Intermediate Italian For Dummies

Take your Italian skills to the next level the fun and easy way with Intermediate Italian For Dummies! This practical, easy-to-follow guide will help you to be more fluent and comfortable in your Italian writing. You’ll learn key concepts, practice what you’ve learned, and check your answers. With the exercises and lessons featured in this book, you will be able master written communication in Italian. You’ll quickly understand the basics of Italian grammar and pick up on the nuances of this romantic language. You’ll learn how to conjugate verbs, navigate tenses, and feel comfortable with gendered words. Say and spell words correctly, and no one will be able to tell that you’re not a native Italian. You’ll discover the basics of ordering words, answering questions, and forming complete sentences. You’ll be able to master parts of speech and apply articles as needed. Find out how to: Navigate grammar, language nuances, and verb tenses Conjugate verbs and understand the basics of gender Say and spell words correctly Order words correctly Answer questions and form complete sentences Use articles where necessary Understand the various parts of speech Write and speak Italian like a native Complete with lists of ten facts to remember about Italian grammar and ten subtle terminology distinctions, Intermediate Italian For Dummies is your one-stop guide to taking your Italian skills to the next level and improving upon what you already know about this widely spoken language.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part I: Getting Your Bearings: Reviewing the Basics 3 Part II: A Close Look at Parts of Speech 3 Part III: What Would You Do without Verbs and Tenses? 3 Part IV: Adding Nuances to Moods and Tenses 4 Part V: The Part of Tens 4 Part VI: Appendixes 4 Icons Used in This Book 4 Where to Go from Here 5 Part I: Getting Your Bearings: Reviewing the Basics 7 Chapter 1: What Do You Know? Parts of Speech and Then Some 9 Getting a Grip on Italian Grammar Terms and Nuances 9 Phonology: Saying and spelling words correctly 10 Morphology: Word structure and variations in word forms 11 Syntax: Putting words in order 17 Getting the Most Out of Dictionaries 19 Navigating a monolingual Italian dictionary 20 Navigating a bilingual Italian-English/English-Italian dictionary 20 Answer Key 23 Chapter 2: Noun and Article Basics: Gender and Number 25 A Primer on Articles 25 Dealing with the definite article “the” 26 Saying “a” or “an” in Italian: Indefinite articles 27 Distinguishing between Masculine and Feminine Nouns 27 Recognizing common noun endings 28 Sorting nouns into three classes 29 Moving from Singular to Plural: Basic Rules 31 Exceptions to the Basic Rules on Number 32 Changing more than just the ending 32 Changing only the article 34 Using nouns only in the singular or the plural 34 Deciding When to Include an Article 35 When (and when not) to use a definite article 35 When (and when not) to use an indefinite article 36 Answer Key 38 Chapter 3: Numbers, Dates, and Time 41 Counting Items with Cardinal Numbers 41 Putting Items in Order with Ordinal Numbers 44 Managing Your Calendar and Your Time 45 Il calendario: The calendar 45 L’ora: The time 46 Answer Key 49 Part II: A Close Look at Parts of Speech 51 Chapter 4: All About Pronouns 53 Reader, Meet the Subject Pronouns 54 Knowing when to use them 55 Adapting subject pronouns for formal and informal usage 55 Stressed Pronouns 56 Direct Object Pronouns 57 Indirect Object Pronouns 60 Combining Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns to Form Double Pronouns 62 But Wait — There’s More! Special Italian Pronouns 64 The adverbial pronoun ci 64 The pronoun ne 66 When the Subject Is Also the Object: Reflexive Pronouns 67 Answer Key 69 Chapter 5: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Comparisons 73 Matching Adjectives to Nouns in Gender and Number 74 Regular adjectives 75 Irregular adjectives 75 Invariable adjectives 76 When You Need