Learn how to ask for clarification
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.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask for clarification in Italian. |
| Clarification? |
| What is that? |
| When you don't understand someone or you didn't hear them, |
| you make sure with them that you understood correctly |
| and that is asking for clarification. |
| Well, in Italian there are a few expressions that come in handy in such situations. |
| I have listed them here for you. |
| Ok, let's look at the expressions. |
| We have |
| ripetere |
| repeat |
| ripetere |
| ripetere |
| ripetere lentamente |
| repeat slowly |
| ripetere lentamente |
| parlare più lentamente |
| speak more slowly |
| parlare più lentamente |
| parlare più forte |
| speak louder |
| parlare più forte |
| scriverlo |
| write that down |
| scriverlo |
| fare lo spelling |
| spell it |
| fare lo spelling |
| Let's look at the dialogue. |
| Two young people who live in the same apartment building meet in the lobby |
| and one of them introduces himself. |
| The other person doesn't catch his name and asks him to repeat. |
| Let's see what expression he chooses to ask for clarification. |
| Mi chiamo Marcello Mancini. |
| My name is Marcello Mancini. |
| Scusa, puoi ripetere? |
| Excuse me, can you repeat? |
| Mi chiamo Marcello Mancini. |
| My name is Marcello Mancini. |
| As a final example, |
| imagine your neighbour tells you about an awesome restaurant |
| and you really want to check it out, |
| so you ask for the name of the restaurant and maybe the address. |
| Since it's not easy to remember, you want to write it down. |
| What do you say? |
| Scusa, puoi scriverlo? |
| Excuse me, can you write it down? |
| From all the examples, |
| we can see there's a common pattern you can use when asking for clarification. |
| Scusa, puoi verb phrase? |
| And in English? |
| Excuse me, can you verb phrase? |
| A very important thing to keep in mind |
| is that if you are talking to someone you don't know very well, |
| who is much older than you or your boss or teacher, |
| you should opt for formal Italian. |
| All you have to do is to substitute scusa with scusi and puoi with puo. |
| Scusi, puo verb phrase? |
Comments
Hide