Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Guide to Pronunciation xv
I Easy Italian Step-by-Step
1 Nouns, Articles, and Descriptive Adjectives 3
The Gender of Nouns 3
The Indefinite Article 9
The Definite Article 11
Descriptive Adjectives 17
7 Key Vocabulary 18
2 Subject Pronouns, stare, and essere 25
Subject Pronoun Basics 25
Stare Versus essere 26
Key Vocabulary 28
Reading Comprehension La casa 35
3 C'è and ci sono, Interrogative Words, and the Calendar 38
C'è (There Is) and ci sono (There Are) 38
Interrogative Words 42
Calendario (Calendar) 47
Reading Comprehension Una città italiana 51
Key Vocabulary 53
Reading Comprehension Il cinema 56
4 Numbers, Time, and Dates 58
Cardinal Numbers 58
Ordinal Numbers 61
The Date 65
Telling Time 66
Reading Comprehension Il ristorante 70
Reading Comprehension Il Iavoro casalingo 71
5 Regular Verbs 74
Uses of the Present Tense 74
-are Verbs 75
The Preposition a 77
-ere Verbs 78
-ire Verbs 80
-are and -ere Verbs with More than One Meaning 84
Reading Comprehension Arturo e Carla 86
6 Irregular Verbs 88
Irregular -are Verbs 88
-ere Verbs 93
-ire Verbs 99
Reading Comprehension La famiglia Marchetti 102
7 Andare and the Future 104
Andare (to go; to be going) 104
The Future with and are + a + Infinitive 105
The Future Tense of Regular Verbs 106
Key Vocabulary 111
Useful Words: che and per 112
Key Vocabulary 113
Time Expressions 115
Reading Comprehension L'appuntamento dal dentista 119
8 Adjectives and Adverbs 121
Possessive Adjectives 121
Definite Articles 123
Demonstrative Adjectives 126
Adjectives of Nationality 128
Adjectives That Precede a Noun 130
Comparative Adjectives 134
Superlative Adjectives 137
Adverbs 140
Reading Comprehension Il cane e il gatto 147
9 Negatives and Prepositions 150
Negatives and Negative Expressions 150
Prepositions 154
Reading Comprehension Il treno 161
Key Vocabulary 164
Reading Comprehension La visita 170
10 The Indirect Object 172
Piacere and the Indirect Object 172
Verbs Like piacere 178
Indirect Object Pronouns 183
Reading Comprehension Andare a fare spese 193
Reading Comprehension La spiaggia 194
11 The Direct Object 197
Transitive Verbs and the Direct Object 197
Direct Object Pronouns 199
Review Table of Indirect and Direct Object Pronouns 204
Reading Comprehension Gli svaghi degli italiani 207
12 Reflexive Verbs 209
Reflexive Pronouns 209
Frequently Used Reflexive Verbs 210
Reflexive Verbs Whose English Translations Do Not Include Oneself 210
Position of the Reflexive Pronoun 211
Reflexive Verbs with Parts of the Body and Clothing 212
Reflexive Verbs That Express Emotion or Movement 213
Reflexive Verbs Followed by a Preposition 214
Review of Indirect and Direct Object Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns 215
Reflexive Verbs with Reciprocal Meanings 216
Si and Impersonal Expressions 216
Reading Comprehension I mezzi di trasporto pubblici 217
13 The Preterit and the Present Perfect Tenses 220
Formation of the Preterit 220
Key Vocabulary 222
Uses of the Preterit 223
Irregular Verbs 225
The Present Perfect Tense 231
Present Perfect with essere 235
Reading Comprehension La moda italiana 239
14 The Imperfect Tense 242
Formation of the Imperfect 242
Uses of the Imperfect 246
Preterit, Present Perfect, and imperfect Compared 249
Double Object Pronouns 255
Reflexive Pronouns with Direct Object Pronouns 263
Reading Comprehension il traffico in Italia 266
II Advanced Step-by-Step
Accent Marks, Stress, and Intonation in Italian 271
15 Nouns, Descriptive Adjectives, and Pronouns 273
Definition and Classification of Nouns 273
The Gender of Nouns 274
Singular and Plural Nouns 279
16 Definite and Indefinite Articles 286
Inclusion and Omission of Articles 287
Reading Comprehension Firenze 291
Indefinite Articles 292
The Partitive Article 294
Reading Comprehension Il gioco delle bocce 296
17 Descriptive Adjectives 298
Adjectives ending in -o 298
Invariable Adjectives 300
Position of the Adjectives 303
Descriptive Adjectives 304
Irregular Adjectives 307
Adjectives That Precede a Noun 307
The Adjective bello 308
Adjectives That Express Quantity 310
Adjectives That Express Next, Only, and Last 312
Adjectives Related to the Five Senses 313
Comparison of Adjectives, Adverbs, Nouns, and Verbs 317
Superlative Adjectives 320
Reading Comprehension Al ristorante 324
Suffixes of Adjectives 326
Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns 327
18 Possessive Pronouns 331
Formation and Uses of Possessive Pronouns 331
Relative Pronouns 335
