You'll be able to talk about your experience of studying the Italian language with a new acquaintance after you're through with this lesson.

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1 1.7 Clarifying Things & Gendered Nouns Language & Culture Lessons In this lesson, we'll take a closer look at the written mechanics of the conversation you heard in Lesson 1.2, then we'll add to your bounty of survival phrases you can utilize whenever you feel the conversation slipping away. By the time you finish the lesson, you'll also be able to talk about your experience of studying the Italian language with anyone who will listen, and gracefully accept the compliment when someone comments on how well you're doing. On the cultural side of things, we'll discuss the finer points of saying "thank you" and "you're welcome," and finish with what to say in the rare case of an emergency... Language Lesson Clarifying things & Gendered Nouns Ciao a tutti! E bentornati a Rocket Italiano! Hello and Welcome back to the Rocket Italian Language & Culture Series!! This is the third lesson in your Rocket Italian Language & Culture Series. I hope you're enjoying the lessons so far. Grammar is not everyone's favorite topic, but if you take it in bite-sized bits, it can be easy to digest. And it will be rewarding when you start to see patterns emerging in the way the language is structured and really begin to understand the mechanics behind it. Our objective in this lesson is to examine the component parts of the conversation you heard in the previous lesson. In addition, we'll give you a small arsenal of questions you can fire away if you feel the conversation slipping away from you, and you need some clarification - or simply just need to slow things down a bit. You'll be able to talk about your experience of studying the Italian language with a new acquaintance after you're through with this lesson. We'll round out the lesson with a discussion of one aspect of the Italian language that simply does not apply to the English language: masculine and feminine words. That's right, in the Italian language, everything has a gender! (Note: you can always revisit earlier lessons by using the link at the very bottom of this page.) So let's get into it... The conversation you heard in the Lesson 1.2 went like this: Parli italiano? Sì, parlo un po' Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano? Piano, per favore, non ho capito. Sì certo. Da quanto tempo studi l'italiano? Ah! Ho capito adesso. Grazie! Studio l'italiano da un mese. Bravo! Parli bene. Grazie, sei molto gentile. Here is the conversation a second time, in its English translation:

2 Do you speak Italian? Yes, but just a little bit. How long have you been studying Italian? Slowly, please, I don't understand. Yes, of course. How long have you been studying Italian? I get it now. Thanks! I have been studying Italian for a month. Great! You speak Italian well. Thank you, you are very kind. Grammatica Questions for Clarification Many people need to visualize a word in their heads before they can accurately repeat and remember it. That's why they often want to know: Come si scrive? How is it written? If you're going to understand the answer, though, you'll need to be familiar with the Italian alphabet... which could be tricky at this stage in your learning! So it might just be easier for now to ask, Può ripetere, per favore. Can you repeat, please. Or, you may need to ask, Lentamente, per favore / Piano, per favore Slowly, please Most people will be happy to clarify what they said for you, so never feel embarrassed about asking! How much Italian do you know? At some stage, you'll be speaking Italian so well that you will impress your Italian-speaking conversation partner. Hopefully, you'll hear this compliment: Tu parli bene l'italiano. Lei parla bene l'italiano. You speak Italian well. (Informal) You speak Italian well. (Formal) Of course you do! Don't you? If you don't think you speak Italian very well, or if you want to make sure that the person doesn't assume that you know more than you do, you can use one of these useful phrases: Sto imparando. Parlo un po' / un poco. Non so molto. Parlo meglio l'inglese. I'm learning. I only speak a little. I don't know much. I speak English better. If, on the other hand, your conversation partner doesn't tell you that you speak Italian very well - in fact, you may find that you simply can't understand what they are saying - here are a few useful phrases to have on hand.

