Learn about the congiuntivo passato and the usage of the congiuntivo in main clauses
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| INTRODUCTION |
| None (manual write in): |
| Jason: Ciao! Welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. I'm Jason. |
| Cristina: Cristina here! |
| Jason: This is Intermediate, season 1, Lesson 22 – Commuting in Italy. In this lesson you'll learn about the congiuntivo passato. Such as… |
| Cristina: Se l’avessi saputo... |
| Jason: "If I had known…" This conversation takes place at work. |
| Cristina: Wendy e Simone parlano insieme. |
| Jason: The conversation is between Wendy and Simone. The speakers are co-workers, so they'll be speaking in informal language. |
| Cristina: Ascoltiamo |
| Jason: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Wendy: Ciao Simone. Non riuscivi a scendere dal letto stamane? |
| Simone: Guarda, sono nero!Ho impiegato il doppio del tempo per arrivare in ufficio. Se l’avessi saputo... |
| Wendy: Che è successo? |
| Simone: Lavori in corso. Ogni mattina ascolto le notizie sul traffico alla radio mentre faccio colazione. Se l’avessero detto, avrei fatto un altro percorso, oppure sarei venuto in autobus. |
| Wendy: Infatti non capisco perchè tu ti ostini a venire in macchina. Non sarebbe più comodo venire coi mezzi pubblici? Inoltre qui il parcheggio è un incubo... |
| Simone: Lo so ma l’autobus è strapieno e non mi va di stare schiacciato come una sardina per 30 minuti. |
| Wendy: Se prendessi l’autobus almeno diminuirebbe lo smog e... |
| Simone: Wendy, io non sono come te. Tu sei un’ecologista nata e ti fai 15 chilometri in bicicletta. E poi la mia macchina non fa la differenza. |
| Wendy: Se tutti la pensassero come te, sicuramente non risolveremmo mai il problema dello smog in città. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Wendy: Ciao Simone. Non riuscivi a scendere dal letto stamane? |
| Simone: Guarda, sono nero!Ho impiegato il doppio del tempo per arrivare in ufficio. Se l’avessi saputo... |
| Wendy: Che è successo? |
| Simone: Lavori in corso. Ogni mattina ascolto le notizie sul traffico alla radio mentre faccio colazione. Se l’avessero detto, avrei fatto un altro percorso, oppure sarei venuto in autobus. |
| Wendy: Infatti non capisco perchè tu ti ostini a venire in macchina. Non sarebbe più comodo venire coi mezzi pubblici? Inoltre qui il parcheggio è un incubo... |
| Simone: Lo so ma l’autobus è strapieno e non mi va di stare schiacciato come una sardina per 30 minuti. |
| Wendy: Se prendessi l’autobus almeno diminuirebbe lo smog e... |
| Simone: Wendy, io non sono come te. Tu sei un’ecologista nata e ti fai 15 chilometri in bicicletta. E poi la mia macchina non fa la differenza. |
| Wendy: Se tutti la pensassero come te, sicuramente non risolveremmo mai il problema dello smog in città. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Wendy: Ciao Simone. Non riuscivi a scendere dal letto stamane? |
| Jason: Hi, Simone. You couldn't get out of bed this morning? |
| Simone: Guarda, sono nero!Ho impiegato il doppio del tempo per arrivare in ufficio. Se l’avessi saputo... |
| Jason: Look, I'm furious. It took me twice the time to get to the office. If I had known… |
| Wendy: Che è successo? |
| Jason: What happened? |
| Simone: Lavori in corso. Ogni mattina ascolto le notizie sul traffico alla radio mentre faccio colazione. Se l’avessero detto, avrei fatto un altro percorso, oppure sarei venuto in autobus. |
| Jason: Road construction. Every morning, I listen to the traffic report on the radio while having breakfast. If they had announced it, I would have taken a different route, or I would have come by bus. |
| Wendy: Infatti non capisco perchè tu ti ostini a venire in macchina. Non sarebbe più comodo venire coi mezzi pubblici? Inoltre qui il parcheggio è un incubo... |
| Jason: Right, I don't understand why you insist on coming by car. Wouldn't it be more convenient to come by public transportation? Besides, parking here is a nightmare... |
| Simone: Lo so ma l’autobus è strapieno e non mi va di stare schiacciato come una sardina per 30 minuti. |
| Jason: I know, but the bus is overcrowded, and I'm not going to be packed in like a sardine for thirty minutes. |
| Wendy: Se prendessi l’autobus almeno diminuirebbe lo smog e... |
| Jason: If you took the bus, the smog would decrease and… |
| Simone: Wendy, io non sono come te. Tu sei un’ecologista nata e ti fai 15 chilometri in bicicletta. E poi la mia macchina non fa la differenza. |
| Jason: Wendy, I'm not like you. You are a born environmentalist and go fifteen kilometers by bike. And moreover, my car doesn't make a difference... |
