How to Ask for Clarification

Learn how to ask for clarification

Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Italian by ItalianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in Italian.

For example, "Excuse me, can you repeat that?" is

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Isabelle Russo meets her neighbor, Giuseppe Mancini , for the first time in the lobby of their building.

Giuseppe introduces himself but Isabelle doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components,

ripetere

"repeat"

ripetere

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Isabelle 's request.

Ready?

Note, Isabelle uses informal Italian.

Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Sono Giuseppe.

Once more with the English translation.

Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Giuseppe."

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Sono Giuseppe.

"I’m Giuseppe."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Giuseppe introduces himself?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Giuseppe."

Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

First is piacere, meaning "A pleasure." Piacere. Piacere.

Piacere is actually a shortened version of Piacere di conoscerla, meaning "It’s a pleasure to meet you." Piacere di conoscerla.

Giuseppe uses the shortened version, Piacere, in his introduction. This version can be used in many contexts and is appropriate for both informal and formal situations.

Next is Sono Giuseppe. I’m Giuseppe.

First is Sono. " am." Sono. Sono.

Note, here sono is a shortened form of io sono, "I am." In Italian, io, “I,” is usually omitted, as it’s understood from the context.

Sono is from the verb, essere, "to be." Essere.

Next is the name, Giuseppe. Giuseppe. Giuseppe.

Note: Giuseppe only uses his given name. Isabelle and Giuseppe are young adults in an informal situation, so he only uses his given name.

Together, it’s Sono Giuseppe. "I’m Giuseppe." Sono Giuseppe.

All together, it’s Piacere, sono Giuseppe. "Nice to meet you. I'm Giuseppe." Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

Isabelle can’t catch his name.

Do you remember how she asks,

"Excuse me. Can you repeat that?

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

First is Scusa. "Excuse me." Scusa. Scusa.

Note: Scusa is the informal form of "Excuse me." Scusa. In this conversation, Giuseppe and Isabelle are of similar age, so the informal scusa is more natural.

Next is puoi, "[you] can," as in you are able. Puoi. Puoi.

Note: "you" is understood from the context.

Puoi is from the verb, potere, "to be able." Potere.

Next is ripetere. "Repeat." Ripetere. Ripetere.

Ripetere is a verb, meaning “to repeat,” in its infinitive form.

Together, puoi ripetere literally means, "you can repeat," but in this context, it translates as, "can you repeat?" Puoi ripetere.

All together, Scusa, puoi ripetere? Literally, "Excuse me, you can repeat," but translates as "Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Note "that" is added to translation so that the English sounds more natural, but there is no corresponding word in the Italian question.

Finally, do you remember how Giuseppe says,

“I’m Guiseppe.”

Hint, you’ve heard it before.

Sono Giuseppe. "I’m Giuseppe."

Sono Giuseppe.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation:

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Excuse me, can you repeat that?

To ask for clarification in a formal situation:

Scusi, può ripetere?

Excuse me, can you repeat that?

Scusi, può ripetere?

Note the two changes in the formal form.

First, Scusi, replaces Scusa.

Scusi, "Excuse me, formal form." Scusi. Scusi.

Second, Può, replaces puoi.

Può, “[you] can” when using formal Italian. Può. Può.

Può is the third person singular form of the verb potere, "to be able."

The third person singular is used for formal situations when addressing a single person.

Let’s look at the expressions once more. First you will hear informal expressions, followed by their formal counterparts.

Listen and repeat.

Scusa.

"Excuse me."

Scusa.

Puoi ripetere?

"Can you repeat that?"

Puoi ripetere?

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Scusi.

"Excuse me."

Scusi.

Può ripetere?

"Can you repeat that?"

Può ripetere?

Scusi, può ripetere?

"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

Scusi, può ripetere?

Non ho capito.

"I didn't understand."

Non ho capito.

Puoi parlare più lentamente?

"Can you speak more slowly?"

Puoi parlare più lentamente?

Did you notice the new expressions we used?

Non ho capito.

Non ho capito. "I didn’t understand." Non ho capito.

Literally, Non ho capito means "Not I have understood," but it translates as "I don’t understand." Non ho capito.

Next is

Puoi parlare più lentamente? "Can you speak more slowly?" Puoi parlare più lentamente?

First is puoi, "[you] can." Puoi. Puoi.

Next is parlare. "speak." Parlare. Parlare.

After this is più. "More." Più. Più.

Finally, lentamente. "Slowly." Lentamente. Lentamente.

All together, Puoi parlare più lentamente? "Can you speak more slowly?" Puoi parlare più lentamente?

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

Parlare.

"speak."

Parlare. Parlare.

Più.

"More."

Più. Più.

Lentamente.

"Slowly."

Lentamente. Lentamente.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember the informal way to say,

“Excuse me.”

Scusa.

And how to say "repeat?"

Ripetere.

Do you remember how Isabelle asks,

"Excuse me, can you repeat ?"

Remember she uses informal Italian.

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Do you remember how to say

"Nice to meet you."

Piacere.

And do you remember how Giuseppe says,

"Nice to meet you. I’m Giuseppe."

Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

Do you remember how to say, "speak?"

Parlare.

And how to say, "more?"

Più.

Do you remember how to say, "slowly?"

Lentamente.

And how to say,

“Can you speak more slowly?”

Scusa, puoi parlare più lentamente?

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Adam Russo. Giuseppe introduces himself, but you can’t catch his name. Ask him to repeat it using informal Italian.

Ready?

Piacere, sono Giuseppe.

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Listen again and repeat.

Scusa, puoi ripetere?

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Giuseppe. Emily Erba introduces herself, but you can't catch her name. Use formal Italian.

Ready?

Piacere, sono Emily.

Scusi, può ripetere?

Listen again and repeat.

Scusi, può ripetere?

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Giuseppe. Ask Isabelle Russo to speak more slowly.

Ready?

Piacere, sono Isabelle.

Scusa, puoi parlare più lentamente?

Listen again and repeat.

Scusa, puoi parlare più lentamente?

This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in Italian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking Italian.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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