Description
Book SynopsisLearn to speak Italian like a native? Easy. Italian All-in-One For Dummies appeals to those readers looking for a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to mastering the Italian language.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 4
Book I: Speaking Italian in Everyday Settings 5
Chapter 1: Exploring Pronunciations and Italian You May Already Know 7
You Already Know Some Italian! 8
Getting to the root of cognates 9
Picking up popular expressions 9
Mouthing Off: Basic Pronunciation 11
Starting with the alphabet 11
Vowels 12
Consonants 14
Stressing Syllables Properly 18
Chapter 2: Dealing with Numbers, Dates, and Time 21
Counting from Zero to a Billion: Cardinal Numbers 21
Building numbers in Italian 23
Speaking numbers like a native 25
Making sense of addresses 26
Putting Things in Order: Ordinal Numbers 27
Looking at the Calendar: Days, Months, and Seasons 29
Days of the week 29
Months and seasons of the year 30
Specific dates 31
Telling Time 34
Familiarizing Yourself with the Metric System 38
Converting the temperature to/from Celsius 39
Measuring in metric units 40
Chapter 3: Buongiorno! Salutations! 41
Looking at Common Greetings and Goodbyes 41
Issuing a greeting 41
Deciding between formal and friendly 43
Replying to a greeting 43
Specifying your reunion 44
Making Introductions 44
Introducing yourself 45
Introducing other people 47
Talking about Language, Countries, and Nationalities 49
Finding out whether someone speaks Italian 49
Talking about where you come from 50
Extending and Responding to Invitations 54
Chapter 4: Making Small Talk 55
Discovering Interrogative Pronouns 55
Asking simple questions 56
Taking care of basic needs 58
Talking About Your Family 60
Discussing What You Do 61
Talking shop 62
Discussing your job 62
Chatting about the Weather 64
Chapter 5: Casa Dolce Casa: Home Sweet Home 67
Describing Where You Live 67
Stating your country and hometown 67
Noting the type of home you have 68
Taking a Tour of Your Home 69
Il soggiorno: The living room 69
La cucina: The kitchen 71
La sala da pranzo: The dining room 72
La camera da letto: The bedroom 75
Il bagno: The bathroom 76
Other areas around the house 77
Chapter 6: Using the Phone and Talking Business 81
Phoning Made Simple 81
Connecting via cellphones, texts, and video 82
Calling for business or pleasure 84
Making Arrangements over the Phone 86
Asking for People and Getting the Message 88
Discussing Your Job 91
Referring to coworkers 92
Interviewing 92
Covering compensation and breaks 93
Describing things around the office 93
Chapter 7: Food, Glorious Food, and Drink 97
Eating, Italian-Style 97
Having breakfast 97
Eating lunch 98
Enjoying dinner 100
Drinking, Italian-Style 103
Expressing your love for espresso 103
Beverages with even more of a kick 105
Dining Out, from Start to Finish 106
Making reservations 106
Paying for your meal 108
Shopping for Food 109
Dal macellaio (butcher shop) 109
Pesce (fish) 109
At the panetteria (bread shop) 110
Chapter 8: Shopping, Italian-Style 115
Checking Out Stores 115
Deciding between department stores and boutiques 116
Navigating the store 116
Admiring shop displays 118
Clothing Yourself 119
Checking out various items 119
Sizing up Italian sizes 119
Talking definitely and indefinitely 123
Coloring your words 124
Choosing the right fabric 125
Accessorizing 126
Narrowing Your Options 127
Comparing items, more or less 128
Considering price 129
Book II: Exploring and Wandering About 133
Chapter 1: Where Is the Colosseum? Asking Directions 135
Finding Your Way: Asking for Specific Places 135
Mapping the quarters and following directions 137
Expressing verbs on the move 140
Exploring Italian Cities and Towns 143
La piazza: The heart of the Italian city 143
Viewing famous sites and architectural styles 143
Finding the places you’re looking for 144
Chapter 2: Having Fun Out on the Town 147
Experiencing Italian Culture 147
