Learn how to express your thoughts using an informal conversation between friends as an example
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 3, Lesson 24 - Is Free Wi-Fi Worth Freezing for in Italy? Becky here. |
| Ofelia: Ciao. I'm Ofelia. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the verb "pensare". |
| Becky: Meaning "to think," followed by the subjunctive. The conversation takes place in the company break room. |
| Ofelia: It's between Elia and Maria. |
| Becky: The speakers are friends, so they’ll be using informal Italian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Elia: Pensavo che gli americani preferissero le riviste digitali. |
| Maria: Hai ragione. Preferisco le riviste digitali, perchè non occupano spazio e non producono spreco di carta. |
| Elia: Ma in Italia siamo ancora troppo legati alle vecchie tradizioni... |
| Maria: Io piuttosto penso che il collegamento ad internet sia troppo costoso! |
| Elia: Non sai che ci sono molte aree pubbliche con il wi-fi gratuito? |
| Maria: A volte le uso, ma in inverno non pensi che sia difficile stare fuori al freddo per leggere una rivista? |
| Becky: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Elia: Pensavo che gli americani preferissero le riviste digitali. |
| Elia: I thought that Americans preferred digital magazines. |
| Maria: Hai ragione. Preferisco le riviste digitali, perchè non occupano spazio e non producono spreco di carta. |
| Maria: You’re right. I do prefer digital magazines because they don't take up space and don't produce paper waste. |
| Elia: Ma in Italia siamo ancora troppo legati alle vecchie tradizioni... |
| Elia: But in Italy, we’re still too tied to old traditions... |
| Maria: Io piuttosto penso che il collegamento ad internet sia troppo costoso! |
| Maria: Actually, I think that the Internet connection is too expensive! |
| Elia: Non sai che ci sono molte aree pubbliche con il wi-fi gratuito? |
| Elia: Don't you know that there are many public areas with free Wi-Fi? |
| Maria: Sometimes I use them, but during the winter don't you think it's difficult to stay outside freezing to read a magazine? |
| Maria: A volte le uso, ma in inverno non pensi che sia difficile stare fuori al freddo per leggere una rivista? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Ofelia, are there many free Wi-Fi areas in Italy? |
| Ofelia: Yes, over the past few years, free Wi-Fi in Italy has become widely used all around the country. |
| Becky: That seems useful for tourists. |
| Ofelia: It sure is. People traveling in Italy can find free connections in parks, squares, libraries, and important meeting places thanks to regional and municipal funded projects. |
| Becky: And restaurants, bars, pizzerias and other places have their own private Wi-Fi that guests can use for free. Ofelia, can you access these without a password? |
| Ofelia: Good question! Be careful, because it's becoming common to limit these free Wi-Fi services to strict passwords, so this may be a big obstacle for temporary visitors. |
| Becky: Is there anything else we should know? |
| Ofelia: Please learn this question - Posso avere la password per il wi-fi? |
| Becky: Meaning, "Can I have the password for the Wi-Fi?" |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Now, let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Ofelia: digitale [natural native speed] |
| Becky: digital |
| Ofelia: digitale [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: digitale [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: occupare [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to occupy, to take up |
| Ofelia: occupare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: occupare [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: spreco [natural native speed] |
| Becky: waste |
| Ofelia: spreco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: spreco [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next word is... |
| Ofelia: essere legato a [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to be tied to, to be fond of |
| Ofelia: essere legato a [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: essere legato a [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: tradizione [natural native speed] |
| Becky: tradition |
| Ofelia: tradizione [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: tradizione [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: collegamento [natural native speed] |
| Becky: link, connection |
| Ofelia: collegamento [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: collegamento [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next word is... |
| Ofelia: costoso [natural native speed] |
