Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
None (manual write in):
Cristina: Ciao!
Jason: Jason here! Welcome to ItalianPod101.com. This is Upper Beginner, Lesson 15 - talking about a birthday dinner. In this lesson you will learn the difference in the usage of the preposition da .
Such as“Questa è una cena da ricordare!”
Cristina: “This is a dinner to remember!”
Jason: This conversation takes place in a student’s apartment
Cristina: Maria, Giulia e Claudia parlano insieme. Sono tre amiche
Jason: The conversation is between Maria, Giulia and Claudia.
They are friends so the speakers will be speaking informal Italian.
Cristina: Ascoltiamo
Jason: Let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Maria: Ciao Elena, buon compleanno! ciao Giulia! Entrate pure. Siete arrivate puntualissime per la cena.
Elena: Wow! Che tavola stupenda! Con le candele ed i fiori. Qui ci voleva un abito da cerimonia.
Maria: Ma no! E' una cena molto semplice. Sedete pure! La cena è pronta.
Giulia: Maria, questa pasta è buonissima! Un piatto da sogno per noi studentesse abituate a mangiare alla mensa dell'università.
Elena: Speciale anche questa carne. E questo vino rosso dal sapore fruttato, da dove viene?
Maria: E' un regalo di mio zio Angelo che si intende di vini - fa il sommelier.
Maria: Ho preparato anche un semifreddo come dolce.
Elena: Grazie Maria per aver preparato una cena coi fiocchi per il mio compleanno.
Giulia: Proprio una cena da ricordare!
Maria: Non esagerare!
Giulia: Adesso però, Maria, ti diamo una mano a sparecchiare la tavola e poi ci sono i piatti da lavare.
Maria: No, no. Ci mancherebbe altro! E poi... c'è la lavastoviglie!
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Maria: Ciao Elena, buon compleanno! ciao Giulia! Entrate pure. Siete arrivate puntualissime per la cena.
Elena: Wow! Che tavola stupenda! Con le candele ed i fiori. Qui ci voleva un abito da cerimonia.
Maria: Ma no! E' una cena molto semplice. Sedete pure! La cena è pronta.
Giulia: Maria, questa pasta è buonissima! Un piatto da sogno per noi studentesse abituate a mangiare alla mensa dell'università.
Elena: Speciale anche questa carne. E questo vino rosso dal sapore fruttato, da dove viene?
Maria: E' un regalo di mio zio Angelo che si intende di vini - fa il sommelier.
Maria: Ho preparato anche un semifreddo come dolce.
Elena: Grazie Maria per aver preparato una cena coi fiocchi per il mio compleanno.
Giulia: Proprio una cena da ricordare!
Maria: Non esagerare!
Giulia: Adesso però, Maria, ti diamo una mano a sparecchiare la tavola e poi ci sono i piatti da lavare.
Maria: No, no. Ci mancherebbe altro! E poi... c'è la lavastoviglie!
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Maria: Ciao Elena, buon compleanno! ciao Giulia! Entrate pure. Siete arrivate puntualissime per la cena.
Jason: Hi, Elena, happy birthday! Hi, Giulia! Come on in. You have arrived perfectly on time for dinner.
Elena: Wow! Che tavola stupenda! Con le candele ed i fiori. Qui ci voleva un abito da cerimonia.
Jason: Wow! What a beautiful table with candles and flowers. We should have worn formal dress.
Maria: Ma no! E' una cena molto semplice. Sedete pure! La cena è pronta.
Jason: No, no. I prepared a simple dinner. Please have a seat. Dinner is ready.
Giulia: Maria, questa pasta è buonissima! Un piatto da sogno per noi studentesse abituate a mangiare alla mensa dell'università.
Jason: Maria, this pasta is very tasty! A dreamlike dish for us students who are used to eating at the university cafeteria.
Elena: Speciale anche questa carne. E questo vino rosso dal sapore fruttato, da dove viene?
Jason: The meat is also special. And this wine that has a fruity taste, where is it from?
Maria: E' un regalo di mio zio Angelo che si intende di vini - fa il sommelier.
Jason: It's a present from my uncle Angelo who is an expert in wines…he is a sommelier.
Maria: Ho preparato anche un semifreddo come dolce.
Jason: I also prepared a cake as dessert.
Elena: Grazie Maria per aver preparato una cena coi fiocchi per il mio compleanno.
Jason: Thank you, Maria, for preparing an excellent dinner for my birthday.
Giulia: Proprio una cena da ricordare!
Jason: A dinner to remember!
Maria: Non esagerare!
Jason: Don't exaggerate!
Giulia: Adesso però, Maria, ti diamo una mano a sparecchiare la tavola e poi ci sono i piatti da lavare.
Jason: Now, let's help you clear the table and wash the dishes.
Maria: No, no. Ci mancherebbe altro! E poi... c'è la lavastoviglie!
Jason: Don't worry about it! And anyway...I have a dishwasher!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Cristina: Today we are going to talk about Renaissance cuisine.
Jason: Do you mean we are going to talk about food from the 15th and 16th centuries?
Cristina: In some ways. Today I’d like to introduce a Renaissance chef to you.
Jason: Sounds interesting… Who is it?
Cristina: Well, I ‘m sure you know him. Guess!
Jason: Cristina, I really don’t know. Give me a hint.
Cristina: Well… he was born near Firenze. And he is considered a genius for all times.
Jason: A chef? I have no idea… can the listener guess?
Cristina: so… It’s Leonardo da Vinci!
Jason: Leonardo da Vinci? Really?
Cristina: Not many people know that Leonardo da Vinci had a great passion for cooking, but he actually worked at the Taverna delle Tre lumache, near Ponte Vecchio when he was 20 years old.
Jason: I worked in a restaurant too as a waiter during university.
Cristina [laughs]: But Leonardo was quickly He was then upgraded to the position of chef and then capocuoco (head chef).
Jason: Why? Was he so good?
Cristina: He invented various instruments to peel and cut various ingredients. He also studied some ways to absorb bad smells and he built a mechanical device to roast the chicken, the ancient girarrosto.
Jason: That’s quite impressive!
VOCAB LIST
Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Cristina: abituato [natural native speed]
Jason: to be used
Cristina: abituato [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: abituato [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: mensa [natural native speed]
Jason: cafeteria
Cristina: mensa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: mensa [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: fruttato [natural native speed]
Jason: fruity
Cristina: fruttato [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: fruttato [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: intendersi [natural native speed]
Jason: to be an expert in, to know something about
Cristina: intendersi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: intendersi [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: semifreddo [natural native speed]
Jason: semifreddo/ ice cream cake
Cristina: semifreddo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: semifreddo [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: coi fiocchi [natural native speed]
Jason: excellent
Cristina: coi fiocchi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: coi fiocchi [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: dare una mano [natural native speed]
Jason: to give a hand
Cristina: dare una mano [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: dare una mano [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: sparecchiare [natural native speed]
Jason: clear
Cristina: sparecchiare [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: sparecchiare [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: ci mancherebbe altro! [natural native speed]
Jason: Don't mention it!, Don't worry about it!
Cristina: ci mancherebbe altro! [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: ci mancherebbe altro! [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cristina: lavastoviglie [natural native speed]
Jason: dishwasher
Cristina: lavastoviglie [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cristina: lavastoviglie [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Jason: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Jason: The first one we'll look at is...
Cristina: intendersi
Jason: to be an expert, to know a lot about something
Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. Carlo si intende di computer e mi dà sempre dei buoni consigli.
Jason: Carlo is an expert at computers and always advises me well.
Cristina: Intendersi is a reflexive verb so in the present tense the particle si must be declined and must precede the main part of the verb. Therefore Carlo si intende.
Jason: Does intendersi require a preposition?
Cristina: yes, it is followed by the preposition di. Quindi, Carlo si intende di computer.
Jason: What's the next one we'll look at?
Cristina: dare una mano
Jason: to give a hand, to help.
I think I’ve heard a similar word before: dare la mano. Does it mean the same?
Cristina: No, it’s quite different. Dare la mano means to shake hands!
Jason: Oh, that’s very different. I should be careful. Can you give me an example sentence of dare una mano?
Cristina: Ti diamo una mano a sparecchiare.
Jason: This means We'll give you a hand to clear the table.
Cristina: Esatto. Here the person to be helped is expressed by the indirect pronoun ti. Remember that it can also be introduced by the preposition a.
Jason: For example?
Cristina: Oggi do una mano a Maria con i compiti.
Jason: Today I'll give Maria a hand with doing the homework.

