Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

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.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Federica asks,
"Is this your family?"
Federica Fontana: Questa è la tua famiglia?
Let's start with the word, famiglia, "family." Famiglia. Famiglia.
In Italian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Famiglia is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before famiglia is la tua, a phrase meaning "your." la tua.
Tua means "your." Tua. Tua.
Tua is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.
Before tua is the article la. Think of it like "the" in English. La. La.
La is also feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.
Note: in this sentence, the article la does not have a corresponding English translation.
In Italian, possessive adjectives, like mia, "my," tua, "your," and so forth, often pair with an article, like the la in la tua.
Together, it's la tua, a phrase for "your." La tua.
All together, la tua famiglia. "Your family." La tua famiglia.
Moving to the start of the sentence,questa, "this." Questa. Questa.
Note: Questa is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.
Next is è, "is," as in "this is…." È. È.
È is from the verb essere, meaning "to be." Essere.
All together, it's Questa è la tua famiglia? This literally means "This is your family?" But it translates as "Is this your family?" Questa è la tua famiglia?
Note the rising intonation of the sentence to mark that it's a question. Questa è la tua famiglia?
Remember this question. You'll hear it again later.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Ben says,
"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister and me."
Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io.
This starts with the expression, Sì, meaning "yes." Sì. Sì.
It answers Federica's yes-or-no question, "Is this your family?"
Questa è la tua famiglia?
After this, Ben points to the picture, and says, Questa è la mia famiglia.
Let's start with the word, famiglia, "family."Famiglia.
Do you remember the gender and number of famiglia?
Feminine and singular.
Before this, it's la mia, a phrase meaning "my." La mia.
Mia. "My." Mia. Mia.
Mia is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.
Before mia is the article la. Think of it like "the" in English. La.
La is also feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.
Again, in this case, the article la does not have a corresponding English translation.
Together, it's la mia, a phrase for "my." La mia.
All together, la mia famiglia translates as "my family." La mia famiglia.
Moving to the start of the sentence, questa "this." Questa.
Note: Questa is in the feminine singular form to agree with famiglia.
Next is è, "is," È.
All together, it's Questa è la mia famiglia. "This is my family." Questa è la mia famiglia.
After this is mio padre, "my father." Mio padre.
Padre, "father." Padre. Padre.
Mio, "My." Mio.
Mio is masculine and singular to agree with padre.
Mio padre.
Next is mia madre. "My mother." Mia madre.
Madre, "mother." Madre. Madre.
Mia. "My."
Mia is feminine and singular to agree with madre.
Mia madre.
After this is mia sorella, "my sister." Mia sorella.
Sorella, "sister." Sorella. Sorella.
Mia. "My."
Mia is feminine and singular to agree with sorella.
Mia sorella.
Next is e, "and." E. E.
And last is io, which translates as "me" in this context. Io. Io.
All together, Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io. "This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, and me."
Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io.
The pattern is
Questa è la mia famiglia. {FAMILY MEMBER}, {FAMILY MEMBER}, {FAMILY MEMBER} e io.
This is my family. {FAMILY MEMBER}, {FAMILY MEMBER}, {FAMILY MEMBER} and me.
To use this pattern, simply replace the {FAMILY MEMBER} placeholders with the appropriate word for "my" and members of your family. Remember that the word for "my" will be mio when your family member is male and mia when the family member is female.
Imagine your family members are your father, your mother, your brother, and you.
Fratello is "brother." Fratello. Fratello. Fratello is masculine and singular. Therefore, "my brother" is mio fratello. Mio fratello.
Say
"This is my family. my father, my mother, my brother, and me."
Ready?
Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello e io.
"This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, and me."
Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello e io.
In Italian, possessive adjectives, like tua, "your," are preceded by definite articles, like la in la tua famiglia, "your family."
However, there is an exception.
When talking about singular family members, don't use the definite article.
For example, mia madre, "my mother," and mio padre "my father."

Comments

Hide