5 comments about Easy Italian Phrase Book: 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use (Dover Easy Phrase Books).

1. This book is too large to fit in your pocket. It has normal size type but lots of space between the entries. Check out other options and you will find a smaller, more useful reference.



2. This was the cheapest phrase book that I saw offered on Amazon.com and, as trite as it is, you get what you pay for. If you are looking for the most basic of interactions with Italian speakers and are only planning on staying in tourist hotels and shopping in tourist markets, then this might suffice. However, if you are planning to interact with native Italian speakers in a less superficial way, or if you want to be able to express yourself with somewhat more sophistication, I would recommend another phrase book.



3. This book is worthless, even for $2. Very outdated (phrases about telegrams). I returned it. Buy Rick Steve's Italian Phrases instead. It is more compact and current (asks how to send an e-mail, not telegram).



4. This book is great if you are traveling to Italy and don't have time to take a class to learn the language.



5. Finally a small book that cuts-to-the-chase... it categorizes by typical use. Hotel talk, restaurant talk, taxi/train talk - - and this is not conversational junk - - its what one needs to survive if a non-speaking traveller in a strange land. "where is the toilet" & "I would like a glass of wine" are basics...and well thought out. Highly recommended. Timely shipment, perfect condition. Recommended seller.

5 comments about Italian Now!: A Level One Worktext.

1. I am using the Pimsleur series to start learning italian. Pimsleur is wonderful for getting you to say things, but it really skimps over grammar explanations, vocabulary, conjugating verbs, etc. This book really excels at filling the gaps. Pimsleur helps you say stuff, this book provides the skeleton that your speaking ability rests on. With exercises after each section, and short chapters that don't intimidate, I can't imagine a better book for a beginner. My advice is to thru the first 15 Pimsleur lessons (the first 30 would be even better) so you get a flavor for what the language sounds like without being worried too much by grammar. If you start with the book too soon your english-reading system will make it hard to pronounce the words correctly; an english speaker will read "grazie" as "grahzee" when it is actually closer to "grah tsee ah" and if you start learning words wrong from a book you'll have trouble correcting that from the tapes or even recognizing they're the same word! But this book is wonderful for explaining the subtleties you'll be wondering about after working thru some of the tapes, and it takes you far past what is presented even in the entire 90-lesson Pimsleur set.



2. I'm currently half way through this book, I hack away at it bit by bit in 1hr or 1 1/2hr segments everyday day or so. I'm an Italian destination specialist that is moving to Italia in one year. So of course I must learn the language. I do agree with another poster that on its own you can't learn the language with this guide. I started learning Italian August 2006, with the Rosetta Stone level 1&2, that took me 9 months to complete. It took me so long because I hand wrote and translated each and every lesson in addition to the audio learning software. I finished that in May 2007, I then started re reviewing Rosetta Stone little by little. But I found I couldn't get all the grammer correct. Rosetta Stone dosn't teach grammer all that much. Rosetta Stone has me speaking Italian but getting alot of grammer wrong. After returning from Italia again this August, I decided to futher my studies. I picked up this book along with the complete big yellow grammer book about a month ago or so. This book has really helped me grasp grammer and past/present/future/plural tenses so well and I'm only half way through it! My boss speaks Italian, so we together work over everything I don't understand on my own. But this lesson book is great. I'm so glad on a whim I just bought it! Cause I'm glued to it just about every evening for a little bit. Overall and excellent additional learning source



3. Well I just began to study Italian by myself at home and I bought this textbook. Its a very good starting point to learning Italian. Learn basic expressions, pronunciation, and grammar. I recommend anyone who wants to start learning Italian to buy this textbook.



4. I started learning Italian by myself using the Pimsleur (listen only) method and reached a point where I needed to learn how to read and write Italian and also grammar, etc. I tried a few books, but Italian Now! is the only one that I stuck to. It is fun, the lessons are organized in a very effective way; it makes it easy to memorize new information and understand the grammar, without seeming overbearing.



5. I was looking for an Italian language resource that was both introductory in nature, but not so rudimentary that it could not serve as a building block for future mastery.
   
