An ideal worktext for classroom use in beginning high school and college Italian courses, Italian Now! Level 1 emphasizes practical, functional use of spoken and written Italian as it is used in everyday situations. It also offers a solid foundation in the basics of Italian grammar, vocabulary, verb forms, idioms, and sentence structure. Other features include: ■ Dialogues ■ Word Games ■ Entertaining Stories ■ Humorous Cartoon-Style Illustrations ■ Photos of Italian Landmarks ITALIAN NOW! Level 1 Danesi ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-3073-1 EAN $18.99 Canada $22.99 www.barronseduc.com ISBN-10: 0-7641-3073-0 Marcel Danesi, Ph.D. ■ Enjoyable exercises to help you achieve proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Italian ■ Entertaining stories, dialogues, word games ■ Practical, functional use of Italian in everyday situations that will stimulate communication in Italian ■ An ideal text and workbook for both classroom use and self-instruction Let’s talk in Italian! Parliamo Italiano! ITALIAN NOW! L’italiano d’oggi! Level 1 Let’s talk in Italian! Parliamo Italiano! ITALIAN NOW! L’italiano d’oggi! Level 1 7-3073-ItalianNow-ufbs_7-3073-ItalianNow-fbs 2/14/11 11:46 AM Page 1 Marcel Danesi, Ph.D. University of Toronto ITALIAN NOW! L’italiano d’oggi! Level 1 Livello primario 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page i © Copyright 2005 by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner. All inquiries should be addressed to: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, New York 11788 http://www.barronseduc.com Library of Congress Control No. 2004057497 ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-3073-1 ISBN-10: 0-7641-3073-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Danesi, Marcel, 1946– Italian now! : level 1 = L’italiano d’oggi : livello primario / [Marcel Danesi]. p. cm. ISBN 0-7641-3073-0 (alk. paper) 1. Italian language—Textbooks for foreign speakers—English. 2. Italian language—Self-instruction. I. Title: Italiano d’oggi. II. Title. PC1129.E5D37 2005 458.2′421—dc22 2004057497 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 7_3073_FM_7_3073_FM 4/27/10 9:27 AM Page ii Table of Contents Preface ix About This Book x Pronunciation and Spelling xii Part 1: Basic Skills 1 Unit 1 Come si chiama? 3 Polite Address Masculine vs. Feminine Forms The Forms è and e Introductions Greeting Someone in Italy Unit 2 Buongiorno! 14 Polite vs. Familiar Speech Greetings Titles: Part 1 The Use of Titles in Italy Unit 3 Che cosa è? 25 The Forms che, fra, and tra Masculine and Feminine Nouns The Article: Part 1 Hellos and Good-byes Transportation in Italy Unit 4 Dove vai? 35 Gender The Article: Part 2 The Adjective stanco The Verb essere: Part 1 Subject Pronouns: Part 1 Schooling in Italy Unit 5 Uno, due, tre,… 45 Cardinal Numbers Plural Forms The Article: Part 3 Italian Currency Review Part 1 55 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page iii Part 2: Expanding Basic Skills 59 Unit 6 Che ora è? 61 Telling Time The Article: Part 4 Contractions: Part 1 Italian Time Unit 7 Che bel tempo! 73 The Weather The Adjective bello: Part 1 The Verbs nevicare and piovere The People and Regions of Italy Unit 8 Pronto? 85 Dates Contractions: Part 2 Subject Pronouns: Part 2 Present Indicative of dire, andare, and venire Italian Holidays Unit 9 Ho una famiglia grande! 100 Family and Relatives Nouns Ending in -e The Article: Part 5 The Present Indicative of avere and essere The Italian Family Unit 10 Chi è quell’uomo? 112 Plural Nouns The Article: Part 6 Demonstrative Adjectives Possession The Irregular Noun uomo Italian Weddings Review Part 2 125 Part 3: Interacting with People 129 Unit 11 Scusi? 131 Possessive Adjectives: Part 1 The Verb esserci The Present Indicative of Regular First Conjugation Verbs Negative Verbs Contractions: Part 3 The Italian Language 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page iv Unit 12 Capisce l’italiano? 148 Possessive Adjectives: Part 2 The Present Indicative of Regular Second Conjugation Verbs The Present Indicative of Regular Third Conjugation Verbs: Part 1 Italian Addresses Unit 13 Mi sa dire? 162 The Present Indicative of Regular Third Conjugation Verbs: Part 2 The Irregular Verbs dare, fare, and volere The Imperative of Regular Verbs The Imperative of Irregular Verbs Italian Cities Unit 14 Sono io! 182 Possessive Adjectives: Part 3 The Partitive: Part 1 The Present Indicative of potere Italian Government Unit 15 Certo che mi piace! 