a truly authoritative short Italian grammar ... possibly the best concise account now available in any language' - The Times Literary Supplement 'a stimulating and scholarly introduction to Italian for the serious student. It contains a great deal of original material and the authors' unequivocal attitudes to the linguistic reality of modern Italy...make it important that it should be read and discussed by Italianists everywhere' - The Times Higher Education Supplement 'a major new contribution to the literature in English...it will be an essential part of the linguistic formation of every Italianist' - The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies Recently revised to bring it completed up-to-date, this book remains a unique source on the Italian language as it is actually spoken and written in Italy. The combination of historical perspective and contemporary grammar make it particularly useful for Italian linguistics.