Learn various usages of the gerundio presente
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| INTRODUCTION |
| None (manual write in): |
| Jason: Ciao! Jason here. |
| Cristina: Cristina here! Welcome to ItalianPod101.com's Intermediate series. This is Lesson 12 - Be Careful in Italian Traffic! |
| Jason: In this lesson you'll learn how to use the gerundio presente. Such as… |
| Cristina: Camminando per il reparto, ho incontrato un mio vecchio compagno di classe. |
| Jason: "While walking in the ward, I met an old classmate of mine." This conversation takes place at work. |
| Cristina: James e Giovanna parlano insieme. |
| Jason: The conversation is between James and Giovanna. The speakers are co-workers, so they'll be speaking informal language. |
| Cristina: Ascoltiamo |
| Jason: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| James: Giovanna, che ti è successo? Perchè porti.. come si chiama? |
| Giovanna: Il collare ortopedico. Ho avuto un incidente stradale ieri mentre tornavo dal lavoro. |
| James: Mi dispiace. Com’è avvenuto? |
| Giovanna: Ero in macchina ferma in mezzo alla strada. Stavo girando a sinistra in una piazzetta quando un veicolo ha tamponato la mia macchina. |
| James: Avevi messo la freccia? |
| Giovanna: Certo! Il conducente ha detto che si è distratto e non ha visto la freccia. Io sono scesa subito dalla macchina e vedendo il danno alla mia macchina, mi sono quasi messa a piangere. Poi abbiamo chiamato i carabinieri e firmato la constatazione amichevole. Ora ho appena telefonato all’assicurazione. |
| James: Sei stata all’ospedale ieri sera? |
| Giovanna: Sì, al pronto soccorso. Ho fatto una radiografia e non ho nulla di rotto, solo delle botte. Camminando per il reparto, ho incontrato un mio vecchio compagno di classe, che ora è infermiere. Per tirarmi su, mi ha pagato la cena. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| James: Giovanna, che ti è successo? Perchè porti.. come si chiama? |
| Giovanna: Il collare ortopedico. Ho avuto un incidente stradale ieri mentre tornavo dal lavoro. |
| James: Mi dispiace. Com’è avvenuto? |
| Giovanna: Ero in macchina ferma in mezzo alla strada. Stavo girando a sinistra in una piazzetta quando un veicolo ha tamponato la mia macchina. |
| James: Avevi messo la freccia? |
| Giovanna: Certo! Il conducente ha detto che si è distratto e non ha visto la freccia. Io sono scesa subito dalla macchina e vedendo il danno alla mia macchina, mi sono quasi messa a piangere. Poi abbiamo chiamato i carabinieri e firmato la constatazione amichevole. Ora ho appena telefonato all’assicurazione. |
| James: Sei stata all’ospedale ieri sera? |
| Giovanna: Sì, al pronto soccorso. Ho fatto una radiografia e non ho nulla di rotto, solo delle botte. Camminando per il reparto, ho incontrato un mio vecchio compagno di classe, che ora è infermiere. Per tirarmi su, mi ha pagato la cena. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| James: Giovanna, che ti è successo? Perchè porti.. come si chiama? |
| Jason: Giovanna, what happened? Why are you wearing a...what's that called? |
| Giovanna: Il collare ortopedico. Ho avuto un incidente stradale ieri mentre tornavo dal lavoro. |
| Jason: A neck brace. I had a road accident yesterday while going home from work. |
| James: Mi dispiace. Com’è avvenuto? |
| Jason: I'm sorry to hear that. How did it happen? |
| Giovanna: Ero in macchina ferma in mezzo alla strada. Stavo girando a sinistra in una piazzetta quando un veicolo ha tamponato la mia macchina. |
| Jason: I was in my car in the middle of the road. I was about to turn left into a little square when a vehicle ran into my car. |
| James: Avevi messo la freccia? |
| Jason: Did you use your blinker? |
| Giovanna: Certo! Il conducente ha detto che si è distratto e non ha visto la freccia. Io sono scesa subito dalla macchina e vedendo il danno alla mia macchina, mi sono quasi messa a piangere. Poi abbiamo chiamato i carabinieri e firmato la constatazione amichevole. Ora ho appena telefonato all’assicurazione. |
| Jason: Sure! The driver said that he got distracted and didn't notice the blinker. I got out of the car immediately, and when I saw the damage to my car, I almost cried. Then we called the police and signed the accident report. I just called the insurance company now. |
| James: Sei stata all’ospedale ieri sera? |
| Jason: Did you go to the hospital last night? |
