Learn how to form the imperative verb mood
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome to the Beginner Series S2 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. |
| Marco: In today's class, we'll focus on the usage of the imperative mood. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Marco: The conversation is between Valeria and Carlo. |
| Consuelo: The speakers are friends; therefore, they will be speaking informally. |
| Consuelo: Listeners...I have a question... |
| Marco: A question? |
| Consuelo: Yep, I want to know when was the last time you commented? |
| Marco: Ahh, yes! Great question. |
| Consuelo: Stop by ItalianPOD101.com, leave us a comment or just say hi. |
| Marco: haha...okay, you heard Consuelo. |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Valeria: Ciao Carlo, sono Valeria, disturbo? |
| Carlo: No, dimmi. |
| Valeria: Ti ho chiamato per chiederti un favore, mi presteresti il tuo motorino? |
| Carlo: Ah, per quando ne hai bisogno? |
| Valeria: Domani pomeriggio. Devo comprare delle cose all'outlet fuori città. |
| Carlo: Ah ok, non c'è problema. Posso usare la macchina per andare al lavoro. Comunque pensavo tu ne avessi uno... |
| Valeria: Sì, ma è dal meccanico, ha qualche problema al motore. Sinceramente non ci capisco niente, mi avevano detto che era questione di un paio di giorni, ma è già passata una settimana... |
| Carlo: Ahh. Non ti preoccupare lo lascio davanti a casa, per le chiavi suona il campanello e chiedile a mia madre. |
| Valeria: Ho capito. Grazie, sei un tesoro! |
| Carlo: Ah sì? Allora compra qualcosa anche per me! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Valeria: Ciao Carlo, sono Valeria, disturbo? |
| Carlo: No, dimmi. |
| Valeria: Ti ho chiamato per chiederti un favore, mi presteresti il tuo motorino? |
| Carlo: Ah, per quando ne hai bisogno? |
| Valeria: Domani pomeriggio. Devo comprare delle cose all'outlet fuori città. |
| Carlo: Ah ok, non c'è problema. Posso usare la macchina per andare al lavoro. Comunque pensavo tu ne avessi uno... |
| Valeria: Sì, ma è dal meccanico, ha qualche problema al motore. Sinceramente non ci capisco niente, mi avevano detto che era questione di un paio di giorni, ma è già passata una settimana... |
| Carlo: Ahh. Non ti preoccupare lo lascio davanti a casa, per le chiavi suona il campanello e chiedile a mia madre. |
| Valeria: Ho capito. Grazie, sei un tesoro! |
| Carlo: Ah sì? Allora compra qualcosa anche per me! |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Valeria: Ciao Carlo, sono Valeria, disturbo? |
| Marco: Hi Carlo, this is Valeria, am I bothering you? |
| Carlo: No, dimmi. |
| Marco: No, what's up? |
| Valeria: Ti ho chiamato per chiederti un favore, mi presteresti il tuo motorino? |
| Marco: I called you to ask for a favor. Could you lend me your scooter? |
| Carlo: Ah, per quando ne hai bisogno? |
| Marco: Ah, when do you need it? |
| Valeria: Domani pomeriggio. Devo comprare delle cose all'outlet fuori città. |
| Marco: Tomorrow afternoon, I have to buy some stuff in the outlet store out of town. |
| Carlo: Ah ok, non c'è problema. Posso usare la macchina per andare al lavoro. Comunque pensavo tu ne avessi uno... |
| Marco: Ah okay, no problem. I can use the car to go to work. Anyway, I thought you had one... |
| Valeria: Sì, ma è dal meccanico, ha qualche problema al motore. Sinceramente non ci capisco niente, mi avevano detto che era questione di un paio di giorni, ma è già passata una settimana... |
| Marco: Yes, but it is at the mechanic, it has some problems with the engine. Honestly, I don't understand anything about it; they told me it was a matter of a couple of days, but a week has already passed... |
| Carlo: Ahh. Non ti preoccupare lo lascio davanti a casa, per le chiavi suona il campanello e chiedile a mia madre. |
| Marco: Ahh. Don't worry, I'll leave it in front of my house, for the keys, ring the doorbell and ask my mother for them. |
| Valeria: Ho capito. Grazie, sei un tesoro! |
| Marco: I understand. Thank you. You are a treasure! |
| Carlo: Ah sì? Allora compra qualcosa anche per me! |
| Marco: Oh really? Buy something for me then! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Consuelo, is it usual to go to an outlet store in Italy? |
| Consuelo: Yes Marco, recently they're building more and more of them. Italians started to buy clothes and other stuff only there. |
| Marco: Really? Why? |
| Consuelo: First, because you can find products of famous brands, like Prada, Gucci, and Dolce and Gabbana, with lower prices. And then because these malls look like small villages with everything inside. |
| Marco: For example? |
| Consuelo: Shops, restaurants, bars… |
| Marco: We can find them in cities? |
| Consuelo: No, Marco, these kinds of outlet stores are mainly located on the outskirts of cities. That's why people go there especially on weekends. And on those days they're crowded. |