| Wendy: Se tutti la pensassero come te, sicuramente non risolveremmo mai il problema dello smog in città. |
| Jason: If everybody thought like you, we would never solve the problem of the smog in the cities for sure. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cristina: have you ever heard of Legambiente? |
| Jason: Not really, but I suppose it’s something to do with the environment. |
| Cristina: Infatti! It is an organization that was founded in Italy at the end of the ‘70s and its first name was Lega per l’ambiente ("League for the environment") |
| Jason: I think I saw one of their posters. Their symbol is a green swan. |
| Cristina: Yes. |
| Jason: What does this association do? |
| Cristina: Well it organizes campaigns of environmental monitoring in Italy like Treno Verde ("Green Train") and activities for volunteers like Spiagge pulite ("Clean Beaches"). |
| Jason: What’s the Treno Verde? |
| Cristina: It’s a train that goes to different cities in Italy, stops for three days in the same city and monitors the level of smog in the air as well as the acoustic pollution. |
| Jason: I see. I suppose they also organize workshops and educational activities for children. |
| Cristina: Oh yes! Legambiente promoted and increased the mobilization against the smog and the referendum of 1987 and 2011 against nuclear power. |
| Jason: I guess the association also promotes the use of alternative energy and renewable energy and the energy conservation. |
| Cristina: Esatto. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cristina: stamane [natural native speed] |
| Jason: this morning |
| Cristina: stamane [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: stamane [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: nero [natural native speed] |
| Jason: angry, furious |
| Cristina: nero [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: nero [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: lavori in corso [natural native speed] |
| Jason: road construction |
| Cristina: lavori in corso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: lavori in corso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: percorso [natural native speed] |
| Jason: route |
| Cristina: percorso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: percorso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: ostinarsi [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to insist |
| Cristina: ostinarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: ostinarsi [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: incubo [natural native speed] |
| Jason: nightmare |
| Cristina: incubo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: incubo [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: strapieno [natural native speed] |
| Jason: overcrowded |
| Cristina: strapieno [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: strapieno [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: schiacciato come una sardina [natural native speed] |
| Jason: packed like sardines |
| Cristina: schiacciato come una sardina [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: schiacciato come una sardina [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: ecologista [natural native speed] |
| Jason: environmentalist |
| Cristina: ecologista [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: ecologista [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: fare la differenza [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to make a difference |
| Cristina: fare la differenza [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: fare la differenza [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Jason: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jason: The first one we'll look at is... |
| Cristina: STRAPIENO |
| Jason: OVERCROWDED |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. Tutte le mattine il treno dei pendolari delle 7.00 è strapieno. |
| Jason: "Every morning the commuter train at 7 o'clock is overcrowded." |
| Cristina: In colloquial language (especially used by young people) the prefix stra- shows that something is ‘more than usual’. It is often translated in English as ‘over-‘ or ‘very’ |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Stralungo ("very long") or stravecchio ("very old"). |
| Jason: Can you give us a couple of example? |
| Cristina: Questa storia e’ stralunga. |
| Jason: "This story is very long." |
| Cristina: Questa pasta e’ stracotta. |
| Jason: "This pasta is overcooked." |
| Cristina: Esatto! |
| Jason: What's the next one we'll look at? |
| Cristina: FARE LA DIFFERENZA |
| Jason: TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE |
| Cristina: Here’s a sample sentence – Ricilare la spazzatura puo’ fare la differenza. |
