Learn the many ways you can use the multipurpose Italian particle ci
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome to ItalianPOD101.com, where we study modern Italian in a fun, educational format! |
| Consuelo: So, brush up on the Italian that you started learning long ago, or start learning today. |
| Marco: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson, Consuelo, what are we looking at in this lesson? |
| Marco: In today's class, we will focus on the particle ci. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at the coffee machine of the office. |
| Marco: It's between Alessio, Alberto, Ilaria, and Melissa. |
| Consuelo: In this conversation, they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alberto: Allora? Sei andato a casa sua ieri sera? |
| Alessio: Sì, ci sono andato. |
| Alberto: E...? |
| Alessio: Shhh, zitto! |
| Melissa: Ciao, ci incontriamo sempre alla macchinetta del caffè. |
| Alessio: Eh sì, siamo tutti un pò assonnati il lunedì. |
| Alberto: Specialmente dopo certi fine settimana... |
| Ilaria: Ah ah, che bugiardo. Hai passato tutto il tempo a giocare ai videogiochi! |
| Melissa: Ah, ah, ah. Hey, il capo ci chiama! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Alberto: Allora? Sei andato a casa sua ieri sera? |
| Alessio: Sì, ci sono andato. |
| Alberto: E...? |
| Alessio: Shhh, zitto! |
| Melissa: Ciao, ci incontriamo sempre alla macchinetta del caffè. |
| Alessio: Eh sì, siamo tutti un pò assonnati il lunedì. |
| Alberto: Specialmente dopo certi fine settimana... |
| Ilaria: Ah ah, che bugiardo. Hai passato tutto il tempo a giocare ai videogiochi! |
| Melissa: Ah, ah, ah. Hey, il capo ci chiama! |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Alberto: Allora? Sei andato a casa sua ieri sera? |
| Marco: So? Did you go to her place last night? |
| Alessio: Sì, ci sono andato. |
| Marco: Yes, I went there. |
| Alberto: E...? |
| Marco: And...? |
| Alessio: Shhh, zitto! |
| Marco: Shhh, shut up! |
| Melissa: Ciao, ci incontriamo sempre alla macchinetta del caffè. |
| Marco: Hello, we always meet at the coffee maker. |
| Alessio: Eh sì, siamo tutti un pò assonnati il lunedì. |
| Marco: Oh yes, we're all a bit sleepy on Mondays. |
| Alberto: Specialmente dopo certi fine settimana... |
| Marco: Especially after some weekends... |
| Ilaria: Ah ah, che bugiardo. Hai passato tutto il tempo a giocare ai videogiochi! |
| Marco: Ah ah, what a liar. You passed all the time playing video games! |
| Melissa: Ah, ah, ah. Hey, il capo ci chiama! |
| Marco: Ah, ah, ah. Hey, the boss is calling us! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: These conversations at the coffee machine are very familiar to me… |
| Consuelo: Right? It's like the ones we have, talking about relationships, weekends, and so on here at ItalianPod101… |
| Marco: Alberto says he passed all weekend "playing video games." |
| Consuelo: Yes, "giocare ai videogiochi." Do you play video games, Marco? |
| Marco: Mmm, not really. Just occasionally, but I have some at home… |
| Consuelo: I prefer going to "sala giochi." |
| Marco: What's that? Ah okay, "the game center!" I remember there are not so many in Italy… |
| Consuelo: Oh, you're right, but recently there are more and more game centers at the movie theaters, for example. |
| Marco: Oh, yes, that's true! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: zitto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: quiet, silent |
| Consuelo: zitto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: zitto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: macchinetta del caffè [natural native speed] |
| Marco: coffee maker, coffee machine |
| Consuelo: macchinetta del caffè [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: macchinetta del caffè [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: assonnato [natural native speed] |
| Marco: sleepy |
| Consuelo: assonnato [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: assonnato [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: lunedì [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Monday |
| Consuelo: lunedì [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: lunedì [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: bugiardo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: liar, untruthful, false |
| Consuelo: bugiardo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: bugiardo [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: passare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to spend time |
