Learn how to use the plural demonstrative adjective that means "those"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Ciao. |
| Marco: Marco here, Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 14: Can You Eat Those Desserts First in Italy? Hello and welcome to the Absolute Beginner Season 1 at ItalianPod101.com where we study modern Italian in a fun, educational format. |
| Consuelo: So brush up on the Italian that you started learning long ago, or start learning today. |
| Marco: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson. Consuelo, what are we looking at in this lesson? |
| Consuelo: In today’s class, we will focus on the plural forms of the demonstrative adjective “quello”. |
| Marco: This conversation takes place in a pizzeria. |
| Consuelo: It’s between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Marco: The speakers are friends. Therefore, they will be speaking informally. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Cameriere: Ecco le pizze! |
| Alessio: Wow, sono molto grandi! |
| Melissa: Mmm, che profumino! Buon appetito! |
| Alessio: Buon appetito. Hey, quei funghi sembrano proprio freschi. |
| Melissa: Sì, sono porcini. Anche quelle ragazze mangiano la pizza come la mia, vedi? |
| Alessio: Hai ragione. Io oggi invece non ho molta fame, nella mia pizza c'è solo il pomodoro. |
| Melissa: Che buona! Dopo prendiamo un gelato? |
| Alessio: Ma Melissa…, pensi già al dolce?! |
| Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now. |
| Cameriere: Ecco le pizze! |
| Alessio: Wow, sono molto grandi! |
| Melissa: Mmm, che profumino! Buon appetito! |
| Alessio: Buon appetito. Hey, quei funghi sembrano proprio freschi. |
| Melissa: Sì, sono porcini. Anche quelle ragazze mangiano la pizza come la mia, vedi? |
| Alessio: Hai ragione. Io oggi invece non ho molta fame, nella mia pizza c'è solo il pomodoro. |
| Melissa: Che buona! Dopo prendiamo un gelato? |
| Alessio: Ma Melissa…, pensi già al dolce?! |
| Marco: And now with the translation. |
| Cameriere Ecco le pizze! |
| Marco Here's the pizzas! |
| Alessio Wow, sono molto grandi! |
| Marco Wow, they're very large! |
| Melissa Mmm, che profumino! Buon appetito! |
| Marco Mmm, it smells good! Enjoy your meal! |
| Alessio Buon appetito. Hey, quei funghi sembrano proprio freschi. |
| Marco Enjoy. Hey, those mushrooms look really fresh. |
| Melissa Sì, sono porcini. Anche quelle ragazze mangiano la pizza come la mia, vedi? |
| Marco Yes, they're porcini mushrooms. Hey, those girls are eating the same pizza as mine, do you see? |
| Alessio Hai ragione. Io oggi invece non ho molta fame, nella mia pizza c'è solo il pomodoro. |
| Marco You're right. But today I am not very hungry. In my pizza there's only tomato sauce. |
| Melissa Che buona! Dopo prendiamo un gelato? |
| Marco Mmm, it's so good! Are we having an ice cream later? |
| Alessio Ma Melissa…, pensi già al dolce?! |
| Marco But Melissa, are you already thinking about dessert?! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Hey, Consuelo, Italians always say "buon appetito" before eating their meals, right? |
| Consuelo: Yes, we wish "buon appetito" to each other. In English, it literally means "good appetite" but it is not used as an expression, right? |
| Marco: No, we can say "enjoy your meal" or "have a good meal," but we don't actually use it very often… |
| Consuelo: I know, but in Italy, it is a very common expression of daily life, used in both formal and informal situations. |
| Marco: Ah I see… |
| Consuelo: In Italy, at a restaurant, waiters say "buon appetito" to costumers too. |
| Marco: How should we answer? |
| Consuelo: Just say "grazie," meaning "thank you." You shouldn't say "buon appetito" to him, because he's not going to eat. |
| Marco: Okay, so listeners please remember, always say "buon appetito" when you eat with Italians! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is? |
| Consuelo profumino [natural native speed] |
| Marco good smell |
| Consuelo profumino [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo profumino [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo proprio [natural native speed] |
| Marco really, actually |
| Consuelo proprio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo proprio [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo fresco [natural native speed] |
| Marco fresh, cool, chilly |
| Consuelo fresco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo fresco [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo ragazza [natural native speed] |
| Marco girl |
| Consuelo ragazza [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo ragazza [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo fame [natural native speed] |
| Marco hunger |
| Consuelo fame [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo fame [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo dolce [natural native speed] |
| Marco dessert |
