Learn even more about how Italians use the past perfect tense
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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 review the usage of passato prossimo tense. This conversation takes place at Martina's place. |
| Consuelo: The conversation is between Paolo and Martina. The speakers are friends; therefore, they will be speaking informally. |
| Marco: |
| Consuelo: |
| Marco: Now, if you're listening on an iPod... |
| Consuelo: or an iTouch or iPhone... |
| Marco: click the center button of the iPod or tap the screen on an iTouch or iPhone, to see the notes for this lesson while you listen! |
| Consuelo: Read along, while you listen. |
| Marco: This technique will help you remember faster! Okay... |
| Marco: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Paolo: Martina… |
| Martina: Paolo, ma cos'è successo in questa stanza? |
| Paolo: Sono palloncini a forma di cuore. |
| Martina: Per chi? Per me? |
| Paolo: Certo. Ascolta, voglio dirti una cosa. |
| Martina: Cosa? |
| Paolo: Credo di essermi innamorato di te. |
| Martina: Cosa? Ma se ci conosciamo appena! |
| Paolo: Forse non te ne sei mai accorta. |
| Martina: È uno scherzo, vero? |
| Paolo: No, per niente. Ti amo, Martina. |
| Martina: Veramente io… |
| Paolo: Vieni qui. |
| Martina: (sorridendo) Ma sei pazzo? Non vedi che la porta è aperta? |
| Paolo: A quello penseremo dopo. Ora baciami ancora. (la ribacia) |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Paolo: Martina… |
| Martina: Paolo, ma cos'è successo in questa stanza? |
| Paolo: Sono palloncini a forma di cuore. |
| Martina: Per chi? Per me? |
| Paolo: Certo. Ascolta, voglio dirti una cosa. |
| Martina: Cosa? |
| Paolo: Credo di essermi innamorato di te. |
| Martina: Cosa? Ma se ci conosciamo appena! |
| Paolo: Forse non te ne sei mai accorta. |
| Martina: È uno scherzo, vero? |
| Paolo: No, per niente. Ti amo, Martina. |
| Martina: Veramente io… |
| Paolo: Vieni qui. |
| Martina: (sorridendo) Ma sei pazzo? Non vedi che la porta è aperta? |
| Paolo: A quello penseremo dopo. Ora baciami ancora. (la ribacia) |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Paolo: Martina… |
| Marco: Martina… |
| Martina: Paolo, ma cos'è successo in questa stanza? |
| Marco: Paolo, but what's happened in this room? |
| Paolo: Sono palloncini a forma di cuore. |
| Marco: Those are heart-shaped balloons. |
| Martina: Per chi? Per me? |
| Marco: For who? For me? |
| Paolo: Certo. Ascolta, voglio dirti una cosa. |
| Marco: Sure. Listen, I want to tell you something. |
| Martina: Cosa? |
| Marco: What? |
| Paolo: Credo di essermi innamorato di te. |
| Marco: I think I am in love with you. |
| Martina: Cosa? Ma se ci conosciamo appena! |
| Marco: What? But we barely know each other! |
| Paolo: Forse non te ne sei mai accorta. |
| Marco: Maybe you never noticed. |
| Martina: È uno scherzo, vero? |
| Marco: It's a joke, right? |
| Paolo: No, per niente. Ti amo, Martina. |
| Marco: No, not at all. I love you, Martina. |
| Martina: Veramente io… |
| Marco: Actually I… |
| Paolo: Vieni qui. |
| Marco: Come here. |
| Martina: (sorridendo) Ma sei pazzo? Non vedi che la porta è aperta? |
| Marco: (smiling) Are you crazy? Don't you see the door is open? |
| Paolo: A quello penseremo dopo. Ora baciami ancora. (la ribacia) |
| Marco: We'll think about that later. Now kiss me again. (he kisses her again) |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Cristiano: Today, we'll talk about something really unique and peculiar to the Italian language! |
| Marco: What's that? |
| Cristiano: The different ways we have to say ""I love you."" |
| Marco: Eh? Is that somehow different from English? |
| Cris: Yes, it is. |
| Marco: Okay, I think everybody knows ""Ti amo,"" right? Is there some other way? |
| Cris: We have lots of different expressions. ""Ti amo"" is probably the most intense. |
| Marco: Then what do we have? |
| Cris: When you barely know someone but you like him or her, you can use ""Mi piaci"" |
| Marco: ""I like you."" And then? |
| Cris: Then we have a sort of in-between expression, ""Ti voglio bene."" |
| Marco: What's that in English? |
| Cris: Most of the time it's translated with ""I love you."" We can use ""ti voglio bene"" for our relatives and parents and to express love and affection in general. And it's not as intense as ""ti amo."" |
| Marco: Better to learn it then! Thank you, Cristiano! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Consuelo: succedere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to happen |
| Consuelo: succedere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: succedere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: stanza [natural native speed] |
