Learn about the helpfulness of Italians
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Cinzia: Ciao! |
| Marco: Marco here! Beginner series, Season 1, Lesson 25 - “Before We Leave for Naples, We Must Clean the House!” |
| 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. In this lesson, we will learn about the so-called verbi servili like the verb potere “can” and volere “want.” |
| Cinzia: This conversation takes place in an apartment… |
| Marco: And it’s between Peter and Luca. |
| Cinzia: And they are friends, therefore, they will be speaking in informal Italian. |
| Marco: 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 tip. |
| Marco: So we were wondering if you’ve 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 |
| Peter: Ciao Luca, cosa fai oggi? |
| Luca: Devo pulire tutta la casa. |
| Peter: Ah! Voglio darti una mano. |
| Luca: Grazie. |
| Peter: Da dove posso cominciare? |
| Luca: Puoi pulire il bagno. |
| Marco: Let's hear it slowly now. |
| Cinzia: Ascoltiamolo lentamente. |
| Peter: Ciao Luca, cosa fai oggi? |
| Luca: Devo pulire tutta la casa. |
| Peter: Ah! Voglio darti una mano. |
| Luca: Grazie. |
| Peter: Da dove posso cominciare? |
| Luca: Puoi pulire il bagno. |
| Marco: And now, with the translation. |
| Cinzia: E ora, con la traduzione. |
| Peter: Ciao Luca, cosa fai oggi? |
| Peter: Hey, Luca! What will you do today? |
| Luca: Devo pulire tutta la casa. |
| Luca: I must clean all the flat. |
| Peter: Ah! Voglio darti una mano. |
| Peter: Ah! I want to give you a hand. |
| Luca: Grazie. |
| Luca: Thanks. |
| Peter: Da dove posso cominciare? |
| Peter: From where can I start? |
| Luca: Puoi pulire il bagno. |
| Luca: You can clean the bathroom. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Oh, wow, what a funny situation between two male students… |
| Marco: Cleaning the house? |
| Cinzia: Who wants to clean the house, yes. |
| Marco: It does happen though, doesn’t it? |
| Cinzia: It has to happen. |
| Marco: We have to clean. |
| Cinzia: Of course. |
| Marco: Also, girls have to clean. All their long hair in the bathroom all the time when they are… |
| Cinzia: Yes, but please, do you wanna talk about male students’ apartments? Come on! |
| Marco: My apartment was very clean. |
| Cinzia: Mine too! |
| Marco: We were mostly males in my apartment. |
| Cinzia: It depends on the person. |
| Marco: It is! Very common in Italy to share apartments with other students, isn’t it? |
| Cinzia: Yes, yes. I remember when I used to share the apartment in Napoli, we used to take turns to clean the apartments. |
| Marco: Yes, we used to have a sort of small… |
| Cinzia: Calendar? |
| Marco: Exactly! |
| Cinzia: Yeah, yeah, yeah. |
| Marco: Everybody had one shared room to clean every week and so on. |
| Cinzia: Yes, of course. |
| Marco: Best way, usually. Always somebody wanting to skip or doing at the last moment. |
| Cinzia: Yeah, yeah. Anyway, let’s take a look at today’s vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: And today’s first word is… |
| Cinzia: oggi [natural native speed] |
| Marco: today |
| Cinzia: oggi [slowly - broken down by syllable] oggi [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next word… |
| Cinzia: pulire [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to clean |
| Cinzia: pulire [slowly - broken down by syllable] pulire [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next word… |
| Cinzia: tutto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: all, whole |
| Cinzia: tutto [slowly - broken down by syllable] tutto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next word… |
| Cinzia: volere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to want |
| Cinzia: volere [slowly - broken down by syllable] volere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next word… |
| Cinzia: dare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to give |
| Cinzia: dare [slowly - broken down by syllable] dare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next word… |
| Cinzia: mano [natural native speed] |
| Marco: hand |
| Cinzia: mano [slowly - broken down by syllable] mano [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next, we have an expression… |
| Cinzia: dare una mano [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to give a hand |
| Cinzia: dare una mano [slowly - broken down by syllable] dare una mano [natural native speed] |
| Marco: Next word… |
| Cinzia: potere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: can |
| Cinzia: potere [slowly - broken down by syllable] potere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: And next word… |
