Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: LD, 31 Aug 2007 
I'm a big fan of the Michel Thomas series & love his recordings. However this 'addition' to the series is very disappointing primarily for the reasons cited by other reviewers - poor pronunciation on the part of the presenter/teacher. Why couldn't they have found a presenter who is genuinely bilingual? I really tried to get through the set but couldn't take it any more after two discs.
Good - but with reservations - By: Julie Ainge, 17 Jul 2007 
I've been learning Italian for a few years now & have the Michel Thomas advanced course which is very helpful on the grammer side of things. I bought this vocabulary course a few months ago but have only just got around to using it. It is an excellent course but agree very much with the previous reviewer as regards some of the pronunciation - the pronunciation of words ending "e" seems to me particularly bad - & I'm no expert really. Buy the course by all means, its certainly helps with learning construction of sentences & building vocabulary, but only copy the pronuciation of the native speakers.
Method good, pronunciation terrible - By: Oliver Webber, 04 Jul 2007 
Stephen Pinksley's review above contains a lot of useful information which should help you decide whether this course is for you or not. In my opinion, there is one problem which anyone thinking about buying this ought to be aware of: the pronunciation.
Before I elaborate on this let me first say that I am a great admirer of the essence of the Michel Thomas method. I think it encourages the student to start to thinkin a foreign language much more quickly than most other methods I've come across; it also fosters tru understanding of the structure of the language by making sure the student does the thinking him or herself, rather than copying or learning by rote.
However, Rose Lee Hayden's pronunciation on these CDs is,in my view, unacceptably poor. In mitigation, 2 native speakers are included, so that a correct pronunciation is provided for most (though not all) words & phrases. However, the teacher's mistakes are so bad, & so persistent, that I found very off-putting - all the more so because it seemed to me that many of these mistakes were simply careless!
Here are some examples:
1. adjectives & verbs endingin -e & -i are often muddled, or indistinguishable.
2. "sete" (thirst) is pronounced "sette" (seven!) - & then shortly afterwards the teacher warns us not to pronounce it "sette" lest we be misunderstood!!
3. "puo" is somtimes pronounced "po"
4. "a" is pronounced long & closed like "ah"
5. "o" is often pronounced as a diphthong "oa" (asin boat)
These are just some examples. The first two are the most serious as they clearly cause confusion & distort the meaning - & yet we are warned on every track to pronounce our endings carefully to avoid misunderstanding.
While some of these errors (eg 4 & 5)are clearly a matter of a strong accent, others seem to me to be just carelessness, & could (and should) have been corrected during editing.
I wonder if this recording -or at least Rose Lee Hayden's contribution -was madein great haste, with little or no editing?
It has been argued that correct pronunciation doesn't matter to this method of learning, as it is the thinking out for yourself which is critical to good understanding. That may be so, but why allow standards to slip so low? Correct pronunciation is not difficult to achieve, & can only be of benefit. It comes with constant exposure & practice, & whenever bad pronuciation is heard that slows the process!
If you can get past this obstacle, the course material is excellent, but it is a pretty big obstaclein my opinion.
Oliver Webber
Fantastic way to build you Italian Vocabulary - By: Languagelover, 15 Jun 2007 
This course is the 'second phase' of Michel Thomas' famous language course, that stars used to pay $25,000 to attend. It lives up to its promise of radically increasing your vocabularyin Italian very quickly.
The course has been written by Poala Tite, based on a framework provided by one of Michel's long-standing teachers Rose-Lee Haydon as, sadly, Michel Thomas passed awayin 2005.
The course is very much based on expanding your Italian Vocabulary by showing you patterns of words that are the same or similarin both languages (so called Cognates). For example most words that endin -tionin English endin -zionein Italian so 'condition' would be 'condizione'in Italian & so on.
The method works by introducing you to the pattern & then giving you a sentencein English which you have to produce yourselfin Italian by utilising the rule just learned. In this way you begin to internalise the rule so that you would be able to guess that Attentionin Italian is Attenzione etc
The second segment of the course is designed to increase the range of verbs you can use & includes practice of using these new verbsin different
tenses & also introduces some common reflexive verbs you need to be aware of.
The final segment of the course is made of everyday expressions you might want to use such as weather expressions, I'm hungry/thirsty, telling the time, & other useful expressions.
This is a very good course course for the price, it has certainly increased my Italian vocabulary exponentially & I recommend it to any intermediate learner of Italian who has completed the Michel Thomas Foundation & Advanced courses or attained a similar level of competence else where. A recommendation to buy.
