Learn everything you need to know about Italian transitive verbs
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Cinzia: Hello everyone! I'm Cinzia, and welcome to ItalianPOD101. |
| Marco: With us, you'll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Cinzia: We also provide you with cultural insights |
| Marco: and tips you won't find in a textbook... |
| Marco: In this lesson we will learn about Italian transitive verbs This conversation takes place on the phone |
| Cinzia: And it's between laura and John They are friends therefore they will be speaking informal Italian |
| Marco: And it's between Laura and John |
| Cinzia: They are friends therefore they will be speaking informal Italian. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| Marco: Attention listners, comment, |
| Cinzia: comment, |
| Marco: and comment some more! |
| Cinzia: It's easy, |
| Marco: and asking questions really helps improve progress. |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Laura: Pronto? |
| John: Ciao Laura, come stai? |
| Laura: Ciao, io sto bene e tu? |
| John: Anch'io, grazie. Cosa fai? |
| Laura: Lavo i piatti e tu? |
| John: Guardo la televisione, ma non c’è nulla di divertente. |
| Laura: Perché non ascolti un podcast? |
| John: Hai ragione! Ora cerco un podcast interessante. Grazie. Ciao. |
| Laura: Ciao. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Laura: Pronto? |
| John: Ciao Laura, come stai? |
| Laura: Ciao, io sto bene e tu? |
| John: Anch'io, grazie. Cosa fai? |
| Laura: Lavo i piatti e tu? |
| John: Guardo la televisione, ma non c’è nulla di divertente. |
| Laura: Perché non ascolti un podcast? |
| John: Hai ragione! Ora cerco un podcast interessante. Grazie. Ciao. |
| Laura: Ciao. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Laura: Pronto? |
| Marco: Hello? |
| John: Ciao Laura, come stai? |
| Marco: Hello Laura, how are you? |
| Laura: Ciao, io sto bene e tu? |
| Marco: Hi, I’m fine. And you? |
| John: Anch'io, grazie. Cosa fai? |
| Marco: Me too, thanks. What are you doing? |
| Laura: Lavo i piatti e tu? |
| Marco: I’m washing the dishes. And you? |
| John: Guardo la televisione, ma non c’è nulla di divertente. |
| Marco: I’m watching television but there’s nothing fun. |
| Laura: Perché non ascolti un podcast? |
| Marco: Why don’t you listen to a podcast? |
| John: Hai ragione! Ora cerco un podcast interessante. Grazie. Ciao. |
| Marco: You are right! I’m going to look for an interesting podcast. Thanks. Bye. |
| Laura: Ciao. |
| Marco: Bye. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Do you wash the dishes at home? |
| Marco: Sure, why? |
| Cinzia: Well, not all men help wash dishes. |
| Marco: We should have a poll. |
| Cinzia: Yes! Dear male listeners, do you help wash dishes? |
| Marco: Let us know. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Cinzia: lavare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to wash, clean |
| Cinzia: lavare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: lavare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: guardare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to look, to watch |
| Cinzia: guardare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: guardare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: televisione [natural native speed] |
| Marco: television |
| Cinzia: televisione [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: televisione [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: ascoltare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to listen |
| Cinzia: ascoltare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: ascoltare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: podcast [natural native speed] |
| Marco: podcast |
| Cinzia: podcast [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: podcast [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: interessante [natural native speed] |
| Marco: interesting |
| Cinzia: interessante [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: interessante [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Cinzia: The first word we will look at is |
| lavare |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Lavo la camicia. |
| Marco: I’m washing the shirt. |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| guardare |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Guardiamo un film italiano? |
| Marco: Shall we watch an Italian movie? |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| televisione |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: La televisione non funziona. |
| Marco: The television isn’t working. |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| ascoltare |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Non ascoltare musica a volume alto. |
| Marco: Don’t listen to music out loud. |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| podcast |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Italianpod101.com è un podcast fantastico. |
| Marco: Italianpod101.com is a fantastic podcast. |
| Cinzia: Today's last word/expression is |
| interessante |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: È una teoria molto interessante. |
