A case for Grammar

(or how learning one sentence can help you create endless others) 

Read advice about learning a language nowadays, and you're likely to hear that you should abandon your grammar books and instead simply immerse yourself— move to the country if you have to, but get a lot of input and pick up words and eventually sentences, in context, like a child learning their native language.

I think immersion is a valuable tool, and I'm all for getting over your shyness and communicating with native speakers straight away BUT I believe in immersion AND grammar.

Phrases & Context:
Suppose you hear in a bar/caffè: 

Vorrei un cappuccino. 
I would like a cappuccino.

You could deduce from context the meaning, and you could even memorize and repeat the phrase yourself....but, by also understanding a bit of the grammar behind it, you can adapt and change the sentence as needed to express thousands upon thousands of related concepts and ideas, and create your own unique sentences that you've never heard before.

How?
Grammar helps you understand the different parts of a sentence, and how the different parts interact and affect each other to change the meaning.

Knowing grammar, I am able to break the sentence down as follows:

VORREI (the verb "volere" conjugated in the 1st person singular conditional tense: means "I would like")
UN (indefinite masculine article— gender corresponds with noun it modifies: means "a")
CAPPUCCINO (singular, masculine noun: means "delicious coffee-based drink with foamed milk")

Knowing this, I can modify the sentence to communicate a variety of things.

Changing 'the who':
For example, I can change who does an action by changing the person of the verb's conjugation. I know how to change the person, because I know that in Italian, the root of the verb stays the same, and I add different endings.

For the conditional tense, those endings are as follows:

(io) vorrei
(tu) vorresti

(lui) vorrebbe

(noi) vorremmo

(voi) vorreste

(loro) vorrebbero

Immediately, I am able to say six different sentences:

(1) Vorrei un cappuccino.
I would like a cappuccino.
(2) Vorresti un cappuccino. 
You would like a cappuccino.
(3) Vorrebbe un cappuccino. 
He/She/You (formal) would like a cappuccino.
(4) Vorremmo un cappuccino. 
We would like a cappuccino.
(5) Vorreste un cappuccino. 
You all would like a cappuccino.
(6) Vorrebbero un cappuccino. 
They would like a cappuccino.

And that's just by knowing one tense— the conditional… 

Other tenses:
If I've learned other tenses, I can expand what I'm saying even more.

For example, I can talk about what will be wanted in the Future:

volere— to want, simple future tense:
(io) vorrò I will want
(tu) vorrai you will want

(lui) vorrà he will want  

(noi) vorremo we will want

(voi) vorrete you (all) will want

(loro) vorranno they will want

So, that's another six sentences!

(1) Vorrò un cappuccino.
I will want a cappuccino.
(2) Vorrai un cappuccino.
You will want a cappuccino.
(3) Vorrà un cappuccino. 
He/She/You (formal) will want a cappuccino.
(4) Vorremo un cappuccino. 
We will want a cappuccino.
(5) Vorrete un cappuccino. 
You all will want a cappuccino.
(6) Vorranno un cappuccino. 
They will want a cappuccino.

I could even combine them:

Vorrei un cappuccino adesso, e vorrò un cappuccino domani.
I would like a cappuccino now, and I will want a cappuccino tomorrow.

And there are plenty of other tenses to choose from!

Present: Voglio— I want
Imperfect Past: Volevo— I wanted
Past Perfect: Avevo voluto— I had wanted
etc.

Changing 'the object':
And that's just changing the verb, what if we change the object of the verb?

In this case, the object of the verb is un cappuccino— "a cappuccino".

I can change the indefinite article un-"a" to the definite article il- "the" 

(1) Vorrei il cappuccino.
I would like the cappuccino. 

Now, I'm able to talk about a specific cappuccino. (Maybe there are two drinks on the counter, and I'm saying I would like the cappuccino, not the tea.)

Or, maybe I'm feeling especially gluttonous and would like multiple cappuccinos.

If I've studied grammar and know how to make a noun plural, then I can easily change the article to any number due (two), tre (three), etc. and change cappuccino from singular, to plural: cappuccini

Vorrei un cappuccino.
I would like a cappuccino. 
Vorrei due cappuccini.
I would like two cappuccinos. 
Vorrei tre cappuccini.
I would like three cappuccinos. 
Vorrei duemila tredici cappuccini.
I would like two thousand and thirteen cappuccinos.  

