Italian Language Learning Reviews

Score: (not yet rated)/10

Pros:
I haven’t yet acquired a copy to review fully – post your comments below, particularly if you’ve used this book before.

Cons:
As mentioned above, I haven’t yet purchased or found a copy to review. Please write a comment below if you have anything to add.

Soluzioni!: A Practical Guide to Italian Grammar by Denise de Rôme presents all the major topics of Italian grammar in an organized reference book. This guide includes explanations of each grammatical point, along with examples that illustrate each point (including real-life sample sentences from Italian literature & media). Many of the explanations focus on tougher or more intricate topics that help hone students’ grammar skills, making this a recommended resource for intermediate or more advanced learners. The author includes a number of exercises, allowing students to practice each topic.

Score: 9/10

Pros:
fully conjugates 555 verbs; examples of every verb in use; notes whether verb is transitive/intransitive, any spelling changes the verb undergoes & which auxiliary used with each verb; clean, uncluttered, easy-to-read verb tables; intro explains the whole Italian verb system; three very useful verb indices allow you to cross-reference any verb, quickly identify which verbs are irregular & conjugate an additional 2,700 verbs; low price

Cons:
bulk of the information is regular & repetitive if you understand the pattern (true of any verb book like this); no assistance with pronunciation issues, such as verbs with varying open & close “e”/”o” and verb forms with ante-penultimate stress

The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs competes with several other verb conjugation books vying for your attention as an Italian language student. Basically, like Barron’s 501 Italian Verbs or 2000+ Essential Italian Verbs, this hefty reference guide conjugates a number of Italian verbs. But with more fully conjugated verbs than all of the above, and a lengthy introduction on how to use Italian verbs, perhaps it’s worth your consideration.

The introduction includes more than thirty pages explaining the grammar of Italian verbs. That section first explains the basics of conjugation, and then covers all tenses and moods, including instructions and examples for each.

After that, the bulk of the book presents 555 verbs, one verb per page, one page at a time. The verbs are arranged in table-like rows and columns on the page. That organization and the large page size makes the verb tables clean and easy to search through, and keeps the presentation from looking cluttered. Each verb is conjugated in all tenses and moods, of course, with participles, infinitives, transitivity and participial auxiliary (avere or essere) given as well. To top it off, there are examples of each verb used in Italian phrases and sentences.

At the end of the book, there are three good indexes that will help you make the most out of this resource. First, an English to Italian verb index helps you find the Italian equivalent of an English verb, with references to page numbers. Second, an irregular verb index allows you to find which verbs are irregular, and then reference their irregular conjugation in the body of the book. The last index adds a very nice feature: the ability to look up any one of thousands of Italian verbs and find a verb conjugated like it in this book.

The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs builds itself into a great resource for anyone struggling with the toughest part of Italian grammar: Italian verbs. If you can’t juggle your irregular passato remoto with your regular futuro anteriore, this is among the best resources available to store on your shelf. Students looking for pronunciation help will find that the book fails to indicate irregular accent and open versus close “e” and “o”, which can be trouble for some learners – Barron’s Italian Verbs (the little book, not the 501…) helps with that, but without some of the finer additions found in Big Green. All in all, I recommend this book to any beginner or intermediate students who write in Italian or translate into Italian – it will help you get your verbs straight.

Score: 8/10

Pros:
covers all major topics in beginning & intermediate Italian grammar; lots of exercises relate directly to specific grammar topics; the structure of the book, the examples & charts all present information in an organized fashion; regular & irregular verb tables in appendix; organized by part of speech, making it easy for students to reference and work on specific problem areas; rigid outline format makes overall layout straightforward, and the table of contents easy to use; audio CD reads exercises out loud for pronunciation help

Cons:
chapter & section length vary greatly, offer little guidance for pacing yourself through the book; rigid outline will distract certain learners & won’t compensate for varied length & use of explanations; sometimes uneven distribution of exercises; no index of any kind

Interactive Italian Grammar Made Easy provides students who find themselves struggling with Italian grammar just under 200 pages of explanations and exercises. The book covers the whole range of beginner and intermediate Italian, and is organized into chapters by part of speech. If you’re looking for a resource to help you hone your grammatical skills, read on. If you’re brand new to the language, this course isn’t necessarily aimed at you, but it’s clear and approachable enough to warrant consideration.

After a page generally introducing parts of speech, you’ll find seven chapters, each one dedicated to one part of speech. The first (and by far longest) such chapter deals with verbs. The book takes a rigid outline approach to formatting, so you’ll see sections like 3.2 (direct object pronouns), 3.3.2 (the pronoun ne), capital letters A, B, C, etc. to break down larger subsections, and Roman numerals indicating exercises. The length of such sections varies greatly, and the organization, uneven distribution and inconsistent length of explanations, examples, charts and exercises relaxes that sense of rigidity. At the same time, this inconsistency makes it harder to read the book straight through, as if it were a series of well-planned lessons.

