Learn how to use the different kinds of comparative forms that exist
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
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.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone! I'm Consuelo, and welcome to ItalianPOD101.com. |
| Ruggero: With us, you'll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Consuelo: We also provide you with cultural insights... |
| Ruggero: ...and tips you won't find in a textbook. |
| Ruggero: In today's class, we focus on i comparativi ("comparatives"). |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at Ilaria's place. |
| Ruggero: It's between Alessio, Melissa, Ilaria, and Alberto. |
| Consuelo: In this conversation, they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Ilaria: Allora Melissa. Perché hai deciso di rimanere più a lungo in Italia? |
| Melissa: E' molto semplice. Prima di tutto perché mi piace vivere qui. Poi ho un lavoro stimolante e sicuramente ho più amici qui che in America. |
| Alessio: Ah bene, solo per questo dunque? |
| Melissa: Aspetta, volevo dire che poi a Firenze ho anche un ragazzo che mi vuole molto bene. |
| Alessio: Proprio quello che volevo sentirti dire. |
| Alberto: Insomma, hai una vita migliore qui. |
| Melissa: Credo proprio di sì, quindi perché lasciare tutto e tornare? Non avrebbe molto senso. |
| Ilaria: Poi in America non avresti degli amici e dei colleghi simpatici come noi! |
| Melissa: Ah, ah. Che buffi che siete tutti e tre! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Ilaria: Allora Melissa. Perché hai deciso di rimanere più a lungo in Italia? |
| Melissa: E' molto semplice. Prima di tutto perché mi piace vivere qui. Poi ho un lavoro stimolante e sicuramente ho più amici qui che in America. |
| Alessio: Ah bene, solo per questo dunque? |
| Melissa: Aspetta, volevo dire che poi a Firenze ho anche un ragazzo che mi vuole molto bene. |
| Alessio: Proprio quello che volevo sentirti dire. |
| Alberto: Insomma, hai una vita migliore qui. |
| Melissa: Credo proprio di sì, quindi perché lasciare tutto e tornare? Non avrebbe molto senso. |
| Ilaria: Poi in America non avresti degli amici e dei colleghi simpatici come noi! |
| Melissa: Ah, ah. Che buffi che siete tutti e tre! |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Ilaria: Allora Melissa. Perché hai deciso di rimanere più a lungo in Italia? |
| Ruggero: So, Melissa. Why have you decided to stay longer in Italy? |
| Melissa: E' molto semplice. Prima di tutto perché mi piace vivere qui. Poi ho un lavoro stimolante e sicuramente ho più amici qui che in America. |
| Ruggero: It's very simple. First of all, because I like living here. In addition, I have an interesting job, and I certainly have more friends here than in the United States. |
| Alessio: Ah bene, solo per questo dunque? |
| Ruggero: Ah good, only for this then? |
| Melissa: Aspetta, volevo dire che poi a Firenze ho anche un ragazzo che mi vuole molto bene. |
| Ruggero: Wait, I wanted to say that in addition, in Florence I have a boyfriend who loves me very much. |
| Alessio: Proprio quello che volevo sentirti dire. |
| Ruggero: Just what I wanted to hear you say. |
| Alberto: Insomma, hai una vita migliore qui. |
| Ruggero: In other words, you have a better life here. |
| Melissa: Credo proprio di sì, quindi perché lasciare tutto e tornare? Non avrebbe molto senso. |
| Ruggero: I really think so. So why leave everything and go back? It wouldn't make a lot of sense. |
| Ilaria: Poi in America non avresti degli amici e dei colleghi simpatici come noi! |
| Ruggero: Besides, in the United States, you wouldn't have some friends and likeable colleagues like us! |
| Melissa: Ah, ah. Che buffi che siete tutti e tre! |
| Ruggero: Ah, ah. You three are so funny! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Ruggero: This was the last lesson for this Absolute Beginner season two. We learned that Melissa is staying longer in Italy! |
| Consuelo: "Missione compiuta!" |
| Ruggero: Why are you saying "mission completed?" |
| Consuelo: Because we made Melissa love Italy so much, and I hope it's what we did with our listeners too! |
| Ruggero: Ah, okay. |
| Consuelo: We really want you to fall in love with our language and our country. Let me say, Ruggero, "viva l'Italia!" |
| Ruggero: "Sì, dai, viva l'Italia!" |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ruggero: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: decidere [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: to decide, to settle |
| Consuelo: decidere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: decidere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: semplice [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: simple, plain, sober |
| Consuelo: semplice [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: semplice [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: stimolante [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: interesting |
| Consuelo: stimolante [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: stimolante [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: amico [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: friend |