197 The Adjective bello: Part 2 The Verb piacere: Part 1 Descriptive Adjectives Italian Housing Review Part 3 209 Part 4: Daily Life 213 Unit 16 La settimana scorsa! 215 Ordinal Numbers The Relative Pronoun che Spelling Peculiarities of First Conjugation Verbs The Present Perfect of First Conjugation Verbs Computer Terms in Italian Unit 17 Cosa faceva? 233 The Present Perfect of Second and Third Conjugation Verbs Verbs with Irregular Past Participles The Imperfect of essere and fare Italy and Banking 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page v Unit 18 Non ho capito! 248 Titles: Part 2 Contractions: A Summary The Imperfect of First Conjugation Verbs The Verb dovere Italian Grammar Unit 19 Desidera? 264 Interrogative Forms The Imperfect of Second Conjugation Verbs The Verb piacere: Part 2 Italian Fashion Unit 20 Vorrei un caffè lungo! 280 The Imperfect of Third Conjugation Verbs Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect The Verb piacere: Part 3 Nouns Ending in an Accented Vowel Italian Coffee Review Part 4 296 Part 5: Getting Around 301 Unit 21 Ne abbiamo molti! 303 The Verb stare The Present Progressive The Partitive: Part 2 The Particle ne Demonstrative Pronouns The Expression servire a Dante: il padre della lingua italiana Unit 22 Lei ha un conto, vero? 322 The Adjective buono Object Pronouns: Part 1 The Past Absolute of Regular Verbs The Past Absolute of Irregular Verbs L’opera Unit 23 Che bel ristorante! 344 Object Pronouns: Part 2 The Uses of molto Food Preparations The Negative Imperative L’arte 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page vi Unit 24 Vuoi uscire stasera? 360 Object Pronouns: Part 3 Peculiar Verb Uses Le origini della letteratura italiana Unit 25 Mi fa male la gola! 371 The Human Body Spelling Changes in Plural Formation Object Pronouns: Part 4 Fellini e il cinema italiano Review Part 5 389 Part 6: Hobbies and Vacations 393 Unit 26 Il pieno, per favore! 395 The Particle ci The Impersonal si The Simple Future The Conditional La FIAT Unit 27 Il biglietto, per favore! 413 The Expression fare il biglietto Different Words for “Window” Irregular Verbs in the Future and Conditional The Verb piacere: Part 4 The Verbs sapere and conoscere Alitalia Unit 28 Buon divertimento! 429 The Future and Conditional Perfect Reflexive Verbs Pisa Unit 29 Una partita importante! 446 English and Greek Words in Italian Adjectives Referring to Physical and Social Traits The Imperative with Unstressed Object Pronouns Reciprocal Forms The Pluperfect Il calcio 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page vii Unit 30 Dov’è il telecomando? 461 Comparison The Superlative Adverbs of Manner Adjectives of Nationality The Verb piacere: An Overview La RAI Review Part 6 476 Irregular Verbs 480 Italian-English Glossary 484 English-Italian Glossary 492 Answers 499 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page viii Preface This book will introduce you to the Italian language in a simple yet comprehensive way. It is made up of brief units (instead of long and complicated chapters), with digestible information in them. This will allow you to gain skills gradually and effortlessly. This book can be used profitably by: • all those who want to learn Italian from scratch on their own; • students enrolled in a primary level Italian language course, whether it be in a middle or high school, a college, a university, or a continuing studies program; • those who know some Italian already and wish to improve upon their knowledge of the language; • anyone preparing to take elementary proficiency tests in the language (since it can also be used as a reference and study manual). Here are some study hints to take into consideration as you work your way through the book: • Always refer to the pronunciation guides provided when attempting to pronounce new words. • Read the dialogues out loud. • Dramatize the dialogues with friends or other students. • Listen to spoken Italian at every opportunity—on radio, on television, in the movies, and so on. • Speak Italian to anyone who will listen to you! • Consult Barron’s various Italian language CDs (available at most bookstores), for these will expose you to the spoken language in complementary ways. ix 7_3073_FM 1/25/05 12:11 PM Page ix [...]