Dialogue

Vocabulary

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
Betsey: Hi everyone! Welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower beginner Season 1 Lesson 10 - Describing People in Italian. I'm Betsey.
Ofelia: Ciao! Ofelia here. In this lesson you'll learn how to use adjectives with plural nouns. Such as…'Sara ha gli occhi azzurri. Luisa e Carla hanno due giacche azzurre.'
Betsey: Which means "Sara has blue eyes. Luisa and Carla have two blue jackets."
Ofelia: The conversation takes place at school. Mieke and Jack parlano insieme.
Betsey: The conversation is between Mieke and Jack. The speakers are schoolmates, so they'll be using informal language.
Ofelia: Ascoltiamo.
DIALOGUE
Jack: E che carattere ha Silvia?
Mieke: È molto simpatica. Al lavoro è molto gentile e paziente con me. Quando sono in difficoltà mi aiuta sempre. Ha anche una sorella gemella, Serena. Hanno un carattere molto simile- sono molto socievoli ed espansive. I loro fratelli invece sono molto timidi.
Jack: Sì, mi ricordo.
Mieke: Veramente? li hai visti solo una volta, più di due anni fa. Hai una memoria da elefante!
Betsey: Let's hear the conversation one time slowly.
Jack: E che carattere ha Silvia?
Mieke: È molto simpatica. Al lavoro è molto gentile e paziente con me. Quando sono in difficoltà mi aiuta sempre. Ha anche una sorella gemella, Serena. Hanno un carattere molto simile- sono molto socievoli ed espansive. I loro fratelli invece sono molto timidi.
Jack: Sì, mi ricordo.
Mieke: Veramente? li hai visti solo una volta, più di due anni fa. Hai una memoria da elefante!
Betsey: Now let's hear it with the English translation.
Jack: E che carattere ha Silvia?
Jack: And what personality does she have?
Mieke: È molto simpatica. Al lavoro è molto gentile e paziente con me. Quando sono in difficoltà mi aiuta sempre. Ha anche una sorella gemella, Serena. Hanno un carattere molto simile- sono molto socievoli ed espansive. I loro fratelli invece sono molto timidi.
Mieke: She is very nice. At work, she is very kind and patient with me. When I'm in trouble, she always helps me. She also has a twin sister, Serena. They have similar personalities…they are very friendly and outgoing. Their brothers, on the other hand, are very shy.
Jack: Sì, mi ricordo.
Jack: Yes, I remember!
Mieke: Veramente? li hai visti solo una volta, più di due anni fa. Hai una memoria da elefante!
Mieke: Really? You met them only once, more than two years ago. You have a memory like an elephant!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Ofelia: Now let's learn some new expressions.
Betsey: What kind of expressions?
Ofelia: In Italian, there are some expressions used to describe personality traits that compare people to animals.
Betsey: Oh, like in Aesop's fables, where animals are used to describe people's personality traits?
Ofelia: Esatto!
Betsey: For example, Mieke said...
Ofelia: Hai la memoria di un elefante.
Betsey: Which is, "You have a memory like an elephant." Why do Italians say this?
Ofelia: I suppose it's because elephants are intelligent animals, and live for a long time. Another common expression is Furbo come una volpe.
Betsey: Which is "Cunning like a fox." It's similar to the English.
Ofelia: There is also 'Testardo come un mulo.'
Betsey: Which is "Stubborn as a mule."
Ofelia: Maybe this next one is less known - ‘Mite come il bue.'
Betsey: I see…"Good-natured like an ox."
Ofelia: And what do you think is the adjective for "snail"?
Betsey: I'm guessing it's slow. How do you say 'slow' in Italian?
Ofelia: 'Lento.' And the expression is ‘Lento come una lumaca.'
Betsey: "Slow as a snail."
Ofelia: Right! How would you describe yourself, Betsey:?
Betsey: (laughs) how about...clever!
Ofelia: (laughs) Well, you could say 'Sono intelligente come un'aquila!'
Betsey: "I am clever as an eagle..." but this phrase doesn't sound very clever!
Ofelia: In reality, in most cases it is said ironically! (laughs)
Betsey: (laughs) Okay, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Betsey: The first word we shall see is...
Ofelia: carattere [natural native speed]
Betsey: personality
Ofelia: carattere [slowly - broken down by syllable] carattere [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: simpatico [natural native speed]
Betsey: nice, funny, likable
Ofelia: simpatico [slowly - broken down by syllable] simpatico [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: gentile [natural native speed]
Betsey: kind, nice, polite
Ofelia: gentile [slowly - broken down by syllable] gentile [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: paziente [natural native speed]
Betsey: patient
Ofelia: paziente [slowly - broken down by syllable] paziente [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: gemello [natural native speed]
Betsey: twin