to Match One Adjective to More than One Noun 77 Putting Adjectives in Their Place 78 Recognizing the adjectives that come before nouns 78 Using placement to change an adjective’s meaning 78 Forming Adverbs the Italian Way 80 Original adverbs 80 Derived adverbs 81 Finding a Place for Adverbs in a Sentence 82 Making Comparisons 84 Designating the best and the worst: The superlatives 85 Migliore and peggiore, meglio and peggio: Better and worse 86 Answer Key 88 Chapter 6: Prepositions: The Big Challenge 91 Combining Prepositions with Articles 91 Forming Complements (Preposition + Noun, Name, or Pronoun) 92 Possession and specification 93 Qualities and functions 93 Place 94 Place and function 96 Time 96 Purpose and agent of action 99 Tools, reasons, and causes 100 Answer Key 102 Chapter 7: Demonstrative, Indefinite, and Possessive Qualifiers 105 Pointing to Something with Questo (This) and Quello (That) 105 Conveying Something Indefinite 107 Indefinite words used as adjectives or pronouns 107 Indefinite words used solely as pronouns 111 Indefinite words that express a part of a set: Partitive articles, indefinites, and the pronoun ne 113 Assigning Ownership with Possessive Qualifiers 115 Answer Key 117 Chapter 8: Linking Sentences with Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns 119 Linking Words and Clauses with Conjunctions and Prepositions 120 Connecting words or sentences with coordinating conjunctions 120 Joining a dependent clause with an independent one 122 Joining Clauses That Belong Together 125 Dealing just with your average relative pronouns 126 Economy of speech: Combined pronouns 129 Answer Key 131 Part III: What Would You Do without Verbs and Tenses? 133 Chapter 9:Writing in the Present 135 The Reliable Guys: Regular Verbs 135 Finding Surprises at Every Turn: Irregular Verbs 137 Auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliaries 137 Irregular verbs of the first conjugation: -are 139 Irregular verbs of the second conjugation: -ere 140 Irregular verbs of the third conjugation: -ire 142 More irregular verbs: Those that end in -arre, -urre, and -orre 144 Having to Do without a Subject: Impersonal Verbs 145 What’s Happening Right Now: The Present Progressive Tense 146 Using Pronouns with Verbs in the Infinitive or the Gerund 147 Answer Key 150 Chapter 10: Glancing Back at the Past: The Present Perfect and Preterit 153 Step 1: Turning a Verb into a Past Participle 154 Forming the past participle of regular verbs 154 Forming the past participle of irregular verbs 154 Step 2: Figuring Out Which Auxiliary to Use 157 Step 3: Coordinating the Past Participle with the Subject or Object 159 Adding a Modal Auxiliary to a Verbal Form in the Present Perfect 160 Writing and Reading about the Distant Past: The Preterit 162 The preterit of regular verbs 163 The preterit of irregular verbs 164 Answer Key 167 Chapter 11: When Things Lasted (In the Past): The Imperfect 171 Forming the Imperfect 172 Adding endings to regular verbs 172 A few scoundrels: Irregular verbs 173 Crafting the Imperfect Progressive 175 When the Going Gets Tricky: Comparing the Imperfect and Present Perfect 176 Choosing one over the other: Imperfect or present perfect? 176 Using different tenses in different sentences 177 Conveying Two Past Actions in Sequence: The Past Perfect 178 Practicing Your Navigation Among the Three Past Tenses 179 Answer Key 183 Chapter 12: The Future Tense 185 Knowing When to Use the Present to Talk about the Future 185 Forming the Future Tense 186 Regular verbs 186 Irregular verbs 187 Forming the Future Perfect Tense 193 Answer Key 195 Part IV: Adding Nuances to Moods and Tenses 197 Chapter 13: The Imperative 199 The Imperative Form of Regular Verbs 200 Informal usage 200 Formal usage 200 The Imperative Form of Irregular Verbs 201 Verbs that are irregular in the informal imperative 201 Verbs that are irregular in the formal imperative 202 Negative Commands 203 Adding Pronouns to Commands 205 When the pronoun follows the