I have included below the publishers list of contents which some people may find useful before deciding to buy.
Introduction: How this course came about, what it does & does not include, how it works, & how it is both faithful to & expands upon the Michel Thomas Language Courses.
Course segment 1: Cognates
Introduction
-ible to -ibile: * possible to possibile (an extra `i'); horrible to orribile (no h); etc.
-able to abile: * probable to probable; acceptable to accettabile (double cc, double tt); etc.
-al to -ale: * canal to canale; cathedral to cattedrale; general to generale; etc.
-ARE verbs to -abile: * desiderare (to wish) to desiderabile (desirable); sopportare (to bear) to sopportabile (bearable); riciclare (to recycle) to riciclabile; etc.
Addin to make a negative word: * evitabile (avoidable) to inevitabile (inevitable; unavoidable); soppportabile to insopportabile; etc.
Diminutive -ino, -etta: * motore (engine) to motorino (moped); fratello (brother) to fratellino (affectionate, little brother); * casa (house) to casetta (nice little house); * Giovanni to Giovannino (nickname). * Giulia to Giulietta (nickname)
-ERE verbs to -ibile: * credere (to believe) to credibile (believable); vendere (to sell) to vendibile (saleable); etc.
-IRE verbs to -ibile: * punire(to punish) to punibile (punishable); definire (to define) to definibile (definable);
more -ible to -ibile: * flexible to flessibile (no xin Italian); compatible to compatibile & incompatibile; etc.
-ant to -ante: * important to importante; restaurant to ristorante; etc.
ARE verbs to -ante: * allarmare (to alarm) to allarmante (alarming); affascinare (to fascinate) to affascinante (fascinating); etc.
-ent to -ente: * different to differente; evident to evidente; incompetent to incompetente; etc.
-tion to -zione: * condition to condizione; attention to attenzione; formation to formazione; etc.
-sion to -sione: * impression to impressione; decision to decisione; mission to missione; etc.
-ence to -enza: * influence to influenza; difference to differenza; preference to preferenza; etc.
Words that look feminine but are masculine: * the problem to il problema; the climate to il clima; a poet to un poeta; etc.
-ance to -anza: * importance to importanza; elegance to eleganza; distance to distanza; etc.
-ly to -mente: personally to personalmente; probably to probabilmente; etc.
Use `realmente' for actually & `attualmente' for nowadays.
-ary to -ario: * necessary to necessario; contrary to contrario; etc.
No need for `a' when talking about professions: Lavorava come missionario (as a missionary)
-ive to -ivo: * exclusive to esclusivo (no xin Italian); positive to positivo; constructive to costruttivo (change ct to double tt); etc.
-ute to -uto: * absolute to assoluto; institute to istituto; attribute to attributo; etc.
-ical & -ic to -ico: * practical to pratico; magic to magico; economic to economico; etc.
-ure to -ura: * temperature to temperatura; culture to cultura; etc.
-ity to -ità: * possibility to possibilità; humanity to umanità; liberty to libertà; etc. Require an accent over the stressed final a.
-ist to -ista: * artist to artista; dentist to dentista; optimist to ottimista; etc.
-y to ia: * irony to ironia; astronomy to astronomia; philosophy to filosofia; etc.
-in or -ine to -ina: * vitamin to vitamina; discipline to disciplina; medicine to medicina; etc.
-id to -ido: * solid to solido; valid to valido; timid to timido; etc.
-ism to -ismo: * organism to organismo; capitalism to capitalismo; heroism to eroismo; etc.
Course segment 2: Verbs
-ARE verbs: the `good guys': * evitare (to avoid); mangiare (to eat); usare (to use); inventare (to invent); parlare (to speak); raccomandare (to recommend); comprare (to buy)
Using quel, quei, quegli - that, those
Using qualcosa di (speciale) - something (special)
Using Mi piace - It is pleasing / It pleases me
Mi piacciono - They are pleasing / They please me; Gli piace - It pleases him; Ci piace - It pleases us; Non ci piace - It doesn't please us
More -ARE verbs: * gridare (to shout); guadagnare (to earn)
Wing tense endings: -ARE Track & the Other Track (-ERE, -IRE verbs): are - avo (guadagnavo); ere - evo (vivevo); ire - ivo (capivo)
Inventing -ARE verbs using -tion wordsin English. Remove the `tion' & add -re: * invitation to invitare (to invite); confirmation to confermare (to confirm); etc.
