Learn about the usage of the Italian verb conoscere in the passato prossimo and imperfetto as well as how it differs from the Italian verb sapere
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| INTRODUCTION |
| None (manual write in): |
| Cristina: Ciao! |
| Jason: Jason here! Welcome to ItalianPod101.com. This is Upper Beginner, Lesson 20 - Having an Italian Gossip Session. |
| Cristina: In this lesson you will learn how to use the verb conoscere. |
| Jason: Such as… |
| Cristina: “Ho conosciuto un sacco di persone”. |
| Jason: “I met lots of people”. |
| Jason: This conversation takes place at a snack- bar |
| Cristina: Maria e Giulia parlano insieme |
| Jason: The conversation is between Maria and Giulia |
| They are university friends so they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| Cristina: Ascoltiamo |
| Jason: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Maria: Ciao Giulia.Oggi non ti ho visto in università. |
| Giulia: Oggi sono stata a casa. Ho dormito tutto il giorno. |
| Maria: Come mai? |
| Giulia: Beh l'altra sera sono stata alla festa di facoltà e poi quando son tornata a casa non mi sentivo bene. Ho passato la notte in bianco. |
| Maria: Mi spiace. E la festa com'è andata? |
| Giulia: Molto vivace. Ho conosciuto un sacco di persone. |
| Maria: Qualcuno in particolare? |
| Giulia: ahah...Ti piace il pettegolezzo!? |
| Maria: Ovvio! |
| Giulia: beh, ho parlato a lungo con un ragazzo di nome Giorgio. Un tipo in gamba. |
| Maria: Interessante... |
| Giulia: E poi sai chi c'era? Il nuovo ragazzo di Antonella, uno spagnolo molto carino, ma un po' vanitoso. |
| Maria: Ah, sì Pedro. E' timido e a volte da l'impressione di essere un po' antipatico. In realtà è una persona sensibile. |
| Giulia: E tu come lo sai? |
| Maria: Antonella mi ha presentato Pedro l'altro giorno. Guarda non ci crederai - io lo conoscevo già! Ci siamo incontrati due anni fa a Madrid durante uno scambio scolastico. |
| Giulia: Ma non mi dire! |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Maria: Ciao Giulia.Oggi non ti ho visto in università. |
| Giulia: Oggi sono stata a casa. Ho dormito tutto il giorno. |
| Maria: Come mai? |
| Giulia: Beh l'altra sera sono stata alla festa di facoltà e poi quando son tornata a casa non mi sentivo bene. Ho passato la notte in bianco. |
| Maria: Mi spiace. E la festa com'è andata? |
| Giulia: Molto vivace. Ho conosciuto un sacco di persone. |
| Maria: Qualcuno in particolare? |
| Giulia: ahah...Ti piace il pettegolezzo!? |
| Maria: Ovvio! |
| Giulia: beh, ho parlato a lungo con un ragazzo di nome Giorgio. Un tipo in gamba. |
| Maria: Interessante... |
| Giulia: E poi sai chi c'era? Il nuovo ragazzo di Antonella, uno spagnolo molto carino, ma un po' vanitoso. |
| Maria: Ah, sì Pedro. E' timido e a volte da l'impressione di essere un po' antipatico. In realtà è una persona sensibile. |
| Giulia: E tu come lo sai? |
| Maria: Antonella mi ha presentato Pedro l'altro giorno. Guarda non ci crederai - io lo conoscevo già! Ci siamo incontrati due anni fa a Madrid durante uno scambio scolastico. |
| Giulia: Ma non mi dire! |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Maria: Ciao Giulia.Oggi non ti ho visto in università. |
| Jason: Hi, Giulia. Today I didn't see you at the university. |
| Giulia: Oggi sono stata a casa. Ho dormito tutto il giorno. |
| Jason: Today I stayed at home. I slept all day. |
| Maria: Come mai? |
| Jason: Why? |
| Giulia: Beh l'altra sera sono stata alla festa di facoltà e poi quando son tornata a casa non mi sentivo bene. Ho passato la notte in bianco. |
| Jason: Well, the other night, I went to the faculty party and when I got back home, I wasn't feeling very well. I didn't sleep all night. |
| Maria: Mi spiace. E la festa com'è andata? |
| Jason: I'm sorry to hear that. And how did the party go? |
| Giulia: Molto vivace. Ho conosciuto un sacco di persone. |
| Jason: It was very lively. I met lots of people. |
| Maria: Qualcuno in particolare? |
| Jason: Anyone in particular? |
| Giulia: ahah...Ti piace il pettegolezzo!? |
| Jason: [laughs]...You love gossiping! |
| Maria: Ovvio! |
| Jason: Of course! |
| Giulia: beh, ho parlato a lungo con un ragazzo di nome Giorgio. Un tipo in gamba. |
| Jason: Well, I talked a lot with a guy named Giorgio. A cool guy. |
| Maria: Interessante... |
| Jason: Interesting... |
| Giulia: E poi sai chi c'era? Il nuovo ragazzo di Antonella, uno spagnolo molto carino, ma un po' vanitoso. |
| Jason: You know who was there? Antonella's new boyfriend. A good-looking Spanish guy, but he seemed a little vain. |
