Learn how to use personal pronouns with infinitive verbs
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| INTRODUCTION |
| None (manual write in): |
| Cristina: Ciao! |
| Jason: Jason here! Welcome to ItalianPod101.com. This is Upper Beginner, Lesson 24 – The Italian Wedding |
| Cristina: In this lesson you will learn how to use personal pronouns with verbs in the infinitive mood. |
| Jason: Such as… |
| Cristina: “Mi dispiace, ma non posso accompagnarti”. |
| Jason: “I’m sorry but I can't take you there”. |
| Jason: This conversation takes place on the phone |
| Cristina: Giulia e Maria parlano insieme. Sono due amiche |
| Jason: The conversation is between Giulia and Maria |
| They are friends so they will be speaking informal Italian. |
| Cristina: Ascoltiamo |
| Jason: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Giulia: Pronto? |
| Maria: Ciao Giulia, sono Maria. Come va? |
| Giulia: Bene. Tutto a posto Maria? Non chiami mai al telefono fisso... |
| Maria: Lo so, scusa, ma ho smarrito il tuo numero di cellulare. Senti avrei un piacere da chiederti. Ho visto un bellissimo abito da sera in quel negozio che ti piace di corso Emanuele II. |
| Giulia: Finalmente l'hai trovato. E.. io che c'entro? |
| Maria: Siccome oggi c'è lo sciopero dei mezzi pubblici e dei taxi, pensavo.... ecco... per caso mi puoi accompagnare? |
| Giulia: Guarda, oggi è un po' difficile perchè sono un po' presa. Magari lunedì. |
| Maria: Devo assolutamente comprarlo oggi. Il matrimonio di Luisa è domani. Come faccio senza vestito? Io sono la testimone. |
| Giulia: Capisco, però perchè ti riduci sempre all'ultimo momento? Mi dispiace, ma non posso accompagnarti; ho un appuntamento dal dentista. Prova a chiamare Claudio. |
| Maria: Buona idea. Ora lo chiamo. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Giulia: Pronto? |
| Maria: Ciao Giulia, sono Maria. Come va? |
| Giulia: Bene. Tutto a posto Maria? Non chiami mai al telefono fisso... |
| Maria: Lo so, scusa, ma ho smarrito il tuo numero di cellulare. Senti avrei un piacere da chiederti. Ho visto un bellissimo abito da sera in quel negozio che ti piace di corso Emanuele II. |
| Giulia: Finalmente l'hai trovato. E.. io che c'entro? |
| Maria: Siccome oggi c'è lo sciopero dei mezzi pubblici e dei taxi, pensavo.... ecco... per caso mi puoi accompagnare? |
| Giulia: Guarda, oggi è un po' difficile perchè sono un po' presa. Magari lunedì. |
| Maria: Devo assolutamente comprarlo oggi. Il matrimonio di Luisa è domani. Come faccio senza vestito? Io sono la testimone. |
| Giulia: Capisco, però perchè ti riduci sempre all'ultimo momento? Mi dispiace, ma non posso accompagnarti; ho un appuntamento dal dentista. Prova a chiamare Claudio. |
| Maria: Buona idea. Ora lo chiamo. |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Giulia: Pronto? |
| Jason: Hello? |
| Maria: Ciao Giulia, sono Maria. Come va? |
| Jason: Hi, Giulia, Maria speaking. How are you? |
| Giulia: Bene. Tutto a posto Maria? Non chiami mai al telefono fisso... |
| Jason: Fine. Is everything okay, Maria? You never call me on the landline. |
| Maria: Lo so, scusa, ma ho smarrito il tuo numero di cellulare. Senti avrei un piacere da chiederti. Ho visto un bellissimo abito da sera in quel negozio che ti piace di corso Emanuele II. |
| Jason: I know, sorry, but I lost your cell phone number. Listen...I have a favor to ask you. I saw a beautiful evening gown in the shop that you like on Emanuele II Avenue. |
| Giulia: Finalmente l'hai trovato. E.. io che c'entro? |
| Jason: Finally, you found it. And...what's that got to do with me? |
| Maria: Siccome oggi c'è lo sciopero dei mezzi pubblici e dei taxi, pensavo.... ecco... per caso mi puoi accompagnare? |
| Jason: Since today there is the strike of public transportation and taxis, I was thinking...could you drive me there? |
| Giulia: Guarda, oggi è un po' difficile perchè sono un po' presa. Magari lunedì. |
| Jason: Look, today it's a bit difficult because I'm a bit busy. Maybe on Monday. |
| Maria: Devo assolutamente comprarlo oggi. Il matrimonio di Luisa è domani. Come faccio senza vestito? Io sono la testimone. |
| Jason: I really have to buy it now. Luisa's wedding is tomorrow. How do I do without a dress? I'm her witness. |
| Giulia: Capisco, però perchè ti riduci sempre all'ultimo momento? Mi dispiace, ma non posso accompagnarti; ho un appuntamento dal dentista. Prova a chiamare Claudio. |
| Jason: I understand, but why do you always leave it to the last minute? I'm sorry, but I cannot take you there; I have an appointment at the dentist. Call Claudio. |
