Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Consuelo: Ciao
Marco: Michael here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 5: I Can’t Believe You Just Asked How Old She is in Italian.
Consuelo: Hello, everyone. I’m Consuelo and welcome to ItalianPod101.com.
Marco: With us, you 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 asking about someone’s age using the verb “avere”, “to have.”
Consuelo: This conversation takes place at the bar.
Marco: The conversation is between Melissa and Alessio.
Consuelo: In the first conversation, they will be speaking the informal Italian. In the second conversation, they’ll use formal Italian.
Marco: Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation
Alessio: Melissa, quanti anni hai?
Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni. E tu?
Alessio: Io ho venticinque anni.
Marco: Formal.
Alessio: Quanti anni ha?
Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni e Lei?
Alessio: Ho venticinque anni.
Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now.
Alessio: Melissa, quanti anni hai?
Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni. E tu?
Alessio: Io ho venticinque anni.
Alessio: Quanti anni ha?
Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni e Lei?
Alessio: Ho venticinque anni.
Marco: And now, with the translation.
Alessio
Melissa, quanti anni hai?
Marco
Melissa, how old are you?
Melissa
Ho ventiquattro anni. E tu?
Marco
I'm twenty-four; and you?
Alessio
Io ho venticinque anni.
Marco
I'm twenty-five.
Marco
Alessio
Quanti anni ha?
Marco
How old are you, Madame?
Melissa
Ho ventiquattro anni e Lei?
Marco
I am twenty-four years old, and you, sir?
Alessio
Ho venticinque anni.
Marco
I am twenty-five years old.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Consuelo: Marco, did you know that asking about a lady's age is considered indiscreet and sometimes bad-mannered in Italy?
Marco: Oh really? But ladies of what age?
Consuelo: Mmm, I can say ladies in their forties.
Marco: Thank you for letting us know, Consuelo!
Consuelo: So, when you meet new people, please remember that Italian women are very sensitive about talking their age.
Marco: Sure! I think our listeners will follow your advice.
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is…
Consuelo quanti [natural native speed]
Marco how many
Consuelo quanti [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo quanti [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo anno [natural native speed]
Marco year
Consuelo anno [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo anno [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo avere [natural native speed]
Marco to have
Consuelo avere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo avere [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo ventiquattro [natural native speed]
Marco twenty-four
Consuelo ventiquattro [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo ventiquattro [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo venticinque [natural native speed]
Marco twenty-five
Consuelo venticinque [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo venticinque [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Marco: Consuelo, what expression are we studying today?
Consuelo: That's the Italian expression "quanti anni ha..."
Marco: "How old is…"
Consuelo: "Quanti anni ha" is used to refer to "lei" in the formal way, but we also use it to talk about the third singular person, either feminine or masculine.
Marco: For example, "Quanti anni ha Consuelo?" meaning "How old is Consuelo?"
Consuelo: I'm not answering this question, but if you want to express your own opinion about the approximate age of someone, you should just add "secondo me."
Marco: So if I say "Secondo me ha venti anni"…
Consuelo: That means "in my opinion he/she is twenty years old"… But are you talking about me?
Marco: Oh, no.
Consuelo: Ah, so I don't look like I'm twenty!!??
Marco: Ehm…

Lesson focus
Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point.
Marco: The focus of this lesson is using the verb "avere," meaning "to have," to discuss age in Italian.
Consuelo: If we break down "quanti anni hai," we obtain "how many years do you have?"
Marco: In English, we use the verb "to be" when indicating age, while in Italian we use "avere," meaning "to have." Now let's look at the conjugation of this verb.
Consuelo: "Io ho."
Marco: "I have."
Consuelo: "tu hai"
Marco: "you have"
Consuelo: "lui/lei ha"
Marco: "he/she/it has"
Consuelo: "noi abbiamo"
Marco: "we have"
Consuelo: "voi avete"
Marco: "you have"
Consuelo: "loro hanno"
Marco: "they have"
Consuelo: Please remember to use this verb when you are asking about someone's age.
Marco: In English, it should be "how many years do you have?"
Consuelo: That's "quanti anni hai?"
Marco: And "I have twenty-five years."
Consuelo: It is "io ho venticinque anni."
Marco: That’s just about does it for today. Consuelo, I’d like to share a study tape our listener shared with us.
Consuelo: Ah, you’re talking about the student who uses just the conversation tracks to review the lessons?
Marco: Consuelo, you read my mind. Yes, a listener of ours listens to each lesson several times.
Consuelo: Then after work, get the Conversation Only track from our site.
Marco: She then listens to them on shuffle again and again. She created her own immersion program using ItalianPod101.com.
Consuelo: This is a great idea. Please, give it a try and let us know what to think.
Marco: Okay.
Consuelo: Ciao.

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