In place of English "have" -- to "Have something done" --

Faccia aprire la porta. <Have the door opened.>

Mi sono Fatto un vestito. <I had a dress made for myself.>

Le ho fatto scrivere una lettura. <I had her write a letter./I made her write a letter.>

Note the use of the infinitive vice the English usage of the past participle.

Other Idiomatic Expressions --

Fare una domanda <to ask a question>

fare un viaggio <to take a trip>

fare un bagno <to take a bath>

Fare una passeggiata <to take a walk>

Fare colazione <to have breakfast/brunch/light lunch>

fare da mangiare <to make lunch or dinner>

fare attenzione <to pay attention>

fare un piachere <to do a favor>

Fare una conferenza <to give a lecture>

Farsi male <to hurt oneself>

farsi la barba <to shave>

Si fa tardi. <It's getting late.>

Non fa niente. <It's all right.>

Avere:

To be hungry = to have hunger; to be thirtsy = to have thirst

Ho fame <I'm hungry>

Ho sete <I'm thirsty>

Ho caldo <I'm warm> (not the same as Fa caldo <it's hot/warm>)

ho freddo <i'm cold> (not the same as Fa freddo <it's cold>)

Ho fretta <I'm in a hurry>

Ho paura <I'm afraid>

Ha ragione <You're right>

Ho sonno <I'm sleepy>

Also:

Ho venticinque anni <he's fifteen years old>

Ha i capelli biondi <He has blond hair/his hair is blond>

Che cosa hai? <what's the matter with you (familiar singular?>

Non ho niente. <Nothing is the matter with me.>

Essere vs. Stare:

Essere and stare both are often translated into English as "to be" but are not interchangeable.

Although efforts have been made to determine rules about their usage, there appear to be almost as many exceptions as there are uses. The easiest way to deal with them is therefore to memorize which kind of expression uses each verb.

Examples:

Milano e Napoli sono in Italia. -- simple location indicated by sono <they are>

Come staI? Sto bene. -- health condition indicated by staI <are you?> and sto <I am>

Sono Ammalati. <I'm not well./(more litterally) I am fallen ill.> -- health indicated by sono <i am> as a helping verb to form the participle of ammalare <essere ammalato,-a,-i,-e = to be(come) ill>

Siamo arrivati. <We arrived.>

Stiamo andando a casa. <We are going home.> -- progressive

Stiamo per andare a casa. <We are about to go home.>

Stiamo a Milano. <We live in milan.>

Stai zitto! <Be Quiet!>

Stai a sentire! <Listen to this!>

C'e and Ci sono:

C'e = <there is>

Ci sono = <there are>

C' ere = <there was>

C'erano = <there were>

C'e ancora molto da fare. <There is still much to do.>

Ci sono quattro posti liberi. <There are still four empty positions.>

C'era molto da fare. <There was much to do.>

C'erano molte cose da fare. <There were many things to do.>

Aver bisogno di and Bisognare:

Aver bisogno (noun, masculine, singular) di expresses lack of something and is translated literally as "to have need of." --

Ho bisogno di un paio di scarpe. <I need (have need of) a pair of shoes.>

The verb bisognare is impersonal and means "to be necessary." It is always followed by the subjuntive. --

Bisogna ch'egli parta. <It is necessary that he go.>

Volere:

Volere <to wish/want> is conjugated irregularly:

voglio, vuoi, vuole, vogliamo, volete, vogliono

Although volere is used regularly in Italian, its translations are idiomatic in English:

Voglio partire. <I want to leave.>

Vuol farmi questo? <Will you do this for me? (more literally: Do you want to do this for me?>

Vorrei andarci anch'io. <I, also, would like to go there.>

Cosa vuol dire questa parola? <What does this word mean? (more literally: This word wants to say what?>

Ci vogliono due ore per andare.

<It takes two hours to go (there). (more literally: It wants two hours to go (there).>

Come vuole. <As you wish.>

Voglio bene a mia madre. <I love my mother. (more literally: I wish my mother well.>

Dare:

dar ragione <to agree ("give agreement")>

dar torto <to disagree ("give disagreement")>

dare la mano a <to shake hands with ("to give the hand to")>

dare del tu, del voi, del Lei, del Loro <to use tu, voi, Lei, Loro(in direct address)>

Andare:

Andare in treno, in automobile <to go by (lit: in) train, by car>

Andare a cavallo <to ride hrseback>

Come va? <How goes it?>

Va bene. <Very well.>

Sapere and Conoscere:

Both sapere and conoscere are translated as "to know" in English, but sapere really means "to have knowledge about" while conoscere merely means "to be acquainted with."

Conoscere also can mean to meet or make the aqcuantaince of.

Sa che ore e? <Do you know what time it is?>

Conosco quel signore. <I know that man.>

Vorrie conoscerla. <I'd like to meet her.>

Non sa suonare il pianoforte. <He doesn't know how to play the piano.>

Piacere di conoscerLa. <I'm pleased to meet you.>

So dove la stazione. <I know where the station is.>

Conosco quell'albergo. <I know that hotel.>