(Coming soon!)
You’re on the plane back from Rome, and crack open the book that you got at the airport. Everything is smudged though, to the point that it’s illegible. Oh that’s right, you’re far sighted. You reach into the pocket in front of you, where you left them. Strange, they’re not there. Huh? Weird. You search in your bag, in your jacket, but can’t find them anywhere. Your fellow passengers are now getting a little agitated. What are you doing? they seem to be asking. You try explaining, and asking for help, but no one understands what you’re saying. If only you knew how to ask for their help.
In today’s lesson, Antonio is looking for some things that he has misplaced. He has no problems asking Maria for help in Italian, so listen carefully! We’ll also be learning the plural forms of possessive adjectives. For more info on the Italian language, more audio lessons, online exercises, and a vibrant user community, visit ItalianPod101.com! And looking for your glasses under your bottom, you’re probably sitting on them!
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
8 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #11 - Have you seen my car keys?”
ItalianPod101.com says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Do you also feel as if there are leprechauns in your house?
petiteclaire says:
April 24th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Dear Marco and Cinzia,
all the time !!!
I’m positive there must be hundred of them at work in my flat, always misplacing things… 
Peter says:
April 24th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I am rapidly losing the plot.
In the possessive plural form is there only i and le and no gli which seems to change to i?
e.g gli occhiali becomes i suoi occhiali
Is it “i loro occhiali” for “their glasses”?
Marco says:
April 24th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Yes Peter, you are correct there is only “i” and “le”.
Can you tell me why it is so?
Just think about the rules for the usage of definite articles, I am sure you will find the answer.
Ciao
Marco
Marco says:
April 24th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Dear petiteclaire,
hehe, when I was a teenager I thought I really had leprechauns in my house or that I was loosing my mind, until I found out my mother was always tidying my room!!!
Ciao
Peter says:
April 25th, 2008 at 2:52 am
Dear Marco,
It may be obvious to some on here that “gli” changes to “i” before a plural possessive pronoun following the rules about definite articles before male nouns beginning with a consonant but a note in the grammar section would be useful for idiots like me who need to be spoon fed.
roma55 says:
April 26th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Ciao Peter!
I am following your posts and I can simpatise with your frustration. On the other hand I agree with Marco that if every grammatical subject were covered thoroughly as soon as it is encountered, learning would get daunting for many.
The fact is we all approach languages differently. I am sure the grammar bank will soon cover this subject for a thorough review. In the mean time you may wish to try this site:
http://www.uvm.edu/~cmazzoni/3grammatica/grammatica/
and see if it answers most of your questions - if not please write to me or post again on the forum.
You may also find it interesting to look at wikipedia articles on this subject. I suggest you look also at the corresponing italian page as this will give you a glimpse of the vocabulary Italians use to talk their language. It is a very good exercise just to get a feel for it, even if you shoul find that some of the expressions used are a bit beyond beginner level:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_grammar
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatica_italiana
Don’t give up! you have the approach of true linguist-hang on in there and you’ll get were you want to be.
Buona fortuna!
roma55
Peter says:
April 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Roma55,
Thanks for the links to the resources.
I see no good reason why a simple line cannot be added where a new grammatical point is introduced.
For example:
Note: “La” in this case is not the definite article “la” but a form of “lei” (you, formal) which will be covered in detail later or
Note: “gli” used with plural nouns changes to ”i” before…
I do think that all new material should be explained and honestly don’t think that it takes a lot to cover it all even if it is explained more fully at later date. It is just frustrating having unexplained gaps.
Anyway that is my experience which can be utilised or disregarded.
Thanks again. I had thought that you were connected with the site but now believe that you are motivated purely altruistically! Of course your confidence is totally misplaced but I shall persevere.
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Category: Beginner Lessons |
Grammar: loro, mie, miei, nostre, nostri, sue, suoi, tue, tuoi, vostre, vostri | Function: using plural possessive adjectives | Topic: plural possessive adjectives | Politeness Level: informal
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