Essential Italian Grammar

by Olga Ragusa

Overview

In this very useful manual, Dr. Ragusa has presented all the Italian really needed in everyday life and contemporary situations, without devoting space to the intricacies of literary, archaic and poetic forms that you are not likely to need. It is remarkable how readily Italian grammar lends itself to this form of essential grammar, for within this book Miss Ragusa has presented her material with so great clarity that you will probably remember most of what you have read after a single reading. Among the unusual features of this presentation are an extremely clear statement of the complex pronoun situation, an easily followed analysis of the various verb tenses and moods, and a most useful discussion of the many verb idioms that are so important in Italian.

All the major aspects of Italian grammar are presented in logical, developmental order: vocabulary, vocabulary building, word order, turning negative sentences into positive and vice versa, forming questions, nouns, articles, prepositions, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, verbal idioms, and whatever else is necessary to a knowledge of essential Italian. An appendix contains clear definitions of all the grammatical terms used in the book. Essential Italian Grammar is not a simplified grammar, not an abridged grammar, but a selected grammar for adult use, with emphasis upon explanation rather than rote memory, and with inclusion of much phrase material for examples. It can be used as a supplement to a phrase or record course, as an introduction, or as a refresher for those who have already studied some Italian elsewhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614279372
Publisher:	Martino Fine Books
Publication date:	02/25/2016
Pages:	114
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.27(d)

Read an Excerpt

Essential Italian Grammar

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By Olga Ragusa

Dover Publications, Inc.

Copyright © 1963 Dover Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-11340-1

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INTRODUCTION

Essential Italian Grammar is based on the assumption that you plan to spend a limited number of hours studying Italian grammar and that your objective is simple everyday communication. This book is not a condensed outline of all aspects of Italian grammar. It is a series of hints to help you use more effectively and with greater versatility phrases and vocabulary that you have already learned.

How to Study Essential Italian Grammar

If you have already studied Italian in a conventional manner, you can use this book as a refresher by glancing through all of it first and then selecting those areas on which you wish to concentrate.

If you have never studied Italian grammar, then the following suggestions will be helpful:

1. Master several hundred useful phrases and expressions such as you will find in any good phrase book or in the Listen & Learn Italian course. You will understand the suggestions contained in Essential Italian Grammar more easily after you have achieved this basic working knowledge of Italian. The purpose of this book is to enable you to gain greater fluency once you have learned phrases and expressions, not to teach you to construct sentences from rules and vocabulary.

2. Read through Essential Italian Grammar at least once in its entirety. Don't be concerned if anything is not immediately clear to you. What may appear discouragingly difficult at first will become easier as your studies progress. But the first reading is necessary to acquaint you with terms and concepts peculiar to Italian grammar. Learning what these terms and concepts are will help you to improve your comprehension of Italian and to use more freely the expressions you already know. As you use Italian and hear it spoken, many of its grammatical patterns will become familiar to you. Essential Italian Grammar helps you to discover these patterns so that you can use them.

3. Go back to this book periodically. Sections which seem difficult or of doubtful benefit at first, may prove extremely useful later.

4. For the most part, the book follows a logical order, taking up the major divisions of grammar in sequence. You will do best to follow this order. However, some students learn best when they study to answer an immediate question or need (e.g., how to form the comparative; how to conjugate the verb "to be," etc.). If you are one of these students, turn to the section that interests you. But read through the entire section, rather than just an isolated part. Individual remarks, taken out of context, are easily misunderstood.

5. Examples are given for every rule. It is helpful to memorize these examples. If you learn every example in Essential Italian Grammar, together with its literal translation, you will have encountered the basic difficulties of Italian and studied models for their solution.

6. You cannot study Italian systematically without an understanding of its grammar, and the use and understanding of grammatical terms is as essential as a knowledge of certain mechanical terms when you learn to drive a car. If your knowledge of grammatical terms is weak, read the Glossary of Grammatical Terms (p. 94) and refer to it whenever necessary.

In every language there are many ways to express the same thought. Some constructions are simple, others more difficult. During your first experiments in communication, use a simple construction. Throughout Essential Italian Grammar you will find suggestions on how to avoid complicated constructions in favor of simpler ones. You may ultimately wish to master a more sophisticated way of expressing yourself. Be satisfied at first with the simplest.

As you begin to speak Italian, you will become aware of the areas in which you need the most help in grammar. If you have no one with whom to speak, speak mentally to yourself. In the course of a day see how many of the simple thoughts you've expressed in English you are able to turn into Italian. This kind of experimental self-testing will give direction to your study of grammar. Remember that you are studying this course in Italian not to pass an examination or to receive a certificate, but to communicate with others on a simple but useful level. Essential Italian Grammar is not the equivalent of a formal course of study at a university. Although it could serve as a supplement to such a course, its primary aim is to help the adult study on his own. Indeed, no self-study or academic course or series of courses is ever ideally suited to all students. You must rely on and be guided by your own rate of learning and your own requirements and interests. Essential Italian Grammar makes self-study easier.