3 Parla l'inglese? Non capisco. Mi dispiace. Non parlo l'italiano. Non parlo l'italiano bene. Parli l'inglese? Do you speak English? (polite) I don't understand. I'm sorry. I don't speak Italian. I don't speak Italian well. Do you speak English? (casual) By the way, did you notice that the word for Italian is l'italiano? It is very similar to the word for the country of Italy, which is Italia. The word for English is inglese. italiano inglese americano Italia Inghliterra Gli Stati Uniti Italian English American Italy England U.S.A As is common in many foreign countries, Italians use America to refer specifically to the United States of America, but either one will do! Also note that even though the names of each country are capitalized, as they are in English, the words for nationalities are NOT. That is because they are treated as adjectives in Italian, and do not get a capital letter. Masculine and Feminine Words In Italian, every single noun - those words that name people, places, and things - has a gender. Words for man and woman, cat and dog, pen and pencil, even qualities and ideas are either "masculine" or "feminine" (not to mention the word for "idea" itself!). Take a look at these examples: ragazzo ragazza vino birra libro tavola boy (masc.) girl (fem.) wine (masc.) beer (fem.) book (masc.) table (fem.) As you can see, the words that end in 'o' are masculine, while the words that end in 'a' are feminine.

4 il vino This is the general rule, but of course there are exceptions. Some nouns end with an E in their singular form, and some of those are feminine while others are masculine. There is not a definitive rule to determine which is which. The gender of these nouns has to be memorized. For example: latte limone studente notte arte milk (masc.) lemon (masc.) student (masc.) night (fem) art (fem.) But nouns - words for things - aren't the only words with a gender. Describing words (or adjectives) have to reflect the gender of the thing they describe. That means that if you want to say, "I am beautiful," the Italian word for "beautiful" will be different according to whether you're a man or a woman. Sono bello Sono bella I am beautiful (if you're a man) I am beautiful (if you're a woman) Adjectives must change their endings to agree with the noun they are referring to. Another example: a male American is un americano, and a female American is una americana. Easy enough? È facile? Culture II. Cultura PREGO! Let's talk about the word: prego. Prego is possibly one of the first words picked up in Italy because it is used so very much. The word translates literally as "I pray," but in conversation it is used to mean lots of things in lots of situations:

5 Prego = Prego = Prego = Prego = "That's all right!" "Please, go right ahead!" "Not at all / Don't mention it!" "You're welcome!" That's right, in context, it can function as both "please" and "you're welcome!" Please come in... Prego, entra! Please, after you... Prego, prima tu! Thanks... Grazie! You're welcome... Prego! And this most flexible of words can be also be used as a question, Prego = "Yes? / What would you like?" You will hear prego used in this context all the time when you go to order at restaurants, bars, and cafes. How polite is your Thanks? There are actually several ways to say "thank you" in Italian, depending on how formal you want to be and the relationship between you and the person you're thanking. Ringrazio means "I thank." TI means "you" when it is said to a friend, relative, or child; and LA means you when it is said to an acquaintance or a stranger. Listen to the pronunciation... Ti ringrazio (informal) La ringrazio (formal) Thank you (informal) Thank you (formal) If you want to thank a group of people, you use the formal word for YOU in the plural, which is VI. So... The way of saying "thank you" to a group is Vi ringrazio. (This will work for both formal and informal contexts). What might these people be saying to one another? In the Rare Case of Emergency Traveling can be a risky business wherever you go. Often you will need some assistance, and you can accomplish this with a few polite phrases, such as...

6 "Excuse me, I have a question..." = Scusi, ho una domanda... "Excuse me, could you help?" = Scusi, mi può aiutare? But sometimes you need to blurt out a few more forceful exclamations. Here are three important ones that are sure to get everyone's attention: Aiuto! Al ladro! Al fuoco! Help! Thief! Fire! Aiuto! Al ladro! Al fuoco! Help! Thief! Fire! Before you travel to any Italian-speaking place, I recommend that you commit these three words to memory. They will be your safety net if you get caught in a dangerous situation. *** I hope you have had a happy start to your Italian education - but remember that this is just the beginning! There's so much more to learn about Italian language and culture. And with Rocket Italian you'll learn Italian with an innovative, comprehensive learning package based on how people actually say things in everyday contexts. I'll leave you with those words, which are designed to entice you and excite you about the prospect of getting your conversational Italian into high gear! Alla prossima volta... Until next time! Maria DiLorenzi Rocket Italian Libros Media Ltd. - Copyright USA: Page Avenue, PO Box 1261, Fairfax, VA 22038, USA Phone: Asia/Pacific: Ferry Road, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand Phone: