"As its title implies, the present work aims to present in the simplest form the elements of the Italian language. In preparing it, the author has made no attempt at completeness; on the contrary, his efforts have tended to omit whatever seemed to him non-essential and apt to cause confusion in the beginner's mind. The needs of our High School and College classes have guided him throughout his task and, believing that extensive drill should be emphasized in the study of any modern language, he has consistently followed the system of giving few rules and many exercises in each lesson. The grammar is taught inductively. Experience has shown that by placing the rules after the examples, the principles of language are more likely to leave a lasting impression upon the student: they appear to him more concrete, more real."