Italian Demystified. A self-Teaching Guide

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Contents

Transportation 276

QUIZ 276

CHAPTER 15 More About Nouns and Adjectives 279

More About Masculine and Feminine Nouns 279

Nouns of Greek Origin 283

Position of Adjectives 287

Form-Changing Adjectives 289

Human Body 294

QUIZ 295

PART THREE TEST 299

PART FOUR EXTENDING COMPETENCE

CHAPTER 16 Talking About the Future 307

Using the Future Tense 307

Irregular Forms in the Future Tense 314

Future Perfect Tense 318

Talking About Sports 321

QUIZ 323

CHAPTER 17 Using the Conditional Tense 325

Conditional Tense 325

Irregular Forms in the Conditional Tense 331

Past Conditional Tense 336

Using Negatives 338

Italian People 341

QUIZ 341

CHAPTER 18 Using Object Pronouns 345

Object Pronouns 345

Object Pronouns with Past Participles 351

A Bit More About Adjectives 354

Adverbs 356

Computers and the Internet 361

QUIZ 361

x Contents

CHAPTER 19 Using Double and Attached Object Pronouns 365

Double Object Pronouns 366

Attached Object Pronouns 369

Stressed Pronouns 373

Still More About the Verb Piacere 375

QUIZ 378

CHAPTER 20 Making Comparisons 381

More About Pronouns 382

Adjectives of Comparison 386

Adverbs of Comparison 392

Relative Pronouns 393

Italian Coffee 396

QUIZ 396

PART FOUR TEST 399

FINAL EXAM 405

Italian-English Glossary 417

English-Italian Glossary 427

Answer Key 437

Index 455

INTRODUCTION

This book is for those who want to learn the basics of the Italian language without

taking a formal course. It can also serve as a supplementary, complementary, or

even primary text in a classroom, tutored, or homeschooled environment, given its

comprehensiveness in covering the main points of Italian grammar, vocabulary,

and communication. You’ll ﬁ nd a straightforward explanation of key Italian gram-

mar points including all of the major verb tenses. In addition to grammar points,

you will learn key vocabulary through vocabulary lists and example sentences. The

most common words will also appear in the glossaries in the back of this book.

There are two ways you can use this book. You can start at the beginning and go

straight through, without skipping any part or omitting any exercise. Or, you can

jump around, using the Table of Contents to pick and choose the grammar points

you most need demystiﬁ ed for you.

This book contains an abundance of practice material. After a topic is introduced

in each chapter, you will come across an Oral Practice section, which will allow you

to become familiar with the topic by simple imitation and reading practice. This is

usually followed by a Written Practice section, which will give you the opportunity

to practice what you’ve learned by supplying the answers on your own. In the latter

case, you can check your answers for correctness in the Answer Key at the back of

the book and then move on with conﬁ dence. There is a quiz at the end of every

chapter. The quizzes will help you to review the contents of each chapter and will

reinforce your knowledge of the grammar points discussed. These are open-book

quizzes. This means that you may, and should, refer to the relevant sections in that

chapter as you work through a particular question. Write down your answers, and

then check them in the Answer Key. Try to achieve a score of 80 percent on the quiz

before moving on to the next chapter.

There are four major parts within this book, each organized in order of increas-

ing complexity and focused on what you will need to know in order to use the Ital-

ian language in common situations. Grammatical accuracy and knowledge are

emphasized in each chapter, and information on communication skills and Italian

xii Introduction

culture is interspersed throughout, forming the backbone of what you will be learn-

ing to do with the Italian vocabulary and grammar.

Each part contains ﬁ ve chapters, and each chapter contains from four to eight

topics, making the overall learning easy to digest in small capsules. However, as

you progress, you will have to recall what you have learned in previous chapters and

use it along with the new material. The best way to do this is to review the chapter

quizzes, which are designed to test you on the contents of each chapter. You may

ﬁ nd that you need to review just a section in a chapter, or you may have to review

the entire chapter.

At the end of each of the four major parts in this book, you will ﬁ nd a ﬁ fty-ques-

tion multiple-choice test. Take the test only when you’ve completed the previous

ﬁ ve chapters in that part. Each test is a closed-book test, which means that you

should not look back through the text for the correct answers. The questions are not

as speciﬁ c in the tests as in the quizzes, but will help you gauge your knowledge to

that point. A satisfactory score on each of these tests is 75 percent of the answers

correct. You can check your answers in the Answer Key at the back of this book.

There is a 100-question Final Exam at the end of the book. The questions in this

exam cover the main aspects of the Italian language and culture and are drawn from

all four parts. Take the Final Exam only after completing all twenty chapters. A

satisfactory score on the exam is at least 75 percent of the answers correct.

It is recommended that you complete one chapter per week, studying it for about

one to two hours each day. Don’t rush through a chapter. Give your mind time to

absorb the material in it. But do not go too slowly either. Take it at a steady pace and

keep it up throughout the course. Languages are not easy to learn. They require

time and effort. But the way in which this book is organized allows you to absorb

each concept of the Italian language in small pieces, and doing so enables you to

come out of the course with a ﬁ rm knowledge of basic Italian.

When you’ve completed this course, you can use this book as a permanent refer-

ence manual to review Italian concepts whenever you need to. There is an Index at

the back to help you ﬁ nd the topics covered.