| Giovanna: Sì, al pronto soccorso. Ho fatto una radiografia e non ho nulla di rotto, solo delle botte. Camminando per il reparto, ho incontrato un mio vecchio compagno di classe, che ora è infermiere. Per tirarmi su, mi ha pagato la cena. |
| Jason: Yes, to the emergency ward. I did an X-ray and nothing is broken; I just have some bruises. While walking in the ward, I met an old classmate of mine, who is now a nurse. To cheer me up, he paid for my dinner. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cristina: Today I’d like to introduce to you the Italian FORZE DELL’ORDINE. |
| Jason: The Italian police, right? |
| Cristina: Esatto. There are different groups but in this lesson, let’s focus on those that you are more likely meet when travelling in Italy. |
| Jason: Well, last time I was in Italy I got stopped by a policeman. I think I was going over the speed limit. |
| Cristina: Was he dressed in black? |
| Jason: No, he was wearing a white helmet and had a whistle. |
| Cristina: That’s called VIGILE URBANO and are responsible for supervising the road traffic in a city or town. |
| Jason: Ah. So who are the ones dressed in black? |
| Cristina: They are CARABINIERI. Their uniform is all black and has red stripes on the sides. They also serve as military police. |
| Jason: I think I saw an Italian TV series called Il Maresciallo Rocca. He was a carabiniere, I think. |
| Cristina: Esatto! They have many different duties, from patrolling streets to conducting house searches or criminal investigations. |
| Jason: I see. |
| Cristina: One last group is POLIZIA DI STATO. |
| Jason: "The civil national police." |
| Cristina: Sì. along with patrolling, investigative and law enforcement duties, it patrols the autostrada,"Italy's Express Highway". |
| Jason: Do they carry a gun? |
| Cristina: Yes, just like the Carabinieri. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cristina: collare [natural native speed] |
| Jason: neck brace, collar |
| Cristina: collare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: collare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: ortopedico [natural native speed] |
| Jason: orthopedic |
| Cristina: ortopedico [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: ortopedico [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: mettere la freccia [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to indicate, to signal |
| Cristina: mettere la freccia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: mettere la freccia [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: conducente [natural native speed] |
| Jason: driver |
| Cristina: conducente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: conducente [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: danno [natural native speed] |
| Jason: damage |
| Cristina: danno [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: danno [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: carabiniere [natural native speed] |
| Jason: police |
| Cristina: carabiniere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: carabiniere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: costatazione amichevole [natural native speed] |
| Jason: accident report |
| Cristina: costatazione amichevole [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: costatazione amichevole [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: assicurazione [natural native speed] |
| Jason: insurance company |
| Cristina: assicurazione [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: assicurazione [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: radiografia [natural native speed] |
| Jason: x-ray |
| Cristina: radiografia [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: radiografia [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: tirarsi su [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to cheer up |
| Cristina: tirarsi su [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: tirarsi su [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Jason: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jason: Let's take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first one we'll look at is... |
| Cristina: COLLARE |
| Jason: "NECK BRACE", in this conversation. |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. Dopo l’incidente ho dovuto portare un collare ortopedico per 10 giorni. |