| Cinzia: cominciare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to start, begin |
| Cinzia: cominciare [slowly - broken down by syllable] cominciare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: And today’s last word is… |
| Cinzia: bagno [natural native speed] |
| Marco: bathroom |
| Cinzia: bagno [slowly - broken down by syllable] bagno [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Cinzia: And now, let’s take a look at the usage for some of the words and expressions. The first word we will look at is pulire. |
| Marco: And the first example sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Hai pulito la tua stanza? |
| Marco: "Did you clean your room?" |
| Cinzia: Did you clean your room, Marco? |
| Marco: Yeah, I did, but I would like to clean it one more time, actually. |
| Cinzia: Oh my god! |
| Marco: Why? Let’s move on. |
| Cinzia: To me, one is enough. |
| Marco: No, no, no. Always, always. |
| Cinzia: Okay. The next word we will look at is dare. |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Dammi una possibilità. |
| Marco: “Give me a chance.” Dammi una possibilità. Somebody did something bad, he didn’t clean the house. It was his turn and you… |
| Cinzia: Oh no, but I was thinking about a boy who wants to be with a girl and he says, “Give me a chance!” |
| Marco: So you should do the Italian, no English for you, come on. |
| Cinzia: Why? |
| Marco: Come on! |
| Cinzia: Don’t you like my English? |
| Marco: Yes, but I prefer your Italian. |
| Cinzia: Dammi una possibilità! |
| Marco: You see, that's movie acting! |
| Cinzia: Oh, thank you! Let’s keep skp and go to the next one. |
| Marco: That is… |
| Cinzia: mano |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is… |
| Cinzia: Tienimi la mano. |
| Marco: “Hold my hand.” Now, Lisa, what were you writing here? You’re watching a strange movie? |
| Cinzia: Like Titanic? Tienimi la mano, Jack. |
| Marco: Yes, and I would like to point out that she pronounced Titanic, while English people would pronounce it Titanic. |
| Cinzia: Titanic |
| Marco: It’s how we say it in Italian, but it’s good, because hey, you’re learning without us actually teaching. We’re just speaking. |
| Cinzia: Okay, let’s take a look at the next word which is… Oh no, wait! It’s an expression. |
| Marco: Really? What is that? |
| Cinzia: dare una mano |
| Marco: Oh! “To give a hand,” right? |
| Cinzia: Yes, and it’s actually the same in English, dare una mano, “to give a hand.” |
| Marco: Exactly, and the sample is? |
| Cinzia: Mi daresti una mano per favore? |
| Marco: "Could you give me a hand please?" |
| Cinzia: The next word is potere. |
| Marco: And the sample is… |
| Cinzia: Non ci posso credere! |
| Marco: "I can't believe it." And a famous trio of Italian comics have used this phrase so many times in their sketches, right? |
| Cinzia: Well, yes, Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo. |
| Marco: Let’s say it one more time - Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo, these three, very, very funny people. |
| Cinzia: Yes. Look for them on the YouTube, listeners, because they are very, very funny. |
| Marco: Yes, and they used to say…you can do it better than me. |
| Cinzia: Miiiii! Non ci posso credere! |
| Marco: Something like…well, I can’t say it. Anyway, it’s a….go check it out, please. |
| Cinzia: Yes. And…okay, the next word is cominciare. |
| Marco: And the sample is… |
| Cinzia: Domani comincia la nuova serie di Heroes. |
| Marco: "Tomorrow, the new Heroes series will start." |
| Cinzia: Oh, Heroes! I simply love that series. |
| Marco: Yes, but we can’t endorse anybody, so let’s go fast, let’s go fast! |
| Cinzia: Okay, fine. Last word is bagno. |
| Marco: And the sample is… |
| Cinzia: La spazzola è nel bagno. |
| Marco: "The hairbrush is in the bathroom." |
| Cinzia: Okay. So, after this strange example, maybe, I could tell that the word bagno can be used for another meaning. |
| Marco: And what is that meaning? |
| Cinzia: bath |
| Marco: Oh, you mean “bath” and “bathtub,” right. |
| Cinzia: Yes. |
| Marco: So, in Italian, bagno is the bathroom, that is the room where you had to bathe, and then… |
| Cinzia: Yes. |
| Marco: We can say - fare il bagno. |
| Cinzia: Yes, that means “have a bath.” |
| Marco: Or…it’s summer! |
| Cinzia: bathing |
| Marco: Yes. For example, if I tell my friends - Andiamo a fare il bagno?- I’m not telling them to all go together in a bath. |
| Cinzia: Oh, yes, but you’re saying, “Let’s go bathing.” |
| Marco: Yes, let’s go jump in the water of the sea or swimming pool. |
| Cinzia: Yes. Yes, so listeners, you can hear the word bagno in different situations. |