   Italian Now! is an entry level/college-high school first semester course designed to give the Italian student a solid foundation/introduction and a springboard to intermediate study.
   
   I was impressed by the facility with which the dialogues utilize the vocabulary and the applicablity for daily life. I'm about a 1/4th through this book; I feel that I will be ready to speak this beautiful language when my wife and I travel to Tuscany late next year.

5 comments about Italian Verb Drills.

1. Verb forms seemed really scary until I started drilling with this book. Drilling may sound boring but I think it starts setting patterns in my head. Also a great way to just get exposed to more words.



2. I have been working with this book for months now and have found it a great help in conjunction with the Pimselur Italian cd's for this beginner. The Pimselur cd's are great, but you really need to do some written work so you understand what it is you are listening to and get a better ideal of verb usage. I have purchased several of these types of books, and this one seems to be the best (for me).



3. The good points about this book are that it has plenty of verbs in all the conjugations. The verb classes (-are, -ere, -ire)and the irregulars are covered well. The downside of the book, in my opinion, is its poor instructional design. The index is a glaring example. It does not reference page numbers, rendering it almost must useless as a a look up table for various occurences of verb forms and specifically irregular forms in the text. The reader must literally scour the text to find specific verb information as a result. In terms of content, a good book. As an instructional aid, I have reservations about its design.



4. I purchased this book in anticipation of a trip to Italy 6 weeks after purchase. I spent a year in Italy studying Italian 20 years ago and haven't had much occassion to use my Italian since then. I thought the Italian Verb Drills book would be a great help in refreshing all that I have forgotten. I was right. I love the book. The verbs are categorized by ending and irregularities and then the book moves through various tenses. There is ample discussion of when various tenses should be used. Some of the tenses are more important than others to know and this drill books help you determine which tenses are critical.
   
   I remember best by writing something down. This is a drill book, so there is ample opportunity to write answers and then check them in the back. Exercises include translating into Italian from English and translating into English from Italian.
   
   Even though I have a firm foundation in Italian, I would highly recommend this book for any beginner. Drilling is a good way to memorize the verbs and their tenses. If you purchase a grammar book and vocabulary book to accompany the verb drills, you have a complete learning tool set.



5. This workbook allows you to practice regular and irregular verbs in all tenses, which serves as an ideal way to improve my Italian!
   
   Nice and easy way to practice that you will catch on to the conjugation quickly!

5 comments about Essential Italian Grammar.

1. I love this reference guide. It's perfect for the beginner or intermediate learner of Italian.



2. I love the entire Dover Essential Grammar series, and I actually own most of them. I used Ragusa's Essential Italian Grammar in my language preparation for a trip to Italy last year, and it works extremely well.
   
   It isn't going to teach you enough vocabulary for true facility with the language, of course, but that isn't its function -- it's meant to encapsulate all the basic grammar of the language in a very clear and concise form. Because of its size, I was able to go through it numerous times -- and each time, a little bit more sticks. A far superior approach to going through a large, padded, overly wordy grammar full of redundant exercises and dialogues just once. It also works very well as a quick reference guide which you can easily and quickly open up to precisely what you need to refresh yourself on.
   
   It goes without saying that you're still going to need a good dictionary or other book(s) to help you acquire vocabulary. But for the basic grammar, this one slim volume is all you really need.



3. This book helped me clarify things I did not understand in other books. It is simple and will teach you basic Italian. I'm able to express myself in simple short sentences thanks to this book. It is a must have for ANY student of the Italian language.



4. My daughter recommended this to me, from her own studies, and it is very good. Well worth it.



5. This review book is excellent. Most books concentrate on travle related phrases which you must memorize and PRAY that you remember. If you want to learn Italian stay away from travel books. They really do not work becuase the nature of the language is not explored- just sentences to help you find the bathroom or order food. My travel to Italy is both family and business related so I have had to spruce up my Italian. I carry it with me everywhere and while I have time I read, re-read and work on my language skills. I have also used it to teach others. What is nice is that she covers every topic, translates the entire sentence literally- in the order of the Italian language and then provides the English equalivent. Because of the ordering of words is so different (pronouns, negations etc..) it may be difficult for someone to grasp the learning of Italian. Other books simply give the phrase and then translate it but the ordering of words is out of whack. Sometimes the meanings are changed! This book is clear, easy to follow and easy to take with you. When I taught my husband I used the following- Italian in 10 minutes a day ( to reduce the fear factor and make it smooth) then Michel Thomas's tapes (they work), a good verb book, dictionary and the Idiots Guide... Worth it!

