Introduction

• 60 units and 60 tests • Easy to consult, practical grammar theory • Grammar shown in context • Difficulty increases gradually • Not just grammar, but situations and functions, vocabulary, listening exercises • Games • Appendices with phonetics and terminology • Digital version • Hundreds of extra exercises on paper • Additional games and activities online (www.imparosulweb.eu)

GP. Grammatica pratica della lingua italiana is a grammar reference book designed for non-Italian-speaking students at A1 to C1 level.

It covers all the main structures found in Italian, analysing the most common using clear, simple language.

Most of the 60 units in the book have a page of theory (covering a specific aspect) on the left, with a page of exercises on the right. Some units contain two or three pages of theory followed by two or three pages of exercises.

The theory pages always begin with a different kind of text, enabling students to see the structures they are studying in context. As a result, grammar reflections and learning are never separated from communication, and morphosyntactic competence is always associated with broader textual competence.

Being able to communicate while understanding and producing texts requires vocabulary as well as grammatical structures. To meet the basic need for communication and give students a better grasp of the texts in GP, nearly all the units include practice with words or expressions from a high-frequency lexical area. This is done through exercises on paper and extra games online. The communicative goals of studying grammar also enable students to develop skills linked to situations and functions. For this reason, GP often includes dialogues and other types of texts, with audio recordings which can be downloaded free from the accompanying website (www.imparosulweb.eu).

Students can therefore focus and reflect carefully on individual aspects of grammar. The initial observation and practice is always done through exercises with communicative contexts, ensuring that their reflections are always made in context. As a result, students reflect on grammar structures but study them in practice rather than just learning them.

To make the grammar explanations simpler and clearer, reflections and terminology are kept to a minimum. Grammar is always presented in context, with examples based on sentences and texts of different lengths.

All the examples are taken from everyday Italian. The lexis reflects the students’ linguistic competence and develops alongside the grammar structures.

To meet students’ differing needs and ensure it can be used throughout the learning process, GP uses a smaller font for more difficult or less frequent aspects of grammar. These symbols are used to indicate the difficulty of the exercises: - •• simpler, - •• more complex in terms of language and understanding.

The book can be used as part of an Italian language course, both in class and for homework, or as a reference guide for students who are learning Italian by themselves. At the end of the book there is a series of tests. Students are given one test for each unit, enabling them to see how much they have understood and learned.

As well as the tests, GP also includes a terminology-based appendix with further explanations of the language of grammar, plus a phonetic appendix covering issues relating to phonetics and spelling. GP is easier to consult thanks to a detailed index at the back and the initial contents pages.

The book ends with a key to all the exercises.

GP is accompanied by a volume containing hundreds of extra exercises. Additional interactive grammar activities and vocabulary games are also available online (www.imparosulweb.eu).