Learn about if clauses using the a + infinitive structure in the subordinate clause
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Cinzia: Buongiorno. |
| Marco: Marco here. Lower intermediate series, season 1, Lesson 23. Won’t You Open a New Restaurant For Delicious Italian Pasta? Hello and welcome to the italianpod101.com, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian. |
| Cinzia: I am Cinzia and thanks again for being here with us for this lower intermediate series lesson. |
| Marco: In this lesson, we will practice the if clauses in Italian using the A+ infinitive structure in a subordinate clause. |
| Cinzia: This conversation takes place at Manuel’s apartment. |
| Marco: And the conversation is between Manuel, Marcella and Giulia. |
| Cinzia: The speakers are friends. Therefore they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| Marco: Attention listeners! Comment. |
| Cinzia: Comment. |
| Marco: And comment some more! |
| Cinzia: It’s easy. |
| Marco: And asking questions really helps improve progress. Let’s listen to the conversation now. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Marcella: La pasta era ottima, complimenti Giulia, dovresti aprire un ristorante. |
| Giulia: Grazie, sei troppo gentile. |
| Marcella: Non sto scherzando, sei molto brava a cucinare. |
| Giulia: Ad avere i fondi, lo avrei già fatto. |
| Manuel: Ed io cosa farei nel ristorante? |
| Giulia: Avremmo sicuramente bisogno di un cameriere. |
| Manuel: Va bene, accetto questa mancanza di fede nelle mie doti culinarie. |
| Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now. |
| Marcella: La pasta era ottima, complimenti Giulia, dovresti aprire un ristorante. |
| Giulia: Grazie, sei troppo gentile. |
| Marcella: Non sto scherzando, sei molto brava a cucinare. |
| Giulia: Ad avere i fondi, lo avrei già fatto. |
| Manuel: Ed io cosa farei nel ristorante? |
| Giulia: Avremmo sicuramente bisogno di un cameriere. |
| Manuel: Va bene, accetto questa mancanza di fede nelle mie doti culinarie. |
| Marco: And now, with the translation. |
| Marcella: La pasta era ottima, complimenti Giulia, dovresti aprire un ristorante. |
| Marcella: The pasta was very good; congratulations, Giulia, you should open a restaurant. |
| Giulia: Grazie, sei troppo gentile. |
| Giulia: Thank you; you are too kind. |
| Marcella: Non sto scherzando, sei molto brava a cucinare. |
| Marcella: I'm not kidding; you are very good at cooking. |
| Giulia: Ad avere i fondi, lo avrei già fatto. |
| Giulia: Had I had the funds, I'd have already done it. |
| Manuel: Ed io cosa farei nel ristorante? |
| Manuel: What should I be doing at the restaurant? |
| Giulia: Avremmo sicuramente bisogno di un cameriere. |
| Giulia: We'll surely need a waiter. |
| Manuel: Va bene, accetto questa mancanza di fede nelle mie doti culinarie. |
| Manuel: Okay, I accept this lack of faith in my culinary abilities. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Opening an Italian restaurant in a foreign country is a very common thing to do, right? |
| Marco: Well it sure is. Wouldn’t you like to open a nice Italian restaurant in, let’s say, a Tropical Islands resort? |
| Cinzia: Sure I would. But I am not sure I would get as many customers if I were in New York. |
| Marco: That is really a good point. Do you like New York? |
| Cinzia: Umm well, I have never been there but I am sure it is a nice city to visit. |
| Marco: Are there any listeners from New York? |
| Cinzia: Let us know. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is |
| Cinzia: Ottimo. |
| Marco: Great, excellent, very good. |
| Cinzia: Ottimo. Ottimo. |
| Marco: The next word is |
| Cinzia: Complimenti. |
| Marco: Congratulations. |
| Cinzia: Complimenti. Complimenti. |
| Marco: And the next word is |
| Cinzia: Fondo. |
| Marco: Fund. |
| Cinzia: Fondo.Fondo. |
| Marco: Next word Cinzia. |
| Cinzia: Cameriere. |
| Marco: Waiter |
| Cinzia: Cameriere. Cameriere. |
| Marco: And the next word is |
| Cinzia: Mancanza. |
