Italian For Dummies®

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Start small: just as bad habits can be difficult to break, good habitstake time to make. Start with something so easy you can’t say no to, like 5 minutes a day. Then add an extra minute each day. Built up gradually until you find a length of time that a) slots easily into your daily routine and b) feels likeyou’re making good progress. li means “them” for masculine nouns. It is OK to use it with two masculine nouns or a mix of feminine and masculine nouns, but when referring to two feminine nouns le should be used instead

Exploring new places is exciting, but it can also be frustrating when you find yourself lost! But fear not, by learning to say and understand the following phrases, you'll be able to ask for and receive directions from the locals.

So now that you’ve learned the basics, are you ready to take the next step in your Italian adventure?

Hopefully you’re now feeling excited aboutlearning Italian and ready to get started. Before we dive into the details like grammar and pronunciation, it’s a good idea to get some essential phrases under your belt so you can communicatestraight away.Un gelato di 2 euro, per favore. (oohn geh- lah-toh dee dooh-eh eh-ooh-roh pehr fah- voh-reh) (A 2-Euro size ice cream, please.) I used to really struggle with the rolledR. In fact, I had just about given up, until one of my Italian teachers insisted that I couldlearn to do it. She was right! I practised and practised and practised until eventually, I managed it.

In Italian, when you see two of the same consonants in a row, you should make that sound longer. For example, theword “sono” (which means I am) has a single consonant: “n”, while the word “sonno” (which means sleep) has a double consonant: “nn”. The “n” sound is held for longer in the latter. In Italian, you have three sounds that can be produced by the letter n. The first one is the regular n sound as in noon or never. The p sound is basically the same in English and Italian, except for one tiny thing. Try saying the word ‘speak’. Then say the word ‘put’. Do you notice a difference with how you pronounce the p sound? The good news is that numbers in Italian are pretty logical and straightforward. Once you learn 1-20, the rest just follow on from there!Notice that most of the idiomatic expressions with avereare translated with the verb to bein English.