Demonstrative Pronouns 342
Interrogative Pronouns 344
Indefinite Pronouns 345
19 Prepositions 354
The Preposition a 355
The Preposition in 360
The Preposition di 363
The Preposition da 366
The Preposition con 370
The Preposition su 371
The Preposition sotto 373
The Prepositions fra and tra 374
The Preposition per 374
20 Adverbs 377
Formation of Adverbs 377
Adverbs of Time 378
Adverbs of Location 379
Reading Comprehension Amici 380
Adverbial Expressions with the Prepositions: a, di, da, and in 380
Adverbs of Direction 381
21 Stare vs Essere 383
Uses of Stare 383
Present Continuous Tense (or Progressive Tense) 385
Reading Comprehension Il bar 388
22 Avere and Fare 391
Uses of Avere 391
Verb Fare (to do, to make) 393
Reading Comprehension Visita della mia arnica Isabella 395
23 The Present Tense of Regular Verbs 397
Conjugations 397
Useful First Conjugation or-are Verbs 399
First Conjugation Verbs Ending in -care and -gare 400
First Conjugation Verbs Ending in -dare, -glare, and -sciare 401
Second Conjugation, -ere Verbs 405
Second Conjugation Verbs Ending in -cere and -gere 407
Second Conjugation Verbs Ending in -gliere and -gnere 407
Verbs in -cere, -gere, -gliere, and -gnere 408
Modal Verbs 409
Conjugation of -ire Verbs 412
Group Il Verbs in -isc 414
Uses of the Present Tense 415
24 The Imperfect Tense 417
Regular Verbs in the Imperfect 417
Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect 418
Uses of the Imperfect 418
Reading Comprehension Anna vain Italia a studiare l'italiano 419
25 The Present Perfect Tense 422
Formation of the Present Perfect 422
Formation of the Past Participle 423
-Ere Verbs with Irregular Past Participles 423
The Present Perfect with avere 428
The Present Perfect with essere 428
Reading Comprehension La vendemmia 431
26 Negatives 434
Negative Expressions 434
More Negative Expressions 436
Mica and Affatto 437
The Past Progressive Tense 440
27 Direct Object Pronouns 443
Transitive Verbs and the Direct Object Pronouns 443
The Indirect Object Pronoun 447
28 The Pronouns Ci and Vi and Ne 451
Pronouns Ci and Vi 451
Pronoun Ne 455
29 Combined Pronouns and Their Use 458
Combined Pronouns with the Imperative, the Infinitive, and the Gerund 460
Double Pronouns with the Negative Form of the Imperative 461
Double Pronouns with Compound Tenses 462
Double Pronouns with Modal Verbs 464
30 Verbs with Pronouns 467
The Present Perfect with Modal Verbs 467
The Imperative of Reflexive Verbs 468
31 The Future 470
The Future Tense of Regular Verbs 470
Stem Changes in the Future Tense 472
The Future Tense of Irregular Verbs 473
Expressing the Future Using the Present Tense 475
The Future Perfect Tense 476
Reading Comprehension I ponti di Roma e Venezia 478
32 The Conditional 482
Formation of the Conditional Tense 482
Verbs with Irregular Conditional Stems 483
Uses of the Conditional Tense 485
The Conditional Perfect 489
Sequence of Tenses in Indirect Speech 491
33 The Present Subjunctive 493
Formation of the Present Subjunctive 493
-are Verbs in the Present Subjunctive 494
-ere and -ire Verbs in the Present Subjunctive 495
Irregular Verbs in the Subjunctive 497
Uses of the Present Subjunctive 498
The Present Subjunctive After Certain Conjunctions 509
In Certain Dependent Adjective Clauses 511
34 The Present Perfect Subjunctive 515
Formation of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 515
Uses of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 516
35 The Imperfect Subjunctive 519
Formation of the Imperfect Subjunctive 519
Use of the Imperfect Subjunctive in Subordinate Clauses 522
The Imperfect Subjunctive After Certain Verbs 526
The 5e Clause 527
Conditions Contrary to the Fact 527
Reading Comprehension Il carnevale 529
36 Past Perfect Subjunctive 533
Formation of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 533
Se Clause and the Past Perfect Subjunctive 536
Sequence of Tenses with the Subjunctive Mood 541
37 Special Construction and the Passive 547
Fare and Its Uses 547
Lasciare and Its Uses 548
Metterci and Volerci 548
The Passive Voice 550
Verbs Other Than Essere That Express the Passive 550
Alternative to the Passive Voice 553
38 Conjunctions and Verbs with Prepositions 555
Functions of Conjunctions in Italian 555
Most Commonly Used Conjunctions 556
Verbs and Expressions Followed by the Preposition a 557
Verbs and Expressions Followed by the Preposition di 560
Verbs Followed by the Preposition su 562
Reading Comprehension La musica italiana 563
Answer Key 567
Index 597
