal to make occasional mistakes with the four b’s. Therefore, dont  worry if you mix up these Italian vocabulary words. Just keep  practicing with your Italian teacher and talking to natives and youll soon get it right! Photo by MC Quinn Post Author: Giulio Giannetti Giulio  G. teaches in-person Italian lessons in New York City. He is originally from Florence, Italy and is currently a student at the University of Florence for Languages and Intercultural Relations. He has been teaching lessons since 2009.  Learn more about Giulio  here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

Choosing A Research University

Choosing A Research University The tips below will provide students with insights from an article in The US News World Report regarding the pros and cons of small/large colleges. Typically research colleges are much larger, and their professors focus highly on research, opposed to teaching. Here are 10 benefits of attending a research university: 1. The best researchers can be the best teachers: There is a common held belief that professors who focus mainly on research are not committed to the classroom and are therefore poor teachers. However, that is not always the case. Top researchers can be more knowledgeable about the field they teach because they are constantly engaged in that field. They can share more expert advice than most other professors could. 2. Professors are more current: Research professors will always be looking for new trends and opportunities in the classes they teach. They will be more up-to-date with breaking discoveries that may not have even hit textbooks yet. They will use these findings as material for their classes. It is very unlikely for them to teach out-dated, obsolete information. 3. Professors are more self-confident: Professors at research universities are always seeking new discoveries, awards, salary raises/bonuses and other accolades. Most of them are very successful in achieving these or else they probably would not be teaching. Therefore, they have more enthusiasm for the subjects they study and teach. They feel better about themselves, which can motivate them to work harder with both their research and their teaching. Professors will bring their honest excitement into the classroom. 4. Collaborative research with professors: There are still plenty of opportunities for students to collaborate in research findings with professors at smaller colleges. However, there is always a continual high amount of research that is channeling through research universities. Students will have great opportunities to work with professors and even coauthor or present findings with professors. Figures show that students learn more effectively outside of the classroom in hands-on, real-world scenarios rather than inside a classroom. 5. More majors to choose from: Some students go into college knowing exactly what they want to study and where they want to work. Others have no idea, and some think they know what the want to do, but then later think twice about it. Unless youre the first student, a research university will benefit here. Research universities offer many more majors, which allow students to completely change their course of study without having to transfer colleges. At some larger, research colleges, students can choose from over 300 majors. However, at smaller schools they may only have 25-30 options. Students may not have as much flexibility with seemingly creating their own majors. However, their majors can be more specific and specialized. 6. New, updated facilities: Science professors at top universities have access to some of the best labs in the country. Where do you think they teach from? Also, top research universities consistently find ways to glean more government funds, which allows these colleges to build larger libraries, labs and facilities. This gives their professors access to more information and technology. Professors will be continuously learning and sharing that information with their students. 7. Interaction with graduate students: Some believe that graduate students can distract professors attention and efforts away from undergrads. Also, others believe that many grad students are not qualified to teach undergraduates, as many of them do. This can be true in some cases. However, graduate students can serve as great mentors for undergrads. Most of them are very current and up-to-date in their fields of interest. They can offer valuable advice to undergrads regarding internships, jobs and grad schools. 8. Students can take graduate-level classes: This is college students version of taking Advanced Placement classes while in high school. Motivated students who are up to the challenge of graduate-level classes will be pushed much harder than what they are used to. This can be very beneficial to students who are interested in attending grad school. Also, graduate-level classes demand more research papers and real-world scenarios. With graduate-level classes, students can be further engaged in what their fields will demand after college. 9. You will be more recognized: Your first job interview could begin with your prospective employer mentioning that your college is a great school. At a smaller college, however, your employer might be stuck asking where that school is or what its all about. Larger, research universities are much more recognized than smaller colleges. Therefore, it is sometimes believed that their students are of a higher caliber. This may not always be true, but it could help you earn a great job/internship, or help you get accepted into a prestigious grad school. 10. Greater networking opportunities: Get used to hearing this term over-and-over again. Professors and alumni from all colleges preach tirelessly about the benefits of networking. Many will tell stories about how networking helped them get their first job or internship. Its true, but we wont harp on it. Professors at research universities because of the quality of their research are very well-connected in their respective industries. They are more than willing to help their best students find jobs and internships. Most professors will even bring students on company tours and introduce them to their industry peers.