Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

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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