Learn how to use the Italian past conditional tense
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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 how to use the condizionale passato in expressing actions that will not take place |
| Cinzia: This conversation takes place on the streets of Italy |
| Marco: And it is between Peter and Anna |
| Cinzia: They are friends therefore they will be speaking informal Italian |
| 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 |
| Peter: Il prossimo fine settimana andiamo al cinema? |
| Anna: Sarei venuta volentieri, ma ho già promesso ad Elena di uscire con lei. |
| Peter: Ah. Facciamo un’altra volta allora. |
| Anna: Comunque, che film avevi in mente? |
| Peter: Pensavo a Wall-E. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: Il prossimo fine settimana andiamo al cinema? |
| Anna: Sarei venuta volentieri, ma ho già promesso ad Elena di uscire con lei. |
| Peter: Ah. Facciamo un’altra volta allora. |
| Anna: Comunque, che film avevi in mente? |
| Peter: Pensavo a Wall-E. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Peter: Il prossimo fine settimana andiamo al cinema? |
| Marco: Shall we go to the cinema next weekend? |
| Anna: Sarei venuta volentieri, ma ho già promesso ad Elena di uscire con lei. |
| Marco: I’d gladly come, but I’ve already promised Elena to go out with her. |
| Peter: Ah. Facciamo un’altra volta allora. |
| Marco: Ah, let’s do it some other time then. |
| Anna: Comunque, che film avevi in mente? |
| Marco: Anyway, what movie did you have in mind? |
| Peter: Pensavo a Wall-E. |
| Marco: I was thinking of Wall-E. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Going to the movies during winter holidays is pretty common in Italy. |
| Marco: It sure is, especially since it is rather cold outside. |
| Cinzia: But maybe also because the sun sets rather early, around half past five. |
| Marco: Oh yeah. Going out of the office and finding a dark sky is kind of gloomy. |
| Cinzia: Yes, I miss the Italian summer. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cinzia: cinema [natural native speed] |
| Marco: cinema, movie theater |
| Cinzia: cinema [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: cinema [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: volentieri [natural native speed] |
| Marco: willingly, gladly, sure, with pleasure |
| Cinzia: volentieri [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: volentieri [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: già [natural native speed] |
| Marco: already, formerly |
| Cinzia: già [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: già [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: promettere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to promise, to swear, to guarantee, to commit oneself |
| Cinzia: promettere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: promettere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: comunque [natural native speed] |
| Marco: however, anyhow, anyway, whatever |
| Cinzia: comunque [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: comunque [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: avere in mente [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to have in mind |
| Cinzia: avere in mente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: avere in mente [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: cinema |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Domenica vado al cinema. |
| Marco: I am going to the movie theater on Sunday. |
| Cinzia: volentieri |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Vengo volentieri al cinema. |
| Marco: I’d gladly come to the movie theater. |
| Cinzia: già |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Sono già arrivati. |
| Marco: They’ve already arrived. |
| Cinzia: promettere |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Prometto di arrivare in orario. |
| Marco: I promise I’ll arrive on time. |
| Cinzia: comunque |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Comunque, ci vediamo domain. |
| Marco: Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. |
| Cinzia: avere in mente |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Cosa hai in mente? |
| Marco: What do you have in mind? |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cinzia: The past conditional may be used to express future actions that, according to the speaker, will not take place. |
| Marco: In this case the speaker takes up the viewpoint of the past instead of the present. |
| Cinzia: Remember that we should use this structure only when we are really sure that a future action will never take place |
| Marco: For instance |
| Cinzia: Sarei venuto con te lunedì prossimo, ma sarò fuori città. |
| Marco: (lit.) I'd have come with you next Monday, but I'll be out of town. |
| meaning |
| Cinzia: Verrei con te lunedì prossimo, ma sarò fuori città. |
| Marco: I'd come with you next Monday, but I'll be out of town. |
| Cinzia: Ti avrei comprato un regalo, ma non credo d'avere abbastanza soldi. |
| Marco: (lit.) I'd have bought you a gift, but I don't think I have enough money. |
| meaning |
| Cinzia: Ti comprerei un regalo, ma non credo che avrò abbastanza soldi. |
| Marco: I'd buy you a gift, but I don't think I'll have enough money. |
| Marco: The past conditional of the three conjugations verbs is realized by using the present conditional of the auxiliary verb |
| Cinzia: (either essere or avere) |
| Marco: conjugated according to the person it refers to, followed by the past participle of the main verb |
| Cinzia: in short |
| Subject + auxiliary verb (present conditional) + main verb (past participle) |
| Marco: Keep in mind that whenever a verb requires the auxiliary essere (to be), its past participle has to be conjugated according to the gender and number of the person it refers to. For instance |
| Cinzia: Maria sarebbe tornata la settimana succesiva. |
| Marco: Maria would have come back the following week. (feminine singular) |
| Cinzia: Francesco e Federico si sarebbero divertiti molto al cinema. |
| Marco: Francesco and Federico would have enjoyed themselves a lot at the cinema. (masculine plural) |
| Cinzia: let us now see the Condizionale Passato conjugation of the verb partire |
| Marco: to leave |
| Cinzia: this verb requires the auxiliary essere |
| Cinzia: Io sarei partito |
| Marco: I would have left |
| Cinzia: Tu saresti partito |
| Marco: You would have left |
| Cinzia: Lui sarebbe partito |
| Marco: He/it would have left |
| Cinzia: Lei sarebbe partita |
| Marco: She would have left |
| Cinzia: Noi saremmo partiti |
| Marco: We would have left |
| Cinzia: Voi sareste partiti |
| Marco: You would have left |
| Cinzia: Loro sarebbero partiti |
| Marco: They would have left |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your pronunciation. |
| Cinzia: The voice recording tool... |
| Marco: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center... |
| Cinzia: Record your voice with a click of a button, |
| Marco: and then play it back just as easily. |
| Cinzia: So you record your voice, and then listen to it. |
| Marco: Compare it to the native speakers... |
| Cinzia: And adjust your pronunciation! |
| Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast! |
| Marco: Ciao! |
| Cinzia: Ciao grazie! |
Comments
HideCiao Liz,
Grazie mille per il tuo commento! :smile:
A presto,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ancora una volta, la spiegazione della grammatica e' molto chiaro!
Once again, the explanation of the grammar is very clear.
Grazie mille, italianpod101!
Thanks so much, italianpod101!
Che possiamo dire?!
Grazie a te Luca!!:heart::laughing:
Grazie mille!
Ciao-
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
:smile:
Un'altra bella lezione. Che posso dire? TI AMO, ITALIANPOD101!
Hi Beverly A. Gee,
the rule is the same as for the "Passato prossimo".
As a general rule transitive verbs need "avere", while intransitive verbs need "essere".
Grazie e a presto!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
how do you know which auxiliary verb to use (essere or avere) when forming a past conditional statement?
Ciao Barb!
You will find grammar notes inside [DOWNLOAD PDFs -> Lesson notes], just above the lesson's title.
If you have any other question, let us know!
Thank you
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
where do we find the grammar notes?
Hi, there must be a typo. Sorry. The correct sentence is: 'C'è stato un incidente.'
sorry about that.
Hi Harry,
We've just deleted your previous comment.
Thank you,
Jae
Team ItalianPod101.com
arghhh! Can you delete my email so I don't get spam. Thanks