And that's of course, if we only want to talk about cappuccinos.  If you know other masculine nouns, you can simply swap them out:

Vorrei un succo d'arancia.
I would like an orange juice.
Vorrei un cane.
I would like a dog.  

If you know how to modify the article, you can say you'd like a feminine noun quite easily too:

Vorrei una collana.
I would like a necklace.
Vorrei una coperta.
I would like a blanket.

Wanting an action:
Knowing a bit more about the verb volere, I know that instead of wanting an object, I can also "want to do something."  

In English, we say "I want to go" but thanks to my grammar studies I know the equivalent in Italian is the version of the verb that ends in -ARE, -ERE, or -IRE, also known as the infinitive.

So now, I can put practically any infinitive verb after the conjugated verb volere…

Vorrei andare.
I would like to go.
Vorrei nuotare.
I would like to swim.
Vorrei leggere.
I would like to read.
etc..

Adding it all up:

Now that's a lot of sentences!  Thanks to grammar, one thing I might have overheard in a bar can now be used as a basis for creating tons of my own, unique sentences.  Not only can I look for opportunities to use my new sentences, but my knowledge of grammar can also help me make sense of new things I overhear from native speakers, too.

—Vorrei sciare.
I would like ???

"Well, I know it's a verb… because it ends in -ARE and there are no articles or anything to suggest it's a noun.. but what does it mean??"

—Cosa vuol dire "sciare"
What does "sciare" mean?

(The other person mimes skiing)

"Ahh, sciare means to ski…, I know how to say "I like + verb"… it's:"

—Ah! Sì..Mi piace sciare.
Ah! Yes...I like to ski.

See? Grammar is fun!

So, instead of looking at each grammar point as some dull lesson to be suffered through, or skipped entirely for "something more useful"— it should be thought of as another transformation to apply to the sentences you already know.  Then, you can look for (or even create) opportunities to use what you've learned...

"Ahh, the imperfect past tense! Now I can tell Giovanni about how I wanted a cappuccino, but then changed my mind!"

Volevo un cappuccino, ma adesso voglio un tè.

I wanted a cappuccino, but now I want a tea.

Eventually, with enough practice and immersion, you will no longer think in conjugations, tenses, articles, and gender agreement.  The right way to say it will just "sound natural..."

…but until then— use grammar!

Put it into practice:

Take the basic components of Vorrei un cappuccino and see if you can transform it based on each of the following grammar points:

 ITALIAN BASICS:  
   (1) Indefinite Articles, (How to say "A/AN")
   (2) Definite Articles (singular), (How to say "THE")
   (3) Pluralization, (How to make singular nouns plural)
   (4) Definite Articles (plural), ("THE" for more than one thing)
   (5) The Partitive Article, (How to say "some")

 BEGINNER'S ITALIAN:  

  (1) How Italian verbs work, (Intro to verbs & grammar terms)

  (2) Italian present tense: -ARE verbs

  (3) Italian present tense: -ERE verbs

  (4) Italian present tense: -IRE verbs 

  (5) La negazione - Negation 
  (6) Ogni quanto? Quante volte? (Adverbs of frequency)
  (7) C'è & Ci sono (There is & There are) 

Buono studio!

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Vuoi is the present tense, 2nd person of 'volere', means: You want/Do you want?
far parte, means: to be a part of
Via Optimae: a great way to learn Italian

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How to teach yourself Italian… Step 02: ASSESSMENT

Would you ever book a flight without knowing the departure airport? Of course not, because you can’t plan where you’re going without knowing where you’re starting from.   Similarly, you need to assess where you’re at in learning Italian if you plan on reaching your goals.

The European Framework of Reference for Languages is a useful tool that helps standardize language levels.   There are three main levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced, and two sub-levels within each. Use the following self-assessment guide to determine your current level: 

If you’re still not sure where you fall between A2 and B2, this free online test can help: http://www.italian-test.com/italian-test.htm (Be sure to come back here after completing the test and let us know your results!)

And my level is...

Current subscribers can add or update their level by clicking on *update subscription preferences* at the bottom of any of the emails from Via Optimae.  

