Thanks guys- that's fascinating.

Here is another one: why do some people we say: you want to try ..?"voui assaggiarlo?" instead of "vuoi assaggiare?" assaggiare is "to try", what form is assaggiarlo??

I want: voglio

I would like: vorrei

Vorrei vedere: I should (NA: would) like to see

Devo andare a chiesa: I must go to church

Dovrei andare a chiesa: I ought to go to church

Posso (sparecchiare): May I (clear?) A servant's standard question when removing plates.

Vuoi asseggiare: Do you want to try/ taste?

Vuoi asseggiarlo: Do you want to try/ taste it? -- Open to many lubricious applications.

You may also hear "Vuoi assaggiarla" when the gender of the thing to be tasted is feminine. The "lo" or "la" is the direct object (third person singular), tacked onto the end of the infinitive. Actually, with vogliare+infinitve the direct object can also go before the conjugated vogliare, e.g., "Lo vuoi assaggiare?" but isn't life complicated enough already?

You can avoid such quagmires by keeping in mind that:

Volere= to want (as in the sense of desire)
Dovere= to have to, must, ought, should (as in the sense of duty)

In the long run it is best to keep things as simple as possible while at the same time being polite. For instance, "Il menu, per favore". If you want to get fancy, "Prego. Vorrei vedere il menu". Or the extremely fancy schmancy proper, "Si puo vedere la lista delle vivande?".
As for "voui assaggiarlo?" - "Do you want to taste it?", the "lo" attached to the infinitive is "it". The pronoun "it" changes with gender and singular/plural designations.

The best web site for Italian language questions is at about.com

"In the long run it is best to keep things as simple as possible while at the same time being polite. For instance, 'Il menu, per favore'. "
You know, I think that's really good advice. It's simple -- and it works!

shoot I forgot Potere

Potere= to be able to, can, may (in sense of material possibility, etc.)

Capisco!

Vuoi assaggiare il caffé = Vuoi assaggiarlo?

Vuoi assaggiare la birra = Vuoi assagiarla?

E'satto?

Esatto; esattissimo, pure.

Eureka - I found it!!

For those who may be interested, there is a n internet forum for people wanting to learn a language.

http://bbs.champs-elysees.com

and go to General Talk link at the site.

Hello KT, I sure agree with you. Keep it simple! Unless one is born and raised with the Italian language you will never get it right.

So keep it simple as KT said.

And know that the Italians will appreciate any effort you make to converse in their language.

And from my conversations with all my Italians friends in Italy over the years, the simplier the traveller talks in the Italian language the easier it is for the Italian speaker to understand what the other person is communicating.

Hi LoveItaly

KT was quoting me. I was the one who said keep it simple. Wouldn't want to have KT blamed should the advice not serve someone well.

Dear Tedgale (and some others),
I am Italian native (and not so easy in English) and I want suggest some corrections.
We don't say "Voglio andare a chiesa" but "voglio andare in chiesa"
We don't say "asseggiare" but "assaggiare"
You can say "voglio assaggiare" if you are not refering to an explicit food (or if it is implicit that you wan't to taste that particular food) you can also say "voglio assaggiarlo" if you are refering to a specific food (i.e. when there are many foods on the table).
As for "Posso" or "Potrei" there is not much difference, they are two polite forms.
I hope my English is readable,
hi,
Marco

Marcolino: your english is better than our Italian, we understand you perfect. A mistake I always make and I am sure that others do too is andare a/in. Other than andare a Roma, in Italia, I usually just have to guess which sounds better. But, I hear Italians make the same mistake in english(at, in), and I find it charming, so I hope they find my mistakes charming too.

Susanna,
when you go to a city you always must use "a" :
Vado a Roma, a Milano, a New York, a Londra, etc.
Otherwise, when you go to a Country, you must use in: Vado in Francia, negli (in the) USA. in Inghilterra.
We use "in" when we mean that we enter in a specific place: Vado in un negozio, in una casa, but thera are obviously exceptions, we say vado al cinema, al ristorante. So you must accept the possibility of mistakes, but I agree that they will be charming.
Hi, Marco

Ciao Marco: quando ha finito la lettera, si dice in inglese: ciao o bye o goodbye o byebye , ma non Hi...e molto grazioso!

Let's not forget, "Vado dal dottore."

Marco

Ho bisogno di aiuto!

What is the "definitive" form of "Vado" (I go". I recognize that it is not "andare". Do you say Vado/Vadi, Vada (I o, you go, he/she goes)?

Does "Ando a Roma" mean the same as "Vado a Roma"?

I haven't read the whole thread, but "vado" is first person singular present of "andare."

Present indicative tense:
sing.: vado vai va
plur.: andiamo andate vanno

Grazie mille!

I only studied Italian for 2 months, 3 years ago before going to Italy for vacation, and am just picking up where I left off ...

My Italian studies are 31 years in the past -- hence the (2) errors caught by a vigilant reader above.

But I THINK ando (with an accent over the O) is the simple/ more "literary" past tense: Ando a Roma -- I went to Rome.

Vada is the 3rd person subjunctive, also used in commands: E impossible che vada: It is impossible that he go. Vada pure -- (Please) go ahead.

(The polite form of address employs the third person female pronoun, lei/ loro and the verb is also in the third person.

"Loro" is SO unctuously polite that it is now rarely used, though you may hear waiters, when taking your orders, say "Mi commandino".)