Learn how to use the Italian affirmative imperative to make requests (or offend someone)
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Cristiano: Hello everyone! I'm Cristiano, and welcome to ItalianPOD101. |
| Marco: With us, you'll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Cristiano: We also provide you with cultural insights |
| Marco: and tips you won't find in a textbook... |
| Marco: In this lesson we will study the affirmative imperative |
| Cristiano: This conversation takes place at a wedding party |
| Marco: And it's between Peter and Luca |
| Cristiano: They are friends, therefore they will be speaking informally |
| Marco: Now, before we listen to the conversation... |
| Cristiano: We want to ask... |
| Marco: Do you read the lesson notes, while you listen? |
| Cristiano: We received an e-mail about this study tip. |
| Marco: So we were wondering if you've tried it, and if so, |
| Cristiano: what do you think of it. |
| Marco: You can leave us feedback in the comment section of this lesson. Okay... |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Peter: Luca, passami il sale, per favore. |
| Luca: Tieni. |
| Peter: Passami anche il formaggio, per favore. |
| Luca: Certo, tieni. |
| Peter: Certo che noia questo matrimonio, meno male che almeno il cibo è buono. |
| Luca: È vero. Versami un pò di quel vino dai. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: Luca, passami il sale, per favore. |
| Luca: Tieni. |
| Peter: Passami anche il formaggio, per favore. |
| Luca: Certo, tieni. |
| Peter: Certo che noia questo matrimonio, meno male che almeno il cibo è buono. |
| Luca: È vero. Versami un pò di quel vino dai. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Peter: Luca, passami il sale, per favore. |
| Marco: Luca, pass me the salt, please. |
| Luca: Tieni. |
| Marco: Here it is. |
| Peter: Passami anche il formaggio, per favore. |
| Marco: Pass me the cheese too, please. |
| Luca: Certo, tieni. |
| Marco: Sure, here it is. |
| Peter: Certo che noia questo matrimonio, meno male che almeno il cibo è buono. |
| Marco: This wedding party is really boring, good thing that at least the food is good. |
| Luca: È vero. Versami un pò di quel vino dai. |
| Marco: True. Come on; pour me some of that wine. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Cristiano, what about Italian wedding parties? |
| Cris: Oh, in Italy some wedding ceremonies could last from morning until evening. |
| Marco: They say Italians enjoy very much to have big suppers whenever they can, is it right? |
| Cris: Yes, and I guess that kills every intention to go on a diet, right? |
| Marco: For sure! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cristiano: sale [natural native speed] |
| Marco: salt |
| Cristiano: sale [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristiano: sale [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristiano: vino [natural native speed] |
| Marco: wine |
| Cristiano: vino [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristiano: vino [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristiano: passare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to stop by |
| Cristiano: passare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristiano: passare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristiano: formaggio [natural native speed] |
| Marco: cheese |
| Cristiano: formaggio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristiano: formaggio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristiano: noia [natural native speed] |
| Marco: boredom, bore, drag |
| Cristiano: noia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristiano: noia [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristiano: versare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to pour, spill, shed |
| Cristiano: versare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristiano: versare [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: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases we learned in this lesson. |
| Cris: versare |
| Marco: to pour, spill, shed |
| Cris: Exactly Marco, this verb has a lot of different uses in Italian. |
| Marco: For example? |
| Cris: For example “versare lacrime,” to shed tears. |
| Marco: What about the famous proverb, “don’t cry over spilled milk.” |
| Cris: Yes, in Italian it goes like this “Non piangere sul latte versato.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cris: Let’s take a look at today’s Grammar point. |
| Marco: As in English, the imperative mood… |
| Cris: modo imperativo |
| Marco: …has only one tense, the present one, and two persons… |
| Cris: …second person singular and second person plural. |
| Marco: Regarding informal Italian, we use the imperative mood to issue orders or to offend. |
| For example |
| Cris: Smetti di parlare! |
| Marco: Stop talking! |
| Cris: Ascoltate ciò che sto dicendo. |
| Marco: Listen to what I am saying. |
| Cris: Vai al diavolo. |
| Marco: Go to hell. |
| Marco: In formal Italian, you should strongly avoid the use of the imperative mood without any polite introductory phrases. |
| Cris: When we wish to give suggestions, invitations, exhortations, or politely issue orders, we can choose between the singular or plural form of the second person. |
| Marco: Let’s see it in detail. When using the second person either singular or plural, the imperative mood is preceded by polite expressions such as |
| Cris: per favore, per cortesia |
| Marco: please |
| Marco: For example, |
| Cris: Per favore, passami il sale. |
| Marco: Pass me the salt, please. |
| Cris: Per cortesia, telefona a Claudio. |
| Marco: Call Claudio, please. |
| Cris: Stammi bene. |
| Marco: Be well. |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the present imperative… |
| Cris: imperativo presente |
| Marco: …of the three conjugations of regular verbs. |
| First conjugation… |
| Cris: comprare |
| Marco: to buy |
| and the second person singular is... |
| Cris: compra |
| Marco: and the second person plural is... |
| Cris: comprate |
| Marco: Now we have the Second conjugation… |
| Cris: prendere |
| Marco: to take |
| and the second person singular is |
| Cris: prendi |
| Marco: and second person plural… |
| Cris: prendete |
| Marco: Finally the Third conjugation… |
| Cris: aprire |
| Marco: to open |
| and the second person singular is... |
| Cris: apri |
| Marco: and finally the second person plural is... |
| Cris: aprite |
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. |
| Cristiano: The voice recording tool... |
| Marco: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center... |
| Cristiano: Record your voice with a click of a button, |
| Marco: and then play it back just as easily. |
| Cristiano: So you record your voice, and then listen to it. |
| Marco: Compare it to the native speakers... |
| Cristiano: And adjust your pronunciation! |
| Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast! |
| Marco: Ciao |
| Cristiano: A presto |
4 Comments
HideCiao Luca!
Grazie!
I would like to give you a suggestion, after "meno male", please use "che c'e'".
So, "Meno male che c'e' Luca Deon!" :wink:
A presto,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Meno male per ItalianPod101!
Ciao e grazie,
Luca
Ciao Lucky,
I am sorry about this lesson's PDF Lesson Notes. I updated it already.
Thanks so much for your patience and for informing us about it.
Regards,
Paloma
Team ItalianPod101
Hi Marco,
Thank you for the lesson. Could you please add the examples for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjigations, which you explain in this lesson, to the lesson notes in pdf file? Thank you in advance.