501 Italian Verbs by John Colaneri, Vincent Luciani Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of 501 Italian Verbs
Book Review: One of the necessary learning tools for serious students
Summary: 5 Stars
So many people ask me about what learning materials I recommend for beginning students. Well, here is the "magic recipe"! Purchase this book plus "Italian Verb Drills", plus "Essential Italian Grammar", plus "Pimsleur's Basic Italian" (audio CD set) and you're on your way to speak the most romantic and musical language on the planet!!! That's all you need!! Well, now it's up to you to TAKE THE FIRST STEP and be patient! Results will come before you know it, just put the effort in and it will come back 10-fold!
Don't forget the NECESSITIES to learning a language: PRACTICE, REPETITION, and PATIENCE!
Book Review: Standard xx1 type verb book
Summary: 5 Stars
I give this 5 stars because like the others in its grouping (501 French Verbs, 501 Spanish Verbs, etc.) it offers a standard, easy to use reference for verb usage in the language. I always purchase these texts to review irregular verbs, past participles, etc. In highly inflected languages like Italian, French, Spanish, etc. this book serves as a very useful reference. Each verb also includes some limited idiomatic usage at the bottom of the pages. This is useful too.Book Review: Stress and vowel quality are not indicated
Summary: 2 Stars
I agree with the reviews below: this is a fabulous collection of verb paradigms for both learning and reference. But a significant flaw is that neither the word stress nor the quality of the stressed vowels are indicated.
The stress on the present tense of italian verbs (and some infinitives) is not predictable from its orthorgraphy and it may appear on either the penult or the antepenult of a verb. Such information is necessary in order for a learner to acquire a correct pronunciation, and it is missing in this book.
Moreover, a stressed "e" or "o" may be pronounced either open or close in Italian verbs in the present tense and in some irregular past-tense and past-participle forms; but in this book, there is no indication of a preferred pronunciation. Such information would be of great intrest to a learner who wanted to develop a native-like accent.
In order to find information regarding verb stress and vowel quality, a learner would need to consult a second dictionary.
As an alternative, I would recommend, at least for starters, the trade paperback called "200 Italian Verbs" by Barnes and Noble. Although it is limited to 200 verbs, the stress is conveniently indicated by an acute accent on verbs with close "e" and "o" and by a grave accent on verbs with open "e" and "o". This publication is out of print but still available on line for under five dollars from used-book sellers.
Book Review: Valuable reference to the serious student of Italian
Summary: 4 Stars
"501 Italian Verbs" is a valuable addition to the reference material any serious student of the Italian language requires in reaching a high level of proficiency. Some common verbs often only have a single irregularity in one of its persons, tenses or participles, and this reference book has most, if not all, of them covered. I also find the contextual example sentences and phrases using each verb quite handy. It is well laid out, and it is easy to look up any given verb.
Book Review: Verbs Made Easy
Summary: 5 Stars
This series is an excellent resource for anyone studying a foreign language.