Learn how to use the various forms of the Italian word meaning "this"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Ciao |
| Marco: Marco here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 11: Could Anything Be Better Than This Italian Lesson? Hello and welcome back to the ItalianPod101.com, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian. I'm joined in the studio by… |
| Consuelo: Hello, everyone. Consuelo here. |
| Marco: In today’s class, we will focus on the demonstrative objective “questo” meaning, “this” in its singular forms. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place in a jewelry store. |
| Marco: The conversation is between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Consuelo: The speakers are friends, therefore, they will be speaking informally. |
| Marco: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Melissa: Alessio, questa collana luccica molto vero? |
| Alessio: Sì, forse troppo, preferisco questa collana con quest'ametista. |
| Melissa: Ma no! Troppo vistosa! |
| Alessio: Allora questo braccialetto com'è? |
| Melissa: Insomma... Alessio, hai un gusto proprio particolare. |
| Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now. |
| Melissa: Alessio, questa collana luccica molto vero? |
| Alessio: Sì, forse troppo, preferisco questa collana con quest'ametista. |
| Melissa: Ma no! Troppo vistosa! |
| Alessio: Allora questo braccialetto com'è? |
| Melissa: Insomma... Alessio, hai un gusto proprio particolare. |
| Marco: And now, with their translation. |
| Melissa Alessio, questa collana luccica molto vero? |
| Marco Alessio, this necklace sparkles a lot, doesn't it? |
| Alessio Sì, forse troppo, preferisco questa collana con quest'ametista. |
| Marco Yes, probably too much; I prefer this necklace with this amethyst. |
| Melissa Ma no! Troppo vistosa! |
| Marco Oh no, it's too showy! |
| Alessio Allora questo braccialetto com'è? |
| Marco So, what is this bracelet like? |
| Melissa Insomma... Alessio, hai un gusto proprio particolare. |
| Marco Well…Alessio, you do have a really particular taste. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Consuelo: Hey, Marco. Do you like Italian jewelry? Have you ever bought a piece for your girlfriend? |
| Marco: Hmm, let me think. Yes, I have. When we were in Venice, I bought a very cute necklace made of Murano glass. |
| Consuelo: Oh, that’s nice. You know Marco, a lot of Italian jewelry brands are famous throughout the world. But the craftsmanship of local artisans is still considered very precious and unique in Italy. |
| Marco: That’s true, Consuelo. The tradition of centuries of handcrafted art has given birth to the taste of contemporary Italian designers, don’t you think? |
| Consuelo: Oh yes, it is very probable. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is… |
| Consuelo collana [natural native speed] |
| Marco necklace |
| Consuelo collana [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo collana [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo luccicare [natural native speed] |
| Marco to sparkle, glint, shimmer |
| Consuelo luccicare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo luccicare [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo ametista [natural native speed] |
| Marco amethyst |
| Consuelo ametista [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo ametista [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo vistoso [natural native speed] |
| Marco showy |
| Consuelo vistoso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo vistoso [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo braccialetto [natural native speed] |
| Marco bracelet |
| Consuelo braccialetto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo braccialetto [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo particolare [natural native speed] |
| Marco particular, peculiar |
| Consuelo particolare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo particolare [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Marco: Consuelo, what expression are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: The Italian expression "avere gusto." |
| Marco: "To have taste." |
| Consuelo: This expression is used as its English equivalent. We can say "avere cattivo gusto." |
| Marco: "To have bad taste." |
| Consuelo: "Avere buon gusto." |
| Marco: "To have good taste." |
| Consuelo: It differs only when we want to say "to have poor taste." In Italian, this is translated into "avere poco gusto." |
| Marco: I see. Instead of "poor," which in Italian is the adjective "povero," you used "poco." |
| Consuelo: Yes, Marco, when used with verbs, "poco" functions as an adverb and it means "not much." As we have seen in the dialogue, Melissa and Alessio "hanno gusti differenti." |
| Marco: Oh yes, they have different tastes! |
| Consuelo: Now tell me, do you like "lasagna?" That specific type of Italian pasta? |
| Marco: Oh, I love it! |
| Consuelo: Me too! You see, "abbiamo gli stessi gusti." |
| Marco: Yes, "we like the same good things!" |
Lesson focus |
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In this lesson, we'll focus on the demonstrative adjective "questo," meaning "this," in its singular forms. |