Taking in a movie 149
Going to the theater 150
Exploring a museum 152
Experiencing a local festival 153
Taking in the Italian Music Scene 154
Catching a concert 154
Exploring the world of Italian opera 156
Popular Italian music 158
Inviting Fun 159
Chapter 3: Exploring the Outdoors, Sports, and Hobbies 163
Getting Close to Nature 164
Playing and Watching Sports 166
Using the right names and verbs for sports talk 167
Watching sports 171
Talking about Hobbies and Interests 173
Speaking Reflexively 176
Chapter 4: Planning a Trip 179
Deciding When and Where to Go 179
Going to agriturismo 181
Going to the beach and spa 182
Visiting castles, palaces, and estates 182
Taking a Tour 183
Booking a Trip outside of Italy 185
Arriving and Leaving with Arrivare and Partire 187
Using the Simple Future Tense 188
Chapter 5: Money, Money, Money 189
Going to the Bank 189
Changing Money 190
Using Credit Cards 193
Looking at Various Currencies 195
Chapter 6: Getting Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and Buses 199
Getting through the Airport 199
Checking in 200
Dealing with excess baggage 202
Waiting to board the plane 203
Coping after landing 204
Dealing with lost luggage 204
Going through Customs 204
Renting a Car 206
Navigating Public Transportation 208
Calling a taxi 208
Moving by train 209
Going by bus or tram 210
Reading maps and schedules 212
Being Early or Late 213
Chapter 7: Finding a Place to Stay 215
Choosing a Place to Stay 215
Reserving a Room 216
Checking In 219
Chapter 8: Handling Emergencies 223
Getting Help Fast 223
Receiving Medical Attention 224
Describing what ails you 224
Understanding professional medical vocabulary 228
Getting what you need at the pharmacy 228
Braving the dentist 229
Handling Legal Matters 229
Reporting an accident 229
Reporting a robbery 230
Reporting a lost or stolen passport 233
Getting legal help 235
Dealing with Car Trouble 236
Book III: Grasping Basic Grammar Essentials for Communication 239
Chapter 1: What Do You Know? Parts of Speech 241
Recognizing the Parts of Speech 241
Nouns 245
Pronouns 246
Articles 246
Verbs 247
Adjectives 247
Adverbs 248
Prepositions 249
Conjunctions 249
Interjections 250
Conjugating Verbs in the Present Tense 250
Identifying infinitives 250
Establishing subject-verb agreement 251
Moving on to Other Verb Tenses 251
Composing a Simple Sentence 252
Chapter 2: Noun and Article Basics: Gender and Number 253
A Primer on Articles 254
Definite articles: Dealing with “the” 254
Indefinite articles: Saying “a” or “an” 256
Distinguishing between Masculine and Feminine Nouns 257
Recognizing common noun endings 257
Sorting nouns into classes 258
Moving from Singular to Plural: Basic Rules 260
Making Exceptions to the Basic Rules on Number 261
Changing more than just the ending 262
Changing only the article 263
Using nouns only in the singular or the plural 263
Deciding When to Include an Article 264
When (and when not) to use a definite article 264
When (and when not) to use an indefinite article 266
Chapter 3: All about Pronouns 267
Meeting the Subject Pronouns 268
Knowing when to use subject pronouns 269
Adapting subject pronouns for informal and formal usage 269
Emphasizing Stressed Pronouns 270
Digging into Direct Object Pronouns 271
What direct object pronouns are and what they do 271
Where to place direct object pronouns 272
Investigating Indirect Object Pronouns 273
Forming Double Pronouns 274
Figuring out how to replace direct and indirect object pronouns 275
Checking out common double pronouns 276
But Wait, There’s More! Special Italian Pronouns 276
The adverbial pronoun ci 277
The pronoun ne 278
When the Subject Is Also the Object: Reflexive Pronouns 280
Chapter 4: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Comparisons 281
Matching Adjectives to Nouns in Gender and Number 282
Regular adjectives 283
Irregular adjectives 284
Invariable adjectives 285