Within each sections, explanations are kept brief, comprehensible and relevant. They’re rarely lively, but rarely off-topic. Example words and sentences highlight many explanations of grammar points. A consistent, if typical, use of charts helps flesh out key information visually, and exercises occur within many of the subsections.

Topics and their explanations sometimes cover grammar from a different perspective than is conventional. For instance, the section on present indicative verbs begins with a subsection on io (first person singular) forms – and only io forms – of verbs in the present tense (regular, irregular, reflexives and more), then moves onto tu forms, then onto lui/lei, etc. It’s your call if these differences mark a positive shift in perspective or just stand out as a nuisance.

Plenty of practice exercises give you the chance to apply language functions as you learn. Often, these activities involve translating, filling in blanks or matching. The audio CD included with the book has sound files that read exercises aloud, which goes a little ways to further your ability speak and comprehend Italian. Answers to all exercises are found in the back.

The book ends with an appendix holding charts of regular and irregular verbs and, as mentioned above, answers to the practice activities. Although the table of contents lists all chapters, sections and subsections, there’s no index at the back of the book.

Interactive Italian Grammar Made Easy makes a strong effort to offer students grammar lessons, a workbook and an audio CD all in one course. Students struggling with certain grammar concepts can find solid assistance in this book. Certainly, the drawbacks mentioned above are largely limited to the format and organization, not so much the content. Consider this book recommended for review and further exercises, but not as a primary, routine way to learn all of Italian grammar. Used correctly, this text will be a good resource for beginners and intermediate students.

Score: 8/10

Pros:
300 of the most common Italian verbs fully conjugated; all forms in all tenses & moods listed; indicates irregular stress accent & vowel pronunciation for all verb forms; two examples of each verb in use; great index in both Italian & English, with page numbers & further verbs conjugated like those in the book; inexpensive

Cons:
introduction not as helpful as other Italian verb books; format not as tabular and clean as larger verb books; small font & limited print space make text harder on the eyes

Aside from a short introduction explaining accents, helping verbs and regular verb conjugation, Italian Verbs dedicates itself entirely to verb charts. You’ll find in its pages about 300 regular and irregular Italian verbs, fully conjugated, and with two example sentences containing each verb.

Each page of this small volume deals with a single verb. On the top, verbs are given in bold, along with the gerund and past participle. Below a dividing line, tenses and moods are abbreviated on the left hand side of the page, then verb forms are given on the right, separated by commas. Each tense-mood has two rows, with singular forms on the top and plural on the bottom. The end result looks like this:

Pres. Ind. corrèggo, corrèggi, corrègge;
Pres. Ind. correggiamo, correggete, corrègono

Irregular stress is marked with an accent, and open and close “e” and “o” are differentiated (open è and ò versus close é and ó). These aren’t features of Italian spelling, but help students pronounce verbs correctly.

The book ends with an index of Italian verbs covered in the book, as well as those not covered, but conjugated like the 300 here. There’s also an English-Italian index, allowing you to search for verbs by their meaning. Also, since the body of this guide alphabetizes the verbs, you should be able to locate words rather quickly.

The pocket-sized Barron’s Italian Verbs makes a fine, cheap on-the-go addition to your Italian grammar repertoire. It’s small, with small print and limited space for verb tables, making longer verbs clutter the pages, but lots of verbal information is all packed into this small book. At the very least, this is a better recommendation than 501 Italian Verbs, though not as robust as The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs.

Score: 9/10

pros:
loads of usage examples show off modern Italian in context; grammar & explanations are descriptive and register sensitive; clear division between first half of the book, which discusses meaning, and second half, which discusses function; helps make sense of a complicated array of Italian words, phrases & expressions; examples really clarify grammar use; two great cross-referenced indexes make this book readily searchable

cons:
navigating the charts and info isn’t the most intuitive process; best if used by more advanced students; sometimes devolves into mere vocabulary lists

Kinder & Savini’s Using Italian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage noticeably separates itself from the majority of bookstore resources available to language learners. For starters, it’s aimed at late intermediate students, advanced students and teachers of Italian. Second, because it’s focused on use and function, it’s example heavy. In many ways, the book is a reference guide to Italian vocabulary and phrases, framed by explanations of their use, and topicalized based on meaning or function.

