Learn the fourth and final category of Italian masculine nouns ending in -a
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome to the ItalianPOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian! |
| Cinzia: I'm Cinzia, and thanks again for being here with us for this Beginner Series S2 lesson. |
| Marco: In this lesson will end our studies about Italian masculine nouns ending in -a |
| Cinzia: This conversation takes place at a wedding party |
| Marco: And it's between Peter and Luca |
| Cinzia: They are friends, therefore they will be speaking informally |
| 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 e-mail about this 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... |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Peter: A Firenze costruiranno il metro? |
| Luca: Il metro? Ah! Attento si dice la metro. |
| Peter: Quindi la metro è il mezzo di trasporto. |
| Luca: Esatto. |
| Peter: Allora il metro cos’è? |
| Luca: Il metro è l’unità di misura e anche lo strumento per misurare la lunghezza. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: A Firenze costruiranno il metro? |
| Luca: Il metro? Ah! Attento si dice la metro. |
| Peter: Quindi la metro è il mezzo di trasporto. |
| Luca: Esatto. |
| Peter: Allora il metro cos’è? |
| Luca: Il metro è l’unità di misura e anche lo strumento per misurare la lunghezza. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Peter: A Firenze costruiranno il metro? |
| Marco: Will they build a meter in Firenze? |
| Luca: Il metro? Ah! Attento si dice la metro. |
| Marco: A meter? Ah! Careful, you have to say subway. |
| Peter: Quindi la metro è il mezzo di trasporto. |
| Marco: So subway is the means of transportation. |
| Luca: Esatto. |
| Marco: Right. |
| Peter: Allora il metro cos’è? |
| Marco: So what is a meter? |
| Luca: Il metro è l’unità di misura e anche lo strumento per misurare la lunghezza. |
| Marco: A meter is a unit of measurement and a device to measure length. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cinzia: Masculine nouns ending in –a are really sneaky. |
| Marco: They are! |
| Cinzia: The best way to learn them is to practice using them! |
| Marco: And don’t be shy, we all make mistakes. Just keep on practicing. |
| Cinzia: But remember to practice with us! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cinzia: metro [natural native speed] |
| Marco: meter |
| Cinzia: metro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: metro [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: attento [natural native speed] |
| Marco: careful, painstaking, prudent |
| Cinzia: attento [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: attento [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: metro [natural native speed] |
| Marco: subway |
| Cinzia: metro [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: metro [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: mezzo di trasporto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: means of transport |
| Cinzia: mezzo di trasporto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: mezzo di trasporto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: esatto [natural native speed] |
| Marco: exact, correct, right |
| Cinzia: esatto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: esatto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cinzia: strumento [natural native speed] |
| Marco: instrument, tool |
| Cinzia: strumento [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cinzia: strumento [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. |
| Cinzia: The first word we will look at is |
| metro |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Sono alto un metro e settanta centimetri. |
| Marco: “I am one meter and seventy centimeters tall.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| attento |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Stai attento! |
| Marco: “Be careful!” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| metro |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: La metro di Milano è molto comoda. |
| Marco: “Milano subway is very comfortable.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| mezzo di trasporto |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: I mezzi di trasporto moderni sono molto veloci. |
| Marco: “Modern means of transport are very fast.” |
| Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is |
| esatto |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: È esatto! |
| Marco: “It’s correct!” |
| Cinzia: Today's last word/expression is strumento |
| Marco: And the sample sentence is? |
| Cinzia: Il telescopio è uno strumento per vedere le stelle. |
| Marco: “The telescope is an instrument for viewing stars.” |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Marco: In today's class, we will see the last category of Italian nouns ending with -a. |
| Cinzia: In this category nouns change their meaning according to the gender they take. |
| Marco: Since their singular written form never changes, we can identify their gender solely by the articles, adjectives, and past participles. |
| Ciznia: We are now going to see the most commonly used nouns belonging to this category. |
| Marco: Please note that when there is no equivalent translation in English, we will provide an explanation of the word. |
| Cinzia: I will give you the Italian singular form |
| Marco: I will then give you the English singular form or the meaning explained in English if there is no English equivalent |
| Cinzia: (l') asse; masculine |
| Marco: "axis" |
| Cinzia: (l') asse; feminine |
| Marco: "board" |
| Cinzia: (il) boa; m. |
| Marco: "boa" |
| Cinzia: (la) boa; f. |
| Marco: "buoy" |
| Cinzia: (il) caccia; m. |
| Marco: "fighter" (airplane) |
| Cinzia: (la) caccia; f. |
| Marco: "hunting" |
| Cinzia: (il) capitale; m. |
| Marco: "capital" (money invested) |
| Cinzia: (la) capitale; f. |
| Marco: "capital" (of a country) |
| Cinzia: (il) fine; m. |
| Marco: "purpose, aim" |
| Cinzia: (la) fine; f. |
| Marco: "end, conclusion" |
| Cinzia: (il) lama; m. |
| Marco: "Buddhist monk" |
| Cinzia: (la) lama; f. |
| Marco: "blade" |
| Cinzia: (il) metro; m. |
| Marco: "meter" (both the device and the unit of length) |
| Cinzia: (la) metro; f. |
| Marco: "subway" |
| (Cinzia: il) mitra; m. |
| Marco: "machine gun" |
| Cinzia: (la) mitra; f. |
| Marco: "bishop's headgear" |
| Cinzia: (il) moto; m. |
| Marco: "movement" |
| Cinzia: (la) moto; f. |
| Marco: "motorbike" |
| Cinzia: (il) prima; m. |
| Marco: "what happened before the present time" |
| Cinzia: (la) prima; f. |
| Marco: "the first night of a theatrical opera" |
| Cinzia: (il) radio; m. |
| Marco: "radium" |
| Cinzia: (la) radio; f. |
| Marco: "radio" |
| (Cinzia: il) rosa; m. |
| Marco: "pink" (color) |
| Cinzia: (la) rosa; f. |
| Marco: "rose" (flower) |
| Cinzia: (il) viola; m. |
| Marco: "purple" |
| Cinzia: (la) viola; f. |
| Marco: "viola" (classical musical instrument) |
| Cinzia: There are more nouns in the PDF, so please check it out. |
| Marco: Finally, note that in informal Italian, people may playfully use the family name instead of the first name to refer to a person they are acquainted with. In this case, the definite article follows the gender of the person and it's not related to the form of their family names. For instance |
| Marco: First Name |
| Cinzia: Ieri ho visto Maria Piccolo che parlava con Mike. |
| Maria is the first name and Piccolo is the family name |
| Marco: Family Name |
| Cinzia: Ieri ho visto la Piccolo che parlava con Mike. |
| Marco: Yesterday, I saw Maria Piccolo talking to Mike. |
| Cinzia: We may also use the same structure in formal speech when talking about famous artists and prominent characters of the past. |
| Marco: We can then say |
| Cinzia: il Machiavelli, l'Alighieri etc. |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Marco: Testing yourself is one of the most effective ways to learn. |
| Cinzia: That's why we have 3 types of quizzes. |
| Marco: Vocabulary, grammar, and content specific. |
| Cinzia: Each quiz targets specific skill... |
| Marco: And together these quizzes will help you |
| master several fundamental skills. : |
| Cinzia: You can find them in the learning center at |
| Marco: ItalianPod101.com |
| Marco: Ciao |
| Cinzia: A presto! |
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