Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
None (manual write in):
Lesson 15: You May See George Clooney at this Italian Lake
Jason: Ciao! Jason here.
Cristina: Cristina here! Welcome back to ItalianPod101.com's Intermediate Series. This is Lesson 15 - You May See George Clooney at this Italian Lake.
Jason: In this lesson you'll learn how to use the gerundio with atonic pronouns. Such as…
Cristina: Usandola poche volte all’anno è facile dimenticarsene.
Jason: "Since I hardly ever use it, it’s easy to forget it." This conversation takes place at a beach on the lakeside.
Cristina: Wendy, Sofia e Simone parlano insieme.
Jason: The conversation is between Wendy, Sofia and Simone. The speakers are co-workers, so they'll be speaking informal language.
Cristina: Ascoltiamo
Jason: Let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Simone: Mi son dimenticato la crema solare!
Sofia: Te la posso prestare io.
Simone: Beh, usandola poche volte all’anno è facile dimenticarsene.
Sofia: Si vede che non ami abbronzarti - sei bianco come una mozzarella.
Wendy: Oggi pomeriggio ci rifacciamo delle giornate passate chiusi in ufficio.
Sofia: Esatto! Alla faccia del nostro capo che ci farebbe lavorare anche nei fine settimana.
Simone: Conoscendolo bene però il Signor Crezzi non è così esigente come capo. E’ solo un po’ troppo dedito al lavoro.
Wendy: Sarà.. comunque, devo dire che Como mi ha piacevolmente colpita. Il centro storico è incantevole e il lungolago molto romantico.
Sofia: Ed è anche una cittadina molto pulita.
Simone: Secondo me però vivendoci per qualche tempo sarebbe un po’ noioso. Meglio abitare a Milano e venire qui di quanto in quanto per il weekend.
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Simone: Mi son dimenticato la crema solare!
Sofia: Te la posso prestare io.
Simone: Beh, usandola poche volte all’anno è facile dimenticarsene.
Sofia: Si vede che non ami abbronzarti - sei bianco come una mozzarella.
Wendy: Oggi pomeriggio ci rifacciamo delle giornate passate chiusi in ufficio.
Sofia: Esatto! Alla faccia del nostro capo che ci farebbe lavorare anche nei fine settimana.
Simone: Conoscendolo bene però il Signor Crezzi non è così esigente come capo. E’ solo un po’ troppo dedito al lavoro.
Wendy: Sarà.. comunque, devo dire che Como mi ha piacevolmente colpita. Il centro storico è incantevole e il lungolago molto romantico.
Sofia: Ed è anche una cittadina molto pulita.
Simone: Secondo me però vivendoci per qualche tempo sarebbe un po’ noioso. Meglio abitare a Milano e venire qui di quanto in quanto per il weekend.
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Simone: Mi son dimenticato la crema solare!
Jason: I forgot my sunblock!
Sofia: Te la posso prestare io.
Jason: I can lend you some.
Simone: Beh, usandola poche volte all’anno è facile dimenticarsene.
Jason: Well, since I hardly ever use it, it's easy to forget it.
Sofia: Si vede che non ami abbronzarti - sei bianco come una mozzarella.
Jason: You don't like to get tan, do you? You're as pale as a ghost.
Wendy: Oggi pomeriggio ci rifacciamo delle giornate passate chiusi in ufficio.
Jason: This afternoon we'll make up for all those days spent closed in the office.
Sofia: Esatto! Alla faccia del nostro capo che ci farebbe lavorare anche nei fine settimana.
Jason: Exactly! In spite of our boss, who would also make us work on the weekends.
Simone: Conoscendolo bene però il Signor Crezzi non è così esigente come capo. E’ solo un po’ troppo dedito al lavoro.
Jason: When you get to know him well, Mr. Crezzi is not very demanding as a boss. He's just a bit too devoted to his job.
Wendy: Sarà.. comunque, devo dire che Como mi ha piacevolmente colpita. Il centro storico è incantevole e il lungolago molto romantico.
Jason: Maybe... Anyway, I have to say that Como has positively struck me. The historical city center is charming, and the lakeside is very romantic.
Sofia: Ed è anche una cittadina molto pulita.
Jason: And it's also a very clean town.
Simone: Secondo me però vivendoci per qualche tempo sarebbe un po’ noioso. Meglio abitare a Milano e venire qui di quanto in quanto per il weekend.
Jason: If you live here for some time, though, I think it'd be a bit boring. It's better to live in Milan and come here every now and then for a weekend.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Cristina: Now we’re taking a trip in the lake district in North Italy.
Jason: Great, I love that area, especially lake Como.
Cristina: Il lago di Como.
Jason: The one that has the shape of an upside-down ‘Y’.
Cristina: Il lago di Como the third-largest lake in the country and although it’s narrow enough that you can see across it easily, it is one of Europe’s deepest lakes.
Jason: I didn’t know that. The only thing I know is that George Clooney has a beautiful villa on the shore of the lake.
Cristina: Yes that’s right. But lake Como was a very popular spot for weekend get-aways or holidays for both Italians and Northern Europeans, among other tourists, long before George Clooney discovered the beauty of the place.
Jason: It makes sense. There are some stunning views of the lake.
Cristina: And some of the towns are so charming.
Jason: Like Bellaggio at the intersection of the branches of the lake.
Cristina. Esatto. And I also like Como and its gothic church, the last church built in gothic style in Italy.
Jason: Once I visited Villa Carlotta but I don’t remember the name of the town.
Cristina: Ah, it’s Tremezzo.
Jason: Villa Carlotta is a must-see. It was built in the 17th century and has an elaborate and beautiful Italian garden.
VOCAB LIST
Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Cristina: di tanto in tanto [natural native speed]
Jason: now and then
Cristina: di tanto in tanto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: di tanto in tanto [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: crema solare [natural native speed]
Jason: sunblock, sun cream
Cristina: crema solare [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: crema solare [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: abbronzarsi [natural native speed]
Jason: to sunbathe, to get a tan
Cristina: abbronzarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: abbronzarsi [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: essere bianco come una mozzarella [natural native speed]
Jason: to be as pale as a ghost
Cristina: essere bianco come una mozzarella [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: essere bianco come una mozzarella [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: rifarsi [natural native speed]
Jason: to make up
Cristina: rifarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: rifarsi [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: alla faccia di [natural native speed]
Jason: in spite of
Cristina: alla faccia di [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: alla faccia di [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: fine settimana [natural native speed]
Jason: weekend
Cristina: fine settimana [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: fine settimana [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: dedito [natural native speed]
Jason: devoted, dedicated
Cristina: dedito [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: dedito [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: colpire [natural native speed]
Jason: to strike
Cristina: colpire [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: colpire [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: lungolago [natural native speed]
Jason: lakeside, promenade
Cristina: lungolago [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: lungolago [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: RIFARSI
Jason: TO MAKE SOMETHING UP FOR.
Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. Voleva rifarsi del denaro perduto, ma non ci riuscì.
Jason: He wanted to make up for the money he had lost, but he didn’t manage to.
Cristina: Besides the meaning of ‘make up for’ rifarsi is often used as a synonym of vendicarsi
Jason: For example…
Cristina: Il signor Bonni voleva rifarsi dei torti subiti dai vicini e avvelenò il loro cane.
Jason: "Mr. Bonni wanted to get revenge on his neighbors and he poisoned their dog."
Cristina: Rifarsi also means ritornare or ridiventare.
Jason: Can you give us a sample sentence?
Cristina: Il tempo si è rifatto bello.
Jason: "The weather turned nice again."
Cristina: In colloquial language rifarsi is used to talk about plastic surgery.
Jason: An example?
Cristina: Hai notato? Sara si è rifatta il seno.
Jason: "Have you noticed? Sara had her breasts redone."
Jason: What's the next one we'll look at?
Cristina: FINE SETTIMANA
Jason: WEEKEND
Cristina: Fine settimana is a very common word but it’s important to remember that it is masculine.
Jason: Even if settimana is a feminine noun?
Cristina: Compound nouns usually follow the rule that their gender is determined by the second word, in this case it would be settimana. But this is an exception.
Jason: So the definite article before fine settimana is il.
Cristina: Esatto. It’s also important to remember that when used as a plural noun it stays unchanged.
Jason: I fine settimana.
Cristina: Perfetto!

