Learn about ways to express the impersonal construction
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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 20 – Looking for a Rock in Italy |
| Jason: In this lesson you'll learn about other ways to express the impersonal construction. Such as… |
| Cristina: Dicono che il diamante significhi ‘per sempre’ giusto? |
| Jason: "A diamond is said to mean ‘forever,' right?" This conversation takes place in a jewelry store. |
| Cristina: Antonio ed il gioielliere parlano insieme. |
| Jason: The conversation is between Antonio and a jeweler. The speakers are a jeweler and a client, so they'll be speaking formal language. |
| Cristina: Ascoltiamo |
| Jason: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Antonio: Vorrei vedere alcuni anelli di fidanzamento. |
| Gioielliere: Certo. Gliene mostro alcuni. Poi se preferisce puo' anche scegliere la pietra e la montatura separatamente. Sa già che pietra? |
| Antonio: Andrei sul classico. Beh, dicono che il diamante significhi 'per sempre' giusto? |
| Gioielliere: Non si sbaglia mai con un diamante. Ecco alcuni solitari. Questi sono vari tagli |
| Antonio: Capisco. La scelta è difficile... Che cosa piacerà a Sofia? Sicuramente però la montatura sarà in oro bianco o platino. |
| Gioielliere: Poi deve anche considerare il suo budget. La purezza e la dimensione della pietra incidono sul costo dell'anello. |
| Antonio: Beh dicono che l'anello deve costare due mensilità del proprio stipendio. Certo che di questi tempi... |
| Gioielliere: Ora guardi un po' di modelli e poi le consiglierei di venire con la mamma o un'amica della Sua fidanzata. Oppure, se vuole andare sul sicuro, venga pure con la Sua fidanzata. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Antonio: Vorrei vedere alcuni anelli di fidanzamento. |
| Gioielliere: Certo. Gliene mostro alcuni. Poi se preferisce puo' anche scegliere la pietra e la montatura separatamente. Sa già che pietra? |
| Antonio: Andrei sul classico. Beh, dicono che il diamante significhi 'per sempre' giusto? |
| Gioielliere: Non si sbaglia mai con un diamante. Ecco alcuni solitari. Questi sono vari tagli |
| Antonio: Capisco. La scelta è difficile... Che cosa piacerà a Sofia? Sicuramente però la montatura sarà in oro bianco o platino. |
| Gioielliere: Poi deve anche considerare il suo budget. La purezza e la dimensione della pietra incidono sul costo dell'anello. |
| Antonio: Beh dicono che l'anello deve costare due mensilità del proprio stipendio. Certo che di questi tempi... |
| Gioielliere: Ora guardi un po' di modelli e poi le consiglierei di venire con la mamma o un'amica della Sua fidanzata. Oppure, se vuole andare sul sicuro, venga pure con la Sua fidanzata. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Antonio: Vorrei vedere alcuni anelli di fidanzamento. |
| Jason: I'd like to see some engagement rings. |
| Gioielliere: Certo. Gliene mostro alcuni. Poi se preferisce puo' anche scegliere la pietra e la montatura separatamente. Sa già che pietra? |
| Jason: Sure. I'll show you some. Then if you prefer, you could choose the stone and the setting separately. Do you already know which stone you want? |
| Antonio: Andrei sul classico. Beh, dicono che il diamante significhi 'per sempre' giusto? |
| Jason: I would stick to something classic. A diamond is said to mean "forever," right? |
| Gioielliere: Non si sbaglia mai con un diamante. Ecco alcuni solitari. Questi sono vari tagli |
| Jason: You can never go wrong with a diamond. Here are some solitaires. These are different cuts…round, the most traditional; princess; pear; or heart. Then, people usually choose according to the fiancée's taste. |
| Antonio: Capisco. La scelta è difficile... Che cosa piacerà a Sofia? Sicuramente però la montatura sarà in oro bianco o platino. |
| Jason: I see. It's a difficult choice. What will Sofia like? The setting will be white gold or platinum, for sure. |
| Gioielliere: Poi deve anche considerare il suo budget. La purezza e la dimensione della pietra incidono sul costo dell'anello. |
| Jason: Then you need to consider your budget. The clarity and the size affect the price of the ring. |
| Antonio: Beh dicono che l'anello deve costare due mensilità del proprio stipendio. Certo che di questi tempi... |
| Jason: Well, it is said that the ring should cost like two months' salary. Although these days... |
| Gioielliere: Ora guardi un po' di modelli e poi le consiglierei di venire con la mamma o un'amica della Sua fidanzata. Oppure, se vuole andare sul sicuro, venga pure con la Sua fidanzata. |
| Jason: Now have a look at some models, and then I would advise you to come with your fiancée's mother or one of her friends. Otherwise, if you want to play it safe, come with your fiancée. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cristina: In this lesson, we’ll talk about something precious – the engagement ring. |
| Jason: The tradition of giving an engagement ring to the future wife is an old and long lasting one. |
| Cristina: In some families the future groom gives a family ring. |
| Jason: Like his grandmother’s ring, right? |
| Cristina: Yes. Otherwise, he purchases a new ring. |
| Jason: Are diamonds popular in Italy too? |
| Cristina: Yes. Recently a famous commercial has made diamonds even more popular stones for engagement rings. |
| Jason: What was the slogan? |
| Cristina: “Un diamante è per sempre.” |
| Jason: "A diamond is forever." |
| Cristina: But other stones are also common. |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Other stones that can be used for engagement rings are> lo zaffiro ("sapphire") the symbol of faithfulness, il rubino ("ruby"), which means burning love and lo smeraldo ("emerald"), the symbol of hope. |
| Jason: How much is the future groom supposed to spend on the ring? |
| Cristina: According to the tradition, the man is supposed to spend a minimum of two-months' salary. |
| Jason: How is the ring given to the fiancée? |
| Cristina: Years ago the ring was given during a family dinner or party organized by the mother of the future bride, while the actual announcement was done by the father. |
| Jason: And nowadays? |
| Cristina: Now the majority of men give their future wife the engagement ring on a more private occasion and then announce the engagement to their families. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cristina: pietra [natural native speed] |
| Jason: stone |
