Learn how to use the plural demonstrative adjective that means "these"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Ciao |
| Marco: Marco here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 13: How Can You be on a Diet in Italy? |
| Consuelo: Hello, everyone. I’m Consuelo and welcome to ItalianPod101.com. |
| Marco: With us, you’ll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Consuelo: We also provide you with cultural insights. |
| Marco: And tips you won’t find in a textbook. In today’s class, we will focus on the plural forms of the demonstrative adjective [*]. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place in a pizzeria. |
| Marco: It’s between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Consuelo: The speakers are friends. Therefore, they will be speaking informally. |
| Marco: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Alessio: Finalmente un tavolo per noi! |
| Melissa: Eh sì, ordiniamo o no? |
| Alessio: Questi prezzi non sono così male. |
| Melissa: E queste pizze sembrano tutte buonissime. Tu cosa prendi? |
| Alessio: Io prendo una semplice marinara. |
| Melissa: Ah no, io prendo questa pizza con i capperi, le olive, i funghi, il prosciutto, la rucola... |
| Alessio: Hey Melissa, tu non sei a dieta eh? |
| Melissa: Come?! |
| Alessio: Ah ah ah! |
| Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now. |
| Alessio: Finalmente un tavolo per noi! |
| Melissa: Eh sì, ordiniamo o no? |
| Alessio: Questi prezzi non sono così male. |
| Melissa: E queste pizze sembrano tutte buonissime. Tu cosa prendi? |
| Alessio: Io prendo una semplice marinara. |
| Melissa: Ah no, io prendo questa pizza con i capperi, le olive, i funghi, il prosciutto, la rucola... |
| Alessio: Hey Melissa, tu non sei a dieta eh? |
| Melissa: Come?! |
| Alessio: Ah ah ah! |
| Marco: And now with the translation. |
| Alessio Finalmente un tavolo per noi! |
| Marco Finally a table for us! |
| Melissa Eh sì, ordiniamo o no? |
| Marco Oh yes, do we order or not? |
| Alessio Questi prezzi non sono così male. |
| Marco These prices are not so bad. |
| Melissa E queste pizze sembrano tutte buonissime. Tu cosa prendi? |
| Marco And all these pizzas look very good. What do you take? |
| Alessio Io prendo una semplice marinara. |
| Marco I take a simple marinara. |
| Melissa Ah no, io prendo questa pizza con i capperi, le olive, i funghi, il prosciutto, la rucola... |
| Marco Oh no, I take this pizza with capers, olives, mushrooms, ham, rocket….. |
| Alessio Hey Melissa, tu non sei a dieta eh? |
| Marco Hey Melissa, you're not on a diet, eh? |
| Melissa Come?! |
| Marco What?! |
| Alessio Ah ah ah! |
| Marco Ha ha ha. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Consuelo: Hey, Marco, did you know that in Italy, restaurants and pizzerias make you pay a "coperto?" |
| Marco: Ah, you mean the "cover charge." Yes, I know… |
| Consuelo: It is meant to pay the usage of the tablecloth and for the bread. |
| Marco: How much is a "coperto" usually? |
| Consuelo: It depends. In normal restaurants like a "trattoria" or a "pizzeria," it should be around two euros and fifty cents, but sometimes it can be even more… |
| Marco: Ah okay, it can be said that the price of "coperto" helps you to understand how expensive that restaurant can be… |
| Consuelo: Yes, Marco, usually luxury restaurants have a higher cover charge in Italy. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is. |
| Consuelo finalmente [natural native speed] |
| Marco at last, finally |
| Consuelo finalmente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo finalmente [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo ordinare [natural native speed] |
| Marco to order |
| Consuelo ordinare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo ordinare [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo sembrare [natural native speed] |
| Marco to seem, look, look like |
| Consuelo sembrare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo sembrare [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo cappero [natural native speed] |
| Marco caper |
| Consuelo cappero [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo cappero [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo prosciutto [natural native speed] |
| Marco ham |
| Consuelo prosciutto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo prosciutto [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo dieta [natural native speed] |
| Marco diet |