| Maria: Buona idea. Ora lo chiamo. |
| Jason: Good idea. I'll call him now. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Jason: Hi Cristina. You know… my cousin is getting married in Italy and asked me for some advice on Italian wedding traditions. |
| Cristina: Wedding traditions vary from region to region… |
| Jason: Can you describe a little what wedding celebrations are like in general? |
| Cristina: Il matrimonio in Italia… Let me think… |
| Jason: For example, do the bride and groom see eachother before the ceremony? |
| Cristina: No! They are not supposed to see each other. It would bring bad luck. On the wedding day the groom usually waits for the bride outside the church or the city hall with a bouquet of flowers. |
| Jason: And I suppose he presents her with the bouquet of flowers before the couple walks into the church together. |
| Cristina: Esatto. I just remembered a curious tradition. |
| Jason: What is it? |
| Cristina: It is a custom for Italian grooms to keep a small piece of iron in their suit pockets to fend off the evil eye and keep negative spirits away from the ceremony and the marriage. |
| Jason: Interesting. |
| Cristina: In some regions a small piece of bread is used instead. |
| Jason: Just in case the groom gets hungry… |
| Cristina: Don’t be silly! |
| Jason: And how about the bride? |
| Cristina: Well the bride is supposed to wear something old which represents the past life and all the memories. |
| Jason: If I remember well she should also have something borrowed from a friend or a family member. |
| Cristina: Yes. But the most important thing is that the future wife wears something blue. |
| Jason: Why blue? |
| Cristina: It expresses the purity and sincerity. And guess what is usually blue? |
| Jason: mmh… |
| Cristina: The garter is usually blue. |
| Jason: Really? |
| Cristina: Another very common ritual is at the end of the ceremony. All the guests usually wait outside until the couple comes out. |
| Jason: And then showers them with rice and coriandoli (confetti). |
| Cristina: Sometimes guests also bring pasta or white rose petals. |
| Jason: I wonder what the meaning of this is. |
| Cristina: Well rice represents prosperity and it is a wish for wealth, and perhaps even fertility. |
| Jason: I understand. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jason: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| Cristina: a posto [natural native speed] |
| Jason: ok |
| Cristina: a posto [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: a posto [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: telefono fisso [natural native speed] |
| Jason: landline |
| Cristina: telefono fisso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: telefono fisso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: smarrire [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to lose |
| Cristina: smarrire [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: smarrire [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: corso [natural native speed] |
| Jason: avenue |
| Cristina: corso [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: corso [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: entrar-ci [natural native speed] |
| Jason: do with |
| Cristina: entrar-ci [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: entrar-ci [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: sciopero [natural native speed] |
| Jason: strike |
| Cristina: sciopero [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: sciopero [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: accompagnare [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to go/come with, to take, to bring, to accompany |
| Cristina: accompagnare [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: accompagnare [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: essere un po' presi [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to be a bit busy |
| Cristina: essere un po' presi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: essere un po' presi [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: testimone [natural native speed] |
| Jason: witness |
| Cristina: testimone [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: testimone [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Cristina: ridursi all'ultimo momento [natural native speed] |
| Jason: to leave to the last minute |
