Learn how to form the Italian imperative and negative imperative
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome back to the ItalianPOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian! I'm joined in the studio by... |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone. Consuelo here. |
| Marco: In this lesson, we will study the usage of the negative imperative and the syntax of the present imperative (both affirmative and negative) when they are associated with either direct or indirect pronouns. |
| Consuelo: This conversation takes place at the bakery. |
| Marco: The conversation is between Elena and the bakery shop owner, Mario. |
| Consuelo: The speakers are friends, and therefore they will be speaking informally. |
| Marco: Now, before we listen to the conversation... |
| Consuelo: We want to ask... |
| Marco: Do you read the lesson notes, while you listen? |
| Consuelo: We received an e-mail about this study tip. |
| Marco: So we were wondering if you've tried it, and if so, |
| Consuelo: what do you think of it. |
| Marco: You can leave us feedback in the comment section of this lesson. Okay... |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Mario: Ciao Elena! Come va il lavoro? |
| Elena: Ciao Mario! Non c’è male, grazie, oggi ci sono molti clienti. |
| Mario: Mi raccomando non distrarti e non ascoltare la radio mentre sei al lavoro, ok? |
| Elena: Ok, ok. (un telefonino inizia a squillare) |
| Mario: E non perdere tempo al telefonino, spegnilo! |
| Elena: Va bene, va bene, scusami... |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Mario: Ciao Elena! Come va il lavoro? |
| Elena: Ciao Mario! Non c’è male, grazie, oggi ci sono molti clienti. |
| Mario: Mi raccomando non distrarti e non ascoltare la radio mentre sei al lavoro, ok? |
| Elena: Ok, ok. (un telefonino inizia a squillare) |
| Mario: E non perdere tempo al telefonino, spegnilo! |
| Elena: Va bene, va bene, scusami... |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Mario: Ciao Elena! Come va il lavoro? |
| Marco: Hi Elena, how’s the work today? |
| Elena: Ciao Mario! Non c’è male, grazie, oggi ci sono molti clienti. |
| Marco: Hi Mario. Not bad, thank you. Today we’ve got a lot of customers. |
| Mario: Mi raccomando non distrarti e non ascoltare la radio mentre sei al lavoro, ok? |
| Marco: Please don’t be distracted and don’t listen to the radio while you’re at work, okay? |
| Elena: Ok, ok. (un telefonino inizia a squillare) |
| Marco: Okay, okay. (A mobile phone starts ringing.) |
| Mario: E non perdere tempo al telefonino, spegnilo! |
| Marco: And don’t waste time on your mobile, turn it off! |
| Elena: Va bene, va bene, scusami... |
| Marco: All right, all right, I’m sorry… |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: Consuelo, what can you tell us about Italian bakeries? |
| Consuelo: Well Marco, bakeries have a pretty old tradition in Italy. It’s said that in the time of Christ, there were about three hundred bakers selling bread, fruit, and wine in their shops around Rome. |
| Marco: Wow! |
| Consuelo: Yes, and because of this long tradition, nowadays, every small town has its own peculiar way to cook bread. |
| Marco: Mmm, it makes you wanna travel around Italy and try them all! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: distrarsi [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to be distracted |
| Consuelo: distrarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: distrarsi [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: ascoltare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to listen |
| Consuelo: ascoltare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: ascoltare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: radio [natural native speed] |
| Marco: radio |
| Consuelo: radio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: radio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: lavoro [natural native speed] |
| Marco: work, job |
| Consuelo: lavoro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: lavoro [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: telefonino [natural native speed] |
| Marco: mobile phone |
| Consuelo: telefonino [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: telefonino [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: spegnere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to turn off, switch off, put out, extinguish |
| Consuelo: spegnere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: spegnere [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: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases we learned in this lesson. The first word/phrase we’ll look at is... |
| Consuelo: raccomandare |
| Marco: to recommend |
| Consuelo: In this case, the usage of this word in Italian is slightly different from the English version. Beyond its basic meaning, "to suggest, to entrust," or "to push something or someone," it means also "please." |
| Marco: For example? |
| Consuelo: For example, we could say "Mi raccomando, torna presto a casa!" |
| Marco: Meaning "Please, come back home soon!" |
| Consuelo: I could also tell our listeners "Mi raccomando continuate a studiare!" |
| Marco: "Please, keep studying!" |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let’s take a look at today’s grammar point. |
| Marco: The negative imperative. |
| Consuelo: Yes, Marco. |
| Marco: We express the negative imperative differently according to the number of persons we address. |
| When the subject of the statement is singular (second person singular), we use the negative particle non, followed by the infinitive of the verb, thus obeying the syntax, non + infinitive of the verb. For example… |
| Consuelo: Non dormire. |
| Marco: Don’t sleep. |
| Consuelo: Non correre. |
| Marco: Don’t run. |
| Consuelo: Non uscire. |
| Marco: Don’t go out. |
| Marco: When the subject of the statement is plural (second person plural), we simply add the negative particle non before the verb. |
| Consuelo: Non gridate! |
| Marco: Don’t shout! |
| Consuelo: Non fate rumore! |
| Marco: Don’t make any noise! |
| Consuelo: Non ascoltate più la radio! |
| Marco: Don’t listen to the radio anymore! |
| Marco: Please note that when the subject of a reflexive verb is the second person singular, the reflexive pronoun attaches directly to the infinitive, which drops its ending vowel. For example... |
| Consuelo: Non lavarti. (infinitive, lavarsi) |
| Marco: Don’t wash yourself. |
| Consuelo: Non alzarti. (infinitive, alzarsi) |
| Marco: Don’t stand up. |
| Consuelo: Non distrarti. (infinitive, distrarsi) |
| Marco: Don’t get distracted. |
| Marco: Due its exhortative nature, the… |
| Consuelo: …imperativo presente… |
| Marco: …present imperative is often followed by either direct or indirect pronouns. In this case, they attach to the imperative form of the verb thus making a single word. Note that the word stress does not change. For example… |
| Consuelo: Bevi l’acqua! → Bevila! |
| Marco: Drink the water! → Drink it! |
| Consuelo: Accendete il computer! → Accendetelo! |
| Marco: Turn the PC on! → Turn it on! |
| Consuelo: Date a loro le penne! → Dategliele! |
| Marco: Give them the pens! → Give them to them. |
| Marco: Note that in this case, the negative form follows the standard procedures related to the number of the person. |
| For the second person singular, it will be non + infinitive + the appropriate pronoun. |
| For the second person plural, non + the standard conjugation. |
| Marco: For instance, |
| Consuelo: Non parlarmi! (i.e., Non parlare a me!) |
| Marco: Don’t talk to me! |
| Consuelo: Non mangiatelo! (i.e., Non mangiate quello!) |
| Marco: Don’t eat that! |
| Consuelo: Non prenderlo! (i.e., Non prendere quello!) |
| Marco: Don’t take that! |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to improve your pronunciation drastically. |
| Consuelo: The voice-recording tool! |
| Marco: Yes, the voice-recording tool in the Premium Learning Center... |
| Consuelo: Record your voice with a click of a button, |
| Marco: ...and then play it back just as easily. |
| Consuelo: So you record your voice and then listen to it. |
| Marco: Compare it to the native speakers... |
| Consuelo: ...and adjust your pronunciation! |
| Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast! |
| Marco: Ciao! |
| Consuelo: Arrivederci! |
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