Ofelia: gemello [slowly - broken down by syllable] gemello [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: simile [natural native speed]
Betsey: similar, alike
Ofelia: simile [slowly - broken down by syllable] simile [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
#REF!
Betsey: sociable, social, genial
#REF!
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: socievole [natural native speed]
Betsey: outgoing
Ofelia: socievole [slowly - broken down by syllable] socievole [natural native speed]
Betsey: Next
Ofelia: fratello [natural native speed]
Betsey: brother
Ofelia: fratello [slowly - broken down by syllable] fratello [natural native speed]
Betsey: And last...
Ofelia: timido [natural native speed]
Betsey: shy
Ofelia: timido [slowly - broken down by syllable] timido [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Betsey: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Ofelia: The first word is CARATTERE.
Betsey: Which means "PERSONALITY."
Ofelia: This noun is used to translate the English word 'character'. As in English, we can also say PERSONALITA', 'personality'.
Betsey: Wait, in English "personality" can also indicate a famous person or VIP...
Ofelia: And it's the same in Italian. For example, "Stephen Spielberg è una personalità del cinema,"
Betsey: "Stephen Spielberg is a personality in the motion picture industry." Ok, and what about 'character'?
Ofelia: "Giulia ha un carattere estroverso" or "Guilia ha una personalità estroversa,"
Betsey: Both sentences means "Giulia has a friendly character," The second one we'll look at is...
Ofelia: PAZIENTE
Betsey: PATIENT
Ofelia: Another way you can describe a patient person is by using the noun pazienza, avere pazienza.
Betsey: Which means "To have patience." Is there any difference between these two expressions?
Ofelia: Not at all!
Betsey: Ok, now let's move on to the next word. What is it?
Ofelia: FRATELLO
Betsey: Which means "BROTHER"
Ofelia: For "sister." we should say SORELLA.
Betsey: I see. So, in Italian, to say that you have a great relationship with a friend of yours, you can say...
Ofelia: "essere come fratelli." or "essere come sorelle,"
Betsey: "To be like brothers" or "To be like sisters"
Betsey: Can you give us an example, Ofelia?
Ofelia: 'Io e Betsey: siamo come sorelle.'
Betsey: Which is "Betsey: and I are like sisters."
Ofelia: Since we're on the topic of families, next up is 'cugino'
Betsey: This means "cousin," Ofelia, what's an example using this?
Ofelia: 'Giovanni gioca spesso con i suoi cugini'
Betsey: "John often plays with his cousins." Okay, now let's move onto the grammar.
GRAMMAR POINT
Betsey: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use descriptive adjectives when they are together with plural nouns.
Ofelia: For example in the sentence I loro fratelli invece sono molto timidi.
Betsey: Their brothers, on the other hand, are very shy.
Ofelia: The adjective timido goes with the plural noun 'fratelli'.
Betsey: As we saw in the previous lesson, adjectives always agree in gender and number.
Ofelia: Right. Remember that adjectives are divided in two groups, the ones ending in –o and the ones ending in –e.
Betsey: For example...
Ofelia: 'Buono' (good, tasty) or 'azzurro' (light blue).
Betsey: These all belong to the first group.
Ofelia: While grande (big) or felice (happy) belong to the second group.
Betsey: When the first group adjectives go with a plural masculine noun…
Ofelia: The -o changes into –i
Betsey: For example...
Ofelia: Azzurro-azzurri. (LITTLE PAUSE) Sara ha gli occhi azzurri.
Betsey: Sara has blue eyes.
Ofelia: Also for the second group, the plural ends in –i.
Betsey: For example?
Ofelia: Felice-felici. (LITTLE PAUSE) Giovanni ha tre cani felici.
Betsey: Giovanni has three happy dogs.
Betsey: Now when adjectives go with a plural feminine noun…
Ofelia: The first group ending in -a, will change into –e
Betsey: For example?
Ofelia: Azzurra-azzurre. Luisa e Carla hanno due giacche azzurre.
Betsey: Luisa and Carla have two blue jackets.
Ofelia: And the second group ending in -e will change into –i, like in the masculine.
Betsey: For example?
Ofelia: Grande-grandi. Queste case sono grandi.
Betsey: These houses are big.
Ofelia: Now don't forget that the endings of the nouns do not always match.
Betsey: If the adjective and the noun belong to different groups, then the ending will not match.
Ofelia: Yes, for example, Giovanna e Daria sono due ragazze felici.
Betsey: Which is "Giovanna and Daria are two happy girls."
Ofelia: Here, "Ragazze" and "felici" have different endings.
Betsey: Ok. Now listeners, remember to check the lesson notes to reinforce what you've learned in this lesson.

Outro

Betsey: OK. That's all for this lesson.
Ofelia: Thank you all for listening! A presto!
Betsey: See you next time!

Comments

Hide