Reviews

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Books

Basic Italian, by Alessandra Visconti

3-5 Italian, Books, Kids

I did not love Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Italian by Alessandra Visconti, but I found it pleasant. I am in general pretty fond of the ubiquitous Practice Makes Perfect series from McGraw-Hill and have used…

Italian: A Good Old-Fashioned Grammar Portrait

5 Italian, Books

I have generally adored the Essential Grammar series from Dover Publications, and this Italian one by Olga Ragusa is no exception. In just 111 pages and for only $5.95, this old-fashioned book (originally published in 1963) provides a petite yet oddly…

Italian Now! Do Not Delay!

4 Italian, Books

This book by Marcel Danesi was the most basic Italian text I used. It is a book you can truly use from a starting point of zero Italian knowledge; other beginners’ books that claim you can start from nothing often…

Italian Grammar Drills: Language Boot Camp!

4 Italian, Books

I am a big fan of grammar drills. I find them unbelievably helpful. In Italian Grammar Drills by Paola Nanni-Tate, I sometimes just jumped around randomly from section to section, working on whatever I felt my weakness…

Barron’s Italian Verb Workbook: Some Good Content, But Not My Favorite Exercise Design

3 Italian, Books

Barron’s Italian Verb Workbook by Marcel Danesi is intended to work for true beginners, but I think showing up with a little background would be helpful, since you start right in on present-tense conjugations on the…

A Confidently Titled Italian Grammar

3 Italian, Books

I have mixed feelings about Barron’s Mastering Italian Grammar by Beatrice Rovere-Fenati. I find the grammar explanations responsible and thorough, but there are annoying popout bubbles that interrupt the larger grammatical narrative and brightly tell me…

An Ambitiously Titled Book: Complete Italian Grammar

4 Italian, Books

I like Practice Makes Perfect: Complete Italian Grammar by Marcel Danesi. It has clear explanations. In terms of level: according to the preface, Complete Italian Grammar is for intermediate and advanced learners. Although this…

Advanced Italian Grammar: Some Great Practice

4 Italian, Books

Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced Italian Grammar by Marcel Danesi is part of a series of compact, more focused books within the larger Practice Makes Perfect series from McGraw-Hill. Overall I like this one. Advanced Italian…

McGraw-Hill's Italian Vocabulary: Quirky But Entertaining

4 Italian, Books, Vocabulary

McGraw-Hill offers Practice Makes Perfect vocabulary books for multiple languages. I have found them odd in ways, with silly sentences providing awkward transitions between groups of thematically linked words. But I like them nonetheless, and I…

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