ILGUR: Italian Language, Grammar and Usage Resource

Besides this site, there are some wonderful resources out there for improving your Italian.  If you’re using this blog to improve your language, then chances are you’re looking to take your Italian to the next level.  As your Italian improves, so should the sources that you use.  Below is a list of resources that I’ve used and still use today  as I continue to improve and build upon my Italian.  No two books on Italian grammar and usage are the same, and if you want to go to the next level, then learning about Italian grammar from Italians is the best way to go.

Below is a list of some titles (in no particular order) that I recommend because either I own them or have used them.  I never recommend anything that I have never used myself.  Consider purchasing the titles below through Internet Bookshop Italia (http://www.ibs.it) which helps support our blog and its endeavors:

1. Il nuovo salvalingua (click here to buy!)
   Professors Della Vella and Patota team up to bring you this easy to read, approachable and easy to use work on conquering some of the pitfalls of Italian language.  As a student of Italian as a second language, some of these errors might not apply to you because of how you learned the language, but there are also some common errors that you might have picked up through your learning experiences.  This book collects many of the most common ones into a concise and easy to use book.  It’s an A-to-Z guide that will help you to erase any bad language habits that you might have developed.
2. Viva il congiuntivo: come e quando usarlo senza sbagliare (click here to buy!)
   The subjunctive (il congiuntivo in Italian) is one of the most difficult aspects of the language to master, even for native speakers.  Once again Professors Della Valle and Patota bring you an easy to read and extremely concise manual for mastering this important (and perhaps dying) aspect of Italian grammar.  Using the subjunctive and mastering it well will set you apart from the average speaker, and you will impress native Italians with your mastery of this complicated and sometimes dizzying mood in Italian grammar.
3. La grammatica avanzata della lingua italiana (click here to buy!)
   Published by Alma Edizioni, this is an excellent resource for tackling those more complicated aspects of Italian grammar.  Each of the chapters contains some exercises to help test your knowledge (with an answer key at the back of the book so you can check your answers) as well as helpful and easy to understand explanations.  Complex grammar is broken down into easily digestible sections so that you’re not overloaded with too much information.  I recommend this book for anyone who has studied some intermediate Italian and is looking to go farther.  This book is one of my all time favorites.
4. I verbi italiani (click here to buy!)
   This publication from Alma Edizioni breaks down all the verb tenses and moods, tells you how to conjugate them and how to use them with dozens of exercises and games to help you practice conjugating and using the right tense.  This book is excellent if you want to study the differences between the imperfect and the passato prossimo, use the imperativo correctly, as well as learn the in’s and out’s of the presente!  This is another one of my favorite publications from Alma Edizioni, and, if you’re serious upon learning about Italian verbs, you really have to own, read and study this book.  Simply superb!
5. I pronomi italiani (click here to buy!)
   Pronouns, like prepositions, are difficult to master in Italian. Alma Edizioni helps to take some of the guesswork out of learning, understanding and using pronouns with this book.  The book examines all the various pronouns and does a good job at outlining their uses.  It is full of exercises, charts and well written and easy to understand explanations.  Remember that this book is written in Italian.  Don’t let that deter you from purchasing it.  It is written in a simple and easy to understand style and, when coupled with charts and diagrams, makes it a very usable source.  Check out Alma Edizioni‘s Verbi Italiani and Preposizioni italiane.
6. Le preposizioni italiane (click here to buy!)
   This is one of my favorite books by Alma Edizioni because it so simply and elegantly organizes the use of prepositions in Italian based on theme.  I find this to be the most useful way to learn prepositions since each of the prepositions in Italian can be used in so many different ways.  This book shows you how they are used and provides well crafted examples and explanations, as to all publications by Alma.  Prepositions are difficult to master, and you can’t go wrong with this book!
7. Grammatica italiana di base (click here to buy!)
   Finding a desk reference for the Italian language is hard, but this book is simply amazing.  How a book that is so small can teach you so much is simply beyond me.  It’s well laid-out, easy to use, has a great index and table of contents and is full of useful sections on conquering those annoying problems.  While the book is completely in Italian, it’s easy to use, easy to relate to, and you will find yourself referring back to it again and again whenever you are stumped or need refreshing on certain topics on Italian grammar.  There are sections called “Approndire” which explain nuances and other problems of grammar with excellent examples and explanations to get you through to the next level.  You shouldn’t be without this title!  This book is published by Zanichelli, a leading Italian publisher.  Be sure to pick up the 2006 edition, which is much improved over previous ones.
8. Italiano : grammatica, sintassi, dubbi (click here to buy!)
   This book is often considered the “Bible” of Italian grammar.  At over 609 pages, it is a thoroughly magnificent resource.  I would recommend this book only for those with an advanced level of Italian as sometimes I find it difficult to use.  However, if you have answers to any questions of grammar that you can’t solve anywhere else, then this book is certainly for you.  The book is well laid out, and the newest edition features a much easier to use index and table of contents, so finding topics that you need to study shouldn’t be too difficult.  This book has it all, so if you need some questions answered, you’ll certainly find it in this book.  An excellent resource but not as accessible as some of the other books listed on this page.  One bone of contention is the examples the author provides, which he draws from Italian literature rather than more contemporary sources which can make the book seem old or dated and might confuse those who are not familiar with the works and authors from those examples he cites.