Learn about how to use the simple Italian prepositions tra and fra, which you can use to distinguish the members of a group, discuss your position, or set a schedule
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone! I'm Consuelo, and welcome to ItalianPOD101. |
| Marco: With us, you'll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Consuelo: We also provide you with cultural insights |
| Marco: and tips you won't find in a textbook... |
| Marco: In this lesson, we will continue our study of Italian simple prepositions, delving into tra and fra. This conversation takes place in John's car. |
| Consuelo: The conversation is between John and Laura. The speakers are friends; therefore, the speakers will be speaking informally. |
| Consuelo: Listeners...I have a question... |
| Marco: A question? |
| Consuelo: Yep, I want to know when was the last time you commented? |
| Marco: Ahh, yes! Great question. |
| Consuelo: Stop by ItalianPOD101.com, leave us a comment or just say hi. |
| Marco: haha...okay, you heard Consuelo. |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Laura: Spegni la radio dai, che chiamo Martina. |
| John: Ok, dille che saremo lì fra circa quaranta minuti. |
| Laura: Va bene. |
| Laura: (al telefono) Ciao Martina! Sì, stasera pensavamo di andare al cinema ma tra poco inizia lo spettacolo e non faremo in tempo per il traffico. |
| Martina: (al telefono) Allora venite da me che tra poco ci sarà una festa in pigiama! |
| Laura: (al telefono) Grazie Martina, saremo lì tra circa quaranta minuti! |
| Martina: (al telefono) OK, vi aspetto ragazzi, ciao! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Laura: Spegni la radio dai, che chiamo Martina. |
| John: Ok, dille che saremo lì fra circa quaranta minuti. |
| Laura: Va bene. |
| Laura: (al telefono) Ciao Martina! Sì, stasera pensavamo di andare al cinema ma tra poco inizia lo spettacolo e non faremo in tempo per il traffico. |
| Martina: (al telefono) Allora venite da me che tra poco ci sarà una festa in pigiama! |
| Laura: (al telefono) Grazie Martina, saremo lì tra circa quaranta minuti! |
| Martina: (al telefono) OK, vi aspetto ragazzi, ciao! |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Laura: Spegni la radio dai, che chiamo Martina. |
| Marco: Come on; turn off the radio. I'll call Martina. |
| John: Ok, dille che saremo lì fra circa quaranta minuti. |
| Marco: Okay, tell her we'll be there in about forty minutes. |
| Laura: Va bene. |
| Marco: Fine. |
| Laura: (al telefono) Ciao Martina! Sì, stasera pensavamo di andare al cinema ma tra poco inizia lo spettacolo e non faremo in tempo per il traffico. |
| Marco: (on the phone) Hi Martina! Yes, tonight we were thinking of going to the movies but the show starts shortly and we won't make it in time because of the traffic. |
| Martina: (al telefono) Allora venite da me che tra poco ci sarà una festa in pigiama! |
| Marco: (on the phone) Then come to my place, there will be a pajamas party soon! |
| Laura: (al telefono) Grazie Martina, saremo lì tra circa quaranta minuti! |
| Marco: (on the phone) Thanks Martina! We'll be there in about forty minutes! |
| Martina: (al telefono) OK, vi aspetto ragazzi, ciao! |
| Marco: (on the phone) Okay, I'll be waiting for you guys, bye! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: What can you tell us about Italian parties? |
| Cris: Italian parties are crazy! |
| Marco: Is there some special period of the year you may want to suggest to our listeners to enjoy the best parties in Italy? |
| Cristiano: I think summer is probably the best time |
| Cristiano: The most famous one is probably the Costa Azzurra, one of Sardinia island's most beautiful spots. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: pigiama [natural native speed] |
| Marco: pyjamas/pajamas |
| Consuelo: pigiama [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: pigiama [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: radio [natural native speed] |
| Marco: radio |
| Consuelo: radio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: radio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: quaranta [natural native speed] |
| Marco: forty |
| Consuelo: quaranta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: quaranta [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: minuti [natural native speed] |
| Marco: minutes |
| Consuelo: minuti [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: minuti [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: festa [natural native speed] |
| Marco: feast, holiday, party |
| Consuelo: festa [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: festa [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: aspettare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to wait |
| Consuelo: aspettare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: aspettare [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... |
| Cris: ""dai."" |
| Marco: This word can be used to prompt someone to do something. |
| Cris: Yes, for example, ""Dai andiamo!"" |
| Marco: ""Come on, let's go."" |
| Cris: Or to continue doing something. |
| Marco: This is especially true in sports. It may happen that you hear some people saying ""dai dai dai dai, no!"" |
| Cris: Haha. This is especially true in soccer, when the attacking team is getting closer to the goal, but then misses! |
| Marco: And it happens all too often! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cris: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: Today, we are going to continue with the study of the |
| Cris: ""preposizioni semplici"" |
| Marco: ""simple prepositions."" |
| Cristiano: The focus of this lesson is on the Italian prepositions ""fra"" and ""tra."" |
| Marco: The prepositions ""tra"" and ""fra"" are utterly equivalent to each other and can thus be freely interchanged. They are used in the following circumstances… |
| Marco: to express the amount of time that elapses before an action takes place in the future. For example… |
| Cris: ""Inizierò a lavorare tra tre giorni."" |
| Marco: ""I'll start working in three days."" |
| Cris: ""Lo spettacolo comincia fra cinque minuti."" |
| Marco: ""The show starts in five minutes."" |
| Cris: ""Ci vediamo tra un quarto d'ora."" |
| Marco: ""I'll see you in fifteen minutes."" |
| Marco: to express the position, both in proper and figurative sense, of something/someone between two other terms. For instance… |
| Cris: ""La chiesa si trova fra la piazza e il parco."" |
| Marco: ""The church is between the square and the park."" |
| Cris: ""C'è del risentimento tra loro."" |
| Marco: ""There's a harsh feeling between them."" |
| Cris: ""L'anfiteatro si trova fra Via Mazzini e il comune."" |
| Marco: ""The amphitheatre lies between Via Mazzini and the City Hall."" |
| Marco: The prepositions ""tra"" and ""fra"" could be also used when talking about groups, to single out some members or parts. |
| For example… |
| Cris: ""Sono l'unica fra noi che parla tedesco."" |
| Marco: ""I'm the only one among us who speaks German."" |
| Cris: ""Era il solo ragazzo della festa, come si dice in italiano 'Beato tra le donne.'"" |
| Marco: ""He was the only guy at the party, as it goes in Italian (literally) 'Lucky fellow among women.'"" |
| Cris: ""Ci sono tre ragazze tra loro che vogliono studiare italiano."" |
| Marco: ""There are three girls among them who want to study Italian."" |
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: Arrivederci! |
| Consuelo: Ciao!" |
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