Italian Essentials For Dummies

Teresa L. Picarazzi, PhD, has taught Italian language, literature, and cinema for more than 40 years. She has lived, studied, conducted research, and directed study-abroad programs in Florence, Siena, Urbino, Cortona, and Ravenna, Italy. She’s also written several For Dummies books, including Italian Workbook For Dummies.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Chapter 1: Focusing on the Basics 5Mouthing Off: Basic Pronunciation 6The alphabet 6Vowels 7Consonants 8Stressing words properly 9Addressing Folks: Greetings and Salutations 10Formal greetings 10Informal greetings 12Forms of courtesy 13Using Everyday Numbers 14Counting items with cardinal numbers 14Putting items in order with ordinal numbers 16Using the Calendar 17Expressing the days of the week 17Managing your calendar 18Making the Most of Time 19Asking the time 20A che ora: saying “at” 21Getting into the Parts of Speech 21Setting up simple sentences 22Coping with gendered words 22Nouns and gender 22Indefinite articles 22Definite articles 22Referring to folks with pronouns 23Introducing regular and irregular verbs 23Presenting the simple tenses: present, past, and future 23Describing with adjectives 24Clarifying with adverbs 24Joining with prepositions 24Table of Contents iiiChapter 2: Determining Gender ABCs 25Focusing on Gender 25Engendering Nouns 26Distinguishing between masculine and feminine nouns 27Noting exceptions 30Sorting out Definite and Indefinite Articles 32Specifying and using the definite articles 33Knowing when (and when not) to use a definite article 34Generalizing with indefinite articles 35Possessing with Possessive Adjectives 36Forming possessives 37Using the preposition di 38Using possessive adjectives with family 39Considering body parts and clothing 40Knowing when the possessive pronoun is enough 41Enriching Your Sentences with Object Pronouns 41Dealing with direct object pronouns 41Coping with indirect object pronouns 42Choosing the Proper Pronouns 43Chapter 3: Expressing Yourself in the Present 45Getting to Know Italian Verbs 46Getting Personal with the Subject Pronouns 47Being inclusive 47Knowing when to use them 48Knowing when to use tu versus Lei 48Exploring the Present Tense 50Conjugating Regular Verbs 51Focusing on -are verbs 52Concentrating on -ere verbs 53Eyeing -ire verbs 54Identifying similarities with the three verb types 56Tackling Irregular Verbs 57Looking at irregular -are verbs 57Exploring the modal auxiliaries 59Differentiating between sapere and conoscere 60Taking on irregular -ire verbs 61Working with essere and avere 62Using Reflexive Verbs 65Knowing when to use reflexive verbs 65Looking at reflexive pronouns 66Forming reflexive verbs 66Liking piacere 69Doing Things in the Here and Now — Present Progressive Tense 70Chapter 4: Building Beautiful Sentences 73Making Adjectives Agree 73Tackling regular adjectives 74Regular adjectives with a twist: bello and buono 77Irregular adjectives 78Invariable adjectives 78Putting adjectives in their place 79Forming Adverbs the Italian Way 79Focusing on the two categories of adverbs 79Finding a place for adverbs in a sentence 83Comparing with the Comparative and Superlative 83Comparing 84Designating the best and the worst with the superlatives 87Making irregular comparisons 88Putting Things Together with Prepositions 90Exploring the simple guys 90Contracting prepositions with articles and nouns 91Going places: a or in 92Working with andare 93Noting the many uses of da 93Figuring out the Italian ins 94Using di for possession and the partitive 94Using the partitive 95Putting su on the spot 95Noting the exceptions 95Chapter 5: Asking and Answering Questions 97Questioning Basics: What You Need to Know 98Tackling Those Interrogatives 99Making more out of some interrogatives 103Taking care of basic needs 104Negating — Answering in the Negative 105Pointing to Something with Questo and Quello 106Questo (this/these) 106Quello (that/those) 107Chapter 6: Talking about the Past 109Talking about the Past with the Passato Prossimo 110Dealing with Regular and Irregular Past Participles 111Forming regular past participles 111Forming the past participle of irregular verbs 112Figuring Out Which Auxiliary to Use 115Using avere in the passato prossimo 115Using essere in the passato prossimo 116Using piacere in the passato prossimo 120Using the Passato Prossimo 121Recognizing when to utilize the passato prossimo 121Qualifying with expressions of time 122Forming Perfect Sentences with the Imperfetto 123Recognizing regular verbs in the imperfetto 123Dealing with a few scoundrels: Irregular verbs 124Perfecting the Uses of the Imperfetto 126When the Going Gets Tricky: The Imperfetto and Passato Prossimo 127Grasping key terms 128Differentiating between sapere and conoscere 129Chapter 7: Che Sarà Sarà: Looking to the Future 131Using the Future 132Identifying common expressions denoting the future 133Using the present to talk about the future 134Forming the Simple Future Tense 134Regular verbs 134Stem-changing regular verbs 136Irregular verbs 137Forming the Futuro Anteriore 140Predicting with the Future 141Chapter 8: Using Verb Moods 143Giving Commands with the Imperative Mood 144Forming the imperative 144Tackling irregular verbs 146Examining negative commands 147Adding pronouns to commands 147Working with the reflexives 148Focusing on the Subjunctive Mood 149Forming the present subjunctive 150Mastering spelling exceptions and irregular forms 151Eyeing verbs and expressions that require the subjunctive 153Noting impersonal expressions with and without subjunctive 154Dabbling with the past subjunctive 155Forming and Using the Conditional 156Shaping verbs into the present conditional 157It’s over now! Forming the past conditional 159Chapter 9: Ten Frequently Mixed-Up Italian Verbs and Phrases 161Fare Domanda versus Fare una Domanda 161Giocare versus Suonare 162Lavorare versus Funzionare 162Andare in Bagno versus Fare il Bagno 162Divertirsi versus 163In bocca al lupo! 163Salute! 163Lascia perdere! 164Partita versus Festa 164Fabbrica versus Stoffa and Fattoria 164Appendix: Verb Charts 165Index 179