I read this book as if it has two parts. The first 200 pages discuss words and their meanings. There you’ll find lists of words including false friends, synonyms, idioms, proverbs, cities & countries, acronyms, names, political organizations, grammatical terms, numbers, weight and time. All lists are tabular, detailed and lengthy. They include Italian words in bold, English translations, and some indication of the function of each word or phrase. Take, for instance, this example from the “synonyms” section on page 128:

POLICEMAN

The list continues to give more general terms, specific terms for types of police, as well as derogatory terms. The R1-R3 allude to registers, which, as the introduction explains, rest on a scale of formal (R3) to familiar (R1) and even vulgar (R1*).

The second part of the book deals with language use as framed by grammar rather than meaning. Chapters and sections tackle topics like “pronouns and verbs”, “impersonal objects”, “noun and adjective” and loads of prepositions in Italian. You’ll read through more explanations in this part, but the authors still focus on sample Italian sentences and phrases.

The explanations in this grammar are descriptive, relating how Italian is used in Italy, and by modern Italians. The book ends with a list of interjections and filler words, and two great indices: an index of every Italian word discussed in the book, and an index of grammar topics.

Sophisticated and advanced language learners will find this Italian grammar refreshingly relevant. Linguists, even those with little knowledge of Italian, also stand to benefit. Using Italian puts so many examples of tricky Italian usage at your fingertips. It’s sound, pertinent, well organized, hard-hitting Italian. Highly recommended if you could use such a resource.

Score: 7/10

pros:
color-coded tables make verb forms easy to spot; a couple example sentences of each verb; color cartoon drawings visualize the meaning of every verb in the book; verbs are fully conjugated in all forms included in the book; low price; great introduction to the basics of verbs & layout/use of the book; index of every verb cross references page numbers

cons:
certain Italian verb tense-mood forms are missing here, presumably because they’re too advanced; 101 verbs are not many once you learn to speak more Italian; verbs presented in random order, rather than alphabetically or systematically (fortunately, though, there’s a reference index!); missing Italian pronunciation help: When are e and o pronounced open, and when close? Which syllable is stressed?

101 Italian Verbs a grammar book, but it’s not simply another one of those grammar books. It opts for a colorful, cartoon-filled theme to convey the conjugation of Italian verbs. With one verb per page, and an illustration depicting the verb’s meaning, you’ll have access to many (but not every!) form of – how many was it again? – Italian verbs.

You may already know, or else you’ll soon find out, that verbs are quite probably the trickiest part of Italian grammar. Mastering verbs means understanding when to use a whole slew of endings (suffixes) attached to the verb, which differ depending on 1) who’s performing the action, 2) when the action takes place, 3) the verb’s “mood” and 4) whether the action is ongoing or happens at a single point in time. Whew! This is something the meager handful of suffixes in our language hasn’t prepared us to handle: talk, talks, talking, talked.

The beginning introduces you to the four characters you’ll meet in the drawings. Then, you’ll learn some grammatical stuff – about the six different ‘persons’, arranged in a vertical line, each pronoun in a separate gray box (Italian for: I, you, he/she, we, all of you, they).

You’ll be reminded that Italian verbs have endings that match the personal pronoun, and that those verb endings change based on the verb’s tense. You’ll even take a small bite out of reflexive verbs (the book only has four or five). Each of these explanations is accompanied by examples, and plenty of color on each page.

After that introduction, 101 Italian Verbs takes on one verb at a time, in a seemingly random order. The top of each page lists the Italian verb in blue text, an English translation in gray, the imperative (command) forms of the verb in red, and the present participle in dark yellow. The rest of the top half of each page is devoted to those cartoons that relate the verb’s meaning in pictorial fashion.

The bottom half of each verb page presents verb forms in a table. That table has seven columns and six rows on every verb page. The six rows correspond to the person (the pronouns I listed above, but this time in italiano: io, tu, lui/lei, noi, voi, loro). The seven columns – each one a different color – present the verb in seven tenses: presente, imperfetto, passato remoto, futuro, condizionale, passato prossimo. Below the table, you’ll see too sample sentences using the verb in Italian, with English translations.

Every single use of an Italian verb is color coded – highlighted in one of the seven colors, making it easy to connect the conjugated forms with specific verb tenses – even outside those tables. A verbal index in the back alphabetically lists all verbs used in the book, and an English-Italian section allows you to search for any of the 101 verbs by their meaning.

Since it’s missing more “advanced” verb forms like the present and imperfect subjunctive (il conguintivo), I can’t recommend 101 Italian Verbs to anyone beyond the beginner level. Still, the book provides a smooth, colorful, image-rich presentation of the basics of Italian verbs. If you’re the no-nonsense type, and just after the information, try The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs or 2000+ Essential Italian Verbs.