Learn how to talk about what you like
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Cinzia: Ciao a tutti! |
| Marco: Marco here! Beginner series Season 1, Lesson 21 - What Part of Your Italian Vacation Do “You Like” Best? Hello and welcome to the beginner series at ItalianPod101.com, where we start the modern Italian in a fun, educational format. |
| Cinzia: 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. Cinzia, what are we looking at in this lesson? |
| Cinzia: In this lesson, we will learn how to say "I like" using the verb "piacere." |
| Marco: This conversation takes place on the streets of Italy. |
| Cinzia: And it’s between Luca and Elena. |
| Marco: They are friends, therefore, they will be speaking in informal Italian. Now, before we listen to the conversation… |
| Cinzia: We want to ask… |
| Marco: Do you read the lesson notes while you listen? |
| Cinzia: We received an email about the study tape. |
| Marco: So, we were wondering if you tried it? And if so… |
| Cinzia: What do you think of it? |
| Marco: You can leave us feedback in the comment section of this lesson. Okay, let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Luca: Vorrei trascorrere il week-end in quell’agriturismo… Come si chiama? |
| Elena: Dici “La tana del ghiro”? |
| Luca: Si si, quello! Lì si possono fare anche passeggiate a cavallo, ti piacciono i cavalli? |
| Elena: Oh si! Mi piacciono molto, ma c’è anche la piscina! |
| Luca: Uhm… Non mi piace nuotare |
| Elena: Ma puoi prendere il sole! |
| Luca: Mi piace prendere il sole! |
| Marco: Let's hear it slowly now. |
| Cinzia: Ascoltiamolo lentamente. |
| Luca: Vorrei trascorrere il week-end in quell’agriturismo… Come si chiama? |
| Elena: Dici “La tana del ghiro”? |
| Luca: Si si, quello! Lì si possono fare anche passeggiate a cavallo, ti piacciono i cavalli? |
| Elena: Oh si! Mi piacciono molto, ma c’è anche la piscina! |
| Luca: Uhm… Non mi piace nuotare |
| Elena: Ma puoi prendere il sole! |
| Luca: Mi piace prendere il sole! |
| Marco: And now, with the translation. |
| Cinzia: E ora, con la traduzione. |
| Luca: Vorrei trascorrere il week-end in quell’agriturismo… Come si chiama? |
| Luca: I would like to spend the weekend in that farmhouse...what's it called? |
| Elena: Dici “La tana del ghiro”? |
| Elena: You mean La tana del ghiro? |
| Luca: Si si, quello! Lì si possono fare anche passeggiate a cavallo, ti piacciono i cavalli? |
| Luca: Yes, yes, that one! There you can also do horse rides. Do you like horses? |
| Elena: Oh si! Mi piacciono molto, ma c’è anche la piscina! |
| Elena: Oh, yes! I much like them, but there is also the swimming pool! |
| Luca: Uhm… Non mi piace nuotare |
| Luca: Um…I don't like swimming |
| Elena: Ma puoi prendere il sole! |
| Elena: But you can sunbathe! |
| Luca: Mi piace prendere il sole! |
| Luca: I like sunbathing! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at today’s vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: First… |
| Cinzia: trascorrere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to spend time, pass (time) |
| Cinzia: trascorrere [slowly - broken down by syllable] trascorrere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: agriturismo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: farmhouse holiday |
| Cinzia: agriturismo [slowly - broken down by syllable] agriturismo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: lì [natural native speed] |
| Marco: there |
| Cinzia: lì [slowly - broken down by syllable] lì [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: passeggiate [natural native speed] |
| Marco: walks |
| Cinzia: passeggiate [slowly - broken down by syllable] passeggiate [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: cavallo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: horse |
| Cinzia: cavallo [slowly - broken down by syllable] cavallo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: piacere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to like |
| Cinzia: piacere [slowly - broken down by syllable] piacere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: piscina [natural native speed] |
| Marco: swimming pool |
| Cinzia: piscina [slowly - broken down by syllable] piscina [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: nuotare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to swim |
| Cinzia: nuotare [slowly - broken down by syllable] nuotare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next |
| Cinzia: prendere il sole [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to sunbathe, sunbathing |
| Cinzia: prendere il sole [slowly - broken down by syllable] prendere il sole [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Cinzia: Now, let’s take a look at the usage for some of the words and expressions. The first word we will look at is trascorrere. |
| Marco: And the first example sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Trascorro le domeniche al mare. |
| Marco: "I spend Sundays at the beach." |
| Cinzia: The next word we will look at is lì. |
| Marco: And the next example sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Lì puoi mangiare una buona pizza. |
| Marco: "There you can eat a good pizza." |
| Cinzia: Lì is just the same as là. |
| Marco: Yes, it is. |
| Cinzia: So, in Italian, we can use lì or là with no differences |
| Marco: Yes. Usage is the same. For example- Là puoi mangiare una buona pizza, it’s the same as… |
| Cinzia: lì |