| Consuelo dieta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo dieta [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Marco: Consuelo, what expression are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: The Italian expression "essere a dieta." |
| Marco: "to be on a diet" |
| Consuelo: So "I am on a diet" in Italian should be… |
| Marco: "Sono a dieta." |
| Consuelo: With "dieta," we can also use other verbs like "fare," meaning "to do," or "stare," meaning "to stay." |
| Marco: Ah, with "fare" it becomes "faccio la dieta," literally meaning, "I do a diet," which has actually no meaning in English. |
| Consuelo: Yes, Marco, but when I say "sto a dieta," this means "I am on a diet" in the sense of continuing a diet. |
| Marco: Okay, so Consuelo, "sei a dieta?" "Are you on a diet?" |
| Consuelo: "No, non sono a dieta." |
| Marco: Oh, "you're not on a diet." |
| Consuelo: And you Marco? "Sei a dieta?" |
| Marco: No...should I be? |
Lesson focus |
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In today's lesson, we'll learn how to use the plural forms of the demonstrative adjective "questo," meaning "this." |
| Consuelo: Considering that adjectives have to be modified according to the noun they refer to in both gender and number… |
| Marco: We are now looking at "questo" and… |
| Consuelo: "Questi" and "queste," the plural forms. |
| Marco: Meaning "these." |
| Consuelo: When changing "questo" into its plural forms, please remember the following rules. |
| Marco: Use "questi" before any masculine plural noun either starting with a consonant or a vowel. For instance… |
| Consuelo: "Questi prezzi," meaning |
| Marco: "these prices." |
| Consuelo: "Questi divani," meaning |
| Marco: "these sofas." |
| Consuelo: "Questi orologi," meaning |
| Marco: "these watches." |
| Consuelo: "Questi abiti," meaning |
| Marco: "these dresses." And… |
| Consuelo: "questi ombrelli" meaning |
| Marco: "these umbrellas." Now let's take a look at the second and also last rule. Please use… |
| Consuelo: "queste" |
| Marco: before any feminine plural noun either starting with a consonant or a vowel. For example… |
| Consuelo: "queste pizze," meaning |
| Marco: "these pizzas." |
| Consuelo: "Queste macchine," meaning |
| Marco: "these cars." |
| Consuelo: "Queste acciughe," meaning |
| Marco: "these anchovies." And… |
| Consuelo: "Queste amiche," meaning |
| Marco: "these girlfriends." That just about Italian for today. |
| Consuelo: Ready to test what you just learned. |
| Marco: Make this lesson’s vocabulary stick by using lesson-specific flashcards in the learning center. |
| Consuelo: There is a reason everyone uses flashcards. |
| Marco: They work. |
| Consuelo: They really do help the memorization. |
| Marco: You can get the flashcards for this lesson at… |
| Consuelo: ItalianPod101.com. |
28 Comments
HideCiao, José Henrique Dias dos Santos!
Thanks for posting, let us know in the comments if you have any questions 😉
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao a tutti!😎😎
Hi David,
I think "to take" was preferred as the translation of "prendere" to avoid any confusion with "avere" (to have). But I will forward your feedback, thank you!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
English translation in Dialogue: I think we would not usually say "What will you take?" or "I take" in this context. I would use "What will you have?" and "I will have / I'll have"
Buonasera Colleen,
Not many words have the accented ì. One of them is "Sì."
Another one is lì (over there).
I can't recall anyone else, so you shouldn't worry about it 👍😉
Thank you,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
buonasera ! how do we know which words use the accent over the "i" and which ones just use the regular dotted I?
Hi everyone,
Thank you for posting and studying with us!
@Austin, practice by repeating and learning by heart the dialogues.
@Ken it seems that "rocket" is another name for "arugula."
We have fixed "acciughe", thank you for pointing that out!😉
Sincerely,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Un paio di sbagli forse? In the English translation of the dialogue: Oh no, I take this pizza with capers, olives, mushrooms, ham, rocket. "Rocket" on a pizza? And in the grammar section: questi abiti queste acchiughe. Should be acciughe, no? Avrei dovuto usare "sbagli" o "errori" o sono uguale?
Ciao italianpod101.com il mio problema in italiano è che io capisco di più ma io non posso parlare bene come io capisco
Hi oiupuupo,
Thank you for taking your time to leave us a comment. ??
Looking forward to seeing you often here.
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com