Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Ciao tutti! Benvenuti su ItalianPod101.com.
Ciao! Hello and welcome back to Italian Survival Phrases brought to you by ItalianPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Italy. You'll be surprised at how far a little Italian will go.
Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ItalianPod101.com, and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.
In the previous lesson, we covered how to get a bus ticket. So, now that you have your ticket, get ready to jump on your bus and start the tour. But, wait a moment. Before you get on the bus, you need to confirm if it’s going to your destination.
GRAMMAR POINT
Now, we can accomplish this by asking Scusi, va a… Scusi, va a… Scusi, va a… “Excuse me, (does this bus) go to…” and then add in a destination. So, as you can see, you can omit “this bus” in Italian, because it’s easy to understand that you are referring to it.
You have Scusi, which you know very well, then you have Va, which is the third person singular of the verb Andare, “to go.” And then, a, which is the preposition “to”.
So, let's break down this sentence and hear it one more time. Scu-si, va a… Scusi, va a…
Let’s imagine now that you are in Milan and you have to go to Isola Garibaldi, a very famous place in Milan full of shops and clubs. What would you ask the bus driver?
In place of Scusi, va a Isola Garibaldi? you could also ask, Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi? Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi? Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi? “Excuse me, (does this bus) stop at Isola Garibaldi?”
In this sentence, you have the same structure of the other one, but the verb changes. Instead of Andare, which means “to go,” we have Ferma, which is the third singular person of the verb Fermare, “to stop.”
Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time. Scu-si, fer-ma a I-so-la Ga-ri-bal-di? Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi?
Imagine that you are visiting a city for the first time, and you have no idea of the distances to cover to reach your favorite destinations and you need to ask the bus driver how long the bus takes.
Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a… followed by your destination. Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a… Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a… “How long does it take to arrive to …?”
Quanto tempo is the Italian for “How long,” and is made up by Quanto, which you have seen in the previous lesson, and in English could be translated with “How much/How long.” Then, you have Tempo, which means “time.”
Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time. Quan-to tem-po. Quanto tempo.
Ci vuole, in Italian, is used to translate the English “it takes.” In this short sentence, you have Ci, which is a pronominal particle. And then, Vuole, which is the third singular person of the verb Volere. In English, literally “to want”.
Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time. Ci vuo-le. Ci vuole.
Then you have Per, which literally means “for,” and is a preposition often used to mark the final clause. And finally, Arrivare a…, which is made up of the infinitive of the verb Arrivare, “to arrive,” followed by a, an Italian preposition which means “to”.
Let's hear the entire sentence one more time. Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a…
Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a…

Outro

Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So, buona fortuna, which means “good luck” in Italian.
“Excuse me, (does this bus) go to…” - Scusi, va a…
Scusi, va a…
Scusi, va a…
“Excuse me, (does this bus) go to Isola Garibaldi?” - Scusi, va a Isola Garibaldi?
Scusi, va a Isola Garibaldi?
Scusi, va a Isola Garibaldi?
“Excuse me, (does this bus) stop at Isola Garibaldi?” - Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi?
Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi?
Scusi, ferma a Isola Garibaldi?
“How long does it get to…?” - Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a…
Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a…
Quanto tempo ci vuole per arrivare a…
That’s going to do it for today. Remember to stop by ItalianPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Ciao ciao!

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