| Consuelo: Like any other Italian adjective, the demonstrative adjectives have to agree with the nouns they refer to in both gender and number and cannot stand alone. |
| Marco: Today we are going to focus on "questo" in its singular forms. |
| Consuelo: So, Marco, when do we use "questo?" |
| Marco: We use "questo" before masculine nouns starting with a consonant. |
| Consuelo: For example "questo tavolo," meaning |
| Marco: "this table." |
| Consuelo: We also use "questo" before masculine nouns starting with a vowel. For example "questo anello," meaning |
| Marco: "this ring." And we use "questo" before masculine nouns starting with "-z," "-y," or "-s" + a consonant. |
| Consuelo: For example, "questo zaino," meaning |
| Marco: "this rucksack," |
| Consuelo: "questo yogurt," meaning |
| Marco: "this yogurt," and |
| Consuelo: "questo studente," meaning |
| Marco: "this student." |
| Consuelo: Finally we also use "questo" with uncommon nouns starting with "gn-," like "gnomo," meaning |
| Marco: "dwarf." |
| Consuelo: As in "questo gnomo," which means |
| Marco: "this dwarf." |
| Consuelo: Let's now take a look at another form. |
| Marco: We use "questa" before feminine nouns starting with a consonant and feminine nouns starting with "-z," "-y," or "-s" + a consonant. |
| Consuelo: For example, "questa collana," meaning |
| Marco: "this necklace" and |
| Consuelo: "questa scarpa," meaning |
| Marco: "this shoe." |
| Consuelo: We instead use "quest'" plus apostrophe before feminine nouns starting with a vowel. For example, "quest' ametista," meaning |
| Marco: "this amethyst." |
| Consuelo:So, remeber, you always need to use "quest'" with the apostrophe before feminine nouns starting with a vowel. However, in the case of masculine nouns starting with a vowel, you can use either "quest'" or "questo." |
| Marco: For example, "quest'alunno", "questo alunno," meaning "this pupil." |
| Consuelo: And now for some tips on the usage of "questo." |
| Marco: This category of adjectives can be used to refer to space, time, and ideas. |
| Consuelo: When used in spatial and temporal terms, it works exactly like its English equivalent, "this," |
| Marco: So it bears the meaning of something close to the speaker or the writer. |
| Consuelo: For example, "questo libro," meaning |
| Marco: "this book," |
| Consuelo: "quest'estate," meaning |
| Marco: "this summer," and |
| Consuelo: "quest'angoscia," meaning |
| Marco: "this angst." That’s just about does it for today. Okay. Some of our listeners already know about the most powerful tool on ItalianPod101.com. |
| Consuelo: The Line-by-Line audio. |
| Marco: The perfect tool for rapidly improving listening comprehension. |
| Consuelo: By listening to lines of the conversation again and again. |
| Marco: Listen until every word and syllable becomes clear. Basically, we break down the dialogue into comprehensible byte size sentences. |
| Consuelo: You can try the line by line audio in the premium learning center at ItalianPod101.com. |
| Marco: See you next time. |
11 Comments
HideCiao Kim,
Grazie mille for your comment! 😇
Let us know if you have any questions.
Levente
Team ItalianPod101.com
Thank you,
I found this lesson very useful. I like learning about the difference in thinking about ideas being near the speaker.....so question is used in Italian. Understanding the reasons behind use of words like that helps me remember to use the right word.
Ciao Xin,
grazie per il tuo commento!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
questo lezione molto interessante, grazie a tutti
Hi Anthony,
"Insomma" and "Allora" can both mean "well", "then".
Regarding "forse": in Italian "forse" and "probabilmente" have almost the same meaning: this is why "forse" is translated as both "maybe" and "probably", it depends on the context.
I hope this helps!:smile:
Grazie e a presto!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao!!
There are two words in this lesson I have a question about. In prior lessons, allora translated to well. In this lesion, it seems insomma means "well." Also, I use "forse" all the time to mean "maybe." However in this lesson it translates to 'probably.' The confusing part is the 'maybe' definitely should not mean 'probably' because you may give somebody the wrong idea. Am I crazy??
Antonino
Ciao Jaideux,
Grazie mille!
è vero: la differenza tra il modo di pensare in italiano e il modo di pensare in inglese è molto interessante.
Thnaks a lot!It is true: the different way of thinking in Italian and in English is very interesting.
Thank you!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
I found this lezione molto interessante...the difference between Italian and English thought: Questo vs. Quello for ideas....fantastico! Mille Grazie!
Ciao ken,
thank you for your comment.
At the very beginning looks hard to find out the proper endings of the adjective "questo" but it is necessary to learn it as soon as possible because "questo" and its forms are spread used in Italian.
We are very happy you could learn some interesting words.
Ciao e grazie mille!:grin:
Per un lezione "absolute beginner" ho pensato che era "advanced." Not complaining, though. Ho iniziato at the "Beginner" level e ritorna a quest'uno per vedere come era. Forse I should have begun here.
Anche, sono sopreso che nessuno ha scritto un commento. La lezione ha molte parole interessante.