Learn about Italian preposizioni semplici, simple prepositions, concentrating on in
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Marco: Hello, and welcome back to the ItalianPOD101.com , the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Italian! I'm joined in the studio by... |
| Consuelo: Hello everyone. Consuelo here. |
| Marco: In today's class, we will continue our analysis of Italian preposizioni semplici, simple prepositions, concentrating on in. We'll also show you how to make the choice between in or a when referring to places. This conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Consuelo: The conversation is between John and laura. The speakers are friends, and therefore they will be speaking informally. |
| Marco: Now, before we listen to the conversation... |
| Consuelo: We want to ask... |
| Marco: Do you read the lesson notes, while you listen? |
| Consuelo: We received an e-mail about this study tip. |
| Marco: So we were wondering if you've tried it, and if so, |
| Consuelo: what do you think of it. |
| Marco: You can leave us feedback in the comment section of this lesson. Okay... |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| John: Andiamo in macchina? |
| Laura: No a piedi! Certo che andiamo in macchina! |
| John: Ah. Pensavo di andare a cavallo. |
| Laura: Sei proprio simpatico. |
| John: Altrimenti potremmo andare in Vespa. |
| Laura: Preferisco la macchina. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| John: Andiamo in macchina? |
| Laura: No a piedi! Certo che andiamo in macchina! |
| John: Ah. Pensavo di andare a cavallo. |
| Laura: Sei proprio simpatico. |
| John: Altrimenti potremmo andare in Vespa. |
| Laura: Preferisco la macchina. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| John: Andiamo in macchina? |
| Marco: Shall we go by car? |
| Laura: No a piedi! Certo che andiamo in macchina! |
| Marco: No, on foot! Of course, we’re going by car! |
| John: Ah. Pensavo di andare a cavallo. |
| Marco: Ah. I thought we could go on horseback. |
| Laura: Sei proprio simpatico. |
| Marco: You’re really funny. |
| John: Altrimenti potremmo andare in Vespa. |
| Marco: Otherwise we could go by Vespa. |
| Laura: Preferisco la macchina. |
| Marco: I prefer the car. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Marco: I’d love to go on horseback! |
| Consuelo: In the city? |
| Marco: Of course not! Maybe on the hills outside Firenze. |
| Consuelo: That’s a fabulous place to go visit. |
| Marco: I wonder if you can drink wine while riding a horse. |
| Consuelo: I don’t think you can! It can be dangerous! |
| Marco: I’m sure it wouldn't be a big problem if the horse doesn’t drink. |
| Consuelo: That’s not the point. |
| Marco: You’re right. We should avoid drinking and driving or drinking and riding! |
| Consuelo: Esatto, non bevete alcolici prima di guidare. |
| Marco: Don't’ drink alcohol before driving. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: a piedi [natural native speed] |
| Marco: on foot, by foot |
| Consuelo: a piedi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: a piedi [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: proprio [natural native speed] |
| Marco: really, actually |
| Consuelo: proprio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: proprio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: a cavallo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: on horseback, by horse |
| Consuelo: a cavallo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: a cavallo [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: simpatico [natural native speed] |
| Marco: nice, funny, likeable |
| Consuelo: simpatico [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: simpatico [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: altrimenti [natural native speed] |
| Marco: otherwise |
| Consuelo: altrimenti [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: altrimenti [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases we learned in this lesson. The word we’ll look at is... |
| Consuelo: simpatico |
| Marco: ""nice, funny, likeable"" |
| Consuelo: In English, there is a very similar word, sympathetic, which has the same origin as simpatico, but it means something different. |
| Marco: Like compatible, charitable, comprehensive. |
| Consuelo: Yes, so let’s not forget that in Italian, it means mainly funny, nice. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Consuelo: Let’s take a look at today’s lesson. |