More -ARE verbs: dimenticarsi (to forget); cenare (to dine); giustificare (to justify); immaginare (to imagine); installare (to install); adorare (to adore); considerare (to consider); ispirare (to inspire); studiare (to study); consolare (to console); organizzare (to organize); etc.
-ARE verbs (various tenses): * comprare (to buy)
Using `se fossi' for `If I were...' plus the conditional tense (-rei): * Se fossi ricco, comprerei un appartamento a Portofino. (If I were richer, I would buy an apartmentin Portofino.)
When `would' refers to the past: * Quando ero ricco, compravo una macchina nuova tutti gli anni. (When I was a rich man, I would buy / I used to buy / I bought a new car every year.)
More -ARE verbs (various tenses): * lavare (to wash); chiamare (to phone; to call); guardare (to look at); prestare (to lend); lasciare (to leave); baciare (to kiss); scusare (to excuse)
`wasin the process of' plus the dot past: * Stavo lavando i piatti quando mi ha chiamato. (I was washing the dishes when you called me.)
`isin the process of': * Mi sta guardando adesso. (She's looking at me now.)
Using -i ending for formal commands: * Non mi tocchi! (Don't touch me!); Mi lasci stare. (Leave me alone.); Mi scusi. (Excuse me.)
Using -a ending & hooking pronouns to the verb for familiar commands: * Baciami (Kiss me); Scusami (Excuse me)
The Other Track: -ERE & -IRE verbs: bere (to drink); leggere (to read); capire (to understand); rispondere (to respond; to answer); scrivere (to write); ridere (to laugh); piangere (to cry)
Reflexive verbs - When the Subject & Object are the same: think `...self': * nascondersi (to hide oneself); svegliarsi (to wake up; to wake oneself up); sedersi (to sit down; to sit oneself down); alzarsi (to get up or stand up; to get oneself up); lavarsi (to wash oneself); sposarsi (to get married); vestirsi (to get dressed; to dress oneself); addormentarsi (to fall asleep); divertirsi (to enjoy oneself); lamentarsi (to complain); rendersi conto di (to realize); esprimersi (to express onself); rallegrarsi con (to congratulate)
With added `ne': * andarsene (to go away from here); dimenticarsene (to forget abut it)
The impersonal `one': * Si mangia bene qui. (One eats well here.); Si parla italiano qui. (Italian is spoken here.); Come si dice questoin italiano? (How do you say thisin Italian?)
More practice with -ERE verbs & reflexives: * promettere (to promise); permetter (to permit); proteggersi (to protect oneself); difendersi (to defend oneself)
More -ERE & -IRE verbs; future tense: * bere (to drink); pulire (to clean); vendere (to sell); perdere (to lose)
The future endings on all tracks: rò, rai, rà, remo, rete, ranno: Praticherò sempre il mio italiano. (I will always practise my Italian.)
The -go -gono verbs: * valere (to be worth); valere la pena (to be worth it); valgo to valgain command tense
La, l' (it) & li (them): La chiave, l'ho perduta. (The key, I've lost it). I biglietti, non li ho perduti (he tickets, I haven't lost them.)
More -ERE & -IRE verbs: diving into the past, the command tense: * temere (to fear); tossire to cough); credere (to believe); crescere (to grow); riconoscere (to recognize); mettere (to place or put)
Using -a ending for formal commands: * Lo metta nella mia macchina.
Using -i ending & hooking pronouns to the verb for familiar commands: * Mettilo nella mia macchina.
More -ERE & -IRE verbs; some special verbs: * ammettere (to admit); insistere a (insist on); omettere (to omit); decidere (to decide); ricevere (to receive); descrivere (to describe); assistere a (to attend); dire (to say or tell)
More -go -gono verbs: venire (to come), vengo, vengono; tenere (to keep, to hold), tengo, tengono
Non credo che tengano animali nell'appartamento. (I don't believe they keep petsin the flat.)
Two -IRE verbs that go from -u to -e: uscire (to go out; to leave): Esco tutte le sere. (I go out every evening); riuscire a (to manage to): Non riesco mai a vederli. (I never manage to see them.)
Some more -IRE verbs: without -isc, with -isc: * without isc: soffrire (to suffer); scoprire (to discover); aprire (to open); dormire (to sleep); * with -isc: proibire (to prohibit); pulire (to clean), pulisco (I clean); contribuire (to contribute), contribuisco (I contribute); finire (to finish), finisce (he finishes); preferire (to prefer), preferiscono (they prefer); capire (to understand), capisco (I understand).
