Learn how to use the Italian past conditional tense
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Cinzia: Hello everyone! I'm Cinzia, and welcome to ItalianPOD101. |
| Marco: With us, you'll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Cinzia: We also provide you with cultural insights |
| Marco: and tips you won't find in a textbook... |
| Marco: In this lesson we will learn how to use the condizionale passato in expressing actions that will not take place |
| Cinzia: This conversation takes place on the streets of Italy |
| Marco: And it is between Peter and Anna |
| Cinzia: They are friends therefore they will be speaking informal Italian |
| Marco: Attention listners, comment, |
| Cinzia: comment, |
| Marco: and comment some more! |
| Cinzia: It's easy, |
| Marco: and asking questions really helps improve progress. |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Peter: Il prossimo fine settimana andiamo al cinema? |
| Anna: Sarei venuta volentieri, ma ho già promesso ad Elena di uscire con lei. |
| Peter: Ah. Facciamo un’altra volta allora. |
| Anna: Comunque, che film avevi in mente? |
| Peter: Pensavo a Wall-E. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: Il prossimo fine settimana andiamo al cinema? |
| Anna: Sarei venuta volentieri, ma ho già promesso ad Elena di uscire con lei. |
| Peter: Ah. Facciamo un’altra volta allora. |
| Anna: Comunque, che film avevi in mente? |
| Peter: Pensavo a Wall-E. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Peter: Il prossimo fine settimana andiamo al cinema? |
| Marco: Shall we go to the cinema next weekend? |
| Anna: Sarei venuta volentieri, ma ho già promesso ad Elena di uscire con lei. |
| Marco: I’d gladly come, but I’ve already promised Elena to go out with her. |
| Peter: Ah. Facciamo un’altra volta allora. |
| Marco: Ah, let’s do it some other time then. |
| Anna: Comunque, che film avevi in mente? |
| Marco: Anyway, what movie did you have in mind? |
| Peter: Pensavo a Wall-E. |
| Marco: I was thinking of Wall-E. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Going to the movies during winter holidays is pretty common in Italy. |
| Marco: It sure is, especially since it is rather cold outside. |
| Cinzia: But maybe also because the sun sets rather early, around half past five. |
| Marco: Oh yeah. Going out of the office and finding a dark sky is kind of gloomy. |
| Cinzia: Yes, I miss the Italian summer. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cinzia: cinema [natural native speed] |
| Marco: cinema, movie theater |
| Cinzia: cinema [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: cinema [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: volentieri [natural native speed] |
| Marco: willingly, gladly, sure, with pleasure |
| Cinzia: volentieri [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: volentieri [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: già [natural native speed] |
| Marco: already, formerly |
| Cinzia: già [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: già [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: promettere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to promise, to swear, to guarantee, to commit oneself |
| Cinzia: promettere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: promettere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: comunque [natural native speed] |
| Marco: however, anyhow, anyway, whatever |
| Cinzia: comunque [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: comunque [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: avere in mente [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to have in mind |
| Cinzia: avere in mente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: avere in mente [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. |
| Cinzia: cinema |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Domenica vado al cinema. |
| Marco: I am going to the movie theater on Sunday. |
| Cinzia: volentieri |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Vengo volentieri al cinema. |
| Marco: I’d gladly come to the movie theater. |
| Cinzia: già |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Sono già arrivati. |
| Marco: They’ve already arrived. |
| Cinzia: promettere |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Prometto di arrivare in orario. |
| Marco: I promise I’ll arrive on time. |
| Cinzia: comunque |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Comunque, ci vediamo domain. |
| Marco: Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. |
| Cinzia: avere in mente |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Cosa hai in mente? |
| Marco: What do you have in mind? |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cinzia: The past conditional may be used to express future actions that, according to the speaker, will not take place. |
| Marco: In this case the speaker takes up the viewpoint of the past instead of the present. |
| Cinzia: Remember that we should use this structure only when we are really sure that a future action will never take place |
| Marco: For instance |
| Cinzia: Sarei venuto con te lunedì prossimo, ma sarò fuori città. |
| Marco: (lit.) I'd have come with you next Monday, but I'll be out of town. |
| meaning |
| Cinzia: Verrei con te lunedì prossimo, ma sarò fuori città. |
| Marco: I'd come with you next Monday, but I'll be out of town. |
| Cinzia: Ti avrei comprato un regalo, ma non credo d'avere abbastanza soldi. |
| Marco: (lit.) I'd have bought you a gift, but I don't think I have enough money. |
| meaning |
| Cinzia: Ti comprerei un regalo, ma non credo che avrò abbastanza soldi. |
| Marco: I'd buy you a gift, but I don't think I'll have enough money. |
| Marco: The past conditional of the three conjugations verbs is realized by using the present conditional of the auxiliary verb |
| Cinzia: (either essere or avere) |
| Marco: conjugated according to the person it refers to, followed by the past participle of the main verb |
| Cinzia: in short |
| Subject + auxiliary verb (present conditional) + main verb (past participle) |
| Marco: Keep in mind that whenever a verb requires the auxiliary essere (to be), its past participle has to be conjugated according to the gender and number of the person it refers to. For instance |
| Cinzia: Maria sarebbe tornata la settimana succesiva. |
| Marco: Maria would have come back the following week. (feminine singular) |
| Cinzia: Francesco e Federico si sarebbero divertiti molto al cinema. |
| Marco: Francesco and Federico would have enjoyed themselves a lot at the cinema. (masculine plural) |
| Cinzia: let us now see the Condizionale Passato conjugation of the verb partire |
| Marco: to leave |
| Cinzia: this verb requires the auxiliary essere |
| Cinzia: Io sarei partito |
| Marco: I would have left |
| Cinzia: Tu saresti partito |
| Marco: You would have left |
| Cinzia: Lui sarebbe partito |
| Marco: He/it would have left |
| Cinzia: Lei sarebbe partita |
| Marco: She would have left |
| Cinzia: Noi saremmo partiti |
| Marco: We would have left |
| Cinzia: Voi sareste partiti |
| Marco: You would have left |
| Cinzia: Loro sarebbero partiti |
| Marco: They would have left |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your pronunciation. |
| Cinzia: The voice recording tool... |
| Marco: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center... |
| Cinzia: Record your voice with a click of a button, |
| Marco: and then play it back just as easily. |
| Cinzia: So you record your voice, and then listen to it. |
| Marco: Compare it to the native speakers... |
| Cinzia: And adjust your pronunciation! |
| Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast! |
| Marco: Ciao! |
| Cinzia: Ciao grazie! |
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