Easy Learning Italian Conversation: Trusted support for learning
4/5
()
About this ebook
A unique guide to communicating in Italian. It will help you to find out more about Italian culture and to practise your spoken Italian with a free downloadable audio file.
An ideal tool for learners of Italian at all levels, whether at school, in evening classes or at home, and is indispensable for business or leisure.
The text consists of 12 units, each illustrating the language used in a particular situation, followed by a summary which gives all the key phrases covered throughout the book. The One-stop phrase shop unit gives you all the everyday expressions and language structures you need to speak in natural Italian. Finally, the short grammar and verb supplement and the glossary give you further help and ensure that you have everything you need at your fingertips, and the free audio download helps you to communicate with confidence.
- Easy to use: all the phrases you need in order to communicate effectively in natural Italian.
- Easy to read: clear layout ensures that you find what you are looking for quickly and easily.
- Easy to understand: thousands of examples show how Italian is really used.
Read more from Collins Dictionaries
Collins French Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus Essential Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easy Learning Spanish Conversation: Trusted support for learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEasy Learning French Conversation: Trusted support for learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCollins Turkish Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easy Learning German Vocabulary: Trusted support for learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Learning Spanish Grammar: Trusted support for learning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easy Learning German Complete Grammar, Verbs and Vocabulary (3 books in 1): Trusted support for learning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Collins Arabic Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Collins Gem Dutch Phrasebook and Dictionary Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Easy Learning Spanish Complete Grammar, Verbs and Vocabulary (3 books in 1): Trusted support for learning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Collins German Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEasy Learning Italian Grammar: Trusted support for learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEasy Learning Spanish Vocabulary: Trusted support for learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Easy Learning Italian Conversation
Related ebooks
Italian English Frequency Dictionary - Essential Vocabulary - 2.500 Most Used Words & 421 Most Common Verbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Learning Italian Grammar: Trusted support for learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLearn Italian in a Hurry: Grasp the Basics of Italian Rapidamente! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Italian, Second Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easy Learning Italian Verbs: Trusted support for learning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Everything Italian Phrase Book: A quick refresher for any situation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Italian: Beginner Level Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Collins Italian Phrasebook and Dictionary Gem Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsItalian Grammar Drills Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just Enough Italian Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practice Makes Perfect: Italian Conversation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ecco!: An Introduction to Advanced Italian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPractice Makes Perfect Italian Sentence Builder Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easy Learning Italian Vocabulary: Trusted support for learning Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Italian Phrases For Dummies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Italian For Dummies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Italian For Beginners: A Practical Guide to Learn the Basics of Italian in 10 Days! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Easy Learning Italian Complete Grammar, Verbs and Vocabulary (3 books in 1): Trusted support for learning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Italian Frequency Dictionary For Learners - Practical Vocabulary - Top 10.000 Italian Words Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Side by Side Italian and English Grammar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Get Really Good at Italian: Learn Italian to Fluency and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsItalian Short Stories for Beginners: A Collection of 5 Stories to Improve Your Vocabulary and Reading Skills Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPractice Makes Perfect Basic Italian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsItalian Conversation DeMYSTiFied Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Foreign Language Studies For You
Spanish For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish Grammar: a QuickStudy Laminated Reference Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Spanish Phrase Book: A Quick Reference for Any Situation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Love to Help Me encanta ayudar (Spanish Children's Book): English Spanish Bilingual Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirty Spanish Workbook: 101 Fun Exercises Filled with Slang, Sex and Swearing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Everything Spanish Practice Book: Hands-on Techniques to Improve Your Speaking And Writing Skills Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5French All-in-One For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses, Premium Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Spanish - Flash Cards for Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Essential Spanish Book: All You Need to Learn Spanish in No Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything French Grammar Book: All the Rules You Need to Master Français Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Practice Makes Perfect: Complete French Grammar, Premium Fourth Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Spanish Verb Book: A Handy Reference For Mastering Verb Conjugation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar: Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learn Hebrew The Fun & Easy Way: The Hebrew Alphabet – a picture book for Hebrew language learners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Complete Spanish Step-by-Step, Premium Second Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Little Grammar Workbook Ever! Use Alone or with Its Companion Book, The Best Little Grammar Book Ever! Second Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular & the New Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ultimate Spanish 101 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Basic Tagalog: (Audio Recordings Included) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Love My Mom Amo a mi mama (Bilingual Spanish Kids book): English Spanish Bilingual Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Essential Latin Book: All You Need to Learn Latin in No Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrench Short Stories - Thirty French Short Stories for Beginners to Improve your French Vocabulary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Easy Learning Italian Conversation
3 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Easy Learning Italian Conversation - Collins Dictionaries
Published by Collins
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Westerhill Road
Bishopbriggs
Glasgow G64 2QT
Second Edition 2015
© HarperCollins Publishers 2006, 2015
eBook Edition © May 2015 ISBN 978-0-00-811880-8
Version: 2015-04-07
Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited
www.collinsdictionary.com
www.collins.co.uk/languagesupport
Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions, Glasgow
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Entered words that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such. However, neither the presence nor absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark.
The contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of printing. Nevertheless the Publisher can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expense or loss thereby caused.
HarperCollins does not warrant that any website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, that any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this book, please contact us at the given address or online.
E-mail: [email protected]
www.facebook.com/collinsdictionary
@collinsdict
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave permission for copyright material to be used in the Collins Corpus. We would also like to thank Times Newspapers Ltd for providing valuable data.
MANAGING EDITOR
Janice McNeillie
CONTRIBUTOR
Mirella Alessio
FOR THE PUBLISHER
Gerry Breslin
Hannah Dove
Contents
Cover
Title page
Copyright
Introduction
What is it?
Why do you need it?
How is it structured?
How does it work?
Why choose Collins Easy Learning Italian Conversation?
The Collins Easy Learning range
Italian pronunciation
Italian vowels
Italian consonants
Which syllable to emphasize
Units
Small talk
Come va? – How are things?
Greetings
Introducing people
Talking about yourself
Asking for information
Saying what you want to do
Making suggestions
Expressing opinions
Talking about your plans
Making arrangements
Saying what you have to do
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Getting there
Buon viaggio! – Have a good trip!
Talking about your plans
Saying what you have to do
Saying what you want to do
Making suggestions
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Home from home
Buonanotte! – Sleep well!
Asking for things
Talking about yourself
Asking for information
Asking for permission
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Expressing opinions
Making suggestions
Asking for suggestions
Saying what you have to do
Talking about your plans
Complaining
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Wining and dining
Buon appetito! – Enjoy your meal!
Making arrangements
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you want to do
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Asking for suggestions
Making suggestions
Complaining
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Hitting the town
Buon divertimento! – Have a good time!
Making suggestions
Talking about your plans
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Expressing opinions
Asking for permission
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Museums, monuments and much more
Buona giornata! – Have a nice day!
Saying what you want to do
Talking about your plans
Making suggestions
Asking for information
Asking for things
Asking for permission
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Expressing opinions
Complaining
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Retail therapy
Prego, desidera? – Can I help you?
Asking for things
Saying what you have to do
Talking about your plans
Expressing opinions
Asking for information
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Making suggestions
Asking for permission
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Service with a smile
Un servizio impeccabile! – Excellent service!
Greetings
Talking about yourself
Saying what you have to do
Saying what you want to do
Asking for information
Asking for things
Asking for suggestions
Making suggestions
Making arrangements
Talking about your plans
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Ouch!
Tanti auguri di pronta guarigione! – Get well soon!
Describing the problem
Saying what happened
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you want to do
Making suggestions
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Help!
Niente paura! – Don’t worry!
Describing the problem
Saying what happened
Describing people and things
Asking for information
Asking for things
Saying what you want to do
Saying what you have to do
Making suggestions
Talking about your plans
Listen out for
Lifestyle Tips
Getting in touch
Pronto, chi parla? – Who’s calling please?
Making a telephone call
When the number you’re calling answers
Starting a conversation
Saying why you’re calling
Giving information
Answering the telephone
Ending a telephone call
Listen out for
Writing emails and letters
Texting
Social media
Lifestyle Tips
Time, numbers, date
Tre, due, uno… via! – One, two, three… Go!
I numeri – Numbers
L’ora – The time
Listen out for
Durata – Saying how long
Le stagioni – The seasons
I mesi dell’anno – The months of the year
Le date – Dates
I giorni della settimana – The days of the week
L’alfabeto – The alphabet
Listen out for
Interesting days and dates
In summary…
Allora, recapitolando… – So, to sum up…
Apologizing
Asking for and giving explanations
Asking for information
Asking for permission
Asking for things
Complaining
Describing people and things
Explaining a problem
Expressing opinions
Making suggestions
Saying what’s happened
Saying what you have to do
Saying what you like, dislike, prefer
Saying what you want to do
Talking about your plans
One-stop phrase shop
Chiedo scusa? – I beg your pardon?