-URRE, -ORRE, -ARRE verbs: tradurre (to translate), I translate = traduco; command tense = traduca; past tense dives into `tradotto'; produrre (to produce), I produce = produco; past tense dives into `prodotto'; comporre (to compose), I compose = compongo; attrarre (to attract), it attracts me = mi attrae (roll your r!)
Verbs that go from -e to -ie : venire (to come), vieni, viene; tenere (to keep, to hold), tieni, tiene; contenere (to contain), contiene
Verbs that go from -o to -uo; rebel -ARE verbs: volere (to want), vuoi, vuole; potere (to be able), puoi, può; andare (to go), vado, vai, va; fare (to make, to do), faccio, fai, fa; dare (to give), do, dai, dà
Future endings: -rò, rai, rà, remo, rete, ranno (hit the r)
On the -ARE Track change -are to -ere: parlare - parlerò, invitare - inviteremo
Rebel verbs: andare - andrò; venire - verrò
Conditional
Conditional endings: -rei, resti, rebbe, remmo, reste, rebbero (hit the r)
volere - vorrei; venire - verrei; vedere - vedrei; mi piace - mi piacerebbe; preferire - preferirei
Revising commands: * Formal you: non li metta qui (don't put them here), me lo dica (tell me it), mi dia (give me); * Familiar you: mettili qui (put them here), dimmi (tell me), dammi (give me); * Let's...: parliamo, cantiamo, mangiamo; cambiamolo, andiamoci; * Familiar youin the negative (`non' + `to' form): non mangiarla
Expressions that trigger the formal command tense
Whenever you want someone else to do something: * volere che (to want that); preferire che (to prefer that); proporre che (to propose that)
Expressing permission or prohibition: * permettere / non permettere che (to permit / not to permit that)
Expressing emotion, doubt, impersonal è: * temere che (to fear that); essere contento che (to be glad that); dubitare che (to doubt that); essere ridicolo che (to be ridiculous that); mi dispiace che (I'm sorry that); è un peccato che (it's a shame that...); è necessario che (it's necessary that)
The formal command tensein the past:
-ARE Track: parl-assi, parl-assi, parl-asse, parl-assimo, parl-aste, parl-assero
-ERE Track: pot-essi, pot-essi, pot-esse, pot-essimo, pot-este, pot-essero
-IRE Track: fin-issi, fin-issi, fin-isse, fin-issimo, fin-iste, fin-issero
Era impossibile che venisse. (It was impossible that he might come.)
More about the formal command tensein the past:
Dubito che Paolo abbia mangiato. (I doubt that Paolo has eaten.)
Dubitavo che venisse. (I doubted that you would come.)
Course segment 3: Everyday expressions
Verb expressions with `stare': stare + -ando (ARE Track), -endo (Other Track)
* stiamo mangiando (we are eating), stavamo mangiando (we were eating); stare per + the `to' form of the verb (-are, -ere, -ire)
* stiamo per cominciare a mangiare (we are about to start eating); stavo per lavare la mia macchina (I was about to wash my car)
Verb-plus expressions: * cominciare a (to start to); smettere di (to stop doing something), tornare a (to return to doing something), finire di (to finish doing something)
These verb-plus expressions are followed by the `to' form of the verbin examples such as these: Abbiamo smesso di mangiare. (We stopped eating.); Avevamo finito di lavorare presto. (We had finished working early.); * approfittare di qualcosa / qualcuno (to take advantage of something / somebody)
More verb-plus expressions: * dimenticarsi di (to forget to); * contare su qualcosa / qualcuno(to count on something / somebody); * rendersi conto di qualcosa (to realize, to notice something); * essere / non essere d'accordo con qualcuno (to agree / disagree with somebody)
Verb- plus combo: * vuol dire (it means), vuol dire che (it means that); * vale la pena + `to' form of the verb (it is worth to), valeva la pena (it was worth to)
Time expressions with `da': * Aspettiamo da un'ora. OR È un'ora che aspettiamo. (We've been waiting for an hour.); * Maria viveva a Roma da due anni. OR Erano due anni che Maria viveva a Roma. (Maria had been livingin Rome for two years.); * Da quanto tempo aspetta? (How long have you been waiting?)
Weather expressions with `fare': * Fa caldo. (It's hot); Fa freddo. (It's cold.); * Che tempo fa? (What's the weather like?'; Fa bel tempo. (The weather is good.); Faceva brutto tempo ieri. (The weather was bad yesterday.); * C'è il sole. (It's sunny.); C'è molto vento. (It's very windy); C'è nebbia. (It's foggy); * Piove. (It's raining.)