| Maria: Ah, sì Pedro. E' timido e a volte da l'impressione di essere un po' antipatico. In realtà è una persona sensibile. |
| Jason: Ah yes, Pedro. He is shy and sometimes he gives the impression to be a little unpleasant. In fact, he is a sensitive person. |
| Giulia: E tu come lo sai? |
| Jason: And how do you know that? |
| Maria: Antonella mi ha presentato Pedro l'altro giorno. Guarda non ci crederai - io lo conoscevo già! Ci siamo incontrati due anni fa a Madrid durante uno scambio scolastico. |
| Jason: Antonella introduced Pedro to me the other day. You won't believe it—I already knew him from before! We met two years ago in Madrid during a school exchange. |
| Giulia: Ma non mi dire! |
| Jason: You're joking! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Jason: Cristina, today I was talking with my cousin who lives in Italy and there is something she said that I didn’t understand. |
| Cristina: What is it? |
| Jason: She was in a very noisy place so maybe I got it wrong. She said she was doing aperitivo. |
| Cristina: Ah l’aperitivo! |
| Jason: What is it? It seems she was having a lot of fun… |
| Cristina: The aperitivo time is probably a great occasion to meet people and socialize. |
| Jason: I see. But what is it? A sport?! |
| Cristina: [laughs] No, no. An aperitivo is a pre-dinner drink. |
| Jason: A drink? |
| Cristina: Yes, it is meant to “open” the palate and gives you a chance to nibble as dinnertime approaches. |
| Jason: What time is aperitivo? |
| Cristina: Depends on where you live in Italy but it’s usually 7 |
| Cristina: Yes, a little earlier. |
| Jason: What is offered with the drinks? |
| Cristina: It really depends on the bar. A few olives and potato chips are usually offered at your table or at the bar counter. Some places also prepare more snacks and even plates with focaccia or pizza, fruit salads, roasts, hot pasta, and cold cuts like prosciutto or salame. |
| Jason: That is a lot of food. |
| Cristina: Aperitivo is not only the name of a pre-dinner drink. Nowadays the expressions fare l’aperitivo or andare a prendere l’aperitivo almost indicate a social event.It’s a time to socialize and get to know more people. |
| Jason: I suppose that people don’t usually just sit at a table as it would be a dinner party then. |
| Cristina: No, people often stand at the bar counter and walk around greeting people they know or making new acquaintances. |
| Jason: Quando vado in Italia, anch’io vorrei andare a prendere l’aperitivo! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cristina: passare la notte in bianco [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to not sleep all night |
| Cristina: passare la notte in bianco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: passare la notte in bianco [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: vivace [natural native speed] |
| Jason: lively |
| Cristina: vivace [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: vivace [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: un sacco [natural native speed] |
| Jason: a lot, lots |
| Cristina: un sacco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: un sacco [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: pettegolezzo [natural native speed] |
| Jason: gossip |
| Cristina: pettegolezzo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: pettegolezzo [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: ovvio [natural native speed] |
| Jason: of course |
| Cristina: ovvio [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: ovvio [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: un tipo in gamba [natural native speed] |
| Jason: a cool guy |
| Cristina: un tipo in gamba [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: un tipo in gamba [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: vanitoso [natural native speed] |
| Jason: vain |
| Cristina: vanitoso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: vanitoso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: timido [natural native speed] |
| Jason: shy |
| Cristina: timido [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: timido [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: dare l'impressione [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to give the impression |
| Cristina: dare l'impressione [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: dare l'impressione [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: sensibile [natural native speed] |
