INTRODUCTION |
Ciao! Hello and welcome back to Italian survival phrases brought to you by ItalianPod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Italy. You will be surprised at how far a little Italian will go. |
Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ItalianPod101.com and there, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Today's phrase will help you to take matters into your own hands. In today's lesson, we'll take a look at the word "Please," which will be very important when you need to ask for something. |
GRAMMAR POINT |
In Italian, "Please" is Per favore. |
Per favore. |
Let's break it down by syllable: Per fa-vo-re. |
Now let's hear it once again, Per favore. |
The easiest way of using "please" is to point at something while saying Per favore, but let's try and build this up a bit, shall we? |
Let's start with the expression "This please." which in Italian is Questo per favore. |
In English, "this" comes before "please." And also in Italian, the order is the same. So we have Questo per favore. |
Let's take a look at the word for "this." "This" In Italian is questo. |
questo |
Let's break it down by syllable: ques-to. |
questo |
Looking at the word for "this," warrants a look at the word for "that," which is quello. |
Quello |
The phrase "That please." is Quello per favore. |
Quello per favore. |
Let's break it down by syllable: Quel-lo per fa-vo-re. |
Now let's hear it once again, Quello per favore. |
Cultural Insights |
Please remember that it's also a little rude to point at things and especially at people. If it is necessary to point to something in order to explain better what one wants, then it is accepted; but pointing in the direction of someone and especially to a person's face is a very aggressive stance. Furthermore, when pointing, it is better to have one's arm, hand, and finger pointing in a relaxed way. Pointing with a stiff finger may seem intimidating. |
Outro
|
Okay, to close out this lesson, we'd like you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so buona fortuna, which means "good luck" in Italian. |
"Please" - Per favore. |
Per favore. |
Per favore. |
"This please." - Questo per favore. |
Questo per favore. |
Questo per favore. |
"That please." - Quello per favore. |
Quello per favore. |
Quello per favore. |
Thatโs going to do it for today. Ciao ciao! |
Comments
HideCiao a tutti! When was the last time you went to Italy?
Ciao Julia,
thanks for your comment! Grazie per il tuo commento! ๐
Cheers,
Valentina
Team ItalianPod101.com
Grazie mille! - This is my first comment in Italian! I like it!โค๏ธ๏ธ
Grazie mille, Ofelia :smile:
Hi everyone,
@Rain, the gender of "questo" and "quello" depends on the grammar gender of the thing/person you are referring to. For example, if you want to say "that (bag)", it will be "quella (borsa)", if you want to say "that (box)", it will be "quello scatolo" and so on.
@Lassi, Grazie mille! "Keep up the good work" in Italian is "Continua cosรฌ!"
Grazie a tutti e a presto!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Buon giorno!
Mi chiamo Lassi, piacere. (My name is Lassi, nice to meet you)
Grazie per questa lezione. (Thank you for this lesson)
Avevo 15 anni quando sono stato l'ultima volta in Italia. (I was 15 years old when I was last time in italy)
Mantenere il buon lavoro. :thumbsup: (Keep up the good work)
Grazie mille :smile:
Ciao Ofelia. Thank you for your explanation but i am still confused. Never mind. I will try to read more to understand it. I have one more question. "Questo per favore" and "Quello per favore". I know the meaning of these two phrases. "Questo" and " Quello" are masculine singular. I am a woman. So shall i say "Questa per favore" and "Quella per favore" ? Looking forward to your reply.
Grazie mille โบ
Ciao Rain,
The gender of a word is almost never related to the gender of the speaker. Of course if the word refers to the speaker, than it depends on the gender of the speaker.
In other words, no matter who is speaking, a word has gender related to the thing/person/animal it refers to.
For example "borsa", "bag" is a feminine noun but you can use it either you are a man or woman.
For inanimate objects, you have to learn by heart the gender, even though there is some rule: for example most of the nouns that end in -a are feminine.
I hope this helps!
Grazie,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com
Ciao... I am absolute beginner of learning Italian. I have bought a book for learning Italian.. Some words are masculine and some are feminine... meaning that the word can only be used by guy if it is masculine word?
Hi Mary Jean,
Are you buying a ticket at the station? Then you'd say:
Vorrei un biglietto andata e ritorno in gironata da Firenze a Siena.
If you have more questions, feel free to leave a message here.
Buono studio!
Chiara
Team ItalianPod101.com
Vorrei andare e ritourno del la treno da Firenze /Siena un giorno se possible?
Hello Amy,
I've heard Tuscany and its capital Florence is a popular tourist destinations with gorgeous landscapes. Hope you have a great time there!
If you have any questions, please do let us know :)
Cheers,
Neha/ItalianPod101.com
I'm leaving for Tuscany a week from today!
Ciao!
Going to Tuscany next year. Can't wait!~
I have been wanting to go to Italy for years.
Hi:
I am planning to visit Firenze in two weeks. I have one afternoon to myself and was wondering if you had any suggestions of sites to see, restaurants to visit.
Ciao Kati,
Sicily is great, I'm sure you had really good time there. My home town is Firenze. Whenever you plan to go there if you have some questions please feel free to ask!!
:wink:Consuelo
Ciao a tutti :)
I was spending 10 beautiful days in Sicily last year! I loved it :) But my old dream is to travel to Florance! And I love your lessons ;)
They are both interchangeable, while if you wanted to be formal you could use "per cortesia"
ciao
Hi, we learned before that "per piacere" is to say please but now also "per favore". Can you explain the difference and when to use which?
I've never been to Italy :sad:
Dear Victoria,
You should really visit Italy again!
Please tell us where you went and what you liked most.
Ciao
Marco