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    Italian Essentials
    Italian Essentials
    Italian Essentials
    Ebook179 pages1 hour

    Italian Essentials

    By Carmela Forte

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    About this ebook

    REA’s Essentials provide quick and easy access to critical information in a variety of different fields, ranging from the most basic to the most advanced. As its name implies, these concise, comprehensive study guides summarize the essentials of the field covered. Essentials are helpful when preparing for exams, doing homework and will remain a lasting reference source for students, teachers, and professionals. Italian reviews the fundamentals of the Italian language, including basic pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Other topics include cognates, numbers, idiomatic expressions, time, weather, and clothing.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResearch & Education Association
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780738671574
    Italian Essentials

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      Book preview

      Italian Essentials - Carmela Forte

      Glossary

      CHAPTER 1

      Pronouncing Italian

      1.1 Letters and Pronunciation

      Italian is a very phonetic language, which means that it is spoken the way it is written. Its alphabet consists of 21 letters.

      The Alphabet and Its Pronunciation

      a = a (ah)

      b = bi (bee)

      c = ci (chee)

      d = di (dee)

      e = e (eh)

      f = effe (effay)

      g = gi (gee)

      h = acca (accah)

      i = i (ee)

      l = elle (ellay)

      m = emme (emmay)

      n = enne (ennay)

      o = o (oh)

      p = pi (pee)

      q = cu (coo)

      r = erre (erray)

      s = esse (essay)

      t = ti (tee)

      u = u (ooh)

      v = vu (voo)

      z = zeta (tsaytah)

      Letters found in foreign words are:

      1.2 Special Consonant Sounds

      The hard sound of c and g before a, o, u:

      The soft sound of c and g before e, i:

      The sound of ci, ce and gi, ge changes to a hard sound when an h follows the c or g:

      gli is an unusual sound not found in English pronunciation. The closest sound to it is the double l of million; figli, foglio

      gn sounds like on as in onion; signore, sogno

      r is produced by gently fluttering the tongue against the roof of the mouth; rosso, rosa, glorioso.

      z has a ts sound in grazie, zucchero and a dz sound in zero, mezzo.

      sc before an i or an e has the sound of the English word she. For example, lo sci; sciare; capisce.

      sc followed by an h has the sound of the English word ski. For example, schiavo; scheletro; schema.

      1.3 Syllabication and Stress

      These consonant clusters, ch, gh, gl, gn, and sc, count as single consonants.

      A single consonant between two vowels belongs to the following syllable; ca-sa, la-ghi, lar-ghe.

      When l or r follows a second consonant and occurs between vowels, the consonant group belongs to the following syllable; qua-dro, nu-cle-are.

      When a double consonant occurs between two vowels or between l or r, the first consonant belongs to the preceding syllable, the second to the following syllables; mam-ma, sor-el-la.

      1.3.1 Stress

      Most Italian words stress the next-to-last syllable:

      finestra (fi-ne-stra)

      lavagna (la-va-gna)

      If a word is stressed on the last syllable it must be accented:

      caffè (caf-fè)

      bontà (bon-tà)

      Note: When stress is not shown as part of the spelling, it is difficult to determine which syllable is stressed:

      gondola (gon-do-la)

      camera (ca-me-ra)

      1.4 Double Consonants

      A single consonant is pronounced with a concise, clipped, sharp sound, whereas a double consonant is held for two beats as in music; sete/sette, rosa/rossa, papa/pappa.

      1.5 The Silent H

      The letter h has no sound of its own, but it changes the pronunciation of other letters:

      io ho

      tu hai

      egli ha

      CHAPTER 2

      Auxiliary Verbs Avere and Essere

      2.1 Avere: Present Tense

      The verb avere (to have) is an irregular verb. Its forms in the present tense are:

      2.2 Avere: Idiomatic Expressions

      Many idioms are formed with avere. The most common of these are:

      avere caldo – to be hot

      Gianni ha caldo in estate. Johnny is hot in summer.

      avere freddo – to be cold

      Noi abbiamo freddo in inverno. We are cold in winter.

      avere fame – to be hungry

      Lui ha fame a mezzogiorno. He’s hungry at noon.

      avere sete – to be thirsty

      lo ho sete quando fa caldo. I’m thirsty when it’s hot.

      avere sonno – to be sleepy

      Gli alunni hanno sonno nella classe. The students are sleepy in class.

      avere paura – to be afraid

      Maria

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