| Jason: sensitive |
| Cristina: sensibile [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: sensibile [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Jason: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jason: The first one we'll look at is... |
| Cristina: passare la notte in bianco |
| Jason: no sleep all night |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence |
| Jason: Well the other night I went to the faculty party and when I got back home, I wasn’t feeling very well. I didn’t sleep all night. |
| Cristina: A literal translation would be to spend a white night. It means to lack sleep during the night. |
| Jason: Are there any other expressions with in bianco? |
| Cristina: The expression in bianco is often used in idiomatic expressions like mangiare in bianco (to have a light meal) or andare in bianco (to draw a blank/not to score) |
| Jason: What's the next one we'll look at? |
| Cristina: sensibile |
| Jason: sensitive |
| Cristina: Non puoi dire nulla ad Alice. E’ molto sensibile |
| Jason: You can’t say anything to Alice. She’s very sensitive. |
| Cristina: Sensibile is translated as sensitive in English. |
| Jason: This word is a false friend. |
| Cristina: Una persona sensibile (sensitive) is a person who cares about people’s feelings. |
| Jason: How about the word sensitivo in Italian? |
| Cristina: Sensitivo looks very similar to sensitive, but in fact has a very different meaning. Una persona sensitiva is a medium. |
| Jason: Sensibile also looks like the word sensible in English |
| Cristina: But while in Italian sensible has the meaning of sensitive as described above, in English sensible means practical or with common sense. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Jason: The focus of this lesson is the difference between the verbs sapere and conoscere. |
| Cristina: The verbs sapere and conoscere both mean "to know," but have different implications. |
| Jason: Let’s start from the verb sapere. |
| Cristina: As we have seen in the preceding lesson, sapere means "to know," "to be able to," or "to know how to." |
| Jason: For example… |
| Cristina: So questa lezione. |
| Jason: I know this lesson. |
| Cristina: So cantare. |
| Jason: I know how to sing. |
| Cristina: Or it could also be translated as I am able to sing. |
| Jason: Sapere expresses ability, like can in English. |
| Cristina: Let’s now focus on conoscere. |
| Jason: Conoscere means to know, to be acquainted with, or to make the acquaintance of. |
| Cristina: Io conosco Sara, ma non Maria. |
| Jason: I know Sara, but not Maria |
| Cristina: Let’s now look at the difference in meaning and usage of the verb conoscere when used in the imperfetto and passato prossimo. |
| Jason: We’ll first focus on the imperfetto. |
| Cristina: Conoscere is a regular verb in –ere so it conjugates as follows |
| Jason: Io conoscevo, Tu conoscevi, Lui conosceva |
| Cristina: Noi conoscevamo, Voi conoscevate, Loro conoscevano. |
| Jason: In the imperfect, conoscere expresses something that’s been known for a long time. |
| Cristina: Let’s listen to two sample sentences. |
| Jason: Lei conosceva già il professor Dionero. |
| Cristina: She already knew Professore Dionero. |
| Jason: Here a second example. |
| Cristina: Abbiamo scelto quell’hotel perchè lo conoscevamo già. Abbiamo alloggiato li 5 anni fa. |
| Jason: We chose that hotel because we knew it already. We stayed there 5 years ago. |
| Cristina: In the present perfect the meaning changes. |
| Jason: In the passato prossimo conoscere means to know someone, to meet someone. |
| Cristina: Lei ha conosciuto il professor Dionero alla conferenza. |
| Jason: She met Professor Dionero at the conference. |
| Cristina: Noi abbiamo conosciuto delle ragazze simpatiche alla festa. |
| Jason: We met some friendly girls at the party. |
| Cristina: The next sample sentence will combine both tenses. |
| Jason: Conoscevo già bene il fratello di mia moglie, quando ho conosciuto lei. |
| Cristina: I already knew my wife’s brother when I met her. |
| Jason: In Italian the second conoscere (Ho conosciuto lei) could be replaced with incontrare, in order to avoid a repetition. |
| Cristina: Conoscevo già bene il fratello di mia moglie, quando ho incontrato lei. |
Outro |
| Jason: OK. That's all for this lesson. In the lesson notes, you can find more examples on this grammar point. So be sure to read them. |
| Cristina: A presto! |
| Jason: Bye-bye! |
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