Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Marco: Hello, and welcome back to the ItalianPOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian! I'm joined in the studio by...
Consuelo: Hello everyone. Consuelo here.
Marco: In today's class, we will continue our analysis of Italian preposizioni semplici, simple prepositions, concentrating on in. We'll also show you how to make the choice between in or a when referring to places. This conversation takes place on the phone.
Consuelo: The conversation is between John and laura. The speakers are friends, and therefore they will be speaking informally.
Marco: Now, before we listen to the conversation...
Consuelo: We want to ask...
Marco: Do you read the lesson notes, while you listen?
Consuelo: We received an e-mail about this study tip.
Marco: So we were wondering if you've tried it, and if so,
Consuelo: what do you think of it.
Marco: You can leave us feedback in the comment section of this lesson. Okay...
Marco: Let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
John: Andiamo in macchina?
Laura: No a piedi! Certo che andiamo in macchina!
John: Ah. Pensavo di andare a cavallo.
Laura: Sei proprio simpatico.
John: Altrimenti potremmo andare in Vespa.
Laura: Preferisco la macchina.
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
John: Andiamo in macchina?
Laura: No a piedi! Certo che andiamo in macchina!
John: Ah. Pensavo di andare a cavallo.
Laura: Sei proprio simpatico.
John: Altrimenti potremmo andare in Vespa.
Laura: Preferisco la macchina.
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
John: Andiamo in macchina?
Marco: Shall we go by car?
Laura: No a piedi! Certo che andiamo in macchina!
Marco: No, on foot! Of course, we’re going by car!
John: Ah. Pensavo di andare a cavallo.
Marco: Ah. I thought we could go on horseback.
Laura: Sei proprio simpatico.
Marco: You’re really funny.
John: Altrimenti potremmo andare in Vespa.
Marco: Otherwise we could go by Vespa.
Laura: Preferisco la macchina.
Marco: I prefer the car.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Marco: I’d love to go on horseback!
Consuelo: In the city?
Marco: Of course not! Maybe on the hills outside Firenze.
Consuelo: That’s a fabulous place to go visit.
Marco: I wonder if you can drink wine while riding a horse.
Consuelo: I don’t think you can! It can be dangerous!
Marco: I’m sure it wouldn't be a big problem if the horse doesn’t drink.
Consuelo: That’s not the point.
Marco: You’re right. We should avoid drinking and driving or drinking and riding!
Consuelo: Esatto, non bevete alcolici prima di guidare.
Marco: Don't’ drink alcohol before driving.
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
: The first word we shall see is:
Consuelo: a piedi [natural native speed]
Marco: on foot, by foot
Consuelo: a piedi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: a piedi [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: proprio [natural native speed]
Marco: really, actually
Consuelo: proprio [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: proprio [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: a cavallo [natural native speed]
Marco: on horseback, by horse
Consuelo: a cavallo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: a cavallo [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: simpatico [natural native speed]
Marco: nice, funny, likeable
Consuelo: simpatico [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: simpatico [natural native speed]
: Next:
Consuelo: altrimenti [natural native speed]
Marco: otherwise
Consuelo: altrimenti [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Consuelo: altrimenti [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.
Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases we learned in this lesson. The word we’ll look at is...
Consuelo: simpatico
Marco: ""nice, funny, likeable""
Consuelo: In English, there is a very similar word, sympathetic, which has the same origin as simpatico, but it means something different.
Marco: Like compatible, charitable, comprehensive.
Consuelo: Yes, so let’s not forget that in Italian, it means mainly funny, nice.

Lesson focus

Consuelo: Let’s take a look at today’s lesson.
Marco: Today we are going to continue with the study of the scary
Consuelo: preposizioni semplici
Marco: simple prepositions
And they are these
Consuelo: di; a; da; in; con; su; per; tra; fra
Marco: Now, we use the preposition in with various cases, right?
Consuelo: Yes, we can use it before any means of transportation, except a cavallo
Marco: ""on horseback""
Consuelo: and a piedi
Marco: ""on foot""
Let’s see some examples.
Consuelo: Loro sono andati a Chicago in macchina.
Marco: ""They went to Chicago by car.""
Consuelo: Il centro città dista trenta minuti in autobus.
Marco: ""The city center is thirty minutes away by bus.""
Consuelo: L’anfiteatro può essere raggiunto solo a piedi.
Marco: ""The amphitheater can be reached only on foot.""
Consuelo: We also use in before complementi di luogo.
Marco: places or locations to which the action is directed
Consuelo: Similar to the preposition a, the preposition in translates differently according to the verb with which you use it.
Marco: For instance…
Consuelo: Sono in banca.
Marco: ""I’m at the bank.""
Consuelo: Andate in Sicilia per le vacanze?
Marco: ""Are you going to Sicily for your vacation?""
Consuelo: Milano si trova in Lombardia.
Marco: ""Milan is in Lombardy.""
Marco: As for complementi di luogo, the choice between a and in might seem difficult at first. Actually, it is one of the headaches students often experience!
Consuelo: But don’t worry! Mistakenly using one of those prepositions for the other does not normally affect the overall result of the conversation. It’s just a minor mistake!
Marco: Anyhow, in order to help you avoid making mistakes, let’s take a look at some guidelines that describe the categories of nouns related to specific prepositions.
Consuelo: We use the preposition a before cities, specific places, or generic places modified by adjectives.
Marco: For example...
Consuelo: Marta e Luisa vivono a Roma.
Marco: ""Marta and Luisa live in Rome.""
Consuelo: Siamo andati al (a+il) Colosseo.
Marco: ""We went to the Coliseum.""
Consuelo: Eliana studia alla (a+la) biblioteca vicina l’Università.
Marco: ""Eliana studies at the library close to the University.""
Marco: We use the preposition in before regions, countries, continents, and generic places unmodified by adjectives.
For instance...
Consuelo: Pompei si trova in Campania.
Marco: ""Pompei is in Camapania.""
Consuelo: Francesco vive in Asia da dieci anni.
Marco: ""Francesco has been living in Asia for ten years.""
Consuelo: Gianluca si trasferirà in Australia.
Marco: ""Gianluca will be moving to Australia.""
Consuelo: Mio padre è in ospedale.
Marco: ""My father is at the hospital.""
Marco: Please note that these guidelines are general.
Consuelo: The best way to learn how to choose between in and a is to learn them as part of the verb with which you use them.

Outro

Marco: That just about does it for today.
Consuelo: Ready to test what you just learned?
Marco: Make this lesson's vocabulary stick by using lesson specific flashcards in the learning center.
Consuelo: There is a reason everyone uses flashcards...
Marco: They work...
Consuelo: They really do help memorization.
Marco: You can get the flashcards for this lesson at
Consuelo: ItalianPod101.com.
Marco: Okay....
Marco: A presto!
Consuelo: Ciao"

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