Not a subscriber yet? {Subscribe here!} to receive the latest updates plus subscriber-exclusive perks like Etichette (labels) to create your own mini-immersion at home!

It really is more fun when everybody shares!

Be sure to share your level in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter {Click to tweet!}.

I'll share first! I'm a certified* level C1 who's working on becoming C2… (I have lots of practice in informal situations but could improve my confidence in formal, business Italian!)

I know my level... what's yours??

Buono studio!

*Interested in certifying your Italian?  I took the CILS exam (Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language) through the University of Siena for Foreigners— offered at several exam locations around the world!

Next up: Determining your Learning Style

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How to teach yourself Italian… Step 01: GOALS

If your goal is...

“I want people to mistake me for a native speaker because I speak fluently without searching for words, I never make grammatical mistakes and I have no accent."

...then you’re like me. Or rather, how I used to be before I realized how unattainable, (and silly) it was as a goal.

In truth, nobody really meets those requirements, even in their own native language. 

Think about it…

I've personally heard people say:

“libary” instead of “library” 

People say things like:

 “Who did you talk to?"  instead of “Whom did you talk to?” 

And we’ve all been at a loss for words at one point or another:

“You know, that thing… what’s it called?— Oh right, short term memory loss!”

Despite all of these “errors” we still manage to get along just fine the majority of the time…. 

Why is that?



Because perfect pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary are not goals, they are just tools— Tools that hopefully facilitate our ultimate goal:COMMUNICATION.

The only reason we ever say anything is because we have a thought and we’d like to share that thought with someone else. So when formulating your foreign language goals, focus more on what you would like to communicate and that will help you identify the specific grammar and vocabulary that you will need to accomplish that goal.

It's similar to the advice given when starting a new fitness regimen— Instead of your goal being:

“I am going to get in spectacular shape” 

Experts suggest:

“I would like to improve my cardiovascular health so I am going to do 30 minutes of cardio each day.” 

The second resolution is much stronger because it it is specific and gives you a clear action plan— the steps needed to achieve it are included in it. “Get in spectacular shape” sounds great, but what do I need to achieve it? How do I even define “spectacular shape” really? What seems ambitious and inspiring at first can quickly turn into something discouraging… and the same is true for your language goals.

Imagine yourself speaking Italian…
Where are you? What are you saying?  Who are you talking to?

Again, start with WHAT you want to communicate, and that will help you determine HOW to go about it… 

For example, one possible goal is:



I would like to be able to order food in a restaurant. 



This goal sets up some clear and obvious skills right from the get-go: You’ll need to learn food and restaurant related vocabulary like:

la prenotazione

reservation

l'antipasto

appetizer

as well as some specific grammatical constructions:

Per me...

For me...

Vorrei...

I would like...

It also points you in the direction of food and restaurant related content: maybe you could visit the website of an Italian restaurant in Italy or you could look for videos that take place in restaurants.

It is also possible to have a goal without a specific “situation”.. so for example:

I would like to talk about what I did yesterday.


A little research and you would find that Italian uses the passato prossimo to talk about events in the recent past. So your action step could be: I’m going to read and study the passato prossimo and then I'm going to make a point to use this verb tense in my next online conversation class.

So, think about what you would like to communicate. You can still have your ultimate goal be: “communicate with a broad range of people in a variety of situations” but make sure that you break that goal down into manageable bits— think of possible scenarios or possible ideas you would like to communicate and then do the research to determine what you’d need to know in those circumstances.

Further on in this series, I’ll be providing some possible study plans that can aid you in determining what you might want to know and what you’d need to get there but it's important that you determine what matters most to you. So if I suggest working on your writing skills by learning how to compose a formal business letter, but you care more about casual interactions with friends, then by all means, skip it! You’re more likely to learn and retain the things that matter to you most anyway, so figure out what YOU want to communicate, and then focus on that!

They say that declaring our goals to others helps us be more accountable, so pick a manageable goal and share it on Facebook, in the comments section or on Twitter.  

Not only does it create a nice sense of support and community when we all share, but it helps me provide the most useful content!

Buono studio!

Next up: Step 02— Assessment because to know where you want to go, you need to know where you’re starting from.

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