Learn the first out of four categories of masculine Italian nouns ending with -a
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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! |
| Cinzia: 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. Cinzia, what are we looking at in this lesson. |
| Marco: In this lesson we will learn about masculine Italians nouns ending in -a |
| Cinzia: This conversation takes place at a wedding party |
| Marco: And it's between Peter and Luca |
| Cinzia: They are friends, therefore they will be speaking informally |
| Marco: Basic and Premium members.... |
| Cinzia: if you have a 3G phone... |
| Marco: you can see the Lesson Notes in your favorite browser on your phone! |
| Cinzia: Stop by ItalianPOD101.com to find out more. |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Peter: Non ho mai bevuto il Barbera, è buono? |
| Luca: Sì è molto buono. Specialmente il Barbera d’Asti. |
| Peter: Hai ragione, ha un aroma molto forte. |
| Luca: Prendiamo qualcosa da mangiare. |
| Peter: C’è anche il gorgonzola! Buono! |
| Luca: Sei un buongustaio. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: Non ho mai bevuto il Barbera, è buono? |
| Luca: Sì è molto buono. Specialmente il Barbera d’Asti. |
| Peter: Hai ragione, ha un aroma molto forte. |
| Luca: Prendiamo qualcosa da mangiare. |
| Peter: C’è anche il gorgonzola! Buono! |
| Luca: Sei un buongustaio. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Peter: Non ho mai bevuto il Barbera, è buono? |
| Marco: I’ve never drunk Barbera wine. Is it good? |
| Luca: Sì è molto buono. Specialmente il Barbera d’Asti. |
| Marco: Yes, it’s very good; especially Barbera d’Asti. |
| Peter: Hai ragione, ha un aroma molto forte. |
| Marco: You are right. It has a very strong aroma. |
| Luca: Prendiamo qualcosa da mangiare. |
| Marco: Let’s get something to eat. |
| Peter: C’è anche il gorgonzola! Buono! |
| Marco: There’s also gorgonzola cheese! Yummy! |
| Luca: Sei un buongustaio. |
| Marco: You’re a gourmet. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Barbera wine is very good. |
| Marco: Oh, yes it is. Its name derives from the name of the wine grapes from which it is produced. |
| Cinzia: And its major production center is near the city of Asti in Piedmont. |
| Marco: It’s quite near to Turin if you have a chance to visit the city! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cinzia: bere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to drink |
| Cinzia: bere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: bere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: barbera [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Barbera wine |
| Cinzia: barbera [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: barbera [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: specialmente [natural native speed] |
| Marco: especially, notably, particularly |
| Cinzia: specialmente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: specialmente [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: aroma [natural native speed] |
| Marco: aroma, flavoring |
| Cinzia: aroma [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: aroma [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: gorgonzola [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Gorgonzola |
| Cinzia: gorgonzola [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: gorgonzola [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: buongustaio [natural native speed] |
| Marco: gourmet, foodie |
| Cinzia: buongustaio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: buongustaio [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: The first word we will look at is |
| bere |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Bevo sempre un caffè dopo pranzo. |
| Marco: “I always drink coffee after lunch.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| barbera |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Mi piace molto il barbera. |
| Marco: “I really like Barbera wine.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| specialmente |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Specialmente di notte sono nervoso. |
| Marco: “I’m especially nervous at night.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| aroma |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Il caffè appena macinato ha un buon aroma. |
| Marco: “Freshly ground coffee has a good aroma.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| gorgonzola |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Il gorgonzola è un po’ piccante. |
| Marco: “Gorgonzola cheese is a little spicy.” |
| Cinzia: Today's last word/expression is |
| buongustaio |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Luca è un buongustaio. |
| Marco: “Luca is a gourmet.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Marco: A certain number of singular masculine Italian nouns end with the vowel -a |
| Cinzia: Let us not forget that we normally associate the ending -a with feminine singular nouns. |
| Marco: These nouns may be divided into four categories according to the historical development within the Italian language. |
| Cinzia: First Category |
| Marco: Various Italian names, the majority of which come from ancient Greek words, have mostly kept their gender and form. |
| Cinzia: The plural form of these nouns still end with -i. |
| Marco: For example |
| Cinzia: Il poeta scrisse una profonda poesia. poeta (masculine singular) |
| Marco: "The poet wrote a profound poem." |
| Cinzia: I poeti civili sono sempre stati parte d'ogni cultura. poeti (masculine plural) |
| Marco: "Civil poets have always been part of every culture." |
| Marco: As shown in these sample sentences, articles and adjectives agree with the gender and number of the nouns we attach them to. |
| Cinzia: And now for a learner's Tip. Many of these nouns end with -ma, -gramma, or -arca. |
| Marco: We shall now give you some of the most widely used nouns belonging to this category. Please check the PDF as there is a rather long list of these tricky nouns. |
| Cinzia: I will give you the Italian singular form. |
| Marco: While I will give you the English singular form. |
| Cinzia: aldilà |
| Marco: "afterlife" |
| Cinzia: arciduca |
| Marco: "archduke" |
| Cinzia: aròma |
| Marco: "aroma, fragrance" |
| Cinzia: barbera |
| Marco: "kind of Italian wine" |
| Cinzia: bòa |
| Marco: "boa" |
| Cinzia: bòia |
| Marco: "executioner" |
| Cinzia: càccia |
| Marco: "fighter" |
| Cinzia: capolinea |
| Marco: "Terminus, end of the line" |
| Cinzia: cìnema |
| Marco: "cinema" |
| Cinzia: clima |
| Marco: "climate" |
| Cinzia: diplòma |
| Marco: "degree" |
| Cinzia: dogma |
| Marco: "dogma" |
| Cinzia: enigma |
| Marco: "enigma" |
| Cinzia: entroterra |
| Marco: "inland" |
| Cinzia: fantasma |
| Marco: "phantom" |
| Cinzia: gorgonzola |
| Marco: "kind if Italian soft cheese" |
| Cinzia: gorilla |
| Marco: "gorilla" |
| Cinzia: guardaroba |
| Marco: "closet" |
| Cinzia: idiòma |
| Marco: "idiom" |
| Cinzia: monarca |
| Marco: "monarch" |
| Cinzia: panorama |
| Marco: "view" |
| Cinzia: papà |
| Marco: "dad" |
| Cinzia: pàpa |
| Marco: "pope" |
| Cinzia: parabrezza |
| Marco: "windshield" |
| Cinzia: pianéta |
| Marco: "planet" |
| Cinzia: pilòta |
| Marco: "pilot" |
| Cinzia: retroterra |
| Marco: "hinterland" |
| Cinzia: schema |
| Marco: "scheme, pattern" |
| Cinzia: scioglilingua |
| Marco: "tongue twister" |
| Cinzia: sistèma |
| Marco: "system" |
| Cinzia: sòsia |
| Marco: "double" |
| Cinzia: telegramma |
| Marco: "telegram" |
| Cinzia: tèma |
| Marco: "theme" |
| Cinzia: tràuma |
| Marco: "trauma" |
| Cinzia: valpolicella |
| Marco: "kind of wine" |
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: A presto! |
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