Learn how to use the gerund when asking a hotel receptionist for information using a formal conversation as an example
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 3, Lesson 16 - Getting Lost in a Tiny Italian Village. Becky here. |
| Ofelia: Ciao. I'm Ofelia. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the gerund. The conversation takes place at a hotel reception desk. |
| Ofelia: It's between Elia and the receptionist. |
| Becky: The speakers don't know each other, so they’ll be using formal Italian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Elia: Avete una cartina turistica? |
| Receptionist: Sì, le cartine sono lì, di fianco all'entrata. |
| Elia: Ma c'è un ufficio turistico a Spello? |
| Receptionist: Certo, vicino al Palazzo Comunale. |
| Elia: Ci sono autobus che arrivano in centro? |
| Receptionist: No, guardi, Spello è molto piccola, potete arrivarci a piedi tranquillamente. Uscendo da qui, dovete andare sempre dritto, seguendo il marciapiede, fino alla tabaccheria in fondo a destra. Lì inizia il centro. |
| Elia: Ho capito. Non essendoci mai stato prima, sembro un po' imbranato. Grazie mille! |
| Receptionist: Si figuri. |
| Becky: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Elia: Do you have a tourist map? |
| Receptionist: Yes, the maps are over there next to the entrance. |
| Elia: But is there a tourist office in Spello? |
| Receptionist: Sure, near the Council Palace. |
| Elia: Are there buses that go to the center? |
| Receptionist: No, look, Spello is very little, you can get there on foot easily. Getting out of here, you must keep going straight following the sidewalk until the tobacco shop at the end (of the street) on the right. That’s where the center starts. |
| Elia: I see. Since I’ve never been here before, I seem a little clumsy. Thank you very much! |
| Receptionist: Don't mention it. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Ofelia, what are your tips for visiting different cities in Italy? |
| Ofelia: Well, when you plan to visit any Italian city, it’s best to get suggestions from the locals. |
| Becky: How do I do that if I don’t know anyone there? |
| Ofelia: When you arrive, you should visit the local proloco, which is the tourist information point, and if necessary, ask the people or police you meet on the streets. |
| Becky: They’ll be glad to help you with any tips you need, such as the best routes, the best restaurants, and the most common monuments or local secret treasures. What’s a useful expression here, Ofelia? |
| Ofelia: Ogni città italiana ha un centro storico degno di essere visitato. |
| Becky: "Any Italian city has an old town deserving of a visit." 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: cartina [natural native speed] |
| Becky: map |
| Ofelia: cartina [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: cartina [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: comunale [natural native speed] |
| Becky: of or relating to the council |
| Ofelia: comunale [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: comunale [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Our next word is... |
| Ofelia: autobus [natural native speed] |
| Becky: bus |
| Ofelia: autobus [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: autobus [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: tranquillamente [natural native speed] |
| Becky: easily, smoothly |
| Ofelia: tranquillamente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: tranquillamente [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: seguire [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to follow |
| Ofelia: seguire [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: seguire [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next word is... |
| Ofelia: marciapiede [natural native speed] |
| Becky: sidewalk |
| Ofelia: marciapiede [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: marciapiede [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: tabaccheria [natural native speed] |
| Becky: tobacco shop |
| Ofelia: tabaccheria [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: tabaccheria [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And our last word is... |
| Ofelia: imbranato [natural native speed] |
| Becky: awkward, clumsy |
| Ofelia: imbranato [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: imbranato [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: ...marciapiede. |
| Becky: Which means "sidewalk." |
| Ofelia: Marciapiede is a noun made up of two words - marcia, which comes from the verb marciare, meaning "to march" or "to walk," and piede, meaning "foot." So, the term marciapiede refers to the sidewalk, or the space where you can walk or march with your feet. |
| Becky: You can use this word to give directions. |
| Ofelia: You get the plural form, like with other compound nouns, just by changing the second word piede, and the first doesn't change. The plural form is marciapiedi. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, Andare in bici sul marciapiede è pericoloso. |
| Becky: Meaning, "Cycling on the sidewalk is dangerous." |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Ofelia: Tabaccheria. |
| Becky: Meaning "tobacco shop." |
| Ofelia: Tabacco means “tobacco” in English and the suffix -eria is used for many shops’ names, such as gelateria meaning "ice cream parlor;" pizzeria meaning "pizza shop;" and birreria meaning "beer shop." |
| Becky: It’s not only a tobacco shop, but also a store that sells matches, bus tickets, and lottery tickets. Many years ago, these shops were the places where tobacco and salt, which were both state monopolies, could be bought. |
| Ofelia: Nowadays, salt is no longer a monopoly, and you won't find it there. And this is also why some old signs still say sali e tabacchi, meaning "salt and tobacco." |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, Sali e tabacchi erano venduti soltanto in tabaccheria. |
| Becky: "Salt and tobacco were sold only in tobacco shops." Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson you will learn how to use the gerund… |
| Ofelia: ...which is called the gerundio in Italian. |
| Becky: We talked about the gerund when we explained the present/past continuous. Let’s quickly review the present tense. |
| Ofelia: Okay. The gerundio presente is used to suggest a cause or a reason. |
| Becky: It’s also used to suggest the meaning of contemporaneity and it’s often translated as “while.” Ofelia, can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Ceno guardando la televisione. |
| Becky: "I have dinner while watching television." |
| Ofelia: Here the gerundio presente can be substituted with mentre, plus a sentence, without changing the meaning. For example, Ceno mentre guardo la televisione. |
| Becky: In Italian, mentre means “while.” Now let’s see the compounded gerund, the one used for the past tense. |
| Ofelia: We form the gerundio passato with the gerund form of either avere or essere, plus the past participle of the action verb. |
| Becky: The choice of the auxiliary verb for the compound gerund follows the rules for the choice of the auxiliary of the other past tenses. Ofelia, can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Avendo guidato per più di 200 km, ora sono molto stanco. |
| Becky: "Having driven over 200 kilometers, I’m now very tired." |
| Ofelia: In this case, guidare requires avere. Another example is, Non essendo andata a lezione, la volta dopo ebbi delle difficoltà. |
| Becky: "Since I didn't go to the lesson, the following time I had some difficulties." |
| Ofelia: Here andare requires essere. Also, the past participle of the verbs that require essere must agree in gender and number with the subject. |
| Becky: Is there anything else we need to know here? |
| Ofelia: It’s important to know that we always attach the pronouns to the end of the auxiliary verb. We never attach them to the past participle. For example, Avendolo visto con un'altra, Elena decise di rompere con il suo ragazzo. |
| Becky: "Having seen him with another girl, Elena decided to break up with her boyfriend.” Can you give us some more sample sentences? |
| Ofelia: Of course! Essendo andati per molti anni nello stesso luogo, le nostre vacanze sono diventate noiose. |
| Becky: "Since we used to go to the same place for years, holidays became boring." |
| Ofelia: And one more. Avendo mangiato per ore e ore, adesso sono pieno da scoppiare. |
| Becky: "Having had food for hours and hours, now I'm filled to the bursting point." |
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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