Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

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!

Comments

Hide