Learn how to use the Italian adverbs of frequency, such as "often" and "usually"
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| 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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