Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Marco: Hello, and welcome to 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?
Marco: In today's class, we will focus on singular indirect object pronouns.
Consuelo: This conversation takes place in the office.
Marco: It's between Ilaria, Alessio, and Alberto.
Consuelo: They will be speaking informal Italian.
DIALOGUE
Ilaria: Allora ragazzi, sabato è il compleanno di Melissa, cosa facciamo?
Alessio: Perchè non le facciamo una festa a sorpresa?
Ilaria: Sì, che bell'idea. Lei arriva al ristorante solo con te, ma noi tutti aspettiamo nascosti.
Alessio: D'accordo. Cosa le regaliamo?
Ilaria: Non lo so, ma io di sicuro le preparo la torta.
Alberto: Io mando una e-mail agli altri colleghi e amici.
Alessio: Alberto, ti devo chiedere un favore.
Alberto: Sì?
Alessio: Nella mail scrivi che è una festa a sorpresa, lei non lo deve scoprire. Manteniamo il segreto!
Alberto: Certo!
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Ilaria: Allora ragazzi, sabato è il compleanno di Melissa, cosa facciamo?
Alessio: Perchè non le facciamo una festa a sorpresa?
Ilaria: Sì, che bell'idea. Lei arriva al ristorante solo con te, ma noi tutti aspettiamo nascosti.
Alessio: D'accordo. Cosa le regaliamo?
Ilaria: Non lo so, ma io di sicuro le preparo la torta.
Alberto: Io mando una e-mail agli altri colleghi e amici.
Alessio: Alberto, ti devo chiedere un favore.
Alberto: Sì?
Alessio: Nella mail scrivi che è una festa a sorpresa, lei non lo deve scoprire. Manteniamo il segreto!
Alberto: Certo!
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Ilaria: Allora ragazzi, sabato è il compleanno di Melissa, cosa facciamo?
Marco: So guys, Saturday is Melissa's birthday; what shall we do?
Alessio: Perchè non le facciamo una festa a sorpresa?
Marco: Why don't we have a surprise party?
Ilaria: Sì, che bell'idea. Lei arriva al ristorante solo con te, ma noi tutti aspettiamo nascosti.
Marco: Yes, what a nice idea. She gets to the restaurant alone with you, but we're all waiting hidden.
Alessio: D'accordo. Cosa le regaliamo?
Marco: All right. What shall we get her as a present?
Ilaria: Non lo so, ma io di sicuro le preparo la torta.
Marco: I don't know, but I'll prepare a cake for her for sure.
Alberto: Io mando una e-mail agli altri colleghi e amici.
Marco: I'll send an e-mail to the other colleagues and friends.
Alessio: Alberto, ti devo chiedere un favore.
Marco: Alberto, I have to ask you a favor.
Alberto: Sì?
Marco: Yes?
Alessio: Nella mail scrivi che è una festa a sorpresa, lei non lo deve scoprire. Manteniamo il segreto!
Marco: In the e-mail, write that it's a surprise party and she must not know about it. Let's keep the secret!
Alberto: Certo!
Marco: Sure!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Marco: Consuelo, do you like "feste a sorpresa?"
Consuelo: Oh yes, I like "surprise parties!"
Marco: Where is the most common place for them to take place?
Consuelo: Usually, in Italy, it's at home or at a restaurant or pizzeria.
Marco: Ah, okay.
Consuelo: You know, Marco, we don't have many chain restaurants or fast food in Italy…
Marco: That's true!
Consuelo: Also, Italians generally like cooking, so it's fun to prepare a feast with your friends.
Marco: Why don't you organize one for me here at ItalianPod101.com?
Consuelo: Now that you expect it, "Che sorpresa sarebbe?" "What kind of surprise would it be?"
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Consuelo: ragazzo [natural native speed]
Marco: boy, lad, guy
Consuelo: ragazzo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: ragazzo [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: compleanno [natural native speed]
Marco: birthday
Consuelo: compleanno [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: compleanno [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: festa [natural native speed]
Marco: feast, holiday, party
Consuelo: festa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: festa [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: sorpresa [natural native speed]
Marco: surprise
Consuelo: sorpresa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: sorpresa [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: nascosto [natural native speed]
Marco: hidden, covered
Consuelo: nascosto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: nascosto [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: chiedere [natural native speed]
Marco: to ask
Consuelo: chiedere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: chiedere [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: mantenere [natural native speed]
Marco: to keep, to maintain, to preserve
Consuelo: mantenere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: mantenere [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: segreto [natural native speed]
Marco: secret
Consuelo: segreto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: segreto [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Marco: Consuelo, what word are we studying today?
Consuelo: Today we're studying the verb "mantenere."
Marco: "To keep," "to maintain," or "to preserve."
Consuelo: As we heard in today's conversation, we use this verb when talking about a secret. "Mantenere un segreto."
Marco: "Mantenere" is a common verb in Italian. Can you tell our listeners some other expressions?
Consuelo: Sure, how about "Mantenere la calma."
Marco: "To keep one's calm," "to cool the temper," "or to stay cool."
Consuelo: We also say, "Mantenere le distanze."
Marco: "To keep a distance" or "to keep aloof."
Consuelo: In the meaning of "to preserve something," we use it in phrases like "Le condizioni climatiche hanno mantenuto gli scavi intatti."
Marco: "The weather conditions have kept the excavations intact."
Consuelo: Or "Questo tessuto mantiene una buona qualità."
Marco: "This textile maintains a good quality." Thank you, Consuelo, I think our listeners know how to better use "mantenere" now.
Consuelo: "Lo spero!" "I hope so!"