Lesson focus

Jason: The focus of this lesson is the usage of the preposition da.
Cristina: The preposition da has three basic meanings
Jason: First, together with the verb venire it is used to express the place of origin.
Cristina: For example,Vengo da Brescia.
Jason: I come from Brescia.
Cristina: Second, da is used to express the person you stay at and go to.
Jason: Vado a cena da Mario.
Cristina: I go for dinner at Mario’s.
Jason: That’s why so many restaurants and pizzeria is in Italy are called Da plus a person’s name, like Da Mario!
Cristina: Esatto! Last, the preposition da expresses the place where someone or something is coming from.
Jason: Anna arriva dal lavoro alle 8.
Cristina: Anna comes back from work at 8.
Jason: Other than the usages described above, the preposition da can also express a way of being.
Cristina: It expresses the way someone or something is.
Jason: It conveys the meaning of ‘how’ something or somebody is.
Cristina: For example, Federica ha un vestito da vera signora.
Jason: You can also say...
Cristina: Federica ha un vestito come una vera signora.
Jason: In English the closest translation would be Federica has a lady-like dress/ elegant dress.
Cristina: yes, that’s right. So da expresses how the dress is.
Jason: Can you give me another example?
Cristina: E’ un piatto da sogno per noi studentesse.
Jason: It means E’ un piatto come un sogno per noi studentesse.
Cristina: And in English It’s a dream-like dish for us students.
Jason: All right! I got it.
Cristina: Let’s now look at some other usages of da that are similar to this one.
Jason: The preposition da can describe the quality of someone or something.
Cristina: It can be substituted by con, che ha.
Jason: An example can be Un ragazzo dai capelli neri.
Cristina: Un ragazzo che ha i capelli neri or Un ragazzo con i capelli neri.
Jason: In English this sentence becomes 'A boy with black hair.'
Cristina: Next you’ll learn about one more usage of the preposition da, when da is used together with a verb.
Jason: When da is used in front of a verb, the meaning of the sentence is ‘that needs to’. Here is an example.
Cristina: Questa è una cena da ricordare.
Jason: Questa è una cena che bisogna ricordare.
Cristina: In English the above example is translated as This is a dinner to be remembered or This is a dinner that needs to be remembered.
Jason: Another example is…
Cristina: Ci sono dieci magliette da stirare.
Jason: Da stirare means that need to be ironed.
Cristina: Sì, ci sono dieci magliette che bisogna stirare.
Jason: So, there are ten T-shirts to be ironed.
Jason: OK. That's all for this lesson. In the lesson notes, you can find more examples on this grammar point. So be sure to read them everyone.
Cristina: A presto!
Jason: Bye-bye!

Outro

Jason: That just about does it for today.

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