If you have ever been confused by language rules, like grammatical gender, this feature will no longer be locked behind a paywall.

Zachary McAuliffe Staff writer

Zach began writing for CNET in November, 2021 after writing for a broadcast news station in his hometown, Cincinnati, for five years. You can usually find him reading and drinking coffee or watching a TV series with his wife and their dog.

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Duolingo, one of our CNET picks for the best language learning apps, announced Monday that its Explain My Answer feature will be coming to free plans on iOS starting Jan. 1. This is something I have been wanting to see on the free version of the app ever since I tried to use it to learn Italian before traveling to Rome.

"Mistakes might be necessary for learning, but knowing the why behind rules and exceptions helps you build confidence and improve for next time," Duolingo wrote in its blog. "Explain My Answer crafts personalized feedback that takes into account the error you made and what about the pattern or rule can be challenging for learners like you."

Duolingo launched Explain My Answer in 2023, but it was limited to Duolingo Max, which costs $30 a month or $168 a year. The feature explains grammatical rules, such as grammatical gender, and provides further examples to help you understand why you got something wrong.

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