... Cardelli, another American of Italian origin Delighted! A pleasure! The pleasure’s mine! COMPRENSIONE A Vero o falso? (True or False?) _ 1 Dina è americana _ 2 Paul è d’origine italiana _ 3 La professoressa si chiama Maria Cardelli _ 4 Dina è la professoressa _ 5 Anche Mark è americano, ma è d’origine italiana _ 6 Paul è di Chicago 3 PART 1: BASIC SKILLS VOCABOLARIO [In each vocabulary section a. .. (Professor Maria Giusti) Another American student, Mark Cardelli, is also enrolled in the class Mark met Professor Giusti yesterday.] Giusti Dina Giusti Dina Giusti Paul Giusti Paul Dina Giusti Paul Dina Mark Signorina, come si chiama? Mi chiamo Dina Siracusa Lei è americana, no? Sì Sono di Chicago E Lei, signore? Mi chiamo Paul Giannetti Anche Lei è americano, vero? Sì, ma sono italiano d’origine Anch’io... sono italiana d’origine Vi presento Mark Cardelli, un altro americano d’origine italiana Molto lieto! Piacere! Il piacere è mio! Young lady, what’s your name? My name is Dina Siracusa You’re American, aren’t you? Yes I’m from Chicago And you, sir? My name is Paul Giannetti You’re American too, right? Yes, but I’m of Italian origin I’m also of Italian origin Let me introduce (the two of) you to Mark Cardelli,... 5-unit groups dealing with the basics of the Italian language You will also learn how to communicate and interact with native speakers of Italian At the end of the 5-unit sequence you will find a review unit 1 E Lei, come si chiama? Unit 1 Come si chiama? CONVERSAZIONE [Dina Siracusa and Paul Giannetti have decided to go to the beautiful Umbrian city of Perugia on a “study in Italy” program Both have... by activities that will allow you to use the new vocabulary right away, both in a controlled fashion and in creative ways If this book is used in a classroom situation with a teacher, the latter is encouraged to provide additional activities and fill in gaps of vocabulary that may arise in classroom interaction LINGUA This section explains, illustrates, and expands upon new items of grammar and usage... … Mark Cardelli 2 3 7 8 11 13 13 Vertical Io sono italiano d’origine E …? Sì, … la professoressa è italiana Piacere! … lieto! Il … è mio! Come si chiama? … chiamo Dina Siracusa Lei è italiano? …, sono italiano d’origine NOTA CULTURALE Greeting Someone in Italy When greeting strangers in Italy, shaking hands is all that is really required However, when greeting a friend that you haven’t seen for a while,... and adjective forms ending in -o, such as those used by the male speakers in the dialogue, are to be distinguished from those ending in -a, such as those used by the female speakers They indicate the gender of the speaker Male Speaker Female Speaker Molto lieto! / Delighted! (Io) sono italiano / I am Italian (Io) sono americano / I am American Molto lieta! / Delighted! (Io) sono italiana / I am Italian. .. capital letter will be used to indicate the accented syllable in the pronunciation guides in parentheses These guides are provided only for new items whose pronunciation might be difficult to figure out.] PAROLE NUOVE (NEW WORDS) Americano altro americano / americana anche (Ahn-keh) come di e io (Eeh-oh) italiano / italiana (eeh-tah-lyAh-noh) Lei (lEh-eeh) lieto / lieta ma molto no origine (oh-rEEh-jeeh-neh)... [Dina, Paul, and Mirella, Dina’s new Italian friend, run into each other near the Università per Stranieri.] Dina Paul Dina Paul Mirella Dina Paul Dina Mirella Paul Ah, ecco Paul! Ciao Paul! Come stai? Molto bene, Dina, e tu? Io, invece, sto così, così Ti presento Mirella Ciao, Mirella! Di dove sei? Sono di qui Dove vai, Paul? In centro! Arrivederci! Ciao! Ci vediamo! Ah, here’s Paul! Hi, Paul! How are... CONVERSAZIONE Each unit starts with a brief conversation that will show you how Italian is used typically for social interaction—to introduce people, say hello and good-bye, talk about the weather, and so on English translations of each conversation are provided for your convenience The 30 conversations are designed as a continuing narrative about Dina Siracusa and her friends studying Italian in the Umbrian city . Italian! Parliamo Italiano! ITALIAN NOW! L’italiano d’oggi! Level 1 Let’s talk in Italian! Parliamo Italiano! ITALIAN NOW! L’italiano d’oggi! Level 1 7-3 073-ItalianNow-ufbs_ 7-3 073-ItalianNow-fbs. Italiana altro other americano / americana American (male / female) anche (Ahn-keh) also, too come how (what) di of, from e and io (Eeh-oh) I italiano / italiana (eeh-tah-lyAh-noh) Italian (male / female) Lei (lEh-eeh) you. Dina è americana. _____ 2. Paul è d’origine italiana. _____ 3. La professoressa si chiama Maria Cardelli. _____ 4. Dina è la professoressa. _____ 5. Anche Mark è americano, ma è d’origine italiana. _____