Lesson focus
Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point.
Marco: In today's class, we focus on "indirect object pronouns."
Consuelo: "I pronomi indiretti."
Marco: First of all, what is an indirect object noun?
Consuelo: An indirect object noun is the person or the thing indirectly affected by the action of the verb.
Marco: It answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?"
Consuelo: So, in English, if we have a noun preceded by "to" or "for," in Italian the preposition used is "a."
Marco: For example?
Consuelo: "Compriamo un libro a Francesca."
Marco: "We buy a book for Francesca."
Consuelo: Or "Penso sempre a te."
Marco: "I always think about you."
Consuelo: Now, indirect object pronouns replace indirect object nouns.
Marco: "I give a present to Frank" would become "I give 'him' a present."
Consuelo: The form of the pronoun depends on the gender and the number of the noun it replaces.
Marco: Today we are covering the singular forms, which are…
Consuelo: "Mi."
Marco: In English, "to me" or "for me."
Consuelo: "Ti."
Marco: "To you" or "for you."
Consuelo: "Le."
Marco: This can be "to her" or "for her" or "to you" or "for you" when used at the courtesy form.
Consuelo: Then we have "gli."
Marco: "To him" or "for him."
Consuelo: Just like direct object pronouns, the "pronomi indiretti" always precede the verb, and in a negative statement they are placed between "non" and the verb.
Marco: For instance?
Consuelo: "Mi offri la cena?"
Marco: "Are you offering me dinner?"
Consuelo: In the dialogue, they use the pronoun "le," which replaces "to Melissa" or "to her," as in "Le preparo la torta."
Marco: "I'll prepare a cake for her."
Consuelo: Furthermore, indirect object pronouns are identical to direct object pronouns when combined with the modal verbs.
Marco: Such as "dovere," which means "must" or "to have to"; "potere," which means "can"; or "volere," which means "to want." In this case, they may either be attached to the infinitive, which drops the final "-e," or precede the conjugated verb.
Consuelo: In the conversation, we heard Alessio saying, "Ti devo chiedere un favore."
Marco: "I have to ask you a favor."
Consuelo: Take the phrase "Posso farLe una domanda?"
Marco: "Can I ask you a question?"
Consuelo: Here "Le" replaces the courtesy form "a lei."
Marco: Please remember that "le" and "gli" never drop the vowel before a verb beginning with a vowel or an "-h."
Consuelo: "Le insegno matematica."
Marco: "I teach her mathematics."
Consuelo: Or "Gli offro la cena."
Marco: "I offer him dinner." We'll continue analyzing "pronomi indiretti" in the next lesson.
Consuelo: And we'll give you also a list with the main verbs that require the preposition "a."

Outro
Marco: That just about does it for today.
Consuelo: Listeners, can you understand Italian TV shows, movies or songs?
Marco: How about friends and loved ones? conversations in Italian?
Consuelo: If you want to know what's going on, we have a tool to help.
Marco: Line-by-line audio.
Consuelo: Listen to the lesson conversations Line-By-Line, and learn to understand natural Italian fast!
Marco: It's simple really.
Consuelo: With a click of a button, listen to each line of the conversation.
Marco: Listen again and again, and tune your ear to natural Italian.
Consuelo: Rapidly understand natural Italian with this powerful tool.
Marco: Find this feature on the lesson page under Premium Member resources at ItalianPod101.com.

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