Some other uses of `fare': fare una domanda (to ask a question); fare un viaggio (to take a trip)
fare attenzione (to be careful); farsi male (to hurt oneself)
Expressions using `avere': avere freddo (to be cold); avere caldo (to be warm); avere sete (to be thirsty); avere fame (to be hungry); avere paura (to be afraid) ; avere sonno (to be sleepy); avere fretta (to bein a hurry); avere ragione (to be right); avere torto(to be wrong); averne colpa (to be to blame) ; aver voglia di (to desire to do something, to bein the mood for); aver bisogno di (to need, to have need of)
More expressions using `avere': avere X anni (to be X years old); aver luogo (to take place) ; avere pazienza (to be patient); avere senso (to make sense)
Uses of `per': non è possibile per me, il pacco è per me, per poter parlare, per quando, per la settimana prossima
Words used to ask questions: why - perché; how much - quanto & quanta; how many - quanti & quante; how - come; where - dove; who - chi; which or which one - quale
Days of the week
Time expressions: prima di (before); dopo (after)
More days of the week
Seasons of the year
Months of the year
Double pronouns hooked on to the verb: Può prepararmelo prima dell'autunno? Può mandarglielo oggi?
Telling the time: È l'una. (It's one o'clock.); Sono le due. (It's two o'clock.); Per le sei e mezza. (By six thirty.) ; Erano le sei e un quarto. (It was quarter past six.); È mezzogiorno. (It's midday.); È mezzanotte. (It's midnight.); È la mezza. (It's half oast twelve.)
Time of day
Numbers
More uses of `da': for & since: Studiamo italiano da tre mesi / da giugno.; from: Trenoin arrivo da Roma Termini.; to + person: Vado da Roberta.; used for: Abiti da bambini.; as, like: Studio da ingegnere.; by: Questo libro è scritto dal mio amico.; `qualcosa, molto, niente' + da + `to' form of the verb: Vorrei qualcosa da bere.
Uses of `a': time: alle otto; place: al ristorante; after verbs of movement: andare a vedere, portare a vedere, venire a prendere; English `per': quaranta miglia all'ora
Uses of `per': through a place or space: È passato per il parco ieri. ; duration of time (action now finished): Ho studiato per sedici anni.
Some expressions using `per': per questo (because of that; therefore); per l'amor del cielo (for Heaven's sake); per esempio (for example); per caso (by chance); per la strada (in the street); per scherzo (as a joke)
Useful expressions: il bello è che (the good thing is that); il brutto è che (the bad thing is that); il peggio è che (the worst thing is that); l'importante (the important thing); il necessario (what is necessary); il possibile (what is possible), Farò il possibile per aiutarla. (I'll do what is possible to help you.)
Combining `di' with the article
Combinations with plural nouns: dei libri; degli studenti; delle ragazze (compare with `those': quei libri; quegli studenti; quelle ragazze)
Possessive case: la macchina della mia ragazza (my girlfriend's car)
Origin: Di dov'è? (Where are you from?), Quelle arance sono della Sicilia. (Those oranges are from Sicily.)
Combining `in' with the article: Verona è una città nel Veneto; Il mio paese è molto importante nel mondo.
Expressions with `stare' & `volere'
stare: sto cucinando: I am right nowin the process of cooking; sto per cominciare: I am about to start; stare male (to be unwell); stare bene (to be well); Come sta? (How are you?); Non c'è male. (Not bad.); Quella giacca ti sta bene. (That jacket suits you.); stare da + person (to stay at somebody's place)
volere: Ci vuole un'ora. (It takes an hour.); Ci vogliono due ore. (It takes two hours.)
Using double negatives: Non ho visto nessuno. (I didn't see anybody.); Non conosco nessunoin Italia. (I don't know anybodyin Italy.)
Expressions using negatives: Neanch'io. (Neither do I.); Neanche per sogno! (No way!); Né la geografia né la storia. (Neither geography nor history.); Potrei farlo o oggi o domani. (I coudl od it either today or tomorrow.)
Making comparisons: più / meno intelligente (more / less intelligent); il più / il meno intelligente (the most / the least intelligent); migliore di / peggiore di (better than / worse than); il migliore (the best); il peggiore (the worst); più piccolo di (smaller than); il più piccolo (the smallest); Ha meno soldi di me. (He has less money than me.)
Using opposites to build vocabulary: bello - brutto (beautiful - ugly); buono - cattivo (good - naughty); facile - difficile (easy - difficult); piccolo - grande (small - large); entrata - uscita (entry - exit)
Concluding remarks & suggestions for further practice.
A recommendation to buy!