imperative 205 When the pronoun precedes the imperative 206 Answer Key 208 Chapter 14: Forming Conditional and Subjunctive Verbs 209 Shaping Verbs into the Present Conditional 209 Regular verbs 210 Irregular verbs (well, sort of) 211 It’s Over Now! Forming the Past Conditional 213 Putting Verbs in the Present Subjunctive 214 Regular verbs 214 Irregular verbs 215 Creating the Imperfect Subjunctive 216 Regular verbs 216 Irregular verbs 217 Constructing the Subjunctive Mood of the Present Perfect and Past Perfect 219 Answer Key 221 Chapter 15: The Conditional and the Subjunctive in Action 223 Using the Conditional by Itself 224 Constructing Declarative Clauses 225 Managing Time in Declarative Clauses 227 Setting Conditions: Building If . . . Then Clauses 230 Real, possible, and unreal if . . . then clauses 231 Handling variations of temporal sequences of if . . . then clauses 232 Answer Key 234 Chapter 16: Satisfying Your Curiosity with Questions and Answers 237 The Three Ways of Asking a Question 238 Adding a question mark to a sentence 238 Employing the obvious: Question words 239 Using interrogative pronouns to ask about specifics 240 The Nuances of Negative Adjectives and Pronouns: Q & A 243 Responding to Questions 244 Simple responses 245 Using a pronoun in a response 245 Answer Key 248 Chapter 17: The Reflexive, Passive, and Impersonal Constructions 249 Turning Yourself into the Object of Your Own Actions 249 Forming reflexive verbs 250 Transforming a transitive verb into a reflexive verb 251 Verbs that are pretty much purely reflexive 253 Acting on the body (or parts of it): Reflexive pronoun + transitive verb + direct object 253 Engaging in reciprocal actions 255 Moving from the Active to the Passive Form 256 Referring to the Anonymous “Someone” 258 Answer Key 260 Part V: The Part of Tens 263 Chapter 18: Ten Facts to Remember about Italian Grammar 265 False Friends: Similar Italian and English Words Don’t Necessarily Share Meanings 265 Italian Verbs Can Have Multiple Functions 267 Some Verbs Turn the Object into the Subject 268 Some Verbs Can’t Live Without Pronouns 269 Fare is the Jack of All Trades 269 da + Verb = Four Possible Meanings 270 Convey the Passive Voice in More than One Way 270 Convey Strong Emotion with Exclamatory Words 271 Lasciare Grants (or Requests) Permission 271 If You Want Someone to Agree with You, Add Non è vero? 272 Chapter 19: Ten Subtle Verb Distinctions 273 Abitare (To Live, To Reside) versus Vivere (To Live, To Reside) 273 Andare (To Go) versus Partire (To Leave) 273 Sapere (To Know) versus Conoscere (To Be Acquainted With) 274 Fare (To Do) versus Essere (To Be) 274 Essere (To Be) versus Stare (To Stay) 274 Suonare (To Play an Instrument) versus Giocare (To Play a Game or a Sport) 275 Partire (To Leave) versus Uscire (To Go Out) or Lasciare (To Leave) 275 Prendere (To Take, To Have) versus Bere (To Drink) or Mangiare (To Eat) 275 Potere (Can, May) Versus Riuscire (Can, To Be Able To) 275 Udire/Sentire (To Hear) versus Ascoltare (To Listen To) 276 Part VI: Appendixes 277 Appendix A: Verb Charts 279 Regular Verbs 279 Regular Verbs with a Twist: Simple Spelling Changes 281 -care/-gare verbs 281 -ciare /-giare verbs 281 -gliare verbs 282 -ìare verbs 282 -iare verbs 282 -ire verbs that add -sc- 282 Irregular Verbs 282 Auxiliaries and modal auxiliaries 283 First conjugation in -are 284 Second conjugation in -ere 285 Third conjugation in -ire 290 Combining Irregularities: Verbs that Use an Older Stem 292 Appendix B: English-Italian Dictionary 295 Appendix C: Italian-English Dictionary 299 Index 303

About the Author :
Daniela Gobetti has taught political theory in undergraduate and graduate courses in Italy and the United States. She has written several books of instruction for learners of Italian, and taught private language courses and cultural training classes. She is the principal and managing director of PROXIMA-INTERCULTURAL, a consulting firm working on the internationalization of higher education.