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Free Italian grammar lesson for beginners

    free italian audio lesson

    Speaking is the most important yet overlooked skill in language learning.

    Here’s an Italian audio lesson to practice listening and speaking.

    Concept

    This lesson is about the verb essere (to be). It’s made up of 3 files: A, B, and C. There are 30 useful bilingual sentences. There are no grammar notes, but you’ll master grammar patterns naturally by trial and error.

    Even more importantly, you’ll be speaking Italian from the moment you press “play”.

    A good way to retain more information is to repeat this lesson after a night of sleep. You’ll realize that you remember more than you thought!

    How to use this lesson? Let me show you step by step!

    How to take this lesson

    File A (English, Italian, Italian)

    Listen to the English sentence, then the Italian version, then repeat the Italian version.

    File B (English, blank, Italian)

    Listen to the English sentence, say the Italian version (mumbling is ok!), then repeat the Italian version.

    File C (Italian)

    Say the Italian version along with the speaker. This is called “shadowing“.

    Want more?

    This lesson is taken from an original course called “Ripeti con me!” (repeat after me). If you like this method, you should definitely check out the other lessons! It worked for me. After a couple of days, I was already thinking in Italian! No more translating in my head. If you know what I mean…

    Below is the transcript of the sentences. But, first, listen to the whole thing without reading!

    Lesson transcript

    1. Sei italiano?
      Are you Italian?
    2. No, sono americano.
      No, I’m from the U.S.
    3. Come ti chiami?
      What’s your name?
    4. Mi chiamo Stefano.
      My name is Stefano.
    5. Chi è questa ragazza?
      Who is this girl?
    6. È un’amica.
      She’s a friend.
    7. Questo film è nuovo?
      Is this movie new?
    8. No, non è nuovo.
      No, it’s not new.
    9. Dove sono le chiavi di casa?
      Where are the keys to the house?
    10. Sono nella macchina.
      They’re in the car.
    11. Chi è Andrea?
      Who is Andrea?
    12. È il papà di Alessandra.
      He’s Alessandra’s dad.
    13. Dove sono le chiavi della macchina?
      Where are the keys to the car?
    14. Sono in casa.
      They’re in the house.
    15. Di dove sei?
      Where are you from?
    16. Sono inglese.
      I’m from the U.K.
    17. Di chi è questa camera?
      Whose room is this?
    18. È di Alberto.
      It’s Alberto’s.
    19. È bello viaggiare, vero?
      Traveling is beautiful, right?
    20. Sei solo un bambino!
      You’re just a child!
    21. Siamo solo all’inizio.
      We’re just at the beginning.
    22. È difficile imparare le lingue?
      Is it hard to learn languages?
    23. No, è facile.
      No, it’s easy.
    24. Sei libera oggi?
      Are you free today?
    25. No, sono occupata.
      No, I’m not. I’m busy.
    26. Oh, no! Il bagno è occupato.
      Oh, no! The toilet is not available.
    27. Siete a casa?
      Are you at home?
    28. No, siamo al bar.
      No, we’re at the bar.
    29. Com’è Giorgia?
      What is Giorgia like?
    30. È molto bella.
      She’s very pretty.

    Grammar notes

    The lesson does come with simple grammar notes, but I recommend taking the lesson before looking at the notes.

    Good luck!