Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Marco: Hello, and welcome to ItalianPOD101.com, the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Italian!
Consuelo: I'm Consuelo, and thanks again for being here with us for this Absolute Beginner S2 lesson.
Marco: In today's class, we will focus on the adjective "bello" and its usages.
Consuelo: This conversation takes place in a car.
Marco: It's between Melissa and Alessio.
Consuelo: They will be speaking informal Italian.
DIALOGUE
Melissa: Siamo arrivati vicino casa mia, io abito lì.
Alessio: Che bel palazzo antico.
Melissa: Sì, anche troppo antico. Io e il mio coinquilino dobbiamo sempre aggiustare qualcosa.
Alessio: Ah, non vivi da sola?
Melissa: No, gli appartamenti a Firenze sono ancora troppo cari per me.
Alessio: Sì, in effetti è un bel problema.
Melissa: Adesso vado, grazie per la bella serata Alessio.
Alessio: Grazie a te, spero ce ne saranno altre.
Melissa: Sicuramente, buona notte!
Alessio: Notte!
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Melissa: Siamo arrivati vicino casa mia, io abito lì.
Alessio: Che bel palazzo antico.
Melissa: Sì, anche troppo antico. Io e il mio coinquilino dobbiamo sempre aggiustare qualcosa.
Alessio: Ah, non vivi da sola?
Melissa: No, gli appartamenti a Firenze sono ancora troppo cari per me.
Alessio: Sì, in effetti è un bel problema.
Melissa: Adesso vado, grazie per la bella serata Alessio.
Alessio: Grazie a te, spero ce ne saranno altre.
Melissa: Sicuramente, buona notte!
Alessio: Notte!
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Melissa: Siamo arrivati vicino casa mia, io abito lì.
Marco: We got near my house. I live there.
Alessio: Che bel palazzo antico.
Marco: What a beautiful old building.
Melissa: Sì, anche troppo antico. Io e il mio coinquilino dobbiamo sempre aggiustare qualcosa.
Marco: Yes, even too old. My housemate and I have always to fix something.
Alessio: Ah, non vivi da sola?
Marco: Ah, you don't live alone?
Melissa: No, gli appartamenti a Firenze sono ancora troppo cari per me.
Marco: No, apartments in Florence are still too expensive for me.
Alessio: Sì, in effetti è un bel problema.
Marco: Yes, it's actually a big problem.
Melissa: Adesso vado, grazie per la bella serata Alessio.
Marco: I'm going now. Thank you for the wonderful evening, Alessio.
Alessio: Grazie a te, spero ce ne saranno altre.
Marco: Thank you, I hope there will be more of these.
Melissa: Sicuramente, buona notte!
Marco: Sure, good night!
Alessio: Notte!
Marco: Night!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Consuelo: Alessio brought Melissa home.
Marco: She revealed she has a housemate.
Consuelo: Oh yes, a "coinquilinO." This means he's a guy.
Marco: Anyway, she says apartments are too expensive in Firenze.
Consuelo: Yes, they are; the rent is very expensive. Before, only students used to share apartments in Florence, but now it's a reality for many workers who are single.
Marco: I see. So it is normal to share apartments with strangers even if you have your own job?
Consuelo: Yes it is, but let me say that it is not only true of Firenze. This is a tendency that is growing all over Italy.
Marco: Because of "the crisis," I guess.
Consuelo: "Sì, la crisi!"
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Consuelo: palazzo [natural native speed]
Marco: building, palace
Consuelo: palazzo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: palazzo [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: antico [natural native speed]
Marco: ancient, old
Consuelo: antico [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: antico [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: abitare [natural native speed]
Marco: to live
Consuelo: abitare [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: abitare [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: coinquilino [natural native speed]
Marco: housemate
Consuelo: coinquilino [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: coinquilino [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: aggiustare [natural native speed]
Marco: to mend, fix, settle, repair
Consuelo: aggiustare [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: aggiustare [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: vivere [natural native speed]
Marco: to live
Consuelo: vivere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: vivere [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: appartamento [natural native speed]
Marco: apartment, flat
Consuelo: appartamento [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: appartamento [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: caro [natural native speed]
Marco: expensive
Consuelo: caro [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: caro [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 "aggiustare."
Marco: "To mend," "to fix," "to settle," or "to repair."
Consuelo: Marco, "Ti piace aggiustare le cose?" "Do you like fixing things?"
Marco: Yes, but why are you asking?
Consuelo: Because I find it a manly thing. Anyway, "aggiustare" is a common verb used when something is broken, as in "Devo aggiustare la lampada."
Marco: "I have to fix the lamp."
Consuelo: Or "Mi aiuti ad aggiustare la bicicletta?" "Can you help me fix the bike?" Anyway, we can use "aggiustare" also with abstract things.
Marco: For example...
Consuelo: At work, "Il capo ha detto che dobbiamo aggiustare questa traduzione."
Marco: "The boss said we have to fix this translation."
Consuelo: Or when you see someone with something wrong with his clothes.
Marco: For instance?
Consuelo: "Aggiustati la cravatta, è storta."
Marco: "Straighten up your tie; it's crooked."

