Learn how to use the impersonal form to send a package using a formal conversation as an example
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 3, Lesson 11 - How Easy is Sending a Package in Italy? Becky here. |
| Ofelia: Ciao. And I'm Ofelia. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the impersonal form with si. The conversation takes place in a post office. |
| Ofelia: And it's between Maria and a post office employee. |
| Becky: The speakers don't know each other, so they’ll be using formal Italian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Maria: Salve vorrei spedire questo pacco negli Stati Uniti. |
| Impiegato: Quindi una spedizione internazionale. E' necessario il codice fiscale... poi si deve fare l'elenco delle cose che vuole spedire. |
| Maria: Si può spedire per via aerea? |
| Impiegato: Sì, glielo consigliamo, perchè se spedisce per mare non è possibile seguire la spedizione e i tempi di consegna si allungano notevolmente. |
| Maria: Ho capito, va bene la spedizione via aerea. |
| Impiegato: Va bene. Non ci sono prodotti infiammabili giusto? |
| Maria: No. Nessun prodotto pericoloso. |
| Becky: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Maria: Hello, I would like to send this package to the United States. |
| Employee: So, international shipping. It’s necessary to have the fiscal code...then you have to list the things that you want to send. |
| Maria: Is it possible to send it by airmail? |
| Employee: Yes, we recommend it, because if you send by sea, it's not possible to track the shipping and the delivery timing extends considerably. |
| Maria: I see; airmail shipping is okay. |
| Employee: Okay. There aren't any flammable products, right? |
| Maria: No. (There aren't) any dangerous products. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Ofelia, what can you tell us about Italian post offices? |
| Ofelia: Well, as your Italian friends may tell you, the Italian postal service has been labeled as the worst among industrialized countries for decades! |
| Becky: I once heard that the lines are too long. People become discouraged and angry, and the expected delivery date is ignored almost every time. |
| Ofelia: That was in the past. Fortunately, over the last few years, a modern system has been set up all over the country. Long lines have almost disappeared and the delivery dates are respected. When I was a child, I remember that sending a package in the country used to take between one to three months. |
| Becky: Wow. That’s a long time! Is there a useful expression we should know about the post office? |
| Ofelia: Here’s a good one - Fare la fila alla posta. |
| Becky: Which means "To line up at the post office." Okay, now on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Ofelia: pacco [natural native speed] |
| Becky: package |
| Ofelia: pacco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: pacco [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: spedizione [natural native speed] |
| Becky: shipping, dispatch |
| Ofelia: spedizione [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: spedizione [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Our next word is... |
| Ofelia: elenco [natural native speed] |
| Becky: list |
| Ofelia: elenco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: elenco [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next one is... |
| Ofelia: via aerea [natural native speed] |
| Becky: by airmail |
| Ofelia: via aerea [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: via aerea [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: per mare [natural native speed] |
| Becky: by sea |
| Ofelia: per mare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: per mare [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: consegna [natural native speed] |
| Becky: delivery |
| Ofelia: consegna [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: consegna [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: allungarsi [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to extend, to become longer |
| Ofelia: allungarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: allungarsi [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The last word is... |
| Ofelia: infiammabile [natural native speed] |
| Becky: flammable |
| Ofelia: infiammabile [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: infiammabile [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Ofelia: ...allungarsi. |
| Becky: Which means "to extend; to become longer; or to grow." |
| Ofelia: Allungarsi is the reflexive form of the verb allungare, meaning to “make longer.” |
| Becky: You can use this verb whenever you’re waiting for something and the time extends, as well as when you’re talking about the increase in life expectancy, or the growth of body parts. |
| Ofelia: The most common use of this verb is when talking about hair or nails. For example, I tuoi capelli si sono allungati tanto. |
| Becky: Meaning, "Your hair has become longer." Can you give us one more example using this word? |
| Ofelia: : Sure. For example, you can say, Negli ultimi decenni l'aspettativa di vita in Italia si è allungata. |
| Becky: This means, "Over the last few decades, life expectancy in Italy has increased." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Ofelia: Infiammabile. |
| Becky: Which means "flammable, or easily set on fire." |
| Ofelia: This word is composed of the prefix in-, which means “to turn;” the root word -fiamma-, meaning “flame;” and the suffix -bile, similar to the English suffix “-able,” meaning “it can be burned.” |
| Becky:The word is often used in workshops, laboratories, and restricted areas where security is important. The term is quite technical and mostly used in written language, such as in written warnings. |
| Ofelia: You may want to know that the antonym is ignifugo... |
| Becky: ...meaning "fire-resistant." Can you give us an example using the first word? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, Gli oggetti facilmente infiammabili sono vietati nel bagaglio a mano. |
| Becky: Meaning, "Easily flammable items are prohibited in carry-on baggage." Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson you’ll learn how to use the impersonal form. In Italian, it’s possible to use a verb without choosing a defined subject by opting for the impersonal construction of the verb. |
| Ofelia: The impersonal construction in Italian is formed by the impersonal pronoun si, plus a verb in the third-person singular or plural. |
| Becky: This means that if the noun that follows the verb is singular, the verb declines in the third-person singular. Ofelia, can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Sure! In Inghilterra si beve molto te' |
| Becky: "In England, people drink a lot of tea." If the noun is plural, the verb declines in the third-person plural. Do you have an example of this? |
| Ofelia: In Italia si mangiano gli spaghetti quasi ogni giorno. |
| Becky: "In Italy, people eat spaghetti almost every day." The impersonal form corresponds to the English pronoun "one," though it’s used more frequently in Italian than in English, which also uses "you," "we," "people," and other expressions to translate the same idea. |
| Ofelia: For example, Come si dice "buongiorno" in giapponese? |
| Becky: Meaning "How does one say 'good morning' in Japanese?” You could also say this as, “How do you say 'good morning' in Japanese?" To wrap up a little, can you summarize when this construction is used? |
| Ofelia: Sure! We use si for the impersonal form in three main cases. First, when the subject is generic. For example, In Italia si beve molto caffè. |
| Becky: Meaning, "In Italy, we/the Italians/people drink a lot of coffee." |
| Ofelia: Second, you also use this construction when you’re making generalizations and, third, when you’re describing the customs and traditions of a place. For example, In agosto si va al mare. |
| Becky: "In August, people go to the seaside." |
| Ofelia: Finally, I would like to add a note about this construction in compounded tenses – the auxiliary verb is always essere. |
| Becky: Okay, can you give us some examples? |
| Ofelia: Sure, si vede, from vedere, meaning "to see." In the past form, it’s si è visto. Also si mangia, from mangiare, "to eat", becomes si è mangiato in the past form. |
| Becky: Good to know. Is there other information we should know? |
| Ofelia: There is! When the verb is formed by essere, plus the adjective, the adjective is masculine and plural. For example, si è lieti, from essere lieti, meaning "to be glad." |
| Becky: Is it possible to have this construction with reflexive or pronominal verbs? |
| Ofelia: Yes, remember that the particle ci must precede the verb. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Ci si annoia, from annoiarsi, meaning "to get bored." |
| Becky: Please also give us a complete sample sentence with this construction. |
| Ofelia: Sure. Quando c’è Mario, non ci si annoia mai. |
| Becky: "When Mario is here, you never get bored." Listeners, for more examples, please check out the lesson notes! |
Outro |
| Becky: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Ofelia: A presto. |
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