| Marco: Lack, absence, shortage. |
| Cinzia: Mancanza. Mancanza. |
| Marco: And next word is Cinzia |
| Cinzia: Fede. |
| Marco: Faith. |
| Cinzia: Fede. Fede. |
| Marco: And today’s last word is |
| Cinzia: Dote. |
| Marco: Ability, gift. |
| Cinzia: Dote. Dote. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Marco: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Cinzia: The first word we will look at is ottimo. |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is |
| Cinzia: La bistecca che abbiamo mangiato era ottima. |
| Marco: The stake we ate was delicious. |
| Cinzia: The next word we will look at is complimenti. |
| Marco: And the sample is |
| Cinzia: Ho passato l’esame. Complimenti! |
| Marco: I passed the exam. Congratulations! |
| Cinzia: Next word is fondo. |
| Marco: And the sample is |
| Cinzia: La Compagnia aveva quasi esaurito i suoi fondi. |
| Marco: The Company almost used up its funds. |
| Cinzia: The next word we will look at is cameriere. |
| Marco: And the sample is |
| Cinzia: Joe lavora come cameriere in Italia. |
| Marco: Joe is working as a waiter in Italy. The next word is Cinzia |
| Cinzia: Mancanza. |
| Marco: And the sample is |
| Cinzia: Non ho potuto finire per mancanza di tempo. |
| Marco: I couldn’t finish due to the lack of time. |
| Cinzia: The next word we will look at is fede. |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is |
| Cinzia: La fede è un parte integrale di ogni religione. |
| Marco: Faith is an integral part of any religion. |
| Cinzia: And today’s last word is dote. |
| Marco: So the last sample sentence is |
| Cinzia: Le tue doti sportive sono molto apprezzate. |
| Marco: Your sports abilities are much appreciated. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Marco: And now, let’s take a look at today’s grammar point. In today’s dialogue, we have practiced using the A plus infinitive structure in a subordinate clause to build a hypothetical period in Italian. |
| Cinzia: Please take a look at the previous lesson if you still have doubts on this construction. |
| Marco: In today’s grammar point, we should therefore take a look at some other interesting topics. |
| Cinzia: When learning a language, we should always pay attention to some learning tips that can help us make it easier. |
| Marco: In a dialogue, Marcella tells Giulia |
| Cinzia: Sei molto brava a cucinare. |
| Marco: You are very good at cooking. |
| Cinzia: Instead of translating every single word of the sentence, the structure we should be considering is |
| Marco: To be good at doing something. |
| Cinzia: We noticed that the only difference is that in Italian A |
| Marco: To |
| Cinzia: Is followed by the infinitive. Whereas in English we need an ing form. |
| Marco: Considering the language around this viewpoint will give us a meaningful sentence to rely on, instead of just a series of words. |
| Cinzia: We should also try to associate adjectives to nouns, this way remembering them as a group. |
| Marco: In the dialogue, Marcella says that the pasta is |
| Cinzia: Ottima. |
| Marco: Very good. |
| Cinzia: The adjective ottimo is translated differently according to the noun it is attached to. |
| Marco: So if you try to memorize all the possible associations it would be really difficult. |
| Cinzia: Instead, you should build your knowledge one piece at a time. |
| Marco: Just as going up to stairs, gradually learning the adjective-noun combinations into real meaningful contexts. |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. Testing yourself is one of the most effective ways to learn. |
| Cinzia: That’s why we have three types of quizzes. |
| Marco: Vocabulary, grammar and content specific. |
| Cinzia: Each quiz targets specific skill. |
| Marco: And together, these quizzes will help you master several fundamental skills. |
| Cinzia: You can find them in the learning center at |
| Marco: italianpod101.com. Arrivederci. |
| Cinzia: A presto. |
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