Hellos and goodbyes
Please and thank you
Attracting someone’s attention
Making sure you’ve understood
Checking facts
Wishing someone something
Apologizing
Reassuring someone
Opinions
Agreeing, disagreeing and declining
Congratulating someone
Reacting to good and bad news
Exclamations
Surprise
Encouraging someone
Handing someone something
Dangers and emergencies
Speaking your mind
Conversational words
Grammar
Nouns
Articles
Pronouns
Adjectives
Questions
Negatives
Some common translation difficulties
Verbs
Verb tenses
Verb tables
Parlare: to speak
Credere: to believe
Dormire: to sleep
Andare: to go
Avere: to have
Dare: to give
Dovere: to have to
Essere: to be
Fare: to do, to make
Potere: to be able
Volere: to want
Vocabulary builder
About the publisher
Introduction
What is it?
Collins Easy Learning Italian Conversation is a book for learners of Italian of all ages. It will increase your confidence in holding a conversation in Italian, whether you are just starting to learn Italian, studying at school or at an evening class, or brushing up your language skills. You may be going on holiday or planning to go travelling in Italy, go there on business, or live there. Whatever your situation, you’ll want to be able to communicate effectively and naturally in Italian.
Why do you need it?
Becoming proficient in a foreign language means being able to use and understand a number of different aspects – vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and so on. However, it takes a while to be able to put all these elements together and be sure that what you are saying sounds like natural Italian. The Easy Learning Italian Conversation has been carefully designed to bring these aspects together and give you language structures which you can use in conversation with confidence, knowing that you will be speaking Italian as spoken by Italian speakers.
How is it structured?
Collins Easy Learning Italian Conversation is made up of 12 units, each illustrating the language used in a particular situation, followed by a summary which brings together the key language covered throughout the units. You’ll also find the One-stop phrase shop – a unit which contains all the important expressions and turns of phrase that help you to sound more natural in Italian. A short grammar and verbs supplement gives you additional language support, ensuring that you have everything at your fingertips. Finally, the English-Italian glossary covers the most important vocabulary you may need to personalize your conversation.
How does it work?
Language allows us to express ourselves and interact with others. In any given situation, we perform different language tasks, such as asking for information, agreeing and disagreeing, complaining, making suggestions and so forth. To do this, we use linguistic structures (How…?, When…?, Could I…?, I’d like… and so on) which can be used in a variety of contexts. Each unit in Collins Easy Learning Italian Conversation gives you all the phrases you might need in a given situation, grouped by structure. English headings help you navigate through the structures to enable you to find what you want quickly and easily. Throughout the units, there are also tips headed Buono a sapersi! which highlight important differences in the way English and Italian work.
To help you with the different forms of the word ‘you’ in Italian, English translations are given as You = polite form, you = informal form, you = plural form. Italic letters in Italian words show where stress does not follow the usual rules.
A conversation, by definition, is a two-way process. It is as important to understand what is being said to you as it is to be able to respond. At the end of each unit, there is a section headed Listen out for. Each of these sections gives you a variety of the most typical phrases which you might hear in a given situation. Becoming familiar with these will allow you to have a successful conversation with a Italian speaker. For further help with pronunciation, a free download with all the important structures recorded is available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources.
Communicating effectively in Italian isn’t just about linguistic competence – it’s also about cultural knowledge. For you to feel confident in Italy, it is also useful to know more about Italian culture and lifestyle. At the end of each unit, the Lifestyle Tips will give you the information you need to gain a deeper insight into the language, the country and its people.
Why choose Collins Easy Learning Italian Conversation?
•easy to use all the key language structures you need to give you the confidence to hold a conversation in natural Italian
•easy to read a clear, modern layout which allows you to find what you need quickly and easily
•easy to understand the language you may hear from Italian speakers in a given situation
•easy to speak free audio download available on www.collins.co.uk/easylearningresources
The Collins Easy Learning range
The Collins Easy Learning Italian Conversation is part of the best-selling Collins Easy Learning range, which includes the highly acclaimed Collins Easy Learning Italian Dictionary. Collins Easy Learning Italian Grammar and Collins Easy Learning Italian Verbs support you with all your grammatical needs. The Collins Easy Learning series is the ideal language reference range to help you learn Italian.
Italian pronunciation
Italian pronunciation is not very difficult. Words are written pretty much as they sound, so when you see a word written down you can generally pronounce it with no problem, and when you hear a new word you know immediately how to spell it. There are no sounds in Italian that are very different from English. Below we give some tips to help you speak natural-sounding Italian.
Italian vowels
In English, vowels we don’t emphasize often sound like uh
, so the e in mother and the a in central sound just the same. Sometimes vowels don’t get pronounced at all, as is the case with the first e in interesting. In Italian this never happens. Italian vowels are always clearly pronounced.
Italian vowels are generally pronounced as follows:
Italian consonants
Most Italian consonants are pronounced the same as English ones, except that double consonants are two distinct sounds, so that the tt in tutto is pronounced as in hat trick and not as in fitted.