| Consuelo: amico [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: amico [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: dunque [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: well, therefore |
| Consuelo: dunque [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: dunque [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: migliore [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: better |
| Consuelo: migliore [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: migliore [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: senso [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: sense |
| Consuelo: senso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: senso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: buffo [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: funny |
| Consuelo: buffo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: buffo [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Ruggero: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Ruggero: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: Today we're studying the word "dunque." |
| Ruggero: "So" or "therefore." |
| Consuelo: You know, Marco, this is one of those words we often use in Italian. |
| Ruggero: Oh, really? |
| Consuelo: Sure. Normally, it's used during a conversation, like what happened in the dialogue. |
| Ruggero: Ah, when Alessio says… |
| Consuelo: "Ah bene, solo per questo dunque." |
| Ruggero: "Oh well, so, only for this?" |
| Consuelo: Anyway, "dunque" is also used in some idiomatic expressions. |
| Ruggero: For example? |
| Consuelo: "Veniamo al dunque!" |
| Ruggero: "Let's get down to business" or "let's get to the point!" |
| Consuelo: Another nice expression is "eccoci al dunque!" |
| Ruggero: "Here we are at the turning point!" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Ruggero: In today's class, we focus on "comparatives." |
| Consuelo: "I comparativi." |
| Ruggero: Comparatives are of three types—comparisons of equality, superiority, and inferiority. |
| Consuelo: What is compared can be adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or verbs. The words to use in Italian while making a comparison are "così…come." |
| Ruggero: "As…as." |
| Consuelo: "Tanto…quanto." |
| Ruggero: "As…as" or "as much…as." |
| Consuelo: "Più…di" or "che." |
| Ruggero: "More…than" or "adjective ending in -er…than." |
| Consuelo: "Meno…di" or "che." |
| Ruggero: "Less…than." And now, let's hear some examples. Let's start with comparatives of equality. |
| Consuelo: "Armani è (tanto) famoso quanto Gucci." |
| Ruggero: "Armani is as famous as Gucci." |
| Consuelo: "Michele ha lavorato tanto quanto me." |
| Ruggero: "Michele worked as much as me." The next ones are sample sentences with comparisons of superiority. |
| Consuelo: "Sofia apprende l'inglese più velocemente di me." |
| Ruggero: "Sofia learns English quicker than me." |
| Consuelo: "Chiara è più carina di Elena." |
| Ruggero: "Chiara is prettier than Elena." |
| Consuelo: "In questa città ci sono più ristoranti che bar." |
| Ruggero: "In this city, there are more restaurants than bars." |
| Consuelo: The following are with comparisons of inferiority. "Firenze è meno rumorosa di Napoli." |
| Ruggero: "Florence is less noisy than Naples." |
| Consuelo: "Pulire è meno divertente che cucinare." |
| Ruggero: "Cleaning is less fun than cooking." |
| Consuelo: Please notice that "che" is used when directly comparing two of the same constructions or parts of a sentence, such as two adjectives, two infinitives, or two nouns. |
| Ruggero: "Che" must be also used when a preposition precedes the second noun of a comparison, as happens in today's dialogue when Melissa says… |
| Consuelo: "Ho più amici qui che in America." |
| Ruggero: "I have more friends here than in the United States." On the other hand, "di" is used when comparing a particular quality of two nouns. |
| Consuelo: Ruggero, there are two important adjectives that have an alternative form that can be also used in a comparison. |
| Ruggero: Which ones? |
| Consuelo: These are "buono," meaning "good," and "cattivo," meaning "bad," which both become "migliore," meaning "better" and "peggiore," meaning "worse." |
| Ruggero: For instance? |
| Consuelo: In the dialogue, Alberto says, "Insomma, hai una vita migliore qui." |
| Ruggero: "In other words, you have a better life here." |
| Consuelo: Or "Il ritiro della patente è sempre peggiore della multa." |
| Ruggero: "The withdrawal of the license is always worse than the fine." |
Outro |
| Ruggero: That just about does it for today. |
| Consuelo: Listeners, can you understand Italian TV shows, movies or songs? |
| Ruggero: 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. |
| Ruggero: Line-by-line audio. |
| Consuelo: Listen to the lesson conversations Line-By-Line, and learn to understand natural Italian fast! |
| Ruggero: It's simple really. |
| Consuelo: With a click of a button, listen to each line of the conversation. |
| Ruggero: Listen again and again, and tune your ear to natural Italian. |
| Consuelo: Rapidly understand natural Italian with this powerful tool. |
| Ruggero: Find this feature on the lesson page under Premium Member resources at ItalianPod101.com. |
Comments
Hide