Associating One Adjective with More Than One Noun 286
Putting Adjectives in Their Place 286
Recognizing the adjectives that come before nouns 287
Using placement to change an adjective’s meaning 287
Forming Adverbs the Italian Way 288
Original adverbs 288
Derived adverbs 290
Finding a Place for Adverbs 290
Making Comparisons 292
Comparisons of equality 292
Comparisons of inequality 293
The best and the worst: Superlatives 294
Special comparatives and superlatives 295
Chapter 5: Meeting the Challenge of Prepositions 297
Combining Basic Prepositions with Articles 298
Forming Complements (Preposition + Noun, Name, or Pronoun) 299
Possession and specification 299
Qualities and functions 300
Place 300
Place and function 302
Time 303
Purpose and agent of action 305
Tools, reasons, and causes 305
Chapter 6: Demonstrative, Indefinite, and Possessive Qualifiers 307
Pointing to Something with Questo and Quello 308
Conveying Something Indefinite 309
Indefinite words used as adjectives or pronouns 310
Indefinite words used solely as pronouns 317
Indefinite words that express a part of a set 319
Assigning Ownership with Possessive Qualifiers 320
Chapter 7: Making Connections with Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns 323
Linking Words and Clauses with Conjunctions and Prepositions 323
Connecting words or sentences with coordinating conjunctions 324
Joining a dependent clause with an independent one 325
Joining Clauses That Belong Together 328
Dealing with your average relative pronouns 329
Economy of speech: Combined pronouns 333
Chapter 8: Asking and Answering Questions 335
Looking at Ways of Asking Questions in Italian 336
Adjusting your intonation 336
Inverting the word order 336
Asking some common questions 337
Digging Deeper: Asking More Complex Questions 337
Employing interrogative adjectives 338
Requesting the location and time: Interrogative adverbs 339
Inquiring about who, what, which one, and how many: Interrogative pronouns 341
Providing Detailed Answers to Questions 342
Answering Questions Negatively 343
Book IV: Mastering Italian Verbs and Tenses 345
Chapter 1: Jumping into Action with Italian Regular Verbs 347
Conjugating Regular Verbs in Italian 348
Conjugating -are verbs 349
Conjugating -ere verbs 353
Conjugating -ire verbs 354
Moving Past the Present Tense 356
Communicating Quickly with Verbs 357
Looking More Closely at Personal Subject Pronouns 358
Chapter 2: Talking in the Present Tense with Irregular Verbs 361
To Be or Not to Be: Conjugating Essere 362
To Have and to Hold: Conjugating Avere 363
To Make or to Do: Conjugating Fare 364
To Give: Dare 364
To Ask How Others Are: Stare 365
To Come and to Go: Venire and Andare 366
Declaring Needs, Wants, and Abilities: Dovere, Volere, and Potere 367
Do Tell: Dire 368
Stepping Out: Uscire 369
Bottom’s Up: Bere 370
The -orre, -urre, and -arre Verbs 370
Using Irregular Verbs in Idiomatic Expressions 371
Idiomatic expressions with essere 372
Idiomatic expressions with fare 372
Idiomatic expressions with dare and stare 373
Chapter 3: Using Reflexive Forms and the Imperative Mood 375
Reflecting on Reflexive Verbs 375
Pairing reflexive pronouns with reflexive verbs 376
Using reflexive verbs throughout the day 377
Altering the position of reflexive pronouns 378
Giving and taking with the reciprocal form 380
Using the impersonal si 381
Giving a Commanding Performance with the Imperative 381
Constructing commands (of the tu, noi, and voi variety) 382
Dealing with irregular imperatives for tu, noi, and voi 383
Commanding politely: Forming the Lei and Loro forms of the imperative 384
Adding pronouns to imperatives 385
Checking out commonly used commands 387
Chapter 4: Declaring Your Likes (And Dislikes) with Piacere 389
Understanding How to Use Piacere 390
Working with indirect object pronouns 390
Conjugating piacere in the present tense 391
Combining piacere with indirect object pronouns 392
Using piacere as a noun 394