5 comments about Italian for Dummies (With Audio CD).

1. This is a really easy book to use. believe it or not, Italian is my first language, English my second & I speak several others as well! I used this book as a refresher course & I was totally amazed at the ease of use & the ability to understand everything that was put before me! I highly recommend this book to absolutely anyone that wants to learn basic Italian!



2. This book and CD is a bird's eye view introduction to Italian. If you a serious about learning the language, choose a product with lots more audio content. Unless you hear the spoken language you'll never grasp it.
   On the other hand, if a quick look is what you're looking for, then this is the book for you.



3. Learning a language is difficult, at least for me, and I was disappointed with this book. Yes, it does provide a lot of information, but it is not presented in a way that makes learning the language any easier, fun or engaging. And, since I enjoy learning Italian, I've tried several types of programs. I use this book more as a reference tool. Can't imagine ever learning the language from scratch with it! Clearly not for dummies.



4. This is a pleasant introduction to the Italian language. For the speaker of another romance language, it might be a decent, down-and-dirty way to muddle through. It is also a very pleasant book to spend time with-cute, patient and decidedly non-threatening.
   If you're thinking about learning Italian, this could also be a good introduction-a way to sample the language's complexities before diving in.
   
   Lynn Hoffman, author New Short Course in Wine,The



5. Very informative book into the Italian language.. Don't expect to be fluent in the language by the end, but you will have a general knowledge of the meaning of many phrases. Also this book is excellent for the person who wants to know some grammar rules and would like to have some knowledge of how the words are pronounced. Definately worth the time and money.

5 comments about Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian.

1. SO much more complete than other English/Italian dictionaries of its size. Occasionally, there is something missing, but it is so much better than others I have tried that I highly recommend it.



2. My daughter uses it for her Italian class. Italian words are in the first half, English in the second. She uses it often to look up words. It's nice to have when doing homework, to make sure the spelling is correct.



3. I have been studying Italian for years and now teach it, and have gone through at least half dozen copies of Webster's New World Italian Dictionary. I have many others, but it is the best, by far, for usage. A simple definition, no matter how well written, is of little value if all the idiomatic possibilities are not given, and Websters does it's best to give them to you. I would have a panic attack if I found myself in Italy without it!



4. Bought this for school and personal study of teh Italian language. Helped me to translate a copy of DaVinci's journal. Great addition for both students and enthusiasts!



5. Bellissima! Non potevo lasciarlo senza leggere ogni pagine! Sono ancora desideroso per un altro leggiamento.
   
   Dopo avere comprato questo libro, ho fatto un viaggio in Italia e li sono rimaste tre anni! Incredibile! Usando il Webster's New World Italian Dictionary sono riuscito trovare lavoro in Italia, un'appartamento in Trastevere, e una storia con Maria Grazia Cucinotta.
   
   Poi, sono andato a Roma, dove ho lanciato 3 monete nella Fontana di Trevi, e allora mi sono svegliato.
   
   Si, mi sono svegliato per fare caso che ho sognato tutto. E stato tutto un sogno. Ma che bello sogno, vero?
   
   If you can't read the above review, you NEED this book! In boca al lupo!

5 comments about Drive Time: Italian (CD): Learn Italian While You Drive (LL(R) All-Audio Courses).

1. i decided to purchase an audio lesson in italian...so I bought Drive Time. The first c.d. is fantastico. It's easy to follow along and you can get a good grasp of it even though its focused on small phrases. CD2, goes into warp speed and continually gets faster with every c.d. I don't know what happened between cd1 and the rest but i wouldn't reccommend it for beginners. If you know spanish,...great. I'm sure the pace is okay. But if you don't know spanish or any italian, fohget-a-bout-it. There isn't enough time to even repeat some of the words yourself. I find myself hitting pause every phrase/word so i can repeat it at a decent pace. If you decide to purchase it, good luck.
   ciao ciao.