| Consuelo dolce [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo dolce [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: That's the Italian word "dolce." |
| Marco: In the dialogue, Alessio uses the word "dolce" to talk about "gelato," meaning "ice cream." |
| Consuelo: When he says "pensi già al dolce?" |
| Marco: Yes, when he asks Melissa, "You're already thinking about dessert?" |
| Consuelo: So "dolce" is "dessert." Marco, have you ever seen the word "dolci" on Italian menus? |
| Marco: Sure! |
| Consuelo: That's the plural form of the word "dolce," because "dolce" is a noun ending in "e" and it's masculine, so the plural form changes the ending into "i." "Dolce" becomes "dolci." |
| Marco: Consuelo, what do you usually order for "dolce" in Italy? |
| Consuelo: I always order "tiramisù." It's the best! |
| Marco: In Italy, I ordered "panna cotta" once, it was so good… So now "I want to eat a dessert!" |
| Consuelo: Me too, "anch'io voglio mangiare un dolce!" |
Lesson focus |
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In today's lesson, we learn how to use the plural forms of the demonstrative adjective "quello," meaning "that." |
| Marco: Like any other adjective, when it refers to plural nouns, it changes its ending into… |
| Consuelo: "quei," "quegli," and "quelle." |
| Marco: They always precede the noun and are modified according to the same pattern as the definite articles. For example… |
| Consuelo: "I funghi," meaning |
| Marco: "mushrooms." It means we should use the demonstrative adjective "quei." |
| Consuelo: "Quei funghi" means |
| Marco: "those mushrooms," because the article "i" is used before plural nouns starting with consonants. |
| Consuelo: When changing "quello" into the feminine and masculine plural forms, please remember the following rules… |
| Marco: "Quei" always precedes masculine plural nouns starting with a consonant. For example… |
| Consuelo: "Quei funghi," meaning |
| Marco: "those mushrooms." |
| Consuelo: "Quei pantaloni," meaning |
| Marco: "those pants." |
| Consuelo: "Quei bicchieri," meaning |
| Marco: "those glasses." |
| Consuelo: Then remember to use "quegli" before a masculine plural noun starting with "z-", "x-", "y-", "ps-," "gn-," or "s-" + a consonant or starting with a vowel. |
| Marco: For example… |
| Consuelo: "Quegli stivali," meaning |
| Marco: "those boots." |
| Consuelo: "Quegli alberghi," meaning |
| Marco: "those hotels." |
| Consuelo: "Quegli ospedali," meaning |
| Marco: "those hospitals." And finally, remember to use "quelle" before any feminine plural noun either starting with a consonant or a vowel. For instance… |
| Consuelo: "Quelle ragazze," meaning |
| Marco: "those girls." |
| Consuelo: "Quelle scatole," meaning |
| Marco: "those boxes." |
| Consuelo: "Quelle suore," meaning |
| Marco: "those nuns." |
| Consuelo: "Quelle arance," meaning |
| Marco: "those oranges." That’s just about does it 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. |
22 Comments
HideHi Javii,
yes, that's correct!
"Dolce" can be both a noun (dessert) or an adjective (sweet).
That means you could also say: Questo dolce è troppo dolce (This dessert is too sweet).
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi couldn't you also use dolce to mean something is sweet as well?
Thanks!
Ciao
molto and molta also confused me but then as you say when molto is used as an adjective for fame = hunger (feminine noun) it changes to molta so ho molta fame ; but if molto is an adverb it never changes and is always molto
as for daverro and proprio ; I think you can use daverro to say 'really ?' like you would in English 'is that really true' but you couldnt use proprio in that sense and you cant use daverro freschi as it looks weird !
Grazie !
Hi Tom Reynolds,
"here are the pizzas" is grammatically correct, but when shortened, the usage of "here's" followed by a plural is pretty common in informal contexts. Anyway, it is not that important here, as the focus should be on Italian, and in Italian you would use "ecco" in both cases (ecco la pizza / ecco le pizze).
Hope this helps!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
In the English translation of the first statement you say "Here's the pizzas! However, since "pizzas" is plural, shouldn't it be "Here ARE the pizzas"?
Tom R
Hi Ian,
Thank you for leaving the comment!
In case of any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team ItalianPod101.com
I once worked in an office with some French people and they used to say "Enjoy your meal" in English to me before I ate. 😄
Hi Rob,
Thank you for posting.
The words "davvero" and "proprio" are almost synonyms. They can both mean "really".
"Proprio" has more meanings, you can check them in this lesson.
Thank you,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Sorry my spell check changed it I meant davvero and proprio
Thank you
Rob
Could you please explain the difference between daverro and proprio.
Thank you for your help
Rob