| Marco: Today we are going to continue with the study of the scary |
| Consuelo: preposizioni semplici |
| Marco: simple prepositions |
| And they are these |
| Consuelo: di; a; da; in; con; su; per; tra; fra |
| Marco: Now, we use the preposition in with various cases, right? |
| Consuelo: Yes, we can use it before any means of transportation, except a cavallo |
| Marco: ""on horseback"" |
| Consuelo: and a piedi |
| Marco: ""on foot"" |
| Let’s see some examples. |
| Consuelo: Loro sono andati a Chicago in macchina. |
| Marco: ""They went to Chicago by car."" |
| Consuelo: Il centro città dista trenta minuti in autobus. |
| Marco: ""The city center is thirty minutes away by bus."" |
| Consuelo: L’anfiteatro può essere raggiunto solo a piedi. |
| Marco: ""The amphitheater can be reached only on foot."" |
| Consuelo: We also use in before complementi di luogo. |
| Marco: places or locations to which the action is directed |
| Consuelo: Similar to the preposition a, the preposition in translates differently according to the verb with which you use it. |
| Marco: For instance… |
| Consuelo: Sono in banca. |
| Marco: ""I’m at the bank."" |
| Consuelo: Andate in Sicilia per le vacanze? |
| Marco: ""Are you going to Sicily for your vacation?"" |
| Consuelo: Milano si trova in Lombardia. |
| Marco: ""Milan is in Lombardy."" |
| Marco: As for complementi di luogo, the choice between a and in might seem difficult at first. Actually, it is one of the headaches students often experience! |
| Consuelo: But don’t worry! Mistakenly using one of those prepositions for the other does not normally affect the overall result of the conversation. It’s just a minor mistake! |
| Marco: Anyhow, in order to help you avoid making mistakes, let’s take a look at some guidelines that describe the categories of nouns related to specific prepositions. |
| Consuelo: We use the preposition a before cities, specific places, or generic places modified by adjectives. |
| Marco: For example... |
| Consuelo: Marta e Luisa vivono a Roma. |
| Marco: ""Marta and Luisa live in Rome."" |
| Consuelo: Siamo andati al (a+il) Colosseo. |
| Marco: ""We went to the Coliseum."" |
| Consuelo: Eliana studia alla (a+la) biblioteca vicina l’Università. |
| Marco: ""Eliana studies at the library close to the University."" |
| Marco: We use the preposition in before regions, countries, continents, and generic places unmodified by adjectives. |
| For instance... |
| Consuelo: Pompei si trova in Campania. |
| Marco: ""Pompei is in Camapania."" |
| Consuelo: Francesco vive in Asia da dieci anni. |
| Marco: ""Francesco has been living in Asia for ten years."" |
| Consuelo: Gianluca si trasferirà in Australia. |
| Marco: ""Gianluca will be moving to Australia."" |
| Consuelo: Mio padre è in ospedale. |
| Marco: ""My father is at the hospital."" |
| Marco: Please note that these guidelines are general. |
| Consuelo: The best way to learn how to choose between in and a is to learn them as part of the verb with which you use them. |
Outro |
| Marco: That just about does it for today. |
| Consuelo: Ready to test what you just learned? |
| Marco: Make this lesson's vocabulary stick by using lesson specific flashcards in the learning center. |
| Consuelo: There is a reason everyone uses flashcards... |
| Marco: They work... |
| Consuelo: They really do help memorization. |
| Marco: You can get the flashcards for this lesson at |
| Consuelo: ItalianPod101.com. |
| Marco: Okay.... |
| Marco: A presto! |
| Consuelo: Ciao" |
Comments
HideHi Brian!
Great to know you're enjoying our lessons!
Thank you for your comment and stay tuned!
Cheers,
Mélanie
Team ItalianPod101.com
Very helpful. Grazie!
ciao Edmar,
benissimo. Attenzione: when you talk about a habit, in Italian we use the simple present.
Vado sempre a Talaga in jeep.
Ciao.
Chiara
Team ItalianPod101.com
Sto andando sempre a Talaga in jeep. I am always going to Talaga by jeep.
Mia madre andrebbe a chiesa grande a piedi se non c'e' un triciclo.
My mother would go to the big church by foot if there is no tricycle.
Hello hamed,
You're welcome!
All the best for Italian learning:smile:
Cheers,
Neha
ItalianPod101.com
thank you
Ciao Rowena,
thank you for pointing out. :grin:
Now the right word "simpatico" appears.
Grazie mille, a presto!
Consuelo:wink:
There appears to be a problem with the italian word for nice. In Expansion with Audio, the word spigliate appears, not simpatico. It also shows up in the practice lessons.