| Cristina: ridursi all'ultimo momento [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Cristina: ridursi all'ultimo momento [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: a posto |
| Jason: ok |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence. Tutto a posto? Allora partiamo. |
| Jason: Everything is ok? Then let’s leave. |
| Cristina: A synonymous is the very common English word ok or the Italian equivalent va bene. It can also be used to refuse an offer, especially food or drinks. Essere a posto should not be confused with the expression essere al posto di, which means to be someone else, to be in someone else’s shoes. |
| Kat: What's the next one we'll look at? |
| Cristina: essere preso |
| Jason: to be busy |
| Cristina: Here's a sample sentence |
| Jason: Today I can’t help you. I’m a bit busy. |
| Cristina: There are other common expressions that can be used like essere occupato or avere da fare. |
| Jason: Can you give me an example? |
| Cristina: Luca, non posso accompagnarti in piscina |
| Jason: I can’t take you to the swimming pool |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Jason: The focus of this lesson is the usage direct object pronouns and infinitive verbs. |
| Jason: Let’s start with a quick review of direct object pronouns. |
| Cristina: I pronomi diretti. |
| Jason: These pronouns are the person or thing affected by the action of the transitive verb. |
| Cristina: In simple words they answer the question what? or whom? |
| Jason: For example... |
| Cristina: Maria ha chiamato la sorella ieri sera. |
| Jason: Maria called her sister last night. |
| Cristina: In this case la sorella is a direct object noun. |
| Jason: Direct object nouns can be replaced by direct object pronouns. |
| Cristina: Sara invita le amiche alla sua festa di compleanno. Le invita alla festa. |
| Jason: Sara invites her friends at her birthday party. She invites them. |
| Cristina: them is a direct object pronoun. |
| Cristina: Let’s briefly look at the forms of the direct object pronouns in Italian. |
| Jason: Mi for the first person singular |
| Cristina: Ti for the second person singular |
| Jason: Lo for the third person singular. It translates both as him or it and it refers to a masculine singular noun. |
| Cristina: La for the third person singular. It translates both as her or it and it refers to a feminine singular noun. |
| Jason: Ci for the first person plural. |
| Cristina: Vi for the second person plural |
| Jason: Li. It replaces a masculine plural noun. |
| Cristina: Le. It replaces a feminine plural noun. |
| Jason: Next you’ll learn about the position of the direct pronouns. |
| Cristina: A direct object pronoun is usually placed immediately before a conjugated verb. |
| Jason: Here is a sample sentence. |
| Cristina: Sara compra la frutta e la mangia ogni giorno a colazione |
| Jason: Sara buys the fruit and eats it every morning. |
| Cristina: However there is an exception to this rule. |
| Jason: When a sentence contains an infinitive, the object pronoun is attached to the end of it. |
| Cristina: And the final -e of the infinitive (namely –are, -ere,-ire) is dropped. |
| Jason: Let’s listen to an example. |
| Cristina: Amo fare attività fisica. Per me è importante farla ogni mattina. |
| Jason: I love to do exercise. It’s important to do it every day. |
| Cristina: So la is attached to the verb fare. |
| Jason: and the final –e of fare is dropped. |
| Cristina: Last you’ll learn more about the position of the pronouns with modal verbs. |
| Jason: As you remember, modal verbs like potere, dovere, volere always require an infinitive. |
| Cristina: For example Devo finire il lavoro prima delle 18 |
| Jason: I have to finish work before 6 pm. |
| Cristina: With the modal verb and the infinitive, the object pronouns can be either placed before the modal |
| Jason: or be attached to the following infinitive. |
| Cristina: Let’s see some sample sentences. |
| Jason: Mi puoi accompagnare? |
| Cristina: Here the pronoun mi is placed before the modal. |
| Jason: In English the above sentence translates as Can you drive me there? |
| Cristina: It’s also correct to attach the pronoun to the infinitive. |
| Jason: Puoi accompagnarmi? |
| Cristina: In English the sentence doesn’t change. |
| Jason: Let’s listen to one more example. |
| Cristina: Maria è allergica alle noci. Non le puo’ mangiare. |
| Jason: Maria is allergic to nuts. She cannot eat them. |
| Cristina: Maria è allergica alle noci. Non puo’ mangiarle. |
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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