Learn how to ask someone else's opinion 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 25 - Getting Free Movies in Italy. Becky here. |
| Ofelia: Ciao. I'm Ofelia. |
| Becky: In this final lesson of the series, you’ll learn some expressions that are useful when asking someone’s opinion. 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 |
| Maria: Vorrei andare tutti i fine settimana al cinema. Sai se esiste qualche abbonamento conveniente? |
| Elia: Fammi pensare... Non lo so! Ma potresti andare in biblioteca, oltre ai libri danno in prestito anche DVD e CD. |
| Maria: Buona idea. Come posso fare per iscrivermi? |
| Elia: Devi andare in biblioteca con un documento e poi lì ti diranno come fare. |
| Maria: Sai se è a pagamento? |
| Elia: No, è gratuito! |
| Maria: Secondo te devo andare alla biblioteca centrale? |
| Elia: Secondo me puoi iscriverti nella biblioteca più vicina a casa tua. Puoi richiedere materiale anche dalle altre biblioteche. |
| Becky: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Maria: I'd like to go to the movies every weekend. Do you know if there’s a convenient subscription? |
| Elia: Let me think... I don't know! But you could go to the library; besides books they also lend DVDs and CDs. |
| Maria: Good idea. How can I subscribe? |
| Elia: You have to go to the library with an ID and then they will tell you how to do it. |
| Maria: Do you know if there’s a fee? |
| Elia: No, it's for free! |
| Maria: In your opinion, should I go to the central library? |
| Elia: In my opinion, you should sign up at the nearest library to your home. You can also ask for materials from other libraries. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: What are libraries like in Italy? |
| Ofelia: Well, in Italy there are public and private libraries, and to be able to access both kinds, you need a subscription. |
| Becky: What’s the difference between them? |
| Ofelia: For private libraries, subscriptions are limited to guests that are part of a club or a group funding the library; they have to pay to use it. On the other hand, public libraries are available to anyone who gives personal data, and a copy of an ID document. And when you’re visiting Italy, especially the big cities, please remember to visit the main library building. Sometimes you’ll find that they’re inside ancient and beautiful buildings. |
| Becky: That’s a good tip – I’ll be sure to stop by one. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Now, let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Ofelia: esistere [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to exist, to be |
| Ofelia: esistere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: esistere [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: abbonamento [natural native speed] |
| Becky: subscription |
| Ofelia: abbonamento [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: abbonamento [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next word is... |
| Ofelia: biblioteca [natural native speed] |
| Becky: library |
| Ofelia: biblioteca [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: biblioteca [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: dare in prestito [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to lend |
| Ofelia: dare in prestito [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: dare in prestito [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Ofelia: iscriversi [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to sign up, to enroll |
| Ofelia: iscriversi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: iscriversi [natural native speed] |
| Becky: The next word is... |
| Ofelia: pagamento [natural native speed] |
| Becky: payment, fee |
| Ofelia: pagamento [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: pagamento [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next... |
| Ofelia: gratuito [natural native speed] |
| Becky: free of charge, cost-free |
| Ofelia: gratuito [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: gratuito [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And the last word is... |
| Ofelia: materiale [natural native speed] |
| Becky: material |
| Ofelia: materiale [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: materiale [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: ...abbonamento. |
| Becky: Meaning "subscription." |
| Ofelia: "Abbonamento" can be "annuale" meaning “for one year” "semestrale" meaning “for six months” or "mensile" meaning “for one month.” |
| Becky: And the shorter ones —“one week” or “one day”? |
| Ofelia: Those are "settimanale" and "giornaliero" respectively. "Abbonamento" can be used for every kind of subscription - the bus or metro, the train, the library, and a magazine. |
| Becky: What’s the Italian verb that means “to expire”? |
| Ofelia: Scadere. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using the word for “subscription”? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, "Ho comprato l'abbonamento annuale per l'autobus". |
| Becky: Meaning, "I bought the yearly pass for the bus." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Ofelia: Materiale. |
| Becky: Meaning "material." |
| Ofelia: This is a word with a broad meaning. In this lesson, it refers to books or magazines you can borrow in a library. "Prendere in prestito il materiale", meaning “to borrow the material,” is a sentence used in libraries and universities. |
| Becky: And what about other contexts? |
| Ofelia: Well, if you’re talking about “raw materials,” you can say "materiale grezzo". |
| Becky: And “building materials?” |
| Ofelia: "Materiale da costruzione". |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Ofelia: Sure. For example, you can say, "Il materiale per l'articolo è pronto". |
| Becky: meaning, "The material for the article is ready." Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson you’ll learn some useful expressions for asking others about information or someone’s opinion. Let’s start with a few expressions you can use to ask a person’s opinion, and look at the ones we saw in the dialogue. |
| Ofelia: Sai se ...? |
| Becky: Meaning “Do you know if” or “whether...?” |
| Ofelia: This is a simple question to inquire about somebody’s opinion or something you actually don’t know or aren't sure about. For example, "Ho sentito che aprirà un nuovo centro commerciale. Sai se è vero?". |
| Becky: “I heard that a new shopping center will open. Do you know if it’s true?” |
| Ofelia: Or "Sai se è vietato fumare qui?" |
| Becky: “Do you know if smoking is forbidden here?” |
| Ofelia: If you’re talking to more than one person, please use the plural form, "Sapete se...?". |
| Becky: The other expression we heard in the dialogue was... |
| Ofelia: Secondo te...? |
| Becky: “According to you” or “In your opinion...?” |
| Ofelia: It’s very simple to use and very useful. For example, "Secondo te questa maglia mi sta meglio dell’altra?". |
| Becky: “According to you, does this t-shirt fit me better than the other one?” |
| Ofelia: "Secondo te" can also be used with the plural form, Secondo voi...?". If you use it with the first person, "secondo me" is a handy way to state your own opinion. For example, "Secondo me oggi la partita sarà cancellata a causa della pioggia". |
| Becky: “In my opinion, today the match will be cancelled because of the rain.” Are there any other useful expressions, Ofelia? |
| Ofelia: Yes, here are a few. "Ne sai qualcosa?" |
| Becky: “Do you know anything about it?” |
| Ofelia: “Che te ne pare/sembra?” |
| Becky: “How does it sound to you?” or, “What do you think?”. Literally, the phrase means, “How does it look to you?”. You can add this and the other one at the end of a statement. Can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Of course. Voglio tingere le pareti di casa in blu. Che te ne pare? |
| Becky: “I want to paint my house walls blue. How do you feel about that?” |
| Ofelia: "Che cosa ne pensi di...?". It can also be "Che" or "Cosa ne pensi di...?" |
| Becky: They all mean, “What do you think about...?” |
| Ofelia: For example, "Cosa ne pensi di questo film?" |
| Becky: “What do you think about this movie?” |
| Ofelia: Another expression that can be added after a statement is "Sei d’accordo?" or, the formal version "E’ d’accordo?". |
| Becky: It means “Do you agree?”. Can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Sure! Vorrei cambiare la data della consegna. È d’accordo? |
| Becky: “I’d like to change the delivery deadline. Do you agree?”. Listeners, remember to check the lesson notes for more examples and information. |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson, and for this series. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and found it useful. If you have any comments or questions, please leave us a post at ItalianPod101.com. |
| Ofelia: We’re happy to help! |
| Becky: Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you in another series! Bye! |
| Ofelia: A presto. |
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