Hi tjdonato@,

Thank you for your question.

“Pretendo che mi vengano date spiegazioni convicenti.” meaning "I expect to be given satisfactory explanations!"

It's a bit difficult.

First in the Italian version the subject is "spiegazioni" ("explanations"), while in English it is "I".

Secondly, "vengano date" is a particular form of the passive voice, where the auxiliary verb is not "essere" ("to be"), but "venire" ("to come").

“Pretendo che mi vengano date spiegazioni convicenti.”=“Pretendo che mi SIANO date spiegazioni convicenti.”

So, "vengano date"="siano date" is the present subjunctive (in the passive voice) from the verb "dare" ("to give").

The literal translation should be "I expect that satisfactory explanations are given to me!".

I hope this helps!

Keep up the good work :smile::thumbsup:

Grazie e ciao!

Ofelia

Team ItalianPod101.com

Ciao, Consuelo.

Non capisco la frase, "Pretendo che mi vengano date spiegazioni convicenti." Mi puo spiegare la costruzione "vengano date" nella frase? Lo so signifcare "to give," ma non capisco il tempo di "date." Che cos'e' il tempo?

I don't understand the sentence, ""Pretendo che mi vengano date spiegazioni convicenti." Can you explain the construction "vengano date" in the sentence? I know it to mean "to give," but I don't understand the tense of "date." What is the tense?

Thank you. I enjoy your lessons very much!

Tony

Ciao Chuck,

se vuoi fare pratica scrivi pure i tuoi commenti in italiano :grin:.

Grazie e buona giornata,

Consuelo

Ciao Consuelo,

Grazie per l'aiuto.

Penso che io debba studiare più.

Chuck

Ciao Chuck,

thank you very much for pointing out.

As you found out when a modal verb is involved (especially "dovere" and "potere"), you can use "congiuntivo" with "IO".

Grazie mille per il commento,:mrgreen:

a presto

Consuelo

Consuelo said above:

"I just want to tell you that you can not use 'congiuntivo' when you think about yourself. In this case we use the infinitive 'penso di capire adesso'."

But in Lower Intermediate Season 2 Lesson #4, Giulia says "Mi dispiace, ma credo che io debba andare ora." Is that not correct?

Thanks for the interesting lessons!

Chuck

Ciao Consuelo,

Grazie per l'aiuto.

Penso che il modo congiuntivo sia difficile!

Devo continuare a studiare.

Chuck

Ciao Chuck,

I just want to tell you that you can not use "congiuntivo" when you think about yourself. In this case we use the infinitive "penso di capire adesso". The "congiuntivo" inflected at "io" is mainly used when someone else thinks something about you, for example:

"Lui pensa che io capisca adesso." He thinks that I understand now.

Anyway, good job and continue practicing with us!!:grin:

Buona giornata,

Consuelo

Grazie Consuelo. Penso che io capisca adesso. :razz:

A presto,

Chuck

Ciao Chuck,

in this case the "congiuntivo" is not in the verb "cadere", but in the verb "chiamare". What she expects is to be called right away and not he to cuts off. Actually the verb "chiamare" has the same form as "presente" at "congiuntivo", that's why it can be misleading.

Thank you very much for your comment, I think this can be a useful explanation for our listeners.

A presto,

Consuelo:grin:

In the dialogue Giulia says,

"Pretendo che se cade la linea..."

My dictionary says that for cadere, the modo congiuntivo is cada, not cade. Is that correct?

Ciao Chuck,

good question. In casual Italian we sometimes use the "imperfetto" instead of the "condizionale presente" for the modal verb "volere".

Like "volevamo andare al bowling",

instead of "vorremmo andare al bowling".

This obviously does not mean that using "condizionale" is a mistake, it is only another usage of "imperfetto" in a casual conversation.

Thank you for pointing-out, I'm sure this will be one of the focuses for new series' lessons.

Grazie per il commento,

Consuelo:smile:

In the dialogue Giulia says,

"Stasera volevamo andare al bowling con Marcella."

Why does she use the imperfetto (volevamo) instead of the presente indicativo (vogliamo)? It sounds like she's talking about something in the past.

Anche in Francia gli anziani giocano alle bocce :lol: Si chiama "la pétanque".

Grazie ancora per la lezione!

Ciao