Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Consuelo: Hi, my name is Consuelo, and I am joined here by Marco.
Marco: Hello, everyone and welcome back to ItalianPOD101.com
Consuelo: What are we learning today?
Marco: In today's class, we will focus on the singular direct object pronouns.
Consuelo: This conversation takes place at Melissa's place.
Marco: It's between Melissa and her housemate Daniele.
Consuelo: They will be speaking informal Italian.
DIALOGUE
Melissa: Ah, sei sveglio, è molto tardi.
Daniele: Sto lavorando a un progetto. Lo devo finire per lunedì. Sei stanca?
Melissa: Sì, sono andata in un posto che si chiama Caribe, lo conosci?
Daniele: No, non lo conosco. Io non vado mai a ballare. Con chi sei andata?
Melissa: Con Alessio. Sei proprio curioso.
Daniele: Sei sempre con questo Alessio, è il tuo ragazzo?
Melissa: No, è un mio collega di lavoro.
Daniele: Sì, sì, ho capito... Ah, è arrivata una cartolina dall'America per te.
Melissa: Bene, la leggo subito.
Daniele: Chi scrive?
Melissa: Tu non sei curioso sei impiccione!
Daniele: Ah ah, stai facendo progressi in italiano. Adesso lo parli proprio bene!
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Melissa: Ah, sei sveglio, è molto tardi.
Daniele: Sto lavorando a un progetto. Lo devo finire per lunedì. Sei stanca?
Melissa: Sì, sono andata in un posto che si chiama Caribe, lo conosci?
Daniele: No, non lo conosco. Io non vado mai a ballare. Con chi sei andata?
Melissa: Con Alessio. Sei proprio curioso.
Daniele: Sei sempre con questo Alessio, è il tuo ragazzo?
Melissa: No, è un mio collega di lavoro.
Daniele: Sì, sì, ho capito... Ah, è arrivata una cartolina dall'America per te.
Melissa: Bene, la leggo subito.
Daniele: Chi scrive?
Melissa: Tu non sei curioso sei impiccione!
Daniele: Ah ah, stai facendo progressi in italiano. Adesso lo parli proprio bene!
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Melissa: Ah, sei sveglio, è molto tardi.
Marco: Ah, you're awake; it's very late.
Daniele: Sto lavorando a un progetto. Lo devo finire per lunedì. Sei stanca?
Marco: I'm working on a project. I have to finish it by Monday. Are you tired?
Melissa: Sì, sono andata in un posto che si chiama Caribe, lo conosci?
Marco: Yes, I went to a place called Caribe; do you know it?
Daniele: No, non lo conosco. Io non vado mai a ballare. Con chi sei andata?
Marco: No, I don't know it. I never go dancing. With whom did you go?
Melissa: Con Alessio. Sei proprio curioso.
Marco: With Alessio. You're really curious.
Daniele: Sei sempre con questo Alessio, è il tuo ragazzo?
Marco: You're always with this Alessio; is he your boyfriend?
Melissa: No, è un mio collega di lavoro.
Marco: No, he's a colleague from work.
Daniele: Sì, sì, ho capito... Ah, è arrivata una cartolina dall'America per te.
Marco: Yes, I got it... Ah, a postcard from America arrived for you.
Melissa: Bene, la leggo subito.
Marco: Good, I'll read it immediately.
Daniele: Chi scrive?
Marco: Who's writing?
Melissa: Tu non sei curioso sei impiccione!
Marco: You're not curious, you're nosy!
Daniele: Ah ah, stai facendo progressi in italiano. Adesso lo parli proprio bene!
Marco: Ah ah, You're making progress in Italian. Now you speak it really well.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Consuelo: Melissa is talking to her housemate Daniele.
Marco: They live together; they might be friends because he's asking her about personal stuff.
Consuelo: This doesn't necessarily mean they're good friends. In Italy, people can be very sharp sometimes!
Marco: That's true, but it's also true that it's easy in Italy to build a close friendship with someone in a short time.
Consuelo: That's also true. I think that for a foreigner, it's a good experience to live in the same apartment with Italians.
Marco: Sure, they can give you many tips about the city—things that probably are not easy for a foreigner to understand.
Consuelo: And you can practice your Italian every day!
Marco: Another good point!
Consuelo: It can be really fun to share an apartment in Italy with your Italian friends!
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Consuelo: sveglio [natural native speed]
Marco: awake, clever
Consuelo: sveglio [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: sveglio [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: progetto [natural native speed]
Marco: project, plan
Consuelo: progetto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: progetto [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: lunedì [natural native speed]
Marco: Monday
Consuelo: lunedì [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: lunedì [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: curioso [natural native speed]
Marco: curious
Consuelo: curioso [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: curioso [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: collega [natural native speed]
Marco: coworker
Consuelo: collega [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: collega [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: cartolina [natural native speed]
Marco: postcard
Consuelo: cartolina [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: cartolina [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: impiccione [natural native speed]
Marco: nosy
Consuelo: impiccione [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: impiccione [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: progresso [natural native speed]
Marco: progress, improvement
Consuelo: progresso [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: progresso [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 words "curioso" and "impiccione."
Marco: "Curious" and "nosy."
Consuelo: As in English, the meaning is basically the same, but the usage is different.
Marco: "Curioso," which means "curious," is more formal. People and also animals can be "curiosi" about something.
Consuelo: By the way, "impiccione" implies an offensive meaning.
Marco: "Impiccione," which means "a nosy person," "is someone who likes to meddle in other peoples' affairs."
Consuelo: "A un impiccione piace impicciarsi degli affari degli altri."
Marco: Obviously, only human beings can be "impiccioni."
Consuelo: That's a human quality!
Marco: Is it a quality? Mmm… I don't think so…
Consuelo: Anyway, be careful when using this word with someone because he or she can be offended. I said can be—Daniele is not offended by Melissa because she's a friend.
Marco: But it is commonly used and you can hear it related to someone who's not present in that moment. Who are usually the "impiccioni in Italia?"
Consuelo: Ah, the neighbors, your mother-in-law, a shop's owner…
Marco: That's interesting, "Grazie," Consuelo!

