Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 3, Lesson 13 - Let’s Take a Trip to the Italian Countryside. Becky here.
Ofelia: Ciao. I'm Ofelia.
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the particle ci. The conversation takes place in the company break room.
Ofelia: It's between Maria and Elia.
Becky: The speakers are coworkers and friends, so they’ll be using informal Italian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Elia: Oggi è lunedì, che noia!
Maria: Vero, ma questo fine-settimana c'è il ponte...hai qualche progetto?
Elia: No. Vediamo che tempo fa... le previsoni dicono "soleggiato su tutto il territorio nazionale"!
Maria: Evvai! Perchè non facciamo una gita? Vorrei visitare Spello, ci sei mai stato?
Elia: No, dov'è?
Maria: E' vicino Perugia.
Elia: Perugia? Ci abitano alcuni miei amici.
Maria: Puoi chiedergli se ci fanno da guida.
Elia: Sì, di solito sono molto disponibili.
Becky: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Elia: Today is Monday. What a bore!
Maria: That's true, but this week there will be a three-day weekend... Do you have any plans?
Elia: No. Let's see what the weather will be... The forecast says, "Sunny all over the country!”
Maria: Great! Why don't we take a short trip? I would like to visit Spello. Have you ever been there?
Elia: No, where is it?
Maria: It's near Perugia.
Elia: Perugia? Some of my friends live there.
Maria: You can ask them if they could show us around.
Elia: Yes, usually they’re really helpful.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Becky: Ofelia, could you tell me a bit about Spello?
Ofelia: Of course! Spello is an ancient town in Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria.
Becky: Is it known for anything special?
Ofelia: Yes, it’s well-known as one of the most beautiful townships of Italy and for its most precious product: extra virgin olive oil. Also, the famous Infiorata festival is a whole night of creating over sixty flower carpets on the Corpus Domini feast.
Becky: Sounds interesting! What’s a good expression to know here?
Ofelia: You could say Spello è una splendida città nel cuore dell'Italia.
Becky: Meaning, "Spello is a magnificent town in the very center of Italy." It sounds like this is true, too! Okay, now on to the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is...
Ofelia: ponte [natural native speed]
Becky: bridge, three-day weekend
Ofelia: ponte [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: ponte [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have...
Ofelia: progetto [natural native speed]
Becky: project, plan
Ofelia: progetto [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: progetto [natural native speed]
Becky: The next word is...
Ofelia: previsione [natural native speed]
Becky: forecast
Ofelia: previsione [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: previsione [natural native speed]
Becky: Next...
Ofelia: soleggiato [natural native speed]
Becky: sunny
Ofelia: soleggiato [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: soleggiato [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have...
Ofelia: nazionale [natural native speed]
Becky: national
Ofelia: nazionale [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: nazionale [natural native speed]
Becky: The next one is...
Ofelia: Evvai! [natural native speed]
Becky: Oh yes! Hurray! Great!
Ofelia: Evvai! [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: Evvai! [natural native speed]
Becky: Next...
Ofelia: fare da guida [natural native speed]
Becky: to show around
Ofelia: fare da guida [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: fare da guida [natural native speed]
Becky: The last word is...
Ofelia: disponibile [natural native speed]
Becky: available
Ofelia: disponibile [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Ofelia: disponibile [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is...
Ofelia: ...ponte.
Becky: Which means "long weekend."
Ofelia: Ponte primarily means "bridge," just like the famous Ponte dei Sospiri, “Bridge of Sighs,” in Venice and Ponte Vecchio in Florence.
Becky: But the same word can also refer to a long weekend.
Ofelia: That’s right. For example, ponte del primo maggio, the “Labor Day long weekend.” Any time there is a holiday before or after the weekend, you can say fare il ponte in Italian.
Becky: And it means “to have a long weekend.” When this word refers to a bridge, it can be followed by a proper name as we’ve just said.
Ofelia: When it refers to a holiday, it’s usually followed by the preposition di, plus an article, and the name of the holiday. For example, Ponte del Venticinque Aprile.
Becky: The “April 25th long weekend.” Can you give us an example using this word?
Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, Per il ponte di Pasqua io e la mia famiglia andremo in montagna.
Becky: Meaning, "My family and I are going to spend the Easter long weekend in the mountains." Okay, now on to the grammar.

Lesson focus

Ofelia: In this lesson you’ll learn how to use the particle ci.
Becky: This particle can be used as a pronoun, either reflexive or reciprocal.
Ofelia: When using a reflexive verb, ci is the reflexive pronoun for the first person plural.
Becky: Can you give us some examples?
Ofelia: Sure! Ci possiamo fermare qui.
Becky: "We can stop here."
Ofelia: Ci dobbiamo sbrigare.
Becky:"We should hurry."
Becky: Ci can also be a reciprocal pronoun when you’re using reflexive verbs that express a reciprocal action.
Ofelia: For example, Nella mia famiglia ci salutiamo sempre con un bacio.
Becky: "In my family, we always greet each other with a kiss." This particle can also be used as a direct or indirect pronoun for the first person plural.
Ofelia: For example, Giulia e Marco ci verranno a trovare domenica.
Becky: "Giulia and Marco will visit us on Sunday."
Ofelia: Quando va in vacanza, Mario ci scrive sempre una cartolina.
Becky: "When he goes on vacation, Mario always writes a postcard to us." This particle can also be used as a place adverb, right?
Ofelia: That’s right. Ci as a place adverb can be substituted by qui, meaning "here;" in questo luogo meaning "in this place;" lì meaning "there;" or in quel luogo meaning "in that place," usually once a place has been stated. The most common phrases that use it are c'è which is made from ci plus è and means "there is"; and ci sono which means "there are."
Becky: This particle replaces noun phrases that follow the preposition a.
Ofelia: For example, let’s consider the phrase pensare a qualcosa, meaning “to think about something.” You will often hear Ci penso io! Meaning, "I’ll think about it!” Or, “I’ll take care of it!" Here, ci stands for “about it.”
Becky: Finally, this particle can be used with an emphasizing and repetitive function. Here’s an example.
Ofelia: Qui ci sto bene.
Becky: "Here, I'm at ease."
Ofelia: In this case, ci is a repetition of qui, and the sentence can also be Qui sto bene.

Outro

Becky: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Ofelia: A presto.

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