| Becky: expensive |
| Ofelia: costoso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: costoso [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And the last word is... |
| Ofelia: area [natural native speed] |
| Becky: area |
| Ofelia: area [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: area [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 phrase is... |
| Ofelia: ...essere legato a. |
| Becky: Meaning "to be tied to” or “to be fond of." |
| Ofelia: This phrase is created from the passive voice of the verb "legare", meaning “to tie,” and the preposition "a", meaning “to.” |
| Becky: I guess that this expression may refer to the actual situation of something being tied to something else. |
| Ofelia: Yes, for example, "La tenda è legata al soffitto", |
| Becky: Meaning, "The curtain is tied to the ceiling." |
| Ofelia: But it can also refer to someone sentimentally tied to or in love with someone or something, such as "Mio figlio è legato a questo peluche". |
| Becky: "My son is fond of this stuffed animal." Any other examples using this word? |
| Ofelia: Luca è molto legato a sua madre. |
| Becky: This means, "Luca is very fond of his mother." |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Ofelia: Collegamento. |
| Becky: Meaning "link” or “connection." |
| Ofelia: "Collegamento" is formed from the prefix "co-", which in English means “with,” and the noun "legamento" meaning “link.” It’s widely used when talking about the Internet and it often goes with the adjectives "lento" meaning “slow,” and "veloce" meaning “fast.” |
| Becky: Can it be used for other kinds of connections? |
| Ofelia: Yes, for example, "C'è un collegamento tra questi elementi". |
| Becky: Meaning, "There’s a connection between these elements." |
| Ofelia: Or also, "Il collegamento per l'isola è stato interrotto dalla tempesta". |
| Becky: Which means, "The connection to the island has been interrupted because of the storm." Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson you’ll learn how to express your thoughts by using the verb "pensare" meaning "to think," followed by the subjunctive. |
| Ofelia: In other words, we'll focus on the tense agreement of the "subjunctive mood," or "modo congiuntivo", when the main clause includes the verb "pensare", “to think.” |
| Becky: The usage of the subjunctive in the subordinate clause expresses the idea that the action of the subordinate clause is subjective or unsure. |
| Ofelia: Verbs that express a personal opinion like "pensare" usually require the "congiuntivo" in the subordinate clause. |
| Becky: Can you give some examples with the verb “to think?” |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example,"Pensavo che stessi dormendo". |
| Becky: "I thought you were sleeping." |
| Ofelia: Penso che la cucina sia molto spaziosa. |
| Becky: "I think that the kitchen is really large." |
| Ofelia: The tense agreement is important in the subjunctive mood, which has four tenses - presente, imperfetto, passato, and trapassato. |
| Becky: In order to choose the tense in the subordinate clause, it's important to look at the tense and mood of the main clause and decide what the time relation is between the two. If the verb of the main clause is in the present or the future of the indicative mood, use the past to express anteriority and the present to express contemporaneity. Let’s see an example for anteriority. |
| Ofelia: That means that the fact expressed in the subordinate clause happened before the one expressed in the main clause. Here’s the example - Penso che Giovanni sia uscito 10 minuti fa. |
| Becky: "I think that Giovanni left ten minutes ago." And contemporaneity? This means the fact expressed in the subordinate clause happens at the same time as the one expressed in the main clause. |
| Ofelia: Penso che Giovanni esca ora. |
| Becky: "I think Giovanni is going out now." Similarly, if the verb of the main clause is in the past tense... |
| Ofelia: ...use the past perfect, or "trapassato", to express anteriority and the imperfect, "imperfetto", to express contemporaneity. |
| Becky: Let’s see an example with a time relation based on anteriority. |
| Ofelia: Pensavo che Sara avesse cucinato la pasta, ma in realtà non ha fatto niente. |
| Becky: "I thought that Sara had cooked pasta, but she actually didn't prepare anything." And contemporaneity? |
| Ofelia: Non pensavo ti interessassi di calcio. |
| Becky: "I didn't know you were interested in soccer." Listeners, for more examples, please be sure to check the lesson notes! |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, 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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