| Jason: "Recycling waste can make a difference." |
| Cristina: There are expressions using the word differenza that are also very common, but they change in the meaning. So be careful. |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Fare differenza or its opposite – Non fare nessuna differenza ("to make no difference") |
| Jason: For instance? |
| Cristina: Partire di mattina o di sera non fa differenza per me. |
| Jason: "Leaving in the morning or in the evening makes no difference for me." |
| Cristina: Esatto! |
| Jason: But what does “fare le differenze” mean? |
| Cristina: "To treat someone in a different way." For example – Non fare differenze tra i bambini. |
| Jason: "Don’t treat the kids differently." |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cristina: In this lesson, we’ll focus on the congiuntivo trapassato |
| Jason: How is the congiuntivo trapassato formed? |
| Cristina: Well, it is formed by the congiuntivo imperfetto of the auxiliary verbs essere and avere plus the past participle of the main verb. |
| Jason: I guess that the choice of the auxiliary verb follows the rules that apply for the passato prossimo. |
| Cristina: Exactly. |
| Jason: Can you give us a sample sentence? |
| Cristina: Pensavo che quel libro l’avessi già letto. |
| Jason: I thought you already read that book. |
| Cristina: Here is another example – Credevo che Maria fosse già partita. |
| Jason: "I thought that Maria had already left." |
| Cristina: The subordinate clauses in the examples before require the usage of the conjunctive…. |
| Jason: because in the main sentences there are verbs like pensare and credere. |
| Cristina: Well done, Jason. |
| Jason: But why the congiuntivo trapassato? |
| Cristina: It’s to express anteriority. |
| Jason: What do you mean? |
| Cristina: The verb in the main clause is in the past tense (pensavo, credevo). In the subordinate clause the verbs are in the congiuntivo trapassato because the actions of leggere (avessi letto) and partire (fosse partita) happen before than those of the main clause. |
| Jason: I see. |
| Cristina: Of course if the auxiliary verb is the verb essere, the past participle needs to agree in number and gender with the subject. |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Credevo che Maria fosse già partita. |
| Jason: "I thought that Maria had already left." |
| Cristina: Maria is a feminine and singular noun, therefore partita |
| Jason: I got it. |
| Cristina: The congiuntivo trapassato is often also used in the if clauses (third type) or as we say in Italian periodo ipotetico dell’irrealtà. |
| Jason: This type of if-clause expresses a chance that cannot be taken anymore, or an unfulfilled wish. |
| Cristina: Here is a sample sentence taken from the dialogue – Se l’avessero detto, avrei fatto un altro percorso, oppure sarei venuto in autobus. |
| Jason: "If they had announced it, I would have taken a different route, or I would have come by bus." |
| Cristina: Se l’avessero detto is congiuntivo trapassato and avrei fatto is condizionale passato. |
| Jason: Ok. Can you give us another example? |
| Cristina: Se avessi studiato di più, avrei passato l’esame. |
| Jason: "If I had studied more, I would have passed the exam." |
| Cristina: Remember that certain if-clauses can also be left uncompleted. |
| Jason: What do you mean? |
| Cristina: Se l’avessi saputo... |
| Jason: "If I had known…" also translated as "Had I known…" |
| Cristina: Let’s now consider when the congiuntivo trapassato can be used also in the main clause. |
| Jason: It is used in sentences that express a wish that cannot be fulfilled anymore. |
| Cristina: Bravo! These sentences always start with the conjunction magari ("if only"). |
| Jason: For example? |
| Cristina: Magari fosse venuto a trovarmi! |
| Jason: "If only he had come to visit me!" |
| Cristina: Here is another example –Magari mi fosse venuto in mente prima! |
| Jason: "If only I’d thought of it before!" |
| Cristina: It also possible to use the congiuntivo imperfetto. It is to express a wish that has not been fulfilled yet. |
| Jason: For example... |
| Cristina: Magari ci fosse il sole! |
| Jason: "If only it was sunny!" |
| Cristina: meaning oggi, "today" |
| Jason: and here is a sample sentence using the congiuntivo trapassato. |
| Cristina: Magari ci fosse stato il sole! |
| Jason: "If only it had been sunny!" |
| Cristina: Meaning sometime in the past. |
Outro |
| Jason: OK. That's all for this lesson. In the lesson notes, you can find more examples on this grammar point. So be sure to read them. |
| Cristina: A presto! |
| Jason: Bye-bye! |
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