| Cristina: pietra [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: pietra [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: montatura [natural native speed] |
| Jason: setting |
| Cristina: montatura [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: montatura [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: classico [natural native speed] |
| Jason: classic |
| Cristina: classico [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: classico [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: diamante [natural native speed] |
| Jason: diamond |
| Cristina: diamante [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: diamante [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: regolarsi [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to choose, to act, to behave |
| Cristina: regolarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: regolarsi [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: platino [natural native speed] |
| Jason: platinum |
| Cristina: platino [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: platino [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: incidere [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to affect, to carve |
| Cristina: incidere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: incidere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: stipendio [natural native speed] |
| Jason: pay |
| Cristina: stipendio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: stipendio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: modello [natural native speed] |
| Jason: model |
| Cristina: modello [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: modello [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: andare sul sicuro [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to play it safe |
| Cristina: andare sul sicuro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: andare sul sicuro [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 in this lesson. The first one we'll look at is... |
| Cristina: INCIDERE |
| Jason: TO AFFECT |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. L’acquisto della nuova cucina ha inciso sulle spese di questo mese. |
| Jason: "The purchase of the new kitchen has affected the expenses of this month." |
| Cristina: In the dialogue above incidere has the meaning of "to affect" or "to influence" (influenzare). However generally speaking incidere is the act of carving or engraving. |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: L’artista incide sul legno |
| Jason: "The artist is carving the wood." Are there also other meanings? |
| Cristina: Yes. For example incidere means "to record music." Ho inciso un album con la mia band. |
| Jason: "I recorded an album with my band." |
| Cristina: Esatto. |
| Jason: What's the next one we'll look at? |
| Cristina: ANDARE SUL SICURO |
| Jason: TO PLAY SAFE |
| Cristina: Here’s a sample sentence– Se vuoi andare sul sicuro, scegli una Volkswagen. |
| Jason: "If you want to play safe, choose a Volkswagen." |
| Cristina: This expression means "to play (it) safe" (literally "to go safe"). |
| Jason: Are there other expressions in Italian with the adjective sicuro? |
| Cristina: Expressions in Italian that use the adjective sicuro in the meaning of safe or safety are – essere al sicuro ("to be in safety"), mettere al sicuro ("to put something in a safe place"), and in mani sicure ("in safe hands").. |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Cerca di mettere al sicuro i tuoi gioielli. |
| Jason: "Try to put your jewelry in a safe place." |
| Cristina: Esatto |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Jason: In this lesson, we’ll learn about other ways to express the impersonal construction. |
| Cristina: As we studied before, one way to express the impersonal construction is with the verb essere in third person singular + aggettivo + verbo infinito. |
| Jason: So the verb to be + adjective+ infinitive verb |
| Cristina: For example> E’ importante fare una buona coloazione la mattina. |
| Jason: "It’s important to have a good breakfast in the morning." |
| Cristina: All tenses can be constructed in the impersonal form also using ‘Si’ followed by a verb in the third person singular or plural. |
| Jason: For example… |
| Cristina: Non si sbaglia mai con un diamante. |
| Jason: "You can never go wrong with a diamond." |
| Cristina: Another example is > Si spendono molti soldi in regali a Natale. |
| Jason: "A lot of money is spent on presents at Christmas." |
| Cristina: So, as in the two examples above, if the noun that follows the verb is singular the verb is declined in the third person singular. |
| Jason: If the noun is plural the verb is declined in the third person plural. |
| Cristina: The noun soldi is plural therefore the verb spendere is declined as spendono). |
| Jason: Now we’ll focus on other common ways to express the impersonal construction. |
| Cristina: Some verbs are declined in the third person plural. |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Hanno aperto un nuovo centro commerciale. |
| Jason: "A new shopping center has opened." |
| Cristina: And here is one more sample sentence> Che film danno stasera? |
| Jason: "What films are on tonight?" |
| Cristina: The verb dire at the third person plural is often used to build the third person plural. |
| Jason: The verb dire. It is usually translated in English as “It is said that…” |
| Cristina: Dicono che l’anello deve costare due mensilità del proprio stipendio. |
| Jason: "It is said that the ring should cost two months' salary." |
| Cristina: Here is another rule to build the impersonal construction |
| Jason: The indefinite pronoun uno + verb in the third person singular |
| Cristina: For example> Uno si regola in base al gusto della propria fidanzata. |
| Jason: "One chooses according to his fiancée’s taste." Can you give us another example? |
| Cristina: Uno si abitua facilmente a tutte le comodità. |
| Jason: "One gets easily used to all these comforts." |
| Cristina: Lastly, a passive construction is also a common way to build a sentence where the subject is generic. |
| Jason: Let’s look at a couple of examples. |
| Cristina: Qui verrà costruita una nuova scuola. |
| Jason: "Here a new school will be built." |
| Cristina: A febbraio viene fatto un nuovo sondaggio di mercato su questo prodotto. |
| Jason: "In February a new market survey is done on this product." |
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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