Expressing Likes (And Dislikes) in Any Tense 395
Conjugating piacere and dispiacere in the subjunctive and past absolute 395
Checking out more conjugations for piacere and dispiacere 396
Looking at Other Verbs that Work Backward 399
Verbs that carry the indirect object in their constructions 400
The verb mancare 401
Chapter 5: The Future Tense and the Conditional Mood 403
Focusing on the Future 403
Forming the regular future tense 403
Spelling out -are exceptions in the future tense 405
Working with irregular roots 407
Talking about the future with some handy expressions 409
Could-ing and Would-ing: The Conditional Mood 410
Covering the uses of the conditional 410
Forming the regular conditional 410
Creating the irregular conditional 412
Using dovere, potere, and volere in the conditional 412
Chapter 6: Getting into the Subjunctive Mood 415
Forming the Present Subjunctive Mood 415
Mastering the Present Subjunctive 418
Spelling exceptions 419
Irregular forms 419
Making the Present Subjunctive a Valuable Tool 421
Expressing desires, wishes, commands, emotions, doubts, and beliefs 421
Working with impersonal expressions 423
Handling conjunctions and words that end in -unque 424
Checking out a few other uses of the present subjunctive 426
Understanding the Imperfect Subjunctive 426
Conjugating the imperfect subjunctive 427
Forming the imperfect subjunctive to express doubts, desires, and wants 428
Getting a grip on irregular imperfect subjunctives 430
Book V: Building Compound Tenses 433
Chapter 1: Been There, Done That: Talking in the Past Tense 435
Forming the Present Perfect Tense 436
Past participles 436
Auxiliary verbs: Avere and essere 438
Over and Done with: The Past Absolute 443
Once Upon a Time: The Imperfect Tense 446
Forming the imperfect 446
Perfecting the use of the imperfect 448
Adding Nuance to Meaning with Verb Tense 449
Chapter 2: Reflexive Verbs in the Past 451
Forming the Present Perfect of Reflexive Verbs 452
Using Reciprocal Verbs in the Present Perfect 454
Forming the Imperfect of Reflexive Verbs 455
Checking Out Reciprocal Verbs in the Imperfect 457
Picking the Present Perfect or the Imperfect for Reflexive Verbs 458
Recognizing Reciprocal Verbs in the Past Absolute 459
Chapter 3: Second-Guessing Actions with the Past Conditional and Past Perfect 461
Forming the Past Conditional 462
Using the Past Conditional to Play “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” 463
Expressing Responsibilities, Desires, and Abilities in the Past Conditional 464
Forming and Implementing the Past Perfect Tense 465
Chapter 4: I Hope That You’ve Had Fun!
The Subjunctive Mood in the Past 469
Forming the Past Subjunctive 469
Composing the Past Perfect Subjunctive 471
Sequencing Your Tenses in the Subjunctive 473
Chapter 5: “If” Clauses, the Impersonal, and the Passive 477
Hypothetically Speaking: “If” Clauses throughout the Tenses 477
Expressing conditions within the realm of reality 478
Examining hypothetical constructions of probability and possibility 479
What-iffi ng the impossible 480
Come se: In a category of its own 481
Putting a Personal Touch on the Impersonal and the Passive 482
Forming the impersonal in the present 482
Applying the impersonal in other tenses 483
Getting proactive about the passive voice 485
Chapter 6: Progressing through Gerunds in Italian 487
Forming Gerunds in the Present Tense 488
Working with Irregular Gerund Forms 489
Creating Gerunds in the Past Tense 489
Putting Gerunds in the Present Progressive 490
What Were You Thinking? The Imperfect Progressive 491
Book VI: Appendixes 493
Appendix A: Verb Tables 495
Italian Helping Verbs 496
Regular Italian Verbs 498
Irregular Italian Verbs 518
Appendix B: Italian-English Mini-Dictionary 529
Appendix C: English-Italian Mini-Dictionary 545
Appendix D: Fun & Games 561
Appendix E: Audio Tracks 615
Discovering What’s on the Audio Tracks 615
Track Listing 616
Index 619
