I was wondering if anyone on the board is aware of any easily available audio CDs that are just conjugations of verbs?
I have listened to lots and lots of Italian courses out there (Pimsleur, Michel Thomas etc) but none of them have anything as simple and boring as just listing off all the main verb conjugations like
io ho tu hai lui/lei ha noi abbiamo voi avete loro hanno
Call me old-fashioned, but I think that reciting verbs like this is the best way to learn them, and I'd love to get a CD like that for my BIL who is trying to improve his Italian.
I agree wholeheartedly re all you said above and also have/do lots of Italian courses including Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, etc. Anyway, last year I was looking for a "simple and boring" audio program of just verbs and found "Italian Verbs 101" , published by Penton Overseas, Inc. at Borders bookstore (I'm sure it can be found at Amazon.com or other bookstores/websites as well). I think this is just what you'll want, there are 6 CDs totaling 6 hours and there is a small booklet with the written conjugations for what you're listening to. It really is great and my only complaint is that there are only 101 verbs but since these are very common ones, it really is great for beginners and intermediates. Thanks for reminding me about this, I'm getting back into my studies and am going to listen to them again for a refresher (fyi, if you use an ipod or or mp3 player, they're really great to listen to as you're walking around).
Posts: 35 | Location: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: 21 May 2007
I just got an email from amazon on a pre-issue notice for "iVerbs Italian". There is no in-depth information on it. When I clicked on the larger picture, it said "turn your iPod into a language lab", but yet it said it was a CD. On the bottom right hand side was apparently a picture of the iPod dial.
Does anybody know if this is strictly a CD or does it have to be loaded on an iPod? It is the Penton 101 verbs.
I looked it up on Amazon and it is an audio CD. So you would have to put it on your computer, upload it to iTunes and then put it on your iPod. Or you could use the CD to listen to it as well, for instance in your car.
Great! Thanks for the input. I use AnyTime Deluxe for my calendar and it is not compatible with the iPod software, so I had to remove the iPod software from the computer. To listen to it in my car would be perfect because I make several long trips between home and my students' homes each week.
Michelet, just wanted to say that my Italian Verbs 101 cds have just arrived.
It's exactly what I wanted - verb conjugations in the main tenses (present, passato prossimo, imperfect and future) and it really is just rote learning by repeating after the speaker on the CD.
A couple of points to make for other Italian learners who may be interested in this CD:
1. When conjugating the verbs in Italian, they do not use the personal pronouns. ie, they do not say "io parlo, tu parli etc" they just have "parlo, parli etc". It is my preference that when learning verb conjugations it is best to say the whole thing, so perhaps people who use these cds should force themselves to use the personal pronouns even if the speaker doesn't.
2. There is no or very little grammar content, and the verbs all seem to be a bit mixed up together. For example, they conjugate the verb "parlare" and then the verb "alzarsi" without any explanation of what a reflexive verb is and how it is different from a normal verb. Same when they do the passato prossimo they have verbs that conjugate with essere mixed up with verbs that conjugate with avere. As such, it is imperative that these CDs are not used by themselves, but are used with a grammar course of some kind.
That said, these cds fill a gap in the market. For those who know the basic grammar but want a bit of help rote learning the fundamental verbs and tenses of Italian, these cds would be beneficial.
It is my preference that when learning verb conjugations it is best to say the whole thing, so perhaps people who use these cds should force themselves to use the personal pronouns even if the speaker doesn't.
I wouldn't say the pronouns if I were you because then you will get into the habit of ALWAYS saying them when you are speaking italian for real, and of course MOST of the time they are not used except for emphasis, clarity and in a few other cases. The reasons for this are because the endings are enough to signify the person in most cases.
It really sounds awful if you speak italian with all the subject pronouns in place.
Vasco, my point is that for novices in the Italian language it can be useful to use the pronouns to know what conjugation goes with what. This has certainly been my experience, and if other language learners find it helps them too, then they should be encouraged to do it.
I can't think of any Italian who would criticise someone who is new to the language for saying in full "io bevo vino" instead of "bevo vino". Sure it might not be super-elegant but it is all part of becoming familiar with a language.
Even now when I revise verb conjugations (passato remoto anyone?) I rote learn by saying "io fui, tu fosti, egli fu etc". Doesn't mean I use it in real life. It just helps it stick in my mind.
It is my preference that when learning verb conjugations it is best to say the whole thing, so perhaps people who use these cds should force themselves to use the personal pronouns even if the speaker doesn't.
I wouldn't say the pronouns if I were you because then you will get into the habit of ALWAYS saying them when you are speaking italian for real, and of course MOST of the time they are not used except for emphasis, clarity and in a few other cases. The reasons for this are because the endings are enough to signify the person in most cases.
