If you are cooking for one or two, you can use less water, but use the big pot so there's plenty of room for your linguine to swim around. Cooking spaghetti or other long pasta in a small pan is a leading cause of stuck-together pasta. You want lots of water so the starches that boil off the pasta don't build up and form a paste to bond the individual pieces together. Adding salt to the water is optional. I recommend it, unless you are watching your sodium intake.
Many people add oil to the water.
To me, this is a waste of good oil. After you drain pasta, you can add some oil, but we'll get to that later. You will need a timer to help you figure out when the pasta is done. Cooked pasta should not have the texture of extruded mashed potatoes. It should not schmush in your mouth when you eat it.