A great way to start would be to grab some vocabulary :) So pick a topic: food, household items, places etc... Then, I would start with two crucial verbs in Italian or any language: 'Essere' (to be) and 'Avere' (to have) The first thing you need to use when conjugating a verb is the use of a personal pronoun. Note the following: I = Io You (singular) = Tu He = Lui She = Lei We = Noi You (plural- You all) = Voi They = Loro In the present tense, you would conjugate it like so: Avere: Io ho tu hai Lui/Lei ha noi abbiamo voi avete Loro hanno Essere: Io Sono tu sei Lui/Lei `e (accented e- pronounced 'eh') Noi siamo Voi siete Loro sono If you would like, I'm happy to start teaching you some italian. I have learned it all the way through school and I'm also of Italian heritage :) Message me if you would like :)

As in English, you don't say I eat a bread and an apple, but some bread, or the bread, and an apple. Or you could say 'una pagnotta' or 'un pezzo di pane'.

Loro stanno mangiando del/il pane e una mela. - For the very beginner level I recommend to start with a one-on-one teacher who follows a study course, a fun one, with some printed or online book, with exercises that you can do and hand in, but a teacher who stresses the actual use of the language as much as possible, NOT just teaching you grammar. You do want to start using sentences right away, but not, as you say, without someone strong in the language to help you. For the very beginner's level I would stay away from teachers don't follow a proper course because you want to get your grammar basics right. Meantime you can practice with friends on this website as well, find two or three Skype partners. But I suggest get ones that are native, otherwise later it will be hard to eliminate all the mistakes, it is easier to learn properly from the start. Try to find also some websites with helpful materials, such as games for language learning. Sometimes sites geared for children have the most fun and enjoyable material to work with.