2. I have been studying Barron's Italian Verb Book. these CDs were helpful with pronunciation as well as challenging me to come up eith both the meaning and answers to questions in Italian. BUT you need to pause the CD to think about what is being said as well as needing the time to answer in Italian. The pause they have on the CD is OK but only if you have gone through it a couple of times. I so wish they had gone further with the tenses. They stop where I really want to get going. So I listen now more for pronunciation than to learn. I wish they would come out with Cds that cover the rest of the tenses. If someone knows of more advanced CDs please put it in a review.



3. First cd is great - but then it starts moving too fast for a beginner.



4. I have purchased other teach your self courses in Italian and this is the best one I've heard. It starts out slow and even though some people say it speeds up and gets too fast, it still keeps a slow pace with the Italian. If you think this CD is too fast, try taking a trip to Italy and talking to one of the locals. The English speaking people in this course are very soft spoken with easily tolerable voices and the Italian speakers speak very clearly. I went through the first two CD's in just a couple of days and have been on the third one for about two weeks. I already can put together basic sentences and can interpret most spoken Italian. My biggest suggestion to anyone buying this course is to also get an English/Italian dictionary so you can see how the words are spelt and properly pronounced.



5. Recently got this to learn some italian. I dont know how much it will help as im only on disc two,but its FULL of info and the book that comes with it is a great guide to learning too. I think this is going to be great(once I learn it) Cd one and two has been wonderful.

5 comments about Easy Italian Reader (Easy Reader).

1. Good book, but not really for a beginner. It is really more of an intermediate level book. But the history of Italy chapters were fun and interesting.



2. The readings in this book become more difficult gradually, making it easy to increase your vocabulary and your exposure to more complicated grammatical structures. As a fringe benefit, the later readings will also add to your knowledge of Italian history. The book does have a vocabulary section, but you'll still need to keep an Englisth-Italian dictionary handy.



3. The format is a little longwinded and you do have to write some of the responses on a separate notebook due to space restraints but it is an excellent starting reader for an Italian 102 0r 103 student. Introduces italian poetry, writing, songs and history. I highly recommend it. Good practice in reading and critically responding to text. There are also some breaks with crosswords and fill in the blanks.



4. I am a beginning/intermediate adult Italian language student--taking lessons weekly from a tutor. I have worked my way through about 1/3 of the reader and find it at just the right level for me and it's been a valuable way to practice translation and vocabulary. Well done.



5. This is a great book if you want to move from basic grammar and vocabulary to something more engaging. The stories are easy to read, and each chapter has some questions, exercises, and a 'discussion' topic. It's geared toward class settings, but it works quite well for self-study, too. Of course it helps if you have someone fluent in Italian to correct your stories!

5 comments about Basic Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur).

1. My husband and I have, in the last few years taken two trips to Europe and though we were only staying for a couple weeks wanted to learn a bit of the language in order to make an effort to at least be able to say the polite phrases and to understand the basics. I was not looking for a comprehensive program, nor was I looking to continue on to a more challenging program.
   
   This set was recommended by my sister who has a degree in Language and has learned and speaks several languages fluently. She advised me that Pimsleur was one of the best programs on the market for what I was looking for, and she was right.
   
   I have found that any effort that I have made to speak the language (no matter how horribly mangled-it appears that it is all about the sincere effort) has been met with appreciation and has often resulted in a more friendly and pleasurably stay. I'm NOT fluent, nor am I a quick study. I used polite/useful phrases from the series frequently in my travels such as: Hello, How are you, excuse me, do you speak English? I do not speak Italian, Where is the bathroom, the list goes on. Any attempts seem to be appreciated, and for me it is worth the time for me to learn a little to be able to get around a little easier. Also, it is fun. I can take the cd's in my car and work on them on my commute. Perfect!
   
   This will not teach you all the Italian you want to know if you are looking to speak fluently, but for a traveler, I thought it was perfect and it was both useful and fun.
   
