Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at how Ben asks for an item without knowing its name.
Do you remember how Ben Lee says,
"This, please."
Questo, per favore.
This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern.
First is questo. "This." Questo. Questo.
Questo is in the masculine, singular form of the word for "this." It refers to something which is near the speaker. Ben uses it because he's pointing at something which is near to him.
Next is per favore. "Please." Per favore. Per favore.
All together, it's Questo, per favore. "This, please."
Questo, per favore.
Do you remember how the clerk says,
"Here you are!"
Prego!
Prego literally means, "[I] pray," but it translates as "Here you are," in this situation. Prego. Prego.
Note: Prego has multiple meanings depending on the situation.
For example, Prego means "You're welcome" after someone says "Thank you," grazie.
It can also mean "How can I help you," in a shop or business; "Come in" when inviting someone into a room; or "After you" when you'd like to offer someone the chance to go first.
In this case, the word is used as an invitation to take something. "Here you are. Go ahead."
Prego is from the verb, pregare. "To pray." Pregare.
Prego. "Here you are," in this case.
Prego!
The pattern is:
{ITEM}, per favore.
{ITEM}, "please."
{ITEM}, per favore.
To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you want.
Imagine you'd like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is quello, "that." Quello. Quello.
Say
"That, please."
Ready?
Quello, per favore.
"That, please."
Quello, per favore.
The phrases, Questo, per favore, and Quello, per favore can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Italian.
If you don't know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use these masculine pronouns.
For items that are plural, use questi, or "these," as the default. Questi.
Use quelli, or "those," for things that are far from you. Quelli.
However, if you know the name of the item and you know its gender, you should use the appropriate gender.
If it's a masculine noun, use the same masculine forms that you use when you don't know the gender of something.
For a feminine, singular noun, it's questa, "this." Questa. And quella, meaning "that." Quella.
In the plural, queste for "these," queste, and quelle for "those." Quelle.

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