| Marco: Please remember that lì and là are well, usually, easily interchangeable. |
| Cinzia: Yes. Okay, the next word we will look at is cavallo. |
| Marco: And the example sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Vado a cavallo una volta al mese. |
| Marco: "I go horseback-riding once a month." |
| Cinzia: The next word we will look at is piscina. |
| Marco: And the example sentence is… |
| Cinzia: In piscina indosso sempre la cuffia. |
| Marco: "I always wear the swimming cap in the swimming pool." |
| Cinzia: Next, we have a verb, nuotare. |
| Marco: And the example sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Anche i cani nuotano. |
| Marco: “Also dogs swim.” |
| Cinzia: And finally, we have an expression, prendere il sole. |
| Marco: And the last example is… |
| Cinzia: Mi piace prendere il sole in spiaggia. |
| Marco: "I like sunbathing at the beach." |
| Cinzia: Do you like sunbathing, Marco? |
| Marco: Yes and my skin is actually Mediterranean-style skin, just like yours, actually. So, we get tanned very easily. |
| Cinzia: Did you really look at me? |
| Marco: Well, the studio lights actually make it very dark in here. |
| Cinzia: I’m very pale. |
| Marco: So you get sunburned? |
| Cinzia: Yes. I can’t stay under the sun too much time. |
| Marco: I’m sorry because I mean in Naples, so you had such nice sea, it’s a waste! |
| Cinzia: I know but I can’t. |
| Marco: Okay, let’s go on with the grammar now. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Marco: In today’s grammar, we have very, very- why do you look at me that way? |
| Cinzia: We have an important topic. |
| Marco: Yes, we have an important topic, that’s for sure! |
| Cinzia: mi piace |
| Marco: Yes, it’s important and also a bit complex for English speakers. |
| Cinzia: Because it’s very different. |
| Marco: Yes. The usage is actually maybe opposite. Not the usage maybe, but the construction. |
| Cinzia: Let’s see it in the details. |
| Marco: Yes, it’s best. Let’s chitchat more, chop-chop. No more…anyway, let’s go on. |
| Cinzia: Chop-chop? I don’t know what is wrong with him today. Maybe he’s just tired. |
| Marco: Come on, come on! |
| Cinzia: I hope it’s just sonno, Marco. |
| Marco: Yes, no strange virus. |
| Cinzia: Okay. Let’s start with an example. |
| Marco: And the example is… |
| Cinzia: Mi piace la pasta. |
| Marco: “I like pasta.” And now, let’s analyze it. |
| Cinzia: Okay. In this phrase, we have first “mi” which literally means… |
| Marco: “to me” |
| Cinzia: Then we have “piace.” |
| Marco: The verb piacere (conjugated) meaning “like.” |
| Cinzia: And finally, we have “la pasta.” |
| Marco: That actually means “the pasta.” |
| Cinzia: Which is the object. Listeners, please be careful because in the Italian translation of the phrase “I like pasta,” “pasta” becomes the subject and the English “I” is conveyed in Italian with “mi” which has become an indirect object. |
| Marco: Let’s not forget that the pronimal particle “mi” can also be substituted by “a me.” |
| Cinzia: Yes, you’re right, Marco, because literally, “mi” means “to me” a me. |
| Marco: So, one example, please. |
| Cinzia: So, if I say - A me piace la pasta… |
| Marco: It would be just as - Mi piace la pasta. |
| Cinzia: Esatto, “I like pasta.” |
| Marco: Cinzia, Cinzia, what’s happening to you today, all this grammar. |
| Cinzia: Um…it’s just because I like teaching our listeners all the little details. |
| Marco: Yes. Today, she likes mi piace, but let’s give them the conjugation and they will really see how easy it is to use. |
| Cinzia: Okay. Mi piace / A me piace |
| Marco: "I like" |
| Cinzia: Ti piace / A te piace |
| Marco: "You like" |
| Cinzia: Gli piace / A lui piace |
| Marco: "He likes" |
| Cinzia: Le piace / A lei piace |
| Marco: "She likes" |
| Cinzia: Ci piace / A noi piace |
| Marco: "We like" |
| Cinzia: Vi piace / A voi piace |
| Marco: "You like" |
| Cinzia: A loro piace |
| Marco: "They like." As we have just seen, only the third person plural is the only exception. In fact, we only have the form… |
| Cinzia: A loro piace |
| Marco: Exactly! |
| Cinzia: But Marco, wait. This conjugation just relates singular. |
| Marco: That’s true, because “piace” has to be conjugated in singular or plural form, depending if it’s related to a singular or plural… |
| Cinzia: subject |
| Marco: Exactly! |
| Cinzia: What if I want to say “I like horses”? |
| Marco: You have to say - Mi piacciono i cavalli. |
| Cinzia: Oh, so that’s the plural form. |
| Marco: Yes. So “piace” is for… |
| Cinzia: Singular. And “piacciono” is for… |
| Marco: Plural |
| Cinzia: It’s not that difficult. |
| Marco: No, no, no, not at all. |
| Cinzia: And finally, we saw in the dialogue a negative form. |
| Marco: Yes. We saw “non.” |
| Cinzia: Where was it, Marco? |
| Marco: We saw it when Luca says - Non mi piace nuotare, meaning “I don’t like swimming.” |
| Cinzia: Yes. So, the negative form is very easy and straightforward because you just need to add “non.” |
| Marco: Yes, just “non” before mi piace or mi piaccionon and so on. |
| Cinzia: Yes, but we will see it in future lessons. |
Outro |
| Cinzia: That’s it for today’s lesson. |
| Marco: So, before we go away, let’s say altogether, listeners included, “We like this lesson!” |
| Cinzia: Ci piace questa lezione! |
| Marco: Altogether now! |
| Marco and Cinzia: Ci piace questa lezione! |
| Marco: Bye-bye. |
| Cinzia: Ciao! |
| Marco: Ciao! |
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