| Marco: room |
| Consuelo: stanza [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: stanza [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: ascoltare [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to listen |
| Consuelo: ascoltare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: ascoltare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: innamorarsi [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to fall in love, love |
| Consuelo: innamorarsi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: innamorarsi [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: conoscere [natural native speed] |
| Marco: to know |
| Consuelo: conoscere [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: conoscere [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Consuelo: pazzo [natural native speed] |
| Marco: mad, crazy |
| Consuelo: pazzo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Consuelo: pazzo [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... |
| Cris: ""a forma di"" |
| Marco: ""shaped as."" |
| Cris: Usually in English, we first say the name of the shape followed by the word ""shaped."" |
| Marco: For example, ""a heart-shaped pizza."" |
| Cris: Yes. In Italian, this will be ""una pizza a forma di cuore."" |
| Marco: ""Una pizza a forma di cuore."" |
| Cris: Yes, in Italian, the structure of the sentence is reversed. And everything ""shaped as"" will be ""a forma di."" |
| Marco: For example, ""a star-shaped biscuit."" |
| Cris: ""un biscotto a forma di stella."" And so on. |
| Marco: ""A forma di stella,"" got it! Thanks, Cristiano! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Cristiano: Let's take a look at today's lesson. |
| Marco: The focus of this lesson is on the usage of the ""passato prossimo"" tense. |
| Marco: The use of the ""passato prossimo"" tense varies according to whether we employ it in the written or spoken language. |
| Cris: In the written language and formal spoken Italian, the ""passato prossimo"" tense is used as follows… |
| Marco: To convey any past action that the writer deems to be completed (whether it actually is or not) at the time when the statement is uttered. In this case, the ""passato prossimo"" works as present perfect in English. For instance… |
| Cris: ""Avete comprato il pane?"" |
| Marco: ""Have you bought bread?"" |
| Cris: ""Hai visto Mario oggi?"" |
| Marco: ""Have you seen Mario today?"" |
| Cris: ""Non sono mai stati negli Stati Uniti."" |
| Marco: ""They have never been to the United States."" |
| Marco: To communicate past actions whose consequences are related to the present time. This meaning is conveyed in English through the usage of either simple past or present perfect tenses. For example... |
| Cris: ""Nuoto bene perchè ho avuto un buon maestro."" |
| Marco: ""I can swim well because I had a good instructor."" |
| Cris: ""Cesare è stato il più abile uomo di stato."" |
| Marco: ""Caesar has been the most skilled statesman."" |
| Cris: ""Questa università è stata costruita dieci anni fa."" |
| Marco: ""This university was built ten years ago."" |
| Marco: To convey recent past occurrences. The ""recentness"" value attached to this kind of past action is purely subjective. Even though scholars tried to regulate this aspect by setting arbitrary time limits, they have so far been unsuccessful. |
| Cris: Of course, this does not mean that we can use the ""passato prossimo"" indiscriminately. |
| Marco: The difference between distant and recent past is usually inferred by the context we are writing into. For instance... |
| Cris: ""I cinque continenti emersero un miliardo di anni fa, laddove la storia umana è iniziata solamente quindicimila anni fa."" |
| Marco: ""The five continents emerged a billion years ago, whereas human history started only fifteen thousand years ago."" |
| Cris: ""L'impero romano durò più di mille anni, la Repubblica italiana è stata fondata centocinquanta anni fa."" |
| Marco: ""The Roman Empire lasted for more than a thousand years; the Italian Republic was founded one hundred fifty years ago."" |
| Cris: ""Sono andato in Egitto un anno fa."" |
| Marco: ""I went to Egypt one year ago."" |
| Marco: As regards spoken colloquial language, in Northern Italy, people employ the ""passato prossimo"" tense to convey any past action, regardless of the context. |
| Similarly, in southern and central Italy, speakers tend to use the ""passato remoto"" tense (fully explained in our Lower Intermediate course) to communicate any past occurrences, regardless of the circumstances they took place in. |
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: Arrivederci! |
| Consuelo: Ciao a tutti!" |
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