Learn how to ask about possibilities using the impersonal form, from a conversation with mixed levels of formality
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. This is Lower Intermediate Season 3 Lesson 9, This Italian Dinner's On Me! I’m Brandon. |
| Ofelia: Ciao. I'm Ofelia. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask if it is possible to pay with a credit card. The conversation takes place in a pizzeria at the cash register. |
| Ofelia: The conversation starts between Maria, Elia, and Lucia. Then it’s between Lucia and the pizzeria cashier. |
| Brandon: Maria, Elia, and Lucia will be speaking informal Italian amongst themselves, but they’ll speak formal Italian when talking to the shop keeper. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Elia: Mi dispiace per la tua lasagna, ma la pizza qui era ottima. |
| Maria: Sì, aveva ragione Lucia! |
| Lucia: Ragazzi, pago io stasera! |
| Elia: Ma no dai! Paghiamo alla romana. |
| Lucia: E' possibile pagare con la carta di credito? (dà la carta di credito al cassiere) |
| Cassiere: Sì, ...mi spiace signora, ma non siamo abilitati su questo circuito. |
| Lucia: Ah..., allora ecco a Lei i contanti. |
| Cassiere: EccoLe il resto e grazie! |
| Elia: Grazie Lucia! La prossima volta facciamo la grigliata sulla terrazza a casa mia. |
| Lucia: Magari! |
| Brandon: Listen to the conversation with an English translation |
| Elia: Mi dispiace per la tua lasagna, ma la pizza qui era ottima. |
| Elia: I'm sorry for your lasagna, but the pizza here was excellent. |
| Maria: Sì, aveva ragione Lucia! |
| Maria: Yeah, Lucia was right! |
| Lucia: Ragazzi, pago io stasera! |
| Lucia: Guys, tonight it's on me (lit. I'll pay)! |
| Elia: Ma no dai! Paghiamo alla romana. |
| Elia: But no, come on! Let's split the check (lit. "let's pay in the Roman way", also "let's go Dutch"). |
| Lucia: E' possibile pagare con la carta di credito? (dà la carta di credito al cassiere) |
| Lucia: Is it possible to pay with a credit card? (gives the card to the cashier) |
| Cassiere: Sì, ...mi spiace signora, ma non siamo abilitati su questo circuito. |
| Cashier: Yes, ...I'm sorry Ma'am, but we don’t accept this credit card. |
| (Yes ... I'm sorry ma'am, but we are not enabled on this circuit.) |
| Lucia: Ah..., allora ecco a Lei i contanti. |
| Lucia: Oh..., then here is cash. |
| Cassiere: EccoLe il resto e grazie! |
| Cashier: Here is your change and thank you! |
| Elia: Grazie Lucia! La prossima volta facciamo la grigliata sulla terrazza a casa mia. |
| Elia: Thank you, Lucia! Next time let's have a barbecue at my place on the terrace. |
| Lucia: Magari! |
| Lucia: I wish that it can be so! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: When you’re eating out with your Italian friends, you will probably hear the sentence... |
| Ofelia: Paghiamo alla romana!, |
| Brandon: Which literally means "Let's pay in the Roman way" or, if we translate it to an English idiom, "Let's go Dutch!" It's not completely clear where this Italian idiom comes from. But it means "to pay a bill by dividing it in equal parts." |
| Ofelia: The reference to Rome may be because in the old days, this practice was common there. There have always been lots of taverns and inns in Rome because of the large number of visitors and pilgrims. |
| Brandon: This expression means that, no matter how much you ate, you will pay the same as the other people. This can be really convenient when you have ordered something expensive! |
| Ofelia: That’s right! |
| Brandon: But on the other hand, it might make the other people you ate with a bit unhappy, because they’re paying more even though they didn’t order anything special. |
| Ofelia: So I recommend avoiding this way of splitting the bill, unless you have eaten at a pizzeria or osteria, which usually have reasonable prices for any dish. |
| Brandon: That’s a good tip. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let’s take a look at some of the vocabulary used in this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Ofelia: avere ragione [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to be right |
| Ofelia: avere ragione [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: avere ragione [natural native speed] |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: pagare alla romana [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to go Dutch, literally to split the bill in even parts |
| Ofelia: pagare alla romana [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: pagare alla romana [natural native speed] |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: carta di credito [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: credit card |