Lesson focus

Cristina: In this lesson, we’ll focus on the use of gerundio with atonic pronouns.
Jason: Can you help me remember what atonic pronouns are?
Cristina: In Italian, pronouns can be divided in two groups - tonici e atoni.
Jason: The Pronomi tonici or forti meaning "strong" are those that have a strong emphasis in the sentence.
Cristina: Esatto. For example, Voglio incontrare te e non tua sorella.
Jason: "I want to meet you and not your sister."
Cristina: The Pronomi atoni or deboli meaning "weak" are those that do not have particular significance
Jason: and are usually unstressed.
Cristina: For example the pronoun ti in the sentence, Ti telefono alle 8.
Jason: "I’ll call (you) at 8."
Cristina: Is it better now? Ok, now let’s focus on the position of atonic pronouns with tenses like infinito or infinitive.
Jason: The pronoun is always attached to the end of the verb. Here is a sample sentence…
Cristina: Puoi farmi una fotografia?
Jason: "Can you take a picture of me?"
Cristina: The word farmi is composed of the infinitive verb fare and the pronoun me which means "to me."
Jason: What happened to the letter –e of the verb fare?
Cristina: Well, remember that the last –e of the infinitive drops when a pronoun is added.
Jason: Ok, got it.
Cristina: Let’s now review the use of imperative with atonic pronouns.
Jason: Also when the verb is in the imperative form, the pronoun is always attached to the end of the verb. Here is a sample sentence with the imperative in the TU form…
Cristina: Passami il sale per favore.
Jason: "Pass me the salt, please."
Cristina: The imperative of the verb passare is passa!
Jason: and mi means "a me," "to me"
Cristina: But remember that the formal imperative or imperativo formale (with Lei) does not follow the same rule. The pronoun precedes the verb.
Jason: Can you give us a sample sentence?
Cristina: Questa è la medicina. La prenda due volte al giorno prima dei pasti.
Jason: "This is your medicine. Take it twice a day before the meals."
Cristina: Like with the infinitive and imperative, all atonic pronouns are also attached also the end of the adverb ‘ecco’.
Jason: For example?
Cristina: Anche Giulia viene a questa festa. Ah, eccola che arriva!
Jason: "Also Giulia is coming to this party. Ah, here she is coming!"
Cristina: Eccola is made of two words, the adverb ecco and the pronoun la. Jason
Cristina: Let’s now look at the position of atonic pronouns with gerundio.
Jason: The atonic pronouns are always attached to the end of the verb.
Cristina: Here is an example – Rivedendola ho capito di essere ancora inamorato di lei.
Jason: "When I saw her, I understood that I was still in love with her."
Cristina: The gerundio is rivedendo from the verb rivedere.
Jason: La is the pronoun for la ragazza.
Cristina: esatto
Jason: Can you give one more sample sentence?
Cristina: Secondo me però vivendoci per qualche tempo sarebbe un po’ noioso.
Jason: "If you live here for some time though I think it’d be a bit boring."
Cristina: Vivendo is the gerundio presente of vivere
Jason: ci is the pronoun used to replace nouns that indicate a place, in this case a Como.

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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