If this or any other grammar tends to inhibit you in speaking Italian or in using what you have learned through phrase books, conversation courses, or the Listen & Learn records, curtail your study of grammar until you feel it will really assist rather than hinder your speaking. Your objective is speaking, and you can learn to speak a language without learning its grammar. But because of its systematic approach, grammar is a short-cut to language learning for those who feel at home with it. The fundamental purpose of Essential Italian Grammar is to help you by eliminating hit-or-miss memorization.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Essential Italian Grammar by Olga Ragusa. Copyright © 1963 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

	Introduction	7
	Suggestions for Vocabulary Building	11
	Similarities between English and Italian Vocabulary	12
	Word Order	14
	How to Form Questions	15
	Interrogative Words	16
	Nouns and Articles	18
	Gender of Italian Nouns	18
	The Definite Article	18
	Plurals of Nouns	19
	Irregularities in Noun Plurals	20
	Noun Suffixes	21
	Hints on the Identification of Gender	21
	Masculine and Feminine Forms of the Same Noun	22
	Common Prepositions and the Definite Article	23
	The Indefinite Article	23
	Adjectives	25
	Agreement of Adjectives with Nouns	25
	Forms of Adjectives	25
	Position of Adjectives	26
	Special Forms of Bello, Buono, Grande	27
	Adverbs	30
	Comparisons of Adjectives and Adverbs	32
	Comparisons of Inequality	32
	Irregular Comparative Forms	33
	The Absolute Superlative	33
	The Word "Than"	34
	Comparisons of Equality	35
	Expressing Possession	36
	Possessive Adjectives	36
	Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns	38
	Demonstrative Adjectives	38
	Questo and Quello as Pronouns	39
	The Pronoun Cio	40
	Personal Pronouns	41
	Subject Pronouns	41
	Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns	42
	Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns with the Same Verb	44
	Stressed Forms of the Personal Pronouns	44
	How to Avoid the Use of Double Pronouns	45
	Table of Personal Pronouns	45
	Negatives	49
	Che, Cui, Chi	51
	Che as Conjunction	51
	Che as Relative Pronoun	51
	The Relative Pronoun Cui	51
	The Interrogative Pronoun Chi	52
	Conjunctions	53
	Verbs	54
	Comparison of English and Italian Verbs	54
	The Three Conjugations	54
	The Present Tense	55
	Comparison of Present Tense in English and Italian	55
	First Conjugation	55
	Second Conjugation	56
	Third Conjugation	56
	The Present Tense of Commonly Used Irregular Verbs	58
	The Progressive Present	59
	The Present Participle	59
	The Use of Stare	59
	The Imperative or Command Form	59
	Third Person Command Forms	60
	First Person Plural Commands	61
	Familiar Command Forms	61
	Review Table of Command Forms	62
	The Present Perfect Tense	62
	The Past Participle	63
	The Helping Verbs Avere and Essere	63
	The Present Perfect of the Model Verbs	64
	The Past Definite Tense	65
	The Past Definite of the Model Verbs	65
	The Past Definite of Irregular Verbs	66
	Common Irregular Past Definites	67
	The Past Definite of Essere and Dare	67
	The Imperfect Tense	68
	The Imperfect Tense of the Model Verbs	68
	The Imperfect Tense of Essere	69
	The Uses of the Imperfect Tense	69
	The Pluperfect Tense	71
	The Pluperfect Tense of the Model Verbs	71
	Use of the Pluperfect Tense	72
	The Future Tense	72
	The Future Tense of the Model Verbs	72
	The Future Tense of Irregular Verbs	73
	The Uses of the Future Tense	74
	The Conditional Mood	75
	The Conditional of the Model Verb Parlare	75
	The Conditional of Irregular Verbs	76
	The Uses of the Conditional	76
	The Subjunctive Mood	77
	Tenses of the Subjunctive	77
	The Present Subjunctive of Irregular Verbs	79
	The Uses of the Subjunctive	80
	Reflexive Verbs	81
	Comparison of Reflexive Verbs in English and Italian	81
	The Present Tense of Reflexive Verbs	81
	The Present Perfect Tense of Reflexive Verbs	82
	The Command Form or Imperative of Reflexive Verbs	82
	Important Reflexive Verbs	82
	Uses of the Reflexive	83
	The Passive Voice	84
	Prepositions and Infinitives	84
	Verbs Followed Directly by the Infinitive	84
	Verbs Followed by a or di before the Infinitive	85
	The Present Participle and the Infinitive	85
	Idiomatic Constructions	86
	The Verb Piacere	86
	The Verb Fare	87
	The Verb Avere	89
	The Verbs Essere and Stare	89
	C'e and Ci sono	90
	Aver bisogno and Bisognare	90
	The Verb Volere	90
	The Verbs Dare and Andare	91
	The Verbs Sapere and Conoscere	91
	Some Useful Expressions	92
	A Glossary of Grammatical Terms	94
	The Parts of Speech	94
	Words about Verbs	97
	Words about Nouns	101
	Miscellaneous Terms	102
	The Parts of the Sentence	102
	Index	105