Dialogue

Vocabulary

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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.

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