Learn how to combine the Italian passato prossimo and imperfetto tenses to convey past occurrences in formal narrations
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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 explain the imperfetto and passato prossimo tense agreement in narrations This conversation takes place on the streets of Italy |
| Cinzia: And it's between John and Laura They are friends therefore they will be speaking informally |
| DIALOGUE |
| Laura: Ieri ha nevicato! |
| John: Sì, ho visto. |
| Laura: Mentre andavo in ufficio ho scattato delle foto ai tetti. |
| John: Perché ai tetti? |
| Laura: Sono belli quando sono coperti di neve. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Laura: Ieri ha nevicato! |
| John: Sì, ho visto. |
| Laura: Mentre andavo in ufficio ho scattato delle foto ai tetti. |
| John: Perché ai tetti? |
| Laura: Sono belli quando sono coperti di neve. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Laura: Ieri ha nevicato! |
| Marco: Yesterday, it snowed! |
| John: Sì, ho visto. |
| Marco: Yes, I saw. |
| Laura: Mentre andavo in ufficio ho scattato delle foto ai tetti. |
| Marco: While I was going to the office, I took some pictures of rooftops. |
| John: Perché ai tetti? |
| Marco: Why rooftops? |
| Laura: Sono belli quando sono coperti di neve. |
| Marco: They are pretty when they are covered in snow. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Snow in old Italian cities is just wonderful! |
| Marco: I guess only if you don’t have to go to school or work! |
| Cinzia: Always thinking about practical things! Think about the atmosphere! |
| Marco: You’re right as always. I loved to walk in the desert streets of Venice after it snowed, you could just hear the sound of your footsteps crushing the ice! |
| Cinzia: That’s more like it! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Cinzia: nevicare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to snow |
| Cinzia: nevicare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: nevicare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: scattare una foto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to take a picture |
| Cinzia: scattare una foto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: scattare una foto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: foto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: photo, picture |
| Cinzia: foto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: foto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: tetto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: roof, rooftop |
| Cinzia: tetto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: tetto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: coprire [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to cover, screen, blanket |
| Cinzia: coprire [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: coprire [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: neve [natural native speed] |
| Marco: snow |
| Cinzia: neve [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: neve [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 |
| nevicare |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Domani dovrebbe nevicare. |
| Marco: It should snow tomorrow. |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| scattare una foto |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Mi può scattare una foto. |
| Marco: Can you take a picture? |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| foto |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Posso scattare una foto? |
| Marco: Can I take a picture? |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| tetto |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: C’è un gatto sul tetto. |
| Marco: There’s a cat on the roof. |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| coprire |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Fa freddo, copriti! |
| Marco: It’s cold, cover yourself! |
| Cinzia: Today's last word/expression is |
| neve |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Giochiamo nella neve? |
| Marco: Let’s play in the snow. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Marco: The tense agreement between passato prossimo and imperfetto tense is essential to comprehend how to convey past occurrences in formal narrations. |
| Cinzia: The main features of both tenses have already been introduced in previous classes. In today's class we will see how to correctly combine them. |
| Marco: The passato prossimo tense is used to express definite actions, which can be inserted into a precise, definite temporal context. |
| Marco: The imperfetto tense is principally used to describe any element of the narration that provides additional information to the main actions. |
| Cinzia: Within the limits we have just explained, they can be used rather freely. |
| Marco: Yes, the speaker is thus able to stress particular actions over the rest of the sentence. For instance |
| Cinzia: Ieri nevicava. |
| Marco: Yesterday it snowed. imperfetto |
| Cinzia: Ieri ha nevicato. |
| Marco: Yesterday it snowed. passato prossimo |
| Cinzia: Grammatically speaking, both sentences are correct. |
| Marco: However, in the first sentence the speaker casually illustrates an event that occurred, |
| whereas in the second he/she wishes to point out that it did snow yesterday. |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Testing yourself is one of the most effective ways to learn. |
| Cinzia: That's why we have 3 types of quizzes. |
| Marco: Vocabulary, grammar, and content specific. |
| Cinzia: Each quiz targets specific skill... |
| Marco: And together these quizzes will help you |
| master several fundamental skills. : |
| Cinzia: You can find them in the learning center at |
| Marco: ItalianPod101.com |
| Marco: Ciao a tutti! |
| Cinzia: A presto!" |
19 Comments
HideCiao Burak,
thanks for your question!
"Puoi scattare una foto" is also correct, but it's spoken in informal Italian. When you want to use formal Italian, "puoi" becomes "può" (basically, you should address the other person using the 3rd person singular instead of the second person [you]).
As for "mi", there is a slight difference between "può scattare una foto" and "mi può scattare una foto".
Può scattare una foto? -> Can you take a picture? (it's not clear of what or who)
Mi può scattare una foto? -> Can you take a picture OF ME?
Hope this helps!
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao,
In vocabulary, Mi può scattare una foto. translated as "Can you take a picture?". I'm a little bit confused. there are mi and puo that refers to first singular person but in translation it is second singular person. Shouldn't it be "puoi scattare una foto?"
Thanks :)
Ciao Ian,
in the Vocabulary session, there should be four buttons:
Add to Flashcard Deck
Add to Word Bank
Slideshow
Take Quiz (this is the one they're referring to)
Hope this helps!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao,
Where can I find the three types of quiz’s described in the audio?
Hi larry lillie,
Your dictionary is correct! :smile:
In the dialogue, "sono coperti" is a passive voice, so it needs "essere".
Please let us know, if you have other questions.
Keep up the good work!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
my dictionarty tells me thar COPRIRE takes avere and not essere. ::Which is correct ?
Hi Michael,
Yes, you can!
Both versions are correct :thumbsup:
Keep up the good work!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Can you say "Ci può scattare una foto" o "Può scattarci una foto" to say "Can you take a photo of us?"
Grazie.
Ciao Jorge,
perfetto!
A presto.
Chiara
Team ItalianPod101.com
La mia casa è coperta di neve
Mi house it's covered in snow.
Mi casa está cubierta de nieve.