Learn how to ask someone's age and how to answer
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Ciao |
| Marco: Michael here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 5: I Can’t Believe You Just Asked How Old She is in Italian. |
| Consuelo: Hello, everyone. I’m Consuelo and welcome to ItalianPod101.com. |
| Marco: With us, you 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. In today’s class, we will focus on asking about someone’s age using the verb “avere”, “to have.” |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at the bar. |
| Marco: The conversation is between Melissa and Alessio. |
| Consuelo: In the first conversation, they will be speaking the informal Italian. In the second conversation, they’ll use formal Italian. |
| Marco: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Alessio: Melissa, quanti anni hai? |
| Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni. E tu? |
| Alessio: Io ho venticinque anni. |
| Marco: Formal. |
| Alessio: Quanti anni ha? |
| Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni e Lei? |
| Alessio: Ho venticinque anni. |
| Marco: Let’s hear it slowly now. |
| Alessio: Melissa, quanti anni hai? |
| Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni. E tu? |
| Alessio: Io ho venticinque anni. |
| Alessio: Quanti anni ha? |
| Melissa: Ho ventiquattro anni e Lei? |
| Alessio: Ho venticinque anni. |
| Marco: And now, with the translation. |
| Alessio |
| Melissa, quanti anni hai? |
| Marco |
| Melissa, how old are you? |
| Melissa |
| Ho ventiquattro anni. E tu? |
| Marco |
| I'm twenty-four; and you? |
| Alessio |
| Io ho venticinque anni. |
| Marco |
| I'm twenty-five. |
| Marco |
| Alessio |
| Quanti anni ha? |
| Marco |
| How old are you, Madame? |
| Melissa |
| Ho ventiquattro anni e Lei? |
| Marco |
| I am twenty-four years old, and you, sir? |
| Alessio |
| Ho venticinque anni. |
| Marco |
| I am twenty-five years old. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Consuelo: Marco, did you know that asking about a lady's age is considered indiscreet and sometimes bad-mannered in Italy? |
| Marco: Oh really? But ladies of what age? |
| Consuelo: Mmm, I can say ladies in their forties. |
| Marco: Thank you for letting us know, Consuelo! |
| Consuelo: So, when you meet new people, please remember that Italian women are very sensitive about talking their age. |
| Marco: Sure! I think our listeners will follow your advice. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is… |
| Consuelo quanti [natural native speed] |
| Marco how many |
| Consuelo quanti [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo quanti [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo anno [natural native speed] |
| Marco year |
| Consuelo anno [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo anno [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo avere [natural native speed] |
| Marco to have |
| Consuelo avere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo avere [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo ventiquattro [natural native speed] |
| Marco twenty-four |
| Consuelo ventiquattro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo ventiquattro [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Consuelo venticinque [natural native speed] |
| Marco twenty-five |
| Consuelo venticinque [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo venticinque [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Marco: Consuelo, what expression are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: That's the Italian expression "quanti anni ha..." |
| Marco: "How old is…" |
| Consuelo: "Quanti anni ha" is used to refer to "lei" in the formal way, but we also use it to talk about the third singular person, either feminine or masculine. |
| Marco: For example, "Quanti anni ha Consuelo?" meaning "How old is Consuelo?" |
| Consuelo: I'm not answering this question, but if you want to express your own opinion about the approximate age of someone, you should just add "secondo me." |
| Marco: So if I say "Secondo me ha venti anni"… |
| Consuelo: That means "in my opinion he/she is twenty years old"… But are you talking about me? |
| Marco: Oh, no. |
| Consuelo: Ah, so I don't look like I'm twenty!!?? |
| Marco: Ehm… |
Lesson focus |
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: The focus of this lesson is using the verb "avere," meaning "to have," to discuss age in Italian. |
| Consuelo: If we break down "quanti anni hai," we obtain "how many years do you have?" |
| Marco: In English, we use the verb "to be" when indicating age, while in Italian we use "avere," meaning "to have." Now let's look at the conjugation of this verb. |
| Consuelo: "Io ho." |
| Marco: "I have." |
| Consuelo: "tu hai" |
