Learn how to use the imperfect tense of Italian verbs to refer to past habits, past actions in progress, and series of events
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone! I'm Consuelo, and welcome to ItalianPOD101.com. |
| Ruggero: With us, you'll learn to speak Italian with fun and effective lessons. |
| Consuelo: We also provide you with cultural insights... |
| Ruggero: ...and tips you won't find in a textbook. |
| Ruggero: In today's class, we will focus on how to employ the imperfetto tense. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at a restaurant. |
| Ruggero: It's between Alessio and Melissa. |
| Consuelo: In this conversation, they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alessio: Ah, quindi tua nonna è italiana? |
| Melissa: Sì, la nonna Gina è di Pisa. Purtroppo il nonno non c'è più. |
| Alessio: Ah capisco. |
| Melissa: Quando ero piccola la nonna veniva a trovarmi in America con lo zio. |
| Alessio: Perché tua madre non ti ha insegnato l'italiano? |
| Melissa: Semplice. Perché io non volevo, da bambina ero molto testarda. |
| Alessio: Perché adesso come sei? |
| Melissa: Sono adulta e sono più condiscendente. |
| Alessio: Mah, insomma… |
| Melissa: Alessio! |
| Alessio: Ti ricordo che a Siena mentre ti dicevo di prendere quella strada tu insistevi di andare dalla parte opposta. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Alessio: Ah, quindi tua nonna è italiana? |
| Melissa: Sì, la nonna Gina è di Pisa. Purtroppo il nonno non c'è più. |
| Alessio: Ah capisco. |
| Melissa: Quando ero piccola la nonna veniva a trovarmi in America con lo zio. |
| Alessio: Perché tua madre non ti ha insegnato l'italiano? |
| Melissa: Semplice. Perché io non volevo, da bambina ero molto testarda. |
| Alessio: Perché adesso come sei? |
| Melissa: Sono adulta e sono più condiscendente. |
| Alessio: Mah, insomma… |
| Melissa: Alessio! |
| Alessio: Ti ricordo che a Siena mentre ti dicevo di prendere quella strada tu insistevi di andare dalla parte opposta. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Alessio: Ah, quindi tua nonna è italiana? |
| Ruggero: Ah, so your grandmother is Italian? |
| Melissa: Sì, la nonna Gina è di Pisa. Purtroppo il nonno non c'è più. |
| Ruggero: Yes, grandmother Gina is from Pisa. Unfortunately, grandfather is not with us anymore. |
| Alessio: Ah capisco. |
| Ruggero: Ah, I understand. |
| Melissa: Quando ero piccola la nonna veniva a trovarmi in America con lo zio. |
| Ruggero: When I was little, grandma used to come visit me in the United States with my uncle. |
| Alessio: Perché tua madre non ti ha insegnato l'italiano? |
| Ruggero: Why didn't your mother teach you Italian? |
| Melissa: Semplice. Perché io non volevo, da bambina ero molto testarda. |
| Ruggero: Simple, because I didn't want her to. As I child, I was very stubborn. |
| Alessio: Perché adesso come sei? |
| Ruggero: And how are you now? |
| Melissa: Sono adulta e sono più condiscendente. |
| Ruggero: I'm an adult and more accommodating. |
| Alessio: Mah, insomma… |
| Ruggero: Well, sort of… |
| Melissa: Alessio! |
| Ruggero: Alessio! |
| Alessio: Ti ricordo che a Siena mentre ti dicevo di prendere quella strada tu insistevi di andare dalla parte opposta. |
| Ruggero: I remind you that in Siena, while I was telling you to take that street, you insisted on going the opposite way. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Ruggero: Now we know more about Melissa's story. |
| Consuelo: Yes, it looks like she has Italian relatives. |
| Ruggero: "Nonna" and "zio." I also assume that the mother is Italian. |
| Consuelo: I think so. |
| Ruggero: But actually, she learned Italian recently. |
| Consuelo: Yes, you know, Ruggero, sometimes it happens that parents or relatives don't teach Italian to sons, daughters, or nephews and nieces. |
| Ruggero: Sometimes one just doesn't have the opportunity or the baby is hostile and doesn't want to learn another language. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ruggero: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: nonna [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: grandmother |
| Consuelo: nonna [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: nonna [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: zio [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: uncle |
| Consuelo: zio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: zio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: insegnare [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: to teach |
| Consuelo: insegnare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: insegnare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: testardo [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: stubborn |
| Consuelo: testardo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: testardo [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: condiscendente [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: accommodating |