Lesson focus

Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point.
Marco: In today's lesson, we are focusing on singular direct object pronouns.
Consuelo: Before we go any further, it is important to clarify what a direct object is.
Marco: A direct object is a word or a phrase that receives the action of a verb and answers the questions "What?" or "Whom?"
Consuelo: Take, for example, the phrase "Io compro il giornale."
Marco: "I buy the newspaper." What do I buy? The newspaper.
Consuelo: The newspaper is the direct object. Next is "I bambini chiamano la mamma."
Marco: "Kids call the mom." Whom do they call? The mom.
Consuelo: The mom is the direct object.
Marco: Direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns.
Consuelo: The form of the pronoun depends on the gender and the number of the noun it replaces.
Marco: Now we'll give you the singular forms.
Consuelo: Let's start with "mi."
Marco: In English, "me."
Consuelo: Then we have "ti."
Marco: "You."
Consuelo: Then we have "La" with an uppercase "-l."
Marco: This stands for "you," the courtesy form.
Consuelo: Next we have "lo."
Marco: That is both "it" and "him" and is masculine.
Consuelo: The last is "la."
Marco: Which is "her" and "it" and is feminine. Consuelo, let's try some examples now.
Consuelo: Okay, but please remember that a "pronome diretto," a "direct pronoun," precedes the verb.
Marco: And in a negative statement, it is placed between the noun and the verb.
Consuelo: Listen. "Compro il dizionario e lo uso."
Marco: "I buy the dictionary and I use it."
Consuelo: Marco, "Conosci questa cantante?" "Do you know this singer?"
Marco: "No, non la conosco." "No, I don't know her."
Consuelo: Here the direct object pronouns are "lo," referring to "il dizionario," and "la," which replaced "la cantante."
Marco: When combined with modal verbs like "dovere," meaning "must" or "have to"…
Consuelo: "Potere," meaning "can"…
Marco: And "volere," meaning "to want," the direct object pronoun may either be attached to the infinitive, which drops the final "-e"…
Consuelo: Or it may simply precede the conjugated verb.
Marco: For instance?
Consuelo: "Questo film è divertente, vorrei vederlo di nuovo."
Marco: "This movie is funny; I'd like to see it again."
Consuelo: "Non possiamo invitarla a cena."
Marco: "We can't invite her for dinner."
Consuelo: Here the direct object pronoun is attached to the infinitive. "Dov'è Roberto? Lo devo incontrare."
Marco: "Where is Roberto? I have to meet him."
Consuelo: "Questa borsa è carina, la voglio comprare."
Marco: "This purse is cute; I want to buy it."
Consuelo: Here the "pronome diretto" is placed right before the conjugated modal verb.

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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