| Ofelia: carta di credito [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: carta di credito [natural native speed |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: abilitato [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: enabled |
| Ofelia: abilitato [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: abilitato [natural native speed] |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: circuito [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: circuit |
| Ofelia: circuito [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: circuito [natural native speed] |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: contanti [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: cash |
| Ofelia: contanti [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: contanti [natural native speed] |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: resto [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: rest, remainder, balance, remain |
| Ofelia: resto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: resto [natural native speed] |
| Next we have.. |
| Ofelia: Magari! [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: I wish ...!/ I hope.../ I hope so |
| Ofelia: Magari! [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Ofelia: Magari! [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Ofelia: contanti |
| Brandon: which means "cash." You almost always use this noun in the plural form. |
| Ofelia: It comes from the verb contare, meaning "to be worth." You use it to mean "cash," when you’re paying for something. When you find the singular form contante, it is because it’s probably an adjective modifying a singular noun. |
| Brandon: Can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: Sure, denaro contante which also means "cash." |
| Brandon: Are there other words used to mean "cash"? |
| Ofelia: Yes, you can also say denaro liquido or liquidità, |
| Branodn: Which literally means "liquidity" and "liquid money." |
| Brandon: Okay, what’s the next word? |
| Ofelia: Next we have.. Magari! |
| Brandon: Which on its own means "I wish it was so!" This is an interjection, that you use when you want to express a strong desire about something that you don't think can be easily realized. |
| Ofelia: This is also why the following verb, when there is one, is a past subjunctive. In fact, the subjunctive is mostly used for unreal situations. |
| Brandon: Can you give us an example of this specific use? |
| Ofelia: Magari smettesse di piovere! |
| Brandon: "I wish it would stop raining." This word can also mean "maybe" in colloquial Italian, right? |
| Ofelia: That’s true. Like in the sentence Magari puoi darmi una mano, |
| Brandon: meaning "Maybe you can give me a hand.” Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brandon: In this lesson, you will learn how to ask about possibilities using the impersonal form. |
| Ofelia: In Italian, you can ask if some action is possible or not by using a handy impersonal verbal phrase, è possibile, meaning “it’s possible.” |
| Brandon: An impersonal verb is a verb without a specific subject that refers to a situation in general. Once you learn it, you can use it without worrying about matching the verb with the subject. |
| Ofelia: E' possibile is the present indicative of essere possibile, meaning “to be possible.” |
| Brandon: You can also use other verbs and moods. The most important thing is to remember this structure. "To be" in the third person singular + "adjective"+ "infinitive verb". Ofelia, can you give us an example? |
| Ofelia: E' possibile fare ginnastica in palestra. |
| Brandon: "It's possible to exercise in the gym." |
| Ofelia: Or the same example, in the future tense - Sarà possibile fare ginnastica in palestra. |
| Brandon: "It will be possible to exercise in the gym." Are there any other similar expressions? |
| Ofelia: Yes, for example E' necessario... |
| Brandon: "it's necessary..." |
| Ofelia: E' difficile... |
| Brandon: "it's difficult..." |
| Ofelia: E' facile... |
| Brandon: "it's easy..." . All these impersonal expressions require a verb in the infinitive mood or a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction che, followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. |
| Ofelia: Here’s an example - E' necessario che tu chiami il dentista prima di andare al suo studio. |
| Brandon: "It's necessary that you call the dentist before going to his office." |
| Ofelia: The same sentence can also be E' necessario chiamare il dentista prima di andare al suo studio. |
| Brandon: Which also means "It's necessary that you call the dentist before going to his office." Listeners, for more examples and explanations, don’t forget to check the lesson notes! |
Outro |
| Brandon: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone. See you next time! |
| Ofelia: A presto. |
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