| Consuelo: condiscendente [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: condiscendente [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: insistere [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: to insist |
| Consuelo: insistere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: insistere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: opposto [natural native speed] |
| Ruggero: opposite |
| Consuelo: opposto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: opposto [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Ruggero: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Ruggero: Consuelo, what word are we studying today? |
| Consuelo: Today we're studying words about "la famiglia." |
| Ruggero: One's "family." |
| Consuelo: In the dialogue, Melissa talks about her family and mentions her "nonno" and her "zio." |
| Ruggero: Her "grandfather" and her "uncle." |
| Consuelo: The feminine versions for these nouns are "nonna" and "zia." |
| Ruggero: "Grandmother" and "aunt." |
| Consuelo: Do you know other words indicating a family relationship? |
| Ruggero: Mmm, yes. "Cugino" and "cugina." |
| Consuelo: Oh, those are the "cousins." Good, and how do we say "parents-in-law?" |
| Ruggero: We say "suoceri." |
| Consuelo: "La suocera" and "il suocero." The "mother-in-law" and the "father-in-law." |
| Ruggero: Are we missing someone? |
| Consuelo: I think yes, "il cognato" and "la cognata." |
| Ruggero: The "brother-in-law" and the "sister-in-law." |
| Consuelo: Now you can introduce your family in Italian. |
| Ruggero: "Grazie," Consuelo. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let's take a look at today's grammar point. |
| Ruggero: In today's class, we focus on how to employ the "imperfetto" tense. |
| Consuelo: As we mentioned in the previous lesson, in English the "imperfetto" tense corresponds to "used to," "would," or "was + -ing." |
| Ruggero: While forming it is very easy, choosing when to employ this tense is more complicated. |
| Consuelo: However, the meaning of "imperfetto" in Italian is "non perfetto," which is "not exact." |
| Ruggero: That's a good hint to better understand why it is not used when indicating the exact time a past event happened, especially when using detailed expressions of time. |
| Consuelo: That's why a sentence like "leggevo per due ore poi sono uscito" or "oggi pranzavo a mezzogiorno" is inappropriate. |
| Ruggero: In these cases, we should employ the "passato prossimo" tense. |
| Consuelo: "Ho letto per due ore poi sono uscito." |
| Ruggero: "I read for two hours, and then I went out." |
| Consuelo: "Oggi ho pranzato a mezzogiorno." |
| Ruggero: "Today I had lunch at noon." |
| Consuelo: On the other hand, we use "imperfetto" when indicating habits in the past. |
| Ruggero: In other words, when talking about a regular activity in the past. |
| Consuelo: What people used to do or things that used, or didn't use, to happen. |
| Ruggero: For example, Consuelo? |
| Consuelo: "Da studente andavo sempre in vacanza a Rimini." |
| Ruggero: "As a student, I always used to go on holiday in Rimini." |
| Consuelo: "Quando eravamo bambini non giocavamo ai videogiochi." |
| Ruggero: "When we were children, we did not play video games." |
| Consuelo: In today's conversation, Melissa says, "Quando ero piccola la nonna veniva a trovarmi in America con lo zio." |
| Ruggero: "When I was little, my grandmother used to come and visit me in America with my uncle." |
| Consuelo: Another usage of "imperfetto" concerns parallel actions… |
| Ruggero: When describing a past action that was in progress when something else interrupted it. |
| Consuelo: The interrupting action is expressed at the "passato prossimo." |
| Ruggero: The "imperfetto" is used in a series of events that happened simultaneously and continued for a certain amount of time. For instance? |
| Consuelo: "Stavamo parlando quando Roberto è entrato nella stanza." |
| Ruggero: "We were talking when Roberto entered the room." |
| Consuelo: "Mentre ascoltavo la musica preparavo una torta." |
| Ruggero: "While I was listening to music, I was preparing a cake." |
| Consuelo: In the dialogue, Alessio blames Melissa when he says, "Mentre ti dicevo di prendere quella strada tu insistevi di andare dalla parte opposta." |
| Ruggero: "While I was telling you to take that street, you insisted on going the opposite way." |
Outro |
| Ruggero: That just about does it for today. |
| Consuelo: Listeners, can you understand Italian TV shows, movies or songs? |
| Ruggero: How about friends and loved ones? conversations in Italian? |
| Consuelo: If you want to know what's going on, we have a tool to help. |
| Ruggero: Line-by-line audio. |
| Consuelo: Listen to the lesson conversations Line-By-Line, and learn to understand natural Italian fast! |
| Ruggero: It's simple really. |
| Consuelo: With a click of a button, listen to each line of the conversation. |
| Ruggero: Listen again and again, and tune your ear to natural Italian. |
| Consuelo: Rapidly understand natural Italian with this powerful tool. |
| Ruggero: Find this feature on the lesson page under Premium Member resources at ItalianPod101.com. |
Comments
Hide