   I would highly recommend this product for those traveling to Italy that would just like to know a bit of Italian. You can always build onto it later if you wish to, but for the traveler it is a very nice program.
   
   My one wish for these sets would be a booklet that gave a basic run-down on the chapters. With an audio only format sometimes I did not catch the word immediately and found myself looking up a few words on-line in order to understand how they were spelled so I knew if I was pronouncing them correctly. I'm a visual person, what can I say? Other than that I felt this was a highly effective program and would definitely look at other items in this series for our next adventure.



2. I am working my way through the CD's in my car and so far they are just what I needed. I may end up purchasing the next inthe series after I finish these.



3. This CD set is a great way to receive a simple exposure to the musicality (?) of the Italian language. The Italian language has a flow to it, like music. It is to Spanish what an Irish brogue is to English, if that helps. This CD set will not make you an expert by any stretch of the imagination. But it will get your ears and tongue accustomed to Italian, which is a good thing. I bought it and used it to get my feet wet in Italian and have since gone on to speak the language with mild fluency. It's great for the morning commute, in the car, listening to Italian. It goes at a good pace and tests your short-term memory along the way. There is no background music or sound effects, either.



4. I thought this was a great program. It focused on practical things first like saying "I don't understand" and "I speak English" and finished up with "I'll have dinner/drinks with you at nine o'clock". I liked the format, often the narrator asked you in English to say things and then you had a chance to do it in Italian before the speaker gave you the response so you weren't just using repetition.
   
   As other reviewers have noted, it would be nice to have a booklet with the words for review... I spent two lessons not sure I was hearing a certain verb correctly. I have had a lot of Spanish lessons so found a lot of similarities between Italian and Spanish and the format of their sentences and conjugation of verbs so perhaps the CDs were good for me because I wasn't exactly starting from scratch.
   
   I have since purchased the Italian I course to further work on my Italian. It should be noted that the 5 CDs (i.e. first 10 lessons) in the Basic Italian are also the first 5 CDs out of the 16 CDs in the Italian I. So if you think you'd like to learn past the "I'll go out to dinner with you", you might want to just buy Italian I and skip the Basic Italian.



5. I like the recording very much. But without any written material, it's very difficult to figure out the pronunciation and spelling of words. It's not a complete course without written material but can be used to supplement other learning methods.

5 comments about Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary.

1. Rick Steves has done it again. The organization of this book is perfect. It's very useful and has tons of helpful phrases. Plus, it's witty and fun to use. I recommend using a cd to learn some basic Italian and to practice pronouncing the language. Then use this phrase book while you're travelling, and you'll be able to ask for directions, decipher a menu, and charm the natives.



2. I like this Italian guide because it is pocket size (so I can carry it in my Pocket and HAVE IT WITH ME! when I need it) and because it includes more useful phrases than other guides (I don't need to know how to say "Where's the Vatican" I DO need to know how to tell the Taxi to SLOW DOWN! and this guide tells me how, in a way that makes sure the driver listens!



3. I have gotten half way through Rick Steve's Italy 2008 and part of me feels like I've already been on vacation. I plan on taking the book to Italy when we go as a reference guide. The book is simply written therefore easy to understand, plus it's witty. I am sure it will be a huge help on our trip in June. We also purchased Rick Steve's ITALIAN phrase book and dictionary, that will accompany us on our trip as well!



4. It seems that Americans buy books such as these in great numbers. They are generally a waste of time. If one observes how most foreigners speak English when they visit us, we might try to emulate them when we go abroad. Italian is not a particularly difficult language to learn; there are many cognates with English....and Spanish and French. You will enjoy foreign travel so much more if your vocabulary can be extended beyond "Where is the Post Office". In fact, with laptops and e-mail, no one really uses the post office very much these days. Get some tapes and listen to them on your commute; take an adult ed. course, but these phrase books, which looked cute 50 years ago when post-war Americans started discovering Europe should now be considered obsolete.



5. Rick Stevens has written a book with all kinds of useful phrases and lots you may never need but will laugh at while reading.