| Marco: "you have" |
| Consuelo: "lui/lei ha" |
| Marco: "he/she/it has" |
| Consuelo: "noi abbiamo" |
| Marco: "we have" |
| Consuelo: "voi avete" |
| Marco: "you have" |
| Consuelo: "loro hanno" |
| Marco: "they have" |
| Consuelo: Please remember to use this verb when you are asking about someone's age. |
| Marco: In English, it should be "how many years do you have?" |
| Consuelo: That's "quanti anni hai?" |
| Marco: And "I have twenty-five years." |
| Consuelo: It is "io ho venticinque anni." |
| Marco: That’s just about does it for today. Consuelo, I’d like to share a study tape our listener shared with us. |
| Consuelo: Ah, you’re talking about the student who uses just the conversation tracks to review the lessons? |
| Marco: Consuelo, you read my mind. Yes, a listener of ours listens to each lesson several times. |
| Consuelo: Then after work, get the Conversation Only track from our site. |
| Marco: She then listens to them on shuffle again and again. She created her own immersion program using ItalianPod101.com. |
| Consuelo: This is a great idea. Please, give it a try and let us know what to think. |
| Marco: Okay. |
| Consuelo: Ciao. |
Comments
HideQuanti anni hai?
Hi Mário Sérgio Avezú,
thanks for leaving a comment!
Good job! Just remember that there is no "x" in 65 "sessantacinque".
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let us know!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Io ho sessantaxinque anni.
Hi Aleksandar,
thanks for posting!
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions.
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Io ho cinquanta anni esattamente.
Hello Klara,
Thanks for taking the time to write to us!
Please feel free to check the features of our different plans here:
https://www.italianpod101.com/member/member_upnewapi.php?src=upgrade_compare
If you have any questions regarding your subscription, don't hesitate to contact us via contactus@ItalianPod101.com.
Cheers,
Ali
Team ItalianPod101.com
Today I do not have access to the lessons anymore. So, thats it? - if I do not consent to premium?
Hi Zizie,
thanks for getting in touch!
Currently, the option to play lessons on shuffle isn't available. The lessons are intentionally structured in a coherent sequence to ensure a progressive learning experience, with each lesson building upon the concepts introduced earlier.
I hope this helps!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Hi, how can I play the lessons on shuffle?
Until now I have to open each lesson to repeat.
Thanks.
Hi KATHALEEN M SCHOLLARD,
thanks for posting.
I understand it can be frustrating when native speakers speak quickly. Don't worry though, with practice and persistence, I'm sure you'll improve your listening skills and you'll start to distinguish individual words more easily.
Oh, if it helps, "io ho" sounds like "io" even to a native ear. That's because the H is silent, so it's just two identical "oh" sounds next to each other that sound like a single one.
Thanks for studying with us, let us know if you have any questions!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
I have a hard time picking out individual words when I'm listening to Italian. For example the beginning of the sentence where the speaker says Io ho....It all sounds like one word when spoken in Italian by a native speaker. Very frustrating when I'm trying to hear the individual words..
Hi Mary Grace Tongcua,
that's perfect!
Let us know if you have any questions!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
io ho trenta anni.
Ciao Luna,
thanks for posting!
The correct spelling is: cinquantatré 😉
Let us know if you have any questions!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Io Ho cinquetitre anni.
Hi Shaido Saporito,
thanks for studying with us, let us know if you have any comments!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
grazie mille, i have just started the lessons
Hi Bob,
thanks for the question!
You're right, everyone is getting more informal nowadays, so I guess most people wouldn't be offended if addressed informally. I would still use polite speech when speaking to the elderly, though.
Anyway, people are generally very understanding if they know Italian is not someone's first language, especially since formal Italian can be quite difficult.
Hope this helps!
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
If i'm using the informal form when talking to someone I don't know, will they be offended? It would seem that the world is moving more towards informality in general so I wonder if defaulting to informal is considering OK
Hi Anthony Priore,
thanks for posting!
If you have any questions, let us know in the comments.
Cheers,
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao, Io ho ciquantasei anni.