The following are Italian consonants that differ from English:
Which syllable to emphasize
To make your Italian sound more fluent and natural you need to stress the right syllable. Here are some guidelines:
•Two-syllable words always stress the first syllable, unless the final vowel has an accent:
•Words with three or more syllables generally have the stress on the next to the last syllable:
•If a word has an accent on the final vowel, it is stressed on the final syllable.
Words of this type include many nouns that end in –ty in English
•Two future tense forms always have an accent (I and he/she/it/You):
•Some words have the stress on a syllable which is not the last, or the next to the last. In this book we use italics to show when an unexpected syllable is stressed, to help you learn the correct pronunciation.
•It's specially important to notice which syllable you should emphasize when pronouncing infinitives ending in –ere, because they vary. Some, such as avere (to have) and vedere (to see) have normal stress, on the next to the last syllable.
However, there are many important exceptions, for example:
BUONO A SAPERSI!
Past participles such as finito and partito always have the stress on the next to last syllable, but similar-looking words such as subito and compito sometimes have the stress on a syllable you wouldn’t expect.
Small talk
Come va? – How are things?
Whether you’re going to be working in Italy or you’re going to spend some time with your Italian-speaking friends, you’ll want to be able to chat with people and get to know them better. The phrases in this unit will help you talk naturally to friends, family and colleagues in a number of everyday situations.
GREETINGS
Just as in English, there are several ways of greeting people in Italian, depending on who you are addressing, and whether you want to be formal or not. Say buongiorno (good morning) or buonasera (good afternoon/good evening), if you want to sound polite.
Hello…
BUONO A SAPERSI!
buon pomeriggio (good afternoon) exists in Italian. However it is only used on the radio or television, for example by newscasters. It would sound a bit odd if you greeted people saying buon pomeriggio: stick to buongiorno or, later on in the day, buonasera. Remember to say buongiorno or buonasera as you enter a shop or a restaurant.
Use salve (hi) if you wish to sound a bit more informal, whether you know the people you are greeting or not. If you’re on friendly terms with someone or if you are addressing somebody young, you can say ciao (hi).
Hi…
Use arrivederci to say goodbye to people you don’t know well. You can just say ciao to people you know or to somebody young. buongiorno and buonasera are also often used to say goodbye.
Goodbye…
BUONO A SAPERSI!
Remember to say in Italian arrivederci when you leave a shop or restaurant.
While in English you can use goodnight to mean ‘goodbye’ or to wish somebody a good night’s sleep, in Italian you use buonanotte (goodnight) only before going to bed.
Goodnight…
See you…
BUONO A SAPERSI!
In Italian, if you use a più tardi for see you later, you expect to see the person later on that day, not just some time in the future as in English.
INTRODUCING PEOPLE
You may want to introduce people you know to one another. The simplest way is by saying questo (or questa) è (this is) when introducing a person. You can also use ti presento (I’d like you to meet) when addressing someone you know well, or le presento to be more formal. When speaking to several people use vi presento.
This is…
When you’re introduced to someone, you’ll want to know how to react. Just say piacere (nice to meet you) or molto piacere (how do you do?). You can also say piacere di conoscerla, or conoscerti to somebody younger. You can then introduce yourself, by saying your name. In more formal situations, Italians quite often give their surname rather than their first name.
Nice to meet you…
BUONO A SAPERSI!
Italians often use titles like avvocato (lawyer), ingegnere (engineer), architetto (architect) when addressing professionals, even without the name of the person, for example Buongiorno architetto!, in the same way as we would address a doctor.
If you want to introduce yourself to somebody, you can say Piacere… and your name. A more formal way is to use Mi permetta di presentarmi,… (May I introduce myself,…).
Hello, I’m…
BUONO A SAPERSI!
If you have missed an introduction but you are keen to meet somebody you can say:
Mi scusi, non ci siamo presentati, io sono Catherine. Lei è…? (Excuse me, we haven’t been introduced, I’m Catherine, You’re…?).
TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF
In order to get the conversation going, you’ll want to be able to talk about yourself – what your name is, what you do and so on. To say what your name is in Italian, you use mi chiamo which literally means I call myself, from the verb chiamarsi (to be called). Alternatively, like in English, you can simply say sono (I am), from the verb essere (to be). For more information on the verbs chiamare and essere, see here and here.
My name is…
If you want to say how old you are, use ho followed by your age and anni (literally I have … years). ho comes from the verb avere (to have). For more information on avere, see here.
I’m… years old
BUONO A SAPERSI!
If you have to ask Quanti anni ha? (How old are You?) you can always add se non sono indiscreto (or indiscreta) (if