It really sounds awful if you speak italian with all the subject pronouns in place.
quote:
Vasco, I am sorry, but that sounds really mean! This is usually a very nice and friendly forum so I think it is bad form to suggest that someone sounds "awful"! I think Claire's strategy sounds very smart, if that is what helped her (or others.)
I had no intention of being mean - just helpful, and at the same time honest. Advice does not have to be taken - that's the nature of advice. I think there's an English proverb - "old habits die hard" and this is especially so with language. My idea was that if you start off with bad habits they will be difficult to change. If you need to associate a person or persons with the verb endings when saying them, I think it would be better to associate them with an idea in your mind or to look at a picture rather than to say the pronoun out loud.
I have to agree with Vasco. One does need to know that io goes with parlo, tu with parli, etc.; however, it should end there when speaking. I have been studying Italian for many years, here and in Italy, and have heard Vasco's advice before. If you are in the habit of always saying io, tu etc. you will continue to do so, and this also will affect your listening skills.
In addition, this affects your ability to think in Italian. You will be thinking "io parlo, BUT I don't say io, just parlo;" instead of instantly saying, for example, a common phrase like: parlo italiano un po'. Your conversational moment is lost.
Another idea--I haven't done this with Italian verbs, but I did use it to study for my PhD orals. Make your own tape or DVD. The pronunciation probably won't be perfect, but you'll learn a lot more.
I have to say that I get very miffed when I hear ads for CDs that tell you to learn a language "without boring memorization; "useless grammar; and useless repetition." After the age of about seven, these are exactly the way one learns a language.
When I was a kid, I learned that the more senses one uses in learning something, the more likely one is to remember it. That works for me. I read it; I feel myself write it; I hear myself read it again; I go over it again and again. STuff I learned like that in Seventh grade French is embedded in my head the way that English is embedded in my head.
I also think that if you understand why certain verbs are irregular, not only will you learn those verbs, but ones like them.
I recently got the Michel Thomas Advanced Italian, and I found it very good for practicing verbs. The first 4 CDs take you through some of the more advanced verb constructions, all the way through subjunctive. The last CD is straight review of some common verbs and various tenses.
I like the way he gives you little "hooks" to help you remember. For example, instead of going through the verb conjugations in the usual order, he often starts with 1st person, then goes to 3rd person plural because as he notes, those two almost always have the same root, even when the rest of the forms are irregular.
For example, instead of going through the verb conjugations in the usual order, he often starts with 1st person, then goes to 3rd person plural because as he notes, those two almost always have the same root, even when the rest of the forms are irregular.
Roz Can you give an example of one of the verbs you are referring to please?
Can you give an example of one of the verbs you are referring to please?
Venire:
vengo veniamo vieni venite viene vengono
these are sometimes referred to as "shoe verbs." If you draw a circle beginning with vengo & down thru viene, and then over to & around vengono....it resembles a shoe....well, sort of...but, it does offer one of those memory tricks.
Yes, what Patricia said. Also, potere, but posso -- possono. Uscire, but esco - escono. And then all the "isc" verbs, so you have finisco - finiscono, etc.
I know that the topic is about CDs, but I will interject with a different approach. Using a CD assumes that much will be learned by rote. I don't know how others are, but I also forget pretty easily what I have learned this way.
My solution is a little booklet (5 1/4"x 3 1/2"X 1/2") Harrap's Super-Mini Italian Verbs, with 200 full conjugations and it is guaranteed to never forget any of them! It is published by McGraw-Hill (www.mhprofessional.com) and it costs USD5.95/CAD6.95. Never travel to Italy without it.
By the way, they also publish a super-mini Italian grammar.
I thought the following note might be useful for people looking at verb conjugations - especially the written ones: The present tense of regular verbs causes the most problems when deciding where to put the stress and in order to get this right it is necessary to learn the first person singular along with the infinitive. Once you know where the stress lies in this form, then you know where it lies for all other persons - the rule is that the other two persons singular and the third person plural all take the stress on the same syllable as the first person singular, and the first and second persons plural on the penultimate syllable.
This is why good italian dictionaries like for example the online Garzanti always give the the first person singular when you look up a verb via the infinitive, as follows:
abitare Sillabazione/Fonetica [a-bi-tà-re] Definizione v. tr. [io àbito ecc.]
and by way of contrast
desiderare Sillabazione/Fonetica [de-si-de-rà-re] Definizione ant. v. tr. [io desìdero ecc.]
note the use of ecc. meaning of course etc and referring to the rule above for stressing the other persons of the verb.
The positioning of stress on other tenses of the verb is much simpler than it is for the present tense.
Edited at poster's request.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: David,