| Jason: "After the accident I had to wear a neck brace for 10 days." |
| Cristina: In general the word collare means "collar" and both the Italian and English words come from collo, "neck". |
| Jason: A collare is usually used for pets. |
| Cristina: From the word collo the word collana is formed. |
| Jason: Collana means "necklace". |
| Cristina: There is another word, Collarino. It refers to decorative neckbands, often used in gothic or punk styles. |
| Jason: What's the next one we'll look at? |
| Cristina: TIRARSI SU. |
| Jason: TO CHEER UP. |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. Per tirarmi su, un mio amico mi ha pagato la cena. |
| Jason: "To cheer me up a friend of mine paid for my dinner." |
| Cristina: Besides the meaning of ‘cheer up’ this verbal expression has different meanings according to the context. |
| Jason: It can simply mean "to rise" or "to get up." |
| Cristina: A similar word in Italian in alzarsi. For example, La mattina è difficile tirarsi su dal letto. |
| Jason: "In the morning it is difficult to get up from the bed." |
| Cristina: Esatto. Another meaning is similar to sedersi dritto. |
| Jason: "to sit upright." |
| Cristina: Marco, quando sei a tavola, tirati su e mangia bene. |
| Jason: "Marco, when you are at the table, sit upright and eat with manners." |
| Cristina: Tirarsi su i capelli is like raccogliersi i capelli. |
| Jason: "to pin up" or "put hair up." |
| Cristina: Stai meglio quando ti tiri su i capelli. |
| Jason: "You look better when you pin up your hair." |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Jason: The focus of this lesson is the usage of gerundio presente. |
| Cristina: It is the equivalent of the –ing verb form in English. |
| Jason: Let’s review the formation of the gerundio. Add the suffix –ando to the stem of –are verbs |
| Cristina: So cantare becomes cantando. |
| Jason: and add the suffix -endo to the stem of the –ere and –ire verbs. |
| Cristina: Correre becomes correndo and dormire becomes dormendo. |
| Jason: Some verbs can have an irregular form. For example… |
| Cristina: condurre has the gerundio as conducendo or porre becomes ponendo. |
| Jason: Let’s now look at different uses of the gerundio. |
| Cristina: Together with the verb stare the gerundio is used to create the present continuous. |
| Jason: For example… |
| Cristina: Ora non posso venire. Sto lavorando |
| Jason: "Now I cannot come. I’m working." |
| Cristina: It can also create the past continuous. |
| Jason: Can you give us an example? |
| Cristina: Sure. Stavo facendo la spesa quando mi ha telefonato Maria. |
| Jason: "I was doing my shopping when Maria called me." |
| Cristina: The gerundio presente is also used to suggest a cause or a reason behind an event. |
| Jason: For example… |
| Cristina: Conoscendo le tue idee non ho detto niente. |
| Jason: "Since I knew your ideas, I didn’t say anything." |
| Cristina: It is possible to use perchè or poichè or siccome to replace the secondary sentence of the gerundio. |
| Jason: What do you mean? |
| Cristina: The sentence before can be also expressed as Poichè conosco le tue idee non ho detto niente. |
| Jason: I see. In English, ‘since’ or ‘because’ are common translations. |
| Cristina: We can use the gerundio presente also to show that two actions are performed at the same time. |
| Jason: Can you give us a sample sentence? |
| Cristina: Camminando per il reparto, ho incontrato un mio vecchio compagno di classe. |
| Jason: "While walking in the ward, I met an old classmate of mine." |
| Cristina: Another example is Ceno guardando la televisione. |
| Jason: "I have dinner while watching TV." |
| Cristina: How would you translate the gerundio presente in English? |
| Jason: I think it’s best to use ‘while’ plus "–ing" form. |
| Cristina: In Italian to convey the meaning of contemporaneity, the gerundio presente can be substituted by mentre+ sentence |
| Jason: So the sentence "I have dinner while watching TV" in Italian can be … |
| Cristina: Ceno guardando la televisione or Ceno mentre guardo la televisione. |
Outro |
| Jason: OK. That's all for this lesson. In the lesson notes, you can find more examples on this grammar point. So be sure to read them. |
| Cristina: A presto! |
| Jason: Bye-bye! |
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