Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Consuelo: Ciao
Marco: Marco here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 15: Do You Come to This Italian Place Often? 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 frequency adverbs.
Marco: This conversation takes place in an ice cream shop.
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

Alessio: Prendiamo qui il gelato!
Melissa: Ah sì, conosco questa gelateria.
Alessio: Davvero? In effetti è famosa. Vieni qui spesso?
Melissa: No, solo ogni tanto. Quale gusto preferisci?
Alessio: Tutti! Vediamo, oggi facciamo un cono grande con pistacchio, amarena e nocciola. E tu?
Melissa: Io di solito prendo cioccolata e caffè.
Commesso: Grande o piccolo signorina?
Melissa: Una coppetta piccola per piacere.
Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now.
Alessio: Prendiamo qui il gelato!
Melissa: Ah sì, conosco questa gelateria.
Alessio: Davvero? In effetti è famosa. Vieni qui spesso?
Melissa: No, solo ogni tanto. Quale gusto preferisci?
Alessio: Tutti! Vediamo, oggi facciamo un cono grande con pistacchio, amarena e nocciola. E tu?
Melissa: Io di solito prendo cioccolata e caffè.
Commesso: Grande o piccolo signorina?
Melissa: Una coppetta piccola per piacere.
Marco: And now, with the translation.
Alessio Prendiamo qui il gelato!
Marco Let's get ice cream here!
Melissa Ah sì, conosco questa gelateria.
Marco Oh yes, I know this ice cream shop.
Alessio Davvero? In effetti è famosa. Vieni qui spesso?
Marco Really? In fact, it's famous. Do you come here often?
Melissa No, solo ogni tanto. Quale gusto preferisci?
Marco No, just sometimes. What flavor do you prefer?
Alessio Tutti! Vediamo, oggi facciamo un cono grande con pistacchio, amarena e nocciola. E tu?
Marco All of them! Let's see, today let's make it a large cone with pistachio, black cherry, and hazelnut. And you?
Melissa Io di solito prendo cioccolata e caffè.
Marco I usually take chocolate and coffee.
Commesso Grande o piccolo signorina?
Marco Small or large for you, miss?
Melissa Una coppetta piccola per piacere.
Marco A small cup, please.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Consuelo: Marco, did you know that in Italy the origin of ice cream traces as far back as to the Roman empire?
Marco: Really? It's such an ancient recipe!
Consuelo: Yes, there are some documents that describe the preparation of a sweet food made of ice, milk, fruits, and honey.
Marco: That's interesting. The recipe survived for all these years!
Consuelo: The "gelato" you find today in ice cream shop is homemade and the minimum price is two euros.
Marco: Ah, okay, and we can eat it in a cone or a cup, right?
Consuelo: Yes, Marco, and the price depends on the size. Anyway, in bars and supermarkets, you can find a wide selection of wrapped ice creams that are very good too.
Marco: Okay, Consuelo! Thank you for your advice.
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is?
Consuelo conoscere [natural native speed]
Marco to know
Consuelo conoscere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo conoscere [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo spesso [natural native speed]
Marco often
Consuelo spesso [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo spesso [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo cono [natural native speed]
Marco cone
Consuelo cono [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo cono [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo nocciola [natural native speed]
Marco hazelnut
Consuelo nocciola [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo nocciola [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo grande [natural native speed]
Marco large, big
Consuelo grande [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo grande [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo piccolo [natural native speed]
Marco small, tiny
Consuelo piccolo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo piccolo [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today?
Consuelo: The Italian word "spesso."
Marco: "often."
Consuelo: As we will see, "spesso" is a frequency adverb used in phrases like "penso spesso al mio ex-ragazzo."
Marco: "I often think of my ex-boyfriend."
Consuelo: While asking questions, you can also use "più spesso," meaning "most often."
Marco: Okay, so when I want to ask "What do you drink most often, red or white wine?" how should I say it?
Consuelo: You should say "Bevi più spesso vino rosso o bianco?"
Marco: Ah, I got it. What is your answer, Consuelo?
Consuelo: "Io bevo più spesso vino rosso."
Marco: Oh, you "prefer the red wine."
Consuelo: Sure, I am from Tuscany, and there's lots of good red wine there…
Marco: My new question is "Bevi spesso?" which means "Do you drink often?"
Consuelo: What kind of question is that?! Anyway, it is correct. So, listeners, in this case, you can simply answer "Non spesso."
Marco: Eh eh, "Not often."

Lesson focus

Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point.
Marco: In today's lesson, we focus on frequency adverbs.
Consuelo: To talk about how often something happens, we use the so-called adverbs of frequency. They are very useful when you talk about your own habits.
Marco: Now we'll tell you some of the more common frequency adverbs…
Consuelo: "Spesso," meaning
Marco: "often."
Consuelo: "Ogni tanto" and "a volte," meaning
Marco: "sometimes."
Consuelo: "Di solito" and "normalmente," meaning
Marco: "usually."
Consuelo: When using simple verb forms…
Marco: Or one-word verbs…
Consuelo: Adverbs are usually placed after them.
Marco: For example…
Consuelo: "Mangio spesso la pizza durante il fine settimana," meaning
Marco: "I often eat pizza during weekends."
Consuelo: "Prendo spesso il treno per andare a lavoro," meaning
Marco: "I often catch the train to go to work."
Consuelo: Now let's take a look at what would happen with compound verbs…
Marco: That means two-word verbs.
Consuelo: As I was saying, with compound verbs, most adverbs are placed after the past participle, although they can also be positioned before the verb.
Marco: For example…
Consuelo: "Ogni tanto ho fatto arrabbiare I miei genitori" or "ho fatto arrabbiare i miei genitori ogni tanto," meaning...
Marco: "Sometimes I got my parents angry." Please remember that "ogni tanto" cannot be broken.
Consuelo: "Di solito" and "normalmente" have the same meaning as "usually" and they always precede the verb…
Marco: For instance…
Consuelo: "La sera di solito leggo un libro prima di dormire," meaning
Marco: "In the evening, I usually read a book before sleeping."
Consuelo: "Normalmente torno a casa in taxi," meaning
Marco: "I usually come back home by taxi."
Consuelo: Marco, "cosa fanno di solito I ragazzi italiani la domenica?"
Marco: Ah, you're asking me "What do Italian guys usually do on Sundays?" Okay, how about "di solito vanno allo stadio."
Consuelo: Good, Marco, "they usually go to the stadium."
Marco: That’s just about does it for today. Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your pronunciation.
Consuelo: The voice recording tool.
Marco: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center.
Consuelo: Record your voice with a click of a button.
Marco: And then play it back just as easily.
Consuelo: So you record your voice and then listen to it.
Marco: Compare it to the native speakers.
Consuelo: And adjust your pronunciation.
Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast.

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