| Marco: E basta così! |
| Cinzia: Basta così! |
| Marco: That’s enough for today’s vocabulary. |
| Cinzia: Yes, but let’s not forget the grammar, Marco. |
| Marco: Okay. Andiamo alla grammatica. |
| Cinzia: Andiamo alla grammatica “Let’s go to the grammar.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cinzia: What do we have in today’s grammar, Marco? |
| Marco: In today’s grammar, we have some grammar. |
| Cinzia: Mm, what are the topics? |
| Marco: The topics are grammar topics. |
| Cinzia: Ah! Okay, fine. This guy is so unbelievable! |
| Marco: Today |
| Cinzia: Only today? Are you sure? |
| Marco: Let’s take a look at the so-called verbi servili. |
| Cinzia: Oh, finally! Thank you. |
| Marco: Okay, take it from there, Cinzia. |
| Cinzia: As we said before, the so-called verbi servili are volere and potere. And then we have also dovere. |
| Marco: Volere means “to want,” potere “can,” and finally dovere “have to” or “must.” |
| Cinzia: Thank you, Marco. So, in Italian, the usage of these verbs is conveyed by their own conjugation plus the infinitive form of another verb. |
| Marco: They’re also called verbi modali "modal verbs" and they literally serve the other verbs without changing the main meaning of the sentence. |
| Cinzia: Yes. |
| Marco: They are just adding something, right? |
| Cinzia: They are adding something to the main meaning. So, why don’t we make some examples? |
| Marco: Well, first of all, what did we have in the dialogue? |
| Cinzia: Oh, yes, in the dialogue, we have devo. |
| Marco: Luca says - Devo pulire tutta la casa “I have to clean” or “I must clean” all the flat. |
| Cinzia: Yes. So he wants to express a need, a necessity, while Peter specifies a willingness. |
| Marco: Yes, when he says - Ah! Voglio darti una mano. - ”Ah, I want to give you a hand.” |
| Cinzia: Yes. As we’ve already seen, Peter and Luca are friends, so they are using the informal level of speech. When you are talking to someone you don’t know, you have to employ the formal level of speech. You should avoid using the present tense of the verb volere because it sounds pretty strong. |
| Marco: Yes, yes. |
| Cinzia: And can be not that kind. |
| Marco: Like we saw in many past lessons, voglio is really “I want,” so it’s better to use the condizionale tense… |
| Cinzia: Yes. |
| Marco: The “conditional tense” vorrei that in English would be “would like to.” Have we finished with today’s grammar topics? |
| Cinzia: Oh come on, please. I know you wanna take a bath. |
| Marco: No, no, not a bath, - Voglio andare a fare il bagno! - but meaning I want to go to the sea and swim. |
| Cinzia: Ah…okay, but no, we are not finished yet, so please be patient, be good, and if you want, be silent. don’t disturb me. Okay, that was a joke. Please help me. |
| Marco: What is the next topic? |
| Cinzia: The next topic is about the usage of the Italian presente indicativo mode to convey the English future “to be + going to” or… |
| Marco: Or… |
| Cinzia: “will” |
| Marco: Yes. I actually said “or” in all that sentence. |
| Cinzia: What a nice couple we are, Marco. |
| Marco: We are not. “We musn’t forget.” Non dobbiamo dimenticare. |
| Haha! |
| Cinzia: Dobbiamo ricordare. |
| Marco: “We have to remember.” In the Italian language, the present is more often used than the future and actually, it’s employed right in place of the future itself. For example, Cinzia? |
| Cinzia: Alle 4 vado a fare la spesa. |
| Marco: "At 4:00, I will go out and get groceries." In this case, we are talking about upcoming actions. |
| Cinzia: Yes, but we would never use the future, wouldn’t we? |
| Marco: No. Alle 4 andrò a fare la spesa, it looks so far away in time. |
| Cinzia: It looks so far away and also, I don’t know, it seems cold. Maybe, it can be used in formal levels of speech. |
| Marco: Yes. |
| Cinzia: But never between friends. |
| Marco: Never, never, never. What about the second case, when we are sure about future actions? For example… |
| Cinzia: L'anno prossimo vado in vacanza in America. |
| Marco: "Next year, I will go on holiday to the USA." Also in this case, I wouldn’t say - L’anno prossimo andrò in vacanza in America. Well more than the example we had before, but still looks too far away. |
| Cinzia: It does. Anyway, dear listeners, please, just be sure and know that if you use the present in place of the future, don’t make a mistake. |
Outro |
| Marco: So, ci vediamo presto! |
| Cinzia: Oh, okay. So, I suppose that’s all for today. Thank you, Marco. Thank you, listeners! Bye-bye! |
| Marco: Ciao |
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