Learn how to ask others to take a photo for you
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| INTRODUCTION |
| 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 will 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 today’s lesson, we’ll introduce a phrase that for sure will come in handy for capturing your memories on film or memory card. Italy is full of beautiful sceneries, and obviously you will take a lot of pictures of landscapes and monuments but I have no doubts that in some moments you’ll want to be in the picture or have everyone in your party. Therefore, there are times when the question, “Can you take our/my picture?” will be invaluable! |
Lesson focus |
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| In Italian, “Can you take our picture?” is Può scattarci una foto? |
| Può scattarci una foto? |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Può scattarci una foto? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Può scattarci una foto? |
| The first word può means “can you," third person singular of the verb potere “can” used in the formal way of speech. This is followed by scattarci, which in English is literally “to set off” but in this case it’s translated as “take our picture." |
| Scattarci is made up of the infinitive of the verb scattare and ci which literally means “us – to us." |
| This is followed by una “a” indefinite article feminine and foto “picture." |
| Foto is the short form of fotografia and it’s used quite often. |
| So to recap here, we have Può scattarci una foto? |
| Literally this means “Can you take us a picture?” |
| If you are on your own and you want to ask “Can you take my picture?” in Italian you just need to replace scattarci with scattarmi so you would have Può scattarmi una foto? |
| Può scattarmi una foto? |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Può scattarmi una foto? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Può scattarmi una foto? |
| What if you jump into a young person and you don’t need to use the formal level of speech? It’s very easy because the only element that changes is the verb. So può changes into puoi “can you," second person singular of the verb potere “can." |
| So all together you will have Puoi scattarci una foto? |
| Puoi scattarci una foto? "Can you take our picture?" |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: Puoi scattarci una foto? |
| Now let's hear it once again: Puoi scattarci una foto? |
| Or if you are traveling alone Puoi scattarmi una foto? |
| Puoi scattarmi una foto? |
| In English, before someone takes a picture, the person taking the picture may say, “1, 2, 3. Cheese.” In Italian you might hear the same but maybe counting opposite before the picture is taken, so the person taking the picture may say Tre, due, uno, cheese. |
| Tre, due, uno, cheese. |
| So to recap here, we have the numbers from three to one and cheese. Tre, due, uno, cheese. Literally this means “three two one cheese." |
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. |
| “Can you take our picture?” - Può scattarci una foto? |
| Può scattarci una foto? |
| Può scattarci una foto? |
| “Can you take our picture?” - Puoi scattarci una foto? |
| Puoi scattarci una foto? |
| Puoi scattarci una foto? |
| “Can you take my picture?” - Può scattarmi una foto? |
| Può scattarmi una foto? |
| Può scattarmi una foto? |
| “Can you take my picture?” - Puoi scattarmi una foto? |
| Puoi scattarmi una foto? |
| Puoi scattarmi una foto? |
| 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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