Learning a foreign language is exciting and fun, so above all else, enjoy

yourself!

PART ONE

BASIC SKILLS

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CHAPTER 1

Italian

Pronunciation

and Spelling

Here’s what you will learn in this chapter:

Pronunciation of Italian Vowels

Introducing Yourself

Pronunciation of Italian Consonants

Introducing People

Italian Spelling and Capitalization

Using the Verb Piacere

Asking People How They Are

Names and Surnames

Pronunciation of Italian Vowels

Come si pronuncia? How does one pronounce it? This chapter will address the

important aspects of Italian pronunciation. There are two kinds of sounds in any

language: vowels and consonants. Vowels are produced by expelling air through the

mouth without blockage. The letters that represent these sounds in Italian are the

same as those used in English: a, e, i, o, u.

Because Italian and English use many of the same alphabet characters, be care-

ful! Some sounds represented by certain letters in Italian are different from the

sounds those letters represent in English. Also, stressed vowels (vowels bearing the

main accent) in Italian are not pronounced with a “glide” as in English (such as the

added w sound in the middle of the word going).

Throughout this chapter there are pronunciation guides. These will help you

become familiar with Italian sounds. Follow them carefully.

A is pronounced like the English a in father, or as in the exclamation ah!: Anna

(Ahn-nah) Anne and Anna. Here are a few more Italian names that start with this

vowel.

Arturo (ahr-tOOh-roh) Arthur

Arnaldo (ahr-nAhl-doh) Arnold

Andrea (ahn-drEh-ah) Andrew

Amelia (ah-mEh-leeh-ah) Amelia

E is pronounced like the e in bet, or as in the exclamation eh!: Emma (Ehm-mah)

Emma. Here are a few more Italian names that start with this vowel.

Erminia (ehr-mEEh-neeh-ah) Hermione

Edoardo (eh-doh-Ahr-doh) Edward

Eleonora (eh-leh-oh-nOh-rah) Eleanor

Elena (Eh-leh-nah) Helen

I is pronounced like the i sound in machine, or as in the exclamation eeh!: Ida

(EEh-dah) Ida. Here are a few more Italian names that start with this vowel.

4 Italian Demystiﬁ ed

Irma (EEhr-mah) Irma

Ignazio (eeh-nyAh-tseeh-oh) Ignatius

Ilaria (eeh-lAh-reeh-ah) Hilary

Isabella (eeh-zah-bEhl-lah) Isabel

O is pronounced like the o sound in sorry, or as in the exclamation oh! as in Otto

(Oht-toh), Otto. Here are a few more Italian names that start with this vowel.

Orlando (ohr-lAhn-doh) Roland

Olivia (oh-lEEh-vyah) Olivia

Omero (oh-mEh-roh) Homer

Orfeo (ohr-fEh-oh) Orpheus

U is pronounced like the oo sound in boot, or as in the exclamation ooh!: Ugo

(OOh-goh), Hugh and Hugo. Here are a few more Italian names that start with this

vowel.

Uberto (ooh-bEhr-toh) Hubert

Umberto (oohm-bEhr-toh) Humbert

Ulisse (ooh-lEEh-seh) Ulysses

DIFFERENCES IN PRONUNCIATION

The vowels e and o are pronounced differently in various parts of Italy. In some

regions they are spoken with the mouth more open; in others, more closed. In many

areas, however, both pronunciations are used. This is analogous to how the English

a in tomato is pronounced in North America. In some areas it is pronounced like

the a in father; in others it is pronounced like the a in pay. However, whether it is

pronounced one way or the other, no one will have much difﬁ culty understanding

that the word is still tomato. Similarly, whether Elena is pronounced with the ﬁ rst

e open, similar to the English word led, or closed, similar to the English word bet,

Italians will still know it is the same word.

CHAPTER 1 Italian Pronunciation and Spelling

6 Italian Demystiﬁ ed

DIPHTHONGS

The Italian letter i stands for a sound similar to the English y in yes if it comes

before a stressed vowel. Similarly, the letter u stands for a sound similar to the Eng-

lish w in way if it comes before a stressed vowel. This type of syllable is called a

diphthong.

Biagio (byAh-joh) Blaise

Bianca (byAhn-kah) Blanche, Bianca

Pietro (pyEh-troh) Peter

Guido (gwEEh-doh) Guy

Pasquale (pahs-kwAh-leh) Pascal

Be careful! In some words i and u are pronounced as belonging to a separate syl-

lable, even if followed by another vowel. In Italian there is no accent mark to show

this feature.

Maria (mah-rEEh-ah) Mary

Vittorio (veeht-tOh-reeh-oh) Victor

Luigi (looh-EEh-jeeh) Louis

In most words, the stress (main accent) falls on the next-to-last syllable.

Ornella (ohr-nEhl-lah) Ornella

Arturo (ahr-tOOh-roh) Arthur

But, again, be careful! This is not always the case.

Elena (Eh-leh-nah) Helen

Agata (Ah-gah-tah) Agatha

Cesare (chEh-zah-reh) Caesar

Some words are written with an accent mark on the ﬁ nal vowel. This means, of

course, that you must put the main stress on that vowel.

Niccolò (neehk-koh-lOh) Nicholas