| Marco: It is a very interesting theory. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cinzia: Transitive verbs are those verbs which are followed by a complemento oggetto |
| Marco: direct object. This means that the action falls on an object, it doesn't stay on the subject itself. For example |
| Cinzia: Lucia sta leggendo un romanzo. |
| Marco: Lucia is reading a novel. |
| Cinzia: Mario mangia una mela. |
| Marc0: Mario is eating an apple. |
| Cinzia: Serena canta una canzone. |
| Marco: Serena is singing a song. |
| Cinzia: Transitive verbs may be used in absolute term. |
| Marco: This happens when the transitive verb is not followed by a direct object. |
| Cinzia: In this case the verb simply indicates what action the subject performs. |
| Marco: Taking the examples we just saw |
| Cinzia: Lucia sta leggendo. |
| Marco: Lucia is reading. |
| Cinzia: Mario mangia. |
| Marco: Mario is eating. |
| Cinzia: Serena canta. |
| Marco: Serena is singing. |
| Cinzia: Don't mistake transitive verbs used in absolute terms, for intransitive verbs! |
| Marco: The best method to identify transitive verbs is to ask ourselves whether they can be followed by a direct object or not. |
| Cinzia: In other words, we should ask ourselves "what?". |
| Marco: For example, if we read a sentence such as |
| Cinzia: Francesco cucina |
| Marco: Francesco is cooking |
| we should ask ourselves "Can he be cooking pasta, rice or something?" Of course, he can! Therefore, cucinare is a transitive verb. |
| Cinzia: But let us not forget that not all transitive verbs can be used in absolute terms. |
| Marco: Oh yes. For example, we don't normally say |
| Cinzia: Mike guarda |
| Marco: Mike is looking at/watching |
| although we know what action he is performing, this mere fact does not make a meaningful sentence. |
| Cinzia: We will now see some commonly used Italian transitive verbs. |
| In today's bonus track there will be a longer list of transitive verbs! |
| Cinzia: abbracciare |
| Marco: to hug |
| Cinzia: bruciare |
| Marco: to burn |
| Cinzia: cacciare |
| Marco: to hunt |
| Cinzia: descrivere |
| Marco: to describe |
| Cinzia: esaminare |
| Marco: to examine |
| Cinzia: gestire |
| Marco: to manage |
| Cinzia: interrompere |
| Marco: to interrupt |
| Cinzia: lasciare |
| Marco: to leave |
| Cinzia: memorizzare |
| Marco: to memorize |
| Cinzia: noleggiare |
| Marco: to hire |
| Cinzia: offendere |
| Marco: to offend |
| Cinzia: piegare |
| Marco: to bend |
| Cinzia: promettere |
| Marco: to promise |
| Cinzia: salvare |
| Marco: to save |
| Cinzia: tirare |
| Marco: to pull |
| Cinzia: vendere |
| Marco: to sell |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Premium members, use the review track to perfect your pronunciation. |
| Cinzia: Available in the premium section of the website, |
| Marco: the learning center |
| Cinzia: and through iTunes via the premium feed, |
| Marco: the Review Track gives you vocabulary and phrases followed by a short pause so you can repeat the words aloud. |
| Cinzia: The best way to get good fast! |
| Marco: Okay.. |
| Marco: Ciao! |
| Cinzia: A presto! |
| Sample Sentences |
32 Comments
HideDo you do the washing up at home?
Ciao Linda,
grazie per il tuo commento!
Great, sharing house chores is the best solution, in my opinion! 👍
Let us know if you have any questions.
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Sì, lavo i piatti, ma mio marito lava il bucato. 😁
Hi Addy,
Please check this lesson from the Ultimate Italian Pronunciation Guide.
Thank you,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi Eli,
You don't seem too happy about that 😆
You should say "lavo," from the verb "lavare" (to wash). "Lavoro" means "I work."
Thanks for posting!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Sì, lavoro i piatti sempre:'(
I have a hard time rolling my tongue with the r how do i roll the r ?😳
Hi Ken,
The Italian simple present can be translated with both the English simple present and the present progressive.
The Italian construction stare + gerundio is used when you want to emphasize that something is happening in the same exact moment.
You would use "Mario sta mangiando un mela", when, for example, you want to highlight the fact that he can't eat a different fruit or he can't answer the phone right away because his mouth is full.
I hope this helps!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi Team ItalianPod101.com,
In the lesson transcript, it translates “Mario mangia una mela” as “Mario is eating an apple” rather than “Mario eats an apple”. Does that mean that the present tense of “mangiare” is interchangeable with its gerund form, “Mario sta mangiando una mela” (Mario is eating an apple)? The same applies to “Serena canta una canzone” which is translated in the lesson as “Serena is singing a song” rather than “Serena sings a song”.
Please clarify.
Thank you and kind regards,
Ken
Hi Sue O'Meara,
Thank you for posting. You are right: "high volume" is a better translation.
Grazie,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
I have a question regarding your English translation.
Non ascoltare musica a volume alto.
"Don't listen to music out loud."
Should the term be "out loud" or at "high volume"?
Thanks