Lesson focus

Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point.
Marco: In today's lesson we are focusing on the adjective…
Consuelo: "Bello."
Marco: "Beautiful," "handsome," "pretty," "cute," and "nice."
Consuelo: This is appropriate because we are beautiful people, don't you think, Marco?
Marco: I can't, but I agree. But please be serious, Consuelo, and focus on "bello."
Consuelo: Okay, okay. Listeners, first of all, please remember that this adjective follows the rules of a definite article when placed before a noun. For example, "un bel bambino," meaning "a pretty child."
Marco: "Un bello zoo," which is "a nice zoo."
Consuelo: "Un bell'amico," which is "a nice friend."
Marco: "Una bella maglia," which is "a nice shirt."
Consuelo: "Una bell'esperienza," which is "a good experience." Consequently, the plural forms are "dei bei bambini," which means "some pretty children."
Marco: "Dei begli zoo," which means "some nice zoos."
Consuelo: "Dei begli amici," which means "some nice friends."
Marco: "Delle belle maglie," which means "some nice shirts."
Consuelo: "Delle belle esperienze," which means "some nice experiences." On the other hand, when placed after the noun, it follows the rules of a normal adjective like "un amico bello" or "degli amici belli." Now, let's see the uses.
Marco: Generally speaking, "bello" is used to express a positive opinion of the formal, aesthetic aspect. Like when Alessio says, "Che bel palazzo," meaning "What a beautiful building."
Consuelo: "Una bella ragazza," meaning "a beautiful girl." However, this adjective has many different meanings and is used also in many different situations.
Marco: True, "bello" is extensively used in Italian. Apart from the general meaning, when can we use it?
Consuelo: For example, after a surprise, as in "Che bel regalo, grazie!"
Marco: What a beautiful gift, thank you!
Consuelo: Or when expressing a pejorative meaning, as in "Adesso siamo in un bel guaio."
Marco: "Now we are in a great mess."
Consuelo: In the dialogue, Alessio says, "Questo è un bel problema."
Marco: "This is a good problem."
Consuelo: We use "bello" also when talking about the weather, as in "Oggi è proprio una bella giornata!"
Marco: "Today is a really lovely day!"
Consuelo: "Bello" is also used when judging a statement.
Marco: For example?
Consuelo: "Non è bello prendere in giro le persone."
Marco: "It's not nice to tease people."
Consuelo: "E' bello sapere che mi vuoi bene."
Marco: "It's wonderful to know that you love me."
Consuelo: The last usage we have is about quantity.
Marco: "Bello" is used to indicate a big quantity of something. For example?
Consuelo: "Questo è proprio un bel piatto di pasta!"
Marco: "This is really a big plate of pasta!"
Consuelo: Or "Ho studiato un bel numero di pagine."
Marco: "I studied a good number of pages."
Consuelo: "E voi ascoltatori avete ascoltato un bel numero di lezioni?"
Marco: "And you listeners, have you listened to a good number of lessons?"

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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