| Consuelo: passare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: passare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: giocare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to play, bet, gamble, trick |
| Consuelo: giocare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: giocare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: videogioco [natural native speed] |
| Marco: video game |
| Consuelo: videogioco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: videogioco [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: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: Today we're studying the word "zitto." |
| Marco: "Silent" or "quiet." |
| Consuelo: This adjective is mostly used with the verb "stare." |
| Marco: For example? |
| Consuelo: "Marco sta zitto!" |
| Marco: Hey! I know that it means "shut up." It's not very kind though. |
| Consuelo: I know, this is why the verb "stare" is often conjugated at "imperativo." |
| Marco: "The imperative." Let's make another sample sentence with the simple present. |
| Consuelo: "Tua sorella non sta mai zitta." |
| Marco: "Your sister is never quiet." |
| Consuelo: You can also use it as only one word, as in the dialogue, "zitto." |
| Marco: It also means "be quiet" or "shut up." |
| Consuelo: Please remember that this expression is a little bit impolite. |
| Marco: So be careful using it! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Marco: In today's class, we focus on the particle "ci" and its uses. |
| Consuelo: First of all, "ci" is a reflexive, reciprocal, direct, and indirect object pronoun of the first person plural, "noi," meaning "we." |
| Marco: That sounds complicated. Can you give us some examples? |
| Consuelo: Sure. In the dialogue, Melissa said, "Ci incontriamo sempre." |
| Marco: Meaning "We always meet." |
| Consuelo: "Incontrarsi" is a reflexive verb, and in this case "ci" is the reflexive pronoun. |
| Marco: What about "ci" as a reciprocal pronoun? |
| Consuelo: You can hear it with reciprocal verbs. Listen..."Noi ci ameremo per sempre." |
| Marco: "We will love each other forever." |
| Consuelo: Talking about pronouns, "ci" is also a direct pronoun, as in today's conversation phrase "Il capo ci chiama." |
| Marco: "The boss is calling us." |
| Consuelo: In the case of indirect pronouns, "ci" stands for "a noi," as in "I miei genitori ci telefonano spesso." |
| Marco: "My parents often call us." |
| Consuelo: "Ci" is also an adverb of place, meaning "there," and it is used to avoid repeating the name of a place that we have already mentioned. |
| Marco: In the dialogue, Alberto says "Sei andato a casa sua ieri sera?" "Did you go to her place last night?" |
| Consuelo: And Alessio answers "Sì, ci sono andato." |
| Marco: "Yes, I went there." "Ci" stands for "at her place." |
| Consuelo: Another usage of "ci" comes from common conversations, when it is used with the verb "avere," meaning "to have," and it changes into "ce." |
| Marco: In this case, it expresses possession. For example, Consuelo? |
| Consuelo: "Hai l'ombrello? Sì, ce l'ho." |
| Marco: "Have you got the umbrella? Yes, I've got it." |
| Consuelo: Lastly, this particle is also used when replacing a word or a phrase introduced by certain prepositions, such as "in," "a," and "con." |
| Marco: For instance? |
| Consuelo: "Credi in Dio? Sì, ci credo." |
| Marco: "Do you believe in God? Yes, I believe in him." |
| Consuelo: Or "Credi agli alieni? No, non ci credo." |
| Marco: "Do you believe in aliens? No, I don't believe in them." |
| Consuelo: This does it for today's grammar point. |
| Marco: We strongly recommend that you look at the grammar notes for this lesson. |
| Consuelo: After this grammar section, you won't have any more questions about "ci." |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Consuelo: Listeners, have you ever dreamed of starring in one of our lessons? |
| Marco: If your answer is yes, use the voice-recording-tool on the lessons page! |
| Consuelo: Record your voice with a click of a button, |
| Marco: ...and then play it back just as easily. |
| Consuelo: Then, compare it to the native speakers in the lesson... |
| Marco: ...and adjust your pronunciation! |
| Consuelo: After a few tries, you'll be speaking better Italian than Marco here! |
| Marco: Hey! |
| Consuelo: Go to ItalianPod101.com, and rapidly improve your Italian pronunciation! |
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