| Marco: Ah, I see, you take your car and go there. Buy cheap clothes and drink a coffee… |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: prestare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to lend, yield, give |
| Consuelo: prestare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: prestare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: bisogno [natural native speed] |
| Marco: need, lack, necessity, poverty |
| Consuelo: bisogno [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: bisogno [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: fuori [natural native speed] |
| Marco: out, outside |
| Consuelo: fuori [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: fuori [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: motore [natural native speed] |
| Marco: engine, motor |
| Consuelo: motore [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: motore [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: sinceramente [natural native speed] |
| Marco: honestly, sincerely |
| Consuelo: sinceramente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: sinceramente [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: campanello [natural native speed] |
| Marco: doorbell, buzzer |
| Consuelo: campanello [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: campanello [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, which expression are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: That's the Italian expression "avere bisogno di" |
| Marco: "to need." |
| Consuelo: Yes, Marco. This expression in English can be translated with the verb "to need," but as you know, in Italian, it is composed by the verb "avere" ("to have") and the word "bisogno" ("need…") |
| Marco: and the preposition "di," meaning "of." |
| Consuelo: This is a widely used expression that actually substitutes for the verb "bisognare," meaning "to need," which exists in Italian, but we don't use it. |
| Marco: Then if I want to say "I need a vacation," |
| Consuelo: it becomes "ho bisogno di una vacanza." Please remember that you can use it as a verb, changing the auxiliary verb according to the different tense. For example, "Aveva bisogno di aiuto" means… |
| Marco: "he needed help." |
| Consuelo: Great! |
| Marco: Thank you, Consuelo. This expression is very helpful! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In the dialogue, Carlo replies to Valeria using one of the most common Italian expressions "dimmi." ("Tell me"). |
| Consuelo: This form combines the imperative mode, "dì" and the indirect pronoun "mi," which means "a me" ("to me"). |
| Marco: Please note that the alternative form "dì a me" ("tell me") does not convey the same meaning. |
| Consuelo: It is rather a stressed form, where the emphasis is put on the person that the action is addressed to, and not on the action as expressed by the verb. |
| Marco: Therefore, whenever we employ the imperative mood in conjunction with both direct and indirect pronouns, they attach to the end of the verb. For example… |
| Consuelo: "Parlami," "parla + mi," emphasis on the verb. |
| Marco: "Talk to me." |
| Consuelo: "Parla a me," emphasis on the indirect object, "a" + the pronoun "me." |
| Marco: Literally, "Talk to me," meaning, "talk to me alone, and not to somebody else." |
| Consuelo: The exception is when we use the pronouns with verbs that follow an irregular pattern in the imperative mood… |
| Marco: …it's when we need to double the starting letter of the pronouns when attaching it to the second singular person. |
| Consuelo: Please note that this does not apply to the second plural person; in this case, it follows the standard rule presented above. |
| Marco: The most frequently used verbs that follow an irregular conjugation in the imperative mood are |
| Consuelo: "fare" |
| Marco: "to do," "to make" |
| Consuelo: "dire" |
| Marco: "to say," "to tell" |
| Consuelo: "andare" |
| Marco: "to go" |
| Consuelo: "dare" |
| Marco: "to give" |
| Let's now see some examples… |
| Consuelo: "Fai a me un favore" becomes "fammi," "fa + (mmi) un favore." |
| Marco: "Do me a favor." |
| Consuelo: "Dì a me" becomes "dimmi," "di + (m)mi." |
| Marco: "Tell me." |
| Consuelo: "Vai lì" becomes "vacci," "va + (c)ci." |
| Marco: "Go there." |
| Consuelo: Please note that when "dì" attaches to a pronoun, its ending vowel loses the accent, becoming a standard "i." |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Testing yourself is one of the most effective ways to learn. |
| Consuelo: That's why we have 3 types of quizzes. |
| Marco: Vocabulary, grammar, and content specific. |
| Consuelo: Each quiz targets specific skill... |
| Marco: And together these quizzes will help you |
| master several fundamental skills. : |
| Consuelo: You can find them in the learning center at |
| Marco: ItalianPod101.com |
| Marco: A presto! |
| Consuelo: Ciao a tutti! |
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