Italian Workbook For Dummies

Learning Italian is easy with Dummies

Italian Workbook For Dummies is for beginners who want to get started learning Italian. Packed with foundational grammar and integrated vocab, Italian Workbook For Dummies will set new language learners on their way to a wonderful experience learning this beautiful romance language. This book provides valuable practice lessons and exercises so that you can learn to write and communicate in Italian with confidence. Italian Workbook For Dummies is also an excellent supplement for any student looking to boost their classroom learning. With the tried-and-true expertise of Dummies, you'll move through the Italian basics with ease.

• Get introduced to the Italian language, including basic grammar and pronunciation
• Complete exercises to improve your ability to write and speak in Italian
• Learn important phrases for travelling, doing business, and studying in Italy
• Build your vocabulary, discover common slang, and learn authentic expressions

This is the perfect Dummies guide for those who are brand new to the Italian language, regardless of age or background. Gain the confidence you need to interact in Italiano!

Teresa Picarazzi, PhD, has taught Italian language, literature, and cinema for more than 30 years. She now teaches Italian at The Hopkins School in New Haven. She has lived, studied, and worked in Florence, Siena, Urbino, Cortona, and Ravenna, Italy. She has written books and several articles on Italian politics and culture.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting Your Bearings with the Basics 5

Chapter 1: Greetings! Getting to Know You 7

Chapter 2: Embedded Gender and Number: Nouns and Articles 19

Chapter 3: Putting Two and Two Together: Numbers, Dates, and Time 33

Part 2: Verbs as Building Blocks 45

Chapter 4: Noting to Be or to Have with Essere and Avere 47

Chapter 5: Forming the Present 61

Chapter 6: Going and Coming with Irregular Verbs 73

Part 3: Building Beautiful Sentences: Parts of Speech 87

Chapter 7: Enriching Adjectives and Adverbs 89

Chapter 8: Comparisons and Superlatives 103

Chapter 9: Prepositions, and Then Some 113

Chapter 10: La Mia Famiglia: Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns 127

Chapter 11: Asking with Interrogatives; Pointing Out with Demonstratives 139

Part 4: More Verb Tenses 149

Chapter 12: Glancing Back at the Past: The Passato Prossimo 151

Chapter 13: Once Upon a Time: The Imperfect 167

Chapter 14: Looking Ahead: The Future Tense 183

Chapter 15: Commanding and the Imperative 195

Chapter 16: Forming and Using Conditional Verbs 211

Chapter 17: Everyday Communication with Reflexives 223

Part 5: The Part of Tens 237

Chapter 18: Ten Practice Dialogues for When You’re Out and About in Italy 239

Chapter 19: Ten Common Word Swaps to Avoid 251

Part 6: Appendixes 255

Appendix A: English-Italian Dictionary 257

Appendix B: Italian-English Dictionary 261

Index 265

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.