Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Consuelo: Buongiorno a tutti.
Marco: Marco here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 9: If It’s Made in Italy, It’s Gotta be Good. 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 present indicative of verbs ending in –ere.
Marco: This conversation takes place in a shop.
Consuelo: This conversation is between Melissa and Alessio.
Marco: The speakers are friends, therefore, they will be speaking informally. Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

Alessio: Cosa leggi?
Melissa: Leggo l'etichetta di questa maglia.
Alessio: Perché?
Melissa: Perché per me è importante sapere se è fatta in Italia.
Alessio: Ah, è vero. Hai ragione!
Marco: Let’s here it slowly now.
Consuelo: Ciao
Alessio: Cosa leggi?
Melissa: Leggo l'etichetta di questa maglia.
Alessio: Perché?
Melissa: Perché per me è importante sapere se è fatta in Italia.
Alessio: Ah, è vero. Hai ragione!
Marco: And now, with a translation.
Alessio Cosa leggi?
Marco What are you reading?
Melissa Leggo l'etichetta di questa maglia.
Marco I'm reading the label of this shirt.
Alessio Perché?
Marco Why?
Melissa Perché per me è importante sapere se è fatta in Italia.
Marco Because for me it's important to know whether it is made in Italy.
Alessio Ah, è vero. Hai ragione!
Marco Ah, that's true. You're right!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Marco: Consuelo, do you usually check labels of a piece of clothing before buying it?
Consuelo: I have to confess, I don’t. But I think it’s a good way to recognize goods of a certain quality.
Marco: Made in Italy is always a guarantee of excellent products, don’t you think?
Consuelo: Of course, but you know Marco even if you read “Made in Italy,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is 100 percent made in Italy.
Marco: What do you mean?
Consuelo: Some goods, they are developed and assembled by an Italian business company can legally earn the label, “Made in Italy.”
Marco: Ah, that’s interesting. Thank you, Consuelo.
Consuelo: Yes. If more than a certain percentage of a product’s material and manufactory is done in Italy, it can use “Made in Italy” on its label.
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is?
Consuelo leggere [natural native speed]
Marco to read
Consuelo leggere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo leggere [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo etichetta [natural native speed]
Marco label
Consuelo etichetta [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo etichetta [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo maglia [natural native speed]
Marco shirt
Consuelo maglia [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo maglia [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo perché [natural native speed]
Marco why
Consuelo perché [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo perché [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo importante [natural native speed]
Marco important
Consuelo importante [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo importante [natural native speed]
Next:
Consuelo sapere [natural native speed]
Marco to know
Consuelo sapere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo sapere [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today?
Consuelo: That's the Italian word "perché."
Marco: Meaning "why" or "because."
Consuelo: Yes, Marco, you can use "perché" in asking a question but also when you are answering one. For example: "perché non mangi il gelato?" "Why don't you eat ice cream?"
Marco: "Perché non mi piace," meaning "because I don't like it."
Consuelo: "Perché" is sometimes substituted by the phrase "come mai," which can be translated as "how come" in English. Therefore "il perché" means "the reason why."
Marco: And there is also the Italian equivalent for "why not!"…
Consuelo: "Perché no!"
Marco: Hey, Consuelo, "mangiamo un gelato?" meaning "Shall we eat an ice cream?"
Consuelo: "Perché no!"

Lesson focus

Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point.
Marco: In this lesson, we'll see the present indicative of verbs whose infinitive ends in -ere.
Consuelo: To conjugate "-ere" verbs at the "presente indicativo" tense, we should follow the same process as with "-are" verbs.
Marco: That is, take the infinitive form of the verb, for example "leggere," and drop the ending "-ere." Then you are left with "legg-."
Consuelo: Take "legg-" and add the appropriate endings. These are different for each person. "Io" takes "-o," "tu" takes "-i," "lui/lei" takes "-e," "noi" takes "-iamo," "voi" takes "-ete," and "loro" takes "-ono."
Marco: Let's now see the conjugation of the regular verb "leggere," meaning "to read."
Consuelo: "Io leggo."
Marco: "I read."
Consuelo: "Tu leggi."
Marco: "You read."
Consuelo: "Lui/lei legge."
Marco: "He/she reads."
Consuelo: "Noi leggiamo."
Marco: "We read."
Consuelo: "Voi leggete."
Marco: "You read."
Consuelo: "Loro leggono."
Marco: "They read."
Consuelo: In the conjugation of the verb "leggere," please note the alternation between the soft and hard "g."
Marco: This happens because "-g" before the vowels "-a", "-o" and "-u" has a sound like the "-g" in "good"; when "-g" is before "-e" and "-i," it has a sound like the "-g" in "general."
Consuelo: Some other "-ere" verbs conjugated like "leggere" are "chiudere"
Marco: "to close,"
Consuelo: "spendere"
Marco: "to spend,"
Consuelo: "scrivere"
Marco: "to write," and
Consuelo "ricevere"
Marco: "to receive"
Consuelo: It is important to notice that a considerable number of verbs belonging to the second conjugation are irregular.
Marco: This means that they do not follow the standard rules. So we have to learn them by heart!
Consuelo: Yes as they can either change the stem or the ending, but rarely both.
Marco: So much to study!
Consuelo: Don't be a cry-baby.
Marco: Okay, okay. Some "-ere" verbs like "lèggere" have the stress on the first "-e" of the infinitive, but others have the stress on the second syllable, such as "vedére." In this case, the stress changes.
Consuelo: When in doubt, check in a dictionary to see where the stress should fall.
Marco: Or just try to listen and repeat the pronunciation other Italians are using! 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.

Comments

Hide